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PRETORIA (Reuters) – South Africa’s current account deficit widened in the first quarter of 2016 as exports slumped despite a recovery in the global prices of commodities and a weaker rand, the central bank said on Tuesday.
The current account deficit widened to 5 percent of gross domestic product in the first quarter from a revised shortfall of 4.6 percent in the final quarter of 2015, the central bank said on Tuesday.
Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected a 4.25 percent gap For the first quarter.
South Africa’s rand extended losses against the dollar after the current account data, weakening as much as 1.3 percent to 15.3700 per dollar.
Agriculture, mining and manufacturing led the slowdown in output as a widespread drought and subdued demand for commodities weighed on the productive side of the economy.
“The (commodity) prices of course were not juicy, although they were propped up a bit in rand terms with the exchange rate being relatively weak,” said head of economic reviews and statistics at the central bank Johan van den Heever.
Exports slumped during the quarter, resulting in a trade deficit of 38 billion rand, ($2.5 billion) compared with a revised 41 billion rand gap in the fourth quarter, the Reserve Bank said in its June quarterly bulletin.
In its June quarterly bulletin, the Reserve Bank said that spending growth in Africa’s most industrialised economy slowed by 1.3 percent in the first quarter as consumers cut down on purchases of big ticket items due to rising interest rates.
“One of the explanations for this rather sharp decline is that previously people were still buying, preempting that prices would go up quite a bit,” van den Heever said.
The central bank has raised lending rates by 200 basis points to 7 percent since the beginning of 2014 in a bid to keep inflation within its target band of 3 to 6 percent.
Headline inflation slowed to 6.2 percent in April from a peak of 7 percent in February, although food prices remain elevated because of the drought.
The bank also noted that a sharp decline in gross domestic production, by 1.2 percent in the first quarter, had contributed to the slowdown in spending by both households and government.
(Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana, editing by Larry King)


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A Birmingham, Mich. burger spot that has caused food critics coast to coast to salivate is coming to Ann Arbor this spring.
After more than 60 years of serving classic diner food in Birmingham, Hunter House Hamburgers is set to open its second location near Central Campus. Hunter House serves up sliders, chili fries, cheese fries, hot dogs, grilled cheese, breakfast platters and milkshakes.
Its trademark is its style of burger: steamed buns and hamburger patties with chopped onions smashed into the meat. In Birmingham, sliders and small fries are $1.99 each and a chocolate shake is $3.
The new location at 609 E. William St. is about twice the size of the original eatery in Birmingham. Owner Kelly Cobb said this expansion will allow several changes in the menu, such as more milkshake flavors not included in its current offering of chocolate and vegetarian options.
Occupying the former location of Firehouse Subs, which closed in January, the restaurant will be remodeled to look identical to the original eatery. Cobb said he wants to keep the large, open space of the previous sub shop and add countertop seating as well as a take-out window for late-night dining. He anticipates that the space will not be recognizable once renovation is complete.
Cobb said the move to Ann Arbor followed his family’s close ties to the city and the University. His grandmother bought Hunter House in 1981, which his mother now supervises. He and his sister are University alumni.
He added that the location, a block away from the Diag, will allow for a medley of customers.
“It was right between campus and downtown so we could cater to all sorts of people from students to business owners or workers downtown,” Cobb said.
Cobb said he hopes for Hunter House to be a football game day hotspot for those not at the Big House.
“I’m just excited to be back in Ann Arbor, and to be honest with you, I’m excited for game days,” Cobb said.

domain: news


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Samsung, LG usher in a new era of curved OLED TVs
Jan 11, 2013
Korea’s top global enterprises Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have unveiled their own models of the world’s first curved OLED TV at the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the world’s biggest international customer electronics show, on January 8.
At the Las Vegas event, Samsung Electronics showcased a 55-inch curved Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED) TV just before the opening of the international show, to the surprise of many. Meanwhile, LG Electronics had three 55-inch curved OLED TVs on display along the entrance to the show to make their signature curved shapes stand out to visitors.
With the headline-grabbing introduction of the first-of-their-kind curved OLED TVs, following on the heels of OLED TVs which many people call the “Next Generation TV,” Korea is now recognized worldwide as a leading player with a high-tech TV industry.
The competing 55-inch curved OLED TVs revealed by Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics were developed using flexible display technology and feature 3D image functions, enabling viewers to enjoy IMAX-feeling images. The curved screen improves viewing angles from the side, which was a problem with flat-screen TVs, and creates a more immersive viewing experience.
Unlike LCDs which need a source of illumination, OLED is an organic light-emitting material like LEDs and fluorescent lights, and is considered an optimal material for flexible display products. Unlike existing flat-screen TVs, cutting-edge technology is required to make flexible parts, including panels and circuit boards.
By Sohn Ji-ae
Department Global Communication and Contents Division, Contact Us


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As the footwear market navigates headwinds such as high inventories and weaker consumer demand, the flow of imports into the United States continued to slow in August, increasing 24.8 percent to 1.81 billion pairs in the first eight months of the year.
This compared to a year-to-date 26.4 percent rise through July compared to the same period in 2021 and a 27.4 percent first-half pace, according to data from the Commerce Department’s Office of Textiles & Apparel (OTEXA), even as retailers and brands prepared for vital fourth-quarter selling.
Nike Inc. sited a surge in inventory and a renewed focus on discounts as weighing on its first-quarter earnings, in which revenue rose 4 percent to $12.7 billion. Net income was $1.5 billion, down 22 percent from the $1.9 billion generated in the year-ago period.
Inventories for Nike were $9.7 billion, up 44 percent compared to the prior year period, attributed to elevated in-transit inventories from ongoing supply chain volatility.
The inventory bloat also depressed profit margins, with gross margin now expected to decline between 200 to 250 basis points, or 2 percent to 2.5 percent, versus the prior year. This reflects approximately 150 basis points, or 1.5 percent, of annual impact from higher markdowns, and a higher off-price mix to liquidate elevated inventory.
OTEXA data revealed that top supplier China’s imports increased 23.8 percent to 1.04 billion pairs year to date through August, down from a 27 percent gain the prior month. Sourcing decisions are still being impacted by ongoing tariffs on Chinese goods, ongoing calls to repeal them and heightened geopolitical strife and risk factors of producing there.
Footwear imports from No. 2 supplier Vietnam stepped up with a 13.9 percent hike to 435.13 million pairs in the period. This followed an increase of 12.5 percent year to date through July and an 11.9 percent gain in the first half.
According to OTEXA, China and Vietnam combined for an 81.8 percent U.S. import share in the period, up from 81.6 percent in the seven-months through July. No. 3 producer for U.S. brands and retailers, Indonesia, saw its shipments rise 54.5 percent year to date through August to 130.86 million pairs, up from a 51.8 percent gain the prior month.
Rounding out the top five suppliers, strong gains were also seen by Cambodia, increasing 47.4 percent to 55.04 million pairs, and India, up 51 percent to 28.26 million pairs


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The steady rise in food prices is no longer a surprise to Nigerians; meanwhile, the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS Report, further confirms the inevitable, reoccurring misfortune, negatively impacting the lives of the ordinary citizens or low-income earners across various states.
The incomprehensible part of the data released by the agency indicates that the nation’s inflation rate is slightly decreasing and has happened five times in a row, right down to September 2021.
NBS measures the inflation rate using the Consumer Price Index, CPI, and the digits obtained from its studies have shown that inflation has dropped to 17.01 per cent in August from the initial 17.38 per cent captured in July the same year.
Cause of Food Prices Increase
The report also recorded that the composite food index rose by 20.30 per cent in August 2021 compared to 21.03 per cent in July 2021.
The rise in the food index, it noted, was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, milk, cheese and egg, oils and fats, potatoes, yam and other tubers, food products, meat and coffee, tea and cocoa.
On a month-on-month basis, it said the food sub-index increased by 1.06 per cent in August 2021, up by 0.20 per cent points from the 0.86 per cent recorded in July 2021.


