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Ubisoft has released a backwards compatibility list that reveals PS4 games that won’t run on PS5. The game studio chose to share this list on its own website instead of Sony’s website, but later it turned out that this was not quite right, the list was removed from the website.
“We have retracted the Ubisoft Connect article and forum post on backward compatibility for the time being, as there may be inaccuracies involving Ubisoft games that can be played on the PS5,” the email message sent to The Verge site by a Ubisoft spokesperson. It was said.
Before the post was removed, Ubisoft announced that the following nine games will not work on PS5:
- Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate
- Assassin’s Creed: Chronicles Trilogy Pack
- Assassin’s Creed: Chronicles India
- Assassin’s Creed: Chronicles China
- Assassin’s Creed: Chronicles Russia
- Star Trek: Bridge Crew
- Werewolves Within
- Space Junkies
- Ubisoft noted that the correct list will be published next week.
Interestingly, these games did not appear on Sony’s PS5 backward compatibility list either. According to the list in question, Sony announced that ten games will not work on the new console. In contrast, all games released for Xbox One will be playable on Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and S consoles.
Sony previously noted that the PS5 will largely support PS4 games. More precisely, it was noted that more than 4 thousand games released for the console are expected to be playable on the next generation hardware. However, there will be some restrictions for these.
What is most interesting is that two PlayStation VR games such as Star Trek: Bridge Crew and Space Junkies will not be backward compatible. Sony has announced that the PS5 will support PlayStation VR. However, a special adapter will be required in order for the head to be used with the new console.


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The Best upcoming Gaming Phones of 2022
Read Time:5 Minute, 13 Second
As with every other industry, gaming has seen rapid growth in the past few years. In fact, this past year saw the number of active gamers increase by 25 percent in the U.S. alone. This rapid growth has been attributed to the increasing popularity of mobile phone gaming as a medium of expression. Even though we’ve seen a steady increase in the number of gamers in the past few years, there has been a limit to how many games can reach gamers. The gaming industry is still in its infancy and much of the potential exists in what we have developed today. We are only 24 months into the digital gaming renaissance and already there is a lot we’ve yet to discover. Let’s take a look at the best upcoming gaming phones of 2022.
The Galaxy S9 and S9+
The Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+ are two of the most anticipated devices of the year thanks to their powerful new flagships, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Samsung Galaxy Note 10+, and their impressive new features. The Galaxy Note 10 has received widespread praise for its powerful new design and powerful new features while the Galaxy Note 10+ has received praise for its impressive new features and long memory. Both devices will be available this year, but the Note 10 will be available now while the Note 10+ will be available in October.
The Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL
The Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL are two of the most anticipated devices of the year thanks to their impressive new display and camera setup. The Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL will be available in October, and the Google Pixel 3 XL comes with a new camera setup that sports a camera that comes with a wide-angle lens and a telephoto lens. This year, Google is also expected to release an offering that comes with a front-facing camera and a zoom lens. The Pixel 3 and 3 XL are expected to be released around the same time as the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+.
The HTC U11 and U11+
The HTC U11 and U11+ have been expected to launch in October and November respectively, but the company has yet to release the phones. These smartphones come with a unique camera setup that features an 8MP camera on the front and a 12MP camera on the back. The U11 and U11+ are expected to come with Dark Mode which makes the photos look more dark and tomboyish than usual. The U11 and U11+ are expected to be released around the same time as the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+.
The Nintendo NX
The Nintendo NX is expected to arrive in October and it’s likely that we’ll see the device in the U.S. first. It comes with a new version of the Switch console, but it’s also likely that it comes with the new Nintendo NX logo printed on the front. The Nintendo NX logo is expected to be very similar to the one on the back of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+.
The Sony Amp1 and Amp2
The Sony Amp1 and Amp2 are expected to be released in October and November respectively, and the company has yet to reveal any details about the devices or their pricing. These are battery-powered Bluetooth earphones that feature a sound quality that is expected to be very good and the ability to plug into an outlet to charge the earphones. Both the Amp1 and Amp 2 are expected to be connected to a computer via Bluetooth. The Amp 1 is expected to be priced around $80 and the Amp 2 is expected to be priced around $80.
The Microsoft Scorpio
The Microsoft Scorpio is expected to be released in October, and it’s likely that the device will come with the new Scorpio logo printed on the front. The new Scorpio logo will be similar to the one found on the back of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+.
Nubia Red Magic 5G
The Nubia Red Magic 5G is expected to be released in October and it will be followed by an update in November. The update will bring the devices new capabilities like voice guidance, a health app, and support for 4G/LTE. The devices will be released in Europe and the Middle East, but it’s unclear when the devices will be available in other regions.
Asus ROG Phone 5
The Asus ROG Phone 5 will be released in October and it’s expected to come with a brand new camera setup. The phone comes with an 8MP camera on the front and a 12MP camera on the back, and the camera setup will allow the phone to focus even closer on the subject causing the frame rate to jump from 30fps to 120fps. The phone will be available in two colors, white and yellow, and it will be available for $235 in October.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra will be released in October, and it will come with an upgraded camera setup that includes an LED light that shines behind the phone when it’s on the move, and a 5MP camera on the front with a new LED light that shines in the backside of the phone when it’s at rest. The device will be available in three color options, black, white, and yellow, and it will be offered in October and November.
The biggest advantage that the smartphone has over the gaming device is the fact that the phone is already in your pocket. You won’t even need to be at home to access the games on a smart device. You can also use your smartphone as a remote control for the TV, as well as for other devices that need an internet connection. With the ability to start games on the move and remote control devices like the TV, you can start playing whatever games are coming up on your phone. Whether you’re looking for a casual game or an old-fashioned battle, the smartphone is the perfect way to enjoy games.

domain: news


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Install Android 4.4.4 KitKat update on Samsung Galaxy S3 using another one of the recently-released custom ROMS.
According to GSM Arena, Samsung Galaxy S3 was released in the market on May 2012 and the latest and official operating system made available for the smartphone since then was Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. But with the geniuses of custom Android developers, Samsung Galaxy S3 users can now install Android 4.4.4 KitKat update to experience Google's latest mobile OS.
The Paranoid Android team has been rolling out its latest build of custom ROM to various Samsung smartphones including the Galaxy S3. Accordingly, Paranoid Android 4.6 Beta 5 based on Android 4.4.4 KtKat update is now available for the Samsung Galaxy S3.
The report on Android Geeks noted that the PA 4.6 Beta 5 is "one of the most stable releases," which could also mean that the Final Paranoid Android 4.6 ROM might already be in the horizon.
Adventurous Samsung Galaxy S3 users who know how to install Android 4.4.4 KitKat update via custom ROM can access the firmware from the Paranoid Android Legacy AOSPAL ROM webpage.
Since the Android 4.4.4 KitKat Paranoid Android 4.6 Beta ROM is not an official firmware release for the smartphone, Samsung Galaxy S3 users are advised to be extra punctilious during the installation.
To avoid power interruption issues when installing Android 4.4.4 KitKat update via PA 4.6 Beta 5 ROM, make sure that the battery level is at least 80 percent. Samsung Galaxy S3 users also need to make sure that the appropriate USB drivers are already installed on the computer so the Android device can easily connect to the PC.
Furthermore, creating a backup for all the files installed on the smartphone is necessary. ClockWorkMod is one of the most recommended recovery tools for making a backup.
The PA 4.6 Beta 5 is also available for Samsung Galaxy S2, S4, Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note 2.


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Walmart has suddenly announced the closing of 63 Sam's Club warehouse stores in the U.S., throwing hundreds of people out of work.
According to media reports, some Sam's Club locations were closed Thursday, with no advance notice to customers or employees. Sam's Club used its Twitter channel to break the news.
“After a thorough review of our existing portfolio, we’ve decided to close a series of clubs and better align our locations with our strategy,” the company wrote. “Closing clubs is never easy and we’re committed to working with impacted members and associates through this transition.”
Some of the closed locations are being turned into distribution centers. The company said that affected employees would have the chance to reapply for those jobs. Sam's Club Tweeted the link to its Store Locator to help consumers who normally shop at affected stores find another location.
The announcement comes on the same day that parent company Walmart announced higher starting wages for Walmart employees. Walmart said it is raising the hourly pay to $11 an hour, while offering expanded benefits and a cash bonus of up to $1,000.
Sam's Club was founded in 1983 and is the second-largest warehouse retailer in the U.S., behind Costco.


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This year marks the 10th anniversary of the BioShock franchise, and to celebrate, 2K recently announced a new collector's edition for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Be sure to stay tuned for more from our IGN Unfiltered interview with Gaynor, including why he left BioShock Infinite mid-development, and how his latest game, Tacoma, radically changed halfway through development.
Nov 23, 2021 - Halo Infinite head of creative Joseph Staten discusses his career in a candid interview, from his early days helping to create Halo at Bungie to how he has specifically impacted Halo Infinite's development after joining the development team in 2020 just as the game was delayed
Nov 9, 2021 - In celebration of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim's 10th anniversary, Bethesda director Todd Howard sits down to discuss Skyrim's legacy, the long wait between Elder Scrolls games, what work has already been done on TES6, his next big project (Starfield), and more!
May 25, 2021 - Shadow Warrior 3 game director Kuba Opoń, who discusses his career in games - from his start as a programmer inspired by Quake 3 to becoming a game director on Shadow Warrior 3 to what makes good first-person shooter AI and more!
Apr 9, 2021 - IO Interactive CEO and co-owner Hakan Abrak talks about what he has learned from past crunch, and how the studio has changed in this clip from our full IGN Unfiltered interview.
Apr 8, 2021 - IO Interactive CEO and co-founder Hakan Abrak has confirmed the studio is working on Hitman, the James Bond project, and a third project; an entirely new IP in a clip from our full IGN Unfiltered interview.
Apr 7, 2021 - IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak confirmed that Hitman (and support for the World of Assassination) will continue, although Agent 47 will take a break, in a clip from our full IGN Unfiltered interview.
Alex Osborn is a freelance writer for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @alexcosborn.


