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Even the greatest financial strategies can rapidly be destroyed by impulse purchases.
And yet, they are almost impossible to avoid due to sponsored social media posts and “revenge expenditures.”
Americans are depleting their financial savings and nearly half are increasing their debt as a result of rising living costs, increased stress levels, and worries about a potential recession.
Nevertheless, a survey by SlickDeals.net found that 73% of respondents claimed the most of their purchases are usually impulsive, which is a considerable increase from the 59% who said the same thing a year ago.
According to Slickdeals, consumers now spend $314 per month on impulsive purchases, up from $276 in 2021 and $183 in 2020.
Increased impulsive purchases as a result of the pandemic
The pandemic has undoubtedly altered how people spend their money.
“Consumers abandoned ingrained shopping habits, hurtling ecommerce into hyperdrive,” based on a McKinsey & Company research.
The report also stated that Americans are spending more money on experiences, travel, and clothing because they have become accustomed to doing so “to believe they can get whatever they want, whenever they want.”
However, it also makes consumers more prone to making impulsive purchases.
In a separate study released recently by the online lender SoFi, 56% of consumers claimed that more than half of their online purchases are impulsive. This finding is largely attributable to post-Covid changes in consumer behavior and the explosive growth of the buy now, pay later trend, which has coincided with the overall boom in online shopping.
Budget busters include BNPL, social networking, and intoxicated shopping
According to a number of studies, BNPL has contributed to consumers making impulsive purchases for more money than they can afford.
Nearly 50% of customers claimed they wouldn’t have made the same purchase if they hadn’t had the option to finance it, according to a LendingTree research.
Impulse buying is also encouraged by websites like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.
According to a recent Bankrate study, about half of social media users have made impulsive purchases because of something they saw in their feed. Up to 75% of respondents to SoFi’s survey claimed to have purchased a product after seeing it on social media.
The attractiveness of celebrities like the Kardashians is no longer the only factor; seeing influencers and even friends post when dining out, traveling, or shopping also contributes to the pervasive “Keeping up with the Joneses” mentality.
According to a separate study by Credit Karma, nearly 40% of young adults indicated they spend more of their money on experiences than on essentials like paying bills, in part because they want to post about it on social media.
Shopping while inebriated has increased as a result of the rise in expenditure on social media sites.
Over 50% of respondents, or 53%, acknowledge having shopped while inebriated as a result of more customers shopping 24/7 online, according to SoFi.
Clothing is the most common post-cocktail buy, according to social media posts about intoxicated online shopping. The most often mentioned retailer was by far Amazon.
Having regrets daily
Purchaser’s regret is nothing new. But in these circumstances, it’s more widespread than ever.
According to a DebtHammer.org survey of those who have used installment payment arrangements, 22% of them now wish they hadn’t.
According to a research by Bankrate, 64% of consumers admitted that they have regretted at least one purchase due to social media.
And when it comes to shopping while intoxicated, 65% of respondents stated they forgot to order something until it showed up on their doorstep, per SoFi.


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Staff members work at a workshop in an industry park in Qingpu District of Shanghai, east China, May 17, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhao Yihe)
BEIJING, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- China's private economy has posted rapid expansion over the past decade thanks to an improving market environment, the country's top economic planner said on Thursday.
The number of private firms more than quadrupled from 10.85 million to 44.57 million over the last 10 years as a nurturing environment for the private economy is continuously improved, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) told a press conference.
As a result of a string of pro-market measures, China's global ranking for its business environment rose to 31st place in the latest ranking from 96th in 2013.
By the end of 2021, China had attracted more than 2.6 trillion U.S. dollars of foreign direct investment.
A growing community of Chinese firms have ventured overseas. The number of overseas Chinese-funded enterprises has increased from nearly 22,000 at the end of 2012 to more than 45,000 today, according to the NDRC. ■

domain: news


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Aside from the fact that Dell has been prematurely linked to AMD, the second largest microprocessor manufacturer, way too much in the last few years, there has also been a lot of rumours about Dell going mainstream with Linux.
Dell has already started selling Linux-based servers for some time now and has also provided with the option to get FreeDOS - an obsolete but open sourced form of Disk Operating system - on its desktop. Dell has been advertising a triplet of relatively cheap workstations bundled with Linux.
Mind you, "workstation" and "cheap" rarely go hand in hand and for the money, those Precision workstations represent very good value. But don't expect to find Ubuntu on that Precision, Dell is actually using Red Hat Entreprise Linux which is cheap but not as cheap as free.
Some analysts and industry observers have been questioning why Linux is suddenly introduced as an alternative to Microsoft Windows XP Professional in Dell's Workstation Range. One hypothesis resides on the fact that Workstations target businesses rather than individuals and it makes more financial sense to go after those customers.
Not only will they be aware of Linux most of the time but more and more have requested that Linux be installed on their machine. But that's not all, using Linux not only reduces price but also provides with an interesting opportunity to bring in added services like support.
Now that's clever. All in all, Dell can invoke the customer demand to explain why Linux is being presented as an alternative, but the real reason may at the end of the story, lie somewhere else.


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DRAM stocks up on product price hikes
CNATAIPEI -- Shares of local dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chip makers moved higher Tuesday morning after the average price of the benchmark DDR3 2Gb chip hit a 30-month high on Monday, dealers said.
September 18, 2013, 12:11 am TWN
Product prices have turned higher because of the partial suspension of production at the Chinese factory of the world's second largest DRAM maker, SK Hynix Inc., due to a fire.
Rising demand for the electronic gadgets that use DRAMs ahead of the Oct. 1 National Day holiday have raised hopes that product prices will increase further, they said.
Based on the uptrend, many investors expect Nanya Technology Corp. and Inotera Memories Inc. will remain profitable in the third quarter and even see their bottom lines improve, dealers added.
In yesterday's trading, shares of Nanya Technology closed flat at NT$4.60, with 6.11 million shares changing hands, while shares of Inotera had risen 0.95 percent to NT$15.95 on trading volume of 11.93 million shares.
The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange was down 0.06 percent at 8,249.78.
“Many investors are simply buying local DRAM stocks amid rising optimism toward their pricing power at a time when supply is becoming tighter than ever,” KGI Securities analyst Eason Lee said.
According to DRAMeXchange, a Taipei-based DRAM market research group, the average price of the benchmark DDR3 2Gb chip rose to US$2.166 Monday, hitting its highest level in almost 31 months.
DRAM prices have spiked since a fire engulfed Hynix's plant in Wuxi on Sept. 4, causing a partial suspension of the South Korean company's operations in China, dealers said.
In the second quarter, Hynix accounted for almost 30 percent of the world's DRAM sales, only behind Samsung Electronics Co.'s 32.7 percent. The Wuxi plant accounted for about 50 percent of Hynix's total production.
DRAM Price Hike Continues in October
“The impact of Hynix's fire could continue into October and push DRAM prices up further,” Lee said. “In addition, Chinese buyers have started rebuilding their inventories in a bid to meet strong demand during the Oct. 1 National Day holiday.”
Lee said Micron Technology Inc., the world's third largest DRAM supplier, has reportedly been shifting about 30 percent of its capacity to NAND flash memory production, which could further hurt commodity DRAM supply.
“The tight DRAM supply is likely to continue for the rest of this year. I think Nanya Technology and Inotera will make more money in the second half of the year,” said Lee, who did not offer forecasts for the two DRAM makers' earnings.
In the second quarter, Inotera posted NT$3.47 billion in net profit, or NT$0.62 in earnings per share (EPS), compared with a net loss of NT$613 million, or NT$0.11 in loss per share, reported for the first quarter.
In the same three-month period, Nanya Technology posted NT$1.68 billion in net profit, or NT$0.07 in EPS, compared with NT$526 million in net profit or NT$0.02 per share a quarter earlier.


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Cutting 30,000 jobs sounds dramatic. For Volkswagen AG it's a drop in the ocean, equivalent to just 5 percent of the global workforce. It will still employ about 600,000 people.
It's important VW is finally taking action to redress a chronic productivity problem. The company employs more people than GM and Toyota combined, even though they all make a similar number of cars.
VW says the measures announced on Friday will improve the productivity of German plants by 25 percent and boost profit by 3.7 billion euros ($3.9 billion) a year -- which sounds impressive. But even after those measures take effect, the automaker will still have a huge number of employees compared to the number of cars it sells.
One way for VW to improve that productivity ratio would be to sell more vehicles, but that's going to be tough.
The U.S. market looks like it's peaked and the outlook for growth in China -- which accounts for more than a third of VW's total sales -- could worsen. BMW AG warned in its third-quarter earnings that steep rises in debt levels mean "the risk of a potential financial crisis in China remains high." Meanwhile, VW continues to lose market share in Europe in the wake of the diesel-emissions scandal.
Instead of using the shift to electric vehicles to outsource more parts to suppliers, VW sounds like it plans to keep much of the work in-house. On Friday it signaled 3.5 billion euros of investments in "future-orientated" projects, including a pilot battery cell plant -- something that might turn out to be a flop.
As a result of all this spending, the core VW brand is targeting an operating profit margin of just 4 percent in 2020. That's more than twice the current level, but still only a very thin cushion. French peer Peugeot SA managed a 6.8 percent automotive margin in the first six months of this year.
Given the influence of labor unions at VW, it's remarkable managers were able to secure any kind of reduction in the workforce. After today, VW is better-placed for the future. But its position is by no means secure.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.
VW plans to avoid compulsory redundancies and will instead encourage early retirement.
Part of the difference is due to the fact VW has a truck-making operation and builds lots of components in-house.
To contact the author of this story:
Chris Bryant in Frankfurt at email@example.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Edward Evans at firstname.lastname@example.org


