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Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Tuesday that he agreed “in spirit” with a strict new European Union law on data privacy but stopped short of committing to it as the standard for the social network across the world.
As Facebook reels from a scandal over the mishandling of personal information belonging to millions of users, the company is facing demands to improve privacy and learn lessons from the landmark EU law scheduled to take effect next month.
Mr Zuckerberg said Facebook was working on a version of the law that would work globally, bringing some European privacy guarantees worldwide, but the 33-year-old billionaire demurred when asked what parts of the law he would not extend worldwide.
“We’re still nailing down details on this, but it should directionally be, in spirit, the whole thing,” he said. He did not elaborate.
His comments signal that US Facebook users, many of them still angry over the company’s admission that political consultancy Cambridge Analytica got hold of Facebook data on 50 million members, could find themselves in a worse position than Europeans.
The European law, called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), is the biggest overhaul of online privacy since the birth of the internet, giving Europeans the right to know what data is stored on them and the right to have it deleted.
Apple and some other tech firms have said they plan to give people in the United States and elsewhere the same protections and rights that Europeans will gain.
Shares of Facebook closed up 0.5 per cent on Tuesday at $156.11. They are down more than 15 per cent since March 16, when the scandal broke over Cambridge Analytica.
Privacy advocacy groups have been urging Facebook and its Silicon Valley competitors such as Alphabet’s Google to apply EU data laws worldwide, largely without success.
“We want Facebook and Google and all the other companies to immediately adopt in the United States and worldwide any new protections that they implement in Europe,” said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, in Washington.
Mr Zuckerberg said many of the tools that are part of the law, such as the ability of users to delete all their data, are already available for people on Facebook.
“We think that this is a good opportunity to take that moment across the rest of the world,” he said. “The vast majority of what is required here are things that we’ve already had for years across the world for everyone.”
Google and Facebook are the global leaders in internet ad revenue. Both based in California, they possess enormous amounts of data on billions of people.
Google has declined to comment on its plans.
When GDPR takes effect on May 25, people in EU countries will gain the right to transfer their data to other social networks, for example. Facebook and its competitors will also need to be much more specific about how they plan to use people’s data, and they will need to get explicit consent.
GDPR is likely to hurt profit at Facebook because it could reduce the value of ads if the company cannot use personal information as freely and the added expense of hiring lawyers to ensure compliance with the new law.
Data is central to Facebook’s advertising business, and it has not yet sketched out a satisfying plan for how it plans to comply, said Pivotal Research analyst Brian Wieser.
“I haven’t heard any solutions from Facebook to get ahead of the problem yet,” Mr Wieser said.
Failure to comply with the law carries a maximum penalty of up to 4 per cent of annual revenue.
It should not be difficult for companies to extend EU practices and policies elsewhere because they already have systems in place, said Nicole Ozer, director of technology and civil liberties at the American Civil Liberties Union of California.
Companies’ promises are less reassuring than laws, she said: “If user privacy is going to be properly protected, the law has to require it.”


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Posts Tagged ‘HD 7970’
0 CommentsPosted by Stephen Dougherty on February 9, 2012 under Component, Graphics
PowerColor looks to be all over the Radeon HD 7970 with previous sightings of its suped up Vortex and LCS models and now another custom-cooled behemoth from the company appearing online. ... more.
29 CommentsPosted by Allan 'Zardon' Campbell on December 22, 2011 under Graphics, Highlights 2
Today AMD release the first card in their 7000 series - the high end HD7970, which is built on the latest 28nm manufacturing process. AMD's HD6970 was a huge success for the company, so the replac... more.
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ALEXANDRIA, Va. Adding to a growing arsenal of services to help small business owners who operate independent pharmacies, the National Community Pharmacists Association today unveiled a new program in partnership with Pharmacy Development Services to help them compete more effectively.
The new NCPA/PDS Marketing Solution Center will provide independent pharmacy owners with marketing strategies, tools and resources “to stay ahead of the competitive curve and effectively reach new and current customers,” NCPA announced. It will be operated by Pharmacy Development Services, a pharmacy marketing and business development company.
The Solution Center is a web-based marketing tool, according to PDA. It’s designed to help pharmacies increase sales from their existing customers, attract new shoppers, and track and measure their advertising.
“As independent pharmacy owners, sometimes we spend more time working in our businesses than working on our businesses to help them grow,” said NCPA president Holly Henry. “I've worked with PDS for years and I'm glad to say they've given me the freedom to step back and market my business and see great success.”
NCPA said the new offering is part of a membership campaign launched in June, with the goal of reaching every independent pharmacy owner in the U.S. The center is part of the association’s recently announced Ownership Academy, a resource for NCPA members in all phases of community ownership.


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Temperatures are beginning to cool, harvest is wrapping up and the holiday season is just around the corner. Meanwhile, just 15 minutes from Downtown Santa Rosa, 35,000 turkeys cover the hillsides and cluster under oaks as they fill out and fatten for their debut on your Thanksgiving dinner table.
Willie Bird Turkeys are ranch raised by the Benedetti family. The fourth-generation Sonoma County ranchers’ premium turkeys are Sonoma County-grown, free range and fed a diet of organic grains.
The Broad Breasted Whites are fed from the Benedetti’s 1942 Burmese Jeep that has been converted into a feed wagon that fills 800 lb. hoppers with grain for the vast flock on the Benedetti’s property on Calistoga Road. Riley Benedetti said that the old bomber truck is the same one that was used when he and his brother, Willie Benedetti, were kids. Willie, the founder of Willie
Bird Turkeys, recently passed away at the age of 69.
Riley said that turkeys are the first thing he remembers.
“Our turkey farm is where we grew up,” Riley said. “As long as I can remember my family has been involved in the turkey business.”
The Benedetti family originally raised fertile eggs for breeding on their ranch in Petaluma.
How then did the Benedetti family become so well-known for their premium Willie Bird turkeys?
Rocky Koch, Willie’s cousin said that without Future Farmers of America, Willie Bird Turkeys probably wouldn’t even exist.
“Willie started the business as his Future Farmers project because his father and uncle were in the turkey business,” Rocky said.
Willie and his mother hatched a plan that would grow a young FFAers project into a successful company spanning over 50 years and counting in Sonoma County.
“My mother told me that she took Willie into Petaluma without telling my father, Walter Benedetti,” Riley said. “They got the fertile eggs in April and my father didn’t find out, according to my mom, until they hatched.”
After those poults hatched, Willie didn’t look back. The freshman at Sonoma Valley High School set in motion a business that transitioned his family’s farm from raising fertile eggs for breeding to one raising turkeys for the dinner table.
Riley, who said he recently found a copy of the original letter from the Valley of the Moon Hatchery from 1963 describing the purchase of 800 eggs that projected to have 400-500 poults, said that Willie was just 14 years old when he started the business.
“No one thought Willie Bird Turkeys would be this big, no way, absolutely not,” Riley said.
The iconic Willie Bird turkeys, surprisingly, got their name in a beauty salon.
“My mother was working at John King’s Beauty Salon in Petaluma, and her coworker, Beverly, would tease Willie when he brought turkeys into the salon to sell,” Riley said. “She would say, ‘Here’s the Willie bird coming!’”
The name caught on.
In time, Willie Benedetti, his brother, Riley, and their cousin, Rocky Koch, were raising tens of thousands of Willie Bird turkeys for sale around the country for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Today, the family owns and operates the iconic Benedetti Farms and the Willie Bird’s Restaurant.
In years past, Willie Bird Turkeys raised over 50,000 birds a year. Now, turkeys are almost exclusively raised for Thanksgiving and Christmas and a few other are raised for the Easter market and other occasions.
“Our turkeys are consuming a lot of feed right now because it’s almost time to go to market,” Riley said. “Then we ship them down to the valley to get processed. We used to be able to do it right here on the ranch, but we got too big.”
Rocky said that each year they get their shipments of turkeys in May and June. Each flock that arrives grows out to be different sizes with the first group being the heaviest. Their sizes range from 10-12 lb. bird to a 18-20 lb. bird.
Willie Bird Turkeys have a reputation for high quality, which is why Rocky said he thinks people are willing to pay a price premium for their products.
In addition to the whole-body turkey business, the family owns and operates the restaurant in Santa Rosa since 1980 and keeps the grill hot for their signature smoked and then grilled turkey legs at the Sonoma County Fair and the Wednesday Night Market.
“I started doing the Wednesday Night Market, which was originally the Thursday Night Market, 30 years ago with just three Weber grills,” Riley said. “I started that first year and I’ve never missed a market.”
Riley, who currently manages the partnership between Willie Bird Turkeys and William-Sonoma, said that for the past 20 years Willie Bird Turkeys have been shipped to customers in 48 states.
The first year of the partnership about three or four hundred turkeys were shipped. This year’s projections have 8,600 turkeys set to be delivered to homes across the country.
“It means a lot to me to know that something Willie started, and we have been a part of all these years has already hit its 50-year marker and will continue on into the future even though Willie is gone now,” Riley said.
Riley said that Willie was a likeable person who made friends well and that he will be dearly missed.
“In school, sports, and business, everything he did really, he was friendly and social,” Riley said. “He always worked hard and loved being at the restaurant and talking to everybody.”
He said it feels good to know that they have been able to keep something going that everyone in Sonoma County loves and that they provide a product that ends up on family’s dinner tables for special times like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
To place an order for you family’s Thanksgiving turkey visit the Willie Birds Store in Santa Rosa or call (707) 545-2832


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Symrise, a manufacturing company of flavours and fragrances, seeks
to strengthen its farm-to-fork approach in vanilla production and
improve its international standing in the fragrance and flavouring
market through its integration...
Food makers turn to wood-sourced vanillin as high oil prices
continue to put pressure on the price of petrochemical-based
vanilla alternatives, and natural vanilla stocks remain
vulnerable,writes Lindsey Partos.
Diversifying supplies and managing risk for the world's most
expensive, and popular, natural flavour, for the first time
ingredients giant Danisco receives a batch of sustainable organic
vanilla from an Indian monk, reports Lindsey...
Spice company McCormick said yesterday that its Q1 profits and
sales were lower than expected, pushed down by struggling vanilla
prices, but remained confident for the rest of the year, writes
Nearly half of the world's vanillin supplies are sourced from China
but since tighter production rules arrived there a few years ago
there are now only two major Chinese producers left in the country,
reports Lindsey Partos....
British flavours firm Synergy Flavours is bringing a new organic
vanilla extract to market, locking in suppliers from Madagascar to
help guarantee the source of a product rooted in a vulnerable


