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Should Rude Customers Be Charged More For Their Coffee?
Being nicer to your barista might save you some dosh.
Anyone who has ever worked in hospitality will tell you the same thing about their customers: they're awful. For some cruel and arbitrary reason, all human decency tends to go out the window when someone is wearing an apron. Sure, this isn't true of all customers, but definitely an alarming majority. Now, a cafe on the NSW south coast is doing something to change the etiquette game.
The Seven Mile Beach Kiosk in Gerroa has been displaying a sign for the past few months advertising cheaper coffee for polite people. "A coffee: $5. A coffee please: $4.50. Good morning, a coffee please: $4," the sign reads. Though intended as more of a gimmick than a serious rule, the sign does pose some interesting questions. Is this problem so bad that we actually need to introduce incentives for general manners?
Owners of the cafe Kev Chilver and Kylie Pickett told the Daily Mail that they created the sign to curb some of the rude interactions (read: caffeine-addled demands) they were receiving from their customers. Apparently, despite living in a small town on an idyllic strip of surf beaches, Gerroa coffee-lovers are just as abrupt and demeaning as those in the major cities.
"Common courtesy is ... becoming less and less common, and we're trying to bring it back," said Mr Chilver. "We are in service industry but we’re not servants. We deserve as much respect as anyone else."
The cafe owners are not alone in this frustration. In fact, you might remember similar initiatives taking place in Europe last year. Last January, a photo from an cafe in Italy stirred up the initial buzz by offering a €2 discount to those giving proper greetings. The idea then reached France where a cafe on the Riveria knocked that discount up to €5.60 (FYI French coffee is crazy expensive). The story gained notoriety online, on television and in newspapers being shared tens of thousands of times; at one point a French government minister even spoke out in favour of the concept.
While it's a lovely idea, it's also an easy way to get already grumpy customers further offside. It's not hard to see why most venues don't properly enforce the policy — I'd hate to be the person behind the till asking some rude dude to fork out more cash for his weak decaf soy latte because he didn't smile at me enough. That's just asking for trouble.
We think the real solution is something bigger. At some point in everyone's life, they should be forced to work in the hospitality industry. Clearing plates, getting covered in warm frothy milk on a hot day, and having to slap that 'I'm actually dead inside' smile on your face all day will give you a lifelong appreciation of your wait staff.
Failing that, you could just skip the years of grief and torment and just find it within yourself to be a decent human being to the guy making your coffee.
Via Daily Mail.
Published on October 29, 2014 by Meg Watson


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Silvergate Financial institution leds the information this week because the California financial institution centered on crypto seems to be on the point of collapse. Additionally making information have been Klarna with an enormous annual loss, Goldman Sachs seeking to seel components of its shopper finance unit, Marqeta reported strong 2022 outcomes and LendingTree companions with Improve to launch a brand new bank card. Listed here are what I take into account to be the high ten fintech information tales of the previous week.
Crypto trade distances itself from Silvergate as financial institution collapses from Yahoo Information – It was a really tough week for Silvergate Financial institution. They introduced that their annual report can be delayed and there have been doubts that the financial institution may proceed as an ongoing concern. The crypto trade leaders all got here out to say they don’t seem to be concerned in Silvergate anymore after which yesterday we discovered that the corporate has suspended its crypto funds community.
Klarna’s annual loss widens to $1bn however chief’s pay jumps 35% from The Monetary Occasions – The world’s largest BNPL supplier launched its annual outcomes this week and it wasn’t fairly. The corporate misplaced round $1 billion in 2022 at the same time as income elevated and delinquencies fell. The CEO’s pay elevated by 35% in 2022 to round $1.3 million.
David Solomon’s New Goldman Sachs Isn’t New Sufficient from Bloomberg – Goldman Sachs had their second investor day this week and it didn’t actually go that effectively. There have been no new initiatives to impress analysts however we did be taught they’re contemplating a sale of GreenSky and probably different components of their shopper finance enterprise.
Marqeta units sights on embedded finance in 2023 from Fintech Nexus – Marqeta reported earnings this week and 2022 was a strong yr for the fee tech chief. In This autumn income was up 31% to $204 million and the online loss dropped by 28%. However analysts didn’t just like the softer forecast for Q1 and so their share value plummeted.
LendingTree launches bank card with installment fee mannequin from American Banker – LendingTree is launching a brand new bank card which in and of itself will not be actually newsworthy. However for this card, they’ve partnered with Improve on their installment fee expertise. It’s the first third-party bank card providing for Improve, which invented this kind of card again in 2019.
Higher Provides Vested Fairness as Homebuying Collateral for Amazon Staff from Fintech Nexus – Higher introduced this week the launch of their Fairness Unlocker with Amazon as their launch accomplice. What it means is that Amazon staff who’ve vested inventory will have the ability to use this inventory as collateral for a down fee on a house.
Visa, Mastercard pause crypto push in wake of trade meltdown from Reuters – Each the foremost card networks have paused a few of their crypro initiatives amid the trade meltdown however clearly each firms are usually not abandoning crypto, that is only a pause. Amex has proven far much less curiosity in crypto from the getgo.
As Black-Owned Banks Steadily Fade Away, Buyers Step In to Type One from The Wall Road Journal – A gaggle of traders led by Ashley Bell, a former Trump administration advisor, in addition to a daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. wish to purchase a Utah neighborhood financial institution to create a brand new black-owned financial institution.
Former UK Fintech Darling Railsbank Near Sale as Issues Pile Up from Bloomberg – As soon as distinguished UK fintech Railsbank, led by Nigel Verdon, is in serious trouble and seeking to promote itself although a “pre-pack administration”, a type of chapter the place a purchaser is lined up prematurely.
Crypto Firms Should Cease Poking The Regulators In The Eye With A Stick from Forbes – I’ve included numerous articles on this roundup during the last a number of months which can be essential of regulators on the subject of crypto, so needed to incorporate a counterpoint from an trade participant.
Each Thursday afternoon, the Fintech Nexus Information staff and a particular visitor talk about the information of the week dwell on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter. We have now now made the present out there in podcast format – click on on the audio participant beneath.

domain: news


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Zapr Media Labs, a Bangalore-based media-tech company, picked up a coveted bronze in ‘New Product Launch’ category at the 4th edition of Indian Marketing Awards on Thursday evening in Gurugram. Zapr’s win with Sony Pictures was an encore for the campaign, that previously bagged two awards at the MMA Smarties this year. The entry struck a chord with the jury as Zapr was able to use its advanced TV-to-Mobile technology to bridge offline TV consumption with powerful mobile targeting and increased awareness for Sony’s new show- Super Dancer.
Zapr mapped out more than 2 million viewers of dance reality shows across 500+ channels and engaged with them over Facebook on their smartphones. Zapr banked on both recall and interest to create massive buzz and social media impact for the show. The results were staggering in their effectiveness as targeted users engaged with the new show via likes, views, comments and shares among their circles. This increased awareness on social media drove 13% of these viewers to tune into Super Dancer on offline broadcast TV. Thus, Zapr succeeded in not just creating awareness, but also drive viewership.
The campaign was selected by a jury that consisted of eminent industry veterans and distinguished personalities like Anand Kripalu, MD & CEO, Diageo India, Abhishek Ganguly, Managing Director, Puma, Abdul Khan, Celebrated Internet Transformation Evangelist and Radhika Aggarwal, Co-Founder, Shopclues gracing the occasion. Zapr’s win at the IMA heralds a change in the way we see marketing and showcases how a young startup can make an impact by thinking outside the box.


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Microsoft has made no secret about its plans to expand its current business model with a stronger emphasis on selling software as a service (SaaS), and it is working hard to get enough computational muscle to meet the demand. Like Google, Microsoft is building massive data centers across the world, with "tens of thousands" of servers at the Quincy location, according to a Reuters report. Software as a Service, Moore's law, and virtualization are all driving enterprise IT towards denser installations where a single rack of hardware can do the job that required an entire room in days gone by.
With this much power concentrated in ever smaller packages the price of computing is starting to be more about the energy required to run the systems than the initial investment in the hardware. The Reuters article also quotes Mike Manos, the guy in charge of Microsoft's data centers as saying that they take 31 criterion into consideration when deciding where to put a data center.
This news ties into Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's statements yesterday at the Townhall Event reguarding software as a service as being central to the company's future. Its ongoing focus on SaaS and the Windows Live brand means you can expect more of the megasized data centers to crop up in the future.


