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By now, most of us are familiar with the concept of the ‘circular economy’. Slowly but surely, more industry sectors are moving away from past take-make-waste approaches which put immense stresses on our environment. But to think that circularity begins and ends at recycling and waste management falls short of the truth. With the pandemic quickly reorganising industry priorities, we must be careful not to lose sight of the looming climate crisis – continuing our transition towards a sustainable future.
Popularised by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the circular economy holds the key to a sustainable future and continued economic prosperity. Today, over 90 percent of the world’s resources, including metals, wood, concrete, plastics and chemicals are only used once in a product before being discarded and becoming waste. A trend which industry plays a critical role in turning around. In the U.S. alone, industry contributes to at least 97 per cent of solid waste. This – alongside the fact that if only five key sectors including steel, aluminium, cement, plastic and food adopted circularity, CO2 emissions would drop by an estimated 9.3 billion tonnes in 2050 – might make you wonder why more hasn’t been done.
Luckily, hope remains on the horizon.
More companies are now facing sustainability issues head on – even in the midst of the on-going pandemic. A recent study conducted by the Carbon Trust showed that over 70 per cent of organisations believe that environmental management and sustainability priorities will become increasingly important due to the pandemic. Recent events including the surge in net-zero commitments by companies and entire countries, the European Union’s Green Deal, Joe Biden winning the 2020 U.S. elections, the U.K climate-disclosures mandate and even the recent Brexit Trade Deal – point to equally promising signs that sustainability is becoming institutionalised on a level of concrete change.
The transition will mean major transformations in the ways we think and produce products, inspiring companies to go above and beyond recycling and waste management, even though these remain fundamental. Conveniently, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation outlines the principles of the circular economy: designing out waste and pollution, keeping product and materials in use for longer, and regenerating natural systems. We’ve broken these down for you – and, like the start to any good idea, change begins on our drawing boards.
Don’t let your designs go to waste
Believe it or not – waste is a decision. Waste and pollution are direct results of how we choose to design products, with 80 per cent of environmental impact determined at this stage, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Looking ahead, we need to reframe our understandings of waste to mean design flaw – and inspire product designs that make them easier to repair, remanufacture, recycle and reuse. Adopting materials and technologies that factor waste out of the equation is a first step, as it will help us collectively break free from a vicious cycle into a regenerative one.
Give back what you borrow
Let’s appreciate what is around us and avoid depreciating it. If done right, we can find ways to make almost infinite use of our finite resources, at little cost to the planet. But keeping products and materials in the economy by making them last isn’t enough. We also need to think about how to source materials before they end up in landfills. This means, for example, rethinking ownership and adopting service-based contracts, as well as implementing better waste management strategies aimed at mining products for valuable resources.
Following mother nature’s lead
In nature, everything has value. Waste is not a concept here – as everything acts as food for something else. Nowhere can we find a better role model in our transition towards circularity than our natural ecosystems, which have sustained themselves for millennia. By finding ways to return valuable nutrients to nature, we can safeguard our natural resources and continue adding value around and for us.
Addressing industry’s hidden crises
At Machine Compare, we are dedicated to playing our part in fostering a healthier planet, enabling industry players to adopt more sustainable approaches to global trade. Circular thinking lies at the very heart of what we do – you could say it is our raison d’etre or reason for being.
Noticing the alarming amount of obsolete, unused spare parts wasting away on the shelves of manufacturing companies, brothers Eric and Ben Findlay founded Machine Compare in 2014 with the vision of developing an e-commerce site targeted at getting these spare parts back into the market. And their vision came true in March 2021 with the launch of Marketplace. To date, an astonishing £5B worth of spare parts have been identified in multiple industry sectors. A price tag that can either come to signify immense costs or profits for global organisations – and let’s not forget, the planet. Together, we can tip odds in favour of the latter, creating added value for industry buyers and sellers around the world, monetising what would otherwise become waste.
Whether you’re looking to buy spare parts or sell spare parts, Machine Compare Marketplace is your destination. Discover the benefits of the e-commerce platform and what it has in store for you as a buyer, seller, or both.


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The banking sector has seen several changes in the previous 10 years, mostly as a result of global technological improvements.
Customers now handle many of the customary tasks that banks once performed. Customers may now conduct business from the ease of their smartphones or laptops anywhere at any time thanks to digital banking systems like mobile and internet banking.