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Honestly, we've known these skins were coming for a while. Riot announced the Star Guardian skins earlier this year during their Season 12 introduction and leakers have been hard at work to reveal just which champions are going to be getting skins.
Finally, Riot has revealed the first batch of champions that are going to be protecting our planet from the evil that is Fiddlesticks, because even if it might have seemed like a joke, the scarecrow is getting a skin in the Star Guardian alternate universe. How long has it been since he got a skin again?
Which Champions Will Get Star Guardians Skins?
In this round of Star Guardian skins, because as emotes already on PBE suggest, as well as leaks, more champions will be added to the skin line this year, five champions will be receiving Star Guardian skins. One champion is also on the receiving end of a prestige skin which is going to be available in the Mythic Shop.
- Star Guardian Kai'Sa
- Star Guardian Sona
- Star Guardian Nilah
- Star Guardian Ekko
- Star Guardian Ekko Prestige Edition
- Star Nemesis Fiddlesticks
Fiddlesticks will play the main antagonist of the entire Star Guardian universe. The skin bio states that "the creature known as Fiddlesticks has fed on the Star Guardians across every era". Pretty creepy, right? But even Sailor Moon and Card Captor Sakura had awful villains like this. Let's hope that the magical girls of Riot can also defeat this creature known as Fiddlesticks, eh?
Which Champions Already Have Star Guardian Skins?
The Star Guardian skin line is an expansive one, with multiple champions already part of the story and the world. We've got various generations of Star Guardians, as well as corrupted Star Guardians like Zoe, Xayah and Rakan.
Star Guardian Champions
- Star Guardian Ahri
- Star Guardian Lux
- Star Guardian Lulu
- Star Guardian Miss Fortune
- Star Guardian Poppy
- Star Guardian Janna
- Star Guardian Soraka
- Prestige Star Guardian Soraka
- Star Guardian Syndra
- Star Guardian Ezreal
- Star Guardian Jinx
- Star Guardian Neeko
- Prestige Star Guardian Neeko
Pajama Guardian Champions
- Pajama Guardian Ezreal
- Pajama Guardian Lux
- Pajama Guardian Lulu
- Pajama Guardian Soraka
- Pajama Guardian Miss Fortune
- Pajama Guardian Cosplay Urgot
Corrupted Star Guardians
- Star Guardian Rakan
- Star Guardian Xayah
- Star Guardian Zoe
Those are the existing Star Guardian skins in various shapes and forms, sadly we're still waiting for the pajama guardian onesies to this day... what a missed marketing opportunity, right Riot?
How Much Will the Star Guardian Skins Cost?
These skins will all be Epic skins going for 1350 RP. The only exception is going to be the Kai'Sa skin which will be a Legendary skin, which means it's going to be a bit more expensive and cost 1820 RP. But when looking at the skins, it actually looks incredible. The concept works so well for Kai'Sa and she looks great. Riot did an outstanding job with her Legendary skin.
|Star Guardian Kai'Sa||Legendary||1820 RP|
|Star Guardian Ekko||Epic||1350 RP|
|Prestige Star Guardian Ekko||Mythic||125 ME|
|Star Guardian Sona||Epic||1350 RP|
|Star Guardian Nilah||Epic||1350 RP|
|Star Nemesis Fiddlesticks||Epic||1350 RP|
When Will the Star Guardian Skins be Released?
The Star Guardian skins above are going to be released in League of Legends Patch 12.13. Along with these brand-new skins, we're also going to receive a new champion called Nilah. She is going to be a unique bot lane champion with a similar untargetable playstyle to Yasuo.
Once Nilah is released, fans can also get ready for the upcoming reveal for the Udyr VGU which Riot has been working on since 2021. The VGU has been complete for a while, but the team working on it has taken their time to perfect the updated skins, especially his ultimate skin. Who else is excited for all these updates to come to the rift?


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Jaime Neely, an Editor and Educational Curator at TrendHunter.com, was invited to the 40th Canadian International AutoShow to check out the conceptVolkwagen Cross Coupe for 2013. Judging by the new Beetle Convertible and EOS Convertible, Volkswagen hasn’t abandoned one of its core principles that driving should be, above all else, fun.
But the underlying message at this year’s AutoShow seems to be one of sustainability. Volkswagen is revealing a Jetta model with TDI (a.k.a. Turbocharged Direct Injection) Clean Diesel technology, which is sure to give you extra miles on the gallon.
Jamie was able to learn more about the ways in which Volkwagen cars are designed and engineered to be lean and green in just about every aspect through interactive and educational touchscreen displays. For example, the heat generated by braking in a Volkswagen vehicle is re-used to charge the car’s alternator. Also, enabling Coasting Mode in a Volkswagen will shut down an idling engine to avoid wasting fuel as well as emitting greenhouse gases.


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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – June 29, 2023 – Transcend, the leading data privacy infrastructure company, today announced that Transcend’s consent management platform (CMP), Transcend Consent, has been certified by Google. This certification means that Transcend’s CMP meets Google’s rigorous standards and can be used by Google publishers to meet IAB Europe’s Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF).
“We are proud to be Google certified,” said Ben Brook, CEO of Transcend. “This is a testament to our commitment to providing our customers with the most comprehensive and compliant CMP solution on the market.”
Helping comply with Google’s new requirements
In an effort to promote consistent consent experiences for users across Europe, Google has announced that later this year, they’ll begin requiring all partners using their publisher products—Google AdSense, Ad Manager, or AdMob—to use a Google certified CMP that integrates with the TCF when serving ads to users in the European Economic Area or the UK.
With Transcend Consent’s certification, Google partners now can use the industry’s most advanced and flexible CMP to deliver a privacy-preserving and compliant experience for users while still supporting important advertising monetization work.
Flexible options for consent governance
Transcend Consent’s TCF functionality is one piece in our broader approach to web consent management—an approach that has made Transcend the platform of choice for brands needing to move beyond first-generation “cookie-compliance” solutions. Our unique combination of support for frameworks like IAB’s TCF, platform integrations like Facebook LDU and Google Consent Mode, and proprietary network-level blocking of tracker data, give us the most robust governance tool set.
With Transcend, compliance and digital teams teams can easily configure the best mix of region-specific governance approaches to ensure compliance, while protecting user experience and conversion.
Full-stack consent and preference management
Collecting and regulating consent in the browser is important, but is only one part of the compliance story. Businesses need the flexibility to utilize technologies like server-side conversion tracking and data sharing while also extending consent experiences across app and mobile surfaces.
Transcend Consent gives these businesses a single source of truth, where user choices and preferences are stored, synced, and operationalized across different touchpoints for a seamless omnichannel consent experience. By relying on Transcend to store and effectuate consent across first and third-party platforms, these organizations can be confident user choices are being honored—no matter where the data lives.
About Transcend Consent
Transcend Consent is the most efficient way to collect, sync, and enforce user consent and preferences across all touchpoints and backend systems—for defensible compliance, improved user experiences, and unconstrained growth. No painful tag manager configuration, no site slowdowns, no siloed consent data—just lightweight consent collection and powerful enforcement across your entire tech stack. Transcend Consent helps brands, publishers, and developers comply with the latest privacy regulations, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
Learn more at https://transcend.io/consent-management
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I wanted the business to be involved and I wanted my customers to feel that by simply placing an order they were also helping out.
St. Paul, MN (PRWEB) June 01, 2015
At the end of April, 2015, OneWorld Memorials started twin fundraising efforts to help needy families both locally in Minnesota and also overseas in Nepal.
OneWorld Memorials acted quickly to send financial support to the victims of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked Nepal on April 25, killing more than 8,000 people and injuring at least 23,000. Two days after the earthquake, OneWorld Memorials announced they would contribute $5 to recovery efforts for every order they received between April 27 and May 2. The money went to the non-profit International Medical Core.
“We were all concerned for the people who were going through such a hard time in Nepal," said OneWorld Memorials President Ira Woods. "I wanted the business to be involved and I wanted my customers to feel that by simply placing an order they were also helping out.”
OneWorld Memorials chose IMC because Facebook had agreed to match all donations made during that time period up to $2 million.
Following the successful conclusion of the Nepal fundraiser, OneWorld Memorials announced another ongoing fundraising partnership with the local non-profit Bundles of Love. In addition to cremation urns for ashes, OneWorld Memorials sells hand-knit bookmarks on their website, and for every package of bookmarks sold the company will now donate $2 to Bundles of Love.
Bundles of Love helps families with newborns by providing toys, basic care items, and hand-made clothing such as shirts, hats, and blankets. Woods said he always wanted his company to work in support of caregivers, and keeps on the lookout for meaningful opportunities.
"The reason I want the company to engage in helping others is very much a result of being a caregiver for my wife. She had cancer and I took care of her for two years before she passed away, and it was life changing," Woods explained.
Orders for the bookmarks can be made online or over the phone, and can ship to the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
About OneWorld Memorials
OneWorld Memorials provides quality memorial urns and related products, along with free shipping within the contiguous United States. OneWorld Memorials offers cremation jewelry, biodegradable urns, condolence gifts, and more. To learn more, visit http://www.oneworldmemorials.com


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Motorola has just sent out invites to an August 1st press event in New York (via Business Insider). The invite simply reads “Moto X,” so it seems pretty clear what the star of the show will be. You can even see the back of the device in the lower right corner of the image. It’s also worth noting that the X in “Moto X” is very similar to past Nexus devices, which shows some Google influence.
The X Phone hasn’t exactly been the best kept secret by Motorola. We’ve seen numerous leaked images and specs for it, with Google chairman Eric Schmidt even caught using the device in public. The X Phone is expected to be highly customizable and affordable. At the AllThingsD conference in May, Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside teased that it would be available on all major U.S. carriers and be manufactured in Texas. Yesterday, Motorola tweeted a picture teasing the USA manufacturing process.
As far as release dates go, we’ve seen documents suggesting an August 23rd launch for Verizon and an August 26th launch for U.S. Cellular, and now that we know when the event is being held, those dates seem pretty plausible.
We’ll be sure to keep you posted on what Motorola has to say come August 1st.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.


