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Meta Company alleges Facebook rebranded its name
Meta Company, a Chicago-based tech firm is going to court against Facebook, alleging that the social network stole its name and “livelihood” after it rebranded its name to Meta.
Meta Company has decided to file the necessary legal actions against Facebook.
A little over a week ago, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the arrival of Meta, a singular company brand under which all of its various products are brought together. The name refers to the metaverse Facebook envisions, one that covers everything from its main social media platforms like Instagram to other products like VR and augmented reality.
Facebook was facing intense scrutiny over users’ data privacy. Zuckerberg downplayed that this rebranding, the first in Facebook’s 17 years of existence, is to divert a barrage of bad PR.
Meta Company Founder Nate Skulic alleged that when Facebook failed to buy them, it aimed to “bury” the company by force of media.
Skulic claimed in a public letter that Facebook decided to commit trademark infringement and call itself Meta.
“They couldn’t buy us, so they tried to bury us by force of media. We shouldn’t be surprised by these actions – from a company that continually says one thing and does another,” Skulic added.
Skulic said that for the last three months, Facebook lawyers have been hounding them to sell their name.
He further added, “We refused their offer on multiple bases. Namely, the low offer wouldn’t cover the costs of changing our name, and we insisted on knowing the client and intent, which they did not want to disclose.”
At least two law firms were involved: One in the US that requested its trademark and domains and the other in Europe aggressively contacting trying to get “us to sell its domain registrations,” he alleged.
A live trademark was filed for Meta Company in 2016 that lists the registrant owner at Chicago, Illinois. However, there is a 2015 trademark listed for Meta with the owner listed as the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
“It’s unfortunate to have been associated with a company so rooted in controversy and fixated on domination. We aim to be distinguished from Facebook’s totalitarian view of the future. We hope the negative association with Facebook and its founder will be forgotten — but we won’t ignore the damages done,” Skulic elaborated.
Another US-based company called Meta PC that sells computers, laptops, tablets, and software, had reportedly asked for $20 million from Zuckerberg-owned Meta, to withdraw its registration application and free the name of ‘Meta’.
Meta, the former Facebook company, was yet to react to these allegations.
Zuckerberg said over the name change that the name “Facebook” doesn’t fully encompass everything the company does now and is still closely linked to one product. But over time, he hopes that they will be seen as a metaverse company.
[With Inputs from IANS]
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New Orleans, La., is one of the country’s top foodie havens, with a beloved regional cuisine. Thanks to the widespread popularity of Cajun cooking, consumers can get their fix pretty much everywhere. The problem, however, is that they may not always be getting a true taste of New Orleans. One meat processor, with ties to New Orleans that go back more than a century, is taking a stand by producing deli meat with a true Cajun taste.
Chisesi Brothers, a five-generation New Orleans processor of deli meat and sausage, recently partnered with Tony Chachere’s, a producer of Cajun seasonings, marinades and other authentic products. The combination of two Louisiana food institutions has resulted in a line of ham, roast beef and turkey deli meats that are authentically Cajun.
“We were talking about all these flippin’ Cajun products that are out on the market today, and a lot of them are not the true flavor of Cajun products like here in New Orleans. A lot of the stuff was just seasoned on the outside – they were just putting pepper on the outside,” explains Nicholas Chisesi. “We figured, what better company to team up with than the leading Cajun spice company, which is Tony Chachere’s.”
The product development process took a year and a half. The easy way out, as Chisesi noted, would have been to rub the seasoning on the surface and ship it to market. Being a family business, with the family name on every package, Chisesi Brothers was not about to take any shortcuts. The company developed a process that injects the Cajun seasoning into the deli meat, bringing that taste to every bite.
“When you slice the deli meat, you’ll see the Cajun spices in it, and not just on the outside,” he explains.
Chisesi clears up another misconception about Cajun food. Yes, there are a variety of spices and seasonings that are blended together to create that unique taste. The resulting products, though, are not hot.
“I like to call it a bold taste. Yes, it does have spice in it, but it’s not spicy,” he adds.
Chisesi says that the new deli line embraces that bold flavor. Trying to find a happy medium with a lighter injection of seasoning didn’t really result in a true Cajun taste.
“When people get these products, they may say it’s too spicy, but remember that deli products are supposed to be between two pieces of bread, with mayonnaise, mustard, lettuce and tomatoes,” he says. “You’ve got to put enough [seasoning] to cover for the bread, the mayo, the cheese. It gives the sandwich that taste, and a lot of people like it.”
The company has been known for its ham and roast beef products, but turkey is a relatively recent addition. It was added for consumers who were looking for a more health-conscious alternative to beef or pork. The turkey is available in the Cajun and smoked varieties.
The Tony Chachere’s line of deli meats has fared well in Louisiana, and Chisesi Brothers is hoping to grow its customer base throughout the Southeast because of the Tony Chachere’s connection.
“We’re using it to get our products across the region, into Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, to get into Texas with that product and try to represent the true Cajun style, the way that it should be, instead of having someone who’s from New York trying to do a Cajun product,” says Chisesi.

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On the eve of CES 2020, more than 100 companies crammed into one ballroom at The Mirage Events Center to clamour for media attention ahead of the four-day conference and floor show.
The Pepcom Digital Experience on Monday night gave reporters and bloggers a chance to preview some of the products that will appear on the CES show floor without the chaos of the actual conference.
From fun gadgets that upgrade daily life to groundbreaking accessibility technology, here’s what stood out at Monday’s showcase.
Spatial wants to give you the ability to chat with a hologram.
“It’s really a replacement for video conferencing or Slack, even,” CEO and co-founder Anand Agarawala said.
Put on a Spatial headset and you’ll be able to have a conversation with an avatar of someone from afar. Reach out your hand like you’re holding a pencil and you can draw in the air.
Agarawala said the technology spent three years in development. It debuted last year, but could have strong initial use by later this year, he said. Agarawala suspects widespread usage will come around next year.
OVIS Suitcase, an autonomous driving system within a carry-on announced its official product launch Monday with a 20 percent off coupon to celebrate its inaugural laps around the digital experience floor.
The carry-on uses five cameras to assess the consumer’s face and detect its surroundings, to avoid hitting objects and follow the user. It also comes with a wearable device that uses bluetooth to track users in crowds when the camera can’t locate.
ForwardX Robotics premiered a prototype in 2018 and 2019 before an official launch this year. The product is selling for $799 this year.
One interface for the whole Google suite, complete with two white lights and a dark mirror. The Smart Mirror from Capstone premiered Monday night after a soft launch last year.
“As you’re brushing your teeth you can check your email. if you want to look up a makeup video tutorial you can look that up with Google assistant while checking your morning commute,” said sales operator Jonathan Caparco. “I can set up routines where I can say, ‘Google, goodnight,’ and the doors will lock, the lights will go off and I can have my Roomba start up — all through the mirror.”
The mirror will auto update and holds an 8-hour charge when disconnected from the stand. Capstone is selling the rectangular, floating, full-length and wardrobe mirror throughout CES.
Phonak Virto Black hearing aids
Phonak is trying to change the way people look at hearing aids by combining both form and function in its new Virto Black line.
The Virto Black is the world’s first line of custom-made hearing aids that can stream audio from Bluetooth-enabled devices like iOS and Android phones, John Urbaniak, a spokesman for Phonak, said. Microphones in the hearing aids allow them to work like a wireless headset and the devices include a hands-free feature to answer or decline calls at the press of a button, without having to dig for a phone. The hearing aids are customized and 3D printed to fit individual wearers’ ears, and can be adjusted using a Phonak app. Unlike most traditional hearing aids, the Virto Black line is meant to be seen. The hearing aids are designed to look more like wireless earbuds than a medical device.
“The last 50 years or so, hearing aid manufacturing has always been smaller and smaller and more invisible,” said John Urbaniak, a spokesman for the company. “Everyone wants to hide their hearing aids.”
Urbaniak said Phonak is trying to tackle the stigma surrounding hearing aids with the Virto Black.
“It’s meant to be seen so that it can make hearing aids very commonplace, so that people should have nothing to hide.”
Virto Black will hit the market on Feb. 19 and will be available through licensed hearing care professionals.
Neofect develops therapy products for those who have experienced medical issues such as a stroke.
Patrick Cummings, senior sales manager for the company, calls it “gamified rehabilitation.”
“The whole mission for our company really is to give people a more engaging solution for therapy and just make therapy more fun,” Cummings said.
Neofect’s flagship devices is a glove that allows people in rehab to use repetitive motions. It interacts with a video game on screen, taking some of the monotony out of rehabilitation.
New this year is the company’s smart balance pad for leg therapy. Cummings likened it to Dance Dance Revolution, but for therapy.
“For me and you, it’s an easy game,” he said. “But for somebody that’s recovering from a stroke, it’s hard. They need to do repetitions and they need to kind of get back on their feet, so to speak.”
Imagine a device that’s the exact opposite of a microwave. That’s the concept behind the Juno beverage cooler, a new gadget that can chill a drink as large as a champagne bottle in about two minutes.
It uses a process called thermoelectric generation that captures and removes heat, quickly creating a cool, closed environment that chills drinks in moments, Juno spokesman Dan Turk said.
Though it’s designed for drinks, Turk said the Juno can chill just about anything you can fit in it.
“I like grapes really cold, so you stick that into a container, put it through and they come out almost frozen,” Turk said.
The Juno chiller hit the market Tuesday and retails for $299, but it’s available for preorder at $199 on IndieGoGo.
CES will run Tuesday through Friday across the Las Vegas Strip and is sponsored by the Consumer Technology Association. More than 170,000 people are expected to attend.
Contact Max Michor at firstname.lastname@example.org or 702-383-0365. Follow @MaxMichor on Twitter. Contact Sabrina Schnur at email@example.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter. Contact Blake Apgar at firstname.lastname@example.org or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.


