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The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has identified consumers abandoning annuities as a cause for concern in this year's Retail Conduct Risk Outlook.
Following the removal of the age 75 rule, low gilt yields and the onset of Solvency II which may further increase the cost of annuities, the regulator expects retirees to increasingly move away from annuity purchase.
Alternative products such as income drawdown may not be appropriate.
It warns annuity alternatives may pose the following risks for consumers looking to withdraw income:
• the capital value of the fund may be eroded;
• the investment returns may be less than those shown in the illustrations;
• annuity or scheme pension rates may be worse in the future; and
• high levels of income may not be sustainable when maximum withdrawals are taken, or a short-term annuity is purchased.
The FSA has said such factors "increase the potential for mis-selling income drawdown products, as advisers are likely to need to consider other variables (capacity for loss, risk, higher costs) that are not typically considered when an annuity is purchased."
Figures from the Association of British Insurers show pension annuity sales declined in 2010 to 426,000, down from 462,000 in 2009. The FSA attributes this to low interest rates and market uncertainty.
Likewise income drawdown plans decreased by 30% between 2009 and 2010 yet the total new premium increased from around £1.8bn to £2.1bn.
In addition, the FSA cautioned: "Consumers have the potential to suffer detriment if they are sold an income drawdown type product when an annuity would have been more appropriate to their circumstances. This risk has the potential to affect all those people entering retirement in the near future."
Annual, tapered, money purchase …
As boss Tim Orton exits
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The Baby Diapers market in Southeast Asia and China: an update for 2022
The Disposable Hygiene industry keeps growing. In 2021, the global retail segment was valued at $112 billion, with more than 40% coming from the APAC region. According to forecasts it will hit $129 billion by 2026. The main Disposable Hygiene and Baby Diaper trends driving this expansion are rising consumer awareness and purchasing power, combined with improving hygiene standards, increased product availability and innovation.
Within the region, the highest-growing area is China, accounting for $28 billion in 2021, followed by Indonesia and Vietnam in Southeast Asia (SEA). As of today, 70% of Asia Pacific region sales take place in China and Southeast Asia.
The shift towards Baby Pants in Southeast Asia's Baby Diapers market
The World Bank has recently downgraded its outlook for SEA. Slowing Chinese growth, US quantitative tightening and the Russo-Ukrainian war cast a shadow on the area. The most powerful drivers for growth are digitalization and innovation.
In this landscape, SEA is predicted to increase its share of the Asia-Pacific Disposable Hygiene market over the next five years, reaching volumes that, combined with China, account for 85% of the growth in the entire region — the main reasons being growing disposable income, hygiene awareness and improved affordability.
Notwithstanding a contracting user base due to declining birth rates, there's no stopping the rise of Baby Pants. Consumers favor Baby Pants despite the higher prices because of how much they help support toilet training while also being more long-lasting and convenient in terms of usability. To satisfy this trend, manufacturers are coming up with new product developments that enhance freedom of baby movement. Once again, innovation takes the center stage. Pricing strategies will be critical, though, in determining whether this market push towards baby pants will translate into wider adoption.
China and Baby Diapers: a slowing, fragmented, very polarized market
Compared to other APAC countries, the baby diapers market in China is unique. For one, it is not growing as much as it was, mainly due to a low birth rate.
Another important factor to consider is how fragmented the Chinese market is. The traditional Chinese style has hit the mainstream, polarizing the market in two factions: on the one hand, high-end, "natural", fashionable, skin-friendly products for Millennial caregivers; on the other, cost-effective solutions for young, middle-class consumers and high intellectual mothers. In addition, product appearance is more important here than elsewhere and consumption trends are deeply diversified, even among the same age group.
The new marketing era of Baby Diapers
With more and more Millennials having children, the identity of the average baby diaper consumer is changing and brands are taking notice. Similar to buyers in the US, Chinese shoppers are increasingly price-sensitive, tech-savvy, information-hungry impulse buyers. They tend to be influenced by short, straight-to-the-point videos on social media and live streaming platforms.
Many Chinese customers are flocking to online communities. In light of this, brands are switching to a content-driven, digital-first strategy, using large discounts as bait to attract young consumers looking for entertainment. In this landscape, conversions and repurchases in specific consumer groups are ever more important, together with brand exposure and reputation — two key factors for retargeting.
Will declining birth rates hinder the baby diaper market in China and SEA?
Birth rates are crashing in China and Southeast Asia. The total fertility rate of ASEAN countries has dropped from 5.5 in 1970 to 2.11 in 2017 and is now below the replacement level. Half of the region has insufficient children to maintain its size. This, combined with a rapidly aging population, does not bode well for SEA.
In China, the situation is no different: the population growth in the past decade was the slowest since the 1950s. China's birth rate is now eight births per 1000, down from 13 in 2017 — an over 11 million drop in the number of children aged zero to four. By 2026, China's diaper user base will shrink to two-thirds of what it was just in 2016. Recently, the Chinese Government announced a major change in policy, allowing three children per couple, up from two in 2016 and one in 1980. This tectonic shift represents a strong reaction to China's birth rate dropping to record low in 2021, as child-bearing willingness keeps falling, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
If we look at the bigger picture, however, these figures tell a different story. According to the World Economic Forum, in the past, an expanding population was the main fuel for the economy, but today, income is the greatest driver of growth. In SEA, it is estimated that two-thirds of the consumption growth up until 2030 will come from increased per capita spending, while one third will come from population growth. If average disposable income continues to rise, that should compensate for the lack of demographic pressure, driving innovation. From 2018 to 2021, in fact, while national baby diaper brands increased their market share in China, OEMs (i.e. Private Labels) have been focusing on technological innovation and new products, positioning themselves to escape competition.
Last but not least, once inflation in commodities dries up, the global supply chain, largely dependent on China and SEA, will take advantage, improving margins for the entire sector. There's mounting evidence that inflation has peaked. China is taking action, exempting key factories from the COVID-19 lockdown to prevent the ongoing supply chain crisis from getting worse. With lockdowns under control and the inflation scare soon to be behind us, the medium- to long-term outlook is positive.
An outlook of the Femcare and Adult Inco market in China and SEA
Innovation is critically important in the Chinese and Southeast Asian Femcare market, in particular when it comes to high-end, value-added features. New products have been launched, such as sanitary towels in pant format in Indonesia, or similar hybrid solutions in China, combining proprietary Japanese technology and body-warming functionality.
At the same time, sustainability is a mounting concern, most notably among Gen-Zers and Millennials. According to Euromonitor International Voice of the Consumer: Health and Nutrition Survey released in 2021, 21% of respondents across China, Indonesia and Thailand are switching to reusable underwear and 8% to reusable pads. Interestingly, a high percentage of respondents use feminine menstrual products for adult incontinence, which shows the vast, unmet potential for disposable Adult Inco diapers in the region.
Speaking about the Adult Incontinence segment, the main barriers remain the same: consumer awareness, social stigma and price-sensitivity. Nonetheless, the outlook is very positive — even more so when we factor in the existing demographic shift taking place in China and Southeast Asia. As a result, Inco products are expected to grow at a CAGR 21-26 of 15%.
In summary, the Baby Diaper sector in China and Southeast Asia is not having its best time, due to a low birth rate, tightening competition and slowing demand. Nevertheless, innovation is a force to be reckoned with, as it might take advantage of the increasing diversification to tap into unexplored market opportunities.
Would you like to deepen this topic? We're eager to help you out.

domain: news


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A new study of the global mobile market has been released, it’s called the “Portio Research Mobile Factbook 2009“. Just as the title says it was conducted by Portio Research and the 36-page report covers a worldwide perspective of everything from Subscriber Base, Mobile Penetration, Overall Revenue, ARPU, Mobile Messaging.. the list continues… The data collected was based on 2008 numbers.
Before we go into details of their report, it’s important to remember Canada’s numbers. According to the CRTC’s “Communications Monitoring Report“, Rogers Wireless had the largest market share 38%, Bell and TELUS followed with 27%. The remaining 8% was shared among regional carriers and MVNOs. In addition, 2008 Canadian wireless revenues reached $15.9 billion (increase of 14.3%). Subscribers hit 22.1 million in 2008 (average annual growth rate of 10.1%). In 2008, the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) was $60 per month.
So now that we know our own stats let’s compare Canada to the rest of the world. According to the Portio Research Mobile Factbook 2009, when it comes to the top 20 worldwide carriers by total revenue the leader is China Mobile with $57.5 billion (all currency is based on USD). AT&T and Verizon are 2nd and 3rd with $49.3 billion and Canada doesn’t even make it to the top 20. Actually, the 20th spot goes to China Unicom with $10 billion a year. Rogers would still be a cool $4 billion off 20th spot on a global scale.
However, Canada did make it on the top 20 list… very exciting until you find out it’s for the “20 operators worldwide by monthly ARPU” category. On a global scale the number one operator from the ARPU standpoint is 3 in the UK with $74.20. Rogers took 6th spot with $60.50 and TELUS grabbed $59.20. These number are close to what the CRTC said earlier this year.
So Canadian carriers don’t show up on the top 20 of worldwide revenues, but do charge our customers some of the highest monthly rates. One final chart at the end of the report combines everything into a “blended ranking” of the top 10 mobile wordwide operators.
This top 10 blend mixes in “various key performance metrics including comparative market share, subscriber growth, technology choice, ARPU, revenue growth, data revenue’s contribution to total revenues, postpaid subscriber share and churn”. It’s based out of 10 and nestled in at 9th spot is Rogers with a score of 8.97.
With all these numbers we’re glad to see more competition is coming into Canada… with new competition brings more choice and hopefully lower monthly costs for us consumers.
Read more here at FierceWireless


