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There are certain things that are predictable in Canada: bugs in summer, disputes over hockey teams and — at least since the Harper government came to power — predictions that a free trade pact with the European Union is right around the corner.
It must be spring, because once again we are being told that an EU trade deal is within sight, if not quite within grasp. An argument could be made that talk of trade pacts has replaced constitutional wrangles as the news item Canadians most like to skip past without reading.
Even a recent promise of lower mozzarella prices was aimed at keeping out cheaper U.S. cheese.
In the latest iteration, the storyline suggests that Prime Minister Stephen Harper is keen to conclude an agreement before Parliament rises for the summer. This would let Conservative MPs leave town on a positive note, and allow the Prime Minister to lay claim to progress in his efforts to expand trade beyond the traditional reliance on the U.S.
But there’s a hold-up. There’s always a hold-up. On Thursday Matthias Brinkmann, the EU ambassador to Canada, told reporters that a deal could be done quickly if Ottawa would accept Europe’s offer on improved beef access, and open Canada’s door to more shipments of European dairy products. If the ambassador is to be taken at his word, the main barrier to a deal that could offer billions of dollars in trade benefits, is Canada’s creaking, outdated system of supply management. Access to a market of 500 million people thus comes down to Ottawa’s willingness to offend a small community of Canadian egg and dairy farmers who want to retain their traditional protection from competition.
If that’s the case, there should be no hesitation to act. This newspaper has made clear its view that supply management is a practice whose shelf life is long since passed. As Andrew Coyne noted in one column, economists and policy analysts are virtually united in opposition to them.
“The primary effect of the quotas — the intended effect — is to drive up the price of these foods, staples of most Canadians’ diets, to two and three times the market price. The burden of these extraordinary price differentials, of course, fall most heavily on the poor, a fact that ought to trouble self-styled “progressives” but evidently doesn’t.”
They also keep out domestic competitors, as the value of the quotas makes them all but unaffordable for new suppliers to enter the market. A typical 60-cow farm, Coyne notes, would cost more than $1.5-million just for the quota, never mind the cows, the barn and the rest. As Terence Corcoran noted this week, even a recent promise of lower mozzarella prices was aimed at keeping out cheaper U.S. cheese.
Martha Hall Findlay, one of the contenders for the Liberal leadership, was widely praised for pushing the party to abandon its usual support for supply management, which is rooted in political nervousness about the potential loss of a few seats in Quebec, where the industry remains important. If the Liberals are willing to show the courage to make such a sensible move, the Conservatives should certainly not procrastinate.
This being a trade issue, there is, of course, a qualifier. Mr. Brinkmann (whose last name seems ideal for a trade negotiator), has his own agenda. Going public on such crucial talks is unusual, and has its purpose. The EU would like to stoke the pressure on Ottawa to conclude a deal, the better to extract concessions. European negotiators are also dropping hints about their plans to seek a trade pact with the U.S., which would likely push Canada down the priority list.
Fair enough. Whatever his motives, it’s not hard to side with Mr. Brinkmann on this one. There is every reason to jettison supply management on its own accord, to save Canadians from needlessly overpaying for basic staples. If it can help nail down a trade deal with 500 million new customers, all the better. If further protection of dairy farmers is, in fact, the main barrier to a deal, Ottawa should not delay. Do the deal.


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Game Factory Will Continue Making Bratz Games
Watch out Barbie Horse Adventure.
Game Factory's announced that it will renew its publishing agreement with MGA Entertainment. The deal will allow them to keep making games for the Bratz franchise, following the sales success of Bratz Ponies. Not all that big a surprise, really. Girls and ponies have been a sure thing since the beginning of time.
"We're thrilled to expand our licensing agreement with MGA this year to publish the Bratz Kidz and Ponyz games," said Henrik Mathiasen, president of The Game Factory. "The Bratz brand has been a leader in the toy business for girls ages six to 12 and continues to gain recognition amongst this age group."
"We strive to promote individuality and creativity among Bratz fans in new and innovative ways," said Isaac Larian, President and CEO of MGA Entertainment. "We're excited to be working with The Game Factory again this year to bring these new videogames to Bratz fans worldwide and spark their imagination while they play with their favorite characters."

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October 13, 2020 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada
Yesterday, the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, spoke with Amir Peretz, Israel’s Minister of the Economy and Industry.
Minister Ng and Minister Peretz discussed the ongoing collaboration between Canada and Israel in response to COVID-19, including efforts to support economic recovery for workers and businesses in both countries. The ministers exchanged views on how to deepen the Canada-Israel trade partnership, which is led by engagement in science, technology and innovation and strengthened by the modernized Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA).
Minister Ng highlighted CIFTA’s potential to advance the Canada-Israel partnership in the years ahead and reviewed ongoing joint work in implementing parts of the agreement that will ensure that the benefits of trade are more widely shared by people in the two countries. These include strong provisions on gender and small businesses, as well as high standards for labour and the environment.
Minister Ng emphasized Canada and Israel’s steadfast friendship, as well as Canada’s continued commitment to strengthening all aspects of the relationship while supporting deeper trade ties, economic recovery, and growth in both countries.


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EA Motive’s remake of Dead Space is out later this week, but if you need your fix of Isaac Clarke now, you can purchase the Strange Transmissions Quest Pack in Fortnite today. Isaac Clarke joins Fortnite’s Gaming Legends Series and he can join your locker
Last week, The Last of Us’ premiere scored HBO’s second largest debut for an original series since 2010. And now, Episode 2 of The Last of Us, “Infected,” has broken another HBO record. “Infected” brought in 5.7 million viewers across HBO and HBO Max streams, marking
Justin Roiland has resigned from Squanch Games following domestic abuse charges. The High On Life Twitter account released a statement yesterday, revealing that the studio received Roiland’s resignation on January 16. Squanch says it will “keep developing games we know our fans will love while
Xbox gaming revenue is mostly down across all fronts, but its Game Pass subscriber base still saw growth. Microsoft released its second quarter financial results for the 2023 fiscal year yesterday, and it revealed that Xbox gaming revenue declined 13% overall. Xbox content and services,
Nintendo revealed back in September that the classic N64 game, GoldenEye 007, was coming to Switch, complete with online play. Microsoft announced that same day that GoldenEye 007 was coming to Xbox as well, although this version of the famed game would not feature online
ZeniMax Online Studios has revealed the next chapter of The Elder Scrolls Online and it’s called Necrom. Revealed during today’s Xbox Developer Direct, a new games showcase event from the company, The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom brings players to eastern Morrowind, a location studio head
During today’s Xbox Developer Direct, we learned a ton of new information about Minecraft Legends, Mojang’s latest Minecraft spin-off. In addition to new details on PvP, we learned the game is coming to Xbox and PC on April 18, just a few months from now.
During Xbox and Bethesda’s Developer_Direct live stream, Tango Gameworks surprise announced its next title, Hi-Fi Rush. And if you know anything about the studio’s previous games, it’s a shocking departure in style, tone, and gameplay. Hi-Fi Rush is a rhythm action where combat, traversal, and


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Swiss watch company, Tag Heuer has released its first round of smartwatches. One thousand units became available in 15 stores across the United States on Monday, Nov. 9 with more to follow in the coming days.
Tag Heuer is known for handcrafting beautiful and highly functioning watches in a timeless design. Their latest collaboration with U.S. technology giants Google and Intel, the “Tag Heuer Connected” smartwatch will be the first of its kind to hit markets.
According to Reuters, the watch will continue to have a classic Swiss watch design, but will incorporate such technology as voice commands, connect to the internet, stream music and sync with other Google and Android apps.
The watch retails for $1,500 and Tag Heuer Chief Executive Jean-Claude Biver indicates that this is only the beginning. “Our collaboration provides a rich host of synergies, forming a win-win partnership, and the potential for our three companies is enormous.”


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Trina Solar has once again been listed in the recently released BloombergNEF Tier 1 PV Module Maker List, 4Q 2022, thanks to its outstanding reliability, brilliant bankability and leading technology innovation.
The tiering system for PV module products is developed by BNEF based on bankability and a set of strict criteria, to create a transparent differentiation between the hundreds of manufacturers of solar modules on the market. Trina Solar’s continued presence on the tier 1 list demonstrates global industry recognition of its quality modules, brand credibility and strong market competitiveness.
Outstanding reliability proved by third-party and empirical study
In addition to the tiering system, Bloomberg also takes technical due diligence reports from renowned third parties into account. Trina Solar has been listed as a Top Performer by PVEL for eight straight years and named a RETC Overall High Achiever for three consecutive years as of 2022. Moreover, Trina Solar’s Vertex 670W modules at the empirical site withstood the strong typhoon Muifa with strong winds of nearly 160 kph, equivalent to a Category 2 Atlantic hurricane.
100% bankability for seven consecutive years
Trina Solar has won recognition in the financial market and from renowned institutes with excellent product performance, technological innovation and stable financial performance. Trina Solar is the only module manufacturer to be rated as bankable for 7 consecutive years by 100% and has been rated AAA, the highest category, in the Module Tech Bankability Ratings report by PV-Tech.
In the BloombergNEF PV Module and Inverter Bankability 2022 report released earlier this month, almost all (96%) respondents considering 210mm modules bankable.
210 product platform +n-type i-TOPCon technology continues to lead the industry
Guided by the LCOE-oriented principle, Trina Solar 600W+ ultra-high-power modules, created on the 210mm product technology platform, deliver lower LCOE and have become the trending product worldwide. According to TrendForce, the industry shipped 50GW of 210mm cell modules in first three quarters, and totaling 76GW since mass production. Trina Solar has shipped 40GW of 210mm modules, enjoying the biggest market share.
Trina Solar will continue to lead the industry by developing high-efficiency and high-power n-type products upon 210 technology platform. The recently launched Vertex N 595W and Vertex N 690W, boast an increased power of 30W to 70W over reference n-type modules in the market.


