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Soaring inflation victimises imminent retireesTuesday 22 March 2011
Soaring inflation victimises imminent retirees
- Inflation for 50-64 year olds higher than today’s CPI at 4.6%
- Saga calls upon the government to reintroduce inflation-linked certificates as pensioners battle the rising cost of living
Inflation has soared for people over 50 as a result of rising transport, food, water and fuel costs and for those approaching retirement, in their 50s and early 60s, inflation is higher than the national average new research from Saga reveals.
Dr Ros Altmann, Director General Saga has described older savers as “innocent victims" of recent monetary policy and, while inflation remains well above target, she heavily criticises the lack of action on interest rates.
“This is a disgrace, yet another sledge hammer blow for savers as inflation continues to erode their income. And it is those approaching retirement who are the worst affected – the very group who need to save most. Just what is the Government going to do about it?”
The annual consumer price index (CPI) inflation was 4.4% in February 2011, up from 4.0% in January 2011.
Saga calculates that annual inflation was as follows for the over 50 age bands in February 2011:
50-64: 4.6% up from 4.2% in January 2011
65-74: 4.3% up from 3.9% in January 2011
75 and over: 4.2% up from 3.7% in January 2011
In response to the new figures, Saga urges the Government to bring back inflation-linked National Savings certificates for over 50s, after demand for the products exceeded expectation and they were withdrawn in July.
Ros Altmann, said: “Anyone trying to live off their savings or on fixed incomes will be suffering from the effects of inflation. The Government should bring back the inflation-linked National Savings certificates which were recklessly withdrawn last year.
“If inflation continues rising there is a significant risk that inflation expectations will start feeding through to wages, which sets up the kind of wage-price spiral that has been so damaging to price stability in the past.
“As we look to tomorrow’s budget, the Government simply cannot afford to ignore the needs of the UK’s 21 million over 50s population.”
This research was put together for Saga from The Centre for Economics and Business Research ltd, March 22nd 2011
Analysis on key findings:
· There are important differences in the factors contributing to the annual rates of inflation for these age bands. Rises in food, water and fuel prices have pushed up the inflation rate for those aged 65-74 and 75 and over, while transport costs continue to contribute heavily to inflation for those aged 50-64.
· For the over-75s, food price inflation contributed 1.3 percentage points to the overall 4.2% rate of inflation (compared with a 0.7 percentage point contribution for the UK as a whole). Food prices in February 2011 were 6.2% higher than in February 2010.
· For those aged 50-64, transport costs contributed 1.5 percentage points to the overall 4.6% rate of inflation (compared with 1.3 percentage points for the UK as a whole). Transport prices in February 2011 were 7.9% higher than in February 2010.
Dr. Ros Altmann on 07545 504 513
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We live in “the age of uncertainty,” John Kenneth Galbraith told us. He was so certain of the new uncertainty in our lives that he published a provocative book and hosted a television series under that...
When it comes to the problems discovered by the U.S.-based Consumers Report in its evaluation of the Fisker Karma plug-in extended-range electric car, the question is: Where do you start? While the Karma is gorgeous to look at, from limited visibility and a hard-to-use touchscreen interface, CR calls the cabin an “ergonomic disaster.” And the publication wasn’t too happy how the Karma drove, either. “When it’s running, the gasoline engine has an unrefined roar. And the Karma’s heavy weight affects agility and performance, as the Karma lacks the oomph you expect,” says Jake Fisher, director of Consumer Reports’ auto test centre. A Karma tested by CR earlier this year could not perform due to a problem with its battery made by A123 Systems, which led to A123 recalling all the Fisker battery packs.
The Canucks have scheduled a news conference for 3:30 p.m., when the GM will be answering questions about his search for new coaches8 minutes ago
The Vancouver Canucks have fired the most successful head coach in club history. Alain Vigneault lost his job after the Canucks were swept by the San Jose Sharks — a year after the heavily favoured Canucks were dumped 4-1 in the opening round by the Los Angeles Kings.29 minutes ago

domain: news


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URGENT STEPS NEEDED TO CURB RISING FOOD AND OTHER COMMODITY PRICES, UN WARNS
31 January - Senior United Nations officials today called for urgent steps to rein in the rising prices for basic farm produce, petroleum and raw industrial materials whose volatility hits the world's poorest people the hardest.
“Such volatility has huge negative impacts on vulnerable groups, such as low-income households in developing countries, for whom food expenditure can account for up to 80 per cent of household budgets,” UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Secretary-General Supachai Panitchpakdi told his agency's second Global Commodities Forum in Geneva.
The forum brings together Government ministers, heads of leading commodity exchanges, representatives of major banks and commodity producing and trading companies, and providers of commodity trade support services, such as insurance, logistics and advisory services.
The meeting, whose theme this year is “Volatility in international commodity markets,” comes as prices for such basic products are edging upward toward the limits reached during the 2008 food and energy crises, when the UN organized an emergency summit in Rome to boost food production and revitalize agriculture to ensure long-term food security.
Over 850 million people around the globe were short of food even before the 2008 crisis, and that number ballooned with an estimated additional 100 million as a result, with the poorest of the poor hit the hardest.
Mr. Supachai, whose agency promotes the development-friendly integration of developing countries into the world economy, urged greater efforts to “identify the policy levers that can rein in excessive volatility and maintain prices within a reasonable band,” and called on commodity-dependent developing countries to continue efforts to diversify their economies so that they are less vulnerable to shifts in the market.
“There are serious concerns about the way in which commodity markets have been evolving in recent years. Since mid-2010, commodities have, for the second time in three years, been experiencing extremely high price volatility,” he said, warning of “speculative distortions that complicate the economic management of commodities production and trade.”
Natural events such as floods in Pakistan and fires in Russia, which may be linked to global warming, have spurred upward pressure on prices for agricultural goods such as wheat and cotton. Copper prices have risen 35 per cent since last summer. All this comes on top of basic increases in demand fuelled by fast-growing economies such as China.
For billions of people, the cost of meeting daily food needs takes up a significant proportion of family incomes, UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré told the forum. “We must therefore work together to ensure the long-term sustainability of the production and marketing of commodities,” he said, calling careful monitoring of the markets “vital.”
Andrey Vasilyev, Deputy Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), said the world's advanced economies are recovering only slowly from the global recession, with unemployment distressingly high and recent rises in commodity prices possibly contributing unwelcome inflationary pressure.
It is important to limit such prices to the forces of “supply and demand alone” and reduce any influence coming from financial speculation in such goods, he added.
Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which maintains strong ties with UN agencies, warned that 2011 will see the prices of most commodities rise since the rise in global gross domestic product (GDP) bolsters demand, led by emerging economies. Global GDP is set to grow by 4 per cent this year, with over 70 per cent of the growth coming from commodity-intensive emerging markets such as China, India and Latin America.
“Volatility is at its worst in tight and closed markets. It eases in open and, hence, deeper markets,” Mr. Lamy said, stressing that completion of the so-called Doha Round of trade liberalizing talks could calm the picture. “In fact, were this round to be completed, least developed countries would get almost entirely duty-free, quota-free access to developed world markets.”
The two-day forum will discuss a series of topics, including the state of energy markets; commodity market volatility; overcoming excessive market volatility through better regulation, data, and transparency; and commodity price challenges for oil- and gas-producing countries.


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P&O seeks new creative agency to lead ‘different’ strategy
Travel brand P&O has confirmed that it is seeking a new lead creative agency.
P&O said the new agency was being sought to implement what the group said was a ‘different’ strategy.
Incumbent agency Designate has been dropped for its failure to have a “strong continental presence”.
“The reasons for change are that our strategy is different going forward and there is a focus on growing our business, as well as the need to consolidate the amount of agencies that we work with to have a more integrated marketing approach,” said Sarah Rosier, P&O head of marketing.
The new agency will have responsibility for direct marketing, digital strategy, data analysis, SEO and creative strategy.
Incumbent agencies Havas, iCrossing and R3 - who work on media, SEO and database respectively -are all unaffected by the review.


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“Consumers pull brands into their lives to address circumstances in which they need some help to resolve a struggle or fulfill an aspiration – to make progress,” Nielsen Innovation Practice Senior VPs Taddy Hall and Rob Wengel explain in the research firm’s 2015 Breakthrough Innovation report released June 24.
“Consequently,” they write, “for markets to develop successful innovations, they need a deep understanding that centers neither on a consumer nor on the product, but rather on the circumstances.”
For CPG firms this means looking not at what is selling well, but at what is not and asking why, the reports says. It encourages firms to ask if consumers are not buying products because they offer inelegant solutions or if they are using the product in unexpected ways or combinations with other products to create a better work around.
If so, then an opportunity lies in simplifying the processes to get a job done more quickly, easily and effectively, the report notes.
The theory that successful innovations are based on performing jobs well is derived from analysis of more than 20,000 new product launches in the past four years, with special attention paid to 74 products that earned from Nielsen the title “Breakthrough Innovation Award Winner” by selling at least $50 million in the first year, achieving at least 90% of year one sales the following year and delivering a new value proposition to the market, according to Nielsen.
According to the report, other best practices from the 12 brands that won the breakthrough innovation title this year, include:
Add a stage gate 0 – Many companies use the stage gate system to create a conceptual and operational roadmap for product development. By adding an extra gate at the start of the process, firms can insist a product development idea nails poorly performed jobs or clear consumer need – establishing a solid foundation for success.
Create inspired stage gates – Rather than pressuring managers to meet minimum thresholds at milestones, use milestones as a time to do a gut check and ask if the product development process is staying faithful to the consumers’ needs.
Prioritize category expansion – By adding new innovation to the same category, companies become an authority which is capable of redefining and creating new categories.
Establish cross-functional teams – Oscar Mayer’s Lunchable Uploaded, an innovation award winner this year, became a breakthrough success because leaders from different teams worked together to see how changes in specific areas would impact other areas and the overall product development process.
Have leaders take an active role in innovation – Leaders of successful innovation create incentives for managers to nail jobs rather than hit launch dates, allocate resources for innovation and protect product ideas from cost-cutting pressures that lead to an incremental rather than break through innovation.
Innovate with a community –“Active engagement in a diverse community of thinkers, doers and leaders is an indispensable innovation resources,” the report notes. It emphasizes that true innovation cannot happen in a silo.
Learn from the past but take risks – Companies can keep innovative employees and institutional knowledge by creating clear career paths internally to minimize transfers of key workers. But bringing in new blood and allowing teams to make mistakes also provides valuable learning opportunities, the report notes.
Act fast, but not too fast – Successful innovations can move more quickly when driven by clear consumer demand, but CPG firms still need to perfect a product as much as possible before the launch because consumers are less forgiving of reformulations and do-overs in this space than they are in the technology space.


text: LONDON (MarketWatch) -- British retailers saw a further decline in retail sales in July, the Confederation of British Industry reported Tuesday in its monthly distributive trades survey. The survey found 32% of respondents said sales volumes increased compared to July 2008, while 47% said they declined, for a balance of -15. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a rebound to -9 from a reading of -17 in June. Survey respondents predicted a heavier fall in August, producing a balance of -23. Grocers and retailers of footwear and leather were the only groups to report growth in July, the CBI said.


