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Things may be getting a little . . . strained . . . in the baby food business.
Concerned about a potential duopoly in the already concentrated industry, federal antitrust authorities disclosed Friday that they'll seek to prevent H.J. Heinz Co.'s planned $185 million purchase of Milnot Holding Co.
Milnot is the owner of Beech-Nut Nutrition Corp., the nation's third-largest baby food producer. Heinz, which makes a variety of food products, is the second-largest by a nose.
Each company has a market share of about 14%. Even combined, those shares are dwarfed by the 70% stake enjoyed by Michigan-based Gerber, a unit of Switzerland's Novartis A.G.
Heinz first announced its plan to buy Milnot from the Chicago investment concern of Madison Dearborn Partners Inc. in late February. The proposed deal would create a baby food maker that could give the industry's Goliath a run for its money, Heinz claimed.
"Although we will still be a distant second to Gerber," the Pittsburgh company said at the time, "a combination of Heinz and Beech-Nut will provide the cricital mass to make the U.S. baby food market more competitive, innovative and dynamic."
The Federal Trade Commission, which examines proposed mergers to ensure they don't violate antitrust law, adopted a different perspective. Officials there focused on the fact that combining the No. 2 and No. 3 rivals would cut the number of baby food players to just two, creating what's known as a duopoly, with control of 98% of the market.
That, the government contends, "would increase the likelihood of coordinated anticompetitive interaction and actual or tacit collusion between the two remaining firms." Nor is a new contender likely to appear, the FTC said, noting that "there hasn't been any significant entry in the market for over 60 years."
The government said it will ask a federal court to block the acquisition.
Heinz said it relishes the coming legal fight. "Gerber has long held an unchallenged monopoly position," the company said. And while the government frets about a reduction in the number of competitors in the business, Heinz contends that combining is "the best way to inject competition into this category."
In addition to owning Beech-Nut, St. Louis-based Milnot produces branded and private-label food products such as condensed canned milk and canned chili.
Beech-Nut has passed through several corporate owners. It was a unit of Swiss-based Nestle SA before being sold in 1989 to Ralcorp Holdings Inc. Madison Dearborn bought the company for $68 million last year. Officials at Madison Dearborn couldn't be reached for comment Friday.


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General Motors Korea plans to slash its headcount by launching a “voluntary retirement” scheme open to its 7,000 office workers, a company source told Reuters.
GM Korea spokesman Park Hae-ho, confirmed the plan was aimed at “enhancing its organisational efficiency” and said it is the first time the company has made such a plan applicable to all its office workers, following an earlier scheme limited to senior office workers.
Park did not disclose a target for the reductions, but said its 10,000 production workers will not be affected.
The move is causing concerns about a restructuring at GM Korea, which is being squeezed by rivals Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors as well as by imported vehicles from Germany, Japan and other countries.
The South Korean market is shrinking due to the global economic slowdown and as heavy household debt cuts demand. GM Korea is not the only carmaker to cut jobs in response. The South Korean unit of French carmaker Renault SA this year cut 800 workers, or about 15% of its workforce, using a similar programme.
GM’s South Korean market share has fallen below 10% since 2008. The carmaker had a 9.4% share from January to October this year in the domestic car market while Hyundai and KIA controlled around 80%.
After GM’s plan was disclosed, a GM Korea union spokesman said it is like GM Korea “declared a war” against the union following the carmaker’s earlier announcement that it will exclude South Korea from the production of its next-generation Chevrolet Cruze model.
Union officials said they were told on 1 November that the new Cruze will be produced in Europe and four other regions, sparking speculation that GM may move output to Europe to help boost efficiency at its money-losing unit there. .
GM Korea, which ranks third in South Korean car sales after Hyundai and Kia, started receiving applications for its latest plan on Tuesday and will close it on 14 December. Under the programme, workers will receive compensation of up to two years’ salary, two years’ school tuition support and a car voucher worth KRW10m (US$9,200), according to a 20 November company notice obtained by Reuters.

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Apple is quickly transforming the San Jose’s McEnery Convention Center with WWDC 2019 Graphics, banners, signage, and other decorations at the venue. Here are some photos of what the McEnery Convention Center looks like this year:
— Ethan Saadia (@EthanSaadia) May 30, 2019
— Eugene Kalnyk ?? (@yevheshko) May 31, 2019
The graphics and design this year on the McEnery Convention Center look like to be neon with the title ‘Dub Dub’.
We will add more photos and videos when more content rolls out. Check back at this article again for more.
The WWDC 2019 keynote will be on Monday, June 3, at 10 a.m. PT. You can stream it from Apple’s website or on the big screen via the Apple Events app on the Apple TV. Appleosophy will also be providing live coverage on our home page.


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NEW YORK — Shoppers report they value shopping as an experience and not just as a transaction, and are concerned about the expanding role of data in shaping and limiting this experience, according to "Truth About Shopping" study released Wednesday. Conducted by McCann Truth Central, the research is based on a survey of more than 10,000 people in 11 countries and is supplemented by additional qualitative research.
"We're seeing a variety of behavioral reactions in how shoppers around the world are responding to the growing science of shopping through the expanded use of technology and data," said Laura Simpson, global director at McCann Truth Central. "There are ways in which they are embracing it thoroughly and other ways in which they're doing so warily," she said. "Today's challenge in the retail environment is: how do you keep the art of shopping alive in the age of algorithms? We believe that focusing on the art of shopping is essential to balance the science of shopping."
Simpson noted that 52% of people said that shopping is too impersonal these days, and they are concerned about the reliance on algorithms to dictate their purchases. As many as 57% worry that they'll discover fewer new things if companies always show them exactly what they're looking for. But this also presents the sellers with new product offerings and merchandising opportunities because 66% of shoppers are looking to be inspired while they are shopping. "They want the very human and personal touch amidst a wave of algorithm-based personalization," Simpson said.
However, this desire for a personal touch does not mean that consumers aren't looking to retailers to "seamlessly blend technology into the physical experience," according to India Wooldridge, VP deputy director at McCann Truth Central "When we look at our data, consumers are open to an even more seamless experience in stores than we see today. They are ready for the smart store of the future," she said. "For instance, 71% would welcome interactive walls that enable you to try on clothes without changing. However, it is important to remember that such technology cannot come at the expense of really getting to know the customer."
She pointed out that mobile is an area where there is a particularly strong need to create more of a sensory experience. Of consumers who have shopped on their mobiles in the past six months, 49% can see themselves shopping exclusively on their mobile in the future, she said, underscoring mobile's important role in the future of shopping. On the other hand, mobiles are currently emerging as a new window-shopping tool, with 70% of consumers saying they think mobiles are good for browsing but not buying. This perception is highest in Mexico and the United States, among the countries studied.
The study found that 84% of people globally are aware that companies track the websites they visit to recommend products they may like. In the United States, this awareness rose significantly from 69% in 2011 to 87% in 2014. At the same time, shoppers accept this tracking as long as they understand the trade-off: 65% of people said they were willing to share data if they could see the benefit to them. Again, this has been increasing. In the United States, 61% of consumers said they would be willing to share data if they understood the benefit to them, compared with 45% in 2011.
The over-reliance on the science of shopping does worry the majority of consumers. Overall around the world, 71% worry about the amount of information that online stores know about them. This concern is lowest in the United States (58%) among the countries studied. However, because things are changing at such a rapid pace and people are focused on the technological benefits, there are some contradictory attitudes that emerge with regard to privacy. For example, 59% of people around the world would be open to a store that is able to recognize you when you walk through the door.
Nearly half of people globally say that they can see themselves potentially using fingerprints or retina scans as payment authentication in the future. And nearly a sixth of people around the world say that they can see themselves potentially using payment technology embedded in their body. Among the countries studied, the United States ranks among the lowest in embracing this science-fiction vision.
Additionally, a lot of personal behavior already is changing because of the new world of shopping experience. Shopping at midnight and even mid-dinner have become acceptable. As many as 39% of people globally say that being able to shop in the middle of the night is the biggest emotional benefit of online shopping. And a quarter of people globally believe it is acceptable to excuse yourself from a meeting or dinner in order to go log on to an online flash sale.


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The market of wireless headsets is becoming popular there are many products in this classification that achieved successful sales in the introduction to her headphones Apple AirPods , which has become the second fastest products Apple-selling immediately after the phones faith according to the foundation Zhongtai securities Finance.
Headphones AirPods Wireless the second fastest products Apple-selling after Faith
Apple recently launched an improved version of which is the AirPods Pro more like noise insulation and water resistance to push the sales of the heavens more and more and achieve more profits with its high price tag of $ 240$ compared to release higher that the starting price of 160$.
The report pointed to the reason for the high sales of wireless headsets is the reluctance of users from conventional speakers with the wiring for the acquisition of wireless headphones such as Apple AirPods and enjoy the experience of better sound.
The report went further than this stating that the heavens and the wireless the next step will be the largest in the electronics market it will revolutionize the sales just like I did to smart phones.
Growth rates headphones Apple AirPods in a continuous increase year after year and is expected to continue this growth for years to come depending on the simple premise that the number of users of phones faith, ranging from 900 million to a billion users and with respect to the owners of headphones AirPods them 10% which gives an enormous area for it in the future in their midst.


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Consumer watchdog Which? has created a map highlighting cyber scam hotspots
Norfolk is rampant with dating scams, West and mid-Wales is awash with computer cons, and Surrey is slathered with investment fraud.
That’s according to data from Action Fraud, the UK cyber-crime centre collated by consumer watchdog Which? through a Freedom of Information request.
The watchdog created a map out of the data to display where the 264,204 counts of cyber fraud had taken place and in what form.
Online shopping and auction scams were found to have hit Northamptonshire the most, with 21.6 victims per 10,000; the national average sits at 16.9.
Cold callers computer scammers were found to have the most success in tricking people to part with their money in the Dyfed-Powys region of Wales by fooling people into thinking they have a problem with their computer when they do not.
Surrey is the hotspot for financial investment scams in the UK, likely down to it being an affluent area.
Unsurprisingly, given that it is Britain’s largest city and contains most of the UK’s wealth, London contained the most reported incidences of cyber scams.
Overall, fraud has increased in the UK by ten percent, with Which? encouraging the government to take action to tackle.
“As more information is available about us online than ever before, fraudsters are finding it much easier to know who to target and how,” said Gareth Shaw, a money expert at Which?
“These criminals are constantly finding new ways to rip us off and those tackling fraud should be upping their game. The government needs to set out an ambitious agenda to tackle fraud, while law enforcement agencies need to be working harder to identify and protect the people most at risk from fraud.”
With ransomware attacks hitting public sector organisations, Britain being riddled with malware, and a lot of effort needed to secure legacy systems, the UK has plenty of work to do to secure its cyber shores.


