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Amazon Egypt organised a local seller summit under the patronage of Governor of Port Said Adel Ghadban as part of Amazon Egypt’s ongoing commitment to empowering small and medium businesses.
The summit’s aim is to provide guidance, training, and assistance to sellers, allowing them to start listing their wares on Amazon Egypt so they can reach millions of customers and grow their businesses online.
Amazon Egypt organised the summit in cooperation with the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (MSMEDA) and the South Port Said Business Youth Association as part of Egypt’s 2030 Vision, which aims to empower Egyptian talent.
E-commerce plays an important role in promoting the growth of small- and medium-sized companies, especially in light of the rapid growth of digital transformation in Egypt. In this context, Amazon is always keen to support local SMEs and continues to provide this support by making Amazon’s broad customer base available to sellers in addition to providing various educational and logistical tools to support business growth.
Within a number of months, Amazon Egypt has signed a cooperation agreement between the MSMEDA — which is headed by Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea — to develop the capabilities and competencies of entrepreneurs, eradicate their digital illiteracy, and highlight the distinguished Egyptian product.
During the summit, Amazon covered a variety of topics, foremost of which is the importance of e-commerce to help sellers grow their businesses online, the tools that Amazon provides to help companies achieve success, and how to take advantage of various benefits, such as the ‘Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) Programme’ — a service that helps small- and medium-sized businesses have an effective presence on Amazon Egypt by easily storing, picking, packaging, and shipping their products to customers.
Amazon Egypt will provide entrepreneurs with digital culture skills to allow them to improve their operations and unlock their business growth opportunities on the platform by creating a simplified business environment in which local entrepreneurs will have more time to innovate and produce more unique products for the customer, which will result in expanding the selection of products sold on Amazon Egypt.
For his part, Ghadban said: “Small, medium, and micro enterprises are one of the pillars of economic growth and the foundations of Egypt’s 2030 Vision. Therefore, this event that we are witnessing today is in line with the objectives of the Egyptian government. We are confident that, in cooperation with Amazon, we will empower entrepreneurs in different sectors to support and develop their businesses.”
He added that the Egyptian state has established the Small and Medium Industries Complex in southern Port Said, which includes various industries that Port Said is witnessing for the first time with the efforts of small, young investors that the governorate is helping to market their products in the local and global markets.
Furthermore, Ghadban confirmed that the governorate is taking steady steps towards industrial development to become one of the largest first-class industrial cities in the Middle East.
He noted that Port Said is responsible for about 54% of Egypt’s exports of ready-made garments, and that it has transformed from a consumer city to a first-class industrial city.
Moreover, he emphasised that the Egyptian state has taken strict measures to encourage and protect the local product and has made great achievements in the field of industry, creating thousands of job opportunities for the people of Port Said.
For his part, Ahmed Al-Sobky — Head of the Commercial Market Department at Amazon Egypt — commented on the event, saying: “Today, the majority of what is sold in Amazon stores worldwide are from external sellers, most of them are small- and medium-sized companies, and we aim to follow the same path in Egypt.”
“Therefore, we launched many tools to help local businesses, including easy listing tools, online payment mechanisms, simplified solutions, and the Amazon App for sellers. This summit is yet another testament to our commitment at Amazon Egypt to supporting Egypt’s vision of economic diversification and digitisation and supporting the country’s path forward in the digital economy. We look forward to engaging sellers from all over the country and helping them grow their online businesses.”


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Police in Utah recently arrested 31-year-old Daniel Thompson for paying 14-year-old girls $20 each for oral sex. At Thompson’s business, police found a cache of pornographic films “along with a keg of beer, painkillers and two cameras attached to a television.” Such stories aren’t representative enough to inspire much in the way of commentary, but here’s the flavor of hypocrisy about it: Thompson’s business is selling the “clean” parts of the film with the naughty bits cut out.
This sounds more than a bit like the argument CleanFlicks company from a few years ago, and it’s not for nothing. In fact Thompson has resigned as the operator of CleanFlicks, although in reality, he has little to do with the company. When news of his arrest broke, papers and blogs began reporting a link between Thompson and CleanFlicks, with some even claiming he was the company’s founder.
The problem: CleanFlicks is still in business after its demise at the hands of Hollywood, and it sells unedited versions of family-friendly movies. Given the terrible bad press surrounding the Thompson case, CleanFlicks went on a PR campaign to clear his name and also filed a federal lawsuit against Thompson.
When CleanFlicks sold its brick-and-mortar stores several years ago, Thompson’s father bought a couple and gave them to his son to work … when Thompson got out of prison for security fraud. In retrospect, this is not a great idea, but you have to feel for the father who tries to help his son go straight, only to be rewarded with stories of booze and porn.
Daniel Thompson is the manager of the two stores, which continue to operate under the name “CleanFlicks”. CleanFlix, which had stopped offering edited movies after losing a federal court battle in 2006, told Thompson to stop using his name. Thompson renamed his stores to “Flix Club” and continued to edit films.
But Thompson apparently continued to use the CleanFlicks name in his marketing, even using the MySpace page http://www.myspace.com/cleanflicks.
In wake of Thompson’s bust, CleanFlicks has filed a federal lawsuit (a copy of which has been found by Ars Technica) seeking, among other things, $100,000 under the Cyberpiracy Prevention Act. He also wants at least $1 million for voluntary use of the company’s trademark.
CleanFlicks too launch a website to clear up the confusion and ask all “journalists, bloggers, and media sites” to correct any inaccurate information that has already been published. The industry’s response has been strident, but that’s to be expected; CleanFlicks announced its new business model in January, only to see its launch marred by terrible PR a few weeks later.
A copyright-related side note to this issue: Thompson has continued to edit movies at Flix Club because he says a “doctrine clause” in copyright law makes the act legal if it’s sold to schools and universities. While the copyright law lacks some important provisions related to films for educational programs, FlixClub’s actions seem unlikely to have passed in court.
The whole scheme unfolded after the mother of one of the 14-year-old girls asked her daughter where the new $20 bill came from. The answer (“Working for a guy behind the scenes—and a store full of drugs, Mom”) landed Thompson in trouble with both the police and with CleanFlicks. While prosecutors could throw him in jail, CleanFlicks is looking to spoil it.
Is there any hypocrisy in a company like CleanFlicks once stepping on the copyright of filmmakers and now using the legal system to enforce its own intellectual property rights? We report, he decided.
- Lurid simple explanation courtesy of The Salt Lake Tribune
- Christianity Today has some nice area of the case…
- … as you do USA Today (Both outlets initially reported Thompson as being linked to CleanFlicks; both have since updated their stories)
- If you like your character development a dash of snark, consider DVD Dossier’s writing of the case
- CleanFlicks get online to protect himself
- CleanFlicks lawsuit filed in Utah District Court; If you have PACER access, the case number is 2:08-cv-00086-PMW

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Buckhead Atlanta expected to boost area retail
Buckhead Market Report
- Tonya Layman , Contributing Writer
From a face-lift at a 53-year-old shopping landmark to the construction of a brand-new development, change is coming to the Buckhead marketplace.
Area real estate experts agree these changes will positively affect the retail landscape and provide exciting opportunities.
Late last year, Lenox Square executives announced they were taking the first steps in a long-term plan to redesign the front entrance of the center. They will create more street-level retail exposure, while enhancing the exterior look and customer experience.
“One reason Lenox Square is who we are is that we keep evolving,” said Lauren McNulty, director of Lenox’s marketing and business development. “This is the next step in that evolution.”
Currently, the porte-cochère, where shoppers pull through for valet parking, is coming down. Later this year, mall management will announce new retailers, many of which will take over the new street-level retail spots.
“Street-level retail is a complement to the way this structure is built,” McNulty said. “We face Peachtree so that provides the retailers with great visibility.”
Also boosting retail opportunities in Buckhead, the partnership of Boston hedge fund The Baupost Group LLC and San Diego developer OliverMcMillan plans to restart the stalled Streets of Buckhead, now called Buckhead Atlanta.
The developer promises cranes will be swinging during the first half of the year as they begin work on the 9-acre mixed-use project at Peachtree and Pharr roads. This project will add retail, restaurants and apartments just a mile or so from Lenox Square.
McNulty believes Buckhead Atlanta will help solidify the area’s shopping opportunities. “We see it as a complement to what we offer at Lenox, not competition,” she said.
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Stakeholders in the capital market have said that the equities market can provide better returns for young Nigerians compared to cryptocurrency and foreign exchange trading.
This was disclosed at the NGX Regulation Retail Investor Workshop themed ‘Deepening financial inclusion in the retail investor ecosystem’
Speakers at the event pointed out that improved knowledge of the market could discourage the youths from going into cryptocurrency and forex trading.
Speaking at the webinar, Managing Director of APT Securities, Garba Kurfi, said, “Nestle in the year 2000 was trading at N10. Today, Nestle is over N1,000 and they are very generous in paying interim dividends and final dividends. So, if you take a stock priced at N10 in 2000 and 23 years later, it is N1,000, you can see how well you have hedged against inflation and whatnot. We can apply this to many other stocks, you can see what happened to Chams, Japaul and CWG, these were penny stocks, but they are growing in value.
“This shows that there is no better way to hedge your investment than to invest in equities. However, this knowledge is not so widely known by the younger generation. If they know this, they will not go into cryptocurrency even forex.”
According to Kurfi, youths lose more money than they make from cryptocurrency and forex trading.
“Also, there is no more monopoly in the market. Apart from equities, we have bonds and under bonds, we have different types of funds. Also, these stocks are liquid. At any time, you can come to the market and trade them,” he added.
The Managing Director of Meristem Stockbrokers Limited, Saheed Bashir, in his presentation titled ‘The impact of unclaimed dividend on your investment portfolio’, said, “Data from the Securities and Exchange Commission reveals that unclaimed dividends in the Nigerian capital market increased by 20 per cent from N158bn in 20219 to N190bn in 2023. This is quite staggering. The apex regulator in the market has put in place measures on investors’ education, even committed resources to put an end to the menace of unclaimed dividend.”
On the importance of claiming dividends, Bashir said that “it helps the investor’s cash flow management. Also, when companies pay dividends regularly, it helps your portfolio to grow. You are leaving a lot of money on the table by not claiming your dividend”
In his welcome address, the Executive Director of Capital Markets, Nigerian Exchange Limited, Jude Chiemeka, said that the drive for financial inclusion was important to the growth of the Nigerian economy.
He said, “This is the third in the series of webinars this year hosted by the Nigerian Exchange group of companies and targeted at the retail mass market as we believe that there is huge untapped potential among this segment of investors. Today’s webinar focuses on financial inclusion.”


