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The Power Of FinTech
India’s fintech market is forecast to double by 2020, from $1.2 billion at present
Photo Credit : Shutterstock
India’s cash-driven economy is responding well to the fintech opportunity with the sector expected to transact $73 billion worth of business in 2020 from $33 billion transactions in 2016, according to a comprehensive report on the sector. In five years that works out to a solid 22 per cent growth.
The Yes Bank-backed report, titled ‘India Fintech Opportunities Review’ underscores the fact that despite concerted efforts, banks have been unable to cover the humungous Indian population. This is why fintech companies leveraged their strengths in the vast opportunities thrown up. “Many fintech companies are working in different ways to contribute toward deeper financial inclusion in areas such as microfinance, digital payments, credit scoring and remittances,” the report says.
The Indian Fintech sector is still in a nascent stage. Many companies are barely three years old and employ 14 employees on an average. In the coming years, however, fintech can have a multiplier and beneficial impact on the economy, both in job creation and GDP growth.
By 2025, the economic impact of fintech is expected to give a $700 billion fillip to the GDP. It will also give rise to $800 billion of new deposits and $600 billion in new credit. In governance, fintech is expected to reduce $3 billion in leakage and approximately $2 billion in subsidies.
The YES Bank-IFOR study, conducted over 90 days, is till now India’s largest and most comprehensive analysis of the fintech ecosystem. More than 611 respondents participated in the survey, including 123 global fintech companies, representing more than half of the fintech sector. The IFOR survey also includes inputs from 100-plus ecosystem members, including investors, academics and incumbents in the finance sector.
India’s MSME segment will also be able to draw hugely on the benefits of fintech, which will reduce turnaround times and address the concerns of asymetrical information in MSME. “Fintech also holds the promise of lowering the cost of credit, particularly by reducing operating expenses of lenders, better KYC procedures, lower due-diligence costs and operating expenses,” say the Yes Bank-IFOR report.
The report also points out that fintech has the potential to increase transparency in the eco-system. It reduces the need for cash, and more payments are made digitally, and can be better monitored. It could also reduce the size of the informal sector, increase business activity and boost the labour market.
The Yes Bank-IFOR report also noted that fintech-induced increases in national income could raise consumer confidence. This could have the beneficial effect of triggering fresh rounds of investment and consumption. “If the ecosystem is supportive, fintech could boost the cycle of economic development,” the report said.


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Battleborn Ernest Skills Overview
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The U.S. government has suspended the import of all avocados from Mexico after a U.S. plant safety inspector was threatened.
The suspension was announced by Mexico's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Saturday evening, one day prior to the Super Bowl, which is the year’s biggest sales opportunity.
"The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (APHIS-USDA) decided until further notice to pause avocado inspection activities in Michoacán," the Mexican Agriculture Ministry stated.
The ministry stated the U.S. decision came after an inspector in Michoacán received a threat to his official cell phone.
For nearly a decade Avocados from Mexico has taken out Super Bowl ads in an effort to make guacamole a gameday tradition, The Associated Press reports.
Avocados From Mexico took out an ad for the Super Bowl featuring Andy Richter.
The outlet calls avocado exports "the latest victim of the drug cartel turf battles," as growers face extortion threats.
Mexican avocados make almost $3 billion in annual exports, according to AP News.


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Straddling the respective arenas of horology and motorsport, TAG Heuer’s original Monaco first dropped in 1969 and has remained an avant-garde legend ever since. Bolstered by a distinct design and brilliant mechanics, the watch and its numerous incarnations truly capture the revolutionary essence of the TAG Heuer brand. Indeed, what was once good enough for Steve McQueen is as extraordinary today as it was decades ago. It’s then no surprise that TAG Heuer is making a big deal of the iconic model’s 50th anniversary.
To celebrate 50 years of Monaco, TAG Heuer is hosting a series of events in Europe, the US, and Asia throughout 2019. At each event, the brand will unveil new versions of the original classic. That comes joined by the release of a new book, Paradoxical Superstar, which dives into Monaco’s history and technical achievements, among other things.
We don’t have pictures of the new Monacos just yet, but in the meantime, we’ve thrown up a handful of previous models (including the groundbreaking 1969 original). As for the book, it will be available in TAG Heuer boutiques and on the brand’s website starting May of this year. Happy birthday, Monaco!


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Users took to social media to complain about sluggish programs with one report pointing to an OCSP responder because the wrongdoer.
Apple introduced at its November 2020 occasion that macOS 11 Big Sur would arrive Nov. 12.
Apple was compelled to challenge a press release Monday on its information assortment insurance policies after the discharge final week of Big Sur led to complaints of sluggish programs, which morphed into a bigger debate about privateness on Macs and iPhones. The launch acknowledged the method is a part of its efforts to guard customers from malware.
Apple launched macOS Big Sur on Nov. 12 and hours later, tons of of individuals took to social media to complain about issues they had been having with sure functions on their Macs. Security knowledgeable Phil Vachon defined what occurred on his weblog Security Embedded, writing that an Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) responder checking certificates of each utility was responsible after an Apple server went down. Vachon mentioned that in an effort to guard customers and clients from malware, Apple makes use of an OCSP responder in order that “at every launch of an app, macOS would dutifully check if the certificate used by the signer is still valid, per the OCSP responder. Of course, if macOS couldn’t reach the OCSP responder, it would go about its merry way launching an app. After all, a computer needs to work offline, too.” “If Apple finds that an app they issued a certificate to is actually malware, they can rapidly revoke this certificate and prevent the malware from running, even on machines it has already installed itself on. This does put a lot of policy control in Apple’s hands. This is where you have to make a business decision as to whether or not you trust Apple to be benevolent or not,” Vachon wrote. “In the aftermath of the OCSP responder outage, and the dust settling on the macOS Big Sur release, there are a lot of folks reasonably asking if they can trust Apple to be in the loop of deciding what apps should or should not run on their Macs. My argument is—who better than Apple?”
SEE: Identity theft safety coverage (TechRepublic Premium) As extra safety specialists started inspecting the issue, plenty of different thorny points cropped up. Some took challenge with the concept that Apple felt the necessity to confirm each utility whereas others, like Berlin hacker and safety researcher Jeffrey Paul, highlighted that for every occasion of verification, the macOS sends a hash again to Apple “of each and every program you run, when you run it.” It additionally sends your IP handle to Apple, which Paul mentioned was regarding contemplating Apple’s work with authorities businesses just like the National Security Agency’s infamous PRISM surveillance program. Paul famous that whereas most individuals belief Apple, some might have issues about the truth that the corporate has allowed police forces and militaries to realize entry to person information. Apple overtly admits to this and lets you see what number of occasions they’ve accepted authorities requests for person information. It did this hundreds of occasions in 2019. Paul mentioned that the information from OCSP requests provides the corporate a big quantity of knowledge on how you utilize your system, whenever you use it and the place. “This means that Apple knows when you’re at home. When you’re at work. What apps you open there, and how often. They know when you open Premiere over at a friend’s house on their Wi-Fi, and they know when you open Tor Browser in a hotel on a trip to another city,” Paul wrote. “This data amounts to a tremendous trove of data about your life and habits, and allows someone possessing all of it to identify your movement and activity patterns. For some people, this can even pose a physical danger to them.” Apple has since sought to clarify the issue and defend its practices, writing in a launch that the method is a part of efforts to guard customers from malware embedded in functions downloaded exterior of the App Store. The firm defined that the macOS checks the Developer ID signature for any Mac apps, plug-ins, and installer packages from exterior the App Store and requires software program to be notarized. If you could have a Mac, you have most likely seen the message that comes up everytime you obtain an utility that asks you when you’re certain you need to open it. “macOS has been designed to keep users and their data safe while respecting their privacy. Gatekeeper performs online checks to verify if an app contains known malware and whether the developer’s signing certificate is revoked,” the Apple assertion mentioned. “We have never combined data from these checks with information about Apple users or their devices. We do not use data from these checks to learn what individual users are launching or running on their devices. Notarization checks if the app contains known malware using an encrypted connection that is resilient to server failures. These security checks have never included the user’s Apple ID or the identity of their device.” The firm went on so as to add that it has stopped logging IP addresses related to Developer ID certificates checks and mentioned it’s going to be certain that any collected IP addresses are faraway from logs. In the subsequent 12 months, the corporate plans to make different adjustments to safety checks that embody a brand new encrypted protocol for Developer ID certificates revocation checks, stronger protections in opposition to server failure, and a brand new desire for customers to choose out of those safety protections. The assertion did little to cease the raging debate over Apple’s information collections insurance policies. Some like Paul, weren’t persuaded by the assertion whereas others, like Vachon, mentioned Apple was not doing something essentially nefarious. Vachon famous in his weblog submit that malware is “hiding in more places than I have creative brain cells to think of, and every executable package I run makes me wonder who I might be handing the keys to the kingdom over to, especially if there’s no way to tie the package back to the original developer who built it.” “App signing is actually a very good thing, in my opinion. If anything, it gives me the confidence that the package wasn’t tampered with between when the developer built it and when I installed it,” he wrote. He added that it could be almost inconceivable for one individual to maintain an up to date listing of reliable or untrustworthy events like Apple does. “No matter who you are, you will end up outsourcing this to someone—most users capable of running a security program that monitors for malicious apps (the same applies to most corporations, for that matter). While I’m going to sound like an Apple apologist, I think the privacy arguments are far-fetched. Even if we took them to their extreme conclusion and Apple allowed users to disable all the controls they provide, we would cause more harm than good.” Famed Danish programmer and creator of Ruby on Rails David Heinemeier Hansson wrote a prolonged thread on Twitter explaining that whereas Apple was not doing something nefarious, the corporate needed to perceive how this new data appeared in gentle of its dimension and international energy. “I don’t think Apple is gathering this data because they want to sell it to advertisers (like a Google or Facebook would).” Hansson wrote. “Completely believe that the creators of this system thought they were doing right by users. But that’s the conceit. Apple is late to rendering its actions and intentions through the lens of a two-trillion-dollar conglomerate with a proven record of using its systems and dominance for anti-competitive behavior.”
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Grupo Bimbo is a $10 billion company that gobbles up other food brands. Consider the crumbs on your tie right now: Grupo Bimbo owns Thomas’ English Muffins and Entenmann’s. It reportedly tried to buy Hostess a few years back.
“They’re good at the cost side of the business. I think the jury is still out whether they can take a brand and significantly enhance it,” says Bob Goldin, with Technomic, a food industry research and consulting firm.
He figures Twinkie may be sweetest brand on the block. News of Hostess winding down and consumer nostalgia has naturally landed the remaining yellow treats on ebay — $100 dollars a box.
“You know, it does have some sort of magic about it still, that perhaps a new owner with some investments in marketing could revitalize,” says Goldin.
The first task will be neutralizing online jokes about Twinkies, Ho-hos and a company spelled B-I-M-B-O. In the end, the Mexican multinational may be laughing. If it buys Hostess brands and shifts production, Mexico has low-cost sugar — ingredient number one.
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Your investment in Marketplace helps us remain paywall-free and ensures everyone has access to trustworthy, unbiased news and information, regardless of their ability to pay.
Donate today — in any amount — to become a Marketplace Investor. Now more than ever, your commitment makes a difference.


