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Durable Goods Are Becoming Cheaper
Following a notable surge in inflation, Americans are now witnessing a phenomenon absent for the past three years: deflation. It is for now predominantly observed in appliances, furniture, used cars, and other specific goods. However, widespread deflation, where prices of most goods and services consistently decrease, does not seem imminent.
- Economists anticipate a further decline in prices for goods, potentially facilitating a return to the Federal Reserve's 2% inflation target, possibly as early as the second half of the upcoming year.
- Durable goods, encompassing long-lasting items, have experienced a year-over-year decline for five consecutive months. According to data from the Commerce Department released on Thursday, these prices were 2.6% lower in October compared to their peak in September 2022.
This decline in durable goods prices has contributed to a reduction in core inflation, excluding volatile food and energy categories, to 3.5% in October, down from 5.5% in September 2022, as measured by the personal-consumption expenditures price index—the preferred inflation gauge of the Federal Reserve.
Services Are Still Increasing
However, the prices of services such as home rental and car insurance continue to rise, albeit at a decelerating pace. In October, they increased by 4.4% from the previous year, slower than the 4.7% growth seen in September but still surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
- Economy-wide deflation is an uncommon occurrence and is typically indicative of stagnant or severely depressed demand. Conversely, deflation in specific sectors is more commonplace.
- Before the pandemic, durable goods prices decreased by an average of 1.9% annually from 1995 to 2020 due to globalization shifting production to low-wage countries and productivity improvements lowering costs.
- The pandemic temporarily reversed these trends, causing product shortages, disrupted supply chains, and a surge in consumer demand, leading to price spikes in 2021 and 2022. Durable goods inflation reached a 47-year high of 10.7% in February 2022.
Research by Adam Shapiro from the San Francisco Fed indicates that supply disruptions, such as closed factories or shipping delays, accounted for roughly half of the inflation surge in 2021 and 2022.
Supply Chain Issues Eased
For now, supply chains are functioning smoothly, according to a New York Fed index. At the same time, demand has been restrained by the Federal Reserve's interest rate increases, with consumer spending rising by 0.2% in October before adjusting for inflation, marking the weakest growth since May.
- The White House Council of Economic Advisers suggests in a recent blog post that improved supply chains, coupled with weaker demand, account for approximately 80% of the decline in inflation since 2022.
- Looking ahead, economists at Morgan Stanley predict that core goods deflation will intensify through the middle of the next year due to improved supply chains and weaker demand, counterbalancing ongoing price increases for services. Consequently, they foresee the PCE inflation dropping to 1.8% in September, below the Fed's target.
Prices, comprising the cost of inputs—labor, materials, capital—plus profit, surged as wages and certain inputs became pricier during the recent inflationary period. Limited supply and robust demand enabled companies to expand profit margins, implying that as these conditions subside, prices and margins will retreat.
Please note that Benchmark does not produce investment advice in any form. Our articles are not research reports and are not intended to serve as the basis for any investment decision. All investments involve risk and the past performance of a security or financial product does not guarantee future returns. Investors have to conduct their own research before conducting any transaction. There is always the risk of losing parts or all of your money when you invest in securities or other financial products.


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Apple has slashed production for all three iPhone models of 2018, which includes iPhone XS, XS Max and the XR, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The report comes after Apple suppliers across the world slashed forecast over lower than expected demand thanks to lowered demand from the Cupertino-technology giant.
According to the report, there is lower than expected demand for Apple’s new iPhones, and “the company’s decision to offer more models created turmoil along its supply chain and made it harder to predict the number of components and handsets it needs.”
The report adds Apple’s decision to slash production across the board has left both executives at suppliers and workers who assemble the devices frustrated.
Apple forecast lower-than-expected sales for the Christmas quarter, which left investors shocked. In its investors earning call for the Q4, 2018 result, Apple’s CFO Luca Maestri had cautioned that going forward the company would have “uncertainty around supply and demand balance,” and are also facing “some macroeconomic uncertainty, particularly in emerging markets.”
Tim Cook had also said that the company was facing pressure in markets like Turkey, India, Brazil and Russia, which have seen their currencies depreciate significantly against the dollar. In India, Apple’s sales have stumbled, particularly in light of the new products which are priced highly. Apple’s iPhone XR starts at Rs 76,900 in India, the iPhone XS at Rs 99,900.
The report notes that Apple’s iPhone XR appears to be the worst hit with the company cutting production plan by up to a third of the nearly 70 million units. Earlier Apple analyst Ming Chi-Kuo had said that Apple had slashed production for the iPhone XR in light of weaker than expected demand.
According to Kuo’s note, which was reported by MacRumors, the estimate went from 100 million to 70 million for fourth quarter 2018 till the third quarter 2019. Kuo had said that customers expected a more affordable price for the iPhone XR, especially given that it had a single rear camera. Other analysts have also indicated that the iPhone XR did not meet sales expectations.
With Apple slashing demand across the board, suppliers have been left scrambling.

domain: news


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Apple buys Swedish classical record label
- BIS Records founder Robert von Bahr said Tuesday that Apple has bought the classical music-focused record company and will fold it into its Apple Music Classical and Platoon music services.
- The acquisition is another example of Apple attempting to distinguish itself from streaming music rivals like Spotify by focusing on classical music.
- The tech giant debuted the Apple Music Classical streaming app this past spring, pitching it as a way for subscribers to access over 5 million classical tracks that can be searched via data like composer, conductor or catalog number.
Karina Canellakis leading the Juilliard Orchestra at Alice Tully Hall on Thursday night, May 22, 2014.
Hiroyuki Ito | Getty Images
Apple has acquired BIS Records, a 50-year-old Swedish record label with a focus on classical music, as part of its continuing efforts to attract classical music fans.


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Aquatic export turnover in May is estimated at 479 million USD,
resulting in a total value of 2.2 billion USD for the first five months
of this year, down by 5.6 percent against the same period last year.
The decrease was attributed to several factors such as
diseases in shrimps and high input costs as well as technical barriers,
anti-dumping tax and anti-subsidy tax in export markets.
As a result, the export turnover to all three largest markets
including the US, Japan, and the Republic of Korea saw
notable decrease compared to the corresponding period last year. Export
to the US stood at 331 million USD, down 1.1 percent; Japan, 294
million USD, down 4.9 percent; and the RoK, 118 million USD, down 20
However, sales to China and Thailand surged by 41 percent and 19 percent year on year, respectively.
Despite some signs of recovery in demands, aquatic export in the
coming months is expected to continue to dive, according to the Vietnam
Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
Nevertheless, many exporters think shrimp export to Japan will bounce
back in the coming time thanks to the country’s recent decision to end
Trifluralin test on all shrimps imported from Vietnam.-VNA


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Weather app goes a storm for Alliance telco TV
Michelle Clancy | 20-11-2013
Over-the-top (OTT) TV apps are starting to take off. Alliance Communications, a rural telco in South Dakota, said that in a recent 30-day query, it had on average 2,100 daily set-top box-based Weather App activations. And, it recorded a peak day of more than 4,400 interactions.
Alliance, which has APMAX middleware deployed with the Weather Plus option, noted that "with all of the options to access weather, the fact that one telco's subscribers invoked the weather app over 70,000 times in a month is a testament to the strong connection people have with their subscription video".
By utilising data obtained with the Innovative System's User Experience Monitor (UEM), Alliance was able to view the number of times an action is invoked on the STBs in its network.
"Sometimes it's really hard to know what customers like and what they don't like," said Alliance marketing manager Amy Ahlers, who added that she plans to promote the Weather App in an upcoming newsletter, and that the data will be helpful in the development of future competitive marketing pieces


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Global wearable and IoT solutions provider Omate on Tuesday announced a partnership with Tata Communications to equip its Newest “Omate x Nanoblock” smartwatch for Youngsters with enhanced security features.
“What sets the ‘Omate x Nanoblock’ apart from other smartwatches is that the extra security layer offered by the global private network of Tata Communications MOVE-IoT Connect,” Laurent Le Pen, Founder and CEO, Omate, said in a statement.
“It means that parents can keep track and also be in touch with their kids in real-time but no data on the network can be intercepted by unscrupulous people,” he added.
The API-enabled, automatic “MOVE-IoT Link” platform is fully integrated with Omate’s business procedures, giving the company real-time visibility over clients’ data usage patterns and control over tariffs and charging.
The software-defined capabilities of “MOVE-IoT Connect” also make it easy for both Omate to customise features and content together with children’s needs in mind.
“Through our partnerships and the ubiquitous network of Tata Communications MOVE-IoT Connect, companies can capture, move and manage information on a global scale, and provide individuals the always-connected digital experiences they crave,” said Anthony Bartolo, Chief Product Officer, Tata Communications.
The “Omate x Nanoblock”, the price of which is yet to be announced, will be available for pre-order in April on www.omate.com.
It will start shipping in June at the US and in Europe in the first place.


