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The Most Toxic Retailers on the Planet
Dr. Mercola, Guest
The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency compile and keep a current list of chemical substances manufactured or processed in the U.S. That list1 currently includes about 85,000 chemicals.
Among them are 10,000 chemicals allowed to be added to food and food-contact materials in the U.S., either directly or indirectly, yet few have been properly tested for safety.
An evaluation of nearly 4,000 additives intentionally added to food revealed 80 percent lacked enough information to determine how much could be safely eaten and only 6.7 percent had reproductive toxicology data.2 And that’s just food chemicals.
In recent years, researchers and scientists have raised warnings about mounting toxic exposures, leading to efforts to rein in the use of chemicals known to be hazardous to human health. Unfortunately, many companies are still failing in this regard.
Report Card Reveals Most Toxic Retailers
Three years ago, the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families’ Mind the Store campaign started publishing a report card on retailer actions to eliminate toxic chemicals. The third annual report3,4 reveals which retailers have made strides to protect its customers from toxic chemicals in the products they sell, and which ones have not. This year, chain restaurants were also included for the first time.
About half of the 40 companies evaluated have made “slow but meaningful progress at improving the chemical safety of the products, food and packaging they sell,” while the other half, including all restaurant chains, have not made any discernible efforts to reduce toxicity. According to the report, published November 14, 2018:5
“Four retailers received the highest grades for their work to protect customers from toxic products and packaging, setting the pace for the industry: Apple (A+), Target (A), Walmart (A-) and IKEA (A-).
In 2018, Walgreens, Rite Aid and Amazon were ranked ‘most improved’ with all three companies announcing sweeping chemical safety policies over the past two months.”
Mike Schade, campaign director for Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families commented on the results:6
“Companies can prevent harm and protect public health by taking commonsense steps to phase out toxic chemicals in everyday products. Retailers have an important role to play — they have both the power and the moral responsibility to eliminate and safely replace toxic chemicals to ‘mind the store.’ They should stop letting chemical corporations put public health at risk.”
Which Retailers Scored Failing Grades in 2018?
In all, 19 of the 40 retailers, grocery and fast food restaurant chains included in the review received an “F” in 2018 for “failing to announce policies or publicly report progress to assess, reduce or eliminate toxic chemicals in the products or packaging they sell.” As noted by Tracy Gregoire, project coordinator for Learning Disabilities Association of America’s Healthy Children:7
“Learning and developmental disabilities now affect 1 in 6 children. Over a quarter of these disabilities are linked to toxic chemical exposures. Prenatal and early childhood exposure to harmful chemicals in consumer products and food packaging can lead to lifelong impacts and chronic health conditions.
Major retailers have both the opportunity and the responsibility to become industry leaders by keeping toxic chemicals out of products and packaging to protect children’s minds and bodies.”
While some of the companies that received an “F” would seem like “givens,” even companies like Trader Joe’s and Publix are on this list.
Companies that received a Failing Grade for 20188
|Trader Joe’s||Panera Bread|
|Office Depot||Sally Beauty|
|Subway||Restaurant Brands International|
|Dollar General||TJX Companies|
|Yum! Brands||Ace Hardware|
|Sobeys||99 Cents Only|
Executive director of the Environmental Health Strategy Center, Mike Belliveau, a coauthor of the report, said:9
“The food we buy should nourish us, not expose us to toxic chemicals from packaging and processing. Restaurant chains are serving up a recipe for poor health by failing to slash the use of toxic chemicals in food packaging and other food contact materials.
Toxic industrial chemicals like phthalates and PFAS don’t belong in the food we eat. Consumers expect a lot more leadership from food retailers in getting toxic chemicals out of the food supply chain.”
According to the report, this year’s analysis reveals five key findings:10
1.Retailers are making an effort to remove certain toxic chemicals from their products — Examples given include phthalates, parabens and formaldehyde in beauty and personal care products, and oxybenzone in sunscreens.
Rite Aid is planning to eliminate two types of phthalates from its private label products by 2020, and will phase out nine others. By the end of 2022, Home Depot will also prohibit two phthalates and seven other chemicals in any household cleaning products they sell.
Ten retailers — Lowe’s, Sherwin-Williams, The Home Depot, Walmart, True Value, PPG Paints, AutoZone, Kelly-Moore Paints, Canadian Tire and Home Hardware — have all vowed to cease selling paint strippers containing methylene chloride and NMP by the end of 2018.
According to the report, “At least three paint stripper brands have recently announced new products coming to market that are free of methylene chloride and NMP, showing the power of retailers to drive the development of safer solutions.”
2.Retailers are strengthening or adopting new policies to address toxic chemicals — Aside from Walgreens, Rite Aid and Amazon — which reported the most significant improvements in this regard — Target, Lowe’s, Costco, Kohl’s and Sephora also improved.
3.Retailers are “aligning around a common list of chemicals of concern” — primarily the beauty and personal care stewardship list,11 created by the Forum for the Future in collaboration with The Sustainability Consortium, which is a subset of a larger list12 containing several thousand chemicals with suspected toxicity, developed by government agencies in the U.S., Europe and other regions.
4.Food retailers, on the other hand, “seriously lag behind,” having been slow to adopt policies to reduce or eliminate known toxins such as phthalates and PFAS from their packaging and materials that come into contact with the food.
5.Despite progress, “too many” retailers are still not addressing the chemical safety of their products — “Almost half the retailers evaluated lacked even the most basic public chemicals policy,” the report states.
American Academy of Pediatrics Calls for Reduced Exposure to Chemicals
The fact that all food retailers received a failing score is disturbing, considering their overall impact on an individual’s day-to-day chemical exposure. As noted by Dr. Leonardo Trasande, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Council on Environmental Health and lead author of the AAP’s policy statement on toxic food chemicals issued earlier this year:13
“There are critical weaknesses in the current food additives regulatory process, which doesn’t do enough to ensure all chemicals added to foods are safe enough to be part of a family’s diet. As pediatricians, we’re especially concerned about significant gaps in data about the health effects of many of these chemicals on infants and children …
Chemicals that affect the endocrine system, for example, can have lasting effects on a child since hormones coordinate complex functions throughout the body. Even small disruptions at key moments during development can have lifelong consequences.”
In July 2018, the AAP, a group of over 65,000 pediatricians in the U.S., issued a policy statement urging parents to limit their children’s exposure to plastic chemicals known to leach into food from packaging, as well as chemical food additives, warning the chemicals may damage their children’s health for years to come.14 In a policy statement, the AAP expressed concerns related to:15
“[T]he use of colorings, flavorings and chemicals deliberately added to food during processing (direct food additives) as well as substances in food contact materials, including adhesives, guys, coatings, paper, paperboard, plastic and other polymers which may contaminate food as part of packaging or manufacturing equipment …”
Some of those chemicals include phthalates, nitrates and bisphenols. Experts fear these chemicals have a range of side effects in humans, including metabolic dysfunction, thyroid and other endocrine disruption, impaired brain development, increasing risk of obesity and decreased birth weight.16Synthetic hormones may also disrupt how calories are processed and ultimately how they are converted, contributing to metabolic dysfunction.
World Health Organization Has Also Issued Warnings About Food and Plastic Chemicals
A 2013 joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Environment Program17 also warned that an all-out ban on endocrine disrupting chemicals may be needed to protect the health of future generations.
This report is one of the most comprehensive on endocrine disrupting chemicals commonly found in plastics and food additives to date, and highlights a wide variety of problems, including undescended testicles, breast, prostate and thyroid cancer, nervous system defects and the development of attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children.18


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Written by Seamus Kelleher.
The online retail industry soared to new heights over the past year, growing more than 15% and showing no signs of slowing down. With the number of consumers browsing and buying online predicted to hit 270 million by 2020, online sales represent a major opportunity for retailers in today’s increasingly digital age. Revenue Conduit in Akron, Ohio, helps retailers grow by providing an all-in-one service to attract, convert and retain online shoppers.
In 2012, co-founder Daniel Kurt and his wife were managing an online store through a popular e-commerce platform, Magento. When they wanted a better way to reach customers, they enlisted another service, Infusionsoft, an automated customer relationship management (CRM) platform. Kurt became frustrated with the inability to easily import data from his e-commerce platform to the CRM platform, so he called his friend and longtime problem-solving partner Parag Jagdale from his days at The Ohio State’s Fisher College of Business.
“Parag and I have been solving problems together since college. He built the first integration of our software, integrating my e-commerce data with the CRM software,” said Kurt. “There are so many online retailers with the same limitations and problems, that we both realized the opportunity and potential for a solution like this. That’s when we decided to turn this into a product.”
The company’s software allows e-commerce retailers to connect their online stores to major marketing automation platforms. This link drives more informed marketing decisions by enabling retailers to target customers based on attributes like their location, or buying behaviors such as how much they spent. Revenue Conduit’s integration simplifies and automates a previously tedious, time consuming process to help retailers uncover hidden opportunities and drive business.
“There was no service on the market doing what we do, and we genuinely recognized a need for the technology through our own experiences,” said Kurt. “There were a lot of companies doing very specific things in the e-commerce space, but none that could tie everything together.”
Kurt and Jagdale initially bootstrapped their startup with small personal investments in 2012, but they’ve since grown into a company of 16 employees. They have offices in Akron and Chicago, and give much credit to Ohio Third Frontier regional partners in northeast Ohio with helping them achieve early success. The company’s first outside funding was a grant from GLIDE’s Innovation Fund, as well as investment and crucial mentorship from JumpStart. Revenue Conduit is headquartered at Akron Global Business Accelerator.
Kurt and Jagdale are looking forward to continuing their company’s growth by identifying further opportunities in the e-commerce space and working to build their solutions. As the problem-solving partners look to the future, they remain grateful for Ohio’s entrepreneurial climate supporting them along the way.
“We’ve been fortunate as a startup in Ohio. The Midwest has a lot going for it right now, with a lot of hardworking, incredibly smart people,” said Kurt. “We have access to extremely talented people and support from the state. These entrepreneurial programs, and the state’s support of these initiatives, have helped us not only get off the ground, but continue to grow.”

