text:
Posts Tagged ‘first lady fashion olympics’
Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. Image source The Official White House Photostream via Flickr.com.
On April 22, 2012, French citizens will elect a new president, and at the same time, a new First Lady. Nicolas Sarkozy, defending champion, and his supermodel-cum-singer-cum-First-Lady wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, have undergone a conjugal “make-under” in hopes of appearing less “bling” and more “blah” to secure their place at the Élysée Palace once again. Bruni-Sarkozy, as reported in UK’s The Daily Mail, has become unrecognisable, trading her Christian Dior skirt suits for swathes of chunky knits, leggings, incognito wigs and Uggs, drawing attention to the somewhat illusory dichotomy of fashion and politics in the dress code of a First Lady.
*Article originally posted in The Genteel, April 13, 2012.


text:
- Nana Addo is calling for value addition on the produce Africa exports to the world
- The president is currently in Zambia for trade talks and diplomatic ties
President of the republic, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo is of the belief that Africa risks remaining an arguably poor continent if leaders fail to add value in the production of goods and services.
Gracing the 53rd Zambia International Trade Fair, the president posited that made in Africa products are bound to fail if the continent fails to adopt an industrialization agenda.
One of the major challenges faced the exports of goods and services in Africa has been the ability for such products to meet international standards – a development which has seen China and the EU ban Ghana and other African countries from exports.
But Nana Addo is hopeful that the issue of job creation and a stable economy can be achieved if governments in Africa invest heavily in the value addition of raw materials.
Nana Addo is currently in Zambia to deepen trade ties and also engage in bilateral talks with Zambian business men and women.
Do you have any story to share with YEN? Get featured! We are available on Facebook and email via firstname.lastname@example.org

domain: news


text:
(M)Ask the expert explains our new masks for the German market and addresses the dangers of misinformation in today’s Q&A:
Q: I’ve noticed that you are selling specific masks for Germany on your site. Why is this and what does it mean for those of us outside Germany? Should I be worried?
A: I can answer your question in two parts, starting with the ‘why’. You may recall from our post about EU standards and certifications that we mentioned the current situation in Germany. At the beginning of January, the German government mandated that by the end of the month, everyone needed to wear single use medical masks or FFP2 respirators when in shops or on public transport. This mandate was made in response to the new strains of COVID and with the message that it was all about ‘protecting yourself’.
If people are seen wearing cloth masks, they can be turned away from shops or even fined. Each state is policing this in their own way, with the strictest being Bavaria, where only FFP2 ‘dust’ respirators are permitted.
We understand that some places in Germany are laxer than others when it comes to policing the rules – in Berlin for example there seems to be a less strict approach, but the onus still lies with the public to prove that their mask is safe and legal. This is worrying when we hear stories from people who are struggling to catch their breath walking up the steps from the subway due to the nature of their FFP2 respirator, which was only ever designed to be worn for short periods of time.
The costs add up as well, ranging from 1-3 euros apiece, single use medical masks get expensive and as they can’t be washed, wearing them more than once is arguably more dangerous than helpful.
ISKO Vital+’s German-specific masks have the EN14683 certification and CE kitemark weaved into the fabric of the piping so as not to compromise the effectiveness of the masks. People can point to the piping to indicate that despite it not being a disposable medical mask, their ISKO Vital+ mask still meets (and exceeds) the safety standards of the medical and FFP2 masks now mandated by the government and is therefore permitted to wear throughout Germany.
The second part of your question, ‘should I be worried’ is an interesting one.
Without wanting to cause alarm, I would say ‘yes’ there is cause for concern here. Not from the masks themselves. All of our face masks have been tested and certified to provide at least 95% filtration efficiency, which is in line with the disposable medical ones the German government is mandating.
The concern is that of the spread of misinformation. We’ve been seeing a worrying reliance on unfounded ‘facts’ and non-scientific research studies throughout COVID, spreading fear and leading to kneejerk reactions by the public and governments alike. The misconception that single use medical masks and FFP2 respirators are safer and more effective than re-usable ones is a sweeping generalisation and is stirring up more fear and distrust – not to mention clogging our landfills, compromising habitats and encouraging people to remove masks prematurely to better catch their breath. Wearing a mask incorrectly or not at all poses more of a threat than what the government measures are trying to control.
As misinformation spreads across borders, so do potentially harmful mandates. Safety standards, education and communication help to keep people informed and aware, but I hate to say I’m sure we’ll see more decisions like those in Germany before the pandemic ends, adding a whole new dimension to #StoppingTheSpread.


text:
Restaurants and consumers across the U.S. have been struggling to find sriracha hot sauce. The shortage adds to the growing list of hard-to-find items, such as Jif peanut butter, almond milk, and Abbott’s baby formula. Is sriracha maker Huy Fong Foods going out of business?
Most retailers have run out of sriracha, including e-tailers such as Amazon. In addition to sriracha, Huy Fong Foods makes two other sauces: chili garlic and sambal oelek.
What’s causing the hot sauce shortage?
Sriracha's key ingredient is chilis sourced from Mexico, New Mexico, and California. They've been hard to come by because of drought.
In a letter posted on a food distribution website, Huy Fong Foods wrote, “Currently, due to weather conditions affecting the quality of chili peppers, we now face a more severe shortage of chili. Unfortunately, this is out of our control and without this essential ingredient we are unable to produce any of our products.” The company stated it would ship any orders received on or after April 19 after Labor Day.
Some blame climate change for the sriracha shortage
While some product shortages are due to the Russia-Ukraine war and supply-chain issues, the sriracha shortage is due to adverse weather conditions attributed to climate change. Numerous companies have been taking steps to address the matter.
Is sriracha maker Huy Fong Foods going out of business?
Since Huy Fong Foods is privately held, we don’t know much about the company’s finances. However, it seems set to resume production once it can buy chilis.
When will sriracha be available?
In a statement to NBC News, Huy Fong Foods said, “We are still endeavoring to resolve this issue that has been caused by several spiraling events, including unexpected crop failure from the spring chili harvest.” It added, “We hope for a fruitful fall season and thank our customers for their patience and continued support during this difficult time.”
For now, the sriracha shortage has prompted some restaurants to ration the sauce. Kentucky-based Brady's Sushi and Hibachi has rationed it in addition to its in-house spicy mayo sauce, which also contains sriracha. Others are using alternatives amid the shortage.


text:
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) largest carrier Emirates has announced that it will “employ bitcoin as a payment service” in light of plans to embrace blockchain and metaverse projects.
Is this the future?
Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer, Adel Ahmed Al-Redha, attended the Arabian Travel Market trade show in Dubai – the event lasted from 9 to 12 May. Whilst there, Al-Redha told the press that the carrier will be hiring qualified staff to work on NFT and metaverse-related projects and operations – they will also focus on bitcoin payments.
But, crucially, the UAE carrier specified that bitcoin is not a payment method but a payment service…there’s a slight difference. A payment service refers to a third-party company that provides payment services to businesses that accept online payment methods. Examples include PayPal and Amazon Pay.
While the UAE flag carrier has recently discussed exploring NFTs, the metaverse, and other entities within that realm, this is the first time it has publicly discussed more concrete plans regarding bitcoin.
And as fellow competitors explore the metaverse (Qatar Airways joined the metaverse by launching QVerse), it makes sense that Emirates does not wish to be left behind.
Emirates’ acceptance of bitcoin as a payment service would be a momentous occasion and a significant milestone for the aviation industry and commercial airline sector as the Dubai-based carrier would become the largest global carrier accepting a type of cryptocurrency. And as the United Arab Emirates is turning into the hub for cryptocurrency, Emirates’ decision becomes even more fitting.
An Emirates spokesperson confirmed that the carrier has not started accepting Bitcoin or any other type of cryptocurrency yet but it will be explored as an alternative payment option in the future.
Elsewhere, it is thought that the carrier will also add NFT collectables on its website for trading purposes.
How do you feel about paying for a flight with bitcoin? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.


text:
Manochehr Khan (December 6, 2012)
It was that dark last quarter of year 2009 when the global financial tsunami took its toll on the United Aarab Emirates economy. Whilst there were lot of jobs to be lost, so was key business. And one of the sectors that took the brunt of the financially volatile environment was the Emirates’ hospitality sector. Despite being highly successful and the source of millions in revenue, the hotelling industry in Dubai alone experienced occupancy rates of hotels falling by almost 13%, and the revenues plunging a massive 35%. However, 4 years on, readjustment strategies have paid off and the revenue windmill has started churning again.
Understand that a country that has achieved much in 40 short years, the hotelling sector has become one of the key areas it relies on for foreign cash influx, in addition to the oil & gas sector, which usually remains economically undeterred. Hence, the hospitality industry is to the UAE what Wall Street is to New York; a key economic benchmark. Any topsy-turvy revenue movement will reflect majorly on overall economic stats.
To counter the losses incurred, the hotel industry in Dubai lowered its average rates to attract a larger number of tourists, making it a cheaper destination to take a vacation in. And it just seemed the right strategy, since European vacationers started avoiding traditional vacation spots like Greece owing to political and fiscal instability.
While growth remained comparatively slow, the strategy started paying off and the increasing number of customers showed it. The key differentiator was that the Emirati hotels started adjusting their branding to elite and affordable, and that grabbed the attention of those that were willing to escape the European financial turmoil, for a far-off destination with serenity and luxury – a world away from their world of stress, to rejuvenate and replenish the spirit.
Dubai has become a greater battleground for capturing globetrotters. Hotels in the capital city, Abu Dhabi, though suffered, but a much lower rate, owing to the large number of business travelers that still had to make frequent trips.
At this point in time, the hotel boom is back in full-swing, with companies like Four Seasons and The Oberoi planning to set-up shop in a sector that is expected to hit $7.5 billion by 2016.
Change is inevitable! However, what makes a difference is the way it is received. Sometimes, change is required or needful, sometimes imposed and enforced, depending on which, the responses vary. Irrespective of change being inevitable and an extremely important aspect...Read More
A quick high-five in the hallway or a fresh cup of coffee on the desk - there are so many little things about the workplace that cannot be replicated during a lockdown. In addition to the comradery that we enjoy...Read More