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The new American frugality appears to be lingering. According to a new poll released today by Harris Interactive, almost two-thirds of U.S. adults say they are purchasing more generic brands to save money, slightly up from February when 63% said they were doing this. And when it comes to specific behaviors that affect personal care and beauty spending, they’re exhibiting similar behavior, such as going to the hairdresser or barber less often (38%).
Surely, that is not good news for salon hair care brands, but for firms selling detergent and other laundry aids, maybe there’s a silver lining in all this focus on cost cutting. According to Harris, 24% of those polled have cut down on dry cleaning—which means there should be more laundry being done at home.
The Harris Poll was conducted online within the U.S. between June 14 -21 among 2,227 adults.


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VF Corp. names new Dickies head, reveals emerging brands leadership reshuffle
VF Corp. announced this week the promotion of Todd Dalhausser to the role of global brand president, Dickies
Previously brand president of Altra
Dalhausser joined VF in 2018 as the first brand president of Altra. Prior to VF, he served as senior vice president of sales for SauconyWolverineReebok
“Todd is a talented business leader with a proven track record in building and growing brands, highlighted by the strong and consistent performance of our Altra brand under his leadership,” said Dorer. “We have the right strategy in place for Dickies and believe Todd is the ideal leader to assume responsibility for the brand to accelerate its profitable growth by connecting innovative workwear to consumer lifestyle tailwinds. The Dickies brand is an important contributor within the VF portfolio, and we look forward to consistently strong performance under Todd’s leadership.”
Coinciding with the Dickies appointment news, VF announced other key leadership appointments at its Altra, Smartwool and Icebreaker
Jen McLaren, previously brand president of Smartwool, has been appointed to the position of brand president, Altra and general manager, VF North America key accounts. She will continue reporting to Martino Scabbia Guerrini, EVP and president, EMEA, APAC and emerging brands.
In addition to overseeing the Altra brand, McLaren will lead VF’s key account management program across North America.
Likewise, Jan Van Mossevelde, president of Icebreaker, will take on additional responsibility for the Smartwool brand. He will continue reporting to Scabbia Guerrini.
“These appointments in our emerging brands platform demonstrate our focus on putting strong leaders in critical roles,” said Scabbia Guerrini. “We are committed to fueling the momentum we have in our emerging brands and know that Jen and Jan are the right leaders with the right experience and capabilities to drive continued growth.”


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India’s first Formula One
driver Narain Karthikeyan took delivery of a new Porsche 911 GT3 at Porsche
Centre Mumbai. The model’s 500 hp, four-litre six-cylinder engine, which
produces 460 Nm of torque, remains virtually unchanged from the one used in the
thoroughbred 911 GT3 Cup racing car.
When equipped with the
standard seven-speed double-clutch transmission (PDK), the 911 GT3 reaches 100
km/h in 3.4 seconds, achieving lightning-quick lap times and a top speed of 318
km/h. Launched in October 2017, the 911 GT3 is now available for order at all
Porsche Centres across the country with a basic retail price of Rs 23,121,000
Omega Seiki Mobility (OSM), a part of the Anglian Omega Group has announced a joint venture with iM3NY, a prominent battery technology player in the US, to bring battery cell technology in the Indian ...
Continental is promoting the development and use of open source software. The technology company has adopted a manifesto that emphasises its commitment to collaborative work with Free and Open Source ...
Nearly 50 DHL Express vans will begin running on the Michelin UPTIS airless tyre to make last-mile deliveries in Singapore by the end of 2023. The pilot programme begins with the first vehicles making...


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Here are all of the games that are coming out this week in North America! Continue reading This Week’s New Releases: 8/25/14
For the first time on an iOS device, a Phoenix Wright game has come to a mobile platform. The puzzle game was announced today by Capcom Unity where they also explained some information regarding Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies. Continue reading Phoenix Wright Game Coming To iOS
LAYTON MEETS WRIGHT
Released in Japan in November 2012, the long awaited 3DS crossover between the Professor Layton and Ace Attorney franchises is finally coming to the West with the awkwardly named crossover title Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Despite the game’s name, the two title characters are allies, not adversaries. However, does the crossover between these two beloved characters work?
A new trailer for the epic crossover with Phoenix Wright and Professor Layton has been released.


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Latest News on Mimo
Showing of 0 - 10 from 10 results
Mimo - Total results - 10
May 10, 2018
Ericsson launches a new category of network solutions in India to enable a smooth evolution from 4G to 5GEricsson's new economic study of enhanced mobile broadband revealed evolution to 5G will enable 10 times lower cost per gigabyte than current 4G networks.
Jan 29, 2018
Nokia introduces silicon-based 5G chipsets promising improved data-handling capacity; to ship in Q3 2018Dubbed ReefShark, Nokia said that the silicon chipsets triple capacity to 84 gigabits per second from 28 gigabits in its existing chip modules.
Sep 27, 2017
Airtel announces deployment of 5G capable MIMO technology in Bengaluru and KolkataAirtel said that the new technology will bolster the current network capacity by 5-7 times, and result in 2-3 times faster data speeds for customers.
Sep 05, 2017
Ericsson launches new radio product for 5G called AIR 3246Complementing its global 5G radio offering, telecommunications service provider Ericsson on Tuesday launched a new radio product 'AIR 3246'.
Mar 02, 2017
Indian telecom companies will start adopting 5G technology this year, says Jay Chen, Huawei India CEOIndian telecom operators will start adopting 5G technology, which in present form can deliver up to 1000 mbps download speed, from this year, Huawei India CEO Jay Chen said today.
Aug 31, 2016
Ericsson plans to launch the worlds first commercial 5G New RadioSwedish communication technology and services giant Ericsson announced on Wednesday it would launch the worlds first commercial 5G New Radio.
Apr 27, 2011
CISCO Launches Wireless Router: Linksys E4200The popular brand has introduced a new addition to its E-series family.
Oct 06, 2008
'WIMAX Can Change The Way India Works'Known as the father of WIMAX and MIMO, the next generation of telecommunications, Prof Paulraj talks about the history of WIMAX and how India is an ideal platform for this technology.
Feb 24, 2007
802.16m Standard to Deliver 1 Gbps WirelesslyIEEE is working on the new 802.16m Standard that will Deliver1 Gbps wirelessly.
Jun 14, 2006
Philips brings HD Wireless capability to living roomRoyal Philips Electronics today announced the signing of an agreement with Metalink Ltd. for use of its high-speed 802.11n 5GHz WiFi solution in Phili...


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Wedding venues struggling for business during COVID-19 pandemic
Gov. Phil Murphy has tightened restrictions on indoor and outdoor gatherings as cases of COVID-19 rise.
And while events such as weddings and funerals are exempt from some of these limits, those who work in the wedding industry say that they are still struggling during the pandemic.
“It’s definitely put a dent into our finances. It’s been really hard,” says Joan Brown with the Community House of Moorestown.
The Community House is usually entering its slower season for this time of year. But Brown says that this year has been different overall, with 70% of the spring, summer and fall weddings bumped because of the pandemic.
“We still have about 40 weddings though that were postponed to later dates such as 2021. Maybe one or two in 2022,” Brown says.
Wedding venues are still limited to 150 people or 25% capacity. For the Community House, this is only 70 people for indoors. Brown says that the limits are forcing the venue to get creative.
Brown says that the reason that the business was able to stay afloat is due to the outdoor space that is available. Brown says that the Community House was able to go through with about 30% of the weddings scheduled this year by either utilizing the front lawn or limiting the number of guests and going inside.
“We had a large tent on our front lawn, which was able to accommodate about 150 people. Some weddings were 100, some were less than that, but anything over 70, the weddings were outdoors with some indoor capacity,” she says.
Brown says that she is not too concerned should new restrictions go into effect for weddings this winter because the winter is the slow season. But she says that come March and beyond, it would be a different story.
“We have 60-some weddings on the books, and we are looking at going forward with them and hoping that COVID comes to an end or becomes a manageable end,” says Brown.


