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Amazon Pay has real-world ambitions, but will face an uphill climb winning over retail competitors
To Amazon loyalists, the appeal of buying something on its marketplace largely boils down to the speed and ease of the transaction: It just happens in the background. The customer sees what they want, and within one click, the purchase is completed based on stored card information. It’s a bar traditional retailers have struggled to emulate, and it’s so convenient, it’s almost addictive.
Now, the e-commerce giant wants to bring that to retail stores outside of the Amazon ecosystem by way of Amazon Pay, which lets customers pay at physical checkouts with their smartphones using Amazon payment credentials.
It’s another way Amazon is exploring traditional retail, bolstered by its Whole Foods acquisition and the growth of Amazon Go stores. But snaking its way into retail competitors’ stores will be a tougher nut to crack.
Amazon did not respond to requests for comment, but the company is reportedly looking to challenge mobile payment systems like Apple Pay by extending its Amazon Pay to physical retail, including at gas stations and restaurants — areas seen as non-competitive with major retailers. But experts say retailers’ resistance to onboard Amazon Pay is the principal obstacle to scaling it across traditional U.S. retail channels into 2019. Retailers’ concerns with data sharing, and consumers’ reluctance to use mobile payments in stores, are major obstacles that stand in Amazon’s way.
“If you’re a retailer and you think about Amazon, Amazon is a behemoth carrying all the product categories; you don’t want them to know exactly what people are buying and how much they’re paying whenever they use Amazon Pay,” said P.K. Kannan, a marketing professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. “This is purely a data play so they can be more competitive in their retail offerings.”
According to a Forrester-National Retail Federation study carried out last month, retailers aren’t exactly jumping to roll out Amazon Pay as an in-store payment option. The survey of retailers found that more than 80 percent had no intention of adding Amazon Pay. Brendan Miller, principal analyst at Forrester, one of the authors of the report, said Amazon Pay has a better chance among small businesses looking to maximize reach.
“Amazon has been moving into fuel and into some services, and I think that would make a lot of sense, especially for small businesses like mom-and-pop-type merchants,” he said. “If Amazon could create an app for a local coffee shop where [customers] could order their coffee through Amazon, there’s real value there.”
Small businesses aren’t likely to share the concerns about data sharing that larger, big-box players would have, he added. If Amazon Pay can make the customer experience easier, it’s a win.
But the results of efforts to onboard Amazon Pay at physical retail locations aren’t clear. Amazon added the capability to use Amazon Pay offline in early 2017, through a feature called Amazon Pay Places. During the same year, payment technology company First Data partnered with Amazon Pay to develop a point-of-sale solution for Amazon Pay at physical locations. The payment method was also rolled out at Moda Operandi and Amazon Books. Meanwhile, TGI Fridays locations launched Amazon Pay in July 2017; five months later, TGI Fridays launched an Alexa skill that integrates with Amazon Pay, allowing customers to order and pay through Amazon via Alexa. First Data and TGI Fridays did not comment when asked for a status update on Amazon Pay implementation.
Amazon has also been quiet about the technology’s offline traction. Amazon wrote in an email to Digiday that there are “tens of millions” of customers in more than 170 countries that have used Amazon Pay to make a transaction. Amazon hasn’t provided a public update on Amazon Pay transactions since February 2017, when it said it had 33 million customers, and it has been relatively quiet on Amazon Pay news since late last year. The press page, which aggregates articles from media outlets on Amazon Pay, hasn’t been updated since December 2017.
There are indications, however, that the company intends to grow Amazon Pay beyond its ecosystem. As of Wednesday, the Amazon Pay unit had 29 open jobs. The latest job posting for a senior product manager dated Dec. 14 gave hints of the company’s ambitions: “As part of the Devices division, which includes Alexa (the brain behind Amazon Echo), Fire tablets, Fire TV, and others, Amazon Pay we [sic] provides the means to export some aspects of this experience to partners and brands outside of Amazon and to the wider connected commerce landscape,” the posting said. In addition, a posting for a global marketing head of operations, dated Nov. 30, also speaks to Amazon Pay’s physical store ambitions, and plans to go head to head with PayPal: “We enable merchants to leverage our trusted, seamless buying experience to allow more than 300 million active Amazon customers to purchase from them — online, in-store, and across an array of consumer devices. Amazon Pay has now emerged as the alternative to PayPal and our business is growing at a fast pace, and we are poised to continue redefining consumer identity and payments.”
So Amazon hasn’t thrown in the towel when it comes to Pay. But beyond some retailers’ hesitation to adopt the system, consumer appetite, at least in the U.S., also hasn’t quite warmed to mobile payments in general. A Simon-Kucher & Partners survey this year, cited by PaymentsSource, suggested 5 percent of U.S. consumers preferred to use mobile wallets to pay, while 90 percent preferred paying with debit, credit or cash. The challenge Amazon Pay faces is convincing retailers and consumers that the payment method adds additional value than traditional vehicles.
Despite the roadblocks in the way of widespread implementation of Amazon Pay, the company may be biding its time until user adoption, and mobile payment use grows, said Kannan. Amazon may be pursuing a long game of slowly incentivizing Amazon Pay use within gas stations, restaurants and other non-big-box channels. Amazon Pay at Whole Foods is another potential vehicle to drive adoption. The bet is that as customers, particularly Prime members, get used to using Amazon Pay, they may demand larger retailers follow suit.
“The [challenge] is to incentivize consumers to adopt Amazon Pay at gas stations and restaurants to spur adoption; whether or not it will work is a long-term outcome,” Kannan said. “Amazon has a big kitty and can use their money [in incentives] to get people to come on board.”
‘Its inevitable’: Domino’s hungers for attention and context
Attention-based buying is turning into a legendary tale of patient and nonchalance. So when there’s a glimpse of progress, marketers tend to take notice. Domino’s being one of them.
Why Cars.com is driving away from performance marketing and toward influencers
To boost brand awareness, Cars.com is doubling down on its influencer marketing efforts.
Why Unity Technologies is leaning into AI as economic headwinds pick up
As one of the largest gaming companies listed on New York Stock Exchange, Unity Technologies leaned into AI during its May 10 earnings call, with Unity CEO John S. Ricciatello stressing Unity’s “competitive advantages in and around AI.”
SponsoredWhat the measurement and currency discussion really means to TV advertisers
Ali Mack, head of TV and agency, Experian Major streaming video providers have recently made headlines by adopting new currencies for ad measurement, threatening Nielsen’s long-standing TV ratings monopoly. NBCUniversal, for example, has certified iSpot and VideoAmp as currencies for advanced audiences and formed the Joint Industry Committee with Paramount, TelevisaUnivision and Warner Bros. Discovery. […]
Dopamine rush to deeper engagement: short-form video boom fuels brands’ embrace of longer-form content
Audiences craving more are now being treated to captivating longer-form narratives. It’s the addictive nature of those quick hits that has fueled this transformation.
How gamers’ engagement with short-form video is changing
To better understand how modern gamers are engaging with short-form video, Digiday teamed up with Gamesight to pull key points from an exclusive report on gamers’ shifting video consumption preferences.


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Too much coffee has always been warned as a potential caffeine hazard; however, the state of California might be forcing coffee shops to issue warnings about a potential cancer link to everyone’s favorite morning bevvy.
It turns out that acrylamide is produced during the coffee bean roasting process; a substance that is currently on the state’s list of chemicals that possibly cause cancer.
A not-for-profit organization, Council for Education and Research on Toxics, first launched a lawsuit at the LA County Superior Court eight years ago in 2010. The group focused on a number of organizations that sell or make coffee, including: BP, Starbucks, and 7-Eleven. The lawsuit accuses the companies of failing to offer clear and reasonable warnings around the fact that coffee can expose individuals to acrylamide.
The documents outline that under California’s 1986 Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, sometimes referred to as Proposition 65, states organizations need to offer customers a reasonable and clear warning about the presence of items that can affect an individual’s health and that these companies have failed to do this.
CNN advised that the lawsuit is looking for fines and wants organizations to post acrylamide warnings with additional explanations around possible risks of consuming coffee. If the suit succeeds, signs would need to be posted clearly on walls or store counters where someone could read them prior to purchase.
The attorney representing the non-profit, Raphael Metzger, also wants coffee companies to decrease the amount of chemicals where a significant cancer risk would no longer be prevalent.
Last fall, during a bench trial, coffee organizations stated that the acrylamide level coffee has should be not be considered a risk under the law and that the benefits coffee has outweighs any risks.
Still, as per Metzger, a minimum of 13 defendants have decided to settle and agree to offer a warning, recently 7-Eleven being one of them. Should the other companies not settle and if the judge rules in the non-profit’s favor, they will be forced to follow suit. Metzger has stated that private mediation is set for this February 8th for those remaining companies listed in the suit.
In January 1990, the state included acrylamide to its carcinogen list and California has successfully taken organizations to court over this. In fact, California attorney general settled a suit against Lance Inc., Kettle Foods, Heinz, and Frito-Lay in 2008, when organizations agreed to decrease acrylamide levels found in French fries and potato chips. California fast food chains began posting acrylamide warnings regarding fries in 2007 and paid fines around not posting signage for previous years.