text:
January 11, 2022
Australis Aquaculture announces expansion of flagship range of barramundi
Australis Aquaculture announced early this month the expansion and refresh of The Better Fish, its flagship line of frozen Fair Trade-certified barramundi with the introduction of two new freezer-to-oven varieties.
Australis is the world's leading producer of barramundi, the white fish that is experiencing the fastest growth in US consumer awareness and interest, according to Datassential.
The Better Fish Barramundi offers health-conscious consumers looking to add more sustainable seafood to their diet a delicious, high-quality mealtime solution. Barramundi is quickly becoming a kitchen staple for fish enthusiasts and seafood newbies alike, and is widely known for its craveable flavor, incredible nutritional value and sustainability.
"The last two years have fundamentally changed how consumers eat and seafood must compete harder than ever to win over mouths and minds," said Josh Goldman, chief executive officer and co-founder of Australis Aquaculture. "To breakthrough, we are committed to offering products that not only deliver value and consumer satisfaction, while advancing human health, food security, and sustainability."
Australis Aquaculture received Fair Trade certification in April 2021 in recognition of its operating practices, and adherence to world-class social and environmental standards. The Better Fish is one of the first national seafood brands to commit 100% of its sales to the Fair Trade programme.
The new packaging for The Better Fish Barramundi frozen bag line is rolling out across the United States to over 5,000 retail and club locations nationwide on Instacart, and Amazon in the first quarter of 2022.
"The future of The Better Fish is about maximising the well-being of people and the planet," said Julie Qiu, director of marketing at Australis Aquaculture. "We're challenging what the association between seafood and health can be through our product experience and brand expressions. The Better Fish aspires to support physical, mental and emotional health—as well as the future of the planet."
- Food Dive


text:
Today on the Boutique Chat Podcast Andrea Glenn, Owner of the Rusty Rose Boutique, joins us for Strategies for Sustaining Growth. Andrea goes over how she’s created a successful and sustainable business over the past 10 years, how she pivoted her business during the COVID-19 pandemic, and her experience with vendor events. Tune in to hear more about Andrea’s journey in becoming a well-established boutique!
Want more tips and insight on what’s happening in the retail industry?
Sign up with 55,000+ retail and wholesale industry insiders on our weekly email list!


text:
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- RadiumOne, the only data-driven marketing technology company that connects the dots between brands' paid, earned, shared and owned channels to find high-value customers, today unveiled 'The Power of Sharing' report, highlighting how brands can tap into consumer sharing activities and signals to identify and predict new, high value customers. The report finds that consumers who share a brand's content are nine times more likely to purchase.
Additional takeaways from report:
Dark social accounts for 75 percent of consumer sharing online. In most instances, websites, pictures and other information is shared with selected individuals for a reason, rather than an entire community via public social networks. This is a missed opportunity for marketers when not tracking these behaviors.
Consumers that share content with themselves are 1.7x more likely to buy. Examples of how some users self-share include: texting oneself a link to a review they want to purchase later or emailing a video to themselves as a reminder to watch it later.
Sharing activity is far less likely to lead to fraudulent traffic because "bots do not share".
Sharing data is unique and differentiated from third party interest and intent data.
"Taking advantage of consumer sharing behaviors has thus far been a widely untapped resource by marketers," said Bill Lonergan, CEO at RadiumOne. "By analyzing and acting upon consumer sharing signals, marketers get a real time view into what consumers are interested in and where they are on their journey."
One way marketers can better analyze and understand consumer signals is through RadiumOne's Sharing Analytics tools. When implemented in tandem with event-based pixels, Sharing Analytics allows marketers to gather and activate signals from across their Web, mobile, PR and content marketing activities to improve their consumer insights and paid media effectiveness.
About RadiumOne RadiumOne is the only data-driven marketing company connecting the dots between brands' paid, earned, shared and owned assets to find and connect with high-value consumers. Through our ability to see the strongest signals of consumer intent and predict where consumers are on their journeys, we can build safe and effective brand-specific campaign strategies. RadiumOne delivers digital campaigns that are measured against real business outcomes. Based in San Francisco, RadiumOne has offices across the North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. More on RadiumOne can be found at http://www.radiumone.com. Follow us on Twitter @RadiumOne.


text:
Videos are experiencing a huge boom in social media as Instagram joins Vine and YouTube as a third promising video sharing platform with significant marketing potential.
After Instagram announced that it will expand its static-images-sharing community with 15 second videos as a response to Twitter´s 6 second looping Vine, marketers unleashed a discussion about which option they should adopt for their brands and which will monetize best – YouTube videos or newcomers Vine or Instagram?
It has been about a month since Instagram stepped into the game (June 20th 2013), so we decided to have a look at the popularity of YouTube, Vine, and Instagram amongst marketers on Twitter. Which video sharing platform dominated the newsfeeds from June 19th – July 19th 2013? As seen below, most profile admins preferred to tweet YouTube videos during the studied time range. Of course, YouTube had a running start thanks to its inception in 2006 and it’s brand notoriety through Google. Not to mention the fact that 1 billion unique users that visit YouTube each month. The 100 million+ Vine user base takes second place after YouTube and Instagram will seemingly reach that fan base with Facebook´s 1 billion+ user audience.
We pulled the data from 1 141 brand profiles on Twitter, looking at 5 933 tweets from June 19th – July 19th 2013.
When it comes to engagement, YouTube videos (0.0355%) got the most action, followed by Vine (0.0206%) and Instagram (0.0111%). Surprisingly though, Vine videos were slightly more retweeted than YouTube videos, which could be due to their looping nature and the fact that they are so easy to produce and consume. One of our recent studies already revealed that Vine is catching up on engagement with YouTube. Instagram videos, on the other hand, offer 13 filters, editing features, a tap to focus feature, anti-shake technology, and the option to choose a cover frame that should appear in the newsfeed as a preview of the produced video, so it seems natural that their popularity will rise. The great news is that you can embed all the video sharing platforms onto your web or blog. Let us now in the comments section below which video sharing platform you prefer!
Here are some examples of engaging YouTube, Instagram, and Vine videos:
1. Instagram – Claires UK
2. YouTube – Dove Men Care
3. Vine – Adidas
You May Also Like
7 Steps to Creating Compelling Instagram Video…
Even though Instagram had been popular long before it was purchased by Facebook, teaming up with the biggest social media platform in the world made it a force to be reckoned with.
How to Build a Powerful Twitter Marketing…
Twitter is one of the most formidable social media platforms. Yet, many marketers are struggling with building a powerful marketing strategy that would allow them to tap into the potential of this channel.
Are you one of them?
Read on to find out how to build a powerful Twitter marketing strategy from the ground up.


text:
Syria’s once-separate conflicts have moved into close proximity on the battlefield. Part of the plan essentially carves up Syria into no-go zones for each of the players — President Bashar al-Assad’s fight, with Russian and Iranian help, against rebels seeking to overthrow him, and the U.S.-led coalition’s war to destroy the Islamic State.
Some lawmakers and White House officials have expressed concern that the strategy is shortsighted, gives the long-term advantage in Syria to Russia, Iran and Assad, and ultimately leaves the door open for a vanquished Islamic State to reestablish itself.
Critics also say that neither Russia nor Iran can be trusted to adhere to any deal, and that the result will be a continuation of the civil war whose negotiated end the administration has also set as a goal.
U.S.-Russia negotiations are continuing even as Congress moves this week toward imposing additional sanctions on Russia and Iran. Elements of the strategy were presented in members-only briefings last week to the House and the Senate by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph F. Dunford Jr. and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
HONOR 9X with 6.59-inch FHD+ display, 48MP triple rear cameras, 16MP pop-up camera launched in India on Jan 14, 2020.
Oppo has launched its new F-series smartphone- OPPO F15 in India on 16, Jan 2020.
Samsung is going to unveil three phones in its upcoming flagship Galaxy S20 lineup– the Samsung Galaxy S20, Samsung Galaxy S20+, and Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra.
Samsung is all set to launch its new flagship smartphones- Galaxy S20 series at its Galaxy Unpacked event next month.
Xiaomi has filed a trademark for a phone named Pocophone F2. This indicates that the successor of Pocophone F1 is coming soon.
Xiaomi's Black Shark 3 will be the first smartphone arrives with the highest amount of memory- 16GB RAM in the market.
OPPO is all set to launch the Oppo F15 smartphone in India on January 16th, 2020.
Samsung has silently launched its new Xcover series of rugged smartphones - Samsung Galaxy Xcover Pro in Finland.
Vivo is hosting a three-day Christmas Carnival sale starting today and it brings discounts and offers on its range of smartphones.
Xiaomi has announced the "Year-End Mi Fan Sale 2019", offering a wide range of smartphones and smart accessories at discounted prices.


