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According to a report, Nintendo wants to launch its Switch successor in 2024. According to the report, a slot for physical data carriers is still planned.
Nintendo could release its long-awaited Switch successor next year. This is reported by the gaming magazine Videogameschronicle, which refers to several people familiar with the development. The website Eurogamer also writes about a release in 2024 - more precisely in the second half of the year.
According to Videogameschronicle, the next Nintendo console will have much stronger hardware than the Switch. This would force Nintendo to cut costs elsewhere: for example, the new Nintendo console will only have an LC screen for its mobile use, while the current Switch model is available with an OLED screen.
The stronger hardware would also mean that more storage is needed: the Switch only has 32 GBytes of space for games. If games want to take advantage of the better hardware with higher-resolution textures, more detailed models and prettier effects, they would need correspondingly more storage space. That costs money, which Nintendo wants to save on the screen, according to Videogameschronicle.
Nintendo still plans to go with a slot for physical media, according to the report - on the Switch, they're called "software cards." This is no longer a matter of course: Sony also offers the PS5 as a cheaper version without a disc drive, and the PS5 Slim, which is expected at the end of the year, could also be launched without a drive. Microsoft also has a drive-less console on offer with the Xbox Series S.
Rumors of a successor console to the Switch have persisted for years, but recently became more intense. First, Nintendo itself fueled the discussions about the Switch 2. Namely, in a conversation with investors, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa briefly touched on upcoming gaming consoles: The transition from the Nintendo Switch to a next-generation console should be as smooth as possible for customers, Furukawa said. In particular, the existing Nintendo account should also be used with the new console.
FTC lawsuit against Activision Blizzard was also about a "Switch 2." There, an email from Activision CEO Bobby Kotick to Nintendo President Shunturo Furukawa was shown. In it, Kotick expresses the expectation that Nintendo's upcoming console could compete with Xbox One and PS4 in terms of performance - that would be a mighty leap in performance over current Switch models, whose hardware performance has lagged behind even smartphones for years. There is still no official confirmation of the console.


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Debt fears grow at Hollinger Inc
LORD Black's Hollinger Inc was today closer to defaulting on some of its debt after saying it still cannot issue financial statements because it has been unable to obtain records from its Hollinger International affiliate.
Black appears in a US court tomorrow in a final bid to block the sale of the Telegraph newspapers to the Barclay brothers. He argues the deal must have shareholder approval.
It is just one action in a complex legal battle between Hollinger Inc and US firm Hollinger International that includes a $1.25m (£670m) racketeering claim against Black.
Hollinger Inc says it is not in compliance with the terms of $78m of its senior secured notes due in 2011 because of the lack of financial statements.
The Canadian company's main asset is its 68% voting and 18.2% equity interest in Hollinger International.
Black resigned as chief executive of Hollinger International after the board uncovered millions in disputed payments to him.
Hollinger Inc said its board has approved the start of legal proceedings to compel access to the financial records. Hollinger Inc has $18m in cash and Hollinger International has holdings worth about $250m.
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domain: news


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China has a lot of smartphone manufacturers, along with that a lot of competition on when it comes to the smartphone market. It's no wonder many of those manufacturers are looking abroad in order to expand their business. Lenovo and Huawei have already done that to some extent, they've began expanding with other companies soon to follow. Huawei has some presence in Europe, while Lenovo bought Motorola Mobility from Google and by doing that immediately opened the North American market for the company.
As I said, other companies are looking to do the same thing, like Coolpad for example, a China-based manufacturer which intends to spend millions of dollars this year in order to promote its devices in Europe, US and Southeast Asia. Xiaomi is yet another great example of a Chinese manufacturer which is doing its best to expand. They've already opened up an office in Brazil and are doing their best to start selling their devices as soon as possible, though they still have to overcome some difficulties before they can do that. You wonder why are all these manufacturers looking to expand abroad? Well, according to BNP Paribas analyst Peter you China's smartphone market is getting saturated, so if these companies want to keep on growing they have to expand outside of China. Smartphone shipments in China have quadrupled between 2011 and 2013, an information which says a lot on its own. In addition to this, smartphone sales are rising rapidly in markets like Latin America, India and Southeast Asia considering people are ditching their regular cellular phones and are buying smartphones over there. It makes all the sense in the world these manufacturers would like to expand their business to those markets.
Lenovo's Chief Executive, Yang Yuanqing, actually called China the toughest smartphone market in the world and IDC analyst Kiranjeet Kaur second that motion. There are more staggering data to account in all this, smartphone shipments in Southeast Asia jumped 400% year-over-year while Europe they went up 600% during the same time period. It is really no wonder all of these companies are trying to break into those markets as soon as possible and they will sure create some additional competition, which is always good I guess.


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Electronics, especially smartphones, are the largest selling category for e-tailers. Out of all smartphone sales in India, the online channel accounts for almost 55% share today, a bulk of which is concentrated in the hands of the top two players – Flipkart and Amazon.
As per industry estimates, Xiaomi’s e-store accounts for 9% of its overall sales whereas for Samsung and Apple, the share of e-store sales is 3% and 4% respectively.
Of this, mobile phones remained the top contributor with exports worth Rs 3,061 crore - or roughly 35% of total electronics exports - which though is still to reach pre-Covid levels which were as high as Rs 3,254 crore.
The home-grown electronics manufacturing services (EMS) player, which already produces smart TVs, LED lighting, washing machines and mobile phones, has zeroed in on a factory down south as part of the expansion plan.
"We fully stand by Wistron and are committed to working closely with the Centre and the State government and security agencies to ensure that such an incident is never repeated,” Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman of India Cellular & Electronics Association said.
This festive season, consumers can expect to find discounts of as much as 60% and cashback offers of up to 12.5% on select products. Affordable and mid-range phones are also retailing at discounts of Rs 1,000 – Rs 2,000 across all major smartphone brands.
The association’s intervention plea comes days after Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma accused industry bodies including IAMAI and Nasscom of being “silent” against alleged arm-twisting of Indian startups by American technology companies.
Samsung had distributed gift vouchers worth Rs 10,000 each for buying its Note20 from mom-and-pop stores. “But those vouchers could only be redeemed at Samsung.com,” the All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) said.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said that BCCI's decision “smacks” of “its lust for money” and questioned the urgency of the move when international mega sports events such as Olympics and WImbledon stand cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Samsung may displace Vivo and regain its No. 2 position by September end, if not the end of the June quarter, benefitting from the anti-China sentiment in India and the unavailability of fresh stocks of Chinese smartphones, experts said.
In a counter affidavit to a petition filed by Paytm in the Delhi HC , Jio said mobile phone companies cannot be held liable for “unlawful activity” occurring over calls and messages as per the telecom regulator’s Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulation (TCCCPR), 2018, aimed at checking pesky calls and messages.
Offline handset sellers, especially in cities with high Covid-19 infections, have started online portals to receive orders and deliver smartphones from neighborhood stores in less than four hours.
JioMart currently serviced by Reliance Smart, Reliance Fresh; no links yet with kiranas, WhatsApp: Analysts
The Mukesh Ambani-led retail arm currently operates 621 Reliance Fresh and Reliance Smart stores and sells over 200 metric tonnes of fruits and over 300 metric tonnes of vegetables every day. JioMart lists all the major grocery categories like fruits and vegetables, staples, dairy and bakery, snacks, beverages, personal care, home care and baby care.
While the removal of sales targets would offer some relief to beleaguered retailers who are facing a near washout in sales due to Covid-induced restrictions, this also means the brands have done away with the incentives they used to offer on meeting such sales targets, say industry players.
Experts predict smartphone sales via ecommerce platforms this festive season will capture more than half of the market and exceed offline sales for the first time, with consumers preferring home delivery to in-store shopping.
"All standalone (single) shops, neighborhood (colony) shops and shops in residential complexes are permitted to remain open in urban areas, without any distinction of essential and non-essential," the ministry of home affairs said in a notification on Friday.
All India Mobile Retailer Association (AIMRA), which represents 1.5 lakh such retailers across the country, wrote to commerce minister Piyush Goyal to not consider mobile handsets as essential items.
“We recommend allowing all physical shops dealing on sales, repair and service activity of mobile phones, mobile devices (laptops and tablets) and their supporting accessories to be opened on a limited basis (three days a week for five hours) with limited number of staff,” AIMRA said in an April 17 letter to union home minister Amit Shah.
“We would appreciate it if the Finance Ministry could approach the RBI or the respective authorities to direct NBFCs and Banks to waive off DBD (dealer by down) and MDR (merchant discount rate) charges to retailers on paper finance and on digital transactions for at least 6 months post lockdown,” All India Mobile Retailers Association said in a letter to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Industry watchers say wholesalers are holding back stocks of popular phone models in anticipation of a price rise by the month-end as production in China slows; brands as yet unaware of complaints.