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By Miranda Murray and Paul Carrel
BERLIN (Reuters) -German producer prices jumped at the fastest pace on record in July, underscoring the gloomy outlook for Europe’s largest economy, which is stuck in a stranglehold of soaring costs and weakening growth due to the Ukraine war.
Producer prices — a leading indicator for inflation — surged 37.2% on the year, the biggest rise since records began in 1949, the federal statistics office said on Friday. The month-on-month rise, 5.3%, was also the highest on record.
“The outlook for the further development (of the economy) is currently noticeably gloomy,” the finance ministry said in its August monthly report, published on Friday, adding that it was marked by “a high degree of uncertainty”.
The record increases in producer prices were primarily driven by skyrocketing energy prices, which as a whole were up 105% compared with the same month last year, the office said.
The German economy stagnated in the second quarter, with the war in Ukraine, soaring energy prices, the COVID-19 pandemic and supply disruptions bringing it to the edge of a downturn.
“The significantly lower gas supplies from Russia, the persistently high price increases for energy and, increasingly, other goods, as well as the longer-than-expected supply chain disruptions, also in connection with China’s zero-COVID policy, are weighing heavily on the economy’s development,” the finance ministry said.
Feeding into already high energy costs, the German government will impose levies on gas consumers from Oct. 1 that will add several hundred euros to the average family’s annual energy bill. To cushion the blow, sales taxes on gas are set to be reduced to 7% from 19% while the levies are in place.
Higher energy prices mean inflation is unlikely to cool off anytime soon: Germany’s annual inflation rate in July was 8.5%, in line with the wider euro zone’s record rate of 8.9%.
Experts expect German inflation could reach around 9% following the expiration of relief measures, including cheaper public transport and a fuel tax cut, at the end of August.
That is when inflation is likely to reach its peak, said Commerzbank economist Ralph Solveen. However, wage rises expected next year will likely continue to buoy rates, “and companies are likely to pass these costs on to their customers.”
The German government in April forecast 2022 inflation at 6.1%. It will present updated economic projections on Oct. 12, the finance ministry said.
(Additional reporting by Rene WagnerWriting by Paul Carrel and Miranda MurrayEditing by Madeline Chambers, Toby Chopra and Kim Coghill)


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SMT & Inspection | March 30, 2006
ModusLink opens in France and Holland
ModusLink Corporation, a subsidiary of CMGI, Inc. announced that it has added two new solution centers to its European footprint to help companies achieve the full potential of their supply chain globalization strategies.
The two new solution centers in France and the Netherlands can facilitate end-to-end supply chain management for companies in a number of vertical technology industries, helping them to reach new regional customers and suppliers, while reducing the cost, time to market and risk associated with global production and distribution. Demand for ModusLink's supply chain services and solutions in Europe continues to grow with the recent addition of several new clients in the Communications, Computer Entertainment and Electronic Manufacturing Services industries. The increased demand also includes expansion of business with existing customers, such as Kodak, one of the world's most recognized brands in digital and traditional imaging, which is being serviced out of ModusLink's new Paris facility. "By expanding our presence in key European markets, ModusLink provides companies with the resources, tools and proven processes they need to penetrate new markets," said Joseph C. Lawler, President and Chief Executive Officer of CMGI. "Geographic boundaries that once hampered trade are giving way under the pressure to achieve global operating excellence. ModusLink is committed to simplifying the complexities of supply chain globalization for its clients and our strategically located facilities around the world help companies get closer to regional customers, respond with agility to global market dynamics, and eliminate redundancy and waste." ModusLink's Paris, France solution center provides approximately 25,000 sq. ft. (2500 square meters) of operating space to meet increased demand for services in the region. Kodak leverage's ModusLink's supply chain expertise, and strategically-located Paris facility, for materials planning, sourcing, and product packaging activities. The address of the new facility is 23 allée du 1er mai, 77183 Croissy Beaubourg, Marne LaVallée France. The Putten solution center in the Netherlands offers approximately 100,000 sq. ft. (10.000 square meters) of operating space and was opened to support growing demand for services in the area. The Netherlands has become a popular manufacturing destination for many U.S. companies due to the country's strong transportation infrastructure, tax-friendly regime and open trade and investment policies. According to FirstGov.gov, the U.S. government's official knowledge portal, an estimated 60% of U.S. companies have chosen to locate their European distribution centers in the Netherlands. With the new Putten facility located only 24 to 48 hours from 95% of the destinations in the European Union, ModusLink is able to help companies expedite time to market, reduce transportation costs, improve operating efficiency and lower total supply chain costs. Both facilities are currently operational and will deliver a broad range of forward supply chain services, including design and consulting, demand and materials planning, sourcing and procurement, inventory management, assembly and packaging, and fulfillment to clients; in addition to reverse supply chain services, including returns management, product repair, asset management and disposition, and spares and parts management and fulfillment.
Clover Wireless acquires Teleplan Illinois-based Clover Wireless has acquired Teleplan International N.V., a global electronics supply chain services and solutions provider.
FLIR Systems, Providence Photonics finalize deal Oregon-based FLIR Systems has completed its strategic investment in Providence Photonics, developers of advanced software used to quantify invisible gas emissions using FLIR optical gas imaging (OGI) cameras.
Lucid Motors sees EV facility groundbreaking Lucid Motors has officially begun phase-one construction of its EV manufacturing facility in Arizona, representing an investment of more than USD 300 million.
Precogs’ CEO: ‘If we can’t help you, it won’t cost you’ The business model of Precogs, the company that has created a global marketplace that connects a buyers ERP with component distributors, is quite intriguing; you will only pay out of what the company can save you.
Cre8tek invests in robotics to increase efficiency and quality Danish-Chinese electronics manufacturer, Cre8tek, has recently invested in added automation in the shape of robots; which are currently moving into the company’s production plant in Shenzhen with the aim to increase efficiency and quality.
Global semiconductor sales increase 2.9% MoM in October The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today announced worldwide sales of semiconductors reached USD 36.6 billion for the month of October 2019, an increase of 2.9% from the previous month's total of USD 35.6 billion, but down 13.1% compared to the October 2018 total of USD 42.1 billion.
Standex International buys Torotel Inc. Standex International Corporation and Torotel Inc. have reached a definitive agreement for Standex to acquire Torotel for approximately USD 48 million in cash.
SPEA unveils new digs in Chandler, Arizona SPEA, a provider of in-test equipment for electronics, semiconductor, MEMS, and sensor industries, has opened a new office in Chandler, Arizona, in the metropolitan area of Phoenix.
SUSS MicroTec, BRIDG team up on NA applications center SUSS MicroTec has announced a broad collaboration agreement with BRIDG, a Florida not-for-profit microelectronics fabrication facility with 200 mm (8-inch) wafer fab capabilities.
Universal adds software center in Bratislava Universal Instruments has extended its EMEA capabilities with the addition of a Software Center in its Bratislava, Slovakia corporate facility.
Sono Motors launches community funding campaign The German mobility provider Sono Motors launched one of the biggest community funding campaigns in Europe yesterday. The company’s campaign target is to generate EUR 50 million between now and December 30, 2019, with preorders from existing and new supporters.
Filtronic expands hybrid microelectronics manufacturing facility Filtronic, the designer and manufacturer of antennas, says it has invested over USD 1.3 million in new equipment for its manufacturing facility in Sedgefield, UK.
ACM Research aiming for R&D facility in Shanghai ACM Research Inc., provider of single-wafer wet cleaning equipment, has begun the bidding process to acquire land rights in the Shanghai, Lingang region.
DirectMed acquires Medical Systems Technologies San Diego-based DirectMed Parts & Service has acquired Medical Systems Technologies (MST), a specialist in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) component level repair and testing.
Gowanda acquires RCD Components New York-based Gowanda Components Group has picked up New Hampshire’s RCD Components, which will be folded into the company’s Magnetics Division.
Eurocircuits biggest investment to date One thing has always been clear for PCB manufacturer Eurocircuits – continues investments have been the key for the company’s success, and investments have been made.
Daimler to 'cut thousands of jobs' Daimler and the General Works Council have agreed on key points in order to streamline the group structure and thus increase efficiency and flexibility. Therefore, measures to reduce costs and employment have jointly been agreed upon.
Global smartphone production volume grows 9.2% in 3Q19 According to TrendForce, in an effort to meet the market’s stock-up demand in the peak season, total production volume for smartphone brands in 3Q19 is estimated at 375 million units, a 9.2 growth QoQ.
Schaeffler expands its operations in Hungary Schaeffler Savaria will broaden its portfolio in Szombathely, Hungary by building a development centre for the manufacturing and developing electric drive systems and components for EVs.
Curtiss-Wright to acquire 901D Holdings, LLC Curtiss-Wright Corporation has entered into an agreement to acquire the stock of 901D Holdings, LLC (901D) for USD 132 million in cash.
Efore completes the divestment of its Telecom business Efore has completed the divestment of the Telecom business to Chinese Shenzhen Kexin Communication Ltd on 28th November 2019. Share consideration is EUR 3,5 million.
AMETEK France opens new technology solutions centre AMETEK France has established a Technology Solutions Centre as a regional headquarters in Élancourt City to support the growth of its electronic instrument and electromechanical product businesses in France.
AVET Technology partners with SG Wireless AVET Technology has teamed up with SG Wireless, a full stack IoT solutions provider under EMS provider Season Group, to come up with a brand-new family of audio and video recorders, which are currently entering full-scale production.Load more news


