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Samsung may unveil its new foldable smartphone in August
The South Korean tech giant is expected to hold its Galaxy Unpacked online event in early August to introduce the Galaxy Z Fold3 and the Galaxy Z Flip3 before officially launching those products later that month, according to the sources.
TOP VIDEOS FOR YOUForeign tech reviewers have predicted that the event may take place on August 3, but the sources said it is expected to be held later than that date.
AdvertisementAt the event, Samsung, the world's largest smartphone vendor, is also likely to unveil the Galaxy Watch4 smartwatch and the Galaxy Buds 2 wireless earbuds.
However, the sources said the
The Galaxy S21 FE is the budget edition of the Galaxy S21 flagship smartphone released in January. The product is expected to be launched in September or October as Samsung apparently wants to focus on promoting foldable devices in the summer, according to the sources.
Nothing has been confirmed about Samsung's upcoming foldable smartphones, but tech reviewers predicted that the Galaxy Z Fold3 will feature an under display camera and support the S-Pen stylus.
Its next clamshell foldable Galaxy Z Flip3 is expected to have a bigger outer display.
Both foldable products are expected to have a lighter weight with a cheaper price than their predecessors.
AdvertisementThe Galaxy Watch4 smartwatch is expected to be powered by
The Galaxy Buds 2 is predicted to be budget wireless earbuds without an active noise control option.
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In 2012, Best Buy was on its last leg.
Amidst a scandal involving a CEO and an employee, stores that were hemorrhaging money and outdated systems that were only getting older by the minute while Amazon made huge strides in improving shipping speeds and inventory selection, Hubert Joly took the reigns at the big box electronic store. In the last five years, he’s left no stone unturned and has managed, through careful planning, to turn the entire Best Buy empire around.
Welcome to the New Best Buy
Anyone who hasn’t been into a Best Buy in the last two or three years should take a Saturday afternoon to wander into its closest location. The Best Buy of 2012 that was obsessed with monotonous shelving holding boxes of electronics, minimal displays and haphazardly trained employees has done a complete 180.
Joly’s Best Buy is all about the in-store customer experience. It’s practically the Disneyland of electronics retailers. Joly explained in an interview with the New York Times that the one thing he knew Best Buy could offer that Amazon couldn’t was customer care, so he was determined to maximize the customer experience.
That’s meant deconstructing the old Best Buy, to the footings, and rebuilding it, including such fundamental items as employee training programs, inventory search engine functionality and even supply chain structure. What today’s Best Buy offers is a showroom full of engaged employees ready to help customers with their purchases, no matter how big or small.
The Showcase-and-Ship Model
In the bleeding days, Best Buy suffered badly from showrooming, a phenomenon that occurs when customers visit a store to test a product, then buy it online for less.
It was no secret, so Joly decided he would leverage that oh-so-obvious weakness into a strength. He found other places where he could save money, like improving warehousing practices to reduce loss due to damage, which then enabled him to cut costs to match Amazon.
Then, he started making deals for branded areas in the store dedicated to products from suppliers like Samsung, Apple and Microsoft. Instead of being jammed onto identical shelves, these products are displayed in branded kiosks. For example, the Apple kiosk is a miniature version of an Apple Store, complete with the same sleek wooden tables and minimalist designs.
Now, customers can come in, touch and try out whatever products they’re considering, and take them home the same day. For out of stock items, the supply chain has been revamped to ship a unit from the location that can deliver to the customer fastest to minimize wait time. This is just one example of how the old guard big box store has managed to adapt to the modern consumer.
Its 50 percent stock value increase in the last year may only be the beginning.

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Disney/ABC Television Group's ABC Player App Surpasses 5 Million Download Mark
Over 100 million episodes and more than 400 million ads served via the app on iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch.
(04 May 2012)
Disney/ABC Television Group announced today that its industry-leading ABC Player App - which makes ad supported full episodes of ABC’s daytime and primetime programming available to viewers the day after it airs – has surpassed more than 100 million episode views and over 5 million downloads on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Additionally, as ABC prepares for its annual Upfront to advertisers next week, the app has delivered approximately 400 million video ads since its launch in April 2010.
Recently, the app was revealed to be the sixth most downloaded free iPad app of all time, and in March expanded its availability to iPhone and iPod touch. The most recent version of the app includes key product upgrades such as optimization for retina display on the next generation iPad, closed captioning functionality as well as providing the user with the ability to “save and recall” their playback position between iOS devices.
In addition to recently making the ABC Player app available to iPhone and iPod touch users, the Disney/ABC Television Group’s Digital Media team has successfully launched two other iPad, iPhone and iPod touch products in recent weeks. The ABC Family App, which launched in March 2012 and also delivers free, ad supported full episodes, has been downloaded over one million times resulting in seven million video views. In the kids space, Disney Channel launched the “Motorcity: Drive” game online and on iOS devices to rave reviews. The app raced to the top of charts where it broke into the top 10 for free iPad games, and the top 25 free iPad apps across all categories.
Over the past several years, the Disney/ABC Television Group has consistently launched innovative apps for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Other notable DATG apps include the critically-acclaimed ABC News App for iPad; and the Emmy Award-winning official Oscars App which provided unique backstage viewing experiences for the 83rd and 84th Academy Awards.


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NG-PON2 tunable optical component pricing has not dropped enough for the next-gen network technology to become a viable market, and time may be running out, according to a top Nokia fixed-access executive.
Combined, tunable optical components alone represent 10x or even 20x -- close to $1,000, Stefaan Vanhastel, who heads global marketing for Nokia Fixed Networks, told Broadband World News at Fiber Broadband Association's Fiber Connect event in Orlando this week. And while the technology itself has promise, cost makes it price-prohibitive for practically all service providers, he said.
"The use cases are very interesting. If the cost comes down, it has a market," said Vanhastel. "It's a chicken or the egg situation."
It could be more of an "if versus when" for NG-PON2 for some operators, depending on their willingness to pay for tunable optics, he said. That's because fixed access competitors are aligning themselves behind a competing new direction to follow after XGS-PON or NG-PON2, Vanhastel added.
In March, Heavy Reading Contributing Analyst Dan Grossman noted that early production tunable ONT transceivers reputedly sold for about $150, compared with $7 for GPON, and cost much more to manufacture. Most of the world's operators -- including China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom -- are testing or deploying 10G EPON or 10G PON, said Julie Kunstler, principal analyst, Service Providers, at Ovum in a call with BBWN.
"Consequently, the forecast for 10G PON equipment -- both OLTs and ONTs/ONUs -- is much larger than it is for the NG-PON2 equipment market," Kunstler said. "In access, volumes drive down costs. While costs will drop for both NG-PON2 and 10G PON, it will be difficult for NG-PON2 prices to drop to the same levels as we are forecasting for 10G PON."
Several operators, most notably Verizon and CityFibre, are testing or deploying NG-PON2, working with partners Calix and ADTRAN. In January 2018, Verizon announced it had begun commercial deployment of an NG-PON2 network in Tampa, Fla., based on Calix solutions.
"Calix has done a great job at winning NG-PON2 deployments at Verizon," said Ovum's Kunstler. "This is a major Tier 1 win for Calix."
NG-PON2 will be a less mainstream selection for the next few years, a 2018 Dell'Oro Group report suggested. While the researcher predicts XGS-PON will reach $1.034 billion in sales by 2022 versus 2017 sales of $16 million, NG-PON2 is expected to hit only $204 million compared with $5.9 million in 2017. (See Next-Gen PON: $7B Market by 2022.)
— Alison Diana, Editor, Broadband World News. Follow us on Twitter or @alisoncdiana.


