text:
When used car prices have been at record highs for two years, how do you accurately forecast the future value of a car that you put on your fleet today?
Fleet Auto News spoke with industry experts to understand how Fleet Managers should approach this process in 2022 with the continued uncertainty in the economy, disruptions to new vehicle supply chains and the emergence of zero emission vehicles.
Jeremy Wheelahan, Operations Director at SG Fleet
The current used car market values are unstainable and will normalise over the medium term once the supply chain disruptions have eased. We need to consider which of these macro factors will remain over the longer term when determining residual values.
Paul Oliver, Principal Consultant at Fleet Advisory
I think it’s an unprecedented time for Residual Value forecasting – a ‘perfect storm’ of significant considerations. Firstly, the combination of Supply Chain issues that are impacting new vehicle production, resulting from COVID, the war in Ukraine, material shortages etc. Increasingly, it seems that these are not short-term problems but will potentially change the manufacturing landscape from now on. While Used Vehicle values are now at an all time high, it’s difficult to see how this is sustainable.
Then, from a medium to long term view we need to consider the availability, takeup and market valuation of Battery Electric and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles while anticipating the impact on Internal Combustion Engine vehicles. This will include new vehicle brands that we are not as familiar with. I’m not sure there has ever been a time where have been so many variables to consider.
Tanim Ahmed – Head of Business Intelligence & Product at Datium Insights
We expect that supply constraints will continue to remain for the next 12-18 months, in large part due to the semiconductor chip shortage. As a result, used car prices will likely remain elevated over this time period before easing gradually in 2024.
For RV managers, the approach should be two-fold – using current prices to set positions for 1-year and 2-year RV’s and transitioning to setting 3-year to 5-year positions to be closer to pre-COVID prices.
While we don’t expect prices to ever go back to pre-COVID levels, due to the high level of uncertainty our view is to retain a cautious approach to longer term RV positions.
Dereck Cooke, National Group Leasing Manager at Fleetcare
When determining a residual value policy, several factors are taken into consideration. These include, life cycle of the model / variant, current sales volumes, equipment / option level, vehicle use and historical data.
The challenge today is how much of an influence the inflated used vehicle prices are, how long will the supply constraints will continue to impact new sales and how these factors will impact future values. Will supply issues be sorted in 2022 and we will see a return to normal market conditions for used cars?
We can account for the current market conditions based on the term of the contract. If the expectation is that used vehicle prices will return to ‘normal’ within 12 months, then short term leases could reflect a higher than usual position.
Given all of the above the most important rule when determining a residual value position is simple, the residual value is how much the car is worth not what the selling price is. When keeping this as a guiding principle we can move with any market conditions and influences.
Frank Agostino, Managing Director at Fleet Network
In the current market choosing the right car for your novated lease can reap serious rewards. A common misconception is “it’s not my car”. Ultimately it’s your vehicle. If the car is worth significantly more in the market than the residual value, then the difference is yours to keep once the car is sold. Employee’s that choose the right car in a novated lease, treat the sale as a tax free payment at the end of the term.
For example, a new 300 Series Toyota LandCruiser with a purchase price of $105,000 drive away would have an approximate residual value of $30,000 at the end of the novated lease. If the employees sells the car for $70,000 they are eligible to keep the $40,000 difference.
Wayne Moore, General Manager, Trade at SG Fleet
Historically market prices on used vehicles are directly related to the supply of new vehicles coming into the market. Over the last 6 – 7 years, the number of new vehicles declined, even before the current supply issues exacerbated the situation. The car park for used vehicles year-on-year is constantly diminishing, putting pressure on market values and causing an upward trend.
New vehicle prices have been stable in recent years, keeping Residual Values (RVs) reasonably static. Now, new car prices are rising as inflation starts to bite, affecting production and world supply chains. Some economists predict the second year of higher-than-expected inflation, putting further pressure on RRPs. The latest global forecasts are that global new vehicle production won’t fully recover until 2024/25 at best.
Governments worldwide are increasingly going green and pressuring OEMs to drop (Internal Combustion Engines) ICE engines for fully electric vehicles (EVs). The challenges here that need to be considered include the infrastructure grid to support EVs and the number of semiconductor chips required by EVs compared to an ICE vehicle. These disruptions worldwide have and will continue to put pressure on fuel prices across the globe.
Adam Morrison, Managing Director, Interleasing
Forecasting residual values in five years’ time is difficult at present. This is due to a host of reasons, including delays in vehicle acquisition which can take up to 12 months. While the vehicle supply shortage is expected to correct well before 2027, some residual flow-on effects are likely as the exit point for consumers is going to be higher due to a spike in funding prices.
Also, if you’re selecting a 5-year residual value today, with the potential 12-month wait time, you need to consider what the value of a 5-year-old car is in six years’ time. Electric vehicles are also part of the consideration, as their future market value is somewhat unknown and will in part be determined by forthcoming government incentives and technology advancements.”


text:
It was not only the health lobby that was angry at David Cameron’s feeble ditching of the coalition’s promise to impose a minimum price for alcohol. The pub trade was also bitterly disappointed.
Pub operators had hoped that a minimum price would help to halt the dramatic shift in drink sales from the on-trade to supermarkets. Only half of all beer sales are now consumed in pubs, down from about 90 per cent 30 years ago, and thousands of pubs have closed, with huge job losses.
The big grocery chains use cheap alcohol as a way of enticing shoppers into their stores and make up the margin on other products. The pubs have little else to sell.
What they do have is food — but here,…

domain: news


text:
Has the energy drinks market, for long one of the most buoyant parts of convenience retailing in the UK, not least in Scotland, gone through some redefining changes in recent times? What can we expect from the different manufacturers and suppliers in the next couple of years? How will change affect independent and symbol retailers? And what can those retailers do to make the best of energy drinks now and in the future?
Well, there certainly have been significant changes. Sales have continued to grow and there’s been significant growth also in the number of options available to consumers (and indeed to retailers)with new variants, flavours and sizes being launched by the big names and by value brands and own-label ranges.
As the Britvic Soft Drinks Review noted earlier this year, in 2014 the value of glucose and stimulation drinks in supermarkets and impulse outlets increased to £968m, heading ever closer to £1bn a year.
The drinks now account quite comfortably for the highest share of soft drinks value sales in impulse outlets, including c-stores.
But while impulse stores, with energy drink sales value worth just under £533m in 2014, still dominated overall total sales, it was supermarkets, despite their troubled times, that saw the greatest growth.
The suggestion is that more consumers are becoming ready to buy energy drinks for the cupboard.
The Britvic report saw many of the the biggest players do well in 2014. Lucozade achieved sales worth £427m. Red Bull hit £263m. And the Monster brand was said to have shown both good volume and value growth.
However as well as the supermarkets’ seeing an energy drinks sales boost it also looks like the multiples’ c-store-sized shops snatched most of the recent growth in energy drink sales in the convenience channel too.
Independents have fallen behind the sales increases of the giants.
So, are there things that independent and symbol c-stores can do to once again capture the best possible energy drinks performance?
Well as we’ll see from the comments from different energy drinks suppliers and manufacturers there are a number of possible routes.
Boost argues that it’s an effective challenger brand that is exclusive to independent channels.
Several suppliers stress the vital importance of understanding increasing consumer demand for low-sugar options in energy drinks.
And functional drink giant Red Bull says encouraging energy drink consumption as an everyday occasion, will boost sales and play especially strongly to the strengths of c-stores. Find out more about their plans on pages 48 – 54.


text:
GBP retail sales turned out to be worse than expected by a significant deviation. News release favours a downtrend which aligns with the longer term downtrend. The only argument against this trade is that it is going against the uptrend in the early of the week.
Trade closed: stop reached
1.FX Momentum strategy http://bit.ly/2Eg8HP9 2.FX Breakout Strategy http://bit.ly/2Av2OeP 3.Best Crypto exchange a) https://www.binance.com/?ref=11926638 b) https://www.kucoin.com/#/?r=21Rhs


text:
Disney + Pixar Release Dates for ‘Incredibles 2,’ ‘Toy Story 4,’ Cars 3′ + More
Set your calendars way way in advance, because Disney and Pixar have announced the release dates for their upcoming sequels through 2019.
While The Incredibles 2 arrives June 21, 2019 (almost 15 years after the original), Toy Story 4 has been pushed back to June 15, 2018, perhaps to make room for Cars 3 (June 16, 2017).
As previously announced, Finding Dory will swim into theatres June 2016 and The Good Dinosaur comes out next month.
Disney has also announced the release dates for four live-action fairy tales, but so far those remain unnamed.
Regardless, the dates are as follows: December 22, 2017, November 2, 2018, March 29, 2019, and November 8, 2019.
They will of course hit theatres after The Jungle Book (April 15, 2016) and Beauty and the Beast (March 17, 2017).
NEXT: Catch Up on All Your Disney News
CarsDisneyDisney/PixarPixarPress ReleaseRelease DateThe IncrediblesToy StoryToy Story 4


text:
The Loper bookstore is transformed during the summer into a liquor store
By ALEX HAMMEKE
Last spring, Antelope Bookstore had clothes and textbooks that filled half the store. Now the bookstore offers a wider selection of Loper gear, and manuals can be purchased online and shipped directly to the new Loper Spirit store.
Len Fangmeyer, manager of the bookstore since 1999, said student influence is everywhere in the store.
“Barnes and Noble had their way of doing business and their way of shopping, it was all done at the corporate level.” Fangmeyer said. “We didn’t really have a say.”
For the past few years, Barnes and Noble College was the operator of The Antelope Bookstore, where Fangmeyer said he found out what clothes they were selling when they opened the box.
“We try to work with some local suppliers, and local suppliers are very good at getting us good prices on certain items,” Fangmeyer said. “You can still get name brands from local vendors. Obviously by working with a Champion or an Under Armour, we can negotiate with them the prices and the purchasing power.
Working with these local vendors helps reduce shipping costs and lowers the cost of clothing in the Spirit Shop. For example, generic UNK t-shirts sold at Barnes and Noble last year would cost between $18 and $20. In the Spirit Shop, you can buy two generic t-shirts for $25.
Local influence has also contributed to the expansion of certain merchandise selections. Barnes and Noble has licensed the sale of two types of hats. In the Spirit Shop, there is a whole section of hats, visors and bucket hats.
For textbook sales, UNK has partnered with Akademos to handle textbook sales. Seventy percent of the student population purchase textbooks and use the payment option on MyBlue.
Students can have the textbook the first day of class and pay for the textbook later.
It’s an option that Fangmeyer advocated during his tenure as bookstore manager.
“It’s a huge thing for student success and persistence,” Fangmeyer said. “Too many times, students were waiting for that paycheck, and they were two or three weeks in school without a book. They felt behind, and I think that might have put some of them off.
Students can expect to see new offers, promotions, holiday-related apparel, and many more new items in the new school year. This all stems from the new local control of the Spirit Shop.