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Is Couponing Still a Thing in 2023?Couponing is the act of searching for deals and steals on goods and services by cutting out ads (from newspapers and catalogs), searching for online promo codes, and sometimes even using extreme measures (like using expired coupons) to save money.
While the practice of couponing nowadays has an (unfair) label as a cheapskate’s habit, for some people, couponing is a practical way of life. It’s a fast and easy way to save money on groceries and bills while putting your hard-earned cash to use on something else—like saving up for a much-needed home renovation or your next family vacation. For others, it is a no-fail way to save a dollar or two on things you were already going to purchase.
In this article, we discuss why couponing is enjoying a resurgence in 2023, especially as inflation levels reach a 40-year high and necessities such as food and gas have never been more expensive.
With the Great Recession in the late 2000s which left millions of people out of work much longer and with much less financial assistance than they would receive during the pandemic recession a decade later; mainstream news outlets first started taking notice of people who turned saving money with coupons into a lifestyle. Reality TV soon noticed all the buzz and produced numerous shows focused primarily on extreme couponers. “Couponing” became a widely used verb courtesy of the reality show “Extreme Couponing,” which brought people into the practice with promises of stackable discounts that could bring the cost of a shopping cart’s worth of purchases close to zero.
That was the last time couponing became something of a national craze, with the practice waning as the economy began to pick up after 2010. But with the world emerging from a post-Covid19 pandemic economic standstill as well supply chain issues stemming from the Ukraine-Russia conflict contributing to the highest inflation rates in 40 years, it seems that we’re currently experiencing some extreme couponing déjà vu in 2023.
While it may seem like we’re on the cusp of history repeating itself, it also appears that a spate of recent news stories about couponing is being fueled either by those who are just discovering couponers on social media and don’t really remember the last time couponing exploded in popularity, or by those who are trying to make an old penny-pinching fad popular again.
Either way, based on the growing amount of media attention it has been getting recently at least, couponing seems to be cool again. But will it become as popular, or as profitable, as it once was?
Many couponers profiled in various recent news reports seem to think so and couponing is proving to be an irresistible hook for many news articles—like this one.
But while extreme couponers relied on stacks upon stacks of newspaper clippings in 2008—and later sharing deals on blogs, message boards and Facebook—today’s new generation of couponers is apparently turning to the newer online couponing platforms of YouTube and TikTok.
“The same audience that gravitated toward the TLC show ‘Extreme Couponing’ back in the 2010s now has an even more immediate outlet on TikTok,” Michigan’s MLive reported. “I actually take the TikTok in the store with me and I pause it so I see what item she grabs and then I grab it,” postal worker Holly Hansen said as she described how she learned to shop and save from her favorite how-to coupon TikToker.
While the preferred platform may change, the lure of big savings remains the same from the time of voluminous Sunday inserts. “If you’re not cutting your grocery bill in half, then you’re not doing something correctly,” couponer LaQuita Jones told Memphis, Tennessee’s WATN-TV. “Now is the perfect time for a lot of people to get into couponing and learn some of the techniques and tricks.”
Many people “think that they have to go hunt for a newspaper to get coupons,” couponer Karla Benavides told Huntsville, Alabama’s WZDX-TV. “They think they have to sit at a desk and cut thousands of coupons. It’s not like that anymore.”
Despite the rush of recent reports suggesting that extreme couponing is back, however; couponing is not nearly as popular as it once was in the late 2000s. Even with inflation at its current peak, the latest figures show that a nearly decade-long decline in the total number of coupons redeemed is showing no sign of reversing. In fact, fewer coupons were redeemed last year than at any time since the early 1960’s, long before digital coupons, “extreme couponing” or reality TV even existed. In 2021, Kantar Media estimated 168 billion circulated, across both print and digital formats. That was down from about 294 billion in 2015.
Coupon distribution is also down dramatically. So even if more shoppers do want to use coupons, there are far fewer coupons available for them to use. Furthermore, redemption rates declined to 0.5% of all print and digital coupons in 2020 from about 3.5% in the early 1980s, according to a paper by economists at Harvard University, Georgetown University and Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf.
The economists see a larger phenomenon: Increasingly time-strapped consumers don’t want to deal with even small hassles to save a few dollars on cereal.
That may change, though, as a TV show featuring couponing that fits “the new technology of 2023” and bite-sized how-to videos on TikTok put a shiny new sheen on a tried-and-true savings strategy.
Due to the massive popularity of TikTok, couponing might actually be cool again – because no matter the technology or the times, saving money is one thing that never goes out of style.
So, if you’re looking to get in on the savings action in 2023, here are some up-to-date couponing strategies and mindsets you’ll want to keep in mind:
Make Sure You Need the Item
"The very purpose of coupons from the manufacturer's standpoint is to get you to buy their product. Make sure you're using coupons in a way that helps you get ahead," says Bri Bell, a registered dietitian in Toronto who is an avid couponer. "For example, getting a $5 item for only $1 after coupons sounds like a great deal. And it is, unless you don't end up using it. Then you just wasted that $1." In other words, just because you have a coupon for a product doesn't mean you should buy it if you don’t actually need it.
Use Reputable Coupon Websites, Apps and Blogs
Reputable coupon websites, apps and blogs such as Capital One Shopping, Rakuten, TheKrazyCouponLady.com, Hip2Save, Coupons.com, Honey, Ibotta, and Dosh make couponing not only conveniently t your fingertips, but are able to aggregate the best deals and organize them by filters such as by Store, Product Type, Price, Rewards, and more.
Stack Coupons on Top of Other Incentives
Bethany Hollars, the content director for the retail savings website BrickSeek.com, suggests being strategic and ambitious when couponing. "For the more extreme couponer, it's all about combining manufacturer coupons with store coupons, store sales and store rewards programs," she says. "Extreme couponers will only buy an item if they can stack these different ways of savings to bring the cost of an item down to pennies on the dollar."
Be Ready to Invest Time and Effort
Hollars points out that how much you save, “all depends on your level of involvement. With just a little bit of effort each week, you can easily expect to save $20 to $50 on your routine grocery shopping.”
Of course, what Hollars calls a little effort, you may decide is a lot. But the point is – if you work at it, you may accumulate some pretty significant savings. But if you just look for a coupon here and there, you may not end up saving so much.
“Consumers who commit to shopping at multiple retailers, studying the coupon policies of each store to learn how to best stack sales and coupons, stockpiling items that are a great deal, as well as those who regularly check coupon sites and are willing to download digital coupon and rebate apps on their phone, can save well over 50% to 75% on most household essentials and grocery staples,” Hollars says. “Extreme couponers like me can confirm that it’s actually possible to make money using coupons. The more time and effort you’re willing to put into the deal chase, the more profitable couponing will be for you.”
Get the Most Out of Couponing at the Grocery Store
Grocery shopping is where extreme couponing really comes into play. It’s smart to look for coupons when you’re shopping online for holiday gifts, clothing or anything else. But since you’re probably going inside the supermarket or on its website every week, and there are so many food manufacturing coupons that you may be able to take advantage of, if you’re really interested in extreme couponing in 2023 especially with inflationary prices on groceries, couponing at the supermarket will net you the best savings.
Teri Gault, a Los Angeles-based publicist, who wrote a couple of books on grocery shopping, including “Shop Smart, Save More” and who created the now-defunct website “The Grocery Game,” offers several tips for saving money on groceries:
Look at the store’s sales ads. You can find them in newspapers, but your grocery store should also have them. You might also want to try the website Flipp.com, where you’ll type in your ZIP code to find your local circulars.
Buy the limit. “If there is a limit to how many you can get at that sale price, such as ‘limit two,’ that's an indicator of a loss leader which tells you it's a stock-up item, so you don't have to pay full price later,” Gault says.
Combine digital coupons with paper coupons as much as possible. “That's called stacking coupons in the biz,” Gault says.
Download the supermarket app. Join your grocery store's loyalty program. “Some of the supermarket chains give away full-size free items on your next shopping trip,” Gault says. “It's all based on what you spend on your last shopping trip, but it's always free, except for the tax on non-foods.”
Look for paper coupons in your mailbox. Gault says paper coupons often turn up the day before the next sales week begins at your supermarket. This is also when store circulars hit your mailbox. You can even rummage through your neighbor’s junk mail trash for discarded inserts and circulars.
Unlike the recession of the late 2000s, couponing in 2023 isn’t just about clipping coupons. It’s about instilling smart shopping habits—a way to cope against all of the dispiriting inflation prices. Most importantly, it’s about saving money so that you can have some more to spend on other things and not be forced to deprive yourself or your family.


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FIFA 21 users can now play as Dua Lipa as part of the game’s latest update – check out the preview images below.
The latest instalment in the long-running EA Sports series was released on various consoles last month (October 9). As FIFA 21 Updates note, a host of celebrities have joined the title’s ‘FIFA Volta’ mode.
Lipa, who released her latest album ‘Future Nostalgia’ this year, now features alongside the likes of Lewis Hamilton, David Beckham and DJ Snake.
In a new update for @EASPORTSFIFA’s #FIFA21, you can play as Dua Lipa! pic.twitter.com/AFNvHwkrU2
— Dua Lipa News (@dlipanews) November 12, 2020
With the latest #FIFA21 title update, @EASPORTSFIFA added some celebrity faces for #VOLTA21: 👀
🔹 Dua Lipa
🔹 Daniel Ricciardo
🔹 DJ Snake
🔹 Joel Embiid
🔹 David Beckham#FUT21 #FIFA21 pic.twitter.com/J82nVTXQox
— FIFA 21 Updates – ⚽ (@FIFA21Updates) November 12, 2020
“Didn’t have Dua Lipa in FIFA on my 2020 bingo card,” wrote one fan on Twitter. Another said: “Dua Lipa playing for the lads in FIFA. Guaranteed to score more goals than Griggs.”
The next-gen version of FIFA 21 (PS5 and Xbox Series X) will launch on December 4, while the enhanced PC edition will arrive at some point next year. Players who own current-gen versions of the game also will be entitled to a free next-gen upgrade, but only for the equivalent next-gen console – for example, PS4 to PS5.
Players have until the launch of FIFA 22, supposed sometime in late-2021, to claim their upgraded version of FIFA 21. Additionally, users who own physical copies of the game have been advised to hold on to the discs as they will be required to launch the game on next-gen consoles.
Meanwhile, Dua Lipa is set to release an album of ‘Future Nostalgia’ B-sides next year. A collaboration between the singer and Miley Cyrus is also reportedly on the way, with Cyrus promising that it will drop “pretty soon”.


