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Apple, China Mobile talks for iPhone break downChina Mobile will not carry Apple's iPhone after the two companies failed to reach a deal to bring the device to the populous Asian country.
The breakdown has been given only the briefest of confirmations by the Chinese provider, which counts more than 350 million subscribers — more than the entire US population.
"Our parent has terminated talks with Apple over the iPhone," a China Mobile spokeswoman says.
The news appears to substantiate claims late last year that Apple has been struggling to land deals for the iPhone in China. At the time, Apple was reportedly at an impasse over its insistence that any carrier share its monthly subscription revenues — an income split that has allegedly encountered opposition in multiple countries but may be particularly insurmountable in China, according to reports.
"The two have very strong egos and, as in any relationship, that often doesn't work," says research firm BDA China's chairman, Duncan Clark.
Concerns may also exist over Apple's tendency towards deals that require a locked SIM (subscriber information) card, which would prevent Chinese iPhone users from jumping between networks either in the country or while traveling.
Apple is not limited to considering China Mobile and may instead entertain a deal with its next-largest option, China Unicom. The firm said last year that it was not committed to the iPhone but was receptive to the possibility of supporting the iPhone.
On Topic: iPhone
- Apple's installment-based iPhone trade-up program comes to France, Italy & Spain
- Samsung to bring web-based 'SamsungPay Mini' to iPhones - report
- Rumor: leaked schematics reaffirm dual-lens camera, Smart Connector for 'iPhone 7 Plus'
- Eric Schmidt says he uses an iPhone, but claims to prefer Samsung's Galaxy
- Alleged 'iPhone 7' production plates, schematics show no sign of Smart Connector


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Stories tagged: BBB TIp of the Week
Sun., March 24, 2019
Nothing makes us feel better than getting a voice mail from an “old friend,” right? But what if the name and voice don’t sound familiar? That’s because it’s really a …
Sun., March 10, 2019
The excitement of March Madness provides an opportunity for scammers to take advantage of fans eager to see their favorite teams.
Sun., Feb. 24, 2019
School trips can be incredible, life-changing experiences for students. But don’t let scamsters steal the magic of such experiences.
Sun., Feb. 17, 2019
Better Business Bureau is seeing an increasing number of scammers hiding behind fake phone personas to trick consumers. BBB Scam Tracker received more than 500 reports last year about callers …
Sun., Feb. 10, 2019
With Valentine’s Day coming up, BBB Northwest and Pacific wants you to be aware of the realities of romance scams and armed with tips to protect yourself. Dating in the …
Sun., Feb. 3, 2019
Getting calls or emails from scammers is commonplace these days. For many, the frustration revolves around how these people get their number or email?
Sun., Jan. 27, 2019
Tax season is just around the corner, and that means the opportunities for bad guys to snatch and use consumers’ personal information are at their greatest.
Sun., Jan. 20, 2019
Some customers of gun equipment company Badger Mountain Supply say the company never delivered the products they ordered.
Sun., Jan. 13, 2019
Many retailers, both online and brick-and-mortar, have return policies in place to not only protect the consumer but their businesses as well.
Sun., Dec. 30, 2018
This New Year, you may resolve to eat healthier, get organized or find a new job. But add to your list of resolutions a promise to be savvier about scams.
Sun., Dec. 23, 2018
As shoppers set records on spending, Better Business Bureau urges consumers to be prepared for scammers looking to take a bit of your holiday cheer.
Sun., Dec. 16, 2018
BBB Tip of the Week: Study finds deceptive free trial scams rake in millions with misleading ads, fake celebrity endorsements.
An in-depth investigative study by Better Business Bureau, however, found that many of these free trial offers are not free. BBB receives complaints from free trial offer victims nearly every …
Sun., Dec. 2, 2018, 1 a.m.
Two-factor authentication is a security measure many companies use to help keep your accounts safer. But scammers have devised ways to impersonate those alerts and steal login information. Since Cyber …
Sun., Nov. 25, 2018
The Better Business Bureau is reminding consumers that the online “Secret Sister” gift exchange and similar invitations are illegal and should be ignored.
Sun., Nov. 11, 2018
Better Business Bureau Northwest and Pacific wants to make sure you are informed with tips to stay safe during this holiday employment season.
Sun., Nov. 4, 2018
The world of cryptocurrency has been a hot topic around the world and as the popularity of cryptocurrency investing increases, so does the frequency with which scammers target would-be investors.
Sun., Oct. 28, 2018
Shopping to decorate for Halloween should be a fun-filled experience – not a terrifying one.
Sun., Oct. 21, 2018
“DING.” Your cell phone just got a text message. “BUZZ.” You have just gotten an email. “BING.” Across your screen comes a notification that your cellphone carrier has updated the …
Sun., Oct. 7, 2018
Better Business Bureau Northwest and Pacific is participating in the 15th annual National Cybersecurity Awareness month campaign aimed at raising the public’s awareness of the basic steps needed to stay …
Sun., Sept. 30, 2018
Better Business Bureau Northwest and Pacific has seen an increase in complaints nationwide regarding a licensing website claiming to be based in Idaho.
Sun., Sept. 23, 2018
Identity theft can happen to anyone, but consumers have a new free tool to help protect themselves against scammers who would steal their financial information.
Sun., Sept. 16, 2018
Grandparents Day was Sep., and it has been shown recently that older consumers have the lowest risk of being scammed. However, that does not mean scammers are not targeting this …
Sun., Sept. 9, 2018
When you dial customer support, be sure to double-check – or triple-check – the phone number. Scammers are buying phone numbers similar to the customer support numbers of major companies …
Sun., Sept. 2, 2018
Scammers almost always look for ways to benefit from disaster. In the wake of a natural disaster, and Better Business Bureau Northwest and Pacific is urging donors to give thoughtfully.
Sun., Aug. 26, 2018
A new twist on an
Sun., Aug. 19, 2018
Parents want their dollars go the furthest when purchasing items for children going back to grade school. For parents who have kids going to college, it’s essential to take time …
Sun., Aug. 12, 2018
The live sports season is upon us with our favorite college, NFL and local teams beginning seasons. Better Business Bureau Northwest and Pacific is offering some tips to make sure …
Sun., Aug. 5, 2018
Better Business Bureau is alerting consumers nationwide of misleading mailings from the insurance referral company,
Sun., July 29, 2018
The BBB Torch Awards program honors companies and charities who demonstrate a high level of integrity and ensure that the organization’s practices meet the highest standards of ethics.
Sun., July 22, 2018, 5 a.m.
Summer is the time to have fun outside, explore your area and possibly take in a concert or festival. While these summer activities sound enticing, consumers should be wary when …

domain: news


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There is a report on the internet that the major record labels are going to abandon CDs by the end of 2012, if not sooner. Can anybody on this forum confirm whether or not this is a bogus report?
I heard the same thing about LP's 25 years ago .
I read an interview with a major record label exec that said CD sales are brisk and would be around for a long time .
Music servers may be the up and coming thing , but there is still much room for other formats .
I hope your right!
There is a article in Rolling Stone Magazine predicting the demise of CDs with Paul McCartney on the cover. Anybody read it?
They are not reprinting even sold-out titles! As a matter of fact, CD stores in major cities are all but closed down.
Record labels will be the next to vanish. There is no need for such companies to exist any more. Artists will sell their products directly on Apple or Google or from their websites.
You will see only Bluray movie titles on shops!
Where do you live? In a remote sparsely populated country side?
All CD-only vendors are gone in major cities. They only operate in remote country towns where there are very little alternative entertainment exists!
CDs still account for 60% of revenue. Why on earth would they abandon them? And just like vinyl making a comeback , not everyone wants low fidelity mp3 files, and loss less selection is sparse.
The record companies will not be abandoning CDs or LPs any time some since no matter what their flaws physical media is still makes a lot more money for the record companies and the artists than does streaming. By streaming I am referring to people listening to music via sites and services like Pandora and Spotify and the income stream from streaming is a small fraction of the income from sales of physical media or even downloads,
But I agree that the selection of legally available lossless downloads is not very good, however the selection of less than legal lossless downloads has been and remains very extensive in spite of the best efforts of the record companies and the US Justice Department.
LP's account for a very very small part of revenue for the record companys but I doubt the'll disapear anytime soon .


