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Apple Q3 2023 Financials: The UPS and DOWNS Explained
- Statements of Operations: The Money-Making Machine 🏦
- Balance Sheets: The Financial Selfie 📸
- Cash Flows: The Cash Dance 💃🕺
- Summary: The Final Bite 🍏
Ever wondered what’s cooking in Apple’s financial kitchen? Well, you’re in luck! Today, we’re diving deep into Apple’s Q3 2023 financial statements. And don’t worry, we’ll break down all the jargon so you can understand it—even if you’re not a Wall Street whiz.
Also, this report came out before the launch of the iPhone 15 series, so while their sales and impact is not featured below, the cost of developing them – R&D – is (and Apple’s R&D was higher than ever in 2023).
The Big Picture 🖼
First off, let’s talk about the three main dishes on Apple’s financial menu:
- Statements of Operations: This is basically Apple’s report card for how much money they made and spent.
- Balance Sheets: Think of this as Apple’s financial snapshot—a selfie, if you will.
- Statements of Cash Flows: This shows us where Apple’s cash is coming from and going to.
Statements of Operations: The Money-Making Machine 🏦
Net Sales: The Big Bucks
Apple raked in a whopping $81.797 billion this quarter. Sounds awesome, right? Well, it’s actually a tiny dip from $82.959 billion last year. In simpler terms, Apple’s cash register rang a little less this year.
Products vs. Services: The Showdown
- Products: Sales dropped from $63.355 billion to $60.584 billion. Maybe fewer people wanted the latest iPhone?
- Services: Jumped from $19.604 billion to $21.213 billion. Looks like Apple Music and iCloud are rocking!
Cost of Sales: The Price Tag
Apple spent $45.384 billion to make all those iPhones, MacBooks, and services. That’s down from $47.074 billion last year. Cheaper to make, but also fewer sales. Hmm 🤔.
Gross Margin: The Cream on Top
This is what’s left after you subtract the cost of making stuff from the sales. Apple’s cream rose from $35.885 billion to $36.413 billion. Yum!
Operating Expenses: The Bills
Apple spent $13.415 billion on things like research and development. That’s up from $12.809 billion. More R&D could mean cooler gadgets in the future!
Operating and Net Income: The Leftovers
- Operating Income: Slightly down to $22.998 billion from $23.076 billion.
- Net Income: Up a bit to $19.881 billion from $19.442 billion.
Earnings Per Share: The Slice of Pie
Each Apple share earned $1.27, up from $1.20. If you own Apple stock, that’s your slice of the Apple pie!
Balance Sheets: The Financial Selfie 📸
Assets: The Treasure Chest
- Current Assets: Down to $122.659 billion from $135.405 billion.
- Non-current Assets: A tiny dip to $212.379 billion from $217.350 billion.
- Total Assets: Down to $335.038 billion from $352.755 billion.
Liabilities: The IOUs
- Current Liabilities: Down to $124.963 billion from $153.982 billion.
- Non-current Liabilities: A small bump to $149.801 billion from $148.101 billion.
Shareholders’ Equity: The Net Worth
Up to $60.274 billion, mainly because Apple’s stock is looking good!
Cash Flows: The Cash Dance 💃🕺
- Operating Activities: Generated $88.945 billion, down from $98.024 billion.
- Investing Activities: Made $1.311 billion, a big turnaround from losing $21.137 billion last year.
- Financing Activities: Used $85.335 billion, a bit more than last year’s $83.955 billion.
- Ending Cash Balance: A slight increase to $29.898 billion from $28.861 billion.
“We are happy to report that we had an all-time revenue record in Services during the June quarter, driven by over 1 billion paid subscriptions, and we saw continued strength in emerging markets thanks to robust sales of iPhone,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “From education to the environment, we are continuing to advance our values, while championing innovation that enriches the lives of our customers and leaves the world better than we found it.”
“Our June quarter year-over-year business performance improved from the March quarter, and our installed base of active devices reached an all-time high in every geographic segment,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO. “During the quarter, we generated very strong operating cash flow of $26 billion, returned over $24 billion to our shareholders, and continued to invest in our long-term growth plans.”Apple
Summary: The Final Bite 🍏
Apple’s still a financial powerhouse, but there are some signs of slowing down. Net sales and operating income dipped a bit, but hey, the net income and earnings per share went up! Cash flow is a mixed bag, but overall, Apple’s still an absolute unit in this regard.
So, there you have it! Apple’s Q3 2023 financials, demystified. Got questions? Thoughts? Let me know in the comments below! 👇


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Two Bay Area brothers are recruiting top foodies for anti-Yelp app that’s taking the restaurant scene by storm.
The hope is that Water Street Market will rival the Ferry Building and Oxbow Market in Napa, but with an East Bay feel.
Yao Ming used to dominate the the low post in NBA games, but now he’s looking to become an even bigger player in China’s wine game.
Uber Technologies is buying digital mapping specialist deCarta in a deal that may help the rapidly growing ride-hailing service lessen its dependence on navigation services supplied by Google and Apple.
Silicon Valley VC Testifies He Tried To Prevent Firing Of Woman Suing Law Firm For Sex Discrimination
Billionaire John Doerr took the witness stand for a second day on Wednesday in the lawsuit alleging women were denied chances to advance at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
Within the next two years, McDonald’s USA said they will only buy and use chickens raised without human antibiotics.
Millions of people may have been left vulnerable to hackers while surfing the web on Apple and Google devices, thanks to a newly discovered security flaw known as “FREAK attack.”
Apple is agreeing to hire many of its security guards as full-time employees, giving them many of the same benefits that other Apple workers enjoy, like health insurance and retirement benefits.
A new app is helping businesses keep cash on hand, and letting customers earn bonuses by pre-paying for the products they need.
The popular dating app Tinder, often shrugged off as a hookup facilitator for twentysomethings, launched a premium addition that now charges based on the user’s age.

domain: news


text: * FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.2 percent at 1,191.16 * Burberry rallies after 18 pct rise in Q1 sales * Tesco, Ahold, Morrison's lifted by Exane upgrade * UK banks higher after Moody's upgrade By David Brett LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) - Consumer-focused stocks led European shares higher early on Wednesday after a bullish update from Burberry and analyst upgrades for retailers such as Tesco, while weak trade data from China weighed on miners. Shares in peripheral banks fell after S&P's sovereign credit downgrade of Italy to BBB from BBB-plus, but the broader banking sector rose 0.2 percent, boosted by heavyweight UK banks such as Barclays, which gained after Moody's ratings agency lifted the British banking system outlook to "stable" from "negative" Burberry rallied 5.7 percent after the luxury goods brand maintained its full-year guidance as it posted an 18 percent rise in first quarter underlying retail revenue. UK retailers Tesco and Wm Morrison and Dutch firm Ahold rose as much as 1.7 percent after Exane BNP Paribas upgraded all three stocks. The FTSEurofirst 300 rose 2.21 points or 0.2 percent to 1191.16 points, by 0740 GMT, having closed at one-month highs in the previous session, shrugging off the S&P downgrade of Italy and China's weak trade data. "The market has confidence at the moment, thus sentiment is too positive to be upset by Italy's downgrade and China's trade data," said Basil Petrides, trader at Hartmann Capital. Last week's commitment from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank to continued economic stimulus is providing support for equities, with European shares up 3.6 percent since last Wednesday's close. Basic resources fell just 0.2 percent on China's weak trading update and "grim" outlook, with traders saying the dismal trade data had spurred talk of more economic stimulus from the world's second biggest economy. Germany's Deutsche Bank added 1.8 percent after Credit Suisse upgraded the investment bank to "outperform", while Europe's biggest bank HSBC, up 0.2 percent, remained its top pick. However, analysts warned that despite recent gains the market could still be vulnerable to a further correction. The current short interest -- where investors borrow stock to sell in order to buy back when share prices fall -- is 14 percent higher than the number seen at the start of the year, according to data from Matrix. "The big question is are we still in a bull trend or a corrective phase? We are leaning towards a corrective phase," Gerry Celaya, chief strategist at Red Tower Research, said. "We are looking at the current gains as being limited and part of a broader pull back, which should be followed by a pretty substantial drop into September and October," he said. On a three-month view Celaya said the euro zone blue chip index currently at 2,643 could fall as low as 2,060.


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AppleInsider may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made through links on our site.
Apple took down the Online Apple Store late Thursday night as the company made preparations for what is expected to be an onslaught of Apple Watch preorders.
Apple's online storefront is scheduled to open up for Apple Watch preorders at 12:01 a.m. Pacific, 3:01 a.m. Eastern on Friday. Earlier today, Apple announced that initial Apple Watch orders would be limited to online sales, expecting huge demand for its first foray into wearables.
"We are excited to welcome customers tomorrow and introduce them to Apple Watch, our most personal device yet. Based on the tremendous interest from people visiting our stores, as well as the number of customers who have gone to the Apple Online Store to mark their favorite Apple Watch ahead of availability, we expect that strong customer demand will exceed our supply at launch," said Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts. "To provide the best experience and selection to as many customers as we can, we will be taking orders for Apple Watch exclusively online during the initial launch period."
Pricing starts at $349 for Apple Watch Sport, while the stainless steel Apple Watch version ranges from $549 to $1,099. Solid gold Apple Watch Edition models start at $10,000.
Following in-store previews and preorders, both of which kick off today, Apple Watch is slated to ship on April 24 to brick-and-mortar Apple Store locations and specialized boutiques including colette in Paris, Dover Street Market in London and Tokyo, Maxfield in Los Angeles and The Corner in Berlin and select Apple Authorized Resellers in China and Japan.
Those planning to buy an Apple Watch when the Online Apple Store returns at midnight can prepare by taking a look at AppleInsider's preorder guide.


text: Buyers can make a 2.2 per cent saving on the price of the averaged used car compare to May, according to BCA’s latest Pulse Report. The savings have been generated by lower sale volumes and values of nearly-new cars. BCA’s figures suggest that the average price of used car fell by £134 to £5,964 in June. Drivers with a car to part-exchange should also be smiling – values of part exchanged cars rose by £27 month-on-month. The longevity of used cars is also on the up – the average age and mileage of used cars rose to nearly 63 months and 60,000 miles.