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30 January 2023 – Low-cost carrier, FlySafair is the first airline in the world to launch a service where customers can make payments for booking extras via WhatsApp. This innovation, called Chat 2 Pay, continues the airline’s commitment to seamless travel experiences.
This particular feature means that customers can now add checked luggage to an existing booking and make payment for that service, all within the context of a simple WhatsApp chat. Launch functionality is currently limited to adding checked luggage, but the airline is in the process of adding other options like snack vouchers to the platform.
“We’re always trying to improve our customer experience and we’re thrilled to be able to offer this innovative new way of managing bookings. WhatsApp is such a fundamental part of our daily lives and it makes perfect sense to bring these capabilities into that environment”, explained Kirby Gordon FlySafair Chief Marketing Officer.
This is the next in a series of recent improvements FlrySafair has made to their WhatsApp service. Just last year the airline worked with technology partner Clickatell to introduce features which allow passengers to manage their bookings via WhatsApp. Now passengers can do everything from looking up a flight status to checking-in, confirming checked luggage inclusions, receiving boarding passes, and live-chatting with airline customer service agents right from WhatsApp.
“Our goal is to offer all the functionality currently available on our website via WhatsApp to make end-to-end booking and reservation management as easy as possible,” said Gordon. “Introducing this payment capability is the next step in achieving this goal, reducing the stress of traveling by offering a convenient, safe, and secure way to pay make payments right in the chat environment.”
“Our work with FlySafair is further evidence that Chat Commerce is a vital part of a seamless customer journey. Our partnership has already seen South Africa’s favourite chat channel, WhatsApp, become an integral part of FlySafair’s omni-channel offering and we are excited to see what new chat services our teams can deliver to an airline who clearly prides itself on its innovation and commitment to engaging with its customers on the channels they prefer,” said Werner Lindemann, Clickatell’s Senior Vice President Enterprise Sales: Growth Markets.
Passengers can access this WhatsApp service by sending Hi to the FlySafair business account on +27 87 357 0030. Following the simple prompts passengers will select the first option labelled My Booking to identify the relevant reservation. If the user is unsure whether they already have a bag they can select the second option Luggage/Bags and Restrictions to check or if they are sure they can skip straight to option three to Buy a Bag. Payment is ultimately made via WhatsApp by following the prompts on the secure payment link using any Visa or Mastercard debit or credit card.


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Wordstream, a pay-per-click software company, recently study compiled the top 10,000 keywords into categories by weighting the number of keywords within each category and the estimated monthly search volume and average cost per click for each keyword. Â The results arenâ€™t as exciting as the most searched for keywords on google, (which mostly involve celebrity scandals, current events, and the weather) but they still reveal some interesting trends.
Insurance – $54.31 per click
It turns out â€˜insuranceâ€™ ranks number one for CPC. Â That in itself is an astonishing number considering the millions of people who see these ads every day. Â Keywords in this category include â€˜auto price quotesâ€™
Loans – $44.28 per click
Following close behind are â€˜loansâ€™, a category that includes â€˜consolidateâ€™, â€˜graduateâ€™, and â€˜student’. Â The emerging trend here reveals the type of company that can afford to spend a lot on advertising since theyâ€™re able to acquire consistent revenue from their customers over the course of their lives.
Mortgage – $47.12 per click
Keeping in mind these figures correspond to the number of keywords in the top 10,000 keywords that belong to that category, Mortgage come in third. Â Keywords include â€˜refinancedâ€™, â€˜secondâ€™ and â€˜mortgagesâ€™.
Attorney – $47.07 per click
Continuing the trend of either borrowing or spending large amounts of money for major life activities, â€˜attorneyâ€™ ranks 4th, with keywords like â€˜personal injury attorneyâ€™.
Credit – $36.06 per click
It comes as no surprise that â€˜creditâ€™ makes it on the list, as well all know credit card companies are constantly looking for new card holders. Â â€˜home equity line of creditâ€™ is an example of a keyword that would generate ads from this category.
For over half a decade, Business.com reigned as the world’s most expensive domain name after its 1999 sale for $7.5 million. That was shortly after the site was founded by former Walt Disney Internet Group chairman Jake Winebaum and Earthlink founder Sky Dayton. The domain retained its record until 2006, when Match.com founder Gary Kremen decided to get out of the adult entertainment industry and sold Sex.com for $14 million (or $12 million, depending on who you ask) in 2006.
While the current market for internet domains is nowhere as solid as it was during the dot-com peak, the market remains strong and is experiencing solid growth. Each year tens of millions of dollars are exchanged during the resale of domains, learn more at Sponsoredlinx SEO.
The record for most expensive domain name ever sold changed hands again in late 2009, when internet marketing firm QuinStreet purchased Insure.com for $16 million. Other top dollar domain sales of 2009 include Toys.com, purchased by Toys ‘R Us for $5.1 million in March of 2009, and Candy.com, sold for $3 million in June of 2009.
Enough with the preamble, though—check out the world’s top ten most expensive domain names:
1. Insure.com, sold to QuinStreet for $16 million in 2009.
2. Sex.com, sold for $12-$14 million in 2006.
3. Fund.com, sold for $9.99 million in 2008.
4. Porn.com, sold for $9.5 million in 2007.
5. Business.com, sold for $7.5 million in 1999.
6. Diamond.com, sold to Ice.com for $7.5 million in 2006.
7. Beer.com, sold for $7 million in 2004.
8. Israel.com, sold for $5.88 million in 2004.
9. Casino.com, sold for $5.5 million in 2003.
10. Toys.com, sold to Toys ‘R Us for $5.1 million in 2009.
Since the inception of eBay in September 1995, the online auction site grown quickly into one of the largest online marketplaces, based around the idea that lets eBay just be the auction house for individuals selling things. People buy or sell just about anything on the auction site including Homes, Mega-Yachts, and luxury automobiles, some of the most expensive items on the site, with prices needing up to eight digits.
The most expensive item ever sold on eBay was a 405-foot, steel mega-yacht (marketed as a Gigayacht) auctioned by the Fort. Lauderdale, FL based company, 4Yacht and designed by naval architect Frank Mulder of Mulder Design. The yacht was offered up for auction on eBay November 3rd, 2006 with a “buy now” price of $85 million. The price paid your 50% deposit of the full purchase price of $168,000,000.00 total. The sale of the most expensive eBay item coincided with the 46th Annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. Craig Timm, President of 4Yacht Inc, is a strong advocate of using eBay as an additional marketing tool for his company competing in a global market.
4Yacht is at it again, as of January 2007, they are currently auctioning off another one of their Giga-yachts for a deposit of $99 million. Some of the astounding features of the yacht include: a range 16,000 NM, a helicopter garage, and fourteen multi-level VIP suites with panoramic views. If sold on eBay, this year’s edition of the yacht will hold the title of the most expensive item on eBay.
In 2005, people have become more and more used to buying expensive luxury items online. As the year of the ipod, plenty of people are shelling out hundreds of dollars in single purchases through the web.
Amazon.com announced on December 23 that their most expensive single purchase in 2005 has been a $94,000 diamond earring sale for the Christmas holiday to one of its online customers.
From the article on Diamonds.net on the most expensive Amazon purchase of 2005:
The drop diamond earrings were certified by the Gemological Institute of America; had a total carat weight of 8.34 carats, featured two 2.5 carat yellow diamonds, and two 1-carat white diamonds and was set in a platinum and 18 karat yellow gold, according to Amazon.
“These stunning earrings are going to make someone’s holiday very special this year,” said Steven Goldsmith, vice president of Amazon.com Jewelry.
Amazon reported that other jewelry products, which have been popular for Christmas, include 18 karat gold jewelry, diamond solitaire rings, diamond stud earrings and pearl strands in varying shapes, sizes, and colors.
According to online diamond retailer Blue Nile its holiday season started with a customer purchasing a 5-carat diamond solitaire for $170,000. On Cyber Monday, the Monday following Thanksgiving weekend, the website sold an $114,000, 3-carat diamond engagement ring.


