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Business leaders predict strong new millennium but are keeping wary eye on Y2K
According to a new survey, a majority of America's business leaders predict a continuing strong economic picture in the new millennium. Sixty-three percent of the Fortune 1000 CEO's who responded to the 1999 Dom Perignon CEO Survey, report that they are "more optimistic" about their companies' business prospects for 2000 than they were a year earlier.
Yet, even as they celebrate the strong economy, the CEO's are keeping a wary eye on potential Y2K complications. Fifty-four percent say they took Y2K concerns into consideration when making their New Year's plans; 59% say they don't plan to fly on December 31 or January 1; and 5% will be overseeing Y2K transitions at the office while the rest of us are celebrating on New Year's Eve. These are among the results of the annual Dom Perignon survey of Fortune 1000 chief executive officers. This year, responses were received from 241 CEO's.
Twenty-eight percent of the CEO's reported that business performance "exceeded" their expectations in 1999, up 8 percentage points over last year. Forty-three percent of the CEO's reported that business performances met their expectations, down one point from 1998; while 28% reported that their business fell short of expectations, down 6 points.
Even more encouraging, 63% of the CEO's say they are "more optimistic" about business in the year 2000, up 26 points from 1998. Just 7% say they are less optimistic than they were a year ago, down 31 points; and 30% predict that their business will be "about the same," up six points.
When it comes to the Y2K bug, it's interesting to note that the CEO's are taking it personally: 54% say they took Y2K concerns into consideration when they made their own turn-of-the-millennium plans. What will they do? Fifty-nine percent won't fly over the two-day New
Year's holiday; 40% plan to keep some extra cash on hand; and 21% will stock up on necessities like bottled water, canned food, flashlights and batteries at home. Fourteen percent say they will (or already have) replaced older computers, VCR's and other electronic equipment that may be prey to the bug.
The majority of the bosses who responded to this year's Dom Perignon survey say they will be spreading around some of their good cheer as 1999 draws to a close: 78% will give year-end bonuses, up 2% from 1998. Sixty-five percent are planning to throw office parties this year. That's down eight points from last year, but 11% report that they plan more elaborate events to mark the millennium for their employees.
Home is where the heart is for 41% of the CEO's this New Year's Eve, whether they plan to celebrate quietly with their families or throw parties for special friends. Twenty-two percent will celebrate away from home, traveling primarily to lush locales in Florida, Colorado, the Caribbean or Europe; while 15% report they are still undecided about their turn-of-the-millennium plans. Another 10% say they've accepted invitations to parties thrown by others; 6% plan to attend parties at private clubs; while an unfortunate 5% report they'll be at work or "on call" in case of complications as their company computer operations make the transition to the year 2000. Wherever they plan to celebration, 85% of the CEO's say they'll be serving champagn e this holiday season.
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The UK’s Supreme Court has ruled that under current circumstances Uber drivers are classed as part of a company workforce rather than as an individual working on a self-employed basis.
This decision is likely to have hefty consequences for the revolutionary taxi app, including possible compensation bills due to the long-term battle between Uber and its drivers. Uber has previously challenged the ruling of the Supreme Court but after losing the previous three rounds they have finally accepted the decision.
The company’s share price dipped as investors struggle with the possible implications the UK ruling could have on the firm’s overall business model. Many drivers across multiple countries are now challenging Uber on whether they should be classed as workers and not considered self-employed.
This outcome means thousands of Uber drivers will likely be entitled to minimum wage as well as holiday pay.
Where did all this start?
Back in 2016, two previous Uber drivers James Farrar and the president of the App Drivers and Couriers Union, Yaseen Aslam, took the giants to an employment tribunal to contend that they were in fact employees and therefore worked for Uber and they won the case, Yaseen Aslam deemed it a huge achievement of standing up to a giant. Back then Uber claimed that all its drivers were self-employed so therefore they held no accountability for the drivers being paid a minimum wage or holiday pay.
Uber then appealed the decision, their case being that they are a booking agent who hires self-employed drivers on a contract basis. In 2017 the tribunal then maintained the viewpoint of the original decision. After that Uber then brought it to the Court of Appeal where once again the original ruling was upheld. The case was then taken to the UK Supreme Court for a final hearing and Ubers final chance to appeal. They once again lost and now have to accept the fate that thousands of drivers are in fact their employees. The ruling made on Friday was the last opportunity for Uber to make appeal, with Supreme Court decisions always being final.
Several factors were considered for the ruling which consisted of: Uber having the ability to meter the rates of fares, putting them firmly in control of what a driver can earn. The terms drivers adhere to are set by Uber and the drivers have no way to appeal or seek to change them. Uber are able to constrict available rides if a driver rejects a large number of rides.
The app has a star rating system which means that Uber can withdraw and end the contract of any driver who does not meet their standards. Due to these practices, the Supreme Court ruled that the drivers have no options to increase their earning except to drive for longer hours, therefore, Uber are in a position of power as their drivers depend heavily on their business model and restrictions to earn a wage.
When passing judgement, it was stated that when drivers are signed into the Uber app they should be considered as working, not only just when they have a passenger.
What Happens Now?
A pivotal point of the ruling was that the court deemed any Uber driver to be working from when they log on to the app not just while they have a passenger. In the current climate, drivers have seen a huge dip in the number of rides being requested meaning they are currently earning very little – sometimes no more than £30 for a day’s work. Under the new ruling, Uber will need to pay the drivers a wage for the entire time they are making use of the app. It’s currently unclear how the new rules will affect the current fares Uber charge, but they have stated that such a ruling would result in significant additional expenses and a change to their overall business model.

domain: news


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To turn around the Crowne Plaza chain, global hotel giant IHG must first shrink it, CEO Richard Solomons told analysts this morning during the company's second-quarter earnings call from London.
In the year since IHG has been working on revamping the chain, IHG has parted ways with 16 "substandard" Crowne Plaza properties in the Americas, he said. He expects to remove about 25 more hotels over the next two years.
When it's all said and done, he said, Crowne Plaza will have cut ties with about 10% of its locations - a move aimed at closing the "performance gap" between locations in the Americas and the rest of the world.
The price of a night's stay for this chain varies of course, but a search on Crowne Plaza's website show rates for tonight start at $209 at the Crowne Plaza San Francisco International Airport, $189 for the Crowne Plaza Chicago Magnificent Mile and $259 at Crowne Plaza: The Hamilton in Washington D.C.
About a year ago, InterContinental Hotels Group - one of the world's largest hotel operators - began working on a plan to update the 400-location Crowne Plaza chain and increase the quality of hotels in the Americas. They're still in "phase one" of the plan, which focuses on improving quality of existing hotels, Solomons said.
Locations in the Americas are also in the process of undergoing quality audits.
As the revamp plan progresses, IHG is prepared to invest some of its own money to open Crowne Plaza locations "in the right locations to build awareness and showcase the brand properly," Solomons told analysts.
The revamp should be largely completed in late 2015.
Same playbook as Holiday Inn revamp
IHG is following the same playbook it used to turn around its iconic-yet-tired Holiday Inn chain - a revamp launched in 2007. The revamp has led to increases in both guest satisfaction scores and financial performance and renewed interest from developers.
To pull it off, IHG booted about 1,400 hotels that weren't meeting quality expectations and has since replaced them with 1,800 new locations. Solomons noted that the change brought down the average age of a Holiday Inn hotel to around 10 years, "making it one of the freshest brands in its segment."
Last month, J.D. Power and Associates gave the Holiday Inn chain top honors for its segment - repeating an honor earned in July 2011.
By the way, in the interview that Solomons did this morning with the BBC he attributed IHG's positive second quarter earnings in part to the fact that people - including Americans - are traveling. "In the U.S., we've had record levels of demand every month for well over a year now," he told the BBC.
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Cordova residents can apply to receive “CordovaCash” payment cards as part of a $1 million stimulus program approved by the city Wednesday, Sept. 16. Applications can be made online at cityofcordova.net/cashcards/ or between 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Friday at the Cordova Center. The deadline for residents to apply is Oct. 16.
The payment cards, intended to mitigate economic hardship caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic, can be used at participating businesses in Cordova. Successful applicants will receive cards worth $500, plus $500 for the applicant’s spouse or partner, and $300 for each dependent. An applicant must have a physical address in Cordova and intend to reside in the community throughout the coming winter season. An applicant may be required to confirm their residency with a utility bill, lease agreement or other document.
Businesses wishing to participate in the CordovaCash program must possess credit-card processing capabilities and accept Visa. Businesses can apply to participate at cityofcordova.net/cashcards/ or at the Cordova Center with a deadline of Oct. 16. Payment processing services like PayPal and Square can be used to accept Visa payments.
Payment cards will be distributed during the second week of November and will remain valid for one year after activation, according to an announcement by the city. Questions can be directed to the city at firstname.lastname@example.org or 907-424-6200, or to the Cordova Chamber of Commerce at 907-424-7260.