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Displaying items 1-12 of 130
Small Business Saturday news, photos and video - herald-mail.com
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Small Business Saturday
Apr 1, 2013 |Story| Los Angeles Times
Apr 1, 2013 |Story| Los Angeles Times
A collection of news and information related to Small Business Saturday published by this site and its partners.
Displaying items 1-12 of 56 » View herald-mail.com items only1 2 3 4 5 Next >
email@example.comThe struggles of operating a successful business in downtown Hagerstown are not a new theme. Numerous longtime businesses have left City Center over the past few years, either for greener pastures outside the downtown or because they could not survive....
Tags: Business, Economic Policy, Washington, DC
firstname.lastname@example.orgA few snowflakes and decidedly cooler temperatures Saturday didn’t seem to slow holiday gift buying at least at a few businesses in downtown Hagerstown. Bikle’s Ski Shop on North Potomac Street was abuzz with activity as customers tried on...
email@example.comBig crowds, long lines and Black Friday sales at many big-box stores throughout the area have welcomed the holiday shopping season, but many locally owned businesses are hoping shoppers will think small this weekend. Small Business Saturday, an...
TidewaterBizThe Retail Alliance is moving forward with the development of a buy-local campaign after most of the businesses it surveyed wanted to move forward on the project. Of the 50 businesses surveyed, 74 percent wanted to continue developing a campaign and...
Just as Tom and Claudia Towles were opening their second Baltimore toy shop four years ago, the recession hit. The owners of aMuse Toys decided to cut back — not on staff or selling space — but on the number of manufacturers whose products...
Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to President Barack Obama who grew up in Chicago, visited two South Side stores Saturday afternoon as part of a nationwide effort to support small businesses during the holiday shopping season. Jarrett stopped by...
Spotlights searched the evening sky in Hinsdale, possibly looking for that red-suited man who appeared on time and as expected at the village's annual Christmas Walk, an event that kicks off the holiday season. The spotlights, however, weren't going...
The Religion WorldJon Ostendorff with USA Today writes about charities trying to create a new holiday tradition: #GivingTuesday: ASHEVILLE, N.C. (RNS) In the days following Thanksgiving, there's already Black Friday and Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday to kick off...
Pretzels, tattoos, and gambling can save the U.S. economy. In "By the Numbers: How Americans Spend Their Money," Lucas Reilly reports that in 2011, Americans spent trillions shopping for all sorts of sine qua nons: $550 million on pretzels, $96 billion on...
The classy Christmas at the Ritz holiday luncheon Saturday benefiting Chapman University attracted a sold-out crowd, raising nearly $190,000. The 26th annual celebration is produced by the Women of Chapman support group, this season chaired by the...
Trying to make sense of the Obama administration denying federal relief to Maryland for the flooding and other damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, and I'm coming up dry. No one besides maybe Grover Norquist would have beefed had Maryland picked up a few...
Nobody asked me but ... if one is urged to support small retailers during the holiday shopping season, one might expect the municipalities in which they are located to take a holiday on parking tickets. Consider what happened to Debbie Bakalich when she...
Jan 13, 2013 |Story| Herald Mail
Nov 24, 2012 |Story| Herald Mail
Nov 23, 2012 |Story| Herald Mail
May 14, 2013 |Story| Daily Press
Nov 25, 2012 |Story| Baltimore Sun
Nov 25, 2012 |Story| Chicago Tribune
Dec 6, 2012 |Story| Chicago Tribune
Nov 26, 2012 | Orlando Sentinel
Dec 9, 2012 |Column| South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Dec 6, 2012 |Story| Daily Pilot
Dec 5, 2012 |Column| Baltimore Sun
Dec 3, 2012 |Column| Baltimore Sun
Original site for Small Business Saturday topic gallery.
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Bungie has officially announced today the sequel to Destiny, its popular multiplayer FPS that was released on Xbox consoles back in 2013. The new title, called Destiny 2, was officially revealed with a simple picture on Bungie's Twitter account (via Polygon):
— Destiny 2 (@DestinyTheGame) March 27, 2017
Not much is known about the game so far, except that it will be released on the Xbox One and Sony's Playstation 4 in Fall 2017. Last month, publisher Activision announced during its 2016 Q4 results that the new installment would "broaden the franchise’s global reach, which along with follow-on content plans, sets the stage for growth.”
We should learn more about Destiny 2 in the coming months, but in the meantime we remind you that the original Destiny game will receive its fourth and last expansion called "Age of Triumph" tomorrow, March 28. You can watch the launch trailer below:
Are you looking forward to play Destiny 2 on your Xbox One this fall? Let us know your thought's about Bungie's upcoming game in the comments.


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Public health experts are demanding that electronic cigarettes be renamed in a bid to reverse their fast-growing appeal to young people.
The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) wants the devices to no longer be described as anything involving the word "cigarettes" and instead become classified as "nicotine sticks".
Strong action is needed to stop young people in particular seeing e-cigarettes as cool and glamorous, as some may then start smoking real cigarettes as a result, it fears.
"What's in a name? Quite a lot actually, when it comes to electronic cigarettes. Our view is that they should not be called 'e-cigarettes'. We need to distance the naming from cigarettes", Shirley Cramer, the society's chief executive, told the Guardian.
"A name change would minimise the appeal of such cigarettes to young people. We want to ensure that these products don't begin to be seen as lifestyle choices and as something that appears cool or trendy and we would thus want to see them called 'nicotine sticks' or something like that", Cramer added.
"If you called them nicotine sticks instead, it would make them less attractive and would hopefully discourage young people from using them and make them less swayed by all the advertising and marketing."
The RSPH, which represents 6,000 public health specialists across the UK, wants e-cigarette manufacturers to voluntarily agree to change the names or, if they do not, for ministers to consider legislating.
E-cigarettes were invented in China as a way of helping smokers quit, but are often used for pleasure by smokers who are not trying to kick the habit. Doctors and health charities are divided over the threat posed by the devices, which an estimated 2.1 million Britons use, and how to limit harm from them, though hard evidence about their impact is still in short supply.
Next week a group of leading British experts, including Professor Robert West, the director of tobacco research at University College London, will publish a detailed critique in the journal Addiction, of the World Health Organisation's demand this week for tighter regulation of e-cigarettes, including a ban on using them indoors.
In a new policy paper on how to respond to their growing popularity the RSPH says: "Electronic cigarettes are significantly less harmful than smoked tobacco, and despite some products being visually similar to cigarettes, they are essentially nicotine containing products, or NCPs, like patches and gum". Renaming them "nicotine sticks" would remind consumers of their true purpose, Cramer said.
ASH, the anti smoking charity, backed a name change. "ASH shares RSPH's concern that the term 'e-cigarette' is not a particularly useful description given that the products are not cigarettes, do not contain tobacco and they are not smoked. Including 'cigarette' in the name is confusing and does little to help public understanding of these devices", said Amanda Sandford, its research manager.
"Finding the right word is tricky but as users are increasingly referring to the products as 'vapourisers' and the act of using them as 'vaping', this may be preferable", she added.
The RSPH also wants tight controls on the promotion of e-cigarettes, such as the endorsement of particular brands by celebrities such as Mischa Barton, Bruno Mars and Rick Rock, and their positioning in shops, which can often be close to confectionery.
A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "We have no plans to regulate the names used for these products. But we are taking steps to protect children by banning them for under 18s and the European Tobacco products Directive [in 2016] will bring in new rules about how they are advertised."


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TiVo, the company that ushered in the age of the DVR, will be phasing out support for its Series 1 DVR at the end of this month. That was the granddaddy of the TV recording software — once so prevalent it became a verb – first launched in 1999.
“Honestly I would put it up there with the iPhone as one of the key products of the new century quite frankly,” said John Falcone, executive editor of CNET.com.
It may be shocking to newer humans, but back in the day we were largely limited to watching shows at the time they aired, on schedule. Yes there were VCRs, but if you hadn’t set it up to record something in advance (a cumbersome skill that many of us never mastered), you were out of luck.
With the advent of DVR, people could watch their shows whenever they wanted, and strip the commercials out. The tables started to turn on network TV and cable, and it marked a new age of streaming, on demand, and binge watching.
But the very things DVR ushered in now compete with it.
“As we move to more and more internet distribution, yeah, DVR can go away, except to skip commercials during the game,” said Andy Hargreaves, director and senior research analyst at Pacific Crest Securities.
TiVo itself was bought earlier this year by a company called Rovi for $1.1 billion. Tivo still has 10 million subscriber households and it licenses its technology to other companies.
“We have evolved our products and offerings to power and participate in a lot more than DVR over the past few years,” said Jim Denney, VP of product management and strategy at TiVo.
TiVo’s first Series 1 customers were offered lifetime subscriptions, and with the retirement of the box those subscriptions now end. Tivo is offering a credit and a discount to compensate them. In hindsight, the idea of a lifetime subscription to anything in digital media seems a little … risky.
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Snapdeal's galloping progress
14 Jun 2011
- Snapdeal was launched in 2010 on the model of Groupon, the world's largest online deals seller.
- The revenues of the company had been growing at 100%, selling unused inventories. It took a 35% cut for any deal from the merchant.
- Vinod Dham, a well-known silicon valley investor, along with Bazee.com co-founder, Suvir Sujan, had invested $12 million in the company.
A village named 'Snapdeal'
In 2011, Shiv Nagar, a village in UP, was renamed as Snapdeal. com nagar after the company installed 15 hand pumps in the village.
Business model changed from coupons to e-commerce
26 Jan 2012
- Within 2 years of its launch, Snapdeal changed from a group discounting website to one of the largest e-commerce sites in India.
- Kunal Bahl, the company's CEO and co-founder said that deals could only serve as the entry point into the life of the customer.
- Bahl stressed that Snapdeal's model was more customer centric than Groupon.
Snapdeal gets Rs 3,762 crore from SoftBank
28 Oct 2014
- Japan based internet and telecom giant SoftBank invested $627 million in Snapdeal.
- The announcement came after SoftBank told about its plans to invest $10 billion in India, marking the country as 'its top priority'.
- Snapdeal planned to use the amount to make acquisitions in the near-future.
- Snapdeal was also planning to open a R&D centre in Bangalore.
Snapdeal grew 600% in 2014, says its CEO
1 Jan 2015
- Snapdeal termed 2014 as a phenomenal year with 65% of the orders coming through mobile devices.
- The Delhi based firm said that it emerged as one of the top five searched sites on the internet in the country in 2014.
- Kunal Bahl, the company's CEO, said that Snapdeal had reached over 40 million people.
- Snapdeal, as of this time, offered over 5 million products.
Snapdeal acquires FreeCharge for Rs 2,800 crore
8 Apr 2015
- Snapdeal announced the buyout of FreeCharge for $400 million.
- This is the largest acquisition by an Indian company. This overtakes Flipkart's $370 million acquisition of Myntra last year.
- The combined entity will now have over 1 million mobile based transactions every day.
- FreeCharge's user base in more than 20 million.
$500 million fresh funding for Snapdeal
19 Aug 2015
- Snapdeal raised $500 million in fresh funds from Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group, Foxconn Technology Group and existing investor SoftBank Group.
- This transaction would value Snapdeal at more than $5 billion.
- FIH Mobile, a unit of Taiwan's Foxconn said it was buying a 4.27% stake for $200 million.
- On the other hand, eBay - an existing investor, sold a portion of its stake.
Snapdeal raises new round; valuation up by $2 billion
15 Feb 2016
- Snapdeal has raised another $200 million or ₹1,367.6 crore, just seven months after it raised $500 million.
- Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Brother Fortune Apparel and Iron Pillar were the major investors in this current round of funding.
- With the latest round of funding the company has been valued above $6.5 billion, making it the second most valued ecommerce company in India after Flipkart.
Anand Chandrasekaran resigns as Snapdeal CPO
24 May 2016
- Anand Chandrasekaran, who had joined Snapdeal a year ago, has resigned as the e-commerce giant's Chief Product Officer.
- Further details weren't revealed; also Chandrasekaran's next move is undisclosed.
- The Stanford University alumni resigned as Airtel's CPO to join Snapdeal in June'15.
- Bidding farewell, Snapdeal Co-founder Rohit Bansal tweeted today that he was proud of the 'super work' done by Chandrasekaran and his product team.
Housing CEO Jason Kothari joins Snapdeal
11 Jan 2017
- Jason Kothari, who steered Housing.com toward a merger with PropTiger, has been appointed as the Chief Strategy and Investments officer at Snapdeal.
- The company said Jason would be involved with leading strategy, raising new capital, investments and strategic partnerships, as well as managing Snapdeal's portfolio.
- Snapdeal added that Kothari would work alongside founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal.
Snapdeal losses increased in FY16
18 Jan 2017
- Snapdeal posted a 150% increase in its losses from March'15; from ₹1,328 crore to ₹3,316 crore.
- In the same time period, revenue grew by 56% from ₹933 crore to ₹1,457 crore.
- The company said "there was an increase in fulfilment and overhead expenses," due to new infrastructure investments.
- Snapdeal slipped to number 3 from number 2 in the Indian e-commerce space in 2016.
In biggest single ecommerce deal, Snapdeal gets Rs 3,762 cr investment from Softbank - Financial Express
Another one bites the dust in ecommerce space! Now Anand Chandrasekaran quits Snapdeal - The Economic Times
Snapdeal acquires mobile recharge and m-commerce company Freecharge, for a reported Rs 2,800 crore | Latest Tech News, Video & Photo Reviews at BGR India


