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The FCC has—finally, mercifully—closed up its net neutrality docket. ISPs, Web companies, and public interest groups hustled to turn in last-minute filings yesterday, most showing a naked self-interest that was bracing to behold: Netflix want guaranteed bandwidth for its over-the-top services, cable operators went after the wireless industry, and the wireless industry just came right out and made the argument that Wall Street wouldn't like net neutrality rules and therefore they shouldn't be imposed on it.But the most intriguing (and one of the most self-serving) arguments came courtesy of Time Warner Cable: the real threat to "neutrality" and the "open Internet" comes not from ISPs but from broadcasters like FOX. Perhaps the FCC would like to go after broadcasters who try to strong arm the cable industry into better deals?We agree with these moronsThe cable trade group NCTA thinks the net neutrality advocates at Free Press are full of "overheated rhetoric" and that their filings are filled with sloppy thinking—unless Free Press agrees with them.The two issues on the table in this latest round of comments are "managed services" delivered by ISPs over the last-mile connection to customers, and the question of whether nondiscrimination rules should apply to wireless. Cable likes managed services—which they offer—but don't want any exemptions for wireless, which increasingly competes with them for Internet customers.While bashing Free Press' rhetoric on managed services, NCTA actually quotes Free Press as evidence that wireless doesn't deserve separate discrimination rules from wireline. Both groups agree with the fairly obvious point that every Internet service has unique technical characteristics. As Free Press puts it, "the shared nature of the cable plant introduces problems distinct from the more limited, but unshared, DSL line, itself distinct from the relatively powerful FTTH connection."But these differences have little to do with some need for discrimination. Wireless carriers always complain about their capacity restrictions, but nothing in neutrality rules would prohibit throttling and data caps, so long as these were applied to all kinds of traffic. Besides, every network operator could use more capacity. NCTA notes that "cable operators, no less than wireless carriers, operate using a finite amount of capacity, as the Commission has previously recognized. Cable operators have service groups that share the available bandwidth on a node-by-node basis. As in the wireless context, network performance within each node depends entirely on the number of users and the types of applications they are running. Excessive usage by one customer thus can have a dramatic impact on the performance experienced by other users within the same node."And yet, as Comcast is currently showing us, it's possible to run congestion management in a more-or-less neutral fashion on such a network.They're much worse that we areMany ISPs have long felt singled out by "net neutrality," arguing that consumer bottlenecks were present throughout the tech ecosystem. The result: a long-running campaign to mold the term "search neutrality" into a Serious Idea.The newest attempt at this strategy comes from Time Warner Cable, which has now moved beyond "search neutrality" and into "TV show neutrality." TWC draws on two recent (and frankly obnoxious) decisions made by broadcasters: FOX blocked Cablevision subscribers from watching its shows online during a Cablevision contract dispute, and several networks have blocked Google TV users from streaming their content to a TV set (Hulu has long employed some similar restrictions).You wanna see some real "Internet openness" issues? Don't look at the ISPs!"Meanwhile, in the midst of this ongoing theorizing about how and when providers of broadband Internet access services and specialized services might engage in harmful practices, other participants in the Internet ecosystem continue to inflict actual consumer harm with impunity," says TWC, running through a list of misdeeds by broadcasters. "These incidents and practices underscore the irrational nature of any effort to single out broadband providers for scrutiny and oversight, including through the proposals in the Public Notice... Such observations reinforce TWC’s longstanding point that it would be wholly unreasonable—and thus arbitrary and capricious—to regulate broadband Internet access providers based on hypothetical threats while ignoring actual violations of 'openness' principles."This argument raises all sorts of issues about what "openness" means. Is ESPN360 a non-neutral service because it's only open to users whose ISPs sign up with ESPN? Doesn't being on the edge of the network mean something different than serving as a network choke point? You get the idea. "Neutrality" is a government subsidy!Another wireless trade group, WCAI, follows up on the idea that singling out the ISPs is simply not fair. The very idea of net neutrality, it says, is really a way of giving a government subsidy to those at the edge of the network while regulating those at the center.This one really set off Free Press, which says that the idea is "raising the bar on absurd and harmful arguments."This argument is ludicrous: Network operators already receive market rates (in fact, likely far more than the rates that would be charged in a competitive market) from consumers paying for Internet access service. Seeking the right to be paid twice for the same connection is tantamount to placing a private tax on innovation. Never before have network operators seriously attempted to charge all innovators additional fees for access to the network connections of the users of applications and content. Former AT&T CEO Ed Whitacre made similar notorious comments regarding Google, but few if any have ever directed such naked rent-seeking assertions on small businesses and entrepreneurs who cannot possibly afford to pay every broadband provider for the right to have their innovations used. Such a development would destroy the start-up economy and innovation that characterizes the Internet.When has Wall Street ever been wrong?Finally, there's wireless trade group CTIA, which called one section of its comments, "Wall Street Analysts Are Wary of Uncertainty Caused by Net Neutrality Rules for Wireless."The basic argument, such as it is, appears to be that, if Wall Street analysts are unhappy, something needs to be done. CTIA is certainly correct to say that drawing this whole proceeding out is causing problems and just needs to be decided one way or the other, but it's not just "uncertainty" that's the issue."The investment community has cautioned that the imposition of net neutrality regulation could have a chilling effect on investment in broadband," says CTIA. "Industry concerns with the impact of the type of unwarranted, sweeping changes to the broadband market proposed by the Commission are not only warranted, they are confirmed."Save room for usOn the other side of the equation, companies like Netflix don't think it's fair that their services could be restricted to the Internet while ISPs offer similar video services of their own over a guaranteed, prioritized section of a user's broadband pipe. So Netflix has a novel idea to prevent the open Internet from becoming a digital ghetto: guaranteed bandwidth."Requiring service providers to offer some level of guaranteed capacity for broadband Internet services, at reasonable rates to consumers, will ensure that all comers—from today’s Netflix to the 'next Netflix'—are able to reach consumers without obtaining the permission of network operators," it says. "Under such a 'guaranteed capacity' approach, the network operators would remain incented to create specialized services to drive additional investment in their networks while at the same time helping to preserve the Internet as an open platform for competition, innovation and free expression."Managed services would still be allowed, but only so long as it never cost consumers more than, say, 30 percent of the total available line capacity.


