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US business and trade groups voiced their opposition against the latest round of US tariffs, which are increasing from 10 percent to 25 percent, on Chinese imports worth 200 billion US dollars during the six-day public hearing in Washington.
The US has already imposed additional tariffs on 34 billion US dollars of Chinese goods, and another round of tariffs on 16 billion US dollars of Chinese products will be activated on Thursday. The hefty tariffs will harm US consumers, workers, businesses and the rest of the economy, representatives said.
“We've made three specific and concerted attempts to get our bags made in the US and have learned from each instance that our costs would triple compared to what we pay now, and the detailed quality isn't as good,” said Ross Bishop, President of BrightLine Bags, whose products are manufactured in China.
An additional tariff of 25 percent would bring the total duties from the already paid duties of 17.6 percent to “an absurd level of 42.6 percent”, which has the "undeniable potential" to cripple Bishop’s company, he said.
"Individual [bicycle] components are produced locally in China, whether through Tianjin, or Kunshan, or in the Shenzhen area. The products themselves need to meet safety requirements. So the transition from one country to another, takes a lot of time to build the manufacturing cluster. It's a difficult and complex project for us," said Bob Margevicius, who's on the board of directors of the US Bicycle Product Suppliers Association (BPSA) and Executive President of US bicycle company Specialized Bicycle Components.
BPSA statistics show that roughly 94 percent of total US purchases of bicycles come from China. If the US government were to impose tariffs on bicycles and related components imported from China, the accumulated tariff rate for American consumers will be as high as 36 percent.
The proposal raised by the Trump administration does not represent the will and interests of the US people or businesses, but serves their own political purpose, according to Shen Jianguang, chief economist at JD Finance.
"The actions keep neglecting the fact that many products manufactured in China, such as semiconductors, smartphones and construction machinery, are invested in and operated by US companies," Shen said.
During the hearings, a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen is visiting the US to talk with his counterpart on bilateral economic and trade issues.


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Visa and Mastercard Fee Hike: Online Shoppers to Brace for Potential Impact
Visa and Mastercard
Renowned global payments giants Visa and Mastercard are on the brink of escalating fees associated with credit card transactions, particularly those initiated online. This impending move, expected to roll out in two phases—October and April—could ripple through the market, influencing how online shopping is perceived.
Breaking Down the Imminent Fee Hike
At the core of this strategic decision lies the interchange fee, a fundamental charge a retailer pays to the card-issuing institution each time a customer utilizes their credit card. Notably, these are not just mere percentage points on paper. They have concrete implications for both businesses and consumers.
The Changing Dynamics of Online Shopping
In contemporary years, online shopping has observed an increase, with patrons fancying the accessibility and variety extended by e-commerce stages. This surge might be the justification behind Visa and Mastercard’s determination to remarkably raise fees on online transactions. The higher the capacity of transactions, the more proceeds these payment processors can produce from increased intersection fees.
Consumer Implications: Will You Pay More?
Historically, any augmentations in the interchange fees have invariably trickled down to the end consumers. Regulators have often highlighted how these added expenses for merchants eventually find their way into consumers’ bills, making goods and services pricier. With the proposed “Credit Card Fee Surge”, online shoppers might have to tighten their belts and potentially re-evaluate their purchasing behaviors.
Market Response and Stock Implications
Even before the official rollout of the revised fees, the market has already shown a tangible response. Mastercard’s shares witnessed a 1.3% uplift, whereas Visa experienced a 1.1% spike. This positive sentiment in the stock market underscores investors’ confidence in the financial viability of this decision.
Is this a global trend?
Although Visa and Mastercard are significant players in the global financial market, it remains to be seen whether further payment processors will pursue suit. Will this develop a global trend in payment processing, or will it endure for these two giants?
Seeking Official Comments
Although these disclosures have shown ripples beyond business cooperation and among patrons, official perspectives from both Visa and Mastercard remain vague. As of now, they haven’t observed the Wall Street Journal’s narrative, which has become the primary trace of this news.
Conclusion: Navigating the “Online Shopping Impact”
The digital age has transformed the way we shop, making online purchases a significant part of our lives. As Visa and Mastercard gear up to introduce heightened interchange fees, consumers globally await the potential repercussions. The question remains: Will this deter the modern shopper or just become another accepted aspect of digital commerce? The coming months will undoubtedly provide some answers.
Global payment titans Visa and Mastercard are poised to raise interchange fees, particularly on online transactions. This fee is a charge merchants pay to card-issuing banks each time a credit card is used. Such hikes historically end up impacting consumers, as increased merchant costs often translate into higher prices for goods and services. Set to roll out in two phases—October and April—this move has already influenced the stock market, with both companies witnessing a rise in shares. While online shopping has become integral to modern consumers, these impending fee escalations could reshape purchasing behaviors. As the world awaits an official statement from both entities, there’s speculation on whether this trend will be adopted globally or remain specific to Visa and Mastercard. The broader implications of this decision on digital commerce will unfold in the upcoming months.

domain: news


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At its Analyst Day event, AMD showcased its datacenter computing strategy with three new chipsets covering the x86, ARM and server space. The company expects to release the products in this strategy over the next few years.
"We are focusing our investments on our strongest opportunities to enable our customers to create great products that push the boundaries of what is possible and allow AMD to achieve profitable growth in the years to come," said AMD President and CEO Dr. Lisa Su in a statement.
AMD expects that the datacenter silicon market will total over $10 billion.
At the heart of AMD's new x86 CPU strategy is Zen, a high performance processor featuring simultaneous multithreading, high-bandwidth, low latency caches and improvements to efficiency.
Mark Papermaster, senior vice president and chief technology officer, AMD, claims that Zen will address the latency issues of the prior generation Bulldozer chips. AMD says that Zen features a completely new high-performance core design that allows for high throughput with simultaneous multithreading.
Moving to a FinFET design, the Zen chip will be built on either a 14- or 16nm process and can handle 40% more instructions per cycle. AMD has not released information about clock speed yet.
K12 is AMD's next-generation ARM processor that is expected to be ready by 2017. Unfortunately, with the K12 announcement, AMD confirms it is abandoning its ambitious plans for Skybridge.
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The original intent of Skybridge is to have ARM and x86 chips share the same socket design on what AMD labeled as an "ambidextrous design framework." The pin-compatible 20nm ARM and x86 chips were slated for a 2015 launch, but given that we haven't heard anything of the project it isn't surprising to see AMD can plans for Skybridge.
AMD did not disclose specifics about K12, but we know that the chipset will be based on the 64-bit architecture of the ARMv8 design.
In the interim, AMD will release the Opteron A1100 Seattle ARM processors, which comes with ARM TrustZone support for added security.
The last prong of AMD's three-pronged approach to datacenter silicon is a high-performance server APU. AMD claims that the server APU offers multi-teraflops of computing power designed for high-performance computing and workstations.
Other key features of the server APU include a new memory architecture and improved graphics performance.
It sounds like AMD may be leveraging its experience with high-end graphics to create a powerful server APU. The company also announced the FirePro S9150, a GPGPU that can support multiple 4K displays. AMD claims that this is the only GPU on the market to support SR-IOV virtualization.
- Read our feature explaining why processor size matters


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Amazon.com Underground: In August 2015, Amazon introduced Amazon Underground, a buying app on Android that increased up as an app store, supplying different paid video games and also applications on Google Play as cost-free applications on its system.
Surprisingly, 9Apps advancement comes 4 months after Times Internet * possessed CouponDunia began providing individuals cashback for purchasing using the website, apart from likewise supplying price cuts, a month adhering to the Indian federal government forbidding FDI in e-commerce as well as restricting discounting. If they do proceed deep discounting, after that the voucher component of our website continues to be solid and also well proceed to have a solid channel of individuals that initially look for promo codes as well as after that obtain drawn right into cashback.
Samsung Apps: In May 2011, Samsung introduced Samsung Apps, a driver invoicing on its mobile app store in India. In May, the company s UC Browser crossed over 400 million month-to-month energetic customers worldwide. UC Browser had actually crossed 50% market share in India in November in 2014.
A lot more imaginative couponing techniques like getting a number of papers and also integrating bargains currently much more prevalent many thanks to fact TELEVISION programs and also how-to-blog sites usually aren't just how manufacturers meant the things to be made use of, claimed Cataldo, that claimed she additionally speaks with brand names on couponing. As increasingly more buying actions online, the modest paper discount coupon is verifying strangely durable. Some sellers see special or easier-to-use electronic vouchers as a method to obtain clients in their shops rather than a rival's.
That fragmentation is a problem for brand names as well as sellers as well. The capacity to get to individuals in 75 million homes on a particular Sunday preceding a product launch or vacation as they're preparing their once a week buying is "rather effective," Kitrell stated.
The most recent have actually been Organisation for Economic Cooperation and also Development (OECD) primary economic expert Catherine Mann that informed Bloomberg TELEVISION specification chopper money would not increase development yet totally free purchasing 7coupons.
Over the last couple of months, the term chopper money once made use of to a simulated previous Fed chair Helicopter Ben has actually come to be theusual area. For that we could give thanks to the Bank of Japan as well as its progressively hopeless efforts to begin development, finishing this Friday with its most recent plan conference.