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A pinkish-toned cherry wheat beer caught Congressman Paul Tonko's attention while he sipped different samples of brew Friday afternoon in Frog Alley Brewing's Schenectady taproom.
Tonko — who favored the wheat beer over other hop-heavy IPA samples — toured the six-story, multi-use facility still under construction at 108 State Street in downtown Schenectady alongside brewery owner and local businessman JT Pollard.
Pollard said the site is on-track to be completed sometime in late-spring, nearly three years after the idea for the project was first conceived.
"This building, as I used to drive by it, it was my least favorite building in the city," Pollard said. "I always hated it, and when I had the opportunity to take it out of foreclosure, I did it."
The $30 million project, which will feature the brewery along with 74 apartments and several retail spaces, is expected to be a major economic driver in an area that has seen significant redevelopment in recent years.
"It's great to see that revitalization, that come-back scenario" for Schenectady, Tonko said. "The millennial trend is to come into cities to live, work and recreate in those locations. And so this is keeping with those ideas. It's keeping with that thinking."
The brewery has a temporary taproom along Ferry Street with a dozen tables that's open Thursdays through Sundays while the rest of the site is under construction. But the brewery's 6,000-square-foot taproom at the corner of Ferry and State streets will open March 16.
That taproom will feature an outdoor patio and is surrounded in glass, giving patrons a top-down view of the brewery a floor below. Pollard said Bountiful Bread, the Albany-based bakery and cafe, will serve items like wood-fired pizza through a pick-up window in the taproom.
Pollard also said Bountiful Bread will be moving its entire baking operation to the location from Stuyvesant Plaza.
Other tenants in the building will include a barbecue restaurant that Schenectady restaurateur Tim Trier will open, as well as the Jahnel Group, a software development firm that's leasing 17,000 square feet of office space on the building's top floor, Pollard said.
"We thought a brewery would be good idea down here to help revitalize the area, provide people a fun place to go. But it's also a true manufacturing facility in an urban fabric," Pollard said, noting that the brewery will produce around 1,200 kegs of beer every two weeks, and has a bottling operation as well.
A 2,000-square-foot space next to the taproom will feature classrooms for students in Schenectady County Community College's brewing and culinary education program, and the brew house will also host an incubator program for startup brewers.
"We'll have these five shipping containers that we have set up as bars, they each have eight taps in them. You can brew your beer onsite under the guidance of our brewers," Pollard said. "And then have your product available to sell, to market, to start to put a program together for yourself."
Pollard said applications haven't opened yet for the apartments, but he expects them to gradually "go online" as construction wraps up. The apartments are largely one-bedroom and studio apartments, except for a handful of two-bedroom units.
Both Tonko and Pollard heralded the development of the location that connects the community college with the revitalized area surrounding Proctor's theater and downtown Schenectady.
"Come to downtown Schenectady, have a beer and help us rebuild Schenectady," Pollard said.
And while you're at it, Tonko recommends the Frog Alley cherry wheat beer — not too sweet, not too bitter, he said.


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Back in 2013, Tesla first announced its plan to build Gigafactories all over the world. Gigafactories were designed to ramp up production of cars and lithium-ion batteries to achieve the company’s mission to help the world transition to sustainable energy by providing affordable electric vehicles and energy products.
Gigafactories are crucial to Tesla’s global expansion strategy. With the need to increase production and deliver to customers faster, Tesla is accelerating construction of its ambitious Gigafactories. In addition to the three current ones near Reno, Buffalo, and Shanghai, Jerome Guillen, Tesla’s president of automotive, says Gigafactories in Texas and Germany are under construction at full speed. Tesla’s goal is to deliver 500,000 electric vehicles in 2020.
“Gigafactory has a massive expansion in capabilities, not just on auto production, but on battery technology,” said Daniel Ives, a managing director and senior equity research analyst at Wedbush Securities. “Some of the most innovative battery technology in the world has come at Giga Shanghai, and the brand that Tesla has is unrivaled in its distribution — years ahead of the competition.”
While the Gigafactory strategy illustrates Tesla’s ambition to expand production and dominate the market, it presents risks: more debt, lack of experience in producing lithium-ion batteries, potential pollution, and possible miscalculation of what cars the public wants. Those risks make the success of the Gigafactories strategy uncertain.
“To date, we have limited experience simultaneously designing, testing, manufacturing, upgrading, adapting and selling our electric vehicles,” Tesla admitted in its initial report on Gigafactories in 2014.
Tesla has performed very well, whether in the stock market or in its rapidly increasing revenues. Its stock has soared 600% year to date, and its revenues reached a historic high for the company at $331 million in the third quarter, beating Wall Street’s estimates. Tesla has continued making profits in the last few years and recently joined the S&P 500, the premier index of big U.S. companies. Given the company’s current market value, an estimated half a trillion dollars, analysts predict Tesla’s stock price and revenues will go much higher.
Though Tesla’s financial performance is strong and exciting, the most important risk to its Gigafactories strategy is debt.
Given the cost of the Gigafactories, Tesla’s financial results may fall into a trap. The company’s debt has increased from $3 billion in the first quarter of 2015 to $14 billion in the second quarter of 2020, resulting in concerns about the company’s financial health from not only investors but also creditors. With 14 Gigafactories still to be built or under construction, analysts are concerned about Tesla’s financial balance. According to a report from Electrek, a news website covering electric transportation, Tesla spent almost $100 million on land alone for its Texas Gigafactory. Taking on debt can help a company grow. But if Tesla overloads itself with debt because of its aggressive expansion on Gigafactories, it could ruin the company.
“With a young, growing company, there is always more risk of taking on too much debt to fund growth,” said David Whiston, sector strategist at Morningstar Inc., an American financial services firm. “Given the many uncertainties regarding Tesla today, including COVID-19 and the debt load, our fair-value uncertainty rating will remain very high for a long time.”
In addition, Tesla said in its 10-k while announcing the Gigafactories plan in 2014 that it lacked “experience in the production of lithium-ion cells, and accordingly we intend to engage partners with significant experience in cell production and to date we have not formalized such partnerships.”
The production of lithium-ion cells is crucial, as it is closely connected to the company’s new battery cells, also announced in 2014. To solve this problem, after a year of negotiation Tesla is collaborating with Panasonic to set up a new production line at the Nevada Gigafactory to increase battery cell production in 2021. But for other Gigafactories around the world, Tesla has announced no new partnerships, indicating lithium-ion production remains a tough issue.
Tesla also has to anticipate demand for each car model accurately because mistakes will “result in inefficient expenditures and production delays,” the company pointed out when it introduced the Gigafactory plan. To avoid shipping and tariffs, Gigafactories are expected to help Tesla make more profits by delivering cars at lower cost, producing the models that are popular in the market where a Gigafactory is situated. But it is not easy for Tesla to make accurate estimates of demand for all the Gigafactories, and shipping the cars to different countries costs much more than selling them locally.
“We had basically no access to any of the subsidies,” said CEO Elon Musk during a February interview early this year on Third Row podcast. “We paid a tariff and we had to ship the cars over, and every single thing was set against Tesla.”
Tesla cannot ignore the issue of pollution. To build Gigafactories worldwide, it has to buy land in different countries that were forest or parks before. Especially when Tesla produces lithium-ion batteries at Gigafactory sites, environmental concerns rise not only for Tesla but also for local residents.
Its Gigafactory in Brandenburg, Germany, is now facing an order on Dec. 8 from a local court to suspend clear-cutting trees on the land it has bought to build its first European Gigafactory. Tesla does not yet have planning permission to build the factory, Reuters reported, and the company is proceeding at its own risk. Unlike the Gigafactory in Shanghai, the one in Germany is opposed by many environmental activists concerned about its potential negative impact on the local ecosystem.
“Here are many protests against Tesla because there was a new factory is built,” said Frank Schwope, an analyst at Norddeutsche Landesbank in Germany. “They cut thousands of trees, and people who live where the Gigafactory is built really don’t like it.”
Despite these risks, Musk reaffirmed his commitment to the strategy on Twitter in July this year saying, “Gigafactory is the product even more than the car.”


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A 2019 Ford GT was just sold for a staggering $2.5 million in a charity auction.
The particular car is one of the Heritage Editions, which for 2019—and 2020—wears the iconic Gulf Oil livery. The same livery featured on the GT40 that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1968 and 1969.
The 2019 GT Heritage Edition was sold on Saturday at a Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. It bears the VIN ending in 001 for the GT's 2019 model year, and was donated by Ford.
2019 Ford GT Heritage Edition
The final bidder was none other than Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and a frequent buyer of charity vehicles. All proceeds from the sale will go to the United Way for Southeastern Michigan charity.
Production of 2019 GTs is already underway. The starting price has been increased from $450,000 to just under $500,000, and available is a new Carbon Series model. It's just like the GT's previous Competition Series but adds back some niceties such as a radio and air conditioning. Powering the GT is a 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 good for he 647 horsepower.
Ford also offered the 2020 Mustang Shelby GT500 with VIN ending in 001 for charity, with the rights to the car's build slot sold at Barrett-Jackson's Scottsdale auction on Friday for $1.1 million.