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Gmail has 1.4 billion email users. Every one of those users has agreed to terms of service that give third parties permission to read their email. And, of course that's just what they do. Strangers are reading your unredacted email and Google approves of the practice.
From Wall Street Journal (paywall):
Google said a year ago it would stop its computers from scanning the inboxes of Gmail users for information to personalize advertisements, saying it wanted users to “remain confident that Google will keep privacy and security paramount.”
But the internet giant continues to let hundreds of outside software developers scan the inboxes of millions of Gmail users who signed up for email-based services offering shopping price comparisons, automated travel-itinerary planners or other tools. Google does little to police those developers, who train their computers—and, in some cases, employees—to read their users’ emails, a Wall Street Journal examination has found.
One of those companies is Return Path Inc., which collects data for marketers by scanning the inboxes of more than two million people who have signed up for one of the free apps in Return Path’s partner network using a Gmail, Microsoft Corp. or Yahoo email address. Computers normally do the scanning, analyzing about 100 million emails a day. At one point about two years ago, Return Path employees read about 8,000 unredacted emails to help train the company’s software, people familiar with the episode say.
You can see who has 3rd party access to your Gmail account here.
FaceApp is a wildly popular smartphone app that alters people’s faces with various filters. Its most popular filter is one that ages the person in the photo. It turns out when you upload your photos to FaceApp, the Russian company that made the app gets a perpetual license to your photos. In other words, your […]
On May 21, the American Law Institute -- a kind of star chamber of 4,000 judges, law professors, and lawyers -- was scheduled to pass a "restatement" of the law of consumer contracts, with the plan being to codify case-law to ensure that terms of service would be treated as enforceable obligations by US courts.
The American Law Institute is a group of 4,000 judges, law profs and lawyers that issues incredibly influential "restatements" of precedents and trends in law, which are then heavily relied upon by judges in future rulings; for seven years they have been working on a restatement of the law of consumer contracts (including terms of […]
Every Christmas list has names you dread buying for. But hold up: Before you wave the white flag and get them yet another gift card, scroll down a few. We’ve got 15 items that run the gamut from stylish old-school lighters to cutting-edge audio tech, enough variety to please any Scrooge. And the best part? […]
We’re living in the age of Big Data. As the driving force behind everything from Google’s famed algorithms to self-driving cars, massive sets of complex data can be found at the heart of some of today’s most exciting and important technologies. The Ultimate SQL Bootcamp Certification Bundle will give you the skills and tools you […]
So you missed Black Friday and Cyber Monday? Well, there’s one more holiday milestone coming up: Green Monday, on Dec. 16. It’s one of the busiest online shopping days for the simple reason that it will be 10 days before Christmas, which is when last-minute shoppers start to stress. Our advice? Don’t wait for that […]


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Facebook’s plan to host news stories within feed has finally come to life after the social media site joined hands with nine media companies including, The New York Times, National Geographic, BuzzFeed, NBC, The Atlantic, The Guardian, BBC News,Spiegel and Bild, who are keen to reach out to its massive 1.4 billion user base. Also Read - Facebook gives voice to emojis with Soundmoji: Here's how to send
In a blog post, the social media giant said that they were excited to introduce Instant Articles, “a new product for publishers to create fast, interactive articles on Facebook.” The initiative will begin with a few articles but is expected to expand quickly. Facebook said that the new programme was aimed at making the reading experience at least 10 times faster than standard mobile web articles, which took about eight seconds to load. The social media giant’s new feature will also allow publishers to bring stories to life in new ways. Users will be able to zoom in and explore high-resolution photos by tilting their phones, watch auto-play videos, explore interactive maps, listen to audio captions, and even like and comment on individual parts of an article in-line. Also Read - Netflix could launch its video game streaming service next year, at no extra cost
Publishers can wither choose to sell ads in their articles and keep the revenue, or use Facebook’s Audience Network to monetize unsold inventory. Facebook Chief Product Officer Chris Cox said, “Fundamentally, this is a tool that enables publishers to provide a better experience for their readers on Facebook. Instant Articles lets them deliver fast, interactive articles while maintaining control of their content and business models.” Also Read - You can now use WhatsApp web without your phone
Mark Thompson, President and CEO, The New York Times Company said, “The New York Times already has a significant and growing audience on Facebook. We’re participating in Instant Articles to explore ways of growing the number of Times users on Facebook, improving their experience of our journalism and deepening their engagement. We have a long tradition of meeting readers where they are and that means being available not just on our own sites, but on the social platforms frequented by many current and potential Times users.”
“It is great to see Facebook trialing new ways for quality journalism to flourish on mobile,” said Tony Danker, International Director, Guardian News and Media. ” The Guardian is keen to test how the new platform can provide an even more engaging experience for our readers. It is then vital that, over time, Instant Articles delivers recurring benefit for publishers, whose continued investment in original content underpins its success.”
Facebook’s Instant Articles is launching on its iPhone app with a special set of stories published by The New York Times, BuzzFeed, National Geographic, NBC and The Atlantic.


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Late last week, Starbucks announced that it was partnering with Microsoft, BCG and New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange to create a new venture, Bakkt.
Maria Smith, Vice President, Partnerships and Payments for Starbucks, commented: “As a leader in mobile payments to our more than 15 million Starbucks Rewards members, we are committed to innovation for expanding payment options for our customers.”
Various news outlets took this to mean that the retailer would now accept Bitcoin payments in-store. Alas, no. “It is important to clarify that we are not accepting digital assets at Starbucks. Rather the exchange will convert digital assets like Bitcoin into US dollars, which can be used at Starbucks,” it said in a statement. “At the current time, we are announcing the launch of trading and conversion of Bitcoin. However, we will continue to talk with customers and regulators as the space evolves.”
Bakkt will leverage Microsoft cloud solutions to create an open and regulated, global ecosystem for digital assets. This is expected to include federally regulated markets and warehousing along with merchant and consumer applications.
“In bringing regulated, connected infrastructure together with institutional and consumer applications for digital assets, we aim to build confidence in the asset class on a global scale, consistent with our track record of bringing transparency and trust to previously unregulated markets,” said Jeffrey C. Sprecher, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange.
Crypto critics have dismissed the use of Bitcoin for payments due to its volatility. But whilst Starbucks is not yet getting onboard, the retailer’s flagship role in Bakkt and refusal to rule out a move could see Bitcoin break through as a mainstream currency.
Bakkt is currently in preparation for launch and further details will be announced in the coming weeks.
Ruling the mobile payments roost Stateside
48 million Americans used one or more mobile pay app last year, and that number is expected to rise to 55 million in 2018, with Starbucks leading the way, according to eMarketer.
The coffee retailer’s app will be used by 23.4 million people to make a payment this year. That puts it ahead of Apple Pay (22 million users), Google Pay (11.1 million) and Samsung Pay (9.9 million). Starbucks’ success in this area is down to its early adoption, easy use and a loyal customer base that has been incentivised by a robust rewards programme, eMarketer says.
Meanwhile, other retailers set to gain ground include Walmart, McDonald’s, Target and Dunkin’ Donuts. “Retailers are increasingly creating their own payment apps, which allow them to capture valuable data about their users,” says eMarketer analyst Cindy Liu. “They can also build in rewards and perks to boost customer loyalty.”
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.


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Emanuel Ungaro and Aeffe SpA have parted ways, WWD has learned, as the two parties have decided not to renew the license inked three years ago.
Aeffe plans to focus on its own brands, while Ungaro’s collections will be produced by Modalis, formerly known as Studio Roscini. It is understood Fausto Puglisi will continue to design the Ungaro line, which will remain distributed by the network set in place by Aeffe.
The French fashion house struck a deal with Italy’s Aeffe to relaunch its top line in September 2012, and tapped the up-and-coming Sicilian talent Puglisi as Ungaro’s creative director. Since then, Aeffe has set in motion a reorganization of its portfolio and structure, seeing solid traction at Moschino under the creative direction of Jeremy Scott, and returning to profit in 2014.
In addition to Moschino, Aeffe controls the Alberta Ferretti and Pollini brands, and also produces and distributes collections for Cédric Charlier. In June, the company signed a multiyear licensing agreement for the production and worldwide distribution of Scott’s namesake ready-to-wear label. Lorenzo Serafini was tapped to develop the Philosophy brand, while Alberta Ferretti has been focusing on her own namesake label, and her limited-edition and bridal collections.
Modalis is based in Italy’s Umbria region and earlier this year inked a licensing agreement with John Galliano, designed by Bill Gaytten, to produce its men’s and women’s rtw.
The Ungaro brand is controlled by Asim Abdullah, a San Francisco-based high-tech entrepreneur, and his investment vehicle Aimz.


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Woolf has just released a couple of new products which are capable of warning motorcyclists about speed cameras up ahead.
There’s a Woolf bracelet that vibrates to warn riders about potential hazards up ahead (fixed speed cameras, traffic light cameras etc.). It connects to an app to make use of a database of over 120,000 reporting points in 70 countries. It doesn’t need a constant internet connection, there are no subscription fees, and it’s supposedly capable of lasting over a month on a single charge.
In addition to the bracelet, Woolf has also proposed a new connected key ring which works in much the same way. Put the key ring in your pocket, and it’ll vibrate to warn you of approaching hazards. Clever right?