text: The Detroit News reports a government website, safecar.gov, will launch on 8/20 over the objections of automakers, and will allow vehicle owners to submit VIN numbers to find out if there have been recalls issued on that vehicle. The paper notes some vehicles have had multiple recalls, and owners may not be sure if all defects have been fixed……Good results for Denny’s in the second quarter; same-store sales were up 3.7% at company-owned units and up 1.7% at franchisees. The majority of the chain (1533 of 1693 total units) is franchised……Good numbers also at DineEquity, where comps were up 3.2% at IHOP and up 0.6% at Applebee’s. DineEquity has sold off most company-owned stores to franchisees; The Wall Street Journal says that insulates it from the volatility of commodity costs and consumer spending……Arby’s new branding effort focuses on the seven other meats it serves beyond the roast beef the chain is known for. The Smokehouse Brisket sandwich is now being called the most-successful new product launch in the chain’s history……With Red Lobster now officially spun off from Darden, the Associated Press says the chain will now try to act like a “fancier restaurant” by ending many of the promotional discounts used in the past and using some “plating” tactics used at fine dining establishments. “At the end of the day,” the new CEO said, “people are not going to go to a Chipotle for their anniversary or their birthday”……Local Ashley retailers will get a chance to compete with online sellers with Ashley Express, featuring about 2,000 furniture and accessories selections, most available with 2-day delivery……Bedding sales remain strong with Tempur Sealy sales up 8.2% in the second quarter. Sealy net sales were up 6.8% and Tempur-Pedic brand did even better with a 12.2% gain……Small craft breweries continue to gain share according to a first-half summary from the Brewers Association. The group says in the first six months craft brewers sold 10.6 million barrels, up from 9.0 million barrels in the first half last year. There were just over 3,000 breweries in the U.S. at the end of June, with almost 2,000 more “in planning”……Chain Store Age reports Meijer intends to focus on apparel, footwear, and accessories with plans that include redesigning stores, hiring outside consultants, and launching multimedia marketing to highlight apparel……Aetna quarterly profit rose to $548.8 million from $536 million last year, with 23.1 million total subscribers compared to 22.7 million in the first quarter and 22 million a year ago. But the “benefit ratio,” the amount of premiums that goes to pay patient medical costs, rose slightly from 82.5% last year to 83.1% this year.


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Two components of geek life that have always seemed to go together, video games and pizza, are reportedly about to get an innovative boost thanks to a partnership between Microsoft and Pizza Hut. According to a new report, the technology company has teamed with the fast food chain to create an app that allows consumers to order a pizza using the Xbox 360.
Scheduled to debut later today, the app will give Xbox users the ability to create custom pizzas via Xbox Live for delivery to their home. Kurt Kane, chief marketing office at Pizza Hut, told USA Today(Opens in a new window) that, "for the first time, people can order something through their Xbox that's tangible. It brings the intersection of gaming and real world products together."
Pizza Hut teased the new app yesterday via Facebook(Opens in a new window) and Twitter with the "PizzaHut4Xbox" hashtag and a message stating: "Gamers, get ready. Tomorrow, the way you order pizza will change forever!" One rather interesting aspect of the app is that it also features a Kinect option that allows you to create a pizza using gesture and voice controls.
Once officially launched, the Pizza Hut app will reportedly offer user a 15 percent discount on orders until early May.
While the new app will certainly boost the food chain's tech cred amongst one of its primary target markets (gamers and developers), Pizza Hut is no stranger to the world of apps. The company already has apps available that allow consumers to order food using their iPad, iPhone, or Android devices.
A quick check of comments from the social media landscape reveals that some gamers are already feeling a bit left out, with some asking why a similar app isn't being launched on the PlayStation 3 platform.
Last month, Domino's Japan unveiled a campaign(Opens in a new window) in conjunction with virtual singing idol Hatsune Miku that allowed customers to order a pizza and then interact with the character via augmented reality upon receiving their order.
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Head-to-head competition between various devices is constantly in our faces. We can hardly watch TV without seeing some company comparing itself to another, and Apple seems to be the most likely target. Everyone from Samsung to Microsoft to Amazon has taken on the Cupertino company recently, and, needless to say, all found themselves on top.
The latest is Dell, which quietly pushed out a blog post today that compared its Precision M3800 laptop to the Macbook Pro. The hardware maker commissioned a study by Principled Technologies, designed to compare the Precision M3800 Workstation with a Macbook Pro.
“They performed a series of benchmarks tests and we were quite pleased with the results. Overall, the Dell Precision M3800 workstation outperformed both the current and older generation Apple MacBook Pro systems on several key performance tests – at a price point of $2,249, which is 13.5 percent lower than the 2013 MacBook Pro”.
Unsurprisingly, much like all of those TV ads we’ve grown accustomed to, the Dell notebook came out on top. Highlights included the M3800 launching Adobe Premiere Pro 11.7-percent faster, performing video rendering 43-percent faster, and sporting a boot time 11-percent faster.
These things are always specious. When a company commissions a study and comes out on top, we are left to wonder about the methodology behind everything. But, the Dell laptop is certainly a powerhouse, and we won’t dispute the results. Really, these things just come down to which device the user prefers.Further reading: Apple, Dell


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“A flopped acquisition may lump Microsoft with the first loss in its 26-year history as a public company when the software maker releases its latest quarterly results Thursday,” The Associated press reports.
“The fiscal fourth-quarter numbers, due out after the stock market closes, will include a $6.2 billion charge to reflect that Microsoft’s 2007 acquisition of online ad service aQuantive hasn’t yielded the returns envisioned by management,” AP reports. “The non-cash charge is so large that it could wipe out Microsoft’s earnings from April through June. Analysts polled by FactSet had predicted Microsoft would earn about $5.3 billion in the three-month span. That doesn’t reflect the aQuantive charge. Microsoft didn’t spell out how its quarterly results would be affected when it announced the charge on July 2.”
AP reports, “Microsoft, which is based in Redmond, Wash., has never previously reported a quarterly loss since the company’s initial public offering in March 1986… Excluding the aQuantive charge and certain other items, analysts surveyed by FactSet expect Microsoft to earn 62 cents per share on revenue of $18.2 billion.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Microsoft’s earnings or lack thereof.


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$8b discrepancy unearthed in exports, imports
KARACHI: Pakistani traders have allegedly been found involved in discrepancies of over $8 billion through under-invoicing of imports and exports of goods to four major trading partners, causing significant foreign exchange losses, tax revenue losses and supporting financial transactions via the illegal Hawala-Hundi network.
In letters to Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar, the Pakistan Business Council (PBC) – a business advocacy platform having big foreign and local business groups as members – revealed that Pakistani traders reported imports from China, Singapore, Germany and the United Kingdom at $18.88 billion in calendar year 2022.
However, it said, the four trading partners reported exports of $26.30 billion to Pakistan in the same year, showing a disparity of $7.51 billion.
Similarly, the business advocacy platform found traders involved in under-invoicing of $594 million in exports to China in 2022, which constituted around 21% of the total exports made to the neighbouring and world’s second-largest economy.
Talking to Daily City News, PBC CEO Ehsan Malik said the disparity of $594 million in exports to China simply meant that Pakistan did not receive the due amount of foreign exchange.
It came at a time when the country’s foreign exchange reserves were under pressure due to high demand for imports and foreign debt repayment.
PBC said on X, formerly Twitter, that export values exceeded import values by $7.50 billion.
“At duty rates from 10% to 30%, and together with GST (general sales tax) at the rate of 18% and withholding tax of 6%, we estimate a revenue loss of between Rs579 billion and Rs964 billion at the average exchange rate for 2022,” PBC said.
“It is time for the government to explore how to avoid revenue loss through transparency.”
One way is to secure the exchange of trade information, ideally in real time, through electronic data interchange (EDI) with major trading partners. Then levy duties on the export values received from exporting countries.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), with which Pakistan has just signed a trade agreement, does not report trade data to the International Trade Centre. Therefore, it is necessary that Islamabad secure export data through EDI. Malik said Pakistan had tried time and again to strike an EDI agreement with China, but Beijing said it could provide trade data of only those goods that featured in the free trade agreement.
He urged Pakistan to sign an EDI agreement with GCC countries, mainly the UAE that did not report trade data, as its seaport was a major source of import and export by Pakistan.
Expressing surprise over under-invoicing exports to China, he believed that the Chinese individual trade partners were keeping the excess amount for use in under-invoicing exports to Pakistan. He also believed that traders used the Hawala-Hundi system to settle actual payments.
PBC said it had repeatedly shared with the Federal Board of Revenue the significant disparity in the export values reported by China, Singapore, Germany and the UK and the import values reported by Pakistan Customs to the International Trade Centre (ITC), a multilateral agency which has a joint mandate with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the United Nations through the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad).
The ITC trade data does not always match, especially with transshipment countries like Singapore, the UAE and the Netherlands. The mismatch cannot entirely be ascribed to under or over-invoicing.
However, unlike many other countries, due to high import tariffs in Pakistan, the incentive to evade duties and taxes is attractive and there is strong anecdotal evidence of under-invoicing. Hence, the larger discrepancies, such as with China, need to be investigated.