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Paris Spring 2014: Louis Vuitton
(PARIS) Louis Vuitton
He’s moving on! Marc Jacobs has finally confirmed to WWD that he’s leaving Louis Vuitton to focus on growing the Marc Jacobs brand. The fashion funeral we witnessed today chez Vuitton told us that. It was indeed a compilation of Marc’s greatest hits as we predicted, but done all in black. Memories of shows past flooded guests as they ascended a pink staircase complete with French maids dusting away as they entered the show.
Upon entering the venue, the show’s all black theme was apparent. Set designs from previous shows—like a giant carrousel—took center stage. And this time around, the white horses had been painted black. Lush fur carpeting blanketed the floor and a huge fountain at the back was flanked by wrought iron elevators in the middle and two escalators at the entrance. The clock ominously ticked away as the show began promptly at 10 a.m., models perched on horses as the carousel slowly began to spin. But there was a sense of optimism in the currents of cabaret that ran through the show. Descending the runway first was a saucy siren painted in grafitti just like Jacobs’ iconic Stephen Sprouse Vuitton bags, wearing just about nothing save for a pair of handcuffs that connected strands of beading in the back. The message there doesn’t need much explanation. What followed were a series of Folies Bergère girls that rode up and down elevators and escalators decked in giant black feathered headdresses—ornamentation typically reserved for war time and ceremonies. Symbolic much?
Everything was sequined. Why? The show notes explained that the sparkle factor is how Marc thinks of Paris. “It isn’t the depth of the city that takes my breath away,” he said. “It’s about the decoration and applied ornamentation that dazzles.” In fact, the only pieces that weren’t black and sequined were boyfriend jeans, layered under sheer dresses or cropped evening jackets. Jacobs was thinking of “esoteric and extroverted” women, of which the show notes included a long list of female inspiration from Carlyne Cerf De Dudzeele and Anna Wintour to Lady Gaga and Cher; “To the showgirl in all of us,” he concluded.
Attached to the run of show was a long list of thank you’s to 172 people and on the last page it read, “For Robert Duffy and Bernard Arnault, All my love, Always.” It was an emotional send off and one that was collectively felt around the room. “I thought it was very moving,” said Hamish Bowles. “I loved the perversity of an all black collection for Spring and it was a triumph of incredible techniques.” Giovanna Battaglia echoed that sentiment. “It was so emotional seeing all of those memories in one room: the clothes, the set, everything,” Battaglia told The Daily. “But he’s going to have a rebirth.” We have no doubt. This wasn’t just a finale or an ornately grand show, it was a moment in fashion history.


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CBNL launch new wireless solution in response to US market demand
- CBNL double capacity of its FCC carrier-grade wireless platform in response to US market demand for highly-efficient last-mile backhaul, small cell and enterprise access
CCA Global Expo, Atlanta, USA: CBNL, the global leader in licensed point-to-multipoint (PMP), has today launched the latest FCC carrier-grade variant to its market-leading VectaStar platform, increasing hub capacity to 14.4Gb/s and maximum range to 12 miles – an improvement of up to 50 percent.
The new FCC VectaStar 600 product has been developed in response to exceptionally strong market demand for the platform in the US.
Following VectaStar’s initial launch in the US in 2014, it has been deployed by major service providers across multiple states and geographies in the country for cost-effective last-mile backhaul and enterprise access applications.
The new platform also benefits from an increase in frequency variants, with product lines available in in both LMDS 28GHz A1 and A1/A2 bands.
By increasing frequency support, the number of locations in which service providers can profit from VectaStar’s leading business case has been vastly increased.
Service providers have further benefited through CBNL’s close collaboration with major nationwide spectrum holders.
This has enabled the streamlined acquisition of spectrum across key territories in the US, helping customers quickly generate profits on their investment.
VectaStar’s advanced platform saves valuable spectrum, equipment and costs through aggregating traffic from multiple sites.
It intelligently allocates macro backhaul, small cell backhaul or enterprise access capacity where it is needed most and offers a leading business case over alternative wired and wireless technologies.
Benefits of VectaStar include:
- High capacity: 600Mb/s per link and up to 14.4Gb/s per tower/hub site
- Range: Up to 12 miles
- Carrier-grade: Guaranteed carrier-grade services
- Fast time to market: Simple and quick deployment compared to fiber or point-to-point wireless
- Cost effective: Saves up to 50 percent total cost of ownership compared to fiber and point-to-point
- Spectrum: FCC 28GHz platform works in the A1 and A1 / A2 bands
- Proven deployment: Deployed in over 40 countries, including for seven of the world’s largest top ten mobile operators.
Mark Ashford, VP North America at CBNL, said:
“As the market leader in licensed PMP microwave, we’re delighted to announce the latest addition to our FCC portfolio and build on the phenomenal success the platform has already achieved in the US.
"Through increasing capacity and widening frequency support, we look forward to supporting more customers with the carrier-grade networks their businesses demand.
"We’ve seen first-hand how the latest licensed point-to-multipoint can open up vast opportunities for service providers through its highly profitable business case and rapid time to market – it’s the perfect balance for their needs.”
CBNL will be speaking (Expo 2, 09.15 on the 25 March) and exhibiting (booth 74) at the CCA Global Expo, Atlanta on the 25-27 March.


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Why marijuana dispensaries are deemed "essential," but excluded from PPP.
As grocery stores and pharmacies struggled to keep toilet paper and hand sanitizer on the shelves in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, many cannabis dispensaries saw inventories sharply decline as customers feared those businesses would be deemed nonessential.
But when states and local governments began issuing stay-at-home directives, most communities that allow the sale of medical marijuana chose to include dispensaries alongside supermarkets and drugstores on lists of businesses allowed to remain open.
But because marijuana sales are still illegal under federal law, businesses operating under state statutes are barred from receiving federal assistance, including aid for small businesses in the massive $2 trillion economic recovery package signed into law last week.
The CARES Act includes $350 billion for the Small Business Administration to provide forgivable loans to companies with 500 or fewer employees, and the Trump administration is now asking Congress for an additional $250 billion.


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China's Import Policies
Number of material types banned:
Contamination standard for bales:
Mixed paper and mixed plastic cut from recycling programs in multiple states. Small amount of material going to disposal in some areas. Reports of stockpiling in others. Market options tightening around the country.
Nationwide drop in prices for many commodities. Temporary drop in stock prices for industry's top companies in October. Higher recycling costs for municipalities and businesses in multiple states.
No actions from any one company or city, however bold or surprising, have captured the industry's attention in 2017 more than China. The global giant's outsized pull in commodity markets has always been an underlying factor, especially for the U.S. Now, its shifting trade policies have forced more self-examination within the recycling world than anything has in years.
Global Exports in 2015
Early 2017 saw some discussion of how the country's National Sword smuggling crackdown was slowing imports, but prices for most commodities were still good and material was moving. It wasn't until May and June that chatter increased about something bigger coming. Industry observers began to worry and, in July, their worst fears were realized when China filed plans with the World Trade Organization (WTO) to ban 24 types of material by the end of the year.
As details began to emerge in August it became clear that the country might also begin enforcing a 0.3% contamination, described by just about everyone in the industry as a virtual ban itself, and also cut back on third quarter import licenses. In September, OCC prices plummeted and stock prices of the industry's major publicly traded companies followed in early October.
U.S. OCC Exports to China
Compared to 2016, China accepted 17.8% fewer metric tons of OCC through September 2017Source: ISRI
During this time, China was an unavoidable part of any conversation in the industry and common themes emerged. For all the doom and gloom from some corners, there was conspicuous denial from many others. For all the talk of needing to clean up bales, there was a defensive reaction from MRFs that their bales weren't the problem. It was careless consumers who needed to pay more attention or government agencies that needed to do more outreach.
For all the recognition of President Xi Jinping's broader environmental goals, there was plenty of skepticism about whether they could be achieved in such short order. For all the talk among "zero waste" advocates about the need to double down on their efforts, and expand domestic processing capacity, there was plenty more about finding new foreign markets to help maintain the status quo.
Opinions changed by the week and none were mutually exclusive. Evolving details have made it impossible for anyone to claim expert status.
By late October, when both commodity and stock prices began to level out, some of this urgency was tempered in earnings calls and webinars. A small degree of further relief was provided when China announced a new 0.5% contamination standard in November, which industry groups say is still too stringent. Though for the most part many analysts and executives still say the worst is over and, depending on whom you talk to, that is still the case as of publication.
Yet effects from around the country show that China's import policies have made it impossible to return to previous norms, at least in the near future. The topic has officially become a part of international dialogue between the U.S., E.U. and others. It has shed a light on the volatility of export markets and the dearth of domestic ones. It has reignited the debate about whether making single-stream the de facto universal recycling policy was the best move. It has led to cutbacks in some recycling programs, mainly in rural areas, and highlighted the lack of a clear responsibility to provide those services when finances get tough. It has intensified the conversation about both worker safety and automation, as MRFs try to improve their streams. It has made at least some members of the public think about what happens after their material hits the curb.
The effects of these policies are still playing out to varying degrees in multiple regions. Much is still unknown, about how strictly contamination standards will be enforced or when new import licenses will be granted. In the meantime, industry professionals are finding consensus around the need to produce cleaner material and strengthen local infrastructure.
Whatever happens next, there is no way the recycling industry won't still be talking about China's import policies heading into 2018.