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Photo Credit: Weibo
Huawei is all set to launch the Nova 4 next week on December 17, and the smartphone's big USP is its display hole for selfie camera and a triple camera setup at the back. The smartphone has been subjected to a flurry of leaks recently, and a new slide has appeared online giving us more information. The Huawei Nova 4 is expected to come in a standard variant and a high-end variant, and only the premium variant is said to sport a 48-megapixel sensor, while the standard variant will not.
A new leak on Weibo suggests that the Huawei Nova 4 will sport a 6.4-inch full-HD+ (1080x2310 pixels) display, with an aspect ratio of 19.25:9. The smartphone will be powered by the HiSilicon Kirin 970 SoC, similar to that of its predecessor Huawei Nova 3. The smartphone will integrate the company's new GPU Turbo technology for amplifying gaming performance. It is tipped to sport an 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage capacity. The Huawei Nova 4 is also tipped to pack a 3,750mAh battery with 18W fast charging, again, same as its predecessor. The smartphone is said to support 4G VoLTE connectivity.
Finally, the leak suggests that the standard Huawei Nova 4 variant will sport a triple camera setup with one 20-megapixel sensor, second 16-megapixel sensor and a last 2-megapxel sensor. For the high-end version, the company has swapped the 20-megapixel sensor with a 48-megapixel sensor. Rest of the sensors at the back remain the same. Both the variants sport a 25-megapixel selfie camera with AI features. All of the other specifications of the two phones are the same.
The Huawei Nova 4 was recently spotted on TENAA revealing design details, and it is seen sporting a rear fingerprint sensor, the triple rear camera setup is stacked vertically, and the front is a full view bezel-less display from all side, except for the small cutout on the top corner for the selfie camera. The listing suggests that the smartphone will sport a 6.41-inch display, 3,900mAh battery, dual-SIM support, and 156.47x74.8x8.2mm dimensions. Expected specs also include the latest HiSilicon Kirin 980 SoC, 6GB RAM, 128GB storage, and will run on Android 9 Pie out-of-the-box.
Huawei's Nova 4 will compete with the Samsung Galaxy A8s in China. The smartphone was launched earlier this week, and is set to go on pre-order soon. The smartphone also sports a display hole for selfie camera design, something that Samsung likes to call Infinity-O display. Other key highlights of the phone include a triple rear camera setup, up to 8GB of RAM, and a rear fingerprint sensor as well.


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Porsche Macan EV.
The new model is based on the new PPE platform and is just 2 inches longer than the current Macan, although its wheelbase is 4 inches longer.
2 versions of the car will be available at launch with up to 600 HP, and the range is over 300 miles in the European test cycle.
As you can see from the spy photos above, the new EV is much sleeker than the current Macan. And already seems to look really good.
The interior will be all-new since we’re talking about a brand-new car on a new platform. Although similar to the current version. Besides a new design, the main change could be the added passenger screen.
The new Macan EV will be sold alongside the “old” Macan EV for just one year.


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Thursday, October 6, 2016
The Centre garnering Rs.65,789 crore in revenue through the auction of spectrum.
An upfront payment of Rs.32,000 crore to be received by the government in the current year is the highest in four years. Still the figure fall short of the budgetary target of Rs.64,000 crore for the current financial year. The auction ended on Thursday after five days and 31 rounds of bidding.
The Telecom Secretary J.S.Deepak said that the spectrum sold in this auction is more than the total spectrum sold in the last five years since 2012. Spectrum scarcity will no longer be a constraint for proving good quality services, he said.
Bharati Airtel said that it had acquired 73.8 MHz spectrum across 1800, 2100 and 2300 MHz bands for a total consideration of Rs.14,244 crore while Idea Cellular said it spent Rs.12,798 crore to acquire 349.2 MHz, Reliance Jio bought 269.2 MHz of spectrum in the 800 MHz, 1800 MHz and the 2300 MHz bands for Rs.13,672 crore.


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Apple has always kept the RAM in its phones a little lower than the Android alternatives – the optimization of iOS doesn't need that extra spec – but it seems for the iPhone 7, Apple may decide to bring it closer in line with the competition.
Unnamed industry sources have told website Digitimes they expect the iPhone 7 to be packing 3GB of RAM.
That's up on the 2GB of RAM in the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus.
While Digitimes isn't the most reliable when it comes to its "unnamed sources", this isn't the first time we've heard about a potential RAM boost for the new iPhone.
The jump would be a little surprising though, as Apple stuck with 1GB of RAM for the iPhone 5, 5S and 6, while before that the iPhone 4 and 4S both came with 512MB.
Leaping to 3GB just one generation after sliding 2GB into the iPhone 6S doesn't follow the Apple way of doing things in the past.


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From the release:
McLean, VA (March 11, 2010) -- SnowSports Industries America (SIA) is reporting a six-year attendance high for the inaugural Snow Show recently held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado from January 28-31, 2010. The sold-out Snow Show attracted 18,932 attendees and featured over 3,100 booths representing 845 snow sports brands, including 125 new exhibitors.Reporting a story on the Snow Show for ColoradoBiz magazine, I asked dozens of attendees how Denver compared to Vegas. Coloradans loved it, and with about one-sixth of SIA members calling the Centennial State home, there were plenty of them to choose from. Folks from the East and West coasts weren't as enthusiastic. Apparently, Vegas can be pretty fun even if you don't remember anything.
Throughout the four-day trade show, numerous television camera crews, photographers and reporters could be seen roaming the Show aisles to report on next season's hottest fashions, gear and accessories. Snow Show exhibitors were kept busy with appointments and interviews with 875 journalists in-attendance.
But as one longtime ski-industry marketer recently told me, "It's time for the ski industry to grow up and get to work. This isn't just a big party."


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Following in Google’s footsteps to bring about a “prettier” Android, Samsung and LG have hired design experts to improve the user interface and experience on their handsets – including those with Android. Specifically, Samsung looked to former professor of visual communication design for Kookmin University in Seoul – Jung Ji-hong – to help with TouchWiz UI on both Android and Bada handsets (his official title with the company is Vice President of the Mobile Design Group).
LG, on the other hand, took former dean of KAIST’s (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) industrial design department Lee Kun-pyo to do the same thing for their handsets (his title is Vice President of Design Management Center). While many have their own reservations on TouchWiz, S-Class UI, or any custom user interface on top of Android, it’s clear that Samsung and LG themselves feel they’re not providing the best experience.
I personally don’t see an issue with their current offerings, but I’m also one of those design-crippled “weirdos” that actually prefer the look of Vanilla Android (even in its 1.1 days). It’ll be quite interesting to see how these new additions to each respective manufacturer’s staff will shape their next round of flagship Android phones.


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The latest round of funding builds on the initial loan to Invatech in February 2018 for the development of Titan, a new pharmacy operating system, and complements further grant funding during the coronavirus pandemic to support remote working for independent pharmacists.
Now, the completion of the £2.2 million total funding marks the start of a new growth phase for Titan and will support rapid development of brand new features for the company’s leading platform.
Since becoming accredited by NHS in late 2019 – the first pharmacy Patient Medication Record (PMR) to do so for 15 years – Titan has already taken two per cent market share, processing more than 1.5 million prescriptions per month across numerous customer sites in England and Wales.
The entirely new, innovative, cloud-based solution digitises the end-to-end workflow within pharmacies, makes medicine dispensing safer using barcode technology, helps control business activities and improves the experience for patients and practice owners alike.
Crucially, it aims to free up pharmacists’ time, enabling them to focus on newly-commissioned patient services designed to relieve the burden from under-pressure GPs and the wider NHS.
The disruptive technology has also become the platform of choice for some of the largest UK online pharmacies which have leveraged Titan’s highly scalable AWS cloud infrastructure to process mass volumes and, in some cases, over 60,000 prescriptions per day.
Tariq Muhammad, CEO of Invatech Health, said: “We’re delighted with the progress that Titan has made, commercially and operationally, over the past two years. We have taken an idea and built something which is helping independent pharmacy businesses and large scale operators alike.
“The pandemic has put pharmacies are under significant pressure and there is a need for technology that can help them cope with greater volume of work, as well as releasing pharmacists time to spend on front line healthcare.
“This latest award from Innovate UK, for which we are extremely grateful, will enable us to develop features that have never been seen before in our sector opening up new opportunities for pharmacists.
“With 5,000 independent and small group pharmacists in England and Wales, alongside the larger corporates, the commercial potential for Titan is massive. We’re fundamentally different to all other PMRs and are offering a new way of life for pharmacists and a new way of doing things.
“Titan is the “how” to the problem that everyone in our sector recognises. It can help to deliver the vision that everyone wants, while bringing benefits across the NHS and the health sector. Releasing pharmacists time is fundamental if we want them to, for example, help deliver the national vaccination programme.”
Mr Muhammad said that the pandemic has thrown the shortcomings of old technology into sharp focus across the sector, among large online businesses and small independents alike.
“This crisis has highlighted the incapacity of legacy systems to scale up and adapt to dynamic situations, in many business sectors,”.
“With this additional support from Innovate UK we plan to develop a wide range of new apps, delivered as extensions on the Titan platform. These will help address the new and immediate challenges that pharmacies are facing as a result of Covid-19 and provide innovative solutions to support their businesses and their patients in the long term.”


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Kanye West, who was nominated for 10 Grammy Awards in 2005, performed in front of his album cover art at an Apple Computer press event in San Francisco on Wednesday. Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the Rokr cell phone and iPod Nano at the gathering.
September 7, 2005 2:32 PM PDT
Photo by: Scott Ard
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Dynatronics (NSDQ:DYNT) opened its fiscal year 2014 with widening its losses on the back of a drop in sales, and the company is hoping a scaling up of its sales team will help boost its distribution channels.
Dynatronics posted losses of $107,784, or -4¢ per share, on sales of $7.1 million for the 3 months ended Sept. 30. That’s a profit slide of 110.7% on a sales drop of 2.1% compared with the same period last year. The Salt Lake City, UT-based company attributed its doubled losses in part to a $49,000 boost in the company’s research & development, in addition to the drop in sales of 3rd-party products, according to the regulatory filing.
“While sales of manufactured capital products and supplies remained even or improved, reduced sales of distributed medical products and supplies, including exercise products, nutritional supplements and taping products, accounted for the decrease in sales for the quarter ended September 30, 2013, compared to the prior year period,” president Kelvyn Cullimore said in prepared remarks.
“The continued general economic weakness in our primary markets, combined with uncertainties surrounding the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, have dampened demand and contributed to lower sales numbers," he added. "To offset these challenges, management has undertaken a plan to significantly expand the company’s distribution channels by adding new dealers and sales representatives."
Dynatronics has already added more than 30 new sales reps, including direct sales and independent dealers, and the company hopes to add about 45 more.
The news sent DYNT shares up 2.96% on Nov. 14, the same day the news was reported. The stock closed at $3.39 on Friday, up 8.2% on the day.


