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While many workers at some of our nation's largest companies earn less than eight dollars an hour, it's a safe bet that their CEOs are earning eight-figure salaries. That's not hyperbole; just last week we learned that a typical CEO now earns $10.5 million per year, a new high in executive compensation.
The new record of already stratospheric executive pay is another sign that the staggering growth in the CEO-to-worker pay gap we've seen over the last half-century isn't changing anytime soon -- unless we step up and take action.
The numbers are too outrageous to ignore. In 1965, CEOs at large U.S. companies made 20 times as much as the average worker; last year, they made about 273 times as much. Meanwhile, compensation for the average worker has been flat for decades, rising only 5.7 percent from 1978 to 2011 -- even though productivity gains over the same period have made workers significantly more valuable for their companies.
In the world of French fries, a 273-1 disparity looks like small potatoes: A new study released last month found that the CEOs of fast food companies make an astonishing 1,200 times as much as the typical fast food worker. The same is true for other areas of the growing service sector.
It's time for companies to understand that their hard-working employees deserve a raise. We need to do more to make sure companies ensure that work is valued and employees benefit from the success they help generate.
Why? Because the CEO-to-worker pay disparity isn't just a problem for companies that bestow lavish windfalls on their executives; it's also a problem for our economy as a whole. These gross inequalities mean that those at the bottom don't have enough money to spend -- and can't help stimulate our stagnating economy, which relies on consumers for growth. A report released this week found that increasing U.S. retail workers' pay to $25,000 per year would boost GDP by up to $15.7 billion.
Raising pay for workers would build stronger companies with lower worker turnover while also ensuring that consumers (who are of course also workers) have the income to spend on a given company's products and services. It would also help reduce inequality and grow the economy; putting more money in workers' pockets helps stimulate consumer spending and grows our economy.
Unfortunately, too few companies are stepping up to address low wages -- with some exceptions. It was refreshing, for example, to see that The Gap is raising its minimum pay to $10 per hour, but the majority of companies aren't following suit. McDonald's, for example, has so far refused pressure to raise wages even though it would take an employee earning overtime four months to earn what its CEO earns in an hour.
Some argue that big paychecks for executives are justified because much of their pay is tied to performance. But that argument is flawed on a number of levels. For one, the CEO "performance" metric companies often measure is short-term profits -- which is no way to predict a company's sustainable long-term success.
In addition, corporate boards offer CEOs plenty of wiggle room when measuring performance. Take Walmart, for instance, where Bill Simon, the president and CEO of the company's U.S. division, received more in performance-based compensation than the company's lackluster earnings allowed for. How did he manage that? In part because the company removed from bonus calculations what it estimated was the effect of last year's cut in federal food stamps on the company's bottom line.
Rather than further boost Simon's pay in this way, Walmart as a company would be much better off if it boosted the pay of its 1.3 million associates -- many of whom have to rely on food stamps themselves. Walmart, the largest private-sector employer in the U.S., could have a great impact not only on its own workforce and company but on the entire economy if it paid its associates better.
How do we -- as consumers and investors -- start to change this destructive imbalance and push companies to pay their employees a living wage? You may have heard about a few approaches:
• In the boardroom. Investors such as Amalgamated Bank's LongView Funds can make their voices heard about pay issues and work to reform corporate policies as shareholders. We recently saw this in action when investors overwhelmingly voted against the compensation packages for Chipotle's CEOs this year, which were worth about $50 million combined. We're still waiting to hear what the company will do as a result, but it's clear the vote got the company's attention: "We take this very seriously," a Chipotle spokesperson said after the vote.
• In the statehouse. Activists around the country are pushing for state and local changes that address pay disparity, like a bill in California that would give a tax cut to companies with a CEO-to-average worker pay disparity below 100-to-1, and a proposal to raise the minimum wage in Seattle to $15 per hour, which was approved this week.
• And in the streets. You've probably heard about the growing strikes by fast food workers, who are joining together and engaging the public in a push for fair wages.
You can be sure that companies that pay low wages have heard about these efforts as well, and they're starting to have an impact. Let's keep the pressure on so we can build a more prosperous future for all Americans, not just a select few.


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We are proud to announce (link to release / link to WSJ article) a $50 million growth financing round led by Accel-KKR. The raise also includes an expanded debt facility with Silicon Valley Bank. We will use the funds to accelerate innovation of its industry-leading, AI-powered partner automation platform and to support both regional and global go-to-market initiatives. Joe Porten, Principal at Accel-KKR, will join the Partnerize Board of Directors.
Topics: company news
Are you looking for your next challenge now that 2020 is here? Are you interested in working at one of the most innovative SaaS technology companies around? Join the global leader in partnership automation and the back-to-back Best Technology award winner at the International Performance Marketing Awards! We have exciting openings around the world in Client Services, Customer Success, Deployment, Partnerships, Product Development, Sales, and other areas.
Working for Partnerize gives you the opportunity to be part of something big. Take a look at our current openings below.
Topics: company news
We’re delighted to announce a new feature in the Partnerize Partner Automation Platform: Brand Discovery! Brand Discovery is all about helping more brands and partners find one another and seamlessly connect.
Last week we brought the Melbourne partner marketing community together for a panel discussion followed by a networking happy hour. For the panel, we invited four of Australia’s leading publishers and agencies to reflect on learnings from this year, and share their thoughts on the exciting things to come in 2020.
We’ve all seen the famous Martech 5000 slide, which showcases the vast number of technologies available for your marketing stack. Selecting a technology is never an easy task, whether it’s a CRM, e-Commerce, Call Tracking, or Partner Automation Platform — they all come with specific questions that need to be asked, and more importantly, answered.
We’re proud to report that Partnerize has been short-listed in the Northern Digital Awards for Best Martech. The Northern Digital Awards celebrate the best in technology from the UK’s vibrant North. At Partnerize, we are proud of both our Newcastle-Upon-Tyne roots and our truly global footprint. Our focus is on changing the face of commerce, whether it's in the US, APAC, across the rest of Europe, and of course the UK.
We are pleased to announce the launch of our turnkey integration with ZINE, a global leader in influencer marketing. This integration gives brands using Partnerize a premium influencer discovery process with the tools to more effectively manage and grow their influencer campaigns, as well as to prove influencer marketing ROI.
For financial services companies, customer acquisition and maximizing customer lifetime value are becoming more challenging than ever. Many banks, insurance providers, and other financial companies are turning to partnerships to acquire customers more cost-effectively. This blog post explores five ways investing in the channel can drive immense value for banks.
Black Friday is the most anticipated event in the US retail year and is growing increasingly important in markets like the UK where retailers have sought to extend the consumer excitement. It’s a high stakes time for most partner and affiliate marketers in affected regions -- full of incredible sales opportunity but also seemingly endless to-do lists.
For years, my American and British colleagues have talked about Black Friday, a pre-Holidays phenomenon that has now spread to Australia, SEA and other markets. The Black Friday shopping event, originally limited to the day after American Thanksgiving, now kicks off earlier and earlier, and continues to set the tone for the entire holiday season. And Cyber Monday, the online shopping companion to Black Friday's brick and mortar roots, continues to grow and expand as well.

domain: news


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You can have too much of a good thing even in real estate.
Steel shortage slows development
Booming non-residential construction may have created work for developers and contractors, but it also has reduced the supply of construction materials like steel. In fact, recent shortages of fabricated steel have caused delivery delays, lengthened construction schedules and increased prices.
"The lead times are significantly more than they were 18 months ago or two years ago. To get fabricated steel to a job site used to take about 16 weeks. Now, in some cases, it's taking 26," says Wilson Shook, executive vice-president of the Chicago branch of Bethesda, Md.-based Clark Construction Group.
Mr. Shook, whose company recently began work on a 40-story structural steel building at 191 N. Wacker Drive, says the delay has been significant. "It can have a big impact on your schedule. You've got to have (the steel). If you don't have it, you wait."The price of fabricated structural steel also has risen, says Mr. Shook. "Over the last 24 months, it has gone up 20% to 25%."
Matthew Walsh, chairman of Walsh Construction Co. in Chicago, says the delays go back even further. His company has had trouble getting large beams for four or five years, but lately, sheeting also has been a problem.
"We've experienced a number of delays on projects because we had to wait for steel to be manufactured," he says. Those delays have been as long as 90 days, he adds.
To bypass the delays, many contractors purchase steel at warehouses, which can add 20% or more to the price. But warehouses usually don't carry unusual shapes, which must be custom ordered.
That's assuming the shapes are still available. In the past several years, a handful of domestic companies have stopped producing jumbo beams, for example.
"What has happened in the steel industry in the last 10 years and we're feeling the brunt of it now is that manufacturing facilities have been closed and not rebuilt to anywhere near the capacity they used to have," says Mr. Walsh. "They're not making as many shapes as they used to. They're making what they can manufacture and sell the quickest. But it means that certain buildings have to be redesigned to use what is available."
Adding fuel to the fire was a short-lived glut that began in early 1999, when some foreign companies dumped a million tons of steel on the U.S. market, causing prices to fall.
"We lowered prices across 1998 and 1999 to the tune of about $100 a ton, on average," says Bob Johns, sales manager for Blytheville, Ark.-based Nucor-Yamato, which will produce just under 3 million tons of wide-flange beams this year.
Domestic mills filed a trade case with the International Trade Commission, which settled in their favor in July. While the case was pending, imports dried up, prices rose, the building boom continued and steel became harder to find.
The shortage should ease soon because domestic mills have increased production and foreign companies re-entered the market earlier this year, says Mr. Johns. "It was a temporary supply issue, and it's started to dissipate."
He disputes claims that prices have risen, saying that Nucor's prices for large pieces have not risen in a year and that the prices for smaller and mid-sized sections have fallen. "Where people run into cost changes is when they run into mill deadlines and have to buy (steel) through service centers, which will charge whatever the local market will bear."
Contractors have learned to avoid costly delays by ordering steel as early in the building process as possible. "If you're building a building out of structural steel shapes, you don't start the process at the job site until you know you have sufficient steel fabricated and in storage to allow for continuous operation," says Mr. Shook. "You never start with the first truckload, hoping you'll get a second one someday."
From ordering until delivery sometimes can take as long as two months, but it's not wasted time.
"There are work activities that can go on at the job site that can consume that time, such as digging the hole, building the foundation or building a parking garage under the steel building," says Mr. Shook. "It depends on the nature of what you're building."
Another solution is to choose contractors during the design stage. "They will choose a fabricator early, who will actually sit down and work out a lot of design details with the engineer at least enough details so he can place a mill order for steel and get a jump-start. If he can do that, he can easily pick up a month or two of time," says Mr. Johnson.
He also predicts the shortage will taper off soon. "In some parts of the country, the market is not as active as it is here," he says. "Things are starting to cool off a bit, and bidding will get more competitive, and prices will go down."
Mr. Shook agrees. "It's pure supply and demand. At this point, everyone's busy, so it takes longer to get it, and it's more expensive to get it. When it slows down, the capacity is still there, and for a period of time, there will be excess steel in the marketplace."
©2000 by Crain Communications Inc.