text:
Sales of passenger cars dropped by 57.1%, compared to 39.7% for light trucks.
Honda Civic remains tops among most popular cars in Canada.
Top 10 best-selling remains the same; Chevrolet Spark almost made it.
If Q1 2020 car sales in Canada were bad, the second quarter was inevitably worse. The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc for the nation’s economy, and automobile dealerships are just starting to gain momentum again. Passenger-car sales nosedived by 57.1% in the first half of 2020 in Canada, compared to the year before, while SUVs and trucks combined saw their sales drop by 39.7%. Here’s the latest ranking of the most popular cars in Canada, and while the top 10 models haven’t changed, a couple have switched positions.
It’s worth noting that none of these cars saw a sales increase year-over-year. And despite a valiant effort, the Chevrolet Spark just missed the top 10 list, surpassing the Tesla Model 3 and the Honda Accord to end up in 11th place. Better luck next time.
10. Ford Fusion (3,499 units sold)
The midsize sedan finished the 2019 calendar year in 12th position on the most popular cars list, climbed back up to 8th place after the first quarter of 2020, but has slipped two spots to 10th place after the first six months of the year. The Ford Fusion‘s sales dropped by 57.2% during Q2 and 30.5% through the half of 2020.
9. Toyota Camry (3,788 units sold)
The Toyota Camry outgunned its midsize sedan rival Fusion by moving up two spots to 9th place. This despite sales dropping by a significant 71.5% during Q2, and by 55.9% through the first six months of the year.
8. Volkswagen Jetta (4,694 units sold)
The Volkswagen Jetta dropped to 8th place on the list of most popular cars in Canada, even though its Q2 2020 sales dropped by 60.3% compared to the same period in 2019, and by 44.4% after the first half of 2020.
7. Mazda3 (5,287 units sold)
The Mazda3 ranks 7th, down a spot compared to the first quarter of 2020. Its sales dropped by 60.5% during Q2, and by 54.2% through the first six months of the year.
6. Tesla Model 3 (5,600 units sold)
The Tesla Model 3 is by far the best-selling electric vehicle in Canada, and manages to grab the 6th spot on the list this time around.
5. Kia Forte (5,670 units sold)
With a sales drop of “only” 37.3% during the second quarter of 2020, and of 27.8% after the first six months, the Kia Forte distanced the Mazda3 slightly on the list of most popular cars in Canada.
4. Volkswagen Golf (6,812 units sold)
The Volkswagen Golf is the car that has suffered the least from the COVID-19 pandemic, posting a Q2 sales drop of 29.4%, and a decrease of 21.7% through the first six months of the year. It’s still far away from the podium.
3. Hyundai Elantra (9,695 units sold)
The usual trio that dominates the most popular cars in Canada list is still going strong, and the Hyundai Elantra keeps its #3 spot with despite a 56.2% decline in sales in the second quarter of 2020, compared to the same period in 2019, and a 48.1% drop after the first six months of the year.
2. Toyota Corolla (14,781 units sold)
The Toyota Corolla saw its sales decrease by 54.7% during Q2 2020, and by 40.0% after the half of the year, and yet it still has its sights on its nemesis that’s been standing tall on the passenger-car sales podium for the last 20-ish years. Despite remaining in 2nd place on the list, it’s catching up to the #1 model.
1. Honda Civic (18,193 units sold)
Once again, the Honda Civic stands tall as the best-selling car in Canada after the first half of 2020, but the Corolla is once again approaching in its rearview mirror. Civic sales sunk by 49.7% during the second quarter and by 43.8% through the first six months. And although it tops the most popular cars in Canada list, there are one crossover and four pickup trucks that sell in greater numbers.


text:
Safe harbour Europe
15 Dec 2020
Protect your company data effectively with European Cloud Providers and Software Manufacturers
The Cloud Act from 2018 gave US authorities the power to access company data, even if these data is stored in servers abroad. This affects all companies worldwide that have at least a branch office in the United States. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that also came into effect in 2018, became the counterpart to the Cloud Act and it represented a different legal standpoint in regards of data protection and data security at EU level. This new regulation had a far-reaching impact on European companies seeking for digital signature solutions. If a cloud provider has a branch office in the United States, it is obliged to grant access to the personal data of their customers according to the Cloud Act. The solution to this: working with a European provider.
July 17, 2020 will go down into data protection history. On this day, the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) failed the decision that the level of data protection of the EU-US Privacy Shield was not compliant with the requirements arising from the GDPR. This agreement was designed to provide a mechanism to regulate data protection and data security requirements when transferring personal data. However, the Court contradicted in its judgement the Organs of the EU that had given green light to this agreement back in 2016. Back then, the idea prevailed that the United States possessed a data protection level equivalent to the EU standards. With the judgement of the European Court of Justice, this adequacy decision is now history.
One of the reasons, among others, was the strict judicial view on the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act (Cloud Act). It had been enacted to grant access to the data of US companies located across borders and not only to data of companies based in the United States with the purpose of criminal control. According to the ECJ, the Cloud Act also includes the collection of both personal and company data. A branch office in the United States would be enough for this purpose.
No personal data transfer to United States
According to the ruling in the ‟Schrems II” case, named after the Austrian data protection activist Max Schrems, there was a violation against the GDPR. As a consequence of Schrems and constant complaints against Facebook, significant obstacles have been placed on the path of personal data transfer to the United States. A valid adequacy decision according to Art. 45 DSGVO for the personal data transfer to United States will not be possible as a consequence of Schrems II. In turn, data transfer within the European Economic Area is compliant with the GDPR.
“Basically, all companies have to comply with their legal data protection obligations every time a personal data transfer takes place. With Schrems II this gets complicated, when a company opts for a cloud applications provider based in the United States,” says Hannes Harlander, Data Protection Manager at XiTrust. ‟In this case, there is even the real risk that upon request of the United States authority, data is disclosed from cloud applications, even without the obligation to inform the end user. In the worst-case-scenario, this could lead to a violation of the GPDR by the Data Protection Authorities (DPA), and this can get quite troublesome, since draconian penalties might be the result. These penalties could reach up to 20 million euros or even up to 4 % of global sales.
Obligation to provide evidence for companies
In order to avoid misunderstanding regarding the seriousness of data protection and security according to the GPDR, the Commissioner’s Office (ICO), a British data protection body, threatened the Marriott hotel chain in 2019 because of an infringement against the GDPR with a fine of an astounding 110 million euros: The company was made responsible for a leak that disavowed the data of millions of customers.
‟When European companies process personal data in the cloud, they are held responsible towards the DPA (Data protection Authorities) and they must provide evidence that the data protection level is compliant with the standards set by the European Union,” explains Hannes Harlander. By definition, this also includes software for the creation of digital signatures. The standard contract clauses between US providers and European customers is not enough according to the regulations established by the Schrems II judgment: Just like the US-software used, these agreements are not considered to be GDPR-compliant”. Harlander adds: ‟According to the current legal situation, the (legally) most appropriate solution is to choose cloud providers with data centres exclusively from the European Union, or alternatively, to choose a GDPR compliant European on-premises software solution at one’s own data centre.”
Least possible amount of data
All the processing of personal data from MOXIS to the cloud complies with the standards of the GDPR in a number of ways: in case of electronic signature folders, both the privacy by design and the privacy by default principles guarantee the fulfilment of the GDPR (see box), unlike comparable US-software. Both requirements are not “nice-to-haves”, but prerequisites for data protection and security within the European economic and legal area according to Art. 25 of the GDPR.
This specifically means that the amount of data processed in MOXIS according to the GDPR is as low as possible. Personal data is processed after being distributed and they are also stored separately. This data is also hosted in certified European data centres. This also means that companies that work with MOXIS are in full control of the processing of their personal data. MOXIS users are always able to provide evidence of compliance with all related legal provisions to the DPAs.
Privacy by Design & Privacy by Default: MOXIS is GDPR compliant
Privacy by Design: data protection through creation of technologies
- MOXIS fulfils data and privacy protection requirements when designing processing operations and data processing systems.
- With MOXIS, the planning, the architectural design, the modelling, the implementation and the use of data processing systems can be carried out efficiently without the minimal interference in personal data.
- European companies with a sense of responsibility are only allowed to use products that fulfil Privacy by Design requirements. Only this way they can guarantee the data protection authorities that their personal data is processed in compliance with the GDPR.
Privacy by Default: data protection friendly pre-configuration
- In MOXIS, all systems and configurations are set in a way that only the personal data required for the respective purposed is processed.


text:
(TheConservativeNews.org) – In a healthy, productive economy, providers and consumers should enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship in which there is at least some level of trust and respect. In no industry is this further from the case than the pharmaceuticals business. Big Pharma seems to do all it can to exploit the people who rely on its products. As if that wasn’t bad enough, it now appears pharmaceutical executives are actually cold-hearted enough to mock the people whose lives they ruin.
On Monday, May 17, The Daily Mail published a report on a scandal emerging from AmerisourceBergen, one of America’s biggest drug distributors. Company operatives, including executives, apparently made fun of people with opioid addictions in internal emails, calling them “pillbillies” and making up derogatory rhymes about them.
These emails emerged as part of a lawsuit filed by local officials in West Virginia against AmerisourceBergen. The suit is seeking damages from the pharma giant on the grounds that it contributed to the area’s opioid epidemic.
Big Pharma improves the standard of living of millions of Americans every day. However, that doesn’t give these companies the right to treat us with this kind of contempt.
Copyright 2021, TheConservativeNews.org


text:
Many people don’t want to wear a watch. Many others already wear one, and don’t want to wear another just to track their exercise. That’s why some people may find the new AmpStrip to be an appealing alternative to fitness bands. According to FitLinxx, the company that makes it, the product will launch in the second quarter of 2015 (at a price that has not yet been announced), offering a clear alternative for exercise tracking. Using medical grade adhesive, you simply stick the patch on your chest like an over-sized band-aid. It is designed to be worn non-stop for up to a week at a time, and without recharging. It stores its data, and then transfers it wirelessly to your smartphone or tablet. The device takes about two to three hours to recharge wirelessly.
The device records data the entire time that you’re wearing it. According to the website, it uses electrical impulses to measure heart rate that the company claims are more accurate than optical methods used by some wrist-worn devices. The AmpStrip records heart rate, activity, respiration, body temperature and posture. It is designed to help athletes measure and monitor their workouts and recovery, as well as sleep patterns. The product recently was recognized as a 2015 Best of Innovation Honoree by CES.
The same data that the AmpStrip records could also have significant value in health applications, monitoring heart rate for irregularities or other conditions. This is not part of the product’s declared mission at this point, but it is easy to see how it could be used for other purposes. The device could also serve as a platform for additional sensors, which could expand its utility even further.