text:
For the first time ever, the final title in the NES series Mega Man 6 will be released in digital form - at least in Japan for now. Rockman 6: The Greatest Battle in History!! will become available on the Japanese eShop for ¥500, next week on the 12th. Japanese fans will now be able to ring in the 25th anniversary with all six classics in portable form!
Meanwhile in the west, we've still been waiting a long time for these games. Of course, you might recall that Mega Man 6 was actually published in the US by Nintendo, not Capcom. This is possibly a reason for the releases being tied up. Regardless, we know they're working at them.
News Credit: Tarbo


text:
The popular instant messaging application Telegram offers a premium subscription based program dubbed Telegram Premium and uses of this subscription based program needs to make a payment on monthly basis. Now Telegram has reduced the pricing massively.
It is revealed that Telegram Premium is now available in the country at a discount and now the pricing of the subscription program is ₹179 a month. It is worth mentioning that this particular programme was started a couple of months ago.
With the Telegram Premium, you guys can able to send larger 4GB file along with the ability of faster downloads and the ability to convert voice messages into text, among other features.
Read interesting news, reviews as well as tips & tricks on TechnoBugg website, and stay updated with the latest happenings of the tech world on the go with Technobugg App. Also follow on Google News and join our Telegram channel for the latest updates.


text:
By Hanna Back, May 4th 2009.
President Lula said: “The commerce has increased. the commerce has not diminished in Brasil. People are buying” in his program on April 27, 2009 . So Newronio went checking on the internet what was happening, using Google Insights tool.
After talking to several teachers in the ESPM, about the crisis, i had the strange feeling that there was no crisis in Brasil. So i had to checked on something more reliable that news, the tool used was Google insights with several keywords chosen to measure consumer behavior change in the last 12 months in Brazilian searches.
Brands are status and class symbols in Brasil and even under crisis signs people will not give up on them. Specially when they are the first contact with premium goods, that is the case of lower classes as C and D. How are they translate their need to purchase brands under crisis times?. I chose two keywords: Outlet and Cupon desconto:
Notice that most of the peaks happens in the last quarter of the year, but in 2009 the search has strongly sticked.
One interesting thing is that on related searches appear brands as: TNG, ADIDAS, PUMA, NIKE, FNAC, SUBMARINO. Proving there is a resistance on leaving brands and promotions and discounts has been used by users to avoid doing that.
What about shopping?
Brazilian have increased their searches on Shopping mall information, having the highest peak on searches this last month.
and with the high searches on Credit cards we must assume that there are taking everything on divided payments, which tells us that the non-crisis state of Brasil is on credit by stores such as Casas Bahía and Banks.
What do you think? Will crisis be greater than the Class D purchasing on credit cards?
Samples from April 27th to May 4th.
Let’s tweet: @HannaisBack -@Newronioespm


text:
France's National Assembly adopted on Thursday (11 February) a series of articles and amendments for regulating hate online and on platforms and introduced steep penalties, as part of the country's much-debated bill on "reinforcing respect for the principles of the Republic". EURACTIV France reports.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has issued a stark warning on the involvement of Big Tech firms in cryptocurrency projects, cautioning that such moves could jeopardise privacy, create further risks to competition and even "endanger monetary sovereignty".
Germany is modernising its competition law to stand up to digital corporations. In the future, the Cartel Office will be able to act faster and tougher when companies dominate the market. Europe can learn from this. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Members of the European Parliament have a renewed duty to address the thorny issue of regulating social media content, in the wake of last week’s Capitol Hill riots, the chair of Parliament’s Internal Market committee has said.
Germany's Federal Competition Authority has opened additional proceedings against Facebook. This time it involves the virtual reality glasses of the Oculus brand, as it is planned that only Facebook users will be allowed to use these glasses in future. EURACTIV Germany reports.
The scope of online platforms that will come under new regulatory prohibitions as part of the European Commission's forthcoming Digital Markets Act (DMA) will be narrowly targeted to a set of 'big operators,' the EU executive has revealed.
France confirmed on Wednesday it will levy its tax on digital giants for 2020, following a warning by Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire in October that it would do so. With this decision, however, it risks US countermeasures at a time when it is scrambling for public money amid a devastating pandemic. EURACTIV's partner Ouest-France reports.
The EU's Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton has disclosed details on the forthcoming criteria for the definition of so-called 'gatekeeper platforms' as part of the hotly-anticipated Digital Markets Act, set to be proposed by the EU executive in early December.
Austria's Supreme Court of Justice of Justice has decided that Facebook will have to delete 'hate postings' against former Green party leader Eva Glawischnig, not only in Austria but also worldwide. EURACTIV Germany reports.
The EU has the power to execute a potential breakup of global Big Tech giants, but it is not currently the "right thing to do," the EU's Vice-President for Digital Affairs, Margrethe Vestager, has said.
New EU measures regulating the web should avoid, in the first instance, rules on the hosting of online content deemed "harmful" but not "illegal", a Brussels trade association representing the world's largest online platforms has said.
Facebook and Belgium’s privacy watchdog sparred on Monday at Europe’s top court over which data protection authority has the power to police the U.S. social media giant in a case that could escalate its privacy fights across the EU.
Platform giants will be prohibited from using the data they collect online unless they make this data available for use by smaller platforms, according to a draft of blacklisted practices, seen by EURACTIV, as part of the European Commission's forthcoming Digital Services Act.
The European Commission is not able to say when a COVID-19 vaccine will be available, EU health chief Stella Kyriakides admitted on Thursday (24 September), even though a senior EU official voiced hope earlier this month that the first vaccine could have market authorisation as early as November.
The European Commission has given its clearest indication yet that obligations on digital platforms to remove content are unlikely to feature in far-reaching EU efforts to regulate the web, due to be presented before the end of the year.
Ireland’s High Court on Monday temporarily froze a probe by Facebook’s lead European Union regulator that threatened to halt the U.S. social media giant’s transatlantic data flows, a court spokesman said.
The finance ministers of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain called on the European Commission to include “strong rules” in its upcoming cryptocurrency proposal, in particular for global digital tokens like Facebook’s Libra.
A broad spectrum of stakeholders have spoken out on EU plans to regulate the online ecosystem as part of its forthcoming Digital Services Act package, with fierce jockeying over the extent to which the EU will introduce new rules for the digital economy.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire criticised the dominance of foreign firms in European marketplaces on Tuesday (8 September), directly referencing US tech giant Apple's power in the digital arena and calling for the creation of more 'European champions.'
Europe's online marketplaces should not be controlled by a handful of dominant gatekeeper platforms, the EU's digital chief Margarethe Vestager has said, referring to her bid to reign in the market dominance of tech giants through the EU's forthcoming new competition tool.
The need for fast, accurate and balanced information is always important. We value EURACTIV's good, independent journalism and support this initiative
Mella Frewen, Director General of FoodDrinkEurope
EURACTIV plays a vital role in bringing Europe closer to its citizens. EURACTIV has long recognised that the story of Europe has to be told across the continent, and not just in Brussels. We need to support a truly European and informed debate.


text:
Stories by Geoff Schomburgk
Why relying on your mobile to access your online accounts is a risky approach
Whilst mobile devices have many uses and provide much convenience, they are not created for online security purposes.
Shopping for cyber insurance? Six questions to ask before calling the insurer
The cyber threat landscape has always been worrisome, but today these concerns are heightened given an anticipated uptick in cyber-attacks from bad actors.
Not having phishing resistant MFA will come at a cost for the finance industry
With the volume of money handled by the finance industry on any given day, it's no wonder that it is a prime target for cybercriminals.
What should be Australia’s public sector response to strengthening online security?
Government employees and contractors are prime targets for cyber-attacks because of the information they have access to.