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We are excited to welcome the Eastern Idaho State Fair to the TicketForce family. Eastern Idaho State Fair is a 16 County Fair District that is in its 111th year of operations. More than 224,000 people visit the annual event, making it Eastern Idaho’s longest running and largest community event.
The Eastern Idaho State Fair has implemented a new ticketing system through TicketForce to provide more ticket-buying options to fair-goers for the 2013 events, which will take place from August 31 to September 7.
Eastern Idaho State Fair’s new ticket-buying options will allow fair-goes to purchase and select seats through Facebook, its custom ticketing website, at the gate or at retail locations. Along with providing its online ticketing solutions, TicketForce will also provide additional scanning and gate control support on-site during the Fair.
“Through the implementation of TicketForce, we now have a user-friendly method of purchasing tickets through a customizable system. The ease of purchasing tickets online and through Facebook has made our pre-sale process go along quite smoothly, with a record amount of ticket sales,” said Eastern Idaho State Fair Manager Brandon Bird.
Eastern Idaho State Fair’s mission is to provide wholesome, affordable family education and entertainment in a clean and safe agricultural environment. In addition, the Fair also has some delicious food! “IT’S AFEEDINGFRENZY” showcases the Fair’s rich tradition of the best fair food in the intermountain west.
For more information about The Eastern Idaho State Fair, visit www.FunAtTheFair.com.


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(Chris Rief)There are times––say, a major food-oriented holiday––that it comes in handy to have a spare refrigerator to store a case of soda, a thawing turkey, or a half-dozen boxes of wine.
You can eat two out of three of these. (Amy Adoyzie)Sprouts are exactly what they sound like: the first sprouts from plants like beans or alfalfa, grown for a short time and then packaged for maximum deliciousness in a stir fry or on a salad.
(bryan bope)Is your phone getting old? Has it met with the unfortunate confluence of liquids, young children, and boisterous pets lately?
(Smacks Well)Because there’s this widely held assumption that people should get the thing they desire most during the holidays, and because a lot of people desire the same things, some holiday shoppers will cross that line between naughty and nice to make sure they check certain items off their shopping lists.
(SA_Steve)While many commentators (this site included) have complained about the ascent of Brown Thursday and how the shopping frenzy has gradually devoured the holiday once known as Thanksgiving, perhaps we’re being unfair.
(frankieleon) File-sharing and copyright infringement have been a bugaboo among lawmakers since internet speeds got fast enough to swap music in the late 1990s.
As I argued a couple weeks back in the wake of the botched release of Assassin’s Creed Unity, video game publishers need to stop treating their biggest customers as guinea pigs on which to unleash broken games that will eventually be fixed via multiple patches weeks after release — or at the very least acknowledge this treatment and give these customers an incentive (lower price, free stuff, etc.) that doesn’t make them immediately regret spending $60 on a new game.
It’s been 78 years since Camel rans its full-page Thanksgiving ad encouraging smokers to enjoy a cigarette after every course of their holiday meal to aid with “good digestion.” Since then, food has apparently gotten a lot easier to digest — and people aren’t so keen about dying of lung cancer, emphysema and heart disease — as a new CDC report finds that fewer Americans than ever are aiding their digestion with cigarettes.
(Rich Renomeron)You can’t depend on retailers to tell you whether you’re really getting a good deal or not.
Pete KraynakMany American consumers have sworn off shopping at Sears and Kmart, their local stores have closed, or they have just forgotten that the chains exist.
(Ryan Keene)You hear it every year from people — Try to avoid traveling on the day before Thanksgiving because it’s the busiest day of the year.
Controversial car service Uber, already under fire recently, has a new pair of privacy concerns this morning.
(Mighty June)When 31-year-old Danny Catullo took over the butcher shop started by his grandfather, he had the same thought that many digitally savvy young adults do when taking charge of a family business: how can I take this online and really rake in sales?
A former manager at a Sleep Inn hotel in Michigan is accused of taking advantage of the chain’s credit card payment system to issue nearly $900,000 in bogus refunds to her credit card accounts.
There was no flunitrazepam in the Roofie Colada, but some customers were less than thrilled about the reference to the date rape drug.Here’s a suggestion for anyone running a business: When naming a product, you might want to think about not cracking a date-rape joke, as — amazingly — not everyone is amused by references to non-consensual forced intercourse.
(DCvision2006)There are more than 14,000 McDonald’s locations in the U.S., meaning you’re rarely more than a few miles away from a Big Mac.
Stock photos are images that photographers produce in case an advertiser or publication might need them one day and pay for the photograph.
Milk. It’s what you put in cereal and eat with cookies. But would you pay twice the price you shell out now for a regular pint of milk for a so-called “premium” dairy beverage?
(frankieleon) Car manufacturers must meet a number of safety regulations when selling vehicles. One such mandate that the vehicle’s a low-tire pressure warning system works.
(Firehouse Designs)We’ve seen retailers make a big gamble for events like the Super Bowl (and lose millions in merchandise, in one case), but this might be the first time we’ve caught wind of a car dealership willing togive out free cars just to woo Black Friday shoppers.


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SPAWN, already the best-selling independent comic of all time, celebrates the release of its 200th issue in January! What was once slated as a 27-page story has now ballooned into a staggering 53 pages of artwork. With double the story, the 200th issue benchmark is simply too large to contain. The book may be bigger, but the price remains the same — only $3.99, making it the best value in recent comic book history.
SPAWN will celebrate its 200th issue in high fashion, with the return of series creator Todd McFarlane to the interior artwork. McFarlane has called up an all-star team of award-winning comics luminaries to help him make SPAWN #200 the best issue yet: Greg Capullo (HAUNT, THE CREECH), David Finch (CYBERFORCE, Batman), Jim Lee (All Star Batman and Robin, Batman: Hush), Rob Liefeld (YOUNGBLOOD, Deadpool), Marc Silvestri (THE DARKNESS, CYBERFORCE), Danny Miki (SPAWN, Avengers) and Ashley Wood (HELLSPAWN, Zombies vs. Robots) all contribute to this landmark issue!
Robert Kirkman — creator of THE WALKING DEAD, the comic book on which the Golden Globe nominated TV series is based — provides an origin story for Omega Spawn. But he doesn’t just write the story — he draws it, too!
Finally, new series artist Szymon Kudranski, who takes over art duties with issue 201, provides a stunning epilogue, giving fans a taste of what’s to come in 2011!
“In 1992, Image Comics was formed, and a handful of new titles came out of the chute,” says McFarlane. “Spawn was one of those titles. At that time, none of us thought any of the titles we were releasing would hit 200 issues. Yet here we stand, eighteen years later, with the 200th issue of Spawn.”
McFarlane continues, “I’m glad to be joined on this book by some of the great creators in our industry — Jim Lee, Robert Kirkman, Marc Silvestri, Rob Liefeld, Michael Golden, David Finch, Ashley Wood, Greg Capullo, Danny Miki, and FCO Plascencia. We look forward to giving you what I believe will be the best value comic you’ll buy this year. Spawn #200 has now grown to over twice the size of the original, but the price remains the same.”
“This marks only the second time an independent comic has reached the 200-issue mark,” says Image Publisher Eric Stephenson. “Few ongoing series from any publisher have the longevity and permanence SPAWN has. Todd has made it into the record books once again, but more importantly, he has created a series that has an enduring place in the hearts and minds of fans all around the world. This milestone issue is a perfect example of why the series so richly deserves its accolades, and after seeing what the creative team has planned, I guarantee you, the best is yet to come.”
In SPAWN #200, the most ruthless villain in the Spawn universe returns. Can Jim Downing survive a face-to-face confrontation? Downing will battle his most fearsome opponent yet and get answers from an astonishing source, as two fan-favorite characters make a glorious return in this double-sized issue.
SPAWN #200, a 56-page full-color comic book, celebrating 18 years of the hit independent series with an all-star lineup of comics creators, will be in stores January 5, 2011, for the obscenely low price of $3.99!
Further, 2011 will be a big year for SPAWN: New series artist Szymon Kudranski is already several issues ahead. Issues 201-205 will be coming out bi-weekly, to build on the momentum of the landmark 200th issue.
Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, Skybound and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.


