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A group of bondholders including asset manager BlackRock and an affiliate of private equity firm Carlyle has become the top shareholder in French fashion company SMCP, taking on a 29% equity stake it now wants to sell.
Gieves & Hawkes, the bespoke tailoring business, could be a step nearer to closing down as the problems facing its parent company continue to weigh on its operations and a crunch creditor vote looms next week.
Shares of French fashion firm SMCP rose on Tuesday as the company inched towards an ownership change, prompting an analyst upgrade on expectations its financially strapped majority shareholder Shandong Ruyi.
European Topsoho, owner of the SMCP group and a subsidiary of China's troubled Shandong Ruyi group, seems unable to repay its bond debt maturing on Tuesday, and its creditors might acquire a stake in the company.
Shandong Ruyi, the Chinese group that owns a raft of European brands, continued to struggle in H1. Turnover fell 20.43% with the clothing category down 44.67% and the share of revenue it accounted for dropping sharply.


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The Sichuan Liaison Office of the China-Pakistan Business Council was launched Saturday to accelerate the integration of Sichuan into the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
According to a statement, the event was part of a series of celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Pakistan.
"A Pakistan agricultural cooperation promotion meeting and the opening ceremony of the Sichuan liaison office of China-Pakistan business council was held in Chengdu," it said.
The China-Pakistan Business Council is a bilateral economic and trade exchange mechanism jointly established by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and Pakistan Federation of Industry and Commerce, to strengthen bilateral economic and trade cooperation and promote trade, investment and other economic activities between enterprises of both countries, the statement said.
With the official establishment of the liaison office, it will take the initiative to "integrate into the overall situation of national diplomacy in the future and combine the CPEC project and the needs of enterprises in the Sichuan province", the statement added.
This summer's spike in petrol prices has complicated the French government's efforts to control consumer inflation
In some US states, a family of four needs at least $100,000 to get by; find out
"President Erdogan called on Tesla to establish its seventh factory in Turkey," Turkish officials said
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UAW strike began just after midnight on Friday following failed last-minute negotiations before the contract's...
Petrol price rises to Rs331.38 per litre

domain: news


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Posted Thu Apr 14, 2016 at 01:30 PM PDT by Steven Cohen
The Ultra HD Premium logo and classification system has been expanded to Ultra HD Blu-ray players.
The UHD Alliance (UHDA) has announced an expansion of its Ultra HD Premium certification licensing to include Ultra HD Blu-ray disc players. The Ultra HD Premium logo allows consumers to easily identify televisions, content, content services, and playback devices that meet the requirements for a premium Ultra HD experience.
"As the Ultra HD ecosystem continues to grow, the UHDA will continue to expand the breadth of ULTRA HD PREMIUM certified products and services to provide consumers with a single, identifying mark to seek out so they can purchase with confidence," said UHD Alliance President Hanno Basse. "The certification of Ultra HD Blu-ray players is a natural first expansion, because the Ultra HD Blu-ray format was built with premium performance in mind and a growing number of 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc titles released by Hollywood also bear the ULTRA HD PREMIUM logo."
Developed through a collaboration with leading film studios, consumer electronics manufacturers, content distributors, and technology companies, the Ultra HD Premium spec requires certified products to satisfy specific performance metrics for resolution, high dynamic range (HDR), peak luminance, black levels, wide color gamut, and more. Likewise, the specification also includes recommendations for immersive audio. Though exact testing criteria for Ultra HD Blu-ray players has not been detailed, the UHDA has designated multiple, independent centers around the globe to conduct testing.
Currently, the only Ultra HD Blu-ray player on the market is the Samsung UBD-K8500 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player. Models from Panasonic and Philips are expected to arrive later this year. Beyond Ultra HD Blu-ray players, the UHDA has already certified 30 Ultra HD TVs with the Ultra HD Premium designation. Likewise, the company is also planning to develop a premium standard for live 4K Ultra HD broadcasts.
Source: UHD Alliance
The latest news on all things 4K Ultra HD, blu-ray and Gear.


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Kofi, the UK YouTuber tallying the cost of people’s outfits around the world, has landed on South Africa’s shores – in Cape Town to specific.
Kofi finds some of the most expensively dressed people to feature on his channel. According to him, he is documenting youth culture and fashion scene all around the world.
According to Business Insider, "rich millennials (specifically) are creating new trends and symbols", one of which includes the luxury sneaker.
In SA, you can see that reflected in the popularity of stores like Shelflife in Rosebank, Joburg as well as the proliferation of that Gucci takkie.
This channel called The Unknown Vlogs has garnered an impressive following with almost 500 000 subscribers on his channel and more than 72 million views. On the odd occasion he features celebrities like Jaden Smith, Drake and celeb sightings like Rihanna – but largely he features young fashion brand enthusiasts in the area he’s visiting.
One of his most popular videos is the one featuring Drake and his OVO team. Drake’s outfit on this video is equivalent to a small property or a posh car – totalling at an estimated $979 000 (R13.8 million). Wearing mostly Tom Ford, Drake did look fairly stylish but style doesn’t seem to be the main criteria for the other features on the channel.
Typically Kofi interacts with people dressed in street style and in usual Hypebeast fashion, the branded items are the key focus.
The video doing the rounds at the moment is the one Kofi took in Greece featuring a girl who was wearing R56 000 Cartier earring studs, a Cartier bracelet and a watch at about R28 000 each. Receiving congratulations for the “flex” the girl steps aside for others to share their branded clothes on camera.
Kofi’s videos also get shared on Twitter but some on this platform are not amused.
You will also remember not so long ago that in South Africa people known as Izikhothane were popular. This was where largely teens would, on the one end of the spectrum, only wear designer clothes that were priced at R13 000 and the like and on the other end of the spectrum they would burn money, wash their hands with champagne and break expensive phones.
This subculture that included the consumption of luxurious fashion, alcohol and use of other luxury items was highly criticised and even made it to international media.
Seeing that Kofi is now in South Africa, I wonder how he will engage with South Africa’s ‘liker of things’ and whether we will embrace flashy clothing for YouTube – that is, if he will shoot an episode here.
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Fortune's curated selection of the day's most newsworthy tech stories from all over the Web. Sign up to get the newsletter delivered to you every day.
* LinkedIn (LNKD) reported better-than-expected profits of four cents a share on sales of $121 million for its most recent quarter, as well as a 61% jump in users to 115.8 million. Colleague Jessi Hempel spoke with CEO Jeff Weiner about the company's future. (Fortune)
* Former Microsoft (MSFT) exec Steve VanRoekel will replace Vivek Kundra as the White House's chief information officer. VanRoekel has worked with the Obama administration since 2009 as managing director of the Federal Communications Commission. (The New York Times)
* Facebook is thinking about revamping its News Feed so efforts from third-party developers and marketers gain more visibility with users. The social network is also looking at ways to tweak the "Like" button with other gestures generated by marketers and developers, too. (The Wall Street Journal)
* Nintendo (NTDOF) plans to double down on digital game sales. "In my mind, I would like to make the presence of the Nintendo eShop much larger in three years time," Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said to investors. (Wired)
* Survey Monkey CEO Dave Goldberg on how his company is disrupting the sleepy survey business. (Bloomberg)
* Why New York can't (and shouldn't) try to rival Silicon Valley. (GigaOm)
Don't miss the latest tech news. Sign up now to get Today in Tech emailed to you each and every morning.
Is $5.3 billion an astronomical amount to get the popular deal-a-day web site? Not really. Here's why.
If Google's $5.3 billion offer goes through later this week as suggested, it could be Groupon's lucky day.
Not that luck has been really necessary for the Chicago-based, deal-a-day e-commerce site, which delivers daily discounts and deals from local businesses to 30 million users across 500 markets in 30 countries. Since CEO Andrew Mason launched MOREJP Mangalindan, Writer - Nov 30, 2010 3:52 PM ET
Facebook expands its battle plans to mobile apps and mobile phones, but it won't be building a new platform or device, it'll just open up what's already working for it. But don't hold your breath for an iPad app.
Mark Zuckerberg snuffed the hopes today of those who thought they might be getting a Facebook phone this holiday season. "There has been this rumor going around that Facebook is going to MOREMichael V. Copeland, Senior Writer - Nov 3, 2010 3:26 PM ET
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|Gun silencer sales are booming|
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Valx is working on an upward trajectory, in the direction of modernisation, large scale production and axle specification for the European market and further afield.
GOING THE EXTRA MILE
Valx is a Company of ever evolving stature, with an impressive reputation when considering its young age; founded in 2009 by a Dutch trading company, with the benefit of a previous 20 years experience as a distributor in the industry.
Two years ago the Company was acquired by Chinese manufacturing giant FUWA, and with the biggest axle manufacturer in the world joining its team, the Company has had to adapt its strategy.
“Our axles were coming across from China, fully dressed with brakes and hubs, with the remainder of the parts provided and mounted locally in Europe,” explains Martin Van Willigen, Managing Director of Sales and Operations. “In order to maximise efficiency, we wanted to make our supply chain as lean as possible in order to be able to carry out the final assembly of products locally.”
This has been achieved by the Company to great success, with assembly hubs in the Netherlands, Spain and looking to build a hub in Poland in the near future. Having made these changes to its strategy, Valx is able to act quickly on customer requests with the assembly being housed as close as possible to the end customer.
“During our period of transition over the past few years, a lot of industry experts have been employed to develop our axle range,” explains Van Willigen. “Around the same time we also worked closely with the leading suppliers in the industry to continue building our strong and respected reputation.”
EXPANDING PRODUCT RANGE
It is unquestionable that Valx’s product range has been relatively limited in comparison to its competition, a fact that is quickly changing since FUWA took over ownership of the Company.
“We needed to work with FUWA as much as possible in terms of our product development and regional sales, with the first port of call being our axles,” affirms Van Willigen. “Now we call them the building blocks of our axle, with a modular design which is enabling us to create new ‘flavours’ of axle.
“We have been able to develop a 13 tonne axle as well as our original nine tonne, based upon these building blocks and taking our basic design while upgrading the size we are working with.”
The Company has built up close relationships with its partners and suppliers, especially during the past few years, working side by side within all aspects of the business.
“Our competitors only supply full package with axle and suspension and what we try to do differently is that we are also willing to sell an axle without suspension,” continues Van Willigen. “The advantage then for customers is that they can use their own suspension instead of us demanding they use ours, which provides them with great flexibility.
“Our axles come from China and the suspension from the Netherlands and for big trailer builders, it enables them to do the assembly of the suspension themselves and it doesn’t need to be at a local hub in the Netherlands for example and they can do it on their own which makes the whole process more cost effective for our customers.”
In doing that, the Company has enabled itself to focus on its core strength – creating axles – and utilising its suppliers to support the surrounding needs.
“Previously we have just focused our core strength in axle production in Europe, however, now we are looking to branch our operations outside of Europe to areas that currently require European specifications of axles,” adds Van Willigen. “A prime example of this is in China where our mother company is based; it is now following the European specifications and selling axles for the domestic market, enabling the end users to be privy to the use of low maintenance axles.”
Other markets that Valx is looking to branch into outside of Europe are South Korea and South Africa – among others – while also exploring the other areas that currently require European specification axles that the Company can work on establishing.
“Excitingly, we are also looking to open up our own branch of the Company in Dubai, in order to look after the Middle East,” explains Van Willigen. “From that point we see a lot of growth potential for the use of our European specification axle, however, for now we will be placing the majority of our investment in China where the manufacturing takes place.”
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FOCUS
Instead of spreading itself thin in too many areas, Valx has steered away from carrying out its own manufacturing, allowing itself to focus on research and development and sales, subsequently being able to take time to hire the right people for the job, looking for those that have built a solid network in the industry over time.
Van Willigen continues: “We try to employ locally for each region, a recent example being the new team member we have working in Germany and we believe it is important to have these locals working in their area.”
In researching its potential employees closely, the Company is able to recruit skilled and incredibly experienced workers to join the Valx team, a good example being the new members of the sales department.
Ulrich Donauer, a new member of the Valx team mentioned: “I decided to join Valx after seeing huge potential for the product. Its axles have been developed by the most experienced and qualified professionals in the European axle industry.
“With the addition of FUWA – the biggest trailer manufacturer – Valx is a serious contender in axle supplies and I strongly believe in the success of the Company.”
Another exciting new member of the team is Bart Sloot, an automotive engineer, who began his career as a Valx supplier at VDL Weweler.
“I’m very much looking forward to beginning this new challenge at Valx and returning to the trailer business,” comments Sloot. “From experience I have seen the excellent quality of the Valx products and together with the experienced team, I will do my best to further expand the market share of the Company.”
Through these experts and hiring similar people to cover each sector of the Company, Valx will be able to continue its positive growth in the industry.
“We hope that in time we will have a wider range of products, at present we are focused on the nine tonne segment which is our predominant market, sitting at around 90 percent,” concludes Van Willigen. “It will be exciting to progress into a full nine to 13 tonne programme, it is something we are aiming to achieve while also building our network across Europe and further afield.”


