text:
Print China 2011 to converge innovations from industry majors
Agfa, Beiren Group, Heidelberg, HP, Kodak, Komori, manroland, and Shanghai Electrics share their show strategies during the International Media Week for the event in Dongguan in China
Prior to pull open the curtain of the second International Printing Technology Exhibition of China (Guangdong), Print China 2011, to be held from April 09 to 13 at Modern International Exhibition Center, Dongguan under the theme ‘Green, Efficient and Digitisation’, the organizer Print China Show Company Limited took an initiative in the form of hosting ‘International Media Week’ to make the show a great success, after the ‘Greater China Media Week’ in October 2010. This pre-show activity not only provided a platform to Agfa, Beiren Group, Heidelberg, HP, Kodak, Komori, manroland, and Shanghai Electrics for highlighting their exhibits to be presented at the upcoming Print China event but would also facilitate visitors decide how their visit to Dongguan may be worthful. SM Dutt of Print & Publishing, who joined the significant moments, briefs. During January 10-13, 2011, Dongguan Hou Jie Town of Guangdong Province in China was a place-in-news, where the International Media Week for Print China 2011 was held witnessing representatives from Agfa, Beiren Group, Heidelberg, HP, Kodak, Komori, manroland, and Shanghai Electrics to share their show strategies, besides over 120 prominent attendees including competent department leaders from government and various associations as well institutions, and media persons from more than twenty countries. Making a keynote address on ‘build an international trading platform for Sino-foreign joint printing industry’, Yu Zhen, honorary chairman of China Machinery Industry Federation and chairman of Printing Equipment Industries Association of China (PEIAC) revealed that about 900 companies from China and abroad have registered to participate in Print China 2011, and the reserved booth area has exceeded 110,000 sq m. It is expected that the total show space of this event will reach 120,000 sq m, attracting 1100 exhibitors and 120,000 visitors, which will not only surpass the effect of the first Print China at all levels, but also probably break the record of China Print 2009 held in Beijing.
Wang Demao, executive vice chairman of PEIAC, board chairman of PCSC stated, “China is a country with a big printing market whose potential is very enormous and which has developed rapidly since reform and opening up. Nowadays, we not only need the printing equipments made in China, but also substantial new technologies and products as well as advanced, suitable printing equipments imported from other countries, while the printing equipments made in China need to be exported as well. So we set about to hold the international printing exhibition. The purpose of this event is to build, for the printers and printing equipments manufacturers of the world, an international communication platform through which the international technology communication and business trade can be launched, thus to promote the growth of printing and printing equipments industries. For exhibitors, we invite and attract more professional visitors and buyers; for visitors, we invite and attract more exhibitors. We take the satisfaction of exhibitors and professional visitors as the core indicator for evaluating our exhibition.”
Xie Senshu, deputy general secretary of PEIAC and general manager of Print China Show Company Limited, and Yan Zhibin, the deputy general manager of Guangdong Modern International Exhibition Center introduced the latest preparation progress, the infrastructure in the halls and the supporting service measures.
Li Genxiang, sales director of Agfa (Asia) presented the development conception of inkjet, highlighting the superior functions and high quality of industrial inkjet systems from Agfa. Speaking on ‘Looking back, and look into the future of journey full of hope’, Li Dong, sales director of Beiren Group introduced five new products developed under an indomitable spirit and innovative aspiration of Beiren, which will be showcased at Print China 2011.
With the theme ‘Heidelberg – your best partner’, Cai Liancheng, the CEO of Heidelberg China talked about the latest printing technology and solution for customer service, which will be shown in Print China 2011. “Print China is the most influential and professional trade show in South China print industry, providing customers opportunity to obtain the most updated technology and print solutions,” he added. Heidelberg solutions are for: packaging & special applications, industrial commercial, small & medium format, short run printing, web-to-print, lean manufacturing, ecological printing, and marking differentiation through print applications.
Speaking on ‘The future of printing’, Ronen Samuel of HP introduced the series of Indigo products as well as the functions and characteristics of large-scale industrial inkjet. “Print China is a key event for us in 2011, where we will be presenting full range of our HP Indigo solutions including HP Indigo 7500, W7200 and WS6000 digital presses,” he mentioned.
Ivan Chen, marketing director of Kodak spoke on ‘Kodak will step forward with you’ giving a clear idea about their digital printing equipments. The products to be displayed at Kodak booth include: Prosper 10000, Magnus 800+auto loader+processor, i1420, Workstation with Prinergy, and Trillian plates.
Tsugawa, the CEO of Komori (Great China Area) gave a presentation on ‘Innovation leads to the future’, deeply analyzing the conception, technology and service innovation confronting to the world printing market basing on Komori’s product. “In Print China, we will showcase our H-UV system and Komori’s five solutions concept in printing: creating new values for customers, high reliability solution, high profitability, peace of mind production for customers, and protecting the earth with customer.
Under the theme ‘The future of China’s printing market’, Yuan Zhineng, the CEO of manroland shared their advanced technology concepts and comprehensive marketing strategy, apart from mentioning the characteristic, potential and development of China printing market. The focus of the company at the show will be on ‘solution (technical + business), differentiate your business strategy, facing the market challenges and ride on the growing curve’. It was pointed out that the need of quality printing is increasing in China. In the past, quality was more important for export packaging and commercial printing. Nowadays, quality printing is becoming a standard requirement also for domestic packaging and commercial printing. In the near future, China will be transformed from ‘world factory’ into ‘world brands’. Foreign brands that bear the label ‘Made in China’ will gradually be replaced by Chinese brands, which is also related to its printing needs. This trend has been evident over the past year: China’s manufacturing industry not only marked increase in the demand for printed products but also requires high-quality packaging and commercial printing to reflect the world-class nature of its goods.
Shen Haixia, vice general manager of Shanghai Electrics talked about the development and transformation, product structure optimizing of Shanghai Electric after the global financial crisis, and shared the new vision as how to make a better future in printing industry.
Besides, giving a presentation on ‘The Taiwan Exhibition Zone will amaze you’, Louis Chen, secretary general of the Taiwan Printing & Machinery, Material Industry Association introduced the new equipments, products and materials specialized in colour box printing. Xu Jinfeng, the deputy chairman and general secretary of PEIAC; Chen Peixin, vice president, China International Exhibition Center Group Corporation (CIEC) and Li Chen, the deputy general secretary of PEIAC took turns as emcees of the conference.


text:
This is probably not surprising to anyone out there, but Gary Shapiro and gang have just announced a doubling in size for CES Asia. The first show was a huge success and now on the heels of that comes this declaration.
The press release follows below.
|CES Asia 2016 Set to Double in Size from Inaugural Show|
|More than 100 exhibitors confirmed for second annual innovation event in Shanghai, China|
|Arlington, Va., September 14, 2015 – The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® today announced that more than 100 companies are already slated to exhibit at CES Asia™ 2016 as it returns to Shanghai to run May 11-13 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC) and the adjacent Kerry Hotel. The returning event will draw global businesses to showcase the latest products and technologies entering the Asian marketplace.
Exhibitor demand is high for the second annual CES Asia after a successful inaugural event in May, 2015; more than 100 exhibitors are already currently confirmed for CES Asia 2016, already exceeding the size of the original show floor. Notable companies early to sign in this curated exhibit space include: Audio-Technica, Continental Automotive Holding, Gibson Brands, IBM, Monster, SAIC-GM/OnStar, Scosche, Twitter, Volkswagen and Voxx.“Exhibiting at CES Asia is an opportunity for both global and local companies to expand market share and increase profits in this critical market, especially important in times of economic volatility,” said Karen Chupka, senior vice president, CES and corporate business strategy. “Companies that haven’t established themselves in the Asian market can leverage CES Asia to catapult into this emerging hotbed.”
The expansion from two halls to four will create a dynamic show floor of more than 40,000 gross (20,000+ net) square meters of exhibit space. In order to qualify for space, exhibitors are subject to a highly selective application process and must be considered innovative and produce a branded product.
CES Asia brings together some of the most influential companies and thought leaders together in one location, allowing executives to see future trends and make business decisions. For 2016, the show expects more than 30,000 attendees, including 1,000 press and 350 exhibiting companies showcasing innovation across 14 product categories.
Audit numbers for the 2015 CES Asia show 28,682 attendees and 1,389 media over 21,875 gross square meters (9,525 net square meters) of exhibit space. With nearly 15 percent of attendees coming from outside of mainland China, the three-day event was a global celebration of technology geared towards the Asian market which featured high-level keynote speakers and included 52 conference sessions and 212 exhibiting companies from 16 countries. All of CES Asia’s show demographics and statistics are verified by a third party, independent audit, certified by the Exhibition and Event Industry Audit Commission (EEIAC). The full CES Asia Audit Summary will be available in October 2015.
Influential brands come to CES Asia to launch new products into the Asian market. From tech powerhouses to innovative startups, manufacturers, developers and suppliers showcase new products and create strong business relationships with new and existing industries.
About CES Asia:

domain: news


text:
When Sam Palmisano takes over as CEO of IBM next month, he will lead a company still in the midst of a business and cultural transformation set in motion by his predecessor, Louis Gerstner.
According to IBM customers and observers, Palmisanos success will be measured largely on how well he navigates the company through its next phase, which includes an increased dependence on services, a revamped software effort and a hardware overhaul.
All the while, Palmisano will face increasing pressure from investors to pump up profits and trim expenses, they said.
“Gerstner shook IBM very hard,” said one CIO and longtime IBM customer who asked to remain anonymous. “Now, it is stable financially. He came in and slapped the teen-ager around, and now it has to go out into the world and make a living. The question is, What will IBM be when it grows up?”
Another customer agreed. “Lou was a brilliant financial guy that did a superb job in turning the company around,” said Bob Cancilla, a 30-year IBM customer and director of corporate systems planning for Republic Indemnity Co. of America, in Encino, Calif.
In large part, hopes for IBMs future rest on the IBM Global Services division, which is the worlds largest services business with more than 135,000 employees and $35 billion in revenues last year. Palmisano cemented his position as Gerstners heir apparent during his tenure overseeing services from 1998 to 2000, when he was elevated to president and chief operating officer.
“They have transformed IBM from a hardware and software company to a services company,” said Sam Albert, president of Sam Albert Associates, a consultancy in Scarsdale, N.Y. “And its becoming a solutions company. By 2005 or 2006, 75 percent of IT will be outsourced. And the beneficiary will be IBM.”
Services now makes up more than 40 percent of IBMs bottom line (see chart above), but maintaining that position wont be easy. Premium prices have kept IGS out of the midmarket, where many analysts think the next round of serious growth will occur. In addition, observers expect growth in nontechnology areas such as business process outsourcing, where IBM lags behind rivals such as Electronic Data Systems Corp. A shift toward utility computing could also prove troubling for IBM, which has experience with data centers but owns no networks for remote delivery.
Keith Hunter, executive vice president for transaction systems at Visa International Corp., said that given Palmisanos history with IGS, he expects IBM to continue to emphasize it.
“Before Gerstner, IBM was focused on selling CPUs, [direct access storage device], boxes,” said Hunter, in San Francisco. “Gerstner heard us saying, A box is not enough. Speed to market is the key, and we need a partner who can assist us with deploying this stuff fast.”
Surging services revenues and profits have provided IBM with stable growth, even during the ongoing recession.
“Last year, most of the other companies that I follow either lost substantial amounts of money or their earnings were down significantly,” said John Jones, an analyst with Salomon Smith Barney, in San Francisco. “Meanwhile, IBMs stock went up 42 percent, and the earnings were on a comparable level with 2000.”
The Armonk, N.Y., company last month posted fourth-quarter sales that were nearly $1 billion below estimates but still beat Wall Street profit projections. It also beat analyst earnings expectations by a penny.
But as strong as services are for IBM, there are concerns over software and hardware, including desktop PCs, servers and mainframes. Gerstner sought to boost IBMs software division by buying Lotus Development Corp., which makes the Notes program, for $3.3 billion in 1995, and management software maker Tivoli Systems Inc. in 1996 for $750 million. But given their recent lackluster sales, Palmisano must decide whether to pour more money into Lotus and Tivoli or cut them loose at a large one-time loss that will result in long-term savings.
He must make similar decisions on the hardware side of the ledger. While underperforming—it grew a meager 9 percent since 1993, while services jumped 260 percent—the unit still is a sizable business, bringing in more than $33 billion last year.
The units poor performance is all the more disappointing in light of record demand for servers and PCs in the late 1990s. Because of this, some analysts believe IBM needs to trim its product line, most notably by cutting loose its PC business. Since 1998, IBMs PC business is believed to have lost $2 billion.
“I think they need to scale out of the areas that are less strategic, and a good example of that would be PCs,” said Andy Neff, an analyst with Bear Stearns & Co. Inc., in New York.
To reduce costs, IBM last month announced it plans to outsource the manufacturing of most of its desktop PCs, although it will continue producing its ThinkPad notebook PCs.
But Palmisano may have to go beyond such moves, including cutting jobs. Some observers question whether Palmisano, who has worked at IBM since graduating from college in 1973, will be willing to lay off longtime colleagues.
“The things that need to be done might be best done by an outsider because there are relationships you have to break,” said Rob Enderle, an analyst with Giga Information Group Inc., in Santa Clara, Calif.
When Gerstner was brought aboard in 1993 after serving as CEO of RJR Nabisco Inc., he didnt hesitate to make the tough calls, swiftly slashing the companys operating expenses by more than $7 billion, eliminating aging product lines and ultimately laying off more than 60,000 workers. As Palmisano assumes the throne at IBM after eight years under Gerstner, observers will be looking to see if he is able to make the same decisions. He inherits the largest computer company in the world but one that has lost its trademark arrogance of the decades prior to the 1990s.
“Theres no danger of IBM lapsing into its old arrogance again,” said the CIO who did not want to be identified. “All they have to do is watch Microsoft [Corp.] do a number on itself every day. Thats all they need to see.”
Additional reporting by Stan Gibson, Jeff Moad and Paula Musich


text:
THE Total Industry Volume (TIV) of new vehicles in September 2022 was marginally higher than the TIV for September, a difference of 0.1% or 1,045 units. Nevertheless, it was the second highest TIV of the year and also over the past 12 months.
It should however be noted that the TIV reflects deliveries and at this time, whatever comes out of each plant is sent for registration and then to the customer. This is because there is still a long waiting list for many models due to the effects of the global microchip shortage as well as some local parts issues. The growing numbers are therefore more indicative of output increasing.
Priority is being given to delivering new vehicles to those customers who placed bookings before June 30, 2022 which was the final date for sales tax exemption. The Finance Ministry, understanding the problems faced by the industry, has given up to March 31, 2023 for the customers who placed and confirmed their bookings before the cut-off date to be entitled to the exemption.
While some companies mention orders taken for certain models (especially those just launched), the number of new orders received is not generally revealed. However, some of the car company executives we spoke to said that there continues to be a steady flow of orders each week.
As at the end of September, the Total Industry Volume of new vehicles delivered reached 516,798 units, That’s 62% more than for the same 9-month period in 2021 when the cumulative volume reached only 318,827 units. Remember though that last year was a difficult year for the industry with plants having to suspend operations and then the microchip shortage worsened.
While production at the assembly plants has stabilized and there is more consistent output, some makes still have problems with parts, especially the microchips, so whatever can be completed is delivered immediately.
The coming elections (voting is on November 19) may dampen sales a bit but the MAA expects the October sales volume to be almost the same as September’s. With the Budget for 2023 announced (but not approved), car-buyers know that there is nothing for them to wait for as no meaningful incentives have been announced other than the duty exemption on imported BEVs being extended an extra year.
Ther MAA has forecast (revised in July) a TIV of 630,000 units which means that, over the remaining 3 months, 113,202 vehicles will have to be delivered to customers. That’s an average of 37,734 units a month, which should be easily achieved and even exceeded since the average for 9 months has been around 57,000 units. 2022 could therefore end with a higher volume than forecast. – By Chips Yap


text:
One of the surprise hits of the F2Z lineup is Pretzel Games’ Flick ’em Up! However, due to the great number of wood pieces it seemed to be an expensive investment for what is basically a game of flicking disks. Now it will be getting a “Wider Audience” edition.
F2Z Entertainment, proud publisher of the brands Filosofia, Z-Man Games, Pretzel Games and Plaid Hat Games, is very excited to officially announce that Pretzel Games’ Flick’em Up! is getting a “Wider Audience” edition.
In fact, our very first dexterity game released last year was so well received; and we wanted to make it available to even more gamers and families across the world. Although, to make this possible, we needed the help of as many partners as we could assemble. Since so many came forward, your favorite flicking game will soon be published in 14 languages which are English, German, French, Dutch, Hungarian, Polish, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Finnish, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian.
This Wider Audience edition will be published under the Z-Man Games label, and presented in redesigned multi-language boxes for the incredibly low price of $34.99 (US)! The release is scheduled for July 2016, and more details will come shortly.
The fact that it will be published in multiple countries with easier to produce components should really broaden the number of people who have Flick ’em Up! It’s scheduled to be released in a couple of months, so now you’ll have two great ways to get the game.


text:
Cohesity has completed a $250m series E round that values the data management startup at $2.5bn.
Mohit Aron, CEO and founder, said today in a press release: “Closing a major funding round during these times of economic uncertainty is testament to the promise that our investors see in Cohesity.
“More enterprises globally are abandoning legacy offerings in favour of our modern, software-defined approach to data management … critical during these challenging times as customers are looking to reduce total cost of ownership while enabling remote IT teams.”
Cohesity will use the new cash to boost research and development, expand its presence in the USA, EMEA and APAC, and to build reseller and partnership channels.
Total funding stands at $660m and its valuation has more than doubled from the $1.1.bn set in a previous funding round in June 2018. Rubrik, Cohesity’s arch-rival, has taken in about $550m in its funding rounds.
How many customers?
Cohesity said today that it doubled customer count from the first half of fiscal 2019 ended January 31 2019 to the first half of 2020. Also it has doubled the volume of customer data under management during the same time. The company claims a 150 per cent increase in recurring revenue as it has moved to a software-led business model. But it has not provided any numbers.
Cohesity frequently changes the way it announces customers numbers, making it harder for others to calculate growth. For instance, in January 2017 the company said its customer count had passed 80 and in January 2018 it said the count had doubled over the past eight months. In August 2018 it stated its customer count had quadrupled in its fiscal year ended July 31 2018. It reported more than 100 customers in EMEA by November 2018.
In October 2019 Cohesity announced another doubling in customers for the fiscal 2019 year ending July 31. Now it says customers have doubled from January 2019 to January 2020.
So we can do some rough estimates, using those 80 customers in January 2017 as our starting point:
- Jan 2017 – 80+ customers
- Jan 2018 – customer count doubled over past eight months, meaning at least 160.
- Aug 2018 – 4x increase in fiscal 2018 means at least 320 customers (compared with Jan 2017)
- Oct 2019 – Customer count doubled in fiscal 2019 – meaning at least 640 customers.
- Jan 31 2020 – 100 per cent y/y increase means at least 640 customers and possibly upwards of 1,000
Our sense is that Cohesity has surpassed 1,000 customers, and probably many more than that. Next thing is to try to figure out average customer spend…