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- Sagarmala project, a key enabler of ‘Make in India’ programme, is reviving the efficiency of the Indian ports, and the results are there for all of us to see.
India's manufacturing and infrastructure push complement each other. India, the world's fastest growing responsible economy, puts maritime security and collaboration at the centre of to its strategic policy. In the world of interconnected economies, maritime trade has a crucial role to play. India's approach to development is fast and inclusive. After one year of Sagarmala's launch in 2016, the country hosted a maritime India summit in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited the global business community to become a partner in the process of India’s port-led development. In his speech at the summit, Modi said: "in this sector, no country can achieve the desired results in isolation. Nations have to collaborate to realise this potential and to overcome challenges in this sector”.
India has an extensive coastline of 7,500 kilometres covering 13 states and union territories. About 95 per cent of India’s trade by volume (68 per cent in terms of value) is moved by sea. Considering the importance of maritime infrastructure to India’s economy and to leverage India’s natural maritime advantages, Modi has crafted the vision of ‘Sagarmala’ and ‘port-led prosperity’. From 2014, the Indian government has emphasised on building the futuristic infrastructure in the country. Through Sagarmala programme, the government aims to modernise the ports and to integrate them with special economic zones (SEZs), port-based smart cities, industrial parks, warehouses, logistics parks and transport corridors. Global investors have enormous opportunities in this massive infrastructure transformation programme.
The Sagarmala project is reviving the efficiency of the Indian ports, and its results are quite visible. After consecutive years of losses, now the Indian ports and shipping organisations are yielding good profits. In 2014, the profits from ports in India stood at Rs 3,000 crore. With the continuous policy reforms and customer-oriented approach, this year, the profits from all major ports of the country are expected to cross Rs 7,000 crore. After a period of 10 years, the Cochin Port Trust has posted a net profit of Rs 4.44 crore for 2017-18 against the losses of Rs 27 crore in 2016-17.
On the cargo front, it has surpassed the target fixed by the Shipping Ministry by posting a 16.51 per cent growth. The major ports and shipyards of India are making a turnaround after a decade. According to the latest statistics from the Indian Ports Association, all the 12 major ports of the country witnessed a 4.97 per cent rise in cargo traffic in February-April 2018 period. During April to November 2017, Kandla Port handled the highest volume of traffic of 72.03 million tonnes followed by Paradip (64.97 million tonnes), Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (43.26 million tonnes), Mumbai (42.33 million tonnes) and Visakhapatnam (40.95 million tonnes). For the first time, in almost all key sectors, public ports are performing better than the private ports and it is a great achievement for the government.
The Sagarmala project has a broad vision and a strong leadership commitment. One of the star performers of the Modi government, Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari is known for setting up ambitious goals and pushing the limits to achieve those targets. To streamline the processes in the ports and shipping sector, the government has taken a number of policy reforms, some of which will speed up the pace of Sagarmala programmes like Major Ports Authority Bill 2016, Merchant Shipping Bill 2016, National Waterways Act 2016 and New Shipbuilding policy.
In August 2016, Sagarmala Development Company (SDC) was incorporated for providing equity support to residual projects. As of now, more than 400 projects with an investment of $123 billion and six new ports have been identified under Sagarmala. In each of the four pillars of Sagarmala programme – port modernisation, port connectivity, port-led industrialisation and coastal community development – there are good opportunities for the domestic and foreign investors.
Under the Sagarmala programme, 14 coastal economic zones (CEZs) with an investment potential of Rs 15 trillion have been identified. In the port-led industrialisation model of Sagarmala, different industrial clusters – petrochemicals, power, electronics, cement, automobile, steel, leather processing, wooden furniture and marine clusters – are planned to be set up in different states. Establishing future industrial capacities near the coast will lower the logistics costs and improve the export competitiveness of the manufacturing industry. In the vision document of Sagarmala project ‘National Perspective Plan 2016’, the concepts of CEZs, coastal economic units (CEUs) and port-linked industrial clusters have been introduced. These CEZs are set to align with the planned industrial corridors – DMIC, VCIC, CBIC, BMEC and AKIC. These CEZs have the potential to boost country’s exports by $110 billion and to generate 40 lakh direct and 60 lakh indirect jobs.
Ports are the key driver of the economic growth. Of the world’s top 20 free trade zones, 14 are either port-based or port-proximate. We have seen how countries like China, Singapore, Japan and South Korea have leveraged their coastline to boost manufacturing and exports. India has 12 major and 200 non-major/intermediate ports. During 2016-17, the country’s major ports have witnessed an annual growth rate of 6.8 per cent. India’s current port capacity is 1,500 MTPA, and the goal is to increase it to 3,000 MTPA by 2025. To achieve the full potential, Indian ports need to be seamlessly integrated with the hinterlands through railways, road network and inland waterways. The two key aspects of Sagarmala vision are port rail connectivity and port road connectivity. For smooth connectivity to ports, more than 150 connectivity projects at an estimated investment of more than Rs 2 lakh crore have been identified.
Impact on Logistics Costs and ‘Make in India’
Logistics costs have a crucial role to play in international trade. At present, the cost of logistics is very high in India. According to a study by ASSOCHAM-Resurgent (2016), India can save $50 billion per annum if the country’s logistics costs are cut from present 14 per cent to 9 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). Reducing logistics costs for domestic and international trade cargo is one of the key priorities of the Sagarmala programme.
The cost of moving cargo by sea or inland waterways is 60-70 per cent lower than the road or railway network. In India, our waterways are underutilised; there is a need to increase the modal share of coastal shipping and inland waterways. Sagarmala envisages to double current share of coastal shipping in India's overall modal mix from 6 per cent to 12 per cent by 2025. By making our transport water-based, we can reduce our logistics costs, which in India is between 16-18 per cent, but in the next two-three years, through the successful execution of Sagarmala and Bharatmala programme, it is expected to come down to match the global average.
Sagarmala is a key enabler of ‘Make in India’ programme. One of the key outcomes of Sagarmala is the reduction in logistics costs, which is crucial for our indigenous manufacturing initiative. At present, India’s logistics costs is around14-18 per cent of the GDP, to compete in the global market, it should come down to 4-6 per cent. A number of sub-projects under Sagarmala are in sync with the government’s industrial corridors, dedicated freight corridors (DFC), national highway development programme (NHDP) and special economic zones (SEZs). By 2025, Sagarmala will be able to optimise the logistics flows of the country and it will help in saving close to $5.3-6.1 billion per annum.
Sagarmala’s comprehensive approach of ‘port-led development’ has given a different perspective to help understand the maritime space to the world. From connectivity, collaboration and industrial development to initiatives for holistic and sustainable development of coastal regions and communities, the vision of Sagarmala is inclusive. For India, oceans are not mere trade and transport links, as Prime Minister Modi perfectly puts it, “the maritime sector not only creates and facilitates economic activities; it also connects countries and civilisations. Investing in maritime sector is not only investing in one’s own future but in the future of the planet and that of coming generations”.
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Lidl to create 300 new jobs in Scotland
Lidl is to create 300 new jobs in Scotland over the next 18 months as it continues its expansion across the UK.
Most of the jobs will be in the retailer’s new stores in Paisley, Dumbarton, Giffnock and East Kilbride, as well as in its first Scottish ‘metropolitan’ store in Edinburgh. There will also be roles in operations, maintenance, logistics and office support at Lidl’s new regional distribution centre in Eurocentral, which will open in 2019. A further 250 jobs will be created at the warehouse as it gradually reaches full capacity.
Ross Millar, regional director for Scotland at Lidl UK, said: “We at Lidl are incredibly proud to be part of a business that is able to positively impact so many of our customers’ lives, through the availability and accessibility of quality fresh products, at market-leading value. This is only made possible through the hard work and dedication of our existing 2,200 workforce, and we’re therefore delighted to be in a position to create new jobs and welcome even more colleagues into the Lidl family.“
As part of the supermarket’s plans to modernise, Scotland will also see a programme of rebuilds, refurbishments and extensions across many of Lidl’s existing Scottish stores. Of those, Glasgow, Motherwell, Aberdeen and Ayr customers will be the first to benefit from bigger stores, new state-of-the-art facilities, and the creation of new local jobs.
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FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Leading German car industry manufacturer Continental (CONG.DE) on Saturday announced it had bought Hornschuch, a maker of films, foam laminates and artificial leather for cars and other applications, to help it expand into other industry sectors.
Hornschuch, with sales of 410 million euros (369.92 million pounds) in 2015, has been owned since 2008 by the buyout group Equistone, formerly Barclays Private Equity.
Based in Weissbach, it has 1,800 employees and manufactures at four sites in Germany and the United States.
Continental will buy Hornschuch via its subsidiary Benecke-Kaliko. It said a contract had been signed on Saturday, but that the deal was subject to approval by antitrust authorities.
A spokeswoman said the purchase price would not be disclosed, and that the deal was likely to be closed by the end of the second quarter of 2017 at the latest.
Sources familiar with the transaction said in May that Hornschuch was likely to post earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of 50 million euros this year, and could be sold at eight to nine times that figure.
Board member Hans-Juergen Duensing, chief executive of Continental’s rubber and plastics division ContiTech, said in the statement that the acquisition was strategically important and a logical step.
“Hornschuch generates more than half of its sales from industrial applications,” he said.
“We are thereby consistently and sustainably strengthening our global business outside the automotive industry.”
Benecke-Kaliko develops and manufactures surface materials for passenger and commercial vehicles, the off-highway sector and other industries at seven locations across the globe. It achieved a turnover of 550 million euros in 2015.
($1 = 0.8928 euros)
Reporting by Vera Eckert; Editing by Kevin Liffey


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Dubai: They say nothing says “I love you” more than a thousand red roses, but what if you have them loaded up in a shiny supercar and delivered right to your special someone’s doorstep?
This is exactly what Alex Hirschi, an Australian expatriate based in Dubai, got as a Valentine’s Day surprise this week.
It was two days before Valentine’s, when Nik Hirschi from Switzerland, standing at the doorstep of their hotel in the Palm Jumeirah, called his wife Alex to step outside. He had earlier spent the whole day prepping the car with the help of Edel & Stark Dubai and a team from 800-Flower.
“Come down to the front of the hotel, I’ve got something special for you for Valentine’s,” Nik told his wife.
Just as she came out the door, Nik handed her a piece of red rose and led her to the parked Ferrari 488 Spider with 1,000 roses inside.
“Oh my God. This is amazing. That’s insane,” Alex exclaimed in surprise. And just as she turned the engine on, rose petals came out of the exhaust.
The whole scene, including the work that went into making the grand romantic gesture, was captured in a video that Nick posted on Youtube on February 12.
An expatriate from Switzerland, Nik explained in the clip that Alex had been shopping for a new supercar. The model he picked happens to be on the top of Alex’s list of luxury vehicles to buy.
Asked what prompted him to stage the grand surprise, Nik said he wanted to do something memorable for his wife to celebrate the day of romance.
“I wanted to surprise her with something that no one has ever done, something beautiful that she can remember forever,” Nik told Gulf News.
“She loves cars and roses, so I combined it. I love her lots, she works incredibly hard, she deserves.”
The car hasn’t been purchased, but it was just rented out for a few days, to help Alex decide which one she should buy.
Watch the whole video here:


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Some leading members of the American Academy of Pediatrics are expressing outrage that the group is allowing the maker of Similac infant formula to print its corporate logo on the cover of a special edition of the academy's book on breast-feeding.
Members who helped write the book, ''New Mother's Guide to Breastfeeding,'' said they were stunned to learn last month from people outside the academy that it had agreed to let the Ross Products unit of Abbott Laboratories, which makes Similac, buy the edition of the book with its name and a teddy bear logo on 300,000 copies.
The academy, whose members include 57,000 pediatricians and other pediatric specialists, has long recommended that most mothers breast-feed because of the myriad benefits over formula.
The group also has a written policy that discourages hospitals from partaking in one of the ways that Ross and other formula manufacturers market their products: providing a free package of formula and other items to mothers as they leave the hospital. Ross, which says it also wants to promote breast-feeding, is considering distributing the books in the promotional packages of free formula but has not made a final decision.
''For those of us who wrote the book, this is thievery,'' said Dr. Lawrence M. Gartner, the former chairman of the University of Chicago's pediatrics department and chairman of the academy's executive committee on breast-feeding. ''The impression that people have when they see the book is that Ross is a supporter. This corrupts efforts to promote breast-feeding.'' Dr. Gartner and other members are asking the academy to develop a policy to ensure that commercial logos are never again placed on its books and other educational materials. He said that he and some other members had grown increasingly concerned about the influence that corporations had on the academy.
''We'd like it to be clean,'' Dr. Gartner said of the academy. ''Any hint that it is not diminishes its credibility.''
But Dr. Joe M. Sanders, the academy's executive director, said Dr. Gartner's request was not feasible because the academy could not pay for all the educational materials it wants to produce without corporate support.
''Ten years ago, this probably would not have been acceptable,'' Dr. Sanders added, ''but things change.''
Indeed other medical groups have entered into deals with corporations -- some that drew intense criticism from members and the public.
For example, in 1997, the American Medical Association agreed that Sunbeam could affix the group's name to products ranging from blood pressure monitors to heating pads. After the association backed off in the face of criticism, it settled a breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by Sunbeam for nearly $10 million.
Dr. Sanders said the pediatrics group often solicited corporate contributions after it had decided to embark on an educational project.
For example, McNeil, a division of Johnson & Johnson, agreed to pay for 50,000 copies of a book the academy is developing called the ''Complete and Authoritative Guide to Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.'' McNeil, which sells Concerta, a new treatment for the disorder, will give the books, imprinted with its name, to doctors, according to an academy document.
Ross has also paid to buy copies of another book, ''Your Baby's First Year.'' That book was also imprinted with the Ross name as well as the name of its product, Similac.
The companies had no influence on the content of any of the books, Dr. Sanders said.
''This is standard in the industry,'' he said. For example, pharmaceutical companies often pay to put their names on medical textbooks, he said, and then distribute them to students.
''That is how I got to know the major pharmaceutical companies,'' Dr. Sanders said. ''They gave me some medical textbooks. Obviously the advertising works.''
At the suggestion of Dr. Gartner, the academy's directors plan to discuss the issue on Friday, Dr. Sanders said.
Neither Dr. Sanders nor Ross would disclose how much the company paid for the 300,000 books, which have a retail price of $13.95 each.
But publishing experts say that such large purchasers of books can expect to get a discount of 50 percent to 60 percent. At a 60 percent discount, Ross would have paid roughly $1.7 million for the books.
Dr. Sanders said the academy had made a profit of no more than $500,000 on the purchase.
''Our goal was not to make money,'' he said, ''but to get it into the hands of mothers.''
Dr. Sanders said he disagreed with Dr. Gartner's contention that the group was violating its policy of promoting breast-feeding by letting Ross distribute the books with its corporate logo.
Mary Beth Arensberg, a spokeswoman for Ross, said the company bought the books as part of its effort to educate parents about the importance of breast-feeding. ''We agree with the academy that breast-feeding is the gold standard for infants,'' she said.
The company wants to provide the best information possible, Ms. Arensberg said, which is why it bought the academy's new book.
The marketing of infant formula to mothers has been an issue for some time. In 1981, after marketing scandals in developing nations, the World Health Organization adopted a code banning formula advertising and free distribution by doctors and in hospitals.
In the United States, advocates have tried to persuade hospitals to stop distributing the gift packs of formula they receive from manufacturers. So far, only small numbers of hospitals have agreed.
Americans bought $2.5 billion of infant formula last year, according to ACNielsen.
This is not the first time the academy has been criticized for taking money from Ross and other formula manufacturers.
In the early 1990's, Nestlé -- the Swiss company that makes Carnation Good Start infant formula -- sued the academy, Ross and Bristol-Myers Squibb, the maker of Enfamil, the other leading brand of formula. Nestlé accused them of conspiring to keep it at a disadvantage. The suit said the pediatric group had accepted millions of dollars from the major formula manufacturers, including helping to pay for the group's headquarters in Elk Grove, Ill.
Nestlé did not prevail in that lawsuit, but the major formula makers have paid tens of millions of dollars over the years to settle accusations made in other lawsuits that they had tried to keep Nestlé and other manufacturers out of the market.
Last year, Ross, McNeil and Johnson & Johnson were the top three corporate supporters of the academy's $65 million operating budget, Dr. Sanders said, each giving $500,000 or more. He declined to be more specific about how much the companies had contributed.


