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Miami Beach — South Florida's most discussed CEO, Rony Abovitz of Plantation-based Magic Leap, said Tuesday the region is on the cusp of becoming one of the top technology sectors in the nation.
"That's about to happen," said Abovitz, a keynote speaker at the fourth annual eMerge Americas conference in Miami Beach.
But the secretive entrepreneur would provide only hints of how far Magic Leap has traveled toward launching its first product: "If we were at NASA … you would see a rocket sitting on the launch pad," Abovitz said.
"Launch is not far away," he added.
Abovitz's keynote was jammed with people hoping to hear what is happening with his company, which employs 800 in Plantation and Dania Beach. Magic Leap has raised $1.4 billion, primarily from Google and the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba.
They got a few crumbs.
"We're trying to make science fiction real," he said of the company's technology.
Abovitz joined other South Florida entrepreneurs at eMerge including Randy Parker, a founder of the telehealth company MDLive in Sunrise, and Dan Cane, co-founder and CEO of Modernizing Medicine in Boca Raton, to highlight South Florida's technology sector.
The sector has come a long way in the past decade, but is still not at the level of Silicon Valley, Boston or Seattle, entrepreneurs agree. What's still missing, they say, is big investor interest and money, and large employers to attract the best talent.
"We're still missing the big employers, but it's happening," said Manuel Medina, founder of the eMerge conference, pointing to his own new company, Cyxtera Technologies. The company already employs 1,100 people and is a $3 billion global security-technology firm based in Miami.
But Magic Leap — the company most point to as South Florida's technology star — has not yet launched its first product.
Industry publications such as The Verge have been critical of the startup for its secretive nature, asserting the company is "way behind" in launching a product and that it's technology may not live up to its advance billing.
At the conference, Abovitz wouldn't say exactly when Magic Leap's product would launch, what the product was, or what it would cost. He did say that the product "is being priced for affordability of a 'premium' consumer device."
Abovitz reiterated what he said in his own blog post, saying 2017 will be "be a very good year," and that the company has an "active" production line. He said the product is a new kind of computing — "experiential and ambient." When asked for an example, he described a mother watching her children, interacting with her mother, and taking a phone call via the technology.
Previously, Magic Leap has said it is pursuing "a new mixed reality computing platform that will enable people to interact with the world in ways never before possible."
South Florida ranked No. 2 in startup activity in 2016. At the two-day eMerge event concluding Tuesday, more than 100 startup companies participated in a competition, and more presented exhibits, said Xavier Gonzalez, CEO of eMerge.
Gonzalez said eMerge Americas attracted more than 13,000 people this year. He said it is marketed as a global event, rather than as a South Florida one, to attract companies and investors from Latin America and Europe.
eMerge Americas' keynote speakers included Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computers; and Uri Levine, co-founder of the traffic app Waze.
Besides Parker of MDLive and Cane of Modernizing Medicine, participating entrepreneurs from Broward included Jonathan Broder, founder and CEO of VortexLegal in Fort Lauderdale, a profitable, seven-year-old "Expedia for legal services," and Matthew DeRose and Douglas Cochrane, partners in Live-Resume.com, a 2-1/2-year-old video-resume company in Hollywood.
Parker, a founder and chief development officer of MDLive, said he sees attracting and retaining talent as the biggest issue for South Florida, now that the region is more competitive with other tech sectors.
Parker said younger technology workers do not want only a good salary or stock options, as their parents did. "They want to work for a noble cause," he said.
Startup entrepreneurs at the conference said they were most concerned about a lack of investor interest in early-stage companies.
Broder of VortexLegal said investors in the region tend to be familiar with how to a value real estate, but not technology companies. "When it comes to technology valuations, there is not a huge amount of investors who understand technology. That's something that needs to change," he said.
DeRose of Live-Resume.com said he also wished there were more investors in wealthy South Florida seeking opportunities like his.
"You'd think that would be better," he said. "Look at the cars that people are driving."


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NEDERLAND — Golden Cup owner Janna Bartz is proud of what she’s been able to accomplish since opening her location on Boston Avenue two years ago.
Since February 2020, Bartz has hired more staff, significantly expanded its drink menu, and secured the full building lease.
The Golden Cup extends its opening hours during the Nederland Heritage Festival. The shop will be open until 9 p.m. on weekdays to coincide with festival times.
“If the parents need coffee to keep up with the kids, or if you work at one of the kiosks, we’ll be there,” she said.
Bartz has hired more staff to accommodate larger groups who want to use the space.
“Now I can organize meetings if larger groups want to come,” she said. “I can arrange this because I have plenty of seating. Before, I had three small tables. I have a lot more room for people to come in, or if the family just wants to come in and hang out after school. There is room for that. If students want to come and study, we have wifi now. »
The possibilities for space are endless.
Bartz is always adapting to figure out what she wants to do with the extra space.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “It gives me a lot more opportunities to make money than just making coffee drinks.”
Bartz has expanded the drink menu to over 50 flavors.
The Golden Cup has every flavor under the sun to sweeten your drink.
“We have everything you are looking for,” she said. “At the moment, we’re still just doing drinks, and that’s worked well for us for the past couple of years. We can do things like caffeine-free strikes now. We have options for people who cannot take caffeine. I keep adding to the menu regularly.
The Golden Cup has endured its first two years of operation unlike most. The cafe opened its doors a month before the pandemic brought the economy to a halt. After a year, a freeze flooded the area, causing the state to shut down for an extended period.
Bartz believes the difficult start to her business has made her and the store stronger.
“If I can get through these last two years, I feel like I can overcome anything,” she said.
The Golden Cup is located at 1336 Boston Avenue. Call 409-543-3112 for more information.

