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There is no way to put a positive spin on Micron Technology's (MU -3.91%) latest quarterly results, as the memory specialist put up disastrous numbers for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 (the three months ended Sept. 1) on Sept. 29.
The oversupply in the memory market sent Micron's top and bottom lines crashing. The outlook didn't inspire confidence either, as it suggests that things are about to get worse for the chipmaker. Let's take a closer look at Micron's latest numbers and see why this is a tech stock that investors may want to stay away from right now.
Micron Technology's numbers were terrible
Micron's fiscal Q4 revenue fell 20% year over year to $6.64 billion. Management attributed this big decline to "rapidly weakening consumer demand and significant customer inventory adjustments across all end markets." That's not surprising, as the sharp drop in shipments of personal computers (PCs) and smartphones this year knocked the wind out of the sails of the memory market. Weakening demand caused an oversupply, and that led to a drop in memory prices this year.
Market research firm TrendForce estimated in August that the price of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) could drop between 13% and 18% in the third quarter of 2022 over Q2. This didn't just weigh heavily on Micron's top line last quarter, but it also sent its margins packing. The company's non-GAAP operating margin dropped a whopping 12.1 percentage points year over year to 25% last quarter. As a result, Micron's adjusted earnings shrunk to just $1.45 per share, compared to $2.42 per share in the prior-year period.
The bad news for Micron doesn't end there, as memory prices are expected to plunge further. TrendForce expects DRAM prices to drop between 13% and 18% in the fourth quarter of 2022 on a sequential basis. This explains why Micron's guidance for the current quarter was woeful.
The company anticipates $4.25 billion in revenue this quarter at the midpoint of its guidance range, along with adjusted earnings of $0.04 per share. The top-line estimate points toward a 45% drop in Micron's revenue, while adjusted earnings will drop big-time from the prior-year period's figure of $2.16 per share.
In all, things are not looking good for Micron Technology right now. Even worse, investors shouldn't expect a turnaround any time soon from the chipmaker, as the state of oversupply in the memory market could persist through 2023.
When can investors expect a turnaround?
With PC and smartphone sales in a state of decline, the memory market is likely to remain under pressure. IDC estimates that the combined sales of PCs and tablets will drop 2.6% in 2023. Smartphone sales are forecast to drop 6.5% this year, according to IDC.
It wouldn't be surprising to see the weakness continue in 2023. The latest reports say Apple is scaling back its plans to increase iPhone 14 production on account of weak demand. This suggests consumers aren't willing to spend money on discretionary items such as smartphones at a time of surging inflation. All this indicates why TrendForce sees DRAM demand rising just 8.3% in 2023, which would be the first sub-10% increase in history.
DRAM supply, however, is expected to increase at a faster pace of 14.1% next year, indicating that prices could move further south. Of course, memory industry players are busy cutting their capital expenditure budgets in a bid to keep a handle on the supply, but it remains to be seen when these efforts will bear fruit and support prices.
Japanese memory manufacturer Kioxia plans to reduce production by 30% at two of its plants starting this month, citing weak demand. Micron also decided to reduce its capital spending in fiscal 2023 by 30% to $8 billion. The company's investments in wafer fabrication equipment will drop by a whopping 50% this fiscal year.
However, analysts don't expect these moves to pay off for Micron in fiscal 2023. Its top line is estimated to drop nearly 23% this fiscal year to $23.8 billion. Adjusted earnings could drop to just $2.99 per share from fiscal 2022's figure of $8.35 per share. Consensus estimates suggest a turnaround from fiscal 2024, with Micron's revenue expected to jump to nearly $30 billion and earnings increasing to $6.01 per share. But that also means that investors will have to endure a year of pain until the turnaround begins.
As such, Micron Technology is a stock that's best avoided right now, as things are likely to get worse before they get better for this chipmaker.


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If you are trying to live a greener, simpler life, you are probably already avoiding packaged food. In general, I avoid over packaged food because of the amount of garbage it is adding to our landfills or energy used to recycle. Sometimes I make an exception for [amazon_link id=”B000HVX6NK” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]seaweed snacks[/amazon_link] or Trader Joe’s (yes, I am a hypocrite), but extra garbage or recycling is not the only reason to avoid food packaging. According to a new study, food packaging is a major source of human exposure to the toxic chemicals BPA and DEHP.
Bisphenol-A (BPA) has been all over the news for years, and many families avoid BPA containing plastics; however, even those can leach hormone disrupting chemicals into our food and drink. Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) is a plasticizer commonly used in the production of PVC and is the “most important” phthalate. Both chemicals are considered safe by the US government, although BPA is being investigated. Despite governmental assurances, these are chemicals of concern commonly found in food packaging.
Discovery News explains the new study:
To solidify the link from food packaging to human exposure, Rudel and colleagues altered the diets of 20 Bay-Area families, each with two adults and two kids. All of the households reported that they either drank from polycarbonate water bottles, dined out at restaurants, microwaved food in plastic containers, ate canned foods or frozen dinners, or used plastic storage materials — all of which would suggest exposure to at least some chemicals of concern.
During an eight-day study, the researchers took urine samples from participants on a nightly basis to look for evidence of both BPA and four types of phthalates.
For a couple days at both the beginning and end of the week, families stuck with their normal diet. But for three days in the middle of the study, they ate only food that was prepared for them by a caterer who conformed to specific guidelines.
The majority of food was fresh. Cans were not allowed. Food preparers avoided using plastic utensils or nonstick cookware. Food and drinks were stored in glass or stainless steel containers at levels low enough that the contents did not touch BPA-free lids. Even coffee had to be made in a French press or ceramic drip so that no plastic was involved.
During the three-day intervention, average levels of BPA in people’s urine dropped by 66 percent, the researchers report today in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. The highest measured levels dropped by 75 percent. For DEHP, average levels of certain breakdown products dropped by more than 50 percent, and maximum measured levels dropped by 95 percent.
Although the news is rather bleak about chemical contamination from food packaging, the rapidity at which this chemical exposure can be reduced is encouraging. Just three days of eating fresh, whole foods causes the body burden results to drop by more than 50 percent!
Discovery News offers these great simple steps to keep your family safe from BPA and phthalates:
- Eating mostly fresh foods and avoiding cans and plastic containers can drastically reduce the levels of these chemicals in our bodies.
- A combination of shopping habits and legislation may be key to limiting human exposures to the ubiquitous chemicals.
It may be impossible to completely eliminate exposure to toxic chemicals, but at least we can make wise food choices by avoiding packaging.
Photo: Some rights reserved by sampitech

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International School of Business and Research inaugurated the International PGDM program and PGDM with one semester abroad. The guests from the industry were Mr. Balram Menon, World Trade Centre. Mr. Hegde from Indo – Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
They shared the importance of a “Globalized World” were innovation was the key. According to the guest speakers “Exchanging ideas and thoughts is trade and not a mere exchange of product and service. The program witnessed speakers from different sectors who had focused on a “borderless world”. The excited students were left asking for more to start an international voyage.


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Nigeria’s tier-1 banks spent a combined total of about N44 billion on advertising and sales promotions in full-year 2019. This is according to checks by Nairametrics. The banks are First Bank of Nigeria Ltd, United Bank for Africa Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, and Zenith Bank Plc (FUGAZ).
Some details to note
Out of all the banks, First Bank incurred the most advertising cost last year, followed by Zenith Bank and United Bank for Africa.
Note that First Bank’s huge advertising expenditure is most probably due to the fact that the company celebrated its 125th year anniversary, an event that must have required enough of money for publicity and event planning.
On the other hand, Guaranty Trust Bank spent the least on advertising in 2019, compared to all of its competitors. GTBank’s low advert cost is part of the company’s overall cost control strategy, which its Chief Executive Officer, Segun Agbaje, had recently spoken about.
Breakdown of how much each bank spent
Guaranty Trust Bank: According to information obtained from GTbank’s audited financial statement for full-year 2019, about N4 billion was spent on advertising and sales promotion in 2019. As we mentioned earlier, this is the lowest amount that was spent by a tier-1 bank in 2019. The amount is also less than the N6.4 billion cost, which the bank incurred for the same purpose in 2018. Again, cost control.
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Access Bank: This tier-1 bank’s advert costs stood at N6.3 billion in 2019. This is more than the N4.9 billion, which the company spent on advertising and marketing during the comparable period in 2018. It should be recalled that Access Bank acquired Diamond Bank in early 2019, and this might have contributed to the rise in its advertising costs. This means more money had to be spent to advertise products and services that were hitherto offered by Diamond Bank.
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United Bank for Africa: This bank spent a total of about N7.4 billion on advertising and marketing communications in 2019. This makes UBA the third highest spender on advertising and marketing, compared to the other tier-1 banks.
Note that in 2018, UBA incurred a total cost of N7.3 billion for the same purpose.
Needless to overstress the fact that UBA is quite masterful with its advertising and marketing strategies. The bank is also known to make use of A-list celebrities to help endear its numerous services to target audiences. And as you may well know, this costs a lot of money.
For instance, out of the N7.4 billion which the bank spent on advertising and marketing in 2019, popular Nigerian singer WizKid got at least a cool N1 billion. That is how much the tier-1 bank paid the singer in what has been described as the biggest celebrity endorsement in Nigeria.
Zenith Bank Plc: Last year, about N7.9 billion was spent by this highly-profitable bank on advertising and marketing communications. Interestingly, even though this amount is lower than the N9.6 billion the bank spent in 2018, its revenue and profits grew, as you shall see shortly.
First Bank: As we mentioned above, First Bank spent the highest amount on advertising and marketing communications last year. In specific terms, a total of about N18.4 billion was recorded. This is significantly higher than the N7.8 billion that was recorded in 2018.
Note that the recorded advert and communications expenses represent how much was spent across FBN Holdings Plc and its subsidiaries. FBN is the parent company of First Bank of Nigeria Ltd. It has other companies under its fold, including FBNQuest Capital Ltd, FBNQuest Securities Ltd, FBNQuest Capital Asset Management Ltd, etc.
Now, let’s juxtapose advert spending with revenue and profit
In 2019, Zenith Bank Plc made a total revenue of N662.3 and a profit after tax of N208.9. It was the most profitable Nigerian bank last year, a position it has held for, at least, two consecutive years. This shows that the money spent on marketing communications and advertising is yielding the needed results.
Guaranty Trust Bank is the second most profitable Nigerian bank in 2019. The bank had recorded total revenue of N296.2 and a profit after tax of N196.8. What this shows is that even though advertising is essential, sometimes all you need is to offer products and services that people love.
Access Bank came in third as the most profitable tier-1 bank, with a profit after tax of N94.9 billion. The company had also recorded the second largest revenue of N536.8 billion, right behind Zenith Bank.
United Bank for Africa Plc made a profit after tax of N89 billion, followed by First Bank which generated a profit after tax of N61.9 billion, according to its unaudited financial statement.
Why advertising is important to Nigerian banks
Nigerian banks typically operate in a saturated market where competition is rife. Therefore, in order to stand out, it is not enough for them to offer high-quality products and services; they must also be able to adequately communicate the benefits of their products and services to customers. This is the whole essence of marketing communication and advertising.