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AMD’s Enterprise business
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is seeing growing adoption of its EPYC server CPU (central processing unit) across cloud, HPC (high-performance computing), and Enterprise customers. This adoption drove its first-quarter revenue from Enterprise on a YoY and sequential basis.
At the first-quarter earnings call, AMD’s CEO Lisa Su stated that the EPYC’s revenue mix shifted from the cloud in the previous quarter to Enterprise in the first quarter as it added several customers across the aerospace, health care, automotive, and telecom industries.
Lisa Su stated that AMD targets Enterprise customers through server OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) as they have longer qualification cycles because of dual qualification on the OEM side and the Enterprise side. A higher mix of Enterprise resulted in higher ASP (average selling price) and lower volumes, as enterprises do not buy huge quantities like cloud customers.
What Rome server CPU has in store?
Like Intel, AMD is seeing a decline in data center spending as cloud companies shift from buying capacity to absorbing the excess capacity they purchased in the first three quarters of 2018. It expects to tackle the slowing data center demand by gaining market share from Intel in the second half.
Lisa Su stated that AMD is set to ship its next-generation 7-nm (nanometer) Rome Server CPU in the second quarter for a third-quarter launch. She claims that Rome will deliver four times the floating point performance and double the compute performance per socket than its predecessor Naples. She stated that customers are showing interest in Rome and product qualification is also strong.
Lisa Su expects to increase its server CPU unit market share from 3.2% in the fourth quarter of 2018 to double digits in the next four to six quarters with the help of Rome, which is possible as Intel is unlikely to launch its 10-nm server CPUs before 2020, giving AMD a six-to-nine-month lead in the manufacturing node.
Check out all the data we have added to our quote pages. Now you can get a valuation snapshot, earnings and revenue estimates, and historical data as well as dividend info. Take a look!


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SWIFT, the global system for financial messaging and cross-border payments, has set up a joint venture with the Chinese central bank’s digital currency research institute and clearing centre, in a sign that China is exploring global use of its planned digital yuan, according to Reuters.
Other shareholders of the Beijing-based venture include China’s Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) and the Payment & Clearing Association of China, both supervised by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), according to public information.
The new entity, called Finance Gateway Information Services Co, was established in Beijing on Jan. 16, and its business scope includes information system integration, data processing and technological consultancy, according to the website of the National Enterprise Credit Information Public System.
Greater use of the CIPS instead of the Belgium-based SWIFT system would reduce exposure of China’s global payments data to the United States, BOC International (BOCI) said in a report last July.
„Dupa ce oamenii creeaza un cont PayByFace si au adaugat cardul, selfi-ul si PIN-ul, si au avut un pic de curaj sa se duca sa incerce, daca au incercat o data plata prin recunoastere faciala nu mai folosesc altceva (n.r. ca modalitate de plata). 80% dintre ei numai asta folosesc. Le place la nebunie.”
Afla aici rezultatele in adoptia platii prin recunoastere faciala.


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The impact of the Queensland floods is significant and will affect a number of companies in different sectors. The loss of life is tragic and the economic impact will be felt for some time. There is the immediate direct impact, and then there are the secondary effects which will take some time to play out.
Announcements in Market Analyser
Using the search functionality in Market Analyser we can quickly identify those companies that have been affected by the floods. As part of the ASX listing rules, companies must keep the market informed of any significant development in their trading or any event that may impact on the company’s profitability. This means you as an investor or trader can easily keep up with market developments as they occur.
To do this select Menu > Fundamentals > Announcements and type the word ‘flood’ into the Search Text or XCode box and click Go. You can then double click on the headlines to read the full announcements.
Companies that have been directly affected include:
* Caltex, which has shut down its oil refinery in Brisbane
* Cockatoo Coal, that has had its Baralba coal mine flooded, and
* New Hope Corporation, which has suspended all mining operations in Queensland.
There are many other companies directly affected, but on the bright side a number of the companies in this list report no material impact on their earnings.
There are a wide variety of industries affected by the floods, including mining, mining services, transport operators, agriculture, retailers, tourism and, obviously, the insurance industry.
Coal miners in the Bowen Basin have been affected heavily, with mines owned by Wesfarmers, Aquila Resources, BHP Billiton, Cockatoo Coal, New Hope Corporation, Macarthur Coal, Peabody Energy and Rio Tinto being affected by the floods.
The companies are unable to supply coal to meet contracted obligations and have invoked force majeure clauses in their supply contracts. This lack of supply has pushed up coal prices in the short term and other coal miners unaffected by the floods are likely to benefit from higher prices. These include Whitehaven Coal, Gloucester Coal, Coal of Africa and Coal and Allied.
Some mining services companies will be affected with Boom Logistics reporting that it has lost $1.2 million in revenue during December because of the wet weather, prior to the January floods. The majority of the mining service companies are well diversified and supply mines across Australia or globally and there is likely to be very little impact on these companies. Downer, Monadelphous and Bradken have all reported no significant impact. Macmahon and Industrea have reported some impact with at least one of their mining contracts having been affected.
Transport operators, particularly rail and ports, have been hit hard with railway lines closed and coal deliveries severely reduced. Asciano and QR National have been significantly affected. Also a number of ports have been closed including Brisbane and Gladstone, but these companies are not listed on the ASX.
Many agricultural crops have been significantly affected by the flooding, but Graincorp got off lightly with most of the wheat already harvested. Queensland Sugar was not so fortunate with it becoming necessary to import sugar as much of the local crop was affected. Incitec Pivot suspended fertiliser production, while Nufarm reported it is likely to have reduced sales in the short term as crops, mainly sugar and cotton, have been affected.
Some retailers have been affected directly, with The Reject Shop having closed its Queensland distribution centre which supplies 90 stores as a result of flooding. Woolworths’ and Wesfarmers’ supply chains have been affected, but this impact is likely to be temporary. Myers and David Jones have had some individual stores affected by flooding. The more important effect of the flooding is a temporary slump in retail spending that is likely to follow the disaster as people focus on cleaning up, rather than shopping. As insurance and relief money starts to flow into the area retail may pick up longer term, but expect an even slower than normal January for retailers which have a strong Queensland presence. Billabong and Coke have already reported lower sales due to the wet and unusually cold weather. Mind you, chocolate sold out in Christchurch following the earthquakes, so maybe there is some upside for food retailers.
As with retail, the wet weather may affect tourism operators through lower sales. Virgin Blue and Qantas are the obvious losers with their share prices already being affected.
Finally the insurance companies will be affected as the insurance claims begin to roll in. Both QBE and Suncorp will payout large sums associated with the flooding. Though most of this will be reinsured to limit their losses Suncorp has already announced it will spend an additional $120 million to cover any further losses this year. The total cost to Suncorp will be in the region of $220 million.
This is an overview of some of the companies that may be affected by the Queensland floods. You will still have to identify trading opportunities in these companies and you can do this using the charting and technical analysis tools in Market Analyser.
By Jeff Cartridge


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Small business owners are running serious financial risks due to knowledge gaps about tax, new research has found.
More than 1000 Australian small business owners were surveyed in a study commissioned by American Express.
While most small business owners (73%) understood they were responsible for errors in their tax returns even if they used an accountant, many were not clear about GST responsibilities, tax deductions and write-offs.
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Tax consultant Adrian Raftery told StartupSmart the survey reveals why so many small businesses fail within seven years, adding there could be a link between failed businesses and a lack of understanding of tax obligations and concessions that are available.
“With knowledge gaps like this, how are they reading their profit and loss sheets? Are they saving for tax time so it doesn’t impact cashflow too much?” Raftery says.
He says the risk of getting caught and fined is quite high for small business owners.
“Even if it’s an honest mistake, the chance of getting caught is still reasonably high because of data matching and the analysis the ATO can do these days,” he says.
Raftery says the combination of the interest charged on missing tax combined with penalties could cause critical issues for small businesses.
The research shows ongoing confusion around GST with 65% of small businesses believing they need to register for GST once they are turning over $50,000 a year, when they actually don’t need to register for GST until they’re turning over $75,000.
Small business owners are also missing out on concessions and possibly making expensive errors because of confusion around claiming receipts and write-offs. Only 9% of businesses thought they were too small to come to the attention of ATO auditors.
Young entrepreneurs are significantly more at risk, with the research revealing 51% of entrepreneurs under 34 were not aware they were responsible for errors in their tax returns. They were also more likely to lose receipts.
Raftery says the confusion often comes from misunderstanding the tax system.
“Accountants devote their whole lives to knowing and keeping up with this. But business owners should make an effort to be aware of the tax landscape and the rules,” he says.
Losing receipts was more of an issue for companies with three or more employees. Across all the business owners surveyed, the receipts most likely to be lost were petrol (40%), stationery (32%) and food and beverages (23%).
A key confusion for small business owners was entertainment deductions. According to Raftery, most small business owners don’t realise that any meal that involves alcohol can’t be claimed, as the write-off is for working lunches and “mere sustenance”.
Almost half (46%) of the small business owners surveyed thought they could claim $300 worth of deductions without receipts. This option is only available for individual tax returns, not for company returns.
Many of those surveyed also didn’t realise they could claim taxes paid last year based on losses made this year. Just over half didn’t realise they could claim write-offs for equipment purchased for home-based businesses.
One in three small business owners surveyed still kept their receipts in a shoebox and 42% used accounting software.
“The most common honest mistakes come from mathematical errors, just the general calculation errors. If you’re not using accounting software, you’re doing more calculations and so you’ll be at greater risk.”
Not only were many small businesses struggling to navigate the tax system, 69% said tax reporting was increasingly complicated.
But Raftery says it gets easier.
“The tax obligations can seem quite complicated and onerous. With experience and doing quarterly BAS and an annual return and knowing what to claim and being educated over a couple of years, it does get easier. But you do need to invest the time at the beginning to understand it, and make sure you have a good accountant.”
Concern around navigating the tax system was higher for more profitable companies, with 75% of those making more than $200,000 a year saying it was getting increasingly complicated.
According to the survey, small businesses spend an average of 20 hours a year on tax reporting, with businesses turning over $200,000 or more spending more than double that each year.
This article first appeared on StartupSmart.