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Charles Pixley, 60, used to work as a financial underwriter; now he spends his days on Wall Street – literally walking up and down Wall Street - toting a sign that says “Stimulate the Economy, Hire Me.” Passersby may think he’s crazy or desperate, but they all notice him, and according to Pixley, that’s the whole point.
“This is fundamental marketing. Thousands of people see me everyday and can make an instant decision whether or not to approach me,” he said. “It’s better than having my resume end up in a pile somewhere.” Pixley says he’s received dozens of business cards already and has several interviews scheduled this week.
It may sound eccentric, but Pixley’s method is applied everyday by small businesses around the country hoping to attract new customers quickly. Now, more than ever, these guerrilla tactics may prove essential.
The advertising industry has decreased spending drastically because of the recession. Even Internet ad revenue, once thought to be totally reliable, has been ailing recently.
Meanwhile, studies in the past four decades have shown those companies that continue to advertise during a recession, despite immediate economic pressures, end up reaping huge profits in the long run. The reason is simple: your competitors will be putting up less ads, which means your advertising will face less competition. So you’ll capture more of the market share and when they start spending again, you’re more likely to cash in.
Before you go hire an ad agency, consider these three innovative and free ways to advertise yourself or your small business:
1. Advertise Under Foot
Experts debate whether or not it’s legal to advertise on public property. But some big companies are already taking advantage of this space. Dominos (Stock Quote: DPZ) and General Motors (Stock Quote: GM) have started using sidewalk ads to reach consumers. As long as you write your ad with chalk or something that can be erased, it’s not technically considered defacing property.


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Animation exec David Steinberg has joined Nickelodeon as senior veep of production for Nick Animation Studios. He was previously head of Starz Animation Toronto. Jamie Drew has been promoted to senior veep strategy and business development for Nickelodeon Group.
Cinedigm Digital Cinema has tapped Bob Fiorella as exec veep and chief strategy officer for entertainment. He previously worked with Cinedigm CEO Chris McGurk at Disney and Universal. Cinedigm has also named Rob Springer senior veep and product manager of distributor solutions. Springer had been senior veep of technology at Relativity Media.
Former Coca-Cola marketing exec Jed Selkowitz has joined Simon Fuller’s XIX Entertainment as senior veep of strategic marketing. He’ll oversee business development for XIX’s talent and intellectual property in North America.
Kathy Dossett has joined Relativity Media as senior veep of human resources. She was previously a consultant at Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Pictures Animation.
Tim Sweeney has been upped to senior veep of business and legal affairs, corporate, at Starz Entertainment. Sweeney has been with Starz since 2002.
S. Gregory Boyd has joined Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz as a partner and head of the law firm’s Interactive Entertainment Group.
Millennium Entertainment has upped Tristen Tuckfield to veep of film acquisitions. Tuckfield joined the company last September.


