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Ford is the latest automaker to announce that it will start making desperately needed ventilators that are crucial for treating the worst symptoms of COVID-19. The automaker announced Monday that it will manufacture ventilators for General Electric’s health care division, which has licensed a “simplified” design that does not need electricity from a Florida ventilator company called Airon — and one that is already approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Ford has already been working with GE to increase production of its own ventilators, and will soon start helping Airon increase the company’s production capacity in Florida. The automaker is already helping make masks and protective hoods for health care workers.
Ford will pay 500 United Auto Workers-represented volunteer employees to build the ventilators at one of the automaker’s components factories in Ypsilanti, Michigan, which is currently shut down due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The company will build the ventilators “around the clock” starting the week of April 20th. Ford says it expects to be able to build 1,500 of them by the end of April, 12,000 by the end of May, and 50,000 by July, eventually reaching a rate of 30,000 per month.
Adrian Price, director of Ford’s global manufacturing core engineering division, said Ford and GE Healthcare believe the unpowered ventilator design is “absolutely robust in terms of its capability.” Perhaps more importantly, Price said it’s a simple design that can be quickly scaled up.
When it comes to protecting the workers who will build the ventilators, Ford says it’s working with the UAW to make sure they’re properly screened and set far enough apart so they don’t risk spreading the novel coronavirus. The company will also use barriers, shields and protective devices as well. Price said the automaker is “also looking at deploying some new technology that can can help us in in the fight on COVID,” but did not go into any further detail. Ford has already lost two employees to COVID-19 in the US, and fellow Detroit automaker Fiat Chrysler has lost four.
Ford joins fellow Detroit automaker General Motors in helping make ventilators, which are expected to be in short supply as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise in the US and around the world. GM announced on Friday that it will start manufacturing more complicated ventilators in April on behalf of Ventec Life Systems, hours before President Trump announced he was invoking the Korean War-era Defense Production Act to force the automaker to help with the shortage. GM plans to eventually make 10,000 powered ventilators per month, but will start with “hundreds” in April, according to Ventec.
Tesla is also examining how to help manufacture ventilators for a company called Medtronic, and has even bought some from China to send to hospitals in the meantime. Earlier on Monday, the rocket-launching arm of Richard Branson’s space company announced it has also developed a device that could help patients who are having trouble breathing due to COVID-19.
In response to the need for ventilators, as well as the economic impact of the pandemic, a number of workers in GE’s aviation division decided to protest cuts the company made on Monday. The union workers called on the company to let them make ventilators instead. GE Healthcare is already a large manufacturer of ventilators.
When asked why GE Healthcare is tapping Ford to make these ventilators instead of its own workers, Tom Westrick, the division’s vice president and chief quality officer, said: “Our decision to select Ford was based specifically on speed, and our ability to increase capacity as fast as we could.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story claimed the GE aviation workers stopped work. The protest happened outside the facility while they were off duty. We regret the error.


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TrendingXbox One | Apple | Gold | Housing market | Keystone | Telus-Mobilicity | REITs | CMHC | BlackBerry | Earnings | Loblaw's Joe Fresh | BCE-Astral hearings | Poll: Do you like the new $5 and $10 bills? | Air Canada | RBC | Samsung Galaxy S4 | Target Canada | ‘Can’t make it to your wedding, I’ll catch your next one’
Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said China will overtake the U.S. to become its largest market, as the iPhone-maker adds more stores and considers debuting new products in the country.
“I believe it will become our first,” Cook said in an interview with state-owned Xinhua News yesterday. No timeframe was given for the prediction. The Cupertino, California-based company had $5.7 billion of sales in China during the quarter ended September. U.S. revenue was about $14.4 billion, based on figures in an Oct. 25 earnings statement.
Cook also met the chairman of China Mobile Ltd. while in the country, as he seeks to boost cooperation with a wireless operator that has 707 million customers and no agreement to sell iPhones. The CEO is making his second visit to the country in less than a year as Apple tries to reverse its shrinking share of the local smartphone market.
Apple intends to open “many more” outlets in China over the next several years, Cook said in the Xinhua interview. The company now has 11 stores in China and Hong Kong.
Cook also said he would also “love” to introduce new products in China first, according to the report. The iPhone 5 was released in China in December, almost three months after the U.S. introduction.
The company’s growth in the world’s most populous nation has been limited by it only working with smaller carriers and competition from domestic phone-makers. Its share of the nation’s smartphone market slipped to sixth from fourth in the third quarter, according to researcher IDC.
Yesterday, Cook met with Xi Guohua, the chairman on China Mobile at the carrier’s headquarters in Beijing. The two discussed “cooperation,” according to a statement from China Mobile, the world’s largest wireless operator by subscribers. It didn’t elaborate.
China Mobile, which accounts for 64 percent of the nation’s mobile users, said last month that it needs to reach agreements on benefit-sharing with Apple before it can begin offering iPhones. The operator also has a homegrown third-generation network that isn’t used by other carriers.
Apple distributes iPhone with the nation’s second- and third-largest carriers: China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. and China Telecom Corp.
A new study shows Canadian business leaders have become more pessimistic about global economic conditions than their U.S. counterparts, despite enjoying a much healthier economy.
A new study has identified Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver among the world's 10 lowest risk markets when it comes to human capital for their skilled and diverse workforces and opportunities for advanced and ongoing education.
With some CEOs so intrinsically tied to the corporate brands they represent, risk management plans should include succession planning and damage control around the continuity of a leader's vision -- and charisma.
Maryse Larouche articulates the role actuaries play in civil litigation proceedings, including work with lawyers, their clients and serving as expert witnesses.
With an increasing number of incidents of organizations losing personal and corporate data, a new strategy, mindset and set of regulations is needed to bring Corporate Canada into a new era of data security.
Pension plans under financial pressure
Sharing the burden of risk is a challenge
Managing it all can be affordable and simple
With Clément Gignac, Chief Economist at Industrial Alliance
With Renée Laflamme, Vice-President of Group Savings and Retirement at Industrial Alliance