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J. Cole is expanding his Dreamville Records brand.
Announcing Dreamville Ventures a media company, and Dreamville Studios a content studio.
“Dreamville has always been a mom-and-pop operation with grand ambitions and ideas that extend far beyond music,” he said. “The hiring of Damien and Candace not only expands our family business with two of the smartest and most capable executives in the industry, but allows us to take a massive leap towards turning those big ideas into reality.”
Dreamville co-founder Ibrahim Hamad also looked forward to the expansion.
“Dreamville is a brand we built from the ground up and the appointments of Damien and Candace allows us to take the company to levels we’ve always dreamed of while keeping our core values and beliefs at the forefront of our expansion,” he said.
Photos by Getty Images


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| Apr 23, 2014
| 8:57 AM
Want to know what the hottest thing in the luxury segment is these days? You're looking at it: Small, entry-level sedans from established luxury brands aiming to suck the millennial generation in with enticing design, luxury content and the latest in...
| Apr 21, 2014
| 4:20 PM
The midsize sedan is in the midst of a makeover. Automakers are redesigning the utilitarian family car with sportier styling and maximized fuel economy to get an edge in the most competitive and second largest segment in the U.S.
Toyota just announced...
| Feb 12, 2014
| 8:58 AM
Nissan has announced that its full-size Titan pickup will get a Cummins diesel engine when the redesigned model debuts next year, and now Nissan is considering a smaller diesel for its midsize Frontier pickup. Nissan unveiled the Frontier Diesel Runner...
| Mar 3, 2014
| 9:34 AM
FRANKFURT, Germany — Burning cars and bankruptcies have marred the market for batteries powering electric vehicles. That isn't deterring the world's biggest chemical maker BASF from investing in the space.
The German company is betting customers...
| Feb 13, 2014
| 6:27 AM
General Motors Co. said on Thursday it is recalling 778,562 older-model Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 compact cars in North America to correct a condition that may allow the engine and other components, including airbags, to be unintentionally turned...
| Mar 18, 2014
| 6:05 PM
SACRAMENTO — California's two giant automobile clubs proposed legislation Tuesday that would give car owners more control over computer and Internet data streaming from their vehicles.
About 1 in 5 new cars already collect and transmit to...
| Mar 4, 2014
| 4:32 PM
There are sport sedans and then there are sport sedans. For years BMW has played in this arena with the M3, Mercedes-Benz with the C63 AMG and Audi with the RS 4 and RS 5. Now it seems Infiniti wants......
| Mar 11, 2014
| 10:49 AM
At a local car-buying seminar, one of the audience members asked with exasperation why automakers are so “hell-bent” on adding complex technology that links with drivers’ smartphones and is controlled by in-car touchscreens. A recent...
| Mar 11, 2014
| 11:23 AM
It seems that BMW is on a mission to reach just about every automotive niche, no matter how small. You want an electric car? BMW has you covered. Ditto for luxury cars, sports cars, sport utility vehicles (sport activity vehicles to BMW), hybrids, sedans,...
| Mar 13, 2014
| 5:00 AM
Its resume reads like an overachieving supercar.
A twin-turbocharged V-8 unleashes 577 horsepower to all four wheels, it takes 3.6 seconds to go from zero to 60 mph, the sticker price passes $100,000 even quicker than that, and it’s a station...
| Feb 1, 2014
Forget the turbocharged six-cylinder engine, the three-stage neck-warming system, the color heads-up display.
The most interesting feature of the 2014 BMW 435i convertible is the elaborate setup built into the caboose of this car.
With the car's...


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DREAM kitchens may soon include a computer along with the latest refrigerator or oven. That way people gathered at the family hub can satisfy their digital needs along with nutritional ones.
Hewlett-Packard’s new TouchSmart IQ770 PC ($1,699 at Circuit City) is designed for that kitchen of the future, where people turn on the computer along with the coffeepot, and then check the screen for the weather, ball scores and the family calendar as they breakfast.
The calendar on the TouchSmart is easy to use. Entries can be written on the touch-sensitive screen with a finger or stylus, or entered on a keyboard, so that everyone knows what’s ahead during the day, from the dentist at 9 a.m. to the PTA at 7 p.m.
The computer also has a high-definition TV receiver, a DVD player and a 19-inch screen that moves up and down as well as tilting, so that people having a snack at the counter or a nearby table can watch their favorite show or video Putting a computer in the kitchen is not a new idea. Neiman Marcus, the department store, included an ad for a Honeywell kitchen computer, priced at $10,600, in its 1969 Christmas catalog, said Dag Spicer, senior curator at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif.
The ad featured a woman in need of a computer to manage recipe quantities and carried the slogan, “If she can only cook as well as Honeywell can compute.” But Mr. Spicer said the marketing campaign failed. “As far as we know, Neiman Marcus didn’t sell a single computer.”
The latest generation of kitchen computers may be more successful, and not just because the ads are less patronizing. The difference instead may lie in the spread, and speed, of broadband connections and the way that, in turn, is changing people’s computer habits.
“Forty-seven percent of all American adults have a broadband connection at home as of early 2007,” said Mary Madden, a senior research specialist at the Pew Internet and American Life Project. That connection has prompted people to do more and more on the computer, from video-watching to discarding phone books and cookbooks in favor of online research. “Once people get that always-on connection,” she said, “they do more of everything online.”
Much of this home Internet activity is happening not in the study, but in shared living spaces, she said. Seventy-four percent of teenagers who use the Internet at home, for instance, do so in a shared space.
Hewlett-Packard’s new computer is designed for these communal spots, said Amy Clark of Granger, Ind., who was sent a TouchSmart for review on her Web site, www.momadvice.com. She put it in the kitchen-dining area, and it promptly became a family focal point. In the morning, she checks the calendar; in the evening, she and her husband watch movies on it. “It also helped reduce some clutter,” she said. The family also downloaded hundreds of CDs that were once scattered around the house on it.
The touch-sensitive screen on the TouchSmart is optically driven — it has two cameras that track hand positions, so that people can use their fingers to play computer solitaire or chess, for instance, if they don’t want to use the mouse or keyboard. Gloved hands work well, too, as do hands with a bit of left-over spaghetti sauce on them. The screen comes clean with Windex.
People taken with the idea of a computer in the kitchen don’t necessarily have to buy one from a manufacturer like Hewlett-Packard. They can economize by assembling one from components. Bill Ekhardt, a Presbyterian pastor taking time off to care for his three preschool-aged children in Des Moines, did just that — after first trying to make do in the kitchen with a laptop. That didn’t work, as the laptop could easily be pulled down from the counter and wrecked by the children, he said.
SO when he upgraded his desktop computer in the study, he decided to recycle the leftovers to make a reasonably childproof kitchen computer. He installed the processor from his old computer in a kitchen cupboard, and mounted the monitor on an arm that he bought online.
The mounting arm swings out above the kitchen counter.
“I angle the screen down so the kids can see it, or angle it up so that I can see it from where I’m cooking,” he said.
He uses the computer to check the weather, or catch an occasional headline, e-mail messages or a streaming radio show. The arm was about $70 at www.newegg.com; the wireless keyboard and mouse, about $30.
His 2-year-old son Asher gets to watch the occasional entertainment on the monitor, but there are conditions.
“I let him play ‘Thomas the Tank Engine,’ ” a preschool video game, said Mr. Ekhardt. “But only if he takes a good nap first.”