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Apple's security is getting more lax these days, and 9to5Mac have gotten their hands on some leaked images of the iPhone 6S. It looks a lot like its predecessor, and according to user Mark Gurman, the major design changes will be internal.
The biggest change is the addition of the Force touch Screen, which is similar to the Apple Watch, and would enable the iPhone to sense how hard you press your finger on the screen when swiping and tapping.
The camera cutouts and speaker grills and ports look identical to its predecessor and there's no word on what changes the camera and sound quality will be with the new release.
If you are looking forward to rank your website on top, you might have asked SEO experts a common question – how much time does it take to reach the top rank on Google? The answer is complicated and can never be definite. Read more
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Demand for 3D printing has exploded in recent years with hundreds of new 3D printer producers being developed to help meet this huge growth in demand. So, who are the new trailblazers in the industry? We take a look at the top five manufacturers of 3D printers, who are set to shape the industry with new products and innovations. Read more


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1) Apple Inc is trying to limit the impact of a bill aimed at fighting child labor in China, having had meetings with government representatives in an attempt to water down the bill. Under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, U.S. companies are required to ensure that their products are not made by forced labor in the region of Xinjiang. Many American companies, including Apple, have manufacturing sites that would be effected by this legislation, which would obligate public companies to report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and could lead to prosecutions over violations. A report by an Australian government body published in March claims that around 1,000-2,000 workers from the Chinese region were involved in Apple’s camera production.
2) Royal Dutch Shell has closed its Convent refinery in Louisiana. Convent is far from obsolete, indeed it is fairly big by U.S. standards and sophisticated. While Convent’s 700 workers are out of a job, the Convent replacement complex in northeast China is starting up. China has at least four projects underway in the country, totaling 1.2 million barrels a day of crude-processing capacity. This is just one example of a seismic shift in the global refining industry as demand for plastics and fuels grows in China and the rest of Asia. America has been the top refiner since the start of the oil age in the mid-nineteenth century, but China will dethrone the U.S. as early as next year. Oil exporters are selling more crude to Asia and less to long-standing customers in North America and Europe. China’s refiners are becoming a growing force in international markets for gasoline, diesel and other fuels.
3) The United States has officially exited the Open Skies Treaty on Sunday, six months after the Trump administration signaled it would. The reason is repeated Russian Federation violations of the treaty designed to allow unarmed aerial surveillance flights by the treaty participants in Europe, Russia, and the U.S. The treaty was negotiated in 1992 and entered into in 2002, and now has 34 participant states after the U.S. exit. Russia has consistently acted as if free to turn its obligations on and off at will by unlawfully denying or restricting Open Skies observation flights whenever it desires. For more than 20 years, Open Skies has been one of the most wide-ranging international arms control efforts to promote openness and transparency in military forces and activities. But Russia has denied flights within 6.2 miles of the Georgia-Russia border, and denying a previously approved flight over a major Russian military exercise. America’s European allies, however, value the treaty as it gives them the ability to collect aerial reconnaissance information, when lacking sophisticated satellite capabilities, that they would not have access to outside of the treaty.
4) Stock market closings for – 24 NOV 20:
Dow 30,046.24 up by 454.97 Nasdaq 12,036.78 up by 156.15 S&P 500 3,635.41 up by 57.82
1) Threat of a ‘no deal’ Brexit has the British pound falling relative to the US dollar and euro. The new British prime minister Boris Johnson announced the annual suspension of Parliament would be extended until 14 October, just two weeks before the UK is set to leave the European Union. This suspension is considered a move to block a no-deal Brexit within the UK parliament.
2) If General Motor exits from China, it will mean billions of dollars of profit lost. President Trump’s threatening order for American business to leave China would leave GM the hardest hit of the big three American automakers. While most of GM’s profits comes from North America, it makes about 43% of it annual auto sales in China. This would also mean the loss of all future growth potential, leaving it almost a North American only company, since GM has sold off its European operations.
3) The international gold market is falling prey to a forgery crisis. Gold bars are being stamped with logos of major refineries which makes them of questionable purity. These fake bars are being used as a means to launder cash money or trafficking illegally mined gold. The fakes became apparent when gold bars were found with identical serial numbers. In 2017 and 2018 there were 655 forged bars reported. Gold Kilobars are the most common form of gold in circulation and are worth about $50,000 each
4) Stock market closings for – 28 AUG 19:
Dow 26,036.10 up 258.20 Nasdaq 7,856.88 up 29.94 S&P 500 2,887.94 up 18.78
Krispy Kreme owner JAB just placed another food entity in its business portfolio, by acquiring Panera bread for $7.5 billion dollars. Krispy Kreme head honcho Oliver Goudet stated that himself and his team strongly “supported the vision” of Panera and it’s strategic alliances.
Panera Bread will be serving the same soup specialities, and the menu will not change drastically, because of the new takeover by JAB. Panera will continue instilling its visionary primal goals and continue its deliverance in the successes that has been provided to them. In the USA and Canada alone, Panera Bread has over $2,300 restaurants and counting. -SB
AMAZON (AMZN) has done it again folks!!!!!! One of the world’s largest online retailers has just bought the biggest Middle East online e-commerce retailer. Amazon has recently acquired Souq.com; the biggest ecommerce retailer in the Middle East. The company which is based in Dubai, United Emirates is the largest of its kind, in the middle east. Souq is valued at over $1 billion dollars .
Amazon has been serving customers in the Middle East for years, but wanted to expand its portfolio in the region, and they have with the purchase of Souq. It has been noted that Souq.com sells more than eight million products in the region.
Souq.com has over 3,000 employees in the Middle East and Arab countries; when the company started in Dubai, they only had five employees. Souq CEO Ronaldo Mouchawar, believed Amazon was the only choice as far as his concern, though the company had a $800 million counter offer buyout on the table; Mouchawar and his team believed Amazon was a very suitable home for Souq’s long term vision. -SB
Opec may soon be curbing oil prices, after releasing extensive amounts of oil for the past two years, without limitations. Opec is negotiating with Iran other body members about placing a cap on production, and perhaps reducing production to what it was in the first quarter of 2016.
Saudi Arabia and Opec members have been pumping out almost 34 million barrels a day, this has led US output to increase 11% from previous. Opec is assumed to take some type of action before the end of the year, exactly what transitioning may take place; no description has been presented yet to the media.
There is some speculation that the Saudi led Opec will take on some reduction of the output, maybe before the end of the year. It makes no sense to have increased oil output, when the Saudi’s have already retained the market share, the so called “oil war crusade” with the western oil companies and distributors should be neutralized. -SB
Wall Street looks ahead after the Thanksgiving holiday, as Chinese stocks headed lower Friday, a day after Thanksgiving. The Asian session saw a 5% retracement for the day, as major Chinese indices hovered lower.
Next week US Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen, will be speaking about raising the interest rates in the middle of December 2015. She will hit her point home about why the time is good now to raise the rates, as she has been indicating for the past several months.
The ECB (European Central Bank) will be meeting next week to speak about their easing rates program.
OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) will also meet to discuss oil prices, and oil production measures.
Week after Thanksgiving looking to be a very busy and tumultuous week for the economy and in finance: Economy & Finance Report, no pun intended. LOL-SB
The world continues to slow down economically, and will continue until 2016 as well. Stagnation seems to be currently occuring for the rest of 2015 and this will also hinder 2016 prospects. More developed countries such as the US, Great Britain, Germany, have been able to weather the storm and hold up recovery efforts being influenced world wide.
However OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development) indicates that future outlook seems bleek for the most part for the next couple of years because of the slowdown of the economy in Japan, and other eurozone/european countries. They instituted this as being ” puzzles and uncertanties”
The OECD maintained that “prospect of higher interest rates in the US and UK had exposed the vulnerability of emerging market economies to higher borrowing costs.”
China and Brazil happen to be two of the hardest countries hit by the economic slowdown. -SB
Blackberry shares dipped a bit on Friday because of their mixed earning report for the end of the year quarter. Finishing down to $9.99. There seems that there is still a lot more work to be done as Blackberry is restructuring the company.
The company did below what analysts had predicted of $1 billion dollars in revenue. Blackberry reported losing $148 in revenue in the 3 quarter. Blackberry executives expect the company to continue with either “break-even” or a little better route in their cash flow for 2015, but the Chairman/CEO John Chen expects Blackberry to hit profitability in the beginning of 2016.