domain: news


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If you do, you should know that Joe Lubin, the less famous co-founder of Ethereum Network and lead of ConsenSys, has decided to join a company …
Satoshi Nakamoto might not be very happy right now, as Wall Street and the crypto world were never as closely linked as they are in 2019.
Do you doubt that? If you do, you should know that Joe Lubin, the less famous co-founder of Ethereum Network and lead of ConsenSys, has decided to join a company backed by some Wall Street traders, ErisX.
The story, which was first reported by The Block Crypto, affirms that Lubin has been appointed as one of the board directors of ErisX. During the same occasion, Cris Conde has joined ErisX as an adviser.
ErisX’s CEO, Tom Chippas, which has worked in the Citigroup as the head of quantitative execution before going to the crypto world, affirmed on the official documents that he’s very pleased to welcome the new people to the team and that the company will be very benefited from having in its team so many important and decisive people from the industry.
At the same time, Cliff Lewis was leaving the board of directors. He was responsible for helping to shape the company and Chippas thanked him for the guidance and support in the market.
The Wall Street crypto company has big plans for 2019, as expected for a company that gets Joe Lubin as part of its board. The company intends to launch a derivatives market tied to the crypto industry this year. The market will start to be available during the second quarter of the year.
Last year, the company confirmed that it wanted to support futures trading tied to ETH, BTC, BCH and LTC in the first half of 2019. However, at the moment it is not entirely clear if the regulators will allow the company to move forward with its plans.
Surely, the company won’t lack the financial resources to do it. It is backed by many Wall Street companies like Susquehanna International Group, Virtu Financial, DRW and XR Trading. At its funding round, the company was able to raise over $27 million USD.
During the announcement of his new position, Lubin has confirmed that he will use his experience with decentralized tech and digital assets to democratize the access for the market and that the year of 2019 will represent a huge breakthrough that will help the industry.
Making an appearance at the 2018 iteration of Devcon4, Consensys CEO Joe Lubin went on record to say that the “next killer Ethereum app” was …
Making an appearance at the 2018 iteration of Devcon4, Consensys CEO Joe Lubin went on record to say that the “next killer Ethereum app” was already in the market.
For those who may not know, Devcon is an annual gathering of ETH developers where the industry’s creme’ de la creme’ comes together to push forth ideas that help in the evolution of the Ethereum ecosystem. The latest edition of the conference was held in Prague and it saw some of the biggest crypto names talk about the future of this burgeoning industry.
Snippets From The Conference
As was to be expected, one of the main draws of the three-day conference was ETH co-founder Joe Lubin, who in his keynote address highlighted some of the core advancements that the Ether dev team had made over the course of the past 8-12 months.
In this regard, the folks over at Consensys recently published a blog post which noted:
“Reverberations from Lubin’s address are still being felt in early 2019 as Ethereum 2.0 comes into view and teams, businesses, and individuals alike prepare for the next phase of development”
Also, during his speech, Lubin remained highly optimistic about the next-generation of dApps to come out of the ETH ecosystem.
For starters, Joe Lubin pointed to a robust new suite of developer tools and protocols that had been built over the past two years (that would give devs all over the world the power to create “the next big thing” for the crypto ecosystem.)
More On The Matter
Another point that Lubin highlighted during the course of the conference was that the altcoin industry was facing “more hurdles than ever before”.
Not only that, but he also said that many pundits who have been criticizing the market for failing to create new apps just didn’t understand that “cryptocurrencies themselves were the latest killer app(s)” to come out from within this niche’ space.
On the matter, Lubin also stated that Ethereum’s second iteration is now working to make the idea of ‘Web3’ a reality. If successful, Web3 will be able to help in the “enabling, creation, issuance, distribution, exchange, and management of a wide array of different crypto assets” in a seamless, hassle-free manner.
In rounding out his talk, Lubin stated that Ethereum’s native ecosystem is poised to transform the “global economic, social, and political engine” the same way the dotcom revolution did all through the ’90s and early 2000s.
During his speech at the 2018 Devcon4, Joe Lubin, the CEO of ConsenSys and co-founder of Ethereum, addressed the current state of the Ethereum …
During his speech at the 2018 Devcon4, Joe Lubin, the CEO of ConsenSys and co-founder of Ethereum, addressed the current state of the Ethereum ecosystem and said that the next killer app is much closer than you might think.
Lubin’s Devcon Address Brought New Hope to Developers
Ethereum Devcon, the annual Ethereum developer meeting, has been a congregating spot for the industry’s brightest and most forward ideas since its conception. The conference’s fourth iteration, held in Prague, Czech Republic, saw some of the biggest names in the game talking about the industry’s future.
One of them was Joe Lubin, the current CEO of ConsenSys and co-founder of Ethereum. In his speech, Lubin reviewed the state of the Ethereum ecosystem and brought forward some of the accomplishments made by its developers.
ConsenSys highlighted Lubin’s take in a Medium post on Jan. 9th, saying that its importance grew as ConsenSys prepares for the launch of a more lithe ConsenSys 2.0.
“Reverberations from Lubin’s address are still being felt in early 2019 as Ethereum 2.0 comes into view and teams, businesses, and individuals alike prepare for the next phase of development,” the company wrote in a blog post.
Lubin was optimistic about the next generation of decentralized applications, saying that the next killer app will be a killer ecosystem. He pointed out that the robust suite of developer tools and protocols built over the past two years have provided developers with everything they need to build “the next big thing” in tech.
Ethereum Is The New Killer App
Lubin’s words gained more weight as the industry entered the new year facing even more hurdles than before. He said that the crypto space has been criticized by pundits for “being all about speculation” and failing to provide any killer apps.
Arguing that cryptocurrencies themselves were the latest killer app(s) to has come out of the space, the same way the Internet drove the market almost two decades ago. The new killer app is already in the works and is bound to change the world in ways we have never seen.
Ethereum’s second iteration has brought the idea of Web3 closer than ever, enabling the creation, issuance, distribution, exchange, and management of “so many different kinds of crypto assets,” Lubin said.
He said that Ethereum is the killer ecosystem the industry has been waiting for, calling it an ecosystem that will transform global economic, social, and political systems.
While one could argue that Lubin’s praise for Ethereum is nothing short of biased, decentralization is the next killer app—one that’s meant to stay. Just as the Internet experienced its ups and downs in the early 2000s, the blockchain industry is going through the cycle, ready to change the world as we know it.
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And there appears to be a line of small-time investors that dabbled in cryptocurrencies for the first time in 2018, only to get financially burned.
“There was an element of a bubble involved. But while there’s been a big drop in price, there have been before too. It’s cyclical and interest is still there.”
This year, analysts say, will go some way to sorting things out.
But the last few months in Ireland have not been particularly promising. Towards the back of 2018, the country’s highest-profile project – Ireland’s ‘Crypto Coast’ initiative – petered out for a variety of reasons, according to one of its founders, Reuben Godfrey.
Meanwhile, a succession of court cases and high-profile hacks placed Bitcoin and Ethereum in a negative light, associating them with the proceeds of crime rather than efficient alternative payments.
And there appears to be a line of small-time investors that dabbled in cryptocurrencies for the first time in 2018, only to get financially burned.
“People got overly excited and now they’re overly depressed,” says John Gleeson, a Dublin-based Bitcoin trader and writer. “It’s dropped a lot, but it’s the fourth time it’s dropped 85pc or more. A lot of what happened is related to the false promises of other alt-coins that have come to light. But if you bought and held Bitcoin for any longer period than two years ago, you’re actually up.”
How many people actually own or have traded Bitcoin? Some industry practitioners estimate it at around 100,000. “We’ve dealt with around 40,000 ourselves in Ireland,” says Nagle, whose firm helps people to buy and sell Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple and other cryptocurrencies. “But there are lots of different services out there.”
One difficulty in estimating the size of the Irish crypto market is a policy of non-engagement by banks and conventional equity-trading firms.
None of the major financial companies that people usually go to will deal in crypto-assets such as Bitcoin.
“Goodbody does not advise on or invest in cryptocurrencies on behalf of clients and does not have any plans at this time to offer access to that asset class,” a spokesman for the brokerage told the Irish Independent.
Other main brokers here have a similar rule. This doesn’t mean that Irish investors using such companies don’t invest in cryptocurrencies. Within mainstream financial firms, some funds have allocated percentages for what are called ‘alternative strategies’. This sometimes includes crypto-related enterprises or funds, although brokerages here say that they don’t provide advice on such entities.
The biggest problem in tackling crypto assets, bankers say, is its unregulated status. The rules aren’t transparent or reliable enough, nor is there an administrative chain of responsibility that regulated investors can live with.
In the US, some institutions are moving to address this. The owner of the New York Stock Exchange, Intercontinental, is launching a new crypto-focused exchange called Bakkt to let people buy, sell and spend digital currencies like Bitcoin. Its big draw is that it promises to be regulated, giving a degree of assurance to those interested in cryptocurrencies. (It is still waiting for approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission). Because of this, and the bluechip array of investors it has assembled (including Microsoft), it has just raised $182m in funding.
But even if cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin become more acceptable as traded commodities, they still face the enduring problem that cryptocurrencies have had since the beginning: when, if ever, will ordinary people feel they can use the technology?
From the effort to setting up a Bitcoin wallet to finding somewhere you can actually spend it, cryptocurrencies are simply out of bounds for the vast majority of ordinary people.
“We have a cryptocurrency ATM in Cork and are going to put one in Galway and then hopefully in Dublin,” says Bitcove.ie founder Nagle.
The idea is to let people exchange euros for Bitcoin and vice versa. But even if this works, it’s not clear that people have many options to use cryptocurrencies for the kinds of activities they associate with conventional money.
While retailers such as Microsoft’s Store and Overstock.com have accepted Bitcoin-compatible payment systems (such as Coinbase) for a while, most online retailers do not. For example, two-thirds of Irish shoppers use Amazon, but the web giant doesn’t take cryptocurrencies.
In some respects, things have actually gotten worse. The influential online payment firm Stripe recently stopped processing Bitcoin payments because it took too long for transactions to go through.
The lack of regularised commerce that involves cryptocurrencies places an inordinate spotlight on shadier activities where crypto is front and centre. So when the Luas.ie website was hijacked earlier this month, most people learned the hackers were seeking a Bitcoin to unlock it.
Fraud, too, is a problem. Because so much activity around crypto currencies is unregulated, scams and flim-flam operations are common. Last year, US authorities undertook hundreds of formal crypto fraud investigations with 50 cases taken.
The high-profile digital coin BitConnect went bust in dramatic fashion last year following a cease-and-desist order from US regulators. The enterprise, which had been valued at over €2bn, is being pursued for losses of almost €1bn. Market analysts say that much of this was invested by ordinary people, lured by the promise of getting rich quick on a rising crypto market.
But it’s not all doom. Among the scepticism and doubt lies enthusiasm for the most important enabling technology behind cryptocurrencies – blockchain.
Here, business looks brisk. Dozens of Irish institutions have committees or steering groups committed to integrating more blockchain principles into their own systems. Banks such as AIB, Ulster Bank and Permanent TSB are trialling blockchain-based payments through schemes like Project Greenpay.
“This is a big year for adoption of the technology in real life applications,” says Lory Kehoe, managing director of ConsenSys’s Ireland office. ConsenSys is a blockchain company set up by one of Ethereum’s co-founders, Joe Lubin.
“A number of companies are bringing their solutions into the world for consumers to use,” says Kehoe.
That includes platforms such as Komgo, a new blockchain platform to facilitate oil and gas deals that has been launched by large multinationals such as Shell, Citi, BNP Paribas and ABN Amro. The venture will “seek to digitalise the trade and commodities finance sector through a blockchain-based open platform,” the consortium said in a statement.
“This is real,” says Kehoe. “The Government and public sector are getting involved too. There are now three projects that the European Commission are working on and Ireland is a part of this. The aim is to try and create standards sooner rather than later, so that by summertime there will be hundreds of companies that are part of it. We will have a functioning legal entity as to how to drive forward with the technology.”
Despite the upbeat assessment, ConsenSys itself has not been immune from industry pressures. The firm recently announced that it was letting 13pc of its staff go in a ‘streamlining’ exercise.
Kehoe says that this does not extend to the recently opened Irish office, which currently employs 40 and is still hiring.
“There’ll soon be significant announcements from ConsenSys in Ireland as to projects with Irish companies,” he says. “We’re still growing in Ireland. We’re a really strong team here. So the answer to whether we’re downsizing here is no.”
Kehoe isn’t alone. Blockchain, as opposed to straight cryptocurrencies, has a growing number of advocates from ‘respectable’ business circles.
“With the amount of the institutional money entering the space and increasing involvement and adoption by such top-level financiers, it’s inevitable that in 2019, blockchain, the underlying technology behind cryptocurrencies will come to the fore,” says Angel Versetti, CEO of Ambrosus, a blockchain-powered Internet of Things network for food and pharmaceutical supply chains.
Some services are already there, others say. “In growing numbers, consumers are trying the Rize app by livestreaming company YouNow, downloading the Brave web browser, or utilising events ticketing service BlockParty which runs concerts and music festivals through their blockchain-based application,” says David Wachsman, founder and CEO of Wachsman, a services firm with clients such as Coindesk and Indiegogo.
“The recent sharp plunge in crypto markets … has had a knock-on effect and has created a PR challenge for the entirety of blockchain technology. This is a short-term problem, as the actual technology continues to mature and advance with real-use cases.”
Wachsman’s view that cryptocurrencies are set to be around for the long-term is echoed by others in blockchain businesses.
“We will continue to see expansion in this area,” says Brent Jaciow of Utopia Music, a blockchain-powered music tracking and attribution platform. “Some of the primary functions include enabling fractional ownership of assets, allowing the tokenisation of assets and ideas formerly impossible with traditional capital markets.”
Local Irish proponents haven’t lost heart in cryptocurrencies.
“For me, Bitcoin has never been stronger,” says Gleeson. “The network is still extremely secure and has never been hacked. We’re in a cycle.”
Earlier this month, ConsenSys founder and “cryptobillionaire” Joe Lubin circulated a letter to company employees stating ConsenSys would be getting more serious:
“In ConsenSys 1.0, we built a laboratory instrumented to prove the moon existed, using complex engineering and math and creative philosophical arguments…Now we need a streamlined rocket ship to get us there, since the actual proof, ultimately, is in the landing.”
ConsenSys now incubates about 50 startups or “spokes” (as the company calls them, employing the language of “decentralization”) in 29 countries and has largely been engaged in exploring the potential of Ethereum, a blockchain network funded by a cryptocurrency called “ether” which seeks to become an autonomous “world computer” controlled by no one.
So far, most of the spokes have failed to produce viable products or significant revenue streams. Funding has come mostly from the project-specific cryptographic tokens issued on the network to raise money from investors, or from Lubin himself.
Lubin is one of several co-founders of the Ethereum, all of whom vested themselves with significant amounts of tokens before they were publicly-sold and later became multi-millionaires.
ConsenSys got more specific regarding the recent contraction about a week after the Lubin letter when it announced in another letter that about 13% of the workforce could be let go:
“…(W)e are streamlining several parts of the business including ConsenSys Solutions, spokes, and hub services, leading to a 13% reduction of mesh members.”
Now an unnamed source to The Verge says cuts could go much deeper at the company:
“They’re using the 13 percent announcement I would imagine to give comfort to potential investors about the small-scale downsizing.”
The source cited here appears to be from one of the “spokes” facing a cut. The Verge was reportedly provided with a term sheet regarding a plan of “accelerated spin-offs” which would see underperforming spokes, according to outlet, severed, “…without the financial support they’d need to find outside funding and succeed”:
“They’re asking us to take a one million dollar valuation for less than a month and a half of runway.”
The Verge says it confirmed the rumours of hasty cuts on a private Slack channel used by ConsenSys employees:
“Those spokes being shut down now without option to get outside funding (i.e., CS no longer wants to invest) get the 2-month severance package and COBRA.”
Another source described an end to halcyon days at ConsenSys of, paraphrased by The Verge as chart terraced by, “…buying day-of Emirates business-class tickets (and)…expensing $14,000 in two weeks.”
ConsenSys offices are described as ’empty’ now by another source, who also called the methods of the firings ‘shady’:
“The office is empty, people are only finding out who’s getting fired because you try to to send Slack messages and they’re not there. ConsenSys won’t create a list [of the projects that are being spun out] or send out anything in writing because they’re afraid of everything going to the press.”
“It was so shady…They were firing people they had hired two weeks beforehand. They were firing people who were pregnant. Whose wives were pregnant.”
But Brian Patrick Eha, whose outlet Breakermag has received some funding from Lubin, says the 50% layoff figures may be exaggerated:
“A report on Thursday that blockchain venture studio ConsenSys was kicking underperforming projects to the curb and preparing to axe half of its workforce may have been overblown. The report raised alarm and sowed consternation among ConsenSys employees, many of whom were aware of the restructuring but had received no indication it would be so severe.”