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Asus Max Pro M2, often known as Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 in nations aside from India, has is at the moment receiving a firmware-over-the-air (FOTA) replace that brings the June 2019 Android safety patch, Digital Wellbeing, upgraded earpiece efficiency, and different optimisations. To recall, the replace was reported earlier this week to be rolling out in Japan, however now Asus India has confirmed the rollout in the nation and detailed the replace’s changelog.
Asus Max Pro M2 FOTA replace changelog
As we talked about, the Asus Max Pro M2 (aka Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2) FOTA replace was reported earlier this week, however now the precise particulars of what the replace brings in India has been revealed by the corporate. In a press assertion, Asus stated the FOTA replace brings the Digital Wellbeing characteristic that helps customers handle the time they spend on every app and on their telephone as an entire.
The Asus Max Pro M2 FOTA replace additionally brings upgraded earpiece quantity efficiency, which the corporate claims will ship “crystal-clear call voice fidelity.” The replace additionally brings the June 2019 Android safety patch. Other adjustments the replace brings embrace optimised show corners for rounded edges, optimised display brightness management, optimised sample unlocking expertise, and an optimise darkish mode expertise with higher assist throughout UI, apps, and app notifications. The smartphone began receiving its Android 9.0 Pie replace in India in April this yr. It was launched in the nation again in December final yr.
Asus Max Pro M2 specs
The dual-SIM (Nano) Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 (ZB630KL) runs inventory Android 8.1 Oreo, and sports activities a 6.26-inch full-HD+ (1080×2280 pixels) with an 19:9 side ratio, 2.5 curved Corning Gorilla Glass 6, a peak brightness of 450 nits, and assist for a 94 p.c NTSC color gamut. The smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC, coupled with 3GB, 4GB, or 6GB of LPDDR4x RAM relying on the variant.
The Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 sports activities a twin rear digicam setup, with a 12-megapixel major sensor (Sony IMX486 sensor, f/1.Eight aperture, and 1.25-micron pixels) coupled with a 5-megapixel devoted depth sensor. The rear setup options EIS, 4K video recording assist, and an LED flash module. On the entrance, the ZenFone Max Pro M2 sports activities a 13-megapixel sensor with an f/2.Zero aperture, 1.12-micron pixels, and an LED flash module
There is both 32GB or 64GB of inbuilt storage on the Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2, relying on the mannequin bought, expandable through microSD card (as much as 2TB) with its personal devoted slot. Connectivity choices on the smartphone embrace twin 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS/ A-GPS, FM radio, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a Micro-USB port. Sensors on board embrace an accelerometer, ambient mild sensor, digital compass, gyroscope, and a proximity sensor, with a fingerprint sensor positioned on the rear panel. The Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 is powered by a 5,000mAh battery. It measures 157.9×75.5×8.5mm, and weighs 175 grams.


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Data privacy has become more essential than ever before, thanks to the increasing presence of technology in every aspect of our lives. You definitely can’t recall how much information you’ve shared online, so it’s important to guard all that data. Data breaches, cybercrime, and identity theft can be avoided when data is well protected. This article is about the recent trends in the data privacy area.
New AI Regulatory Laws
In 2024, there is practically no industry that doesn’t use AI. As the landscape of AI evolves, it’s important to watch out for threats to data privacy. This implies that individuals can object to automated AI decisions.
The US AI Executive Order seeks to ensure the ethical and safe use of AI. This ensures that organizations don’t use AI to ‘steal’ users’ data or carry out any form of cybercrime.
Better Data Portability
Data portability is the ability to move datasets from one platform to another without any change in their content. This is an issue for large businesses as they transfer data between cloud service providers.
This pressure has raised the need for data protection frameworks and privacy regulations; as Web 3.0 becomes more prevalent, data portability will become the standard. This means that no organization will have complete control over your data.
As data privacy concerns rise, more companies will begin to offer data privacy as a service. This means more businesses will offer privacy solutions with more specialized programs, expanding the privacy-as-a-service sector.
Individuals may have to pay some extra fees for ‘extra privacy’ on some companies’ websites. However, this extra privacy will benefit service providers, sellers, and buyers.
Enhancing Privacy with ML and AI
Safeguarding consumer privacy can be made easier by incorporating the use of artificial language (AI) and machine learning (ML). As long as there are strategies to regulate AI usage, it can be used to impact data privacy.
ML makes it easy for governments to discover potential data breaches by identifying patterns and helping them take preventive action. AI-powered data privacy will also enhance the discovery of cyber threats well on time.
Prioritizing like never before
Saying that people are becoming more aware of data-safeguarding measures would be an understatement. Unlike several years before when people didn’t have any idea of how their data was used, it’s becoming a priority these days.
As 2024 advances, people will continue to aim for transparency when it comes to the usage of their data. Customers will stop to check for data-sharing policies before supplying their personal information online.


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SBP move slows down trading on open market.
KARACHI -- The State Bank of Pakistan's (SBP) decision to bar exchange companies from 'home delivery' of dollars and other foreign currencies is inhibiting large investors from currency trading, forex traders said on Saturday.
It is now compulsory to buy and sell dollars at the counters of exchange companies only a move which has led to surplus dollars and other currencies.
Currency dealers insist that the State Bank move has made the business risky for large investors.
For making the open market business more transparent, the SBP on July 26 issued a circular with instructions not to move cash from one city to another, and advised companies to open bank accounts for transfer of money. The step was taken after Pakistan was included in the grey-list by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
'Large investors have left the open market free from their influence which converted the currency market dominated by sellers while buyers have been declining,' said Malik Bostan, President Forex Association of Pakistan.
Anwar Jamal of Glaxy Exchange said, 'The new condition is a big hurdle for large investors as they don't want to take risks to bring their cash at the exchange company and take back whatever they buy.'
'Market is surplus with high inflows of up to $15 million per day from Dubai while we have been depositing about $12m to $15m per day in banks,' said Secretary General Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan, Zafar Paracha.
While sellers have increased as Eidul Azha nears, local buyers have also entered the market in large numbers, he said. 'At least $20m are being deposited in the banks every day by people who buy dollars from open market at Rs122, deposit it in their accounts and encash at inter-bank rate of about Rs124 per dollar,' said Paracha.
Seemingly the State Bank is satisfied with the situation as the open market dollar rates are below inter-bank rate and there is no readjustment as per market rate.
During FY18, the State Bank adjusted inter-bank dollar rates thrice in the wake of higher open market dollar rates.
However, the last adjustment of four per cent could not sustain and dollar price in inter-bank market fell back at Rs124 from Rs128.5 and is continuing to fall slightly each day.
Currency dealers said cash transactions only through banks helped the exchange rate positively as open market trading goes through banking records.
At first, the currency dealers were against the action taken by SBP on July 26 which stopped cash movement from one city to another. Initially they said shortage of cash (local currency) drastically cut trading volume in the open market and dollar rate started falling.
However, now they maintain that with the help of State Bank all commercial banks are ready to open accounts for currency dealers. Earlier, opening a currency account for small cities was difficult for currency dealers so they used to transport cash in vans.
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|Publication:||Pakistan Observer (Islamabad, Pakistan)|
|Date:||Aug 19, 2018|
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|Next Article:||Imran induction as PM to herald an era of economic prosperity: Iftikhar.|


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November 2, 2019 – Short story “Sangre por Sangre” (a.k.a. “When Blood Wants Blood”) available via the fresh.ink iPhone app. Soon to be available on Android early November.
The short story “When Blood Wants Blood” accepted for reprint at fresh.ink!!!
September 12, 2019 – Wonderful news today!!! Short story “When Blood Wants Blood”, originally published at Down in the Dirt Magazine, was accepted for reprint at fresh.ink (publication date TBD). Keeping my fingers crossed about a second piece that I sent to them (i.e., “Roadkill”) that is still under consideration. Many thanks to fresh.ink’s Editorial Team for the inclusion in their amazing publication.


