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Amazon Prime Day: Everything we know about the 2022 sale event
With interest rates and inflation rising, money seems to be getting tighter and it's hard not to notice the price of everything going up.
Luckily Amazon Prime Day is coming up with some great bargains.
Online shopping is becoming the norm for many Australians, especially when looking for the best prices.
What is Amazon Prime Day?
Just like Catch and Click Frenzy have discount sales, so too does Amazon.
This annual global online shopping event is open exclusively to Amazon Prime members.
It launched in 2015 as a 24-hour sale to celebrate Amazon's 20th anniversary, but has expanded to two days, which ends up being a whopping 65 hours in which to shop for Aussies (we can shop until the end of the US sales time!).
When is it taking place?
Although Amazon hasn't announced a launch date yet, in the past it has been on a Monday in July.
However, the global pandemic messed up the schedule, with the 2020 event held in October and last year's in June.
“Our annual Prime Day event will return this July in more than 20 countries," an Amazon spokesperson told Yahoo Lifestyle.
"Prime Day will once again celebrate Prime members by offering incredible savings on products from national brands and small businesses across every category.
"We’re excited to work with our selling partners and employees to deliver another incredible Prime Day for our members."
What bargains can you expect?
Amazon reaches out to all their online retailers to see if they want to be involved so, if it's sold on Amazon, it could be included in the sale.
Amazon Australia also puts small, locally based businesses front and centre through their "Shop Local" storefront on Amazon.com.au.
Last year members got sensational deals on tech products such as the Echo Dot with Alexa, Fire TV Stick 4K with Alexa Voice Remote, Kindle Paperwhite, Nintendo Switch consoles and Oculus Quest 2.
Home products bargains included the Ecovacs robotic vacuum cleaner, Philips Hue smart lighting, Bosch and Dremel tools and Yamaha speakers and HiFi systems.
There were also great bargains for the beauty addicts amongst us, with skincare brands including L’Oreal, Sukin and Weleda all offering discounts.
And techradar predicts this year's event could be the best yet!
"It could be an absolute whopper of a sale, as Amazon had better discounts in June than during November's Black Friday sale!" they reported!
How can you get involved?
Firstly, you have to sign up to be an Amazon Prime member.
New customers in Australia can join Prime at amazon.com.au/prime, with Amazon’s 30-day free trial, and then pay AU$6.99 a month, or save 30 per cent with an annual membership at AU$59.
There are many other benefits to becoming an Amazon Prime member.
You get free delivery on millions of local and international items; Prime Video, which gives you access to exclusive and award-winning Prime Original series and other popular movies and TV shows; Amazon Music Prime, which gives you access to 2 million songs, thousands of stations and top playlists; Prime Reading, which gives you access to a selection of over 1,000 e-books; video game benefits with Prime Gaming; exclusive Prime member deals, and, of course, access to Prime Day!
Never miss a thing. Sign up to Yahoo Lifestyle’s daily newsletter.
Or if you have a story idea, email us at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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After months of price rises and supply chain uncertainty throughout the global pro audio industry, UK manufacturer Prism Sound is delighted to announce some good news – it is making significant cuts to the price of many of its top of the range audio interfaces, including its recently launched Dream ADA-128 modular audio conversion system.
The reasons for the price decrease are two-fold: Prism Sound has successfully streamlined its in-house manufacturing process in the UK, and it has also benefited from price reductions on some key electronic components.
“Like all manufacturers we saw the price of electronic components rise after the Covid pandemic, but thankfully that market segment is now becoming more stable,” says Prism Sound’s Managing Director Jody Thorne. “We have also taking a long, hard look at our manufacturing processes and operational costs and have been able to implement some changes that have resulted in savings, which we are now passing on to our customers. It has always been our philosophy to support customers in every way we can, and we are confident that this price reduction will be welcomed by all audio professionals who, like so many others, have faced relentless increases in the cost of key goods and services in recent years.”
Prism Sound’s new Dream ADA-128 is aimed at audio professionals across many different disciplines, including music recording, post-production, broadcast, installation, Dolby Atmos and archiving. Named for its remarkable ability to provide up to 128 channels of premium Prism Sound 32-bit A/D and D/A conversion in a single 2U rack, it is already a very cost-effective solution as 128 channels of Prism Sound’s flagship ADA-8XR conversion would cost approximately £25,000 more and take up a lot more space in a rack.
As part of the new pricing structure, Prism Sound is dropping the cost of a new DREAM ADA-128 converter from £7,500 for the chassis only to £6,499 – a price that includes either a Dante or PTHDX host card.
In addition, Prism Sound is reducing the cost of its award-winning audio interfaces, including Lyra, Titan and Atlas. Lyra will now cost £1,899 instead of £2,499, while Titan goes down to £2,699 from £3500 and Atlas is down from £4,000 to £3,199.
“These savings are substantial, and we have only been able to make them by looking carefully at our own costs to see where we could streamline our operation and improve efficiency,” Jody Thorne adds. “What we haven’t done, however, is reduce the quality of our products – Prism Sound audio converters and interfaces are, and always will be, the best money can buy. Quality is our hallmark, and we certainly won’t compromise on that!”
For more information about Prism Sound’s new pricing structure, please visit www.prismsound.com or speak to an authorised distributor – a full list of these in all territories is also available on the Prism Sound website.
About Prism Sound
Founded in 1987, Prism Sound manufacture professional digital audio equipment for the international broadcast, film and music production sectors. The company’s products are renowned for their exceptional audio quality and are the converters and interfaces of choice for many of the world’s top artists, producers, composers, mixing and mastering engineers. They are also the mainstay of many internationally acclaimed audio facilities including Metropolis Studios, Sony, ESPN, the Library of Congress and Walt Disney. Prism Sound also produces SADiE audio production workstation software, which is used by major national broadcasters such as the BBC and Radio France, as well as many of the world’s leading mastering houses and classical and live music recording engineers.
For more information: www.prismsound.com

domain: news


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Pyxis Mobile Enhances Tablet Capabilities with BlackBerry PlayBook Support(May 02, 2011)
(PRWEB) May 02, 2011
Pyxis Mobile, provider of the only cross-device mobile application development platform designed to meet customers constantly changing needs, announced today that the companys platform now offers support for RIMs newly released mobile tablet, the BlackBerry PlayBook. Pyxis Mobile will debut its increased Configure Once, Run Anywhere capability at this weeks BlackBerry World conference in Orlando, Fla. Onsite, attendees can view mobile applications built using the companys agile mobile application development platform on the PlayBook, as well as all other leading smartphones and tablets.
Theres no question that a growing number of enterprises have incorporated tablets into their enterprise mobility strategies, said Todd Christy, President and CTO of Pyxis Mobile. As the tablet market continues to mature, companies are exploring their options and realizing that the market is providing a wider selection of devices. With so many companies already heavily invested in the BlackBerry infrastructure, we expect to see many of our customers putting RIMs new tablet into the hands of their mobile workforce as a way of complying with corporate standards.
In order to provide customers with the ability to build and deploy native applications for the BlackBerry PlayBook, Pyxis Mobile increased their platforms capabilities to support WebWorks, an HTML5 client that runs on RIMs QNX operating system. By adding support for this HTML5 client, users can now develop rich, highly interactive applications that run both as native smartphone applications and browser-based applications, sharing the same features and functionalities across devices. Customers will have access to many of the BlackBerry PlayBooks native device capabilities, such as accelerometer, phone, GPS location and more.
With our increased tablet capabilities, customers can now quickly and easily build, deploy and manage fully customized, native applications for whichever mobile device they choose, making us the only true cross-device mobile application development platform, said Christy. Were always thinking about the direction that the market is headed and what our customers will be demanding, and its absolutely critical that we continue to enhance our platforms capabilities in order stay ahead of the curve.
Pyxis Mobile will be in booth No. 328 at BlackBerry World in Orlando, Fla., May 2-4, 2011.
Notes to Editors
About Pyxis Mobile
Pyxis Mobile provides the only mobile application platform designed for todays constantly changing needs. Using Pyxis Mobiles innovative platform software, companies are able to build rich native client applications that fully integrate with the most widely used smart devices including BlackBerry, iPhone, iPad, Android, and Android tablets. The Pyxis Mobile platform is a configuration-based tool that does not require software code development, dramatically reducing the time it takes customers to build and deploy mobile applications. The platform provides the ability to update applications quickly and easily (no code recompilation or redeployment is required), integrate with unlimited data sources using a plug-in-based architecture, and implement enterprise-grade security. With pricing that is transparent and scales with your mobility needs, Pyxis Mobile is able to mobilize companies of all sizes across industry verticals. For over 10 years, Pyxis Mobile has powered mobile initiatives for customers around the globe, including companies such as Halliburton, Deloitte, Thomson Reuters and AT&T. For more information, contact Pyxis Mobile at (781) 997-0300 or visit http://www.pyxismobile.com.
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/5/prweb8366107.htm.
Related Keywords:computing and information technology, satellite technology, wireless technology, science and technology, technology (general), identification technology, agricultural research and technology, computer crime, economy, business and finance, financial and business service, business enterprises, business (general)


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Evernote is taking its business offering into pastures new, with the launch of the service in several European countries.
Evernote Business,, will be made available in 26 European countries, in addition to the seven markets where it's currently live: Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, the UK and the US.
Australian and New Zealand users will get access to the service from 12 February.
Evernote is planning to take the service, currently used by 2,000 businesses, to 50 more countries in EMEA, Latin America and Asia before the middle of this year.
Evernote Business is aimed at SMEs, and comes with a number of enterprise features such as business and personal notebooks to separate out which material can be shared with colleagues and which can't. Users can add 2GB of material to their personal notebooks per month, and the same to share in business notebooks.
The Business version also comes with business libraries for collating business notebooks from across the company, and an admin console for adding and managing users.
The 26 European countries where Evernote Business is now available are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.
The service is priced €10 per user per month for the countries that use the Euro, 60 DKK in Denmark, 70 NOK in Norway and 76 SEK in Sweden.