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Amazon has filed a petition with the FAA asking the agency to allow expanded testing of the company’s Prime Air drones. According to the petition, which was first reported on by CNET, Amazon has been working on improving its drones by flying them indoors in Seattle, and taking them out to other countries with more relaxed rules about where and when businesses can fly drones. However, the company can’t fly them outdoors in the U.S. because of FAA regulations that prohibit commercial use of drones. In the petition, the company asked for permission to test the drones on its own property, away from densely-populated areas, airports and military installations.
Amazon is asking the federal government if it can start testing drones in its own backyard to speed up its development of Prime Air shipping, according to a letter published to the Federal Aviation Administration’s site on Thursday. If granted, Amazon will be able to test its drones outside of the testing sites designated by the FAA. The Seattle-based company said it could innovate more quickly, allowing it to test out new designs without traveling to one of the six FAA-approved sites scattered throughout the country. “We want to do more R&D (research and development) close to home,” VP of Global Public Policy Paul Misener said in a statement to CNET. The Internet retail giant has been testing the technology in order to deliver small packages, weighing 5 pounds or less, by drones. In arguing the feasibility of what initially sounds like a bizarre stunt, Amazon said 86 percent of the products sold on its site weighs less than 5 pounds. CEO Jeff Bezos announced the Prime Air service in December, but it can’t take off until the FAA figures out how it will regulate unmanned aircrafts when they are used for commercial purposes. Currently, the FAA already regulates drone hobbyists.


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Tender Price Indicator
COVID-19 has made it difficult to quantify the impact of Brexit on trade but a successful vaccination roll out fosters a faster economic revival.
Supply and demand shocks driven by policy rather than normal market forces have provided a breeding ground for a split sector-specific recovery in 2021 and beyond. With the prospect of broad inflationary pressures on the horizon, will construction tender prices follow suit?
A few significant changes since our previous (Q1 2021) TPI forecast have given rise to some upwardly revised inflationary predictions. COVID-19 has made it difficult to quantify the precise impact of Brexit on trade but the implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement has certainly increased non-tariff barriers on UK-EU trade, pushing up prices for European goods and services. Also since our last report the UK’s comparatively successful vaccine programme has exceeded expectations. The speedy rollout has thus far enabled the UK to stick to its roadmap of easing lockdown restrictions, fostering a faster economic revival and outlook. With this, we expect that confidence and investment activity will continue to build and increase the number of tendering opportunities in a number of key sub-sectors.


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If I’ve gotten to know one thing about attending the magnitude of shows and conferences that our industry participates in — besides the inevitable need for a foot rub — it’s that without fail, I’ll always leave feeling abuzz about something: a cool story idea; renewed passion and inspiration; a new connection; even a delicious place to dine I haven’t yet been. At press time, I had just returned from the Total Home & Gift Market and Lightovation at the Dallas Market Center, and that trip was no exception. On the lighting side of things, a lively, packed-to-the-brim crowd attended the first in-person Lighting Showroom Coalition meeting at the new SMART Center.
This group has its origins on Facebook, started by Pace Lighting owner Lisa Dixon (who, by the way, won this year’s Showroom of the Year $5 Million and Under Award — check out the showroom’s profile on page 37) as a private group where lighting industry professionals could have conversations between markets about concerns of all kinds related to business. The group had 780 members at press time, a testament to the void an outlet like this fills in the lighting showroom channel.
Several hot button topics were debated during the meeting, including the challenges with designer pricing, the need for drop ship programs for retailers and the question of manufacturers instituting a UMRP — unilateral minimum retail price — for all retailers, brick-and-mortar and online.
In the eyes of brick-and-mortar retailers, a UMRP would level the playing field and allow all retailers who sell a product to sell on expertise and customer experience alone, not sales tax breaks or IMAP loopholes. From what was reported at the meeting, manufacturers are open to the idea, but it’s going to take a good amount of lobbying on the retail side to make this a reality. Some retailers present weren’t sold on the concept as a way to compete with e-commerce, but those that were really were, and they seemed prepared to fight the fight. Either way, the dialogue is open, and that’s the first step.
What this part of the discussion reinforced was that a collective voice is needed to initiate any of the changes that were put on the table, and manufacturers on the whole really do want to see brick-and-mortars succeed. Retailers, whether lighting or furniture or decor, need to be proactive — with their manufacturer partners, their reps and other showrooms — to ensure, as was stated during the discussion, that these businesses are around for next generations to operate.
The lighting industry is known for being outspoken, but watching this Facebook group blossom and the in-person meetup be such a huge success, I was taken not only with the participation, but also with the willingness to share and offer solutions. The conversation was not all butterflies and rainbows — there are some harsh realities to face — but the attitude of ‘we can make this happen’ was present, which was refreshing to witness.
Follow-through will be key for the next stages of this evolution, though, and I hope to continue to report on all of the headway brick-and-mortars are making in the coming months and years.
P.S.: You may notice our new name — Furniture, Lighting & Decor, starting to appear in your email boxes and online. Our award-winning whole-room coverage of products and trends for retailers and designers continues to be our focus, but now you’ll see expanded coverage of the furniture business as well. Look for this, and the new name, in next month’s issue.


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Emory Bryan, News On 6
TULSA, Oklahoma -- It's back to school time, and this weekend it's the holiday from sales tax statewide. It's not just on back to school clothes, but almost any piece of clothing that costs less than $100.
Oklahoma started the tax holiday to compete with surrounding states that already had one. Now it's become a big part of what stores and families count on this time of year.
Back to school shopping involves lots of choices, but for many people, the decision of when to buy was easy.
"Have to buy stuff anyway, so it's a perfect time," said shopper Tamie Provinsal. "On yeah, great, I have three kids, so it's a big help."
Most every article of clothing under $100 dollars is tax free in Oklahoma this weekend. That's why many families wait until now to make the bulk of their fall clothing purchases.
It doesn't have to be clothing for children - or for back to school - to qualify.
"We're doing some clothing shopping and getting new shoes, and getting things to play with," said shopper Amanda Vaughan.
The tax free weekend has become another boost for the clothing business during what was already a busy time.
At Trippetts shoe store, manager Bill Young says it's what makes or breaks the business.
"It's back to school. Back to school is where we do our business, and if we didn't have back to school we wouldn't be here," Young said.
The big stores make a big push to bring in customers - extending the discounts of a sale on top of the savings on the sales tax.
"A lot of people take half days on the Friday to take advantage of the tax free to capitalize, and then Saturday and Sunday, we'll be busy," said Stephanie Davidson, Target.
Stores are expecting the crowd of shoppers to build as the weekend continues and for some it's become a weekend that rivals the shopping right after Thanksgiving.
"The tax holiday helps; it's a real boost at the beginning of August," said Bill Young, Trippetts Shoe Store manager.
The holiday covers articles of clothing or footwear "designed to be worn on or about the human body" that cost less than $100.
The sales tax holiday does NOT apply to the sale of any accessories, special clothing or footwear primarily designed for athletic activity or protective use that is not normally worn except when used for athletic activity or protective use, or to the rental of clothing or footwear.


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The Internet knows no borders. Increasingly, fashion and design e-commerce sites are catching up to that.
AHAlife, the online luxury design boutique, recently started shipping to 100 countries after only serving U.S.-based shoppers in its first year and a half. Fashion labels such as Alexander Wang are expanding their sites beyond the U.S. to capture new clients where they don’t even have real stores yet. Other more mass-market retailers such as J.Crew and Inditex’s Zara have expanded their e-commerce sites from the U.S. to Europe and vice versa.
Heard on the Runway provides news about the fashion and retail worlds, as well as fresh analysis and dispatches from the bi-annual fashion shows in New York, Milan and Paris. For complete style coverage, go to WSJ.com/Fashion.
WSJ's Fashion team is tweeting what they're seeing at the tents.


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Standing between the rows of his cherry orchards outside of Young, Cherry Growers Association Australia president Tom Eastlake is preparing for what could be a game-changing season.
Mr Eastlake is one of the many cherry growers around Young gearing up to export their produce to China for the first time thanks to relaxed new trade laws.
"This is a massive, massive boon," Mr Eastlake said.
The climate around Young makes it prime territory for cherries and the NSW Department of Primary Industry said the Young region has seen some of the highest numbers of farmers registering to export to China in the state.
Growers have previously been restricted to sea-freighting their cherries to mainland China market because of Queensland fruit fly contamination fears.
Now a new free-trade agreement between Australia and China has allowed growers to airfreight their produce after treating it for fruit fly.
Before the agreement, only growers in Tasmania could airfreight to mainland China, thanks to the island state being fruit fly free, while mainland Australian growers could export to Hong Kong.
But Mr Eastlake said Chile was Australia's biggest competitor for the Chinese market.
The South American nation could produce 200,000 tonnes of cherries this season, Mr Eastlake said, while Australian growers are hopeful for a record season this year of 18,000 tonnes.
"But it can be six weeks before the consumers are eating it [Chilean cherries]," Mr Eastlake said, with the majority of Chilean cherries moved by sea freight.
Now, theoretically, Young cherries could find themselves on mainland Chinese shelves three days after being picked.
"You just can't beat something that's 72 hours from the tree. You just can't do it. The flavour's better. The appearance is better," he said.
"Nowhere in the world can get things to South-East Asia as quickly as we can."
Previously, sea-freighting cherries from Australia to mainland China took 20 days.
He could not see Chinese consumers paying a premium for 20-day old cherries, he said.
Now, Mr Eastlake said he's waiting for his fruit to get bigger before he starts seeing what price he can get from China.
"In Australia you need a price point to move really big volume and we have a growing national crop that traditionally has been bigger than the domestic market can consume," he said.
He said growers in Australia needed to get at least $8 a kilogram for cherries just to remain in the industry.
"There's no money in it at $7 or $8," he said.
"We're not making money hand over fist. We're not out there buying Rolls Royces."
But the start of the season has been testing for growers, Mr Eastlake said. The drought conditions gripping the state meant Young's season started later than usual with smaller cherries.
"It's really dire for us out here. We'd take any rain we can get, " he said.
Mr Eastlake said while growers could never keep up with the domestic demand he doesn't believe the local price of cherries will go up as result of the trade.
Ultimately, he said, smaller growers will come on board as export costs drop when more fumigators to treat produce come online.
One of those smaller growers in Young is Joanne Wells, whose orchard lies south of Mr Eastlake's and produces 150 tonnes, compared to Mr Eastlake's 500.
While Ms Wells knows growers can command a higher price in China, she's hoping this would give her more room in the domestic market.
"We don't have the volume. The costs are pretty high to meet with the protocols, getting it up and down through transport; I think that's going to be our big thing if we don't have big volumes," Ms Wells said.
But as a smaller grower she said she had a better control over her cherries quality: her smaller orchard allows her to be more hands-on, even getting down to what individual trees she may leave to be picked for another day.
She also said the larger producers, who have already started exporting overseas, have made a huge difference to the domestic market.
Ms Wells and Mr Eastlake both said the demand was still so strong for cherries that they still had to turn potential buyers away.
Ultimately they both saw it as a good sign for the Young region.