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Audience measurement firm comScore has bought the product division of Nexius, a company that provides consumer insights to telcos. The big question that Washington, DC-based Nexius’ solutions answer is what sort of services subscribers want, so companies have a sense of where they should focus their capital expenditures. The deal comes as analytics and marketing, especially in the mobile area, remain a hotbed of M&A activity.
comScore (NSDQ: SCOR) wouldn’t say what the pricetag on this acquisition was, but it did anticipate that the Nexius purchase will add about $4 million in revenue to the company this year. The acquisition is Reston, VA-based comScore’s most recent since February, when it bought ad researcher ARSgroup.
With Apple’s iAd system launching today, and the mobile space in general heating up in terms of smartphone users and app downloads, comScore is trying to best position itself in an already crowded field. Aside from Nielsen, which has been working on synthesizing its audience measurement across all screens, there’s mobile app analytics startups like Flurry to contend with. comScore will integrate Nexius’ products division into its existing Telecom and Wireless Practice.
CEO and co-founder Nadim “Ned” Taleb co-founder, Nabil, Nadim’s brother, will join the comScore senior management team and will become EVP of comScore Wireless Solutions. While Nexius’ products division is coming under comScore, the rest of the company is being spun off into a consultancy called Nexius Solutions, headed by Nadim. Release


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The beer market dynamics in Russia is approaching zero, yet major brewers are divided into those who developed considerably in 2017 and those who considerably reduced their volumes. For instance, company Efes has managed to substantially extend their sales due to restrained pricing policy and activity in the modern trade. Heineken has also demonstrated an excellent performance promoted by significant increase of advertisement budgets launching a non-alcohol sort of the title brand and unusual activity in the economy market segment. Carlsberg and AB InBev have been focusing on margins and lost a market share of their inexpensive brands. Serious dependence on PET package and mass enthusiasm about Zhigulevskoe have negatively impacted the most of big regional brewers, that have been for the first time pressed by the leaders in the key sales channels, especially in Volga and Central regions. In the small business there has been a noticeable slowdown in appearing of new restaurant breweries, yet the number of craft breweries has been growing rapidly. In 2018, the beer market is likely to grow a little, while the share of AB InBev Efes may decrease due to the integration. ...
“Catalogue of Russian Beer Producers 2018” includes 1070 businesses ranging from large subsidiaries of international companies to rather small restaurant and craft microbreweries.The catalogue includes 32 large breweries, 75 regional breweries, 693 industrial mini- and microbreweries as well as 270 restaurant breweries. ...
Global hop marketA local alternative to mass beer suggested by independent brewers has been successful and is now altering the global market. Beer is becoming more diversified, so transnational companies have to accept the new game rules and to switch focus to young and fast growing markets. All these processes increased the demand for aroma and bitter hop as well as their acreage expansion on two continents. However now there appeared a downward trend of alcohol consumption in the world, so even special sorts can soon turn to be sufficient. In this connection the dynamic American hop market is already facing some problems. EU hop producers have become more cautious, they are not racing to exceed the demand and look forward with more confidence, judging by the contract terms.
Hop Market in RussiaGermany still dominates the Russian market, yet over the recent two years one has been able observe a continuous success of Czech hop suppliers. Their expansion and growing popularity of hops from the United States became the drivers of supplies growth in 2016 despite the preceding modest harvest crop in the EU, as well as the factor of relative stability in 2017. In this connection, in 2017, the ratio of the varieties continued to shift towards the aroma ones, and the supplies of Magnum hop and other alpha varieties were reduced. However, the import of bitter hop pellets is partially replaced by extracts, especially from the major beer manufacturers. Total volumes of alpha acid supplies, according to our estimation, decreased by approximately 5% and returned to the level of 2015. Barth Haas Group continues dominating the hop products market; HVG also increased its weight. At the same time, Morris Hanbury significantly reduced the supplies in 2017.
New, shorter running time. drinktec now a five-day event
drinktec 2009 was a six-day event taking place in September last year. While there was much activity in the twelve exhibition halls on the first five days of the fair, visitor numbers dropped noticeably on the Saturday, the last day of the fair. At its constitutional meeting the Advisory Board agreed unanimously with the proposal of the exhibition management that the running time of drinktec be shortened by one day, from six days to five days. A number of reasons have prompted this move:
° After the fair, the exhibition management of drinktec carried out a quality management check, part of which involved gathering individual feedback from exhibitors. The findings were clear: almost all the exhibitors were in favour of dropping the Saturday opening.
° For the great majority of the exhibitors, a shorter running time means a more efficient presentation at the fair.In addition, when it comes to transporting the stand equipment away at the end of the fair, it is then possible to avoid the Sunday ban on truck movement which applies in Germany.
° A clear trend is developing in which visitors to specialist trade fairs are less and less prepared to spend the Saturday at the fair.
° At drinktec there is the added difficulty that the Saturday now being dropped has always been in competition with the first day of the Oktoberfest.
"The Saturday was in the end an anachronism, quite simply it no longer fits into modern trade-fair practices," explained Dr Reinhard Pfeiffer, the Managing Director at Messe Munchen responsible for drinktec. "Together with our exhibitors we are
confident that shortening drinktec to five days is the right decision. Visitor traffic will now be distributed evenly over the five days of the fair. The Friday will now of course take on the role of the last day of the fair, but it will still be a very important day for the visitors, and one they will not want to miss."
drinktec is the world’s leading trade fair for beverage and liquid-food technology. It is the most important trade fair for the sector. Manufacturers and suppliers from all over the world – global companies and SMEs alike – meet up here with all the key producers and retailers of beverages and liquid food products. Within the sector drinktec is regarded as the number one platform for launching new products on the world market. The fact that the entire production chain is represented at drinktec emphasizes the fair’s role as the world’s leading trade fair for the sector. Manufacturers come along to present the latest technology for producing, filling and packaging beverages of all kinds, as well as liquid food – including raw materials and logistics solutions. A special feature of drinktec is that entire machinery systems and plant are set up here and demonstrated in action – this kind of a display is unique to drinktec. drinktec 2009, which took place at the New Munich Trade Fair Centre from 14 to 19 September 2009, attracted 1,402 exhibitors from around 72 countries. On the six days of the fair approximately 60,000 trade visitors attended, over 33,000 of them from abroad. They came to Munich from over 170 different countries.
This press release is also available on the internet, at:
Messe Munchen GmbH
drinktec Press Office
Johannes Manger and Maritta Dotter
Tel. (+49 89) 949-20630, Fax (+49 89) 949-20689
[email protected]/ [email protected]


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JetBlue’s Free WiFi Now Available On All Domestic Flights
In announcement by JetBlue, it seems that the company will be offering free in-flight WiFi for all of its domestic flights. This means that you no longer have to satisfy yourself with what is being offered in terms of entertainment as you can use the internet to seek out your own entertainment, whether it be surfing the web, watching YouTube, and so on.
JetBlue’s free WiFi began back in 2013 and in 2017, that service has now rolled out to all of its domestic flights. We’re not sure how fast the WiFi is, especially if everyone is going to be using it at once, but we guess since it’s free it’s going to be hard to complain, although JetBlue did state that it will be at broadband speeds so we guess it won’t be anything too fancy.
According to a statement made by Jamie Perry, vice president of marketing, JetBlue, “It’s 2017 and our customers expect to be connected everywhere, whether that be from the comfort of their sofa or 35,000 feet above it. That’s why we’re so proud that JetBlue is now the only airline to offer free, high-speed Wi-Fi, live TV and movies for all customers on every plane.”
Filed in Transportation. Read more about jetblue.


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Super Bowl 50 kicked off on February 7 and, for Americans, no sports event is bigger in size or scope. Players on the field are busy preparing for the big day, but off the field, fans are turning to their phones and apps to best plan for the Super Bowl experience. To determine which apps are the best to use on game-day, SimilarWeb data was used to look at which apps were popular last year, on Super Bowl Sunday 2015. For this study, 13 apps were examined, all of which showed major increases in use on February 1st, 2015, aka Super Bowl 49.
To do this, SimilarWeb looked at ‘Active App Users’, which refers to users who already have the app installed that used the app on a specific day, in the selected country, in this case- the United States. In the graph below, they compared Active App Users on Super Bowl Sunday to the previous Sunday, January 25, 2015, in order to show the percent increase from Sunday to Sunday.
With a 305% increase in Active App Users, Papa John’s Pizza was the big winner on Super Bowl Sunday 2015. The popular pizza app was installed on 1.4% of U.S. Android devices on Super Bowl day and was used by 9.7% of those who had the app installed, a huge increase from the 2.4% who used the app the prior Sunday. Two other pizza apps- Pizza Hut and Domino’s Pizza USA also saw a huge growth in app usage on Super Bowl Sunday, proving that indeed pizza is the king of Super Bowl food. Pizza was in fact much more popular than other fast food apps such as McDonald’s or Subway. McDonald’s only saw 7% increase from the previous Sunday, while Subway saw a slightly higher increase of 9%.
Aside from restaurant specific apps, 4 other food related apps were examined: GrubHub and Eat24, 2 food delivery apps, and recipe apps: Yummly and Food Network. Over the period from January 25th 2015 to February 3rd 25 GrubHub and Eat24 showed major increases in use on the day before the Super Bowl and during the Super Bowl itself. Eat24 peaked on game-day with 5.48% of Active App Users while GrubHub peaked on the day before, as users flocked to their apps to make sure they were prepared for game-day. Meanwhile, recipe apps showed a larger variance, Yummly actually had lower use compared to the previous Sunday, and the Food Network app was only slightly more popular on Super Bowl Sunday compared to a week before.