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Previous iPhones will only come with a USB-C Lightning cable as well, except in France
Apple has finally unveiled the highly-anticipated iPhone 12 series today and it got everybody talking about the devices. If you're still not clear about what can the new iPhones do, be sure to check out our 3-min sum up video to have some clues. We know that some of you might be unhappy with the tech giant taking the adapter and EarPods out of the box to save the environment. Now, it seems like the mentioned accessories won't be coming with the previous iPhones as well.
From now on, new buyers of the iPhone 11, iPhone SE (2020), and iPhone XR will only be getting the device and a Lightning cable from the box. If you want the power adapter or EarPods, you might have to purchase them separately. The adapter is selling from RM79 for 5W to RM189 for 30W. Meanwhile, if you're can't live without the EarPods, it is available at the price of RM99.
While the new iPhones will only be coming with the USB-C Lightning cable almost everywhere, it looks like there's one country is getting a different treatment. It has been found out that the people in France are in luck as they will continue to get the EarPods when buying new iPhones. However, they might still need to purchase the power adapter separately.
Let us know what you think about this news on our Facebook page. Stay tuned to TechNave.com for more latest Apple updates.


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Every 27 years, Pennywise, the child-eating clown from Stephen King’s novel IT, resurfaces to terrorise the town of Derry.
With 2017 marking the 27th anniversary of IT, newly-launched agency Mr. Glasses and its sister marketing company Showtime Marketing won the pitch to promote the new IT movie Down Under in a very creepy but clever way.
The man behind Mr. Glasses and Showtime Marketing, Chris Campbell, said the client (Village Roadshow) restricted the agencies from using imagery of Pennywise, the clown depicted in the movie, in executing the marketing stunt.
“We thought, ‘If we can’t use him as the movie does, we’ll create our own versions of him’,” he told B&T.
“We had street artists paint their interpretation of what Pennywise looked like on walls in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
“In each city, in prime locations for everyone to see, we made a video of the whole process.
Campbell said the companies also pitched an ambient street marketing stunt for Sydney streets using the iconic red balloons, which are prominent throughout the movie, coupled with storm water drains.
Pretty cool marketing initiative for #ITMovie spotted in Sydney CBD this morning.
“We all float down here” pic.twitter.com/vi1KnXSRFj
— David Piepers (@davepiepers) September 3, 2017
— Nick Johnson (@Nick__Johnson) September 3, 2017
— Diana DJ (@DianaDJ7) September 3, 2017
“By floating the red balloons above storm water drains and subliminally allowing people’s imaginations and inquisitiveness to question what it’s all about, if the penny didn’t drop there and then it was only a matter of time until the tease revealed itself,” he said.
“The outcome was phenomenal, the reach was exception, the client was ecstatic!”
Client: Village Roadshow
Creative: Mr. Glasses Agency
Execution: Showtime Marketing
Artists: Scott Marsh (Sydney), James Jirat (Sydney), Solfes (Brisbane), Cherie Buttons (Brisbane), Phibs (Melbourne), Callum Preston (Melbourne)
Twitter has just experienced its fastest growth in revenue since 2014, with the social media platform benefiting from increased interest from advertisers. Revenue was up 74 per cent YoY, according to the company’s Q2 results, reaching $US1.19 billion ($1.6 billion) from $US683.4 million ($925 million) 12 months ago. The strong results came in the same […]
Wild Turkey has announced the launch of its new global creative campaign and platform, ‘Trust Your Spirit’, featuring the brand’s creative director and spokesperson, Matthew McConaughey. The global campaign and platform ‘Trust Your Spirit’ is to encourage people to be bold, unapologetically themselves, and stay true to who they are. The global tagline and ethos […]
Telecommunications company Optus has announced it will launch the world’s first TikTok sign-language activated filter. Featuring Optus ambassador Ian Thorpe, Optus will unveil a branded effect that shows TikTok users how to say key phrases in Auslan sign language, including ‘How are you?’ and ‘It starts with Yes’, through the hashtag challenge #SignYes. Optus will […]
Podsights has revealed new insights into the effectiveness of advertising in podcasts, tracking global and Australian podcast advertising trends. This is the first Australian report to be published since ARN partnered with Podsights to set the standard for best-in-class podcast advertising measurement. The report includes additional analysis and follows a series of Measurement Masterclasses held for […]
NGEN’s 2021 charity cup has raised over $175,000 for UnLtd charity partner Gotcha4Life. Gotcha4Life is a not-for-profit foundation raising awareness and funding to provide educational workshops and innovative programs that build mental fitness in individuals and communities. While Sydney and Brisbane completed the Charity Cup in June, before Covid restrictions hit, the final leg in […]
Australian tech incubator Cicada Innovations and Biennale of Sydney are launching the ‘New & Sustainable Materials Challenge,’ in an effort to create a more sustainable future. The works of chosen material-makers will be showcased to millions of Biennale audiences, exhibition partners, and exhibition makers globally. The Challenge is open to any Australian and UK startups, […]


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Gulftainer, a United Arab Emirates company that had wanted to set up shop in Jacksonville, has been named the cargo operator for Port Canaveral.
The deal with Gulftainer's new U.S. unit, GT USA, would create 2,000 direct and spinoff jobs when fully operational, including 500 at the port itself, according to Florida Today. The paper said Gulftainer plans to make a $100 million investment locally in infrastructure, equipment and staff.
In 2012, Gulftainer suggested investing $250 million in a facility in Jacksonville, which then- Jacksonville Port Authority CEO Paul Anderson turned down, saying it did not meet the port's requirements.
Gulftainer proposed leasing about 100 acres on Blount Island to build a container terminal. Company executives said the company would help harbor deepening costs, with no outside financial help.
Being rejected, Gulftainer said at the time, “shocked and confused” it.
Port Canaveral CEO John Walsh has told our sister paper, the Orlando Business Journal, that the company would be a major cog in the port's goal to turn its $5 million annual cargo business into a $100 million business.


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Japanese digital content provider Media Kobo will promote medical tours to Japan for health-conscious Chinese through a joint venture in Hong Kong.
Chinese visitors are the largest group by nationality among inbound travellers to Japan, and increasing numbers seek medical treatment or wellness facilities.
Tokyo-based Media Kobo has agreed with Shanghai China Card, an official identification card issuer accredited by the Chinese authorities, to set up the venture.
The planned venture has US$727,000 of capital funds and will be 60% owned by Media Kobo and 40% by Shanghai China Card. The joint venture plans to fully launch the service in the spring of 2019, after piloting it first.
Media Kobo has expanded sales through an online fortune-telling service and extended its business to virtual reality game apps and cross-border e-commerce.
The company has explored business opportunities in China via Media Kobo (Shanghai) Internet Technology, its Chinese subsidiary established in September 2017.
It has decided to enter medical tourism, it says, as “demand for health-care products and medical services are growing among locals”


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Earlier this week, a four-hour outage that affected the cloud computing division of Amazon Web Services took down thousands of websites in the United States, showing how the cloud has become an integral part of the internet's infrastructure.
Dave Bartoletti, an analyst for Forrester, estimated that the outage affected as many as 100,000 websites, as AWS is currently the leading cloud provider. Amazon has since been able to fully recover from the outage, though the reason behind the incident was not yet revealed.
Amazon Explains AWS Outage
In a post uploaded on the Amazon Web Services page, Amazon both issued an apology and explained the reason for the outage.
Amazon claimed that while the Simple Storage Service, or S3, team was debugging an issue that caused the service's billing system to slow down, a team member executed a command that was intended to remove just a small number of servers from one of the subsystems of the S3 utilized for the billing process.
However, as Amazon explains, "one of the inputs to the command was entered incorrectly," causing a bigger group of servers than intended to be removed. This resulted in a domino effect, as two of the servers supported important systems in the East Coast region, and to get them back up, a full restart was required.
Fully restarting these servers is not as simple as restarting a laptop though, which is why the outage lasted for a few hours. Amazon had to carry out a series of safety checks to make sure that no stored files were corrupted in the process, and it took the company specifically four hours and 17 minutes to get its systems running once again.
While the outage was happening, the S3 customers of Amazon were not the only ones being affected, as other cloud customers were also experiencing the shutdown because they also use Amazon's S3.
What Is Amazon Doing To Prevent Future Similar Incidents?
It is mind-boggling to know that a simple typo could cause a big part of the internet to crash. While Amazon was able to rectify the problem, it is still a cause of concern.
To make sure that no similar incidents happen in the future, Amazon said that it has modified the tool that the team member used to remove servers, as previously, the tool allowed too much capacity to be taken down too quickly, with just a single incorrectly entered command. The tool will now be removing capacity more slowly, with additional safeguards in place to prevent capacity from being taken down when it will be bringing subsystems below their minimum required levels.
Other Amazon Web Services News
Chime, which can be used in Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS devices, is Amazon Web Services' own video conferencing and communication tool. The productivity suite that Amazon Web Services is working on, meanwhile is said to be powerful enough to rival Microsoft Office 365 and the Google G Suite.