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Spain has suffered more than many countries from the economic downturn of recent years. After 16 years of growth its economy shrank by 3.7% in 2009, and then by 0.2% in 2010, making it the last major economy to emerge from the global recession. This was primarily due to a collapse in the construction sector, plummeting property prices and the resulting fall in consumer spending.
The unemployment rate hit 20% in 2010. While this has hit the Spanish media hard, with one agency director reporting that there are over 6,000 unemployed journalists, the PR industry has remained relatively insulated. There are two main reasons for this: the need to rebuild trust in corporates, and the need to start using social media.
“It is not new for Spanish people to mistrust governments, companies and banks,” says Rhona Martin, marketing director of sugar company Azucarera. “We have seen so many false promises and corruption both on a national and an international level. But since 15th Sept 2008 doing what you say and saying what you mean has become more important than ever. This has had an effect on how companies and brands have approached PR over the last few years.”
In parallel with this renewed desire to strengthen corporate reputations is the growth of more digital techniques to do this.
“Companies, civil servants and politicians are all suddenly experimenting with ways to use social media for communications strategy,” says Juan Llovet, head of corporate & internal communications at industrial conglomerate Gestamp-Gonvarri. “It’s a growth area and one where PR professionals are increasingly involved.”
On top of this, Spanish PR professionals have access to the rest of the Spanish speaking world, and the Latin American market is one of the fastest growing in the world. The end result is that the Spanish PR industry is thriving. A 2010 study by the Spanish PR industry body Asociación de Directivos de Comunicación (Dircom), showed that nine out of ten companies have a communication department, and 75% of them are at the highest executive level.
Gabriela Warren, PR & community manager at Fon, adds: “Whereas before PR was seen as the department that organised parties and drinks receptions, Spanish companies are finally starting to realise just how important a well thought-out communication strategy is. Whilst in the US and the UK this happened many years ago, in Spain this is a fairly new development.”


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The beauty industry apparently can’t get enough of Taylor Swift. Barely six months after signing on as the new face of Procter & Gamble’s Cover Girl brand, the Grammy Award-winning singer has signed a deal with Elizabeth Arden to create her own fragrances. The first products are expected to be launched in prestige distribution in fall 2011.
“I have always loved how fragrance can shape a memory…the way certain scents remind you of events and people that are imprinted in your thoughts,” stated Swift, who noted that she will be involved in developing, packaging and marketing the scents and ancillary products which will bear her name. “Lately I’ve been having fun experimenting with combining some of my favorite scents, so I’m really excited about working with Elizabeth Arden to develop my own unique fragrance.”
A concept has not yet been finalized, noted Ron Rolleston, executive vice president of Elizabeth Arden, who declined comment on the length of Swift’s contract and what Arden will pay her. Typically, such deals include an up-front payment of at least $3 million, along with a percentage of sales.
Swift, who will be 21 on Dec. 13, joins Britney Spears, Elizabeth Taylor, Mariah Carey, Hilary Duff and Usher in Arden’s celebrity fragrance stable. “Taylor started to transcend country music after the Kanye [West] thing,” Neil Kraft, president of KraftWorks, told WWD in January, referring to the hip-hop star storming onstage at the MTV Video Music Awards just as Swift accepted the Best Female Video award. “A beauty deal for her would have to be for a youthful, mass brand, because she’s a country star who appeals to the masses.”
Swift’s first beauty deal was the Cover Girl brand endorsement.
Rolleston noted that Swift’s quick rise to stardom coupled with her multiple awards and record sales made her an appealing celebrity for Arden. “Taylor represents as an artist: a role model who inspires her global fan base every day,” he said. “We also like to create fragrances which are conceptual in nature and driven by the celebrities we work with. Taylor is an artist, and the great thing about fragrance is the artistry of it. Taylor is such a terrific storyteller that we want to give her the ability to use her skills in another way, and we believe it’s a great opportunity for us.”
Rolleston added that he expects the core customer for the scent to range from 13 to 24 years old. However, he said, “we also believe Taylor is someone who will reside in the space outside of that core demographic.”
Arden, an early pioneer in promoting its products on Facebook and other social media outlets, will do the same for their latest licensee. Swift currently has more than 11.6 million followers on Facebook and nearly 4.5 million followers on Twitter. According to Nielsen SoundScan, she is also the top-selling digital artist in music history, with more than 28 million digital tracks sold. “Social media is where Taylor’s core fans are getting their information,” said Rolleston. “We want to communicate with her fans in the space they’re in. Social media will be a robust component of this overall brand mix.”
“These collections continue to build on that vision, empowering differently abled adults to express themselves through fashion,” said @tommyhilfiger of his line of adaptive apparel, which launches today. The line consists of 37 men’s and 34 women’s styles based upon the pieces from the spring Tommy Hilfiger sportswear collection. #wwdnews
“Stranger Things” is getting a new cast member for season 2. Meet @sadiesink_, the 15-year-old who will be joining the Netflix series for its new season. You may recognize her from “The Glass Castle” with Brie Larson and Woody Harrelson, but the Texas native’s next role goes in an entirely different direction. She describes her character, Max, as “a rough and tumble skater girl [who] becomes friends with the boys at school.” The second season debuts on October 27. (📷: @jgreenery) #wwdeye
Amid the Harvey Weinstein controversy, there’s another sector that’s being put under the spotlight for sexual abuse: the modeling industry. While rumors about abuse and sexual harassment of female and male models — and the photographers, agents and others who perpetrated it — have circulated within the fashion world for years, model @cameronrussell started posting stories from models on Instagram last week about abusive situations they’ve encountered — from sexual harassment and molestation to attempted rape. Over 75 have weighed in so far. Read more on WWD.com. Link in bio. #wwdnews
To celebrate its 16th anniversary, @dylanscandybar tapped designers and celebrities to create mosaics out of candy. The mosaics will be auctioned off to support the philanthropic cause of each participant’s choice. Pictured here is the mural created by @aliceandolivia's Stacey Bendet. For a first look at some of the other artwork being unveiled tonight, go to WWD.com. #wwdeye
The annual Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic in Pacific Palisades this weekend drew Kate Hudson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Laura Dern and more. See pictures of the star-studded event on WWD.com. (📷: @chelsealaurenla) #wwdeye
In his new book “Hollywood Royale,” Andy Warhol’s Protégé Matthew Rolston celebrates the Eighties revival of Hollywood glamour. Featuring more than 100 portraits taken by Rolston from 1977 to 1993, the book contains photos of icons like Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, and @drewbarrymore, pictured here in 1991. “Hollywood Royale,” out today, will be accompanied by an exhibition opening at Los Angeles’ Fahey/Klein Gallery on March 1. #wwdeye
"Nowadays when life is not so happy with everything going on in the world, I think people come to me for a little bit of whimsy and color and fun." - Designer Rebecca De Ravenel on her cult-favorite jewelry line. (📸 : @vsteves) #wwd40
“Everyone is talking about how the retail industry is struggling, but I think it’s an incredible time because brands who are doing something different and innovative are setting themselves up for the future,” said @adamgoldston, who founded the luxury athletic brand @apl with his brother @ryangoldsten. The Goldston’s are part of WWD’s 40 under 40: a group of industry notables. See the rest of the list on WWD.com. (📷: @vsteves) #wwd40
@eyeswoon blogger Athena Calderone debuted her first-ever cookbook, “Cook Beautiful,” which is heavily centered on the presentation and visual expression of food. Pictured here are her miso glazed carrots from the book. Get the recipe on WWD.com. (📷: @johnny_miller_) #wwdeye