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CHARLOTTE — Video shows thieves steal residents’ mail at Tranquil Court condos in Myers Park.
The four thieves could be seen unlocking mailboxes, dumping out the mail, and stealing packages.
Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke has reported about thieves who steal master keys that mail carriers use, which are called arrow keys.
They can then unlock mailboxes across town.
Resident and condo association board member Terri Donovan said she couldn’t believe what happened.
“I had no idea,” Donovan said. “I had no idea.”
Donovan told Stoogenke that her building used to have a small blue lockbox outside the main entrance.
She said the letter carrier would use an arrow key to unlock the front doors and go inside.
He would use the same arrow key to unlock the mailboxes in the lobby.
The thieves apparently had the arrow key, so they accessed the building to get into the mail.
“I get letters from the IRS,” Donovan said. “I get credit card statements. I get things that have personal information on it just like we all do, and there’s no telling what they have.”
Donovan warns that others who have similar lockboxes to think twice.
“Any condominium building, any apartment complex, any office building that has a USPS box on it, those need to come off,” Donavan warned.
The Postal Service announced in May that it was replacing 49,000 arrow locks with electric ones across the nation.
It will install 12,000 high-security blue collection boxes across the country.
Postal Service officials recently said they are making progress on those updates.
Stoogenke has warned about mail thieves stealing checks.
They “wash” them and change the amounts and who they’re made out to. Keep a close eye on your bank accounts and freeze your credit if you suspect any illegal activity.
Here are 10 ways you can protect yourself:
- Pick up mail quickly. Don’t leave it in the mailbox a long time.
- If you can’t, use USPS’ hold service.
- Drop mail in blue boxes close to pick-up times.
- Better yet, drop off mail inside the post office directly, if you’re worried.
- If you’re expecting money in the mail and don’t get it, don’t hesitate. Tell the sender right away.
- Don’t mail cash.
- If you move, ensure everyone important has your new address.
- Use gel pens to write checks. They are hard to erase, especially the uni-ball 207. You can get them almost everywhere and they’re pretty cheap: about $2 each.
- Use online or mobile banking features instead of checks.
- Think about using cashier’s checks instead of personal checks.
You can find more information on mail and package theft here.
If you think someone stole your mail, report it through this link or call the U.S. Postal Inspection Service: 877-876-2455
©2023 Cox Media Group


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NEW YORK - Shares of Adobe soared in heavy trading Thursday on a report that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer discussed a possible buyout of the company.
LONDON - Japan's cosmetics giant Shiseido's badly edited photograph showing a model with disconnected limbs, which was used as publicity material, has been dubbed as a "Photoshop disaster".
SALT LAKE CITY - Utah officials heralded a major investment by software company Adobe Systems Inc.
Here is a summary of recent earnings reports for selected technology companies and what they reveal about the state of spending and the overall economy: July 13: Intel Corp.
- Adobe posts higher 2Q profit as revenue soars
- Adobe to post 2Q results; analyst says CS5 strong
- Steve Jobs attacks Adobe Flash as unfit for iPhone
- Adobe needs rebound with latest Creative Suite
- Adobe CEO 2009 pay package down 68 percent
- Adobe Systems posts 4Q loss but says demand rising
- Ahead of the Bell: Adobe Systems
- Adobe to cut about 680 full-time jobs
- Adobe buys Omniture for $1.8 bn
- Adobe to buy Omniture for $1.8B; 3Q profit slides
- RealWorldPaint: Poor man’s alternative to Photoshop in web
- Business Highlights
- Top 10 Tutorials for Web Designers


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Coronoavirus causes LG to pull out of MWC, sparking fears of ‘domino effect’
Image credit: Dreamstime
South Korean firm LG has become the first major technology company to pull out of this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC) exhibition, citing concerns about the safety of its employees in the wake of the coronavirus.
The huge annual technology convention is due to take place in Barcelona at the end of this month and is one of the largest events in the industry calendar.
In 2019, the show attracted nearly 110,000 people from countries around the world, with Chinese nationals and others from the Asia Pacific region making up around 16 per cent of attendees.
LG said it has been closely monitoring the outbreak of the virus, which was recently declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The decision “removes the risk of exposing hundreds of LG employees to international travel which has already become more restrictive as the virus continues to spread across borders”.
In lieu of its participation in MWC, the firm will be holding separate events in the near future to announce its 2020 mobile products.
A number of other technology heavyweights, including Sony, Samsung, Huawei and Microsoft are still scheduled to appear at MWC.
Industry analyst Ben Wood, from CCS Insight, said LG’s decision was a “big development” for the show, adding that he hoped it would not cause a “domino effect with other companies”.
Last week, MWC organiser GSMA told the PA news agency it was monitoring the outbreak and would put additional medical precautions in place around its venues.
In an updated statement, GSMA said: “The GSMA continues to monitor and assess the potential impact of the coronavirus on its MWC20 events held annually in Barcelona, Shanghai and Los Angeles, as well as the Mobile 360 Series of regional conferences.”
They added that they are advising attendees to adopt a “no handshake policy” during the event.
The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak continues to rise, with Chinese authorities reporting 490 dead and an increase in the number of known cases to 24,324.
Rumours are swirling that the virus could delay Apple’s production schedule for the next iPhone, which is manufactured in China by Foxconn.
The firm has suspended its operations temporarily, but said that it aims to gradually restart production at factories in China next week. A Reuters source “with direct knowledge of the matter” said it could take one to two weeks from then to resume full production.
The factory halt is set to hit Foxconn's profit for 2020, although it was still evaluating the likely impact, the source said.
Earlier this week, the deVere Group CEO said that Bitcoin’s soaring value is due to global uncertainty over the coronavirus.
Sign up to the E&T News e-mail to get great stories like this delivered to your inbox every day.


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XL Hybrids Recharges with $4M to Expand Vehicle Powertrain Tech
The broader American clean energy tech sector has been a real bummer over the past few years, with shrinking government support and big-name flameouts like A123 Systems.
Tod Hynes, president and founder of Boston’s XL Hybrids, wants you to know that those ills haven’t been affecting his slice of the business.
The company, founded by a group of MIT grads in 2009, produces hybrid electric powertrains for commercial vehicles—typically the trucks and vans you might see zipping up to loading docks somewhere in the city.
The systems include batteries, an electric motor, and control software. They give workhorse vehicles a touch of the technology familiar to Toyota Prius drivers: The batteries capture energy expended when the vehicle brakes, storing that juice in the batteries so it can be sent back to the drivetrain for a boost when it’s time to accelerate again.
That helps save fuel, since less needs to be burned to get the wheels back in motion—the startup says about 20 percent less fuel is burned in urban driving when one of its systems is being used.
Hynes also says the XL Hybrids systems can supply up to 80 percent more torque to the vehicle’s driveline when they kick in, which means that commercial fleet owners can actually downsize the engines they buy for new trucks and vans.
It appears that sales pitch has been winning over some commercial vehicle owners. XL has recently landed another $4 million in private investment.
The backers weren’t identified by name, but XL says its previous investors were back for about half of the company’s new investment round, which is its Series B. The startup had previously raised about $4 million from angel investors and the Massachusetts Green Energy Fund.
The money is intended to help the fledgling company, which still has about 10 employees, ramp up its production and sales to customers across North America. With its previous funding, XL says it was able to get systems installed with “multiple Fortune 500 companies” who showed more appetite for the technology.
And those were real sales, not subsidized gimmes, Hynes says.
“They weren’t giveaways. There were definitely customers asking for that, but we would only sell. And there was no government buydown to reduce the cost of the system,” he says. “We don’t rely on incentives that are maybe going away, or some other kind of giveaway.”
Another positive sign for the young company is that it’s made the transition from retrofitting older vehicles into “upfitting” new trucks and vans with its hybrid drivetrains. That’s the kind of market shift XL Hybrids was hoping to capture more than a year ago when we last checked in on their progress.
“Most of our sales to date have been on new vehicles,” Hynes says, and XL also has partnered with another company to help get the “upfitting” work spread more broadly and completed more quickly.
Hynes wouldn’t disclose revenues, but they’re likely still modest—he joked that he could give me a revenue growth projection for this year, but it would be one of those absurd 1,000 percent-type figures that very young companies sometimes trot out.
So while the formerly high-flying Massachusetts clean-transportation company A123 Systems fights for a new lease on life, it looks like there could be a nice niche to grow for smaller, more deliberate players like XL Hybrids.


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For Immediate Release
May 13, 2009
For Information Contact:
Gary Petty, NPTC
NPTC, UMTRI Release Truck Size and Weight Study
Arlington, VA – Increases in truck weight and length would have a direct beneficial effect on the challenges facing American businesses, according to a study conducted by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute that was commissioned by the National Private Truck Council.
Specifically, the study’s findings implied that significant improvements could be achieved in fuel consumption, cost, congestion, improved distribution efficiency, and driver availability by increasing the gross vehicle weight (GVW) up to 97,000 pounds on a six-axle tractor-semitrailer from its current 80,000-pound maximum while at the same time boosting cubic capacity through the use of LCVs (specifically, two 53-ft. trailers—“turnpike doubles”).
“For more than a decade, NPTC has supported modification of federal truck size and weight restrictions in a manner that will improve shipper and carrier productivity,” said Gary F. Petty, NPTC President and CEO. “While there has been ample anecdotal evidence in the private fleet community that larger trucks would mean greater productivity for the businesses operating them, there has not been, until now, a study that helps support the case for changes in the law based on an independent research analysis of a sample group of companies.”
The final report, “Analysis of the Potential Benefits of Larger Trucks for U.S. Businesses Operating Private Fleets ,” estimates a reduction in truck loads of 10% if the allowable weight was increased and 6% if LCV’s were permitted. If both strategies were implemented, then the estimated reduction in truck loads from the members surveyed would be 16%.
The anticipated gains from increases in weight and length would be primarily from the cost of operations and vehicle miles traveled, though some companies will also gain from improved customer service, product mix, and reduced time to market.
“The major potential operating cost benefit of increased tractor-trailer weight or length would be reduced diesel fuel consumption from needing fewer shipments, either because a trailer that now weighs out could carry more cargo, or a company whose trailers frequently cube out could add a second trailer,” according to the UMTRI report. “The reduction in miles per gallon due to heavier or longer trucks would be greatly offset by the significant improvement in transport efficiency (amount of fuel used per cargo unit transported) and the reduction in total miles driven from making fewer shipments.”
Finally, the study concluded that fewer shipments would result in less traffic congestion, less fuel consumption and fewer emissions, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2 ), resulting from fewer truck trips, less congestion and fewer hours of idling. For the five companies in the study that could benefit from additional cargo weight of 14,000 pounds (97,000 GVW), their total annual fuel reduction is estimated at 10.8 million gallons, which would result in a reduction of 240 million pounds (120,000 tons) of CO2. For the three companies that would benefit from LCVs and would consume 23.8 million fewer gallons, it would be 528 million pounds (264,000 tons).
If the fuel consumption and emissions reduction benefits estimated for this study’s subset of vehicle fleets were representative of the national class 8 truck fleet, then the national annual diesel fuel reduction would be nearly three billion gallons and the amount of CO2 produced would be reduced by over 65.3 billion pounds (32.6 million tons).
Founded in 1939, the National Private Truck Council is the only national trade association exclusively representing the interests of the private truck industry and corporate/business private truck fleet management. NPTC is the premier marketplace of information, networking and skill building for private fleet professionals as it leads in shaping the future of corporate transportation.
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Vinyl Sales Projected To Grow Exponentially Through 2020
According a new Research and Markets study, vinyl manufacturers are now focusing on technological advancements to maintain the strong growth, as well as adding capacity to their existing lines. A new HD vinyl record format is expected to hit the market soon.
All will help propel a compound annual vinyl growth rate of 55.15% during the period 2016-2020
There is differential pricing across regions. Vinyl in the US is sold at a lower price than in European and Asian countries. Also, due to low availability of stock, consumers in Japan have had to import vinyl records.
The full report can be purchased here.