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Retailers can bite the bullet knowing the digital industry has two more years to prepare Google’s crackdown on third-party cookies. However, let’s not be complacent. Industry stakeholders need to take serious action to address identity issues – and for retailers, that means taking their first party data seriously. If you don’t, you’ll be forced to adopt someone else’s solution, perhaps a solution that will give even more control over the data to one of the Big Tech walled garden platforms.
With the right data strategy, however, retailers can step into walled gardens and allow their brands to do the same. Retailers have data on consumer behavior that can provide the building blocks of identity, which will be extremely desirable for walled gardens once they are no longer able to track consumers through apps. This places retail merchants at the forefront of the industry’s progression into the next era of identity.
It is up to shopper marketers to act while the future is still wide open.
Let’s talk about what’s at stake first: user experience and marketing effectiveness. Without the ability to link the behavior to an individual verifiable user, marketers will end up assaulting consumers with advertisements of uncertain relevance. They’ll have to spend more on advertising to get the same results – and to do that, their businesses will need to raise product prices. Consumers will have to pay more and have a worse digital experience.
Here’s where retailers can help fix the problem. Retailers know which brands a consumer is buying. And brands can go straight to Google, Apple, or Facebook, as they have currently “pixelated the web” so they can capture customer intent on sites, stores, and apps. However, with the disappearance of cookies, brands will lose this ability and retailers will become the next best option. This valuable first-party data is unique to retailers, and it will give retailers the leverage they need to grow their brands in a post-third-party cookie world.
An example: Adidas wants to advertise Chris and wants Chris to buy his product from Macy’s. Adidas does not âknowâ Chris, but Macy’s does know that Chris purchased Adidas through their store or site. Chris is also on Facebook, which can no longer track Chris’s intent across apps. Macy’s tells Facebook he should show Chris an Adidas ad. This allows Macy’s to step through the Walled Garden gate, allowing the Walled Garden to use its consumer profile data while retaining ownership of that data.
Here is the next level. Macy’s also knows that Chris bought Nike through their site. However, Adidas is concerned that its advertising spend through Macy’s will benefit its competitor. Macy’s can provide the transparency that these individual competing brands need. Like it or not, the retailer maintains brands’ ad spend if they can prove to the brand that their ad is working. In other words, Macy’s retailer database becomes its own walled garden, allowing it to strengthen its relationships with brands, publishers and social apps, controlling access to consumer profiles while mutually benefiting business partners.
Retailers have valuable first-party data on consumer interest and buying behavior around its brands – for example, loyalty program data, retailer site activity, geolocation, etc. And now the depreciation of third-party cookies has forced them to focus on this data, they realize that they have more first-party data than they might expect. To harness the power of this data, retailers create consumer profiles with an identifier (like an email address or a hashed phone number) at its center. From there, the retailer has a view of the buyer’s journey for multiple brands.
Basically, we are replacing cookies and advertiser IDs with first party data or hashed addresses i.e. Personally Identifiable Information (PII). While Google struggles to figure out how its own FLoC ID can work the way it wants, retailers can join this conversation and gain an edge. Tech giants are keenly aware that they need retailer data to understand the buyer’s journey. Indeed, Facebook has created tools allowing merchants to share their first party data via an API. This allows Facebook to match its users to consumer profiles for more relevant advertising, and retailers to check with Facebook to see if that consumer has seen an ad from any of its brands.
Retailers have been reluctant to share their consumption data with social apps over concerns that apps will simply use it to get more data footprint. For example, Facebook collaborative ads, which allow retailers and brands to work closely together for mutual benefit on the Facebook platform, remain under-adopted, with only a handful of U.S. retailers on board out of the tens of thousands. . But with third-party cookies on the way out, retailers will have to change their minds. If they take the lead in this conversation, they can deepen their relationships with their brands and tech giants, on terms that maintain both their control over consumer data and the privacy of their consumers.
It is essential for retailers to start these conversations today. The delay in abandoning third-party cookies creates an innovation opportunity that we probably won’t see again anytime soon. Retail traders who survived the COVID pandemic also feel the confidence that can get them through this moment. And those who don’t take action are doomed to repeat what they went through with the rise of Amazon.com – another tech giant emerging with a program that puts retailers at a disadvantage. The next digital walled gardens must be built and owned by the traders themselves.
Conor Ryan is the co-founder and CIO of StitcherAds, a Facebook and Instagram marketing partner that helps retailers and agencies roll out O2O marketing campaigns down the full funnel.


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Canadian trade union Unifor said roughly 4,500 of its members have been temporarily laid off because of the GM strike so far.Autosread more
For investors taking a breather from the chaos in August, buckle up as the market is about go crazy again, Goldman Sachs warned.Marketsread more
Roku shares have more than quadrupled this year, but the stock has had some rocky days of late as more players jump into streaming.Technologyread more
Walmart will stop selling e-cigarettes amid "regulatory complexity" and "uncertainty" around the products, the retailer said in a memo Friday.Health and Scienceread more
Legal experts say that California, which has pledged to sue, has a strong case that the administration's move is unlawful.Politicsread more
A group of 23 states on Friday sued to undo the Trump administration's determination that federal law bars California from setting stiff tailpipe emission standards and...Transportationread more
U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have accused Iran of orchestrating devastating strikes on Saudi oil installations over the weekend.Politicsread more
Rosengren was one of two central bank officials to vote against Wednesday's quarter-point rate reduction, and explained in a speech to the Stern School of Business at New York...Economyread more
Trump also said he is "not looking for a partial deal" with Beijing, moving away from his suggestion last week that he would consider an "interim deal."Politicsread more
Apple's iPhone 11 ships with a slow charger in the box, but it supports fast charging. So buy this cable and charger to get a 50% charge in 30 minutes.Technologyread more
The process will involve three 14-day operations involving $30 billion as well as continued overnight operations of at least $75 billion each.The Fedread more
Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman announced Monday he will retire in January, more than 41 years after he started with the heavy machinery company.
He will be succeeded as CEO by Jim Umpleby, who has worked with the Peoria, Illinois-based company for 35 years.
"Our people have heard me say many times that my greatest responsibility as Chairman and CEO is to manage Caterpillar for today and position the company and its future leaders for long-term success," the 63-year-old Oberhelman said in a statement. "It has been an honor and a privilege to lead this company, and I am confident in the choice of my successor, Jim Umpleby."
Umpleby, 57, will become CEO and join the board on Jan 1. The company, founded in 1925, also said Dave Calhoun will become nonexecutive chairman of the board.
Oberhelman, who became CEO in 2010, will remain the executive chairman until March 31. The chief executive led Caterpillar to its highest sales and revenue in its history in 2012, but it subsequently encountered headwinds.
A spokeswoman for Caterpillar told CNBC that Oberhelman's departure was his choice and that this transition is in line with that of past CEOs.
Earlier this year, Caterpillar cut its full-year sales and profits forecast as weak demand for equipment used in the mining and energy sector continued to weigh on its business.
Eli Lustgarten, a senior research analyst for Longbow Securities, said Oberhelman's retirement makes sense.
"Well, it's happening now because Doug has two years more. He's 63 years old and usually they retire at 65," Lustgarten told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." He noted that the move will give the new CEO time to learn to navigate the company's challenges.
"And it's been pretty clear that Caterpillar's tough business conditions aren't going to disappear in  or probably . [Allow Umpleby to] have his hands around everything going on and hopefully some things begin to improve in 2018."
Caterpillar's stock was trading slightly lower in early trade Monday. The stock is up 29 percent year to date.
— Reuters contributed to this report.


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Magnets being recalled due to hazards.
HD Premier is recalling DigitDots magnetic balls due to ingestion hazard.
HD Premier recalls DigitDots magnetic balls.
With a possible ingestion hazard.
There has been four recorded incidents so far.
In each case the child who swallowed these magnets required surgery.
This is not the first recalled product with this issue.
There has been cases for teens ingesting high powered magnets also requiring surgery.
In that instance there was also two deaths.
When a child ingests these magnets they can attract each other or other metal objects.
And then become lodged in the digestive system.
This can result in perforations, twisting/ blockage of the intestines.
Other issues such as infection, blood poisoning and death are also possible.
These magnets were sold at wwww.ilovedigitdots.com and www.amazon.com.
From March 2019 through January 2022.
Consumers should stop using the magnets immediately.
Take them away from children and contact HD Premier to receive a pre-paid label to return the recalled products.
Upon receipt of the products, consumers will receive a refund.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to [email protected].


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Sony has just announced their new super telephoto zoom lens FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens yesterday. Now Canon users also want their 200-600mm lens, according to latest rumors, Canon is working on their mirrorless version 200-600mm lens: RF 200-600mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM lens.
This is May version of “What to Expect Next from Canon ?“. According to latest rumors and leaks over the web, here are some updated rumors about upcoming Canon cameras & lenses coming in 2019 to 2020, see the details below:
According to recently rumors on CR, in early 2020, three new RF lenses is expected to be announced, around CP+ 2020 in February. These three lenses are RF 24mm f/1.4L USM Lens, RF 135mm f/1.8L USM Lens, a new “first of its kind macro lens”.


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KUALA LUMPUR – The police believe the frozen meat cartel uses fake halal labels and involves a wide network, masterminded by local and foreign syndicates, says Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Huzir Mohamed.
He said this was based on the volume and value of the seizures made prior to this.
“Investigations into the activity are being conducted under Section 505 (b) of the Penal Code for causing fear or alarm to the public.
“In addition, the investigation includes those involved in the acquisition, storage, processing, smuggling, as well as those who manipulate, conspire and bring in the frozen meat through the Approved Permit (AP),” he said in a statement.
Huzir said the police had so far received 13 reports from the public, who were upset following the raid on a warehouse in Senai, Johor, and revelations by the press about companies importing non-certified meat before re-packaging them as halal beef for the local market.
“The police view this seriously and are committed to overcoming the issue with the cooperation of agencies such as the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, the Department of Veterinary Services, the Department of Malaysian Quarantine Inspection Services and the Customs Department,” he said.
He said the syndicate should be brought to justice as it had caused concern among Malaysians and touched on sensitive aspects of Islam.
“The syndicate has also caused dissatisfaction and threatened the peace in the country due to the deceptive actions of the irresponsible parties, which also tarnishes the country’s image as a halal hub and has a big impact on the country’s economy,” he said.
The Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister (KPDNHEP) Datuk Rosol Wahid meanwhile has said that the country’s three largest frozen meat suppliers, namely the Allana Group, Amroon and Al-Aali are among the those that are guaranteed halal.
He said, therefore, the Muslim community in the country should not have to worry about purchasing meat from the three companies.
“Do not be influenced by the information spread on social media, claiming that an alleged meat cartel has been operating for more than 40 years,” he told the media after visiting frozen meat importing firm Fatric Sdn Bhd in Selayang here today.
Rosol said the visit was to instill confidence among the community that the meat supply in the market was halal.
Earlier, in the Dewan Negara, Rosol said a frozen meat importer allegedly involved in the meat cartel scandal in Johor will be charged in court tomorrow for using a fake halal logo on its vehicles.
He said the action thus refuted the allegation that the government was trying to protect certain companies or those involved in the issue of great concern among the Muslims in the country.
“Not that we don’t want to expose the company involved, but the problem is that the crime was committed by a meat cartel using the logo of other company which is famous for its highly-demanded products.
“If we expose the name of the allegedly victimised company, it will tarnish their image and reputation,” he said when winding up the debate on the meat cartel issue proposed by Senator Asmak Husin.
Almost 10 senators spoke during the debate after the Senate president Tan Sri Rais Yatim allowed the motion to be debated according to Standing Order 17 (1).
Recently established company
Rosol explained that the government had never underestimated the issue and had taken some firm action against those involved, including by freezing assets worth RM1 million as well as seizing 24 rubber stamps of companies with high demands, 5,000 Jakim’s halal stickers and 2,428 boxes of frozen meat estimated at RM738,640.
At the same time, he also rebutted the report alleging that the meat cartel’s activity has been going on for almost 40 years.
“It’s not true that the activity has been going on for almost 40 years because the ministry’s investigation revealed that the company involved was registered in 2014 and obtained the licence to import frozen products in 2017.
“Furthermore, the results of the tests done by the Chemistry Department on the samples of frozen meat taken from their warehouse confirmed that they were not pork or horse and kangaroo meat, which is a relief to us all,” he said.
To prevent a recurrence of the scandal, Rosol said the ministry had set up a legal and halal enforcement committee to coordinate action and halal enforcement issues in the country.
Earlier, Senator Asmak Husin proposed a motion on an illegal meat cartel for wrongly using the logo of the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) with the intention to deceive in accordance with Article 17 of the Rules of the Senate.
“I think this motion involves public interest because it is a source of protein for Muslims who are the majority of Malaysian citizens. For the Muslim community, halal, haram, shubhah food can influence concern their religious faith, physical development and life.
“It also involves the good name of the government, especially Jakim, as the issuer of the halal logo , for which the products were believed to be halal, not only by Malaysians but the international community,” she said.
Asmak said the people are also becoming scared and angry over the case because until today, some brands that are still used used by them are said to be involved in this case.
Investigation on the matter has been conducted for about a month and the people want the government to provide the list of the brands involved or at least outcome of the preliminary report, she added.