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Microsoft has a history of confusing Windows version branding. That started with the launch of Vista, which came in roughly 16 variants. Windows 10 has its own annoyances, including the locked down Windows 10 S. That version might not be long for this world, according to a new report. Microsoft could be looking at a revamping of its Windows versions that would eliminate 10 S as its own OS, relegating it to a feature in other versions.
Windows 10 S was announced last May with an interesting premise. Windows 10 S would only run apps that shipped with Windows and those downloaded from the Windows Store. None of those EXE files floating around on the internet will install on Windows 10 S. As such, background processes are kept under control for improved battery life. Still, if you can't even install Chrome on a computer, a lot of users won't be interested. Yet, Microsoft made Windows 10 S the default installation on the Surface Laptop.
According to Windows blogger Paul Thurrott(Opens in a new window), Windows 10 S is going away as a distinct version of the OS. Windows 10 Home editions will be split into Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Home in S Mode, and Windows 10 Home Advanced. The first devices running Windows 10 Home Advanced will apparently begin showing up in May, but we don't know what "Advanced" features will set it apart from the other versions.
Windows 10 Home will get an S Mode feature, which was already included in Windows 10 Pro. When in S mode, Windows 10 Home will operate just like Windows 10 S does. The only apps allowed to run are preinstalled Windows apps and those obtained from the Windows Store.The Surface Laptop with 10 S.
So, what will become of Windows 10 S? Thurrott suggests that Microsoft will let users of 10 S upgrade to Home for free. In the past, Microsoft said it would charge everyone except students $49 to upgrade. Although, it's still free for everyone right now. Presumably, future laptop shipments will stop including Windows 10 S.Microsoft probably sees this move as a way to get away from all the bad press for 10 S, but it risks making Windows 10 versions too complicated. It's not as befuddling as Windows Vista, but it's not exactly straightforward, either. Another issue might be the cost. The new Windows 10 Home Advanced will most likely cost OEMs a little more, but it's unclear how much of a price increase consumers will see. This could add to the price of already expensive high-end PCs. OEM discs purchased at retail will likely be more spendy as well.


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Konga.com, Nigeria’s online megastore is celebrating Workers’ Day 2013 with massive discounts across its many categories in a promo tagged “WORKERS DAY MEGA SALE” starting from April 30 to May 2.
The special sales promo allows you to shop for your favorite items like laptops, mobile devices, tablets, books, fragrances, home appliances, toys, fashion, etc from international and local manufacturers like Apple, Samsung, Blackberry, Nokia, HTC, Tecno, LG, Microsoft, Lacoste, D&G, Sleek, Daviva, Huggies, and several other amazing brands.
Last week, Konga launched its new SMS2buy platform which basically lets you shop via SMS, similar to Amazon’s TextBuyIt service. With this Workers’ Day promo, customers who may have little or no Internet access or those that are not entirely comfortable or capable of using PCs and Internet-abled devices can easily shop from anywhere, anytime via SMS.
And if you do have Internet access and would like to do some Workers’ Day shopping, visit Konga and shop till you drop.


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Scott Olson/Getty Images
❝ A new study thinks it knows the culprit fueling America’s bad eating habits: ultra-processed foods.
That category includes foods like frozen pizzas, breakfast cereals, and fizzy sodas. Researchers at Tufts University and the University of Sao Paulo analyzed the eating habits of more than 9,000 Americans and concluded that about 58 percent of the average American’s calories come from ultra-processed foods every day.
❝ The study, which was published in the medical journal BMJ Open, drew findings from in-depth interviews with the study’s participants, who were asked to recall every item they’d eaten over a 24-hour period. On average, they consumed about 2,070 calories per day.
In addition to the ultra-processed foods, participants took in about 28 percent of their calories from unprocessed foods, such as eggs, milk, vegetables, or fresh fish. An additional 10 percent came from regular processed foods – items like cheese or cured meat.
But ultra-processed foods carry a particular risk: They contain significant amounts of added sugars, the sweeteners that food production companies artificially add to their products. Overall, ultra-processed foods contribute 90 percent of the added sugars Americans consume each day…
❝ Of course, the problem with this heightened sugar intake is that it makes Americans more likely to be overweight or obese. That, in turn, increases the chances of developing serious health problems like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer.
If Americans want to cut back on those risks, the researchers conclude, they’ll have to take in a lot less added sugar – which means they’ll need to cut way back on ultra-processed foods.
Here’s a link to the Harvard School of Public Health and a post about added sugars – including all the names camouflaging the real deal.


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On August 1st, the Bitcoin community witnessed the very first hard fork of the Bitcoin blockchain. What this means is users who owned Bitcoin prior to the hard fork now have Bitcoin, as well as, Bitcoin Cash. Whatever side you take in the Bitcoin scalability debate, it is far from a perfect solution. After the Bitcoin community made the decision to implement Segwit2X, Bitcoin Cash immediately reacted to the news in protest by announcing they would hard fork Bitcoin in order to keep the intentions of the creator Satoshi Nakamoto intact.
On August 1st, the Bitcoin community witnessed the very first blockchain split of the Bitcoin network. What this means is users who owned Bitcoin prior to the hard fork now have Bitcoin, as well as, Bitcoin Cash. Whatever side you take in the Bitcoin scalability debate, it may be far from a perfect solution. After the Bitcoin community made the decision to implement Segwit2X, Bitcoin Cash immediately reacted to the news in protest by announcing they would hard fork Bitcoin in order to keep the intentions of the creator Satoshi Nakamoto intact.
Does Bitcoin Cash Have The Right To Exist?
Whatever your beliefs on Bitcoin; whether you think Segwit2X should be implemented or not, it should be important to note that there is nothing wrong with competing cryptocurrencies. While it is true, the Bitcoin hard fork is far from a perfect solution, what conspired was inevitable in that Bitcoin holders were split from the get go on Bitcoin’s future. The only solution to this matter is to give Bitcoin holders a choice; the choice to hold or sell Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash.
Will Bitcoin Lose Value?
Theoretically, Bitcoin should decrease by the value of Bitcoin Cash as that value has been transferred to Bitcoin Cash (keeping in mind traders may have foreseen the drop in advance). However, Bitcoin prior to the split was already on an uphill trend and it was only the continuous usage of the Bitcoin blockchain that prompted a scaling solution. If Segwit2X is implemented, there is no reason why Bitcoin won’t continue that uphill trend. Furthermore, those with access to their private keys who receive Bitcoin Cash shouldn’t lose any money for the value lost in Bitcoin is counteracted by the value backing Bitcoin Cash.
Does This Undermine Bitcoin?
Initially, most likely. The current debate is similar to a debate on Gold and Silver. Imagine a society that is solely run on currency backed by Gold. Suddenly, the government decides that Silver is now a legitimate medium of exchange along side Gold. Because there are individuals that prefer to use Silver over Gold, this may cause a drop in the value of Gold. In the end, society will choose whether they prefer Gold or Silver through the market. Now think of Gold as Bitcoin and Silver as Bitcoin Cash.
What Does Mises Say?
According to Ludwig von Mises in his famous Theory of Money and Credit treatise, the common medium of exchange is determined via the free market. What this means is that society, with all it’s options available, will decide amongst themselves on what commodity is the best medium of change. Mises states the commodity must be liquid and stable. Liquidity refers to a coins marketability. The infrastructure sounding Bitcoin, along with the huge market cap and volume, gives Bitcoin a legitimate case to maintain its spot as the common medium of exchange. Stability, on the other hand, refers to a commodity that remains consistent. Unfortunately, it is this point alone that makes the Segwit2X implementation worrying for Bitcoin holders as the original vision of Bitcoin has changed. With the changes to the Bitcoin protocol moving away from the creator’s original vision, the future of Bitcoin is uncertain. According to Mises, this would make Bitcoin an unlikely candidate for a medium of exchange.
Adding Mises’s definition of a common medium of exchange into the equation, we get an interesting phenomenon. For speculators that believe liquidity is important, Bitcoin is your coin. Due to the wide ranging infrastructure surrounding Bitcoin, Bitcoin is far more liquid than Bitcoin Cash. However, if the speculator views stability as important, Bitcoin Cash is your coin. Bitcoin Cash follows the vision of Satoshi Nakamoto and is not set to change drastically. Once we view things in this way, the Bitcoin split was inevitable. Now it is time for the free market to work it’s magic; for we will finally see which coin will be the medium of exchange for the future.