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Kassow Robots, the Danish company founded by former Universal Robots Co-Founder Kristian Kassow, has expanded its lineup of 7-axis collaborative robot arms (cobots). It introduced the KR1410 cobot and has started production of the KR1805, which is one of the cobots the company announced when it came out of stealth mode at Automatica 2018.
The KR1410 cobot features a 1400 mm reach and a payload capacity of 10 kg. It also comes with three I/O ports and a free drive button, which Kassow Robots made a standard feature of its cobots in November 2019. Two of the ports are for digital or analog I/Os, while the third port enables a direct data/Ethernet connection with the controller.
Kassow Robots now offers four cobots that all feature built-in force torque sensors to detect impact and abnormal forces and stop the robots when they’re overloaded. Here is a quick breakdown of the company’s lineup:
Kassow Robots Cobot Comparison
|Cobot Arm Model
“After first presenting our company in 2018 and introducing the first two models in 2019, we can now offer a strong product family of four cobots,” said Kassow, Founder and CEO of Kassow Robots. “For small and medium-sized enterprises, they are a strong, cost-efficient cobot package with almost infinite potential applications.”
Gibson Engineering, a Norwood, Mass.-based industrial automation integrator, introduced Kassow Robots to the North American market during ATX East in June 2019.
Kassow is well-known in the cobot market. He co-founded Universal Robots, which is hands down the leading cobot company in the world, in 2005 alongside Esben Østergaard and Kasper Støy. Kassow left Universal Robots in 2009, shortly before it was acquired by Teradyne for $285 million.
After Universal, Kassow held multiple positions with NKT Flexibles, a supplier of flexible pipelines for the offshore and chemical industries, was project manager of the Romeo humanoid robot at Aldebaran Robotics and was co-founder of Movebot ApS for nearly three years. em>The Robot Report has more about the origin of Kassow Robots.


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The Port Authority of NY and NJ released record-setting Q1 volume statistics at their major transportation facilities. The numbers confirm the importance of NJ as the primary logistics and transportation hub on the East Coast.
Posts Tagged: Seaman’s Beverage and Logistics
Nicknamed Industry 4.0 for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, IoT is changing warehousing by transforming tracking, accuracy and predictive modeling.
Glenn Langberg recently sat down with Return on Information-New Jersey to discuss how his experienced team of professionals help companies improve profitability, cut costs, streamline operations, and grow.
Frost and extreme weather took a toll on the top wine-growing regions in 2017. Smarter logistics can enhance profitability and help offset increased costs due to rising wine prices.
Many craft brewers have moved away from glass packaging, and the new aluminum tariff means production costs are set to rise.


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The Indian market hasn’t been too kind to auto makers, but a few of them have found a way to keep their operations sustainable. Exports. In the fiscal year ended March 31, the Indian units of four passenger vehicle manufacturers — Nissan Motor, Ford Motor, Volkswagen and General Motors — exported more cars and utility vehicles than what they sold in the local market.
Overall, exports of passenger vehicles from India grew 5.2% in the last fiscal year to 6,53,889 units. Exports, especially for these companies, help them better utilise capacity and attain profitability even as domestic sales remain sluggish. Exports grew the fastest at General Motors, as the local unit of the American auto giant shipped more than 37,000 units from India to overseas markets from April 2015 through March 2016, a 17-fold jump from the year before. The Beat hatchback is the only model yet that GM exports from India. It sold 32,540 vehicles in India in the past fiscal year.


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‘Paint, jewellery demand strong’1 min read 05 Jun 2023, 11:13 PM IST
Consumer goods firms are expecting sustained demand recovery as escalating prices of daily commodities continue to strain household budgets. The pace of rural recovery may be gradual as sentiments could take time to improve, and staple firms seem to be somewhat undecided on a rural demand pickup as the macro remains tough.
Consumer goods companies are witnessing a mixed trend due to the lack of demand growth in rural areas, said Jefferies India analysts. While urban consumers are spending on staples, jewellery and paints, they are avoiding eating out, they added.


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- The iPhone 15 Pro series will debut in September.
- Apple is tipped to make some major design changes in the Pro models.
- The iPhone 15 Pro might get a titanium chassis, a thicker camera module and slimmer bezels.
iPhone 15 series is set to launch later this year. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 15 series in September. The company has not confirmed the launch timeline officially. However, based on past launches, it is expected that the iPhone 15 event will be hosted in the second or third week of September. The company is expected to launch four new iPhone models. There will be the iPhone 15, above which will be the 15 Plus. Apple will also launch the iPhone 15 Pro series, which will comprise of two models. The 15 Pro Max is said to get better hardware than the smaller Pro.
While we gather more details about the Pro Max model, a new report has revealed the design renders of the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro. The new design renders suggest that there will be some major design changes in the upcoming premium iPhone models. Let’s take a look at the iPhone 15 Pro design renders, specifications and other details leaked ahead of its launch.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Design Renders Suggest Bigger Camera Bump, Thinner Bezels
Apple iPhone 15 Pro models will get several design tweaks that will help distinguish them against the currently available iPhone 14 Pro series. The 9to5Mac report claims that the 15 Pro series will come with a titanium case with rounder edges. The edges will say goodbye to physical buttons and mute switches. Apple instead will replace them with solid-state haptic and mute buttons. The feedback should be similar to the Home Button of the iPhone 7 series and the iPhone 8 series.
The report added that the “mute switch will also receive the haptic treatment and will instead function as a push button.” However, it remains to be seen how Apple will treat this new input in the software. At the bottom, the iPhone 15 series will get a UBS Type-C port, which is now being reported widely after company executives confirmed that they will have to comply with the European Union’s law. It was recently reported that the USB Type-C port in the iPhone will have certain limitations. Also, the Pro models will get the faster USB 3.1, whereas the standard models will feature the USB 2.0 port.
On the front, the 15 Pro models will have tinier bezels than ever. The report stated that the bezels around the OLED display ill measure a mere 1.55mm. The front and rear glass feature a subtle curvature of the edges, transitioning seamlessly into the titanium frame of the device.
Also read: iPhone 14 Pro Review: The Best iPhone You Can Buy This Year
The rear camera setup continues to include three sensors. However, the protrusion is bigger than ever. The renders uploaded by 9to5Mac show that the individual lens protrusion has more than doubled from the iPhone 14 Pro’s enormous cameras. While the exact details are unknown, part of why the camera module is so thick is because Apple is likely to use some new sensor technology that will capture more light and reduce overexposure or under exposure in certain settings. The camera module also features the LiDAR sensor and an LED flash module.
Lastly, the report revealed that the upcoming iPhone Pro will launch in a new Deep Red colour option. It will sit besides the White, Space Black and Gold colour options. In case you are wondering, there will not be a Deep Purple colour option.