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Former mail carrier gets prison time for stealing mail
BOSTON (AP) — A former mail carrier who stole federal stimulus payments as well as gift and ATM cards intended for people on her route has been sentenced to three months in prison and ordered to pay the money back, federal prosecutors said Friday.
Angela Gomez, 40, of Lynn, stole about $5,000 in stimulus payments and made more than $16,000 in fraudulent purchases and ATM withdrawals, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston.
In addition to prison time, Gomez was sentenced Thursday to three years of probation.
Authorities started investigating in February 2020 when a gift card intended for a customer on her route never arrived, prosecutors said. Records indicated that the gift card was used for purchases delivered to Gomez’s home address.
Gomez was also seen on security surveillance video making purchases and ATM withdrawls with debit cards that were supposed to be delivered to residents along her route, prosecutors said.
Gomez also stole four U.S. Treasury Economic Impact Payment checks intended for delivery to customers who lived on her route, authorities said.


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Aug. 2, 2013 /CNW/ - Two out of three students appreciate the back-to-school season and look forward to the new school year, according to a recent survey. In fact, the survey shows that students more than parents or teachers lead the way in appreciating the back-to-school season. The first
Staples Back-to-School Annual Study provides a benchmark on the attitudes, opinions and behaviours on the back-to-school season in
The survey shows that 80 per cent of back-to-school shoppers who find the season to be stressful believe that lists contribute to the stress level, whereas 72 per cent believe the same for the in-store experience.
Staples, we focus on product selection, well-organized stores and customer service to make shopping easy for customers during the emotional back-to-school season," said
Steve Matyas, president of
Staples Canada. "We're proud that Canadians trust us and know that we've got their 'lists' covered with everything they need for back to school."
Other interesting revelations include:
Shoppers in the Atlantic provinces are more likely to shop for supplies in June (51 per cent) versus Quebecers (28 per cent)
Although Maritimers seem to welcome early back-to-school shopping, they are the most likely to find the season stressful (67 per cent) as opposed to only 41 per cent of Ontarians
Sixty five per cent of students look forward to the back-to-school season, while just under half of teachers do (46 per cent) and just over half for parents (54 per cent)
Forty four per cent of Canadian back-to-school shoppers would prefer to have more online resources made available to them
Eighty two per cent of Ontarians prefer to make their own lists compared to only 59 per cent in the Prairie provinces
Sixty nine per cent of Albertans purport looking forward to the back-to-school season whereas only 42 per cent of Quebecers say they do
Shoppers in British Columbia are the least inclined to bring their children along for school shopping (55 per cent) whereas consumers from the Prairies are the most inclined (72 per cent)
Seventy per cent of Canadian back-to-school shoppers state that having an established budget is important to them
The complete inaugural
Staples Back-to-School Annual Study is available at
Staples Canada is the official leader in back-to-school in
Canada in terms of sales and product selection. The company transforms its network of more than 330 stores into veritable back-to-school boutiques and trains in-store personnel for the season.
For more information on
Staples Canada and its back-to-school program, visit:
Follow the conversation on Twitter
July 18-20, 2013, Vision Critical conducted an online survey among 2,502 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists, including 775 back-to-school shoppers. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of
About StaplesCanadaStaples, Canada's largest office products company is committed to providing Canadians with a wide choice of office services and products. Serving all types of business - from the small home office to large enterprise -
Staples makes it easy for customers to operate their offices efficiently and affordably by offering an extensive selection of office supplies, technology, electronics and office furniture as well as business services, including computer repair and maintenance, and copy and print services. Operating as Bureau en GrosMC in the province of
Staples Canada in all other provinces, the company employs over 15,000 associates at 330+ stores and at their head office in
Ontario. Ranked as one of
Canada's top ten Canadian companies in Marketing Magazine's Marketing/Leger 2011 Corporate Reputation Survey,
Staples/Bureau en Gros is dedicated to offering customers the highest level of service, whether they choose to shop in-store, by catalogue or online.
Staples Canada/Bureau en Gros also is invested in a number of corporate giving programs that actively support environmental, educational and entrepreneurial initiatives in Canadian communities from coast to coast. Visit
www.staples.ca for more information, or visit us on
SOURCE Staples Canada Inc.


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Samsung has developed a fingernail-sized device with enough memory and storage for high-end smartphones. This ePoP, or embedded package on package, combines 3GB of LPDDR3-1866 memory with 32GB of eMMC storage. Those components are typically separate, but they've been squeezed into a package that's small enough to stack on top of an SoC. Samsung's SoC-and-ePoP combo takes up just 15 x 15 x 1.4 mm.
Awww, isn't the ePoP cute?
According to the press release, the DRAM "sports a 64-bit I/O bandwidth," which presumably refers to the width of the memory interface. There's no mention of the speed or nature of the embedded flash.
|Qualcomm hides a fingerprint scanner under your screen||7|
|Toshiba prepares a 96-layer 3D NAND parfait||13|
|Baidu's DeepBench can now measure inference performance||7|
|Toshiba QLC 3D NAND squeezes a fourth bit into flash cells||19|
|Microsoft resurrects EMET to improve Windows 10 security||7|
|Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 returns as the Fandom Edition||20|
|European Commission fines Google $2.7 bn over Shopping results||64|
|Thermaltake glasses up its Suppressor and Core cases||8|
|National Sunglasses Day Shortbread||12|
|So they're part of a fire sale?||+33|


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52 exhibitors presented their companies on May 14 and 15, 2013 in the Olpe town hall and in an extended exhibition tent. More than 2500 visitors, mostly schoolchildren and parents, seized the opportunity of gathering information about individual training professions.
Our company may consider participation in this year's event a complete success.
Numerous talks called attention of many young people to our company.
For our company, participation in this Job Fair is an important means of creating awareness of the name Heinrich Huhn among schoolchildren, parents and schools.


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Today in the Business of Podcasting
According to Katz Radio Group’s analysis of Nielsen’s June 2023 RADAR release, 73% of adults 25-34 who listen to the radio weekly are doing so out-of-home. The top time for out-of-home listening is midday with 80% share of listening, followed by 79% for the afternoon commute. Katz encourages brands to target higher attention span during times when listeners are more likely to be at home listening. Examples include pushing home-based products, non-store retailers, and aspirational concepts like travel. This same methodology translates to the podcasting world, with the capability to target ads to where and when audiences listen to podcasts.
Veritonic has conducted a survey of over 1,000 brand marketers regarding their concerns when formulating, executing, and upward-reporting their media mix. 72% of brands worry their competitors will find more immersive ways to reach target audiences. 66% worry about declining TV viewership and lower engagement on social media platforms. Veritonic highlights the importance of making audio a significant part of one’s media mix to combat concerns like these.
British communications and advertising holding company WPP is now in a global strategic partnership with Spotify to give its clients access to Spotify’s ad products and scaling capabilities. Spotify’s ad tech will be integrated into WPP products, including using first-party data to provide insights on audience listening patterns.
TV ‘Ad Intolerant’ Viewers Still In The Minority, Study Finds by Wayne Friedman
According to a report from Hub Entertainment Research, based on a survey of 3,063 people aged 14 to 74, 59% of respondents would rather save $4 to $5 a month and watch ad-supported streaming video. The biannual study shows the ad-intolerant group has fluctuated in the low 40% range for the past two years. Podcasting, meanwhile, has a notably engaged and ad-tolerant audience, with the majority of content being ad-supported by default.