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Bullspree established in 2020, is a game that enhances the experience of trading stocks and allows investors to participate in games with minimal risk
In the last few days, the startup has raised $400K through an initial round of capital from a variety of angel investors
Bullspree has enrolled more than 250,000 users as of now, with a the active user base per month of 85,000
In the India’s Economic Survey for 2021-22, the retail investor accounted for 44.7 percent share of cash segment of equity turnover in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) between April to October 2021.
In May 2022 the Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Parliament that more than 2.6 Mn demat accounts were opened each month from 2021 to 2022, which is 6.5X from 0.4 Mn of new accounts each monthly in the 2019-20.
The rising equity markets in the last year and the funding-driven IPO excitement in Indian startups saw more investors join the bandwagon of equity. But, only a tiny portion of retail investors actually make an income from the equity market, with the significant majority of them taking losses on their investment.
The majority of it is due to an insufficient understanding of finance and resources to conduct adequate research prior to investing. The stock market is a risky investment since it involves real money, and the losses once incurred are the responsibility of a retail investor to carry for the rest of their lives.
To remedy this the Ahmedabad-based company Bullspree is working to offer an actual experience in investing in stocks without the threat of losing money. It was founded in the year 2020 in the year 2020 by Dharmil Bavishi Harsh Dhanawat as well as Divyansh Mathur Bullspree provides users with education by making the stock market experience more fun by using games.
The startup has already signed over 250,000 users. The company has a an active monthly users with a total of 85,000.
The Investment Games
According Bavishi’s advice, someone seeking to learn more about retail investing must first sign up through the platform. Then, following a quick KYC that includes verification of the PAN number, the registration is completed.
The user can deposit some funds into the app wallet and begin investing into the stocks by participating in competitions.
However, there’s an issue. The user isn’t able to utilize real money to purchase stocks. Instead, the money is used to pay for an entry fee to join numerous live contests in the application.
If a participant participates in an event that is based on cohorts using real money, they receive Bullspree virtual currency. The amount varies from 4,000 to 8,000 coins to 10,000 coins, based on the kind of contest as well as the prize money being offered.
There’s no limit to the number of contests that a participant can be a part of; provided they are able to pay the entry fees they are able to take part in the contest.
Investors are invited to construct an investment portfolio with the virtual coins. So we’ll say that someone owns $10,000 Bullspree virtual coins. He put 5,000 of them in Reliance and 2,000 in TCS and the rest in Unilever. Once he has deployed the coins, he will have the option of paying a joining cost, Bavishi explained.
To ensure that it is as authentic to a real-world experience as is possible, Bullspree has a direct stream of data from market that reflects the most accurate prices for stocks. Investors can track their portfolios using a live leaderboard , and the top portfolio is that that has the most value at the conclusion of the competition.
The co-founder also said that while the contest is running the typical contest duration is about six hours, the investor has access to a variety of information about the stocks that were chosen.
Meanwhile the analyst has the ability to the company’s history by analyzing their pattern, their historical trends and the number of people who have chosen to invest in this particular stock. What are the fundamentals of the market that the share is based on? What’s a market capitalization? What is the PE ratio? said Bavishi, saying that customers also have access to 30 second videos that explain the most important concepts of the market if one is unsure of the similar.
The business model of Bullspree is based on contests. Investors must pay a fee to join in order to take part and that’s the main source of income.
According to Bavishi’s analysis that, out of the total sum of money collected, Bullspree takes a commission of 20%, and the remainder is split between the highest 65% of contestants. So, if an investor is able to finish within the 65th percentile of the contest, he or she is still eligible for a certain amount of compensation.
Users can cash out their winnings when they reach the INR 100-mark with respect to winnings, by connecting their bank accounts to the application. In addition to winnings, investors get a lot of insight about why their portfolio behaved as they did in the conclusion of every contest.
Bullspree recorded an Day 30 retention rate of 57% in July with an average profit per user paying INR 250 per month.
The startup has recently has raised $400K through an initial round of funding from co-founders from Swiggy’s Dineout, Lighthouse Canton MD-Wealth Management India Manas Chadha and senior partners of the legal company Luthra & Luthra, Infibeam Avenues CEO and MD Vishal Mehta Cisco Director of Finance Amit Khetan and others.
Bullspree has already used the money it received to improve its technology capabilities and recruit employees all over the world.
The importance of educating GenZ Retail Investors
In discussing the motivation behind beginning Bullspree, Bavishi said that the team that founded Bullspree realized there was a need in the education of individuals who are interested in investing in the market for stocks.
Whenever you see Gen Z retail investors, aged between 18-25, begin their retail investment journeys beginning on DIY platforms. The people who use these platforms end up losing hundreds of thousands or even lakhs of dollars just to achieve two distinct factors: adrenaline and the expectation of greater returns, Bavishi explained.
He explained that Bullspree intends to make the investment process through the use of gamification. According to the co-founder, investors are able to build confidence and experience an experience-based learning journey.
We are determined to empower investors primarily aged 18-25, he added.
The founder of the company explained the business’s ethos. Bavishi stated that in order in order for the GDP of the country to increase, the retail investment segment needs to expand exponentially. To achieve this, there is an imperative to establish the habit of investing from the moment the person is qualified to invest.
We believe that travelers should not be scared off by the prospect of a loss that is significant in their first journey only to fall dormant…we believe that they require an environment where they can develop their skills and also gain access to expert information.At most, if we are able to create a positive change in the way we mitigate the losses of retail investors, then we have had the potential for a positive impact to our economy, he added.
The startup plans to launch in-app purchases within the coming three months. One of the key options to be offered to users who purchase an in-app item will be the ability to swap in mid-swap, which gives customers the ability to trade on the same day.
Other than mid-swap which is a pure-play source of revenue, Bullspree plans to launch a subscription program.
Right right now we provide the latest macroeconomic news. We provide insights into what went wrong and how it operates in our Telegram groups. We’re looking to make money from this by introducing a subscription service, Bavishi said.
The startup currently offers video clips in bite-sized sizes for no cost. However, Bavishi has stated that this will be put under the paywall after subscription plans are announced.
We are working to incorporate 16 straightforward topics on the stock market into 30 second small videos that will be added within the next 45-60 hours, Bavishi added.
Bullspree hopes to create an environment of safety for young retail investors trying to get that first taste of the market. The gamified approach as well as lots of hands-on help let ‘investors’ learn while playing learning the essential skills to compete in the major leagues of the future.


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EST. TOTAL REVENUE
$114 - $286
EST. MONTHLY REVENUE
$1.6K - $4.1K
EST. YEARLY REVENUE
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CSEM, the Swiss research and technology organization, is one of three winners of the EARTO Innovation Prize 2013.
The prize honors research and technology transfer with high potential for future applications in the economy and society. This year, CSEM's contribution to the Swiss watch industry's global competitiveness, by the development of silicon micro-components, was recognized.
"We are honored by the award given to CSEM" says Georges Kotrotsios, member of the CSEM Executive Board, who accepted the prize during the ceremony in Brussels. "Just as quartz crystal resonators revolutionized timepiece design 40 years ago, silicon micro-components produced through wafer-level fabrication are distinguishing a new generation of high-performance watches and rejuvenating the watch industry". Watchmaking is one of the rare industrial sectors to show continuous growth today. This growth is propelled by the image of innovation: introducing silicon, a material usually dedicated to microelectronics and micro devices, makes possible improved performance and new architectures, and contributes decisively to the image of an innovative industry.
Groundbreaking methods of working with silicon have led to the Holy Grail of watchmaking: unprecedented accuracy and reliability with less maintenance, meaning that watches no longer lose precision through exposure to magnetic fields, temperature extremes, shocks, or lubricant deterioration. In recent years, CSEM has worked closely with several world-famous watch brands such as Patek Philippe, Girard-Perregaux, or Swatch Group to help establish new, groundbreaking methods of working with silicon in the field of mechanical watch making: watchmakers have been able to come up with a completely new generation of micro components and to bring to time-keeping mechanisms qualities that had previously been virtually impossible to realize. Beyond distinguishing a new generation of high-end-performance watches, the use of silicon ensures the creation of jobs with added value, the maintenance of know-how, and spillover to other industrial domains including medical technologies, machinery for high-end manufacturing, and other key industrial sectors, thereby reinforcing Europe's manufacturing base.
Switzerland's watch industry is the world's number one, making over 30 million timepieces a year, producing 95% of watches in the €800+ market, and exporting €17 billion worth of watches annually. "This innovation is an excellent illustration of how RTOs can have an economic impact, on a national scale, and a proven practical application. CSEM has indeed contributed to the Swiss watch industry's global competitiveness by supporting its development of new, innovative products" explained Jan Mengelers, President of EARTO, in Brussels.
The EARTO Innovation Prize is awarded each year to a selection of the 350 members of the European Association of Research and Technology Organisations, in recognition of their contribution to recent innovations that have high social and/or economic relevance, innovative originality, and a demonstrated practical application and viability. This year's EARTO Innovation Prize was awarded in Brussels in the presence of Anne Glover, Chief Scientific Adviser, the European Commission. The independent jury comprised: Leopold Demiddeleer, Director of Future Businesses, Solvay, Belgium; Satu Hassi, member of the European Parliament; Richard Hudson, founder and publisher of Science|Business, London and Brussels; Allyson Reed, Director of Corporate Relations, University of Warwick, United Kingdom; and Christopher John Hull, former Secretary General, EARTO.