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Blippar has appointed former Nestle executive board member Doreswamy Nandkishore as its first external non-executive board member, with the business leader set to advise the image-recognition firm on its brand and marketing strategy.
Nandkishore, who is better known as ‘Nandu’ within the business world, will help Blippar promote awareness of its platform among advertisers, bringing his marketing and cross-cultural expertise to bear.
Blippar, which recently teamed up with M&M Global at Cannes Lions 2015 to host a networking party, works with clients including Coca-Cola, Conde Nast, Heinz, PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble.
Nandkishore spent 26 years at Nestle, most recently as board member with responsibility for Asia, Oceania and Africa. Before that he was an executive board member and global chief executive officer of Nestle Nutrition.
He said: “Blippar is driving an entirely new behaviour – visual browsing and discovery – and is the global leader in image-recognition and augmented reality experiences.
“The company’s proprietary technology has the power to totally transform the way brands engage with consumers. By overlaying the physical world with personalised augmented reality technology, Blippar provides consumers the ability to draw great content and engaging brand experiences directly from their favourite products.”
Ambarish Mitra, Blippar’s chief executive and co-founder, added: “As we continue our mission to activate the world with Blippar, it is increasingly important for us to become experts at digital brand and marketing strategy for our clients, and no one has been more successful at fostering and growing brand talent than Nandu…
“He will undoubtedly play a vital role in helping us to become an even more effective strategic partner for brands on an international stage.”


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In Sharp contrast to the violence seen in Poland's coastal towns during the past week the capital, Warsaw, has remained undisturbed so far, and is busily preparing for the Christmas festivities.
GV PAN Market scenes...Christmas trees on sale (4 shots)
SV Boxes of apples
MV ZOOM TO CV Flower seller
MV People buying vegetables
SV TILT DOWN TO CV Man examining poultry and eggs.
GV People walk down street (busy scene)
MV ZOOM IN TO CV Man reads newspaper
MV PAN Shop window displaying wines and goodies
SV ZOOM OUT TO GV Shoes in window
MV Television set in window
GV Street scene
Initials PBS/DW/SGM/0306 PBS/DW/SGM/0310
Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
Background: In Sharp contrast to the violence seen in Poland's coastal towns during the past week the capital, Warsaw, has remained undisturbed so far, and is busily preparing for the Christmas festivities.
All the traditional Christmas merchandise is finding a ready market. Although many commodities have recently risen dramatically in rice...thus sparking off the rioting in other centres...the inhabitants of Warsaw are still intent on making their purchases.
Food princes have should the most marked increases, but the selection offered to the public appears to have changed little. Vegetables and poultry brought to the city from the surrounding rural areas have come in for the usual astute scrutiny of the buyers and have been selling well.
Undeterred by told headlines and terse newspaper reports of the crisis in such places as Gdansk and Szczocin, shoppers and workers are moving about the city in the usual pro-Christmas crowds. Not just essential commodities are being offered them, but the luxuries as well...choice winos, rare tinned foods, exclusive model shoes, and the latest design television sets.
With typical determination the people of Warsaw have resisted all influences which appeared to threaten their festive season, but still remain concerned at the unrest in other centres.


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Govt to sell onion buffer stock, relax import rules
The government has already started moving onion from its buffer stock for sale beginning in the second half of September, a senior official in the consumer affairs ministry said. “Higher quantities of stocks will be offloaded throughout the festive season,” the official said , requesting anonymity.Updated: Oct 23, 2020, 07:25 IST
The government will sell more onion from its buffer stock and has allowed quicker imports by relaxing conditions for overseas purchases, the consumer affairs ministry said on Thursday, as retail prices crossed ₹100 per kg in Mumbai and Pune in a festive-season spiral.
The central government has relaxed the Plant Quarantine Order, 2003, allowing traders to import non-fumigated onion and without phytosanitary certification, a formal declaration by an exporting country or an importer guaranteeing that shipments are free of pests and plant diseases.
“To facilitate the import of onion, the government has, on 21.10.2020, relaxed the conditions for fumigation and additional declaration on Phytosanitary Certificate under the Plant Quarantine Order, 2003 for import up to December 15, 2020,” an official statement said.


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A survey from ShipStation found that more than half of respondents say they expect to return more now than they have in the past.
Online sales jumped 18.8%, but retailers are bracing for record returns.
As we enter the home stretch of the holiday season, should small to midsize businesses even try to compete with one-to-two-day delivery times? According to a new study from ShipStation, there’s still hope to win shoppers over — even if retailers can’t afford speedy deliveries.
ShipStation has published a Holiday Prep eBook for online sellers on how to make the most of the holiday shopping season when it comes to efficient shipping and boosting conversion rates.
Canadian sellers have new shipping options through ShipStation thanks to its new partnership with Canpar Express.
ShipStation and Canpar Express have partnered to offer Canadian online retailers affordable, convenient, and state-of-the-art shipping solutions to meet the growing needs of their businesses.
New partnership offers reliable and convenient shipping solutions to Canadian online retailers.
National study showcases the direct impact a positive or negative shipping experience has on key brand metrics — and what brands can do to get it right.
The holiday shopping season is here, and things are quickly ramping up for online merchants. Here’s a guide to help you get oriented.
Here are three key factors to consider to ensure the best possible return policy is in place — for both the retailer and the customer.
Here how The Groomsman Suit and Shady Rays use ShipStation to scale their success.
Shipping is often one of the most time-consuming aspects of running an e-commerce business. Implementing shipping software can be a big step in scaling your business — providing a way to create shipping labels quickly, to gain access to carrier discounts, and more.
With the holidays around the corner, there’s no better time to optimize your returns game. Here’s how.
ShipStation and Alibaba Partnership To Focus on B2B Selling Opportunities for U.S.-Based Sellers.
Infocon Systems announced the successful EDI implementation and ERP integration for one of its key customers Xtreme Mats.
Here are a few tips on how to bolster your brand’s shipping experience and leave customers with a positive experience.
ShipStation experts onsite at IRCE to discuss industry best practices and recent innovations.
Here are six tips on how to cut costs and boost efficiency in ecommerce shipping operations.
Here’s how SMBs can not only stand out from day one, but build brand loyalty from the initial point of contact to post-purchase communications in order to stay ahead of the competition.
Instagram Checkout enables customers to purchase items directly within the app. Consider the pros and cons of Instagram’s new feature from ShipStation’s very own.
Check out this selection of quality order management systems for small businesses of various sectors.
After their appearance on Good Morning America, Latika Body Essentials used ShipStation to scale their business upon receiving a 13,000 percent increase in orders.
ShipStation is considered one of the top 50 tools to help you manage and grow your Etsy business.


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Adam Smith may very well be one of the youngest business owners in Calabasas.
At 21, he bought the local frozen yogurt shop after working for the chain for five years.
Smith started from the bottom, serving up fro-yo with assorted toppings and worked his way up to manager. After saving money and getting a loan, he took the previous owner's offer to buy the shop in January.
The Sylmar resident oversees a team of six employees.
"The pressure is all on me, not on anyone else," Smith said. "That's the biggest change."
And to celebrate the new ownership, Golden Spoon will be giving away free frozen yogurt on Saturday and Sunday.
Smith attended college for a year until he decided school was not the right fit at the time, though he plans on continuing his education in the future.
He also foresees more fro-yo in his future. Smith said he'd like to open five more Golden Spoon locations down the road.
In addition to launching his career in entrepreneurship, finding time for a social life has proved to be another obstacle, Smith said.
"Most people at my age go out and party," he said. "It's hard for me not to do that I guess."