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A Tesla Car in Autopilot Mode Collided into an Emergency Vehicle!
In this modern world where technology continues to evolve, giant car companies like Tesla, BMW, Mercedes, and others, are heavily invested in Artificial Intelligence to create cars with autopilot capabilities.
These companies claim that self-driving cars will help eliminate human errors like negligence, or fatigue from a long drive, which are often the cause of fatal road accidents. However, it seems the road in creating a perfect and flawless self-driving car is still paved with rough patches as this Tesla Sedan model crashed with a police car in San Francisco, California.
An Unfortunate Accident
A Tesla sedan car operating in “autopilot mode” traveling in Laguna Beach, California, crashed with a parked police car unit. Fortunately, the officer was not in the unit at the time of the incident, while the Tesla driver sustained minor injuries from the said crash.
The driver received lacerations to his face from his broken glasses, and he also suffered a broken ankle due to the impact of the collision. While the Tesla’s front end was beaten up badly and the police SUV was a total wreck, and it wouldn’t be worth repairing anymore.
While the investigation is still ongoing, Cota noted that another Tesla Model S also got involved in a road accident in Utah, when it crashed into a parked fire truck just this month. Another Tesla car of the same model collided with another firetruck in 405 freeway in Los Angeles, California, last January 2018. If this Tesla car is confirmed to be driving in autopilot mode, this will be the third time a Tesla car crashed into a stationary emergency vehicle since the beginning of the year.
The Tesla company released a statement regarding the incident and expressed their dismay about what happened. They also reminded their drivers to always keep their hands on the wheel, especially when using the autopilot feature. The driver still must maintain control of his car at all times.
The Tesla’s manual also warns the drivers that the current autonomous feature has a hard time detecting stopped or parked vehicles. Also known as the Traffic-Aware Cruise Control, it has difficulty detecting objects or vehicles around the vicinity, especially if the car’s speed is approaching or over 50-80 km/h, as well as scenarios where the vehicle ahead of you suddenly moves out of your driving path, or a parked vehicle or object in front of you.
The Dangerous Quirk in Autopilot Features
Not only Tesla, but most Autocar makers are aware of this major flaw in self-driving cars, and they’re trying hard to improve its features and eliminate these flaws. Aside from Tesla, Volvo’s semi-autopilot mode also uses a “pilot assist” feature. The problem lies if the car in front of you suddenly changes lanes, revealing a stopped car in front of you.
Instead of halting or breaking your car, the pilot assist will instead ignore the stationary car, causing your own car to accelerate which results in an inevitable collision.
The said feature was programmed by the Engineers to eliminate false positives and avoid slamming on your brakes unnecessarily. The system has to focus more on moving objects to ensure the car doesn’t break whenever it detects a road sign. The Automakers advised the car companies to install multiple sensor types like lidar. Lidar has the ability to project lasers on moving and stationary objects to create a high-resolution map or blueprint of the environment.
Although it’s quite expensive to invest in such high-tech sensors, it provides a clear visibility where other sensors like cameras and radar fail. The experts believe that lidar will play a vital part in building flawless autonomous vehicles and to prevent road accidents from happening again.
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The U.S. Army will run ads this Saturday during the NCAA Final Four Tournament using existing footage from older commercials and unused material from the new “Be All You Can Be” campaign instead of featuring actor Jonathan Majors.
A day after the Creed III actor was arrested last weekend for allegedly assaulting a woman in New York, the Army announced that it would be pulling two ads from its new campaign aimed at enlisting Gen Z. Majors’ rep has said he is “completely innocent.”
Although other ads from the Majors-led campaign will be postponed, the repurposed ads — featuring content from earlier campaigns “Passions” and “Know Your Army” — will help ensure the Army avoids losses in its planned $70 million advertising buy. “The U.S. Army has preserved 100 percent of the value of our media inventory so far, losing no money in the brand campaign’s media investment,” Laura DeFrancisco, the public affairs chief for the Army Enterprise Marketing Office, told The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday.
“We are absolutely able to utilize a majority of what we have invested,” Maj. Gen. Alex Fink, head of Army Enterprise Marketing, said in an interview with The Associated Press. “We think that we’ll have some brand new creative ads in time for the Women’s Final Four on Friday.”
The new commercials will feature “an enormous amount” of footage from the “Overcoming Obstacles” and “Pushing Tomorrow” commercials that had featured Majors as the narrator, with Fink noting that most of that content didn’t include the narrator. That has allowed the Army to go back and produce “basically new commercials, new ads,” he said.
“The campaign is full steam ahead,” he confirmed.
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to the campaign’s ad agency Team DDB for comment.
The ad campaign — which totaled $117 million — is slated to span TV and audio spots, digital and physical ads on billboards, buses and at airports, as well as online, with social media placements on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. That includes a spot in every single men’s basketball tournament game and most women’s games, alongside ads in the March Madness Live app, on-site events at games across the country and activations. Among them is the Impossible Shot, which will be at both the Men’s and Women’s Final Four, running from March 31 to April 3.
Buys for the campaign, which included premium 60-second placements, will be aired during the NCAA basketball tournament as well as other NCAA championships, including wrestling, baseball and softball, through August.
The first slate of ads featuring Majors rolled out March 12, before being pulled Sunday following the actor’s arrest in New York on Saturday in relation to what an NYPD spokesperson described as a domestic dispute with a 30-year-old woman. The actor’s criminal lawyer, Priya Chaudhry, said in a statement Sunday that Majors “is completely innocent and is provably the victim of an altercation with a woman he knows.”
Majors was initially eyed as the face of the “Be All You Can Be” campaign after John Carstens, executive creative director of the campaign’s ad agency Team DDB, saw his performance in Lovecraft Country, with Fink telling THR that his outspokenness about his family’s history of service also informed the choice. (According to Carstens, there was no intention for Majors to be an ongoing face for the Army.)
In a statement Sunday, DeFrancisco said, “The U.S. Army is aware of the arrest of Jonathan Majors, and we are deeply concerned by the allegations surrounding his arrest.” She added, “While Mr. Majors is innocent until proven guilty, prudence dictates that we pull our ads until the investigation into these allegations is complete.”
The Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania star was charged with misdemeanor assault and harassment Sunday during his arraignment, with the judge granting a limited order of protection and the actor being released on his own recognizance.
March 30, 9:30 a.m. Updated with additional background on the ad campaign and statement from public affairs chief Laura DeFrancisco.
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Now available at the Apple App Store, CityWatch enables users to select a location on an easy-to-maneuver map which shows the latest multimedia and text updates, including pictures imported from Flickr. CityWatch users can also post their own geo-tagged updates to start real-time discussions around them via threaded commenting.
"CityWatch allows users to instantly see the cool things that are happening in their city and to stay abreast of what their friends and family are doing in real time," said John Yin, Vice President of product development at Zannel. "We've integrated the best visual elements of maps and multimedia with the immediacy of mobile messaging to give users a unique view of what's happening wherever they are."
In addition to CityWatch, the Zannel community uses their "channels" to instantly and visually communicate what's happening in their lives across mobile and the web, including all major social networks. People use Zannel to capture and share authentic moments in their lives, tell their stories, debate issues, and communicate with their community.


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It's been almost a year since the last flagship Windows smartphone - the Nokia Lumia 930 - was launched, so the platform is certainly due a new addition. Say hello to the Microsoft Lumia 940XL.
There have been a few rumours flying around about this handset, but we've now had the most comprehensive spec leak to date thanks to NokiaPowerUser.
While the site notes it's unsure whether the 940 XL name will stick for launch, it seems a little more confident with the specs it has.
The Lumia 940 XL is said to pack a 5.7-inch QHD display, octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, 20MP rear camera, 5MP front snapper, microSD slot and a slim, metallic unibody design.
Look into my eyes
The report also suggests the 940 XL will pack iris scanning tech (for what we assume will be added security) and a USB-C slot, allowing you to plug your charger in either way, much like Apple's Lightning connector.
It's also expected to arrive with Windows 10 on board. The main reason we've not seen any top-flight handsets running Microsoft's software over the past few months is because manufacturers are waiting for the new version to arrive.
There's no word on when the handset may launch, but with Microsoft confirming Windows 10 will land on July 29, a smartphone launch could well coincide.


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KIVO Finland, its member organizations (local waste companies nationwide) and partners organize a campaign for hazardous waste in 2018-2019.
The goal of the campaign is to get hazardous wastes separated from other types of waste, to guide the consumers to identify, sort and deliver hazardous waste properly to the right place. In addition, the aim is to increase the understanding of the consumers about the importance of the proper handling of hazardous waste.
In the autumn, the campaign focuses on reducing the amount of hazardous waste at the same time with the EWWR week in 17-25 November. The campaign will produce materials and tips to reach this exact goal. The campaign will be a nationwide social media campaign.
More information will be available at the website of our campaign in Finnish and Swedish (www.vaarallinenjate.fi).


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So, lockdown has come into play in Maharashtra and also in some other states while the whole country is shivering under Covid-19. In addition, many countries have issued negative travel advisories to their citizens advising against travelling to India which also shows the intensity of the problem. Now we are living in a situation where each state has its own sets rules to enter/exit the state which is making life difficult and confused especially for logistic companies. The problem also seems to have exacerbated partially through some media headlines.
Lockdowns are disruptive
While the restrictions are much milder than the Great Lockdown of last year, they have the potential to disrupt economic normalization of some of the states and India. For example, Hero MotoCorp has announced temporary shutdown of their facilities to combat the pandemic. The partial lockdown rules impose restrictions on the manufacturing sector, which adds to the risk of growth outlook. For example, one analyst estimates an impact of 20bp on India’s FY22 GDP growth, owing to the partial lockdown in Maharashtra. The damage will be more if the lockdown is prolonged further, that is, if it doesn’t end by May 1st as was originally announced.
Reverse migration is a cause of worry
Just like last year during lockdown, this time migrant workers have started heading towards their hometowns from Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat and other states as there is uncertainty about the normalcy returning. However, this time many have decided to stay back in the cities hoping for quick revival of the activities. Though the official numbers are not available, both government officials and experts agree that this time the number of people returning home is far less than last year. According to some people, most of them cannot afford to lose jobs after remaining out of work most part of lats year. Many in the unorganised sector feel that livelihood, in whatever form, is more important than their health.
Construction sector worst affected
However, construction and real estate development is the worst affected segment where the impact of lockdown and subsequent reverse migration is immediately felt as these sectors largely dependent on the unskilled migrant workers. Though large developers have been able to retain their workers by offering accommodation etc., small and marginal players with limited resources are most affected. According to one assessment the sector is affected by 10-15% because of the lockdown in Maharashtra.
Prolonged lockdown to affect decorative paints business
Decorative painting segment is another industry which is likely to be affected by the lockdown, if it is continued for prolonged duration and widespread. Since the lockdown presently is limited to some regions and cities and also the Prime Minister has also called for restrained use of lockdown mechanism as a tool to combat the pandemic, the industry may not see last year’s lows in terms of demand. Also, this time hesitancy to repaint may not be the hygienic factors as much as non-availability of workers due to reverse migration.
Furniture making too will be impacted to an extent which in turn will affect demand for wood panels. Leading manufacturers of plywood, laminates and MDF have not changed their business plans for the year nor their demand projections.
But the experts say that second wave may peak much earlier than the first wave meaning likely disruptions from it may have limited impact on the economy and various sectors in it. Also, vaccination drive is in full swing and at least 7-10% of the population is likely to be covered by it by June-July. Further, from the recent speech of the Prime Minister it is clear that there wont be any nationwide lockdown this time.
Purchasing Manager Index data from countries that have already witnessed a second wave shows the contact-heavy services sector has seen a sharp slowdown whereas the manufacturing sector has been more or less resilient during resurgence. Moreover, the fall in services PMI is much smaller during the second wave than the first wave, indicating firms have deftly handled restrictions during the second wave and ensured business continuity. Thus, despite the severe second wave, the downside risks to the growth outlook, are limited this time unlike Wave 1 as the overall impact of second wave is likely to be primarily on timing of normalization rather than magnitude.