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Wired's James Verini, on just how real Japan's real-life Rei Toei is:
Miku was “born,” as Itoh puts it, on August 31, 2007, with the launch of her software. The program would soon become popular, but from the start Miku attracted her own fans, and they began riffing. Crypton set up a site where they could post their creations, and by that first afternoon, according to Itoh, illustrations of her had appeared. Thousands followed. Fan sites proliferated. Creation myths were assembled.
Cyberpunk pioneer and games-writing treasure Marc Laidlaw writes, “The latest and for now final addition to my Kindle collection is now live. I’ve never had a collection; I put this one, 400 Boys and 50 More, together myself. It contains basically all my short stories, novelettes and novellas from the last nearly 40 years (except […]
Marc Laidlaw, the cyberpunk pioneer who went on to serve as writer on some of Valve’s greatest video-game titles — the Half-Life series, Portal — has just posted his entire backlist to Amazon as $3, DRM-free ebooks, including his debut novel Dad’s Nuke (think Fallout, but with religious extremist militants who subsist on “Host on […]
Archangel is a five-part science fiction comic written by William Gibson and Michael St. John Smith and illustrated by Butch Guice; Issue #1 came out last month and sold out immediately, and IDW has only just got its second printing into stores this week, just ahead of the ship-date for #2, which is due next […]
To be a Pokémon master, you’ll need a phone that won’t constantly die on you. Because nothing is worse than seeing the screen go black right as you’ve finally found the Charizard of your dreams.That’s why we’re so excited about the LinearFlux PokeCharger Portable Battery ($39.99). With its 3.0 Amp HyperCharging technology, this slim battery will […]
The tech industry is constantly innovating, and in order to stay competitive, you’ll need to keep up. The Programming Into the Future Bundle was created to teach you the skills employers are looking for at this very moment, including in-demand coding languages like Google Go.The bundle of courses includes instruction on a range of innovative tools that advanced coders […]
If you’re running low on MacBook storage, your options are pretty limited. External hard drives mean toting around another piece of bulky equipment, and you probably don’t want a USB stick constantly protruding from your laptop.That’s why the Nifty MiniDrive for MacBooks is such a desirable alternative, and one of our top tech finds this year. You can add […]


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WAYNE COUNTY, OH, Jan. 10, 2022 — Instead of recycling it; unsubscribe.
Junk mail is unwanted or unsolicited advertising or promotional material received through the mail or by email. On average, American gets 18 pieces of junk mail for every one piece of standard mail. Not only is junk mail annoying, it is an unnecessary waste of our natural resources.
Tired of having your mailbox crammed with ads and other mail like preapproved credit card applications? The good news is that there are ways you can cut down on how much unsolicited mail you get. You can decide what types of mail you do and don’t want from marketers. Register at the Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) consumer website dmachoice.org, and choose what catalogs, magazine offers, and other mail you want to get.
Facts on Junk Mail:
- Over 100 billion pieces of junk mail are delivered in the US every year.
- The EPA reports that 60% of all junk mail ends up in landfills and is not recycled.
- Direct mail marketing is a $10 billion industry in the US.
- 33% of all mail delivered worldwide is junk mail.
- Junk mail produces more than 51 million metric tons of greenhouse gases each year – which is equivalent to 9 million passenger cars.
- Junk mail adds 1 billion pounds of waste to landfills each year.
- The U.S. Postal Service has installed over 4,000 postal recycling stations around the country to combat paper waste.
Article courtesy of the Stark-Tuscarawas-Wayne Recycling District.


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Economic stress in between the U.S. and China continues to escalate but is shifting in focus– far from the tit-for-tat trade war and toward a more direct conflict over the future of technology at the heart of the conflict in between the world’s two largest economies.
Why it matters: The battle between the U.S. and China was constantly about tech supremacy and the direct conflict could result in an accelerated splintering of global supply chains and a substantial decrease of worldwide commerce.
- There are $700 billion of U.S. business’ assets in China, producing $500 billion in domestic sales each year, per Barron’s
Yes, but: The gush of anti-Chinese rhetoric by the Trump administration recently has been countered by much softer actions, as the administration attempts to “thread the needle” of looking hard heading into the election while having the Chinese continue to buy U.S. goods, Mary Lovely, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, tells Axios.
- ” The tech issue is the big one … for the long term, but for the election it’s not clear to me that the tech issue is the huge one.”
Between the lines: The U.S. trade deficit to China has actually increased especially this year and China’s manufacturing sector has gained from exporting medical devices and its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic being far ahead of other economies, specifically the U.S.
- The Chinese likewise have insisted they are increasing purchases of U.S. items in line with the “stage one” trade deal, though they remain well behind a speed essential to meet the arrangement.
Driving the news: President Trump provided his “true blessing” to an offer for Oracle and Walmart to form a brand-new entity called TikTok Global, headquartered in the U.S., that will permit the video-sharing app to keep running in the country but asked for $5 billion during a speech as part of the deal to create an “education fund for American youth.”
- The Trump administration also tried to prohibit Tencent’s common WeChat app in the U.S.
- Apparently in retaliation, China has threatened to “obstruct” a deal between U.S.-based Nvidia and Japanese-owned SoftBank for U.K.-based computer system chip designer Arm.
- China’s state-run Global Times did not information how Chinese regulators might block the offer.
The big picture: “The trade war is blowing over and the tech war is warming up,” David Dollar, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, informs Axios.
- ” There are more genuine areas of concern as China’s tech capability grows and I think there’s more awareness on the part of the United States.”
- ” Part of it is simply people getting up and realizing that companies have a great deal of access to information about us and we don’t truly understand what they’re making with that.”
With the U.S. also aiming to obstruct Chinese companies like Huawei from access to U.S. technology, Chinese companies are working to develop a home-grown environment to replace products from companies like Intel, Oracle and IBM.
What’s happening: “U.S. actions on TikTok are just the most recent example of the White House seeking to impede or penalize Chinese companies from prospering in gaining essential take advantage of in innovation and global communications and have actually increased Chinese level of sensitivities,” Steven Skancke, a previous Treasury Department official who now acts as primary financial consultant at Keel Point, informs Axios.
- ” While TikTok is a highly visible rebuke of a China innovation company, it is probably less tactical than what China worries would be a more hazard to its prepare for Huawei gaining dominance in worldwide interactions.”
That’s got financiers betting big on tech business from China, which have seen a bigger run-up in stock prices than even U.S. tech shares.
Enjoy this space: The tech war might escalate to the point that U.S. companies as large as Apple might be expelled from China, Laura Martin, senior research expert at Needham, told me on the most recent episode of the ” Market Small talk” podcast
- ” I believe if Trump gets re-elected, he keeps turning up the heat on China.”


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To encourage more brands to invest in video advertising on its platform, Google announced it will acquire video ad company mDialog. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"Together, we're committed to offering more ways for publishers to monetize live, linear and on-demand video content across all screens," said a Google+ post.
MDialog enables media companies in North America to manage, deliver and measure video advertising across IP-connected devices, including iPad, iPhone, Android, Google TV, Apple TV, Roku and Xbox.
Google said nothing would change for current customers and that it plans to incorporate the video ad company's technology into DoubleClick's product suite, which was reinforced in a separate announcement on mDialog's site: "Longer term, we're also very excited about combining mDialog with the DoubleClick platform for publishers. Together, we're looking forward to offering content creators new and even better ways to make money from their live and on-demand content."
This is the latest in a series of steps Google has taken to boost video. Earlier this month, the company launched programmatic premium video marketplace Google Partner Select, to make it easier for big brands to buy Web video ad inventory.
Google announces video exchange Partner Select
Google signals business intent with Divide acquisition
Google bringing mobile app install ads to Search and YouTube
Google introduces analytics report for YouTube's TrueView ads
Google signs 'upfront' deal with Magna Global


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Litecoin, regardless of being one of many oldest cryptos available in the market, has remained comparatively hushed when it comes to acceptance. Nevertheless, whereas Bitcoin and Ethereum dominate the market and headlines, it appears like Litecoin might need the higher hand this time.
The altcoin is inching in the direction of larger adoption. That too, in surprising methods.
A spate of partnerships
Litecoin has been seeing inclusion in varied initiatives, all of which have been adopting crypto lately. Verifone, in a partnership with BitBay, lately announced that it will likely be enabling funds in crypto quickly. This characteristic will embody Litecoin, together with just a few extra unique tokens. It will permit 46 million individuals to attach straight to those cryptocurrencies and additional crypto-adoption.
Moreover, just a few days in the past, PayPal launched its tremendous app and likewise prolonged the app’s capability to purchase, promote, and maintain cryptocurrencies past the U.S, and to the U.Ok effectively. Proper now, the characteristic solely permits Litecoin, together with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Bitcoin Money.
What’s extra, world e-commerce big MarketAmerica lately announced that store.com will permit for crypto-payments at checkout. The listing as soon as once more consists of Litecoin, together with different choose digital belongings.
Nevertheless, whilst adoption has elevated, participation over the past couple of months in some areas has decreased.
Often, long-term holders don’t promote except it turns into an absolute necessity or in the event that they need to money in income. However, Litecoin HODLers’ promoting sample doesn’t match both of the circumstances.
Although the whole market has been buying and selling within the purple this month, most Litecoin HODLers particularly have been dropping confidence. The Coin Days Destroyed metric, for example, revealed that some significantly outdated cash have been offered this month.
The indicator additionally confirmed that extra coin days have been destroyed within the case of LTC, when in comparison with BTC, over the identical timeframe.
One other fascinating commentary made right here was that LTC holders promote throughout losses, whereas BTC holders promote throughout income.
First promoting was seen on 14 September, following the Walmart pretend information, after which once more on 26 September, when LTC fell by 14.3% in simply 5 days.
What does this imply? Effectively, LTC holders panic greater than these holding BTC and ETH.
Nevertheless, this lack of confidence just isn’t current. For the reason that starting of 2021, LTC has misplaced LTH domination by nearly 30%, down from 65%.
Lengthy-term holders are vital for any altcoin to keep up value stability throughout a risky market. If Litecoin fails to carry on to them, its value motion may swing unexpectedly.