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Well that didn’t take long. Just days after getting a new credit rating and announcing its intention to issue debt, Apple successfully priced a $17 billion, six-part bond offering. The part floating-rate, part fixed-rate offering is broken down as follows:
1.) $1 billion of May 3, 2016 maturing floating-rate notes, CUSIP 037833AF7, paying interest at a rate equal to three-month LIBOR plus 0.05%
2.) $2 billion of May 3, 2018 maturing floating-rate notes, CUSIP 037833AG5, paying interest at a rate equal to three-month LIBOR plus 0.25%
3.) $1.5 billion of 0.45% coupon, May 3, 2016 maturing notes, CUSIP 037833AH3
4.) $4 billion of 1.00% coupon, May 3, 2018 maturing notes, CUSIP 037833AJ9
5.) $5.5 billion of 2.40% coupon, May 3, 2023 maturing notes, CUSIP 037833AK6
6.) $3 billion of 3.85% coupon, May 4, 2043 maturing notes, CUSIP 037833AL4
Apple’s Plan for Bond Offering
The floating-rate notes are non-callable, and the fixed-rate notes have make whole calls at 5 basis points (2016 notes), 10 basis points (2018 notes), and 15 basis points (2023 and 2043 notes) over the applicable Treasury rate. Additionally, all the notes are considered senior unsecured obligations. Moreover, given the current quarterly dividend of $3.05 per share, Apple’s stock is actually yielding more than all of the newly issued notes, with the exception of the 30-year.
In the Prospectus Supplement, Apple states that it intends to use the net proceeds from the bond offering “for general corporate purposes, including repurchases of our common stock and payment of dividends under our recently expanded program to return capital to shareholders.” I am sure there are strong opinions among investors about whether Apple should be borrowing money to fund stock repurchases and dividends. Apple is not the first corporation to do so, and I am sure it will not be the last. Judging by the favorable spread-to-Treasuries at which the notes were issued and the incredible demand the offering garnered (roughly $50 billion for $17 billion of notes), investors don’t seem concerned about Apple’s willingness to take on a huge amount of debt and pass those funds along to shareholders. Is the seemingly unbridled enthusiasm for Apple’s new notes warranted?
Last week, Moody’s and S&P both assigned the second highest credit rating possible to Apple (Aa1/AA+ respectively). A third well-known rating agency, Fitch, has yet to release a public rating on Apple but did issue a press release on April 29 titled, “Apple Business Model Inconsistent with ‘AA’ Rating.” In that press release, Fitch said the following:
“Inherent business risk that overshadows a significant liquidity cushion when evaluating long-term credit ratings for consumer-centric hardware companies generally leads us to assign these companies a Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at or below the ‘A’ category. This reflects the volatility in consumer preferences, significant competition that accelerates product commoditization, and rapid evolution of technology.”
That reminds me of one of the reasons Moody’s and S&P noted for not assigning Apple the top credit rating of Aaa/AAA. Further details about this can be found in my article, “From Junk to Aa1 – Apple Gets a New Credit Rating.” From Fitch’s perspective, ratings “ultimately hinge on the volatility of a business model, since the typical bond investment period can extend beyond several product cycles, while also considering financial metrics and liquidity. For ratings in the ‘AA’ category, we would insist on higher visibility and a longer time horizon regarding the sustainability of a company’s business model.” This begs the question, are Apple’s bonds overrated?
Does Apple Deserve AA+ Rating?
When thinking about whether Apple’s 30-year bond deserves a 3.85% coupon and Aa1/AA+ ratings, consider the once dominating positions of Sony and Nokia. Furthermore, consider the fact that Apple’s future will largely depend on constant successful innovation in a highly competitive and ever-changing world of meeting consumers’ technology-related preferences. Whether Moody’s and S&P are correct to rate Apple Aa1/AA+ or whether Fitch’s view that Apple deserves a high single-A rating is correct is certainly debatable. In my opinion, they are each partly correct.
In my aforementioned article, I chronicled a bit of Apple’s trip from the depths of junk bond territory to its current glory of a high double-A rating. I have no idea whether Apple’s rating will one day return to the land of junk. But given the highly competitive nature of the markets in which Apple operates and the constant pressure to create innovative new products that capture consumers’ attention and wallets, I do think some of Apple’s notes are overrated. I agree with Moody’s and S&P that an Aa1/AA+ rating can be justified for the 2016 and 2018 fixed- and floating-rate notes.
On the other hand, when looking at the 10-year notes, I think Fitch’s proposed rating in the high single-A category is more appropriate. But to assign even a high single-A rating to Apple’s 30-year note seems a bit generous to me. When combining the new policy of issuing debt to fund buybacks and dividends (a policy that bond investors should assume will continue until proven otherwise) with the highly competitive nature of the consumer technology segment and the amount of innovation that will be necessary over a 30-year period for Apple to maintain a leadership role in its industry, then Apple’s 30-year notes likely deserve a lower rating. Nevertheless, investors appear to agree with Moody’s and S&P’s ratings. The spread to Treasuries on Apple’s 30-year notes has already narrowed from the 100 basis points at issuance to just under 95 basis points. For now, Apple remains the apple of bond investors’ eyes.
If you are looking for more information on US Bonds please follow the link: LearnBonds.com/Bonds
If you are looking for more information on UK Bonds please follow the link: Learnbonds.com/UK/Bonds


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Alibaba — the giant of e-commerce — recently named Chief Data Officer Jonathan Lu Xaoxi as the company’s new CEO.
As far as I know, this is the first time a chief data officer has been promoted to the head of the company.
I can sum up in a sentence what I know about Alibaba: If you want to buy a lot of something, you can probably find the manufacturer on Alibaba. It’s an amazingly fun site to browse, particularly if you love patches.
Even though Alibaba specializes in things, not information, cataloging and managing the sale of all these products so obviously requires managing a lot of data, particularly unstructured data.
But I still found the news surprising, mostly because I honestly had no idea chief data officer would be considered that important. Obviously, I knew it was an emerging trend and assumed there were probably a few organizations here and there adding CDOs. But I also assumed these companies were probably very data-specific, meaning data was their bread and butter.
And then, CDO is a relatively new CXO position. It’s not even necessarily a position that would report to the CEO, much less wind up being one.
It’s possible, of course, that Lu’s promotion has more to do with him than his work as CDO. TechCrunch points out that Lu is an insider who’s been with the company since it was one year old.
What’s more, technically his title is EVP, and chief data officer is one of his two main roles: He’s also president of Aliyun Mobile OS, which is the company’s mobile platform. He has an impressive resume beyond that; he had even stepped as the CEO of what was then Alibaba.com.
But, TechCrunch notes, the fact that he’s a “big data man” is significant.
“Putting him at the top of the pyramid is a signal, perhaps, of how Alibaba will also be putting this idea — as applied both to its own company and potentially as a business unit to help enterprises, Alibaba’s core customer base — as a key part of its business,” the site writes.
I lean towards thinking this is a sign of the times. Data matters. It matters how it’s regulated; it matters if it falls out of compliance; it matters if someone steals it; it matters that it’s clean (or isn’t); and it matters if you want to make better decisions, and smart companies now know it, as a recent Economist Intelligence Survey found.
Gartner analyst Ted Friedman said he’s seen a shift in the past year and is now looking into the growth of CDOs. As an example, Friedman said there’s a three-day MIT symposium that he attends each summer, and while perusing the coming lineup, he noticed many of the presenters carried the title chief data officer.
It’s a title that hits across industries, even. For instance, there’s a CDO at Bank of America, which you would expect, but there’s also a CDO with the Army now.
“There’s clearly a trend there of CDO roles emerging and those roles having interesting responsibility on data quality,” Friedman said. “Right now we’re seeing about 50/50 split between that CDO role residing in IT, in which case it tends to report directly to the CIO. So you could think of it as a director-level, not really quite executive … And then the other 50 percent on the business side, where it does seem to be very much an executive type role.”
CDOs are reporting to the chief operating officer, the chief information officer, the chief financial officer — and, yes, the chief executive officer.
And now, it seems, it can lead straight to the top.
If you’re interested in learning more about CDOs, Micheline Casey — who claims the title of the country’s first state CDO — is now a principal at CDO, LLC, a boutique consultancy specializing in information management. She runs a blog on information management, but she also will be presenting on the topic of CDOs at this year’s Enterprise Data World. That event is in San Diego, April 28-May 2.


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Beleaguered movie ticket subscription company MoviePass Inc. recieved more bad news late Tuesday following a report that tens of thousands of customer bank card numbers were exposed. Over-the-counter shares of Helios & Matheson Analytics Inc.
which owns MoviePass, closed up 18% at $0.002 Tuesday. One of MoviePass's databases was found to be not protected with a password by security researcher Mossab Hussein, according to TechCrunch. The database contained 161 million records at the time, but more than 58,000 contained customer card data, according to the report.