text:
Second InfoComm date announced for China
CHINA: Having already established a highly successful outing in Beijing, InfoCommAsia is launching a second exhibition in Chengdu in September 2018. According to the organiser, the show will provide manufacturer’s with new opportunities to tap into the lucrative Western China and Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) markets.
The show is planned to take place at the Western China International Expo City from 11-13 September 2018, with the Beijing event continuing to be held from 11-13 April 2018 at the China National Convention Center in Beijing.
‘For the first time, Chengdu InfoComm China will offer exhibitors a valuable platform to pitch their products and solutions to an expanding market of users in Western China as well as the BRI countries,’ commented Richard Tan, executive director of InfoCommAsia. ‘These markets, which are hungry for innovations in pro A/V and experiential communications technologies, promise to be among the most dynamic and fast-growing worldwide and can drive business growth for years to come.’
The announcement of a second date in the country comes at a time when Western China is thriving. The region is predicted to produce 25% of China's total ICT output by 2025, fuelled by support from the Chinese government, which has earmarked Western China as a ICT hotspot. A number of business-friendly policies have also been launched to encourage future development, including strategies to develop specific industries such as software, IT, electronics and information.


text:
Minerva on defence after £85m hostile bid
London property developer Minerva has come out fighting in its attempt to shake off a hostile bid.
Hostile bid: Minerva said its property values have increased 10% since July
The firm which owns Young's Old Ram brewery in London yesterday unveiled its defence to a £84.5m approach from South African investor Nathan Kirsh.
It said the value of its offices and homes have increased 10% since the start of July and that the key industry measure of net asset value has doubled to 95p a share.
Minerva chairman Oliver Whitehead warned the offer 'significantly undervalues' the company and its future prospects.
He said: 'Your board has no hesitation in rejecting this highly opportunistic bid.
We continue to assess a wide range of possible alternatives for realising shareholder value including divesting non-core assets to enhance the firm's financial flexibility.'
Minerva (up 7p to 62.24p) also said the business is well positioned to benefit from the recovery in the market.
Most watched Money videos
- Take a glimpse of the Bugatti supercar set to be auctioned for £2.1m
- Renault unveils retro drone based on classic 4 for 60th anniversary
- The classic Moke is reborn as an electric vehicle
- Range Rover announces new fully electric version
- New £95k Range Rover unveiled - and will have an EV version
- Portable electric vehicle charger that can be stored in the boot
- Taking a look at the electric converted Lunaz Aston Martin classic
- MGB Roadster Limited Edition in detail
- Concept Recharge is Volvo's vision for ultra-green vehicle
- Government unveils new design for electric vehicle charging point
- Renault show off AIR4 retro drone version of Renault 4 without wheels
- Volkswagen launch stunning all-electric cars ID.5 and ID.5 GTX
No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.
We are no longer accepting comments on this article.


text:
Watch Chance The Rapper’s New Kit Kat Commercial
Chance The Rapper just put on a show for his home town Chicago, last week he had a all-star line up at Celluar Field.
Chance now has become part of Kit Kat Halloween commercial. The commercial is about 30 seconds. Chance is dressed in a fuzzy bear costume and in a candy store shopping.
This is the second endorsement he's gotten recently as he is signed on to be a H&M model during there upcoming BlackFriday collab with luxury brand Kenzo.
Chance has had great placements this year and still has two of the biggest gigs yet to date one with Alicia keys 2016 Black Ball, and President Obama's White House Christmas Celebration.


text:
The history, pyramids, murals and more of Teotihuacán!
Gen Z is the generation of global travellers, research shows
Families in Singapore are spending more on travel compared to five years ago, according to a recent government survey.
New Zealand has implemented a pair of new visitor rules. Read all about them here.
Appreciate the amazing culture, captivating history, culinary delights, technological wonders and enchanting natural beauty of Japan.


text:
Report - Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid: Other M hitting in summer
According to a report from IGN Australia, Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M will be releasing in summer.
The firm announced at an event in the country - ahead of a similar event in London later today, before the main shindig in San Francisco later tonight - the two titles will be released between June and August.
Nintendo Australia exec Greg Arthurton said that both titles were not Christmas releases, which leaves the door very much open for a Holiday release for the upcoming Zelda title for Wii, which could happen.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said last month the title is due by the end of the year.
Watch the skies, kids. It will fall today, most likely.


text:
The KCSBN is pleased to announce that Michael Wood will be joining us for an open discussion on the future of small businesses in Canada, followed by Q/A and networking.
Michael Wood, one of the top 50 influential people in Ottawa, has become the leading voice of small businesses in the National Capital Region, Ontario, and across Canada.
He has led a delegation of small business owners and met with over forty-five Ministers, MPs and MPPs during a global crisis. He has been extensively profiled in the media, both regionally, nationally and internationally, as he works with the government to develop solutions to save small businesses during the pandemic and after it.
If anyone can shed some light on the future for small businesses in Canada it's him, so don't miss this opportunity to hear from the man himself!
See you all soon,


text:
Whether you call it collaborative consumption, the peer economy or P2P (peer-to-peer) business, the new sharing economy is the latest product of a highly-connected technologically-enabled world.
Before the rise of the internet, the sharing of assets between individuals happened, of course, but typically only on a relatively localised scale.
Now, websites can instantly match up resource owners with renters, while customers with smartphones can use geo-location apps to find the nearest service providers, mobile cashless billing systems to pay and social media to rate or review the quality of service. Technology has reduced infrastructure and transaction costs to amounts approaching zero, and just as eBay allowed individuals to compete with retailers, new businesses such as AirBnb, Uber and EatWith enable users to become taxi drivers, hoteliers or restaurateurs.
The speed at which the sharing economy is growing is phenomenal: a PwC report from August 2014 expects revenue from commercial peer-to-peer transactions to increase by 2,200 per cent to $335bn worldwide over the next decade. Unsurprisingly, regulators are having difficulty keeping pace.
In the UK, key consumer legislation stems from the 1970s and 80s, and even the main regulations governing digital commerce are now more than a decade old. Trying to bend old consumer law to deal with new business models is always difficult, but when new technology is challenging the very definition of a consumer, it is practically impossible.
The yet-to-be-implemented Consumer Rights Bill is still based on the traditional concepts of traders and consumers; while the definitions do allow some flexibility, it is arguably not enough to be able to effectively regulate the grey area between private ownership and public commerce where peer-to-peer businesses sit.
The sharing model works like this: imagine an individual with a privately-held but under-used resource such as a car or spare bedroom. By using a P2P site, the individual is able to generate revenue on her assets just as a commercial provider would do, but without having to comply with the same legal standards.
This has, perhaps inevitably, led to disputes between sharing-economy service providers and the policy makers. AirBnb was recently fined €30,000 in Barcelona for breach of regional property rental laws, and local authorities in Germany have repeatedly sought to ban Uber for not following licensing protocol.
However, not all European jurisdictions are taking the same stance. In Amsterdam, legislation has been passed to help jump-start local P2P platforms, and in the UK the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is currently undertaking a review of the potential benefits of the sharing economy.
It is not surprising different views prevail across the EU: what is heralded as a battle of champions of innovation against protectors of vested interests in one jurisdiction is re-defined in another as a fight for fairness and consumer protection against loophole-exploiters backed with VC-millions. What is clear: even without considering the tax or employment law implications of a sharing economy, any policy maker looking to pass unifying regulation has an unenviable task.
Andy Moseby is a partner at Kemp Little
You might also be interested in…


text:
KINTEX, an exhibition convention center in Goyang City northwest of Seoul, announced on Nov. 26 that it will hold the 5th Inside FinTech Conference and Expo from Nov. 29-30.
The event, jointly hosted by by KINTEX and Rising Media, a U.S. event organizer, will be attended by some 2,000 international fintech experts.
The event will be composed of international conferences that will introduce major fintech innovations in such fields as blockchain, payments, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cloud computing, and exhibitions introducing 40 global companies.
On Nov. 29, 12 experts, including Binance Labs director Benjamin Ramo, and Standard Chartered Bank vice president Nam Ki-heung and Blockone partner Richard Chung, will speak on blockchain and simple payment services.
On Nov. 30 another group of 12 experts, including MediBlock co-founder Lee Eun-sol, Ontology founder Jun Li, and IBM vice president Park Se-yeol, will discuss artificial intelligence and finthech.
For registration and more information, visit the conference website (www.insidefintech.co.kr).