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SynopsisIt was believed that smaller companies cannot absorb the economic impact of COVID-19 and many would simply shut shop. Six months later, it seems the fears may have been exaggerated.
Nearly a week after the nationwide lockdown was declared in March-end, budget hotel chain FabHotels reportedly laid off 100 employees and announced cutbacks in salaries. Among pay cuts, the company’s founders took a 25% cut while employees with CTC under Rs 25,000 saw 20% cut in their salaries. In an email sent to its released employees, FabHotels acknowledged the catastrophic blow of the pandemic towards the travel and hospitality sector and said, “Our revenues had also been hit extremely hard this month and it appears that April is going to be worse.”
However, April was not the worst. Adjusting to the pandemic reality, FabHotels adopted new tactics to bring new demand in the industry. During the initial phases of lockdown, as the government turned schools, hospitals and hotels into quarantine centres for Covid patients and stranded Indians from abroad, FabHotels extended its support. Collaborating with state governments of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and hospitals such as Apollo, Columbia Asia, and Safdarjung, the hospitality chain offered quarantine stay packages to stranded guests, medical authorities and healthcare professionals at heavily discounted rates.
“A lot of these stranded Indians were migrant workers coming from the Middle East and South Africa. Even for medical staff including doctors and nurses, it wasn’t safe to return home to their families after a 12-14 hour shift in the hospital. Therefore while contributing to the community, we could channel demand and generate a lot of business during this period,” Adarssh Mnpuria, co-founder, FabHotels, told ET Digital.
As the country unlocked, the company tapped into the work from home culture, introducing Work-from-FabHotels initiative offering workation (work plus vacation) packages to employees working in the BPO, IT, consulting sector. It offers contactless 30-second check in, trained housekeeping staff for maintaining hygiene and sanitization and high speed internet and work infrastructure.
According to Mnpuria, the company witnessed a 60% month-on-month growth in June and July.
When the coronavirus hit the country small businesses were looking at a bleak future of dried-up funds, dipping investments and plunging demand. Salary cuts and layoffs were witnessed even among the high profile startups such as Ola, Zomato, Swiggy, cure.fit, Acko, Vogo, among others in early days of the lockdown. Six months later, startups which braced for the worst appear to have done substantially better than the anticipated damage.
FabHotel’s workation offers people contactless check in and high speed internet among other facilities.The numbers?
So how bad did it get? A survey by Nasscom in May said the startup sector was bleeding with nine in 10 startups registering a decline in revenues and a little over a third halting operations temporarily or permanently. The two month-long survey, which received responses from over 250 startups across sectors, found that 40% of startups had either temporarily halted operations or were in the process of shutting down. It is not clear how many finally shut down.
It gets even hazier as the Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha said, the government has no data available on how many startups and small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) were shut down during the lockdown.
It is difficult to say if small businesses stayed afloat because of these cuts and cost rationalization, but the closure of Smaaash in September was the most high-profile one recently.
The ferocity of the virus and the sudden lockdown took everyone by surprise. The year 2020 was supposed to be a good year, especially for startups as it came after a record fund-raising 2019 where an estimated $14.5billion was raised.
With the lockdown, the fall for companies was swift. In February this year, bike and scooter rental firm Vogo raised $19.5 million in Series C round. Nearly a month after this, the company reportedly slashed 15% of its total workforce. However, as the Unlock phase kicked off in May opening up travel and transport, Vogo made a comeback announcing new initiatives such as Vogo Now, Vogo Keep, and Vogo Flexi Keep for short and long-term rental of scooters. The company also introduced home drop delivery service of scooters by field staff equipped with safety kits and raised hygiene standards.
“Post lockdown, further to resuming our operations in May 2020, we have received an overwhelming response from both the cities and have bounced back to 40% of our pre-lockdown levels. We have witnessed a strong month-on-month recovery post-lockdown and have registered 25% growth in August 2020. Our transactions are majorly dominated by Vogo KEEP which is 70% of the overall bookings,” Anand Ayyadurai, Co-founder and CEO, Vogo told ET Digital.
Ayyadurai added that the company has begun hiring in its software engineering team.
Similarly, for vehicle insurance firm Acko, which laid off around 45 employees in the marketing, customer service and operation segments initially, completed its appraisal process recently. The company even introduced a performance-based long term incentive plan (LTIP) for its employees with a combination of ESOP and cash bonuses up to 50% as business bounced back.
According to Ruchi Deepak, co-founder, Acko, the company has added new partner platforms to reach customers for existing business lines like car and bike insurance. She added that the auto direct business is already 50% higher than pre-Covid levels and believes that B2B2C business will be back as the partners in travel and shared mobility will come back to normalcy.
Vogo founders (from left) Padmanabhan Balakrishnan, Anand Ayyadurai and Sanchit Mittal.“After cutting costs in initial phases of lockdown, we rationalized expenses through commercial renegotiation and optimised cash flows with better credit periods from vendors and service providers. Customer centric initiatives like ease of buying products and improving service by removing physical verification steps have been helpful. This is the moment for digital platforms like Acko, as preference moves to on-line purchase,” she said.
Time to innovate
For pre-owned vehicle platform Cars24, the lockdown led business to a complete halt, followed by cash flow issues and revenue tanking to zero. In April, it released a statement saying the founders will forgo 100% of their salaries for the next six months and offered its employees ESOPs instead of voluntary pay cuts to keep the business afloat. Gajendra Jangid, Co-founder and CMO, CARS24, told ET Digital that the company also cut down non-discretionary spends including expenditure on marketing.
However, since necessity is the mother of innovation, Cars24 came up with the initiative of home inspection and trained its staff on maintaining social distancing and hygiene standards while conducting business.
“As finances were a concern for many because of job losses, pay cuts, closure of businesses etc., we also introduced ‘Loan against Car’ with same day approval and easy documentation. One can get their car inspected and get a loan up to 100 percent of their car’s present value without the need of selling it; as a car is the safest way to travel in these unprecedented times,” Jangid said.
The company ventured into the two-wheeler market launching Cars24 Moto where customers can buy used bikes and scooters online. Three months after its launch, Cars24 bought over 1000 two-wheelers.
Cars24 saw a 200% recovery in the website traffic and 100% recovery in the car transactions in August. Post-lockdown, from July to August, the overall transactions have jumped by 22% month over month.
Startup community TiE Delhi-NCR recently released a report with Zinnov which stated that 75% of startups are gradually recovering post lockdown. Nearly 30% of startups have pivoted to newer markets for alternative revenue streams, while over 55% of startups are focusing on profitability and reducing cash burn.
The overall transactions of Cars24 has jumped by 22% month over month.“Resilience and re-imagination are two mantras which can tide even through the toughest times. Entrepreneurs need to not let a challenge go waste and should utilise it. Some of the best companies are built in a crisis or downturn. Last six months have shown how industry, entrepreneurs, investors & stakeholders came forward to collaborate & extend support as much as possible during this time.,” Geetika Dayal, Executive Director, TiE Delhi-NCR said.
Not just startups but even investors had hit the panic button six months ago. A survey by CRISIL conducted in May and June stated that nearly 90 percent of private equity and venture capital investors envisaged a drop in fund-raising activities over the next six to 12 months because of the impacts of COVID-19. Further, leading VC firm Sequoia Capital identified COVID-19 as the ‘black swan of 2020’ moment in a note to its portfolio companies.
However, a few months down the line, investments seemed to have picked up and the VC trust in their portfolio companies appears to remain strong. Acko in September raised $60 million in funding from Munich Re and other existing investors such as RPS Ventures and Amazon. FabHotels is also reportedly looking to raise Rs 10.66 crore from Singapore-based RB Investments.
“The damage did not happen to the extent expected. Most VC-funded companies were given extra money by their backers to tide over this period. VCs continued to believe in the fundamental thesis of the space held good,” Rehan Yar Khan, Managing Partner, Orios Venture Partners, Co-chair, IVCA VC Council, said.
Speaking on similar lines, Pranav Pai, Founding Partner, 3one4 Capital, told ET Digital, that over 2019, the Indian startup ecosystem raised more than $14.5 billion in funding – a record. Therefore, since most of the market leaders were well funded and had built up balance sheet strength as they entered 2020, it helped many startups to sustain.
“Capital flows are still constrained and it will take time for the velocity from 2019 to re-emerge in the mid and late stages. However, founders are actively rebalancing growth and profitability to ensure that they maintain optionality as things evolve,” Pai said.
He added, “As an early stage VC, we have maintained our investment pace on new portfolio additions over the last three quarters. We have seen an understandable decline in mid and late-stage follow-on funding due to the global uncertainty. This has resumed selectively now. We expect many business models that have accelerated their growth through this time to benefit from the incoming investment interest in India.”
According to Ashish Sharma, CEO, InnoVen Capital, the firm took a back seat between April-June. In July, it resumed its investments and closed 6-7 transactions.
“No one had a playbook on how to navigate this crisis but I have been very impressed with the way startups moved fast to assess the situation, do scenario planning and then made the tough decisions–whether it be changes to business models, right sizing of cost structures or improving unit economics,” he said.
According to a report by KPMG- Private Enterprise’s Venture Pulse Q2 2020 Report, despite the slowdown in VC funding, India remains a key market for investors. It said that VC investment in India is expected to remain muted in Q3’20, except for fintech, healthtech, agritech, and gaming.
“The ongoing interest in India is expected to help keep VC deals occurring in the country, if at a slower rate. While Q3 results may also be soft, investment is expected to rebound by the end of 2020,” the KPMG report said.