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MEPs voted with an overwhelming majority on my Report on the Digital Services Act.
Members of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee set out their demands on how digital services, including online platforms and marketplaces, should be regulated in a vote on Monday.
For my work as a rapporteur on this Report, I was selected a few times by international media, such as Politico and the Parliament Magazine, as one of Brussels’ key players on digital issues.
Addressing a press conference in the European Parliament, straight after the vote, I remarked that after months of negotiations, more than 1000 Amendments, and 56 pages of compromise text, I was glad to announce that we adopted with an overwhelming majority a strong and very progressive report on the Digital Services Act.
We live in a digital world where digital services have become the new utilities of our time and their importance for our social and economic lives will only continue to grow.
The Report is catching up with those new realities, and it is enforcing a unique, holistic, common approach built on trust, choice, and a high level of consumers, citizens, and SMEs protection.
The Report proposes specific measures to tackle current shortcomings in the online environment in its DSA package due to be presented by the Commission at the end of the year. The principle of “what is illegal offline is also illegal online,” as well as the principles of consumer protection and user safety, should become “guiding principles” of the future digital services, the Report says.
For the first time, we are introducing at EU level new concepts, such as Know your Business customer, ex-ante rules for the digital sectors, special responsibilities for online market places to guarantee the safety of our consumers, stricter rules on targeted advertising and AI mechanisms and a scope that will encompass companies established even outside the EU.
The measures adopted in the Report, have at their core, the main objective of fostering competition and innovation of our European companies and providing a better and safer digital environment to our citizens and consumers when they use social media platforms like Facebook or when they use online market places like Amazon and eBay.


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Bain & Company, the management firm based in Boston, has once again topped Glassdoor’s annual list of the 100 best places to work.
The consultancy, one of the largest in the world, has been a fixture near the top of the list since it debuted in 2009, claiming the number one spot several times along the way.
“COVID-19 is in the driver’s seat and every employer has been impacted. This year’s winning employers have proven, according to employees, that even during extraordinary times, they’ll rise to the challenge to support their people,” said Glassdoor CEO Christian Sutherland-Wong.
Cambridge-based software company Hubspot also scored high marks at No. 4. It was No. 1 in 2020.
Boston Consulting Group, another of the major consulting firms, landed at No. 12 on the list. MathWorks, the mathematical computing software company headquartered in Natick, is at No. 25. Market research company Forrester, headquartered in Cambridge, sits at No. 32, and Massachusetts General Hospital is No. 74.
Several mainstay tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, which have offices around Kendall Square in Cambridge, are also high up the list.
Thrasio, a Walpole ecommerce company that buys businesses that sell on Amazon, made it on a separate Glassdoor list of the top 50 small and medium-sized workplaces.
Glassdoor’s lists are compiled based on employee ratings and reviews submitted to the website.
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Dexter's Cleaning Company wants all the purchases to be for the elderly and vulnerable only. For this, they also started an online store where you can order for the elder ones and they will deliver. They also donated all their current stock of toilet papers to them during the major crisis.
After the major toilet paper crises, this one man who is the boss of a cleaning company decided to step in and help the elderly people. He has donated $5,000 worth of rolls to the disabled and elderly citizens of Australia and also started an online store to help stop the crisis. Dexter's Cleaning wants people to order from their online store for the elderly and they will deliver it to them.
The boss of Dexter's Cleaning in Melbourne has donated around 8,000 rolls of toilet paper to the elder citizens who are at high risk because of the deadly virus.
As the supermarkets keep getting empty in Australia, this man decided to help the people and has donated $5,000 worth of rolls to people in need.
He heard about the need for toilet papers for the elderly through the radio station Fox FM and immediately decided to help.
'I heard the presenters were looking for companies to donate to people who are struggling, so I sent them my remaining stock,' he said.
'Look at all the toilet rolls!' they wrote on Instagram, sharing a photo of the piles of toilet paper Mr. Gordon donated.
'Thanks so much Dexter's Cleaning.'
'I'm getting another order in tomorrow and as a result started an online store so that people can help look after those around them,' he said.
They have started to help people this way after the major toilet paper crisis which has caused supermarket giants such as Coles, Woolworths, and Aldi to the crackdown. Many of the supermarket giants have now imposed a one-pack per shop restriction.
Image Credits: Dexter's Cleaning/Instagram


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U.S. judge says China's ZTE violates probation; extends monitor's term
A U.S. federal judge on Wednesday issued an order finding that China`s ZTE Corp violated probation imposed in March 2017 when the company pleaded guilty to illegally shipping goods to Iran despite U.S. sanctions.
In his order, U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade in Dallas extended until 2022 the term of a monitor he appointed to assess the telecommunication equipment maker`s compliance with U.S. export control laws. The monitorship originally was scheduled to end in 2020.
The probation violation cited by the judge was the same conduct the U.S. Department of Commerce penalized in April by imposing a ban on U.S. companies selling goods to ZTE.
The Commerce Department said ZTE made false statements about disciplining 35 employees involved in the illegal shipping of U.S.-origin goods to Iran.
The ban was lifted in July after ZTE reached a settlement with Commerce.
(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
05:15 AM IST


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The long-awaited moment has finally arrived where 16 well selected ladies will be officially unveiled to Ghana and the world as a whole; after a careful keen search, organizers of the 15th edition of Miss Malaika Ghana are ready to announce their top most 16 delegates at the Accra Mall come Tuesday, August 22 at 7 PM.
Top 16 Malaika delegates to be unveiled on August 22
This year marks the 15th edition of the Miss Malaika Ghana Beauty pageant and organizers say standards will not be compromised at any stage and would be maintained at every stage of the competition from start to finish.
Manywere the ladies who turned up for the auditions a couple of weeks ago after the announcement was made on various media platforms. It turned out to be another eventful moment when ladies across the breadth and length of Ghana trooped in, in their numbers to experience the most talked about auditions.
The audition session took off as ladies introduced themselves to judges present after a brief catwalk. They were given the opportunity to attempt to answer basic questions and were scored accordingly.
Twenty-Four (24) ladies out of the many were carefully selected after judges scored, compared score sheets and deliberations. The selected 24 went through an intensive book camp session for a couple of days; where they participated and competed in a series of activities.
At the end of the day, 16 ladies had their dreams come true as they finally made it to the Malaika House. The official unveiling of these ladies is scheduled for Tuesday, August 22 at the Accra Mall. The Night will showcase the 16 selected delegates who would flaunt their intelligence, Eloquence and boldness, coupled with utmost beauty.
The delegates will show forth their abilities and exhibit their intelligence, boldness and beauty.
The Miss Malaika Ghana Beauty Reality show has churned out 14 Queens among which are Naa Oyo Quartey-2013, Eirene Binabiba-2014, Kuukua Korsah-2015 and the 2016 reigning Queen, Leah Brown.
Over the years, The Miss Malaika Ghana brand has created a platform for many young ladies to peruse their dreams and ambitions.
Miss Malaika Ghana 2017 is sponsored by Menzgold and Optimal Hair Relaxer; With Support from GLAMs Make Up, Kenya Airways, Premium Motors, Lux, Rexona, Frytol, Fortune Rice, Tomreik Hotel and powered by Charterhouse.
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Paytronix Systems Inc. announced that HuHot Mongolian Grill has won the 2019 Paytronix Loyalty Award for Marketing Innovation.
HuHot found that overall customers spent a whopping 80% more than the cost of the pass during the six months in which its Grill Pass campaign ran. Grill Passes gave HuHot customers the opportunity to pre-purchase 5, 11, or 25 discounted grill meals for redemption in the future. Pass holders then had up to six months to redeem their pass.
HuHot reported high-impact results:
- Total sales reached over half a million dollars with $280,000 in incremental sales
- 30% increase in visits from Grill Pass purchasers during the redemption period
- Grill Pass subscribers spent 44%more than usual during the redemption period
The Paytronix platform delivered a frictionless guest experience for purchasing and redeeming the Grill Passes by allowing HuHot to customize its program and integrate loyalty functionality with their own POS system.
“Paytronix provided us with deep analytical campaign insights we were not able to do on our own,” said Stephanie Krause, senior vice president of marketing for HuHot. “This was the first promotion of this sort we’ve offered and we were eager to see what worked and what didn’t. Being able to view pre- and post- campaign incremental spend was hugely valuable.””
Read the full story on HuHot’s award-winning campaign here: www.paytronix.com/resources/huhot-case-study