domain: news


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February 10, 2015 - Industry News
North American shipment volumes and total spending on freight both dropped in January, according to the Cass Freight Index, but they were also at their highest level for the month in at least three years.
Tags: Economy, Freight, Freight Rates, Cass Freight Index
Significant mid-year gains, paired with across-the-board growth in the final quarter of last year, contributed to strong overall intermodal freight performance in 2014, according to new figures from the Intermodal Association of North America.
Tags: Economy, Intermodal
February 6, 2015 - Industry News
According to the U.S. Labor Department, 257,000 jobs were added last month, while total jobs gains in December were revised upward to 329,000 from 252,000.
Tags: Economy, Unemployment, Employment
February 3, 2015 - Industry News
A full report on activity at U.S. factories in December shows drops in both shipments and new orders, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.
Tags: Economy, Durable Goods, Factory Orders, Factory Shipments
February 2, 2015 - Industry News
Consumer spending during December posted its biggest drop since September 2009, according to a new U.S. Commerce Department report on Monday.
Tags: Economy, Manufacturing, Consumer Spending, Construction Spending
January 30, 2015 - Industry News
A first look at one of the widest measures of the U.S. economy shows activity cooled in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Tags: Economy, GDP, Consumer Sentiment
January 29, 2015 - Industry News
Newly released U.S. Transportation Department figures show the amount of freight moved between the U.S. and its Canadian and Mexican neighbors edged higher by just 0.1% in November from the same time a year earlier.
Tags: Canada, Economy, Cross-Border Trucking, Mexico, Surface Trade
January 27, 2015 - Industry News
Shipments of U.S. manufactured durable goods, those designed to last three years or more, rebounded in December but new orders turned in its worst performance since August, according to a new U.S. Commerce Department report.
Tags: Economy, Consumer Confidence, Durable Goods, Home Sales
January 26, 2015 - Industry News
New construction starts in December retreated 16% from the month before totaling $568.2 billion, according to construction industry data provider Dodge Data and Analytics, but posted another annual gain.
Tags: Economy, Construction
January 23, 2015 - Industry News
One of the first looks at how the economy is doing in the New Year shows a further upturn in business conditions across the U.S. manufacturing sector, but the overall rate of improvement eased further from last August’s peak.
Tags: Economy, Manufacturing, Home Sales, Leading Economic Indicators
January 21, 2015 - Industry News
The U.S. housing market showed its best signs of recovery last year, well above 2013’s level, according to a new Commerce Department report.
Tags: Economy, Housing Starts
January 20, 2015 - Industry News
A new report shows the amount of freight moved in the final month of last year was unchanged from the month before but posted a healthy gain for all of last year.
Tags: Economy, ATA, Freight, Truck Tonnage
Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes declined just one point to 57, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index released Tuesday.
Tags: Economy, Home Building
January 16, 2015 - Industry News
Consumer prices fell 0.4% in December from the month before, according to new U.S. Labor Department report, the biggest decline in six years.
Tags: Economy, Industrial Production, Consumer Prices, Consumer Sentiment
January 15, 2015 - Industry News
A new report shows freight shipments and expenditures in shipping fell in the final month of 2014 but posted gains for the entire year.
Tags: Economy, Research, Cass Freight Index
Prices at the wholesale level fell in December from the month before, the biggest drop since October 2011, due in large part to declining fuel prices.
Tags: Economy, Producer Prices
January 14, 2015 - Industry News
A measure of the amount of freight moved by the nation’s entire for-hire transportation sector shows it rose 0.8% in November from the month before, the fifth consecutive monthly increase.
Tags: Economy, U.S. DOT, Freight Index
Retail sales in the U.S. fell in December by the largest amount in nearly a year, according to a new Commerce Department report.
Tags: Economy, Retail Sales
January 9, 2015 - Industry News
Unemployment in the U.S. continued declining in 2014, the best year for job growth since 1999, according to new Labor Department figures. However, wages fell and more people left the labor force.
January 8, 2015 - Industry News
Since the end of the "Great Recession" and the start of a recovery, the U.S. economy has gone through two distinct phases, with the latter being the better, and expectations are things will continue to improve.
Tags: Economy, Research, FTR, GDP, Unemployment, Housing, Employment
The amount of freight moved between the U.S. and its North American Free Trade Agreement partners of Canada and Mexico increased in October compared to the same time a year ago, hitting the highest level on record.
January 7, 2015 - Industry News
A new report released ahead of government numbers set to be published Friday shows private sector, nonfarm employment in the U.S. increased by 241,000 jobs from November to December, the biggest gain since June.
Tags: Economy, Employment
January 5, 2015 - Industry News
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in December for the 19th consecutive month, but it was the slowest pace in six months, according to the nation’s supply executives.
Tags: Economy, Manufacturing, Construction Spending
December 31, 2014 - Industry News
Was 2014 a great year for U.S. economy or not? What were the biggest influences on it and how did it affect trucking? It’s all a matter of the perspective of who you ask. HDT's Evan Lockridge offers his year-end take on the subject.
December 30, 2014 - Industry News
Consumer confidence in the U.S. rebounded in December after falling in November, according to the private research group The Conference Board.
Tags: Economy, Consumer Confidence
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Hi everyone! Today I have some interesting news that I want to discuss with y’all! So, let’s get started, shall we?! At Walt Disney World, the fireworks there are going to return mainly at Magic Kingdom and Epcot on July 1 just 3 days before the 4th of July. The firework displays had been suspended since the theme parks reopening following a months-long closure due to the pandemic. “Happily Ever After” will transform Cinderella Castle with lights, projections and pyrotechnics, as moments from favorite Disney stories encourage you to grab hold of your dreams and make them come true,” Disney said on its blog. “And as part of the ongoing transformation of EPCOT, “EPCOT Forever” will produce a spectacle of fireworks, music and lighting effects over World Showcase Lagoon, highlighting the themes of innovation, exploration, imagination and celebration at the core of the park’s past, present and future.” Disney officials said fireworks have been a tradition at Disney theme parks since 1957.
Walt Disney World Imagineers are currently testing and developing a new firework show at EPCOT called “Harmonious.” The show will be one of the largest nighttime spectaculars ever produced at a Disney park when it’s complete.
The new show does not have a premiere date at EPCOT.
The news about fireworks comes the same day Walt Disney World updated its mask guidelines for guests, allowing those fully vaccinated to go maskless in the parks. While fully vaccinated guests will be allowed to go maskless within the parks, all guests will still be required to wear masks on Disney transportation — buses, monorail and Disney Skyliner. So, guests who are unvaccinated as of now will still be wearing masks.
Over at the Disneyland Resort, the fireworks there are also returning with the show called “Mickey’s Mix Magic on July 4th to start off the fun. It is presented nightly throughout the summer. State-of-the-art projections, show lighting and lasers will transform Main Street, U.S.A., Sleeping Beauty Castle and the façade of “it’s a small world” into a dance party with fireworks to celebrate the leader of the club, Mickey Mouse. that sparkler of a sky show has remained on hold since March 2020.
Disneyland today has officially reopened to out of state guests as they drop temperature checks, social distancing as the restrictions is being lifted. Mainly because most people are being vaccinated which is great news! Guests who have not been vaccinated will still be required to wear masks. But overall, Disneyland is back for everyone!
They also have announced when some more rides are going to reopen, but some of them will quite make it yet because they have not announced anything else yet. Here are the rides that are reopening today and the further ones as well:
Today: Golden Zephyr in California Adventure and the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough in Disneyland
June 18: Davey Crockett’s Explorer Canoes
June 25: Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (closed for refurbishment)
July 2: Matterhorn Bobsleds (closed for refurbishment)
July 9: Redwood Creek Challenge Trail
July 16: Jungle Cruise (closed to remove insensitive depictions)
However, the rides that they do not have an announcement yet:
Storybook Land Canal Boats
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
Sailing Ship Columbia
Star Wars Launch Bay
Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island
Main Street Cinema
Mickey’s House, Minnie’s House, Goofy’s Playhouse, Donald’s Boat, and Chip and Dale Treehouse
Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
The Bakery Tour
Red Car Trolley
All of this information came from the news I looked at today.
What do you guys think about the Disney parks lifting the Covid-19 rules? (Finally!)
I would love to hear lots of comments, thoughts, opinions, concerns, or questions down below!
Stay tuned for Disney updates.


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UNITED STATES: A campaign group, Level Up is demanding that “toxic” hair products marketed at Black women be taken off the shelves, after research found that long-term use of lye-based relaxers used for hair treatment may be linked to increased breast cancer risk, apart from hormonal imbalance and fertility problems, learned Transcontinental Times.
The group, which previously forced ITV to remove plastic surgery and diet pill adverts from Love Island, is behind the #NoMoreLyes campaign petition and is challenging some brands to respond.
Lye is the common name for highly corrosive sodium hydroxide.
Seyi Falodun-Liburd, the group’s co-director, said it is “disgraceful that well-established companies are still using harmful hydroxides in their relaxers”.
“If the lives of Black women and girls are important to these companies, they’ll listen to the science and the voices of Black women and take these poisonous products off the shelves,” she said.
Also Read: Young Black Athlete Succeeds Despite Racism And Sexism
A recent study, published in the Carcinogenesis Journal by Oxford University, concluded that Black women who used lye-based relaxers at least seven times a year for over 15 years or more, had around a 30 per cent increased risk of developing breast cancer, compared with those who used it less frequently.
The US-based researchers examined data from Boston University’s Black Women’s Health Study, which followed more than 50,000 African American women for more than 25 years to assess their medical diagnoses and any factors that could influence their health.
It was found that between 1997 and 2017, around 95 per cent reported using lye-based relaxers and 2,311 developed breast cancers.
Concerns around racial disparities in healthcare linked to chemicals used in cosmetic products are not new; previous studies, as far back as 2012, have also suggested a link between the use of chemical relaxers and uterine fibroids, a condition that disproportionately affects Black women.
Detailed research in this area has yet to be carried out in the UK, but Black British women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with advanced breast cancer than their white counterparts, according to data from Public Health England and Cancer Research UK.
Responding to #NoMoreLyes, World Afro Day founder Michelle De Leon said, “If we can ask companies to be cleaner for the environment, then we can also ask them to protect Black women’s bodies from harmful chemicals.”
“Hair discrimination has long been a life and death issue for Black people and more studies are showing this to be the case.”


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I went to college in Buffalo, New York in the mid-1990s.
It’s a great city with great people. But at the time, the city’s downtown area had been in decline since its manufacturing peak in the 1960s.
As for night life, there was none.
But that started to change soon after my arrival. The Rust Belt city began a development program to revitalize the area.
A range of businesses opened. And I got a job at the first new bar downtown.
Business boomed for the first couple of months. The place was always packed with lines out of the door. And the money rolled in.
But despite the boom times, the bar’s owner, Mark, was worried.
The revitalization attracted new bars downtown—and more were on the way. Mark feared the increased competition would put him out of business.
But something unexpected happened once the new bars opened their doors: Business got even crazier.
You see, as more bars opened, more people flocked downtown. With more people, business improved overall. So in the end, Mark profited handsomely from this “cluster effect.”
And today, I’ll explain how bitcoin will benefit from a similar situation…
Keep Your Friends Close and Your Enemies Closer
Business clusters occur when companies working in similar industries are grouped closely together in the same geographical (or digital) area.
But contrary to what most people might think, clusters actually have positive effects on the businesses in them.
You see, clusters attract more talent and resources—and force businesses to be more competitive. This fosters innovation and growth. So the cluster increases productivity more than each individual business could on its own.
And soon, we’ll see a similar cluster effect in the crypto space with the launch of Facebook’s Libra coin.
What Is Libra?
Last month, social media giant Facebook made waves when it announced Libra.
Libra will allow Facebook users to make crypto transactions on the social media platform (including on its WhatsApp and Messenger apps). Libra will be a stablecoin—meaning, it’s pegged to a basket of currencies.
With Libra, you’ll be able to buy goods and services, as well as send money to people with near-zero fees.
Think about that…
Facebook has nearly 2.4 billion active global users. The majority are on the platform every day. So that’s a huge pool of potential crypto users.
And Libra will have the same effect on the crypto space as the new trendy bars did on downtown Buffalo.
It’ll bring millions of new people to the crypto space…
Inviting Its Deep-Pocketed Friends, Too
You see, Facebook’s entrance alone is enough to move any industry. With a market cap of over $550 billion, it’s bigger than the entire crypto market.
But Facebook isn’t just building a bar in the crypto community. It’s inviting its deep-pocketed friends, too…
Now, Facebook won’t be running Libra. The Libra Association will handle that.
And to be a member, a company must have the right combination of financial strength, customer reach, and brand recognition. The membership fee alone is $10 million—ensuring each partner has skin in the game.
The current partner list includes some of the most well-known companies in the world, like Visa and Mastercard.
There’s also popular fintech firms such as PayPal, Coinbase, and Stripe… venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Thrive Capital… and leading software companies like Uber, eBay, and Spotify.
These firms will be a driving force for the project. Plus, they’ll have incentives to use Libra. And remember, these deep pockets will bring billions of dollars and millions of customers into crypto, too.
And if that wasn’t enough, another “bar” is about to open in crypto’s downtown…
The Cluster Is Growing
Earlier this year, financial stalwart JPMorgan Chase announced plans to roll out its own JPM Coin. And it’s already in the testing phase.
Now, JPMorgan manages $2.6 trillion in assets. And it moves more than $6 trillion in capital every day. Plus, its client roster includes some of the world’s most prominent corporations, institutions, and governments.
Each JPM Coin will be redeemable for $1. Eventually, the bank will use the token to instantly settle transactions between its wholesale payments business clients.
Like Libra, JPM Coin will bring billions of dollars and millions of new customers to crypto. And we’ll see the cluster effect intensify…
This influx of new users—both individuals and corporations—will get its first exposure to cryptocurrencies, digital wallets, and blockchains.
And it’ll naturally gravitate to the oldest, most well-known cryptocurrency: bitcoin.
A Powerful Tailwind
Some may think the way to play this trend is Facebook. While it may ultimately be a good investment, we think the better buy is bitcoin.
In fact, here’s what Daily editor Teeka Tiwari had to say about this powerful tailwind:
Within the next 12 months, we’ll see Facebook rolling out its new coin, Libra. I believe the impact will be massive.
The social network has 2.4 billion users—over 30% of the world’s population. They’re about to be trained on how to use what Facebook is calling a “cryptocurrency.”
To be clear, Libra isn’t a real crypto. But the company is riding the coattails of the surge in interest in crypto technology. This will bring crypto to mom and pop—a huge global audience that ordinarily wouldn’t be exposed to it.
Now, you may be worried that Libra could diminish bitcoin’s value. But like Mark’s bar in downtown Buffalo, the opposite will be true.
The good news is: It’s not too late to get in. As more people adopt bitcoin, demand will soar—pushing prices to new highs.
You only need a small stake for the potential of life-changing gains. So position yourself today.
Analyst, Palm Beach Daily