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If this is your first time reading a Bitcoin (BTC-USD)(COIN)(OTCQX:GBTC) Value Indicator report, you may want to refer to the original article, where I explain the three strongest corollaries with Bitcoin's market cap. You also may want to read the first Bitcoin Value Indicator report, published in July of this year, where I explain further how I turned those metrics into a consolidated system.
Various journalists, economists, and the central bank of Estonia have voiced concerns that bitcoin is a Ponzi scheme. In 2013, Eric Posner, a law professor at the University of Chicago, stated that "a real Ponzi scheme takes fraud; bitcoin, by contrast, seems more like a collective delusion." A 2014 report by the World Bank concluded that bitcoin was not a deliberate Ponzi scheme.:7 The Swiss Federal Council:21 examined the concerns that bitcoin might be a pyramid scheme; it concluded that, "Since in the case of bitcoin the typical promises of profits are lacking, it cannot be assumed that bitcoin is a pyramid scheme." In July 2017, billionaire Howard Marks referred to bitcoin as a pyramid scheme.
^ Jump up to: a b c d "Statement of Jennifer Shasky Calvery, Director Financial Crimes Enforcement Network United States Department of the Treasury Before the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on National Security and International Trade and Finance Subcommittee on Economic Policy" (PDF). fincen.gov. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. 19 November 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
Bitcoin has become more widely traded as of 2017, and both short term traders and long-term investors are looking to participate in this exciting market. The price of bitcoin fluctuates on a daily basis, and can see some significant price volatility. Prices can be affected by numerous influences. Some of the possible drivers of price include: further acceptance, more exchanges opening, regulations, weakening paper currency values, inflation and more.
Bitcoin is pseudonymous, meaning that funds are not tied to real-world entities but rather bitcoin addresses. Owners of bitcoin addresses are not explicitly identified, but all transactions on the blockchain are public. In addition, transactions can be linked to individuals and companies through "idioms of use" (e.g., transactions that spend coins from multiple inputs indicate that the inputs may have a common owner) and corroborating public transaction data with known information on owners of certain addresses. Additionally, bitcoin exchanges, where bitcoins are traded for traditional currencies, may be required by law to collect personal information.
17-20 November 2017 $7,600-8,100 Briefly topped at USD $8004.59/BTC at 01:14:11 UTC before retreating from highs. At 05:35 UTC on 20 November 2017 it stood at USD$7,988.23/BTC according to CoinDesk. This surge in bitcoin may be related to developments in the 2017 Zimbabwean coup d'état. The market reaction in one bitcoin exchange is alarming as 1 BTC topped nearly US$13,500, just shy of 2 times the value of the International market.
Speculation drives numbers. Many Bitcoin users are holding onto their bitcoins in hopes of selling them off for an enormous profit one day. With news articles portraying Bitcoin millionaires as lucky kids who got in early, you can’t really blame them. For example, if you had spent your $5 latte money on 2,000 bitcoins one morning in 2010, they would be worth about $5.4 million today. Makes you really wish you’d managed your Starbucks budget better, doesn’t it?
Another interesting way (literally) to earn bitcoins is by lending them out, and being repaid in the currency. Lending can take three forms – direct lending to someone you know; through a website which facilitates peer-to-peer transactions, pairing borrowers and lenders; or depositing bitcoins in a virtual bank that offers a certain interest rate for Bitcoin accounts. Some such sites are Bitbond, BitLendingClub and BTCjam. Obviously, you should do due diligence on any third-party site.
The price of bitcoins has gone through cycles of appreciation and depreciation referred to by some as bubbles and busts. In 2011, the value of one bitcoin rapidly rose from about US$0.30 to US$32 before returning to US$2. In the latter half of 2012 and during the 2012–13 Cypriot financial crisis, the bitcoin price began to rise, reaching a high of US$266 on 10 April 2013, before crashing to around US$50. On 29 November 2013, the cost of one bitcoin rose to a peak of US$1,242. In 2014, the price fell sharply, and as of April remained depressed at little more than half 2013 prices. As of August 2014 it was under US$600. During their time as bitcoin developers, Gavin Andresen and Mike Hearn warned that bubbles may occur.
The concept of a virtual currency is still novel and, compared to traditional investments, Bitcoin doesn't have much of a longterm track record or history of credibility to back it. With their increasing use, bitcoins are becoming less experimental every day, of course; still, after eight years, they (like all digital currencies) remain in a development phase, still evolving. "It is pretty much the highest-risk, highest-return investment that you can possibly make,” says Barry Silbert, CEO of Digital Currency Group, which builds and invests in Bitcoin and blockchain companies.
The bitcoin blockchain is a public ledger that records bitcoin transactions. It is implemented as a chain of blocks, each block containing a hash of the previous block up to the genesis block[a] of the chain. A network of communicating nodes running bitcoin software maintains the blockchain.:215–219 Transactions of the form payer X sends Y bitcoins to payee Z are broadcast to this network using readily available software applications.
The future of global payments could be in the early stages of significant change, with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies gaining in popularity and use. These charts can keep you up to date on Bitcoin prices and market activity, and can be a useful tool for timing purchases or sales. While prices could go down as well as up, the Bitcoin market has enormous potential, and prices seen in 2017 could eventually look like a genuine bargain.a
The Bank for International Settlements summarized several criticisms of bitcoin in Chapter V of their 2018 annual report. The criticisms include the lack of stability in bitcoin's price, the high energy consumption, high and variable transactions costs, the poor security and fraud at cryptocurrency exchanges, vulnerability to debasement (from forking), and the influence of miners.
Full clients verify transactions directly by downloading a full copy of the blockchain (over 150 GB As of January 2018). They are the most secure and reliable way of using the network, as trust in external parties is not required. Full clients check the validity of mined blocks, preventing them from transacting on a chain that breaks or alters network rules. Because of its size and complexity, downloading and verifying the entire blockchain is not suitable for all computing devices.
Bitcoin is a digital currency created in 2009. It follows the ideas set out in a white paper by the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, whose true identity has yet to be verified. Bitcoin offers the promise of lower transaction fees than traditional online payment mechanisms and is operated by a decentralized authority, unlike government-issued currencies.
Jump up ^ Mooney, Chris; Mufson, Steven (19 December 2017). "Why the bitcoin craze is using up so much energy". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 9 January 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018. several experts told The Washington Post that bitcoin probably uses as much as 1 to 4 gigawatts, or billion watts, of electricity, roughly the output of one to three nuclear reactors.


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Beat the cost of living crisis – go on holiday
As inflation rages, energy bills soar and the pound tanks, what’s a good way to save money this winter? Go on holiday, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
What a thing it must be to unexpectedly find yourself prime minister – or chancellor. What a thing it must also be to find yourself in one of those situation when it’s all going wrong.
Prices in the UK are still rising fast (not just for households, companies are being hit by the energy bill madness too). Economists used to think inflation would peak around 10% – and that was considered a bit out there. Now forecasts of 20% aren’t considered out there at all (analysts at Goldman Sachs are forecasting 22% by next year). Interest rates are set to keep rising (perhaps to an almost historically normal sounding 4% or so). House prices are beginning to stall in response (flattish in July and August on the latest numbers from Halifax).
There could be a sterling crisis under way. The stockmarket isn’t exactly covering itself in glory: the FTSE 250 is down 21% year to date and the latest data from the Investment Association shows money pouring out of UK equities. Total outflows from UK open-ended funds by retail investors come to some £11.5bn this year already. We think there is significant value in the UK equity market (valuations are far from challenging). Clearly not everyone agrees.
Liz Truss would have known as she stepped through the door of No.10 this week that she hasn’t got much time to have a bash at sorting things out. In a sense that gives her a huge opportunity to be radical: with two years left to a general election and her party very behind in the polls what’s the downside (for her at least) to being radical? We look at her first attempts at this in politics, but are also watching to see what might come next.
A good time for a holiday
Tiny silver linings for you. First savings rates have risen a little – it is now possible to get 3.5% on your savings (a mere seven percentage points or so less than inflation!).
Second, the Daily Mail has come up with an utterly brilliant way for you to save money: leave the UK. Not for ever, of course, but for at least a few weeks of what looks like it will be an unpleasantly expensive (and angry) winter.
If you go to Valencia, you can apparently pick up a three-week cruise to Dubai for £775 a head all inclusive. That looks pretty good (too good to be true?) if you consider that the average monthly household budget in the UK based on 2.4 people is around £2,500 – and that’s before taking into account inflation. Otherwise there is a nice looking 17-night cruise from Genoa to Port Canaveral for £749.
Or perhaps, if you want to stay closer to home and cut the travel-to-boat cost, consider a ten-day round trip from Marseille (taking in Lisbon at one end and Sardinia at the other) for just £789. None of these will feel like the most luxurious trip you’ve ever been on (think cheap wine and an inside lower deck cabin), but I’m not sure staying at home is going to feel that good either.


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Little Witch in the Woods update 126.96.36.199 is now available to download on PC(Steam). According to the official Little Witch in the Woods patch notes, the latest update brings some minor tweaks and changes to the game.
Unfortunately, since the last patch, players are facing several problems when trying to play the game. Today’s Little Witch in the Woods patch 188.8.131.52 will solve a few of these problems.
Check out more details below.
Download the free update on PS4, PC, and Xbox One.


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The NHTSA is investigating the timeliness of the GM ignition switch recall that includes over 1.36 million vehicles.
The McLaren 650S Coupe and Spider will be available at launch.
Blue Oval Cites Less Wind Noise, Better Economy
A Kia Sorento prototype has been spotted again.
This bumper-standing drag Ford Mustang sports a 2000-hp nitrous-fed 706-cubic-inch V-8 engine
What's your favorite movie car of all time?
Photos of the Volvo Concept Estate have surfaced on the web before its big debut in Geneva, and it looks great.
The Mercedes-Benz AMG GT is getting closer and closer to production, if this latest batch of spyshots is to be believed.
Minor updates have been made to the 2015 Lexus RX350, RX450h, and the RX F Sport including a new backup camera.
The 2015 Ford Mustang will make its first movie appearance in the upcoming "Need For Speed" movie.