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The pundits are calling Steve Jobs’ WWDC keynote “disappointing” because he didn’t announce any new iPod or consumer products like the iPhone. Since WWDC is for developers, not consumers, his announcements were exactly what would be expected. The new Mac Pro and XServe completes the Intel transition and Leopard’s new features add some very significant improvements.
A few days ago I correctly predicted that there would be no new iPod announcements at MacMegasite. My biggest surprise at WWDC was seeing how many developers are still using PowerBook G4s, which far outnumber MacBook Pros and even MacBooks.


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Microsoft's Small Business Server is a remarkable hit, said a research firm this week as it released the results of a survey that claimed an astounding 86 percent of small- and mid-sized businesses either use the server bundle or are planning to deploy it.
"Who knew this was going to be such as huge hit?" said Laura DiDio, the Yankee Group senior analyst who conducted the survey of some 500 small and mid-sized businesses, as well as resellers and consultants.
More than twice as many use or plan to roll out Windows Small Business Server (SBS) 2003 than use or plan to deploy the earlier Windows SBS 2000, said DiDio, numbers that support the much better market performance of the newer edition of Microsoft's small business bundle.
SBS 2003 comes in two versions, the Standard and the Premium, and incorporates Windows Server 2003, Exchange Server, SQL Server, Internet Information Server, Front Page, the Microsoft Management Console (MMC). Premium adds Internet Security and Acceleration Server (ISA).
Microsoft literally owns the SMB market, said DiDio, since competitors such as Novell Small Business Suite and Linux in general are barely a blip for these customers. Only 3 percent said they planned to purchase Novell's offering, while just 11 percent said they were using, or are going to use, the open-source Linux OS.
"These customers don't care about the brand name," said DiDio. "Linux is not even on their radar, and actually, they don't even much care that SBS comes from Microsoft. They just want something that will be the most cost-effective and efficient."
DiDio credits resellers and consultants with the success of SBS 2000 and SBS 2003, not Microsoft. "Virtually every reseller we talked to was absolutely enthralled with the product and the money they're making [off it]," she said. "You know what they say: 'Nothing says love like cold hard cash.'"
Resellers and consultants, which sometimes dub SBS as "Baby Back Office," praise the product in large part because of the revenues it's brought them.
Among the more than 50 resellers contacted, sales increases averaged from 100 to 300 percent over last year due to SBS deployments and migrations.
"Linux and open-source don't have anything that can compete with the bundled feature set of SBS 2003," she said.
But while Microsoft's making hay while the sun shines, DiDio had some advice for the developer. "They struck gold here, but now they've got to do some concerted advertising around it to get the word out even more."
And Microsoft would be well advised to make other changes. "Microsoft's licensing model confuses a lot of these SMB customers," DiDio said. "The whole Client Access License (CAL) concept is tough for them to understand."
Under Microsoft's licensing program, buyers of SBS 2003 receive five CALs with the server licence, then pay US$96-98 per additional CAL.
The success of SBS 2003 has been aided and abetted, said DiDio, by a general loosening of SMB purse strings. Companies surveyed said that they were planning on spending 8 to 15 percent more on software during the 2004-2005 time frame.
"We'll see wave of SBS deployments continuing right up through 2004 and 2005," she concluded.
"No doubt about it, Microsoft was in the right place and the right time with this one."
Copyright © 2004 CMP Media LLC


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A TTG Tomorrow’s Travel Leaders participant has hailed her mentor after her new homeworking business celebrated a month of record sales.
Kate Holroyd said Nicole Eaves, founder of Garstang Travel – a TTG Top 50 Travel Agency – had been “instrumental” in offering her support as Holroyd returned to the travel sector with Blackburn-based firm Strawberry Holidays in February.
“Nicole has helped me so much and really taken me under her wing,” Holroyd told TTG. “If you think about it from a business point of view she could easily have seen me as a competitor, but it’s never been like that and I’ve learnt so much.”
The pair were partnered together as part of TTG’s 30 Under 30 initiative and have been meeting since April last year.
Holroyd, who was part of the 2014-15 intake, said the business had “exceeded all expectations”, with April seeing £40,000 revenue.
She added that the company, which she co-owns with her mother-in-law Fiona Holroyd, was looking to recruit more agents to deal with demand during the lates booking period this summer.
“We weren’t expecting to break even in the first six months, but we’ve done so already which is a real achievement,” said Kate Holroyd, who left her full-time head of marketing job at Lancashire financial services company Fairpoint Group this month to concentrate on the new business.
“Getting back into travel has been brilliant,” she added. “I adore the product and it feels so good to say that our work is giving people their perfect holiday.”
The pair are also helped by Fiona’s husband, Michael, who acts as a financial and business advisor to the company, having previously held senior positions with Vodafone and Crown Paints.
Holroyd has in the past spent 18 months with World Travel Holdings, overseeing the marketing strategies for Cruise118.com and Six Star Cruises.
Strawberry Holidays is a member of The Global Travel Group, and Holroyd has praised the resources and training the consortium offered.
“Global have been brilliant with all the support they’ve given us,” she said.


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As the economic downturn causes dwindling circulations, publishers must take a more consultative approach to content
With news in recent years of publications either losing readers or worse, having to fold the operation entirely, it is more important than ever publishers consult readers about what content they crave, to ensure circulation figures remain healthy, advises market intelligence tools provider Cint.
While the recession may have caused people to prioritize their expenditure more carefully, with magazines and newspapers perhaps being viewed as non-essential luxury items, publishers who stay in tune with their readers’ preferences and interests are more likely to hold onto them and encourage loyalty.
Forward-thinking publishers are already using the latest tools to gather market insight and shape editorial accordingly.
Cint’s CEO, Bo Mattsson, explains: “In addition to the effect the recession has had on print media, the increase in online editorial has also impacted the industry. Plus, with online outlets starting to move towards pay wall operations, it’s more important than ever for publishers – online or offline – to carefully think about how to engage readers.
“Inviting readers to become part of an owned market research panel is an excellent way to gather data; their interests, likes, dislikes and even their reaction to current editorial, to gauge what is hitting the spot and what isn’t. Moreover, effective panel management and surveying puts the publication front of mind, helping to encourage readers to pick up the latest print copy or visit the website. In turn, this can facilitate further monetization as publishers can demonstrate web traffic figures and a steady circulation to potential and existing advertisers.”
Setting up online panels is easy and panel communities can also be opened up for other consumer organizations to survey. A ‘thank you’ payment is made to poll respondent as well as the panel owner, so publishers can not only benefit from gathering insight, but also from an additional revenue stream.
Bo added: “New ways to generate revenue in tough times is welcomed by many organizations and businesses, and owning an online panel that can be used for intelligence gathering purposes and also as an additional profit generator is an attractive proposition for publishers and bloggers.”


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In the world of manufacturing, cutting your production costs as much as possible allows you to maximize profit. In recent years, many new production and manufacturing plants have been set up in Mexico rather than the United States for that very reason.
The production of automobiles, in particular, is being done at a lower cost south of the border, with vehicles forming one of the main exports of Mexico. Ford is one of the latest car manufacturers to take this step.
The move has been met with a combination of criticism and praise from former politicians, competing manufacturers, and even consumers. Let’s take a look at the advantages and reasons behind Ford's decision—not to mention the many industries and companies that have chosen to make the same move in recent years.
One of the primary motivations for businesses to move to Mexico is the greater flexibility offered them due to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In addition to NAFTA, there are ten more such arrangements, spanning forty-three countries in total.
For Ford, this offers the opportunity to build cars in Mexico, and ship them to areas such as South America, Canada, and the United States with minimal disruption or inconvenience.The logistics of the situation also make it easier to export goods.
Mexico is known for offering solid transportation logistics, and this allows businesses and manufacturers to send their goods across the globe easily, and with minimal impact on their profit. These factors are sure to have appealed to Ford.
Increased Potential Profit
Another popular reason for the move to Mexico for many businesses is the chance to increase their potential profit. Mexico pays its workers a lower wage than many other countries, the United States in particular. By way of comparison, 2014 saw workers in the US make around $30 per hour, while Mexican workers received around $5 per hour during that year for the same work.
In Mexico, Ford can take full advantage of the reduced cost of labor, and see their overall profits increase. This offers a tempting motivation to place their plant there, especially when combined with the benefits of the free trade agreements currently in place.
It is also important for Ford to keep pace with its rivals and competitors. In recent years, a number of automotive manufacturers have decided to move south of the border.
General Motors, Nissan, Toyota, Hyundai, Mazda, and Volkswagen have all opened plants in Mexico. In order to remain competitive in a growing market, Ford needs to make the same move as its rivals.
The idea of building plants in Mexico is not new for many businesses, and Ford is no exception. They have a history of building cars in the region since the 1920’s, and already have infrastructure in the area. An engine plant, two stamping plants, and two assembly plants are already located there.
In addition, the Lincoln MKZ and Lincoln MKZ Hybrid are being produced in Mexico, as well as the Fiesta, the Fusion, the Fusion hybrid, along with Ford’s four-cylinder and diesel engines.
Plus, the goal of Ford is not to replace all their US plants, but to have their Mexico-based ones work alongside them. Unlike many other car manufacturers, Ford retains a strong presence in the United States; 2.4 million cars and trucks were created in the US last year.
Also, the brand has invested over ten million dollars in plants in the USA with another nine billion due to be invested over the next four years. That figure is estimated to create over 8,500 jobs.
Overall, while the move is not without controversy, it seems clear that expanding their automotive manufacturing plants to Mexico is a serious step forward for the company, and one which offers a large number of benefits to Ford—benefits that can, in time, be passed on to their customers. And if you want to learn about the main imports of Mexico, you can read more here.
Sign up and stay informed with tips, updates, and best practices for manufacturing in Mexico.