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Intersection: Black Friday Shopping Trends
While online retail giants like Amazon have taken a bite out of the foot traffic at brick and mortar stores in recent years, Black Friday still marks the start of the holiday shopping season. And for shoppers who venture out, it’s an event.
“They started doing those Thanksgiving sales back in about 2010, 2011,” says Orlando Sentinel retail and restaurant reporter Kyle Arnold.
“That trend has really kind of dropped in the last two or three years. Stores are still doing it, and they’re still offering the same sales, but people aren’t lining up in the same way,” says Arnold.
He explains some stores are doing new things to get customers away from their screens and in the doors.
“There’s one store at Altamonte Mall, I thought was really fascinating. BoxLunch, they sell pop culture merchandise, they’re going to give people a Lyft certificate, or a code on Lyft that will give you a fifteen dollar voucher that you can go from your home to the mall.”
Arnold says other malls are offering things like free valet parking, tote bags and gift bags.
Black Friday shopping can be a challenge, but what’s it like to be working in retail that day? We return to a conversation with two veterans of the retail industry, Hector Cordova and Taylor Durkin, that first aired on Intersection in 2015.
Working on Black Friday involves “a lot of overtime, no breaks,” Cordova told Intersection.
“Keeping hydrated is really tough. I’ve had associates that have passed out because they didn’t have enough water, there’s hordes of people and they just drop. Then even getting to them is tough because you have to get through crowds of people.”
And after Black Friday- there’s small business Saturday. Over the past month the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce has been gearing up for the day with a free store promoting the event.
“We think it’s great that as the world becomes more globalized, and there’s more the same of this store in another country as it is in another town, another state, small businesses are able to offer something unique and special, particularly at the holidays,” says Betsy Gardner Eckbert, president and CEO of the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce.
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After having teased us on the new JCW GP in February, MINI has finally revealed a prototype of its 2020 MINI John Cooper Works GP. The “extreme athlete” model made its public appearance for the first time as part of the 24 Hours Nürburgring pre-race program. Following which, the serial production vehicle of just 3,000 units will roll into the market in 2020.
With the announcement of the imminent arrival of the 2020 MINI John Cooper Works GP, MINI also divulge that the car’s in-line 4 engine with MINI TwinPower Turbo Technology makes more than 300 HP. However, it did not disclosed the performance numbers that most petrolhead clamor. But MINI did say that the 2020 MINI John Cooper Works GP prototype owned the “Green Hell” in “less than eight minutes,” which its predecessor took 8:23 minutes.
So, the take away is, it is definitely faster, though, it is worthy to note that the testing is far from over. Beyond that, MINI is not forthcoming with specifics. Anywho, at the 24-hour race, will interrupt their test program to present the camouflaged prototype of the said vehicle.
Details such as when exactly it will be available, how much it will cost and number of units allocated to each country are unknown to us at this point. Meanwhile, you can drool over the official images of the disguised MINI John Cooper Works GP Prototype posted along with this post.
All images courtesy of BMW AG.


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Aircraft sales weigh on US durable goods orders
2/27/2013 2:44:37 PM
New orders for durable goods in the United States fell sharply in January as aircraft orders plunged, government data released Wednesday showed.
After five straight months of gains, durable goods orders dropped 5.2 percent from December, when orders rose a revised 3.7 percent, the Commerce Department reported.
The decline was steeper than the 3.5 percent average estimate of analysts.
Excluding transportation orders, which can be volatile month-over-month, new durable goods orders were up 1.9 percent, almost double the increase in December.
The weakness came from sharp drops in aircraft orders, particularly a 63.8 percent plunge in defense aircraft as the government tightened spending to reduce the yawning deficit.
Orders for nondefense aircraft dropped 34.0 percent.
The data showed stronger-than-expected strength in core nondefense capital goods orders that exclude aircraft, up 6.3 percent.
Analysts noted that was a sign of renewed business confidence despite political gridlock over drastic government spending cuts, known as sequestration, due to take effect Friday.
"The best measure of business investment, non-defense capital goods orders excluding transportation, rose sharply. Demand for machinery and electrical equipment led the way," said Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors.
"The private sector was looking to the future even as the sequestration risk continued to overhang the economy."


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Lockdown wasn't going to stop the Travel Counsellors community from coming together! Take a look inside the first-ever Travel Counsellors Virtual Conference
What happens next?
- We're routing your enquiry to a member of our team and they'll be in touch soon.
- In the meantime, why not check out some of our events and blogs below.
Travel Counsellors across 7 countries
of Travel Counsellors say they love their job
say they wouldn't return to their previous job
Exciting News! Travel Counsellors are holding our first-ever virtual conference on Friday the 20th of November 2020. This will be attended by the Travel Counsellors community from across the globe.
What started as a dream has now turned into a reality! I am now a franchise owner with Travel Counsellors.


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This editorial, by Allison Margolin and Raza Lawrence, also appears in the July 25th, 2018 edition of The Daily Journal.
On June 25, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it was approving Epidiolex, a cannabidiol (CBD) oral solution for the treatment of seizures associated with two rare and severe forms of epilepsy. This is the first drug approved by the FDA comprised of an active ingredient derived from marijuana.
The approval is a sign of the growing acceptance of CBD, and cannabis generally, to treat various medical ailments. THC, not CBD, is the primary psychoactive (intoxicating) component of marijuana. But CBD is believed to have its own distinct health benefits for conditions ranging from anxiety to cancer, and has recently exploded in popularity. CBD-based products seem to be everywhere, including Walmart, although the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this year that CBD is properly banned as a controlled substance under federal law, and the FDA warned in its recent press release that it will continue to crack down on “illegal marketing of CBD-containing products with serious, unproven medical claims.”
California’s health department also recently made clear that state law forbids adding CBD products (whether from cannabis or industrial hemp) to any food. Regardless, the FDA’s ruling could open up CBD and cannabis generally to broader acceptance in government and society.
The FDA’s approval contradicts the federal classification of cannabis as a Schedule 1 substance, the same as heroin, which is defined as one with a high potential for abuse and no medical value. The FDA specifically found, as part of its approval of Epidiolex, that CBD has medical benefits that have been supported by rigorous scientific research and clinical studies. Litigants could use the FDA approval to challenge marijuana’s Schedule 1 status in court. Or, reading the tea leaves, the government could re-classify or de-classify marijuana on its own. Under the law, Congress, the president, and the heads of the
Drug Enforcement Administration and FDA would each have the power to remove marijuana from Schedule 1.
What happens next if cannabis is removed from Schedule 1? There are different possible paths. Under one scenario, feared by many in the cannabis industry, cannabis would become regulated by the FDA as a Schedule 2 (or 3 or 4 or 5) controlled substance. Complying with FDA regulations can be extremely expensive and time-consuming, which is why drug companies are all large corporations rather than “mom and pop” operations. The estimated cost of bringing a new prescription drug to market is $2.6 billion.
In California, the cannabis industry has operated for years under an informal system of non-profit “collectives,” with only vague legal guidelines and no regulation. This year, the state is transitioning to a new system of state and local licensing and regulations. California cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers are already struggling to comply with the new high taxes and complicated regulations imposed by California. If the FDA were to take over the regulation and licensing, the costs of compliance would likely be much higher, and only those with the deepest pockets would have the resources required to produce and sell cannabis. The costs of compliance would inevitably be passed on to consumers, who would face sky-high cannabis prices similar to those of prescription drugs.
Federal control and regulation of cannabis, however, is not inevitable. Many would prefer the approach taken by proposed federal legislation that removes federal penalties and allows each state to sets its own marijuana policy within its borders, similar to how alcohol is now treated. Under this approach, the FDA would not regulate cannabis like a prescription drug, but could still prevent misleading health claims or misrepresentations on labels, and enforce basic quality standards, as it does for dietary supplements.
Unlike synthetic drugs derived for billions of dollars in corporate labs, cannabis is just a plant. It is not toxic or physically addictive. People who use it for medical purposes can safely and effectively determine and adjust their own doses. States could set reasonable restrictions and regulations on commercial
cannabis as they do with alcohol, but would not need to subject it to the intense scrutiny of prescription drugs.
The approval of Epidiolex is promising to the extent it increases awareness and legitimacy of cannabis as medicine. But it also raises the concerning possibility that all cannabis may soon be regulated like prescription drugs, and controlled by large corporations, rather than by the people and small businesses who grew the industry up from the ground.


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Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, August 27, 2014 -- /EPR NETWORK/ -- Global mobile payment solutions provider Omlis has confirmed a strategic partnership with leading technology distributor Orion Software and Services. This alliance further strengthens Omlis as a leading provider of mobile payment solutions worldwide with support from the forward-thinking network of technology and security solutions that Orion employs.
This partnership is an indication of Orion’s strategic commitment to ensuring that all their customers are fully secured, which is best achieved by leveraging the innovative solutions provided by Omlis. Orion plans to integrate Omlis technologies into their current portfolio to provide uncompromised secure solutions for their identity theft products and to enable safe E-Commerce services.
“After two years of searching for a strategic fraud prevention partner, we found a revelation in Omlis,” said Orion’s Director, Simon Cairns. “Omlis offer a highly differentiated proposition to the market and their unique approach to ensuring the uncompromised safety of sensitive information is why they are a leading vision in their industry and our proud partners.”
Mr. Cairns is a 15 year veteran of the mobile payments industry. He has held numerous executive roles in retail banking technology companies, including prominent global companies S2 Systems and Oasis Technology. He established Orion as a worldwide leader in identity theft prevention through garnering an extensive network of software solutions.
Orion provides world class innovation and market-leading IT solutions to organizations to address challenges in fraud and improve security. The firm has built a formidable reputation in identity theft protection and anti-hacking protocols implemented at a corporate level through novel authentication processes supported by anti-phishing training programs. Their portfolio includes leading edge software solutions in authentication, anti-phishing, and personal security, and they anticipate integration of E-commerce platforms.
One in four consumers worldwide has been a victim of card fraud in the last five years, with even higher numbers in Orion’s key territories, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. An immense 44 percent of U.A.E. consumers have experienced fraud within five years, followed by 30 percent in South Africa, and 28 percent in the UK, according to a report from the Aite Group.
“We’ve seen the mobile payment space grow over time, and with that, the emergence of cyber fraud, cryptography, and an ease of which people can replicate the systems,” commented Mr. Cairns. “There’s a huge need for an unbreakable solution and that’s primarily what we found consistent in Omlis.”
Through this partnership, Orion will position Omlis as their technology provider of choice, leveraging their secure mobile payment solutions. Together, these visionary organizations will deliver compelling, fraud-free technology solutions to the mobile commerce market. The distinct mobile payments enabling technology combined with Orion’s immaculate industry reputation and client list will allow Orion to bring Omlis forward, delivering market leading mobile payment capability across the globe.
“Our partnership with Orion Software and Solutions is a natural step forward for Omlis, because they possess the market leading fraud prevention solutions that align strongly with our vision. Omlis delivers a distinctly unbreakable security solution, alongside high interoperability and immense scalability. Together we can implement systems that provide ultimate consumer confidence in mobile payment adoption worldwide,” said John Lethbridge, Strategic Partner Director at Omlis.
Omlis has recently secured an elite position in the Latin American mobile payment market with additional strategic partnerships. In Chile, Omlis’ innovative secure payments encryption technology will be instrumental in relationship with ISN, a specialized supplier of market leading technology solutions. Another strategic partnership with Stratus Technologies Mexico will provide uniquely risk-free transactions in the vastly expanding mobile commerce market in Mexico, and will drive Omlis technologies throughout key financial institutions and retail chains across Latin America.
About Omlis – Omlis is a global mobile payment solutions provider bringing to market proven, differentiated and most effective solutions to all mobile commerce security. Omlis combines completely secure, unique and uncompromised technology with 100% fault-tolerant tracking for all mobile payments in real-time for full transaction accountability.
About Orion Software and Services - Orion provides market-leading IT solutions to organizations to improve security using world class innovations in fraud prevention. Through implementing anti-hacking protocols, implementing training programs and identity theft education, Orion has built a formidable reputation as a leading supplier of fraud prevention technologies and services throughout the UK and EMEA region.
Contact-Details: Emma Thompson
Newcastle Upon Tyne,
0845 838 1308


