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Acknowledgement of country
I wish to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land we are meeting on today, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation.
I pay my respects to them and their cultures and to their Elders past, present and emerging. I acknowledge their continuing connection to the land, sea and community.
I would also like to acknowledge and pay my respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are attending today’s event.
I am delighted to be speaking to you today about the ACCC’s work and priorities in the banking and financial sectors.
Our work, even when you narrow it down to how it relates specifically to financial services, is vast.
From taking strong enforcement action when we consider someone is engaging in anti-competitive conduct, contributing to the development of payments regulation policy to running inquiries into specific financial markets, facilitating open banking and combating scams, the ACCC’s remit is extensive.
It is with this large body of work and responsibility in mind, that I address you today, as leaders of the sector.
Each of us is aware of the weight of global uncertainties.
Geopolitical tensions and uncertainties are high. The war in Ukraine has affected key global markets including energy, defence products and food, with likely ramifications beyond the end of the conflict as countries seek alternative sources of supply to protect from dependence and exposure to similar disruption in the future.
There is close focus on the rise in inflation and the response of central banks across the globe to raise interest rates to moderate that increase.
The IPCC just delivered a “final warning” on the climate crisis and that the time is now to take the necessary action.
The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and Credit Suisse and declines in the shares of certain US, UK and European Banks have prompted Central banks and Governments to give assurances that their banks and banking systems are sound. In these uncertain times, the voice of competition and consumers remains important.
Indeed, ensuring markets continue to work fairly and competitively is more important than ever as cost of living pressures affect many Australians.
A competitive financial services sector is essential to ensure consumers’ needs are met.
Financial services are central to how Australian consumers live and do business.
It is critically important that these markets are competitive so that services are able to be developed to meet evolving consumer needs. This is especially vital to Australians facing cost of living pressures and rising home loan interest rates.
Promoting effective competition and investigating allegations of anti-competitive conduct in the financial services sector remains a top priority for the ACCC.
Cases we have before the Federal Court, like our action against MasterCard for alleged anti-competitive conduct in response to the RBA’s least cost routing initiative shows that the ACCC will not hesitate to take strong enforcement action where necessary.
Of course, our role in this sector is multi-faceted, combining strong enforcement action with a proactive approach to identifying issues and working to raise compliance and best practice across the sector. This means working closely with our fellow regulators and industry members to promote competition.
For example, our focus on competition in payment services includes engagement with the comprehensive reform of payments system regulation, which is currently underway.
We are contributing to the development of the government’s overarching strategic plan for the payments system, as well as engaging on discrete policy workstreams, to ensure that the regulatory framework for payments is designed to facilitate competition, innovation and good consumer outcomes.
The ACCC is also looking forward to playing a key role in the Government’s plans to increase competition in clearing and settlement services, should the Parliament agree with the Government’s draft legislation announced last week.
One of our most important tools is our role in conducting in-depth market inquiries, and we welcome the Treasurer’s directions to undertake a number of inquiries in this sector.
Being able to conduct these inquiries is pivotal to our role as the national competition champion because it allows us to engage deeply on competition issues arising in particular sectors.
It also allows us to work with industry and other regulators to identify solutions for emerging problems and areas of potential market failure.
In the past year we have commenced two inquiries in the financial services sector.
In December last year, we released our first report in our five-year inquiry, monitoring the effects of the government’s cyclone and cyclone-related flood damage reinsurance pool which is aimed at improving the affordability and accessibility of insurance for households and businesses in cyclone prone areas of Australia.
Over the course of this inquiry, we will be continuing to engage with businesses and communities to understand and evaluate the impact of the reinsurance pool.
More recently, we have commenced our inquiry into retail deposit products, following a direction from the Treasurer. This focus is also being seen overseas with the UK Treasury Committee of MPs announcing last week that it was writing to the Financial Conduct Authority to look at similar questions.
Deposit Interest Rate inquiry
Nearly all Australians rely on a bank, credit union or building society to hold and grow their savings. For many, the interest they earn on these savings is an important source of income.
In a period of rapid RBA rate rises, consumers are understandably eager to ensure they are receiving a good deal from their financial institution on their savings.
After all, Australian households together hold more than $1.3 trillion in deposit accounts.
We are also mindful of the critical role that deposits play in our banking system.
As such, we look forward to constructively engaging the sector and other stakeholders throughout the year as we examine the competition and consumer issues affecting these markets.
To inform the ACCC’s inquiry, we will be requesting information from suppliers of retail deposit products, and working closely with other financial regulators to draw on their expertise and data.
We will also soon release a public issues paper, seeking stakeholder input on a range of issues. These will include:
- how banks and other authorised deposit-taking institutions set their rates on retail deposit products
- how their approaches differ from rate setting for credit products
- the role of deposits in their overall funding mix, and
- consumer information and switching.
I urge you all to consider a submission in response to the issues paper, and to participate in this inquiry more generally.
The Retail Deposits Inquiry provides an important opportunity to improve transparency on how banks set interest rates for savers, including the role of promotional rates.
We are keen to understand the different approaches that suppliers have taken in light of cash rate changes, particularly between their deposit and credit products.
This consideration will, in turn, inform our understanding of the nature and extent of competition for retail deposits.
Of course, any analysis of competition also needs to consider the demand side.
The ACCC will be seeking a deeper understanding of consumers’ interactions with suppliers and products. We are particularly interested in understanding the extent of, and any impediments to, consumers switching between deposit products or suppliers.
We will be doing this as the consumer data right in banking sees increasing participation.
Consumer Data Right
The ACCC is proud of the role it has played in delivering the Consumer Data Right in banking, or open banking, as it may be more generally known.
The Consumer Data Right provides consumers with the ability to share their data – with their informed consent - with trusted and accredited third parties. These third parties can use this data to provide products, services and insights that benefit consumers.
From our role in accrediting those third party data recipients, providing regulatory guidance and enforcing the CDR rules to building, operating and securing the technology that enables the Consumer Data Right, we are grateful for the overall positive engagement with the financial services sector so far.
It is good to see growing industry and consumer use of the CDR. For example, some lenders and mortgage brokers are already using CDR consumer data to provide better lending services and more convenient application verification .
We’re continuing to accredit new data recipients and activate CDR products, and we expect to see more activity in the near future especially as adoption increases.
Good quality data is, however, essential to making sure the CDR is reliable and can fulfil its objective.
This is why data quality is one of the highest priorities for our CDR regulatory work.
Unfortunately, there have been some challenges with CDR data quality. Not all data holders have been able to comply fully with what is required and we expect those businesses to actively manage their CDR solutions and promptly address data quality incidents.
In addition to educating CDR participants with guidance and other industry engagement programs, the ACCC has significant tools in enforcing CDR Rules and standards including compliance assessments, the issuing of infringement notices and potential court action.
As evidenced by our busy CDR regulatory work, I hope it is abundantly clear we are not afraid to use any of these tools at our disposal.
Australia’s CDR is a reform that has consumers firmly at its centre and is founded on strong protections, including a fundamental role for consumer consent. We know that consumers will only be willing to use CDR if there are high levels of consumer trust.
Maintaining these strong consumer protections, as well as privacy and information security safeguards will be essential as the roll out of the CDR continues and gathers pace.
We look forward to working with participants in the financial services industry as well as CDR co-regulators, the OAIC, Treasury and the Data Standards Body to ensure that all CDR participants and consumers are clear in what their obligations and rights are.
As I talk to a room full of leaders in the financial and banking sector, scams are something I must mention and urge you all to re-double your efforts in helping keep Australians safe.
Scams are increasingly common with more people receiving scam messages, advertisements and phone calls, leading to increased losses.
During 2022, financial losses reported to ACCC Scamwatch totalled more than $569 million and we know only 13% of victims report to Scamwatch.
Our Targeting Scams report, which will be published soon is sadly expected to report much higher losses than the $1.8 billion reported in 2021 to Scamwatch, ReportCyber, financial organisations and other government agencies.
Investment scams continue to cause the most financial harm to consumers making up 66% of all financial losses reported to Scamwatch in 2022.
And we are also aware of a significant rise in the number of bank impersonation scams, robbing Australians of their life savings.
Scammers are using new technology to trick their victims, by making their call appear to come from the bank’s legitimate phone number or by sending a text that appears in the same conversation thread as genuine bank messages.
Most recently we have heard reports of the ability to artificial intelligence being used to mimic voice successfully with the potential to fool voice recognition. Scammers are all too ready and able to innovate.
Scamwatch received more than 14,600 reports about bank impersonation scams in 2022, resulting in more than $20 million in losses. Of course, scams like these not only cause financial distress, but also emotional devastation.
As many of you may be aware, last October, the Government announced seed funding for the ACCC to work with other government agencies, law enforcement and the private sector to advise on the establishment of the National Anti-Scam Centre. Indeed, there have been a number of workshops and discussions that many of you may have attended in recent months.
The collaborative nature of how we all are working to establish the National Anti-Scam Centre is vital to the success of our work in combatting scams.
With your assistance and the collaborative work we are doing with others, we have the power to make Australia a harder target for scammers.
One of the ACCC’s key initiatives against scams, which the banking and finance sector needs to contribute more to, is the implementation of efforts to prevent funds reaching scammers.
Financial institutions are in a unique position to help and more needs to be done to ensure banks are detecting and blocking scam transactions.
This is because, despite the rise in cryptocurrency payments, traditional bank transfers are among the most common payment methods to scammers.
In 2022, more than $210 million of losses was reported to Scamwatch as paid via bank transfer. Losses by bank transfer increased by a staggering 63% in just one year.
We are encouraged to see banks taking promising steps towards enhancing protections for their customers.
The Commonwealth Bank for example has begun putting in place processes for consumers to verify calls from their bank through their app and giving consumers an indication of whether CBA, using its own data, can find a match between the BSB and account name entered for a transaction.
Westpac has also enabled a process where if it detects something suspicious that could be a scam or if the account name doesn’t match, Westpac will send an SMS to their customer to verify and hold the funds for four hours just in case a scam is occurring.
Unfortunately, there are still significant gaps between sectors, between banks, and between regulators that scammers exploit to steal money from customers. So we would like to see initiatives that apply across the sector, knowing that scammers will target the weakest link.
As scammers become more sophisticated, so too must regulators and the financial sector if we are to succeed in providing meaningful protection to Australians.
The ACCC looks forward to working with the private sector to increase protections for consumers.
Overall, we have six steps we want to progress further with banks and financial institutions:
- Place consumers, with particular focus on consumers experiencing vulnerability, at the centre of all solutions
- prevent scammers from opening accounts at your institutions
- continually evolve system ability to identify and block suspicious transactions
- intervene to warn your customers when you identify suspicious transactions
- introduce confirmation of payees to reduce the losses to scams that we are seeing, especially through payment redirection scams (otherwise known as Business Email Compromise scams)
- stay on top of scam trends and alert your frontline employees and customers to current scams and ways to protect customers
The ACCC as Australia’s competition and consumer regulator has a steadfast determination to ensure our competition and consumer protections are enforced and our work to promote fair and efficient markets remains unwavering across the economy, including in the financial services sector.
This summit gives me a valuable opportunity to expand on our compliance and enforcement priorities and to share practical steps to raise compliance and best practice across the sector.