text:
The Samsung Galaxy Book Go looks like a terrific laptop bargain on paper, offering the freedom of Windows in a portable system for as little as £399/$349.
Taking a leaf out of the Surface Laptop Go‘s book, it looks like Samsung is hoping to disrupt the Chromebook market by offering a budget-friendly alternative to the hordes of ChromeOS portables.
This Samsung Galaxy Book Go review unit I’ve got features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c, a similar chip to the one inside the Acer Chromebook Spin 513. Alongside this comes 4GB of DDR4 RAM (can be upgraded with more expensive configuration) and a 128GB SSD, which trumps Acer’s Chromebook by double.
Microsoft's Surface Pro 7+ is a best-in-class Windows tablet, and the new Surface Pro 8 includes several welcome improvements. Microsoft Read more
The Surface Laptop Studio is its first Surface PC with mainstream GeForce hardware for gaming—and a showcase for Windows 11's Read more
Samsung has announced the Galaxy Book Pro 360 5G, which will not only support 5G connectivity, but will also become Read more
Microsoft has reinstated the Windows 11 Health Check app, which enables PC users to ascertain whether their current laptop or Read more
HP's Tablet and Laptop feature a radical camera and the first Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 SoC in a laptop, Read more
Photos in Windows 11 is getting some changes, including an interface update Windows 11 is coming, with a launch date Read more
To say that Microsoft’s minimum system requirements for Windows 11 were a mess might be a bit of an understatement. Read more
Microsoft has made a big change for Xbox owners who might want to play console games directly on their PC, Read more
Windows 11 could witness the introduction of a bunch more popups, although this is just what we’re seeing in testing Read more
A new, updated Tips app with more content is headed to Windows 11, too. But will "ads" pushing Windows 11 Read more
Parallels has said that Windows 11 on M1 Macs will be supported the day that Windows 11 launches. Windows 11 Read more
Game streaming news has seemingly taken a backseat in the past few months, especially as new consoles and gaming devices Read more


text:
Retail sales growth cools, but Texas service sector picks up steam in March
The ongoing expansion of the Texas service sector accelerated modestly in March, despite a slower pace of growth at state retailers, according to a monthly report released Tuesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
The state revenue index, a key measure of activity across the state’s private-sector service industries, rose to 15.4 in March – its highest reading since September and up from 14.2 last month, according to the bank’s Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey.
The increase suggested a slightly faster pace of growth in service-sector activity.
Employment continued to grow sector-wide, the survey said, but companies slowed the pace of hiring in March. The employment index dropped to 8.3 from 14.3 in February.
Private, service-sector companies provide approximately two-thirds of all the state’s jobs, according to data from the Texas Workforce Commission.
Despite the acceleration across the entire service sector, Texas retailers saw their sales growth cool during the month, according to the Texas Retail Outlook Survey, a subset of the broader survey. The sales index fell to 8.4 in March from 12.4 in February, indicating growth but at a slower pace.
Retail employment grew at a sharply slower rate, according to the survey, with the index dropping to 8.9 from 21.7. The index of hours worked also fell for retailers, although it also remained in positive territory, indicating growth.
The dip in retail activity was consistent with a broader decline in consumer confidence nationwide, according to the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index. The monthly index, released Tuesday, found that confidence dropped to 59.7 in March, wiping out the jump up to 68.0 in February.
The slower sales growth curbed retailers’ optimism about current business conditions. Company-specific outlooks dropped precipitously, and attitudes about general business conditions dipped slightly. That did not impact future expectations, however, as optimism for business conditions six months from now actually increased modestly.
Across the broader service sector, companies maintained a positive outlook across the board, with measures of company-specific and general business activity holding steady of ticking up for both current and future conditions.
In anecdotal comments compiled by the Dallas Fed, a variety of service-providing companies noted cautious optimism about customer demand. However, many still expressed concerns about federal fiscal and regulatory policy, noting the impact of recent federal spending cuts – the so-called sequestration – and health care regulations.


text:
This is the first month since February that the rate is below the ceiling of the South African Reserve Bank’s target.
“The 0.5 per cent drop in the rate was largely because of a 67 cents per litre drop in the petrol price. This is equivalent to a decrease of almost 5 per cent,” said Statistics South Africa in a statement.
The inland price of 93 unleaded is now only 14 cents more than it was in September 2013.
(READ MORE: S.Africa’s consumer inflation edges up by 0.1% in August )
Food prices however remain unchanged on average in September compared to August, bringing the annual rate down from 9.4 per cent to 8.5 per cent.
The meat index dropped from one percent in August to -0.2 per cent while the price of super maize declined by -1.3 per cent over the month, it has increased by only three per sent since September last year.


text:
PLAINVIEW, NY (PRWEB) July 29, 2016 – For GYMGUYZ, the number one mobile fitness concept in the United States, outpacing development goals is par for the course. And the first half of 2016 has set a record for the brand – setting the company up to open in five to seven new states and in 30 new territories by the end of the year. This expansion plan was made possible because the brand placed a major focus on establishing a strong national presence through bringing on motivated franchise partners that believe in the results made possible by offering their communities a convenient, customized and creative workout program.
GYMGUYZ – which currently operates in more than 70 territories across the country – added franchisees to service five new states during the second quarter. The brand’s certified coaches are now bringing the fitness industry’s best personal home training programs to residents in St. Louis, Missouri; Boca Raton, Florida; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Hartford, Connecticut; McLean, Virginia; and Powell, Ohio.
“Our presence is quickly growing across the United States, and more importantly, we’re entering markets where GYMGUYZ will be a brand new concept in the area. With these six new openings in the second quarter, we’re building brand awareness and momentum that will ultimately pave the way for future expansion efforts,” said Josh York, founder and CEO of GYMGUYZ. “There’s no doubt that this rapid growth trend will continue, and so will our ability to reach more clients to help them meet their health and fitness goals.”
GYMGUYZ brings state-of-the-art fitness technology, 365 pieces of equipment and expertise to the doors of its rapidly growing customer base. With a focus on highly personalized training programs, each partnership begins with a series of assessments evaluating clients’ body measurements and nutrition habits as well as their fitness and personal goals in order to determine the ideal course of action. GYMGUYZ trainers then structure customized workouts that will help each client meet their individual needs. Every 15 weeks, clients are reassessed to ensure that they’re exceeding all of their goals.
“We’ve proven time and time again that our model works. There isn’t another concept out there that comes close to matching GYMGUYZ’s ability to help clients get in the best shape of their lives,” said York. “We’re the fastest growing fitness franchise for a reason. Our model is truly one of a kind – both for our clients looking to achieve fitness goals and for our franchisees having the ability to implement our best business practices with a turn-key opportunity.”
It’s that commitment to being at the forefront of the booming fitness industry that has positioned GYMGUYZ for future growth. In August, the brand plans to close another 20 franchise deals. It’ll also open franchises in New Orleans, Louisiana; Columbia, Maryland; The Woodlands, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; West Chester, Pennsylvania; The Main Line, Pennsylvania; and Marin County, California in the third quarter of 2016. The California location marks an important milestone for the brand – it’ll be the first GYMGUYZ location on the West Coast.
GYMGUYZ is on pace to have more than 100 territories open by the end of 2016. The brand will then leverage that national expansion to grow the system in countries across the globe. Those international expansion efforts are already underway, with GYMGUYZ planning to break into Canada’s fitness industry in 2017.
“We couldn’t be more excited about GYMGUYZ’s success so far in 2016, but that doesn’t mean we’re complacent,” said York. “We’re going to keep growing until GYMGUYZ is the largest fitness brand in the world. At this rate, that goal will become a reality within the next ten years.”


text:
“Fully 6 percent of U.S. adults surveyed by Financial Insights said they had switched banks to reduce the risk of becoming victims of identity theft. In addition, the Framingham, Mass., research firm found that 18.3 percent of consumers had stopped shopping online for the same reason.”
Whoah. That’s scary. I know from talking to lots of non-IT people that there’s a general fear of shopping online (not directly related to a special type of threat, rather a general perception of insecurity induced by the media), but switching your bank? That’s something people usually don’t do easily – I find it hard to believe that 6 percent number.


text:
If You’re Not Online, You’re Clearly Missing Out the Majority of the Filipino Consumers
by Chico Orange
Number of internet users in PH rises to over 50 million
The Philippines is considered a social media hub but surprisingly, many Filipino businesses have no presence online. Regional tech giants are urging Filipino entrepreneurs to tap into the power of the internet.
Every business, has to be an online business. If you’re not online, you’re clearly missing out on the majority of the Filipinos.
Ken Lingan – Country Head, Google Philippines
FACT: Out of 1 Million SMEs, only 10% has online presence and only 1% of them has a website
Many Filipinos are not yet fully aware of the potential of linking their business with the internet. Some don’t know how to do it and does not understand how it works.
The Internet has undoubtedly changed the business landscape throughout the world and will continue to do so in the years to come. It has evolved from being a mere source of information or amusement, into a very powerful tool for promoting your brand, product or service. It is for this reason why industry stalwarts like Google are urging local companies to take a look at online means for marketing their businesses.
Tech industry leaders wanted every Filipino shop and businesses to be online and urge to help the young entrepreneurs not just to develop their own products and services but equally important, make those products accessible to billions of consumers.
Filipinos are Very Active in Social Media
When it comes to Social Media usage, Filipinos would definitely top the bill. comScore released the Southeast Asia Digital Future in Focus 2013 report which highlighted the Philippines as having a 92.2% Facebook penetration rate, the second highest country next only to Brazil. Another report from GlobalWebIndex placed this figure at an even higher 96% social media penetration, the highest among countries in Southeast Asia.
Facebook leads the pack as the social network with the highest penetration from Filipino online users, but other social media channels like Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest are also gaining ground. Interestingly, the report also highlighted that up to 71% of Internet users in the Philippines are between 15 to 34 years of age. These pieces of information provide very valuable insights as to the type of markets business owners can expect when going online, particularly in certain aspects that make Filipinos as one of the most unique markets in the world.
Consumers Make Online Searches First Before Making Offline Purchases
Google has teamed up with TNS Infratest and Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe to conduct the Consumer Barometer study. The study highlighted that up to 65% of respondents in the Asia-Pacific region go to the Internet to make some form of preliminary online research before making any moves to purchase products or services offline. The figures go even higher in the Philippines, where it was established that up to 70% of consumers rely or are affected by whatever they learned online in their offline purchasing decisions.
This is just a clear indication of the importance of maintaining an online presence for your business. Without an online channel for marketing and promotion, your business will miss out on the big opportunities presented by this ever-growing online market.
December 13, 2021
December 13, 2021