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PARIS RETAIL WEEK organizes its launching conference on Tuesday, 5th June in the GS1 offices in Paris. The 2018 global theme will be "Smart Phygital: the new retail paradigm".
PARIS RETAIL WEEK is organizing a conference on Thursday 14 June in the Belgian capital to present the 2018 edition and its guiding thread "Smart Phygital”
Since March 2018, Arnaud Gallet has been Director of Paris Retail Week and Director of iMedia Brand Summit France.
2018, the year of privacy! The GDPR will soon be with us and will provide an occasion for retailers to leverage this transparency while updating their use of data.
Do not wait any longer to register to the next edition of the show which will be held from 10 to 12 September 2018.
with the support of
Trends and expertise in 360° retailVisit our blog
10th to 12th September 2018


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Trending on Silicon Canals
Enabling carers and nurses to retrieve the memories of people with dementia. That’s what the three HvA-engineering graduates from illi Engineering have achieved by developing their Magical Interactive Painting. Although not officially a medtech company, their product is of tremendous help to nurses and carers, and increases the quality of life for elderly people with alzheimers by bringing back cherished memories. This Ace Venture Lab Alumnus consists of founders Ruurd Bell, Mike Oudshoorn and Laurean Serné. Ruurd explains to us how they developed their invention.
Floji is a student startup that is developing a smart water filter for tourists that want to drink tap water abroad, but are unsure about the quality and safety of the water. With Floji, tourists don’t have to buy bottled water, but drink high quality, filtered water straight from the tap instead. This saves up to forty kilograms of plastic waste for every Floji and, not at all unimportant, money for the consumer. Last month Floji took home the audience award at the Startup Tech Event 2017.
Not even in power for three weeks, Donald Trump is causing chaos in the United States with rapid changes. Changes that are directly affecting the US tech industry. Google saw almost 200 of its employees falling under the immigration ban that was declared for a number of Muslim countries. Other companies like Apple, Microsoft and Uber also feel the impact of this discriminating new policy.
After Pasteis won the closing event of the Startup Launchclass, we wanted to know a bit more about the student startup that has brought ‘Portugal’s sweetest secret’ into several Dutch coffeehouses. I spoke with Pablo Theeuwes (24), student of International Business Studies at the HvA, and founder of Pasteis. Location: Coffee Company Javaplein, one of the coffee stores selling the startup’s pastries.


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Sour newspaper note for Murdoch
RUPERT Murdoch's British newspapers are likely to be the one sour note in a bumper annual profits expected today. News Corporation's net profit is forecast at up to A$1.4bn (£574m) thanks to the performance of its television and filmed entertainment divisions in the US.
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Lockdown, Shake Up: The New Normal for Shopping in Europe
In recent years, consumer businesses never faced a challenge as big as Covid-19.
The outbreak of this virus has accelerated the major trends that are transforming the way people live, work and shop. And retailers have been forced to get creative in their efforts to make their businesses resilient and grab any opportunities that arise from this unprecedented situation.
Our PwC team has collected valuable insights into the pandemic’s impact on consumer behaviour, and we’ve published them in our European edition of PwC's Global Consumer Insights Survey 2020 together with our expert analysis of the most effective strategies for navigating the ‘new normal’ successfully. We gathered these insights by surveying almost 10,000 consumers across seven European countries – before and after the outbreak of the virus.
You can find data and recommendations for key topics including:
- Around 40% of European consumers have seen their household income drop: How are they adapting their spending patterns?
- Lockdown has boosted online retail, which saw double-digit growth Q2 2020: Which products and services have generated increased demand?
- The Covid-19 outbreak has caused many consumers to reevaluate their lifestyle priorities: Which decision-making factors are gaining importance?
- And 49% of European consumer have made fewer visits to stores during the pandemic: How can retailers transform the customer experience to attract consumers back into their shops?
Our in-depth study gives you answers to these questions – and many more. As retailers seek solutions that can help them to adapt to this once-in-a-lifetime challenge, we are delighted to share this important piece of research. The report and further information are available here: www.pwc.de/New-Normal-Shopping


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Consumer loans boost revenue for Easyhome
Michael J. Knell -- Furniture Today, March 15, 2012
MISSISSAUGA, Ontario - Short-term consumer loans drove growth for Easyhome in both the fourth quarter and full year 2011, according to the rent-to-own merchant's latest financial report.
Easyhome generated revenue of C$49.3 million in the quarter, up 9.3% from the same period in 2010 - "driven primarily by the expansion of the Easyfinancial services business and the related growth of its consumer loans receivable portfolio," the company said. Same-store revenues were up 9.3%.
Net income for the quarter was C$2.6 million or 22 cents per share, reversing the comparable period loss of C$400,000 or three cents per share. Excluding the costs from an employee fraud incident in the fourth quarter of 2010, net earnings for that period would have been 13 cents per share.
The company said its Easyfinancial unit more than doubled its top line contribution to C$7.8 million as its loans receivable portfolio jumped from C$23.8 million to C$47.6 million.
Meanwhile, Easyhome's merchandise leasing operation recorded revenues of C$41 million and franchising operations brought in C$500,000, both little changed from the same period last year.
For the year, Easyhome revenue totaled C$188.3 million, an increase of 8.1% from 2010.
Net income was C$9.7 million or 81 cents per share, compared with C$6.1 million or 58 cents per share the previous year - an increase of 58%.
Once again, the company's merchandise leasing business was relatively flat at C$162.5 million while revenues from the franchise operations were C$1.4 million, up from C$1.1 million the prior year. Real growth came from Easyfinancial, where revenue of C$24.5 million was more than double the C$10.8 generated in fiscal 2010.
Easyhome President and CEO David Ingram said he doesn't expect any immediate upticks in the company's merchandising leasing business.
"We believe that consumers in both Canada and the U.S. will remain cautious until the general economic conditions improve," he said in a statement. He later told analysts in a conference call that the company expects to open one or two new corporate stores in 2012 plus an additional five to 10 franchise stores.
Easyfinancial is expected to continue to drive the company's growth, at least for the coming year. Ingram said the company anticipates opening 15 to 20 new locations this year, most of which will be freestanding units. Most existing Easyfinanical locations are kiosks inside Easyhome stores.
"Based on these assumptions, we are targeting total revenue growth of approximately 10%," Ingram said.
As of December 31, Easyhome operated 261 stores in Canada and the United States, including 48 franchised or licensed locations. It also operated 85 Easyfinancial kiosks, two standalone Easyfinancial locations and one national loan office.
Easyhome is Canada's largest merchandise leasing merchant and the third largest in North America. Its core product assortment includes furniture, appliances and consumer electronics.
Bedding Conference Set for 14-16 May


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NEW YORK — The NFL and Nike unveiled the next generation of uniforms for all 32 teams at a glitzy launch event at Brooklyn Navy Yard.
PHOTOS: Nike's new NFL uniforms
Don't look for any of the crazy uniforms designed by Nike for college football teams such as the Oregon Ducks. The Nike Elite 51 unis are more evolutionary than revolutionary, focusing on lighter fabrics, a more contoured fit and four-way stretch materials rather than big changes in the visual, graphic look. Plus, the NFL's conservative team owners had final say under guidelines set by the league.
The Seattle Seahawks are getting the biggest fashion makeover, with darker-colored blue jerseys, a more aggressive-looking bird on the helmet and a stripe down the side of the pants symbolizing the team's "12th man" fan base. The Chicago Bears are enlarging the GSH initials on their unis to honor founder and former coach George S. Halas.
A number of NFL stars, including Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens, Alex Smith of the San Francisco 49ers and Wes Welker of the New England Patriots, modeled the new duds on stage.
The new jerseys go on sale the weekend of the 2012 NFL Draft from April 26-28. Nike took over as the NFL's official outfitter this Spring from Reebok.
"I love them," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said at the unveiling.
Afterward, Goodell said more teams may make design changes in the future. "The performance is so important for the athletes," he said. "What we tried to do is innovate. Even if the look doesn't change, there's innovation. You saw it with the Seahawks. There'll be more to come."
Victor Cruz of the Super Bowl champion New York Giants said the new uniforms are sleeker and more form-fitting, which should help him elude tacklers better.
The unis "conform and fit your body," Cruz said. "They're tight. You can't get pulled or snagged on. That's the biggest thing for me: making sure that I'm sleek and I'm fast and I can't be grabbed or held."
Mark Parker, CEO of Nike, said the jerseys are 20% to 30% lighter. The four-way stretch gives players a more contoured fit with less material for tacklers to grab. There's also padding built in to some parts of the uniforms. "It's extra layers where you need it and none where you don't," he said.
The Seahawks were "very open and actually eager" to push a head-to-toe uniform redesign with Nike, Parker said. "We worked with the players, coach and trainers. Really the whole Seattle organization."
The Portland, Ore.-based Nike drew on design features from the company's and Seahawks' home in the Pacific Northwest. Inspired by how birds are portrayed on totem poles created by Native Americans, designers made the bird on the new helmet come to a point in the back. Parker said other NFL players have told him they're "jealous" of the way the Seahawks are pushing the envelope with their uniform design.
"We're not going too crazy," he said. "We're trying to respect tradition. But for those teams that want to push things a little bit …"
Paul Lukas, who contributes to ESPN.com and writes the Uni Watch blog, said after the event that the new unis look mostly the same to him.
"The biggest change I noticed was the collars," he said. "A lot of the teams have a two-tone collar which allows for the (Nike) Flywire design. But off the top of my head, the Packers look like the Packers, the Chiefs look like the Chiefs, the Bills look like the Bills, etc."
The Seahawks were the only team that told Nike to "do your best -- or do your worst," Lukas said. The biggest changes in the new uniforms are physical, such as the collars and mesh panels.
"NFL team owners are some of the most conservative businessmen in America," Lukas said. "They call the shots. They don't just sign off on what somebody else does. They ultimately make the decisions. It's their property, their teams. The notion that Nike, or any company, could just walk in and change everything unilaterally is (wrong). I think a lot of fans misunderstand how that works. It does not work that way."
Nate Davis is a reporter, blogger and editor who's been at USA TODAY since 2000. He has covered the NFL since 2005. No, he did not play quarterback for Ball State. Davis' succession of our esteemed colleague Sean Leahy at The Huddle is considered a Brady-for-Bledsoe swap by most "insiders."More about Nate