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Unbounce said it raised $850,000 from a syndicate led by Real Ventures of Montreal. The group includes Founder Co-Op of Seattle, Atlas Ventures of Boston, Social Leverage, 500Startups and Point Nine Capital. Also participating are angels Boris Wertz, Mike Edwards, Rapleaf CEO Auren Hoffman and Articulate CEO Adam Schwartz. BLOG POST Unbounce Raises $850k to […]Continue
DisplayLink, a provider of networked display technology for multi-monitor and USB-connected computing, has closed on $8 million in new capital. Though the company did not name its most recent investors, the company has previously inked venture funding from Atlas Venture, Balderton Capital, DAG Ventures, DFJ Esprit and WTI. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company has raised a total of $68 million.Continue
(Reuters) – Mobile, biotech and e-commerce all have one thing in common: they are among the next wave of startups that have caught the eye of venture capital.
In the past year, social media companies such as Facebook, Zynga, Groupon and LinkedIn have stolen the limelight as the fastest growing space for venture funds.
Still, they make up just one area, and even a minority percentage, of investment for a number of venture capital funds.
“Social media companies are leading the charge, capturing people’s fantasy,” Axel Bichara, a partner at Atlas Venture, told a panel at the Reuters Global Technology Summit Venture Capital in New York on Wednesday. “If you look at venture capital companies as a whole, it’s a really broad and deepContinue
(Reuters) – Venture capitalists are wary of the secondary markets that have soared in popularity with investors looking for a piece of action in private companies like Facebook, Twitter and Groupon.
The secondary markets, which enable the exchange of shares in privately held companies, are a black hole because private companies are not required to disclose financial information.
“It is scary and I would be very careful before doing any such deals,” Axel Bichara, a partner with Atlas Ventures, said during the venture capital panel at Reuters Global Technology Summit on Wednesday in New York.
Bill Maris, a managing partner at Google Ventures, said secondary market trading creates all types of market forcesContinue
France Telecom is in talks to buy a 49% stake in French video sharing site Dailymotion, a company which is backed by venture and private equity firms including Atlas Ventures and Partech, Reuters reported. The venture funds would sell a portion of their shares, Reuters said. France Telecom would pay 58.8 million euros ($80.29 million) for the stake.Continue
Mangling the pronunciation of foreign languages is a longstanding American tradition, but many foreigners aren’t as blithely indifferent about their English-speaking skills. In fact, Alan Schwartz is betting that millions of young professionals abroad are keen to speak English as natively as possible. Enter his year-old Boston-area startup, EnglishCentral, an online language tutorial site that employs proprietary speech […]Continue


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There’s still hope for the fried chicken lovers that are patiently waiting to get their hands on Jollibee.
Last year, the restaurant chain confirmed they were opening a new location in Surrey’s Strawberry Hill shopping centre by August 2021. However, just like all their other Metro Vancouver locations, there was a major delay.
In fact, the opening of all their restaurants has become a waiting game. The Strawbery Hill location specifically was scheduled to open by the end of summer, but in fact didn’t even start construction.
Recent work to the land however indicates the project has officially started, at least that’s what most would hope.
The Jollibee Surrey location is expected to be a standalone building within the plaza, just off the corner of Scott Road and 72nd Avenue.
As you can see from this photo taken in mid August of 2021, construction had not begun.
With the obvious delay in opening, it was interesting that two more locations were announced last year. However, none of those have opened to the public.
Fast forward to today, there appears to be a break in development. Even in the snow, you can see that the area has been fenced off and machinery has been moved in. Under the snow construction workers have begun to dig and prepare for the building’s foundation.
Fingers crossed that this means the location will open this year.
The fast food chain was made popular in the Philippines and plans to open multiple outposts in the lower mainland. Another location was expected to open in downtown Vancouver in the coming months as well. However, it has also seen several delays.
While Jollibee is best known for its crispy chicken, it has a variety of other mouth-watering options as well. They serve everything from sweet spaghetti dishes and Palabok to buttered corn and rice. They even have dessert options, which include a peach mango pie.
Jollibee Surrey Location
When: Opening TBA
Where: 12101 72nd Avenue in the Strawberry Hill shopping centre
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Recent report from the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations have shown that the country mostly imported from China, United States and India in the second quarter of 2020.
The value of Nigeria merchandise trade in that quarter stood at N6.2 trillion, lower by 27.30 per cent than what was achieved between January and March when COVID-19 lockdown had not taken a hold.
Of that figure, Nigeria only exported goods worth N2.2 trillion, almost half of what it sold the previous quarter, leaving a trade deficit of N1.8 trillion.
“Almost half of all imports to Nigeria came from Asia than from any other continent, logically, because China and India account for 39.32 per cent of total imports to Nigeria in Q2 2020,” the report said.
It said almost a third of all Nigerian imports in the reviewed quarter came from China alone, which recorded N1.2 trillion or 31.41 per cent.
This was followed by the U.S. with N428.9 billion worth of imports.
“India, Netherlands, and Germany ranked third, fourth, and fifth with values at N322.30 billion, ₦202.86 billion, and ₦157.15 billion respectively,” the report said.
Brazil, Russia, South Korea, United Kingdom and Italy complete the top 10 list of countries Nigeria bought from between April and June of 2020.
In terms of exports during the period under review, Nigeria exported the most (40 per cent) to Europe, while Asia followed with 32 per cent.


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Last week, the California Energy Commission approved a groundbreaking series of efficiency standards for televisions, the first time government at any level in the United States has meddled in the details of how our boob tubes are made. The new rules set maximum power-consumption standards for TVs of up to 58 inches, starting in 2011 and becoming considerably tighter in 2013, and prohibit California retailers from selling sets that break the rules. Only a quarter of all televisions currently on the market would comply with the new regulations. High-definition television sets, plasma TVs, larger sets, and TVs with extra options, such as picture-in-picture, are most likely to fall short. In other words, regulators have effectively chosen to ban the sale of most large-screen televisions in the Golden State. Of course, that’s not how the regulators describe it; they bill their decision as a measure to save consumers money, preclude the need for new power plants, and fight global warming. Upon examination, however, those rationales for nanny statism seem awfully flimsy.
Start with the notion of the big-screen ban as a consumer-protection measure. “It looks like a very good deal for society,” says commissioner Arthur Rosenfeld. By the commission’s estimates, consumers will save anywhere from $18 to $30 per year in electricity costs as a result of the new rules. If every one of the state’s 35 million TVs were replaced with a more efficient set, say proponents, the measure would save more than $8 billion over ten years. Says a commission spokesman: “I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like to save money.”
True enough, but the supposed savings are small beer. Individually, saving $18 to $30 annually is laughable—that translates to less than $3 per month. And the $8 billion figure doesn’t mean much: it’s simply the result of multiplying those tiny individual savings by ten years and a lot of California residents. By and large, consumers understand that bigger TVs mean slightly higher power bills and are happy to make that trade-off. Brisk sales of big-screen TVs show that they don’t mind paying the marginal increase in electricity prices in exchange for the pleasure derived from a bigger television. A few extra bucks per month to enjoy a superior viewing experience—many people would call that a bargain.
The rest here.


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In conjunction with this week’s launch of Calculated Risk: The Supersonic Life and Times of Gus Grissom, I’ll be speaking with the folks at Authors’ Voice during Book Expo America in Chicago on May 13.
The interview will be streamed live from the expo floor beginning at 2:30 p.m. CST on Friday, May 13. Listeners are invited to submit questions. Details about my appearance on Authors’ Voice during Book Expo America are available here.
I’ll also being signing copies of Calculated Risk at Book Expo America starting at 1 p.m. CST on May 13. Details are here.
The launch of my biography of Gus Grissom also coincides with Indiana’s bicentennial celebration. Books signings are also scheduled for Saturday, May 14, in Lafayette and at Indy Reads Books in Indianapolis. The official release date for Calculated Risk is June 15.
Look forward to seeing you at one of these events.


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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The owners of Sobremesa Restaurant and Brewery said comfort is the core of their business model and that’s exactly what they’re hoping to bring to Albuquerque’s West Side – whether that be comfort food, comforting beer or a comfortable dining experience.
“What we try to create was not only a comfortable environment and approachable beers but also a comfortable menu and I think New Mexican comfort food is different from what a lot of people would consider traditional American comfort food,” co-owner and head brewer David Facey said.
Sobremesa, which opened at 3421 Coors NW in mid-September, is the creation of long-time Albuquerque food industry veterans Facey, Nick Giron and Ryan Strilich backed by property owner and investor Sujay Thakur.
The brewery’s location on Coors is no coincidence.
Despite rapid expansion on the West Side in recent years, local restaurants lag a bit behind, with chain restaurants dominating that side of town.
“We knew that there was going to be some growth and we also knew that the clientele in the area was younger families that were looking for something to do, somewhere to go,” Strilich said. “Rather than going to the Applebee’s, and the Chili’s and the chain restaurants we wanted to offer something that was more locally grown.”
Strilich said the plan was originally to build a breakfast joint, and the idea for a restaurant and brewery came later.
“We decided that we wanted to go big,” he said. “We knew a very experienced brewer in David and we thought he would be interested in the project so we all just kind of put our heads together and figured out a restaurant/brewery.”
Strilich said it was important to differentiate themselves from competitors while also serving substantial menu options.
“A lot of it is kind of comfort food and … typical traditional New Mexican food, Mexican food and Spanish food,” he said. “We do have tacos, we have empanadas, you’ll also see some bar fare like fish and chips, hamburgers, sandwiches, cubanos, salads, things of that nature.”
As far as beers go, head brewer Facey said he is using his near decade of experience including stints at Canteen Brewhouse, Quarter Celtic Brewpub and Steelbender Brewyard to inform his beers.
“We look at trends and see how we can make them better or make them our own or make them a little bit different, but we’re really, really excited to be a part of the local brewing industry,” Facey said.
The restaurant’s 10-barrel system allows the restaurant to play around with seasonal options and even potentially brew limited edition canned releases, he said.
Facey said that since opening the community has been receptive of its new neighbor.
“We’ve had some good feedback from the neighborhood, the patrons, our employees, really from everybody,” he said. “A lot of people are kind of in shock that you would open a business in a pandemic but we felt that we could do it.”
Strilich said the restaurant is taking many measures to keep everyone safe, like temperature checks for employees and customers and single-use items.
“We wanted to make sure that everyone felt comfortable,” he said.