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European investors are in a tricky position, writes Alistair Hewitt, director at the World Gold Council.
Equity markets have had a strong start to 2019 - by the end of February, the Bloomberg European 500 index was up over 11%. And yet, there is a lingering doubt in many investors' minds; how sustainable...
Opportunities in digital payment firms and e-commerce
Are hemp-based products the future of ESG?
Entering a 'monetary policy arms race'
Trade wars and Brexit could hamper recovery
Choosing a good fund still requires personal touch


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Fashion is having a unisex moment, propelled recently in pop culture by the likes of Miley Cyrus and her new androgynous look, Jaden Smith with his inclination to sport dresses, and Ruby Rose who fires up men and women, gay and straight. Whether they're intentionally challenging the meaning of masculinity or femininity or not, both have become symbols of gender-fluidity.
The theme of unisex sex appeal was a recurring one on London's runways earlier this week, in fashion shows that showcased just how relevant the Brits are when it comes to fashion. With sequins, lace, and styles that borrowed women's fabrics for men's clothes, gender-divided style started to look like an anachronism.
It was obvious that this gender fluid moment in fashion was being embraced in the London Collection Men's spring 2016 shows, which showcased silhouettes both stretched and shrunken, colors stark and vibrant, and looks that could seamlessly — and sexily — clothe both man and woman.
Even stalwart heritage brands like Burberry Prorsum embraced it, utilizing non-traditional fabrics like lace, a staple in womenswear, in sharply tailored men's shirts. Up-and-comers like the brand Sibling utilized corsets and featured men in cheerleading tank tops with pom poms, J.W. Anderson created clever, wearable unisex smocks, Man revealed skirts and woven dresses on androgynous models, while Todd Lynn had male models walk down the runway in flowing blonde wigs.
The nod towards gender fluidity was a bold move, and one that's more than "trendy" for London fashion. After all, the British have been brewing organic and homegrown designs for the past few decades with designers like the established Vivienne Westwood to designer darlings like Gareth Pugh having challenged the gender status quo season after season. The Brits have a long history of translating cultural trends into fashion pronouncements and accepting them into their own day-to-day, a sign that socially, they are way more progressive than many parts of the world.
These shows alone speak volumes that fashion is going through an inclusive moment, one that beautifully blurs the line between gender, race, and perhaps one day, class .
Below are fourteen of the most profound gender-bending looks from London Collection Men's.


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PALO ALTO, CALIF. — Palo Alto, Calif. -- THERE'S AN adage in the computer business that the hostile takeover of a software company is impossible.
What is a software company, after all, but a rented office filled with nerds?
Attack the company and the nerds will flee, taking with them the real corporate assets -- their programming skills.
why is an old-line company such as IBM -- a company that has never mounted a hostile takeover in its 70-year history and certainly is not known for radical thinking -- mounting just such an attack on the Lotus Development Corp., offering $3.3 billion this week for the spreadsheet pioneer?
In fact, though there have been software mergers, this kind of takeover has simply never happened before. IBM is treading new ground and, from a traditional perspective, is taking a terrible risk. At least that's the way it looks.
But because it is staid, old IBM -- and not Microsoft or an aggressive data-base company such as Oracle Systems -- this strange move suggests that there is more here than might be expected.
fTC In fact, it comes down to semantics. There is a potential takeover in progress, that's for sure, but IBM is counting on the technical geniuses at Lotus to view it as friendly. The only hostility IBM seems to want to express is toward Lotus' chief executive officer, Jim P. Manzi, who opposes the deal.
The personnel of software companies can be generally divided into two groups -- techies and suits.
Mr. Manzi, an MBA who came to Lotus originally as a consultant from McKinsey & Co., is a suit among suits, proud in the past about how he didn't understand the inner workings of his company's products. Nor did he have to understand those workings. He had techies for that.
This is typically not the sort of attitude to endear the boss to the programmers, a group that generally sees suits as a necessary evil kept around mainly to count the money.
There is no doubt Lotus is for sale. Mr. Manzi is known to have offered the company last year to AT&T; for $100 per share. So the issue is price. Mr. Manzi, who is also Lotus' largest shareholder, wants more than the $60 per share being offered by IBM.
What IBM wants is not the venerable spreadsheet program for personal computers, Lotus 1-2-3, nor any of Lotus' other personal-computer applications. Those applications have been quietly for sale.
IBM wants a Lotus product called Notes, the leading example of a new software category known as groupware -- software that allows groups of workers to communicate with one another and have access to the same data.
Lotus and IBM are both confident that groupware will be central to corporations in the future as office work increasingly takes place in computers.
Paradoxically, IBM once owned a piece of Notes. Unsure of its success, Mr. Manzi sold the right to a third of all its future revenue to IBM in 1991 for $40 million. A couple of years later, when he realized how strategic Notes was to Lotus' future, he retrieved those rights by paying back the money and promising to produce applications for IBM's OS/2 operating system.
Now IBM wants back what it once had, along with the other two-thirds. The price increase, from $40 million to $3.3 billion, reflects how much the personal-computer software market has changed in four years, and how vital IBM sees Notes to its future success.
AT&T; likes Notes too and may make its own play for the company. The only big player in the software business virtually guaranteed not to be interested in Lotus is Microsoft, which would face antitrust problems from its head-to-head competition with Lotus in the spreadsheet, word processing and data-base categories.
Besides, Microsoft already had its chance to buy Notes. Mr. Manzi offered the whole product to Microsoft in 1989 for $20 million, $5 million more than Microsoft was willing to pay.
IBM is right: it is not mounting a hostile takeover. The nerds will influence how this turns out, and chances are they will come in on the side of Big Blue.
@4 Robert X. Cringely is a columnist for InfoWorld.


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The Snapdragon 835 processor is expected to be the go-to chip for companies launching high-end, flagship Android smartphones this year. But according to a new report from Forbes, LG won’t be launching its upcoming G6 with the Snapdragon 835. Instead, it will have a Snapdragon 821 under the hood, and it ... Read More »
Traditional watchmakers haven’t been shy when it comes to releasing smartwatches these days, and it looks like Swarovski is ready to get into the market, too.
Swarovski has officially teased a brand new partnership with Qualcomm and Google to launch an Android Wear-based smartwatch. The company isn’t opening up about the details of the watch just yet, but ... Read More »
Qualcomm’s latest and greatest is the Snapdragon 835, a chip based on a new 10nm design. This makes it 35% smaller and 25% easier on the battery than the previous Snapdragon 820.
Qualcomm is touting new features of the chip, including Daydream support, 3D positional audio, improved zoom and stabilization for ... Read More »
Most Tweeted This Week
ASUS took to Twitter to post a picture of a small ASUS-branded box with a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor tucked inside of it. While the processor itself doesn’t ... Read More »
Qualcomm has lifted the curtain off its latest processor, which more than likely will find its home inside many flagship smartphones in 2017.
The Snapdragon 835 is the next flagship processor from Qualcomm, who is actually collaborating with Samsung and its 10 nanometer FinFET process. That process will give the new processor a smaller footprint ... Read More »
Qualcomm‘s Snapdragon 821 chip is the leading processor at this point, but it’s only featured in a select number of devices, like Google’s Pixel phones. However, OnePlus will soon adopt the flagship chipset, too.
Qualcomm took to Twitter today to tease an upcoming OnePlus device with a Snapdragon 821 processor. Unfortunately, there aren’t ... Read More »
Qualcomm Inc. has announced that three new processors are entering its lineup. The Snapdragon 653 processor introduces an X9 LTE modem for Cat 7 downlink and Cat 13 uplink. Speed improvements are also included. The Snapdragon 653 offers 10 percent faster performance than the 652, bumps addressable RAM up to 8GB and offers ... Read More »
Dual camera tech is nothing new, despite what some may say. However, it’s quickly growing more popular, and Qualcomm is hopping on the bandwagon to help manufacturers implement a quality dual camera setup.
Qualcomm calls their dual camera tech Clear Sight and it relies on two identically specced sensors, one color and one black and white. ... Read More »
Portable chargers are great. They can really save the day when you’re on the go and your device’s battery is low. I can’t get enough of them. But one of the biggest annoyances I have with portable battery packs it that they need charging, too. It’s one more thing you need to plug in at ... Read More »
Qualcomm is the biggest player in the mobile processor game in many regions of the globe. Unfortunately, we Americans don’t get much competition. That means we’re bound to see a lot of the Snapdragon 821, Qualcomm’s new flagship processor, and today the company detailed the improvements it made to the Snapdragon 821 over ... Read More »