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LFMEAB for relocation of tannery units to Savar.
The assoc unveils first-ever business promotion brochure.
FE Report Leathergoods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh (LFMEAB) on Thursday demanded immediate relocation of tannery units to the new leather industrial state of Savar to meet buyers’ compliance requirements. The association also sought sustainable and necessary policy support from the government for helping promote the country’s leather goods and footwear manufacturing industry. The demands were made at a launching ceremony of LFMEAB business promotion brochure unveiling the investment prospects in the Bangladesh leather sector and attract foreign direct investment (FDI), held at a city restaurant. The programme was a joint collaboration of government, donors and the association of the manufacturers. Senior secretary of Ministry of Commerce Hedayetullah Al Mamun, Additional Secretary of Ministry of Industries Sushen C Das, President of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka (MCCI) Syed Nasim Manzur , President of LFMEAB Md Saiful Islam, Project Director of Bangladesh Inspired Kazi Roushan Ara and representatives of the international donor agencies, among others, were present in the programme. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Mamun said, after readymade garments (RMG) sector, the leather sector has huge potential in the global export market. He said the first-ever investment brochure of the sector will help attract FDI to the sector and the entrepreneurs should act now by developing green manufacturing facilities for the success of the sector through grabbing the global demand with diversified value added leather products. The MCCI president said despite having huge potentials, the local footwear and leather goods sector still lacks innovation in production process and product development. He also laid emphasis on building a positive brand image of the sector as well as the country in the global arena. “Bangladesh leather tanning industry meets 1.13 per cent of the global leather raw materials demand with the industry consisting of 200 tanneries, 3500 MSME’s, 2500 footwear making units and 90 large firms. Ten per cent of the world’s total leather demand is met by Bangladesh by employing 0.85 million people. It will reach $ 5 billion annual export by year 2020,” Mr Manzur added. “The Savar industrial state will help uphold the sector’s image abroad and attract more FDI to Bangladesh,” Mr Sushen C Das said. The LFMEAB president said Bangladesh produces 300 million square feet of leather per annum and global investors need to know the status of the leather sector as well as the country’s entrepreneurs.


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Cheese brand The Laughing Cow has introduced a plant-based version of its much-loved mini soft cheese triangles in the UK.
The new spreadable product is made from almonds and fortified with calcium and vitamin B12. Available as a wheel of eight triangles, it is claimed to be the UK’s first plant-based cheese to be sold in portions.
The Laughing Cow is owned by Bel Brands, which previously launched dairy-free versions of the cheese triangles in the US last year. The company has also introduced plant-based versions of its Babybel snacking cheeses in the UK, the US, and Canada.
Leader in cheese alternatives
In 2021, Bel Brands launched a dairy-free version of its popular cream cheese brand, Boursin. Additionally, the company has created a dedicated plant-based brand, Nurishh, which is available both in the UK and the US. The brand offers a range of products, including alternatives to camembert, mozzarella slices, and feta.
Bel Brands has previously said it aims to become a leader in cheese alternatives, making half of its portfolio plant-based by 2030.
“Enabling us to establish ourselves in a new category and allowing more consumers to enjoy the world of The Laughing Cow, the launch is designed to satisfy the growing consumer need for more plant-based products,” Oliver Richmond, senior brand manager at The Laughing Cow, told The Grocer. “As the first plant-based alternative to cheese in portions, the convenient format is set to see sales soaring.”
The cheese alternative will launch at Asda and Sainsbury’s stores UK-wide this month.


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In the last five months, the fastest growing UK alcohol brands including NIO Cocktails, Au Vodka, Ace + Freak, and Duppy Share have launched same-day and one-hour eco-friendly delivery on their online store thanks to UK-based logistics startup bodo. With eCommerce alcohol sales increasing by 43% between 2019 and 2020, due to the pandemic, the latest trend sees brands upgrading to a faster, better and greener online delivery experience (Drinks International / IWSR Report). The ready-to-drink (RTD) category, offered by Ace + Freak, is also rapidly expanding, with the RTD volume share expected to double in the next five years in top markets with ready-to-drink products anticipated to command 8% of Total Beverage Alcohol by 2025.
These market-leading brands have seen rapid success with NIO cocktails growing their sales from 700k in 2019 to 4m in 2020, AU Vodka has seen eCommerce growth of 10,000% since their launch and Duppy Share has raised £2m to grow in the UK. They’re now looking to further bolster their eCommerce growth by bringing customers instant delivery.
The latest generation of “online” millennial and Gen Z alcohol consumers has seen eCommerce become a major source of alcohol sales. According to a recent report by Profitero and Nielsen, 21% of UK consumers have bought alcohol online. Now, alcohol brands are upgrading their online store checkout to include 1-hour and same-day delivery thanks to London-based startup bodo. There are 3 main reasons alcohol brands are upgrading:
Alcohol brands are acquiring new customers with faster and more convenient delivery options, and turning them into loyal subscribers. According to a report by McKinsey, 46% of customers have abandoned their carts due to slow delivery.
Using bodo’s live map order tracking and branded Whatsapp / email communications, brands can create a memorable delivery experience which inspires 5-star reviews and retains customers.
Brands are also future-proofing their eCommerce checkout by adding sustainable delivery options. The average medium delivery emits 40 plastic bottles worth of CO2, and with 44% of consumers choosing to buy from brands with a clear commitment to sustainability, more sustainable delivery is a key priority for many brands in 2023.
Launched in 2022 by former Deliveroo and CloudKitchens executives, London-based bodo enables brands to add 1-hour and same-day sustainable delivery directly to their eCommerce store checkout. Once selected, customers receive branded communications on their Whatsapp or email and live order-tracking information. This is done with bodo’s easy-to-use eCommerce plug-in and central facilities in London.
The fastest growing UK brands are already using bodo to grow their eCommerce channel, including category leaders TRIP (CBD), Lucky Saint (non-alcoholic), Cult Gaia (fashion), Misfits and Free Soul (supplements), Madhappy (clothing), Nails.inc (cosmetics), SURI (electric toothbrush), and Ripple (nicotine-free vapes). Now, alcohol brands including Au Vodka, NIO Cocktails, Duppy Share, and Ace+Freak have taken notice.
“Consumer appetite for direct-to-consumer (D2C) services is growing and we’re thrilled to be working with some of the most exciting alcohol brands in the sector to meet this demand. We enjoy bodo being the catalyst that enables these unique brands to achieve their incredible potential and develop a unique rapport with their customers that they couldn’t otherwise through traditional retailers.” Jack Green, Co-Founder of bodo
“bodo has helped Au Vodka to bolster our e-commerce offering even further. Introducing a new, innovative delivery proposition for our customer base, allows us to take full advantage of the benefits of having a direct-to-consumer business model. Sustainable same-day and instant delivery for alcohol specifically have so many benefits for our consumer base, and it shows with our brand loyalty.” Tommy Roberts, eCommerce Manager Au Vodka