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Using other sites to bid on well priced handbags leaves the user wondering A: how many women have owned this item before me? And B: is this item real or a fake?
Monroe Township, NJ (PRWEB) October 6, 2009
Auction based E-commerce website PriceDrip.com announces the arrival of luxury handbags to their list of in-demand products. Since their launch in May, 2009, PriceDrip had focused solely on top of the line electronics and media items. Now by offering designer handbags, PriceDrip.com is opening new doors to website expansion and customer appeal.
"Using other sites to bid on well priced handbags leaves the user wondering A: how many women have owned this item before me? And B: is this item real or a fake?" raved excited customer Julie from Charlotte, NC, eagerly awaiting the arrival of these bags and purses. Unlike other websites, PriceDrip guarantees brand new name-brand items, never second hand, and never phony. "…and even if you did find brand new 'tags on' handbags, chances are they are from several seasons ago and would go to a liquidation store anyway," continued Julie.
At PriceDrip, users are able to bid on products that over time can decrease in price up to 90%. With the Holiday season approaching, everyone is planning ahead for money-saving gift ideas. Shopping at http://www.pricedrip.com at this time of the year gives registered users the chance to get in on hot deals like these new designer handbags before the site becomes flooded with last-minute gift-seekers. "We are expecting a large volume of new user sign-ups towards the end of November," stated Shamoon Siddiqui, President and Founder of PriceDrip.com. "The sooner users start bidding on these new items, the better their chances of winning auctions at extraordinary prices," finished Siddiqui.
Adding this category of items to PriceDrip.com is yet another way that the PriceDrip team is able to provide purchasing opportunities that are unmatched in the world of online auctions. "This designer bag category will open new doors for PriceDrip," explained Asif Bandukda, Director of Marketing, PriceDrip.com. "We are entering into a stage beyond just electronics and media that will allow us to meet the wants and needs of a broader customer base," Bandukda stated. By offering top of the line luxury handbags, PriceDrip is expecting to welcome a new set of excited bidders that until now had to scour the net for great deals on their favorite designers.
About PriceDrip.com: http://www.pricedrip.com is an innovative online auction website that provides its users with high quality items that steadily decrease in price as the auctions are bid on and viewed. Users at PriceDrip are given the opportunity to name their desired purchase price then watch as the prices drip down to 60, 70, even 90% less than the original list price.
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KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- The holiday season is a hectic time for merchants as shoppers keep their cash registers ringing. But police say busy businesses often are unaware that robbers and thieves also are more active this time of year.
For the last month, community police officers in Kansas City, Kansas, have been inspecting stores, giving operators advise on lighting, cameras and visibility. Police say these issues can deter a criminal from trying to steal.
"They've placed the camera up here which allows people as they exit the store to be seen," observed KCK police Sgt. Darryl Moore during a visit to Strasser Hardware.
Moore likes what he sees at the retailer. He's not looking at tools, Christmas decorations or other merchandise. Instead, he's focused on the doorways, the number of workers and surveillance cameras. He says all are important in preventing robbers from targeting a busy business.
"Typically there's always going to be an increase around this time of year because of the holiday season," Moore said. "People are vulnerable. That's why we, the police department, want to make sure that at this time of year we make our citizens aware of potential dangers that exist."
A few years ago, Strasser changed the entrance to it's store, adding big windows and glass doorways that overlook the parking lot. There's now a separate entrance and exit, with a customer service station nearby and cash registers in an open area. Police say it's nearly impossible for anything to happen without someone taking notice.
"We want to know what's going on," said Leroy Andrews, general manager of the store. "So we have surveillance cameras throughout the store, in the parking lot, all the way up front in here. If anything does happen we're able to track down and see what happens."
Moore says it takes a team effort to prevent robberies. And working with merchants to increase awareness of who's around their shops can help ensure the holidays remain a safe season for everyone.
Police say when criminals do strike, do not try to fight them. Instead try to provide the best possible description for police to track them down.


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Walgreens and Agree Realty Corp. have announced plans to build a store on upper Solano Avenue, prompting outcry from community members in North Berkeley.
The proposal is still in its planning phase, and no permit application has been submitted to the city, said Eric Angstadt, planning and development director for the city of Berkeley.
At a neighborhood forum last Thursday, a number of people objected to the idea of Walgreens moving in, rather than the redevelopment of the property itself, said Charles Kahn, the principal of Kahn Design Associates, the firm designing the project.
Walgreens is looking to build the store — which would be located at Solano and Colusa avenues — because demographic and market research has indicated customers are not served by existing nearby stores, said Alan Maximiuk, chief financial officer of Agree Realty.
A petition, which has garnered about 500 signatures since Sunday, however, states that the community already has pharmacies available and calls the proposed Walgreens “unneeded (and) unwanted.”
“Our small North Berkeley community already has FOUR drug stores,” the petition states. “If Walgreens succeeds in opening, existing small businesses, local traffic and surrounding residential housing will suffer major negative impacts.”
Sal’s Pharmacy is across the street from the planned Walgreens, and Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy is two blocks away.
Kahn said he believes the city won’t stop the project, although it might regulate its development, enforcing measures such as keeping down dust levels during construction and providing various public goods.
The proposed Walgreens, which would have 22 underground parking spaces, would replace a 76 gas station.
The project would also feature drought-resistant landscaping, recycled or reused building materials and windows to provide natural light, according to Ann Slobod, Kahn Design Associates business and marketing manager.
“This isn’t the old Walgreens that was sort of a boarded-up box feeling, like a fortress,” Kahn said.
The unusual design was a condition of him accepting the project, Kahn said.
In 2011, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates proposed a law that would have required new or expanded drugstores to be a minimum of 1,000 feet away from existing drugstores. The law did not pass.
“There has also been a trend for competing drugstores to locate in very close proximity to each other offering redundant services and products in small localized areas,” Bates said in a letter to the City Council at the time. “This trend ignores other neighborhoods in the city which could benefit from the services.”
The petition will be delivered to Bates and the city’s Zoning Adjustment Board.
Maximiuk said Agree Realty has not yet decided on the timeline for submitting the project to the city.
Contact Daniel Tutt at [email protected].


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The company said the system, supplied by Comtec, would dramatically improve the efficiency of its 360 shops by automating manual processes and providing real-time management information from all parts of its business.
Travelcare plans to use the system to provide a single record for each customer and their bookings. Records will be accessible from stores, call centres, or over the internet, enabling the firm to offer a new range of services.
"The existing system did not give us a single view of our customer. We could not go across all channels. We did not have web visibility and it was a different customer experience on each channel," said Mark Hale Travelcare's head of IS and business transformation.
Travelcare has estimated that the system, which runs on IBM Netfinity Unix servers, will pay for itself within four years.
The company completed the roll-out of Comtec's Travelcat package, which runs on Sun Solaris servers at Travelcare's Manchester headquarters, across its stores last month, six months ahead of schedule. It will be rolled out to four call centres and integrated with the web over the coming months.
The system records and manages customer bookings and history, and manages payments to suppliers, sales ledgers and purchase ledgers, giving managers real-time financial information from all parts of the business.
Travelcare has also installed Comtec's Easysell web service, which provides sales staff with a single point of access to travel services from a range of suppliers.
The company replaced its x25 network with a high-speed broadband infrastructure, and upgraded 1,200 non-standard PCs with standard-build PCs, during a six-week programme over the summer.
"We have already seen performance improvements because of the network and cost savings. We are also seeing productivity improvements with upgrading hardware and standard operating systems," said Hale.
Travelcare plans to use the system to offer customers tailored package holidays over the internet. It aims to develop a range of services that could include the ability for customers to create their own packages by booking flights, cars and hotels.
About 40 IT staff were involved in the project over the course of a year. The main challenge, said Hale, was converting data from the legacy system to the new platform.