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2019 was a very challenging time regarding all the issues coming up or underway. What you see are the small changes and how they will have a broader effect and conserquences. The strength of this industry is that we are pretty diversified. It is not the 60% tariff on almonds in China. China has been our third in line of export markets. So, a 60% tariff has a broader impact on the business we are doing there. Up to now you cant’s see a lot of effects on the consumers’ side. We are in a very dynamic and complex environment.
Jason Hafermeister, USDA Special Trade Advisor to Secretary Sonny Perdue, said “as we are going into this period of new thinking on trade” we have to bear in mind that US agriculture is surplus-based and dependant on exports and we should think about systems that help us keep these markets open. Since China has joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2001 it became a 20 billlion-dollar market from one billion before for the US-agriculture. What we want with China, Japan and India is a free and fair trade.
Brian Ezell, The Wonderful Company, about the trade with China:”Trade volume between Australia and China increased by 14%.That was when the retaliatory Chinese tariffs on US agricultural goods were in place. The market potential was and is there, fueled by our ongoing efforts on this very important market. The China per capita consumption of almonds just doubled in the last few years as Australia is replacing US shipments which are bearing a 60% duty. We hope that the actual situation will change as soon as possible.” China, Ezell said, is a very fast moving and evolving market presenting great opportunities.
“Good morning, how have you eaten?” This is the typical morning greeting in China, as Connie Cheung pointed out. And this brought her directly to the point: marketing of almonds in her country. She referred to the social media scene: There is no public relations effort in China without the social media.
A major shifting of volumes to other markets
Julie Adams summarized the current situation in international trade: Nothing is happening quickly and nothing will be resolved quickly.”The diversity of our shipments is our strength. The Asian-Pacific region has become the most important outlet for our products and essentially has been driven by China and India. With the problems with China in sight, we see a major shifting of volumes to other markets for the eighteen months we are in the middle of the trade disputes now. Traditionally you saw direct shipments going to China and also into Hong Kong and Vietnam. What has happened has to do with Australia bearing a zero-tariff agreement with China as we started from 10% up to 60% import duty. In turn that helped product moving and an uninterrupted customer supply. In the last report period China took 25% less, but India went up by 16% and shipments to Australia went up by 50%. Our task in the last period was to fill up the pipeline to India and Australia.
Despite the 25% drop in exports China continues to be our third-biggest destination. The trade dispute represents a certain damper to our export business but does not stop movements and realistically we see major increases longterm. Influencers, nutrition specialists as well as the trade is definitely committed to buy California almonds. That is what we are doing here in order to keep a flow of products into these markets and our partners on site in operation.
An eye on Europe
Emily Fleischman reiterated the fact that worldwide the ABC is maintaining eleven marketing programs. In Europe there are four programs. The activities on this market started more than twenty years ago. As in the past we had not enough money to drive separate programs in different countries, we had a pan-European approach, i.e. strategy, and changed languages according to the area we were dealing with. The countries at that time were the UK, France and Germany. The task is two-fold: we want to establish new outlets for our products and, on the other hand, protect existing markets. In the meantime, the marketing team decided to have individual programs for selected markets. Last year we shipped 507 million pounds, i.e. 25% of our total exports to Europe, 231 million pounds to India. Some twenty year ago Europe outpaced the US. That was less than one pound per capita. Nowadays eating habits have changed due to education of consumers and bakers. Europe is a standout regarding product introductions. Kath Martino, Consultant to the Almond Board in the UK, talked about consumption trends in the market and made out three “P’s as being important – plant, planet and personalization.
How does Brexit have an impact on our sales in Europe? What happens to the tariffs in force for almonds? “The biggest issue we have to face are pesticides”, said Julie Adams and pointed out that sustainability is very important in discussions and she recommends to continue “telling our story”. We have gone from grower self-assessments, correcting the unknowns or missing information and it is important to go through the whole supply chain by the key words ‘confidence’ and ‘trust’. There is a trend in regulatory circles because of trust in the source of food, verifying and how measure are implied on longer term basis.
As we look at India and see how dynamic this market is, we see tht many things happen at one time there. The regulatory issues, trade considerations. We went from 35 to 31 Rupees for inshell almonds and 100 to m 120 Rupees for shellednuts. It used to be 65 Rupees for almond kernels.
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For a number of years, Google executives have said that “passwords are dead.” However, until now it’s wasn’t clear exactly how the company intended to usher the Internet into a post-password world.
Announced after Google I/O, the Google Identity Platform is a suite of developer tools that is designed to allow for frictionless sign-in and sign-up to a variety of websites and apps. On the consumer facing side, the main component of the platform is the company’s new Smart Lock for Passwords system. As the name suggests, Smart Lock is a type of password manager app.
Once a person has logged into a website or app, they will be asked if they would like save their credentials. If they say yes, anytime they revisit that website or app, Smart Lock will automatically sign them into it. As this takes advantage of a person’s Google account, they’ll be able to take advantage of the service across any number of Android devices they own; the service will also seamlessly work with any computer that has Chrome installed.
Where Google’s platform differs from other password managers like 1Password or LastPass is that developers are required to add this functionality to their app or website before users can take advantage of it.
Some of the apps and websites that currently work with the platform include Netflix, Eventbrite and The New York Times app. Google says there are more well-known sites like Linkedin coming in the near future.
In the Netflix example, an Android user can start watching a series on their phone, stop partway through and pick up the series on their desktop or laptop, all without having to re-enter their login credentials when they switch devices.
As Android Authority notes, Smart Lock for Passwords is being rolled out through an update to Google Play services framework, so even phones that won’t be updated to Android M will be able to take advantage of this service.


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The e-commerce companies believe the government is using this exercise to take an unauthorised look into their financials, shareholding and operations.
Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com
The central government will not extend the September 30 deadline for e-commerce marketplaces such as Walmart-backed Flipkart and Amazon to upload on their websites the reports from their auditors that they are complying with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules.
According to sources, some e-commerce firms have asked the government to extend the date.
Arguing that it took time to streamline their business and to get it further assessed after the latest FDI guidelines took effect in February.
Commerce department officials, however, have refused to budge.
Another issue raised by the companies is the lack of a clear format in which the report needs to be given.
Amazon and Flipkart, the two largest players in the segment, were affected the most by the FDI norm change.
However, both have reworked their internal structure to comply.
According to sources, the e-commerce companies believe the government is using this exercise to take an unauthorised look into their financials, shareholding and operations.
The commerce department justifies its action by saying many firms have operated with only a thin level of scrutiny from public agencies, due to the holding company being based elsewhere.
The companies have also asked the government to not make public the audited reports; most entities are private limited ones.
“There is no specified format for the (compliance) report but an auditor may be held liable for a wrong report if the company is later found non-compliant.
"One confusion is the period for which Press Note 2 (PN2) has to be complied with, since it came into effect only on February 1.
"The issue is whether the report is for the months of February-March 2019 or from the date when PN2 was issued,” said Atul Pandey, partner at law firm Khaitan & Co.
In December 2018, the government had announced tighter FDI guidelines for e-commerce firms through PN2.
It directed all e-marketplaces to furnish a certificate, along with a report of statutory auditor, to the Reserve Bank of India by September 30 of every year for the preceding financial year.
This report confirms compliance with the government's guidelines on a list of complex matters.
Among these, companies have had the most difficulty in adhering to the rules that restrict e-commerce marketplaces from controlling inventory.
Current rules stipulate that inventory of a vendor will be deemed to be controlled by the e-commerce marketplace if more than 25 per cent of purchases of such vendor are from the marketplace entity or its group companies.
An entity having equity participation by an e-commerce marketplace entity or its group companies, or having control on its inventory by an e-commerce marketplace entity or its group companies, will not be permitted to sell its products on the platform run by such a marketplace entity.


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Las Vegas to host 2011 Global Tourism Summit
The Global Travel & Tourism Summit will be held in Las Vegas next year. The Aria Resort & Casino at CityCenter will host the summit, to be held from May 15 until 19. The event is held annually by the World Travel & Tourism Council as a means of stimulating economic activity.
Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.


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Uyghurs for sale
Uyghurs for sale by Vicky Xiuzhong Xu, Danielle Cave, Dr. James Leibold, Kelsey Munro & Nathan Ruser The Chinese government has facilitated the mass...Read More
Hong Kong protests: Brand ‘witch hunt’ takes over Chinese internet
As the protests intensify in Hong Kong, international luxury brands are getting caught in the crossfire.
Coach, Givenchy in hot water over China T-shirt row
Chinese brand ambassadors of fashion labels from Coach to Givenchy have severed ties with the companies over products which they said violated China’s sovereignty by...Read More
Gap apologizes to China over map on T-shirt that omits Taiwan, South China Sea
U.S. clothing retailer Gap is the latest company to apologize to China for failing to reflect Beijing’s territorial claims — on a map shown on...Read More


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Wynn earnings drop 38.8pc as Beijing's travel restrictions bite
Beijing's crackdown on mainland visits to Macau has begun eating into corporate earnings, with operating profit at the Wynn Macau falling at least 38.8 per cent in the quarter to September from the previous period, according to preliminary results released by the company yesterday.
Wynn Resorts estimated operating income at its 600-room Macau property at US$57 million to US$63 million, down 38.8 to 44.6 per cent from US$102.94 million in the previous quarter but up from US$39.22 million a year ago before a major casino expansion was launched.
VIP chip sales fell 18 per cent to US$13.3 billion from US$16.3 billion in the previous quarter, although it was unclear whether this resulted from a drop in the overall market or high rollers defecting to other properties amid a junket commission war.
The company won back a better than expected 3.1 per cent of chips sold for gross VIP winnings of US$412.3 million, down 14.5 per cent from the previous quarter.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) at the Wynn Macau was estimated at US$103 million to US$109 million, down 29.7 to 33.6 per cent quarter on quarter but up 10.9 to 17.4 per cent from a year ago.
US billionaire Steve Wynn's eponymous Macau property accounted for 61 per cent of companywide ebitda in the past 12 months, with his flagship 2,700-room Las Vegas resort making up the remaining 39 per cent.
The Macau ebitda decline stemmed in part from 'an increase in bad debt reserves based solely on the current global economic uncertainty', the company said.
Wynn Resorts will report finalised results for the quarter on October 30.
Compared with a record quarter in Macau in the three months to June, Wynn Resorts described the latest performance as 'solid', but cautioned: 'We have very little visibility on future earnings because of the global economic situation and the recently imposed travel restrictions [on mainlanders visiting] Macau.'
Beijing's travel restrictions are threatening to derail six years of post-liberalisation gaming industry expansion in Macau.
After surging 52.5 per cent in the first eight months, monthly casino revenue declined for the first time in nearly three years last month, falling 3.4 per cent from a year ago and 28 per cent from the previous month, according to unofficial data.
Since June, the central government has been reducing the ease and frequency with which mainland passport holders, including non-permanent Hong Kong residents, can travel to Macau.
The restrictions have progressively cut the number of times individual mainland travellers can visit Macau - from once a fortnight to once a month starting on June 1, then to once every two months starting on July 1.
In addition, from September 1, mainlanders travelling to or working in Hong Kong have been required to apply for a separate permit to visit Macau. Previously, they could visit on their Hong Kong permit.
The South China Morning Post reported earlier this month that by October 1, Guangdong residents are only able to visit Macau once every three months.
Shares in Wynn Resorts have been battered along with the rest of Macau casino operators but have not been sold down as sharply as most. The company's Nasdaq-traded shares have fallen 43.49 per cent in the year to date and gained 6.54 per cent to close at US$63.37 each before yesterday's announcement.
Travel curbs threaten to stall Macau gaming industry expansion
Wynn Macau VIP chip sales fell 18 per cent from previous quarter to, in US$: $13.3b


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Sony boss Shuhei Yoshida has now confirmed that the PS4 only supports four controllers.
He confirmed this via his official twitter account simply answering “4” when asked about the PS4’s controller support. This number is down from the seven controllers that could be connected to the PS3.
In comparison, the Xbox One supports up to eight controllers. This is up from the four controllers that were only supported on the Xbox 360.
If you plan on getting a PS4 later this year, just make sure to only buy four controllers for your household. Adding more controllers will not work with the system.