text:
It hasn’t been a good year for Sony, which has been reeling from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami and hacker attacks on its PlayStation Network that the company said will cost it $2 billion in operating profit this fiscal year. Now the problems have reached Howard Stringer’s office: The Sony chairman received 15% less compensation for the 12 months ending March 31, the company said in government filings today, putting his salary and bonuses at $4.3 million (his second in command and likely successor, Kazuo Hirai, also got a pay cut). Sony’s stock has fallen 29% since the earthquake March 11; the company has reported three consecutive annual losses. According to Bloomberg, Stringer has overseen the loss of more than 37% of Sony’s market value over the six years ended March 31 since he was made chairman and CEO.
Sony Boss Howard Stringer Sees Pay Cut
Trending Now on Deadline
More From Team
- 'Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown' Ratings: CNN Season Premiere Down With 538,000 Viewers
- 'Bone Tomahawk' Adds Five To Cast; Kristina Lauren Anderson To Adapt YA Novel 'Invisibility'
- TV Academy's Ed Sullivan Statue Stolen From Hall Of Fame Plaza
- SoftBank Eyes Stake In Legendary Pictures As DreamWorks Animation Talks Cool
- 'Inherent Vice' Trailer: Joaquin Phoenix Stars In Paul Thomas Anderson's Latest
- Naomi Campbell To Recur On Fox's 'Empire'; Tina Casciani Joins CW's 'Jane The Virgin'


text:
911 calls are never ignored, but sorting out which alerts from Apple iPhone 14s and watches are real is “a tremendous drain” on resort town resources.
Colorado’s White River is the country’s busiest national forest, with a $1.6B impact. But can it keep it up?
“The answer here is not another lane on 70,” forest chief Scott Fitzwilliams says as he plans robust community discussions on the future of White River
Supply chain issues prevent yet another thing from spinning: new Colorado chairlifts
Supply issues for chairlift manufacturers, including Grand-Junction-based Poma, have stalled openings for new lifts across Colorado, North America
Watch: Colorado’s ski bosses talk recent seasons, challenges
The Colorado Sun talks recent ski seasons, lessons learned and challenges around housing, climate, jobs and more.
Can Copper Mountain do something about climate change using its own slopes?
Ski area officials in the West know they will lose up to 25% more of their snowpack between now and 2050, after suffering through 20% losses already in a decadeslong drought. Through snowmaking from local river water and isolated geographic luck, Colorado ski areas have managed so far to avoid devastating impacts from climate change […]
Q&A: Alterra CEO Rusty Gregory steps back and reflects on next generation of ski resort bosses
The U.S. ski industry was forged by soldiers. We all know the story about 10th Mountain vets returning from war with visions of ski runs and chairlifts that would spark dozens of American resorts. Innovators who worked every job at the ski area took the reins from those soldiers, creating even more lifts, better grooming […]
Colorado’s independent ski areas are thriving in the shadow of dueling, consolidating resort giants
In the shadow of battling behemoths, smaller, independent ski areas are thriving. “It’s not just that the big areas are crowded and skiers want to escape crowds,” said Bob Nicolls, the owner of Monarch ski area, which saw record visitation in 2021-22, with income for the ski area climbing 20% above the previous season. “I […]
Carman: Backcountry with a side of bacon is a soulful alternative to the corporate ski experience
I was stepping out of my bindings at the base of Steamboat one sunny afternoon after a glorious day of spring skiing with my kids. It was the 1980s — a lifetime ago in the evolution of alpine skiing in Colorado. “We have to keep doing this before we get old,” I said to my […]
Vail Resorts promises $175 million more for employees, bumps starting pay to $20 an hour
Vail Resorts will spend $175 million more a year on employees, increasing pay by more than 30% after a grueling season that saw North America’s largest resort operator vilified as it struggled to open chairs and handle crowds. Kirsten Lynch celebrated her 100th day as CEO of Vail Resorts this week, marking what was likely […]
America’s chairlift savant finishes 22-year quest to ride every lift in the U.S.
Peter Landsman, a lift supervisor at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, has visited, photographed and documented 2,381 chairlifts in the U.S.


text:
There are three people – all of them relatively unknown – who could provide a big boost to the year-round economy of Estes Park in the near future.
They are Nick Smith, John Weeber, and Joe Elkins. They have made it known in recent months that they would like to open craft alcohol beverage businesses in the town.
Smith and Weeber want to open micro breweries for craft beer. Elkins would like to open a distillery for whiskey and other specialty liqueurs.
These businesses will likely thrive on the annual influx of tourists but also should do well year-round with local sales and distribution of their products along the Front Range and across the state, local marketing experts agree.
“They absolutely could be a big boost (to the local economy),” said Elizabeth Fogarty, the incoming CEO for Visit Estes Park, the town’s local marketing district. “We’ve seen how successful (craft brewing, distilleries, and wineries) have been in Colorado.”
According to information recently published by the University of Colorado-Boulder’s Leeds School of Business, the craft brewing industry in Colorado is growing at a fast clip, increasing 85 percent from 2011 to 2013. As a result, the industry contributed $446 million to the state’s economy in 2011, $704 million in 2012 and $826 million in 2013.
“Estes Park needs to share that market,” Fogarty said. “The expectations of people who travel to Colorado is that these will be here. It’s expectations we’re not meeting yet.”
The effort to meet those expectations has run into a bit of a roadblock.
That’s because the town currently does not have a provision in the Estes Valley Development Code that allows for such businesses.
The town does have regulations regarding brewpubs. But, brewpubs have restaurants attached to them.
These craft businesses have no desire to have attached restaurants or serve prepared food. That has forced the town to consider amending the Estes Valley Development Code to allow for craft beverage businesses that are not brewpubs.
Regulations will also have to be amended to address wineries, such as the Snowy Peaks Winery which has been operating in town for several years outside town regulations.
The idea to clear the road for the craft beverage industry was first discussed on April 9 during a joint meeting with the Estes Park Town Board, the Larimer County Commissioners, and the Estes Valley Planning Commission. Since then, a group of town officials and residents toured several microbreweries and a distillery in Fort Collins to see how the businesses operated.
In addition, town staff has been busy gathering information regarding code amendments and will present a draft of those amendments to the Estes Valley Planning Commission for review and approval at its June 17 meeting next week.
If the Planning Commission signs off on the changes, they will likely go to the Estes Park Town Board for approval at its June 24 meeting.
It’s been a speedy process, one that has Smith, Weeber, and Elkins quite pleased.
“The town has had a ‘yes’ mentality the whole way,” Smith said Monday.
“Looks like things are on the right path,” agreed Weeber.
“They couldn’t do it any quicker and do it with due diligence,” Elkins said. “I’m very appreciative of it and I know everyone else is, too. It could have dragged out a year or more but it looks like they’re ready to move on. From top to bottom, everyone has worked hard and has been very cordial.”
So, what is drawing these businesses to Estes Park?
The answers are varied but make sense.
“I didn’t consider any other city,” said Smith, a Long Island, N.Y. native who now lives in Little Valley. “I like it here. Estes Park and Colorado have lots of room for the craft industry. I’m just pretty sure I wanted to be here.
“There are lots of towns in the state doing well with the industry. I hope to do that here and benefit everyone here.”
Smith has already made a big commitment. He has leased the former Murray and Sons gasoline station and repair shop, 531 S. St. Vrain Ave., for the site of his micro brewery. He’s even purchased brewing equipment and moved it into the facility.
He’s essentially waiting for the town to approve the code amendments so he can pull the appropriate permits and begin business.
Elkins, a geology professor at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, has lived in Fort Collins for the past seven years. He’s watched closely as the craft beer business has rocketed in that community.
“Fort Collins has pinned its star to beer,” Elkins said. “I plan to focus on whiskey.”
Elkins said his desire to open a whiskey distillery in Estes Park was all about location.
“First and foremost was the confluence of the things that you need for making whiskey,” Elkins said. “You need world class grains like barley and corn. Colorado has both of those. And, you need water and we have Rocky Mountain water.
“Denver and Fort Collins have access to these, too. But, the difference is elevation. The higher elevation in Estes Park is better for aging. It has a higher barometric pressure. That allows the drawing of whiskey in and out of the wood (in the aging barrels). It also accelerates the aging process.”
But, there is another reason why the selection of Estes Park was attractive for Elkins.
“The laws of Colorado allow us to sell our product to the public and to self-distribute,” Elkins said. “That’s a big deal. In the South (where many large distilleries are located), you have to use a distributor. Colorado is really forward-thinking to allow you to sell to the public and self-distribute.”
Of course, Smith and Elkins admit that the nearby presence of Rocky Mountain National Park – and its 3 million annual visitors – was a big draw, too.
Oddly, both men also said they hope many other competitors will come to Estes Park, too. They would like to see an industry community of friendly competitors.
Contact David Persons at email@example.com


text:
HiSilicon continues ramping up 7nm chip orders placed with TSMC
Monica Chen, Hsinchu; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES
Huawei's HiSilicon has been ramping up 7nm chip orders placed with foundry partner TSMC to ensure adequate supply for Huawei's flagship P30 series smartphones through at least the end of this year, according to industry sources.
The article you are trying to open requires News database subscription. Please sign in if you wish to continue.