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An old famous Italian pop song asks “Cosa resterà di questi anni ’80?” meaning “What will remain of the ’80s?”. Today something has certainly remained as some brands that were successful in those years have returned and young consumers from the Y and Z generations–in addition to older aficionados–seem to love them.
Apart from the fact that the ’80s are trendy again and inspired many s/s ’18 collections just seen on many catwalks, several authentic premium-though-affordable sportswear brands of those years are now being revamped. And, like back in the day, the young new breed loves to wear their logos.
Why are some entrepreneurs now resurrecting brands that Millenials and younger consumers should enjoy even though today’s kids are quite different from the stylish rebels of the ’80s like, for instance, the so-called Paninari and many others devoted to Fiorucci?
Fiorucci fever is still high
Fiorucci, the brand identified by–among its many logos–a two-angel image “stolen” from a painting by Italian Renaissance painter Raffaello Sanzio, was founded by style guru Elio Fiorucci in 1967, exactly 50 years ago. Although it was dormant for years in the hands of Japanese trading group Itochu, in 2015–coincidentally the same year Elio Firorucci died–the brand was bought by British entrepreneurs Janie and Stephen Schaffer. Its relaunch began with a temporary store opened in February 2017 in New York and officially debuted in September 2017 with the inauguration of the first 500-sq.-meter flagship store in London at 12 Soho Square. “Our main focus has been to respect the history of the brand and archive all artworks and garments,” says joint CEO Janie Schaffer.
The newly revamped collection debuted in Milan during the September 2017 edition of Milan Fashion Week at 10 Corso Como, the only store currently selling the brand in addition to the London flagship. For the same occasion the store also presented the book Fiorucci published by Rizzoli that celebrates the brand’s half century of life. On that exact same night, also inside 10 Corso Como, a movie “Spirito Libero” dedicated to Elio Fiorucci’s creative genius was screened. The designer’s creativity continues to live beyond time and look as modern as ever.
Schaffer underlines how forward-thinking her relaunch project wants to be: “There is so much iconic art from the history of Fiorucci but we felt it was important to ensure that we move the brand forward. For this reason we have brought in a world-class design team that while respecting the brand’s own archive they are constantly looking to the future.”
Schaffer knows that the world is a different place now when compared with the past decades when Fiorucci was hyped internationally in the ’80s: “Obviously in those years there was no Internet, no mobile phones, no websites and no social media. However, the one thing that Millenials today crave is authenticity just as consumers from past decades did back then. Shopping just takes another form today.” And she continues recognizing what similarities tie Gen Z consumers with Fiorucci: “We thought a great deal before buying the brand about whether young consumers of today would love to buy a brand that is now 50 years old, but I think we underestimated how cool the original Fiorucci customers were. The Millennials are seeking out Fiorucci possibly because they are being influenced by very cool people who knew the brand. There has never been a better time for Fiorucci as in many respects Millennials are dressing today the same way the young people dressed back in the ’70s and ’80s.”
Back to Paninari times
Other signs showing a return of iconic brands from the ’80s are the revivals of brands such as Best Company and C.P. Company, both beloved by Paninari, the young wealthy Milanese kids who spent time in the first Italian fast-food restaurants wearing expensive sportswear looks in that era.
Best Company, the iconic sweatshirt brand, was recently revamped by Falis 2014, an Italian company involved in resurrecting other glorious brands from the past such as Fila Tennis and Bear. In August 2017 Falis launched an impressive f/w ’17-18 ad campaign for the Italian market whose face, photographer and author is Oliviero Toscani portrayed together with his son and nephew. The campaign’s tagline is “Forever young.”
“We chose Toscani as he is a strong personality and he can convey the idea how this brand can be worn by everyone. The concept behind this campaign was a gift–his family–and the idea that younger generations can make this brand become successful again,” says Michele Bernardi, managing director at Falis and a longtime insider of the fashion and sportswear markets. “We didn’t want to play with nostalgia, but tell the market that Best Company, a bestseller in the past that still many remember and love, can be as strong again for people of all ages,” he continues. Even before the company could offer a complete total look collection it simply launched a campaign that presented the brand’s redesigned logo and communication strategy. Then it started selling a few down jackets in 150 Italian stores only. The complete collection, including also the iconic sweatshirts, will debut for f/w ’18-19 at Pitti Uomo in January 2018. Communication can create more engagement than the product itself, at an early stage. While older consumer recognized the brand through traditional media, the younger generation’s curiosity was awakened through social media.
C.P. Company versus homologation
Also C.P. Company, another brand most beloved in the ’80s, is back after being acquired by Tristate holding. It is betting on grabbing the young generation’s attention by revamping iconic models such as its Goggle Jacket, though also taking a contemporary and urban lifestyle image. It also started on- and offline communication strategies focused on presenting C.P. Company jackets as indispensable for urban daily life.
“Younger consumers are very different from those of the ’80s,” explains Leo Scordo, newly named general manager, C.P. Company, who previously worked for sportswear brands such as Ermenegildo Zegna’s sportswear division and RH+, an outdoor and sportswear brand. “In the ’80s a branded piece of apparel communicated a status. TV commercials and serials, for instance, defined the belonging or not to specific target groups. Today’s consumers are living less hedonistic and more ‘difficult’ years than in the ’80s,” he says. He continues: “Communication has changed, the speed in taking decisions and common values have changed too. What hasn’t changed, luckily, are people willing to look at the future.”
“Today their lifestyle is much more active. For this reason they care so much for performance and functional aspects in choosing what they wear,” underlines Scordo. “With C.P. Company we want to support their vision, refresh our icons by developing always new products and materials.” C.P. Company’s brand awareness is quite high especially in markets such as Italy, the UK and some areas of Northern Europe. “I think that young consumers don’t think of the ‘old’ C.P. Company. They simply share–in every sense, also through social media like as our #eyesonthecity campaign–trans-seasonal pieces and high-performance fabrics as part of a dress code that doesn’t homologate the identity of the single person,” he explains, drawing an aspect that was common for the ’80s.
Also the French sportswear brand New Man is back. It was founded in in the ’70s and reached success in the ’80s. It is recognized by its geometric logo created by industrial designer Raymond Loewy as it can be equally read upside down. It was recently bought by investment fund Belle Etoile and relaunched for s/s ’18. Its new course started from a main sportswear collection and a colorful agender athleisure capsule collaboration collection by French designer and activist Andrea Crews. “When New Man appeared in the market in the ’70s and ’80s it upset codes bringing colors into menswear,” Corinne David, brand coordinator, New Man, says.
Brands from the late ’70s and ’80s can be successful again because, by keeping their own authenticity capital intact, they can still stir young people’s imaginations. Michel Benchetrit, CEO, New Man, notes: “The young generations want to build a world that suits them best, apart from the industry’s standards and dogmas. They are inventing a new economy making their own rules to create an open and connected society.” Exactly like youth movements from past decades who played with garments to create and express their own style. The first influencers were born in those years. Millennials and Gen Y kids are accidental followers.


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Curated By: Shaurya Sharma
Last Updated: August 24, 2023, 11:07 IST
San Francisco, California, USA
OpenAI, the Microsoft-backed company behind creating ChatGPT, has announced that users of its GPT-3.5 Turbo AI model will now be able to fine-tune and customize the model according to their preferences and specific use cases. This change will allow businesses to effectively deploy these models on a larger scale, and thus align with their specific needs.
Furthermore, the company has revealed that a similar ability will be introduced for GPT-4 later this fall.
As per OpenAI’s early tests, a “fine-tuned” version of GPT-3.5 Turbo holds the potential to match or even outperform “base GPT-4-level capabilities on certain narrow tasks.”And, the data that a certain business uses to fine-tune the model for their own application—will not be shared with OpenAI—ensuring both safety and privacy.
OpenAI has outlined several applications and immediate advantages of fine-tuning the AI model:
By fine-tuning the model, businesses can ensure that it aligns with their particular brand “tone,” making it a more suitable fit for the brand’s identity. “A business with a recognizable brand voice can use fine-tuning for the model to be more consistent with their tone,” OpenAI said.
In simple terms, optimization and fine-tuning enables businesses to shape the model to better fit their operations. For instance, the model can be fine-tuned to respond in German or other languages as required, which may lead to better efficiency.
Consistent Output Formatting
Another immediate benefit that fine-tuning brings is the improvement in the model’s ability to consistently format responses. OpenAI notes that this is a “crucial aspect for applications demanding a specific response format, such as code completion or composing API calls,” and that a developer may use fine-tuning to “more reliably convert user prompts into high-quality JSON snippets that can be used with their own systems.”
Moreover, OpenAI has listed additional benefits, including the ability to handle up to 4k tokens—double that of previous fine-tuned models. Businesses can even reduce the prompt size by up to 90%.