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Samoa's Central Bank also decries proposed taro ban
Any ban placed on Samoan talo would be detrimental to our limited export base, the Central Bank of Samoa says.
This warning comes in the wake of a proposed ban being looked at by American Samoa against Samoan talo, in a bid to protect their local growers.
“Any ban to current commodities exported is detrimental to our limited export base,” said CBS Chief Manager of the Monetary Stability Group, Benjamin Pereira, in an email.
“Based on taro export data that CBS collects, American Samoa has receipted on an annual average, from 2000 to 2012, just above SAT$900,000.00.
Taro export are on 2000-2012 averages equivalent to 2.2 per cent of total annual exports, he said.
“American Samoa is currently our biggest market for taro export however, since the improvement in domestic supply of taro and the beginning of exporting again to New Zealand in 2010, the New Zealand market has significantly gained its market share.
He described this as “encouraging,” adding, “Efforts to improve exports of other commodities are also encouraging.”
Meanwhile Tautua Samoa leader, Palusalue Fa’apo II said the proposed ban could pave the way to more export bans.
Earlier this week it was reported that American Samoa is working on a proposed ban of Samoan taro with their Attorney General.
This happened just two weeks after Samoa’s Small Business Enterprise Centre and American Samoa’s Chamber of Commerce signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop each nation’s economy.
According to the SBEC the Trade Fair was aimed at showcasing small businesses to the Samoan public as well as seeking trade opportunities to supply local retailers, hotels and restaurants and opportunities to export to American Samoa.
Palusalue said it saddened him to read this proposal in the newspaper, as the very reason for the Fair was to strengthen trade between the two Samoas.
“But now this news has come up it is really sad for our taro exporters,” he said.
“Who knows their next move might be stopping the vegetables and so forth.
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U.S. manufacturers have faced significant headwinds this year: supply chain problems, a skilled labor shortage, inflation, and the war in Ukraine. And yet despite these issues—or perhaps, because of them—manufacturers continued to invest in people, plants and equipment.
Indeed, the push to boost domestic supply of things like microchips, medical devices and electric vehicles is propelling reshoring and foreign direct investment (FDI). In 2021, job announcements related to reshoring and FDI totaled 260,000, a record high, according to the Reshoring Initiative. That trend continued through the first half of this year. In fact, the Reshoring Initiative predicts that the total number of jobs created through reshoring or FDI will hit set a new record at 350,000 in 2022. If that projection is achieved, 2022 will bring the total number jobs announced since 2010 to more than 1.6 million.
Federal jobs data backs that up. U.S. manufacturers employed 12,922,000 people in October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That’s 4 percent more than in October 2021 and 13 percent more than in April 2020, the manufacturing employment low point of the COVID recession. The U.S. has now regained all the manufacturing jobs lost during the pandemic shutdowns and added an extra 137,000 jobs to boot. In fact, October’s manufacturing employment total is the highest since November 2008.
IMI Sales Leads, which tracks capital project activity in the U.S. and Canada, provides further evidence of robust investment in North American manufacturing in 2022. The consulting firm reports that 130 new “industrial manufacturing” projects were announced in October. That total consists of 40 new-construction projects, 48 expansions, and 42 plant renovations or equipment upgrades.
Fifteen of those projects represent investments of $100 million or more. The largest of those was announced by chip maker Micron Technology Inc., which is investing $100 billion to build a new manufacturing facility in Clay, NY.
IMI Sales Leads reported 450 new projects in the third quarter of 2022.
Manufacturers are investing in technology, too. Look at robots, for example. According to the Association for Advancing Automation, North American manufacturers spent $1.249 billion to purchase 23,903 robots in the first half of 2022. The dollar amount is 29 percent more than sales for the first half of 2021.
Or, consider the latest data from AMT—The Association for Manufacturing Technology. New orders for metal cutting, forming and fabricating equipment in the U.S. totaled $4.2 billion for the first nine months of 2022, a 3 percent increase over the same period in 2021. “Last year was the best on record…so it will be hard to match,” says Douglas K. Woods, president of AMT. “However, it’s possible we will come close.”
Manufacturers in every industry are investing in their operations. Just look at the Detroit Three automakers. In September, Ford Motor Co. announced that it will invest $700 million and add 500 additional hourly manufacturing jobs at its assembly plant in Louisville, KY, to support production of a new F-Series Super Duty pickup truck. A week earlier, General Motors said it will spend $760 million at its assembly plant in Toledo, OH, to prepare the facility for producing drive units for electric trucks. And, in August, Stellantis announced plans to invest $99 million in three North American assembly plants for production of a new four-cylinder turbocharged engine. Investments will be made at the Dundee Engine Complex in Michigan, the Kokomo Casting Plant in Indiana, and the Etobicoke Casting Plant in Toronto.
Other industries are spending, too. For example, in August, appliance manufacturer Sub-Zero Group Inc. said it will construct a 400,000-square-foot assembly plant in Cedar Rapids, IA. The $140.6 million project is expected to create 192 jobs. That same month, Milwaukee Tool opened a new assembly plant in West Bend, WI. The $55 million project is expected to create 150 jobs. And, in July, SHL Medical said it will spend $90 million to build a new assembly plant in North Charleston, SC, to make autoinjectors. The 270,000-square-foot facility is expected to create some 165 jobs.
Will investments like that continue into 2023? The results of our 27th annual Capital Equipment Spending Survey point to an increase in investments next year.
Spending to Increase
Some 37 percent of respondents will spend more on assembly technology next year than they did this year. That compares with 43 percent in last year’s survey, and it’s the ninth straight year in which that figure has topped 30 percent.
Conversely, just 18 percent of respondents will spend less in 2023 than they did 2022. It’s the sixth time in the past seven years in which that figure has been less than 20 percent.
Forty-five percent will spend the same in 2023 as they did in 2023.
Of those plants that will spend more, the average budget increase is 26 percent. Of those that plan to spend less, the average budget decrease is 34 percent.
That’s not to say, however, that overall spending will increase that much. Our data indicate that U.S. assembly plants will spend $5.99 billion on new equipment in 2023, an increase of 6 percent from the $5.65 billion projected to be spent in 2022.
On average, manufacturers will spend $1,905,175 on assembly technology in 2023. That compares with $1,910,890 in 2022, and it’s the second highest average in survey history. The median budget total is $125,000. That’s less than the $220,000 figure in 2022, but it’s still the eighth largest median budget in survey history.
Aggregate budget data indicate growth in spending. For example, 35 percent of plants have capital budgets of at least $500,000 in 2023. That percentage has now exceeded 30 percent for five straight years. At the same time, 27 percent will spend between $100,000 and $499,999, up from 24 percent in 2022. Only 38 percent will spend less than $100,000 on assembly technology in 2023. That percentage has been under 40 percent in four of the past five years.
“2022 has been a good year for assembly and manufacturing overall, and we are expecting continued growth in 2023 for a variety of markets, including medical devices, electronics and EV component assembly,” says Jerry Perez, executive director for global accounts and manager for EST business development at FANUC America Corp. “A key reason for this growth is the ongoing labor shortage, which is driving increased demands for automation.
“In the medical device sector specifically, we are also seeing manufacturers looking to replace aging equipment that has been running for 20 years or more. This is in addition to new robot automation for new medical devices that are being scaled up in production.”
“2022 was a record sales year for us, beating our previous best by 23 percent,” says Glenn Nausley, president of Promess Inc., a manufacturer of electromechanical assembly presses and other technology. “November 2022 is actually the first month of our new fiscal year, and it was a record sales month for us. We are forecasting a strong December and January, too, so the strong sales should continue for a little longer at least. We are getting out of the gate fast for 2023.
“We do see some signs that activity will be slowing by midyear or so,” he continues. “This is mainly based on project discussions with some of our key customers. There are fewer projects being discussed for later in the year. We’ll see if that changes in the next months.”
Automotive Continues to Lead
Driven by the ongoing transition from gas-powered vehicles to electric ones, the automotive industry is leading the way in capital investment. In fact, the industry will account for 42 percent of all spending next year. That’s more than any other industry, and it’s the highest share for this industry since 2019.
On average, automotive assemblers will spend $1,218,787 on capital equipment next year, or slightly less than the 2022 average of $1,290,045.
Those figures should not be surprising. Automotive OEMs across the U.S. and worldwide announced major investments throughout 2022. For example, in September, Toyota said it will invest an additional $2.5 billion in its newest North American assembly plant, Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina in Liberty, NC. In October, auto parts manufacturer Joon Georgia Inc. reported that it will invest $317 million to build a new assembly plant in Statesboro, GA. The project is expected to create 317 jobs. And, in July, Magna International has opened a new 170,000-square-foot assembly plant in Duncan, SC, to produce exterior mirrors for BMW, Mercedes, Volvo and other OEMs. The new plant currently employs more than 250 employees, but that number is expected to grow to 400 over the next few years.
Cost reduction is a major concern for automakers. Some 78 percent of assemblers in the industry will buy equipment next year to cut costs. That compares with 50 percent for the nation as a whole, and it’s the most of any industry.
Like every other industry, the cost of direct and indirect labor are top concerns for automakers. But, other costs are significant, as well. For example, 33 percent of automakers are targeting energy costs for investment. That compares with 20 percent for the all U.S. plants, and it’s the most of any industry. That’s not too surprising, given that finishing and welding lines consume lots of energy.
Warranty costs are also an issue for the auto industry. Some 22 percent of automakers are targeting warranty and service costs for investment. That compares with 14 percent for the all U.S. plants.
The U.S. saw a record number of light-vehicle recall campaigns in 2021, though a smaller number of vehicles were affected, according to data from investment bank and advisory firm Stout. Individual recall campaigns reached a record high of 406 in 2021, while the total number of vehicles affected dropped to 21.6 million from 28.9 million over the same period.
This year is shaping up to be worse. Already, more than 14 million cars have recalled in the U.S. through the first half of 2022, for everything from faulty air bags to failing windshield wipers.
Medical Devices Provide Shot in the Arm
Medical device manufacturers could open their pocketbooks next year. Half the assembly plants in this industry will spend more next year than they did this year, the most of any industry.
On average, medical device manufacturers will spend $3,132,309 on capital equipment next year. That’s four times the industry average in 2022, and it’s the highest average of any industry.
One reason for the increased investment may be that the industry needs to boost capacity. Three-fourths of medical device assemblers will buy equipment next year to increase capacity. That compares with 56 percent for all U.S. plants, and it’s the most of any industry.
Quality, of course, is always an issue in medical device manufacturing. A third of assemblers in the industry will purchase equipment next year to meet more stringent quality standards—almost twice the national average.
Largest Companies Drive Investment
Looking at spending plans by company size, it’s not surprising that larger companies will spend more than smaller ones. However, our data indicate that any increase in spending next year will be driven by the largest manufacturers.
Some 46 percent of companies with more than 250 employees will spend more next year than they did this year, while just 16 percent will spend less. Conversely, only 28 percent of companies with up to 100 employees will spend more in 2023 than they did in 2023, while 23 percent will spend less.
Looking at actual budget figures, companies with more than 250 employees will spend, on average, $3,659,974 on assembly technology next year—up from $3,093,904 in 2022. Conversely, the budget for companies with fewer than 25 employees will decrease from $137,169 in 2022 to $71,692 in 2023, while the budget for companies with 26 to 100 employees will increase from $438,786 to $355,753.
As a group, companies with more than 250 employees will account for 88 percent of total spending on assembly technology next year. That compares with 78 percent in 2022, and it’s the largest share for this group in survey history.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, companies with up to 100 employees will represent just 4 percent of spending in 2023. That’s the lowest share for this group since the recession year of 2001.
Spending by Region
The Midwest has traditionally been the epicenter of U.S. manufacturing, and that should continue next year. The region will account for 44 percent of spending in 2023, more than any other region. The Midwest has held that distinction for all but two years in our survey. On average, Midwestern manufacturers will spend $2,013,337 on assembly technology next year, up from $1,206,966 in 2022.
Clearly, the transition to EVs is fueling that investment. For example, in October, Our Next Energy announced plans to invest $1.6 billion to build a new battery cell manufacturing plant in Van Buren Township, MI. In June, Stellantis and Samsung said they will spend $2.5 billion to construct a new lithium-ion battery assembly plant in Kokomo, IN. The factory will produce battery cells and modules to supply Stellantis’ North American assembly plants. And in May, LG Energy Solution announced that it is investing $1.7 billion in its plant in Holland, MI, to increase production of lithium-ion polymer battery cells and packs for EVs by fivefold. The expansion will create more than 1,200 new jobs.
While the Midwest continues to dominate manufacturing, there’s little doubt that manufacturing investment is increasingly shifting to the South. The region will account for 31 percent of total spending next year, marking the fifth straight year the region has accounted for at least 30 percent of capital spending in the U.S.
On average, Southern assemblers will spend $2,365,767 on assembly technology next year. In fact, the average capital budget in the South has topped $800,000 for five straight years.
A sampling of headlines from this year reinforces that data. In June, for example, Kubota Manufacturing of America Corp. said it will invest $140 million to build a new assembly plant in Gainesville, GA, adding 500 workers to the 3,000 it already employs in the region. In April, Envision AESC said it will spend $2 billion to build a new assembly plant in Bowling Green, KY, to make battery cells and modules for electric cars for Mercedes and other OEMs. And in January, Roper Corp., a Haier company, said it will invest $118 million to expand its assembly plant in Lafayette, GA. The project is expected to create 600 jobs in Walker County.
The West is another region to watch. On average, assemblers in Washington, California, Arizona and other Western states will spend $2,095,250 on assembly technology next year. It’s the third straight year in which the average budget in the region has exceeded $1 million.
Aside from aerospace and electronics manufacturing, the region is fast becoming a hub for the EV and solar energy industries. For example, in March, Heliogen said it will build a new factory in Long Beach, CA, to develop, assemble and test heliostats and other components for its concentrated solar power system. And, in January, Swiss company Meyer Burger Technology began building a new assembly plant in Goodyear, AZ, to make high-performance solar modules. The project is expected to create 250 jobs, and more than 500 jobs at full capacity.
Robots to the Rescue
Robots continue to be deployed at a record pace. According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), an all-time high of 517,385 new robots were installed in factories around the world in 2021. This represents a growth rate of 31 percent year-on-year and exceeds the pre-pandemic record for robot installation in 2018 by 22 percent. Today, 3.5 million robots are operating in factories around the world.
“The use of robotics and automation is growing at a breathtaking speed,” says Marina Bill, IFR president and group vice president for robotics and discrete automation at ABB Inc. “Within six years, annual robot installations in factories around the world more than doubled. According to our latest statistics, installations grew strongly in 2021, although supply chain disruptions…hampered production.”
Our survey indicates that demand for robots will continue unabated next year. We expect sales of six-axis robots, SCARAs, grippers and other robotic technology to increase 20 percent, from $600 million in 2022 to $720 million in 2023.
Thirty-seven percent of plants will purchase robots next year, which ties the record high set in 2022. Demand for robots should be particularly strong in the automotive industry. More than half the plants in this industry expect to buy robots in 2023.
“After a record year for investments in manufacturing in 2022, the case for continued investments has never been stronger,” declares Milton Guerry, president of SCHUNK. “Companies are faced with numerous challenges, from supply difficulties to labor shortages. Technology investments are the best way to address the demand and free human capacity to be leveraged for highly cognitive tasks.
“The impressive results in ASSEMBLY’s Capital Spending Survey are no surprise,” he continues. “SCHUNK engineers and sales professionals are fielding record numbers of inquiries daily. …As uncertainties diminish in 2023, it is likely that the companies projecting to spend less will reassess and look to join the majority companies planning to invest more.”
A driving force behind the spike in demand for robots is the continued popularity of collaborative robots. Some 36 percent of assemblers are currently using the technology or plan to within the next year. An additional 17 percent expect to employ cobots within two to three years.
“Multiple market forces are continuing to drive sales of collaborative robots,” says Joe Campbell, senior manager for strategic marketing and application development at Universal Robots USA Inc.
“The first is the overall challenge in staffing manufacturing jobs. Dull, dirty and dangerous jobs are nearly impossible to fill, and are a natural fit for cobots. The labor challenge is compounded by significant reshoring activity.
“Large manufacturers continue to automate, and we see are increasing cobot investments from small- and medium-sized companies, as well.”
U.S. assembly plants will spend $5.99 billion on new equipment in 2023.
Keep it Moving
Another technology that should see an uptick in sales next year is conveyors and material handling equipment. Some 38 percent of assembly plants will invest in conveyors next year. That’s the most since 2018, and it’s the second highest percentage in the history of our survey.
Demand for conveyors will be particularly strong in the automotive, medical device and electronics industries. All totaled, sales of conveyors will increase 10 percent, from $130 million in 2022 to $143 million in 2023.
“2022 is turning out to be another record year and we are forecasting 2023 to be even busier,” , says Brian Shore, vice president of sales at Automation & Modular Components. “So much so, we are actively looking for additional shop space to allow us to increase our output and reduce lead times. We had to turn away a considerable amount of work because we were not able to meet the customers’ lead-time expectations.”
Robots aren’t the only way assemblers can boost output from a limited workforce. Assemblers can also automate individual tasks like screwdriving, pressing and riveting.
Indeed, 52 percent of assemblers will invest in single-station assembly machines next year, a slight uptick from 2022 and the highest percentage since 2011. Demand for single-station machines will be highest in the aerospace, automotive, electronics and fabricated metal products industries.
Specifically, 27 percent will buy automatic screwdriving systems, 16 percent of plants will buy riveters, and 37 percent will buy presses. The latter two percentages are record highs.
“Over the last year, we have seen an increase in demand for riveting equipment and automation,” says Anthony Gianettino, general manager of BalTec Corp. “In particular, we have noticed an increase in business activity in the U.S. market, which is a positive sign for the future of manufacturing here in America. We haven’t yet seen the indicators of a downturn in our industry. We remain optimistic for the year ahead, encouraged by the long-range economic forecasts and the fact that many companies are making investments now to meet future demand.”
Jake Sponsler, president of Orbitform, is less optimistic. “Those are great statistics to see although a little different than what we are seeing,” he reports. “Activity levels for 2022 have been stable, but we have seen an increased number of customer delays on the timing of purchase order releases. Due to market uncertainty, we expect a flat year with lead activity similar to 2022, but delays in decisions to continue in 2023.”
All totaled, assemblers will spend $1.09 billion on single-station assembly machines next year, a 14 percent increase from 2022.
Test and Inspection
Sales increases are also expected for test and inspection technologies. Specifically, 45 percent of assemblers will purchase leak test instruments, electrical testers, torque testers and related equipment in 2023, compared with 38 percent in 2022. Similarly, 45 percent of assemblers will buy vision systems, gauges and other inspection technology next year, a slight uptick from 2022.
Demand for test equipment should be strongest in the aerospace, medical device, and electrical and appliance industries, while demand for inspection products will be highest in the electronics and medical device sectors.
“2022 was a good year, but not an exceptional one,” relates Jacques E. Hoffmann, president of InterTech Development Co., a supplier of leak and flow test instruments. “We developed some new products this year—the Universal Leak Tester and IP 67/68 test cells—which helped drive sales. Current inquiry and quote activity, as well as a backlog of orders, indicate that 2023 should be a very good year.”
All totaled, assemblers will spend $638 million on test and inspection technology next year, an 11 percent increase from 2022.
Although sales of multistation automated assembly systems are expected to hold steady in 2023, sales of parts feeding equipment should increase. Some 27 percent of plants will purchase bowl feeders, step feeders, flex feeders and other technology next year, the highest percentage since 2009.
Demand for feeders will be strongest in the automotive, medical device and fabricated metal products industries.
“Overall, we will be increasing our shipments this year by about 10 percent,” boasts Greg Pflum, president and CEO of Performance Feeders Inc. “Our sales projections for next year are a little higher than that, because we are expanding into some new areas.”
All totaled, assemblers will spend $99 million on feeders next year, a 10 percent increase from 2022.
ASSEMBLY magazine is sent to 33,000 assembly professionals, 92 percent of whom are in the U.S.
The survey was conducted in conjunction with Clear Seas Research, an affiliate of BNP Media, ASSEMBLY magazine’s parent company. Clear Seas is a full service, B-to-B market research company. Custom research products include brand positioning, new product development, customer experiences and marketing effectiveness solutions. Clear Seas offers a broad portfolio of primary, syndicated research reports and powers the leading B-to-B panel for corporate researchers, myCLEARopinion Panel, in the architecture, engineering, construction, food, beverage, manufacturing, packaging and security industries. Learn more at clearseasresearch.com.
Questionnaires were e-mailed in mid-August to a random sample of 19,506 subscribers in management positions. Forty-one percent of respondents were engineers; 54 percent were management; and 5 percent were classified as purchasing or “other.”
The cutoff date for returning the surveys was Sept. 1. Some 240 surveys were returned for a response rate of 1 percent.
The survey was sent to manufacturers in the following industries: aerospace, electronics, appliances, fabricated metal products, furniture, machinery, medical devices, plastics and rubber products, automotive, energy and miscellaneous manufacturing.
Geographically, 16 percent of respondents were located in the Northeast, 46 percent were in the Midwest, 27 percent were in the South, and 12 percent were in the West.
Eighteen percent of respondents had 25 employees or less. In addition, 18 percent had 26 to 100 employees, 17 percent had 101 to 250 employees, and 47 percent had more than 250 employees.
Twenty-two percent of respondents assemble products that can fit inside a 12-inch cube, 18 percent make products that can fit inside a 24-inch cube, 19 percent make products that fit inside a 36-inch cube, 19 percent make products that fit inside a 6-foot cube, and 22 percent make products that are larger than a 6-foot cube.