text:
IFA National Dairy Committee Chairman Kevin Kiersey today (Wed) said that proposals by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) to restrict television advertising of cheese to children are misleading and confusing for parents who are trying to provide a balanced healthy diet for their children.
Kevin Kiersey said, “On page 27 of its Consultation Document, the BAI suggests that Cheddar cheese is less healthy for children than diet cola. This approach lacks any credibility. If we are serious about addressing poor diets among children and the incidence of obesity, then the message has to be about moderate portion sizes, overall balance and variety in the diet and the other health issues caused by certain foods – e.g. tooth damage by acidic diet sodas.”
“In Food Harvest 2020, the Government set out a 50% expansion target for the dairy industry, which forms a strong part of its overall policy to promote economic recovery. In this context, it is ill-advised and extremely counterproductive for the BAI to suggest that the marketing of healthy and nutritious dairy products should be restricted,” he said.
“Cheese and dairy products make a crucial contribution to a healthy diet for children and teenagers, many of whom have been shown to have an inadequate intake of calcium. A 28 gram portion of cheddar cheese contributes 207mg of calcium which equates to 26% of the RDA for 1-10 year olds, and 17% of the RDA for 11 to 17 year olds. Many other valuable nutrients are also available from cheese, such as vitamin A, riboflavin, vitamin B12, phosphorus and zinc among others,” Mr Kiersey said.
“The National Dairy Council have also shown that there is no relationship between the consumption of cheese by under-18s – relatively unchanged in the last 20 years – and the presence of overweight and obesity in that group – which has increased very substantially over the same period,” he added.
“I am alarmed at yet another simplistic approach in regulating food marketing which encourages the public to look at foods as good or bad rather than encouraging a varied, healthy and balanced diet for children and teenagers,” he said.
“I believe the BAI must go back to the drawing board. Their proposals will demonise some healthy food<i>s </i>such as cheese, damage the prospects of one of our most promising economic sectors by restricting its marketing options, but will do nothing to improve the diets of children and teenagers,” he concluded.


text:
HSBC Holdings Plc, the British bank that earns the largest share of its revenue from Asia, has promoted Rajeev Sahney to head Asia-Pacific advisory and corporates, people familiar with the matter said.
Sahney, who was previously global head of consumer and retail investment banking, will remain in Hong Kong and advise on transactions across sectors, the people said, asking not to be named as the details aren’t public.
Jason Rynbeck, who was previously head of mergers and acquisitions for the region, has been named the Asia-Pacific chairman for that business and vice chairman of global banking, the people said.
Sahney, who joined HSBC in 2009 from Citigroup Inc., has advised on deals including:
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s purchase of a stake in Chinese hypermarket operator Sun Art Retail Group Ltd. Casino Guichard Perrachon SA’s sale of its controlling interest in Thai grocery chain Big C Supercenter Pcl Tesco Plc’s sale of its South Korean business
HSBC’s head of Southeast Asia M&A, Ee Beng Soh, is planning to leave the bank, according to people familiar with the matter. Singapore-based Soh told the firm in the past month of his intention to depart, the people said. He previously did stints as head of Singapore investment banking at Rothschild and BNP Paribas, his LinkedIn profile shows.
A representative for HSBC declined to comment on the moves.
HSBC has pledged to shift more than $100 billion of capital and boost operations in China as part of its so-called pivot to Asia. The bank last month appointed Mukhtar Hussain, who was chief executive of Malaysian operations, to a newly created role as head of the bank’s Belt and Road Initiative for the Asia-Pacific region, to tap opportunities stemming from Chinese President Xi Jinping’s infrastructure program.


text:
Virgin Galactic has unveiled the spacesuits its pilots will wear as they fly private astronauts on journeys to space. Designed in collaboration with the company’s technical space-wear partner, Under Armour, the Virgin Galactic pilot corps will wear the spacesuit and footwear on future flights – including the first human spaceflight from New Mexico, which is due to take place this month with the flight window opening on December 11.
Wearing the spacesuit on the December flight will be Chief Pilot Dave Mackay and Pilot CJ Sturckow – is the latter expected to become the first person to fly into space from three different U.S. States. They are both members of the eight-person team in the Virgin Galactic pilot corps.
This design is the latest addition to the astronaut apparel created with Under Armour, which also includes the space-wear system that Virgin Galactic future astronaut customers will wear for their spaceflights. For the pilots’ suits, the design team followed a brief to create a non-pressurized spacesuit which not only aesthetically conveys the pilots’ role in Virgin Galactic’s mission, but which also practically supports their unique task of flying regularly at over three-times the speed of sound into space and back.
Due to these unique requirements, each member of the pilot corps was heavily involved in the design process, providing feedback and wearing test versions of the spacesuit while completing various assignments.Email Post to a Friend


text:
EU expands Google apps clash
The European Union is broadening its battle with Google, alleging that the technology giant rigs the global market for mobile apps by making its Android operating system give preferential treatment to its own products.
"Google's behavior denies consumers a wider choice of mobile apps and services and stands in the way of innovation," EU Antitrust Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said.
The Android operating system is designed to feature Google's search engine, maps, Gmail, YouTube video service and other products that give the company more opportunities to sell digital ads. Device makers don't have to use Android as Google sets it up, but European regulators are looking into complaints that the company penalizes those that deviate from Google's favored design.
Vestager kicked off what is likely to be a protracted legal battle with a so-called Statement of Objections accusing Google it uses its high market share to force its apps on customers. Vestager said Wednesday's move in no way prejudges the outcome of its investigation.
Google strongly denied the charges and its General Counsel Kent Walker said the company is looking "forward to working with the European Commission to demonstrate that Android is good for competition and good for consumers."
The 28-nation EU also has other investigations against Google, with the biggest centering on its search services. The EU filed a complaint a year ago alleging that Google has been improperly favoring its own shopping comparison service in its own search results. Google has adamantly denied those allegations too.
If it's determined Google broke the EU's antitrust laws, the company will face a fine of up to 10 percent of its revenue in addition to potential overhaul of how it distributes Android. That would translate into a penalty of $7.5 billion, based on Google's revenue last year.


text:
Nutritionists have identified baobab popularly called ‘Kuka’ in Hausa language as one of the foods with health benefits. The tree, which is widely grown in the northern part of the country, is said to be high in fibre , vitamin C and nutrients such as potassium and phosphorus.
Baobab fruit is also high in calcium, magnesium, zinc, vitamin A, thiamin, B6 and bioflavonoids. It also acts as a prebiotic, that is a type of dietary fibre that feeds the friendly bacteria in your gut. This helps the gut bacteria produce nutrients for your colon cells and leads to a healthier digestive system.
Researchers in a study published in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition found that baobab pulp is particularly rich in vitamin C, with 40g covering more than 100% of the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI).
The study also revealed that baobab leaves were particularly rich in calcium. The seeds and kernels of baobab fruit have a high lipid content while the pulp and leaves exhibit high antioxidant properties.
Baobab is said to have six times the vitamin C of oranges, five times the magnesium of avocados, 10 times the fibre of apples, two times the antioxidants of acai berries, two times the calcium of milk, and four times the potassium of bananas.
A study conducted by Oxford Brookes University showed that polyphenol-rich baobab fruit reduces starch digestion and glycemic response in humans.
Some of the health benefits of consuming baobab include immune support, improving digestive health, general hydration and skin health, among others.
Try our delicious Baobab Butter Squares!


text:
Applause! Applause! Lady Gaga is on four different covers with four very different looks in V’s #85 fall issue shot by Inez & Vinoodh. The issue also includes an interview with Oprah to plug The Butler and a rocking shoot with Joan Smalls that we’ll tell you about as soon as we can. (It’s sooooooo awesome!) Gaga’s having a another busy week with her now song “Applause” leaking on Monday, a week earlier than she’d planned.
It’s not clear what show W Magazine’s beloved fashion and style director Edward Enninful was at today in Paris when he took to Twitter to write: “If all my (white) counterparts are seated in the front row, why should I be expected to take 2nd row? racism? xoxo” The tweet caused an uproar and was retweeted by Joan Smalls and Naomi Campbell.
Prabal Gurung launches his Spring 2012 digital campaign starring Joan Smalls lensed by Daniel Jackson. â€œJoan Smalls epitomizes the woman we design for each season,” Gurung reveals. “To see her bring these designs to life is awe-inspiring.” Perfect match!


text:
In what seems to be the most exciting news of 2021 so far, popular trading app Robinhood is facing quite a bit of backlash for restrictions they made following the surge of several stocks targeted by a sub-Reddit forum. For those who are not aware, Robinhood is a financial services company whose mission is to “democratize finance for all” by offering commission-free trading on individual companies, options and ETFs. The trading app got its name from the widely known fairy tale, Robin Hood, depicting a thief who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. Ironically enough, Robinhood did not act like Robin Hood when it came down to it.
The popular trading app was caught in the crosshairs of WallStreetBets, a sub-Reddit forum for speculative investing which has chosen to take on the largest Wall Street hedge funds in an effort to short squeeze them out of positions in companies such as GameStop (GME), AMC (AMC), Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), and Nokia (NOK). GameStop being the main stock played, its surge forced short sellers who were betting against the stock to buy shares to hedge their positions, sending the stock soaring even higher. It hit an all-time high of $483 before plummeting down to its current value of $52.40.
Although the army of retail investors were successful, their dreams of keeping these stock prices high did not last long. On January 28th, the popular trading app infuriated users by freezing trades on several of these stocks, only allowing users to close positions, not add. The company defended the move in a blog post, calling it a “risk-management decision” undertaken in the face of “extraordinary circumstances.” Almost immediately after restricting the trading of such stocks, Robinhood was hit with a class-action lawsuit. Fast-forward a little bit and they are now facing dozens of lawsuits. At least 30 parties across 10 states have sued the company in federal court, many seeking class action status. These lawsuits claim that Robinhood’s actions rigged the market against its customers and deprived retail investors of potential gains they could have made. They allege that Robinhood users lost millions of dollars because they were unable to buy or sell stock during the freeze, and that the company chose to “manipulate the market” to help other financial institutions.
The hearing will be on February 18 and is set to investigate how retail trading pushed the most popular of the forum stocks, GameStop, from trading below $20 at the beginning of January to around $340 at the end of the month, according to a New York Post report. The hearing will be attended by Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, Melvin Capital Management CEO Gabriel Plotkin, Reddit co-founder Steve Huffman and the Reddit user who led the horde, Keith Gill. In a statement made by Representative Maxine Waters, who will chair the hearing, “I am concerned about whether or not Robinhood restricted the trading because there was collusion between Robinhood and some of the hedge funds that were involved with this.” As we can see from the plethora of lawsuits, she is not the only one speculating Robinhood’s actions. Will Robinhood face consequences? Will they be able to bounce back from all the negative press? This hearing could very well be a defining moment for Robinhood’s future.
Leave a Comment


text:
Ah, you can tell that a trailer’s on the way. The first trailer for the brand new James Bond adventure, Skyfall, is set to be paired with the cinematic release of Men In Black 3. That means you should be able to see it in cinemas from 25th May.
Just ahead of that, as is increasingly common, there’s the debut of a brand new poster for the film. Our memory might be fading, but we think this might be the first proper and official one for the film. If not, just accept that we’re dim and quietly move on.
Enough waffle. You’re here to see the poster. And here it is…
Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.