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Editor's choice: the highlights on just-food this week
Unilever's 2011 results led to fresh questions over future of food business
Hershey and Unilever were among the major food manufacturers that this week were the first to report their 2011 financial results. Unilever's profits inched up 1% and CEO Paul Polman pointed to the performance of its home and personal care operations - casting some questions over the prospects of its food operations. In the retail sector, this week saw the long-speculated appointment of a new CEO at Carrefour and analysts expressed concern about the outlook for Ocado despite narrowing full-year losses.
In the spotlight - Question marks over Unilever's food unit return
Unilever's food division has been under the microscope in recent months, with a series of disposals and growth in many categories slow, lagging behind its more buoyant non-food businesses As Michelle Russell writes, this week, as Unilever reported its 2011 results, the scrutiny returned.
On the move: Plassat faces Carrefour trial
As Georges Plassat takes the reins at Carrefour, he will face many of the same issues that confronted predecessor Lars Olofsson when he joined the world's second-largest retailer three years ago, Petah Marian writes.
UK: Unilever agrees to union talks over pension changes
Unilever is set to meet again with union officials to discuss moves to change the company's UK pension scheme, plans that have enraged staff and led to a series of strikes.
EU: MEPs veto nutrition label claims
European politicians have rejected plans that would have allowed food makers to use new nutrition claims, including that a product contains 15% less sugar.
NETHERLANDS: FrieslandCampina to buy Balkans dairies Imlek, Mlekara Subotica
Dairy giant FrieslandCampina has signed a deal to buy Balkans processors Imlek and Mlekara Subotica.
US: Hershey 2012 sales, profit growth to exceed targets
Hershey has forecast that its sales and earnings will grow faster in 2012 than its long-term targets.
On the money: Analysts question Ocado prospects
Analysts retain concerns about the prospects of UK online retailer Ocado even after it posted a reduction in full-year losses earlier today (31 January).
UK: Morrisons acquires meat facility from Vion
UK retailer Morrisons today (1 February) announced an agreement to acquire a meat processing facility from the UK division of Dutch food group Vion.
MEXICO: Kraft inaugurates tech centre
The Mexican arm of Kraft Foods has opened a $50m innovation and development centre in Mexico City.
Last month, Canadian biscuit firm Groupe Biscuits Leclerc expanded its presence in the US, with the acquisition of snack bar brand Go Pure. In the latest just the answer interview, Katie Smith discusses the acquisition and the biscuit company's plans for the future with CEO Denis Leclerc, including setting up in the UK.
Sectors: Advertising & labelling, Bakery, Canned food, Cereal, Chilled foods, Condiments, dressings & sauces, Confectionery, Dairy, Dried foods, Emerging markets, Financials, Frozen, Ice cream, Meat & poultry, Mergers & acquisitions, Multichannel, Natural & organic, Private label, Retail, Seafood, Snacks, World foods
Unilever has offloaded its frozen meals business in North America to ConAgra Foods, the consumer goods giant announced today (30 July)....
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The French Senate began debating a fiercely contested Internet music copyright law that had sparked threats by Apple to withdraw from France, an AFP report said.
The report said the law would oblige companies offering audio tracks for download to make the tracks playable on other brands of music file players, breaking Apple's stranglehold on its downloads, which could only be played on an Apple iPod device.
Culture and Communications Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, presenting the bill to the upper house of the French parliament, defended this controversial principle in the law, the so-called "interoperability," the report said.
An Internet user who would pay to download music should be able to listen to it "without being the prisoner of a single system corresponding with the product range of one single company," he said, according to the report.
Apple had slammed the bill as "state-sponsored piracy," the report said.
Its protest received the support of the US commerce secretary, Carlos Gutierrez, the report further said.
The bill was passed by France 's lower house of parliament in March following lively debate.


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A Bitcoin ATM firm from Australia has reported a weekly turnover of $500,000 AUD (roughly $360,000 USD) regardless of the cryptocurrency bear market.
$360,000 Weekly Turnaround
Auscoin, an Australian bitcoin ATM firm, has reported a weekly turnaround of $360,000 in 2018. In line with the stories, it's presently working 31 ATMs all through Australia nevertheless it's planning to develop.
Talking on the matter, Sam Karagiozis, founder at Auscoin, mentioned:
We presently have 31 Auscoin ATMs in Australia… and our turnover is $500,000 per week, which is simply insane contemplating how a lot the value of Bitcoin has dropped. […] It simply reveals there actually is a marketplace for it and cryptocurrency is seen as a manner of the long run for a lot of.
The corporate had an underwhelming ICO in 2018 after it managed to lift solely $2 million of the projected $30 million. Nevertheless, it hopes to develop to a community of greater than 1200 bitcoin ATMs throughout Australia.
It's Getting Simpler to Purchase Bitcoin
It's turning into more and more simpler for folks to purchase Bitcoin at a variety of bodily areas. In line with Karagiozis, accessibility is the primary barrier to entry for normal folks:
We imagine essentially the most important barrier to entry for on a regular basis folks within the cryptocurrency market is accessibility.
Bitcoinist reported that the variety of Bitcoin ATMs has doubled in 2018, rising to greater than 4,000 in 76 completely different nations. According to the monitoring web site Coinatmradar, Australia has 54 Bitcoin ATMs in operation.
Firstly of the month, France started promoting Bitcoin at tobacco outlets. The plan is to develop shopping for bitcoin to 24,000 tobacco kiosks throughout the nation within the close to future.
Simply a few days in the past, US-based Bitcoin ATM firm Coinme partnered up with worldwide coin counter Coinstar. The initiative has enabled customers to purchase Bitcoin at 20,000 Coinstar kiosk areas.
In the meantime, Venezuela can also be anticipated to see its first bitcoin merchandising machine go dwell throughout the subsequent two weeks.
What do you consider the rising recognition of Bitcoin ATMs? Will this have a constructive affect on its widespread adoption? Don't hesitate to tell us within the feedback under!
Photos courtesy of Shutterstock
The put up Australian Bitcoin ATM Startup Says Its Raking in $360,000 Per Week appeared first on Bitcoinist.com.


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The Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite will get flagship treatment by Samsung1
There is absolutely nothing “lite” about the Galaxy S10 Lite. It has a bigger screen and a bigger battery than the flagship Galaxy S10+ and a new camera system with a 48 MP sensor. And the Note 10 Lite is only a minor downgrade compared to the regular Note 10 series.
And it seems that Samsung itself is going to be treating them as flagships.
See, in the world of smartphones, a device’s value is determined not only by hardware specs but also the support it continues to get post-release. In the dynamic world of mobile tech, regular software updates are constantly in demand, but manufacturers only provide them for the top-tier devices.
Samsung has just announced its update plans for the new phones it recently released. The Galaxy A71 will be getting a new security patch every 3 months and will receive two major Android updates once they become available.
The Galaxy S10 Lite and Galaxy Note 10 Lite will get a security patch every month (thanks, GalaxyClub), just like their flagship counterparts, and will also receive two major Android updates. This means they will be supported up to Android 12’s release and probably keep getting security patches for some time after.
It’s nice to see Samsung committing to keeping devices that are not on its top shelf up to date. It also makes it easier to swallow the supposed price tags of the upcoming Galaxy S20 series — the S10 Lite is a perfectly good smartphone that costs much less and will be receiving the same amount of love.


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Japanese automaker Honda has revealed the race-spec avatar of the new Civic Type R. The TCR-spec car features aerodynamic upgrades and racing components.
Italian firm JAS Motorsport builds the race-spec Civic Type R for the 2018 season of the FIA Touring Car Racer (TCR) International Series. The championship was launched in 2015, and it features affordable race cars closely based on their production models.
The new Civic Type R TCR is developed by taking inputs from the previous iteration of the car which clinched five titles from 2015. Project leader Mads Fischer stated that the improvements are made to the aerodynamics, suspension and electronic system of the car.
Compared to the street-legal version, the Civic Type R TCR features aggressive aerodynamic package to reduce drag and improve downforce. The car is also wider with new multilink rear suspension and anti-roll bar system.
The Civic Type R TCR is powered by a 2-litre turbocharged, inline four-cylinder engine pumping out 325.4bhp of power. The ECU has been tweaked to improve performance.
JAS Motorsport will continue the testing of the new Civic Type R TCR. The deliveries of the car will commence from December 2017. The first 25 cars will be ready for the 2018 season. An endurance racer version is also available with extra lighting, driver cooling and ABS.
The Honda Civic Type R has been a successful model in various forms of motorsports. The race-spec hot hatch also competes in the World Touring Car Championship. Now, the new iteration of the TCR-spec car is ready to set new records.


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Epic Games' Tim Sweeney Is Warning Of Microsoft's Closed Gaming Ecosystem
UWP has been around since Windows 8 as the Windows Runtime and it's explained in more detail via Microsoft's MSDN for those interested. This has been generating news this week for potentially unifying Xbox One and PC game development along with other form factors while also imposing other limitations for developers. The direction being headed in by Microsoft is what Gabe Newell of Valve has been scared of for years and was among the reasons Valve started becoming more interested in Linux and developing what would become SteamOS due to the foundation laid by Windows 8 and the Windows Store.
Tim Sweeney of Epic Games has come out today in an op-ed for The Guardian to warn about Microsoft wanting to monopolize game development on the PC and that game developers must fight UWP.
UWP applications are locked down, not easily available outside of the Microsoft Store, etc. The solution sought after by Sweeney is that any PC Windows user should be able to download/install UWP applications from the web, any company should have the right to operate an app/game store in UWP format, and that Microsoft should not take a cut of any in-app commerce.
Sweeney commented, "if Microsoft does not commit to opening PC UWP up in the manner described here, then PC UWP can, should, must and will, die as a result of industry backlash. Gamers, developers, publishers simply cannot trust the PC UWP “platform” so long as Microsoft gives evasive, ambiguous and sneaky answers to questions about UWP’s future, as if it’s a PR issue. This isn’t a PR issue, it’s an existential issue for Microsoft, a first-class determinant of Microsoft’s future role in the world."
The well known game developer concluded his piece with, "Microsoft’s intentions must be judged by Microsoft’s actions, not Microsoft’s words. Their actions speak plainly enough: they are working to turn today’s open PC ecosystem into a closed, Microsoft-controlled distribution and commerce monopoly, over time, in a series of steps of which we’re seeing the very first. Unless Microsoft changes course, all of the independent companies comprising the PC ecosystem have a decision to make: to oppose this, or cede control of their existing customer relationships and commerce to Microsoft’s exclusive control."
Read more at The Guardian.