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Banks that issue Visa cards will be able to use the system in several different ways. In one version, Mr. McCarthy said, a customer making a purchase at a retailer's Web site will see a small window pop up on the screen, asking for a password. The password will be transmitted not to the retailer but to the bank issuing the card, making it more difficult for someone who has stolen a card number to use it.
For online merchants and Internet service providers that accept its cards, Visa announced a set of security guidelines earlier this year. The guidelines, which will become mandatory at the end of 2001, stipulate how businesses should store, encrypt and grant access to card-holder data, with the goal of preventing security breaches like those at Western Union or CD Universe.
IN some ways, merchants have more to lose than consumers whose credit card numbers are stolen. In most cases, federal law limits a consumer's liability for purchases made with a stolen card or card number to $50, and many card issuers will absorb the $50, too, if the theft is reported promptly.
Debit cards are a different story: protections for consumers are much more limited, and banks are less likely to waive costs and fees if, for example, a debit card theft causes a consumer's later checks to bounce. For this reason, some consumer advocates advise against using debit cards online.
Recent news reports have highlighted a surge in identity theft, perhaps the most cataclysmic consequence a consumer can suffer from unauthorized disclosure of personal data. But Betsy Broder, assistant director of the Federal Trade Commission's consumer protection bureau, said the agency saw no direct link between identity theft and Internet use.
''None of the statistics show a greater vulnerability of consumers who are shopping online,'' Ms. Broder said, adding that most identity theft stems from insecure handling of paper documents, or from employees who abuse access to personal information, electronic or otherwise.
The commission does advise online shoppers not to share personal information with merchants they do not know. But as for payments, Ms. Broder said, ''we tell consumers that the safest way to do business online is by using their credit card.''
Tips on Avoiding Card Fraud Online
EXPERTS offer these tips for minimizing the risks of online shopping.
Look for security features. Before giving a Web site your credit card number or other personal information, make sure it is using S.S.L., or secure sockets layer, encryption technology. Signs that it is in use include a closed-lock or unbroken-key icon in the frame of your browser window, and a change in the beginning of the merchant's Web address from ''http'' to ''https'' when processing a transaction.
Pay with a credit card, not a debit card, check or money order. Under federal law, consumer protections are much stronger for credit-card transactions.
Pick up the phone. If you are worried about online interception of your card number, provide it by telephone instead.
Stay out of the files, if you can. If given the option, resist the convenience of having the retailer save your credit card number for future purchases. Some sites automatically store the data without asking, but if you can opt out, you can reduce the chances of having your card number stolen by someone who breaks into the site's database.
Watch your papers. Be careful how you dispose of documents containing personal or financial information. Federal officials say identity theft usually starts on paper, even if the stolen information is later trafficked online. SUSAN STELLIN
Drawing (Milan Trenc)


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TravelRevive: Paving the future of MICE in Singapore
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
TravelRevive will be the first pilot tradeshow to trial the newly developed prototype for safe business events, safe itineraries and digital enablers in Singapore.
TravelRevive – which will take place live from 25-26 November 2020, at Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre, will bring together the travel industry to exchange ideas, bridge knowledge gaps, and reimagine how the future of travel will look like.
A safe, trusted and innovative MICE experience
Developed by the Alliance for Action on Enabling Safe and Innovative Visitor Experiences, a task force created to review how Singapore can stay economically resilient, this prototype will provide delegates with the degree of interaction they would be accustomed to in a regular tradeshow setting – but in a far safer way which minimises infection risks.
The prototype includes creative solutions to enhance the health and safety for delegates, as well as digital enablers to allow participants to experience the event safely and seamlessly. Solutions the prototype will adopt include innovations such as touchless technology and automated registration kiosks, as well as safety measures such as plexiglass shields in exhibition booths and meeting pods that serve as an additional measure to reduce droplet transmissions.
Reimagining the future of travel
The two-day event will feature conference sessions, exhibitions, as well as opportunities for one-to-one buyer-seller appointments in a safe manner. The event is expected to welcome 150 hosted buyers from countries across Asia. TravelRevive will also be complemented with virtual interactions which allow a wider global audience to connect with regional travel businesses.
TravelRevive comes off the back of Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) announcement in September on the safe and gradual resumption of MICE events. This is in line with the gradual and calibrated lifting of travel restrictions and the implementation of green lanes with various countries.
Exhibitors in attendance include Singapore Tourism Board and Sentosa Development Corporation and the event will welcome all travel trade professionals including buyers, sellers, national tourism organisations, media, thought leaders and VIPs. Complementing the live event, TravelRevive will include virtual aspects such as live telecast of the conference, on-demand sessions and online exhibitor directory.
The Alliance has also designed safe itineraries, comprising a selection of leisure activities that comply with prevailing safe management guidelines, which will be trialled with the MICE delegates of TravelRevive. These safe itineraries could serve as a model for small groups of international visitors when international travel resumes eventually.
In preparation for TravelRevive, the Alliance is also working with relevant Government agencies and industry stakeholders to deploy digital enablers to facilitate a seamless and safe visitor experience journey from pre-arrival to 14 days post-event.
Yap Chin Siang, assistant chief executive, Singapore Tourism Board, said: “As we gradually resume MICE events safely, we are heartened to partner Messe Berlin to roll out TravelRevive as Singapore’s first pilot tradeshow and to prototype solutions for the entire end-to-end visitor experience. Public health and safety remain our priority and we have worked closely with the industry to create strict protocols, and reimagine what a safe and high-quality business event could look like. Together with our industry, we want to set Singapore apart as the world’s leading destination for safe, trusted and innovative business events.”


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Business sales and inventories are expanding at strong rates, according to an April Commerce Department report (link opens as PDF) released today. Investors watch this report to understand economic demand (sales), as well as business' expectations for future demand (inventories).
Seasonally adjusted sales jumped 0.7% month-to-month to $1,337 billion for April. Merchant wholesalers recorded a strong 1.3% month-to-month boost, while retailer sales increased 0.6%. In the last year, a 7.8% rise in merchant wholesaler sales provided the primary push for a 5.4% advance in total business sales. Manufacturing has managed a 3.9% sales increase in the last 12 months.
As sales expanded, inventories also increased a seasonally adjusted 0.6% to $1,728 billion for April. Analysts were pleasantly surprised, having expected a smaller 0.4% rise. As with sales, merchant wholesalers took the lead on relative increases, expanding inventories 1.1% from March to April. In the last year, overall inventories are up 5%.
To understand the rate at which goods are being made and sold, economists compute an inventories/sales ratio. Since sales and inventories increased relatively similar amounts from March to April, the inventories/sales ratio remained at 1.29. In April 2013, the ratio was 1.30.


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U.S. retailers posted their strongest sales growth all year in July, as Americans shelled out more on a range of goods and took advantage of Amazon.com's annual discount day.
Sales at retailers and restaurants jumped 0.6% from a month earlier, the biggest increase since December, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Excluding cars, sales rose 0.5%.
Continue Reading Below
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a 0.4% jump in both categories.
The report underscores financial stability and rising confidence of American households, who are benefiting from various factors. Those include a booming stock market, low inflation, strong job growth and slow-but-steady wage gains. The jump in sales could portend a pickup in economic growth in coming months, given that consumer spending accounts for the bulk of economic output in the U.S.
Sales over the internet drove last month's increase, with spending at nonstore retailers growing 1.3%, the most since December. One big factor: Amazon's Prime Day, a popular day of discounts at the site.
Other retailers also posted strong gains. Car sales jumped 1.2%, as did spending on building materials and garden equipment. Sales at furniture outlets, grocery stores, restaurants and department stores all rose healthily.
Meanwhile, spending on gasoline, electronics and clothing fell.
Monthly sales figures are imprecise and don't account for inflation. Last month's gain came with a margin of error of plus or minus half a percentage point. But the broader trend, which irons out volatility, suggests healthy growth. Overall retail sales have climbed 4.2% over the past year.
The Commerce Department's latest retail-sales report can be accessed at:https://www.census.gov/retail/marts/www/marts_current.pdf
Write to Josh Mitchell at firstname.lastname@example.org and Sarah Chaney email@example.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 15, 2017 08:45 ET (12:45 GMT)


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Study: One third of American teens own iPods
Teen iPod ownership is apparently way up from the 1% level reported in 2003. According to a recent study, one third of American teens aged 13 through 18 own an iPod. One can only presume that the other two thirds of American teens are ticked off with insane jealousy and/or hoping for an iPod under this year's Christmas tree. These numbers come from News.com's report on the findings of the Harrison Group's 2006 Teen Trends study. The article states, quite amusingly in my opinion, that "[The teen's] love of music is second only to their love of friends and even ahead of their love of family, according to the study."
iPods: better love money can't buy.
Software Updatesmore updates
- Apple Remote Desktop updated with Yosemite support
- OS X Yosemite 10.10.2, iOS 8.1.3 updates now available
- Sports Illustrated 120 SPORTS channel comes to Apple TV
- Logic Pro X update brings AirDrop support, new effects, tools, and more
- Parallels Access 2.5 released, adds file manager, computer-to-computer remote access
- The Google Translate iOS app is about to get a lot smarter


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SAN FRANCISCO: Pinterest on Tuesday said it was diving into e-commerce with 'pins' that let people buy items they like at the popular online bulletin-board.
"Pinterest is already designed to work like a catalogue, so we wanted to find a way to weave buyable pins into the pages people already know," co-founder and chief executive Ben Silbermann said during an event at the company's headquarters in San Francisco.
"Buyable pins are a simple and secure way to buy the products you love right from inside Pinterest," he said.
Pinterest buy buttons will debut on iPhones and iPads in the United States later this month, according to Silbermann.
There was no timeline given for when buy buttons might be available in Pinterest applications for Android powered devices or when it might go international.
"Believe me, we want to make sure that any pinner in the world can buy anything they want on Pinterest," Says, head of core products Jack Chou.
"We wanted to start with a beautiful experience on iPhone and iPad; this is just a big first step."
Apple Pay or credit cards will be the options for paying at Pinterest, which built the service in a partnership with Shopify.
Pinterest announced in March that it had raised $367 million in new capital, pushing its valuation to $11 billion.
The new funds will help fuel global expansion plans for the fast-growing social network which calls itself a "visual bookmarking tool."
Pinterest has become one of the Internet's hottest new websites, particularly among women, by giving people virtual bulletin boards that they can decorate with pictures showcasing interests in anything from food to sports, to fashion or travel.
Pinterest sells advertising in the form of "promoted pins," but did not plan to charge fees to buyers or sellers using the coming buy buttons.
People interested in buying items they see posted at Pinterest are referred via links to outside websites.
Silbermann said the number of 'pins' at Pinterest has grown by 75 percent annually and now tops 50 billion.
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New Delhi: Chinese automaker Geely has launched its Panda Mini EV mini electric car in China. The new EV is even smaller than the Tata Nano. The Geely Panda measures 3,065mm in length, which is shorter than the 3,099mm Nano. This car has a 30 kW electric motor connected to an LFP battery. The range of the car on a full charge is said to be 150 km.
Geely Panda EV Price
Geely has launched the Panda Mini EV electric mini car in China, the company has not disclosed the price but the car is expected to be priced between $5,700 (about Rs 4.70 lakh) to $7,200 in the country. (around Rs 5.94 lakh) can be launched between. The company claims that the car will be available next year 2023.
Geely Panda EV Range
Speaking of the powertrain, the Panda Mini EV gets a 30kW electric motor that is powered by an LFP battery. Currently, the company has not disclosed the capacity of the battery, but its range on a full charge is said to be 150 km.
Smaller than Tata Nano!
The Panda Mini electric car is a very compact car, which you can guess from the fact that its length is less than the Tata Nano, once popular in the country as the Lakhtakia. While the Tata Nano measures 3,099 mm in length, the Panda Mini electric car measures 3,065 mm in length. The Chinese market already dominates the mini car and if Geely launches this car around the estimated price, it will definitely stand up to the domestic competition.
Read More – TOP CARS DISCONTINUED IN 2022: CHECK LIST HERE
The electric car has a blacked-out grille with “Geome” lettering on the charging door, a reference to Geely’s (Geometry) sub-brand. Several media outlets reported in the recent past that the Panda Mini EV would initially be launched under the Geometry, but the management eventually introduced it under the Geely banner.
Read More – Latest Auto News