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ESPN has clambered aboard the NFT bandwagon: The sports giant is going into business with Tom Brady, angling to sell fans on the idea of owning a digital piece of the famed NFL quarterback’s legacy.
ESPN inked a multiyear deal with Autograph, the NFT startup co-founded by Brady, to release its first nonfungible tokens. NFTs provide a way to authenticate ownership of digital content, using distributed blockchain networks — and media and entertainment companies have flocked to NFTs as a way to generate incremental revenue and boost fan loyalty.
The collaboration kicks off Wednesday (April 6) with the release at 5 p.m. ET of an NFT collection based on “Man in the Arena: Tom Brady,” the 10-part ESPN Plus documentary series produced by Religion of Sports, a media company in which Brady is also a co-founder.
The prices for the NFTs will range from $100 to $500. The “Man in the Arena: Tom Brady Collection” NFTs are exclusively available to view on autograph.io and may be purchased on the DraftKings Marketplace for NFTs. The collection consists of three ESPN digital “zine covers” illustrating Brady’s career, wins and achievements. There are 50 NFTs from the collection signed digitally by Brady (priced at $500 each) along with 100 NFTs of the “Tom Brady: Legacy” cover ($250 each) and 250 NFTs of the “Tom Brady: Greatest of All Time” cover ($100 each).
ESPN’s first NFT release coincides with Disney releasing the docuseries across Hulu and Disney Plus — in addition to ESPN Plus — for a “limited time.”
A second NFT collection from ESPN and Autograph — themed “Back in the Arena,” alluding to Brady’s reversing his decision to retire with plans to return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next season — will drop in conjunction with the premiere later this month of the series’ 10th and final episode on ESPN Plus. (There’s no confirmed date yet for the episode’s release.)
“ESPN is excited to offer our first NFTs to meet our fans at the intersection of sports, technology and content,” said Kevin Lopes, ESPN’s VP of sports business development and innovation. “Our work with ESPN Edge [an R&D partnership formed with Accenture; Microsoft and Verizon] has led us to where we are today, exploring new, innovative ways of engaging fans, and we are thrilled to partner with Autograph for this collection and others in the future.”
“Man in the Arena,” directed by Gotham Chopra, features interviews with Brady and other sports figures breaking down milestones of the quarterback’s NFL career. The docuseries explores “the psychological and emotional terrain of each victory and defeat,” per Religion of Sports.
L.A.-based Autograph, in addition to its NFL partnership with DraftKings, has worked with Lionsgate to release digital collectibles based on the studio’s intellectual property. Autograph has released NFTs for Brady and other sports stars, including Derek Jeter, Wayne Gretzky, Tony Hawk, Rob Gronkowski, Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka, Usain Bolt, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tiger Woods.
“This unique collection around Tom’s ‘Man in the Arena’ docuseries marks the beginning of our relationship with ESPN,” Dillon Rosenblatt, co-founder and CEO of Autograph, said in a statement. “As the first NFT partner for ESPN, the possibilities across sports and technology are endless, and we couldn’t be more excited to get this content out to the world in a massive way.”


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Mercedes just announced the launch date for its 2021 challenger the W12. The car will be launched on March 2!
“We are excited to announce that our 2021 Formula One car will be officially unveiled on Tuesday 2 March – in exactly one months’ time – in a digital launch event,” read Mercedes’ press release.
“Our 2021 contender will be named Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance. The designation ‘E Performance’ is the new technology label used in product names and badging on all forthcoming Mercedes-AMG hybrid cars, with the W12 being our first Formula One car to feature ‘E Performance’ in its name.”
If you like SilverArrows.Net, consider supporting us by buying us a coffee!
On the same day Mercedes will also provide “a wide range of assets” including: initial imagery, technical information, profiles on our team’s key figures and Q&As with team boss Toto Wolff, new Mercedes HPP boss Hywel Thomas and technical director James Allison.
As always, you will be able to follow latest news from the event on SilverArrows.Net!


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What Gen Z Wants From FinTech
Gen Z’s New Approach to Finance
81% of Gen Zers perceive money as a major stressor. If you’re thinking that this generation is too young to be concerned about finance yet, you’re wrong: Gen Z is uniquely positioned to be money aware—and finance savvy—from the get-go. Only knowing a world with social media, Gen Z is accustomed to constantly having transparency into peoples’ personal lives; and this includes insight into individuals’ wealth and purchases. Moreover, the digitalisation of commerce has resulted in children getting their bank accounts at younger ages. All this combined has resulted in Gen Z becoming financially aware and engaged at a much earlier age than their predecessors. With the generation possessing over $143 billion in spending power, understanding the way that they are approaching finance is crucial for any financial institution or fintech. Read on to learn more.
Fin-fluencers Shape the Game
Gen Z’s are smarter financially than generations before, and this is a result of the wealth of information they have at their fingertips—well, on their phones. Financial advisers, as well as those who are just good with money, are storming onto social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram to share their wisdom and tips. On the receiving end of these platforms are Gen Zers, who are absorbing financial advice with enthusiasm. On TikTok, the hashtag #finance has over 3.7 billion views. There are a whole host of fin-fluencers (finance influencers) sharing content on personal finance, from Humphrey Yang, who has 2.3 million TikTok followers, to Clare Seal on Instagram, who shares tips and tricks she learned from paying off over £27k in debt in a year. With their new awareness of how to save, invest, and best play the game of finance, Gen Zers are educated and ready to make the most of their money from early on.
With Gen Z having so much financial power, and them relying on social media, the well-being world of finance is subject to trends. This year’s rise and fall of various cryptocurrencies have been a result of their success on social media. Dogecoin saw its value rise 40% after it went viral on TikTok. The Reddit-inspired Gamestop spike demonstrated the potential of social media to upend the stock market, worryingly so for some.
Yet, trends can also promote smart personal finance and are a great means for fintech brands to promote their products. For example, money management app Plum, partnered with fin-fluencer MrTradingRobot for their participation-based marketing ‘52-week savings challenge’. As part of the trend, users were encouraged to put away incrementally small amounts into the app. From these practices, Gen Zers have learnt to invest without putting everything at risk. When asked what they would do with £1,000, 72% of Gen Zers said they would save it in the bank, in comparison to 55% of millennials, according to an HSBC survey. Gen Zers are also more likely to seek financial advice: 80%, in comparison to 60% of Baby Boomers and 64% of Gen X investors.
New Fintechs Making Smart Finance Easier than ever
New fintech’s are responding to this newfound financial maturity of Gen Z by making saving and investment more accessible via digital apps. Rather than just targeting parent-controlled digital wallets at the Gen Z audience, startups are most successful when facilitating safe, but successful, financial freedom for young people. Gen Z targeted neobanks, such as GoHenry and Revolut, as well as Step in the U.S. have gained particular traction. Investing apps like Robinhood and Webull are also popular with young people, enabling them to trade stocks and cryptocurrencies with no fees. These new platforms are helping Gen Z to realise their potential as the most financially savvy generation yet.


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Weekly Wire for July 22: Tesla’s “Master Plan,” FCA’s Suspect Sales Numbers and Fernando Alonso’s Gripes With F1
Tesla is seemingly shooting from the hip (again), FCA might be screwed (again), and Alonso is oh-so-bored.
This week, Tesla announces its Master Plan, Part Deux, which includes a defense of Autopilot, plus plans for a semi truck and a mini bus. Embattled Fiat Chrysler Automobiles gets a knock on the door from both the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission over suspicion of fudged sales numbers, perhaps linked to allegations from a civil lawsuit earlier this year that the company paid dealers to falsify New Vehicle Delivery reports. And finally, two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso expresses frustration and boredom with the sport that made him a superstar, saying the current tire strategy and overall package make driving the car too easy, and doesn't allow drivers to "attack."
MORE TO READ
Drive Wire for July 21, 2016: Russian Spies Banished to Siberia for Hooning Mercedes G-Wagens
Rolling deep in blacked out pricey SUVs; good for rich folks, bad for covert spies.
Drive Wire for July 20, 2016: Is Tesla Motors Changing Its Name and Mission?
Small changes and strategic moves suggest a future that could expand beyond cars.
Drive Wire for July 19, 2016: VW’s Fixed Diesels Still Won’t Be Clean Enough
Carmaker will be forced to pay billions to environmental causes to make up for the discrepancy.
Drive Wire for July 18, 2016: Australians Want Ford to Remove the Focus RS’s Drift Mode
Hooning is not just discouraged Down Under—it’s also very illegal.


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Dining on delicious food, drinks, and snacks you can’t get anywhere else is part of the fun of a Walt Disney World vacation. But, if you don’t plan accordingly, you can easily overextend your budget. While it may be worth it to indulge in the delicious delights at Disney, planning ahead can help you stick to a good budget and not get heartburn when you look back at your vacation spending.[Read more…]
Today, the Universal Orlando Resort theme parks fully opened to all. Universal is the first of Orlando’s big three to embark on these socially-distant and lower capacity openings. We went from park open to park close to truly feel what its like to have fun in the new theme park normal. Spoiler, it was one of the best days we have ever had at the Universal parks.[Read more…]
Aunt Polly’s, a seasonally operated quick-service location on Tom Sawyer Island, will be open for a limited time this month at Magic Kingdom park.
After only just opening nearly two years ago, PizzeRizzo at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is transitioning to seasonal operation until further notice.
This past week, mobile ordering has expanded to four additional quick-service dining locations at the Disneyland Resort – bringing the new total to more than 20 participating locations.
We discover the best quick-service restaurants in the Walt Disney World resorts at all three levels; Value, Moderate, and Deluxe. [Read more…]
Walt Disney World has released new details on the expansion of Centertown Market and a new poolside bar coming to Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, including new Caribbean-inspired menu offerings.
For the first time since the park opened in October of 2011, Legoland Florida Resort will serve locally brewed craft beer in the park’s new quick service restaurant starting Sept. 24.
Disney Parks Blog has revealed new details today on two dining locations coming as part of the renovations to Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort.


