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The United States will publish a headline and core inflation rate on July 13, at 15:30 MT time.
Information is not investment advice
Much impactful news will come out! Read the article to get fresh trade ideas for the whole week!
Risk aversion dominates in the financial markets as the resurgent of coronavirus cases may slow global growth. Thus, safe-haven currencies are rising such as the CHF, the JPY, the USD, and riskier assets and commodity-linked currencies (the CAD and the AUD) are weakening.
Canada will reveal its jobless rate and employment change for June on July 9, 15:30 MT.
Gold has surged above the psychological mark of $1800 ahead of the Minutes from the Fed’s meeting. Read the article to get ideas on EUR/USD, Gold, and USD/JPY!
Jump in to get the latest market news and trade ideas on gold, EUR/USD, and NZD/USD!
Federal Open Market Committee, a committee within the Federal Reserve System (the Fed), will reveal a detailed record of the most recent meeting on July 7 at 21:00 MT.
The Reserve Bank of Australia will announce its policy statement and gives an economic outlook on July 6 at 7:30 MT.
OPEC members haven’t been able to agree on oil output yesterday. The US dollar jumped ahead of the NFP report today.
The US dollar keeps strengthening due to the fresh Covid-19 outbreaks in some parts of the world. By the way, the US NFP report will be out already this Friday!
Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest filed for the creation of a Bitcoin ETF. Apple and Amazon jumped and airlines and cruise operators dropped as the reflation trade waned.
Canada will publish a GDP growth for April on June 30 at 15:30 MT time (GMT +3).


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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- FileNet shares lost 20 percent in early trading Wednesday after the company issued a lower second-quarter outlook and said customers have delayed purchases of its software products.
FileNet FILE stock gave up $5.56 to $22.44.
Costa Mesa, Calif.-based FileNet forecast second-quarter sales of $93 million to $95 million and said earnings are expected in a range of 3 cents to 5 cents a share.
"Although our overall revenue is expected to be up approximately 7 percent from a year ago, we are disappointed in our revenue performance this quarter. Our results were impacted by a significant number of opportunities that did not close as we expected," said FileNet CEO Lee Roberts in a statement.
Analysts, according to Thomson First Call, had forecast revenue of $100 million and a per-share profit of 12 cents.
The company said its cash and investments stood at $299.5 million as of June 30.

domain: news


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By Diane Mastrull
WWR Article Summary (tl;dr) Entrepreneur Jenni-Lyn Williams’ “Snarky Teas” are certainly not intended for snobs. Or the easily offended.
Ah, tea. That soothing, aromatic beverage favored by English royalty and commoners alike. Sometimes sipped from delicate cups of fine china by lunching women wearing big fancy hats; other times, from the plainest vessels by those in pajamas trying to kick a cold or flu.
And then there’s Philly’s own Jenni-Lyn Williams and her take on the drink.
Let’s just say it’s too bad Downton Abbey has wrapped. How hilarious would it have been to watch the aristocratic Crawleys bleeped as they called down to the kitchen for a pot of “Get Your S– Together” or “Calm the F– Down?”
Williams’ Snarky Teas certainly are not intended for snobs. Or the easily offended.
“What says approachability more than slapping a curse word on the label?” the 30-year-old mother of an infant and a 2-year-old said of her marketing strategy, inspired by her roots in the Northeast’s Parkwood section. “Putting the curse words on the label really spoke to Philadelphia.”
And, evidently, to two celebrity investors. In an appearance on ABC’s hit start-up-pitch show Shark Tank, taped in June and aired on Nov. 5, Williams, then nearly eight months pregnant, snagged a joint investment of $150,000 for a 50 percent stake in Snarky Tea. Her fans: regular Shark Kevin O’Leary, aka “Mr. Wonderful,” who made millions in computer software; and guest Shark Bethenny Frankel, of Real Housewives fame, who went on to found the mega-popular Skinnygirl line of cocktails and snacks.
“It’s indescribable,” Williams said the day after her seven-minute segment aired and her deal was finally public.
“I’ve been doing a lot of crying. I have so much to be thankful for.”
It was a tamer version of the woman who exuded confidence and negotiating savvy on the Shark Tank soundstage in Southern California.
Williams had been bleeped about 1 minute, 50 seconds in when she mentioned one of her teas, and, just after convincing Frankel and O’Leary to partner on the deal, she triumphantly told the cameras backstage: “To have two fierce bitches plus Mr. Wonderful, I really think we’re going to knock it out of the park.”
“Fierce Bitch” happens to be one of the Snarky Teas, a chai-like blend.
The company, which started sales in October 2016, had $270,000 in revenue in the first year but is not yet profitable.
Eighty-five percent of sales are through snarkytea.com, the rest to about 50 stores, mostly women-owned boutiques and gift shops, Williams said. The teas were part of gift packages to nominees at the Academy Awards earlier this year.
While calling Williams “clever and smart,” Shark Lori Greiner, a serial entrepreneur and infomercial guru who invested a few years ago in locally based Scrub Daddy (now a retail sensation), passed on Snarky Tea.
“I’m afraid it’s not sustainable, and gimmicky branding I just don’t see as a long future,” she said.
Shark Robert Herjavec declared Snarky Tea “a little too edgy” and “a very narrow niche.”
On that, O’Leary and Frankel agreed.
“You’re going to alienate places like Walmart and a lot of major retailers,” Frankel said during Williams’ pitch.
Minutes later, she was suggesting co-branding with Skinnygirl, though emphasizing the need to “tone down” the labels on the $12.99 Snarky Tea tins, containing 15 sachets of whole-leaf blends. “It’s a good product, and I think that’s totally lost in the message.”
O’Leary saw potential to “sell a lot of these” through his “Something Wonderful” wedding-planning services platform.
Williams’ venture began after she had been working at Lincoln Financial Group in Radnor for about six years, mostly in marketing, and realized, “I wasn’t all that excited about insurance.” She also was drinking too much coffee and started researching tea, only to discover it can be pretty high-octane, too — contrary, perhaps, to popular opinion.
“There’s a gap in how people are marketing tea to the general population,” she concluded. By then, she was enrolled in an MBA program at Villanova University, where her studies further emboldened her to launch Snarky Tea — which caused a pause in her graduate-degree pursuit.
In May, she moved with husband David and their children from King of Prussia to Sarasota, Fla., “to enjoy the weather all year round.” Hurricanes excluded. She watched her Shark Tank debut with neighbors, while about 50 relatives and friends gathered to do the same in Feasterville.
John Kozup, an assistant professor of marketing at Villanova, watched, too. He taught Williams in his strategic management of marketing class, where Snarky Tea was “heavily discussed and incubated,” he said.
As for the salty language on its labels, Kozup doesn’t object. But on some blends, he suggested, there is opportunity for “more of a PG-13 take.”


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- Says he is speaking with Police hierarchy over the attack.
- Assure citizens of the safety of lives and properties.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has lamented the colossal job loses as a result of the xenophobic attacks in Lagos, disclosing that over 5000 jobs were lost in the state.
Speaking after inspection of some damaged facilities in the wake of the attacks in the state, Sanwo-Olu condemned the attacks and the looting of goods in the shopping malls, acknowledging the level of destruction at both Novare Plaza and Surulere plaza.
The governor who condemned the act that had led destruction in strong terms. said they are just enormous destruction of property; extensive destruction of people’s wealth.
“Unfortunately, during my inspection of both plazas, I discovered that those affected were all indigenous stores and companies.
“Even the names that are synonymous with South Africa, I could see that there were over 150 staffs that could not get to perform their duties because of the act.
‘’From the evidence shown, we realized that people also jumped in through some nearby properties within the community. All these are unimaginable.
‘’But really the lesson learnt from all these were that we all go back and check what are the social implications of what has happened and how can we learn from it.’’
‘’When people come into a store overnight to loot the goods, it is an act that must be condemned. With the act now, over 5000 people are out of job. These are places that Nigerians were the major ones affected,” he said.
He, therefore, urged business owners to embark on a robust engagement with their local communities, adding that strong interaction with the community where they do business would help to assuage such occurrence.
‘’This will make the people to attach some significance to the brands as it concerns what that brand has done for them in their communities. That brand then become something that one relate with. The residents will know that this is the brand that has taken people out of poverty and other things done for them to develop.
‘’All these kind of social interactions need to come so that when people remember those brands; they will remember them for the positive thing they had done for them.
‘’So that when the residents remember the brand, they remember the positive things that they have done for the community.
‘’For us as government and the business community, it is for us to take full responsibilities and see how we can create the engagement bring social inclusion from where we do businesses.
‘’Also importantly is for us to assure the business community that the ease of doing business is paramount to us. Security of lives and property is very important to us and that is why we have asked our security agencies to stop at nothing in ensuring that all the facilities here are secured.”
He further stated that he has been speaking with the senior hierarchy of the police to know what will be done to all those that were arrested during the act.