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TUCSON, ARIZONA -- Heslin Holdings, Inc. a privately owned commercial real estate investment and development firm, purchased a second big box for redevelopment recently in Tucson. In October, we reported Helsin acquired the 35,000-square-feet former Safeway building at 5548 E Grant Road in Tucson.
The following month, Heslin purchased a second big box store, the former Babies“R” Us at 4619 N Oracle in Tucson for $3.4 million ($92.48 PSF). The 36,763-square-foot property on 2.59 acres was sold by Wells Fargo Commercial Mortgage Service that bought it out of bankruptcy for $2,631,644.
The retail space at 4619 N Oracle is located across from the Tucson Mall and a 211,152-square-foot, single-tenant office building occupied by Comcast in a high density retail area.
The acquisitions were part of a larger plan by Heslin to invest $75 million in retail properties over the next 12 months. Both properties were purchased for conversion into Chuze Fitness Centers.
“Heslin Holdings is aggressively looking for retail acquisitions, such as this one, in key metro markets in the western United States,” said Casey McKeon, vice president of acquisitions for Heslin Holdings said regarding the purchase of the Safeway. “Shifts in the retail marketplace continue to open up opportunities to reposition quality older assets for increased ROI.”
“Our firm has re-worked a number of similar spaces and been successful at attracting quality tenants back into these properties, to the benefit of the local community,” said Matthew Heslin, principal and CEO with Heslin Holdings. “With so many larger retailers going out of business, or reducing many of their physical real estate locations, there’s a heightened need to reimagine these assets.”
The firm continues to pursue additional value-add commercial property opportunities throughout the country, with an emphasis on the Western U.S. growth regions where market fundamentals such as positive employment, housing and retail indicators support the firm’s value-add investment strategy.
To learn more, see RED Comp #6357.


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Euclid Hall’s replacement along Larimer Square will be a restaurant straddling two sides of Chinese cuisine.
Owner Michael Swift said the upper floor of Bao Brewhouse will be “more of an elevated dining experience,” offering traditional Chinese dishes such as whole fish and Peking duck in a tearoom-like atmosphere decked with traditional red lanterns.
The downstairs, meanwhile, will be built to resemble a “new-age city in China,” with neon lights and graffiti. There will be beers made on site, as well as other Colorado and Chinese brews, and a menu emphasizing “quick-service Chinese street food,” along with fusion options like a Philly cheesesteak dumpling.
“You walk into a new-age China, and you walk upstairs into a traditional China,” Swift said of the restaurant.
Swift hopes to open Bao in the 6,600-square-feet space at 1317 14th St. in mid-October, likely with just the downstairs portion at first. But even before then, you might see him peddling dishes from a street cart along Larimer Square, testing recipes and attempting to build buzz for his opening.
Swift said he signed a lease in June, although he knew months earlier that he would take over the space. Euclid Hall, which opened in 2010, closed in mid-March. While the timing of the last day was prompted by the coronavirus — the state’s dine-in prohibition took place around that time — ownership told Westword at the time they were already planning to leave when their lease was up in August.
Swift, 40, was most recently the general manager of Aspen Asian fusion restaurant Jing, which also has a location in the Denver Tech Center. He said he originally planned to open Bao in partnership with Jing’s owner, as well as a high school friend who now owns a brewery in Shenzhen, China.
The coronavirus prompted his partners to drop out, Swift said. But the Pennsylvania native, who does not have Chinese ancestry but has traveled to the country multiple times, decided to move forward with the restaurant anyway.
“It’s just something that I’ve always wanted to do,” he said of owning his own place.
Prior to Jing, Swift said he worked in marketing in Denver for snowboard company Burton. In his twenties, he bounced around various components of the restaurant business from nightclubs to hotels.
Swift said about 25 percent of what he’ll serve at Bao will be authentic Chinese cuisine. Most of that will be in the upstairs tearoom, where dishes will be in the $15 to $35 range.
“The goal for upstairs is to have family-style meals,” he said. “Most of the menu is designed for two.”
As for the rest of the menu, 50 percent will be what Swift calls “Chinese creative.” And the remaining 25 percent will be “east meets west,” like the aforementioned Philly cheesesteak dumplings.
Swift said the downstairs is intended to cater to those looking for a quick bite to eat before heading to the nearby Pepsi Center, or in the middle of their workday in a nearby office building. Single items will be in the $6 to $15 range.
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Like the many unwinnable wars (Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria) started by two previous US presidents, president Trump’s war of his own choosing against China is also unwinnable not just because China is a formidable ally and has the capacity to retaliate massively, but also because China itself is too big a market for the US-based business and it can hurt the US without having to impose new tariffs. While by the end of 2017, the US investment in China totaled US$14 billion compared to China’s US$ 29 billion in the US, in terms of stocks however, US companies had “significantly more historical investment” in China, estimated at about US$256 billion, than Chinese firms had in the US, according to a report by the National Committee on United States-China Relations and Rhodium Group in April. And China imported some US$140 billion worth of US products last year, and it would have no compunction about putting different hurdles in the way of every US company, including the General Motors which has been outselling other motor companies like Honda, BMW and Mercedes Benz in China, operating in China. While there is no doubt that, as the US president’s various announcements tell us, the US can hurt as much as US$450 billion worth of Chinese goods, a number of US companies operating in China would equally start facing a crisis that, if the past is any guide to future, may eventually have to wrap things up.
For instance, in 2016, when the Philippines decided to take the case of South China Sea Islands to the Hague for arbitration, China did retaliate in an unprovoked manner by simply issuing a notice of non-compliance on Philippine bananas, saying that they had detected a pest called Dysmicoccus neobrevipes in a shipment to Shenzhen, a major entry point for Philippine bananas to China. The Philippines exported nearly 450,000 tonnes of bananas to China in 2016 worth US$157.5 million. After the incident, China destroyed 35 tonnes of bananas and suspended 27 exporters. Such an incident had also occurred in 2012 when a standoff took place between China and Philippines over the Scarborough Shoals, which began on April 8 when the Philippines sent its navy to confront Chinese vessels fishing in the area, forcing China into taking measures that hit the Philippines economy by slowing down its inceptions of imports from the Philippines such as papayas, mangoes, coconuts and pineapples, thus forcing the Philippine authorities to search for other markets in the Middle East and other regions.
As far as the US is concerned, its trade war with China will hurt a lot private US business companies operating in China. While US tariff would hurt Chinese companies as well, these companies are state-owned and are unlikely to put pressure on their government to end the war.
As of 2018, McDonalds has about 2500 outlets in China. Currently it is planning to increase the number of outlets to 4500 by 2022. Starbuck is also opening a new outlet in China every 15 hours and expecting to add more 2,000 more by 2021. If this trade war gets serious and both sides start retaliating, both of these companies may have to revisit their plans. The General Motors, which delivered more than 1.1 million vehicles to China in 2016 as compared to the 202000 it delivered in the US, would also have to do the same and look for other markets as well. Reportedly, other US-based companies such as Apple are already starting to feel the pressure and Apple’s Tim Cook told Trump in April that trade war with China, where Apple has 41 stores (most in a single region outside the US) and where its sales have already declined, wasn’t a good thing.
War will expand to other markets
One crucial factor that is going to hurt the US more is that its tariff policy is not going to hurt China alone. On the one hand, these tariffs will hurt its economic relations with other countries, and on the other, any decline in Chinese exports to the US will leave a major impact on a number of Asian economies, which act as a supplier of products, such as smart-phone chips, to China which China uses to produce things that it exports to the US.
The US imposed tariffs have already started another trade-war between the US and its erstwhile ally in Asia, India. When Trump recently mentioned India at G7 and threatened additional tariff, Delhi was not amused. Now India says it is planning to raise customs duty by 50 percent on a revised list of 30 US products including motorbikes, lentils and some steel goods. India has also decided to increase import duties to counter the impact of higher US tariffs on certain steel and aluminium products which would have implications of around $240 million on India.
That India did this as a retaliation is evident from the notification it sent to WTO stating that the duties imposed and concessions suspended “are substantially equivalent to the amount of trade affected by the measures imposed by the US.”
This economic tension has already led China to forge better ties with India in a way that might enable both of these countries to counter the trade challenge thrown by Trump. Ahead of Modi-Xi summit in April, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said that “the world is now faced with rampant unilateralism as well as the rising protectionism in the process of globalisation. All these trends have been closely followed and debated.” “So against such backdrop, China and India have a lot to discuss. We are newly emerging markets as well as developing countries with big populations, so we believe the two countries will continue to uphold the globalisation so that it is more inclusive”, Lu added further.
In a way, this trade war has largely helped India and China to submerge the Doklam standoff and re-configure their relations in the changing global economic context. The US, therefore, is unwittingly driving a country away from its axis that it not so long ago was courting as its bulwark against China in Asia for the next 100 years, but now has been forced to postpone its 2+2 strategic dialogue, an outcome of strained economic relations.
There is, therefore, every likelihood of the US imposed trade war backfiring on the US itself not just in economic terms, but also in geo-strategic, giving the US enough reasons to review its ‘war strategy’ and equally giving reasons to the president Trump to revisit his stance to avoid ending up as yet another president failing to win yet another self-imposed war.
Salman Rafi Sheikh, research-analyst of International Relations and Pakistan’s foreign and domestic affairs, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.