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Abel Tesfaye will be following in his girlfriend Bella Hadid's fashion footsteps, staring in his very own fashion campaign for swedish giant H&M. As well as featuring in the spring 2017 ads, Tesfaye has curated the collection with The Weeknd's own label XO, which will be sold in H&M stores worldwide.
At this stage, H&M is keeping a tight lipped on any details,"the only thing H&M can reveal at this point is that the line will feature key items for spring that The Weeknd has handpicked," the company reported. But thankfully, Tesfaye gave us a sneak peek via his Instagram:
The collection will launch March 2017, stay tuned for more info.


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WOODSTOCK — The province is doling out $1.5 million to an Oxford County auto steelmaker to support a $17-million expansion that will help meet production demand in the electric vehicle market.
Ontario Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli joined Oxford MPP Ernie Hardeman in Woodstock Tuesday to announce the funding for ArcelorMittal Tailored Blanks, which he says will “spur innovation” and boost the economy.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
“This is an area success story. They’re a global leader,” Fedeli said at the company’s 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-metre) plant.
“We are going to come out of the pandemic, and we want to make sure our industrial base is strong and that we’re supporting workers, making sure they have a place to work,” he said. “It’s absolutely critical that economic development will lead us out of the pandemic.”
The funding, coupled with the company’s $17.4-million investment, will create 32 jobs and maintain 53 others, while boosting innovation and production of door rings and tailor-welded outer blanks — sheets of steel used for different auto parts, including frames and inner door panels.
“We’ll be able to supply one million door rings for electric vehicles,” ArcelorMittal Tailored Blanks Americas president Todd Baker said Tuesday.
Using robotic laser welding, the plant can produce light, strong auto parts that “reduce the carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles” and “enhance crash performance,” he added.
The provincial funding will boost an already rapidly growing company, Baker said. The plant, expanding for the third time since it was built in 2016, has seen its workforce has grow to 98 from 45 in the last year.
The Southwestern Ontario Development Fund money will help address production demand in the battery electric vehicle market.
“This is a great example of how technology can improve a system,” Hardeman said. “(The) fund was created for this purpose. The idea was to make sure we have support for manufacturing at the major centres, to be the best we can all over the province.”
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada


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Some products created under the “Uncle Ben’s” logo have been recalled due to unhealthy reactions in school children and teachers. The rice being recalled includes 5 lb and 25 lb bags of infused rice, which is not generally sold in grocery stores or supermarkets.
Mars Foodservices is the company that produces the affected products, which are usually sold through wholesale distributors for use by restaurants, schools, hospitals and other commercial establishments.
The company stated that the Uncle Ben’s products it is recalling consist of flavored rice, and this happened after people developed flushing and rashes after eating one of the rice varieties. The company said it found out last week that children at three Houston schools had “experienced allergic-like symptoms of mild flushing and rash” after eating Uncle Ben’s Mexican Flavor Infused Rice.
More accurately, 34 students and four teachers at three public schools in Katy, Texas reported burning, itching rashes, headaches and nausea for 30 to 90 minutes on Friday before the symptoms went away, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said. The students had all eaten Uncle Ben’s Infused Rice, Mexican Flavor.
In early December, Illinois reported similar reactions among 25 students who had eaten Uncle Ben’s Infused Rice Product, and North Dakota authorities reported another similar incident when four people had reactions after eating the product.
When the company learned of the illnesses, they began recalling all of their infused rice products from suppliers.
“Our network of distributors, brokers, and sales associates immediately started notifying their customers and collecting the product,” Mars Foodservices said.
However, the company discovered during their blanket recall, that “a limited amount” of the rice is on sale through websites and at some wholesale stores.
“Therefore, we initiated the voluntary recall to ensure that anyone in possession of the product is aware that it should not be served or eaten, but returned to where it was purchased,” Mars Foodservices said.
The company said it is “continuing to work closely” with the FDA to investigate the matter.
Besides the Mexican flavor which was the cause of most of the illnesses, Uncle Ben’s infused rice comes in other flavors such as roasted chicken, pilaf, saffron, cheese, Spanish and garlic and butter varieties.
Image via YouTube


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For years now, retailers have been advancing the date for Christmas holiday sales. For decades, holiday sales began after Thanksgiving on Black Friday. In the past few years, however, it has not been unusual to see holiday store displays and sales shortly after Halloween. This year those sales could begin before Halloween thanks to continued supply chain disruptions and delays. Consumers still stinging from package delays experienced last Christmas season understand the current supply chain situation could make this holiday season even more chaotic. As anchor-woman Ashley Thompson (@AshleyCBS46) reports, “A supply chain crisis is forcing shoppers to buy their holiday gifts earlier than usual.” And many consumers realize their gift selection could be limited to items currently found on store shelves or currently available in online retailer inventory. Jon Gold, Vice President of Supply Chain and Customs, explained to Thompson that retailers are trying to get products earlier than usual. He told her, “If you can’t get the product when you need it, you could potentially not have it on store shelves. Typically, the peak shipping season is August, September, October, when the bulk of those products come in. But because of the ongoing congestion issues, a lot of those orders and timeframes [were] moved up.” Whether those products arrive in time for the holidays remains up in the air as port congestion and port shutdowns continue plague supply chains.
Consumers Are Ready to Buy, But …
A shortage of products and an abundance of available consumer cash have created worrisome inflationary conditions. Inflation, however, might dampen sales. Richard Howells (@howellsrichard), a supply chain expert with SAP, explains, “With record ‘non-spending,’ and cancelled vacations in 2020, it has been estimated that Americans have stashed away more than $1.5 trillion in excess savings. So now, as a result of the vaccine rollouts, the $1.9 trillion stimulus package, restrictions starting to be lifted, shops opening, and the possibility of children returning to school and employees going to work, you can almost smell the money burning a hole in people’s pockets.” He believes the urge to spend will be uncontrollable. He explains, “This urge to spend is known as ‘revenge spending.’ It usually follows an unprecedented event as people seek to reclaim control and a sense of normalcy. And lord knows, I think we all want to get back to something close to normality.”
Journalist Stephanie Boland predicts much of the revenge spending will be done online. She writes, “Following COVID-19, most global consumers (60%) have changed their purchasing habits. Increasingly, people are moving from appointment shopping to impulse shopping, powered by the acceleration of eCommerce — from going shopping to always shopping.” With consumers concerned about having presents under the tree, they may find themselves doing online research then heading to a physical store to purchase available items. Boland notes, “Most (79%) holiday shoppers surveyed agree online is the easiest way to discover products during the season, with 68% agreeing it’s the easiest way to make purchases.” In the past, consumers have benefited from a cornucopia of available products. As a result Boland writes, “Consumers can often find themselves overloaded with choice and points of friction on their journey to purchase: 88% of shopping carts were abandoned worldwide in March last year.” This year may be different.
If the Delta variant of the coronavirus continues to create havoc, online shopping may once again dominate holiday shopping. Last year reporters Michael Corkery (@mcorkery5) and Sapna Maheshwari (@sapna) noted, “The forces propelling online shopping were set in motion long before the pandemic. But charting the decline of many brick-and-mortar stores and the simultaneous growth of e-commerce … is like watching the industry’s evolution, and its impact on the broader economy, on fast forward. In the future, 2020 will be seen as a major inflection point for retail.” Last year’s holiday season saw an increase in “buy online pickup in store” (BOPIS) options and the rise of curbside pickup options. This year could mirror last year in that respect. Corkery and Maheshwari report, “Retail executives said that staggering growth [in e-commerce] was not a fluke of the pandemic lockdowns, but the result of a permanent shift in how people shop.”
Omnichannel Operations are Essential
The most important lesson retailers learned last year was the importance of omnichannel operations. If they took that lesson to heart and bolstered their omnichannel operations, those efforts are likely to pay off big this holiday shopping season — which could have started already. According to Mark Burstein, an Executive Vice President and industry principal at Logility, most retailers did learn the importance of omnichannel operations. Last year, he reports, “Retailers [spent] 29% of their overall IT budgets on improving supply chain technology, according to the RIS Supply Chain Technology Study 2020. Digitalization is a key part of this, and it’s no surprise that this is such a significant priority for retail supply chain executives. Digital supply chains provide the resiliency, agility and speed that retailers need by bringing together all the systems, applications, processes, information and users in a supply chain in a single digital platform. Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and Internet of Things can help them execute decisions based on changes in customer demand faster, reduce markdowns and out-of-stocks and improve profit margins. These are critical technologies that winning retailers will master during the holiday season and beyond.”
Perhaps the most important thing retailers — both virtual and physical — can do this year is manage customer expectations. Journalist Brooke Sutherland (@blsuth) reports, “We’re now most of the way through the industrial earnings season, and you’d be hard pressed to find a press release or conference-call discussion so far that didn’t include a mention of supply-chain bottlenecks.” More importantly, Sutherland doesn’t see a way to break supply-chain bottlenecks before Christmas. She explains, “The big question, of course, is how long industrial supply-chain leaders need to keep coming up with new ways to make and ship products. Some of the component bottlenecks and high raw-material costs will work themselves out as the economy settles into a more sustainable growth rate. But absent an economic slowdown that no one wants, the only real way to rectify the semiconductor shortage and a dearth of ocean-freight capacity is to build more chip factories and shipping containers. That takes time.” As a result, retailers should warn consumers about out-of-stock situations and expected delivery delays. The last thing they need is for consumer frustration to turn into consumer anger.
Last year, most experts agree the holiday shopping season kicked off with Amazon’s Prime Day, which had been delayed from July to October. This year’s troubled supply chain means holiday shoppers may try to get a jump on the holiday shopping before Halloween. As a result, retailers may try and kickstart holiday sales with earlier than usual holiday offerings. According to Randy Mercer, Vice President of Global Product Management at 1WorldSync, retailers could benefit from a longer holiday shopping season. He explains, “Instead of waiting for Black Friday to announce new lines and Christmas deals, brands are finding that it may be easier to elongate the holiday season, creating a slightly more steady trickle of holiday shopping instead of a fast-paced peak in late November and December. Delivery networks like FedEx and UPS have been saturated with demand, so a wider holiday window gives supply chain networks more time to recoup and get back to normal operations.” Don’t surprised to see Santa sitting next to a Jack-o-lantern in the weeks ahead.
Despite Howells optimistic view that spending will continue to rise. Sutherland notes, “The supply-chain challenges and the great debate over whether inflation will suffocate the economy are related.” Retailers certainly hope this season will see increased consumer spending; however, their best bet is to get consumers to buy now. Selling current inventory not only increases profits it eliminates consumer frustration resulting from out-of-stock situations. For merchandise not already on hand, consumers should be warned about potential delays — perhaps extending well beyond Christmas. Some retailers, however, insist inventory worries are overblown. Time will tell.
 Ashley Thompson, “Attention shoppers! Shipping delays could impact holiday shopping,” CBS46, 18 July 2021.
 Richard Howells, “The Rise Of The Revenge Economy,” Forbes, 13 August 2021.
 Stephanie Boland, “Discovery Commerce: conversion for the holiday season,” The Drum, 10 August 2021.
 Michael Corkery and Sapna Maheshwari, “As Customers Move Online, So Does the Holiday Shopping Season,” The New York Times, 23 November 2020.
 Mark Burstein, “Why Supply Chain Agility is Essential for Retailers’ Holiday Success,” Supply & Demand Chain Executive, 14 November 2020.
 Brielle Jaekel, “How Will the Supply Chain React to a Stretched Out Holiday Season?” Supply & Demand Chain Executive, 14 October 2020.
 Brooke Sutherland, “No End In Sight to Supply-Chain Snarls, So Now What?” Bloomberg, 30 July 2021.
 Lauren Thomas, “Target CEO Brian Cornell quells fears about out-of-stocks this holiday season,” CNBC, 18 August 2021.