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Proper Ice Cream recently opened a second location in Delray Beach.
The free-standing ice cream store is located at 75 SE 4th Ave. by IPIC theater. Inside it will feature an industrial aesthetic with graffiti mural walls, polished concrete flooring and exposed ductwork.
“Due to the wild response to our test kitchen concept, we decided to open up in a more traditional location,” owner Rick Felberbaum said. “It’s been truly humbling to see the local reaction and we can’t wait to welcome in our valued customers and meet some new faces.”
The scoop shop is set to be open seven days a week and will serve a menu of flavors like Pistachio with Caramelized Fig, Freshest Strawberry Meringue, Banana Cream Pound Cake and Dark Chocolate and Honey, with gourmet toppings like cracked honey comb and peanut butter crunch. Proper Ice Cream offers scoops, Konery cones and cups, creative sundaes and ice cream sandwiches. Guests can also purchase pints to enjoy at home. There are also vegan offerings.
Offering artisanal, hand crafted ice cream, Proper Ice Cream was born in the kitchen of some of the hottest restaurants in Palm Beach County and is served at Buccan, Grato, Imoto, and 1000 North. Their pints can be purchased at Joseph’s Classic Market. Felberbaum opened his first retail location out of the front of his West Delray Beach commercial kitchen in mid-2018.
The original Proper Ice Cream location will continue to serve patrons at 1445 N Congress Avenue #4, Delray Beach, FL 33445.
For more information visit www.propericecream.com.


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The steadily improving economy has led many consumers across the country to feel better about their finances in general, and that in turn will likely lead to increased spending once again this holiday season.
New projections show that consumer spending for holiday shopping alone could rise 4.5 percent this year, according to the 2012 Retail Report from the global business advisory firm FTI Consulting. During that time, many purchases will be made online, perhaps as a result of consumers trying to take advantage of what are considered better deals, or to conduct more effective efforts to compare prices for the items they want to buy. Interestingly, the company also projects that online sales will increase 13.5 percent over the course of next year, and could account for as much as 15 percent of all retail purchases by the end of the decade.
And while this year’s growth in spending is actually smaller than the 6.2 percent observed last year, it’s generally believed that this is the result of something retailers are doing, rather than consumers approaching more cautiously, the report said. Retailers offered significant discounts last year as a result of slumping consumer confidence – as a means of boosting sales – but that rating has grown 25 percent in the last year, and as such, fewer discounts will be available this year.
“Overall, consumer spending trends have been fairly impressive considering the financial anxieties still felt by many Americans,” said Bob Duffy, global co-leader of the FTI Consulting Corporate Finance/Restructuring practice. “Despite slowing momentum in recent months and lingering concerns over income growth and employment prospects, sales growth trends have managed to stay within the range of historical averages. We find consumer spending across a number of product and store categories to be fairly encouraging and anticipate this vigor will continue through the holiday shopping season.”
[Credit Cards: Research and compare credit cards at Credit.com.]
This type of spending could lead to even more significant increases in credit card debt than what is typically seen as part of traditional seasonal climbs, which themselves tend to result in more instances of delinquency and default once the new year begins. Higher debts and missed payments can be significantly damaging to borrowers’ credit standings and put them in financial danger for a number of reasons.
Image: Better Than Bacon, via Flickr


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Both Google and Microsoft think it’d be a shame to deny Windows Phone users the glory of Keyboard Cat videos, which is why the two companies have agreed to team up and jointly create a native YouTube app for Microsoft’s mobile platform. The Next Web reports that the companies released a joint statement today saying that they “are working together to update the new YouTube for Windows Phone app to enable compliance with YouTube’s API terms of service, including enabling ads, in the coming weeks.” Once they finish the new app, Microsoft will remove the YouTube app it created from the Windows Phone store. The two companies’ decision to collaborate on a new app comes just a week after Google sent Microsoft a cease and desist letter asking the company to remove YouTube from the Windows Phone store because Microsoft’s modified version of the app lacked support for ads.
This article was originally published on BGR.com
- Technology & Electronics


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PG Stock: The Most Overlooked Reason to Be Bullish on Procter & Gamble Co
Why PG Stock is Still a Top Dividend Pick
There is a simple reason why income investors should pay attention to Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) stock: dividends. There are companies with higher yields, but few of them can match PG stock’s track record when it comes to dividend growth.
Procter & Gamble has been increasing its dividend every single year for the past 60 years. That makes PG stock a “dividend king,” a title reserved for companies with at least five decades of consecutive dividend increases. Among the thousands of companies actively traded in the U.S. stock exchanges, only 18 of them hold that title.
For PG stock, the latest dividend hike came this April, when the company increased its quarterly dividend rate to $0.6695 per share. At today’s price, Procter & Gamble stock has an annual dividend yield of 3.03%.
If you are wondering whether PG stock could continue its track record of dividend hikes, don’t forget that the century-old company is still growing. In its most recent fiscal quarter, all segments of Proctor & Gamble (Fabric & Home, Baby, Feminine, & Family, Beauty, Health, and Grooming) enjoyed solid growth in both organic volume and organic sales. (Source: “P&G Announces Fourth Quarter And Fiscal Year 2016 Results,” Procter & Gamble Co, August 2, 2016.)
But there is something else that the company has been doing that could make Procter & Gamble stock even more appealing: streamlining operations.
Companies like to use terms like “streaming operations” and “improving efficiency.” And while they don’t sound as exciting as, say, building the next big thing in tech, streamlining operations at Procter & Gamble could create material upside for PG stock.
You see, Procter & Gamble is a giant company. With a history dating back to 1837, the consumer staples company has built a huge portfolio of brands. But not all of them are performing well these days. However, the good news is that the company has decided to revisit its brand portfolio.
Two years ago, P&G announced that it would sell about 90 to 100 brands whose sales had been declining. And if you are worried that selling so many brands would affect the company’s business, don’t be. The 70 to 80 brands that it would keep and focus on accounted for 90% of sales and more than 95% of profit at Procter & Gamble in recent years. (Source: “P&G to sell up to 100 brands to revive sales, cut costs,” Reuters, August 4, 2016.)
Right now, the company is in the process of selling 41 beauty brands to Coty Inc (NYSE:COTY) for $12.5 billion. With fewer brands in its lineup, P&G should be able to free up some capital and put them into its core brands.
Source: Procter & Gamble Co
From the above lists, it’s easy to see that with its core brands, Procter & Gamble is still a dominant player in the consumer staples business. While those products seem a bit low-tech, note that they represent things that consumers need rather than want. This means PG stock could be recession-proof; in a recession, people still need shampoo, razor blades, and toilet paper, don’t they?
P&G have already achieved substantial cost savings. The company delivered cost-of-goods savings at or above targets in each of the last five fiscal years. The original five-year cost-of-goods savings target was $6.0 billion, but P&G delivered $7.2 billion. (Source: “The Procter & Gamble Company’s Management at Barclays Back-To-School Consumer Conference – Earnings Call Transcript,” Seeking Alpha, September 8, 2016.)
Moreover, manufacturing enrolment declined by 22% over the last four years, despite new staffing necessary to support new capacity. Including divestitures, manufacturing enrolment is expected to decline by 30% by the end of its fiscal 2017.
Going forward, Procter & Gamble expects to save as much as another $10.0 billion in costs over the next five years, with the majority of those savings coming from costs of goods.
The Bottom Line on PG Stock
At the end of the day, keep in mind that Procter & Gamble is a 178-year-old company that’s currently in a transition process. PG stock probably won’t shoot through the roof anytime soon, but with a portfolio of strong performing brands that are recession-proof, PG stock could still provide investors with solid dividends for years to come.


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In a press conference held on Wednesday the 11th of September 2019, the Managing Director of Atlantic Exhibition, organizers of the Lagos fashion fair, Mr. Ayodeji Olugbade, announced that the 7th Edition of the Lagos Fashion Fair will take place in September
The event annually brings together the biggest names in the fashion and ready to wear space in Africa and other continents with Nigeria being the most populous country in Africa and the most populous black country in the world.
According to Mr Ayodeji, “There is an abundance of ideas and creativity from the traditional Adire, Dansiki, Kembe, Agbada, etc., hence the need to showcase and promote this creativity to the world. Having the greatest business opportunities, the event facilitates its exhibitors/visitors to meet with key industry professionals.”
Also speaking at the event, the Marketing Manager of Atlantic exhibitions, Miss Olivia Modisakerg stated that the essence of the fair was to bring in people from the international communities like China, Turkey and India to meet with talents in the Nigerian fashion industry and create synergy between them.
The 2019 edition of Lagos Fashion fair holds on 25-27 September at the Convention Center of Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos state, Nigeria. Notable partners are House of Tara, RenMoney, FADAN (Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria), Oriflame, Lo lavita and more.
Visit http://www.fashionfairlagos.com/register/ to register for this event. See you there


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According to the recent report by the Australian Department of Industry, the country is forecast to earn around 136 billion Australian dollars from the ore exports this year.
China's economy keeps speeding down
The Chinese economy is demonstrating signs of deceleration because America is about to impose tougher trade tariffs. In this Asian country, investment decelerated to a record minimum and customers became more cautious about spending. That’s what Tuesday’s data disclosed.
Fixed-asset investment surge speeded down more than anticipated to 5.5% in January-July. It was an outcome of the government’s clampdown on lavish local government borrowing for projects to spur surge.
Additionally, industrial output surge also undershot hopes, suppressed by pollution curbs as well as the uncertain trade outlook. Exports were quite resilient, but business surveys point to diving overseas orders.
With the American trade conflict threatening more pressure on the Chinese already decelerating economy, the Chinese government has shifted its focus to stimulating domestic demand. Moreover, the Chinese authorities took another approach in its clampdown on debt and financial risks that stimulated borrowing costs and provoked a soaring number of defaults.
The Chinese government promised to spur spending on roads and railways. That’s the country’s traditional measure when the Chinese economy decelerates. The PBOC is injecting more funds into the financial system and making commercial financial institutions offer more loans at more affordable rates to small firms.
In July, new Yuan loans managed to surpass hopes, as statistics disclosed on Monday. That’s one of the few upbeat moments in the recent data.
With the Chinese economy shifting into lower gear without a trade shock, some market experts foresaw that the PBOC will soon have its official lending rate cut for the first time since 2015, although most financial experts forecast a more moderate stream of support measures in the nearer future.
The pace of fixed asset investment turned out to be the weakest on record since 1996.
Fixed-asset investment tacked on by 3% in July from 2017.
The US dollar is heading for the best week in three. The market sentiment is mixed as optimism about the global economic recovery was outshined by increasing tensions between the West and China.
Rising yields, potential US tax hikes, and inflation fears worry investors. As a result, the market sentiment is risk-off. Stocks are falling, while the USD and the JPY are edging higher.
US retail sales will be out on Thursday, April 15, at 15:30 MT. It is a significant release for traders as it will impact the US dollar.
As the earnings season kicks in, JPMorgan is the first to impress us with the better-than-expected data!
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will hold a meeting on Wednesday, April 14, at 05:00 MT.