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Starbucks – the world’s largest and most famous coffeehouse chain, with 35,000 points of sale in 83 countries – is unable to guarantee that the coffee sold at its stores is not associated with serious labour and human rights crimes such as low wages, harvest workers eating cold meals, inadequate accommodation and even child and slave labour.
At least four properties experienced problems like this while they were still supplying the US-based multinational. The cases are portrayed in the report “Behind Starbucks coffee,” published by Repórter Brasil (available in Portuguese and English).
The document shows that coffee farms in Minas Gerais state where Ministry of Labour and Employment inspectors found violations hold – or held until recently – the C.A.F.E. Practices seal, which stands for Coffee and Farmer Equity. That is the certification programme that, according to Starbucks, evaluates suppliers according to more than 200 indicators related to transparency, quality, social and environmental responsibility. Starbucks Corporation purchases approximately 3% of the
coffee produced in the world. At least 14 companies and cooperatives have exported to Starbucks units in the US in the past two years, according to customs data accessed by Repórter Brasil.
It is yet another situation that exposes the limits of the certification market. “Regardless of the certifier, the model is fragile and not very transparent. Every year we show cases of certified farms with unregistered workers who are not paid their vacations or benefits,” says the leader of the Coordination of Rural Employees of the State of Minas Gerais (ADERE), Jorge Ferreira dos Santos Filho.
Labour irregularities in the industry are not limited to Starbucks’ supply chain. Repórter Brasil has already exposed similar problems among suppliers of Nestlé, McDonald’s and other companies that are major grain buyers.
In 2022, coffee farming was one of the top five sectors in terms of number of reports on worker exploitation in Brazil. In total, 39 coffee estates were inspected and 159 workers were rescued from modern slavery.
15-years-old harvest worker rescued from slave labour
One of the highlighted cases is that of the Mesas Farm in Campos Altos, where 17 workers were rescued from modern slavery in August 2022. The group included a 15-year-old teenager and two others aged 16 and 17.
Working under the sun or rain and handling heavy loads – a coffee sack weighs 60 kilos – is included in the List of the Worst Forms of Child Labour and is prohibited for young people aged 16-18. The work of children under 16, in turn, is prohibited under any circumstances, with the exception of the apprentice category, with requires school attendance and tutoring, among others.
The Mesas Farm is managed by Guilherme de Oliveira Lemos, who also runs the Ourizona Farm and roaster Café Ourizona in Córrego Danta as well as the Bom Jesus e Pedras Farm in Santa Rosa da Serra.
Café Ourizona holds Starbucks’s C.A.F.E. Practices seal. It joined the programme a month before the slave labour incident at Mesas as shown by an Instagram post from July 2022. Furthermore, the properties are certified by the Rainforest Alliance, a seal renewed in March this year, after the workers were rescued.
Evidence indicates joint administration of the properties. Informal workers at Mesas were formally hired by Ourizona after the operation conducted by labour inspectors.
According to the inspection report, the employer did not even provide basic tools for harvesting such as a rakes, bags and cloths used to store grains. One worker said she had to buy new gloves every four days to protect her hands when harvesting coffee. The R$ 5 per glove came out of her pocket, as did the cost of the hat, boots, food and accommodation – all in violation of labour laws.
Workers had no place to have lunch in the field. On the ground or inside a bus, they ate their meals cold or heated them on a can with alcohol. Without chemical toilets, they would relieve themselves out in the bush or in the middle of the coffee trees.
Through his lawyer, Lemos stated that he would not respond to Repórter Brasil. Starbucks admitted that Mesas is certified but did not explain whether the certification will be suspended. “Our records show no active labour complaints, litigation or open grievances against Guilherme de Oliveira Lemos,” the company stated. The Rainforest Alliance confirmed the certification and reported that two audits were conducted on the site. “According to the reports on the May 2023 audit sent by the certifier to Rainforest Alliance, there was no information about these inspections in August 2022,” he claimed. Read the full responses here.
A ‘Human Resources mistake’
Another case of a teenager working irregularly is that of the Cedro-Chapadão Farm in Ilicínea, jointly managed with the Conquista Farm by Sebastião Aluísio de Sales, his wife and sons.
In July 2022, a 17-year-old young man was rescued from modern slave labour on the family’s coffee plantations. He and 25 others had left Irecê, Bahia, 1,500 kilometres away, to harvest coffee at the two farms. The inspection operation found another 11 labour violations.
According to Sebastião’s son Rodrigo Sales, hiring the “17-year-9-month-old” young man was “a mistake made by [their] HR [Human Resources] accounting department.” Documents found by labour inspectors indicate that another teenager aged 16 had been hired to harvest coffee that year.
The young man was rescued from the Conquista Farm rather than Cedro, which holds the C.A.F.E. Practices seal. But the practices were the same on both properties, and the labourers had also been hired to work at Cedro. “The Cedro-Chapadão United Farms are a group and therefore are jointly managed; harvest workers are aware of the work schedule for the season that starts at Conquista and goes on to the other farms as coffee matures,” admitted Rodrigo Sales.
Inspectors say that the employer did not provide drinking water or protective equipment such as gloves, hats and boots. The accommodation facilities lacked bedding, closets or a proper place for meals. The group still had to pay for bus tickets from Irecê to the farms, which should have been provided by the hirer. In his statement, the rescued young man said that R$ 400 were deducted from his wages to pay for the ticket, in addition to food expenses.
Sebastião Sales paid around R$ 6,000 as termination fees and moral damages. Rodrigo Sales defends himself: “The Cedro-Chapadão United Farms have never subjected any worker to degrading conditions, forced labour or slavery-like conditions.” According to him, Cedro was certified by C.A.F.E. Practices in 2021, but did not effectively participate in the programme until 2022 and did not do business with Starbucks in that period. The multinational only stated that the property is no longer active in the programme, without informing when it left and why. Read the full explanations here.
Also a holder of the C.A.F.E. Practices seal, the family-owned company Bernardes Estate Coffee, with two farms in Patrocínio, is a repeat violator.
In 2019, it was fined nine times for failing to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) or free first-aid materials, enough toilet paper or showers, a proper place for meals or a water tank protected against contamination. Three years later, José Eduardo Bernardes was fined for 16 violations, including not having receipts on payments made to employees, not offering training required by law, and not providing toilets at the workplace.
Repórter Brasil visited the farm this year and witnessed the repetition of the problems. Not everyone was wearing PPE. Workers report that they are recruited in distant towns but the contract is only signed when they arrive, a strategy used to avoid paying for transportation. They also say that employers charge rent from those who stay in accommodation belonging to the family.
Bernardes Estate Coffee did not respond to questions sent by email. Starbucks confirmed that the company is certified and is under investigation but declined to share details. Read the full statements.
Another repeat violator is producer Carlos Augusto Rodrigues de Melo, president of Cooxupé, the largest coffee grower cooperative in the country and the main supplier of Starbucks, according to export data accessed by Repórter Brasil. Properties owned by the Melo family were fined for violating labour regulations in 2021 and 2022.
In 2021, an inspection found illegal deductions from wages related to the purchase of portable harvesting machines known as derriçadeiras and fuel at the Pedreira Farm in Cabo Verde, Minas Gerais. The following year, another farm belonging to the family – Palmital – was fined 16 times for not paying labour rights, such as the Time of Service Fund and the 40% fine for unfair dismissal.
The problems continue. This year, Repórter Brasil found workers from the Jequitinhonha Valley in northern Minas Gerais who say they work on the farms due to lack of other opportunities. “We don’t really like it, but need makes the job wonderful,” said a 24-year-old man who had already lost 10 kg in a month.
The appearance of the small accommodation facilities (one bedroom, kitchen and bathroom) shows neglect with cleaning. Repórter Brasil found bathroom walls dirty from floor to ceiling. There was no area for meals, which were prepared on a two-burner stove purchased by the workers themselves. Employees say that cooking gas also came out of their pockets, as do blankets and pillows, which is against the law. Drinking and bathing water was stored in an old fuel tank.
In a note, the Pedreira Farm only said that “it complies with labour legislation” and follows “international certifications’ requirements.” The company did not deny its relationship with Starbucks but did not explain when it was certified. Starbucks stated that Pedreira’s seal is “expired,” without saying when it happened. Cooxupé stated that it guarantees the traceability of its products and that it respects environmental, social and legal standards. All explanations can be read in full here.
The violations occur in an industry that ranks fourth in terms of revenue in Brazil’s trade balance. In 2022, 52.8 million sacks were harvested, placing the country as the world’s largest coffee exporter. At the end of the supply chain, Starbucks Corporation recorded net profits of US$ 3.2 billion in 2022.
In this scenario, there are no ‘excuses’ for failing to sign formal contracts that respect workers’ labour rights, says Gustavo Ferroni from Oxfam Brasil. “This doesn’t depend on coordinating public policies, but rather on the industry itself.”
In 2020, the organization estimated a 41% gap between the average wage paid in plantations in Minas Gerais and a decent wage, which should cover expenses with food, housing, education, health, clothing and other essential needs, according to parameters of the Global Living Wage Coalition.
For Ferroni, C.A.F.E. Practices would be more effective if inspections took place during harvest season, if audits were truly surprise (visits are notified in advance), and if actors outside the farms, such as trade unionists, were included in the dialogue.
The opinion is shared by Adere coordinator Jorge Ferreira dos Santos Filho. “If producers are warned that the farm will be audited, there is no surprise audit,” concludes the workers’ representative.