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"Der da, der da am Eingang saß." Sucht hier Gäste, die ihr versäumt habt, nach Kontaktdaten zu fragen.
Ich mache da mal den Anfang: Wie hieß denn der rothaarige Zopfträger, der mir etwa gegen 0200 am Samstag morgen seinen USB Stck geliehen hat? Da waren echt fette Sachen drauf. Ich würde gerne mit ihm zu einer Runde Starcraft1 (ist ja mittlerweile kostenlos ^^ ) zusammenfinden.
Kennt da einer die Steam ID oder die Mail Adresse?
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The bitcoin rate has returned to growth again after the collapse last week. The price of the first cryptocurrency exceeded $ 50,000, exceeding the key psychological mark at the moment.
Bitcoin rose 8% in value and traded at $ 51,500 in US trading, reaching its highest level in a week. Last week, its price immediately fell by 21%, after which it began to recover. The recovery of the bitcoin rate is associated, among other things, with the fact that the famous investor Tim Draper shared a positive outlook for the future of the cryptocurrency.
The billionaire venture capitalist rose to prominence in the crypto community when he bought a batch of bitcoins confiscated from Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht by the US Marshals Service. He bought 29,657 bitcoins at an auction in 2014 for $ 19 million.At the current exchange rate, their value exceeds $ 1.4 billion.
Then Draper said that within three years, bitcoin will rise in price from $ 400 to $ 10,000. Although many disagreed with his prediction, it came true within a few weeks. Remaining optimistic about Bitcoin, he announced in 2019 that the cryptocurrency will grow well above its previous peak of $ 20,000, which it reached at the end of 2017. In 2022 or early 2023, bitcoin will reach $ 250,000, the investor predicted then, although at that time the price of bitcoin was below $ 4,000.
Speaking this week on the Unstoppable podcast, Mr. Draper said he is still sticking to his 2019 prediction, adding that Bitcoin will continue to grow and its price could increase by a factor of 100.
When asked what the next firms could enter the cryptocurrency market, Draper said it could be pension funds, to which more Fortune 500 companies could be added.


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Pitbull coming to the Walmart AMP in September
ROGERS, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The Walmart AMP has introduced that Pitbull can be performing in September.
Pitbull can be bringing his I Really feel Good Tour on Wednesday, September 8, with gates opening at 7 p.m. with the music starting at 8 p.m.
Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.
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m. on Friday, June 25, and vary from $39.95 to $499.95 plus relevant charges. Buy tickets by calling 479-443-5600, visiting www.amptickets.com or in-person on the Walmart AMP Field Workplace. AMP Field Workplace hours are 10 a.m. till 5 p.m. on weekdays.
The worldwide famous person will pull out the entire stops as he delivers a set loaded with immediately recognizable smashes and surprises. As well as, he’ll be performing new music from his forthcoming English album on stage for the primary time.
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The future is almost here, and it's expensive.
Nike has been teasing for a while that it will soon release self-lacing trainers inspired by the boots Marty wore in the film Back to the Future II, but now it's finally ready to release them for all consumers to buy. According to Jacques Slade, a YouTube creator known for his sneaker affinity, Nike's upcoming kicks will cost $720 (around £575) when they launch this holiday season.
Just CONFIRMED with NIKE. Hyperadapt 1.0 is NOT $1000. It is $720 releasing on 12/1. pic.twitter.com/eqcwybbRyN— Jacques Slade (@kustoo) November 14, 2016
The HyperAdapt 1.0 shoes, which were revealed in October 2015, teased in May, and confirmed in September, will release on 1 December. They follow Nike's limited edition Air Mags. Only 89 Air Mags were sold to benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's research. Like the Air Mags, the HyperAdapts will auto-tighten its laces when you hit a sensor, Nike said.
The tightness of the fit can also be adjusted with buttons on the side.


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Its American subsidiary based in Columbia, MD, the second largest foodservice distributorship in the U.S., which accounts for 30% of Ahold's sales, reported operating income of 43 million euros ($53 million), up from 39 million euros ($48.4 million) a year earlier, Ahold reported, according to European and American news agencies.
Chief Executive Anders Moberg said this showed progress for restructuring at the troubled foodservice distribution network.
In 2003, Ahold disclosed that it had overstated its earnings by more than $1 billion between 2000 and 2002, mainly at U.S. Foodservice. The scandal drove the company to the brink of bankruptcy. Ahold has since recovered by selling operations, cutting debt and tightening financial controls.
Ahold has maintained that it is "optimistic" about U.S. Foodservice's future and does not plan to sell the unit. Ahold said at today's meeting it would announce a strategic plan for the unit's future in November. Ahold said in 2003 that it would take 18 to 24 months to get U.S. Foodservice's finances in order and see significant performance improvements.
Net sales at U.S. Foodservice, in U.S. dollars, fell by about 2.7%, officials said. The decision to exit some business segments, such as its Sofco distributor of janitorial, health care, industrial packaging and paper products, affected sales by about 3%, the company said.
U.S. Foodservice's gross margin for the first half of 2005 has risen by a percentage point from full year 2003, officials said. Ahold said it expects adjusted operating margins at the distributorship would exceed 1.7% by no later than 2006.
Ahold simultaneously projected that it would have trouble reaching its corporate growth targets for next year while analysts expressed disappointment with its current results.
Ahold reported profits of 130 million euros (US$162 million) for the second quarter of this year, compared with a loss of 28 million euros (US$34.8 million) in the same period last year. Net sales fell nearly 1% to 10.4 billion euros (US$13 billion), mainly due to the declining dollar.
Moberg explained the decline in sales by calling the American retail environment "very challenging," especially amid competition from Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Ahold reportedly acquires about 70% of its annual revenue from America, where the company is losing customers to price-cutting rivals.
"We're working hard to deliver our targets but the recent events in the U.S. will have an impact on the economy and impact on consumer behavior," Moberg observed. "And sometimes there are things that happen in the outside world that we cannot influence."
The latest Ahold report also said debt was reduced by 400 million euros (US$496.7 million) to 6.1 billion euros (US$7.6 billion) at the end of the second quarter.
Moberg said the company has chosen a successor to Hannu Ryopponen, cfo, but declined to reveal the name for two weeks.
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NRF is the world’s largest retail trade association. Every day, we stand up for, celebrate, educate and inspire the people who power the retail industry.
Consumers will be spending more than ever on Mom this year.
NRF's annual survey found total spending is expected to reach a record $25 billion.
NRF’s podcast: Retail Gets Real
Always be the first to know about the latest retail news. Sign up for NRF SmartBrief — a free daily newsletter filled with the day's top retail news and industry information.
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The latest results from the 2019 State of Retailing Online report are in, and the findings showcase how modern retailers think about meeting the demands of today’s multichannel consumer.
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Makerbot has come up with a fix for its troubled 5th generation Makerbot Replicators — a new extruder aimed at avoiding the wear issues that have plagued many users of the 3D printer. Dubbed the Smart Extruder+, the part has been redesigned to make it easier to load filament, while a new mechanism looks to make the Replicator less prone to clogs and jams.
The Smart Extruder+ costs $199 and is slated to ship on January 18; current MakerBot customers can buy their first Smart Extruder+ for $99. The extruder comes with a 6-month replacement guarantee. That’s double the length of the warranty for older models. If the Smart Extruder+ fails during those six months, Makerbot says it will replace the extruder no matter how much filament has been used.
We’ve been testing the new Smart Extruder+ for several days on a Replicator that Makerbot supplied, and it certainly seems to deliver improved performance. We’ve had no printer jams while printing several large models. More testing will be required to see if this new extruder fixes the issues over the long term, but our initial impressions are positive.
MORE: Best 3D Printers
The new extruder is not likely to assuage the anger of many existing users, though, who will have to pay $99 for the new part. New Replicator 3D printers will continue to ship with the older Smart Extruder as well, so new buyers will have to buy the Smart Extruder+ as a separate item.
Behind the Problem
Unlike most 3D printers, the 5th gen Replicators that Makerbot released in 2014 used a removable extruder — the equivalent of a print head on a 2D printer — that was held in place by magnets. The intention was that users could swap out the extruder when a different one was needed for different materials.
This Smart Extruder was bedevilled by problems, though. Users complained that it jammed frequently, print quality degraded over time, and the touch sensor it used to detect the print bed failed often. Perhaps most troubling for a printer designed for heavy educational use, the Smart Extruder wore out quickly, with the nozzle that the molten print material came out of getting worn after extended use.
In late 2015, the company acknowledged there were issues and posted a series of tips on how to avoid jams and clogs, but is still facing class action lawsuits from several pension funds over the subsequent drop in the share price of Stratasys, who bought Makerbot in 2014.
These issues were not unique to the Replicator: most 3D printers sometimes require the removal of filament jams and the replacement of the heated nozzles that the melted filament is squirted out of. However, the Replicator seals these parts inside the print head: you can’t disassemble it to to fix it yourself. Other printers put this feed mechanism behind a removeable panel and offer replacement nozzles at low cost (usually less than $25 from companies such as Lulzbot and Printrbot). Instead, Makerbot initially charged $175 for a replacement Smart Extruder. Later, it offered a $50 rebate if you returned the broken Smart Extruder.
Makerbot claims that the new Smart Extruder+ has been extensively tested, with 90 percent of those tested still working well after more than 1,200 hours of printing. It remains to be seen if this fix is enough to keep the product going in a fiercely competitive 3D printing market, though.


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Consumers want clarity from their energy suppliers, Ofgem claim
Research carried out by the industry regulator has supported the claim; their findings displayed that consumers want suppliers to use clearer terms when describing prices and energy use information.
It was also found that many would welcome help from their supplier in finding the right tariff.
Ofgem's claim follows E.ON's announcement that it will be making improvements to its Direct Debit policy.
This move has been welcomed by Consumer Focus, with their director of energy, Audrey Gallacher, stating: "We welcome the move by E.ON to change its Direct Debit policy.
"It's a victory for common sense and hopefully the first of many steps the company will take in its Reset Review programme to improve the experience of its customers."
Latest gas and electricity news brought to you by UK Power - the energy price comparison site.
Click here to run an energy price comparison, and see if you could be paying less for your gas and electricity.