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DUBLIN, OHIO — The first quarter ended April 3 did not go as planned for Wendy’s, Inc. Margins were a disappointing 11.6%, and inflation was higher than expected.
As a result, the Dublin-based restaurant chain has made plans for further pricing actions.
“From a fiscal year point of view, the pricing is stepping up from kind of mid-single pricing expectation that we talked about last time to mid- to high single digits,” said Gunther Plosch, chief financial officer, in a May 11 earnings call. “That is then translating clearly in margin improvement starting in the second quarter. So we'd expect to sequentially improve. Combining price increases with less inflationary pressure in the year to go, we are comfortable with the (fiscal-year) margin guidance of 14.5% to 15.5%.”
He said inflation was higher than expected in the first quarter with commodity inflation in the high-teen percentages and labor inflation in the mid-teens.
“The revised inflationary outlook was driven mainly by beef,” Mr. Plosch said. “Beef went up significantly.”
Other negative factors were bad weather early in the quarter affecting customer count and the impact of investments to support the chain’s entry into the United Kingdom.
Net income of $37.4 million, or 17¢ per share on the common stock, was down 10% from $41.4 million, or 19¢ per share, in the previous year’s first quarter. Total revenues increased 6% to $488.6 million from $460.2 million. Globally, systemwide sales growth was 4.2% thanks to a 19% increase in international sales. The increase was 2.4% in the United States.
Wendy’s stock on the Nasdaq closed at $16.07 per share on May 11, which was down 11% from a close of $18.10 on May 10.
The breakfast category was softer than anticipated in the quarter, said Todd A. Penegor, president and chief executive officer.
“Clearly, weather in January and February had an impact on the breakfast business,” he said. “Omicron early in the quarter had an impact on the breakfast business.”
Wendy’s still gained market share in breakfast since the category overall was down by high-single-digit percentages, Mr. Plosch said.
Mr. Penegor spoke about tailwinds in the breakfast category.“You're starting to see a lot more folks returning to the office, feel comfortable getting into their routines, having that mobility really start to pick back up, really gives us an opportunity to showcase our great breakfast,” he said.


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If a new model -- especially a brand flagship such as Accord -- struggles at launch, history shows it not only means mediocre sales for that model, it also can sour buyers on the whole brand.
By rights, Honda should know the American market better than Toyota or other foreign-based rivals. Accord was the first Japanese car made in America, with the first one rolling off the Marysville, Ohio, line on Nov. 1, 1982. And it became the first to be exported back to Japan, in March 1988. That milestone signaled Honda's embrace of the U.S. as a core manufacturing location.
Accord has also been a party animal compared with Camry, livelier and more agile, usually a little more stylish. Those attributes, along with a strong reputation for reliability, have made Accord a safe purchase for a broad swath of American buyers that is conservative, but wants more than an appliance, car-savvy people who'd stop short of calling themselves auto buffs.
Honda might have pushed too far in the wrong direction on the last-generation Accord now being replaced. Introduced as a 2008 model, it had grown just enough to be called a full-size car instead of midsize. Honda said at the time it wanted to compete with both the midsize Camry and the full-size Toyota Avalon.
"The old one lost a little bit of its 'Accordness,'" Mendel says. "It was right for the time, but with everything moving smaller, it was time to get back to our roots."
The 2013 is 3.5 inches shorter and rides on a wheelbase almost an inch shorter. Both the sedan that most buyers will choose and the sportier coupe, coming in October, give up a little passenger space for a bigger trunk. Honda notes that rear-seat legroom improves, however.
Despite the downsizing, Honda trimmed just 24 pounds from the new sedan, edging it down to 3,192 pounds. The coupe is 2 pounds heavier than the car it replaces. Cutting weight is a key to improving mileage without sacrificing performance.
A plug-in gasoline-electric hybrid version goes on sale early next year as a 2014 model. A conventional hybrid, without the plug-in feature, is scheduled for next summer.
Key features, and how they might play out:
Styling. The car's most vulnerable point.
Lindland says that when she saw the car, "What struck me is that this wasn't going to win any design awards." But, she adds, "I don't think anyone would say the Camry (styling) lights the world on fire. And it's important to remember that the midsize buyer isn't looking to light the world on fire."
Says Schuster, "From a design standpoint, they obviously went conservative."
And that's by design, says Mendel: "Radical doesn't age well."
On the other hand, more dramatic styling has propelled Hyundai's Sonata and Kia's Optima into the midsize front ranks, so at least some family-sedan buyers like a jazzy appearance.
Technology. Accord boasts about direct fuel injection, which can boost both mileage and power. But it's late to the party. Several rivals already have direct injection.
A unique camera view of traffic lanes to the right and behind the car takes the place of the more-common blind-spot warning system. That could wow some shoppers.
But on the driver's side, blind-spot help is a special mirror, which some might see as inferior to the warning lights that some others offer.
Most of the new Accord's tech features aren't exclusive, but are the price of entry nowadays. Honda says standard items include a Bluetooth hands-free phone link, cord-free audio streaming, rear-view camera and dual-zone climate control.
High-tech features on the up-level trims, often found on premium cars and now moving mainstream, include lane-departure warning, collision warning and adaptive cruise control, which adjusts speed when the car gets close to others.
Noise. Not much after all the refinements, Honda says. But Lindland, who drove Accords at a Honda event, says she found it "a little louder than I would have liked" on some surfaces.
Drivetrain. Four-cylinder models with automatic transmissions use continuously variable-ratio transmissions, which not all drivers like. CVTs deliver better mileage, but rev the engine hard and keep it revved when accelerating fast, resembling the sound and feel of a manual-shift car with a slipping clutch. The V-6 models use a conventional six-speed automatic.
Honda says the new four-cylinder has more horsepower than the base four in the outgoing car: 185 hp vs. 177 hp. But it also has 5 hp less than the other four-cylinder in the 2012, which was the engine many people bought. The new one could seem like backsliding to people who pore over specifications online before deciding which cars to put on their shopping lists.
Suspension. The front now has "MacPherson struts." Honda says they deliver "superior ride and handling qualities, while also reducing interior noise, vibration and harshness." But some buyers will consider it "dumbing down" compared with the sports-car style "double-wishbone" design of the outgoing model.
Lindland found the cars she drove "rough" and "a little bit harsh" on some roads, but overall, she says, Accord was "very, very well behaved."
Damned with faint praise?
No matter, Mendel says. Accord can succeed without being best in any single category. It's the whole, not the parts. "There is no one thing that will make it better," he says, "It's everything."
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Sony confirmed a price drop for the end of this year. How much? No clue. Microsoft says they'll price drop later this year. They boasted $200 would be the ideal price range. Can they do that? No clue.
By X-mas 2007 you'll see the begining of hopefully more reasonable prices not only on consoles, but on games. I still think 2008 will be the deciding year. Games like MGS4, FF13, Spore, Star Craft 2 and scores more are all slated for 2008. It should be a epic year.


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Blizzard has also revealed five new cards for the upcoming Hearthstone adventure.
It looks like the steady trickle of Blackrock Mountain information for Blizzard’s card battler: Hearthstone will be coming to an end early next month, as the developer has announced an April 2 release date for the adventure (or at least, the first wing of it).
“Blackrock Mountain goes live on Windows®, Mac®, iPad®, and Android™ tablets on April 2 in the Americas region (including Southest Asia and Oceania) and rolls out on April 3 in Europe, Korea, Taiwan, and China, beginning with the release of the first wing-Blackrock Depths,” said Blizzard in an official press release. Just like Naxxramas, an additional wing will be released every week until all five wings are out.
Additonally, Blizzard has revealed five new cards since we last checked in the other week. Check them out below:
The new cards two neutral dragon creatures: the Volcanic Drake and the Drakanoid Crusher, a neutral dragon-synergy minion: the Blackwing Corrupter, a mage spell: Dragon’s Breath, and the first legendary from the set: Nefarian himself.
This brings the total revealed cards up to 17, and also shows that the mage will be getting at least two new cards from this set, as opposed to the single card all of the classes received with Naxxramas.


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Every experience must be shoppable for businesses
Digital commerce is the future of business for thousands around the globe, as COVID-19 makes life and work easier.
Industries that relied on customer interaction and in-person sales are now scrambling for digital solutions.
Companies of all sizes have the opportunity to reach existing customers and make every interaction a shoppable experience. Executives at the Adobe Summit digital keynote spoke of how people “buy experiences, rather than products” as a guideline for businesses of all sizes.
” Every customer has an experience, [businesses] want the ability to help customers in that journey,” Anil Chakravarthy (executive vice president and general manger of digital experience at Adobe) said in a “fireside conversation” with Jason Woosley vice president of commerce at Adobe.
Woosley spoke before about the importance to make every experience memorable and easily shoppable.
He said that experience-driven Commerce is what he described as a way for brands to increase revenue, order value and customer lifetime value.
The Global Awarded Magento POS – 2021 Stevie Awards Product Innovation winner provides you with a powerful Magento 2 POS extension as well as 24/7 support
Chakravarthy was the chief executive of Informatica before joining Adobe. Informatica is an Adobe partner and leader for enterprise data management. He developed a digital experiences strategy.
First, businesses must evaluate customer data to determine the insights and insight required to implement a digital strategy. To form an informed strategy, data should include customer profiles as well as the history of transactions and interactions.
Chakravarthy stated that the second component uses this information to create a data driven operating model (DDOM). to track customer journeys through the phases “discover, buy, try, use, renew.” Every customer is on that journey.”
A strategy to mix commerce and content is essential for every stage of the journey. This strategy is the third component of a winning strategy. Commerce-driven content includes not only a website or mobile application, but also a strategy that personalizes the experience for each platform.
Chakravarthy stated that businesses must consider “how to make each experience a commerce experience, and make every experience shoppable.”
how to cancel shopify
small business wholesale suppliers
shopify vs woocommerce
These strategies are even more important for businesses that have lost their traditional sales channels due to the coronavirus. Global health officials have advised people to stay at home while many government officials in various regions have forced businesses to close down as part their “social ditancing” policies.
Chakravarthy stated that “e-commerce is about a lot of customers moving to a new digital-first economy.”
He made a distinction between two classes of customers. Those who have an ecommerce presence are now more important than those without one. Those that don’t have an ecommerce presence historically have had to go online.