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For Quikr, FY17 has been a year where its inorganic strategy has begun bearing fruit significantly with the businesses of the acquired startups now forming well over 55% of Quikr’s overall revenues.
“The manner in which GST law is worded, disparity has been created in the manner of doing business for housekeeping services, online vs. offline,” the companies wrote.
Through this partnership, customers can sell their old furniture on Quikr’s consumer platform Quikr Bazaar in exchange for gift cards that can be redeemed on Pepperfry.
Quikr has raised about $346 million from Kinnevik AB, Tiger Global, Steadview Capital Management, Matrix Partners India and others since inception in 2008.
These services now attract goods and services tax at 18%, making them uncompetitive in comparison with neighbourhood rivals who typically get jobs based on word of mouth.
Quikr has seen a 154% growth in selling of refurbished smartphones than those manufactured in 2015 while Apple and Samsung led the most popular refurbished smartphone brands on the platform.
Sachin Bansal, co-founder of Flipkart, will be the founding president and chairman of the lobby group and is likely to appoint a former IAS officer as CEO.
Smaller companies acquired over the past two years now account for 55% of the classifieds portal's revenue
The combined entity will create by far the largest marketplace in the aspiring labour space in India,“ said Blagsvedt, CEO at Babajob.
Babajob claims to have over 7 million registered job-seekers and approximately 5,00,000 employers scouting for talent.
QuikrJobs is the portal's blue-collar offering and contributes 75% of the revenue share in this vertical.
Quikr did not disclose the financial terms of the deal but the acquisition has been made at over $10 million in a largely stock-based deal with a 10% cash component
eBay has a significant stake in Snapdeal. And there’s Quikr. A company that became a unicorn in the heady days of 2015, with an unusual genesis in Mumbai and that unusual name when it was born - Kijiji.
The search for the big Bollywood breakthrough led them to find a newly launched app called Dazzlr.
It is unclear if the three co-founders are headed to separate companies or are looking at a new business opportunity together.
Quikr's total revenue rose by 44% to Rs 95 crore from Rs 53 crore, after it reported Rs 53 crore from other income. Its standalone revenue jumped to Rs 41 Cr in 2016 from Rs 25 Cr in 2015
Quikr said it will integrate Grabhouse’s products and technology stack into QuikrHomes and will also explore synergies with its other verticals


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AOL Testing New Search Engine
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As a result of last week's hiring of Inktomi Corp. to provide its search functions, America Online, Inc. is testing a new search engine that may replace keyword searches with more comprehensive functions throughout AOL and its properties.
According to published reports, the two firms are working together to update AOL's search after the portal terminated its previous search partner, Excite. The two companies are now competitors in the portal sector because of @Home's recent acquisition of Excite and AOL's acquisition of Netscape Communications.
Called AOL Search, the service is scheduled to launch in the fall, and will combine AOL content with content found throughout the Web, as well as have the ability to search photos and multimedia elements and conduct queries in foreign languages, the companies stated.
The new service will be available on several brands including AOL, AOL.COM, Compuserve and AOL's international properties.


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Every marijuana stock has a different strategy. For Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB) stock, the strategy is simple. Grow a lot of pot, then find cheap ways to promote it.
This strategy has led to something very unusual for a marijuana stock last fall — a profit. It was a small profit, and it was short-lived, but it means that (for now) the company has an honest-to-goodness price to earnings ratio, 36. As losses in 2019 continue flowing, that will disappear … but it’s something few players have ever had.
That’s because legal pot, a market that opened last year in Canada and is now opening state-by-state in the U.S. (Illinois joined the parade last week), is a fast-growing market that requires investment to serve.
Just like tech stocks, marijuana companies that are serious about becoming market leaders must raise money, take losses and look over the horizon to profit. Aurora is no exception.
The Grow Light is On for ACB Stock
Aurora expects to grow 662,000 kilograms of Canadian marijuana next year and has the capacity to grow a cool million. That’s going to be the biggest harvest in the industry. It’s important because other companies, like Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY), are reporting shortages of product to sell.
Aurora’s latest loss, C$160 million or 16 Canadian cents per share (the Looney now trades at 74 cents), was blamed on the cost of convertible debentures used to fund its growth. As the stock’s price increases, the cost of those debentures also increases. So it is that good news became bad news.
But there was real good news to report.
- Aurora is building a logistics hub called Aurora Polaris to handle its product.
- Aurora has bought a chemical laboratory, an industrial hemp producer and a medical marijuana brand.
- Aurora made a tender to produce medical marijuana in Germany and began exports of CBD oil.
- Aurora expanded into the United Kingdom and Portugal.
- Aurora brought in Nelson Peltz as a strategic advisor, working on global expansion.
Despite the good news, the bigger-than-expected loss sent the stock down, although the whole group is losing ground right now as Trump’s trade war against everyone escalates.
What’s New for Aurora?
Since the earnings were reported, Aurora has announced a contract to supply medical marijuana to Luxembourg.
Aurora’s latest headline is a marketing agreement with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a fast-growing fighting and entertainment organization popular with millennials, covering CBD oil. This is claimed to promote recovery in preference to painkillers.
There is little medical evidence to back up the claim, but the UFC is a global brand. CBD is the tip of the spear for marijuana products. Since it lacks the active ingredient that gets people high it’s legal in many places that still frown on pot.
The U.S. Market
Aurora stock is hampered by a perceived lack of access to the U.S. market, deemed essential by speculators. Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC), thanks to its alliance with Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ), is considered the leader there.
Another fact keeping the stock down is a shelf prospectus to issue up to $750 million more stock over the next two years. Some analysts call this bullish, because Aurora can pounce quickly on opportunity without going back to the markets. Others call this bearish since it means the stock can be watered down.
The Bottom Line
Marijuana is a product with multiple markets. There is industrial hemp, medical and recreational pot, as well as CBD oil and other derivatives.
There’s an old military adage that you “get there firstest with the mostest,” which sums up Aurora. Getting product to the market, and promoting the market where it might exist next, are its strategy.
I don’t care for pot stocks, but if you do, this is one worth considering.
Dana Blankenhorn is a financial and technology journalist. He is the author of the mystery thriller, The Reluctant Detective Finds Her Family, available at the Amazon Kindle store. Write him at email@example.com or follow him on Twitter at @danablankenhorn. As of this writing he owned no shares in companies mentioned in this article.