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In a sign of the growing importance and value of digital healthcare in the world of medicine, two of the industry’s publicly traded companies have agreed to a whopping $18.5 billion merger.
The union of Teladoc Health, a provider of virtual care services, and Livongo, which has made a name for itself by integrating hardware and software to monitor and manage chronic conditions like diabetes, will create a giant in the emerging field of telemedicine and virtual care.
“By expanding the reach of Livongo’s pioneering Applied Health Signals platform and building on Teladoc Health’s end-to-end virtual care platform, we’ll empower more people to live better and healthier lives,” said Glen Tullman, Livongo founder and executive chairman. “This transaction recognizes Livongo’s significant progress and will enable Livongo shareholders to benefit from long-term upside as the combined company is positioned to serve an even larger addressable market with a truly unmatched offering.”
Under the terms of the agreement, each share of Livongo will be exchanged for 0.5920 shares of Teladoc health plus a cash payment of $11.33 for each share. The deal, based on Teladoc’s closing price on August 4, 2020, is roughly $18.5 billion. It’s an eye-popping figure for a company that was, at one point, trading below $16 per-share.
But the new reality of healthcare delivery in the era of COVID-19 rapidly accelerated the adoption of digital and remote care services like those Livongo was selling to its customers — and investors came calling as a result.
The combined company is expected to have pro forma revenue of $1.3 billion representing 85% year on year growth, on a pro forma basis. For 2020, the combined company expects adjusted EBITDA to reach $120 million.
“This merger firmly establishes Teladoc Health at the forefront of the next-generation of healthcare,” said Jason Gorevic, the chief executive officer of Teladoc Health, in a statement. “Livongo is a world-class innovator we deeply admire and has demonstrated success improving the lives of people living with chronic conditions. Together, we will further transform the healthcare experience from preventive care to the most complex cases, bringing ‘whole person’ health to consumers and greater value to our clients and shareholders as a result.”
The companies emphasized their combined ability to engage with patients and monitor and manage their conditions using technology. Teladoc Health’s flywheel approach to continued member engagement combined with Livongo’s proven track record of using data science to build consumer trust will accelerate the combined company’s development of longitudinal consumer and provider relationships, the companies said in a statement.
Teladoc currently counts 70 million customers in the United States with an access to Medicare and Medicaid patients that Livongo’s services could reach. The combined company also pitched the operational efficiencies that could be created through the merger. Teladoc estimated that there would be “revenue synergies” of $100 million two years from the close of the deal, reaching $500 million on a run rate basis by 2025, according to a statement.
Gorevic will run the combined company and David Snow will serve as the chair of the new board — which will be comprised of eight current Teladoc board members and five members of the Livongo board.
The company expects the deal to close by the end of the fourth quarter, subject to regulatory approvals. Lazard advised Teladoc on the transaction while Morgan Stanley served as the financial advisor to Livongo.


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Posted on 2020-04-02 17:16:00
[ Show older headlines ]
It looks like the Chinese are getting smarter, and will be buying oil instead of U.S. Treasuries. This is just the beginning, as soon the entire world will be buying real stuff instead of Treasuries. That means the Federal Reserve will buy more Treasuries as Americans buy a lot less stuff.


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Economist: Indian Gaming Slowdown Is 'Artificial'
By Kathy Helms
WINDOW ROCK - A struggling economy is only partially to blame for the slow growth of Indian gaming in 2007, according to a national study released Tuesday.
Alan Meister, Ph.D., an economist and vice president of Analysis Group Inc. in Los Angeles, has been studying Indian gaming for nearly nine years and is author of the seventh edition of “Casino City’s Indian Gaming Industry Report.”
During his years of research Meister has worked for different aspects of the gaming industry: tribes, commercial gaming entities, states, and the National Indian Gaming Commission, the federal agency which regulates Indian gaming.
“In the last several years, and years that I’ve been doing the study, you could see that Indian gaming has had very healthy growth. It’s continually outdone commercial gaming,” Meister said Monday prior to the study’s release.
“That continued to be true this year, but Indian gaming had slower growth in 2007 and this is actually the third year in a row of slower growth,” he said. “It was about 15 percent growth in 2005; in 2006 it was 10 percent, and now it’s only 5 percent.”
A sluggish economy is the “natural, easy thing to point to,” he said, “but while I think it’s part of that, I think there is a more pervasive reason why Indian gaming has been slowing down, at least in the last couple years.”
Public policies which include legislations, regulations and gaming compacts “ both existing and proposed “ that have been designed to artificially restrict the supply of Indian gaming also have contributed. “By limiting the supply, I mean not allowing tribes to have certain types of games or not allowing them to have more games,” he said.
The study analyzes growth in 2007 during which 230 tribes operated 425 gaming facilities in 28 states. Indian gaming facilities generated 41 percent of all U.S. casino gaming revenue in 2007, for a total of $26.5 billion, a 5 percent increase over the $25.3 billion generated in 2006, Meister states in the report.
Despite its poor performance, Indian gaming growth still was more than double that of the commercial casino segment, which grew about 2 percent from $31.7 billion in 2006 to $32.2 billion in 2007.
The much smaller racetrack casino, or “racino” segment of the gaming industry, had a 43 percent growth rate in 2007, almost eight times greater than that of Indian gaming and more than 23 times greater than that of commercial casinos, the study states.
The racino segment made up about 8 percent of the gaming industry in 2007, yet, nationwide, its revenue grew from approximately $3.7 billion in 2006 to $5.2 billion in 2007.
Total jobs and wages at Indian gaming facilities also increased. Indian gaming facilities, including non-gaming operations such as hotels and restaurants, directly supported approximately 346,000 jobs and paid about $12 billion in wages in 2007, compared to 343,000 jobs and $11.2 billion in wages in 2006.
“What I’m seeing is the tribes developing their facilities and wanting to do more, but they’re not allowed to. Even tribes where they try to renegotiate with the states or try to get more machines in certain places, the state just refuses to negotiate with them and won’t give them more.”
Arizona tribes were limited in their number of machines, but after five years their compact allowed them an increase.
“That just happened in 2008,” Meister said. In 2006, Arizona ranked No. 3 in gaming revenue but was bumped to No. 4 in 2007, replaced by Oklahoma, which has 31 gaming tribes compared to 15 in Arizona and 13 in New Mexico.
“The fact is that the tribes that are all renegotiating these compacts are trying to get an increase in supply. Why? Not because they don’t need it. They’re doing it because they do need it. In California, there’s going to be a huge increase in the revenue sharing the tribes are willing to pay to do this. They don’t do that lightly,” he said.
“There are some of these states where there seems to be limitations on supply but yet the demand is there - California for sure, Washington, Arizona, even some smaller states like South Dakota and Montana are examples where there seems to be demand greater than supply,” he said.
Before the economic slowdown those states had sufficient consumer demand to expand their existing gaming operations, however, their gaming compacts largely restricted them from doing so, according to the study.
“So I think that what I’ve seen happening is a slowdown, but it’s sort of an artificial slowdown. It’s not all because of the economy, it’s not because the market’s saturated, there’s no more players, or they don’t want to play. It’s in some ways because you can only do so much with what you’ve got.”
Despite the economic downtrend, Meister said it is not the end of Indian gaming. “I think the slowdown is likely to continue a bit more until the economy recovers, which is going to happen. This is the way the economy is - up, down. It will pick up, it will eventually turn around.
“When it does, and when the tribes get the consumer confidence back and they’re able to develop their facilities to fulfill the maximum potential of their compacts, you’re going to see some good, sizable growth. You’re going to see Indian gaming rebound, and you’re going to see some stronger numbers, back to where they had been before this past year.”
Meister said the fact that the Navajo Nation is going to be able “to come on line and add a new facility, is increasing the supply and meeting some unmet demand.”
One trend he has observed in the last few years is a movement toward adding non-gaming amenities, “sort of this resort/destination-type casino,” Meister said. “They’re adding hotels, convention centers, entertainment, restaurants.
“If you offer them non-gaming amenities, you get people to come from farther distances, they stay longer, and they spend more money.” Total non-gaming revenue rose about 9 percent last year, from $2.9 billion in 2006 to $3.1 billion in 2007.
Information: Meister, (213) 896-4547.
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Another shortage, another challenge
We talked about how the driver shortage and federal regulations impact the freight industry, but what other challenges are there? One of the major challenges that has come about since the COVID pandemic is an equipment shortage.
We’ve all seen the empty lots at car dealerships over the last year or two. We’ve heard about the delay in receiving chips to make the technology inside the vehicles function properly.
The transportation industry is no exception to these issues.
According to the American Trucking Associations, about 72% of America’s freight is transported by truck. They estimate that we are currently dealing with a shortage of about 80,000 truck drivers and predict that number could double by 2030. But what good are truck drivers if we don’t have the trucks to put them in?
In January, some semi-truck dealers reported they were already sold out of new 2022 trucks, according to The Business Insider. Being sold out for the year has already created a year long waiting list. The global shortage of computer chips has cut production levels for semi-trucks.
Like everything else, costs continue to rise. The costs of component parts are so high it has created problems when quoting a good price. This is proving difficult for companies to make money on the equipment but provide a cost that customers can handle.
The Business Insider also indicated that the shortage has made semi-trucks increasingly valuable. They stated, “In August (2021), J. D. Power reported that Class 8 truck sales prices climbed over 86% compared to the first seven months of the previous year. And prices are expected to continue to rise in 2022.”
The fact that this problem is only getting worse doesn’t bode well for the freight market. A truck you could have purchased for about $40,000 a year ago will cost every bit of $60,000 today. Yikes!
Is anything being done to combat this problem? Maybe, but not much (if anything) that will have a short-term impact. One of the most talked about changes- electrification/automation. But we will wait to discuss that in a future blog.