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Shanghai to present more splendid CIIE with digital technologies
By Tian Hong, People’s Daily
Digital technologies are employed to make the 5th China International Import Expo (CIIE) more intelligent and bring better experiences to participants.
So far, preparations of the grand trade fair, which is scheduled to kick off on Nov. 5 and conclude on Nov. 10, have generally been completed.
New exhibiting zones will open this year featuring the crop seed industry and the artificial intelligence industry. Besides, the event has optimized the special area for low carbon and environmental protection technology, and expanded the innovation and incubation area.
More than 150 startups specialized in technological equipment, consumer products, healthcare and automobiles will display their products and services at the innovation and incubation area.
Representatives from a total of 145 countries, regions and international organizations will participate in the 5th CIIE. Enterprises from 127 countries and regions are expected to join the business exhibition, and 66 countries and three international organizations will take stage in the country exhibition. All these figures outnumber those in the last year.
Nicaragua, Djibouti, Mauritania, Comoros, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, and Iceland will take part in the country exhibition for the first time this year.
This year, the country exhibition will still be held online, showcasing participating countries’ technological innovation, culture and art, as well as investment environment with augmented reality, real-time rendering and other frontier technologies. It will give visitors an immersive experience.
Besides, more than 300 exhibitors specialized in intelligent industry and information technology will display and launch their products and services at the Digital CIIE platform this time.
On Oct. 28, a batch of art pieces to be exhibited at the 5th CIIE from the UK, France, Norway and Japan arrived in the Shanghai Waigaoqiao bonded area. Shanghai Customs for the first time employed information sampling devices to collect data of the features of the art pieces for exit-entry consistency verification.
Since exhibits of the 5th CIIE started entering China in mid-September, Shanghai Customs has set up 110 exclusive and around-the-clock customs clearance windows and channels to improve efficiency. Relevant exit and entry information is acquired on a big data platform of the customs to ensure faster customs procedures for visiting guests and exhibits.
Shanghai Customs has also combined inspections at the port of entry and exhibition hall so as to avoid secondary package opening.
So far, 194 batches of CIIE exhibits have completed customs clearance, with a total value of $142 million.
Shanghai has built the Hongqiao Central Business District Bonded Logistics Center and the Greenland Global Commodity Trade Hub Bonded Exhibition and Sales Place to expand the spillover effect of the CIIE and make bonded exhibition and sales regular.
The China-Europe freight train “Shanghai” launched by the Shanghai-based Orient International (Holding) Co., Ltd. before the 4th CIIE has reached some 20 cities in six countries over the past year.
This year, the company has set up a Shanghai International Sister Cities Hub at the Hongqiao Import Commodity Exhibition and Trade Center, which has so far attracted over 100 exhibitors from 30 countries.
“This year marks the fifth year and also a new start of the CIIE,” said Gu Jun, executive deputy director of the office of the leading group for urban service and security of the CIIE, adding that Shanghai is going all out to make the 5th CIIE successful, splendid and fruitful.


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Disney has officially purchased 21st Century Fox, and fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe everywhere are rejoicing. Some had thought that Comcast might come in and disrupt the deal, but Disney is the one who has come out on top in the end – purchasing FOX for a reported $71.3 billion.
FOX owner Rupert Murdoch released the following statement:
“Combining the 21CF businesses with Disney and establishing new ‘Fox’ will unlock significant value for our shareholders. We are grateful to our shareholders for approving this transaction. I want to thank all of our executives and colleagues for their enormous contributions in building 21st Century Fox over the past decades. With their help, we expect the enlarged Disney and new ‘Fox’ companies will be pre-eminent in the entertainment and media industries.”
Disney’s Bob Iger echoed Murdoch’s comments, saying:
“We’re incredibly pleased that shareholders of both companies have granted approval for us to move forward, and are confident in our ability to create significant long-term value through this acquisition of Fox’s premier assets. We remain grateful to Rupert Murdoch and to the rest of the 21st Century Fox board for entrusting us with the future of these extraordinary businesses, and look forward to welcoming 21st Century Fox’s stellar talent to Disney and ultimately integrating our businesses to provide consumers around the world with more appealing content and entertainment options.”
Fans of the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises are definitely going to be happy, as Fantastic Four is yet to have a good movie, and the X-Men franchise has been very “meh” as of late – with the last two FOX X-Men films, X-Men: Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants, reportedly on the verge of being shelved entirely.
Fans have reacted to the news:
It will still be a while before we see the characters officially in the MCU, but fans will be excited for the news regardless. It does ask an interesting question about Disney over-controlling the market – but the deal is essentially done at this point.


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Joe Biden. File
Some 130 countries have backed a global minimum tax as part of a worldwide effort to keep multinational firms from dodging taxes by shifting their profits to countries with low rates.
On Feb. 15 the World Trade Organisation (WTO) elected Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the body’s seventh director general. She is the first woman and the first African to hold this post.
European shares eked out small gains on Tuesday as talk of progress in China-US trade talks was offset by mixed corporate earnings, while sterling held below $1.30 ahead of another crucial Brexit vote.
Dubai property prices continue to increase across various affordable and luxury segments as key areas record high numbers. Sales trends in the first half of the year indicate
With IT spending for cloud computing increasing at an exponential rate in the Middle East, BitTitan sees greater growth prospects for its business across the region.
The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a $400 million development financing agreement to enhance the performance of the logistics and transportation sectors in Egypt


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Doom and gloom surrounded Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. today after the company reported flat fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue amid rising concern for business spending on technology hardware.
The company reported a net profit of $250 million, slightly below the $259 million profit it delivered in the same period one year ago. Earnings before certain costs such as stock compensation came to 44 cents per share. Revenue for the period was also flat, at $6.71 billion compared to $6.7 billion one year earlier.
The results came in just below Wall Street’s targets of 45 cents per share in earnings and $6.8 billion in revenue. HPE’s stock sank by more than 6% in extended trading following the report, erasing a slight gain made earlier in the day.
HPE explained that its profit was hurt by a $126 million charge relating to its suspension of business operations in Russia.
Antonio Neri (pictured), president and chief executive officer of HPE, sought to highlight the company’s “significant order growth” and the “accelerating interest” from customers in its edge-to-cloud portfolio and its HPE GreenLake platform. “I am optimistic that demand will continue to be strong, given our customer’s needs to accelerate their business resilience and competitiveness,” he added.
Neri’s optimism couldn’t hide the fact that many of the company’s numbers were a disappointment for investors. The company has faced doubts ever since Cisco Systems Inc. provided a lower forecast last month, sparking fears that businesses are cutting back on their technology spending budgets.
Those fears were apparently justified, with sales from HPE’s largest compute business segment staying flat at $3 billion in the quarter. Storage fared even worse, with sales of $1.1 billion, down 3% from the same period a year earlier. HPE’s financial services revenue also declined 2%, to $823 million.
There were a couple of bright spots. HPE’s high-performance computing and artificial intelligence unit delivered $710 million in sales, up 4%, and the intelligent edge business generated $867 million, up 8% from a year ago.
HPE has high hopes for the intelligent edge business, which includes HPE GreenLake, a portfolio of hardware and software products that enterprises can buy on a pay-as-you-go basis instead of purchasing everything upfront. During the quarter, the company announced a broad expansion of GreenLake.
Notably, the platform is now fully integrated with the Aruba Central network management system of its HPE Aruba subsidiary, which allows more than 120,000 Aruba customers to order network equipment and services on demand. In addition, the company added a number of new cloud services to GreenLake that span networking, data services, HPC and operations management.
The new additions seem to have been well-received, with HPE reporting that as-a-service orders rose by 107% from the same period one year ago, the third straight quarter in which orders have doubled or better. In addition, it reported that Aruba Services revenue increased by double digits, while intelligence edge-as-a-service annual recurring revenue rose more than 50%.
Charles King of Pund-IT Inc. told SiliconANGLE that it’s difficult to find much to get excited about in HPE’s earnings announcement. He said that while the intelligent edge and AI/HPC groups delivered decent growth, those businesses account for less than a quarter of the company’s overall revenue.
“The rest of HPE’s business units were either flat or down,” King said. “Although the problems HPE cited, such as business in Russia and supply chain pressures, are a challenge, they may also have led investors to believe that the company is less financially buoyant than they’d hoped for. With HPE’s guidance essentially flat it’s not surprising that some shareholders have decided that opportunities are brighter elsewhere.”
Holger Mueller of Constellation Research Inc. was kinder in his assessment of the company’s performance, saying HPE did OK in a tough business environment, delivering slight growth despite supply chain challenges and the exit from Russia. “It’s good to see the as-a-service offerings growing and doubling, so clearly HPE is onto something there,” he added. “But when other strong categories like HPC grow less than 10% and volume businesses like compute and storage are flat or shrink, then it’s tough sledding for the company.”
Looking to the third quarter, HPE is expecting earnings of between 44 cents and 54 cents per share, the midpoint of which is just below Wall Street’s forecast of 52 cents per share.
HPE also updated its full-year guidance, saying that it forecasts earnings of between $1.96 to $2.10 per share, versus the consensus estimate of $2.09. The company said it sees sales in a range of $28.62 billion to $28.89 billion, ahead of Wall Street’s forecast of $28.59 billion.
“It’s good to see HPE’s executives are confident they can meet full-year revenue guidance,” Mueller said. “They must have optimism that the next two quarters will be much better.”