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As Samsung establishes its utter dominance in the foldable smartphone market, many are wondering if and when Apple is going to have an answer. There have been some rumors about foldable iPhones but evidently, they’ve not amounted to much.
Industry insiders are of the view that Apple isn’t betting on foldables just yet due to the slim margins. Foldable panels are more expensive than conventional OLED panels and Apple would rather preserve its profit margins than compromise on them just to release a foldable phone.
Apple prefers waiting for market dynamics to shift
There have been many estimates about Apple’s profit margin on iPhones and while the figures vary, all of them are above 50%. In simple terms, this means that if it costs $10 to make an iPhone, Apple sells it for $15.
Profit margins are important for any company, but even more so for Apple, since it has historically kept high margins on its products. That’s also why you don’t normally see iPhones being discounted on Apple’s online store.
Retailers can cut their own margins to sell discounted iPhones, but Apple doesn’t do that for direct to consumer sales. On the other hand, some of the best discounts on Galaxy devices can be found on Samsung.com. The Korean company tends to balance volume and margins. So it’s always willing to provide the best deals directly.
Ross Young, co-founder and CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants, also tells us that Apple’s decision not to bet on foldables yet is due to the lack of a mature supply chain. There aren’t many display manufacturers that can provide foldable panels at scale. Samsung Display is perhaps the only one that can deliver significant volume. The lack of capacity in the supply chain for processing UTG adds to these unfavorable conditions for Apple.
Ultimately, Apple would be making less profit on foldable phones compared to its regular iPhones while paying Samsung Display more for the cover and foldable displays. It just wouldn’t appear to be a smart business proposition for Apple.
A mature supply chain would provide Apple with more suppliers to choose from. Increased competition will also lower panel prices, thus giving the company more breathing room for profit margins.
So Apple may only be viewing this as a purely business decision. It doesn’t have the kind of vertical integration that Samsung Electronics has with Samsung Display. Apple clearly prefers waiting for market dynamics to shift in its favor before it considers launching a foldable iPhone. How long that might take is another matter entirely.


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During a recent speech at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, chairman of Apple’s board Arthur D. Levinson said members of the board are typically presented with new products anywhere between six and 18 months before they are revealed to the general public.
Board members usually don’t have much input with regards to new products but in the event that there is enough time before launch, opinions are sometimes taken into consideration. What’s more, if a specific board member happens to have expertise in a particular field, their advice may be more influential.
As Levinson describes, it’s not the board’s job to define product specifications. Their job is to be a sounding board and serve as resource, not to get in the way of the CEO or the executive team. Ultimately, he said, the board’s job is to hire and fire the CEO.
The chairman also addressed his role of running the board following the death of co-founder Steve Jobs. He said the experience has been weird and that he’s still not to the point where he walks into the board room and doesn’t miss Jobs. Levinson noted that Jobs was a one of a kind guy and that the Jobs the public knew was not the same Steve Jobs he knew.
Levinson became chairman of the board in November 2011 shortly after Steve Jobs passed away. The executive also serves as the chairman for Genentech, Inc. and is on the board of directors for Roche, a pharmaceutical firm.


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Family business CMV confident about SA's economic growth
- From: The Advertiser
- December 01, 2012
SOUTH Australian family business CMV Group puts all its big business decisions through the "Mall's Balls" test, says joint managing director Paul Crawford.
"If you're prepared to do something and you're prepared to stand next to the Mall's Balls and explain to anyone how and why a decision is taken, it's worth doing," he said.
It's a benchmark that seems to have worked recently for the 78-year-old automotive retailer, rural and finance company, more known for its CMI Toyota dealerships in SA.
The 1200-employee firm, with Paul and his brothers Michael and David on the board, is one of South Australia's largest private companies, passing a $1 billion turnover milestone last financial year.
Most of that turnover comes from its South Australian base, including wine grape and nut producer CMV Farms, CMI Toyota, Lexus and Mercedes dealerships and its truck and bus retail business.
But a lucrative arm has been its maintenance contracts for 2500 pieces of equipment the fleets of Woolworths, Fronterra, Aldi and other retailers.
Those contracts and ambitions to expand its bus and truck dealership network interstate, are expected to drive growth for the company over the next five years.
Mr Crawford was confident about the South Australian economy, despite the palpable impact BHP Billiton's decision to delay the expansion of the Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine had on the local business psyche.
"Yes, the final decision, you could feel it in the business community, you could feel it in confidence levels of small and medium businesses," he said.
"In one sense it was a relief to know that there was clearly a slowdown on the way.
"There was also a bit of silver lining for us, the fact that I personally hold the view that there's been been a lot of very overheated commentary surrounding the Olympic Dam Expansion ... (the delay) has had a settling affect and brought into focus some of the really positive things happening," he said.
Rex Minerals' copper mine near Ardrossan on the Yorke Peninsula, Peculiar Knob and Prominent Hill were all driving activity and many South Australian businesses were more exposed to these projects than the "sensational" forecasts for expansions at Roxby.
But the ore body remains in the ground, which meant that "when BHP push the button on it, I'm sure it will be done on a more efficient level," he said.
CMV Group's recent investments in SA include a multi-million-dollar purchase of Adelaide's only Mercedes dealership in July and a new $13 million Lexus dealership on West Tce, which began trading last month.
Mr Crawford said the firm intends to remain headquartered in Adelaide and expects a pick up in activity after making record sales in October.
The company has had some poor performances, particularly after the global financial crisis but has averaged about 8-10 turnover growth in the past decade.
"We obviously like the fact that we're South Australian. We see it as a competitive advantage to have access to good people ... with a good work ethic. Although I love people to travel and come back to us," he said.
"I often think of the SA psyche and I think it could be more positive and we could be much more proud of the things that we do," he said.


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At a New York press conference today, Nokia revealed its Lumia 1020, its next flagship handset with a 41-megapixel camera.
Stephen Elop, Nokia CEO, starts Nokia's press event off by telling the audience how people love taking pictures and looking at pictures.
Coming in yellow, white, and black, the Lumia 1020 still harks back to the colorful, unibody design of the Lumia family.
Looking for a vacuum cleaner?
Whether you’re looking for a traditional upright vacuum, a nimble stick model, or a low-maintenance robot vac, this list has an option that’s right for you.


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Chinese automaker Changan having teamed up with Master Motors is considering to introduce more vehicles in Pakistan. According to our sources, the company is studying feasibility to introduce COS X7 SUV as well as the new Alsvin sedan in our market. Changan officials when contacted declined to comment though.
Related: First Local Assembled Changan Rolled Off the Assembly Lines
Having already launched Karvaan minivan and M8 & M9 pickups, the company was in process of introducing the CX70T SUV in Pakistan and has been showcasing the LHD (left hand drive) versions at various auto shows since last year, however it is now being reported that the new COS X7 SUV is being considered instead of the CX70T for our market. As per our sources, the company may still launch both the SUVs in parallel with CX70T as a relatively cheaper option, while COS X7 as a premium offering.
COS is a new sub-brand under the umbrella of Changan’s commercial vehicle division Oshan (Oushang in Chinese). The COS X7 which made its debut at the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show earlier this year, is the first compact SUV in their lineup and is powered by the same 1.5 liter turbocharged engine that serves the duty in most Changan vehicles.
Related: Changan Displays the CX70T SUV and A800 MPV at PAPS 2019
The X7 is positioned as a 5-seat SUV, and measures 4700/1860/1690mm having a wheelbase of 2780mm. It sits on the new modular MPA platform developed by Changan’s global R&D center and comes loaded with rich safety and tech equipment including L2.5 advanced driver assistance systems, APA5.0 automatic parking and TINNOVE car intelligent system with AI voice control and face recognition technologies.
Furthermore according to our sources, Changan is also considering to introduce the new Alsvin sedan that has a BlueCore 1.5 liter DVVT low-carbon emission engine under its hood and comes mated to a 5-speed manual and 5-speed automatic transmission.
Related: Changan Launches the 2018 Eado DT (New Alsvin) in China
As per sources, these vehicles might be introduced in our market before mid 2020, however one might be able to come across the test mules likely towards the end of this year. Final decision and timeline regarding the launch of these vehicles is yet to be made. Stay tuned to CarSpiritPK for more information.
A computer animation professional with over 23 years of industry experience having served in leading organizations, TV channels & production facilities in Pakistan. An avid car enthusiast and petrolhead with an affection to deliver quality content to help shape opinions. Formerly written for PakWheels as well as major publications including Dawn. Founder of CarSpiritPK.com