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Let us help YOU get to the inbox like we've helped these others!
Mailchimp has just announced a brand new Shopify integration. Now you may be wondering “Wait a minute, hasn’t Mailchimp integrated with Shopify all along?” The answer is that Mailchimp used to have a Shopify integration, but they had discontinued it. In fact, Mailchimp left Shopify 2 1/2 years ago when, in 2019, Mailchimp and Shopify had a rather public and unamicable divorce.
As TechCrunch explained back then, Mailchimp said that it was owing to Shopify’s newly-updated terms. In the piece, Mailchimp’s Joni Deus, Director of Partnerships, told TechCrunch that it was a privacy concern, as under the new terms Shopify wanted any and all data that Mailchimp collected on their users, saying that “Anything that hurts our customers’ privacy was a non-starter for us.”
On the other hand, Shopify complained that “Mailchimp refuses to synchronize customer information captured on merchants’ online stores and email opt-out preferences. As a result, our merchants, other apps, and partner ecosystem can’t reliably serve their customers or comply with privacy legislation.”
Meanwhile, over at the Shopify site at the same time, users were noticing and remarking on the marked absence of the Mailchimp Shopify app, leading “Sunny” from Shopify to post, saying that “We can confirm that Mailchimp is no longer available on the Shopify app store. If you would like to learn more about why this decision was made, you can find a full explanation on this forum post here. We understand and appreciate that email marketing is an integral part of your marketing initiatives. If you are looking for alternative options, we offer a wide variety of email marketing apps that can be found in the Shopify App Store.”
Fast forward two-and-a-half years, to October 26, 2021, and whaddaya know! Mailchimp has announced that they are back together!
Said Mailchimp, in their announcement of the Mailchimp Shopify partnership, “Mailchimp is excited to announce that we’ve partnered with Shopify to deliver a new direct integration available today. New and existing users of Mailchimp and Shopify will be able to connect their Mailchimp account with their Shopify storefront through a direct integration, eliminating the need for third-party tools and manual data transfers.”
The announcement goes on to say that “By connecting Mailchimp and Shopify directly, merchants will be able to combine the power of purchase data with marketing data and use those insights to help drive conversions, increase revenue, and reach more customers at the right point of their buying journey. We’re launching this new direct integration now so that our small business customers are ready to connect with their audiences and make this one of their most profitable holiday selling seasons yet.”
You can read the entire Mailchimp announcement here.
Curiously, Shopify does not appear to have issued their own announcement, however you can get the Mailchimp Shopify app here.


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Researchers from Lookout will present their findings thus far in study of freebie Android, iPhone apps.
Android smartphone applications typically don't have as much access to private information, such as location and contact lists, as many iPhone apps do, but they're more likely to contain potentially dangerous third-party code, according to a sneak peek at new research that will be revealed at Black Hat USA this week.
Researchers from Lookout, a smartphone security company, are releasing new data from their so-called "App Genome Project," which scans and maps smartphone apps to pinpoint threats and privacy risks. The project has mapped the behavior of 100,000 smartphone apps and has scanned about 300,000 so far.
Among the preliminary findings: Thirty-three percent of free iPhone apps have the ability to see the smartphone user's physical location, while 29 percent of free Android apps can do the same. And 14 percent of free iPhone apps can access a user's contact list, while 8 percent of free Android apps can do so.
How Enterprises Are Attacking the IT Security EnterpriseTo learn more about what organizations are doing to tackle attacks and threats we surveyed a group of 300 IT and infosec professionals to find out what their biggest IT security challenges are and what they're doing to defend against today's threats. Download the report to see what they're saying.
Digital Transformation Myths & TruthsTransformation is on every IT organization's to-do list, but effectively transforming IT means a major shift in technology as well as business models and culture. In this IT Trend Report, we examine some of the misconceptions of digital transformation and look at steps you can take to succeed technically and culturally.


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With this integrated solution, enterprises can now enable their customers to make payments directly through AI virtual assistants
Senseforth.ai, a leader in Generative Conversational AI technology has joined hands with Razorpay, India’s leading payment solutions provider, to enable payment collection through its AI-powered chatbots. As users get more confident about interacting with chatbots and voice bots, companies are now using them to acquire new customers, keep them engaged, and provide frictionless support across multiple touchpoints.
“The strength of AI has been game-changing, and to power payments by employing AI chatbots will be a pioneering move for the fintech and digital payments space. Razorpay believes that harnessing the power of intelligent payment systems will eliminate any extra steps in the online transaction process, making the payment experience more seamless and efficient for customers. The fintech unicorn is confident that bringing AI into digital payments will make transactions fraud-resilient and much freer from interruptions”, said a Razorpay spokesperson.
Shridhar Marri, CEO & Co-founder of Senseforth.ai said, “Enterprises have to work towards closing the customer experience gap. They need to craft customer journeys in a way that eliminates friction and encourages conversion. Enabling payments through virtual assistants is another step in the direction of becoming an always-on business and generating revenue round-the-clock from every touchpoint.”
In recent years, AI-powered chatbots and voice bots have emerged as a catalyst for business growth. These bots can provide personalized recommendations, push promotional offers, upsell/cross-sell, and do a lot more, which enables businesses to boost revenue.
Don’t stop at lead generation & qualification
Businesses often use AI-powered virtual assistants to ask qualifying questions, and capture contact details of prospects. This information is then shared with sales development representatives (SDR), who then contact these leads, and try to sell a product or service. Managing a human-intensive sales operation at scale proves to be very expensive when you factor the overhead costs of hiring & training, software licenses, real estate, and others.
Digitizing the buyer journey using AI-powered virtual assistants can not only help cut these costs but also eliminate the inefficiencies of manual processes. Digitizing sales also ensures that you convert immediately, and do not lose revenue. From sharing relevant information and handling objections before the purchase, to facilitating payments and providing after-sales support, AI bots can assist at every step of the customer lifecycle.
Boost your profits with Campaign Bots
The last mile is what customers remember. Personalizing the last mile of the buyer journey can have a profound impact on the customer experience. And this can be done with AI-powered campaign bots. A campaign bot works like a virtual assistant, specific to a marketing campaign. It is like a salesperson, who addresses customer concerns, and enables buyers to make an informed purchase decision. These campaign bots can be used to upsell/cross-sell, push promotional offers, send checkout reminders and even collect payments.


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The race is on to secure the global supply of lithium, a necessary component in the production of batteries for EVs.
Even though China’s lithium reserves rank as the world’s fourth largest, the silvery metal is mainly found in the salt lakes around Tibet and Qinghai, a sparsely populated Chinese province spread across the high-altitude Tibetan plateau. That makes it difficult to refine and transport. While the production of lithium carbonate from Qinghai Lake has doubled this year, demand still outpaces supply, according to Dong Yang, the vice president of leading automotive think tank China EV 100. To make up the shortfall, China imports about 70% of lithium from overseas. And with the prospect of even more lithium needed as the EV revolution picks up speed, companies are stepping up efforts to secure supply for its dominant refinery sector.
Ganfeng Lithium, one of the world’s top lithium producers, bid for a stake in Canada’s Millennial Lithium in July, while battery making giant CATL, led by billionaire Zeng Yuqun, joined the race a few months later, trumping Ganfeng. In the end, it was a third company, Lithium Americas, that emerged victorious (although Ganfeng is a shareholder in Lithium Americas). Undeterred, Ganfeng in September bought out its partner, International Lithium, in the Mariana project in Argentina, one of the biggest deposits globally. Last month, Zijin Mining paid around $755 million cash for Neo Lithium, a Canadian group that also has operations in Argentina.
Carmakers are getting in on the action too, with BYD earlier this month inking a four-year supply deal with Do-Fluoride New Materials for at least 56,050 tons of lithium hexafluorophosphate through December 2025. Lyu Xiangyang, the cousin of BYD founder Wang Chuanfu whose loan helped Wang establish the company in 1995, also has investments in spodumene, a lithium-bearing raw mineral, in Sichuan province, which should bolster BYD’s future supplies.
Meanwhile » Stellantis said it has secured a five-year supply of battery-grade lithium hydroxide to support its plans to convert to 98% electrified vehicles by 2025. » Washington Post »
Stellantis, the company that combined PSA Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler, signed a binding agreement with Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd. in Germany, which uses geothermal energy to produce the battery-quality lithium hydroxide from brine without using fossil fuels. Vulcan will supply between 81,000 metric tons and 99,000 metric tons of lithium hydroxide over the five-year term of the agreement.