As a result, in every passing year, fewer transactions take place in the bank lobby or over the counter. In fact, banks like Standard Chartered have aggressively decreased the number of their branches around the nation while encouraging its clients to use digital and online banking alternatives.
Customers now have the authority to complete transactions from start to finish with the bank acting as a facilitator, but they also naturally bear the corresponding responsibility to exercise caution and diligence when completing these transactions and doing business with the bank. This responsibility has been recognized in the courts of Uganda.
Recently, the Commercial court in Translink Limited v Standard Chartered bank decided that “there is no duty or obligation on the bank to reverse or countermand a transaction after the money has been paid out”.
The rationale for this decision is that it would be unreasonable to place burdens on the banks to countermand a transaction after the payment has already been made. In this case, the CFO of Translink had initiated an online payment of $13,675 in favour of Nanjin Chaungwei Household Electron of Halifax Bank UK at around 3:08 pm and within 30 seconds, Standard Chartered had already processed the payment to Halifax Bank UK and even sent acknowledgement.
The Translink decision comes nearly a year after the Commercial court’s ruling in Aidah Atiku v Centenary Rural Development bank where it was decided in favor of Centenary bank stating that “On the flip side of digital banking duties, is the customers’ responsibility to always keep their banking information, user IDs, passwords and PIN numbers confidential”.
This dispute arose from electronic withdrawals of about Shs 55m from the account of the plaintiff using her CenteMobile platform. Justice Stephen Mubiru famously stated “Equity does not save people from the consequences of their own folly but will save them from being victimised by other people”.
The question then is how can a bank client ensure that utilizing online bank platforms will not have any unfavorable effects?
Because bank customers will be bound to the terms and conditions of the contract regardless of whether they read or understood the terms before signing, customers should be careful, right from the start of the account opening process, to ensure that they thoroughly read and understand the terms and conditions.
Of course, there are a few exceptions to this, including misrepresentation and undue influence, among others. This will generally enable the customer to be conversant with the minimum fees, interest rates applicable, maintenance fees and other products associated with the account such as email alerts and digital banking options among others.
Once the account has been activated, a customer should at all times protect their online credentials to reduce the risk of fraudulent activities.
Additionally, clients should always double-check the account numbers and other information of the recipient party in transactions to reduce the chance of doing business with the incorrect party. Customers should also take an ongoing interest in checking their bank statements to ensure that the numbers add up.
However, this does not absolve the banks of their responsibility to make sure that the systems created for their clients to conduct banking online are secure and undergo continuous inspection.
The users of the digital banking systems must also be continuously informed of changes and updates in the security measures used by the banks.
The author is a lawyer with Cristal Advocates

domain: news


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Google+1 is Google’s attempt to step up the competition with Facebook’s seamless (and highly profitable) integration of social sharing and advertising. Currently, Facebook users have the option to share ads with friends on the social network by ‘Liking’ the ad, commenting on it or sharing the ad’s link within Facebook.
Starting in October, the Google +1 button will begin appearing within display ads across the Google Display Network (GDN). According to the announcement the +1 button will allow advertisers to “run social-enabled ad campaigns that work across millions of sites in over forty countries worldwide and will expand to both desktop and mobile.”
What we know now is that +1’s will appear at the bottom of display ads, showing users the profile photos of friends who have endorsed the ad. In the interest of privacy protection, only the additional number of other users who +1 the ad will show; you will not see images or names of people outside of your network. The +1 notifications will fade away after 10 seconds.
As it stands, the addition of the +1 button to display ads will be the default setting; advertisers can opt out by signing into their AdWords account.
For more on the Google+1 visit: http://www.google.com/+1/button


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U.S. services sector activity reached a 19-month low in March as private payrolls dropped more than expected. This reaffirmed a loss of momentum in the economy, which supports the move by the Federal Reserve to stop interest rate hikes in 2019.
The reports came out on Wednesday from the motor vehicle sales, retail, and manufacturing sector. The new development has increased concerns among investors about a sharp slowdown of the economy during the first quarter.
Last month, the Federal Reserve ended its three-year-long campaign in tightening the monetary policy by dropping projections for any hikes in interest rates this year. The Federal Reserve also lifted borrowing costs 4 times last year.
According to Joel Naroff, Chief Economist at Naroff Economic Advisors in Pennsylvania, the numbers have made it clear that tax-induced solid growth has come to an end. However, growth still remains at a decent level.