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Hermès’s largest factory, in the sleepy Paris suburb of Pantin, is a stunning structure with glass walls. Light dapples the workstations where artisans handcraft Birkin and Kelly bags that will sell for upward of $10,000. But Axel Dumas, Hermès’s CEO, has a soft spot for the smaller, humbler workshop around the corner, where customers send in decades-old, weather-beaten Hermès products to be repaired.
It takes years of training for an Hermès leatherworker to qualify to work in the restoration department, since the work is more complex and delicate than building a bag from scratch. When I visited the workshop before the pandemic, I saw a camel-colored briefcase arrive in tatters, covered in splotchy water marks—one of 100,000 pieces that passed through the workshop in 2019. The man repairing the bag quickly identified it as a model from the 1970s and took apart stitches to remove a stained strip of leather. His colleague dug through a pile of cowhides to find one that perfectly matches the bag’s creamy, glistening patina. “There’s nothing that makes me happier than when a young girl comes to us with her grandmother’s handbag and asks us to give it new life,” Dumas says, a member of the sixth generation of his family to lead the company.
Hermès has offered repair services since Thierry Hermès established the company in 1837 as a purveyor of saddles and horse harnesses. Nearly two centuries later, Hermès’s approach to creating durable, well-crafted goods that are designed to be passed from one generation to the next is resonating with consumers, particularly those who are concerned about the planet, according to Dumas. While other luxury houses have courted younger shoppers by appointing hip creative directors with a knack for eye-catching aesthetics, Hermès has largely stayed true to its classic designs—with the occasional concession to trends, such as the $5,000 fanny pack it released in 2019. But the brand has made its traditional craftsmanship and iconic bags feel new through pop-ups and art installations that allow it to highlight both its commitment to durability and the enduring value of its products.
This formula has helped drive the brand’s spectacular growth. Between 2010 and 2019, Hermès tripled its revenues to $7.7 billion, with operating margins of 34%, the best in the industry, according to The Economist. In 2020, its revenue fell during the lockdowns but was up again by the end of the year, largely thanks to its success in Asia, where sales spiked by 47% in the fourth quarter. Hermès now has a network of 306 stores around the world, more than 16,600 employees, and 51 factories. And it plans to increase its production capabilities, with five new workshops over the next three years.
All of this comes down to Hermès’s skill at winning over a new generation of consumers, not by reinventing itself, but by hewing closely to its original mission of selling handmade goods, designed to last forever. But as the brand continues to conquer the luxury industry, it will have to reckon with a paradox at the heart of its business model: How can it continue to grow when its success and sustainability are premised on scarcity?
Not your grandmothers’ Hermès
During Austin’s South by Southwest festival three years ago, I took a walk on South Congress Avenue, where I stumbled across a laundromat with washing machines in a precise shade of Hermès orange. I looked closer and discovered that it was, in fact, an Hermès pop-up offering a free service: People could bring in their vintage Hermès scarves to be updated using a dip-dyeing technique that would give them vibrant new colors.
Hermèsmatic, as the installation was called, appeared all over the country—New York City, Nashville, Tennessee, Washington, D.C.—as well as in Manchester, England, and Istanbul, Turkey. To Dumas, part of the point of the pop-up was to prove that focusing on durability doesn’t have to be boring. “After we invest so much in our product, in the fabrication, in the quality of the material, we like to be a bit playful,” Dumas says. “We’re fun people here, inside the company, and we try to express that. Whenever we think about doing a new project, the thing I ask myself is: Will it make us laugh?”
The immersive, Instagrammable experience was perfectly pitched at younger consumers, but it also drove home the point that even the most delicate Hermès products, such as the iconic silk square, are designed to last forever. And ingeniously, it made the case that buying a brand-new $435 Hermès scarf was a good investment.
Dumas says his family has always been maniacally focused on making high-quality, long-lasting products but that message has not always been attractive to consumers. He first joined the company in 2003, at a time when it was fashionable to wear flashy designer outfits covered in enormous logos, making Hermès’s classic designs and inconspicuous branding seem staid. Part of the brand’s current success, he believes, is simply that many people’s values have shifted to align with those of Hermès. “Back then, consumers were all about bling-bling,” says Dumas, with a laugh. “Our ethos didn’t work as well back then. Today, consumers care about whether an object can last a long time and not contribute to waste.”
Of course, it’s easier to encourage people to hold onto products for life when they are extremely expensive, which is the case with Hermès. At the high end, Birkin bags can run upwards of $100,000. The brand woos younger consumers with entry-level products such as scarves, bracelets, and sneakers, which run between $400 and $800. Prices like this keep the brand exclusive, allowing it to grow without losing its cachet. But Hermès also strategically limits how many of its products it releases into the market. “Our strategy of keeping a very limited distribution has really worked very much in our favor,” Robert Chavez, Hermès’s president and CEO for the Americas, explained at a 2019 conference. “People want things that not a lot of people can get; once something becomes very very saturated, that luxury consumer doesn’t really want that anymore.”
Hermès deliberately makes it hard for consumers to access some of its most coveted bags, such as the Birkin and the Kelly. You can’t buy these items online, and since the brand no longer offers waiting lists through its stores, you need to have an existing relationship with Hermès to buy one. Owning one of these bags signals wealth, but also your ability to get behind the velvet rope the brand has erected. Scarcity also means these bags retain their value on secondhand markets. According to resale site Rebag’s annual report, Hermès bags fetch 80% of their retail price when resold, while Chanel and Louis Vuitton only fetch 63%.
But there is an inherent paradox to growing by maintaining exclusivity. As the brand’s increasing revenue demonstrates, more people around the world now own Hermès goods. The company is expanding its production capacity to meet this demand: This year, it will unveil a new leather-goods workshop staffed by 250 artisans, with more production centers coming in the next two years. After Hermès’s most recent earnings call, Bernstein luxury analyst Luca Solca pointed out in a memo that increasing volume could reduce the brand’s desirability in the long term. “Failure to convincingly innovate could push Hermès in a ‘classic corner,’ out of sync with younger global luxury consumers,” he wrote.
The overconsumption problem
Over the past five years, fashion has started to reckon with its devastating impact on the planet. The industry is responsible for 1.4 million trillion microplastic fibers in the ocean and 20% of global wastewater. It accounts for between 4% and 10% of global carbon emissions, depending on your calculation. But studies show that consumers are eager to make more conscious purchases, which is why products marketed as eco-friendly are growing faster than their conventional counterparts.
The fashion industry now sees the economic opportunity of marketing greener goods. Startups such as Allbirds and Pangaia have developed eco-friendly materials for products, and Adidas and Everlane are trying to eliminate virgin plastic from their supply chain. In the luxury sector, Gucci is now carbon neutral through investments in regenerative farming and biodiversity, and Stella McCartney uses cutting-edge materials, such as lab-grown leather and bioengineered silk. But these efforts won’t put a dent in luxury’s environmental footprint if the industry keeps churning out so many products.
Hermès has taken a different approach to sustainability. Dumas firmly believes that one of the biggest problems in the fashion industry is overconsumption: Between 2000 and 2015, the number of garments produced globally doubled from 50 billion to 100 billion, for only 7.8 billion humans. He argues that one of the most powerful ways to combat fashion’s impact on the planet is to encourage consumers to own less—and one way to do this is to help them repair what they already have. “Offering long-lasting, repairable objects, which are meant to be handed down, is also a way to reduce the impacts of overconsumption and wasting of resources, one of the principles to which Maison Hermès is particularly attached,” the brand’s 2019 financial report reads.
Hermès invests in creating buzz around activations such as Hermèsmatic, and it even produced a documentary-style video series on YouTube to highlight its repair workshop. As the brand grows, so do its repair operations: It currently employs 78 specialists in 14 workshops across the United States, Asia, and Europe, and it has just opened a new repair shop in New York City. Dumas says all of this is designed to encourage Hermès customers to keep products for a lifetime but also to create a culture where fashion items are seen as durable.
Hermès is also working to reduce its impact across its supply chain by eliminating carbon emissions and offsetting the rest through large reforestation efforts around the world. It’s worth pointing out, though, that half of the company’s revenue comes from leather goods, and raising cattle is particularly bad for the planet: Cows generate 40% of the world’s methane, a greenhouse gas that is 28% more damaging to the climate than carbon dioxide. This is why tech companies such as Bolt Threads and Natural Fiber Welding are so invested in creating more sustainable alternatives.
Dumas says that since the company only uses natural fabrics such as leather, silk, and cashmere, and sources the highest-quality (and thus most expensive) materials available, the company is invested in protecting these resources and maximizing their use. Hermès works closely with its partner farmers and tanneries to operate sustainably, partly out of self-interest. In Brazil, for instance, the company has spent two decades working with local farmers to cultivate mulberry trees using traditional Japanese methods, which, in turn, feed silkworms. This supply chain produces the highest-grade silk, but it is currently under threat because of climate change. “We are a bit like the canary in the coal mine,” Dumas says. “What is happening to the environment is very worrisome for our business model because we’ve seen a decrease in the quality of materials over the last five years. Farming is more industrialized than before, and this is really having an impact [on our access to materials].”
Sustainability can be beautiful
As I stepped out of Hermès’s restoration department in Paris and meandered through the rest of the building, I stumbled into another workshop that felt like a magical alternate universe. Here, workstations were covered in colorful curiosities: swaths of silk, leather scraps, and jars full of buttons. I nearly ran into a life-size sculpture of a mother and baby hippo made from blue leather. I had stepped into Petit H, a studio where craftspeople create one-of-a-kind objects from materials salvaged from Hermès factories.
Petit H first launched in 2010 as part of the company’s commitment to sustainability. In 2020, France passed a law forbidding brands to destroy unsold products, making Petit H’s mission even more relevant. Godefroy de Virieu, Petit H’s creative director, points out that the studio has developed a process for deconstructing unsold items and turning them into new products. Some items are sold in Hermès stores, while larger, rarer ones are sold at auctions in art exhibits that pop up around the world. All of this generates another revenue stream for the company.
Seated at their workstations, the craftspeople have autonomy over what they make, but given how small most of the scraps are, many of the products are small and quirky. I spot a leather beer cozy, charms in the shape of hearts, miniature dogs wrapped in leather, silk pouches made from scarves that were never sold, and coin purses and wallets. “What we do here is bricolage,” says de Virieu. “It’s a way of showing our customers that nothing is wasted at Hermès.” Petit H represents a new chapter for Hermès, but in many ways, it simply reprises the themes the company has continually returned to over the last 184 years: sourcing the best raw materials, maximizing their use, and handcrafting them into durable products.
The question now is how Hermès will continue to grow—and sell more products—while retaining its exclusivity and commitment to sustainability. Anita Radon, a business professor at the Swedish university Södertörn who specializes in luxury brands, says that balancing growth with scarcity has always been the central challenge of the luxury sector. It becomes trickier as brands expand into Asia. For Hermès, the struggle is even more acute, since the brand’s success is so explicitly connected to its rarity.
Radon says the way to keep consumers hooked as products become more common is to invest heavily in the myths about the brand’s origins: This kind of storytelling can create the aura of exclusivity, even as the products become more widely available. She points to the way Hermès has named its two most famous bags for the iconic women who first carried them, Jane Birkin and Grace Kelly. “True or not, myth or actual history, these little bits of [storytelling] help in keeping up the notion of luxury and exclusivity,” she writes in the Journal of Business Administration Research.
As Dumas helms Hermès through this period of remarkable success—even in the face of a pandemic—he’s clearly thinking about what it means to grow sustainably, in every sense of the word. It’s a very personal question for him; it is, after all, still his family’s business, and he would like to leave it in good shape for the next generation. “When I think about what it means to manage the House of Hermès, I really do think of it as a house,” he says. “How do you build a house with a strong foundation? How do you treat the people in your house? How do you treat the garden next to your house? If there is something that needs to be done better, let’s embrace it.”
For more on Fast Company’s list of the Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in style for 2021, click here.