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Through the gallery window, just off the fashionable Rue Faubourg Saint-Honore in Paris, a tree grows from the ceiling.
On closer inspection, it turns out that the branches, leaves, and flowers are made of bronze and rock crystal, and it’s one of dozens of beautiful and strange chandeliers in the Regis Mathieu Gallery. Few tourists in Paris would think to visit, often too intimidated to enter the elegant showrooms of private galleries.
But with Paris emerging from a half-century slumber to once again become a major world center for art, there’s a renewed focus on the treasures to be seen in the city’s galleries, including private ones.
“It’s really not the case that they just want people who are shopping,” said Zara Sajid, co-founder of Art Heart Tours, which aims to bring more tourists into this cloistered world.
“They open these galleries because they are passionate about art and they want to share that passion with as many people as possible.”
Regaining his mojo
The country’s contemporary art scene has partly regained its mojo thanks to a slew of new museums, including the Louis Vuitton Foundation and the Stock Exchange, built by two rival super-rich fashion moguls. Private galleries in Paris are also booming, helped by Brexit, which encouraged big names to leave London.
“Paris is once again at the forefront of the art scene,” said Justine Durrett of Zwirner Gallery, one of a dozen international dealers who have opened an outpost in Paris in recent years.
She credits a “unique dialogue between history and contemporary art” in the city, which goes beyond fine art to include food, fashion, and “lifestyle in general.”
France sells more art than any other country apart from the United States: 91,692 works last year, according to Artprice, an analysis firm. It still generates less cash than China and Britain, although it is closing the gap with its neighbor to the north and topped $1 billion at auction for the first time in 2021.
The boom has not been without controversy. Many locals were surprised to see their long-running FIAC fair recently pushed out of its fall space at the Grand Palais in favor of a new Parisian edition of Art Basel, the world’s largest fair organizer.
Some galleries feared this could see them pushed out by global competitors, though Art Basel has insisted its new fair will be an entirely French affair with a local management team.
In any case, Marion Papillon, who heads a union of gallery owners in the city, is optimistic: “Brexit has accelerated things, but there has been a real dynamism: French galleries export more and become more visible internationally”, he told AFP.
This makes it a great time to guide people through Parisian galleries.
Art Heart Tours says they have capitalized on a huge demand, especially among returning tourists, who have already checked the obvious sites off their lists. “We want to demystify galleries,” co-founder Eric Remmen told AFP. “We have all these palatial museums in Paris, but some of the best art and design is inside these galleries.”
Among the treasures they have seen since last May are a large collection of Picasso drawings at Helene Bailey Gallery, George Baselitz paintings at Perrotin Secondary Market, and designs by the late fashion icon Virgil Abloh at Galerie Kreo.
After the chandeliers, Remmen takes AFP to the Kamel Mennour Gallery, where a jaw-dropping €575,000 curved mirror by Anish Kapoor can be found alongside a sculpture by French artist Bertrand Lavier.
“I understand why people are nervous about going in, but my job is to help people discover new things,” said gallery assistant Sidonie Sakhoun, 24.
“Art tells our story and belongs to all of us, not just collectors.”
This story was published via AFP Relaxnews
(Main and featured image: Martin Bureau/ AFP)


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The media landscape in Australia has always been characterised by a concentration of ownership.
Fairfax and News Corporation still control over 80% of the country’s print media, and have long been the dominant voices setting the news agenda, even if no longer from a rolled up paper delivered to the doorstep.
Another defining characteristic of the Australian market is its size. With less than 23 million sets of eyeballs to target, audience size limits the scalability of media titles and advertising reach.
A lack of competition in the market has allowed legacy media to be slow to adapt to the digital space. Even though print advertising’s demise has been evident for years, most Australian publishers are still evolving profitable digital strategies.
In the larger market of the US, by comparison, a host of pure-play digital titles have sprung up, pushing digital publishing strategies forward. These new media players are outstripping legacy media in the digital realm, dominating the list of top news websites. The same trend has only just started to materialise in Australia, but legacy media still account for most of the top news sites.
Source: Australia: Nielsen Online Ratings, Jan 2015. US: eBizMBA Rank, March 2015.
These market dynamics leave the balance of power in the publisher’s favour, especially in the video ad market. Supply is short – advertisers have few alternatives and little leverage when it comes to CPMs and buying preferences.
In the US on the other hand, advertisers can move their resources across multiple supply sources, forcing publishers to provide inventory or lose out to someone else.
But times are changing. Digital ‘natives’ are starting to gain traction. BuzzFeed, The Daily Mail and Mashable have launched local editorial teams. Local players like ninemsn and Mamamia are making their mark. And the Huffington Post and Microsoft have announced plans to launch locally.
Video supply is starting to grow. Bauer, ACP, and the big print publishers are starting to recognise the revenue video can yield and adjusting accordingly, sparking an overall lift in supply to the market.
Pressure is building from the buy side, with agencies moving budget to programmatic buys, and big global trading desks putting strategies in place to move to programmatic models.
Publishers utilising programmatic will start to take budget away from the traditional powerhouses unless they move with the times.
The publisher may still have the balance of power in Australia, but not for long. As supply increases across the board, and new publishers come into market, the balance will shift. Those with a video first, and programmatic first, approach will become the new power brokers of the media landscape.
Written by Daniel Rowlands, Director of Supply APAC, SpotXchange


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Access to medicines, health products, food, and other essential commodities is elemental to ending extreme poverty, building human capacity, and creating vibrant markets around the world. Our multi-sector supply chain solutions practice optimizes supply chain performance in low- and middle-income countries. Our dynamic portfolio of long-term projects adapts private sector practices to build resilient supply chains that have world-class efficiency, ease of use, and last-mile reach.
Supply Chain Solutions.
Stronger Book Supply Chains for Honduran Schools
With schools able to access more reading materials through a stronger supply chain, students in Honduras are benefiting from higher-quality education.
Empowering Health Leaders in West and Central Africa and Haiti
Through the USAID Global Health Supply Chain (GHSC) - Technical Assistance (TA) Francophone Task Order, health leaders are improving national supply chains and advancing global health security.
Cutting-edge Technologies in Global Health Supply Chains
To improve access to high-quality health products worldwide, the USAID Global Health Supply Chain Program-Procurement and Supply Management project employs cutting-edge technologies and industry best practices to make global health supply chains more efficient and reach more people.
The 21st Century Goldilocks: Using Technology to Monitor the Temperature of Health Commodities
From the agricultural to the health sector, an enormous quantity of commodities moves through supply chains. But as these agricultural goods, medicines, or health commodities travel all the way from manufacturer to patient, how can we continuously monitor their temperature and conditions to maintain their quality and effectiveness? This is particularly vital in the health…
News: Partnering with Arizona State University to Support Continual Learning for Employees Worldwide
Arizona State University (ASU) is a leader in expanding educational access for learners around the world through its high-quality online platforms, which is one of the reasons U.S. News and World Report has named it the most innovative university in the United States for three years in a row. Through its online platforms, ASU annually…
News: Chemonics Presents at the Health and Humanitarian Logistics Conference
From July 18 to 19, health and humanitarian sector professionals will convene in Dubai, one of the world’s largest hubs for humanitarian relief. As a sponsor of the Health & Humanitarian Logistics (HHL) Conference, Chemonics looks forward to exploring disaster preparedness and response, long-term development and humanitarian aid, and global health delivery. In our presentations,…


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Hong Kong Tycoon Richard Li Considers Third Bridgetown SPAC
(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li is considering setting up a third special purpose acquisition company in the U.S., according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Li and tech mogul Peter Thiel have raised about $900 million via two U.S.-listed SPACs under the Bridgetown brand. Thiel will not be involved in the third deal, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The new SPAC could raise a few hundred million dollars, one of the people said.
Considerations are at an early stage and there’s no final decision on the size of the deal, the people said. A representative for Li declined to comment.
A SPAC or blank-check company is a shell company that raises money from public investors with the goal of acquiring a business within two years. These deals have raised more than $48 billion in the U.S. alone just this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Bridgetown’s first vehicle was in early talks to take Indonesia’s e-commerce giant PT Tokopedia public in a deal that could value the combined company at $10 billion, Bloomberg News reported in December. The SPAC raised almost $600 million in October.
Bridgetown 2 Holdings Ltd. began trading last month after raising nearly $300 million.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.


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Kentucky is one of 44 states reaching a 45 million dollar settlement with Skechers USA, Inc. The settlement stems from complaints about deceptive advertising for rocker-bottom shoes.
The 44 states have joined the Federal Trade Commission in reaching the settlement with the footware company. Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway says the firm made advertising claims and “couldn’t deliver on its promises to consumers.”
The suit alleges that Skechers claimed its rocker-bottom shoe products would cause consumers to lose weight, burn calories, and tone or strengthen muscles. Consumers who purchased Shape-Ups, Tone-Ups, or the Skechers Resistance Runner may be eligible to receive partial refunds. They can go on line to www.ftc.gov/skechers to learn more about refunds made possible by the settlement.