According to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), non-manufacturing activity dropped by 3.6 percent to 56.1, which is the lowest reading since August 2017. A reading above 50 is an indication of expansion in the sector. In fact, manufacturing constitutes about two-thirds of the total economic activity in the U.S.
The sharp slowdown of the services industry last month caused a 7.3 drop in the production sub-index. The slowdown in activity was caused by a drop in new orders as well as export orders. Many industries were of the opinion that their inventories were too high, creating a hurdle in increasing production.
The ISM also said that many businesses in the service sector are optimistic about the overall condition of the business as well as the economy. Although some businesses seem to have underlying concerns about capacity constraints and employment resources.
According to ISM, sixteen industries including real estate, utilities, finance and insurance, information, healthcare, and social assistance, information scientific and technical services witnessed growth in the last month. Although education services and retail trade sectors reported contraction.
Businesses in the food services and accommodation industry complied that labor is in short supply at the moment. Similar complaints were brought up by businesses in the public administration as well as transportation sectors.
The economy has been losing speed as stimulus from the current U.S. government’s $1.5 trillion tax cuts diminishes. The economy has also been facing the wrath of slow global growth, the U.S.-China trade war as well as the uncertainty over Britain’s exit from the EU.


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According to the following articles, arriving at an agreement has proven to be difficult. As the title of this post suggests, Shape Properties should be courting a company with the profile of Uniqlo to bring a store that would be unique in Metro Vancouver. Although stores that already exist in other parts of Metro Vancouver would be good for Brentwood, a Uniqlo type of unique retailer would only make the place more prestigious as a retail destination.
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VANCOUVER’S OWN UNIQLO
BY DANA BOWEN
Vancouverites may rejoice everywhere for the rumours of Uniqlo moving to Vancouver are becoming more real each day. According to Retail Insider, the Japanese retail company has been negotiating the lease for part of downtown’s Hudson’s Bay building. The store would be set in the basement space of the building; directly below Topshop.
Uniqlo has five more American locations on its way and hope to open 20-30 American stores a year. Vancouver’s location will be the first Canadian spot, with Toronto not far behind. The store is said to launch in Vancouver in early 2013.
Uniqlo is an inexpensive retail company that began in Japan in 1949 and has stretched across the globe within the past decade. There are nearly a thousand stores open world-wide including stores in France, London, Thailand and one in the Philippines which opened this past June.
The company hopes to be the world’s top apparel store by 2020 and so far they aren’t too far off the map. “Thank god they’re coming [to Vancouver], I’ve been bugging them for a year on [Facebook],” said a Uniqlo customer on the Georgia Straight website. “They might not always have the cheapest or best designs, but they are real good qualities, fit like gloves, and look much better than the Gap and Hollister combined.” Uniqlo has received praise all over the world for their clothes.
The store offers casual and fun outfits from dates to work and days on the couch. Retail Insider describes it as “cheap and chic,” clothes.
So far Vancouver’s location has not yet been confirmed, but hopefully they won’t keep us waiting for long.


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Last reviewed 5 November 2019
The Government put in place a lot of guidance, instructions and documentation in case the UK left the European Union on 31 October — but what happens now that date has passed and the leaving date looks to have moved into 2020?
Just as the General Election was announced, the EU confirmed that the Other Member States had agreed to defer the UK’s leaving date until 31 January 2020.
They added the proviso that, in the unlikely event of the Withdrawal Agreement being accepted by the UK and EU Parliaments before that date, then the UK could leave on 1 December 2019 or 1 January 2020.
In this context, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has advised businesses that it will continue to help them to prepare for Brexit in all scenarios, including the possibility of the UK leaving the EU without a deal on 31 January 2020.
“Many of the steps that you have already taken to get your business ready for Brexit will still be useful preparation for the UK leaving the EU, with or without a deal,” it pointed out.
Those who were given an EORI (Economic Operator Registration Identification) number starting with GB, have been asked to retain it as it will remain valid for use in trade with businesses based in the EU if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
These EORI numbers can be used now to trade with businesses based outside of the Union.
Transitional Simplified Procedures
Importers who have registered for Transitional Simplified Procedures (TSP) are advised to retain their letter of approval as it too will remain valid if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Businesses who received a letter from HMRC telling them that they had been automatically registered for TSP, will be contacted in the near future with authorisation to use it to import TSP standard goods from the EU if the UK leaves without a deal.
They should retain these letters and their TSP number.