text:
“China has the world’s biggest online population, with nearly four out of 10 of its 1.3 billion people now using the web, according to a report from the state-linked China Internet Network Information Center,” MI reports. “Until this year, a majority of Chinese web users accessed the Internet via computers.”
MI reports, “But smartphones have allowed more and more rural Chinese to go online in areas not covered by fixed-line networks, the report said. Nearly 52 per cent of users who started to use the Internet this year are from the countryside.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Bodes well for Apple!
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "fatfreddy" for the heads up.]


text:
Apple has significantly increased its investment in artificial intelligence (AI) over the past few months, focusing on conversational AI, automation, and multimodal systems, according to a new report from The Information.
In July, it was reported that Apple was working on its own framework as well as a Large Language Model (LLM) that has the potential to power what Apple employees are calling “Apple GPT”.
The new report shows that Apple now spends millions of dollars per day training LLMs under its Foundational Models team, which was established four years ago and is led by Siri’s chief, John Giannandrea.
Despite Giannandrea’s skepticism towards chatbots, Apple has been experimenting with its own internal bots like Ajax, which is said to be more advanced than OpenAI’s ChatGPT 3.5.
However, with the launch of chatbots like Microsoft’s Bing and Google’s Bard, Apple has yet to unveil any consumer-facing conversational AI products. The 16-person Foundational Models team pales in comparison to the resources dedicated by Apple’s competitors.
Nonetheless, Apple appears to have wide-ranging AI ambitions beyond chatbots. One project aims to develop a Siri feature that can automate multi-step tasks voiced by users, eliminating the need for iOS Shortcuts workflows. This could arrive as early as iOS 18, according to sources.
Other teams are working on AI-generated video and imagery and multimodal systems that can understand relationships between text, images, and video. Apple is also researching ways to improve privacy protections for its AI models.
Apple is determined not to fall behind as the AI race heats up in Silicon Valley. However, a beloved analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, said last month that Apple’s progress in the AI industry is “significantly behind its competitors.”
For example, Microsoft has invested heavily in this area. The company has integrated AI into many of its products. That includes Bing Chat AI and its Copilot features coming to Microsoft 365 and Windows 11, among other products.
Source: The Information


text:
Atlanta, March 15, 2013 --Elavon, a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) and a leading global payment solutions provider, today announced that Marianne Johnson, head of global product and innovation, will speak at the Innovation Project 2013, hosted by PYMNTS.com taking place March 20th-21st at the Harvard University in Cambridge- MA. Johnson will participate in the session entitled The Architecture of Innovation and will discuss how Elavon has created an innovation agenda that includes both internal initiatives as well as key partnerships with emerging solutions providers. Moderated byJosh Lerner, Johnson will be joined by other payments industry leaders.
Elavon recently opened a mobile innovation center at its Atlanta headquarters focused on new technology and product development for mobile payments. “Our focus will be on technologies that enable merchants to accept payments via mobile devices while also ensuring the ease of use and safety of the transaction from the customer’s perspective,” Johnson said. “As mobile payments become more acceptable by merchants and customers alike, technology must keep pace with the needs on both sides of the transaction.” Elavon’s parent company, U.S. Bank, is a leader in mobile banking technology, making mobile payments technology a natural point of focus for Elavon.
In addition to its internal innovation focus, Elavon has launched partnerships that capitalize on new technologies and solutions that have entered the marketplace, including the recent addition of NCR Silver to its portfolio of payments solutions and the acquisition of Collective Point of Sale Solutions Ltd. (Collective POS) in Toronto, Canada.
The Innovation Project 2013 will assemble the most senior executives and elite innovators from just about every established payments company worldwide, and CEOs of the most innovative startups to change the conversation about how to create, ignite and scale innovation.
“We are so pleased Marianne Johnson will be attending the Innovation Project 2013. Marianne’s deep expertise and perspectives in the areas impacting the payments industry today will be of great value to our delegates,” said Karen Webster, CEO at market platform dynamics.
For additional details and a comprehensive look at the Innovation Project 2013, visit: theinnovationproject2013.com/ .
About The Innovation Project
Over 2 days, 100 speakers and 500 senior members of the payments industry will change the way that the payments and its broader commerce ecosystem thinks, talks, delivers and ignites innovation. On March 20th and 21st the greatest minds in commerce and payments will assemble at Harvard University near Boston to kick the conversation about innovation up to an entirely different level at a program called The Innovation Project. Speakers and delegates are among the most senior executives and elite innovators from literally every established payments company worldwide, along with the CEOs of the most innovative start-ups in the space. One of its five modules includes pairing industry CEOs with external thought leaders such as Al Gore (former US VP), Steve Levitt (Freakonomics), Eric Reis (The Lean Start Up), Rosie Rios (US Treasurer), Russell Simmons (Rush Card), Raj Date (CFPB), and Josh Lerner (Architecture of Innovation) to challenge the conventional wisdom around what it will take to get merchants and consumers to adopt new ways to shop and pay. Warren Buffett is the program’s keynote. The Innovation Project also hosts the industry’s 2013 PYMNTS.com Innovator Awards, given to 15 of the industry’s top innovators over dinner, which this year will be emceed by B.J. Novak of The Office and will introduce delegates to 40 of the hottest “next generation” payments innovators.
PYMNTS.com is reinventing the way in which companies in payments share relevant information about the initiatives that shape the future of commerce and make news. This powerful B2B platform is the #1 site for the payments industry by traffic and the premier source of information about “what’s next” in payments. C-suite and VP level executives read it daily for these insights, making the PYMNTS.com audience the most valuable in the industry. It provides an interactive platform for companies to demonstrate thought leadership, popularize products and, most importantly, capture the mindshare of global decision-makers. It’s where the best minds and best content meet on the web.
About Elavon (www.elavon.com ): Elavon is wholly owned by U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) and provides end-to-end payment processing solutions and services to more than one million merchants in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Puerto Rico. Elavon markets solutions including credit and debit card processing, electronic gift cards, dynamic currency conversion, multi-currency support, and cross-border acquiring through multiple alliance channels including financial institutions, trade associations, and third party sales agents. Elavon’s suite of solutions is tailored to meet the needs of merchants in specialized markets such as retail, hospitality/T&E, health care, education and the public sector.
About U.S. Bancorp (www.usbank.com ): U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), with $354 billion in assets as of December 31, 2012, is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the 5th largest commercial bank in the United States. The Company operates 3,084 banking offices in 25 states and 5,065 ATMs and provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions.
The Green Sheet Inc. is now a proud affiliate of Bankcard Life, a premier community that provides industry-leading training and resources for payment professionals. Click here for more information: bankcardlife.com?orid=33533&opid=1 .
Source: Company press release.