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Castle Burn Celebrates One Million Player Milestones With Giveaways
Bluehole PNIX announced today that Castle Burn, their card/strategy battle game is ranked #1 in over 39 countries. With over one million downloads and over 500,000 daily matches, Castle Burn is celebrating with free in-game currency and card packs for all players who log in during the event. This event is the One Million Castles event, lasting from today until Sunday, August 26th. They also announced plans for Guilds and Guild Wars coming to the game in the coming months, and a new team mechanic above the game’s ranked PVP battles.
“We are very gratified that Castle Burn is resonating with players so strongly, with one million downloads and extremely positive user ratings worldwide, and we want to reward the players who are driving our success,” said Junghoon Kim, CEO of Bluehole PNIX. “We are committed to adding more great content for our community, including bringing Guilds and Guild Wars to the game in the future.”
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Doosan Bobcat enters Indian backhoe market
By Andy Brown15 June 2018
Doosan Bobcat has opened its new backhoe loader plant in India, marking its entrance into one of the world’s three largest compact construction equipment markets.
The plant has a site area of 80,000m², a factory floor area of 15,000m² and is capable of producing 8,000 machines a year.
Doosan Bobcat has entered the backhoe loader market in a bid to expand its emerging market portfolio with the aim of exploring mid- and long-term growth engines.
India’s compact equipment market is the third largest in the world after the US and China, with an estimated worth of KRW 1.3 trillion (US$1.1 billion), where the backhoe loader sales account for more than 80%.
Since 2014, the Indian backhoe loader market has grown at an average annual rate of 9.7%.
The facilities were idle, meaning the company did not have to establish a new plant. The first batch of backhoe loaders will be released in the second half of 2019.
Doosan Bobcat President and CEO, Scott Park, said: “With government-led infrastructure investment increasing in recent years, the compact market is growing rapidly in India, making it a highly attractive market. Our mid and long-term goal, beginning with backhoe loaders, is to lead the Indian small construction machinery market.”


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The different sectors of commercial real estate perform quite differently, and as such, are seeing different results as the economic recovery continues.
Apartments remain strong, but industrial, land and retail are making a comeback. Meanwhile, office is lagging, but prospects are good as the needs for today’s office users evolve and real estate agents and landlords are responding to those.
Here’s how participants in the industry outlook said each sector has been performing so far this year:
Bill Moss, senior managing director, CBRE Inc.
It has been the golden child of the last five years, with good solid fundamentals, changing demands from the renter, as well as low interest rates and little new supply being added.
Justin West, sales manager, Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services
We can’t get enough inventory on the market. Since the beginning of 2014, we’ve listed and sold more than 20 multifamily properties.
Doug Irmscher, Florida market director, JLL
You’re starting to see spec construction. You’ve got a housing market that’s recovering, job growth, increased consumer demand. All that tells a good story for increased industrial activity.
Bill Bywater, president, The Bywater Co.
We manage and lease a lot of smaller bay industrial and office. When the economy tanked, those owners got pounded and went out of business. But it’s hard to find empty space now.
John Dottore, Florida president, The Shopping Center Group LLC
The problem of national retailers downsizing is completely overblown. Retailers may have thought, “We can downsize and just give the space back to the landlord.” What nobody thought about is that it’s expensive to divide the space and give it back.
John Crossman, president, Crossman & Co.
We went through a cycle that was all about mixed-use projects, but in the future, it’s mixed uses within a project. We’ve got more uses coming in.
Brad Peterson, senior managing director, HFF LP
Some landlords are looking forward to getting space back when the big boxes are downsizing. We have a lot more of these organic, smaller grocers. With retail, it’s always about the best location.
Land up and down Narcoossee Road near Lake Nona went from $20,000 per acre to $80,000 per acre. And there were no buyers at $20,000.
Dale Donovan, managing director, KW Commercial
They’re not just buying land, they’re buying land to build on. In the past, they were buying because it was cheap and land-banking it. Now, they’re buying land to be able to build something.
A few years ago, I couldn’t give away a piece of land. Now, I can’t find any that I can recommend to investors because pricing has moved on us.
We have a slow recovering office market. But other guys will tell you it’s not only that company office needs are shrinking, but increased density is the big challenge.
Steve Garrity, vice president of Orlando, Highwoods Properties Inc.
The ‘me’ space is shrinking, but the ‘we’ space is increasing. We see companies looking for amenities not only within the buildings, but within their specific space.
NiCole Berry, vice president, Tower Realty
The magic formula we’ve done is put in amenities like a huge deli with a big wireless network, to give it like a Starbucks feel, and a really nice fitness facility. That’s used to sell it.


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Yesterday, we reported on the seemingly official abandonment of Maxis’ Darkspore, which depends on an online system to remain functional even in its single-player mode. Since that story broke, though, EA has responded to both the post on its own forums, that claimed the game was no longer being developed, and its subsequent removal from the Steam store.
“Maxis continues to support Darkspore and its servers,” said EA representative Charlie Sinhaeseni. “We recently resolved a problem where players were having issues connecting to the game.” That last would most likely be the now-infamous “Error 3.”
The post that claimed development had been abandoned has since been edited with information on the most recent rash of issues and their resolution, and the game is once again available on Steam. Was this truly a misunderstanding so far-reaching that even Valve was fooled, or is EA playing damage control against a surprisingly vehement reaction to a planned shutdown of an older game?


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The Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, has urged UK employers to exercise wage restraint in order to tackle the rising inflation in the country. In a recent speech, Bailey highlighted the need for businesses to play their part in controlling inflation, which has surged to a nine-year high of 3.2%.
Bailey’s comments come as the UK economy continues to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the country has seen a strong rebound in economic activity, inflation has been a growing concern for policymakers. Rising energy prices, supply chain disruptions, and labor shortages have all contributed to the recent surge in inflation.
In his speech, Bailey acknowledged that wage growth has been relatively strong in recent months, with average earnings rising by 8.3% in the three months to July. However, he warned that this could exacerbate inflationary pressures if it leads to higher prices for goods and services.
Bailey urged employers to exercise restraint when it comes to wage increases, arguing that this would help to keep inflation under control. He also called on workers to be mindful of the impact of their wage demands on the wider economy.
The Bank of England has already taken steps to address inflation, including raising interest rates from a historic low of 0.1% to 0.25%. However, Bailey stressed that monetary policy alone would not be enough to tackle inflation, and that a coordinated effort from businesses and workers was needed.
Bailey’s comments have been met with mixed reactions from economists and business leaders. Some have praised his call for wage restraint, arguing that it is necessary to prevent inflation from spiraling out of control. Others have criticized his approach, arguing that workers deserve to be compensated for the rising cost of living.
Regardless of the response, it is clear that inflation will continue to be a major challenge for the UK economy in the coming months. As businesses and policymakers work to address this issue, it is likely that the debate over wage restraint will continue to be a contentious one.


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Cagayan de Oro. Davao. Pampanga. Makati.
Be part of SMART Broadband’s summer tour beginning May 13 as it brings the P888 Smart Bro Pocket WiFi deal to your area, and gives you the chance to win exciting prices for you, and the whole Barkada.
“We bring it closer to the masses, close to where they are needed,” Gary Dujali, Vice President for Home and Mobile Broadband at SMART told us during our short chat on Thursday, May 12.
The P888 promo, which was first offered in April this year made the country’s internet users go crazy about the deal as owning the pocket WiFi has become easy especially for a family of users, and a group of millennials to whom surfing is a vital part of daily living.
Dujali said there was a huge spike on sales since April so they are maximizing the remaining two months of the promo period to introduce it to more people, especially those who are in the provinces. The deal is good until June 30 only.
They identified the areas to visit based on improved signals, and the strong needs for the mobile broadband, says Dujali.
During the caravans slated on May 13-15 for Cagayan De Oro, May 20-22 for Pampanga and Davao, and May 27-29 in Makati, you can meet with Smart Bro’s celebrity “BRO-kadas” that include beauty queens Mj Lastimosa (Miss Universe 2014 Top 10) and Bea Rose Santiago (Miss International 2013), Michael Pangilinan (Your Face Sounds Familiar), Michelle and Marco Gumabao (Pinoy Big Brother), and athlete Gretchen Ho, among others.
Orcar Reyes, First Vice President of Wireless Consumer Broadbrand at Smart said in a statement, “The tour is geared to empower our subscribers nationwide to enjoy their summer and share their fast and reliable internet with friends through Smart Bro Pocket WiFi at only P888.”
“With awesome prizes for our subscribers and celebrities joining the fun, this is definitely going to be a summer to remember,” Reyes added.
Premium items from Smart and adventure vouchers worth P10,000 are up for grabs for those who will purchase at the caravan. Destinations include Sandbox Adventure Park, Enchanted Kingdom, White Water Rafting adventure, or a resort stay at Samal Island in Davao.
Each pocket WiFi could connect up to 10 devices, and is preloaded with 350MB data per month, free for the first three months.


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Online classified ads will grow faster than any other form of online advertising this year in the United States., with spending projected to increase from $1.2 billion in 2002 to $2.3 billion by 2007, Jupiter Media Metrix said yesterday.
What's more, online classifieds are eating into their offline counterparts, according to the New York firm.
The results are part of a new report: “Online Advertising Through 2007: Is the Worst Over?”
“While the off-line classifieds market contracted by more than 15 percent in 2001, online classifieds registered impressive growth, increasing 38 percent to more than one billion dollars,” said Marissa Gluck, Jupiter senior analyst.
Jupiter also predicted that online advertising spending in the U.S. will grow from $6.2 billion in 2002 to $15.9 billion in 2007.
Ultimately, online advertising will account for seven percent of the off-line ad market spending in the U.S. during the same period, according to Jupiter.
Factors driving the growth include increased broadband penetration, a sustained growth of the online population, media consolidation and general economic recovery, Jupiter said.
Also, though cost per thousand ad impressions-rates (CPMs) dropped between 2001 and 2002 from $2.60 to $2.50, Jupiter predicts the average CPM rate will be $4.18 by 2007.
Rapid online media consolidation and large format ads are beginning to leave marketers with fewer online advertising choices, Jupiter said in a statement. The combination of media consolidation and clutter reduction will result in fewer available ad impressions, raising the average CPM, Jupiter said.