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The great global supply chain crisis of 2021 — which has ensnared groceries, holiday shopping and everything in between — has bottlenecked West Coast ports, and drawn the involvement of the White House to address it.
As the disruption reaches a boiling point and adds to rising price pressures, longshoremen, union representatives and truck drivers have pointed fingers over which party is best positioned to alleviate some of the strains.
Cargo ships afloat in the Pacific Ocean demonstrate the convergence of strong consumer demand, and a widespread shortage of bodies to meet it. According to Goldman Sachs, over 30 million tons of cargo await delivery ahead of the Thanksgiving to Christmas rush. Essential workers are still scarce but U.S. consumers are still in a buying mood, meaning the congestion is not expected to wind down until the second half of 2022.
So who exactly is to blame? Some drivers lined up at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach that have spoken to Yahoo Finance in recent days have an answer: Not us.
“There's a lot of us that are willing to work,” Carlos Rameriz, a 25-year truck driving veteran, told Yahoo Finance in an interview.
Speaking from a nearby area where trucks have idled and multiple chassis have sat unattended, Rameriz blasted a reported driver shortage as “the biggest excuse,” and simply “not true.”
Where are the drivers?
While the pandemic has exacerbated strains in the economy amid an unprecedented demand surge, a 2019 study published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics probed the dearth of truckers. And it arrived at a surprising conclusion: “there is no driver shortage in the trucking industry.”
Driver turnover is indeed a major issue, and there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence of carriers struggling to fill seats. To that point, however, that doesn’t mean there’s an actual shortage of drivers, the authors wrote.
However, the trucker issue has been debated for decades, with the American Trucking Association (ATA) first raising concerns in the 1980s. More recently, Chris Spear, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations (ATA) told CNN last week that the US has a shortage of around 80,000 truck drivers — a record high, and an increase of roughly 30% from before the pandemic, Spear said.
Separately, a number of executives have sounded the alarm, including the CEO of the U.S. Xpress who told Yahoo Finance in August:“The driver situation is about as bad as I’ve ever seen in my career.” Like other industries facing worker shortages, the trucking sector has gone all-in on big pay raises to attract talent.
The record-breaking number of cargo ships waiting off the coast of California prompted President Biden to intervene. Earlier this month, he directed the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to move to 24/7 operations.
Toward that end, Executive Director of the Port of Long Beach, Mario Cordero, told Yahoo Finance Live that Long Beach implemented a 24/7 pilot program at one of their terminals “weeks ago.”
However, truckers like Rameriz hasn’t seen any changes. “I don’t know anybody that is working 24/7,” he explained to Yahoo Finance. “If there was work, we [would] be working 24/7.”
The Biden administration is also considering calling on the National Guard to help transport some of the cargo. If they’re activated, it would mark the latest in a series of unprecedented deployments for its members.
“Please send the National Guard because that will be a big solution,” Rameriz said.
A big problem is that some truck drivers are independent contractors, or owner- operators that get paid by the load. To actually earn money, drivers have to get their own trucks, acquire the skills and certifications to haul — and they have to cover costs such as fuel, insurance, equipment, repair and maintenance.
However, the supply chain knots are throwing a wrench into Rameriz’s pay.
“It's been the worst month I ever had. There's no work. They're not releasing anything from [the port],” said Rameriz. “That's what pays my bills.”
Regardless of which category a driver falls into, many of them are waiting over 3 hours to get inside the port to pick up a container. Sometimes the wait is even longer, Rameriz explained, with drivers at the mercy of longshoremen who operate on their own schedule.
'Cutting the work'
Busy Los Angeles County ports saw a record backlog last month, with more than 70 cargo ships stuck off the coast waiting to be docked and unloaded— carrying everything from furniture to electronics. There, a few workers suggested that their own union leadership shouldered some of the blame.
According to a longshoreman who only identified himself as Alfred, who works at California's San Pedro Bay Port Complex, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) — which negotiates with the International Longshoreman and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and oversees the longshore contract on behalf of ILWU member companies — is “cutting the work.”
He added: “They're the ones who are not training: skilled positions. [That] means crane operators, top handler drivers, trans drivers. They're the ones who are keeping the ships out there at sea anchored.”
Despite all the logistical challenges and logjam, Alfred insisted “we have the manpower there, [they] just keep cutting the work.” Another problem: there’s “not enough space” to offload cargo and store it anywhere, the worker said, questioning protocols that were adding to the backlog.
“There are truck drivers that come in and are waiting for a chassis and the company does not allow us to give them it,” Alfred said.
“If we don't have the space and we need to get some of this cargo out, why are we holding chassis, and not giving them to the drivers so they could pick up their load to make more space for us,” he added.
In a statement to Yahoo Finance, the PMA defended its processes, arguing that each stage of the supply chain "must operate efficiently and in concert in order to bring relief to the historic congestion slowing goods movement across the country.”
The statement added that it was “committed to robust worker training to keep West Coast marine terminals moving as efficiently as possible,” and that the ranks of longshore workers and trainees for specialized positions “continues to grow.”
Yet Alfred, who also was a truck driver for years, understands the frustration these drivers are going through. “The drivers are there, literally for hours and hours, and sometimes [they] don't even pick up a load.”
Meanwhile, a series of posts on Twitter led to policy change that could help alleviate some of the pressure on West Coast ports. Ryan Petersen, CEO logistics company Flexport, argued that yard space at the terminals is a major culprit behind the bottlenecks.
Yesterday I rented a boat and took the leader of one of Flexport's partners in Long Beach on a 3 hour of the port complex. Here's a thread about what I learned.
— Ryan Petersen (@typesfast) October 22, 2021
In response, the city of Long Beach announced over the weekend that they will relax the current set of container-stacking rules for at least 90 days. That should help ships unload more cargo quicker.
The code limited containers stacking to no more than two containers, no more than eight-feet tall. Now they will allow up to four stacked containers, with potential for five if a request is approved by fire officials.
In a related move, Governor Gavin Newsom has issued an executive order that directs state agencies to find state, federal and private land for short-term container storage, while identifying freight routes for trucks so the state can temporarily exempt weight limits on the road.
Still, it’s unclear whether any of those measures will address a problem without easy or quick fixes.
“It’s getting bad,” said Rameriz. “I hope somebody is keeping an eye on what's going on and do something about it because everybody's struggling right now.”
Dani Romero is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @daniromerotv