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Days after Amazon's Jeff Bezos warning of an impending recession, his billionaire counterpart Elon Musk on Wednesday said US Federal Reserve's actions are "massively amplifying the probability of a severe recession".
Musk's remarks on Twitter came in an exchange with Tesmanian co-founder Vincent Yu who said he's "expecting a real economic recession in 2023, be prepare for any macro storm ahead of us".
Musk said, "Trend is concerning. Fed needs to cut interest rates immediately. They are massively amplifying the probability of a severe recession."
Musk said 'exactly' to a tweet by NorthmanTrader founder Sven Henrich that read, "The Fed stayed too easy for too long totally misreading inflation and now they've tightened aggressively into the highest debt construct ever without accounting for the lag effects of these rate hikes risking they'll be again late to realize the damage done."
In a similar exchange on October 24, the world’s richest man estimated a global recession could last "until the spring ’24", though he noted he was "just guessing".
In recent days, Fed officials have said they expect smaller increases ahead than the four consecutive 75 basis point increases seen this year. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will addressing the public Wednesday afternoon (US time) in a speech to be delivered at the Brookings Institution.
The Brookings panel will likely be Powell's final public remarks before the December 13-14 meeting, when officials are expected to approve a half-percentage-point rate increase that will bring the total policy tightening this year to 4.25 percentage points, including the kickoff 25-basis-point hike on March 16.
Bezos recently warned consumers and businesses in a CNN interview that they should consider postponing large purchases in the coming months as an economic recession might be in the offing.
The billionaire told American families not to buy new cars and TVs as US is staring at a recession, with household debt soaring to $16.5 trillion and Americans relying on credit to make ends meet.
“My advice to people, take some risks off the table. If you’re going to make a purchase, maybe slow down that purchase a little bit. Keep that cash, see what happens - take some risks off the table," advised Bezos.
"If you're an individual considering to purchase a big-screen TV, you might want to wait, hold onto your money, and see what transpires. The same is true with a new automobile, refrigerator, or whatever else. Just remove some risk from the equation," said Bezos during the interview.
Copyright©2023 Living Media India Limited. For reprint rights: Syndications Today


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This week, in an admission of wrongdoing rocking the automotive world, Japanese supplier Kobe Steel copped to falsifying claims. Per ABC News, they lied in material strength claims. Needless to say, the news quickly reverberated in the car and truck world.
Dating back 112 years, Kobe Steel is Japan’s third-largest steelmaker. According to a company spokesperson, the misrepresentation of quality figures is systemic. Reports state they occurred in all four of the company’s plants. The lies began in 2007.
The exact impact of the steel maker’s indiscretions are still unclear, but Japanese securities analysts predict possible recalls. This is not unlike the faulty airbag situation with Takata Corporation. Takata’s June bankruptcy brought to a close a drawn-out black mark on the auto industry, just as it was suffering from Volkswagen’s emission cheating scandal.
What car companies will suffer? Well, among Kobe Steel’s clients are Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Mazda in Japan. GM, and Ford in the U.S. use kobe parts. In other words, almost every car on the streets today. Toyota states that misrepresented Kobe products are in their car hoods, doors, and peripheral areas.
Toyota reacted quickly to the news. “We are rapidly working to identify which vehicle models might be subject to this situation and what parts were used. We recognize that this breach of compliance principles on the part of a supplier is a grave issue,” said a Toyota spokesman.
Meanwhile, Honda says that bad Kobe metals are in its doors and hoods as well. Mazda has confirmed use of Kobe aluminum. Outside of the automotive industry, bogus Kobe products are in planes, trains, and at least one space rocket.
Yes, it appears that bogus parts are on a space rocket. Doubtless, this will lead to a “come to Jesus” moment for at least one rocket maker.
Whether Kobe’s indiscretion will lead to automotive recalls is anyone’s guess, at least for now. Each car maker will examine their Kobe parts inventory to determine if drivers and passengers are in danger. As for Kobe’s future as a company, that tale is still in its infancy. It does not look good. The car industry will react harshly.
Gildshire will monitor the situation, because this is explosive news. Industrial integrity seems in short supply these days, at least when it comes to cars.
Stay tuned, because your safety on the road could be up for grabs. Who knew we had to worry about the metal on our own car?


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During this time of pandemic as all of us are facing problems in doing all the things in a smooth manner. Therefore many students are not able to file the Forms online properly or not able to make online payment for training program or payment for industrial training application, because of which late fees is being charged on them.
ICAI has taken the above issue into consideration and announced that no late fee shall be charged from students till 30.06.2020 for any application forms whose date falls between 01.03.2020 to 30.05.2020.
ICAI announcement for students
You can read the announcement HERE.
This article is just for information purpose it is always advisable to hire a professional for practical execution. If you need assistance you can ask a question to our expert and get the answer within an hour or post a comment about your views on the post and also subscribe to our newsletter for latest weekly updates.


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JPMorgan Chase CEO gets 74% pay raise
Published 7:15 pm, Friday, January 24, 2014
Number of the day
That's how much JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon's pay increased last year. Dimon, who's also chairman of the bank, got $20 million - mainly in stock - to bring his package closer to where it was before the board faulted his oversight of botched derivatives bets. Directors cut Dimon's package in half last January after the London Whale trading debacle in 2012 that caused the bank to lose more than $6.2 billion.
"Marijuana is the best growth industry probably in the next five to 10 years."
Leaster Gibson, 38, an investor from Missouri, on his interest in backing companies that cater to the needs of pot users. Gibson was attending a conference in Las Vegas organized by San Francisco angel-investor firm ArcView where entrepreneurs pitched ideas, including refills for e-cigarettes and handheld testing devices. Investment interest has surged since voters in Colorado and Washington became the first to legalize recreational marijuana use in 2012.
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Apple reports earnings Monday, and Wall Street expects net income to slide 3.1 percent to $12.7 billion. Sales may rise 5.4 percent to $57.5 billion. The technology giant's quarter will hinge on the performance of its new iPhones and iPads during the holiday shopping season. Apple's results have stagnated without an entirely new product since 2010. It's is also under pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn to boost its stock buybacks.


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January 25, 2010
Latest Apple rumor says AT&T ousted as exclusive iPhone carrier, just two days more to find out
Amongst the big announcements due to be made by Apple on the 27th, it’s also a rumor that they could be dropping AT&T as the exclusive carrier for their iPhone. This is just more speculation about Apple’s secret unveiling and announcement event though. This is just a rumor for now and we’ll just have to wait and see what the actual scoop is, but if this is Apple’s plan, I’m very curious to know who’s going to take up the mantle of official iPhone carrier in the US. If I got my way, it’d be an open device to be shared by one and all. Too bad my way is the highway. Nevertheless, AT&T must be quite upset if this is all true. It’s just a matter of time before the word is out of the Apple’s mouth.


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WARC subscribers can read
Discover Puerto Rico: #CoverTheProgress
Discover Puerto Rico, the tourism brand, challenged the media to take responsibility for the tone of its Puerto Rico coverage around the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria.
By only relying on personal opinions or guesswork, not facts, you risk wasting millions of dollars, losing credibility and impact.
Access unbiased, evidence-based insights that save you time and help you make marketing choices that work.
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Sangeetha G, Financial Chronicle, 25/8/11
National Spot Exchange is launching nickel and steel under the e-series products next month. The exchange also has been witnessing over 100 per cent increase in volumes as well as the number of new accounts opened in the month of August as the gold prices started escalating to record high levels almost on a daily basis.
NSEL currently has five products in the ‘e-series’ — e-gold, e-silver, e-copper, e-lead and e-zinc. Of the two new products, e-nickel will be available in one kg contract and e-steel in one quintal. “Nickel prices have come down from Rs 2500 a kg some time back to Rs 900 and Rs 1000. The fundamentals in steel are strong and prices are expected to firm up with increased demand from the industry. We expect good interest from the retail investors as well from the metal consumers,” Anjani Sinha, CEO of NSEL told Financial Chronicle.
The exchange has been seeing increasing interest from the investor community after the gold prices started the bull-run. “Increased interest from retail investors has been evident in the e-products as they are not affected by the day-to-day volatility in the metals. Around 17,000 new accounts were opened in the month of August against the usual 8,000 to 9,000 accounts a month. The volumes too have increased over 100 per cent. From Rs 100 to 120 crore a day, the daily turnover of e-gold on some days of August has also gone up to Rs 250 crore. Similarly, the turnover in e-silver also has gone up from Rs 160 crore to Rs 300 crore,’ he said.


