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Breaking crypto news from the last week (Oct. 15 – 21, 2022):
Oct. 15: TRON founder Justin Sun announced a merger between the TRON network and the Heco Chain. In his words, the TRON and BitTorrent chain network will merge with developers from Heco. Sun made this announcement a day after revealing his Huobi tokens holdings. On Friday, he said that he has up to 10 million Huobi Tokens (HT).
Oct. 17: Mastercard announced the Crypto Source program, which will make it easier for banks and financial institutions to offer cryptocurrency trading. The payments giant is teaming up with Paxos to launch the service and take care of compliance and security.
Aptos Labs blockchain announced the long-anticipated launch of its mainnet, becoming the first of the Facebook spin-off networks to premiere and test its multibillion-dollar valuation. However, until the Aptos token, wallets, trading venues, and DApps debut, there won’t be many use cases on Aptos.
Oct. 18: The European Union released a package of documents related to an action plan for implementing the European Green Deal and the REPowerEU Plan, which aim at energy savings by digitalizing the energy sector. In place of Proof-of-Work mining, the EU plans to increase the Proof-of-Stake concentration in the bloc.
Oct. 19: Tesla’s Bitcoin holdings remain unchanged from Q2 2022, or about $218 million worth, the documents released by the car manufacturer say ahead of its Q3 investor relations call. Despite the crypto bear market, Tesla remains one of the largest Bitcoin corporate holders.
Oct. 20: Stablecoin issuer Tether will make USDT available at 24,000 ATMs in Brazil starting Nov. 3. The mutual conversion of Tether and Brazilian reals will be managed by the local crypto services provider SmartPay and the ATMs’ owner TecBan.
Oct. 21: Gavin Wood, the Polkadot co-founder, is stepping down as the CEO of Parity Technologies, the blockchain development company behind the Polkadot ecosystem. Björn Wagner will now lead Polkadot’s key backer company.


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12:04 26th May, 2016
Alcatel To Support Google's Daydream Platform
Alcatel will introduce Daydream-ready flagship smartphones, demonstrating its continuing commitment to VR.
Alcatel has announced that it is one of the first global smartphone manufacturers to support Daydream, a platform for high-performance mobile virtual reality (VR) recently unveiled at the Google's annual developer conference, Google I/O.
As part of Alcatel's collaboration with Google to support these new VR experiences, Alcatel's worldwide customers will be able to experience Daydream on future smartphones within the brand's expanding product portfolio. Alcatel's engineers and designers are working closely with Google to enhance the user experience of the platform, and are committed to delivering an immersive audio experience, better display and premium content, including music, gaming and entertainment.
"We appreciate Google's recognition of Alcatel's ability to deliver a high-quality, optimized Android virtual reality experience," said Dan Dery, Alcatel's Chief Marketing Officer. "We are dedicated to enriching the VR ecosystem by providing innovative solutions for hardware, content and the user experience. This continues our commitment to bringing our consumers the latest VR technology customized to their needs."
Alcatel's early collaboration with Google proves the brand's understanding of Millennial and Gen Z consumers, who are avid entertainment seekers. It also shows Alcatel's ability to deliver the latest technology that resonates with its consumers.
The award-winning IDOL 4, whose packaging transforms into virtual reality goggles, sets the trend in the industry. Being one of the first original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to support Daydream confirms Alcatel's dedication to VR innovation.
Daydream-ready smartphones will run on Android N (previewed to developers in March).
Alcatel will launch its devices in the first half of 2017.
- Bobble AI bullish on growing business via regional content; announces dedicated keyboard in Malayalam
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domain: news


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Making It Work: Cork firm doubles workforce to supply HSE medical gowns
Bensons Workwear in Midleton branched out into medical wear with the onset of the pandemic, and hasn’t looked back
Bensons Workwear will more than double its 22-strong workforce on foot of new contracts secured in March to make medical gowns for frontline HSE workers.
The Cork company, based in Midleton, delivered its first consignment of 200 gowns to a hospital in Cork city in mid-March, and is now making an average of 3,000 gowns a day for five hospitals in the south and south-west.
Beni Moussa, its chief executive, said the company would create 25 new...
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Dingle boatmen claim government has left them high and dry with no support
Ferry operators in the Co Kerry tourist town, hard hit by the pandemic and the disappearance of Fungie, say the state has ignored their pleas for a concession on harbour fees
Peachylean seeks extra €1m funding after Dragons’ Den success
Founder Sharon Keegan says her firm aims to expand its sports and leisure wear brand into the Australian and US markets
Making It Work: E-bike firm plugs into power of green revolution
Retailer GreenAer is on track to open three more outlets across Ireland and has struck deals with partners in France and Spain
Making It Work: Yatta’s €1.1m funding win shows good financial planning
The Dublin start-up’s platform allows businesses to help customers manage their finances in an easy, accessible and engaging way


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April 8, 2020
Leïla Menchari was once artistic director of Hermès' flagship Parisian store windows at 24 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, amazing passersby with astonishing, bold displays. Image credit: Hermès
By Luxury Daily News Service
French luxury giant Hermès paid tribute to Leïla Menchari, a Tunisian-French window dresser who, for decades, set the looks for the brand’s flagship store in Paris.
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Singtel has partnered with Lazada Singapore to launch the 99% SME e-marketplace. The marketplace is a dedicated portal hosted on Lazada.SG for local small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to advertise their offerings and tap on a wider online customer base.
The move follows a recently released report by the Committee on the Future Economy, which recommended that SMEs, which form 99% of registered companies in Singapore, be provided expertise and financing support to help them adopt digital technologies.
According to Bill Chang, chief executive officer of group enterprise at Singtel, the 99% SME e-marketplace augments Singtel’s nationwide 99% SME campaign. It will also provide SMEs with an online marketing platform with no additional on-boarding costs to better scale their businesses in the e-commerce space.
“This is also in line with the committee on the Future Economy’s call to help SMEs adopt digital technologies,” Chang added.
“As a marketplace, we want to equip our sellers, many of whom are SMEs, with the best tools available in Singapore to help them succeed. We are excited about this partnership and the increased reach which sellers can now access across Singapore. Sellers who advertise will be able to reach over 3.5 million visitors1 monthly,” Alexis Lanternier, chief executive officer, Lazada Singapore, said.
Singtel, together with DBS and other partners, launched the inaugural 99% SME campaign in 2015 to rally all in Singapore to use products and services offered by SMEs. The highlight of the SME campaign is the annual SME Week in October where participating SMEs give customers special offers.


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The U.S. Food and Drug Association (FDA) is recalling El Abuelito Queso Fresco, which is sold in Connecticut, after confirming that it carries Listeria monocytogenes.
The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) is warning consumers, restaurants and retailers not to eat, serve or sell the cheese due to lab findings that confirm the product is the source of a multi-state Listeria outbreak.
All Queso Fresco products with sell-by dates through March 28, 2021, have been recalled.
The El Abuelito cheese products being recalled in Connecticut are Queso Fresco Regular, Queso Fresco Promocion, Queso Fresco de Hoja, Queso Fresco and Queso Fresco Guatemala.
Officials said that the "whole genome sequencing" analysis by the CT State Laboratory confirmed Listeria found in the cheese samples collected last week genetically matched Listeria found in four other states.
The company is working with the FDA and has issued a recall for all Queso Fresco cheese they produce. This includes both the company brand and private labels such as Rio Grande and Rio Lindo, the DPH said.
Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, pregnant women and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy individuals may also experience symptoms including high fever, severe headaches, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, according to the DPH.
Seven people have been hospitalized, including one in Connecticut. Four people in Maryland, one person in New York, and one person in Virginia were also hospitalized, according to the FDA.
The product that tested positive came from El Abuelito, a manufacturer based in Paterson, New Jersey.
For more information on the FDA investigation, click here.


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TOKYO (Feb. 14, 2014) — Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. (YRC) reported record sales and income for fiscal 2013, reflecting a recovery in the firm's tire business in North America and China.
Operating income jumped 14 percent to $579.8 million on 7.5-percent higher sales of $6.16 billion. Net income was up 7.3 percent to $358.3 million.
In addition to sales gains in China and North America, Yokohama said its results benefited from strong sales of high-pressure hoses, industrial materials and aircraft fixtures and components together with a decline in raw materials costs and the weakening yen/dollar value.
The strong showing prompted YRC management to call for another year of record sales and earnings. The company projects that operating and net income will improve about 11 and 7 percent, respectively, with sales growing about 7.5 percent.
Yokohama's tire operations reported 6.1 percent better operating income of $471 million on 7.9-percent higher sales of $4.92 billion. YRC said the recoveries in North America and China offset the adverse effects of slumping demand in Russia and elsewhere in Europe and escalating price competition worldwide.
Yokohama posted overall sales growth in Japan, bolstered by gains in original equipment and replacement tires, including "vigorous" demand for fuel-efficient vehicles.
YRC's business in North America grew 21.2 percent to $1.38 billion. Operating income, however, slid 15 percent fto $49.8 million.