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In the latest outgrowth of the debate over military sponsorship of social science, members of the American Anthropological Association have voted to strengthen language in their code of ethics against research conducted in secret.
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MUFG Deploying Bank Backed Stablecoin Platform
(14 June 2023 – Japan) Japan’s largest lender, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) has revealed plans to introduce and distribute stablecoins backed by banks on various public blockchains.
MUFG reported that its “Progmat Coin” platform launched in Q1 2022 as a universal digital asset payment method for stablecoins, cryptocurrencies and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) would be open to all Japanese banks seeking to float JPY-pegged stablecoins on a range of public blockchains. The bank’s support for stablecoins brings much needed credibility and legitimacy to the market.
The announcement was hot on the heels of a significant change in Japanese law regarding stablecoins. On 1 June, a new bill came into effect setting a governing code around stablecoins (cryptocurrency backed by a reserve asset). Japan is the first major market to put a regulatory environment around stablecoins into law with the bill mandating stablecoins be pegged to the JPY or other legal tender with guaranteed redemption to the holder at face value. They can only be issued by banks and trust companies - non-banks are banned from issuing stablecoins.
The recent legal revision in Japan primarily introduces a registration system for stablecoins circulation and reinforces anti-money laundering measures. Additionally, it enables overseas businesses to issue stablecoins in the country through custodians of digital assets. MUFG plans to collaborate with blockchain infrastructure providers TOKI and Datachain to create a bridge to facilitate cross-chain transactions between distributed ledgers.
“TOKI is developing a “cross-chain bridge” that enables cross-chain transactions between public blockchains, and is scheduled to be launched in 2023. In addition to inter-blockchain communication technology with excellent security and scalability using IBC and LCP developed by Datachain, we have strengths in highly efficient liquidity mechanisms” the companies said in a joint media release statement.
“MUFG highlighted several use cases for the functionality, including cross-chain swap, payment, and lending across several public blockchains. A full-scale launch for the functionality is expected in Q2 2024 and will cover transactions involving governance tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).”


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[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0zNWAMlmR4′]It’s not just retiring Americans enjoying the benefits of expatriation; entrepreneurs are also finding that discount luxury living abroad can spur creativity. One company, Happy Hubs, is looking to combine the start-up incubation experience with resort life. Happy Hubs is launching a beta version of a workspace in Costa Rica, but plans to open up more in far-flung places across the globe. The Costa Rica Star reports:
These are not just ordinary locations, but luxury residences in exotic locations with five-star amenities like onsite massage therapists, gourmet chefs and maid service. And the kicker? The claim they can do it for less than what it costs to have an average lifestyle in the United States. The all-in cost of staying in a Happy Hub per month is just $1,000 a week or $2,800 a month, this includes everything from accommodations to food and spa amenities and shuttle service to a popular surfing beach.The whole key to living the six-figure lifestyle without the six-figure pay check is that you must be “location-independent” meaning that you work on the computer or over the phone. “If your only requirement to work is wi-fi and a computer, then you’re location-independent,” says Andy Vu, Happy Hubs co-founder. “And when you’re location independent, why wouldn’t you choose to live where you can get the most lifestyle at the lowest possible cost?” Vu asks.
It’s an interesting concept. So often we hear about the challenges facing the next generation of entrepreneurs; it’s good to see people are thinking up new ways to facilitate the process of launching a new business. That’s especially encouraging given how vital America’s entrepreneurs are to its future.


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The High Point Furniture Market is quite literally the high point of many people's year, which is why it manages to attract tens of thousands of people each year. Now, a new smartphone app launched in collaboration with MyMarket makes it easier for retailers and wholesalers to showcase their wares to interested customers.
The app makes use of GPS systems to enhance the navigation process, so that High Point Furniture Market attendees can spend more time browsing and buying rather than trying to find their way around. The app also allows sellers to pay up for sponsored advertising opportunities that help enhance their visibility among customers.
The High Point Furniture Market app is clearly a fine example of the utility of smartphone apps to ease the shopping and commercial experience in large shopping festivals.


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On December 28, 2022, at the initiative and support of the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a food fair was held for militia officers.
At this fair, food products such as meat, eggs, flour, potatoes, onions, carrots, cabbage, fruits and other food products were 30% cheaper.
All these foodstuffs are provided at the expense of subsidiary farms of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and are a good present for the New Year.
It should be noted that on the eve of any festive celebrations, such fairs are constantly organized by the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is evidence of support and concern for militia officers
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan


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- North Carolina workers would have each lost $1,866 if they had opted for their salaries to be partly paid in crypto.
- Employees in Montana would have made the biggest losses following the crash.
- Infographic showing crypto salary losses across America.
When these figures were compared across the country, it appears employees in Montana would have made the biggest losses had they chosen to be paid in crypto. The average respondent wanted 69% of their monthly salary in the form of a cryptocurrency. However, this would have resulted in a $4,375.39 loss, as compared to sticking out a traditional salary payment. On the other hand, employees in Arkansas were the least enthusiastic about converting a portion of their salary to cybercash each month, saying they would consider receiving just 10% of their monthly payment in this form of currency, resulting in a comparatively less painful loss of $575.73 over the past six months.
When asked why they would prefer crypto salary payments, 1 in 5 workers said they believed they are more resistant to inflation. Cryptocurrency is often considered a safeguard against inflation, however, as current inflation remains high, and cryptocurrencies have crashed recently, they cannot be considered a long-term inflation-resistant asset.
The poll also found that 29% of employees said they would prefer to receive bonus payments or performance rewards in the form of NFTs. NFTs (non-fungible tokens), are digital assets are collectables created using blockchain technology. These digital assets are traded and bought online, with all linked transactions being recorded on the blockchain. While any person online can view the NFTs, only the buyer themselves has ownership authority.
Lastly, the survey revealed that 19% of respondents said they would be more likely to join a company if the work model was within the metaverse.


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Entertainment Business Disrupted
In late March 2020, Disney CEO Robert Iger sent an email to Lin Manuel Miranda's production team asking them to green light the early release of the musical Hamilton on its Disney+ streaming service. A year earlier, Disney had been initially turned down by Miranda but finally won out in the heated bidding war for distribution rights to the Broadway hit. In February last year, Disney announced it had paid US$75 million to release Hamilton to theatres in fall 2021.
A month later, the coronavirus hit, and everything changed. Disney was quite aware of the impact COVID-19 would have on its production schedule and the effect on its fledgling Disney+, which it had launched in November 2019. It badly needed content to compete against Netflix and a growing competitive field.
Hamilton, which made its small screen debut on the weekend of July 4, was the runaway hit of the summer streaming war. The Disney+ app had been downloaded 800,000 times in the days leading up to Hamilton's release, and the show was seen by an estimated 25 million households (Disney+ had 55 million subscribers through May). Hamilton on Disney+ was hailed as a huge success. As Miranda told The New York Times, "Moving up the release so everyone could experience [Hamilton] this summer felt like the right move."
Hamilton illustrates the decisions forced upon Hollywood executives in 2020. What would you have done if you were running Disney, Sony, or Warner? Would you take relatively assured up-front money or redesign their release schedules for 2021 and 2022? Sony's decision to sell its Tom Hanks, World War II drama, Greyhound, was a bit more black and white than Hamilton. The movie was slotted to be released on March 22, 2020, just days after COVID-19 shut down virtually every movie theatre in North America.
Sony ran the numbers. Cinelytic, a predictive analytics tool gaining traction in Hollywood, projected that Greyhound, with a budget of US$50 million, would only make a slight profit. Instead, Sony turned to the streaming services, which had a captive audience in the early days of the pandemic. Apple TV+ had debuted in the same month as Disney+ but had a far smaller catalog to draw from. Apple needed content, and it needed a hit. Sony sold Greyhound for US$75 million and made US$25 million in profit (at the same time saving the cost of marketing and the 50/50 split with the theatre owners).
Hamilton, though, was not as simple. The summer box office typically brings in over US$4 billion globally, but this year, chains such as AMC, Royal, and Cinemark remained shuttered through most of August. However, Hamilton wasn't slated for 2020 but late 2021. An October release was forecast to bring in between US$60 million and US$80 million during its first weekend, and overall receipts were projected to top US$750 million. If you account for marketing and a split of the gate with theatres owners, Disney would have netted US$200 million. Even after that, they would have been able to put Hamilton on Disney+, generating additional subscription revenue. Subsequently, Disney would decide to change the release date for 10 of its 2020–2021 movies, including a Steven Spielberg rendition of West Side Story and another Marvel Universe film. You have to ask, "Why the rush with Hamilton"?
The Long Term Customer Journey
Streaming has disrupted the entertainment business, complicating the already murky math of Hollywood. "It is a very different financial proposition than if we had put Hamilton in the movie theatres," Disney's Iger said. Cinemas are about getting people to pay for a single ticket to the next Star Wars or Avengers movie. Subscriptions are quite different. They are both about the experience, but streaming services play the long game of the customer journey, from interest to conversion to retention.
The 800,000 Disney+ downloads equate to US$4.70 million for the month of July, which enabled Disney's digital interactive division to be its only profitable unit in the third quarter. However, US$5 million is far from the US$60 million to US$80 million that Hamilton was projected to have made in its first weekend at the theatres. At US$7/month, Disney+ will need to retain the 800,000 new customers for a full three years before realizing the US$200 million in profit that it would have earned with a 2021 release.
The decisions around Hamilton symbolize the shift that is occurring in Hollywood. In the move to "new media" or streaming, Disney executives are faced with additional layers of decisions that go well beyond what a movie might gross in its first weekend. Streaming is quickly moving Hollywood out of its comfort zone of identifying talent and green lighting projects based on intuition and experience. As Disney enters the streaming arena, it embarks on an ongoing cycle of understanding, attracting, and retaining customers. Metrics such as average revenue per user and churn are becoming key in driving engagement.
For IDC's report on how streaming media and other industries are moving to a subscriber or as-a-service businesses and the importance of building strong customer relationships and experience, please read IDC Perspective: Data in Action in the Canadian Marketplace: Making Better Customers.
International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. To learn more about IDC Canada, please visit www.idc.com/ca or follow on Twitter at @idccanada and LinkedIn.
All product and company names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
About the Author
Strategic Advisor, Public Sector & Innovation Research


