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Overall unit sales of both ag tractors and combines continued their growth above an already-rapid pace set last year.
The latest data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers says U.S. total farm tractor sales climbed 4.8 percent in October compared to last year. U.S. self-propelled combine sales climbed 73 percent, the fourth month in a row of growth near or above 20 percent for harvesters.
The under-40 horsepower segment stayed positive, growing 4.5 percent, while the mid-size 41-100 horsepower was up 4.1 percent. Heavy-duty units saw another strong month, with units over 100 horsepower up 10.3 percent. But the articulated four-wheel drive segment continued to slow in sales, down 6.3 percent. Year-to-date farm tractor sales remain up 11.4 percent and combine growth moved to 24 percent.
“We’re pleased to see ag equipment sales remain positive, despite the very real supply chain challenges,” says Curt Blades, senior vice president of agriculture services at AEM. “We remain optimistic that the positive sales trends will continue along with the ongoing strength in the ag economy.”
(From the National Association of Farm Broadcasters)


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A number of other research firms have also recently commented on WRLD. ValuEngine raised shares of World Acceptance from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Janney Montgomery Scott reissued a sell rating and set a $87.00 target price (down previously from $108.00) on shares of World Acceptance in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of World Acceptance to $65.00 and set an underperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research cut shares of World Acceptance from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report on Saturday, August 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $102.67.
NASDAQ:WRLD opened at $134.42 on Friday. World Acceptance has a 52 week low of $89.78 and a 52 week high of $175.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $145.65 and a 200 day moving average of $133.55. The company has a quick ratio of 17.63, a current ratio of 17.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.74 and a beta of 2.42.
In other World Acceptance news, SVP Scott Mcintyre sold 1,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total transaction of $262,849.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 22,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,189,911. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Alice Lindsay Caulder sold 501 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.67, for a total transaction of $87,509.67. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 22,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,895,315.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,451 shares of company stock valued at $1,460,035 in the last three months. 30.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WRLD. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in World Acceptance by 1,220.8% during the 2nd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 30,114 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,942,000 after purchasing an additional 27,834 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in World Acceptance during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,200,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in World Acceptance by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 95,291 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $15,638,000 after purchasing an additional 5,883 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in World Acceptance during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $935,000. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its stake in World Acceptance by 959.4% during the 2nd quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 6,240 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 5,651 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.50% of the company’s stock.
About World Acceptance
World Acceptance Corporation engages in small-loan consumer finance business. The company offers short-term small and medium-term larger installment loans, as well as related credit insurance and ancillary products and services to individuals. It also provides automobile club memberships to its borrowers; and income tax return preparation and electronic filing services.
Read More: Google Finance Portfolio Workaround
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The ultimate sports lodge searches for up to 150 team members in preparation for December grand opening
Twin Peaks is bringing its scenic views, scratch-made food and 29-degree beer to the Panhandle this December with the debut of its Amarillo lodge!
Located near Cadillac Ranch at 2401 S. Soncy Road, the 7,735-square-foot lodge will feature 52 massive TVs showcasing every primetime matchup in the perfect gameday atmosphere. Plus, the Amarillo location will include a lineup of 32 ice-cold, 29-degree draft beers and a covered air-conditioned patio. Of course, Amarillo’s new Twin Peaks will also offer a delicious made-from-scratch menu including items from their in-house smokers, flatbread pizzas made with hand-stretched dough and fresh ingredients, and shareable favorites for the whole crew including Loaded Fries and the Peaks Sampler.
In preparation for its December grand opening, Twin Peaks Amarillo is seeking 150 team members, including Twin Peaks Girls, bartenders, line cooks, dishwashers, support staff and more. To begin the application process instantly, text WORK4TP to 85000. Otherwise, interested candidates can apply in person at Amarillo’s new Twin Peaks location Monday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, applicants can call the lodge directly at 806.243.5270.
“As a proud Texas-based brand, we’re excited to continue our expansion across the Lone Star State,” said Twin Peaks CEO Joe Hummel. “The new Amarillo lodge will be the go-to destination not only for sports fans looking to catch a game, but all locals that want to grab an ice-cold beer paired with delicious, quality food. We look forward to hiring a team of highly motivated individuals in the weeks ahead as they join us in delivering Twin Peaks’ ultimate gameday experience to Amarillo.”
Twin Peaks Amarillo will be open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to midnight, and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. To stay up to date on all things Twin Peaks Amarillo, visit twinpeaksrestaurant.com/locations/Amarillo.
Founded in 2005 in the Dallas suburb of Lewisville, Twin Peaks now has 84 locations in the US and Mexico. Twin Peaks is the ultimate sports lodge featuring made-from-scratch food and the coldest beer in the business served by friendly and attractive Twin Peaks Girls surrounded by scenic views and the latest in high-definition TVs. To learn more about franchise opportunities, visit twinpeaksfranchise.com. For more information, visit twinpeaksrestaurant.com.
FAT Brands (NASDAQ: FAT) is a leading global franchising company that strategically acquires, markets and develops fast casual, quick service, casual dining, and polished casual dining concepts around the world. The Company currently owns 15 restaurant brands: Round Table Pizza, Fatburger, Marble Slab Creamery, Johnny Rockets, Twin Peaks, Great American Cookies, Hot Dog on a Stick, Buffalo’s Cafe & Express, Hurricane Grill & Wings, Pretzelmaker, Elevation Burger, Yalla Mediterranean and Ponderosa and Bonanza Steakhouses, and franchises over 2,100 units worldwide. For more information on FAT Brands, please visit www.fatbrands.com.


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Seattle issues emergency order, caps delivery app fees for restaurants at 15%
For more coverage, visit our complete coronavirus section here.
While food delivery is on the rise in wake of the novel coronavirus, so are complaints against expensive delivery fees alongside a current commission of 10% to 30% on orders.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, along with city council president M. Lorena González and council member Lisa Herbold fixed just that in a flash yesterday afternoon.
The trio officially announced an emergency order to help restaurants more easily deliver their foods in wake of the novel coronavirus without getting caught in pricey delivery fees. Alongside the order, third-party apps like those of DoorDash, Grubhub, and Caviar may now only charge restaurants up to a 15% fee.
“Unfortunately, some third-party delivery services are charging exorbitant commission fees, which exacerbates the financial hardship many restaurants are already experiencing,” said Mayor Durkan in a statement. “This commission cap will be critical to ensuring that delivery and takeout remain viable options and don’t cause increased financial hardship.”
Notably, the order requires 100% of tips from third-party apps to go directly to the drivers, too.
Of course, it is also illegal for a third-party app to reduce driver pay rates as a result of the order.
The emergency order is expected to remain in effect until dine-in services are permitted to resume.
The emergency order mirrors that of San Francisco's two weeks ago, of which also capped delivery fees at 15%. It's anticipated cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York will consider similar orders and follow suit.
Grubhub isn't happy. While the company recently announced a deferral of $100 million in fees, but not a cancellation, it's claimed the San Francisco order would up costs for customers by as much as $10 an order. Doordash (owner of third-party app Caviar as well,) points to the fact that it has already slashed its commission and marketing fees by half through May due to the crisis, and called a proposed order in Chicago to cap fees at 5 percent unconstitutional, according to Eater Seattle.
"Many of the apps argue, during normal times, that they are helping drive more business to restaurants via takeout and delivery, bonus money after dine-in services," Eater said. "But when there is no dine-in services at all, restaurateurs and chefs would contend that they are simply taking away money, period.
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The Steam Packet has reported a £10.5m loss for the year ended December 31 2020 as the cancellation of the TT and border regulations hit the taxpayer-owned operator.
While the loss is not unexpected, it represents a major change in fortunes from the near £10m profit of the Steam Packet which saw its revenue fall from £61.25m in 2019 to £28.4m in 2020.
The company’s report said that the 35 weeks of Covid-19 related travel restrictions ‘resulted in the loss of circa £25m passenger revenues including the cancellation of both the 2020 TT and Festival of Motorcycling’.
It added: ‘The closure of Isle of Man borders to non-residents, and the requirement for remaining passengers to self-isolate on return to the Island, resulted in the loss of 90-95% of traffic. With the agreement of the DoI, the Company reduced sailings by 618 to minimise operational costs whilst still maintaining a daily lifeline service. Uneconomical sailings were and continue to be operated at IOMG’s request. A Deed of Variation between the Company and the DoI is being finalised, which documents the agreed changes to the SSA which arose from Island’s response to the pandemic.’
The restrictions between March 27 and June 1 ultimately cost the Steam Packet £1.6m in freight revenues, but the company’s report said that once restrictions were lifted, strong on-island spending saw freight spending resulting in just £0.9m (4%) below the usual trading levels. However, passenger figures were down by between 90% and 95%. The report added that the reduced number of sailings ‘combined with other management initiatives delivered cost savings of £10.8m during the year’.
It isn’t all bad news for the Steam Packet however as the Treasury has ‘provided assurances that it will provide financial support to the Group for a period of at least 12 months from the date that the audit report is signed’.
The report also gives a brief update on the new vessel Manxman III which is being built in South Korea. The new vessel is due to cost about £78m and is expected to enter service in 2023, replacing the Ben-my-Chree as the company’s flagship vessel. The notes also point again to the company being required to purchase a new fast craft by December 31 2026 and while it doesn’t need to be new, the replacement for the Manannan (which was launched in 1998) will need to be less than 10 years old.