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Entrepreneurship is becoming more popular. Entrepreneurship has become the most important factor in fostering individual strength and knowledge in the digital age. There are about 400 million entrepreneurs around the globe today, which implies one out of every 18 people owns a business. That number continues to rise. Here we’ll take a look at the top 10 women entrepreneurs in America. Many people are quitting their 9-to-5 employment to establish their own business ventures. In a nutshell, an entrepreneur is someone who has the will and determination to start a new business and manage all of the risks that come with it.
Entrepreneurship is on the rise, despite the high percentage of failure and stories of hardship. Many people, regardless of their restrictions, are inspired by the stories of success and the top 10 women entrepreneurs in America to consider embarking on their own entrepreneurial adventure. Women are not excluded from the realm of entrepreneurship.
In this article, we will discuss the top 10 women entrepreneurs in America.
1. Judy Love
Judy Love and her husband Tom used a $5,000 loan from Tom’s parents to open their first gas station in Watonga, Oklahoma, in 1964. Judy handled the books and ran the business with Tom until 1975 when she went back to school. Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores now has over 550 locations in 41 states with annual revenues of over $20 billion.
Judy is the chairman of the Love Family Fund and the executive secretary at Love’s. Love’s chairman is her husband Tom, and three of the couple’s four children work for the company. Her net worth is believed to be in the range of $5.2 billion (£4.2 billion) making her one of the most successful and well-known among the top 10 women entrepreneurs in America.
2. Meg Whiteman
Meg Whitman is primarily recognized for growing eBay’s sales from $5.7 million to $8 billion between 1998 and 2008. From 2011 to 2015, she was the CEO of Hewlett-Packard, where she supervised the company’s split into HP Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. She left her position as CEO of HPE in February 2018. She is a member of the Procter & Gamble and Dropbox boards of directors.
Whitman was the CEO of the defunct short-form video platform Quibi, which shut down just seven months after its introduction in October 2020. Whitman joined the board of directors of Immortals LLC, an e-sports startup based in Los Angeles, in 2018. Her business lingo has taken the world by storm. Her estimated net worth is $3.2 billion (£2.5 billion) making her one of the most successful and known among the top 10 women entrepreneurs in America.
3. Doris Fisher
Doris Fisher and her husband, Don (d. 2009), started the clothing business GAP in 1969 when the couple struggled to locate pants that suited him. The pair raised $63,000 to launch their first store in San Francisco, which offered jeans and music. Doris Fisher was the company’s merchandiser from the beginning until 2003, and she also served on the board of directors until 2009.
With a $15 million donation, the 1953 Stanford economics graduate cofounded the KIPP Foundation, which supports public charter schools. Her estimated net worth is $2.4 billion (£1.9 billion) making her among the top 10 women entrepreneurs in America.
4. Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey, the talk show queen who founded Harpo Productions, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), and the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, was not always successful. Oprah started from the bottom and rose to become one of the most powerful woman in the world, despite her humble beginnings. She began her career as a news anchor before going on to host her own talk show and donating a significant amount of time and money to charity.
She also has a website dedicated to helping women live healthier lives. Her foundation, Oprah’s Angels, generates funds for non-profit organizations all around the world. She is an inspiration to many women and actively encourages them to advance in their careers. Her estimated net worth is $2.5 billion (£1.8 billion) makes her top 10 women entrepreneurs in America.
5. Sheryl Sandberg
Sheryl Sandberg is the COO of Facebook and an American technology executive, author, and activist. She also serves on the boards of directors of The Walt Disney Company, Women for Women International, the Center for Global Development, and V-Day.
Sheryl Sandberg was named one of Time Magazine’s top 100 most influential people in the world in 2012, and she now has a net worth of $1 billion, making her one of the most successful and well-known among the top 10 women entrepreneurs in America. Her estimated net worth is $1 billion (£810 million).
6. Kylie Jenner
Kylie Jenner, who is only 21, became the world’s youngest female entrepreneur at the age of 21, causing a stir due to her celebrity status. Regardless of the debates, Jenner has proven to be a highly successful entrepreneur with her Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin beauty companies.
Her company has expanded at a quicker rate than any other beauty brand before her, according to Entrepreneur, demonstrating that she has a sound business approach. Her estimated net worth is $620 million (£448 million) makes her top 10 women entrepreneurs in America.