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Nasscom-incubated sports company to spearhead digitisation of fitness industry
Premium sports technology company SportsUno has brought onboard former Indian fast bowler Rudra Pratap Singh, with the company being among the chosen few to have been selected by industry body NASSCOM to digitise the grassroots operations of the sport industry in India.
Seeking to become an integrated platform for sports, fitness centers, gymnasiums and freelance instructors, SportsUno is now creating a digital platform for all fitness instructors to host online training sessions with their existing or new customers. Instructors could create online training classes, send invites to their customers for joining the session, charge online classes’ fee on the portal, maintain customer records, send invoices, and also do marketing for online sessions they create.
Speaking about his joining SportsUno as an investor, former cricketer RP Singh said, "The pandemic has brought the entire sports and fitness industry to a halt. I am working with SportsUno to extend technical support to fitness instructors, who are an integral part of the sports and fitness ecosystem.
“While all the other industries are using technology day in, day out to improve and scale-up their businesses, technology in sports is only being used at the top of the pyramid, i.e. at IPL, ISL, Pro-kabaddi leagues, etc. where there is big money,” the former fast bowler noted.
“Whereas people and businesses sitting at the grass-root level - small academies, training centers, sports complexes, etc. are not even aware as to how to leverage technology to their area. The technological domain is very new to these sports business owners and SportsUno is here to help them get the best of it," he added.
During the lockdown, SportsUno developed efficient in-house software for fitness centers, gyms and health instructors to conduct uninterrupted online training sessions for their customers.
Varun Rao, CEO, SportsUno said, "We realise that across the sports industry, things are still being done traditionally at grassroots. The coronavirus crisis has affected the grassroots level of sports gravely and this has also created an opportunity to digitize and Automate business operations in the industry.”
“Capitalising on this opportunity, we want to infuse technology at primary levels of the industry. Once the digital is embedded in every aspect of the sports business, it can unlock unprecedented opportunities for growth for sports business establishments – clubs, complexes, academies, gyms, coaching and fitness centres etc. so forth and so on. Business owners will be able to offer innovative and more personalised experiences to their customers,” he added.
"SportsUno operates as the sports technology partner to sports businesses by ensuring that business owners can focus on growing their business while handling all their tech-related requirements," said Rao.
Latest Business News


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Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair reported a drop in combined cargo and mail traffic figures for March 2013, attributing the decline to the slow recovery of the market following the Lunar New Year holiday.
The two airlines carried 136,504 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, a fall of 5.3 percent year-over-year. The cargo and mail load factor fell by 1.9 percentage points to 66.4 percent. Capacity declined by 8.3 percent, while cargo and mail revenue tonne kilometers were down by 10.8 percent.
In the first quarter of 2013, the tonnage carried was 373,048 tonnes, a drop of 1.4 percent from the same period in 2012. Capacity decreased by 4.8 percent to 3,232,616 tonnes for the quarter compared to the corresponding period a year ago.
“We saw little change in the overall market situation in March. Demand was slow to recover from the extended closure of factories over the Chinese New Year period in February, and there was no significant surge out of our two key markets, Hong Kong and Mainland China,” said James Woodrow, general manager of Cathay Pacific for cargo sales and marketing.
He added: “The major airfreight markets have been soft for two years now and, with no sign of any sustained pick-up in sight, we will continue to manage our freighter capacity in line with market demand.”


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The 6AM Shift: Connecting with Customers NOW | 18 Nov 2020
Facebook has published a new guide which outlines six key strategies that successful brands are using to “build enduring connections and drive exceptional results” through their digital marketing efforts. The 27-page guide can be downloaded here.
Instagram redesigns its home screen for the first time in years, adding Reels and Shop tabs. The Reels tab will lead users to Reels, short-form videos similar to TikTok. The Shop tab will surface personalized recommendations, editors’ picks curated by the @shop channel, shoppable videos, and new product collections.
Instagram has finally released Guides format to all users, and expanding it to include other types of content, as well — including Products, Places and Posts. IG Guides were launched earlier this year, which allowed creators to share tips, resources and other longer-form content in a dedicated tab on their user profiles. The format was previously limited to a select group of creators who were publishing content focused on mental health and well-being.
Instagram has added a new setting which will enable users to choose whether they can be targeted with more personalized ads in the app via the usage of supplementary data sourced from third-party platforms and providers.
Twitter has just launched its new Carousels format, allowing advertisers to add up to six images or videos in an ad. A Facebook study reports Carousel ads driving a 72% higher click-through rate than single images.
Officeworks has teamed up with Verizon Media’s branded content division RYOT Studio for a new augmented reality campaign that brings Santa photo-ops back for a socially-distanced Christmas. Users can choose from various Santa poses to build their own unique scene then save the image to their phone, print it in-store or share with friends and family on social media.
Aware Super has launched its first integrated brand campaign showing the collective force for good of its members who breathe life into their communities. The campaign shows the vital role Aware Super members, including nurses, doctors, paramedics, firefighters, teachers and police officers, have in the communities they serve each and every day.
To celebrate World Kindness Day last Friday, Tourism New Zealand rebranded itself for 24 hours and dedicated its social media accounts to celebrating kindness. Using the hashtag #PureKindness, stories of kindness from New Zealand and around the world began being shared from 6am on Friday morning via Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.


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From left, LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and LG Chem CEO Peter Bahn-Suk Kim break ground on a new LG Chem plant July 15, 2010, in Holland, Mich. / AP Photo/Carlos Osorio
WASHINGTON – The Democratic chairwoman of a U.S. Senate subcommittee is asking Energy Secretary Steven Chu to explain what steps he is taking to recover potential overpayments to a Michigan-based battery company that received a $150-million federal grant in four years ago and was the focus of a scathing review by federal inspectors.
Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri sent letters last week to both Chu and David Lee, the chief financial officer of LG Chem Michigan in Holland, giving them until March 29 to respond to her questions.
Last month, the inspector general’s office for the Energy Department issued a report saying LG Chem had failed to sell a single electric car battery since receiving the grant in 2009 – as well as $175-million worth of state and local tax relief – but had paid $1.6-mllion to employees who spent their time volunteering for animal shelters, watching movies ansd playing video games.
At the time of the report, an LG Chem spokesman said there hadn’t been enough demand for electric car batteries to make production in Michigan feasible. GM – which had been the intended buyer of the Michigan batteries – had been purchasing its lithium-ion batteries for the Volt from LG Chem’s production lines in South Korea instead of Michigan.
In her letter to Lee, McCaskill said she understood that the company had agreed to refund the government’s share of employment costs – which was about half of the $1.6 million paid to employees identified in the inspector’s report – but said that the company has received a lot more.
“To date … LG Chem has received more than $142 million, 94% of the available funds, without meeting any of the grant’s objectives,” she said. “(It) is possible that the value of unallowable labor costs may be even higher.”
She asked Lee to explain what the company is doing to address the problems raised in the report “including the status of any review to determine additional funds which should be reimbursed to the government.”
McCaskill’s staff said no hearing is scheduled in the Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting Oversight at this point but that she could consider one in the future.


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Najib's / scales News /: politicians "influential" in control of the border and "customs" benefit them
Since 04.08.2015 at 20:20 (GMT Baghdad)
Special - scales News
Revealed a member of the economic and investment commission parliamentary Najiba Najib, on Tuesday, about the existence of influential politicians in the current government in control of the border crossing points, showed that while customs tariff will increase the profile of their benefits.
She said Najib's / scales News /, that "there are politicians influential in the federal government control largely on the majority of Iraq's neighboring countries border characterized by strong commercial economy," indicating that "the border advantage now widespread phenomenon of" corruption "dramatically and publicly" exceptional "nor the government can control it. "
She said a member of the economic and investment commission in Parliament, said that "activation of customs tariff law is very important Almistodh goods at the moment, considering that Iraq's economy deteriorating", noting that "Iraq depends class basis on oil and with the drop in oil prices should be enacted financial source extends government." , pointing out that "activating the customs tariff will increase the corruption that exists in the Iraqi border."
It is said that "the economic expert on behalf of Antoine said L / scales News /, on Monday, that" traders "Iraqis will take advantage of the launch of the customs tariff" collection "to trigger a price in the market, among the customs tariff law in these times is very important, especially after the deterioration of the economy Iraqi ".
This "and saw the deputy in the parliamentary finance committee, earlier, that the customs tariff which the government updated it will start from border crossing points, starting from the first of August next revive the Iraqi economy and will increase the purchasing power of citizens" .anthy 29/9 P
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IRI and Label Insight are joining forces to give CPG makers and retailers deeper analysis into how products perform from nutrition and ingredient label data.
The partnership will combine IRI's point-of-sale and purchasing data from shopper loyalty cards with product label and ingredient attributes from Label Insight. The result will help food makers and retailers more effectively assess how ingredients and sales interact. With that information, they can craft their production and marketing approaches to keep up with trends in health and wellness, the companies said in a release.
"This partnership advances our mission to not only help consumers understand what they are putting into their bodies, but also assist CPG companies and retailers drive growth and value by better meeting consumers' demands for nutrition label transparency," Ronak Sheth, CEO of Label Insight, said in the release.
This joint effort could help CPG brands and retail outlets take advantage of trends by augmenting IRI's Liquid Data technology platform with new nutrition and ingredient attributes from Label Insight. According to the companies, these attributes will let IRI track and measure sales shopper behavior across ingredients and product labels, including gluten free and those following the clean label trend.
Those attributes represent some of today's most on-trend consumer marketing opportunities — along with transparency and fewer additives such as artificial flavors and colors. According to Innova Market Insights, 91% of U.S. consumers think foods and beverages with recognizable ingredients are healthier for them.
Consumers also increasingly want more information about the food they buy and prepare. A 2018 report from Label Insight and the Food Marketing Institute found 75% of shoppers said they would change to purchasing a brand giving more in-depth product information beyond what's on the label. In 2016, only 39% said the same.
To respond to these developments, manufacturers are switching up recipes to replace unwanted ingredients with those from more natural sources and with names consumers are more likely to recognize. Recent research from Label Insight noted that a majority of consumers would purchase an item with a "natural" label claim. The company also said 21,838 foods and beverages in its database have "all natural" claims on their packaging.
While a number of product reformulations have been relatively successful — such as Campbell Soup deciding in 2015 to phase out artificial flavors and colors in a number of its products in 2015 — others didn't initially work out as well as the manufacturer expected. General Mills decided to make a similar move with its Trix cereal in 2016, but after consumers complained that the healthier version was depressing, the company brought back the classic to provide both options. This level of data may have saved General Mills the effort of reformulating its signature bright cereal, or put Campbell Soup on the path of reformulation quicker.
Using nutrition and ingredient-level data might be useful to help CPG manufacturers and retailers see such trends coming and plan for their arrival. Combining IRI's point-of-sale and purchasing data from shopper loyalty cards with Label Insight's product label and ingredient attributes could be a powerful tool to help with this, as long as the information-gathering process isn't too intrusive and consumers don't end up feeling like guinea pigs.
But if the end result of this new corporate partnership is more useful information to help consumers work their way through ingredients and products and arrive at the best and more healthful decisions, it could be a win-win for all concerned.