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Pearson Cycles is to host a Vulpine open evening this Thursday, which the trade are welcome to attend, at its East Sheen branch.
Those who attend will have the opportunity to buy clothing with a ten per cent discount, as well as having access to CycleFit experts who will be on hand to discuss precision bicycle fitting. If that’s not reason enough to pop along, complimentary booze will be supplied.
Pearson’s store is located at 232 Upper Richmond Road West, East Sheen, SW14 8AG. The telephone number is 0208 642 2095.

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This month, we find out the fate of our cannabis industry. Our medical marijuana establishments are counting on a passing vote in order to launch their businesses to the next level.
This month, we find out the fate of our cannabis industry. Our medical marijuana establishments are counting on a passing vote in order to launch their businesses to the next level. And, although there is a portion of the medical marijuana patient population that is against legalizing cannabis for adult-use, we have a growing number of medical cannabis users that are counting on a recreational cannabis industry.
Our veterans are currently in a catch-22. While many are more than willing to utilize medical cannabis instead of the many prescription pharmaceuticals, they are faced with the decision to choose a safer alternative but quite possibly at a cost of losing their VA benefits since federally, cannabis is still illegal. For this reason, most veterans are unable to consider becoming registered medical marijuana patients. Enlisting in the Armed Forces to serve our country should at the very least afford one the option to use a safe medicinal alternative once they return from battle.
We also cannot forget about the large number of consumers that are using medical cannabis for reasons unrecognized on the list of qualifying conditions. Both stress and sleeplessness are medical conditions, yet neither are recognized as qualifying conditions. In addition, mental illness and other medical conditions such as ADHD, depression and anxiety also go unrecognized on our qualifying conditions list. As adults, shouldn’t we be able to choose whether or not to use this plant as medicine? And, if we choose to do so, is it really necessary to register with the DMV or give up our gun rights?
In conclusion, our Nevada Medical Marijuana Program is highly regulated. We need regulations and guidelines. Patients deserve safe, lab-tested medicine. What patients do not deserve is potentially facing jail time, losing their rights to bear arms, or facing other consequences stemming from federal illegalities. All adults should have the ability to take charge of their health and not be scrutinized for choosing a safe, medicinally-beneficial plant over dangerous pharmaceuticals.


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Boost Mobile has announced the launch of the Carrier Crusher unlimited wireless plan that is set to be the U.S. wireless industry’s cheapest unlimited wireless plan. It will be available starting on Thursday, July 28th.
The cost of the Carrier Crusher plan will be pegged at $25/month forever, so long as the plan stays active in autopay. According to Boost Mobile, the plan will cover everything the typical wireless user needs: unlimited talk, text, and 5G/4G data.
Although customers may see this as a temporary promotion gimmick by a wireless carrier seeking to grow its user base quickly, Boost Mobile affirms that the Carrier Crusher plan is no gimmick and that it is as advertised.
All you need to do is pay $25/per month. Boost Mobile will not make the demands typical of wireless carriers’ promotions, such as a three-month prepaid requirement or a family plan commitment.
The wireless service provider is launching the plan to empower customers since inflation is causing prices of goods and services to rise across the board, including wireless plans.
While other wireless providers are increasing the costs of their plans, especially the Big Three wireless providers, Boost Mobile is launching the Carrier Crusher plan to make wireless more accessible to people without stringent requirements, taking a direct shot at competing wireless carriers.
According to Stephen Stokols, head of Boost Mobile,
“There’s not a wireless option on the market as compelling as Boost Mobile’s $25 forever plan. We know consumers have been overpaying for unlimited access – as much as $80 a month with the other guys.”
At $25 per month, the Carrier Crusher plan from Boost Mobile costs 50% less than comparable plans from other 5G wireless service providers, effectively making it the cheapest unlimited wireless plan in the U.S. It can cut your wireless plan expenses by as much as $400 a year per individual.
You can learn more about the Carrier Crusher plan at Boost Mobile.


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Despite moving forwards on the calendar, Eurobike has issued a press statement saying the show is now “sold out”, with over 100 new exhibitors signing contracts to appear.
“In terms of exhibitor numbers for the Eurobike, we are back in the range of last year’s record 1,400 exhibitors,” reports Dirk Heidrich, Messe Friedrichshafen project leader for the Eurobike.
“The bicycle market is changing very dynamically. On the one hand, the E-bike boom is generating record revenues for many market players, but also considerable shifts in market structures. With the changed concept for the show and a clear focus on trade visitors and e-mobility topics, we are addressing these changes in the bike and E-bike market. The strong reception from established as well as new market players shows us that we are on the right track with this concept,” says Eurobike Head Stefan Reisinger.
Among those to sign up are mountain bike biz Kona who return after a few years of absence to debut a new line of electric mountain bikes.
Similarly, newly founded E-bike provider TechniBike will also making an appearance. The brand name may sound new, but the company behind it is well known to many consumers: TechniBike is a subsidiary of the entertainment electronics manufacturer TechniSat Digital GmbH.
Off the mountains, the organiser is to dedicate a new space to electric mobility solutions in a bid allow visitors to better explore the urban mobility picture.
Eurobike this year takes place from Sunday, July 8 to Tuesday, July 10, 2018, from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Admission is limited to trade visitors and accredited journalists. The event is further preceded by a press camp event over in Austria under the Media Days banner.
Registration for the show is now available here.


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The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has introduced its new service for the passengers who were worried about the food quality in Indian Railways. Yes, IRTC has developed a live streaming mechanism which will allow the passengers that how the chefs in train cook the food.
Earlier, there were several reports regarding the bad food quality which is served to the passengers. Now, with this new technique, passengers complaints regarding the food items will be minimized as they can see the live cooking of the food which is served to them.
From food packaging to food served at various base kitchens of the national transporter, passengers can view it live.
Recently, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had suggested this in a review meeting. As per the statement by the IRCTC, Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani inaugurated the live streaming of food preparation at base kitchens to IRCTC’s website.
IRCTC had earlier launched an artificial intelligence tool which helps in detecting the anomalies in food hygiene level and will communicate it to the individual concerned to initiate regulatory action, the statement said, adding it was developed in association with an artificial intelligence and vision computing company called Wobot.
"Live streaming will go a long way in increasing transparency and public confidence in the quality of food cooked at IRCTC-monitored base kitchens. The live streaming can be accessed by anyone on IRCTC's website under the gallery link," it said.