text:
Media Publications from Cinesseum
Before you know it, you will be able to watch Hollywood premieres and the latest movies online at the same time as they are shown in theatres.
According to statistics, price of movie tickets in theaters is increasing globally. In the U.S. alone, the price has doubled in the last eight years and reached amount of $8.97 in average, whilst premiers cost up to $19.
Having that in mind, founders of Cinesseum.com decided to offer a revolutionary alternative at the more affordable price.
Cinesseum.com is a new website and the first in the world of that kind, which will enable people to legally watch the world premieres and the latest movies online at the same time as they are shown in theatres.
"People are thrilled with an idea. Every day we are getting emails and support from all around the world. Thousands of people already signed up to our waiting list, and that number is increasing as we speak. That's motivating us to work even harder in order to provide an awesome online movie experience and to launch the world’s first online movie theater as soon as possible", said Marko Maksimovic, co-founder of Cinesseum.com
As stated by Cinesseum.com founders, the website will operate according to the same principle of theatre tickets, with the only difference that this ticket will be in e-form. By using your e-ticket you’ll be able to watch the movie on the website, with as many people as you want. Moreover, founders guarantee not only the theatre standard video quality but digital sound quality as well.
Note: This material can be edited and re-published on the third-party websites. For any additional questions feel free to contact us.


text:
36 Women Revolutionising Crypto
"Featured twice on “Women in Fintech Powerlist” by Innovative Finance UK, Meirav specializes in innovative technologies, and their impact on the future of banking, finance, regulations, macroeconomics and businesses.
She was previously a candidate for the position of Director General of The Bank of Israel, and Israel’s Ambassador to EWPN, as well as served as former Head of Strategic Innovation Technologies at BDO, former Acting COO for Bancor and former COO at IQONIQ.
For 7 years, Meirav acted as the Business Development Manager of “LeumiTrade”, Bank Leumi’s award-winning Financial Trading website, which was chosen as one of the three “Best Trading Websites in Europe.”
Based in Miami, XMANNA is creating a new metaverse bringing blockchain, gaming and the Metaverse to live sports with its versatile solution for sports leagues, advertisers, retailers and stadiums seeking to create a digital fan experience.
XMANNA utilizes blockchain technology to create seamless digital connections, promoting active loyalty and benefits between users, teams, and advertisers. Through their innovative loyalty platform and Metaverse stadium project, XMANNA is merging digital and physical interactions for fans with their favorite franchises across the world."


text:
By Rehnuma Karim, PhD
Mr. Anwarul Alam Chowdhury Parvez is a visionary entrepreneur who possesses a well-rounded global perspective with scholarly insight on Bangladesh’s business and economy. He is the founder and Managing Director of Evince Group, which has become the country’s one of most diversified manufacturing conglomerates in the apparel and textile industry. Under his leadership, Evince group evolved through investing in the latest technology and motivating people, which undoubtedly are two major cornerstones of any successful business that has to compete in the global arena. One element that makes Mr. Chowdhury stands out is his genuine respect and care for his employee, which makes him a true empathetic leader who knows a business can only thrive when people are valued. Colors sat down with the prominent industrialist to get his perspective on Bangladesh’s progress and the impact of the global crisis particularly in the Ready-Made Garment industry.
Bangladesh is the second-largest ready-made garment (RMG) manufacturer and exporter in the world and has become one of the fastest-growing industries globally since the 1990s. This sector has been and still is the main source of foreign earnings, but now experiencing a setback due to the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. Based on this persisting scenario, Colors started the interview by asking Mr. Chowdhury to provide his take on how the devaluation of taka against US dollar can impact the Bangladesh manufacturing industry.
Impact of rising inflation on Ready-made Garments Industry
Mr. Chowdhury Parvez showed his concern on the rising inflation rate, which reached almost 7.5% in July. This phenomenon will impact the economy in manifold effecting wages, prices of LNG and petrol. The import is also becoming expensive as the raw materials and accessories such as cotton, fabrics and other imported products become costlier as taka depreciates further against US dollar. Bangladesh’s foreign reserve also fell below $40 billion which forced the Govt to take contractionary policy. He explained, Ready-made Garment sector of Bangladesh is the highest contributor to the growth of our GDP and if this situation continues, it can hamper the overall growth.
He further added comparing to other countries such as our South Asian neighboring nations, Bangladesh is remarkably doing better. Undeniably, according to Mr. Chowdhury, the credit must be given to our Prime Minister’s charismatic leadership and far-sightedness on finding solutions.
Mr. Anwar applauded her effort of providing stimulus package even before she was consulted by the businesses. This was a big support that helped our economy during the covid times. Just when Bangladesh was buffering the effects from Covid, the unexpected Ukraine-Russia war happened that started to have its direct and indirect effect on the industries. But the crisis is not singular to Bangladesh but effecting industries world-wide. He mentioned USA’s experience with the war that pushed them to increase interest for the third time moving closer towards recession, which they might be already in and not announcing. Europe too according to him is in the same boat.
With depreciating value of Taka, although the export scenario can show positive signs, but the expensive import pricing could increase the trade deficit. But Mr. Anwar was proud to say that Bangladesh is flaring better than many other countries due to gaining self-sufficiency in food production which slowed down the price hike of food grain.
Bangladesh according to his opinion needs to depend on export now more than ever before taking somewhat advantage on the depreciating currency and especially when we are short in foreign reserve while foreign remittances also going down.
It is a good sign that the government did realize the urgency and prepared to support the export industry placing high priority to this sector to increase the overall basket of export. Industries still have not yet reached an alarming state as government is supporting the industries with energy despite the country wide staggering energy crisis. It is also a good sign that the price of raw cotton and oil also went down a bit. He also mentioned the import seemed to be slowing down as well, which was indicated in the month of July to be dropping more than $2b. These indicators made Mr. Chowdhury hopeful that if the currency stays within the control —- the existing problem can ebb down to reach a steady state.
Regarding employment during the inflationary state, he stated that one of the biggest challenges the country needs to face now is to control the rate of inflation and maintain employment. When asked whether the Ukraine-Russia war is going to impact the steady growth of Bangladesh’s economy, he again mentioned how proud he is for our agricultural sector that has placed the country in a better state than many other nations. According to him, Bangladesh has not yet experienced high level of inflation which is being faced by Europe and America and one of the reasons might be due to the self-sufficiency in food. This is a result from the combined effort of both Bangladesh Government’s initiatives and the hard work of the dedicated farmers. But this condition can change if the war persists as no country can escape from the lingering negative effects of war.
Need to be vigilant to meet the uncertainties from global crisis
He also highlighted the issue of supply chain, which has been interrupted during the pandemic and not yet has been solved. This too is not a problem for only one country but everyone at the global level in trade has been affected. This caused lengthening delivery time and increased cost. He provided an example saying, “The cost of per container vessel that would have been $1200 earlier, now has increased to 7000$ or 8000$. So, if the war continues nobody can tell how the situation will turn out.” He mentioned that Bangladesh received subsidies from many developed countries before the pandemic, but when the recession hits then the developed country defer the payment and when it is the time for the industries to pay back, the markup will be raised. Unfortunately, when all these elements start to add up, the product price along with labor cost too will increase. He thinks if we are unable to adjust the situation immediately, the whole process to climb out of the debilitating condition may take at least 4 to 5 years. He said that we need to consider the geo-political scenario. At present, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Syria, Argentina and Brazil are buried in foreign debt and some of the economies is and will be in the brink of failure. When this happen, Bangladesh should be prepared to face restrictions by international agencies such as World Bank and IMF as they might prioritize those other countries over us. If this happen, it is the consumers of our country who will be suffering as they will have to bear all the cost.
Future projection on coping with the removal of preferential treatments
Mr. Chowdhury provided a positive outlook when asked about how we as a nation can prepare to cope with the removal of preferential treatments in trade as Bangladesh graduate to a middle-income country. He knows this will be a big challenge, but his analysis of our overall strength gave a hopeful view into the future. He said, “our export basket did cross 50 billion dollars and the largest contributor to the basket is our ready-made garments which accounts for 84% of the total exports. And if we add home textile and specialized textile … it becomes 86%. This 86% won’t be impacted even when the preferential treatment is lifted because no other competing countries have such a large, dedicated amount in the RMG sector.” He also said that Bangladesh has experienced unexpected growth in this sector and is still growing. Based on the geo-political scenario, China is focusing on building domestic purchasing power since the waning relationship with USA and Europe. Usually, garments industry is the lowest paid wage industry, and this is why, China is focusing on the domestic industries that are capable to pay better wages which mostly are in electronics, automobile manufacturing, e-commerce, and service industries. Garments is the lowest paid wage industry globally. China’s contribution in this sector to America is now close to 33% and 40% in the rest of the world. As China shifts more towards engineering sectors, Bangladesh even if it gets only 10% or 15% from that global share, it will add almost 15 billion dollars more. If we check in with Vietnam as our competitor, we see that only 10% of their total export is garments and have a Free Trade Agreement with Europe. Vietnam too is exporting electronic equipment to Europe and the wage paying sector for them is also trickling down. Now according to Mr. Chowdhury, if we consider Sri Lanka, and Myanmar—- they all have political crisis which tend to discourage investors and foreign importers to conduct business with them. So according to him, Bangladesh still has an advantageous position with a proven track record to keep growing in the Ready-made Garments sector.
Therefore, when other countries are emphasizing on high wage industries and shifting away from a low wage industry such as garments, Bangladesh will be the only viable option to meet the global demand of ready-made garments. This is the reason why Mr. Chowdhury believes that despite the removal of preferential trade agreement, Bangladesh will not experience much problem competing in this sector.
Investing on up-skilling work force
He pointed out his disappointed as a Bangladeshi entrepreneur to see that our nation is still taking the back seat in investing into heavy industrial sector and creating workforce with right expertise. He said, “We are still lagging in skill and professional development. We are not yet there providing the right education to meet the need for the future.” He added, “I feel it’s high time for us to move to the second phase as the 4th Industrial revolution is knocking at the door and we have to focus on big chemical, machinery, and engineering industries.”
Our priority should have been our education sector. The present government is trying but still the course Curriculum is not catered to meet the emerging need and fill in the deficiencies. As a person who feel strongly about the country’s progress, Mr. Chowdhury seemed to be saddened by the lack of professional teachers who are yet to be developed. He showed his urgency on developing the quality of teachers and professionals who can help the country move forward matching with the global trend. Along this line, he mentioned that this is one of the major reasons why industries such as his most of the time are required to hire experts from abroad to fill in the gap. But he mentioned how he is conscious about developing our Bangladeshi experts who are learning from the best foreign experts in the job. There are 10 people learning from 1 expert that is creating value for the industry.
Mr. Chowdhury explained that as the ready-made garment industry experienced unexpected growth. This growth compelled the sector to meet the growing demand by hiring experts from abroad as a huge gap remains to fill in the requirements. Although BGMEA’s institute, the BGMEA University of Fashion & Technology (BUFT) is dedicated to develop the professionals and experts for this sector, but the supply of graduates are not sufficient. Secondly, he found the level of education and know-how that is needed is not yet up to the global standard. He says, “Today the experts we are bringing in from Sri Lanka have already been trained and reached the highest standards as Sri Lanka planned long time ahead to develop the workforce for this sector 25 years ago. Sri Lanka collaborated with British fashion institute and set things up bringing in professional, courses and teachers to develop experts to serve this garments industry efficiently.” He strongly felt that these are the initiatives that Bangladesh needs to undertake. Mr. Anwar -Ul-Alam also pointed out how we are still struggling to find the proper CFO, an efficient and knowledgeable company secretary, proper electrician, and accounts people. There is a need to motivate our able graduates not to migrate to other countries but find ways to make them stay back and contribute to building our nation, so we do not need to rely on foreign experts. He also emphasized on developing work ethic and sense of respect for the company by our Bangladeshi graduates. But he said that he cannot only blame the students who are graduating for their lack of interest to learn and function at professional level. He thinks that both private and government sector should jointly work to create an effective educational curriculum and develop certified short professional courses providing the students scopes to have experiential and applied learning.
Industrial Zoning for efficiency
Mr. Chowdhury also gave his view on the need to decentralize industrial operations across the country especially now as Bangladesh government made remarkable progress connecting our great divides with Padma and Jamuna bridges. He also presented a paper recently at the Ministry of Industry regarding this issue. He proposed effective geographical mapping and zoning to optimize our land area. He strongly believes that the country should plan to establish industries with specific needs and capacities to be placed in geographical locations that serves them best. Also, he would love to see initiatives taken to build townships around those industries with proper schools, hospitals, malls, and recreational facilities so locals are no longer tempted to move to Dhaka city but can enjoy life being close to their home. This can also contribute to lower living cost as people can work in their own back yard. The established economic zones in Bangladesh can become the support zones with careful planning.
Women empowerment is the key to development
Mr. Chowdhury is also a strong proponent and supporter of women empowerment. And this is reflected through his conscious efforts to integrate female workforce into his industries at different leadership roles. He understands how important it is to invest on his female employees as they contribute to provide higher return. He said, “In spinning wheel sections of our garment manufacturing, many think it should be men who are equipped to perform the job. But in my spinning wheel 65% are women and we are targeting to raise the number to 80%.”
The insightful conversation with Mr. Chowdhury did shed informative light into how Bangladesh can thrive despite the economic winter that is happening across the world. With concerted effort, focus and intentional strategies Bangladesh surely can continue to weave the story of progress as we stepped into an era being hopeful instead of being disheartened.