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The difference between big data and fast data
Big data, long an industry buzzword, is now commonplace among most businesses. A 2014 survey from Gartner found 73 percent of organizations had already invested or planned to invest in big data by 2016. For many companies, the question now is not how to manage and harness data, but how to do it even more effectively. The next frontier for big data is to master speed. If you can’t analyze big data in real time, you lose much of the value of the information passing through databases.
What is fast data?
While big data refers to the massive fire hose of information generated each hour, fast data refers to data that provides real-time insights. In many industries, especially the payment industry, making quick analyses of information is crucial to the bottom line. For example, fast data could prevent a massive breach that would release sensitive customer information. In this case, analyzing data in real time is far more important than storing it in massive quantities. When it comes to ecommerce fraud, the insights happening in the moment matter the most.
As a Wired article put it, where in the past, gaining insights from big data was like finding a needle in a haystack, fast data is like finding the needle as soon as it’s dropped.
Fast data for payments
“For payment systems, decisions must be made in the sub-second range,” Richard Harris, head of international operations at Feedzai, recently told Payment Cards and Mobile. “Our clients typically require 20-50 millisecond response times. So we’ve overcome this by using technology founded in the Big Data era, such as Hadoop and Cassandra.”
Payment processor First Data and Feedzai has teamed up to use machine learning to fight fraud. Feedzai monitors the company’s STAR Network, which enables debit payments for First Data’s clients.
Todd Clark, Senior Vice President and Head of STAR Network and Debit Processing at First Data explained “The combination of Feedzai’s machine learning software and First Data’s experience, [Clark says], has made the STAR Network capable of scoring over 3,000 transactions per second.”
“This big speed and accuracy advantage means the STAR network is less of an attractive target for fraud,” Harris said.
Not all systems are set up to handle fast data. Without the right tools to manage the data flow quickly, valuable insights are lost or gained too late to be of use. While many existing platforms can handle and store large quantities of data, most fall behind when it comes to analyzing the information in real time. To begin with, organizations need to move beyond systems that only allow batch processing, according to Wired. In this case, companies need to tell computers to analyze large batches of information, which it processes one at a time – similar to the way credit card bills are processed at the end of each month.
With most companies now set up to gain insights from big data, the next step is to enable real-time insights. In the payment world, this means catching potential fraud as it’s happening, not waiting until it has already happened.
Latest posts by Indigo Wilmann (see all)
- Payments, Friction, Customer Service, and Fraud - July 18, 2020
- Feedzai AI: Tech Achievements in 2019 to make banking and commerce safe - January 28, 2020
- Money 20/20: 5 Key Insights from Feedzai’s Financial Crime and Tech Summit - November 25, 2019
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BMW Hydrogen Limousine...
With the entire world becoming more environmentally conscious, limousine manufacturers are being forced to think of new and more fuel efficient options for their large and luxurious limousines.
Since limousines spend much of their life driving around our cities and suburbs, they are significant contributors to the pollution in our skies. Therefore, many limousine manufacturers have developed limousines which run on alternative fuels such as compressed natural gas. However, BMW have gone into the production of hydrogen limousines, to be released next year.
The hydrogen BMW will be part of the 7-series BMWs and with the concept first being presented by BMW in 2000, the new zero-emissions limousine is set to hit the streets in 2007. The hydrogen limousine has a V12 engine which can run on both gas and hydrogen and can switch automatically when one fuel is running low.
While the new BWM limousine only runs at 231 horsepower, the aim is to move towards cars and limousines which run on a sustainable and environmentally friendly fuel source.
While the hydrogen limousines have a large fuel tank which takes up much of the space in the boot, the new BMW limousines will be originally created for small fleets, and depending on the response, will be expanded to a larger market.
The BMW hydrogen engines were also put to the test in a BWM race car and the BMW Hydrogen Racer H2R reached speeds over 300km/h and set nine records. While the hydrogen BMW racer has only one seat and can reach mind boggling speeds, it also paved the way for the BMW hydrogen limousine to offer a more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly luxury transport solution.
For more information about BMW or environmentally friendly limousines for hire in your area, contact Limo Broker now.


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As the U.S. House and Senate negotiate a final tax bill, it is likely to include a lot of tax terms and jargon, which are important for taxpayers to understand. MWE’s Lance Christensen spoke with Consumer Reports to explain the alternative minimum tax (AMT), consumer price index, exemptions, pass-through entities, state and local taxes (SALT).
Experts say losing the AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax) could reduce the taxes many households pay. But for other taxpayers, the change may not offset the loss of other tax breaks, such as the deductibility of most state and local taxes.
“Depending on the individual’s personal situation, this could have an impact up or down,” says Lance Christensen, a tax partner at Margolin, Winer & Evens, an accounting and business firm based in New York. Read More>>>


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Microsoft’s Xbox successor may launch in 2020Microsoft is already done with all its major announcements for E3 2018 but the ripple effect seems to be still existing. We heard the Redmond-based tech firm working with EA to bring new gaming service but a new report now talks about the next-gen console that is likely to come as a successor to the firm’s current Xbox One gaming console.
Ubisoft launches Assassin’s Creed Odyssey at E3 2018: Everything we know so farUbisoft, a popular game developer and publisher widely known for its Assassin’s Creed series, as expected took the lid off from its new instalment in the line-up – Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. The title was teased last week itself but was unveiled in all its glory at the ongoing E3 2018 conference. Fans will be able to get their hands on the title starting October 5 on Xbox One, Sony PlayStation 4 and PC.
This may be Google's next big bet in the hardware industryGoogle might be planning to try its luck in the console market with subscription-based gaming. The search giant, which is not quite successful in the smartphone, tablet or speaker industry for now, could soon be locking horns with Microsoft and Sony as the duo are major players in the particular field. By extension it may also be going against Apple, Nintendo and Amazon.
20 years of GTA: The series that reigns supremeTwenty years ago this month Grand Theft Auto or better known as GTA was released for the first time. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that action- adventure games have never been the same since then.
Team liquid wins biggest e-sports tournamentThe free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena, Dota 2 finally has a winner. Team Liquid has won the international e-sports tournament and was rewarded with a grand prize of $10.7 million.


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Bulgaria is ready to double the subsidies it offers in order to secure the contract for the new Volkswagen plant, the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes in an exclusive material. "We have found a way to offer the Volkswagen Group 250 to 260 million euros instead of 135 million euros," former head of state Rosen Plevneliev told F.A.Z.
Prime Minister Boyko Borissov opened in Pazardjik a plant for production of automotive parts of the German company Kostal.
The ceremony was also attended by the Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev, the Minister of Finance Vladislav Goranov, the President / 2012 - 2017 / Rosen Plevneliev, the Mayor of Pazardzhik Todor Popov and the management of the company.
The possible construction of a new car factory in the future in our country has given rise to a serious conflict between two presidents. Rumen Radev and Rosen Plevneliev entered into a dispute as to who has merit for the possible choice of our country as an investment place for the Volkswagen giant.
A lasting sustainable peace is only achievable when we reach the hearts of young people and when we give way not to the interests but to the principles, said Rosen Plevneliev, President of Bulgaria from 2012 to 2017, at the conference "NATO membership - the key to The European Union "in Sofia, organized by the Atlantic Council on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of NATO and 15 years since t


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THE most interesting aspect of recent coverage of Microsoft’s apparent U-turn on Windows 8 was how little there was.
Further down the Pacific coast, Apple has only to sneeze to send the technology media into overdrive – and the fact that what could be the biggest marketing misfire since the invention of “New Coca-Cola” left them cold is proof (if proof were needed) that Windows is yesterday’s news.
If you missed it, Microsoft responded to “user feedback” by changing “key aspects” of the operating system it launched last October. The most telling feedback is how few bothered to buy it.
The absence of the customary Windows Start button, present on all versions since 1995, is cited as the problem because it creates a learning curve that users don’t want. However it’s more fundamental – Microsoft is making the mistakes of the UK motor industry of the 1970s, pushing out endless new trims on the Austin Allegro when what drivers really wanted was a Volkswagen.
The company’s dominance has been eroded away by the advent of devices – tablets and even phones – that do most of what the average home PC user requires and more besides. And, they do it in user-friendlier ways, with completely re-thought operating systems by Apple and Google. Set against those, Windows seems about as relevant as an old Allegro.
That doesn’t mean that Windows or Microsoft is going away any time soon – but it does mean that traditional Windows PCs will increasingly become work devices, like photocopiers and water coolers. Useful, but not for a home study. Figures confirm that people simply don’t want PCs as much: January-March sales were down 14 per cent, their sharpest decline on record. In that period, sales of tablets outstripped PCs for the first time.
So today’s consideration is not whether to buy Windows 8 – obviously not – but whether to bother with its successor, codenamed Windows Blue and expected to be released later this year as a free upgrade to early Windows 8 adopters. Microsoft is being tight-lipped on what it will bring – a Start button is possible – but it may be little more than a roll-back to earlier Windows. My upgrade advice is to think carefully about what you really need a home PC to do – and then consider whether a tablet would be better.


text: GM's 18% gain in profits from $1.92 billion the prior year catches many by surprise. GM's perennially ailing North American Operations (NAO) gets credit for much of the turnaround, posting a hefty 37% gain in profits to $880 million (includingAutomotive Systems parts operations), up from $641 million. "That's very gratifying, especially in light of the fact volume was down," says Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer J. Michael Losh. He adds that he remains cautiously optimistic about the second half. GM is sticking to its sales forecast of 15.3 million vehicles for 1995 -- implying a stronger final six months, although other experts are far more bearish (see Forecast feature, p.31). GM's forecast "is probably something that is more realistic than it would have been 90 days ago, because we have seen the market strengthen in the past 60 days," Mr. Losh tells Ward's. Mr. Losh also sees GM reversing its market-share slide, predicting it'll rise from the current 32.3% hunk. The gains will result from greater availability of Cavalier/Sunfire J-cars and an increase in deliveries to fleets -- GM fleet sales normally spike in the third quarter. Fleets accounted for 23.8% of GM car sales and 13.2% of truck sales during the three-month period.