text: Those AMD breakup rumors are back with a bullet this morning thanks to some chatty sources speaking to TG Daily. Though this one can hardly be called rumor since it was AMD's own freshman CEO, Dirk Meyer (pictured), who said that AMD was "just months away" from spinning off its manufacturing and fabrication business into a separate entity. TGD's sources claim that an announcement is indeed planned for next month in fruition of its Asset Light and Asset Smart strategies. With it, we'll see Meyer take over the development of chip technologies while someone else (possibly Hector Ruiz, who recently shed his CEO role but stayed on as the board's chair) taking responsibilities of manufacturing. Let's just hope that they can get past this distraction in short order -- a strong, focused AMD is good for the industry and that's good for us consumers.


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Prediction: Amy Chua’s new book will not sell as well as her last one. In her latest tome, Yale law professor Chua together with her husband Jed Rubenfeld, also a Yale law professor, argues that some groups like Jews, Indians and Mormons, do better in America than other groups like African-Americans, Hispanics and Protestants. Though they don’t read »Susan Adams, Forbes Staff
#317 Laurence Graff & family
- Real Time Net Worth As of 6/1/16
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- diamond jewelry, Self Made
- Gstaad, Switzerland
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Laurence Graff, to mark his 60th year as a diamond jeweler, recreated an iconic statement Tuesday that helped to propel his brand to the forefront of the luxury world.
Known as “Hair & Jewel,” Graff in 1970 unveiled a photo of a model wearing an ornate coiffure decorated with $1 million dollars of diamonds and precious gems. The read »Anthony DeMarco, Contributor
Looking to broaden the appeal of its smartphones, Xiaomi said today it will ship Microsoft Office and Skype on Xiaomi Android smartphones and tablets. The companies’ new partnership also includes a cross-license and patent transfer agreement, a press release said.
Beginning in September, Xiaomi Android devices including Mi 5, Mi Max, Mi read »Russell Flannery, Forbes Staff
Rastar Group, the China remote-controlled car maker that last November invested in Spanish soccer club Espanyol, said Monday it would acquire the 67.1% of Guangzhou Quwan Network Technology it doesn’t already own for $148 million, in a continuing bid to diversify into the digital entertainment business.
Led by Chinese billionaire Chen read »Russell Flannery, Forbes Staff
‘This country has the best free speech protections in the world… and you don’t want to erode those,’ said the Amazon.com CEO. read »Ryan Mac, Forbes Staff
Japanese telecom conglomerate SoftBank, controlled by billionaire Masayoshi Son, is selling a big piece of its long-held investment in Alibaba as it works to improve its financial standing after a push into the U.S. wireless market. read »Antoine Gara, Forbes Staff
Max Jedeur-Palmgren, Contributor
The brainchild of Related Company’s billionaire developer Stephen Ross, Hudson Yards is billed as the largest private real estate project in the nation. Four years since the development broke ground, the first building at 10 Hudson Yards is opening. read »Chloe Sorvino, Forbes Staff
China’s richest man, billionaire Wang Jianlin, on Monday raised his offer to purchase shares he doesn’t already own or control in his Hong Kong-listed real estate flagship Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties ahead of its expected relisting on a mainland exchange.
The HK$52.8 per share offer by Wang’s main holding company Dalian Wanda read »Russell Flannery, Forbes Staff


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Google has begun rolling out early entry to its Bard chatbot within the US and UK.
The ChatGPT rival was introduced by way of a blog post in February, seemingly to get forward of Microsoft’s personal huge reveal occasion the subsequent day.
Microsoft’s plans to combine a brand new model of ChatGPT into its Bing search engine set off alarm bells at Google. In response, Google CEO Sundar Pichai invited the corporate’s founders – Larry Web page and Sergey Brin – to return for a sequence of conferences to overview its AI technique.
In stark distinction to Microsoft’s polished occasion, a last-minute occasion held by Google the day after was a multitude. Earlier bulletins have been rehashed, a presenter’s cellphone went lacking, and Pichai was nowhere to be seen.
Googlers took to the interior discussion board ‘Memegen’ to criticise Pichai’s management. One wrote, “Expensive Sundar, the Bard launch and the layoffs have been rushed, botched, and myopic” and known as on Pichai to “please return to taking a long-term outlook.”
Throughout a Bard promo video, an incorrect reply was proven that despatched Google’s shares plummeting and wiped $120 billion from its worth.
Google AI Chief Jeff Dean had allegedly even warned colleagues forward of the reveal that it can’t rush merchandise like Bard to the market as a result of the corporate has extra “reputational threat” in offering fallacious info.
The distinction between Microsoft’s and Google’s bulletins was stark. Microsoft appeared unstoppable whereas Google seemed to be in absolute chaos. Nonetheless, issues shifted within the coming weeks.
Customers started reporting “unhinged” responses from Microsoft’s chatbot—together with not simply incorrect info, but in addition the bot showing to be in a depressive state, eager to be human, and even claiming to spy on individuals by means of their webcams.
All of the sudden, that one error in Bard’s promo video didn’t look so dangerous. Moreover, it justified Google’s choice to carry fireplace on releasing Bard to the general public.
Google now seems to be snug with Bard being prepared for public testing:
“Our work on Bard is guided by our AI Principles, and we proceed to deal with high quality and security,” wrote Google in a blog post.
“We’re utilizing human suggestions and analysis to enhance our methods, and we’ve additionally in-built guardrails, like capping the variety of exchanges in a dialogue, to attempt to hold interactions useful and on matter.”
In a fast check, Bard (left of screenshot) is subjectively extra concise with its responses than Bing (proper of screenshot) whereas the latter is barely extra complete:
Nonetheless, there are at present just a few key variations:
- Bing’s chatbot desires to proceed the dialog and suggests potential follow-up questions.
- Bing’s chatbot makes it clear the place it’s getting its info so customers can get extra background.
- Bard reminds the person earlier than beginning a dialog that it has “limitations” and “gained’t all the time get it proper”. Moreover, the web page all the time shows a warning that Bard “could show inaccurate or offensive info that doesn’t signify Google’s views.”
You possibly can signal as much as attempt Bard here. Google is at present rolling out entry within the US and UK however can be increasing to different nations and languages over time.
(Picture Credit score: Google)
Need to study extra about AI and large knowledge from trade leaders? Try AI & Big Data Expo happening in Amsterdam, California, and London. The occasion is co-located with Digital Transformation Week.
Discover different upcoming enterprise know-how occasions and webinars powered by TechForge here.