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Argentina, one of the main world producers and exporters of grains, achieved exports of soybeans and derivatives for a record 5,025 million dollars in the first quarter of this year, according to a report released this Friday by the Rosario Stock Exchange.
Despite the record reached in terms of value, this has not been the first quarter with the highest tonnage exported in the history of Argentina.
According to the report, between January and March shipments of soybeans and derivatives reached 9.06 million tons, below the historical mark of 9.44 million tons in the first quarter of 2016.
The record of exports in value is explained by the significant rise in prices of oilseed and its derivatives in international markets.
To this is added the realization in the first quarter of the year of many shipments that could not be made last December due to union conflicts in the export ports of Argentina.
The value of exports of soybean meal and pellets “virtually doubled” compared to the same period last year, while that of oil grew 134% year-on-year, according to the report.
In addition, external shipments of biodiesel increased in value by 57%.
In contrast, soybean exports fell by 24% year-on-year, although these shipments have less relative weight in the total exports of the soybean complex.
CORN AND WHEAT EXPORTS
West leaves plenty of room for interesting compositional possibilities: it enters a harmonious dialogue in terms of both colour and shape with the Amber coffee tables, is complemented by the Side coffee tables, with their frame in saddle hide that evokes that of the backrest and enhanced by the Clive consoles, which play around with surfaces, even setting one over another. The combination of the two looks of West, one with backrest in saddle hide and the other more conventional version with padded backrest and armrest.
“The report also shows that in the first quarter Argentine exports of corn and derivatives reached a value of 1,184 million dollars, a figure only surpassed in historical terms by sales of 1,208 million registered in the same period of 2020.”
“Similarly to what was analyzed for the exports of the soybean complex, the high income in dollars from the shipments of the corn complex is eminently attributed to the good international prices,” commented the Rosario Stock Exchange.
In this first quarter of 2021, Argentina exported 5.73 million tons of corn and derivatives
Meanwhile, wheat exports totaled 1,023 million dollars in the first quarter, with a year-on-year drop of 28%.
“The drop is mainly explained by the drop in the quantities exported by Argentina: while in 2020 the wheat complex exported more than 7.3 million tons, this year shipments totaled about 4.7 million tons in the first quarter, exhibiting a year-on-year drop of 36%”, specified the Rosario Stock Exchange.
The report notes that “the considerable drop in tonnage is partially offset by improvements in international prices.”


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Maruti Suzuki chairman RC Bhargava has requested that the emission norms, which were set to take effect in April 2022, be postponed, citing low car affordability and industry growth as reasons.
The introduction of CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency) emission II norms in India from April 2022 is facing mounting opposition. The most recent salvo came from RC Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s market leader in passenger vehicles.
“I don’t think it is the right time (to implement) the new stage of CAFE norms,” R C Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki, told PTI. The cost of automobiles has risen steadily over time. People can no longer afford cars because the price has risen so much, and the industry’s growth has slowed to a halt. The industry will continue to decline if the cost is increased further, especially when people’s income has not increased during the Covid period.” The sales of two wheels are growing because only two wheels can be afforded, Bhargava added.
Even before the pandemic, the domestic auto industry was experiencing a slowdown, according to Maruti Suzuki’s chairman.
“According to a study conducted by SIAM, the Indian automobile industry grew at a rate of 12.9 percent per year from 2000 to 2010. From 2010 to 2015, it fell to 5.7 percent, and from 2015 to 2016, before Covid, it fell to 1.3 percent. It has turned negative during the Covid period, “Bhargava explained.
In March 2021, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari met with a SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) delegation to discuss postponing CAFE Phase II regulations until April 1, 2024. The domestic automotive industry, according to SIAM, is still recovering from the effects of COVID-19 and low consumer demand. The government has yet to respond to the apex industry body’s request for information on whether the CAFE Phase II April 2022 plan will be postponed.
The term “Corporate Average” in CAFE refers to the weighted average of vehicle manufacturer sales volumes. CAFE standards apply to vehicles that run on gasoline, diesel, compressed natural gas (CNG), or compressed propane gas (LPG).
The CAFE standards were implemented in India on April 1, 2017. CAFE standards in Phase 1 (2017-2022) require average corporate CO2 emissions to be less than 130 gm/km by 2022. Manufacturers must find efficient and clean powertrain options in tandem with BS6 in order to meet the CAFE targets. This will be reduced to less than 113 gm/km in Phase II (2022 onwards) and could be further tightened to 108 or 104 gm/km.


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VHS is currently in its beta stages and people want to know how to get access to VHS beta.
VHS is a game inspired by 80's horror films and is developed by Hellbent Games. Hellbent Games has also developed Wick and published Brutal Orchestra. VHS is described as a game of online multiplayer freeze tag and similar to Dead by Daylight.
In its 4v1 game style, players can choose from three different monsters from 1980 horror films will chase teenagers around in three different maps.
VHS was announced earlier this year and Hellbent just finished releasing its first round of beta keys to players, but currently not releasing any more at the moment.
How to Earn VHS Beta Access
Fans can still sign up for the beta access with hope the Hellbent will release more beta keys. To do so, fans can head to the VHS game website and join the beta. Until Hellbent releases an announcement for more, fans can't do much besides download the launcher, and add it to their wishlist on steam.
With no sign or announcement of the game fully releasing yet, fans can hope for more beta access keys in the future. VHS is expected to only stay in beta access for less than a year.
VHS beta is free to play and will remain free to play after release on Epic Games and Steam.


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Nintendo will release Playing With Super Power history book alongside Super NES Classic
Cities: Skylines will be coming to PS4 on August 15
Square Enix will bring Final Fantasy, Lost Sphear, Life Is Strange: Before the Storm to Comic-Con 2017
Injustice 2 heats up Comic-Con 2017 with Starfire's debut trailer
"Version 1.0" of 20XX will be available through Steam on August 16
Sony’s Cory Barlog has plans for multiple sequels to next year’s God of War
The Sims 4 will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One on November 17
After four months Nintendo has sold 4.7 million Switch consoles
Graceful Explosion Machine will blast its way onto the PC and PS4 on August 8
Warp Zoned’s Adventure Log: What Happened on July 24 and July 25, 2017
All Articles: Battleship
Battleship is about to go from a board game to both a high-intensity, over the top movie, as well as a video game. Activision and Hasbro announced that the PS3 and Xbox 360 game will be developed by Double Helix Games. Magic Pockets is also working on “uniquely designed versions” for the 3DS, DS, and Wii.
Battleship will “follow elite demolitions specialist Cole Mathis as he clashes against an aquatic-based extraterrestrial peril in the sand and sea of the beautiful Hawaiian archipelago,” according to the press release. The game will combine first person shooter gameplay with naval strategy.
Mark Blecher, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Digital Media and Marketing at Hasbro, said, “With a Battleship videogame, we have an amazing opportunity to take our beloved property and give it a modern-day spin. The merging of tactical and action elements immerses players in an epic maritime conflict. Activision is completely up to the task of delivering a high-intensity thrill ride that’s perfectly suited for today’s console owners.”
Battleship the game will arrive alongside Battleship the movie (which will no doubt be accompanied by “Battleship the board game, now with aliens!”) this May.


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TAIWAN - Asustek
is expected to outsource over 50% of its branded motherboard
manufacturing to outside OEMs by the end of 2008, as well as
outsourcing notebook products approximately 15%, according to an
industry report citing predictions by electronic industry watchers.
to the report, while Asustek and its division Unihan Technology have
already separated, market watchers commented that the percentage of
Asustek's product outsourcing to Unihan is still high, indicating that
the spin-off is not complete.
president Jerry Shen pointed out that the company will prioritize the outsourcing of non-notebook products first.
VA - The Electronics Component Assembly and Materials Association (ECA) reports
researchers are predicting the electronic components market in 2008 will
grow at about the same rate or slightly better than 2007, with supply and
demand for electronic components continuing to look good.
an increase in December, orders slowed in January,
according to the ECA’s four-to-five week average index, continuing that the
previous 12-month average remained relatively flat.
In addition, the Consumer Electronics Association predicted last month that the consumer products
market will grow 6.1% this year, fueled by a 13% growth in TV sales, a 173% increase
in next-generation DVD players, and 50% growth in video game consoles.
forecasts a 7% rise in worldwide electronics equipment revenue, driven
primarily by data processing and wireless communications markets.
components isn’t exactly a ‘teflon’ market, but it does have an uncanny ability
to weather storms that damage other markets. I think a lot of credit can go to
better management of supply chains based on the lessons learned from … the
market at the turn of the century,” concluded Bob Willis, ECA president.
PRAGUE, CZECHOSLOVAKIA - Taiwanese electronics maker Foxconn is negotiating for the purchase of a plant in central Bohemia, according to industry sources.
According to reports, the company established its subsidiary Foxconn Technology
in January, in order to work on a purchase. The company already has plants in
Pardubice, eastern Bohemia, and Kutna Hora, central Bohemia.
Chang, company president, said that the company is interested in buying
a plant because of strong demand for computers and other electronics,
adding that since it would not have time to build a plant, the company
was looking to buy one already in operation.
that one possible purchase could be TV maker Changhong in Nymburk,
central Bohemia, which began operations last year. Changhong did not
comment on a possible sale.
Foxconn is one of the world's
largest producers of electronic products,
and the third largest Czech exporter, employing more than 300,000 in its plants around the world.
GENEVA — The World Trade Organization ruled in favor of the United States and the European Union and against China in an auto parts tariff dispute. This is the first time the WTO has ruled against China in a trade dispute.
The WTO panel acknowledged the U.S., Canadian and EU claims related to auto components tariffs. They agreed the tariffs discriminated against foreign automakers assembling cars in China, and therefore was contrary to WTO rules.