7. Robyn Rihanna Fenty (Rihanna)
Robyn Fenty, better known as Rihanna, began her career on stage but has since evolved into an entrepreneur’s dream. She has become a big name in the cosmetic business since debuting her 40-shade inclusive foundation brand. She also owns Fenty x Savage and Fenty House with LVMH, making her the only artist to be associated with the house that also controls Givenchy and Dior.
Her most recent Fenty brand development includes a skincare line that is suitable for all skin types. Her estimated net worth is $600 million (£450 million) making her one of the most successful and well-known among the top 10 women entrepreneurs in America.
8. Susan Wojcicki
Since 2014, Susan Wojcicki has been the CEO of YouTube. She had been actively associated with Google before to this. Google’s founders began by renting her garage, and her contributions to the advertising industry contributed to the development of Google Analytics, AdSense, AdWords, and DoubleClick.
She is included among Forbes’ richest self-made among the top 10 women entrepreneurs in America, with a net worth of $410 million (£322 million).
9. Tory Burch
Tory Burch is an American fashion designer who has built a name for herself around the world. North America, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia all have stores. She is now working through the Tory Burch Foundation to support women empowerment and entrepreneurship by offering access to financing, education, and digital resources.
She is a huge success in the fashion industry. Her estimated net worth is around $100 million (£73 million) making her one of the most successful and well-known among the top 10 women entrepreneurs in America.
10. Arianna Huffington
Arianna Huffington is the former editor-in-chief and co-founder of the popular news website HuffPost (previously the Huffington Post). Following the introduction of her digital news platform, Huffington set her eyes on publishing a series of books, the most recent of which is The Sleep Revolution.
She also runs the wellness website Thrive Global, which offers a six-week course to help people improve their general health. Her estimated net worth is around $100 million (£73 million) making her one of the most successful and well-known among the top 10 women entrepreneurs in America.


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Brookshire’s appoints new store director
Michael Lenard, former assistant store manager at Brookshire’s Grocery Co. in Alexandria, was named store director for the Brookshire’s in Dixie Plaza. Lenard joined the company in 1989 as a grocer...
All Sizes of Spirit
From left, Jose Hernandez and Lawton Poleman show off the smallest Christmas tree sold so far at the 4 Seasons Christmas Tree Farm outside Natchitoches. Owner Camille Moran encourages everyone to, ...
Audrey Matt spotted the largest rainbow she has ever seen at her home Monday afternoon. The rainbow was extremely vibrant with both ends reaching the horizon.


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One interesting rumor says Apple tried to buy Tesla a few years ago; back when it had no money, many crazy-assed ideas, and a single car line. Today, Tesla has less money, more crazy-assed ideas, three cars– and a deflated stock price. Could Apple be shopping again?
I. Hope. So.
Tesla’s CEO says the company needs to cut costs or risk running out of money in less than a year. I’m sure investors loved to hear that. Wait. They heard it and the stock is in the dumpster. Again.
The rumor says Apple was interested in Tesla back in 2013. For $240 per share. TSLA is trading at less than $215 now and the money is running out.
Guess who has more money than they need?
Apple could buy Tesla– probably for less than $50-billion, drop in $10-billion or so to keep it floating long enough to launch a few more vehicles and improve cash flow.
Why would Apple do that?
That is Apple’s self-driving car project that seems to be sucking up money by the billions and with little to show off to investors who are too drunk of AAPL already, and basking in their riches and dividends so are not interested in Apple competing with the likes of GM, Ford, Toyota, Honda, or Mercedes-Benz.
There’s just no money in making cars. At least, not as much money as Apple normally makes with its products.
Tesla is just another example of an idea that had legs but maybe not enough cash to do much more than become a footnote in the history of automobiles. Apple should have bought Tesla back in 2013 when it was dirt cheap. TSLA started the year at less than $40 a share, hit over $180 a share, and finished 2013 at about $150 a share.
Even today TSLA is worth less than $40-billion. General Motors is worth more than $50-billion. Ford is over $40-billion. Except for that whole running out of money issue, that makes Tesla a bargain acquisition for Apple.
Apple should have bought Tesla when it was affordable. After all, the company is the most Apple-like car maker on planet earth.
Apple has money. Tesla needs money. Apple needs cars. Tesla has cars. This isn’t that hard to figure out.


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Written by Staff Writer
30 Apr, 2014 | 4:18 pm
Microsoft seems to be continuing its policy under new CEO Satya Nadella of ensuring its services are used by a large number, even if it means letting go some revenue in the short-term.