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COCONUT CREEK — City officials here are strongly committed to electric vehicles. The city fleet includes five electric trucks and two bicycles, and four hybrid electric buses should be plying the streets by summer's end.
Eventually, charging stations for electric cars and trucks will be installed around town.
Trouble is, the city's own landscaping laws would prevent drivers of electric vehicles from plugging into those charging stations. Current landscape laws require all mechanical equipment or hardware to be screened by shrubbery or fences, making it hard to get to the juice needed to propel the vehicle.
"That would make it inaccessible," development services director Sheila Rose told the City Commission.
The landscape law is meant for such things as air conditioners and power relay stations, she said. If applied to an electric charging station, she added, "People couldn't get to it."
In fact, City Manager John Kelly concedes two charging stations at City Hall, designed to service the city's electric vehicles, are in violation of the landscape law.
The City Commission unanimously voted recently to exempt electric vehicle charging stations from the law.
"Basically, all it is, is simply to allow installation of electric charging stations, which we all want," Mayor Sam Goldsmith said.
Kelly, a longtime advocate of electric vehicles and prominent member of Broward County's electric vehicle program, has test driven electric prototype cars in his daily commute. Eventually, he said, new homes will be built with charging stations installed in garages.


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Gardeners providing nesting habitats in gardens has risen by 11% to 24%. The number building ponds is up 5% to 17%. The HTA said gardeners felt they could control wildlife but not climate change.
The report said gardeners may be feeling "environmental fatigue caused by relentless warnings about climate change", while the recession means people are more worried about pensions, their savings and property prices than the environment.
HTA marketing director Andrew Maxted said the report identified opportunities for water and waste and wildlife product companies.
- Meanwhile, another HTA report, entitled Gardeners Online, has discovered that the proportion of people buying gardening products online has not changed greatly since 2007, but gardening companies can increase footfall by setting up a website and using social-networking sites.
The HTA said eight per cent of all garden product sales (including plants) are made either online or through mail order - categories it does not split in its research.
Plants account for 75% of mail-order/online garden-related sales. Mail order and online account for 12% of total retail plant sales and four per cent of non-plant sales. The research was undertaken by Ipsos MORI.


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CoinDesk (Crypto trade publication) hires Lazard for exploring a sale as Crisis Deepens at DCG, its parent company. CoinDesk (Crypto trade publication) is exploring a potential sale. It is hiring advisors at Lazard to make a move that will remove it from the Digital Currency Group of Barry Silbert.
The CEO Kevin Worth said in an emailed statement that over the last few months, they have received numerous inbound indications of interest in CoinDesk. Here, the Wall Street Journal was the first to report on the company’s hiring of Lazard.
About the Company
CoinDesk was launched in the year 2013. It broke the 1st story about the potential balance sheet improprieties. It was at the Sam Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research. That reporting sparked a debate at the crypto exchange FTX, ultimately leading to the company’s collapse in November. Also, this included the arrest of Bankman-Fried and other regulatory probes made.
The contagion from the FTX meltdown also hit CoinDesk’s sister company, Genesis. Genesis is a crypto lender which was owned by DCG. It hired advisors for a potential bankruptcy filing after freezing its withdrawals and loan origination. Genesis was also the subject of a Securities and Exchange Commission charge along with the crypto exchange Gemini.
The CEO Kevin Worth said that Lazard will help CoinDesk to explore different options in order to attract growth capital to the business of CoinDesk business, as this may include a partial or full sale.


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Netflix’s new ad-supported plan is launching in 12 countries on Thursday as advertisers, investors, and the big studios are eager to see if the streaming giant will be able to attract even more people to its platform.
The new ad-based subscription plan, announced in mid-October, is cheaper than a basic plan without ads – members in the United States, for example, will have to fork out $6.99 per month. Users in the United Kingdom will pay £4.99 every month.
Officially, the new tier is called Basic with Adverts and is available in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Spain, the UK, and the US.
As the recently-released third quarter earnings show, Netflix is still profitable and is again attracting millions of new subscribers – but the company wants more revenue because competition is constantly growing.
Besides, worries about subscription fatigue fail to subside since the platform’s subscriber base shrank for two consecutive quarters this year. This led to a halving of Netflix’s market value.
“Basic with Adverts also represents an exciting opportunity for advertisers – the chance to reach a diverse audience, including younger viewers who increasingly don’t watch linear TV, in a premium environment with a seamless, high-resolution adverts experience,” Netflix said in October.
Even though the new plan is cheaper, users will have to get used to ads that will play for four to five minutes per hour of streaming. What’s more, subscribers to Basic with Adverts will not be able to download titles.
Finally, Netflix admits that up to 10% of films and TV series will not be available due to licensing restrictions. The number of unavailable titles varies from country to country.
That’s because the streaming giant does not own some of its popular shows, such as Gilmore Girls or Friends. These are licensed by rival studios such as Universal, Sony, and Warner Bros.
In some cases, agreements were drafted back when Netflix had been against advertising on the platform and did not allow to run the content on an ad-supported tier if such a plan was ever launched – which it was.
Major studios have been negotiating with the streaming company about licenses for months now. One of the issues they will surely be keen to discuss is how to split the ad revenue.
For now, Netflix insists the new ad-supported tier is not a revenue-sharing model, but, as the Financial Times reports, the industry expects the position to change soon.
Besides, the studios and talent hope to regain some of the performance-based pay. For instance, Squid Game was hugely popular, but the talent behind the show was only paid what was agreed in the original contract.
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Payoneer Strengthens Leadership Team and Board with Global Experts
- E-Commerce , Payments
- 10.09.2021 12:20 pm
Keren Levy Appointed President and Arnon Kraft Joins as Chief Operating Officer
Pamela H. Patsley Joins Board of Directors
Payoneer Global Inc., the commerce technology company powering payments and growth for the new global economy, today announced three key Payoneer Chief Operating Officer, Keren Levy, will now serve as President, focusing on increasing Payoneer’s global profile as it scales. She will also continue to lead Merchant Services, one of Payoneer’s newest and fastest-growing business lines. Levy was recently honoured by PaymentsSource as one of the Most Influential Women in Payments 2021.
“Keren has been a strong, inspirational leader at Payoneer for the past 12 years,” said Scott Galit, Chief Executive Officer at Payoneer. “She has been instrumental in driving our growth worldwide, passionately and relentlessly delivering for our customers, and she has been critical to shaping the corporate culture that defines us. Keren’s tireless drive, combined with her compassionate approach to leadership, have helped us maintain the energy, spirit, and values that are so distinctly Payoneer.”
In other appointments, Arnon Kraft has joined Payoneer as the company’s new Chief Operating Officer. Kraft is a seasoned executive with global experience at large enterprises including Microsoft and SanDisk. Kraft will be instrumental in shaping the next phase of Payoneer’s global growth and execution.
“I’m excited to have Arnon lead the expansion of our capacity and bring his unique perspective and skillset to Payoneer,” said Galit. “Arnon’s global leadership experience and commitment to delivering an excellent customer experience align perfectly with our business, as he continues to expand our localised operations all over the world.”
Payoneer will also be strengthening its Board of Directors with the addition of Pamela H. Patsley. Patsley was most recently executive chairman of MoneyGram International, Inc. and was Chief Executive Officer of the company from 2009 -2015. Prior to MoneyGram she held executive roles at First Data Corp., Paymentech, Inc. and First USA, Inc. She serves on the boards of Texas Instruments Inc., Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. and Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. She will also serve on the Audit Committee as chairman and will be a member of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee.
“Pam possesses extremely relevant executive and Board experience in the financial services industry and we are thrilled to welcome her to the Board,” concluded Galit. “She joins us at an exciting time at Payoneer, after our entry into the public markets and as we continue to execute on our long-term strategy to be the world’s go-to-partner for digital commerce everywhere.”