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It’s the season of smart watches. Pebble took a giant leap forward in personal computing when they brought out the pebble e-watch/smart watch. It was an unexplored territory and the first foray was a solid one. However, the pebble watch lacked some crucial features, chiefly a robust OS. When we talk about robust Operating Systems its hard not to mention Apple. Apple is all set to make its own foray into the smartwatch market with something being billed as the iWatch. The iWatch will reportedly run a fully-equipped iOS. Targeting a year end launch, the iWatch prototype is getting all the required adjustments.
The iWatch has one major problem, battery life. The iWatch supposedly runs out of juice after a couple of days. But for the watch to see any practical use, it needs to run, at the very least, for five days minimum. Apple is looking to scale up the battery life before they launch the iWatch in public. On the other hand, news that Apple is going to opt for iOS instead of any other alternative system for the iWatch has interesting consequences. It is heartnening that Apple did not try to bring out an alternative watch operating system akin to the separate nano operating system it released in 2010.
Implementing iOS in the new watches has its own advantages. The watch will also run a code base similar to that of the phones, thus ensuring uniformity across its entire mobility line. This has tremendous applications for all third-party developers and additionally ensures familiarity for new users. It would be interesting to note that Apple’s original OS was billed as being almost the same as the OS X, but later it came to be referred as the iPhone OS and eventually the iOS. The watch OS might also take a similar direction and branch out from the phone and tablet version, once modifications are developed accommodating its various features.
Apple is rightly betting on better battery life. A wrist-top computer only holds value to a user if it operates inconspicuously.Wearable computing’s chief attracting feature is its ability to integrate into your day-to-day life with ease, more than tablets or smartphones. An iWatch that requires charging every day will never be able to hold any sway over the users. Watches virtually require no charging as of now. But since it is going to be a smartwatch, an allowance can be made for it owing to its potential for running awesome apps.
Some users however, are of the opinion that a watch that requires charging even once a week is too much of a stretch. Wearable computing will surely see a lot of revolution in the near future, chief among them will mostly be improvements in battery life. Proper pathways need to be developed for information transmission between the watch and your smartphone. The development of the device will be shrouded in the usual Apple mystery, but rest assured that device makers and Apple fan-boys will be snapping at the developer builds of iOS, looking for any signs of news on the contrary.


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When Apple executives discuss future products, they typically speak in generalities. You know the routine; "our product pipeline is strong and consumers will be excited by what's coming." Rinse and repeat.
But comments made by Apple executive Eddy Cue during yesterday's Code Conference were a little bit different. Cue didn't divulge specifics, of course, but his remarks affirm that innovation is a top priority at Apple and that 2014 could be a watershed year for the company.
Appearing on stage with Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine, Cue told Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg that Apple's product pipeline in 2014 is the most impressive he's seen.
"Later this year, we've got the best product pipeline that I've seen in my 25 years at Apple," Cue said. Executives typically hype their company's future, but this seems like a supreme display of confidence from Cue.
Earlier this year, Tim Cook told the Wall Street Journal that Apple plans to enter a new product category in 2014.
There will be new categories. We're not ready to talk about it, but we're working on some really great stuff," Mr. Cook said. When asked whether a new product category could mean an improvement on an existing product like an iPad Air, a lighter version of its tablet computer, or new services such as mobile payments, Mr. Cook declined to comment.
He said that anyone "reasonable" would consider what Apple is working on as new categories.
As for what Apple has up its sleeve, that's anybody's guess. Recently, the Financial Times -- the same site that broke the Apple/Beats acquisition a few weeks ago -- reported that Apple will unveil an iOS-connected "smart home" platform that would enable users to control "lights, security systems and other household appliances" directly from their iPhone.
All that being said, it's always important to remember that no Apple product or service, no matter how loud the rumor mill, is ever a done deal until an Apple executive trots out on stage and introduces it.


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Hyundai is recalling 62,811 Sonata and Sonata Hybrid cars in the United States because the panoramic glass sunroof can detach while driving and fly into traffic. The recall covers model year 2015-2016 Sonata Hybrid vehicles manufactured Dec. 8, 2014, to Aug. 18, 2015, and Hyundai Sonata vehicles manufactured May 28, 2014, to March 18, 2016, equipped with the panoramic sunroof option.
According to recall documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there is a problem with the bonding of the wind deflector anchor plate in front of the sunroof. A loose deflector can detach and interfere with the roof as it closes. A follow-up inspection by Hyundai technicians discovered “if customer repeatedly cycled sunroof or tried to force sunroof closed by hand, the sunroof panel could detach.”
Christmas is still more than two months away, but we’re already seeing festive decorations in stores. Some may think it’s still too early for Christmas themed products, but Neiman Marcus thinks otherwise. The air is getting cooler, the leaves are changing colors, and the car selected for the annual Christmas Book is the 2017 Infiniti Q60 based on the 400-horsepower Red Sport 400 model – the limited edition ride.
What really sets this Neiman Marcus version apart from the average Red Sport is the striking paint job. Called Solar Mica, the paint looks a bit like a glossy gold leaf. Combined with the Gallery White leather interior with Silver Optic Fiber trim, this is an Infiniti that would be perfect for Yukon Cornelius. In addition to the color scheme, the car comes with an ivory leather weekend bag, an indoor car cover with Neiman Marcus branding, a plaque with the VIN number, and a certificate of authenticity. Oh, it also comes with a $63,000-price tag, which is about $10,000 more than an entry level Red Sport 400 with rear-wheel drive.
One sector of the U.S. automotive industry will be quite unhappy at the announcement of the new car brand, from the Chinese industrial group Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. We are talking about the franchised car dealers.
The new brand, aimed at Millennials, is likely to be sold under a non-traditional retailing approach, according to cryptic postings on various websites. Geely and Volvo, which Geely owns, likely are planning to sell via the Internet and company-owned stores, not through franchised dealers. Lynk, an “affordable premium” vehicle resembling those built by Volvo, is expected to arrive in the U.S. and Europe by 2018.
This picture has inspired our team on revising the subject of old versus new car size, and it shows us how much the car industry has evolved since then. These two brothers, sitting one by one don’t look that similar as you thought they are anymore, right?
While the setup of the image skews the comparison a little bit, the new TT is indeed a larger than the first-gen car by a reasonable degree. It’s 150mm longer, and 69mm wider.
Tesla Motors Inc. said buyers who place new orders for Model 3 vehicles can expect to begin receiving deliveries as soon as mid-2018, with production starting as scheduled late next year. To dispel any misunderstandings with customers who’ve placed pre-order deposits and those considering, the automaker announced it wants to clarify timing for the long-anticipated electric car.
The Model 3, which is slated to begin at $35,000 before government incentives, is the key to Tesla’s plan to create a larger market for EVs. The company first unveiled the Model 3 at an event at its Hawthorne, Calif., design studio on March 31. In May, Tesla said it had received about 373,000 pre-orders for the car. Tesla’s update on the Model 3 came on the eve of another announcement scheduled to be made today. Analysts are speculating about a long list of possible company news, including that it could have something to do with an Autopilot update, a replacement for supplier Mobileye, or launching an entirely new vehicle.
Do you know why Audi decided to kill off its $1M supercar? Have you already thought about it? Maybe it was the million-dollar-plus price tag. Maybe it was the “supreme hand-built quality.” Maybe it was the fact that a non-electric R8 could be had for $164,150. Whatever the reason, was killing the R8 E-Tron a good idea?
As we all know, the VW Group – and Audi especially – is in the middle of an electrification kick, and the R8 E-Tron would have been a good halo vehicle for the brand. Instead, it can stand as a prime example of waffling on the promise of plug-in vehicles. After all, Audi used to be incredibly proud of the R8 E-Tron, even if it had a tough history. The whole program was an on-again/off-again kind of thing, but with enough momentum to get the EV some time at the Nurburgring. With both Mercedes and the EQ brand and BMW with its i brand moving strong into EVs, letting the headline be “Audi killed an EV” is not exactly fitting. It’s not like Audi was wasting time making a lot of these. The R8 E-Tron went on sale in 2015 to customers who made a special request for it, and apparently only 100 did.
The new $400K Bentley Mulsanne isn’t just another pretty vehicle, it’s a speedy car people would turn their heads at while you are driving in the middle of the city. Trust me, when you’re driving eighteen feet of British hyper-luxury sedan, it probably doesn’t matter much what you’re doing. You’re going to get attention either way.
When it comes to how fast it is, I would simply say that even the regular Mulsanne is eclipsed by its faster, pricier sibling. The $335,600 starting price (or £252k in the UK) won’t cause you to wince, or go slightly cross-eyed, or take out a second mortgage. Neither will the near-$70-grand’s worth of options, including more than seventeen thousand dollars’ worth of carbon ceramic brakes.