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Bank of Israel issues a Review of developments in the country’s payment systems landscape over recent years
· There was dramatic growth in the total value of digital payments. In 2020, ACH wire transfers accounted for 51% of total payment values, comprised of direct credits (42%) and direct debits (9%). In addition, payments made via Zahav-Israel’s RTGS system-accounted for 31% of total payment values. There was also an 86% increase in the use of payment cards during the last decade, reaching nearly NIS 1 billion per day in 2020.
· During the COVID-19 period, Israeli payment systems demonstrated particular robustness. The public migrated from in-person physical payments to remote digital use throughout 2020 and particularly during lockdown periods. Israeli payment systems’ nearly 100% levels of availability and reliability enabled this robustness and stemmed in part from supervision by the Bank of Israel.
· The Payment Systems and Settlement Department is examining which steps are necessary to remove domestic barriers to entry facing PayTech companies, and to enable existing and potential payments stakeholders to operate in Israel.
The Review published today presents developments in payment systems in Israel from the perspectives of innovation, competition, stability and efficiency. The report describes the evolution of payment methods and services, and the operation of supervised payment systems during the years covered. The Review also presents challenges facing the Bank of Israel’s Payment Systems and Settlement Department as it aspires to promote and develop the Israeli payments landscape. In addition, highlights are presented from payments activity in Israel during the COVID-19 crisis.
The Director of the Payment Systems and Settlement Department, Oded Salomy, said: “In the coming years, the Bank of Israel will continue expanding and deepening the reforms it has led so far in the area of payments and related fields. We will continue to act to close the gap that has emerged between the payments space in Israel and other advanced economies, and we will strive to take a leadership role in this field in the international arena.”
Payment methods and payment systems in Israel are in the throes of a regulatory, commercial and technological revolution, progressing to a more advanced, digital, and user friendly environment; becoming more available to the general public; and becoming more accessible to nonbank as well as bank entities.
In recent years, the Israel payments market has experienced significant technological progress, such as implementation of the EMV and NFC protocols that enabled deployment of advanced means of card-based payments, particularly digital wallets and contactless payments. The Israel market’s migration to EMV and NFC was driven by the Bank of Israel’s regulatory agenda, which led to, among other things, the entry of nine digital wallets in the past 18 months alone. In addition, a new payment system—a retail Faster Payments system—was developed, and steps were taken to increase access to the payment systems by nonbank entities. Another step, which became effective in July 2021, was the deployment of increased frequency for credit card settlement, accelerating from settlement once per month to once per day. In addition, a series of measures were taken to enhance advanced digital services for customers, including open banking, licensing and deployment of a new digital bank, “one click” current account switching between banks, and more.
All the supervised payment systems in Israel featured particularly high levels of availability and stability. Between 2018 and 2020, Israel’s RTGS system, Zahav, featured average levels of 99.988% availability; the national ACH clearing house, enabling direct debit and direct credit wire transfers, operated by Masav, featured average levels of 99.999% availability; the national switch for payment cards, operated by Shva, featured average levels of 99.996% availability; and the ATM payment system operated by Shva also featured average levels of 99.974% availability.
Over the past decade, Israel experienced dramatic growth in digital payment values. In 2020, ACH wire transfers accounted for 51% of total payment values, comprised of 42% direct credits and 9% direct debits. Payments made through the Zahav system accounted for 31% of payment values. During the last decade, there was a marked increase in the use of payment cards, with an 86% increase in payment values, to nearly NIS 1 billion per day in 2020.
With the exception of payments for housing, vehicles, and nonprofit organizations, volumes via payment cards penetrated 69.7% of household expenditure, an inordinately high figure by multiple measures.
The public migrated from in-person physical payments to remote digital use throughout 2020, particularly during lockdown periods, with almost no interruption.
In 2020, card-not-present (CNP) transactions accounted for approximately 58% of the value of all payment card transactions. The volume of mobile check deposits via check scanning using a smart phone application increased from 11% of all check presentations in 2019 to 21% in 2020. The stable behavior of supervised payments systems in Israel during these changes through the COVID-19 period attested to their robustness.
Measures taken in the payment systems field are intended to remove barriers and to lay the groundwork for future developments, while providing maximum flexibility for all stakeholders in choosing the services they want to receive and provide. Developments in the market are accompanied by appropriate regulation that ensures stability of supervised payment systems and their users.
The Bank of Israel’s Payment Systems and Settlement Department is examining what measures are necessary to remove domestic barriers to entry faced by PayTech companies and to allow existing and potential stakeholders in the field to operate in Israel. The Department is responsible for the stability of the payment systems, alongside the advancement of their overall efficiency, and for ensuring fair and equitable access to those systems for all payment service providers who meet the access conditions and connection requirements by the relevant system.
The Review published today references payment system data from 2018 to 2020, and also presents developments from 2021.
The Hebrew overview published today will be followed and an English translation that will be accessible on the Bank of Israel website in the coming weeks.


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Supermarket delis are topping their pizzas with pizzazz. They're pushing upscale selections and upgrading their ovens to stay competitive with pizzerias.
As a category, pizza delivered a nice boost in sales for supermarket delis in 2003. Random-weight pizza sales increased 44.5% to $56.9 million for the year ending Feb. 22, 2004, according to data from FreshLook Marketing Group, Hoffman Estates, Ill.
Penn Traffic is currently adding brick ovens to many of its stores. The ones


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Autodesk releases fun free iPad sculpting app
Autodesk has released a new iPad sculpting app, 123D Sculpt.
The app, which is currently available for free, offers basic sculpting and detailing tools. The geometry can be textured by importing images or capturing them with the iPad 2 camera and ‘stencilling’ them onto its surface.
123D Sculpt offers 17 base models. Five further packs of four are available from the App Store for $0.99 each.
With no option to export the geometry in a format other software can read, don’t expect to be using it in a professional context any time soon – but it looks like being great fun on train journeys.
The new app forms a sister product to 123D, the entry-level hard-surface design and modelling software Autodesk released in beta earlier this year.