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Grab The Best Full-Screen Display Smartphone
Tecno Mobile, a leading Hong-Kong based is coming up with lot of surprises this year for Pakistan, One of them is the launch of their upcoming product, according to the rumors this new product has full-screen and has 13MP camera. Tecno Mobile has already effectively disrupted the smartphone market in Pakistan last year with several innovative products however, it is expected that the coming gadget will set the pace for subsequent product designs in 2018.
Asides from debuting a bezel-less screen and offering users more screen space to better appreciate their multimedia content, the new TECNO gadget is supposed to revolutionize photography on a smartphone and leave people deliberating how such a simple handheld gadget can capture fantastic images like a professional DSLR camera.
Though there has not been any leaked detail about the phone’s exact specifications however, one would expect that its camera shouldn’t be less than a 13MP – Considering in mind that, the normal camera rating of their gadgets released previously, has 13MP. Unsurprisingly, other features of the camera, the hardware specs, design and the flexibility has been tipped to excite.
Interestingly, rumor has it that the brand is forecasting the launch of the new device on 8th February as they have recently started teaser campaign over digital as well. If everything goes as expected; smartphone lovers across Pakistan will soon be holding their full-screen device designed for everyone. So guys, let start the countdown, so we all can finally activate our new smartphone experience with the TECNO full-screen device.