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Beyond Fast Fashion
Teen-led climate group kicks off Zero Waste Week with a clothing swap at the Sebastopol Farmers Market
Noa Polston Schwartz, the founder of Teach Climate and Redefine It, is excited about the all-ages clothing swap her organization is holding for Zero Waste Week at the Sebastopol Farmers Market this Sunday.
“This is actually our fourth clothing swap. I think because our organization is mostly teenage girls, right?” she said with a laugh. “It’s fun, but it's also a good way to recruit people because people invite their friends and they're like, ‘Hey, wait, maybe I should get in on this.’”
Sebastopol Times is a reader-supported publication. To support my work, become a paid subscriber.
It’s also a good way to keep clothing out of the landfill, she said—ergo, the Zero Waste connection.
Schwartz started Teach Climate and Redefine It when she was in 8th grade at Hillcrest. Now 17, she’s just about to start her senior year at Analy.
The group’s main activity, as its name suggests, is teaching about climate change. Schwartz estimates that they’ve done over 35 climate change presentations at local schools over the years.
“Our main mission is to educate Sonoma County's youth about the climate crisis, give them tools and preparedness for our future,’” she said. “So we do presentations and also actions like the clothing swaps.”
The group has also worked with the organization Wine to Water to build water filters for areas where climate change has made clean water hard to come by.
“We had people come and assemble water filters at the Barlow that were sent out to different communities globally who needed access to clean water and to areas affected by climate-caused disasters. We had 85 participants come and help build the filters.”
Schwartz is also looking to the future. She’d like the organization she founded to continue at Analy after she graduates.
“Last year, we had a big initiative to recruit some younger members,” she said. “So we reached out; we put up posters all around school that said, ‘Come check out this little organization, and we’ll buy you frozen yogurt, no strings attached.’ And I met a couple of awesome freshmen and sophomores from Analy, and every week they would just be like, ‘Oh, hey, can I bring this person.’ And we were like, “Yes, please!’ So now we have a good group—a dozen or so people. And I'm training three of my amazing members who are gonna take it over when I leave. They’re super excited, and so we’ll keep passing it down.”
Got clothes you’re not wearing? Bring them to the clothing swap!
Schwartz invites you (regardless of your age) to come to the clothing swap on Sunday, July 23, 9:30 am to 1 pm, in the downtown plaza at the Sebastopol Farmers Market. Bring your clean, pre-loved items to participate!
Sebastopol Times is a reader-supported publication. To support our work, become a paid subscriber.


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Nexus One development commences with Android 2.1 SDK update
In addition to launching the latest skirmish in the mobile platform/mobile carrier wars, Google and HTC's Nexus One smartphone also introduced the world to Android 2.1.
Before the Nexus One came out, the Motorola Droid launched in a similar fashion, where the device ran Android 2.0 exclusively before the SDK component was released to the public and other devices were upgraded.
Last night, the Android 2.1 SDK component was released, turning over the full 2.1 platform and new APIs to developers.
Unlike Android 2.0 (Eclair), version 2.1 is only a minor platform update which didn't get its own sweet confectionary name. It doesn't add any significant user features, but does add the much-discussed "live wallpaper" framework API, which will let developers take advantage of animated background screens. The Android Market, no doubt, will soon be flooded with animated clock wallpapers.
Nothing else has been added with the 2.1 SDK, but a number of crucial framework APIs have been changed, including SignalStrength, which lets network conditions affect the behavior of an application, and WebChromeClient which includes new methods for handling Web video, browser history, custom views, app cache limits, and so forth.
In addition to the new SDK component, Google's Android developers have also released a new USB driver so the Nexus One can be used to test applications when connected to a Windows computer.
The new components are available now at developer.android.com


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- Reuters•21 hours ago
"The federal chancellor had a phone call with Prime Minister Li Keqiang, it was a confidential phone call and I can give no details," Steffen Seibert told a regular government news conference in Berlin. Germany's Handelsblatt business daily reported at the weekend that China would soften its stance on electric cars after a phone call between Merkel and Li.
- Associated Press•10 days ago
BMW AG is recalling more than 19,000 i3 REx plug-in hybrids in the U.S. because they could develop a fuel vapor leak that would increase the risk of a fire. Cars from the 2014 to 2017 model years produced ...
- Moody's•12 days ago
CAD 500 million of asset-backed securities rated. Toronto, February 15, 2017-- Moody's Investors Service has assigned definitive ratings of Aaa to the 2017-1 senior notes to be issued by BMW Canada Auto ...
BMW.DE : Summary for BAY.MOTOREN WERKE AG ST - Yahoo Finance
Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft (BMW.DE)
XETRA - XETRA Delayed Price. Currency in EUR
Add to watchlist
|Bid||84.55 x 80500|
|Ask||84.64 x 38700|
|Day's Range||84.58 - 84.70|
|52 Week Range||63.38 - 91.76|
|PE Ratio (TTM)||8.02|
|Dividend & Yield||N/A (N/A)|
|1y Target Est||N/A|


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WATSONVILLE, Calif. — Despite growers combating freezing temperatures earlier this year, the California strawberry crop is poised for record production, according to the California Strawberry Commission.
“We’ve caught up and are well ahead of last year’s production. We’re shipping around 7 million trays a week out of California, and we expect to be between 6 and 7 million trays a week from now all the way well into summer,” said Chris Christian, the commission’s vice president of marketing, earlier this month.
Retailers and shoppers will benefit from the availability.
“Prices will be good for consumers. They will not be so good for growers, and growers will find it a challenging year this year in terms of their own livelihood and their own ability to keep their family businesses going.”
As reported by SN last week, strawberries are the most consumed in the berry category, responsible for 4.4% of the produce department sales in the 52 weeks ending Feb. 23, according to the Nielsen Perishables Group.
Although there was a cold weather snap in January in California, the commission rightly predicted there would be little impact on supply as it was the low part of the season.">
|Suggested Categories||More from Supermarketnews|


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Going, Going, Gone! Minnesota’s Online Auction is Underway
Just in time for your holiday shopping, the state of Minnesota's online auction of unclaimed items is on right now.
That's right, Minnesota's Commerce Department is once again holding an online auction of various items the state has collected from abandoned safe deposit boxes across Minnesota.
State law says banks, credit unions and other financial institutions have to turn items from safe deposit boxes over to the Minnesota Unclaimed Property Program after they've been sitting without activity or rent payment for five years. The state then holds onto them for another three years, but after that, they're available for auction.
Which is what's happening now. The Commerce Department says you'll find 470 items available for bidding in the current auction. It features things like "jewelry, coins and collectible items, including a Randy Moss sports card," the site said (You can see all the items HERE.)
This is the second online auction the Commerce Department has held this year, after having held a previous auction in June and July. That one featured bidders from 40 states, plus Bermuda, Canada and Switzerland. This current auction will end on November 27th, the site said.
If you think you might have had a relative with a safe deposit box that might now just be sitting there, you can search for their unclaimed property (before it heads to auction) through the Commerce Department website or at missingmoney.com.