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A La Carte: Charlie Parker's owner bringing horseshoe expertise to LLCC class
Last year, Mike Murphy won a national competition with his signature breakfast horseshoe. Now, he’s poised to help others create their own winning version of Springfield’s own dish.
Murphy -- winner of the first Thomas’ Hometown Breakfast Battle – on Saturday is leading a one-day class for Lincoln Land Community College’s Culinary Institute on how to get creative using breakfast foods.
“I’ll talk about the history of the horseshoe, the contest, our horseshoe. You know me, I like to have fun,” Murphy said. “But we’ll work hard on a cheese sauce from scratch. You can get creative with horseshoes, but whatever you use, the basis (of a horseshoe) is a good cheese sauce.”
The non-credit course costs $45. Class begins at 9:30 a.m. at LLCC Workforce Career Center food lab on the main campus.
Murphy – owner of CHARLIE PARKER’S DINER at 700 North St. – bested 165 restaurants nationwide last fall in the six-week, online voting competition hosted by BIMBO’S BAKERY USA, which owns the Thomas brand.
He divided the winnings -- $25,000 – among his staff. However, he said the community rallying behind him was priceless.
“What surprised me the most was how the whole community took hold of it,” Murphy said. “It wasn’t just Charlie Parker’s staff, customers. It was community pride, and it was obvious how everyone embraced it.
“To be honest, it was a bit of pressure at the end. I didn’t want to let everyone down with second place. Still, a day doesn’t go by someone asks about it.”
The class coincides with the English muffin manufacturer holding its second national competition – this year challenging 50 food trucks across the nation to feature their product in a locally inspired breakfast selection.
Only five contestants will remain once final votes are cast tonight. Illinois’ sole candidate – YUM DUM TRUCK in Chicago with a Kimcheesy Benedict sandwich – already has been eliminated.
The first of three SMOOTHIE KING's planned for the Springfield market opens Saturday at 4313 Yucan Drive.
The New Orleans-based chain with the slogan “blended with a purpose” offers smoothies made with fruits, vegetables, nuts, proteins and yogurt to meet fitness, weight-loss or wellness goals. Gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and kids options are available.
The chain also sells sports beverages, health snacks, vitamins and supplements.
Hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. The 1,400-square-foot space includes interior seating and a drive-through window.
Local franchise operators Tim and Cristine Everett -- who also own Anytime Fitness – said they plan to open two additional stores in the Springfield market, though specific locations have yet to be identified.
Founded in 1989, Smoothie King has roughly 700 locations around the world and was ranked No. 1 on “Entrepreneur” magazine’s 2015 list in the juice bar category.
DRIFTWOOD COCKTAIL & EATERY’s final instalment in the 2016 beer dinner series will be Tuesday.
The menu is paired with drinks from the Alton-based brewery OLD BAKERY BEER.
The five-course menu features pan-roasted grapes, baked oyster, octopus, braised ham hock and Bourbon pudding. Cost is $50 a person. Call 572-4906 for reservations.
Driftwood is at 11 W. Old State Capitol Ave.
AUGIE’S FRONT BURNER is taking reservations for a six-course autumn Italian tasting menu held in the wine cellar Oct. 12.
Owner August Mrozowski is preparing the six-course meal, which includes beets in herbed ricotta, sweet potato gnocchi, halibut in saffron broth, braised short ribs with polenta and peach gelato with a pecan crust.
Cost is $65 for the meal, or pair with wines from Tenzing Distributing for an additional $25. First course is served at 6:30 p.m. Limited seating available. Call 544-6979 for reservations.
The regular menu will be served in the main floor dining room at the 109 S. Fifth St. restaurant.
Coffee is free for senior citizens at MARKET GRILL AT HY-VEE from 6 to 9 a.m. weekdays.
The limited-time offer is good throughout October.
During the same time, all customers can try endless plates of malt pancakes for $4.99 at the 2115 S. MacArthur Blvd. restaurant.
-- The A La Carte column highlights restaurant openings, closings, renovations and relocations, as well as personnel changes and business news. Natalie Morris can be reached at 737-7254 or by email at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Microsoft’s Xbox Video games Showcase earlier this month was most likely the most effective showcases it is ever carried out, however whereas it had a ton of main upcoming video games to showcase, among the comparatively smaller titles nonetheless within the pipeline did not essentially have their time within the solar. To that finish, a brand new ID@Xbox Showcase has been introduced.
In partnership with IGN, Microsoft will stream a brand new ID@Xbox Showcase subsequent month on July 11 at 10am PT / 1pm ET. The showcase will function new reveals, gameplay footage, and bulletins for upcoming indie titles coming to Xbox consoles and PC, whereas quickly after, IGN will even provide new particulars concerning the video games featured within the showcase in a brand new episode of its Unlocked podcast.
Microsoft has usually used the ID@Xbox showcases to not solely provide a deeper take a look at upcoming indie titles, but additionally to provide players an opportunity to strive them out with new demos. It stays to be seen which video games shall be featured within the upcoming showcase. Keep tuned for extra particulars within the coming days.


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This commentary is not about Whirlpool, despite the title – but about tariffs. It is about how Whirlpool’s shareholders benefited from increased earnings because of tariffs and how American consumers paid higher prices for both washers and dryers (an unexpected consequence) because of those same tariffs.
New research from the Federal Reserve (by economist Aaron Flaaen) and the University of Chicago (by economists Ali Hortacsu and Felix Tintelnot) estimate that tariffs on washing machines brought approximately $82 million to the U.S. Treasury and raised U.S. consumer prices by $1.5 billion. Tariffs imposed on imported machines started at 20% and rose to 50% per imported washer. The tariffs were paid not by foreign exporters – but by some combination of American consumer, in the form of higher prices, and/or importer, willing to take a lower margin. Unexpectedly, but interestingly, not only did prices rise on tariffed washers, but also on non-tariffed dryers. This is because consumers like to buy washers and dryers together as a pair and as the market would allow it, sellers were able to raise prices on both items, not just the washer which was the object of the protective tariffs. So, washers and dryers, foreign and domestic, rose in price because tariffs imposed by Washington, D.C. provided a “price umbrella” and a logic for doing so. So why were the tariffs introduced? They were introduced to protect an industry in decline in America and to create jobs. Did the tariffs succeed? According to the researchers approximately 1800 jobs were created, which cost the American consumer a net of tariff $800,000 per job.
Whirlpool just announced that its Q1 profit increased due to higher prices for its machines, despite selling 7% fewer machines during the period as compared to Q1 2018. The company reported a first quarter profit of $471M vs. $94M last year. Obviously, tariffs helped Whirlpool and put a few more people to work in the industry. But American consumers lost “big time” due to “concocted” pricing of washers and dryers which did not reflect market conditions. We still do not understand how hurting the American consumer helps the American manufacturing worker.
The Iranian sanctions are about to be back on. Remember these were put into place several months ago to punish Iran for its political misdeeds around the world. Remember also that some significant waivers were allowed (i.e. some countries like India and China could continue to buy Iranian crude for several months) and the price of oil crumbled. Consequently OPEC, with the help of Russia, tightened production and the price of oil rose. Now it is continuing to ascend due to the renewed sanctions. Venezuelan production is suspect. Libyan production is also. Add these conditions to diminished Iranian oil supplies and there is price support in the oil markets. The U.S., along with the Saudis, the Emirates and Russia claim that any gap in production will be filled by them. It should be doable – but supply lines will be drawn taught. Any unexpected disruption in supply will propel oil prices higher fast. These should be good times for oil companies, as long as the Iranian sanctions are in place. Perhaps this is why there is increased activity in the energy acquisition arena of late as evidenced by Chevron’s proposed purchase of Anadarko and Occidental’s higher bid. Perhaps there will be more.


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The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 5.1% year over year in January after rising 4.8% in December. It was the first time the CPI has been over 5% since 1991, according to Statistics Canada. It was the tenth consecutive month that inflation has exceeded the Bank of Canada’s (BoC) target range of 1% to 3%. Supply chain disruptions, extreme weather events and labour shortages all contributed to the increase. It was the first time that more than 68% of the items in the “basket” used to calculate prices rose by more than 3%. Shelter costs jumped 6.2%year over year. Gasoline remains the biggest single contributor to rising prices. The BoC is widely expected to raise interest rates at the beginning of March.
Housing and Construction News
Canadian housing starts fell 3% in January compared with December as a decline in multiple urban outweighed a gain in single-detached urban starts, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts dropped to 230,754 units in January, below analyst expectations of 245,000 and down from a revised 238,405 units in December.
Home sales in January fell 10.7% to 33,166, according to the Canada Real Estate Association (CREA). On a seasonally adjusted basis, home sales in January were up 1.0% compared with December. The number of newly listed homes fell 11% month-over-month in January. The national average home price was a record $748,450 in January, up 21% from a year earlier. Excluding Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, two of Canada’s most active and expensive housing markets, reduces the national average price by almost $160,000.
Retail Sales Fall 1.8%
Retail sales fell 1.8% to $57.0 billion in December after rising to $58.1 billion in November. Sales were down in 8 of 11 subsectors, representing 62.9% of retail trade. Core retail sales, which exclude gasoline stations and motor vehicle and parts dealers, fell 2.4% in December after rising 0.5% in November. It was the sharpest decline since April 2021. In volume terms, retail sales were down 2.5% in December. Retail sales were up 1.7% in the fourth quarter of 2021, marking the second consecutive quarterly increase. In volume terms, quarterly retail sales increased 0.4%.
Severe flooding in British Columbia and the Atlantic provinces in November 2021 damaged infrastructure and led to evacuations in affected regions, resulting in major disruptions to the business operations of retailers across the country.
Following four consecutive monthly gains, sales at building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers fell 5.0% in December. The decrease comes following higher sales in November, when this subsector experienced its fastest pace of growth (+5.0%) since March 2021. Despite the decrease in December, the level of sales in this subsector remained elevated compared with pre-pandemic levels recorded in December 2019. Sales decreased in every province for the first time since December 2020.
Retail Ecommerce Sales Fall 10.3%
On a seasonally adjusted basis, retail ecommerce sales fell 10.3% in December. On an unadjusted basis, retail ecommerce sales were down 14.2% year over year to $4.1 billion in December, accounting for 6.5% of total retail trade. The share of ecommerce sales out of total retail sales fell 1.7% compared with December 2020.
Canadian Tire revenue rose 5.4% in the fourth quarter to $5.1 billion and comp sales grew 9.8%. FY21 revenue rose 9.6% to $16.3 billion. Canadian Tire now has a dedicated ship for the entirety of 2022 and has chartered three additional sailings for the first quarter. It is expecting higher rates for shipping containers to continue for the rest of this year and has locked in some shipping rates with transportation providers.
Walmart’s comp sales in Canada were up 4.6%, led by in-store shopping and comps increased more than 13% on a two-year stack.
© Robert Bosch Tool Corporation. All rights reserved, no copying or reproducing is permitted without prior written approval


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McDonald’s Japan has released a new dessert item that has gone viral, and it’s not due to its taste.
The FMCG giant recently unveiled its “Otona no Kuriimu Pai”, which is a dessert with a Belgian chocolate or cream cheese filling.
Innocent enough, if you translate the name into English, you get something rather X-rated: “adult cream pie”.
McDonald’s Japan started marketing its new menu item on social media a few days ago, with its website describing the dessert as and ‘”Adult cream pie” to satisfy the adult mind’.
It also launched a video campaign to go alongside the release of the new item. In the ad, a young woman asks an older woman if the pie was “really that delicious?”
The older woman responds: “If you eat it once, you’ll be filled” before they both get into a taxi and head to McDonald’s.
Twitter users quickly began roasting the ad over its major translation fail.
One wrote: “I know a few people that will be lined up for these.”
Another said: “Population declining is a real issue here in Japan, so …”
However, some have suggested the new item name is not a “lost in translation” moment but rather it was an intentional double-entendre thanks to the rather obvious innuendos in the advertising of the item.