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This update serves to clarify that Invitrogen has divested the Heidelberg, Germany-based unit of its BioReliance business. The BioReliance business itself, which Invitrogen will retain, is based in Rockville, Md. The original story was based on a press release that did not describe the relationship between the Heidelberg and Rockville businesses.
After the management buy-out, which was led by Thomas Pultar, the company will be called BIOMEVA.
BioReliance Manufacturing is based in Heidelberg, Germany. It is a "small part" of the overall BioReliance business, based in Rockville, Md., which Invitrogen will retain, according to a company spokesperson.
Terms of the divestiture were not disclosed. Invitrogen acquired Rockville-based BioReliance in December 2003 for $500 million.
"Bacterial contract manufacturing was not aligned with our strategic direction," Bernd Brust, vice president and general manager for Invitrogen Europe, said in a statement.
BioReliance Manufacturing offers fermentation and purification services using recombinant and natural microorganisms. The new company will continue this model, it said.


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Vegan products like the Impossible Burger could help put the horrors of factory farming behind us.
There’s a lot wrong with factory farming, from the cruelty it inflicts on animals to the destruction of wildlife habitat it brings about to the role it plays in climate change. But people really like meat, and efforts to convince meat eaters to consider vegan diets haven’t been successful.
That’s where meat alternatives come in. Products like veggie burgers, fake chicken, and soy and almond milk are growing in popularity and market share — and even better, they’re getting tastier and harder to distinguish from animal products. Meanwhile, cell-based meat — grown from animal cells in a lab — is still probably years away from being available in stores, but there has been encouraging progress on that front as well.
Is a vegan, meat-free future imminent? Not likely. For now, leading plant-based meat-alternative companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have only been able to carve out a narrow niche with burgers and ground beef. But surging interest in meat alternatives from restaurants and consumers, as well as significant investments in the industry from meat titans, is reason for optimism.


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Content may be king, but distribution is the key to whether that king remains on the throne or is deposed by a band of pirates.
Any day now, the studios with all that content, and the Internet service providers who are increasingly delivering that video content over the Web, will team up on an early warning system for those using peer-to-peer technology to illegally access TV shows and movies.
Peer-to-peer is a way to connect and coordinate a network of computers so that a large file—like an HD movie or TV show—can be downloaded more quickly. While that’s fine for legal content—well, except that it can be a network management headache for ISPs—peer-to-peer is the BitTorrent model that got Comcast into trouble with the FCC when it slowed both legal and illegal downloads in 2008.
This effort is targeting only illegal files, as determined by the studios, with an appeal process for those who think they got it wrong. Taking a page from the cellphone companies, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision and the Motion Picture Association of America and others are combining to identify and alert those illegally downloading content, and providing them with a series of alerts and info on where to get stuff legally.
It is a way to give consumers fair warning before ISPs take action to redirect or slow illegal traffic.
The studios and ISPs are trying to find a consumer- friendly way to stop the 90% of illegal peer-to-peer traffic that the executive director of the alert project says is by people who don’t know they are doing anything illegal. The diehard pirates will still need to be dealt with, and the FCC has provided for network management flexibility to deal with pirates.
When Web content was just a glimmer in traditional distributors’ eyes, they made it clear that protecting that content was key to making it available online. Since then, the marketplace demand has increased and that movie and TV content is coming online from everywhere. But that doesn’t mean the piracy protection issue has been solved. The floodgates opened because they were forced open by a new generation of Web surfers and mobile content consumers. Now those consumers need to be taught that getting content without paying for it is neither a game nor an entitlement, and that there are consequences both for themselves and for the future of all that great content and distribution.
The executives inducted at this week’s B&C Hall of Fame ceremony in New York, and the classes that follow, will need answers from regulators and the legal system on how online content distribution is going to be treated. That is the kind of regulatory certainty business needs if it is to invest in and grow the digital distribution economy.
Ten years ago, answering this protection question would have been an academic exercise. Now, however, it is key information for businesses to have before committing to an over-the-top regime.
Among the flash points for decision-making remains the lawsuit over Barry Diller’s Aereo TV, which gets to the status of Internet distribution of TV station content, as well as the FCC’s open docket on what constitutes a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD), which gets to the regulatory status of aggregators and distributors of all kinds of online video content.
The courts move at their own pace, which, measured in Internet innovation units (or IIUs, to coin a term), is glacially slow. For its part, the FCC controls its own calendar, but it is in a bit of a quandary. The commission raised the issue of defining MVPD in the context of an existing, years-long complaint filed by Sky Angel, an over-the-top provider that wants program access rules applied to IP-delivered service. But the definition issue is larger than that complaint; it implicates the entire content-distribution regime, and it deserves its own independent review.
While we cannot speed up the court process, we can and do urge the FCC to weigh in on the definition of an MVPD as soon as it can.
That means opening a fresh docket, putting a reasonable time limit on comments and then deciding whether/how program access or carriage rules, must-carry or other obligations will be applied to online video providers.
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American & Efird, a global supplier of premium industrial and consumer sewing thread, embroidery thread and technical textiles, has formed a business alliance with CGS, a provider of business applications, enterprise learning and outsourcing services, to improve productivity, quality and employee motivation with apparel manufacturers.
“A&E has long been committed to assisting with the challenges global apparel manufacturers face each day and is proud to be a part of a collaborative effort with CGS that addresses these challenges,” said Les Miller, chief executive officer of A&E. “By using A&E’s premium sewing thread and CGS’s real-time technology in BlueCherry Shop Floor Control, manufacturing facilities have the ability to further enhance production efficiency.”
Today’s sewn products manufacturers are challenged to improve productivity and efficiency, reduce throughput time and production costs and improve quality while reducing work-in-process inventory levels, the companies noted.
CGS BlueCherry Shop Floor Control, an integral module in the BlueCherry Enterprise Suite, offers an essential solution for manufacturing operations. It provides tools that automate the collection and reporting of production, enabling real-time shop floor visibility and control, improving factory operations and productivity while reducing costs.
“With over 30 years of experience in the apparel, footwear and consumer product market, CGS understands the value of having the right solutions in place to efficiently and effectively run business operations,” said Paul Magel, president of the Business Applications and Technology Outsourcing division at CGS. “Through this partnership, CGS and A&E customers in the BlueCherry community will be able to enhance the speed and quality of their manufacturing operations.”
[Read more about A&E product development: A&E Taps Repreve for New Eco-Friendly Synthetic Thread]
Since its first real-time installation in 1984, over 200,000 terminals of BlueCherry SFC have been installed, enabling apparel companies to achieve a return on investment in six to 12 months.
Headquartered in New York City, CGS has offices across North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
A&E is the largest U.S. manufacturer and the world’s second-largest manufacturer and distributor of premium quality industrial and consumer sewing thread, embroidery thread and technical textiles. A&E’s products are manufactured in 23 countries, distributed in 50 countries and sold in over 100 countries. A&E owns or operates 27 manufacturing facilities and employs over 10,000 associates around the world directly or in partnership with joint venture partners.
Sustainability remains at the core of Target’s corporate ethos and the retailer is making a major move to combat climate change.Read more
NAFTA could end up being a bilateral trade agreement that doesn’t include the United States at all.Read more
Driven by the Trump administration’s hard line stance on global trade, the U.S. is set to lose its position and credibility on the world commercial stage.Read more
The Bangladesh High Court issued a stay this week on implementation of the Bangladesh Accord for Building and Fire Safety 2018.Read more
Alpargatas Argentina is investing $5.6 million reintroduce its footwear brand Havaianas, plus is social media causing Nike shares to drop?Read more
Behind every distressed retailer are suppliers, vendors, creditors and landlords who must determine how best to proceed—as partners or combatants.Read more
3-D printing is often viewed as an opportunity for companies, but the emergence of this technology could be curtains for cross-border trade.Read more


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The blueberry, it turns out, is a true powerhouse of nutrition. The Eat 5 to 9 a Day campaign encourages consumers to eat more ``blues and purples.'' The deep, rich color indicates the presence of antioxidants that help reduce the risk of diseases such as cancer, heart disease and even Alzheimer's.
Phytochemical research is one of the hottest areas of research in the nutrition world. New studies show blueberries may actually slow down the aging process by helping to prevent and reverse memory loss. Animal studies conducted at Tufts University show rats fed blueberry extract had improved neural, cognitive and motor function.
To add to the blueberry's considerable cachet, another study on rats by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that blueberries may lower cholesterol, acting as effectively as commercial drugs on the market.
So just what is it that makes blueberries tick?
Scientists have found they have an especially high ORAC number, a measure of their oxygen radical absorbance. Fresh blueberries have an ORAC of 2,400. Blackberries come in second place at 2,030, while other berries - including cranberries, strawberries and raspberries - rate above 1,000, according to last month's Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter.