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Geen zoekresultaten gevonden
VinFast is Vietnam’s first car manufacturer, with its sights set on worldwide car exports. During the development of the company’s two latest models, a decision was made to invest heavily in Axelent products for workstations and procedures.
VinFast was already familiar with Axelent as X-Guard machine guards were being used for a couple of robot cells at the factory.
“One of our Japanese robot partners introduced us to Axelent a few years ago. X-Guard costs a little more than a locally sourced guard system, but the advantages far outweigh the price difference. X-Guard is quite simply outstanding with its high standard and ability to be repurposed in future projects,” says Liu Liangbo, a manager at AAPICO Hitech Tooling Company Ltd with responsibility for the installation of the robot cells at the VinFast factory.
VinFast’s vision is to create classic car models for a broad consumer base and the company’s production target is an annual output of half a million cars as early as 2025. During the manufacture of its latest car models, a sedan and an SUV, VinFast realised there was a need to broaden its partnership with Axelent.
According to VinFast, the choice of Axelent as a partner came down to four deciding factors.
In addition to physical Axelent products, VinFast also decided to implement software solutions such as SnapperWorks in its systems.
“SnapperWorks is an excellent calculation tool. It saves us time and we’ve been able to export the data to our CAD tools. What’s more, by working in 3D, we can now produce much more professional customer presentations. We’re extremely pleased,” says Liu Liangbo.
Meer hulpbronnen zoeken en Klantencases


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Every company wants in on the generative AI wave. Meta is testing AI-powered products. Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook is creating “a new top-level product group” to integrate generative AI into its billion-user services.
Zuckerberg said the team will initially build creative tools but eventually create “AI personas that can help people in a variety of ways.” He warned that the company must lay a lot of groundwork before offering these “futuristic” experiences.
The company is testing WhatsApp and Messenger text-based AI tools, likely ChatGPT-style conversation bots. These could be fun for users, but Meta could eventually use them to sell and support businesses.
Meta is also testing Instagram AI filters, ad formats, and “video and multi-modal experiences.”
Axios reports that former Apple executive Ahmad Al-Dahle will lead the project, which will report to Chief Product Officer Chris Cox.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT bot popularized generative AI tools. Microsoft has added AI to Bing search and the Edge browser. Google responded this month by testing Bard, a competitor. You.com and Neeva also integrate AI-powered chat products. Snapchat, like Facebook, launched a custom-trained chatbot for paid subscribers this month.
It is normal for AI to attack meta. Zuckerberg’s metaverse bet has failed, so the company must find new revenue streams. Like other social networks, Meta Verified launched last week, but paid plans have yet to become a major revenue driver.


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New dog in town: New England Hot Dog Company continues its growth in the South Shore
Town by town, southeastern Massachusetts is going to the dogs.
Early next month, Attleboro will become the third town in the region to feature a New England Hot Dog Company location. Its opening comes two months after that of the restaurant’s new location in Plymouth, which opened in the Colony Place shopping center in mid-August.
The two new locations for the Beverly-based company mark the growing expansion of the restaurant chain, which offers a wide variety of gourmet hot dogs, toppings and Brigham’s Ice Cream.
New England Hot Dog, which opened its first store in Marblehead in 2005, has managed steady growth in the past two years ñ doubling its franchised shops from three last year to six by the end of this year. Company CEO Richard Saxe said he plans on having 12 franchised shops by the end of 2008.
So far, the chain’s southeastern Massachusetts expansion, which includes a two-year-old restaurant in Taunton, has been at the hands of Taunton-based Dog Pound Inc. Sandy Randon, resident of East Bridgewater and co-owner of the franchise, said targeting the area has a little to do with proximity, but more to do with opportunity.
“I knew Plymouth was doing the new development,” Randon said referring to relatively new Colony Place shopping center.
“We’re doing really well,” Randon said of the Plymouth location. “We were looking for a place with high traffic and lots of growth and we found it.”
Randon said his group plans to continue its southern expansion. He is currently looking at developing a location in Dartmouth, and plans to open six to eight new restaurants in the next two years.
“Hot dogs are fun and it’s been good business so far,” Randon said.
A.J. Bauer of The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, Mass.) may be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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9 July: Welcome to our Midsummer Sale and the launch of a new pack of Nik Color Presets! See for details!
8 May: New Distressed Painterly pack is now launched!
13 April: We’re working on a new pack and it will be out soon, so keep an eye out for the mailer with the details!
28 November: Welcome to our Black Friday Sale and new Preset Pack!
3 October: Celebrating our 5th Anniversary with a brand new updated Edges set!
9 August: Our new Pastel Painterly Pack has just launched!


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10 Year Treasury News
US indexes inch higher as energy stocks claw from the hole
U.S. indexes inched higher Friday as energy stocks clawed back some of their sharp losses from earlier in the week.
Markets Right Now: US stock indexes drift to a mixed close
Solid gains in health care companies made up for losses in other sectors, leaving the market mostly higher.
Markets Right Now: Slide in energy stocks weighs on market
Another dive in energy stocks offset gains for health care and technology companies, leaving major U.S. indexes mostly lower.
Markets Right Now: Drop in oil price sinks energy stocks
Another drop in crude oil prices helped bring energy stocks lower, bringing the market back from the record highs it set a day earlier.
Markets Right Now: Tech gains send S&P 500 to another record
The latest on developments in financial markets (All times local): 4:00 p.m. Big gains in technology companies sent major U.S. stock indexes to more record high closes on Wall Street . Apple, already the world's most valuable publicly traded company, added another 2.9 percent Monday. Google's
This is peak investing: Stocks, bonds and concerns are up
Stocks, bonds, overseas markets and even gold are doing well all at the same time, which is unusual. Markets are showing few signs of worry, but contrarians are feeling reasons for pause.
Amazon-Whole Foods deal hammers grocery stores; Dow ticks up
US stocks finish barely higher, but grocery stores, wholesale clubs and other retailers drop after Amazon said it will buy Whole Foods.
Markets Right Now: Grocers plunge on Amazon deal; Dow gains
Major stock indexes eked out tiny gains after spending much of the day in the red, but grocery stores and retailers plunged on concern about new competition as Amazon said it would buy Whole Foods.
Markets Right Now: Technology stocks lead US indexes lower
Stocks end modestly lower on Wall Street, dragged down by declines in technology and materials companies.
US mortgage rates blip higher
Long-term US mortgage rates edge up this week, with benchmark 30-year rate at 3.91 percent