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The Ebola outbreak may have eased, but the momentum it created for E-Mist Innovations continues.
The Fort Worth company had just begun selling its electrostatically charged sprayer guns, designed to disinfect surfaces, when the nation’s first Ebola case was confirmed in Dallas in October and the company’s product was used by cleaning crews at the victim’s apartment.
Images of the sprayer gun made national news, and orders for the company’s Touch Point Healthy Surface Management System started pouring in. By the end of the year, the company had sold or licensed more than 500 of the systems, said George Robertson, chief executive officer. This year, E-Mist expects to ship at least 2,500.
Overseas, the company has solidified deals with the governments of Nigeria, Ghana and Guinea, with each committing to buy 500 units. The West African nations connected with E-Mist after the product was featured on CNN.
At home, the company has sold about 50 units to the Creative Solutions in Healthcare nursing home chain, based in Fort Worth, Robertson said. It’s pursuing a number of markets including hospitals, EMS crews, school districts, day care centers and fitness centers. It has even made a presentation to American Airlines, which is considering using the sprayer to clean airplanes.
“We want to strike while the iron is hot,” Robertson said. He said that while the Ebola crisis peaked and slowed quickly, “it gave us recognition.”
The company, launched with help from the Tech Fort Worth business incubator and funding from the Cowtown Angels investors group, has been adding to its sales team and now has 12 employees. The products are being made by QFC Plastics in Arlington, which is expanding production capacity.
In the U.S., the company licenses the devices to users for a monthly fee, which includes maintenance and upgrades.
Fort Worth staffers say they’ve found a master developer to help them with several vacant parcels along Lancaster Avenue on the south end of downtown that were left vacant when Interstate 30 was moved.
Jay Chapa, director of the city’s Housing and Economic Development Department, said the name of the developer and their plans will be presented to the City Council on Feb. 3. The announcement comes about a year after the staff began its search.
The property is on the north side of Lancaster, from Commerce to Lamar streets. The city has owned the land for a decade.
Chapa declined to name the developer but last week told a city board that development will likely happen from west to east. The larger tracts are on the west end of Lancaster, he said.
The city and the developer are working out sticking points, including how to hook into Oncor’s electric delivery system downtown.
The master developer will design, build, finance and manage the project. Whatever is built will have to fit in with the corridor’s historic features, a 130-unit apartment project that will begin soon, and planned changes at the Water Gardens.
The city has been revisiting a 2000 Water Gardens design plan that calls for opening access to the Water Gardens from Lancaster. Downtown Fort Worth Inc.’s strategic action plan also calls for better using the Water Gardens property.
Improved landscaping for the Lancaster Avenue median is also in the works.
“At some point in time, Lancaster is going to truly be a part of our downtown,” said Councilman Jungus Jordan, who chairs the Lancaster Avenue Tax Increment Finance District. The TIF board last week heard preliminary reports on the Water Gardens and the landscaping plans.
“We’ve built a walkable community that no one is walking,” he said.


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This morning Trina Solar announced that Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Teresa Tan has resigned, effective July 15. Ms. Xu Ying (Merry Xu), currently a vice president and strategy assistant will serve as interim CFO until a replacement can be found.
While the resignation of a senior financial executive at a leading Chinese solar maker for personal reasons is cause for further investigation, a preliminary review of financial filings found little evidence of trouble at Trina, which posted solid Q1 2016 results and recently announced the acquisition of a Dutch PV cell factory.
Tan joined Trina Solar as CFO in 2013, and Trina Chairman and CEO Jifan Gao issued a brief statement which thanked her for her service but offered no additional clues to any circumstances in the company which may have prompted this move.
There is the possibility that this resignation is an indication of an internal power shift in Trina Solar, which is the worlds largest PV maker with 5.74 GW shipped in 2015.
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Imports of beef to the UK were up 870 tonnes in April, compared with the same month in 2014, to 21,200 tonnes, according to the ADHB.
After remaining stable in March, imports from Ireland were once again higher, compared to the year earlier up 4%.
However, the ADHB says despite this the overall increase, product coming into the UK was at its lowest level in the year so far.
It also says the increase in imports from some other EU member states, particularly the Netherlands and Poland, also slowed down despite the favourable exchange rate.
Shipments from outside the EU are led by Australia and volumes were 19% back on the year.
It says this is further evidence of the effect that the exchange rate is having on prices, while unchanged in sterling terms, the average unit value in euro terms increased by 12% on the year.
Consequently, it says the UK market remains very attractive to exporters.
UK exports of beef in April stood at 6,780 tonnes, down 12%, compared to April 2014.
Shipments to Ireland were up by over a third, although the ADHB says some of this product may have been sent to Ireland for further processing and then re-exported.
In Britain, reported cattle prices from the AHDB for GB R4L grade steers were averaging at Stg 339.8p/kg (equivalent to 461.98c/kg) for the week ended May 30. Trade was reported as relatively good with strips and rumps performing best.
Bord Bia says some tightening in supplies was also reported in the UK while it is hoped that the good weather will help the trade.


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Morgan Stanley’s strategy team acknowledges the current downturn will be worse than the global financial crisis. But, say analysts Andrew Sheets, Serena Tang and Naomi Poole in a new research note published on Wednesday, output will recover twice as fast due to the unprecedented monetary and fiscal response, and also because the consumer and financial system was less leveraged heading into the downturn.
“Markets lead the economy,” they say. “If a deep plunge in activity will mean the second quarter of 2020 marks the lows for activity, we think it’s very reasonable that the low for equity/credit prices happens before that. While anything could happen, that’s been true more often than not.”
That said, credit and equity valuations were unusually expensive going into this recession so they don’t expects stocks to revisit the highs, or credit spreads to be as tight, anytime soon. They do think the valuation story now in credit is better and they also recommend selling volatility.
Their biggest worry this year is a rush to reopen the economies. “In some ways, asking for social distancing in February and March was ‘easy;’ the virus was new and scary, it was expanding rapidly and the weather in the Northern Hemisphere was (generally) poor,” they say. “Asking people to preserve those gains via social distancing in May when new cases are declining, economic pain is mounting and the weather is better will be a harder challenge.”
Their biggest worry for 2021 are calls for austerity, as happened after the financial crisis.
With total confirmed COVID-19 cases on the precipice of the 2 million mark, data continues to point to slowing growth. New-virus cases worldwide grew 3.1%, including 4.4% growth in the U.S., according to data compiled by Deutsche Bank. The worldwide growth rate was 6.1% and the U.S. growth rate was 7.6% five days ago.
U.S. retail sales for March will headline what is expected to be a grim set of economic reports, which also will include industrial production and the Federal Reserve Board’s Beige Book of economic anecdotes.
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NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, have been stirring the crypto-financial sphere for several months. If they already have many followers, what opportunities can they offer to companies? Deciphering with Karl Toussaint du Wast, wealth management advisor and crypto-currency specialist.
They are sold by millions and are turning the world of virtual finance and collectors upside down. The NFT (Non Fungible Token) are currently experiencing a strong hype. The reason? They allow to guarantee the unique digital property of a physical object or a digital file (text, photo, video, music...). Creating NFTs is also relatively simple, inexpensive and can pay off big. Like cryptocurrencies, these digital tokens are based on the blockchain. In particular, they are popular in the art, collectible and video game industries. "There are two ways to approach this ultra-volatile asset class: as an investment or as a way to authenticate a digital work," summarizes Karl Toussaint du Wast, co-founder of Netinvestissement. However, this is essentially limited to insiders and few companies have already taken the step.
A risky investment
"Investing in NFTs is a very marginal phenomenon for companies," explains Karl Toussaint du Wast. And for good reason: this type of investment remains quite risky. "We clearly do not advise CFOs to invest part of the corporate cash in this asset class, which is very risky because it is uncontrolled and unregulated," explains the cryptocurrency specialist. Especially since many experts fear a speculative bubble around these digital tokens. "It is best to start by taking an interest in the main crypto-currencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum or Cardano, to become familiar with this type of investment," advises Karl Toussaint of Wast, while stressing the importance of measuring, upstream, the risk related to crypto-currencies.
On the other hand, publishing and marketing NFTs could be of interest to companies, especially those selling consumer goods requiring proof of conformity. "For example, a luxury group could sell NFTs associated with a handbag in order to guarantee its authenticity and tracking," says Karl Toussaint du Wast.
A still unclear tax system
As for taxation, the regime associated with this asset class is rather vague and the government has not yet expressed itself precisely on the subject. "For companies, capital gains related to the transfer of non-fungible tokens are, a priori, the same regime as that of capital gains on securities, since cryptocurrencies have been associated with this regime for a year," says Karl Toussaint du Wast. According to the expert, there should be a refinement of the tax rules during 2022. "But this should not change before the elections in May 2022," he believes. Still emerging, the NFT market has not finished creating awareness.


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SK Telecom and Deutsche Telekom have forged a technology development partnership covering services, IoT and development of 5G standards.
The partnership, announced Tuesday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, aims to seek new growth opportunities in Asian and European markets.
Under the partnership, SK Telecom and Deutsche Telekom will work together to develop standardized technologies including SDDC (Software-Defined Data Center) and 5G enabling technologies.
In the area of 5G R&D, the two companies will pay particular attention to key 5G technologies such as network slicing and mobile edge computing.
SK Telecom and Deutsche Telekom will also make joint efforts to expand markets for their solutions and products and services.
The two companies will conduct a feasibility test covering the potential commercialization of a cloud streaming product provided by SK Telecom’s subsidiary Entrix. They aim to launch the product in Deutsche Telekom’s footprint by the second quarter of 2016.
The move will establish a beachhead for the South Korean operator to expand sales of the product in Europe, the companies said in a joint statement.
Moreover, the two companies have agreed to introduce SK Telecom’s pico beamer to Germany in the second quarter of 2016 and then to other countries in Europe. They also agreed to launch Deutsche Telekom’s in-car Wi-Fi solution in the Korean market.
SK Telecom and Deutsche Telekom will also cooperate in the international roaming service area, including quality improvements, signature of Service Level Agreements and pursuit of LTE based roaming services.
They will combine their efforts to investigate smart city solutions, collaborating in IoT to develop innovative services in an urban setting.