text:
Two gadgets enter the ring, but only one can leave the champion! Each week Brian Tong pits two compe
See how the newly unveiled Apple iPad Air 2 compares to its Android tablet competitors: the Google Nexus 9 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S.
Apple's tablet lineup has expanded from six configurations to more than 50 in four years. Has the product lineup become too complex?
Satirist Stephen Colbert complains that a Google search has his height wrong. So, try searching "How tall is Stephen Colbert" now.
The 5.7-inch, metal-rimmed Android powerhouse is still the only large-screen phone that also comes with its own stylus.
Hungarian research suggests that those born in the summer are moodier adults than those born in the winter.
Afraid the Galaxy Note 4 is too big for one-handed use? It's actually easier than you think.
CNET breaks out the most important things to know when shopping for a new television.
The Air Force says that the almost one-of-a-kind spacecraft "conducted on-orbit experiments" in the the longest-ever mission for the X-37B program.
The Collins English Dictionary held a hotly contested vote for a geeky new-fangled word that would earn a spot in the book. We have a winner.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere is known for speaking his mind and swearing. When CNET's Roger Cheng challenged him to a word association game, Legere kept his opinions to one word but still managed to throw some punches.


text:
Disneyfication 2.0: Welcome to the New Wave of Entertainment Venues in Times Square
Times Square became a very different place from the time Rudolph W. Giuliani assumed office as mayor until he left eight years later. The shift from a seedy, crime-saddled section of town teeming with sex shops and drug pushers, to a tourist-friendly Mecca with large theaters, retail shops, eateries and hotels was dramatic. It was hailed (or decried, depending on your tolerance for tourism) as “Disneyfication.”
During Giuliani’s mayoral tenure, from 1994 through 2001, the “Crossroads of the World” became home to Madame Tussauds wax museum, the rock ’n’ roll-themed Hard Rock Cafe New York, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Times Square—with its weird artifacts like a lock of Elvis’ hair and the world’s largest shrunken-head collection—and sports-themed restaurant chain ESPN Zone (which has since closed).
Things got a bit quiet for a while when it came to theme restaurants and venues in Times Square, until now.
The NFL will be opening an interactive store at 20 Times Square via a 10-year lease, a source with intimate knowledge of the deal told Commercial Observer. The roughly 30,000-square-foot space spans the ground, second, third and fourth floors of the building being developed by a partnership including The Witkoff Group. There will only be a small presence at grade.
The Real Deal first reported in late-May that a deal was close to being finalized at the 270,000-square-foot project, which has an alternate address of 701 Seventh Avenue, at the corner of West 47th Street. According to CO’s source, the deal was signed a few weeks ago.
The demographics of people in Times Square are “attracted” to thematic restaurants and venues, said CBRE’s Stephen Siegel. “That’s what appeals to tourists,” he said, declining to talk about the NFL deal at 20 Times Square, on which he was one of the brokers who represented the developers. Steven Witkoff, the chairman and CEO of the Witkoff Group, declined to comment, and a spokesman for the NFL didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Some of the concepts might not have the brand recognition of the NFL—but make big claims to alter the landscape. The long-vacant Times Square Theater at 217 West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues has a new tenant, as The New York Post reported in March. A source with intimate knowledge of the deal later told CO that the user is a “company involved in Chinese theater” and that the space is 24,000 square feet.
According to another broker, Times Square Theater Co. LLC will be “redeveloping the property into an entertainment and lifestyle complex anchored by several immersive virtual reality 3D movie theaters offering digital entertainment experiences.”
He added, “This is the next generation of entertainment experiences—and goes beyond that of what we have experienced to date even with the IMAX.”
A spokeswoman for The New 42nd Street said the entity declined to comment as it is “still bound by confidentiality.”
On an even larger scale, Hard Rock International’s first-ever hotel in New York City is slated to open in spring 2019 at 159 West 48th Street, as part of a ground-up project being developed by Gary Barnett’s Extell Development Company, as CO previously reported. Hard Rock Hotel New York, between Avenue of the Americas and Seventh Avenue, will have 445 rooms, a lobby bar, a spa and its signature restaurant and lounge. It will not be closing the existing Hard Rock Cafe that is at 1501 Broadway between West 43rd and West 44th Streets. A Hard Rock spokeswoman said last week that no one from the company could comment about the project by publication time.
The world’s largest miniature world—called Gulliver’s Gate—will be opening next year in 49,000 square feet at the old New York Times Building at 216 West 44th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, the retail portion which is owned by Kushner Companies (whose head, Jared Kushner, is the publisher of Commercial Observer). Similar to the model railway attraction Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany, the immersive tourist attraction will have model trains, cars, an airport, a ski mountain and people in different continents around the world.
“We’re doing a newer, more advanced version of [Miniatur Wunderland],” said Michael Langer, the founder of Gulliver’s Gate (whose name is an homage to the Jonathan Swift tale) and a partner at E&M Associates. “We’re building a miniature world the size of a football field.”
The two-story indoor display will include a working version of the Panama Canal with moving cruise ships, a miniature airport and The Forbidden City in Beijing. One major feature will allow patrons to use a full-body scanner and make mini versions of themselves to insert in Gulliver’s Gate, as CO previously reported.
Langer said his attraction is not a “tourist trap” because it is educational and lasts for 90 minutes, much longer than others.
It’s time for a venue like this, Langer suggested. “I think most of the attractions in New York feel dated,” he said.
CBRE’s Rubackin said when he was the co-leasing agent for the previous property owner, Africa Israel, the landlord wasn’t in favor of Gulliver’s Gate as a tenant.
“It was a new concept, unproven, and Africa Israel wanted to go with something more established,” said Rubackin, who negotiated the Gulliver’s Gate deal on behalf of Kushner and represented Kushner when he bought the retail portion last year for nearly $300 million. Once Kushner owned the property and two prospective tenant deals went south, Rubackin said he contacted Gulliver’s Gate.
“It’s different and unique,” the broker said. “They’re putting a ton of money into this. They’re telling us they are going to spend between $20 [million] and $30 million. They’re taking well over a year to build it out, which is a long time. Everything is custom made for the space. Most of the buildout is being done elsewhere and will be assembled on site.”
Nashville-based Grand Ole Opry, which bills itself as “the legendary weekly showcase of country music’s finest performers,” took more than 27,000 square feet at 1604 Broadway at West 49th Street for a themed restaurant with music venue and bar, TRD reported at the end of May. The site is controlled through a ground lease by Atlas Capital Group.
Colin Reed, the chairman and chief executive officer of Ryman Hospitality Properties, a real estate investment trust that operates Grand Ole Opry, told The Tennessean in March, “This venue will bring to Times Square and its nearly 40 million annual global visitors a rich country music heritage and an opportunity to experience the unique country music lifestyle.” A Ryman spokesman declined to comment.
Futterman, who declined to talk about Grand Ole Opry due to a non-disclosure agreement, said the 25,000-square-foot former Urbo space his firm is marketing at 11 Times Square has been seeing a lot of “interest from entertainment-themed uses in addition to traditional retailers. We’re not sure which way we’re going to go.” (11 Times Square is also home Señor Frog’s, the Mexican-themed franchised spring-break party bar and grill, which opened last year below grade. Futterman said the restaurant is “killing it.”)
Times Square has some of the city’s highest rents. The average asking rent for available ground-floor retail space along Broadway and Seventh Avenue between West 42nd and West 47th Streets was $2,363 per square foot, according to a spring Manhattan retail report from the Real Estate Board of New York. It ranked as having the second-highest asking rents of Manhattan’s 17 major retail corridors this spring as well as in fall 2015 and spring 2015, only behind Fifth Avenue between 49th and 59th Streets.
“I think Times Square is hot,” Futterman said. “It’s insulated from some of the challenges that retail is facing in the city.” It is still, he noted, “the No. 1 tourist destination in the world.”
Other entertainment attractions and venues are kicking the tires in Times Square.
Jimmy Buffett’s hospitality brand Margaritaville is negotiating a deal for its first New York City location.
A source with intimate knowledge of the situation told CO that the 25,000-square-foot space will span part of the ground floor, the lower level and the 11th-floor rooftop once B+B Capital, Conway Capital and partners seal the deal for the $295 million purchase of the property. The building sale is slated to close within two weeks.
In addition to his tropical-themed restaurant Margaritaville and a store, on the rooftop, Buffett will have a Landshark Bar & Grill, the source said, serving a quick bite and drinks in a more casual setting.
Ilan Bracha, the co-founder of B+B, didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment and Abe Cohen, the head of acquisitions for Conway Capital, declined to comment.
In order for existing businesses to stay relevant and new venues to make an impression, they’ve got to up their “game to stay competitive in the Times Square market,” said Tim Tompkins, the president of the Times Square Alliance. He added: “There are a lot of offerings here. Just like Broadway, you’ve got to really pull it together to have a lasting presence.”
At the end of the day, Times Square has a “built-in audience, one that is still hungry for interesting attractions,” Rubackin said. “If you’re a concept you need Times Square, and Times Square needs more concepts.”


text:
Back in December 2014, Microsoft acquired HockeyApp, a class leading service for mobile crash analytics and app distribution for developers building apps on iOS, Android and Windows Phone. It includes capabilities to publish apps to a select group of “beta testers”, to collect feedback from those testers and to gather and analyze crash reports.
In March 2016 the service became available to Visual Studio developers via the Visual Studio Marketplace and Azure subscription, allowing developers to also use HockeyApp for free up to 2 apps.
Microsoft has also been testing an iOS and Android client for the service for about 6 weeks now.
Microsoft notes that HockeyApp Reports is the best way to monitor the activity and performance of your apps on the go. The app delivers real-time user metrics and crash reporting on your phone and tablet. It will notify you of new crash groups and instantly triage them with detailed information about the stack trace, affected devices, and OS versions. Users can also track the key user metrics of their apps, such as currently active users, sessions, and crash free users over the last 24 hours.
The listing currently says the app is unreleased but there does not appear to be any issue installing the app from the store.
Find it in the Play Store here. The app is also in testing on iOS, with users being able to sign up via TestFlight.