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Since the last time The Walt Disney Company reported its financial results, a ton has changed. With many management changes and a vicious proxy fight underway, we examine what stakeholders of Disney should be on the lookout for when the company reports its results on February 8.
Related: Famous Investor Says Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek Was “Ever-Incompetent” and “Ever-Woke”
Next week, The Walt Disney Company is set to announce its fiscal year first quarter results for 2023. The Walt Disney Company must provide the general public with quarterly and annual reports because it is a publicly-listed firm. Whether you own Disney stock or not, these requirements give Disney fanatics and enthusiasts an opportunity each quarter of every year to hear directly about the latest updates from Disney executives.
Last year was the worst year for Disney’s stock in more than five decades; the share decline couldn’t seem to find an eventual bottom.
It’s no secret that The Walt Disney Company shares have been on a downward trend during the past couple of years. In March 2020, the stock plummeted on Wall Street when the theme parks were forced to close because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was understandable. Following the pandemic low, Disney Plus subscriptions grew, the Disney Parks eventually reopened, and people continued to shop for Disney merchandise. This coincided with the stock doubling from its dreadful pandemic lows in early 2021 to as high as $197 per share. However, due to overall market forces and continuous missteps from former CEO Bob Chapek, shares of the entertainment giant failed to live up to the reliable stock it once was and have had the worst year since 1974.
Related: Disney+ Is Losing Millions, But Disney Parks Could Be a Problem For Iger
Disney’s Board of Directors eventually lost patience. On November 20, 2022, Bob Chapek was fired after a tumultuous few years, and former Disney CEO Bob Iger stepped into the leadership role again. Immediately after Iger came back into the Disney fold, Disney’s stock drastically increased as analysts said that the magic had returned. Those gains slowly started to go down and disappeared as the rest of the stock market began to sell off at the end of last year. Then Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) came out in theaters and underperformed during its first couple of weeks, which caused the stock price to drop again.
In addition to the c-suite shake-up, there were many changes within Disney’s shareholder base. In August 2022, multiple reports surfaced that Hedge Fund Manager, Dan Loeb, bought a new stake in The Walt Disney Company’s stock and pushed senior management to spinoff the company’s ESPN division. In a letter published by the hedge fund manager, Mr. Loeb made his case publicly that it was in the firm’s shareholders’ best interest that management should spin off ESPN.
In the letter to Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek, Loeb stated, “ESPN would have greater flexibility to pursue business initiatives that may be more difficult as part of Disney, such as sports betting.” He also said, “We believe that most arrangements between the two companies can be replicated contractually, in the way eBay spun PayPal while continuing to utilize the product to process payments.”
We would also learn that towards the end of the year, Trian Fund Management LP, the hedge fund owned by famous activist investor Nelson Peltz, would buy more than $800 million worth of The Walt Disney Company stock days after the company’s lackluster fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report.
Expectations For The First Quarter’s Results
The upcoming report and earnings conference call with Wall Street will mark the first quarter with Bob Iger back at the Disney CEO post. Bob Iger had previously served as the group’s CEO from 2005 to 2020 and had tremendous success as CEO in his first go around.
Box office sales for Disney’s films are expected to support revenue growth for the group, with the latest Avatar movie has grossed over $2bn. Subscription numbers for Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ will again be in focus, determining the success of new packaged bundle offerings which amalgamate these services. Disney Park’s and Experience’s divisions had a phenomenal return to growth in 2022, and markets will look to see whether this momentum is continuing within its international parks. Markets will also look to see the health of linear network television for the group and hear further about restructuring initiatives pertaining.
Related: Disney’s Bob Iger Praises James Cameron For Preserving His Reputation
According to Refinitiv data, the company is expected to have sales of $23.36 Billion and earnings per share of $0.79 for the quarter.
What Will Bob Iger Focus on in 2023?
The Walt Disney Company and Bob Iger have the chance to add another 40 million subscribers to Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ in 2023. Disney and Iger are promising to focus more on turning a profit from their streaming business in 2023. While it may be raising prices and curbing content expense growth, increasing its subscriber base will still play a significant role in the path toward profits.
Disney’s parks and experiences revenue grew 73% in 2022, fully recovering from 2019 figures. Disney expects to build on that growth in 2023. This year, the Disney Parks division is celebrating its 100th anniversary and holding events at the parks throughout the year. It’ll have unique decor, food, and new attractions for diehard Disney fans. The milestone could attract better-than-average attendance throughout 2023.
Related: Disney World’s Four Glaring Issues that Bob Iger Needs to Change
Walt Disney World and Disneyland appear to be increasing the crowd capacity at their parks, opening new and temporarily dormant rides. Disney’s Shanghai Park is now fully open for business, too. That should drive incremental revenue over 2022 when China’s COVID-19 policies more restrict it.
In addition, Disney has several movies on the docket for its next billion-dollar release following Avatar: The Way of Water (2022). The Marvel Cinematic Universe enters Phase 5 at the start of 2023 with the next installment of Ant-Man (2015). It’ll continue in the summer with the third entry in the Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) series. Both could be box office hits, and $1 billion in ticket sales isn’t unfathomable. But that would be surprising, given how the movie business has performed in the last few years. Disney’s most sure-to-be $1 billion release could be The Little Mermaid (2023). Live-action remakes have proven successful, with both 2019 releases topping $1 billion. But it’ll take a lot to drive $1 billion in ticket sales for a film that isn’t chock-full of action scenes that must be experienced on the big screen for full effect.
Disney’s 2023 films could do much better at the box office than its 2022 slate, but a billion-dollar release is not a sure bet. Importantly, though, they may play an essential role in driving subscribers to Disney Plus and keeping them subscribed throughout the year.
Related: One Favorite Walt Disney World Resort Perk Has Officially Returned
Disney’s Board Room Battle
In a major shakeup earlier this year at The Walt Disney Company, the Theme Park and Entertainment Giant named Mark Parker as Disney’s new Chairman of the Board.
During the announcement of Parker’s appointment, Disney also disclosed that it is facing a proxy fight from activist investor Nelson Peltz and his fund Trian Partners. Trian has nominated Peltz to serve on the Board.
The company released a statement stating, “The Walt Disney Company remains open to constructive engagement and ideas that help drive shareholder value. While senior leadership of The Walt Disney Company and its Board of Directors have engaged with Mr. Peltz numerous times over the last few months, the Board does not endorse the Trian Group nominee and recommends that shareholders not support its nominee and instead vote FOR all the company’s nominees.”
Related: New Park Map Erases Highly Anticipated EPCOT Construction Project
What makes this proxy fight interesting is that according to reports, Nelson Peltz, who is famous for corporate activism (or as others may describe as corporate raiding) and helping companies in an intimate style of active management, was reportedly not in the view that recently appointed CEO Bob Iger should be back in control of the company.
We will most likely receive updated commentary on how the battle is shaping up during the earnings call with Wall Street analysts.
Related: Abandoned Magic Kingdom Attraction Reopening After Three-Year Closure
There is a lot of information and details to pay attention to when The Walt Disney Company reports its results on November 8. Will Disney beat Wall Street expectations, and how many streaming subscriptions will Disney+ reach? Even though there are investors out there who believe The Walt Disney Company will prevail, many other investors still have questions. Remember to listen next week to find out all the latest updates!
The question going forward is what magic Disney CEO Bob Iger has up his sleeve to get Disney shares, Disney Parks, and Disney Media turned around in the right direction. There is a lot to fix, but is he up to the task?
Do you think Bob Iger can get Disney’s stock moving in the right direction this year? Let us know your thoughts by leaving us a comment below.
Disclosure: Inside the Magic has no stock, option, or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned. Inside the Magic does not have any business relationships with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Additional disclosure: The analysis is provided exclusively for informational purposes and should not be considered professional investment advice. Before investing, please conduct in-depth personal research and utmost due diligence, as there are many risks associated with the trade, including capital loss.


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The US to develop a bitcoin accounting
The US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has started discussing the necessity of developing an accounting standard for digital assets, Reuters reports.
The Digital Chamber of Commerce (Washington) has turned to FASB claiming that there’s a need for cryptocurrency in the country to have an accounting standard. The public organization protects rights of the cryptocurrency community in the US.
According to Perianne Boring, founder of the Chamber and one of the most famous representatives of the bitcoin industry, the absence of financial standards creates serious barriers for implementing technologies. This is a source of difficulties for entrepreneurs who would like to use the cryptocurrency as a payment means.
Ultimately, problems with the cryptocurrency accounting can “restrain economic growth of the US”, thinks the expert.
There’s a high possibility that FASB will develop bitcoin standards, although there was no announcement regarding plans for their development. As reported previously, bitcoin isn’t considered a legal payment means on the territory of the USA but is equated to standard goods such as oil and gold and may be taxed.