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HIROSHIMA, Japan — Mazda is prepping for a global crossover blitz with a sweeping production overhaul to make one of the industry's most flexible production systems even more responsive.
The goal, laid out by Akira Marumoto in his first interview since becoming Mazda Motor Corp. CEO in June, is to create a worldwide production base that allows Mazda to make crossovers at any factory, from Mexico to China to Japan, and to quickly dial up or down output to match fluctuating demand.
Marumoto said the upgrade begins early next year with the retooling of Mazda's plant in Salamanca, Mexico, to produce a next-generation Mazda3 small car.
That rework will enable the Mexico factory to add crossovers to its repertoire, giving Mazda much needed extra capacity in the segment. The Mexico plant currently builds only the Mazda2 subcompact and outgoing Mazda3.
Marumoto said Mazda also is enhancing lines in Japan and China to have greater flexibility in adjusting model mix when market demand shifts. Marumoto's plan calls for a radical range of flexibility in how much its factory lines can increase or decrease a model’s output to match changing demand.
"What we are discussing internally is the production facility or equipment needed to change the mix in an extreme way, from 0 percent to 100 percent in a production line," Marumoto told Automotive News last week at Mazda's global headquarters here. In practice, however, Marumoto said operation swings wouldn't be so dramatic. Mazda could operate in a band of 40 percent, up or down.


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Winona's Coca-Cola bottling plant was the last one in the country to refill those old-fashioned 6.5 ounce glass bottles. Now the plant's general manager says the current batch will be the last one. Keeping up with manufacturing standards would mean expensive new equipment, so the plant is letting go of the vintage bottles.
Griffen back with Vikings after taking personal leave
The Vikings haven't had Griffen in the lineup since Week 2.


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Square Enix has just published a new trailer for the ever elusive Kingdom Hearts III, which you can view below:
The trailer features Sora, Donald, and Goofy as they help Hercules in battles against the Heartless atop Mount Olympus.
The game itself won't be appearing at any E3 conferences or on the show floor itself, but it has been confirmed that a new world and another trailer will be debuted at the Disney D23 event on 15th July.
Who knows when we'll finally get our hands on Kingdom Hearts III? Your guess is as good as ours, but let us know what you think to this new footage in the comments below.


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Registers of Scotland reported that from April to June 2016, the volume of residential property sales increased by 4.9% compared with the same period in the previous year, with the total value of sales registered in the quarter increasing by 2.5% compared to the previous year to just over 4.2 billion.
Simon Brown, partner and head of residential sales at CKD Galbraith, said: "The Scottish property market has remained resilient to political and economic changes despite the uncertainty of Brexit. As a firm we have not experience any negative effects or hesitancy from buyers throughout the various localised markets that we operate in and have witnessed healthy levels of sales across the country. The market in general remains price sensitive and provided the property is priced correctly there is demand."
"Scotland remains an attractive place to live and we have witnessed a significant level of movement across the UK with particular interest from UK buyers looking to purchase in areas including Moray and Dumfries & Galloway as a lifestyle choice where property in these rural regions represents excellent value for money."
CKD Galbraith's sales figures over this quarter (April June 2016) reflect the national trend with the firm reporting a 17% increase in the volume of sales achieved in comparison to the same quarter last year. There was also an increase in the number of properties brought to the Scottish market by CKD Galbraith, up 19% in comparison to the first quarter of 2016.
The firm is also experiencing a significant level of movement across the UK with 53% of buyers coming from within Scotland, 41% of buyers coming from across the rest of the UK and the remaining 6% representing international buyers.


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Photo: Chewonki Semester SchoolIn 2009, Maine farmer Heather Retberg learned that new regulations prohibited her from bringing her chickens to a neighbor’s approved slaughtering facility. …
Italy’s celebrated Pecorino di Farindola, pictured here, is now and has always been made from raw milk. We can get this right, peopleHas there been …
A week ago, Pennsylvania dairy farmer Edwin Shank did something no other producer of raw milk in recent memory has seen fit to do: he …
Humboldt County may be the marijuana capital of America, but it has no intention of becoming a mecca for another controversial natural product: unpasteurized milk.
For the last seven years, Rae Lynn Sandvig, a mother of four, has been helping a local dairy farmer distribute unpasteurized milk to 35 or 40 friends and neighbors in the Minneapolis suburbs. Then she got busted by the food police.
While the FDA has forced the shutdown of small cheese makers Estrella and Morningland, most of its pathogen hunts have come up empty-handed.
The government's war on unpasteurized milk was something most people could comfortably ignore as being about the fringe. But when the FDA starts messing with people's $22-per-pound raw-milk Camembert ... well, now that's serious.
The FDA has a long history of going after small food producers for seemingly minor problems, and leaving the big ones to do their thing -- no matter how serious their transgressions. Perhaps that's why worries about the food-safety legislation are expanding.
For many years, raw-milk advocates have claimed that unpasteurized milk counters lactose intolerance -- the upset stomach many people feel after consuming dairy products. A Stanford study says otherwise.
We've devised the world's shortest survey to find out what kind of actions our readers are taking. You know you want to.


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In recent years advancement of current LED technology has picked up the pace but does it have the potential to help the UK become a ‘net zero’ emitter?
In June 2019, parliament passed legislation requiring the government to reduce the UK’s net emissions of greenhouse gases by 100% relative to 1990 levels by 2050. A significant, but somewhat overlooked technology to help achieve ‘net zero’ goals is LED lighting. Whilst renewable energy such as solar and wind has featured in far more headlines, the LED light bulb is quietly playing a far bigger role than many would expect. There are some very clear benefits of making the switch to a Light Emitting Diode (LED):
- More energy efficient
- LED bulbs have far less of a negative impact on the environment when disposed of
- LED light bulbs also last much longer on average than traditional incandescent bulbs
- As fewer bulbs are needed to be produced over a long period of time, fewer materials are needed
The global light emitting diode (LED) market was worth $68.5 billion in 2019. It is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.97% and reach $123.89 billion by 2023 – so the outlook looks bright for this technology.
This fundamental shift in approach to industrial and domestic lighting has required significant development from LED manufacturers, the production of PCBs has had to be more responsive to change than ever before. It is clear to see that there have been some incredible innovations at the component and fixture level in the past decade. A significant milestone came from Philips in 2013 when they achieved a lighting world first by breaking the 200 lumens per watt barrier. The innovation, which produced a warm white light, was a huge leap forward in terms of standards: it proved twice as efficient as fluorescent lighting and more than 10 times as efficient as a traditional light bulb. From a PCB perspective, requirements are constantly evolving due to technical indexes like pitch, stability, lightness or colour depth so contract manufacturers need to be willing to adapt and evolve with their customers.
So, back to our original question; will current LED development help us achieve our carbon neutral targets? We firmly believe that LED lighting will play a vital role in achieving carbon neutral targets. The bigger the shift the bigger the impact this technology will make. Unfortunately, the UK isn’t on track to become a ‘net zero’ emitter by 2050 just yet but although the road ahead is difficult, it’s still possible.
With over 35 years’ experience in the industry, UK Electronics have the capabilities to provide LED PCB fabrication, components procurement and assembly all under one roof. The advantages of improved LED lighting efficiency and PCB design can now be transferred to customers in record time so don’t hesitate to contact us to discuss your requirements.