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Nappy initiative gets to the bottom of a recycling problem
Bridget Galton discovers that reusable nappies are back in fashion thanks to a new green initiative REAL Nappies Week aims to promote the cleaner, greener credentials of reusable nappies. For the past two years, Camden Council has organised a fashion show where tots crawl or toddle down the runway to display the different options available. The third wi
REAL Nappies Week aims to promote the cleaner, greener credentials of reusable nappies.
For the past two years, Camden Council has organised a fashion show where tots crawl or toddle down the runway to display the different options available.
The third will be held on April 22 at the Waterlow Park Centre, Highgate, from 10.30am.
There will be stalls about 'sustainable parenting', information and refreshments on offer to all new and expectant parents.
You may also want to watch:
Hooking up with the Real Nappies For London initiative, the authority now offers a £54 voucher to offset the initial outlay of buying washable nappies.
Or the money can even go towards a laundry and supply service such as Camden-based Nappy Ever After.
- 1 Primrose Hill candlelight vigil to celebrate life of Nicole Hurley
- 2 Famous Hampstead Heath love swan Mrs Newbie dies
- 3 Italian sandwich bar set to open in Hampstead phone box
- 4 'Let's save The Victoria pub in Highgate'
- 5 Tributes paid to Primrose Hill mother-of-four as fundraiser launched
- 6 Guilty: Kentish Town man convicted of murdering Jack Ampadu
- 7 'Feels like a runway': Hampstead residents call for LED lamp post change
- 8 Man charged with murder of Nicole Hurley in Primrose Hill
- 9 'Important for mental health': Royal Free commits to maintaining new gardens
- 10 Wine, cheese and caviar: New bar to open in South End Green
Athena Kugblenu, from the council's street environment services, says: "Camden has been promoting reusable nappies for several years but the voucher scheme is a huge incentive.
"People get an information pack when they apply. They can find a system that works for them and use the voucher to offset the cost."
Ms Kugblenu explains why the council wants to encourage parents to turn their backs on convenient but costly disposables.
"The voucher is worth £54 because that is the landfill cost of dealing with the disposable nappies of one child from birth to potty training.
"We estimate parents will save £500 by using reusable nappies as well as diverting almost a tonne of waste away from landfill."
Different systems range from buying second-hand nappies to paying a laundry service to deliver clean nappies weekly and take away the soiled ones.
On the down side, reusables can be more time consuming, bulky, and awkward for mums out and about to carry around soiled nappies.
There has been concern that the energy used in laundering reusable nappies neutralises the positive effect of reducing landfill waste.
But the latest energy efficient washing machines use less power and new brands of nappies have been designed to dry quickly to avoid hours in the tumble dryer.
"If you use them correctly, you are going to have a positive effect on the environment," says Ms Kugblenu.
"We all tend to turn a blind eye to the waste we throw out every day and if only a small per cent changed their lifestyle it would make a huge difference."
Camden Council aims to get 10 per cent of parents in the borough using disposable nappies by 2010. The figure currently stands at seven per cent.
To apply for the vouchers, which can be redeemed at registered retailers, log on to www.realnappiesforlondon.org.uk.Anyone whose baby could be a model for the real nappies fashion show can contact Harley Collins on 020-7974 3295.


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With concerns about inflation and a potential recession ticking down, business executives have grown a little less pessimistic about the U.S. economy’s prospects.
Only 16% of respondents in the latest AICPA Economic Outlook Survey now expect a recession by the end of 2023 – down from 47% last quarter – while 29% expressed optimism about the U.S. economy’s prospects over the next 12 months, almost double the 14% in the previous quarter. Even so, this third-quarter edition of the poll, which surveyed 401 CPAs who hold leadership positions during the period of Aug. 1-24, found that 27% of participants still expect to see a recession in 2024.
Inflation, which was cited by respondents as the top business challenge in every survey since the end of 2021, was supplanted this quarter by “availability of skilled personnel,” signaling continued tightness in the labor market, as well as perceived skill gaps in the workforce.
“Most of the indicators we track are up this quarter, buoyed by greater prospects for a soft landing for the economy and a sense that inflation may have peaked,” says Tom Hood, executive vice president for business engagement and growth for AICPA and CIMA. “There’s still substantial wariness about the economic outlook, however. One strong positive is that half of business executives now expect to see expansion in their organizations over the next 12 months.”


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|U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, shakes hands with Wang Yi, then-head of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee, during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Jakarta, July 13. AFP-Yonhap|
US considers asking Korean chip duo to expand limit on expansion of 'mature' chip output in China: Washington sources
By Kim Yoo-chul
It is no exaggeration to say that "legacy chips" are everywhere from military applications to automobiles, aircraft, home appliances, medical devices and consumer electronics.
In the semiconductor industry, legacy, or mainstream chips are typically made using verified and established manufacturing processes. The clear determination about what exactly legacy chip means is still pending, however, the CHIPS and Science Act clarifies them as those manufactured with 28 nanometer (nm), or larger, technology.
Regarding the determination of "cutting-edge" semiconductors, no official definition has yet been made, but can be assumed to apply to processing technology at or below 5nm.
Naturally, global chip leaders including Korea's Samsung Electronics, SK hynix (SK) and Micron Technology of the U.S. are investing more in the wider and stable production of chips using much thinner and advanced technologies as cutting-edge chips are more expensive than those made with mature technology.
But a point of concern is that while cutting-edge chips are widely used in today's most critical tech products and systems, any bottlenecks in the availability of legacy chips could possibly hit all downstream economic activities in advanced economies as today's backbone industries are still dependent upon systems supported by these semiconductors.
The significance of legacy semiconductors was also brought home by supply chain disruptions during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, causing substantial financial strains for a lot of companies.
Within that context, policymakers in the U.S. and EU have begun to acknowledge that they were too slow to respond to China's ambitious aim to dominate the global legacy chip industry. Given the fact that these are still essential for military equipment, policymakers in Washington are on track to scramble applicable measures aimed at interfering in China's increased production of them, Washington sources told The Korea Times.
"If China dominates the global legacy chip sector as it did in the solar industry, then that would be a disaster from the U.S. and its allies' standpoint. If China controls this market, then that means the U.S. would have to depend on China-initiated supply chains, which have yet to exist," said one Washington source familiar with the matter, asking not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.
"But given the wider use of legacy chips in all backbone industries, China's monopoly over global supplies, if that happens, can create national security risks," he added.
|Samsung Electronics' headquarters in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province / Reuters-Yonhap|
The Chinese government provides huge subsidies to companies there, positioning them to initiate a "price war," thereby driving foreign competitors into bankruptcy as seen previously in the solar industry. China had offered huge subsidies to its domestic solar panel industry, and political analysts say Beijing is "prepared" to repeat that with legacy chips.
Data provided by SEMI, an industry association representing the interests of companies involved in electronics design and manufacturing supply chains, show that China will increase the number of semiconductor manufacturing lines for mature 8 inch and 12 inch wafers to 26 by 2026. Market research firm IBS expects China will increase its share in the sector to 40 percent by 2025.
The prime issue for Korea is how to avoid any pitfalls from Washington's shift when it comes to assessing the value of legacy chips.
'Another exemption' for Samsung, SK
Despite increasing fears and concerns about China potentially flooding the sector with mature chips using 28nm, 45nm and/or even older technology, the U.S. is considering providing an additional exemption to Samsung and SK to manufacture legacy chips on U.S. semiconductor equipment in China.
A one-year exemption given by the U.S. commerce department to the Korean chip duo is set to expire in October this year. Korea's trade ministry earlier asked the U.S. to provide an extra one-year exemption for the export of semiconductor gear to China to manufacture legacy chips there.
Samsung's plant in the Chinese city of Xian accounts for 40 percent of its total NAND-type chip output, and uses mature 128-layer tech. SK, which operates chip fabrication lines in Wuxi, produces DRAM chips below 17nm and NAND chips using 96- and 144-layer tech, categorized as legacy ones.
"The U.S. will probably provide another exemption for Samsung and SK but there is a desire for Washington and Seoul to present a united front against Beijing's actions against foreign memory chip makers, particularly Micron Technology," Zack Cooper, a former White House National Security Council (NSC) official and a senior fellow at the American Enterprises Institute (AEI), responded.
|Morris Chang, left, the founder of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), arrives at the opening of TSMC global R&D center in Hsinchu, Taiwan, July 28. Reuters-Yonhap|
While U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said "all options are on the table," stressing Washington views Beijing's expansion into mature chips as a problem that needs to be worked out with its key Asian allies, Cooper said he doesn't think the Biden administration will move quickly to align policies.
"Both the U.S. and Korea are likely to continue to discuss coordination on a variety of semiconductor-related export controls, but it will take time to align policies," he stressed.
If the U.S. wants to better protect its economy and avoid any "negative essential" from the impact of China's accelerated push into the production of legacy chips, policymakers need to think more about the importance of "specialized legacy chips" rather than categorizing chips as just advanced or less-advanced, according to Washington sources.
"The U.S. is considering asking Samsung and SK to possibly limit the expansion of legacy chip output in China. Plus, yes, it's a very feasible scenario for Washington to ask them to reduce the production of specialized legacy chips at their plants in China," another source in Washington added. Representatives at Samsung and SK declined to comment.
Alan Estevaz, undersecretary of commerce for industry and security at the U.S. Department of Commerce earlier hinted at the possibility of the U.S. government applying a new quota plan to be placed on SK and Samsung's Chinese plants after the expiration of the one-year license that exempts the duo from sanctions, allowing them to continue to produce chips there.
"We are working with those companies (Samsung and SK) on the way forward," Estevaz was quoted as saying at a recent industry event. "It will likely be a cap on levels that you grow to in China." But he failed to specify whether the "new quote plan" was referring to a ceiling on the volume of production by Samsung and SK in China, or limits on what they are allowed to produce there.