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IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --
Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) today announced that production of hard drives in its facilities close to Bangkok, Thailand, will be constrained in the current quarter due to the severe flooding in Thailand. The flooding is causing problems with the region's infrastructure, including transportation and utilities, and has resulted in the inundation of some supplier facilities and employee homes. The company is gratified to report that its approximately 37,000 Thailand-based employees are deemed safe at this time.
The company is working with its suppliers to maximize throughput and availability of parts in order to best meet the needs of its customers.
In the quarter ending July 1, 2011, WD shipped approximately 54 million hard drives from its facilities in Thailand and Malaysia, with approximately 60 percent coming from its Thailand sites. The company's Thailand operations source much of its supply of components from local suppliers.
While WD's facilities in Thailand are operational, production has been suspended on a temporary basis to protect its employees and its facilities and equipment against water ingress. The company indicated that conditions associated with the continued flooding are evolving quickly and the extent of the impact on its operations in Thailand cannot yet be fully determined. The company will provide further updates on the situation, including on its investment community conference call on Wednesday, October 19, 2011.
WD, one of the storage industry's pioneers and long-time leaders, provides products and services for people and organizations that collect, manage and use digital information. The company designs and produces reliable, high-performance hard drives and solid state drives that keep users' data accessible and secure from loss. Its advanced technologies are configured into applications for client and enterprise computing, embedded systems and consumer electronics, as well as its own consumer storage and home entertainment products.
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Tyson Johnson, CFE
Investigator dives deep into digital data
Before even graduating from college, Tyson Johnson, CFE, CPP, VP of business development at BrightPlanet in Ontario, had spent hundreds of hours conducting surveillance, performing interviews, writing reports, conducting undercover investigations and even testifying in court. Johnson says that his passion for fighting fraud is something that he has always possessed. “I spent my summers and free time between studies working as a private investigator, cutting my teeth on suspect personal injury claimants for insurance firms,” Johnson said. “It started early in my life and has simply become part of who I am.”
I was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Growing up in Canada, I had the good fortune of seeing much of the country as my family lived in both Ontario and Alberta throughout my youth.
I have always been passionate about “intelligence” and its ability to help nations, companies and individuals to make better decisions by identifying risks and opportunities. While in university, I knew I wanted to enter the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). I was fortunate to be selected by CSIS, and I enjoyed my time with that organization. It was during my years as an Intelligence Officer that I obtained my CFE credential and also became aware of BrightPlanet. After departing CSIS I held progressively more senior risk management roles, starting with a global bank, and then two global manufacturing firms, before having the opportunity to join BrightPlanet.
Actually, yes. For the past decade I have used BrightPlanet's services. I began speaking with their leadership five years ago and stated that should they ever wish to move its business into the mainstream (diversify away from government contracts) I would be interested. The phone call happened about six months ago, and the rest is history. I am very excited to help my fellow CFEs with their online anti-fraud objectives.
I am the VP (Head) of business development at BrightPlanet. Ultimately, that translates to being an anti-fraud and risk management practitioner with the opportunity to work with my peers to fight fraud more effectively in the face of an exponentially growing online information universe. For example, we help Big Pharma groups identify Online Pharmacies (OLPs) – more than 50,000 and counting. We look for fraudulent, counterfeit or diverted products, map the relationships between OLPs, payment processors and other participants. We create targeted packages for Big Pharma to use for law enforcement actions.
Online investigations have changed and will continue to change as fast as the technology changes. Years ago, I remember conducting an investigation and obtaining an Anton Pillar (civil search order) to collect digital data devices for forensic review. That amounted to one desktop computer, one thumb drive and diskettes. Today, anyone looking to collect digital data will need to deal with laptops, smart phones, thumb drives, MP3 players, SD cards, Dropbox accounts, Gmail accounts and social media profiles, all while ensuring privacy laws, data ownership issues and other legal issues are properly dealt with. Not to mention the difficulties we face with Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) strategies at the workplace. This happens when personal devices are used to access the internet within a secure environment and employees have access to confidential information.
We are witnessing legal battles on the issue of what constitutes rights of a person as it pertains to the physical and digital self. Companies such as Craigslist are challenging the openness of the information on its site — claiming it is the property of Craigslist and cannot be accessed for any other purposes than as stipulated in the fine print. At the same time, the body of information grows exponentially throughout the deep web. Fraudsters know this massive amount of data is difficult to harvest and analyze at scale, so they often feel invisible and well protected as they perpetrate online fraud. Supporting the fraudsters, we are seeing an ever-increasing push for online shopping and banking. All actions we once performed in person will soon become the exclusive domain of the online world. Fraudsters have been perfecting their craft in online fraud ever since the internet was born 20 years ago. We can expect fraud to increase online, and our job is to leverage tools to fight the battle better than we do today.
Become rooted in the fundamentals of fraud investigation, but remain innovative and open to embracing changes in the legal and technological landscapes.Tyson Johnson, CFE
VP, Business Development – Private Sector, BrightPlanet
Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Become rooted in the fundamentals of fraud investigation, but remain innovative and open to embracing changes in the legal and technological landscapes. Find a good mentor and listen to their counsel. Become a lifelong learner in fighting fraud and take pride in your work.
I enjoy being with my family and watching my son play hockey.
ACFE membership is open to individuals of all job functions, industries and levels of experience who are interested in the prevention, detection and deterrence of fraud. If you want to level up your anti-fraud career, we can help.


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“No. I am your father.” Those five words will forever echo across the galaxy far, far away and the annals of cinema. It’s one of the most shocking moments in movie history; the evil Darth Vader stunned the world when he told the heroic young Luke Skywalker what Obi-Wan never did. Now, for the 40th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back, that seminal moment will be brought to life with the Star Wars Bespin Duel LEGO set.
StarWars.com has announced as part of the ongoing celebration of The Empire Strikes Back‘s release 40 years ago on May 21, 1980, that its most famous scene will be commemorated with a fantastic new LEGO collection. The all-new Star Wars Bespin Duel set recreates Luke and Vader’s first lightsaber battle. However, it focuses on the end of the scene when Vader dropped the biggest truth bomb in sci-fi history. Two previous Cloud City sets have included this scene. But this is the first time it has ever had its own breakout collection.
Designer Jens Kronvold Frederiksen told StarWars.com about the creation of the set. He focused on the visual design and details. The set is more of a collectable than a toy, and even comes with a display base.
They also sought to make it as screen accurate as possible. To do that they watched the sequence “over and over again.” They also used original reference images provided by Lucasfilm, which included some black-and-white pictures from the set.
The design is so accurate the two mini-figs of Luke and Vader aren’t wielding lightsabers. Luke had already lost his (and his hand) by that point in the scene. And Vader had turned his off. They’re still included with the 295-piece set, though. Fans will still want them. (Otherwise Maz Kanata will end up with them and we’ll never know how or why.)
You can get your LEGO Star Wars Bespin Duel set exclusively at Target.com starting August 27. We don’t have to wait though know one thing, though. This LEGO set will still be just as powerful in 40 years.
Featured Image: Star Wars/LEGO


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New vehicle sales in Vietnam fell just slightly in June 2023, to 21,893 units from weak year earlier sales of 22,067 units, according to wholesale data released by the Vietnam Automotive Manufacturers Association (VAMA).
This followed much sharper declines throughout the first half of the year, reflecting a sharp slowdown in economic growth in the country. GDP growth slowed to 3.7% in the first half of the year, with second quarter growth slightly stronger than the first, despite a return of international tourism after last year’s Covid restrictions. This compared with growth of 8% in the whole of 2022, reflecting a sharp slowdown in consumer spending and exports.
Vietnam’s central bank moved to support the domestic economy points in the last few months by cutting its benchmark interest rate by 150 basis points to 4.5% from a peak of 6% earlier in the year. The finance ministry also cut vehicle registration tax by 50% at the beginning of July until the end of the year to help the support domestic vehicle manufacturers.
Vehicle sales in the first half of 2023 fell 34% to 122,626 units from 185,466 in the same period of last year, with deliveries of passenger vehicles dropping by 38% to 91,807 units while commercial vehicle volume was down 15% at 30,819 units.
The data did not include sales of some key brands, including Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai and domestic startup VinFast, which together accounted for an estimated 23% of total vehicle sales last year.
Hyundai was reported to have sold 22,903 vehicles in the first five months of 2023, making it the country’s leading car brand.
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Truong Hai (Thaco) group, the local assembler and distributor of brands such as Kia, Mazda, Peugeot and BMW-Mini and a major player in the commercial vehicle segment, reported a 44% plunge in group sales to 41,607 units year to date.
This included a 51% drop in Kia sales to 17,241 units, a 28% fall in Mazda sales to 14,089 units and an 81% plunge in Peugeot sales to 1,232 units while Thaco truck sales were down 36% at 7,619 units.
Toyota sales fell by 38% to 26,637 vehicles in the six month period benefiting Ford which reported an 80% surge to 17,423 units, thanks mainly to strong demand for its locally made Ranger pickup truck, while Mitsubishi sales fell 29% to 12,847 units, Honda 9,488 units (-53%) and Suzuki 7,770 units (-15%).
A number of foreign brands have announced plans to enter Vietnam’s electric vehicle market, which will inevitably put further pressure on domestic startup VinFast as well as established foreign brands.
BYD said it planned to build an EV plant in the country while Hyundai launched the Ioniq 5 in May and Mercedes-Benz said it would introduce three EVs this year.


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Meyers Manx, the original maker of the Volkswagen Beetle-based, fiberglass-bodied beach buggy from the 1960s, just published the starting price for its all-new, all-electric Manx 2.0 electric buggy, and it’s not exactly cheap.
Revealed last year at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, the company’s first all-new vehicle in nearly 20 years starts at $74,000 for the base variant with the 20-kilowatt-hour battery pack and yet-to-be-released performance figures. That’s almost as expensive as the recently introduced Tesla Model S Standard Range, which starts at $78,490 and offers a 320-mile range.
The base MSRP came with no extra information and was casually thrown in a sentence at the end of the press release for the company’s new Resorter Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV), which debuted last week at The Quail, so we still don’t know how much the top-of-the-line model will set prospective customers back.
Gallery: Meyers Manx 2.0 Electric
When it was first announced last year, Meyers Manx said that the reimagined dune buggy will be available with either a 20 kWh or a 40 kWh battery pack, as well as a 6 kW onboard charger as standard and optional 60 kW DC fast-charging availability.
The bigger battery variant was touted as having a dual-motor setup powering the rear wheels only and making a combined 202 horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque, enabling a 0 to 60 miles per hour sprint in 4.5 seconds and a driving range of up to 300 miles on a full charge. Meanwhile, the base version with a 20 kWh battery is said to offer exactly half the range and less powerful motors.
A limited beta series of 50 units is expected to be manufactured this year, while full production and customer deliveries are set to begin next year, after the beta testers report on their findings and allow the company to make necessary changes.
Customers can place a $500 deposit on the firm’s website to secure a spot in the queue, the same as with the recently revealed Meyers Manx Resorter NEV, which starts at $49,000 and is limited to 25 mph.
As always, we'd like to know what you think about this, so head over to the comments section below to give us your thoughts.