text:
In a news conference today, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) denounced Goldline International, Inc. of Santa Monica, California and also media celebrity Glenn Beck, host of a radio and television program on which Goldline advertises.
Weiner attacked Goldline, one of the nation’s largest coin marketing companies with reported sales of $500 million annually and a staff of 300, as “a company that uses conservative rhetoric, high pressure sales tactics and tall tales about the future of gold to sell overpriced coins that can be bought somewhere else for cheaper.”
Later Weiner said, “Commentators like Glenn Beck who are shilling for Goldline are either the worst financial advisers around or knowingly lying to their loyal viewers.”
Weiner says he has sent letters to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requesting an investigation of Goldline’s more questionable business practices. He further stated that he plans to introduce legislation requiring such sellers to make full disclosure of 1) hidden fees; 2) the premium above intrinsic metal value that the seller is charging for products; and 3) the price that gold must reach in order for the customer’s purchase to be profitable.
Goldline issued a statement today defending their business practices. It also pointed out that Rep. Weiner’s office had never contacted the company to ask for additional information about industry practices that might have resolved some of the concerns. On his radio program this morning, Glenn Beck accused Rep. Weiner of being an attack dog for President Obama, who has significant differences of opinion with Beck.
This story needs to be analyzed on at least two different levels. There is the legal and ethical aspect of the company’s business practices and consumer service issues. Then there are the political angles.
In a free market, any would-be seller is free to ask any selling price they want for any product. Potential buyers are also free to choose to buy or not to buy. Philosophically, I have no moral objection to anyone who may choose to price their merchandise at a price far higher than the competition as long as the seller does not violate any law or deceive or defraud the customer. However, even though it may be legal and moral, I find it repugnant when a seller takes advantage of a buyer’s ignorance to sell a product 1) for a price much higher than charged elsewhere; or 2) that is unsuited to satisfying the customer’s purpose.
In particular, Goldline is well known in the coin industry for promoting the sale of Proof Gold and Silver Eagles at high prices compared to most other dealers. In my company’s experience, potential customers doing price comparisons have told us that our selling prices for such coins are usually 25-35% lower than Goldline’s. Besides the high price relative to wholesale trading levels, the promotions of Proof Eagles by Goldline and other such companies has temporarily caused the prices of these coins spike higher than I expect them to maintain in the long run. The prices of Proof Gold Eagles, in particular, were so high that in my writings over the past six months, I have frequently recommended selling them.
Further, Goldline and other companies have promoted the sale of these products for inclusion in Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). It also does not make sense to me to place into a tax deferred account an asset where taxes are already deferred until the time of sale.
In almost all instances where customers contact our firm about purchasing gold or silver for their IRA, the sale of bullion-priced products best suits the customer’s purposes. Customers who first talked with Goldline representatives before calling us report that they are typically being steered to purchase the Proof Gold Eagles rather than merchandise more suited to the customer’s purposes. I suspect the higher profit margins realized by Goldline when selling Proof Gold Eagles may have influenced what the company’s sales representatives told callers.
There is nothing wrong with a celebrity earning endorsement income. Goldline not only advertised on Beck’s programs, its website also features an interview by Beck of the Goldline CEO, and a video testimonial by Beck endorsing Goldline. Goldline would not seek such endorsements unless its management judged that their value at encouraging business would be worth more than the cost of the endorsement. Even if Beck were paid a commission based on the amount of business he drummed up for Goldline, such an arrangement is neither illegal nor unethical, even if Goldline does not disclose that Beck was paid for his endorsement.
While the business practices of Goldline may have been legal, in the instances where customers have told us of their experiences with that company—including showing us the invoices for purchases—I found that the customers would have been better served working with many dealers other than Goldline. The price differences for easily available merchandise were so large in some instances that I actually felt badly for the customers who let themselves be taken advantage of. A number of other coin dealers around the country have regularly told me similar stories about Goldline’s pricing policies.
Unfortunately, publicity over questionable business practices by one major company in an industry can raise public suspicions of the entire industry. It is possible that the attack on Goldline could result in further political regulation of the private sales of physical gold and silver.
The impact of the legislative changes that Rep. Weiner says he wants would not particularly affect my company. We do not add hidden charges to the price of our merchandise. We post online and in our stores a daily quotes page that lists dozens of popular products we sell along with the premiums at which these products sell above their precious metals value. Customers regularly ask us for our buy and sell indications, which we are pleased to provide. By knowing the “spread”, it can be fairly easy for a customer to figure out how much the price of gold might have to rise to be in a profit position (of course, this doesn’t take into account that premiums can and do change over time).
As a result of today’s attack on Goldline, I anticipate a few reactions. I suspect that Proof Eagle demand will decline, leading to falling prices for the coins. I expect that some number of existing gold and silver owners will panic and sell off their holdings. Other people who are considering a first-time purchase of gold and silver may be scared away from actually going through with such plans. Many people who continue to patronize coin dealers may start asking additional questions about premiums and buy/sell spreads. Overall, I expect that coin dealers will lose some business that they otherwise might handle.
The political angle of this attack seems obvious to me. Buying physical gold and silver can be interpreted as a rejection of paper currencies and government regulations. Owning precious metals may signify a degree of mistrust in the government. If you own an ounce of gold or silver, the government cannot inflate it! Therefore, the politicians and bureaucrats with the political power have an incentive to discourage people from buying physical gold and silver. An attack on a major dealer that makes the whole industry look bad can help accomplish such a goal.
As questionable as some of Goldline’s business practices may be, the amount of money “lost” by their customers is insignificant compared to losses sustained by those who invested in Enron, Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, General Motors, AIG, Wachovia Bank, Washington Mutual, Chrysler, the other 200+ US banks that have failed in the past three years, and most US-dollar denominated government and corporate paper assets. Further, the massive federal budget deficits are harming Americans more than all the alleged misdeeds by all coin and bullion dealers put together. Even at the high prices that Goldline may have charged customers a decade ago, I suspect that many are now in a profit position.
I would not be at all surprised to learn that the attack on Goldline had more to do with political retribution against people who value their freedom and are trying to protect their wealth than any concern by politicians and bureaucrats for the well-being of the citizenry. The attack also helps divert attention from the growing political and financial mess for which governments shoulder a major part of the blame.
Feel free to ask questions of any seller of physical precious metals. Don’t settle for wishy-washy answers. But don’t let this attack on Goldline blind you to the overwhelming list of reasons to own gold and silver.
Patrick A. Heller owns Liberty Coin Service in Lansing, Michigan and writes “Liberty’s Outlook,” a monthly newsletter covering rare coins and precious metals. Past issues can be found online at http://www.libertycoinservice.com/ Pat Heller is also the gold market commentator for Numismatic News. Past columns online at http://numismaster.com/ under “News & Articles”. His periodic radio interviews can be heard on WILS 1320 AM in Lansing, www.talkLansing.net, and on www.yourcontrarian.com.