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KYIV: Russia fired a barrage of missiles at Kyiv on Monday sending panicked residents running for shelter
KARACHI: Pakistan has witnessed record foreign exchange spending on highest-ever arrival of new automobiles in 2020-21 on strong demand followed by revival of used vehicles imports.
The country imported record 10,513 units of new cars, jeeps, vans, pickups, two-wheelers and buses in FY21 compared to 1,680 units in FY20, 3,716 units in FY19 and 7,424 units in FY18.
Besides, for the first time, 390 new electric vehicles (EVs) and 19 used EVs were also imported in FY21.
Entry of new players from Korea and China in the local assembly of new models coupled with low interest rates have injected new life in the auto sector while used imported vehicles and locally assembled vehicles by old players also enjoy robust demand.
In FY21, new cars and jeeps held the highest share with 10,157 units compared to just 893 units in FY20, 2,427 in FY19 and 3,758 units in FY18.
In overall automobile imports of around $2 billion, the import bill of completely and semi-knocked down (CKD/SKD) kits for cars, bikes and heavy vehicles stood at record $1.6bn in FY21 as compared to $727m in FY20 while $386m was spent for import of used and new vehicles in FY21 as compared to $219m in FY20.
In the first two months of the current financial year (2MFY22), import of CKD/SKD kits for local assembly of all vehicles swelled by 214pc to $369m from $117m in the same period last fiscal year, while import of completely built up units (CBU) posted a growth of 118pc to $103m from $47m in 2MFY22.
In personal baggage scheme, import of used cars, jeeps, vans and pickups swelled to 29,276 units in FY21 from 16,455 units in FY20 though it was 49,990 units in FY19 and 73,640 units in FY18, said All-Pakistan Motor Dealers Association (APMDA) Chairman H.M. Shahzad.
He said majority of used vehicles had arrived under personal baggage scheme and only 946 motorcycles/scooters had landed under transfer of residence scheme from FY18 to FY21.
Asked why import of used cars and jeeps recharged in FY21 after facing a lacklustre trend in FY20, Mr Shahzad said importers took time to understand the government decision of curbing used car imports and they resumed imports especially of used cars up to 1,000cc in FY21 as compared to FY20.
The government in import policy order 2017 had made it mandatory that all the vehicles (new and used) to be imported under various schemes – the duty shall be paid out of the foreign exchange arranged by Pakistani nationals themselves or local recipient supported by bank encashment certificate showing conversion of foreign remittance to local currency.
The remittance for payment of duties and taxes shall originate from the account of a Pakistani national sending the vehicle from abroad and the remittance shall either be received in the account of a Pakistani national sending the vehicle from abroad or in case his account is nonexistent or inoperative in the account of his family, according to the policy.
Imports by new and old entrants have shown a marked increase as existing assemblers have also imported new vehicles.
Amid revival in used car imports followed by all-time high import of new vehicles in FY21, the share of importing CKD/SKD kits for the local assembly of various vehicles is still above 80pc compared to 20pc share of import of used and new vehicles.
Market people cautiously see towards a new Chinese investor whose huge arrival of completely built up (CBU) units has changed the dynamics of official figures of new imported vehicles, followed by thriving commercial imports of high-end electric vehicles after duty cut in budget FY22.
Market sources said MG HS vehicles caused a stir in the auto market with delivery of 7,000 units to the buyers from November 2020 till date while around 1,000 units were still parked at the port.
New entrants before going towards the assembly line have been allowed by the government under Auto Policy 2016-21 to import 100 units per variant to test the market. But the massive import bill suggests that commercial imports by some specific models have enjoyed an edge. In previous years, the official figures used to dominate by an influx of used cars.
Market sources said that electric vehicles like Audi Etron had also arrived after a duty cut that resulted in its price reduction.
The sources said many new entrants had not brought imported vehicles in larger numbers as they were allowed 100 units per variant under Auto Policy 2016-21 before the start of local assembly.
A leading Korean vehicle assembler said it imported a minimum of five to six units to a maximum of 50 units of different variants ahead of the start of local assembly.
Pakistan has seen obsolete technologies and engines in the last three decades, followed by non-compliant emission standards. Suzuki Mehran existed for over 30 years without any model change followed by a 12-year journey of particular shape and design in other models. These high priced and outdated models also failed to compete in export markets, the new entrant observed.
Local industry and their vendors have been relying on imported raw materials, sheet metal, raisin, plastic materials, chemicals etc.
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Rumor has it there could be a line out the door of Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions’ offices next Monday morning, according to business attorneys in town.
That’s because organizations will be jockeying to be the first to register with the state as a “benefit corporation” — a new kind of business entity that has a mission for public good baked into its structure.
“It’s going to be exciting,” said Mark Starik, a sustainability researcher who plans to register his consulting company Always Be Sustaining as a benefit corporation on Monday, Feb. 26. “There’ll be apparently a bunch of us down at WDFI.”
Gov. Scott Walker signed Act 77 into law last November, making Wisconsin the 34th state to allow benefit corporations. The defining characteristic of the new species of business is an explicit mission to make a “material positive impact on society and the environment,” as the new law puts it.
Benefit corporations are structured differently from traditional Wisconsin corporations, in that they emphasize that public mission. For example, the company’s board of directors has a duty to make decisions that benefit not just those who own shares in the company, but “stakeholders” as well — customers, employees, the community they’re in, and the environment.
A benefit corporation is also required to release a report on its public mission at the end of every fiscal year to shareholders.
Business attorney Danielle Johnson with the law firm Neider & Boucher has been spreading word of the new law to her clients. She thinks benefit corporations could normalize the idea that businesses can be a force for good.
“I think it spreads a positive message that ‘Hey, it’s OK to make money and make a positive impact on the community at the same time,’” said Johnson.
Personal stylists Krystle Marks and Abby Felix Winzenried will be among those lining up to register a benefit corporation on Monday. The two are launching a clothing line called RAAH that aims to both celebrate and accommodate women’s bodies.
“I just felt like there was a huge gap in the clothing market,” said Marks, the company’s founder. “We tend to focus on one ideal size. We look at one shape, and we create all sizes out of that one shape. There are so many variations in women’s bodies.”
Marks and Winzenried also plan to hire “artisan groups” of women in other countries who are at risk of sex trafficking, or who have been trafficked, to manufacture the clothes.
“I had a heart for women trapped in trafficking,” said Marks. “We want to give women opportunities.”
Winzenried said that when it comes to the specifics of their mission, the two are committed to things like good pay and time off for the women they hire, as well as donating some portion of their revenues to groups working on women’s issues. She said that a lot of their mission will also be shaped by the workers themselves.
“I don’t want to go in there and say, ‘I’m solving your problem.’ I want to hear how we could best help them,” she said.
Marks said that she considered filing RAAH as a nonprofit, but after doing research, determined that chartering as a for-profit business was the right move.
“It takes money to do good. The more we can make profit in this company, the more we can give back,” she said.
She also thought it would be more meaningful for the women she’d be employing to be part of a for-profit company: “You’re trying to restore dignity to their life. You want them to feel like they’re not getting a handout from a nonprofit.”
While benefit corporations have only been formally recognized in the United States since 2010, for-profit businesses touting a social mission are nothing new. Starik described benefit corporations as part of a “business as a force for good movement.” The creation of so-called “B Corps” in 2004 — businesses that have been given a seal of approval from the Philadelphia-based B Lab nonprofit, which assesses corporations on their social impact — has also shaped that movement, he said.
But the notion of “businesses as a force for good” is also one that can elicit skepticism. For example, the term “greenwashing” was coined in the 1980s to describe companies that promoted their products as environmentally friendly primarily as a marketing ploy.
Israel Lopez, another business attorney at Neider & Boucher, acknowledged that the relationship between making money and doing good is a complicated one. He said he personally has encountered skepticism when trying to make revenue through his nonprofit, Chins Up, which fosters mentorship between college athletes and children.
“A lot of people had this look of, ‘You’re just trying to make money now,’” said Lopez. “But you can’t do anything without money.”
Starik said that while it’s good to scrutinize the motivations of corporations that espouse a public mission, he also said that it's important to consider the other side of the coin: There are many businesses that actually do good, he said, but don’t promote it.
“Organizations that do a lot of great things don’t tell people about it,” he said. “And that’s a detriment.”
Starik noted that on the whole, there is a dearth of research on whether benefit corporations are effective vehicles for doing good: “It’s the big question. We don’t know yet.”