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Greater Pittsburgh Area , Verizon seems to really love you. Your 4G service has expanded in your area. New 4G Towers in Prospect,Butler County; Henry Clay and Fairchance, Fayette County; and North Versailles, Allegheny County have helped to cover even more of the Greater Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania area in blazing fast data speeds. Add this to the other 13 4G area’s in Western PA and you have almost complete coverage for our entire area. These new towers come online today Sept. 20 2012 and will give you data speeds you never thought possible. Not only that, but this also increases the coverage are for HomeFusion 4G Broadband. So hop on your 4G enabled device and check out how fast the press release below loads.
Verizon Wireless Expands High-Speed 4G LTE Network In The Greater Pittsburgh Area on Sept. 20
America’s Largest 4G LTE Network Covers More Than 75 Percent of the U.S. Population
PITTSBURGH –Verizon Wireless today announced that customers in the Greater Pittsburgh area will haveaccess to its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in more places when the company expandsits 4G LTE network on Sept. 20 in Prospect, Henry Clay, Fairchance and North Versailles. The Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network covers more than 75 percent of the U.S. population and has more coverage than all other U.S. wireless providers combined. Verizon Wireless has announced its intention to provide 4G LTE coverage in 400 markets across the United States before the end of 2012.
Verizon Wireless first launched its 4G LTE network in Pittsburgh in December 2010. The 4G LTE coverage area in Greater Pittsburgh currently includes Beaver Falls, Robinson Twp., Penn Hills, Mt. Lebanon, Monroeville, McKeesport, Greensburg, Connellsville, Uniontown, Ellwood City, New Alexandria, Latrobe and Ligonier.
“The expansion of our 4G LTE network enables customers in more parts of Greater Pittsburgh to stay in touch like never before – uploading, downloading and connecting online with speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G,” said Mark Frazier, president–Ohio/Pennsylvania/West Virginia Region. “We will continue expanding and enhancing our 4G LTE network in the area and across the country to provide our customers with the best wireless experience possible and enable them to take advantage of the innovations that are being brought to market through 4G LTE technology.”
In August, national research company RootMetrics® announced that Verizon Wireless’ network in Pittsburgh outperformed the competition in combined data, voice and text performance in independent wireless testing conducted so far this year. RootMetrics’ research reflects the customer experience in specific geographic areas, providing customers with valuable insights about wireless service options in the area where they use their wireless devices most frequently. The RootScore™ Report analyzed results from 27,704 real-world data, call and text tests of the major wireless carriers’ networks in Pittsburgh.
Customers in the area can take advantage of HomeFusionBroadband?, which leverages the power and speed of the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network to deliver high-speed, in-home Internet access, particularly in areas where Internet options are limited or unavailableVerizon Wireless offers the largest selection of 4G LTE devices ranging from tablets and mobile hotspots to the latest smartphones and more, including the Samsung Galaxy S® III and the DROID INCREDIBLE 4G LTE by HTC. Details can be found at www.verizonwireless.com/4GLTE, and information on plans and pricing for consumers and businesses is available at www.verizonwireless.com/plans.
For customers with new 4G LTE-enabled devices or looking to purchase 4G LTE-enabled devices, Verizon Wireless offers in-store and online Wireless Workshops that provide customers with the information they need to maximize their wireless experiences on smartphones and tablets. For more information, visit a local Verizon Wireless Communications Store or www.verizonwireless.com/workshops.
4G LTE Coverage and Speed
In real-world, fully loaded network environments, Verizon Wireless 4G LTE customers should experience average data rates of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps on the uplink.
When customers travel outside of a 4G LTE coverage area, 4G LTE devices automatically connect to Verizon Wireless’ 3G network, enabling customers to stay connected from coast to coast. Verizon Wireless’ 3G network is the most reliable high-speed data network in the country and allows customers in 3G coverage areas who purchase 4G LTE devices today to take advantage of 4G LTE speeds when the faster network becomes available in their area, or when they travel to areas already covered by 4G LTE.
For more information about Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network, visit www.verizonwireless.com/lte.
For more news and stories specific to the Verizon Wireless Midwest Area
Visit and subscribe to our blog: http://vzwmidwestarea.com/.
For Verizon Wireless Updates on Twitter
Stay in the know about Verizon Wireless news in Pennsylvania by following @VZWLaura on Twitter at http://twitter.com/vzwlaura. For the latest network-related news, information and upgrades, follow @VZWNews on Twitter at http://twitter.com/VZWNews
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s largest 4G LTE network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves 94.2 million retail customers, including 88.8 million retail postpaid customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 78,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
Author: Ben Oaks
Ben is a 911 Telecomunicator and a tech nut. Ben was born and raised in the Greater Pittsburgh Area. He reviews Verizon Wireless products for Techburgh.com and is the owner of Cerebral-Overload.com. His hope is to bring you the reviews you want to give you an informed decision on products you may be looking into.


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Quixote Corp., a diversified company in Chicago, is selling its biggest operating unit--a disc-manufacturing business--to Canada's Cinram Ltd. for about $80 million.
"We believe the (disc) industry is moving toward consolidation, so we decided to focus on our first and foremost business, which is making energy absorption systems," company spokeswoman Joan Riley said Monday. Quixote makes highway crash cushions and related automotive and highway safety products.
The disc-manufacturing subsidiary, which makes music compact discs and CD-ROM discs, accounted for about 63 percent of Quixote's $82.4 million in sales in the fiscal year ending June 30.
Quixote will be left with about 350 of its current 980 employees. Riley said the company plans to expand its core energy absorption business by acquisitions, new-product development and an increased international presence. She said Quixote does not plan to diversify into other areas.
Part of the sale proceeds will be used to reduce the company's $54 million debt. The sale is subject to Quixote shareholder approval and is expected to be concluded within 90 days.


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The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved creation of a national bench of the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT).
The GSTAT will be presided over by its president and will consist of one Technical Member (Centre) and one Technical Member (State). The bench will be located in New Delhi.
The creation of GSTAT's national bench will cost one-time expenditure of Rs 92.50 lakh while the recurring expenditure will Rs.6.86 crore per year, said Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister of Law and Justice and Electronics and Information Technology.
He was briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, which was presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The GSTAT is a forum of second appeal in GST laws and the first common forum of dispute resolution between the Centre and states.
The appeals against the orders in first appeals issued by the appellate authorities under the Central and State GST Acts lie before the GST Appellate Tribunal which is common under the Central as well as State GST Acts.
Being a common forum, GST Appellate Tribunal will ensure uniformity in redressal of disputes arising under GST, and thus in smooth implementation of GST across the country.


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Atradius Collections has grown its international presence into Portugal on the heels of opening new offices in Indonesia, Morocco and Dubai in the last two years. The purchase backs Atradius Collections’ long-term aims of continually furthering its understanding of local markets and its existence in them.
Understanding of local business methods and culture is essential to performing well in debt collections, according to the announcement, which said that a foothold in Portgual lets the company offer better debt collection services to clients that are owed money by borrowers in the area.
“Customers expect us to collect their outstanding receivables while respecting the local business practices and culture. By opening a location in Portugal, we meet those expectations and it follows our strategic direction to strengthen even more our understanding of local businesses and our service delivery,” Atradius Collections COO Rudi De Greve said in the announcement.
Atradius Collections says it offers trade invoice collection services in 96 percent of the nations in the world. The company’s offerings range from “accounts receivable management outsourcing and third-party collections to legal collections,” according to the announcement.
Cash flow problems have always been an problem for small companies, although per PYMNTS data, the pandemic period has added urgency to the problem. Approximately 37 percent of Main Street small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) reported facing cash flow shortages in the early months of COVID-19, with 26 percent utilizing their personal credit cards to even out shortages.
A massive part of the problem, Penny Co-Founder and CEO Colin Gunnell told PYMNTS in a recent conversation, is that SMBs need to spend too much time chasing payments or accelerating them. On average, in the United Kingdom, where Penny is based, he said small companies will dedicate 32 working days per year seeking and recovering the funds that they are owed.


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Lineage Logistics Named to Fast Company’s Annual List of The World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2019
February 20, 2019
Novi, MI – February 20, 2019 – Lineage Logistics, LLC (“Lineage”), the world’s most innovative and trusted provider of temperature-controlled logistics solutions, today announced its recognition by Fast Company as one of the 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2019.
This prestigious honor recognizes and celebrates Lineage’s industry-leading innovations that are designed to solve the complexities of storing, moving and preserving temperature-controlled food safely and efficiently around the globe. As detailed in Fast Company’s , the Company’s work to reimagine the food supply chain helps customers eliminate waste from their supply chains and connect the world to safe, high-quality food.
“When it comes to issues like energy and food waste, we see an opportunity to apply Silicon Valley-style innovation to not only help preserve and protect the products with which our customers entrust us but also transform the world’s food supply chain,” said Greg Lehmkuhl, President and CEO of Lineage. “Our team is passionate about challenging the status quo and finding more efficient and sustainable ways to address the complexities unique to the temperature-controlled logistics industry. We are honored that such a prestigious publication as Fast Company would recognize us in this way.”
Led by its technologists and San Francisco-based applied sciences team of mathematicians, physicists, marine biologists and engineers, Lineage uses thermodynamics, mathematics, AI and robotics, statistics, oceanography, computer simulation and data visualization to develop innovative, data-driven solutions that protect the integrity of its customers’ temperature-controlled food. Their breakthroughs, like turning power consumption from a fixed to live expense or applying fighter jet design methodology to more efficiently freeze commodities, demonstrate the Company’s commitment to innovation that disrupts the world’s food supply chain.
“This recognition is a testament to the hard work, dedication and creativity of our entire team,” said Sudarsan Thattai, Lineage’s Chief Information Officer. “From our technologists and applied scientists, whose expertise in the space today is competitive with those at any Silicon Valley technology company, to our team members on the warehouse floor, we are an organization that is innovative, bold and deeply committed to our purpose of connecting people to food.”
Now in its 11th year, Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies (MIC) List honors the businesses making the most profound impact on both industry and culture, showcasing a variety of ways to thrive in today’s volatile world. Half of the companies on this year’s MIC 50 list are appearing for the first time. MIC is the publication’s signature franchise and one of its most highly anticipated editorial efforts of the year. It provides both a snapshot and a road map for the future of innovation across the most dynamic sectors of the economy. This year, Fast Company’s editors and writers sought out groundbreaking businesses across 35 industries and every region. They also judged nominations received through their application process.
“Established players are showing the same kind of nimbleness that we’ve generally associated with startups,” said Fast Company deputy editor David Lidsky, who oversaw the issue with senior editor Amy Farley.
Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies issue (March-April 2019) is now available online at , as well as in app form via iTunes and on newsstands beginning February 27th. The hashtag is #fcmostinnovative.


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Advertisers can now target Spotify listeners based on the type of podcasts they stream on its platform.
Spotify has announced that brands advertising on its platform will now be able to reach Spotify Free users (meaning the ones who get served ads) based on the podcast categories they stream.
The options for podcast categories include Comedy, Lifestyle & Health, and Business & Technology. The new targeting is already available to select advertisers across 10 global markets, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Australia.
Currently, the new podcast category targeting option is being tested by select brands like Samsung, which is marketing its Galaxy Buds, and 3M — the official sponsors of the Spotify Original podcast Dope Labs.
This new ad targeting is the latest in a series of new features that aim to position Spotify as the go-to platform for podcasts.
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We’ll find out years from now if Nike blew it, but Kristaps Porzingis is officially an adidas client, after agreeing to the richest shoe deal ever for a European basketball player according to The Vertical:
The deal will pay Porzingis, 21, between $3 million and $6 million annually, depending on incentive bonuses met. It’s the most lucrative shoe deal signed by a European player to date.
The future is brighter than ever.
— adidas Basketball (@adidasHoops) October 25, 2016
Porzingis signed a four-year deal with Nike back in 2012 for an annual sum of $25,000.
Here are the new kicks:
The Latvian star averaged 14.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game during his 2015-16 rookie campaign.