text:
OPPO has officially announced a new mid-ranger smartphone known as the OPPO A16 in the Indonesian market. The OPPO A16 debuts as a Successor to the OPPO A15. Let’s take a look at OPPO A16 specifications, features, price and other details.
OPPO A16 Specifications
Starting with the front, the OPPO A16 sports a 6.5″ IPS LCD display that offers a HD+ screen resolution of 720 * 1600 pixels. Around the back of the phone, there’s a rectangular camera island that houses a triple-camera setup which include 13MP (f/2.2) main sensor is accompanied by a 2MP mono and macro camera. Upfront, there is an 8MP camera for selfies and video-calling purpose.
Under the hood, the OPPO A16 is powered by the MediaTek Helio G35 chipset which will be aided by 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. To keep it’s light on, it draws power from a 5,000mAh battery which carried support for 10W fast-charging. As usual the phone runs on ColorOS 11.1 based on Android 11 out of the box.
OPPO A16 Price
The OPPO A16 comes in Pearl BLue, Space Silver, and Crystal Black colour options. The device is priced at IDR 1,9,000 (Rs. 10,300) for 3GB RAM with 32GB storage configuration.
What do you think about the OPPO A16? Let us know in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Oyprice and subscribe to our YouTube channel. And don’t forget to join our telegram channel for regular news and updates.


text:
NadaMoo Has Retailers are Saying Yes
After a successful trade show season, NadaMoo (a line of non-dairy, coconut milk based, all natural ice cream) is seeing rapid expansion.
Before the summer, the line was sold in 1,500 stores including Whole Foods, Albertson’s HEB, Central Market, Vitamin Cottage, Bristol Farms and numerous independent retailers and co-ops.
In the past few months, the brand added 20-30 chains including HyVee, Earth Fare, and Fresh Thyme. Even more telling, several retailers expanded their relationships with the brand. Whole Foods nationwide, 190 HEB’s and more Albertson’s Divisions and Vitamin Cottages have all added the brand to shelves due to success in individual regions and tests.
The Austin, Texas-based brand was originally formed in 2004, but started to see national growth in later years. The line attributes this ascent, in part, to the growth of plant-based diets among consumers.
Frontier Snacks Heads to New Territories
Frontier Snacks, a line of nut, seed, fruit and grain clusters, added over 1,000 stores across the Southeast.
In July, the line was picked up by Bi-Lo, Winn Dixie, and Whole Foods. The brand was also added to the gluten-free set of 900 Publix stores.
“Our expansion into this region highlights the growth of natural and specialty products within conventional grocery stores,” Lucy Rand, Brand Manager for Frontier Snacks, noted to NOSH. “We are excited to help lead Publix towards a major shift [towards] better-for-you options made with simple ingredients.”
Torie and Howard Sees Sweet Success
Organic candy brand Torie and Howard announced they have been accepted into 84 Wegman’s locations. The retailer opted to take on the brand’s Chewie Fruities, an organic candy chew that has no artificial colors or flavors, GMO’s, or other additives).
Chewie Fruities also received placement in Paradies Shops, which operates airport and hotel shops nationally. Recent years have seen increased demand from consumers for healthier options while traveling, especially as airlines have cut back on on-board meals.
Earlier this summer Torie and Howard also achieved international growth in China and when it was picked up by Chinese importer Jipuyuan Trade Co. Ltd.
Simply Gum Has Sales Stretch
Recently, Simply Gum has seen several retailers add the brand to their shelves as an easy impulse buy addition. In more traditional grocers, Ahold’s Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions picked up the natural gum brand, adding a total of 250 new retailers.
The brand has also added more non-traditional retailers. This includes a nationwide pickup by Cost Plus World Market, which adds 280 stores to their portfolio. Additionally, Urban Outfitters added the brand to their line of clothing and accessory stores.
“We’re finding that fashion retailers are looking to capitalize on the consumer preferences for natural and healthy snacks and are turning to our product to do so, as it’s a chic and premium item,” Adeena Cohen, Director of Marketing and Business Development for Simply Gum, told NOSH.
In total the brand has added over 500 stores in the past few months, with most retailers adding the mint, cinnamon and ginger SKU’s.


text:
U.S. equities mostly finished lower on Thursday as the bulls cooled their heels after a multi-day push to new record highs. Hopes for a bipartisan deal on taxes dimmed slightly after President Donald Trump and Congressional Democrats differed on whether border wall funding would be part of the ag
Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 1,890 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,270% compared to the typical daily volume of 138 put options.
Shares of PLNT opened at $40.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.39, a P/E/G....More>>>
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) had a rather disappointing year in 2017. AMD stock fell more than 9% over those 12 months. Long-term investors shouldn’t be too deterred though, assuming they caught the near-300% rally in 2016. And after the down year, AMD stock taken off, already climbing almost 16% in the early days of 2018
Depending on how serious a flaw there is with Intel....More>>>
In a market where retail stocks of all stripes have been hammered, Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) stock has been a notable outlier. Heading into the company’s fiscal third-quarter earnings report, Costco stock had gained 26% over the past year.
And though cautious/bearish analysts have pointed to slowing growth — including misses in....More>>>
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon is known for being very direct, and what he had to say from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, didn’t disappoint. His message on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street Wednesday came down to five simple words that should be music to the ears of every investor on the planet…
The Canadian software firm, BlackBerry (NSDQ:BBRY), is scheduled to release its Q3 2017 earnings report on Tuesday, 20th of December. This will be the first earnings since the company dumped its handset business and became a software company, one of the boldest move of its turnaround strategy. During the quarter, BlackBerry launched two....More>>>
Television has been and is projected to be for at least the next few years the dominant advertising medium. However, in a few years many project that to change with digital advertising taking television’s top spot. The $64,000 question for old media companies like Disney (NYSE:DIS), Time Warner (NYSE:TWX), Twenty-First Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOXA), CBS Corp (NYSE:CBS), Viacom (NASDAQ:VIAB), Scripps....More>>>
Shares of BNP Paribas SA (EPA:BNP) have been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and
Comet Industries Ltd (CVE:CMU) insider Primex Investments Ltd. bought 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of C$3.45 per share, with a total value of C$65,550.00.
Dilution is a central concern for biotech investors. The basic issue at hand is that developmental-stage or early commercial-stage biotechs rely heavily on dilution to raise the massive amount of capital necessary to fund their operations prior to becoming cash-flow-positive.


text:
On the market for an iPhone? Here's a breakdown of all the currently shipping iPhones from Apple.
Yahoo CEO Claims Apple's Demand for Control Will Be iAd's Downfall
Reuters publishes an interview with Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz touching on a number of different topics, briefly including the burgeoning mobile advertising market and Apple's role in it through its iAd program. In Bartz's view, Apple's demands for total control over the program will ultimately be its downfall, as advertisers eventually rebel against the non-traditional framework in favor of the greater flexibility offered by other channels.
Mobile advertising, although still a nascent market, has become the next battleground pitting Yahoo against Google and Apple.
Earlier this year Apple introduced its iAd service to create premium ads for marketers on the iPhone.
"That's going to fall apart for them," Bartz said about Apple's iAd service. "Advertisers are not going to have that type of control over them. Apple wants total control over those ads."


text:
Diablo III Cinematic Shows Diablo Himself Rising from the depths of hell
Blizzard has released the latest Cinematic Trailer for its upcoming Action RPG "Diablo III". The trailer was shown at the Spike's VGA 2011 event which was held yesterday.
The trailer is once again an epic masterpiece by the Blizzard's CGI team which starts off with a battle between the powers of hell and shows Diablo (Lord of Sin) himself rising from the pits of hell. You can check it out below:
The game would be released in 2012 and is exclusive on the PC.


text:
Google Inc. -now known as Alphabet Inc.- has just relaunched its obscure social network, Google+, delivering new design and a plethora of new features.
Google took a swing once on social networking by creating Google+, which we all thought as dead a few years later.
The redecorated service came up fully redesigned and simpler than before, putting the Communities and Collections panels at front and center. According to the company, that’s one way of making it easier for people who share the same interests as you.
Things seem to be falling into place for now, with Communities having 1.2 million new joins per day on average, while newbie Collections continues to grow.
Engineering Director Eddie Kessler wrote in a blog post:
“Whether it’s the Nonfiction Addiction Community, where people can be found discussing the best in Crime or Travel storytelling, or the Watch Project Collection, where more than 40,000 people are following an antique watch hobbyist, these are the places on Google+ where people around the world are spending their time discovering and sharing things they love [..] And it’s more mobile-friendly—we’ve rebuilt it across web, Android and iOS so that you’ll have a fast and consistent experience whether you are on a big screen or small one.”
Luke Wroblewski, product director at Google, on the other hand, added in a separate post:
“Collections let you immerse yourself in content about topics like surfing or tiny tilt-shift photography scenes. Communities enable groups of people with the same interests to join up and geek out on anything from Game of Thrones to Painting.”
Luke also mentioned that this is just the beginning, since many changes and updates are yet to come. Only time will prove whether those changes will be beneficial for the revamped social network service. Until then, stay tuned to read all the latest news on this and many other hot topics!