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The time is fast approaching for the launch of the most highly anticipated ICO of 2018. HUMENA Club introduces the HUMENA platform to promote synchronous meditation, prayer, and entertainment to amplify human performance and promote mental & physical wellness.
Herndon, VA – May 30th, 2018, HUMENA Club made headlines once again this week with the announcement that they will be integrating their Patent-Pending technology, known as IFCC (InForce Crypto Circle) into the HUMENA platform. This new Patent-Pending technology is owned by HUMENA and is used to organize the “Seller-Buyer Servicer” IT infrastructure environment (Crypto Ecosystem) and run it with superfast private blockchain and Crypto tokens.
HUMENA is a Blockchain-enabled platform for synchronous meditation and prayer to amplify human performance and promote psychological & bodily wellness. HUMENA is also an enabling service company for a large assortment of corporations and religious teams who have millions of followers. Last month, HUMENA Group through its subsidiary, HUMENA Club (Nevis) made International headlines with the launch of their highly anticipated ICO Pre-Sale backed by a revolutionary platform that promotes unity, meditation, and prayer. It is expected that the millions of users of the HUMENA (Astrals) tokens will make it one of the most widely accepted cryptocurrencies for normal business transactions.
In HUMENA’s platform, Astral Tokens are designed as a pure Utility Token – Utility Tokens can quickly be made use of in the HUMENA ecosystem to obtain expert services and goods and to help enable donations into non-earnings participant corporations. Because meditation and prayer are critical to millions of people today all over the planet, the potential market served by the Tokens numbers in the tens of millions.
Though most ICO’s promote tokens and often neglect their members afterward, HUMENA has launched a flexible method to buy back tokens to “feed” their ecosystem. Millions of utility token end users who are not using cryptocurrencies yet, constitute a large addressable, repeatable and predictable marketplace which will demand the constant buyback of tokens.
Because InForce Crypto Circle enabled platforms will ensure privacy, be transparent and incorporate blockchain and smart contracts, it can be more favorable to potential government oversight. It will also be more stable than Fiat currency and can also be used by ICO platforms as a practical crypto hedging agent.
Other Key Features of the InForce Crypto Circle include:
- Perfect for meditation prayer and entertainment
- Excellent for donations for not-for-profits and charities
- Easy to set up and maintain a number of Projects
- Boosts efficiencies of corresponding businesses functions of platforms (i.e. trading, merchandising, and logistics)
- Common Crypto Escrow Server & Fiat Escrow Services
- Common Fiat to Fiat services
- Common Apps Upload Service
- Light-speed fast Astral Tokens crypto transactions inside in Crypto Circle
The Pre-ICO starts May 31st. To learn more about the HUMENA ICO or to get involved, visit their official website at https://www.humena.club. Participants interested in joining the HUMENA ICO are advised to act quickly to receive tokens at the discounted price. Once Pre-Sale has closed token prices are expected to rise significantly.
HUMENA Group (Management company for HUMENA Club)
Attn: Media Relations
Images courtesy of HUMENA Group
Original Post: Humena™ Launches Revolutionary ICO Backed by Unified Crypto Ecosystem That Will Enable the Safe, Transparent & Easy Use of Tokens in Any ICO Platform


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The article in the Sept. 17 edition of The Patriot-News regarding unsolicited phone calls highlights what is clearly a major nuisance.
We receive these calls on what has become a daily occurrence.
Besides the federal hot line number listed, I believe your readers should know there also is a Pennsylvania Do Not Call list that may be accessed at 888-777-3406 or online at www.nocallsplease.com.
These lists are maintained for a maximum of five years and must be renewed, a point that many readers might not be aware of.
Hopefully, these businesses will realize they are only hurting their sales image and eliminate this annoyance.


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DoorDash Announces Pricing Updates
DoorDash unveiled new pricing changes designed to better support restaurant partners. Beginning today, all U.S. local restaurants will have a choice of three different delivery commission price points with new Partnership Plans, starting with a 15% option. Additionally, DoorDash is lowering Pickup commission costs to 6% and making Storefront, a commission-free online ordering product, free (except for payment processing fees) for all restaurant partners. These actions are intended to create more choices and solutions across a portfolio of restaurants' needs and put more profits into the pockets of local businesses.
"There is a massive, increasingly digital opportunity for small restaurants, and we believe that when we work together, we can help them capture more of that market in a post-pandemic world––in-store, online, through a third-party partner, or any combination of these three," said Christopher Payne, COO of DoorDash. "Over the past year, we've introduced...
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Apple orchards around southeastern Minnesota are busy harvesting bushels of apples as harvesting season gets underway and La Crescent's Applefest kicks off this week.
While Minnesota is not one of the top ten apple producing states in the country, what it lacks in volume farmers say it makes up for in variety.
"The varieties have changed a great deal," Ralph Yates, General Manager of Fruit Acres said. "Especially beginning in the early 1990s when honeycrisp apples came online. That changed the business."
Yates said by the end of the 1990s, honeycrisp was the most sought after type of apple, helping the apple farming business expand.
"Growers got excited about the business again because they could ask a price for an apple and people would pay it which allowed them to make a living again," he said.
While current weather is ideal for harvesting, the rest of the year hasn't been the same. Several hail storms and heavy rains caused many local farmers to lose the majority of their apple crop.
"Even so, we're going to start harvesting our main lines like honeycrisp," Yates said. "We've had a good go on wealthy and sweet tango and we're just going to go right down the line and harvest these varieties."
Jim Luby, a professor of horticulture at the University of Minnesota said while the highest concentration of orchards are in the Twin Cities, southeastern Minnesota is home to the most acres.
"The Mississippi River Valley has the mildest winters in the state so that helps with tree survival," he said. "Also topography helps too, to have orchards on top of bluffs or on hillsides is generally better as well."
Once the apples are harvested, they're shipped off to retailers like Bauer's.
"We can bring orchard fresh to people sometimes as quick as 12 hours later," Bruce Bauer, owner of Bauer's Market and Nursery, said. "The apples are barely off the three, they come to us , we package them and you're getting apples that fresh."
The annual wholesale value of the U.S. apple crop is close to $4 billion. The U.S. is the world's second largest producer of apples behind China.


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This podcast episode sponsored by:
The final podcast of 2014, episode 38, features two interviews from the National RV Trade Show in Louisville, Ky. First up is Jeff Porter, the CEO of Velvac Corporation. The New Berlin, Wis., company is celebrating its 80th anniversary in 2014, and is really making a push into the RV aftermarket to increase awareness among RV dealers about the firm’s driver safety products.
Velvac was one of the first firms to innovate the idea of integrating cameras into mirrors so that when drivers put on their turn signals, a camera shows them whether the lane is clear or if another object is in the blind spot.
The company acquired RoadIQ earlier this year and is marketing a system that integrates multiple on-board video cameras, and then communicates that information in real time to a tablet computer, providing recording and playback for training, security, and liability protection.
Jeff talks about the acquisition, what it means for Velvac and for the RV industry. For more information on Velvac, visit www.velvac.com.
Next up is Ryan Thomas, a salesperson for Blue Ox. The Pender, Neb., company hasn’t slowed down since the death of its founder, Jay Hesse, earlier this year. Ryan talks about the new Avail towbar and the company’s chassis performance package, which gives dealers a great product to sell to help RV owners better enjoy their driving and towing experiences.
For more information about Blue Ox, visit www.blueox.com.


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Leaf Brings Buzz to Economy
Thousands of workers may be needed at the Nissan plant in Smyrna, thanks to the company efforts to ramp up its workforce as a preparation for producing its new all-electric car. Last Saturday by rainy weather estimated 3,000 people stood in line for hours hoping to get one of those jobs. This fact could be an inspiration to the unemployed as well as an eye-opener for newly elected politicians who ran on campaigns of creating more jobs.
Rutherford County's unemployment rate of 8.4 percent might achieve double digits. Therefore, is not surprising that there were long lines at the Yates Services job fair. Yates, which is a maintenance contractor for the Smyrna Nissan plant, offers production support and warehousing jobs that pay between $11.25 and $18.50 an hour.
The 100-percent electric, zero-emission Nissan Leaf was named the 2011 World Car of the Year at the New York International Auto Show. Nissan’s car can go for 100 miles per charge and taking about eight hours to charge back up. According to the jurors at the World Car Awards the Leaf feels like a normal car, only quieter.
A buzz around this new electric car, which is expected to be produced in Smyrna starting next year, can be clearly noticed. Another plant on the Nissan property in Smyrna will build the lithium-ion batteries that power the car.
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National Instruments (NI) announced Q4 revenue of $333 million, up 11 percent year-over-year. The company's total orders were up 13 percent for the quarter with orders under $20,000 up 5 percent year-over-year; orders between $20,000 and $100,000 up 13 percent year-over-year; and orders above $100,000 up 36 percent year-over-year. In Q4 2014, NI recognized $7 million in revenue from its largest customer, compared with $4 million recognized in Q4 2013.
Carousel Industries, a leader in unified communications, managed services, data solutions and visual communications,announced that Tim Kennedy has been appointed to the CompTIA Telecom Advisory Council. CompTIA is a non-profit trade association focused on the IT industry, and its Telecom Advisory Council is a 19-member strategic think-tank dedicated to identifying industry trends while furthering ideas and initatives relating to the ongoing convergence of IT and telecom.
Skyworks Solutions Inc.,an innovator of high performance analog semiconductors linking people, places and things, announced that it is commencing volume production of its SkyLiTE™ front-end solutions powering LTE platforms in emerging markets.
Keysight Technologies, Inc. announced that Frost & Sullivan has recognized Keysight with the 2014 Global Frost & Sullivan Award for Market Leadership in Instrumentation Software for excellence in capturing the highest market revenue within its industry.
Azimuth Systems, Inc., a leading provider of comprehensive real-world wireless test solutions for LTE-Advanced and beyond, announced general availability of the ACE™ RNX radio network emulation platform.
Silicon Labs, a leading provider of broadcast video solutions for the television market, introduced its next-generation digital TV demodulator family offering expanded support for the latest satellite, terrestrial and cable standards.
Molex Inc., a leading global manufacturer of electronic solutions, announced it has signed a definitive agreement as a strategic partner and investor in Chicago-based NuCurrent, a developer of wireless power antenna technology.
Vectron International, a Knowles company, and leader in the design and manufacture of precision oscillators and timing solutions for communication, industrial, military and space applications, announced they have entered into an agreement with AccuBeat to be their exclusive partner in North America.
RFMD, a global leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance radio frequency solutions, announced that it has earned Huawei's Supplier of the Year Award at a ceremony held today at Huawei's headquarters in Shenzhen, China. The award recognizes RFMD as Huawei's best supplier of RF components, which are used in Huawei's mobile phones and infrastructure products. This is the second year in a row that RFMD has earned Huawei's Supplier of the Year Award.