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Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT), the No. 2 ride-sharing company in the U.S., just went public earlier this month. The company's IPO may have some investors wondering exactly how big the ride-sharing market is, whether it's worth taking seriously, and how they might benefit from it.
If you're interested in the ride-sharing market but don't know where to start, here are a few reasons why you should pay attention to what's happening in this space, and why you need to keep a close eye on what Lyft, Uber, and General Motors (NYSE: GM) are doing.
1. Ride-sharing could be worth $285 billion by 2030
There are a lot of estimates out there trying to pinpoint how big the ride-sharing market will be, but one thing they all have in common is that it's going to be huge. Morgan Stanley said in a 2017 research report that the global ride-sharing market will be worth $285 billion by 2030.
A more recent estimate from Markets and Markets says that ride-sharing services across the globe will be worth $218 billion by 2025. No matter which estimate proves more accurate, it's clear that ride-sharing is a massive global industry.
That's why Uber has expanded into nearly 65 countries, and why the company recently spent $3.1 billion to purchase its ride-sharing rival Careem in the Middle East. Uber's decision to snatch up a larger international player rather than fight it out with Careem in its home territory comes as the global ride-sharing market has become much more competitve. For example, Uber couldn't keep up with its China rival, DiDi Chuxing, and ended up selling its China business to DiDi a few years back.
2. Americans' views on car ownership are changing
Americans, particularly younger ones, are far more open to the idea of paying for transportation only when they need it, as opposed to owning a car themselves. And these shifting ideas on car ownership will result in less automotive sales in the coming years. IHS Markit data shows that the auto industry will experience a 33% decline in automotive sales between 2017 and 2040.
With nearly 80% of the U.S. population now living in urban areas, the hassle of owning and driving a car in the city, finding parking, etc. isn't worth it to many Americans. Add the fact that cars sit idle 96% of the time, and many Americans are losing enthusiasm for the automobile.
GM has seen the writing on the wall, which is why the company currently has a peer-to-peer ride-sharing service that allows GM owners to rent out their cars to others. The company also has plans to introduce an autonomous ride-sharing service sometime this year. Though both of the programs will be limited in availability for a while, GM's bets on self-driving ride-sharing services and peer-to-peer vehicle sharing show that even automotive stalwarts are looking toward new innovations to stay relevant.
3. Ride-sharing usage is growing fast
Morgan Stanley estimates that in 2017 there were about 15 million ride-hailing trips per day worldwide, and that this figure will reach 97 million by 2030. Lyft says that it already completed 178.4 million rides in its fourth quarter of 2018, up from 116.3 million in the same period of 2017. And Uber says that it completes 15 million trips worldwide every single day. For reference, the company, was doing only 1 million rides per day just four years ago.
Additionally, research conducted by Assurant found that 44% of survey respondents use ride-sharing services regularly. That all means that people have taken to these ride-sharing services, which have quickly become a regular part of many users' daily lives.
A few thoughts for investors
Lyft is the only ride-sharing pure play available to investors right now. The company's shares are trading a bit lower than the company's initial IPO share price, and Lyft faces tough competition from Uber, which is expected to go public sometime next month.
Meanwhile, GM will likely dip its toe into the ride-sharing market sometime this year, but investors shouldn't expect any significant revenue from the service just yet.
In short, while the ride-sharing market is taking off, investors still have limited options for exposure to it. Uber and Lyft are likely the two best plays, but even Uber -- with its ride-sharing dominance in the U.S. and many other countries --had an adjusted EBITDA loss of $1.85 billion in 2018.
All of this means that while the ride-sharing industry is growing fast, investors will have to play the long game.
10 stocks we like better than Lyft
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David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Lyft wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.
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Chris Neiger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.


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For the fourth consecutive year, sales of Mahindra Scorpio have crossed the 50,000 mark. But, compared to the previous three years’ 50k barrier breach milestones, the latest one is more special. For fiscal 2014/15, Mahindra has sold 51,553 units of Scorpio, which is the highest ever sales of the Mahindra SUV in its history.
This boost in sales is thanks to the launch of new generation Scorpio, which happened in September 2014. Winner of ‘SUV of the Year’, in the period since launch, Scorpio also attained its highest every monthly sales of 6,060 units.
Speaking about the latest milestone of Scorpio, Pravin Shah, President & Chief Executive (Automotive), Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., said, that the entire Mahindra family is proud of Scorpio, their trend-setter SUV. Not only this milestone proves the success of Scorpio, even after 13 years of launch, but also the trust car buyers in India have for Mahindra as a brand. With the launch of new generation Scorpio, Mahindra is certain to achieve many more milestones, he added.
Launched at a price range of Rs 7.98 lakhs to Rs 11.46 lakhs, new Mahindra Scorpio is offered in a choice of two diesle engines. One is a 2.5l mEagle generating 75 bhp power and 200 Nm torque, while the other is a 2.2l mHawk mill, generating 120 bhp power and 280 Nm torque.


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A growing row between manufacturers and dealers over access to fleet discounts could lead to renewed Government interference in the car market that would push residual values to new record lows.
Peter Vardy, chairman of dealership group Reg Vardy, made the warning as part of a plea for market calm to allow recovery from 18 months of pricing uncertainty to help rebuild confidence among buyers.
The Government's Supply of New Cars Order 2000 was intended to draw a line under the car pricing row, with reductions averaging more than £1,000 on most cars and dealerships offered equivalent discount terms to fleets.
Officials warned that a failure to react to the order could lead to further legislation forcing manufacturers to comply.
But many car dealers who expected to see the price of vehicles available to them fall are complaining the reality has 'fallen short' of what they expected from the order.
Industry insiders say that several manufacturers have not met a December 1 deadline to produce fleet equivalent terms for dealerships and that at least one manufacturer has seen all dealers retain their current purchasing arrangements and not switch to buying on fleet terms.
The Office of Fair Trading and the Department of Trade and Industry are already collecting detailed information of the effect of the order to ensure that manufacturers are treating both sides of the industry the same.
Mr Vardy said: "The unprecedented fall in vehicle values made 2000 one of the most difficult for the motor industry in the past three decades. A number of manufacturers have published fleet purchasing terms for retailers. These terms have, to date, fallen short of what the industry expected following the DTI order. "There is a period of settling down that needs to happen. The OFT will be very active in this area and I am sure they are checking current discount levels that manufacturers are giving to fleets. Any further Government action over new car prices would mean used car values would be worth nothing."


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"Investors decimated Apple last week when it appeared that the world’s mightiest profit machine might be slowing down just a tad. But they cheered on Tuesday when Amazon said its fourth-quarter sales and earnings fell short of expectations. Oh, and expect a miserable first quarter, too.Investors Shrug Off a Weak Earnings Report From Amazon - NYTimes.com
Shares in Amazon immediately jumped nearly 10 percent in after-hours trading, about the same amount that Apple fell after releasing its news."
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Investors Shrug Off a Weak Earnings Report From Amazon - NYTimes.com
Check the full article for an Amazon earnings snapshot


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AMD is quickly catching up with Intel as its PC market attains new heights with the newly developed Ryzen CPUs and the server market with EPYC. Further, the cryptocurrency boom gave AMD’s graphics business a much-needed boost.
For a long time, AMD’s processors were far behind Intel’s, but it is rapidly closing the gap with the second generation Ryzen. Now, AMD is set to launch its third generation in mid-2019. In a live demonstration using performance-testing tool Maxon Cinebench R15, an eight-core Ryzen chip managed a performance comparable to Intel's i9-9900K using 30% less power. But the performance of these new chips across the full spectrum of PC workloads is unclear until evaluation from third-party reviewers.
Regarding pricing, top-tier mainstream second-generation 2700X Ryzen chip sells for $329, a full $200 less than Intel's flagship chip. AMD's third-generation Ryzen chips will probably be more expensive. But Intel is certainly in for stiffer competition.
In the graphics sector, AMD’s two Vega graphics cards launched in 2017 and underperformed as it used far more power than those of NVIDIA. AMD is trying again with its latest Radeon VII to be launched in February. Built on a 7 nm process, it provides significant performance gains over the previous Vega chips. At $699, it's the same price as NVIDIA's RTX 2080. But unlike Intel, NVIDIA is not particularly threatened by AMD.
Expectedly, the third generation Ryzen chips is going to be a fast and profitable growth driver. Yet, due to optimistic pricing of the stock, analysts see revenue growth of 6.3% in 2019.


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Sustainable sourcing: Retailers and food producers take on fertilizer pollution
The toxic algae scare in Toledo this past summer really drove home the problem of fertilizer pollution in this country, right through the faucets of half a million unsuspecting Ohio residents. Don’t drink the water, officials warned. Don’t even touch it.
We rely on farmers every day for our well-being. But when producing food for a growing population threatens to deprive us of water, another life essential, it’s time to rethink the way we feed America.
That’s why I’m so excited about Environmental Defense Fund’s new Sustainable Sourcing Initiative. Our goal in this collaborative effort is to engage every player in America’s grain supply chain to solve what has been an intractable problem for decades.
Large brands rally in support
The good news is, we’re not starting from scratch.
As part of its commitment to slash greenhouse gas emissions from its supply chain, Walmart last year asked its top suppliers to submit plans on how they would source nutrient-efficient grains to deliver real environmental improvements.
Fifteen food companies responded, and many turned to EDF for help in developing and implementing those plans – including Smithfield, the world’s largest pork producer, General Mills, and The Coca-Cola Company, which works in partnership with World Wildlife Fund.
Now we’re drilling deeper into the supply chain, collaborating with agribusinesses such as United Suppliers to help farmers meet the food companies’ new demands. A member-owned wholesaler, the Iowa-based company provides agricultural products and services to some 700 grower cooperatives and retailers across the United States and Canada - so its footprint has impact.
Scaling up – by 10 million acres
Over the past six months, I’ve worked closely with United Suppliers to develop a sustainability program that will be rolled out to farmers by the company’s network of well-trained retailer owners and expert staff.
They’ve committed to enrolling some 10 million acres in the fertilizer efficiency program by 2020, which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 5 million metric tons and help to improve water quality. Talk about scaling up!
The problem with fertilizers
Fertilizer, of course, is necessary for achieving high crop yields. But its inefficient use contributes to climate instability and causes dead zones that contaminate water supplies and kill millions of fish each year.
And greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, which already account for 8 percent of total emissions in the United States, are likely to grow as the sector ramps up to feed a growing population.
So for the past decade, EDF has worked with grower networks in several states to test and prove sustainable methods that help farmers become more productive while minimizing nutrient losses to water and air – losses that are costly to both the farmers’ wallets and the environment.
We’ve managed to reduce nutrient losses by an average of 25 percent on half a million acres while increasing or maintaining yields. Now we’re ready to expand – and fast.
Farmers on board
Farmers are enthusiastic about increasing the supply of more sustainable grains because they want to be good stewards of the environment.
As my friend Brent Bible, who farms 2,500 acres in Indiana, says: “Fertilizer is the most expensive input for farmers, so it makes good business sense for us to maximize its efficiency.”
The farm is where it all starts, but we need every link in the supply chain to play an active role and to embed sustainability into the core of their business. Our new initiative stands ready to help.