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London, UK 22nd October 2008,
It was announced today that the new version of the unlocking chip SIMable adds full support for 85% of the world’s mobile phones, including the infamous iPhone 3G, and all other smartphones.
As reported by IT PRO, the iPhone 3G has achieved a market share of 17% in the US, making it second only to Motorola’s RAZR V3. In the UK it has a growing 6% hold, with sales of over 50K per week. With no unlocking software yet available, and the product just launched on Prepay, the demand for a stable and easy unlocking solution is phenomenal.
Introduced to the market in April this year by UK company 24/7 Mobile Solutions, SIMable can be installed and working in a Network locked handset in a matter of seconds. By using a customised manufactured cutting press, which comes with each unit, a tiny hole needs to be pressed out in the SIM card. Next SIMable needs to be aligned with the SIM and inserted into the locked handset....


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Express News Service
HYDERABAD: In a major breakthrough, the Cybercrime police have busted a pan-India call centre racket operating from Delhi and arrested a 14-member gang. The gang members, who are involved in 295 cases across the country, including 14 in Cyberabad, illegally obtained credit card credentials of the SBI customers and duped them. During the investigation, police found that the gang used to make spoof calls, making the customers believe that they were calling from a call centre of SBI.
Spoofing is a method of falsifying the information of an incoming call on the receiver’s caller ID display. The receivers get an ID on their phones which appears as though it was from reputed institutions like banks. Using spoofing applications, the gang used to make calls and claim that they would activate or de-activate the card or enhance credit card limit and then used to drain their accounts. The accused used MoSIP Mobile Dialer, Silver Dialer, Round2Hell and iTell Mobile Dialer spoofing applications to make calls to the victims. The victims received calls as if they were from the toll free numbers of SBI.
Believing them to be genuine calls, the victims used to share their credit card credentials only to find their hard earned money siphoned off from their accounts.
Credit card scam: Spoofing tech led customers to fall prey to Delhi gang
The gang used to open fictitious accounts with popular websites like housing.com and nobroker.com and…


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ROCKTON (WREX) – Rundown bikes and spares probably have a home in the back of our garage or in the trash, but the Ackerman family sees it differently.
Leigh-Ann’s family, Jacques, Jordan and Trystan use their garage to assemble bikes from spare parts and give them free to those in need.
The summer hobby began when one of their neighbors asked if the Ackermans wanted a few bikes he found while researching his own scrap and repair projects. Leigh-Ann Ackerman says a yes is all it took to get the ball rolling.
“We had a collection of four or five,” Leigh-Ann said. I put it on the Next Door app so everyone will know that we are giving them away for free. We have had an incredible response. All the bikes are gone. “
Soon after, the garage was no longer a space for cars, it was a space for bicycles.
“We spent the last month picking up almost 40 bikes,” Leigh-Ann said. “We have already donated 16 bikes, we have 12 more ready to go and are continually repairing more.”
Mother Leigh-Ann, Father Jacques and sons Jordan and Trystan moved from South Africa to Stateline three years ago and say they wanted to do something special for the community.
“To be able to give back to the community, we feel extremely lucky to be able to be here in America and we just think we owe it to the community to give back to them,” said Leigh-Ann.
If you need a bike or have bikes / spare parts you no longer want, contact the family on the Next Door app or at 779-772-6164.


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2012 marks the second year that T-Mobile USA is sponsoring Expo Hall 7 at the L.A. County Fair. Please visit Booths in Building 5, 7 ,and 9 to see the latest and greatest T-Mobile smartphones including the recently launched Samsung Galaxy S® III, the Samsung Galaxy Note, the Samsung Galaxy S® Blaze™4G, the HTC One™ S, the T-Mobile® myTouch® and myTouch® Q, and the Nokia® Lumia™ 710 Windows® phone. T-Mobile representatives will be on hand to activate and upgrade devices and service plans.
Based in Bellevue, Wash., T-Mobile USA, Inc. is the U.S. wireless operation of Deutsche Telekom AG (otcqx:DTEGY). By the end of the first quarter of 2012, approximately 129 million mobile customers were served by the mobile communication segments of the Deutsche Telekom group -- 33.4 million by T-Mobile USA -- all via a common technology platform based on GSM and UMTS and additionally HSPA+ 21/HSPA+ 42. T-Mobile USA's innovative wireless products and services help empower people to connect to those who matter most. Multiple independent research studies continue to rank T-Mobile USA among the highest in numerous regions throughout the U.S. in wireless customer care and call quality.
Samsung and Galaxy S are both registered trademarks of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. HTC One is a registered trademark of HTC Corporation. Windows is a registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. Nokia and Nokia Lumia are both registered trademarks of Nokia Corporation. T-Mobile is a registered trademark of Deutsche Telekom AG. myTouch is a registered trademark of T-Mobile USA, Inc.


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Commentators have broadly welcomed the new consumer rights bill proposed in today’s Queen’s Speech, which is set to update customer rights in the light of online retailing.
The Consumer Bill of Rights, outlined in today’s speech, is intended to set out a clear code of shopping rights and simple, standard, remedies when things go wrong. The government today announced a consultation on the proposal, which aims to bring consumer law, much of which dates back 30 years, up to date in the light of online shopping and sales of digital goods over the internet.
The new bill, first opened for consultation last July, will, the Government said in an appendix
to the Queen’s Speech, “Give consumers greater confidence when buying products, knowing their rights if things go wrong, switching suppliers or making purchases by telephone or internet,” and, “update the law to take account of purchases of digital content.”
It is expected to include the UK implementation of the EU Consumer Rights Directive, set to come into force in June 2014.
Helen Dickinson, British Retail Consortium
director-general, said: "UK retailers are global leaders online but coping with consumer rights rules that are different in every EU country is a barrier to growth. The single consumer rights regime for online trade across national borders, which this legislation brings in, will get us closer to a single digital market for the whole EU.
"That'll make doing business simpler for UK retailers and open up new and growing markets, while customers across the continent will benefit from the extra competition, which encourages innovation and helps bring prices down."
Stuart Padgham, partner and retail specialist at national law firm Thomas Eggar LLP
, said the review was the biggest since the 1970s.
"The Consumer Rights Directive, which is expected to be implemented via the new Consumer Rights Bill, will mainly affect online sales,” he said. “Therefore, businesses with an online sales presence will need to ensure that both their legal terms and conditions and their overall sales process are aligned with the new requirements. To the extent that this requires changes to websites or changes in business processes (for example, in terms of handling cancellations), then businesses need to start their planning in good time in order to meet the June 13 2014 deadline.
"Whilst the codification of the UK’s consumers’ law isn’t expected to lead to material changes in the rights of actual consumers, the manner in which they are expressed and the way in which they can be enforced will change. Businesses need to ensure that their terms and conditions are in line with the new requirements and also that their key staff are aware of, and understand the changes, so that they can be in a position to deal effectively with consumers.
"Finally, the expected new regime for digital downloads is to be welcomed in concept – the courts have struggled for too long in trying to analyse them in traditional ‘is it goods or is it services’ terms and, perhaps, this is the start of a move to giving digital content its own separate treatment in other legal areas too."


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The evening after his appearance on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” UF alumnus Mikey Lickstein’s phone broke after receiving numerous notifications that sales for a pet tag he created had gone up.
On the show, which aired last month, Lickstein, 25, aimed to convince five businesspeople, called “sharks,” to invest in his company, SiliDog, which makes silent, durable pet tags out of silicone. Shark Lori Greiner invested about $100,000 for a 30-percent stake in the company and a 50-cent royalty on each tag sold.
Before his “Shark Tank” appearance, Lickstein prepared by having his family members — many of whom work with him — act as mock sharks, drilling him on questions the investors would likely ask, he said.
“I haven’t slept,” Lickstein said. “I studied for this as if it was the largest test of my life.”
Lickstein began SiliDog near the end of 2013, investing $5,000 of his bar mitzvah money to start the company, which he ran out of his Weston, Florida, home.
His mutt, Bentley, a roadside rescue, inspired the company, he said. Bentley would often destroy his dog tags, and after replacing four tags in one month, Lickstein began brainstorming what products could last longer.
After playing with an “indestructible” dog toy made of silicone, he decided to make Bentley a tag out of the material.
UF professor Jamie Kraft said he had faith that Lickstein’s idea would get an investment. Lickstein has had a positive attitude since being a UF graduate student in entrepreneurship.
“He wanted to make a difference, and that inspiration definitely was infectious,” Kraft said. “You could see he was very positive, and it was going to be hard to deter him from moving forward with the idea.”