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YANGON, July 14 (Reuters) - Proceeds from the sale of jade, gems and pearls at the latest emporium in Myanmar this month were far lower than expected at 1.1 billion euro ($1.57 billion), an official from the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry said on Thursday.
Myanmar produces more than 90 percent of the world’s rubies and fine-quality jade. It holds sales three times a year. Proceeds from the previous one in March hit a record high of more than 2 billion euros.
More than 22,000 lots of jade, 282 lots of gems and 355 lots of pearls were put on sale by state-owned enterprises and about 750 private companies in the sale held in the capital, Naypyitaw, from July 1 to 13.
“We expected to earn record high proceeds from this emporium since it was far better and larger than the previous ones in terms of quality and quantity,” the official said, adding that bids were lacking for higher-quality jade lots.
Over 9,000 traders, including about 5,000 from foreign countries including China, Taiwan and Thailand, took part.
Gemstones are a lucrative source of income for Myanmar’s military-backed government despite Western sanctions imposed on the resource-rich country.
Despite the embargoes, many of the gems reach Western countries through other Asian countries, Hong Kong and Taiwan in particular.
According to official data from the Central Statistical Organisation, Myanmar produced over 46.81 million kilos of jade, 1.43 million carats of ruby and 1.42 million carats of sapphire among other precious stones in fiscal 2010/11 (April/March). ($1 = 0.702 Euros) (Reporting by Aung Hla Tun; Editing by Alan Raybould)


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EU hit list: Brussels threatens to tax $40 billion worth of US goods if Trump targets European cars
“We will not accept any managed trade, quotas or voluntary export restraints and, if there were to be tariffs, we would have a rebalancing list,” European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told a committee of the European Parliament.
She added: “It is already basically prepared, worth 35 billion euros. I do hope we do not have to use that one.”Also on rt.com Trump vows to slap every European car with 25% tariff, but gives no time frame
The announcement follows President Donald Trump’s threats last year of possible tariffs on European cars coming to the US. He asked the Commerce Department to examine whether such imports were threats to national security, the reason given for imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.The European commission vowed to retaliate by taxing $20 billion worth of US imports to the bloc, if the measure was implemented.
In May, Trump decided to delay the promised duties of 25 percent on European and Japanese cars by up to 180 days in an attempt to clinch an effective trade deal with its partners. The six-month delay period ends in mid-November.
“We welcome the decision by the US not to impose duties on cars and car parts, but of course the very notion that European cars can be a national security threat to the US is absurd,” Malmstrom said, adding that trade talks with the US had produced mixed results.Also on rt.com Global trade heading for worst year since financial crisis – ING
“We have still not started those negotiations. The US is not ready to start them if agriculture is not included, which is a red line for us. So for the moment, nothing happens here,” the EU trade chief said.
Trump has refused the EU offer to scrap levies on mutual imports of vehicles, saying the proposal is “not good enough” while being a one-sided deal favoring Europe. He also compared the EU to China in what he described as their unfair trade practices that have led to America’s growing trade deficit.
Under the current trade agreement, Washington levies a 25 percent tariff on light trucks and pickups, and 2.5 percent on smaller vehicles from Europe, while Brussels imposes a 10 percent tariff on all cars imported from the US.
For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section


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[ UPDATE 04/05/2020 19:17 ] A representative of Xiaomi has reached out with an official press statement in response to the allegations. Full statement can be viewed at the bottom of this article.
Xiaomi‘s smartphones—actually, their entire range of products—is based on a business model that sells devices at ultra-competitive prices at a low profit margin. Instead, the company depends on generating huge volume in sales, while the low prices are offset with revenue from additional services and data.
However, a Forbes report claims that the Chinese company’s default web browser (built-in to most Xiaomi smartphones) tracks browsing activity, before sending the data to remote servers purportedly owned by the Chinese company. The alarming aspect to the claim is that Xiaomi’s mobile browsers allegedly track your online activity, even in Incognito Mode.
What’s being recorded?
According to a cybersecurity researcher discovered the issue when using his new Redmi Note 8 smartphone. Besides tracking information, he discovered that data includes folders and screens that he accessed on the smartphone, along with search engine queries.
Researchers have also discovered that the company collects data on various information on the device besides browsing activity. This even includes unique numbers to identify mobile devices and Android OS versions—which could theoretically be used to identify individual users.
Additionally, this practice reportedly extends to Xiaomi’s proprietary browsers that are available for free on the Google Play store: Mi Browser Pro and the Mint Browser.
This data is then encrypted, and transferred to servers. However, the Base64 encryption used is fairly basic, with the researcher referring to the standard as “easily crackable”. This arguably raises the issue of potential security vulnerabilities, in addition to privacy concerns over having your activity tracked by your browser.
Xiaomi: Claims are untrue
While Xiaomi has admitted that the company does indeed collect browsing data, the company argues that this any data collected is anonymous in nature, which means that the data cannot be used to identify individual user’s habits.
A global VP at Xiaomi called the allegations “false news”, reiterating that all of Xiaomi’s products are “100% safe”. The company assured users that its protocols are “fully compliant with local laws and regulations on user data privacy matters”, and that users have consented to browser tracking.
However, a spokesperson for the company denied claims that their browsers track activity in Incognito Mode. This is a claim that has disputed by researchers, who have offered proof that the icognito mode activity is still tracked.
This, supposedly, is still considered to be “anonymous browsing data” by the Chinese company. In fact, Xiaomi argues that the practise is commonplace in the industry:
“This video shows the collection of anonymous browsing data, which is one of the most common solutions adopted by internet companies to improve the overall browser product experience through analyzing non-personally identifiable information.”
Finally, Xiaomi has announced that an update will give users the option to opt out of “data collection” when in Incognito Mode. However, it’s worth noting that it is still on by default, and the setting isn’t exactly easily accessible. Instead, it requires going through three pages before you come across the setting—which means that plenty of users might not even notice the option.
In the meantime, it might be worthwhile to simply use one of to the other browser options in the market right now.
Full statement from Xiaomi:
“Xiaomi has reviewed a recent article by Forbes on our privacy policies and believes the reporting to be misrepresentative of the facts. At Xiaomi, our users’ privacy and security are of top priority. We strictly follow and are fully compliant with user privacy protection laws and regulations in the countries and regions we operate in. In light of the misrepresentations, we would like to clarify the following:
1. In all global markets where Xiaomi is officially present, in order to offer the best possible user experience, increase compatibility between the operating system and various apps, as well as undertake the obligation of protecting user privacy, all collected usage data is based on permission and consent given explicitly by our users. Additionally, we ensure the whole process is anonymous and encrypted. The collection of aggregated usage statistics data is used for internal analysis, and we do not link any personally identifiable information to any of this data. Furthermore, this is a common solution adopted by internet companies around the world to improve the overall user experience of various products, while safeguarding user privacy and data security.
2. Xiaomi hosts information on a public cloud infrastructure that is common and well known in the industry. All information from our overseas services and users is stored on servers in various overseas markets where local user privacy protection laws and regulations are strictly followed and with which we fully comply.
3. Prior to publication, the reporter emailed us with questions relevant to the article and Xiaomi responded with full transparency, providing detailed answers regarding our technology and privacy policies. We believe the article published does not accurately reflect the content and facts of these communications. After the article was posted, we contacted the reporter with further clarification and are currently in discussion with the intention of swiftly reassuring him with how our data security works in action. In parallel, we created a live post on Xiaomi’s official blog to share this same information with the public. The Forbes article, which details how we protect users’ privacy and comply with all laws and regulations, has recently been updated to include a link to our blog post: https://blog.mi.com/en/2020/05/02/live-post-evidence-and-statement-in-response-to-media-coverage-on-our-privacy-policy/
4. As an internet company, internet security, safety and user privacy are Xiaomi’s core principles and the foundation of our day-to-day work. Our products, technologies, performance and measures on user privacy protection are constantly being improved. In the latest launch of our operating system, MIUI 12, we have adopted the industry’s most stringent and transparent privacy protection measures, to date. For additional transparency, we always welcome fact-based supervisions, inquiries and discussions from the public to continuously improve our products and services for our beloved users and Mi Fans.“
[ SOURCE ]


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JD Wetherspoon warns that higher costs will squeeze its profit margins
Pubs group JD Wetherspoon saw its shares hiccup after warning that higher costs would squeeze its profit margins.
Unlike the wider industry, Wetherspoon has been faring well and is opening up to 40 new pubs this year.
But the company, which brought in a 5 per cent pay rise for its staff last month, said its energy and utility bills had risen 4 per cent and blamed the Government for ‘stealth taxes’ on gambling machines and VAT.
Profit hiccup: Pubs group JD Wetherspoon blames squeezed margins for a likely profit dip
It said that margins had fallen from 8.3 per cent to 7.7 per cent in the quarter and expects full-year margins to be between 7.2 per cent and 7.8 per cent.
This took the froth off buoyant trading figures that saw sales rise 6.3 per cent in pubs open for more than a year, while overall sales in the three months climbed 11.3 per cent.
Shares, which have risen 12 per cent in the last year, immediately slipped as analysts cut back profit forecasts, falling by as much as 9 per cent before easing to close 34p lower at 798p.
Wetherspoon’s, and particularly founder and chairman Tim Martin, has long campaigned for tax parity between supermarkets and pubs.
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BYRON, Ga. - Authorities say the ferocious storms that tore through the South have toppled a central Georgia landmark a giant Peach on a pole which has towered over Interstate 75 since 1987.
RoadsideAmerica.com, a website that tracks unique roadside attractions across the nation, says Byron's Big Peach was used to advertise an antique mall along the interstate.
WMAZ-TV reports that antique dealer John Harley walked into work Tuesday morning and discovered that the Big Peach had fallen. Harley says the Big Peach has been an icon for travelers on I-75 through central Georgia.
He said there are T-shirts which say "my brakes go screech when I see the Big Peach."
Harley said he hopes there's a way to resurrect the Big Peach.