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OnePlus 9, OnePlus 9 Pro Android 12 Developer Preview Build Re-Released
OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro are getting a new version of Android 12 Developer Preview (DP) after the initial release bricked some users’ phones. OnePlus is among the few companies that are running Android 12 beta programmes following the announcement of the new OS at Google I/O last month. OnePlus was also among the first to release the Android 11 Developer Preview after it was announced for Pixel phones. OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro are the latest flagship offerings from the company and currently the only two phones to get Android 12 beta.
OnePlus shared through a post on the OnePlus 9 series forum that the new version of Android 12 DP is a hotfix build that addresses and fixes the issues caused by the previous build. The company started rolling out the first beta build of Android 12 for OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro early in May but many users who tried it complained of their phones getting bricked, making them unusable with the new OS. OnePlus then pulled the beta build and has now supposedly fixed the issue with the new release.
“After careful testing and verification, we’re releasing a new Developer Preview for the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro. This new version is a hotfix build that fixes the issue that caused the original version to get stuck during Factory Reset Protection (FRP) check,” the post reads.
The new build, like all beta builds, comes with some known issues and OnePlus 9 series users who opt to use the Android 12 beta should note that all data will be cleared when they flash this build. Currently, video calling is not working and neither is fingerprint or face unlock. Some apps may not function properly, camera might crash when using HDR mode, and there may be system stability issues.
Those who wish to install and try out the Android 12 beta on their OnePlus 9 or OnePlus 9 Pro should do so at their own risk. There is a chance of phones bricking so users are advised to read the instructions carefully and backup their important data.
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Eason bookstore has announced its intention to sell its store premises on Patrick Street in Cork to Sports Direct for €6.5 million with a relocation following to a new fit for purpose building in the city centre.
In a statement MD Liam Hanley said that Eason Retail PLC "has given a commitment that staff should not be impacted by the transition."
The company is currently looking for a new location in the city centre. The store in Patrick Street will continue to operate until next year.
Liam Hanley MD for the Eason group says that the sale of the Patrick Street property provides Eason with an opportunity to move to a new fit for purpose premises in Cork city centre. The store he says will meet the future needs of their customers and employees.
"The decision is consistent with our strategy for growth of the business and responds to changing consumer behaviours in what is a very competitive and dynamic book market."
Eason has been in occupation and ownership in Patrick Street since acquiring the building from the ESB in 1986. The Patrick Street store occupies 22,000 square feet. The company has five stores in Cork.
It is understood that Eason Retail plc had just under twenty years left on its lease of the property but negotiated an exit with Eason Holdings PLC’s as part of the sale of the Patrick Street premises to Sports Direct.
Eason is Ireland’s leading retailer of books, magazines and stationery & much more. Eason has over 60 outlets throughout the island of Ireland, with Eason on O’Connell Street being the flagship store.


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At a three-day NYC anniversary celebration, Marantz showcased why the Masimo Consumer brand's name has become legendary among audio aficionados over seven decades.
Jul 18, 2023
Audeze has introduced its new Ultraviolet Edition Maxwell Headphones in partnership with Microsoft to support the giant tech company’s Designed for Xbox Summer product collection. The Calif.-based audio company says its partnership with Microso
Jul 14, 2023
Product Briefs Amplifiers/ReceiversAudio/VideoDesignHeadphonesHome TheaterMarketsMediaPress ReleasesSpeakers/SubwoofersWireless AV
Focal Powered by Naim continues its expansion in North America with personalized experiences in modern spaces and listening rooms with these two audio brands. Focal Powered by Naim opened its eighth space in the United States in Timonium (MD) and nin
Jul 13, 2023
Offices, meeting rooms and classrooms should allow us to focus, but kitchens and spare bedrooms might not have been designed with work in mind.
Jul 07, 2023
Atlantic Technology has announced the appointment of Peter Wellikoff to the newly created position of managing director. Wellikoff’s appointment was made official on July 1, 2023. A seasoned industry veteran, Peter Wellikoff has successfully le
Jul 05, 2023
Ultimate Ears (UE Pro), a division of Logitech, has announced its new state-of-the-art UE PREMIER in-ear monitors (IEMs). The custom in-ear monitor company says that its new IEMs provide end users a rated frequency range of 5Hz to 40kHz, and Ultimate


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BREAKING NEWS!!!! It is our distinct pleasure to announce that the group, Konpa Kreyol is joining the Kompa In Vegas..
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IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE: K-DANS & NICKENSON PRUD’HOMME, Orlando, FL ORLANDO, FL – Friday, February 20, 2015 announces due to circumstances..


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On Friday, Blizzard confirmed that Overwatch, its successful team-based multiplayer game, will soon be shutting down its servers. The series' next installment, Overwatch 2, will be released shortly after.
With Overwatch 2's Oct. 4 release date approaching, features of the game have steadily been released and speculated, including a new playable hero system, uses of battle passes, and new characters. The news of Overwatch 1's servers shutting down follows an official discussion of the specifics of Overwatch 2's release.
Overwatch 1 servers will shut down on Oct. 2 ahead of Overwatch 2's release, according to a Eurogamer interview with Jon Spector. Overwatch 1 players will have the option to pre-download Overwatch 2, which is free-to-play, ahead of its release. Blizzard has also confirmed that a pre-launch checklist is in the works to assist players for a smooth transition between the two.
When Do Overwatch 1 Servers Shut Down?
Additionally, on Tuesday, Blizzard launched Overwatch 1's credits last chance campaign to provide an opportunity for players to purchase previous seasonal unlocks. While credits from Overwatch 1 will rollover to Overwatch 2, the last chance to use them will coincide with the Oct. 2 shutdown.
Similar to Overwatch 1, Overwatch 2 will be available to play on PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PC. Blizzard has also announced that cross-platform progression will be available by merging respective Overwatch 2 accounts.


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Realme C12 pops-up on GeekBench with a Helio P35 chipset and 3GB of RAM
A couple of days ago, we heard about a new addition to the Realme C line – the C12. The RMX2189, as its official name goes, has already been through major certification authorities in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and China. In a new development, the unannounced handset was also spotted on GeekBench. That listing includes info on a MediaTek Helio P35 chipset, along with 3GB of RAM and an Android 10 OS.
The EMX2189 identifier is also mentioned on the BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) website, which means that we can add India to the aforementioned list of countries, definitely getting the Realme C12. Other leaked detailed about new model, expected to slot right between the existing Realme C11 and C15, include 4G-only connectivity, an HD+, waterdrop-notch display, just like on its bigger sibling and a 3.5mm jack. The C11 is expected to pack a massive 6,000 mAh battery, only charging at a basic 10W (5V@2A).
Phones of this caliber rarely get a lot of fanfare surrounding their release, so we expect the Realme C12 to simply drop onto store shelves shortly. Still, it’s worth keeping an eye on, since, if done right, it could easily be a popular seller in the upcoming months.
- Yaso Van Beethoven
- 10 Aug 2020
Are you kidding me realme ?
- 09 Aug 2020
Why Helio P35 ?
- 09 Aug 2020
More and more models. Just extra waste. Lower-end realme phones are already plagued with issues, starting from LCD screen retention/burn in and software issues for all models.


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Please read this article by clicking on the link. I posted much of it here because it is so good and to be honest, anyone in telecom needs to be aware of these issues. I have some contact info listed at the bottom in red if you are interested in having your voice heard on this matter.
SBC to state: Kill rate regs
Seeks to scrap phone price controls; sweetens offer with 3-year freeze
By Julie Johnsson
March 21, 2005
SBC Communications Inc. is pushing
A bill introduced by Sen. James Clayborne Jr., D-East St. Louis, would effectively gut the Illinois Commerce Commission's (ICC) oversight of the rates SBC offers customers and competitors. State regulators would still have the authority to penalize the Baby Bell for shortfalls in customer service, however.
To sweeten the deal, SBC proposes a three-year freeze on the price of basic phone service for consumers who purchase only a dial tone from the Baby Bell or minor add-ons, such as caller identification. That's about 50% of the telephone giant's
The rate freeze would not apply to customers who bundle their local phone service with long-distance or broadband. Rates for such packaged deals, SBC says, will fall as competition builds with Comcast Corp., the dominant cable operator.
Not content to wait for lawmakers to act, SBC also has asked a U.S. District Court in
"We need the pricing flexibility that all our competition has," says SBC Illinois President Carrie Hightman, alluding to wireless carriers, Internet-based calling services and Comcast. "No other competitor has the pricing restrictions and regulatory hurdles that we have."
But the market is far from competitive, consumer activists and SBC foes argue, since traditional land-line telephone customers have little alternative to SBC's local service now that Virginia-based MCI and New Jersey-based AT&T Corp. are about to exit the picture.
Critics say eliminating price controls and the ICC's oversight would allow SBC to crush its rivals and raise prices at whim. "It's a complete frontal attack on everything that has created competition in
REWRITE LAW OR EXTEND IT
Rates tumbled after the long-distance providers entered the
SBC, in its emergency court motion and discussions with
But it isn't yet clear whether the FCC policy provides a minimum standard upon which states can overlay their own regulations, or whether it is really the maximum, counters state Rep. Julie Hamos, D-Evanston, who favors waiting a year before rewriting Illinois telecom law.
"There is very much a central issue in all of this: Has the federal government pre-empted our ability to move in a certain direction?" she says. "The burden is on (SBC) to show why we can't wait another year with all the flux we're in."
Ms. Hightman points to the emergence of new technologies, such as Internet-based calling, that are creating a vibrantly competitive market where there's no need for price restraints. "Every consumer in
But while nascent technology like voice over Internet protocol could provide true competition down the road, it currently accounts for less than 1% of the market, consumer activists note. And wireless isn't the threat it appears to be, since SBC owns 65% of the nation's largest carrier, Cingular Wireless.
"The left hand competing with the right hand is not exactly effective competition," says Martin Cohen, executive director of the watchdog Citizens Utility Board.
629 State Capitol
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Phone: (217) 782-5399
Fax: (618) 274-3010
Main District Office:
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Phone: (618) 875-1212
Fax: (618) 274-3010