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If you are thinking about buying a new Subaru Forester, you might want to wait a year. The fourth-generation Subaru Forester, introduced in 2013 as a 2014 model, is showing its age and it’s ready for a complete remodel. True to Subaru's life-cycle of five years, the Japanese automaker is working on the new fifth-generation 2019 Forester SUV now and it’s due out next year. It’s coming with plenty of changes for SUV buyers and it’s worth waiting for. What can consumers expect when it arrives?
The new Global Platform that underpins the Impreza compact and new 2018 Crosstrek is Subaru’s biggest advancement in their automobiles since they developed the driver-assist EyeSight safety system. It’s coming on the new-generation 2019 Subaru Forester. Here’s what consumers can expect.
The 2019 Forester gets improved driving dynamics
Consumers will see noticeable changes in the new-generation Forester’s driving dynamics because it will ride on the new Subaru Global Platform. In a nutshell, the new underpinnings will reduce vibrations and produce a smoother ride quality. The body and chassis will be 70-100 percent more rigid which will translate to improved steering response, and the increased rigidity of the suspension mounting will reduce body roll by 50 percent compared to current models like we see in the new Impreza and 2018 Crosstrek.
SUVs sit up high and don’t perform well when taking curves at higher speeds or when changing directions quickly. The 2019 Forester will be designed with a lower center of gravity improving driving dynamics in the corners producing a more dynamic ride. Forester will also grow slightly in size, have a roomier cabin, and enjoy better fuel economy with a direct-injection engine. It will also come with several new Eyesight drivers assist upgrades.
Subaru’s new-generation all-wheel-drive 2019 Forester will be the safest SUV they’ve ever built. The new architecture underpinning the fifth-generation Forester will improve crash energy absorption by 40 percent over present models keeping occupants safer in the event of a crash. Impreza and Crosstrek which already have it, can survive an impact by a heavier SUV weighting 2.5 tons at 66 mph. After an impact, the two vehicle’s A and B-pillars will retain their integrity protecting the occupants.
Photo credit: KGP Photography
A camouflaged fifth-generation Forester was spied recently and it could get styling cues borrowed from Subaru’s upcoming 3-Row Ascent SUV, as well as a character lines similar to the new Crosstrek. Forester is the next vehicle in Subaru’s lineup to get a complete makeover with the new Global Platform, and it will also get a complete drivetrain remodel. If you are thinking about buying a new Subaru Forester, you might want to wait a year. Look for the all-new 2019 Subaru Forester to arrive late next year. Stay tuned.
Photo credit: Subaru Global


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THE BELEAGUERED Game group will need to raise £180m within the next week or find a buyer if it is to avoid administration, The Sunday Times has reported.
The retailer, which has a store in Skegness, has been hunting for a buyer in recent weeks after its CEO gave it ‘two weeks’ to save itself, following a series of financial blows.
Lower than expected sales over the festive season, coupled with crippling debt interest repayments have left the company on the brink - despite an annual turnover of around £1billion.
Comet owner OpCapita is said to be interested in buying the firm’s UK arm, as are the likes of US firms Walmart and GameStop.
But no deal has yet been struck.
And the Sunday Times has now reported that the firm will need to raise £180m within days if it is to avoid financial meltdown.
Game allgedly owes £40m to video game suppliers, £21m in rent, £12m in staff wages and £10m in deferred VAT.


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The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) in the UK has reported an increase in vehicle production and exports for April this year, with more than 82% of the 66,527 vehicles bound for overseas markets.
It also called for a review of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement governing local content for electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries, which will get tougher from 1 January 2024. Stellantis and Ford have also called for a delay to the imposition of new rules of origin legislation governing battery supply.
Production was up 9.9% in April, against the same month in 2022, and it is the third consecutive month of production growth for UK-based manufacturers. The result indicates an easing of the disruption to the inbound supply chain.
Production is being driven by exports, which rose 14.7% to 54,820, and the SMMT reported that this was also the third month in a row that exports have risen in double-digits.
The EU accounted for the majority of those exports (58.4%), equivalent to just over 32,000 vehicles, a rise of more than 12%. The US, China and Australia were the next three biggest markets for UK-made vehicles.
The SMMT also highlighted the increase in the numbers of hybrid electric (HEV), plug-in hybrid (Phev) and battery EVs, with combined volumes up 56.2% in April, representing well over a third of all production (37.7%).
Tariffs on EV trade
Securing the continued production and export of these battery EVs is crucial to the future of UK vehicle manufacturing. The SMMT said the toughening of trade rules under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement from January next year poses a challenge to manufacturers in the UK and mainland Europe because of what the SMMT describes at punitive tariffs which will be applied the movement of EVs and batteries.
Under the rules of origin, at least 40% of the value of any EV should originate from the EU or UK to avoid a requirement to pay import duties, although this number will increase to 45% from 1 January 2024.
“UK car production is starting to motor again, good news for the sector and the many thousands of jobs and livelihoods it sustains,” said SMMT chief executive, Mike Hawes. “These figures also show how exports, particularly to Europe, continue to be the foundation of British automotive manufacturing, so we must do all we can to safeguard the competitiveness of these trading relationships. Most immediately, this means finding a solution to the rules of origin challenge faced by manufacturers on both sides of the Channel, else we risk the application of tariffs – and therefore unnecessary cost – on the very vehicles we are trying to encourage consumers to purchase.”
As part of its submission to a recent parliamentary business and trade committee inquiry into EV production in the UK, carmaker Stellantis warned it would be no longer able to meet trade rules on parts sourcing once the rule on 45% content was applied. The carmaker called for the deadline to be extended to 2027 to avoid 10% tariffs.
“The current Trade and Cooperation Agreement requires European players to have originating CAM [cathode active materials] and high European content in batteries, necessitating manufacturers to produce batteries either in the UK or Europe,” Stellantis told the committee. “If we do not produce in the UK or in Europe, we will be faced with 10% import duties, which will make domestic production uncompetitive against Asian players.
The carmaker also pointed to the impact on battery logistics costs, which along with tariffs, would make continued production in the UK uncompetitive.
“If we source batteries from mainland Europe and China, as currently planned, our UK Stellantis plants will also be at a competitive disadvantage due to the higher logistics costs that we will face to transport the batteries from mainland Europe to the UK,” Stellantis told the committee.
The carmaker said that was a threat to its export business and its UK manufacturing operations. It has already committed £100m ($137m) in Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant for the exclusive production of electric vehicles.
“To reinforce the sustainability of our manufacturing plants in the UK, the UK must consider its trading arrangements with Europe,” said the vehicle maker.
Ford has also now added its call to delay the imposition of the rules of origin to 2027.
“Ford is calling for current trade requirements to be extended to 2027, to allow time for the battery supply chain to develop in Europe and to meet EV demand,” Tim Slatter, chair, Ford Britain, said in a statement. “Tariffs will hit both UK- and EU-based manufacturers, so it is vital that the UK and EU come to the table to agree a solution.”


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The L’Oréal group has decided to remove certain words, such as “whitening”, from the description of its cosmetic products on its packaging, in a global context of anti-racist demonstrations.
“The L’Oréal group has decided to remove the words white / whitening, clear (fair / fairness, light / lightening) from all its products intended to standardize the skin”, indicates the French cosmetics giant in a press release published in English on Saturday, without further details, in particular on an immediate withdrawal or not from the shelves.
Like Mars or Uncle Ben’s
This decision comes after that of the Indian subsidiary of Unilever, which chose to rename its skin lightening cream marketed under the name of “Fair & Lovely”. The Anglo-Dutch company has promised to no longer use the word “Fair” because the brand says it is “committed to celebrating all skin tones”.
VIDEO. Historic protests in the United States, two weeks after the death of George Floyd
The scale of anti-racist protests, sparked by the death of George Floyd, an African-American asphyxiated by a white police officer in Minneapolis, puts pressure on businesses. Several American groups have announced their intention to change their visual identity, such as Mars, which says it plans to develop its famous Uncle Ben’s.