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Attendance jumped 34 percent over last year at The Special Event 2003, staged Jan. 8-11 in Orlando, Fla.
With a total registration of nearly 4,900, this year’s trade show and conference saw event pros heading to the Orange County Convention Center for a jam-packed program of seminars, exhibits, networking opportunities and outstanding events. The Special Event is sponsored by Special Events Magazine and CMI magazine and produced by Primedia Business Exhibitions, all part of Primedia Business Magazines & Media.
Attendees from some 28 countries visited the booths 264 exhibitors showcasing everything from tabletop items to special effects. A slate of more than 70 seminars in eight tracks—Business and Professional Development, Design, Foodservice, Event Management, Rental, Sales & Marketing, ISES and the new Wedding track—further increased industry professionalism.
In a constantly changing world, The Special Event 2003 gave attendees the opportunity to sharpen their skills and broaden their scope. PHOTOS BY UNIVERSAL CONVENTION PHOTOGRAPHY; TO ORDER, VISIT WWW.UNIVERSALEVENTPHOTO.COM


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The data published by the United States (US) Census Bureau today showed that new orders for manufactured goods in August increased $0.5 billion, or 0.2%, to $250.7 billion. This reading came in better than the market expectation for a decline of 1% but failed to help the Greenback preserve its strength.
As of writing, the US Dollar Index was down 0.13% on the day at 99.08.
"Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.5%. Excluding defense, new orders decreased 0.6%. Fabricated metal products, up four of the last five months, led the increase, $0.4 billion or 1.3% to $34.4 billion," the press release further read.
Source : FXstreet


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World’s Strongest Man Competition Gains Official Beer Partner
World’s Strongest Man have announced that American brewing company, Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR), will be the Official Beer Partner of the 2022 SBD World’s Strongest Man competition.
The collaboration will unite the brands to create unique content across social media throughout the 2022 competition.
In addition, PBR will provide ice baths for the athletes, for quality rest and recuperation following the strenuous competition.
Every day of the competition, which spans from May 24th to the 29th, at Capitol Mall in Sacramento, California, WSM’s social channels will post a “PBR Celebration of the Day” video of a competitor’s celebration upon completing their event.
IMG VP of media, Rebecca Levin expressed her approval of the partnership.
“We’ve found our match in Pabst,” said Levin.
“The way they engage their fans with a clear, definitive voice, is something we’ve admired for a long time.
“Our social media teams have been direct messaging each other for a while now, so we’re thrilled to finally be able to bring this mutual admiration to the competition, in a fun way,” Levin said.
IMG is the company that owns and operates World’s Strongest Man and signed the deal with PBR.
PBR VP of marketing, Nick Reely commented that the pairing may seem unusual to some.
“The partnership between PBR and World’s Strongest Man is surprising, and I mean that in the best sense of the word,’ said Reeley.
“I don’t think many people would generally associate world-class athletes with beer, but there is actually a lot of synergy between our brands and our audiences.
“We’re gritty, we’re passionate, we happily exist in the fringe and are okay with not everyone understanding our attitude or approach, and we don’t take ourselves too seriously.
“We plan to have a lot of fun together, through online interactions but also in-person activations,’ said Reeley.
30 of the world’s top strongmen will face off in the series of events, including the first-ever Deadlift Ladder.
The new Deadlift Ladder test will consist of a series of incrementally heavier bars and a Bus Pull, where athletes will pull a brand-new Sacramento Regional Transit Bus weighing approximately 40,000 pounds (18,143.68 kg) in a race against the clock.


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The firm’s latest PinkReport, entitled, The American Consumer’s Obsession with Beauty Products, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, will be the subject of Jennifer Stansbury’s presentation at MakeUp in New York. Her talk is on the schedule for 10:50am on the second day of the event, Thursday September 8.
In a nutshell
The report is, in essence, “a retrospective look at yesterday’s beauty trends, influencers and behaviors, as well as a comprehensive examination of today’s beauty landscape, the 2016 PinkReport contrasts how far the industry has come in the last decade, and peers into the future at what’s coming next,” according to a press release from Beauteam (organizers of the MakeUp in events).
What matters most
Stansbury will focus on three market forces influencing beauty today: where women shop for makeup and personal care items; how they share tips, trends, recommendations, etc.; and how the dividing lines between mass, prestige, and luxury waver.
Consumers today buy beauty from retailers like “Amazon.com, home shopping channels such as QVC and beauty specialty stores such as Sephora,” notes the press release. And there’s a strong “G2G” business today too, according to TBC. Social media and “girl to girl” information sharing has changed the way cosmetics are discovered and purchased.
And, TBC believes that “masstige beauty brands are quickly closing the gap between luxury and value, and consumers are loving it. The key to their success lies somewhere between innovation, convenience and value.”
One of many conferences
This year’s MakeUp in New York event includes full days of talks, presentations, and panel discussions. Starting just after 10:00am each morning, the program includes insights from around the globe. There are sessions on the US market, post-Brexit UK, and on Mexico.
L’Oréal is giving a couple of talks too. Trisha Ayyagari, senior vice-president of global marketing for the company’s Maybelline New York brand will speak Wednesday about the “American success story” behind Maybelline as well as about what the brand needs and wants from suppliers as the beauty industry advances.
And, Anne Alcoloumbre, open innovation packaging director at L’Oréal, is presenting on Thursday about the company’s evermore collaborative approach to partnerships and ideas.


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Walgreens Closing 600 Stores Next Spring
Posted on Friday, October 27, 2017 5:41 PM
Walgreens is planning to close around 600 stores as part of a $4.38 billion dollar deal to buy Rite Aid.
The closings will start next spring and be completed over 18 months. The deal included around 2,000 Rite Aid stores. The majority of the closings will be Rite Aid stores within a mile of a Walgreens.
Click here to read the full article on NBC New York.Go Back


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Ford has released an amusing, albeit slightly sick, new promotional video for the new Ford Falcon EcoBoost. The new four-cylinder Falcon is now available in XT, G6, and G6 E form.
Obviously looking to remove any notion attached to four cylinder engines being ‘weak and not powerful enough’, Ford has come up with a creative approach to rub in the faces of all the four cylinder haters out there.
Before anyone breaks out in tears and reaches for the tissues, toads are considered a pest in Australia – in parts of Queensland, killing toads is encouraged.
The Ford Falcon EcoBoost comes with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine producing 179kW of power and 353Nm of torque. Average fuel consumption is rated at 8.1L/100km.
Click play on the video below to check out the ad, and don’t forget to let us know what you think of it in the comments section below.


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The Department of Commerce announced on Feb. 7 that the 2016 U.S. trade deficit in goods and services had increased slightly. It rose by $1.9 billion (0.4 percent) to $502.3 billion, up from $500.4 billion in 2015.
Because the U.S. economy has continued to grow, the trade deficit declined a bit in relative terms. It dipped from 2.8 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2015 to 2.7 percent last year.
That’s hardly news, though. In the context of an $18 trillion U.S. economy, the trade deficit isn’t a big deal.
The Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), a trade association skeptical of imports, issued a statement that said, in part: “We urge the White House and Congress to stop the unbalanced wave of imports through tax, trade, currency, infrastructure, and other policies that will restore some factory jobs.”
What many people don’t realize is that the “unbalanced wave of imports” already is counterbalanced by the substantial amount of foreign capital entering the United States.
This is explained by the balance of payments, which covers all of a country’s international transactions. On one side of the balance is the current account, which consists mainly of trade in goods and services. It also includes smaller items, such as foreign remittances and income earned on foreign investments.
On the other side of the balance is the financial account. It is comprised of assets purchased in one country by people in another country.
In a nutshell, people in other countries invested enough money in the United States last year (a financial account surplus) to neatly offset America’s current account deficit. As a matter of definition, the balance of payments has to balance.
But why does the United States have a current account deficit? It’s not because of unwise trade policies, although some of them leave much to be desired. Rather, it’s because America saves less money than it invests. Or, when expressed as an equation: current account = savings – investment.
There are many attractive investment opportunities in this country. The U.S. economy is performing better than those of most other developed nations. Stocks, bonds, commodities, and real estate all can be purchased freely in hopes of earning future returns.
Some of those investments are made by people from overseas. Those include equities and debt instruments, but also factories built in the United States by foreign firms.
On the other hand, Americans don’t save as much of their income as people in many other countries do. U.S. gross domestic savings amount to about 17 percent of GDP. In China, the figure is quite high — close to 50 percent.
The relatively low U.S. savings rate can be explained in part by the tax code. Interest income earned on deposits is subject to taxation, which tends to discourage people from saving.
On the other hand, interest is tax deductible when paid by individuals on home mortgages. The tax code is setup to punish saving and to reward borrowing.
In addition, the federal government itself is a huge borrower. The Congressional Budget Office is projecting a budget deficit of $559 billion in fiscal year 2017 — a figure larger than the trade deficit.
Since the budget deficit represents federal expenditures that exceed tax receipts, it is funded entirely by borrowing. The budget deficit exacerbates the trade deficit by attracting a large flow of funds from other countries.
Counter to the views of those who believe imports damage the United States, most economists believe the trade deficit simply isn’t a problem. Even if it was, imposing a tariff to restrict imports would do little to change it.
If countries sell us fewer goods, they will have less money with which to buy U.S. exports. A bigger concern is that half of all imports are used as inputs by U.S. manufacturers. Policy changes that reduce imports stand to harm the manufacturing sector by making it less competitive relative to firms in other countries.
However, all is not lost. The government could take two major steps that would reduce or eliminate the trade deficit. One would be to reform the tax code to eliminate its bias toward borrowing instead of saving.
The second would be to balance the federal budget, which would curtail the huge amount of investment currently needed to fund annual deficits.
Those steps may have less visceral appeal than restricting imports, especially ones that are “unfair.” Yet curtailing imports not only will hurt the U.S. economy, but also divert attention from needed tax and budget changes that actually could make a difference.