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KnowBe4 discharges Q3 2021 worldwide phishing report showing most utilized phishing baits
KnowBe4, the supplier of the world’s biggest security mindfulness preparing and reproduced phishing stage, today declared the aftereffects of its Q3 top-clicked phishing report.
“Social designing assaults keep on being one of the top ways malignant programmers break associations or potentially cause harm,” said Stu Sjouwerman, CEO, KnowBe4. “We are seeing a proceeded with expansion in phishing, including more utilization of normal HR kinds of interchanges and less dependence on clear online media phishing efforts. By outfitting security experts with more information on logical strategies and formats utilized by cybercriminals executing phishing assaults, infosec experts can fortify their human firewall. Presently like never before, end clients need to stay watchful and make sure to pause and think before they click.”
Top 10 Email Categories Globally:
5.Banking and Finance
8.Phishing for Sensitive Information
Top phishing email subjects were additionally broken out, looking at those in the U.S. to those in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). In Q3 2021, KnowBe4 inspected a huge number of email headlines from mimicked phishing tests. In the U.S., the greater part of the email subjects seem to begin from the clients’ association. Be that as it may, in EMEA, the top subjects are identified with clients’ ordinary errands. The association additionally audited ‘in-the-wild’ email titles that show genuine messages clients got and answered to their IT offices as dubious. The outcomes are underneath.
Additional System Enhancements
Reflect’s Summer ‘21 release also consists of a spread of improvements to Reflect’s industry-leading device control and reporting functionalities. These additional reporting and filtering options offer users who manage big virtual signage networks with even more machine flexibility, permitting them to be as green and responsive as possible.
Reflect also up to date the application programming interfaces (API’s) that permit virtual signage platform additives like Reflect Xperience, AdLogic and ReflectView to seamlessly communicate with one another. These new APIs similarly enhance the consumer revel in and allow for more productiveness for a larger set of customers, including local personnel, media sales teams, and content scheduling/programming body of workers.
Using Accelerated Product Introduction to maximize productivity The convergence of disruptive influences such as supply chain shortages and sustainability directives has intensified competition within the machinery market. In response, companies
Trasformare il procurement con l’intelligenza artificiale: Negli ultimi anni il potenziale dell’Intelligenza Artificiale ha incuriosito i leader del procurement (AI). Sebbene l’argomento fosse affascinante, sembrava ancora lontano e futuristico. Tuttavia,


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Businessman and owner of grocery stores such as Overwaitea and Save-On-Foods, Jim Pattison, has entered into a partnership with the owners of Errington-based Quality Foods.
Announced Friday, Feb. 17, Quality Foods’ director of operations Ken Schley said he and the other two founding partners in Quality Foods — John Briuolo and Noel Hayward — will retain control of their company under this new partnership with Pattison.
“We are proud of our reputation locally and across Canada as the retail innovator, and we are proud to announce today a fantastic new partnership with B.C.’s very own and one of Canada’s best entrepreneurs, Mr. Jimmy Pattison,” said Schley in a media release.
“What this does for Quality Foods is allow us to now concentrate on what would otherwise be insurmountable opportunities,” he said.
Quality Foods began as a single store in Qualicum Beach in 1982. Today, the chain of grocery stores employs nearly 1,000 people working in 11 stores on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast – including Campbell River.
“We have had a remarkable 30 years of being an island-based independent grocer, and we are very excited about our continued growth and innovation for the next thirty years,” Schley said.
In recent years, the three partners have not only improved on their grocery store business, but have branched out into other areas, apart from the QF empire — including the purchase of the Old Dutch Inn in Qualicum Beach. They have also invested in other properties — including the site of the former Qualicum Beach Resort Hotel.
Earlier this month, ICR Projects on behalf of the owner of the Parksville Shopping Centre, announced plans to build a new grocery store to house an expanded Save-On-Foods. Those plans are currently with the City of Parksville for approvals. The city is also home to another QF grocery store.
“We have created a way to secure and invest in our future with B.C.’s most well-known and highly respected businessman, Mr. Jimmy Pattison,” said Schley at the company’s annual meeting last Thursday night.
“We chose this direction to keep the integrity of the QF culture and philosophy that our people have built over the last thirty years,” added partner John Briuolo in a media release.
Partner Noel Hayward added the addition of the new investor is a “great kick-start” to QF’s 30th anniversary year in 2012.
“We are very fortunate to have found an
investor that shares our strategic vision for the future,” stated Hayward. “This provides long term security and growth, which in turn creates opportunities.”
In addition to the Pattison announcement, the QF ownership team said they will soon launch a new, fully-integrated online shopping, app and social media web presence to an eagerly waiting customer base.
New renovations for some of their existing stores are soon to be announced.


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Apple Pay has launched in the U.K, and the pending launch of Samsung Pay in the U.S. and recently launched Android Pay are causing considerable buzz.
Such developments are met with as much excitement, the fact that they are dipping their toe in the payments space is certainly an interesting discussion point. But beyond the initial novelty factor, do these mobile technologies hold real business potential?
The real issue will be whether Apple and its tech giant competitors have the patience and inclination to play the long game, particularly in the EU. These tech players will see their share of transaction value from the banks significantly reduced in Europe, compared to the US, due to the huge discrepancy in interchange fees across the two continents. This December in the U.K. and the rest of the EU, new laws are set to reduce the interchange fee to 0.3% for credit and 0.2% for debit transactions. This will equate to 300-500% less than the revenue that issuing banks in the US are able to share with partners like Apple.
Will Apple and its competitors be willing to put the time and effort required into seeing their solutions take off in this market, when the commercial opportunity is reduced? Only time will tell.
Samsung, Google and Apple – these are all brands that consumers know and trust, and with their reputations for gaining deep insight into the demands of their customers, I have no doubt that they have the means to create a solution that suits today's payment demands. That said, seeing a payments solution through to mass adoption takes persistence and a helpful dose of patience - not something these restless innovators are best known for. The real judge will be whether these tech giants see enough business potential in this market to stick with it.
While there is no doubt that the likes of Apple, Google and Samsung are the masters of cool technology, they are nonetheless new entrants to this long-established market. Mobile has a clear future in the payments space, but it will likely take a lot longer to reach mainstream acceptance than many excited tech fans anticipate.
In my experience, innovations in the payments space take a number of years to reach mass adoption. Back in 1997, while working for Visa, I was involved in the development of the card provider’s contactless payment strategy. It has taken until now for this technology to reach widespread uptake – nearly 20 years since the planning phase.
When it comes to payments technology, the ability to solve a specific problem is a key requirement amongst users. Understandably, consumers are wary of new payments technology, thanks to the element of risk they perceive with adopting a new spending process. Twenty years ago, with debit card acceptance still a relatively new innovation, the UK was far from ready to begin ‘tap-and-go’ payments. Similarly, today we are largely happy to continue relying on our cards for payments for now – rather than getting to grips with relatively new mobile technology.
Apple, Google and Samsung are not the first technology leaders to see a clear business opportunity in the payments market. In 2013, telecoms provider EE launched the ‘Cash on Tap’ app, which provided a similar payments function to Apple Pay.
An EE customer myself, I joined a number of early adopters and for a short while enjoyed the novelty factor of making payments via my phone. However, this interest was short lived. With the technology failing to meet a specific need on my part, or solve a specific problem on the part of traditional payments services, I soon reverted back to my debit card. EE can be seen as a prime example of the challenge involved with encouraging consumers to adopt new payments solutions. Two years on, the service still has just 50,000 downloads from the EE's network of 20 million customers and a sorry-looking review rating on Play, with over half of the 1,000 respondents rating the app with just one star.
Regardless of EE's experience, I can say with a degree of certainty that our reliance on mobile means that this is where the future of payments is heading. However, despite what many Apple enthusiasts might say, we are looking at a matter of years before we see mass adoption of mobile payments, rather than months.
Rich Wagner is CEO and founder of Advanced Payment Solutions.