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SeaWorld San Antonio’s parent firm files for IPO
The owner of SeaWorld San Antonio, SeaWorld Entertainment Inc., has filed for an initial public offering of common stock seeking to raise at least $100 million.
The Orlando, Fla.-based company operates 11 theme parks nationwide and is itself owned by 10 limited partnerships that are controlled by affiliates of New York-based private-equity firm The Blackstone Group LP — which will continue to control a majority of the voting shares in the wake of the IPO.
The IPO filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is a preliminary prospectus, and is subject to change, and the securities will not be sold until the company’s registration statement with SEC is deemed effective. SeaWorld Entertainment plans to use the proceeds from the IPO to pay down debt — which stood at $1.8 billion as of Sept. 30 — and for general corporate purposes.
SeaWorld Entertainment acquired the theme parks under its umbrella in December 2009 by purchasing the outstanding equity interests of Busch Entertainment LLC from Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. Once the IPO is effective, the company will trade under the symbol SEAS.
“During the 12 months ended Sept, 30, 2012, we (SeaWorld Entertainment) hosted more than 24 million guests in our theme parks, including approximately 2.7 million international guests from over 55 countries and six continents, and generated an estimated 5.6 billion impressions through television and digital platforms,” the company’s SEC filing states.
For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2012, SeaWorld Entertainment recorded net income of $86.2 million on net revenues of $715.8 million, compared with net income of $49.9 million on revenues of $666.1 million for the same period in 2011, the SEC filing shows. The company made a sharp turnaround in 2011, the SEC filing shows, when it recorded net income of $19.1 million, compared with a net loss of $45.5 million in 2010.
“We plan to grow our business by increasing our existing theme park revenues through strategies designed to drive higher attendance and increase in-park per capita spending, as well as by creating new sources of revenue through expansion of our theme parks, new theme park development and extending our brands into new media, entertainment and consumer products,” SeaWorld Entertainment’s SEC filing states. “We believe that our strategies complement each other as they lead to increased brand strength and awareness and drive revenue growth and profitability.”
The plan to invest in expanding its existing theme parks and ramping up promotion of those parks should be good news for the 416-acre SeaWorld San Antonio — which ranks already as one of the largest marine-life theme parks in the world.
The Business Journal reported on Dec. 19 that SeaWorld’s parent company was eying an IPO.
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James Aldridge oversees online content of the newspaper; edits and reports stories for the online edition.
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Get Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL guaranteed Android P, Android Q updates
Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are the successors of last year’s Pixel smartphone Google promises two-year OS update and three-year security update for devices
Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, Google’s latest flagship Android smartphones will receive major software and security updates for three years. With the launch of the Fist Generation Pixel phone last year, Google has promised two years of OS updates and three years of security updates. With the new generation of Pixels, Google is changing that approach a bit with enhanced software updates. This means that Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 smartphones must be upgraded to Android P and Android Q, since they come with Android O.
Details about guaranteed software updates were buried in the device’s official specification sheet. Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will get software and security updates till 2020 Android Police reports that the new Pixel phones will receive a three-year software update due to Project Treble, which debuted with the launch of Android 8.0 Oreo. With Treble, Google is eliminating reliance on chipset makers for long-term updates on smartphones.
Although three-year guaranteed updates are a step in the right direction, Google still fails to keep up with Apple in the software update segment. Apple doesn’t promise a minimum time for software updates for the iPhone, but the company’s four-year-old smartphones usually receive the latest iOS updates. With iOS 11, Apple has even offered the latest version of its mobile operating system, the iPhone 5S, which launched in 2013.
Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL offer an advanced design and hardware, but the company has focused on product new machine learning and artificial intelligence functions. Google is adding AI to its apps and software to understand the performance of the device and to optimize the overall experience. As machine learning shifts to the core of Android, Google will be in a better position to understand the degradation of device overtime and offer a streamlined experience.


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It’s no secret that Pabst Blue Ribbon enjoyed a resurgence in recent years as the historic beer, once looked down upon as a cheap effort, was embraced by hipsters everywhere. Now, the Los Angeles-based Pabst Brewing Company is launching Captain Pabst, a standalone brand outside of the PBR family, starting with it’s flagship offering Seabird IPA in Wisconsin and Illinois markets.
Captain Pabst pays homage to the company’s namesake, Frederick Pabst, who was a ship captain on Lake Michigan before marrying into the family that owned Milwaukee-based Best and Company Brewing, which was later renamed for Pabst in 1889. Pabst Brewing is best known for PBR but the company is also responsible for a number of popular regional beers including Texas’ Lone Star Beer, Seattle’s Rainier Beer and Baltimore’s National Bohemian Beer as well as the recently trendy Not Your Father’s brand of hard sodas.
In 2017, Pabst Brewing returned to Milwaukee with a micro-brewery and taproom in a former church on the site of the original Pabst Brewing complex, featuring smaller batches of more robust offerings as well some of the company’s historic beers. Pabst plans to rebrand the taproom and brewery as Captain Pabst’s Pilot House and it will feature “imaginative craft beer offerings” as well as a menu of spirits that are blended and barrel-aged on site. It’s expected to open under the new name on March 28, which happens to coincide with Pabst’s 184th birthday. If you order Seabird at the Pilot House, you’ll get a beer brewed on site, however the cans that are being distributed to stores are going to be brewed by nearby Wisconsin Brewing Company.
Brewed with Magnum, Citra, Cascade and Mosaic hops, Seabird IPA is named for the last ship Pabst captained, which he beached on the shore of Lake Michigan’s Whitefish Bay in an 1863 storm. The beer is 4.5 percent ABV, seeming making it more sessionable, and has 45 IBUs and features a stylish, old-timey label.
“Captain Frederick Pabst was wild; his life was filled with random endeavors that all seemed to stem from his adventurous spirit and his willingness to push the boundaries,” Pabst general manager Matt Bruhn said in a press release. “Here at Pabst, we can certainly appreciate a life lived that way — it’s closely aligned to our values.”
Pabst has hit a rough patch the last couple of years, with off-premise dollar sales of products declining nearly eight percent last year while sales of PBR were down 7.6 percent. The company’s products made up 2.1 percent of the American beer market in 2018, so despite a limited footprint at launch, the company might be hoping to recapture some of its relevance. It’ll be interesting to see what else is brewed under the Captain Pabst name.


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The FINANCIAL — Economists cut again their forecast for Brazil’s economic performance for this year and also for the next year, as consumer and business confidence shows no signs of recovery, according to Nasdaq.
Brazil’s gross domestic product is expected to contract 3% this year, according to a weekly central-bank survey of 100 economists, compared with expectations last week for a contraction of 2.97%.
The forecast marked the 14th-consecutive downward revision in the weekly survey of economists.
For the next year, economists cut their view for a contraction of 1.22% from 1.20%.
In the meantime, the economists surveyed increased their estimate for inflation in 2015, as measured by the consumer- price index, to 9.75% from 9.70%.
For next year, they increased their inflation estimate to 6.12% from 6.05%.
Respondents maintained their outlook for the benchmark Selic interest rate at the end of 2015 at 14.25%, and increased their view for 2016 to 12.75% from 12.63%. The rate currently is at 14.25%.
The economists surveyed lifted their forecast for 2015’s trade balance to a $13.20 billion surplus from $12.99 billion.


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Nokia and Google are rumored to be working on their own smart watch devices for release in the near future, while a representative from Samsung has reportedly admitted that his company's latest offering in that field could use some improvement.
Leaked photos supposedly showing part of a Nokia smart watch. Image via CTech.
Google is widely believed to be working on its own smart watch, a belief bolstered by the recent revelation that the search giant bought a smart watch maker last year. Now Android Police's Artem Russakovskii has noted on his Google+ page reports that Google's smart watch will see release this year.
Russakovskii believes that the device will be part of Google's line of Nexus devices, which run a pure version of Android without the user interface "skins" that other manufacturers typically put over Google's mobile platform. While noting that the rumor is unverifiable, Russakovskii says that the device is codenamed "Gem," and that it will debut later this month alongside the newest Nexus devices and the latest version of Android, KitKat.
As Google is thought to be prepping its own offering for an increasingly crowded smart watch segment, images have emerged showing what is said to be the main body component for a Nokia smart watch. The images showed up in September on CTech a Chinese blog site known for leaking pre-release hardware. They show portions of a watch face with Nokia branding and little else. The component shown has irregular spacing in the holes where a watch band would connect, meaning that it could be either a prototype or a fake.
The component appears to be composed of the same polycarbonate material Nokia uses in its Lumia line of Windows Phone devices. It also seems to have a curved underbody of the sort expected for a device meant to be worn on the wrist.
Nokia is in the midst of a long turnaround following several years of declining sales and revenues. Caught unprepared for the rise of Samsung and Apple, Nokia eventually joined with Microsoft on the Windows Phone platform, but the firm has still struggled to carve out a significant market share. Microsoft eventually bought Nokia in early September, and the software giant was already believed to be working on its own smart watch device, so the future of the alleged Nokia device â if it is indeed real â is uncertain.
Offerings from Google and Nokia would enter an arena already populated by Sony, Pebble, and others. The largest player in the growing smart watch segment would be Samsung, which recently released its Galaxy Gear device to largely negative reviews. Samsung is already rumored to be working on a follow-up to the device, one that would address the widespread criticisms that plagued the first version.
The South Korean tech giant is believed to have rushed production of Gear this year, following rumors that Apple was preparing to release its own "iWatch" in the near future. Samsung's device had reportedly already been in development since 2011, but the rushed process this year may have led to many of the flaws that caused so many poor reviews.
Speaking with The Korea Times, an unnamed Samsung official admitted that Gear was a subpar offering, saying that the company could do better.
âWeâve acknowledged that our Gear lacks something special. With more investment for user interface and user experience, Samsung devices will be better in terms of customer satisfaction,â the official said.