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City Hall sources told The Journal that Whole Foods would be the grocery tenant in the development last August.
“For a long time, most people had assumed it was Whole Foods,” said Mark Schoening, senior vice president for developer Ryan Cos. “Nobody could confirm it and now we can. It’s kind of a pleasure.”
The development, known as 222 Hennepin, will feature around 280 market-rate apartments. The Whole Foods location will occupy a 38,000-square-foot space on the first floor, which will include a liquor store. Both the Whole Foods location and the residential portion of the project are scheduled to open in late summer or early fall of 2013.
The downtown Whole Foods will be the fourth Minnesota store for the chain, which opened a Minnetonka location in October and will open another in Edina on April 18.
“We look forward to adding to our existing locations in the Twin Cities,” said Michael Bashaw, Whole Foods Midwest regional president, in a statement. “The Twin Cities is definitely an area of growth for us and we’re extremely excited to expand our offering of natural and organic products to an even greater customer base,”
The former Jaguar dealership site has been envisioned as a site of a residential/retail mixed use development for years. In 2005, Seattle-based Milliken Development Group purchased the site and proposed a 290-unit condo building with Whole Foods as an anchor tenant.
Smalley’s 87 Club to reopen as Alley Sports Tavern
Smalley’s 87 Club, which replaced the former Champp’s location at 100 6th St. N., has closed. But Twins fans who frequented the bar near Target Field needn’t worry — the bar should reopen in early March under the new ownership and with a new name: Alley Sports Tavern.
Alley Sports Tavern owner Russell King said the space is going through several small remodeling projects, such as closing off the kitchen and adding new, larger televisions. “We’re making sure everyone in the place has a great view of two or three games so they can keep track of what’s going on,” King said.
The menu is also undergoing a renovation. The wine, beer and drink list is being rebuilt, and King said the new food offerings will be slightly more upscale than Smalley’s, but the new menu isn’t a complete reinvention.
“We’re not letting it get outside of the sports bar theme,” King said. “We’ll have much more interesting burgers, much cooler fries, much more current appetizers.”
He listed a stuffed buffalo bleu cheese burger, stout-stuffed burger, walleye chips and The Alley’s version of a Waldorf Salad as signature menu items.
The Alley Sports Tavern will be open year-round for lunch, dinner and happy hour.
Panera Bread in Northeast closes, new tenants on the way
EAST HENNEPIN — The Panera Bread location at 233 E. Hennepin Ave. closed Feb. 21 after being in business for nearly a decade.
However, the space will not stay vacant long. Building owner Dan Hunt confirmed that the Panera location would be divided up and that two new tenants would soon be announced for the site. One will be a restaurant and bar. Members of the Nicollet Island-East Bank Neighborhood Association previously indicated that the second tenant would likely be a new Jimmy John’s sandwich shop.
The Brick announces opening plans
WAREHOUSE DISTRICT — New music venue The Brick, 111 5th St. N., has announced a grand opening date of March 15 as well as its initial lineup of events. Veteran rockers Jane’s Addiction will play the first show on March 19.
The initial lineup is as follows:
· Jane’s Addiction Monday, March 19
· Brit Floyd Wednesday, March 28
· Feed Me Friday, March 30
· Beats Antique Saturday, April 14
· Hunter Hayes Thursday, April 19
· Incubus Wednesday, May 9
· Slash Monday, May 14
· Marilyn Manson Friday, May 18
· The Shins Friday, June 1
Tickets for the first concerts went on sale Feb. 17. Tickets for all shows at The Brick will be available through thebrickmn.com or axs.com.
New lunch menu at Sea Change
MILL DISTRICT — Tim McKee’s Sea Change restaurant in the Guthrie Theater is a well-known destination for theatergoers, but it’s not often thought of as a lunch spot. That may change thanks to a revamped lunch menu, which is more diverse and affordable than many diners may realize.
Sea Change chef de cuisine Jamie Malone launched the new lunch menu in late January. In addition to adding the restaurant’s dinnertime raw bar, the new menu includes many non-seafood options, including Chef Malone’s favorite, a playful take on the traditional bologna sandwich.
“It’s a really accessible lunch menu,” Malone said. “Nice food that you can eat more than once a week, that’s kind of my goal.”
Sea Change opens for lunch at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday. All items on the new lunch menu are priced at $15 or less, including a prixe fixe option. Sea Change will switch to its seasonal spring dinner menu in March.
Wellman’s Pub moving into former Drink space
WAREHOUSE DISTRICT — Signs on the windows of the former Drink location at 26 5th St. N. declare that the space will soon be reborn as Wellman’s Pub. While that name might not be familiar to Minneapolis residents, Wellman’s Pub operates two other locations in Iowa. The original location in Des Moines opened in 1982 added a second location in West Des Moines in 2010.
A manager at the original location confirmed that Wellman’s would move into the former Drink space, but declined to say more. Wellman’s Pub owner Tom Baldwin did not return calls for comment.
Rosa Mexicano introduces Flavors of Mexico series
Rosa Mexicano, 609 Hennepin Ave., will offer the special menu “Eclectic Cuts: The Art of Butchery,” the first event in the restaurant’s annual Flavors of Mexico program. It runs Feb. 22–March 11.
Each year, the programs highlights cuisine from various regions of Mexico, designed by guest culinary advisors.
The 2012 Flavors of Mexico program was developed by Jonathan Waxman, an acclaimed West Coast chef who has written several cookbooks and appeared on “Top Chef Masters.”
The Eclectic Cuts menu is built around dishes many diners would consider daring, including veal tongue tacos, crispy sweetbreads, pork cheeks and lamb neck enchiladas.
Mill City Farmers Market heads to the Arboretum
The Mill Cities Farmers Market will return for its annual run at the Mill City Museum in May, but you don’t have to wait that long to sample some of its locally produced items. The Mill City Market will hold a special one-time event at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska on Saturday, March 17.
The special presentation of the Mill City Farmers Market will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Oswald Visitor Center Great Hall in the Arboretum. The Market will feature a variety of locally produced goods, including jams, maple syrup, cheeses, soaps and much more.
The Mill City Farmers Market is held every Saturday between the Guthrie Theater and Spoonriver, May 12–Oct. 27.
Butcher & The Boar, the new restaurant from former Dakota chef Jack Riebel, has announced an opening date of March 6. Riebel stated in the feature about the restaurant in the last issue that he hoped to open by the end of February.
Behind the Scenes Boutique, a new women’s fashion store at 1026 Washington Ave. S., was initially projected to open on Feb. 18. The store has now announced an opening date of March 3.
Eat Street Social, the second restaurant by the proprietors of Northeast Social, is now open. The restaurant at 18 26th St. W. opened its doors on Feb. 9.
Because of the mild winter, 2012’s street food season has begun early The Twisted Sister House of Hunger food truck hit downtown for lunch service on Feb. 20 and will continue weather permitting.
Coffee Gallery, the independent coffee shop now located inside Open Book/The Loft Literary Center, will celebrate 20 years in business with a customer appreciation day with special activities and discounts on March 2.
Reach Jeremy Zoss at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Samsung’s cutting edge Galaxy S lineup has risen to of the industry standards for high-quality and innovation throughout the years. With the Galaxy Tab S, Samsung managed to uphold the legendary reputation of its flagship handsets and transfer it to a new form factor. Even a year after its release the premium tablet lineup still offers great hardware and performance, but it is time for and upgrade and the Galaxy Tab S 2 has been frequenting the rumor mill for quite some time now.
According to rumors, the new device family is inching towards an official release and the international prices will be as follows: The Galaxy Tab S 2 8.0 (SM-T710) and the Galaxy Tab S 2 9.7 (SM-T810) will come with price tags of €399 and €499 respectively for a Wi-Fi only unit while the 4G LTE version will cost €90 extra. Read more »
AMD has definitely been going through some rough times, struggling to retain profitability. It might not seem so on the surface, especially considering the company is working hard on its promising 6th Generation Carrizo A-Series chips and still holding its own in the competitive GPUs market with quality offers, such as the R9 chips. But,for all the technological advancements and move towards true heterogeneous computing, AMD is still struggling to earn enough cash.
This has forced the company’s management into more than one tough decision. The latest of those is another round of layoffs – industry sources claim that after a disappointing Q2 sales report for the company’s APUs, a lot of jobs are in danger. It is hard to say which positions might be affected in particular, but we can only assume that less profitable parts of the company will be hit the hardest. Read more »
Flipkart, India’s largest online retailer, is reportedly gearing up for a huge business change. The e-tailer is planning to shut down its website altogether and follow an app-only business model. This should happen this September and is sure to stir things up in the country’s online commerce segment. The announcement was made by Punit Soni, the company’s CEO at a staff meeting, so it is pretty much official.
As you can imagine, this is a well thought out move and definitely not void of logic. Flipkart has estimated that about 75% of its entire traffic comes from mobile devices, so it doesn’t make much sense to support and invest in a traditional website anymore. The company’s second site Myntra actually already went down the same route in May 2015. The fashion-centric market reported similar numbers prior to the shift – 80 percent of traffic and 70% of purchases were via mobile app. Read more »
According to internal memos obtained by 9to5Mac, Apple Pay will launch in the United Kingdom on July 14. The Cupertino giant announced its place to bring Apple Pay in the UK during this year’s WWDC.
Apple has reportedly informed its UK retail employees that its payment service will become available on the above mentioned date. Read more »
Xiaomi is quietly working on the Mi Band successor dubbed Mi Band 1s. According to a listing sourced from the Taiwanese National Communications Commission the wearable will feature a heart rate monitor.
The Mi Band 1s carries the same design as its predecessor with three LED lights atop an aluminum cap. Read more »
The vultures are circling – AMD has been struggling to compete with Intel on the CPU front and with Nvidia on the GPU front and profitability has been elusive. Naturally, acquisition rumors have cropped up, first Samsung and now Microsoft.
Microsoft is a full-time hardware maker and it really needs chips – for its Xbox One console, for the Surface tablets, perhaps even for its Lumia phones. Read more »
Apple might have a 21.5” iMac with 4K Retina display in the works. Code within the latest Mac OS X El Capitan beta mentions the unannounced all-in-one.
A 4K Retina variant will likely replace the currently available 21.5” iMac. The desktop will slot below the 27” iMac with 5K Retina display in the company’s product range. It will also certainly carry a more affordable price tag than the 27” model. Read more »
It is no secret that AMD has been struggling to earn money lately. Historically, the legendary chip maker has maintained a steady “runner-up” position behind Intel, especially in terms of desktop hardware, but it looks like the huge shift to mobile devices took the US company by surprise and it is yet to fully adapt.
The possibility of various partnerships and buy-outs has been tossed around quite a lot recently and it really seems like AMD is way overdue for some kind of restructuring if it is going to survive. Industry sources now suggest that chief executive Lisa Su is considering the possibility of splitting AMD businesses, a move which was previously protested against internally and is still officially denied by the company. Read more »
At $349, the LG Watch Urbane is anything but a cheap Android Wear smartwatch. That said, it now looks like LG might be preparing an even more expensive version of its latest wearable.
What you see in the screenshot above is a trademark filing by LG Electronics for “LG Watch Urbane Luxe”. This has been revealed today, and it obviously makes us think that a higher-end iteration of the watch is in the works over in South Korea. Read more »
According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, the Huawei Watch will not launch in China until next year. The Android Wear device is still set to debut in the United States and Europe in the coming months.
Citing Huawei’s manager for wearable devices Yang Yong, WSJ reports that issues with the implementation of Android Wear will prevent the device from hitting the shelves on time in its homeland. Read more »
According to VentureBeat, the head of Sony Music confirmed the unveiling Apple music streaming service during WWDC. The Cupertino giant’s annual developer conference will kick off in San Francisco in less than 24 hours.
Debut of Apple music streaming service should hardly catch anyone by surprise – rumors about it have been floating for months now. Read more »
According to a report in The New York Times, we will not see a new Apple TV at WWDC. Past rumors suggested that the Cupertino giant will unveil a new set top box with the same CPU as iPhone 6.
Apple’s change of hears took place over the past couple of weeks. Read more »
It’s already been rumored once before that the Android 5.1 update will bring RAW support to the camera of the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge. This update might make its way to devices this month or in July.
Today a new rumor comes to confirm the addition of RAW support in the camera arriving with Android 5.1 on Samsung’s latest flagships. Furthermore, lower ISO values will also be added. Read more »
The next major iteration of Android will reportedly bring dedicated permission controls to users. Android M is expected to debut tomorrow during Google I/O in San Francisco.
Currently, Android prompts users to accept all permissions an application requires before installing it. Read more »
According to a report in 9to5Mac, the previously rumored Transit Maps feature in Apple iOS 9 will have limited availability at launch. The service will allegedly be live in 5-6 cities in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Transit Maps in iOS 9 might go live as early as next month in New York, San Francisco, Toronto, Paris, Berlin, and London. Read more »