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The 48th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting (AEM 48) and related meetings will run from August 1-6 in Vientiane, Laos, according to Director-General of Foreign Trade Policy Department at the Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce Laohoua Cheuing.
|AEM 48 and related meetings to be underway from August 1-6. (Photo: en.wikipedia.org)|
The AEM 48 begins on August 3, with topics tabled at the 22nd ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Retreat in Chiang Mai, Thailand in March on the agenda, Laohoua Cheuing said at a press conference to announce AEM 48 and related meetings in Vientiane on July 31.
Eight priorities for the ASEAN Economic pillar are expected to be adopted during the meeting.
The ASEAN economic ministers will also discuss standards for building the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and map the implementation of the AEC Blueprint 2025, he added.
The 30 th ASEAN Free Trade Area Council Meeting and the 19 th ASEAN Investment Agreement Meeting will also begin on August 3 alongside the AEM 48.
The AEM Meetings with dialogue partners, including the 4 th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Ministerial Meeting and the 8 th CLMV Economic Ministers’ Meeting, will take place from August 4-8.
About 590 economic officials from ten ASEAN member states and partner countries are scheduled to attend meetings at AEM 48.-


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London Banksy Girl and Balloon mural to be removed
A famed stencil image of a girl with a balloon by graffiti artist Banksy is being removed from the wall of an east London shop and sold.
Events company Sincura Group, which controversially removed another Banksy mural in Tottenham, said it would exhibit the work before selling it for about £500,000.
Director Tony Baxter said the mural on a printing shop in Great Eastern Street would be removed by Sunday.
"It's a very iconic piece," he added.
A man who works in the printing shop said in 12 years he had not seen the Banksy mural because it has been covered with boards.
"I've seen pictures of what this building was like with it on about 15 years ago. Everybody's curious," he said.
Mr Baxter said the mural had become damaged with paint peeling away and would be restored before it was sold.
An image of Girl and Balloon painted onto the cardboard backing of an Ikea frame sold for £73,250 in 2012.
Last week, a developer expected to buy a block of offices from Camden Council was told it must remove a Banksy stencil of a rat and return it to the authority before the sale.
In the last year, two London Banksy murals have been removed from buildings - an image of a boy hunched over a sewing machine in Wood Green and another showing two children playing with a "no ball games" sign in Tottenham.
A spokesman for Banksy declined to comment.


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Canon, a veteran Japanese company, has closed its factories in China for more than 30 years
(Zhuhai, 14th comprehensive report) Digital imaging equipment maker Canon (Canon) will close a factory that has been in operation for more than 30 years.
Caixin confirmed from a number of people close to Canon that Canon Zhuhai Co., Ltd. issued an announcement on Wednesday (12th) that the company was facing huge operational difficulties and decided to terminate the company’s production after research.
A person from Zhuhai High-tech Zone told Caixin that the global camera market has shrunk sharply, and the impact of the epidemic has caused Canon’s Zhuhai factory to face difficulties. The headquarters adjusted the group’s overall operating structure and terminated production at the factory.
A person close to Canon told Caixin: “Under the epidemic, the Zhuhai factory has been in a state of semi-shutdown. Previously, in order to maintain operations, the headquarters gave Canon Zhuhai all the maintenance of some ‘Three Guarantees’ machines and warranty machines, but they were unable to do so. Back to the sky, coupled with the impact of the epidemic, it is no surprise that production has been stopped.”


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The private equity firm is through to the second round of the auction, alongside rivals Merchant Equity and Argyll.
It is understood that MFI would have to shell out over£200 million to a bidder to snap up the retail chain, which has a pension deficit of£150 million.
MFI revealed two months ago that it had been approached by several parties interested in its retail division. At the group's AGM in May, it revealed orders for the year were down 19 per cent and same-store sales had fallen 8 per cent.
Apax has a 30 per cent stake in Focus.


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Motorola had re-entered the fiercely competitive handset market in the country earlier this year after a nearly two-year hiatus.
Buoyed by strong response from over 20 million online shoppers in India, Motorola Mobility is confident of hitting the half-a-million sales mark this week.
It launched the Moto G in February, followed by Moto X a month later, exclusively with online retail major FlipKart.
"We have seen tremendous response for Moto G and Moto E and we are confident of crossing the half million units sales mark in the next few days. Moto E, our latest launch, will further fuel the growth that we have seen in Indian market," Motorola Mobility India General Manager Amit Boni said.
Moto E blends perfectly with needs of Indian users, who are looking to switch from feature phones to smartphones and those who have switched to smartphones but have not had a great experience, he added.
"Of the total sales so far, Moto G (which is currently retailing for Rs 13,999 for 16GB) comprises a major chunk of the sales in volume terms. We expect the sales to only grow further with Moto E, which we believe is a terrific phone for the Indian market," FlipKart VP (Retail) Michael Adnani said.
Moto E is powered by the latest Android KitKat operating system, 1.2 Ghz dual-core with 1GB RAM and 4GB internal memory (expandable upto 32 GB). With a 1,980 mAh battery, the dual-SIM device has a 5MP rear camera.
The handset, which has been simultaneously launched in the UK, competes directly with handsets from homegrown players like Micromax and Karbonn in India.
Over the last few days, a slew of smartphones have been announced in the sub-Rs 12,000 category. From Moto G to the latest Lumia 630, handset makers are lining up devices at affordable price points.
Yesterday, Nokia also launched its dual SIM Lumia 630, priced at Rs 11,500 and powered by its latest Windows 8.1 operating system.
Another homegrown firm Lava has said it will launch its 'Iris X1' smartphone, powered by Android 4.4 KitKat operating system and 4.5 inch IPS display, for under Rs 8,000 this week.
Currently, only few phones like Nexus 5, Moto X, Moto G and Karbonn Titanium Hexa offer the KitKat operating system and most Android devices are running on the previous JellyBean generation.
Smartphone sales in the country grew almost three-fold to over 44 million in 2013, buoyed by a strong uptake of affordable devices made by local firms such as Micromax and Karbonn, according to research firm IDC.
While Samsung leads the category with 38 per cent share, Micromax had 16 per cent, Karbonn (10 per cent), Sony (5 per cent) and Lava (4.7 per cent) in the fourth quarter of 2013.
IDC data puts India as one of the fastest-growing markets globally in smartphone adoption last year 2013.


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19/04/2011 12:59 PM
Adrian Platts, a spokesperson for the Business Crime Reduction Centre, said small and medium-sized businesses regard security as a "grudge purchase".
"Therefore they will always be tempted to under-invest in the necessary measures to protect their business," he said.
The recession means many firms are looking at areas where they can rein in costs and save money. But making one of these areas security can be a false economy, Mr Platts said.
"Often, a business will look to cost savings and may only have a simple system installed. If a security system is not fit for purpose, it may not be worth installing it in the first place," he said.
Recently, Pauline Norstrom, CCTV section chair for the British Security Industry Association, said that hybrid security systems are becoming more popular among firms.
"This means that existing equipment is being integrated with new systems and technology, in order to make the best use of what is already there," she explained.
Contact us for a security fencing quote.


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‘Handmade’ Vodka False Ad Suit Largely Tossed by Fla. Judge
By Steven Trader
September 24, 2015
A Florida federal judge on Wednesday found that a proposed class had adequately alleged they were misled by the label of Tito’s Vodka, which contains the statements “handmade” and “in an old fashioned pot still,” but said the only properly stated claim was a breach of express warranty.
U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle nixed the five other claims against Fifth Generation Inc. over the liquor’s allegedly false label, finding that allegations of negligence and unjust enrichment failed and that violations of any Florida business practices were overruled because the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, which regulates the interstate sale of spirits, had approved the label.
Judge Hinkle said that, on its own, the representation that Tito’s is “handmade” would be insufficient to support any allegations.
“But the plaintiffs also allege that Tito’s is not made in ‘an old fashioned pot still,'” the judge wrote. “If this is so, it is contrary to the express assertion on the Tito’s label. The plaintiffs have stated an express-warranty claim on which relief can be granted.”
It’s the second time this year the judge has dealt with claims stemming from the “handmade” statement on a liquor bottle. In May, Judge Hinkle tossed a proposed class action accusing Maker’s Mark Distillery of tricking customers into thinking every bottle of bourbon was made by hand. The judge said at the time the term’s literal meaning obviously can’t be applied to liquor.
Likewise, Judge Hinkle returned to the Oxford English Dictionary in his ruling on Wednesday, finding that the statement’s definition – made by hand – obviously can’t be used to literally describe vodka.
“One can knit a sweater by hand, but one cannot make vodka by hand,” the judge wrote. “Or at least, one cannot make vodka by hand at the volume required for a nationally marketed brand like Tito’s. No reasonable consumer could believe otherwise.”
However, because the “handmade” statement in this case is paired with “in an old fashioned pot still,” which the plaintiffs argued was false, the judge found the misleading claims to be reasonably alleged.
“This is not the kind of dispute that can properly be resolved on a motion to dismiss,” the judge wrote. “Perhaps the vodka is made with equipment that can reasonably be described as an ‘old fashioned pot still’; perhaps not. Just from reading the first amended complaint and motion to dismiss, one cannot know.”
Lead plaintiffs Shalinus Pye and Raisha Licht brought the suit against Fifth Generation in May 2014, claiming they bought bottles of Tito’s from their local liquor store based on the label’s claims, which they later found out to be untrue because the vodka is actually made with large machines in a highly mechanized process, according to the complaint.
The pair claimed Fifth Generation had violated Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, and accused it of using bait-and-switch advertising in violation of Florida statutes. They also alleged negligence, breach of implied and express warranty and unjust enrichment.
Seeking to certify a class of Florida consumers, the pair asked for compensatory and punitive damage awards, as well as injunctive relief.
But the judge slapped down the Florida state law claims, saying that because the federal government had OK’d Tito’s labels, the plaintiffs had failed to properly state a claim under which relief could be granted. Likewise, he found that the bait-and-switch claim didn’t apply because the plaintiffs weren’t required to pay more than the advertised price.
The judge pared the implied warranty claim as well, saying that the vodka sold was still fit for its ordinary consumption purposes.
Representatives for both parties on Thursday didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Plaintiffs are represented by Tim Howard of Howard & Associates PA.
Fifth Generation is represented by John Londot and Rick Shackelford of Greenberg Traurig PA.
The case is Shalinus Pye et al v. Fifth Generation, Inc., case number 4:14-cv-00493, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.