text:
The average ransom payment paid out by victims increased 13 percent, to $41,000, during the last three months, but researchers noted the rate of increase has plateaued. Researchers at Coveware credited the victims with being better prepared to restore their data on their own negating the need to pay the ransom. However, that was not enough to offset malicious actors using Sodinokibi and Globelmposter variants to go after big-game targets, like managed service providers and large enterprises, that potentially offer massive payouts. And in many cases the payouts were excessive with Coveware noting that daily ransom payment amounts surpassed $100,000 on many occasions during the third quarter.
Army Col. Deitra L. Trotter, the commander of Fort Hood’s 504th Military Intelligence Brigade, told her soldiers in late October a new app developed for the unit could provide weather updates, training changes and other logistics. She then told the soldiers to download it onto their personal smartphones, according to the Texas-based soldiers in the unit. But the soldiers — many of whom have jobs in interrogation, human intelligence and counterintelligence — soon noticed that the app’s terms of service said it could collect substantial amounts of personal data and that the developer has a presence overseas.
I didn’t decide to blow the whistle on Google’s deal, known internally as the Nightingale Project, glibly. The decision came to me slowly, creeping on me through my day-to-day work as one of about 250 people in Google and Ascension working on the project. When I first joined Nightingale I was excited to be at the forefront of medical innovation. Google has staked its claim to be a major player in the healthcare sector, using its phenomenal artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning tools to predict patterns of illness in ways that might some day lead to new treatments and, who knows, even cures.
4 – Two Massachusetts Men Arrested and Charged with Nationwide Scheme to Steal Social Media Accounts and Cryptocurrency
Two Massachusetts men were arrested today and charged in U.S. District Court in Boston with conducting an extensive scheme to take over victims’ social media accounts and steal their cryptocurrency using techniques such as “SIM swapping,” computer hacking and other methods. Eric Meiggs, 21, of Brockton, Massachusetts, and Declan Harrington, 20, of Rockport, Massachusetts, were charged in an 11-count indictment, charging them with one count of conspiracy, eight counts of wire fraud, one count of computer fraud and abuse and one count of aggravated identity theft.
5 – Cybersecurity expert Alex Stamos on Facebook’s counter terrorism team and the private-public divide
Alex Stamos rose to fame as the former chief security officer for Yahoo and then Facebook. But today he’s the director of Stanford’s Internet Observatory, where he’s immersed in teaching and research safe tech — and understands better than most the threats that the U.S. is facing, particularly as we sail toward the next U.S. presidential election. Last night, at a StrictlyVC event in San Francisco, he talked with New York Times cybersecurity correspondent Sheera Frenkel about a small number of these massively impactful issues, first by revisiting what happened during the 2016 president election, then catching up the audience on whether the country’s defenses have evolved since.
Travelers are advised to avoid using public USB power charging stations in airports, hotels, and other locations because they may contain dangerous malware, the Los Angeles District Attorney said in a security alert published last week. USB connections were designed to work as both data and power transfer mediums, with no strict barrier between the two. As smartphones became more popular in the past decade, security researchers figured out they could abuse USB connections that a user might think was only transferring electrical power to hide and deliver secret data payloads.
Venafi, a company that helps organizations secure cryptographic keys and digital certificates, says it has uncovered over 100,000 typosquatted domains with valid TLS certificates that appear to target major retailers. With the holiday shopping season right around the corner, Venafi has conducted an analysis of lookalike domains targeting 20 major retailers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany and France. The analysis led to the discovery of 109,045 lookalike domains that use valid TLS certificates to make them appear more trustworthy. This is more than double compared to last year and the company has pointed out that only less than 20,000 certificates have been issued for legitimate retail domains.
The City of San Angelo is investigating a security breach with the city’s online water billing system after fears customer’s credit card information may have been stolen. “Some water customers may have noticed irregularities with their credit and debit card accounts after recently paying their monthly statement through the City’s online payment system,” according to a news release issued Wednesday. This latest breach is not the first time San Angelo residents have had to closely monitor their accounts. San Angelo resident’s credit card information from the city’s online water billing services was compromised in August 2018.
“Our team will lead by example, dedicating full-time resources to finding and reporting vulnerabilities in critical open source projects,” said Jamie Cool, VP of Product Management, Security at GitHub. GitHub Security Lab is a program aimed at researchers, maintainers, and companies that want to contribute to the overall security of open source software. Current contributors/partners include companies like Microsoft (GitHub is a Microsoft subsidiary), Google, HackerOne, Intel, IOActive, LinkedIn, Mozilla, NCC Group, Oracle, Trail of Bits, Uber, VMware, F5 and J.P. Morgan, which will be “donating their time and expertise to find and report vulnerabilities in open source software.”
As the main events of this year’s holiday shopping season are closing in, cybercriminals are also getting ready for the plunder by validating their stolen card details with low-value purchases on retailer’s websites. Two new such carding bots have been spotted exploiting top e-commerce platforms and card payment vendor APIs for websites or mobile apps. With the deluge of data breaches, stolen payment card info is available in spades. Cybercriminals know that they can’t rely on the cards indefinitely and that many become invalid in a short time.


text:
What happens when authorities in Ahmedabad go after eggs, in Hyderabad, after cigarette rolling paper, and in Bengaluru, sex toys?
Juul's mango, creme, fruit, and cucumber-flavoured vape pods will no longer be available for sale.
Studies show that while smoking increases the risk of cancer with time, vaping for just one year can cause serious lung damage and seizures.
Shops in New York now have two weeks to remove vaping products from their shelves.
Health ministry asks state govts not to partner with anti-tobacco foundation funded by Philip Morris
When the Foundation was launched in 2017, the WHO had said it will not partner with the foundation and asked governments around the world and public health communities to follow the agency’s lead.
Union Budget 2019: All India Farmer Associations urges govt to correct cigarette taxation error to lessen burden
Ahead of the Budget, farmers body FAIFA on Thursday urged the government to correct "an error" in cigarette taxation under the new tax regime that did not account for cascading effect on excise duty, which existed in the pre-GST system
Marlboro maker Altria Group bought a 35 percent stake in Juul for $12.8 billion in December.
The Centre's advisory for states to clamp down on e-cigarettes won't be enough to stop their use.
Cigarette maker Godfrey Phillips India on Monday said it is in complete compliance with the country's FDI norms and rejected allegations of violations regarding its arrangements for manufacturing Marlboro cigarettes
Leading cigarette maker ITC has increased the price of three brands - Bristol, Flake Excel and Capstan
Footage by Japan’s TBS TV showed Kim Jong-un, a habitual smoker, taking a pre-dawn smoke break Tuesday at a train station in China hours before his arrival in Vietnam for his high-stakes summit with President Donald Trump
More than 2 million US school students are using marijuana in electronic cigarettes, says latest survey on vaping
A school-based survey shows nearly 1 in 11 US students have used marijuana in electronic cigarettes, heightening concern about the new popularity of vaping among teens.
Maharashtra bans sale of tobacco at shops selling FMCG products, first state in country to follow Centre's new diktat
Maharashtra has announced a ban on sale of tobacco at shops that sell chocolates, chips and other edible items to ensuring youngsters do not get addicted to tobacco products, a top FDA official said
Seizure of smuggled cigarettes has doubled in the last two years indicating the increase in smuggling.
SC to hear petitions today challenging Karnataka HC order quashing govt regulation on pictorial warning on tobacco products
The Supreme Court agreed to hear on Friday itself a batch of petitions on pictorial warning on tobacco products
As thick smog crept over India's capital this week and smudged landmarks from view, Nikunj Pandey could feel his eyes and throat burning.
ITC's total income during the quarter under review was Rs 10,258.13 crore as against Rs 14,091.96 crore in the year-ago period
Biotech company may have unlocked the secret to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes and tobacco plants
Investors are betting on a little-known biotech company to supply Big Tobacco with low-nicotine cigarettes.
The shareholders expressed grievances that ITC's FMCG products were difficult to locate at super stores
GST Council hikes cess on cigarette, says it will offset estimated Rs 5,000 cr windfall for cos from lower rates
Cigarette prices will not change as a result of the increased cess which became effective from midnight last night.


text:
Elysian Brewing has partnered with NBCUniversal to target beer drinkers with a limited edition, pumpkin-flavored beer, Chucky: A Killer Wit Beer.
In celebration of all things Halloween and horror, this beer is a limited release that celebrates the holiday and the horror genre just in time for season two of Chucky to premiere on Oct. 5. By using out-of-home displays, QR codes and social media, the brand hopes to reach Gen Z and millennial drinkers over 21.
And, as it happens, Elysian, which is based in Seattle, WA, sells the most pumpkin beer in September and October, said Joe Bisacca, Elysian Brewing’s co-founder. “Timing worked out perfectly to partner and create something fans of both brands would enjoy in anticipation of Halloween,” he said.
The companies aim to use this campaign for brand awareness of the pumpkin beer and increase engagement with Chucky on SYFY and USA Network. Exact details of the agreement were not made available.
The ads will go live on social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Untappd, a geosocial alcohol networking service and mobile phone app.
“Storytelling through timely seasonal content is what is going to get eyeballs on a product and highlight its relevance so that it is top-of-mind,” said Lindsay Wiley, senior communications manager, Elysian Brewing.
The Chucky QR code, which was developed by the creator platform Tongal, will be visible on Elysian signage in over 200 stores and retailers nationwide, enabling fans to scan it to display Chucky in augmented reality on their devices.
“Chucky is one of the most iconic on-screen characters in history, so we want to engage his fandom in fun, unique ways while also paying respect to the film franchise,” said Ellen Stone, executive vice president, Entertainment Consumer Engagement and Brand Strategy, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “This partnership allows fans to experience Chucky in a way they never have before.”
To complement the display and AR experience, execs are putting a paid spend with location-based audio OOH advertising platform Vibenomics, which will distribute an audio spot read by Chucky’s actor Zackary Arthur. The exact cost of this stunt was unclear.
Wiley said 76% of the ad spend is digital and all of it is being spent on social media platforms. “We value the ability to engage with our audience and these platforms encourage conversation,” said Wiley.
However, it is unclear how much of Elysian Brewing’s advertising budget is allocated to this campaign, as Biascca nor Wiley would not share overall budget specifics. According to Pathmatics data, the brand spent a little over $969,000 so far this year on advertising efforts. Biascca also declined to comment on how the advertising budget was split between the platforms and how pumpkin beer sales have performed so far this year.
In terms of TV impressions, the alcohol industry produced 66.87 billion TV impressions between Jan. 1 and July 31, 2022 and the total national spend for this time period was estimated at $574 million, according to Marketing Dive. In the United States, brands such as SKYY Vodka, Grey Goose, and the Brewers Association are taking steps to engage Gen Z and millennial drinkers. “It’s a fun idea and taps into nostalgia, which has been a big marketing theme the last four years,” said Duane Brown, CEO and head of strategy at the advertising services Take Some Risk.
Why regulators are still at odds over ad tech data privacy standards
The problem with attempts to bring order to online advertising’s data industrial complex is how loosely written the rules are.
Member ExclusiveDigiday+ Research: Amazon holds untapped marketing potential for brands, agencies
Digiday's survey revealed a huge difference between how brands and agencies are spending on Amazon and other retail marketing sites compared with how confident they are that those channels drive marketing success.
How brands like Pepsi and American Eagle are investing in original sound marketing on TikTok
Pepsi announced a partnership with singer and actress Chlöe Bailey on Tuesday to release a new version of the song “Footloose,” encouraging TikTok users to join a dance challenge using the sound.
SponsoredHow marketers are tailoring data-driven creative to engage audiences on CTV
Gabriela Maestre, vice president of creative solutions, Tremor International As the end of the year approaches and marketing teams look to finalize their 2023 budgets, many are wondering how to ensure their ads are set up for success in the months ahead, appealing to unique audiences whose media consumption habits continue to evolve. Advances in […]
Evil Geniuses is using its DEI-friendly profile to win business from brand partners like Bud Light, HP and others
Evil Geniuses’ DEI-focused branding allows it to serve as a more palatable alternative to esports organizations embroiled in controversy.
Square wants to reach Hispanic consumers with new Spanish-language marketing push
As Hispanic entrepreneurs and consumers become an increasingly influential part of the U.S. economy, Square — the San Francisco-based fintech company — hopes its new Spanish-language marketing efforts will resonate with small business owners and the communities they serve.