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As per the reports from KGI securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is going to release updated Mac notebooks with featuring Intel’s latest generation Kaby Lake processors later this year.
According to a research note from KGI securities analyst Ming-Chin Kuo, Apple is finally going to use intel’s latest processors in its MacBook.
The production of new 12 inch MacBook models integrated with Kaby Lake processors will start in the early second quarter i.e. in March and it could have 16 GB of RAM as an option, said by Ming-Chi Kuo. This 16 GB RAM will just be double the current 8GB RAM used in last released MacBook.
The new 13 inch and 15 inches MacBook Pro models featuring latest Kaby Lake processors will also release in this year. Kuo said the production of 13 inches and 15-inch models of MacBook Pro will be started in the third quarter of the year, which starts in July. So here we can say the new 12 inch MacBook is likely to be the first from the notebooks that will feature the new intel Kaby Lake chip.
Kuo further added that production of new 15 inch MacBook will start in an early fourth quarter of the year, which starts in September and this 15 inch MacBook will include 32 GB of RAM. However, Kuo did not specify that whether this 15 inch MacBook would be part of the MacBook Pro lineup or not. All other specifications and design of upcoming notebooks will remain same other than the new faster processor that it would have and increased memory, said by Kuo.
We all know that current MacBook Pro model is the slimmest and most weightless model made by Apple. It also has new “Touch Bar” which replaced the row of functional Keys. So all this feature will also be present in upcoming MacBook Pro as per Kuo.
The introduction of new Kaby Lake processor to the upcoming MacBook will make them more power efficient, which will surely like by users. Kuo believes that Mac notebook shipments will resume year over year growth at about 10 %on strengths of new models.
Kuo expects the new MacBook Pro models with 32 GB of RAM will be launch in second half of this year but no official date for release is announce.


text: MIUI 12 update brings a bunch of new features and optimization for a better experience. Xiaomi genişletilmiş sistem geneli karanlık mod, yapay zekâ destekli çağrı özellikleri, dinamik Always-on-Display, yeni görsel tasarım, sistem animasyonları ince ayarları ve gizlilik ayarları düzenlemeleri içeren MIUI 12 güncellemesinin kararlı sürümünün dağıtımını artık neredeyse tamamladı.Neredeyse tüm Xiaomi, Redmi ve Pocco modelleri güncellemeyi aldı diyebiliriz. And it is also believed that the Indian variant will also get the MIUI 12 update later this year. Several Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones will receive MIUI 12 this summer. Download the latest build – MIUI 220.127.116.11 QEAMIXM – below… The Xiaomi Mi 8 is the company’s flagship phone of 2018. If … Currently, this update available in EEA and the other region users of this smartphone will soon receive the same. Transfer the file to the “Download_rom” folder on your Xiaomi … Initially, Xiaomi's premium devices will be supported, and mifreak.com published a first device list with the update schedule for MIUI 12: MIUI V18.104.22.168.PEIMIXM Stable Official Update for Redmi Note 5 / Note 5 Pro Global (whyred) This page shows the V22.214.171.124.PEIMIXM update only. Download MIUI 126.96.36.199 for Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro (Redmi K30 Pro) Global Stable ROM; Download One UI 3.1: Update rolling out in United States for Samsung Galaxy S10 and Note 10 series | T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T; Download Samsung Galaxy A72 and A52 Wallpapers; Samsung Galaxy A71 and A50s gets One UI 3.1 OTA update with Android 11 [Downloads] Xiaomi has a lot of smartphones deal with this upgrade process and at least 24 smartphones qualify for the Xiaomi MIUI 12 update. Redmi Global: Redmi 9A getting January 2021 security patch update. The first batch will receive the first stable update by the end of June. Now, the company is expanding this update for Redmi 7A users in India. So, if that’s something you’re looking for, here’s a quick look at the complete list: Some Redmi Note 5 … List of smartphones to get MIUI 12. Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 MIUI 12 Update comes with a list of useful features including intuitive UI, new animations, intuitive UI, customizations, and also with the MIUI 12 Wallpapers. Besides this, Xiaomi has also announced the preliminary list of devices that will get the MIUI 12 update initially. On January 09, 2021 A few days ago the Redmi Note 9 4G smartphone... 293. XIAOMI PHONES THAT COULD UPDATE TO ANDROID 11 UNDER MIUI 12. Download: MIUI 12.5 Closed Beta for Xiaomi and Redmi devices . The device later made a trip to China, where it answered Redmi K30S. The following are the list Xiaomi/Redmi/Poco phones expected to get MIUI 12 Update. Download the MIUI 12 OTA update or MIUI 12 Recovery ROM from the links below. Join GizChina on Telegram According to the company, there will be a final MIUI 12… Those interested can head to the official MIUI WeChat account to apply for the beta build. Redmi 7, Redmi Y3, Redmi 6A, and Redmi 6 will not be updated to MIUI 12, Xiaomi has announced on its Mi Community forums. In this tutorial, we have shared the Xiaomi MIUI 12 custom ROM for various devices. Xiaomi has today also published a list of all smartphones that are eligible for the MIUI 12 update. XIAOMI … If you're looking for other updates check here. Xiaomi roll out latest version that is MIUI 12.5 with massive new features and optimization on 28 December. As for now, the update is seeding in India, the wider roll out is expected in coming days. List of Xiaomi and Redmi phones and tablets with MIUI 12.5 already released, including devices with MIUI 12.5 stable version, development version, and beta version. The Xiaomi community yesterday released the MIUI development version internal beta update instructions – 12.8. Xiaomi has already rolled out MIUI 12 update to Redmi 7A users in China. In today’s time, it has become clear that mobile is the … More Update- MIUI 12 Top Features Xiaomi MIUI 12 Update – Eligible Devices. ". Just as we reported in late April 2020, MIUI 12 is the last major update for the Xiaomi Mi 6X smartphone. MIUI 12 Update Tracker. It optimizes the full-screen gesture, system animations, Control center layout, Dark mode brightness, and more. Here we have compiled the most common bugs and issues … Trying to install a MIUI 12 Beta, you may get the following error: "ROM is in beta testing, make sure you have signed in with a beta authorized Xiaomi account. But the latest MIUI 12 stable beta just spotted for Redmi 7 in China. Xiaomi has rolled out the MIUI 12 update to a handful of smartphones including the flagship Mi 9, Mi 9T and Mi 9T Pro. Note: All files listed here are official untouched MIUI ROMs.It's not owned, modified or edited by Xiaomi … Google has officially launched Android 11 and all brands are offering this update with a new version of custom UI for their devices. I hope that you at XIAOMI will respect consumers worldwide and release an update from MIUI Global already including Google tools. It’s currently participating in the MIUI 12.5 closed beta test and has since it first received Android 11 on top of the new Custom ROM. MIUI 12 is Xiaomi’s latest Android skin which succeeds MIUI 11 and brings a number of UI and visual improvements to eligible Xiaomi phones.It also carries new features such as … This update comes with build number … A bunch of other devices are expected to receive the new skin in the coming weeks. Dubbed as MIUI 12, this version has already landed in the form of beta updates on many devices across China (as of now, it is only available in the said region). Xiaomi has been rolling out MIUI 12 stable update for the eligible devices for the past few weeks, in addition to releasing weekly beta builds. Since the launch, Xiaomi has … Xiaomi has confirmed to Gadgets 360 that the Redmi Note 5 and Redmi Note 5 Pro units are receiving the MIUI 12 update in a phased manner. Xiaomi users who have received the MIUI 12 update have encountered several bugs and issues that could ruin the user experience. It debuted running MIUI 9.5 based on Android 8.1 Oreo, and as promised, has received two Android upgrades; Android 9 and 10. Xiaomi unveiled MIUI 12, the new big update to its Android skin in China back in April.The update was later announced globally in May. Xiaomi Europe was founded over 10 years ago to provide International users an exclusive community for English MIUI Android and Xiaomi products. MIUI 12 [Android 11] Redmi Note 8 Xiaomi Eu Beta Rom 21.3.10 Ota Update. Redmi 7 is a popular entry-level phone which wasn’t going to receive the MIUI 12 update as per the official report from Xiaomi. Xiaomi MIUI 12 The new MIUI 12, which is Xiaomi’s own skin, brings many new features but that does not mean it comes based on Android 11. MIUI 12.5 update is six month early compare to MIUI 12. Download below… Xiaomi debuted the Mi 10T/Pro globally in Q4 2020 with Android 10 on top of MIUI 12. European variants are now receivng the Android 11-based MIUI 12 update. The company started accepting applications for MIUI 12 closed beta testing in China this morning. Die erste Charge von Geräten wird das MIUI 12.5-Update in Q2, 2021 erhalten, dazu gehören: Mi 10T, Mi 10T Pro, Mi 10, Mi 10 Pro, Mi 11. September 30: Poco India’s director Anuj Sharma has tweeted that Poco M2 Pro MIUI 12 update is rolling out in batches in India. In June, the new user interface will be rolled out in three phases for different models. It is unacceptable that I have already installed these tools on my smartphone and with the update of a MIUI 12.1.3 Global release these tools are removed. ... [Updated] Redmi Note 9 4G getting MIUI 12 beta update in China. Xiaomi has started rolling out the MIUI 12 for the Redmi Note 8 in China with software version 188.8.131.52.QCOCNXM. 1. Konuyu başlatan StreX; Başlangıç tarihi 13 Aralık 2019; ... Miui Katılım 2 Aralık 2020 ... yeni sürüm hazırlığı. Xiaomi Mi A3 smartphone users in EEA have already got the Android 11 features and the smartphone has […] The new version is launch early than expected. 20.12.28 - 20.12.29 According to an unofficial Xiaomi update policy, the device is eligible for […] Xiaomi Europe was founded over 10 years ago to provide International users an exclusive community for English MIUI Android and Xiaomi products. the first update arrive on Mi 11 in China event. Die zweite Welle wird elf weitere Xiaomi -Geräte umfassen. Check the Xiaomi update schedule for MIUI 12.5, upgrade to MIUI 12.5, and more. Xiaomi starts rolling out the Android January 2021 security patch update with the new security measures for their devices. Last month, Xiaomi announced the latest iteration of its customized Android OS. And the company also providing the latest MIUI 12 updates as well as Android 11 with the help of this article, we will analyze these updates. Xiaomi has started rolling out the MIUI 12 based new firmware update for Xiaomi Mi A3 smartphone users. MIUI [Update] Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO January 2021 Security Patch Update Tracker.