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Today might be
iPhone day Rex Manning Day, but Samsung Mobile head JK Shin is attempting to make some news of his own with his latest comments to the Korean press. Speaking to Korean news agency Yonhap, Shin indicated that he expects the company's flagship Galaxy S3 phone, currently sitting at over 20 million units, to hit the 30 million mark before the year's end. Such a figure would be unprecedented for any single Samsung smartphone -- even the popular Galaxy S2 topped out at 20 million earlier this year.
Shin also told Yonhap that the recently announced Galaxy Note 2 is expected to shift twice as many units as its predecessor, though this seems to be a long-term target, rather than an aim for the next three and a half months. As the original Note sold 10 million worldwide, the new target, it seems, is 20 million.
With Samsung phones in general -- and the Galaxy S3 specifically -- continuing to fly off store shelves, we wouldn't bet against Samsung reaching either of its lofty goals. Nevertheless, it'll face stronger competition than ever over the next quarter, not least of which from whatever Apple announces in eight hours time.
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Alex was with Android Central for over a decade, producing written and video content for the site, and served as global Executive Editor from 2016 to 2022.


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As many Blinks have expected, Rosé made her Met Gala debut this year.
The member of the K-pop sensation Blackpink walked the beige carpet of the Gala wearing a Saint Laurent dress from the label’s winter 2021 collection. Simple and chic, the black dress features a giant white bow on its neckline and styled the look with a high-glam choker and statement earrings.
Accompanying her is Anthony Vaccarello, Belgian fashion designer and currently creative director at Saint Laurent.
Take it from Rosé. You can never go wrong with a little black dress, even at the Met Gala.


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House of Fraser needs Â£50m to avoid administration
and live on Freeview channel 276
It is estimated 160 jobs could be lost as a result of the closure">It follows an announcement earlier this year that Chichester’s House of Fraser will close in early 2019.
The axing of 31 stores nationwide was an attempt to In its announcement, the chain said the move is a matter of survival">stablise the department store’s finances to ‘survive’ but the impending departure of the chain from Chichester’s West Street was met with sadness.
Usdaw has urged House of Fraser management, which now needs £50m to avoid administration, to engage with the union representing some of its employees.
Dave Gill, Usdaw National Officer, says: “This news will decimate the hopes of thousands of staff who have been facing an uncertain future ever since the company announced it would close 31 of its 59 stores earlier in the year.
“House of Fraser is an iconic brand and it will be devastating for everyone involved if it goes in to administration.
“Although House of Fraser does not recognise Usdaw, I am urging the company to engage in talks with us so that we can work together to save jobs.
“In the meantime, Usdaw is providing the support and advice our members require at this very difficult time and we are urging the company to ensure all staff are treated with dignity and are fully consulted.”
See more about the House of Fraser closure in Chichester here:


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Scandinavian media company Modern Times Group (MTG) has restructured its Nordic Entertainment division to provide clearer digital co-ordination and a focus on the Nordic region.
As part of the new organizational structure, the commercial management of digital services Viafree and Viaplay will move under the leadership of Alexander Bastin (pictured, left) SVP and head of MTG’s streaming services in the Nordic region.
Bastin, who is currently VP of Play Nordic, will take on commercial and strategic responsibilities for Viaplay and Viafree. Additionally, Åsa Regen Jansson has been upped from head of finance for MTG Sweden to CFO for MTG Sweden & Viaplay and Viafree.
“By bringing together commercial responsibilities for Viafree and Viaplay in the same place in the organization, we can create an even more distinctive integrated digital offering in all our markets,” said Anders Jensen, EVP and CEO of MTG Nordic Entertainment, in a statement.
Also blossoming from the company’s restructuring will be the newly established departments of MTG Tech Digital and Nordic Entertainment Operations.
Heading MTG Tech Digital will be Kaj af Kleen (right), who has been named SVP and head. The division takes on responsibility for product development, technology and data management for Viafree and Viaplay.
Filippa Wallestam, meanwhile, will move to SVP and head of Nordic Entertainment Operations from her previous role as head of operations for MTG Sweden. In her new role, Wallestam will be responsible for central marketing and brands, B2B partnerships, strategy and business intelligence for the newly minted Nordic operations team.
In connection with these structural changes, SVP and head of Viaplay Ira Gladnikoff has exited the company “to take on new challenges”.
“Creating an even stronger Nordic operations unit, led by Filippa, will give clarity and consistency to our brands and offerings across the entire region,” added Jensen. “Our local presence is a key strength and we are now reinforcing this further with local sales and marketing resources for Viaplay too, while ensuring that we have pan-Nordic co-ordination in relevant areas.
“Ira has been instrumental in the development of Viaplay into the product and success we have today. I would like to wish Ira the very best for the future and thank her for her fantastic contribution and for all her hard work at MTG and Viaplay over the years.”
The news follows a raft of a moves by the European media company to stabilize its ranks after enduring big changes at the helm, mass layoffs and a sell-off of assets. Most recently, MTG brokered a deal with Providence Equity Partners to sell off its broadcast network for €115 million (US$124 million) after announcing in 2015 that the company would cut 300 jobs across the UK and Scandinavia. Further efforts to right the ship over the years would see MTG selling off various Hungarian channels to Sony Pictures Television Network, selling its Ukrainian pay-TV operations and restructuring its management team.


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September is here, and we are all very excited about two things: everyone’s favorite season, fall, and Apple’s annual product launch.
September 12, the Apple annual event was held at the newly erected Steve Jobs Auditorium (Steve Jobs Theatre) at the Apple campus in Cupertino, California. The auditorium has a 1000-people capacity, equipped with fancy leather seats that feel like “individual armchairs.” The event was the first one to be held in the new auditorium, whose appearance was kept classified until Tuesday morning.
The launch event started at 1 pm with an official welcome from Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook. Cook commemorated Steve Jobs, his vision for Apple, and what great honor it is to name the auditorium after him. He talked briefly about the Apple Park, the company’s newly built headquarters. The campus is entirely powered by renewable energy and designed to be “seamless with nature.”
Angela Ahrendts, the head of retail, then discussed the retail situation of the company. She introduced the newest flagship Apple store, the Chicago’s Michigan Avenue.
The highlight of the event, of course, was the launch of the new Apple products. The company introduced three: the Apple Watch, the Apple TV, and the new iPhones.
Innovations were made in the new and improved Apple Watch. It now is capable of cellular connectivity, which means it can work without being connected to an iPhone. It is also able to stream music, as your iPhone does.
It retained some of its features, such as the heart rate monitor and glucose monitor. The new Apple Watch also promotes healthy and better lifestyle, as it can notify you when you seem to be inactive, or your heart is not beating in its regular rhythm.
A new OS will be available for the Apple Watch on September 19. Considered as practically a new phone,’ it has its own SIM card and data connectivity. You can make and receive calls through the Apple Watch without being connected to an iPhone.
The Apple Watch retails for $329, or $399 with cellular connectivity.
An improved Apple TV was also shown in the event. The Apple TV 4k prides of its ability to deliver the highest-quality of images. A new TV app will also be available for streaming of live sports. The new model is priced at $179.
iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and iPhone X
Cook talked about the history of iPhone, and how it revolutionized mobile phone technology since it was introduced.
The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus were introduced by Phil Schiller, the head of marketing. Three colors are available for both models – silver, gray, and gold.
With a screen display of 4.7 inches on the iPhone 8 and 5.5 on the 8 Plus, both units have Retina HDR displays. The camera was enhanced, now with a 12-megapixel lens and an aperture opening of 2.8 to 1.8. This means that the camera will work better in a dimly lit environment. The camera’s portrait lighting feature, which is still in beta, can focus on the subject better by automatically adjusting the light on the face while dimming the background.
Higher-quality video is also to be expected of the new iPhone. The camera also has a slow-motion mode, which can be used for various artistic shots.
The iPhone X, pronounced as iPhone Ten, has a bigger 5.8 display compared to the iPhone 8. It has housed in a glass panel on both front and back, with an edge-to-edge, super Retina display. There is no more home button, as the model is complete, 100% touch-activated. Swiping up brings the screen back to the home screen.
It also has the FaceID feature, which unlocks the phone by recognizing your face. The feature learns your face, so it will not matter if you had a haircut or a hat or eyeglasses on. People are still half-hearted about this features, as it presents with some challenges especially in authoritarian states.
Animated emojis are also now available in the iPhone’s Messages. Apple also partnered with Snapchat, creating unique, funny, and entertaining filters and overlays. Schiller also guarantees that the battery life of the new iPhones is the best and longest one for any iPhone yet.
The iPhone 8 retails at $699 at the lowest, while the iPhone X starts at $999.
The event was concluded with an invitation to the attendees to try the new Apple products.