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Last Updated on March 11, 2023 by Bitfinsider
Russian traders who use Binance, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, are subject to limitations on P2P transfers made in dollars and euros. According to their representatives, they have been implemented in accordance with the 10th round of EU sanctions against Russia that were revealed on the first anniversary of the Ukraine War in late February.
Due to the new regulations, neither Russian citizens nor foreigners who are residents of the Russian Federation will be able to use Binance’s P2P service to purchase or sell fiat money from the US or the EU. At the same time, EU nationals won’t be able to exchange money for rubles in Russia.
A spokesperson was cited by Forklog and RBC Crypto as saying that the impacted customers could select other readily accessible fiat currencies to continue using Binance P2P. The platform prompts users to choose a local currency when attempting to start transactions in dollars or euros in accordance with the Binance rules for the nation stated during the verification of their accounts.
When major payment processors Visa and Mastercard halted operations in Russia in March 2022 and Western governments placed limits on SWIFT transfers in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Russian cryptocurrency enthusiasts turned to peer-to-peer trading.
According to a previous set of sanctions enacted by the European Union, Binance restricted access to its services for users with ties to Russia and assets greater than €10,000 in April of last year. EU members decided to forbid offering “high-value” crypto asset services to Russian companies and residents earlier that month.
Russian rubles and other digital currencies, such as Stablecoins pegged to the dollar and the euro, can be used to buy and sell cryptocurrency assets without being subject to the new limitations for Russian citizens. Those who favor using fiat money will have to either move to another fiat currency or use other exchanges’ services.
Cryptocurrency exchanges have been assisting both Russians and Ukrainians to get around currency restrictions put in place by their own governments during an ongoing war. Bank card purchases in Ukrainian hryvnia were temporarily suspended last week, according to Binance and the Ukrainian exchange Kuna.
Hardware wallets are safe and secure devices that can be used offline. They keep your cryptocurrency offline, making it impossible for you to be hacked. To find out more on the leading hardware wallets, you may view our reviews here: Ledger & Trezor
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author, or any people mentioned in this article, are for informational purposes only, and they do not constitute financial, investment, legal, tax or other advice. Investing in or trading cryptocurrency or stocks comes with a risk of financial loss.


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French cement company Vicat plans to invest Rs 1,735 cr to boost capacity
Vicat Group was founded by the son of Louis Vicat, who invented artificial cement in 1817. The group has a presence in 11 countries.
French cement giant Vicat agrees to invest Rs 1,735 crore in India
The Vicat group chairman Guy Sidos has signed two memoranda of understandi...
Bharathi Cement to start two new plants
Besides Bharathi Cement’s 5 million tonne capacity plant at Kadapa, Vicat group owns another cement u...
Mid-size cement companies plan big expansion as demand revives
Mid-level companies, which have a localised footprint in India’s highly regional cement industry, have revealed plans to more than double their capacity.
Sagar Cements to sell stake in Vicat Sagar Cement Private Limited to Vicat SA
Sagar cements said its Board of Directors approved the sale of its entire 47 per cent stake in Vicat Sagar Cement Private Limited for Rs 435 crore.
France’s Vicat in talks to buy out Sagar Cements' 47% stake for Rs 4,100 crore
If the deal with Sagar Cements fructifies, it will be the largest since UltraTech’s Rs 3,800-crore purchase of the Gujarat unit of Jaypee Cement.
French cement maker Vicat eyes more India buys, capacities
French Cement maker Vicat group is now looking at more such opportunities, both organic and inorganic, to further consolidate its market in India, said a top official.
French cement maker Vicat eyes more India buys
After acquiring cement facilities and joining hands with local players for joint ventures, France's Vicat group is considering more opportunities for organic and inorganic growth in India.
Sagar Cements in talks to acquire Bangalore-based BMM Ispat unit
BMM, which started output in April 2012, made a loss of Rs 51.4 crore on Rs 116.6 crore of operating income during the nine months to December 2013.
French co Vicat picks up 51% in Bharathi Cement
French cement maker Vicat has bought 51% in Bharathi Cement and said it is becoming a partner with YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Congress MP and son of the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, to bolster its southern presence.
Bharathi Cement to double turnover by 2013
Bharathi Cement said it is eyeing to double the turnover to Rs 2,000 crore by 2013 when its plant at Gulbarga in Karnataka will go on stream. .
Telangana, Andhra Pradesh hold hope for southern cement sector
Building of new capital, irrigation and road projects, affordable housing may lift demand by 10-20%: Analysts
Reliance Infrastructure plans to exit cement business, puts unit on block
Promoters are expecting a enterprise valuation of Rs 5,500 – Rs 6,000 crore for Reliance Cements.
Jaypee Group in talks with Heidelberg, JSW to form JV for its existing, greenfield units
The rationale behind the exercise is to significantly bring down the Delhi-based conglomerate’s consolidated group net debt in one shot.
CRH cements deal with Shriram Group to buy Jayajothi for Rs 1400 crore
The final agreement between the two sides was signed this weekend and a formal announcement is expected within the next two days.
Copyright © 2019 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service


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As every one knew about next generation iPhone 6 is all set to release in the month September, Every day this upcoming iPhone6 is in the headlines with some news and rumors, now latest rumor is that this next generation phone is coming with next generation Co-processor M7.
Actually this today this was highlighted by the Geek Bar, a new set of schematics for a chip codenamed ‘Phosphorus’. The site claims the chip will serve similar roles to the M7 in the current iPhone 5s, but with additional functionality. It is very unlikely that Phosphorus will be used in official Apple marketing as it seems to be an internal code name for the chip. The new unit appears to be able to communicate with an external accessory, as well as perform pedometer and motion tracking functions seen in the M7. Therefore, it may be possible for the new iPhones to communicate with external health and fitness devices in a low-power state, without waking the rest of the A8 SoC.
The obvious speculation is that this may be a key part of how Apple intends the iWatch to synchronize with your phone, sending information like BP and Glucose levels etc. But as per Geek Bar we can blindly believe these type of rumors. Apple is expected to announce the new iPhone at a Media event on the 9th of September. If Apple follows historic patterns, press invites for the event should go out sometimes next week.


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From taxis to takeaways, start-ups have used online tech to reinvigorate entire industries in the last few years. What Uber has done for transport and Just Eat has done for food, Laundrapp wants to do for the admittedly less sexy field of washing clothes.
Customers book a slot with the start-up’s app and then their clothes are collected by a delivery driver, who returns them a few days later after they’ve been cleaned. Officially launched in January, the company has since raked in a hefty £4m investment, notched up 175,000 app downloads and washed around 700,000 garments. CEO Ed Relf launched the business on the suggestion of the firm’s now-chairman, Dominic Perks.
‘I think the penny-drop moment really was when I walked down my local high street where I live in north London and realised that every single one of these businesses had been revolutionised by digital in one form or another - whether it’s the bank or the bookmaker or the supermarket,’ Relf tells MT. ‘I got to the dry cleaner on the corner and realised, "goodness me, actually there’s a massive opportunity here".’
'I tend to spend most of my days smashing up washing machines,' Relf admits
Relf has spent a lot of time building tech companies but had no prior experience in the world of laundry, so he had to do his research. ‘It’s incredibly unscientific but...I walked into a couple of local dry cleaners and quizzed them,’ he says. ‘I asked them lots of questions about their current systems, how they operate, how they’re transacting and tracking orders.’
Finding inconsistencies in the prices charged by some high-street dry cleaners added fuel to his fire. ‘There was an opportunity here not only to bring their services to the doorstep, but also just to add a layer of visibility to and transparency to the industry,’ he says.
He admits that getting things off the ground was, ‘bloody hard. I’ve been through this three or four times now and it’s not always been successful. With any entrepreneur there’s always a string of failures before you hit on any form of success.’
Relf compares Laundrapp’s business model to that of the takeaway firm Deliveroo. The company employs its own fleet of drivers (‘we consider them "agents" – they’re ambassadors of the company’) but the cleaning itself is outsourced to 40 different suppliers.
‘We’re not cleaning experts, we’re technologists and operational experts, so we partner with people,’ he says. ‘These businesses tend to be family businesses, they’ve been in the market for decades.’
Though some existing dry cleaning companies do already offer collection and delivery, it’s mainly something that’s done over the phone or through a clunky website, rather than an app.
Laundrapp faces more direct competition from Zipjet, a start-up backed by Germany’s Rocket Internet that launched in London last October. But Zipjet is currently only available in central and south-west London, whereas Laundrapp’s reach extends to 25 towns and cities, including Cardiff, Edinburgh and Manchester.
‘The other massive competitor we all have is the washing machine,’ Relf adds. ‘Getting people to not use the washing machine and use an on demand service like this, that’s ultimately the opportunity here. It isn’t to get people to not go to their local dry cleaner, because on the whole people tend to not do that much dry cleaning.’
Relf’s not willing to talk financials but says the business has been growing a double-digit percentage every month and washes one garment every ten seconds. The firm employs around 100 drivers across the country as well as 25 office staff.
While he says there are no imminent plans for an overseas launch, he says that 2016 will 'probably be a good time to internationalise'. Make of that what you will. 'There's no reason Laundrapp couldn't become, not only the UK's largest laundry and dry cleaning brand, but certainly Europe's if not the world's,' he adds.
It might be growing fast but at the moment Laundrapp currently has a score of just 2 out of 5 on the reviews site, Trustpilot. Is it suffering from a few teething problems?
‘The thing with any on-demand business that has a component of logistics, is that logistics is just bloody hard to do,’ Relf admits. ‘There are so many things that can impact on us getting that delivery to you on time.’ And let’s be honest, most of us can’t be bothered to leave a review if a service has been satisfactory.
‘If we didn’t have teething problems then this would probably have been too easy and somebody would probably have done it already,’ he adds. ‘The fact that we and other start-ups come across these issues, it’s actually because we’re creating something new, we’re pioneering.’