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AccessMyLibrary provides FREE access to millions of articles from top publications available through your library.
Smart Cartridge, one of the fastest growing franchise groups in the UK, has made significant inroads into the international market in the past year.
The Edinburgh-based group now has 60 franchisee-owned stores worldwide including outlets in Ireland, Portugal, Spain and the Dominican Republic. Total annual revenues for the group now amount to approximately 6m [pounds sterling].
'I think our strong branding, proven profitable business model and multiple range of products and services have been key to our success in the UK and overseas,' says Suzie McCafferty, international development director. 'We have just …


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This week has seen the launch of The Spirit of London Kickstart Fund.
The Evening Standard has partnered with Triple Point to offer between £100,000 and £150,000 to promising start-up ideas.
As a way to help support business innovation during the Coronavirus pandemic, the fund has been launched to find the next Uber or Deliveroo.
Air Bnb, Pinterest, and Uber are all known as “Unicorn” companies – start-ups that are now worth over $1bn. More than 20 of the world’s ‘unicorn’ businesses were launched in the last economic crisis.
Daniel Cardenas-Clark, from Triple Point, has said the pandemic has lowered the cost of starting a business thanks to cheaper office rents and advertising rates.
“The world is now a different place than it was before the lockdown and the way we used to do almost everything has changed,” he said.
“This change has brought with it an array of opportunities for innovative start-ups and creative entrepreneurs. Triple Point are delighted to have partnered with the Evening Standard to fund the next generation of talented founders during this difficult time.”
The application can be found here.


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'The Interview' is Google Play, YouTube's Best-Selling Title of 2014
The controversial Sony comedy was made available for rent and purchase on the Google sites last Wednesday
In less than a week, The Interview has become Google Play and YouTube Movies' best-selling VOD and electronic-sell-through title of 2014
The controversial comedy about a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was made available to rent or purchase on both Google platforms last Wednesday after Sony decided to proceed with a limited theatrical and VOD release of the film. The studio had canceled a wider release just one week earlier, after the top theater chains in the U.S. said they wouldn't show the film following threats of 9/11-style terrorist attacks on venues that screened the Seth Rogen and James Franco starrer.
In addition to Google Play and YouTube Movies, the film was available on Sony's dedicated website seetheinterview.com and via Microsoft's Xbox Video. Apple's iTunes made the film available for rent or purchase a few days later.
The movie, which cost $5.99 to rent and $14.99 to buy, took in $15 million in online transactions, from more than two million rentals and purchases, Sony said Sunday. While it's unknown exactly how much of this total came from Google transactions, sources told The Hollywood Reporter Sunday that the majority of the film's online sales came from Google Play and YouTube. The film, which played at roughly 300 independent theaters starting Christmas Day, also took in an estimated $2.8 million at the box office over the four-day weekend.
The Interview has likely raised the profile of YouTube's 2-year-old movie rental service, which had previously mostly been used for smaller and older titles.
The film, which is Sony's biggest online film of all time, set a precedent for a major Hollywood studio with its simultaneous theatrical and online availability.


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The CPA is Washington’s leading organization fighting for a new trade policy to deliver balanced trade, restored health for American industries, broadly-shared economic growth, and more jobs for American workers. Learn about the key trade issues impacting the US economy that must be solved. Research by CPA staff takes a deeper look at these issues and which policy changes can lead to dramatic improvement.
February 14, 2020
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Chief Economist The Section 232 steel tariffs are reducing the volume of steel imported into the US, providing breathing space for the US industry, which is expanding.
February 05, 2020
By Steven L. Byers, PhD and Jeff Ferry The US trade deficit in goods and services fell for the first time in six years in 2019. That’s according to US Commerce Department figures which showed our trade deficit dropped 1.7 percent to $616.8 billion in 2019.
February 03, 2020
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Chief Economist You are probably hearing a lot about 5G wireless, which is the next big thing in cellular telephone networks.
January 23, 2020
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Chief Economist On December 9th, Harvard cancer researcher Zaosong Zheng was boarding a Hainan Airlines flight to Beijing at Boston’s Logan Airport when US Customs officials pulled him aside to question him about his luggage.
January 08, 2020
By Steven L. Byers, PhD and Jeff Ferry The US scored the smallest trade deficit since October 2016 as tariffs slowed the flow of imports into the country.
January 03, 2020
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Chief Economist The New Year dawns on an America where many manufacturing sectors are in a state of aggressive growth.
December 23, 2019
By David Lynn, Ph.D. President Trump is doing what no other president has ever done on trade—actually making progress as opposed to uttering empty rhetoric and finger-wagging.
December 13, 2019
from Michael Stumo, CEO After a call with the White House and Office of US Trade Representative regarding the US-China Phase 1 trade deal today, I would like to share what I have learned with our CPA members.
December 13, 2019
The Story of Turbine Panda By Jeff Ferry, CPA Chief Economist In April 2018, a Chinese intelligence agent named Xu Yanjun got off a plane in Brussels, Belgium and headed for St. Catherine Square, a bustling area of shops and quaint cobblestone streets.
December 05, 2019
Trade deficit with China continues to decline By Steven L. Byers, PhD, CPA Senior Economist The US international trade deficit in goods and services fell 7.6 percent in October, to $47.2 billion, as imports declined more than exports.


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Iqaluit man uses free Amazon shipping to fuel food charity
Michael Murphy hopes to expand free food program to other Baffin Island communities
An Iqaluit man has taken advantage of Amazon's free shipping to the city to make food donations to local schools. Now he wants to expand his giving to other schools throughout Nunavut's Baffin Island region.
"The need's not going away," said Michael Murphy of the high local food prices that have driven him to ditch his shopping cart for his computer mouse.
Since November Murphy has shipped $7,000 worth of food to several schools in Iqaluit.
He started in November 2015 by asking for donations to help pay for breakfast and lunch programs and food hampers at the schools.
He bought all the food — peanut butter, cereal, soup, breakfast bars — on Amazon.ca or Amazon.com.
"That's where you get the best buying power," Murphy said.
Free shipping key to program
Amazon.ca charges substantial shipping fees to shoppers living outside of the Nunavut capital.
Someone from Pond Inlet ordering a dozen 284-millilitre cans of Campbell's chicken noodle soup would have to pay $121 in shipping and handling fees — 12 times the cost of the soup.
But someone placing the same order from Iqaluit has the option of choosing free shipping or slightly faster free shipping using a $79-a-year Amazon Prime account, which is what Murphy has.
"If Amazon ever changes the shipping to Iqaluit, we would be hurting up here," he said. "Our dollar doesn't go very far."
Expanding to other communities
Murphy's next goal is to ship food to other Baffin Island communities — like Pond Inlet, which is a two-and-a-half hour plane ride from Iqaluit — where free Amazon shipping is not an option.
But he knows that, once the items arrive in Iqaluit, shipping them himself to the other communities will be pricey.
"I'm exploring other avenues for when I start up in the fall to see if I can get it on gratis on a plane to go up there," he said.
Murphy is also talking to schools in the Toronto District School Board about auctioning off art depicting life in the North made by Nunavut schoolchildren, as a way to raise money for shipping outside of Iqaluit.
"If anything the need has just gotten worse and it's not going to go away," he said of those communities.
Sylvain Charlebois, a professor at Dalhousie University's Faculty of Agriculture, says Amazon has the potential to fight food insecurity in the North thanks to the company's sheer size and its ability to keep food prices low and stable.
"Amazon could actually allow many people to have access to not only good food, but many people up North could actually have access to affordable food as well," he said.


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Over the last 18 months, Buxton Hall BBQ has undergone a literal trial by fire(s) before reopening to indoor diners Aug. 19 with a new look and expanded menu.
The CliffsNotes: Like everyone else, the eatery closed its dining room in March 2020 in response to COVID-19, launched takeout, then reopened in July 2020 only to have its building catch fire. It closed again, then did the Little Louie’s sandwich pop-up, relaunched takeout, debuted Buxton Chicken Palace in the new S&W Market in June, then stopped all food service at its Banks Avenue location to finish repairs and install some new equipment, including a new Texas-style offset smoker designed and built by Buxton chef and co-owner Elliott Moss.
The new equipment allows Moss to smoke a whole hog inside the building, albeit in smaller pieces. “It’s a different way than we did in the past, but [we’re using] the same hogs from Vandele Farms in Lake Lure,” Moss explains. “The best way to put it is we’re putting an eastern Carolina treatment onto western Carolina pigs cooked in a Texas-style smoker.”
Along with the smoker, the chef has added new menu items such as a sliced brisket plate and a brisket cheesesteak, a hot pastrami sandwich, a smoked turkey club and smoked and crispy wings. He has also expanded the menu of side items.
“We have a ridiculous number of sides right now — maybe too many,” Moss says with a laugh. “But they’re all things I want to eat, and I have always kind of selfishly geared the menu to what I want to eat most of the time.” The seasonal items will change — no winter tomatoes, people! — but diners will always find mac and cheese, collards, baked beans and mashed potatoes.
Of sentimental note are two dishes regional to his hometown of Florence, S.C. — chicken bog and the Buxton Hall BBQ hash plate. The former is one that Moss’ mother used to serve the family on Saturdays. The latter is a meat gravy. “It’s a great way to use up the off cuts and byproducts of barbecue,” he explains. “You puree it all and serve it over rice. It’s like a liquified barbecue. It’s weird and doesn’t look that great but is really good and something I’m proud we do here.”
Buxton Hall BBQ is at 32 Banks Ave., and is open for lunch and dinner. Hours vary.
Learn more at avl.mx/6sx.
Seniors freshen up
Meals on Wheels of Asheville and Buncombe County recently partnered with Wildwood Herbal farm in Reems Creek Valley to provide homebound seniors served by the nonprofit with monthly bags of fresh produce. Funded by a $25,000 grant from Meals on Wheels America’s Make Good Go Further campaign, the partnership began in late July and will continue through September.
Among the items fresh-picked by Seth Salmon, the organic farm’s fourth-generation owner, are fruits, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini and yellow squash. Additionally, Meals in Wheels is using Wildwood’s fresh produce in meal preparation, making dishes such as squash casserole.
Debbie Sprouse, executive director of Meals on Wheels, says clients have expressed gratitude for the program, noting a card she received recently that read, “Thank you so much for the fresh produce. Such a delightful surprise!”
For more information on how to help or receive help, visit avl.mx/aam.
On Sunday, Sept. 5, Dobra Tea General Manager Miles Cramer will lead a two-hour class exploring Japanese tea culture as well as its history and production. The event will include a slideshow of Cramer’s travels through Japan and a tasting of six to eight teas.
The class runs 9-11 a.m. at Dobra’s downtown location, 78. N. Lexington Ave. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at avl.mx/wordcap5.
How about learning Japanese home cooking to go along with your newly acquired tea expertise? Waku Waku Eatery has expanded its online offerings of prepared Japanese homestyle comfort foods to include a catalog of Japanese grocery items. The products list includes tofu, soba noodles, seaweed, natural sea salt, soybean flour and more. For the full inventory of groceries as well as Waku Waku’s monthly featured menu, visit avl.mx/aav.
Hungry for more of the foods and beverages of the Land of the Rising Sun? Ukiah Japanese Smokehouse, which opened in South Slope on July 1, has added lunch service on Saturdays and Sundays from noon-3 p.m. Additionally, the restaurant has launched its new chef’s choice tasting menu, which features 10-12 items from the full menu, spanning appetizers to dessert.
Ukiah Japanese Smokehouse is at 121 Biltmore Ave. For more, visit avl.mx/aaw .
After a 10-month hiatus, Mother Earth Food has relaunched its Saturday Discount Box. The program, first established at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, offers a surplus of organic fruits and vegetables available for pickup from its warehouse on a first-come, first-served basis.
“We are happy to bring this popular service back and continue to get produce from our farmers into homes,” says Mother Earth Food CEO Janelle Tatum.
Boxes are available Saturdays, 9-11 a.m. at Mother Earth Food warehouse, 29 Hawk Hill Road. Boxes are $25.
There’s still time — but not much — to buy a ticket to win one of three collectible pieces of pottery from East Fork and lend a hand to urban agriculture nonprofit Bountiful Cities to boot. Pick your favorite or purchase tickets for all three. At $5 each, you can spread the love as long as you do it by Friday, Sept. 3; winners will be announced on Sunday, Sept. 5. All proceeds will benefit Bountiful Cities’ food and social justice programs, including FEAST, Grass to Greens and Asheville Buncombe County Community Garden Network.
For a look at the pieces and to purchase tickets, visit avl.mx/aax.