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- Loop, a reusable packaging program from TerraCycle, has announced it will soon offer some of its products in select U.S. and Canadian retail stores. The program offers products from well-known brands in specialized returnable containers.
- Loop will roll out the program "in the coming weeks" at some Fred Meyer stores in Oregon, and will follow up with pilots at several Burger King and Tim Hortons locations later this year. Walgreens, Ulta Beauty and other retailers are expected to join the program early next year, said CEO Tom Szaky during a presentation last week. Woolworths in Australia will also join.
- The expansion pivots Loop from an e-commerce site to also having a presence in brick-and-mortar retailers with a “buy anywhere, return anywhere” model. Pilots have already started at Tesco and McDonald's in the United Kingdom, Aeon in Japan and Carrefour in France. Worldwide, the Loop portfolio includes about 500 products from over 150 companies, Szaky said.
Loop is among many businesses attempting to infuse the consumer goods market with more reusable packaging in an effort to reduce virgin plastic and divert packaging from disposal. More and more packaged goods companies are working on implementing reuse pilots, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a proponent of reusable packaging options. Yet the share of reusable packaging has not increased much from 2019 and made up less than 2% of the market by weight in its 2020 progress report.
Szaky sees consumers as a critical force in expanding reuse systems by “voting every day" with their dollars to tell major brands they want reusable alternatives to single-use packaging. However, reuse systems need to be convenient in order to attract a bigger influx of users, he said, and Loop’s retail venture is meant to entice more shoppers to buy reusable versions of products they already purchase.
“Customer acceptance will determine how fast we can scale this across the company, so we'll be looking closely at customer engagement: How products perform, how they show up on the shelf, and and then ultimately sales will be a really important aspect,” said Keith Dailey, vice president of corporate affairs at Kroger, which will begin offering products in Loop containers later this year at some of its Fred Meyer stores.
TerraCycle first introduced the Loop concept in 2019 during the World Economic Forum, first as a home delivery service where customers purchased products in reusable containers online and returned empty containers in a mailable bag. With the new in-store model, Loop products will be grouped together in the same aisle, along with the bin for returns. Customers pay a refundable deposit on the packaging and get the deposit back via the Loop app when they return the container.
Szaky believes the retail portion of the Loop model will help the concept go from a mere pilot to a larger, more sustainable part of the global reuse infrastructure. Consumers are already familiar with reuse programs like those for propane tanks and beer kegs, Szaky said, but he believes those types of programs don’t see major use because "you’re not able to take the propane tank to the beer store or vice versa." Shoppers of Loop-packaged products could buy ketchup in a reusable bottle from Tesco, then return the empty container to a McDonald’s, he said.
Convenience is critical to any sustainable, successful reusable container system, said Elizabeth Balkan, director of Reloop Americas, a nonprofit that works on circular economy and packaging design issues. “It needs to be as easy to use as the conventional packaging,” she said. “You’re not just asking the early adopters, the environmentally conscious consumer to take part. You need to make it easy to use for everyone.”
McDonald's has been monitoring its reusable cup pilot to see if customers are returning the containers as often as they had hoped. “Even in the early stages of this partnership with Loop, we've been learning that our customers don't want to compromise between a sustainable choice and the convenient one,” said Jenny McColloch, chief sustainability officer, during the announcement event.
Return rates for specific stores or pilots weren’t immediately available, but during the launch announcement, Szaky said consumers return about 80% of Loop’s packaging within 60 days of purchase, and some consumers may keep the containers to use again at home.
Though many reusable container programs get initial hype for creating innovative packaging, Balkan said the true metric of a program's success is whether consumers actually return the containers. “The functional metric is how many reusable containers are being put back into the system. If it’s not a very high number, the scalability is called into question,” she said. Loop wants its branded containers to last for at least 10 cycles to get the full environmental benefit compared to single-use packaging.
In order to get a clearer picture of how well reuse systems around the world are doing, and to spur further action in the reuse space, “the recycling rate and reuse rate should be measurable and fully transparent at every stage of the lifecycle,” she said.
Retailers can also leverage their brand recognition to ratchet up reuse options for consumers, Balkan added. “We’re hoping to see retailers acknowledge and embrace the role they stand to play in this,” she said, suggesting that retailers could make public commitments to offer reusable packaging in stores or commit to selling a certain percentage of products in reusable containers.
At the state and local level, Balkan said, legislation that supports reuse initiatives could also help amplify the cause, alleviating the burden on consumers to lead the charge. Others hope to see reuse integrated into extended producer responsibility or deposit return systems.
Some industry players have also shared concern over whether some reuse programs are accessible enough. When Loop first launched its e-commerce concept, some users expressed surprise at how much they had to pay, with deposits for items available through Loop’s retail venture ranging from 15 cents for a Coca-Cola bottle to $10 for a Clorox wipes package, Reuters reported.
In a recent report on corporate initiatives to reduce plastic pollution, the Break Free From Plastic coalition said Loop “gets a lot of positive press and is a pioneer of the concept, yet this targets mid- to high-end consumers with disposable incomes and is therefore not very accessible or inclusive of those on lower incomes."


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As the massive backlog of cargo begins to release into the supply chain, the frenetic situation will be rife with opportunity for cargo criminals, FreightWatch cautioned.
By DOROTHY COX
The Trucker Staff
After reaching a tentative union agreement that covers the West Coast’s 29 seaports, dockworkers are clearing a mammoth backlog of cargo, but FreightWatch warns that in the rush to get goods moved and loaded, cargo safety could take a back seat.
“The requirement to move this enormous surge of cargo coupled with the systemic lack of driver assets yields a decreased quality of available carriers moving cargo through the volatile terrain,” FreightWatch said in a Feb. 26 threat assessment, adding that fewer and fewer drivers have knowledge of cargo security protocols.
The FreightWatch International Supply Chain Intelligence Center will be monitoring the situation but recommends that shippers “take precautionary measures as cargo will remain vulnerable throughout this process.”
Layered security measures are recommended, such as covert GPS tracking and active monitoring.
FreightWatch International provides logistics security services and cargo transparency throughout the supply chain.
The group said that from 2013 to 2014, 25 percent of all loaded cargo theft in the U.S. occurred within 200 miles of the ports of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle, with crimes higher than the national average: 81 percent for clothing and shoes and 47 percent for electronics.
“As the massive backlog of cargo begins to release into the supply chain, the frenetic situation will be rife with opportunity for cargo criminals,” FreightWatch cautioned, adding that all parties involved should follow best practices for transportation security.
Indeed, The Associated Press reported this week that the cargo backlog has “hardly ever been worse,” adding that the 24 container ships anchored outside the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach held so much cargo Feb. 23 that if all their containers were stacked up they would rise more than 300 miles, higher than the orbit of the International Space Station.
“The bottleneck has ensnared farm and manufacturing exports as well as imported auto parts, toys, furniture and coffee beans, just about anything the United States trades with Asian nations,” AP stated.
Last fall, members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union began slowing their work, with marine terminal operators responding by locking them out, and the ensuing tug-of-war causing some shipping jams.
Compounding the problem at LA/Long Beach was a shortage of truck beds to carry containers to and from the dockside yards.
And because of consolidation within the shipping industry, cargo was sometimes randomly loaded aboard ships in Asia rather than grouped by importer or destination, making off-loading a nightmare.
Under a contract reached Feb. 20, leaders of the union and the Pacific Maritime Association agreed that freight would be loaded and unloaded as fast as possible, but Monday found inexperienced workers operating the giant cranes used to unload cargo vessels, adding to more of a slowdown.
The deal reached by unions and terminal operators is for five years but is labeled as “tentative” because it was between negotiators who don’t have the authority to reach a final deal, according to AP.
It will take the union about two months to reach a final agreement.
The Trucker staff can be reached to comment on this article firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Groupon CEO Eric P. Lefkofsky Sells 454,166 Shares (GRPN)
Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) CEO Eric P. Lefkofsky unloaded 454,166 shares of the company’s stock on the open market in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.48, for a total value of $2,942,995.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,828. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.
Shares of Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) traded down 1.56% on Wednesday, hitting $6.30. The stock had a trading volume of 12,427,432 shares. Groupon has a 1-year low of $5.18 and a 1-year high of $12.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $6.27 and a 200-day moving average of $8.04. The company’s market cap is $4.298 billion. Groupon also saw a large increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 80,506,749 shares, an increase of 6.0% from the June 13th total of 75,974,617 shares. Currently, 17.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 15,884,651 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.1 days.
Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the analysts’ consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $757.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $738.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. Groupon’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Groupon will post $0.10 EPS for the current fiscal year.
GRPN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Analysts at ISI Group initiated coverage on shares of Groupon in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $9.50 price target on the stock. Separately, analysts at B. Riley upgraded shares of Groupon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They now have a $9.50 price target on the stock. Finally, analysts at Zacks upgraded shares of Groupon from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. They now have a $7.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.93.
Groupon, Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) is a local e-commerce marketplace that connects merchants to consumers by offering goods and services at a discount.
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Two years ago, Phillips auctioned a Panerai which was full of the copper rust, looking so old. But it was exactly that old watch that was sold at a high price which was the four times of the official price when it was launched. Someone may be surprised why such an old watch would be sold at such a high price. The answer is just because of its rust.
As early as in 2011, Panerai launched its first bronze diving watch which was inspired by the components and parts of the classical sailboats. This year the watch brand released the bronze diving watch again, which caused a heat once it was announced. Comparing with the first generation model, the perfect fake Panerai Submersible watch changed its dial with the brown one and changed its bezel with the brown ceramic.
Without any doubt, this Panerai copy with brown ceramic bezel is difficult to get for it is so popular. Now the bronze becomes the trend in watchmaking industry and many famous brands begin to create its first bronze watch. But Panerai will always be the pioneer.