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American Swan, an online fashion and lifestyle store, Thursday announced its association with Indian Premier League team Pune Warriors India and they are targeting youth.
American Swan, a fashion and apparel lifestyle brand, has roped in Unmukt Chand as its sports ambassador for digital and social media campaigns.
Day in Pics: 2nd September
Showbiz World - September 2, 2014
Celebrities welcome Ganapati


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Although still being far from stable, the container shipping industry seems to be entering quieter waters. Freight rates are returning to their pre-corona levels, whilst charter rates are stabilising, though are still higher than three years ago. Volumes are substantially down compared to last year but are still higher than they were in 2019. The question, however, is how they will develop further? On a monthly basis, volumes are still reducing and are likely to continue reducing for the coming months.
To counter the decline, carriers are taking out capacity. Including those customaries for the Chinese New Year, many sailings, more than in the previous year, are being cancelled, or services are wrapped up altogether. New carriers who stepped in when the freight rates were sky high are withdrawing from the Far East-Europe trade, or in one case even collapsed. The Transatlantic trade is the only one where they can still earn money, at least for how long as it takes, but also there the rates will eventually go back to normal.
What does not provide a good outlook, is the planned influx of newbuilding capacity, some 2.5 million TEU in 2023 and 2.9 million TEU in 2024. To compensate for this, the shipbuilding industry is coming back to life again. Also, the introduction of the new CII regulation will likely result in a capacity reduction, as fuel inefficient ships will have to reduce their speeds, causing their transport production to go down, or will be demolished.


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Read customer reviews across Google, Facebook, and Yelp, in one place.
Jackson Garcia, 6, center, is flanked by his cousins Emma Bennett, 6, left, and her sister Elizabeth Bennett on Wednesday as they survey a sprawling series of model train sets at the Winter Wonderland at the Maine Mall. Retailers are gearing for the heavily hyped Black Friday this week, but it isn’t actually the busiest shopping day of the holiday season. Staff photo by Ben McCanna
Maine retailers are staffing up, stocking up and decking out their showrooms with holiday cheer to prepare for the heavily hyped Black Friday, but the actual busiest shopping day of the season likely won’t come until a month later.
Of course, that will depend on various factors including the always unpredictable Maine winter weather and consumers’ continuing shift toward online shopping, retail analysts said. Overall, retailers in Maine said they are going into the season with a fair amount of optimism.
Contrary to popular belief, the Friday before Christmas – not Black Friday – was the busiest shopping day in Maine in 2016, according to a study of 450 retailers in the state. The study, by San Francisco-based merchant technology firm Womply Inc., found that Maine retailers had their highest sales on Dec. 23, followed by Black Friday (Nov. 25) and then Small Business Saturday (Nov. 26).
“This analysis suggests that the consumers are drawn to the rush of Black Friday and then tend to procrastinate shopping until the last minute,” said Womply spokesman Dan Lalli. “Local retailers in Maine can use this information to plan their promotions and staffing this holiday season.”
Another misconception is that Mainers shop primarily at big retail chains on Black Friday and then shift their focus to smaller, locally owned merchants the next day on Small Business Saturday. In fact, both types of retailer benefit from boosted sales on both days.
In 2016, Maine retailers took in an average of 176 percent of normal daily revenue on the Friday before Christmas, 174 percent on Black Friday and 159 percent on Small Business Saturday, according to Womply.
“Black Friday doesn’t just benefit big-box stores; it’s also a better sales day, by far, than Small Business Saturday for small, local retailers in Maine,” Lalli said.
In Maine, all of the above will depend on what happens with the weather, said Curtis Picard, president and CEO of the Retail Association of Maine. So far, the forecast for Black Friday is looking good, ranging from a low of around 30 degrees to a high in the mid-40s with no rain or snow and partly cloudy skies.
Inclement weather in November and December isn’t necessarily a holiday-killer for Maine retailers. If it happens early enough, consumers can simply postpone their shopping until things clear up.
However, it can be devastating if a storm hits right before Christmas, because there’s no time left for retailers to make up the lost business, Picard said.
“If it’s that last weekend before Christmas, you’re going to lose those sales,” he said.
Another threat to Maine retailers this holiday season is the continued encroachment on their sales by e-commerce businesses. Picard said bricks-and-mortar merchants are making a variety of adjustments to better compete with online retailers, such as offering in-store pickup and same-day delivery of items ordered online or by phone, and adding entertainment, refreshments and other perks to make shopping in the store more enjoyable.
“I’ve seen a lot of retailers try to really improve the in-store experience for people,” he said.
Some of Maine’s biggest retail outlets are scaling back on their Black Friday business hours this year by opening at 6 a.m. Friday instead of midnight as they have done in recent years. Some retailers do so to allow employees to enjoy more time off, and to cut spending on overtime pay. Retailers that have 6 a.m. openings this year include Target, the shops at Kittery Premium Outlets and about half the stores inside The Maine Mall in South Portland.
“We’re doing a soft opening at midnight with 40 to 45 stores open (out of roughly 100), and then all stores will be open at 6 a.m.,” said Maine Mall Senior General Manager Craig Gorris.
Other retailers in Maine are planning to pull an all-nighter with midnight openings and late-night deals and activities on Black Friday. They include electronics retailer Best Buy, about a dozen stores in downtown Freeport and the retailers at Marketplace at Augusta.
Picard said he is “fairly optimistic” about the upcoming holiday shopping season, given that unemployment and gasoline prices are low and consumer confidence is relatively high. As for which items will be the biggest sellers, it’s difficult to predict, he said. Last year, furniture was a surprisingly hot holiday gift item, which Picard said could be related to adult children moving out of their parents’ homes as the economy continued to recover.
A holiday shopping survey of nearly 7,500 U.S. consumers by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics found that gift cards are likely to be the hottest item this year, with each holiday shopper planning to purchase an average of four gift cards with an average value of $45 per card. The survey found that the top toys this year are likely to be Barbie dolls and accessories for girls, and LEGO sets for boys.
Nationally, retailers are expecting a slight sales increase of 2.2 percent this year, according to a survey by professional services firm BDO. The firm polled a mix of 100 top retail executives asking for their holiday season forecasts.
Last November, more than $307 million went to the state in the form of sales tax from sale of general merchandise. That was a nearly 7 percent increase over November spending in 2015.
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A virtual revolution is happening in the Arab world and start-up ventures such as DMN), a UAE-based social media and digital marketing service provider, are flourishing amid a growing online market.
Tariq Abu Samra, CEO and Head of Business development at DMN, said they saw an opportunity in 2014 to fill a gap in a market that is teeming with potential. “While there were big multinational advertising agencies providing social media and online marketing support, there were very few start-up agencies that can also deliver professional and high-quality creative work at reasonable rates.
“We decided to launch DMN to cater primarily to the needs of small and medium businesses who want to use social media and online platforms to connect with their target markets, at a fraction of the cost they would pay large ad agencies,” Abu Samra said.
And their timing couldn’t have been better, Internet penetration rate in the Middle East is steadily rising – 36% compared to the global average of 40% in 2014, with the number of users estimated at 135 million in 22 Arab countries. In addition, regional mobile penetration rate is one of the highest in the world at 110% and over 71 million are active users of social networking technologies, as per a recent survey by the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government.
“There was clearly a demand for our type of business. In our first month since launching, we were able to close deals with five brands, providing them with services ranging from social media and web design, to SEO, outdoor media and photography. Today, we serve more than 100 clients – including 25 local and 10 international brands – across the region,” Abu Samra added.
DMN acquires an average of 15 new clients every month and by the end of 2015, its CEO said they hope to reach its target of servicing 300 regional clients.
Aside from Abu Samra, DMN’s pioneer team included Ibrahim Bchara, Head of IT and Web Development; and Ihab Ahmed, Head of Digital and Social Media. The team has since expanded to 17 staff.