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Following her return, the artist took a moment to thank everyone for their "prayers, love, and support" -- and especially the North Bergen Police Department for bringing her home safe.
Sharing a picture alongside the NYPD, Miz Quigley penned:
Holidays and food go together better than cats and cuteness.
Whenever the holidays roll around, everyone, everywhere has to prepare for some holiday weight gain.
But Reese Witherspoon has a trick for staying fit through chilly Christmas time…
It's jogging! We bet she's gonna workout hard so she can afford to eat a little extra around holiday time!
It's the perfect plan! It's a preemptive strike to get your body nice and fit so you don't have to get all sad when the cookies start getting passed around.
Way to get your pre-holiday workout on, Reese! Lookin' fit and fine!
[Image via Pacific Coast News.]


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Montrealer Grocery Shopping In Full Latex Fetish Gear Is Peak Quarantine Mood (Video)
- A latex-clad AI from the future paid a visit to a Montreal grocery store.
- A video of the event is going viral.
- We spoke to the artist behind the Elusive Rubber Creature.
- Visit MTLBlog for more headlines.
Face masks may be discouraged, but no one said anything about rubber fetish gear. In a now-viral video, one Montrealer takes quarantine fashion to a new level. Donning head-to-toe black latex, the Elusive Rubber Creature casually enters a Montreal grocery store to do some shopping.
She wanders between aisles of Maxi in LaSalle, remarking at empty shelves and posing for photos for enthusiastic fellow shoppers before lining up to check out.
The Instagram video is captioned with "a message from the Elusive Rubber Creature for 21st-century earthlings.
"These are trying times that your society is going through. It is time to come together and start looking for the things that truly matter: family, friends, connection, social responsibility and accountability.
"Also keep in mind toilet paper is NOT one of these things. Please stop hoarding stuff."
Vicky Devika, the artist, model, and DJ behind the Elusive Rubber Creature tells MTL Blog that she "knew the video would be well received and generate quite a bit of attention, but [she] wasn't expecting it to go crazy viral like this."
On Facebook, the video has received almost a thousand shares and reactions.
But this isn't the first time the Rubber Creature made a daytime appearance.
"I started doing these 'latex in public' videos about a year ago actually. It all started with an art project for a friend who was doing a photo class at Dawson. She needed a latex model for a shoot in a restaurant."
"I was just getting started with my own career as a fetish model then. One of the photos from that set actually went around Reddit and was used as a meme a few months ago, so it's not the first time my stuff goes 'viral,' although nothing quite like what's happening now."
"So after the first restaurant shoot, I was inspired to do more. I shot in the metro, at Tim Hortons, Jazz Festival, and on the Mountain to name a few."
The public, she says, has been largely receptive.
In the grocery store video, it's clear patrons welcome the Rubber Creature's playful disruption of the anxiety-inducing social distancing routine.
"I wanted to try and break the stigma around latex and fetishism. And frankly, it's just loads of fun."
What started as a joke eventually became a fully realized character.
"Over the months I started building a story and the fans started responding to it, commenting and engaging with the narrative. So the name stuck."
"Turns out the Elusive Rubber Creature is an AI from the future, visiting 21st-century earth to experience love, culture, and fruits."
"She's actually on a mission to save humanity from a dystopian future, but that's a secret."
"It's a silly story that taps into my passions for sci-fi, artificial intelligence, and transhumanism, and I've essentially created and embodied my own superhero character."
As the COVID-19 crisis escalated, Devika and her partner knew they "wanted to make something that would make people laugh, smile, and brighten their day during these difficult times."
If the delighted faces of customers at the LaSalle Maxi are any indication, the Elusive Rubber Creature is one step closer to rescuing humanity from its dystopian state.
In addition to brightening dark days with the Elusive Rubber Creature, Devika will perform as a DJ for upcoming online quarantine parties.
Stay tuned to her Instagram and Facebook pages for forthcoming details


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Chennai, 21 December 2023: In a bid to restore normalcy in the ‘Michaung’ cyclone-affected areas of Tamil Nadu, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) today announced a special campaign to alleviate the challenges faced by customers in the state. As part of this initiative, the company has announced Free Vehicle Check-up & Service Drive for all Honda two-wheeler customers in Chennai, Kelambakkam & Guduvancheri cities of Tamil Nadu.
HMSI considers safety of every individual as its priority. To enhance its people centric approach and alleviate the challenges faced by individuals affected by the recent cyclone in the state, this activity has been specially organized for customers whose vehicles require immediate service. This drive will continue till December 25th, 2023.
Honda Authorized Network across Chennai, Kelambakkam & Guduvancheri in Tamil Nadu have been activated to provide free check-up for all flood-affected Honda two-wheelers. HMSI has also deployed Mobile Service Vans (MSVs) for supporting the customer at affected areas for their two-wheeler’s service and restoration.
To cope with the requirement of spare parts for repair activities of this magnitude, the company has augmented spare parts inventory at the Chennai warehouse for ready availability of parts. HMSI has triggered SMS to over 5 lakh customers for safeguarding the vehicles in flood area and in case of any damage or support, they can reach us at any of the authorized network.
HMSI customers can enroll their affected vehicles by calling on the company’s toll-free customer care number 1800-103-3434 for enhanced assistance. Specially trained executives have been designated to respond to all customer queries in local language. Customers can also visit their nearest Honda Authorized Network for service support.


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Combined worldwide shipments of smartphones, tablets, and traditional computers are set to grow 5.9% this year, almost completely on the strength of tablets and smartphones, both of which are seeing users trend towards less-expensive devices. Shipments of traditional PCs, desktops and notebooks, will continue to decline as those of mobile devices, particularly smartphones, pick up steam. However, both the tablet and smartphone markets are still changing. According to Gartner, the tablet market in particular is adjusting as consumers have started purchasing less expensive devices.
There has also been a shift as many consumers go from premium tablets to basic tablets. The share of basic tablets is expected to increase faster than anticipated, as sales of the iPad Mini already represented 60 percent of overall iOS sales in the first quarter of 2013.
The lifecycle of devices is also changing. Tablets, especially premium tablets like the 9.7-inch iPad, are being kept around for longer periods of time as the value in the market starts trending towards software rather than hardware. Consumers feel no need to replace their current device when it gets the same software upgrades that the newer devices receive. This trend can also be seen with smartphones, and while consumers are more willing to replace their phone than their tablet, they are waiting for new phones and lower prices to come later this year.
As for overall operating system shipments, both mobile and desktop, Android is expected to maintain its lead as Windows growth slows. Apple's ecosystem continues to grow, and is seen as the most consistent user experience across all device types, where Windows and Android each dominate a single market, either traditional PCs or mobile phones. Other manufacturers, including BlackBerry, will all see their shipments continue to decline.


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One of the cheapest drinks on Costa Coffee's menu has been removed and customers are not happy. The popular filter coffee option has long been one of the cheapest ways to get your caffeine hit at that high street coffee house.
However, eagle-eyed fans of the brand spotted that the 99p filter option was missing from the new September menu. According to the Mirror, the cheapest option now is a £2.55 small Americano. The next cheapest coffee is a small flat black at £2.70.
Heading for social media to express their displeasure, one customer said: “Not happy with this at all, at this time when people haven’t much money, having to shell out more for their coffee isn’t ideal.” Another agreed: “I relied on that 99p drink, Costa what have you done?”
Sarah Coles, of investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown, told the Sun: "Given that these coffees are made from the same kinds of beans, this can’t be to do with the underlying coffee price. It may well be that Costa has decided that the extra cost of having filter coffee machines: running them, maintaining them, and taking up space that could be used to sell higher value products, isn’t worth it for the margins they get in return."
Responding to the comments, a spokesman for Costa Coffee said: “At Costa Coffee we regularly review and optimise our menu, introducing new products and removing others to ensure we are meeting our customers’ needs and expectations.
“Our new Autumn menu, which launched last week, does not include the Costa House Filter Coffee, however, customers can continue to enjoy a Black Americano or Flat Black, made with the same Mocha Italia Signature Blend beans. Prices start from £2.55 for a small Americano and £2.70 for a small Flat Black.
“Last year we relaunched our Costa Club loyalty scheme offering more rewards. Customers can earn two beans per drink when using a reusable cup in store, meaning they earn a free drink after every four drinks purchased. We know this is a challenging time for our customers and we are always looking at ways to offer great value across our range.
“Our Coffee Club members can also enjoy exclusive offers on our app which currently include our 'Fridays are a big deal offers where customers can enjoy promotional pricing on our food and drinks, as well as buy one get one free offers.”


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Three Execs Leave Nike Amid Workplace Culture Issues
They're in a constant battle to claw back market share from , but next issue to resolve will be internal.
In a March 22 earnings call, Mark Parker addressed a problematic corporate culture that was ‘inconsistent with Nike’s values of inclusivity, respect and empowerment.’ A similar statement from Nike’s chief of HR, Monique Matheson, says the brand had ‘failed to gain traction’ in efforts to represent women and minorities.
Now, three Nike executives have left the company, most notably Antoine Andrews, Beaverton’s former head of diversity. It's not apparent if Andrews left on his own behalf, but are also reporting that senior brand director, Vikrant Singh, and vice president of global brand digital marketing innovation, Daniel Tawiah, are being ‘forced to leave’.
It’s not clear who will fill these top positions — but we hope at least a couple of them went to women.