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Vocal sensations Pentatonix have announced their 2015 “On My Way Home” Tour will come to London’s Eventim Apollo on the 30 April 2015.
The tour takes its name from one of the group’s original songs off of their recent release PTX Vol. III. Pentatonix’s ‘That’s Christmas To Me’ has become one of the biggest holiday albums ever in the USA, currently sitting at no.2 on the Billboard 200 with sales of over 227,000. The album also peaked at #1 on iTunes in over 10 countries including the US, Canada and Norway.
Buy: Get Pentatonix tickets from 10am Friday 19 December at eventim.co.uk | Sign up for a PTX TicketAlarm now.
Their first holiday release PTXMAS (2013) is also still in the charts at no.5 Billboard’s Holiday Albums Chart.
PTX recently premiered the music video for “Dance of The Sugar Plum Fairy” the 6th music video in support of That’s Christmas To Me. The group has also released, “White Winter Hymnal,” “Winter Wonderland / Don’t Worry Be Happy” ft. Tori Kelly, “Mary, Did You Know?”, “Silent Night” and their original song and title track, “That’s Christmas To Me”. All five videos have been viewed over 27 million times.


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Androgyny and a subversion of traditionally masculine and feminine ways of dressing have been themes of Alessandro Michele's Gucci collections since his first in 2015; he likes to cast a few men in his women's runway shows, and vice versa.
But the Kering-owned brand is now taking its ungendered approach to fashion a step further by combining the men's and women's runway shows into a single presentation each season in 2017. CEO Marco Bizzarri made the announcement at the The New York Times International Luxury conference in France on Tuesday and the brand confirmed. "Maintaining two separate, disconnected calendars has been a result of tradition rather than practicality," said Bizzarri at the conference.
A single show will streamline event and marketing costs, but exactly how Gucci plans to cater to men's and women's press and buyers at the same time is yet to be determined. (As is the question of how buyers and press with already strapped budgets will handle having to send representatives to Europe twice each season.) The brand also has yet to announce whether it will show during the men's or women's fashion weeks — or not on either schedule, as is the case with similar runway changes to be implemented at Vetements. But the first unified show will take place at Gucci's Milan headquarters.
In February, Burberry also announced it was combining its presentations in addition to moving its schedule to a "buy now, see now" schedule. But unlike Burberry, Gucci will retain it's current schedule and present collections six months in advance.
"It seems only natural to me to present my men's and women's collections together. It's the way I see the world today," said Michele in a statement released by the brand. "It will not necessarily be an easy path and will certainly present some challenges, but I believe it will give me the chance to move towards a different kind of approach to my storytelling."
The Times says Kering is treating Gucci like a "test case," meaning other Kering brands with collections for both genders (Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga and more) may follow suit.
This story has been updated with a statement from Gucci.


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Star 'vlogger' Zoella boosts cosmetics firm SLG as turnover is set to pass £40m barrier
Video blogging sensation Zoella is boosting turnover at cosmetics firm SLG, which expects to pass the £40million barrier this year.
The company is behind the Zoella Beauty range for the British fashion and beauty vlogger, who has notched up around a billion views on her YouTube channel – and has her own waxwork model at Madame Tussauds.
SLG’s sales have already jumped 40 per cent over the past 12 months. The family business, based in Gloucester, was launched in 1985 as a maker of beauty accessories such as tanning mitts and make-up sponges by Graham Dunkley, the father of chief executive Miles Dunkley.
Sparkling: YouTube star Zoella’s beauty products are now sold in a dozen countries
When Miles joined 20 years ago from a design agency, turnover was just £690,000.
After experimenting with different colours and shapes for make-up sponges, the business diversified.
Now the firm, which employs 150 people, is both a designer and maker of beauty products, and the production of cosmetics applicators, including nail polish remover products and puffs, is just a small part of the business. Its portfolio includes ranges for Topshop, Tanya Burr, Missguided, Superdry, Rush, Laura Ashley, Downton Abbey and Zoella.
The international expansion of core brands within SLG’s portfolio has included the launch of Zoella Beauty into Rossmans, one of Germany’s biggest beauty retail groups.
The brand will be in more than 2,100 German shops following its launch in 1,800 Target stores in the US. It has also just launched at the Australian namesake Target, placing Zoella Beauty in 12 countries.
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Microsoft, which has been busy recently, announced the new operating system Windows 11 in the past weeks. Rumors and leaks, after the Windows 11, which has been talked about for a long time, but there is no clear information about the details. Windows 365 was announced.
Announced with a blog post, Windows 365 seems to offer great convenience to its users today, where cloud systems are becoming an increasingly popular technology in every field. Microsoft in its blog post cloud computer sums up Windows 365 as ‘Securely stream your Windows experience in the Microsoft cloud, including apps, content and settings, to any device’.
It is possible to use on Mac and Linux operating systems or Android tablets:
Windows 365, in its simplest definition, is the Windows operating system installed on your computer. will store everything in the cloud and will allow you to use it on any device. It is not an exaggeration here on the device you want, because it can be used on devices with Windows 365, Mac and Linux operating systems or Android tablets.
Windows 365, which will be available from August 2, will initially for companies will be available, but it is not hard to predict that cloud computing will be available to everyone in the future. Windows 365, which includes various privacy and security enhancements, is a very secure system according to Microsoft.
Introduced at the Microsoft Inspire event Details of Windows 365 If you want to take a look, you can reach the promotional video by clicking here. You can also visit the official page of Windows 365 by clicking here.


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A delicious development for Deer Park
July 23, 2012 by James
Deer Park’s Tanger Outlets has a tasty surprise this summer for weekend shoppers. Every Saturday and Sunday until November, the popular shopping area will host a Farmers’ Market, featuring tempting produce and foodstuffs from businesses across Long Island.
Mary Schneider, one of the original vendors to the market, noted why her customers keep coming back week after week, enthusing:
“You’re getting local, fresh produce. It is not being shipped across the country or shipped internationally from other countries.”
Schneider, one of the owners of Schneider Farms, found the Tanger Outlet to be a convenient location to Melville, where her farm is located.
Farmers’ markets are not typically established at an outlet mall but Justin Wesnofske, owner of a farm in Peconic, is not complaining. The location attracts a different type of customer to other local markets, as he explained:
“We have our regulars and others that just stumble upon us. It’s a little bit different here because of the foot traffic. People are coming in to buy their clothes and end up picking up produce.”
Governor Cuomo’s administration has continued to promote the establishment of local farmers’ markets across the state. In addition to showcasing the wares of farmers and other food and beverage producers, other businesses also gain advantages. More foot traffic in a retail area is always welcome but this type of endeavor also relies on things like printing services to produce the flier and poster printing often used by market vendors to advertise their presence and wares.
Residents and visitors in the Deer Park-North Babylon area will find the Tanger Outlets Farmers’ Market open for business every Saturday and Sunday between 11:00 am. and 3:00 pm from now through November 18.