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- Capital One Auto Finance vice president and chief financial officer Pepo Tsvetanov will leave the company after nearly two decades to take up the financial headquarters of Prestige Financial Services, according to a Thursday press release by the latter company. Prestige, a provider of consumer financial solutions for franchise and independent automotive dealerships, is part of the Larry H. Miller Company portfolio.
- Tsvetanov will replace Prestige chief financial officer Eric Bennett, who will take the senior financial seat at LHM Company’s holding company, Advanced Health Care Corporation, according to the company’s press release. Prestige ultimately chose Tsvetanov for a number of key reasons, including leveraging his expertise to achieve his 2022 vision, Prestige Financial Chairman Rich Hyde said in an interview.
- “Our 2022 vision includes the customer journey, the journey of our employees and growth as one of the main targets and Pepo, the expertise in pricing, treasury and the broader market strategies that he has acquired during over 18 years at Capital One will add and build another layer on our already strong foundation,” Hyde said.
Overview of the dive:
Tsvetanov served as vice president and chief financial officer of Capital One Auto Finance for six years beginning in January 2016, according to his LinkedIn profile. He oversaw the company’s Auto Navigator product, which allows customers to research and find potential new vehicles, according to Prestige’s recent press release.
During his 19 year tenure with the organization, he also served as Senior Director, Financial Management for 12 years beginning in August 2003. He also worked as a commodity trader for companies located in his native Bulgaria. Tsvetanov will oversee financial functions and drive strategic developments for the organization, according to the statement.
The Salt Lake City, Utah-based actor is excited about what Tsvetanov’s experience at a bigger player like Capital One will bring to the business, which is “a bit more niche in subprime “, Hyde said, but the company “has a lot of room to build and grow in different directions, and [Tsvetanov’s] experience will help us understand which means might be better.
For his part, moving into Prestige allows Tsvetanov to see the small business grow, Hyde said.
“He becomes the main person, the point with us…[that] will work with the board with me as chairman to design our strategies for the future and achieve these goals over the next few years,” he said.
Bennett, Tsvetanov’s predecessor in that role, served as Prestige’s chief financial officer for a four-year period beginning in April 2018, according to his LinkedIn profile. He also served as vice president of treasury for LHM Management Corporation before moving to chief financial officer at Prestige. Hyde served as president of Prestige for 20 years, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The LHM Company is a portfolio of businesses and investments spanning the real estate, healthcare, sports and entertainment and financial services sectors, through its websiteincluding Miller Family Real Estate and Advanced Health Care Corporation.
LHM dealerships along with other auto properties, including the Total Care Auto insurance service, were acquired by auto retail and service group Asbury Automotive for $3.2 billion in December 2021, according to a September 2021 report. Asbury Automotive Overview. The acquisition included 54 new vehicle dealerships, seven used vehicle dealerships and 11 collision centers.
The sale was unrelated to the Prestige operations, but “the benefit for us is that the injection of capital from the sale of these entities gives us a greater opportunity to grow with our own funding without going out and borrowing or do something else,” Hyde said.
“So that’s part of our growth strategy,” he said. “We have a solid foundation with the Larry Miller Group to help us move forward and seize opportunities as they arise.”
Tsvetanov is not the only bank executive to change jobs in recent months. Financial institution Truist has announced that insider Mike Maguire will become the bank’s next chief financial officer effective September 15, according to a recent Banking Dive report.
Maguire, who previously served as the bank’s chief financial and consumer payments officer, will replace Truist chief financial officer Daryl Bible after his retirement, although Bible will remain in the role for a transition period.


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The second Simply Fresh store on a forecourt, and the 45th overall, has been launched at Grafton, Bolton.
The community launch day event was held by Asif Patel who, together with his family, runs a string of shops in the Bolton area.
Asif said: "I joined Simply Fresh because of the brand’s fresh approach to convenience, and the importance that it places on community and supporting local suppliers through sourcing locally, wherever possible." The new store has created 12 new jobs in the local area.
The store was officially opened by the Lord Mayor and Mayoress of Bolton, and many local and national suppliers supported the event. Local residents enjoyed plenty of free food and drinks samples as well as promotional giveaways and vouchers.
Lord Mayor, Councillor Shaw, said he was ’overwhelmed’ to be at the store and supporting his local community. He congratulated Asif on his new venture and wished him many years of successful trading.


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[Update:by the afternoon Plus500 announced completion of the deal, and its share price had recovered from intra-day lows]
With shares of CFD broker Plus500 at an all-time high, the company has announced a proposed secondary offering by founders. Up for sale are 20 million shares priced at 500p, versus yesterday’s closing price of 556p. The sale is the largest for founders since the company’s IPO when over 28 million shares were sold by insiders along with 14.4 million new created shares, for a total of 114,888,377 outstanding shares.
TrioMarkets Partners with HokoCloud, Expands its Portfolio with Social TradingGo to article >>
The sale comes as insiders have been trimming their positions during the stock’s 360% ascent from an IPO price of 120p to its current levels. Recently, shares have been boosted by record Q4 earnings reported last week. At its current proposed offering price, the secondary will raise £100 million before expenses attributed to sale. Leading the sale is Alon Gonen, Managing Director at Plus500, who is placing 9,352,010 shares, along with CEO Gal Haber, VP Elad Ben-Izhak, Omer Elazari and Shlomi Weizmann. Following the sale, this founders group will continue to hold 40.9 million shares, or 35.63% of the company.
On the news, shares will be expected to trade lower due to the increased supply coming to the market. However, as prices have been rising, there has been a steady demand taking place for Plus500 shares among asset managers and retail investors as witnessed by several investment houses reporting that they had surpassed the 5% threshold of ownership. (Update: Shares of Plus500 (PLUS.L) are lower by 11% to 502p in early trading)
Forex Magnates reached out to the broker for comment about the sale. Responding for the firm was Elad Even-Chen, VP Business Development, Head of Investor Relations & Company Secretary at Plus500 who stated that “Regarding the secondary, I can say that due to strong institutional demand following record 2013 full year results from the Company, the founders of Plus500 have agreed to dilute their combined holding in the Company by 32.8% via a private placing. This represents a positive step for the Company, as it enables greater liquidity in our stock and enables both new and existing institutional shareholder to invest in our business. As a management team we have made public our aspiration to move to the main market in London and today’s proposed placing forms an important part of plan.”


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Sandusky, OH, October 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – PAO Group, Inc. (OTC Pink: PAOG) today announced that it has recently encountered a wave of outside interest in the company’s research into pharmaceutical respiratory therapy in CBD.
Last year, the company acquired intellectual property derived from research on CBD extracted in association with a patented extraction method (U.S. Patent No. 9,199,960). Ongoing research targets the treatment of respiratory disorders in support of a pharmaceutical product developed by PAOG under the name RespRx.
PAOG is committed Véristat as a CRO to prepare an IND for the FDA.
In recent times, CBD is increasingly recognized for its benefits for respiratory health. For example:
COPD: Can CBD Help?
The latest information on the implications of CBD Covid
In conjunction with PAOG’s ongoing IND initiative for RespRx and PAOG’s connection with US Patent No. 9,199,960 titled “METHOD AND APPARATUS OF TREATMENT”, PAOG now receives unsolicited contacts expressing interests ranging from investment and partnership in the acquisition.
PAOG is not changing its plans at this point in response to recent interest. The company will continue to develop its pharmaceutical and nutraceutical treatments.
PAOG expects to achieve its first sales of CBD nutraceuticals from the fourth quarter of 2021.
The company confirms that it shipped its first CBD nutraceutical product to its distribution partner, North American Cannabis Holdings, Inc. (OTC PINK: USMJ).
PAOG plans to announce details of its first CBD nutraceutical product in an upcoming official product launch announcement once the distributor is set up to begin sales and distribution.
PAOG expects revenue to grow quickly after its first CBD nutraceutical product launch, as the company has tracking products lined up to track the first product, adding to the overall sales potential.
The CBD Nutraceuticals Market 2020 was estimated to be worth $ 5.2 billion and is expected to grow to $ 16.4 billion by 2027.
Learn more on the USMJ e-commerce site at www.usmj.com.
Learn more about PAOG at www.paogroupinc.com.
Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements contained in this press release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Rule 175 of the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 3b-6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are subject to the safe harbor created by these rules. All statements, other than statements of fact, included in this press release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the future plans and potential objectives of the company are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and that actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Technical complications, which may arise, could prevent the rapid implementation of any strategically important plan described above. The Company assumes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.


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An increase in fuel duty for conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles of 2p per litre could raise £4bn over the next five years, whereas a continued freeze on fuel duty could cost the Treasury £1bn a year.
A suite of whole-life-cost calculators and car comparators is rolled into one online toolkit called ‘Gensen’, which will be jointly offered by cap hpi and BCF Wessex, an automotive tax and finance consultancy and software development company.
BVRLA research finds that they are desperate for clarity on future taxation and incentives, want better access to public charging and are frustrated at lead-times of over 12 months for the most popular EVs.”
IF you were to ask most business motorists what PHEV stood for - we reckon they’d probably point at the Mitsubishi Outlander. The Outlander SUV was at the forefront of the PHEV revolution: Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle. PHEVs give you a great combination of economy and low company car tax thanks to a supplementary battery that means the car can [...]
IF you're thinking about your next company car, then you seriously have to consider this: the latest BMW 330e. It's a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) model which gives it great company car taxation benefits. For 2019/20 tax year the BMW 330e will be taxed at 16% of its P11d; the following year this drops to 12%. Drive a BMW 320d, on [...]
Electric charge points installed by businesses will qualify for an extended period of 100% First Year Allowances it was announced in Budget 2018
If there was an end to austerity announced in the Budget 2018, company car drivers won't feel the effect with no change in taxation
The fleet decision makers' organisation ACFO is lobbying the Chancellor for long-term visibility on company car tax in the forthcoming Budget
For the first time the Audi A7 Sportback will feature a four-cylinder diesel engine - the 40 TDI - to make the coupe more business accessible
WLTP is the new method of measuring fuel consumption and CO2 emissions Virtually all new cars will have to show the new WLTP measurement from September 01, 2018 It will affect fuel consumption figures, and CO2 emissions, all of which are predicted to worsen This will have a potential knock-on effect on Vehicle Excise Duty, and benefit in kind company [...]
The Government has hinted that tax incentives for electric vehicles will be available to accelerate the move towards a zero emission future
Car fuel benefit tax is payable if your company provides you with all the fuel for your company car. We explain what the tax is; and how to avoid it - because it's likely you're paying more in tax than the benefit of the free fuel from your company