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AUS: Fire damage to vineyards, wineries revealed
Wildfire damage to Australia's Yarra Valley region has been estimated to affect more than 150 hectares of grapevines across 29 vineyards.
The affected area represented about 5% of the region's total vineyard plantings, but further damage from smoke taint has yet to be accounted for.
The Yarra Valley Wine Growers Association said the boutique Roundstone, Yarra Yarra and Calders wineries have been destroyed.
Unseasonably hot weather before the fires, as well as poor fruit setting conditions in some areas during spring, also means that some grape yields are up to 50% below expectations.
Sticks winery general manager Rob Dolan said his crush volume would be down by 80% this year, due to grape spoilage.
"Anything that's had bushfire on it or around it will probably have problems, both from the heat and the smoke," he said. "The smoke in the atmosphere is the big question ... later-ripening varieties are going to have some problems."
In addition to exacting a terrible human cost, the recent bushfires in Australia caused significant damage to the vineyards of the Yarra Valley in Victoria. And Chris Losh wonders whether the fires ma...
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Samsung is now rolling out the latest Android security update in March 2022 to a huge range of Galaxy devices.
Samsung March 2022 Security Update – What’s New
As was usually the case, the first Samsung Galaxy phones to receive the March update had already done so before March began, with the patch arriving on February 25. According to Google’s official security bulletin, the patch includes fixes for 19 issues.
Meanwhile, Samsung’s own patch notes (via SamMobile) – which also lists some of the many improvements specific to Galaxy devices – shows that the March 2022 patch includes 50 security fixes, 29 of which are rated “high” and two of which are “critical”. Google’s description of one of the “critical” issues shows that a flaw in the Android system can give an attacker escalation privileges on your phone without having to click anything.
At the moment, it’s not clear what all other Samsung Galaxy owners should expect in the March update in terms of new features or changes. Samsung’s patch notes on the device include one line of information about the Galaxy S22 phones.
- Improved overall job stability.
However, there’s also a second update rolling out for the Galaxy S22 series this month to address issues with the Game Optimization service (more on that below). Here are the patch notes for this minor update:
- By performing this software update, your device will:
– Does not limit CPU/GPU performance during the early stages of gameplay
* Maintain performance management feature based on device temperature
– Provide “alternative game performance management mode” in Game Booster
– Allow third-party apps to bypass game optimization service
- Camera stability has been improved.
- The overall stability of your device has been improved.
- Your device’s security has been improved.
Devices with Samsung March 2022 Security Update
This list will include a note on where the update first appeared and if it’s also available in the US. As usual, the latest additions will be highlighted in bold.
Galaxy S series
This month’s security update cycle began with the Galaxy S22 on February 25 – the phone’s launch day – as the patch was said to improve display issues reported by some early users of Samsung’s flagship. A broader patch, including Snapdragon variants of the Galaxy S22, was rolled out on March 7.
Then, on March 11, Samsung started rolling out the update to the Galaxy S10 Lite, and very soon after that the Galaxy S9 of 2018. The following week, on March 14, Samsung updated last year’s Galaxy S21 series to the new version.
It is also said that Samsung is releasing a file Secondly Practice the patch for some Galaxy S devices – most notably the Galaxy S22 series – to disable the game optimization service. This service actually slows down your phone’s maximum performance while you’re playing games in order to keep temperatures down and battery life. However, it has recently become the center of controversy, with many petitions to have it removed.
- Galaxy S22 – S90xBXXU1AVBF / S90xEXXU1AVBF (First introduced in Germany)
- NB: The second patch (S90xxXXu1AVC6) is also available in Europe and Asia
- Galaxy S21 – G99xU1UES5BVC1 (first introduced in the US)
- United States: Available for open Devices on carrier networks
- Galaxy S10 Lite – G770FXXS6FVB7 (First introduced in Spain)
- Galaxy S9 / S9 + – G96xFXXUHFVB4 (first introduced in Germany)
Galaxy A series
One of the main advantages of Samsung’s lineup of low- and mid-range Galaxy devices, which essentially sets it apart from all the other more affordable Android devices but the Google Pixel A-Series, is that it receives updates on a regular basis. This is especially true of the Galaxy A series, but other more affordable options like the Galaxy M series and F series are no stranger to patches.
The Galaxy A52 was one of the first Samsung devices to receive the update this month, with customers in South America and beyond seeing the patch on March 11th.
- Galaxy A52 – A525xUBS4BVB2 (first introduced in South America)
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The factors in favour of a rise in the STMicroelectronics share price:
First of all, the STMicroelectronics group has a real advantage in terms of its market positioning. Indeed, the company is currently one of the ten largest companies in the sector of semiconductor manufacturing for telecoms, consumer electronics and robotics in Europe.
Shareholders and investors interested in this stock also appreciate the group's industrial organization. This is mainly oriented towards offers concerning the Internet of Things and connected pipes, two sectors that are currently booming. More precisely, the group has been able to divide its activities and revenues into three main areas, which are firstly analogue and digital systems, integrated digital circuits or MDGs and Mems. By operating in this way and thanks to this division, the group can benefit from a better protection against the risk of exposure to a single sector of activity.
STMicroelectronics' strong capacity for innovation can also be appreciated, as it remains one of the pioneering companies in its sector. The group invests heavily in R&D to develop high-tech products, particularly in the field of microcontrollers and power electronics. It is also the company with the largest patent portfolio in its sector.
To ensure its future development, STMicroelectronics has also implemented a strategy of frequent acquisitions, enabling it to strengthen its position in certain privileged sectors such as the Internet of Things and next-generation mobile phones. Thanks to these strategic acquisitions, the group has won very lucrative contracts with major groups such as Apple for image capture and SpaceX for space components.
The analysts who study this value also recall that the company has been able to put an end to the decline in revenue that was recorded for a few years, especially) because of the saturation of the smartphone and computer market. Since 2016, the group's profits and revenues have in fact been experiencing an interesting rebound with an expectation of growth at least until 2019.
To conclude with the advantages of this company, it should also be noted that the overall financial situation of the STMicroelectronics Group is particularly healthy and stable. As a result, a rapid improvement in the debt rating is also anticipated.


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Telecoms technology and banking services are creating a new growth in the financial services sector via mobile money. This payment module has grown beyond its initial concept and is expected to bridge the gap between the banked and unbanked, writes COLLINS NWEZE.
The dream of getting financial services to the nooks and crannies of the country is being realised by banks, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), telecoms operators and the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) via money.
That vision, many analysts said, would be driven by mobile money. This refers to payment services operated under financial regulation and performed from or via a mobile device.
Mobile money system refers to the various components required to deliver mobile money to the banking and non-banking community. The providers of these services and solutions are required to operate within the defined regulatory framework specified in this document and any other regulation/guideline issued by the CBN.
The CBN is responsible for defining and monitoring the mobile money systems in Nigeria.
With mobile money, instead of paying with cash, cheque, or credit cards, a consumer can use a mobile phone to pay for many goods and services.
In 2008, the global market for various mobile payments was projected to reach more than $600 billion by 2013. In developing countries, including Nigeria, mobile payment solutions are deployed as a means of extending financial services to the unbanked or under-banked. These groups constitute about 50 per cent of the world’s population, according to Financial Access’ Report.
Analysts insist that financial exclusion persists because of the inaccessibility of the unbanked mostly people in the lower strata of the economy, by the financial services providers.
The unbanked are often far removed from the centre of commerce, which tends to lower their participation in economic transactions.
Thus, a combination of low demand for financial services and prohibitive costs without commensurate returns dissuades financial services providers such as banks, insurance, and pension administrators from establishing its presence in these locations.
However, mobile technology and innovations in the financial services industry, coupled with the phenomenal growth in telecoms’ subscriber numbers, have altered this situation.
However, financial services providers continue to leverage the reach of telecoms networks to provide mobile money services to otherwise inaccessible locations.
The spate of agreements on mobile money services among financial institutions and telecoms networks, MTN and Diamond Bank, UBA and Airtel, Stanbic IBTC Bank, FirstBank, Ecobank and Globacom, will, doubtless, ramp up the synergy that should lead to further growth in mobile money.
The CBN insists that Mobile Money Operators (MMO) are required to, henceforth, connect to the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) otherwise called the National Central Switch (NCS) to ensure ease of communication for schemes in the system.
In a guideline for the sector, the apex bank said a scheme operator can either be a bank or a licensed corporate organisation.
It said the NIBSS is responsible for connecting the various players in the financial system using various players, such as banks, MMOs, non-banking financial institutions, payment terminal providers, card acquirers, government institutions and their customers to send, receive and process funds, documents and other instruments electronically through its platform.
The apex bank said MMOs are the lead initiators for the mobile scheme and shall be responsible for ensuring that the various solutions and services within an approved mobile payment scheme meets the entire regulatory requirements as defined in this framework and as may be specified from time to time.
The regulator said the MMOs shall be ccountable to the CBN and the end users. The CBN recognises that, with the evolution of the mobile money system, spin-off services would be identified by MMOs, which can be outsourced to entities with specialised skills and resources to support such services in a more efficient and effective manner. The service providers may employ the infrastructures of the MMOs to provide services to the end users.
“The MMOs shall provide a detailed payments management process that covers the entire solution delivery, from user registration and management, Agent recruitment and management, Consumer protection/dispute resolution procedures, Risk management process to transaction settlement. These processes shall cover the scope of the value chain across all the participants in the mobile money ecosystem,” it said.
The M-Pesa example
The poster boy of the successful integration of the rural/informal populace into banking system via mobile money services is usually Kenya. M-PESA, Kenya’s mobile money system, has been hugely popular and successful in that country. It has over 40,000 agents and 17 million users (“equivalent to more than two-thirds of the country’s adult population, conducting more than two million transactions daily.
In 2010, Kenya had just 840 bank branches and 1,510 ATMs to serve a population of 47 million. M-PESA, with its 40,000 agents, helped to plug the supply hole and provide access to financial services to ordinary Kenyans.
Micro finance institutions piggybacked on M-PESA to penetrate remote areas quickly without increase in costs.
In other countries, some financial institutions seemed to have found the right mix to ensure the successful deployment of mobile money. Standard Bank (parent bank of Nigeria’s Stanbic IBTC Bank), for instance, has been successful with mobile money in Uganda, Tanzania, and South Africa.
The bank-led mobile money model adopted by Nigeria may be slightly different from Kenya’s telecoms-driven model but the underlying peculiarities are broadly similar.
Access, costs, lower economic activities, and partnerships are common threads. The lessons of M-PESA are not lost though as mobile operators like MTN Nigeria is beginning to play more significant roles in mobile money.
CBN Vs telco-led model
The CBN said it avoided the implementation of the telco-led model in the mobile money operation to have control of monetary policy operations. The policy, it said will also enable it minimise risks and ensure that the offering of financial services are driven by organisations it licensed.
In new guidelines, the CBN said the telco-led model, where the lead initiator is Mobile Network Operator (MNO), shall not be operational in the country. The apex bank said the overriding vision of achieving a nationally utilised and internationally recognised payments system necessitates strategies to bring informal payment transactions into the formal system.
This framework has identified two models for the implementation of mobile money services namely; Bank Led – Financial Institution(s) and/or its Consortium as Lead Initiator and Non-Bank Led- A corporate organisation licensed by the CBN as Lead Initiator.
“The CBN recognises the importance of Mobile Network Operator (MNOs) in the operations of mobile money and appreciates the criticality of the infrastructure they provide,” it said.
The CBN said a robust payments system is vital for effective monetary policy implementation and the promotion of economic efficiency. “The introduction of mobile telephony in Nigeria, its rapid growth and adoption and the identification of person to person payments as a practical strategy for financial inclusion, has made it imperative to adopt the mobile channel as a means of driving financial inclusion of the unbanked,” it said.
Chief Excutive Officer (CEO), MTN Nigeria, Michael Ikpoki, said the network would focus on meeting the significant market demand for financial services and mobile content with an expected positive impact on data revenue.
“The success of Diamond Y’ello Account and other basic mobile money services is expected to lead to the adoption of more sophisticated mobile payment solutions such as bulk mobile payment designed for corporate organisations. This service makes it easier for organisations to send money in bulk to their suppliers, employees or other business partners without the beneficiaries necessarily having to own a bank account,” he said.
Mobile money providers are also expected not be shy to adapt and replicate what works in other places but continue to innovate and develop bespoke products and services to excite consumers and boost conversion rate.
Benefits to consumers
Some of the benefits to the consumer include security, convenience, accessibility, speed and ease of transaction, competitive charges, access to quality advisory services, and integrity of transactions; the customer literally carries his bank in his pocket or bag wherever he goes.
Other not-so-obvious benefits, which are nonetheless important, are better cash flow management, enhanced financial planning, and inculcation of sustainable savings habit, which boost financial security and comfort in retirement.
“Mobile payments, which I perform on my phone, help to reduce my travelling costs,” a farmer in the rural area who uses mobile payment services said.
Mobile money also has the potential to galvanise economic activities, leading to higher socio-economic development, lower cost of transactions and reduction of cash handling costs, among other benefits.
Role of regulators
CBN Director, Payment Systems Unit, ‘Dipo Fatokun, said apex bank believes that mobile money and agent framework is the frontier of cashless boom.
“Mobile money is the next thing expected to transform CBN’s cash-less policy. The apex bank believes that such initiative will aid both telecommunications and banking industries to further serve Nigerians better,” he said.
Nigeria’s telecoms subscriber base, put at 131 million as of September, last year by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) should play a major role in bringing the unbanked into the formal banking system.
With over 50 per cent of Nigeria’s unbanked adult population, mobile banking could be the catalyst that will help quicken the adoption of banking services by this critical segment of the population.
Offshore portfolio managers appear to be similarly persuaded and they are already positioning to take advantage of the expected growth in mobile money.
For instance, Carlyle Group, a United States-based global alternative asset manager with $203 billion of assets under management across 129 funds and 141 fund of funds vehicles, recently acquired a $147 million (about N27 billion) minority stake in Diamond Bank, partly on the strength that the bank’s new mobile banking service “will help rapidly boost the lender’s customers and profits.”
Also strengthening mobile money is the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Commission (NDIC’s) extension of deposit insurance cover of up to N500,000 to mobile money account holders.