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Relevant news & expert insight
Latest products and companies to do business with
Tip & tricks for fashion & material business
Souring Journal’s Arthur Friedman writes that China’s dominance as the country where footwear sold in the United States is manufactured took a big step down in 2019, while the next five top suppliers posted gains.
Full-year figures for 2019 show that footwear group Stella International earned revenues of just over $1.5 billion. The figures are unaudited. Over the 12-month period, Stella shipped 59.4 million pairs of shoes, reports Leatherbiz.
A new report released by U.S. campaign against tariffs, ‘Tariffs Hurt the Heartland’, has estimated that Americans have paid an additional US $46 billion since the U.S. – China trade war began in February 2018 through November 2019, reports ILM
Sourcing Journal’s Christopher Hall writes that Nike's Atsuma sneaker uses intelligent pattern design to prevent material waste by designing around fabric cutouts.
Sourcing Journal’s Jasmin Malik Chua writes that Bangladesh’s minimum wage board has filed recommendations that could raise the minimum monthly wage for leather and footwear workers to 7,100 takas ( $84), local news media has reported.


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Now that it’s been about a year or so that two new glucagon emergency delivery systems have graced pharmacy shelves (Baqsimi and Gvoke HypoPen), Lilly’s familiar orange Glucagon Emergency kit has gone the way of black and white TVs and record players. Kaput.
Remarkably, in 50 years with type 1 diabetes, I have never used a glucagon rescue product. Somehow, gratefully, I’ve always been able to catch my descending lows while I can still chew and swallow. That said, it’s nice to know we have much easier rescue products should I, or you, ever need one.
Still, it’s historic to say goodbye to a diabetes product that’s been around for so long. And, that’s the good news. More has progressed in the last decade in medicine and devices than the 40 years before it. And for that, I’m eternally grateful.
diaTribe carries the full story, “As Glucagon Options Expand, Lilly Discontinues Emergency Kit.”
2 thoughts on “Lilly’s historic hypoglycemia emergency kit bites the dust”
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Earlier this month, KFC rolled out a mega marketing stunt with an aerial food delivery service that involved a huge flying KFC bucket, and 3000 sandwiches. The giant bucket was flown to Dubai’s Kite Beach using a helicopter, and soon the on-ground staff started giving away these sandwiches for free, all sounds great and ambitious, […]
If you had the chance to ask McDonald’s any question, what would you ask? McDonald’s Arabia has launched a new interactive campaign aiming to open a dialogue with consumers, the campaign allows people to ask questions and browse answers drafted by the PR team, most of the questions concentrated on ingredients and nutritious value of […]
Arabia, land of ancient history and divine religions, confused cultures and absurd superstitions, a region where black cats are considered the “devil in disguise”, they’re often mistaken for bad omen and misfortune, and that was the insight behind the new campaign by the Lebanese Lotto; #BlackcatsOnHoliday For 14 long weeks, no one has hit the […]
Children love gifts, whether it’s candy or toys or a day at the park, they just love these things, but what if they are orphans? What if they were abandoned by their parents? Can a toy nourish them with the love and care they need? This insight gave Russian ad agency Red Pepper an idea […]
Men and women have always found difficulty in communication. In the home situation misunderstandings occur most around clutter. And that is why IKEA introduces Emoticons: a communication tool to ensure universal love and understanding in your home. All your hints, desires and questions will be understood right away. Give it a try. Start spreading happiness.
After drawing portraits of light last year at the Dubai Motor Festival, Infiniti just released a music video created by random sounds made using their cars as instruments, the video is titled “Chromatic” and was created in collaboration with producer and composer Megadon Betamax. As much as I enjoyed the music, I liked the video […]
Nissan is in the middle of controversy after their PR stunt on Reddit backfired, the brand hosted an AMA Session (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit with CEO Carlos Ghoson, however the stunt didn’t go as planned, even though it generated 4678 comments so far. Many Reddit users accused the brand of planting questions using fake […]
Here is a really nice idea from Tunisia, I like the headline of the ad; A Little Space for Great Technology! Advertising Agency: Memac Ogilvy Label Tunisia Creative Director : Alain Mhawej Art Director: Amin Khelil Copywriters : Mehdi AlMonastiri, Chamseddine Abdelhafidh Strategic Planner : Sofiene El Kebir Business Director: Mouna Ben Hammouda Account Director […]
Anyone who works in advertising will defiantly relate to this awesome campaign by Water Crab in India, daily life at an ad agency can be very frustrating as a result of having demanding clients and last minute requests, and this campaign showcases all of that in such a cool way!
Lebanon is a small country blessed with many problems that push people to leave the country; from constant power outage to frequent bombings, to political instability and bad economy, just to name a few, this insight gave JWT an idea to raise awareness around poor pets situation in the country. The agency created the Lebanon […]


text: By now, most motorsports fans know that Sebastien Loeb, the nine-time World Rally champion from France, absolutely dominated this year's Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, setting a new course record of 8 minutes, 13.878 seconds in his 875-hp Peugeot 208 T16. But what happened with the motorcycles? Well, for the last three years, Carlin Dunne of Santa Barbara, California, has been the fastest motorcycle racer up Pikes Peak. In 2012, the first year the 12.4-mile, 156-turn hill climb course was fully paved, Dunne raced a Ducati Multistrada to the crest of the 14,110-foot Colorado Rocky in 9 minutes, 52.819 seconds, breaking the 10-minute barrier and setting a motorcycle record that still stands. And this year, on a Lightning Electric Superbike (a 500-pound bike with a monocoque chassis, lithium-ion composite batteries and a 200-horsepower electric motor that has "twice the torque of a Suzuki GSX-R 1000"), Dunne was again the fastest motorcycle up the mountain, winning the Exhibition Powersports class with a time of 10 minutes, 0.694 seconds. A few days after the event, I chatted with Dunne by phone from his Ducati dealership in Santa Barbara.


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Costco Wholesale Corp. ended its fiscal year on a strong note as consumers continued to shop its stores to stock up on items amid the pandemic.
The membership-based retailer’s net sales for the fourth quarter ended Aug. 30 increased 12.5% to $ 52.28 billion, its highest increase in nearly three years. Total revenue rose to $ 53.38 billion from $ 47.5 billion. E-commerce sales jumped 91% during the quarter.
Total same-store sales rose 11.4%, more than double the growth of the previous quarter.
“As people are spending less on travel, air and hotel and dining out, they seem to have redirected at least some of those dollars to categories like lawn and garden, furniture, mattresses, exercise equipment, bicycles, housewares, cookware, domestics and the like, ”Costco CFO Richard Galanti said on the company’s earnings call.America Retail


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Family-run Gouldings Farm at Blashford going back to dairy roots with Moody Cow shop
DIVERSIFICATION has become the watch word for farmers looking to boost the profit of their traditional activities.
At Gouldings Farm at Blashford, Mike Moody has embraced that principle – but with a local twist by opening a shop dedicated to sourcing fresh local produce from within 30 miles.
Mike and his mum Caroline own a herd of award-winning Guernsey cows at their 47-acre plot which has been in the family since 1953.
The pair have now converted a barn to house the Moody Cow farm shop and have their sights set on a micro dairy with a milk vending machine.
“The farm was originally run as a dairy farm by my nan and granddad and they also opened a shop,” said Mike, who has a background in hospitality.
“We want to go back to that, producing all our own milk, butter, yoghurt and cheese to sell in the shop.
“At the moment, the milk produced by the herd is put back into calf-rearing to produce beef, but we have plans to expand our 16-cow herd so we can be more self-sufficient.”
The shop, which doubles up as a cafe serving hot drinks and breakfasts using only produce from in-store, sells a wide range of food and drink, nearly all from the local area.
Milk is from Meggy Moo’s Dairy at Blandford, cheese from the Book & Bucket at Cranborne, vegetables are grown on a farm in Salisbury, and meat is supplied by Manor Farm near Cadnam.
A range of delicious treats sit on the shelves too, including Fordingbridge Fudge, Say coffee, chilli jam and camembert sourdough by Fresh Kitchen – Cookery School, and award-winning pork pies and sausage rolls from Tatchbury Manor Farm at Winsor.
The shop, which opened at the end of last year, will soon be selling Forest Edge gelato from Fordingbridge too.
“I have hand-picked every person behind all the produce we sell in the farm shop,” said Mike. “I go and see the animals at Wendy’s farm and I recently visited Meggy Moo’s to see what goes on there. I want to offer my customers complete food traceability.
“We also try to avoid plastic packaging where possible – our veg is pick-your-own and we provide customers with paper bags.”
He continued: “The response has been better than I ever could have hoped for. The support from the community has been fantastic and we’ve had really great feedback.
“And I want to be a part of that community and pay back the support we’ve been given. On Christmas Day I prepared hot meals for Ringwood Food Bank to deliver to families that would have otherwise gone without.
“We were selling trees at the farm in December, and we donated one to the stroke ward at Salisbury Hospital and another to Linwood School. We chopped it up so they could use it for a sensory assembly for the children.”
After years spent managing hotels, Mike was keen to focus again on the family farm with a view to diversifying.
“Being here is what makes me the most happy,” he said. “And my background in hotels, working with food in that way, has really stood me in good stead.”
Mike also has plans to launch a wilding project later in the year, devoting half an acre of land to plant a wildflower meadow, which he hopes the community will get involved in by helping to select the seeds that are sown.
The Moody Cow Farm Shop is New Forest Marque-certified. For more information, go to www.moodycowfarmshop.com