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The Palestinians stepped up a campaign against Israeli settlement products Tuesday, with hundreds of volunteers in white T-shirts distributing a brochure with brand names and photos of 500 goods they want West Bank consumers to shun.
The campaign drew an angry response from the settlement movement which demanded that Israel close its ports to Palestinian goods. Government officials have said the boycott is counterproductive at a time of renewed peace efforts, but have not threatened retaliation.
Also Tuesday, Israel’s government said it had made a “big mistake” by barring Noam Chomsky, a prominent American linguist and outspoken Jewish critic of Israel, from entering the West Bank earlier this week. Israel’s Interior Ministry said a border clerk had wrongfully denied entry to Chomsky, and that he was free to enter.
Israel has built dozens of settlements for half a million Israelis in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, lands that were captured in the 1967 Mideast war and that are claimed by the Palestinians for their state.
The government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas argues that it must do everything it can to deprive Israeli settlements of a lifeline.
The boycott campaign began a few months ago. Palestinian security forces started to intercept shipments of settlement goods en route to West Bank businesses. Last month, Abbas signed a law that bans the sale of settlement products and bars Palestinian laborers from working in settlements.
Violators face prison and up to $14,000 in fines, though officials have said the ban on labor would not be enforced until the end of the year because of high unemployment in the West Bank. An estimated 20,000 Palestinians work as construction workers or in industrial parks in the settlements.
Officials say they hope the boycott will eventually increase demand for Palestinian products and create more jobs.
Tuesday’s door-to-door campaign ushered in a new stage.
Some 3,000 volunteers, most of them university students, fanned out across the West Bank, signing residents to a pledge not to buy settlement products and affixing stickers to front doors reading “My conscience is clear. I have no settlement products in my house.”
In Ramallah, homeowner Raed Saleh took the brochure, signed the pledge and agreed to have the sticker put on his door.
The brochure contains photos and descriptions of goods manufactured in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, all captured in the 1967 Mideast War. The list of goods includes brands of canned food, spices, milk, juice, potato chips, olive oil, furniture, electronics and cosmetics.
In the Palestinian town of Salfit, near one of largest settlement industrial parks, residents threw confiscated settlement goods into a large bonfire.
Palestinian officials estimate that at least $200 million worth of settlement goods are sold in the West Bank each year.
Deputy Economics Minister Abdel Hafez Nofal said volunteers, recruited by political factions and sports clubs, would visit mosques and schools next.
Under interim peace deals of the 1990s, Israel and the Palestinians agreed on a free flow of goods and workers in both directions.
Former Israeli Finance Minister Avraham Shochat said the settlement boycott violates the spirit of that agreement.
However, Palestinian government spokesman Ghassan Khatib said the agreement did not cover settlements.
The Yesha Council, the umbrella organization for Israeli settlements, denounced the boycott as an “act of terrorism and ill will” by the Palestinian Authority. It urged the Israeli government not to negotiate with Palestinian leaders as long as the boycott is in effect, to close Israeli ports to Palestinian goods and freeze the transfer of taxes it collects on behalf of the Palestinians.
In neighboring Jordan, meanwhile, Chomsky delivered a lecture to Palestinian university students by video link after being denied entry to the West Bank by Israeli border officials earlier in the week.
The lecture covered U.S. foreign policy and was attended by dozens of students and professors at Bir Zeit University near Ramallah, university officials said. Chomsky was denied entry as he tried to cross into the West Bank from Jordan.
Interior Ministry spokeswoman Sabine Haddad said Tuesday that Chomsky was denied access due to an error by a low-level border clerk.
“He should have been allowed in, it was a big mistake,” Haddad said. “The clerk for some reason thought there was an issue of letting him in so denied him access,” she said. “If he wants to come to the border he will be allowed in.”
Photo: : A Palestinian man throw a product from Jewish settlements in a fire in the West Bank village of Salfit, Tuesday, May 18, 2010 . A Palestinian law, signed in April 2010 prohibits the sale of Israeli settlement products in the West Bank.


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Users on Facebook are now able to search for images using key words that describe a photo's contents, instead of relying on manual tags and captions, according to TechCrunch.
Using artificial intelligence and deep neural networks, the social giant is able to surface more contextually relevant photos than it could previously.
Facebook now has better understanding of images at the pixel level, and can recognize objects in an image, the type of scene it is, or if the image contains a well-known landmark, among others. While early, the search function will also help surface contextually relevant videos and other immersive formats. Here a few implications of the launch:
- It could enhance Marketplace monetization. Marketplace is Facebook's peer-to-peer selling tool, and the object recognition could direct users to purchase items they see in a photo or video. For example, a search for "black shirt photo," and will return pictures of that user (or their friends) in a black shirt, but Facebook could also show relevant results in Marketplace as well.
- The launch opens up the door for more search ad dollars. As of Q2 2016, users were conducting over 2 billion searches per day on Facebook. The company can monetize these by rolling out a paid search ad tool to monetize high-value intent-based queries. Paid search could drive more adoption od Dynamic Product Ads, which are currently targeted at users based on interest and browsing habits, but not a manual search.
- Competitors are rolling out similar smart search features. Pinterest is rolling out keyword search ads to a wider set of advertising partners, according to The Wall Street Journal. The company also recently launched "Visual Search," allowing users to search for products within a Pin's image. Meanwhile, Google's open-source "TensorFlow" can identify and label images with an over 90% accuracy.
To receive stories like this one directly to your inbox every morning, sign up for the Digital Media Briefing newsletter. Click here to learn more about how you can gain risk-free access today.


text: The mainland's leather exports slowed down this year, but the industry has been largely unaffected by the Asian meltdown, a leading mainland authority said yesterday. Vice-secretary general of the China Leather Industry Association, Su Chaoying, said leather export growth in February dropped five percentage points to 12 per cent year-on-year. Exports that month totalled US$1.36 billion. 'The Asian economic storm has had a negative impact on our industry,' Mr Su said. He said exports to South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia dropped by 20-30 per cent this year but the decline was compensated for by a rise in exports to Europe and the US. About 40 per cent of the mainland's leather products are exported, and totalled nearly $10 billion last year. Europe and the US take up to 85 per cent of the country's leather exports, eastern Europe and Russia about 10 per cent, while Southeast Asia accounts for 5 per cent. Mr Su said 'a proper level of devaluation of the yuan at a proper time' would help increase the exports but may cause chaos in the market. The association's secretary general Zhang Shuhua said: 'Devaluation would bring chain reactions to the industry in terms of loans, foreign investment and other areas. It would be disastrous,' she said. The mainland is one of the world's leading leather producers with more than 20,000 tanneries and is the world's largest footwear producer, manufacturing more than 43 per cent of the world's output. Representatives of the French leather industry yesterday said they would continue to invest in Hong Kong, despite the downturn. 'I think there is great potential and interest in Asian markets as good quality leather shoes and goods are emerging in Hong Kong and Japan,' Ursula Mandenoff, export manager of the Federation Francaise de la Tannerie-Megisserie, said. 'We are also looking to China and Taiwan.'


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As technology improves, so does the incredible capabilities that the Xbox Series X/S and PS5 consoles have. Sadly, some reports have recently come out that the next generation of gaming consoles could also have some potentially dangerous side effects on the environment.
As detailed by the National Resource Defense Council, the popular Xbox Series X “instant on” feature could prove to be costly for the world due to the amount of total energy it would consume, which could reach the high millions. The feature alone would essentially be the equivalent of keeping a large coal-burning power plant on. Not only that, but the function would also produce millions of tons of carbon emissions annually.
Currently, the Instant On feature is pre-selected everywhere on gaming consoles, except for Europe. Noah Horowitz, a senior scientist at the National Resource Defense Council, has suggested that Microsoft should remove the Instant On feature as the default option for gaming consoles. And that by switching this off for all of the consoles, Microsoft could save the world a ton of money from unnecessary energy costs.
The Instant On setting in the Xbox Series X is a standby feature that allows gamers to turn on their consoles in just under five seconds, versus the usual 10 to 15 seconds. This, in total, would drain about 9-10 kilowatts of power every day when it isn’t in use. In the United States alone, it would cost about an extra $500 million if even just two-thirds of the consoles kept this setting on.
While the difference in energy costs might not seem like much to some people in the grand scheme of things, all gaming consoles around the world already consume well over a billion dollars of electricity. Luckily, this sort of issue can be easily fixed in the form of some sort of console update from Microsoft or Sony. Considering that every kind of technology in general, even outside of gaming consoles, will take up more power, it is important for the world to take every precaution it can.
If there are never any regulations put on Sony or Microsoft, then the world will succumb to its own mistakes. Dr. Ben Abraham, from Sydney’s University of Technology, also believes that big tech companies need to make commitments to be environmentally responsible so that their consoles can be carbon neutral. Hopefully, both the big corporations, governments, and consumers can all find a reasonable compromise to game happily while also keeping the planet safe for everyone.