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Alphatron Marine Noord is proud to announce that it has received a contract for an AlphaBridge for the TSHD "Yed Prior" from Spaansen BV. TSHD "Yed Prior" is a dry cargo ship called GERD which is being converted by Spaansen BV into gravel hopper. The AlphaBridge has been composed in collaboration with the ship's captain, resulting in a tailor-made bridge in which all instruments have been optimized for navigation and dredging work. “We are convinced that our unique ‘Alphabridge’ concept with a set-up of two adapted so-called 'Tugboat' consoles can do this ship conversion a good service” said Maerten van Uggelen, Sales Manager.
The result is a beautiful bridge that radiates tranquility and efficiently presents clear information to the captain. The Alphatron Marine Noord office in Harlingen will support the ship and crew in providing technical service in the future. Alphatron Marine wants to thank Spaansen BV for their confidence and look forward to a pleasant cooperation!
Alphatron Marine Noord
Maerten van Uggelen
Korte Lijnbaan 25
8861 NS Harlingen
T 0517 - 430 810
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JRC/Alphatron Marine partners up with IHC’s global maritime e-commerce platform ShipSupport
5 2월 2019 - JRC/Alphatron Marine is proud to announce that we have joined Royal IHC’s pioneering e-commerce platform as one of its trusted global partners. Launched in November 2018, ShipSupport.com represents a game changer for the global maritime industry. This user-friendly interface and simple to use digital platform makes it quicker and easier for customers to order all their required parts online for their vessels and equipment.자세히보기
Houston Center of Excellence open for business
5 2월 2015 - JRC and Alphatron Marine are pleased to announce the opening of the Center of Excellence in Houston, TX, USA. Operating from a brand new industrial building with over 7,500 square foot, this intensifies the platform to further expand the strong partnership of JRC and Alphatron Marine.자세히보기


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BYD shares rose as much as 6.3 per cent to HK$35.35 before closing 3.46 per cent ahead at HK$34.40. The stock has gained 48 per cent so far this year.
BYD Co makes rechargeable batteries and cars in Shenzhen in Guangdong province. Founded in February 1995, and listed in Hong Kong in 2002, the origin of the company’s name is uncertain, with some saying it could simply be an acronym based on its Chinese name or from the phrase “build your dreams”. BYD’s profile was raised in 2008 when a unit of billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway invested about US$230 million in BYD.


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2014-18 Tesla Model S and Model X recalled in Australia with safety system fault
Tesla has recalled 2508 examples of its Model S sedan and Model X SUV sold in Australia between 2014 and 2018, citing a fault with onboard computer systems that could “increase the risk of an accident”.
The recall notice, lodged with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), says: “The electronic multi media card may malfunction over time.
"If a malfunction occurs: 1) The central display may black out and not recover after restarting the touchscreen, 2) there may be loss of certain functionalities, including rear-view backup camera, exterior turn signal lighting, and windshield defogging and defrosting controls, and 3) a vehicle alert to contact service may appear.
“The loss of these functions may increase the risk of an accident resulting in injury to the vehicle occupants and other road users.”
All affected Model S vehicles were sold between 1 May 2014 and 30 June 2018, while all affected Model X examples were sold between 1 January 2017 and 30 June 2018 – with all vehicles stamped Model Years 2014-2018.
Tesla previously recalled 158,000 cars in the US – and many more in China and Europe – citing safety concerns over the same fault.
However, at the time its Australian branch assured local owners and media the problem had "no impact on basic vehicle driving functionality and controllability."
A full list of vehicle identification numbers for the 2508 cars involved in the recall can be found here.
To have your vehicle checked, find your closest Tesla service centre by clicking here.


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U.S. pre-paid card providers angle for slice of stimulus check action: industry groups
In 2018, pre-paid card issuers reported collecting $469 million in fees
Industry groups for U.S. providers of pre-paid cards and mobile wallets are in talks with the U.S. Treasury Department about allowing stimulus payments designed to help millions of Americans struggling due to coronavirus lockdowns be made via their products, the groups said.
The Treasury's Internal Revenue Service (IRS) began this month depositing payments, approved as part of a $2.3 trillion Congressional relief package, directly into taxpayer bank accounts. But the IRS may have to issue as many as 70 million paper checks to Americans for whom it has no account data, including several million who do not have a bank account.
ARE PREPAID DEBIT CARDS A MISTAKE?
Hobbled by budget cuts and obsolete technology, the IRS will struggle with the enormous workload involved in printing and distributing millions of checks and could take months to complete the job, Reuters has reported. Checks are also highly vulnerable to fraud.
The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA), the Innovative Payments Association (IPA) and bank lobbyists are in talks with the Treasury about expanding electronic payment options by allowing companies to load the stimulus cash onto newly issued or existing pre-paid cards, the groups said.
Jodie Kelley, chief executive of the ETA, said talks took a step forward last week when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) waived a rule that hinders agencies from requiring that a consumer receive government payments through a specific third-party.
The CFPB waived the rule in order to help get funds into the hands of consumers in "the most efficient, secure manner and has offered its perspective and support to Treasury and the IRS to that end," a spokeswoman said.
CORONAVIRUS STIMULUS CASH COULD COME ON PREPAID CARDS
While that CFPB measure has helped pave the way for the Treasury to adopt new payment types for stimulus checks, the agency still has to work through other issues.
Those include whether to take competitive bids for the contract or potentially use emergency powers to quickly pick a provider, according to the ETA, which represents companies including PayPal Inc, Visa and Mastercard and two lawyers familiar with the discussion.
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While the Treasury would pay the contracted issuer, there was a question mark over whether consumers would have to pay fees to access the funds, the two lawyers said.
In 2018, pre-paid card issuers reported collecting $469 million in fees, according to the Federal Reserve, a figure consumer groups have criticized as being far too high. The Federal Reserve has said that cardholder ATM and account serving fees represented 84% of total cardholder fee revenue.
The U.S. government already disburses Social Security and other benefits using pre-paid cards such as Comerica Bank's Direct Express, and recipients pay no fees to have the benefits uploaded, but may incur fees in using the cards.
Another source said the industry groups expected the Treasury to make a decision on pre-paid card providers once it had completed delivery the direct deposit payments. The precise timeline for issuing the paper checks remains unclear, but Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said on Sunday that checks had not yet been delivered.
The Treasury did not respond to requests for comment.
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Brian Tate, chief executive of the Innovative Payments Association, said he hopes the Treasury moves quickly to allow pre-paid card providers to distribute stimulus funds, but declined to comment on the detail of the discussions.
Reuters could not ascertain which companies might be first in line for any pre-paid card contract.
Other major pre-paid card issuers include Bancorp Bank, Green Dot Bank and MetaBank.


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Rocket Licensing has detailed a slate of new licensing agreements and renewals for the popular Scholastic book series, Horrible Histories.
The UK independent licensing agency is expanding the children’s brand as Horrible Histories celebrates its 25th anniversary year with products hitting retailers within the UK’s museums and historical sites scene in 2019.
Ancestors of Dover will be leading this charge with an extensive range of historically accurate reproduction coins and figures, quills and ink, magnets, activity kits and children’s jewellery.
Meanwhile, Paul Lamond Games is utilising its own 25 years of experience to develop a new selection of Horrible Histories games, jigsaws and card games based on popular titles. An initial range of puzzles was launched at Autumn Fair in September.
Rocket has also renewed the licensing agreement with Winning Moves for a further two years. The popular Horrible Histories Monopoly and Top Trumps lines will continue to sell widely into the UK as well as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Smiffy’s is also being renewed as Horrible Histories’ successful dress-up partner for another three years.
The announcements will further boost the Horrible Histories licensing programme as its success continues on an international level. Adding to this, a Horrible Histories film, Horrible Histories: The Movie will land in cinemas in 2019, leaving Rocket Licensing now assessing a number of new opportunities to extend the licensing portfolio.
New categories now being considered include daywear, nightwear, underwear, accessories, homewares and digital applications.
Written by Terry Deary and illustrated by Martin Brown, Horrible Histories first appeared in a successful book series in 1993. 30 million copies of over 80 titles have been sold across 31 countries.
Charlie Donaldson, joint managing director of Rocket Licensing, said: “As Horrible Histories reaches its 25th anniversary, there’s even greater awareness of this unique brand. The growing licensee base certainly reflects the brand’s enormous potential across both specialist and mass market categories.
“It’s a potential we feel will be further realised as the continuing success of the TV show and books, along with the new film, build an even bigger audience for Horrible Histories.”


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Kimmel Just Made a ‘Shocking Discovery’ about the Trumps that Will Infuriate the Deplorables
Unsurprisingly, Kimmel Finds A Lot Of Foreign-Made Trump Items, But Then Finds A More Serious Problem
A lot has been written about the fact that “America First” has not been a phrase that really applies to the Trump family business. Despite Republican Donald Trump railing about making products in America and trade deficits that he doesn’t understand, his businesses don’t live up to his rhetoric.
Jimmy Kimmel decided to have a little fun with the Trump online store for branded products. The comedian ordered a box of items to check their country of origin and found essentially nothing made in America.
But he did discover one problematic piece of info with which to have some fun. Some of the items he ordered did not have a country of origin label on them. Kimmel notes this is a legal no-no.
The late night host showed two items had no country of origin marking on them. He then walked through the law on such a violation.
I looked up requirements for country of origin marking on goods imported to the U.S. “Goods that are imported into the U.S. are required to have a country of origin marking, such as; the country of manufacture, production, or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the United States…For example, goods originating in China should be marked ‘Made in China’…Failure to properly report product of origin can result in substantial penalties. Companies can face up to $500,000 in fines per violation”.
Kimmel goes on to say he’ll “file an official complaint and let them sort it out”.
It’s clear the rhetoric still does not match what they do in practice and it appears that is never going to change. But if they are going to continue these things, they might want to clean up their act if they want to avoid looking even more incompetent than usual.
Featured image via YouTube screen cap.