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China’s June exports make ‘surprise’ surge, but questions linger over trade outlook
- China’s exports beat expectations to grow by 32.2 per cent in June from a year earlier, up from a 27.9 per cent expansion in May
- Chinese customs and most analysts have tipped softer growth in the second half of the year, despite strong figures last month
China’s exports defied congestion at a key port to grow an unexpected 32.2 per cent in June to US$281.42 billion compared to the same period last year, while the easing of a global semiconductor shortage helped bolster electronics exports, new trade data showed on Tuesday.
The port returned to normal operations on June 24, but exporters are still contending with global logistics disruptions, including container shortages and sky-high freight rates.
Powered by healthy demand for Chinese electronics, as well as continued recovery of the global economy, exports last month exceeded market predictions of between 22 to 23 per cent growth and beat the 27.9 per cent year on year growth recorded in May.
“It comes as a bit of a surprise that outbound shipments rose … it appears that other ports were able to pick up the slack, with enough spare capacity to prevent a supply-side contraction in exports,” Capital Economics senior China economist Julian Evans-Pritchard said in a note.
“This does not mean the port closure had no impact, however. It has clearly contributed to increased shipping congestion and higher freight rates. It may also have acted as a partial constraint on export volumes, which were 3 per cent below their January peak last month.”
Exports of hi-tech products, home appliances and auto parts all saw growth last month from a year earlier, although textiles contracted, pointing to a retreat in some pandemic-related demand, said Tommy Wu, lead economist at Oxford Economics.
“The port disruptions will have ripple effects on near-term trade flows,” he said. “But China’s role in global supply chains remains intact and strong demand for electronics should persist.
“More generally, we think global demand will continue to support China’s export outlook, especially as we expect global supply chain disruptions to be resolved gradually in the coming months.”
Elevated shipping costs in particular could weigh on future export growth, said Shanshan Song, Greater China economist at HSBC.
China’s customs administration spokesman Li Kuiwen also said trade growth could slow in the second half of the year, reflecting the high base in 2020. But both imports and exports would continue to expand rapidly, he added.
June was China’s 12th consecutive month of export growth, although the latest figures were compared to a low base of just 0.5 per cent growth a year earlier.
Imports also beat expectations last month, growing by 36.7 per cent from a year earlier, to US$229.89 billion, but down from a 51.1 per cent expansion in May, according to Chinese customs data.
This was the ninth consecutive period of import growth, but again, imports rose by only 2.7 per cent in June last year.
Imports of semiconductors in particular picked up last month after declining for the three previous months.
Trade ‘only one part of the battle‘ in China-Australia dispute, says legal expert Bryan Mercurio
However, a recent forecast by American trade lobby group, the Semiconductor Industry Association, said sales growth would accelerate this year. That will benefit China and East Asia, which handle 75 per cent of global semiconductor manufacturing, said senior economists Betty Wang and Bansi Madhavani from ANZ Research.
In the first half of the year, China imported 561 million tonnes of iron ore, up 2.6 per cent from a year earlier.
Corn imports soared by 318.5 per cent to 15.302 million tonnes in the first six months while imports of wheat jumped by 60.1 per cent to 5.368 million tonnes. Imports of soybeans also rose by 8.7 per cent to 48.955 million tonnes.
Xi Jinping leads celebrations marking centenary of China’s ruling Communist Party
In the same period, crude oil imports fell by 3 per cent to 261 million tonnes, while imports of natural gas rose by 23.8 per cent to 59.819 million tonnes.
Overall, the latest data presents a mixed message about the state of China’s economy, said David Chao, global market strategist for Asia-Pacific (ex-Japan) at Invesco.
“On the one hand, Chinese exports continue to benefit from the recent pandemic lockdowns in places like Tokyo and Sydney as the Delta variant spreads, while on the other hand the State Council issued a dovish statement last week calling for a cut to the RRR policy rate to support the economy,” he said.
Chao said this might suggest certain segments of the economy such as exporters and state-owned enterprises are doing a lot better than others, such as average households and small and medium-sized businesses.


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According to the 2012 Economic Census, the non-store or direct sellers experienced the worst decline from 2007 — 2012 of any retail flooring marketer or contractor. They had a whopping 61.5 percent decline in sales. (In comparison, full service retail flooring stores had a 30.5 percent sales decline.) We are talking about Empire Today and their brethren. No stores; in-home selling; heavy advertisers on TV; strong web presence; mostly deep discounts offered; try to sell only from inventory in local or regional warehouses.
Empire Carpet started in 1959 in Chicago. For 40 years it was the carpet store with no store, a memorable jingle and commercial spokesperson. In 1999, it was acquired by Mercury Capital and for the next six years it was on a rampage; its expansion was incredible as were its sales. By 2007, it was in about 75 major markets. And in those markets they became the dominant flooring advertiser. They became the Joseph A. Banks of promotional offers; buy one get three free? Why not. All they needed to do is get in the house and they would close well more than 80 percent of its leads.
Then they hit a wall. And they reduced the number of markets dramatically. In markets it stayed in, Empire Today further reduced its advertising so as to paint a more profitable picture of their enterprise. Smaller business but improved bottom line.
Things have gotten better and it has started back up its expansion. Mercury Capital decided it was time to cash out. Enter H.I.G. Capital. “We are very excited to partner with Empire Today,” said Brian Schwartz, executive managing director at H.I.G. “The company is a market leader with a compelling customer value proposition, a unique business model, an incredible brand and significant growth prospects. We see tremendous opportunities in the business and look forward to supporting Keith Weinberger and the entire Empire team.”
And talk about love all around. “H.I.G. has spent a great deal of time with our team and the business, is entirely supportive of our vision to become America’s first and best choice for installed flooring, and has made this investment to help us achieve that goal,” Empire CEO Keith Weinberger said in a statement. “Empire is committed to continuing to improve our customers’ experiences, and expanding our products and services into new geographic markets.”
Got it? They want to be in 100 key U.S. markets, and the sooner the better. They tried adding non-flooring products beyond window treatments (siding, etc.) but we don’t think that is their game.
Part of this expansion is its store within a store program with J.C. Penney. They are still testing this, but even if it gets the go-ahead to roll this out, it is not clear how it markets flooring in this staid, old retailer and all the jazz and crazy promotions that Empire Today runs online and in TV commercials. (We think this is destined to fail; time will tell.)
Be advised: Empire Today has an influx of moolah from a new investment company and they want to be the national retail brand. But the regional players offering the same convenience are doing quite well.
Jonathan Trivers, a regular contributor to Floor Covering Weekly, is also the author of the marketWise section of FCW’s Statistical Report. He can be reached by email at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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“Life is just an endless chain of judgments; the more imperfect our judgment, the less perfect our success.”
– B.C. Forbes
Founder of Forbes Magazine
When is choice no choice at all?
Or, what happens if you choose NOT to choose?
I listened to U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee, on TV last week talking about his approach to fixing Obamacare (which he believes will eventually collapse under its own weight).
His solution: Give Americans some money so they can go shopping for health care insurance.
This choice, he said, will make things competitive, drive down costs (he implied) and ensure everyone can get what they need.
Well, I have a problem with that – on several levels.
Issue 1: He bases this idea on the likelihood that most people will 1) have the time to shop around, 2) will know what they’re looking for and 3) will make the best decision for themselves.
Issue 2: Next, his very premise that this system of choice will drive competition is yet another sop to the free market system – read Wall Street – where money is to be made from rubes who don’t know what they’re doing.
Issue 3: And lastly, who realistically thinks his plan is going to drive down costs?
The fact is that only the federal government, with the immense power of the public purse can drive down costs, if – and that’s a BIG IF – there’s a political will to do so.
Take, for example, the Bush administration and its expansion of Medicare into offering prescription drugs.
The “Medicare Prescription Drug and Improvement and Modernization Act” of 2003 expressly prohibited Medicare from negotiating drug prices with the pharmaceutical companies!
Even though that makes sense and is what the public (us) wanted – and still wants.
Instead, the law said only insurance companies that administer the program could negotiate.
In short, the Bush administration let businesses negotiate with businesses over how to make a profit – no doubt on both sides – not how to keep costs down.
Where was that political will?
In making Wall Street happy.
So why would I expect Paul Ryan’s idea to do any better?
But let’s get back to Issue 1, shall we; the one involving choice.
In our current society, we’ve been sold – literally on every street corner – that choice is a good thing.
Now, I agree that having a choice between whole and skim milk is a good idea; as is the choice between a good lager or an ale.
But how many of us have become overwhelmed by the choices we face today: phone plans, smartphones themselves; LCD, LED, plasma or “smart” TVs; dish vs. cable vs. one cable company vs. another vs. rabbit ears?
And then there are the channels themselves: too many channels to choose from, with too little worth watching – but can you choose not to have to pay for them?
Nope, part of the package – in fact, part of one of several packages you can choose from.
Want to buy or lease a car or truck? Why does one dealer offer a different price than another on the same vehicle?
What about computers or tablets; Mac or PC; Nook or Kindle?
Do we ever have all the information we need to make these kinds of decisions – or do we rely on salespeople or recommendations from friends and, maybe, reviews?
And that’s just for consumer goods.
Yet Mr. Ryan would like us all to learn, understand, decipher, compare and contrast and appreciate the nuances of one complex health insurance plan over another – as it applies to our specific needs.
This isn’t Little Caesers vs. Dominos; this is life and death.
Oh, and as we get older, those cognitive skills aren’t going to get sharper, are they?
Which brings me to Issue 2: the oft-repeated mantra that competition is everything in our free market system.
That competition will drive down costs as savvy consumers do that comparison shopping I just explored.
Except we don’t do that, and many of us aren’t savvy when it comes to insurance, which means competition often translates into domination of the market by either one company over another – or by the industry as a whole.
Example: It seems we have gas stations on every major street corner. When was the last time you saw a true price war between two competing stations?
Sure, a couple of pennies one way or the other, but the industry as a whole has a monopoly on gas supply and, therefore, wholesale prices – which translate into retail prices that don’t differ a dime’s worth.
But the Bush administration even went one step further (with good reason) when it prohibited negotiating with Big Pharm over prescription medication.
The good reason: Government could have effectively driven down prices by being the biggest (or sole) consumer of the drug market.
But the Bushies didn’t want Big Pharm to lose its profits.
Which proves my point.
This is one area where government works: by being the sole provider of health care for the elderly and indigent – as well as the rest of us – it has the power to influence costs.
Ryan’s plan isn’t a choice at all; it’s a giveaway to big business dressed up as personal freedom.
In 100 words or less: I got this email last week and thought you’d appreciate the perspective:
“When a company (comes) to Michigan … they know they can get experienced labor because the labor is union-trained and can do the jobs.
(Unions) send apprentices to college and pay them to go, so when they come out … they have four years of training and schooling all paid for them by the union and the company.
Unions mean better wages for everyone … (and) when they stop paying good wages, it really is the trickle-down effect, and the ones who feel it most are the ones who can afford it the least.”
Retired, Local 22 UAW
Craig Farrand is a former managing editor of The News-Herald Newspapers. He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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eBay Inc. Named A Most Ethical Company
By: eBay Inc. Editors
The Ethisphere Institute, an international think tank, has named eBay Inc. as one of the world’s most ethical companies for 2014. This is the fourth time that the company has earned this honor from the Institute, which considers nominations from thousands of companies and rates them using a proprietary rating system. The ratings measure five core qualities: ethics and compliance; reputation, leadership and innovation; governance; corporate citizenship and responsibility; and culture of ethics.
eBay Inc. is one of the few companies that has made the list for multiple years, a recognition that underscores the company’s status as an ethically and socially responsible organization. As a leading global commerce and payments platform company, eBay Inc. enables hundreds of millions of people to buy, sell and pay online. Subsequently, the company creates economic opportunity, powers charitable giving, uses ethical leadership as a profit driver, and embodies the Institute’s credo of “Good. Smart. Business. Profit.”
This year’s honorees span 41 industries, 22 countries and five continents, and eBay Inc. is honored that the Institute has recognized its efforts in driving social innovation and corporate responsibility.