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CLINTON — A low sky and dearth of snow didn’t stop a festive, cheerful atmosphere from pervading the village of Clinton on Saturday.
The village celebrated its second day of a two-day event called the Clinton Shoppers’ Stroll and Holiday Parade. Sparked by a tree lighting and holiday parade Friday night, the shops were welcoming customers since Friday morning.
The biggest day for sales, however, was Small Business Saturday. Festivities such as Santa and Mrs. Claus taking pictures with children and parents, or horses with bells hanging from their withers carrying riders in a carriage, made festive one of the most important days of the year for local businesses.
“It’s wonderful,” said Alan Perta, co-owner and operator of Dawn Marie’s Treasures Vintage-Gift-Gourmet. “It’s a very traditional, sort of Norman Rockwell-esque type of weekend, so it’s just been so enjoyable to see the folks out.”
Alan Perta was aiding shoppers Saturday afternoon as his wife and co-owner of Dawn Marie’s Treasures Vintage-Gift-Gourmet, Dawn Perta, was ringing up a snaking line of shoppers. It was a common sight, with nearly every open business heavy with customers, most of them buying Christmas gifts.
“I’ve wrapped quite a few presents today,” said Linda McHarris, co-owner of the Artisans’ Corner. “And we do free gift wrapping — all the shops in town do free gift wrapping.”
McHarris said they sold to people just fitting their own homes with local wares as well. In general, the day was less about buying items and more about supporting the local shops, McHarris said.
“This community is very tight-knit and likes to support the locals,” she added. “I think it’s important that we keep our little stores open and not have (them) be taken over by the big box stores. People are really supportive of that.”
Just like Mark Bristol and Tanya Streeter, who were taking a look at the vintage goods in Signature 81.
“We thought we would come in to a local store to see what we could find,” Streeter said. “We actually just moved into town … All the stuff is really unique, so it’s not stuff you can find (elsewhere).”
Contact reporter Joseph Labernik at 315-792-4995 or follow him on Twitter (@OD_Labernik).


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LG Patents A Smartphone With Punch Hole Front Camera
A glimpse of LG’s upcoming smartphone was seen through a patent granted by the Turkish Patent Institute. The device in question is reported to sport a punch-hole front-facing camera. This would mark the first time LG is planning to use this form of bezel reduction method for an all screen device.
According to the schematics, the smartphone will sport a punch-hole camera in the top left corner of the screen. The front panel is devoid of any seems apart from bezels on the top alongside an earpiece with necessary sensors and a buttonless bottom. The back, however, is a familiar design that has already been seen before. LG V40 ThinQ is clearly used as an inspiration for the rear layout, as the schematics show a striking resemblance.
The triple camera module at the back is in an identical pattern to the LG V40 ThinQ with a horizontal placement side by side. A flash flanks the right of the camera set up while the fingerprint sensor is placed right below it. This proves that the new device will not feature an in-display fingerprint scanner at the front. Changes to LG’s formula has been historically slow with the rate of adoption being behind other OEMs at this moment.
Unfortunately, no information about specifications as such is available regarding the upcoming device, or rather even if it is planned on being mass produced. With this only assumptions can be made regarding its specifications and hardware. If the device is similar to LG V40 ThinQ then it might see the same sort of top-notch hardware treatment if it launches the coming months.
LG has not had a great record in the global smartphone market in the last few years. With the rise of Chinese companies like Xiaomi and OnePlus, LG has seen a decline in sales both in volume and value. The company has to aggressively price this device or in future iterations be at the forefront of newer technology or innovation to survive in the current highly dynamic smartphone industry


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Arturo Estrella has a message for recession naysayers: It could hit sooner than you think.Marketsread more
It is a rare scenario where long-term interest rates suddenly fall below short-term interest rates.Real Estateread more
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell faces the tough challenge of presenting a unified voice on Fed policy from the most divided Fed in years.Market Insiderread more
VMware is following through on its proposal to buy Pivotal, a fellow Dell subsidiary, and expanding into cybersecurity with the acquisition of Carbon Black.Technologyread more
Weisler has been CEO at the company since 2015 when it split from HPE.Technologyread more
Gap Inc.'s fiscal second-quarter earnings topped analysts' estimates but sales missed. Same-store sales dropped 4% during the period, worse than expected.Retailread more
Salesforce released its first earnings report since its $15.3 billion acquisition of Tableau Software, the company's largest deal ever.Technologyread more
Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan would like to avoid additional stimulus but is keeping an "open mind."The Fedread more
Overstock CEO Partick Byrne has resigned from the e-commerce company after making comments about his role in the "deep state."Technologyread more
It was the third trigger of the recession indicator in less than two weeks.Bondsread more
Automakers are trying to deal with President Trump's efforts to roll back Obama-era fuel efficiency rules.Autosread more
Wall Street is nearly oversold and investors should get ready to load up on names that can withstand the threat of higher tariffs, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Monday.
"Today, the market turned against everything but the soft goods stocks … That kind of move tends to only last for three days, and this was day two," the "Mad Money" host said. "Tomorrow — day three — by the end of the day, the buyers usually start circling back to stocks with no Chinese exposure. Think FANG: Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and [Google's] Alphabet. "
After another day of extreme selling — the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.38%, tumbled 2.41%, Nasdaq Composite retreated 3.41% — Cramer argued it should be safe to start buying among the rubble on Tuesday. The best picks may be in the managed care, insurance and telecommunication spaces.
"Of course, there are other issues. Most of the upcoming wave of IPOs will be curbed by the collapse of the Uber deal, " he said. "Short term, that's a bummer. Long term, it's fantastic because the last thing we need right now is more stock supply."
Cramer has a hold call on semiconductor stocks because their business with Apple could take a hit based on the iPhone maker's exposure to China. Starbucks and Nike could also face boycotts in China, he added.
Apple's stock took two haymakers on Monday after China took aim at U.S. imports and the U.S. Supreme Court allowed an antitrust lawsuit against the tech giant to progress. The stock dropped 5.8% during the session.
"Apple could obviously feel some pain if the Chinese go for a boycott against its products, although given that they make so much of their stuff in China, that would be like cutting off your nose to spite your face," Cramer said. "But who knows. An iPhone boycott would be a lot more effective than tariffs on trout, eels, or, of course, American-made pasta."
In the face of similar trade tensions, Caterpillar fell 4.6% Monday, and Boeing slumped 4.9%.
China plans to retaliate against President Donald Trump's decision to hike Chinese tariffs with its own 25% duties on $60 billion of American goods — effective June 1. The list of affected gods primarily covers produce from American farmers, whom Cramer expects will get bail out checks from the Trump Administration. Those goods could also be sold off to other countries, he added.
"Either way, you don't need to worry about agriculture as it's the most heavily subsidized industry in America," Cramer said. "We treat our farmers like China treats its manufacturers — we prop them up and protect them against foreign competition."
Cramer pointed out the tariff increase on American goods also includes DVRs, televisions, cameras and gloves — all of which he wrote off as "funny."
"Our manufacturing base for that stuff was wiped out ages ago. China in particularly already destroyed the American glove industry," he said.
Cramer called China's list of targeted industries "pretty pathetic."
The thing is, most investors don't seem to realize that our trade war with China doesn't have much in common with past trade wars, " he said. "Why? Because we simply don't sell that much stuff to the Chinese. Why? 'Cause they won't let us."
Trump wants to pressure American firms to move manufacturing operations out of China, which is scaring investors, Cramer noted. That's forced them to put their money behind companies that do well in a recession, he added.
But Trump has more ammo in the escalating trade war. He is considering slapping another 25% tariff on $300 billion worth of additional Chinese goods. Cramer expects Trump to put additional duties on the books within the next six months and force companies to pay for doing business in China.
"At that point, China will be out of American exports to tax, but they've threatened to start selling their hoard of more than a trillion dollars in U.S. Treasuries," he said. "I say go right ahead. With Treasury yields plummeting here, you could price hundreds of billions of dollars of Treasuries right now. Arguably, they'd be doing us a favor."
As the United States and China volley tariff increases back and forth, Cramer said most company earnings will not be hurt.
"So get ready. It's been a wild ride, but we're almost in oversold territory and there's not much more China can to do hurt our economy," he said. "Even as it sure could hurt the stock market, because their moves inspire panic like no other country's business."
Disclosure: Cramer's charitable trust owns shares of Facebook, Apple, Alphabet, and Amazon.com.