text: do their PR for them, with the latest example being the PN-320 clamshell. It's not going for the world record or anything, but the 0.9-inch thick PN-320 is still fairly slim for a flip phone, and it's not too hard on the eyes neither. Otherwise, the CDMA phone is pretty lame, with a mere VGA camera and 262k color LCD, ala its PN-315 sibling. There's no branding visible, but the phone looks to be headed for Verizon like the PN-315, thanks to some Verizon-specific wording in the manual. We just hope Verizon users can contain themselves for joy, and the FCC is getting reimbursed somehow.


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Just recently, a survey suggested that of the hundreds of executives polled, 84% indicated that their companies were exploring the possibilities to take advantage of blockchain technologies to improve their business in terms of efficiency, effectiveness, or security. While the same survey also showed that it would be a few years before many of these blockchain applications are implemented, the study showed a promising move for the new technology. Walmart, one of the largest brick and mortar retail stores in the nation, is among the 84% of companies and they are innovatively exploring blockchain to establish those potential new efficiencies.
Walmart is focusing on employing blockchain to help with autonomous delivery drones. The most significant step they have made towards this new venture came in August. Walmart published a patent for a new system, titled Systems, Devices, and Methods for In-Field Authenticating of Autonomous Robots, which will enable autonomous electronic devices to communicate with each other via a wireless network and then pass objects to one another. Thus, one drone will travel to another drone, exchange authentication keys using the blockchain and a pure signal (for instance, an RFID, QD code, or ultrasound), and pass the package if there is a match. The concept is truly revolutionary. Some have even said that it could revolutionize the logistics industry.
The filing itself describes the intended use of the technology. It notes that automation in this process is a key way to reduce the delivery times and reduce the need for “trusted” delivery processes, as the authentication serves as a key, simple component to that trust. In addition, the system described in the patent filing is said to be composed of “a plurality of nodes configured to generate computational proof of record integrity and the chronological order of its use for content, trade, and/or as a currency of exchange through a peer-to-peer network. Each node works on finding a difficult proof-of-work for its bloc”, according to the filing.
What is important to note about the patent is that it is merely a concept at this point. The real implementation of this system has by no means taken place to this point, just like blockchain developments and ideas for many corporations around the world, as sited from the previously mentioned survey.
Walmart’s team also relayed more information on their endeavors into blockchain. They admitted that the solution they are proposing with drones and blockchain could lead to potential issues, as many customers may not want their packages delivered by flying drones. In addition, individuals may not trust drones. Walmart also said that they are looking into ways to utilize smart contracts in their blockchain framework and are exploring different ways to manage the smart devices or appliances they employ.


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Recently, according to the Korean media Business Korea, the Korean government is launching a large-scale semiconductor manufacturing cluster plan, which will be implemented by four large semiconductor manufacturers and about 50 upstream and downstream components or equipment manufacturers. The Korean government expects to invest about 120 yuan in 10 years. Trillion won (about 733.4 billion yuan). Among them, SK Hynix, a Korean memory manufacturer, will invest in a new semiconductor factory in the semiconductor manufacturing cluster.
Reported that the Korean government, including the Ministry of Trade, Science and Technology, and Energy in the proposed 2019 business plan, has also included the large-scale semiconductor manufacturing cluster plan. Therefore, since 2019, the Korean government has drawn up the details of the relevant plan, and the follow-up will be implemented in stages according to the plan. Among them, SK Hailishi, the memory giant, will invest in a new semiconductor factory in the semiconductor manufacturing cluster, which will be located in Longren, Kyonggi, Korea, next to Samsung‘s semiconductor factory in Kyonggi, Kyonggi.
South Korean officials say that if SK Hynix decides to build a new manufacturing plant under the Semiconductor Manufacturing Group Plan, it will be able to integrate nearby semiconductor parts and equipment suppliers and strengthen its overall semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem. In response, SK Hailishi said that it had not confirmed the location of the new manufacturing plant in the capital city, Longren, and was continually discussing with the government because other places, including Lichuan and Qingzhou, were also relevant locations.
At present, SK Hynix is building a semiconductor manufacturing plant in Lichuan and Qingzhou, respectively. Among them, the M15 plant in Qingzhou has been completed recently and is expected to be put into production in the near future. Lichuan‘s factory is currently under construction. Therefore, in order to achieve cluster effect, SK Hailishi hopes to build new production plants in Lichuan and Qingzhou. At present, there is no suitable space for both regions, so they are also in discussions with the Korean government.
In order to build a semiconductor factory in the metropolitan area of Seoul, SK Hynix had to abide by the Seoul Urban Maintenance Plan Act and other regulations in the past, the report said. After the Korean government promoted the large-scale semiconductor manufacturing cluster plan, it planned to deregulate SK Hailis to participate in the government‘s semiconductor manufacturing cluster plan. SK Hailishi is expected to build a new semiconductor plant, which is expected to be completed in 2025, to help build the entire semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem, and to achieve the goal of the entire semiconductor manufacturing cluster plan between 2029 and 2030.


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According to Max Weinbach, in addition to the Galaxy Fold 2, Samsung is also working on the Galaxy Fold E. That is supposed to be a more affordable variant of the Galaxy Fold 2, it seems.
Samsung working on several Galaxy Fold models, including a more affordable variant
The Galaxy Fold E is expected to cost around $1,100 says Max Weinbach, so it will be considerably more affordable than the Galaxy Fold 2.
In addition to that, Mr. Weinbach mentioned that Samsung is developing three foldable smartphones. Two with plastic displays, and one with UTG (Ultra Thin Glass) display.
That’s pretty much all the information that Mr. Weinbach shared. Mauri QHD responded to Max Weinbach’s tweet, though, and added some additional information.
The says that the Galaxy Fold E will be called the Galaxy Fold Lite, according to his information. He also mentioned that his sources say it will cost around $900, not $1,100. It may also include just one display, on the inside.
The Galaxy Fold 2 is expected to launch in August, alongside the Galaxy Note 20. Samsung did not confirm anything just yet, but many rumors are pointing in that direction.
The Galaxy Fold 2 is even rumored to arrive with a stylus. The S Pen will allegedly be included, which was not the case with the original model.
The Galaxy Fold 2 will be a blend between the Galaxy Fold, Z Flip & S20+
The device’s design did not exactly leak out properly just yet, but we do know what to expect. Several rumors described its design, and it seems like it will be a blend between the Galaxy Fold 2 and Galaxy Z Flip.
It will be a tablet that folds, essentially, like the Galaxy Fold. It will include a UTG display, like the Galaxy Z Flip, and also a display camera hole like the Galaxy Z Flip.
That display hole will be included on the Galaxy Fold 2’s outer and inner displays. Its bezels will be much thinner than the ones on the original Galaxy Fold, around the outer display.
The unseemly display notch will no longer be included on the inner display. The phone is expected to offer a similar rear camera setup as the Galaxy S20+. More information will keep on coming in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for that. The foldable game will become really interesting as it seems like Samsung means business, as it’s working on several Galaxy Fold models.