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Toy makers hitch stars to iPod craze
NEW YORK (AP) -- After bemoaning the emergence of the iPod as children's latest must-have toy, toy makers are now looking at the digital musical player as their own marketing strategy...
The toy industry is looking to the iPod to help reverse a decline in traditional toy sales that dates back to 2003. Sales of toys dropped 3.6 percent last year to $21.3 billion from $22.1 billion in 2004, despite the industry's efforts to come out with more electronic toys, according to NPD figures.
read the full story
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We here at TNI wish you all a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving Holiday.


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scredriver news search results
Developer news items we found relating to scredriver
Screwdriver.cd goes open source so you can Continuous Delivery at scale
Thursday, January 12, 2017 by Richard Harris
Yahoo has announced the open sourcing of Screwdriver.cd, a new streamlined build system designed to enable continuous delivery (CD) to production at scale for dynamic infrastructure, improving product quality and engineering agility. Screwdriver.cd is based on a battle-tested internal product. Over the last five years, Yahoo has employed Screwdriver.cd’s key d...


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Attention electric vehicle owners and enthusiasts! The Refuel 2015 date has been announced, and so it's time to check out what's on this year's battery-powered high-speed agenda.
- Hyundai Veloster N: menacing grille, big wing
- New Chevy Corvette ZR1 caught live on video
- Find and compare 2017 models
Refuel 2015 Questions
There are no questions about this topic.Be the first to ask!


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There are copious rumors circulating on the internet about the iPhone 14 line-up. However, one of the most prominent rumors is that the line-up may come with different display types for the regular and Pro models of the iPhone 14.
While it is reported that the regular model will have the same display as the current iPhone 13 series, the Pro model is tipped to come with a dual-hole-punch cutout display.
According to the latest reports, not just the iPhone 14 Pro model, the upcoming iPhone 15 model standard and Pro both will feature dual hole-punch cutout displays.
A report published by a consulting company
omdia has detailed the performance specifications of the upcoming iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 models. The report states that Apple will use a dual hole-punch design for the display of the iPhone 15 series.
recommendedstories for you
Apple will introduce a pill-and-hole-shaped selfie camera cutout on the iPhone 14 Pro model for the first time. However, the latest report has suggested that the display variant will be seen on the vanilla model in the iPhone 15 series as well.
The report further states that the display size of the iPhone 14 and 15 will be increased to 6.12 inches from 6.06 inches (the current iPhone 13).
Earlier, noted analyst Ming Chi-kuo had claimed that the iPhone 14 will have a punch-hole cutout. The notch is likely to house Face ID, front-facing camera and other sensors.


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This year, search became the internet industry's red hot sector. Many companies set their sights on emulating Google, whose impressive performance has led to a renewal of business interest in the internet.
But does Google need to worry about increased competition? According to figures published by OneStat.com (via Search Engine Lowdown) Google now accounts for over half of all web searches.
Here's the breakdown:
1. Google 56.1%
2. Yahoo 21.5%
3. MSN Search 9.4%
4. AOL Search 3.7%
5. Terra Lycos 2.3
6. Altavista 1.9%
7. Askjeeves 1.6%
Consider that Yahoo's search is powered by Google (type the same search into both engines and you'll see very similar results), and you could argue that Google's share is actually 77.6% -- over three quarters of all the web's searches.
Google's dominance of the search market is growing, not shrinking. Potential competitors are in for a tough ride.
Then again, Google didn't exist six years ago...


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Mahindra will soon unveil the premium MPV, codenamed as U321 at the Auto Expo 2018. The manufacturer is relentlessly testing the vehicle in India and it has been caught on camera multiple times. The U321 was recently caught testing in the mountains with heavy camouflage.
The test vehicles were spotted between Kullu and Aut in Himachal Pradesh. The cars seem to be driven for mileage and they were spotted multiple times on the same stretch. The upcoming car is expected to be priced between the Maruti Ertiga and the Toyota Innova Crysta. This is the first car that has been designed by Mahindra North American Technical Centre located in Troy, USA. It will be monocoque bodied car similar to the Ertiga and the Innova Crysta.
The seven-seater car will be much longer than the Maruti Ertiga and will offer similar space as Innova Crysta. Mahindra is also testing the vehicle relentlessly because it is also powered by an all-new engine.
Mahindra has developed a new 1.6-litre turbocharged diesel engine with its South Korean subsidiary SsangYong and it will power the new vehicle. The front wheels will be powered by a manual and optional automatic transmission. We may also see a petrol engine on the offer with the upcoming car.
The interiors of the vehicle were heavily camouflaged too. It seems to get a large touch-screen infotainment in the middle of the dashboard. Even the steering wheel was wrapped in camouflage material suggesting that it could be leather wrapped and can get multiple buttons on it.
The MPV has already been caught testing alongside the Toyota Innova Crysta as a benchmark. Mahindra plans to sell the U321 around the world, similar to the XUV 500. In India, we may also see a cab version of the vehicle with stripped down interiors and 8-seat version of the vehicle.


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COLUMBUS – The Midwest Travel Writers Association (MTWA) has selected Columbus to host its 2016 Spring Meeting. The meeting, which will take place May 10-15, 2016, will draw approximately 50 attendees and prominent travel writers, representing publications including USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning News, National Geographic Traveler, Midwest Living and more.
MTWA is the oldest association of professional travel writers in the United States. The organization is comprised of 90 members, who are invited to join and vetted annually, from 13 Midwestern states. Past host cities have received widespread publicity. Columbus last hosted MTWA in 1992.
“Our board of directors was excited when Columbus bid to host MTWA's 2016 Spring Meeting,” said Amy Eckert, MTWA president. “We'd been reading good things about Columbus' rapid growth and its burgeoning food and fashion scene. The details of the bid really enforced those ideas. This seemed like a perfect opportunity for MTWA to explore a great American city, one that's often overlooked and one that's in our own backyard. I anticipate this Columbus meeting will give MTWA members lots of fodder for travel stories in publications circulated across the country and around the globe.”
While in Columbus, MTWA attendees will be immersed in the city’s renowned arts, culture and nightlife; nationally-recognized culinary and fashion offerings; and diverse neighborhoods.
“We look forward to welcoming MTWA to Columbus,” said Brian Ross, Experience Columbus president and CEO. “Hosting this meeting gives us a great opportunity to showcase our city to these top travel and food writers. They will get to experience first-hand Columbus’ unique style and smart and open community.”
The booking represents the latest under Experience Columbus’ “Make it Columbus” initiative designed to encourage locals with connections to national associations to bring their groups to Columbus. More information on the initiative and other groups that have booked through it can be found at makeitcolumbus.com.
# # #
Experience Columbus is the destination marketing organization for the Columbus region, dedicated to growing visitor spending that is generated by conventions, meetings, trade shows and leisure visitors. Annually, visitors make more than 37.6 million trips to Greater Columbus, generating $8.7 billion in economic impact and supporting more than 71,000 jobs. For more information, visit experiencecolumbus.com.