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Courtney Reagan spoke with J.C. Penney CEO Marvin Ellison on sales and their new strategy.
The automaker says sales of its namesake brand has returned back to growth despite its diesel emissions scandal.
Jan Kniffen, J. Rogers Kniffen Worldwide Enterprises, and Stacey Widlitz, SW Retail Advisors President discuss retail earnings and pressure with a particular focus on Macy's, Nordstrom, Ralph Lauren and J.C. Penney.
Matthew Boss, Managing Director & Senior Broadlines Retail Analyst at JPMorgan, discusses possible troubles for retailer JC Penney and how to approach the company as an investor.
CNBC's Phil LeBeau reports that car sales in Brazil were down 25 percent in April as the consumer confidence in the Brazilian economy plummets.
The two major retail ETFs are both trading in the red Thursday, following disappointing April retail sales figures.
CNBC's Phil LeBeau reports U.S. auto sales data for the month of April.
CNBC's Phil LeBeau reports on Toyota's U.S. sales for April.
AIG CEO Peter Hancock shares his insight on Q1 results and company growth.
CNBC's Phil LeBeau reports GM coming in a little weaker than expected in April with a decline of 3.5% in auto sales.
"Squawk Box's" Becky Quick talks to Geico's top salesman Alan Alford about the art of the sale.
Mondelez Chairman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld discusses the company's better-than-expected revenue and profit.
After Apple reported its first revenue decline in 13 years, how should investors look at Tim Cook's optimism on emerging market sales, with Timothy Arcuri, Cowen & Co. technology analyst, and Channing Smith, Capital Advisors co-portfolio manager.
U.S. secretary of commerce, Penny Pritzker tells CNBC that they hope to get a U.S. EU trade deal done in 2016, while commenting on the possible challenges ahead.
The planemaker may slow output to an assembly rate of 1.7 aircraft a month.
CEO Elon Musk says Tesla is surprised by the overwhelming number of orders.
The Dutch brewing company says it sold more beer than expected in the first quarter of the year.
There's little euphoria in the restaurant industry going into earnings season, amid reports of lighter foot traffic.
The company says toys based on 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' and 'Frozen' helped drive sales last quarter.
Barron's financial newspaper says the two automakers are 'leaner, nimbler, and more disciplined' than before.


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The Top 25: #5 Jeff Housenbold, SoftBank Investment Advisers
Jeffrey Housenbold earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he was a dean’s fellow, and his undergraduate degrees in economics and business administration from Carnegie Mellon University, where he was an Andrew Carnegie presidential scholar who graduated with high honours.
He ran online photo-printing service Shutterfly for more than a decade “turning a modest 100-employee business into a successful market leader worth more than $1.8bn and overseeing 20-times growth in revenue, profit and market capitalisation”, according to one biography.
Since joining SoftBank in June 2017, Housenbold has led investments in nearly a dozen high-profile deals. Nomination him as a Rising Star, Rajeev Misra, CEO of SoftBank Investment Advisers, which manages the SoftBank Vision Fund, said: “Jeff Housenbold has been with the fund since inception. He has built a good team of 12 investors and is very active with his portfolio companies.”
The portfolio includes DoorDash, Katerra, Oyo, Compass, OpenDoor, Plenty, Wag, Brandless, Heed and InMobi. In November alone, of at least 24 deals in first 11 months of last year, and looking just at Housenbold’s favoured area of ecommerce and services, the Vision Fund has backed Indonesia-based online storefront Tokopedia’s $1bn round, South Korea-based e-commerce provider Coupang’s $2bn round, China-based on-demand online services holding company Alibaba Bendi Shenghuo Fuwu Gonsi’s $4bn round, and US-based delivery service Zume Pizza’s $375m round.
In March, delivery service DoorDash raised $535m in a series D round led by SoftBank Group with participation from existing investors Sequoia Capital, GIC and Wellcome Trust. Housenbold joined DoorDash’s board at that time, adding to directorships he has held at Grab, Plenty, Katerra, Wag and Chegg.
SoftBank also invested $300m in dog-walking service Wag, giving SoftBank a 45% stake in the company. Other deals, such as Opendoor and Compass in the summer, were for real estate services, while bigger bets in the area include WeWork.
“Venture capital has never been done at this scale,” Housenbold has said. The Vision Fund allows entrepreneurs “to go after bigger more audacious goals”, he added in a profile by newswire Bloomberg.
At a StrictlyVC event in San Francisco in September, Housenbold said: “In the continuum of venture capital, we are late-stage growth. Our minimum cheque size is $100m. We are looking for product-market fit, meaning some revenue and some traction, before we typically come into a deal. It depends on which industry and which company. It could be gross merchandise volume. It could be revenue. If it is in enterprise software, it could be how many clients, the diversification of the revenue and the repeats and retention rates.
“But we are looking for companies that are growing very quickly and could deploy a lot of capital in a differentiated way to either capture new customers, market share, enter into new geographies, expand their product portfolio, or move into adjacent markets.”


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PlayStation Now Pricing Details Outed?
Posted on Monday, March 10 @ 08:30:00 Eastern by Alex_Osborn
Ever since Sony unveiled PlayStation Now earlier this year, gamers have been dying to know exactly how Sony plans to charge for its streaming service. If an image on the newly redesigned Gaikai website is any indication, Uncharted 3 and Far Cry 3 rentals may cost $4.99 and $5.99, respectively.
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Perhaps the most useful thing about the new Google TV platform is the ability to aggregate and organize content from a variety of different sources. Which ones, though? Here’s a full list of streaming services that Google TV supports at launch.
Of course, Google can pull content from its own services such as YouTube TV and also Google TV (formerly Play Movies). Beyond that, however, are quite a few third-party services. Major players like Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max are included, and NBC’s Peacock is also coming soon. The full list of services can be found below as provided by Google.
- Amazon Prime Video
- CBS All Access
- Comedy Central
- DC Universe
- Disney NOW
- Epix Now
- Fox Now
- Google Play Movies (now Google TV)
- HBO Go
- HBO Max
- Pluto TV
- Showtime Anytime
- Sling TV
- The CW
- Tubi TV
- YouTube TV
This list of supported streaming services will likely expand over time, so we’ll keep an eye out for changes on Google TV and update this article accordingly.
Update: Netflix has been removed from this list.
The Google Play Movies & TV app that this new platform replaces had a similar function to Google TV by finding content on a variety of different services, but it wasn’t very widely used. By integrating with your account-wide Google watchlist and being placed directly on your TV, Google TV has a much better chance to support this function.
Google TV is available on your TV first on the new Chromecast and is rolling out now on Android smartphones.
More on Google TV:
- Everything you need to know about Google’s new Chromecast and where to buy it
- ‘Google TV’ app integrates your streaming services and a watchlist, will replace Play Movies
- Android TV as you know it today will be replaced by Google TV over the next two years
Author: Ben Schoon


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Deficits 'undermining recovery', warns Osborne
Chancellor George Osborne yesterday warned fellow finance ministers that runaway deficits could capsize the world economic recovery.
Speaking in Washington ahead of next week's spending review, Osborne hit back at those who said cutting back sharply on public spending threatened major economies.
In talks held behind closed doors at the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund, the Chancellor stressed that nations with ballooning deficits needed to get a grip.
Warning: The Chancellor said that countries with no 'fiscal room for manoeuvre' needed to take action
While emphasising the need for an approach in which each country decides for itself when to scale down the spending which was put in place to head off recession, Osborne insisted that nations with no 'fiscal room for manoeuvre' needed to take action sooner rather than later. A Treasury source said: 'He said Britain is a good example of a country that was up against its borrowing limits.'
The spending review on October 20 is expected to unveil cuts totalling £83billion for the four years ending 2014-2015.
In London, Business Secretary Vince Cable's former chief economist Vicky Pryce warned that much of British business was 'in denial' over the likely fallout from the cuts.
The proportion of private companies dependent on public contracts was 'quite substantial', she said, adding that 'firms need to be prepared for the implications'.
She said there would be 'huge opportunities' for those that could offer competitive services to the public sector.
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Attackers were able to create phony debit accounts through Tampa Bay Federal Credit Union’s (TBFCU) Bank Identification Number (BIN) which is the first six digits on a debit card. Once the BIN’s were obtained, software from the dark web was used to link them to actual members of TBFCU. TBFCU commented on the situation saying, “This was a situation where the ‘bad guys’ tried using sophisticated software to perpetrate fraud without having any other card or personal information needed to be successful.” They also reassured that no customers suffered from fraudulent attempts, but it led to a large number of customers canceling their cards, leading to long wait times for new cards. Although it is not confirmed, the attack is believed have been perpetrated by threat actors located in Australia.
12 Essentials for a Successful SOC Partnership
As cyber threats continue to impact businesses of all sizes, the need for round-the-clock security


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‘EU countries should UberPop ban without the approval of Brussels’
European member states the use of UberPop criminalization, without European Commission approval.
That concludes the attorney general in an opinion to the European Court of Justice.
“Advocate general Maciej Szpunar is of the opinion that the member states in the illegal exercise of transport activities like UberPop to be able to ban and criminalization without the bill in advance to inform the Commission”, reads the conclusion.
Uber is in France sued because of the service UberPop, which allows non-professional drivers other users can carry. According to the prosecutors is Uber this is an illegal taxi service.
“We have the conclusion in the light and wait for the opinion of the court later this year”, said a spokesman for Uber. The company emphasizes that it comes to a lawsuit from 2014 and that UberPop in France since 2015 is not being used.
In 2015 stopped Uber in the Netherlands with UberPop, after the service was illegally declared by the Environment and Transport Inspectorate.
The case may affect other countries where lawsuits over Uber run or be started.
Uber said in the French case, no taxi service, but an information service. The European Commission would, in that case, approval must give for the ban.
The advocate general proposes that the part UberPop specifically focuses on transport. It would therefore not have a wide a part of the information society. The Commission would, therefore, not in the case of need to involve. Thereby referred to the attorney general back to an earlier opinion in a Spanish-Uber-case.
The conclusion of the advocate general is not binding, but serves as a advice for the European Court of Justice. The Court will later decide in the case.