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YOKNEAM, Israel (Aug. 27, 2010)—TGL S.P. Industries Ltd. has started production in its new custom compounding factory in Yokneam.
The Soltam Industries Ltd. subsidiary—part of the Pelmar Group—invested nearly $4 million in the project so TGL could supply all its rubber compounds for its own production and also to sell the extra capacity to rubber product makers in Israel and abroad, the company said.
TGL said the new equipment includes a high capacity Farrel Corp. 200-liter mixer and automatic discharging, cooling and stacking line. The compounding operation also has fully automatic weighing and charging systems for carbon black, silica, oil and small chemical ingredients that the firm said will enable it to meet the high technological requirements of its customers.
TGL's main market for its rubber products is military and defense. It said it is one of the largest makers of armored vehicle road wheels, under-vehicle components, tracks and pads.
The company plans to refurbish its present mixing line, which it said will make it the largest custom compounder in the region with capabilities of more than 1,500 metric tons per month.
In addition, TGL upgraded its laboratories, added two chemists and engineers to its staff, and received a grant from the chief scientist in the Ministry of Industry for nano technology research projects.


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By Chris Lee
Wearable tech, an interview with Mark Zuckerberg and a new Samsung handset – all the key standouts from Mobile World Congress (MWC ) 2014. While experts agree that phone handset development is no longer bounding ahead with amazing new features, wearable technology is starting to steal the limelight.
"MWC 2014 has accelerated the show’s theme in recent years: iterative updates and big handset makers holding back from their most important launches,” tech journalist and MWC veteran Gordon Kelly told NMK. “Samsung was the notable exception, but increasingly MWC is becoming a show for ambitious smaller companies, particularly from Asia, to come over and promote their devices.”
Wearable tech comes to the fore
The wearable tech market is already growing at a fast pace. In its recently released survey polling 6,000 consumers worldwide, Accenture found that more than half of consumers (52 per cent) are interested in buying wearable technologies such as fitness monitors for tracking physical activity and managing their personal health – particularly interesting given that some of these products are not yet commercially available.
According to David Sovie, MD of Accenture’s Communications, Media, and Technology Group, consumers are becoming “increasingly awakened” to the benefits that constant connectivity can bring.
“Interest in the ‘quantified self’ is driving innovations in fitness monitoring and as a result the development of the wider wearable tech market,” Sovie said. “We can see from announcements at Mobile World Congress, consumer electronics companies are now capitalising on this. The momentum in the wearable device market is closely linked to the consumer’s transformational journey, in which digital lifestyles are being embraced like never before.”
For these devices to really reach their mass market potential, their aesthetic appeal will be essential, Sovie added.
“Going forward, we expect to see a growing number of consumer electronics manufacturers unveiling stylish wearable devices which can be worn in different ways, through collaborations with the fashion industry,” Sovie argued. “Furthermore, technological advancements are now generating smarter sensors that can detect temperature, pressure, eye tracking, gestures and magnetic fields – these sensors will be increasingly used in wearable devices, enabling manufacturers to collect specific user data such as how a person walks or drives, and what they eat, also impacting on the wearable fitness boom.”
Samsung launches S5 handset
Korean manufacturer Samsung bucked the recent trend for brands to resist launching new handsets at MWC by unveiling its new Galaxy S5.
For Jason Jenkins, editor of CNET UK, there were two stories at Samsung’s event: the end of true smartphone innovation and the emergence of wearable tech.
“There are some cool new features on the Galaxy S5 to be sure, and it being waterproof is handy. But the fact it basically looks the same as the last two top-end Samsung phones is a disappointment, and there’s nothing here that would have a Galaxy S3 or S4 owner rushing out to buy the new model,” Jenkins said. “The days when a new phone meant a huge leap forward are behind us. Phones are becoming more like computers: you need one, but they’re all pretty similar, and a model from a few years ago will probably do fine.”
For Jenkins, the three wearable tech products Samsung also announced at MWC are in some ways more interesting.
“I’m not sure Samsung has cracked the wearable code yet, but the Gear Fit in particular is a nice looking piece of kit. This is where we’ll be seeing the true innovation in the years to come,” he concluded.
Gordon Kelly agreed, adding that there is some way to go for wearable tech before it sees wider adoption.
“What the show taught us is handset design is largely in a holding pattern,” Kelly concluded. “Devices are fast enough, big enough and thin enough already which is pushing camera quality and battery life back into the limelight. I don’t see handsets radically evolving again until the market for wearables becomes clear. Not needing to take phones out our pockets every five minutes represents a major advance that would trigger design change, but the appetite for wearables and having to charge them remains weak. A shake up is coming, but MWC 2014 didn’t see it.”


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The Payments System Review handed down yesterday could see the government keeping a closer eye on big-tech payment platforms, but industry players say the recommendations are, by and large, a good thing for competition in the Aussie ecosystem.
The review, headed up by KPMG senior partner Scott Farrell, was charged with finding ways to bring the regulatory system around payments up to date with technologies emerging in the space, and to assess whether the system is still fit-for-purpose and effective.
In a nutshell, the answer was ‘no’.
In his forward to the report, Farrell noted that new technologies, business models and even new forms of money are transforming the payments system. Whether we like it or not, those innovations are forcing adaptation and growth.
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“We cannot delay,” Farrell said in his foreword to the report.
“It has been more than twenty years since Australia updated its regulatory architecture for payments, and many other countries have already modernised their approaches to the benefit of their consumers and businesses.
“Although what we have has served us well, it is now time for an upgrade. A world-class digital economy needs a world class payments ecosystem.”
Among 15 recommendations are five key points:
- The government should take on more obligations and powers in setting the strategic direction of the payments ecosystem, in collaboration with industry and regulators;
- There is a requirement for a strategic plan for the ecosystem, backed by a ‘payments industry convenor’ and improved payments functions within the Treasury;
- Better coordination is needed between payments regulators, to ensure they’re aligned with said strategy;
- The scope of the Reserve Bank of Australia could be expanded to better protect the payments system; and
- There is a need for a more simplified, tiered licensing framework, removing the need for providers to secure multiple authorisations from multiple regulators, and installing a single system that will scale up to cater to a business as it grows.
The report also outlined several pressing challenges, in terms of new technologies and how they interact with regulation.
Those technologies include digital wallets, buy-now, pay-later services, cryptocurrencies and central bank digital currencies.
The report also highlighted de-banking as a concern, whereby banks withdraw services from a customer, particularly for suppliers of non-bank international transfers.
“De-banking undermines a necessary source of competitive tension in cross border payments,” the report said.
What does it mean?
These recommendations are intended to encourage collaboration between public and private sector participants in the sector, to respond to emerging challenges and improve customer outcomes, Farrell said.
According to the report, they are designed to allow for greater adoption of faster payments services both by consumers and governments, as well as supporting the creation of a new digital infrastructure allowing the payments system to better integrate with the digital economy.
They are also intended to support Australian businesses to expand internationally, and to allow Aussie consumers to benefit from payments services developed overseas as well.
However, all of this could mean tighter regulations around the payment solutions of international tech giants, such as Google and Apple Pay.
Would this allow for more competition for local players, or put the brakes on fintech innovation in Australia — one of our strongest startup sectors?
Victor Zheng, co-founder and chief of payments platform mx51, says the review is “incredibly timely”.
He argues that it is “increasingly obvious” that big-tech disruptors like Apple and Google — even Afterpay — are launching payment solutions in order to make inroads to then offer additional financial services.
That’s all “whilst continuing to operate outside of regulatory impositions”.
“They currently operate in a grey zone of payment regulation,” he says.
“This allows them to bypass some regulations imposed on the banks and move faster as a result.”
Zheng sees the recommendations in the report as levelling the playing field, something he says will be “crucial” for boosting competition in the sector.
FinTech Australia chief Rebecca Schot-Guppy also broadly agrees with the Payments System Review’s recommendations, and notes that the report is welcome, either way.
“It’s been over twenty years since our last review,” she says.
“Back then, cheques, cards and cash were primary forms of payment. Some of the major technology companies driving this shift in how we pay didn’t even exist.”
In particular, she draws attention to the need for a single payment licensing system that applies to all players. This is “especially crucial” as more tech companies make their move in payments.
And, she highlights the recommendation to put the needs of both consumers and businesses at the centre of reform.
“This is a stronger approach that is smarter than just slapping regulations on the newest players in the market as a quick fix, and will encourage overall innovation,” she explains.