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DELOITTE ADMINISTRATORS are to close several stores at the online and outlet retailers Paul Simon after widespread flooding left the business with cashflow issues.
Lee Manning (pictured) and Nick Edwards, partners at Deloitte, were appointed joint administrators on 2 April but said they would continue to trade the home furnishings retailer, while seeking a buyer. Headquartered in Barking, Paul Simon operates about 50 stores with an online business and employs about 550 staff.
On appointment Manning said that the widespread flooding restricted customer access to several stores which made “an element of the store portfolio” unprofitable – leading to cashflow deficiencies.
The administrators announced that they are to close 17 of the 50 outlet stores in the next three weeks. There are 137 members of staff employed at these stores, although these related redundancies will be announced in three weeks. However, 28 staff have been made redundant in the company’s head-office, warehouse and factory.
Lee Manning, joint administrator, said: “As part of the review of Paul Simon’s financial position, we have analysed the store portfolio and identified 17 loss making stores for closure. This step has been taken to enhance the prospect of securing a sale of all or part of the remaining business as a going concern.
The stores that are due to close are: Aylesbury, Banbury, Bedford, Bournemouth, Daventry, Dunstable, Gillingham, Great Yarmouth, Luton, Margate, Portsmouth, Reading, Sittingbourne, Strood, Wimbledon, Worcester, and Worthing.
Pixel Projects Limited (Pixel) has been sold by SFP, which has saved the positions of all 34 employees
The second largest improvement in ‘significant’ levels of financial distress since the EU Referendum was in professional services, found research from Begbies Traynor
Steve Absolom and Will Wright from KPMG Restructuring have been appointed joint administrators to City Motor Holdings and associated companies
Partners from Johnston Carmichael have been appointed as joint administrators to Axon Well Interventions Products UK


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The latest Canalys report estimates indicate the electric vehicle (EV) market share of Telsla, Volkswagen Group, SGMW, BMW and Stellantis.
Tesla led the worldwide electric vehicle (EV) market with 15 percent share in the first half of 2021, Canalys said.
Tesla has been overtaken in Europe but continues to dominate in the US.
Volkswagen Group was second with a 13 percent market share in EV space, and it led in Europe. VW has been successful with its ID family of EVs. VW, like many other carmakers, faces a backlog of orders and long customer lead times due to chip shortages. Other brands in the group have also expanded their EV ranges.
SGMW, the combination of SAIC, GM and Wuling, came third with an 11 percent market share. The big success in the group has been the Hongguang Mini EV in China.
BMW Group came fourth with a 6 percent share in H1 2021. BMW and Mini have launched several EVs recently, with more to come across its vehicle segments.
Stellantis was fifth in EV market with 6 percent share. Stellantis will introduce four new EV platforms to use across vehicles from the 14 brands in the group. The Fiat 500 EV had a successful launch in early 2021, while several EVs from the former PSA Group have helped its sales volumes.


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Movie tickets are expensive. With prices as high as they are, it almost feels like a luxury to go see a film. A new service, MoviePass, has sought and still seeks to avert the high prices by bringing a subscription service to the big screen. After massive opposition from theaters, MoviePass has a second life thanks to a partnership with Hollywood Movie Money.
MoviePass functions much in the same way Netflix does. A yet-to-be-determined monthly rate would give moviegoers access to as many films as they can make time for. Users select a show time, print out the tickets, and redeem them at the box office. The original price for an unlimited plan was set at $50 a month with the possibility of a limited $30 per month plan.
The service was set to release in a beta in San Francisco, but the movie theaters had something to say about that. They simply said they wouldn’t honor the tickets printed via MoviePass, and that forced the service into a brief hiatus.
The partnership with Hollywood Movie Money has brought MoviePass back from the dead. The deal gives the service access to over 36,000 theaters nationwide. Theaters would get paid the full price for their tickets via Hollywood Movie Money.
The idea is to get people into theaters without killing their wallets. By offering a flat-rate service, MoviePass asserts that it will increase attendance which will also mean more money for theaters because of increased sales of popcorn, soda, candy, and other goods. The snacks usually beat the ticket price by a significant margin.
If it can price itself correctly, MoviePass stands a good chance of attracting a lot of moviegoers. Of course, with the recession and packed schedules, it’s hard to make it to even one movie. Perhaps offering tiered packages with an unlimited option would be more desirable for the busiest among us who can only make a trip out occasionally.
MoviePass is gearing up for a nationwide release instead of the initial San Francisco run. A zone pricing model will be tested to determine rates relative to the average ticket price of a given area. A mobile application is also in the works.
You can request an invite here.


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WASHINGTON — The calls for more transparency in the safety of apparel factories in Bangladesh appear to be bearing fruit.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. became the first major retailer to release a large-scale audit of factories from which it sources in Bangladesh, outlining the failure and improvement rates in fire and building safety at 75 facilities. The company manufactures in more than 200 factories in Bangladesh and said it plans to publicly release results from the audits of all of the factories it uses in the country.
The move by the retail giant drew praise from experts, who said they expect more companies to publicly release safety audits.
But the audit also sparked calls for more reform.
“It’s always good to have companies like Wal-Mart conduct and release the results of the factory audits,” said Richard Locke, a political science professor at Brown University and director of its Watson Institute for International Studies. “I think it is good that Wal-Mart stopped doing business with factories that failed both audits.”
Wal-Mart executives said in an interview that the company stopped doing business with two factories that were unable to meet fire and building safety standards during remediation, although one factory owner plans to open a new facility.
“Having credible penalties is essential to the integrity and viability of these private compliance programs,” Locke said. “I also think it is good that the other factories are showing improvements on some issues.”
Locke said that audits alone are not enough, however, to exact true reform in Bangladesh. He said companies like Wal-Mart must invest to help owners develop more sophisticated management and health and safety systems to sustain a level of compliance. He also noted that retailers and brands should change the purchasing practices that may have contributed to the poor working conditions the companies are now trying to alleviate.
Of the 75 companies in the first round of safety assessment reports made public by Wal-Mart late Sunday night, nearly 10 factories failed the initial audit, according to Wal-Mart executives. However, in a second, follow-up safety audit, 34 factories improved their initial grades from a D (a high safety risk) or C rating to an A (the lowest safety risk) or B rating. In addition, the average electrical rating improvement was 54 percent and the average building safety improvement was 40.9 percent.
“This is the first time any retailer has published this breadth of information about their factory base,” said Jan Saumweber, vice president of ethical sourcing at Wal-Mart. “We were so encouraged to see [the rate of improvement] in such a short window of time. On average they had 60 days from the initial assessment to follow through.”
Jay Jorgensen, senior vice president and global chief compliance officer at Wal-Mart, said, “We see Bangladesh as a special safety situation. We are trying to take [public reporting and transparency] to the next level. We are doing this because we believe transparency is a key driver of safety. Being transparent in our supply chain will help us all make safer working conditions for the workers.”
Saumweber said Wal-Mart has completed the safety audits at all of the 200-plus factories it uses in Bangladesh and will work to release the results in the coming months. She also said the next phase of the process — a follow-up assessment of all of the factories — will begin in January.
The Wal-Mart executive said they weren’t aware of any other members the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, of which they are a leading member, planned to release results of their inspections. Alliance officials were not available for comment.
While some experts credited the retail giant with taking a step toward more transparency, others remained skeptical about any long-term commitments and change.
“Clearly nothing would have happened had it not been for the Tazreen Fashions fire in November [that killed 112 workers] and the collapse of Rana Plaza [in which 1,132 workers perished],” said Charles Kernaghan, director of the Institute for Global Labor and Human Rights. “Even Wal-Mart couldn’t keep going down this path. They have taken some steps, which are somewhat minor, but it’s a step forward.”
Judy Gearhart, executive director at the International Labor Rights Forum, said: “Wal-Mart should ensure that the prices that it pays factories are sufficient for the factories to comply with labor laws, fire and building safety codes, as well as with Wal-Mart’s own code of conduct. Our main concern with Wal-Mart’s newfound transparency is that they not walk away from these factories, especially now that they’ve publicized their flaws. We hope Wal-Mart will now stand by the workers in these factories to ensure their jobs and the safety measures needed are put in place.”
Jyrki Raina, general secretary of IndustriALL Global Union, which helped create the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh that now has more than 100 member companies, said, “There is very little information in the Wal-Mart reports; no specifics on what kind of dangers workers faced. It is just a very general assessment through this scoring system.
“We are trying to identify the most dangerous factories as quickly as possible and develop remediation plans,” Raina said of a separate initiative IndustriALL leads. “I think that from the point of transparency, the accord audits will be pretty convincing. The good news is the brands and retailers have grown proud of the accord and there is a serious attempt to not whitewash or greenwash, but to stay in Bangladesh and make it safe and sustainable.”
In Geneva, Gilbert Houngbo, ILO deputy director-general, said Monday, “You can feel there is a momentum, quite frankly [in Bangladesh] that is quite different to what I saw six months ago.”
He told a news conference there are about 3,500 active garment factories in Bangladesh and pointed out that the accord is slated to inspect 1,500 factories, the North American-based alliance about 500 factories, and 1,500 factories are to be inspected by the national action program the ILO has launched.
The ILO accord calls for the appointment of 200 labor and factory inspectors to be appointed by the end of this year and an additional 800 in 2014. Houngbo told WWD the ILO is hiring about 100 engineers this year specifically for the factory inspections.
@zacposen's go-to holiday gift? Cookies! "I'll usually bake cookies and send them as a gift," said the designer, who recently released his cookbook "Cooking With Zac: Recipes from Rustic to Refined." Get the recipe for his Brown Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies via link in bio 🍪🍪🍪 #wwdeye #cookingwithzac
For @monsemaison’s pre-fall 2018 collection, Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim honed in on the brand’s many signatures — men’s wear, which was tweaked and feminized through deconstruction, proportion play and lots of bare shoulders. See the rest of the photos on WWD.com #wwdfashion (📷: George Chinese)
On Friday night, @yohjiyamamotoofficial received the Design for Asia Lifetime Achievement Award in Hong Kong. The 75-year-old designer has been celebrated for many years and is best known for his dark and avant-garde tailoring. “In my long career, in design, architecture, [I’ve been to] so many parties, this is the very first time that I have such a warm feeling, I really appreciate this,” Yamamoto said. #wwdfashion (📷: @dominiquemaitre)
Discovery is collaborating with British pop artist @philipcolbert on a new line of clothing and accessories called Discovery Shark. The collection, which will launch next summer for Shark Week’s 30th anniversary, features a whimsical line of women’s and men’s bomber jackets, sweatshirts, bags and more. #wwdfashion
“I’m always a big champion of a female rapper, and I’m glad to see a new voice that feels unique and authentic that’s coming up, and I think we’re going to see more great things from her,” said @itsjeremyscott about @iamcardib, who performed at @moschino’s Art Basel Miami Beach party last night. #wwdeye (📷: @lexieblacklock)
@janellemonae’s “What’s Your Frequency?” room in @refinery29's #29Rooms made its debut this week at the opening of the Los Angeles art exhibit. “It’s about the ongoing conversation around mass surveillance, the weaponization of technology and cultural uniformity. My space was created so that we can come together and talk about the complexities of our humanity,” said Monáe. #wwdeye (📷: @bucknerphoto)
@pantone announced their Color of the Year 2018: Ultra Violet. Nearly 20 months after the musician Prince’s death, fashion is having a purple moment. Varying shades of purple appeared on spring or fall runways, from @christopherkane to @calvinklein. @gucci’s Alessandro Michele bathed his fall runway in ultra violet-colored light at one point. Pantone 18-3838 is meant to “push the boundaries of what inspires us to look upward and outward to the future.” #wwdnews #wwdfashion (📷: @kukukuba)