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Enterprise blockchain news
Legal and IP
Travel & mobility
Management & legal
Tag - PwC
PwC, Onfido join blockchain identity platform uPort
Walmart China unveils food traceability blockchain...
PwC launches cryptocurrency audit tools
The benefits and challenges of enterprise blockchain
PwC launches blockchain credentialing solution
World Energy Council, PwC survey: blockchain immature
World Economic Forum: blockchain can help planet
PwC: 15% of enterprises have live blockchain projects
PwC, Port of Brisbane creating Supply Chain blockchain
PwC China survey finds blockchain optimism
Find out more.


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Tucson's mail processing operations are moving to Phoenix
USPS Customer Relations Coordinator Rob Soler
Reporter: Valerie Cavazos
TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) -- It's official. The Postal Service announced that the Tucson's mail processing operations are moving to Phoenix. But the Postal Service says all of the changes will be invisible to most of us. Some are not so convinced.
The slogan reads: If it fits, it ships. It's a growing base of business for the United States Postal Service, but USPS says even the success of that service couldn't compensate for a weak economy and internet explosion. Since 2006, first class mail dropped 25 percent -- digging deep into the bottom line. So the decision was made to consolidate the mail processing centers in Tucson and in Phoenix -- the 3rd largest facility in the country. "And those machines are only running 6 hours a day. They need to be running 18. And quite frankly we can't maintain the cost of keeping those processing plants open if there isn't enough mail to sustain them," said USPS Customer Relations Coordinator Rob Soler.
So what does this mean for those of us receiving mail? The postal service says the letter that's mailed across town will take one more day to be delivered. "It will not affect delivery time for medications, priority mail, express mail and packages your send. you will not see retail windows closing," said Soler.
And he added that you will not see hundreds of postal workers in the unemployment lines. 223 positions in Tucson will be affected by the consolidation. "The postal service has a very good track record of finding employment for impacted employees elsewhere in the organization."
Some Tucson business owners, like Rumaldo Moreno of Innovative Mailing Services, were worried about losing their bulk mail discounts, but Moreno received word this afternoon that although the delivery will take a few days longer -- the costs will stay the same. "That would mean that we would maintain our competitive edge as far as our customers," said Moreno.
The transition will not happen right away. There is a moratorium until May 15th. The Postal Service has given Congress that time to introduce new legislation or come up with an alternative plan -- so it's business as usual until that time.
The Tucson Mayor and City Council members have been fighting the closing of the mail processing facility. Councilman Richard Fimbres (Ward 5) says the fight is far from over. He and Councilwoman Regina Romero (Ward 1) contend the changes would severely impact businesses and the upcoming elections because of a possible delay in vote-by-mail deliveries.


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Nicole Miller has seen the future, and it requires logging onto the Internet.
The New York fashion house — which has hawked its designs for nearly three decades with chic ads in magazines like Vogue, Elle and Harper’s Bazaar — this summer abruptly shifted its entire marketing budget online, executives told The Post.
“We’re in a revolution,” said Nicole Miller CEO Bud Konheim, who is now focused on generating buzz on social-networking sites and fashion blogs such as Refinery 29, Polyvore and Who What Wear. “A year ago, we were basically doing zero online.”
Nicole Miller is hardly the first label on Seventh Avenue to embrace the Internet. Still, the company’s sudden, 180-degree switch away from print advertising signals the increasingly decisive influence of online venues in fashion, experts say.
“It’s not merely that it’s a good idea to focus online — it’s something you have to do,” says Jodi Sweetbaum, managing partner at Lloyd & Co., a New York-based ad firm.
That’s partly because ads in fashion magazines, which run upwards of $60,000 a page, are cripplingly expensive for most fashion labels. Nicole Miller, which is relatively large for a brand that isn’t corporate-backed, has an annual ad budget of just over $1 million.
The Web offers pitfalls as well as enticements to designers who are looking to better engage with shoppers, says Ray Graj of Graj + Gustavsen. That’s because blogs are loaded with “user-generated content, with people creating their own versions of the brand,” that aren’t easily controlled, Graj notes.
That’s a risk that Nicole Miller is taking on — beginning with the label’s Friday runway show, where bloggers will be given front-row seats, execs said.
“It used to be considered an insult if somebody was on their BlackBerry at your show — now we’re encouraging it,” Konheim said. “We want people tweeting, blogging, shooting videos and uploading them to their sites.”
Indeed, Nicole Miller is launching a blog of her own tomorrow, ahead of a Friday runway show for the label’s spring 2012 collection. This week, the designer plans to keep it simple, with shots of models being fitted in the studio and thoughts on seasonal trends, execs said.
Nevertheless, fans will also see evidence of a more street-wise approach.
“The old, tortured Vogue-model shot — sucking your cheeks in, looking like you’ve been out all night — it’s all over, it doesn’t register anymore,” according to Konheim.
Instead, the label’s redheaded designer and namesake this summer ordered a group of employees and interns to put on some clothes hanging in the showroom and hit the streets with a camera.
“I don’t have that impressive of a camera — it’s a cute little Nikon SLR,” says Lauren Teslia, Nicole Miller’s e-commerce and retail coordinator.
Still, the casual shoots are expected “to help create a more interactive feel with our customers,” Teslia said.
Thus far, the company’s Internet strategy appears to be working. Online sales were up by more than half this summer and are expected to double by year’s end.


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HTC‘s Vive VR Headset is already quite popular in the market, however, now the company has partnered with Qualcomm, the chipset manufacturer, to make a standalone VR Headset. This new VR Headset is called The Vive Standalone and it is exclusive to the Chinese market. This new VR Headset is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 SoC, which is the company’s flagship chipset. And not just that, it is based on Qualcomm’s all-in-one reference design, which includes, positional tracking for a better user experience.
According to the company, the standalone Vive will offer a more affordable VR experience to a broader audience. As mentioned earlier, this is based on Snapdragon 835 chipset and it can operate without the requirement for an external PC or smartphone. This particular headset has a built-in VR functionality and it will allow the developers to more rapidly release compelling content for the same.
All the content for the same appears to be made available through Viveport. For those of you who don’t know what Viveport is, it is HTC VIVE’s content platform, app store, and subscription service where customers can explore, create, connect, and experience the VR content. It is a platform for the VR developers to put out there VR content for the users to take advantage of them using their VR headsets.
HTC is yet to fully unveil this device, however, the silhouette looks very similar to the DayDream VR headset. Obviously as mentioned earlier, the major difference here between the new standalone VR and the Daydream VR is going to be the fact that this one is not going to rely on the Google Play Store for its content. Hence users in China need not worry about it since Google Play Store is not a consistent source of apps in the Chinese market.
With the launch of this standalone VR headset, HTC is planning on opening up to a wider range of audience. HTC Vive is already quite popular in China, however, still, there are a lot of people who are reluctant to buy it, since still there is a need for a gaming PC in order to pair it and use. This would certainly allow a lot of people to buy it and use and not worry about any other investment. Having said that, let us know your thoughts on this by dropping a comment down below.


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Discovery orders business format
I Quit will launch on Discovery next month
US cablenet Discovery Channel has ordered a new business format from Shopify Studios, Wheelhouse Entertainment’s Spoke Studios and ITV America.
I Quit follows six sets of hopeful entrepreneurs over the course of 12 months as they leave their jobs and steady incomes to launch their own businesses.
They will be mentored by three successful business leaders who have each built empires of their own: Harley Finkelstein, chief operating officer of global e-commerce platform Shopify; Debbie Sterling, CEO of children’s multimedia company GoldieBlox; and Tricia Clarke-Stone, co-founder and CEO of tech agency WP Narrative.
At the end of the year, the most promising business will receive US$100,000 to fuel their growth.
I Quit will premiere on Discovery in the US on August 18. Tobi Lütke and Pam Silverstein exec produce the series for Shopify Studios, while Brent Montgomery, Ed Simpson and Will Nothacker serve as exec producers for Spoke Studios and Karen Kunkel Young and Steve Kantor exec produce for ITV America.
Discovery’s Gretchen Morning also exec produces alongside Jessica Mollo and Kerresha Musgrave, who feature as associate producers on the project.