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SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung BioLogics Co Ltd said on Thursday its bookkeeping would pass any scrutiny although it has not received official notice from South Korea’s financial regulator concerning a special audit.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) had decided to conduct a special audit review on Samsung BioLogics’ pre-listing bookkeeping, Yonhap news agency reported earlier, citing an unnamed FSS source.
An FSS official declined comment but confirmed that a regulatory committee was briefed on Wednesday about allegations from an activist group and others concerning issues in Samsung BioLogics’ accounting.
Samsung BioLogics shares were down 4.4 percent as of 0528 GMT.
Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Stephen Coates


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USA Today Network is testing memberships at local papers
USA Today Network is joining the membership trend, testing offers at four of its 109 local papers that involve exclusive content and local deals to subscribers who log in on the paper’s site.
The memberships, which are free to people who subscribe, are part of a larger effort to grow consumer revenue at Gannett to counter declining print ad revenue. That effort has included getting people to register on USA Today’s site and upselling USA Today app users to an ad-free version for $2.99 per month.
USA Today Network is hoping to move people down the marketing funnel with the free membership tier, touting access to events, deals and extra editorial content, such as a chance to win signed copies of new books by authors including Alan Alda and Michael Connelly, a newsletter with recipes and an upcoming downloadable holiday gift guide. It’s also using the membership concept to remind people of the breadth of its existing news coverage and formats like newsletters and podcasts. The membership concept is being tested in four USA Today Network markets: Asbury Park, New Jersey; Rochester, New York; Green Bay, Wisconsin; and Nashville, Tennessee.
“Membership is important as we think about new audiences,” said Andy Yost, chief marketing officer at USA Today Network. “We need to convey to people that we’re more than a newspaper on your doorstep — we’re really essential to the community you’re part of. It resonates with a younger audience that’s been somewhat elusive to us in the past. I think they want to feel part of a community.”
Subscribers don’t pay anything extra for membership, but the company expects to get value from members in the form of things like repeat visits and new subscribers.
USA Today Network has had a lightweight version of the membership program called its “Insider” program. It exists in all of its markets and gives logged-in subscribers perks like discounts on movie tickets and extra content.
USA Today Network has 3 million subscribers across the papers; a third of those subscribers log on monthly to Insider pages. People who visit these Insider pages generate twice as much ad revenue as subscribers who don’t visit the Insider pages and 13 times as much ad revenue as people who visit the sites but aren’t subscribers. Insiders are also 22 times more likely to log on to the sites than non-Insider visitors, Yost said.
The USA Today model is far from publishers like The New York Times, which now gets more revenue from readers than advertisers, but the approaches are similar in that they’re trying to become more consumer-focused, even if they’re starting from different places.
“People have for many, many years had a relationship, positive or not, with a local media brand,” Yost said. “The brand reappraisal piece is, you [used to] think of us as news. We are core to the community we’re part of. Our local properties were Facebook before Facebook.”
More in Media
The Guardian US is entering the race for political ad dollars.
Some people in the know at Possible said they see the conference taking a bite out of Cannes’ attendance, most acutely by U.S.-based marketers who could save money by staying on this side of the Atlantic.
To boost its efforts around brand safety, IPG is adding more tools for identifying harmful content while also helping advertisers avoid appearing near it.


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Land-Plot For Sale in Surajpur-Dadri Road (Gautam Budha Nagar) Near Denso CompanyKhodna Kala,Surajpur-Dadri Road Near Denso Company, Khodna Kala,... ...http://www.24dunia.com/english/others/showgroup/20338722.html
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at 10:52 am | Stork Rubber Pvt. Ltd. (Stork Rubber), the leading domestic manufacturer of rubber moulded parts, is all set to enhance its... ...http://www.motorindiaonline.in/commercial-vehicles/stork-rubber-to-strengthen-exports-and-ramp-up-domestic-presence/
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Operational since 2004, Auto Aracde...


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Intel announced a digital random-number generator (DRNG) at an industry conference on Thursday, that the company said would be incorporated in future Intel products to be announced next month.
Intel's DRNG will be built into the "uncore" peripheral logic that will surround the cores at the heart of Intel's 22-nm chips, Intel executives said. The DRNG will be built into products "across the spectrum" of Intel products, Intel executives said.
Those 22-nm microprocessors, code-named "Ivy Bridge," are due to be announced next month at the Intel Developer Forum, and most likely will be shipped by the end of the this year. If history holds, Intel will announce the new chips are shipping at or around the Consumer Electronics Show in January.
A true random number generator harnesses a source of entropy to produce the a truly random series of numbers. This randomness can then be used as a seed for cryptographic keys, that, in principle, are much more difficult to break than a pseudorandom number whose seed can be deduced. It also could be used for improved simulations.
Intel's source of entropy inside the DRNG is thermal noise, samples from outside the chip. The source itself is a self-timed digital circuit that pushes a latch into metastability at about 3 GHz. The DRNG operates in two stages, one dedicated to conditioning entropy extraction, and the digital random number generation itself.
According to Intel's George Cox, who presented the paper at the Hot Chips conference here at Stanford, the design of the circuit allows a stable, testable entropy source to be built directly on chip, using the existing digital power supply. Cox also described the DRNG's ability to straddle various manufacturing processes as "easy" compared to analog RNGs.
The DRNG is NIST SP800-90 compliant and FIPS certifiable as such, Cox added. It can be reseeded every 512 bits.
The random number generator will be accessible via the RdRand instruction, which has been available to programmers for several months, Cox said, and will pull a hardware generated value from the DRNG and store it where desired. It's also accessible to any system or software program running on top of the Intel hardware, theoretically locking in software to Intel chips, rather than competing cores from AMD.
According to Cox, the DRNG has been successfully tested against raw and "cooked" inputs, which would alleviate the possibility of a non-random seed generated, if for example, the chip was cooled to a point where there was essentially no thermal noise.
For more from Mark, follow him on Twitter @MarkHachman.


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By Rachel Curry (Public)
- Black-owned media received less than 2% of total ad spend in 2020 despite accounting for 13% of the U.S. population, according to Nielsen
- African Americans only own 5% of the production budget in Hollywood
Building and monetizing culture for the masses is very lucrative and one of the best ways to truly capitalize on this is through Black media ownership. Detavio Samuels, CEO of REVOLT Media (founded by Sean “Diddy” Combs) knows this first-hand and unpacked the broad impact Black-owned media has on investing platform Public.com. Ethnic media shouldn’t be seen as niche or an accompaniment to mainstream media. It’s a necessary mainstay for cultural connectivity, especially when you factor in that African Americans spend more than $600 billion every year.
Why This Matters: As the voice of culture across all platforms, REVOLT has a big goal: to be the next Black-owned unicorn (aka startup with a $1+ billion valuation). “Whoever has the pen in their hand, they get to tell whatever story and whatever narrative that they want,” REVOLT is working to change not just the narrative, but the voice who tells it.
Even though African Americans only own 5% of the production budget in Hollywood, there’s more than enough room for Revolt to become a dominant player. Also, Black-owned media received less than 2% of total ad spend in 2020 despite accounting for 13% of the U.S. population, according to Nielsen.
In the last decade, eight Black-owned businesses have reached unicorn status. To put that in perspective, 264 companies became unicorns in 2021 alone. This is due in part to limited access to capital. Samuels said, “Black-owned media only extracts 1% of the marketing dollars that are put into the market.”
In the same vein, Black-owned businesses only receive 1% of venture funding (just 0.34% of venture capital goes to African American women). To remain a Black-owned business, Black owners must retain 51% equity, which automatically limits who they can take funding from.
Samuels highlighted how Black culture inspires all culture, and how business leaders monetize Black culture without reinvesting in it. As REVOLT saw, major events like the murder of George Floyd create a tailwind of money flowing into Black media, but it’s not enough.
What’s Next: REVOLT has partnered with Target to create a TV show called “Bet on Black.” Unlike Shark Tank, this venture funding show provides Black entrepreneurs with coaching, nurturing, and capital. Everyone on the show gets capital “without any exchange of equity,” Samuels said. REVOLT’s other ventures, such as Black News Weekly, is working to change the voice and narrative of Black business. By leading with Black insights, because culture stems from the margins, it may just prove to be a winning formula for building a culturally relevant ‘For Us By Us’ media unicorn.
CBx Vibe: “Something To Believe In” Fashawn, Aloe Blacc, Nas
Public.com is an investing platform that helps people be better investors. Members can build a diverse portfolio of stocks, funds, and crypto within a single platform.
On Public, ownership unlocks an experience of content and education, contextual to their portfolio, created by a million+ strong community of investors, creators and analysts.
Public puts investors first, and doesn’t sell trades to market makers or take money from Payment for Order Flow (PFOF).
Join Public and apply code CULTUREBANX start with a free slice of stock when you open a funded account.
*Open to the Public Investing is a member of FINRA and SIPC. This content is not investment advice. Investing involves the risk of loss and investments not guaranteed against loss. Cryptocurrency execution and custody services are provided by Apex Crypto LLC. Cryptocurrencies are not securities and are not FDIC or SIPC insured.
Rachel Curry is a Pennsylvania-based content writer and journalist talking all things finance. She likes to give meaning to numbers by humanizing them. You can connect with her on Twitter at @writingsofrach.