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New Google Glass units will include a solid performance upgrade as they are bumped up to 2GB of internal RAM, doubling the previous 1GB of RAM that has been built into Glass since their beta debut in April 2013.
The RAM upgrade is one of several improvements for Glass that were unveiled in a June 24 post on the Google Glass Google+ page, just as the hotly awaited Google I/O 2014 developers conference gets under way today in San Francisco.
Another key update is a new Glass “viewfinder,” which will help users frame their photos more easily when using Glass, according to the post. “When you say ‘ok glass, show the viewfinder’ you’ll see white L’s in the four corners of your Glass screen. You can then either take a photo by saying ‘ok glass, take a picture,’ with a wink, or by pushing the camera button.”
Also featured in new versions of Glass is the addition of several fresh Google Now cards, which will provide information on where users parked their car, plus alerts for when packages are heading their way after placing orders with businesses, according to the post. Google Now, which was introduced for Android devices by Google in June 2012, presents its information through a series of flip-through “cards” that are visible on the screen of a device, providing a different piece of information on each card. The “cards” appear at the moment they are needed by users, such as the train schedule card appearing when a user is heading to the local train station.
Users of Google Now set their own preferences for what information cards appear on their mobile devices. A wide variety of cards are available for Android users to receive instant updates about public transportation, flight information, traffic reports, sports scores, appointments, weather, hotels, events, restaurant reservations and more.
The updates are part of a regular schedule of improvements aimed at making Glass more powerful and useful, the post states. “The Explorer Program has been an exciting ride, and as a result of your feedback, we’ve picked up the pace on making more improvements. In the last year we’ve made over a dozen software [improvements] and several hardware updates. For example, we’ve improved battery life by over 20 percent, made voice search 10 percent faster and brought you frames, shades and prescription support.”
The number of apps now available to Glass users is also increasing, thanks to the addition of 11 new apps, according to a related June 24 post on the Google Glass Google+ page.
The new apps are Runtastic, a personal trainer app that includes a collection of workouts; 94Fifty Basketball, which works with the 94Fifty Smart Sensor Basketball to help players improve their game by measuring muscle memory that the human eye can’t see; The Guardian, which provides breaking news alerts from the newspaper and lets users save the articles to read later; Duolingo, which helps users learn new languages by turning the process into a game; and GuidiGO, an app users can take with them to designated museums in 27 destinations and through more than 250 guided tours where they can get a personal tour through Glass.
The other new Glass apps are Zombies, Run!, which lets users go on their runs while being chased by simulated zombies; Star Chart, which lets users look up at the sky and explore the stars, planets and constellations above; Shazam on Glass, which can give users the name of a track and artist of a song that’s playing around them; Goal.com, which keeps users up to date with what’s happening in the world of soccer; Livestream, which lets users broadcast live video and read chat messages from their audience and share via social networks; and musiXmatch, which picks up on the music playing around the user and displays the lyrics for songs in any language.
Google Glass Gets New Features and Apps, Just in Time for Google I/O
One existing Glass app, Allthecooks, has been updated with several new features, such as voice commands so that users can keep their hands free while cooking.
Earlier this week, Google announced that Glass is now available for the first time for sale to beta Glass Explorers in the United Kingdom, making it the first place outside the United States where Glass wannabes can buy the devices. Google Glass will hold a featured London Demo Days event June 27 to 28, where prospective Glass users can come and try Glass for themselves. Interested attendees can register to come to the demo event, and they can also register to buy a Glass device at the official U.K. Glass Website. Glass units in the U.K. are priced at 1,000 British Pounds, which is equivalent to about $1,703 U.S. dollars.
The Glass devices built specifically for the U.K. include software that is localized for the British market, including such things as weather temperatures being listed in Celsius rather than in Fahrenheit, as well as improved voice recognition for U.K. accents, according to Google. The Glass team is also working with U.K. developers to provide locally relevant Glassware for use by customers across the pond.
Google Glass has been a topic of conversation among techies since news of the futuristic eyeglass-mounted computing devices first surfaced in 2012 at the Google I/O developer’s conference in the U.S. Developers at the show were offered the chance to buy early “Explorer” versions of Glass for $1,500 for testing and development. Glass was the hit of that conference.
Since the first Glass devices began shipping to Explorers in April 2013, some users have already been modifying their Glass units to work with prescription lenses, based on reports from users on social media sites and other sources.
In May 2014, Google began selling the beta version of its Glass devices to anyone who wants one in the United States as long as Google has them in stock. The Glass devices, which sell for $1,500 plus taxes, can be configured and ordered at the Glass Website, according to Google. Several options and add-ons can raise the price of the devices.
Earlier this month, Google announced its first five development partners for its Glass at Work project, which focuses on building work-related Glass applications that could interest businesses to bring Glass into their operations. Google launched its Glass at Work program in April and has been working behind the scenes to widen the initiative, according to an earlier eWEEK report.
Also earlier this month, Google Glass announced that Glass devices featuring high-fashion frames designed by American fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg will go on sale in June. In March 2014, Google announced that it was partnering with eyeglass frame vendor The Luxottica Group to someday offer trendy frames from famous makers such as Ray-Ban, Oakley, Vogue-Eyewear and Alain Mikli as Glass units get closer to rumored retail production.
In May 2014, Google announced that beta versions of Glass devices can now be purchased by anyone in the United States as long as the company has them in stock.


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The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG – Get Rating) Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 77,691 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.59, for a total value of $4,474,224.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,472,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,455,264.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.
Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance
SMG opened at $56.38 on Thursday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $167.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.13, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.70. The stock has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.10 and a beta of 1.43.
Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 28th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 25th. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently -33.25%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. TheStreet cut Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 3rd. Raymond James dropped their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $100.00 to $56.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, November 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.57.
Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company engages in the manufacture, marketing, and sale of products for lawn, garden care, and indoor and hydroponic gardening in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: U.S. Consumer, Hawthorne, and Other. It provides lawn care products comprising lawn fertilizers, grass seed products, spreaders, other durable products, and outdoor cleaners, as well as lawn-related weed, pest, and disease control products; gardening and landscape products include water-soluble and continuous-release plant foods, potting mixes and garden soils, mulch and decorative groundcover products, plant-related pest and disease control products, organic garden products, and lives goods and seeding solutions.
- Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG)
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The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries’ latest monthly sales figures released on Wednesday, showed a sharp rise to 92,347 vehicles, in a month which historically registers sales between 70,000 to 80,000 in pre-pandemic times.
Sales across all mainland states were between 135 per cent to 145 per cent higher than April 2020 when the early stage of the pandemic was hitting hard and fears of an economic catastrophe were gripping Australia.
FCAI chief executive Tony Weber said the April figures also represented the sixth consecutive month of growth and confidence was building.
“New vehicles sales are a direct reflection of the performance of the broader economy in terms of consumer and business confidence,” he said. He expects the strength to continue for the rest of calendar 2021.
The Reserve Bank of Australia on May 4 forecast higher inflation and economic growth and for unemployment to fall to a 2008 low of 4.5 per cent next year, but it is insisting record low interest rates will remain in place for another three years to drive up wages growth.
In April 2020, new vehicle sales sunk to just 38,926. Mr Weber said the April 2021 result was 22 per cent higher than in April 2019, well before the pandemic arrived.
For the four months to the end of April, sales are up 31 per cent compared with 2020.
Mr Weber said historically the April result is between 70,000 and 80,000 vehicles, so the 2021 result “is very significant”.
“This sales trend is expected to continue as we enter the final two months of the financial year,” he said.
But some new car buyers are having to wait weeks for orders to be filled because of a shortage of semiconductors used in advanced componentry which has caused temporary shutdowns at some automotive plants, and from the knock-on impact of the Suez Canal blockage which temporarily halted one of the world’s major shipping routes.
RBA governor Philip Lowe said on May 4 “the economic recovery in Australia has been stronger than expected and is forecast to continue”.
The RBA upgraded its economic growth forecast to hit 4.75 per cent over 2021, up from 3.5 per cent forecast in its February statement.
The biggest selling vehicle in Australia in April was the Ford Ranger ute, with 5021 new buyers, up 226 per cent on the same month a year ago.
The No.2 vehicle was the Toyota Rav 4, with sales of 4506, up by 136 per cent. The Toyota Hi-Lux ute was the third-ranked vehicle, with sales up 81 per cent to 4222.
Peter Warren Automotive, which joined the ASX ranks on April 27, is one of the beneficiaries of the rise in new car sales. Its share price was up by 7¢ to $3.30 by noon on Wednesday. The company raised $260 million at an issue price of $2.90.
Shares in Eagers Automotive, Australia’s biggest car dealership group with 200 showrooms, went sideways on Wednesday, sitting at around $14.80.
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Elvis Presley memorabilia on auction block at Graceland
445 total views, 2 views today
Items associated with Elvis Presley are on the auction block, including the rocker’s rocking chair from the Jungle Room at Graceland.
Graceland said in a news release the wood and maroon vinyl rocking chair is estimated to bring $10,000 to $15,000, with a minimum bid of $5,000. Bids can be entered on the auction’s website .
The auction includes 271 items such as clothing, jewelry, autographs, concert memorabilia and Hollywood items. All items are from third-party collectors.
The auction will be held at 12:30 p.m. Jan. 6 in the theater at The Guest House at Graceland during the celebration of Presley’s birthday. (AP) Photo by superba_