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Michael B. Foggs, M.D., Joins Tivic Health’s Medical Advisory Board
The Consumerization of Health & Wellness source: Dealerscope When mid-March 2020 rolled around, the public health and economic crisis of our age scrambled everything. Now into the fourth quarter — retailers, ...Read More
Black Friday Featured Products with Dr. Frank source: Pittsburgh Today Live (CBS-TV Pittsburgh) ClearUP is featured among the latest trending products for Black Friday.
Dr. Frank's Daily Flash Featuring ClearUP source: Dr. Frank's Daily Flash ClearUP is featured among the latest trending products and consumer electronics.
Beat Fall Allergies Without Medication source: WFLA NBC News Tampa Watch this video interview with Jennifer Ernst, CEO co-founder of Tivic Health, as she discusses a drug-free, non-invasive product called ...Read More
We are a trusted resource for allergy news, updates, and more


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Food Philippines offer healthy and halal-certified food products
Food Philippines offers new trade opportunities for the country’s food industry as it offers premium, healthy and halal-certified food products. Demand for halal food has been increasing all across the world. A total of 24 food companies have been invited by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the export promotions arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), to represent the country in overseas exhibitions and trade fairs with the prospect marketing of healthy food products that are natural as well as organic.
“There is an overwhelming feedback from the last year’s Gulfood participation, which only proves that there is a potent market in the Middle East which we can strongly influence,” said Rosvi Gaetos, executive director of CITEM.
In response to the increasing demand for healthy and halal-certified food in the international market, part of the country’s objective this year is to expand food choices to offer to the buyers and to introduce new product lines.
In 2015, the Food Philippines Pavilion garnered an impressive sales of $104.34 million, surpassing its record over the years. Breaking down top products from last year’s participation, 26 per cent of the total sales came from coconut water and juice; 23 per cent from dried mangoes, dried fruits and banana chips; and 18 per cent from fresh fruits like cavendish bananas, pineapples, and mangoes.
The Philippine delegation that participated at Gulfood 2016 hopes strengthen the market for the Philippine food products in Dubai. Dubai is a strategic trading point in the Middle East, located between Asia, Europe and Africa, which makes Dubai a melting pot of flavors and a strategic domain for Philippine trade. The GCC population is expected to grow beyond 50 million mark by 2020, which will incite the growth of various development sectors, including the food sector in the region.
Demand for Halal Food
“The United Arab Emirates is one of the leading trade partners of the Philippines. Establishing the Philippine Food Market in UAE will further develop our booming export industry in the Middle East,” said Gaetos.
Food Philippines is a branding initiative that ensures food products made of quality, healthy, natural ingredients are derived from the Philippines’ tropical islands. It unifies the overseas promotional efforts of CITEM. Under this national brand, the Philippines is positioned as Asia’s most exciting sourcing destination for food exports, being one of the world’s top exporters of fresh fruits and marine products.


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The legendary producer and Miami-based entrepreneur, David Grutman, have come together to create The Goodtime on Washington Ave in South Beach. During a recent interview with Ocean Drive, the pair revealed that tourists can now book rooms at the hotel which is set to open in April. The rooms start at $260 a night and can be booked on the hotel’s website.
“The Goodtime will light up this community,” the super-producer said. “People are going to be inspired by what we’re doing here. It will be good energy, good vibrations, good space, and, of course, a good time.”
The hotel has been in the works for three years. Yet, like nearly everything, the process was slowed due to COVID-19. Grutman explained to Ocean Drive that he and Pharrell came up with the concept for the hotel as part of their mission to revamp the community. This mission is mirrored by the establishment’s name.
“Pharrell said to me, ‘I think we should name it The Goodtime as one word—and really change the narrative,” Grutman said. “That’s been our whole vision for everything we’re doing. [In recent years], Washington Avenue has not been thought of as the star. We want to change that—this won’t be a place to just lay your head.”
The Goodtime isn’t the only business venture Pharrell and Grutman have put together. The pair are also partners in Swan Miami. This dining experience is located in Miami’s design district and has been open since 2018.


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The fourth edition of the prestigious India Fashion Awards (IFA) is set to grace the stage on 7th and 8th March at the esteemed St. Regis Hotel, Mumbai. As the leading fashion award in the nation, IFA stands as a beacon, honoring the ingenuity and brilliance of fashion industry stalwarts. This year, in collaboration with WION, the event embraces the theme 'Fashion for Good', delving deep into the realms of sustainability that echos the progressive spirit of the fashion world.
'Fashion for Good' brings together a diverse range of stakeholders, including fashion designers, textile experts, policymakers, artisans, industry leaders, and sustainability advocates. The campaign aims to facilitate meaningful conversations and solutions on the future of sustainable fashion in India.
IFA and WION come together for an enthralling two-day conclave, enhanced by an array of exciting additions. It's not just about shining the spotlight on designers and models; IFA acknowledges the unsung heroes and artisans who form the backbone of the fashion ecosystem. From show directors to stylists, makeup artists to backstage managers, every stakeholder contributes to the vibrant tapestry of the fashion industry.
Mr. Madhu Soman, Chief Business Officer, WION emphasized on the key purpose, stating, "As we embark on this transformative journey with the India Fashion Awards, themed 'Fashion for Good', I am reminded of the power of style to catalyze change. We firmly believe that fashion is not just about what we wear, but also about the impact we make. Through our collective efforts, let's stitch together a narrative of sustainability and grace, where every design, every strut, becomes a testament to our commitment to a better, brighter future."
Expressing his excitement about the upcoming edition, Mr. Sanjay Nigam, Founder, India Fashion Awards, said: "India Fashion Awards is a movement that aims to change the dynamics of the fashion industry. We plan to bring together every individual from the fashion fraternity transcending their distinct roles in the entire ecosystem, along with the 'farm to fashion' approach which talks about adding value in each step of the process - reflecting the true essence of sustainability."
This edition features over 30 award categories, such as Designer of the Year, Fashion Stylist of the Year, Model of the Year, Makeup Artist of the Year, Fashion Influencer of the Year and Fashion Photographer of the Year. The distinguished jury includes Ms. Lubna Adam, Ms. Candice Pinto, Ms. Leena Singh, Ms. Rochelle Pinto, Ms. Anaita Shroff Adajania, Mr. Raghavendra Rathore, Mr. Tarun Khiwal, and Ms. Aditi Srivastava. In addition to the jury, Mr. Daman Chaudhary will serve on the advisory panel.
WION (World is One) is an English global news brand from Zee Media with a presence in over 190 countries. It focuses on delivering global news from an Indian perspective.
About the India Fashion Awards:
India Fashion Awards is Asia's prestigious platform that aims to recognize, salute and showcase the creativity and innovation of Indian fashion members to a global audience. The organization celebrates and honors fashion designers, models, photographers, artisans, and every other tier of individuals whose outstanding contribution is taking the Indian fashion industry to greater heights. IFA endeavors to support Indian fashion, showcasing the creativity and exemplary work of the industry members and recognizing the excellence displayed by them.
Company :-Madison Specialist Communication Services Pvt. Ltd.
User :- Nicole Fernandes


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OnlyFans, which gained much attention for its x-rated content during the pandemic, has launched a 'safe for work' app on Apple and Google devices called OFTV.
This new app is set to give access to several videos of OnlyFans biggest stars but there won't be any nudity involved. Moreover, this new app has been launched by OnlyFans only to clean the site's image as a pornographic video-showing platform.
The company has partnered the initiative with ex-porn star Mia Khalifa, who has featured in a number of free-interview videos available on the new OFTV app.
According to reports, the platform where celebrities, influencers, and content creators can directly monetize is currently available for download on iOS and Google Play.
The ad-free app that was launched in January has over 800 SFW videos from OnlyFans creators. Video of cooking tutorials, yoga routines, and interviews of celebrities are accessible on the new OnlyFans app.
However, this week the company is set to market the app for the first time to people who aren't existing customers of the X-rated platform OnlyFans.
OnlyFans CEO Tim Stokely assured that there's no adult content on the new OnlyFans launched app OFTV. He said that the content on the platform is not being monetized and that there's no direct impact on the creators' income.
Both App Store and Google Play prohibit pornography, but platforms with user-generated content such as Reddit allow its users to post NSFW content as long as it is labeled as such and the content is hidden by default. However, as of now, OnlyFans doesn't have the approval to be on Apple's App Store or Google Play.
From well-known Hollywood actors and singers to social media influencers and sex workers, everyone was using the existing OnlyFans site to post racy videos to earn millions.
Former Disney actors Bella Thorne and Bhad Bhabie created huge buzzes on the X-rated site as they earned millions just hours after joining the so-called adult content site. Other models such as Demi Rose Mawby, the world's hottest weather girl Yanet Garcia, Asian-American beauty Jojo Babie have also joined OnlyFans to make money via sharing sexy nude photos and videos through fan subscriptions.
Moreover, Disney princess Bella Thorne did share non-adult content on the OnlyFans account last year, however, she was slammed by some of her fans for doing so. "I just don't get who they think their audience is going to be," wrote one Twitter user who further expressed that nobody was going to go out of their way to watch some non-adult content by adult content creators.