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Wireless Industry Growth
LightCounting: 1H-2022 Wireless Infrastructure softness lingered in 3Q-2022
by Stéphane Téral, Chief Analyst at LightCounting Market Research
3Q22 was almost a carbon copy of 2Q22, which signals that the 5G-driven wireless infrastructure market is reaching its peak as the first wave of 5G rollouts wane.
Global uncertainties, lingering supply chain constraints, and forex headwinds contributed to another soft 3Q22 that followed an already sluggish 1H22. In the meantime, the wireless infrastructure market continued to operate at its equilibrium reached in 2021: the 2 opposite spheres of influence, the East led by China versus the West defined as the U.S. and its allies, are becoming more balanced.
We found that the West accounted for 50.5% of the global wireless infrastructure market while the East made up for the rest, with China accounting for more than 80% of the East.
|Historical data accounts for sales of the following vendors:|
|Vendor||Segments||Source of Information|
|Affirmed Networks (acquired by Microsoft, April 2020)||vEPC, 5GC||Estimates|
|Altiostar||vRAN (CU, DU)||Estimates|
|ASOCS||vRAN (DU)||None, supplies other RAN/vRAN vendors|
|Baicell||RAN (RU)||None, supplies other RAN/vRAN vendors|
|Benetel||Open RAN (RU)||None, supplies other RAN/vRAN vendors|
|Cisco||EPC, vEPC, 5GC||Survey data and estimates|
|China Information and Communication Technologies Group (CICT)||RAN||Estimates|
|Comba Telecom||RAN/vRAN (RU)||None, supplies other RAN/vRAN vendors|
|CommScope (acquired Phluido vRAN patents, October 2020)||vRAN (RU, DU)||Estimates|
|Dell||vRAN (DU)||None, supplies other RAN/vRAN vendors|
|Ericsson||RAN, vRAN, 2/3G Core, EPC, vEPC, 5GC||Estimates|
|Fairwaves||RAN/vRAN (RU)||None, supplies other RAN/vRAN vendors|
|Fujitsu||RAN||Survey data and estimates|
|HPE||2G/3G core, 5GC||Estimates|
|Huawei||RAN, vRAN, 2/3G Core, EPC, vEPC, 5GC||Survey data and estimates|
|KMW||RAN/vRAN (RU)||None, supplies other RAN/vRAN vendors|
|Kontron||vRAN (DU)||None, supplies other RAN/vRAN vendors|
|Mavenir (acquired ip.access, September 2020)||vEPC, vRAN, 5GC||Survey data and estimates|
|Metaswitch (acquired by Microsoft, May 2020)||5GC, vEPC and 2G/3G core||Estimates|
|MTI Mobile||vRAN (RU)||None, supplies other RAN/vRAN vendors|
|Node-H||vRAN (small cells)||Estimates|
|Nokia||RAN, vRAN, 2/3G Core, EPC, vEPC, 5GC||Survey data and estimates|
|NEC (including Blue Danube)||RAN, vRAN (RU), EPC, 5GC||Survey data and estimates|
|Parallel Wireless||vRAN (CU, DU)||Estimates|
|Pivotal||RAN/vRAN (RU/mmWave repeater)||Estimates|
|Quanta Cloud Technology (QCT)||vRAN (DU)||None, supplies other RAN/vRAN vendors|
|Ribbon Communications||2G/3G core||Survey data and estimates|
|Samsung||RAN, vRAN, vEPC, 5GC||Estimates|
|Silicom||Open RAN (DU)||None, supplies other RAN/vRAN vendors|
|SuperMicro Computer||vRAN (DU)||None, supplies other RAN/vRAN vendors|
|Verana Networks||RAN/vRAN (RU/mmWave)||Estimates|
|ZTE||RAN, vRAN, 2/3G Core, EPC, vEPC, 5GC||Survey data and estimates|
MoffettNathanson: accelerating rise of Cable Wireless; Business Wireline status; AT&T’s overlooked assets
To the surprise of many, the Cable industry (Cablecos/MSOs) has captured an accelerating share of gross and net wireless subscriber additions, forcing incumbent wireless telcos (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile) to respond by offering lower priced alternatives. In the second quarter of the year, with cable taking nearly half (49.2%) of industry net additions in the period (after adjusting for 3G network shutdowns), according to MoffettNathanson’s latest report (subscription required) on the mobile sector. Cable’s Q2 2022 take was up from approximately 31.9% in the year-ago period.
MoffettNathanson’s analysis also showed that cable took its highest share of gross mobile subscriber adds in Q2 2022, at 11.9%. That compared to T-Mobile (30.1%), AT&T (29%) and Verizon (27.8%). Comcast, Charter and Altice USA combined to add 694,000 mobile lines in the second quarter, ending the period with 9.12 million.
Comcast, Charter, and Altice collectively added 694K new subscribers in Q2, up more than 100K from the corresponding quarter last year. That takes Cable’s subscriber base beyond 9M, or still just ~3% of the U.S. industry as per the graph below.
- Comcast disclosed that wireless penetration of its residential broadband base has reached 7.9% (or about 2.4M homes), suggesting they’ve reached nearly 2 lines per home, up from ~1.6 lines per account just a year ago.
- Privately held Cox Communications is now in beta testing on its MVNO service, and we expect it will offer pricing similar to Comcast’s and Charter’s. That will only add to the pressure on the wireless telco incumbents.
“Cable Wireless offers have been more successful than anyone had expected when they were first introduced,” MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett wrote. Of note, it appears that Comcast ‘s Xfinity Mobile service has reached nearly two lines per home per mobile sub, up from about 1.6 mobile lines per account just a year ago.
Citing data from Navi, a firm that aggregates data on service plans and promos from major postpaid carriers, original equipment manufacturers and large retailers, Moffett says there’s a “clear and growing interest in Cable Wireless as a potential service provider.”
“Lower industry growth means a more challenging path forward for all carriers… particularly given the rapid share gains of the cable operators,” Craig wrote. “While Cable wireless collectively took nearly 700K net adds during the quarter, they would presumably have taken even more had the incumbents’ new basic entry plans not been introduced,” he added.
Business Wireline Status:
“While wireless is inarguably the core business for both Verizon and AT&T, the worsening conditions of the Business Wireline segment, which accounts for some 19% of revenues at AT&T and 11% at Verizon, cannot be ignored. Deterioration in the sector overall is bad enough, particularly in light of high prevailing inflation. Industry revenues are now shrinking by 3.7% per year. Excluding USF and IP sales, AT&T saw Business Wireline revenues fall by 7.6% YoY in Q2, and Verizon saw Business Wireline revenues fall by an estimated 8.2%,” wrote Craig Moffett.
AT&T’s Overlooked Assets:
MoffettNathanson is missing two key growing revenue streams for AT&T:
- Increasing fiber optic network sales to both business and residential customers: AT&T added 316,000 net AT&T Fiber subscribers during the second quarter of 2022, resulting in fiber penetration of nearly 37% with about 6.6 million total fiber subscribers. AT&T has already added nearly 2 million AT&T Fiber (brand name) locations this year. AT&T’s fast-growing fiber revenues now make up nearly half of our consumer wireline broadband revenues.”
- FirstNet network which covers more first responders than any other network. FirstNet now reaches more than 2.81 million square miles across the U.S. That is 50,000+ more square miles than the largest commercial networks (about the size of Alabama) – giving more first responders access to an entire ecosystem of innovative solutions to keep them mission ready.
LightShed Partners on 5G, Unsustainable Wireless Growth Bubble, Revenue Opportunities
Excerpts from LightShed Partners report – The Wireless Industry’s 5G Growth Problem, MAY 31, 2022 ~ by WALTER PIECYK AND JOE GALONE (Registration required):
Wireless operators in the United States committed to invest over $200 billion into 5G (spectrum licenses, network equipment and build out costs), but does anyone care? Consumers have shown little interest in switching between service providers because of 5G. They have also been slow to upgrade to higher-priced 5G rate plans with their existing provider.
5G has not been enough to attract wireless consumers to higher priced rate plans. The major telcos have enabled 5G on all of their unlimited post-paid rate plans. Verizon withholds its “Ultra-Wideband” 5G from entry level subscribers but includes this faster speed level on the rest of their rate plans. We are skeptical faster 5G is inducing many subscribers to upgrade.
Despite the macro headwinds, we expect 1.5-3.0% growth in post-paid phone subscribers going forward. That’s not terrible, but it implies that industry net adds will fall to 6.7 million this year from 9.4 million in 2021. That is 1.9 million (22%) below consensus. Our peers may be excluding ~950k of base “cleanups” and network shutdowns in their estimates. That is odd as this is churn of subs that are allegedly paying their bills. Even if we excluded this “clean-up” our estimate would still be 1 million below consensus in 2022.
So where can wireless operators find more revenue growth?
Our outlook for industry subscriber growth is clearly not enough to generate the higher sustainable revenue growth that many investors prefer unless a wireless operator is taking material share. It’s hard to make a long-term case for notable shifts in market share in the wireless industry. Network differentiation has tightened, churn rates are at record lows. Plus, any material change to pricing would have an unwanted impact to the free cash flow of their large subscriber bases. So then what?
Wireless operators can attempt to boost revenue growth with wireless home broadband (aka Fixed Wireless Access or FWA), wholesale and IoT. But post-paid phone revenue, which represents 75% of total service revenue, is still the primary driver of growth. We estimate that in 2022, post-paid phone revenue will contribute 260 basis points of the 3.4% industry growth that we forecast. And in 2023, we expect it to contribute 220 basis points of our 3.2% expected growth. Without post-paid phone revenue growth, these companies have major growth challenges.
We are skeptical that premium services like hotspot data or better video streaming quality are incentives to move up rate plans. We invite any company to offer data on why this will offer a tailwind of upgrades over the next five years.
How much extra growth does Home Broadband offer?
We expect wireless home broadband to add an incremental $1 billion of recurring revenue per year for the wireless industry. That represents about 40 basis points of our industry revenue growth estimate of 3-4%. The impact of home broadband on growth is meaningful to T-Mobile and Verizon, contributing 100 bps and 60 bps respectively to their total wireless service revenue growth. Our wireless home broadband estimates are below the guidance of these companies, and therefore also likely below consensus – as we highlighted on our recent initiation of Charter. (Link) AT&T prefers to pursue a fiber growth strategy.
Home broadband is enabled by spectrum depth not 5G:
5G proponents would note that home broadband is a 5G application that helps to justify the $200 billion industry investment. But if that money had been plowed into spectrum and capex for LTE, we believe there would be little difference in the resulting revenue generated by home broadband. The thick spectrum blocks that operators purchased or acquired help LTE speeds and capacity in largely the same way it enables 5G. In addition, we have yet to notice perceptible differences in latency between 5G and LTE as measured (perhaps incorrectly) by the ping on speed tests. Only Dish Networks appears to be taking the capabilities of 5G down a path that is materially superior than what can be achieved with LTE and traditional network design.