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Mid-December saw the launch of On the Beach’s new “Everything’s better on the beach” campaign. The campaign which will be running across OOH, digital, radio and TV across Q1, has already taken the prize for yougov’s ‘ad of the month’ in December. Across the first two weeks, the campaign generated a consideration uplift of 50% and an 11 pp increase in brand awareness.
The human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text, and 90 percent of information transmitted to the brain is visual. With the increasing omnipotence of the internet, we now live in a world where visual communication is taking on increasing importance.
The August wave of The QT found that half of 18-24s feel that using memes can be more effective than words alone, and 32% of 18-34s also agree that memes are an important way of sharing culture. While the majority reserve this to a more comic sphere, as 2020 has gotten underway, we’ve seen memes impact the way we are consuming news online.
The first few days of the new decade saw Iran’s top general, Qasem Soleimani, killed in an air strike ordered by US President Donald Trump. Iran’s supreme leader promised “harsh vengeance” almost immediately, followed swiftly by threats of potential US retribution. Conversation online turned to talk of World War 3 being imminent if both countries followed through with their escalating threats.
However, despite over 44k posts being written on Twitter about WW3 since the 6th January, surprisingly 31% of posts had positive sentiment. This increased over the month to peak on 11th January, three days after Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at US forces in Iraq in its first military retaliation since the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani.
This thread of positive reactions was driven by the posting and sharing of memes referencing WW3. The most popular posts feature political figures including Greta Thunberg and Tony Blair. Whilst the Memes provide a light-heartedness to the conversation, a lot of the captions on the pictures cite them as “a coping mechanism” and a way of “hiding from the fear”, with fear also detected as a dominant emotion in posts.
This reaction online was similar on 8th January when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they would be stepping down as senior royals, with many people taking the news as an opportunity to mock the royals through memes.
29% of 18-24s agree that brands who use memes get their attention. Therefore as visual language begins to become the dominant means through which we view and engage with the world, it should be considered a vital part of advertisers communications strategies.
However, a potential pitfall for brands to watch out for among meme culture is illustrated by the misfortune suffered by Weight Watchers. The campaign on social media was timed to align with the “new year, new me” mentality however, in an unprecedented coincidence, their #thisismyWW campaign appeared around trending and unfortunately alliterative hashtags such as #WW111 and #WorldWarThree.
Pataks’ objective for this campaign was to educate around usage of paste pots, as insight showed consumers were not clear on how to use them. The partnership between Pataks and Jamie Oliver was a natural fit, as Jamie had been using their paste posts in his 15 minute meals for years. He created 6 recipes for digital platforms, which we utilised across Facebook and YouTube to maximise on completed views to aid education. This resulted in ad recall coming out 3.4x higher than the FMCG benchmark, brand awareness lifted 4.5x higher and purchase intent was 7.3x higher than benchmark!
Advertisers need to align with interests rather than age, or indeed any other demographic. Greater age representation is increasingly demanded of brands and commercially, it seems to make sense; those 55+ hold more than a third of Britain’s wealth. So how can the advertising industry become more representative in its advertising?
Most importantly, we need to be careful of the assumptions we are making of this audience. Often those over 50 are pictured within the home, yet the number of those 65+ in employment has doubled from 5.5% in 1992 to 10.2% in 2018. Furthermore, less than 5% of images of older generations show them handling technology, despite 69% of those 55-74 owning a smartphone. It seems as though our perception is different from the realities facing the Baby Boomer audience.
By more openly targeting a broader audience, brands should not be afraid of tackling traditionally taboo topics. Holland and Barratt’s Me.No.Pause. campaign from last year is a great example of a brand bring the taboo subject of menopause out into the open to appeal and build loyalty amongst an older target. As a result, it won £500,000 worth of free advertising on TfL – however brands need to engage with this dialogue without the incentive of free advertising. Pablo, Holland and Barrett’s creative agency, sums this up nicely: “We hope this campaign will spark and inspire a more open conversation about this important subject.“
Ultimately, a cross-generational approach to audiences – driven by interests – has the ability to provide a brand with a wider customer base and more opportunities in the long term. In the ‘Truth about Age’, McCann has summed ageing up as a “… journey of limitless opportunities and personal growth” and this is a great way for many brands to challenge what they know about those 55+.
Veganism is set for an even bigger boom this month with a record number of 300,000 people already signed up to Veganuary – an 18% increase from last year.
Whether part of a “New Year, New Me” resolution or for health, ethical or environmental reasons, Veganuary began in 2014 and has significantly grown year on year, with more and more people abstaining from animal products and instead opting for a plant-based diet. For some, this carries on beyond January; 62% of Veganuary participants in 2018 intended to remain vegan
To accompany this surge in signups, there has been a string of vegan product launches by high street favourites and major supermarkets to make the journey and vegan choices readily available.
To name just a few; McDonalds has launched its first ever vegan meal called Veggie Dippers, which accompanied with their vegan friendly fries now allows customers to order a fully vegan meal. Meanwhile, Co-op has also launched what they have described as; “the largest ever product rollout of own-brand vegan products by a supermarket.” Their new vegan food range is called Gro and features 35 meat free products, including pizza, nachos and curry based options. Other supermarkets are also expanding their vegan ranges this January including Iceland, Marks and Spencer’s and Waitrose.
Veganuary – and this trend influencing eating habits throughout the year – is opening up new opportunities for more brands to invest in a prolonged approach to providing better meat free alternatives for this growing market. Brands are offering a greater range of vegan products that are no longer limited to one month each year.
The rise in signups and brand involvement is undoubtedly a reflection of the changing face of veganism in society. It will be interesting to see how much this year on year trend continues to grow and whether an even wider audience and demographic will not only start but stick with this major change of lifestyle.
Foresight Factory, Veganuary: What we learned from social media conversations on Veganuary 2019