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The first major Adobe app has arrived on the Mac App Store.
The first major Adobe app to be available on the Mac App Store has finally arrived. Adobe Lightroom, one of the apps in its Creative Cloud suite, is now available for download. It was one of the applications Apple promised would be available through its platform when it introduced the newly redesigned Mac App Store, along with Office 365 and Live Studio from Snap Inc. Microsoft’s office application suite made its way to the store earlier this year, marking the first time Apple has offered a bundle of software on Mac’s application marketplace.
To be clear, Adobe already offers other products on the platform, but they’re lighter versions of its major applications — like Photoshop Elements instead of the full-feature Photoshop…Read more
Adobe brings Lightroom to the Mac App Store
Adobe has brought Lightroom, its flagship photo editing and management app, to the Mac App Store a year after Apple announced its big revamp coinciding with the release of macOS Mojave. The move is Adobe’s first major app to make the leap.
Adobe’s Lightroom joins Microsoft’s Office 365, Panic’s Transmit, and Bare Bones Software’s BBEdit as major Mac apps now available from the largest catalog of Mac apps in the world.
While major developers were quick to embrace the iOS App Store, many Mac developers hesitated to put their work on the Mac App Store because they already had other options for selling their work. Additionally, Apple imposed some restrictions for apps sold on its official App Store that were similar to iOS, but entirely new to the more openly permissive software model that has long existed for Macs.
Apple has made some adjustments to accommodate Mac developers’ needs, and last year also gave its Mac App Store the same overhaul that it brought to iOS 11 two years ago. The revamped App Store in macOS Mojave, just like iOS 11’s a year earlier, focuses on editorially curated content, with regular “App of the Day” and “Game of the Day” sections as well as lists, how-tos, developer interviews and feature pieces highlighting third-party developer’s work.
Apple opens the aperture for Lightroom
Another enticement for Adobe bringing Lightroom to the Mac App Store: Apple’s own Aperture is now going away, with last year’s Mojave being the last version of macOS capable of running the aging app. Apple first launched Aperture back in 2005 as a professional version of iPhoto.
Aperture was initially viewed as Apple taking on Photoshop, but the new title was really aimed at managing photographic workflows rather than comprehensive photo editing. Adobe was quick to react, however, launching its own beta of Lightroom just weeks after its launch.
After competing for several years, Apple essentially put Aperture into maintenance mode in 2014 and last version of macOS capable of running its aging, 32-bit Aperture software. The title hasn’t been listed on the Mac App Store since 2015.
Lightroom for pros in the Mac App Store
Emphasizing its professional audience, Adobe commonly refers to the title as “Photoshop Lightroom.” The app is a free download from the Mac App Store and comes with a free one-week trial…Read more
Adobe endorses Apple Mac App Store with Lightroom release
The photo editing software is the first Adobe product to arrive in Apple’s online store.
The Mac App Store has received significant criticism, but Apple’s efforts to improve it apparently have paid off, as Adobe started using the store to sell its Lightroom software for the first time on Thursday. The photo-editing and cataloging software, geared for photo enthusiasts and pros who want something richer than Google Photos or Apple Photos, costs the same as outside the Mac App Store: $10 per month, including the software and 1TB of online storage.
“With the redesign of the Mac App Store, it was the perfect time to set this in motion and make Lightroom the first Adobe app to be available on the MAS,” Sharad Mangalick, Lightroom principal product manager, said in a statement. “We’ve been working closely with Apple to bring Lightroom to leverage the new MAS.”
On iPhones and iPads, the App Store is the only way you can download software, and plenty of Adobe apps are available there. But on Macs, you can also download apps directly from the software maker. By bypassing the Mac App Store, developers can sidestep some security-minded restrictions, Apple approval processes and the 30% fee Apple charges.
Plenty of software is available through the Mac App Store, though, which can be familiar to iPhone users, bring buyers some assurances that software can be trusted, and offer sellers benefits when it comes to software discovery, distribution and payments. Apple scored one notable victory when Microsoft released Office 365 on the Mac App Store in January.
Adobe offers Lightroom in the Mac App Store with a seven-day free trial. “Once your free trial ends, the recurring monthly payment is automatically charged to your iTunes account,” Adobe says on the Lightroom Mac App Store listing. If you want to cancel, you have to do so at least 24 hours before the beginning of a new monthly billing cycle. It’s a 603MB download.
Adobe’s Lightroom software, now available in the Mac App Store, is designed for editing and cataloging photos and costs $10 per month. Apple
One app that isn’t available through the Mac App Store, though, is Adobe’s Lightroom Classic, a version with a longer lineage and a richer feature set. For now at least, the newer Lightroom, until recently called Lightroom CC, is the only option.
“Lightroom is better suited architecturally to operate within the structure of the Mac App Store,” Mangalick said of Lightroom Classic’s absence. “We can’t go into specifics, but it is related to sandboxing and how Lightroom and Lightroom Classic differ in approaching photo organization.” Sandboxing is a security precaution that reins in potentially badly behaving apps, but it also limits the power of legitimate apps…Read more
Adobe Lightroom returns to the Mac App Store
The first pro Adobe app in Apple’s redesigned store.
Adobe has made Lightroom, its pro photo editing and management tool, available on the Mac App Store. It’s the first pro Adobe app to make it to the App Store since Apple redesigned it with Mojave, last year’s version of macOS.
The Mac App Store version of Lightroom is the “new” Lightroom formerly known as Lightroom CC, which syncs with complementary mobile and tablet apps and has a different UI to what is now called Lightroom Classic. It’s free to download and use for a week, then it’ll require…Read more
Do you like to be creative on your iPad? Adobe brings Fresco to Creative Cloud, so you can paint wherever you want.
Adobe has a wide range of professional tools available via Creative Cloud. As a (professional) photographer you can, for example, get started with Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. However, many creative people do not stick to a single hobby and for them there is now added Adobe Fresco , previously known as Project Gemini.
So anyone who likes to paint a portrait instead of taking a photo can work with Adobe Fresco later this year. That has got its name from an age-old Italian painting technique. It is not known when the app will be available correctly, but we do know that the private beta test is currently available. Adobe thus comes up with its own alternative to popular apps such as Procreate…Read more
Upcoming free app for the Apple iPad might turn you into the next Michelangelo
Adobe announced today that its drawing and painting app for the iPad originally called “Project Gemini,” will be known as Adobe Fresco when it launches later this year. Fresco is an old technique used for hundreds of years that involves painting on wet plaster. It requires the artist to complete the painting before the plaster dries. That type of “spontaneous creativity” is at the center of Adobe Fresco. The app will first be available for iPads with Apple Pencil support, which means that users can unleash their creativity wherever they are. Eventually, Fresco will be offered for other stylus supporting touchscreen devices.
The app uses Adobe’s AI-based Sensei platform for the Live Brushes feature. This allows users to “paint” on the app using watercolors and oils and experience the same response as a painter would in real life. Adobe says that those using the app can even paint with virtual water to dilute colors. The company has gone to the trouble of determining how certain paint pigments interact on different types of surfaces and has recreated these experiences for the Adobe Fresco app.
Brushes used in Photoshop can also be employed in Adobe Fresco and users have access to digital brushes from artist and digital brush creator Kyle Webster. The app is equipped with vector brushes to allow the artist to “create clean, crisp, and infinitely scaleable lines and shapes.” And users will be able to create their own brushes thanks to Adobe Capture.
“Drawing is fundamental to developing creative literacy. It is most people’s first connection to creativity, and every great painting, sculpture, film, or building began with a drawing. And today, more than ever, it’s essential for everyone to develop creative literacy. As artificial intelligence takes over more and more repetitive and mundane tasks, creativity is the unique human quality that sets each of us apart and helps us succeed.
Connecting brain and hand through drawing unlocks creative magic. To forge that connection, a digital generation needs a digital tool, which is why we’re developing a powerful and sophisticated drawing and painting application.”-Adobe
While Fresco will have professional features like layers, masking, and selection, Adobe points out that the app has what it calls a “streamlined” interface that even children can use. And Fresco users will be able to move their project between the app and Photoshop seamlessly. The art can also be exported to PDF where it can be edited using Adobe Illustrator.
Adobe’s upcoming iPad painting app is named Adobe Fresco
“Adobe scientists have studied the chemistry of common real-world pigments like cobalt and ochre. They’ve looked at the physics of how watercolors are absorbed into thick, cotton-based paper. And they’ve examined the ways that a thick slash of oil paint dries to add dimension to a painting,” wrote Scott Belsky, Creative Cloud executive vice president…
“Adobe scientists dangle studied the chemistry of classic accurate-world pigments be pleased cobalt and ochre. They’ve regarded on the physics of how watercolors are absorbed into thick, cotton-basically based paper. They assuredly’ve examined the ways that a thick reduce of oil paint dries so that you simply can add dimension to a painting,” wrote Scott Belsky, Ingenious Cloud govt vp in a weblog post. To that halt, Adobe Fresco will encompass a original characteristic called Are residing Brushes which mimic how accurate watercolor and oil paints behave on a canvas. Reckoning on the instruments primitive, colours can bleed into every diversified or be applied in neat, crisp, radiant strokes. To boot to having access to brushes from Photoshop, artists can dangle derive admission to to thousands of brushes created by digital brush maker Kyle Webster.
Fresco is anticipated to be Adobe’s acknowledge to Procreate and diversified rival iPad apps. Recordsdata automatically keep on Ingenious Cloud, giving artists a replace for iOS’s file management system or Dropbox. Being cloud-basically based further expands the Fresco’s skill and permits artists to manufacture on-the-plug…Read more
New Technology Can Detect Photoshopped Fakes, Even Reveal the Original Images
Photoshop is arguably the most powerful tool at a photographer’s disposal. And like many powerful tools, it can be used for either good or harm. The good news is that technology has recently been developed to counter nefarious and sneaky image manipulations.
Adobe and the University of California Berkeley have teamed up to develop new software that detects facial manipulations that have been implemented on images by Photoshop’s Face Aware Liquify tool.
In a study, both humans and AI and computers were tested on their ability to detect altered facial features. Not surprisingly, AI was the overwhelming winner. But what is surprising is that AI not only could detect the facial “fakes” with 99% accuracy, it could even revert those images to their original state.
In the age of Photoshop and of facial manipulation apps, the lines between reality and fantasy have become blurred. Photographers have been caught and ousted for cheating on contests with composites, while photojournalists have been reprimanded for manipulating seemingly accurate images. And rightfully so…Read more
This neural network detects whether faces have been Photoshopped
Using Photoshop and other image manipulation software to tweak faces in photos has become common practice, but it’s not always made clear when it’s been done. Berkeley and Adobe researchers have created a tool that not only can tell when a face has been Photoshopped, but can suggest how to undo it.
Right off the bat it must be noted that this project applies only to Photoshop manipulations, and in particular those made with the “Face Aware Liquify” feature, which allows for both subtle and major adjustments to many facial features. A universal detection tool is a long way off, but this is a start.
The researchers (among them Alexei Efros, who just appeared at our AI+Robotics event) began from the assumption that a great deal of image manipulation is performed with popular tools like Adobe’s, and as such a good place to start would be looking specifically at the manipulations possible in those tools.
They set up a script to take portrait photos and manipulate them slightly in various ways: move the eyes a bit and emphasize the smile, narrow the cheeks and nose, things like that. They then fed the originals and warped versions to the machine learning model en masse, with the hopes that it would learn to tell them apart.
Learn it did, and quite well. When humans were presented with images and asked which had been manipulated, they performed only slightly better than chance. But the trained neural network identified the manipulated images 99 percent of the time.
What is it seeing? Probably tiny patterns in the optical flow of the image that humans can’t really perceive. And those same little patterns also suggest to it what exact manipulations have been made, letting it suggest an “undo” of the manipulations even having never seen the original.
Since it’s limited to just faces tweaked by this Photoshop tool, don’t expect this research to form any significant barrier against the forces of evil lawlessly tweaking faces left and right out there. But this is just one of many small starts in the growing field of digital forensics.
“We live in a world where it’s becoming harder to trust the digital information we consume,” said Adobe’s Richard Zhang, who worked on the project, “and I look forward to further exploring this area of research.”…Read More
Love Photoshop? This AI Can Detect If Photos Are Edited
In a world where technology is often used to manipulate photos to make them appear real, it sometimes is difficult to determine if a photo is edited or not — but not for long as a team of researchers from Adobe and UC Berkeley have developed an AI to do just that.
In a new paper titled “Detecting Photoshopped Faces by Scripting Photoshop,” the researchers Sheng-Yu Wang, Oliver Wang, Andrew Owens, Richard Zhang and Alexei A. Efros said they were able to create a new AI that is capable of detecting images that were edited or warped using Photoshop.
Warped images like these are meant for fun. Some edited images, however, are meant to mislead. (Photo: Pixabay/composita)
How they did it
The team explained that they were able to create the AI by scripting Photoshop, and by feeding the AI fake images until it was able to detect the fake from the real photos. PetaPixel reported that the researchers used thousands of photos scraped from the internet. These photos were either edited automatically using a Photoshop script, or edited by a human artist.
They then compared the number of successful photoshopped image detections both people and the AI can do.
“We started by showing image pairs (an original and an alteration) to people who knew that one of the faces was altered,” said researcher Oliver Wang. “For this approach to be useful, [the AI] should be able to perform significantly better than the human eye at identifying edited faces.”
The researchers proudly said that the AI is better than people at detecting edited from non-edited images. Humans were able to identify edited photos about slightly more than half of the time (53 percent). The AI, on the other hand, successfully detected edited images almost all of the time (99 percent).
More than just knowing if an image is photoshopped, the AI is also capable of determining what part of the image was edited or warped, and is also capable of “undoing” the edit to return the image to how it originally looked like…Read More
Adobe and UC Berkeley Show Off AI-Based Photoshop Detection Software That Reveals and Reverses Edits in Photos
Kendrick Lamar isn’t the only person that wants us to be “Humble” on Instagram with unedited photos. A new AI-based piece of software can detect a photoshopped face and even reveal what the picture was prior to the edits being applied.
Image via Negative Space from Pexels.com.
Researcher for Adobe Oliver Wang said of the process, “We started by showing image pairs (an original and an alteration) to people who knew that one of the faces was altered…For this approach to be useful, it should be able to perform significantly better than the human eye at identifying edited faces.”
The AI performed way better than any human could at the task and could even reverse the edits performed on the photo. With a detection rate accuracy of 99%, the AI’s ability to reverse engineer an edited photo bodes well for the research project’s hope of using things like this to verify the accuracy of photos and videos in the future. As editing and manipulation become increasingly sophisticated, the greater the need for software capable of detecting edits and changes…Read more