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Social Capital, Dunce Capital have also invested in HaikuJAM
The company wants to develop a special research tool INSPO
A line is written on HaikuJAM every second, the company claims
Mumbai-based venture capital firm Lightbox has led a $3.4 Mn (INR 24 Cr) funding round in social writing game HaikuJAM that allows people to make friends while writing together.
“HaikuJam is building an emotion engine that is unearthing insights about personal wellbeing and views on the world. What’s fascinating about HaikuJam is how they combine data to understand where and how to create a cost structure advantage in every aspect of their business, from product to content,” Sandeep Murthy, partner at Lightbox, said.
Besides Lightbox, Social Capital, Dunce Capital and HaikuJAM’s existing investor 2Enable Partners also participated in the round. The social writing platform is planning to use this funding to strengthen and scale its artificial intelligence (AI) powered consumer research tool, INSPO.
INSPO is a research tool on HaikuJAM’s portal that allows users to look up keywords to search for things other users associated with a given word. A senior executive told ET that the product is still in the beta-testing mode and will formally be launched this year.
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Apart from just being a research tool, it also allows users to set writing prompts and get “inspiration points” around them within 30 minutes. The company clarifies that the tool is faster than traditional consumer research that takes three months to get fresh data.
HaikuJAM’s founder Dhrupad Karwa said, “One of the biggest sources of waste is when someone has the right product but is telling the wrong story. It’s a waste of energy, talent, and capital. INSPO helps minimise this waste by inspiring teams with new thinking and guiding them to the narratives that matter, leading to even better product experiences.”
Moreover, the company will also focus on expanding its force, especially in data science and AI teams. Currently, it has over 20 employees in its workforce. The Delaware-registered HaikuJAM has its headquarters in Mumbai.
Founded in 2015 by Karwa and two-London based investment bankers Neer Sharma and Andrew Leung, HaikuJAM is a collaborative writing game that allows users to connect over nothing but writing. The company goes by the tagline, “write together, feel better”.
HaikuJAM claims to have over 800K users, which it refers to as “Jammers”, from across 163 countries. The company also claims that over 40 Mn lines have been written on the platform and a new line is published every second.


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LG Electronics will create 300 jobs in MI once a newly announced EV components plants opens in Detroit, the South Korean company says.
LG provided 11 major parts for the Chevrolet Bolt EV released in the U.S previous year, winning global recognition in the field.
LG Electronics is building a 250,000-square-foot EV parts plant in the Detroit suburb of Hazel Park. The project will mean at least 292 new jobs 137 LG factory workers in Hazel Park and another related 155 engineers and technicians at the expanded LG R&D Center co-located with LGs vehicle components USA headquarters in Troy, Michigan.More news: Earnings Analysis Of CVS Health Corporation (CVS)
South Korea's LG Electronics Inc is building a production site to supply parts for electric vehicles (EV) in MI, home to LG Chem's EV battery factory and American automobile industry.
Kenneth Chang, head of vehicle component business of LG Electronics USA, (left) talks with Michigan State Governor Rick Synder at the government office. In the first half of the year, LG's vehicle component racked up 1.76 trillion won in sales.
LG will invest about $25 million in the project, and will receive a $2.9 million grant under the Michigan Business Development Program.More news: Gorakhpur Tragedy: Yogi Adityanath ousts additional chief secretary Anita Bhatnagar Jain
"When leading global companies like LG invest in MI and create hundreds of good, high-paying jobs here, it speaks volumes about the strong business and mobility climate in the state today", Governor Rick Snyder said in a statement.
The Michigan plant is the second facility LG has chose to build since the protectionist Donald Trump administration began earlier this year. Construction is also under way on an LG North American Headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Around 300 new jobs are expected to be created by the new factory construction.More news: NAFTA Renegotiations Bound to Fail, Warns Trump
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Pudgy Penguins, a leading NFT brand, has formed an interesting partnership with Unstoppable Domains to introduce exclusive ‘.pudgy’ domain names. This collaboration marks a major step towards enhancing Web3 interactions and simplifying cryptocurrency transactions for Pudgy Penguin owners.
In this progressive move, Pudgy Penguin owners now have the opportunity to connect their valuable NFTs directly to premier domain names featuring the .pudgy suffix. This seamless integration promotes a better experience for NFT enthusiasts.
Pudgy Penguins New Update
To complement this collaboration, Unstoppable Domains has launched two innovative campaigns tailored to resonate with the NFT owners. The ‘Pudgy Ambassador Program’ aims to identify and honor champions who actively promote .pudgy domain names. Moreover, participants in this program will be rewarded with distinct badges, acknowledging their contributions to the Pudgy Penguins community.
Simultaneously, Unstoppable Domains has introduced the ‘Pudgy Storytelling Campaign,’ inviting enthusiasts to create and share narratives related to various digital platforms. In addition, outstanding contributors to this campaign will have the opportunity to win complimentary .pudgy domains each month. This will further incentivize engagement within the community.
Beyond these campaigns, the project continues to expand its reach and enrich the NFT experience for its community. The recent launch of 30 new toys with QR codes for exclusive features in the upcoming Pudgy World game demonstrates the brand’s commitment to innovation and user engagement. Additionally, Pudgy Penguins has extended its presence into 1,100 additional Walmart stores. These activities ensure broader accessibility for its diverse range of products.
The creative tactics employed by Pudgy Penguins have elevated its NFT status, evidenced by a nearly 20 ETH floor price and a remarkable $508 million market cap. Ranked third behind CryptoPunks and slightly below BAYC, Pudgy Penguins has solidified its position as a key player in the NFT space.
By collaborating with Unstoppable Domains, Pudgy Penguins aims to foster a more interconnected and vibrant Web3 ecosystem. Overall, as the NFT landscape continues to evolve, collaborations like these pave the way for innovative solutions. They also enhance experiences within the digital asset space


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Tether Chief Technology Officer Paolo Ardoino (Paolo Ardoino) said the company expects a $700 million increase in excess reserves for the quarter, which is not over yet.
Justin Tallis | AFP | Getty Images
Cryptocurrency giant Tether said on Wednesday it will buy hundreds of millions of dollars worth of bitcoin to back the world’s largest stablecoin.
The company said it would invest 15 percent of its net profits in bitcoin to “diversify” its reserves backing its USDT token, which is designed to maintain a 1:1 peg to the U.S. dollar.
That would amount to roughly $222 million, according to the company’s latest attestation report, which provided a breakdown of the assets that make up its USDT reserves, as well as excess reserves and profits.
A Tether spokesperson clarified that its bitcoin purchases accounted for only a small portion of its overall net profit, with most of the excess income used to run the business, including bank fees.
A Tether spokesperson said: “Our goal is to have a Bitcoin portfolio value well below our total excess reserves of 2.48B at the end of Q1 2023, compared to Bitcoin holdings of 1.5B.”
According to CoinGecko, USDT is the largest stablecoin in the market with over $82.8 billion in circulation. It competes with Circle’s USD Coin and Binance’s BUSD.
Stablecoins are used by traders to move in and out of different cryptocurrencies without having to convert the money back into fiat currency.
“The decision to invest in Bitcoin, the world’s first and largest cryptocurrency, was based on its strength and potential as an investment asset,” Tether Chief Technology Officer Paolo Ardoino said in a statement. “
“Bitcoin continues to prove its resilience and has emerged as a long-term store of value with enormous growth potential. Its limited supply, decentralized nature, and widespread adoption make Bitcoin a favorite among institutional and retail investors.”
The move would make Tether an even bigger holder of bitcoin — the company already holds more than $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin on its balance sheet — and credits prominent investors such as Paul Tudor Jones and MicroStrategy boss Michael Saylor Investors act to accumulate large amounts of Bitcoin, believing that the token is immune to currency debasement and inflation.
Analysts and investors previously told CNBC that bitcoin could get a boost this year due to the influence of so-called “whales” — market participants with strong financial firepower that allow them to buy large amounts of the coin.
Tether’s approach to maintaining a $1 value for its token has caused controversy in the past due to concerns about the quality of its reserve assets. Previously, the company held large reserves of commercial paper — a type of short-term unsecured debt issued by companies. This is considered less secure than other forms of debt such as U.S. Treasury bills.
Tether attempted to allay investor concerns by exiting commercial paper and replacing those fund holdings with only U.S. government debt securities.
In February, the company said it had cut its commercial paper holdings to zero.
USDT and its issuer remain a bone of contention in the crypto market. The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly investigating possible bank fraud by Tether executives.
Stablecoins have become a hot topic among regulators, who have been scrambling to find ways to rein in the industry following the collapse of several prominent players in the space.