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Natural Wine Festival Coming to Downtown Columbus in July
In other Central Ohio food news, Hilliard loses a bakery but regains a barbecue spot.
Columbus’ first Natural Wine Festival is set to take place Downtown this summer, offering curious wine drinkers the chance to sample dozens of natural wines poured by the winemakers and distributors. The inaugural Natural Wine Festival will take place at the Galleria of the Lazarus Building (50 W. Town St.) from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 8, according to organizer Greg Stokes of Accent Wine and the Bottle Shop. “Our goal is to have 15 tables of wine, with some of the winemakers coming in from California, and to host around 350-500 people to raise awareness for the Columbus natural wine scene,” Stokes said via email. A variety of local restaurants, such as Comune, Agni and Chapman’s Eat Market, will be on hand to support the event but are not expected to be serving food. However, food trucks will be lined along Town Street for the event. A portion of the event proceeds will benefit Love Boldly, a faith-based charity for creating safe spaces for members of the LGBTQ+ community. Tickets for the inaugural Columbus Natural Wine Festival can be purchased here.
Openings & Announcements
A new carryout called Two Fat Indian Fusion recently opened at 177 S. Cypress Ave. in Franklinton, formerly home to Red Door BBQ. The new concept is from Amit Kumar, one of the founders of Two Fatt Indians food truck. In additional to traditional lamb, chicken, vegetarian and vegan Indian dishes, the carryout offers Indian-inspired pizzas, much like the ones featured in our recent story about the global pizza trend. Check out the menu on Instagram.
Echo Spirits Distilling Co. (985 W. Sixth Ave.) is set to release its first two bourbons this weekend: its 95-proof bourbon and barrel-proof bourbon. Co-founder Joe Bidinger, a 2022 Columbus Monthly Tastemaker, describes the 95-proof bottle as “an easy drinker with notes of tea leaves, white chocolate, peppered cherry, marzipan and pistachio." Meanwhile, the barrel-proof bourbon is geared toward the bourbon connoisseur, with notes of “pecans, cantaloupe, crème brûlée, chipotle cherries and fruited tobacco.” To celebrate the bourbon release, Echo Spirits is hosting an exclusive launch on Saturday, May 27, from 10 a.m. to noon at the distillery. Both bourbons will be available for purchase at select retailers soon.
The first Ohio location of Chung Chun Rice Hot Dog is coming soon to the Columbus area. The international chain boasts more than 200 branches and specializes in Korean-style corn dogs dipped in rice flour batter and fried. Rice dog fillings range from beef hot dogs to stretchy mozzarella to Spam, and can be rolled in panko, potatoes or even ramen noodles before frying. Chung Chun is set to debut June 15 at Polaris Fashion Place, according to a spokesperson for the company. The franchisee plans to open additional Chung Chun locations in Ohio soon. It’s the second Korean hot dog chain to hit Central Ohio. A year ago, a franchise location of Myungrang Hot Dog opened at 850 N. High St. in the Short North.
After suffering a fire in December 2021, Hilliard's Legacy Smokehouse is finally set to reopen for business Friday, May 26, at 3987 Main St. in Old Hilliard. The opening coincides with the debut of Rickhouse 41, a new bourbon bar located above the barbecue joint.
This week, Great Harvest Bread Co. in Hilliard announced that it would be closing permanently, just shy of its fourth anniversary. The café’s last day at 5311 Westpointe Plaza Drive will be Wednesday, May 31. The Great Harvest location will continue offering fresh breads, sandwiches, salads and more through the end of the month.


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NIKE has released its first sports hijab for Muslim athletes to wear while competing.
The sports manufacturing giant announced earlier this year it was working on bringing out a headscarf for female sports stars.
In plain black with the familiar white swoosh, the pull-on design and long back keeps the garment in place during activity.
Nike were inspired to make the Pro Hijab after hearing the plight of Amna Al Haddad back in 2015.
The Olympic hopeful weightlifter from the United Arab Emirates said she had just one hijab in which to compete.
She had to wash it in the sink each night to ensure cleanliness and said she needed a “reliable, breathable, fast-drying hijab for future competitions”.


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The Kamdhenu Group is aiming for a brand sales turnover of ₹22,000 crore from its steel business by financial year 2023-24, Satish Agarwal, CMD, said.
The Gurugram-based company operates on a franchisee model in the steel segment. Besides steel, the company is also into manufacturing paints.
“Looking at the demand for our products, we expect a total brand sales turnover of ₹22,000 crore in the steel segment,” he said and explained “brand sales turnover includes the total business by the company (Kamdhenu Group) and its franchise partners.” During the FY 2020-21, the company’s overall brand sales turnover was ₹12,000 crore
Noting that the government is spending on infrastructure, he said, “The focus on development of roads, railways, ports, airports, mass transport, waterways and logistics infrastructure and PM AWAS Yojana will lead to demand creation for steel.”
Speaking about the current demand, Agarwal further said, “The demand for quality TMT bars from the housing sector in India is growing at a rate of 6-8 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) annually, market size of his company in the organized TMT section is around 25 lakh tonne.”
Regarding the paint business, he said, “The revenue from this business was ₹202 crore in FY21, and the company is looking to achieve ₹1,000 crore revenue by financial year 2025-26.” The paint industry in India is growing at a rate of 18-20 per cent currently, he added.
The company, under the franchisee model, has TMT manufacturing plants in states like Odisha, Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh, among others.
Its paint manufacturing plant is at Chopanki in Rajasthan, where the company manufactures interior and exterior emulsions, stainers, colourants, designer paints, construction chemicals, waterproofing chemicals and other water-based speciality products.
(With inputs from agencies)


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Olympus unveiled its revolutionary new Pen E-P1 camera in the UAE today, underlining its continuous commitment to technological innovation and achievement. The new Pen E-P1 comes to the UAE having revolutionised the markets in Europe and won several awards including the prestigious EISA award for the best “European Camera 2009-2010,” and the Gold award from Hardware Magazine HWM Tech publication.
Olympus held the UAE launch for the Pen E-P1 at a press conference alongside its participation at GITEX Dubai 2009. The camera was unveiled by Mr. Nacho Abia, Executive Managing Director, Olympus Europa Imaging Gmbh, who had specially flown in from Germany for the occasion and Mr. Abdul Jabbar Al Sayegh, Chairman, Al Sayegh Brothers, the sole distributors and local agent for Olympus in the UAE.
“The new Pen E-P1 has fully met the spirit of time and promises the best of two worlds: SLR performance and compact convenience. By achieving this marriage successfully, Olympus is once again a step ahead,” said Mr Abia, speaking at the unveiling ceremony. “We believe the Pen is a milestone in photography and will change our photographic habits. We are confident that we can develop this head start to increase market share, and gain the number one rank in this new market field,” he added.”
Olympus, which also celebrates the 90th anniversary of its establishment this year, marked the event with a photography campaign based on the theme: “Dubai: Dawn to Dusk,” conceptualized as a tribute to the vibrant emirate and the fast paced growth witnessed by it in recent years. Talented lens men from among Dubai’s photographer fraternity were invited to capture the various moods and tones of the city on film and selected images from this collection were displayed at an exhibition held alongside the press conference.
Congratulating Olympus on its 90th anniversary, Mr. Abdul Jabbar Al Sayegh commended the organisation for its significant contribution to the global digital imaging industry. “Al Sayegh Brothers is proud of its long term association with Olympus, which has constantly demonstrated its dedication to technological innovation and has delivered on its promise to excellence. Olympus has become synonymous with quality and t,he new Pen E-P1, which is a classic example of this commitment, will surely have a huge appeal to all photography enthusiasts in the UAE,” he said.
Representing a perfect harmony of modern technology and classic style, the retro design of the new Pen E-P1 is reminiscent of Olympus‘ legendary Pen series of cameras, which rewrote the history of photography when it was first launched in 1959. Five decades later, the Olympus passion for innovation is still setting the pace with the new Pen E-P1, which combines an incredibly small size, retro style, and ease of use without giving up any of the benefits of D-SLR quality.
The digital era’s next generation Olympus Pen – the first ground breaking Olympus Micro Four Thirds model – also packs all the advantages of Olympus imaging technology including image stabilisation, dust reduction system and bright interchangeable lenses, including the first Olympus interchangeable lenses specially designed for the new Micro Four Thirds format. The E-P1, which is available in two options (silver or white) boasts a variety of creative E-System features allowing photographers to explore new artistic possibilities. It also breaks new ground with the option of video recordings that were previously impossible.
© 2000 - 2022 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)


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Last week, Genius was sold for $80 million in a fire sale to MediaLab.AI Inc. It was sold for $80M, which is less than it raised! It’s a disappointing exit for a company once valued near $1 billion, but it’s a reminder of the importance of platform dependency.
When “annotating the world” goes wrong. In the early 2010s, Rap Genius came out the gates hot with its bro culture image. Hip-hop lyric websites weren’t new, but Genius stood out because of its annotation. People could add context to popular lyrics, which viewers could see with one click of a button. Often, the artist offered that annotation.