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A compilation of brand insights, practical ideas, and strategic interventions contributed by eleven brand practitioners from six countries.
India, 5th Mar 2024 – TMA Global Brand Consultancy, a leading brand strategy studio has announced the release of their acclaimed digest, “State of the Brand 2024”. Pre-launched by Anand Sankaranarayanan, Co-Founder and Brand Strategist at the Marketing 2.0 Conference held in Dubai on February 20, 2024, this initiative commemorates their third-year anniversary, emphasizing the significance of strategic brand initiatives for businesses worldwide.
Officially released to the public on February 28th, this digest serves as a comprehensive branding resource, featuring invaluable insights, practical ideas, and strategic interventions curated by seasoned brand practitioners and business leaders from around the world.
“What sets this Digest apart is the diversity of perspectives blended together, offering profound insights and strategic interventions on the art and science of branding. Eleven authors from six countries have contributed to this debut edition, creating a diverse range of topics with in-depth insights on four compelling themes.” said Anand.
The themes explored in the digest include:
- Beyond boundaries; Global branding in 2024
- Tech trends shaping brands
- Purpose-driven branding for a sustainable future
- B2B branding – yesterday, today and tomorrow
The digest covers a wide range of topics such as brand strategy, cultural fluidity, data analytics, martech, purpose-driven initiatives, storytelling, humanizing B2B brands, and more. Each article offers profound insights and practical advice, making it an indispensable resource for entrepreneurs, marketers, and business leaders alike.
Contributors to “State of the Brand 2024” include:
- Amanda Campbell, Director of Sparkling Communications, Ireland
- Anand Sankaranarayanan, Co-Founder of TMA Global, India
- Bill Kenney, Co-Founder and CEO of Focus Lab, USA
- Efi Naskou, CMO of Zenus Bank, England
- Emma Westley, VP Marketing of Delegate CX, England
- James Bridgman, CMO and Marketing Strategist, England
- Lisa Perry, Global Marketing Executive, USA
- Namrata Balwani, CMO of TP Connects Technologies, UAE
- Qhawekazi Mdikane, Executive Head, Momentum Brand Marketing, South Africa
- Dr. Smitha Ranganathan, Unprofessor and Independent Board Member, India
- Vejay Anand, CEO of Ironhill India
The creative credits for the digest are attributed to:
- Creative conceptualization and design by Diya Susan Pallikal, Co-Founder and Creative Director, TMA Global, India
- Illustration by Edduchuy, Vietnam
“We are delighted to see the response to ‘State of the Brand’,” said Anand. “It’s heartening to know that our efforts to bring together diverse perspectives have resonated with leaders in the industry, and we look forward to seeing the impact of this digest on the global branding landscape.”
Since its release, “State of the Brand 2024” has captured the interest of leaders in major companies like Google, Unilever, Etisalat, Spotify, Disney Star, Fidelity Investments, Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Transunion, Cleartrip, and others. It has resonated with brand enthusiasts seeking to enhance their brand strategies through its insights.
The “State of the Brand 2024” digest is a must-read for brand builders, marketers, and business leaders looking to stay ahead in today’s dynamic and competitive business environment. Whether you’re a seasoned brand strategist or a budding entrepreneur, this comprehensive guide offers valuable insights and practical advice to help you unlock the full potential of your brand on the global stage.
“State of the Brand” is available for download on the TMA Global website. For more information and to access the digest, please visit https://www.tmaglobal.net/state-of-the-brand
About TMA Global:
TMA Global Brand Consultancy is a brand strategy studio that specializes in transforming businesses into beloved brands. With a dedicated team of experts, TMA Global shapes a distinct perception in the market for its client partners, enabling them to stand out and resonate with their target audience effectively. For more information, visit https://www.tmaglobal.net
Organization: TMA Global
Contact Person: Anand Sankaranarayanan
Email: Send Email
Release Id: 05032410235
The post Unlocking global brand success: Insights from brand practitioners worldwide in ‘State of the Brand 2024’ digest launched by TMA Global Brand Consultancy. appeared first on King NewsWire. It is provided by a third-party content provider. King Newswire makes no warranties or representations in connection with it.


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GREENPEACE welcomes the announcement that President Rodrigo Duterte is considering a nationwide ban on single-use plastics. This is a long delayed pronouncement which we trust will be put into action and will not remain a mere statement.
The solution to the scourge of single-use plastics is to avoid its manufacture. As a first step, the President needs to certify as priority a strong national single-use plastic ban bill, which should aim for a drastic reduction of the manufacture of single-use plastic products and packaging, and their eventual elimination from the market.
Importantly, this ban must include the phaseout of sachet packaging, direct companies to redesign products and packaging, and give incentives to reuse, refill and other alternative delivery systems.
Finally, the ban should not include false solutions such as materials substitution to paper or bioplastics, lightweighting of packaging, and chemical recycling, among others.
Regional Campaign Coordinator at Greenpeace Southeast Asia


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By Ron Howells • 26 July 2021 • 10:54
Price of milk rises over protests from Spanish farmers, image: Wikipedia
The price of milk is on the increase due to protests from Spanish farmers complaining over low-profit margins.
Spanish supermarket giant Mercadona is leading the rise in the price of milk after protests by farmers.
The Valencian based company, together with Pascual, (a Spanish dairy company based in Madrid, Spain) are leading the movement, which it hopes will translate into a slight improvement in the money that producers receive for their milk products.
Arredondo, livestock sector manager of Coag and former president of the Interprofessional, denounced the price situation and directly accused Mercadona, with a market share of almost 30%, as one of the main entities responsible for selling milk below the 0.60 euros, a policy that translates into lower prices for farmers who deliver milk to their inter-supplier industries.
“We are exactly in the same situation as the dairy producers ten years ago, when they didn’t have quotas anymore, and had to work below their production costs; so they lost money producing milk,” said a farmer from Galicia.
The farmers are also complaining that the EU’s trade deals with Canada and the Latin American Mercusor bloc are flooding European markets- and say citizens must boycott all imported produce and only shop locally.
“The European agricultural policy is the only policy that is totally integrated in the EU, and moreover, that is used by the European trade direction as leverage in international treaties,” Hugues Falys – from FUGEA (The United Federation of Breeders and Farmers’ Groups) said.
The European Commission has just launched a fresh set of measures aimed at forcing transparency around the pricing of products.
However, farmers say unless more action is taken to support them when the EU’s agricultural policy is renewed soon, their feelings towards those in power will remain like sour milk!
Thank you for taking the time to read this article, please remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories.
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Ron actually started his working career as an Ophthalmic Technician- things changed when, during a band rehearsal, his amplifier blew up and he couldn’t get it fixed so he took a course at Birmingham University and ended up doing a degree course. He built up a chain of electronics stores and sold them as a franchise over 35 years ago. After five years touring the world Ron decided to move to Spain with his wife and son, a place they had visited over the years, and only bought the villa they live in because it has a guitar-shaped swimming pool!.
Playing the guitar since the age of 7, he can often be seen, (and heard!) at beach bars and clubs along the length of the coast. He has always been interested in the news and constantly thrives to present his articles in an interesting and engaging way.
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ŠKODA fans and media representatives worldwide can experience the world premiere of the new ŠKODA ENYAQ COUPÉ iV live at www.skoda-virtual-event.com on 31 January at 15:00pm UK time. The website is already online, with several teaser videos offering a first glimpse. The Czech car manufacturer’s social media channels (Facebook and Twitter) and the ŠKODA Storyboard (http://www.skoda-storyboard.com) also have links to the website hosting the live presentation
ŠKODA is expanding its first all-electric ENYAQ iV model series based on the Volkswagen Group’s Modular Electrification Toolkit (MEB) to include the new ŠKODA ENYAQ COUPÉ iV. The world premiere of the even more emotive model variant will be held exclusively online on 31 January, beginning at 15:00 UK time.
Visitors can watch the virtual presentation on the landing page www.skoda-virtual-event.com.
In the lead up to the world premiere, a series of four teaser videos featuring ŠKODA CEO Thomas Schäfer and other ŠKODA Board members will be posted on the website.
Before the start of the live presentation at 15:00 UK time, all visitors to the landing page will be invited to pull up a chair in the virtual cinema, which will give them a perfect view of the ŠKODA ENYAQ COUPÉ iV. After the presentation, comprehensive information and the press kit on the new coupé will be available for download on ŠKODA Storyboard.


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On September 16, Givenchy Beauty held an event on the homeshopping live show ‘SHOWping Live’ that included a giveaway of two signed polaroid photos of the beauty brand's official model Kang Daniel. In order to be eligible to win a polaroid, fans had to purchase Givenchy Beauty products during the broadcast.
The event proceeded with enormous success. As the broadcast progressed, the hosts couldn’t hold back their shock at the flood of fans competing for the polaroids.
The live audience reached nearly 41,000 fans competing for two polaroids.
Afterwards, the hosts conveyed their gratitude at the successful event. One wrote on Kang Daniel’s fanpage on DC Inside:
"This is the show host from SHOWping Live just now, DANITY are amazing
This is my first time writing something like this
The broadcast was so exciting and fun for us too
I’m making a post like this because [Kang Daniel’s] fans are so cool
DANITY are the best!!!! Thank you."
The other host wrote on her Instagram that fans had set a record number of viewers and sales.
She also shared a clip of the two dancing in excitement and called it an “unforgettable broadcast.”
In other news, Cosmopolitan Korea just released their October 2020 issue featuring Kang Daniel on their cover as well as a pictorial of him modeling some of Givenchy Beauty’s best-selling products.


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Country singing star Garth Brooks wore his trademark black hat, but he was still the good guy to the more than 20,000 fans waiting in the heat to hear the first of his two sold-out concerts at the Tacoma Dome.
In fact, even Brooks' controversial stand against selling used compact discs in stores was OK to his legions outside.Brooks made waves in June when he weighed in using his clout as the biggest-selling act of the 1990s to announce that he no will longer release his CDs to stores or chains that carry used CDs. The controversy heated up when Wherehouse Records' retail chain announced it would buy and sell used compact discs.
Brooks' stand prompted Terry Currier, owner of a Portland, Ore., secondhand music store, to light a barbecue and toss all Brooks' tapes and compact discs in, calling it a Brooks-B-Que.
"My opinion is still the same," Brooks said at a news conference before his concert Tuesday night. "I've got to be true to something I believe in."
Brooks said that because no royalties are paid on the sale of used CDs, writers, labels, publishers and artists were being cheated. He said he would only supply chains that sell used CDs with his cassettes, and hinted that he might be working on another "format" to thwart such sales.
Brooks said he does not need any money, but lesser-known artists could suffer if secondhand CD sales take off. If used CD sales were to go into massive retail, he said, it would severely affect people in the recording industry, creating a sales loop that would profit only stores but not the creators, publishers and artists.
CD retailers, meanwhile, have argued that the cost of new CDs is too high for young buyers, and that selling used CDs exposes an artist's music to different audiences.
Brooks noted that he is not the only critic and that the issue is part of an industry boycott. But he is certainly the most prestigious of critics.
In May, Brooks won his third straight Entertainer of the Year award and ninth Academy of Country Music Awards trophy in three years. In December, he won seven trophies at the Billboard music awards.
Many in the crowd outside the Tacoma Dome signed on with Brooks:
"If he's fired up about it there must be something that is not right," said Vicki Carver, 41.
Heidi and Jim Pollet said they don't think Brooks is being greedy in his stand against used CDs because they see his generosity in his concerts.
"He's a rich man on the poor boy's level," Jim Pollet said.