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BYD Inc. Cuts Prices of its “Seal” Model
BYD Inc., often touted as the strongest rival to Tesla Model 3 in China, has made a strategic move by cutting prices across its lineup of electric sedans, including the popular BYD Seal. The price reductions range from 3.3 percent to a significant 18 percent, making the BYD Seal an even more affordable option for Chinese consumers.
The entry-level BYD Seal Standard, a rear-wheel-drive model with a driving range of 342 miles (550 km), now starts at approximately $27,500 (189,800 yuan). This makes it nearly 11 percent cheaper than the previous version with the same driving range. Moreover, this particular model is a staggering 18 percent cheaper than the equivalent Tesla Model 3 RWD, which offers a similar range.
The price cuts extend to three other BYD Seal trim levels available in China: Luxury, Performance, and Performance AWD. The Luxury trim saw a reduction of 9.8 percent, while the Performance and Performance AWD trims were reduced by 8.7 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively.
The move by BYD is a response to the ongoing price war in China’s electric vehicle (EV) market, which was initiated by Tesla earlier this year. The American automaker’s price cuts forced other manufacturers to reassess their pricing strategies and become more competitive.
BYD initially launched the Seal sedan as part of its Ocean vehicle series in July 2022. It quickly gained popularity, with monthly sales surpassing 10,000 units by the end of the year. However, Tesla’s price reductions in January 2023 resulted in a decline in BYD Seal sales, which dropped to 6,000-7,000 units per month.
To regain its market share, BYD has implemented these price cuts in an attempt to attract more buyers to its electric luxury sedan. In the first quarter of 2023, BYD sold 19,573 Seal cars, while Tesla recorded 42,782 sales of the Model 3 during the same period, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association.
BYD has also confirmed plans to introduce the Seal EV to the European market later this year. The European variant will be available in both rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive configurations, with different power outputs and driving ranges. Pricing details for the European market are yet to be announced.
With these significant price reductions, BYD is positioning itself as a formidable contender in the EV market, not just in China but also on the global stage as it expands its presence internationally. The BYD Seal’s increased affordability and competitive features make it an attractive option for consumers seeking electric mobility with a balance of performance and value.
BYDDY Stock Forecast & Analysis
Stock Target Advisor’s analysis of BYD Co Ltd ADR reflects a slightly bullish outlook for the company’s stock. The analysis is based on a combination of positive and negative signals, with 10 positive signals and 6 negative signals taken into consideration.
At the last closing, BYD Co Ltd ADR’s stock price stood at USD 62.55. Over the past week, the stock price has experienced a positive change of +5.89%, indicating a recent upward trend. Looking at the past month, the stock price has shown a substantial increase of +7.90%. Moreover, over the course of the last year, BYD Co Ltd ADR’s stock price has demonstrated strong growth, with a notable gain of +16.03%.
BYD Co Ltd ADR’s recent stock performance, with notable gains over the past week, month, and year, coupled with the positive signals identified by Stock Target Advisor’s analysis, suggests a positive market sentiment and growing confidence in the company’s future prospects.


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- Falcon Private Bank said Wednesday it received approval from a Swiss regulator to offer bitcoin products.
- This is the first time the Swiss regulator has done so.
- The decision could pave the way for other global regulators to approve bitcoin products.
Switzerland's financial markets regulator has approved the first Swiss private bank for asset management, potentially paving the way for other global banks to offer digital currency products.
Zurich-based Falcon Private Bank announced Wednesday that the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, or FINMA, gave the bank the green light on managing assets based on the blockchain technology behind bitcoin and other digital currencies.
related investing news
"People here are thinking this is beyond bitcoin. This is a new chapter in how we exchange money. As a financial services partner, I think we have to become part of that strategy," Arthur Vayloyan, global head of products and services at Falcon, told CNBC in a phone interview.
He said the company began officially discussing bitcoin asset management in January, applied for regulator approval on June 23 and received it Tuesday. Falcon has 14.6 billion Swiss francs ($15.13 billion) in client assets and has offices in Zurich, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and London.
"As a rule, FINMA never comments on individual companies," the regulator's spokesman, Vincent Mathys, told CNBC.
Falcon will access bitcoin through Swiss-based digital currency broker Bitcoin Suisse.
The CEO of Bitcoin Suisse, Niklas Nikolajsen, told CNBC in a phone interview that contrary to many expectations, the Swiss regulator was more concerned about consumer protection than bitcoin's potential use for illegal activities.
"I would assume it would not be long before the rest of the banking sector will follow suit," Nikolajsen said. "The genie is out of the bottle and crypto assets bring a value proposition that you can't ignore."
The Bank of England declined to comment. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency declined to comment.
Switzerland is known for being a global leader in banking practices. The country is also one of the friendliest to digital currency enthusiasts. Its Zug region has already been dubbed "Crypto Valley" for the number of digital currency businesses located there.
Swiss firm MME was the legal advisor and PricewaterhouseCoopers was the auditor in the approval process.
Falcon has installed a bitcoin ATM in its Zurich headquarters lobby that allows clients to withdraw bitcoin to their phones. As a private bank, Falcon has an official minimum of 2 million Swiss francs for clients, but Vayloyan said the firm could consider clients with assets of more than several thousand francs.


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Launceston Distillery has taken flight with the official launch of the first traditional whisky produced in the region since distillation was outlawed more than 170 years ago.
Two batches of whisky were launched on Sunday 22 July at the home of Launceston Distillery – Hangar 17 at Launceston Airport.
Supporters who pre-purchased barrels when the business was being established, affectionately known as the Flight Club, received some of the first bottles of whisky produced by the distillery.
Launceston Distillery was formed by head distiller Chris Condon, a whisky enthusiast with a fine attention to detail honed as a pharmaceutical industry quality analyst and the brewing team leader at Boags Brewery.
Mr Condon was also the first distiller at Nant Distillery, laying the foundations for that company’s early success between 2008 and 2011.
He joined forces with Rob Carroll, Chris Byrne, Ilya Brucksch-Domanski, and Peta Dolan to establish Launceston Distillery in 2013 – the first distillery in the Launceston area to be granted a production license since the Distillation Prohibition Act of 1839.
In the process of creating the distillery they have given new life to the disused Hangar 17, which has played a significant role in the country’s aviation history as home to Australian National Airways and Ansett.
“The official launch of Launceston Distillery was a proud moment for the directors who have shown a lot of faith in our ability to design a distillery that will create consistent batches of whisky that epitomise quality,” Mr Condon said.
“We have been passionate about creating a whisky that pays homage to the best traditions of single malt whisky, but also captures the essence of Tasmania and there is a genuine anticipation about what we have produced.
“The first batch was distilled on 5th October 2015 and matured in small oak casks for 30 months. We’ve married 12 casks together to rest for eight weeks and subsequently filled 530 bottles of the first release.”
Mr Condon said that while there had been other whisky distilleries built in the area recently, Launceston Distillery was proud to play its part in returning whisky-making to the north.
“I could see there was a gap in the whisky trail with really exciting things happening in Hobart and on the North West so it made sense to create a distillery in the heart of Tasmania to build the state’s reputation as a respected producer of premium traditional whisky,” he said.
“We were the first in Launceston to be licensed to produce whisky since the 1830’s and with patience and process we believe we have created a product that would do our forebears very proud.”
Launceston Distillery produces a number of varieties matured in either bourbon, tawny (Australian port) or apera (Australian sherry) casks, and will soon be launching a number of releases that will raise money for local charities and organisations.
Mr Condon is accompanied on his whisky-making journey by the distillery’s mascot, Angus the Westie wonder dog, who ensures the final product is perfect, and who received plenty of attention from guests at the opening.


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Savage just announced that they’ve expanded their line of MSRs (modern sporting rifle) for 2019. We’ll be sure to check them out at the 2019 SHOT Show and report back.
From Savage’s Press Release:
WESTFIELD, Massachusetts – January 11, 2019 – Striving to bring more features and better performance to the modern sporting rifle, Savage has expanded its award-winning lineup of MSRs. Savage will have these new firearms on display in Booth No. 14551 at the 2019 SHOT Show, January 22-25 at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Our MSR lineup of next-generation modern sporting rifles, like all Savage products, reflects the fact that Savage is not just a value brand,” said Savage President Al Kasper. “We are a high-quality, high-performance, well-established firearms manufacturer, offering a full line of rimfire and centerfire rifles in a variety of platforms.”
Savage introduced its lineup of AR-15s and AR-10s in 2017, and the company continues to grow its MSR 10 and MSR 15 product lines.
The new Savage MSR 10 Competition HD and MSR 15 Competition are flush with features designed to ensure unflinching accuracy when a match is on the line. Both are fitted with an advanced 18-inch carbon fiber wrapped stainless barrel built specifically …Read the Rest