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Click above to enlarge
There are wagons, and then there are wagons. Most five-door family-haulers fall under the former, but once in a while something more shapely comes along and redefines the latter. If this image is something to go on, the Bellagio Fastback is definitely one of those rarities.
Created by the revived Carrozzeria Touring, the Bellagio Fastback is a wagon variant of the Maserati Quattroporte – itself already one of our favorite sedans and a beautiful point of departure. And from the looks of things, Touring has done a far more elegant job than the StudioM Cinqueporte we reported on previously. Carrozzeria Touring will be showcasing the Bellagio alongside its new Superleggera sportscar in a few days at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este on the shores of Italy's glamorous Lake Como along with such elegant motors as the Bugatti Veyron Fbg by Hermes, BMW Concept CS, Zagato Bentley Continental GTZ and Cadillac CTS Coupe. Follow the jump for more information on the cars participating in this year's Concorso.
Windows into the future: concept cars at Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2008
Concorso tradition is perpetuated
+++ BMW showcases its Concept CS
+++ Touring Superleggera presents a world premiere on Sunday
Munich/Milan. Fully espousing the tradition of the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, car manufacturers and design studios have for some years now been invited to bring their latest creations along to Lake Como. To qualify for entry, all concept cars and prototypes must be in road-ready condition. "It allows us to construct a unique scenario," said Karl Baumer, Chairman of the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este and Director of BMW Group Mobile Tradition, at the press conference in Milan for this year's Concorso. "Models which are normally only seen in isolation on a pedestal at motor shows can reveal themselves in action in the light of day and be directly compared with other design studies and prototypes," Baumer went on.
Jean Marc Droulers, President of Villa d'Este SpA., sees the contest's tradition upheld: "Up until 1949, it was customary for the latest creations by car manufacturers and designers to be presented at the Concorso. Then, as now, the public were able to vote for their favourite on the basis of a direct comparison." The following concept cars will be showcased at this year's Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este and will line up before the public at Villa Erba on Sunday to be selected for the Concorso d'Eleganza Design Award for Concept Cars & Prototypes:
Rinspeed sQuba, 2008 (Rinspeed)
Every year, Frank M. Rinderknecht surprises us at the Geneva Motor Show in March with a high-tech concept model. Inspired by James Bond, who in his day took up the chase in a submersible Lotus, Frank Rinderknecht presented a concept in Geneva that allows the driver and passenger to fly under water in an open roadster.
Morgan Life Car Coupé, 2008 (Morgan Motor Company)
Morgan Motor Company will soon be looking back on a 100-year heritage of motor design. Their Life Car Coupé, showcased at the 2008 International Geneva Motor Show, is a concept car featuring a futuristic design and driven by a zero-emission electric motor.
Bugatti Veyron Fbg Hermès, 2008 (Bugatti)
With the Bugatti Veyron Fbg, Hermès has revived the former collaboration between car-crazy Emile Hermès and horse-loving carmaker Ettore Bugatti to transform the Bugatti Veyron into a Hermès special.
Hyundai HED-5, 2008 (Hyundai)
The HED-5 concept car marked its world premiere at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show. The lightweight design of this compact people carrier features a range of synthetic materials and displays a fluid line that slopes steeply from the front end to the centre of the car before dropping away into a coupé-like rear.
Lexus LF-A, 2008 (Lexus)
Lexus caused a major stir at this year's Detroit Auto Show with its LF-A Roadster study. Following its premiere in Detroit, it made its European debut at the Geneva Show. The LF-A Roadster is based on the current version of the LF-A Coupé that premiered in Geneva in 2007.
Renault Mégane Coupé Concept, 2008 (Renault)
The Renault Mégane Coupé Concept affords a preview of the forthcoming Mégane Coupé production model. The real highlight are the doors, which are horizontally split and have an intriguing opening mechanism that is reminiscent of the movement of dragonfly wings.
Bentley Zagato Continental GTZ, 2008 (Zagato)
In recent years at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, the Zagato studio has presented customised superstructures on chassis from Ferrari and Maserati. This year Zagato is showcasing its Bentley GTZ study, presented in Geneva where it caused a sensation with its characteristic Zagato "double bubble" roof and tail end design.
Mercedes-Benz F700, 2007 (Mercedes Benz)
With its F700 Concept Car, unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz is affording a glimpse of what a large touring saloon could look like in the future. Its "DiesOtto" engine, a four-cylinder with a capacity of just 1.8 litres, is designed to unite the strengths of a low-emission spark-ignition ("Otto") engine with the fuel advantage of a diesel unit.
Maserati Quattroporte Bellagio fastback, 2008 (Carrozzeria Touring)
With the Bellagio fastback concept based on the Maserati Quattroporte, the Touring Superleggera brand revives its longstanding links with the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este: in the past, the latest Carrozzeria creations were likewise traditionally presented to the well-heeled public at the Concorso on the shores of Lake Como.
Cadillac CTS Coupé, 2008 (Cadillac)
The Cadillac CTS Coupé concept celebrated its world premiere at Detroit in 2008. The Coupé is the third study in the CTS concept line and features the same styling as its predecessors. The rear, in particular, displays the hallmark features that reflect the new design language of the Cadillacs.
Saab 9-X, 2008 (Saab)
With the Saab 9-X, the carmaker brought a world premiere to the International Geneva Motor Show that runs on bio-ethanol. A jury from the trade publication Autoweek voted the Saab 9-X "Best Concept".
Each year, a concept car from BMW takes part in the competition hors concours. In 2008 visitors can look forward to seeing the BMW Concept CS. With this concept study, the German premium car manufacturer presents the vision of a four-door vehicle that unites the exclusivity of a luxury-class gran turismo with the thrill of a high-performance sports car. The design of the BMW Concept CS underpins the competence of the BMW brand when it comes to developing cars with an ultra-sporty nature that can accommodate more than two occupants. The most impressive exemplar of this tradition is the BMW M5, which carved out an entirely new vehicle segment more than two decades ago and ranks as a benchmark for high-performance saloons to this day.
Apart from the historic vehicles and concept cars at the Concorso, a special exhibition traditionally held at Villa Erba on the Sunday is dedicated to one outstanding designer or carmaker. This year, the exhibition looks back on the 80-year history of Italy's Touring Superleggera coachbuilders. As well as a retrospective featuring cars from Touring's heyday, visitors can expect to see a line-up of automobiles from the Registro Internazionale Touring Superleggera. But the brand will not merely be presenting its past heritage at the Concorso: the future is to be unveiled as well. The coachbuilders promise to reveal a sports car with thoroughbred Touring DNA as a world premiere on the Sunday.
Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2008
On the weekend of 25 - 27 April 2008, the splendid grounds of the Grand Hotel Villa d'Este and the Villa Erba in Cernobbio on Lake Como will once again turn into a unique backdrop for the most beautiful automobiles from past eras and the boldest concept vehicles of the present day. First staged at this same location in 1929, the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este today rates as the world's most tradition-laden event of its kind.
After Saturday's opening of the event for invited guests, on Sunday the Concorso offers all car-lovers another opportunity to experience these four-wheeled dreams in the neighbouring grounds of Villa Erba. In addition to the cars presented the previous day, many more high-profile classics will be exhibited in special shows. Admission to Villa Erba in Cernobbio, Lake Como, is 10 euros (single), 20 euros (family ticket) or 8 euros (concessions).
The main sponsor of this year's Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este is Girard-Perregaux.
Visitors can find further information on the event at: www.concorsodeleganzavilladeste.it


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Swiss Aryzta buys Hungarian Fornetti
Switzerlandʼs Aryzta has bought Hungarian frozen bakery products company Fornetti, former Fornetti managing director József Szabó announced yesterday.
The decision to sell was taken because Fornetti has reached the limits of its growth potential, Szabó said. He declined to reveal the sale price, citing business confidentiality. Fornetti employs 1,300 workers in Hungary and abroad. It had revenue of almost HUF 20 bln last year.
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Disneyland and Disney California Adventure still remain closed amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but Disney just gave ticket holders an update regarding the expiration dates of their tickets.
According to Inside the Magic, the Disney statement about the tickets reads:
Unused non-promotional single day Disneyland theme park tickets that expire on December 30, 2020 or March 31, 2021 will have the expiration date extended to December 16, 2021. Wholly unused, non-promotional multi-day tickets that expire on January 12, 2021 or April 13, 2021 will have the expiration date extended to December 16, 2021, and the ticket will expire 13 days after first use or on December 16, 2021, whichever occurs first.
Guests with multi-day tickets who used their first visit between February 28, 2020 and March 13, 2020 but did not reach their ticket’s maximum number of uses, will have the 13-day expiration period of their ticket extended to December 16, 2021. Expiration dates on eligible ticket(s) will be updated prior to the theme parks’ reopening.
Currently only Downtown Disney and Buena Vista Street are open to people visiting Disneyland Resort. You do not need a ticket to enter Disney California Adventure to shop or dine inside of Buena Vista Street, as it is considered an extension of Downtown Disney at this time.
Photo credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images


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Dozens of Bangkok restaurants will stop selling alcohol for three months as their sacrifice for Buddhist Lent.
The 54 eateries are spread over 32 of the capital’s 50 districts and run from no-name family street stalls to outlets of major restaurant chains including Banana Leaf and Ootoya. The full list, in Thai, is here.
The Lent-Free Restaurant campaign is the brainchild of Bangkok’s Office of Drug Prevention and Treatment and runs from July 6 to Oct. 2. The office invited restaurateurs to abstain from selling alcohol during the three months of Buddhist Vassa to support the reduction of drinking in society and become a role-model business.
While giving up booze for Vassa, translated as lent in English, is common, the campaign is yet another sign of widening alcohol-prohibition movement in Thailand. The national Public Health Ministry delivered its own lent present Thursday, announcing it planned to ban all online liquor sales, a move blasted by the alcohol lobby.
That 54 restaurants would agree to halt booze sales for three months also baffles, considering restaurants only were allowed to start selling booze again June 15, following a three-month coronavirus-related ban. Many restaurants derive the majority of their revenue from beer, wine and spirits.
But, as the saying goes, “The is Thailand”.


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She can make out the silhouette of his broad shoulders and salt and pepper crew cut. She motions him to sit next to her. He obliges, leans over, and softly kisses her thin lips.Juan Pablo doesn’t reply. BPD borrowed Avigilon cameras from the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center, or NCRIC, in preparation for an anti Marxism protest Aug. 5. The protest saw Trump supporters pitted against counterprotesters, with tensions running high after a series of violent protests put the city of Berkeley onto a national stage of polarized political conflict..
Recent storm events and subsequent flooding in the Madison/Dane County region have brought into sharp focus the urgent need to prepare for the effects of climate change. The City is working diligently to identify and implement a range of strategies to limit its carbon footprint and slow the rate of climate change. However, Madison has not conducted a locally focused disaster vulnerability assessment and plan.
After a good hike, we drove back to Lompoc and struck gold. Jasper’s Saloon was a veritable Fields shrine. It had busts and statuettes, an oil painting and a whole wall of black and white stills from his movies. But swings in component costs are very much structured into the business model of every manufacturer of high tech consumer electronics.What not necessarily factored in is variable costs in the manufacturing and assembly line pieces of the production process. The NYT piece contends that manufacturing costs in China are about to get more expensive and that this is going to affect the business of companies like Apple, Dell, HP and others who rely on Chinese factory work low cost to maximize the profits.Foxconn and companies like it operate almost on the Walmart model, where the profits come measured in cents per unit, but so many units fly through the fingers of the million or so employees per day that the operation does rake in the cash.Thus, wages in China will rise, pushing up the cost of manufacturing electronic gadgets. It takes years to get an alternative supply chain running up to reliable speed, particularly where delicate high tech gizmos like the iPhone are concerned (and where assembly line slip ups are already making headlines) so Apple and its competitors are just going to have to suck up the increased cost for quite a while.