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Users of the app-based banking solution, Monzo, are left hanging and unable to process transactions using their Monzo cards as the company, which is one of those that democratize banking with its promise of “the banking of the future,” was hit by several technical glitches making it unable to process several transactions.
“We are investigating a problem causing some card transactions to fail,” Monzo’s status page reads. A similar message appeared in the app to users.
Users are reporting the problem in social media
Users are starting to report that they are unable to process transactions using the platform and could not withdraw from ATMs using Monzo cards despite the fact that they have remaining funds in their accounts and everything on their end are set up correctly.
Reports from users revealed that they had been left unable to pay at a counter after machines declined their cards, others say that they are already causing long lines in ATMs as they are trying to figure out why their account is not dispensing money.
Others also reported problems with the app where they could not log in to their accounts, and when they manage to open up their banking details, some information appears to be missing.
One user tweeted that all of his money that was deposited in Monzo Bank has disappeared. “So all my money has disappeared from my @monzo account this is very helpful….. #monzo,” he wrote.
“HELP!!!!” wrote another one. “My joint account has disappeared from the app with all of our money!”
Users have been tagging Monzo’s twitter account and asking for updates as their transactions are being held in different establishments. Another twitter user asked when will the services resumed as she is still in Duty-Free to pay for something. “@monzo We’re at the airport and can’t cane the Duty-Free. How long until you’re back up and running? #monzo,” she wrote.
Some users also expressed their embarrassment after their cards are denied in stores. “Just been called back into the local supermarket after card payment failed to authorize. Embarrassing as know money is in the account! #monzo?” one Twitter user laments.
Monzo is a digital, mobile-only bank based in the United Kingdom and originally operating through a mobile app and a prepaid debit card, in April 2017. When certain banking restrictions were lifted, they also started offering current accounts in their platform.
The company prides that more than 2.5 million users are currently enrolled in the bank. “Now more than 2.5 million people use our hot coral cards to manage their money and spend around the world,” reads the company’s website.
“We believe in an alternative to the banking of the past,” added Monzo. “We’re focused on solving problems, rather than selling financial products. We want to make the world a better place and change people’s lives through Monzo.”
Back in June, the company announced that on top of their prepaid cards and current accounts, they would also start to roll out and offer business accounts. They said they have already tested it with more than 100 business.
“Over the past four months, we’ve been working hard behind the scenes building a business account. And we’ve tested them with 100 business owners so far, who’ve been giving us lots of useful feedback,” they said.
“We’re excited to say that we’re slowly starting to offer more business accounts to the people on our waitlist. And to keep you updated with what we’re building, we’re launching a transparent product roadmap for business accounts!”
Meanwhile, as the problem becomes apparent to more users, they started contacted Monzo’s customer service, which also disappointed them. Users report that the representatives from the company have them wait for long minutes, even hours, to get a response. For them, this customer service process makes them feel “unimportant.”
“Experiencing some of the worst customer services of my life through chat on the #monzo app. Agent Kav has left me waiting over an hour without response twice. Then finally it seems ghosted me at the end of their shift. @monzo this really made me feel unimportant,” one Twitter user said.
In an update web page that the company created for users to check regarding the problem, the company said that they have already found the cause of the problem and is already fixing it.
“There is currently a problem that is causing some card transactions to fail, or the Monzo app to display incomplete or old information. If affected, you may also be unable to login or receive bank transfers,” the update reads.
“Transactions made during the outage may take some time to show in your feed. If things still don’t look right, please hold tight as we are working hard to fix this as soon as possible,” they added. “We’re really sorry about the inconvenience and we’re working really hard to put things back to normal.”
This article is updated 03/07/2019 at 1:39 AM GMT +8 to include the statement from the company and the update web page they have released.


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It’s a shame to test an LCD monitor that’s able to create sharp whites and rich blacks, only to watch it struggle to display common color gradients. And it’s downright frustrating given our benchmarking process. We first test a display’s ability to produce detail in blacks and whites. And in that race, NEC’s 24WMCX finishes toward the front—a noteworthy start.
Sporting almost the same configuration as the reference design we previewed last month, BFG’s GeForce GTX 280 delivers amazing performance with the second-generation DirectX 10 chipset from Nvidia. It soundly spanks ATI’s new 4870, as well as all but the dual-GPU graphics solutions from the previous generation—and even against those, the GTX 280 wins all but a few benchmarks. The real question we’re asking is, Do we need this much power?
The next time anyone tells you that PCs will soon become obsolete in a world filled with media centers and gaming consoles, feel free to give them a wedgie. And while you're tugging at their skivvies, be sure and let them know the real truth about PC sales, which are not only in no danger of disappearing, but are boasting stronger than expected sales.
"How strong?," the wedgie recipient asks, appearing more surprised at the news than he is of his underwear being pulled higher than it every has been before.
Tell him $127 billion, which represents global semiconductor chip sales for the first half of 2008, or 5.4 percent above the H1 2001 result. Then let him know that June 2008 sales climbed 8 percent from June 2007's numbers, settling in at $21.6 billion compared to $20 billion.
Hit the jump to find out why memory manufacturers aren't sharing the same enthusiasm.
One of the biggest hurdles preventing solid state drives from bursting into the mainstream continues to be the relatively high price points compared to traditional hard drives. Recent strides have started to reverse this trend, with OCZ pushing its lower cost Core series and Super Talent slashing the price tag on its MasterDrive MX line, but SSDs still have a ways to go if they're to challenge HDDs for the bang-for-buck crown.
Stepping to the plate is Micron, who today announced it will ship a series of speedy SSDs up to 256GB in capacity as part of its next-generation RealSSD line. But the real story here is that Micron's new line will check in at one third the price per gigabyte of existing drives.
Hit the jump to see what Micron has to say about the RealSSD's pricing strategy after the jump.
Beating out 38 other contestants representing 19 countries, Chinese duo Xu Gang and Susie have won the title of AOCC 2008 Champions. Over 3,000 people attended the two day Advanced Overclocking Championship in Kowloon, Hong Kong, and saw the Chinese team take first place in all three categories of the competition.
"It is a great honor for us to win the Championship, and we think that constant practice and upgrading on overclocking knowledge are key factors that contributed to our victory," Xu Gang and Susie said. "In addition, the components that were used for overclocking were vital, and we found that Asus' hardware, and all other components from the different sponsors of AOCC, were exceptionally stable and top-notch in terms of quality. Overclocking is increasing in popularity back in China, and we think that 1-2 percent of the whole population are currently overclocking today!"
While the team gave Asus the biggest shout-out, components from Intel, Nvidia, Kingston, FSP, and Western Digital were also part of the event. Xu Gang and Susie were awarded $5,000 for their efforts.
Not on the ticket was a side competition involving LN2. Catch the YouTube video here, and definitely do not try this at home. Or anywhere else.
Wi-Fi theft is turning into a menace of inordinate proportions and home-based wireless networks are sitting ducks for bandwidth thieves, a demographic that now also includes wily terrorists. A case that has come to light in India will insure that some of the benevolent Wi-Fi hosts will never turn off their firewalls or show vacuous disregard towards bandwidth theft.
He is fortunate that the cyber experts of the ATS bought his plea, that his Wi-Fi might have been used by the terrorists to send the e-mail without him being in the know. Of course, their preliminary investigation also seems to suggest the same, as he hasn’t been booked under any law. However, he has been told not to leave the country until further notice.
Several fear-mongers have prophesied about the threat cyber terrorism poses. This isn’t the deadly manifestation of cyber terrorism that they talk about, it is a sinister beginning all the same.
AMD's acquisition of graphics chip maker ATI continues to be a sour point whenever the company talks about its finances, most recently coming up when AMD said it would take a near billion dollar charge in the second quarter. Given AMD's financial status, it's easy to criticize the company's decision to overpay for a company that has yet to benefit impatient investors. That could change if AMD's Fusion ends up revolutionizing the PC landscape.
Up to this point, AMD hasn't gone into specifics regarding its upcoming CPU+GPU chip, but according to TGDaily, industry sources aren't being as tight-lipped. If the rumblings are to be believed, the first Fusion processor (code-named Shrike) will consist of a dual-core Phenom CPU and an ATI RV800 GPU core, Previous rumors had the first run Fusion chips built around a dual-core Kuma CPU and RV710 graphics chip, but those plans appear to have gone by the wayside as AMD has had more time to develop a low-end RV800-based core.
The sources also indicate that Fusion will likely be introduced as a half-node chip built around a 40nm manufacturing process, and will later move to 32nm, possibly by the beginning of 2010.
The specs common to both versions are Windows XP, 10.2” LCD screen, LED backlight 1024x600 WSVGA, Intel Integrated Graphics GMA 950, Integrated 1.3M Camera, Battery up to 3 hrs. w/ 3 cell Battery & Up to 6 hrs. w/ 6 cell, Multi-touch Pad & near full size Keyboard (85% full size), Integrated Wireless 802.11 b/g,10/100 Ethernet, Bluetooth and 4in1 Multi-card Reader.
The base version will retail for $399 and will have a 80 GB HDD and 512MB memory, while the $499 version will come with a 160 GB HDD and 1GB memory. In some parts of the world there will also be 9” versions with Linux preloads.
The IdeaPad S10 will also feature Lenovo’s OneKey Rescue System for recovering precious data in the face of an out-of-the-blue corruption. Expect more netbook launches in the coming months.
An Aussie company has unveiled the world’s smallest pocket projector. The vital statistics of this miniscule projector, which can offer good company to your wallet and phone, read 125 x 55 x 23 mm. The V10 pocket projector, as it’s called, can project up to 50” from a distance of 1.8 m. The V10 is nearing its release and will become available down under in September; however, there is no word on whether it will be available elsewhere. Its Australian price tag reads $649.
Okay, so maybe AMD/ATI has earned some crowing rights with it’s 4870 Radeon videocard. It’s not on top in terms of pure performance, but its price point is closer to the sweet spot than Nvidia’s top card and the upcoming 4870 X2 will beat out the single GPU GTX 280 for about the same money. AMD however, is choosing to crow about the reliability of its ATI Mobility Radeon saying that it won’t suffer from faulty packaging like the problems Nvidia mobile GPUs suffered from recently.
Xbitlabs quotes a statement they saw from AMD, “In the past couple of weeks there has been considerable media attention regarding product reliability of certain notebook GPU die/packaging material failures. AMD is pleased to reassure our customers that our ATI Mobility Radeon GPUs are not experiencing any such abnormal field failures”
ATI chose eutectic in its ASIC packaging process, because the alternative high-lead bumps were known to be more fragile and subject to field failure issues if not implemented correctly.
“Package reliability is a matter of overall design and implementation. Factors such as the power distribution in the design of the ASIC, bumping process, bumping material and the techniques used to adhere bumps to the wafer all play an important role in the reliability of the packaged part.” AMD’s statement goes on to say.
Nvidia has remained mum on AMD’s statement. Xbitlabs says Nvidia didn’t choose to comment on the story either.
ATI's statement is pretty concerning overall. Is Nvidia still using high-lead bumps and if so, what steps have they taken to ensure that we won't see a repeat of the issue? I hope they will choose to respond to ATI's statements and either own up to the problem and tell us they fixed it, or tell us what is really going on. The ostrich approach of burying their head in the sand and hoping it all goes away is only going to hurt them in the long run.
It’s beginning to sound like Nvidia has a bigger problem on their hands than was first supposed. Can we expect them to make this right for those users with the screwed up GPUs in their laptops or will they put the screws to them and let the users take the hit? Sound off below!