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The national body responsible for business-led technology research has confirmed that its computer systems has suffered a cyber attack by what has been called a"highly sophisticated Chinese state-sponsored actor." A statement issued by the National
NEW YORK – BlackBerry is buying a German provider of anti-eavesdropping technology to extend its security protection from data to voice. The company told reporters here this morning it is buying Secusmart, a company it
Virtual infrastructures continue to grow in importance for enterprises worldwide and securing virtual environments is top of mind for the majority of IT departments, but a recent survey has revealed that as many as
Network security company Fortinet said its FortiGate 5144C firewall that exceeds 1 terabit throughput makes the device the fastest firewall in the world but the reason why it is needed is more important.
BlackBerry mobile partners are now able to offer the company’s BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 (BES 10) secure mobility management solution as a hosted service for business customers. BES10 Hosted will provide business customers
Intel Corp. has announced the release of a new series of solid-state drives (SSDs) with advanced features designed to small through large enterprise businesses reduce annual storage drive failure rate and improve data


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Question for Roberto A. Ferdman: What Is It That You Dont Understand?
Washington Post wonkblog writer Roberto A. Ferdman continues to write about canned tuna and continues to leave holes in his stories big enough to drive a truck through.
This time he writes;
- Despite Consumer Reports’ plea, there is still much debate about how much mercury tuna actually absorbs, and whether what mercury it does contain poses any serious harm to humans
There isnt much debate, Roberto, theres Consumer Reports and then theres more than 100 independent, published, peer-reviewed studies analyzed by FDA that brought it to a conclusion that says pregnant women can eat up to 56 oz. of albacore tuna every week.
Meanwhile the FDA speaks directly to the Consumer Reports recommendation when it says the methodology employed by Consumer Reports overestimates the negative effects and overlooks the strong body of scientific evidence published in the last decade. The FDA goes on to highlight the fact that, Consumer Reports analysis is limited in that it focuses exclusively on the mercury levels in fish without considering the known positive nutritional benefits attributed to fish.
Is the Wonkblog a place where reporters would say theres much debate over whether vaccines cause autism? Because, despite one vocal crowd, science tells us they do not.


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Xerox goes on the road with HP proposal
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
Xerox CEO John Visentin is meeting with HP shareholders this week as the manufacturer pitches the perceived benefits of its takeover plan.
After HP rejected its proposals Xerox went hostile with its takeover bid at the end of last month, and said it would take its offer directly to HP’s shareholders.
The $33bn (£26bn) proposal is for $22 a share, of which $17 would be in cash.
Xerox has now filed an investor presentation laying out its plans for the mega-merger, and the synergies it claims would be generated.
Visentin stated: “In this presentation, we provide an overview of the value of our offer and two of the most important opportunities created by a combination – cost synergies and revenue synergies.
“By harvesting these synergies, which can only be realized with this combination, the new proforma company will be both more profitable and better positioned to provide customers with a stronger mix of products, services and support than either company can do on its own.”
He said the value of the transaction “goes beyond economics” and could “put these storied brands at the forefront for decades to come”.
“In consolidating industries, first movers not only win but also have an opportunity to reshape the competitive landscape in an enduring way,” he stated.
In the presentation Xerox states that it has successfully achieved nearly $1bn in cost savings on sales of $9bn in 18 months through its ‘Project Own It’ initiative, with every $1 of savings costing $0.35 to achieve.
By contrast, Xerox claimed that HP’s own cost-saving plans to deliver $1bn of savings over three years on sales of $58.5bn would cost $1 for every dollar saved.
As well as cost saving synergies of $2bn, the document outlines ‘attach opportunities’ to sell Xerox software to HP’s customer base, including XMPie and FreeFlow to an estimated 10,000 HP Indigo customers, and 50,000 wide-format printer users.
Xerox also said that the combined product portfolio in toner and inkjet printing, including products for the $95bn production printing market, would result in “the most complete and competitive portfolio across all segments”.
It claimed HP was missing out on high-margin, recurring revenue by not having its own financing business.
HP had not responded at the time of writing.
The top five shareholders in HP are: Vanguard Group (8.54%), Dodge & Cox (8.03%), SSGA Funds Management (4.86%), BlackRock Fund Advisors (4.66%), and Icahn Associates (4.25%).
Xerox concluded by urging HP to engage with Xerox and conduct three weeks of mutual due diligence.
The presentation can be viewed here.


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Besides TikTok, President Donald Trump has banned US transactions with WeChat and its parent company Tencent by issuing an executive order last week. As per a latest research note from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, first reported by MacRumours, the ban on WeChat can impact iPhone shipments globally for bad.
According to Kuo, Apple’s “annual global iPhone shipments could decline by 25–30 per cent if it is forced to remove WeChat from its App Stores around the world”.
In the report, Kuo highlights “optimistic and pessimistic scenarios depending on whether Apple is only required to remove WeChat from the App Store in the United States or if the ban would apply to the App Store in all countries.”
It is worth noting that WeChat is an extremely popular messaging application in China as it helps to connect with the rest of the world. The app is being used by over 1.2 billion monthly active users around the world. Kuo argues that a global ban on WeChat in the App Store would not just impact China but also Apple.
“Since WeChat is very critical to Chinese users, integrating communications, payments, e-Commerce, social software, news reading, and productivity functions, we believe that the move will tank iPhone shipments in the Chinese market,” The MacRumours report notes. “We estimate that global iPhone shipments will decline by 25–30%. Global shipments of other Apple hardware products, including AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac, will decline by 15–25 per cent,” the report further states.
Kuo says if WeChat is only removed from the US App Store then the global iPhone shipments would be impacted by 3–6 per cent with other Apple products being affected by less than 3 per cent.
According to the report Apple’s Greater China shipments accounted for slightly over 15 per cent of its total revenue in June quarter. This makes China an important country for Apple.
The report states, “Kuo recommends that investors reduce their stock holdings of companies in Apple’s supply chain such as LG Innotek and Genius Electronic Optical due to the risks of a WeChat ban. It does, however, remain to be seen what will happen as the prohibitions laid out in the executive order do not take effect until September 20. As a result, there is still time for the order to be clarified, modified, or rescinded.”