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Hacked adult webcam ip dating someone who constantly cancels
It allows users to see which of their devices are connected to the Internet, see where it’s located, and who is using it.
Since its creation in 2009, the site quickly exposed the how vulnerable a number of so-called Internet of Things devices were to hacking.
Select a country to watch live street, traffic, parking, office, road, beach, earth online webcams. You can find here Axis, Panasonic, Linksys, Sony, TPLink, Foscam and a lot of other network video cams available online without a password.
Mozilla Firefox browser is recommended to watch network cameras.
That’s what happened when a mother of two daughters found the security cam installed in their room was hacked and live streaming everything happening inside the room on the Internet using Live Camera Viewer app.
Ryan places integrity at the pinnacle of successful journalism and believes this is somewhat lacking in traditional media.
“The consumers are saying ‘We’re not supposed to know anything about this stuff’,” Dan Tentler, a security researcher, told Ars Technica UK.
Hacking security cameras may not be shocking news for readers but those who get their cams hacked do have to go through a scary situation when hackers start yelling from those cams and users have no idea what’s going on or how to stop it.
The unsecured IP camera list has been adding new members, due to the poor manufacturing and your improper operation.
Through these insecure surveillance cameras, burglars and hackers get the hacked cameras live of your personal life, which is considered an invasion of privacy.


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Since 2South Wine Bar (2 S. 25th St., 2southwinebar.com) opened four years ago, its offerings have been expanding, with beer and cocktails pushing the appeal beyond wine drinkers. Around a month ago, they took yet another step in that direction. The upstairs bar has been converted into a whiskey bar, dubbed 2S Upstairs Bar.
"That bar upstairs only got used for catering and special events, so 80 percent of the time it sat vacant," says co-owner and co-manager Jerry Paulison. "Our goal is to have there what a lot of other bars don't have." He says patrons shouldn't expect to see Jameson or Jim Beam on the shelf. Instead, they'll be pouring a variety of craft whiskeys from the local, domestic and international markets.
Paulison says they're serving Scotch whisky and bourbon, plus whiskeys from Ireland, Canada and Japan, also noting that 2S will spotlight different Colorado whiskey distilleries each month. Right now, they're focusing on Axe and the Oak, and Paulison plans to promote Denver-distilled Laws whiskey in January.
The 2South team has also built a cocktail program with input from Axe and the Oak bartender Jacob Pfund. The menu will be different from downstairs, featuring an array of classics from mint juleps to rusty nails.
Tea and licensing
Local kombucha producer CoS'bucha satisfied us when we tried the product at Building3 Coffee Roasters earlier this year. But on Nov. 17, the CoS'bucha Facebook page announced that their product is currently unavailable as they "tidy up their licenses." We reached out to owner Richard Lemesany via the social media platform for clarification.
"Kombucha is a 'special process' and our process to produce it needs to be approved by a lab and then the health department," he explains. "As it stands, I don't yet have [an] expected return date other than 'soon.'"
Kombucha is a fermented drink made from tea and sugar, sometimes with fruit and herbs added. One introduces the sweetened tea to a SCOBY, defined by Colorado State's Food Source Information page as "a biofilm-like microbial mat composed of cellulose and a mutually beneficial association of fermentative bacteria and yeasts." Basically, yeast eats sugar and produces ethanol, which the bacteria eats to make organic acids, like acetic acid in vinegar. There's more to it — a SCOBY hosts a variety of yeasts and bacteria, and it's typically left open to wild microbes during fermentation — but that's the basics.
El Paso County Retail Food Manager Lee Griffen says the lab will test for acidity and alcohol content. If there's too much alcohol, the kombucha falls under the jurisdiction of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. If the kombucha isn't acidic enough, it's more susceptible to hazardous bacteria or mold. Griffen focuses on common foodborne microbes like E. coli, though academic research notes kombucha infected with penicillium or anthrax.


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Social media links
One of the first serious smartwatch concepts is now a full product - does it live up to the Kickstarter hype?
The next big update to Android is here, and it's called Android L
Apple's iPhone 6 is getting tons of attention right now, but Motorola continues to carry the Android torch with the Moto X (2014)
Google's Project Ara is a modular smartphone which could arrive in early 2015 to re-define the market
The Nexus 6 has allegedly been confirmed as a larger version of the Moto X (2014), meaning it will likely be a phablet after all
The Nexus 6 is happening, and history tells us it will likely launch in Q4 alongside Android L. Here's everything we currently know
They both do similar things, albeit in different ways. But which is the best: Chromecast or Apple TV? Mike investigates
Apple's made its new "larger" iPhone 6 about the same size as Sony's "mini" Xperia Z3 Compact. FIIIIIIGHT!!
Is Google Glass a twat detector or the future... Or both? Andrew Williams road-tests Glass in and around London to find out
A new report has suggested Google has put it’s rumoured Android Silver project for high-end smartphones on hold
How does the iPhone 6 compare to Google's current champion, the Nexus 5?
EE introduces Cash On Tap for contactless mobile payments - and it works with the London transport network!
Google may have teamed up with Nestle once again to bring us Android 5.0 Lion inside the Nexus 5 (2014)
Google Glass can now be bought from Google's site in the UK for £1,000
Google’s tiny video streamer brings Netflix, YouTube and more to your living room – but is it too limited?
Samsung's Galaxy Note 4 is here, but how does it compare to the Motorola Moto X 2014?
Motorola has revamped the Moto G as a 2014 edition. How does it improve upon its predecessor?
Android Wear is getting its first update on October 15 to coincide with the launch of the Moto 360
Motorola has just unveiled the latest edition of the Moto G affordable smartphone
Motorola has unveiled the second generation Moto X, which can be customised via Moto Maker
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CARTHAGE, Mo. — If you’re having trouble making ends meet with the escalating cost of food, you aren’t alone.
An area ministry has seen a huge hike in the number of food-insecure residents needing help.
Like many area ministries that provide for the food insecure, Crosslines of Carthage has seen an alarmingly high jump in the number of people asking for their help.
“A year ago in March, a little over a year, the first month when I arrived here and became the director, we did 117 individuals. This last month we did 368 individuals, yes so almost, almost we’re pushing quadrupling it,” said Toni Smith, Executive Director, Crosslines of Carthage.
And if anything, she says that trend of helping families that have never needed it in the past will continue until food prices level out or finally start dropping.
“Just today alone I’ve already signed up four new families and one of those was a family of five. Mother and dad with three children. On Tuesday I signed up a family of 11. I’ll bet I have signed up at least ten new families this week alone,” said Smith.
But food isn’t the only thing the ministry provides, and the cost of those items also continues to climb.
Toni Smith, Executive Director, Crosslines of Carthage
“Sheets, towels, blankets, dishes, we can give them diapers, hygiene items, shampoo, laundry, soap, toilet paper. All of those things.”
But this facility does more than just provide food and clothing for residents in need. If a family can’t afford enough food to eat or clothes to buy, there’s a good chance that a child’s birthday gift is out of the question, but not at this ministry.
“Yeah we have a donor that comes and buys gifts for them so that they have something for their birthday,” said Cathy Larimer, Crosslines Assistant Director.