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By now we all know that most of the food we consume has contaminants, albeit at varying levels. The episode of Satyamev Jayate dealing with this issue had created quite a furor in different quarters. But has anything been done to counter the problem? In a series of articles,we will be dealing with specific solutions to the problem of toxicity in food that have been implemented by individuals and organizations.
Four Nagpur students have developed a device that can help one determine the pesticide content in any eatable and help one clean it up too.
The portable toxic threat detector (PTTD) developed by third year electronics and telecommunication engineering students of GH Raisoni College of Engineering Saurabh Puranik, Shreya Dhondarikar, Sagar Nasre and Sowmya Singh, tells you whether or not something is safe to eat and the best method to scientifically remove the contaminant.
HOW IT WORKS:
As reported by TOI, the team found that available methods of detecting food toxicity were time-consuming and relied on big laboratories and expensive chemicals. Lack of awareness and that of experts was another hitch. In their quest to solve these problems, the budding engineers have been doing their own research for the past one and a half years.
They have developed the threat detector for both solid and liquid food items. The present device is only a prototype and can take a weight up to one kilogram. The team however wishes to make several changes to this. They want to increase the weighing capacity, add a purifier to the device and make the software used in the device available on smartphones in the form of an app.
The PTTD has been presented at many national and international forums where it has garnered much appreciation. The team is now in talks with several laboratories like National Environmental Engineering and Research Institute (Neeri) and AGMARK to help them with the lab testing of the device which will help them apply for a patent. They have also presented the idea to some venture capitalists who have shown their interest in it.
Here is a video explaining the functioning of the device:


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In the third quarter, HeartWare International (HTWR) had better than expected sales of its cardiac pumps and as a result, its share price moved up substantially.
The jump in sales was driven by the widespread acceptance of HeartWare's HVADs (ventricular assist device), particularly in foreign markets, in line with predictions made at the time the device was launched in the U.S. a year ago.
Some predict now that HeartWare is destined to take over the leadership of the heart pump industry in the next few years from current leader, Thoratec (THOR).
The company is still losing money, although the loss has narrowed to $11.4 million from $25.0 million a year ago.
In December HeartWare bought...
Only subscribers can access this article, which is part of the PRO research library covering 3,559 different stocks.
Growing numbers of fund managers and other investment professionals subscribe to Seeking Alpha PRO for equity research that is unavailable elsewhere, so they can:


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Choose an article from the archive listing on this page or refine your selection using the controls in the gray box below.
Apple looks to US memory
Apple has dropped a $3.8 billion joint investment plan with Samsung. The pact had covered flash memory chips used in Apple's music player devices, according to Reuters and the Seoul-based Korean Economic Daily paper, which quoted a senior Samsung official saying that Apple had proposed a joint investment worth about 4 trillion won, but later backed off. The report says that Apple now is in talks with another memory chip maker to produce the chips in the U.S., the official told the newspaper. Earlier this week, Samsung Electronics and its U.S. subsidiary pleaded guilty to price fixing charges and agreed to pay a $300 million fine for taking part in a conspiracy to fix the prices of semiconductors for computers and other electronics, and both companies may be investigated by the Korean government for possible antitrust violations.
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IHOP knew it would have to do something bold to get consumers to pay attention to the launch of its better-burger menu.
What the breakfast-centric midscale chain did not foresee, however, was the tremendous flood of responses that would come after announcing it’s temporarily changing its name to IHOb to reflect the new items.
“None of us could’ve predicted it would go like this,” says IHOP President Darren Rebelez, wearing a hamburger lapel pin, during a visit to the Restaurant Business office this week for a wide-ranging discussion about the 60-year-old brand.
“We knew, because we were so well-known for breakfast, it was going to be difficult for us to tell the world we were doing something different and really get any attention or traction,” Rebelez says. “Unless we were going to do something bold. And there’s nothing we could think of to be more bold and creative and fun than to take that ‘P’ and flip it up into a ‘b,’ and let’s see what people say.”
People, it turns out, had plenty to say about IHOb, according to Rebelez:
- As of Wednesday, 15,000 news stories had been written about the burger rollout.
- 1.2 million tweets were sent on the topic, topping out at one point at 86,000 tweets per hour.
- Despite major national and international news, the campaign took three of the top trending spots on Twitter on Monday, with references to IHOP, IHOb and International House.
- What’s more, 80% of traffic to IHOP’s website during the period came from new users.
People are talking about IHOb, but is the massive engagement translating into burger sales?
“The answer is it’s going very well,” Rebelez says. “And that’s about all I can say about that.”
The burgers are now a part of IHOP’s permanent menu. The IHOb name, however, is for a limited time.
“Our initial thought on the campaign was we were going to do that about 60 days. But we’re going to let this play out and see how it goes,” he says. “We’re always going to be IHOP. We’re always going to have delicious pancakes and really decadent breakfast foods. But, for the time being, we’re going to be IHOb and sell as many burgers as we can and get the whole country engaged in that.”
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.


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Yum! Brands, the fast food brand operator of fast food chains KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and The Habit Burger Grill, was the target of a ransomware attack which forced the closure of 300 locations in the UK .
Yum! Brands operates 53,000 restaurants in 155 countries and territories, with total assets of more than $5 billion and annual net income of $1.3 billion.
“Upon detection of the incident, the company initiated response protocols, including deploying containment measures such as taking certain systems offline and implementing enhanced monitoring technology,” Yum ! The brands explained in a Press statement.
The company also launched an investigation, engaged the services of industry-leading cybersecurity and forensics professionals, and notified federal law enforcement.
Affected restaurants in the UK have resumed normal operations and are not expected to experience any further issues related to the cyberattack.
Ransomware actors typically steal data from hacked networks to extort their victims.
Yum! Brands confirmed that data was stolen in the attack, but sees no evidence that customer information was exposed.
“Although data was taken from the company’s network and an investigation is ongoing, at this stage there is no evidence that any customer databases were stolen,” reads the statement. Yum! Announcement of brands.
In a Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Yum! The brands assured investors that the ransomware attack would not result in any noticeable negative financial impact.
“While this incident caused temporary disruptions, the Company is not aware of any further restaurant disruptions and does not expect this event to have a material adverse impact on its business, operations or results. financial,” says the company. SEC report.
BleepingComputer contacted Yum! Brands for more information on when the breach occurred and how long attackers were able to retain access to company networks, and we’ll update this post as soon as we receive a response. .


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Crowdfunding – the practice of financing a project or venture with small sums of money donated, loaned, or invested from a large pool of individuals – is already helping to fill the $140-$160 billion gap in access to financing for African entrepreneurs and SMEs.
7 crowdfunding platforms set to transform Africa's entrepreneurial scene
Increasing Internet access and a boom in ICTs is giving rise to new crowdfunding platforms in Africa with transformational effect.
There are already many African crowdfunding platforms tackling these problems in adapted ways.
GhanaianSliceBiz combines funding from accredited angel investors with micro-investments from the wider community to give projects credibility. SliceBiz also partners with global impact investors to help start-ups achieve funding to scale-up across Africa. Investors can fund via mobile payments, bank accounts, or credit cards.
NigerianFunda Solva uses PayPal – now prevalent across Nigeria – as the sole payment gateway. This opens up funding to the whole world, and taps into PayPal’s trustworthy reputation, building credibility for the site and each project. Funda Solva also accepts contributions as small as $1.
US-based JumpStart Africa also claims to have solved the payment barrier, allowing entrepreneurs to receive funding on a co-branded Visa or Master Card gift card which is then shipped to them.
JumpStart also requires that project owners verify their identity in portraits of themselves holding their ID along with a copy of a code they get sent on registration, and teams verify projects via e.g. local press. A little rustic, but more than a platform like Kickstarter does.
Kenyan M-Changa taps into Africa’s key ICT trend to gain reach in the unique African environment with a platform specifically for mobile. It allows users to create campaigns, cheaply collect donations, and promote projects via SMS or mobile payments, and allows diaspora contributors a transparent and cheap method of giving funds.
A mobile application is also on its way for South African Thundafund, a social entrepreneurship platform that hopes to create 15,000 jobs through their crowdfunded campaigns. Thundafund supports its entrepreneurs, allows only financially viable ideas to go live on the site – of the 1,400 projects submitted, only a little over 10% have been successful -, guides them through funding, and then works to get the best out of each idea.
According to Thundafund, they select carefully from all submitted applications by asking project leaders to provide necessary information; after which feedback is given on whether the business idea or innovation falls into the crowdfunding campaign model. Since launch, 4.3 million rand ($348,785) has been raised on the platform, successfully funding 116 of 150 projects.
In France, LelapaFund facilitates the African diaspora to invest their capital and skills back home. Co-founder Elizabeth Howard says it is viewed by investors as a cost-efficient and less risky way of getting involved in African projects.
And similarly Homestrings, which originally targeted only the African diaspora but has since opened up to anyone with over $1,000 to invest in emerging markets, provides vetted opportunities in projects in 13 African counties. It has raised around $25 million for projects since launch in 2011.
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