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Magna CEO Don Walker says auto parts sector strong
North American auto-making returns to health and China set for huge growth
Magna International’s CEO says the lower Canadian dollar and the improved health of the auto sector has improved the outlook for making auto parts in Canada.
Don Walker said he’d also like to see lower prices for electricity in Ontario, though the company has plans to invest $130 to $150 million in the province over the next few years.
In an interview with CBC’s The Lang & O’Leary Exchange, Walker said the dollar is still lower than he’d like it to be, though better than it was just last year.
The automakers are more and more looking at global platforms. If they’re going to produce a model in seven countries, they want us in seven countries- Magna CEO Don Walker
“A big impact is where the car companies think the U.S. dollar will be down the road, because that’s what they look at when they’re comparing quotes,” he said. “Stability and a lower Canadian dollar is certainly better for Canada for maintaining and keeping manufacturing jobs.”
Auto parts making is a growing business, Walker said. It’s strong in North America, getting better in Europe and has huge potential in China.
“The auto industry itself is a growing industry. It’s growing the number of vehicles that are sold and the parts business continues to grow faster – we make more content in vehicles,” he said.
Ford, GM and Chrysler have returned to financial health and are selling an increasing number of vehicles, he said.
“They’re all pretty healthy companies, they have the ability to think long-term, they have the ability to finance new platforms and great cars going – I’m not about to say what’s going to happen 10 years down the road. It’s a very competitive industry,” he said.
Following the automakers
Magna has become a global operator, with plants in 29 countries, by being in the same countries where the automakers are setting up assembly plants, Walker said. And that means the company, with 100,000 workers, is likely to grow faster in growing markets like China.
“The automakers are more and more looking at global platforms. If they’re going to produce a model in seven countries, they want us in seven countries,” Walker said.
“We’re linked very closely to what they want, what materials do they want if it’s a new product. It’s great to have our engineering centres and sales centres close to where their decision-makers are,” he added.
Operating in China, Russia
As the business expands, Magna has to continually weigh the cost benefits and risks of going into any market. But there’s no question about China, though it's no longer the low-cost centre it was 10 years ago.
“It’s a good place to do business because it’s a growing market and they have a huge demand over there,” he said.
Magna also has five wholly owned plants in Russia, as well as a partnership with a local partner.
“We’re obviously watching what happens in Russia. We’re watching the political situation. No matter what the outcome is it’s going to have a negative impact on their economy in the next little while. But I still think that Russia will be an auto producer,” he said.


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The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) will leave the refinancing rate unchanged at 22% to restrain monetary policy and mitigate mounting risks to price stability triggered by turbulence in the global economy.
The move announced on January 28 will also enable the NBU to achieve its objective of lowering consumer inflation to 12% by the end of 2016 and 8% by the end of 2017. In the second half of 2015, consumer inflation was on a firm downward path, moderating to 43.3% in annual terms, which was broadly in line with NBU projections. Core inflation continued to decline to 34.7% y/y.
"The subdued domestic demand, NBU’s restrained monetary policy, and stabilisation of inflation expectations have contributed to the easing of inflationary pressures in the last months of the year," the bank's statement reads.
The regulator also revised its 2016 outlook for economic activity downward, forecasting real GDP growth at 1.1% y/y. "A weaker-than-previously expected economic recovery can be attributed to lower-than-expected global commodity prices, deteriorating global economic growth prospects, and fresh trade restrictions imposed by Russia, including a ban on the transit of Ukrainian goods through its territory," the NBU believes.
Kyiv implemented a ban on imports of selected Russian food items on January 10 to last until August 5 or until Russia lifts its own embargo on Ukrainian food products. Affected foodstuffs and beverages include bread and bakery products, chocolates, cookies, cattle meat, fish, roasted coffee, black tea, baby food, filter cigarettes, beer and vodka. The Ukrainian government later announced its intention to expand the list of banned Russian items.
The regulator said a further decline in inflation expectations, cancellation of a temporary surcharge on imports, as well as low global energy and food prices, all support the downward trend in inflation.
On the other hand, "a sharper decline in inflation will be restrained by further upward adjustments in administrated prices", the NBU statement noted.
Major downside risks to the inflation forecast and consequently the achievement of the bank's 2016 inflation objective include "external factors that determine the balance of payments and the exchange rate path of the hryvnia".
According to local media reports, the NBU sold $161.3mn from the start of the year to January 25 in order to stabilise the hryvnia domestic currency.
According to the bank's recent forecast, the current account deficit will reach $2.5bn, or 3% of GDP in 2016. "Should downside risks materialise, this deficit could be higher, which in turn would adversely affect the path of inflation. These downside risks primarily include falling global prices for key Ukrainian export commodities. Second, downside risks may arise from depreciation of the currencies of Ukraine's trade partner countries," the NBU said.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has forbidden local banks and the country's financial institutions to perform any cash transactions using the new banknotes and coins issued by the Russian central ... more
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on October 13 that he plans to hold talks with both public and private lenders on how to lower interest rates. He did not say, however, when those ... more
The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and the Turkey-based ECO Trade and Development Bank (ETDB) have signed a memorandum on strengthening bilateral ties, the CBI said on October 10. ETDB is a Eurasian ... more


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New Boweld tipper body
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NEW BOWELD Truck Bodies has launched a steel, single-skin, light-weight muckaway tipper body, which it says will increase potential payloads for operators.
The irst of ive single-skin Taperlite bodies, which has European Design Registration, has been built for Manchester demolition and earthworks company PP O’Connor. As a stand-alone body, it weighs 1,730kg, with an additional 470kg for the Edbro CX14 lifting gear. The Taperlite, as the name suggests, tapers from front to rear by 4in.
Boweld director George Boden says the company wants to help re-energise a stagnant tipper market with a new product. He believes the market is starting to pay more attention to payload. The design allows PP O’Connor to operate with a payload of more than 20 tonnes.
The new body is itted to a Scania P400 8x4 chassis cab ordered from West Pennine Trucks.


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Introduced back in 2018, AT&T's TV Now service is now being phased out by the US carrier. The service that costs as low as $55/month can still be accessed by current subscribers, but new sign ups are no longer accepted by AT&T.
Instead, new customers who want to acquire a similar service must now pay for AT&T TV, a more expensive service that starts at $70 and offer access to more than 65 channels. The highest AT&T TV tier costs $95 and includes 130+ channels.
AT&T’s senior VP of marketing Vince Torres told Variety that his company wishes to bring “more value and simplicity” by combining the two streaming services “into a single AT&T TV experience.” The carrier removed the annual contract requirement for AT&T TV and allows subscribers to use third-party devices such as Apple TV and Roku.
The good news is current AT&T TV Now customers won't be forced to pay more for the service “and will not experience any disruptions as part of this change,” Torres confirmed.


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Over the last year or so much has been made of the Wii U’s, and by extension Nintendo’s, financial struggles. 2013 was the first year in a long time that the company posted a loss, but Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime thinks things will turn around rather quickly.
In fact, Fils-Aime doesn’t believe his company’s latest console is out of the running at all. A recent uptick in May suggests the console may be on the rise, and so he’s interested to see how things shake out between all three major consoles in June.
In an interview with the Seattle Times, Fils-Aime discusses all things Nintendo, from potential price points for the recently announced Amiibo figures to the incredible success of the 3DS platform — the best-selling platform last year. But a major point of focus for Fils-Aime will continue to be the Wii U, and so the publication grilled him about the console’s past and its future.
While Fils-Aime was never willing to admit defeat with the Wii U, he does suggest that the company’s ongoing quest for software perfection hurt the console’s launch titles. Games like Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, and Wii Fit U were originally planned as launch window games, but Nintendo was unwilling to compromise on those games’ development simply to meet a deadline. And as a result, the Wii U’s selection was rather limited at launch.
The interesting point there is that when we announced the Wii U and when we announced all of the launch details, we fully expected games like “Wii Fit U,” “Pikmin,” the “The Wonderful 101” to be in the launch window. The Nintendo quality bar is really what kept us from launching those games potentially in February or March and so that’s what created the lack of software during that initial launch phase.
The reality is that what we needed was all of that great content to launch when it was initially planned, but to also have that great content also be the highest quality. That’s really tough to manage.
Now, however, Fils-Aime believes there is a strong line-up waiting for Wii U owners, starting with Hyrule Warriors later this year all the way through Super Smash Bros. on Wii U. Not to mention, the company’s 2015 slate, which includes the new shooter Splatoon and The Legend of Zelda on Wii U.
With such a strong lineup on the way, Fils-Aime believes that the Wii U is poised to turn the corner. Mario Kart 8 was only available for a short time last month, but it alone was able to boost Wii U sales by a reported 85% percent. In short, Fils-Aime can only imagine what a full month’s worth of sales, combined with excitement over Nintendo’s recently announced E3 2014titles will do for the Wii U.
As far as whether or not this will help the Wii U stay competitive with the Xbox One and PS4 is unclear. Still, as Fils-Aime points out, the Wii U is leading the charge when it comes to lifetime sales, besting the PS4 by a small margin.
The dirty little secret is if you look at life-to-date numbers, between Sony and Nintendo they’d be pretty close in terms of PS4 vs. Wii U, with Xbox coming in third place. I think it’s going to be a three-horse race for the balance of this cycle.
However, it’s worth mentioning that the PS4, which hit 7 million units sold in April, may have already passed the Wii U in terms of lifetime sales, and in a much shorter amount of time.
That being said, it appears the company’s E3 2014 presentation did exactly what Nintendo and its fans hoped. It generated excitement for upcoming games and likely helped make the Wii U a more enticing proposition. We, like Reggie, are eager to see how June’s sales numbers shake out.
Do you think that Nintendo’s E3 2014 showing will help boost Wii U sales? Which of Nintendo’s recently announced games are you most excited to play?
Source: Seattle Times
Follow Anthony on Twitter @ANTaormina


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Register your interest
RealWear on the rise in the Baking industry
We’re delighted to be attending the upcoming Nexus of Baking event in Dallas, Texas, from the 25th – 28th September where we will be showcasing RealWear devices, including our Thermal Camera feature.
“Based on the response so far, RealWear appears to be a rising star in the baking equipment and food manufacturing industry,” said Kerwin Brown, BEMA’s president.
“As we continue to share RealWear success stories through these larger forums and deep dives, it will help keep our members competitive.”
Connecting bakers and suppliers to create opportunities for industry collaboration.
25 – 28 September 2023 – Dallas, Texas.