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This week’s Black Friday TV deals are dropping prices on a range of Amazon’s Fire enabled TVs right now, leaving us with prices as low as $139.99 on the latest smart displays. We first saw these Fire TV deals over Prime Day, but it looks like they’ve made a return in the latest Amazon Black Friday sales.
That low price sits on the 720p Toshiba 32-inch display. You’re not getting 4K here, but this is still an excellent price for a smaller TV with all the latest apps straight out the box. Not only that, but if you do want to upgrade to a 4K TV deal there’s a stunning $229.99 price on the 43-inch Insignia, courtesy of a $70 price drop. Plus, we rarely see a $329.99 price tag on a 55-inch display like this 4K Toshiba model (was $449.99).
Plus, if you’re in the UK, you’ll find plenty of TV deals available in Amazon’s early Black Friday deals this week.
These offers were available over Amazon’s own sales event a couple of weeks ago, but if you missed out on those cheap TV deals you’ve got another chance this week. Of course, you’ll find plenty more Black Friday TV deals just below as well and we’re also bringing you the very latest Black Friday deals as they come in.
Not in the US? Check out more TV offers in your region further down the page.
Black Friday TV deals – US
Amazon Black Friday Fire TV deals
Toshiba 32-inch 720p smart Fire TV:
$179.99 $139.99 at Amazon
Save $40 on this 32-inch 720p Fire TV. You’re not getting 4K resolution here, but you are getting a fantastic price for a smart TV offering up a massive range of apps and services for the money. That’s perfect if you’re looking for a smaller display – or a secondary room for a bedroom or kitchen.
Insignia 43-inch Fire 4K TV:
$299.99 $229.99 at Amazon
The all-new Insignia 43-inch Fire TV is seeing a $70 price cut this week in Amazon’s Black Friday deals. That means you can pick up the 2020 model along with its DTX Studio Sound and support for all the latest apps for a great price.
Toshiba 55-inch Fire 4K TV:
$449.99 $329.99 at Amazon
Save $120 on the 55-inch Toshiba Fire-enabled 4K TV. $329 is a stunning price for a display of this size, never mind one offering glorious 4K resolution with Dolby Vision HDR and DTS Studio Sound.
More Black Friday TV deals
Samsung 43-inch 7-Series 4K Ultra HD Smart TV:
$299.99 $279.99 at Best Buy
For just $279.99, you can snag the Samsung 7-series, which is perfect for those more budget-minded folks who still want a feature-laden 4K TV from a top brand. They feature a universal guide that’s super handy for streaming content and Samsung’s Crystal Display technology for a sharp, clear picture.
Samsung 50-inch 4K Ultra HD Smart TV:
$429.99 $328 at Walmart
A stellar price for a mid-size 4K TV, you can get the best-selling Samsung 50-inch TV on sale for just $298. With a ton of smart capabilities, PurColor technology, and elegant slim design, it’s a fantastic value mid-range set for any living room and its stellar customer satisfaction ratings attest to that.
LG 70-inch UN7000 Series 4K UHD TV:
$649.99 $599.99 at Best Buy
The LG UN7000 Series might not be the top-end range from the tech giant, but it still manages to pack in an almost dizzying array of great values for the price. For $600, you’re getting HDR dynamic tone mapping, noise reduction, a sharpness enhancer, as well as full smart assistant compatibility too.
Sony 75-inch X900H Smart 4K Ultra HD TV:
$2,499.99 $1,798 at Amazon
Packed with premium features, the 2020 Sony 67-inch 4K TV gets a $700+ price cut at Amazon. The Ultra HD smart TV features a game mode for a super-smooth experience and works with Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant.
Black Friday TV deals – UK
Hisense 50-inch 4K TV:
£449 £349 at Amazon
This Hisense TV deal is another leftover from Amazon Prime Day, offering up a £100 discount on the 50-inch display. Hisense is well known for its budget displays offering up impressive TV tech for an impressive price point.
LG 43UN71006LB 43-inch 4K TV:
£479.99 £349 at Amazon
There’s a £100 discount on the UN71006LB 43-inch LG TV, bringing it down to just £349 this week. Amazon’s Black Friday deals aren’t hitting too many premium TVs right now, so if you’re after that excellent LG quality you’ll want to take a look at this range.
Samsung TU7110 50-inch 4K TV:
£499 £429 at Amazon
Samsung’s 2020 Crystal UHD TVs are incredibly popular, so this £70 discount is working pretty hard right now. There’s an excellent level of clarity on this panel, as well as HDR10 and a Tizen operating system.
More 4K TV deals
Still searching? You’ll find all the cheapest prices on 4K TVs just below, with our comparison chart offering up the best offers from retailers across the web – in the US, UK, and Australia.
We’re also rounding up all the latest cheap TV deals and sales right here on TechRadar, or you can check out the best Black Friday TV deals and OLED TV prices.


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tech21 has launched its new range of ultra-protective phone cases for the new Galaxy S21 series. The Evo range is synonymous with scientifically proven impact protection
and the latest cases are also 5G compatible, meaning they’re ready for use the moment they’re attached to a Galaxy S21, S21+ or S21 Ultra.
Made with responsibly sourced materials, these cases have both protection and hygiene at the forefront – with every range featuring a built-in formula that reduces microbes by up to 99.99% in just 24 hours. The ultra-thin and lightweight cases feature multi-drop protection, iconic designs and have been developed closely with Samsung to ensure they complement every feature and connection of the new devices.
This range features the bestselling Evo Check – tech21’s signature range of cases that offer premium levels of protection for devices and their cameras. These tactile cases offer 12ft drop protection and scratch resistance, with an angular rib pattern around the edges providing both improved levels of protection and an enhanced 5G connection.
The transparent Evo Clear and Evo Tint cases allow users to enjoy the original Samsung design of their new devices, while the built-in hygienic formula keeps things consistently clean. The Evo Slim cases are presented in an appealing charcoal black and are made for everyday use, while Evo Wallet cases have a focus on convenience with a pocket for two cards, a stand function and a secure, moulded locking clasp (no metal to enhance the 5G connection). Tech21 is also giving its customers the chance to get their hands on Evo Sparkle cases with a shimmering, holographic effect.
Commenting on the launch, tech21 CEO Colin Woodward, said: “We know that our cases already offer unbeatable drop protection, but now we’re focusing on keeping them as hygienically clean as possible.”
“Our team of materials scientists are always looking for ways to innovate and improve on what has come before and we’re delighted with our latest range of Galaxy S21 cases. Every range has been tested using methods approved by our partners at the National Physical Laboratory to ensure they offer unbeatable levels of drop protection. We’re excited to help Galaxy fans protect their latest device in style.”
tech21’s Evo range is made from the most advanced materials and now includes built-in hygienic protection, reducing 99.99% of microbes in just 24 hours. Their best-selling Evo Check
features the iconic checked pattern, increased camera protection and interchangeable buttons to mix things up.
Prices start from £29.99/$39.99.
Evo Clear is fully transparent, made with a UV-resistant material to prevent yellowing; Evo Tint adds a cool carbon shade to its clear design; Evo Wallet contains convenient and secure pockets for two cards; Evo Sparkle has an iridescent, holographic effect; and Evo Slim is perfect for keeping phones protected on a day-to-day basis. Prices start from £19.99/$29.99.
For 360-degree protection, their Galaxy S21 screen protectors (glass for S21 and S21+; film for S21 Ultra) offer the same level of hygienic protection, scratch resistance and an easy-to-apply installation tool.
Prices start from £19.99/$29.99


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Nearly a year after establishing its North American facility, Bericap Group has taken more steps toward becoming a global producer of plastic closures by opening a Chinese plant and building another in Brazil.
The 40,000-square-foot Bericap (Kunshan) Co. Ltd. plant is in Jiangsu, China. During the start-up phase, the company will operate six injection presses and employ 25-30 to mold polypropylene and polyethylene closures.
The company expects the Chinese operation to have sales of $5.76 million in its first year. A plant expansion already is in the works, said Scott Ambrose, president and chief operating officer of Bericap North America. The expansion will add presses and space based on the firm's success.
Bericap also is constructing a plant in SÃo Paulo, Brazil, to be completed late this year or in early 1999.
``We're going in with the automotive market and following major oil companies,'' Ambrose said in a telephone interview. ``The market is developing so quickly and we'll also serve the beverage and edible oil industries.''
Like the Chinese plant, this facility will be 40,000 square feet, employ 25-30 and run six presses.
In addition, the company is considering expanding operations into Moscow within two to three years. Bericap opened a sales office there earlier this year.
Bericap Group is headquartered in Dijon, France, and operates 12 manufacturing facilities in 10 countries. The company makes specialty closures, such as tamper-evident and child-resistant types, and closures with pour features for food, beverage, automotive, chemical and pharmaceutical markets. Its North American headquarters, a joint venture with Twinpak Inc., is in Burlington, Ontario.
Bericap had sales of $193 million last year.