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RIPTec appoints Aston Comunicaciones as Spanish distributor
Distributor targets Spain’s three million small businesses for the new mobile AstonPhone.
London, September 8, 2016: Business communications specialist RIPTec today announces the appointment of Madrid-based Aston Comunicaciones as Spanish distributor of its disruptive communications smartphone app. The distributor will introduce to the market a vanilla version of RIPTec’s core product to be branded AstonPhone.
The way that small businesses communicate is changing and RIPTec’s mobile software is proving a game changer for small businesses around the world. The days when micro businesses had to make deep investments in traditional office telephone systems to communicate with customers and suppliers are disappearing and being replaced by products such as AstonPhone that provide all the features of full blown office PBX systems, but are more flexible and intelligent.
“AstonPhone has the potential to become the preferred business communications system for small and medium businesses in Spain and cost savings will be the driver,” says Iñaki Miquélez de Mendiluce, Aston Comunicaciones’ Director General. “Be it small hotel owners, road warriors, insurance agents … whatever the business, all can use the AstonPhone as a better way to interface with customers and suppliers.”
Mark Trowbridge, RIPTec’s CEO, adds: “Aston Comunicaciones has deep roots in the Spanish telecoms market and the expertise and resources to change the way that national businesses can better communicate and at less cost. We welcome Aston to the growing family of RIPTec international distributors.”
The new AstonPhone allows Android and iOS smartphone owners to use their personal devices for business and personal use. Employees no longer need to carry two phones for business and personal use or use their personal phones when calling customers. Each AstonPhone contains a personal number for private use and the registered office business number and extension to make or receive calls from customers.
AstonPhone provides users many features including voicemail, auto attendant, call transfer, call forwarding and call recording. A further stand-out feature is the ability to make mobile payments such as buying a coffee or petrol.
Existing numbers can also be transferred to AstonPhone quickly and the system is scalable enabling new contacts to be added into the mobile office system with a few clicks.
No capital investment is needed by businesses whatsoever, allowing telecoms budgets to be allocated elsewhere in the business. The AstonPhone can be used outside Spain and connects instantaneously to that country’s GSM network or Wi-Fi zones.
AstonPhone users have a number of highly-competitive post-paid pricing plans for voice and data ranging. A basic AstonPhone license costs 6,99€/month and additional landlines or mobiles 8,99€/month. Calling rates is Spain are 0,1622€/minute to landlines and 0,03120 €/minute to miles. There is no connection charge. After the first minute, calls are charged on a per second basis.
RIPTec is an international communications specialist based in London. With a track record of delivering communications systems to blue chips and government agencies alike, the company’s “Cut the Cord” communications unified communications app is changing the way small and medium businesses communicate internally and externally with their various audiences. By cutting the cord with traditional hardware and harnessing employees’ smartphones, businesses RIPTec is an international communications specialist based in London. With a proven track record of delivering communications systems to blue chips and government agencies alike, the company’s “Cut the Cord” communications unified communications app RIPDialer 2 has the potential to become a game changer in the way small and medium businesses communicate internally and externally with their various audiences. By cutting the cord with traditional hardware and harnessing employees’ smartphones, SMEs can eliminate the high cost of enterprise communications. Visit www.riptec.net
Young App2Chat resellers scoop £50k business prize
Two young Croydon entrepreneurs and App2Chat resellers, have secured a £50,000 prize for being the best young business minds in the region.
Laurence Grant and Robert O'Sullivan beat off dozens of competitors to be crowned the winners of Young Start-Up Talent Croydon 2016.
In what was one of the final events at Fairfield Halls before its closure for redevelopment, Laurence and Robert were announced as winners at a ceremony on July 7.
Laurence said: "We are so thrilled to have been chosen as this year's Croydon winner, this experience has been invaluable and the year head looks very exciting."
The initiative whittled down the applicants to the final four pitches, before a Dragons' Den-style evening of impressing a panel of seven judges, who decided the winner.
Robert and Laurence successfully pitched Shaking Hands Interactive Partnership (SHIP), a platform for Croydon-based small-medium business owners to inform, smarten and grow their businesses.
In the final last month, they faced Kurtis Peck, 17, Serena Evans, 16 and 22-year-old duo Harry Flaherty and Maddie Ellison.
At the winners' ceremony at Fairfield, the applicants and audience heard from last year's winner, Stephanie Kane, and the winner of Kent's Start-Up Talent award, Dean Day.
Fellow speaker and judge Simon Maddox, an accountant at Owadally and King, said: "It's been incredible working with these guys, seeing their enthusiasm and seeing a great idea flourish. Stephanie's story this year has just been amazing and to be part of it is heart-warming."
Fellow judge Mark Burgess, from Natwest, said: "They've all got excellent ideas, I think they all presented perfectly and I'm sure they'll all go on and move on to bigger and greater things in whatever path they choose."
Annabel Fogden of The Croydon Chamber of Commerce added: "It's a really inspiring, creative and supportive process which is great for young people in business."


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Petco is launching stores for a new group of customers: cows, goats and horses
This brother and sister team are revamping the pet services industryReplayMore Videos ... (16 Videos)This brother and sister team are revamping the pet services industryWalgreens Boots Alliance CEO: 'I took pay cuts' to advance careerThe Fed anticipates more rate increases after announcing biggest hike in 28 yearsWhat the interest rate hike means for you94% of women executives have this in commonVideo: Bill Gates mocks Bored Ape NFT'sRealtor.com chief economist shares her advice for homebuyers and sellersThree reasons gas prices are expected to stay highHe predicted US inflation would rise. Hear what he thinks about a recessionFact-checking Biden's claim that Putin shares blame for inflationSuze Orman's tips for navigating inflation: Don't panic and continue to investHere's why bitcoin's drop has investors worried'Tough number to swallow': Romans breaks down inflation dataHear why this gas station owner is selling gas at a lossRetirees becoming homeless at higher rate than other age groups amidst inflationDisney apologizes to couple after employee spoils their proposalNew York (CNNBusiness)Horses, cows, goats, pigs and sheep have food and grooming needs, too, and Petco is stepping up to deliver its products and services to their owners.
Petco announced Thursday it is launching a new, smaller store concept that's specifically designed to meet the needs of both pets and farm animals in small towns and rural communities. A rendering of the new Petco store in Floresville, Texas.The first Petco Neighborhood Farm & Pet Supply store is set to open June 17 in Floresville, Texas, which is 28 miles southeast of San Antonio. The pet supplies and services retailer said the new store will carry a curated assortment of food products and services, including mobile vaccination, grooming, and self-service stations for owners to wash their farm animals.In partnership with Petco Love (formerly the Petco Foundation), the neighborhood farm and pet supply locations will offer adoption services and other health and wellness programs to further support local pets. Customers can also buy "companion animals" like guinea pigs, hamsters, birds, reptiles and amphibians at the store, as is the case at some existing outlets.Similar to Petco's city stores, the neighborhood stores will offer same-day delivery and curbside pickup.Read MorePetco's neighborhood stores will sell food and other supplies and services like grooming and vaccinations.Petco CEO Ron Coughlin said in a statement that small towns and rural communities "are rapidly-growing markets" for the pet care industry. "This is an exciting opportunity for us to serve more pets by dramatically expanding local access to healthy pet products and services." The company, which operates more than 1,300 locations in the US, said it expects to open a handful of these stores in 2022 as the company strives to expand its market beyond urban centers.Earlier this year, Petco announced it was partnering with home Improvement retailer Lowe's (LOW) on a pilot to bring its brand inside select Lowe's locations through a "store-within-a store" format.The companies said they expect to open 15 such locations in 2022.Click Here To Get Funded!


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PacketVideo's Twonky 8 Offers Cloud Integration
Developers of Twonky based solutions now have the option to integrate their services with the cloud. According to PacketVideo version 8 has a "cloud-enabled architecture that ensures optimal speed and flexibility". With the increaseing need for flexibility and connectivity PacketVideo said they want to accelerate the provivision of cloud services by service providers and manufacturers to their customers.
Twonky 8 moves the Twonky platform from media streaming services in to home to one that offers a fully cloud-enabled platform for cloud and local streaming. the upgraded platform makes it easy to build companion mobile apps that integrate media services with third-party services whether its with new cloud services or connected devices.
PacketVideo said, as mobile devices account for nearly a third of website traffic, close to a quarter of online video is viewed on mobile, and consumers increasingly move their content into the cloud, they beleives Twonky 8 is the tool to help service providers and manufacturers unified their services with the cloud and across devices.
"Accessing media online is especially important as our lifestyles become increasingly connected," said Glenn Hower, Parks Associates research analyst. "We found at the end of 2013 that almost 40% of Millennials identified online sources as their most important sources of video content. Getting content to a variety of different connected devices can be tricky, especially when consumers want their content whenever and wherever they happen to be. Cloud-enabled functions will play a big part in making the experience possible."
Key features of PacketVideo Twonky 8:
- Future-proof, cloud-enabled architecture that ensures optimal speed and flexibility
- Built-in support for consumer cloud services like Dropbox, Facebook, and Flickr
- Single login for consumers across OTT and personal cloud services, and custom profiles for multi-user and multi-device connected homes
- Support for streaming and beaming between smartphones, tablets, and TVs
- Easy integration with popular media platforms, including Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku
- Device adaptation technology to support superior media experiences and future-proof services
- Cutting-edge security measures that protect personal and premium content
The Twonky 8 SDK will be commercially available in October. For more information about Twonky 8, visit pv.com.


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Beer hall hopes to cash in on Bronx-themed gifts
Owners of a bar on Arthur Avenue are hoping that last-minute shoppers will stop in for a beer and buy some Bronx-themed items as gifts.
Paul Ramirez, co-owner of The Bronx Beer Hall, says people have been flooding into the place trying to get gifts in time for the holiday. He says that's why he and his partners made sure to stock up.
"It's tough living in a busy city buying gifts," said Ramirez. "It's easy having a drink at a bar, so why not have some options while you're here for a little shopping?"
Some popular Bronx-themed items include car magnets, beer koozies, hot sauce and the most popular..."Bronx-opoly."
Shoppers say the merchandise is great, especially since it's stuff you can't get anywhere else.
The Beer Hall will be open Christmas Eve for anyone hoping to still grab a last-minute gift and a holiday drink.


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A higher consumption of dairy fat may be linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, according to new research that suggests choosing full-fat dairy options is no worse for heart health.
The study, from an international team of experts, challenges the view that full-fat dairy products, such as cheese, yoghurt and milk, should be avoided because of their high saturated fat content.
Researchers assessed dairy fat intake in 4,150 Swedish 60-year-olds by measuring the blood concentration of certain fatty acids that are found in dairy foods.
They followed the participants for an average of 16.6 years, recording how many died or had heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular conditions.
Cardiovascular disease risk was the lowest for participants who had high levels of the dairy fatty acids. The researchers also found that higher intakes of dairy fat were not associated with an increased risk of death.
Lead author Dr Kathy Trieu from the George Institute for Global Health said fat intake and its link to heart health was more complex than previously thought.
“There’s increasing evidence to show that the type of dietary fat, or the source of dietary fat, is actually more important than the amount of fat,” she said.
“When we’re selecting dairy foods to buy, it’s less important to select the low-fat option,” Trieu said, advising that consumers instead avoid products with added sugar or sodium. “A very clear example of that is: it’s better to select unflavoured yoghurts rather than a low-fat flavoured yoghurt.”
The researchers said using biomarkers as a proxy for dairy fat intake was more reliable than depending on individuals to accurately self-report their eating habits. But the biomarkers could not distinguish what types of dairy products were consumed and whether they had different effects.
“Cheeses include vitamin K, and these may be linked with cardioprotective benefits,” Trieu said, adding that more research was needed to understand the link between dairy foods and heart health.
In addition to the analysis in Sweden – where dairy consumption is among the highest globally – the researchers undertook a meta-analysis including 17 other studies, involving nearly 43,000 people in the UK, US and Denmark.
That broader analysis also linked higher dairy fat consumption to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
Trieu said the findings were broadly applicable to countries with a western pattern diet, such as Australia. But the researchers also suggested that “extrapolation of the findings to other ethnic groups should be done with caution”, as the vast majority of the 60-year-olds they followed were born in either Sweden or Finland.
A large 2018 study, conducted in 21 mainly low and middle-income countries, similarly found that consumption of dairy products may protect against heart disease and stroke.
One limitation of the Swedish study was that the participants’ blood biomarkers were only measured once, at the beginning of the research, reflecting their dietary fat intake at a specific point in time.
“Usually, we expect diet to not change that much,” Trieu said, acknowledging that dairy consumption habits could have fluctuated during the study period.
The research was published in the journal Plos Medicine.