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AHPA takes up new trade requirement
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
The American Herbal Products Association announces its Board of Trustees has tacked on a trade requirement for labeling undiluted essential oils for topical application available in retail outlets, the trade group says July 21. To its Code of Ethics and Business Conduct, AHPA said "'Keep out of reach of children' or significantly similar cautionary language" should appear on packaging to suggest the product is to be used externally only. Additional language should specify the Latin name of the plant and the plant part from which the oil is derived, and language directing the user not to put the product near eyes and mucous membranes. AHPA members must comply with the new requirement by Jan. 9, 2010, the group said in a release
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A Derbyshire market trader who sold thousands of fake goods has been told to pay back £49,000 ? or face jail.
Forty one-year-old Wayne Foster of The Nook, Loscoe, Heanor appeared before Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday (14 March) when he was ordered to repay the money in six months or risk a 15-month prison term.
We bought the action forward under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Last May, Foster had admitted eight offences under the Trade Marks Act of selling counterfeit goods from Ilkeston Market and of possessing fake goods for sale. He received a 12-month community order to carry out 120 hours unpaid work.
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OnePlus has announced offers and discounts on a range of smartphones, smart TVs, and other accessories as a part of the Diwali Head Start sale. OnePlus has partnered with Axis Bank to provide up to Rs 6,000 discounts on purchases made through Axis Bank Debit and Credit cards. In the upcoming festive season sale, OnePlus is offering some great deals on the OnePlus 10 Pro, OnePlus 10T, OnePlus 10R, and OnePlus Nord 2T.
Apart from these, the brand is also offering discounts on its range of Smart TVs and other accessories. The OnePlus Diwali Head Start Sale commences on September 22. Let us take a closer look at the deals and discounts that OnePlus is offering on its products in the upcoming sale.
OnePlus Diwali Head Start Sale: Deals on Smartphones
OnePlus 10T 5G Deal
The recently launched OnePlus 10T will be available for Rs 44,999 (including the bank discount) in the upcoming sales on Amazon and OnePlus Store. Additionally, buyers can avail extra Rs 5,000 exchange bonus on exchanging a device. The OnePlus 10T buyers will also have an option to buy the OnePlus Buds Z2 at Rs 3,999, with a Rs 1,000 discount.
OnePlus 10 Pro 5G Deal
OnePlus’s ultimate flagship – the OnePlus 10 Pro 5G will be available for grabs starting Rs 55,999 including the bank discount in the upcoming Diwali Head Start sale. The brand is offering Rs 10,000 exchange bonus on the purchase of the OnePlus 10 Pro. Apart from this, the OnePlus 10 Pro buyers can avail a OnePlus Buds Pro for Rs 5,999, with a Rs 4,000 discount.
OnePlus 10R 5G Deal
The OnePlus 10R will be available starting Rs 29,999 in the upcoming festival sales. Do note that this price is inclusive of the bank discount. Additionally, Red Cable Club users can get extra Rs 1,000 discount with RedCoins. Buyers will also have an option to add the screen protection plan at Rs 99.
OnePlus Nord 2T 5G Deal
The OnePlus Nord 2T will be available starting Rs 26,499 as a part of the OnePlus Diwali Head Start sale. OnePlus is also offering an additional Rs 1,000 discount with RedCoins. Also, buyers can buy a 12 month extended warranty plan at just Rs 99.
OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G Deal
The latest Nord CE series handset – the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G will be available at a starting price of Rs 22,499, inclusive of bank offers. Additionally, buyers can also avail extra Rs 500 discount with a coupon.
OnePlus Diwali Head Start Sale: Deals on Smart TVs
Apart from smartphones, OnePlus is also offering some discounts on the range of smart TVs. The OnePlus Y1S Pro series televisions (in 43 and 50-inch) will be available for purchase starting Rs 23,499. OnePlus is providing an additional Rs 1,000 discount with RedCoins.
The OnePlus Y1 series smart TVs (in 32, 40, and 43-inch) will be available starting Rs 9,499 in the upcoming sale. OnePlus is also offering some deals on the recently launched OnePlus Y1S Edge series smart TVs (in 32 and 43-inch) and these can be grabbed starting Rs 12,499 in the upcoming festive season sale. Buyers will have an option to save additional Rs 1,500 with RedCoins while purchasing Y1 and Y1S Edge series TVs.
OnePlus Diwali Head Start Sale: Deals on Accessories
The OnePlus Buds Pro (review) will be available for purchase at a price of Rs 6,490, with a 35% discount on MRP. Whereas, the OnePlus Nord Buds (review) can be grabbed at Rs 2,099 as a part of the Diwali Head Start Sale.


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Ford Motor stated on Wednesday that it misplaced $3.1 billion within the first three months of the yr due to a pointy drop within the inventory value of Rivian, an electrical automobile start-up that Ford has taken a stake in. Ford was additionally damage by slowing gross sales stemming from an ongoing scarcity of laptop chips.
With out taking in account the decline in its shares in Rivian, Ford stated it made $2.3 billion earlier than curiosity and taxes, down from $3.9 billion a yr earlier. Its web revenue within the first quarter of 2021 was $3.3 billion.
Ford’s chief monetary officer, John Lawler, stated the corporate was seeing sturdy demand for its sport-utility autos and pickup vehicles however couldn’t produce sufficient of them. “We didn’t have sufficient chips to construct the autos prospects needed and couldn’t take full benefit of our manufacturing capability,” he stated in a convention name.
Ford stated its income within the first quarter fell to $34.5 billion, from $36.2 billion a yr earlier. The corporate bought 966,000 autos within the first quarter, down from 1.1 million a yr in the past. Increased costs for brand new autos have helped Ford and different automakers offset a few of the affect of decrease gross sales.
The corporate’s efficiency stood in distinction to 2 large opponents. On Tuesday, Basic Motors reported a $2.9 billion revenue for the primary quarter, and final week, Tesla stated it made $3.3 billion.
Mr. Lawler stated Ford was taking steps to extend its provide of semiconductors and anticipated its charge of manufacturing to enhance over the course of the yr. It is usually relying on speedy development in gross sales of electrical autos. The automaker, which just lately began making an electrical model of its F-150 pickup truck, goals to make 600,000 electrical vehicles and vehicles a yr by the tip of 2023.
Ford stated its outlook for 2022 was unchanged, and it expects a full-year revenue of $11.5 billion to $12.5 billion earlier than taxes and sure different bills. Earlier this yr it predicted that it will see “considerably increased revenue in North America” in 2022 and that world gross sales would decline barely within the first quarter however rise 10 p.c to fifteen p.c over the complete yr.
Ford invested $500 million in Rivian in 2019, and the start-up’s shares rose sharply after an preliminary public inventory providing final fall. Its inventory was buying and selling at about $100 on the finish of 2021 however has fallen to round $31 as Rivian has struggled to ramp up manufacturing of an electrical pickup truck, an electrical S.U.V. and a supply van for Amazon.
To replicate that drop in Rivian’s share value, Ford took a noncash cost in opposition to its revenue, Mr. Lawler stated.


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Monument Distillers, producers and distributors of premium alcoholic beverages, recently appreciated its highest performing distribution partners for their extraordinary dedication and support throughout the challenging 2020 financial year.
Speaking at the Monument Distillers Distributors Award Ceremony, Godwin Oche, Chief Executive of the Nigerian company, explained: “Monument Distillers is proud of the top calibre and unrelenting dedication of our distribution partners.
“We are truly grateful for your dedication to the business and to our customers across the country. This award ceremony is one our channels for honouring and rewarding your unwavering support, particularly through the unique challenges of last year.”
Fifteen top Monument Distiller Distributors were honoured at the event, with gifts worth N250 Million, including 13 distribution trucks, a brand-new saloon car, a fresh-minted SUVand an all-expense paid trip to South Africa.
Commenting further, Abiodun Ajiborode, Marketing Director of the company, explained that “The exponential growth that we have seen with our brands over the last few years could not have happened without the amazing support of our distribution partners, and of course our customers.
“Monument Distillers will continue to give back in every way possible.” He added.


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The International Housewares Association (IHA) recently hosted a Discover Design media event in New York City Oct. 21 aimed at showing off exciting new housewares products coming out soon with a focus on design.
Twenty-seven companies featured their latest and greatest in the Rhinelander Ballroom of the Hilton New York.
“At this time of year, I find that a lot of the companies that are here are focused on design,” said Lisa Casey Weiss, Lifestyles consultant for the IHA.
Weiss said that while many companies offer functional products that meet consumer needs, interesting and compelling designs can often give products a definitive edge.
“The product itself is functional. That’s the idea when you purchase a housewares product -- it’s supposed to do something for you. Design is the added benefit. It differentiates products from others, it differentiates yourself from your competitors, and it catches the consumer’s eye on the sales floor,” she said.
Weiss also emphasized the importance of the housewares category in the hardware and hardlines retail environment, which can often create a one-stop shopping experience for consumers.
“There is a market for consumers when they go to a hardware store. They're also looking for housewares items. It’s a natural mix between the two items. People are working inside and outside the home,” she said.
Norwood, Mass.-based Boston Warehouse, whose slogan is “putting the Fun in functional,” featured its new line of garden tools called Garden Goddess. The stainless steel and aluminum construction tool collection features a set of garden shears, fork, trowel and a watering can, each sporting a colorful floral design.
“They’re garden tools, but they’re really well designed. They have a little bit of a flare to them, they’re whimsical, they’re fun,” said Weiss.
Charleston, S.C.-based AM Conservation Group was also on hand to showcase its latest energy-saving plug and outlet covers. Focused on energy conservation, the Plug Guard Wall Plate Cover is designed to upgrade outlet covers to a new clean design that saves energy. The plate cover not only insulates and seals out drafts, it keeps unoccupied outlets covered for added child safety with spring-activated doors that shut automatically. The company’s Universal Wall Plate Thermometer also features built-in insulat