text:
Grain storage and transportation
GrainCorp was founded in 1916, and was originally part of the NSW Government's Department of Agriculture. Privatised in 1992 and listed on the ASX in 1998. Merged with AWB in 2010 to compete with global agribusiness giants. The merged entity is now part of Cargill.
This company received an S&P Global ESG Score of 19/100 in the Food Products category of the 2019 SAM Corporate Sustainability Assessment, an annual evaluation of companies' sustainability practices. The rankings are based on an analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as corporate governance, risk management, environmental reporting, climate strategy, human rights and labour practices.
[Source 2019][More on Sustainability Reporting]
This company is a member of the Australian chapter of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform, the main food industry initiative supporting the development of sustainable agriculture worldwide. Created by Nestle, Unilever and Danone in 2002, the SAI Platform is a non-profit organization to facilitate sharing, at precompetitive level, of knowledge and initiatives to support the development and implementation of sustainable agriculture practices involving the different stakeholders of the food chain.
[Source 2019][More on Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives]
According to data released by the Australian Tax Office in Dec 2018, this company was one of 2,159 local and foreign-based companies that paid no tax in Australia in 2016-17. Please note however that companies pay income tax on profits, not revenue (total income). While some companies use tax havens and loopholes to avoid paying their fair share of tax in Australia, other companies that paid no tax have perfectly legitimate reasons.
[Source 2018][More on Finance]
|Company Structure||Public company|
|Address||Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia|
Products / Brands
Hockey rejects ADM bid
29th Nov 2013 — TREASURER Joe Hockey has rejected US agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland's (ADM) $3.4 billion bid to takeover eastern Australia's biggest grain handler, GrainCorp. Mr Hockey announced his decision at a press conference this morning in Sydney, saying that now was "not the right time" for a 100 per cent foreign acquisition of a key Australian business like GrainCorp. [source]
ADM's GrainCorp takeover could hurt competition
19th Nov 2013 — As Treasurer Joe Hockey weighs the arguments over the takeover bid of GrainCorp, one of the oldest farm organisations in the US has warned that increased concentration in the industry will be bad news for Australian farmers. The National Farmers Union says it has watched the negative impact of foreign takeovers in its own country, and says Australia should reject the deal offered by Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). But the American growers who deal daily with the company say it is the only way to make the most of a booming global demand. [source]


text:
Displaying items by tag: 5G
Deputy head of Moscow’s IT Department, Alexander Gorbatko, said at the Moscow Ubran Forum that a 5G demo center for testing promising technologies and city services will be set up in the city. The center will be accessible for both Russian and foreign companies.
As governments around the world struggle to come to terms with the initial banning of Huawei products by US President Donald Trump and the whiplash of his subsequent decision to lift it, Malaysia has taken a firm stance by choosing not to rush blindly into judgment, preferring to approach the subject of 5G cybersecurity in a liberal manner instead of pandering to the West’s seemingly baseless accusations towards the Chinese telecommunications colossus.
According to the Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is currently working on a report known as the 5G Testbed and Trials to ensure a comprehensive plan for high-speed internet deployment in the country. The outcome of these trials, which will be facilitated by the MCMC from April to October of this year, will then establish whether or not a ban on Huawei’s 5G technology is absolutely necessary to protect Malaysia’s cybersecurity interests.
In his keynote speech at the British Malaysian Chamber of Commerce Digital Innovation Conference in Kuala Lumpur in March, Gobind said, “As the nation is enhancing footprints in digital economy development, and with the advent of the newest technologies, we must take into consideration the cyber threat concern and risks. Cybersecurity will be one of the most pressing issues of our time.”
The MCMC has stated that it would take “a broad look at the security compliance issues surrounding 5G” and, despite the commotion surrounding Huawei, it maintains that it is “not focused on any specific supplier.”
“5G will present new opportunities that at the same time open the door to a new set of risks,” a representative of MCMC said. “However, the MCMC is currently collaborating with the National Cyber Security Agency [NACSA] to engage with all mobile operators and equipment suppliers involved in 5G, aimed at identifying the risks to national security and to manage them accordingly.”
Security threats from the utilization of 5G is also being thoroughly reviewed and established by the Malaysian Armed Forces, which will present its findings to the government for further analysis.
The Malaysian Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has previously spoken out against Trump’s policy, outwardly criticizing the US President for what he believes are attempts to secure dominance over China in terms of trade and security. During a recent trip to Japan, Mahathir made it clear that Malaysia will not be following Trump’s lead anytime soon, stating that the country tries to “make use of their [Huawei] technology as much as possible” and snubbed any concerns that it poses security issues within Malaysia.
Malaysia is considered one of the top three ASEAN nations which will be contributing 75% of the cybersecurity market share in the next five years. This in itself demonstrates the immense opportunity and potential the country has in advancing its cybersecurity industry.
Vodafone announced switching on 5G in seven UK cities, including London, in partnership with Ericsson. This step puts the UK among the first to launch the fifth generation technology and sheds light on how Europe is lagging behind because of regulations.
In view recent roll-out of 5G network technology by UAE telecom operators, Huawei will launch its highly anticipated 5G smartphone - HUAWEI Mate 20 X (5G) in the UAE this July. Supporting a wide range of patented 5G technologies, the device is expected to represent high-speed connectivity and powerful performance. HUAWEI Mate 20 X (5G) - Huawei’s first commercial 5G-enabled smartphone will usher UAE users in a new era of smart mobile technologies in July.
Large-scale 5G rollout began in 2018 with the GCC countries currently in the 1st wave of 5G rollout. Huawei started developing its own 5G technology as early as 2009 and has since invested significant resources into developing 5G across its device, network and chipset offerings. In 2017 and 2018, Huawei invested almost US$1.4 billion into 5G product development. As of June 2019, Huawei has won 46 commercial 5G contracts globally.
Telefonica Germany has said that it is currently in talks with Mercedes-Benz for a 5G mobile network which will be used to produce vehicles at the automaker’s Factory 56 plant in Sindelfingen, Germany.
A report released by ABI Research urges telecom operators to be more aggressive with their 5G deployment in cities to leverage the new potential economic value.
5G technology is expected to generate trillions of dollars through both direct and indirect contributions.
The study, titled ‘5G Urban Deployment: Debunking the CapEx myth and unlocking new growth’, found that 5G will generate growth in three areas between now and 2028.
They found that $2.4 trillion will be gained in direct contributions which will most likely be due to end-user subscriptions for connectivity services, $866 billion in indirect contributions such as through increases in the supply chain from infrastructure, advertising and devices, and finally, $3.2 trillion in productivity gains which will be generated from greater workforce efficiency due to increased connectivity within cities.
Vertical enterprise services are expected to mature by 2035 and ABI Research forecasts that 5G will generate $17 trillion in economic growth by then. However, at first these services will be evident in bigger cities but will then extend to non-urban areas.
“5G in urban areas can create a new wave of enterprise vertical use cases that will redefine consumer lifestyles and enterprise operations in cities. The dense population of urban areas will allow mobile operators to better monetize new 5G services without massive investment or a long ROI cycle,” the report read.
ABI Research also found that the first 5G-related use cases will be driven by enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) but other advanced use-case-enabling 5G features like Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC) will begin to appear by 2020.
“We have reached a critical point today where our global economy is heavily reliant on our ability to deliver new technological services,” said Dimitris Mavrakis from ABI Research. “5G has the potential to completely change our everyday lives, but only if mobile service providers can roll out 5G in a way that makes economical and logical sense- that, to start with mobile broadband connectivity deployments in urban areas to create the right use cases that will justify investments in CapEx and OpEx.”
InterDigital’s (the company which commissioned the study) Chief Technology Officer, Henry Tirri, said “We expect 5G deployment to begin to place huge pressures on mobile operators over the next couple of years as they look to compete to capitalize on its revenue potential. Many are trying to understand how they will monetize this next generation of wireless technology, and most importantly, how they’ll deliver ROI from it. But while there may still be several questions and doubts surrounding 5G monetization, these findings clearly demonstrate the growth opportunities that 5G is set to bring about. While CapEx and OpEx investments will be high, it is evident that 5G technology will radically change our ability to deliver new and innovative consumer and enterprise services, and help dictate the trajectory of our future global economy.”
ZTE Corporation announced that ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G is compliant with the mandatory requirements of entering European markets after obtaining the 5G CE certificate. In addition to the 5G CE certification, ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G has also got the technical approval of Emirati operators du and Etisalat.
TIM (Telecom Italia), in collaboration with Nokia, has achieved a wavelength speed of 550 Gigabits per second (Gb/s), a new European record for data transmission over a long-distance backbone network.
Chinese telecommunications conglomerate Huawei has stepped up its legal battle in the United States by filing a lawsuit which is requesting that a US court overturn a federal ban that has been imposed on the company.
Huawei today filed a motion for summary judgment as part of the process to challenge the constitutionality of Section 889 of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (2019 NDAA).