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PlayStation 5 Philippine launching on Dec. 11
The PS5 with an Ultra HD Blu-ray™ disc drive will be available for P27,990. With titles such as Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, and Demon’s Souls, the breadth of unique gaming experiences coming to PS5 represent the best lineup in PlayStation history. Exclusive titles from SIE Worldwide Studios will be priced at launch from P2,490 to P3,490 on PS5. SIE also announced the price for the following accessories that will launch alongside the PS5 console: DualSense™ Wireless Controller (standalone) – P3,990 PULSE 3D™ wireless headset – with 3D audio support and dual noise-cancelling microphones P 5,590 HD Camera – with dual 1080p lenses for gamers to broadcast themselves along with their epic gameplay moments PHP 3,290 DualSense™ Charging Station – to conveniently charge two DualSense Wireless Controllers P1,690
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NEFTiPEDiA is a next-generation decentralized NFT that enhances the growth of digital artists, creators, investors, and collectors of all marketplaces. It supports the investors by offering Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) in a commission-free platform. Predicting the future with blockchain and digital assets, NEFTiPEDiA created a healthy ecosystem through their products and services.
Moreover, the emerging hype for NFTs enabled NEFTiPEDiA (NFTi) to be listed on DsDaq Exchange. The cryptocurrency exchange platform provides an innovative crypto collateral trading system for users. Additionally, users can buy, trade, and withdraw NEFTiPEDiA (NFTi) on DsDaq which starts on these dates:
- Deposit: June 25th, 2021 at 11:00 AM (UTC+8)
- Trading: June 25th, 2021 at 05:00 PM (UTC+8)
- Withdrawal: June 26th, 2021 at 11:00 AM (UTC+8)
- Trading pair: NFTi/USDT.
Furthermore, the current price of the NEFTiPEDiA token is $0.0215. Notably, NEFTiPEDiA targets to reach $1 tokens by the end of 2022. The token will soon be listed on top crypto exchanges. The token listing on exchanges will provide solutions for people who wonder how to buy the NEFTiPEDiA tokens.
NEFTiPEDiA Current ICO Project
NEFTiPEDiA recently launched its ICO to build the platform for the wide-scale NFT marketplace. Through the launch, it is recorded that lots of users are enjoying the ongoing ICO.
Additionally, the platform blocked a total of 250,000,000 $NFT tokens for the ICO launch. And in which 393,383 token sales have been completed. Moreover, the ICO launch made Crypto investors experience non-fungible tokens as a remarkable choice for long-term investments.
Thus, ICO is expected to end in 36 days, after which winners of the ICO event will be announced and rewarded.
NEFTiPEDiA’s Successful Airdrop Event
NEFTiPEDiA organized and conducted an airdrop event of a total of $3 worth of NFT tokens to airdrop participants. Users were simply guided to complete simple social tasks, and follow all of NEFTiPEDiA’s social media platforms.
In addition, NEFTiPEDiA announces verified users will earn rewards of $3 worth of NFT tokens within 3 days after the completion of ICO. More so, NEFTiPEDiA successfully ended the airdrop event reaching beyond the target of 30,000 participants. In which, 25K users have already collected their airdrop rewards.
Therefore, with high technological achievements and innovative ideas, NEFTiPEDiA gains popularity in the marketplace. Besides, there are high chances for NEFTiPEDiA to hit the market and fulfill its project beyond milestones.
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- Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/NEFTiPEDiA
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKyOytGgISphWySQj0i3FKA
Disclaimer: This is a paid post and should not be treated as news/advice.


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Just after our current website went live last February, one of our first posts was about U.S. companies on a shopping spree in Europe, buying everything from novelty AI apps to lingerie.
We thought it was fitting to follow up at Christmas time with an update because the Americans – especially tech companies – are still stuffing money into the g-strings of the prettiest EuroTech companies like drunken NBA rookies at a Vegas strip club.
But instead of consumer-facing retailers such as high street lingerie retailer Hunkemöller, the U.S. tech giants are stripping Europe of most of its gee-whiz next-gen tech.
Wired has a new post with the click-baity headline, “This one chart reveals how many European firms have been bought by Apple, Amazon and Alphabet” that basically rifts on just one chart from the “State of European Tech” report just released by Atomico.
From that post by Victoria Woollaston:
In total, between 2011 to 2016, there were 52 acquisitions by the top five US tech titans – namely Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft and Facebook. Alphabet has led the way, with 16 including mail app Sparrow in 2012, AI experts at Dark Blue Labs in 2014, drawElements and DeepMind in 2014 and most recently, Moodstocks. Microsoft bought Skype back in 2011 and most recently acquired MinecraftEDU, SwitftKey and IoT platform Solair.
Facebook has concentrated on photo and recognition software, mainly, and in the past five years has bought Lightbox, Face.com, Moves App, Surreal Vision and spatial audio firm Two Big Ears which seemingly complements its previous acquisition of Oculus, among others.
Here in Eindhoven, we’re living it, with the $43 billion purchase in October of local chipmaker NXP by Qualcomm. That’s only one deal.
Just the list of Amazon acquisitions in Europe is amazing. The Seattle-based e-tailer (or whatever Amazon is this week) just this year acquired Cloud9IDE, a Dutch/American firm that creates cloud-based development tools; Colis Prive, a French delivery/logistics company and NICE, an Italian company that builds remote visualization software for monitoring high performance and technical computing.
Alphabet/Google acquired France-based Moodstocks, a company transforming photo technology into smart sensors.
If you assign a super-conservative (and arbitrary) value of $100 million on each acquisition, we’re willing to bet the data farm that U.S. companies have bought up at least $100 billion in advanced European technology since 2010.
HBR: EU fighting a war with Google it can’t win
Speaking of Google, the Mountain View, Calif.-based search engine/advertising monolith is going head-to-head with European Commission regulators accusing Google of many, many things including giving its e-tailers unfair search advantages, thwarting competitors by allowing its AdSense ad-placement service to block competing search advertisements and using Android OS to crush phone manufacturers and mobile networks.
In short, accusing the company whose actual official corporate motto used to be “don’t be evil” of being the source of all digital evil in the universe.
Harvard Business Review has a post, “Google vs. the EU Explains the Digital Economy,” explaining how Google versus the EU explains the digital economy. (This is Harvard, not BuzzFeed, so give ’em a break.)
Just like the American cherry picking of Europe’s best tech, Google’s tussle with EU regulators is part of a war for global dominance. And no one is betting on the EU.
From the HBR post by Bala Iyer and U. Srinivasa Rangan:
Given that Google has a European market share of more than 90% in general internet search services, licensable smart mobile operating systems and app stores for the Android mobile operating system, E.U. antitrust authorities seem to believe that Google needs to be policed from stifling innovation in the marketplace.
Good luck with that.
The showdown is over the U.S. vision of competition benefitting consumers versus the European ideal of a level playing field advancing technological innovation. What the Europeans don’t want to see is a repeat of when Microsoft – through pricing strategies and informal deals – monopolized the operating systems on PCs.
The problem for EU legislators is that American tech companies own every tranche of what’s termed “the mobile industry stack” – the layers of integrated technology starting with smart phone apps and operating systems and ending with manufacturing. Sometimes Google, Apple and Microsoft compete, and sometimes they collaborate. But they always win.
Remember when Ericsson and Nokia dominated wireless devices? Good times!
The problem for regulators mired in ossified bureaucracy is, those corporate relationships and the ecosystems they shape are increasingly fluid as innovation approaches light speed. The only way for the EU to achieve “dynamic efficiency,” Iyer and Rangan write, is to get out of the way.
London No. 1 on European Digital City Index
The European Digital City Index was released earlier this month, a project funded in part by the European Union. The EDCI ranks European cities by how well they support digital entrepreneurship. And when we say “support,” EDCI tries to quantify elements such as access to capital and digital infrastructure, along with subjective abstractions such as quality of life … sort of like we did with our own list of the five best European cities for expats.
The EDCI Top 10 includes all the usual suspects, including London at No. 1.
The Top 10 are:
We have to say we felt a bit vindicated to see our unheralded headquarters of Eindhoven at No. 26, just behind Frankfurt and one ahead of Utrecht.
Unlike a lot of the rankings and research the EU cranks out, this is legit. When we looked at the methodology, it included collecting hard data from Eurostat and the World Bank, as well as “soft data” scraped from startup meet-up websites, APIs and non-public databases such as VC and investment websites. Well done!
Here’s the link to see more granular detail about their data and how they crunched it.
Mercifully brief briefs
• Paris startups at Station F
We first mentioned this so long ago that even we forgot about it. But it appears Xavier Niel is still pushing Paris as Europe’s next startup capital … and putting serious money behind what is being marketed as the world’s largest startup campus. Bloomberg is reporting Niel, who made a fortune with an ISP in the early days of the Internet, has invested $268 million in creating Station F, a 366,000-square-foot startup space in the center of Paris. Renting a desk at Station F when it opens next year will cost 195 euros per month … nearly free in a city with crazy rents.
• The Netherlands to invade Vegas
StartupDelta special envoy Constantijn van Oranje, who’s a prince of some sort (we can’t figure out the Dutch royalty), will lead a delegation of 30 Dutch tech startups to the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas next month. The 2017 CES will be the first time the Netherlands will host a Dutch Startup Pavilion at CES, with 30 featured startups.