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Jacques Bonifay will discuss the new business models for virtual operators #MVNO in the age of IoT and #5Gnetworks during the annual Wireless Russia & CIS 2020‘s roundtable on November 19th at 5.30 pm (Moscow) or 3.30 pm (Paris).
The 12th annual Wireless Russia & CIS forum is a two-day event, from November 19th to 20th. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the forum has shifted from the traditional May dates to the second half of the year for a physical and digital event. According to a long tradition, representatives of all key international organizations that develop standards and promote wireless technologies are invited to speak at this event: from 3GPP, ITU and GSA to MVNO Europe, NGMN Alliance and even 5G Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation (5G-ACIA).
To learn more about this event and register: Click here


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Those who appreciate fashion and all that it has to offer (and have the money on hand to be able to pay six figure price tags for a single item) are eagerly taking part in the 2013 Heritage Auctions Holiday Luxury Signature Auction. The well known auction house Heritage Auctions has teamed up with fashion designer Hermes to present some of the most stunning bags, purses and even wallets known to womankind. The bag .
It’s compact, fancy, made for a Queen and worth an estimated $1.9 million dollars. There are still a few things in life worth having, if you can afford them. Owning the world’s most expensive Hermes Birkin bag might be one of them. On August 15th the red crocodile bag will take its place at the auction block. The bag is crafted in 18 karat white gold, and fashioned in exquisite diamond hardware. The auction .


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UK households' gloom about their finances deepened this month, and most now expect borrowing costs to rise again within six months after the Bank of England raised interest rates in November, a survey showed today.
Data company IHS Markit said its Household Finance Index, a monthly gauge of financial well-being, fell to a seven-month low of 42.2 from 42.9 in January.
The survey was conducted over six days starting on February 8, the day the Bank of England said it was likely to raise rates sooner and by more than it previously thought.
It showed that 60% of households expected a hike within six months, up from 45% in January.
Britain's economy slowed in 2017 as higher inflation - fuelled by the post-Brexit referendum fall in the pound - hurt the spending power of consumers.
The Bank of England has said it expects the squeeze will ease in 2018 as inflation cools and weak wage growth ticks higher.
But today's report showed households are not feeling optimistic.
"The latest survey adds to evidence that UK households have seen an erosion of their financial wellbeing so far this year, with stubbornly high inflation the main factor placing pressure on consumer budgets," Tim Moore, associate director at IHS Markit, said.
UK households reported only a weak rise in income from employment in January, a possible concern for the BoE which predicts an acceleration of wage growth in 2018.
Official figures on wages covering the three months to December are due on Wednesday.
Separate figures from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development showed that major employers expect to raise pay by less than inflation in 2018.
The median basic pay increase over the 12 months to December 2018 was likely to be 2%, unchanged from 2017, CIPD members from nearly 1,000 employers said.
This contrasts with a Bank of England survey of major private-sector employers last week which pointed to pay rises of 3.1% this year - the biggest in a decade.
IHS Markit also reported a sharp drop in households' appetite for major purchases, chiming with data last week that showed retail sales volumes barely rose in January, capping the weakest three-month stretch since April last year.
A Reuters poll of economists published last week showed the Bank of England is likely to raise interest rates to 0.75% in May.


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VIVA Chicken, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based fast-casual Peruvian rotisserie joint, announced signed leases for its first two Georgia restaurants. VIVA will make its debut in metro Atlanta with locations in Kennesaw and Alpharetta, with a third location in the works.
In Kennesaw, VIVA Chicken will occupy 3,200 square feet in Barrett Corners, a new retail development at 1125 Ernest Barrett Parkway. The Alpharetta VIVA Chicken location will be within Alpharetta Crossing at 11760 Hayes Bridge Road. Details on VIVA Chicken’s third Atlanta-area restaurant will be announced soon. Within each restaurant, guests can expect a thoughtfully-designed interior featuring vibrant art and a casual, inviting atmosphere. All three Atlanta-area restaurants are slated to open in 2022.
Click here to view the entire article via QSR Magazine.


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Saturday, Sept. 18, is the last day to vote for the Farmers and Crafts Market of Las Cruces (FCMLC) as America’s best market in the 15th annual America’s Farmers Market Celebration.
Visit markets.farmland.org, click on “Cast My Vote,” enter “Las Cruces” in the search box, click on “Farmers & Crafts Market of Las Cruces,” enter your name and email address and cast your vote – it takes less than a minute.
In 2023, the celebration will award $5,000 to the contest winner, $2,500 to the second-place finisher, $1,500 to third, $750 to fourth, $250 to fifth and $100 to sixth in each state.
In 2022, FCMLC was the top vote getter in New Mexico. 10th in the Southwest region and 125th in the county out of more than 7,000 farmers markets in the competition, said FCMLC Market Manager Karin Bradshaw.
The contest is sponsored by American Farmland Trust nonprofit, which has a mission of saving farmland, promoting sound farming practices. It has run the competition since it began in 2008. The Farmers Market Coalition became a celebration co-sponsor in 2021.
More than 200 FCMLC vendors cover seven city blocks along north Main Street downtown 7 a.m.-1 p.m. every Saturday and 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. every Wednesday. The nonprofit market began in 1971 and was named “Number One Large Farmers Market in the Nation” in America’s Farmland Trust nationwide poll in 2011.


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A Lithuanian man swindled two US tech companies out of over $100 million after he tricked employees into wiring money to his own company's bank accounts.
In an indictment unsealed yesterday, the US Department of Justice didn't name the two companies, but said one was "a multinational technology company, specializing in Internet-related services," while the second was also "a multinational corporation providing online social media and networking services."
The connection between these two was an Asian-based manufacturer of computer hardware, with which both US companies had business relations. Most likely this was a company providing server hardware, as most major US tech companies like to run their own data centers.
According to the indictment, PDF here, Evaldas Rimasauskas, the 48-year-old Lithuanian behind the scams, had set up his own business in Lithuania under the same name of the Asian hardware provider.
Using spoofed emails and the fact the two companies had identical names, between 2013 and 2015, the scammer tricked employees at the two US companies, and even banks, into making and approving payments to his own company's bank accounts, which he quickly distributed to other bank accounts in six other countries.
In recent years, this type of fraud that heavily relies on electronic communications, such as emails, has been referred to under different names, such as whaling attacks, BEC (Bussiness Email Compromise), or CEO fraud.
What set this scam apart from similar incidents was not the techniques the attacker used, but the enormous amount of funds he managed to steal.
Previous incidents in which attackers managed to steal massive amounts of money using this simple technique include: FACC, an Austrian manufacturer of airplane parts (lost $56.79 million, CEO was later fired), Leoni, a German manufacturer of wires and electrical cables (lost $45 million), and Crelan, a Belgian bank (lost $76 million).
The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) warned last June that BECs (Business Email Compromise) had defrauded companies around the world of over $3 billion since October 2013.
Rimasauskas faces a total of 82 years in prison for one count of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, and one count of aggravated identity theft.


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Price(Search results - 716)
GADGETSep 17, 2021, 11:36 AM IST
Apple iPhone 13: Everything on how to pre-order, prices & offers; Details inside
Pre-orders for the Apple iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Mini, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max will begin today in India at 5:30 pm. Along with the phone, Apple Watch Series 7 and iPad mini was introduced.
India NewsSep 13, 2021, 12:54 PM IST
Congress reaches Vidhana Soudha in bullock cart as sign of protest against fuel price rise
To mark the first day in the state assembly with protest, Congress leaders including ex-CM Siddaramaiah and KPCC president DK Shivakumar launched 'Bullock cart chalo' protest against BJP.
Weird NewsSep 9, 2021, 9:09 PM IST
Specially-abled kid's priceless reaction on getting phone as birthday gift will melt your heart; watch video
A video of a special kid's priceless reaction on getting a phone as his birthday present makes rounds on the internet for all the right reasons.
BusinessSep 8, 2021, 10:58 AM IST
Ola electric scooters now available for purchase from today; check price, delivery and more
At a starting price of Rs 1 lakh, Ola allowed bookings for its first e-scooter in July and received a very enthusiastic response.
World NewsSep 7, 2021, 10:22 AM IST
El Salvador buys its first 200 Bitcoins, makes it legal currency of country
Bitcoin briefly rose 1.39 per cent to more than $52,600 on Monday afternoon, according to Refinitiv Eikon data, with a market analyst predicting a price range of $56,000-$56,300
BusinessSep 3, 2021, 4:24 PM IST
Amid high fuel prices, chip shortages, Indian auto sales rose in August
This year, though, lockdowns were more regional in character, with fewer limitations. Nonetheless, high gasoline prices and shortages of electrical components hindered sales and extended waiting times.
EntertainmentSep 2, 2021, 4:09 PM IST
Shraddha Kapoor's 'pricey' nature proves fruitful for Kiara Advani; here's how
Here's how Shraddha Kapoor's loss turned out to be Kiara Advani's gain; read in detail.
TechnologySep 1, 2021, 6:23 PM IST
Google Maps, Assistant, Search to offer details of vaccine availability
According to Google, immunisation assistance will be provided in over 13,000 sites around the country. The availability of appointment slots at each facility, whether the centre offers Dose 1 or Dose 2 of the appropriate vaccinations (Covishield, Covaxin, or others), and any price information, if applicable, will be supplied.
BusinessSep 1, 2021, 4:58 PM IST
Royal Enfield unveils new Classic 350; Read details here
Built ground-up on Royal Enfield's modern J-series engine, the Classic 350 has an all-new chassis. The new Classic 350 will be available with a wide array of accessories, developed to complement the motorcycle's versatility and to enhance utility, comfort and style.
Top StoriesSep 1, 2021, 1:58 PM IST
LPG cylinder price gets dearer by Rs 25, check hiked rates in different cities
A 14.2-kilogram domestic cylinder now costs Rs 884.50 per cylinder, while a 19-kg commercial cylinder will now cost Rs 1,693 in Delhi.
LifestyleSep 1, 2021, 12:02 PM IST
Dubai restaurant serves world's first 22K gold plated Vada Pav; Checkout the price
Mumbai's beloved snack 'Vada Pav' explicates its magic on the streets of Dubai. O’Pao, located in Karama, introduced this mouth-watering vada pav covered with 22K Gold Sheets at a price of AED100 (approx INR 2,000).
CRICKETAug 31, 2021, 2:04 PM IST
IPL 2022: BCCI to set base price for 2 new franchises at ₹2,000 crore, expects profit of ₹5,000 crore
The Indian Premier League is expected to grow from 2002 with a couple of new franchises. Meanwhile, the BCCI is looking to get richer by ₹5,000 crore. Here's how.
EntertainmentAug 29, 2021, 11:51 AM IST
Tamannaah Bhatia's Marchesa gown costs more than Maruti ALTO or trip to Disney World with family; take a look
Tamannaah Bhatia is recently posted some glam pictures on her Insta page where she was seen donning a Marchesa gown; read on to know the price of the dress
India NewsAug 26, 2021, 11:09 AM IST
UP woman constable flaunts revolver on Instagram; probe ordered after video goes viral
Agra woman constable paid a heavy price for sharing a video of her with a revolver. The Instagram video shows constable Priyanka Mishra in uniform, lip-syncing to a dialogue about 'Rangbaazi'.
BusinessAug 24, 2021, 5:23 PM IST
Infosys share price hits new record high, market capitalisation hits $100 billion
So far this year, Infosys shares have risen 40 per cent, significantly outpacing the Sensex, which has up 16.6 per cent.