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It could be a happy New Year for foreign workers in Wisbech as recruitment agency offers chance of free flight home
- Credit: Archant
A Wisbech recruitment agency is offering its foreign work force the chance to win a New Year flight home – if they work through the Christmas period.
Vital Recruitment, which has an office on Alexandra Road, is running the prize draw for its clients who will be working over the Christmas period, with the main prize being a free flight home in January.
It is also hosting a weekly raffle, where winners can scoop a new television, gift vouchers, free trips to work or complimentary drinks from its vending machines.
Mark Taylor, commercial director, said: “We wanted to do something special for our workers in particular those working over the festive period.
“Many of these workers cover extremely busy shifts, often missing time spent with loved ones. This is just one of the ways we wanted to show our gratitude and thank them for all their hard work.”
Vital Recruitment has more than 7,000 workers in fresh produce, food manufacturing and processing and warehousing and logistics. For more information, visit www.vitalrecruitment.com.


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7 Jun 2021
Clancy Receives Zero-Emission Mercedes-Benz eVito Vans
Clancy has taken a positive step towards a 'greener' tomorrow by setting seven battery-powered Mercedes-Benz eVito vans on the road.
13 May 2021
UBQ Materials and Plastics App Partnership in Sustainable 3D Printing
UBQ Materials announced a partnership with Plastics App. Together, the two companies have launched a novel filament with a significantly reduced carbon footprint so as to enable sustainable and eco-conscious manufacturing.
26 Apr 2021
3 Types of Car That Have Prospered Despite COVID-19
COVID-19 has had a drastic effect on the automotive industry. Despite these damning figures, there is a silver lining. This article looks at the 3 types of cars where sales saw an increase across most of the globe.
23 Apr 2021
A $174 Billion EV Investment Would Transform the American Bus Market
The deployment of zero-emission buses in the US has lacked the impetus of the electrification efforts seen in China and Europe, as discussed in IDTechEx's report "Electric, Hybrid and Fuel Cell Buses 2021-2040". This is about to change.
16 Apr 2021
First All-Electric Luxury Saloon From Mercedes-EQ
The EQS is the first all-electric luxury saloon from Mercedes-EQ. As part of its Ambition 2039 initiative, Mercedes-Benz is working on offering a carbon-neutral new car fleet within 20 years from now. By as early as 2030, the company wants more than half the cars it sells to feature electric drive systems - this includes fully electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.
15 Apr 2021
Mercedes-AMG: Electrification and Immersion Battery
Mercedes-AMG has revealed its electrification plans for the near future including hybrids, battery-electric vehicles and the use of an immersion-cooled battery pack.
2 Apr 2021
bp Joins BMW, Daimler EV Charging Venture
bp agreed to join BMW Group and Daimler Mobility AG in their drive to extend and significantly improve electrification, making electric vehicle charging more convenient, simpler and seamless for drivers.
16 Mar 2021
Market for eVTOL Air Taxis to Grow to $14.7 Billion by 2041
Air taxis and flying cars are easy to hype but IDTechEx's new report on the subject is not that hype. This independent research into electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for passenger transport reflects the reality of the eVTOL market at this early stage of its development.
14 Mar 2021
Sila Nanotechnologies are a US based start-up developing drop-in silicon anode material for Li-ion batteries.
24 Feb 2021
ACEO Launches Hard/Soft Multi-Material 3D Printing
WACKER's ACEO team launches another new-to-the-world material combination that allows silicone elastomers and epoxy thermoset materials to be printed in one single print. The resulting combination of hard and soft materials enables designers and engineers to develop new, highly functional applications.
1 Feb 2021
Biden's EV Revolution: A Boon for Electric Trucks and the Tesla Semi
The electric truck market in the US is primed for huge growth. Having largely lagged behind China and Europe in electric commercial vehicle deployment, the transition to zero-emission vehicles in this sector now seems set to begin in earnest.
26 Jan 2021
Printed/Flexible Electronics at CES 2021
Multiple IDTechEx analysts recently attended the Consumer Electronics Show 2021 (CES 2021), this year held virtually due to COVID-19.
CES includes a tremendously large range of companies and technologies, so IDTechEx's coverage of the event is divided by topic. This premium article focuses on companies developing or incorporating technologies based on printed/flexible electronics, such as foldable/rollable OLED displays.
22 Jan 2021
StoreDot Launch of First Ever 5-Minute Charge Li-ion Battery Samples
StoreDot announces the availability of its first-generation 5-minute charge battery engineering samples. This represents a significant milestone for the company in its mission to eliminate the range and charging anxiety of electric vehicles, demonstrating the commercial viability of XFC batteries for the first time via a small form-factor battery cell.
16 Dec 2020
Mercedes-Benz to Produce 8 All Electric EQ Models
The EQS, the first electric luxury sedan from Mercedes-Benz, will start in the first half of 2021 in Factory 56 at the Sindelfingen site.
10 Dec 2020
IDTechEx Assesses 5 Significant Electric Vehicle Opportunities in 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused 2020 to become the pivotal year as the automotive industry goes through a once in a hundred-year transformation.


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plans to recall 1.35 million Fit subcompacts to fix defective wiring in the headlights, according to reports.
Honda will recall 143,000 cars in the United States, and 734,000 cars in Japan. The Fit recall in Japan will cost Honda about 3.6 billion yen ($42.8 million), the
The Japanese automaker also said it will recall Fit cars in Europe and Asia. It will recall 385,000 units in Europe, where the model is called the Jazz,
No accidents have been reported because of the defect, Honda said.
reports Fit cars built at Honda's Suzuka factory in Japan between November 2001 and October 2007 will be recalled.
-- Written by Joseph Woelfel
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While Amazon‘s (AMZN -1.11%) Competitors were busy catching up on their e-commerce skills as the online retail giant expanded its most profitable business of all time: advertising.
But now that competitors like Walmart (WMT -0.28%) are seeing growth in online sales, they have started tracking the e-commerce giant’s new profit center. Walmart brought its advertising business in-house in 2019, but it’s remained a tiny source of revenue and profit for the retailer compared to Amazon, which generated nearly $34 billion in advertising revenue last year.
But two recent changes in Walmart’s advertising business are resonating with advertisers, urging more marketers to consider rival Amazon.
Revised advertising on Walmart.com
Walmart took some of the best practices from digital advertising giants and implemented them on its own website earlier this year.
First, it removed some requirements for search keyword advertising, while ensuring that ads that showed up were more relevant to the products consumers were searching for. It did this by making it cheaper to promote products that show up organically for certain keywords. This step is designed to increase the likelihood that Walmart.com shoppers will actually click on the ads they see.
The other major change concerns the way advertisers bid on inventory. Walmart introduced a second price auction. In this auction, an advertiser bids the maximum amount they are willing to pay, but the highest bidder only pays the second-highest bidder’s price. The mechanism is standard practice among large digital advertising companies. It allows advertisers to bid based on what they think is worth the ad placement, rather than the price they think others will appreciate.
Both of these changes make advertising on Walmart more valuable and attractive to advertisers.
And the results speak for themselves
Walmart has seen strong results in the short time since implementing these changes.
According to data from PacVue, Helium10, and Assembly, ad spend for Walmart grew 26.7% year over year last quarter. This compares to Amazon’s 13.5 percent increase in sponsored product ads and just a 0.2 percent increase in sponsored brands ads.
The changes in ad relevance are also noticeable. CTR on Walmart’s ads increased from 0.32% in the first quarter to 0.51% in the third quarter. At the same time, the click-through rate on Amazon’s Sponsored Products ads fell from 0.37% to 0.31%. (However, sponsored brand ads improved click-through rates.)
Additionally, Walmart has done a great job of attracting advertisers to its platform over the past few years. The total number of advertisers on its site has increased six-fold compared to two years ago at the end of the second quarter. With more advertisers and a more attractive bidding system, Walmart is poised for strong ad revenue growth in the coming quarters.
Amazon will feel the pain
While Walmart is showing strong growth in its advertising business, Amazon’s advertising business isn’t growing nearly as fast as it used to.
As marketers shift ad spend to Walmart, Amazon is struggling to attract new ad dollars. Excluding the impact of Amazon’s Prime Day in July, adspend was almost flat year over year. A second Prime Day earlier this month could similarly boost adspend for Q4.
Walmart will continue to improve its advertising platform and attract new advertisers, hurting Amazon’s growth. But the pain could be more short-term for Amazon investors looking to avoid a long-term race to the bottom with Walmart and other online retail rivals.
Improving profitability of advertising spend at Walmart will return to normal rates once the market has fully digested the changes. That should happen by the middle of next year. Additionally, growth in retail media ad spend is expected to outpace growth in the overall digital advertising market in the coming years. That gives Amazon, Walmart, and many other retailers plenty of room to expand their advertising business over the long term.
In the near term, Walmart’s changes could eat into Amazon’s bottom line, as even a small shortfall in its highly profitable advertising segment could have a significant impact on Amazon’s razor-thin operating margin. But if everything else in the business looks healthy and as expected, operating profits, which are falling a bit short due to a slight underperformance in advertising, could be a buying opportunity for Amazon investors.
John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Adam Levy has positions at Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Walmart Inc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