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American small and medium-size companies that rely on China are scrambling to adjust their business plans in response to the escalating trade war.Traderead more
Here are the products that stand to be the most affected by China's new tariffs on $75 billion worth of U.S. goods.Marketsread more
The world's second biggest economy is past a point where it cannot ignore its enormous debt anymore, according to an analyst.China Economyread more
The European Union will respond in kind if the U.S. imposes tariffs on France over digital tax plan, EU chief Donald Tusk told G-7.Technologyread more
Trump said he will raise tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods to 30% and hike duties on another $300 billion in products to 15%.Politicsread more
As demand for lab monkeys continues to rise, U.S. scientists are reporting delays in research projects because they can't obtain enough animals, according to the National...Politicsread more
Carl Medlock used to work at Tesla. Now he's one of the few people in the U.S. that can fix the company's original Roadster electric vehicles.Technologyread more
China said on Saturday it strongly opposes Washington's decision to levy additional tariffs on $550 billion worth of Chinese goods and warned the United States of consequences...Politicsread more
Stocks dropped after Donald Trump ordered that U.S. manufacturers find alternatives to their operations in China.US Marketsread more
The final week of August could be highly volatile as markets fret over the economy and the latest developments in trade wars.Market Insiderread more
Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida said Friday that the global economy has deteriorated in the past month.Marketsread more
* Market charts second day of losses
* April output expected to see monthly gains - trader
* Palm oil biased to fall towards 2,110 rgt/T - techs
(Updates with closing prices) KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures fell to their lowest in a week on Tuesday, their second straight day of losses as concerns persisted over high inventory levels in the world's second largest producer. The benchmark palm oil contract for July delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed down 0.1 percent at 2,170 ringgit ($526.06) a tonne, after earlier hitting 2,152 ringgit, its lowest since April 16. Palm oil is biased towards breaking support at 2,155 ringgit per tonne and falling towards next support at 2,110 ringgit, following its failure to break a resistance at 2,227 ringgit, said Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals.
"Production is not coming down, and demand has not been so great. There is a worry that end-stocks are not reducing," said a futures trader in Kuala Lumpur. He added that palm oil production throughout Malaysia so far this month was showing a monthly gain of 2-5 percent. Higher output levels would contribute towards a rise in stockpiles, which last year hit their highest in at least 18 years. <MYPOMS-TPO> Inventories last declined 4.6 percent to 2.92 million tonnes at the end of March, while production rose to 1.67 million tonnes, up 8.3 percent from February. Data from cargo surveyors Societe Generale de Surveillance and Intertek Testing Services showed export gains of 1.5-2.2 percent for April 1-20. Independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia, however, reported a 1.8 percent drop for the same period.
In other related oils, the Chicago May soybean oil contract fell 0.1 percent, and the May soyoil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange was down 0.2 percent. Meanwhile, the Dalian May palm oil contract declined 1.1 percent. Palm oil prices are affected by movements in soyoil, as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oil market.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1052 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High VolumeMY PALM OIL MAY9 2075 -11.00 2066 2080 183MY PALM OIL JUN9 2152 -2.00 2133 2154 5466MY PALM OIL JUL9 2170 -2.00 2152 2174 14952CHINA PALM OLEIN MAY9 4358 -50.00 4338 4396 39986CHINA SOYOIL MAY9 5330 -12.00 5304 5354 40922CBOT SOY OIL MAY9 28.67 -0.03 28.54 28.75 4803INDIA PALM OIL APR9 539.70 -2.40 536.50 541 521INDIA SOYOIL MAY9 739 +2.70 734.15 739.8 16070NYMEX CRUDE JUN9 65.99 +0.44 65.71 66.19 124304
Palm oil prices in Malaysian ringgit per tonne CBOT soy oil in U.S. cents per pound Dalian soy oil and RBD palm olein in Chinese yuan per tonne India soy oil in Indian rupee per 10 kg Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel
($1 = 4.1250 ringgit) ($1 = 6.7126 Chinese yuan) ($1 = 69.7050 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Uttaresh.V and Mark Potter)


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The UK’s best-selling touring caravan brand, Bailey of Bristol, launches it’s own entity in Australia.
After four years of successfully building the Australian brand to the status of ‘Leading European Touring Caravan Brand in Australia’, the UK’s best-selling touring caravan brand, Bailey of Bristol, announced in 2014 that they would launched their own entity in Australia: Bailey Leisure Pty Ltd.
Bailey Leisure Pty Ltd specialise in providing locally-built as well as imported European lightweight caravans designed specifically for the discerning Australian consumer.
Monday – Friday: 8.30am – 5pm
Saturday: 8.30am – 4pm
Labour Day – 7 May 2018
EKKA Wednesday – 15 August 2018
Queen’s Birthday – 1 October 2018
Christmas – 12 noon 21 December 2018 until 14 January 2019


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2018 Corvette Rumors, Shelby GT350 Owners Suing Ford, Civic Type R Exhaust Note: Weekly News Roundup
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It’s been a busy week at the AutoGuide.com news desk, and we couldn’t fit all the great stories breaking this week, but we’ve chosen a few, OK, actually a bunch of our favourites for our weekly news roundup.
Yet another teaser for the Dodge Demon has been released and we get to hear the car’s awesome sounding exhaust note… oh wait, that’s how last week’s news roundup started. Well, it’s still true, another week, another Demon teaser and there are still three more to go before its reveal at the New York Auto Show. This time they’re showing off its trick pre-launch torque-loading transmission and some more wild exhaust noises and what we think are the best clues yet to its horsepower rating. That’s not the only exhaust note that dropped this week; Honda finally released a video with its Civic Type R winding its engine up to redline.
Beyond the Demon, we discovered two curious patents that promise performance advancements for the Corvette and an unnamed Toyota (fingers crossed it’s for the Supra!), a lawsuit by Mustang Shelby GT350 owners against Ford over its lack of track durability in base form, Subaru SUV spy shots, McLaren starting a slow tease of its next hypercar, and even more. Like we said, busy week.
Here are shortcuts to the top news stories of the week:
And a few of this week’s latest test drives:
More by AutoGuide.com Staff


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The software giant said in a securities filing Thursday that it now expects fiscal fourth-quarter sales of between $51.94 billion and $52.74 billion, down from its prior guidance of $52.4 billion to $53.2 billion. The quarter ends June 30.
Earnings are expected to be between $2.24 a share and $2.32 a share, down from prior guidance of $2.28 a share to $2.35 a share.
Microsoft shares fell 2.6% in early trading to $265.31. They are down around 21% year to date.
Economic weakness in other parts of the world has helped propel the U.S. dollar to multidecade highs against its trading partners, which comes as U.S. inflation is at or near its highest level in nearly 40 years. The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the currency against a basket of others, is up more than 6% so far this year and hit its highest level since 2002 last month. The greenback’s climb has sent the euro, British pound and Japanese yen tumbling.
A strong dollar allows Americans to buy goods from other countries at lower prices. But it can also hurt U.S. manufacturers by making products more expensive for foreigners, and it means U.S. businesses receive fewer dollars for their exports.
The dollar has benefited from its status as a haven for investors during tumultuous financial markets and from the Federal Reserve’s promise to quell inflation by raising rates. Money managers typically buy currencies linked to countries where central banks are raising interest rates to rein in a hot economy.
Asset managers have also been scooping up the dollar, boosting its value, as a bet on the resilience of the U.S. economy compared with Europe and the U.K., where economic data has pointed to low growth. The British pound and the euro both have dropped over 6% so far this year.
Microsoft said in its April earnings report that a stronger dollar reduced the software company’s revenue and earnings by $302 million and 3 cents a share, respectively.
Microsoft is the latest multinational company to warn of the stronger dollar’s impact on financials. Salesforce Inc. CRM 7.00% earlier this week cited the stronger dollar in lowering its sales outlook for the year. The business-software company doubled the impact that it expects this year from the stronger dollar to $600 million from its $300 million forecast in March.
“I think the dollar might have even had a stronger quarter than we did,” Salesforce Co-Chief Executive Marc Benioff said on the company’s conference call Tuesday.
Microsoft has already sounded a note of caution because of the current economic environment. Last month, the Redmond, Wash., company said it would slow down the pace of hiring employees for its software group because of growing uncertainties, joining other tech companies such as Meta Platforms Inc., FB 5.42% Twitter Inc. TWTR 1.55% and Uber Technologies Inc. UBER 7.85% in scaling back hiring plans.
More Microsoft News
On Thursday, Microsoft also lowered its gross-margin guidance to a range of $35.45 billion to $36.05 billion, down from between $35.80 billion and $36.40 billion. Operating income is now expected to be between $20.60 billion and $21.30 billion, down from a range of $20.90 billion to $21.60 billion.
—Julia-Ambra Verlaine contributed to this article.
Write to Will Feuer at email@example.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the June 3, 2022, print edition as ‘Microsoft Cuts Its Forecasts, Citing Effect of Strong Dollar.’


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The Covid-19 outbreak since early 2020 has a bad effect on every aspect of life; especially the freight industry in Hai Phong, which was already going under since 2016.
A hot trend of buying container trucks
Hai Phong is an important province heading to the sea gateway of the North of Vietnam. It is also the biggest seaport system of the area, becoming the “capital” of the container freight enterprises. With 15,000 container trucks, Hai Phong is estimated to account for over 90% of the trucks in the North. They flocked to other areas from the seaports and inland waterway ports of the city.
Almost 10 years ago, every house in Hai Phong, even workers and sidewalk-tea owner, invested in buying trucks due to the high income from the business. The increasing number of trucks exceeds the demand of transportation while the scarcity of goods and the weak management capability made many of the container owners into “loan-owners”.
Mr. Nguyen Dinh Nam, a director of a transportation company, said that Hai Phong in 2012, had about 7,000 containers which consistently had a load from 50 tons to 100 tons of goods. Since 2013, when the government issued the Decree 171 (regulations on load control) on administrative sanctioning on roadway and railway, sanctions were tightened, almost no enterprises run an overload car. The cargo load per container was reduced into half or one third, causing the higher demand for trucks in the transport market. The transport companies would be reactive and just waited for people to approach them for shipments.
“Never had the transportation had it so easy as it was then. Containers were at their full capacity, and the charges definitely increased. Each truck after deducting costs, would bring a profit of 60 – 90 million per month and if well managed, it could be even more. The trend of buying a container truck was created then” said Mr. Nam.
According to Mr. Dang The Phuong, Vice President of Hai Phong Road Transport Association, in 2015 the number of container trucks in Hai Phong had doubled to 15,000 compared to 2013. Meanwhile, the volume of goods through Hai Phong port only increased 12% per year.
Although the price of tractor trailers made in America, Japan, Korea and China were marked up from 30% to 60%, they still ran out of stock. Buyers even had to pre-order a few months ahead for them at that time.
Wretch in the mass investment
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hanh, a sidewalk tea seller in Le Thanh Tong street (Hai Phong), said that in 2015 when many people came to the tea shop and talked about the profit of investing in container trucks, Hanh also collectively contributed a sum of 300 million dong with some friends to buy a truck to run.
In the beginning, it brought a return of 20 million each month to her, after deducting all the costs. But after that few months, everything had changed that she couldn’t earn from it anymore because the demand had decreased. In addition, she still has to pay the interest of the loan monthly, which caused difficulty to her and her partners. If they were to sell the truck, it would mean a complete loss.
The period of 2014 – 2016 marked the most drastic time of the battle against overloaded cars. With the Intersectoral Plan No. 12593 between the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam, the load control is strictly implemented, the number of overloaded trucks are reduced by 92% compared to the period before 2014.
However, by the end of 2016, after the conclusion of the plan, the situation of overloaded transportation happened again, and this diminished the amount of cargo share of other trucks. Transport enterprises are facing a shortage of goods. Previously, the trucks could run continuously, but now the frequency is only 5-7 shipments per month, while the others remained unused.
Mr. Nguyen Hong Quang, the transport manager (Hai Phong Department of Transport) said: “In the last 4 years, several hundred enterprises, each year, have come to Hai Phong Department of Transport to register to return badges for container trucks. They felt that the operation is no longer effective, if continued, there will be no profits or even losses. So they gave back the badges and stopped driving so they do not have to incur the road maintenance fee”. But it was said that the real number is even more than that.
According to our statistics, of the 15,000 container trucks in Hai Phong, there are up to 3,000 trucks “lying under the mat”, the remaining 13,000 trucks run with only 50% – 60% of their capacity.
Lack of goods causes the fierce competition to the enterprises, not exception of unfair competitions. Now, they have to entreat favours of customers to obtain the job. Some of them even offer jobs without profits to keep customers. If the enterprise is reputable, the goods owners will consider working with them.
Translate & Edit: jina