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April 14, 2016 – PR News Online
Poor penmanship is not likely to hurt your career, but poor conversational skills likely will, particularly if you classify yourself as a professional communicator.
April 19, 2016 – Content Marketing Institute
What does content marketing have to do with a tasty, frozen dessert? Everything! If you study the most creative content marketers, it turns out that they approach their work much like most of us approach a bowl of ice cream. There’s a psychological benefit to that behavior, which as a result makes those content marketers more creative.
April 19, 2016 – Harvard Business Review
To be more effective at building relationships with consumers online, companies need a cross-functional social media team, one where marketing works together with other departments. Distributing social responsibilities to relevant people across the organization can be efficient, effective, and help make one-on-one customer engagement scalable.
April 21, 2016 – CMS Wire
Brand web pages with static content don’t cut it for today’s users. Customers are looking for a personalized digital experience — one that’s with them whenever, wherever and however they choose to interact with it.
April 21, 2016 – The Holmes Report
Both agency and corporate executives strongly believe that the ability to attract and retain the right talent is the greatest challenge facing the global PR industry, according to the inaugural Global Communications Report.


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Start the conversation
By Jennifer Yousfi
Fueled in part by strong markets overseas, U.S. markets closed the day with gains on the glimmer of hope investors found in a slight increase in consumer spending.
At the New York close yesterday (Wednesday), the three major U.S. stock indices posted gains. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average Index was up 175.58 points (1.42%), to trade at 12,548.99. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index increased 53.89 points (2.32%), to reach 2,373.93. And the broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 17.99 points (1.33%), to settle at 1,366.85.
The Commerce Department announced yesterday (Wednesday) that retail sales increased by 0.3% in January with gains in spending on autos, clothes and gasoline, Bloomberg reported. The increase follows a 0.4% decrease in December, which had sparked recession worries. Purchases excluding automobiles and gasoline were flat.
"Today's report will diminish recession anxieties, but it doesn't dispel them altogether,” Richard DeKaser, chief economist at Cleveland-based National City Corp., told Bloomberg.
The market reacted favorably to the report, as consumer spending accounts for 70% of U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP). All sectors posted gains, while energy [up 2.44%] and technology [up 2.55%] were the biggest gainers.
In foreign trading, there were gains across the board with the exception of the U.K. FTSE indices. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index was up 46.34 points to close at 13,068.30. Hong Kong's blue-chip Hang Seng Index gained 247.88 points to close at 23,169.55.
In Europe, the Paris-based CAC40 gained 14.69 points to close at 4,855.40 and the Frankfurt-based DAX inched up 5.83 points to close at 6,973.67. London's FTSE 100 fell 29.9 points to settle at 5,880.1 and FTSE 250 fell 44.1 points to close at 9,996.1. Both indices were dragged down by banking shares as U.K. mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley PLC took a $184 million (94 million pounds) write-down causing its shares to plunge 23%.
At 4:00pm ET, the dollar had gained against the yen [up 1.008%] but lost ground to the both the euro [-0.233%] and pound sterling [-0.550%].
News and Related Story Links:
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U.S. stocks open up on rise in retail sales


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"America First" allows China to take economic leadership of East Asia.
China came out the biggest beneficiary of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world’s newest and biggest regional trade deal. It was signed by 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region on November 15, following negotiations that started during the 2012 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Cambodia.
While China already has a number of bilateral trade agreements, this is the first time it has signed on to a regional multilateral trade pact. The RCEP includes 10 member states from ASEAN, as well as Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. India withdrew from the negotiations in November 2019 after six years of talks, citing concerns over opening its agricultural and manufacturing sectors.
According to Shuqiang Bai, a professor of economics at the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) in Beijing, the RCEP should be viewed as the Chinese alternative to the (quasi-defunct) Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which would have been the world’s largest free-trade deal had it gone through with the US.
“China deepened its integration with other states … partly as a consequence of US policies” Bai tells Global Finance, regarding China’s central role. “The US will need to recalibrate its economic and security strategies to advance its economic interests, including security goals.”
Some analysts dispute the view that RCEP is a proxy for China’s growing regional power. “It was not even dominated by China for a long time, even though China is the largest economy in the agreement,” says Michael Green, senior vice president for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He names Japan and ASEAN members, including Singapore, as the drivers. According to ASEAN, RCEP states make up almost one third of the global economy and trade.
Yet Chinese sources aren’t shy about their nation’s role. “China has in effect responded to the American challenge, not through confrontation as the media sensationalize it to be, but through deepening its integration with others and staking out its trade future,” according to a November editorial on China Global Television Network (CGTV), owned by state-sponsored broadcaster China Central Television.
Peter A. Petri, a professor of international finance at Boston-based Brandeis International Business School, told Xinhua news agency that the RCEP will help China strengthen its relations with neighbors, rewarding eight years of patient negotiations “in ‘the ‘ASEAN way,’ which participants typically describe, with varying degrees of affection, as unusually slow, consensual and flexible.”
A common criticism of RCEP is China’s dominance within it, a fear that became much stronger when India pulled out. The deal gives China an important voice in setting standards for regional trade, enhancing Beijing’s soft power. “It’s potentially very good for China,” Petri told Xinhua news.
The RCEP includes multiple US allies—including Japan, South Korea and Australia—who struck a bargain with China in the absence of the TPP alternative, affirming that the world’s second-biggest economy will remain an indispensable economic partner for them, and providing a clear indicator of waning American influence in the Asia-Pacific region.
The US withdrew from the TPP in 2017 after President Donald J. Trump labeled it a “horrible deal.” Subsequently, Australia, Canada and the other 11 remaining countries—including Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Mexico—finalized and signed a new version of the TPP in 2018.
“The US retreated from the regional stage and pursued a trade policy based on unilateralism, allowing Chinese leaders to fill the vacuum left by the Trump administration to project China as the reliable partner of choice for trade, investment and economic growth,” says Kwame Owino, chief executive officer of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), a think tank for sub-Saharan Africa based in Nairobi, Kenya.
Gareth Leather, a senior economist in the Emerging Asia team at UK-based research boutique Capital Economics, told The Diplomat, a current-affairs magazine for the Asia-Pacific region, that the accord was also a coup for Beijing. By far the biggest market in the region with more than 1.3 billion people, China was able to cast itself as a “champion of globalization and multilateral cooperation,” giving it greater influence over rules governing regional trade.