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Nissan's Vice COO Jun Seki To Step Down
(RTTNews) - Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. said that its executive officer and vice chief operating officer Jun Seki has decided to step down from his position.
Jun Seki reportedly plans to join the Japanese manufacturer Nidec Corp. as president and chief operating officer.
Nissan's new CEO Makoto Uchida on Monday vowed to turn around the auto giant and regain customer trust, as the company tries to recover from its fall after the arrest of former chief Carlos Ghosn last year. Uchida formally took over the reins at Nissan on December 1.
Ghosn was arrested last year on various financial misconduct charges. Ghosn has denied all wrongdoing.


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Labor activists marched between the Manhattan penthouses top Amazon and Starbucks executives on Monday to demand recognition of unionized workers as well as an end to anti-worker labor-busting practices at both firms.
The March for Recognition organized by Amazon Labor Union (ALU), began at Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s penthouse. Protesters then marched up Fifth Avenue to Amazon executive chairman Jeff Bezos’s penthouse, before ending the march with a rally in Times Square — the “heart of capitalism,” as one speaker dubbed it.
Amazon union organizers Bessemer, Alabama, and Starbucks and Amazon organizers from across New York joined the protest, along with workers from Trader Joe’s and Google who spoke at the rally. Protesters also brought “Scabby the Rat,” a mascotOften brought out by labor organizers to support union causes, inflated it in front of Bezos’s building.
“The way we’re organizing is real grassroots, nontraditional, new school, new generation of organizing, and that’s what it’s going to take to get these companies to bend a knee and come to the table,” ALU President Chris Smalls told protesters in front of Schultz’s building, per Gothamist.
— rafael shimunov (@rafaelshimunov) September 5, 2022
Protesters marched to Times Square Smalls yelled, “billionaires have got to go!”
As ALU noted in its press release on the protest, it’s been More than five months since workers at the JFK8 Amazon warehouse in Staten Island voted for union representation, but “Amazon continues to deny the clear results.” Amazon may soon be forced by law to recognize the union, however; last week, A federal labor official rejected Amazon’s attempt to overturn the results of the JFK8 election, a decision that will likely be held up by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Workers organizing with Starbucks Workers United also protested for recognition from the company in New York and at planned “sip-ins” in about 110 stores in 25 states across the country over the weekend. Although the protests were over, 220 stores have wonTheir union elections were not valid and the company had only Organized bargaining sessionsThree of the stores were still open as of last month. According to the union’s data, the company had fired over 90 union leaders in its anti union campaign.
“Worker solidarity scares them because they know we have the power,” Brooklyn Starbucks worker Megan DiMotta told ralliers in front of Schultz’s building.
Starbucks may also be in legal trouble. New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s administration filed a lawsuit against the company last week over its firing of a pro-union worker in Queens, for allegedly violating the city’s law mandating that workers can’t be fired without “just cause.”


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XXX Vapor Launches XXX Effect Male Enhancement Retail Site
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — XXX Vapor has announced the launch of the first website for its male performance enhancement e-cigarette, XXXVapor.com/xxxeffect.
Retail customers can purchase the new XXX Effect in multiple quantities on the site. XXX Vapor will be rolling out a website for the female version as well later in June. The female and male versions are available at XXXVapor.com/shop.
The XXX Effect is produced by XXX Vapor and is available in male enhancement and female attraction formulations. The all-natural XXX Effect is a nicotine-free, e-cigarette formulated based on the results of a Brown University study and research from the Taste & Smell Institute in Chicago.
This research showed the desired results could be attained by a special formulation of natural and artificial fragrances and tastes, the company said. The XXX Effect is "so potent that the vapor doesn’t actually need to be inhaled it can simply roll over the inside of your lips," according to the creators.
XXX Vapor is a wholesaler of XXX Vaporizers, clothing, novel attachements and more. Wholesale inquires can be made to XXX Vapor sales manager at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Pentax Medical entered into distribution agreements with Avantis Medical Systems and CapsoVision.
The company will sell Avantis Medical Systems' Avantis Third Eye Panoramic Device. The device is a wide-angle visualization tool that attaches to Pentax scopes and provides high-definition, wide-angle visuals. Specifically, the device creates a panoramic video image to help endoscopists see behind folds. The device helps physicians see up to 25 percent more polyps than they would with a standard colonoscope alone.
Pentax Medical's Americas President and CEO David Woods said, "This is the latest example of our commitment to enabling our customers to meet their Triple Aim objectives."
The company also inked an agreement with CapsoVision to sell its CapsoCam Plus Capsule Endoscopy product line.
As a result of the agreement, Pentax will be the exclusive U.S. sales agent for the CapsoCam Plus System.
The device provides endoscopists a 360 degree image of the small bowel mucosa.
Mr. Woods said, "We are excited about this collaboration and our ability to place this important innovation in the hands of the GI endoscopist."


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Nissan and Renault have announced that they are renewing their alliance, which will increase Nissan’s ability to expand its electric vehicle (EV) lineup. The agreement, which was first signed in 1999, is set to be renewed for five years and will help Nissan make better use of the shared resources of both companies. Under the new arrangement, the two automakers are looking to develop more than 10 jointly-produced EVs, as well as shared platforms and components. With this agreement in place, Nissan will be able to leverage Renault’s EV technology and experience in order to bring more electric cars to market faster. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how exactly this renewed alliance will enhance Nissan’s EV growth.
Nissan and Renault’s Partnership
Nissan and Renault have had a long-standing partnership, which was renewed in 2016. The partnership has been beneficial for both companies, with Nissan gaining access to Renault’s technology and expertise, and Renault benefiting from Nissan’s economies of scale.
The partnership has been particularly important for Nissan’s electric vehicle (EV) growth. With Renault’s help, Nissan has been able to develop a number of EVs, including the Leaf and the e-NV200. The partnership has also allowed Nissan to benefit from Renault’s experience in electric vehicles, as Renault is the world’s leading manufacturer of EVs.
The renewed alliance between Nissan and Renault will continue to enhance Nissan’s EV growth. With Renault’s technology and expertise, Nissan will be able to develop even more EVs, making it a leader in the EV market.
The Alliance’s Renewal
The Nissan and Renault alliance is back on track after a few rocky years. The two companies have renewed their partnership with a new focus on electric vehicles (EVs).
This is good news for Nissan, which has been struggling to find its footing in the EV market. With Renault’s help, Nissan will be able to accelerate its EV growth and catch up to its competitors.
The alliance between Nissan and Renault was first formed in 1999. It has since grown to include other automakers, including Mitsubishi and Infiniti. The partnership has been beneficial for all involved, helping the member companies to pool resources and share technology.
However, the alliance has been strained in recent years, due to financial troubles at Nissan and disagreements over strategy. These issues led to Renault’s decision to reduce its stake in Nissan from 43% to 25%.
Now, though, the two companies have patched things up and are ready to move forward together. As part of the renewal, Renault will invest $5 billion in Nissan over the next three years. This money will be used to bolster Nissan’s EV development efforts.
In return, Nissan will give Renault a larger stake in the company (up to 40%). This will give Renault more say in how the alliance is run. It also gives Renault a better chance of recouping its investment if Nissan ever goes public or is sold outright.
The renewed partnership between Nissan and Renault is great news for both companies – and for
Nissan’s EV Growth
In recent years, Nissan has been a leader in the development and production of electric vehicles (EVs). The renewed alliance between Nissan and Renault will help to further enhance Nissan’s EV growth.
The new alliance will provide Renault with access to Nissan’s extensive EV technology and manufacturing capabilities. In turn, Renault will share its expertise in battery technology with Nissan. This partnership will allow both companies to pool resources and create a more efficient and effective EV development process.
The increased collaboration between Nissan and Renault will also help to drive down the cost of EVs, making them more affordable for consumers. The two companies have already announced plans to jointly develop a new low-cost EV platform. This platform will be used to build a new generation of affordable EVs that meet the needs of a wider range of customers.
The renewed alliance between Nissan and Renault is an important step forward for the global EV market. By combining their resources and expertise, the two companies can help accelerate the shift towards cleaner, more sustainable transportation.