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Today, we got many copies of the letter that Radio One sent employees about layoffs. While we didn’t get many names, we do know it affected sales and promotions the most across the board and some jocks. Included in the letter was …
Today is an extremely difficult day for all of us at Radio One and Reach.
As you are aware, we are faced with a time of uncertainty and it is not business as usual. Our businesses have been dramatically affected by the effect of the Coronavirus on our advertisers. We have experienced significant cancellations for second quarter and new business is coming in at a trickling rate. The decline in revenues forces us to react soundly and appropriately to ensure that we are able to operate our businesses going forward.
Unfortunately, this meant having to make very difficult decisions to furlough or layoff many employees, across all divisions of the company today. While we hope to bring many of them back, unfortunately at this time we do not know when this crisis will end.
We will keep you posted on any further news.


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Xiaomi had introduced its latest flagship smartphones and a new interface, called MIUI 12.5, in a massive event today. MIUI 12.5 is the follow-up of MIUI 12 and comes with many improvements. It has come up with some safety improvements, optimized applications, and the ability to receive notifications and do some work on connected Windows devices effortlessly.
Xiaomi Announces MIUI 12.5 with Safety Improvements
Check Also: Everything You Need to Know About Redmi 9 Power
Xiaomi said that the name makes the new update sound like a minor thing, but it is actually the next major software solution for the upcoming year. Let’s see what major changes the company has brought in the new update.
First of all, MIUI 12.5 has improved system aesthetics and visual design. Xiaomi also declared itself as the company that brings the least system apps, when compared with Apple, Huawei, Vivo, OPPO and Meizu.
Moreover, MIUI 12.5 uses 20% less memory and 25% less power as compared to the previous interface. Also, the background memory has decreased to an average of 35%. Just like in MIUI 11 and MIUI 12, the new update has also included new dynamic wallpaper. There are also more customizations in sights and sounds – multiple notifications will come in four different tones, inspired by various places around the globe.
Additionally, MIUI 12.5 will now allow users to disallow applications to use their location, private data, access to clipboard and won’t save passwords or other sensitive information.
Initially, the Xiaomi devices in China are eligible for the update but not all. Here is the list of devices that will get the update,
- All Mi 10 devices
- Redmi K30 series
- Redmi Note 7 versions
- Xiaomi Mi 9 lineup
- Redmi 10X
- Xiaomi Mi CC9 series


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Our heads know this to be true even if in our hearts (or stomach?) prefer things bacon-flavored. And we may be seeing this as more Americans cut calories and avoid the fast food and sugary sodas. (Though the developing world is starting to adopt our bad eating habits). But too few Americans are on a first-name basis with edible plants, studies show.
American children ate 63 calories of produce a day in 2012, which is up from 47 calories in 2003. There is a similar uptick among adults, but that's not enough when you consider the USDA recommends three to five servings of veggies a day and two to four servings of fruit a day.


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- Consumer Electronics
- 1 min read
Samsung India forays into air purifier segment
The company launched two premium air purifiers today and said its product provides purification through advanced PM 2.5 filters.
Electronics major Samsung today said it has forayed into the air purifier segment to expand its portfolio of consumer electronics.
With this launch, Samsung has forayed into a new category and expanded the portfolio in the consumer electronics segment, it said.
"The indoor allergens and irritants pose greater danger today because we are spending more time indoors due to rise in pollution level outside," Samsung India Vice-President Consumer Electronics Business Rajeev Bhutani said.
The products are priced at Rs 15,490 and Rs 41,990, respectively.Samsung air purifiers are designed to combat indoor pollution in the most effective way with the least power consumption, Bhutani said.


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Bring in a can of food and swap it for a free cocktail – sounds like a good deal, right?
And if you do that at The Alchemist’s Manchester branches on 13th October, you can enjoy your drink knowing that you’re also helping to tackle rising food poverty in the region.
The COVID-19 pandemic has seen an increase in people relying on food banks across the country, with 100,000 households using them for the very first time over lockdown according to the Trussell Trust.
Food banks are expected to increase further in usage over Christmas.
The Swap Shop initiative, which is now in its second year, will once again aim to raise awareness for rising national food poverty by encouraging guests to exchange a non-perishable food item in return for a cocktail.
Every guest donating a non-perishable food item on 13th October, for one day only, will receive a special colour changing cocktail.
All donations will then be taken to The Mustard Tree charity, based in Ancoats, ready to help those in need.
The Alchemist Spinningfields, New York Street and MediaCityUK branches will accept food items throughout the day, and will be respecting distancing measures by also offering a takeaway cocktail for those unable to enjoy in the venue.
The Alchemist has been partnered with Foodinate since May 2018 and provide hot and nourishing meals for those in need in local communities when guests order any menu items marked with the Foodinate fork logo.
To date they have provided 65,000 meals for the social enterprise.
Last year, the Swap Shop initiative saw over 3,000 donations collected – and this year, they’d like to get even more.
“We love the work carried out by Foodinate,” says Hannah Plumb from The Alchemist.
“It’s a truly fantastic initiative tackling food poverty across the country which is an issue we’re passionate about at The Alchemist.
“The Swap Shop is a fun and engaging way to encourage customers to donate to their local food banks, who need our support now more than ever.”
Take your can of food to The Alchemist (Spinningfields, New York Street and MediaCityUK) on 13th October in exchange for a free cocktail. The Alchemist will only accept unopened and in date tinned, dried and packaged foods. Larger donations are of course welcome.


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Warning to vape traders
Dudley Council issues a warning to borough businesses that they could face enforcement action if found to be selling illegal vaping products.
This follows a number of complaints received from residents who are concerned that some premises are selling illegal goods.
There are strict national regulations that apply to these products. Vapes cannot hold more than 2ml of nicotine-containing e-liquid and the e-liquid can only contain a maximum of 20mg (%) of nicotine.
E-liquids that contain nicotine can only be sold in bottles with a max volume of 10ml.
Disposable vapes are very popular with younger people and the UK market has been flooded with products that offer a range of flavours.
The council will be contacting businesses as well as carrying out inspections. If a business is found to be selling illegal products, enforcement will be taken.
Councillor Nicolas Barlow, cabinet member responsible for trading standards, said:
These pocket-sized devices contain as much nicotine as ten packets of cigarettes. It is therefore important for businesses to ensure compliance with the law.
Dudley Council’s trading standards team will be contacting businesses who are selling vapes advising them of the legislation and won’t think twice about taking enforcement action against those businesses who are found to be supplying non-compliant products and selling vapes to anyone under the age of 18.
People can report the sale of illegal goods or scams via an online reporting form or by calling 01384 814600.


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Competition in the auto industry is ever-intensifying. Or at least it seems that way. As a result, more vehicles have become better cars and fewer cars are outright bad.
But how fast cars sell or don’t sell is a good indicator of what cars customers want and don’t want.
New cars in 2013 have spent an average of 62 days at a dealership before being sold, according to the statistics of the car site, TruCar.com.
The 10 slowest-selling cars so far in 2013 have all remained at a dealership for more than 100 days before selling.
It doesn’t mean the slow-selling cars aren’t quality new cars. Seasonal sales factor into the equation and a brand with a new generation pending might sell more slowly than usual. In fact, some highly ranked brands are on the slow-selling list.
So far, in 2013 the Acura TSX Sport Wagon is the slowest selling car in the United States. The Acura wagon averages 158 days in inventory before it sells. Through the end of August, only 1,491 units of the style have sold.
J.D. Power rated the 2013 TSX Sport Wagon below average for overall performance and design. And Edmunds.com’s reviewer said the Acura Sport Wagon is “a viable choice among sporty luxury cars, but that it has not kept up with the performance offered by some of its competitors.”
Here’s the list of the slowest selling cars so far in 2013:
10. Volvo XC90, 119 days
9. Land Rover LR2, 119 days
8. Nissan Maxima, 125 days
7. Nissan Murano, 127 days
6. Acura MDX, 132 days
5. Infiniti EX, 137 days
4. Acura ILX, 142 days
3. Mitsubishi Lancer, 143 days
2. Volvo C30, 146 days
1. Acura TSX Sport Wagon, 158 days


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Deliveroo has been criticised by more than 40 MPs for not providing their riders will PPE, calling on the company to do more to protect its riders putting themselves at…Read More
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15/09/2020 10:30 AM
Live streaming is now a very popular form of retailing, assisted no doubt by the stay-at-home restrictions caused by the ongoing pandemic. Brands are increasingly marketing themselves, and their products,…


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Sales at Levi Strauss Europe jumped by 14% to US$246 million (£121m) for the three months to August 26, thanks to new fits and styles, according to the company. European operating profit for the period rose 1% against last year to US$51m (£25m).
The company said strong sales of the Levi’s Red Tab range, led by new fits and finishes for both men and women, contributed to the growth, as well as new store openings.
Globally, Levi Strauss & Co’s net revenue rose 2% to US$1.05 billion (£51.8m) compared with the previous year, while profit after tax rose 24% to US$61m (£30m). Total operating profit fell 9% to US$143m (£70.5m), blamed on lower operating income in North America driven partly by retail expansion.
A spokesman said: “Looking ahead, the solid third-quarter results put the company on track to deliver a profitable year, with modest growth in full-year net revenues and strong growth in full-year net income expected."