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Fashion giant H&M to open flagship store in Perth GPO
H&M’s flagship city store will be in Perth’s retail engine room, in two levels of the heritage General Post Office building, just across Wellington Street from Perth train station.
H&M, or Hennes & Mauritz, the world’s second-biggest retailer by sales, is poised to mirror its stand-out success in Melbourne, where it has set up shop in the Bourke Street Mall in what was also once that city’s central post office.
The hip Swedish fashion retailer, which opened its first WA outlet at Lakeside Joondalup shopping centre in August, is understood to have signed a 10-year, 4000sqm-plus lease, taking up the entire ground floor, first floor and a 400sqm basement.
The eagerly anticipated opening is scheduled for mid-November, timed to capitalise on what some hope will be a season of merrily loosened purse strings.
H&M’s Perth debut came hot on the heels of international rivals Zara and Topshop, which in 2014 took up residence nearby on the Murray Street Mall.
The move, which last week necessitated moving the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority from the first floor to its new third-floor home, will also force the relocation of the ground floor Post Office shop, to an as-yet undisclosed location.
The 1900sqm GPO second floor, currently occupied by AECOM, will become available on Friday as the engineering consultant consolidates on floors four, five and six, which have been recently upgraded. Cityscope records from March list the Department of Workplace and Training as the seventh-floor occupant.
The Perth GPO, built in stages between 1916 and 1923, was on the market in 2011 and 2012 in a campaign by JLL that received offers, thought to be in the $60 million to $65 million range. However, Australia Post decided not to sell. The 12,891sqm building, opposite Myer’s flagship store in Forrest Chase, may return to the market as the cash-strapped Australia Post reviews its property portfolio.
One of the big winners from the H&M deal is thought to be the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority, said to have signed its initial first-floor lease for $620/sqm in 2014.
However, it is said H&M fortuitously appeared just as the MRA’s rent-free period expired, resulting in it getting a huge rental free kick and an opportunity to sign a 15-year lease at $500/sqm.
The lease for the H&M store was negotiated by Colliers International associate director retail Ben Tana.
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Inauguration Day is a week away, and no matter what your political preference, there’s no doubt this city is going to be packed with lots of parties and places to imbibe.
Some restaurants are using Inauguration week’s anticipated traffic as a chance to give proceeds to an array of local charities. To support the Women’s March, popular recipients include the female-focused Planned Parenthood and N Street Village Women’s Shelter.
Some spots are going the non-partisan route, and a few high-profile media takeovers are in the works: NBC is airing at Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar & Eatery, while Politico’s at POV at The W.
Here’s a growing guide of Inauguration-related specials for catching a buzz and bite on or around the big day on Jan. 20.
3333 Georgia Ave. NW
The beer garden is having a farewell party for the Obamas and Joe Biden on Jan. 20, with bands, a raffle, open bar and taco fiesta from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. for $44. And on Jan. 21 a post-Women's March fundraiser for the House of Ruth will go from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The Black Squirrel
2427 18th St. NW
From 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Jan. 21, an “Equal Pay Post-March Happy Hour” features woman-owned Denizens Brewing Co. Pay 21% less for Denizens beer and select appetizers on the main floor as a symbol of the pay gap between men and women. Beers include Denizens Southside Rye, Safety Pin Session IPA, and more.
707 6th St. NW
1340 U St. NW
On Inauguration Day Friday, come for $6 beer and shot combos or $5 mixed drink specials all day.
465 K St. NW
Starting Friday, and available throughout the weekend, Alta Strada will offer happy hour pricing ($6) on all Americano cocktails, all day. Proceeds from the “Make Americanos Great Again,” promotion will be donated to the Anti-Defamation League.
1601 14th St NW
On Jan. 20 and Jan. 21, its popular sidewalk glace cart will offer passersby warming cups of peppermint chocolat chaud ($13), hot coffee ($4), as well as seasonal glacé flavors. The kitchen and bar will both stay open one hour later Thursday through Sunday on Inauguration weekend.
Quarter + Glory
2017 14th St. NW
Starting Jan. 20 and through the weekend, Quarter + Glory will offer three $10 cocktail specials all day. They include “Believe Me” with rye, #NOT! with vodka, and "Who's going to pay for it?" with tequila.
The Fainting Goat
1330 U St. NW
For those planning to hibernate or get the heck out of dodge during Inauguration Weekend, a special survival kit being offered for $39 will include spiced popcorn and chocolate treats by executive chef Nathan Beauchamp, as well as beverage director Ian Fletcher's bottled punch mix. The kits serve two to four, and they’re available for pickup after noon on Friday. Email email@example.com or call (202) 735-0344 to order one now.
1001 H St. NE
True to its legacy of community service, Ben's Upstairs is hosting an Inauguration Rooftop Retreat, a place to “rise above and lift our collective spirits.” The day starts at 11 a.m. and invites patrons to spin oldies on the record player and have brunch all day, plus dinner.
1914 9th St. NW
Both Jan. 20 and 21, the Grotto Bar will open early at 12 p.m. with full beverage menu and a limited bar menu. The regular menu will start at 5 p.m. both in the bar and upstairs. A percentage of sales both days will go to Casa Ruby, D.C.’s bilingual multicultural LGBT nonprofit providing life-saving services and programs to the most vulnerable in the LGBT community.
Art & Soul
415 New Jersey Ave. NW
Located two blocks from the U.S. Capitol, the bar is tenting and heating its patio from Jan. 18 to 22 and turning it into a pop-up lounge. In addition to offering Art and Soul's regular menu, it’ll have boozy hot chocolate selections (for here only) and to-go hot chocolate with a couple of snacks and hand warmers. Cozy cocktails, too.
Kapnos & G
2201 14th St. NW
Featuring The Bigger Picture, a cocktail inspired by the Women's March on Washington (with Van Gogh Vodka), with a portion of proceeds from drink sales going to support the Human Rights Campaign.
4900 Hampden Ln., Bethesda
Offering the Ruthie cocktail (Vodka, Aperol, Cranberry Shrub, Blood Orange, Lemon) with $1 from each cocktail sold donated to the House of Ruth, an organization sheltering victims of domestic abuse.
Policy Restaurant & Lounge
1904 14th St. NW
A special happy hour on Saturday, Jan. 21 from 5 to 7 p.m. will be for Women's March on Washington participants. Beers start at just $4.50, wine at $5.50, and cocktails at $6.50. Food specials include Executive Chef Lonnie Zoeller's Shrimp Empanadas ($4), Pork Belly Chicharron ($6), and more.
777 6th St. NW
Usually open for 5 p.m. dinner service, Flight will be opening at 11:30 a.m. on both Friday and Saturday, offering a special limited lunch menu until 4 p.m.
2446 18th St. NW
On Thursday, Roofers Union will host Denizens Brewing Company for a "Sour Days Ahead" beer event. It will be showcasing five sour/funky beers and trivia at 8 p.m.
717 6th St. NW
For a special Inauguration menu, Cocktails will be $10, Bud drafts $4, and late-night sandwiches served until 2 a.m. will include The Trump (meatloaf, cheddar cheeds, White Pullman bread), The Obama, and The Roosevelt.
Port City Brewing Company
3950 Wheeler Ave., Alexandria, Va.
An ESB (Extra Special Bitter) release party will start at 3 p.m., and quantities are limited. There’s also live music with Derek Evry from 7 to 9 p.m. and Borinquen Lunchbox food truck in the lot serving up the area’s best Puerto Rican food.
3126 12th St. NE
During Inauguration week, Brookland’s Finest will tap a keg from women-owned brewery Denizens Brewing Company. The bar will also serve $10 White Russians and $10 Orange Russians (fresh squeezed orange juice, simple syrup, vanilla-infused Civic vodka and cream). Proceeds will go to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
124 Blagden Alley NW
For an all-female bartender takeover on Jan. 20 and 21, Lynnette Marrero, Ivy Mix, Pam Wiznitzer, and others will craft unique cocktails that speak to them and their personal stories, with a portion of the proceeds going to Planned Parenthood. The two-day event will have four seating slots available each evening. The three-course option is $79 plus tax and the five-course option is $108 plus tax. Both are inclusive of gratuity.
District Distilling Co.
1414 U St. NW
On Jan. 20, a “Put an Egg on It” brunch starting at 11 a.m. will include a comfort food-filled bar menu (think chef Justin Bittner’s buttermilk fried chicken biscuit). District Distilling will become the official fueling and recovery station for the Million Woman March on Jan. 21 and 22, with all-day menus. Proceeds from the weekend’s special Manzana Ilegal cocktail will go to the local N Street Village Women’s Shelter.
Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar & Eatery
901 Pennsylvania Ave. SE
At its Capitol Hill location, NBC Washington will be broadcasting all day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. In “pastri-otic” spirit, the bakery will serve up vanilla-cherry soda cakewiches priced at $4.50, as a nod to the incoming 45th president.
1525 Wisconsin Ave. NW
The Italian Georgetown spot will host a class on how to make classic American cocktails inspired by powerful women. Cocktail Director Michael Rovezzi will walk through the steps to making five different cocktails, and proceeds will go toward Planned Parenthood. All guests must show a valid government-issued ID. Price: $25, 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 19 and 20.
1308 G St. NW
Astro will offer a “Farewell Obama” doughnut, inspired by some of the 44th president’s reported favorite foods including salted caramels, peanuts, and chocolate. A savory doughnut, “New York State of Mind,” will be available during the week of the inauguration. A portion of the proceeds from sales of both doughnuts will go to DC Central Kitchen.
1500 New Hampshire Ave. NW
The high-end hotel bar, sure to be a great people-watching spot, is serving an Inauguration cocktail special through Feb. 6. A District Welcome ($12) is made up of District Distilling Co. Checkerbank Gin, Capitoline Rosè Vermouth, Don Ciccio & Figli Nocino, Amaro Montenegro, and lemon. Open daily at 11 a.m.
425 7th St. NW
The family-style eatery is commemorating the day by offering a breakfast menu starting at 7 a.m. with a grab-and-go continental buffet plus a sit-down breakfast menu. Menu items include spinach sundried tomato and fontina frittata with rosemary roasted red potatoes and French toast with maple syrup. Carmine’s will also be serving its happy hour menu at the bar from 11:30 a.m. until 11 p.m.
1833 14th St. NW
Bar Pilar will be holding a “Thanks, Obama Send-off Party” on Jan. 20 starting at 11 a.m. with specials inspired by Chicago and Hawaii. Drink specials will include Hawaiian-themed tiki cocktails, a Malort-based cocktail, and bubbles. From Thursday to Sunday, the restaurant will be participating in the All in Service project by holding a raffle fundraiser to raise funds to support ONE DC, N Street Village Women’s Shelter, and the Whitman Walker Clinic.
Cafe Saint Ex
1847 14th St. NW
Cafe Saint Ex will also be participating in the All in Service project, with funds raised from the sale of raffle tickets from the weekend going to benefit the Chesapeake Bay Trust.
2031 Florida Ave. NW
McClellan’s Retreat will be opening early Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of Inauguration week starting at 1 p.m. daily. The regular cocktail menu, featuring this month’s “Top 12 Cocktails of 2016” specialty list, will be offered.
108 Rhode Island Ave. NW
For late night Inaugural revelers, night tacos and burritos are available until 12:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday (11:30 p.m. on all other nights), with late night drink specials available starting at 10:30 p.m. to close. On Thursday night, the greater LGBTQ community will throw a late night happy hour, starting at 9 p.m. with $5 Tito’s and house margaritas until close.
Civil Cigar Lounge
5335 Wisconsin Ave. NW
From 4 p.m. to midnight on Jan. 20, wear a red hat, a tie made in china, or a blonde wig and get 20% off Jack Daniel's, and 20% off cigars made in Miami. Forgot to bring one? They’ll be available for purchase, with proceeds going to charity. Not participating? Buy the person next to you a drink, so as to "subsidize" their check. Disclaimer from the Chevy Chase restaurant: “If you're going to CRY don't come. If you're going to GLOAT don't come. Only come if you want to have FUN!”
1750 H St. NW
The fast-casual Greek concept steps from the White House will extend hours from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Jan. 20. Inauguration Day specials include an 8-ounce La Colombe drip coffee and freshly-made mini phyllo pie for just $1.20. Or get two small soups, two side salads and two regular phyllo pies for $20.17.
Teddy & The Bully Bar, LINCOLN
1200 19th St. NW / 1110 Vermont Ave. NW
PRG Hospitality’s patriotic spots will celebrate the 45th president by offering a $45 Inauguration Day package that includes unlimited bar bites, American mule cocktails, seasonal snacks, bubbly, and more.
804 V St. NW
On Inauguration Day, customers can enjoy two hours of unlimited Brooklyn and margherita pizzas plus American mule cocktails and draft beer for $35 a person.
Ventnor Sports Cafe
2411 18th St. NW
A weekend of giving will kick off on Tuesday with a Great Women in Trivia night, with 10% of the proceeds from Trivia night will go to Planned Parenthood. On Wednesday, 10% of proceeds will go to N Street Village Women’s Shelter.
Neighborhood Restaurant Group's “People are People” beer
Bluejacket has brewed a special beer (a $6 bone-dry Belgian-style Saison of 6% ABV) that will be poured at each of NRG’s D.C. restaurants: Birch & Barley, ChurchKey, Bluejacket, Red Apron Union Market, Red Apron Burger Bar, The Partisan, Iron Gate, Hazel, The Sovereign, EatBar. Starting Wednesday, proceeds from the beer will go to D.C.’s Immigrant Justice Legal Service Grant Program through the weekend and while supplies last.
1734 N St. NW
Funds from a new cocktail called “We Can Do It!” will go to N Street Village Women’s Shelter. The cocktail, with Borough Bourbon from Republic Restoratives (a new D.C. bourbon made in Ivy City produced by a women-owned distillery), Caffo Mezodi L’Aperitivo, in-house blood orange/lime oleo saccharum, and lime juice, aims to highlight local products made by women. Iron Gate will also offer free to-go coffee for the Million Women’s March.
The brand’s five restaurants (Commissary, Logan Tavern, Grillfish, The Bird and The Pig) will serve brunch on Jan. 20, and Logan Tavern will have complimentary hot chocolate and hot chili soup available for those joining the Women's March on Jan. 21, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
3417 Connecticut Ave. NW
For those looking to use Inauguration as an excuse to explore other D.C. neighborhoods, Cleveland Park’s Ripple will offer half off bottles of wine and a complimentary snack with any beverage purchased at the bar from 5 p.m. to close on Jan. 20.