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Nexus 6 Pre-Orders Shipping Early for Some
The Nexus 6 release date and pre-order situation has been a bit of a mess with stock being empty from any and all sources, but today we have good news for those who were able to secure an order. Yesterday we confirmed more pre-order options had arrived, and quickly sold out, but now Motorola has reportedly started shipping the Nexus 6 early.
Since being first announced on October 15th the Nexus 6 release date has been a complete mystery. There’s still no solid release date from Google, even though Play Store orders are suggested to ship around the 21st, but today good news finally arrived.
Read: Nexus 6 Review
The Nexus 6 is finally headed to the hands on eager customers and will be more widely available this week to prospective buyers. From AT&T taking pre-orders, to Sprint offering the new handset in stores tomorrow, November 14th. Read on for more details regarding Nexus 6 pre-order shipments.
This morning multiple reliable sources on Twitter have confirmed the Nexus 6 has indeed started shipping as of today from Motorola. Meaning that for those who ordered from Motorola.com over the past week, rather than from the Play Store, may get the device as soon as tomorrow or Friday depending on shipping.
MotoFirmware has also confirmed the same details, suggesting that “Your Nexus 6 has shipped” email notifications are now going out to many customers that were able to order the Nexus 6 from Motorola before it sold out last Wednesday. More orders went up for pre-order yesterday, but sold out in under an hour, but this is certainly good news regarding the Nexus 6 release date.
Well here is some good news. The Nexus 6 should be shipping today from Motorola! Proof to come!
— Moto Firmware (@MotoFirmware) November 13, 2014
Google’s pre-order system suggested orders would start shipping until November 21st, and Motorola.com was telling buyers the Nexus 6 would ship with an “estimated delivery date of 11/19” for day-one orders. Of course that’s next Wednesday, and not today. However, it looks like orders are shipping out early, and many buyers will have the Nexus 6 before the end of the week.
Read: Nexus 6 vs Galaxy Note 4: Size Comparison
It’s worth noting that many who pre-ordered the Nexus 6 from Motorola.com also received expected ship dates of November 21st, and some as late as November 26th.
We’ve reached out to Motorola who still claims orders will ship around Friday and be delivered by the 19th estimate originally mentioned during the pre-order process, but we’ve now heard from more than a few sources suggesting otherwise. A quick call to Motorola’s support number we were told they should ship within the next 24-48 hours, which is good news.
Buyers of the brand new Nexus 6 should take this with a small grain of salt for now, as we’ve yet to find any confirmation emails, but will update the moment we know more. Three different sources have all claimed the Nexus 6 is shipping today from Motorola, for some, so keep an eye out for those shipping emails. While you wait check out plenty of coverage in our Nexus 6 Portal.


text: Facebook advertising is big money. That’s why VideoEgg just launched the EggNetwork. EggNetwork takes Facebook advertising to a new level with the addition of a video advertising platform. The platform provides application developers with a flash based advertising system (which you can view an example of). Supposedly VideoEgg has been testing out ads on the Facebook platform for some time now but has just officially launched.


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Ubisoft has revealed a new Arena Mode for Far Cry 4.
Here is what the developer had to say:
This year at PAX Prime 2014, Far Cry 4 featured an unforgettable live competition along with an all-new game mode, The Arena. Watch to see the madness that ensued.
Take a look at the new Arena Mode video below:
Far Cry 4 will release November 18 on PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC. What did you think of the new Arena Mode?


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Islamabad: Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) organized a Belgian Companies’ Catalogues Exhibition in collaboration with the Economic & Commercial Representation Embassy of Belgium in Islamabad in its efforts to promote bilateral trade between business communities of Pakistan and Belgium.
The Belgian Business Contact Day consisted of a presentation of the existing trade and the future commercial opportunities between the two countries.
During the Belgian Companies’ Catalogues Exhibition at the ICCI more than a hundred Belgian companies’ catalogues and trade directories were put on display for consultation by the ICCI members.
The Economic & Commercial Representation team was also be present at an Info Desk during the whole day to register and respond to inquiries from ICCI members who might want to explore new business opportunities with Belgian companies.
During the inaugural session of the Expo, Ambassador of Belgium in Islamabad Mr.Peter Claes said that Pakistan is the most hospitable nation in the world as well as its a business conducive country as a number of Belgian companies were operating in Pakistan and contributing positively towards the development of Pakistan’s economy.
He said that there are good prospects for undertaking joint ventures in Pakistan with the help of Belgian experience and technical knowhow in a number of fields.
He said that the growing importance of Belgian in the wake of its central position and location in the European Union calls for more integrated efforts focusing on exchange of trade delegations, institutional contacts between the Chambers of Commerce and participation in international trade fair.
Briefing about bilateral trade, he said that current volume of trade between Pakistan and Belgium stood around $800million which was quiet impressive, however, there is a need to bolster the exciting volume of trade up to the desired level of $1 billion.
Mr.Peter also assured his full cooperation to the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry for strengthening the existing business relations between the two countries.
In his welcome note, Mr.Zafar Bakhtawari, President of ICCI appreciated the role of Belgium for supporting Pakistan about granting the GSP plus status to Pakistan and said that said that ICCI is a keen supporter of strengthening economic relations with EU countries especially Belgium.
He said that Belgian expertise in engineering, automobile sector, chemicals industry, electrical and electronic sector is well known around the globe while Pakistan exported textiles products, cotton, articles of leather and sport goods to Belgium, therefore this was the right time to focus on non-traditional products and frequent exchange of business delegations to accelerate trade and economic relations between Pakistan and Belgium.
Mr.Bakhtawari emphasized on changing the negative perception about Pakistan and urged the Ambassador to invite more Belgian Companies to invest in Pakistan, especially in the energy sector and textiles.
He cited the example of Istanbul Chamber of Commerce & Industry which had played dynamic role for turning around the Turkish economy, similarly, ICCI is well aware of its role to boost the economy of Pakistan and bring political stability in the country.


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In a move that will boost VMware’s efforts around compliance, log data management and intelligence specialist LogLogic has signed on to the virtualization giant’s Technology Alliance Program (TAP).
The pairing could help VMware (NYSE: VMW) customers improve compliance with PCI-DSS, the credit card industry’s security standard, as well as ensure compliance with other governmental regulations.
It also signals VMware’s move into the compliance market. “Overall, this whole area around compliance is a very big area of focus for us in general,” Nand Mulchandani, VMware’s senior director for product management, told InternetNews.com.
“We believe we have an opportunity where virtual environments could end up being more secure than their physical counterparts because the core technologies inherent in the virtualization stack let you hook in a lot of technologies for monitoring and inspection.”
LogLogic collects log data from physical and virtual environments and analyzes it, runs searches and creates reports, Anton Chuvakin, chief logging evangelist at LogLogic, told InternetNews.com.
While its product currently works only with ESX, which is VMware’s data center hypervisor bundled with the virtualization vendor’s management tools, LogLogic will extend its capabilities to ESXi, VMware’s now-free hypervisor, which “seems to be their direction for the future,” Chuvakin said.
VMware just announced that the latest version of ESXi, for which it charged $495 a pop, is now available free, in a bid to stave off any similar bundling offers by Microsoft. VMware also plans to phase out ESX, which it charges for, and will make its money from its management stack instead, in line with statements new CEO Paul Maritz made at VMware’s second quarter earnings call recently.
VMware itself collects logs on everything that happens in its virtual environment, but would rather partner with innovative third-party companies to manage them. “We’re not interested in aggregating logs between Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL), SAP (NYSE: SAP), Solaris and Windows,” Mulchandani said.
LogLogic’s value to VMware stems from its new membership (as of yesterday) in the PCI Standards Council
VMware’s security group “has been very involved with customer calls around PCI,” and the standard has “become really important” since compliance to the PCI-DSS 6.6
LogLogic isn’t the only company that can compile and assess log data from a virtualized environment and generate reports from it. ArcSight (NASDAQ: ARST) is another player in this space.
ArcSight offers 275 connectors for commercial software out of the box and can create a connector as needed, director of product marketing Ansh Patnaik told InternetNews.com. This wide variety means that “in most cases we don’t need to have a formal partnership with the vendors because we understand those logs,” he added.
Another player, startup Alert Logic, which offers security solutions in software as a service (SaaS)
“We’d like to see a process by which virtualization vendors certify or endorse third party vendors like us to collect log data within our environments and bless them with a gold seal,” Smith said. “That’s the holy grail, but we haven’t seen anything like that yet.”


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It seems that the naming convention for Intel’s upcoming Arrow Lake CPU lineup has been confirmed to be the Core Ultra 200 Series. Additionally, the chipmaker is also planning on refreshing its Raptor Lake-H mobile series, as part of its Core 200H lineup.
Confirmation of Arrow Lake’s name was seemingly provided by Golden Pig Upgrade, a popular hardware leakster who is popular on the Chinese social media platform, Bilibili. However, beyond the naming convention, their post doesn’t disclose any further information about the Core Ultra 200 Series’ specs.
What is known about Arrow Lake, though, is that the Series is expected to boast more cores than Meteor Lake, but will sport a similar architecture, which in turn means that Intel’s Foveros packaging technology will still be in play. Further similarities to Meteor Lake points to the processor series incorporating the same two Low-Power E-Cores cores as the current generation of mobile processors, otherwise known as the Low-Power Island.
On the subject of Raptor Lake-H being refreshed: if that news is to be believed, this would mark the second time the chipmaker has done so. Apart from Meteor Lake’s Core Ultra, the 14th Gen desktop lineup is technically a Raptor Lake Refresh, with the current HX series of mobile CPUs being refurbished versions of primarily high-end SKUs, including the 14900HX, and 14700HX.
The post Intel Arrow Lake Rumoured To Be Core Ultra 200 Series, Raptor Lake Refresh-H As Core 200 appeared first on Lowyat.NET.