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In December of 2006 Anika received FDA approval for a cosmetic tissue augmentation [CTA] product used to treat facial wrinkles, scar remediation, and lip augmentation. Anika’s CTA treatment combines a chemically modified version of hyaluronic acid with the local anesthetic lidocane. Anika expects to launch this product in the US and Europe in mid-2007.
Anika has a market cap of $141 million and a strong balance sheet with about $45 million in cash and no significant debt. Anika has a trailing P/E of 34 and a forward P/E of 25. Revenue and profit have both seen steady increases for the last three years.
Anika’s wrinkle treatment will directly compete with Allergan’s (NYSE:AGN) Botox. It is no secret that Botox has been a huge success for Allergan. Steady increases in Botox sales have been the driving force behind Allergan’s stock which has gained about 90% and increased its market cap by over $8 billion in the last two years. In Allergan’s latest quarter, Botox sales totaled $273 million, a 20% increase year over year. In short, the market for wrinkle treatments is huge and it is still growing. Medical Insight, Inc., a market research firm focusing on the aesthetic medical industry, recently predicted a consistent 25% yearly growth rate for minimally invasive aesthetic medical procedures.
Although competition in wrinkle treatments is starting to increase, Anika’s wrinkle treatment is well positioned to compete with Allergan and Medicis, the two market leaders. Medicis Pharmaceutical’s is trying to gain market share for its Restylane treatment which is a “dermal filler”. Restylane is similar to Anika’s wrinkle treatment as they both use a form of hyaluronic acid to “fill in the tissue” underneath the wrinkle.
Although Anika will not have the marketing muscle to compete with the brand awareness that Botox enjoys, Anika’s treatment can easily compete on price. The price doctors pay for Botox has risen over 50% in the last nine years and Allergan is enjoying 80+% profit margins. Recently doctors have started complaining about these prices because many potential patients have been priced out of the market. Doctor’s and patients would love to have a more reasonably priced alternative to Botox and Restylane. Anika’s product could be priced significantly less than Botox and Anika would still enjoy healthy profit margins.
Allergan recently paid $3.4 billion to buy Inamed. Although Inamed’s largest product was breast implants, some market observers felt that the impetus behind the Inamed purchase may have been Inamed’s dermal filler Juvederm. With a market cap of only $141 million and a dermal filler wrinkle treatment already approved by the FDA, Anika could become a buyout target. Although big Pharma has traditionally stayed away from cosmetic medicines and procedures, Johnson & Johnson recently bought a small Israeli company with a wrinkle-fighting product that has yet to be approved and Pfizer has expressed interest in entering the cosmetic field as they recently held a brainstorming session with cosmetic specialists in New York. Analysts believe that big Pharma had previously stayed on the sidelines with cosmetic treatments because they are not covered by insurance.
However, the success of Botox and other treatments has changed the perception of whether of or not insurance coverage is needed to make money with cosmetic medical treatments. With a promising dermal filler product already approved, and additional cosmetic products in the pipeline, Anika seems like a good acquisition target for a big drug company trying to gain a foothold in cosmetics.
Anika’s new wrinkle treatment has great potential and it could lead to a potential buyout, but it is not the only reason Anika’s shares look promising. Anika is profitable and has been increasing revenues and profits for over three years. Even if Anika has trouble selling their new wrinkle treatment (which seems highly unlikely) they are still experiencing solid growth in their OrthoVisc treatment for pain resulting from osteoarthritis. Additionally, OrthoVisc recently received a new Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement code which Anika’s says will simplify the reimbursement process and improve patient access to OrthoVisc
OrthoVisc’s revenue growth could also be helped by additional indications. On January 8th, Anika announced the initiation of a new clinical study designed to evaluate OrthoVisc to treat pain caused by osteoarthritis in the shoulder joint. Anika also planes to initiate additional OrthoVisc studies with the goal of further expanding OrthoVisc’s approved indications.
I believe that Anika is a relatively low risk company with a new wrinkle treatment that could rapidly increase revenues and profits. Even without the new dermal filler wrinkle treatment, Anika would be a good investment with solid growth expected from its OrthoVisc product and a history of consistent revenue and profit growth.
Anika’s CTA wrinkle treatment is expected to hit the market in mid-2007. I think that Anika will receive increased investor attention as this product launch nears. Analyst coverage will likely increase as well because Anika has a excellent risk/reward ratio considering the potential of the CTA wrinkle treatment and the steady growth and profits provided by OrthoVisc.
ANIK 1-yr chart
Disclosure: Author is long ANIK.


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"What's in style now?" Antonio (Mastercard) Ford, 17, asks rhetorically while standing outside of Coolidge High School in upper Northwest Washington with a group of his classmates.
"Timberland boots, A.J. jeans, little thin leather belts, square business," Ford said. "Nice little T-shirts with sweat hoods. The T-shirt lets you show what name brand you have on your pants," he said, pointing to an A.J. logo on his backside.
At McKinley High School in Northeast, Fabiane Butler, 15, answers the question by saying, "Boys wear the same things girls do just as long as it's K-Swiss, Ellesse or Fila. When you have on the most expensive brand everybody notices you. If you can't afford it, you're left out. You're a nerd."
There was a time, not too long ago, when parents faced with the prospect of outfitting their children for another school year trooped lemming-like to the nearest bargain retail outlet and stocked up on reasonably priced store brands, hoping their purchases would at least survive for one season.
Things have changed.
District high schoolers, many of whom have squirreled away savings from their summer jobs, have become full-fledged consumers themselves. And these young shoppers want nothing cheap. Instead they shop for high-priced status items with European names at high-priced stores, which students say separate the fashion plates from the nerds.
Other names enjoying enormous popularity among the high school set are Ellesse cotton T-shirts that cost about $20, $10 socks, and nylon sweatsuits that retail from $189 to $270. Guess and A.J. two-tone and faded jeans and jackets sell from $40 to $100. K-Swiss sneakers and Reebok footwear both hover in the $50 to $60 range.
Although the styles that are "in" are obvious at any city school,elementary to senior high, the forces that brought about their popularity are a mystery to students and experts in the industry.
Monique Greenwood, managing editor of Children's Business, a New York-based monthly trade publication that covers teen-age fashions, said that finding the source of a new trend is next to impossible.
"You can't trace a trend, but once it's in style everybody knows it," Greenwood said. "Kids' clothing used to be a price-sensitive market, but that's not the question any more. If it's hot, they go out and buy it; they don't care how much it costs. Kids want the name. They want that stamp of approval and that's what they get from buying a designer name."
One of the most popular brand names this year is Fila sportswear, produced by a 100-year-old Italian textile manufacturer whose red, white and blue "F" logo and name now seems to be hanging on every adolescent body in the District.
Lounging in front of Dunbar High School in a white Fila sweatshirt, Oscar de la Renta jeans, Stan Smith tennis shoes and Jordache eyeglasses, Sonja Carter, 15, said she has a closet full of Fila items at home.
"I don't know what it means, it's just designer," Carter said of her Fila shirt. "If you don't have certain things, people don't want to be around you."
But Denise Bates, 16, a 10th grader at Coolidge, said, "It stands for Freaks In Los Angeles."
But just buying a designer brand name is not enough. Students said they prefer to make purchases at upscale stores and malls to complete their expensive high-fashion image.
"It's not just the name, it's where you got it from," said Tonya Dansby, 15, a Dunbar student who said she owns a $214 silk Fila sweatsuit. "It's no good if you got it from downtown," she continued. "But if you get it from Georgetown or White Flint Mall, everybody wants it."
Well-known brands such as Calvin Klein, Gucci and Aigner that have dominated the adult fashion world for years are no longer beyond the economic grasp of students who are willing to pay as much as $100 for a pair of sneakers.
"I got all kinds of tennis shoes" said Eddie Hill, 19, a senior at Coolidge. "I like to switch up on 'em. It's a big thing. It's like a dance that goes out of style. You got to keep up to date and every time you turn around, it's something new."
Zita Adams, 16, a Coolidge junior, said, "My boyfriend knew what style I liked and he bought me some Guess jeans ." "If he had bought me some Lees, I would have still been happy. But I wouldn't wear them."
The new styles worn by high schoolers defy conventional boundaries of season, and often reason.
Raymond Taylor, 18, an 11th grader at Coolidge, sports a pair of calf-high rugged-looking climbing boots called Super Tims and a $111 red, white and blue Adidas sweatsuit in near 80-degree temperatures.
"It doesn't matter how hot it is, that's fall fashion," he said. "You just crush it like that, it looks raw and the girls like it. Plus they know you can afford it."
High school students said they have taken a cue from the soft drink world for a somewhat bizarre twist in hair coloring, using Kool-Aid drink mix as a new type of dye. "It changes your hair colors, depending on the flavor," said Dansby of Dunbar. "But it's okay," she said reassuringly, "it's not permanent and washes right out."


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RB's global head of brand experience and design explains why the FMCG sector needs to be dragged kicking and screaming towards an approach based on solutions, not products.
The company behind brands like Durex, Lysol and Mucinex brand is restructuring operations to become less siloed and more efficient.
NEW DELHI - A bitter fight has erupted between Reckitt and the advertising industry in India over the past month, after the consumer goods company's decision to impose a pitch fee for its media buying business.
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Global cyber security firm Trend Micro has announced that it has achieved Amazon Web Service (AWS) Healthcare Competency status.
This accreditation adds to Trend Micro's more than 15 Amazon Web Service competencies and designations for its cloud security solutions.
As an Amazon Web Service Advanced Technology Partner, Trend Micro offers simple and comprehensive security solutions specially designed to meet the needs of companies using Amazon Web Service.
Critical healthcare operations and the continuous care of patients all depend on the security of highly sensitive personal data. According to Forrester Research, Healthcare organisations must fortify security now and continuously improve it moving forward. Ransomware, insider threats, bad bots, DDoS attacks, and spear-phishing emails targeting HCOs have wreaked havoc on an already overburdened healthcare system.
"XSOLIS provides data automation, transparency, and objective insights to our connected network of providers and payers. Ensuring the secure exchange of data for our customers is our utmost priority," says Zach Evans, chief technology officer at XSOLIS.
"By leveraging Trend Micro managed services, we have improved our security posture and meet compliance with ease, allowing us to focus on our mission of accelerating data-driven decision making and collaboration to create a more efficient healthcare system," he says.
Trend Micro has also added the latest Amazon Web Service DevOps Competency, and averages more than 10 design wins a year, which is a testament to the value Trend Micro has created for customers.
"Technology innovation is in our DNA. This latest designation is another proof point of our successful business transformation as a platform-based cybersecurity provider," says Ashley Watkins, vice president Australia and New Zealand, at Trend Micro.
"As we continue to expand into new business verticals, a strong relationship with AWS allows us to broaden our customer base and jointly create a secure cloud environment," Watkins says.
Amazon Web Service Healthcare Competency recognises partners with proven customer success and technical skills in their respective categories.
According to the cloud giant, customers can work with Amazon Web Service Healthcare Competency Partners to build innovative, cost-effective, and secure solutions that improve operational and clinical effectiveness, while improving patient outcomes for healthcare payers and providers.
Amazon Web Service Healthcare Competency Partners have demonstrated technical expertise and customer success in building healthcare solutions on Amazon Web Service that securely store, process, transmit, and analyse clinical information. The AWS Competency Program validates and promotes Amazon Web Service Partners with demonstrated AWS technical expertise and proven customer success.