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The city of Brooklyn Center is taking over a struggling shopping center in the hopes of redeveloping it into something better.
The city paid $3.9 million to acquire the 185,000-square-foot Brookdale Square development at 5900 Shingle Creek Parkway, about three-quarters of a mile southwest of the intersection of Interstate 694 and County Road 100. City planner Tim Benetti said the move is part of a planned redevelopment of that site and other nearby parcels, all of which are just northeast of the recently redeveloped Single Creek Crossing regional mall.
“Brookdale Square has gone through its ebb and flow, of course,” Benetti said. “Now it’s got basically nothing in there except a Pep Boys.”
Early plans for the area call for a mix of uses, including high density apartments, town houses and retail, with some possibly in the same building.
“Ideally, we’d like to see an Excelsior & Grand type of development,” Benetti said, referring to a mixed-use apartment, condominium and retail project along Excelsior Boulevard in St. Louis Park.
Early concepts for the area will be shared with the Brooklyn Center City Council this month, he said.
The purchase price is far below the shopping center’s market value of $5.4 million, according to Hennepin County property records. The site was last sold for $8.75 million in 1996.
“They [the sellers] presented us a price that we thought was too good to pass up,” Benetti said.
The sale was announced by the Minneapolis office of Los Angeles-based CBRE Group, which represented seller Brixmor, a property owner and manager based in New York City.
A representative of Brixmor said Wednesday that the company had transferred ownership of the Brookdale Square property to its parent, New York-based Blackstone Property Group Inc.. Blackstone didn’t return a request for comment by press time Wednesday.
Veteran retail market analyst Jim McComb said the Brookdale Square redevelopment will likely benefit from the redevelopment of the 450,000-square-foot Shingle Creek Crossing regional mall about a quarter-mile southwest of the property. That development is on the former site of the Brookdale regional center, which McComb said had suffered from years of “ownership neglect” before its redevelopment in 2011.
McComb said his firm recently performed a residential market analysis for Brooklyn Center. When asked if the market could support the city’s project, McComb said, “They bought the property.”
Benetti said the city is likely to issue a request for proposals or request for qualifications for developers interested in leading the Brookdale Square redevelopment. That developer would be the owner of whatever project rises from the site.
“Now that we’ve bought the site, we’ve got to do something with it,” Benetti said. “We’re not in the business of being landowners or landlords.”
A time line for the project hasn’t been determined. Benetti said city planners are likely to spend anywhere from six months to a year finalizing plans before offering the project up for bid. The entire build-out could take five to seven years.l


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U.S. Travel Association announced the promotion of Tori Barnes to executive vice president of public affairs following the departure of Jonathan Grella. Grella led U.S. Travel’s advocacy arm since
Following a five-month search, Williamsburg Tourism Council announced Vicki Cimino as executive director/CEO from April 15. She will lead a staff of eight who make up the Office of Marketing and Promotions and manage an annual marketing and sales budget of $9-12M. Ms. Cimino is currently the Director of the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism Development and was previously director international marketing for Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism.
Governor Phil Scott announced the appointment of Heather Pelham as the deputy commissioner of the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing. For the last four years, Pelham has served as the state’s chief marketing officer. In addition to the deputy commissioner role, Pelham will assume the title of chief marketing executive.
Ed Caum has been appointed
Visit Bellevue, in Washington, has announced the appointment of Justin Lynch, formerly of Visit Syracuse, as director of marketing and communications. Alexis Scheinman has been appointed as the DMO’s communications manager.
Two new VPs: Discover Lehigh Valley promoted Alicia Quinn to vice president of marketing and strategic alliances and named Bree Nidds vice president of sales. Quinn joined Discover Lehigh Valley in 2016 as strategic brand manager and successfully directed the organization’s rebranding effort. Nidds was previously with Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge as director of sports development.
Visit Napa Valley announced that longtime president and CEO Clay Gregory will retire effective May 1. Linsey Simpson Gallagher, who took the helm of the 10-year-old organization as president in February, (The Travel Vertical, 1/29/2019) will also assume the CEO role. The DMO has an annual budget of $7.8 million for fiscal year 2019.
Diana Thompson, director of Miami County Visitors & Convention Bureau (Ohio) Diana Thompson, announced her retirement and named the next head of the organization as Leiann Stewart, who currently serves as the bureau’s group sales manager.
In Alabama, Visit Dothan has hired Aaron McCreight, the embattled former president of the now-defunct GO Cedar Rapids, to lead the organization. (The Travel Vertical, 8/28/16 and 10/16/18.) GO Cedar Rapids, which had an annual budget of $2 million, could not survive the debacle of
The executive director, a 13-year veteran at DeKalb County CVB, Debbie Armstrong, is retiring at the end of March. No word on a replacement.
Do you write
Utah Office of Tourism is hiring a skilled and curious marketing analyst to lead the digital marketing analytics and research program.
NYC & Company is seeking a senior manager, search engine optimization.
Discover Puerto Rico has a position open for social media coordinator.
Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority has a new opening for director of communications.
Ames Convention and Visitors Bureau is recruiting a president and CEO with minimum 5 years of managerial experience in budgetary responsibility of at least $1 million.
Also in Iowa, Catch Des Moines is recruiting a vice president of sales with a decade of DMO experience.
The Broward County Board of County Commissioners continues the search for qualified candidates as VP marketing and communications for the Greater Fort Lauderdale Conventions and Visitors Bureau.
Destination DC requires a marketing manager for international as well as a director of sales, sports, and entertainment events.
Visit Anaheim is hiring a social media specialist.
Great Falls Montana Tourism is hiring a content and social media director.
In California, Catalina Island Company is hiring a social media and brand reputation manager.
An advertising and promotions manager is being sought to join Discover the Palm Beaches in Florida.
Visit SLO CAL (San Luis Obispo, CA) has a new opening for partnership and community engagement manager.
Jacksonville Jaguars wants a senior marketing manager for concerts and events
At its Miami corporate office, Norwegian Cruise Lines is hiring a search marketing manager.
In San Francisco, Yelp is seeking a head of performance management with 7-10+ years of experience managing large paid customer acquisition budgets.
Miles Partnership has an opening for a digital and social media content manager in Lexington, KY and a digital marketing associate based in Lakewood, CO.
MMGY Global is seeking a media supervisor in Kansas City, MO as well as a marketing technology strategist to help drive website, personalization, and emerging technology strategies for travel brands.
Madden Media is hiring a digital marketing specialist in Tucson, AZ.
Simpleview is looking for an associate project manager in Denver.
Sojern has an opening for a product marketing manager for tourism in Omaha, NE.


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Advertising expenditure in India has soared to Rs67,603 crore in 2019, increasing by Rs6,695 crore (or 11 per cent) from Rs60,908 crore in 2018, clocking the second highest addition to advertising expenditure in a single year in the last decade
The advertising market in India is expected to grow at 10.4 per cent in 2020 on the back of the 11 per cent growth recorded in 2019, says Pitch Madison Advertising Report 2020 unveiled at a function today.
Total advertisement expenditure (Adex) in India is expected to move up to Rs74,650 crore in 2020, an increase of Rs7,048 crore from Rs67,603 crore in the previous year, the report says.
Advertisement expenditure in India is set to grow dramatically over the next five years, with India already growing at twice the global rate, which is pegged at 5.4 per cent, it adds.
With the IPL, ICC T20 World Cup season and good spending by OTT, mobile wallet brands and e-commerce platforms, total advertisement expenditure in the country as all set to exceed estimates, according to the report.
While the Pitch Madison Advertising Report predicts a subdued first half for Adex, it expects a buoyant second half, especially for the fourth quarter of this year. The projected growth figure for 2020 is at 10.4 per cent and the total Adex is expected to move up to Rs74,650 crore. Of the Rs 7,048 crore increase, Rs4,387 crore (62 per cent) will be come from digital media, the report points out.
Adex growth in 2019 was in fact retarded by the economic slowdown, woes relate to TRAI’s New Tariff Order and weak consumer sentiment, which limited growth to 11 per cent against the projected growth rate of 13.04 per cent.
However, on the upside, Rs6,695 crore was added to the Adex in absolute terms, which will be the second-highest addition to Adex in a single year in the whole of the last decade.
“What a year 2019 has been when media found itself battling serious headwinds. It started with the largest medium television battling the NTO order and got further bruised by the collapse of the popular FTA channels and ended with the dull festive season on account of the economic slowdown in Q3 and Q4, the only blip we saw was surprisingly in the second quarter because of IPL, World Cup and the Lok Sabha elections,” Sam Balsara, chairman and managing director, Madison World, said.
“As we see it, the year can be neatly divided into two halves, H1 and H2 and the two halves behaved differently, H1 grew very well at higher than our forecast at 20 per cent on the back of the three events but H2 collapsed with a growth of just 3 per cent over H2 ’18. In fact, H2 ’19 grew by as much as 7 per cent compared to H1 ’19, whereas in all previous years so far H2 has been the larger contributor to the year,” he added.
On a global scale, Balsara said Adex in the 12 largest markets is now estimated at $498 billion against $9.7 billion in India. "Interestingly India grew by more than twice the average global growth rate of 5.4 per cent, but we lost our pole position of being the fastest-growing advertising market in 2019 to Russia and slid to the second position,” he said.
He said TV continued to be the largest contributor to Adex with a 37 per cent share, but with lower growth rate of 8 per cent. Print followed with a 30 per cent share of Adex but with a low growth rate of just 3 per cent in 2019 – the fifth consecutive year that print has grown the least of all mediums. "Digital that grew by 32 per cent last year now contributes a whopping 23 per cent to Indian Adex. I may mention though that globally digital has crossed the 50 per cent mark," he pointed out.
He said TV is expected to continue to lead ad growth in 2020 too, with a growth rate of 28.4 per cent, against 27 per cent in 2019 with a share of almost Rs20,000 crore. TV will continue to be the largest medium with a 36 per cent share of AdEx, but will have a subdued growth rate of 6.8 per cent. According to the report, print will lose 3 percentage points in terms of share of Adex and end up with a 27 per cent share, yet registering a 2 per cent growth.