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Specsavers in Montrose has a range of stylish frames to choose from to add the perfect accessory to any new season outfit this Autumn and Winter.
The changing season is a great opportunity to update your look with the latest fashion trends with a new pair of specs the ideal addition to complement your wardrobe.
Popular styles this season include 50s inspired cat’s eye frames and tortoiseshell.
New season style advice
Bridgeen Johnston, store director at Specsavers in Montrose, said: ‘I often see customers at the start of a new season looking to refresh their wardrobe to stay on trend.
We have fantastic collections available including various designer brands so there is plenty to choose from. ‘When selecting a new pair of glasses, it is also the ideal time to check if your eye examinations are up-to-date and your prescription is correct.’


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Electric vehicles are so expensive, not least because they are produced in comparatively small quantities. As the shipping giant Amazon announced in February 2020, it is directly addressing the problem and will have 100,000 electric delivery vehicles built for itself by 2030. They are produced by the electric car manufacturer Rivian. The specially developed electric vehicles are part of Amazon’s sustainability strategy. Their stated goal is to work completely CO2-neutral by 2040 at the latest. Further measures of this strategy: By 2025, the company’s electricity needs are to be met entirely from renewable energies (mainly solar and wind turbines). In addition, Amazon has been investing in companies developing environmentally friendly products or technologies since last week through a two-billion-dollar fund, according to an entry on the company blog.
The introduction of own vehicles is not always successful as is shown by the end of Deutsche Post DHL Group’s electric street scooter earlier this year, which was reported by german newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. Since none of the German car manufacturers agreed to a long-term cooperation, only the vehicles already ordered will be produce, a total of about 15,000 units, according to Newsblog Automobil Industrie. However, it is expected that the remaining fleet – more than 90,000 vehicles – are going to be electric vans from an established car manufacturer. The Post’s environmental goals are not quite as ambitious as Amazon’s: The company says it wants to become a CO2 neutral by 2050. Like Amazon, The Post relies on the use of renewable energies in addition to electric vehicles and environmental projects. In many locations, renewables already provide 90 of the electricity consumed.
What the two parcel services show: Not only states, but also large companies want to become more sustainable. They thus fuel the demand for state-of-the-art technology, be it LED lighting, electric vehicles, solar systems or grid infrastructure; Strategic metals are an essential component in all of them.
Want to learn more about the world of strategic metals? Browse our industry news.
Do you want our news regularly conveniently by e-mail? Then sign up for the TRADIUM newsletter now.


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News and Insights
INNOVATE. INSPIRE. DELIVER.
REPL Breaks into the Top 30 UK Export Success Stories
REPL has climbed another 14 places in The Sunday Times Lloyds SME Export Track 100 to reach an impressive #28.
The 2018 survey ranks the top 100 UK SMEs with the fastest-growing international sales over the last two years.
Compiled by Fast Track and published in The Sunday Times, the league table highlights a range of companies from architects to chocolate manufacturers who are shining bright on the international stage.
As a global business, REPL is proud of its extensive work overseas. With offices across four continents, our highly-experienced teams work collaboratively with some of the world’s biggest retailers.
Our continued rise up the rankings has seen us move from #60 in 2016 to #46 in 2017, reflecting how our international sales are surpassing expectations and playing a vital role in overall growth.
Our experts will keep delivering exceptional results for our clients to ensure this upward trajectory continues year-on-year.
A night of Recognition
The founders and directors of Britain’s 100 fastest-growing SME exporters were recognized last night at the 4th annual Sunday Times Lloyds SME Export Track 100 awards ceremony, held at the Renaissance Hotel St Pancras in London.
The SME Export Track 100 league table ranks the UK’s small and medium-sized (SME) companies with the fastest growing international sales. The companies increased their international sales on average over the last two years by 80% a year to a total of $967m. Staff numbers rose by 2,700 over the same period to 7,900.
Over 200 guests at the dinner, which included the founders and senior directors from 87 companies, such as book
publisher Nosy Crow, chocolatier Monty Bojangles and laser technology developer M Squared, were welcomed by
Gareth Oakley, Managing Director of SME Banking at title sponsor Lloyds Banking Group. He praised the companies
for their outstanding international achievement. He said:“The future success of the UK economy hinges on small businesses looking to overseas markets for growth. We want to help the UK prosper by supporting this new legion of exporters.”
Nick Wheeler OBE, founder & chairman of menswear retailer Charles Tyrwhitt, which had international sales of £161m in 2017, said passion and focus are vital to building a successful business: “You need to love what you have created, and when you stop loving it, you need to get someone else to run it. As a founding entrepreneur, the most important aspect in a business is to have the right person running it.”
After dinner, guests heard from Will Butler-Adams OBE, chief executive of Brompton, the UK’s largest bike manufacturer. He shared two key lessons learnt from growing the folding bike business to sell in 47 countries: “Stick with what you believe in, as if you don’t believe in it, no-one else will. You need to be insanely committed to what you are doing, and you need to trust your customers over and above everyone else,” he said.


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ADEN + ANAIS INC.
What it does: Sells muslin swaddles and other baby clothing, bedding and bath products.
How it grew: Aden + Anais founder Raegan Moya-Jones didn’t initially believe her employees when they said that royal baby Prince George had been ushered from his London hospital to a waiting vehicle in an Aden + Anais swaddle. For proof, the staff in the company’s Brooklyn office showed Moya-Jones a news image. “I thought they had Photoshopped the blanket on the baby,” she said. More than 7,000 orders and a few website crashes later, however, Moya-Jones realized it was no joke.
That celebrity endorsement of 2013 was about as unexpected as Aden + Anais’ tremendous ascent in an increasingly crowded space. After Moya-Jones had her first of four babies in 2003, she tried to buy a muslin swaddle, a 100% cotton blanket that is a favorite in her former home of Australia. She couldn’t find them in New York, so she began producing and selling them for $12.50 each. “Every Aussie can’t have this wrong, and I thought that if I introduced them in America, Americans would embrace them too,” she said.
Moya-Jones launched her business in 2006 during off-hours from working in sales at the Economist Group. She traveled door to door throughout New York City to pitch baby merchandise. Her success rate was 50%, and those who ordered moved the items quickly. “People were calling within a week or two asking for reorders,” she says.
She told herself that when she reached $1 million in sales, she would leave her day job, hire a staff and pursue this endeavor full-time. That accomplishment itself is a rarity: Only 2% of female-owned businesses reach $1 million in sales, according to a 2014 Ernst & Young report. In 2009, Moya-Jones accomplished that goal. She was just getting started.
Today, Aden + Anais swaddles are sold at retailers in 63 countries, including Nordstrom, Buy Buy Baby, Barneys Japan and Babies R Us in Australia. The company has never spent money on marketing or advertising. “The growth came from word of mouth,” said Moya-Jones. “Mothers telling other mothers about the product.” Plus, Aden + Anais gets free press every time a celebrity—Beyoncé, Charlize Theron and Uma Thurman—is photographed toting their babies around in the brand’s swaddle.
Moya-Jones’ attention “isn’t just on the biggest accounts,” said Matt Seidler, whose Seidler Equity Partners invested in Aden + Anais in 2010 and retains an ownership stake. “She will personally get on the phone and talk to a store manager or consumer, whether they’re in New York or Kansas.”
Seidler is based in California, and mentions it is easy to stay in touch with Moya-Jones. “I could give you 100 examples of emails from her coming in at 3 a.m. Eastern time,” he says. “Probably half the phone calls we had with her were at 11 p.m. Eastern or later.”
Aden + Anais has expanded its offerings beyond the muslin swaddles and sells baby clothes, bedding, bath sets and home products, but the swaddles still account for 50% of sales. “They last forever,” says Moya-Jones. “If you buy a swaddle for your first baby and put it in a drawer, it will be fine for your third baby.”


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Intel has announced that it will be updating us on their process and packaging roadmaps, with Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger set to provide more details on July 26 during the just-announced Intel Accelerated webcast.
The upcoming Intel Accelerated webcast will have Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger joined by Senior Vice President and General Manager of Technology Development, Dr. Ann Kelleher, where we'll find out about Intel's process and packaging roadmaps. Intel will have its next-gen 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" CPUs on its in-house 10nm Enhanced SuperFin technology, but we'll know more details on this on July 26.
Intel's first 7nm CPU will be its next-gen Meteor Lake, which is the 14th Gen Core CPU -- we're at the 11th Gen Core CPU right now (with the flagship Core i9-11900K) while the Alder Lake architecture drops with the 12th Gen Core and then 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" will drop before the 14th Gen Core "Meteor Lake" CPUs on 7nm.
- Read more: Intel's next-gen Alder Lake-K could launch with Windows 11 in October
- Read more: Intel's next-gen LGA18xx socket teased, Meteor Lake CPU flies past
Intel will be staying on its 10nm node for a while, with 7nm sprinkled throughout later down the track. We have Intel readying their Alder Lake CPUs and DG2 GPUs for consumers later this year and into 2022, while the Sapphire Rapids platform is coming soon and the Ponte Vecchio and Arctic Sound GPUs are in the oven.
The Intel Accelerated webcast kicks off on July 26 @ 2PM PDT, you'll be able to watch it on the Intel Newsroom website.
- > NEXT STORY: Cooler Master's new ORB X GamePod, semi-enclosed gaming pod announced
- < PREVIOUS STORY: EA's Dual Entitlement now exclusive to $99 versions of games


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Lawmakers have backed calls for a House inquiry into the ATM fee increases in the horizon, following the move of bank regulators to lift a six-year freeze.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it has launched a number of initiatives aimed at establishing adequate safeguards to manage the potential risks brought by financial technologies (fintech) while providing enough room for companies to develop and implement their innovations.
The BSP has given BSP-supervised financial institutions (BSFIs) not later than March 31, 2019 to ensure that all its frontline personnel have the necessary know-how to implement fund transfer services PesoNet and InstaPay.
Cashalo, a mobile lending platform backed by local conglomerate JG Summit and Hong Kong-based tech firm Oriente, has P10 billion as initial lending fund for underbanked consumers and MSMEs in the Philippines.
Online shopping site Lazada Philippines has expressed optimism on its use of PesoNet, an interbank electronic funds transfer service.