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Around one third of the beauty brand’s workforce has been let go after the company of Emily Weiss admitted to making ‘mistakes’
Inside Glossier's LA beauty store
Beauty brand Glossier has made the “incredibly difficult” decision to lay off 80 of its corporate staff.
Around one third of its workforce will be affected by the decision, which was announced to workers in a letter from founder and CEO Emily Weiss.
In the email, obtained by Retail Week, she admitted to having made “some mistakes” over the past two years, as the brand navigated through the pandemic.
“We prioritised certain strategic projects that distracted us from the laser-focus we needed to have on our core business: scaling our beauty brand,” she said.
Weiss also admitted that the company had “got ahead of ourselves on hiring”.
In November, the brand hired three executives to its team in the form of Seun Sodipo as Chief Financial Officer, Kyle Leahy as Chief Commercial Officer and Kristy Maynes as Senior Vice President of Retail.
However, it is the technology team that is expected to be hardest hit by the decision.
“We are shifting our technology strategy to leverage external partners for parts of our platform that we're currently maintaining internally,” added Weiss.
In a statement to Cosmetics Business, the brand added: “On Wednesday we parted ways with more than 80 members of our team.
“This was a difficult but necessary decision. We've always been a people-powered organisation, and are grateful to all of our current and former team members for their contributions to Glossier.
“We believe these changes leave us well positioned as we continue to grow the brand long into the future.”
The fresh round of redundancies follows a mass cull of in-store retail jobs in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Since then, the billion dollar brand has made a return to retail with new stores in London, UK, and the US.
Glossier found fame for its pioneering DTC model and simple but effective packaging, and was valued at US$1.2bn in 2019.


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Israeli researchers have come up with a high-tech solution for face masks. Their newest invention is a USB face mask that can self-cleanse.
With most of the masks are suggestively disposable after a certain time for hygiene purposes, this new invention does away with the job of disinfection. All you’ll do is to plugin with a smartphone charger and the mask will be ready to use in the next 30-mins.
“If you are in your car and take your mask off, you can simply connect it to your cigarette lighter charger, and then put it back on as if it’s a new mask,” Professor Yair Ein-Eli from Technion University in Haifa, Israel told The Times of Israel. But the battery technology expert warned against using it while charging.
Wondering how this bizarrely-innovative face mask works? Well, according to reports, carbon fibres inside the mask will heat up to 70 degrees celsius, enough to slay the viruses, when plugged in with the USB opening.
Professor Yair Ein had the idea of such a mask when he met with the delivery man who was wearing a mask. When asked for how long, the man replied for four days. He thought then and there something has to be done because, clearly, the man’s mask by then was soiled and dirty.
The researchers behind the product are looking forward to offering a mask that does its purpose while saving the environment at the same time. Disposable facemasks are now threatening the oceans with a new kind of pollution, as billions of them potentially await to be disposed of, which could end up in the ocean floors. Environmentalists have already found disposable masks on the ocean floor.
“You have to make it reusable and friendly, and this is our solution,” Eli says about the mask, adding that disposable masks are on high demand globally, thanks to the pandemic, but they’re not environmental friendly.
Disposable face mask pose a worrying threat to the oceans, as specimen have already been found in the seafloors. This new USB face mask promises sustainability (Image for representation only)
“Our idea could change masks from disposable items into gadgets that people clean, meaning they wouldn’t need replacing so regularly and hospitals wouldn’t need such large supplies,” Professor Eli says.
The prototype of the mask looks similar to an N95 with a frontal valve to ease breathing resistance and a rubber band that wraps around the head keeps the mask on the face.
According to Reuters, the researchers have applied for a patent in the US in late March and they look forward to launching the product with private players, that will sell a dollar more than the regular.
A penny for your thought?


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Of course, so does every other company, but in this case Symantec is taking it literally. They’ve hired the CFO of American Airlines, Mr. James Beer.
I am sure Symantec has “high hopes” for Mr. Beer, but I don’t get the move. Pulling an executive out of an industry (and a company) with vast problems of its own isn’t exactly my idea of chasing success with success. Symantec’s President recently and quietly resigned, and the company has lingering problems that shouldn’t be there in the face of a burgeoning market for security products.
I have to wonder…is this move one to get someone on the team that is familiar with bankruptcy-related causes? Because executives in the airline industry know bankruptcy well.


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The private sector experienced a wave of renewed optimism that mango would become a valuable agro-industrial export and prove particularly attractive to investors, after Cambodia on May 7 shipped around 100 tonnes of fresh mangoes to China, in the Kingdom's inaugural direct export of the fruit to the East Asian market.
Cambodia and China jointly hosted a ceremony in Phnom Penh that day, commemorating the historic occasion.
The official export came after the Chinese Customs Administration on April 26 officially approved a list of 37 mango plantations and five packaging factories to export fresh mangoes to China.
Hun Lak, CEO of Rich Farm Asia Co Ltd, a local agricultural investor that grows Keo Romiet mangoes in Kampong Speu province, told The Post that direct exports to China would increase the market potential of the fruit.
With a rapidly-expanding national cultivation area now at around 100,000ha that yield over one million tonnes per season, he predicted a rosy path forward for mango's export potential, which he said would follow a trajectory similar to bananas.
He noted that the five packaging plants approved by the Chinese Customs Administration last month use either hot water treatment (HWT) or vapour heat treatment (VHT) facilities to sterilise their crops and exterminate pests, and have a combined capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year.
"Our company has a vision to develop more facilities in mango plantations to meet the export market. We will set up a drip irrigation system similar to those in banana plantations. We'll also have a plant to clean for packaging and a dried-mango processing plant," Lak said.
Heng Sreng, general manager of Boeung Ket Planting & Industrial Co Ltd, which invests in mango, banana and natural rubber, was also present at the May 7 ceremony. His company provided one of the shipping containers in the Kingdom's maiden direct export of mangoes.
"I am happy that we can export mangoes directly to China, a major market in the region," he said.
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Veng Sakhon voiced hope that the export volume of fresh mangoes would continue to increase from year to year.
"Sanitary and phytosanitary measures have been playing an indispensable role as a bridge for agricultural products to foreign markets," he said.
The minister said Cambodia Industrial Development Policy 2015-2025's main goal is related to the agricultural sector – to boost exports of processed agricultural products to 12 per cent of the total export volume by 2025.
The inaugural shipment of fresh mangoes to China "is another fruitful achievement that was born out of the excellent cooperation between the Kingdom of Cambodia and the People's Republic of China", Sakhon said.
According to the protocol on phytosanitary requirements for fresh mango exports to China, signed by the ministry on June 9, the fruits must be of the Keo Romiet variety, the most ubiquitous type found throughout the Kingdom.
Cambodia exported 142,556 tonnes of fresh mangoes in the first four months of 2021, up 239.13 per cent from the same period last year, agriculture ministry statistics show.
As of 2020, mangoes are grown on 130,000ha in the Kingdom, of which 91,104ha (70.08 per cent) are harvested. Mango production reaches an average of more than 1.38 million tonnes per season.


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Unveiling alGROWithm's GTAP Initiative
In a groundbreaking move back in March 2022, alGROWithm captured attention with the announcement of the Growth Talent Accelerator Program (GTAP). This visionary initiative marked Africa's first-ever Growth Talent Accelerator Program, set to reshape talent development in the African tech startup ecosystem. Now, with a significant injection of funding from Digital Africa, alGROWithm is gearing up to take its transformative GTAP to new heights.
Digital Africa's Strategic Investment
The funding from Digital Africa is a game-changer, not just for alGROWithm but for the entire African tech startup ecosystem. It symbolizes a crucial milestone for alGROWithm, paving the way for innovative talent-driven pathways to foster sustainable growth. This strategic investment positions alGROWithm as a leading force in transformative initiatives, set to make a lasting impact on the African tech landscape.
Leveraging Funding for Expansion
Looking ahead, alGROWithm plans to leverage the funding strategically. Two key initiatives will be the focus: offering scholarships to aspiring Growth Hackers, enabling their participation in the GTAP programs, and expanding the reach of training initiatives into untapped African markets. This dual approach underscores alGROWithm's commitment to fostering growth not only within the organization but also across the broader African tech ecosystem.
Expanding GTAP Reach
GTAP, now a flagship feature of alGROWithm Academy's EdTech offerings, is expanding its reach. Beyond Nigeria and Ghana, the program is now open to applicants from Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and South Africa. The move aims to democratize access to growth-focused education, creating a more inclusive environment for aspiring Growth Hackers across multiple African nations. The upcoming application window for the next cohort is set to close in February.
GTAP Program Offerings
alGROWithm has identified and addressed critical needs in the ecosystem, leading to the introduction of two program flavors: GTAP Lite and GTAP Pro. GTAP Lite, a 100% online version, caters to individual Growth enthusiasts, offering flexibility and accessibility. On the other hand, GTAP Pro focuses on companies, empowering them to upskill their existing teams. With a hybrid delivery structure, GTAP Pro combines in-person Growth Hacking bootcamps with online lectures and workshops.
Success Stories and Ongoing Commitment
Bili Sule, Founder & Chief Growth Officer, highlights the success of the GTAP Pro model, citing collaborations with companies like Paga, Figorr, and Kebble. The positive outcomes from these engagements have reinforced the decision to offer both GTAP Lite and GTAP Pro moving forward. In the coming year, alGROWithm aims to train over 150 Growth Leads across East, West, and Southern Africa, reinforcing its commitment to bridging the Growth talent gap.
Joining the Elite Ranks of Growth Engineers
For those aspiring to become part of Africa's elite Growth Engineers, alGROWithm's GTAP is more than just a program; it's a transformative journey. As alGROWithm expands its reach, the GTAP promises to reshape the narrative of talent development, unlocking new possibilities for African businesses and creating a legacy of growth and innovation.
Interested candidates and companies may apply for the February or July 2024 cohort intakes [here].