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Tesla's German gigafactory is in 'total chaos' due to staff shortages, report says
- Tesla is struggling to recruit and retain enough staff at its German gigafactory, Wired reported.
- The Berlin plant is falling behind on production goals, leaving it in "total chaos," per the report.
Tesla is struggling to find and retain enough staff for its new factory in Germany, making it difficult for Elon Musk's EV maker to meet ambitious production targets, Wired reported.
One anonymous worker told the publication that the plant was in "total chaos" due to staffing issues.
"There are people who I haven't seen working for three weeks in six months. Many people are signed off sick because the motivation isn't there," the employee said. "Some people are off sick longer than they've actually worked."
The Berlin-Brandenberg factory is Tesla's first in Europe. At the official opening in March, Musk said he expected it to produce half a million cars this year, per Welt.
However, the plant is a long way from its goal of producing 5,000 vehicles a week, Wired reported, because it has only recruited 7,000 workers despite aiming for 12,000.
Tesla is advertising at least 400 roles in Berlin, including a "high-volume recruiter."
Union representatives told Wired that Tesla's recruitment and retention problems reflected the company's reputation as an unattractive employer in Germany's heavily-unionized automotive sector.
In June, IG Metall — the country's largest trade union — told Bloomberg that Tesla employees earned a fifth less than staff at rival car makers in Germany.
Tesla has sought to tackle its staffing shortages by recruiting in nearby Poland. It's even advertised in Polish, per Welt, but still demanded that workers speak German, which has proved difficult, Wired and Tabletowo reported.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.


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The owner of a business which advertises car washing has been sued by a customer for alleged breach of contract over a similar business in South Australia.
Key points:The customer claims he was not given notice of the car wash’s plans to build a new car wash in the city of Port AdelaideThe business has been closed since the claim is being investigatedMr Lee said he had no idea the customer was going to build the car washing in Port Adelaide.
“The customer is saying he was unaware that there was going.
The car wash is an existing business in Adelaide,” Mr Lee said.”
He was not aware that there would be a new construction.”
The company, called Soothereys Car Wash, says it has built a fleet of about 100 vehicles over the last 12 months, but the company says that it only works on vehicles that are already in use and have been in use for at least three years.
The company’s website says that Sootheres Car Wash was established in 2015 to sell the vehicle washing equipment and is currently in the process of constructing a new factory to manufacture the equipment.
The court case started in October 2016, when the customer filed a claim in the South Australian Supreme Court.
The owner, who does not want to be named, said the customer paid about $1,000 for his business to be used for the carwash and to hire an accountant.
The claim alleges breach of a contract and breach of the contract, and is seeking an injunction to stop the company from continuing with the business.
The customer said he paid the $1.30, which he claims was due on December 16, to Soothes Car Wash to allow it to construct a new business in Port Albert.
“There’s been no notice given of the project,” Mr Park said.
The dispute escalated from there and Mr Lee claimed the customer had been unaware the car was being built in Port Melbourne until the car washed in March.
“I’ve spoken to the guy and he was surprised,” Mr Parker said.
Mr Park said he was concerned that the business was only being used for a few months and he wanted to know what happened to the other customers who had paid for the business to build in Port Victoria.
“When I spoke to the owner, he said that he had never heard of this company in the first place,” Mr Parks said.
He said he asked for an invoice to be sent to Soots’ company, but had been told the business would not have to pay.
“It’s a bit of a shock when you go in there, and you’re like ‘oh my god, this isn’t normal’,” Mr Parker explained.
“We just don’t know what to do.”‘
It’s not good enough’Mr Lee, who said he has been contacted by Soothendys Car Washing in a number of states and territories, said there had been no communication between the company and the customers.
“What I’ve been told is that there’s no contact between the customer and Soothentys,” Mr Lees lawyer, John Dallen, said.
“There have been no contact with the customer or his representatives.”
Mr Lees business is not listed on any official websites, but Mr Parker has posted it on his Facebook page.
“You can see the business in action on Facebook and Instagram,” Mr Dallens Facebook post said.
It is unclear whether the customer has contacted Soothenys Car Cleaning for comment.
Mr Lee is also seeking a damages order, which could include costs of the legal action.
Topics:business-economics-and-finance,law-crime-and-(both-criminal-actions),port-adelaide-5000,port-melbourne-3000,sa,south-adelaaad-5000More stories from South Australia