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Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.
Meta unveiled a new set of smart glasses with Ray-Ban, promising AI integrations and high-tech features.
Is the future of tech wearables about to run through Zuck? Let’s dig in…
The Rundown: Meta and Ray-Ban just announced upgraded versions of their Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses, featuring new enhancements across the board, future AI integrations, and more.
Improvements include better audio quality, higher resolution cameras, slimmer and lighter frames, and increased battery life.
New features include live-streaming to FB/IG, hands-free control via voice commands, and integration with Meta's AI assistant.
The glasses now come in classic Wayfarer and new Headliner styles with 10+ frame and lens options starting at $299.
The relevance: While wearables have been around — the coming AI integration may help these types of products take the next leap into mainstream.
Our thoughts: With a sleek design that is nearly indistinguishable from normal sunglasses, this Ray-Ban collab could be a nice look into the feature of AR/smart wearables.
TOGETHER WITH LUCKY TRADER
The Rundown: In Web3, staying updated isn't just beneficial – it's essential. From new protocols to crypto swings to the hottest NFT drops, it's easy to miss out on key opportunities and insights.
Enter Lucky Trader, your trusted digital collectibles companion:
🗞 Real-time newsfeed: Instantly tap into reliable updates and trends.
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The Rundown: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s biometric digital ID project Worldcoin reported over 200,000 registrations in Chile this week, surpassing 1% of the country's population.
Users scan irises on Orb devices, create digital IDs, and receive $WLD tokens, though critics cite privacy risks of biometric data collection.
Worldcoin saw 9,500 registrations in one day in Argentina, showing growing traction in Latin America.
The milestone is positive news after troubled years for the startup — though adoption hurdles around regulation and perception remain.
Why it matters: Worldcoin’s iris scanning may seem dystopian to some, and sparks doubt in stable economies. The concept shines where trust in institutions is low — and its appeal in Latin America shows those fretting about privacy risks might be missing how Worldcoin aids the unbanked.
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The Raspberry Pi 5 has launched at $60, offering notable upgrades including enhanced performance and new in-house components.
Apple and Microsoft's 2020 discussions about a possible Bing sale remained exploratory, hindered by Apple's profitable arrangement with Google and doubts about Bing's competitiveness.
Netflix has ceased its DVD-by-mail service, reflecting a total shift to streaming, impacting users seeking rare content.
Epic Games is cutting 16% of its staff, or 830 employees, to curb spending and refocus on core business amid its legal dispute with Apple.
A New York judge has ruled in favor of a $18 per hour minimum pay rate for the city's food delivery workers, impacting companies like Uber, DoorDash, and Grubhub, which had sued the city to block the standard.
The EEOC has filed a lawsuit against Tesla, accusing it of tolerating racial harassment and retaliating against employees who opposed such harassment.
Researchers have created MilliMobile, a tiny, environmentally friendly robot that moves autonomously, carrying sensors for data collection in applications like smart farming and equipment monitoring.
Jim Ryan, PlayStation chief, will resign in March 2024, citing the difficulties of living in Europe while working in North America, despite the recent success of the PS5.
❤ Rundown review of the day


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Isis NFC mobile wallet users in Salt Lake City will be able to ride free on all Utah Transit Authority (UTA) public bus, Trax light rail and Frontrunner commuter rail services when they use their Isis Mobile Wallet, the NFC venture — which launched today — has told NFC World.
- Samsung Pay gets new features and gives away $100,000 in prizes
- NXP rebrands Mifare SDK as TapLinx
- FCC authorizes mysterious Apple product
- Android Pay users get free London travel and coffee
- Gemalto and BankAxept to simplify mobile payments for Norwegian banks


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Greenhouse Gas Guru, Mitloehner, Says Cow-Fart Protestors Spread More Manure than Beef IndustryFri, 03 May 2019 12:09:23 CDT
Dr. Frank Mitloehner of the University of California-Davis, or the Greenhouse Gas Guru as he is known on Twitter, is a strong proponent of telling the story of sustainability for the beef cattle industry. He recently pushed back against Patrick Brown, founder of one of the more high profile plant-based burger patty manufacturer The Impossible Burger, during an interview on NPR that took place earlier this week.
“Obviously he has a beef with beef so to speak,” Mitloehner quipped about his interaction with Brown. “He said beef is the most destructive technology in use on this planet today and obviously I didn’t agree with that. But he was extremely aggressive in that regard. I see people like him and others depicting the beef industry as the worst environmental culprit in the world. I mean, it’s getting ridiculous.”
Mitloehner says those who want to denigrate beef in this country do not understand the success story the US beef industry has been putting together for years when it comes to sustainability and relatively low greenhouse gas emissions. According to him, the US beef industry only accounts for 3.3 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions generated domestically. In contrast, those industries that consume fossil fuels account for 80 percent of emissions, 28 percent of that contributed by the transportation industry alone. Mitloehner points out that the beef industry has and continues to study its environmental impact and has pledged to make continuous improvements toward greater sustainability in response to consumers’ environmental concerns. Regrettably, the beef industry’s proactive efforts to increase its sustainability have not been effectively communicated to consumers, allowing activists like Brown the opportunity to spread false or misleading information.
“Our ‘special friends’ are using global numbers that are always higher than national numbers. We are the leader in the world on the beef side. We are very advanced and it’s high time for that information to get out because our ‘special friends’ are claiming the opposite is true,” he said. “Our ‘special friends’ tell people if you want to improve the environment - stop eating meat - and that’s just wrong and they know it. But, they do it anyway and consumers become confused.”
Listen to today’s Beef Buzz to learn how Dr. Mitloehner is using the facts about greenhouse gas emissions to change the public’s misconceptions about the beef industry that are being promulgated by activists, with Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays.
For more on this topic, listen to the latest Beltway Beef Podcast featuring Dr. Frank Mitloehner - click here.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
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WHAT’S BEING CLAIMED:
- Scientists claim to have found a way to reduce sodium consumption without compromising taste.
- Reduced salt snacks, though healthier, aren’t so popular because they’re not as tasty as their traditional salted counterparts.
- Calcium chloride was used to replace around a quarter of sodium chloride in the salt mix developed by researchers.
When you want to grab a healthy snack, you might want to go for something with reduced salt. They’re not exactly known for having the best taste though since they have lower sodium.
Scientists claim they’ve found a way to remedy that though. You might get to keep your salt taste that tastes like the traditional salt blend, but with lesser sodium. A food science professor at Washington State University, Carolyn Ross, along with a team of colleagues, are those responsible for the new mix. Their study was published in the Journal of Food Science.
The new blend makes use of almost a quarter of calcium chloride. Not to worry, the ingredient is not known to have any adverse effects on human health. Calcium chloride is actually another salt along with potassium chloride. Potassium chloride has quite a bitter taste though, according to Ross, which is why manufacturers have been wary about using it.
The research team looked at different blends of salt that contain less sodium chloride, the main mineral in your everyday salt. Plus, less sodium means that it’s healthier, because sodium isn’t great for your heart, increasing the risk of disease, high blood pressure, and stroke.
Ross called it a “stealth approach”. Tasters involved in the study tried different salt solutions (salt in water) and others tested various samples of tomato soup containing different salt combinations. Replacement salts were slowly added into the mixes to see how much could be blended in before people said their food wasn’t tasty anymore.
Results showed that tasters enjoyed a combination that contained 78% sodium chloride and 22% calcium chloride. Professor Ross said there was no significant difference in taste as compared to 100% sodium chloride.
This can be positive news for our health since there’s now an option to reduce sodium without compromising taste. NHS recommendations in the UK recommends consuming less than 6g of salt daily. In the US, that number is similar, recommending 2,300 mg of sodium, which also equals around 6g of salt.
Source: Daily Mail


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WINE AND SPIRITS SHIPPERS ASSOCIATIONS TO USE FREIGHTDESK.COM
'The Wine and Spirits Shippers Association has signed an agreement to use FreightDesk.com’s Internet-based shipping and tracking programs for its members’ beverage imports into the United States.
FreightDesk, based in Bethesda, Md., has developed Internet-based applications specifically for the forwarding industry.
Geoffrey Giovanetti, managing director of the association, said German freight forwarder G.L. Kayser Spediteur will be first member to test the program.
“The web applications from FreightDesk.com will aid us in achieving our mission by improving efficiency, reducing costs and providing our customers with visibility of their purchase orders throughout the transportation life of the order,” Giovanetti said.


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New Delhi: India's consumer inflation is expected to have eased to a three-month low in April, helped by smaller rises in food prices, but with a summer rebound in prospect the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to keep interest rates on hold.
The RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which has a mid-term inflation target of 4 percent, maintained its hawkish stance on inflation, with most members expressing concern over upside risks to core inflation.
Consumer prices, the RBI's main policy target, likely rose 3.49 percent in April, according to a Reuters poll of economists, compared with an increase of 3.81 percent in March.
Data on the consumer price index, wholesale price index and industrial output will be released around 5:30pm Friday.
Economists expect the central bank to keep its policy rate unchanged this year.
"The RBI is not likely to cut interest rates at least for six months as inflationary pressures are building up," said NR Bhanumurthy, an economist at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, a Delhi-based think tank.
Economists predict 1.5 percent annual growth in industrial output in March, bouncing from February's 1.2 percent contraction.
Wholesale price inflation is expected to have slowed last month to 4.79 percent from 5.70 percent in March, according to the poll.
In Asia, China's annual consumer inflation edged up to 1.2 percent in April from March's 0.9 percent, while quickening in Indonesia to a 13-month high of 4.17 percent.
CHANGE IN BASE YEAR
On Friday, India will release a new series of industrial output and wholesale inflation data, revising the base year to 2011/12 from 2004/05.
India changed the base year for the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and Consumer Price Index based inflation data about two years ago while continuing with the old base year for other macro indicators.
The base year reset is expected to bring in more accuracy in measuring the level of economic activity as well the national income, said Bhanumurthy.
The new IIP series will cover a new basket of commodities and assign new weights to them, removing obsolete items like typewriters and floppy disks, said G.C. Manna, former head of the Central Statistics Organisation.
Ideally, they should move in the same range, as value addition at constant prices could address the price factors and broadly reflect physical growth.
But the IIP series for first 11-months of 2016/17 showed a major divergence, with a contraction of 0.3 percent in manufacturing output compared with 7.7 percent growth noted in the gross value added data of GDP for the whole year.