text:
New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the advice given by corporate secretaries to businesses was going to make a lot of difference as only “well-managed” companies that follow good management practices attract investors.
Indian companies have done exceptionally well last year in attracting investments because of their transparency and excellent compliance.
Over the past few years, compliance-related issues have become a major cause of failure for investors, well-managed companies, companies that are transparent in its operations, and companies that meet expectations. Good management policies, board driven policies attract not only big ticket investors but also small retail investors a lot of investors.
“So, for a company to thrive and expand in its area of operation, to facilitate the role of the company secretary and to prepare the company to follow the guiding principles that you can advise them, a lot of difference is going to be made,” Ms Sitharaman said.
He was addressing an event to mark the 53rd founding anniversary of the Institutional Secretaries of India (ICSI).
He said the workload of a company secretary was expanding at a time when the government was trying to remove and amend old laws to reduce penalties in corporate law.
Between 2020 and today, you see a lot of retail investors in India showing interest in the stock market … Money flows from retail and big ticket investors to well-managed companies …
“… a lot of investors, retail investors going to the market, companies taking a lot of funds from abroad is all possible because you (corporate secretaries) are in it and doing a good job of instructing companies to follow the best practices,” the minister said.
Ms Sitharaman said that it was the secretaries of the companies who had shown their strength in front of potential investors over the past two years, adding that it would now be an interesting phase for all those involved in the industry with new challenges. Technical form.
(This story was not edited by NDTV staff and was automatically created from Syndicate Feed.)


text:
A new high-end LeEco smartphone bearing quad camera setup has been spotted on GFXBench website. The smartphone comes with a model name ‘LeTV LeEco X10 (X85x)’ and the listing reveals some of the key specifications of the LeEco’s upcoming flagship smartphone.
As per the listing on the GFXBench website, the main attraction of LeEco X10 smartphone will be its quad camera setup, which is essentially a combination of dual camera set up both at the front and back.The rear camera setup has two 13-megapixel sensors with 4K video recording support, whereas on the front has two 16-megapixel sensors with 2K video recording support.
Further, as per the listing, the LeEco X10 features a 5.5-inch QHD display with aresolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels. Underneath, it is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor, along with Qualcomm Adreno 530 graphic processor. The smartphone has two variants- 4GB RAM with 32GB of internal storage and a 6GB of RAM with 64GB of internal storage variant. The smartphone runs on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow operating system and offers Bluetooth, GPS, WiFi, Accelerometer, Digital compass, Gyroscope, Light sensor, Pedometer, and Proximity sensors for connectivity and sensors.
A couple of months back another high-end device with a model name LeEco Le X850 was spotted on TENNA. As per the listing, the LeEco Le X850 featured a 5.7-inched QHD display with a resolution of 2560×1440 pixels. The listing also revealed that the device comes equipped with 2.342GHz Snapdragon 821 processor paired with Adreno 530 GPU, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The smartphone runs on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow operating system and is backed up by a powerful 3900mAh battery. The Le X850 flaunts a 13-megapixel dual rear camera setup and a 16-megapixel front-facing camera for photography


text:
LEGO Harry Potter developer’s website confirms June 29th release date
In March we told you that the release date for the LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1 – 4 video game had been pushed to June. At the same time, Amazon changed the release date on its site to June 29th.
That June 29th date seems to now be confirmed, as TT Games – the video game company behind LEGO Harry Potter – has updated its website with this information:
LEGO Harry Potter is coming to a store near you! In the EU the release date is 25th June, in North America it’s the 29th June.
This blurb was posted on their site on April 26th. Will you be purchasing the game? On the most recent episode of our Harry Potter podcast, Micah told us about his experience playing the game at a hands-on event (and he loved it).
Thanks to David for the tip!


text:
BEIJING (AP) — China learned hard lessons from a contaminated milk scandal that left six babies dead four years ago but its dairy industry is still plagued by quality lapses, from toxic mold in milk to mercury in baby formula.
Experts say the new scandals have a silver lining: they show the industry's new transparency. But the persistent problems also underscore that milk is a new addition to the Chinese diet and it will be a long time before it's truly safe.
The latest company to run into a problem is Bright Dairy and Food Co, which this week announced that one of its factories had accidentally flushed alkaline water, used for cleaning, into cartons of milk. The recall of some 300 cartons didn't happen until consumers complained about foul smelling milk.
The problems have sent people over the border into Hong Kong to buy milk powder for their babies, and have been reported in the usually tightly controlled state media. One columnist, Wang Xiaoshan of the Beijing News, has lobbied online for dairy boycotts. He regularly vents to his nearly 1 million micro blog followers about Mengniu Dairy Group, an industry leader who was among those found to have the industrial chemical melamine in their products in 2008.
"The safety problems have never stopped happening," said Wang. "I only drink water."
After six babies died from melamine-laced formula in 2008, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao vowed the leadership would prevent anything like it happening again but despite such pledges, dairy scandals keep emerging.
In December, Mengniu announced it had destroyed a batch of milk found tainted with cancer-causing mold aflatoxin but admitted some had already reached consumers. An investigation linked the tainted milk to dirty cow feed. At low doses aflatoxin is not considered harmful to humans, though high doses are linked to cancer, especially in the liver.
Earlier this month, Yili Industrial Group said it had recalled infant formula because it was tainted with "unusual" levels of mercury.
Once a rarity in the Chinese diet, dairy has become a staple as incomes have risen, and though demand has skyrocketed, supply has lagged. Chinese herds are small, feed is substandard and yields are low.
David Mahon, managing director of Mahon China Investment Management, a Beijing research and investment advisory firm, said China has around 12 million cattle. A large percentage of those cows are part of small backyard herds milked by hand by a single farmer, he said.
Mahon said chronic shortages led to the practice of watering down milk that spawned the melamine scandal, and that shortages today still lead to corner cutting and quality problems. Farmers are too reluctant to dump milk, even if it has problems.
"What we see in China is particular to a country that has a medieval farming system serving a product to a 21st century market," said Mahon.
China knows it needs to boost output. It is expected to produce around 32 million metric tons of raw milk this year, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast, but the Chinese government's target for 2015 is 50 million metric tons.
To that end, consolidating small holdings into bigger farms is being pushed. Government figures show that the percentage of Chinese dairy farms with 100 or more cows grew 17 percent last year and now make up 28 percent of the national total.
To spur consolidation and streamline supply, China introduced a rule in 2008 that dairy product producers had to have control over at least 70 percent of their milk supply. Mahon said this rule isn't yet strictly enforced but it has pushed companies in the right direction.
Mengniu said this month it's starting to build eight to 12 mega-farms in China's northeast with between 1,000 to 10,000 cows as part of a plan to cut out all of its small-scale suppliers within the next three years.
Jim Cullor, a professor and director of the Dairy Food Safety Laboratory at the University of California Davis, has visited numerous Chinese dairy farms, including one in Inner Mongolia last summer run by Yili Industrial Group. He came away impressed by how quickly the bigger ones are being upgraded and mechanized.
"The transformation of the dairy industry over the past few years has been remarkable," said Cullor. "The physical facilities on the dairy farms have improved greatly and seem to be continuing down that path."
What even the big farms still lack, Cullor said, is expertise, "more on-farm managers with experience and training in animal health" who are able to properly deal with problems like livestock infections and mold-tainted feed.
Developing that expertise will take time. And Mahon stresses that it will also take time to build the herds, consolidate them, improve care and improve feed — all of which are needed to stop the kind of food safety problems dogging the industry.
On the bright side, though, the government and the public are paying more attention and catching scandals in real time. Companies are under pressure to inform the public of problems and the government, fearful that food fears could trigger social unrest, is doing a better job of policing the industry.
"We just know more," said Mahon.


text:
Detroit Diesel Corp. (DDC) recently rolled the 100,000th engine off its DD Platform assembly line in Redford, MI. The heavy-duty truck engine line encompasses the DD13, DD15 and DD16 models. Developed by DDC's parent company Daimler AG with input from its truck groups in the U.S., Germany and Japan, the powerplants boast more than 90% globally shared parts. The DD platform, launched back in '07, represented a $1.5 billion investment for the Germany-based OEM.
“Our DD Platform was an important step in our strategy of having a globally coordinated engine development and production network,” said Henning Oeltjenbruns, DDC's plant manager. “It resulted in enhanced technologies and operating efficiencies that continue to benefit our customers.”


text:
Cyber Monday is part of the imported Thanks Giving day weekend sales and whilst largely a US event has been imported to the UK over the past few years. In 2013 it’s somewhat more significant as the vast majority of the country would have received their final pay cheque before Christmas this weekend.
Sage Pay are predicting that online spending will top £500m for the first time ever on Cyber Monday. Parcel2Go are expecting that in 2013 over half of all Christmas shopping will be done online. Rakuten’s Play.com are forecasting peaks in activity are likely to hit over lunchtime at 1pm and in the evening between 7-9pm and Amazon forecasts suggest they’ll sell around 400 million items today.
Tanya Lawler, VP of UK Marketplaces isn’t convinced that Christmas sales aren’t all about Cyber Monday, saying “It’s not just about a few busy online shopping days any longer”. Tanya explained that “On eBay, we’re expecting to see a longer peak shopping period running right up to Christmas week, including a double bubble of busy weekends. For retailers selling on eBay, the weekend of 7/8th December could be as big or even bigger than 30th November/1st December”.
How have your weekend and today’s sales been? Have you seen mammoth orders and what are you predicting for this evening? Has the economy impacted your sales compared to last year or are you seeing record breaking numbers of sales?