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German economy on track despite gloomy May data
Weak German export and industrial figures on Monday highlighted the fragile recovery of the economy but leading indicators from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development signalled that growth in the eurozone powerhouse is on track.
Despite the gloom cast by Germany's disappointing May data, the OECD said in its monthly report of leading indicators that activity was looking up for the eurozone and that German growth was getting back to trend levels.
The picture for the eurozone as a whole "continues to indicate a gain in growth momentum", the organisation said, especially pointing to Germany, but warning that the outlook for France is "relatively stable.".
The report came as initial data from Germany's economy ministry showed that industrial output fell one percent in May from activity a month earlier, largely owing to a drop in the construction sector.
The figures heightened concern that the recovery in Europe's biggest economy from the eurozone crisis remains fragile.
The decline in industrial production, after allowing for seasonal variations, was worse than a 0.50-percent fall predicted by a Dow Jones Newswires poll.
It came after a revised rise of 2.0 percent in April.
"Following the at times substantial gains of recent months, industrial production slowed slightly in May," the ministry said in a statement, but added that output remained on an "upward trend".
Pointing to good business confidence indicators, the ministry predicted that "the recovery in the manufacturing sector should continue in a somewhat subdued manner".
Also on Monday, official figures showed that German exports fell at a sharper rate than expected in May as weakness in several key markets including the eurozone choked sales.
Excluding adjustments for seasonal factors, it recorded a trade surplus of 13.1 billion euros ($16.8 billion) in May.
This was sharply lower than the 17.6 billion euros forecast by analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires.
Exports, the traditional driver of German economic growth, dropped to 88.2 billion euros versus 94.3 billion euros the previous month, the federal statistics office reported, citing the steepest month-on-month drop since December 2011.
Imports also sank but at a lower rate, to 75.2 billion euros from 76.4 billion euros in April.
In a year-on-year comparison, exports declined 4.8 percent and imports 2.6 percent.
Figures adjusted for seasonal factors showed that the trade surplus fell to 14.1 billion euros from 17.5 billion euros in April.
But imports saw a slight rise of 1.7 percent to 76.3 billion euros while exports dropped 2.4 percent to 90.4 billion euros.
Christian Schulz at Berenberg Bank said that the May trade data spotlighted broad trends in the German economy but gave an upbeat outlook.
"Robust domestic demand pushes up imports, while weakness in several export markets holds back export growth," he said.
"But with US demand growing nicely, reinforced by the strong dollar, and the eurozone gradually emerging from recession, the outlook for German exporters could brighten again in the second half of the year, despite the emerging market wobbles."
Germany narrowly scraped past recession in the first quarter when it booked 0.1 percent economic growth, after the economy had contracted by 0.7 percent in the final quarter of last year.
© 2013 AFP


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Tata steel BSL’s net profit soars in Q4 amid growth in sales volumes and better earnings on higher steel prices. In Q4, the company’s consolidated net profit more than doubled to Rs19,133.5mn from Q3 and grew exponentially from the prior-year quarter’s profit of Rs59.3mn.
For the full year 2021, Tata steel BSL’s consolidated net sales revenue increased by 15.9pc to Rs199.76bn from a year ago, while net profit was Rs25.18bn compared to a loss of Rs6.284bn in FY2020.
The company’s earnings grew driven by higher sales volumes, better product mix and improved realisation on higher steel prices in the domestic and global market. Sales volume in Q4 rose to 1.19 mt, up by 22pc from the prior year and 4pc from Q3 amid a strong recovery in steel demand, while sales volume increased by 4pc from the prior year to 4.31mn mt in FY2021. Robust steel demand from the auto sector and higher raw material prices in the international market supported higher steel prices in Q4.
|Tata steel BSL results|
|Unit: Rs mn||Q4FY2021||Q4FY2020||Change YoY||FY2021||FY2020|
Tata Group company and a subsidiary of Tata Steel, Tata Steel BSL is India’s largest steel producer.


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Earlier this week, Target announced a partnership with online mattress and bedding company Casper, which is backed by some notable investors including actor Leonardo DiCaprio. Under the deal, Target will begin selling Casper's mattresses, plush sheets, a lounger and pillows, among other bedding items, at its 1,807 stores on June 18.
But, as Recoderevealed on Friday, Target allegedly held discussions with Casper to acquire its business for $1 billion, but the two companies couldn't hash out a deal. Instead, Target settled with a minority stake.
Target declined to comment and Casper did not respond to a query.
This isn't the first recent acquisition that allegedly has slipped through Target's fingers.
Rumors circulated recently that the company was in advanced talks to buy organic grocer Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) - Get Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. Report last summer, but that Target eventually ditched the effort. As Target appears to be falling behind Walmart in almost every category - especially grocery - not closing deals that could improve its prospects likely isn't the best move.
In part, the inability of Target to get a deal done could reflect the cautious management style of CEO Brian Cornell.
"We look at them [acquisitions] through a filter of what's going to really enhance our current business initiatives, so I would put out of the box [ideas] on the side and really think about M&A as something that is going to compliment and strengthen our core strategy, and help us accelerate and complement the interaction we have with Target guests," Cornell explained on a conference call this week when asked by an analyst on his acquisition philosophy.
Walmart, on the other hand, has been on somewhat of a shopping spree as of late.
Since buying e-commerce startup Jet.com for $3.3 billion in August, its founder, and now head of Walmart's U.S. e-commerce division, Marc Lore, has led the charge in acquiring several notable online companies, four to be exact. Some of the top names include women's vintage-inspired retailer Modcloth.com for $150 million and outdoor recreational retailer Moosejaw for $50 million. The world's largest retailer is also reportedly in advanced talks to buy men's clothing startup Bonobos for $300 million.
Walmart's efforts, which include slashing food prices and better stocking shelves in addition to those online, look to be paying early dividends.
On Wednesday, Target reported a first-quarter same-store sales decline of 1.4%, while Walmart, the next day, posted a comparable store sales increase of 1.4%. Walmart's store traffic has been up for 10 straight quarters, whereas Target continues to battle declines.
Walmart's online sales surged 63% in the quarter, Target's clocked in with a 22% increase.
Meanwhile, a new study by investment bank Cowen shows that customer satisfaction with the total shopping experience at Target declined for a fourth-consecutive period.
In a recent research note, Cowen analyst Oliver Chen said that Target, lacking the consumer perception that it offers the same low prices as rival Walmart, is "likely losing share on everyday essentials, as customers turn to Amazon (AMZN) - Get Amazon.com Inc. Report , Walmart and other places."
Click here for the latest business headlines.
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Business Insider reports:
Apple CEO Tim Cook on Wednesday warned investors that the company expects to fall as much as $9 billion short of its earlier revenue target for the first fiscal quarter of 2019.
In a rare guidance revision, Cook pointed to a struggling market in China as the biggest factor for the change.
Cook added that “rising trade tensions with the United States” contributed to the downturn in China. He wrote that the iPhone sales fell short in both emerging markets like China and in more developed markets like the U.S.


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Following the Federal Government’s plans to introduce new taxes in 2022, an economist, Dr. Muda Yusuf and other members of the organised private sector have argued for the exemption of small businesses from taxation.
He said it was necessary for the government to define a threshold below which micro enterprises and low-income earners should be exempted from any form of taxation.
According to Yusuf, “This is in line with the principle of equity in taxation. It is also in consonance with the principle of efficiency in tax administration, especially when we have an estimated 40 million micro enterprises, most of whom are in the informal sector.”
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, during a public hearing on the 2021 Finance Bill, which was organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, stated that the Federal Government would introduce new tariffs and levies in 2022 in the 2021 Finance Act as part of its reforms and amendments of the country’s tax laws.
Yusuf, the CEO of Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), in a chat with The Guardian, noted that in many advanced jurisdictions, 80 per cent of the personal income tax is paid by just about 20 per cent of the taxpayers.
“This is a reflection of the principle of progressive tax, where tax payment is strictly according to the ability to pay. We have no business going after micro enterprises and low-income earners for tax in Nigeria. It is inequitable and also inefficient.”
The former Director General of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), said the high level of income inequality demands that greater focus should be on the principle of progressive taxation. This, he said, is also a way of reducing poverty and income inequality.
This plan by the government to introduce new taxes also drew the ire of Nigerian manufacturers and members of the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN) who asked the federal government for a breathing space and to spare businesses further taxation.
Reacting to the statement by the Finance Minister, the OPSN said that any move by the government to increase taxation in whatever form or guises would be counterproductive and retard the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the GDP and cause a great setback on the ability of the real sector to support the poverty reduction/alleviation and job creation aspirations of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), in its response specifically stated that manufacturers in the country have been groaning under multiple taxations from the three tiers of government.
It also said that its members are quite anxious about the imminent ill-advised re-introduction of excise, as well as a steep increase in rate of excise on some products, including carbonated and non-alcoholic drinks and tobacco products.


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Lava and Karbonn will soon be bringing in budget Windows Phone devices in India soon. So, how soon that will be? According to the company statements, it may materialize in the next few months.
The Smartphones from Karbonn will be available between Rs. 6,000 and Rs. 12,000. The range of the Lava phones is not known, but will cost Rs. 6,500 and upwards.
Karbonn will be launching four such devices with the Windows Phone OS. The launch will take place by the end of May this year, or either by early June. The price range will be from Rs. 6,000 to Rs. 12,000, said Mr. Pradeep Jain, who is the Managing Director of Karbonn.
Hari Om Rai, the Lava International CEO and MD said that their company will be bringing in the Windows Phone devices, which will be launched under the Lava brand. However, he motioned that the price range of the Lave Smartphones will be from Rs. 6,500 to Rs. 8,500.
There was some more information from Hari Om Rai. He said that the devices will run on Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processors along with the Windows Phone platform. Lava hopes to pocket about 8% to 10% of the market that they command today during the second financial quarter of the next year.