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Apple is apologizing — and fixing — the "Error 53" bug that left some iPhone devices bricked.
The basic problem occurs if your iPhone 6 or 6 Plus home button is repaired anywhere other than an Apple Store or Apple-authorized repair center.
At first, the phone might work — with everything, including Touch ID, seeming perfectly fine. But then, when you try to update to a newer version of iOS (or you attempt to restore your phone from a backup), the software checks to make sure the Touch ID sensor matches the rest of the hardware. If it doesn't find a match — and only authorized Apple repair centers can pair a phone and Touch ID sensor — your phone will stop functioning.
Although Apple originally said that "Error 53" was a security measure, many users questioned why the company would take the measure of disabling an entire phone and not just the Touch ID features. Apple is facing a class action lawsuit over the feature.
In an interesting about face, Apple on Thursday released an updated version of iOS 9.2.1 for iTunes that will fix phones bricked by "Error 53" and prevent future unofficial Apple repairs from bricking phones.
In a statement given to Mashable, Apple said:
Some customers' devices are showing 'Connect to iTunes' after attempting an iOS update or a restore from iTunes on a Mac or PC. This reports as an Error 53 in iTunes and appears when a device fails a security test. This test was designed to check whether Touch ID works properly before the device leaves the factory.
Today, Apple released a software update that allows customers who have encountered this error message to successfully restore their device using iTunes on a Mac or PC.
We apologize for any inconvenience, this was designed to be a factory test and was not intended to affect customers. Customers who paid for an out-of-warranty replacement of their device based on this issue should contact AppleCare about a reimbursement.
Apple also updated its support document for "Error 53" on its website. If you have an iPhone that was bricked by "Error 53," plugging it into iTunes and running the latest iOS 9.2.1 update should restore the phone and get it up and running properly.
Although the new update will fix bricked phones — and prevent a non-Apple authorized repair from bricking phones in the future — there is a security-based caveat — the Touch ID sensor will no longer work.
That's because the Secure Enclave stored within the Touch ID sensor still needs to be paired and secured. Only Apple and Apple-authorized repair shops can do this.
What this means is that if you do replace your home button on an iPhone 6 someplace other than an Apple Store — you no longer need to worry about your phone bricking. Still, doing this will mean that you will be unable to use Touch ID on the phone.


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There are pressing issues at the forefront of Canada’s ongoing transportation electrification: charging infrastructure, grid emissions and availability, battery life cycles and recycling, to name a few. In the freight transportation sector, these issues are magnified by the size of a company’s fleet.
“The ability to source batteries has been a problem, probably, for all OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), heavy-duty and light passenger as well,” Chris Manuel, the Lion Electric Company’s (LEV-T) business development manager, told those in attendance. “Having this in Canada, designed (and) assembled here is going to be a huge advantage going forward on a supply chain and from a design aspect.”
Other speakers included James Williams, account manager with 360 Energy Inc.; Rupp Carriveau, University of Windsor professor and director of the Environmental Energy Institute; and Joe Lombardo, Purolator Inc.’s vice-president of network operations. 360 Energy CEO David Arkell moderated the forum.
Purolator's big picture on electric freight
The benefit of electrifying heavy-duty vehicles is in reducing emissions. Manuel stated an electric heavy-duty truck could eliminate 50 to 70 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually compared to a diesel truck.
However, while light electric vehicles comprise about 2.5 per cent of Canadian transportation, heavy-duty electric trucks are still almost non-existent.
“The business case today is not great financially,” Lombardo said, “but it is right from a sustainability point of view.”
In March, Purolator announced a $1 billion investment over seven years to electrify 60 per cent of its vehicle fleet and over 60 of its terminals.
Lombardo added later during a panel discussion that Purolator is focused on iterating, and mentioned that the company may not need as big a battery pack for many of its vehicles – down from the 300- to 400-kilometre range to perhaps 150 kilometres – as it learns to better manage its energy consumption.
In 2021, Purolator reports it emitted 2.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent for every 1,000 packages delivered. In launching its electrification investment, Purolator looked at incentive programs, costs and upgrade requirements, vehicle performance in different climates as well as range and cubic capacity.
Still, questions remain, including with the retirement age of an electric fleet.
“We're planning for eight years on the battery, something longer on the frame and infrastructure,” Lombardo said. “We're targeting somewhere between 10 and 15 years? We don't know exactly yet.”
Lion Electric's charging challenges
Saint-Jérôme, Que.-based Lion Electric recently opened its 175,000-square-foot factory in Mirabel, Que. to produce lithium-ion batteries for electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. It currently has 950 heavy-duty electric vehicles on the road in North America.
Lion Electric uses Level 3 chargers, but Manuel highlighted some of the infrastructure problems unique to electric freight transportation.
“The challenge we have with the Level 3 chargers that are out there is a 26-foot straight shot in any sort of public charging infrastructure,” he said. “You’re blocking off three or four spots. The truck will physically charge, you can do it, but counting on it, planning on it, (is) just opening up trouble.”
When it comes to the battery issue, Lion Electric states it can recycle up to 95 per cent of a battery’s materials.
Impacts of the grid on electrification
According to the North American Council on Freight Efficiency’s 2022 Annual Fleet Fuel Study, fuel prices play a role in half of the factors driving fleet decision-making.
Despite the challenges in the transition, electrification is poised to provide cheaper fuel compared to diesel, especially when factoring-in increasing Canadian carbon taxes. As Williams explained, the average Canadian fleet travels around 146,000 kilometres per year with an average fuel efficiency of 40 litres per 100 kilometres.
“Depending on the fleet, the distance travelled, the fuel efficiency, optimizing the fuel costs . . . it can go as low as $42,000 (or) it can go as high as $270,000,” he said, “particularly when you're looking at fuel costs around $2 per litre.”
While the per unit power cost fluctuates depending on the province or territory, it will be lower for electric drivers. Ontario and Alberta, also the most expensive provinces for per-unit power cost, are the only provinces where the price changes by the hour – between three and 10 cents and 10 to 16 cents, respectively.
“Charging at the wrong time can increase the costs substantially if you're not paying attention to the target, and not understanding where the risks are under pricing and where the market is at that moment,” Williams said.
The emissions intensity of the grid is also important to consider. According to Lombardo, Ontario, B.C. and Quebec have the lowest carbon intensity. Purolator is also looking into on-site power generation and storage to help offset power costs. However, Lombardo said most of Purolator's consumption is between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m.
The best-case cost scenario for an overnight charge in Ontario with an 800-kilowatt battery, Williams said, is about $24 — or three cents per kilowatt-hour. The worst case at a higher-rate charging time would be about five cents per kilowatt-hour and about $40 total.
“Most customers actually don't understand rates. They don't understand the consumption. It’s a black box. They think energy is not controllable. It's completely controllable if you have that information, and you know what to do,” Arkell said.
“If you want to be really cost-effective (with electrification), you're gonna have to be smarter on how you use your energy.”


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Revenues at The Walt Disney Company were up 23 percent in the second quarter to $19.2 billion, with the company reporting 7.9 million additional customers at Disney+ to reach 137.7 million.
“Our strong results in the second quarter, including fantastic performance at our domestic parks and continued growth of our streaming services—with 7.9 million Disney+ subscribers added in the quarter and total subscriptions across all our DTC offerings exceeding 205 million—once again proved that we are in a league of our own,” said Bob Chapek, CEO. “As we look ahead to Disney’s second century, I am confident we will continue to transform entertainment by combining extraordinary storytelling with innovative technology to create an even larger, more connected and magical Disney universe for families and fans around the world.”
Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution revenues were up 9 percent to $13.6 billion. This includes $7.1 billion from the company’s linear channels, a 5 percent boost, with the domestic services up 8 percent to $5.8 billion and international down 3 percent to $1.3 billion. Direct-to-consumer revenues for the quarter increased 23 percent to $4.9 billion. The company ended the quarter with 44.4 million domestic Disney+ subs, a 19 percent year-on-year gain. Disney+ had 43.2 million international subs, a 39 percent increase, with an additional 50.1 million for Disney+ Hotstar. ESPN+ had 22.3 million customers. Hulu had a total of 45.6 million, with 41.4 million on the SVO-only tier and 4.1 million for live TV and SVOD.
Disney Parks, Experiences and Products revenues for the quarter increased to $6.7 billion.
The quarter includes a $1 billion hit in revenues to terminate license agreements for film and television content that is being retained for the company’s own services.