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Filed in Storopack
Wednesday, October 01, 2014
Throughput doubles in two years as the time to pack each order decreases.
Friday, August 22, 2014
The acquisition encompasses loose fill manufacturing and distribution, as well as several other redistribution products, including bubble wrap, bubble-lined mailers and rolled foam.
Posted on 08/22 at 08:53 AM
Saturday, March 01, 2014
Workers and equipment are no longer bound to unmeasurable and inconsistent protective packaging.
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
Companies shipping thousands of boxes a day should examine their protective packaging process as they seek to reduce overall cost of ownership.
Thursday, September 06, 2012
With a record 1,800+ exhibitors showcasing solutions at Pack Expo 2012, here's a look at what at a few of the materials handling suppliers will have on hand.
View all categories and topics
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
The company's air cushion system and the paper pad system will initially be marketed. The introduction of the packaging system for smaller requirements is already in preparation.
Posted on 06/13 at 07:48 AM


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You’re here (TSLA) reported record third-quarter vehicle deliveries on Sunday, but they came in well below views. The report may reinforce demand concerns, especially in China, as Elon Musk’s EV giant ramps up production capacity.
Tesla stock fell solidly Monday morning after undercutting short-term lows Friday.
Tesla delivered 343,830 EVs in the third quarter, up 42% vs. a year earlier and topping Q1’s record 310,048. It was also 35% higher than Q2’s 254,695. The Shanghai plant faced a long shutdown and slow recovery in Q2 due to Covid lockdowns.
But analysts had expected Tesla deliveries of 350,000-370,000, with the consensus slightly above 360,000.
Given the big Tesla expansions over the last six months, the increase is relatively modest. Tesla Berlin opened in March and the Austin plant in April, though those sites are still slowly ramping up. The Shanghai site got a big capacity upgrade in July and early August, with those moves temporarily limiting output.
Indeed, Tesla production significantly exceeded deliveries in Q3, with the EV giant churning out 365,923 vehicles last month.
Tesla delivered 325,158 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in Q3, along with 18,672 Model S and Model X luxury EVs.
In its press release, Tesla cited logistical challenges and an increased number of vehicles in transit.
Tesla China Demand Concerns
There are indications that Tesla demand is not strong enough to meet the increased capacity, especially in China.
However, Reuters reported last week that Tesla plans to keep production at the upgraded Shanghai plant at around 93% of capacity through the end of year. The recent improvements to the plant increased production capacity by almost a third.
Tesla China wait times for new vehicles came down sharply in September, signaling little or no backlog. Wait times have increased modestly again, as Tesla shifts back to exporting Shanghai vehicles at the start of the quarter.
Tesla began offering a new insurance subsidy in China last month, serving as a de facto price cut. That insurance subsidy will now run through year-end.
There is speculation that Tesla will announce an outright China price reduction in early October. Another option is for Tesla to export an even-greater share of its Shanghai output. There are some reports that this is already happening, with Shanghai shifting to export a few days earlier. That could why Tesla has more vehicles in transit.
But European backlogs are also starting to come down, with Tesla recently introducing a shorter-range Model Y there, often at a much-lower price than the prior base model. Also, the Berlin plant should slowly account for a greater share of Tesla’s European sales.
Adding to the pressure: BYD (BYDDF) and Nio (NIO) have just introduced Model 3 rivals, with the Model Y likely to face growing competition over the next year.
Tesla produces the luxury Model S sedan and Model X SUV as well as the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover. However, the vast majority are the Model 3 and Model Y models.
Other vehicles, including the Semi and Cybertruck have been pushed back multiple times. Musk has said the Cybertruck is on track for mid-2023 and that the Tesla Semi will begin deliveries by the end of 2022.
The Q3 Tesla delivers came on the heels of Tesla’s AI Day on Friday, in which the company showcased its latest Optimus humanoid robot prototype, as well as AI advances in driver-assist software. Musk tweeted that the event was primarily a pitch to recruit AI and robotics engineers.
Tesla stock fell more than 5% before the open in Monday’s market trading. That would be the lowest since late July. Shares fell 1.1% to 265.25 on Friday, undercutting recent lows. Shares fell back from the 50-day moving average during the week.
Tesla stock are in a long consolidation with a 402.73 buy point, according to MarketSmith. Investors could view the pattern as a long double-bottom base, offering a 384.35 entry. However, TSLA stock’s chart is in flux.
But there’s also a smaller base within the wide and loose action of the past year. Now looking like a small double-bottom pattern, TSLA stock has a 313.90 entry.
Tesla has a Composite Rating of 83. It has a 78 Relative Strength Rating, an exclusive IBD Stock Checkup gauge for share price movement with a 1 to 99 score. The rating shows how a stock’s performance over the last 52 weeks holds up against all the other stocks in IBD’s database. The EPS rating is 77.
Clash Of The Titans: Tesla Vs. BYD
Tesla China Rivals
Musk and Tesla are also facing new competition in the China EV marketplace from BYD, Nio, Li-Auto (LI), and XPeng (XPEV). Nio, Li Auto and Xpeng reported September deliveries on Saturday, with BYD sales also due in early October.
NIO And BYD Target Europe In Challenge To Tesla
BYD, the world’s largest maker of EV and plug-in hybrids and China’s largest seller of pure electrics, is taking on Tesla’s Model 3 directly for the first time. The BYD Seal, with similar specs but $10,000 less than a Model 3, kicked off deliveries in late August.
Luxury EV startup Nio began deliveries of the ET5, a Model 3 rival on Sept. 30.
BYD and Nio are also looking to solidify footing in the European market, after starting sales in Norway in 2021. BYD presented three all-electric models for Europe at a virtual event on Sept. 28, and Nio is set for a similar event Oct. 7. BYD recently began deliveries in Australia, India and several other Asian nations, launching in several other markets in the next few months.
Please follow Kit Norton on Twitter @KitNorton for more coverage.
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Although Nissan only managed to sell 14,006 units of its Leaf last year, it appears that the all-electric compact car is especially successful in places where dealership offer support and education on EVs.
“The LEAF now accounts for 80 percent of the new cars we sell here. We’re doing a great business with them,” revealed Ted Christiano, executive manager of Boulder Nissan. He added that he’d “like to have more EV models from Nissan. How about an all-wheel-drive EV?”
Christiano believes that the Leaf’s sales depend on the dealership’s execution in marketing and selling the vehicle and he has proven this by selling two to three hundred Leafs per year.
This dealer promotes EVs by distributing educational information and EV-related info via social media. Boulder Nissan also sends out its sales people with the Leaf to educate the average Joe on how an EV functions.
Aside that, Christiano also carries out EV-based events such as ride-and-drives, much to the pleasure of the community.
Many people may believe that the Leaf has lost the battle to other newer EVs, but, judging from this, that’s not quite true. There is still hope that with proactive dealerships, the next-gen Leaf would be a bigger success.


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Barclays to open Eagle Lab in Manchester City Centre
Barclays is to launch its first Eagle Lab in Manchester City Centre later this year.
The lab, situated in Bruntwood’s Union building in Albert Square, will be “a space for ambitious entrepreneurs to scale and grow their business and receive advice”.
Eagle Labs are co-working and innovation spaces set up by Barclays to help businesses network, collaborate and grow. There are 17 across the UK, with Barclays staff on site offering entrepreneurs advice on how to grow their businesses.
Union has recently undergone a £5m transformation to offer high-quality workspace and offers businesses a prime location opposite Manchester Town Hall.
The 12,000 square foot Lab will be laid out over two floors with a coffee shop which will be open to the public, an 80-seat auditorium, co-working and breakout space at street level and a combination of private offices, meeting rooms and breakout spaces on the first floor.
Ben Davey, CEO of Barclays UK Ventures said: “Manchester has thrived on a spirit of innovation and industry - a spirit that led to the development of the world’s first programmable computer.
“Technology is now transforming the speed at which start-ups can grow and scale and by providing world class space and practical resources alongside our financial and business expertise, our mission is to help individuals, entrepreneurs and businesses to innovate, network and ultimately succeed.
“We recognise the importance of supporting entrepreneurs, start-ups and accelerating high-growth companies, and the vital role they play in creating a sustainable, prosperous Manchester economy.”