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Picture the scene. You’re eating at a restaurant with a friend. You’re telling them what you consider to be a pretty interesting story and, just as you’re about to deliver the climactic line, your friend’s phone starts vibrating.
“Just hold on,” they tell you, reaching for their device. Unable to close your story, you’re left staring at them like a dog that’s been shown a card trick. The moment has passed. The story is ruined.
Since the invention of the mobile phone, all around the world fun and fascinating anecdotes have been interrupted and messed up by devices going off at inopportune moments.
The problem became so annoying for Californian Brian Perez that he came up with a game to encourage his friends to refrain from answering phones and responding to messages when eating out.
Called Phone Stack (though initially named ‘Don’t Be A Di*k During Meals With Friends’), at the start of the meal diners place their mobile device face down in a pile on the table. The first person to grab their phone, for whatever reason, loses the game and has to pay for everyone’s meal. If everyone resists the temptation for the duration of the dinner, then the check is split.
Explaining his reason for coming up with the game, 25-year-old Perez told the New York Daily News, “I didn’t want to be that person who is going out to meet people and be on my cell phone the whole time.”
Perez posted the idea for the game (presumably not while he was in a restaurant) on his website over the New Year holidays and it soon started to get attention. It seems more and more diners are taking up the game in a bid to have a meal where conversations can proceed uninterrupted.
A college student in New York, Sarah Barjum, told the NYDN, “It gets really annoying when there’s one person on their phone. It’s like, why are we even here?” She gave Perez’s idea the thumbs-up and hoped it would make dinners more enjoyable.
If you’re someone hooked on your phone to such a degree that not even the penalty of picking up the tab will deter you from reaching for your vibrating device, better make sure you have enough funds before agreeing to a game of Phone Stack.
- Restaurant chain offers families free meals if they hand over their phones
- How Alexa and Google Home can lend a hand over the holidays
- This weird wearable robot arm will feed you and your dinner companion
- The best restaurant reservation apps for iOS and Android
- The best iPhone apps available right now (February 2019)


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More interviews with Rod Kurtz
Discovering America's Coolest Young Entrepreneurs, Rod Kurtz is back to talk to Jim Blasingame about Inc's latest list of "30 entrepreneurs Under 30", and what all small business owners can learn from them.
Rod Kurtz talks with Jim Blasingame about what some companies are doing to offset the increased cost of gas for their employees. They also talk about the pros and cons of the new Apple IPhone.
Rod joins Jim to report on some research conducted with teenagers to see what they think about entrepreneurship as a viable career path. They also talk about what the education system is doing to promote entrepreneurship.
Rod reports on interviews he's conducted with small business owners who have survived a disaster and who offer their advice on how to deal with such an event. Rod also reports that his organization has set up a blog to help small businesses affected by the hurricanes.
Rod small business editor at SmallBusinessWeek.com joins Jim to discuss a recent report on family businesses including succession issues and 21st century influences.


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NEW YORK Professional makeup brand Temptu has announced the launch of the Temptu consumer makeup line, featuring the Temptu AIRbrush makeup system and AIR pods, exclusively at Sephora stores in Canada.
The move followed the fall 2009 rollout of the Temptu AIRbrush makeup system and AIR Pod makeup at Sephora stores in the United States. Temptu and Sephora partnered to create a Temptu-branded educational and experiential lab for the Sephora shopper in the Sephora Beauty Studio, with Sephora beauty experts offering AIRbrush product training and express services to consumers.
"We are thrilled to be the exclusive retail partner for Temptu, the unrivaled leader in professional airbrush makeup systems," stated Margarita Arriagada, Sephora's SVP merchandising, referring to the Canadian launch.
"Sephora is committed to bringing the most innovative technological advances in the beauty industry to our clients, and Temptu is a true makeup revolution. Through Temptu, our clients can experience unparalleled application technology with professional results from the comfort of their home," Arriagada added. "With the arrival of the high-definition digital age, we are confident our clients will be as excited to join the Temptu airbrush revolution as we are."
The Temptu AIRbrush makeup system, AIR pods and Retouch will be available online at Sephora.com and at all Sephora stores throughout Canada on Aug. 26. Product retail prices range from Canadian $42 to $265.


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The HYC ‘Vive’ VR headset which has just been announced at MWC a short while ago, will be available in developer kit form.
The HTC ‘VR’ Vive website has now launched and includes a signup button, teasing the ability for developers to register to get their hands on early hardware in Spring this year.
The lead time for the unit seems long and hardly gives new developers much time to get to grips with hardware in time for the traditional retail crunch at Christmas. It’ll be interesting to see how many developers have had access to early hardware and how far along software is right now.
We’re likely to find out much more about Steam VR, the HTC ‘Vive’ and hear from a raft of developers involved with the project next week at GDC 2015. We’ll be on the ground sending you the latest all week.


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In a recent survey conducted pan India among 1,455 respondents in the month of December by the digital marketing agency iCubesWire, 34pc of respondents reported that they buy products or services after watching influencers posts, reels and videos on popular social media platforms including Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter etc.
In addition, 43pc of respondents are at least checking out the recommended product/service by the influencers. This trend is on the upswing and is expected to further grow as 5G will lead the next wave of growth for social media in India, especially content that would be consumed on mobile phones.
“The rise of social media has changed the way people and businesses interact. People’s means of communication, which used to be limited to people they knew personally, have now expanded to include people all over the world. Traditional marketing techniques are being rapidly replaced by modern offerings such as reels, blogs, vlogs, and live streaming via digital media platforms. Influencer marketing has definitely changed the way people think about modern marketing and is now a mainstay for all brands across industries, especially consumer centric products and services,” said Sahil Chopra, CEO, iCubesWire.
According to the survey, Influencer marketing is most popular on Instagram as it is followed by 40pc of the respondents, followed by YouTube influencers at 34pc.
Today, India has nearly 80 million content creators, including video streamers, influencers, bloggers, and essentially anyone building a community around their niche. As of 2022, the influencer marketing industry in India was valued at over INR 12 billion. It was projected to grow at a CAGR of 25pc over the next 5 years.
According to the survey, 32pc of respondents spend 2-4 hours each day on social media, compared to 11pc who spend 4-6 hours and 11pc who spend more than 6 hours. Nearly 40pc of respondents said they use Instagram, while 3pc, 13pc, 4pc, 31pc, 7pc, and 1pc of respondents said they use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Snapchat, respectively. 40pc of respondents follow their favourite social media influencer on Instagram, compared to 18pc, 7pc, 34pc, and 2pc who follow them on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn, respectively.
Further, the survey indicates that 34pc of respondents buy products after watching influencers on social media using them, Conversely, 33pc occasionally, 18pc consider it for future buying, and 15pc never give it any thought.
In addition, the survey found that 58pc of respondents thought influencer marketing had a bigger impact than traditional marketing, while 19pc disagreed and 19pc said it depends. 54pc of respondents, a sizable majority, concurred that they enjoy seeing branded material on the accounts of their favourite influencers, while 19pc disagreed and 21pc stated they did not always.
73pc of respondents said they wanted to be influencers, compared to 26pc who said they didn’t. 30pc of respondents visit the brand’s website or social media pages in response to the question about the influencer marketing effect. Conversely, 42pc occasionally, 18pc infrequently, and 10pc never give it any thought.
Further, the survey indicates that 49pc of respondents are in favour of influencers taking over celebs for OTT platforms, while 29pc disagreed and 22pc said it depends upon the content.
29pc of respondents said they frequently follow influencers’ advice to buy something, while 43pc at least look at the suggestion, 15pc only think about it when there is a sale, and 12pc don’t give it any thought.
The majority of respondents about 54pc agreed that they are eager to watch influencer content on social media, followed by 32pc who are only somewhat interested, 24pc who are interested purely for entertainment, and 8pc said that they are not interested.