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Discovering How Much Singaporeans Spent on 11 November 2019 as Compared to Past Years
Smartphone enthusiasts are brewing with excitement with the release of Apple’s newest device, the iPhone 11 on 20 September 2019. Although the iPhone 11 is sold at S$1,389 (the 256GB model), users who are looking to save up to S$114 might want to purchase the new iPhone one year later. The estimated reduction in price was found in our recent study utilising the historical prices of previous iPhone models such as iPhone 7, , X, and XS.
Analysing the Leading E-commerce Shopping Apps & Websites in Singapore as of Q2 2019
75% of Singaporean consumers give a 5/5 star rating for delivery satisfaction when delivery is made between 0-3 days Satisfaction ratings fall significantly when delivery transit time lengthens Over 90% of customer complaints and negative feedback are related to late delivery and a lack in communication about the delivery status
When it comes to smartphones, Singapore is ranked as one of the highest globally for smartphone penetration. Various mobile app continued to rise in popularity - with the usage and need of shopping online that have become ubiquitous.
In November 2018, Google & Temasek predicts that the internet economy in Southeast Asia(SEA) will reach US$72 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) mark by 2018. A big chunk of the valuation will be held by the e-commerce sector valued at approximately US$102 billion by 2025. To reach that goal, the study also mentions that a bigger talent pool of internet economy professionals will be required to realise the industry’s full potential.
The 11.11 Singles’ Day has been a huge success for Alibaba when it generated US$30.8 billion of GMV, a 27 per cent more compared to last year. The global shopping festival, which is said to be bigger than Black Friday and Cyber Monday, saw many top e-commerce players in Southeast Asia participating it. As ranked on Map of E-commerce, top players such as Qoo10, Lazada, Shopee introduced various new and attractive promotions to cater the high interest this year.
Online sales for Singapore during 11.11 last year rose 60 per cent compared to 2016, according to marketing technology company, Criteo. All online engagements including browsing and purchasing were also reported to be 2.4 times higher between both years.
Recently, Jack Ma announced his retirement from a 19 year in the making success of Alibaba Group, at the age of 54. He led the company from his humble beginnings back in his apartment to now what is known as an e-commerce giant worth $420 billion today.
Singapore aims to achieve the Diversity Action Committee's (DAC) target by 2020 which is to have a 20 percent female representation on the boards of listed companies. According to the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Grace Fu, women only occupy just over 10 percent of board seats which is far from optimal.
The e-commerce industry in Southeast Asia is at its best yet. With US$200 billion worth of market and billions more invested in the region, investors and consumers all around the world are looking forward to its emergence.


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Detailed Notes on is bitcoin trading legal in india
The government stepped in and sought to ascertain sure guidelines to regulate the cryptocurrency. In advance of regulation comes recognition and bitcoin is about to generally be observed for a currency, similar to fiat, centralized money.
Another stipulation could include things like demanding operators regulate shopper assets separately from corporate assets. This may also enable with clarity in the case of personal bankruptcy.
It’s a smart shift by Japanese government, in this way folks will accumulate bitcoins and spend it , shopkeepers will have bitcoins way too, In a nutshell Japanese should have additional bitcoins than any other countries citizens.
In case the tempo carries on on the rate to that which transpired in between Wednesday, Dec. 21 and today - which produced the market cap swell up from $12.86 bln to $thirteen.85 bln as at time of crafting - the full USD value of Bitcoin offer in circulation, as calculated by the day-to-day common market price across key exchanges, will strike the broader market ahead of predicted. This will, in turn, unfold its use and adoption.
three:58 a.m. April 13, 2017 - By Joseph Adinolfi This digital currency is going to thrive exactly where bitcoin has failed Litecoin price soars as consumers rally all-around a software update that will allow the network to course of action transactions extra quicklyAfter languishing For many years, the price of only one litecoin has shot better in latest months as its buyers have thrown assistance driving a software update that could Increase the network’s ability to swiftly and competently procedure transactions. CME Team is launching a gold-trading platform check here influenced by bitcoin
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CEX.io also has an exchange in which you really invest in and sell hashrate – GHS for BTC or NMC, and also can trade LTC/BTC and NMC/BTC. The support also incorporates the Ghash.io BTC mining pool where by your cloud hashrate is mining for you, and if yuo have Bodily Bitcoin miners You may as well point them to that pool to mine coins to suit your needs – the pool cost is 0% and now this is the biggest on the BTC mining swimming pools.
"Although some development continues to be designed regarding the ongoing scaling discussion, there remain powerful pursuits which might be diametrically opposed in how you can carry on," explained Burniske.
Japanese lawmakers have handed legislation demanding virtual currency exchanges to generally be controlled from the Japanese money solutions more info authority.
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, for months to link Citigroup’s business payments expert services to Nasdaq’s blockchain platform that's been used for functions including buying and selling shares of personal businesses.
There exists also the extra benefit of not needing to pay out international exchange (FX) fees when making use of bitcoin when compared with when exchanging international currencies into yen. In line with Yomiuri Shimbun
“We have not decided just about anything still,” the Formal mentioned. “The way things work in this article is the fact any adjust must be authorized by parliament first, after which you can we'd work on composing the legislation.”


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On Oct. 10, 1957, Heritage’s Dairy Stores opened its first location after converting a hoagie shop into a c-store. Now, 50 years later, the chain is still going strong as one of a popular stop for shoppers in the New Jersey area.
Thorofare, N.J.-based chain will celebrate its 50th anniversary of its first store opening tomorrow with a 10am cake-cutting ceremony and giveaways at the Westville Grove, N.J. location, the chain’s original store. Each store then will follow suit on its anniversary date, according to the Gloucester County Times.
Harold H. “Grandpop Skeets” Heritage and his brother, Sam, started the chain after the two inherited 50 acres of land each on both sides of Jessup Road in Thorofare, N.J., the location of the chain’s current headquarters.
During the Great Depression, Skeets needed an additional avenue to earn money and decided that the dairy business was the answer. In 1930, with just one cow, he began serving milk to family, friends and neighbors. Over the course of the next few years, the dairy production and delivery business grew, being manned by family and friends. Eventually, Skeets’ son, Skeets Jr., got into the family business. The father and son team realized dairy sales were on a steady rise and needed a new way to sell it. After much searching and investment, the first Heritage Dairy Store was opened.
Heritage’s made history. It was the first New Jersey store to sell milk in gallon jugs and was one of the state’s first convenience stores.
Since then, the chain has developed into a local name that residents rely on for dairy and convenience needs. The chain is still family-run, with 36 stores across the state that sell milk made from the same original Heritage recipe. The focus of the stores has always been the people they serve.
“Our growth and success is something I couldn’t have visualized,” says Jack Heritage, active in the company since 1971, told the newspaper. “But we’re all about people. We’re in the people business.”


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TUCSON, Ariz. — A diner on 22nd street is open for dine-in service again. Gus Balon's resumed dine-in services two weeks ago and the restaurant has made several changes.
We have placed plastic shower curtains between each of our booths, along with spacing between others. And we have removed stools from our counter, so you can get your six feet of distancing that way as well.
"Everybody has said that they feel very safe when they come in because of the separation of booths, and all of our staff is wearing face masks," said owner Kelli Phillips.
During the initial shutdown Gus Balon's closed, giving staff the opportunity to self-quarantine. After the order was extended, they opened for takeout only. The restaurant also applied for and received a small business loan to help them get through the pandemic.
We're not going anywhere. We've been here for 55 years and so now we're doing this and we'll make it through this as well.
Additionally, the restaurant is giving back to the community through the sale of masks with proceeds benefiting Arizona hospitals.