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Cadbury launches three new share-block flavours in Australia
Confectionery giant Cadbury has launched three new flavours in its share-sized chocolate block range—Cadbury Cherry Ripe, Cadbury Dairy Milk Crackle and Cadbury Dairy Milk Picnic.
The Cadbury Cherry Ripe, which Cadbury said was Australia’s oldest chocolate bar, is filled with cherry and coconut flavours coated in Cadbury Old Gold dark chocolate. It is now available in a share-block size. The Cadbury Dairy Milk Picnic is also now available in share-block size. It is already a popular chocolate bar, containing nuts, toffee and rice crisps.
New to the Cadbury portfolio is the Cadbury Dairy Milk Crackle block, which is made with a rice crisp filling and milk chocolate coating.
These three flavours join the existing 12 flavours in the Cadbury Dairy Milk block range, which includes flavours such as Fruit and Nut, Snack, Rocky Road, Caramello, Hazelnut, and Black Forest.
Cadbury Dairy Milk Cherry Ripe 200g is available exclusively at Coles RRP $4.99; Cadbury Dairy Milk Picnic 210g is available exclusively at Woolworths RRP $4.99 and Cadbury Dairy Milk Crackle 210g is available exclusively at independent stockists RRP $4.99.
Lindt is expanding its Australian presence, opening a new retail store in Canberra.
Home-delivery grocery service, Aussie Farmers Direct, is ramping up its fight against the supermarke...
McKenzie’s Foods is launching three new products in time for Spring.
Two Australian start-ups are tackling food wastage in Australia. Australian Food News looks at th...
‘Be Fit Food’ offers fresh pre-made meals under a number of programs, one of which it says customers...
A variety of Pump water containing electrolytes from coconut water is now available in Australia.
Di Bella Coffee has launched its 2018 Reserve Limited Edition coffee blend.
THE organics "mega-trend" is drawing ALDI to the party with its launch this month, Organics Month, o...


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The study reveals that:
- ‘Range anxiety’ continues to be the biggest barrier to large-scale adoption of EVs
- EV batteries need to be safer, cheaper, faster charging and have a high density of greater range to accelerate EV adoption
- Lithium-ion batteries are the current standard for EVs, despite the short operating lifespan
- Solid-state and lithium-silicon technologies will revolutionise the EV industry
- EVs using silicon dominant batteries will have charging capacities in the region of 300KW, however the technology will reach commercialisation stage in 2026
James Hodgson, principal analyst at ABI Research, said: “Recent research around lithium-based chemistries has revolved around using different lithium-based batteries to provide better fire resistance, quicker charges, and longer life spans.
“The only way to significantly advance energy density is to add silicon to the Li-ion battery. The current approach of adding silicon in small incremental percentages (<10%) will enable energy density increases to 300 Wh/kg over the next 3-5 years.
“The addition of silicon alone over the next 7 years will grow the EV installed base from 8 million in 2019 to 40 million in 2025, as consumers’ ‘range anxiety” slowly eases.” For more information about the report, visit Electric Vehicle Battery and Charging Technologies


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The situation that prevented millions of people from accessing Skype's internet telephony service late last week was a "perfect storm" and should not reoccur, the company said on Tuesday.
Stories by Peter Sayer
Xerox researchers have developed a search tool that tries to understand documents, rather than looking for keywords, in order to provide better results.
IBM liked Watchfire's web application security software so much it plans to buy the company for an undisclosed sum, it said yesterday.
Adobe Systems has boosted its Adobe Acrobat 3D software for incorporating 3D CAD models in PDF files, adding the ability to mark up the images with product manufacturing information such as dimensions and tolerances. The update also allows the exporting of such data from the PDF file into formats, such as STEP and IGES, used by manufacturing tools.
Amazon.com has paid IBM an undisclosed amount of money to settle all outstanding patent lawsuits between the two companies. They have also agreed to a long-term patent cross-licencing agreement, giving Amazon access to IBM's patents on web technology, the vendors say.
Cisco Systems has agreed to buy SpansLogic, a privately held designer of network processing chips based in Mountain View, California, for an undisclosed sum.
Camera manufacturers including Canon, Pentax and Fujifilm will show new digital SLRs for professional photographers at the PMA07 show in Las Vegas next month.
AMD has pumped up the performance of its Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor and cooled down two single-core Athlon 64 processors.
Apple., the computer and digital music company, has bought rights to all "Apple" trademarks from Apple Corps the record company set up by The Beatles, ending a long-running trademark dispute between the two. However, there was no word on whether Apple will soon begin selling The Beatles' music through its iTunes Store.
Despite a fall in demand for flat-panel televisions in Europe, liquid-crystal display (LCD) models outsold old-fashioned "tube" televisions for the first time there during the third quarter.
IBM has added a new single sign-on tool to its Tivoli software range to assist small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) to link their web sites with those of partners and customers.
UK supermarket chain Tesco is to launch six PC software applications under its own brand, including a word processor and antivirus software, later this month. The software packages will sell for under £20 (around NZ$55), and will include free online support via email.
Sony will begin selling an electronic-book reader in stores and on the Web in the U.S. by the end of October, and has opened a dedicated online bookstore for the reader.
Skype is working to make its Internet telephony service more enterprise friendly, and expects to introduce a beta version of its software with support for enterprise management functions within weeks.
EMC and Symantec missed out on a boom in storage software sales in the second quarter, according to IDC research.
This article provides guidance for managed service providers (MSPs) that want to grow their business. It is also useful for any IT service provider looking to move from the break-fix model to managed IT services.


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Superdrug and Savers to create 25,000 UK jobs by 2030
A.S. Watson Group has committed to create 25,000 jobs at Superdrug and Savers for 16-23 year olds across the UK by 2030.
This commitment its part of the group's initiative to offer 200,000 job opportunities for young people globally, aiming to support young people’s career development and help build a more equitable and inclusive society.
A.S. Watson Group is also investing five million global training hours by 2030 to help up-skill the younger generation for a future in 'offline plus online', from training sessions to on-the-job coaching.
Amy Davies, People Director at Superdrug and Savers, said: “We understand healthy business is only possible with a healthy society and believe that decisive action is needed to build a society that nurtures talent, embraces diversity and improves livelihoods.
"Our pledge will create a better, stronger business; ready for the huge societal changes we are experiencing today.”
Joanne Mackie, Group People Director (Europe) of A.S. Watson Group, added: “Young people are an important source of talent and creativity. By developing their skills, we can make our business stronger and fitter for the future.
"We look forward to 200,000 talented young people joining us between now and 2030 to help fuel the sustainable growth engine for A.S. Watson.”
Established in Hong Kong in 1841, A.S. Watson Group is an international health and beauty retailer operating over 16,100 stores under 12 retail brands in 27 markets, with over 140,000 employees worldwide.


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What we covered in Melbourne food and drink this week
•Armadale cafe Ondo has opened a location in the CBD, with a goal of introducing lesser-known Korean dishes to town – “we try to make food that you cannot easily find, even in Korea,” says co-owner Levin Eun.
•Two Franks has opened on Coburg’s Reynard Street, and it’s already revitalising the strip. Its owners know the area well – they grew up in a house directly across the road.
Save 20% when you buy two or more Broadsheet books. Order now to make sure they arrive in time for Christmas.SHOP NOW
•The Collingwood space that once housed Congress has a new occupier – Chiaki. By day, it’s a Japanese cafe, and at night it becomes an izakaya-style wine bar with a focus on sake.
•Movida Aqui has reopened after an extensive renovation. Sleek, serious, but no less convivial – it’s never looked better. And there are plenty of new dishes to try, too.
•Beechworth’s Bridge Road Brewers has set up shop in the big smoke. Head to its expansive new Brunswick East dining hall and taproom to try its beloved beers – plus some exclusive newbies brewed on-site – and fun food from a jetsetting menu.
•Pieman’s Son, in Heidelberg Heights, may be new, but it's drawing on a long-running pastry legacy. Founder Pat Cremean is the son of the founder of Boscastle Pastries, and is using that lifelong experience to bake excellent pies, vanilla slices, sausage rolls, and more.
•Over on the Surf Coast, Torquay favourite Mortadeli has added another feather to its cap. It’s shuffled the shelves around the deli and made space for a new pasta bar serving Roman favourites such as cacio e pepe and – soon – Maltese classics.
•Charlie Carrington, of Atlas Dining, opens a new project today: Little Havana, a casual shop dedicated to the Cubano sandwich. Head over to Prahran for five takes on the Florida-born, Cuban-inspired sangas.
You might have missed
•Last week, Melbourne’s chefs, restaurateurs and eaters were up in arms at the news that tartare and other raw meat dishes may be forced to be taken off menus due to changes to the Food Act 1984 – read about the reaction here.
•But in contradiction to the experience of restaurants being inspected by the City of Yarra, the Department of Health told Broadsheet that there have been no changes to the food service requirements of raw meats in over 20 years. The Tartaregate plot thickens. Watch this space.
•This week on Broadsheet’s podcast Around Town we talked about two hit pop-ups: Kafeneion and Super Norma. Plus we recapped Arbory Afloat’s new Mexico them and the expansion of Good Heavens, Melbourne’s biggest rooftop bar.
•Freddy’s Pizza is wrapping up its residency at Windsor’s Young Hearts with a big old farewell party. Head over tomorrow from 2pm for DJs, snacks, drinks and – of course – pizza. And it’s free entry.
•The Ichi Group – responsible for venues such as Fitzroy’s Ichi Ni Nana Izakaya and St Kilda’s Ichi NI – is now doing luxury sushi boxes. $120 gets you a box of excellent sushi delivered. It’s a surefire party win. Order here.
•Over in the CBD, Yakimono has just started a bottomless lunch. $89 gets you three courses plus 90 minutes of matched drinks. Book now.
•A few blocks over, be sure to check out With Gusto – a new bottle shop and wine bar. It’s a perfect place for picking up a cheeky bottle on the way from work.
•Society Restaurant has been awarded the best new wine list award at the World of Fine Wine awards. Congratulations to the team! Stop by the opulent restaurant every day between 12pm to 4pm for a personal walkthrough of the wines by Lucas Group’s Head of Wine Loïc Avril.