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Between railroad tracks and beneath the roar of departing planes sits "tent city," a terminus for homeless people. It is not, as might be expected, in a blighted city center, but in the once-booming suburbia of Southern California.
The noisy, dusty camp sprang up in July with 20 residents and now numbers 200 people, including several children, growing as this region east of Los Angeles has been hit by the U.S. housing crisis.
The unraveling of the region known as the Inland Empire reads like a 21st century version of "The Grapes of Wrath," John Steinbeck's novel about families driven from their lands by the Great Depression.
As more families throw in the towel and head to foreclosure here and across the nation, the social costs of collapse are adding up in the form of higher rates of homelessness, crime and even disease.
QandO is enraged that Dana Ford, the Reuters reporter who wrote the above, does not mention until the fifth paragraph that none of the current residents of this tent city are there because of foreclosure. Somehow, that invalidates the entire article. Under a headline reading, "Foreclosures Send Homeless To Tent City?" McQ huffs, "Or maybe they don't. Another classic of media dissembling."
Tent city. U.S. housing crisis. Grown from 20 to 200 residents. "The Grapes of Wrath". Great depression. Foreclosure leads to higher rates of homelessness.
Or does it:While no current residents claim to be victims of foreclosure, all agree that tent city is a symptom of the wider economic downturn. And it's just a matter of time before foreclosed families end up at tent city, local housing experts say.
Or put another way, everything in the first few paragraphs is apparently a crock of crap.
Yes, 200 people are living in a tent city because they love the great outdoors.
In an update, McQ links to two liberal bloggers (Brilliant at Breakfast's Jill, and Libby at Newshoggers), declaring, "Of course, dependable as dawn, the usual suspects swallow the nonsense hook-line-and-sinker and predictably blame it on Bush." What's interesting is that, in Jill's post, McQ ignores this paragraph, which immediately follows her quote from the Reuters article:
The housing bust is part of it, but so is the spiralling cost of health care, a dwindling job base as more companies outsource jobs [that] pay a living wage, and the crushing debt that this president will be leaving us.
And he ignores what Libby says about her Christmas shopping experience:
The traffic was horrendous and I found the parking lots 75% full, but nonetheless it wasn't difficult to find a convenient spot. The stores were also relatively crowded but people were looking, not buying. I've never overheard so many people debating on whether they wanted to spend quite so much on some item, even when it was on sale. And the sales were astounding. I've never seen such price slashing before Christmas Day. But the selections were spare. Stores definitely tightened up their inventories this year. It took me four stores to find a suitable ornament.
Most telling on the state of Christmas sales this year, was the speed at which I sailed through the checkouts. Despite the crowds, people weren't buying much. There were a dozen people ahead of me at the most crowded store and I got to the cashier in less than a couple of minutes. Last year at the same store it took close to a half an hour in a similiarly long line. But what really struck me was the dispirited mood of the people. The atmosphere was grimly determined rather than carelessly festive.
I was particularly struck by the conversations Libby overheard, because it reminded me of a conversation I overheard in a supermarket the other day. A couple near me were discussing which credit card to put the groceries on (which ones are too near their credit limits?), and debating over what to buy. The woman said to her companion, "You haven't gone grocery shopping for a long time. You don't know how much things cost." I used to think it was just me, but lately I've been noticing more and more of these debates: decisions over which brand to buy, how many to buy, whether you should buy a couple of individual rolls of toilet paper instead of the six-pack or the eight-pack, whether you should skip the box of Kleenex or the roll of paper towels, because you can use toilet paper if you sneeze or spill something, whether you really need that box of cereal since you still have instant oatmeal you can eat for breakfast, examining every brand of dog or cat food on the shelves to see if there's one that's even cheaper, and on and on.
The problem is not just foreclosures due to lenders making risky loans. The problem goes far beyond that. The problem is that people cannot pay their living expenses, and their housing expenses, and their medical expenses because of sharply rising costs in these areas -- because food is becoming prohibitively expensive, and because rents are ridiculously high, and because we're in a flat job market where even if people have jobs, those jobs don't pay enough to make ends meet, and because people are losing their health insurance and can't afford to buy private health insurance. Whether the 200 or so people living in that tent city in California are there because the bank foreclosed on their houses, or whether they are there because they can't find a job or a place to live and they have nowhere else to go, the problem is an economy that forces people into such desperate situations, and a presidential administration that simply does not care.


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Welcome back to the strange and bizarre world that is FEZ creator Phil Fish’s relationship with games and the games industry. It was announced on the Polytron Corporation website today that the sequel to the game FEZ is being cancelled, only a month or so after it was announced at the Horizon indie press conference at E3 this year. Fish wrote on the Polytron website, “FEZ II is cancelled. i am done. i take the money and run. this is as much as i can stomach. this isn’t the result of any one thing, but the end of a long, bloody campaign. you win.”
The official Polytron Twitter feed was a little more delicate in their announcement:
There is a lot of “he said, she said” flying around the internet concerning the cancellation of FEZ II, but until there is a more formal response from Phil Fish or anyone else at Polytron, it benefits no one to speculate on what is happening behind the scenes. It is a shame that FEZ II is being cancelled, as the original FEZ was such a wonderful surprise, and in spite of some of its shortcomings it was one of the best indie games developed in 2012.
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By Elias Ntungwe Ngalame in Yaounde, Cameroon
The construction of refrigerated warehouses and acquisition of refrigerated transportation vans in Cameroon’s livestock and fish market has significantly improved trade and help fight the effect of post harvest loss in drought stricken northern region of the country. The project government says hence ensures constant supply of fish and meat to the region, manage drought risks like malnutrition to protect livelihoods and reduce vulnerability especially among children and women.
The modern fish and meat conservation infrastructure worth some FCFA 10 billion constructed at the Etoudi cattle market-Yaounde in 2014 has facilitated production and trade in the livestock and fisheries sectors in the country and beyond, officials say.
Cameroon’s minister of fisheries and livestock say with the modern conservation infrastructure, Cameroon could become the future home of a regional food reserve that can offset shortfalls where production is weaker, such as in the neighbouring arid Sahel countries.
The new production and trade chain farmers say, has not only added value to livestock products, ensure hygiene and sanitation in the handling of the products before reaching the consumers but has also helped narrowed the gap in livestock and fish shortage in the region triggered due to prolonged drought and insecurity from Boko Haram attacks.
The economic, social and environmental impacts of drought are huge in Cameroon’s Northern region and neigbouring Sahel countries with heavy costs and losses incurred that threatens to undermine development gains realized over the years, government officials say.
Visiting the modern conservation infrastructure recently, Cameroon’s Prime Minister Philemon Yang said the fisheries and livestock sectors have benefited significantly in the three-year emergency development plan announced Cameroon’s Head of State Paul Biya at the 2011 agriculture show in Ebolowa.
The livestock and fisheries production and trade scheme according to the Project Coordinator, Yiwe Roger, has seen the construction and equipping of a 600 cubic metres refrigerated warehouse with a storage capacity of 10.000 carcasses of 200kg.
The major warehouse according to the coordinator measures some 42.67m in length, 35.65m width and a height of 7m.
The refrigerated warehouse contains four refrigerated compartments ranging between 0°C to -25° C. It also contains a cold tunnel of -30° C as well as an anti refrigerated chamber of +15°C for the preservation and storage of beef, pork and chicken to meet the high demand in countries in the CEMAC region like Gabon, Chad, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea etc.
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The 2023 Cruise Industry Executive Guide is now available to download from Cruise Industry News via PDF, covering more than 120+ cruise operators and listing over 1,600 executive names.
The all new report is the only complete who’s who list of the global cruise industry, ranging from the big cruise operators to smaller niche lines, start ups and even vessel management companies.
The Executive Guide lists decision makers at every cruise company, making up 100 percent of the cruise industry globally.
It includes wide-ranging executive contacts involved in high-level decision-making, ship deployment, food and beverage purchasing, hotel and marine purchasing, IT, finance, drydocks and refurbs and much more.
Plus, there is a list of cruise ships with each brand, presenting the worldwide fleet, including what ships each line has on order for future delivery.
The PDF is in an easy-to-use format useful for: all decision makers, port executives, suppliers, vendors, agents, anyone who needs to reach key people at the cruise lines.
This guide has been published since 1988, and provides all the contacts at the cruise lines at your fingertips including names of a wide-range of decision makers, titles, addresses, emails, websites, and fax and phone numbers of all the cruise lines throughout the world.


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All in a night’s work, George Strait racked up $18,194,374 in ticket sales from the last show on what’s believed to be his last tour, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington in early June.
That $18 million figure does not include concessions sold at AT&T Stadium or merchandise. It only accounts for the money collected for tickets and suites, and it’s a record for single-night sales for the country music legend.
For reference, at last year’s biggest Strait concert, at Reliant Stadium in Houston, net ticket sales added up to $10 million, says spokesperson Kate McMahon.
At the time, that was a lot of money.
Strait’s profits will be less than $18 million after costs such as paying the crew are removed. But still, ticket sales for a single night from other country superstars like Luke Bryan or Jason Aldean might be in the ballpark of $500,000 to $800,000, McMahon says.
Billboard reports that over Strait’s two-year show, 996,583 tickets were sold at 44 performances.
The Strait show in Arlington broke another record, of course. Its 104,793 attendees made for the largest indoor concert in North America.
Leave it to King George.


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We just saw how incredibly far the iPhone’s display has come in seven short years. But if you think that’s impressive, check out how far the actual speed of the iPhone has come from the iPhone 2G to iPhone 6 Plus.
YouTube channel EverythingApplePro has posted a video showing a speed comparison of every iPhone ever made: the iPhone 2G, 3G, 3GS, 4, 4S, 5, 5c, 5s, 6 and 6 Plus.
They run each iPhone through the gamut of tests, from power-up to app launching. And surprisingly, the fastest iPhone is still the original one released back in 2007. Amazing, huh?
Psych! Obviously, we’re kidding: The iPhone 6’s A8 SoC beats the pants off every iPhone chip that came before it. But it’s still amazing to see just how much Apple has shredded Moore’s law over the last seven years with their work on the iPhone.