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Often the most frustrating aspect consumers experience with businesses isn’t directly related to the service or product itself, but instead the long wait time to receive it.
Restaurants, automotive services, bowling alleys and beauty salons are all examples of businesses that can have extended — and sometimes unspecified — wait times. Business owners are noticing that this can be a major annoyance to their customers, which can result in a negative consumer experience from the start.
Now, some business owners are taking action with the help of Waitlist Me.
Waitlist Me, previously known as NoshList, makes managing a waitlist simple and uses text and call messages to notify customers when it is their turn. The service is broadening its reach to work in all types of businesses, and runs across multiple platforms, including iPads, Android tablets, smart phones and computers.
“Waitlist Me has been proven to reduce walkaways, increase revenues and improve customer satisfaction,” says Brian Hutchins, Head of Product for Waitlist Me. “At the end of the day, everyone wins.”
Unsurprising, then, is that Waitlist Me is even catching on in the health care industry — where the average time it takes to see a doctor is approximately 23 minutes, and anywhere from 90 minutes to two hours during cold and flu season. In this industry, having technology at your fingertips to help plan your time could be a godsend. For example, the app has made a difference for both patients and physicians for one Wisconsin-based primary care facility.
“We expected the patients would appreciate the new waitlist options, but we didn’t anticipate that the physicians would also be happier, because the patients are happier when they get into the room,” said Kelly Tolson, director of operations at Wisconsin-based ProHealth Care. “That has been a very nice surprise.”
In addition to improving waitlist experiences, the app also offers easy-to-use features. Premium users can now customize and enable feedback surveys to go out after customer visits. Customers can easily send quick numerical ratings back in text messages or take surveys to rate their experiences in more detail, leave comments and even request a manager to contact them about their visit.
For more information, visit www.waitlist.me.


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While the majority of fast-food chains are making menu changes to add the latest and greatest creations (fiery chicken fries at Burger King, all-day breakfast at McDonald's) to their lineups, Pizza Hut has other plans to rise up in the ranks. Instead of focusing in higher quality, the company will focus on convenience.
According to the CEO of Yum Brands, Pizza Hut's parent company, Greg Creed, the days of trying to compete with a better product are gone. He compared his goals for the chain to those of the on-demand car service app Uber, saying "easy beats better."
This announcement comes as a surprise, especially after the restaurant just launched multiple intricate—if not outlandish—products like the pizza encircled with pigs-in-a-blanket and what quickly became known as a three-tiered "dresser for pizza and breadsticks." The company even turned its cardboard take-out box into a movie projector. That doesn't sound very simple to us.
However, the AP reports that prioritizing convenience could mean shorter wait times and adding mobile ordering services. At a recent presentation for Yum Brands' investors, Creed noted that Pizza Hut can benefit from making life easier for customers—in lieu of producing a better product—because people who prefer the chain's pies will only wait about two minutes more for them. Ironically, Pizza Hut delivers, on average, two minutes slower than its competitors.
Follow Delish on Instagram.


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Julie Mackenzie and Tina Kerwin have just ended their first year in business as Telecom Distribution. The pair used to run the telecoms division at East Central until its demise last year and decided to set up their own distribution company in October 2005.
The Shoeburyness, Essex based company is distributing Panasonic and Siemens Hipath systems and peripherals and is anticipating adding a VoIP gateway to their portfolio shortly.
Mackenzie says the key to success lies in their personal service. “It is our knowledge of the industry and products – not just current but previous models which comes from being in the industry for over a decade. We are a small company and make it easy for resellers to deal with.”
“VOIP is still taking it’s time to be installed by customers as we still ship a large percentage of analogue systems. Having said that we have just completed our first year and have achieved just short of half a million pounds turnover. We hope to grow the business for year two.”


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LongHairBri Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 http://news.yahoo.com/theres-pill-drug-prescriptions-u-hit-record-high-195404492.html We Americans love our pills. A record 4.02 billion drug prescriptions were written last year in the U.S., up from 3.99 billion in 2010. The reasons we’re taking all these treatments are as complex and varied as the medications themselves. Top prescription drugs were the subject of a short but interesting study published recently in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience that had a special focus on medications for central nervous system disorders. The study broke down all medications into pharmaceutical products, classes of drugs and also logged how much we’re spending on all of this. Among the more interesting tidbits, antidepressants such as Zoloft and Celexa were the most prescribed class of drugs in 2011, with a whopping 264 million prescriptions filled. The cholesterol-lowering statin Lipitor was the number-one selling brand name drug, racking up $7.7 billion in sales in 2011, up from $7.3 billion in 2010. MORE: Americans Struggling to Pay for Prescription Drugs Antipsychotic drugs, used to treat conditions such as bipolar and obsessive-compulsive disorders, were the fifth-ranked most prescribed drug by sales. And prescriptions for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder drugs jumped 17 percent from 2010 to 2011. It may be easy to blame the increases solely on a society that’s big on trying to cure everything from obesity to migraines by popping a pill, but that’s only one element that may explain these numbers. Antidepressants, for example, aren’t only used to treat depression, but also a smorgasbord of other disorders, such as anxiety, chronic pain, and even menstrual and menopause symptoms. MORE: Healthcare is Broken, Let's Fix It, IOM Says “The conditions they’re used for treating are the most widely diagnosed things,” Dr. Andrew Leuchter, professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, told TakePart. “If you look anxiety disorders alone, they’re one of the most common medical disorders in the country.” In fact, he says, studies suggest that sometimes, these drugs may not be prescribed enough, since people’s symptoms aren’t always accurately diagnosed and treated. “Even if they were treated,” he adds, “what you frequently find is that doses are too low or not given long enough.” Another part of the puzzle that can’t be ignored is the millions of dollars spent on relentless advertising of brand name prescription drugs. With ads that make it seem like the solution to crippling depression or plaque-free arteries is just a pill away, why wouldn’t you ask your doctor for them? And if there’s any doubt that people are paying attention to commercials showing men and women running slow-mo through a meadow, ask any physician how many patients have requested or been curious about specific medications. “That’s a whole can of worms,” says Dr. Caleb Alexander, a research scientist at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, about the ads. “Whether it’s good or bad, one of the arguments for this type of advertising is that it can de-stigmatize mental illness and prompt people to go to their physicians and ask about their condition.” MORE: Prescription Drug Prices Set to 'Plummet' Overall, medications have gotten better over the years, too, Leuchter says, both in terms of effectiveness and side effects. That’s made them more attractive to both physicians and patients. “I think the main driver of the use of these medications is that they work,” he adds. “There’s clearly a major benefit from statins, and the new generation of antipsychotics have much better side effect profiles than their predecessors.” But are there instances when pills are prescribed and reached for too easily for conditions that may be better treated with non-medical interventions such as psychotherapy, exercise or meditation? “I think for many people there is an inclination to believe there is a pill for every ill,” Alexander says. Even that tendency has its complexities. “But other treatments may be harder to access, may take more time and effort and may not be covered by insurance. Take obesity as an example. Would you rather have to start eating fruits and vegetables or take a statin every night?” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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The question remains, how do the citizens survive? The consumer basket of almost 3 thousand marks is five times higher than the minimum pension and salary. The crisis does not exist only for politicians, who, according to estimates, earn up to eight times more than citizens.
Pensioner Ljuba Pejić has reduced her purchases since the prices started to go wild. Follow where what is cheaper.
“It is very difficult for us pensioners. The pensions are small and the children are good for us, they help us a lot and we make ends meet”, Pejic said.
In the Zvono consumer association, they point out that citizens give up many things in order to survive. Most people no longer buy by the kilogram, but by the piece. They believe that the increased inflows into the budgets from VAT are a consequence of rising prices, and not the purchasing power of citizens, which has significantly decreased.
“Prices on the market have increased compared to last year, some products by 100 percent. One class of citizens lives very well. In our country, stratification is present when it comes to the quality of life”, it was stated from “Zvono”.
Citizens in the consumer basket spend the most on food, almost 50 percent, while coverage by the minimum wage is 20 percent. The Association of Independent Trade Unions of Bosnia and Herzegovina considers the limitation and individual waiver of margins on some products to be an insufficient and short-term measure. They emphasize the need to help local producers and invest more in agriculture.
“To make a list of 100-150 or more products as other countries have done and to limit their prices to prohibit the increase of those prices for a certain period of time”, says Lejla Causevic from Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
A long period of falling production costs is needed to bring down prices, according to economists.
“When we have an increase in oil prices on the world market, our prices follow that increase very quickly, but when that drop occurs at gas stations, it drops much more slowly.”
The interlocutors conclude that retail chains were really hunting in the dark and making additional profits during inflation and unjustifiably raising the prices of products whose costs did not increase, because they were produced earlier.