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The smartphone can be purchased for a total of $199, equivalent to around Rs 15,700. This makes it the least expensive OnePlus product available anywhere in the globe. OnePlus Nord 20 SE, The OnePlus company, has yet to release its most affordable smartphone, and here is all you need to know about it.
This past week, OnePlus had an event in New York City to unveil its latest flagship device, the OnePlus 10T 5G. A short time after the OnePlus 10T 5G launch, the OnePlus Nord 20 SE, the company’s most budget-friendly smartphone, was secretly made available for purchase by the company that makes OnePlus devices. It would seem that the OnePlus Nord 20 SE has only been made available in the United States (US). The smartphone is priced at $199, making it the least expensive OnePlus device sold anywhere around the globe (approximately Rs 15,700). The smartphone may be purchased on AliExpress in the United States right now, and it will be ready for purchase there on August 12.
OnePlus Nord 20 SE specifications and features
One of the critical characteristics of the OnePlus Nord 20 SE is that it has a 6.56-inch HD+ LCD screen with a notch in the shape of a water drop. The smartphone’s processing unit is a MediaTek Helio G35, with 64GB and 4GB of RAM available storage capacity. The OnePlus Nord 20 SE was released with a fast charging capability of 33W and a battery capacity of 5,000mAh.
At launch, the OnePlus Nord 20 SE will include a dual rear camera arrangement with a primary lens that has a resolution of 50 megapixels and a depth sensor that has a resolution of 2 megapixels. The new OnePlus Nord smartphone has a front-facing camera that boasts an 8-megapixel resolution.
The United States seems to be the only market where the OnePlus Nord 20 SE has been made available. The smartphone is identical in terms of its technical specifications to the Oppo A77 4G, which can be purchased in India for Rs 15,499.
The software interface of the OnePlus phone and its unusual alert slider, on the other hand, was regarded by most customers as the device’s most impressive qualities. The alert slider, a toggle switch placed above the power button, allows you to select between the vibrating, silent, and ring modes of the notification. Because of how useful it is, people are starting to demand that it be implemented by other phone makers as well. On the other hand, OnePlus has been going in the opposite direction.
(This article including the featured image is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, Ajanta News Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)


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The goal of advertising is to encourage customers to buy. Probably the most well-known principle for achieving that is the AIDA model. But is it still relevant in the digital marketing era? We put the model to the test!
In part 1 and part 2 of our highlight series, we already rounded up some innovative trends from the digital expo for you. The third part of our DMEXCO highlights has even more inspiring discussions and useful masterclasses in store.
Self-service grocery stores, or supermarkets, emerged in the US in the 1930s and were a real innovation at the time. But are they now outdated? We spoke to Gorillas’ Alexander Brunst about current trends and the grocery store of the future.
Just a few weeks after the successful DMEXCO @home 2021 event, Adobe is premiering its partner event at community.dmexco.com. With the motto "Hero Content, Zero Time – Innovations in Content Marketing", Adobe is inviting visitors to the digital innovation update of their content and digital asset management system "Adobe Experience Manager" on October 5, 2021, starting at 9:30 am. Other partners will also be able to hold their own events on the platform and in the DMEXCO community in the future.
Our first recap of DMEXCO @home 2021 covered some of the highlights of the digital expo but it goes without saying that those were just a small selection of them. Even more inspiring talks, exciting discussions, and masterclasses await you in part two of our DMEXCO highlights.
Companies often shy away from investing in adequate marketing control. Maren Seitz, Head of DACH at Analytic Partners, explains to us why measuring marketing efficiency should be an integral part of every strategy.
Whether in digital or traditional print form: a press kit should attract attention and serve as an important communication tool to help your PR management team approach business partners, investors, and media representatives.


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LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) -- When Delta Airlines wanted to reach business travelers just in the New York area last spring, it decided to test the idea of microtargeting with place-based media. So it teamed up with out-of-home vertical SeeSaw Networks to create multiple 15-second spots customized to a wide array of venues across five different digital out-of-home vendors.
Cafes from Reach Media Group's Danoo, ferry terminals from Affiniti Group Media, Pump Top TV's gas stations in the New Jersey and Connecticut areas and health clubs on the Netpulse and When networks were all included in the plan, complementing similarly targeted ads in New York-based print and digital media.
Although business travelers in a single market like New York may ultimately amount to a relatively small audience, the campaign represented one of the biggest digital out-of-home outlays to date from a client at Digitas, Publicis' digital media agency that recently branched out into the emerging outdoor medium.
"We wanted to specifically understand how place-based media worked as a separate piece of the entire puzzle," said Pat Connolly, VP-group director at Digitas. "When you're trying to target a very specific niche, we wanted to try a whole lifestyle marketing, 360-degree approach that reached our specific target with messaging at any part of the day."
Based on Edison research of the campaign's out-of-home elements, place-based networks did a lot of heavy lifting for the Delta buy. Awareness of Delta as an international carrier among business travelers increased by more than 28%, while the perception of the airline as a connection to those travelers most-desired international destinations lifted by 26%. Thirty-two percent of the people who noticed the screens fit Delta's upper-income consumer target, or seven times the national average index.
Mr. Connolly would like to see even more granular measurement and campaign flexibility from out-of-home networks in the future, much in the same way the agency already buys web portals like MSN and Google. But the early results are enough to help him convince other clients of digital out-of-home' general efficacy. "We recognize it's not necessarily at the point where networks have caught up with the web's ability to offer real-time optimization, but we all have to collectively have an understanding of where the technology's going," he said. "Step one is to buy these networks at scale, which historically just isn't realistic."
Indeed, in the case of Schering-Plough's $8 million to $10 million out-of-home buy for brands like Claritin and Dr. Scholl's, the pharma marketer had to place a buy across 17 different networks to replicate the reach of TV. But as the industry continues to partner and consolidate, witness recent mergers like Reach Media's Danoo and Ideacast as well as Premier Retail Network's recent casual-dining partnership with IndoorDirect and TargetCast, the vertical ad-buying opportunities will bear more fruit in the coming months.
Peter Bowen, CEO of SeeSaw Networks, has positioned his network as an aggregator of the often wildly disparate opportunities in digital out-of-home, with a database that includes 75 networks and 100 million weekly gross impressions from consumers who frequent all types of retail, casual dining, transit and hospitality locations. "While geographic locations are important to agencies and advertisers, as we see companies like Digitas and Delta getting and using this media, it helps us identify what audiences we should be looking for," he said.


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One innovative company is turning agri-waste into natural textiles
It wasn’t that long ago that pineapples were seen as a luxury – but now they can be found on supermarket shelves all year round, fuelling a 400 per cent increase in global pineapple production since 1960. The downside of this phenomenal growth is 25 million tonnes of pineapple waste a year from the plant’s discarded leaves. Most of them are either burned or left to rot, generating high volumes of methane emissions, perhaps the most dangerous of the greenhouse gases.
Fast fashion has gone through a similar period of rapid growth in the last fifty years, with a similar impact on the environment. The sector is responsible for an estimated 10 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions and uses around 93 billion cubic metres of water per year – or four per cent of all freshwater extraction globally. This is set to double by 2030.
Ananas Anam has come up with a solution to both of these problems. Through repurposing the agricultural waste that comes from pineapple production it has created a series of natural textiles, Piñatex and Piñayarn, using the fibres from the discarded leaves. The leaves are collected in bundles before the long fibres are extracted using semi-automatic machines. The fibres are washed, dried naturally by the sun (or in a drying oven during rainy season) and then combined with a corn-based polylactic acid to create a non-woven mesh that forms the basis of the textiles.
As the name suggests, Piñayarn is a compostable and biodegradable yarn, while Piñatex offers a viable alternative to leather, doing away with the tanning process needed for animal skins that usually uses around 250 polluting chemicals. By not burning the leaves, there is also a CO2 emissions saving – the equivalent of 6 kilogrammes of CO2 for each 1 kilogramme of yarn produced.
Not only does this solution offer a circular approach to textile production, but it’s also good for the farmers who produce the pineapples – Ananas Anam supports rural farming communities in Bangladesh like Eco-Fresh Agro, fostering strong partnerships through their transparent supply chain, and demonstrating that by reusing resources, we can do so much more than just follow fashion.
Video and article credit: RE:TV
4th October 2023