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December’s early results show that consumers are very confident after President-elect Donald Trump’s surprising win.
The index of consumer sentiment increased yet again from 93.8 in November and 92.6 last year to 98 at the beginning of December, according to the Survey of Consumers conducted by the University of Michigan. That is an increase of 4.5% from last month and 5.8% from last year.
An article by Jill Mislinski for Advisor Perspectives explains what this means historically:
The Michigan average since its inception is 85.4. During non-recessionary years the average is 87.6. The average during the five recessions is 69.3.
“Consumer confidence surged in early December to just one-tenth of an Index point below the 2015 peak—which was the highest level since the start of 2004,” said Richard Curtain, Survey of Consumers chief economist. “The surge was largely due to consumers’ initial reactions to Trump’s surprise victory.”
“When asked what news they had heard of recent economic developments, more consumers spontaneously mentioned the expected positive impact of new economic policies than ever before recorded in the long history of the surveys,” Curtin said. “To be sure, an equal number volunteered negative judgments about prospective economic policies, but the frequency of those negative references was less than half its prior peak levels whereas positive references were about twice its prior peak.”
Within the index, current economic conditions increased 4.5% from last month’s 107.3 and 3.7% from last year’s 108.1 to 112.1 at the beginning of December.
“There were a few exceptions to the early December surge in optimism, mainly among those with a college degree and among residents of the Northeast, although no group has adopted a pessimistic outlook for the economy,” Curtin said. “The most important implication of the increase in optimism is that it has raised expectations for the performance of the economy.”
The index of consumer expectations increased 4.3% from last month’s 85.2 and 7.5% from last year’s 82.7 to 88.9 at the beginning of December.
So what does that mean for the Trump administration as it looks to take over in January? Curtin explains.
“President-elect Trump must provide early evidence of positive economic growth as well as act to keep positive consumer expectations aligned with performance,” he said. “Either too slow growth or too high expectations represent barriers to maintaining high levels of consumer confidence.”
Curtain concluded that until specific policies are proposed, there is no reason to alter the 2017 forecast of 2.5% for real consumption.


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Microchip manufacturer ARM is teaming up with Gemalto and Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) on a joint venture that will develop a common security standard for connected devices in a bid to make services such as mobile banking and payments safer.
The JV - still subject to regulatory approval - will see the three firms contribute patents, software, people, cash and capital equipment. ARM will own 40%, with Gemalto and G&D each holding 30%.
The aim of the JV is to create a 'trusted execution environment' (TEE) based on the ARM TrustZone security technology, for connected devices like mobiles, tablets and games consoles. This "secure environment for software execution" will also tap hardware security and industry standard interfaces, such as those from GlobalPlatform.
Devices with a TEE will provide consumers with more "secure, user-friendly experiences that simplify and speed up how they interact with their digital world," claim the partners. This will make it safer to carry out things like mobile payments, banking and commerce.
Warren East, CEO, ARM, says: "The integration of the hardware, software and services necessary for system-wide security has been slow. I am confident that this new joint venture will accelerate the adoption of a common security standard, enabling a vibrant ecosystem of secure service providers to emerge. This will be of significant step in terms of improved consumer trust in secure transactions on connected devices."
Security fears continue to pose one of the biggest barriers to mobile banking and payments uptake. Last week Sandra Braunstein, director of the Federal Reserve's consumer and community affairs division told a Senate committee in Washington that its research found that little more than one-third of all mobile phone users say they do not know how secure mobile banking technology is for protecting their personal information, while an additional third rate the technology as unsafe.


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The support of freight forwarding association to the newly increased charges by Ports & Terminals Multi Services Limited(PTML) management has attracted the irk of , Congregation of Registered Freight Forwarding Practitioners of Nigeria(CREFFPON)
The Group faulted the emerging approach adopted by the PTML to smuggle its charges into the industry as a bait for other Terminal operators to follow shortly.
CREFFPON observed that, a few days ago, it was reported that the same company in partnership with the NPA has in line with the ISPS CODE compliance measure, once again, displaced the freight forwarders from their respective stands in the command , an act which it viewed as victimization and intimidation..
The Group in a statement endorsed by its Administrator, Chief Chukwudire Obi and made available to newsmen said, ”CREFFPON read an online news piece as caption above, reporting that the freight forwarders restate support for PTML terminal over its new charges.
”First, the CREFFPON wishes to ask; where is the nation’s economic regulator in this scheme of industry unfolding events and ideals?
”The CREFFPON understands, that in an Ideal environment, the leaders of the freight forwarders association are to take or report such notice to the economic regulator, who after preliminary consultation, in turn set up an enlarged Committee meeting to review the upward charges, inclusive of the inputs of the freight forwarders representatives”..
”Advicely, the Creffpon wishes to remind the PTML of the existence of the CRFFN and the NSC enabling legislative instruments”, it said.
They however reminded the chapter leadership that the terminal operators,, are in a league in Nigeria to promote their profitization interests over and above industry interest.
The Organisation argued that, it had never been the duty of the freight forwarders leaders to negotiate the increase in port charges without recourse to due process”..
”However, if such meeting was aimed to galvanized tactical supports prior to the revisit or intervention of the economic regulator on the proposed increments, which procedurally should be accompanied by a NOTICE, then needless making the meeting at this point public, as it will amount to pre-emptive of a decision”..
”The negative impact of port charges on the consuming public must be taken into consideration at all times. As such our actions and inactions are apt in this regard”.
”The CREFFPON hereby opine that, such meeting the leadership had with the management may be strategic to salvage the unforeseen, but it should have been at the instance of the shippers council as lay down in the concession agreements. Leadership must not be innocently used to perpetuate industry extortion in the name of mitigating against industry high-handedness .
”The CREFFPON would like to reaffirm that increments in port charges are done with consideration to critical variables to determine measurable cost functions in line with the specifics of the consumer price index.”.
”We all know too well that, in our port’s present industry supply chain, competition has seemingly taken a flight and can not be said to have thrived in the real sense of its letters”..
”The reason for this being that, notably, few months after the commencement of the concession regime, the foreign and local investors floated an association and that was the day port competition, measurable investment profile, efficiency, port operational performance indicators and performance re-evaluation was buried in our port system”..
”It has never been reported anywhere in the world, that a foreign investors shifted it’s agreement goals and that of channeling concentration towards improving and adding value in port operations as agreed to opt for or concentrate more on association politicking with the government agencies, a fundamental error it is in any port industry”, It concludes
It therefore urged the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC). the Port economic regulator to rise up to its regulatory obligations and act swiftly to avert industry nuisance timely..


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In case you're wondering what the St. Lunatics' Murphy Lee and Kyjuan have been up to lately, try grabbing a cold glass of the D'Bes Wine.
"The mission is to conquer St. Louis, then Missouri," Kyjuan tells Gut Check.
You may recall Murphy Lee and Kyjuan's first foray into the adult beverage business with "Freaky Muscato." The sparking dessert wine came out In 2011 and landed in about 400 store locations, including QuikTrip, Randall's and Schnucks. But sometime in 2012, Lee and Kyjuan dissolved the partnership with the other owners of Freaky, while hanging on to their connection with winemaker Crown Valley. The Ste. Genevieve winery helped them not only bring back a new version of the moscato, but add a peach and blackberry-flavored wine to create D'Bes. And they're celebrating tonight in epic St. Louis fashion.
Freaky -- which at one time was supposed to include a "Freaky Vodka" -- fell apart due to differences in opinion over the marketing strategy. This time, Lee and Kyjuan own the line themselves, and they've expanded their team to include Chris Topher Jones, City Spud, and fellow Lunatic and producer Jay E. The guys say the difference is that they're fully involved with the business side of things -- going out into the field, doing door-to-door sales, setting up meetings, even heading up the marketing.
"I'd rather own it then be on it," explains Kyjuan.
"Anything we roll out will be under 'the Best Brothers,'" says Lee. "I'm more business savvy, feeling really mature and transferring it to my music. I'm always thinking of tomorrow."
D'Bes first became available at Randall's on March 14 of this year (or 3/14/14), a day they dubbed "314 Day." Today marks the end of their exclusivity agreement with Randall's and the launch of the statewide availability of the line. The wines are available at 25 locations of Randall's and also at A1 Liquor. They are currently talking with chains like Sam's Club, Petro Mart and a few others about furthering D'Bes' availability.
The line contains three sweet dessert wines, including blackberry flavored (11 percent ABV), peach flavored (11 percent ABV) and the D'Bes Moscato (11.5 percent ABV). The moscato is actually almost identical to the "Freaky Muscato" -- made with the same grapes from the same fields, and it's got the same ABV. The only difference, according to sales manager Marlon Whitfield, is a slight variation in the way the grapes were processed, giving the wine a stronger, more citrusy flavor. They're all priced in the $11 to $16 range.
Tonight's launch party -- "D'Bes Launch Ever" -- takes place at the Coliseum Music Lounge (2619 Washington Avenue; 314-531-2920). There will be a live band from 6 to 9 p.m. and complimentary D'Bes wine samples. Lee himself is set to perform at 8 p.m. From 10 p.m. on the event takes on a Las Vegas theme with DJs, bottle service and, of course, lots of D'Bes wine flowing. Find out more about the event and the wines at the D'Bes Wines website.
On Friday, July 4, the guys will be using the holiday as an opportunity to provide random tastings starting with A1 Liquor and other stores to promote their product.
"I want to thank everyone that dared to taste our wine. Thanks to the people that haven't tried it yet, but plan on it," says Lee. "So far we've received great reviews from the people that have tried our wine."
Gut Check is always hungry for tips. E-mail us!
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Germany Heading for 9.4% Contraction This Year, Institute Says
(Bloomberg) -- Germany’s economy is heading for a contraction of almost 10% this year due to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and will recover only gradually from its worst recession since World War II, according to one of the nation’s leading research institutes.
“The slump in the German economy this year will be significantly worse than during the financial crisis some 10 years ago,” DIW President Marcel Fratzscher said in a statement. “The fact that many companies are dependent on exports makes the German economy very vulnerable in times of crisis.”
A government stimulus package agreed last week would provide some support if implemented in full, limiting this year’s contraction to 8.1% and boosting growth to 4.3% in 2021, the institute said.
Geraldine Dany-Knedlik, a DIW economist, said that the global impact of the virus outbreak on consumers and companies is likely to significantly dampen household spending and investment into next year.
“Therefore the world economy will only recover slowly,” Dany-Knedlik said. The hit to manufacturing and services is unlikely to be fully compensated for next year, she added.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.