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Amid controversy, Lagniappes runs Kickstarter for food truck
blog by Ben Tsujimoto • October 11, 2012 @ 2:46pm
The French Quarter Cafe, known informally as Lagniappes, has embraced the popularity of Buffalo’s food trucks and is raising money full-bore to afford a mobile food vehicle. Through its success vending late-night Lucky Dogs and dinner-time po’ boys—as well as its annual Gator Roast—head chef Chris Silverstein’s business is on the move—maybe literally.
Using Kickstarter, the same fundraising tool that Lloyd Taco Truck employed to crowd-source a down payment for Lloyd Dos, the French Quarter Cafe is a modest $865 into reaching its goal of $12,500. If you’d like to donate, this is the page to do so.
There are several different tiers of rewards in the Kickstarter campaign, with a minimum $10 donation earning a signature on the French Quarter Cafe truck up to a pledge of $2,500+ ending in a trip to New Orleans with Silverstein to hunt gators. Lagniappes t-shirts, bar engravings, mascot gator heads and more are other rewards.
With 36 days remaining in the Kickstarter campaign, Silverstein has already narrowed down his truck design to two choices—a trolley car and a double-decker bus. Buffalo Rising’s Newell Nussbaumer crafted a post detailing the two designs here—photos are included as well.
“The St. Charles Streetcar screams New Orleans,” Silverstein said, “but I also really like the idea of having seating up top,” referring to the advantages of the double-decker option.
When asked to describe his menu—if the funding campaign is successful—Silverstein emphasized that it would largely be driven by customer preference, but would absolutely feature Lagniappes’ favorites like po’ boys and gumbo.
“I want to hear feedback from the [Kickstarter] backers,” Silverstein said in an interview earlier this week. “I want the customers to be a big part of the decision-making.”
Since he’ll be tending to the French Quarter Cafe himself, Silverstein plans to hire a local chef who’s opened several good-name restaurants in the area. Because he has yet to reach out, Silverstein asked that the name not be released.
Should you support the French Quarter Cafe’s push for a Lagniappes food truck? Some tweeters aren’t so sure, especially considering how Lagniappes’ owner Chris Silverstein has allegedly treated food trucks in the past.
Read this Twitter sequence from bottom to top (sorry!):
The night of drama was April 28, when the Whole Hog and Lloyd Taco Truck both setup shop on Allen Street, the former in the parking lot of Holley Farms Market and the latter on the property of Allen Street Hardware. Stories vary on why the police were called, but Lloyd Taco Truck was told that it couldn’t vend from its spot on Allen, so sous chef Teddy Bryant relocated to Thirsty Buffalo on Elmwood Avenue.
Harkening back to that night, Silverstein recalled the situation, explaining a yelling match between the Whole Hog and Lloyd Taco Truck, adding his hunch that it was the Whole Hog who called the police on Lloyd out of fear of competition. “Why is it automatically my fault?” Silverstein wondered in light of the recent social media firestorm.
Still, Silverstein admitted his past dissatisfaction with unlicensed food trucks parking near his restaurant at 220 Allen St.
“We had one food truck show up two years ago that wasn’t licensed, didn’t have a permit and had no health license—nothing at all,” Silverstein said, referring to the Whole Hog’s well-publicized debut. “I had to wait three months for all my permits to get finalized [for Lagniappes]. I have no problem with licensed food trucks—I started off my food business with hot dog carts, after all—but they need to play by the rules.”
Placing a phone call to Kathleen Haggerty, owner of the Whole Hog, this afternoon, she recounted April 28 a little differently than Silverstein’s hunch:
“I thought it was inconsiderate that Pete [Cimino] and Chris [Dorsaneo] (co-owners of Lloyd Taco Truck) didn’t warn me that they’d be parking near me that night,” she said. “But no, I would never call the police on them or try to hurt Pete or Chris.”
“There needs to be respect for each other among food trucks,” Haggerty continued. “I’m on very good terms with Pete and Chris, and I don’t want them to see this as a facade. We should be working together—I just want to serve, work and rock ‘n’ roll.”
Tracing back through social media to April 28, here’s the exchange between Lloyd Taco Truck and Lagniappes.
For more of the argument that’s reignited today, take a look at the comments section of Nussbaumer’s Buffalo Rising article.
In our chat, Haggerty said that most of the feuds between the food trucks are “water under the bridge,” and in a lot of cases, this may be true. Still, by sifting through the information and arguments above, would you support the Lagniappes food truck campaign? The decision is yours.


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Credit Card Interest Rates Stir Concern: Consumer Group Charges They're Unjustifiably High
Trigaux, Robert, American Banker
WASHINGTON -- Are the high rates charged on consumers' credit card balances justified? Concern over this issue is catching on here, with a new report out this week and a congressional hearing on the subject slated for late October.
High interest rates charged on consumer credit card outstandings and other loans have remained virtually unchanged since 1980, while rates paid by banks and commercial borrowers have fallen nearly 50%, a consumer group charged Monday.
According to a report released by the Consumer Federation of America, interest rates charged on credit cards have increased in recent years -- fluctuating between record high averages of 18.71% and 18.85% -- while the prime and discount rates have dropped. Today, the report said, the prime rate is 9.5% and the discount rate 7.5%.
Alan Fox, the legislative representative for the Consumer Federation and the report's author, said in an interview that his organization plans to urge Congress to consider requiring banks to improve disclosure of credit card rates and to further investigate the unequal rates charged to consumers and businesses.
"Over the last 10 to 12 years, at various points in the last year or two the gap between consumer rates and the prime rate has been among the highest," Mr. Fox said Monday.
In Congress, hearings are scheduled for Oct. 29 by the House Banking subcommittee on consumer affairs to explore the issue of consumer credit card rates.
Last Friday, Rep. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., introduced a bill that would require the Federal Reserve to investigate the credit card market and determine whether the market is responding to competitive forces. If the Fed concludes that the market is not responsive to changes in interest rates, Mr. Schumer said, "a floating federal [interest rate] cap would be imposed on credit card interest rates." A rate ceiling of six points over a three-month Treasury bill rate would go into effect under Mr. Schumer's legislation.
Similar legislation introduced by Rep. Mario Biaggi, D-N.Y., in February would place a credit card rate cap of five points over the discount rate.
In remarks before Congress last Friday, Mr. Schumer said that competition "has had some effect.
"Banks are competing for customers by offering lower annual fees, rebates, and prestige cards. But basic price competition has been virtually nonexistent."
The report by the Consumer Federation of America, which calls itself a coalition of more than 200 "pro-consumer" organizations, makes these other points:
* Federal Reserve figures show card rates charged by commercial banks averaged 17.8% in August 1981 and climbed to 18.7% a year later while the prime rate dropped to 15% and the discount rate fell to 11%. Since then, while the prime and discount rates fell further, credit card rates fluctuated between record highs of 18.71% and 18.85%.
* August 1981 rates for personal loans averaged 18.5% and climbed three months later to 19.2%. Since then, rates have dropped to just over 16% -- a three-point decline, compared to an 11-point prime rate drop and a 6.5-point fall in the discount rate.
* High annual card fees, high rates, and "dramatically increasing levels of debt" suggest that there is "no adequately functioning market mechanism to hold down the cost of many forms of consumer credit."
Mr. Fox said that consumers are not sensitive to price differences in credit cards "because they are not made aware of price differences. I think institutions would pick up customers if they" advertised less expensive credit card products. …


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Starting a Farm in an Urban Food Desert
East Chattanooga is a “food desert.” There aren’t any supermarkets in the neighborhood, and many of the people live on processed foods from fast food restaurants and convenience markets. Joel Tippens is part of a group called Fair Share Urban Growers. The group has begun developing what they’re calling an “urban farm” on Roanoke Avenue, across the street from the recently closed Harriet Tubman Housing Project. Their goal is to teach a new generation how to grow their own food. When Richard Winham visited the farm recently, he found Joel Tippens busily preparing for the coming growing season.


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Union LA has unveiled their Air Jordan 2 “Future Is Now” collection. The Air Jordan team wanted to immerse into the theme of future utopia and Chris Gibbs and his team took on that challenge, highlighting LA-based individuals and organizations who are working towards that.
This capsule has produced the “Rattan” and “Grey Fog” Air Jordan 2 colorways presented with Union tabs and influenced by flight jackets and pants.
In addition to the sneakers, the LA-based streetwear retailer has created Crater Slides and collaborative apparel in similar colorways. It features nylon cardigans and pants, pullover hoodies, crewnecks, tees, sweatpants, shorts, socks, and hats.
Priced at $225, Union LA X Air Jordan will be releasing the kicks through a raffle for LA residents only. Winners were announced on April 10.


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Post campus reinvented Tricera Capital of Miami has unveiled its concept for The Press, a redevelopment of the Palm Beach Post’s 11-acre campus, which includes the 125,000-square-foot Shops at the Press and the 140,000-square-foot Workspaces at the Press. The Post is keeping 35,000 square feet.
New school for Westlake The city of Westlake has approved International Sports Training Facility, a pre-kindergarten-through-12th-grade private school being developed by Coral Springs-based Contraria Development and SOCR Ventures II.
Drive Shack opens Drive Shack, which offers golf gaming, food and drinks, has opened at 1710 Belvedere Road, West Palm Beach.
Marina talks underway The Riviera Beach Community Redevelopment Agency has begun negotiations with APD Solutions Real Estate Group and Tezral Partners, two minority firms, for the development of phase 2 of the Riviera Beach Marina.
Boutique condos completed FA Partners and One Sotheby’s International Realty announced that 111 First Delray Beach, a complex with 66 luxury condominium residences, is 75 percent sold and ready for occupancy at 111 SE First Ave. Prices start in the high $400,000s.
Avalon Trails under construction 13th Floor Homes has started construction of its first homes at Avalon Trails, a 217-villa, active-adult community at 14800 Cumberland Drive, Delray Beach. Prices start in the $300,000s.
Helping personal development Brain Balance Achievement Centers, which identifies the root causes of social, emotional and academic challenges, has opened at 5420 Donald Ross Road, No. 105, in Palm Beach Gardens.
Recognition for Colin Brown Colin Brown, chairman of JM Family Enterprises, will be inducted into the Dream Makers Society, which recognizes supporters of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County, during the 14th annual Boca Raton Concours d’Elegance, presented by Mercedes-Benz and AutoNation, Feb. 7-9 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club.
PurWell opens new office PurWell, which provides pure, natural hemp oil CBD products to promote general health and wellness, has expan
Serena & Lily opening Serena & Lily, a home collection featuring bedding, furniture, décor and nursery items, plans a December opening for its design shop at 101 N. County Road, Palm Beach.