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©Debra L Ferguson Stock Photography
After a nine-month absence, Iraq returned to the market with the purchase of 40,000 tons of American rice, under the USA Rice – Al Awees memorandum of understanding. The memorandum of understanding calls for annual purchases of 200,000 tons of US rice (see USA Rice Daily, July 29, 2021).
Al Awees purchased 120,000 MT following the signing of the MOU last summer and has just finalized the purchase of an additional 40,000 MT which is scheduled for shipment in October. The final 40,000 MT remains pending, but US exporters continue to negotiate with Al Awees over the price of this tonnage. The memorandum of understanding is renewed each year.
“These sales were welcome news as we finish removing the old crop and making way for a new crop,” said USA Rice President and CEO. Betsy neighborhood. “The US rice industry appreciates the strong relationship we have with Al Awees and looks forward to these annual sales.”
Iraq has been a prime market for US rice for decades, but often oscillates between no purchases of US rice and buying up to 150,000 metric tons. The MoU attempts to bring some stability and predictability to the market, both for the US rice industry and for the Iraqi government, which uses rice to provide rations to its citizens.
“We also want to express our gratitude to former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Matthew Tueller for his support and the continued interest of several members of Congress to help maintain Iraq as a premier export market,” he said. said Ward.


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In a small teaser clip, OnePlus has already shown what the design of the upcoming OnePlus 9 series may look like.
Now, a report by WinFuture has posted official render images of the smartphone from the series, leaving nothing to imagination.
The images posted by Winfuture are not only aligned with the teaser images shown by OnePlus, but also prototypes and leaked images as well.
Both handsets can be seen sporting Hasselblad logo on the back inside the camera encasement.Read More: OnePlus 9 Pro
The more powerful of the OnePlus 9 series is expected to house a 6.7-inch OLED display with curved sides. The device is said to house a tiny punch hole camera on the left side.
The smartphone is confirmed to house Sony IMX766 and the Sony IMX789 sensors already and the other two sensors on the device are not yet known.OnePlus 9
The lower-end smartphone is said to house a flat 6.5-inch display. Also, it is touted to come in a plastic chassis rather than metal.
This model is seen to sport a triple camera setup. At this point, it is not certain if the sensors are the same as the OnePlus 9 Pro or not.(OnePlus 9 Pro on left and OnePlus 9 on right)OnePlus 9 series launch event: What we know so far
OnePlus is set to hold the global launch of the OnePlus 9 series and will take place on March 23 at 10 am ET (7.30 pm IST).Read More:
The company also confirmed that the OnePlus 9 series will make use of a custom Sony IMX789 sensor and will be “the largest and most advanced main camera sensor ever on a OnePlus device.” Another sensor that was recently confirmed was the Sony IMX766 sensor for ultra-wide angle camera needs.
The company has confirmed that it plans to ship chargers inside the box this year.


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High-profile luxury retailer James Kennedy confirmed he has removed his managing director and lost one of his watch contracts even as he rejected rumours the business was in trouble.
Mr Kennedy, the 39-year-old executive chairman, said he had stepped into the managing director's role as rumours of fallouts with creditors, marketing staff and brands became the talk of the cliquey world of luxury watch and jewellery retailing.
Kennedy group's lavish sponsorship deals, including a pavilion in the Birdcage at Oaks Day, and deals to operate boutiques for Rolex, IWC Patek Philippe and Panerai, had already ruffled feathers.
Mr Kennedy told The Australian Financial Review the group was experiencing turbulence, but it was "not news", rather it was the result of operating in a competitive environment.
"I've been taking a belting," he said. "Yes, we've let people go, restructured the marketing department. Sometimes things need realigning. Then early this week I received the sad news that our long association with Patek Philippe in Sydney will come to an end in January and will no longer be stocked at our Kennedy boutique at The Star."
This is believed to be the result of a technical breach of the prestige brand's arrangement with Kennedy in Sydney only, something Mr Kennedy confirmed without elaborating.
"To ensure we maintain our momentum, I have decided to intensify my active management in the business and I have replaced managing director Martin Rainer in that role."
"Our ongoing distribution arrangement in Melbourne [through Kennedy Boutique at Crown] will continue and Patek Philippe is committed to maintaining its collaboration with Kennedy."
Mr Kennedy said the business generated more than $100 million in revenue and had doubled its store footprint over the past 12 months, and the Patek Philippe news would not affect its trajectory or growth prospects.
"With the addition of Omega, Longines, Panerai, and Ulysse Nardin to our existing portfolio of Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier, Girard Perregaux, Tudor, IWC and Graff, the future looks bright," he said. "You would also be aware that our VRC sponsorship has positioned us precisely where we believe we should be – which is clearly at the exclusive end of the market where our trusted brands and our valued customers naturally meet."
Bani McSpedden is watch editor of the Australian Financial Review.


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Instead of obeying the ruling, the USDA announced plans to issue special permits that would allow farmers to plant the banned GMO beets. A group of conventional seed company and environmental groups subsequently initiated legal moves to stop the USDA's end run.
Faced with the court-imposed ban on GMO beets, sugar beet farmers, who grow about half the sugar Americans consume, fear that there will not be enough conventional seeds for them to put in a full crop. Economists at the USDA are predicting a 20-percent drop in sugar production in 2011 as a result.
The sugar industry is crying foul. But it's hard to feel sorry for them. They didn't have to abandon conventional production in the first place, and when the early court decisions went against them, they should have started looking for ways to grow more non-GMO seeds instead of seeking out legal loopholes.
A couple of weeks ago the Canadian health department declared bisphenol-A (BPA) a toxic substance, clearing the way for the government to formulate regulations limiting the use of the popular plastic, which is found in plastic-lined aluminum cans, bottles, and other packaged food containers. Earlier, Canada had banned the chemical, which can disrupt estrogen production and has been linked to birth defects and other reproductive problems, from use in baby bottles.
Environmentalists cheered the decision, and the chemical industry howled in outrage, claiming that the ruling put Canada at odds with such bodies as the European Food Safety Authority and the United States Food and Drug Administration, which continue to dither on the issue of BPA regulation.
Ultimately, the questions about BPA's future might be made by the food products industry. A recent survey of 26 major food and beverage companies conducted by Green Century Capital Management, a "green" investment group, showed that 32 percent of the firms had internal plans to phase out BPA, up dramatically from the 7 percent who had such plans a year ago.
If that trend continues, there will be nothing left for bureaucrats and industry advocates to squabble over.
An Unsustainable Discussion
"Sustainable," like "local" and "natural," is one of those adjectives that everyone in the food business likes to apply to their products. But no one has bothered to define it.
So one has to applaud the American National Standards Institute—a non-profit organization whose mandate is to set voluntary consensus standards for products in the United States—for wading into the murky questions about exactly what the term "sustainable agriculture" should mean. In 2008, a committee of 58 representatives from across the political spectrum of food production was formed, everyone from small organic advocates and environmental organizations to executives at CropLife America, a trade group representing the agrichemical industry.


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The business of transportation is evolving faster than ever, and the next 10 years will reveal the biggest changes yet. Here's everything you need to know
It's not just the technology that moves us, it's how companies are organizing around a vision to stay competitive while preserving our planet.
Bikes and scooters expanded dramatically in the past decade. The president of Ford's scooter company reveals what's next for the micromobility industry.
The industry went from virtually nonexistent in 2010 to being the topic of Fortune 500 acquisitions, and a major focus of high-profile IPOs.
The airline industry is on the cusp of its biggest changes in a generation after a transformative decade in the 2010s. The next 10 years could revolutionize the industry.
The rise of swanky business class suites, the demise of the jumbojet, and the resurgence of ultra-long-haul flying may just be the start.
SpaceX and Amazon are making huge gambles on internet satellites that just might pay off — and transform where people live and work
Low-flying, internet-beaming satellite fleets like SpaceX's Starlink, Amazon's Project Kuiper, and OneWeb may change American life in surprising ways.
Self-driving vehicles were supposed to be here already. Now, automakers are realizing how much of a challenge creating an autonomous, electric future will be.
The auto industry is in the early stages of a transition to electric and self-driving vehicles that could accelerate this decade.
There is no massive disruption of the transportation industry — but companies are disrupting themselves from within
The "disruption within" isn't about cheap, small, fast. It is about big companies recognizing that they can spend billions to attack opportunities.