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Marketing spend on social media among luxury, lifestyle, fashion brands and retailers is out of whack with Australia’s high social media penetration, according to the founder of WeAreDigital.
Karson Stimson, the director of Melbourne-based independent agency WeAreDigital, told B&T that marketers still struggle with social media.
“Too many people are aligning their budget spends to revenue. But the success measure for social media is not always about return on investment,” Stimson said.
“It is around brand building, it is about awareness, creating attention and being part of the decision cycle.
“We are one of the highest markets for penetration in terms of social media but the percentage of budgets being allocated to social media doesn’t equate – there is a massive gap.”
Among Australian internet users, 62% use social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, according to a 2012 study by Sensis.
However, the same report found large businesses allocate just 4.5% of their marketing budgets to social media while medium businesses invest 9.2% on average.
Stimson spoke to B&T late last week after hosting the Social Curation panel at the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival Business Seminar.
Overseas fashion brands have been busy refining their social curation skills, but Stimson believes it is still “early days” in Australia
“It is actually working with your customer and not talking at them whereas traditionally it has been a very dictatorial type of relationship where you as a fashion, luxury, retail brand said ‘here is a picture that we want you to look at and this is how you should wear our product’,” Karson explained.
“Where as true social and social curation is a collaboration between a customer and a brand.
“It is all about letting go which is a big mind shift for big businesses, big brands and retailers because that loss of control is such a foreign concept.”
WeAreDigital works with a number of fashion brands including sass & bide.
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In this guest post, Alex Watts (pictured), DDB Sydney Head of Social, discusses his thoughts on the potential Microsoft/Tik Tok acquisition and whether the deal actually makes any sense for Microsoft… Trump is calling for a ban, China’s calling it a “smash and grab,” but the real question is – does buying TikTok really make sense for Microsoft? TikTok is […]
Following QMS’ acquisition of TLA Worldwide (Aust) last year, QMS Sport has today announced it will transition to the TLA brand and formally become a business unit of TLA. ‘Media Tech’ is officially the new name for what was formally known as QMS Sport, and will operate alongside TLA’s existing business units that span the […]
Sydney-based design and technology studio Nightjar have launched a new website for Sneaker Freaker. Founded in 2002, the street culture magazine is the first and only international footwear magazine. From its roots as a DIY-style fanzine to today’s global coverage, its print pages and online platforms document every colab, custom, limited edition, retro reissue, Quickstrike, Hyperstrike […]
Haystac’s former National Head of Strategy, Haylie Marchant (pictured) has launched The PR Toolkit – an online resource and DIY PR platform educating and empowering small and medium sized businesses to do their own PR. Offering a mix of free resources and easy-to-use how to guides, the one-stop-shop for DIY PR covers media relations, media […]
One Love Australia has launched a new social change initiative that will see a raft of high profile individuals, including former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Boost Juice’s founder, Janine Allis, take part in a video interview series set to turn racism on its head. The initiative – titled #ShareThePlatform – will see these […]
Resolution Digital has been awarded the Australia’s Agency of the Quarter award in the prestigious Google Honours program. The Honours program for 2020 recognises the achievements of the very best performance marketing agencies and providers across Australia and New Zealand. The program consists of 3 quarters, 43 agencies and over 500 individuals; measured on account […]
Firefly has brought on six major new clients as it continues to expand, adding new media planning and buying arm to its business. Managing Director Andrew Mathwin (pictured) said the independent agency, known for clients such as Air New Zealand, Buy West Eat Best, West Coast Eagles and Mrs Mac’s Pies, had a strong year […]


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British Gas is launching an eco-friendly tariff called Warm Fix to link energy efficiency with customer bills. It will offer a price freeze for three years.
We arm you with all the numbers you need to tackle the week ahead.
Cutts joined HSBC in 2017 following lengthy stints at a number of major brands, including GSK, Mondelez and Meito-Adams.
Heinz is launching a campaign to promote the versatility and health credentials of baked beans, as it pays homage to its famous strapline while “evolving conversations” around the brand.
Good morning and welcome to Marketing Week’s round-up of the news that matters in the marketing world today.


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Chinese leader Xi Jinping knows something Barack Obama doesn’t: America is finished. The U.S. economy is an ocean liner holed below the waterline. In the stateroom, the band plays on – but, on the bridge, the outcome is clear.
With the arguable exception of the late-era Soviet Union, America is sinking faster than any Great Power in history.
As a proportion of national output, America’s foreign debts are already larger than those of any Great Power since the rotten-to-the-core Ottoman empire a century ago. For those who need reminding, the Ottoman empire, which had flourished for more than six centuries, was then within a decade of final collapse.
Because every dollar of current-account deficit (the current account is the largest and most meaningful measure of trade) represents an extra dollar that has to be funded from abroad, America’s foreign indebtedness is now accumulating at a rate of more than $1 billion a day.
There is no way America can export itself back to national solvency. As Xi Jiping knows only too well, this is a matter of technology. As soon as American corporations come up with a more efficient new production technology, they ship it to China or elsewhere overseas where it will boost the productivity of foreign workers. Any corporation that wants to sell in China must not only manufacture there but bring its best technology. Then it is expected to export back to the United States. All this means that the American economy has passed the tipping point. It is now simply too hollowed out to make a recovery. Even apparently solid U.S. manufacturers like
In proceeding full steam ahead towards national bankruptcy, the United States is world history’s ultimate example of the triumph of ideology over commonsense. Beginning in the Eisenhower era, succeeding Washington administrations have bet the farm on ever-freer trade. Supposedly this would strengthen American economic leadership. To say the least, the powers that be in Tokyo, Seoul, and Taipei, as well as in Bonn, Frankfurt, and West Berlin, discreetly laughed at such epochal naïveté.
No nation has understood the stupidity of America’s trade policy more clearly than post-Mao China. On the one hand, American leaders have thrown the U.S. market wide open to Chinese exports. On the other, they have ignored Beijing’s in-your-face blocking of virtually all advanced American exports to China. The United States has been by far the most serious victim of Chinese protectionism.
As Chinese leaders know better than anyone, the ultimate issue is American corruption. Washington is actually far more corrupt than Beijing. If you want to get something done in Washington, you do what you do in Jakarta: just slip some money to the right people. The point was made as far back as a generation ago by the prominent Japanese commentator and author Shintaro Ishihara. From an East Asian point of view, the United States is already, in its political dynamics, a Third World country.
Even South Korea, with just one-seventh of America’s population, is a bigger exporter to China than the United States. On a per-capita basis, South Korea’s China exports are eight times larger than America’s. Korea’s exports moreover consist almost entirely of leading First World goods such as highly miniaturized electronic components, whereas the main things America sells to China are Third World-ish items such as iron ore, coal, and wheat.
This is not to suggest that American brands are absent from China. Actually they are everywhere. But virtually all American-brand goods sold in China are made there -- using American production knowhow that, in some cases, has taken the American nation generations to build up. In an egregious sell-out of the American national interest, U.S. corporations now almost reflexively comply with China's technology demands. Unlike their peers in places like Korea, Japan, Germany, and Taiwan, they have not had much choice: whereas other nations’ governments stand behind their corporations and work hard to stem the leakage abroad of key production technologies, Washington lets the “wisdom” of the market prevail.
As the New York Times has pointed out, a current example concerns Intel and Qualcomm, which have very similar technologies that China is angling to acquire. From Beijing’s point of view, it is taking candy from a baby. The two American companies can be pitted against one another in the certainty that one or other will soon cave. It is the group versus the individual and in a well-organized groupist society, the group always prevails.
There is a one-way valve here. Key production technologies leak out of the United States: they don't leak in. Other nations have industrial policies to make sure that their most productive technologies stay at home. By contrast in a latter-day America, corporations have no national loyalty and they have every reason to transfer their technologies abroad. That way they can aim to earn brownie points with foreign governments, not least the communist regime in Beijing. Their executives also max out their stock options.


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Because the two parts aren’t physically connected, vibrations from the treadmill did not shake the desk. The only problem I found was that raising and lowering the heavy desk was a two-man job.
More to the point, in 15 minutes of walking on the treadmill at various speeds, I burned 56 calories and covered .42 miles in 1,185 steps, well on my way to the 10,000 steps per day that have become an informal fitness milestone.
LifeSpan CEO Peter Schenk told me the company decided to develop the device after reading blogs and seeing photos posted online by people who had created their own treadmill desks.
“I do think there has been a . . . growing awareness that even if I exercise 30 minutes a day, because I’m sitting six, eight or 10 hours a day . . . I’m really not getting the health benefits I need,” he said.
The product is aimed at lawyers, executives, doctors and others who have their own offices and want a break from sitting, Schenk said. It is designed to be used as much as six hours a day, and the company estimates that an average person walking at 1.75 mph will cover 10,000 steps and burn 500 calories in a little under three hours. That effort can be spread over an entire workday.
LifeSpan’s suggested price is $1,299.
“Comfort is key,” said Leisure Fitness store manager Chip Labbe. “If it’s not comfortable , you’re not going to use it.”
At the other end of the price spectrum is the $230 FitDesk invented by Steve Ferrusi, an engineer and entrepreneur who at first wasn’t thinking about how to counteract excessive sitting in the workplace. An avid cyclist, Ferrusi was looking for a way to log more miles as he trained for a long bike fundraising ride.
He cut a desktop from heavy foam, attached it to his bike, anchored the bike in a training roller and pedaled slowly as he worked. Believing he had stumbled on a valuable training tool, he tried marketing his idea to cyclists. They hated it. But fortunately for Ferrusi, others did not. “The truth is, that market has not warmed up to it as fast as everyone else,” Ferrusi told me. “The cyclist crowd, they’re self-motivated. This is a product for people who are not.”