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Lava XOLO X900 is 1st Intel Atom ‘Medfield’ Powered Android Smartphone
Intel has confirmed the launch of a smartphone powered by its mobile Atom chipset, which will launch in India in the next few days.
Made by Indian manufacturer Lava, the XOLO X900 uses a Medfield class Atom chipset that promises better power efficiency without performance loss. The new Atom Z2460 system-on-chip design features enhanced multitasking through Intel’s hyperthreading technology.
The smartphone runs a dual-core 1.6 GHz Saltwell CPU, and will have 1GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage. Data connectivity options include HSPA+. HDMI and NFC are likewise built in. The XOLO X900 will initially launch shipped with Androdid 2.3 Gingerbread, although Intel has promised to eventually upgrade it to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Memory and storage will be
Multimedia-wise, the smartphone will feature a 4.03 inch capacitive touchscreen, and an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with flash, which features a 10 fps burst mode and 1080p high-definition video recording.
Lava has partnered with Indian mobile retail company Croma, and the smartphone will be sold either through Croma or Lava’s online retail website.
Intel has also partnered with other smartphone manufacturers in pushing its Medfield class chipset, including Lenovo, Motorola and Orange. Lenovo is set to launch its K900 smartphone in May, while Orange is reportedly going to ship an Intel smartphone by June.
Intel is making a big push for its Medfield-class Atom platform in mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. These devices are currently dominated by the ARM architecture, and there is concern whether x86 on mobile devices can make a big dent on ARM’s lead. Intel CEO Paul Otellini is confident that manufacturers will warm up to the platform, though, noting that even the biggest smartphone makers (Apple and Samsung) use ARM on their devices, but sell computers with Intel inside.
The Lava XOLO X900 will launch in India on April 23 at a price of 22,000 rupees (US$ 422.60).
- The end of TikTok Shop and other social commerce in Indonesia
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- NVIDIA and NTT DOCOMO revolutionize telecom services with world’s first GPU-accelerated 5G network
- Sony battles new hack: ‘Is my account safe?’ Echoes among concerned customers


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The Three Forces
First, I want to say that I’m thrilled you will be joining me for the Super Bull Summit on Tuesday, August 25 at 1 p.m. EDT.
During the event, I’ll be sharing all the details on the most important wealth creation period of our time … an opportunity to grow a fortune rapidly by harnessing the most powerful forces in the market … converging in a history-making convergence (we will discuss in just a moment).
To be clear: Something like this hasn’t happened in the whole 123-year history of the stock market…
I call it the Super Bull Market.
Even more importantly, I’ll tell you about the one company that I believe every American should own to benefit from it… A company that I believe can bring you over 1,400% gains in the next one to three years — at minimum.
Right now is the time when there are more opportunities to make fortunes than ever before.
But it didn’t come to be overnight.
This Super Bull has been brewing for a long time … and now, it is finally charging full speed ahead.
It is all happening because for the first time in over a century, three powerful forces are converging, creating more moneymaking opportunities than ever before.
They are already pushing innovative, disruptive companies forward — companies such as Wayfair that soared from around $20 to over $220…
DocuSign that skyrocketed from $80 to over $200…
Amazon, an incredible disruptor that almost doubled in price…
All of this happened in less than four months.
And all of it because of the three powerful forces:
Cheap money, innovation and eager consumers.
Rise of the Super Bull
Right now, we are seeing an unprecedented amount of money being pumped into our economy. The government is putting trillions into the businesses around the country, pushing the stock market up. It has committed over $6 trillion to ensure that our economy continues to roar.
Add to that record low interest rates, deregulation, easily accessible loans and tax forgiveness programs — and you have a recipe for a boom we have never previously experienced.
And the best part is that the companies are using that money to push America 2.0 forward … to innovate, to create solutions to old-world problems nobody has thought possible.
With the world quickly accelerating toward new ways of working, we are seeing unprecedented amount of digitalization in every single sector — from education and health care to manufacturing.
In fact, according to a recent Forbes article, manufacturing will experience five years’ worth of innovation in just the next 18 months!
We are seeing these transformative leaps in every area of our lives.
Health care is going digital: doctors are seeing 50 to 175 times the numberof patients through telemedicine technologies than they did in the beginning of this year. This shift will grow the industry at an exponential level — from $3 billion earlier this year to over $250 billion in the coming years.
Even simple things such as buying cars or a house are not the same. No more driving around looking at properties or spending countless hours talking to sales people — companies are finally accepting digitalization. Now, you can choose a car online and pick it up at a “vending machine”!
Those shifts are all possible because of the new generation of consumers — millennials — don’t just want the America 2.0 way of doing things … they demand it. The millennial generation controls a mind-blowing $2.5 trillion in global spending power. Just this year alone, millennials here, in America, are expected to spend a staggering $1.4 trillion!
And they don’t want to spend it the old way — they want to go online. They demand innovation, convenience, comfort … and they have the power to enforce it.
Why stay in a hotel when Airbnb is cheaper with more experiences and immersion in the culture around you?
Why deal with the headache of long lines and mountains of dull paperwork renting a car with Avis or Hertz when Turo can do it in five minutes on your phone?
Why run all the way to Walmart, the bank or Western Union to transfer funds when Venmo or Cash App do it within seconds?
Again — this is the very tip of the iceberg.
We’ve seen things such as Zoom, FaceTime, Snapchat, Slack and others completely shift how we conduct interpersonal communication.
And all are driven by the same three forces pushing them to sky-high levels — cheap money, innovation and eager consumers.
Because of these three forces, we are now in the most lucrative environment I have seen in almost 30 years of my investing career. There are more opportunities to make 10 times your money now than ever before…
Opportunities surging to the forefront week, after week, after week.
And I developed a proprietary strategy that will help you take advantage of these opportunities.
I will share every detail with you during my Super Bull Summit on Tuesday, August 25, 1 p.m. EDT. The broadcast will start automatically when you visit www.SuperBullSummit.com
I cannot wait to see you there … and I am incredibly excited to help you make your fortunes in the coming years.
Make sure you’re setting the time aside — we’re only a few days away.
— Paul Mampilly


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Qualcomm partners with BOE to bring Ultrasonic Fingerprint Scanners to more devices
In a move to push wider adoption of its in-display ultrasonic fingerprint technology on premium smartphones, Qualcomm on Tuesday inked a strategic deal with the Chinese smartphone display maker BOE. Under this partnership, BOE will offer its customers integrated OLED panels with Qualcomm’s 3D ultrasonic fingerprint sensors built-in. BOE is the second-largest smartphone OLED panel manufacturer on the market and its customer base includes some of the biggest smartphone players such as Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo and more.
Although more and more smartphones are making a switch to in-display fingerprint sensors, most of them use the optical in-display solution which works by capturing a 2D image of the fingerprint. Qualcomm’s 3D ultrasonic sensor is claimed to be faster and more secure than the optical solution but its high cost and unreliable performance has failed to impress the smartphone makers. So far Qualcomm’s 3D ultrasonic technology has only been featured on Samsung phones — notably the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S20 lineups. Qualcomm is hoping this deal will help propagate the adoption of its ultrasonic fingerprint technology and consequently win more customers.
“Through this collaboration, we expect that OEMs will have more opportunities to design cutting-edge products that feature OLED displays made with the Qualcomm 3D Sonic fingerprint sensor technology.”
As for commercial availability, Qualcomm says we can expect the smartphones with Qualcomm’s integrated ultrasonic fingerprint sensor to hit the market in the second half of 2020. Apart from phones, Qualcomm also plans to extend the collaboration with BOE in other areas such as 5G, XR and IoT.
Qualcomm debuted its 3D in-display ultrasonic fingerprint technology, 3D Sonic Sensor, back in 2018 with the Samsung Galaxy S10 series being the first to incorporate the tech. Late last year, Qualcomm released an upgraded version called 3D Sonic Max with a 17x larger finger recognition area than its predecessor however we have yet to see a device utilizing this new technology.