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“The future does not belong to globalists. The future belongs to patriots,” Donald Trump declared at the seventy-fourth session of the UN General Assembly in September. “Globalists exerted a religious pull over past leaders, causing them to ignore their own national interests. But as far as America is concerned,” he continued, “those days are over.”
Trump’s paean to nationalist isolationism is part of a broader effort — albeit haphazard, contradictory, and often solely rhetorical — by the president to develop his own “America First” program, to reorient global capitalism to protect the United States from those who “seek conquest and domination.” The centerpiece of this effort is his trade war with China.
“Trade wars are good, and easy to win,” tweeted Trump in March 2018. More than a year and a half later, negotiations between the United States and China have been a roller coaster of escalation and de-escalation, with no end in sight. So far, the United States has imposed 25 percent tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese imports and 15 percent tariffs on a further $125 billion. Trump has threatened an additional 15 percent tariffs on a fresh $156 billion slate of goods in December if a trade deal hasn’t been reached.
The chances of a deal being reached soon are slim to none, not least because Trump is insisting on much more than a renegotiation of US–China tariff rates or purchasing agreements. His trade team is demanding that China rewrite its developmental playbook.
Trump’s 2018 “framework for discussion” gives a sense of what his administration is looking for. Washington has insisted that China reduce the US–China trade imbalance by $200 billion, and that it “immediately. . cease providing market-distorting subsidies and other types of government support that can contribute to the creation or maintenance of excess capacity in the industries targeted by the Made in China 2025 industrial plan.”
They also demand that China “eliminate specified policies and practices with respect to technology transfer,” and that it “take immediate, verifiable steps to ensure the cessation of Chinese government-conducted, Chinese government-sponsored, and Chinese government-tolerated cyber intrusions into U.S. commercial networks and cyber-enabled theft targeting intellectual property, trade secrets and confidential business information held by U.S. companies.” And these are just some of the demands.
China is not likely to agree to them. In 2000, the United States was the dominant exporter to nearly every country in the world. Today, the situation is reversed, with China taking the lead in all but a handful of countries. This marked shift in trade supremacy — perhaps even more dramatic than when the United States overtook the United Kingdom in the first half of the twentieth century — was, in no small part, made possible by the very practices that Trump now demands China cease.
Trump’s trade team is probably well aware that China will not accede substantively to its demands. Indeed, the politically impracticable quality of the wish list suggests that Trump is not actually keen to end his trade war. He appears to have little interest in preserving the multilateral institutions and norms that have underwritten global trade for the past four decades. Torpedoing them is part of his “exciting program of national renewal.”
Trump blames the woes of American workers on foreign countries (like China) rather than American corporations, though he sometimes gripes about companies who offshore jobs. His strategy so far, if we can call it that, is to make countries pay (in the form of tariffs) for the privilege of exporting goods to the United States’ huge domestic market. He wagers that countries who have been getting a “free ride” will be willing to rewrite their trade relationships according to his demands to retain this access, and if they aren’t, to hell with them. Either way, benefits will, according to Trump, trickle down to ordinary Americans.
Warren and Sanders on Trade
While Trump’s policies on taxes, immigration, the environment, and foreign policy set him apart from some Republicans and nearly all Democrats, his trade talk is echoed across the aisle. Prominent Democrats share his criticism of China, and some, like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, have also called for a dramatic overhaul of global trade agreements.
Warren’s approach to creating a new trade regime has two main elements. First, she wants to democratize the trade negotiation process. Instead of confidential advisory committees and “Fast Track” procedures, Warren advocates “a transparent process that offers the public a genuine chance to shape [trade agreements].” Second, she plans to establish “a set of standards countries must meet as a condition for any trade agreement with America.” These standards include the enforcement of religious freedom, the elimination of all domestic fossil fuel subsidies, the recognition and enforcement of the International Labour Organization’s core labor rights, and an independently verified plan to reduce emissions consistent with the Paris climate agreement.
Compared to Warren, Sanders’s plan is more circumscribed. Its focus is on “fundamentally rewriting” existing trade and tax agreements to make them more friendly to workers, including family farmers, and the environment. This includes eliminating “federal tax breaks, contracts, grants, and loans to corporations that outsource jobs.” Sanders also calls for “enforceable rules against currency cheating” and an expansion of “Buy American” and “Buy Local” campaigns.
Of the three of these trade strategies, Trump’s is clearly the weakest, and as things are going now, the least likely to achieve anything positive for working people. The president’s ideas about trade are filtered through a geopolitical lens. His goal is to either cut China off at the knees through escalating tariffs or bend the rising superpower to his will through an overhaul of its trade relationship with the United States. In either outcome, he imagines a glorious renewal of US global supremacy and claims that ordinary Americans will reap the rewards.
The dots don’t connect here for the simple reason that, while it is true that China engages in questionable industrial practices, it is US corporations — and the trade policies implemented by the US government — that are chiefly responsible for the stagnant wages, increased indebtedness, and lower quality of life experienced by Americans over the past few decades.
More programmatically, while tariffs have their time and place, in practice they are rarely pro-worker. Protectionist measures, such as tariff and non-tariff barriers, voluntary export restraints, and import substitution schemes, all work indirectly (if they work at all) to improve the jobs and living standards of working people.
The vast majority of gains from protectionism go to companies because they have the power to organize work and production. There is no mandate to channel profit gains from tariffs toward workers through the creation of new jobs or wage gains. Workers only benefit if they are strong enough to demand their fair share, so in the present climate, profits from tariffs are simply redistributed to executives and shareholders. Moreover, without strong oversight and market intervention by the state, high tariff regimes over longer time spans generally mean shoddier, higher-cost products for consumers.
Sanders’s proposed reforms around trade policy are abbreviated and echo long-standing calls from US labor and environmental groups rather than breaking any new ground. His framing of the problems with trade is the polar opposite of Trump’s, in the sense that he places the blame squarely on footloose multinational corporations and their ability to shop around for bargain-basement production costs and tax breaks. Rather than rebooting US supremacy, Sanders calls for “binding labor, environmental, and human rights standards to be written into the core text of all trade agreements.”
Warren’s plan, while more comprehensive than Sanders’s, is a mixed bag. Some of it is quite good. For example, Warren’s call for trade agreements to be democratically decided, rather than crafted in back rooms and then rushed through Congress without public oversight, is spot on. The demand that representatives from labor, environmental groups, community organizations, business, and government negotiate trade agreements together through a democratically accountable process should be a core part of any future trade policy.
Warren’s call to eliminate trade with any countries that fail to meet her standards of religious freedom, core labor rights, climate policies, and so forth is less compelling. Demanding that countries meet these standards — which the United States does not currently meet — amounts to a novel form of protectionism that would in practice eliminate imports from nearly all developing countries.
The concept of de-linking certainly merits revisiting, and Warren is right to emphasize how multinational corporations take advantage of weak or complicit states to lower production costs and skirt environmental regulations. But using the carrot-and-stick of trade policies to position the United States (because of its huge domestic market) as a global arbiter of thorny social and political problems is neither a desirable, nor a workable, solution.
An Alternative Approach to Trade
The key to creating a worker-centered trade policy — rather than a trade policy that primarily benefits corporations or the nebulous geopolitical goals of governments — is to focus first on the things that workers need: well-paying jobs, high-quality, affordable goods, and a healthy environment. Instead of imagining that good jobs will flow from good trade policy, we should flip the script and put trade policy in a supporting role to achieve this primary goal.
To illustrate, consider the Green New Deal. It has the potential to catalyze a massive, decades-long infrastructural overhaul with many facets, such as the retrofitting of America’s housing stock to dramatically reduce household emissions. As part of a nationwide retrofitting project (in which the government would fund the transition for individual homeowners, and landlords would foot the bill for their rental properties), a comprehensive worker-centered trade program designed specifically for the retrofitting project would ensure that the project meets the overarching goal of a just transition that supports working families.
In addition to the need to create thousands of unionized green skilled trades jobs, we can also imagine all of the manufactured goods that would be necessary for zero-emission housing: triple glazed windows and skylights, filtration and ventilation systems, insulation, energy-efficient appliances, heat exchangers, solar panels, green roofing, window treatments, and more.
These are goods that, under a worker-centered trade program, could be designed and manufactured in global value chains that benefit both US workers and workers in developing countries. Domestic content regulations for both design and production, state-subsidized worker cooperatives, and the large-scale retrofitting of existing manufacturing capacity (such as idled automotive plants) would generate good jobs in the United States while minimizing the extractive and wasteful construction of new plant and equipment.
At the same time, worker-centered global value chains would recognize the needs of ordinary people in other countries whose economies depend on producing for export to the United States, particularly the upstream production of raw materials. Instead of locking out workers in the Global South from the US market, worker-centered global value chains could create partnerships that enhance global solidarity.
Trade will be a defining issue in the coming decades. In this moment of flux, it is possible to think about it in new ways. Instead of imagining trade as an end in itself, or as the driver of job creation and production, we should think about trade as a support mechanism for well-defined political goals centered on improving the lives of working people.


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Only a couple of years ago, indoor agriculture was heralded as a potentially important component of the world’s future food supply, a way to provide locally raised fruits and vegetables in urban areas, a means to reduce the impact of outdoor agriculture on the environment, and an answer for mitigating food safety problems that still plague traditionally grown produce.
The long-term promise might still be there for an industry that has scratched out its early existence growing mostly leafy greens, herbs, tomatoes, and strawberries. But the current new reality is that the indoor ag business has fallen rather abruptly into disarray, with some important startups in bankruptcy, major initial investors withdrawing or pulling back on their support, and surging energy costs proving an Achilles’ heel for some prominent business models.
At AppHarvest, a vast controlled environment agriculture startup in Kentucky’s Appalachia region, CEO Jonathan Webb recently was ousted as the company slashed expected sales in half, widened its anticipated net losses, delayed opening new strawberry farms, and clashed with lenders. AeroFarms, which had built a technology-dense vertical farm in the heart of Newark, N.J., canceled plans for a $1.2-billion IPO last summer and filed for bankruptcy even in the wake of a new development partnership with Cargill. Infarm, a European vertical farming company that had raised more than $600 million in venture capital, laid off more than half its workforce in the past year and downsized operations.
What happened? As with many breathless bets on new technologies, enthusiasm about the promise of indoor agriculture got ahead of the realities it was delivering.
It’s the savior complex,” says Henry Gordon-Smith, founder and CEO of Agritecture, an advisory firm for the controlled environment agriculture industry. “Vertical farming had its moment because it fits so well into the mindset that we’re running out of food, water, and land. People drank the Kool-Aid as with so many other tech sectors.
“The technology took center stage and became propped up by voices in the sector combined with new startups getting tons of money,” says Gordon-Smith. “So the incentive to stretch the truth and greenwash and hype it up externally became very visible. Everyone started exaggerating because they were competing for VC (venture capital) money where they had to tell the story.”
Cindy van Rijswick, senior analyst for fresh produce for Rabobank, additionally cites “the fear of missing out” for investors in indoor ag. “Once Bill Gates started investing in this technology, others though this must be something big and real and they started investing. And the people not investing began wondering, ‘Did I miss something big?’”
The realities delivered by indoor agriculture so far have fallen short of expectations for a few reasons. The general economy has been a hindrance, with food inflation making even upscale consumers more sensitive to the premium prices usually charged for indoor-grown produce. Meanwhile, high interest rates made continued venture capital financing difficult in the face of little initial profitability for indoor-farm investors. Another obstacle has been increasingly expensive inputs for electricity for the innumerable LED growing lights at the heart of these operations, as well as for water.
Some investors got sucked in by the sector’s initial investments in cannabis facilities in states that legalized recreational marijuana, where multimillion-dollar, pristine growing environments for weed often also included tomatoes and other crops. “The costs in those facilities are just too high for low-value crops,” says Roger Royse, a partner in the Haynes and Boone law firm and an experienced advisor on tech investments.
And in general, some venture capital investors that were accustomed to evaluating pure tech plays got out of their depth in assessing the operational challenges and retail potential for indoor ag startups. “Some of these new players just started this adventure without having the more traditional horticulture knowledge you need to grow the crops and spent more time on hiring people to do presentations for investors,” van Rijswick says.
Now, the industry is rationalizing and consolidating, with, for instance, AppHarvest having sold its big indoor farm in Berea, Ky., in a $127 million sale-leaseback with Mastronardi Berea LLC, a joint venture with Mastronardi Produce, which distributes AppHarvest’s goods, and COFRA Holdings.
Some indoor ag pioneers continue to prosper. Apparently they include Plenty, which produces greens in California, is doubling its retail presence in the state in Whole Foods Market stores and others, and is partnering with Driscoll’s to build a vertical farming strawberry-growing facility in Richmond, Va.
For the longer term, van Rijswick says the industry will have to find a cost-efficient way to produce staples such as grains, rice, and potatoes—the world’s most important feedstocks. Gordon-Smith believes survivors are “entering a slope of enlightenment” where they’ll learn from previous mistakes. And Royse says the sector “is going to reset.”
“Next,” he says, “we will see a lot of microfarms, mom-and-pop lifestyle businesses, and within 10 years we will see very large farms. It’s an opportunity for consolidation and building scale.”ft