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Business 6 February 2019Steve Kaaru
Court orders crypto startup to pay $6M for deceiving investor
A court in the Southern District of New York has found a crypto startup and its founders guilty of duping an investor. The startup reportedly tricked the plaintiff to stake his money in an unregistered security. According to the court filing, the two co-accused company representatives made “numerous misrepresentations and omissions” that led the plaintiff to invest $2 million.
Known as Lijun Sun, the plaintiff is a Chinese citizen who resides in California. His first interaction with the startup was in May last year. According to the filing, he first met Mengxian Zhang in New York and learned of the MCash tokens. Zhang assured him that the tokens would double in value in no time at all. Sun seized the opportunity and decided to invest $2 million.
However, it was after he invested that loopholes started to manifest themselves. The first red flag was that he would only receive one million MCash tokens initially, half the tokens he had bought. Second, the company had locked up the tokens for a period of one year and he would be unable to access them.
The second defendant, Anthony Liu, also became involved later on. Liu is a resident of New York and the CEO of Blue Stone Capital Group, the firm behind the token. Interestingly, he even admitted at one point that he was engaging in criminal activity. The court filing stated:
“In fact, at an in-person meeting with Plaintiff’s representatives in November 2018, Defendant Liu acknowledged that he was aware that the transaction in which he engaged with Plaintiff was not legal in the United States and that he could be exposed to charges of fraud.”
The two defendants are thus accused of selling a security which wasn’t registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Further, the two also made several misrepresentations and omissions about the MCash investment opportunity. Therefore, the plaintiff is “entitled to compensatory damages in an amount of $2 million plus interest and punitive damages in an amount of $6 million.”
The two defendants have not provided any materials so far to prove their firm is legitimate. The MCash website is scrappy at best and barely contains any helpful information. The parent company, Blue Stone Capital’s website was down at press time as well. The firm had however released a whitepaper for the project which it shared with the plaintiff via the messaging app, WeChat. It details a project that aims to enable payments faster than all the established systems including VISA, Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Note: Tokens on the Bitcoin Core (SegWit) chain are referenced as BTC coins; tokens on the Bitcoin Cash ABC chain are referenced as BCH, BCH-ABC or BAB coins.
Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV) is today the only Bitcoin project that follows the original Satoshi Nakamoto whitepaper, and that follows the original Satoshi protocol and design. BSV is the only public blockchain that maintains the original vision for Bitcoin and will massively scale to become the world’s new money and enterprise blockchain.
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Jayasekara told a news conference that a number of factors had contributed to the decline in the production of local handloom textiles and that the local handicrafts industry had collapsed in the wake of imports of large quantities of textile products such as saris, pillows and bedding. The minister also regretted that the local handicraft industry could not be developed as a result. The government is taking steps to revive the batik industry, he added.
Among the plans to revive the local handicrafts industry is a proposal to provide incentives of SLR 5,000 to individuals. Local manufacturers will also be given the opportunity to supply fabrics for school and security uniforms. “We now have a great opportunity to take handloom textile and batik products manufactured in Sri Lanka to a great height,” the minister said.
Sri Lanka’s batik, handloom and apparel industry has set an export target of $6 billion for 2021. Exports in 2020 had dropped from $5.6 billion in 2019 to $4.4 billion for the year.source: https://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/textile-news/sri-lanka-to-ban-fabric-imports-273450-newsdetails.htm


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Suzuki teases new motorcycle: 2022 Katana coming soon to India
Suzuki Katana which has now made its transition to Euro V emission standards gets revisions to its performance. It is powered by a 999cc inline-four engine that makes 150 hp (2 hp more than the previous model). This is thanks to a new intake and exhaust cams, valve springs, and airbox.
Suzuki Motorcycle India has teased a new upcoming motorcycle on its social media pages. Judging by the number of references made in the video to a Japanese Katana sword and a few glimpses of the bike, it is most likely the 2022 Suzuki Katana that was unveiled in February this year. The motorcycle with one of the most iconic monikers under Suzuki's lineup, the MY2022 Katana has received a number of minor updates.
The Katana which has now made its transition to Euro V emission standards gets revisions to its performance. It is powered by a 999cc inline-four engine that makes 150 hp (2 hp more than the previous model). This is thanks to a new intake and exhaust cams, valve springs, and airbox.
The 2022 Katana also features a bidirectional quickshifter as standard, has a revised throttle-by-wire, and the slipper clutch and the five-level traction control have been reworked as well.
The instrument cluster onboard the 2022 Suzuki Katana has been upgraded with a new Night Mode. Visual enhancements include a gold finish to the front forks, red on the rear shock, a two-tone seat, and colour coordination on the wheels. Plus, there are two new paint schemes to pick from - Solid Iron Gray and Metallic Matte Stellar Blue.
Talks about the Katana arriving in India have been on since SMI showcased one during the 2020 Auto Expo. After much delay due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Katana is now finally heading to India in its upgraded 2022 avatar. Expect a price tag north of Rs 11 lakh (ex-showroom).
The company will stop producing Jazz after October 2022 while the crossover WR-V will not be produced beyond March 2023. The carmaker will also stop the production and sale of the 4th Generation Honda City by December 2022 in the country. However, the 5th generation of the sedan will continue to be available in the market, a source in the know of things told ETAuto.


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Apple vs. Samsung Trial Scheduled for November
Apr 30, 2013, 7:18 AM by Eric M. Zeman
U.S District Court Judge Lucy Koh has set new dates for the on-going Apple-Samsung patent trial. Earlier this year, Koh slashed the jury's $1.05 billion award to Apple by about $450 million, saying that the jury had miscalculated the actual damages in the case last August. Koh ordered a new trial, now scheduled to take place beginning November 12, to determine the actual damages pertaining to 14 different Samsung devices. Koh also reinstated $40.5 million of the original damages awarded to Apple regarding the AT&T version of the Galaxy S II. Samsung is still on the hook for $599 million in damages from the other devices found by a jury last summer to copy and/or infringe on Apple's designs and patents.
Aug 10, 2022
Alongside its new foldable phones, Samsung has revealed its newest smartwatches and Bluetooth earbuds, each with significant engineering improvements. The new Galaxy Watch5 has a 13% larger battery and 60% more durable face compared to the Watch4.
Sep 7, 2022
Apple has revealed the iPhone 14 series, with new features, improved specs, and new size options. In place of a Mini option, the iPhone 14 will come in the same 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch screen size options as the Pro models.
Feb 11, 2021
A US appeals court has issued a new ruling declaring that Customs and Border Protection agents can conduct both basic and "advanced" searches of electronic devices at US borders without needing a warrant nor reasonable suspicion. The new ruling overturns a district court decision from January 2020 that ruled such searches unconstitutional.
Apr 5, 2021
The Supreme Court today ruled against Oracle in its bid to force Google to pay for implementing Java in the Android smartphone operating system (OS). Oracle owns the intellectual property and copyrights for Java, but Java is widely used throughout the open-source software community.
Sep 10, 2021
A US Federal Judge has ruled that Apple must allow app developers to "steer" customers away from Apple's App Store payment service, which collects a fee of up to 30%. The ruling was part of Fortnite maker Epic Games' lawsuit against Apple for anti-competitive behavior.


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Volkswagen says its new Beetle Turbo R-Line will be priced from $30,135 when it goes on sale later this month.
The new version of the Beetle replaces the top trim line of the current car in the midyear change. It's fitted with 19-inch wheels, new front and rear fascias, LED daytime running lights, and R-Line badging, along with stainless-steel trim.
Under the hood, the Beetle Turbo R-Line shares a new engine with other Turbos and with the 2013 Jetta GLI. It's a new generation of the long-running 2.0-liter turbocharged four that currently produces 200 horsepower and 207 pound-feet of torque in several VW products.
The new-generation engine gets upgraded for new duty with thinner castings, integrated exhaust headers, and better counterbalancing. It's also built at VW's new Silao, Mexico, plant. Net output is up to 210 hp, while torque remains the same. The improvements in power and efficiency drop 0-60 mph times in the Jetta GLI and VW Beetle Turbo by a tenth of a second or two, but maybe more importantly, VW says they also improve EPA-combined fuel economy in the Beetle by 4 to 8 percent.All new versions go on sale this month as a running change in the 2013 model year.
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How Which Wich founder balances tech with human interaction
Which Wich Founder Jeff Sinelli is very careful when it comes to rolling out technology, only deploying it when all bugs are worked out. He chatted about his strategy at the 2017 Franchising & Innovation Summit in Dallas.
"I've got a philosophy. Master the spreader — then the spreadsheet. A lot of restaurant executives go right to the spreadsheet and technology," he said. "When you win the battle in the restaurant industry (it) is right on the front lines."
Register here for the 2018 Franchising & Innovation Summit, April 9-11 in Louisville.
Jeff Bradbury- Hughes interview with Brian Bailey- Ichor
Bruce Schroder, president of Moe's Southwest Grill, chats about how the brand uses technology to drive sales.
Sponsored by: Hughes
Big data is where it's at when it comes to must-have marketing technology, said Chris Ruszkowski, VP of marketing for Quizno's.
Melissa Gallagher, Freshii VP of marketing, chats about the variety of marketing techniques that the chain uses to get stand out among its competitors.
The 2017 Fast Casual Top 100 Movers & Shakers were honored at the annual gala.
Dairy Queen's Kim Brastad discusses the use of virtual reality and gamification in the chain's training program.
Sponsored by: Hughes
Ellen Hartman, CEO of Hartman Public Relations, taught the attendees of this year's Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit in Dallas about the importance of having a risk-management plan. Key steps, however, to defusing any negative event, from a food safety...
Cultivating leadership and developing oneself is key to success, according to Bobby Shaw, a veteran executive of several brands, including Chipotle and McDonald's.
Biju Thomas, founder of Biju's Little Curry Shop, discussed how he successfully partnered to open inside Whole Foods.
Restaurant executives from all over the world gathered in March at the Restaurant Franchising and Innovation Summit in Dallas to not only learn from one another about growing their businesses, but also make more than 10,000 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Katie Fuhrman of MomentFeed; Kimberly Brastad of Dairy Queen; Keith Hill of I Love Bacon; Jamal Bara of Waterfall; Demetra McLain of DW's Subs and Jacquelyn Cirko of Groupon, give an inside look to their Summit experiences.
Saladworks was facing bankruptcy in 2015, when Centre Lane Partners bought it for nearly $17 million. Since then, CEO Patrick Sugrue has been working to breathe new life into the 30-year-old brand. "You have to be able to fail fast...
Jennifer Klawin, SVP, brand strategy, West Coast for BuzzFeed, shared social media tips with restaurateurs.
Jason Valentine, VP of Operations of Cousins Subs, chats about cultivating franchise relationships, employee engagement, the brand's new look and food safety challenges.