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A court in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou prosecuted NFTCN parent company BigVers for allowing a user to release an NFT based on stolen artwork.
The Chinese digital art trading platform was accused and found guilty that its team failed to verify that the user who released the NFT was the rightful owner of the artwork.
The lawsuit against BigVerse was filed by the Shenzhen-based company Qice. The plaintiff claimed that the user on the NFTCN trading platform posted a non-interchangeable token depicting a cartoon tiger being vaccinated, which was created by artist Ma Qianli. The post said the cartoon was sold by an anonymous user for $137.
To make amends, BigVerse was ordered to pay Qice a $611 fine and stop the distribution of the NFT by sending it to a cryptocurrency wallet without a private key.
It is also recommended that the marketplace create a copyright verification mechanism to verify artwork uploaded by users to the NFT platform.
So far, the national government has not banned NFTs, but it has ruled out private speculation with them. It is no coincidence that technology giants such as Alibaba, Tencent and JD have created their own platforms where users can buy NFTs. However, they are not allowed to trade or resell their tokens.
Earlier, China’s state-backed blockchain infrastructure Blockchain Services Network (BSN) also announced plans to issue NFTs. In an effort to speed up the process, BSN teamed up with Neo to create the Jiuquan network.


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Welcome to p.m. Intel, your bite-sized roundup of Bay Area food and restaurant news. Tips are always welcome, drop them here.
- California workers with delivery apps like GrubHub or SF-based companies Doordash, Uber Eats, and Uber-owned Postmates tell the Guardian that they’re making even less than they were before the app-sponsored Prop 22 — which promised workers a guarnteed minimum wage in exchange for the state’s standard employee protections — was approved by voters. “If you try to earn money, just purely on the delivery fee, it comes out to about $5 an hour,” one food delivery driver says. “A good day for me is maybe earning $100 before gas and expenses off eight hours of work.” That’s certainly possible, as according to a Doordash spokesperson who spoke with Eater SF, as codified by Prop 22, delivery companies’ guarnteed minimum is only paid during “active time,” which is defined as “the time from when a Dasher accepts an order to when they’ve dropped it off at the customer.” (In other words, imagine if Burger King refused to pay workers in between customer orders.) “A lot of drivers were duped” another worker says of pay and benefits promised by the Prop 22 campaign, and perhaps voters were too: Prior to its November, 2020 voter approval, delivery companies said their prices would increase if Prop 22 lost, then upped fees to cover those (apparently shrinking) worker paychecks anyway.
- A new documentary from Albany-based filmmaker Abby Ginzberg details the movement to increase the federal tipped minimum wage. [Berkeleyside]
- A ghost kitchen in the East Bay brings restaurants like Wise Sons and Senor Sisig to Lafayette diners. [East Bay Times]
- A San Leandro restaurant equipment company has more ovens, grills, mixers, and refrigerators it can handle, as restaurants continue to close across the region. [Associated Press]
- Longtime SF Chinatown kosher spot Sabra Grill is hopeful a crowdfunding campaign will keep it afloat. [J Weekly]
- The owners of three restaurants that opened during the pandemic offer an update on their business triumphs and challenges. [SF Business Times]


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Mobile Payments Roundup: Chase Pay and CVS Expand Their Programs
Chase said on Oct. 19 that Wakefern Food Corp., a supermarket chain based in New Jersey, will soon accept Chase Pay mobile payments.
Wakefern includes 50 member companies that own and operate 330 supermarkets along the East Coast. Chase Pay will be accepted via the ShopRite and The Fresh Grocer Websites later this year. “Chase Pay will be phased in next year at ShopRite and The Fresh Grocer store registers and through the ShopRite mobile app,” Chase Pay said.
The expansion for Chase Pay comes about a month after it inked a multi-year acceptance agreement with Phillips 66 that also will boost the fuel retailer’s mobile payments and loyalty integration.
In other mobile payments news, CVS Health said on Oct. 19 that it is rolling out its in-house CVS Pay service across the United States after earlier offering the mobile wallet to consumers in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. CVS Pay enables customers to pay for purchases and earn loyalty points via barcode scan.
“CVS Pay is now part of the CVS Pharmacy mobile app, and integrates payment, prescription pickup and the ExtraCare loyalty program all into one quick scan at checkout,” the drug store chain said. “CVS Pay users have the ability to refill, manage multiple prescriptions and now pick-up and pay all within the app.”


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AN entrepreneuring young man from Hemel Hempstead, along with a small international team, has secured $63,000 in just 30 days to fund a new games project.
James Broom, 23, known as Broomie, lives in Botley Road, Woodhall Farm, and works with a team called Infamous Quests, made up of people from all over the globe including the US, Europe and Australia.
The group, headed up by American Steven Alexander, met on a game development forum back in 2004 when James was just 14.
Since then the team has grown after making freely available remakes of classic games King’s Quest 3 and Space Quest 2, which have collectively had one million downloads.
Now they used a new platform for generating funding called Kickstarter to help launch their first professional title.
Kickstarter allows teams or individuals to present an idea online, whether that be a game, film, or other project, and ask people to invest in an idea if they like the look of it.
Originally asking for $25,000 the team ended up bagging $63,000 in just 30 days to enable them to make a brand new game, Quest For Infamy.
James, who works full time as a web moderator, but is marketing and writing for the new game, said: “It’s very much a retro adventure game, and I think the support we’ve received shows how many people are interested in them.
“Kickstarter is a great way of enabling projects like ours and it was so amazing how quickly we reached our target of $25,000, and exceeded it.
“It gives us a great incentive, although working around our jobs means the game willwill take a year to complete.”
l Find out more about the game and the team behind it at www.infamous-quests.com


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Car eating rabbits invade Denver!
It seems that even rabbits like eco-friendly products, maybe even a little too much. The little critters are wreaking havoc on cars at Denver International Airport because they are munching on the eco-friendly wiring that is made out of soy.
Several owners returned to find their car would not start because of chewed up wiring.
Denver Airport officials claim they are aware of the problem, but a solution has yet to be found. Officials responded by saying that they had a fence in the area, however as we all know from childhood stories, fences are not bunny proof. Additionally, airport brass is considering adding foot patrols to the area to shoo the bunnies away. Car owners whose vehicles have been damaged suggested signs warning customers to park at their own risk.
How about “Warning! Hungry car eating bunnies on the loose! Park at your own risk!”
Photo credit: TDIV adapted from flickr.com/photos/timbobee and flickr.com/photos/afdn


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If you're still mourning the loss of the beloved Crawley family and anxiously awaiting the official Downton movie, there's a new way to experience the British period drama: the Downton Abbey exhibition, which is arriving in New York next month.
More From Town & Country
Downton Abbey: The Exhibition will fully immerse fans in the Downton universe. Visitors will be able to walk through iconic sets from the series, including Lady Mary's bedroom, the dining room, and Mrs. Patmore's kitchen, and will get to see over 50 costumes worn on the show, PBS reports. The exhibition will also feature never-before-seen footage from the series. And, visitors can explore the historical impact of the Downton era with a look at how British society, culture, and fashion was shaped by the post-Edwardian period.
“This is a unique opportunity to step into Downton Abbey," said Gareth Neame, one of Downton's executive producers and the managing director of Carnival Films. Visitors will have the chance "to wander through the sumptuous rooms the family inhabit, the kitchen and servants quarters below stairs and to get right up close to many of the iconic costumes and props."
News of the exhibition broke earlier this year when it first opened in Singapore, but the New York opening is the first time the exhibition will arrive stateside. It opens on Saturday, November 18th for a limited time only.
To buy tickets and learn more, visit the official exhibition website here. And, watch the video below for a preview of what's in store:
Maggie Maloney is the Site Director of Oprah Daily. She previously worked at Town & Country, Elle DECOR, and Something Navy.


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The Brazilian ratings board has seemingly outed a high-definition remake of the original Far Cry.
The ratings body’s official website lists Far Cry HD for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, though doesn’t reveal any additional details.
Far Cry was developed by Crytek and originally released on the PC in March 2004. The game sees Jack Carver, a former U.S. Army Special Forces operative, stranded on a mysterious archipelago in search of a missing female journalist he was previously escorting.
The latest instalment in the franchise, Far Cry 3, has shipped six million copies to date and spawned the downloadable, standalone 80s-inspired shooter, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.