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Earlier this week, Massively RIFT columnist Karen Bryan expressed frustration over the seemingly inevitable MMO expansion problem: gear resets. We expect new gear along with our new content, but a complete gear reset, she argued, "renders all previous raid content irrelevant." Everything you earn...
Posted on Dec 20th 2014 1:00PM
Posted on Dec 20th 2014 12:00PM
Posted on Dec 20th 2014 10:00AM


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A look at the business of social networking in the AP article: Networking site LinkedIn causes buzz — but can it be profitable?
[Reed] Hoffman [LinkedIn CEO] and LinkedIn co-founder Konstantin Guericke say they’re confident their 30-employee company will become profitable before 2006. How? By relying on a mixture of advertising and subscriptions sold to some of the site’s 1.2 million users.
They believe they can, while leaving the basic service open for free, charge “power users” such as executive recruiters, sales representatives and investment professionals who tap into the network frequently.


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Monero Now Added On Mobi Wallet
Mobi wallet, a cryptocurrency wallet provider on 30 July reported that they will now be adding Monero [XMR] as part of their currency lineup. Recently,15 new cryptocurrencies were added by the app.
At present, the wallet service is currently supporting 20 cryptocurrencies. From major coins like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin [LTC] and Bitcoin Cash [BCH] to other coins like WaltonChain [WTC], Loopring [LRC], Golem [GNT], Basic Attention Token [BAT], and Populous [PPT].
One can use them to trade with 150 different fiat currencies such as the Japanese Yen, the Euro, US Dollar and Pound Sterling. The following statement was released on their official blog spot, regarding the addition of Monero:
“We’re extremely pleased to be following up the recent addition of 15 different cryptocurrencies to Mobi wallet, by adding one more, Monero (XMR). Monero was a clear favorite to be integrated to Mobi. Consistently one of the top liquid assets on coinmarketcap, our customers can now access, send and receive Monero alongside their other assets without ever leaving the app.”
Bitcoin deposits above 0.05 Bitcoin aren’t charged any fee by the wallet. The fee of 0.000075 BTC per transaction for non-SegWit users and of 0.000045 BTC for SegWit users is charged by the wallet.
While at the same time exchanges between Mobi wallets are free of cost, on-chain exchanges can change progressively. Mobi brags of having one of the “best rates on this planet”, sourcing value information from a “comprehensive base of commercial sources”.
As of late Monero has been getting a great deal of help for addition on wallets, as the most recent update gave full help to Ledger wallet. The support for Ledger was set up in Monero’s GUI variant 0.12.3.0.
The revolutionary features for the privacy of Monero is one of the primary reason for its utilization in the cryptocurrency world. Monero doesn’t reveal the identity information of the parties involved in the transaction.
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For Summer 2020, Paula’s has dropped a selection of clothing and accessories in shades of yellow, green and orange to create a summer collection with long-sleeved tops, sunglasses, jewelry and other items. Pieces with Smiley iconography include:
Mosaics on t-shirts tie-dyed in pastels or contrasted against black and white;
An oversized jumper with the Smiley logo dripping down in threads; and
A pattern on a shirt with matching swimming shorts or as buttons on a formal white shirt.
“This colorful capsule is all about optimism, elevated to an nth and captured in immediate objects,” says Jonathan Anderson, creative director, Loewe. “It is about sharing values as a community – most of all: an invitation to look together to brighter days ahead.”
The collection also features a Smiley in marguerite lace, with the symbol woven into the sleeves of an asymmetric shirt and throughout a sleeveless maxi-dress. Multiple accessories get the smiley treatment as well.
“This collection brings a timely reminder that we need more freedom and love today,” says Michaela Fass, senior vice president, fashion, Smiley. “The Paula’s drop is
Smiley has featured front and center for the launch, with a full-scale retail activation, major digital support and a PR and influencers campaign.
The campaign and partnership continue Smiley’s work in the fashion vertical. Earlier this year, the brand teamed with Lyfcycle for an
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The new group aims to improve the sustainability of the shrimp farming sector and work with the wider supply chain to find and integrate future solutions. It was agreed that, as a first activity, the group will review and give comments to the draft of the feed standard of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC). ASC certification is one of the requirements members need to meet the quality standards promoted by the SSP initiative; alongside zero use of antibiotics and traceability.
SSP looks to work with companies in a pre-competitive way on subjects that require joint solutions, as they believe this will drive environmental and sustainable improvements much faster than working alone.
José Antonio Camposano, SSP representative, declared: "We can improve the productivity and even the sustainability indexes of shrimp farming through animal nutrition, and at the same time strengthen the shrimp’s immune system. Feed ingredients therefore are an integral element as we look to the future sustainability of the industry, and why we have chosen this as one of our first places to start working together."
“The SSP is the first time in the shrimp industry there is a platform of producers who are looking to support innovations, support environmental improvements, and are willing to work with the supply chain to bring these into production,” commented Carlos Miranda, general manager of Skretting Ecuador. “Ecuador is a good place for this to start given our recent growth there, but we look forward to seeing SSP take this work further”.
The group brought together a group of leading companies from the aquafeed industry including Agripac, Balnova, BioMar, Inprosa, Skretting and Vitapro, and discussed how they could help achieve the SSP’s vision to provide a healthy, high quality and sustainable product while minimising environmental impact.
The meeting was sponsored by the US Soybean Export Council (USSEC), who share the group’s vision, and are also working to ensure the sustainable sourcing of feed ingredients.


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Latest deCarta (formerly Telcontar) platform delivers new, custom performance features to meet regional needs of rapidly growing Chinese Internet and mobile LBS market.
deCarta, announced the launch of its Drill Down Server (DDS) 4.1. The newest version of the LBS industry's most widely deployed geospatial software platform adds China map data and a host of customized performance enhancements that enable deCarta customers to deploy dynamic location-enhanced applications that meet the region-specific needs of China's burgeoning market.
China presents a significant opportunity for today's wireless, Internet portal and telematics companies. According to the Ministry of Information Industry, April 2006, there are more than 400 million mobile phone users and an increasingly growing demand for in-car and personal navigation systems. As well, there are over 110 million Internet users; second only to the United States.
"With China's Internet and wireless markets booming, there's no better time to enter this market," said J. Kim Fennell, President and CEO of deCarta. "China's mapping and address data are very different from its US and European counterparts. Traditionally it's been difficult to deploy location-based solutions that meet the specific needs of that market. Our newest software platform solves these challenges by enabling users in China to interact with location-based services in ways that are intuitive and most relevant to their society. At the same time, we continue to provide the benefits that have been the hallmarks of our success: speed, scalability and the ability for our customers to apply their specific identity and brand to their application."
In addition to the building blocks of consumer mapping and routing programs—map rendering, driving directions, geocoding and proximity search — the latest version of deCarta's DDS platform adds a number of new performance features designed to meet China's cultural needs. These features include support for Chinese characters, the ability to look up streets and points of interests and most especially, the ability to conduct landmark-based navigation — which is the preferred method of navigation in China as many streets are not identified by name.
Supporting the release of DDS 4.1, deCarta is also releasing map data of China from NAV2 formatted in deCarta's highly efficient and patented Rich Map Format (RMF), a compact and optimized data format that provides efficient map data access for fast route calculation and map display.
The deCarta DDS platform also enables customers to customize location-enhanced applications with their own branding, logo and proprietary content as well as provides a high-level of user customization for greater service differentiation. With DDS 4.1, developers can deliver Web-based and mobile location-enabled applications to the Internet as well as to mobile devices such as cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), personal navigation devices (PNDs) and in-vehicle telematics.
The DDS platform, which already processes more than 2 billion mapping and routing transactions per month for Google Local, Yahoo! Local, Ask.com and the company's other Internet, mobile and telematics customers, provides scalability with the proven capacity to handle the large influx of traffic expected as location-based applications are deployed in China.
Ten latest articles from Platforms & middleware


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-- Manor Lanes Inc., 1517 NE 26th St. The passenger side door of a 1986 Mazda pickup truck was forced to take a $170 Radio Shack microcassette recorder between 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. April 9.
-- 2700 block of North Dixie Highway. A $150 purse containing $200, a $100 Mont Blanc pen and a Florida driver's license was taken from an open window of a car around 9:30 a.m. April 11. The make of the car was not reported.
BURGLARY FROM RESIDENCE
-- 2400 block of Northwest Ninth Terrace. A Philips videocassette recorder and miscellaneous jewelry worth $1,350 were taken after a thief entered an open window in the master bedroom between 7:15 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. April 9.
-- 1400 block of Northeast 24th Street. A 1985 Ford Thunderbird was taken between 9 p.m. April 5 and 12:30 a.m. the next day. In addition, a wallet containing VISA, MasterCard, Jordan Marsh and Byrons credit cards and a Florida driver's license was taken. The car was recovered in good condition on Northwest Sixth Street in Fort Lauderdale.