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SAN FRANCISCO — Cisco Systems announced Wednesday it will invest $150 million into early-stage companies so the networking giant can foster — and benefit from — emerging and disruptive technology trends.
San Jose-based Cisco will dump millions into startups and startup accelerators that are part of an emerging technology revolution that aims to connect up to a trillion ordinary things — from dishwashers to coffee makers and airplanes — to the Internet. The Internet of Things, as industry experts call the trend, will revolutionize homes and businesses — homeowners may get a text message when their water heater needs to be replaced and vintners could get automatic alerts when grapes are ready to harvest — and Cisco wants to be part of the booming market.
With its new investment, Cisco becomes the latest old-guard tech giant — following Intel and SAP — to dedicate money and entire business units to partnering with tech startups that have caught the eye of investors and consumers. In some cases, the fund also could be a primer for acquisitions.
“There really is no monopoly on innovation,” said Hilton Romanski, senior vice president for corporate development at Cisco.
Cisco has been an investor for two decades — a total of 80 investments for about $2 billion — but this new fund will enable the company to attract partner funders for bigger investments, become more active in the startup community and expand its portfolio, Romanski said. Cisco’s $150 million fund will be invested over the next three years and helps establish a new Cisco investment arm, similar to Google’s venture capital business Google Ventures.
Cisco’s first investments, unveiled Wednesday, include Ayla Networks, a startup in Sunnyvale that makes software to collect information sent over the Internet from devices such as air conditioning units and door locks, and delivers that data to manufacturers and consumers. The technology will tell you when you’ve left the lights on or left the sprinklers running, said Ayla co-founder and Chief Executive David Friedman.
“There is such massive social benefit,” Friedman said. “How many lawns were being watered in California when it was raining?”
Cisco is leading a $14.5 million investment in Ayla, nearly tripling Ayla’s previous fundraising. Other investments include Evrythng, a UK-based startup that makes applications to connect consumer products to the Web; and Bay Area-based Alchemist Accelerator, which helps launch startups that sell products to businesses. Cisco is eying a few Alchemist companies for investment; the accelerator has launched five startups that create technology for the Internet of Things, and with Cisco funding, it hopes to take on another 20 this year, said Alchemist managing director Ravi Belani.
Cisco is one of several valley companies poised to benefit from the Internet of Things.
“The more things that are connected to the Internet, whether it’s a thermostat or tennis shoes, Cisco benefits with the back-end infrastructure,” said Jayson Noland, an analyst with Robert W. Baird.
Research firm IDC predicts this shift will generate nearly $9 trillion in annual sales by 2020. IDC also estimates that the population of Web-connected things will grow to 212 billion by 2020; and Tom Lee, a professor at Stanford University, expects there will be a trillion things connected to the Internet within two decades.
The new Cisco fund may help the three-decade-old company bounce back from a recent slowdown. Cisco has been hit with huge rounds of layoffs over the past few years. It also faces growing competition in overseas markets, and its revenue growth slowed to less than 6 percent in the latest fiscal year from 11 percent in 2010.
Contact Heather Somerville at 510-208-6413. Follow her at Twitter.com/heathersomervil.


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Here we are again: Another report suggesting Mazda is working on a replacement for the legendary RX-7.
It’s been more than a decade since we waved goodbye to the last full-on rotary-powered Mazda, the RX-8. Or, if you don’t really count that car because it was too soft or too compromised to fully realize a decades-long reputation, then it’s been two decades since the RX-7 bade us farewell. Now, newly discovered documents with the Japanese Patent Office (by way of CarBuzz editor-in-chief Roger Biermann) suggests Hiroshima hasn’t given up on bringing us a true rotary sports car.
For reference, three specific patent documents (here’s the first, second and third) point to rotary designs. Interestingly, they show a double-rotor design rather than the single-rotor range extender we currently see in the MX-30 R-EV, so it could actually be the powertrain for some future car.
Among many things CarBuzz notes in their coverage, cracking the Wankel’s fuel efficiency problem is one of Mazda’s top priorities here. Doing so would potentially make it viable for production. The first three patents focus on the air intake for a rotary engine, suggesting the automaker is also working to curb emissions — another rotary Achilles’ heel.
Look guys, I want to believe it.
As a fan, though, not to mention a repeat customer over the past decade, Mazda really did me and other hopefuls dirty when it comes to new cars and powertrains (at least for the U.S.). What happened to SkyActiv-X? We did a “will they, won’t they” dance for years while Mazda promised us a diesel SkyActiv engine, only to kill it after just a couple model years (while yoking it to the most expensive CX-5 trim).
Then we finally hear about a rotary, only…psych! It’s coming as a range extender to cure the fully electric MX-30’s abysmal driving range. As an enthusiast, I want to believe that Mazda engineers will prevail and overcome the rotary’s drawbacks and bring us an RX-9 (or whateer the company would call it). I do believe the engineers are pulling out all the stops to make it happen — the folks on Mazda’s engineering team are some of the most knowledgeable, driven and passionate folks I’ve come across in my time covering the industry.
All that being said, I don’t believe Mazda, the corporation, will actually bring a new rotary car to production. Apart from the fact that it’s not the world’s largest automaker with near-infinite resources, it’s made distinctive moves over the past few years to position itself as an upmarket, premium-adjacent brand. It’s ambitions are to evolve into a company that can take on the likes of Germany’s luxury trio (Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz), as well as its domestic rivals like Acura, Infiniti and Lexus.
Never say never, though: Perhaps Mazda will make hay of internal combustion’s twilight years to eke out another RX model before the door shuts and we truly face an all-electric future.
Thanks to Roger at CarBuzz for the information and insightful analysis.


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Smartwatches, smoke alarms and parking spaces will soon be talking to each other over a new network designed for the "Internet of Things".
British telecom company Arqiva has revealed plans for a network to connect up smart devices in the UK -- a sort of Wi-Fi for wearables, you might say -- and it's coming to 10 cities next year.
Other examples of smart devices given by Arqiva include city-wide waste management, parking control, and smoke detectors, all of which will be able to share data. You'll be able to see where there's a free parking space, for example, or get a notification from your phone when your house is on fire.
The Internet of Things network will launch a year from now in Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, and Sheffield.
Wearable devices and smart appliances need a long battery life to be effective, and often don't need to transmit much data. Your smartphone needs to cope with video and other data-intensive tasks, and accordingly pays a toll in battery life. But a device connected to the Internet of Things needs to last longer, so requires a low-power network rather than a network as battery-sucking as Wi-Fi -- and that's where SIGFOX comes in.
SIGFOX is not, as the name might have you believe, an agency of spies, but a company that specialises in connecting the Internet of Things. It already runs networks in France, Spain, Russia, and Germany, and its technology will be employed by Arqiva in Britain.
The term Internet of Things refers to devices we wouldn't traditionally expect to be smart or connected, such as an oven or other home appliance. Examples of devices that have been smartened up by sending data to an app include the, which enables you to control your heating from your phone.


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Chicago, IL (PRWEB) March 19, 2015
2015 is turning out to be the year for travel dating to lead the way as the new trend for singles and solo travelers looking to find a companion and see the world at the same time continues to grow.
In the first quarter of 2015, many travel sites and apps including Tourbar.com, Tripr and Wingman continue to see a spike in traffic and membership. Tourbar.com, celebrating its one year anniversary, is paving the way for the travel companionship trend. The travel website and mobile app announces that over the past year, the company has seen a huge rise of over 150% in its member numbers, suggesting that the trend for finding a travel partner online is continuing to grow.
With the global online dating market now worth an estimated


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Starbucks to Bar-bucks: Will Customers Swap Their Coffee for Cabernet?0 Comment
One recent evening a team of JLL researchers descended upon a Chicago Starbucks to test out the chain’s new after-four-p.m. drink menu – a concept Starbucks is selectively launching. As the group waited for beer, wine and spicy pepitas, they surveyed the landscape – a student banged away on his laptop, a group of women chatted over coffee drinks and an unkempt gentleman shouted loudly to no one but himself. A… Read More
Categories: PERSPECTIVE, Point of View and tagged coffee, James Cook, JLL, research, resturant, retail, Starbucks.


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On Tuesday, to honor the tech that has become essential to innovation in the auto industry, Roadshow by CNET presented the Shift Awards at the 2017 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. Presented by Tim Stevens, editor-in-chief of Roadshow, and Brian Cooley, editor-at-large at CNET, the awards recognize “the greatest progressive technology in the industry,” said Stevens.
The 3D-printed awards, in the shape of a car shifter, were selected by the Roadshow by CNET team and covered five categories. Here they are:
1. Driveline technology of the year
This award looks at the tech between the engine and the wheels that helps the car seamlessly navigate the roads. Contenders for the 2017 award were: BMW proactive drive assistant, Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrid, and Chevrolet Bolt EV, powered with tech from LG. Winner? The Chevrolet Bolt EV.
2. Safety technology of the year
This award goes to advanced tech that works to make things like driver assist and autonomous driving possible. Contenders were: Audi’s laser headlight tech, Audi traffic light information system, and Cadillac’s rear camera mirror. Winner: Audi traffic light information system.
3. Cabin technology of the year
The cabin tech award looks inside the car for the latest tech. Contenders were Ford Sync 3, Android Auto for phones, and Chrysler Pacifica Uconnect theater, which won the award. This system provides a platform for entertainment and education for kids, with the ability to display things like math flashcards.
4. Disruptor of the year
This award goes to the individual or team that have made the biggest impact on the auto industry. The winner for 2017? Waymo CEO John Krafcik. Waymo is Google’s self-driving project spinoff that has produced the world’s first driverless minivan.
The vehicle of the year considered three contenders: BMW’s M2, Chevrolet Bolt EV, and the Chrysler Pacifica minivan. The Chevrolet Bolt EV was the winner.
(Here’s a look at who won Roadshow’s Shift Awards in 2016.)
From a tech perspective, Roadshow’s disruptor award is a signal of innovation.
“Krafcik is one of the biggest leaders when it comes to pushing forward the testing and regulations of autonomous vehicles in the US,” said Stevens. “He’s worked really closely with the US DOT to redefine regulations around autonomous vehicles, and Waymo is one of the most progressive companies for testing autonomous vehicles.”
“Waymo has done so much to move forward the mindset around regulation and a realistic vision about how self-driving cars will become mainstream, and they also are focused on driving down the cost of the technology that has to go into autonomous cars,” Cooley added. “They are creating a revolution, not being a carmaker in and of themselves.”
Google’s approach, said Cooley, shows that the key to autonomy is “about understanding how the cars relate to your goals each day, and how cars relate to each other.”
“Waymo’s plans are finally becoming clearer as the company has pulled together a complete package for autonomy,” said Michael Ramsey, autonomous vehicle analyst at Gartner Research. “The revenue for the business could be substantial if they license both the software controlling driverless cars and the hardware sensor suite that makes it function.”
“Waymo is years ahead of the competition,” Ramsey added.
The 3 big takeaways for TechRepublic readers
- CNET’s Shift Awards consider five categories in driving. 2017 winners included the Chevrolet Bolt EV, Chrysler Pacifica Uconnect theater, Audi traffic light information system, and John Krafcik.
- Waymo CEO John Krafcik won Roadshow by CNET’s Shift “disruption” award at 2017 NAIAS. Waymo is the Google self-driving project spinoff that produced the world’s first driverless minivan in collaboration with Chrysler.
- Waymo has developed the AI platform and in-house LiDAR that makes its autonomous tech one of the best systems today, and it is poised to drive down the cost of the technology by 90%.