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If you’re not already drinking milk to help you lose weight, now might be a good time to start. Instead of grabbing a regular glass of two percent milk, however, pour yourself a glass of probiotic milk. A recent study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that consuming dairy products containing the probiotic Lactobacillus gasseri can help reduce abdominal fat in overweight people.
Drinking a glass of probiotic milk each day can help reduce belly fat. Photo By sweetbeetandgreenbean/Courtesy Flickr.
For the study, 87 overweight people were assigned to drink 200 grams of milk with or without probiotics for 12 weeks. At the end of the trial, the group that drank probiotic milk had a 4.6 percent decrease in abdominal fat and a 1.6 percent drop in body weight. Average body mass index and waste and hips circumference also took a dip.
Probiotics are good bacteria that live in our digestive system and help keep us healthy. Although researchers aren’t quite sure yet how probiotics factor into weight loss (one popular theory is that they affect how the body processes calories for energy), previous studies have shown that the levels of good bacteria are higher in people who maintain a healthy weight and lower in those who are overweight.


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Shared nosedive, following launch of its new Blaze device at the Consumer Electronics Show on January 5
Fitbit shares dove by 18 per cent after the fitness wearables company launched the Blaze smartwatch at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on January 5.
After the announcement was made, the San Francisco-based company’s shares on the New York Stock Exchange plummeted to $24.03, the company’s lowest. By closing on January 5, Fitbit shares stood at $24.27.
The new wearable features a touchscreen similar to the Apple Watches. Alongside tracking calories, steps, sleep and other fitness activities, users can connect their smartphones to receive call and message notifications.
It will be available in the US from March, which prices starting from $200 (around £135). No UK availability or pricing has been confirmed.


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65 per cent of DLC sales in GameStop stores are for Microsoft’s Xbox 360, the retailer has revealed.
PS3 accounts for 28-30 per cent, with other devices” accounting for the rest. Expect the bulk of those latter sales to be claimed by Steam, which is unsurprisingly gathering momentum.
"I would say that Steam is gaining in significance," GameStop’s director of digital content Brad Schliesser told Gamasutra. "We did extremely well in the Steam summer sale.
They’ve been a fantastic partner, coming together with an agreement to sell the currency. They’ve also promoted the currency on their platform. I think they also are seeing the benefit of being able to reach out to customers that aren’t able to pay with a credit card."
As well as stressing High Street retail’s capacity for expanding the market reach for digital content sales, Schliesser also revealed that the retailer has plans to streamline its DLC purchasing process.
Currently GameStop customers buying DLC, much like GAME customers in the UK, are actually purchasing a code that can then be input into their consoles to access content. The goal, however, is to have DLC instantly added to a user’s account the moment it is purchased in-store.
"We thought we’d have to have that in place," he added. "Making this a little easier for consumers is the icing on the cake. Our goal on this is ‘let’s make it a better process for the consumer’. Our goal in 2013 would be to get one partner to convert to a ‘push to box’ model."


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The E-commerce sector, once the blue-eyed boy of India’s private equity and M&A space, has gone through a roller-coaster decade. In its heyday, during the 2010s up to 2015, it produced a new unicorn every six months. Fund houses made a beeline to invest in the so-called “next big bet”. Then came a phase when capital dried up. Many players fought for survival, some came to a screeching halt and some were acquired in investor-initiated consolidation.
For the past two years though, the sector is showing promise once more and investor confidence has picked up. According to some reports, 2018 saw PE and VC investments rise to $7 billion. In the backdrop of “economic gloom and doom” discussions across all sectors, some reports indicate that Flipkart and Amazon raked in approximately $3 billion sales in the recent festive season.
E-commerce 2.0 has moved beyond traditional B2C e-retail. Today it encompasses a larger and wider digital ecosystem – aggregators, B2B players, last-mile delivery, comparison/lead generation, recharge / digital payments, gaming, content and video delivery platforms. So in its new avatar, how is this sector shaping up and what is different from its whirlwind first innings?
Focus on margin expansion and unit economics
First (and most importantly), the single-minded focus on “growth at any cost” has rationalised. Previously, most e-commerce players compromised sound economics to achieve “hyper growth”, which in turn was also linked to soaring valuations. The “GMV-linked” multiples turned out to be a problem for the sector. This growth was mainly on the back of heavy discounting and marketing spends. In its new avatar, the sector is equally focused on margin expansion (or at least margin protection) and unit economics. Players are shifting to high margin categories and segments to improve unit economics. For last-mile delivery players that are defined by geographical markets, there is an increasing focus on tracking profitability by micro markets.
Second, the off-line strategy for mainstream e-commerce players has accelerated significantly. It could vary from full-scale off-line format stores to experience hubs where customers could get “touch and feel” of the products. Such a presence is becoming an essential part of their customer experience and brand strategy. It also provides the players with an opportunity to tap into an unexplored market and complement their online experience. Firstcry’s acquisition of Mom and Me, an off-line retail player in the kids' segment in 2017 is a classic example. Of late, Oyo has been aggressively investing in mainstream hotel assets. Online furniture players have aggressively ramped up their offline presence in the last couple of years.
Third, customer acquisition costs have been significantly rationalised. Focus has shifted from customer acquisition to customer retention. CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) i.e. cost for acquiring a new customer – has been on the decline. Marketers are using data analytics to target their digital marketing campaigns and each category of spend is closely tracked for its RoI. Customer Cohorts (which track customer repeat patterns) are becoming more important KPIs for e-comm marketers than mere customer additions. Offline campaigns such as TV commercials, sponsorships, etc. are more targeted and with a much tighter budget. Here again, players who focused on the sustained brand building have fared well in defending their customer base against an onslaught of deep discounting and couponing by competitors.
Fourth, players are increasingly focusing on cash conservation and maintaining a comfortable cash runway. The fundraising process has become quite time consuming and more intense in the last 24 months. For companies that are nearing the end of their cash runway, it has adversely impacted their valuations as well. In the second innings, cash burn is getting tracked very closely – both internally and by investors. At a strategic level, it means curb on discretionary spends (e.g. office expansion or renovations, employee off-sites). At a more tactical level, companies are putting in place stringent budgeting systems and processes to manage cash burn.
Proper financial reporting and governance
Lastly, the deal evaluation process has changed significantly. Gone are the days when investors would write cheques based on innocuous internal MIS’ of companies, at times without any external diligence. In the recent past, the process has become prolonged, with investors carrying out detailed diligence – not just in traditional areas like legal, finance and tax but also adding elements such as forensics, background checks, technology and management capabilities. Even the post-deal or post-investment focus of investors has increased significantly. They have been actively pushing for fixing gaps in financial reporting, governance and putting in place financial controls and processes. These are no longer set aside as “housekeeping” issues.
So, where is the sector headed? As always, there is no one answer. While the economic slowdown will have an impact in terms of reduced discretionary spends, players that address the fundamental challenges such as last-mile delivery or convenience to customers, will continue to find growth triggers. All in all, e-commerce 2.0 is about “less noise and more substance”. No reason to complain!
Sanjeev Krishan is Partner and Leader – Deals and Hrishikesh Sathe is Executive Director at PwC India.
First Published: IST


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Shares in French Connection soared more than 11% on Monday as the fashion chain revealed a jump in sales in the first quarter of the year.
The stock rose 7.25p to 74.25p after the company said sales in stores open more than a year had risen by 11% in the 11 weeks to April 12 as shoppers took a shine to its new spring ranges. But French Connection, which has been struggling to turn around poor trading figures for years, admitted that its recent performance was flattered by comparison against a weak corresponding period a year earlier. In the six months to the end of July 2013 underlying sales sank 4.5%.
Last year chairman and founder Stephen Marks said moves to make French Connection's clothing more attractive and affordable under a new management team were paying off.
However, analysts do not expect the chain, which made a loss of £4.4m in the year to January, to move into the black until 2016.


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(dpa) - US stock indices were up Thursday after retailer Wal-Mart reported higher monthly sales and analysts forecast improved technology earnings.
Wal-Mart said sales in March climbed 0.7 per cent and boosted its first-quarter earnings forecast. Costco, another discount chain, also reported higher monthly sales.
Technology companies Intel and Cisco Systems were both forecast to report better-than-expected earnings in the first three months of the year.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 54.72 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 12,581.98. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 6.06 points, or 0.45 per cent, to 1,360.55. The technology- heavy Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 29.58 points, or 1.27 per cent, to 2,351.70.
The US currency rose against the euro to 63.52 euro cents from 63.22 euro cents on Wednesday. The dollar also climbed against the Japanese currency to 101.98 yen from 101.81 yen on Wednesday.
Gold lost 5.70 dollars to 931.80 dollars per fine ounce.