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Intel company has concluded an agreement with a Russian research institute to purchase the latest processors production technology. As Fake News Agency was told by the company, this technology makes it possible to give up on the silicon in the production of crystals, and use a more affordable and efficient material – wood – to create processors.
Back in the 16th century, the great Italian scientist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci was the first one to mention the possibility of replacing silicon with wood in the production of processors. Researches on this subject has been carried out since then to the present day, and only now scientists from Russia have managed to reproduce the entire process of creating a crystal from wood.
As a result of the agreement, the Intel company will become the world’s only manufacturer of processors of such technology. The first units should go on the market at the end of this year.


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Bugatti Chiron Sport could be unveiled at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show.
Bugatti has released a short teaser video of a car that will be showcased at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. The 16 second video starts off with a glimpse of what appears to be a new exhaust. Instead of a the angular quad-exhaust tips, the Chiron Sport might get four circular tail pipes.
Apart from that, the video doesn’t reveal anything new. The camera then switches to rear fascia and the rear light bar followed by a quick glance at the active spoiler.
According to Motor1, Bugatti had updated their official website with a Chiron Sport page momentarily. However, since the last time we check, the page has been taken down.


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In an exclusive interview held as the EU body launched its #livestockcounts #enjoyagrifood campaign, promoting quality European meat consumption, Pesonen said: “We must ensure the added value of eating high-quality meat as part of a balanced diet is communicated effectively to the consumer.”
The two-year campaign launched on Thursday (April 21) is more than just a bid to get people to eat meat, he continued, it also underlines that EU farmers meet high production standards and the benefits of the EU livestock sector and meat for growth, jobs and “vibrant rural areas”.
The meat sector must also remain competitive in the face of increasingly open international markets and successfully negotiate new global World Trade Organisation agreements such as updating its Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS agreement) and regional trade deals such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), Pesonen continued.
He stressed that the agricultural industry needed to be on its mettle, not only because it has lost heavily from the ongoing Russian ban on EU agricultural exports, but from potential competition risks posed by the proposed EU trade deal with Mercosur, covering Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil and Venezuela.
“We are paying for the politics, which is a real frustration for us,” Pesonen told GlobalMeatNews. “Agriculture had nothing to do with the original reasons [the war with Ukraine] for the EU’s trade restrictions that provoked Russia to impose an export ban.”
Reopening this market must be a priority, Pesonen emphasised. “It is hugely important that our exports are treated fairly.”
A $7bn loss
The Copa-Cogeca head said the same trend of paying for political developments was happening with Mercosur. “The EU wants to support South America with tariff-free quotas for sensitive agricultural products, which would have a catastrophic impact on the EU agriculture sector, especially beef,” with Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina being major exporters, Pesonen said.
Stressing that exports from the Mercosur bloc do not have the EU’s high environmental and safety standards, he pointed out the agreement was opposed by 20 member states at an April 11 meeting of the EU Council of Ministers (for agriculture).
“The EU agri sector risks losing more than 7 billion euros from such a deal. Mercosur is already a major exporter of agri commodities to the EU, with 86 per cent of our beef imports and 70 per cent of our poultry meat imports, and they do not need extra quotas tariff-free to increase EU trade.”
US-Dutch deal good
Pesonen welcomed the US decision to admit Dutch beef exports, now judged BSE-free, on its market. “But this is only one country after Ireland and Lithuania, although six more, including France, the UK, Denmark, Germany and Italy, are also in talks with the US on this.” He argued the BSE controls have been used as an excuse by the US to keep EU beef out, as US farm prices were almost double those in Europe.
In the face of such challenges, Pesonen said it was essential to find allies in the meat and livestock sector to combine lobbying efforts during trade talks with the US over TTIP talks, Japan during ongoing EU free trade talks, and with Canada over the implementation of the agreed EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
On that note, he argued a Brexit from the EU would be a catastrophe. “We would lose a major ally in the National Farmers’ Union – which works well with us on the value chain, openness and transparency.”
While cutting red tape — a key UK gripe regarding the EU — was important, Pesonen said “a third of the administrative burden from the [EU] Common Agricultural Policy comes from national sources.”


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A little momentum goes a long way. That’s the message from DDB Group Melbourne in their new brand campaign for Momentum Energy.
A new campaign launches this week with a heart-felt spot entitled ‘Hi’. Essentially a love-story, the campaign playfully counters the negativity surrounding the energy category as a whole. The launch spot tells the romantic tale of two characters, Tam and Lucia, and how they came to meet.
Various shorter spots build on their story and will launch in the coming months. Throughout the TV campaign, Tam and Lucia demonstrate that it’s the little things that make a big difference.
“Ironically, big bills and bad customer service means the main thing most big energy companies provide for their customers is a whole load of negative energy,” said DDB Group Melbourne creative director Jim Ritchie.
“Momentum have a more positive approach to providing energy; they’re transparent with their pricing, they offer award-winning Aussie service, and because they’re owned Hydro Tasmania, they’re committed to a more sustainable energy future.”
The campaign stems directly from Momentum’s company vision of making energy human.
“We know our customers have many choices when it comes to an energy provider,” added Momentum Energy general manager of sales and marketing Amy Childs.
“At Momentum we feel privileged that our customers choose us and we want them to feel good about that choice.”
The TV campaign was directed by Abe Forsyth and will be supported by radio, outdoor, social and display.
General Manager Sales and Marketing – Amy Childs
Head of Marketing and Communications – Naomi Morton
Acquisition Marketing Manager – Alex Kharucky
Chief Creative Officer – Darren Spiller
Creative Director – Jim Ritchie
Head of Onscreen – Tuesday Picken
Executive Planning Director – Ian Forth
Senior Planner – Rob Martyn-Wilde
Senior Client Lead – Angela Bishop
Account Manager – Stuart Smith
Account Manager – Zoe Klein
Production Company – Goodoil
Director – Abe Forsythe
Executive Producer – Sam Long / Simon Thomas
Producer – Emma Lawrence
DOP – Lachlan Milne
Editor – Drew Thompson, Arc Edit
Grade – Martin Greer, The Refinery
Online Edit – Eugene Richards, The Refinery
Music – Karl Richter, Level 2 Music
Casting – McGregor Casting (Syd) & Nick Hamon (Melb)


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Maui Man Earns Elite Pepsi “Ring of Honor” Award
By Wendy Osher
A Maui man is being honored with PepsiCo’s highest sales award.
Pat Kekahuna will be honored with the company’s prestigious Ring of Honor Award during a reception and three-day celebration in New York in June.
He is among the top sales people in the world for the company in his current role at the PepsiCo Maui Headquarters in Kahului, where he has been employed for the past 24 years.
Along with his Maui team, Kekahuna sells and promotes Pepsi products to all large chain companies on Maui under the slogan “Drink Aloha.”
“I am truly honored to be awarded the Ring of Honor for PepsiCo,” Kekahuna tells Maui Now, “But this award is not really about me. It is about my team and they made me who I am. I may push numbers but they are the ones executing it in their stores. Basically, without them, I am nothing. Receiving this award is an accomplishment not only for myself but for everybody.”
He says the secret to his success is to “Smile.”
Under the “Sales for Large Format,” Kekahuna markets PepsiCo products to Safeway, Foodland, Walmart, Target, Longs and Kmart.
Products sold on island under the PepsiCo brand include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Sobe, One Coconut water, Aquafina, Quakers brand, Starbucks Frappuccino and Tropicana.
Prior to PepsiCo, Pepsi products were distributed on Maui by Star Ice and Soda Works under the late Bob Takitani.
Since the creation of the award in 1999, PepsiCo reports that nearly 3,500 associates have been inducted into the Chairman’s Ring of Honor. This year, there are 227 people that will be honored from around the world.
Kekahuna won a trip for two to the awards celebration in New York where the main headquarters are located. He will be staying at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Greenwich, Connecticut, and enjoy four days of activities that include: a bus tour of New York and 9-11 site or boat tour of New York and the Statue of Liberty; Broadway show; dinner at Hard Rock Café in Times Square; site-seeing at Madison Square Gardens; business sessions with senior executives; and the Chairman’s “Ring of Honor” Awards Gala.


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The deals just keep coming for restaurant deal operator Pirq. The Kirkland company today is announcing a partnership with the University of Washington’s Alumni Association, providing exclusive restaurant deals in the Seattle area to its 55,000 members.
Pirq is a mobile app that gives restaurant-goers instant access to discounts at local restaurants, with users saving between 20 percent to 50 percent. As part of the deal, members of the UWAA will get exclusive deals that are not available to the public.
“Pirq is an innovative business founded by a UW alum, and it provides our members with relevant benefits they can access through their phones while generating support for the UWAA,” said Paul Rucker, Executive Director of UWAA. “Members will absolutely enjoy saving money with Pirq and, needless to say, we’re thrilled to be working with Pirq.”
Last week, Pirq unveiled a partnership to bring an exclusive set of restaurant deals to Apple employees in Silicon Valley. The company — led by Seattle entrepreneur James Sun – raised $1.9 million from Rally Capital and others last December.