The latest move is by its popular video chatting app Skype, which is making its group video calling feature free for users on Windows, Mac, and Xbox One. The feature was previously available only to Skype Premium subscribers.
“Skype is proud that, since our beginning, we’ve created opportunities for people to communicate freely and easily, no matter where they are,” Phillip Snalune, GM Consumer Marketing, Skype Microsoft wrote in a blog post.
“While Skype is known for one to one video calling, we know it’s also essential to connect with the groups of people who matter most, whether friends, family or colleagues,” he added. “For the last few years, we’ve offered group video calling to Premium users on Windows desktop and Mac and more recently Xbox One. Today, we’re excited to announce that we’re making group video calling free – for all users on these platforms.”
Snalune confirmed that the company will “be enabling group video calling for all our users across more platforms – at no cost”.
It’s worth pointing out that Google Hangouts has been offering this feature for free since launch. Both Skype group video calling and Google Hangouts limit the number of simultaneous users in a video call to 10, though Google offers a higher limit to business, government and educational users.
Of course Google Hangouts also have a Web-based client, which means it can be used without installing an app – it’s not clear at this point if Skype’s plans to bring the app to other platforms also include the Web.
Microsoft has been busy expanding its services to various platforms – even those from competitors – often at the cost of its bottom-line in the short-term. The company finally released Office for iPad, a move that may have a negative impact on the sales of its own Surface tablets, while making editing documents free on Office for iPhone and Android.
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British Airways won’t pay credit card merchant fees on negotiated corporate fares. Instead those fees have to be picked up by corporate clients. American Express sued over this but the lawsuit has been dropped.
British Airways still won’t pay the fees, but will no longer be a preferred supplier for Amex travel.
My guess is that with BA standing firm in their position not to pay credit card fees that these fees will become a major issue for other carriers as well. Just as airlines have cut travel agent commissions and pushed bookings to their own (less costly) websites, airlines may view credit card fees as a new source of savings moving forward.
- The settlement raises the question of whether other airlines will follow the lead set by BA and start to pass on merchant fees for corporate net fares. Many in the corporate travel industry had regarded it as a test case. At last week’s Corporate Travel World conference and exhibition in New York, Management Alternatives president Carol Ann Salcito presciently advised BTN’s Top 100 travel buyers to seek clarification from preferred airline vendors on this issue. “It is not certain how much this will cost you, but it can certainly be a negotiating point,” she said. “It creates 1.5 percent to 2 percent of added cost on average. When you go out to bid, ask carriers their intentions on merchant fees. If they say they are not going to pass on the fees, make them put that in writing.”
Another question raised by the settlement is whether BA will refuse to absorb merchant fees for more fare types. Tiffany Hall, BA head of sales for the U.K. & Ireland, said there were “no plans” to do so.
“No plans” is a common type of “non-denial denial.” I fully expect this issue to come up with other kinds of fares in the future, if not from British Airways then from other carriers.


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The financial media has gone into full Bitcoin frenzy and Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), which remains at the center of the cryptocurrency arms race. What does it all mean for NVDA stock? Everywhere you turn, people are making new predictions, seeming more outlandish than the last.
One analyst says that it’s going to hit $40,000 – no, make that, $100,000 next year. The next minute, someone fires back that Bitcoins are tulips and set to crash. Regardless, as any historian would tell you, in a gold rush, you make money selling the shovels rather than digging for treasure itself.
Bitcoin Reaches New Heights
Last week saw Bitcoin reach new levels of success. The cryptocurrency topped $10,000, and it didn’t stop there. It almost doubled in the space of a few days, hitting $19,000 on some exchanges. Prices have been volatile since then, but Bitcoin has largely managed to hold onto its gains.
That comes even after CBOE Holdings (NASDAQ:CBOE) launched exchange-traded futures contracts for Bitcoin on Sunday. Many analysts had expected Bitcoin prices to drop off sharply once futures trading became available.
In theory, the ease of shorting Bitcoin would allow institutions to sell into the currency’s huge rally. In practice, however, Bitcoin continues to trade higher despite the launch of the futures market.
NVDA Stock: Its Evolving Position Within Crypto
In the past, NVDA, along with chief rivals such as Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) provided the primary firepower for mining Bitcoins. Miners would purchase high-powered graphics cards from NVDA and start earning their loot.
However, Bitcoin reached the so-called crossover point where it no longer became economical to mine using graphics cards. Bitcoin’s soaring price has led to an abundance of miners competing to obtain the new supply of Bitcoins.