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That empty retail space at 51 Astor Place/the IBM Watson Building/Death Star has a tenant: Shake Shack.
The Post has the scoop:
Danny Meyer’s fast-growing burger chain has signed a lease on Astor Place that will open this fall...
The new location, which will span nearly 3,000 square feet on the northeast side of the building at 51 Astor Pl., “will feature some unique design and customer experience elements,” a Shake Shack spokeswoman confirmed, declining to elaborate.
Until earlier last month, this corner slot on Third Avenue at Ninth Street housed the sales office for hotelier-developer Ian Schrager's hotel-condo tower at 215 Chrystie just below East Houston.
The Shack joins the building's other retail tenants — CVS, Flywheel Sports, Orangetheory Fitness, Bluestone Lane Coffee and Chopt.
According to Lois Weiss at the Post, the Shake Shake team signed a 15-year lease.
The lease memo, reviewed by the Post, provides the Danny Meyer fast-casual joint with the ability to exclusively sell “hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries and frozen custard.”
As such, it banishes direct competitors such as Smashburger and Johnny Rockets from the building.
This will be the second Danny Meyer venture to open on Third Avenue in the coming months. His Union Square Hospitality Group is behind Martina, a pizzeria, in progress on 11th Street at Third Avenue.


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PS4 update 4.72 is out now
Sony has just released ANOTHER new system update for the PlayStation 4.
Taking us one step closer to version 5.0, PS4 firmware update 4.72 is out now.
Unfortunately, the latest PS4 update doesn't do an awful lot, or at least not based on the patch notes.
"This system software update improves the quality of the system performance,” reads the official Sony patch notes.
It's similar to the previous update, which makes the console run at a smoother and more stable rate.
Hopefully it's paving the way for a larger update further down the line.
The previous Sony update improved the way Trophies sync to PSN accounts.
Checking PlayStation Trophies has always been a surprisingly laborious task, as users wait for what feels like an age for the content to sync.
Sony has finally fixed this long running issue, making Trophies sync almost instantly after being unlocked.
"Starting today, Trophies will sync much more quickly so you can brag to your friends as soon as they’re unlocked!" the tweet reads.
The news comes as Sony confirms the existence of the PS5.
Sony's Shawn Layden told one site that the PlayStation 5 is coming, although there's still no word on the release date.
All we know for sure is that it will “probably be some time” before a PlayStation 5 is released.
The comments from Layden come soon after one industry expert claimed Sony were getting ready to release a PS5 as early as 2018.


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In accordance with the World Well being organization, e-zigaretteonline nitazenes were discovered by Swiss chemists within the 1950 but were never authorised for medical use attributable to their extreme potency. Well being Minister Mark Butler stated he is concentrated on stopping the profitable black market for vapes which sees tens of millions of the units bought to younger Australian’s on-line or below the-the-counter at some shops.
Education Minister Prue Car said it was a “sobering morning”, and an evidence-primarily based approach was needed to sort out the problem. Health Minister Ryan Park stated part of the problem was tackling “a very aggressive advertising campaign” around vapes. College leaders, well being consultants and students convened to debate the rising issue of vaping in NSW schools. Dr Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, mentioned: ‘FDA’s robust surveillance of the e-cigarette panorama helps us to establish youth-interesting products and to act shortly to protect public well being.
Final week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Youth Tobacco Survey discovered half of current youth e-cigarette customers smoke disposable merchandise like Elf Bar. Mr Marlow claimed more than 100 million unlawful unregulated vape merchandise with no ingredient standards had been smuggled into the nation from China and bought on the black market. Legalise Vaping Australia director Brian Marlow claims Mr Butler’s actions have ‘single-handedly’ created ‘the largest black market in the history of Australia’.
For the Albanese government to suppose they’ll repair this crisis with a recreational vaping ban on adults and doubling down on the failed prescription-solely prohibition mannequin is completely out of contact with actuality and group expectations,’ Mr Marlow mentioned. The proposals are a part of wider reforms, vapemyself together with $6.Eight million invested over three years to crack down on illegal vape distributors, and vapeboth to extend assist for younger people who are addicted to vaping.
He stated the federal government would continue to crack down on retailers illegally promoting nicotine vapes, while ramping up its compliance capability. Of the ten percent of scholars who reported at the moment using a tobacco product, vaporopen nearly eight p.c received their nicotine fix from e-cigarettes. But now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that forty seven p.c of kids who have ever tried an e-cigarette at present vape.
The warning comes at a time when 2.1million American teenagers vape, and half of them who strive it become addicted. The FDA sent warning letters to 10 online retailers for selling unauthorized e-cigarettes and vapesets advertising them to children. The research analysed 428 vapes seized from retailers and vapeboth one other 322 vapes surrendered by kids at Sydney faculties. The panel heard first-hand accounts about the influence vaping is having on colleges in a bid to help information policy measures.
The environmental affect of thousands and thousands of disposables, which contain batteries, piling up in landfill, was also a worry. Vapes with interesting flavors resembling cotton sweet and creme brulee have hooked hundreds of thousands of young folks, with the newest data exhibiting that about 90 percent of them reported utilizing a fruit or candy-flavored product. The Food and Drug Administration, which has the ability to evaluate companies’ applications to market their tobacco products, revealed in March that it had sorted by means of 99 % of the almost 26 million functions from vape makers to promote their products, solely approving 23 of them.


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California Legislature First State to Ban Disposable Plastic Bags
Lawmakers in California have positioned their state to become the first in the nation to ban stores from giving customers disposable plastic grocery bags.
Legislation now awaiting approval from Governor Jerry Brown (D) would prohibit the use of single-use disposable plastic bags in grocery stores, pharmacies, liquor stores and other businesses. If approved by Brown, SB 270 would go into effect next July for grocers and pharmacies. Convenience and liquor stores would have until July 1, 2016, to comply with the law, which allows stores to sell paper bags and reusable plastic bags. The governor’s office has said Brown does not yet have a position on the bill.
Support for banning the plastic bags has been growing in the state, with San Francisco, Los Angeles and other cities adopting their own local ordinances.
Environmentalists have wanted the bags gone, saying they only add to pollution problems, particularly in the ocean. Advocacy group Californians Against Waste estimates the state goes through 10 billion of the bags each year.
When supporters in the state legislature agreed to add to the bill a provision allocating $2 million to help plastic bag makers retool their operations to manufacture reusable bags, this tipped the balance and the California Grocers Association (CGA) threw its support behind the bill. “SB 270 will foster innovation, create homegrown jobs, safeguard businesses and protect California’s natural resources,” CGA President Ron Fong said in a statement.
Supporters also had to get the incoming leader of the state Senate, Democrat Kevin de León of Los Angeles on board because his district includes Command Packaging, which used to make disposable bags. “The company has since retooled some of its operations to create recycled plastic bags out of agricultural film used for wrapping crops,” The Wall Street Journal reported, clearing the way for de León to support the bill.
To Learn More:
California Legislature Passes Ban on Disposable Plastic Bags (by Alejandro Lazo, Wall Street Journal)
California Plastic Bag Ban Passes Assembly; Senate Approval Expected (by Jessica Calefati and Josh Richman, San Jose Mercury News)
California Plastic Bag Ban Would Be First of Its Kind in the Nation (by Aaron Mendelson, Reuters)
Critics Queasy over Report that Plastic Bag Ban Makes People Sick (by Ken Broder, AllGov California)
Washington, D.C. Becomes First U.S. City to Impose Fees on Disposable Grocery Bags (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)
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Malwarebytes has identified a phishing scam in the form of a bogus Amazon email that attempts to persuade the "lucky" recipient that they have the chance to win £10 in return for completing a quick survey.
The scam email, which purports to come from the members support division of Amazon, contains the flowing message: “As a valued customer we would like to present you with an opportunity to make a quick buck. We are offering £10 each to a selected number of customers in exchange for completing a quick survey relating to our service.”
Christopher Boyd, malware intelligence analyst at Malwarebytes, revealed the phishing scam on the Malwarebytes blog. Boyd noted that the email’s phrasing is not in keeping with how Amazon communicates with its customers.
“I can’t really picture Amazon mailing anybody with the phrase 'Make a quick buck', but in any case the link directed eager clickers from what looked to be a compromised home and gardens website (now offline),” he wrote.
Boyd said that while the redirection site and phishing pages are both down and no longer pose a threat, users would do well to familiarise themselves with the tactic.
“Of course, scammers will likely resurrect this fake Amazon £10 survey reward / swipe your banking information tactic elsewhere so it pays to have an idea what they’re up to at all times,” he said.
Such scams are nothing new, but Boyd said the threat is growing and the variety of tactics used by the scammers is increasing.
"We've noticed a definite increase in phishes which aren't necessarily financially themed, yet ask for payment information anyway alongside social network credentials. Previously, it was somewhat unusual to see this happening outside of banking phishes,” he told V3.
“One assumes that, as the phisher is successfully compromising the login details, they may as well grab whatever card data they can at the same time.
“People who wouldn't fall victim to a banking phish, may well be suckered in by an imitation Facebook page asking for a sort code/account number to 'unlock' their supposed account.”
Companies are becoming increasingly aware of how their branding can be used to create convincing scams and are taking steps to alert their customers.
“Major retailers such as Amazon do warn their customers of phishes as they become visible, and typically they offer up numerous security pages where their users can educate themselves on the dangers,” Boyd added.
“At the same time, anti-phishing tools built into browsers are a useful addition to any security arsenal, and we would recommend using them at all times."
Boyd also suggested that people look for signs that the services they are using are secure and verified, noting they should check for a green padlock or identity information that proves a site is legitimate when they are prompted to input their login details or potentially sensitive data.
Boyd’s tips are timely given how UK phishing scams have risen by 20 percent over the past 12 months.
Geoengineering on the sea floor near glaciers would form a new ice shelf to prevent melting
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NatWest outage comes a day after Barclays' IT systems shut out customers and staff


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The company's latest interchangeable-lens camera incorporates much of the power of bigger models at a fraction of the size.
The latest version of Adobe's photography software can handle raw photos from Nokia's high-end Windows smartphone and a host of new higher-end cameras.
The test version of the photo editing and cataloging software handles raw photos from new Nikon, Fujifilm, Sony, Panasonic, Olympus, and Canon cameras and squashes some bugs.
According to tech news site TechCrunch, Apple may be ready to deploy the first Golden Master (GM1) of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. The release will be a major update since last month's developer preview, which many thought, according to the report, wasn't as smooth as it could have been.
The software giant's stipulation on a file-sharing protocol has evoked new anger from open-source developers and may also have antitrust implications.