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How a Kent State Fashion Student Landed a Celebrity Styling Gig and Launched His Own Business
With only two college classes remaining for his fashion merchandising degree from the Kent State University School of Fashion, senior Todd White is already having a fashion career that many dream of.
A native of Cincinnati, White currently owns and operates Fashion Huas, a fashion collective and styling company based in Kent, Ohio. Fashion Haus allows Kent State students and Ohio creatives to take their careers into their own hands by completing photo shoots to build their portfolio, collaborating on designs and hosting Cleveland mixers to network. “I want to give back in the sense of doing something for Ohio. That’s my biggest thing right now,” White told Cleveland Magazine. “Jobs come and go, but I’m trying to do something more for my brand and intertwine that with Ohio. That’s the next big thing.”
Since launching his business in 2018, White has already landed several big-name clients. He reached out to rapper Megan Thee Stallion via a direct message on Instagram while the “Hot Girl Summer” star was still rising in the industry in 2018. After White heard her Tina Snow EP, he quickly envisioned a look for the rap star and pitched it to her through the social platform.
“When I heard her, it lit a fire in me,” said White, “I just had to work with her.”
White worked exclusively as Megan’s stylist for one year, travelling the world with her, as the rapper’s career took off. The two have since parted ways, but still remain close friends to this day and even refer to each other as family White told Essence magazine.
Through working with Megan Thee Stallion, more opportunities opened for White and he has since styled stars for the Grammy’s and was part of the launch of Beyonce’s Ivy Park fashion line. He currently splits his time between Northeast Ohio and Los Angeles, where he is helping rising rap and R&B artists Coi LeRay and Paloma Ford boost their styles and careers, while also balancing his academic career.
White always knew he wanted to be a celebrity stylist from an early age and knew he did not want to wait until after graduation to launch his career. “I feel like to get the most out of my college experience I should be building my career at the same time I’m chasing my degree,” White told Akron-based online publication, The Devil Strip.
He credits Kent State Fashion for providing him with the tools and knowledge to start his career while simultaneously finishing his degree. He was inspired after he took a fashion visuals class and technology class at Kent State during his freshmen year, while also working as a stylist in several fashion shows on campus. “I feel like it has helped and prepared me with things I’ve been doing within the past year,” said White. “If I didn’t do those things, I would be lost and not have a clear understanding of what I should be doing for my job.”
Todd White poses during Essence shoot in 2019. Photo by Tamara May, courtesy of Essence.


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Fifteen PVR cinemas in India have implemented an NFC payments service that works with BlackBerry 10 phones. The PVR wallet app lets moviegoers pay for both tickets and refreshments via NFC and is provided by NEC India, which has developed a cloud-based payment system called NFC e-Money server.
- M-Pesa and MTN Mobile Money join up
- Starbucks processes 8m mobile payments every week
- Twitter invests in beacon marketer Swirl
- Forecast: 100m Apple Pay-capable phones in US by 2020
- Vodafone Netherlands adds credit card to Wallet


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ONE of Britain's largest city centre shopping complexes is set to be built in Cardiff.
Plans are being drawn up for a massive 750,000 sq ft extension of the St David's Centre, creating hundreds of jobs in the construction and retail sectors.
It will also include a residential development as part of plans to encourage more people to live in the city centre.
If given the go-ahead the scheme - expected to cost hundreds of millions of pounds - will take five years to complete in an area centred around The Hayes, Cardiff ice rink, Toys R Us and Jury's Hotel. Work could start in 2005.
Several existing buildings in the area could be demolished to make way for the new centre, but will be replaced within the development.
The ice rink is also set to go, but not before a new one is built within the proposed Sports Village in Cardiff Bay.
Other major businesses in the area - including Toys R Us, National Car Parks, and Jury's Hotel - will be involved in the new development.
The project is being billed as a vote of confidence in Cardiff city centre, and an opportunity to enhance the capital's status as a major British retail venue.
The consortium behind the plan involves major players in the retail and property sector.
Capital Shopping Centres' interests include the massive Gateshead MetroCentre complex, Eldon Square in Newcastle, and the giant Lakeside centre in Thurrock, Essex.
Land Securities is one of Britain's leading real estate companies and already owns the leasehold on the St David's Centre.
Lord Mayor Russell Goodway described the proposals as an exciting opportunity for the city.
'No longer is Cardiff going to have sheds for shops. Some existing buildings will be knocked down,' he said.
Deputy Mayor (regeneration) Marion Drake added: 'This development is exciting for Cardiff and for the whole of Wales.'
However shopper Tracy Brady, 39, from Grangetown, Cardiff, was not so impressed. She said: 'I don't think it's a good idea. The city centre is quite crowded as it is. I think the money should be spent elsewhere on improving hospitals and getting public transport up to scratch.'
Joanne Jenkins, 21, from Llanrumney, Cardiff, said: 'I think it's a great plan. There will be more jobs on offer and more choice. Hopefully this will mean there will be more cheaper shops in Cardiff.'


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The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau, local hoteliers recognize National Travel & Tourism Week
Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, May 13, 2009
The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau recognized National Travel and Tourism Week, May 9-17, with a gathering of local hoteliers to unify with a core message: travel matters to The Woodlands.
“Travel and tourism play a key role in The Woodlands economy,” said Nick Wolda, president of The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Our town relies on travel for tax revenue and jobs and the benefits these bring to our economy. We hope to raise awareness and showcase why travel matters to The Woodlands and the importance of bringing visitors to spend money in The Woodlands.”
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With business, meetings and event travel facing steep declines across America, nationwide events throughout National Travel and Tourism Week emphasized the economic benefits travel and tourism brings to local workers and communities. The gathering of hoteliers by The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau is part of a larger effort led by the U.S. Travel Association with rallies in dozens of cities nationwide.
“Meetings continue to be a valuable tool for U.S. businesses,” said Tory Enriquez, director of sales and marketing at The Woodlands Resort & Conference Center. “They create a sense of collaboration, lead to new ideas and contribute to employee retention.”
In a recent survey, Fortune 1000 Chief Marketing Officers said that meetings and events provide the highest return on investment of any marketing channel. A new study also shows that 87 percent of Americans who have attended an out-of-town meeting or convention for work say it is important to running a strong business.
Besides touting the attributes of The Woodlands for overnight guests, The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau also is working to promote the area as a premier shopping and entertainment destination.
“Nearly 80 percent of shoppers to The Woodlands come from outside the community,” Wolda said, referring to a study conducted by The Woodlands Township in October 2007. Additionally, The Perryman Group completed a study on the over impact tourism plays in The Woodlands and reported the industry to be a $1.7 billion dollar per year business.
“We continue to see a large number of our shoppers coming from outside The Woodlands, either for the weekend or for a shopping getaway,” said Jill Liccioni, general manager of Market Street-The Woodlands. “The influx of these shoppers is important to our success.”
Travel and tourism is one of America’s largest industries, according to the U.S. Travel Association based on travel expenditures by domestic and international travelers. The industry also represents one of America’s largest employers with 7.7 million direct travel-generated jobs and $189 billion in travel-generated payroll. However, according to U.S. Labor Department data, the U.S. Travel Association reported a loss of nearly 200,000 travel related jobs in 2008 and predicts a loss of an additional 247,000 travel-generated jobs in 2009.
“Locally, sales tax and hotel occupancy tax pay for some of our most essential infrastructure and public services such as security patrols and a number of public improvements,” Wolda said. “The travel industry is facing tough times, but it’s important for people to understand the key role travel can play in helping to solve our economic challenges on both the local and national level.”
The goal of The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau is to drive demand for The Woodlands as a travel destination, thereby creating new revenue for businesses and increasing sales and hotel occupancy tax for The Woodlands Township. Tax revenue generated by the tourism industry is invested back into improving The Woodlands’ infrastructure and programs.