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Hundreds of hopefuls put forward their ideas to Springfields owner developer Allied London and a Kitchens board of industry experts last year for the chance to win one of six spaces within the building for their business.
Now finalists Bangers & Bacon, Chaat Cart, Hip Hop Chip Shop, Mumma Schnitzel, Wholesome and Raw and Yakumama, who have worked with industry experts to design their concept, build their brands and develop menus, are ready to see their ideas take shape when they open for business on 21 May.
Michael Ingall, chief executive of Allied London said: “The Kitchens is a truly collaborative environment; a new concept to the city featuring communal indoor and outdoor seating areas, world class interiors and most importantly finalists cooking out of their kitchens, serving straight from the pass to the diner."
Over the next year the six finalists will continue to be judged by Allied London and The Kitchens board in a range of areas, from their turnover, to the success of their brand and overall concept. One winning trader will get the chance to continue with investment from Allied London.
“Spinningfields is entering into a new generation of international development with its food and drink offering alone fast becoming globally recognised. The Kitchens will form the backbone of our new neighbourhood Leftbank, encapsulating its new, dynamic and forward thinking environment," said Ingall.
“We’ve seen how successful independent operators can be in Spinningfields, and with the right concept and delivery, these vendors could have a bright future on the estate.”


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Nubia has announced its new Red Magic 6S Pro gaming smartphone.
What is known
Judging by the official poster in the social network Weibo, the novelty will be presented in China on September 6. The event will take place at 15:00 local time (10:00 Kiev time).
As for the specifications, Nubia Red Magic 6S Pro will run on a fresh octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+ processor. In addition, the device will get an AMOLED screen with a record refresh rate of 165Hz, a triple main camera, a cooling system, RGB backlighting, and support for 120W ultra-fast charging. The price tag of the device will be around $700 USD.
By the way, in addition to Nubia Red Magic 6S Pro, at the event on September 6 should still show the regular version of the smartphone.


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The economy performed slightly better over the past three years than previously believed, thanks in part to a boost from how the government accounts for gasoline sales. Despite the improvement, the current recovery is still the weakest in more than six decades.
The Commerce Department is boosting growth in two of the past three years, helped by a new approach to accounting for gasoline sales at big chains stores such as Wal-Mart.
The new estimate is the result of the annual update the department's Bureau of Economic Analysis conducts to revise the GDP figures over the past years to reflect revisions to the underlying data. It also reflects improvements the BEA implements in how it tracks GDP, the nation's total output of goods and services.
The revisions made minor changes to economic history, putting growth at 2.6 percent in 2014, up from 2.4 percent. Growth in 2015 is now 2.9 percent, up from 2.6 percent. And it was 1.5 percent in 2016, the only year to see a small reduction from the previous estimate of 1.6 percent.
One of the biggest factors contributing to the changes was a decision by the BEA to separate out gasoline sales at big-box retailers like Wal-Mart. Gasoline sales had been weighing the sales of other items in the calculations because of the big fall in gas prices during the period.
All of the changes boosted growth a slight 0.1 percentage point over the three-year period. And it also lifted growth by the same 0.1 percentage point over the eight-year expansion, now the third longest in U.S. history. Average GDP growth during the period through the end of last year is now at 2.2 percent, up from 2.1 percent previously.
However, that growth rate is still well below the previous 10 expansions going back to 1949.
President Donald Trump often criticized this slowdown during last year's presidential campaign, saying his economic program of tax cuts, deregulation and infrastructure spending would double growth. His budget is based on forecasts that growth will rise steadily and hit sustained rates of 3 percent by 2021.


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LAGOS, July 31 (Reuters) – Nigerian conglomerate UAC expects stronger results in the second half of the year and plans to raise 15.4 billion naira ($42.3 million) from shareholders after half-year profit fell, outgoing Chief Executive Larry Ettah said on Monday.
UAC, with interests in real estate, paints, foods and livestock feed, last week posted a 59 percent fall in pretax profit to 1.63 billion naira for the half-year to June.
Ettah, who retires at the end of the year, said UAC had shareholder backing for the share sale, which it could launch around September or October, once it gets approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Shares in UAC which have lost 1.4 percent this year, gained 0.12 percent to 16.70 naira on Monday. They shed 18.9 percent last year.
“Despite very high interest rate regime, outlook for H2 appears brighter following relative stability and declining inflation rate with positive impact on margins,” he told an analysts call.
High interest rates have hurt margins at UPDC, its real estate business, whose profit declined 68 percent in the first half while economic challenges impacted on sales, Ettah said.
The group is planning a 20 billion naira three-year bond for UPDC, to help refinance short-term loans, after the real estate firm sold 5.1 billion naira worth of shares, he said.
Nigeria’s annual inflation slowed to 16.25 percent in May after it recorded its first recent fall in February. However the West African country is still in a recession, brought on by low oil prices which has weakened its currency.
Ettah said the economy was gradually recovering from the recession, which sapped consumer demand and increased costs due to its effect on the naira currency.
$1 = 364.00 naira Editing by David Evans


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Restaurant industry sales are expected to hit a record high of $709.2 billion in 2015, according to the National Restaurant Association. In the first four months of 2015 alone, restaurant sales were up 9 percent according to the Census Bureau, which tracks official retail sales numbers. However, as restaurant sales continue to rise, cost pressures such as minimum wage and ACA regulations are making it increasingly more challenging to operating a restaurant. In a low margin business where every penny counts in the drive to maximize profitability, restaurants need to be hyper focused on cash flow as well as return on investment.
Managing spending is critical to financial profitability. Denny’s operators use “back-of-house” systems in order to keep a tight handle on food, beverage, labor and other costs that are within their control. However, keeping a close eye on controllable costs alone is not enough. Key financial benchmarks can help Denny’s operators identify potential issues before they become problems.
IQ BackOffice provides state-of-the-art accounting systems that integrate with “back-of-house” systems to accurately capture not just food and beverage purchases but all financial transactions in order to provide accurate reporting and metrics. These benchmarks allow Denny’s operators to track their profits, losses and cash flow, and also be able to compare key performance metrics for comparison with other Denny’s restaurants and restaurant industry benchmarks. Such comparisons highlight areas of opportunity to optimize profitability for your individual business. Other key liquidity and profitability ratios are vital to bankers to whom restaurant owners might rely on for financing or investment.
“IQ BackOffice provides Denny’s operators with timely and accurate financial statements and key industry benchmarks. As a market leader in web-based accounting solutions, we provide complete process transparency and faster access to information, says CEO, David Schnitt. “IQ’s accounts payable, accounts receivable, and payroll services deliver significant process improvements lowering client costs. This allows Denny’s operators to save money, make better decisions and have stronger financial controls.”


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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market here announced a partnership with REC Solar, San Luis Obispo, Calif., to install roof-mount solar systems on nine Arizona stores.
The combined 410 kilowatts of installed solar systems will produce an estimated 620,000 kilowatt-hours annually, the equivalent of reducing 22 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions — or removing 28 million car-driven miles — over the next 25 years.
Fresh & Easy previously invested in one of California’s largest solar roof installations on its distribution center in Riverside, Calif. The installation, which is more than 500,000 square feet, currently produces about one-fifth of the energy for the entire facility. Fresh & Easy’s website features a live reporting feed from the solar installation at the distribution center, reporting in real time the performance of the panels.
“With the success of our solar panel installation on our distribution center, we’re confident these systems on our stores will help cut down on energy costs even further,” said Tim Mason, Fresh & Easy’s chief executive officer, in a statement. “Through innovations like these, Fresh & Easy has been able to cut back on the amount of energy and water we use, efficiencies that help us keep our prices low for our customers.”


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EquityZen shared insights on secondary stock sales and a few IPO predictions that gave us food for thought.
Vijay Chattha, a seasoned startup comms expert, appeared on the Equity podcast to talk with Natasha Mascarenhas about startup storytelling and vulnerability.
Watching AWS re:Invent this week, it was hard to get excited about the announcements, and it seems the age of innovation could be ending.
Bird CEO and president Shane Torchiana predicts a major consolidation in the industry, with two or three companies coming out on top. Bird, he said, has a chance to be one of those companies.
"Better Venture" serves as a guide for those looking to increase diversity, equity and inclusion in the venture space.
Box launched in 2005 out of a dorm room. This week, after 17 years in business, the SaaS company reached a $1 billion run rate.
I had to see if I was in near-term employment trouble, so I ran a little test with the ChatGPT model. Here are the results.
Some startups saw their valuations decline in 2021's bull market, some were in line with the public market, and some haven't declined at all.
Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor's resignation was a shock, and it’s safe to say that few if any saw this coming — even his mentor, Marc Benioff.
Up.Labs thinks its pitch to founding teams is attractive: It has a known problem, a customer waiting and capital to help get things going.
"Better Venture" looks at VC's past and proposes new ways of thinking about startup fundraising.
For seed-stage founders, the steep fundraising road now has two guard towers placed at the A and C stages.
BlockFi joined FTX, Celsius, Three Arrows Capital and Voyager in bankruptcy proceedings. Some wonder which crypto firm could be next.
If Bilibili and Twilio are enduring headaches as investors molt from growth-oriented to more profit-focused beasts, how much harder will it be for startups?
I am what you might call Tesla-curious, so I rented one from Hertz over Thanksgiving. Here's how it went.
An interview with the co-founders of VC firm Fiat Ventures and sister arm Fiat Growth discussing fintechs trends, customer acquisition and more.
Taboola expects to get bigger, more profitable and more self-sustaining than before thanks to Yahoo.
Given the scale of the damage from the bankruptcies of FTX, Celsius and Voyager, legal frameworks for the crypto industry could come next year.
When it comes to efficient growth, bootstrapped startups have a leg up, Capchase's recent Pulse of SaaS report shows.
To tap into the massive amount of heat the Earth generates, enhanced geothermal startups are focused on advanced drilling techniques.