text:
Time > Day > USA > Thanksgiving
> Black Friday, Cyber
The Buffalo News
18 November 2010
The successful purchase from a Target store in Los Angeles of
a 55in TV
Photograph: Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty
Black Friday bargain-hunters hit the shops – in pictures
Friday 27 November 2015
the day after Thanksgiving
the first official day
of the U.S. holiday
A carnival of capitalism,
is the day after Thanksgiving,
when retailers across the country
open before dawn
and dangle deep discounts
to lure customers out of bed.
even show up in pajamas.
The name itself
is a reference to profit,
because retailers historically
"moved into the black,"
or became profitable for the year,
on this day.
cartoons > Cagle > Black Friday 2013
cartoons > Cagle > Holiday Shopping 2011 > Black and blue Friday
cartoons > Cagle > Black Friday / Holiday
Cyber Monday, the first Monday after
story/story.php?storyId=248243390 - December 2, 2013
Cyber Monday UK
The Transformation of Black Friday
November 23, 2013
The New York Times
By HILARY STOUT
The word “black” in front of a day of the week has almost
never meant anything good.
Black Monday was the sell-off the day before the stock market crash of 1929,
Black Tuesday. Black Wednesday was used to refer to a day of widespread air
traffic snarls in 1954 as well as the day the British government was forced to
withdraw a battered pound from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992.
Black Thursday has variously been used for days of devastating brush fires,
bombings and athletic defeats, among other unpleasantness.
So how is it that the term Black Friday has now come almost universally to
denote joyous commercial excess, stupendous deals and big profits as the day
when everyone heads out to shop for the holidays the day after Thanksgiving?
It wasn’t always this way. The New York Times first used the term Black Friday
in an article in 1870 to refer to the day the gold market collapsed in September
Ben Zimmer, executive producer of Vocabulary.com, who has researched and written
about the term, says its association with shopping the day after Thanksgiving
began in Philadelphia in the 1960s — and even then the reference wasn’t
positive. The local police took to calling the day after Thanksgiving Black
Friday because they had to deal with bad traffic and other miseries connected to
the throngs of shoppers heading for the stores that day.
Needless to say, that use didn’t sit well with local retailers. They tried,
according to Mr. Zimmer, to give the day a more positive name: Big Friday. That
did not take, but eventually retailers — in Philadelphia and beyond — managed to
spin a new connotation: The day retailer’s books went from red ink to black.
Most consumers probably don’t know — and don’t care — about any of this. All
they want are deals.
But the rebranding of Black Friday has been so successful that others have tried
to spread the wealth across other days of the week as the holiday shopping
season grows ever more competitive. In 2005, Cyber Monday was introduced as the
day online retailers offered big savings to holiday shoppers. A few years ago,
American Express came up with “Small Business Saturday” to encourage people to
shop (presumably with their AmEx cards) at independent local businesses the day
after Black Friday.
And as retailers begin their holiday promotions earlier and earlier, there have
even been efforts to change the name of the day before Black Friday to Gray,
Brown, even Black Thursday.
But for most people it will still forever be Thanksgiving.
The Transformation of Black Friday,
Weekend, at Least,
Retailers See Record Numbers
The New York Times
By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD
aggressive promotions from retailers, American consumers opened their wallets
over the holiday weekend in a way they had not since before the recession,
setting records in sales and traffic.
The National Retail Federation said Sunday that spending per shopper surged 9.1
percent over last year — the biggest increase since 2006 — to an average of
almost $400 a customer. In all, 6.6 percent more shoppers visited stores on the
Thanksgiving weekend than last year.
“American consumers have been taking a deep breath and making a decision that
it’s O.K. to go shopping again,” despite the high unemployment rate and other
signs of caution, said Ellen Davis, vice president at the National Retail
Numbers from ShopperTrak, a consumer research service, showed equally strong
results, with in-store sales on Friday rising by 6.6 percent over last year’s
Thanksgiving Friday to $11.4 billion.
Yet there were signs the gains might not last. Analysts said that traffic to
stores seemed to slow through the weekend, suggesting that the big start to the
holiday season might peter out over time. And shoppers were using credit cards
in large numbers, mall owners and analysts said, signaling that consumers were
willing to sacrifice savings more than last year, when they paid with cash more
“With consumers, it’s emotional, so they might feel they need Christmas this
year,” said Margaret Taylor, vice president and senior credit officer in the
corporate finance group at Moody’s Investors Service. “They could be willing to
take on more credit.”
Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities, said in a note to
clients that he expected that “consumers will dig into savings” or “temporarily
tack on a little more debt” during the holidays.
Retailers hardly objected. Total spending, including online sales, reached an
estimated $52.4 billion Thursday through Sunday, the National Retail Federation
said. About 35 percent of that total was spent online, slightly higher than last
year, the federation said, suggesting that online retailers’ attempts to attract
in-store shoppers worked well.
Bill Martin, founder of ShopperTrak, noted that the day after Thanksgiving,
usually the year’s biggest sales day, is “one day in a 60-day holiday season.”
Still, he said, “what we do know is without a strong start to the season it’s
pretty hard to have a good season.”
Given the tight budgets of customers, major retailers aggressively wooed
shoppers, moving back opening hours to midnight on Thanksgiving or earlier. It
seems to have worked, attracting more shoppers and giving them more hours on
Friday to spend.
Almost a quarter of people who went shopping the Friday after Thanksgiving were
in stores by midnight Thursday, the federation found. Among 18- to 34-year-olds
who went shopping, that percentage was higher — 36.7 percent — than it was among
35- to 54-year-olds, of whom 23.5 percent were in stores by midnight.
“Early Black Friday openings and Thanksgiving-night openings are simply to get a
larger share of the customer’s wallet,” Ms. Davis said, adding that research
showed that customers tend to spend more at their first stop than at subsequent
Though the longer Friday hours helped bump up sales, some analysts said they
might have taken away from steady shopping through the weekend.
“Our perspective is that Black Friday peaked early this year and then lost some
of its luster,” said Alison Jatlow Levy, a retail strategist at the consulting
firm Kurt Salmon. On Saturday, “the malls felt like an average busy Saturday,
but not like a Black Friday extravaganza.”
At the midnight opening of Macy’s Herald Square on Thanksgiving, about 9,000
customers were in line, up from 7,000 last year. Most looked quite young, many
saying they had come for the late-night spectacle rather than for specific
Kester Richards, 18, was at the front of the line and said he had waited four
hours. He said he was a regular Macy’s shopper and was looking for Ralph Lauren
clothes, but had never been to Black Friday before.
Kyun Il Bae, 21, and In Jung Choi, 21, South Korean students studying in New
York State, said they had heard about the event and wanted to see what it was
like. “I just like the atmosphere,” Mr. Bae said. “It’s a popular place, and I
heard this is crazy.” Later, in the store, Mr. Bae did not seem as enthusiastic.
He shrugged when asked if he had found any good deals, and looked more exhausted
The midnight openings also may have contributed to the unusually high number of
men who were in stores. More men than women shopped throughout the weekend, and
they spent more per person, according to the retail federation.
“Men really aren’t willing to pull themselves out of bed at 4 a.m. for a
bargain, but they will go” late at night, Ms. Davis said. “Men are increasingly
budget-focused, and like the idea of looking for good deals.”
Stores selling to people of different income levels chose different tactics on
Friday, with many of the low- and middle-income retailers opening early with
“door-buster” discounts, and the luxury stores moving back their opening times
by just an hour or two. Still, Mr. Martin said, sales “were pretty good across
all manner of retailers.”
According to the federation, department stores and discounters were the most
popular destinations over the weekend, followed by electronics stores.
Shoppers interviewed Thursday night and Friday sounded as if they were on tight
budgets, and that drove them to stores.
Amanda Ponce, 40, stood outside a Target in downtown Chicago, an Xbox 360 for
her 8-year-old daughter on her shopping list. At $139.99, marked down from
$199.99, the savings were crucial this year, she said, since she will be buying
“We’ve had a lot harder time living the same lifestyle that we lived,” she said,
saying that her husband, a marketing consultant, had been taking on extra work.
“We’re focusing more on specifically what she wants instead of an abundance of
gifts. Things she’ll actually use and play with.”
At a J. C. Penney in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Maria Aguilar was not buying
presents — she had come in for deals on a coffeepot and a griddle.
“We are definitely cutting back,” said Ms. Aguilar, 45, an instructional
assistant from Norco, Calif. She said that this year, her family was buying
gifts for “just the little ones, just the children.”
Fairley Raney and Steven Yaccino
For a Weekend, at Least, Retailers See Record Numbers,
Related > Anglonautes >
time > day > USA > Thanksgiving day
Related > Anglonautes > History
USA > Thanksgiving
- from 1621


text:
New Delhi, Sep 26 () Cochin Port
, one of the top 12 major ports in the country, has begun coastal transportation of cars, with carrier ship M V Dresden
carrying 500 vehicles reached with first consignment.
Automakers like Renault
will be able to transport their cars in bulk across the country by using coastal shipping.
The Ministry of Shipping
said, "The car carrier has circuit of Ennore-Cochin-Kandla-Cochin-Ennore, connecting the automobile production hubs in Tamil Nadu
in the East coast
in the West of India. The ship has 13 decks with the capacity to carry 4,300 cars."
The development assumes significance as movement of automobiles for internal consumption in India is dominated by huge car carrier trucks plying on congested roads.
M V Dresden is a foreign carrier of Cyprus
registration, which has obtained licence for coastal run between the ports in India, and is of 177 metre length and 7 metre draft.
The operator of the Car Carrier is SICAL
Logistics based in Chennai, which is a leading player in bulk operations in many ports and operates a Coal Terminal at Ennore.
The Car Carriers, which are Roll on-Roll off (Ro-Ro) ships, are highly productive with automobiles being driven in and out of the ship.
"The operator will be carrying the vehicles of Renault, Ford, Hyundai and Toyota from Tamil Nadu and Honda and Ford from Gujarat. The operator is also targeting Maruti
. The Steamer Agent of the Car Carrier at Cochin
is Neo Logistics," the statement said.
Keeping in view the requirements of highly clean surroundings and storage area for car handling, Cochin Port has identified Q7 berth at Ernakulam Wharf
for handling the ship, and a clean yard of 4,000 Sq metre area at Q7 is allotted for storage of cars until delivery to the dealers, which is normally expected in a week's time, it said.
"Car handling is highly prestigious, and at adequate volumes could be a steady source of income of about Rs 3 to 6 crores per annum to the port in addition to the significant contribution in environmental safety by eliminating thousands of trucks from the road and the resultant emission savings," the statement said. Kerala
is a major consumption centre of cars with annual sales of about 1,50,000 to 1,80,000 units.
"The potential coastal transport market segment could be strong; 50 ship calls a year with 1,000 cars per call will be required if 30 per cent of the Kerala market shifts to the coastal transport mode," the statement said.
The prospect of Cochin Port attracting coastal movement of cars is strong with major automobile manufacturers moving cars to dealers in Kerala from factories in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Haryana, it said.
The new business is the culmination of sustained efforts of Cochin Port. The Port has offered rebates in Port charges in advance towards attracting the business; concessional Wharfage of Rs 500 per Car and Rs 900 per Truck, and 50 per cent rebate in the notified Vessel Related Charges. NAM MKJ