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Microsoft’s Flight Simulator has one of the best visuals for a video game, and given that it’s meant to simulate the experience of flying around the world, it kind of has to have excellent graphics. However, if you felt that the experience could stand to be more immersive, then you’re in luck.
At E3 2021, Turtle Beach announced their plans to expand into the controller market. The company is known for their gaming audio accessories like headsets, but it seems that they want to expand into making gaming controllers and have since unveiled a new controller called the VelocityOne Flight.
As you can see in the video above, this is a controller designed specifically for flight games. It is designed to simulate the controls you might find in an airplane. According to Turtle Beach, they claim to have worked with pilots and aerospace engineers to design the accessory to make it as authentic as possible.
The end result is a controller that can allow for a 180-degree yoke, integrated rudder controls, programmable buttons, and a full-color display. As expected it won’t come cheap and will be priced at $350, but if you think that it’s worth the investment, head on over to Turtle Beach’s website for the details.


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Name game: New business will tell you if they are male or female
A YOUNG entrepreneur from Godmanchester has launched a new business aimed at getting round the embarrassment of finding out if an unfamiliar name belongs to a male or female. Oliver Bridge, a student at Oxford University, hit upon the idea behind Genderch
A YOUNG entrepreneur from Godmanchester has launched a new business aimed at getting round the embarrassment of finding out if an unfamiliar name belongs to a male or female.
Oliver Bridge, a student at Oxford University, hit upon the idea behind Genderchecker.com when he was applying for a job, and was faced with a name he didn't recognise.
"I had to write to someone called Ochuko, and I had no idea whether they were male or female. No one I asked knew either, and I couldn't find out online.
"I thought this must have happened to lots of people, so I decided to try to put together a database of names that people could consult."
The database at Genderchecker.co.uk now boasts more than 48,000 names, and is being added to all the time. It's the result of many hours of research from Oliver, who scoured baby-naming websites from across the world putting together the list, and employed university friends from across the world to check and contribute names from their own cultures.
"The website is a free database, so in terms of a business model, it's not particularly great. I'm not going to be able to retire on this business, I know that," says Oliver.
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He hopes the revenue for the business will come from the text service that went live two weeks ago, offering instant reply to name queries from mobiles for 50p each.
"The idea is that business people on their way to meetings will be able to send a text, and get a reply straight away. That's where the business will make money.
"If I could earn enough to be able to pay off my tuition fees, and clear my debts from university, then I'd be happy with that."
Oliver has plenty of ideas for marketing Genderchecker, but has so far relied on word of mouth to spread news of the business. The site has a facility with which users can 'tell a friend' which has so far recorded over 700 recommendations, nearly a quarter of the website's hits.
He sees the site being successful both with business people researching foreign names, but also people newly arrived in the UK, who may be unfamiliar with British names. The website has had hits from New Zealand, Afghanistan and the Philippines in its first month.
So far the entire project has cost just �1500. He thought about using the money to go travelling, but thinks investing the money in his business will prove more useful in the long term.
"University is the ideal time to try to start a business - you have a lot of free time on you hands, a lot of talented people around you to help, and a lot of resources to support you."
Genderchecker.co.uk is not Oliver's first foray into the world of business. As a 15-year-old he set up biggerfeet.co.uk, an online business selling large footwear unavailable in shops.


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NEW DELHI: Don’t enter the kitchen. Don’t wash your hair. Don’t touch that bottle of pickle. Improvements in level of education and age notwithstanding, many Indian women still end up imposing these and several other restrictions on themselves every month. The belief that the menstrual cycle renders them impure is the root cause behind such impositions. Three young entrepreneurs are now working to bring out a comic on reproductive health to dispel such myths.Aditi Gupta
, Tuhin Paul
and Rajat Mittal run a website called Menstrupedia.com. Launched last year, the free website provides information on puberty and the biological process of menstruation, ways to deal with common problems associated with periods and forum
where one can ask questions. An entire section is dedicated to myths around menstruation and how they came to be. Though the website is in English, the comic will be produced in various Indian languages. “We are also working on a character library, where if the comic is in, say, Marathi, then the clothes and appearance of the person mirror those of a Marathi person. Since we are creating it digitally, it should be scalable,” says Gupta, a National Institute of Design (NID) alumna.
Though work on Menstrupedia officially began only in 2012, the seed of the idea was sown back in 2009 when Gupta and Paul, both students of new media
design at NID, Ahmedabad, undertook a project as a part of their diploma course. The two were designing awareness material for young girls. “We found that there is a lot of information available but not well presented in a comprehensive manner to suit the needs of young girls. And that’s where the idea of Menstrupedia came from,” says Gupta, 28, who lives in Ahmedabad.
The trio are currently trying to scour funds for the comic book project online. They have managed to collect around Rs 2,70,000 so far from 48 supporters. That’s a little more than halfway to the Rs 4 lakh that they need. They have offered “rewards” ranging from “Thank You” credits and copies of the book to the donors depending on the amounts they part with. “The first 20% of our donors were very close friends
and family,” says Gupta, who with her team has also invited volunteers to translate the project. Being online has resulted in a fairly wide reach in terms of resources: a lady from France has volunteered to translate the comic in French and Spanish. Another person from Maharashtra has volunteered to translate it into Marathi.
NGOs too have been reaching out to use the comic prototype in their own workshops, independently. The prototype comics in Hindi are currently available online for free on talesofchange.in – a portal that predates Menstrupedia. It was created during Gupta and Paul’s diploma project days. “An NGO from Delhi and another from Rae Bareilly contacted us through Facebook for using this,” says Gupta, who is also considering working on audio-visual aids based on the comic.
While this project is already underway, that hasn’t stopped the trio from taking more on. They are also developing a periods’ notification mobile app. That production, however, is still at the beginning of the cycle.Kit for visually-impaired girls
New Delhi: Delhi-based designer Sadhvi Thukral
has designed an educational kit on menstrual health for visually-impaired girls. As described on the Menstrupedia website
, the kit contains four terracotta slides that have tactile diagrams of reproductive parts. The diagrams also come with accompanying text in braille that explains what the body undergoes during menstruation, how to use sanitary napkins and other matters of hygiene. The kit also has a life size model of a human pelvic region with reproductive parts to explain the process of menstruation. The website says that Thukral is “looking for collaborations in taking this project further.”