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The company currently has three production units, two in Uttarakhand and one in Belgaum, manufacturing a total of 12,000 helmets per day. "Our new plant at an investment of Rs 100 crore coming up in Belgaum will take the production to 20,000 to 22000 helmets per day making us world’s largest helmet manufacturers,’’ said Vishal R Gite, national marketing manager, who was in Kochi to launch a series of internationally certified helmets of the company.
Vega has 35% share in the organised helmet market in the country. "But in South India, our market share is 50 %,’’ Gite said. The total helmet market in the country is around Rs 1000 crore, of which majority share is of unorganised segment.
Despite the adverse impact of GST in several states, Vega is expecting over 65 % jump in its turnover in the current fiscal to Rs 300 crore. ``After GST, the tax on helmets is 18%. It used to vary from zero to 14.5 % in several states earlier. However, we arrested the initial slide in sales by adjusting the dealers’ margins,’’ he said. The company hopes to double its dealer network to 800 by 2020.
Currently, out of total production, 40% goes for export to USA, Europe and Asian countries. The share of export will go up when the new unit becomes operational. Vega is major OEM and contract manufacturer. It does contract manufacturing for several international brands.
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India’s consumer inflation eased to a five-month low of 6.71% in July on the back of a moderation in food inflation, firming up expectations that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may go for a softer increase in policy rates at its end-September review.I am a Chinese, not a Terrorist: Huawei India CEO to Court
Huawei Telecommunications (India) chief executive officer Li Xiongwei told a Delhi court on Friday, “I am a Chinese (national) and not a terrorist,” apparently borrowing a line from a Shah Rukh Khan movie.Chip Shortage in the Rear-View Mirror, Auto Cos on Launchpad
Automobile companies are gearing up for a record number of launches in the coming months as the semiconductor shortage that has plagued the industry eases.
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Peever Real Estate News
Real Estate news for Peever, SD continually updated from thousands of sources.
May 8, 2015 | via Salt Lake Tribune
In a spectacular failure, a Florida company is foreclosing on Utah-based MonaVie Inc. after the marketer of nutritional fruit juice and personal care products defaulted on a $182 million note. But a South Dakota Bank has gone to court to seek a halt to the foreclosure while it sorts out what happened to the once high-flying company. Comment?
11 min ago | via Business Times
China's housing market has steadied in recent months after a year-long slump, propped up by a barrage of government support measures since last September. Comment?
19 min ago | via AmericanBankingNews.com
According to Zacks, "Lloyds Banking Group plc, formerly Lloyds TSB Group plc, is a United Kingdom-based financial services company, whose businesses provide a range of banking and financial services in the United Kingdom and a limited number of locations overseas. Headquartered in London, the company operates through three segments: UK Retail Banking, Insurance and Investments, and Wholesale and International Banking. Comment?
26 min ago | via GlobalNews
Sarah Borbridge joined dozens of others at the Grand Union pub in central London on a rainy September evening, hoping to find a perfect match. But, it's not a romantic relationship the 27-year-old is looking for; instead, she's looking for a flat to rent and a roommate to share it with. Comment?
39 min ago | via WCBM-AM Pikesville
Who are these Obama voters? They can't all have head injuries, have been in a coma for the past 4 years, or own stock in an electric car battery company. Besides having "stupid" stamped on their forehead, here's a handy guide identifying these clueless creatures. Comment?
41 min ago | via Business Journal
The Bay Area's hot real estate market has seemed like a never-ending party, at least for home owners, as properties fetched ever higher prices. But the frenzy may soon be a distant memory. Comment?
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TwitchTV, the popular video gaming streaming website, today announced that players will soon be able to stream their Call of Duty: Black Ops II gameplay directly to their Twitch channel using the in-game streaming option. The feature is available today on the Xbox 360 version of the game, and is “coming soon” to the PlayStation 3 and PC).
Black Ops II was the first Call of Duty game to launch with a live-streaming feature. The game previously allowed players to stream their gameplay directly to YouTube.
The new Twitch streaming options will include a webcam feature that uses the Xbox Kinect to provide a picture-in-picture view of players. Gamers can also automatically share their live stream via Facebook or Twitter posts.
TwitchTV is the gaming subsidiary of JustinTV. The website has grown steadily over the past year, and received $15 million in venture capital funding in September 2012. The site has become one of the most popular broadcasters of eSports programming.


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The UK Government’s decision to ban the manufacturer of ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles by 2030 and hybrid vehicles by 2035 appears to be set in stone.
With 2030 just seven years away, representatives from the EV (electric vehicle) and charging industries gathered at the Asset Finance Connect Summer 2023 Conference to discuss what the industry must do to be ready for the ban on ICE vehicle manufacturing.
Education to dispel negative EV myths
There is a critical need for education due to the misunderstanding and bad press surrounding EVs. The UK media are doing a terrible job to support the EV sector and transition, highlighting so-called problems such as range anxiety and charging anxiety.
For example, a recent BBC Panorama programme left Andrew Leech, founder and managing director of Fleet Evolution “fuming and frustrated” over the “total distortions about electric vehicles”.
Leech noted, “It was typical sensationalist TV journalism with no preparation, no planning and no thought on how to manage a road route of that length. It seemed its only intention was to paint EVs, and particularly charging them, in a poor light.
“Anyone who regularly drives an EV will tell you that they are much more convenient than ICE models for everyday use, so why do journalists persist in using them for only a few days on trips most would only attempt once a year, with no preparation,” said Leech.
Car manufacturers and their dealers must assume responsibility for informing their customers about the conversion to EVs, including:
Plan your journey – look at your route range and charging facilities along your route. Vehicle range is irrelevant now as it is constantly being extended with improving battery technology.
Home charging – there is an ongoing debate about how many UK households have a driveway with estimates ranging from 20% to 70%, but those with driveways will allow 70%-80% of charging to happen at home. Home charging is a lot cheaper than public charging with many energy providers now offering “smart chargers” that charge your car overnight on the very cheapest tariff available Drivers able to charge at home pay just 5% VAT to power up their EV, compared with 20% for those without access to a driveway or designated private parking space who are reliant on the public network.
Cost – there are a growing number of EVs that are much more price accessible in addition to price reductions and discounts for electric cars. The initial purchase price of an EV might be more expensive than an ICE vehicle, but consumers need to focus on the overall lifetime cost of ownership, e.g. general maintenance is lower and more efficient to run if you can charge from home.
In a recent article – EVs set for major boost in 2023 – Nick Williams, managing director for transport business at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “Directly comparing an EV with its closest ICE equivalent can lead to some misleading conclusions, beginning with the price tag. Although the upfront cost of an EV might in some cases be more expensive, the total cost of ownership is likely to be less, and sometimes significantly so. As well as the obvious savings to be made on fuel, EVs have fewer moving parts and therefore need less maintenance.
“Even in the face of rising electricity prices, the cost argument for switching to an EV, when considered in the round, can be compelling.”
The Green Finance Institute actively engages with lenders about different product offerings for consumers on the EV journey and raising awareness of TCO. There is a perception that making the switch to electric is difficult, so through their financing models, lenders need to make the transition more appealing with product bundles combining EV and home charger.
Have EVs reached price parity with their ICE counterparts?
The initial cost price has always been a major factor in the EV purchase decision, with many consumers believing that an EV is beyond their budget. However, price parity between EVs and ICE vehicles doesn’t require the initial purchase price to be exactly the same.
For EVs, the total cost of ownership (TCO) — the full cost to own and operate the vehicle, accounting for purchase cost, fuel prices, maintenance — needs to become the most important deciding factor for consumers.
Some industry experts believe that TCO for EVs is already lower than its ICE counterpart with price already reaching parity if you consider subsidies in various markets and TCO, according to Deloitte in their Electric Vehicles – setting a course for 2030 report.
Other pluses for EVs also include the fact that EVs’ driving range is already comparable to that of ICE vehicles, and the number of models available is increasing.
Other industry analysts expect TCO parity between EVs and ICE vehicles as soon as 2024 to 2026 for shorter range EVs and 2027 to 2030 for longer range EVs.
Whilst there is a large depreciation gap between the cost of used BEVs and their original purchase price, the price gap of used BEVs is closing with their ICE equivalents if factors such as clean air zone charges are considered.
However, there is still uncertainty around the depreciation of EV residual values. Lauren Pamma, Programme Director at the Green Finance Institute believes that residual values are the big uncertainty surrounding EVs at present, but this is improving with data becoming increasingly available.
In the UK, there is still work to be done on improving public charging networks so that EV drivers have access to infrastructure where it is convenient and at a fair price. Funding and investment models are needed to enable infrastructure at scale to cope with the increasing EV demand.
While charging infrastructure is currently not ready for the ban on the manufacture of ICE vehicles, by 2030 we will be ready as we still have seven years to prepare, according to Charlie Cook, CEO of RightCharge who sees solutions to the challenges.
We are constantly seeing new and improved solutions in technology, software and charging infrastructure, and as we approach the ban deadline there will be more and more investment.
In 2023 ChargeUK, a new trade body for the EV charging industry, was launched bringing together 18 of the country’s largest charge point installers, which collectively will invest more than £6 billion installing and operating new EV charging infrastructure by 2030.
Tens of thousands of new chargers are due to be installed this year, with the aim of doubling the size of the network through 2023.
ChargeUK will work collaboratively with the government and other stakeholders to help drive charge point investment and delivery, including shaping policies and regulation.
In July 2023, the UK Government published new regulations for public charge points, outlined in the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023, including a 99% reliability standard for rapid charge points.
The Public Charge Point Regulations aim to improve the charging experience for electric vehicle (EV) drivers in four key areas: payments, pricing, data and reliability:
- Government is mandating contactless payments and payment roaming to reduce the number of apps.
- Charge point operators will be required to be transparent about their pricing.
- All public chargers will have to provide charge point information and data including live availability data.
- New regulations include a 99% reliability standard for rapid charge points to build public confidence.
Charging issues also focus on the supply of power from the National Grid, with media reports raising concerns over whether there is enough power to fuel the increasing EV demand.
While National Grid are not worried about the demand from EVs, drivers need to be educated in off-peak smart charging overnight when it is most economical and uses cleaner energy.
Ben Boutcher-West, Chief Digital Officer at Connected Kerb noted that with the flexibility of electricity you can shift around charging behaviour with the use of software models: “the power supply is not a problem if technology can shift and provide those services to offer a blend of different charging options at different times.”
The main cost of an electric vehicle is the battery, making up 55%-60% of the total cost. EV batteries are evolving with changing components and updated software and technology, all helping to reduce the cost.
However, negative media coverage about the quality and life of EV batteries has resulted in many retailers postponing their decision to purchase an EV, instead choosing to wait until there is more data about EV batteries. However, as Lauren Pamma, passionately declared, “we don’t have time, we need to make the change now!”
To meet the demand for EVs by 2030, the UK currently lags behind and needs to urgently invest in battery manufacturing and the supply chain, with only one small-scale battery plant currently up and running.
The global shift to electrification and EVs, in particular, to decarbonise the transport sector is creating a huge investment opportunity to meet the rapid increase in demand for batteries in the UK, according to the Green Finance Institute’s Guide to Investing in the EV Battery Supply Chain.
The new report discloses how the EV transition has the potential to grow the automotive battery market to GBP 12 billion in the UK as early as 2025, with growing battery supply chain capacity – upstream, midstream, downstream and end of life – presenting a significant opportunity for a wide range of investors across the financial spectrum, both those familiar with, and those new to the sector.
The UK has a window of opportunity to play a key role in the transition and grow its current battery manufacturing pipeline. Increasing investor understanding of the sector quickly is critical to seize this opportunity.
With only seven years until the 2030 ban on the manufacture of ICE vehicles, a lot still needs to be done to ensure that the UK is ready for the next step in the transition to electrification.
Investment is needed in charging infrastructure as well as UK battery manufacturing plants and supply chains as we move closer to the deadline.
Education of all parties is a necessity in the electrification transition of vehicles. Retailers need to be educated in the benefits of EVs and dispel some of the myths arising from negative media attention, for example, range and charging anxiety. Lenders too need to learn about different product offerings for EVs, while investment companies must see the potential for investing in battery and EV manufacturing in the UK.