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More than 16 million pieces of stock items, more than 200.000 items moved daily, a fleet of more than 2.000 cars that get around the Earth every two hours.
In recognition of our successful operation and continuous effort in 2016 UNIX Auto was awarded the title Company of the Year in Hungary.
"It's like the fairy tale in the Hungarian business textbook. They set up a greenfield company at the time of the regime change. The Hungarian company - UNIX Autó Kft. - is becoming a reliable partner of numerous large international companies."


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Former Blackmores boss Christine Holgate has made almost $3.5 million in just six weeks after the vitamins company's share price accelerated by almost 50 per cent on renewed positive sentiment about Chinese demand.
Ms Holgate, who begins her new role as chief executive at Australia Post on October 30 but still holds 80,438 shares in Blackmores, has been among beneficiaries of the substantial climb.
Major shareholder Marcus Blackmore, who holds a 24.5 per cent stake in Blackmores and stepped down as chairman in February, has watched his personal wealth jump by $181 million.
The hefty share price rise came as most investors had scaled back their expectations on the growth outlook for Australian vitamins makers compared with the extraordinary spike in demand in 2015 and early 2016.
Blackmores shares were trading at $87 on August 24 and are now hovering around $130. It was the top-performing stock among the ASX 200 on Wednesday, with a 6.2 per cent climb to $131.
It made small early gains on Thursday before slipping back marginally.
A number of China-focused consumer stocks in Australia have been soaring on improved sentiment and strong demand, with infant formula maker Bellamy's on Thursday morning announcing a profit upgrade, while a2 Milk has also been rising strongly.
NAOS Asset Management portfolio manager Ben Rundle said investors were becoming more comfortable with the prospect of solid long-term demand for well-known Australian brands such as Blackmores in China after some volatility. The high-quality reputation they had built was a big factor in the choices made by Chinese consumers.
"The Chinese consumer still very much favours Australian brands," Mr Rundle said.
A decision in mid-September by authorities in China to again delay implementation of tough new laws on the cross-border e-commerce trade provided a fillip for Australian vitamin and cosmetic firms. In that surprise announcement, the State Council, China's cabinet, said the new laws would be delayed for a further 12 months.
They are now scheduled to take effect at the end of 2018, after the third delay to licensing provisions that had previously spooked investors in China-focused consumer stocks listed on the ASX. Blackmores is to update the market at its annual meeting in Sydney on October 26.
Blackmores shares surged beyond $220 in January last year after unprecedented demand from China, with vast amounts of stock stripped from the shelves of supermarkets and chemists by entrepreneurs and tourists to sell on websites in China.
New chief executive Richard Henfrey has also had a healthy increase in wealth on paper, with his direct shareholding of 11,429 shares now worth $1.5 million, up $490,000 since late August.
Mr Henfrey said on August 29, when the company delivered its full-year results, that while demand in China was solid, "we don't anticipate another gift year like we had in 2016".
Ms Holgate ceased being a director of Blackmores on September 29, but handed the reins to Mr Henfrey several weeks earlier after agreeing to take the difficult role at Australia Post when Ahmed Fahour bowed out.
Her holding in Blackmores jumped from 46,002 shares to 80,438 on August 30, when she was granted a large chunk after vesting conditions were met under an executive share plan given the green light by shareholders in 2014.
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If something works for Big G, it’s a safe bet that Baidu will find a way to introduce it into China itself.
Google rolls out a search engine. Baidu launches.
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) establishes the AdWords keyword bidding program. Baidu follows with Phoenix Nest, a similar pay-per-click platform.
Google champions a mobile operating system in Android. Baidu joins the fray, this time building on top of Android.
China may not be ready for self-driving cars, YouTube, or a treasure trove of April Fool’s Day jokes, but something as crazy as Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s high-tech specs may be Baidu’s next copycat move.
Sources are telling Sina Tech that China’s leading search engine is working on Baidu.com, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU)Eye. The glasses are voice controlled and can recognize images and perform basic computing functions through an LCD display.
If this sounds a lot like Google Glass, step up and take a prize out of Big G’s broom closet.
The report is detailed enough to claim that Baidu is already working with QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) to devise a chip that gets at least 12 hours of battery life.
Whether or not Baidu Eye is real, we know for a fact that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is making a play in wearable computing with Google Glass. Would it really be a surprise to learn that Baidu is going along for the ride?
Baidu.com, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) is already taking a hit because the perception out there is that China’s undisputed champ of desktop search may struggle to make the transition to mobile. Baidu’s push into the smartphone space has yet to bear fruit, so why not take a chance on wearable computing?
Baidu can even beat Google to a commercial launch for a change.
Google recently revealed that it chose 8,000 winners of its contest to don Google Glass prototypes. They will have to pay a steep $1,500 for the early adopter privilege. As Google stretches this out, Baidu can rush to the market with a cheaper pair of specs.
The article Baidu’s Keeping an Eye on Google Again originally appeared on Fool.com.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Baidu and Google. The Motley Fool owns shares of Baidu.com, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU), Google, and Qualcomm.
Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


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In response to selling a significant portion of his stake in Sotheby’s stock for a price around par for what he paid more than three years ago, Marcato’s Mick McGuire told CNBC that he expects the stock to reach levels above $70.
McGuire sold 2m of his shares back to Sotheby’s at a price around $36. Multiplying $36 by any integer above 1 would put BID at price the stock has never reached.
“We love Sotheby’s, we love the stock, I think it’s quite cheap here,” he said. […] “We expect to see the share price to move multiples of where it is today,” he said.
Mick McGuire says Sotheby’s will go ‘much higher’ (CNBC.com)


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Good news on Verde sales tax
September revenue up for most Verde Valley communities
VERDE VALLEY - "The town seems real busy," said Jerome Town Manager Candace Gallagher. "The shopkeepers are happy."
Gallagher was responding to the September sales tax revenue report by the Arizona Department of Revenue's Office of Economic Research and Analysis.
Jerome, for several months in a row, has been up in retail sales tax, total sales tax for the month, and year-to-date total sales tax collections. The increases in Jerome's sales tax revenue goes beyond the increase the town took in its sales tax rate during the last fiscal year.
Jerome collected $16,280 for September in retail sales tax, an increase from the $11,278 collected for the same month last year. Sales tax in all categories for September was up from $35,810 last year to $41,792 this year.
In the year-to-date sales tax revenue category, Jerome is up to $138,592 this year from $114,560 for the same period last year.
Gallagher said town staff and town council saw that sales taxes were on an upward trend, and the town budgeted for that increase. She said that so far the budget predictions have been on the mark.
"I think it's positive for Jerome," Gallagher said. "Being a real tourist destination, we're seeing more people."
Camp Verde was up in retail and total sales tax categories for September, but the town is still down in its year-to-date category. Lisa Elliot, senior accountant, hasn't seen anything significant enough yet to put a positive spin on.
Retail sales tax in Camp Verde for September climbed to $55,823 from $39,633 last year. Elliot said she hasn't had the opportunity yet to compare or analyze the retail figures.
The total sales tax revenue category also was up for September, from $150,643 last year to $170,126 this year. But Elliot isn't ready to forecast an economic upturn based on that figure.
"The $20,000 overall increase is attributed to the communication and utilities category," she said. That category had a jump of about $20,000.
"There seems to be some sort of anomaly there," she said. She said they have requested an explanation from the Department of Revenue but have not heard anything yet.
Year-to-date total sales tax revenue for Camp Verde is down through September from $517,857 last year to $461,462 for the same period this year.
Clarkdale also is up in two categories over last September. While retail sales tax is down from $6,150 last year to $5,029 this year, the total sales tax revenue category is up to $54,996 in September from $45,981 last year.
Year-to-date revenue in all categories of sales tax collections is up in Clarkdale to $175,430 from $144,800 for the same period last year.
Sedona, too, is seeing some sales tax increases for September. Retail collections were down a little from $238,075 last year to $235,490 this year. But total sales tax revenue in all categories is up to $1,022,615 for September from $990,181 last year.
Year-to-date sales tax revenue in all categories for Sedona is up from $3,064,772 to $3,080,885 for the same period this year.
Cottonwood is the only community in the Verde Valley to be down in September in retail, total and year-to-date categories of sales tax revenue.
Retail collections were $529,057 for September, a drop from $539,432 for the same month last year. Total sales tax revenue in all categories was also down to $838,854 in September from $851,036 last year.
Year-to-date total sales tax revenue also dropped in September from $2,668,762 last year to $2,566,176 for the same period this year.