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Via an Anonymous Source, Posted by Chris Moran Equal Vision
108 have announced plans to release a limited edition album featuring seven brand new songs, two covers recorded in 1996 and a demo of the track "Blood." Each CD is numbered through 1,008. A limited amount will be sold on their upcoming European tour and the rest at their online store.
Earlier this year, the band released a discography, titled Creation. Sustenance. Destruction.
To preview two of the new songs, "Angel Strike Man" and "Our Kind", check out the band's Myspace page.
Angel Strike Man
The Sad Truth
Strength or Fear?
(Walk?) Their Path
The Bars (Black Flag)
Coptic Times (Bad Brains)
Blood (1995 demo)


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New zero-waste shopping platform Loop
Sustainability and e-commerce will be turned into a single innovative solution. During spring of 2019, TerraCycle, a company for recycling complex packaging based in the USA, will team up with a number of leading brands and launch the zero-waste shopping platform Loop. The objective of the initiative is to eliminate disposable packaging and to provide consumers with a convenient, environmentally friendly solution based on durable, refillable product packaging and a closed-loop supply chain.
Once in operation, Loop will pick up used products at consumers’ homes, clean them and then refill, reuse or recycle them. In the pilot phase, the German based Beiersdorf will add a product from the Nivea Men range to the assortment. The pilot project is designed to determine whether this innovative idea can become a long-term solution for consumers. “We are really happy to be a part of this innovative idea from the very start. We think it has tremendous potential and will help to establish reusable product packaging alongside traditional packaging for our products”, sais Michael Becker, Head of Packaging.
The pilot phase of Loop will be launched in the Paris metropolitan area and the Northeastern United States, including New York City. In each city, consumers interested in taking part in the project can apply on the new online shopping platform. Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle, says “Loop basically boils down to reinventing the milk man from the 1950s, when products were delivered to consumers’ doorsteps in reusable packaging. Once the products have been used, the packaging will be picked up and refilled. Loop represents the future of consumption – a future in which waste will be replaced by refillable product packaging.”


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Professional Community for Car Dealers, Marketing, Advertising and Sales Leaders
Not long ago, online display advertising for car companies and car dealers was considered merely a direct-response vehicle. But with the rise of online video, the increasing success of Facebook and ongoing improvements to audience targeting and buying technology like real-time bidding (RTB), automotive media buyers are returning to dealership display advertising with big hopes—and even bigger ad budgets. eMarketer estimates total display ad spending (including auto industry Tiers 1,2 and 3) will reach $12.33 billion this year, nearly two-thirds of which will go toward standard display advertising banners.
Today’s automotive marketing display ad buyer must navigate hundreds of inventory providers, including ad exchanges, ad networks and publishers, to emerge with a successful media plan. By approaching the ad buying process objective-first, automotive media buyers can pinpoint select sources to efficiently craft display campaigns which will achieve the desired results for car companies (Tier 1), car dealers (Tier 3) and dealer advertising associations (Tier 2).
“The need for better audience scale and efficient inventory purchasing has fueled the rise of ad exchanges and real-time buying platforms,” said eMarketer’s Lauren Fisher, author of the new report, “Buying Display Ad Inventory: Making Sense of Multiple Sources.” “Media buyers are turning to these ad exchanges and demand-side platforms (DSPs) for their massive reach and audience scaling capabilities.”
The efficacy of each display ad source and inventory buying method depends greatly on automotive marketer campaign objectives. Premium inventory sources that work well for car company brand-based objectives might not work as well for direct-response dealership advertisers looking to retarget car dealer website visitors.
“By focusing on objectives, automotive marketers can best determine the appropriate mix of providers that will most likely help them to meet and exceed their advertising goals,” said Fisher.
The full report, “Buying Display Ad Inventory: Making Sense of Multiple Sources,” also answers these key questions:
You may want to check out this other related article, “How Well Does Social Media Support Customer Acquisition?”


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NEW YORK — The consumer movement has learned from business and has become as sophisticated, if not as prosperous, as the businesses it was created to combat two decades ago. Business, in turn, has learned from the consumer movement, finding that there can be profit in the consumer programs it scoffed at years earlier.
That is how consumer leaders, past and present, describe their movement, which got its major impetus 20 years ago when Ralph Nader's Unsafe at Any Speed was
''Consumer groups had to develop the same expertise as business groups,'' said Carol Tucker Foreman, a former president of the Consumer Federation of America who is now a consultant to business on consumer concerns. ''You score your points now by negotiation, by data,'' she said, ''not by marching around the White House.''
''If we can show we're more responsive to our customers, that will benefit Giant,'' said Odonna Mathews, vice president for consumer affairs of Giant Food Inc., a 132-store chain in Maryland, Virginia and Washington. ''It's good business.''
One reason for this change is a lessened sense of urgency. Many
of the hazards that gave rise to the consumer movement have been addressed. Another is a more conservative climate: Business enjoys more public confidence in the 1980s than it did in the '60s.
But most of consumerism's route from upstart to institution is due simply to the passage of time. ''It is the story of many other causes,'' Nader said. ''In the early years it was dramatic, it was David and Goliath, it was new. Now product recalls are coming at such a rapid pace that the novelty wears off. Now people can get auto loans without getting hassled, so the question becomes, 'What have you done for me lately?' ''
Nader warns that not all the problems have been solved. Some conflicts have lingered for decades -- one example is the debate over putting airbags in cars -- while new issues emerge every day, the result of deregulation or changing technology.
In addition, many consumer leaders accuse the government of weakening the consumer protections that already exist. The $33.7 million proposed budget of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, for example, is 53 percent lower than when the agency was formed in 1973, with allowances for inflation, according to Stuart M. Statler, a commission member. In addition, a proposal is before Congress to eliminate the requirement for rain checks when advertised sale items are not available.
But the rhetoric and activity of the consumer movement have calmed over the past 20 years, largely because many battles have been won.
''We had before us what we called an unfinished agenda,'' Statler said. ''In the last 10 years we've addressed every one of those hazards and made every one of them -- from ladders to lawn mowers to chain saws -- a great deal safer.'' Safer, too, he said, are automobiles, as a result of the formation of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 1968, and airplanes, as a result of actions by the Federal Aviation Administration.
''There will always be more to be done,'' Statler said, ''but the problems that remain are much more esoteric, much more complicated, much more complex, and in some ways much more costly.''
The new complexity of issues has created a consumer desire for information and a government push to supply it. When Virginia H. Knauer became director of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Consumer Protection in 1968, only 16 states had such offices. Now she is director of the United States Office of Consumer Affairs, and almost every city and state have consumer protection offices.
Consumers seem to be turning to these and other sources more often. For example, at the Office of Consumer Affairs in Montgomery County, Va., considered one of the best in the country, the telephone lines are often busy for hours; the office receives 24,000 calls for information each year.
And businesses are responding to increased expectations among their customers. Spurred partly by a fear of product-liability suits and partly by a realization that a reputation for caring can increase profits, many are instituting widespread and expensive consumer programs.
As business becomes more aware of the needs of consumers, consumer groups have become more aware of the ways of business. Gone are the pickets and boycotts of earlier years.
In their place are specialized organizations familiar with government and industry. Because consumers rarely contribute large sums to consumer organizations, many groups raise funds by selling publications and other products.
These more businesslike consumer groups occasionally find themselves siding with business. ''Those who feel we are not doing enough simply want regulation for the sake of regulation,'' Knauer said in response to charges that the Office of Consumer Affairs is now more sympathetic to business than consumers. ''We don't believe in an adversarial relationship,'' she said. ''Those days are past.''
There are many who miss those days. ''There should be an adversarial relationship,'' Nader said. ''Can you imagine the cop saying to the criminal, 'We will cooperate and not be adversaries anymore'?''
But most find the new ways more productive. ''Consumerism has moved from the streets to the halls of government,'' said Richard M. Kessel, who has done that himself. In the 1970s, he led boycotts of such consumer goods as meat, and now he is executive director of the New York State Consumer Protection Board. ''Does my new job cause me to be a little bit more responsible?'' he asked. ''Yes, it does. Does it cause me to compromise more? Yes, it does.''


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Breaking News: Brightree acquires CAU
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga, -- HME software vendor Brightree announced this morning that it has acquired a key competitor, Computer Applications Unlimited (CAU).
"CAU is one of the few companies that has continued to innovate and develop current technologies," said Dave Cormack, president and CEO of Brightree. "Given the continuous pressure on reimbursement rates, the providers who will be around in the future are those that are the best run today. Overall, CAU customers are excellent operationally."
Terry Dinsmore, president & CEO of CAU, called Brightree the ideal suitor for his company.
"We share the same commitment to serve the needs of our customers, help them use technology to be more efficient, and improve their business processes," he said. "Given Brightree's proven track record of product development and outstanding customer support, I know that my customers will be in excellent hands."
As part of the acquisition, Brightree has entered into a three-year lease for the existing CAU headquarters facility in Harrisburg, Pa.


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More Canadians are set to embrace mobile payments in the next five years as a result of advanced technological developments and an increase in smartphone penetration in the country, finds a new report by Timetric’s Cards and Payments Intelligence Center (CPIC).
According to a new research from Timetric, contactless payments have become a major tool for migrating consumer payments from cash to cards, particularly debit cards.
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