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A Lucky Day Lottery ticket worth $300,000 was sold at a Godfrey convenience store and remained unclaimed as of Monday afternoon.
The ticket was sold at the Godfrey Motomart, at 5311 Godfrey Road, according to the Illinois Lottery website.
It was part of a drawing on Friday evening and matched all five numbers — 05 - 07 - 12 - 19 - 27 — to win a $300,000 prize, according to the Alton Telegraph.
“The Illinois Lottery urges the lucky winner to sign the back of the ticket and keep it in a safe place until they visit one of the Lottery’s five Prize Centers in Chicago, Des Plaines, Rockford, Springfield or Fairview Heights,” a previous news release stated. “Winners have one year from the original drawing date to claim their prize.”
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Lucky Day Lotto drawings are held twice a day, all week. For more information, visit illinoislottery.com.
Last week, a winning Quick Pick ticket was sold at a Sesser store but was no longer listed on the website as unclaimed Monday.
Recently, a man from Murphysboro won $20,000 from a Million $$ Match ticket and a Staunton man won $50,000 with a Power Ball ticket.


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Self-driving cars require an incredible amount of information to operate safely. Tesla and Elon Musk know this well.
Tesla Motors formally launched its long-awaited Autopilot feature on Wednesday, which is not quite a self-driving car, but rather a higher degree of autonomy. One of the new features of Autopilot: Tesla is creating high-precision digital maps of the Earth using GPS.
Read full article HERE.


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BMW’s title as one of Germany’s premier automotive manufacturers wasn’t earned overnight — the company has been producing award-winning vehicles, motors, and consumer products for over a century. In the 1960s, they developed the iconic BMW Motorrad boxer engine — and now, the two-wheeled customizers at Revival Cycles are paying homage to the legendary powerplant the only way they know how.
To house BMW Motorrad’s monstrous new boxer prototype engine, Revival set out to reinterpret the way a traditional motorcycle is built. Utilizing an entirely bespoke titanium frame that was hand-crafted in-house, the Texas-based moto company pieced together a “transparent” frame — allowing BMW’s motor to shine as a centralized piece of architecture. Inspired by the sheer size and aesthetic appeal of the engine, the builders referenced Ernst Henne’s record-setting platforms from the early 1900s for ideas on how they’d like to format the bike’s stature, resulting in a beautifully oriented, minimalist frame and an obscure angular design principle. To ensure that the bike would be ready in time for admittance into 2019’s Handbuilt Show, Revival knocked out the entire construction in just under five months.


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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Home sales in metro Baton Rouge dropped 14.6 percent in March for the first time in 18 consecutive months of year-to-year increases.
In figures released Monday by the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors, there were 647 home sales that closed in March in the nine-parish area. That compares with 758 closed sales in March 2013.
Sales in East Baton Rouge Parish, the biggest market, dropped by 19.4 percent in March, falling from 417 to 336 over the year.
The association tells The Advocate (http://bit.ly/1jvPyrS ) the sales drop wiped out virtually all of the sales gains that were experienced in the first two months of 2014.
Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com


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Google, Bing, and Yahoo aren’t going away, but they will become less important in the grand scheme of content marketing. This, according to concepts emerging from Covario’s INFLECTIONPoint 2014 event on Wednesday.
The major search engines are gaining less traction today than they once were as people turn to “niche” search engines within social media and other destination sites to find what they need. Think Facebook, Amazon, Yelp and more.
This was the focus of the Future of Search and Content Marketing talk led by Jeff MacGurn, vice president of earned media at Covario.
MacGurn began the talk by showing the rise in alternative search methods other than the traditional search engines like Google. The percentage of people who used social media to find websites increased 7 percent from 2011 to 2012, according to Forrester Research data:
In fact, not too long ago, BuzzFeed reported the massive lift in traffic it was seeing from Facebook alone.
This and other similar data points segued into the importance of multichannel content marketing. MacGurn talked about the need to serve content where the audience is. For some, that means local channels.
In fact, some industries sway towards a more mobile audience by nature, like pharmacies, restaurants, and financial institutions. Think Bank of America, said MacGurn: If users are searching for “B of A” on their mobile device, they’re not likely looking for an “about us” page; they’re looking for contact information.
So what that means is not only thinking about optimizing for the device (i.e., reponsive design), but also creating the content that matters for the device. And it’s not just the Google or Bing search engine you should be thinking about as a local merchant. Don’t forget about niche search engines like:
- Pinterest (we covered Pinterest’s move to local marketing at SEW, here)
And the future future of content marketing? Like the George Orwell “1984” future? Think about the imminent rise of devices like Google Glass, said MacGurn.
And why not? As marketers, we’re already thinking about how our content plays out across devices, as in responsive design. If equipment like Google Glass catches on as forecasts say it will, this could be the next “hot” device to optimize for.
But for now, focus on making the content the best it can be in the mediums we already have an understanding of. And MacGurn said that while content has always been king, today, he argued, context is king.
And to make great content, you need context – the story. MacGurn shared a case study he ran across that measured sentiment of images in social media.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but this study showed that a picture with a story behind it versus just a standalone picture skyrocketed the sentiment metric. Here’s an example from that case study:
So we have the devices, and within them, the media to deliver the message and the power of stories. What does this look like for search and content marketing in the future?
People have specific needs when they search, MacGurn said, and Google and Bing aren’t always the first place they go to get that information anymore. While major search engines will continue to be important, MacGurn predicts it will be “the death of a thousand paper cuts” as the big players take somewhat of a back seat to the many ways users want to find information online.


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The Gladiator is solely built at the south plant of Stellantis’ Toledo, Ohio assembly complex. As such, that’s the facility that will be stalled this week. To be clear, the production of the more popular Wrangler, built at the north plant of the same assembly complex, will not be affected.
“Stellantis continues to work closely with our suppliers to mitigate the manufacturing impacts caused by the various supply chain issues facing our industry. Due to the unprecedented global microchip shortage, production at the Toledo (Ohio) South Assembly Plant will be down the week of Aug. 2,” a Jeep spokesperson told The Drive via email.
This may be a relatively small hiccup in the broader context of the industry, but Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares is not exactly optimistic about the situation. At an Automotive Press Association event in Detroit two weeks ago, the executive said that “the semiconductor crisis, from everything I see and I’m not sure I can see everything, is going to drag into ’22 easy because I don’t see enough signs that additional production from the Asian sourcing points is going to come to the West in the near future.”
Other automotive execs have issued similar statements stressing the fact that the companies are doing the best they can in the situation, but it’s not improving at a rapid pace.
“Is there an impact this year? Absolutely,” Mary Barra, GM CEO told the press back in early May. “But the team keeps working to minimize it.”
Ford’s Jim Farley has similar things to say as well, stating in an earnings conference around the same time that “there are more whitewater moments ahead for us that we have to navigate.”
So if you have a Gladiator on order or want to purchase one soon, your plans might be a little delayed. Actually, if you want to buy a car now in general, your plans will likely be delayed. The alternative being you’ll end up spending extra cash on a “market adjustment.” Needless to say, neither of these options is desirable.
Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: [email protected]


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Telecommunication services provider Airtel has unveiled the embedded SIM (e-Sim) feature in Kenya. The eSim is fixed within the phone and cannot be physically removed.
According to the telco, the digital SIM enables customers to access same functionality as someone using a physical SIM.
In 2019, Safaricom also lunched its e SIM feature that has witnessed low uptake since then, partly because it requires high performance devices.
Airtel Kenya’s Managing Director, Ashish Malhotra said customer expectations are changing, and the telecom firms have been forced to adapt to that.
“We are confident that our customers will quickly move to our eSlM for what it delivers. Mobile users reward digital convenience therefore as a business we shall continue enabling digital transformation to deliver the full customer experience,” said Malhotra.
Group CEO, Segun Ogunsanya said the eSIM offers several benefits over the traditional SIM cards, as it is quick and simple to set up online alongside making it convenient for switching network operators between states at a much easier rate.
“With the introduction of eSIM in Kenya, Airtel continues to stay ahead of the curve where innovation is concerned by giving customers much convenience and flexibility,” said Ogunsanya.