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Food producer KIDO Group announced on Thursday it has bought out Sime Darby’s 51 per cent stake in cooking oil producer Golden Hope Nhà Bè to become its sole owner.
It did not disclose the price.
KIDO, which earlier bought Tường An Vegetable Oil Joint Stock Company and Việt Nam Vegetable Oils Industry Corporation (Vocarimex), said the acquisition of Golden Hope is part of its plans to expand cooking oil production to become the industry leader.
Golden Hope Nhà Bè, owned by Vocarimex and Sime Darby, with the former holding a 49 per cent stake, is one of the leading companies in the industry and has an annual turnover of around VNĐ1.3 trillion (US$57 million).
Its brands include Marvela and Ông Táo.
KIDO did not reveal any information about future plans for Golden Hope either.
KIDO, established in 1993, has grown into a giant food producer with products ranging from chilled foods like ice cream and canned foods to cooking oil or instant noodles.
By Thu Ngân - Vietnamnews


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ZTE, world’s leading mobile device provider has unveiled its brand new phones, which will hit the Nigerian market in September this year in over 400 reputable shops across the country to kick off its open market in Nigeria.
The Nigerian-based Chinese company disclosed this recently at a media parley in Lagos to kick off ZTE’s open market operations in Nigeria. The Managing Director, Xiang Pingnian, has assured Nigerians that their priority is to provide the best quality and good services they are known for worldwide.
The premium products: Blade v7lite, BladeA910, Axon 7mini, Blade v7 max, BladeA452 and Axon7, and entry level feature phones. “These phones are affordable because we understand the present economy of the country today,” Mr. Xiang addressed that.
The Vice President, ZTE Corporation, Mr. Shen Hui described their drive for the best as the beauty of technology. “Every year, new technology meets forward thinking. We have seen many tech devices that keep pushing the boundaries of our imagination. It is the beauty of technology that allows us to go beyond and innovate, infinitely extending one’s imagination. Imagination inspires technology, and technology turns imagination into reality.”
According to Xiang, ZTE would never compromise its standard, quality and services. “Also, we are leading brand in Africa, US and other European countries. Our products meet Nigerian Standard. And Nigeria is a country to do mobile business.”
Since ‘Innovation and beyond’ is the ZTE’s global strategy for 2016, Mr. Shen Hui affirmed that the powerful combination of technology and imagination will unlock endless potential. We aim to create technical breakthroughs with the powerful merging of technology and imagination to contribute to the development of human society.
“Now ZTE having been in the handset industry for 18 years, we are working with global industry chain partners, listening to our consumers, creating innovative products for everyone, and letting them enjoy the smart life,” Mr. Hui Shen said that.
He adds: Nigeria has always been the leading and information window for the West Africa. Therefore, we believe Nigeria is a great choice for ZTE’s brand exposure. On its Corporate Social Responsibility, ZTE has been sponsoring five NBA teams and four famous European football clubs till date.
Considering customers preference in each country, they would proceed sports sponsorship or


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Full-time LCS instructor, Antonio Hernández Matos, has published two pieces on masculinity and fashion in Puerto Rico. The first, “‘Hombres sí/Hombres nó:’ Fashioning Masculinity in Early Twentieth Century Puerto Rico” was featured in a special issue of Fashion Studies: State of the Field from the journal of Toronto Metropolitan University’s Centre for Fashion and Systemic Change. Click to read.
Hernández Matos's second article is called “Dime cómo vistes y te diré quién eres: un acercamiento teórico a la relación moda e identidad,” and was published El Amauta, a journal of the Center for Iberian-American Studies of the University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo. Click to read.
If these articles are of interest, in the next academic year, Antonio Hernández Matos will be teaching the LatCar 326 course Gender, Sexualities, and the Caribbean!


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Mecca Bingo has launched a range of Christmas jumpers inspired by the bingo halls' carpets. The jumpers also feature the bingo-themed festive phrases ‘Dab the Halls’ and ‘Feliz Navidab’.
You can pre-order a carpet-inspired jumper at www.meccabingo.com/bingo-clubs. priced at £31.99. Proceeds will go to Mecca Bingo’s charity partner, Carers Trust.
The bingo experts’ foray into fashion follows the launch of its brand-new Christmas Party Packages in Mecca clubs Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings up to January 28, 2023. Packages include two hours of bingo from 7pm until 9pm, a meal and a drink (excludes Scotland) from the festive menu and a bingo voucher for January.
The fun continues online with a Festive Free Spinner as part of Mecca’s Merry Cashmas starting Monday, November 28.


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Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank lessened its position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,860 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 4,518 shares during the period. McDonald's comprises approximately 1.0% of Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank’s holdings in McDonald's were worth $6,716,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Phocas Financial Corp. bought a new position in shares of McDonald's in the second quarter valued at about $107,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 0.7% in the second quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 745 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 75.0% in the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 840 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Acrospire Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald's in the second quarter valued at about $153,000. Finally, Accurate Investment Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 861.3% in the third quarter. Accurate Investment Solutions Inc. now owns 1,019 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.30% of the company’s stock.
In other news, insider Stephen Easterbrook sold 171,577 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.32, for a total transaction of $28,879,840.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 49,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,378,632.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP James R. Sappington sold 8,046 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,327,590.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 15,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,596,935. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.
McDonald's Co. (MCD) traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $173.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,901,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,985,289. McDonald's Co. has a 52-week low of $119.82 and a 52-week high of $175.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of -8.17. The firm has a market cap of $140,590.00, a P/E ratio of 25.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.67.
McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The fast-food giant reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.01. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 216.45% and a net margin of 24.19%. The firm had revenue of $5.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. research analysts forecast that McDonald's Co. will post 6.53 EPS for the current year.
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McDonald’s Corporation (McDonald’s) operates and franchises McDonald’s restaurants. The Company’s restaurants serve a locally relevant menu of food and drinks sold at various price points in over 100 countries. The Company’s segments include U.S., International Lead Markets, High Growth Markets, and Foundational Markets and Corporate.
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Nike posts lower profit
(4:33 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Nike Inc. NKE, +0.05% late Thursday reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income fell 30% to $341.4 million, or 70 cents a share, compared to net income of $490.5 million, or 98 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding items, Nike said it earned 99 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet had pegged the athletic shoe and apparel maker to earn 96 cents a share. Sales fell 7% to $4.7 billion. Nike said worldwide futures orders for Nike brand athletic footwear and apparel, scheduled for delivery from June 2009 through November 2009, was $7.8 billion, down 12% from a year ago. Nike shares fell 4.9% in late trading.
Bed Bath & Beyond profit up, same-store sales dip
(4:25 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. BBBY, -3.13% on Wednesday reported a first-quarter net income of $87.2 million, or 34 cents a share, up from $76.8 million, or 30 cents a share, a year ago. Sales rose 2.8% to $1.69 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet Research were looking for a profit, on average, of 24 cents a share with sales of $1.68 billion. Same store sales for the home furnishings retailer fell 1.6%. The shares jumped more than 6% to $30.12 in after-hours trading.
Red Hat tops views with profit increase
(4:15 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Red Hat Inc. RHT, +0.00% said Wednesday its fiscal first-quarter net income rose to $18.5 million, or 10 cents a share, from $17.3 million, or 8 cents a share in the same period a year earlier. The business software provider said revenue for the period ended in May rose 11% to $174.4 million. Excluding special items, Red Hat said earnings for the quarter were 15 cents a share. Analysts on average had expected Red Hat to post earnings excluding special items of 14 cents a share, on $171.8 million in revenue, according to data from Thomson Reuters.
Seagate Technology raises revenue outlook
(4:12 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Seagate Technology STX, -0.49% on Wednesday said that it expects its current, fiscal fourth-quarter revenue to between $2.2 billion and $2.3 billion, up from its prior forecast of $1.9 billion to $2.2 billion. The computer hard-disk drive maker said it believes the total addressable market for hard-disk drives to be 120 million units, up from its earlier estimate of 114 million units. Seagate also said that for its fiscal first quarter it expects revenue to be in a range of $2.35 billion to $2.5 billion.
Paychex earnings fall 16% in fourth quarter
(4:10 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Paychex Inc. said Wedneday that earnings fell 16% for its fourth fiscal quarter on a decline in payroll services. The provider of payroll processing servcies PAYX, +0.40% reported earnings of $113.8 million, or 32 cents a share, for the quarter ended May 31, compared to earnings of $135.5 million, or 38 cents a share, for the same period the previous year. Total revenue fell 4.5% to $495.9 million.
Supervalu sees first quarter below estimate
(8:30 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Supervalu Inc. SVU said Wednesday that earnings for the first quarter would be substantially below "First Call consensus earnings for the quarter." Analysts polled by FactSet Research estimated, on average, earnings of 65 cents a share for the grocer. Chief Executive Craig Herkert stated, "Consumers have become more value focused and cautious in their spending which has pressured sales and margins greater than anticipated. We currently estimate our identical store sales will be approximately negative 3%."
Inchcape shares jump after trading update
(3:17 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Shares in U.K. car dealer Inchcape(UK:INCH)rose 7.7% in early London trading after the group said its second-quarter pretax profit is expected to be significantly ahead of the 20 million pounds reported in the first quarter, though still well below the year-earlier figure. The group said total sales for the first five months of the year were down 16.3% and fell 22.6% at constant exchange rates. "Customer demand for new vehicles is still weak but our after-sales business, which represents approximately half of our gross profit, remains strong," the group said.
Stagecoach profit down 46%, dividend increased
(2:33 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. bus and rail company Stagecoach(UK:SGC)said Wednesday that its net profit for fiscal 2009 fell 46% to 133.5 million pounds ($219.6 million), while revenue rose 19% to 2.1 billion pounds. The decline in profit was due to a tax benefit and gains from discontinued operations a year earlier. Underlying operating profit for the year ended April 30 rose 11% to 227.8 million pounds. The group said growth was driven by its bus operations, where comparable revenue increased, though overall rates of revenue and passenger volume growth have slowed, especially in the second half of the year. The group said it will pay a final dividend of 4.2 pence a share, up 3.7% from a year earlier.