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Coinbase is officially trading on Nasdaq under the ticker COIN and its chief financial officer has a message for Wall Street: its business can't be pigeonholed into one category.
"Coinbase is Coinbase for crypto," Alesia Haas said in a message to The Block. The crypto exchange, which has seen its share price whipsaw throughout Wednesday's trading session—has been referred to as the Google of the crypto world and the Goldman Sachs of the market, illustrating its central position in the blockchain world.
Coinbase traded above $420 shortly after its public debut but fell as low as $310 before the close at $328.28. At the time of writing, the exchange's share price is trading hands at about $330 in post-market trading.
During its first day of trading, $COIN traded more than SPY, as noted by Bloomberg's Eric Balchunas.
But Haas wants would-be investors to take a broader view of the firm, which has raked in most of its revenues from custody and trading-related services. While those revenues came in at an estimated $1.8 billion in the first quarter of 2021, the firm's core brokerage business could be threatened by fee compression in the future.
"We are focused on the long-term where we will continue to diversify our offerings," Haas said. "Today we are primarily investing, but interestingly enough, we’re seeing over 20% of users engaging with multiple products - from staking to earning, and borrowing/lending."
Today, nearly 90% of Coinbase's revenues are transactional. But Haas told The Block in a phone interview that those revenues will diversify.
"We don't yet know where value will accrue," she said. "We have products that touch payments, brokerage, and the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem. And value can accrue in many ways. It may take 5 to 10 years longer for them to play out. But we are going to try to build a platform that engages in all the new types of transactions that exist from fiat to crypto to decentralized finance."
Still, it's no secret that Coinbase operates in an increasingly competitive environment not only from crypto exchanges but also a growing list of fintechs and other incumbent financial services looking to leverage crypto capabilities as a new lever for monetization and user engagement.
Haas said the firm's history in both crypto and traditional finance would serve as a competitive moat down the road.
"We are competing against other crypto native companies and financial services companies. On the crypto side, we are deeply committed to compliance in the way we've positioned ourselves. Meanwhile, compared to Square, PayPal, Fidelity we are crypto native. We are deeply integrated with crypto protocols and are not producing just the simple bitcoin experience and are not wall gardened like many of these platforms."
To be sure, the share of Coinbase's assets on platform (AoP) relative to the total value of the crypto market has only continued to grow over the past eight quarters. As of March 31st, 2021 the company estimated that it had over $220 billion worth of crypto on its platform.
© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.


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R70bn invested in reigniting key sectors
CAPE TOWN - NEARLY R70 billion has been invested in reigniting key industrial sectors that drive economic growth and job creation, officials from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) told members of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry yesterday.
To date, four master plans were being implemented, the dtic said in a statement. The plans were for the automotive, poultry, sugar and retail – clothing, textile, footwear and leather (R-CTFL) – industries. Master plans for the steel and furniture sectors still had to be finalised.
The total investments in these master plans included R60bn in the automotive industry, R6.7bn in the R-CTFL sectors, R1.5bn in the poultry industry, and R1bn in the sugar industry.
The dtic’s deputy director-general for industrial development, Thandi Phele, told the committee the implementation of the master plans was already bearing fruit in the four sectors.
Poultry production had increased 5 percent in the first eight months of last year compared with the same period in 2019, with the production of an additional one million birds a week.
The South African Poultry Association made new investments of R735 million out of the R1.5bn commitment, and some 428 jobs were created, she said.
The main objectives of the poultry master plan were to reorientate the industry towards exports, reclaim the domestic market, and change the economic value extraction of premium meat (breasts) and discounted meats (bone in thighs).
In the R-CTFL sector, 40 jobs were saved at the new flip flop factory at
Pep Clothing as a result of a R25m investment. An additional R564m was committed from key players – Pepkor (R30m), Foschini Group (R350m) and Glodina (R184m) – which had saved 4 300 jobs.
Phele said the dtic was working with the National Economic Development and Labour Council, the National Treasury and provincial authorities, to monitor and enforce 100 percent local content for the clothing, textile, footwear and leather sectors.
The South African Sugar Association set aside R1bn over five years towards transformation, and R575m had been allocated to remedy inequalities experienced by black sugar cane growers.
Phele said the recent investment of R15bn by Ford Motor Company South Africa at the Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone was one of the major moves in the automotive sector.


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PALMDALE, Calif. — A California woman who didn't know she had a jackpot-winning $23 million lottery ticket in her car has come forward to claim her fortune.
The Palmdale woman's daughter recognized her from a newspaper photo of the supposed winner, captured on the liquor store's surveillance camera.
More details about the woman's identity were to be announced Friday, lottery officials said.
"She just never checked the ticket," lottery spokesman Alex Traverso told the newspaper. "Her daughter took a picture of her photo in the newspaper and sent it to her mother, she went to her car and found the ticket."
Earlier this week, lottery officials had put out a public notice that the winning ticket from the May 28 drawing had not been claimed and was in danger of expiring within the month. They also released a grainy surveillance photo of a woman in a blue shirt and dark pants who was identified as the then-unknown winner.
The ticket had the correct numbers, 14, 7, 26, 31, 23 and Mega 5. If she had not turned in the ticket within the next 25 days, she would have lost the money, and the millions would have gone to California schools.
State officials used video from Michael's Market and Liquor, where the ticket was brought, to bring attention to it and try to identify her.
Store manager Ben Sadi said they have been waiting for the woman to come forward.
"We are glad to see the ticket claimed," Sadi said, adding it was sold three weeks after the store was opened.
"This is a lucky store. We have sold several other tickets with winners of $1,000 or $5,000."
Sadi said the store already has been paid its bonus of one half percent of the prize, or $115,000, for selling the winning ticket.
Since news of the winning ticket got out, business has picked up a lot.
"We are getting people driving 30-40-50 miles to come here and buy a ticket," Sadi said. "All our regular customers keep telling me to sell them the next big ticket."
Sadi said the Palmdale store is one of 23 they operate and the first to sell a ticket worth millions.
Lottery officials said the woman filed her claim on Thursday and it will take up to five weeks to issue her the first check.
A $52 million jackpot winner in Fremont was found in August by a similar public appeal.
"He and his wife saw a picture of him on the news that night and came in the next day to claim the prize," Traverso said.
In the last fiscal year, officials say more than $20.5 million in cash prizes went unclaimed.
(Click to display full-size in gallery)


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WSJ: Apple and Samsung about to get Pentagon security approval7
Last month, Samsung executives met in London along with government technology-security agencies including the U.S. NSA. At the meeting, Samsung talked about the rugged version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 being produced, called the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active. The water and dustproof phone would come in handy for government officials in certain locations, or for soldiers on the battlefield. The meeting was said to be an attempt by Samsung to get some government business. But Samsung might have something bigger in mind, A Depart of Defense security clearance might convince banks, financial agencies and corporations in other lines where security is paramount, that the Samsung Galaxy handsets are safe and secure.
According to the WSJ, the agency that approves commercial technology for Pentagon use, the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), is supposed to announce shortly that the Samsung Galaxy smartphones pre-loaded with KNOX meet the Security Technology Implementation Guide. This would allow the phones to be used by some Pentagon agencies for sending and receiving internal emails.
In early May, the Defense Department is expected to announce that the Apple iPhone and Apple iPad running iOS 6, meet the rules of a different security guide. This would allow the devices to be used by the Pentagon for email and web browsing. And while there are three million Department of Defense employees, not all of them receive a work issued smartphone. Thus, the approvals for the two manufacturers are not expected to result in a flood of orders from the government. But as we pointed out earlier, a DOD stamp of approval can go a long way in scoring business from companies that need to have secure communications.


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2020 was one of the biggest years for Bitcoin so far. It even surpassed its 2017 market capitalization, which was the greatest year for bitcoin (until 2020) after which the graph went downwards.
Before we go into the “Why”, let us understand some basic things about Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is one of the digital currencies available out there and is not created or operated by a government and a central bank.
It was mined by an unknown person or group of people known as Santoshi Nakamoto in 2008. It was later made available for use in 2009.
Bitcoin can be limited to a maximum of 21 million coins when it is considered fully mined. But it can be divided fractionally down up to 1/100,000,000th of a Bitcoin.
Bitcoin uses blockchain technology, which is an encrypted and decentralized ledger that manages and records transactions. It ensures the privacy of the user.
The digital currency bitcoin hit a record of $ 49,714.66 on Sunday, 14th February 2021. You can check the live bitcoin price on Coindesk.
How to Buy Bitcoin?
You can buy Bitcoin by downloading the Bitcoin Wallet.
You can choose to buy bitcoin from bitcoin exchanges like Coinbase.
You can also buy bitcoins from popular Fintech applications like Paypal, Square’s Cash App, and several other such applications.
Now that we know the basic things about Bitcoin, allow me to enlighten you with the recent highlights or news about the Cryptocurrency world.
With the Tesla owner- Elon Musk’s support via tweet, it has already had a crazy start for bitcoin and cryptocurrency. He recently bought Dogecoin for his son, making his support even more evident.
Coinbase had submitted its draft registration statement with the US’s Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) in December 2020. If the SEC approves, it would be the first cryptocurrency exchange company to be listed on the US stock exchange. And obviously, it will be one of the biggest IPOs of 2021.
To know the details about the Coinbase IPO announcement, click here.
On Monday- 8th February 2021, Tesla Inc. in its latest annual report disclosed a $1.5Billion investment in bitcoin. It further went ahead to say that they will be adding bitcoin as a payment option soon for their products(which means one can make payment for their infamous car in bitcoin!). This is huge!
On 10th February 2021, Mastercard announced it will support Cryptocurrency selection directly on its network anytime by the end of this year.
Paypal and Square had recently allowed customers to trade bitcoin on their apps.
It’s time to summarise and tell you about the “Why” we left earlier.
Why is 2021 set to be Bigger for Bitcoin?
With bitcoin and cryptocurrency gaining popularity among the big names and young adults, it is bound to increase its trade volume.
Other than that, with leaders like Elon Musk, Jay Z, PayPal, Square, and now, Mastercard supporting cryptocurrency and bitcoin, it is certain that 2021 is set to be bigger for the bitcoin industry.
Merely the news of announcements creates insane volatility in the cryptocurrency exchange; just wait until those statements and commitments are fulfilled.
Tesla has already invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin, inviting other leading players worldwide to the battle for risk appetite.
As of 14th February 2021, bitcoin nears the $50,000 milestone and is continually increasing since the start of 2021.
Coinbase application for IPO is a massive hope for a change in the US’s exchange regulations for bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
There are too many positives to not be optimistic about the Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Boom in 2021.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are no more just an investment it has become a trade and will stay so for a long time.
You may ask, “Isn’t it too volatile?” I would say, “Sure, a hundred percent it is but it isn’t going to stop it from blooming anytime soon, especially not this year.
Let us know your views in the comments section below.
To read more about cryptocurrency, refer to the below-given links:
7 Reasons Why Bitcoin Will Hit $50,000 In 2021
Well, it has already neared $50,000 as on 14th February 2021, find out the reasons why it did.
Dreaming Of Becoming A Bitcoin Billionaire?
Bitcoin is a high-risk investment sector. Before you dream of becoming a Bitcoin Billionaire, ask yourself three questions. Read more
5 Crypto Investment Mistakes You Should Avoid in 2021
Bitcoin is still very confusing to many, exposing them to investments resulting in losses. To educate yourself with 5 such crypto mistakes that you should avoid, read more
To know how to convert cryptocurrency into cash, click here
We, at OpenGrowth, are continually looking for trending startups in the ecosystem. If you want to know any further information about the startup ecosystem or have any mind-boggling ideas, do refer to the other blogs at OpenGrowth. If you have any suggestions, do let us know in the comment section below.