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Marketers spent big on the keywords "super bowl" and its variants to attract fans in January, according to recent data. The top keyword on Google in the U.S. brought in $328,702 with a click-through rate of 9.50% at a cost of $1.38 per click from about 15 advertisers. The variant "superbowl" had the best click–through rate at 10.90% at a cost of $1.51 per click. Four advertisers spent a combined $115,503 in January 2016.
AdGooroo, a Kantar Media company, examined U.S. Google desktop text advertising activity on 168 Super Bowl-related keywords from Jan. 1 through Jan. 31, and found that Doritos’ parent company Pepsi.com generated a 2.1% click share, followed by Walmart.com at 2%, KraftRecipes.com with 1.9%, Pinterest.com at 1.8%, and Ideas.Evite.com with 1.5%.
The investments marketers are making in paid search this year appear to link into cross-marketing strategies. Pepsi also promoted its sponsorship of the Super Bowl half-time show for the fourth year in a row. Walmart and Kraft Foods promoted recipes for Super Bowl parties.
Doritos went head on to advertise its tenth and final year for its "Crash the Super Bowl" customer-generated ad contest, leading in click share that accounted for 36.5% of all clicks on the Super Bowl keyword group in January.
Ticket sellers also led in click share. Following Doritos, the next-closest market segment were ticket sellers Ticketmaster at 5.9%, StubHub at 4.3%, and Ticket Liquidator at 3.8%. Ten other smaller ticket sellers made up another 19% of clicks on the Super Bowl keyword group.
AdGooroo identifies three dominant themes in the Top 10 Super Bowl keywords in January, including tickets, party food and commercials. The general term "super bowl" and its variant, "superbowl," accounted for more paid-search spend than any other keywords in January -- a combined $444,000.
It's not just about paid-search advertising. Content marketing has become a way to attract female Super Bowl viewers through organic searches on engines and Web sites. Yaniv Makover, CEO and co-founder at Keywee, a content marketing company, says the cost of targeting audiences of women 25-to-44 years old has dipped about 15% in the past two to three weeks.
More than 90% of the Super Bowl content from publishers with a large female following focus on game-day snacks, meals, drinks, etc., finding food an attractive way to connect with consumers.
Companies like Mountain Dew take content to the extreme. Take Mountain Dew, for example. Query in search the keywords "puppy monkey baby" to find Mountain Dew's bizarre spot. The company says it used all three keywords and images because those are the top three that attract Super Bowl viewers to advertisements.
BBDO New York designed the puppy-monkey-baby combination to illustrate Mountain Dew Kickstart’s blend of Dew, juice and caffeine. Mountain Dew returned to the Super Bowl this year after a 16-year absence, despite ads for the brand Kickstart, which launched in 2013, recently found a place in Super Bowl pre-game shows.
Advertisers diversifying their investments across channels have a better chance of keeping loyal customers. The shift continues to get brands rethinking their digital strategies around the Super Bowl, from simply redistributing television commercials to video channels by using the commercial as a topic of conversation on social sites.


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WASHINGTON -- Consumer prices fell for the second straight month, extending a break for Americans' pocketbooks. Less expensive energy bills were the main factor pulling down prices.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that the Consumer Price Index, the government's most closely watched inflation barometer, dropped 0.2 percent in May, following a 0.1 percent dip in April.
It marked the biggest decline since consumer prices plunged 0.7 percent in December 2008. That was a period when the worst recession since the 1930s stoked fears of deflation. The country didn't get stuck in a deflationary spiral then, and probably won't now, economists say.
Meanwhile, "core" consumer prices, which strip out volatile energy and food, edged up 0.1 percent in May, after being flat in April. That meant core prices are up only 0.9 percent over the past year -- below the Fed's inflation target.
For the year, overall consumer prices rose 2 percent -- within the Fed's inflation comfort zone.


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New Dutch Ambassador meets with private sector to discuss youth entrepreneurship and employment
Amman, Jordan – The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, on Thursday 2 September 2021, organised a private sector dialogue session with over 30 Jordanian businesses ranging in size from small, medium and large enterprises. The companies in attendance came from diverse industries including but not limited to banks, investment companies, food delivery services, logistics and pharmaceuticals. This was an opportunity for the new Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Kingdom of Jordan, H.E. Harry Verweij, to meet with and get acquainted with key players of Jordan’s private sector.
In his first official address as Ambassador to Jordan, H.E. Verweij presented the embassy’s private sector engagement plans and programmes while stressing the importance of engaging youth in the private sector. “Youth are key for sustainable economic growth and central throughout the Netherlands’ development policies. The Netherlands launched a strategy called Youth@Heart last year to ensure inclusion of youth in our approaches and increase their agency in shaping their future. To Jordan, this is highly relevant hence the focus of youth in our discussion today”, said Verweij.
The Netherlands is an active supporter of private sector development in Jordan. Since 2019, the Netherlands has committed over 30 million euros towards activities that focus on improving market access and strengthening economic actors in the horticulture value chain, promoting entrepreneurship and improving access to finance. Youth, women and vulnerable communities are mainstreamed throughout the embassy’s economic development programmes.
Furthermore, the Netherlands is particularly active in supporting the horticultural value chain, helping companies raise production and quality of the produce, while using less water. In addition, the Netherlands is pro-actively helping agricultural and other companies in preparing for and entering foreign markets – including the Netherlands – through the Dutch Center for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI).
Recently, the embassy signed a 4 million euro project with Leaders International that will help Jordanian SMEs become consistent and high quality suppliers to Jordanian industries, replacing the need for more expensive and time-consuming imports.
The Netherlands designated Jordan as a priority country for development cooperation in 2019, investing more than 200 million euros to support the hosting of refugees and vulnerable host communities. The Netherlands and Jordan enjoy expanded cooperation in a number of fields, including food security, water management, technical and vocational education, trade and investment, entrepreneurship, and human rights.


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Talks of insurance and tax dominated Thursday’s discussion of the Legislature’s first step to regulate peer-to-peer car-sharing services.
The Senate Commerce Committee testified on a bill sponsored by Senator Joe Cryan (D-Union) that would require companies that manage peer-to-peer car sharing to provide insurance liability for vehicles rented through their platform .
Car sharing companies allow vehicle owners to rent their cars to others when they are not using them. These companies – which the bill distinguishes from car rental companies – already operate in New Jersey, although a lack of regulation means it’s often unclear whose insurance is on the hook after an accident.
“Now it’s the wild, wild west. They sue everyone and there are carriers that deny it. Where is the victim going?” said Senator Jon Bramnick (R-Union).
While the measure would ensure that someone – the car’s owner, its driver or the carsharing company – had insurance, there was disagreement as to whether the coverage required by the law would be sufficient.
“Because most traditional auto insurance policies don’t cover a car driven through a peer-to-peer service, the peer-to-peer company should always be the primary insurance while the car is being shared,” said Jim Lynch, president of the New Jersey Association for Justice, a legal advocacy group.
The bill, as written, would require car-sharing companies to pay only liability, personal injury, and underinsured and uninsured motorists up to the state’s minimum limits. Lawmakers have tried to raise some of those limits in recent months, including a successful push that will raise minimum liability coverage for personal injury next year and again in 2026.
Lynch demanded that car-sharing companies carry at least $1.5 million in liability insurance, the same coverage required by ride-sharing services like Lyft and Uber. Kenny Montilla, a lobbyist for the carsharing company Turo, noted that the bill would prevent cars rented through a carsharing service from being used as taxis or other rental vehicles.
“To speak to what we like about this bill, it ensures that coverage does not lapse, so no matter which party tries to sue, there is coverage that is provided by the driver of the shared vehicle, the owner of the shared vehicle vehicle or platform provided in the event that either party is uninsured or underinsured,” said Montilla.
Bramnick was close to endorsing the $1.5 million limit, but argued that car sharing companies should be required to provide more than minimum liability insurance.
Montilla said car rental companies are subject to the same limit, adding that car-sharing companies offer protection plans that provide additional coverage.
Rental companies that compete directly with car-sharing companies said their competitors should pay the same fees and taxes levied on rental cars because they offer the same service — even if car-sharing companies try to claim that they don’t do this.
“I know you’ve probably heard, and you may hear testimonies in the future, that peer-to-peer companies don’t rent cars,” said Dean Thompson, vice president of finance at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. “I encourage you to do a Google search and check out their Google ads. You see “Rent the perfect car”. You’ll see “Rent Now.”
For rentals in New Jersey, there is a daily security fee of $5 in addition to sales tax. Car sharing companies pay sales tax but not the fee. They’re also exempt from airport fees and local taxes on rental cars levied in Newark and Elizabeth, Thompson said.
Lawmakers might find extending fees and taxes to carsharing companies a hard pill to swallow. Rental cars tend to be more expensive than car sharing, and additional costs could make the newer service less accessible to low-income residents.
“I recently traveled abroad and needed to rent a car for five days. I used one of the well known companies that are here. The cost for five days was $750 and it wasn’t a super luxury car,” said Senator Bob Singer (R-Ocean), a co-sponsor of Bill, who added, “To make it affordable for young people, make it affordable for young people Making people affordable for people who are starting out or struggling – in these financial times, that’s so important.”
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British Courts Are Seeing a Surge in Cases Over Unpaid Debts
(Bloomberg) -- British courts are seeing a surge in claims to claw back unpaid business debts, an early warning sign that more companies could face insolvency after the pandemic.
Court orders to pay a debt are a bellwether for future insolvency and the latest data paints a gloomy picture, according to a report by advisory firm Begbies Traynor Group Plc. “The latest official figures show that court activity is picking up as creditors become more aggressive in chasing debts.”
The number of county court judgments lodged against companies jumped to 21,769 during the third quarter, 51% more than the previous three-month period and more than twice the amount seen a year earlier, the report said.
The number of businesses in significant financial distress dropped 14% from the previous quarter with pent-up demand helping to fuel a boom in consumption. That economic tailwind has helped to provide companies with some respite, according to the report.
Even so, big challenges for businesses lie ahead in the shape of rising inflation and energy prices, constraints on labor availability and rising Covid-19 rates as the government also winds down pandemic support measures.
“Despite the summer economic boom, systematic problems remain, and some businesses are encountering difficulties in paying back government Covid loans,” said Julie Palmer, a partner at Begbies Traynor. “While many businesses have returned to a sense of normality, history suggests that high levels of debts and subsequent overtrading could eventually take their toll.”
U.K. corporate debt soared by 1.9 trillion pounds ($2.6 trillion) in 2020 to 6.6 trillion pounds, another recent study by Begbies Traynor found. More than 50% of the country’s businesses are “saddled with ‘toxic debt’ that may never be repaid,” according to that report.
Company insolvencies for England and Wales jumped to 3,765 in the third quarter, up 17% from the previous quarter and up 43% compared to the previous year, according to data from The Insolvency Service released Friday.
By far most of those insolvencies were creditors’ voluntary liquidations, the process by which directors of a company choose to place the business into liquidation to pay debt.
“The rise in CVLs would suggest that company directors are choosing to close their businesses after trading for more than a year and half during a pandemic and deeming future success unlikely,” said Nicky Fisher, deputy vice president at insolvency and restructuring trade body R3.
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