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While the Chinese government has invested as much as $58 billions to stage the Shanghai Expo, Chinese workers at Foxconn Technology, a Taiwanese-owned electronic manufacturer which assembles products for corporates such as Apple, Dell, HP, Motorola, and Nokia are jumping out of their sweatshop factories. Foxconn employees nearly 600,000 workers all over China, and its total network is worth 54 million dollars. The boss, Terry Guo, is the richest man in Taiwan, but the workers are only paid $132 a month, which is the legal minimum wage in China, and work over time to boost the salary. There have been 12 suicides in the Shenzhen factory this year alone and most of them were 18 -24 year old second generation farmers who migrated to the urban factories from the South because there were simply no work opportunities back at home. They sign off their rights to the labor laws and work as much as 36 hour over time to compensate for the high living cost in the city. The Foxconn workplace is extremely oppressive—military like security control (also because companies such as Apple demanded so), crowded dormitories and long work hours. To prevent workers from the same hometowns to mobilize, they are separated into different sectors of the factory as well different dormitories. While the Foxconn workers clearly face severe workplace alienation, the Shenzhen government expressed that they haven’t found any direct relationships between the suicides and the workplace issues, but purely personal “psychological stress.”
However tragic and agonizing, the sweatshop condition in the Chinese workplace does not silent the working-class but has the potential to mobilize them. The workers at Foxconn have gotten a 33% pay raise after the suicide incidents. Many workers in Southern China have been inspired by the event and started to mobilize on their own workplaces. On May 17, nearly 2000 Honda Motor Co. factory workers walked out on the job to demand for higher wages. The strike lasted for more than two weeks and was resolved by getting a 24% pay raise. Though some minimal pay raises are far away from enough to compensate for the workers’ living expenses and harsh work conditions in the neoliberal Chinese cities (the legal minimum wage in Shenzhen after the raise is 900 RNB, about 83 cents an hour), the Foxconn agitation and Honda strike demonstrated the energy of the Chinese workers and the potential power they have if they were organized nationally. Meanwhile, more than 10 Taiwanese labor rights organizations as well as the Hong Kong Students & Scholars Against Cooperate Misbehavior were protesting against Foxconn’s sweatshop operation as well as their Apple bosses in the US in solidarity with the Chinese workers. The Foxconn incident has awaken the long class conflicts between the ruling-class and working-class in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong beyond their ethnic and political boundaries.
The sweatshop conditions are not a unique Chinese problem but are spreading all over Southeast Asia and other developing countries. The Western bosses of Apple or HP will continually work with the Chinese bureaucracy and Taiwanese bosses to ensure they are still profiting as much and preventing any worker mobilization, even if that means killing their workers and stealing their labor and resources from their home countries. We have heard the workers in the US and in Taiwan complain that the Chinese workers have stolen our jobs. But they are not stealing our jobs–our jobs are destroyed by the US corporates and the Taiwanese government who is signing on neoliberal contracts with the Chinese bureaucracy so they can help the big corporates profit more with even less work. Specifically, the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) that the leadership of Kuomintang is currently signing with the Chinese despite its controversy and Taiwanese workers’ anger, is more or less a preparation to sign on the Free Trade Agreement (but without the same protections) internationally afterwards. The ECFA will not only allow big capitals to flow across the Taiwanese strait but reduce manufacture jobs and average wages locally. When the Taiwanese and Chinese bureaucracies say they support “peace between the strait”or “better economic relations between the strait,”they don’t mean that they are really for peace, or anti-war, or jobs for the poor. They mean, forget about our rights to self-determination, forget about the Taiwanese colonial struggle, forget about workers’ struggle in Taiwan or China or Southeast Asia, the ruling-class will unite and ensure their status by exploiting us all together. Our countries have been sold out by the imperialists and the bourgeoisies for too long, and nothing has changed except that the ruling-class has learned more and more ways to cheat us that “the better life is coming,” just like the extravagant and wasteful Shanghai Expo that has destroyed many local Chinese folks’ homes. It’s time for us, Asians in the US, in Taiwan, in China, or in other parts of the world, to get more organized than our bosses, and call for international workers solidarity beyond the border and ethnic lines from below.


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The London Produce Show and Conference 2017 will play host to a ground-breaking summit that looks to take action on the UK’s vegetable consumption crisis once and for all by changing the food environment and food system in the UK
The three organisations launched their Peas Please – Making a Pledge for More Veg Campaign simultaneously in London, Cardiff and Glasgow on November 7 highlighting the “five peas in a pod” vital to raising vegetable intake namely: pleasure, producers, prices, products and placement.
Following a two-day vegetable retreat held in Birmingham earlier in the autumn which brought together 30 different people from along the supply chain as well as other stakeholders, the objective is simple: to bring together growers, retailers, fast-food and restaurant chains, caterers, processors and government departments with a common goal of making it easier for everyone to eat vegetables.
“We have convened leaders across the food system to consider which aspects of the supply chain could benefit most from changes in policy and practice and to agree the scope of change needed,” the organisations state in Veg Facts, their briefing document unveiled at the launch. “Together we will weigh up the merits of different changes in terms of their feasibility and potential impact, and work to secure wider commitment to these changes. This will lead to a major summit on June 7, 2017 where government and business leaders will be asked to commit to act.”
Jim Prevor announces LPS17 will host the vegetable summit
Jim Prevor, president and editor-in-chief of Phoenix Media Network Inc, which runs The London Produce Show and Conference is delighted to be part of the initiative. “Just telling people what they ought to do does not work very successfully,” he believes, referring to different projects aimed at lifting fresh produce uptake. While there are lots of individual success stories, these can often be at the expense of other products, for example while kale consumption has exploded, that of spinach has declined, he highlights.
Prevor thinks that what is needed is a “cultural and culinary shift” so that rather than consumers eating steak with a salad or serving of vegetables on the side, a stir fry of vegetables with a relatively smaller amount of protein essentially to add flavour will be required.
“This takes time and it needs government and non-government effort to make these kind of shifts. We are really honoured and happy that we can be part of it and hold this summit at The London Produce Show and Conference next year,” he says.
Rosie Boycott, Food Foundation trustee
The unveiling of the campaign is only the beginning, Rosie Boycott, chair of the London Food Board and Food Foundation trustee is keen to point out. “We have to figure out a way to get kids to eat more veg,” she says. “Five-a-day hasn’t worked. The space [used to grow] veg in the UK has declined by 26% in the last 30 years. Veg Facts a very valuable report and it is the start of a very important process.”
The report starts from the premise that we all know that vegetables are good for us and that in the UK we all need to be eating at least one more portion a day, although many of us, are eating hardly any at all. It analyses how much we eat, how much we should eat and the ways we eat it, including the fact that children get more of their vegetables at school and nursery than they do at home.
The report also asks if vegetables are unaffordable for some and if it is easy for people to eat vegetables if they want to as well as looking at whether we produce enough in the UK and if consumers actually want to eat vegetables.
Anna Taylor, Food Foundation executive director
Anna Taylor, Food Foundation executive director highlights some of the challenges of the five Ps:
Only 1.2% of advertising spend on food in the UK is spent on vegetables.
We are eating more food on the go so convenience is a massive challenge.
How can we get more vegetables in ready meals?
How do we make vegetables more attractive?
One in three nurseries are not serving vegetables daily.
Many fast-food outlets have a very limited vegetable offer.
The number one reason people give for their food choices is price according to Defra statistics.
People perceive vegetables to be expensive but our report shows that it is 2.5 times cheaper to get 1,000 calories from highly processed foods than it is to get those calories from vegetables.
We have a significant number of people in the UK living on extremely tight budgets.
How do we get to the point where vegetables as seen as desirable and attractive?
We have managed to make Cadbury’s Creme Eggs seasonal, but we don’t have any of that buzz when it comes to the real seasonal offer.
What has come out of the report is the need for a connection with our food; making it something children want to eat.
Horticulture benefits least from the Common Agricultural Policy subsidies.
We have shifted in our tastes to more exotic vegetables.
Some 30 years ago, 83% of our vegetables were grown in the UK. Now it is 58%.
“The combination of higher food prices and pressure on UK horticulture production, in a situation where our children are already eating much too little veg, threatens to make our children’s diets even worse than they already are,” says Taylor.
“The government now has an opportunity to re-think agricultural subsidies as we leave the European Union, and link them directly to supporting the public good. Scaling up investment in horticulture would be an excellent place to start. If we ate the amount of veg we should it would provide an opportunity for British growers to produce an additional 1.5 million tonnes of veg, creating employment opportunities and generating growth.”
The National Farmers Union is on board with the initiative and horticulture adviser Lee Abbey was at the veg retreat and at the launch. “Despite numerous government and industry initiatives to improve consumer diets, fruit and veg consumption simply hasn’t risen,” Abbey laments. “Much more has to be done to make fruit and veg available whenever and wherever we buy our food and in the right format to satisfy today’s shopping habits. We need to build a supply chain that is fit for the future and works collaboratively from the supplier right through to the retailer. Consumers want to eat more fruit and veg and everyone in the food supply chain has a responsibility to enable them to do so.”
Meanwhile, Laura Sandys, chair of the Food Foundation and a former MP wants to see “a major facelift” for vegetables’ image in the UK: “The best brains in advertising [are] needed to make it a super desirable treat,” she says.
Academia is behind the project too with Professor Corinna Hawkes, director of the centre for food policy at City, University of London emphasising the importance of supply chain involvement in the project. “We need a dialogue with the supply chain,” she believes. “It’s about finding out what are the constraints for you to making vegetables more affordable, more available, more appealing…It’s about listening and learning from the supply chain.”
Peas Please is seeking pledges to get involved with the campaign, which you can do here.
Any businesses interested in finding out more about sponsorship opportunities should get in touch here.