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It’s Time To Raise The Minimum Wage
The Federal minimum wage sits at $7.25 an hour. Fast food workers are scheduled to walk off the job in about 100 cities today. Corporate profits are at all time highs. Even congress has raised their own wages several times since the minimum wage was last raised. So what's the problem?
Well the fear is that if the minimum wage is raised, prices will just be raised to help cover those costs, pretty much equaling everything out. That's partially true, but if it was completely true, then how come corporate CEO's keep getting more an more outrageous compensation packages? The lowest paid CEO on the Forbes 100 gets paid 15.3 million per year!
Let's look at another school of thought. If people have more money, they buy more things, meaning the price increases can be spread out among several purchases. This is to to say if a business makes a dime off each item and raising prices cuts that profit down to six cents, it's possible that the increased money in the economy will result in them selling two items at six cents for a total profit of twelve cents. Yeah, it's very much a stretch, but so is the idea that raising the minimum wage is going to somehow kill the economy.
It's also time to look at the wages that servers get. For 22 YEARS the rate has been $2.13. Sure, some get tips to make up for the deficit, but since the tips are not guaranteed, this number is RIDICULOUS.
Here's more on raising the minimum wage.


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2077. Cyberpunk is a disaster that the directors of CD Projekt I knew it would collapse and burn. That being said, one of its many bugs has the advantage of giving players what they’ve been asking for since the game’s 2012 release: a third-person mode.
In various videos uploaded since the game’s release on December 10, 2077. Cyberpunk players have demonstrated a strange problem that keeps the camera locked in the third person. This results in a headless, caressed version of the main character’s model, being put in full view of the player, which I can then use to walk the streets of Night City like a terrible monstrosity.
This seems to be connected to the third-person perspective option, available while the player is inside a vehicle. As such, the area you can traverse while the bug is in effect is limited, as the camera remains locked on any vehicle you have just exited. While like naked were shared with 2077. Cyberpunk subreddit, the problem does not seem to be as widespread as other problems.
Much can be said about 2077. Cyberpunk, its development cycle and business models that led to its launch in such a compromised state, maybe too much to put in a simple blog about a stupid problem. Maybe this, along with countless other issues with the game, should stop studio directors from waking up. exploiting their labor force. I think we’ll see in the coming months.


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- Bitcoin Casinos
- Real Money Casinos
- Strategy Guides
- Sweepstakes Casinos
- Free Slots
- Slot Developers
- Betting Sites
- Legal States
Angel Hristov December 14, 2022 3 min read
Bettor Vision Launches All-in-one Fantasy App
Bettor Vision, the only sports betting and fantasy sports account aggregator, has released a brand new app for fantasy sports. It allows fans to bet, access fantasy contests and follow the latest developments involving their favorite sports teams.
Bettor Vision Launched a New App
Bettor Vision’s new app will work as a one-stop shop for fans of fantasy sports and will have everything they need to play and enjoy the vertical. To celebrate the launch of its new all-in-one app, the company also unveiled a new contest for its customers.
The contest, Bettor Vision announced, will run between December 18 and January 23. It will provide fantasy sports enthusiasts with opportunities to win tickets for major sporting events. In total, there will be three prizes lucky fans could grab. The first one is two tickets for the “Big Game” with airfare and lodging costs covered. The second is two tickets for the “All-Star game” with airfare and lodging costs covered. Lastly, three lucky people will win a humungous 75” Smart TV.
All five winners would be randomly drawn from the entry pool. Fans can join the promotion by submitting an online entry at bettorvisionbucketlistgiveaway.com. Once they do so, they will be provided with a personalized link they can send to their friends. The referent will get an additional entry for every person who registers through their personalized link.
CEO Lanier Wants to Make Fans Feel a Part of the Action
Brett Lanier, Bettor Vision’s co-founder and chief executive officer, spoke about Bettor Vision’s vision. His company’s philosophy is to provide fans with a convenient app they can use to access their favorite fantasy sports teams – an app that Lanier believes fans deserve.
Bettor Vision customers, according to Lanier, are fervent sports enthusiasts who like wagering and playing fantasy sports. According to him, this makes them feel more connected to the action. Bettor Vision, he said, was created to cater to these fans’ needs and help fans stay tuned with the latest developments in professional sports.
Speaking about his company’s exciting promotion, Lanier said:
This promotion gives our customers a chance to really feel connected to the action by attending sports bucket list experiences in person or using their massive new TV to host a party for the Big Game.Brett Lanier, CEO, Bettor Vision
Bettor Vision is a fairly new player in the fantasy sports market. It was founded last year by Lanier and Geoff Doyle. The inspiration behind the new app was the founders’ vision for streamlining sports information to provide smoother fantasy experiences.
Angel has a passion for all forms of writing, be it fiction or nonfiction. His curious nature gives him an ace up his sleeve when researching a new topic. Angel’s thirst for knowledge, paired with adaptability, always helps him find his way around.
Sports December 14, 2022
Sports December 14, 2022


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HONOR, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer, is steadily recovering from US sanctions by functioning as an independent brand following its split from long-time parent company HUAWEI and selling new products both globally and in its home country of China. A teardown of HONOR’s latest smartphone model has revealed that parts manufactured in the United States account for 40% of the product’s production cost, demonstrating the company’s reliance on the United States.
The HONOR X30 5G, the company’s midrange 5G phone announced in December 2021, was subjected to a breakdown effort by the renowned Nikkei Asia journal, which yielded the following conclusions. HONOR’s X30, is expected to cost $217 to produce. The cost of US components accounted for the lion’s share of the total, accounting for 39% of the total. Meanwhile, the share of Chinese parts fell by 27 points to almost 10%.
Most of the X30’s fundamental components, including the processor and 5G chipset, come from Qualcomm in the United States, rather than HiSilicon or UNISOC in China. Qualcomm and Qorvo, another big American component producer, are claimed to supply all communication processors for the current model. The sole Chinese communication chip portion employed is an old-technology signal amplifier for communication.
Aside from US components, the HONOR relies on Japanese components, which account for 16% of overall production costs and the second-largest component share. Murata, Taiyo Yuden, and TDK all contribute to Japan’s contribution, as do Sony Group’s camera image sensors and communication components.
The display is the only moderately expensive Chinese component in the X30. The LCD panel is expected to cost $14, which is less than a quarter of the price of the OLED panel used in the flagship model.
According to the findings, China is struggling to develop cutting-edge electronics for cellphones on its own, which has become a talking point now.