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Making touchscreens for iPhone is not easy. Reuters reports that a group of Wintek employees that were poisoned during the production of Apple touchscreens by the N-Hexane cleaners that their company used are making a direct appeal to Apple CEO Steve Jobs. The workers sent a letter to Jobs and they hope that Apple will take concern on the health of the workers and look ‘further’ into the slate of chemical poisonings at the plant which they said could still hurt their health badly.
Basically, the workers are asking Apple for an apology, and the coverage for their medical expenses. They even argued that Wintek has not given enough compensation to sick workers, and for those workers who agreed to have their medical bills paid for by Wintek also had to agree to have their work contracts terminated and will not be able to hold Apple or Wintek responsible for any possible future medical expenses that may arise. So, workers are not happy with the awful treatment they are getting while monthly profits at Apple and Wintek have gone up by tens of millions every month, ever since hexyl hydride was used.
The companies’ response? Wintek said it had used the chemical, which evaporates faster than alcohol, to speed up production of touch screens for Apple products. The use of hexyl hydride has since stopped at Wintek’s facilities. At the other side, Apple noted that Wintek had used the chemical in its yearly Supplier Responsibility Progress Report and the company had discontinued its use. What’s more, Apple confirmed that the poisoning happened due to faulty ventilation equipment and had ensured that the machinery was fixed and workers fully cured before work at the plant continued. However, Apple declined to comment on the workers’ letter and referred a reporter back to its supplier report.
Just in case you are not sure what’s the danger of using hexyl hydride, this chemical causes “sweaty hands and feet, sudden numbness in hands, swelling and pain in the feet, tiredness and faintness.” Daily exposure, such as what the workers faced, has long-term and possibly irreversible nerve damage.
There are more news flying around the Chinese web saying that the chemical caused paralysis in at least 101 workers at factory in Suzhou owned by Wintek, and there are rumors saying that workers are being forced to leave and receiving pay-offs as long as they forfeit their rights. Here’s something that catches our attention. A total of 58 workers resigned and agreed to have their contracts terminated and received pay-offs ranging from 70,000-140,000 Yuan ($10,600-$21,300), while others have chosen to stay in work for fear of losing our on medical entitlement in the future. And here’s what a worker says
“I cannot quit my job for my situation, because I don’t know what will happen in the future,”
A worker named Guo said, stating that if he were to quit work and become sick again in the future he wouldn’t have the money to pay for his own medical treatment. This sounds pathetic!
To conclude, we think Wintek should not take the risk to harm the workers’ health while speeding up the production of Apple touchscreens. Apple should set regulations for the Chinese factories to follow, so workers could have the rights to work in a better environment. Oh, one more thing, in an open letter published in a local Chinese newspaper, the Wintek workers referred to hexyl hydride as “a killer that strikes invisibly.”
There Are Too Much Light Pollution Over at Hong Kong Apple Stores
Amazon is the First Foreign Tech Company to Offer Paid Android apps in China
You Can Buy Fresh Crocodile Meat in China Supermarket
Lenovo First MediaTek-based Smartphone Teased by Kobe Bryant (Video)


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Ahead of Prime Day, Amazon India on Thursday announced the launch of ‘Multi-Seller Flex’ (MSF), an India first innovation to enable sellers from Tier-2 and below towns to earn a Prime badge for their listings and benefit with access to millions of Prime members. This launch will enable Amazon to offer customers a wider Prime selection and faster deliveries for Prime members, while enabling entrepreneurship and creation of thousands of indirect jobs in Tier-2 and below geographies.
Multi-Seller Flex sites are fulfilment centres spanning 2,000 sq ft on average, operated by authorised third-party service providers (local entrepreneurs). As part of the programme, Amazon.in partners with local entrepreneurs to provide sellers with storage for their inventory and processing of customer orders while Amazon will provide shipping and logistics support for seller shipments.
Sellers can engage with local entrepreneurs to send their products to the nearest MSF site and make them available to customers across the country enabling sellers to save on transportation costs associated with sending products to the Amazon Fulfilment Centres (FCs) outside their city. Small sellers who require support in storing their inventory and processing customer orders will benefit from this program. Thousands of sellers from about 100 tier-2 and below towns like Kottayam, Panipat, Nellore, Valsad, Hisar among others are already using MSF and will be participating during the upcoming Prime Day on July 26 and 27.
“With a higher number of sellers joining e-commerce from Tier-2 and below cities, we are partnering with third-party service providers who can benefit from the revenues they earn for owning and operating Multi-Seller Flex sites, to enable sellers from tier-2 and below to access Amazon Prime benefits to sell to customers across the country. The launch of MSF will also reduce the time to launch sellers’ products on the marketplace significantly and will also help in eliminating significant operational costs. These benefits can help support and drive the digitization of SMBs that seek to access and service a wide customer base through the online marketplace,” said Srikant Sreeram, Director, Seller Flex at Amazon India.


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- Dec 17, 2013
The beloved "tank gun" will also be added back into the campaign with this patch.
While the launch of Halo Infinite Season 2 has added a lot of great content to the game, it's been far from an ideal update to Xbox's flagship shooter. The patch controversially removed many of the skill jumps players had learned to perform in multiplayer, and it also removed the fan-favorite "tank gun" from the campaign, too. The update even introduced a new bug that caused the player's weapon to randomly stop firing during combat, making Halo Infinite's gameplay experience extremely frustrating for many.
Full story from the WindowsCentral blog...


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DUBAI, 20th October / WAM / The past months leading up to the launch of the global event “Expo 2020 Dubai” witnessed an exceptional growth in general in real estate sales transactions in terms of volume and value, but last September recorded a greater importance represented in being the most valuable month for real estate sales during the month One since December 2013, after witnessing sales of more than 16.2 billion dirhams, distributed over 5,762 pledges.
Thus, the value of real estate sales since the beginning of the year exceeded the 100 billion dirhams barrier, according to the data of the eighteenth edition of the official sales price index in Dubai, which was launched by the Dubai Land Department in cooperation with Property Finder.
According to the index data – which is taken from 2012 as the base year and from January 2012 as the base month and from the first quarter 2012 as the base quarter – the total monthly index recorded last September 1,115 points at a price of 1,065.816 dirhams, after the monthly index of apartments recorded 1.14 points at a price of 954.524 dirhams and 1 .098 points for the monthly index for villas at a price of 1,940.843 dirhams.. while the general quarterly index recorded in the third quarter of this year 1,128 points at a price of 1,053,263 dirhams, after the quarterly index for apartments recorded 1,134 points at a price of 946,644 dirhams and 1,124 points for the quarterly index For villas, the price is 1,954.802 dirhams.
September 2021 witnessed the registration of 5762 real estate sales worth 16.2 billion dirhams, which makes it the best month of September ever during the past eight years, bringing the total transactions since the beginning of the year until the end of September to 43,299 transactions worth 104.3 billion dirhams.
During the first 9 months of this year, the value of real estate sales transactions increased by 45.15% compared to the whole year 2020, making it the highest annual real estate sales value since 2017.
The secondary market/ready units accounted for 56% of the total sales during September 2021… while off-plan sales accounted for 44%.
With regard to the volume of transactions, off-plan sales dealt with 2,530 properties, with a total value of 5.1 billion dirhams, and this is the highest value of off-plan sales transactions witnessed by the real estate market in Dubai for more than 8 years. In turn, 3,232 properties were traded in the secondary market, with a total value of 11.1 billion dirhams during September 2021.
The third quarter of 2021 is the best third quarter in the history of the real estate sector in the Emirate of Dubai in terms of sales value and the best third quarter in terms of volume of transactions since 2009, when the third quarter of 2021 witnessed the registration of 15,927 real estate sales with a value of 42.35 billion dirhams.
By comparing the third quarter of 2021 with the third quarter of 2020, it showed an increase of 85.36% in the volume of sales transactions and an increase of 135.42 percent in the value of sales… While when compared with the period before the spread of “Covid-19”, the third quarter of 2021 showed an increase of 64.51% in The volume of transactions and 138.81 percent in the value of sales compared to the third quarter of 2019.
The secondary market/ready units accounted for 56.6% of the total sales during the third quarter of 2021, while off-plan sales accounted for 43.38%.
With regard to the volume of transactions, off-plan sales dealt with 6,909 properties, with a total value of 13.5 billion dirhams. In turn, 9,017 properties were traded in the secondary market, with a total value of 28.85 billion dirhams, during the third quarter of 2021.
When compared to the second quarter of 2021, the volume of off-plan sales increased by 14.67%, while secondary/ready properties sales decreased by 6.02%. While the value of off-plan sales transactions increased by 47.11% and the value of secondary market sales transactions increased by 4.24%.