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For years, department stores have been hosting casting-call events for newbie designers, who audition for the chance to sell their wares on the coveted racks of a Bloomingdale’s or a Barneys. Now, Grand Central Terminal is taking a page out of their book.
On Monday, the transportation hub will host its first “Open See” event from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Entrepreneurs, selling everything from handmade soap to t-shirts, are welcome to attend and compete for the chance to rent one of six 32-square-foot kiosks in the terminal’s Graybar Passage.
Prospective craftsmen will be selected by a small committee including Laura Blaustein, assistant general manager at Jones Lang LaSalle; Nancy Marshall, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's director of Grand Central development; and a merchandising manager. The kiosk program, which started six years ago, has had 62 different vendors since inception but has never before hosted an audition like this.
“I’ve always felt there’s an untapped market out there that’s unaware of this program,” said Ms. Blaustein, who hatched the idea after working at Henri Bendel—a big operator of casting-call events—in the early '90s. “If we can get these independent people in here to show us some of their merchandise, we can give them some opportunities.”
To spread the word, she has put up announcements on Grand Central’s Facebook page, and reached out to her database. Each kiosk lease will last one to three months, and vendors will pay a flat monthly fee starting near $2,500. On Monday, the first 30 applicants will be considered—each person will have around 15 minutes to trumpet their designs.
The business can be lucrative. Last year, kiosk vendors brought in an average of $780,000 in sales per square foot. Some businesses, such as sock and kidswear company LittleMissMatched, have gone on from renting kiosks to opening their own freestanding stores elsewhere.
Auditions aside, several new businesses will be renting kiosks this summer. Tea purveyor Miss Tea will begin selling next month, while Kobo, a Canadian company that sells e-readers, will lease kiosk space in July. In addition, Australian beauty retailer Aesop, which sells at Barneys New York, is making Grand Central its first freestanding entry into the New York market. In July, the company will open a kiosk there for three months.
“It’s an opportunity to introduce the brand to a wider variety of customers that may not go downtown,” said Giovanni Lepori, general manager and president for the Americas at Aesop. “Grand Central is one of those places where tens of thousands of people go by every day.”
Later this summer, Aesop will debut brick-and-mortar locations on University Place and Elizabeth Street. A fourth shop is planned for Bleecker Street at the end of the year. If the Grand Central kiosk goes well, Mr. Lepori may consider a permanent midtown location.


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As Covid continues to spread in NSW, supermarkets could be forced to hire security guards to ensure shoppers are checking in using QR codes and wearing masks.
NSW Police Minister David Elliott said he's "had it out" with people over NSW Health's reluctance to make supermarkets comply with Covid-19 rules, telling Sydney radio station 2GB that some supermarkets haven't been enforcing the rules.
The minister said the supermarkets were due to attend a teleconference with police on Tuesday morning over stepping up compliance of Covid health orders.
"We will be telling the supermarkets ... they must employ security guards," he said on Tuesday.
"My message to the supermarkets is simple: Regardless of the law, you’ve got a moral obligations to your customers to make sure they’re safe,” Mr Elliott told the radio station.
“They will be told exactly what is expected of them and also to say that the supermarkets have to take reasonable steps to ensure compliance."
A quarter of recent exposure sites are supermarkets
Shopping for food or other essential goods and services is one of the four reasons to leave home under current stay-at-home restrictions.
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said she wasn't surprised at the number of supermarkets listed as exposure sites.
"People have to eat," she said on Tuesday, adding supermarkets were essential during the citywide lockdown and suggesting businesses should minimise the number of customers inside and ask people to wait outside.
NSW Police confirmed to Yahoo News Australia they are consulting with supermarkets over 'strengthening their COVID-safe plans within stores'.
A Woolworths spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia that they spoke with the NSW Police on Tuesday afternoon and confirmed that their existing health ambassadors, who have been in place to assist customers with QR code check-in for some time, meet the requirements under the health orders.
"Our customers have responded well to the government's check-in mandate and the overwhelming majority continue to do the right thing in our stores," they said.
NSW records 199 new cases of Covid-19
NSW recorded 199 cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian revealing she wants to achieve 6 million jabs by the end of August, which would drastically increase the likelihood of restrictions easing by the end of the month.
"Even one dose of the vaccine reduces the likelihood of how transmissible you are, how contagious you are," she said in Tuesday's press conference.
"So not only is the vaccine really important to keep you out of hospital, to protect your loved ones, but it reduces the number of people you may infect and that's really important to consider when you're in the middle of an outbreak."
Four reasons to leave home under lockdown
Shopping for food or other essential goods and services (one person per household per day)
Medical care or compassionate needs (only one visitor can enter another residence in circumstances of compassionate needs)
Exercise with no more than one other person (unless members of the same household)
Essential work or education where you cannot work or study from home.
Sydney's current lockdown restrictions
Outdoor public gatherings limited to two people (excluding members of the same household)
People must exercise within 10km of their home
No carpooling with members of other households
Browsing at shops is prohibited, and only one person per household per day may leave the home for shopping
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European metasearch site Momondo's "DNA Journey" has racked up 120 million views across all channels in a month, staking a claim to be one of the most viral travel marketing initiatives so far.
Most of the views are coming via Facebook, which includes third-party sites. There are also nearly 6.5 million views on YouTube since it was uploaded on June 1, as well as people seeing the video via a dedicated microsite.
Other stats show more than seven million social engagements, defined as comments, likes, reactions and shares.
Momondo Group CEO Hugo Burge explained the thinking behind the video at the inaugural WIT Europe event in London this week.
"The group's tagline is 'Let's open our world' and, particularly at the moment [in light of Brexit] , it is important to get the message out that an open world is a better world and that travel contributes to this. The DNA project came out of the idea that we are all global citizens and our DNA proves this."
Momondo carried out DNA analysis of some seventy people from around the world to identify their ethnicity, and the second phase of the campaign, launched this week, looks at some of the participants' individual stories.
There is a competition element to the campaign, with winners getting a trip to visit the regions which feature in their DNA analysis - hence the "DNA Journey" branding. More than 130,000 people have entered the competition so far.
Momondo Group comprises the eponymous European meta and the more globally present Cheapflights brand. Cheapflights bought Copenhagen-based Momondo in 2011, changed its corporate identity from Cheapflights Media to Momondo Group in 2012 and picked up £80 million ($130 million at the time) in funding from Great Hill Partners in 2014.
Burge said that revenue split between the two brands is now running at 60% Momondo/40% Cheapflights.
In terms of the group's APAC presence, he said that Cheapflights' Asia business was generating £1m net revenues for the group, growing at 140% a year and that 42% of its traffic was coming direct. It has specific URLS for Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Momondo, he said, would concentrate on Europe, where it is the leading meta across Scandinavia.
The bigger picture for Momondo Group is positive, he said, referencing two metrics - 51% repeat visits and 40% traffic coming directly - as a culmination of its efforts around personalization and loyalty.
Event moderator Yeoh Siew Hoon asked Burge for his thoughts on facilitated booking, the industry shorthand for metas getting more involved in the actual booking.
"The independence and clarity that metas give the user is rare in travel, and facilitated booking can be confusing" he said. "Having said that, we are looking at it as a strategic priority but we need to be extremely cautious around protecting the trust that users have in our brands."
Here's the DNA Journey video.
Related reading from Tnooz:Cheapflights puts flight and hotel search into Facebook Messenger (June 2016)
Caution urged over instant booking trend on metasearch sites (May 2016)
How video influences travel decisions (Dec 2015)


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Airbnb recently announced that it will be acquiring the last minute booking app HotelTonight. This acquisition of HotelTonight is said to be the booking sites biggest acquisition to date. The acquisition of HotelTonight is said to be a move to increase the hotel listings on the Airbnb’s site ahead of the initial public offering.
HotelTonight is a last minute booking app, it allows users to find discounted hotel accommodations throughout America, Europe and Australia. It was founded in 210 by Same Shank, Jared Simon and Chris Bailey. It offers deep discounts off the listed rate, which is what makes it a very popular and a great app.
Details about the Airbnb Acquisition of HotelTonight
The terms of the deal for HotelTonight has not been disclosed, neither has the financial terms been revealed. Some sources close to the deal reveal that the acquisition price is close to HotelTonight’s last private valuation. Two years ago the last minute booking app was valued at $463 million. Airbnb released a statement about the acquisition. In the statement, Airbnb stated that the deal accelerates their work to build an end to end travel platform that will serve everyone. The statement stated that together with the last minute booking platform, they can offer places to stay for every type of traveller on all kinds of trips. According to Airbnb, the acquisition will make it easier for small businesses and hoteliers who take pride in providing authentic, unique experiences tap into Airbnb’s truly global network of hosts and guests.
Airbnb also stated that the last minute booking site was very appealing because their models fit into Airbnb’s model. The acquisition will help to cater to Airbnb’s growing consumer demand for same-day bookings. HotelTonight’s app and website will continue to operate independently. Airbnb plans to eventually integrate its boutique hotels and bed-and-breakfast listings onto its site. After the completion of the acquisition, the founder of the last minute booking app will start to report to Greg Greeley, Airbnb’s president of homes.