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People are drinking fewer alcoholic drinks, according to a new industry report tracking consumption worldwide.
Beer sales continued to slide last year and the trend towards cider sipping stalled.
The global market for all alcoholic drinks contracted 1.3% in 2016, driven by a 1.8% fall in beer sales, the International Wine and Spirits Record (IWSR) found.
Cider sales went in reverse, down 1.5% after several years of growth.
The overall contraction of international alcohol sales is far greater than the average dip of 0.3% in the previous five years.
The IWSR market report for 2016 found global wine sales to be relatively flat, down 0.1% and spirits consumption grew 0.3%.
UK gin makers could be boosted as the so-called gin revival continued, with sales of the iconic British tipple up 3.7% globally.
Although global GDP increased 3.5% in 2016, according to the IMF, and economic growth usually correlates with increased alcohol consumption several major economies, China, Russia and Brazil all faced an economic slowdown or recession.
Beer sales in China fell 4.2%, were down 5.3% in Brazil and dipped 7.8% in Russia.


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| Nov 14, 2013
| 12:21 AM
DHAKA, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Bangladeshi garment factory owners
said on Thursday they had agreed to a proposed 77 percent rise
in the minimum wage, reversing an earlier stance, but police
used tear gas and rubber bullets to break up new protests by
| Oct 29, 2013
| 9:13 AM
Tom Chappell has a consumer product business with a strategic formula he thinks will work: Take an everyday item and remake it from scratch, in the USA, using premium ingredients that are environmentally friendly and healthier for the user.
| Oct 31, 2013
| 12:32 PM
Julianne Hough, a white actress, darkens her gorgeous mug, dresses up as a black TV character she admires, and apologizes after she is subjected to an Internet backlash.
Some white idiots in Italy put on blackface for a fashion industry Halloween party....
| Sep 17, 2013
| 1:19 PM
Southern California-based brands account for half the lineup in an upcoming "Americans in Paris" initiative organized by the Council of Fashion Designers of America and Vogue magazine and sponsored by Tommy Hilfiger.
Past West Coast CFDA/Vogue Fashion...
| Oct 19, 2013
| 2:17 PM
There's a dirty secret in the recycling world, Phil Tepfer says — there's not enough demand for those soda and shampoo bottles and yogurt cups that folks so carefully clean and sort.
Tepfer's business, in a small way, is trying to change that....
| Oct 18, 2013
| 12:16 PM
The Olsen twins have made a new name for themselves in the fashion industry with their luxury brand the Row, but Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen actually sashayed into the world of fashion at a much earlier age when they donned designer duds on the set of...
| Oct 18, 2013
| 6:20 AM
When the Warren Corp. mill ends production in Stafford at the end of this year, it will silence the last looms in eastern Connecticut, a region built on the strength of its textile, thread and yarn mills and clothing manufacturers.
The mill, built in...
| Jul 13, 2013
| 6:00 AM
Novelist Danielle Steel, 65, had a passion for fashion even before she got her hands on her first Hermes Kelly bag, a gift from her grandmother, at age 17.
A regular on the bestseller list, with more than 600 million books sold since her first title...
| Sep 5, 2013
| 3:05 PM
It's time to look at this fall's hot new fashions. I heard you've been feeling good about yourself and it's time to take you down a notch.
Have you seen any of these clothes? We are told that "houndstooth is the new black." How many of you want to...
| Sep 5, 2013
| 12:30 AM
On the eve of New York Fashion Week, the elite of both the fashion and entertainment industries gathered inside Lincoln Center's exclusive Mercedes Benz tents for the 10th annual Style Awards.
Sony Pictures Classics' co-topper Tom Bernard along with...
| Aug 2, 2013
| 12:41 PM
The spring and summer 2014 Tommy Hilfiger menswear collection won't be showing on the New York Fashion Week runway in September, reports fashion industry trade paper Women's Wear Daily.
According to WWD, the label has decided to forgo the traditional...


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- Global beauty giant, Amorepacific entering the Philippines market
- Its global brands — innisfree and LANEIGE — make their official debut after the establishment of a local branch office
- Amorepacific moving ahead with its vision of becoming a Great Company through business expansion in the ASEAN region
SEOUL, South Korea and MANILA, the Philippines, Dec. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Global beauty giant Amorepacific announced its full-scale business expansion in the Philippines with its two global brands — innisfree and LANEIGE — as front-runners on December 13.
Amorepacific established Amorepacific Philippines in Metro Manila, the capital region of the Philippines, in August and opened the first store of its global naturalism beauty brand, innisfree, in SM Mall of Asia, the largest shopping mall in Manila, last month. This was then followed up with the official store opening of its global premium brand LANEIGE in SM Makati Department Store, the shopping hub of Manila, on December 13.
LANEIGE also entered the largest e-commerce channels in the Philippines including Lazada along with the opening of its bricks-and-mortar store to expand its online reach for customers all around the archipelago which consists of many islands. Its star products are the worldwide hit, Lip Sleeping Mask, ranked top in the lip category at Sephora US and Australia, as well as Water Sleeping Mask and Water Bank collection. LANEIGE plans to expand both its online and offline channels in 2019.
The Philippines with a population of over 107 million has great potential for growth. Amorepacific is particularly targeting the premium beauty market which is growing quickly along with the rising popularity of K-beauty. By expanding into this promising market, Amorepacific aims to strengthen its presence in the ASEAN region, which is one of the important strategic business regions for the company. Amorepacific has so far run its business successfully in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.
Amorepacific Group is the largest global beauty company in Korea with 73 years of history and is the leader of Korean beauty (also known as K-beauty), the hottest beauty trend in the world beyond North America, Europe and Asia. Ranked in the Forbes’ list of the 100 most innovative companies for four consecutive years, Amorepacific has been committed to developing customer-centered innovative technologies based on the corporate philosophy of Asian Beauty. The company has brought its original, innovative products to the world including cushion foundation, overnight mask(sleeping mask) and boosting serum, which have all created new beauty categories in the global beauty market and changed the beauty routine of women all around the world.
"We are glad to finally make our way into the Philippines market and respond to its increasing need for our brands. Through our differentiated, innovative products and premium brands, we will spread Asian Beauty across the Philippines and satisfy the local customers," said Robin Na, the head of Amorepacific ASEAN RHQ.
 Corporate philosophy to create a more beautiful world through harmony between inner and outer beauty based on a deep understanding of nature and humans, combined with Amorepacific’s original, innovative technology
Established in 1945, Amorepacific is the largest beauty company in Korea committed to spreading Asian Beauty across the world in the pursuit of harmony between humans and nature, and inner and outer beauty. With over 20 brands spanning beauty, personal care and health care, Amorepacific has led global beauty trends with top quality products combining natural Asian indigenous ingredients and advanced biotechnology through continuous R&D efforts for customers in Asia, North America, Europe and beyond.
Photo – https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20181212/2324678-1-a
Photo – https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20181212/2324678-1-b
Photo – https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20181212/2324678-1-c
Photo – https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20181212/2324678-1-d
Logo – https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20180416/2078707-1-logo