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The chairman of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi group Carlos Ghosn has been arrested in Japan along with company’s another Representative Director Greg Kelly for violating country’s financial laws for years.
The Nissan boss allegedly did not report around $44 million (5 billion yen) of compensation he received in the course of 5 years. Nissan has issued a statement confirming the report and will likely fire both the representatives in the next few days when the company CEO Hiroto Saikawa proposes the action in the board meeting.
“The investigation showed that over many years both Ghosn and Kelly have been reporting compensation amounts in the Tokyo Stock Exchange securities report that were less than the actual amount, in order to reduce the disclosed amount of Carlos Ghosn’s compensation,” said the company in the statement.
Apart from the false reporting, Carlos Ghosn is found to be involved in numerous other significant acts of misconduct including personal use of company assets. Kelly’s deep involvement in all the acts has also been confirmed.
Nissan says, “As the misconduct uncovered through our internal investigation constitutes clear violations of the duty of care as directors, Nissan’s Chief Executive Officer Hiroto Saikawa will propose to the Nissan Board of Directors to promptly remove Ghosn from his positions as Chairman and Representative Director. Saikawa will also propose the removal of Greg Kelly from his position as Representative Director.”
The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi group is one of the biggest alliances in the automotive industry so incidents like these can make a big impact on the reputation of the company in the public and among the partners. The company has publicly apologized for “causing great concern to its shareholders and stakeholders.”
The CEO of Nissan has also said that Ghosn’s arrest will not affect their alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi.


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GLOBAL fashion consultancy agency, Fabusse executives are currently in the country on a mission to sign local fashion houses and brands in a bid to promote them worldwide.
With 25 years of experience in the fashion industry, Fabusse provides various services as per need of fashion designers.
India-based Fabusse Africa general partner Victoria Samushonga, who is Zimbabwean, exclusively told the Daily News that she had come to the realisation that Zimbabwe has been very much under represented over the years.
“And because I am in charge of Africa I want to focus on helping my fellow countrymen grow their fashion brands worldwide.”Samushonga said Fabusse provides a wide range of services and called on local fashion industry experts to submit their applications and sign with Fabusse so as to further their skills beyond Zimbabwe alone.
She said Fabusse focuses mainly on fashion consultancy, brand building, brand identity, graphic designing, model hunting, fashion campaigning, website building, copywriting and digital marketing among other things.
“We provide consultancy to help brands earn a global name and all it takes is reaching out to us through their applications and their willingness to part ways with an amount of money depending on their needs,” said Samushonga. “We do not like to talk more than we can act therefore I am promising fashion experts our full cooperation in catapulting them as a business partner of progression for their skills and crafts in fashion.”
Samushonga believes that 2020 is a season of change for Zimbabwean fashionistas.
She added that with their services, information and access it will be good if Zimbabwe can also produce even one person who can light up the global platforms from now going forward.
“We have previously assisted a female designer called Chiedza of the brand Chiye to showcase in South Africa in 2018 and in 2019 we had the opportunity to work with Tendi Kusano another designer from Zimbabwe who we took to showcase in South Africa.
“This year we are organising a weeks’ trip for designers for those in the fashion industry to visit India and have a one-on-one feel of the intense fashion industry there right from fabric manufacturing processes, hand embroidery, fabric finishing and garment production,” said Samushonga.
Fabusse was formed by a fashionista called Ramez Basmaji and its head office is in Kuwait.


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Han Dongfang, the worker turned labor activist who led worker protests at Tiananmen Square in 1989, has changed his view of the official union, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, which he has long opposed. He writes in an op-ed in the Guardian:
This new era of activism has forced China’s official trade union, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, to re‑examine its role and look for ways to become an organisation that really does represent workers’ interests. Already this year the ACFTU has introduced initiatives designed to boost workers’ pay through negotiations with factory managers and business federation leaders.
How should the international trade union movement respond to the changes in China? It has long been divided between those who refuse to talk to the ACFTU because it is not a real trade union and those who are willing to engage, but only on a superficial level, avoiding fundamental issues like freedom of association and collective bargaining because they think them too sensitive.
Times have clearly changed, and the approach of the international trade union movement needs to change too. It now has the perfect opportunity to reach out. Constructive engagement with the ACFTU at this point in history could produce real benefits – not just for the union itself but for China’s workers’ movement.
See also another article in the Guardian about Han’s statement. Han is founder and director of the Hong Kong-based China Labour Bulletin.


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Enterprise: “People overall just seem to prefer meaningful interactions with real employees.”
ST. LOUIS, 2015-5-29 — /Travel PR News/ — According to Enterprise Holdings, the largest car rental company in the world, most car rental customers still prefer to speak with an actual employee on the telephone to address their inquiries.
Last year, Enterprise Holdings’ contact centers helped more than 6 million Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car airport customers in the U.S. – with more than 90 percent of them picking up the phone first. The remaining 10 percent used email, online chat or social media accounts.
“In the last year alone, we have more than doubled our social media customer service team,” said Ken Kreh, vice president at Enterprise Holdings. “However, while social media is growing in volume month-over-month, phone inquiries are still by far the most popular form of communication for our customers. People overall just seem to prefer meaningful interactions with real employees.”
Most customer calls focus on reservation modifications, cancellations and confirmations, contract extensions, and copies of receipts. “Although the majority of requests are simple,” Kreh explained, “sometimes they can be complicated. That’s why our contact center team members listen closely to each request – no matter what channel is used – and make things right as soon as possible.”
Enterprise Holdings empowers every contact center employee with the tools, training and authority needed to work directly with each customer and promptly address a wide array of questions and issues. That may be why 80 percent of the company’s Enterprise, National and Alamo airport customers find their issues resolved during their first call with a contact center employee.
“We hire customer service representatives who not only can follow guidelines, but who can think on their feet to meet all types of customer needs without additional assistance,” Kreh stated. “To provide a consistent customer service experience, we consider each customer interaction a personal and individual situation.”
Customer service continues to be a key competitive advantage for Enterprise Holdings’ portfolio of car rental brands, which collectively account for the largest airport market share in the U.S. Enterprise Rent-A-Car also was the highest-ranked car rental brand in the J.D. Power 2014 North American Rental Car Satisfaction StudySM . Furthermore, Enterprise Holdings was recognized with two 2015 Travvy Awards, including being named “Best Domestic Car Rental Company.”
As Enterprise Holdings has expanded globally, the company also has increased its international customer-service representatives and has added bilingual team members to its ranks to address an increasingly diverse audience. Enterprise Holdings currently has operations in more than 70 countries and territories worldwide, including 32 countries in Europe and the Middle East. The company’s long-term expansion strategy is focused on building a global network that delivers value, choice and outstanding customer service to business and leisure travelers.
For more information on Enterprise Holdings’ commitment to customer service, visit www.enterpriseholdings.com/about-us/commitment-to-customer-service/.
About Enterprise Holdings
Enterprise Holdings – the largest car rental company in the world as measured by revenue, fleet and employees – operates a global network of more than 8,600 fully staffed neighborhood and airport locations under the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands. In addition, Enterprise Holdings and its affiliate Enterprise Fleet Management together offer a total transportation solution, including extensive car rental and car sharing services, truck rental, corporate fleet management and retail car sales. Combined, these businesses accounted for $17.8 billion in revenue, employed 83,000 and operated 1.5 million vehicles throughout the world in fiscal year 2014.
Enterprise Holdings currently is ranked as one of America’s Largest Private Companies. Furthermore, if it were publicly traded, Enterprise Holdings would rank on Fortune’s list of the 500 largest American public companies. Enterprise Holdings, through its regional subsidiaries, operates more than 6,000 fully staffed offices in the U.S. – almost 70 percent more than its nearest competitor – and all located within 15 miles of 90 percent of the U.S. population. In addition, Enterprise Holdings not only accounts for the largest airport market share in the U.S., but its domestic rental fleet also is one of the newest in the industry. The company’s affiliate, Enterprise Fleet Management, provides full-service fleet management to companies and organizations with medium-sized fleets. Other transportation services marketed under the Enterprise brand name include Enterprise CarShare, Enterprise Rideshare, Enterprise Car Sales, Enterprise Truck Rental and Zimride by Enterprise. For more information about Enterprise Holdings, visit www.enterpriseholdings.com.
This press release and car rental industry news are available in the Enterprise Holdings Press Room.
For more information, contact:


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Fri August 5, 2011
Honda recalling 1.5 million vehicles in U.S.
Honda is recalling about 1.5 million vehicles in the U. S. to update the software on the automatic transmission to decrease the possibility of transmission damage.
The recall affects certain 2005-2010 4-cylinder Accord,2007-2010 CR-V and 2005-2008 Element vehicles.
The company said Friday that without the change, the transmission's secondary shaft bearing can be damaged when the car is shifted too quickly. Honda said that can happen when a driver tries to get the vehicle dislodged from mud or snow.
Honda says it will begin sending recall notifications to customers on Aug. 31. The company says that no injuries or deaths have been reported because of the problem.


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Fitbit has recently been rumoured that they are facing some production issues with the upcoming smartwatch codenamed Higgs. The smartwatch has recently been leaked by Yahoo Finance, but most importantly the company's chief executive and co-founder have now shared a few more
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Everyone’s a platform these days, even Airbnb.
The fast-growing housing rental service has spawned a cottage industry of service startups for everything from property management to key safes.
For instance, there’s Guesty, a property management company, and KeyCafe, a key-exchange company based in Vancouver that turns nearby cafes into key-storage location. Proprly, a New York-based Airbnb management service, will provide fluffy linens, chocolates on the pillow or cleaning services. Feastly and EatWith both connect with diners nearby for home-cooked meals.
The Airbnb startups all hope to draft off the success of Airbnb, which recently closed a $475 million round of funding that valued it at $10 billion. Yet like all platforms, there are potential downsides for the guppies: What happens if Airbnb decides the services these upstarts offer are a “core service” that Airbnb should provide?
Google, Facebook and Twitter are both cautionary tales. Google’s algorithm changes have crushed companies built to siphon traffic from the search engine. Facebook has pulled the rug from under services like Socialcam that it felt were negatively impacting the user experience. And Twitter cut off ecosystem companies that were providing client services, like Tweetie and mobile Tweetdeck. The lesson is clear: What platforms give, platforms can easily take away.
To that end, Guesty wants to expand beyond Airbnb. Amiad Soto, co-founder of Guesty, declined to share details but said the company wants to talk to small hotels, bed and breakfasts, and hostels — anybody that needs property-management or concierge services “in the cloud.”
Jason Crabb is the founder of KeyCafe. Hosts can grant access to keys remotely, via their phones. A fob tracks the keys as they’re checked in and checked out. Crabb said Airbnb is aware of the company and is supportive because it solves a common problem. KeyCafe is doing about 1,000 exchanges per month. “Airbnb is a first case,” said Crabb. “We have other markets we are tapping into like real-estate agents.”
Airbnb declined to comment but has already discussed “alternate plans” for key exchanges, airport transfers and cleaning.
Randy Engler, the founder of Proprly, knows firsthand the “marketplace effect,” as he calls it. In the early 2000s, Engler worked at Half.com, a fixed-price marketplace that sought to combine what eBay and Amazon did that was later acquired and shut down by eBay. “From my experience, marketplaces and companies in the ecosystem will always do a better job of plugging in the holes than the company itself,” said Engler. “Our services work as viably for traditional vacation-rental markets as well, so we see this as much bigger than Airbnb.”
Next month, Engler will announce a partnership with Uber that will let hosts hand out promo codes to guests when they arrive from the airport. The company has been growing by an average of 30 percent per month since it began last year, he said, and plans a San Francisco launch at the end of the summer.
The diversification strategies should help the startups in case Airbnb begins to throw its weight around. After all, nobody wants to be the next Socialcam.
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Anja Niedringhaus, Associated Press
GENEVA — The Sun-Drop Diamond of South Africa, a giant pear-shaped yellow gem weighing 110.3 carats, has sold for more than $10.9 million at auction Tuesday, beating previous records for a jewel of its type.
Including commission the unidentified telephone bidder paid almost $12.4 million for the gem, putting it within the $11 million to $15 million range Sotheby's had estimated before the sale.
"It's a record for a yellow diamond at auction," said David Bennett, the head of Sotheby's jewelry division.
The diamond was sold by New York-based company Cora International, which discovered the jewel in South Africa last year.
Gemologists had rated it as fancy vivid yellow — the highest possible color grading. Yellow diamonds are created by nitrogen impurities being trapped within carbon molecules and hardening over the course of millions of years.
Other lots at the $70 million sale in Geneva's Beau-Rivage hotel included a colorless cushion-shaped diamond weighing 38.88 carats that sold for almost $7 million, including commission.
A 12.01-carat emerald from Colombia's Muzo mine sold for $1.4 million, while a blue diamond ring was snapped up for $4.3 million.
However, several precious jewels — including an elaborate gold and diamond 'peace dove' brooch, a blue diamond ring estimated at over $7.5 million, and a suite of imperial jewels — failed to find a buyer.
The set comprising a necklace, brooch and pair of earrings was given by the Ottoman Empire's Sultan Abdul Hamid II to the wife of the Khedive of Egypt in the late 19th century.
Sotheby's said some of the gems may have been part of a peace offering given by Russian Czar Peter the Great's wife Catherine to Ottoman Sultan Ahmed II in 1711. A bid of $9.3 million wasn't enough.
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Textiles: Two Technology-Related Trends Surface as Market Grows
The textile industry in the United States is in the midst of a phoenix-like rise from the ashes. After 650 textile plants closed in the U.S. between 1997 and 2009, jobs and profits are coming back.
According to the National Council of Textile Organizations, the value of shipments for textiles and apparel in the U.S. in 2016 was $74.4 billion—up 11 percent since 2009. Exports were at $26 billion. Companies are investing, too, with capital expenditures topping $2 billion.
It is a vast market, one that ranges from cotton and sheep farmers to those in man-made and high-tech performance fabrics. It’s not just fabrics for clothing, but also includes home furnishings and carpet.
Statistics released by the World Trade Organization (WTO) showed that U.S. apparel and textile manufacturers are seeing growth in exports, too. The WTO said that between 2000 and 2014, U.S. textile imports were up 18 percent while apparel exports increased by 30 percent. “Made in America” labels seem to have some value outside the shores.
All of this is pointing to a market that is clearly on the upswing. Behind that growth are two main trends, both with technology at the center.


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Bono's Clothing Company Suffers Financial Blow
U2 frontman Bono and his wife suffered a financial blow in 2009 as their clothing company racked up $9 million in losses. The rocker and his wife Ali Hewson set up Edun in 2005 to stimulate business in Africa but accounts filed for the ethical fashion firm show it plunged into the red last year.
The debts were 90 per cent bigger than in 2008, according to official documents obtained by British newspaper The Sun. Luxury business group LVMH, which owns Moet champagne and couture house Louis Vuitton, is believed to have bought an "important" stake in Edun last year.
His clothing line aside, Bono recently announced that he along with his band U2 are working on "club-sounding" album, Associated Press reported. The band also plan to release a rock album and "Songs of Ascent," a set of tunes from the recording session of their latest record, 2009's "No Line on the Horizon".
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