Nowadays, the mining collectives generally use more specialized ASIC equipment which was designed specifically for the task of solving the puzzles needed to earn coins.
But don’t panic, this still helps NVDA stock. While Nvidia’s graphics cards are no longer profitable for Bitcoin mining, they are still useful for mining Ethereum and most other of the less valuable cryptocurrencies. As long as difficulty on these other coins remains lower, graphics cards will still be able to achieve a profit even after the cost of electricity.
Bitcoin Is The Star, but It’s Hardly the Only Relevant Factor
As of this writing, the total market cap for all cryptocurrencies is $440 billion. Bitcoin dominates the lion’s share of that figure, with its sum at $275 billion. Ethereum is next up at $45 billion, Bitcoin Cash at $23 billion and so on down. For now, the market cap of coins that can be profitably mined with Nvidia’s GUI cards is $165 billion.
That’s a larger sum than the entire crypto market cap just months ago. In theory, Ethereum is about to cross over to the point where only ASIC mining will earn a net return after electricity costs, thus taking away another mining option for Nvidia cards.
However, that would still leave more than $100 billion in mineable cryptocurrencies for GUI cards to go after. Anyone declaring that NVDA stock is set to fall sharply due to falling demand in this area is making a mistake.
How Bitcoin’s Rally Helps NVDA Stock
You might be saying, “But if no one is mining for Bitcoin with Nvidia equipment anymore, who cares if NVDA stock goes up?” That is a reasonable question. However, it’s important to remember that the whole crypto-universe revolves around Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The less glamorous coins, in particular, usually trade in relation to the price of the major coins, rather than dollars. So if someone mining a minor coin with an Nvidia card wants to cash out, they’ll trade their alternative cryptocurrency for Bitcoin and then sell the Bitcoin for cash.
Given this chain of events, a higher Bitcoin price makes the whole universe more compelling for mining, and thus lifts demand for Nvidia cards, and in turn, the NVDA stock price. The opposite effect is also true, a crash in Bitcoin prices would crush interest in mining most of the other coins as well.
Can Nvidia Please Two Markets?
Earlier this year, as Bitcoin started ramping up from the $1,000 level into uncharted territory, Nvidia and AMD ran into a problem. They didn’t have enough cards on hand to meet demand. Mining operations were buying up all the fresh inventory of high-end cards leaving Nvidia unable to satisfy all its customers.
This demand failure disappointed its gaming enthusiasts. Prices spiked up and backlash built with it. Heading into the pivotal holiday season, Nvidia appears to have produced sufficient inventory to serve both miners and gamers. However the sudden explosion in Bitcoin prices will undoubtedly cause another wave of consumer interest in GUIs.
This is the sort of NVDA news that you want to hear. The key, however, will be finding the right balance. Make too much inventory and you risk Bitcoin prices falling and getting stuck with a large supply of unneeded cards.
On the other hand, a repeat of this spring, with too little inventory, leaves a ton of money on the table and angers your core gaming customers who will still be around for years to come, regardless of whatever may happen with crypto.
All in all though, it’s a great problem to have. Nvidia is in a powerful position as Bitcoin continues to rally, and NVDA stock is a significantly safer way to playing the mania than actually buying Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.
At the time of this writing, the author held no position in any of the aforementioned securities. You can reach him on Twitter at @irbezek.


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Spielwarenmesse eG asks trade and industry about the crisis
- Current mood among visitors and exhibitors
- Creating new work models and communication channels
The Spielwarenmesse in Nuremberg attracts around 65,000 buyers and retailers and 2,800 manufacturers every year. To gauge how they are dealing with the global Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences, Spielwarenmesse eG, who organises the leading industry event, has conducted a representative survey among both visitors and exhibitors. 1,810 trade visitors from 42 countries and 548 companies from 48 countries took part in the survey which was carried out in spring.
On the visitor side, the questionnaire was completed by the management of various trading formats, the majority of whom operate both a bricks-and-mortar shop and an online store. Many of them have succeeded in creating new sales channels, ensuring continued access for their customers despite the Covid-19 pandemic. These include existing online stores (43.9%), newly created online stores (9.1%), delivery services (22.8%), collection from the store (14.4%), initiatives by local shops (7.1%) and new forms of customer communication (18.3%), such as telephone and email, Messenger services, social media and online advertising.