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Mainland China released its latest economic data on October 19, reporting a rebound in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). FactWire found that the growth rates of two economic indicators – fixed-asset investment and consumable retail – are affected by a revision of last year’s data, while the revision is not reflected in past records.
The figures released in Mainland China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) notices are found to be contradictory. For instance, the fixed-asset investment growth rate of 2018-2019 was officially announced as 5.4 percent, but when calculated from the absolute amounts released in 2018 and 2019, the growth rate amounts to -13.2 percent instead. Similar situations have been found in 2017 and 2018 as well, resulting in an overall 27 percentage point discrepancy across three years.
In a response to FactWire’s enquiry, the NBS confirmed that the year-on-year growth rates are the results of revisions of last year’s data, and that the revised amount is not updated for past records.
The latest economic notice of the NBS reports that – compared to the first three quarters of 2019 – national investments in fixed assets increased by 0.8 percent to 43.65 trillion RMB in 2020. However, the investment amount of 2019’s third-quarter notice states 46.12 trillion RMB. Based on this unrevised amount, the change would be a decrease of 5.3 percent instead. The difference in percentage change with what was reported this year exceeds six percentage points.
A remark on the notice states that 2019’s base data was revised ‘according to results of statistical law enforcement inspection and the fourth national economic census unit inventory’, adding that the growth rate was calculated on a ‘comparable basis’. In its Chinese version, the factors affecting the revision also include a ‘regulation on the statistical system.’
Fixed-asset investment data is only available on the NBS website beginning in 2011. FactWire studied the notices from the past nine years and found similar remarks about the revision of previous year’s data in notices dating from January to September 2020, throughout 2019, and in December 2018.
In the notice published in December 2019, the total fixed-asset investment in 2019 is 55.15 trillion RMB while its year-on-year growth is 5.4 percent. However, the amount stated on December 2018’s notice (63.56 trillion RMB) produces a year-on-year change of -13.2 percent, 18.6 percentage points less than what was released in 2019.
The same practice of revising past numbers can be seen in retail statistics. According to a notice released this month, total retail sales of consumer goods in the first three quarters of this year is 27.33 trillion RMB, down 7.2 percent from the same period last year. On the other hand, last year’s October notice states the amount in 2019 as 29.67 trillion. Calculating from this unrevised amount results in a 7.9 percent drop this year instead. There is a 0.7 percentage point discrepancy before and after the revision of 2019’s amount.
‘According to the results of the fourth national economic census, the total retail sales of consumer goods in 2019 are revised, and the monthly growth rate in 2020 is calculated according to the comparable caliber,’ states a remark in the notice.
Similar revision remarks are found in the 2018 and 2015 notices. For example, 2018’s notice states a nine percent year-on-year growth in total consumable retail, contradictory to what is calculated from 2017 and 2018’s released amount. A remark on that notice states that the data of the same period last year was revised ‘according to the results of the third national agricultural census and related regulations’, and that ‘the growth rates are calculated on a comparable base.’
For both the economic indicators, despite revisions done according to census results and the statistical system, the NBS had only been releasing percentage changes that reflect a revision of the previous year’s amount – without stating the revised amount. Even search results in the NBS database (https://data.stats.gov.cn) show only unrevised amounts that are at variance with the growth rates released.
The differences caused by each year’s revisions are magnified by accumulating data across multiple years. FactWire calculated two different versions of cumulative growth from 2011 to 2019, by using sets of data from the NBS. One set of data was calculated from the unrevised amounts of 2011 and 2019, and the other set of data used the growth rates based on revised data from the previous year. Both sets of data – the unrevised amount and the growth rate based on revised data – were obtained from the official NBS notices.
Based on unrevised data, fixed-asset investments of 30.19 trillion RMB in 2011 had gone up by almost 83 percent to 55.15 trillion RMB in 2019. In contrast, based on the growth rate calculated from a revised amount of the previous year, there is an accumulated growth of 137 percent. The two versions of cumulative growth rates differ by over 54 percentage points.
The 54 percentage point difference is mostly attributed to the revisions done in the recent three years. A comparison of investment amounts shows a 7.5 percent drop from 2016 to 2019. This is 27 percentage points away from the 19.7 percent rise calculated from the year-on-year growth rates released in 2017 to 2019.
Revision remarks are included in the 2018 and 2019 notices. It is not found in the 2017 notice although FactWire found a 1.3 percentage point discrepancy in the growth rate between 2016 and 2017.
Consumable retail data from 2011 to 2019 was also analysed. The cumulative growth rate based on released year-on-year growth rates is 2.4 percentage points more than the rate based on unrevised amounts. The smaller difference, relative to that of fixed-asset investment, is due to a cancelling out of growth: revised numbers from 2015 caused a drop in four percentage points, while 2018’s revision led to more than a five percentage point increase.
FactWire enquired the NBS through its data consultation hotline. The bureau confirmed that the growth rates listed in its database are calculated after the revision of data, while the absolute amounts have not been updated accordingly.
It admitted that the absolute amounts and rates are inconsistent with each other, making it impossible to compare data across multiple years. It is wrong for research organisations to make such comparisons by quoting these figures, said the NBS.
The bureau added that the economic census acts as a secondary inspection on past data. The numbers are first estimated, then revised according to the census results. It stressed that the revised data is more reliable in reflecting the true economic situation of that year.
That being said, inconsistently calculated figures can be found in some of the official NBS notices as well. In ‘Investment in Fixed Assets from January to December 2019’ published in January 2020, a graph shows that fixed-asset investment in 2019 had increased by 5.4 percent compared to 2018, which is calculated using a revised amount of 2018. Yet, the growth rate of 2017-2018, shown on the same graph, is calculated based on an unrevised amount of 2018.
The same mistake appears in the report ‘China Economic Quarterly Q2/Q3 2020’ published by PwC China in September this year, in which the growth rates of fixed-asset investment in each year’s official release are included in the same table. Another report named ‘China consumer report 2020’ by McKinsey and Company also lists inconsistently calculated rates in an included table.
‘I’ve never heard that this kind of data cannot be compared across multiple years – even for GDP?’ doubted Tommy Leung, an economics associate professor at Wake Forest University and a member of the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies’ Economic Research Centre. He pointed out that the problem can be fixed simply by officially updating the numbers after revision.
Leung explained that fixed-asset investment and consumable retail are two of the essential pillars of China’s economy. Fixed-asset investment is an indicator of corporates’ productivity, while consumable retail plays an important role in the ‘internal circulation’ idea of domestic production, distribution and consumption raised by Chinese President Xi Jinping in May this year.
‘I think the main problem is that those numbers become less informative if they (NBS) change their methodology frequently.’
‘I think the main problem is that those numbers become less informative if they (NBS) change their methodology frequently,’ said Leung. When referring to practices in Europe and the US, he said that changes in methodology would be more transparent and less frequent, with a frequency of about once every decade.
If sampling is not affected in the revision, data can easily be revised accordingly for the past five years at least, in order to make it comparable across years, said Leung.
The NBS’s revisions of past data often rely on the results of Mainland China’s national economic census, which has been held once every five years since 2004. The fourth census was conducted in 2019, which collected corporate data of the 2018 calendar year (excluding the agricultural sector). According to the Regulations on National Economic Census, the main contents of the economic census include the nature of the company and its business, the number of employees and their level of education, its assets and debts, and its production and business operation situations.
When asked about Hong Kong’s practices, Hong Kong’s Census and Statistics Department told FactWire that there have been ten rounds of non-routine technical revision exercises on the city’s GDP since 1980. In these exercises, the entire series of GDP and its components may be subject to revision in accordance with the scope of the exercise concerned.
According to the ‘2019 Gross Domestic Product’ report published by the department in March this year, in October 2007’s revision exercise, the entire volume series was backcast to 1987 in order to ‘maintain the comparability of the volume series of GDP and its components.’
A revision exercise was conducted in 2012 in regard to the latest international statistical standards at that time. It is not included in the report regarding whether backcasting was done for this revision exercise.
The report states that the latest round of technical revision of Hong Kong’s GDP was in August 2013, with relevant figures revised back to 2009.