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Grocery delivery company Instacart today raised $660 million in its initial public offering ahead of shares set to start trading tomorrow at a listing price at $30 per share.
The offering topped an original guidance for $26 to $28 per share, with Instacart selling 22 million shares to investors ahead of the float. Some 14.1 million of the shares came directly from Instacart, while the remaining 7.9 million shares were from existing shareholders. Existing shareholders selling stock included Klaviyo Inc. — which itself is expected to price its IPO tomorrow — and Birkenstock Holding Ltd.
Bloomberg reported that in conjunction with the IPO, PepsiCo Inc. is buying $175 million of the company’s preferred convertible stock. Instacart is also said to have enlisted Norges Bank Investment AS, Technology Crossover Ventures L.P., Sequoia Capital L.P., D1 Capital Partners L.P. and Valiant Capital Management LLC as cornerstone investors, which could purchase up to 60% of the shares.
Instacart will go public on a valuation of $9.9 billion, way down from the company’s valuation of $39 billion as of a round of $265 million raised in March 2021. The valuation at the time was during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when food delivery was booming because of lockdowns.
Founded in 2012, Instacart operates a food delivery platform that enables consumers to order food from 80,000 stores operated by more than 1,400 retailers in the U.S. and Canada. Delivery times range between 15 minutes and a few days, depending on the purchase.
Coming into its IPO, the company had processed $29.4 billion worth of grocery orders in the 12 months to June 30. In the period 2018 to 2022, merchandise purchased through Instacart had a compound annual growth rate of 80%, compared with a broader online grocery market that achieved a compound annual growth rate of 50% over the same time frame.
Unlike many companies going public, Instacart is actually profitable, generating net income of $242 million in the first six months of 2023. The company has not always been profitable, however, having reported a loss of $74 million in 2022.
Instacart’s sizable listing on the Nasdaq comes after chip design firm Arm Holdings Ltd. went public on Sept. 13. Suggesting that there is a strong appetite among investors for IPOs, Arm saw its share price close 25% up on its first day of trading.
Reflecting the broader economic malaise in the global economy, often simply referred to as “macroeconomic conditions” by many, IPOs have rapidly declined in the last 12 to 18 months as companies — particularly tech companies — have held back on going public hoping for a change in economic conditions. The floats of both Arm, Instacart and Klaviyo do not change the broader economic outlook, but it is a positive sign that overall investing conditions may have turned a corner.
In an interview with theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media Inc.’s livestreaming studio in February, Jeanette Barlow, vice president of product and retailer solutions at Instacart, discussed how the company helps U.S. vendors enter the digital age:
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There’s good reason Facebook Inc.’s ad revenue continues to surge: Advertisers’ return on Facebook ad spend keeps rising, according to a new report from social media advertising firm Nanigans.
For Nanigans clients, the average return on their Facebook ad spend grew an average of 31% in the first quarter. Those strong results led retailers to boost their ad spending 16%.
That growth came from increases in both the ads’ average conversion rates and the average order value of the items that consumers clicked and bought. Those results are from 20 of the highest-spending e-commerce and game advertisers that used Nanigans’ platform over the past year.
Helping drive that growth are the social network’s dynamic ads, which let retailers and other advertisers serve shoppers ads based on the products they looked at on the merchant’s site or app. The social network has steadily rolled out new ways for retailers to leverage the ad format, including: an update that lets retailers use on-Facebook and off-Facebook signals from multiple websites and apps to target ads at consumers whom Facebook’s algorithm suggests are likely to respond to specific products.
The update also enables advertisers to target an ad at a consumer who recently browsed its products that encourages him to download the merchant’s app, and to showcase products available in a store that’s near the consumer seeing the ad.
Those developments drove online retailers to boost their dynamic ad spending 62% year over year and, more dramatically, 33% compared to the fourth quarter when most retailers are most aggressive in their marketing.
The report also finds that retailers’ ad dollars continued to shift to mobile ads from desktops during the quarter, the vendor says, noting that mobile e-commerce ad spending jumped 58%.
A growing share of Facebook ad spending is also being spent on ads that appear off of Facebook via Audience Network, which is the social network’s ad network. Looking at a same-advertiser set of companies that used Audience Network in the first quarters of 2016 and 2017, Nanigans found the share of ad spending going to off-Facebook inventory grew 31% year over year.
The average click-through rate for Facebook ads for Nanigans’ retailer clients stood at 1.75% in the first quarter, up from 1.32% in the same period a year earlier. The average cost per click fell 28.9% to 32 cents from 45 cents a year earlier. And the average cost-per-thousand (CPM) impressions fell 6.2% to $5.56 from $5.93 a year earlier.
Another digital marketing vendor, Kenshoo, also released a digital ad spending report this week. Kenshoo reports that social ad spending grew 41% year over year in the first quarter, which was helped by a 153% jump in video ad spend and a 202% surge in dynamic product ad spending.
Kenshoo says that search spending rose 10%, thanks in part to a 45% increase in mobile ad spending.
In related news, Facebook-owned Instagram announced today that it now has 700 million monthly active users. That’s more than double Twitter Inc.’s user base.
[infogram id=”copy_how_big_are_the_leading_social_networks” prefix=”rI0″ format=”interactive” title=”Copy: How big are the leading social networks?”]Favorite


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CASTRIES, St. Lucia (CMC) – The Caribbean debt crisis will be among matters discussed this week as the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) holds its annual meeting in St Lucia.
Vice President of Corporate Services Yvette Lemonias-Sea said the bank, the region’s premier lending agency, will stage a ...more »
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haitian merchants on Monday ignored the first day of a government ban on the sale and general use of plastic bags and foam food containers.
In a busy, crowded market in the community of Petionville, dozens of vendors openly sold the tightly rolled bags and big packages of to-go food containers without apparent concern they would be stopped. Some said they will keep peddling the goods if the government doesn't provide alternative jobs. Others said they will sell something else if the government enforces the ban.
"It's fine if the government wants to ban the containers but it also needs to create an alternative," said Innocent Petit-Frere, a 57-year-old vendor who, like many others, buys the foam containers from the neighbouring Dominican Republic in bulk. He sells packages of 100 containers for $6.87.
Petit-Frere wondered how people would be able to eat meals on the go without access to the containers, of the type used by fast-food restaurants. "You have to eat, and you just can't put the food on the ground," he said from his store as co-workers piled bags of imported rice.
The office of Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe announced the ban in August. The goal is to clear some of the litter that is strewn across Port-au-Prince and clogs drainage channels critical to prevent flooding. The measure will most certainly affect Haiti's poor majority, many of whom make a living by selling the bags and boxes on the streets.
It's unclear how the government plans to enforce the ban or if violators face penalties. Customs officials can confiscate the bags and Styrofoam boxes if they seize them on the border.
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AMD just launched their new Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX processor in the last 24 hours and whaddya know - a new rumor about Intel's purported X599 platform is being teased.
The rumor is coming from HD Tecnologia, who is reporting that Intel is working on a new ultra premium enthusiast platform in the form of X599. Intel would be releasing the new X599 and its new super-threaded CPU to compete directly against AMD and its new Threadripper 2000 series, since the flagship 2990WX rocks 32C/64T of power compared to Intel and its max 28C/56T which isn't even here yet.
Intel's purported X599 platform would have hexa channel DDR4 support, the same LGA 3647 socket and up to 12 x DIMMs for a bunch of RAM. We've already seen a tease of what to expect during Computex 2018 when Intel teased a 28C/56T Skylake-X processor which was running at 5GHz on all cores. It ran hot and required an insane cooler, but it was enough to compete against AMD's not-yet-released Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX. However, AMD is now to market with Threadripper 2990WX and Intel is nowhere to be seen in the high-end CPU race anymore.


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ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. — While paint measurements are commonly referred to in detailing circles, many are still clueless about exactly what they mean, and how they can be a valuable tool, according to Detailed Image.
“We as a society view autism as a disability that deserves sympathy,” said the co-founder of Rising Tide Car Wash Tom D’Eri, but at this unique business, where 80 percent of the workers are autistic people, it’s viewed completely differently.
Most dealers have used, currently use or at least understand the use of a sublet company to clean their cars. The benefits of using sublet companies aren’t new to the industry, but having a great relationship with their sublet vendor is.
When I wrote "Why Paints Fade" in the April 2008 issue of this magazine, (which I urge you to digest before reading this article), I believed it was simply impossible to create a clear coating that would look as great, by wipe-on hand application, as an automotive spray gun finish would. I was wrong.
Well-established Car Wash Distributor is growing and needs a full-time, dedicated Service Manager based in Florida. We are looking for someone with strong communication skills, mechanical ability and experience with ...More


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New York-based Dream Hotel Group has signed a hotel in Pattaya, its third Thailand property after Dream Bangkok and Dream Phuket Hotel and Spa.
Slated to open in August 2018, Dream Resort and Spa Na Jomtien Pattaya features 200 ocean-view villas, rooms and suites, plus multiple dining and nightlife venues – including a speciality rooftop bistro, sunset bar and signature Dream Sky Bar – a 1,115m2 spa and fitness centre, as well as access to the hotel’s 27m-long yacht for private excursions.
(From left) Wise Power Land’s Eric Lai and Dream Hotel Group’s Kevin Wallace at the signing ceremony
The property is a 90-minute drive from Bangkok and Suvarnabhumi Airport, 15 minutes from the Utapao International Airport.
Dream Hotel Group plans to open more than 30 hotels and resorts worldwide across all its brands – Dream, Time, The Chatwal and Unscripted – over the next four years.


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Furniture retailing is a people business, and many store owners — especially in smaller operations — tend to rely on their gut to tell them whether business is good, bad or somewhere in between.
Jacob Shevin took over to represent the fourth generation of his family to serve as president of the company, which now counts 13 stores in Alabama and Tennessee, and employs 100 people.
More than a third of retail CIOs surveyed in a study from the National Retail Federation are considering a single consumer platform to manage transactions across channels.
The youth category of home furnishings is in a bit of turmoil of late with two leading vendors either exiting or looking to exit the business.
I’ve seen the future of furniture design, and it is very, very bright. Scorchingly so, I might add. On a recent, hot day last month, I joined 10 of my industry friends on the campus of High Point University to judge the annual Pinnacle Awards for the American Society of Furniture Designers.
If a retailer is losing market share it can be attributed to one or a combination of three things: merchandise, advertising or consumer experience. The last topic is, at best, vague. In the past decade a new element ....