text:
VCN- To achieve the revenue target in the context of the outbreak of Covid-19, the General Department of Vietnam Customs has requested provincial and municipal customs departments to review revenues; research, propose and deploy solutions to increase revenues and prevent revenue losses.
|By 2020, Tax sector sets a revenue target of surpassing at least 3% of estimate|
|Ha Noi Customs Department hit the revenue target soon|
|Hanoi Customs Department expected to hit revenue target of VND 22,575 billion|
|Customs officers of Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department insepct imported goods. Photo: T.H|
Strong impact from the epidemic
According to statistics, by the end of March 8, the whole Customs sector collected and contributed VND 54,527 billionto the State budget, equal to 16.13percent of the estimate (VND 338,000 billion), down 8.69 percent compared to 2019. Particularly, in February, the Customs sector collected VND 23,951 billion, lower than January (VND 26,019 billion).
If the Customs collected VND 1,458 billion on average per day in the first two months of 2019, it only collected VND 1,308 billion on average per day in the first two months of thisyear. According to the assigned estimate of VND 338,000 billion, Customs must collect nearly VND 28,167 billion on average per day. However, the Customs revenue reached VND 23,951 billion on average in the first two months, lower than VND 3,317 billion compared to the average level in each month to complete the estimate.
According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, the decrease in Customs revenue is due to the effect of the Covid-19 epidemic, with almost all import and export turnover of major commodities such as machinery, equipment, iron, steel, petroleum products and ore decreasing gradually. Specifically, the imported petroleum products in the first two months fell 20 percent in volume and 22.8 percent in value; machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts decreased by 3.7 percent compared to 2019; iron and steel decreased 18.5 percent compared to 2019; CBU cars imported in February decreased sharply by59.9 percent in volume and 57.2 percent in value compared to 2019.Export items such as crude oil and ores also sharply decreasedin quantity and value.
If the outbreak of Covid-19 continues, it will greatly affect the production, import and export activities and Customs revenues.
Take the initiative in revenue collection
In the context that the Covid-19 epidemic continues, at the recent meeting of the General Department of Vietnam Customs to evaluate the results of performance in February and deploy tasks in March, Director General of Vietnam CustomsNguyen Van Can required the units to closely monitor the state budget collection; assess the impact on the state budget revenue of the implementation of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), especially the CPTPP and EVFTA; research, propose and implement solutions to increase revenue and prevent losses.
Particularly, Director General Nguyen Van Can asked units to proactively monitor and assess the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic and the implementation of international integration commitments affecting state budget revenue, to report and propose leaders of the General Department of Vietnam Customs and the Ministry of Finance.
The General Department of Vietnam Customs requested the provincial and municipal Customs Departments to grasp revenues, especially import and export with China, closely followthe import and export activities of enterprises, especially enterprises implementing import and export activities with China, the exports of agricultural product, the imports of raw material, supplies, machinery and equipmentto promptly report to serve state budget management.
The General Department of Vietnam Customs will focus on reviewing and grasping the tax debt of the provincial and municipal customs departments; classifying groups of recoverable tax debt and irrecoverable tax debt. Regularly monitoring and urging units and providing solutions to recover tax debts in line with the reality; monthly and quarterly monitoring the collection and handling of tax debts.


text:
Facebook (FB) reported strong first-quarter results Wednesday after the closing bell. On the top line, total revenue hit $26.171 billion (+48% YoY or 44% on a constant currency basis -- an acceleration from the fourth quarter and the best growth rate in years). That exceeded the estimate of $23.729 billion. Earnings per share of $3.30 (+93% YoY) crushed estimates of $2.35 per share.
Digging into the top-line number, advertising revenue of $25.439 billion (+46% YoY or 42% ex FX) topped expectations of $23.297 billion. Management attributed the terrific growth rate to continued strength in product verticals such as online commerce. In addition, it said the advertising growth was broad-based, across all advertiser sizes.
Small- and medium-sized advertisers were a particular bright spot. Pricing trends looked strong in the quarter, as the average price per ad increased 30% YoY, and the number of ad impressions was up 12%. Impression growth was driven by both Facebook and Instagram. Meanwhile, the average price per ad benefited from easy comps off last year's depressed pricing levels, as well as strong advertiser demand.
On a user regional basis, ad revenue growth was strongest in Europe (+53.3% YoY), followed by the rest of world (+47.2% YoY); Asia Pacific (+46% YoY) was new, and last was the U.S. and Canada (+42% YoY).
Other revenue came in at $732 million (+146% YoY) and soared past expectations of $435 million, thanks to continued strong sales of the Quest 2 virtual reality headset.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he believes there has been a "very real inflection in terms of adoption and engagement" with the Quest 2, prompting the company to "double down" on its virtual reality investment.
On the expense front, capital expenditures, including principal payments on finance
leases, were $4.42 billion and well below the consensus of about $4.887 billion, while headcount grew by 26% YoY to 60,654.
Engagement was strong with Facebook Daily Active Users (DAUs) averaging 1.88 billion (+8% YoY), a tick short vs. expectations of 1.891 billion. Facebook Monthly Active Users (MAUs) were 2.85 billion (+10% YoY), largely in line with expectations for 2.855 billion. The closely tracked DAUs and MAUs held steady at 66%.
Growth in DAUs on a sequential, absolute basis, was led by Asia Pacific (+16 million QoQ, +82 million YoY) followed by rest of world (+15 million QoQ, +57 million YoY), then Europe (+1 million QoQ, +4 million YoY), and U.S. and Canada (flat QoQ and YoY).
Facebook Watch and Reels were two areas that management was pleased with the engagement in international markets. Facebook said Watch currently has about 1.25 billion users visiting each month, while Reels is starting to gain traction.
From an e-commerce perspective, COO Sheryl Sandberg said on the call that Facebook is currently driving hundreds of billions of dollars of off-site e-commerce GMV (gross merchandise volume) through its add business. On Instagram Shops, she added that the feature has more than 1 million active shops and more than 250 million people interactive with merchandise per month.
Looking at the company's "Family" metrics, which include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Whatsapp, the "Family Daily Active People" - or DAP - grew 15.25% year-over-year to 2.72 billion. Family Monthly Active People (MAP) increased 15.4% year-over-year to 3.45 billion. This means DAP/MAP held steady at 79%. And the Family Average Revenue per Person (ARPP) increased roughly 28.5% YoY to $7.75.
As for how Facebook monetized its products, worldwide Average Revenue per User (ARPU) came in at $9.27 (+33.4% YoY), topping expectations of $8.40. By geography, U.S. and Canada ARPU was $48.03 (+40.5% YoY); Europe came in at $15.49 (+45.6% YoY); Asia-Pacific was $3.94 (+28.8% YoY); and the rest of the world was $2.64 (+32.7% YoY).
On the capital allocation front, Facebook repurchased $4.1 billion of stock in the quarter. Facebook also generated a whopping $7.8 billion of free cash flow, beating estimates of $7.4billion. The company ended the quarter with $64.22 billion in cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities.
In the earnings release, CFO David Wehner updated the company's outlook for the rest of the year. Wehner said the company expects second-quarter year-over-year revenue growth will remain stable or modestly accelerate relative to the (+48%) growth rate in the first quarter. This looks like a guide up to us, as estimates were looking for a 36% YoY growth rate in the second quarter. If Facebook increases second-quarter revenues by 48% YoY again, sales in the quarter would be closer to $27.6 billion, well above estimates of $25.4 billion.
However, revenue growth in the second half of the year is expected to significantly decelerate on a sequential basis, as the company laps periods of increasingly strong growth. This guidance is consistent with prior commentary and is already built into estimates to some degree. Factored into this outlook are ad targeting headwinds related to regulatory and platform changes, most notable from Apple's new iOS update, which will begin to have an impact in the second quarter. The application of targeted ads is a bit of a controversial topic, but Facebook remains a staunch proponent of its benefits.
"It's also on us to keep making the case that personalized advertising is good for people and businesses and to better explain how it works so that people realize that personalized ads are privacy protected," Sandberg explained on the call. "Small businesses don't have to understand the alphabet soup of acronyms they'll need to comply with, but they do need to have confidence that they can still use our tools to reach the people who want to buy what they're selling in a privacy-safe way. We're confident they can and that they can continue to get great results as digital advertising evolves."
Management is also monitoring uncertainty related to the viability of transatlantic data transfers, which comes in light of recent regulatory developments in Europe.
On the expense side, management narrowed its expectation of total expenses to the range of $70 billion to $73 billion from $68 billion to $73 billion, representing a negative in the context of accelerating expense growth. But what this really is about is Facebook investing into strength. Capital expenditure guidance was lowered to the range of $19 billion to $21 billion from $21 billion to $23 billion.
Overall, it was another great quarter from Facebook, and you will not find us complaining about the accelerating growth rate or the second quarter revenue guide that was well above expectations.
The social media giant continues to benefit from digital transformation and the ongoing shift to online commerce. Success here should continue, because the company has become one of the best enablers of success for small- and medium-sized businesses. Although the Apple iOS update could challenge the company's ability to create personalized ads, Facebook is still one of, if not the best-positioned platform to navigate the changes. In fact, we have said before in our Alert here that Facebook could pick up market share as a result of the changes.
Shares are trading more than 6% higher in after hours trading to what would be a new all-time high of about $326. Price targets will be increased Thursday.