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Updated January 22nd, 2024 at 12:40 IST
Red Sea crisis affects German chemicals sector as delay in shipments continue
Crucial Asian imports to Europe ranging are currently taking longer to arrive as container shippers have diverted vessels around Africa
Red Sea crisis: Germany's chemicals industry, considered Europe's largest chemical industry, has begun feeling the pinch from delayed shipments via the Red Sea, becoming the latest industry to warn of supply disruptions that have forced various companies to curb production.
Crucial Asian imports to Europe ranging from car parts and engineering equipment to chemicals and toys are currently taking longer to arrive as container shippers have diverted vessels around Africa and away from the Red Sea and Suez Canal, following attacks by Yemen's Houthis.
While the German industry has gotten used to supply disruptions during Covid-19 induced pandemic and Ukraine war, the impact of reduced traffic via the trade artery is starting to show, with Tesla's Berlin factory as the most prominent victim so far.
Germany's chemicals sector, the country's third-largest industry after cars and engineering with annual sales of around 260 billion euros ($282 billion), relies on Asia for around a third of its imports from outside Europe.
"My procurement department is currently working three times as hard to get something," said Martina Nighswonger, CEO of Gechem GmbH & Co KG, involved in mixing and bottling chemicals for major industrial clients.
As a result of the delays, Gechem, which makes annual sales in the double-digit millions of euros, has decreased production of dishwasher and toilet tablets because it can't get enough trisodium citrate as well as sulfamic and citric acid.
The company is therefore reviewing its three-shift system, Nighswonger said, while adding that the ripple effects from the transport squeeze could consistently be viewed as an issue for the first half of 2024.
This is causing frank discussions with customers, Nighswonger added.
"If we get three truck loads instead of six, each customer only gets part of their order quantity, but at least everybody gets something," she said.
Bigger speciality chemicals maker Evonik also said it was being hit by "short notice routing changes and delays", adding some ships had changed direction as many as three times within a few days.
The company said it was trying to mitigate the impact by ordering earlier and switching to air freight, which is considered a stopgap because some chemicals are not allowed to be transported by plane.
(With Reuters Inputs)
Published January 22nd, 2024 at 12:40 IST


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Nintendo corrected one common criticism of the Wii U at this year's E3 press briefing, with the announcement that the system will support two GamePad tablet controllers at once. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime was a little hazy on the details, and didn't show off any gameplay demonstrations to prove the concept. He said they're currently in development, but apparently they're a long way off.
"Games need to be built that can take advantage of the two GamePad controllers," Fils-Aime told Gamasutra. "It's going to be well after launch for those game experiences to come to life. Asymmetric gameplay is going to be the next major step forward, just like active play was when we launched the Wii. We think that's where developers will focus first, then there will be multiple experiences that have two GamePads."
Using two GamePads also comes with technical considerations as well, which is probably why the company was hesitant to offer the functionality in the first place. A tweet from company president Satoru Iwata (via Kotaku) revealed that a second controller cuts the frame rate in half due to the extra work needed to display on both screens. It's possible that Nintendo will find ways to overcome this limitation, but that may not be true for the first generation of dual GamePad titles.


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UberKnowledge Security Podcast
Feature article, sharing insights from Hotshot CEO
By Breana Patel, Founder and CEO Bonova Advisory- Risk and Regulatory Advisory
Find Partner Organizations That Have Common Interests With Your Business. In the current environment, it is tough to distinguish between some product and service companies because of the SaaS model
Brilliance Security Magazine
GDPR: A new ally for CISOs - an interview with Aaron Turner, CEO of Hotshot.
Feature article, by Steven Bowcut
“Among other protections, Hotshot enables organizations to have “Data Protection by Design and by Default,” which is the stated objective of GDPR Article 25”
Encrypted Team Messaging – Why, Where, and When
Compliance Week covers Hotshot’s newly announced partnership with Technoport, and launch of European HQ.
Journal of Cyber Policy
451 Group shares insight and analysis on Hotshot’s newly launched app that enables businesses to address privacy and security challenges with an easy-to-use app.
Idaho Business Review
Journal of Cyber Policy shares insight from Aaron Turner, CEO of Hotshot, on the need for more than standards to protect information from attack.
IAPP: International Association of Privacy Professionals
Idaho Business Review's Sharon Fisher covers the launch of Hotshot's security and policy enforcement capabilities, helping to reduce complexity for businesses to comply with labor law and data privacy regulations.
The IAPP covers Hotshot’s launch to market.


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Buy Milwaukee-made goods, city proposal says
A Common Council committee on Wednesday approved a proposed ordinance that would require the city to purchase certain Milwaukee-made goods valued at more than $30,000, provided the purchase does not increase the cost by more than 12%.
Ald. Tony Zielinski, who is pushing for the ordinance, says it's time to keep American jobs at home. And the way to do that, he said, is to buy from local or American companies.
"Our taxpayers want those jobs here," Zielinski said. "And the city can use its purchasing power to create more jobs."
The proposal before the council's Finance and Personnel Committee passed on a 4-1 vote. Aldermen Michael Murphy, Nik Kovac, Milele Coggs and Ashanti Hamilton backed the proposal. Ald. Joe Dudzik voted against the measure.
Zielinski also has the support of Aldermen Robert Bauman, Jose Perez and Joe Davis Sr. and Council President Willie Hines.
The measure was amended on Wednesday to include a sunset provision. As recommended by Murphy, the chair of the Finance and Personnel Committee, the ordinance would expire on Jan. 1, 2015, if it proves to be ineffective.
For purposes of the ordinance, "Milwaukee-made goods" means an article is manufactured, mined or produced in the city, and the cost of components made in Milwaukee used in the production of the product exceeds 50% of the cost of all of the components.
If a Milwaukee-made good is not available, the city would be empowered to purchase an American-made good, provided the purchase does not increase the cost by more than 12%. The 50% component cost threshold would also apply to American-made goods or products.
There are exemptions. The city's purchasing director can look overseas if the product is not produced in the United States "in a sufficient and reasonably available quantity and of a satisfactory quality."
The purchasing director also can look elsewhere if the good or product is necessary for responding to an emergency that endangers public health and safety. There also are exemptions under the proposed ordinance if the purchasing director cannot come up with specifications that would permit competitive bidding, or the product can be purchased under a cooperative purchasing agreement with the state or other governmental entity.
City Comptroller Martin Matson said Wednesday he felt the proposed ordinance was unenforceable. Rhonda Kelsey, the city's purchasing director, said Wednesday that potential vendors will have to sign an affidavit affirming the product or good is Milwaukee-made or American-made.
Zielinski said the city's loss of manufacturing jobs and high unemployment prompted him to draft the proposed ordinance.
"We need to work to keep jobs in this country, and not let them get overseas," Zielinski said.
City officials who have studied the proposal say it is hard to assess the fiscal impact. A fiscal note estimated that about 56 city contracts would be affected each year. The total annual dollar value of those contracts is about $11 million.


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Tesla Acquires New Startup Shown In Silicon Anode Battery Patent
Tesla’s startup scouting abilities continue, as the American automaker has acquired Colorado-based startup SilLion, Inc., as shown in a new battery-based patent.
Tesla said at its Battery Day that future 4680 batteries will be powered by a new anode enabled by a new silicon © Credit to Tesla
The rumours that Tesla was doing something in Colorado date back to late 2019 after the automaker began listing battery research jobs in the state.
Now we know why. Tesla has acquired startup SilLion, Inc., a Colorado-based battery company. We know this thanks to a new patent for a silicon-based battery anode. An anode that credits SilLion cofounders Daniela Molina Piper and Tyler Evans while Tesla is listed as the ‘Applicant.’
Tesla had previously hired multiple SilLion employees prior to this – which only fuelled the rumours of a Colorado-based R&D operation, to begin with.
The promising startup was working on high-energy batteries based on “high-loaded silicon anodes.” SilLion had received multiple grants from the Us Department of Defense and the US Department of Energy.
However, the company would later go dark in 2018. Here’s a brief description of SilLion’s work from its website – a site that has since been shutdown:
“The company’s technology delivers high-energy batteries by simultaneously incorporating high-loaded silicon anodes, nickel-rich NMC cathodes, and a non-flammable ionic liquid electrolyte and offer an increase in both energy density and specific energy in lithium-ion batteries, enabling users to get safer and lower-cost energy storage devices for defence, consumer electronics, and electric vehicle applications.”
This isn’t the first time Tesla has acquired a promising young startup for its battery knowledge. Earlier this year, the EV brand acquired Springpower for its cathode tech.
Earlier this week, Tesla was spotted shipping battery cell manufacturing equipment at its Giga site in Texas – otherwise known as the Gigafactory Texas.
Tesla’s next-generation 4680 battery cell is shaping up to be quite an improvement from the solid-state batteries used by other car brands. But what do you think? Leave us a comment down below.