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13 de mayo de 2016
Univision Communications Inc. (UCI) is hosting its annual Upfront presentation on May 17th to unveil its 2016-17 programming line-up and highlight how UCIs comprehensive portfolio stands united, offering unparalleled growth for marketers to reach more audiences than ever before. The presentation will take place at the Lyric Theatre in New York City and will be hosted by Univisions president of Advertising Sales and Marketing, Keith Turner, and EVP of Advertising Sales, Steve Mandala, with special guest appearances throughout the event.Emphasizing the evolution of UCIs broad array of complementary, powerhouse media brands and how they are being leveraged to create more meaningful buying opportunities for marketers, UCIs presentation is focused on the theme United We Stand. Together We Grow. By organizing around key content verticals, UCI is now offering marketers a new way to do business that will allow them to target UCIs audiences more systematically and leverage the estimated 81 million average monthly unduplicated media consumers UCI reaches across its media portfolio a reach that has grown by more than 40% since first quarter 2015 as a result of acquisitions, partnerships and strategic investments. The Upfront presentation will bring to life four key content verticals known to be passion-points for UCIs audiences Sports, Comedy, Music and Drama. UCI also now enables advertisers to leverage premium inventory, including new fall programming, at scale and in each content vertical, as part of an expanded programmatic buying effort across both digital and linear platforms.Univision is evolving to be a media company of the future, with more catered programming and advanced offerings that better position us to reach a rapidly evolving consumer marketplace. The strength of our relationship with U.S. Hispanics has allowed us to expand our capabilities to account for more than language, commented Randy Falco, president and Chief Executive Officer of Univision Communications.
11 de marzo de 2016


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The unveiling date for the Samsung Galaxy S22 line, including the Galaxy S22 Ultra in its Galaxy Note costume, has been set. We have all marked our calendars to prepare for that instant pre-order period that will open up immediately following the event. February 9 should be lit. But before we get there, you still have a chance to put in that reservation to get extra exclusives from Samsung when it’s time to buy.
With the launch of every big Galaxy phone in recent years, Samsung has provided a reservation system (like this one) that is absolutely free and requires no promise to buy a Galaxy S22, but should you sign-up to show interest, they try to reward you when it’s time to whip out that wallet. For the Galaxy Z Fold 3, as an example, Samsung was guaranteeing an extra $100 credit to spend and letting you setup a multiple device trade-in request.
For the Galaxy S22, Samsung is promising the following:
- Get an extra $50 Samsung Credit toward other Galaxy products during pre-order.
- Look forward to more exclusive offers when it’s time to pre-order.
Alright, let’s be honest – those aren’t the greatest reserve offers unless the other “exclusive offers” turn out to be really good. $50 extra to spend on accessories is at least something, and that could be on top of an already solid trade-in credit they haven’t yet announced. Samsung is also going to let you trade-in multiple devices to bring that price down. Either way, reserving now gets you more money to spend on goodies, with the chance that there are other big offers coming.
Speaking of trade-ins, Samsung hasn’t yet revealed how much they’ll give us for trading in current phones, but we know what they’ve done for the past two years. For the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S21, they were offering up to $700 off if you traded in a previous-generation phone. On top of that instant $700-off, they were doing instant $200 credits for you to spend on accessories, like Galaxy Buds and cases, that sort of thing. The chances of Samsung doing that again are extremely high.
To recap, the Galaxy S22 reservation system is open for a few more days and it’ll get you an extra $50 to spend, plus the opportunity to setup your trade-in for when pre-orders go live.


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The Brookings Institution recently put out an infographic on the countries that invest directly in the United States and hire U.S. workers. The top 10 of these countries account for 73 percent of all U.S. jobs in foreign-owned enterprises (FOEs) in the U.S. It may come as a surprise that China is not in the top 10, which means Chinese FOEs account for less than 3 percent of such jobs in the U.S. Perhaps China wants to keep its manufacturing in China to bolster its own economy and industries.
The fact that many of the U.S. workers employed by the FOEs are in the manufacturing and advanced industries helps to foster these industries, and they provide well-paying jobs to Americans. See the Brookings infographic below for more details.


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If you're planning a cookout in the near future, you may want to check your hot dogs before you grill.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced more than 372,000 pounds of hot dogs and corn dogs from Bar-S Foods are being recalled over listeria concerns.
The products in question were made between July 10 and 13 and shipped all over the country. Listeria can cause listeriosis, which can result in aches, fever and stomach issues.
No actual bacteria was found in the food and no illnesses have been reported, but the products were still pulled as a precaution due to the company’s past issues with listeria.
The department urged consumers who have the potentially affected items to either throw them away or return them. You can go to the USDA website to see which specific products are being recalled.
This video includes clips and images from Bar-S Foods.


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Sheboygan Culver's Owner/Operator Receives Highest Honor
Ken Horkan accepts GM Culver Award
PRAIRIE DU SAC, Wis.— February 13, 2020 – Ken Horkan, owner/operator of three Culver’s restaurants in Sheboygan, is the recipient of the 2020 GM Culver Award. The award, named after the father of co-founder Craig Culver, is the highest honor in the organization which recognizes individuals who have demonstrated long-term visionary leadership and success.
"Ken is very deserving of this honor," said Craig Culver in presenting the award at the company's annual convention in Phoenix last week. “Ken and his wife Jill are great ambassadors for Culver’s. They wear shirts and hats with Culver’s logos with pride. They have been heavily involved in supporting the community they have lived in for the last 20 years. Ken is a very genuine person with strong family values,” Culver added.
“It has been such a pleasure to work with Culver’s Family over the years. I am looking forward to what the future brings and watch my kids grow within Culver’s,” said Ken. “I want to thank Sheboygan for welcoming my family and Culver’s with open arms, it’s been an honor to serve and work with this community. Lastly, I want to thank our amazing team members at the restaurants; without them this would not be possible!”
Horkan has been an owner/operator in the Sheboygan community since 1998. He currently oversees operations at 641 S. Taylor Drive, 4225 Highway 42, and 2510 Washington Avenue. He also has mentored a former General Manager (Brian Lovelien) to be the operating partner of the Culver’s of Shawano, WI.
For over 35 years, Culver’s guests have been treated to cooked-to-order food made with farm-fresh ingredients and served with a smile. The ever-expanding franchise system now numbers over 750 family-owned and operated restaurants in 25 states. The restaurants’ nationally recognized customer service is based on small-town, Midwestern values, genuine friendliness and an unwavering commitment to quality. Signature items include the award-winning ButterBurger, made from fresh, never frozen beef, and Fresh Frozen Custard, including the famous Flavor of the Day program. For more information, visit www.culvers.com, www.culvers.com/facebook, www.twitter.com/culvers or www.instagram.com/culvers


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Constellation Brands (STZ -1.45%) has given Canopy Growth (CGC 22.15%) a renewed strong vote of confidence. On May 1, the company known for its Corona beers announced that it would be exercising warrants which would give Constellation a 38.6% stake in the cannabis company. That's well up from the 9.9% ownership that Constellation had back in 2017 when it first invested in the Canadian marijuana producer. In 2018, it invested another $4 billion into Canopy Growth.
While a greater stake means that Constellation will have a larger share of Canopy Growth's profits and losses moving forward, it also suggests something else for the cannabis company's investors: greater stability.
Canopy Growth is a much different company than it was a year ago
Constellation hasn't always been happy with its cannabis investment. After all, Canopy Growth's recorded losses in four straight quarters totaling a combined 2.1 billion Canadian dollars, weighing down Constellation's own results in the process. The cannabis producer's difficulty in getting to breakeven is likely one of the reasons why Canopy Growth's co-CEO Bruce Linton was fired nearly a year ago.
But since Constellation's former CFO David Klein has taken the helm at Canopy Growth, there's been less focus on expansion and more emphasis on cost control and reaching profitability. That was evident in April when pot producer said it was exiting markets in Africa and scaling back its footprint Latin America. Canopy Growth's also been laying off staff and on April 29, investors learned that another 200 jobs would be cut from its operations, in addition to 85 jobs it said it would cut earlier in the month. In March, Canopy Growth also announced it was shutting down two greenhouses and slashing 500 jobs.
Klein made it clear that growth alone won't be the priority for the company, and that Canopy Growth is going to be much more selective in which opportunities it pursues. In the press release announcing the latest job cuts, the new CEO said, "For a long time Canopy has prioritized doing things first, but going forward we'll be focused on doing things the best in the markets and in the product formats that show the greatest promise."
With Constellation upping its stake in the company after these moves, it's a great show of confidence that it believes in the approach the cannabis producer is taking compared to where it was a year ago. And despite the focus on cost reduction, that doesn't mean that Constellation isn't excited about the growth opportunities that are still out there. Constellation CEO Bill Newlands stated that "While global legalization of cannabis is still in its infancy, we continue to believe the long-term opportunity in this evolving market is substantial."
Why Canopy Growth is the safest pot producer to invest in today
Its partnership with Constellation is the one advantage Canopy Growth has over its peers as many cannabis companies don't have a partner with strong capital resources. And with Canopy Growth's partnership with Constellation strengthening as a result of Constellation exercising its warrants, Canopy Growth's investors should be much more at ease. That's because Constellation now has even more incentive to support the pot producer in any way possible.
Investors can rest assured that the days of Canopy Growth being overly aggressive with expanding all over the world are long gone. With Constellation's former CFO at the helm and the beer maker having a greater stake in the Canopy Growth, there's little doubt that the marijuana giant's operations will be much more disciplined with profitability always in mind. Sacrificing some potential growth opportunities for the sake of better margins and cash flow is something many cannabis investors favor today, especially given the risk involved in the industry.
Over the past 12 months, the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF has fallen by 69% and Canopy Growth hasn't done much better, down 68%. It may be a while before Canopy Growth's stock will start to rally and it likely won't be until investors see some tangible evidence that the moves the company is making are translating into stronger earnings numbers. But with Klein continuing to cut costs and Constellation playing an even bigger role in Canopy Growth's long-term future, there's plenty of reason to be optimistic and why now may be a great time to invest in the popular pot stock.