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Bread with a slight taste of sea, healthy, to eat plain or accompanied. This is the proposal of “Sea Bread”, the seafood flour bread created in Portugal.
Researchers from Polytechnical Institute of Leiria, in Portugal, in partnership with a local bakery, have developed a new type of bread with iodine, Omega 3, low levels of fat and no added salt. The formula is kept secret, but the key ingredient they reveal, is the seafood flour.
The choice for this raw material happened due to the large consumption of bivalves in the country. The group ensures that the seafood flour bread retains all the organoleptic characteristics that the consumer demands in addition to the extra health benefits. The product is in the final stages of testing period and is now about to reach the Portuguese market soon.
This is not the first product created with sea ingredients led by researcher Susana Mendes at the Institute, they released more novelties such as the mackerel meatballs and the algae with kefir ice cream, made especially for people with lactose intolerance. The Algae Bread was another product developed by the Group that also did quite successfully.
They also have done flavored olive oil with herbs and algae, a seaweed distilled gin (Gin Nautilus), a paté of lapa with medronho (lapa is a shellfish and medronho is a traditional fruit in the country), a burger made of fish by-products -salmon, mackerel, shark and hake- among others. Some of the products have won innovation awards and are still being marketed and there are plans to expand the distribution.
Unfortunately the products are sold only in Portugal, but I leave here the suggestion, to anyone who comes to Portugal, you now know which innovative and healthy products to eat, drink and snack.


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When Bernard Acoca was named CEO of El Pollo Loco in 2018, the restaurant chain was still spending 98% of its media budget on TV and print media — years after digital media had disrupted the marketing landscape. With a strong marketing background, including years at Starbucks, Pizza Hut and a stint as CMO for the Americas at L'Oréal, Acoca knew that way of doing business had to change, as it was becoming a liability for a brand whose bread-and-butter remains customers over 40.
"If we didn't revisit and rethink our approach for how we were going to market, particularly with media, we would run the risk of not bringing new and younger customers into franchise," Acoca said.
In the time since he came onboard, Acoca has overseen an investment into digital media and marketing channels that has modernized the 40-year-old chain, which includes more than 480 company-owned and franchised restaurants west of the Mississippi River.
From just a few percentage points of the overall media budget when he started to 30% this quarter, digital spending has exploded — and yielded results. In its most recent quarterly results, the company saw positive sales comps in June and July, after setbacks at the beginning of the quarter due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And since the start of the calendar year, El Pollo Loco has tripled sales generated from digital channels.
"We think we've just scratched the surface on that front," Acoca said.
Rebuilding digital infrastructure
El Pollo Loco's digital transformation began with an overhaul of its digital media infrastructure, including rebuilding both its website and mobile app, improving the latter's user experience and making both work hand-in-glove. The company last year started investing in its loyalty program, an effort it "poured gasoline on" in 2020.
"The loyalty program is really the centerpiece of our digital flywheel and where we expect more and more of our sales comp in the month and years ahead [as we] siphon away dollars from traditional media and invest in our loyalty program," Acoca explained.
These strategies were in place when the business started feeling the pandemic's effects earlier this year. In many cases, it accelerated initiative timelines, speeding up launches scheduled for six to eight months out to six to eight weeks. Before the pandemic, the media budget was still closer to 20% digital, but quickly rose to 30% as the health crisis changed consumer behaviors.
"The loyalty program is really the centerpiece of our digital flywheel and where we expect more and more of our sales comp in the month and years ahead."
El Pollo Loco, CEO
"In a world where people were sequestered at home, the need for out-of-home and drive-time radio … were going to be far less relevant, and we quickly transitioned to where eyeballs were, i.e. social media, mobile and [advertising around news programming]," he said.
As the pandemic accelerated time and money spent on mobile throughout the economy, Acoca sees El Pollo Loco's app and loyalty program as keys to the company's continued growth.
"It is so much more of an efficient way to communicate to our customer base and demonstrate that we know them because we're able to mine our database and segments we've created in that database," Acoca said. "We've seen an increase in frequency of visitation and increase in average member spend."
For restaurants like El Pollo Loco, Acoca visualizes a Venn diagram between the need to drive business off-premise and overall digitization of business, with incremental sales generation as the intersection. The digital push will continue on Sept. 28 when El Pollo Loco launches GPS-enabled curbside pickup at every one of its restaurants, with the app and loyalty program as the conduit. Delivery, which is now nearly 10% of the company's business, has also tripled in growth during the pandemic.
Accelerating cultural relevancy with Initiative
To grow the company's digital transformation exponentially, El Pollo Loco in July selected New York agency Initiative as its strategic media agency of record responsible for a $30 million media budget. Along with its expertise in digital marketing, Acoca noted how the agency, a part of IPG Mediabrands, set itself apart.
"They were the only agency that intuitively got something what was very near and dear to us given the nature of our brand, which was cultural relevance," Acoca said. "They said, 'media impressions are one thing, cultural relevance is far more important.'"
Cultural relevancy is important for a brand like El Pollo Loco with strong cultural values. Half of El Pollo Loco customers are Hispanic, and the company has long-standing ties to the community. Acoca pointed to El Pollo Loco's annual efforts on Cesar Chavez Day, when the company undertakes massive community projects in each of its markets, and an innovative Snapchat AR lens that virtually recreated iconic Los Angeles murals that had been painted over due to gentrification. As part of the latter push, the company is also tapping Hispanic muralists to turn their storefronts into murals each quarter.
Along these lines, next up for El Pollo Loco is National Hispanic Heritage Month, which kicks off on Sept. 15. With small businesses in minority communities disproportionately affected by the pandemic, the company is working to set up grants as financial lifelines for these businesses, offering up mentorship, and looking for opportunities to use its scale to purchase from them. These efforts made El Pollo Loco an attractive client for Initiative.
"[El Pollo Loco is] embracing what marketers should be doing in today's landscape, by adopting new practices and embedding themselves with ideas in culture — as opposed to just standard advertising."
Initiative, U.S. CEO
"They had a strong sense of supporting local communities, they have a diverse audience, they celebrate the heritage of the brand — everything you want in a client partner," said Amy Armstrong, U.S. CEO of Initiative.
"The entire team was so energized as [Acoca] was sharing those types of ideas and embedding the brand in culture, which is basically Initiative's proposition, so how do we continue to amplify what he started: creating and spreading ideas that drive relevancy and growth. We do that by understanding not only what's happening in culture, but what people's values and traditions are when we look at audiences to make sure we resonate."
At the foundation of Initiative's proposition is the idea of "cultural velocity," which Armstrong defined as the speed in which a brand can interpret and respond to different cultural data signals in order to improve its relevance with consumers who will drive incremental growth. For the restaurant, increasing its cultural velocity is the next step to digital transformation.
"While [El Pollo Loco is] very into celebrating the tradition and heritage of the brand, they're embracing what marketers should be doing in today's landscape, by adopting new practices and embedding themselves with ideas in culture — as opposed to just standard advertising," Armstrong said.


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The Boise Police Department recently honored two Target employees for helping a customer who was being scammed.
A man recently walked into the Target store at Chinden Blvd. and Eagle Rd., intending to buy thousands of dollars worth of gift cards.
He went to the counter where front-end manager Vicki Burton was working.
"When he mentioned the amount of $2,000, and he needed five of them, that was a big red flag for me," Burton said. "I told him it was none of my business, but (asked) did anyone approach him or call him on the phone, saying something about his family?
"He said, 'how did you know that?'"
Burton knew, because her store has seen this scam before, and employees are trained to be on the lookout.
"He was very thankful we shared with him what we know," said Jonathan Edwardson, the store's asset protection leader. "Whenever we see high-dollar gift card amounts, we like to be told what's going on so we can try to educate the guests and see what the reason is they are buying them."
Boise Police officers work closely with retailers so employees like Burton and Edwardson know about current scams.
"Unfortunately, it happens all too often," said Ed Fritz, BPD crime prevention supervisor.
Fritz says scammers will call people and use fear to get them to buy gift cards -- usually, he says, to pay off a debt.
"They try to scare you about being arrested, threats like that," Fritz said.
Then you are asked to call the scammer back with the gift card information. Once you do that, the scammer can spend the money.
"We always encourage people to verify if you're in that type of situation," Fritz said. "Please, before you act, verify it with someone."
Asking questions is key.
Police say if you're told not to ask questions or tell anyone about what you're doing, something is wrong.
Still, it can be easy to get trapped.
"The people who do it, they're pretty good at what they do," Fritz said.
In the recent case at the Target store, the victim could have been out $30,000 if employees hadn't recognized the red flags.
The victim had planned to go to another retailer as well.
The scammer hasn't been caught, and police warn that there are a lot of them out there.