text:
3 Mobile launching 6 new Android Phones, Samsung & Sony Ericsson Named
3 Mobile has announced they are to launch 6 mobile phones over the coming months, all of which will be powered by the Google Android operating system, and names Samsung and Sony Ericsson amongst them, reports an article over on mobile offers.
Apparently David Kerrigan, the head of internet services for 3 Mobile said in an interview that the releases will appear in the next 3 months and is part of 3 Mobile’s plans to focus heavily on Android platform handsets during 2010.
Kerrigan, without actually naming any specific models, also said that 3 Mobile will be working closely with both Samsung and Sony Ericsson, and further added that 3 Mobile will also make their Spotify and Skype apps more widely available to customers this year.
At the moment 3 Mobile only offer a single smartphone running the Android operating system which is the HTC Hero, so the addition of a further 3 Android handset will offer a wider range to 3 Mobile customers.


text:
Consumer credit reporting bureau Equifax today announced a major data breach affecting approximately 143 million Americans. The company said that from mid-May through the end of July, criminals exploited an Equifax website vulnerability to access names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and in some cases driver’s licenses.
The company also said that about 209,000 Americans’ credit card numbers were accessed, along with credit dispute documents with personally identifying information for 182,000 consumers. “The company has found no evidence of unauthorized activity on Equifax’s core consumer or commercial credit reporting databases,” it said.
Equifax has set up a website to help consumers determine if their information was breached and, if so, to sign up for credit monitoring and identity theft protection offered by TrustedID, an Equifax subsidiary. Equifax will also mail notices to consumers whose credit card numbers or dispute documents were breached. Check the website.


text:
Meet the Kia Carens, which was shown off a week before its official scheduled debut at the 2012 Paris Motor Show.
Read This Article
Kia has introduced a new small-car concept that will make its full debut at September's Frankfurt Motor Show.
We like how SUVs and crossovers offer height to see ahead, and offering plenty of space for when you need to haul those 3-5 extra people.
If ever you thought to yourself Kia was the perpetual second fiddle to fellow Korean automaker Hyundai, now might be time to reconsider that.


text:
The latest study for digital marketing job trends in world’s leading nations conducted by SEMrush, the online visibility management, and content marketing SaaS platform showcased that amongst the most searched digital marketing jobs in different countries, India clearly showed a great share of 73.87 per cent for content writer jobs with a monthly/daily search volume of 26309.
Content writer jobs in other countries contributed with a lower share of 32.24 per cent for Australia, 31.66 per cent for the UK, 30.68 per cent for Canada, and 30.27 per cent for the USA.
The study showed that the keywords – ‘how to do content marketing’, why content marketing is important’, ‘what is content marketing strategy’ and other queries regarding content marketing and content writing ranked high in terms of search volume in comparison with other digital marketing jobs.
India showcased vast changes in the priority of content writer jobs in recent years and surpassed other fast-evolving digital marketing jobs like social media managers, SEO analyst, Content marketing manager, etc.
The research conducted in the world’s leading nations highlighted the overall share of content writer jobs to be 47.57 per cent amongst all leading digital marketing jobs.
One thought on “‘Content Writer’ is the most searched job in India, says study”
Dynamisers solutions helps the content writer who produce engaging content for use online.they’re internet savvy individual create articles, blogs post and other form of written web material.Content Writing in Delhi
Comments are closed.


text:
Dimitar bought the smartphone as a gift for his wife, but when turning on the “iPhone 14” it became clear that it was a “locked” number, which immediately displayed a message that the device in question was blocked
Buying equipment from the secondary market carries many risks. 36-year-old Dimitar from Plovdiv was convinced of this, and he paid nearly 3 thousand BGN for the latest iPhone model. However, the device turned out to be stolen.
The man had been looking for the expensive smartphone as a gift for his wife for weeks. However, due to another covid wave in China, the production of new models is severely limited, making the demand for the gadget greater than the supply.
“Since I am a subscriber to two telecoms, I have supposedly reserved a number at both places a month or more ago, but there is no stock. In the last few days, my wife’s old model finally started to stop working, so I decided that I would first look for hardware stores,” said Dimitar. Having hit a snag there as well, he decided to look at the last option – a few of the popular sales sites.
The Plovdiv resident told “Maritsa” that all local classifieds exchanges are full of fake offers, which is the first serious problem. “For 2-3 thousand BGN each, hundreds of Chinese replicas are sold in OLH and “Bazaar” at a price of 150-200 dollars each, which some more unfamiliar or careless people buy with the idea that they are authentic”, added Dimitar.
Although he does not fall for this scheme, the man falls victim to another scam. On Saturday, he found an apparently authentic ad. “The profile was selling several different Apple products, and the photos of the smartphones and their boxes were of high quality of apparently authentic goods, with a background of a popular mall,” the man said. After contacting the seller, he explained to him that they could see each other the very next day and that he had the model Dimitar wanted available.
The Plovdiv resident met the merchant at the appointed time in the parking lot of a large shopping center. After a short conversation, the stranger took out a bag from his car, in which Dimitar saw half a dozen brand new iPhones with factory packaging. According to the seller, they were bought from France and only had a 1-year manufacturer’s warranty. The seller himself showed Dimitar the model he was looking for, costing nearly 4 grand in the store.
So for BGN 2,900, Dimitar bought the smartphone and decided not to spoil his wife’s surprise by opening it. However, the surprise for the family turned out to be even greater, after turning it on, although it was a real iPhone 14, it became clear that it was a “locked” number, which instantly brought up a message that the device in question was blocked. This is a practice on the part of the manufacturer when thefts of brand new models from warehouses or stores are detected.
The number that Dimitar used to contact the seller was already switched off, and the account through which he sold was deleted. Thus, the Plovdiv resident was relieved of nearly 3 grand and immediately filed a report with the authorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to the message, the phone was indeed from France, but stolen from a store in Lyon.