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Chick-fil-A is the latest fast-food chain to announce it’s working on vegan options. The chicken chain told Business Insider that it’s in the “early stages” of identifying meatless options including vegan chicken.
“We’re definitely aware, and I would say we’re always interested in, what’s happening in food,” Amanda Norris, the executive director of Chick-fil-A’s menu, told Business Insider.
“Specifically … a vegetarian option or a vegan option is something we’re looking at, we’re thinking about, and have some [research and development].”
The chain has been heavily criticized recently for its funding of anti-LGBTQ organizations. Documents obtained by ThinkProgress, revealed that Chick-fil-A donated $1.8 million in 2017 to groups “with a discriminatory record against the LGBTQ community,” CNN noted.
But despite the public backlash, Chick-fil-A, with more than 2,200 locations, is still on track to become the third largest fast-food chain in U.S. sales this year.
The chicken chain’s menu already features a number of vegan options including waffle fries, hash browns, superfood sides, and the recently launched kale salad.
Vegan Fast Food on the Rise
Rival chicken chain KFC has also announced plans to launch into the vegan space. It already offers vegan chicken sandwiches in its Canada locations, and last year it launched several vegan options in Vietnam.
But after it announced plans to overhaul its U.S. and E.U. menu to reduce calories and sodium levels and offer healthier sides, the chain announced plans to trial vegan chicken in its UK locations.
BBC host Nisha Katona was among the first to try the new vegan burgers at KFC’s UK development kitchen.
“Oh my heaven! On a dream job today – filming for the BBC One Show with exclusive access to the actual KFC headquarters development kitchen,” Katona tweeted. “Also I was the first member of the public to taste the new vegan chicken burger. This to me is actually living the dream.”
Katona said the new vegan chicken tasted “brilliant.”
“Oh my word – brilliant product – they are still working in [sic] it but truly great start,” she tweeted.
Other leading fast food chains including Burger King, Carl’s Jr., Del Taco, A&W, White Castle and Taco Bell have all recently added vegan meat options to their menus. Burger King and White Castle are both offering burger options made with the vegan Impossible Foods patty. Carl’s Jr., Del Taco, and A&W all feature options from Beyond Meat. Dunkin’ Brands also recently announced plans to launch a vegan meat option. In UK locations, Taco Bell will be offering vegan meat made from oats.
Chick-Fil-A has not announced a launch date for its new vegan options, but Norris says development can take up to 24 months, and the chain is already exploring options.
“We’ve kind of been watching it,” she said, “and now we are moving more from the watch stage and getting into that understand, or really imagine stage.”


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BRIAN LYNCH JOINS MARIETTA CELLARS
Respected industry veteran takes on sales and marketing role
Geyserville, Sonoma County, California, November 2020 —- Brian Lynch has been named Vice President, Sales & Marketing, at Marietta Cellars in Sonoma County.
“We are delighted to welcome someone with Brian’s depth of experience and leadership to the Marietta Cellars team,” said Scot Bilbro, Owner and Winemaker, Marietta Cellars, in announcing the appointment. “Brian’s exceptional wine knowledge and long-standing industry relationships will be an excellent fit with our partner VINTUS and instrumental in moving the Marietta brand forward,” he added. The search was led by leading wine industry search firm The Cypress Group.
Most recently Lynch was Director of National Sales at Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, based in Berkeley. Prior to that he was Vice President and National Sales Manager for SakéOne and National Sales Manager, Vice President Business Relations and Education for Wilson Daniels.
‘I am honored to join the Marietta Cellars team and represent this outstanding portfolio of wines,” Lynch said. “It will be exciting to work with this historic brand, independently owned and operated, offering the highest level of quality and value,” he added. Lynch was born and raised in Floral Park, New York and attended Marquette University. He lives with his fiancé Laura in Charleston, South Carolina, and when not working can be found travelling or on a golf course.
Founded by Chris Bilbro in 1978 and starting with only a handful of purchased grapes, Marietta Cellars has been a standout winery in Sonoma and Mendocino since the very beginning. Today the winery is owned and operated by second generation winemaker Scot Bilbro. Marietta rose to prominence with its revolutionary Old Vine Red, a California red blend that essentially created the category. The winery has slowly expanded its estate holdings over the past thirty years, evolving into a beacon for high quality, balanced Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Rhône variety blends. Now fully estate-based and organically farmed, Marietta has vineyards spanning 310 acres in the Alexander Valley, McDowell Valley, and the Yorkville Highlands. Notable among their heritage plantings are some of California’s oldest Syrah, Grenache, and Petite Sirah with blocks dating back to the late 1880s.
The Cypress Group is a forward-thinking wine industry executive search firm based in St. Helena which differentiates itself with strategic planning, impeccable client service and an exclusive focus on key leadership positions.


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YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – In the eight years since it opened, Southside Recycling has become the place to take household scrap.
Sure, the company also buys metals from contractors and industrial plants. But it’s carved out a niche as a collection site for everyday folks to exchange old appliances and other unwanted items for cash.
Kenny Greco of Youngstown started the company in 2014 after buying a steel warehouse at 98 E. Florida Ave., Youngstown, from his father.
His family had long been


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There’s a new MVNO coming to U.S. shores called Voce, created by Faith Inc., a Japanese content provider that made its footprint in the American mobile market through its polyphonic ringtones. Voce says it will provide “first class” personalized wireless services, to become available this year, include unlimited calling, data downloads, “velvet glove” customer service, the latest technologies, and a new cell phone every four months, according to the company.
Voce will operate on Cingular’s wireless network, according to Visage Mobile, a partner that’s helping Voce launch its services. Subscribers will initially sign up for $1,500 and then pay a flat rate of $500 each month. Voce expects to first launch services in New York and Los Angeles this year and expand to the top ten metropolitan markets in the U.S. by the end of 2006.
Via: Yahoo News


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Costco, Nike and FedEx are warning there’s more inflation set to hit consumers as holidays approach
A employee sporting a protecting masks removes rotisserie hen from skewers inside a Costco retailer in San Francisco, California, on Wednesday, March 3, 2021.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Photographs
Transport bottlenecks which have led to rising freight prices are cooking up a vacation headache for U.S. retailers.
Costco this week joined the lengthy listing of shops sounding the alarm about escalating delivery costs and the accompanying provide chain points. The warehouse retailer, which had a similar cautionary tone in May, was joined by athletic put on large Nike and financial bellwethers FedEx and General Mills in warning of comparable considerations.
The associated fee to ship containers abroad has soared in current months. Getting a 40-foot container from Shanghai to New York value about $2,000 a 12 months and a half in the past, simply earlier than the Covid pandemic. Now, it runs some $16,000, in line with Financial institution of America.
In a convention name Thursday with analysts, Costco Chief Monetary Officer Richard Galanti known as freight prices “everlasting inflationary objects” and mentioned these will increase are combining with issues which are “considerably everlasting” to drive up stress. They embrace not solely freight but additionally increased labor prices, rising demand for transportation and merchandise, plus shortages in laptop chips, oils and chemical substances and better commodity costs.
“We won’t maintain on to all these,” Galanti mentioned. “A few of that must be handed on, and it’s being handed on. We’re pragmatic about it.”
Quantifying the state of affairs, he mentioned inflation is more likely to run between 3.5% and 4.5% broadly for Costco. He famous that paper products have seen value will increase of 4% to eight% and he cited shortages of plastic and pet merchandise which are driving up costs from 5% to 11%.
“We will maintain the road on a few of these issues and do some higher job — hopefully do a greater job than a few of our rivals have and be even that extra excessive than the worth,” Galanti mentioned. “So I believe all these issues thus far, not less than regardless of the challenges, have labored in our favor a bit bit.”
Preparing for the vacations
The timing, although, isn’t good.
Persistent inflationary pressures come at a time when retailers are making ready for the vacation purchasing season – Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, then into the brand new 12 months. The pandemic has introduced with it a relentless slew of factors that has made inflation an financial buzzword after a technology of principally reasonable value pressures.
Corporations are pressed to take care of the state of affairs forward of a essential interval.
“Getting nearer to the vacations, we’ve been working with retailers and what we see is, No. 1, they have to be versatile with their provide chain,” mentioned Keith Jelinek, managing director of the worldwide retail follow at consulting agency Berkeley Analysis Group. “We have seen cost-of-good will increase particularly in attire, additionally prices of inbound delivery with the prices of containers, will increase with transportation, trucking to get into distribution facilities.”
“All these prices are going to hit the working income,” he added. “Retailers proper now are actually challenged with how a lot can I go onto the buyer vs. can I get different efficiencies out of my operations with a purpose to hit my whole margin.”
Many firms have indicated that buyers not less than for now are prepared to tackle increased costs. Trillions in authorities stimulus in the course of the pandemic have helped swell private wealth, with household net worth up 4.3% within the second quarter.
Nobody is aware of how lengthy customers shall be prepared to pay increased costs. Jelinek mentioned he expects the present state of affairs to persist into not less than by means of the vacation season and into the early a part of subsequent 12 months
“There’s solely a lot you’ll be able to go on to the buyer,” he mentioned. “What most retailers are doing is wanting throughout their [profit and loss statements] they usually’re trying to enhance efficiency and to optimize effectivity. Meaning actually specializing in their provide chain.”
It additionally means elevating costs.
FedEx this week introduced that it will hike shipping rates 5.9% for home companies and seven.9% for different choices. The corporate mentioned it’s being hit by labor shortages and “prices related to the difficult working surroundings.”
The pinnacle of the corporate’s chief competitor acknowledged the hurdles the enterprise faces.
“The labor market is tight, and in sure components of the nation we have needed to make some market-rate changes to react to the calls for of the market,” UPS CEO Carol Tome mentioned Thursday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.”
She added that the corporate additionally has been hit by provide chain points.
“I am afraid that is going to final for some time. These points have been a very long time coming and it is going to take all of us working collectively to clear these blockages,” Tome mentioned.
Federal Reserve officers this week conceded that inflation will be higher in 2021 than they’d anticipated. Nonetheless, they nonetheless see costs settling to a extra regular vary simply above 2% within the coming years.
However Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester mentioned in a speech Friday that she sees “upside dangers” to the central financial institution’s inflation forecasts.
“Many companies report that value pressures are intensifying and customers appear to be prepared to pay increased costs,” she mentioned. “The mix of sturdy demand and provide chain challenges may last more than I anticipate and could lead on individuals and companies to lift their expectations for future inflation greater than we’ve seen thus far.”
Fed officers mentioned they’re ready to start pulling back on the monetary stimulus they’ve offered in the course of the pandemic however in all probability will not be elevating charges quickly. Nonetheless, Mester mentioned that ought to costs and expectations maintain increased, Fed coverage “would should be adjusted” to regulate inflation.
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