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On the fourth floor of a brick factory in Galveston, Texas, you can see the factory’s new roof with a brand new ceiling.
You can see where the new roof is located.
You’ll be able to see how the roof looks when it’s fully opened.
The factory was originally built in 1901, but its roof was only partially completed.
When the factory was built, the new factory was designed to accommodate the workers who needed to move to the next factory.
The roof of the new building.
(Credit: Google Maps)This is the new construction of the brick factory.
(Image: Google)The new roof of this brick factory is about 4 feet tall, which is just shy of the height of the factory itself.
The roof was completed with the help of contractors hired by the factory.
They built the roof using recycled materials and reinforced concrete.
The workers have had to adjust to a new environment.
In order to get the factory to move, they needed to find a new roof.
The workers have been working on their new roof for nearly three months.
The new roof opened on Friday, but it was still not fully operational.
The factory is currently closed.
The company has been in business since 1899.
The owners have been building and repairing houses in Texas since the 1940s.
It was only a matter of time before the new company would be able get the company to move forward.
The new factory, which was constructed in a very old style, is a landmark in Galvezburg, Texas.
(Photo: Google maps)The owners say they’re excited about the new addition to their factory.
The old factory had a lot of problems.
They said the roof was not being properly fixed and the factory could not keep up with the demand.
The owner said the new structure will allow the company, who has been struggling to keep the company going, to continue.
They hope the new facility will help the company continue to grow.


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Perhaps a snack tax would be more effective than a tax on sugary drinks for reshaping the way we eat. Based on economic modeling, British researchers are suggesting that a 20% price increase on highly processed snack foods like candies and chocolates would reduce calorie intake in the U.K.’s population enough to bring about an average weight loss of 2.9 pounds over a 1-year period.
That change could lead to significantly fewer weight-related health issues. The snack tax was predicted to result in about six times more poundage lost than a similar tax on sugary drinks. Any governmental policies that zero in on reducing sugar, salt and saturated fat intake in the populace also incentivize a higher consumption of healthy foods, which is the key to their success.
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Unless you've been living under a very large rock, you can't not have heard of the Netflix hit series, Stranger Things.
Since the '80s-homage show debuted on Netflix in mid-July, its fanbase has grown far and wide to include the likes of Australian game developer, Jacob Janerka.
Janerka, who recently came under our radar for his Seinfeld game mockups, once again took time out from working on a sci-fi point-and-click adventure game called "Paradigm," to bless us with mockups from Stranger Things.
Tweet may have been deleted
In his mockups, Janerka illustrates Stranger Things characters Joyce Byers and Sheriff Hopper in a room that's also known as "The Upside Down." Later frames also reveal the show's monster, a demogorgon, when the lights in the room go dark.
Although Janerka has no plans to turn this into a full game, we can't think of a better way to pay tribute to the '80s-drenched show than a retro-style adventure video game.
For now, fans of Stranger Things will just have to make do with this nostalgic music playlist until Season 2 drops or hope that its producers decide to make Janerka's video game a reality.


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The news that Indiana is now second in the nation in terms of automotive gross domestic product is reason to cheer.
Automakers have made impressive investments in Indiana. Honda Civic hybrids once made in Japan are now produced in Greensburg, and all Toyota Highlanders are now made in Princeton.
Chrysler and General Motors are making major investments into plants in Kokomo and Fort Wayne, respectively, to improve vehicles' fuel efficiency.
The list goes on and on.
Automotive News estimates 1 in 10 new cars on the road today are made in Indiana. Cars have become the state's top export by value, according to the Indiana Business Research Center.
We recognize the auto industry is cyclical, but this news about the industry's surge in Indiana is worth celebrating.
It is also cause for remembering state Treasurer Richard Mourdock's ill-advised attempt to fight the Chrysler bankruptcy that was part of the auto industry bailout.
Early in the Great Recession, when the auto industry was on the rocks, General Motors and Chrysler were being pushed through prepackaged bankruptcy cases to shed legacy costs and become more nimble companies.
Mourdock, on behalf of the state's pension funds, fought the Chrysler bankruptcy. He lost the battle, although he claims moral victory.
Had he succeeded, though, Chrysler likely would have been shut down and its assets sold. Instead, the company emerged from bankruptcy and is spending $1.6 billion at its Kokomo factories so they will make more fuel-efficient transmissions.
We're glad to see Indiana, an early automotive pioneer, become an even bigger player in the auto industry. It's important to remember how that almost didn't come to pass, though, so Indiana is seen as friendly to the auto industry and not hostile.


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The state’s Pure Michigan travel and tourism campaign will continue at Comerica Park during Detroit Tigers games and at Michigan International Speedway during the annual NASCAR race in August.
The Michigan Strategic Fund board, which controls the marketing effort’s purse strings, approved extensions today for the Pure Michigan branding deals at both venues.
Pure Michigan will spend $325,000 annually over three years under a marketing relationship originally established in 2012 with the Tigers. It also will spend $700,000 in 2016 and $750,000 in 2017 to remain the title sponsor of the Pure Michigan 400 race at MIS.
At Comerica Park, the Pure Michigan logo is on bench backs and railings in both dugouts, and behind home plate during the Tigers’ 81 home games as part of an ad rotation aimed at television viewers. It was on a light tower in right field until last year.
The deal also includes 10 30-second Pure Michigan ads on the team’s in-house TigerVision that appears on the 300-plus TV monitors throughout Comerica Park during games, and 30 15-second digital banner ads, according to the campaign’s memo to the Michigan Strategic Fund prior to today’s vote.
Also part of the deal is one 30-second Pure Michigan ad to air on the massive scoreboard during pregame and a “bonus” spot to appear when available during the game, according to the state.
Pure Michigan and the Tigers also have agreed to a “commitment to explore a social media element involving public relations opportunities including travel messaging and pregame interviews.” No details were disclosed about what that could include.
The state originally signed a deal with the Tigers in 2012 to spend more than $2 million over three seasons for the right to display the Pure Michigan logo at the ballpark. The deal was for $675,000 in 2012, $685,125 in 2013 and $695,400 in 2014.
Details about the 2015 season’s campaign were not immediately available.
State tourism officials said the media equivalency value of last year’s campaign at Comerica Park was $4.4 million, according to an assessment by Stamford, Conn.-based sports and entertainment consultants Repucom.
Pure Michigan officials have said the Comerica Park deal is aimed at getting the tourism campaign on TV in front of the local and national baseball TV audiences, media and the more than 2.7 million visitors to the stadium.
The Pure Michigan campaign was launched in 2006 for Travel Michigan, the tourism arm of the Michigan Economic Development Corp.


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Reliance Retail has launched a mid-premium fashion and lifestyle store Azorte that will sell fast-fashion international and Indian fashion and lifestyle products that is primarily targeted at India’s large base millennials and Gen-Z customers.
Azorte is the latest retail format from Reliance Retail, that comes barely days after the country’s largest retailer by sales and by number of stores rolled out its department store format Reliance Centro in New Delhi’s Vasant Kunj earlier this week.
Azorte will sell Reliance Retail’s private brands as well as co-created lines and will sell a wide range of fashion and lifestyle products from western and Indian wear to footwear, fashion accessories, home, beauty and more.
“The mid-premium fashion segment is one of fastest growing consumer segments as millennials and the Gen-Z are increasingly demanding the latest of international and contemporary Indian fashion,” said Akhilesh Prasad, CEO for fashion and lifestyle at Reliance Retail.
The first store launched in Bengaluru on Thursday spans around 18,000 sq ft in 1 MG-Lido Mall, located at MG Road. Reliance Retail said it plans to expand the format to other “key markets” in the coming months.
The Bengaluru format includes several tech-enabled features such as smart trial rooms, fashion discovery stations, endless aisles and self-checkout kiosks, the company press release said.


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- UPS is in the midst of a pilot to improve package volume density on driver routes and save on delivery costs, CEO Carol Tomé said on the company's earnings call last week.
- The pilot involves an unnamed, third-party technology company "holding" an order on an order management system until it can match another shipment to the same address. "The virtual hold is only as long as the service level agreement allows, but there's a lot of hours in that service level agreement — nine hours, 12 hours," Tomé said.
- Tomé said the pilot is going live in Q3 with the customer currently participating in it. "We've got nine other customers lined up who are anxious to talk to us about this," she added.
For UPS, it pays to deliver more packages in fewer stops. The company estimates the cost it incurs for last-mile delivery of a package to be $5.50, with 60 cents added per additional package.
"Imagine the value that can be released if we improve the density," Tomé said. "So we're going to give some of that value back to our customers."
UPS has pursued better delivery density for years, but it has tried to tackle the issue downstream, rather than upstream when the order is made. This has included encouraging use of UPS Access Point locations, local businesses where customers can receive or drop off packages, and redirecting certain UPS packages destined for Postal Service delivery back to company couriers. But Tomé said those efforts haven't moved the needle.
"So we're like, 'All right, what we're doing isn't working. We've got to go upstream,'" she said. "And when I mean upstream, when you think about e-commerce retailers, their upstream supply chain is from the manufacturer to their warehouse or store. Their upstream supply chain is also their order management system."
As UPS' upstream initiative expands, the company will have to balance efforts to bulk up delivery density with its "better, not bigger" philosophy solidified under Tomé's leadership. UPS’ average daily U.S. volume fell 4% YoY in Q2, with the majority of the reduction tied to home deliveries, as the company pursues more profitable shipments like those in the business-to-business and healthcare segments.
Rival FedEx is also pushing to reduce last mile delivery costs through its "Network 2.0" plan, which includes consolidating pickup and delivery routes run by its separate Express and Ground segments.