text:
To have the biggest footprint, one must lace up the biggest shoe.
In the cannabis industry, multistate operator Curaleaf spent the past five years building itself a massive network with a 23-state foundation, and has no plans on slowing down as it continues to acquire licenses and increase capacity. Based out of Wakefield, Mass., the vertically integrated company’s operation includes 96 dispensaries, 23 cultivation sites and more than 30 processing sites.
This past July, Curaleaf closed on an approximately $700-million deal to acquire Grassroots Cannabis, making it the largest cannabis company in the world, based on its anticipated $1 billion annual revenue at the time.
With that groundwork established, Curaleaf is now gearing for its next wave of growth by putting focus toward executing on that platform, said new CEO Joe Bayern, who started his role Jan. 1.
“One of the things that’s tied to my transition into the new role is going and looking at what we’re calling Curaleaf 2.0, which is really the next growth spurt for Curaleaf,” he said.
Curaleaf executives put a lot of attention on trying to understand what they want the company to look like in the next three to five years, what the industry might look like during the next three to five years, and then what capability and capacity are needed, to help establish company goals, Bayern said.
Knowing where the cannabis industry is headed provides a strategic roadmap to follow, he said.
“Listen, we think it’s an incredibly compelling opportunity in the marketplace,” Bayern said. “We think [the U.S.] marketplace could be a $100-billion market at some point. So, we want to be the leading industry player in cannabis, and we think certainly by 2025 there’s no reason why we can’t get the industry to about a $50-billion market size. And we want to take a dominant share of that market size.”
While Curaleaf built momentum heading into 2021, implications for an accelerated pro-cannabis landscape sparked when the U.S. Senate runoffs in Georgia went democratic on Jan. 6, swinging the majority of the upper chamber.
Prepared to take advantage of the potential of those election results, Curaleaf executives pulled the trigger to raise more than U.S. $200 million through an overnight marketed offering on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE). Oversubscribed, Curaleaf ended up raising C$316,882,500 of capital, or about U.S. $251 million, before deducting the underwriters’ fees and estimated offering expenses.
“I think everybody was pleasantly surprised, at least from the cannabis industry, that both of those seats went democratic,” Bayern said. “As early as the week before, we were hearing it was going to be split, so I think we were obviously prepared to do something in case of a swing to a democratic Senate. Even before the Georgia race, we had filed a shelf prospectus back in November to be able to raise capital if the markets were moving in our favor, and they were.”
The underwriters exercised their over-allotment option in full, and, as a result, 18,975,000 subordinate voting shares of the company were issued, Curaleaf announced in a press release Jan. 12. Bayern said since Curaleaf oversubscribed – its original intent was to raise closer to $200 million – it allowed the company to get some institutional investors into its stock.
“I think people are now saying it’s time to jump in,” he said. “We think the Senate race was a catalyst for the industry, and it was just the first step of what we think is going to be a pretty exciting 2021 as far as positive legislation for the cannabis sector.”
In addition to the roughly $251 million raised on the CSE, Curaleaf announced Jan. 11 that it completed a new $50 million, three-year secured revolving credit facility. The loan is “expected to be used to fund capital expenditures to support future growth initiatives, potential acquisitions, and for general corporate purposes,” the company said in a press release.
An extension of a previous deal, Curaleaf lowered its cost of capital, from 13% on the original note to 10.25% on the new three-year secured revolving credit facility, Bayern said.
“It’s just another indicator that we think that the capital markets are loosening up a little bit for our space,” he said. “And then I think if there is change in the [Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE)] Banking Act … that there’s going to be a new round of capital coming into our industry. And I think that’s going to be important for us to be able to scale up and grow and continue to expand, if we are going to be able to supply the deeds of a $50-billion market over the next couple of years.”
In addition to potential advantages the cannabis industry might experience from the results of the Georgia Senate runoffs, there’s a lot of opportunity for non-legislative changes to help accelerate momentum in the marketplace, Bayern said. One of those changes could come in the form of a revised memorandum from the Department of Justice (DOJ), he said.
In 2013, then-Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole issued guidance on cannabis enforcement, directing the DOJ not to prosecute any state-legal cannabis businesses – taking a hands-off approach. In 2018, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memorandum that rescinded Cole’s directive. It has remained a gray area ever since.
“I think guidance around the criminal aspects of cannabis and where [the DOJ] should be focusing their time [would help momentum in the marketplace],” Bayern said. “And I think guidance coming out of the U.S. Treasury would be helpful to provide some kind of confidence and security to U.S. investors and banking organizations to be able to, again, participate in the U.S. banking landscape.”
Banking roughly $300 million, through its overnight marketed offering on the CSE and through the three-year secured revolving credit facility, to kick off 2021, Curaleaf’s growth is capitalized for the remainder for the year, and most of 2022, so the company doesn’t have current plans to go out and raise additional capital, Bayern said.
Instead, Curaleaf wants to speed up some of its projects scheduled for the back half of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, in anticipation of accelerated market growth, he said.
“As you know, if you follow the industry, the constraining item for the last couple years has really been about building enough capacity to meet the demand of the marketplace,” Bayern said. “We think as we continue to see what we’re calling a ‘green wave of acceptance,’ of consumers accepting cannabis as more mainstream products, we’re going to continue to see increased demand. We want to be prepared to be able to meet that demand.”
In its current footprints, Curaleaf is considering extending its capacity through targeted bolt-on acquisitions in the marketplace, as well as investing in the next wave of growth, which Bayern said is predicated on innovation and developing standout products backed by science.
To do that, Curaleaf wants to put money toward research and development and clinical studies, in an effort to gain exposure to a broader segment of the U.S. marketplace with products that are suitable for those consumers whom the company hopes to bring into its category, Bayern said.
“Why we’re optimistic about that is, in many cases, those consumers are already consuming other products today,” he said. “So, the consumption is there. It’s just that we can provide a better alternative to what’s in the market today, whether it’s alcohol, or whether it’s prescription drugs for need-states like sleep or chronic pain, you know, cannabis really is a better alternative to those products.”
Behind a balanced portfolio across the U.S., Curaleaf is optimistic about growing, not only in its current footprint, but also as it moves toward building an omnichannel consumer product company, Bayern said.
Curaleaf has exposure to developed West Coast markets, like California and Oregon. It has exposure to up-and-coming markets, such as Arizona and New Jersey, which passed adult-use legalizations measures in the November election. And it has exposure throughout most the Northeast, where Curaleaf is headquartered.
With populated states like New York and Pennsylvania having yet to pass legislation that fully legalizes cannabis, Bayern said Curaleaf is most excited about the future marketplace in and around that region of the U.S.
“We think New York could be one of the most attractive markets, not only in the U.S., but in the whole world,” Bayern said. “If you look at the disposable income, you look at the density of population, you look at the per-capita consumption today, it could easily be a $4-[billion] or $5-billion market over the next couple of years.
“What’s important, though, is that New York learns from some of the predecessors about how to roll out an effective program, and they do it in a way that’s responsible and really manages across all of the constituents. Whether it’s existing patients and consumers, it’s being able to generate tax revenue for the state, it’s creating jobs in New York state, and it’s addressing the many issues of the social equity and balance that’s happening in cannabis and across other parts of society.”
Latest from Cannabis Business Times
- Hemp Building Institute Opens to Help Progress Industry Forward
- Missouri’s Adult-Use Cannabis Program Launches
- Cannabis Seeds Are Federally Legal: What Now?
- BDSA Expands Depth of Actionable Cannabis Industry Insights with Launch of Menu Analytics
- 7 Tips for a More Productive Offseason
- Cannabis Conference 2023 Registration Now Open
- UPDATE: Hong Kong Bans CBD
- Finding the Best Path Forward: FDA’s Norman Birenbaum Talks Hemp-Derived Product Regulation


text:
News about QR Codes.
March 22nd, 2017
Samsung Pay has launched in India with support from Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI Cards and Standard Chartered Bank, with Citibank India support expected “shortly”. The service has also integrated India’s leading mobile wallet Paytm and comes with support for peer-to-peer money transfers through the Indian government’s Unified Payments Interface platform.
March 21st, 2017
A recent spate of scams involving QR code mobile payments in China has sparked calls for the authorities to “do more to protect consumers”, according to the South China Morning Post. “By replacing legitimate merchants’ codes with malevolent copies, fraudsters can gain access to consumers’ data and even raid their bank accounts,” the report says. “The proliferation of this type of crime has been made possible by the explosion of mobile payments in China.”
March 21st, 2017
Customers at select McDonald’s restaurants across the UK can now order ahead using their mobile phone. “Simply select your nearest participating restaurant, choose your meal and check-in by scanning one of the QR codes at your selected restaurant when you arrive,” the fast food giant says. The service is available in 22 locations across the UK. McDonald’s is also trialling a mobile order and pay service in 29 restaurants in Northern California ahead of a wider US roll out.
March 17th, 2017
Indian mobile wallet provider Paytm has launched in Canada, marking the service’s first expansion outside India. The Paytm Canada app allows consumers to make bill payments and will “soon expand” to add a “full line-up of new use cases”, Paytm says. The company is currently targeting 10m merchants to accept its QR code-based service for in-store payments in India and aims to set up its own payments bank.
March 2nd, 2017
Samsung has begun inviting Galaxy phone owners in India to register for early access to Samsung Pay. Customers can opt to pre-register Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Standard Chartered Bank debit or credit cards and SBI Cards credit cards today with support for American Express and Citibank to follow. Paytm’s market leading mobile wallet will also be supported by the service.
February 28th, 2017
Visa’s mVisa QR-based mobile payment service is now live in India, Kenya and Rwanda and will soon be available in Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Pakistan and Vietnam, the company has announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Mastercard’s Masterpass QR service, meanwhile, is now available in seven countries in Africa and Asia — Kenya, Pakistan, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Ghana.
February 21st, 2017
Indian consumers can now make QR code-based mobile payments using BharatQR, a “low cost, interoperable mobile acceptance solution” backed by the Indian government and developed by Mastercard, Visa and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)….
February 17th, 2017
Indian mobile wallet Paytm “expects to lose 20-30%” of customers making offline payments using QR codes, OTP or mobile-to-mobile transfers when the Reserve Bank of India removes cash withdrawal limits on March 13, The Financial Express reports. “We [will] still have a larger offline than online category, and that’s where the business is for us,” says Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma.
February 14th, 2017
More than 150,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Kenya will be able to accept in-store mobile payments using QR code technology in 2017, using Mastercard’s Masterpass QR platform. The service is set to…
February 13th, 2017
Indian mobile wallet provider Paytm wants to increase the number of stores where its QR code-based service is available from 3.5m to 10m. “The number of offline merchants in November was close to 1 lakh (100,000) and the company had hired 10,000 field-force to ramp up the number of offline users post demonetisation,” Economic Times reports.
February 13th, 2017
Indian mobile wallet providers have approached the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to identify how to develop a common QR code for NPCI’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) platform. “A common QR code is important, as it will facilitate e-wallets to have interoperability under the UPI,” Live Mint reports.
February 9th, 2017
Bus passengers in the UK county of West Yorkshire are using QR codes and NFC at bus stops 10,000 times every week to retrieve travel information. West Yorkshire Combined Authority fitted QR codes and NFC tags on all of the county’s 14,500 bus stops in October 2015. “In 2016, passengers used QR codes and NFC chips over 400,000 times,” the organisation says.
February 6th, 2017
Customers of Turkish bank Yapı Kredi can now log in to their mobile banking app and withdraw cash from ATMs with a scan of their eyes through an integration with EyeVerify’s Eyeprint ID platform. “Once the user has logged in to the mobile app on their phone with Eyeprint ID by the ATM, they simply scan a QR code from the ATM, input the amount they want to withdraw on their app and the ATM spits out the money,” EyeVerify told NFC World.
December 12th, 2016
Customers at about 2,500 Starbucks locations across mainland China can now make mobile payments using Chinese internet giant Tencent’s WeChat Pay mobile payments platform by scanning a QR code at the point of sale. The…
December 9th, 2016
US consumers using the Chase Pay QR code-based mobile payments service can now order ahead, pay for food and access special offers at participating Boston restaurants using the app. JP Morgan Chase is collaborating with LevelUp to offer the service, which will be expanded across the US next year. “Customers can pay when they order ahead or in person at LevelUp or Chase Pay-branded scanners at the counter,” Chase says.
December 2nd, 2016
Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank Group has signed a deal to install 1,200 Diebold Nixdorf ATMs in its branches equipped with QR code scanners and NFC readers. Customers will be able to pay bills by scanning the QR code printed on the bill and using the ATM’s touchscreen display. Those who already have NFC-capable cards will be able to use the ATM’s contactless functionality. The bank says this will enable it to “deploy many other new applications that allow ATMs to interact with customers’ smartphones in the future, such as a cardless cash function”.
November 28th, 2016
South Africans can now use Mastercard’s Masterpass digital wallet to pay for goods and services at more than 30,000 merchants accepting SnapScan in South Africa, using their mobile phones by scanning a QR code at…
November 24th, 2016
McDonald’s South Africa is piloting a mobile payment service at select restaurants in Johannesburg and Cape Town using social messaging app WeChat Africa, enabling customers to complete purchases by presenting QR codes generated by the…
November 24th, 2016
Some 25,000 retail locations in Singapore are expected to accept a new mobile payment service within the next 12 months. Liquid Pay enables consumers to make payments by scanning a QR code at the point…
November 22nd, 2016
Chase Pay has launched across 7,500 Starbucks and nearly 1,400 Best Buy locations across the US, allowing shoppers to make payments by scanning a QR code at the point of sale. The service has so…