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2022 Nissan Frontier Turns to the Future With a Nod to the Past
Nissan today unveiled the all-new 2022 Frontier along with the equally new 2022 Pathfinder. The former draws inspiration from midsize pickups sold in the 1980s while turning to the future in many ways.
The rounded shapes of the outgoing Frontier are replaced by a more angular and rugged-looking silhouette that’s reminiscent of classic trucks and in keeping with a current trend across the auto industry.
- Also: Nissan Frontier: 1.6 Million Kilometres and a Brand New V6
- Also: At Long Last, Nissan Frontier to be Redesigned… for 2021
New Body and Cabin
While the TITAN-like rear end is not revolutionary, the entire front fascia has been significantly transformed. The geometric-pattern grille looks radically different, contributing to a more aggressive and industrial appearance. Meanwhile, squared-up headlights with a cool LED signature sit under a raised hood with a flatter profile.
Similar boxy styling can be found inside the 2022 Nissan Frontier. There is more storage than before, and Nissan claims fit and finish is improved, which is great news as the old Frontier was definitely not known for its refinement.
A clear sign of modern times, a nine-inch touchscreen makes its way into the truck, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility obviously included.
Nissan’s acclaimed “Zero Gravity” seats are another welcome addition that will increase comfort substantially. Combined with improved noise insulation, the cabin of the 2022 Frontier will make long trips much more pleasant.
Nissan says the chassis of the new Frontier is based on the old one, with extra reinforcements to maximize rigidity. The shocks and steering have been revised, too, the latter returning to a hydraulic setup.
Under the hood, the lone engine choice is a 3.8-litre V6 that serves up a class-leading 310 horsepower along with 281 pound-feet of torque. Mated to a new nine-speed automatic transmission, the Frontier can now tow up to 6,490 pounds (2,944 kilograms). Trailer sway control comes standard, which is great for safety.
The cargo bed has a maximum payload rating of 1,400 pounds (635 kilograms). It’s available in two different sizes—five feet or six feet—and features a spray-on bedliner as standard. There are also multiple rails and anchoring points to secure cargo and offer increased versatility.
Unlike in the U.S., all 2022 Nissan Frontiers sold in Canada will have 4WD with a two-speed transfer case. One exception: a King Cab 4x2 model will be available for fleets.
Nissan’s Safety Shield 360 is part of the mix, as well. This series of advanced safety and driver assistance features includes adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind spot warning, rear cross traffic alert, lane departure warning, rear automatic braking and high beam assist.
The 2022 Frontier also comes standard with hill start assist and hill descent assist.
With more and more trucks being designed for off-road driving, Nissan could not afford to sit still. In Canada, we’ll have a Frontier Pro-4X available exclusively with the King Cab.
This tough, adventurous model adds Bilstein shocks that are tuned for off-road driving, an electronic locking differential and underbody skid plates.
The new 2022 Nissan Frontier will go on sale this summer at a price that has yet to be announced. It appears that three different trim levels will be offered, but that could change between now and the launch.


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KAR Auction Services announced Wednesday afternoon that it has formed a new Digital Services Group that will be led by Peter Kelly, currently the chief technology officer for KAR.
The company said that, among other assets from KAR’s portfolio, the Digital Services Group will combine several businesses and brands, including OPENLANE, CarsArrive Network, and Recovery Database Network.
“During the past few years, KAR has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in developing a unique set of online and mobile tools aimed at building a more robust marketplace for sellers and buyers of automobiles and similar assets. Grouping these companies together is the logical next step in serving our customers with an integrated solution,” said KAR chief operating officer Don Gottwald.
Kelly will remain on the board of TradeRev, a player in the Canadian dealer-to-dealer remarketing space which KAR acquired 50 percent of in August. TradeRev is launching the platform in the U.S. currently.
Additionally, Kelly will be responsible for directing an incubator for all of KAR’s digital and mobile efforts.
“I am eager to take on this new role and excited to engage more deeply with our customers in addressing their business challenges,” said Kelly, who co-founded OPENLANE in 1999. “Our end-to-end capabilities give KAR an unmatched position to leverage for the benefit of our remarketing clients.”
KAR chairman and chief executive officer Jim Hallett added: “Peter is recognized as a leading innovator throughout the automotive remarketing industry, having helped create the online vehicle auction category. No one is better positioned to lead KAR’s growing digital portfolio and ensure we integrate these tools for our customers’ benefit.”


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It will be the most affordable strong-hybrid offering in India by a margin of a few lakh rupees
The Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder is expected to be launched in the first half of August and we reckon, based on all the details available, that the compact SUV’s entry-level strong-hybrid variant will become the most affordable option of its ilk in India.
Toyota will be offering the choice of the strong hybrid powertrain from the one-above-base ‘S’ trim. We expect this exact variant to be priced at Rs 15 lakh (ex-showroom) with a premium of Rs 2.5 lakh over the corresponding petrol-automatic variant. Once you include the additional costs such as the road tax, insurance and miscellaneous, you can easily add up to Rs 3 lakh to that ex-showroom price tag. Even with those, the Toyota Urban Cruiser S Hybrid trim will still cost you less than Rs 20 lakh on-road.
In comparison, the current most affordable hybrid car in India is the Honda City e:HEV with an ex-showroom price of Rs 19.5 lakh which translates to over Rs 22 lakh on the road in Delhi. Assuming similar taxes and additional costs, the entry-level Hyryder strong hybrid should, in comparison, be more affordable by around Rs 4.5 lakh.
The one-below-top ‘G’ variant of the Toyota compact SUV with the strong hybrid powertrain should have an on-road price of just around Rs 20 lakh with an expected ex-showroom price tag of Rs 17 lakh. The top-spec Toyota Hyryder strong hybrid ‘V’ variant is likely to cost the same as the fully loaded Honda City Hybrid.
There’s no denying that models with a hybrid powertrain do come with a hefty premium of their own. At prices similar to that of the entry-level Toyota strong-hybrid SUV, one can have better equipped variants of segment rivals like the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Skoda Kushaq and the Volkswagen Taigun.
The entry-level Hyryder strong hybrid ‘S’ variant may not be feature-rich, but it’s not exactly lacking in basic comforts either. It still gets a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, auto AC, 7-inch digital driver display, 60:40 split-folding rear bench seat back, rear parking camera and a height-adjustable driver seat.
Toyota has equipped its compact SUV with dual front airbags, electronic stability control, hill hold control and ISOFIX child anchorage as standard and it will compete against the likes of the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Skoda Kushaq, Volkswagen Taigun, Nissan Kicks and the upcoming Maruti Grand Vitara.


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The deadline to make reservations for a gala evening to mark the Homeless Animal Rescue Team’s 30th anniversary is coming up Saturday, Aug. 17.
Up to 100 guests will celebrate the human-animal bond with live music, appetizers and wines on the panoramic ocean-view deck at Camp Ocean Pines on Aug. 25. In the fireside lounge, guests can view sample previews from the upcoming video festival and check out both live and silent auction items. A candlelit dinner featuring food and wine pairings from local restaurants and wineries will be served by wait staff from Central Coast Party Helpers.
Attendees can bid on original “Art Hearts” created for the shelter’s grand opening last summer and participate in a live auction conducted by Jill Turnbow featuring resort stays and spa packages and visits, local wines and winery tours, restaurant and gourmet food, pet and garden goodies.
Tickets will not be available at the door. Tickets ($75) are available at Cambria Chamber of Commerce, 767 Main St., the HART shelter at 2638 Main St. and by calling 927-5956.


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AFRICA: Danone silent over Brookside Dairy acquisition rumours
Danone has refused to comment on speculation it is to acquire Brookside Dairy in Africa
Danone has taken a vow of silence over talks it is to acquire a stake in East African dairy company Brookside Dairy.
"We never comment on rumour," a spokesperson for the French food group told just-food after reports linking it to Kenya-based Brookside.
Danone made that investment in a joint venture with private-equity firm The Abraaj Group.
Abraaj is a long-standing partner of Brookside Dairy, which also operates in Tanzania and Uganda and exports its products to several African countries. It collects around 95% of Kenya's milk and processes it at its Ruiru plant before distributing it across three national depots.
According to local paper The Africa Report, Danone is looking to takeover the minority shares owned by Abraaj in the dairy firm.
Danone declined to comment when approached by just-food.
Danone is the number two French dairy company and it owes its status to a portfolio of world known and strong brands, including Danone and Activia. Danone is very well positioned to take advantage of ...
During 2013, Danone continued to see its sales shrink because of the economic recession and drop in disposable income among consumers....
Danone is the fourth largest health and wellness player, and while its core market is Western Europe it is concentrating ever more on emerging markets, in particular Asia Pacific and Latin America. Da...
The main strategy of Danone in Romania consists of attracting consumers with affordable prices, promotions and new product launches. 90% of the Danone brands sold in Romania are manufactured locally i...
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Rent-2-Own names ‘Employee of the Year’
Published 9:46 pm Saturday, April 4, 2009
IRONTON — At the annual RENT-2-OWN awards banquet held earlier this month, Anthony Shipkosky took home top honors as the company’s Employee of the Year for 2008.
Shipkosky has been with the company since 2003, starting as a Delivery Specialist, then working as an account manager and assistant manager. He was promoted to manager of the Ironton location in July of 2006.
Company President Mike Tissot stated, “He lives and breathes RENT-2-OWN, and pours his heart into all that happens here.”
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He and his son, Layne, reside in Huntington.
RENT-2-OWN currently operates 23 stores in the southern Ohio-northern Kentucky region.
The newest is located in Amelia.
Their 200 employees serve over 12,000 satisfied customers. RENT-2-OWN opened its doors 24 years ago in Hillsboro.
They are still a family-owned and operated organization, headquartered out of Bainbridge.
RENT-2-OWN offers a very flexible means of acquiring ownership of household items.
All products, specials and job opportunities can be seen online at www.r2o.com