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"Way ahead of expectations, the 0.7% increase we see today is a hefty uplift, and further intensifies the pressure for The Bank of England"
The latest figures from the ONS show that on a monthly basis, CPI rose by 0.8% in February, compared with a rise of 0.1% in February 2021. This was the largest monthly CPI increase between January and February since 2009.
CPIH inflation, which includes owner occupiers’ housing costs, rose by 5.5% in the 12 months to February, up from 4.9% in the 12 months to January.
Recreation and culture, clothing, furniture and household goods and food and drink were among the categories seeing the highest price rises.
Derrick Dunne, CEO of YOU Asset Management, commented: “UK inflation continued its climb in February, with the 12-month CPI reading hitting a fresh high of 6.2%.
“Way ahead of expectations, the 0.7% increase we see today is a hefty uplift, and further intensifies the pressure for The Bank of England, who just last week revised its forecast for inflation to peak at 7.7% during the second quarter - almost quadruple its 2% target. An additional hike to the base rate is now looking increasingly likely come May, but the Bank must play a careful balancing act to avoid exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis which is already raging across the UK.
“Against this backdrop it’s rumoured that the Chancellor will today announce new measures – including cuts to fuel duty – to help those hit the hardest by surging household costs. Exactly what will come of the Spring Statement remains to be seen, but what we do know is that the spectre of inflation will hang over us for many months yet. For savers and investors, having an appropriately diversified portfolio – with investments able to perform in an inflationary environment – will be the best precautionary measure they can take right now.”
Steven Cameron, pensions director at Aegon, said: “As feared, the rate of inflation rose sharply in February and is now sitting at 6.2% and forecasted to increase to 8% or above by the year end. Those on fixed incomes will have seen their purchasing power fall by 6.2% over the last 12 months which is particularly worrying for those just getting by.
“The Chancellor’s Spring Statement (later today) has turned into a cost of living ‘not so mini’ Budget, although the longer term financial and economic costs of the pandemic as well as the war in Ukraine pose unprecedented challenges too. This leaves Rishi Sunak with a difficult balancing act when facing calls for temporary or targeted support for those in greatest need.
“With the cost-of-living squeeze on the rise, individuals will face a further hit to their take-home pay from the planned 1.25% National Insurance increase in just a few weeks. And for state pensioners, the 3.1% increase in April is exactly half current inflation, leaving them one step forward but two steps back, undoubtedly leaving many severely stretched.
“It’s clear that lower income households and pensioners are disproportionately affected by inflation rates higher than seen for 30 years. That’s why it’s crucial that in future, as planned, inflation data is refined to show the effect on different household categories.”
Antonia Medlicott, finance editor at comparison website, InvestingReviews, added: "It's official. Inflation has got the UK economy in a headlock.
"Arguably the most worrying part of this report is that there were "no large offsetting downward contributions" to inflation. The cost of everything is moving in one direction, namely up.
"The Bank of England and Government are now well beyond red alert.
"Expect more rate rises in the months ahead as the inflationary storm grows. However, whether incremental rate rises have the ability to contain spiralling inflation is open to debate.
"Savers and real returns are in two entirely different dimensions. They're now little more than a pipe dream for anyone holding their money in cash."


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Apple iPhone X, XR and iPhone XS will start manufacturing in India in early 2019
Apple is ready to start manufacturing its high end iPhone X line-up in India starting in 2019, according to CNBC report. The tech giant company Apple will do partnership with Foxconn to manufacture iPhone X line-up in India. The reason behind this is continuous decrease in sales of iPhone in India due to its expensive price tag.
Apple is already manufacturing iPhone SE and iPhone 6s in India & now they want to expand the manufacturing process. So, how it will help Apple to grab more market in India? Well by manufacturing high end iPhone in India means Indians won’t import it and will help to reduce the cost. This manufacturing line-up includes iPhone X, iPhone XR and iPhone XS.
Apple holds 13 percent of market share in smartphones Worldwide, while it has just 2 percent in India according to Bloomberg report. Apple is now world’s most valuable company but it’s still struggling in India and we all know that the reason behind it is Android. Many Android phone manufacturing companies are trying to capture the Indian smartphone market by providing maximum features in lowest possible price.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said that India could be next China, which is now Apple’s second largest market. While it looks like situation is not in a favour of Apple right now. This strategy will help Apple to capture more market share than it currently has because of reduce in cost on its latest iPhones.


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Dover man accused of putting razor blade in pizza dough faces federal indictment
DOVER — A federal grand jury has charged a Dover man with inserting a screw and a razor blade into pizza dough that made its way to grocery store shelves.
Nicholas Mitchell, 39, faces two counts of tampering with a consumer product last fall in a way that disrupted interstate and foreign commerce, according to the indictment, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine in Portland and unsealed Friday.
Each charge is a Class C felony with a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines, according to court records.
Mitchell was arrested last October on preliminary charges related to the alleged tampering after a Hannaford supermarket in Saco notified local police of a suspected tampering incident.
"A customer had purchased a Portland Pie Pizza dough and located razor blades inside the dough," Saco police said in a Facebook post at the time. "The review of store security surveillance footage revealed a person tampered with the packaging of several Portland Pie Pizza doughs."
Similar tampering incidents were reported at grocery stores in Dover and Sanford.
Saco police identified the suspect as Mitchell, who they described as a former associate of It'll Be Pizza, a company based in Scarborough that manufactures products for Portland Pie.
Mitchell was arrested in Dover and extradited to Maine.
The incidents prompted multiple grocery story chains, including Hannaford, Shaw's and Star Market, to recall Portland Pie Co. pizza dough from the shelves across New England and in New York.
Mitchell is scheduled to make an initial appearance for attorney appointment and arraignment on Monday at 11 a.m., according to court records.


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Luke Song, famed milliner, will be on location at the Wolverine Fur Company. Luke Song designer of “The Inaugural Hat“ worn by Aretha Franklin, church hats and countless award winning Kentucky Derby Hats, will be on location at Wolverine Furs … Continue reading
Fur Vests are Fashionable and Practical We’ve added a new line of fur vests to our collection that feature a built-in stretch leather belt and a zippered front. Full skin fox fur they come in emerald green or deep sapphire … Continue reading
Luxury bags made of fine furs that sort of resemble stuffed animals are going to be everywhere this fall. All major designers report a voracious appetite for luxury fashion, this fall, enter the handbag. WSJ style columnist Christina Binkley joins … Continue reading
Versatile, resilient, organic fur is the best protection against icy, wet, cold, weather. New York fashion week attendees are wearing it in stylish abundance.
Fur hats and fur pants are just some of the ways NY men are facing the icy cold winter. Bill Cunningham, fashion editor with The New York Times takes to the city streets to see how men are braving the … Continue reading


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It shouldn’t come in as a surprise that mobile games rocking popular monikers and microtransactions can make monetary units like there’s no tomorrow. And if an unknown or known company is behind this popular franchise on mobile, then you can bet money is around the corner much like Nintendo’s case with Mario Kart Tour.
The company is pulling is so much money via microtransactions from Mario Kart Tour that they can afford to lose an entire country and walk away unscathed.
According to YouTuber HeelvsBabyface, he took up the opportunity to play the game to find out how bad the racing game’s loot-boxes and microtransactions are in practice. Spoiler alert, they are bad:
Yes, Mario Kart Tour wants gamers to actually spend $4.99 a month through a subscription fee called the “gold pass” to get gold items
in the game and unlock the 200cc mode. A shame, a real shame I tell you given that that mode is free in other Mario Kart games.
The YouTuber also highlighted that around 10.1 million people downloaded the game laden with microtransactions, which means the likelihood of fans dishing out large sums of money is high.
In an attempt to stifle said behavior of throwing money to get ahead in a game, Belgium put its foot down, in this case, to uphold its law on gambling and that means Mario Kart Tour is unavailable in the country known for its waffles.
Publication site 9to5mac.com picked up on this info and reported:
“Nintendo’s Mario Kart Tour was released for iOS and Android on Wednesday, and despite all its success, there has been some controversy over its freemium model. That has already been reflected in its availability in some regions. According to the Brussels Times, the company has opted not to launch Mario Kart Tour in Belgium, as loot boxes are prohibited there.
Players must pay $4.99 a month to unlock all the content. There are also loot boxes that randomly offer more characters and karts that require a “ruby” virtual coin that can be easily purchased by some dollars. That, specifically, is not allowed in Belgium, due to Belgian Gambling Authority regulations that associate payment for unknown content in games as gambling.”
So there you have it. Nintendo is sailing the seas of money to the lucrative mobile island, and although Belgium has the racing game banned, Mario Kart Tour is still pulling in quite a crowd to compensate for the loss of the sovereign state in Western Europe.
Mario Kart Tour is available for free across both iOS and Android devices.


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In wake of the International women’s day, the Indian
government has initiated to help 3000 women entrepreneurs from micro, small and
medium sector (MSME) to sell their products on state-run ecommerce portal
government e-marketplace (GeM).
According to reports, the government will start showcasing
the products created by the 3 thousand women entrepreneurs on the GeM website from
March 7, 2020. This would include products like envelopes, paintings, wall
hangings, file covers, coarse grains, millets, jowar, cloth, jute bags, honey
Eventually, the government will be extending these services
to 58.50 Lakh self-help groups across the country, which comprise of 6 crore
women entrepreneurs in rural India.
The centre has already written to state governments and
designated one officer as a GeM coordinator as well, who will help women
entrepreneurs register online. The government has also taken steps to
facilitate registration at common service centres in villages.
Ecommerce logistics startup Shiprocket, in a study of about
1900 online sellers found out that outside the top marketplaces such as Amazon
and Flipkart, women sellers largely from micro sales on social commerce sites
account for one-fourth of the overall online retails.
As per reports, the government has decided to empower 15
self-help groups (SHG) with the government’s public finance management system
(PFMS) to ensure easy payments for the sales. In fact, an online application
system will be set up to help women’s self-help groups in getting bank loans.
It has been reported that the government is trying to ensure
improved access to bank loans for the self-help groups. A senior official has
quoted, ‘once the app is launched, women entrepreneurs will be able to apply
for loans using the app or an online system. The system has already been
integrated with banking infrastructure so that banks have access to the
The official also quoted that further, once the loan is
approved, the women entrepreneurs will be notified through an SMS Alert. The
entrepreneurs will only be required to visit the bank once the loan has been
approved. The banks will be able to monitor repayments through this system.