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Aritzia Has Filed IPO in the Toronto Stock Exchange
Aritzia, the 30-year-old fashion company from Canada, has officially filed IPO in the Toronto Stock exchange. The fashion company has over 75 stores in Canada and the U.S., with about 16 in the United States alone and a growing online retail presence that is catching popularity. Despite the competition from big fashion companies like H&M and Zara, Aritzia has managed to thrive.
IPO stands for initial public offering, which means that the stock of a private company like Aritzia is now available to be purchased by the public. Reportedly, the company will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the subordinate voting shares. This means that the company offers different types of classes of shares to gain equity capital from investors without providing too much voting power to the shareholders. The company basically is not taking a risk at all when they offer IPO’s to the public in case the business doesn’t perform well.
Aritzia first opened their retail stores in the U.S in November 2007 in Seattle and Santa Carla, California. The company on May 29th, 2016 has reported an overall profit of 38.1 million dollars compared to the 16.5 million they earned on March 1st, 2015. Aritzia reportedly started as a single store in an upscale Vancouver mall in 1984. Since then CEO Brian Hill states the company has become one of the most highly rated retailers in Canada.
The fashion retailer is continuing to expand their company by allowing their products to be shipped internationally this fall. The company hopes in the future to earn a new revenue between 1.1 to 1.2 billion dollars in the next five years. They plan to achieve this high net profit by opening a minimum of 25 to 30 new retail stores in the future.
Even though IPO’s sales this year have been slow in the Canadian stock exchange, Aritzia is confident that they will earn more profit from the company’s IPO sales to new public investors.


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In Microsoft’s ongoing attempt to go one better than Google and Apple in the user-experience stakes, Windows 10’s Cortana digital assistant comes with countless functions to compete with Google Now and Siri. Now, in partnership with manufacturer Lenovo, the REACHit service lets Cortana search and deliver seamless results from not only your local drives, but cloud-based systems like Dropbox, Google Drive, and Box.
After a year of rumors and speculation, Apple has finally released the iPhone 6s and its bigger counterpart, the iPhone 6s Plus. The tech giant has added several key improvements to the device, including the upgrade to iOS 9, a high-resolution camera, and numerous other new features and internal upgrades.
Millions of business users around the world use Outlook to manage their email communications including contacts, schedules, calendar, and more. While Outlook is an indispensable tool for your company, many people only use it to send and receive emails without learning about its more advanced features.
How secure is your business’s network? If your organization lost access to all data for 48 hours due to a cyber attack, could you still operate? Today, small and medium-sized businesses are increasingly targeted by hackers. If your security isn’t up to par, you could suffer a drop in profits and a damaged reputation, and could even potentially go out of business.
This fall, Microsoft and Apple are poised to release their newest tablets: the iPad Pro and Surface Pro 4. While some consumers will quickly opt for their favorite brand without giving it a second thought, others may like to know how these two really stack up.
Technology can be a blessing or a curse. It can lead to more business growth and productivity, or it can become a stumbling block that leads to downtime and distracted employees. So what are some of the biggest ways technology can hurt your business? Let’s take a look at four technology traps that every business owner should be aware of.
Establishing a well-thought-out search engine optimization (SEO) strategy goes a long way in ensuring your website gets the top spot in search results. Unfortunately, most business owners fail to recognize the importance of SEO, and are taken in by get-ranked-quick schemes that will not only damage their website reputation but also get them penalized by major search engines.
Popular mobile instant messaging app WhatsApp was at the center of a recent security breach which saw the information of as many as 200 million users potentially exposed to the mercy of hackers and malware. The threat, which affected the recently launched web-based version of WhatsApp, was detected by an IT security firm in Israel and patched up before news of it became public.
Collaboration is at the heart of the modern business, and those organizations that perform well, get more done and have a healthier bottom line are those that communicate, share and work together most effectively. The latest release of Office 2016, recently made available by Microsoft, puts a renewed focus on tools that empower your employees to collaborate.


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Efforts are under way to put more fruit and farm products in tourists’ shopping baskets by simplifying exit inspection procedures.
In many cases, fruit and other farm produce need to be quarantined for 15 to 30 minutes at airports and ports before they can be taken out of the country. This is to inspect them for disease and pests, but the red tape sometimes deters visitors from buying food to take home.
Travel agencies and farms are now working together to make it easier for foreign tourists to pick up farm produce. They have jointly started a service that takes care of inspections while shoppers continue their sightseeing.
The tourists then pick up their purchases in fresh condition at airports or ports before departure.
This fiscal year, model projects have been implemented in Hokkaido and Fukuoka Prefecture, aiming to promote sales of melons and strawberries to tourists from Thailand and Indonesia.
Helped by the quarantine inspection agent service, sales have been brisk, a travel agency official said.
The government aims to lift annual exports of food items, including agricultural, forestry and fisheries products, to ¥1 trillion by 2020.
“If tourists bring home Japanese farm produce as souvenirs and they are appreciated overseas, export demand will increase,” an official in the agriculture ministry said.
The ministry also plans to play a role in this by expanding the coverage of a subsidy program started in fiscal 2015. Additionally, it will allow the sale and delivery of fruits and other farm products to foreign visitors at michi no eki (highway rest stops), on cruise ships and at local airports, officials said.


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PEEL-OFF face masks have been hailed as the answer to flawless skin, but one woman has vowed "never again" after her awful experience.
Navy Chandler, 20, tweeted a video of her crying in pain as she frantically tried to peel off her sticky face mask - which took her an hour to remove.
The aspiring comedian, from Kansas, USA, who bought the mask for £1.50 ($1.99), claimed: "My skin almost came off with it."
She said: "It was my day off and I bought a cheap peel off mask. After letting it dry, when I went to take it off, my skin almost came off with it.
“On a scale of 1-10 of how hard it was to remove, I’d give it a solid 8. The pain was intense. It took all of the little hairs off my face, so it was like a full facial wax.
“It took me about an hour to fully get it off, that was because I took breaks too.
“I wouldn’t say it helped but my face was baby bottom smooth and glowing after the red irritation faded. I would not recommend this to anybody but my enemies!”
Navy went viral after tweeting the video, and people were horrified.
One woman tweeted: "Damn what's the main Ingridient super glue", while a second joked: "she used gorilla glue".
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Others shared helpful advice, telling Navy she was putting herself through pain for no reason.
If you're ever in a similar situation, people recommend trying to wash it off with water instead of tugging at the mask, to avoid damaging the skin.
In more beauty news, shoppers are raving about a £14 serum that gets rid of spots and red marks - and has received hundreds of five-star reviews.


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How many years until a car is fully autonomous?
For example, autonomous HGV trucks on motorways or even delivery vehicles for products and groceries. While Apple says it is aiming to launch fully self-driving electric cars four years from now, industry experts are more cautious about what the near-future holds.
Are autonomous vehicles the future?
In the future, autonomous cars are likely to generate more than 300 TB of data per year. The continuing evolution of safety technologies is setting the foundation for developing intelligent software-defined automated systems capable of navigating roads with little to no human intervention.
What percentage of cars will be autonomous by 2030?
Once technological and regulatory issues have been resolved, up to 15 percent of new cars sold in 2030 could be fully autonomous. Fully autonomous vehicles are unlikely to be commercially available before 2020.
Will 2030 have driverless cars?
Cruise CEO Dan Ammann said the company expects “to scale the business rapidly.” Commercializing driverless vehicles has been far more challenging than many predicted even a few years ago. Previous goals also have been missed.
What will cars be like in 2050?
By 2050, there will be about 3 billion light-duty vehicles on the road worldwide, up from 1 billion now. At least half of them will be powered by internal combustion engines (ICE), using petroleum-based fuels.
Are driverless cars a good idea?
Automation can help reduce the number of crashes on our roads. Government data identifies driver behavior or error as a factor in 94 percent of crashes, and self-driving vehicles can help reduce driver error. Higher levels of autonomy have the potential to reduce risky and dangerous driver behaviors.
What will replace cars in the future?
To conclude, the car of the future, built according to a new model, will be electric, autonomous and connected. It will bring a number of benefits to society: less pollution, more safety, more free time and services. And at the end of it all?
Why are autonomous vehicles so popular?
More urbanites will have access to safe and reliable transportation than ever before, driving widespread benefits to urban standards of living. Furthermore, autonomy is expected to make for drastically safer roads, helping to eliminate the driver error that causes the vast majority of fatal auto accidents.
Why don’t we have self-driving cars yet?
The simple answer is that the community overestimated the potential of even the most advanced technology and underestimated the capabilities of even the least trained human driver. Driving, despite what many think, is a complex, dynamic effort at multitasking.
Will automotive industry change in the future?
India is expected to be the world’s third-largest automotive market in terms of volume by 2026 and is currently valued at $118 bn. Despite the ongoing pandemic, the Indian auto industry has shown immense resilience and is facing the challenges posed by the pandemic head-on.
How soon will self-driving cars be available?
At the start of 2022, the closest thing to a self-driving car for consumers is one equipped with General Motors’ Super Cruise system, a hands-free semi-automated driving suite introduced on Cadillac’s flagship CT6 sedan for the 2018 model year.
What will the automotive industry look like in 2025?
By 2025, 25% of cars sold will have electric engines, up from 5% today. But most of those will be hybrids, and 95% of cars will still rely on fossil fuels for at least part of their power. That means automakers will need to make internal combustion engines more efficient to comply with new standards.
What will cars be in 10 years?
In ten years government fuel standards are set to double from their current level. That means automobiles will have to average 54.5 miles per gallon. This is going to force cars to be made of lighter materials with more energy efficient engines. Electric vehicle will be more common.
What will cars be like in 2035?
By 2035 expect that 100% of new vehicles and 80% of all total road vehicles will have everything from automated braking and lane departure to fully automated driving at all speeds. Fully automated driving will be standard equipment and mandated by law for all vehicle classes.
What will cars be made of in the future?
Lightweight steel, aluminium, carbonfibre, plastics and some bio-materials such as flax are likely to form the main structure of cars in 2040.