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Kingdom Hearts 3D Wiki
Kingdom Hearts 3D Demo Playable at the Tokyo Game Show!
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News is that Final Fantasy Versus will be absent from the Tokyo Game Show this year, but a 3D remaster of Kingdom Hearts for the 3DS will be one of many exciting titles available to play in the Square Enix booth! Playable versions of Final Fantasy XIII-2, Final Fantasy Type-0, Kingdom Hearts 3D and the…


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Things are beginning to look up for dear old BT. The company recently announced good end-of-year figures and a tie-up with Vodafone to converge fixed and mobile services. The convergence project requires...
US companies can continue doing business with Huawei until 19th August
Around 100 companies in 50 countries are currently getting user data from Facebook
Hotel group is overhailing its tech stack to meet demand for more tailored services
Of 27 hacker-for-hire services contacted for Gmail account hacking, only five attempted to launch attacks against victims


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The Kia Carnival has always been known for its attractive design, and now it’s getting even better. Kia has unveiled the 2025 model year Carnival with updated front and rear-end designs, new wheels, and an all-new trim level known as Gravity, featuring a sleek blacked-out color scheme.
At the front, the Carnival sports a fresh grille texture and larger headlights that incorporate futuristic LED accent strips, making a bold statement. The taillights have also been revamped, now featuring LED strips that stretch almost the entire width of the vehicle, adding a touch of elegance. One notable highlight is the eye-catching silver and black wheels with a stylish geometric pattern.
In addition, Kia is introducing the Gravity trim level, which comes with sleek black accents on the wheels, window surrounds, and various trim elements. However, it remains uncertain whether this variant will make its way to the U.S. market and, if so, what name it will carry.
While interior photos have yet to be released, it is anticipated that Kia may introduce updates and new features to the cabin. It wouldn’t be surprising to see upgrades in the infotainment screen and the inclusion of new upholstery and trim options.
Regarding the powertrain, no changes are expected for the Carnival. The 2025 model will continue to be equipped with a 3.5-liter V-6 engine, available exclusively with front-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission.
More information on the U.S.-specific version of the 2025 Carnival is expected to be revealed in the following months. It is anticipated that the minivan will be available for sale in the U.S. either late this year or early in 2024.


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Senate bill will allow BRCC brewing program to sell beer
Unlike knitting a sweater or sculpting a vase, brewing beer in college presents a complex legal conundrum that brought some state legislators into conflict this summer about what higher learning institutions such as Blue Ridge Community College should be allowed to do with the ales and lagers they're producing on campus.
Last month, the N.C. General Assembly passed the Regulatory Reform Act of 2014, which seeks to “eliminate unnecessary or outdated statutes and regulations and modernizing or simplifying cumbersome or outdated regulations.”
The 40-page Senate bill, which awaits Gov. Pat McCrory's signature to become law, includes provisions that enable college brewing programs, under certain restrictions, to begin selling what they make.
Chris English, dean of applied technologies at Blue Ridge, said that earlier this year he met with the state's other schools offering a two-year brewing degree program — Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, Nash Community College in Rocky Mount and Rockingham Community College in Wentworth — to discuss ways to utilize the beer they brew, since currently it has to be disposed of following production.
Citing the inequities of state law that allow college wine-making programs to sell their output but not brewing programs, the colleges drafted a proposal that Mary Shuping, legislative liaison for the state community college system, took to lawmakers in Raleigh.
Among the supporters was Rep. Chuck McGrady of Hendersonville, who also argued the conflicting legal distinction between wine-making and beer-brewing, and also pointed to the economic development aspect of the craft beer industry in backing the community college section of the bill.
McGrady said Sen. Tom Apodaca, also of Hendersonville, shared his support, but the sensitive subject of alcoholic beverage production and sales on college campuses met with significant objection from several members of the House before the legislation eventually passed.
One of the major components of the bill is the authorization of college brewing programs to apply for a permit to sell their beer at a maximum of six special events during a 12-month period. Colleges will be allowed to sell the equivalent of up to 64 cases of their beer at each of these events.
“Ultimately,” said Megen Hoenk, spokeswoman for the state community college system, “it allows students in these programs to get feedback regarding what they're producing.”
It also will help colleges recoup some of the costs of running their brewing programs, and the bill requires that all net proceeds from the special events go to supporting those curriculums.
The new law would also enable current and future college brewing programs to sell their beer to distributors or retailers under a wholesaler permit. In addition, schools could give free tastings and sell their beer by the glass or in closed containers at trade shows, festivals, local fundraisers and other similar events, as well as sell “growlers” — typically 32- or 64-ounce take-home glass jugs — to restaurants and retail businesses, with use of an off-premises permit.
Shuping said the bill provides for an exemption to the Umstead Act, which prohibits state agencies from competing with private businesses.
BRCC spokeswoman Lee Anna Haney said the school's president, Molly Parkhill, will brief the college board of trustees on the impending law Monday during the board's regular monthly meeting, and begin discussions on what direction the college will take regarding its new opportunities.
In a possible preview of the kind of events the new law would allow, BRCC announced this week its first Blue Ridge Wine and Artisan Cider Festival on Oct. 25 at the college. Haney said the event will provide great exposure for BRCC and its programs, as well as for local wineries and cideries, and serve as a benefit for the college's beer and horticulture programs.
As for the new law and its immediate implications, Blue Ridge is currently producing only 5-gallon batches of beer until its much larger brewing system is up and running, so it is unlikely that enough beer will be made to supply a special event like the one next month until the spring semester, at least.
Either way, English emphasized that the focus will always be on education.
“We are not in the business of production,” he said, “we are in the business of training.”


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MANILA – ABS-CBN recently launched its own event space located just a few minutes from its main office in Quezon City.
The ABS-CBN Vertis Tent has a seating capacity of 1,200 people, and a standing capacity of 2,000 people.
The air-conditioned space is located within the Ayala Vertis North complex in Quezon City. It will be the venue for ABS-CBN’s first Christmas bazaar from December 1 to 23.
“We knew there would be a need for this type of venue for the general public, corporate events, Ayala events and, of course, ABS-CBN. The ABS-CBN Vertis Tent is here to serve your event needs, whether personal or professional,” said ABS-CBN business development head Paolo Pineda.
Ayala Malls Group head Rowena Tomeldan, for her part, said: “Imagine all types of events we can stage here where we can connect the Filipinos and give them a different experience.”
Aside from the event space, ABS-CBN will also launch another project with Ayala Malls soon.
“Last year, we decided to open the first ever retail entertainment experience in the country at the very successful Trinoma mall across [Vertis North], and this store is actually scheduled to open within the first half of 2018,” Pineda said.


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Tesla’s new home charging wall connector now works on electric vehicles even from other manufacturers, making it compatible with all EVs, at least in North America.
(Photo : by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)
A Tesla logo is seen at a charging station inside a mall in Shanghai on October 23, 2017. – Tesla has reached an agreement with Shanghai authorities that would make it the first foreign automaker to build its own plant in China, putting it in the driver’s seat in the world’s biggest electric-vehicle market, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Tesla’s New Home Charging Wall Connector
As per the report by The Verge, the quietly launched new Level 2 wall connector of Tesla comes after the EV giant, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, started welcoming other EVs from competing manufacturers to its Supercharger stations in the Netherlands.
Electrek first spotted the new home charger offering of the giant EV maker, sporting a J1772 plug, which is compatible with all of the EVs that you’ll stumble upon in the North American region, along with Tesla’s car lineup.
Although the Musk-led car maker previously announced the development of its Supercharger stations, the Tesla boss did not mention anything about the launch of the new wall connector, which comes as a surprise to many.
Tesla’s New Home Charger: How to Buy
The online listing of the new home charger boasts that the J1172 Gen 2 Wall Connector is a “convenient home charging solution for electric vehicle owners.”
(Photo : Tesla Wall Connector website )
Tesla’s new home charging wall connector works on all electric vehicles, at least in North America. Here’s how to buy one.
The listing of the Tesla wall connector further noted that its user will only need to “plug in overnight and charge while” they are sleeping. With its support to other EV brands, this convenience could extend to non-Tesla owners.
It could be bought on Tesla’s website to the tune of $419.
Tesla’s New Home Charger: What to Expect
What’s more, the new wall charger pumps 9.6 kW of power output, along with 40 amps for a single-vehicle change. On top of that, the connector also features a 7.3-meter cable length.
Not to mention that Tesla claims that it flaunts a design that could work on both outdoor and indoor settings.
Electrek further noted in the same report that the silent launch of the new Tesla home charger is the first of its kind, which did not include the proprietary connector of the EV giant.
Elsewhere, Tesla released its CCS adapter to South Korea, but North Americans have to wait for now.
Read Also: General Motors vs Tesla | Plans to Build 40,000 EV Chargers in the US While Selling Its ‘Ultium’ Level 2 Chargers for Home and Business Use
Tesla Supercharger Stations
It is worth noting that the giant EV maker further plans to open up the massive charging network of Tesla across the world, which its CEO and founder, Musk, first revealed last July 20 on Twitter.
Currently, all of the Tesla Supercharger stations in multiple locations around the world, except for the Netherlands, only cater to the EV models of the tech giant, such as the Model 3, Model S, Model Y, and the Model X.
That said, the latest development in the Netherlands is just the first step of Tesla’s endeavor to open up its charging station to non-Tesla EV owners as well.
Related Article: Tesla Superchargers Are Seeing Massive Lines, As Shared by TikTokers, But Elon Musk Say A ‘Massive Increase’ Is Coming
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Teejay Boris
ⓒ 2021 Techbyandroid.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.