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Ticket sales for Tri-Valley’s football playoff game Friday will continue today, Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the high school office.
Current reserve seat tickets for the game are available for their current owners only.
Current reserve seat ticket holders can purchase general admission seats, along with their current reserve seat tickets.
Ticket prices are $7 pre-sale and $9 at the gate.
There will be no re-entry allowed. Fans that exit the stadium after they have purchased their ticket will be required to purchase another.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Gates will be open at 5:45 p.m.
Because this is an OHSAA-sponsored event, all fans are required to purchase a ticket. No Tri-Valley athletic passes will be accepted.


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The Sequim real estate market report for June of 2015 confirms the trend of an improving market, but alone this report doesn’t tell us anything startling. Probably the most interesting data is the increase in the number of homes sold in June.
Real Estate Market Report
It’s been a very interesting real estate market this year. Sales have picked up and the inventory is way down. In June home sales were 26% higher than in May and 35% higher over June of last year. That’s a big increase, and it indicates buyers are more aggressive this year than in past years. Many listings are selling at full price, and there’s now some competition among buyers on many properties.
Real Estate Market Predictions
The data doesn’t tell the whole story about buyers and their motivations. Many buyers are not finding their ideal home. I believe if the inventory wasn’t so limited right now, we would see even higher sales numbers. That would place us at about the same total sales numbers as we had in our peak year, 2005. I believe we have some pent-up demand that will mean continuing and maybe increased sales in the months ahead.
I created showing sales from 2005 to 2015, which you can view at Sequim Real Estate Market Trends.
Last Updated on September 22, 2019 by Chuck Marunde
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Could Morgan Co. support a food hub?
story and infographic by kathryn schiliro
photo by jesse walker
The viability of Morgan County housing an area food hub was brought up for discussion among roughly 40 local farmers and producers at a Town Hall-style meeting– hosted by the Chamber of Commerce, Madison-Morgan Conservancy and Cattlemen's Association, among others– on Thursday, Jan. 31.
The Morgan County commissioners requested and funded a food hub feasibility study by the University of Georgia's Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development (CAED)– this UGA outreach program works with small producers around the state on issues like feasibility and marketing; they also produce the annual Farm Gate Value Report– last May. The entry-level study, presented to those gathered by the CAED's Dr. Tommie Shepherd, was meant to gauge interest, from both producers and buyers, as to whether a meat-processing food hub in Madison– there's an "overwhelming interest in livestock," Shepherd said– would be viable for the area. Results were shared with the commissioners at their January meeting prior to this meeting of local producers on Jan. 31.
The study started with Town Hall meetings in Madison, Athens (aimed at producers as far north as Gwinnett County) and Monticello (aimed at producers as far south as Macon), at which producers present were surveyed about their interest in a food hub-type processing facility.
The CAED also surveyed area customers within a 100-mile radius of Madison they felt would be interested in buying product from this local facility; those buyers surveyed included grocery stores– from high-end stores with a focus on locally grown food, like Whole Foods and Earth Fare, to chains like Publix and Kroger, to Bell's, Quality Foods and Piggly Wiggly– restaurants, assisted care facilities and country clubs.
On the buyers' end, there is interest. Of those surveyed, 96 percent expressed at least some interest– in fact, 19 percent expressed being very interested.
When it comes down to cost, though, 54 percent of buyers were willing to pay for the new product if it was the same price they were currently paying, but 46 percent would only consider purchasing the product if it was at a price lower than what they were currently paying.
Buyers have to take into account the potential cost of moving from one supplier to another, especially given the current supplier might be providing the buyer's business with items other than meat, Shepherd explained.
Demand shows that buyers were most interested in beef, then pork, then goat and lamb– and some buyers will only want specific cuts of meat, Shepherd said.
Traceability was of greatest concern to customers– "There's a lot of concern in food safety right now," Shepherd said– followed by compliance with farm labor requirements, liability insurance and a farm food safety plan, which goes hand in hand with traceability; there was little concern by those buyers surveyed with Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) or Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP) certifications.
Further, there's a proven positive association with "Locally Grown" and "Family Farmers;" "Pasture-Raised" is preferred to "Grass-Fed;" and the time and distance to market is considered an indicator of freshness and quality, according to the report.
Dollars and Sense
The total development cost of a processing facility comes to $738,050.
The CAED estimated a 5,000-square-foot building (this is the smallest a facility like this could be, Shepherd said) at $551,050– 3,650 square feet of that being non-refrigerated at a cost of $77 per square foot, and the other 1,350 square feet being refrigerated at a cost of $200 per square foot– $125,000 in equipment, $6,000 each in land and site preparation, and a $50,000 contingency would do the trick for this "high-end processing facility," based on similar facilities.
Loans, according to the study:
• A 20-year mortgage loan of $470,440, at 5.5 percent annual interest, means monthly payments of more than $3,236, an annual total of $38,833.
• A 10-year equipment loan of $120,000, at 7 percent annual interest, means monthly payments of $1,393, an annual total of $16,720.
• A two-year working capital loan of $50,000, at 9.5 percent annual interest, means monthly payments of $2,296, an annual total of $27,549. A capital loan would provide funds for employees, electricity and money to work with.
• A five-year, $30,000 loan for a refrigerated truck, at 7 percent annual interest, means monthly payments of $594, an annual total of $7,128.
One attendee asked about adding poultry processing to the facility.
Shepherd responded that that would take "a whole different assembly line."
"A livestock processing facility is number one in capturing the most interest here," Shepherd said.
There are two options the study explored as far as how the facility operates, individual and plant ownership...
With this option, the producer retains ownership of the livestock product. The facility is simply a means to have the livestock processed and the producer would then take responsibility for distribution of his/her finished product. The plant would charge a flat kill fee– an estimated $40 per cow, $25 per hog, $20 per goat or lamb– plus a basic processing fee of about 30 cents per pound.
With this model, total expenses come to more than $491,000 the first year.
Estimating 1,000 cows, 200 hogs and 145 other animals, like goats or lambs, are slaughtered the first year, revenues would total almost $309,000, which means net income would be negative to the tune of almost $183,000.
The break-even level comes with 1,108 cows, 300 hogs and 200 other animals being slaughtered from the second year on, according to the survey.
The second year would show a decrease in total expenses to $357,000, an increase in total revenues to more than $350,000, but a net income that's still in the red by $6,500.
Finally, from the third year on, total expenses level to more than $329,000 per year, total revenues stay at the previously mentioned more than $350,000, but the net income moves into the black at $21,000 annually.
With the plant ownership model, the facility would take ownership of the animal upon delivery, at which time producers would be paid market price, based on the Farm Gate Value Report. The plant would then sell the finished product at wholesale price.
Expense is a bit higher here, as there are additional costs, like the purchase of the previously mentioned refrigerated delivery truck and the salaries for the truck driver, maybe $25,000, and a sales manager, maybe $45,000.
The first year, total expenses– including operating expenses, the cost of animals and other expenses– come to more than $1.636 million. With $1.36 million in revenue from beef, $18,300 in revenue from pork and $64,250 in revenue from the slaughter of other animals, total revenues from year one come in at more than $1.4 million.
Net income for year one– negative more than $191,000.
In the second year of operation, total cost decreases to more than $1.627 million; from year three to year five, total cost drops again to $1.6 million; and from year six on, total cost comes to $1.59 million.
Revenues level out starting in year two. Funds from beef increase to $1.51 million, pork to more than $27,000 and other animals to more than $73,000 annually. Total revenue from the second year on comes to more than $1.6 million annually.
Net income, then, is still in the red in year two to the tune of $17,000. Net income become positive beginning year three. From the third to fifth year, net income is more than $10,000; from year six on, net income comes to almost $18,000 annually.
Bear in mind, these numbers are also based on the same amount on animals going through the facility as in the individual ownership model: 1,000 cows, 200 hogs and 145 other animals the first year, and 1,108 cows, 300 hogs and 200 other animals from the second year on.
The Good and the Bad
The Individual Ownership Model would be most profitable, but that's only if it's run at capacity. However, there's no supply of livestock dedicated to the facility; it's simply a means to an end for producers to sell their product on their own and there's no guarantee of the amount of product that would go through the facility month to month, meaning it's much more uncertain whether the facility will make the revenues it needs to operate. While there are no costs associated with sales, marketing or delivery, as with the Plant Ownership Model, there's little opportunity to develop a brand. Brand development would be up to each individual producer, which would pit small farmers against each other.
"Ten or 20 [small producers] all competing against each other would drive the price down," Shepherd said.
The Plant Ownership Model would consolidate the products from area farmers under one brand, which would mean having the volume to go after large-scale customers, like supermarkets, and a controlled, non-fluctuating supply chain. However, there's a higher cost associated with this model– the sales manager and truck driver's salaries, for example.
A hybrid model of the two could prove to be the best idea, Shepherd suggested. From Plant Ownership, bring together "small producers of 'boutique' products into one brand" and use the opportunity to develop and market one brand to an established supply chain. Producers would set aside a certain amount of their livestock for the plant. And from Individual Ownership, continue to be open for farmers to use the facility for a "kill fee."
Where do we go from here?
There's been a 3 percent decrease in the number of cows in Georgia– from 590,000 in 2012 to 570,000 in 2013, according to a Feb. 1 U.S. Department of Agriculture livestock news release. The number of beef cows is down 4 percent– 512,000 in 2012 to 490,000 in 2013– but the amount of milk cows is up 3 percent– 78,000 in 2012 to 80,000 in 2013.
It is questionable whether there are enough cattle being raised to be beef cows rather than dairy cows in the 100-mile range to support the proposed facility, and whether producers would be willing to raise beef cows as opposed to dairy cows. The operations of raising beef cattle are quite different than dairy cattle.
Shepherd encouraged a hybrid model.
"If you have something where you did have the volume dedicated to it and you only make a small amount from the kill fee model, I think that would be a little safer," Shepherd said.
The study is still incomplete, Madison-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce President Bob Hughes said. "In the meantime we're exploring with some folks in the business and there desires about where to take it from here," he said.
There's certainly interest in opening such a facility, Hughes said, but it's going to up to private entrepreneurs to take it from here.
"We've got several large beef producers and people that have interest… They're looking at it," Hughes said. "They will need to go do a more in-depth financial analysis."
"We need someone who's ready to put capital at risk."
Printed in the February 28, 2013