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By Monica Brand Engel
To say 2021 was a banner year for fintechs in Egypt is an understatement. The $159 million raised across 32 fintech companies last year was nearly a 330% increase over 2020, when $37.1 million was raised across 25 companies.
To help break down the drivers of Egypt’s fintech boom, and to explore two fintech models that have gained traction, Quona organized a webinar on March 23 with local and global investors Accion Venture Lab, Algebra Ventures, DisrupTech and Egyptian fintech and fintech-enabled companies Khazna and Capiter (both of which are Quona portfolio companies). Here’s what we covered:
What’s driving increased interest and funding in Egyptian fintech?
Sheer market size and growth: Egypt is the third largest population on the continent and second largest in terms of total GDP, with the fastest growth of any country on the continent in 2021.
Egypt’s young, digitally-savvy population: 75% of Egypt’s population of 110 million is under the age of 40, and over 50% of the population owns a smartphone. That, combined with the fact that 2/3 of Egyptians do not have access to formal financial services, creates a massive market opportunity for digital financial inclusion.
Progressive government and regulatory support: Egypt’s government has prioritized digital transformation across all sectors, passing laws to help facilitate digitization. In addition, Egypt’s regulators — the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) — have taken a progressive approach that is incentivizing digitization and enabling swift fintech innovation through a number of initiatives, including:
- Licensing approval from the FRA that gives third parties, including fintechs and fintech-enabled models, the ability to obtain lending and payments licenses, which are creating massive opportunities for embedded finance
- An instant payment network, i.e. InstaPay, launched recently with the CBE, enabling instant settlement of account-to-account funds transfers, an infrastructure fintechs can leverage
- Digital KYC infrastructure the CBE will be launching within the next 6 months to facilitate digital onboarding of customers
- Point of sale subsidization by the CBE, which, over the past two years, increased the amount of point of sale terminals in the country over 8x
- Increased funding through a CBE-supported, 1.3B EGP (USD 75M) fintech-focused fund that will accelerate the local fintech ecosystem
- Digital financial literacy education through CBE-driven programs like FinYology, which are building a customer pipeline for digital acceptance that will further expand the market for fintechs and enable customers to engage with fintech products in a meaningful way
The flywheel of recent unicorns and a second generation of founders. Digital payments company Fawry, which launched in 2008 and went public in 2019, was the first fintech company in Africa to go public through an IPO on Africa soil, and was a marked success for the ecosystem. Alumni of other MENA unicorns like SWVL are founding new fintech players — both VCs (like Disruptech) and companies (Telda and Capiter). Serial entrepreneurs and experienced teams are leveraging their experiences to build stronger, more sustainable companies.
COVID-19. Similar to other emerging markets, the global pandemic was a catalyst for digitization in Egypt at a rate never seen before, with 72% of surveyed Egyptians reporting they have become more digital during COVID.
Some of the rising fintech stars of Egypt are playing out fintech themes dominant in other geographies where Quona invests. The webinar focused on two of these trends: B2B e-commerce and superapps.
Capiter and B2B E-Commerce
About B2B E-commerce:
Embedded finance models — which integrate financial services to act as a catalyst for growth for the adjacent core business — are a dominant theme in Quona’s portfolio. For example, we’ve now invested in three B2B e-commerce models — Wasoko in Sub-Saharan Africa, which just raised a $125M Series B led by Tiger Global; Ula in Indonesia, which recently raised a $87M Series B with funding from Bezos Expedition Fund; and Capiter in Egypt, which raised a $33M Series a last year led by Quona and MSA — that have successfully integrated financial services to better serve the small merchants they target.
Founder: Capiter co-founder and CEO Mahmoud Nouh is a repeat entrepreneur who came from a logistics background before co-founding Egyptian mobility platform SWVL, which last week went public on NASDAQ— the first MENA tech company to be listed on the US exchange.
Description: Capiter is the leading B2B marketplace in Egypt, connecting small merchants with merchants and suppliers. Capiter is also the only B2B e-commerce player in Egypt that:
- Has a license from the CBE for lending and payments
- Operates outside of Cairo and in multiple verticals
- Has vertically integrated operations and is in discussions to expand through MENA
Pain points that B2B e-commerce is addressing in Egypt:
- Fragmented supply chain, felt by both small merchants and manufacturers. Small merchants in Egypt have to deal with an average of 40–50 manufacturers per week to order and receive their goods, which means extensive coordination, reporting, and travel for the merchants. Sellers and manufacturers (including international FMCGs) reach only a fraction [~ 20%] of the market due to this extensive fragmentation. Capiter solves this pain point for both parties by a) providing a one-stop mobile app for merchants for direct ordering and delivery of goods, and b) by unlocking the underserved market for manufacturers, who were previously unable to reach rural and remote areas in Egypt.
- Financial inclusion, as SMEs in Egypt face a $80 billion funding gap. Capiter, similarly to many embedded finance models, offers lending to its merchants to address this gap. The company, which was the first non-fintech company to receive a payments license from the CBE, is also rolling out payments through a Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) product, with the belief that integrating payments is critical to helping merchants understand the value of digital payments and building a complete e-commerce ecosystem that supports digitization across the entire supply chain.
- Lack of existing logistics infrastructure. According to Nouh, e-commerce includes three pillars: logistics, financing, and payments. Unlike many other markets, Egypt did not have established logistics infrastructure or third party logistics players that Capiter could plug into. So Capiter had to build this on its own, focusing from the beginning on building an automated, tech-enabled logistics platform. Capiter’s logistics strategy has become one of its core differentiators and has enabled the company to scale massively: though Capiter launched after other B2B e-commerce models in Egypt, it is the only one that has successfully moved outside of Cairo, now operating in 12 cities. Watch the webinar or this great overview of Capiter’s logistics and warehousing strategy to learn more.
What’s next for Capiter:
- Launching payment services within the next few months
- Leveraging automated logistics infrastructure to expand across the Middle East and Africa
Khazna and Financial SuperApps
Digital platforms globally are increasingly looking at repackaging themselves as super apps, combining different services or offerings into one app. What we saw initially in Southeast Asia with AliPay, GoJek, and Grab is now happening globally, as companies look to build sticky relationships with customers by layering on additional products or services on top of their core offerings. Quona’s portfolio is full of companies taking a page out of that playbook to broaden their service offering, and Khazna — which just raised a $38M Series A led by Quona — has taken a super app approach from the outset.
- Founder: Before starting Khazna, co-founder and CEO Omar Saleh worked in engineering and investing, and also led WorldRemit’s expansion into MENA.
- Description: Khazna empowers customers with a convenient, user-centric, and transparent financial super app so they have the opportunity to become financially independent.
Pain points that financial superapps are solving in Egypt:
- Large unbanked population, with over 50% of Egyptians banking informally. This population primarily uses cash, and, when they need to borrow money, go to their employers or friends and family. At the same time, most of this segment actively uses smartphones. Khazna is aiming to bridge that gap, providing a mobile experience to take informal, cash-driven experiences into the formal system. Khazna prides itself on its customer centricity and engagement and, through surveys, has found strong customer satisfaction around convenience, time and money savings, and financial independence.
- Banking infrastructure challenges. Egypt’s banks have made significant strides in financial inclusion, but typical branch models aren’t scaleable to the masses in emerging markets. Khazna sees this as an opportunity to build customer-centric, transparent experiences for typically underserved consumers. Khazna is acting on this opportunity, partnering with banks to provide infrastructure with the guidance of the CBE.
Khazna got its start with an Earned Wage Access product, which was driven by market research demonstrating that, in Egypt, employers were frequently providing cash loans to employees. Khazna set out to replace and digitize this process, and has since expanded to gig workers. Khazna has since added offerings such as BNPL — which is now available at over 1,000 merchant stores in Egypt — as well as bill payments and a pre-paid debit card.
Impact of regulatory support
Nclude, the CBE-sponsored fintech fund launched by three Egyptian banks, invested in Khazna’s Series A — marking one of the fund’s first investments. This vote of confidence is not the first tangible support that Khazna has received from regulators — CBE approval of Khazna’s pre-paid Meeza debit card was the first of its kind.
What’s next for Khazna:
- Doubling down on Egypt to increase Khazna’s user base to 1 million by the end of 2022
- Product expansion
- Team growth


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Updated: Jan 3, 2020
From strong roots comes the prospect of bountiful fruit. The first 30 years of Jobs Plus have laid the foundation for exciting economic development possibilities in Kootenai County this year. That was a theme during the Coeur d’Alene area economic development corporation’s annual meeting on Wednesday at The Coeur d’Alene Resort that honored the nonprofit’s 30-year history.
Gynii Gilliam, Jobs Plus president, said there are six “high probability” new business prospects led by the manufacturing sector that are an estimated six months to a year from making a final decision on landing in Kootenai County. Another announcement is imminent, she said.
“This is only a fraction of the job creation that is happening in our community,” Gilliam told about 365 people during the luncheon. “Hospitals, restaurants and retail continue to add personnel during this day of low unemployment rates.” Gilliam said in some cases, the owners of possible future companies here have already purchased homes.
Attracting business doesn’t happen overnight, Gilliam said. In keeping with the honoring history theme, she shared a story about recently speaking with a business owner who is leaning toward moving his company here.
“It turns out that Bob Potter (Jobs Plus’ first president) tried to recruit this company years ago, but it didn’t make the move because the business was at its peak,” she said. “Bob is no longer with us, but he’s still recruiting.


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"Intel management made it clear that their strategic focus is on their x86 microprocessor and that Itanium was nearing the end of its life," Oracle said in a statement.
However, Intel seems to remain commited to its plans for the Itanium processor.
"Intel's work on Intel Itanium processors and platforms continues unabated with multiple generations of chips currently in development and on schedule," said Paul Otellini, president and CEO of Intel Corporation "We remain firmly committed to delivering a competitive, multi-generational roadmap for HP-UX and other operating system customers that run the Itanium architecture."
Intel added that Poulson is Intel's next generation 32nm 8 core based Itanium chip, which is on track to more than double the performance of the existing Tukwila architecture. Kittson is also an officially committed roadmap product for Itanium beyond Poulson and is also in active development, Intel added. The company plans to highlight Itanium processor developing plans at the upcoming Beijing Intel Developer's Forum held in China.
Oracle's announcement follows Microsoft's and RedHat's similar decisions to stop developing software for Itanium.
Hewlett-Packard is one of the major IT companies committed to Itanium-based servers. Oracle underlined that HP new CEO Leo Apotheker made no mention of Itanium in his recent presentation on the future strategic direction of HP. However, HP on Wednesday said that it will continue the development of Intel 's Itanium-based Integrity server platforms with its HP-UX operating system. The company added that decision to drop Itanium support isan anti-customer behaviour and an attempt to ensure success of Sun SPARC mission-critical servers.
"Oracle continues to show a pattern of anti-customer behavior as they move to shore up their failing Sun server business. HP believes in fair and honest competition. Competition is good for customers, innovation and the marketplace. We are shocked that Oracle would put enterprises and governments at risk while costing them hundreds of millions of dollars in lost productivity in a shameless gambit to limit fair competition," said Dave Donatelli, executive vice president and general manager of enterprise servers, storage and networking at HP.
Oracle added it will continue to provide support for existing customers of Oracle software that run on Itanium.


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The Iowa Lottery Board today finalized a 10-year, $50.3 million contract to upgrade the lottery’s computer system. Iowa Lottery spokesperson Mary Neubauer says the system will require new terminals to be installed at roughly 2,500 retail locations between March and July of next year.
“It’s the biggest contract involved in the operation of the lottery because it takes a lot of expertise and security measures to have a lottery in place and to provide the security perimeters that you have to have for lottery games,” Neubauer said.
The contract was awarded to Georgia based Scientific Games, Incorporated. The system will replace the current computer gear installed in 2001. Neubauer says it’ll result in improved service for both retailers and players – although players may not notice much more than a different look and feel to lottery tickets.
The new system will allow all vendors to sell all types of tickets. Currently, some outlets can only sell scratch tickets. “Once the new system is in place, all stores will have the same terminal so that every store – if it wants to – can sell lotto, scratch and pull tabs,” Neubauer said. “So, that’s an added convenience for customers.”
The system will also allow for self-checker machines. “These are little, stand-alone devices that won’t be right up by the lottery terminal. They’ll be somewhere else in the store. So, you as a lottery customer…can use that self-checker to check the lottery tickets yourself,” Neubauer said. “You won’t have to give them to the clerk to check them for you.”
The deal with Scientific Games was originally announced in September, but the lottery board waited for the Iowa D.C.I. to complete a background check on the company. Neubauer says the new system is expected to save the lottery around one million dollars a year in reduced costs.
The Iowa Lottery will switch to the new computer system on July 3, 2011.