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SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – England Logistics, one of the nation’s top freight brokerage firms, has been named an Inbound Logistics’ 2023 Green Supply Chain Partner. Recognized for environmentally conscious processes, England Logistics provides eco-friendly transportation by partnering with organizations seeking to reduce waste.
Inbound Logistics’ annual Green Supply Chain Partners recognizes companies with a demonstrated commitment to supply chain sustainability. The editorial staff seeks to reward organizations that have implemented processes that leave a positive environmental footprint.
Honorees are selected based on the level of sustainability in how business is conducted.
About England Logistics
England Logistics offers a vast portfolio of non-asset based transportation solutions, including full truckload services, intermodal, dry and temp-controlled less-than-truckload, parcel, and complete supply chain management. The company was recently recognized among the 50 Best Companies to Sell For by Selling Power magazine, received the Apex Training award from Training magazine, and has been awarded multiple Stevie® Awards by the American Business Awards. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, the company has nationwide offices. For more information, visit www.englandlogistics.com.


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Retailers Sign Up for National Home Furnishings Month
September 2, 2010,
LAS VEGAS-A number of retailers throughout the country have said they will participate in the National Home Furnishings Month campaign, according to a statement from the World Market Center, the campaign's sponsor.
Eight thousand retail stores have signed up to take advantage of the store locator on the campaign's Web site, homeyet.com, the statement said. More than 500 retailers will participate in the Home Mortgage Sweepstakes, which will free one homeowner from having to make mortgage payments for one year. Another 460 retailers have said they plan to use the "Is It Home Yet?" advertising campaign and its various advertisements and promotional tools.
Other Articles By Author
HFN Launches Interactive Idea Book
HFN's DIGITAL EDITION
COVER STORY: HFN Turns 90
We commemorate HFN's 90th anniversary by paying tribute to the iconic retailer and supplier brands--and the people--that have helped the industry flourish, then and now.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Up & Coming Leaders - The home industry is in capable and visionary hands as this year’s 40 Under 40 list attests. Today’s young leaders span all disciplines and varied levels of operation.
- Omnichannel Retailing - In the Mobile App World, Time is Money


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NLBMDA is engaging with Congress to ensure the relevant committees are aware of the industry’s priorities
- Advertisement -
Homes are selling faster than ever, with the typical house getting snatched up in just 23 days.
Across the U.S., dealers and distributors are facing material shortages, historically high prices, a tight labor market, and a red-hot building market. That’s why a growing number of companies are embracing Lean concepts to drive waste from their business, and to do more and more with less and less.
Meet customer demand ahead of a frenzied spring deck building season by stocking wood-alternative building materials from Fortress Building Products.


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- GCR USA
News & Analysis
GCR USA - 10 July 2020
The antitrust agencies’ annual report to Congress on the Hart-Scott-Rodino deal-notification programme typically isn’t much of an occasion. This year things got interesting on two fronts: the report gave insight into whistleblower allegations that the Department of Justice investigated marijuana deals for non-competition reasons and Commissioner Rohit Chopra of the Federal Trade Commission issued a statement on the report saying anticompetitive “roll-up” deals are flying under the radar. There’s more on the HSR report in today’s Tipline, plus updates on bellwether trials for allegations of price-fixing by generic drugmakers and DOJ amicus participation in a utilities monopolisation case.
GCR USA - 09 July 2020
The Antitrust Division has been busy making its views known under Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim, opposing its sister agency’s case against Qualcomm and intervening in matters as far away as the UK. Yesterday, Delrahim joined the action himself as he argued for both federal antitrust agencies on a challenge to Alabama’s dental regulations. Also in today’s Tipline, the US agencies clear Just Eat Takeaway’s purchase of Grubhub and the Federal Trade Commission reflects on the first six months of 2020.
GCR USA - 08 July 2020
The top executives at four of the world’s five largest companies will testify before the House of Representatives antitrust subcommittee later this month. House judiciary committee chair Jerrold Nadler and antitrust subcommittee chair David Cicilline said the testimony of chief executives at Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google is critical to the House’s investigation of potential antitrust violations by large technology companies. The executives may be able to testify on their home turf, as the subcommittee said that current House rules allow for virtual testimony. We have more on the hearing in today’s Tipline, plus a merger of two residential solar companies to challenge Tesla.
GCR USA - 07 July 2020
As covid-19 forces restaurants across the US to rely on food delivery services to keep afloat, ride-hailing app Uber has announced its plans to purchase rival delivery app Postmates for $2.65 billion. Uber missed out on its opportunity to acquire fellow food delivery service Grubhub after Dutch company Just Eat Takeaway beat it to the punch last month. We have more on Uber’s purchase, plus news of a civil penalty settlement over violations of a divestiture order and two Amazon-related moves.
GCR USA - 06 July 2020
Count this among things you did not expect to see four months ago: NASCAR’s Brickyard 400 auto race was officially named the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 this year, after Tennessee vodka company Big Machine’s latest product venture. Could a marijuana sponsorship be next? We have an update on allegations that the Department of Justice improperly reviewed cannabis deals, plus a back-and-forth between telescope makers over a damages award and a procurement collusion charge.
GCR USA - 02 July 2020
GCR USA would like to wish you a happy Fourth of July this weekend. For those in the nation’s capital, the Department of the Interior will put on its annual fireworks show – visible throughout the district – and Air Force and Navy flight teams will celebrate with flyovers. We are off tomorrow for the holiday but back in your inbox on Monday morning.
GCR USA - 01 July 2020
The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission finalised their joint vertical merger guidelines yesterday in their first public statement on vertical deals since the DOJ issued guidance in 1984. Democratic commissioner Rohit Chopra argued in a dissent that the new document does not adequately address the harms of vertical deals in technology markets. It isn’t surprising that the 1984 guidelines had not already covered that ground – as that was the year that Apple introduced the first Macintosh computer.
GCR USA - 30 June 2020
The Federal Trade Commission’s five members can rest easier this coming holiday weekend after the Supreme Court declined to revisit precedents protecting them from at-will removal by the president. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Kathy Kraninger, on the other hand, will no longer enjoy that same protection, with the high court ruling that Congress unconstitutionally vested too much power in the director of the agency.
GCR USA - 29 June 2020
Federal Trade Commission member Rohit Chopra says the agency is placing a risky bet with its conditional approval of a casino merger, ACPERA appears set to return from a short summer vacation and GCR USA takes a look at a submission to the House of Representatives’ antitrust subcommittee from 12 former enforcers.
GCR USA - 26 June 2020
Warner Brothers pushed back the release of Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi thriller Tenet by another two weeks yesterday due to rising covid-19 cases in some parts of the country. That puts the new release date somewhere in the vicinity of a rumoured Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit against Google, which – if it comes – will likely be the agency’s own summer blockbuster. State attorneys general are reportedly meeting with the DOJ today to discuss the case.
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LG has already confirmed plans to launch a flagship phone next month at Mobile World Congress, but don’t count the company out for the year after that. In its latest earnings report, LG promised to release two new high-end models in 2016 after what it says was a “challenging year” in 2015.
The LG G5 is expected to arrive pretty soon, packing a metal design, dual rear cameras and flagship specs. It may also sport a removable slide-out battery and a modular design for attaching special accessories.
After that, it sounds like the company already has a second device planned for the second half of the year. It’s possible this could be a direct sequel to the LG V10, which had some success after launching last fall. When LG first introduced the V10, it said that the family will continue on and will serve as a more premium smartphone than its “G” series devices.
We’re excited to see what the company has planned for 2016. The LG G5 is already shaping up to be a pretty interesting smartphone, and we have a feeling whatever launches later this year could be even better.


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Mercedes-Benz EV sales to grow by 73 per cent in 2023
Battery-electric cars accounted for eleven per cent of total sales at Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars last year. If plug-in hybrids are included, the share was 19 per cent. A look at the other major car manufacturers helps to put things in perspective. The BMW Group sold a total of 376,183 fully electric vehicles in 2023 (+74.4% compared to 2022), giving it an EV share of 14.7 per cent. The growth momentum at Mercedes and BMW is therefore almost identical. However, electric cars already account for a larger share of BMW’s business.
VW sold around 394,000 fully electric vehicles worldwide in 2023, which corresponds to a moderate increase of 21.1 per cent compared to the previous year and represents only eight per cent of VW’s total sales. Combustion engine cars continues to dominate sales at Volkswagen.
But back to Mercedes. The Group’s total sales rose by 1.5 per cent to 2,491,600 cars and vans in 2023. In contrast, the electric car business grew significantly with an increase of 73 per cent. Mercedes publishes the relative growth rates for some models: sales of the EQA increased by 57 per cent in 2023, those of the EQB by 109 per cent and those of the EQE saloon by 120 per cent. According to the manufacturer, BEV sales on the US market rose by 167 per cent, driven by the EQE SUV. These figures do not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the absolute sales figures of the individual models.
Nevertheless, the Group reports that Smart sold a total of 18,100 BEVs in 2023 (-12% compared to 2022). Mercedes-Benz Vans sold 22,700 pure electric vehicles (+51% compared to 2022). Both figures are not yet included in the 222,600 electric cars sold by Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars.


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It’s no news that Rogers will be releasing a couple more Sony Ericsson Android devices to their lineup soon: Xperia X10 mini & mini Pro. We’ve spoken about these a number of time over the past few months. Rumoured price points for the X10 Mini is $49.99 and the X10 Mini Pro is $69.99 on a 3-year.
Both of these devices will be coming with Android OS 1.6 but there’s good news for those who want to purchase this and are worried that it’ll be months before an OS upgrade. According to an article in Rogers UR Magazine titled “Domino Dancing X10 Mini” it states that we can expect an “upgrade to 2.1 coming this fall”.
You can check out the full specs and breakdown of both of these Android devices here at Rogers. Still no word on an official release date.