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Distracted Driving Lawsuit against Apple for Failure to Disable iPhones while Driving
On Christmas Eve 2014 a five year old girl was killed in a car wreck. She was riding in a booster in the backseat of her parents’ car when they were rear ended by a man in an SUV. It turns out the man was distracted, using FaceTime (a video chatting app on iPhones), and he plowed into the back of their car at full highway speed. He told police at the scene he was using FaceTime at the time of the crash. When police located his iPhone at the scene the FaceTime app was still active.
The girl’s parents have now filed a lawsuit against Apple alleging the company had the ability to disable the iPhone’s FaceTime app while the user was driving. Despite having the capability to do so, Apple failed to configure the iPhone to lock the FaceTime feature while a car was moving at highway speeds. It appears while Apple does have the technology to potentially do so, Apple does not use it to block functions of iPhones in cars.
In December 2008 Apple filed a patent which would allow the company to disable key features on an iPhone when it detected the phone user was driving. Apple has never taken action on this patent, some speculate because the technology is flawed. It is unable to function when moved into an area that cannot communicate with satellites, and dropping in and out of such areas as you would while driving, makes it unreliable. Other detection methods, like using the camera to detect if the iPhone is located in a safe spot in the car, are not ready yet. Adding another layer of complexity to the technology, it is extremely difficult for phones to determine whether someone is driving a car or merely riding as a passenger.


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Smashburger announced the opening of Iowa’s first Smashburger location, which will open in West Des Moines on September 16.
“We know Smashburger will be the perfect complement to Iowa’s dining scene,” says Tom Ryan, founder of Smashburger. “We are thrilled to be part of the neighborhood and eager to become Greater Des Moines’ favorite burger place.”
The menu features Iowa-themed items like the Iowa Smashburger, which includes Iowa's own Maytag blue cheese, applewood smoked bacon, haystack onions, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on an egg bun. Customers can also order the State Fair brat, served year-round at Smashburger.


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Volkswagen has won a raft of category awards as well as the overall accolade for the best car manufacturer at the British Insurance Vehicle Security Awards (BIVSA), presented today by Thatcham, the Motor Industry Repair Research Centre, in Berkshire.
The new Volkswagen Polo SEL claimed the City Car/Supermini category; the Volkswagen Tiguan compact 4x4 triumphed in the new Crossover class; the Volkswagen Phaeton once again took the title of best Luxury Car; while the new Volkswagen Caravelle which went on sale in the UK in January 2010 was awarded the trophy for best Large MPV. Due to this comprehensive coverage and the volume of cars sold by the Volkswagen brand, the company was also crowned overall Manufacturer of the year in the car section.
The British Insurance Vehicle Security Awards are hosted by Thatcham and supported by the Home Office, the DfT, What Car? and the AA. This is the seventh time the BIVSA awards have been held, but the first time Volkswagen has won the overall accolade. Volvo and Audi are the only other manufacturers to have won before. Since their launch in 2004 these highly regarded awards have recognised all that's best in vehicle security, on the newest cars and vans on the market, applauding the work of vehicle manufacturers and raising consumer awareness.
Vehicles were judged on a number of criteria identified by the creators of the New Vehicle Security Ratings (NVSR) scheme. Those that had a maximum five stars for 'theft from', had double locking, and an 'E' insurance suffix (indicating they had a feature that exceeds the required standard) were shortlisted for final evaluation and ranking.
Andrew Miller, Director of Research at Thatcham, commented: "Thatcham has played a key role in the fight against vehicle crime since 1992 and we welcome the opportunity to reward and encourage vehicle manufacturers who are really at the top of their game when it comes to improving the security of their vehicles."
Vehicle Security Manager at Thatcham, Mike Briggs, added: "It's great to see Volkswagen as a new winner of the overall manufacturer award. This success clearly demonstrates how vehicle manufacturers are continuing to raise their game to reduce the risk of vehicle crime to insurers and the motoring public."
Rod McLeod, Head of Marketing for Volkswagen said: "It's a tremendous achievement for the Volkswagen range to be ranked as the best on the market here and one of which we're very proud. To win the overall award is proof that security and safety features should not be the reserve of an elite few. Increasingly we aim to extend the technology available on our flagship cars such as the Phaeton right down to the volume models such as the new Polo."
This is a 10-year+ news article, from our Volkswagen archive, which dates back to the year 2000.
If in doubt check with your local Volkswagen dealer as car prices and technical data will have changed since 2010.
Although our car news is published in good faith, we cannot guarantee it to be error free or complete or up-to-date.
Volkswagen Images may not be UK specification cars. Colours and exterior and/or interior elements may differ from actual models.
The car news and images remain the copyright of the rights holder and may not be used without their consent.


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As states and school districts grapple with laws or allowances around transgender bathroom use, one retail giant has made its stance public.
In a statement on its company website Tuesday, Target declared its commitment to “equality and equity.”
“Inclusivity is a core belief at Target,” the statement said. “Most relevant for the conversations currently underway, we welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity.”
The discount retailer further explained: “Given the specific questions these legislative proposals raised about how we manage our fitting rooms and restrooms, we felt it was important to state our position.”


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March: Book Two hits bookstores January 20th and comic shops on the 21st!
I'm honored to see that we've picked up starred reviews at Kirkus and School Library Journal, and have landed on both Paste's "Most Anticipated Comics of 2015" and "Best Covers of January" lists!
Here's another review at Roll Call, and an interview with all of us at Diamond Bookshelf.
I'll be doing a signing at Vintage Phoenix Comics in Bloomington IN on Friday, January 23rd from 5-7 pm-- signing and selling all my books, including still-new copies of The Lost Hero and the new paperback edition of The Year Of The Beasts. The FB event page is here.
My collaborators John Lewis and Andrew Aydin will be doing a discussion and signing in DC on January 21st at the National Press Club Book Rap-- check it out here! (Tickets are required.)
I'm also selling signed/sketched copies of Book Two (and the rest) from my site's shop. ORDER HERE if you'd like one mailed to you! Thanks.


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“This supermarket mega merger comes as American consumers have seen the cost of groceries rise steadily over the past few years. Kroger’s acquisition of Albertsons would lead to additional grocery price hikes for everyday goods, further exacerbating the financial strain consumers across the country face today,” said Henry Liu, director of the FTC’s bureau of competition. “Essential grocery store workers would also suffer under this deal, facing the threat of their wages dwindling, benefits diminishing, and their working conditions deteriorating.”
The FTC issued an administrative complaint and authorized a lawsuit in federal court to block the proposed acquisition pending the commission’s administrative proceedings. A bipartisan group of nine attorneys general is joining the FTC’s federal court complaint.
Kroger operates thousands of stores across 36 states, while Albertsons also operates thousands of stores across 35 states. If the merger were completed, Kroger and Albertsons would operate more than 5,000 stores and approximately 4,000 retail pharmacies and would employ nearly 700,000 employees across 48 states.
Executives for both Kroger and Albertsons have acknowledged that the two supermarkets are direct competitors, forcing each other to aggressively compete for customers by lowering prices and for employees by providing better pay and benefits across the country.
Similarly, executives for both supermarket chains have conceded that Kroger’s acquisition of Albertsons is anticompetitive, with one executive reacting candidly to the proposed deal: “you are basically creating a monopoly in grocery with the merger.”
To try to secure antitrust approval of their merger, Kroger and Albertsons have proposed to divest several hundred stores and select other assets to C&S Wholesale Grocers, which today operates just 23 supermarkets and a single retail pharmacy. The FTC’s administrative complaint alleges that Kroger and Albertsons’ inadequate divestiture proposal is a hodgepodge of unconnected stores, banners, brands and other assets that Kroger’s antitrust lawyers have cobbled together and falls far short of mitigating the lost competition between Kroger and Albertsons.
The FTC said the proposed divestitures are not a standalone business, and C&S would face significant obstacles stitching together the various parts and pieces from Kroger and Albertsons into a functioning business — let alone a successful competitor against a combined Kroger and Albertsons.
The FTC said the proposal completely ignores many affected regional and local markets where Kroger and Albertsons compete today. In areas where there are divestitures, the proposal fails to include all of the assets, resources and capabilities that C&S would need to replicate the competitive intensity that exists today between Kroger and Albertsons.
Even if C&S were to survive as an operator, Kroger and Albertsons’s proposed divestitures still do not solve the multitude of competitive issues created by the proposed acquisition, according to the complaint.
In addition to raising grocery prices, the FTC alleges that Kroger’s acquisition of Albertsons would also diminish their incentive to compete on quality. Today, Kroger and Albertsons compete to improve their stores in many ways, including offering fresher produce, higher quality products, improved private label offerings, a broader array of in-store services, flexible store and pharmacy hours, and curbside pickup services.
The FTC charges that the deal would eliminate head-to-head price and quality competition, which have driven both supermarkets to lower their prices and improve their product and service offerings. If the merger takes place, grocery prices will increase, and Kroger and Albertsons’ incentive to improve product quality and customer service will decrease, further harming customers.
Kroger and Albertsons are the two largest employers of union grocery labor in the United States. They actively compete against one another for workers. The two companies also try to poach grocery workers from each other, especially in local markets where they overlap. Currently, most workers for both supermarket chains are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers union.
Today, UFCW and other unions leverage the fact that Kroger and Albertsons are separate and competing companies. Unions push for both supermarket chains to negotiate better employment terms for union grocery workers, especially when negotiating over collective bargaining agreements.
A combined Kroger/Albertsons, however, would gain increased leverage over workers and their unions — to the detriment of workers, the FTC alleges. The combined Kroger and Albertsons would have more leverage to impose subpar terms on union grocery workers that slow improvements to wages, worsen benefits, and potentially degrade working conditions.
The Offices of the Attorneys General of Arizona, California, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and Wyoming are joining the Commission’s federal lawsuit.