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From outside, except for the rustic sign on the lawn, 733 River Road in Fair Haven still looks like the cottage-style house it was before it became a dentist’s office 25 years ago.
Step through the Dutch front door, though, and you’re transported to retail space that could be on the side of a mountain in Wyoming or Vermont, with raw wood floors and ceiling joists summoning a deeply rustic vibe inside the vinyl-sided structure.
The address is now home to Canyon Pass Provisions, a week-old clothing shop created by a couple who abandoned the 9-to-5 life in order to make a new life for themselves and their two kids — without leaving the town they love, they say.
The shop, which carries Salomon footwear, Kühl clothing and other activewear brands, is owned and run by Derek DeBree, 47, and his wife, Genevieve DeBree, 49. Both worked for a software company Derek founded 18 years ago with his brother, Dwight, to whom he recently sold his share.
With one child in college and the other in his senior year at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional, the soon-to-be-empty-nesters pondered their future earlier this year and concluded they were game for big changes.
“We decided wanted to do something in Fair Haven and hyperlocal,” said Derek, “and this is what we’ve done.”
DeBree said he and his wife “wanted to be in a space where we knew we had great products for people who live active lifestyles,” he said.
“If we’re going to sell something, we want to sell something that encourages people to be outdoors and be active,” he said, noting that the idea began to take hold about eight years ago, when their friend, Karen Hellman, opened a similar Fair Haven business called Gear Loft, which has since closed.
“I thought, she’s working at the local level, selling a product that is fantastic and encourages people to be active and outdoors,” said Derek.
Their dream business also had to be truly local, said Derek, who grew up in town and serves on the volunteer fire squad, where he was chief, and the first-aid squad. He and Genevieve looked at properties in Red Bank and elsewhere, but concluded that prevailing rents would jeopardize the viability of a store. Besides, his business would have to have grass out front; that was non-negotiable, he said.
The River Road property, which has also seen duty as a dress shop and a real estate office, met their needs.
“First and foremost,” the property is a real estate investment, said DeBree. While he and his wife felt a strong pull to the retailing business, he was “leery” it could make if it was subject to the rent demands of a landlord.
“I like to build equity,” said DeBree. “We wanted to create something really special, and if we were going invest all that time, and money, in creating something special, we wanted to be building equity for ourselves, not for somebody else.”
So, like Kathleen Conlon, a rookie retailer who recently opened Welcome Home in a onetime gas station on East Front Street in Red Bank, the DeBrees went all-in and bought the house.
It helps that the property, which cost the couple $520,000, has a house out back with a tenant, and a garage that DeBree now uses as a workshop, he said.
Indulging his hands-on side, DeBree spent five months readying the 1,400-square-foot space. He tore out plaster and insulation, reusing lath to form an enclosure on the underside of a staircase and repurposing whatever else he could. He built the display racks and checkout counter, and even took a welding class to enable him to create some steel tables.
“Obviously, it’s a quality-of-life play for us,” said DeBree. “We love the town, love small business, we love entrepreneurs. We’re wrapping up everything we love in one place.”
“We’re also promoting outdoor activity,” said Genevieve. She and her husband are skiers, runners, hikers, Frisbee-golfers — “really anything outdoors, we love it,” she said.
Attending industry trade shows and visiting top retailers up and down the East Coast, they lined up relationships with about 20 manufacturers, said Genevieve, who will be the main face of the business while Derek completes other projects.
Competition? Sure, there’s plenty, both in the bricks-and-mortar world and online, they acknowledge. But the DeBrees aren’t carrying higher-risk hard goods such as skis and camping gear, and instead, sticking to lifestyle clothing, for now at least.
Still, they have no illusions, and recognize that retailing of any kind is a “tough” business, Derek said. “But we’re hoping this is the next 15 to 20 years of our life right here in this spot. And if we can’t do it, it’s not meant to be done, because we don’t shy from hard work, we’re smart enough to run a business like this, and we understand the demographics.”
They’ve also, he said, built a business that isn’t just close to home: it’s where he and his family are embedded. When 4,000 pounds of wood for flooring arrived without prior notice, DeBree put out a call to his fire department friends, and in short order had five of them to help unload the truck.
“That” — the involvement of his wife, kids and neighbors — “has been the best part of it,” he said.


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Ahead of Facebook’s first-quarter earnings call, analysts were confident about one thing: The company appears to be made of Teflon.
Never mind the privacy debacles, security failures and reportedly gray practices. The social media empire wasn’t likely to lose sleep — or users — over such pesky matters, prompting a bullish outlook for the company.
Now the results are in, and the confidence looks to be well-placed.
Over the first three months of 2019 — during which the company admitted inadequately securing user passwords across Facebook and Instagram, and battled a windfall of leaked documents suggesting it leveraged user data to reward or punish partners and developers — the company nailed FactSet’s DAU (daily active user) forecast of 1.56 billion and exceeded the financial data firm’s MAU (monthly active user) projection, ringing in 2.38 billion instead of the expected 2.37 billion.
Facebook posted earnings of 85 cents per share and revenue of $15.08 billion, up 26 percent year-over-year, with average revenue per user clocking in at $6.42.
In prepared remarks, Facebook chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg noted that Facebook “had a good quarter and our business and community continue to grow,” while also nodding to the privacy issues that have kept his company in the headlines.
“We are focused on building out our privacy-focused vision for the future of social networking, and working collaboratively to address important issues around the Internet,” he said.
Earlier this month, Facebook admitted it drastically understated the number of users whose passwords were stored in plain text on internal Facebook servers, a move that flies in the face of security best practices.
Last month, Zuckerberg issued a memo stating that his company’s future will hinge on privacy and encrypted services. And in January, the ceo professed that Facebook’s goal is to merge messaging from WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram. In a statement, he explained that the company wants to “build the best messaging experiences we can; and people want messaging to be fast, simple, reliable and private.”
Discussed changes included bringing more end-to-end encryption to those messaging products — which would make them harder to read, if obtained — and exploring how users could reach across networks to find friends and family.
Talking the good talk is one thing, but walking the walk is another. For investors, what’s paramount is having confidence that the company can tackle privacy, without driving down its numbers.
It seemed that Wall Street was in for the ride: Facebook’s stock jumped nearly 8 percent in after-hours trading.
On the earnings call, Zuckerberg spent the lion’s share of his opening remarks addressing privacy. In his vision for the future of social networking, as he laid it out on the call, there must be a distinction between public and private conversations. He distinguished them in terms of a town square, as created by Facebook and Instagram, and a “digital living room,” with the latter being a private venue for conversations.
“Today people increasingly want the intimacy of connecting privately as well, so I think that there also needs to be a digital equivalent of the living room — a platform just as built out with all the ways that you’d want to interact privately,” he said. “We already see that in messages, small groups, and Stories are, by far, the fastest-growing areas of online communication. And we also know that people want additional tools for private interactions like payments and commerce.”
He disclosed that Facebook is working on just such a privacy-focused “digital living room” or platform. The plan is to build it similarly to the way the company developed WhatsApp, to focus on the most fundamental and private use case, secure messaging.
But, he said, it won’t arrive anytime soon. To answer a question on the matter, he responded, “I think that this is going to be a central focus for the company for the next five years or longer.” Zuckerberg acknowledged the need to consult with experts and governments.
In other words, it’s still early, so Facebook is not yet sure what the move will mean to its bottom line. “But on some of the questions, like whether encrypting content will hurt our business, I’m more confident that won’t be a significant issue,’ Zuckerberg added. “We don’t use the content of messages between people to target ads today, so encrypting that content won’t change what we do. It will strengthen people’s privacy without meaningfully affecting our business.”
The company also mentioned that it’s working on bringing more transparency to the platform, particularly in light of the upcoming elections, but expressed discomfort with the thought of corporations setting guidelines that might influence politics. And for privacy, he even stressed the need for more countries to adopt regulations, such as Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation. This echoed talk from Apple’s Tim Cook in New York on Tuesday.
In other parts of the call, Facebook discussed shopping and commerce as major priorities. With Instagram shopping, which recently added supported in-app payments and transactions, the company is taking great care, rolling it out slowly to a closed group of 23 brands and learning from that.
Eventually, “the goal would be to have something where you can do discovery through the broader town square, like platforms in Instagram and Facebook, and then you can complete the transactions and follow up with businesses individually and have an ongoing relationship through Messenger and WhatsApp,” Zuckerberg said.
“And this is one of the things I think will create a lot of value for people discovering and interacting with businesses.”
Roughly 2.7 billion people use Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger each month, with more than 2.1 billion people using at least one daily. The company is also seeing fast adoption of Stories, as well as mobile ad revenue growth of 30 percent year-over-year to $13.9 billion, which makes up about 93 percent of the total ad revenue.
Of course, there are also factors like the specter of a Federal Trade Commission inquiry, which has the company reserving $3 billion to $5 billion.
Turns out, the network’s privacy problems are having an effect beyond inspiring a new platform. It could be hitting the company in the wallet after all.