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If a child goes missing, picture and information can be directly sent to the police
The Dutch AMBER Alert, a joint initiative of the KPLD (Netherlands Police Agency) and software company Netpresenter, has launched an AMBER Alert iPhone App (Netherlands only). Within three hours after the launch the App reached number 1 in the App Store. This free app allows anybody with an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch to help search for missing children. It also allows parents to store information about their own child or children, such as a picture, physical traits, length and weight. In the unfortunate event that your child goes missing, this information can be forwarded to the police.
The possibility to store pictures and other information regarding your own children is inspired by FBI’s Child ID App, hugely popular in the U.S. Like this app, the AMBER Alert App allows people to directly contact the police and gives advice on what to do when a child goes missing.
Of course, when an AMBER Alert is issued, users directly receive a push notification. AMBER Alerts are issued when the police believes the missing child’s life might be at stake. With the app, people can also see pictures of other missing children and send tip-offs about missing children, including pictures, directly to the police. The AMBER Alert App has been developed in collaboration with Zyrcadia.
Carlo Schippers of the National Missing Persons Bureau (LBVP) of the Netherlands Police Agency (KLPD): “When a child goes missing, every minute counts. It is extremely vital that the police has direct access to a recent portrait picture, one that bears a good resemblance to the child. Most parents keep a picture of their child in their wallet, but often these pictures are old, damaged and they can’t be easily forwarded. A digital image has a lot of advantages. Especially if it’s a recent picture and stored on a smartphone – most people carry it with them all the time – and can be sent to the police at the push of a button.”
“An app is the ideal way to make sure as many people as possible see the picture of a missing child as soon as possible. Last year, 65 percent of all phones that were sold were smartphones. It also works the other way around: if parents lose sight of their children in a shopping center or on a busy beach, the app allows them to directly send a recent picture to the police, the security at the shopping center or the lifeguard at the beach. That way, as soon as possible as many people as possible can help search for the child.” says Frank Hoen, founder of the Dutch AMBER Alert and CEO of software company Netpresenter. “We are convinced that smartphones are the future in locating missing children. The fact that the iPhone still is the most popular device for mobile internet in the Netherlands, shows that the development of an iPhone app is a logical first step.”
“The sooner the police has a good picture and the more people search for missing children, the higher the chance that the child is found in good health. Because of its dual function, this AMBER Alert App has direct positive influence on both aspects. We just had to develop this AMBER Alert App,” according to Michael Sannes, CEO at App development company Zyrcadia.
The AMBER Alert iPhone App has been extensively tested and guarantees user’s privacy. Pictures and information entered in the AMBER Alert App are only stored locally on the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch themselves, and not in a central database. Information regarding your own child is in no way communicated to the police, unless the user explicitly requests this. For instance when a child goes missing and a parent wants to send a picture of his child to the police.


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For entrepreneurs, now is a time of “enormous potential, but also significant challenges,” Wendy Guillies said. Guillies, the president and CEO of the Kansas City-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, delivered the foundation’s annual State of Entrepreneurship address Wednesday in Washington, discussing the current climate for entrepreneurship and the foundation’s plans to help eliminate barriers for new businesses.
Early in her address, Guillies discussed some concerning data on American startups: Entrepreneurship rates are half of what they were a generation ago, despite new businesses accounting for nearly all net job creation in the country.
Also troubling, Guillies said, is that the demographics of American entrepreneurs don’t reflect the diversity of the country as a whole.
“The U.S. population is increasingly diverse, educated and older,” she said. “Yet our entrepreneurial population is not changing as fast.”
That, Guillies said, gets to the heart of the Kauffman Foundation’s current efforts: “How do we take our advantage of our longstanding heritage of entrepreneurship and extend it … to every interested American?”
The foundation is attempting to do that, she said, through its Zero Barriers effort. Launched in February 2017, Zero Barriers aims to engage entrepreneurs, support organizations, researchers and policymakers in identifying and eliminating barriers to starting businesses.
Guillies cited some specific efforts to that end, including a summit of entrepreneurial ecosystem builders from across the U.S., the launch of a suite of free online entrepreneurship resources and the release this week of a national survey of entrepreneurs.
The survey revealed overwhelming optimism among American entrepreneurs: 61 percent of respondents rated their firm’s performance last year positively, and 88 percent said 2018 would be even better, Guillies said.
However, those entrepreneurs also acknowledged the importance of startup-friendly government policy and of supportive networks to help grow their businesses.
“We’re focused on increasing inclusion,” Guillies said. “But Kauffman’s efforts alone will not be enough.”


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When Henrik Fisker joined First Cobalt’s board of directors in September, it was like a marriage of the minds between the global automotive design entrepreneur and the company’s president and CEO, Trent Mell.
Both Fisker and Mell are focused on providing cobalt to the American EV market efficiently, and also on maintaining stringent ethical mining practices.
First Cobalt is operating domestically within a global supply chain that has been so rife with concerns over child labour in the Congo that cobalt has been dubbed the ‘blood diamonds’ of the mining industry. But cobalt is on the US critical minerals list – and is a key component in next-generation batteries.
Fisker is also Chairman and CEO of Fisker Inc., and in the automotive sector he has provided leadership in premium electric vehicle development. Fisker Inc. holds pending patents on the Fisker Solid-State Battery, which the company says delivers 2.5 times the energy density of lithium-ion batteries. This is a potential game changer in charging electric vehicles and consumer electronics.
“When we started Fisker Inc. in 2016, one of my goals was not only to redo the business model for a car company, but also to really get involved in what is essentially the most important and most expensive part of an electric vehicle, which is the battery.” Fisker said. “What is so important to this technology is, it not only has a much higher efficiency [but] a much longer range.”
Cobalt is the mineral that brings stability to the battery technology, Fisker said.
“That is why everybody wants to make sure they have access to it…as we have this rise in demand for batteries over the next seven to ten years. I want to make sure we have access, but that it is ethically mined.”
On the safety side, the technology has the capability to cool batteries more efficiently, and it is also carries a lower cost, Fisker said.
Fisker said joining the board at First Cobalt was a good fit because he felt the company’s values are in line with his in terms of ethical practices.
First Cobalt has three North American assets: the Iron Creek project in Idaho, with inferred mineral resources of 29.6 million tons grading 0.11% cobalt equivalent; the Canadian Cobalt Camp, and the only permitted cobalt refinery in North America capable of producing battery materials.
Fisker also said it is exciting that the market can get cobalt from North America, when a majority of the material and mines are owned by foreign interests.
Trent Mell said First Cobalt walks its talk by ensuring every worker at the company’s mine sites is outfitted with personal protective equipment, and that the local environments are protected.
“Where Henrik and I are aligned, it starts in the Congo. What people forget is that we are trying to clean up the supply chain,” Mell said. “The whole supply chain of cobalt, in my opinion, is somewhat broken right now, so we are trying to develop a network of cobalt that would be mined in America, processed in America, and sold in America that is completely removed from all of the issues in the supply chain that bigger players than us are going to have to fix.”
Drill testing is ongoing at Iron Creek, and Fisker Inc. Solid-State Batteries are entering the testing phase.
Fisker said the company is already solving some of the issues of getting into higher volume manufacturing. He said the goal for next year is to get the battery technology on a small-scale pilot line and start producing repeatable quality batteries. By 2020, Fisker aims to bring Solid-State Batteries to market.


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STATESBORO — After spending about six months working on bringing the store to the Statesboro Mall, Your CBD Store had a soft opening on Feb. 15.
Co-owners Paul Hirschmann and Casey Lassiter have received good reception since the opening.
“I wasn’t really sure what the reaction would be to a CBD store in the mall down here,” Hirschmann said.
Many smoke shops carry CBD products now, but Your CBD Store wants to change the perception that people have associated with these products.
“We want it to feel almost like a boutique store,” Hirschmann said.
All of the CBD products are made with hemp, not cannabis, which means that they are non-psychoactive.
“Our motto’s health without the high,” Hirschmann said.
The store carries a variety of CBD products, including oils, topical creams, water solubles and a skincare line that won an award for best skincare line at a CBD expo last year.
Some of the health benefits associated with CBD products include anti-inflammatory properties, pain relief and anxiety relief.
Since Congress passed the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp, more stores selling CBD products have been opening.
Currently, the products in Your CBD Store are made with hemp grown in Colorado and bottled in Florida, but Hirschmann said they are trying to obtain a license to grow hemp in Georgia.
Georgia legislature passed the Hemp Farming Act in May 2019, which allows farmers to obtain licenses to grow and sell hemp for commercial use. Colleges and universities within the University System of Georgia are also now allowed to grow hemp for research purposes.
Abby Fuller, The George-Anne News Reporter, email@example.com