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Engadget heard from MSI that the company's Windows 7 tablet has been delayed until Intel releases its Oak Trail Atom platform at CES 2010, because of the increased power efficiency and enhanced performance of this new mobile platform. The Taiwanese firm also revealed that a Tegra 2-powered WindPad 110 tablet with Android 2.2 will be released before the holiday season, and added that the number of netbooks in MSI's lineup will be reduced to make room for tablets.
MSI's Andy Tung told us that the current Atom platform just doesn't provide adequate battery life and power for the form factor, and that it's finding the Oak Trail platform to be much better in all areas with the Windows 7 OS. Tung also said it's still experimenting with the dualscreen Win 7 tablet, but similarly needs a better hardware platform. Oh don't worry, there's still some tablet love to come from MSI this year -- the company still plans to release its Tegra 2-powered, Android 2.2 WindPad 110 tablet in time for the holiday season. MSI is working with Google, and we were told that the Android tablet should have access to some sort of app store


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South Africa’s Agricultural Product Standards Amendment Bill
17 Apr 2023
South Africa’s Agricultural Product Standards Amendment Bill is set to become law after the national assembly approved it in February 2023, after which it was shared to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for concurrence. The Bill, which was tabled in parliament in August 2021, seeks to tighten controls on sales and exports of certain agricultural products and promote food safety.
The portfolio committee on agriculture, land reform, and rural development adopted the Bill with amendments, including a new clause on the designation of assignees by the Minister.
The select committee on land reform, environment, mineral resources, and energy invites comments on the bill, which will be accepted up to 9 May 2023.
The Bill seeks to amend the Agricultural Product Standards Act, 1990, by inserting and substituting definitions, providing for auditing of a product for management control systems, and making provisions for the setting of tariffs by assignees on a cost-recovery basis. The Bill also makes provision for the Minister to make regulations pertaining to audit and management control systems, along with associated matters.
The proposed amendments to the Agricultural Product Standards Act, 1990, are expected to improve quality control and promote food safety in South Africa. The Bill seeks to ensure that all agricultural products sold and exported from South Africa meet certain quality and safety standards, and that the regulatory framework for agricultural production, health, and food safety is strengthened.
The Bill’s summary, published in Government Gazette 44603 in May 2021, highlights the need for tighter control systems in areas of labelling claims in products for sale. This will ensure that the public has access to accurate and reliable information regarding the products that they consume.
The Agricultural Product Standards Amendment Bill is a welcome development in the promotion of food safety and quality control in South Africa. The Bill’s provisions for tighter control systems and stricter regulations for agricultural production, health, and food safety are expected to have far-reaching benefits for both the country’s agricultural sector and consumers. The NCOP’s invitation for comments on the bill until 9 May 2023, presents an opportunity for stakeholders to provide input on the Bill and shape the future of the country’s agricultural sector.
Should you wish to receive daily or weekly updates on legislative matters, or have a need for real-time access to Gazettes, Bills, Research and more, then contact Sabinet here, or visit www.sabinet.co.za for more.
- No more fowl play? The department of agriculture takes steps to prevent the use of false or misleading descriptions in respect of animal and processed plant products
- Just a spoonful of sugar? – Is your honey pure?
- South Africa’s coffee clean-up
- Sabinet’s instant online access to South African legislation


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Amid reports that the existing slump in hotel occupancy could last two far more years, till the end of 2011, and the immediate possibility of additional protests by red shirts in the finish of 2009, the tourism sector has been putting up what barriers it can lately.
Thailand lawyers have been advising on bankruptcy and house transfers far more than anything optimistic. Nonetheless, the tide is starting to turn for the country’s accommodation firms, restaurants and markets, with the government announcing a raft of new Thai laws in recent months aimed at supporting the tourism trade to aid it come out the other side of the crisis with infrastructure and Thai ownership intact. We overview the recent adjustments in Thai law for tourism operators.
One of the main tasks of law firms in Thailand with regard to tourism lately has sadly been assisting with liquidation and payment of creditors. The government recognizes that these organization failures are eventually not in the interests of the market normally, and has announced that the SME Bank of Thailand will have TB5 billion obtainable in loans for businesses not exceeding TB200 million.
The very first year of lending is accessible interest free, and extremely appealing interest is offered thereafter. Thai law sets the prices for these loans at the nominal lending rate minus three%. Borrowers with no collateral will also be in a position to access the loans, with the Small Business Credit Guarantee Corporation acting as guarantor and charging a .25% fee.
There is actually a enormous variety of monetary measures in location for tourism businesses, and corporate legal services in Thailand are preparing to explain the avenues that will ideal suit their customers. In some cases, seemingly unimportant measures may possibly have quite a large impact. For instance, Thai tourism organizations will be re-categorized as low-danger. The activity has no effect in itself, but really tends to make a large range of other survival measures attainable.
There will also be waivers and bonuses such as tourism employers and employees becoming exempted from creating social security contributions, delaying the collection of hotel operation costs, and lowering the entrance charge for national parks. The tourist visa charge which was scrapped some time ago will stay at zero for the present, according to Thai legal solutions.
The government has also introduced some measures it dubs ‘environment development measures’, and while the focus of these is somewhat different that the name suggests, they will also do a lot for extended-term sustainability of tourism in Thailand. Tourism regions will be standardized and have much better sanitation, and nearby security and security regulations for vacationers will be improved. Even small neighborhood businesses might want to check with their Thai company law specialist to ensure the alterations do not impact them.
Eco-tourism measures have not been ignored in the discussion about Thai tourism sustainability. The WWF (Planet Wide Fund for Nature) will offer loans to hotels with green credentials only, and the German ambassador to Thailand has stated that firms that do not consider their effect on the atmosphere in terms of waste management, sanitation and water provide.


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Lise Hand: Batt strikes low blow but two can play at that game
RECESSION can be fun, boys and girls. Are you bitter about Bertie? Fed-up with Fingers? Scandalised by Seanie? Tired of the Taoiseach?
Then roll up, roll up, for the naughty nerds in Fine Gael have launched a brand new online game in which the enraged electorate can vent some virtual spleen upon the hapless heads of the aforementioned.
The party's top dog (Enda) and two of his young pups (Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney) put on a bit of a spread for the media at the launch of their version of the interactive video game Whack-a-Mole.
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Shoppers are facing a five per cent hike in food prices amid lorry driver and gas shortages, the boss of Tesco has warned.
Speaking to ITV's Robert Peston last night, the supermarket's chairman John Allan warned of a perfect storm of issues and said efforts were being made to avert a 'horrendous crisis at Christmas'.
He said: 'I think it's almost impossible to forecast, but I mean I think we're probably looking at, for food overall, you know, mid-single digit increases which is much higher than we've had in recent years.
'I think certainly while we get through this particular set of issues that we're contending with, which include shortage of labour in a number of important areas of food manufacturing, shortage of HGV drivers, which can be fixed, and we're all working very hard to fix.'
Nationally, food supply chains have been placed under intense stress because of a shortage of around 100,000 HGV drivers - with empty shelves across most UK supermarkets as a result.
They were further damaged after two plants that produce 60 per cent of the UK's CO2 were shut down amid rising gas prices.
CO2 is used for everything from the humane slaughter of chickens and pigs, to putting the fizz in soft drinks and creating packaging that keeps foods fresh.
Tesco chairman John Allan admitted that food prices could rise in the run-up to Christmas
Empty shelves are seen in the meat aisle of a Co-Op supermarket branch in Harpenden
Shelves in a supermarket look sparse yesterday as supply chain issues continue in Northwitch
Despite the government agreeing a deal to restart production at the plants, industry bodies have warned that consumers may still see a hike in food prices, particularly if the cost of CO2 rises.
However, Tesco boss Mr Allan insisted there was no need to panic buy and that Christmas would not be 'terrible'.
He said: 'I don't think the end result will be a horrendous crisis at Christmas. I would hate for people to get the impression that we are going to have a terrible Christmas and they've got to go out and panic buy.'
Yesterday, Tesco revealed it was currently suffering a shortfall of approximately 800 HGV drivers as it urged the Government to ease restrictions on foreign workers to help alleviate the supply chain crisis.
Despite being the UK's largest supermarket chain, and offering new employees a £1,000 bonus since July, Andrew Woolfenden, Tesco's distribution and