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Working at the Chinese stock exchange can’t be a bad job.
You head into work in the morning, the market promptly crashes, and you get to go home early and put your feet up.
Just this morning, the market slammed down 7% within less than half an hour of the open. Under the new “circuit breaker” rules, it was time to pack things up.
You think I’m exaggerating for effect. But here’s a quote from Bloomberg from one Beijing analyst: “All of us are talking about getting off work early today and we are happy. This is the shortest trading day.”
It’s an ill wind, I guess. But other than a day off for China’s City workers, what does the ongoing crash mean for the rest of us?
The problem with markets is that you can’t control them – that’s the point
China’s problem right now is that they’re not very accustomed to this free markets stuff.
Markets are tricky. They sometimes – maybe even often – do things that you would rather they didn’t do. And if you try to prevent them from doing it, they tend to do it even more.
Take this circuit-breaker nonsense, for example, where you shut the market for the day after it’s fallen by 7%. A moment’s reflection should be all it takes to realise that this is not a good idea.
The Chinese stockmarket has already made a double-digit loss since the start of the year. So what’s your average investor there thinking right now?
If they had their heads screwed on and the market had been allowed to keep falling, they might be thinking: “Hmm. Maybe this is a buying opportunity. Or maybe it’s a chance to pick up something from my watchlist on the cheap.”
But that’s not what’s happening. Instead, markets have been shut before they’ve been allowed to find the level at which the buyers start jumping in. So all you’ve got now potentially is a queue of sellers waiting for the chance to get out.
So even the most rational investors must be feeling the stress. And if they are, then I’ll tell you what the average person is thinking. They’re thinking: “I’d better get my sell orders in now before they shut the flipping market down again tomorrow”.
The “authorities” should just let the market do its thing, find the level it’s happy with, and then the selling pressure would abate. By trying to prevent the process, it just builds up the tension.
But then, China is hardly unique here. No one wants markets to do anything but go up. Look at all the short-selling bans we saw in developed markets during the financial crisis. Look at the global central bank “put’. So China has hardly been given a good example to follow by the paragons of capitalism in the West.
Anyway – what’s next?
This is all about the currency wars
As I’ve said before, this boils down to currencies. This is going to be a major battleground this year.
The key problem is that the US dollar is getting stronger. That’s derailed emerging markets generally. But it’s a particular problem for any country that has tied its currency to the US dollar. That includes China obviously, but also others like Saudi Arabia.
Having the yuan (or renminbi) tied to the dollar was fine when the dollar was weak. It’s not fine now that the dollar is getting strong.
I’ll keep this as simple as I can.
If your economy is struggling, you generally want a weaker currency. It makes your economy more competitive, because you look cheap compared to global rivals. So China wants a weaker yuan.
And that’s exactly what it’s getting. The yuan is falling fast. Trouble is that right now, everyone wants a weak currency, because everyone’s economy is a bit fragile. And the worry is that if China lets the yuan weaken too much, it’ll set off yet another round of currency devaluations across emerging markets in particular.
That’ll mean a) import demand from that region will drop (because consumers won’t be able to afford imports), and b) the price of exports will get cheaper – exporting deflation, basically.
In short, we’re looking at another deflation scare.
This all leads to looser monetary policy
However, beyond the uncertainty of how we get from A to B – what might blow up in the process? It’s hard to see exactly why markets are panicking quite so much about this.
Why? Because at heart, the authorities are only doing what markets have been loving for the past six years or so. The Chinese want a weaker currency because that equates to looser monetary policy.
And believe me, if there’s a genuine deflation scare, the central banks of the West will take full advantage. The US Federal Reserve decided against raising interest rates in September last year because they were explicitly worried about China crashing.
Well – things have only got worse since then. The Fed will be glued to this. And once it gets nerve-racking enough, they’ll start pulling back from their promised rate rises, and before long, the talk will turn to “when will rates peak?” and then “when will rates fall again?”
Meanwhile, China’s currency and markets will find a more comfortable level – either the painful stop-start way, which the authorities are currently pursuing, or more rapidly – and that’ll leave it in a better position for the future.
The main thing that would get me genuinely concerned about China is if it changes direction and decides that all this market stuff isn’t a good idea after all. That would be very bad news for the long run. But otherwise, I’m still comfortable with the idea that China is a good bet for the long term.
We’ve got a lot more on China in our first issue of the New Year, out tomorrow.
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Wednesday 19 January 2022
On Wednesday 19 January, President & Principal, Professor Shitij Kapur will host King's alumna, Josephine Philips, (Philosophy & Physics, 2021) the Founder and CEO of fashion alterations and repairs app, Sojo, for a virtual ‘in conversation’ during Welcome to King’s.
Open to all students, Shitij and Josephine will talk about everything from their personal experiences of King's, to how passion with purpose is inspiring and shaping their own careers. They’ll also discuss Professor Kapur’s pathway to King’s, his ambitions for the university, as well as Josephine’s journey from developing a new idea, to being named the winner of the Santander X Entrepreneurship Awards 2021, a prestigious UK-wide entrepreneurial business pitching competition for students and recent graduates.
The virtual discussion will take place on Wednesday 19 January from 17:00 – 18:00. Register for the event with the Life at King’s app, available on Apple or Android.
If it’s your first time using the app, enter the passphrase reggielion22 to access the Welcome to King’s Guide.
From there, head to Welcome Events & Workshops > Alumni to register.
Find more information here.


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Posted on February 9th, 2017 by Chris Walker in Chemical Manufacturing Excellence
Just over a year ago, the European Commission (EC) began implementing a plan to modernize the European economy with a focus on sustainable consumption and production. Continue reading “A European Plan For Sustainability” »
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According to the National Federation of Independent Businesses, 79 percent of small business owners use credit cards as a source of financing. But as access to credit has become more difficult, many are forced to use personal credit for business purposes. Will this trend continue, and why aren’t there more business credit card offerings in the market?
VB: Small business owners are increasingly looking to unsecured credit rather than traditional loans as a faster and more convenient funding mechanism. Credit cards provide free cash flow for almost 45 days, and in addition, they leverage cash back or reward points, which are helpful to offset future business expenses.
But as you mentioned, many businesses still use personal credit cards. I believe this was due to credit tightening during the recession and also the limited business card availability in the market today. The credit tightening was more severe for small business owners and as a result, those owners were forced to use their personal cards.
Secondly, when we look at financial institutions outside of the Top 5 issuers, historically, they haven’t focused on the small business segment. But now, this trend is changing rapidly. In the new world, FIs are more eager to lend and have started to build the right products. If you look at recent studies, they all suggest that small business relationships are more profitable overall, and for FIs, offering a product like credit cards adds to their profitability. Beside interest income, business credit cards deliver superior interchange and fee income which is largely due to attractive features on these cards.
Small business cards are different; they require a different underwriting approach to assess creditworthiness, and also require unique features for the account holder – spending limit controls and more detailed statements. I expect this trend to change and we’ll see more business cards in the market. It’s a win-win for FIs and small businesses.
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just On Call - Coca-Cola FEMSA cuts 1,300 jobs as Mexico soda tax bites
A tax hike on full-sugar soft drinks in Mexico has hit Coca-Cola FEMSA this year
Coca-Cola FEMSA has had to cut around 1,300 jobs as its copes with Mexico's new soda tax, but volumes are not being as badly affected as predicted, according to its CFO.
In an analysts' conference call following the group's nine-month results yesterday, Héctor Treviño Gutiérrez also revealed the bottler has closed an unspecified number of production lines and increased prices by around 16% in its home market. Mexico introduced a levy of MXN1 (US$0.08) per litre on sugar-sweetened soft drinks in January this year.
Despite the new tax, Gutiérrez said that Coca-Cola FEMSA only expects its full-year volumes in Mexico to be down around 4%. At the start of 2014, the group had forecast a fall of between 5% and 7%. Q3 sales from its Mexico & Central America unit rose 3.6%, helped by higher pricing.
“We have adjusted the operations in Mexico," said Gutiérrez. "We have reduced our headcount by at least 1,300 people. We have closed production lines.
“Every single point of volume that we lost represents millions of cases... we have continued to work very diligently in adapting our organisation and our cost structure to this new reality.”
For 2015, Gutiérrez said he expected to see “some volume growth” in Mexico.
The company, Latin America's largest Coca-Cola bottler, yesterday reported a 12.2% lift in nine-month sales and 1.2% rise in profits.
Companies: Fomento Economico Mexicano
The non-alcoholic bottling landscape in Latin America is ripe for consolidation. Reports out of the region this week, claiming three major Coca-Cola system bottlers have opened talks about a merger, a...
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