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TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Apr17/09)
19 April 2017
Third World Network
World trade to grow 2.4% in 2017, but uncertainties abound
Published in SUNS #8443 dated 13 April 2017
Geneva, 12 Apr (Kanaga Raja) - World merchandise trade in volume terms is
forecast to grow 2.4% in 2017, up from a very weak 1.3% in 2016, the World
Trade Organisation (WTO) said on Wednesday.
In their latest trade statistics and outlook, the WTO economists said growth in
the volume of world merchandise trade is expected to rebound this year from its
tepid performance in 2016, but only if the global economy recovers as expected
and governments pursue the right policy mix.
The WTO is forecasting that global trade will expand by 2.4% in 2017. However,
as deep uncertainty about near- term economic and policy developments raise the
forecast risk, this figure is placed within a range of 1.8% to 3.6%.
In 2018, the WTO is forecasting trade growth between 2.1% and 4%.
At a media briefing on Wednesday, WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said
that the poor performance in 2016 was largely due to a significant slowdown in
emerging markets where imports basically stagnated - barely growing in volume
terms last year.
As for the outlook in 2017 and beyond, the DG said that a number of early
indicators point to a recovery in trade growth in 2017.
For example, container port throughput has climbed to a record high. World
export orders are at their highest level in several years. And these factors
combined with an expected recovery in global GDP gives some cause for
"cautious optimism," he said.
The WTO therefore expects world trade to rebound to 2.4% in 2017. However,
because of the high level of economic and policy uncertainty, "we are
placing this figure within a range that goes from 1.8% to 3.6%."
Overall, said Azevedo, "I think that while there are some reasons for
cautious optimism, trade growth remains fragile and there are considerable
risks on the downside."
"And much of the uncertainty around the outlook is of course political,
but not only geo-political. Part of this is also people's concerns about the
impact that trade can have and the fact that trade plays a very beneficial role
in the economy overall it is of course a net positive. It drives growth, job
creation, development but nonetheless people's concerns cannot be
Finding the right response to this means that "we have to look at the
whole picture. The fact that the economy is changing fast, driven by technology
and innovation, is undeniable. Eight in ten manufacturing jobs are lost to
innovative technologies and higher productivity," he maintained.
He added that it is estimated that 65% of children that are entering primary
school today will end up working in types of jobs that don't exist yet.
"So we have to adapt to this new reality. Adapt means apply the right mix
of policies in a wide range of areas. At the domestic level, policies are
needed to help support the workers of today and also to train the workers of
Closing the borders to trade will only worsen the situation, said Azevedo. It
would not bring jobs back. It would just make more jobs disappear.
"So we need to keep using trade to deliver more benefits to more people.
More trade integration can help make the system more inclusive, connecting new
industries and smaller players to new markets."
Asked how much the Trump administration's policies account for the overall
policy uncertainty and whether there has been any clarity from the US
administration on its willingness to engage with the WTO, Azevedo said "we
are waiting to see the new trade team really in place - waiting for the new
USTR to be confirmed so that we can have a more meaningful dialogue."
"At this point in time, we don't have that, and we are still waiting to
see how the trade policy itself is going to shape up in the United
Referring to a graph in the report highlighting global policy uncertainty from
January 2014-February 2017, the DG said that this graph is going up markedly
particularly since 2016.
A bunch of not very numerical elements go into that graph, but a lot of it has
to do with analysis of articles by the press where the word
"uncertainty" (appears) or where the piece itself is about question
marks on the future of fiscal, monetary, or trade policies. All those things
combined show in that graph that the level of uncertainty is going up, he
According to the DG, it could be for a number of reasons - elections,
volatility in financial markets, and question marks about the future of fiscal
policy and monetary policy in major markets.
That does not mean that it is all negative. Uncertainty can also be a good
uncertainty because, for example, investors might be expecting interest rates
to go down, which is good for them. It simply means that they will hold their
investment until that uncertainty is cleared up.
"What we need today is stability. What we need today is
Asked how the Trump administration's statements on imposing tariffs and trade
barriers will affect the trade forecast, Azevedo said that he has heard a
number of comments on the part of authorities connected to the new
administration. Some were going in a particular direction and others were going
in a slightly different direction.
As far as trade and the WTO are concerned, the DG said, "the devil is in
the detail. Just an overall statement of intentions to go in one particular way
or another, doesn't tell us what the trade policy is and it doesn't tell us
what the impact of that trade policy will be on trade relations among WTO members."
"So we need more details. We need more clarity and I suppose that will
come when we have the new trade team in place. We don't have that now, so
anything I say about the impact of the US trade policy would be speculation.
And I am not keen on speculating."
The DG was asked about the fact that he had commented (before the results of
the referendum were known) that Brexit would be bad for Britain but that his
position vis-a-vis the United States is somewhat ambiguous in that he has said
that details (of Trump's trade policies) have not emerged. He was asked to
comment on the apparent double standards when it comes to the US where he is
being extremely cautious, but that he had pronounced his view on Brexit even
before the results of the referendum in Britain were known.
Azevedo said "my standard is very clear. It is the way I see it. That's
the only standard that I apply. And I don't take back anything that I said
about Brexit. And I don't take back anything that I said about the new
administration in the United States."
On Brexit, at the time, he had said that "uncertainty is bad, and I just
said that today, again. Uncertainty is bad. That's what I said at the time and
I keep repeating it now. Now it's done, it's been decided by the British
"I have said before, and I will say it again, the less turbulence we have
in this process the better for the global economy. And as far as the WTO is
concerned, we will try to ensure, as much as we can, less turbulence."
On the US, Azevedo maintained that there was no ambiguity at all in what he
said. "I've said it before and I will say it again. I don't have an
interlocutor in the US. I don't know what the trade policy is. And I haven't
read any piece in the press, or analysts or economists or politicians, telling
me what the US trade policy is. I just don't know and I don't think anybody
does at this point in time. So we have to be patient. We have to see what the
trade policy is."
In their report, the WTO economists said the unpredictable direction of the global
economy in the near term and the lack of clarity about government action on
monetary, fiscal and trade policies raise the risk that trade activity will be
"A spike in inflation leading to higher interest rates, tighter fiscal
policies and the imposition of measures to curtail trade could all undermine
higher trade growth over the next two years."
According to the WTO economists, the WTO's more promising forecasts for 2017
and 2018 are predicated on certain assumptions and there is considerable
downside risk that expansion will fall short of these estimates.
Attaining these rates of growth depends to a large degree on global GDP
expansion in line with forecasts of 2.7% this year and 2.8% next year. While
there are reasonable expectations that such growth could be achieved, expansion
along these lines would represent a significant improvement on the 2.3% GDP
growth in 2016.
In 2016, the weak trade growth of just 1.3% was partly due to cyclical factors
as economic activity slowed across the board, but it also reflected deeper
structural changes in the relationship between trade and economic output.
The most trade-intensive components of global demand were particularly weak
last year as investment spending slumped in the United States and as China
continued to rebalance its economy away from investment and toward consumption,
dampening import demand.
"Global economic growth has been unbalanced since the financial crisis,
but for the first time in several years all regions of the world economy should
experience a synchronized upturn in 2017. This could reinforce growth and
provide an additional boost to trade."
The report noted that forward looking indicators, including the WTO's World
Trade Outlook Indicator, point to stronger trade growth in the first half of
2017, but policy shocks could easily undermine positive recent trends.
Unexpected inflation could force central banks to tighten monetary policy
faster than they would like, under-cutting economic growth and trade in the
short-run. Other factors, such as the uncertainty provoked by the United
Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union could potentially have an effect.
Meanwhile, the possibility of a rise in the application of restrictive trade
policies could affect demand and investment flows, and cut economic growth over
the medium-to-long term.
"In light of these factors, there is a significant risk that trade
expansion in 2017 will fall into the lower end of the range," said the WTO
The recovery of world trade this year and next is based on expected world real
GDP growth at market exchange rates of 2.7% in 2017 and 2.8% in 2018. This GDP
estimate assumes that developed economies maintain generally expansionary
monetary and fiscal policies, and that developing economies continue to emerge
from their recent slowdown.
The unusually low 1.3% growth in world merchandise trade volume in 2016 was the
result of several risk factors converging over the course of the year. These
weighed on imports of both developed and developing economies, although the
latter were more affected.
Developing economies suffered a sharp 3% decline in imports in the first
quarter, equivalent to an annualized drop of 11.6%, but growth resumed in the
second quarter and losses were recovered by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, imports of developed economies continued to grow but at a reduced
pace. The weakness of imports was reflected on the export side in slow growth
of shipments from both developed and developing countries.
For the year, imports of developed countries grew 2.0% while those of
developing economies stagnated at 0.2%. Exports recorded modest growth in both
developed and developing countries: 1.4% in the former and 1.3% in the latter.
Geographic regions were affected to varying degrees by the slump in trade in
2016. The first quarter was characterized by financial turbulence that affected
China and its regional trading partners, as fears of an economic hard-landing
and currency depreciation increased.
Declines in imports of South America and Other regions (comprising Africa, the
Middle East and the Commonwealth of Independent States) were steeper and more
persistent, driven mostly by low commodity prices. Much of South America's
decline was due to Brazil, which remained mired in a severe recession.
Meanwhile, Europe's exports and imports grew faster than North America's, which
have been mostly flat since the start of 2015.
According to the report, despite positive growth in its exports and imports,
North America was one of the biggest contributors to the weakness of world
imports in 2016.
In 2015, North American imports added 1.2 percentage points to world import
growth of 2.9%, or 42% of the total increase.
By contrast, the region only contributed 0.1 percentage points to world import
growth of 1.2% last year.
Asia and Europe were the only regions making significant positive contributions
to global import demand in 2016, with Europe contributing 1.6 percentage points
(39% of the total increase) and Asia adding 1.9 percentage points (49% of the
Reasons for the lacklustre performance of North America's trade are
multi-faceted, but they include low oil prices and declining rates of
investment, particularly in the energy sector. Investment made essentially no
positive contribution to GDP growth in the United States in 2016.
Investment is the most import intensive component of GDP and has been
particularly weak in developed countries since the financial crisis, with sharp
contractions in Europe in 2012 and 2013 during the sovereign debt crisis.
The contribution of investment to China's economic growth has also declined,
albeit more gradually. Investment accounted for more than half of China's GDP
growth in 2012-13, but by 2016 this had fallen to 39%.
WTO economists said that commodity prices and exchange rates played a large
role in the disappointing trade performance of 2016.
"Plunging prices for oil and metals since the middle of 2014 deprived
resource exporting regions of revenue to purchase imports. Commodity prices
have stabilized and staged a partial recovery, but a return to price levels of
a few years ago is unlikely as long as oil inventories remain high and the US
dollar remains strong."
Dollar values of international trade flows have been strongly influenced by
exchange rates in recent years. In 2016, world merchandise exports were valued
at US$15.46 trillion, down 3.3% from the previous year.
TRADE OUTLOOK FOR 2017 and 2018
According to the WTO economists, leading indicators of real trade growth are up
in the early months of 2017, suggesting a strengthening of trade at the start
of this year.
Container throughput of major ports has recovered from its slump of 2015-16 to
reach a record high level, with year-on-year growth of 5.2% in the first two
months of 2017.
Estimates of world GDP growth at market exchange rates have risen from 2.3% in
2016 to 2.7% in 2017 and 2.8% in 2018.
"Balanced against these positive indications are a number of clear and
significant risks. Growing anti- globalization sentiment and the rise of populist
political movements have increased the likelihood that restrictive trade
measures will be employed more widely."
Narrowly targeted measures would probably not have an appreciable impact on
world trade and output, but across-the-board measures or abandonment of
existing trade agreements could damage consumer and business confidence and
undermine international trade and investment, said the WTO economists.
With inflationary pressures building gradually in developed countries, central
banks could also accelerate their pace of monetary tightening, with negative
consequences for economic growth and trade in the short-run.
Changes in fiscal policy could also have unintended international consequences
that could reduce global economic activity and trade.
In Europe, the challenging negotiations between the United Kingdom and the rest
of the European Union will increase uncertainty about the shape of their trade
relations in the future. Sovereign debt in highly indebted EU countries is
still an outstanding issue that may come to the fore once again over the next
two years, they said.
"Assuming that developed economies maintain generally accommodative fiscal
and monetary policies, that economic recovery in emerging economies proceeds
gradually, and that restrictive trade measures do not proliferate, we would
expect merchandise trade to grow 2.4% in volume terms in 2017."
However, given the significant downside risks and the prolonged period of weak
trade growth in recent years, this growth is placed within a range of 1.8% to
"World trade growth could be as low as 1.8% in 2017 if downside risks
emerge, or it could be as high as 3.6% if our basic assumptions are too
pessimistic, but the upside potential is less likely. In 2018 trade volume
growth should be between 2.1% and 4.0%," said the WTO economists.


text: The latest example is the Nissan ECO-pedal system, which will be available in models starting next year. Although the company says they have no "test mules" (e.g., car prototypes) anywhere in the world, they have tested the ECO-pedal in their lab. When the driver accelerates too much, the ECO-pedal system pushes back – automatically slowing down the driver to save fuel. There's also a visual indicator: a green ECO-P light emits from the speedometer and it flashes when fuel economy is degrading faster. Burn rubber too fast, and the ECO-pedal light will flash and turn yellow as a warning.