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Interest in cucumbers increased this year, even though the percentages in Fresh Trends 2013 show a slight dip in the likelihood of purchase compared to last year (down two percentage points). Cucumbers made a notable jump in the list of top 20 vegetables this year, climbing from No. 11 in Fresh Trends 2012 to No. 7 this year.
Buyers should expect later starts for The Empire State’s sweet corn and cucumber deals, while green beans should begin harvesting on time but with lower volume.
Chuck Hollenkamp, a Wish Farms veteran of operations and sales, has retired but plans to remain seasonally involved with the company.
A new marketing and communications coordinator is on staff at the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers Association in Leamington.
Lipman is expanding its national footprint by acquiring The Produce Exchange, a West Coast distributor.
From June 13-14, R.E.A.C.H. International hosted the eighth annual greenhouse competition at the Leamington Fair in Leamington, Ontario. The competitions included the Hottest Tomato, the Perfect Pepper and the Coolest Cucumber categories.More Packer Stories for Cucumbers
Market Scope - Cucumbers — F.o.b.s as of July 14
MICHIGAN — Shipments (16-38-60) — Movement expected about the same. Trading opened active, closed moderate. Prices lower. 1 1/9-bushel cartons medium mostly $20-20.85, fair quality mostly $12-12.85, cartons 24s mostly $6-7. Quality variable.
MEXICO CROSSINGS THROUGH OTAY MESA, CALIF. — Crossings (56-70-44*) — Movement expected about the same. Trading early moderate, late fairly slow. Prices lower. Greenhouse 1 1/9-bushel cartons medium mostly $20.95-22.95, fair quality mostly $18.95, ordinary quality mostly $14.95-15.95; large mostly $18.95-20.95. Cartons 36s mostly $10.95. Quality generally good. *data incomplete
WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA — Shipments (1-3-6) — Movement expected to remain about the same. Trading moderate. Prices 1 1/9-bushel cartons/crates medium $20, fair quality $12-13.
WESTERN AND CENTRAL NEW YORK — Initial harvesting was expected to get underway the week of July 14 with reportable volume expected the week of July 14. FIRST REPORT.
EASTERN SHORE AND EASTERN VIRGINIA — Shipments light — Movement expected to decrease. Trading fairly active for light supplies. Prices generally unchanged. Waxed 1 1/9-bushel cartons medium mostly $20, fair quality mostly $12.


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FACTORY workers on Tuesday began receiving the M800 salary subsidy from the government to cushion them from the loss of their salaries during the Covid-19 induced lockdown.
The workers were forced to stay at home when the government imposed a nationwide lockdown from 30 March to 5 May 2020 to prevent the spread of the virus.
During that period factories and other businesses which were deemed no-essential were forced to close. As a result, the textile companies were unable to pay their workers as they did not generate any revenue during the lockdown.
Prime Minster Thomas Thabane subsequently last month announced that the government would pay each of the 45 000 factory workers M800 per month from April to June 2020.
The money is meant to help workers pay for some of their basic needs.
The secretary general of the United Textile Employees (UNITE) union, Solong Senohe, yesterday told this publication that the workers had started receiving the payments.
“I can confirm that some workers started receiving the money from the government yesterday (Tuesday),” Mr Senohe said.
The payments came just in time to prevent planned protests which could have turned violent in Maputsoe on Monday.
National Clothing, Textile and Allied Workers’ Union (NACTWU) official, Tšepang Makakole, said the unions had to plead with the restive workers to give the government time to fulfil its promise of paying them.
Meanwhile, the Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC), which has been tasked with processing the payments, said it expected to have paid all the workers by yesterday.
“By close of business on Monday, the corporation processed payments for 20 000 workers with the remainder being finalised in the next two days,” the LNDC said in a statement this week.


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Kinect’s premier flagship title – Kinect Star Wars – was released yesterday, mostly to middling scores. the biggest problem appears to be that Kinect’s purported accuracy just doesn’t exist. It’s quite worrying that Microsoft themselves can’t get Kinect working as intended – but maybe FROM Software, the guys behind the phenomenal Dark Souls, and Capcom could fare better.
They’ll be bringing a new Steel Battalion to Xbox 360s, enhanced with Kinect functionality. Some of you might remember the ridiculously awesome, ridiculously large Steel Battalion controller that shipped with the original game – and it looks like they’re trying to magically emulate it with Kinect and thin air. Much to my surprise – I think this could actually work out pretty well – provided they’ve managed to get tight performance out of Kinect’s generally loose controls – and it’s more of what I want to see from the peripheral; regular traditional gamepad play enhanced with Kinect functionality.
I’m still desperately seeking a genuine “core” experience made better with Kinect – so I’m keeping a steady eye on this. Besides, piloting giant armed robots is always cool.
“Manhattan, 2082: In a world where computers and almost all modern technology have been lost, the greatest nations of the world continue to battle for supremacy,” says the game’s official blurb. “The American army lands in New York to begin its first big offensive of a long ground war. Soldiers fire from the trenches as scorched bunkers belch black smoke.
“As comrades continually fall to the unrelenting crossfire of bullets, the Vertical Tanks make their relentless advance. Experience the battlefield as never before with Kinect for Xbox 360.”
Here it is in action.
Last Updated: April 4, 2012


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iPad users will soon have an alternative to the default Safari browser, courtesy of Mozilla.
Mozilla says the new browser “makes browsing more fun, more ergonomic and re-thinks [the] browser-user experience from the ground up.”
The new browser sports a simple interface with just two buttons which are positioned where iPad users’ thumbs would go. The back button is under the left thumb, and handles the standard “back to previous web page” function.
There is a plus button under the right thumb, which opens up a menu with more features that will allow users to enter a manual URL and go to a recently-viewed or bookmarked site.
Mozilla has yet to announce a release date for Junior.
Read the full story at: Boy Genius Report.


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The shares of Lenovo Group, China's biggest personal computer maker, were suspended yesterday in the Hong Kong market over speculation of major restructuring amid flagging sales in the global financial crisis.
Lenovo will merge Asia and China operations into a new operation called Asia and Russia. The company will also appoint senior vice president Chen Shaopeng to head it, media reported yesterday. Lenovo said its shares were suspended pending the release of price-sensitive information and it would release a statement this morning.
Guo Tongyan, Lenovo's Beijing-based spokesman, declined to comment but he denied another report saying that Lenovo had to lay off 200 people in its Beijing headquarters.
Lenovo Asia now accounts for 11 percent of the company's total revenue.
"All firms are influenced by the global financial crisis, even it's in China, except the telecommunications sector (as 3G boosts)," said IDC in a statement yesterday.
Lenovo is the world's fourth-biggest PC maker, behind Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Acer.
Lenovo, which acquired IBM's PC business for US$1.25 billion, saw its share of the global PC market drop to 7.4 percent in the third quarter of last year from 8 percent a year earlier, as it battled aggressive smaller rivals like Asustek and Toshiba, analysts said.
(Shanghai Daily January 8, 2009)


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More than half of respondents in 25 countries are more concerned about their privacy online than they were a year ago. according to a survey released yesterday for e-Commerce Week 2018.
This is a jump of 5% from 2017 and reflects growing worldwide concerns about data privacy and online security.
Nearly four fifths of internet users in North America are concerned about their privacy online. In the Middle East and Africa, the share of those feeling “more concerned” grew from 55% to 61%.
The survey was carried out by the Centre for International Governance Innovation in collaboration with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, which this week hosts e-Commerce week (16-23 April).
“The survey underlines the importance of adopting and adapting policies to cope with the evolving digital economy” said Shamika Sirimanne, director of UNCTAD’s technology and logistics division.
Despite the concerns about privacy, trust in the internet was high in the majority of countries with more users shopping online than the previous year.
“Newcomers to the internet might be unaware of potential abuses and risks. Yet, this trust is essential for the successful expansion and use of e-commerce platforms and mobile payment systems in developing nations,” said Fen Osler Hampson, CIGI’s director of global security and politics.
Only 18% of internet user felt that the costs of new technology outweigh the benefits.
About the survey
The survey team and polled 25,262 internet users between 29 December 2017 and 5 March 2018.
The survey was conducted in 25 economies – Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Hong Kong (China), India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, South Africa, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.
To see additional data from the 2018 survey and previous editions, visit www.cigionline.org/internet-survey.


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For years it has been said that the evolution of electric cars will be electric with hydrogen cellthis refers to powertrains that instead of being recharged with electrical energy, will use hydrogen which will be processed by an engine to convert it into electric power which will propel the car. As a result, the only residue that will come out of the exhaust will be water. In a nutshell it is a electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen.
These cars also feature a battery like that of an electric car that can be used to store the excess energy produced by the motors or to recapitulate energy from regenerative braking to thus extend the range. One of its advantages is energy efficiency that they provide, the problem to date was the cost and infrastructure of hydrogen refueling stations.
However, Honda and General Motors they have been collaborating for years on the creation of a new “hydrogen cell”, that is, a more advanced next-generation powertrain. According to what Honda has said, this engine is ready and we will see it reach the Honda CR-V in 2024.
In 2008 Honda presented the Clarity with a sedan with this type of powertrain, however, its price was very high. Fortunately, Honda says that with technological advances they have made the next generation of the hydrogen fuel cell cost only one third than it did in 2008. Also with new materials that make it more resistant to rust, extreme cold and that makes better use of the energy released in the electrochemical reaction.
Honda has not revealed specifications for this model, however, they say that their vision for the future is not only for passenger cars, but also for cargo transportation and even heavy construction equipment, as well as a network of hydrogen recharging stations. . For now they will focus on getting this CR-V ready for United States and Japan in 2024. Later, as progress is made, they will decide that other countries are viable to have this type of car.
It should be noted that not only Honda and General Motors have an interest in this technology; Hyundai, Toyota and BMW They have sold and developed powertrains of this style for a long time and continue to research for the future.