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Hermes clicks with £10m Leica offer
French luxury goods house Hermess has unveiled plans for a partnership with the world's most celebrated camera maker, Leica. The collaboration, arising out of contacts between Hermes chairman Jean-Louis Dumas and Leica's new-broom boss Hanns-Peter Cohn, will be backed by an offer of 17m euros (£10.2m) by Hermes for up to 30% of Leica.
The move is the first by a luxury goods group into the world of cameras. However, it is a further sign of the new vigour injected into the 163-year-old Hermes by Dumas, the sixth generation of the founding family.
Leica was the inventor of the 35mm single-lens reflex camera back in 1925, revolutionising photo-journalism with a camera that was light and robust, and produced high-quality images.
But despite its reputation for outstanding optical quality and diversification into binoculars, compact cameras and sporting sights, the company, based in Solms, in the former West Germany, has in recent decades been confined to a niche role by Japanese competition.
A family business for a century, it was bought in the 1980s by Swiss-owned private investment group Lancet, which floated it on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 1996, retaining a 13.6% stake.
After two years of losses arising from distribution and management problems, Cohn, who was hired in January 1999, launched a restructuring programme that delivered a net profit of 500,000 euros in the year to 31 March on sales of 141m euros.
Exactly how the companies will work together remains to be decided. But according to Leica spokesman Gero Furchheim, Leica cameras share many characteristics with luxury products. 'Our M6 camera costs 2500 euros,' he said, 'but you can use it for 10 years and then sell it for as much as you paid for it, or even more.'
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Navistar Defense on Monday, Nov. 22, announced that it received a delivery order for 250 International MaxxPro Recovery vehicles from the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command. The $253 million order was placed under the company’s Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) indefinite delivery / indefinite quantity contract and includes contractor logistics support. This is Navistar’s eighth major MRAP variant.
Navistar originally unveiled the MaxxPro Recovery vehicle, also known as a wrecker variant, in February 2009 as a new utility vehicle offering. “We believe that part of industry’s role is to recognize a potential need before it becomes an absolute necessity,” said Archie Massicotte, president of Navistar Defense. For Navistar, that meant extending MRAP-level survivability to those running vehicle recovery and other support missions.”
The MaxxPro Recovery vehicle is based on the International WorkStar platform. MRAP ballistic, mine and improvised explosive device (IED) protection now will aid two- to three-man crews as they retrieve damaged or mission-disabled vehicles and carry out other support missions. Production of MaxxPro Recovery units, powered by the MaxxForce 9.3D engine, will be completed by fall 2011.
Navistar last month expanded its MRAP family of vehicles with the launch of the MaxxPro Dash Ambulance and MaxxPro Tractor. The company says its ability to grow its vehicle portfolio, with little lead time, occurs through the use of the existing commercial vehicle platforms.
“Our ambulance kit, which has received positive reviews from the U.S. Army Medical Department, can quickly turn any MaxxPro vehicle into a fully functioning ambulance and aid station – with full protection for both medics and patients,” Massicotte says. “The kit does not require new vehicles. Thanks to the flexibility of our proven truck platforms, we are able to quickly develop new vehicle solutions as well as vehicle variants like the MaxxPro Tractor.”
Ambulance kits include an easy-to-use litter assist system as well as a protected work space benefitting medics and patients. This solution paired with the company’s DXM independent suspension helps medical aid navigate rough terrain to get where it is needed. In addition to the MaxxPro Dash, the solution also is available for the MaxxPro Base and Plus.
The MaxxPro Tractor, powered by a MaxxForce D 13L engine, uses an A kit / B kit armor solution with MRAP-level protection available to allow two- to three-man crews to carry out support missions.


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Poshmark Inc. was just a dream and a prayer in 2011 when chief executive officer Manish Chandra and his cofounders started the social selling platform.
Now it’s just surpassed Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein parent PVH Corp. — at least on Wall Street, where market capitalizations can and do fluctuate wildly as companies, the market and investors all change.
Over time, though, stock price valuations often give a good read on just how powerful or disruptive a company can be. And after a day of trading, when Poshmark shares jumped more than 140 percent, it’s clear everyone should keep a close watch on the company.
At least in the eyes of the market, Poshmark has blown by secondhand luxe competitor The RealReal Inc. and techie newcomer to Wall Street Revolve Group Inc. The question is whether it can catch up with that other platform, Farfetch, which is on the ascent.
Here, the standings.
Poshmark’s Path: Straight to $7.4 Billion
The social selling firm is just nine years old and punching well above its weight on Wall Street.
|Market Capitalization (in billions)|
|Ulta Beauty Inc.||$17.0|
|Levi Strauss & Co.||$8.6|
|The Gap Inc.||$8.4|
|Ralph Lauren Corp.||$8.1|
|Stitch Fix Inc.||$7.9|
|Under Armour Inc.||$7.8|
|Capri Holdings Ltd.||$6.6|
|Columbia Sportswear Co.||$6.2|
|American Eagle Outfitters Inc.||$3.9|
|Revolve Group Inc.||$2.5|
|The RealReal Inc.||$2.4|
|Source: YahooFinance, WWD calculations.|
More from WWD:


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The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) is stretched to the breaking point in its effort to keep up with the flood of products coming into the United States from overseas. Over the last 10 years, imports have risen by 101 percent; last year, Chinese-produced goods accounted for nearly 42 percent of the total. This unprecedented volume, combined with short staffing and low funds, “strained the agency’s resources,” Nancy Nord, acting chairman of the CPSC, testified in July 2007. The agency recalled 473 products — more than 80 percent of which were imports, in fiscal year 2007. But according to watchdog group OMBWatch, “neither CPSC regulations nor enforcement practices have kept up with a changing marketplace.” In countries like China, where products can be made at a reduced cost, companies often cut corners to save money, but do so at the expense of consumer safety. After summer 2007, when more than 2.5 million toys had to be recalled, Nord issued a statement that “vital talks” were taking place between the CPSC and the Chinese government. Nonetheless, watchdogs say that major blame falls on the CSPC for its failure to oversee the shipment, distribution, and sales of toxic products to American consumers. “When it comes to CPSC’s ability to stop unsafe products from reaching the market, they fall short,” Senators Dick Durbin and Amy Klobuchar wrote to Nord in August 2007. “We must get to the bottom of how this is happening and stop these unsafe toys from reaching our store shelves and our kids’ hands.” A CPSC spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment, but Commissioner Thomas Moore told Congress in April that “last year’s heightened activities with respect to imported toys, in particular, clearly illustrate the benefits of a strong CPSC federal presence in today’s consumer product marketplace.”
In 2007 the President’s Interagency Import Safety Working Group issued a plan for participating in international forums and global agreements while taking stricter enforcement actions. In response, CPSC has made agreements with 15 foreign agencies, including China, to establish close working relationships on product safety. In January 2008, the CPSC created a new import surveillance division, placing full-time inspectors at U.S. ports. Additionally, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 authorized the CPSC to implement mandatory safety standards for imports, require testing by an independent laboratory, and subject foreign manufacturers to civil and criminal penalties if necessary. It remains unclear, however, if CPSC will have enough inspectors and other staff to do its job properly. In late November, Nord said that due to being “resource constrained,” a database required by the act has yet to be started, and that other major CSPC initiatives have also stalled, as staff have had to “pull back” on the creation of voluntary safety standards.
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InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – Director of Indonesian Commodity and Derivative Exchange (ICDX), Nursalam said physical crude palm oil (CPO) trade was firstly running since it was launched last week.
“The first trade would be the good moment for CPO industries in Indonesia that would prioritize fair, credible, and efficient trade,” Nursalam said, as in the official statement to InfoSAWIT, Saturday (21/10/2023).
Meanwhile Director of ICDX, Yugieandy Tirta said that the first physical CPO trade was the local one which was handed over from Dumai within its Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certificate. It reached 100 tons with the match price through dutch auction mechanism. It reached Rp 11.305,00/kg. it is also hoped to be the flame for CPO industries in Indonesia to get more synergy in CPO exchange.
VP Membership ICDX, Yohanes F Silaen said that since on 16 October 2023 until now, the participants joining the socialization and training schedules to know every regulation and mechanism reached 32 companies and 57 participants. The numbers showed that the stakeholders were enthusiastic in Indonesian CPO exchange. (T2)


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© Reuters. Elon Musk’s Ex-Girlfriend Grimes Says Mark Zuckerberg ‘Wildly Under Qualified’ To Run Metaverse
Benzinga – Tesla CEO Elon Musk‘s ex-girlfriend Grimes says that Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg isn’t the right person to run the metaverse.
On Friday, Aug. 26, she went on Twitter to say Zuckerberg is “under qualified” to launch the metaverse.
Claire Boucher, the Canadian musician known as Grimes, expressed concerns about Zuckerberg overseeing the virtual world.
She also mocked Zuckerberg’s metaverse avatar and said, “this is bad art,” and even an indie game looks better than this.
If zuck “oversees the Metaverse”, it is dead and people who care about art and culture are building something else. also this is bad art
The quality of this image alone speaks to how wildly under qualified he is to build alternate reality, literally every indie game looks better https://t.co/n8Cuv4f0uJ pic.twitter.com/0G46MlWIP2


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- Facebook-parent Meta is planning to enter the booming market for non-fungible tokens.
- The social-media giant is planning to allow users to create and sell NFTs.
- The plans are still in the early stages, but they will likely hinge on the company’s crypto wallet Novi.
Meta is working on plans to allow users to create and sell non-fungible tokens as Facebook’s parent company seeks to join the rush of companies trying to capitalize on the digital collectible craze. Facebook has recently announced a major investment into the metaverse, which it mostly defines in terms of virtual and augmented reality.
If the company launches such tools, it would be the biggest show of mainstream support for NFTs to date and help solidify the controversial assets’ place in the digital world. This report should not come as a surprise. Last October, Mark Zuckerberg spoke about digital goods in his future vision of the metaverse and specifically referenced NFTs. In December, Instagram’s head Adam Mosseri specifically said that he believed it was “an interesting space” that Instagram could actively take a part in to “hopefully help creators.”
Meta is planning to allow users to create and sell NFTs
Teams at Facebook and Instagram are readying a feature that will allow users to display their NFTs on their social media profiles, as well as working on a prototype to help users create — or mint — the collectible tokens, according to several people familiar with the matter. The news comes just days after a report that Walmart is preparing to launch its own NFT collection, and other major brands such as Nike and Coca-Cola have already dipped their toes in the space as well.
Adam Mosseri, the chief executive officer of Meta-owned Instagram, said the platform was “actively exploring NFTs” and features to make them more accessible, but he didn’t provide any specific details. In case Instagram and Facebook set their step in the NFT digital assets market, the technology will surely become more substantial than it is currently. Twitter and Reddit are also said to be working on integrating the NFT and Blockchain technologies on their platforms.
Thanks for Reading!!