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More than 60 billion packages were delivered in China by Sunday, nearly a month before the country's shopping spree "Double 11" on Nov 11.
According to the State Post Bureau of China, it took just 38 days for the number to hit 50 billion in September.
Last year, a total of 63.5 billion packages were delivered in China.
On Nov 11 a large amount of online shopping takes place and thus more packages are expected.
Express-delivery business has played an important role during the COVID-19 pandemic, starting late January. When people were restricted at home, online shopping become an inseparable part of their live, as well as express delivery.
From January to September, 56.1 billion packages were delivered in China, a year-on-year increase of 28 percent. In September, 8.1 billion packages were delivered, an increase of 44.6 percent, according to the bureau.


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The BBC has today launched a new TV-friendly version of its video on demand iPlayer service which aims to improve user experience on this medium. The new version is only available to users in the UK initially on the PlayStation 3 console but later rolled out to a myriad of other devices and connected TVs.
The long anticipated BBC iPlayer iPad and Android apps have finally arrived earlier today. Response has so far been subdued, with most complaining that the apps don’t bring anything new to the table. Nevertheless, we checked out the iPad version and were quite impressed.
The iPad2 is in production and should be appearing in shops “the next couple of months”, according to The Wall Street Journal. The new iPad is expected to have front, and possibly a rear, facing camera, a faster processor than its predecessor and rumours also suggest that the iPad2 will be thinner and lighter than version one. Although, the price shouldn't be any more than version one- with prices ranging from $500 to just over $800.
As speculated last month, Geoff Marshall, a BBC interactive operations engineer, has confirmed that the BBC iPlayer will get its very own iPad app - and better still, it’s arriving this Thursday, February 10th.


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Despite e-commerce being a $1.5 trillion industry, physical stores are still key to shopper experiences.
Shopping is increasingly an omnichannel experience, with online and offline as complementary and connected components. Amazon’s announcement of plans for a physical store, in Manhattan, taps into a trend we outlined last year, the Living, Breathing Website, in which e-commerce brands expand into physical spaces, offering huge (online) inventories via relatively small stores. That’s because while e-commerce sales will reach $1.5 trillion globally this year, according to eMarketer, physical stores will remain key to the shopper journey.
A recent 12-country study from WPP shopper-marketing agency Geometry Global finds that two-thirds of Internet users visit brick-and-mortar stores to inform their purchases. As this chart shows, of those who do so, the most common reason is simply to see the product in real life; a minority of shoppers mention in-store assistance and customer service. Meanwhile, Geometry found that six out of 10 use mobile devices in store for research (comparing prices, looking for product information) or to photograph a product. This behavior is most common in fast-growing emerging markets, with China (94 percent) and India (87 percent) topping the list, and least common in the U.S. (35 percent) and U.K. (31 percent).
“The path to purchase is complex, as people gather information and opinions repeatedly and fluidly in both digital and physical retail spaces,” Geometry notes. Clearly, an omnichannel strategy is no longer optional as consumers across markets demand speed, convenience, consistency and transparency.


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Today was a big day for Opera Software, as company held its Up North Web event.
– 71 million people use Opera Mini today
– 50 million people have installed Opera’s cross-platform desktop browser on their computers
– 20 million users around the world use Opera products on connected devices other than phones and computers, e.g. television sets.
– 140 million users total
– Opera welcomes 2 new users every second!
• IE9 Beta: 6 Million Downloads in Two Weeks
Following 2 million downloads milestone on September 21st, Microsoft has…
If you have Reddit account already and want to provide some constructive criticism, head over to the following page and share your IE9 experience.
The installation took way too much time for a browser.
I didn’t like the fact a complete reboot is needed to use IE
That blank space over the tabs is useless.
Search field and tabs should not be on the same row.
Although IE9 is yet to be released, it looks like software giant Microsoft has already began rolling ad campaign to promote upcoming web browser.
• Internet Explorer 9 to be the Fastest and Safest Web Browser
Microsoft’s Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Turner has made a bold statement, saying that Internet Explorer 9 will not only be the safest…
• Firefox 3.6.8 Released
Recently Mozilla has released one more update for Firefox 3.6.x branch web browser that fixes 1 bug.
• Mozilla Bumps Cash Rewards for Security Vulnerabilities Reports
In what appears to be a great benefit for Firefox users, Mozilla has recently bumped its cash rewards salary from mere $500 to $3000.
In effort to strengthen Internet Explorer 8 position in the market and raise people awareness, Microsoft has launched a new ad campaign.
Here’s what Microsoft had to say about it:
To prove just how vulnerable your personal information is, Internet Explorer 8 re-recreated notorious internet scams–live, off the web– in the most street-smart city in world: New York. We used hidden cameras to film reactions of real people. In the first spot we asked people to provide very personal information in order to open a new bank account which would give them a cash reward of $500. We learned that, just as it is online, it can be hard to tell the difference between the scammer and the real thing. We filmed a lot of people and nearly all of them were convinced our “bank” was the real deal.
- IE tag – Take Two
- Documenting Standards in IE
- Microsoft investigating new Internet Explorer vulnerability in Windows XP
- Microsoft plays dirty against other browsers in Russia
- Firefox Mobile Browser Fennec Spotted on Android
- External Text Editing in Firefox
- The Downfall of Personas
- Coming Soon To Chrome: Extensions That Can Alter Your Browsing History
- Google Chrome Tip: Recovering closed tabs
- Zero-days flaws surface in Apple Safari
- Opera Mini Server Upgrade to 4.16.916
- Browser history hijack + social networks = lost anonymity
- Camino 2.0.2 Released
Thanks to mabdul and Nox for links.


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Vista Equity Partners acquires its third San Diego-based company this year
Qualcomm has completed the sale of its Omnitracs fleet tracking business — one of the company’s early success stories that has struggled to grow in recent years.
Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm with $7.8 billion in assets, purchased Omnitracs for $800 million in cash. The deal was announced in August.
Vista Equity has invested heavily in San Diego companies this year. Omnitracs is the third local company it has purchased.
In June, Vista Equity bought local Internet security software firm Websense for roughly $1 billion. And earlier this month, it completed the purchase of Active Network — an events registration and management software company — also for $1 billion.
Vista Equity could not be reached for comment. With Websense and Active Network, the private equity firm worked closely with existing management to take the publicly traded companies private.
With Omnitracs, Vista Equity is bulking up in the fleet management business.
In addition to wrapping up the Omnitracs deal, Vista Equity said it plans to buy Roadnet Technologies, which makes vehicle management software for private fleets, for an undisclosed price.
Roadnet, based in Maryland, will operate as a separate division within Omnitracs.
“Our solutions are very complementary,” Roadnet Chief Executive Len Kennedy said in a statement.
Omnitracs makes sophisticated fleet management and tracking technology for long-haul trucks. It is the market share leader, according to analysts, with 2,500 customers and 270,000 vehicles using its technology in North America and Latin America.
But the long-haul fleet market is saturated. Today, much of the growth is centered on regional and local fleets. Analysts say Omnitracs’ robust system — designed for big rigs — has struggled to gain sales in the small fleet market.
Omnitracs posted sales of $372 million for Qualcomm’s most recent fiscal year ended Sept. 30, flat with the prior year. In 2007, Omnitracs had revenue of $501 million.
While Omnitracs made up a small part of Qualcomm’s $25 billion in sales last year, it once was the cash cow that helped fund development of the company’s core CDMA technology. Today, CDMA technology is used in many 3G and 4G smartphones.
Qualcomm expects the sale to boost the company’s fiscal first quarter earnings by 22 cents to 25 cents per share.
The sale includes all of Omnitracs’ operations in the United States, Canada and Latin America. Jack Kennedy, who served as president of Omnitracs since January, will stay with Qualcomm to explore the sale of remaining Omnitracs’ European operations that were not acquired by Vista Equity.
Vista Equity, with offices in Austin, Chicago and San Francisco, named John Graham as Omnitracs’ new chief executive. Graham was formerly a division president at Intergraph Corp.
Qualcomm’s shares ended Tuesday up $1.16 at $73.65 on the Nasdaq.