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Marks and Spencer’s (M&S) CEO has stepped in to handle “long-standing” supply chain issues.
Steve Rowe announced he would be overseeing a programme to address supply chain issues in its clothing and home division after a series of availability failures.
Rowe is taking over from Jill McDonald, the former managing director of clothing and home, who had spent less than two years in the role.
He said: “The business now needs to move on at pace to address long-standing issues in our clothing and home supply chain around availability and flow of product. Given the importance of this task to M&S I will be overseeing this programme directly.”
McDonald’s departure comes after a troubled year for the clothing and home division.
At the retailer’s annual shareholders’ meeting, Rowe said while changes in people and processes designed to improve the division were underway, it had encountered problems.
He said a failed promotion on jeans in February 2019 had led to the “worst availability” he’d seen in his life.
While the retailer aimed to improve product availability and supply chain flow, not enough jeans were ordered, resulting in the jeans selling out.
“We didn’t buy enough and that led to us having some of the worst availability of casual trousers I've seen in my life,” he said.
He said he believed the company had started to address these issues.
“[We’re] making sure we reduce the number of lines we’re running so we can buy deeper, concentrating on the big lines that we’re famous for across the UK,” he told shareholders.
Earlier this year, M&S revealed it had saved £100m through its transformation programmes, including the restructuring of its end-to-end supply chain.
In May 2019, Rowe said “M&S is changing faster than at any time in my career [with] substantial changes across the business to our processes, ranges and operations, and this has constrained this year’s performance, particularly in clothing and home. However, we remain on track with our transformation and are now well on the road to making M&S special again.”
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A Wedding is the absolute most unforgettable moment of our life. As a result this very day must be made remarkable. We pay thousands for dress,... ...http://pressreleaseping.com/ideas-get-professional-photographer-your-wedding-day
Kochi: With the weather forecast hinting that the monsoon could play truant this year, analysts in the financial sector have started their... ...http://english.manoramaonline.com/business/news/below-par-monsoon-could-increase-costs.html
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Let us now venture into explaining the layers of the mind. Even before the first layer, you could say the body itself expresses what is in the... ...http://www.speakingtree.in/spiritual-blogs/masters/meditation/learn-spiritual-practices-and-meditation-the-ananda-marga-way
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A Fort Walton Beach man has been charged with removing a wallet from a man killed in a Walton County traffic accident, and then using the victim’s credit card in a scheme to steal funds.
47-year old William Taylor Caudill of Cypress Street is charged with
grand theft, fraudulent use of a credit card, and money laundering.
Investigators say Caudill, an employee of Florida Removal Service, was called to pick up the victim of the traffic crash on October 18th and deliver the man to the Okaloosa County morgue. On November 5th, the Okaloosa Sheriff’s Office learned that money may have been removed from the victim’s wallet, as well as charges made to his credit card.
The investigation revealed Caudill used the victim’s credit cards to
transfer money into another account belonging to a non-profit organization, and then used a debit card to remove some of the money and convert it to his own use.


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Making a career out of perfectly photographed and staged meals is not exactly a piece of cake
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What’s a kale salad’s best angle? How do you get a napkin to fall just right so that it looks natural in a photo? Prop stylist Robin Zachary has got you covered. What’s the best way to capture exactly how refreshing your iced coffee is? Just ask food photographer Sarah E. Crowder.
As September came to a close, more than 100 food bloggers gathered in New York to trade secrets and advice at a day-long TECHmunch conference and hear from experts like Zachary and Crowder. Thanks to social media, the barrier to entry as a professional food influencer has never been lower and at the same time higher.
There might be a filter and a hashtag for everything, but making a career out of perfectly photographed and staged meals is not exactly a piece of cake. To help connect food bloggers to technology, Babette Pepaj held the first TECHmunch conference in 2010 at the South by Southwest festival. It was meant to be a one time event, but has now been held more than 30 times in cities across the U.S.
A lot has changed since 2010. Attendees went from talking about WordPress to talking about Instagram and videos, said Pepaj — founder of BakeSpace, a food themed social network where users can share their recipes and create custom cookbooks. Food bloggers have become celebrities in their own right with large and loyal followings. Food bloggers and influencers are the people home cooks go to when looking for advice on how to use a particular ingredient, a specific recipe or suggestions on how to feed their families.
“They trust them,” Pepaj said. “These are real people. These are not brands. They are people who are really passionate about food.”
And while good bloggers are not corporate brands, they are often sought out by them — specifically because they have a large following and are trusted by consumers. Jessica Randazza, who works as a marketing director at Danone, said she often seeks out bloggers, Instagram and Twitter users to work with the brand and incorporate its products into their recipes.
Thanks to these type of collaborations, many food bloggers have been able to turn their passion and hobby into profit. And while the world of food influencers is already quite crowded, there is still room for people to get in at every level, according to Zachary, who runs The Prop Styling Experience, a one-on-one prop styling workshop.
“The market place for foodies is just so wide open in so many different ways,” she said. “I want people to realize that they can jump in at any level now.”
Here are a couple of other pieces of advice that we picked up at this year’s TECHmunch conference:
1. Make a plan. Know what you have to do for each project. Food bloggers often take on all of the roles that would be found on a typical ad campaign, such as art director, producer, food stylist, and a photographer, according to Crowder.
“The more you are aware you are performing those roles, the more it helps you put that cap on and perform it better,” she explained.
Planning a project can include things such as making a grocery list, making a list of visual and props as well as figuring out what shots you hope to get. According to Crowder, about 75 percent of work is done before the shoot.
“Making a plan doesn’t prevent you from being creative on the shoot day,” she said.
2. Don’t underestimate the power of good lighting. “At the beginning, people would just kind of snap food photos at restaurants and at home and the lighting wasn’t always ideal,” said Zachary. “Now, people are really making an effort to make sure that they’re sitting near a window and that’s what I tell people: ‘Go out for lunch rather than dinner and sit near a window where that beautiful day light is coming in and it will look natural.’”
One of the people that’s taken her up on this advice is Pepaj. Another upside, according to her, is that lunch is often cheaper than dinner.
Lighting should also be equally important when you are taking photographs at home. “If you have to move the table, move the table,” said Crowder.
3. Followers are important, but engagement is key. Yes, it’s true that a higher follower count is more likely to get you a foot in the door, but that’s not all that matters.
For Jennifer Heal, social media and digital marketing manager at Whole Foods, location is often key. When the chain is thinking of opening a new store, they look to see if there are bloggers and Instagrammers with lots of followers that focus on food that live in that area. Besides location, Heal also looks to see whether the users are actually interacting with the content that bloggers produce — liking it and commenting back and forth.
“I look at who is tagging us and who is talking about us,” she said.
With technology getting smarter, marketers are more likely to look at analytics in order to make sure the company is making a good investment, explained Randazza. Analytics — such as engagement rates — are then considered by companies like Danone, where Randazza works, to determine whether a partnership with specific influencers to promote its products on their websites and accounts make financial sense. “We need to see analytics behind it before we cut those checks.”
4. Find a collaborator. Working alone from home “was a difficult way to work,” according to Crowder, who was a freelance food blogger before transitioning into food photography. One of the ways that she keeps the creative juices flowing is through collaboration.
“It’s been a game changer for my work,” she said. “It allowed me to tap into creative areas I didn’t know were in me.”
One way to do this is to actually throw a party with your collaborator, said Katie Workman, who blogs at themom100.com and sometimes works with Crowder. Set it up, take photos and then enjoy the fruits of your labor.
A shot from one of the projects that Crowder and Workman collaborated on.
“Katie is so great at putting together a party spread, so we photograph one at almost every shoot,” said Crowder. “She is also the queen of cocktails, so we usually have a fun drink to finish off a hard day’s work.”
Even if you are not throwing a party, you should insert a bit of yourself into the photo, according to Zachary.
“Tell a story,” she said. Do you read a paper or a book with your morning coffee? Put them in a photo. Are you a photographer? Use one of your cameras.
5. Display your contact information. In order to work with you, brands and their representatives have to be able to get in touch with you. “I hate contact forms. A lot,” said Randazza.
“Make it easy for me to contact you,” added Heal. She suggested adding email address and location to your Instagram bio.
|Food Instagrammers turning photography into careers|
|The business of designing a restaurant for Instagram|


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As of the beginning of September, Vietnam’s aquatic products were available in 177 foreign markets over the world.
According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the output of aquatic products – from both farming and fishing – has increased continuously over the past 17 years, with an annual average rate of 9%. Of this figure, the output of aquatic farming has risen by 12% per year and the output of fishing, by 6%.
VASEP said that the output of aquatic products increased by nearly 60%, from 4.6 million tonnes in 2008 to 7.3 million tonnes in 2017 – of which the farming yield accounts for 53%. The export turnover reached US$4.5 billion in 2008 and is expected to double this year.
Quach Thi Khanh Ngoc, a lecturer at Nha Trang University’s economic faculty, said that Vietnam is one of the countries with the lowest adaptation to climate change. The Mekong Delta region is said to be the worst affected in the country and, as a result, the fishery sector is also harmed.
To better adapt to climate change, the sector needs specific actions by producers and farmers, with the involvement of scientists in producing resilient breeds and new technologies for the sector.
VASEP Vice General Secretary Nguyen Hoai Nam said that Vietnamese seafood processors and exporters have diversified their products; paid attention to food safety, hygiene, and quality; and strictly followed requirements of importers, which have helped Vietnamese aquatic products become available in many countries around the world.
Seafood exports now account for 4-5 percent of the country’s total export turnover, following mobile phones, garments and textiles, electronic products, and footwear.
VASEP General Secretary Truong Dinh Hoe noted that more than half of its seafood output is being exported. Meanwhile, 80 percent of the nearly 100 million Vietnamese people use aquatic products.
Therefore, the domestic market, when being missed by local exporters, will create a big opportunity for other countries which want to export their products to Vietnam. At this point, Vietnamese enterprises will face difficulties in competing in the domestic market, Hoe added.
Nguyen Ngo Vi Tam, General Director of Vinh Hoan Company in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap, shared that although the domestic market brings about lower profits than export, it can consume 13%-14% of the company’s processed products.
To facilitate product circulation on the local market, Tam suggested improving the logistics system and bettering the distribution channel to ensure products maintain its high quality when reaching the hands of customers.