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General Motors will help develop two new electric vehicles for Honda that will be powered by GM’s upcoming Ultium batteries, the automakers said Thursday.
Honda will design the interior and exterior of the vehicles. They will ride on GM’s global EV platform, which “will be engineered to support Honda’s driving character,” the companies said in a joint statement.
GM will build the EVs at its North American plants, and sales are expected to begin in the 2024 model year in Honda’s U.S. and Canadian markets.
The vehicles will offer GM’s hands-free advanced driver-assist technology. The technology mirrors GM’s Super Cruise system but will have Honda-specific branding, a spokeswoman said.
“This collaboration will put together the strength of both companies, while combined scale and manufacturing efficiencies will ultimately provide greater value to customers,” Rick Schostek, executive vice president of American Honda, said in the statement. “This expanded partnership will unlock…


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Internet shutdown: McAfee's free tool to help usersAparajita Gupta | TNN | Updated: Jul 9, 2012, 02.24PM IST
KOLKATA: McAfee has just released a free tool to help consumers who may be infected by the 'DNSChanger' Trojan to stay connected after servers are shut down by the FBI on July 9.
The new McAfee tool, helps users easily identify whether they have been affected by the malware and offers a free solution if they have been infected. Domain Name System, or DNS, converts user-friendly website names into the internet protocol (IP) addresses that computers use to talk to each other.
When users enter a website name into their web browsers, their computers contact DNS servers. If users' computers have the wrong DNS settings for the servers, they will not be able to access websites, send e-mail or use internet services. DNSChanger is a Trojan created by cybercriminals to redirect the Internet traffic of millions of unsuspecting consumers to websites where the thieves have profited from advertisements. All computers still infected with DNSChanger malware will no longer be able to access websites, email, chat, or social networking sites like Facebook after July 9.
"Identifying and changing these settings manually can be difficult," said Vincent Weafer, senior vice president, McAfee Labs. "By providing a free tool that walks them through the process, we're making it easy for consumers to fix their settings and stay connected. For us, this is part of our relentless focus on protecting and liberating consumers so that they may safely experience everything the Internet has to offer."
In the store
LG Q6 (Black, 18:9 FullVision Display)₹ 14999BUY Apple iPhone 6s (Space Grey, 32GB)₹ 35999BUY Redmi 4 (Gold, 64GB)₹ 10998BUY InFocus Turbo 5 (Mocha Gold, 32GB, 5000mAH Battery)₹ 7999BUY Mi Max 2 (Black, 64 GB)₹ 16999BUY Honor 8 Pro (Blue, 6GB RAM + 128GB Memory)₹ 29999BUY OnePlus 5 (Slate Gray, 6GB RAM + 64GB memory)₹ 32999BUY Samsung On5 Pro (Gold)₹ 7990BUY Lenovo Z2 Plus (Black, 64GB)₹ 12499BUY Lenovo Vibe K5 (Gold, VoLTE update)₹ 6999BUY


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We are pleased to announce Hybrid Web has won The 2014 Australian Web Awards - Queensland Division for both the E-Commerce and Mobile Categories. The win sees Hybrid Web now qualify for the National Awards to be presented at the Menzies Hotel in Sydney on November 1. Both categories’ awards were presented for the website of local business Fifi’s Fabricology, Australia’s largest quilt fabric online store and Local Gold Coast Business in the Tallebudgera Valley. Owner and Chief Strategist of Hybrid Web, Michael Goode, is ecstatic for his team and for Fiona Wright the founder and owner of Fifi’s Fabricology.
Michael Goode had the following to say about the achievement:
“For our team this is a big achievement. We are a growing team taking on the big guns from around Australia. It just shows when you have a team of dedicated and clever individuals that work well together you can achieve amazing results.”
“I’m especially pleased for Fiona and her team at Fifi’s Fabricology. Fiona came to us with a dream 4 years ago and we have worked side by side with herself, Suzanne Barker and the Fifi’s Team to turn her passion and hobby into the fantastic business that it is today.”
“I have the best team on the coast, we continue to grow and build fantastic relationships with business owners throughout the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Sydney.”
Owner of Fifis Fabricology, Fiona Wright echoed those sentiments:
“When I received the call from Michael that his team had won in two categories I was so thrilled. I know the enormous effort that the entire team put into producing a website that I am so proud of and that our clients have given resounding feedback on.”
“The ability of Michael and the Hybrid Web team to find solutions that would help with the enormous growth that our fabric shop has had since we started 4 years ago, shows an unwavering willingness to go to the next level for his clients. That has resulted in this fantastic recognition for their team and ultimately my business as well. Let’s hope we can win the National Award.”
About Fifi's Fabricology
Fifi’s Fabricology is an online quilt fabric store with over 12,000 products. Started in 2010 the store is now the largest in Australia, and in 2013 the famous Fifi’s Fabricology Shed was expanded and opened in the Tallebudgera Valley on the Gold Coast. It has become a destination for quilt lovers from all over Australia to come whilst on holidays, with workshops, bus tours and a passionate team providing great customer service.
About Hybrid Web and Search
Based in Broadbeach – Gold Coast, Hybrid Web and Search is a Web Development and Search / Content Marketing Team delivering high end websites and online strategies to businesses in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
About the Australian Web Awards
The Australian Web Awards are presented by the AWIA (Australian Web Industry Association).
Entrants into these awards are generally in the top 10% of quality websites. Winners are judged on a combination score of validation, performance, accessibility, design and content.
All regional finalists qualify for the National Award to be announced at the awards ceremony at the Menzies Hotel in Sydney on the 1st of November 2014.
“We are just honoured to be nominated for the national award. Anything from here is just a bonus for our team, and hopefully we can bring the National Award back to Queensland,” Michael Goode Stated.


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If you’re not keeping an eye on your competitors then you could be missing out on vital tricks for your industry – but how do you take what they are doing, and turn it to your advantage?
That is exactly the problem that OggaDoon’s Press and Media Manager, Nico Prins, will be solving along with Phil Pearce from Accelerate at their strategic marketing event at Engine Shed at 8am on 20th November 2018.
‘How to gain insight from your competitors’ online marketing strategies’ is a practical breakfast workshop, including a sandwich and coffee, will cover the fundamentals of competitive intelligence. The talk will focus on:
- Practical examples of how to use tools like SpyFu, Ahref and GA Benchmarking to get insights into your market.
- Where to get inspiration for your content marketing based on what’s trending right now or has been successful in the past, and how to conduct keyword research and keyword difficulty so you know what content you should be creating.
Nico Prins commented: “This event is a fantastic opportunity for startups and scaleups alike to use what their competitors are doing in their industries as a catalyst for their own marketing. As we approach the end of the year, this is the perfect time to re-think and refine your marketing strategies for 2019, and we look forward to sharing our expertise.”
Nico spent two years working as Head of Communications for Youzign, a SaaS graphics design software platform, as the company scaled from startup to seven-figure company, before coming to OggaDoon. He has travelled across the world working in PR and helping online companies scale. His expertise is conversions and online marketing.
Phil is an industry expert and thought leader who has worked on National Geographic, Confused.com Marie Curie, ITV.com, Quidco, Tempur, Hastings Direct, Bristol University and many more websites. He has done over 50 international talks.


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Lincoln’s Sedan Lineup Is Dead, for Now
American sedans are on life support, and Lincoln has dealt the segment another critical blow. The American luxury manufacturer is following its parent company, Ford, with its sedan lineup discontinuation.
The midsize MKZ and the iconic Continental were the last sedans standing in Lincoln’s vehicle catalog. However, according to Ford Authority, the MKZ’s production concluded in July, and the final Continental will roll off the assembly line by the end of 2020.
The luxury automaker now only offers crossovers and SUVs for the time being, but it isn’t discounting sedans’ return in the future.
Ford VP and President of the North American region, Kumar Galhotra, told Ford Authority, “For the foreseeable future, we don’t have any plans to go back to sedans. But we’re always looking at the marketplace if there is an opportunity, so never say never.”
While sedans have occupied a large portion of the market for decades, the segment’s relevance has waned in recent years. The decision to discontinue the grouping, while disappointing, is not unexpected.
Slumping Lincoln sedan sales
Lincoln had been a significant player in the sedan market since Ford purchased it in 1922. However, the market has shifted, and shoppers are leaning toward more versatile crossovers and SUVs. The result has been a massive drop in sedan sales, which have significantly impacted higher-priced executive models such as the Lincoln Continental.
According to GoodCarBadCar.com, the Lincoln Continental only sold 6,587 units in 2019, and the numbers are looking even bleaker for 2020. The model reached its peak in sales in 2017 with over 12,000 sales, but it has trended down every year since.
Meanwhile, Lincoln MKZ sales have plummeted since achieving over 34,000 sales in 2014, according to GoodCarBadCar.com. That once respectable number has been cut in half based on the 2019 sales data report, and it’s not likely to be any better by the end of 2020.
What does the current lineup offer
The discontinuation of its sedans shouldn’t be seen as a slight against Lincoln itself. The luxury manufacturer currently produces the Corsair compact SUV, the Nautilus two-row midsize SUV, the Aviator three-row midsize SUV, and the Navigator full-size SUV.
Lincoln doesn’t bring forth the same amount of models as competing luxury brands such as BMW does. However, it is still keeping up with the latest developments in the automotive world.
For instance, the Lincoln Aviator Plug-in Hybrid delivers incredible power at 494 hp while maintaining eco-friendly performance. Meanwhile, the Lincoln Navigator remains king among three-row SUVs, and it retains its identity as a status symbol of the elite.
Meanwhile, the discontinuation of the last two Lincoln sedans leaves room in the manufacturer’s lineup. This leaves plenty of room for future innovations, whether it be via new models or eco-conscious reinventions of its current ones.
A fond farewell to the classic Lincoln sedan
Nothing says understated elegance quite like the Lincoln Continental. This sedan and its brethren indeed served their drivers well for years and will not be forgotten soon. However, it appears a new age is dawning with the uptick in sales of SUVs and crossovers.
The sedan’s era seems to have reached its end, but the door remains open for a bright comeback from Lincoln sedans.