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Parkette Drive In is having a party to celebrate its appearance on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
The segment will air at 10 p.m. Monday, and Insight Communications and Colortyme are setting up TV screens at the drive-in, 1230 East New Circle Road, for the showing.
Parkette co-owner Randy Kaplan said there will be food specials and prizes. Call (859) 254-8723 or go to Theparkette.com.
It's shrimp season in the Bluegrass
It's shrimp harvest time in Central Kentucky. Fill a cooler with ice and head to Henton Farm in Woodford County at noon Sunday to pick up your shellfish. The freshwater prawns are $10 a pound. Call (859) 983-8148. The farm is 435 Grassy Springs Road.
If you don't want to go to the farm, you can pick up fresh shrimp at Bluegrass Farmers Market on Saturday.
Aquaculture graduate students from Kentucky State University will sell freshwater shrimp/prawns that were raised in the school's research ponds in Frankfort. The students will have information about how to process, prepare, cook and freeze the prawns. You'll need to bring a cooler and ice.
Proceeds from the sales will be used for students to attend conferences to present their research.
The Bluegrass market also will have homegrown tomatoes, peppers, squash, green beans, potatoes, apples, eggplant, eggs, jams, honey, baked goods, herbs, berries, mums, pumpkins and fall decorations. The market is at 3450 Richmond Road, in the parking lot of Pedal the Planet and Fast Signs. Hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and 3 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Go to Localharvest.org/blog/29529.
Fall comes to Jean Farris menu
The dinner menu at Jean Farris Winery is changing with the season. Featured items for fall are rabbit, prepared two ways; rack of lamb paired with Gruyere bread pudding; house-made ricotta-chestnut ravioli; and chocolate soufflé.
Dining is available on the patio overlooking the vineyard. Classical violinist Agatha Clixby will perform from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, and guitarist/vocalist Nate Jones will entertain Saturday. Call (859) 263-9463 or go to Jeanfarris.com. The winery is at 6825 Old Richmond Road.
Lots of coffee to sip and savor
Superlative Coffee Roasters will have a "Sip and Savor" event Saturday at the roastery, 116 Mechanic Street. "We'll be tasting coffees from around the world and have roasting demonstrations," co-owner Jenny Super said. Superlative's limited-edition barrel-aged, bourbon-infused coffee will be introduced at the open house, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call (859) 252-5000 or go to Superlativecoffee.com.
Bourbon and pizza get together
Four Roses Bourbon and Pazzo's Pizza Pub are celebrating Bourbon Heritage Month by introducing the "bourbon bootlegger" pizza. It includes grilled chicken, bacon, red onions and provolone cheese, and the sauce is made with bourbon. Pazzo's is at 385 South Limestone. Call (859) 255-5125. Go to Fourroses.us or Pazzospizzapub.com.
Al's is now a breakfast bar
Al's Bar, 601 North Limestone, will begin serving Bluegrass Brunch on Saturday. The brunch buffet features local foods and an assortment of breakfast cocktails. Included are buttermilk biscuits, portobello mushroom gravy, chipotle cheese grits, tomato and basil bisque, and carrot cake. Hours are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Live bluegrass music begins at 11:15 a.m. Call (859) 252-9104 or go to Alsbarlexington.com.
Chef copies from his colleagues
Brandon Ginter, chef at The Julep Cup, is serving dishes from the chefs he's working with at the Cookin' in the Bluegrass celebrity chef dinner series at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. He will cook with Joseph Lenn, chef at The Inn at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tenn., and Nancy Oakes, chef at Boulevard Restaurant in San Francisco, on Sept. 27. (Tickets to the dinners at the Kentucky Horse Park are $300 and available at Alltechfeigames.com.)
On Friday and Saturday at The Julep Cup, the menu will include Boulevard's fried green tomato and crispy oyster BLT, and spiny lobster paella; and from Blackberry Farm, grilled chili-rubbed prime rib and peach shortcake. On Monday nights, the restaurant will serve Alltech Angus Beef's T-bone steaks.
The Julep Cup is at 111 Woodland Avenue. Call (859) 226-0300.
In the pink for fund-raiser
Merrick Inn, 1074 Merrick Drive, will have a Drink Pink/Keeneland fall fashion show at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. A portion of the proceeds goes to Kentucky Pink Connection, a program that "serves breast cancer patients on a personal basis by reducing and/or eliminating barriers to screening, diagnosis and treatment," according to its Facebook page. Pink food and drink specials will be served. Call (859) 269 5417. Music will be provided by Jon Curtis and Lauren Wilson.
Park's chef wins 'Cast Iron' crown
Kendra Clark, an assistant chef at Greenbo Lake State Resort Park, won the Cast Iron Chef competition last month at the Kentucky State Fair. The ingredients the chefs used were kept a secret until the cook-off began. Clark's winning dish, which she had 30 minutes to prepare, was a New York strip steak with sautéed onions and peppers that was accompanied by linguine, summer squash and green beans.


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KUALA LUMPUR - The first Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Digital Ministers' Meeting on Friday adopted the ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025 (ADM2025) to guide the group's digital cooperation from 2021 to 2025.
In a joint declaration after the meeting, the ministers said the plan would prioritize ASEAN's recovery from COVID-19, connect businesses and facilitate cross-border trade and build a digitally inclusive society, among other goals, making the group a leading digital community and economic bloc powered by secure and transformative digital services, technologies and ecosystem.
The ministers noted the importance of accelerating the inclusive digital transformation in ASEAN as one of the key strategy for the region to exit from the COVID-19 crisis.
The ministers noted the importance of accelerating the inclusive digital transformation in ASEAN as one of the key strategy for the region to exit from the COVID-19 crisis
The two-day virtual meeting was chaired by Malaysian Minister of Communications and Multimedia Saifuddin Abdullah, and attended by his counterparts from other ASEAN members, with the ministers also holding consultations with their counterparts from China, Japan, South Korea, India, the United States, and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
The ASEAN ministers expressed appreciation for China's active promotion and success of the 2020 ASEAN-China Year of Digital Economy Cooperation, the establishment of ASEAN-China digital economy partnership, and activities on various topics, including digital technology in pandemic prevention and control, 5G use cases, artificial intelligence (AI) and industrial digital transformation by overcoming the negative impact of COVID-19.
The ministers looked forward to strengthening policy alignment and deepening the cooperation on digital technology and application for both sides, and agreed to exchange and cooperate on digital development policy, digital technology in pandemic prevention and control, digital innovation, digital infrastructure, digital security, and digital capacity building in 2021.
The ministers also agreed to develop the Action Plan for Implementing the ASEAN-China Partnership on Digital Economy 2021-2025 in 2021, said a separate joint media statement.
ASEAN, founded in 1967, groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
HONG KONG NEWS


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Subaru’s Tribeca model is a vehicle that was always plagued by few major inconsistencies that the company would be looking forward to correcting with the release of 2016 Subaru Tribeca. Ever since its launch, it faced a lot of criticism and failed to record even moderately successful sales figures and was finally discontinued from production in 2013.
The Japanese automaker has realised that it is high time to capitalize of the increase in demand in the SUV market and prove their mettle once again. This vehicle will sport a refreshing new exterior design, luxurious interiors and performance levels, which the company claim, will be like something very few has ever seen before.
2016 Subaru Tribeca Exterior and Interior Redesign
The most radical changes are expected to happen in the car’s exterior, as the previous version was criticised based on its design language. The success of 2016 Subaru Tribeca will largely depend on how the company implements modern design to make this car standout from the crowd. The previous version looked so ordinary that it needed a facelift in just 2 years after its release, but it still couldn’t save itself from the design flaws. This upcoming model will likely boast of better aerodynamics and LED equipped lights among other modern day styling changes.
The company has not declared any official details about how the car’s interior might look, but we expect unique visuals along with superior comfort elements that make this car the perfect family SUV. The 2016 Subaru Tribeca will likely have ample cabin space to accommodate up to seven passengers with enough head and legroom for comfortable sitting. Leather might be used to wrap its seats while soft touch materials are expected to cover rest of the car’s interior.
This car will, reportedly, host a ton of safety and infotainment features that will further boost its value. Expect a great quality audio system, automatic air conditioning, navigation, ABS and traction control mechanism and an added moon roof. There will also be safety bags for each passenger and driver.
2016 Subaru Tribeca Engine Specs
The upcoming 2016 Subaru Tribeca will additionally be offered in North American market to comply with regulations set for more environ-friendly vehicles. For the base version, we expect it to be powered by a 2.5 litre 4-cylinder engine mated to a 5-speed auto transmission system and producing a maximum horsepower of 230. It will come in all-wheel drive system. The Plug-in Hybrid model will likely offer a 3.6 litre V6 unit and produce 256 hp. There are no stats available yet regarding the vehicles fuel efficiency, but we expect the Tribeca to live up to the promises made by its makers.
2016 Subaru Tribeca Release Date and Price
Exact release date of 2016 Subaru Tribeca has not been revealed, but we expect that the company will take its wraps off somewhere around the middle of 2016. As far as price is concerned, it will most certainly cost more than the current version. Be prepared to shell out money between $35,000 and $38,000 for the base variant.


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Bayonetta director Hideki Kamiya has hinted at something big in Platinum Games' near future.
Speaking to 4Gamer as part of its annual survey of Japanese developers, Kamiya apparently said he was ready to take up the design reigns again. Andriasang's translation has Kamiya promising to "announce a new game and make a comeback on the game scene".
Kamiya's last project as director was 2009's Bayonetta, having taken less central roles on Vanquish and the upcoming Anarchy Reigns and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. His past works include Okami, Viewtiful Joe, Resident Evil 2, and Devil May Cry.
Platinum Games producer Atsushi Inaba also dropped a small hint, saying he expected 2012 to be "the ultimate year for Platinum Games" despite only two known projects on the table.
Platinum Games is staffed by a number of key ex-Capcom staffers after the closure of its Clover Studios. The studio had a four-game deal with Sega, later extended to a fifth title, and has partnered with Konami and KojiPro on Metal gear Rising: Revengeance.