text:
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- HubSpot, the customer relationship management (CRM) platform for scaling companies, announced today that it will report its second quarter 2022 financial results after the U.S. financial markets close on Thursday, August 4, 2022.
In conjunction with this report, HubSpot will host a conference call on Thursday, August 4, 2022, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) to discuss the company's second quarter 2022 financial results and its business outlook.
HubSpot Second Quarter 2022 Financial Results Conference Call
International: +44 204 525 0658
Conference ID: 070988
An archived webcast of this conference call will also be available on HubSpot's Investor Relations website at ir.hubspot.com.
HubSpot (NYSE: HUBS) is a leading CRM platform that provides software and support to help companies grow better. The platform includes marketing, sales, service, operations, and website management products that start free and scale to meet our customers' needs at any stage of growth. Today, over 143,000 customers across more than 120 countries use HubSpot's powerful and easy-to-use tools and integrations to attract, engage, and delight customers. Learn more at www.hubspot.com.
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hubspot-announces-date-of-second-quarter-2022-financial-results-release-301591048.html


text:
NUS Singapore team develops liquid-based wearable sensors
A team from NUS Singapore led by Professor Lim Chwee Teck, department of biomedical engineering, has developed a wearable liquid-based microfluidic tactile sensor. A world’s first, it is extremely suitable for helping robots feel – for example by adding touch to robotic fingers.
The novel device can also be used in wearable consumer electronics, smart medical prosthetic devices, and real-time healthcare monitoring. They also have the added advantage of being simple to produce and cost-effective.
Conventional tactile sensors available today are rigid and in solid-state form. Hence, they are restrictive and bulky. The NUS team’s liquid-based micro-fluidic tactile sensors address an existing gap in the market. “Being thin and flexible, the sensor gives a better fit when monitoring body movements. It is also small and durable,” said the professor.
In the area of real-time healthcare monitoring, their micro-fluidic sensor may be incorporated into a skin patch that could both sense and inject drugs at the same time.


text:
Judien Wang’s appointment is the latest strand in CircleSquare’s ambitious digital strategy, which last year saw it acquire a significant stake in Swiss data-driven digital marketing agency comtogether and the more recent creation of an in-house ‘content factory’.
Wang’s most recent role was at Weber Shandwick in Hong Kong, where his responsibilities included digital strategy, technical consultancy and project management. Earlier roles included a spell as a digital producer at the Hong Kong office of Ogilvy & Mather and as an analyst for Nielsen, based in Guangzhou, China.
Wang will be based in CircleSquare’s Hong Kong office and will offer wide-ranging digital expertise, applying it in business areas such as the company’s recently-introduced Connected Shopper Platform, a travel retail-focused digital tool which transforms a brand’s ability to reach consumers at all virtual and digital points of their shopper journey, gather data along the way and boosts travel retail’s ability to become a recruitment tool for local markets.
CircleSquare managing partner Stephane Zermatten said: “We wanted to employ someone from outside the travel retail industry to bring a fresh perspective to our digital efforts and Judien’s experience fits the bill perfectly.
“Everyone is talking about omnichannel at the moment, but few people truly understand the meaning of the word. It’s not about doing something in every channel, but about having every touchpoint working together to deliver a personalised and engaging story to consumers along their entire shopper journey.
“Judien has really bought into our strategy on that front and will have an important role to play in making digital pay for our brand clients.”


text:
What are they building at the corners of Brookfield?
The Corners of Brookfield announces westward expansion, 140-room hotel. The Corners of Brookfield is growing its footprint westward as the next phase of the mixed-use project in the town of Brookfield.
When did von Maur open in Brookfield WI?
Von Maur opened the store at The Corners of Brookfield in 2017. “Customers have come to know Von Maur for our personalized service, but it will look a little different for the coming months,” Jim von Maur, the company’s president, wrote in a news release about store openings.
Is the corners of Brookfield expanding?
– As The Corners of Brookfield enters its third year, the town center today announced a retailer expansion, and several new amenities and offerings to open this summer.
What is Brookfield famous for?
Brookfield Square is the main shopping mall for the city and also serves as a commercial anchor to the Bluemound Road shopping district serving the western suburbs of Milwaukee and Waukesha County. Brookfield has off-road bike paths throughout the city.
What is Brookfield Wisconsin known for?
The City’s founders set out to build a community with a strong industrial and commercial base by encouraging orderly development of office and industrial areas. Today, Brookfield covers almost 27 square miles, numbers 40,000 residents, and is a major business, retail, and industrial hub in southeastern Wisconsin.
What is Brookfield WI ZIP code?
What district is Brookfield in?
5th congressional district
Brookfield is part of the 5th congressional district, which is represented by Jahana Hayes (D). For the 2020 Presidential Election, Joe Biden (D) received the majority of votes cast by Brookfield residents.
How many square miles are in Brookfield WI?
27.66 mi²Brookfield / Area
Is Pewaukee in Milwaukee County?
The City of Pewaukee is located approximately seventeen miles west of Milwaukee in Waukesha County.


text:
Pamela Hepp, Shareholder in the firm's Healthcare section, comments on impacts of a recent cyberattack on Allscripts in Modern Healthcare's article "Allscripts Data Breach Reminds Users to Prepare for the Inevitable."
We follow industry news and trends so you can stay ahead of the game. Subscribe to receive emails regarding policies and findings that impact you and your business.
Already a subscriber and want to update your preferences? Click here.


text:
Each day, we curate a bite-sized round-up of the best industry news from across the world. We search the web for the latest hospitality updates and travel trends, so you don’t have to. Get comfortable with a coffee and tuck in to our daily must-reads
1. 79% of Americans want to travel more responsibly
A survey conducted for Exodus by OnePoll has found that 79% of respondents hope to become more ethically conscious in their future travels. Additionally, 78% of respondents said they consider themselves more ethically aware than they were 10 years ago, while more than 91% of travellers said that ‘ethical’ travel was important to them.
2. Brexit could cost the hospitality industry £1.8bn a year
According to new research by Quinyx, a no-deal or delayed Brexit could cost the hospitality industry £1.8bn a year by 2024. The research also found that under any Brexit scenario, hospitality businesses can expect to lose an average of 23% of manual workers. London, the south east and east England are expected to feel the greatest reduction in available workers and economic output.
3. GDS bookings increase by 6.4%
Global distribution system hotel bookings experienced a record year in 2018, generating over 75 million annual reservations globally, up from 70 million in 2017, according to TravelClick. This global GDS growth along with increases in ADR are said to have contributed to impressive RevPAR for North American hoteliers as they kicked off the new year.
4. Accor launches new lifestyle brand
Accor has announced the launch of Tribe, a midscale level brand that will specialise in modern spaces with stylish decor touches. The group plans to open 10 Tribe hotels throughout Europe and Asia Pacific by 2022, including one in Glasgow which is on track to open later this year.
Don’t forget you can access weekly travel insights and expertise with Click. Bytes
Nicola Donovan is a travel writer for Click.More by Nicola Donovan
Popular around Click.
Evolution of online payments
Podcast: #4 – Talking cancellations
Insider tips on boosting your review score
Travel trends: what 2017 taught us
What I wish I knew: lessons in holiday rentals
Adapt or die: surviving in the era of digital Darwinism
Five travel trends that will shape customer experience in 2018


text:
Daimler is hoping the ForTwo Electric Drive will increase the brand’s perception and relevance. Smart hopes to beat the BMW i3 and the Volkswagen E-Up! to market in hopes to re-establish the brand’s position as an urban mobility pioneer with the first mass-produced electric car from a German Manufacturer.
The Smart ForTwo Electric Drive is hoping to be the least expensive German electric vehicle on the market and the brand seeks about 10,000 annual sales of the plug-in vehicle. Those estimates may seem high, but 10,000 would only be 10% of global Smart sales.
In Germany, a conventional Smart starts at $13,489 US and a conventional VW Up! is $12,391 US. The Smart ForTwo Electric Drive has been priced at $24,824 US plus $85.33 US per month for the battery. The four-seat Mitsubishi i-Miev is $29,625 and the 5 seat Nissan Leaf is $35,200 in Germany. We’re not sure that price difference is enough to convince buyers to go with the smaller Smart Electric Drive, but there’s no saying this is the final Smart ForTwo ED pricing either. AS we’ve seen time and time again, even the best of promises can change as the production date grows near.
Currently, customers in the US can pre-register on the Smart USA website. Production of the Smart ED started in June of this year in Hamback, Germany, but there is no mention of when the Smart ED will be available.


text:
USA, MI: Ogma Brewing Company opens its doors to the public
Jacksons Ogma Brewing Company opened its doors to the public on Friday, December 3. The three owners, Andrew Volk, Troy Craft and his brother Kevin Craft, say its been a long time coming, the FOX 47 News reported.
I think its something different. Being downtown was important. Were all from Jackson. We eventually left Jackson to Chicago and California and we came back, Volk said. We wanted to bring some of the things from those places that we really enjoyed into a spot here in Jackson.
Volk said the brewery has been five years in the making.
I think its going to be a community space, he said. Its something that were really excited to open up and let people in here to really experience something different.
And the initial reaction was positive.
"Normally I'm not one that's into craft beer but actually both beers that I've sampled here today have been really great," said customer Allison Van Dusen.
Located at 129 E. Michigan Ave. the brewery has space for 50 guests. Six beers are on tap ranging from IPAs to classic beers, lagers and stouts. They also plan to have food starting later this month with dishes like pork belly nachos, bruschetta bao buns and potato curry.
Ogma will be open from 3 p.m to 10 p.m Tuesdays through Saturdays with longer hours coming after they are able to serve food.
E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at firstname.lastname@example.org .


text:
Don't miss updates from us!
Brown Bag Marketing employeesSee All
Brown Bag Marketing is proud to announce that one of its own has graduated from Leadership Buckhead. Focused on developing…Read More
As a company, we’ve dedicated ourselves to leaving things better than we found them. That is why we were so…Read More
Brown Bag Marketing is proud to announce that two of its own have been named to The Empty Stocking Fund's…Read More
Here at The Bag, we recognize that our greatest asset is our people - Bagggers, as we like to call…Read More
According to Forbes.com and a recent survey done by Internships.com, it’s been found that 69% of companies with 100 or more employees…Read More