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Year-to-date export volume was still up 7.1%. JOC/PIERS Economist Mario O. Moreno forecasts a 5.8% growth for 2011, slowing to 3.8% for full year 2012.
Overall U.S. containerized volume, measured in 20-foot-equivalent units, fell to just under 1.01 million TEUs in October 2011, as markets in Europe, the Mediterranean and South America tumbled.
A 7% overall drop marked the first year-over-year decline in motor vehicles in 14 months. For Northern Europe, this accounted for an exports loss of 38%. Brazilian demand for miscellaneous plastic products, wood pulp and chemicals reversed sharply, leading to a 25% decrease to 25,444 TEUs of containerized exports shipped there.
On the upswing are exports to Africa, up 20% due to increased demand for grocery products, poultry and vinyl alcohol, and China, where meat volumes jumped 195% and U.S. logs and lumber rose 64%.


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Bungie announced the newest entry into their popular Halo franchise today through a blog post on their website. The sixth game in the series will have a deep new storyline that goes places no Halo game has gone yet. We’ve got the full press release embedded below. We’re pretty excited about this one.
BUNGIE ANNOUNCES HALO 3: ODST SEQUEL
Bungie, the game studio that created the wildly-popular Halo series, is proud to announce the latest addition to the franchise: Halo 3: PTSD.
Halo 3: PTSD will continue the story of Halo 3: ODST, putting the players right on the front lines of deep emotional warfare. Experience all of the action as the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers take on their toughest enemies of all time: their feelings.
Battle fierce new enemies, like the awe-inspiring Panic Attack, or the raging Emotional Outburst. Utilize the latest weapons in the fight against Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, including the all-new Medication. Meet new allies along the way, such as Dr. Strausbaum, a kind psychiatrist who will stop at nothing to ensure the normalcy of day-to-day life is once again within the heroes’ grasp. Use the collaborative power of teamwork with up to sixteen friends in a no-holds-barred, anything-goes multiplayer Group Therapy Session. Traverse treacherous new terrain in eighteen new maps, ranging from the peaceful Quiet Room all the way to the embattled corners of your Subconscious Mind.
Game director Kevin Gainsburg said of Halo 3: PTSD, “This is the most amazing chapter in the story yet. We have really expanded on the characters so much that you almost feel like you’ve known them your entire life. And really, we all have. We’ve all got that one person in our life who flips over tables and builds a barricade as soon as they hear metal hit a concrete floor. This game will let us really delve into the lives of people suffering from this condition.”
The game is expected to go on sale in early 2013.


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Sometime last year, somewhere in the United States, a business traveler approached an airline ticket counter and for the first time encountered a new benchmark: the $2,000 domestic fare. That, according to the National Business Travel Association, was the warning bell.
It's still ringing.
At every turn, the buzz seems bleak for the business traveler. The news is brimming with proposed airline consolidations, increasing airport-hub concentration and stratospheric jet fuel prices. Rental car companies are charging more. There's talk of scarce hotel rooms. And rising travel prices are only part of an economic landscape of uncertainty.
Even companies that count heavily on business travel to remain competitive are looking for ways to trim travel expenses. They're doing it, and some of them are willing to share their cost-cutting strategies--good news on both counts, especially now.
How bad is it?
In January, the Department of Transportation's monthly report showed a 50 percent rise in jet fuel prices from November 1999 to November 2000. In that same time frame, Marianne McInerney, executive director of the National Business Travel Association (NBTA), went before the House Judiciary Committee to say that 61 percent of the nation's corporate travel managers were seeing increases of between 6 and 9 percent in business-travel fares, with members reporting average fares of $1,691 for domestic business trips and $3,542 for international. In just the first six months of 2000, McInerney told the committee, the price of a round-trip ticket between Chicago and Los Angeles went up by more than $90.
In that climate, the so-called "walk-up fares," last-minute ones used most often by business travelers, shot past the $2,000 mark.
Since 1986, air fares have increased 36 percent. And, according to the NBTA's 2001 Business Travel Forecast published October 2000, fares paid by business travelers will increase another 8 percent this year.
There is a temptation to blame all of the increase in travel expenses on the airlines; they've made themselves easy targets. But while the airlines were drawing a firestorm of attention with record flight delays, labor problems, customer-service issues and merger negotiations, the auto-rental industry was undergoing changes that went largely unheralded--yet yielded price increases only slightly less dramatic than those of air fares.
The average daily corporate rental car rate that was $48 in 1996 rose by $12, or 25 percent, to $60 in 2000. NBTA analysts attribute the lion's share of the hike to the high volume of corporate contract renewals that were renegotiated at the beginning of 1998, when 1997's $50 average leaped 12 percent, in a single bound, to an average $56.
Neil Abrams, an auto-rental industry analyst quoted in the NBTA report, pointed to another reason for more recent rate increases: "Most of the major car rental companies are now publicly owned. Managers of the companies must be able to turn a profit every quarter, and they have to be able to make money off a corporate client."
The upshot: Business travelers can expect corporate rental car rates to increase 5 percent this year to an average $63 a day, according to the NBTA's Business Travel Forecast.
The group's prognostication for 2001 hotel prices is no better: Corporate room rates also will climb 5 percent, to $192 a night, on average. In the wake of 1998's hotel building boom, lodging companies are now curtailing construction before supply outdistances demand, and affects profits.
Many corporate travel budgets aren't keeping pace.
When the NBTA surveyed its members in January--and these are travel managers who negotiate and purchase business travel for some of the nation's biggest companies--51 percent of those who responded said their travel budgets were lower than or about the same as January 2000. Here's what those corporate travel managers said their companies are doing:
- 61 percent are eliminating all but essential travel.
- 57 percent are reducing the number of employees on a trip.
- 46 percent are reducing the number of meetings.
- 43 percent are reducing the number of domestic trips.
- 77 percent are booking advance-purchase fares.
- 71 percent are booking flights on discount airlines.
- 55 percent are using "alternative" airports.
- 40 percent are requiring senior executives to fly Coach.
And they're not alone.


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Holidaymakers heading abroad have been given a timely boost after a discounted Covid-19 home testing service was introduced.
One of the biggest stumbling blocks many families and individual travellers have faced in recent months since international travel has restarted is the additional cost of pre and post-arrival coronavirus checks.
The requirement has added hundreds of pounds to the cost of an average trip and has also led to a rise in travel insurance premiums.
Government-listed home testing provider Qured is now providing portable rapid antigen test kits that can be ordered to any UK address and taken abroad.
Prices start at £35.10 with the use of promotional code for a ten per cent discount, TravelWeekly reports.
Test results are supervised and verified within two hours by a certified health advisor, in line with UK Government requirements.
Qured also offers PCR tests at discounted prices starting at £62.10 and aims to provide results within 24 hours.
The PCR kits can be used to comply with the government’s post-arrival requirements for testing on day 2 and day 8.
The discounted rate only applies to Heathrow passengers ordering home kits.
But Qured does not offer on-site testing at the airport.
Heathrow process improvement director Mark Burgess said: “As more people begin to travel, we’re working hard to ensure there are affordable and simple Covid testing options for Heathrow passengers.
“We’re delighted to add another offering through a new partnership with testing provider Qured. Their low-cost and easy-to-use test kits will make a big difference to those looking to get away this summer, especially now that all Heathrow passengers will get an additional 10% discount.”
Qured chief executive Alex Templeton said: “The technology used for testing has come an incredibly long way in a very short space of time.
“The process of taking a test is much easier than six months ago, making the experience less daunting for those travelling. Results are also available much quicker than ever before.
“We look forward to delivering an exceptional experience to Heathrow’s passengers and to work with them as travel continues to open up, enabling people to reunite with loved ones, and to reconnect with colleagues and clients for the first time in a long time.”
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Control Your Heating Costs
The ever-increasing cost of oil has many Americans fearful of the price they will pay to heat their homes this coming winter. Though the market is subject to fluctuation, industry experts predict that consumers will spend between $3,000 and $4,000 if they opt to continue heating with oil. However, as global warming continues, there are alternatives that not only will save consumers money but also promote the philosophy of saving green by going green. At Safeside Chimney, we offer the alternative of wood
stoves and pellet stoves.