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Microsoft has recently started rolling out its Windows CoPilot in Insider Preview, and many companies are integrating Generative AI into their apps and services. Google has also recently announced Generative AI in many of its products and is testing Bard as a standalone web service. The company has recently reported that Google is considering revamping Google Assistance.
There is a red alert for OpenAI technology, and Google has also merged its Artificial Division, which is now working specifically on Generative AI features and capabilities. Google Bard is more like an OpenAI GPT-2 model and needs much improvement, but the company is trying to catch up with OpenAI. There have been reports about ChatGPT 5, but it is expected to happen sometime soon. It will likely begin development next year after the GPT-3 model is discontinued and GPT-4 becomes mainstream. They are currently refining the existing model for further integration and other purposes.
Google plans to completely revamp Google Assistance, where you will see major upgrades with Generative AI content. The technology is quite similar to ChatGPT and Windows CoPilot, and it will change the landscape of how Google makes strategic adjustments for consumers, developers, and employees.
Google will bring AI into Assistant.
Last year, a report came out that Google had shifted its focus from voice assistance to Pixel, and that’s why we aren’t getting any new feature updates to Google Assistant Voice. However, they have been constantly developing and improving Google Assistant Voice search. Around 7 years ago, Google Assistant became Android’s personal assistant, and Google and Microsoft joined the native AI race. Google’s VP, Peeyush Ranjan, discussed this in his latest email, stating that Google Assistant will not be revamped from scratch, but AI will be added on top of the existing Google Assistant, which will be capable of answering, summarising, and performing other basic activities.
Many things have yet to become clear, but there will be layoffs before the transition of Google Assistant to AI. However, the company has told its employees to search internally for their position within 60 days, as their roles are disappearing due to Google’s reorganization. The assistant’s future looks promising and will become even more optimized and capable with future updates. Once Google Assistant is powered by AI, users can have natural-language conversations with it and even perform actions with its help.
Subject: Assistant vision and team changes
Since we launched Assistant seven years ago, we’ve built great experiences for the hundreds of millions of people who use it every month. And we’ve heard people’s strong desire for assistive, conversational technology that can improve their lives.
As a team, we need to focus on delivering high-quality, critical product experiences for our users. We’ve also seen the profound potential of generative AI to transform people’s lives and see a huge opportunity to explore what a supercharged Assistant, powered by the latest LLM technology, would look like. (A portion of the team has already started working on this, beginning with mobile.)
To do both of these things with speed and focus, we are making some changes in the organization:
We’re combining the Services and Surfaces teams, which will be led by Unni and Bryant.
The Mobile team will operate separately under Minni and Zaheed.
The NLP team will now be led by Xiaonan and Lisa. Sincere thank-you to Michelle, who — on top of her day job leading infrastructure — stewarded the NLP team over the past 4 months. Michelle will now lead infrastructure at 100% capacity.
Speech will continue supporting Assistant and other products, and Françoise will now report to Sissie.
As part of this update, we are also eliminating a small number of roles within the team. We have already let these teammates know and we will provide dedicated support to help them through this transition. Everyone impacted will have a minimum of 60 day internal search period, based on local requirements. These have been incredibly difficult decisions, so please support teammates who are processing this news.
Duke and I will host a town hall tomorrow to go through the org changes in more detail and take your questions. (We know tomorrow is a holiday in Zurich, so we’ll also host an EMEA-friendly option on Wednesday.) Some teams will host town halls next week — stay tuned for those calendar invitations. We remain deeply committed to Assistant and we are optimistic about its bright future ahead.
Peeyush and Duke
So far, LLM’s chatbot has proven to be quite useful, and assistants like Google Assistant, Alexa, and Siri are subjective but useful. They are mainly used for simple tasks like setting reminders and alarms, playing music, checking the weather, and executing routines. The company also wants to push its smart speaker hardware, which could compete well with Alexa powered by Generative AI. In conclusion, it’s too early to say anything definitive, but the future looks optimistic and bright. Finally, the email mentions that the company will work with speed and focus as soon as possible.
Google’s AI may be used in Google Assistance.
The company has its own AI model, LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Application), which may be used in Google Assistant. Like other Generative AI models, LaMDA can understand conversations in natural language and engage in human-like conversations via voice instead of text. Google Assistant cannot logically connect conversation pieces and maintain coherent, thoughtful dialogue.
Google Assistant is already an industry leader, which could be a major upgrade to assistance on mobile devices. APIs and other resources are also available for developers to integrate AI-powered assistance into their products. This will create many new opportunities and improve the overall experience.
Google’s AI-powered Google Assistant will first be available on mobile devices, especially in the Google Pixel lineup, then gradually roll out to other devices such as Chromebooks and Nest. The idea of revamping their assistant is not just Google’s but also that of competitors like Amazon, which is considering launching its AI-powered assistant, Alexa.
It still needs to be determined what steps Google will take to improve its AI-powered Google Assistant. Millions of users use Google Assistant every day, and they expect it to perform as expected. Google needs to be cautious, as they have everything to lose, and its competitors have everything to gain.
If Google can successfully integrate AI with a simple UI, it will be very useful for simple digital interactions and obtaining information without opening a browser. According to reports, competitors such as Samsung and Apple are working on Generative AI and currently using their models internally. We can expect both brands’ personal assistants to feature Generative AI functionality in the future.
Google has confirmed through internal emails from its VP that it will integrate Generative AI into its Google Assistance, which will change the company’s landscape and directly affect consumers, developers, and employees. The company will not redesign it from scratch but will instead implement this integration on top of the existing Generative Assistance. Initially, it will be capable of finishing basic tasks such as answering, summarising, and performing other basic activities, which will first come to mobile and then to other platforms.
As usual, Generative AI can conversationally understand human language and generate responses for you. For this purpose, the company will use its AI model, LaMDA, to showcase it. Internally, Google is reorganising its workspace, which will result in some layoffs, but employees have been told to find a role for themselves within 60 days before the transition as some roles will disappear in Google Assistance.
The company also plans to release APIs and other resources for Google developers so that they can integrate AI-powered assistance into their products. Hopefully, Google Assistance’s interface will be simple and easy to interact with, and users can obtain information without opening a browser. Other companies like Samsung and Apple are also working on their Generative AI versions, which are currently in internal testing but are expected to be integrated into their OS in the future.


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Updated Dec. 7, 2017 5:15 p.m. ET
Sam’s Club, Your Store for Premium Goods and Rare Imports (in China)
SHENZHEN, China—Some foreign businesses have a hard time being as successful in China as
they are at home. It’s the opposite for Sam’s Club, the membership chain owned by Wal-Mart
Sam’s Club has struggled in the U.S. to attract higher-income consumers it covets, analysts say,
in part because the chain is closely associated with Wal-Mart, which focuses on budget-minded
That association hasn’t been an issue for Sam’s in China, which is home to three of the top five
Sam’s Club stores world-wide as measured by sales. Since 2008, the top Sam’s Club store
globally is one in Shenzhen, a tech center near Hong Kong.
What’s different about China? For starters, Sam’s Club has positioned itself there as a place for
imported goods and high-quality foods, not bulk items and closeouts. And in China, the chain
has no on-the-ground competition from its main U.S. rival, retailer Costco Wholesale Corp.
In the U.S., Sam’s Club stores have struggled to attract the kind of well-off shoppers who keep
sales humming at Costco, analysts say. Sam’s Club stores are heavily concentrated in the
Southeast, while Costco stores are densest along the wealthier West Coast. In China, Sam’s Club
stores are positioned in some of the country’s most affluent and densely populated cities.
“The quality here is guaranteed,” said 47-year-old Yu Yufang as she shopped at the No. 1
Shenzhen store. “A lot of Chinese products, I feel, aren’t trustworthy.”
Another shopper, Zhou Rong, 39, fits squarely in the demographic
Sam’s Club caters to in China: affluent moms. Ms. Zhou, whose 2-yearold daughter plunked on the keys of a digital piano as they shopped, said
Sam’s carries imported products Chinese stores don’t stock.
Sam’s now has nearly 1.9 million members in China, which is home to
19 of its 866 stores globally. About half of its members in China joined
in the past five years as the retailer added outlets and sharpened its focus
on affluent women with young children.
“That target core member is a mom around 35 to 40 years old,” said
Andrew Miles, president of Sam’s in China. “She wants better-quality
products. She’s concerned about food safety and quality. She’s willing
to pay for premium products, but she wants value.”
Sam’s success is a reminder that retailers must tailor brands and products to meet the needs of
specific groups, said Ben Cavender of China Market Research Group.
“They’ve done a good job of segmenting the market and being choosy about who they market to
and where they open their stores,” Mr. Cavender said of Sam’s.
Sam’s in the U.S. also is sharpening its focus. During an investor presentation in October, Chief
Executive John Furner said the chain served too many types of customers in the U.S. and would
now focus on suburban families with household incomes between $75,000 and $125,000 a year,
the fastest-growing segment of its membership.
Despite its solid record in China, Sam’s faces challenges with the potential entry of Costco,
which has operated in neighboring Taiwan for two decades. And online rivals pose an increasing
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., which is adding more imported goods,
is also making bets on bricks and mortar. Last month, Alibaba said it would pay $2.88 billion for
a 36% stake in Wal-Mart rival Sun Art Retail Group Ltd.
Costco this year launched its own storefront on Alibaba’s Tmall marketplace, after selling some
products on the platform since 2014. Retail consultant Stéphane Joly at Altavia Group in
Shanghai said he expects Costco to build physical stores within the next two years.
“We continue to explore the market” in China, Costco Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti
Eager to maintain its edge, Sam’s plans to “put our foot on the gas” in China by doubling the
number of clubs to 40 by 2020, Mr. Miles said. The company also is selling products through
Alibaba rival JD.com. Wal-Mart owns a stake of about 10% in JD.com, including a 5% stake it
received from the site last year in exchange for control of struggling Chinese online grocer
Wal-Mart focused on building giant hypermarkets when it entered China in 1996, and they now
number at least 430 here. Sam’s Club grew more slowly over the same stretch, opening fewer
than one club a year on average.
Wal-Mart doesn’t break out revenue for China. According to Wal-Mart’s earnings calls, sales
growth for China stores open at least a year, including hypermarkets and clubs, has been roughly
flat on average for the past 11 quarters.
Mr. Miles said Sam’s membership numbers in China slipped last year after the chain raised its
annual membership fee to about $40 from $22. Mr. Miles said membership is back up again but
declined to offer specifics. The customers who let their memberships lapse “probably were the
ones who couldn’t come with us on the journey,” he said.
Sam’s doesn’t break out other memberships by country and hasn’t given an update on its global
membership since 2013, when it stood at 47 million.
Visiting a Sam’s Club here means a blizzard of pitches. Food samples abound, and there are
dozens of product demos for shoppers to watch, for Dyson vacuum cleaners, Bose speakers and
Oster juicers—many more than are found in a typical U.S. store, Mr. Miles said.
The retailer also makes an effort to describe its products to Chinese customers, advertising that
its “black pork” specialty meat is reared for at least 200 days among the mountains and pine
forests of northeastern China. Fresh eggs are guaranteed to be no more than 12 days old, and
each egg has a printed serial number members can type into their smartphones to learn
production date, origin and other details.
Last year, clubs began to offer carts big enough to seat two children, partly to reflect the
loosening of China’s “one-child” policy.
Mr. Miles added the top-grossing store benefits from another feature that would be familiar to
U.S. customers: parking. The store became No. 1 shortly after it moved to a new location with
more parking spaces, he noted.
“Our target members pretty much all drive to the club,” Mr. Miles said. “The car park is crucial.”
—Chunying Zhang in Shanghai and Sarah Nassauer in New York contributed to this article.
Write to Wayne Ma at email@example.com
1. How is Sam's Club positioned in China versus the United States?
2. What factors explain Sam's Club's success in China?
3. What challenges does Sam's Club face in China and in the United States?
4. Do you support Sam's Club's plans to put its "foot on the gas" in China by doubling the number of
clubs to 40 by 2020? Explain your point of view.
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