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So you don't use plastic carry bags, or plastic bottles, stationery or cutlery.
What about your clothes?
Do you use synthetic fibers like polyester? Your yoga pants, fleece jackets or even undergarments can have polyester.
And that has the potential to do some serious harm to the environment.
A video by The Story of Stuff Project explains how synthetic fibres are directly polluting our seas and, indirectly, us.
We all may know or would have heard about how plastic products can be recycled. Some companies are using these to create synthetic textiles.
While recycling plastic may seem like a good idea, the video points out that it may encourage some people to use more disposable plastic.
But the bigger problem is that each time these synthetic garments are washed, they release hundreds of thousands of microfibres.
Microfibres are synthetic fibers that are less than 5mm in length. It is considered an emerging pollutant and can prove to be hazardous to the environment, all the more because it can pollute our food chain.
An alarming research published last year found that "microfibers are prevalent in both aquatic and terrestrial habitats, from the bottom of the Indian Ocean to farmland in the United States".
It stated that synthetic textiles shed on average 1.7 grams of microfibers on being washed. The micro-particles reach the waste water treatment plant from the washing machine and from there, up to 40% of them enter rivers, lakes and oceans.
Aquatic animals end up consuming these microplastics and microfibres. "Within the food chain, these particles have been found to cause physical and chemical impacts, resulting in starvation and reproductive consequences in species. Microplastics and microfibres have also been found in marine species directly consumed by humans, the effects of which are unknown. They have also been found in abiotic ocean products like sea salt," the finding stated.
The Story of Microfibers
Your yoga pants, your fleece, and your underwear all have a...huge...tiny...problem. Watch. Learn. Take Action. Itâ€™s The Story of Microfibers: bit.ly/storyofmicrofibers #microfibers #storyofmicrofibers #breakfreefromplasticPosted by The Story of Stuff Project on Wednesday, 1 March 2017


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Parents can regret the lack of quality time spent with their kids – a guilt that’s magnified for those who travel for work. Lufthansa is helping parents relieve this guilt by installing recording studios at departure gates in airports. But do kids want a bedtime story sent straight from the terminal?
Becoming a parent is one of life’s most stressful – albeit cherished – moments. With Brits spending an average of £1,619 to prepare for a baby, some mums are buying on their smartphones at all hours. But how do new mothers really like to shop? And which brands are meeting their needs?
New mums are older than they’ve ever been. They’re also better off. With the 2.4 kids standard fading, are today’s babies being born into a lap of luxury where only the best will do? If so, how can brands align with this quality-not-quantity approach to family life?
More mums are choosing to become their own boss and look after their children at the same time. But does ‘motherism’ – the prejudice that paints ‘non-working’ mums as unsexy slobs – really motivate women to go back to work just to remove the ‘stay-at-home’ label?
No two families are the same. We’re all individuals, and our relationship with our relations is just as complex and unique. It’s not easy to effectively represent the ever diversifying face of the ‘modern’ family – and a bold attempt by Honey Maid has sparked fresh debate.


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Bitcoin Surges Above $6000
Bitcoin, the much talked about crypto currency on friday soared above $6000, making its market capitalization touch $100 billion.
The virtual currency has grown over by 500 percent in the current year, much more than any other trad able commodity.
The volatile currency though comes as a high risk investment and has fluctuated as much as 26 percent in gain and 16 percen in loss in a single day. On Friday, bitcoin touched $6,000.10 BTC=BTSP on the BitStamp platform.
Bitcoin is a complete digital currency which can either be held as an investment, or leveraged as a foundation for future applications via the blockchain, its latent technology. The number of bitcoins at present is also not expected to stand above 21 million.
Analysts also predict that a blend of different factors pushed the Bitcoin above $6000 on Friday.
''I hope that China will soften its regulatory stance on crypto-currencies helped bitcoinâ€™s cause. As China fears fade, the price is unlocked and driven by demand and buyers entering the markets,â€ said Charles Hayter, co-founder of data analysis website Cryptocompare in London.
China recently placed a ban on the practice of raising capital via the sale of tokens to the citizens known as initial coin offerings. It has also directed the shutdown of digital currency exchanges.
â€œChina would not want to be left out of the digital currency market nor the development of blockchain applications in general,â€ says Jason English, vice president, Protocol Marketing, Sweetbridge, a global alliance in Zug, Switzerland which utilizes a blockchain in order to create a liquid supply chain.
â€œAs much as 60 percent of the worldâ€™s bitcoin mining is happening in China, and therefore, many of the large ... investments in ICO projects have also been coming from crypto-currency holders in China, whether directly or indirectly,â€ added English.


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Out-of-home advertising has seen huge growth in 2015, prompting a rise in spend in the channel, and its evolution is set to continue as the industry rolls out automated buying next year.
With so much distraction in consumers’ lives today it can be hard to catch their attention when they are out and about, but harder still is the ability to directly influence their behaviour as a result.
Women’s Aid will debut a new interactive billboard in Canary Wharf today (March 5), which features the image of a bruised woman’s face with the tagline ‘Look at Me,’ as part of a new emotive campaign to tie in with International Women’s Day (March 8).
An experienced FMCG marketer, Munnawar Chishty has been hired to boost Britvic’s digital marketing transformation and help shape the new marketing direction of squash brand Robinsons.
The 2023 Career and Salary Survey reveals marketing is still seen as a cost – rather than an investment – by some brands, while marketers are ramping up their search for a good working environment.
As National Apprenticeship Week kicks off today (6 February), Marketing Week reveals just under a fifth of brands don’t see the value in hiring marketing apprentices.
Good morning and welcome to Marketing Week’s round-up of the news that matters in the marketing world today.


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Amazon.in has launched a new warehouse in Delhi-NCR, its seventh such facility in the region, a move that will help the US-based e-commerce giant deliver products faster during the festive season.
According to a PTI report: The e-tailer, which competes with local rivals like Flipkart and Snapdeal in the booming Indian e-commerce market, aims to have 27 such fulfilment centres (FCs) across the country by the end of the year.
Spread over close to 70,000 square feet with over 100,000 cubic feet of storage space, the new FC will empower thousands of small and medium businesses to leverage the growth of digital economy and reach a wide customer base, Amazon.in said in a statement.
Unlike traditional warehouses, fulfilment centres are equipped with highly automated pick, pack and shipping processes to facilitate safe and timely processing of orders.
“This FC will further enable Amazon.in to support deliveries under its recently launched Prime program and offer faster delivery to a wider set of customers during the upcoming festive season in the Delhi-NCR region,” it said. Amazon.in now has seven FCs spread over close to 700,000 square feet and a combined storage space close to 2 million cubic feet in the Delhi NCR region, it added.
“We have been relentlessly focusing on improving the experience for our customers and sellers. As we gear up for the festive season, fulfilment capacity will play a defining role in shaping this experience,” Vice-president Customer Fulfilment, Amazon India, Akhil Saxena was quoted by PTI as saying.
This FC will enable thousands of small and medium businesses to save money by replacing their upfront capital expense with low variable cost and pay only for the storage space they use and the orders that Amazon.in fulfils, he added. Previously, Amazon chief executive officer Jeff Bezos had said the company will invest US$3 billion in India.
This is in addition to the American e-commerce giant’s US$2 billion infusion in 2014, taking its total investments in the country to over US$5 billion. Amazon now has 25 such warehouses spread across 10 states including Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and West Bengal.
The company has about one lakh sellers on board in India. It has witnessed a 250 per cent y-o-y growth in number of merchants, growing from about 100 sellers in June 2013, when it had commenced operations in India.


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A new report and video show how dust from an ancient lakebed in Africa is critical to plant growth on another continent.
CNET's Daniel Terdiman wrangles up tech and geek culture in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and more.
The trio of products signals an ambition to be more than just a smartphone maker. But is it enough to break HTC out of its corner?
Technically Incorrect: In an interview, Google's product head, Sundar Pichai, replies to Tim Cook's criticism of Android.
Curiosity's latest self-portrait shows the plucky machine surrounded by Mars landscape details, including Mount Sharp, cliffs and the crater rim.
With Netflix set to launch its Australian service in March this year, there are a lot of rumours and whispers doing the rounds -- we break down the actual facts.
And why you may prefer to stick with one color or the other.
Scientists have found a black hole 12 billion times more massive than the Sun that was formed so soon after the Big Bang it's challenging what we know about black holes.
From long-expected new products like the Samsung Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9 to surprises like the Huawei Watch and HTC Vive, here's everything you missed on the day before the Mobile World Congress officially opened.
An image posted by a purported Sprint employee touts two versions of Samsung's next flagship phone.
On March 9, Apple is widely expected to let us know exactly when its much-anticipated Watch line will ship and how much all the new models will cost. But what other new products might Apple unveil?