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Brooklyn’s most well-known meals incubator was abruptly shut down
In a pilotworks kitchen.
Photo: pilot work
The goal of a food incubator is to give operators the opportunity to realize their culinary dreams without bearing all of the costs associated with starting a small business from scratch. Resources and space are shared and a community of like-minded people develops. When it works, everyone wins: businesses grow and customers have more choices of great things to eat. But over the weekend, Brooklyn’s most famous incubator, Pilotworks, closed without warning, leaving nearly 200 operators – some of whom quit their full-time jobs to pursue their food projects – to find out what they will do next.
“Our mission was to be a POC, women company focused on amazing vegan goods,” says Adam Keita, who runs vegan baked goods company Vagaband Kitchen who joined Pilotworks in June. “Shutting down so suddenly not only hurts everything we’ve worked for, but also harms the business we do, and it shows how these kind of big companies can trample us.”
Located in the old Pfizer building on the Bushwick / Bed-Stuy border, Pilotworks started out as Brooklyn Foodworks in 2016. The group provided business acumen for beginners: mentoring, events, networking and access to a commercial kitchen for a monthly membership fee. The 175 small food businesses (which include favorites like Aurias Malaysian Kitchen, Woldy Kusina Catering, Brins Jam, and Brutus Bakeshop) were denied access to the kitchen on Saturday afternoon. Pilotworks emailed that evening to announce the closure “after failing to raise the capital required to continue operations”. Members now have limited access to collect their belongings for the next three days and no one will be able to enter the building after Friday. (Pilotworks did not provide anyone to speak to Grub Street and the social media accounts have also closed.)
The timing is especially brutal for members preparing for the holidays, which can represent up to 40 percent of their annual income. (The move is also a blow to the grocery store owners who rely on these products to store their shelves.) Many were also surprised, as TechCrunch reported that Pilotworks raised $ 13 million in funding (including Investment by Campbell’s Soup Co.). “Pilotworks has been a vibrant, thriving, community-focused kitchen space for all types of food business owners over the past year,” said Thi Lam of Coffee Maker Keepers Co., which left Pilotworks before it closed.
Some companies that have made shelf stable products can sell their remaining inventory, but groups that focus on fresh food are less fortunate. Many talk about what they can do together to help companies in trouble. Hot Bread Kitchen has offered its hotline to connect these businesses with new jobs, and Hana Kitchen, another commercial kitchen based in Brooklyn, is offering discounted space pricing. Meanwhile, Pilotworks members are also looking for reasons for this sudden shutdown.
“Instead of using the $ 13 million to make sure they work properly in their existing locations, they decided to expand,” says David Roa of Superlost, a CBD-focused company within Pilotworks. “It was careless and irresponsible for them to do so, considering that hundreds of companies depend on their facilities for a living.”


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We’re always delighted to look after local businesses, so it was with great pleasure we welcomed Wayne and Helen from Wigan based J.Dot Couriers to our head office in Ince so that they could take advantage of our unbeatable van hire deals and add these smart, upgraded Ford Transit Custom vans to their rapidly growing fleet.
The success story of J.Dot Couriers is nothing short of inspiring. Helen and Wayne are a husband and wife team who went from working together in separate departments of another courier company to founding their own company just two years ago.
In that short time, through hard work, experience and determination, they’ve grown exponentially. From just the couple of vans they started with, they now deliver across the NorthWest with their fleet of 54 vans (which we’ve just added to) as well as 12 owner drivers.
At a time when getting out to pick up anything from essential groceries to clothing, consumer goods and appliances is made increasingly inconvenient by the current lockdown restrictions, it’s no surprise that people are turning to shopping online.
Greater demand for transport and for deliveries of pretty much anything that can be transported and delivered, means that the demand placed on courier and logistics companies has increased exponentially this year. However, as an industry, they’ve risen to the challenge magnificently and we’ve been proud to be able to provide the vehicles they need so that they can distribute supplies and create employment, all of which are sorely needed in the current climate.
We’ve always been the number one choice for the logistics industry in the Northwest and we’re glad to be able to help local businesses like J.Dot Couriers grow and succeed and we’re looking forward to welcoming Helen, Wayne and their team back the next time their fleet needs to expand further.


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The global PC market fell yet again in the fourth quarter
The global PC market has been on the decline for several quarters now. The latest reports by both IDC and Gartner suggest that the PC industry is continuing its fall.
According to IDC, total PC shipments fell 3.7% YoY (year-over-year) to 68.1 million units in the fourth quarter of 2018 due to inventory and processor supply issues. Meanwhile, Gartner is painting a slightly darker picture of the PC industry. According to Gartner, PC shipments fell 4.3% YoY in the fourth quarter.
Lenovo continued to be the top manufacturer for the second straight quarter, according to both reports, securing over a 24% market share in the period. Meanwhile, HP’s (HPQ) shipments fell YoY.
Apple’s Mac shipments fell nearly 4% YoY in the holiday season
Apple (AAPL) continues to see negative growth in its Mac sales. According to IDC and Gartner, Apple’s Mac sales fell 3.8% YoY to 4.9 million in the reported period.
What’s disappointing from Apple’s point of view is that its shipments fell YoY despite its launch of its new MacBook Air and Mac mini during the holiday season. Mac is still the second-highest contributor to Apple’s revenue after the iPhone.
However, Apple’s market share did increase marginally from 7.1% in the September quarter to 7.2% in the December quarter, according to IDC.


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Garden City-based kitchenware and tableware firm Lifetime Brands narrowed its first quarter net loss to $1.3 million from $4.3 million a year ago, as net sales rose to $113.4 million from $110.9 million a year ago.
Gross margin increased to $43.9 million or 38.8 percent from $40.6 million or 36.6 percent from a year ago.
CEO Jeffrey Siegel said results “were in line with our expectations and reflect the ability of our portfolio of businesses to perform well in a challenging and rapidly evolving retailing environment.”
He added that investment in ecommerce let the firm “take advantage of the increasing penetration of online sales and to offset the impact of lower store traffic and soft consumer spending at traditional brick and mortar retail.”
He said he’s happy to have made those investments, since “the cost of playing catch-up in the world of ecommerce is extremely high.”
The firm, Siegel said, plans to continue to upgrade its information technology and distribution systems, as it continues to target ecommerce.
Lifetime plans to relocate its West Coast distribution center to a new, leased facility that will be up and running in early 2018 and to consolidate its European distribution into a new warehouse expected to be completed in 2019.
The firm merged its United Kingdom businesses Creative Tops and Kitchen Craft to form Lifetime Brands Europe.


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“Disappointing”. “Frustrating”. “A rough day for the markets”. After this morning’s cheerful attempts to spin the higher-than-expected Consumer Price Index for January, the networks have very clearly course-corrected. The evening newscasts were far more reflective of the harsh reality of what the report indicated.
Watch the most brutal of these reports, as aired on NBC Nightly News on Tuesday, February 13th, 2024:
LESTER HOLT: Now to the economy and a rough day for the markets. The Dow falling more than 500 points after inflation slowed last month, but not as much as expected. The January Consumer Price Index rose 3.1%, still far from the Federal Reserve’s target. Our senior business correspondent Christine Romans is here to explain what drove the surprise.
CHRISTINE ROMANS: You know, Lester- gasoline and used car and truck prices fell. Housing, groceries, car insurance and health care, among the biggest costs for most people, they all rose. And when you look at the cumulative effect, overall prices are almost 20% higher today than four years ago, before the pandemic. And grocery prices, they’re up 25%. That’s hitting people when they go to the store. It’s part of the disconnect we are seeing between recent progress on inflation and strong economic numbers and how people are feeling. And with inflation not coming down more sharply last month, you saw that big drop in the markets today, in part because the Fed is less likely to lower interest rates any time soon.
HOLT: All right, Christine, thank you.
ABC’s report, as aired on World News Tonight, wasn’t as detailed as NBC’s, but was equally funereal in tone.
DAVID MUIR: Back in the U.S., and to the economy tonight, and to a disappointing new report on inflation, sending stocks tumbling. Consumer prices in January were up 3.1% from a year ago. With prices for housing and food stubbornly high. Energy prices did fall. The inflation news dimming hopes of lower interest rates in the near future. The Dow falling 524 points. The biggest one-day loss since last March. Today’s down day in the market comes after weeks of new record highs.
The same can be said for CBS’ report as aired on CBS Evening News.
NORAH O’DONNELL: Frustrating news about inflation sent stocks spiraling today. The Dow had its worst day in nearly a year, dropping almost 1.5%. It was no better for the S&P 500 or the NASDAQ. Those losses were triggered by a new report showing inflation came in higher-than-expected, at 3.1% last month, meaning a cut in interest rates may not come for several months.
Compare NBC Nightly News’ more thorough report, for example, with the spin that ABC’s Good Morning America tried to put on the bad numbers (click “expand):
ABC: Good Morning America
MICHAEL STRAHAN: Now to the latest on inflation. And new numbers are expected to show signs of lower prices. Chief Business correspondent, Rebecca Jarvis has the latest for us including how it may affect your Valentine’s Day gifting. Good morning Rebecca.
REBECCA JARVIS: Ah, yes. It might, Michael. Nice to see you again. And the reason that we watch these reports so carefully is because they show both how much things cost us, but also they can signal whether the Fed is going to hike interest rates again, making it more expensive to borrow and pay down that credit card bill.
In real terms, a typical family is spending about $211 more a month on the same goods and services as they were a year ago. But where you really feel that difference is when you compare your spending to two years ago; it is up $605 a month. Compared to three years ago, it is up more than $1,000 a month.
And one area that is driving prices lower right now is gasoline. The national average is about $3.22 a gallon. A year ago it was $3.42 a gallon. There are also items on your breakfast table that are dropping. Cereal’s down 2.4 percent, sausage is down 1.5 percent, and thank goodness coffee is down one percent in price.
But it is a very different story if you’re going out to eat. Prices there are up 5.2 percent. And as Michael told you, Valentine’s Day might be pricey if you haven’t already bought those chocolates, you might find a loveless surprise at checkout. Cocoa prices are at a 47-year high due to climate issues and chocolate prices as a result have surged 17 percent over the last two years. Hershey’s says their prices rose nine percent last year. So that dinner out and a large box of chocolates could be a heartbreaker of a price, but it’s a price you should pay if you want to keep the hearts intact.
Notice how correspondent Rebecca Jarvis touted the one-two-and three-year inflation for what people are paying in total, but doesn’t do that for the items she said had a “modest” increase or even outright decrease compared to last year. What was the price of gasoline three years ago? What was the price of these individual food items before inflation began to bite? The comparisons are brutal, hence the need to spin.
To their credit, the evening newscasts just pulled the band-aid on the economic news of the day.
Note: MRC News Analysis Division intern Kathryn Eiler contributed to this report.