text:
A combination of trends in the branding world have converged such that there is an opportunity for a “pop-up experience in a box” company.
Consumer goods startups, many of whom are direct-to-consumer, are really driving most of the growth in the overall consumer goods world. According to Forbes and OC&C Strategy Consultants’ annual Global 50 report in 2018, there were 60 M&A transactions from the world’s top 50 consumer goods companies, “the total value of [which] nearly tripled to $145 billion last year from 2016.”
Consumer goods startups are highly valued. How are they reaching their customers and establishing themselves as brands?
One factor seems to be a groundswell of social media, especially visually. According to Andy Hargreaves, a research analyst with KeyBanc Capital Markets, Instagram is expected to grow “to about 30 percent of Facebook’s ad revenue in two years, as well as nearly 70 percent of the company’s new revenue by 2020.”
As an observer on the ground in NYC, it seems that pop-up culture is taking over. A friend and I walked into a cosmetics store to find a new kind of lip balm (which, incidentally, she told me she had seen on Instagram) and we were almost immediately pitched the pop-up cosmetic “experience” in the rear of the store. As a cherry on top, it seems that a number of these pop-up locations are actually charging for admission–a brilliant move to kill two birds with one stone.
This trend is nothing new for many: from restaurants designed from the ground up to appeal to the phone camera to changing the actual kinds of food we buy (and not necessarily eat), the culture is pervasive. For some, the counterculture is already here.
If Instagram is driving much of influencer and consumption culture, and there is an opportunity for brands to mobilize every visitor to their stores as an ambassador for their brand, why aren’t more brands taking advantage?
The chief risk in running a pop-up experience seems to be that most of these organizations are internet-first operations, running either direct-to-consumer or without a physical presence. There are, however, many brands and organizations that have meaningful experience with these experiences. It seems to me that there must be a pattern behind what makes something successful (e.g. well-lit, good camera angles, static displays, sufficient space to avoid overcrowding, etc.) and that these patterns can be leveraged into a company.
Whether this company takes the form of a consultancy or something closer to a “pop-up experience in a box” product, I don’t know. But I feel confident that as more brands work to foster an image and goodwill within the influencer and consumer space, somebody will start to act as a guide.
The opportunities seem even greater when you consider the fact that retail spaces and malls across the country have suffered lower occupancy rates and difficulty leasing, and that many of these spaces are located in non-metropolitan areas. For the portion of the country that is not in a position to stumble into a brand-friendly Instagram situation, helping them along may provide a boost in the long tail of consumers across the nation.


text:
Myers Industries Acquires Scepter With JPMorgan Support
Myers Industries announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Scepter Corporation and Scepter Manufacturing. The purchase includes manufacturing facilities, warehouses and offices in Scarborough, Ontario and Miami, OK. The purchase price is $165 million, subject to certain closing adjustments.
Concurrent with the signing of the agreement to purchase Scepter, Myers said it amended its senior secured revolving credit facility from $200 million to $300 million to help fund the acquisition.
According to an 8-K filing dated December 16, 2013, Myers entered into a five-year, $200 million senior secured revolver with a lending group led by JPMorgan Chase as administrative agent.
The term of the senior credit facility remains unchanged and is scheduled to expire in December 2018. The proceeds from the future sale of the Lawn & Garden Segment will be used to pay down debt.
Akron, OH-based Myers Industries is a manufacturer of polymer products for industrial, agricultural, automotive, commercial, and consumer markets.


text:
Nektan which is a leading international gaming solutions and services provider, serving the European and US markets has come to an agreement with Tychie Digital, it’s Malta-based gaming partner to deliver the global cryptocurrency online casino operators with its Evolve Lite gaming program. The AIM-listed gaming solutions and software provider has said that Tychie had already acquired two initial deals with global cryptocurrency online casino operators to use Nektan’s Evolve Lite platform. The partnership between the NektanPLC and Tychie Digital is supposed to be live and transacting before the end of July 2018. The Operators will be using Nektan’s E-Lite platform to impart their customers with prime casino content from primer games suppliers of the world, integrating the latest promotional functionality.
The Interim Chief Executive of this AIM- listed gaming solutions and software company, Gary Shaw has said that Nektan had long ago recognised the significance of cryptocurrency space elevating in the global e-gaming industry and that the Evolve Lite Gaming program which is to be delivered to global cryptocurrency online casino operators has been designed very carefully, with flexibility in mind so that it can be adjusted without any problem to meet the changing needs of the customers.
Nektan interim chief executive Gary Shaw also said that Nektan was delighted on being chosen by Tychie Digital to support their expanding businesses. He also added that this agreement between the two companies exudes the utility, and skillfulness of their technology, their ability to grow and evolve and also their capability to entrust product innovations with great speed. Nektan is a leading international gaming solutions and software company functioning in regulated interactive real-money gaming space or RMG providing innovative and unique ideas to business organizations which have established online audiences.


text:
maria luz calibo
Oct 8, 2011
Motorola faces patent lawsuit from Intellectual Ventures - ComputerworldUK.com
Patent licensing company Intellectual Ventures has set its sights on Motorola with a new lawsuit charging the handset maker with infringing six patents. The patents cover a wide range of technologies related to text messaging, docking stations and pushing software out to devices. Intellectual Ventures, which owns 35,000 patents, said it approached Motorola in January about licensing patents, including several named in the case, according to the lawsuit.


text:
(Last Updated on January 17, 2016 by Editor)
ZIMBABWE – Prosper Dembedza Court Correspondent Three more Alpha Omega Dairy employees appeared in court on Thursday for allegedly stealing dairy products worth $704. The appearance of truck driver Jacob Musasa (42), sales representative Kenneth Mugabe (40) and assistant sales representative Abel Mutongerwa (33) brought the number of workers so far brought before the courts to 14.
The three were charged with theft when they appeared before Harare magistrate Mr Elijah Makomo.
They were granted $50 bail each and remanded to February 3.
Mkululi Nyoni, the head of security at Alpha Omega Dairy, is the complainant in the matter.
Allegations are that sometime in December last year, Nyoni received information to the effect that the three were conniving and stealing stocks from Alpha Omega Depot in Mazowe with other 10 accused already on bail.
The court heard that Mugabe, Musasa and Mutongerwa would steal the products, sell them and share the proceeds.
It is the State’s case that acting on a tip-off, Nyoni and his assistant Oren Hove, went to the firm’s Harare depot and discovered variances in stock listed in the system and the actual stock at hand.
The State said on December 20, the trio using the same tricks, loaded the goods and dispatched a truck to Harare depot.
The truck was being driven by Mugabe.
On arrival, it is alleged that Nyoni supervised the offloading of the truck and discovered that the truck was loaded with extra goods, leading to the arrest of the three.


text:
General Motors Co. in Detroit today announced the appointment of Shilpan Amin as GM senior vice president and president of GM International, replacing Steve Kiefer, who has elected to retire after nearly 40 years in the industry.
GM International consists of GM’s global operations outside of North America and China. Major markets for GM International include South America, the Middle East, Korea, Europe, Japan, Australia, Israel, and Uzbekistan.
“Shilpan’s experience leading GM’s purchasing and supply chain and his extensive global engineering background uniquely position him to run our international markets and build on the great momentum we have throughout the region,” says Mary Barra, chair and CEO of GM. “His leadership during the global supply chain crisis is a testament to his ability to build relationships and manage complex global issues.”
Amin is currently GM vice president of global purchasing and supply chain. GM will name a replacement for Amin soon. He began his career with GM in 1996 as a product engineer in advanced product development.
He has held various leadership roles within GM’s vehicle engineering and global purchasing and supply chain organizations. In addition, he serves on the board of directors of the Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce in Clawson.
Kiefer is retiring to focus his efforts on the Kiefer Foundation, which seeks to end distracted driving and all associated traffic deaths and injuries. The Kiefer Foundation was established in 2016 in honor of Kiefer’s son, Mitchel, who was tragically killed by a distracted driver on Sept. 19, 2016.
His retirement is effective April 1. Prior to his role with GM International, Kiefer spent five years leading GM’s global purchasing and supply chain organization. He began his career at GM in 1983. He served in senior leadership roles with automotive supplier Delphi for over a decade. He returned to GM in 2013 as vice president of global powertrain.
Under Kiefer’s leadership, GM International has built strong momentum, with the region achieving a significant financial turnaround and delivering positive EBIT in three of the last five quarters. The region is on track to deliver sustainable profitability and be a net contributor to GM globally.
“Steve has been a valued member and major contributor to the GM leadership team for several years,” says Barra. “Under his leadership we have turned around our performance throughout the international markets. I thank Steve for his many contributions to GM, and I wish him and his family all the best in retirement and in his important work with the Kiefer Foundation.”