text:
Steve Yamada, chairman and CEO of Maypro, and Paul Buckel, vice president of sales for Brio Ice Cream. The 18th annual NutrAward –- the nutrition industry’s longest-running award recognition -– tapped the first four-time winner...
On March 7, the FDA issued a press release and video warning that imported supplements sold in international markets could be dangerous, and the media response has been conspicuously silent.
Algae Life Sciences, Inc., a subsidiary of BGG, announced today that its Haematococcus pluvialis production has obtained organic certification by the French agency Ecocert.
Is the natural products industry the front line of entrance for synthetic biology ingredients into food and consumer products?


text:
Isn’t Online Entertainment Supposed to Be an Audition? July 30, 2007Posted by David Card in Media.
This is all very cool, but wouldn’t the Lonelygirl15 creators rather have, like, real jobs? In Hollywood? Star Jessica Rose — Bree herself — has a part in Lindsay Lohan’s latest. Umm, maybe that’s not so great.
- Shooting continues on location around London on the brand new internet drama series KateModern, commissioned by, and screening exclusively on leading global social networking site Bebo.com.
- The brand new web-based series is the UK spin-off of the hugely successful Lonelygirl15, the world’s most popular interactive drama series which launched in June 2006 and has since been viewed more than 60 million times. In line with this new trend in entertainment, Bebo is at the centre of the dialogue about how online programming is shaping teenage viewing habits, and with KateModern, is giving its 8.8 million UK users exactly what they’re asking for.
All kidding aside, I’ll get back to you after I talk to the folks at Bebo. Should be interesting.


text:
Arlington Approves Brand Brand Brand Brand Brand New Rules for Payday Lenders
So that they can create more safeguards for clients, the Arlington City Council authorized new instructions Tuesday evening for payday lenders.
The vote was indeed unanimous.
Starting Jan. 1, all payday and automobile title lending organizations inside the city will probably become required to stick to the following regulations:
- Limit loans to 20 percent of revenues this is certainly month-to-month
- Limit automobile name loans in to the paid off of three per cent of gross earnings that are yearly 70 per cent of retail automobile value
- Limit re re payment to four installments with repaying at least 25 % linked to the principal
- Prohibit renewals or refinancing of installment-payment loans
- Enroll with the city
- Keep loan papers for at the very least three years
- Translate loan agreements into Spanish or Vietnamese for non-English speakers
- Offer customers with a directory of non-profit teams that offer client credit guidance
- Spend as much as $500 for each and every breach or infraction
вЂњIвЂ™m happy,вЂќ stated Rozanne Veeser, president related to Fort Worth Council regarding community of St. Vincent de Paul and a proponent from the guidelines. вЂњwe believe thatвЂ™s one step in the right method.вЂќ
The news headlines wikipedia reference that is latest from around North Texas.
Dallas MayorвЂ™s Safer Communities Task Force Recommendations Completely Funded
Veeser and a big wide range of other people stuffed the Arlington City Council chambers Tuesday to show their assistance when it comes to laws and regulations. (más…)


text:
OpenX, has released the findings of a nationwide US survey looking at consumer shopping ahead of the 2018 holiday season. It found that the majority of consumers believe the economy is doing better today than it was a year ago, and 75% say it will improve over the next year. The strong consumer confidence metrics should translate at the cash register this year with more than 80% of consumers planning to spend the same or more on gifts this holiday season than they did in 2017.
This year’s report also found that the way in which shoppers consume content, research products and ultimately make purchases will undergo significant change, highlighting the challenges brand marketers face reaching and engaging consumers in today’s highly fragmented media environment.
Consumers are spending their time on a variety of different devices:
- 55% are on their smartphones for at least three hours a day, and more than a third of millennials and one out of four parents spend 6+ hours on their smartphones daily.
- 25% of consumers watch no live TV.
- Millennials spend 5X more time on a mobile device than watching live TV.
- Mobile and digital shopping have now reached parity with in-store shopping and consumers plan on spending nearly an identical amount in-store and online.
Whether it’s the 1 out of 4 consumers who now make mobile purchases weekly from bed at night or the 10% who are now using smart speakers to help research holiday purchases, consumers are shopping in new and unique ways, relying on mobile in particular, and advertisers that have developed smart omni-channel strategies to reach the always-on shopper will have the happiest holiday returns.
Dallas Lawrence, Chief Brand Officer at OpenX


text:
Uber rival Lyft aims to hail a new ride after big layoffs under CEO David Risher
A slow post-pandemic recovery has left the ride-hailing app in crisis
Even before he joined Lyft’s board in 2021, David Risher had taken hundreds of trips as a passenger so he felt like he knew a lot about the ride-hailing service. But he never expected to be thrust into the driver’s seat at a time when Lyft was running like a jalopy.
“I really was gobsmacked,” Mr Risher said as he recalled being recently asked to replace Lyft co-founder Logan Green as CEO.
Mr Risher quickly shook off his initial shock and is now making an effort to reverse the San Francisco company’s mounting losses and sagging stock price. Just days after taking over as CEO, he came up with a restructuring plan that includes laying off nearly 1,100 employees whose job losses could help him attain stock price incentives potentially worth nearly $1bn.
Like any mass layoff, the payroll purge will uproot the lives of those suddenly out of a job while sowing uncertainty among Lyft’s remaining 3,000 employees. But Mr Risher believes the deep cuts had to be done so Lyft can afford to bring down its fares to the same levels as its long-time rival, ride-hailing leader Uber, which has rebounded from the pandemic much more robustly.
The payroll purge will uproot the lives of those suddenly out of a job
“It’s very important to our customers that when they open both (the Uber and Lyft) apps that they are not surprised by the prices being super different,” Mr Risher said. “We want to be in line with where Uber is.”
The cost-cutting will also help Lyft pay drivers better, another element that Mr Risher believes is needed for the service to offer more rides with quicker pick-up times.
Mobile tracking data compiled by wireless network testing firm GWS found Lyft’s driver app now averages about 400,000 daily usages – half its pre-pandemic levels – while Uber’s driver app boasts about 1.4 million daily users, roughly the same number that it had leading up to the pandemic.
More details about Mr Risher’s turnaround strategy are expected to be revealed when Lyft is scheduled to release what are expected to be lacklustre results for the first three months of the year.
The problems facing Mr Risher are an offshoot of pandemic-driven restrictions that dramatically curtailed travel during most of 2020 and much of 2021, shrivelling demand for rides on Uber and Lyft.
But Uber had something that Lyft didn’t – a food delivery business that had been aggressively expanding under Dara Khosrowshahi, who Uber hired in 2017 to clean up a mess that its previous CEO Travis Kalanick had created. Uber’s disarray had also alienated many of its passengers, helping Lyft to steadily gain market share leading up to the pandemic in March 2020.
No one was opening their Lyft app
Mr Khosrowshahi’s decision to transform Uber into a “go wherever you want, get whatever you need” operation paid off during a pandemic that ignited explosive growth in food delivery.
That demand kept millions of people using Uber’s app even when they weren’t going anywhere, forming habits that helped Uber’s ridership return to pre-pandemic levels while Lyft fell out of favour.
“No one was opening their Lyft app, so when the world reopened it just seem easier to get an Uber,” said Tom White, an analyst for DA Davidson.
Because Uber’s food delivery service also helped retain drivers on its platform during the pandemic, that made it more difficult for Lyft to lure them back when the pandemic eased. The driver shortage was compounded by a fare structure that resulted in its service frequently demanding significantly higher prices for the trips than Uber – a gap that consumers who kept both apps on their phones could quickly see.
Brian Blitzstein used to drive for Lyft but says he is now focused primarily on Uber because of all the ridership momentum that it gained from its food delivery service during the pandemic. But he could be convinced to come back to Lyft if he earns more pay.
“Money talks,” Mr Blitzstein (39) said. “But I definitely think it’s going to be challenging for Lyft. Are they going to be cutting down to the bone? That would be like cutting off your arm to lose weight.”
Are they going to be cutting down to the bone? That would be like cutting off your arm to lose weight
The widening chasm between Uber and Lyft has been showing up in their respective financial results. Under benchmark tracked by investors known as “adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization,” Uber posted a profit of $1.7bn (€1.6bn) last year while Lyft sustained a loss of $406m and management in February provided an outlook that made things look like they were worsening.
That’s one of the key reasons that Lyft’s stock price has plunged by about 70pc during the past year while Uber’s shares are nearly the same price as a year ago, mirroring the bellwether S&P 500 index.
The stark difference led Mr Green, Lyft’s long-time CEO, and fellow co-founder John Zimmer to step down from day-to-day management to make way for Mr Risher, best known for helping lay the foundation at Amazon’s e-commerce empire as the company’s top US retail executive in its early days.
His contributions were so significant that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos wrote him a thank you note that is posted on the company’s website as a permanent tribute.
Lyft’s stock price has plunged by about 70pc during the past year
But before Lyft asked him to take over as its CEO, Mr Risher had spent more than a decade running Worldreader, a non-profit organisation devoted to helping young children learn to read.
That made Mr Risher seem like a puzzling choice to many investors wondering “what can this guy do”, Mr White said. “Wall Street doesn’t know a ton about him.”
Mr Risher’s hiring initially spurred speculation that he may be grooming Lyft for a sale, but he doesn’t think that makes sense while the company is still struggling.
“Let’s put it this way: We will be more valuable as a partner of any type of organisation if we have a business that’s 10 times bigger and profitable,” Mr Risher said.
The 57-year-old will make a huge windfall if he can turn things around. Besides paying Mr Risher a $3.25m signing bonus on top of a $725,000 salary, Lyft awarded him an incentive package consisting of 12.25 million shares of stock that will vest when the shares hit a range of staggered price targets.
If Lyft’s stock rises from its recent price hovering around $10 and hits nine targets ranging from $15 to $80, Mr Risher will reap about $980m, estimated the investment research management firm VerityData.