Despite the ingenuity and creativity of the retail trade, the crisis has had a significantly negative impact on business. The current situation has forced 45.6% of shop owners to implement reduced working hours, whilst 18.6% have had to make staff redundant. The toy manufacturers participating in the survey are likewise feeling the effects of the crisis, with 52.6% enforcing reduced working hours, 43.4% asking employees to work from home and 22.7% having to let staff go. At the same time, the companies are supporting their retail partners by extending payment deadlines and granting discounts, or by helping them to set up an online store or by sending products directly to their customers.
The measures introduced to soften the impact of the crisis are also giving rise to positive aspects. Manufacturers and retailers have created new methods of customer communication, launched digital offerings earlier than originally planned or discovered them for the first time. They have seized the opportunity to modify their business models, trialled new working models, improved in-house crisis management, or strengthened team spirit. Respondents are consequently relatively optimistic about the year ahead: 25.8% of retailers and 32% of manufacturers expect to make up for the dramatic fall in sales through new sales channels, whereas 49.7% and 45.5% respectively believe their businesses will recover.
Analysing the situation, Ernst Kick, CEO of Spielwarenmesse eG, states: “The findings of the survey reflect the current mood in the toy industry. While the crisis is posing a huge challenge for trade and industry, it is also accelerating the implementation of new, forward-looking measures.”


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While the vast majority of iPhone X customers continue to watch their pre-order status for signs of progress, at least one lucky customer in the U.K. has already managed to get his hands on the phone a day early.
MacRumors forum member Illdoit2morrow visited his local DPD collection depot on Thursday morning after somehow managing to arrange pickup of his iPhone X parcel a full day ahead of Apple's official November 3 launch date.
As a result, pre-order customers in the U.K. will probably start trying their luck at DPD collection depots throughout the country, however the incident is highly unusual and unlikely to be replicated. Apple typically keeps a tight rein on the couriers it hires to ship products, and DPD could well find itself in trouble when news of the pre-release handover gets back to Apple.
Order statuses currently "Preparing for Shipment" should start indicating that the iPhone X is in transit later today, for delivery on Friday, as per Apple's official launch plans.
The lucky customer said he pre-ordered his iPhone X through British retailer Carphone Warehouse.


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In theory, 2018 has been a rocky year for Intel. The company has weathered the repeated announcement of security issues related to Spectre and Meltdown. It dismissed its previous CEO, Brian Krzanich. It's had to announce the delay of its 10nm process and then fend off rumors that said process node was completely canceled as of earlier this week. AMD's Ryzen 7 has mounted strong competition all year, while AMD's Epyc server platform has taken market share away from Xeon as well.
And yet, based on Intel's actual recorded revenue for Q3, you'd be forgiven if you forgot the company had faced so much as a brief headwind these past few months. The company recorded revenue of over $19.2B, a new record, up 19 percent year-on-year. Data center revenue grew 22 percent, while PC revenue grew 16 percent. The company set a new earnings record, at $1.38 per share and raised its full-year outlook to $71.B. Intel set revenue records for all of its reporting groups.
AMD's results yesterday were stronger than they looked once you factored crypto sales into the equation. Intel sales are great everywhere. While it looks like iPhone modem sales may have plumped out the Client Computing Group slightly, you can see on the slide below that the gains in "Adjacencies" aren't large enough to account for the improvements to client PC sales revenue overall -- there were improvements in ASPs and volume shipments as well. Modem revenue grew 66 percent year-over-year -- winning the iPhone is a game-changer for Intel's modem business.
IoT isn't a major profit driver for Intel the way DCG and CCG are, but we keep an eye on the segment because it represents some of Intel's 'future' technology bets. Overall growth was brisk, with significant revenue increases in every segment. The only minor downside was a slight decrease in operating income for Intel's Programmable Solutions Group, which includes its FPGA business.
"Stronger than expected customer demand across our PC and data-centric businesses continued in the third quarter. This drove record revenue and another raise to our full-year outlook, which is now up more than six billion dollars from our January expectations. We are thrilled that in a highly competitive market, customers continue to choose Intel,” said Bob Swan, Intel CFO and Interim CEO. “In the fourth quarter, we remain focused on the challenge of supplying the incredible market demand for Intel products to support our customers' growth. We expect 2018 will be another record year for Intel, and our transformation positions us to win share in an expanded $300 billion total addressable market."These results at least partially vindicate Intel's argument that increased demand is responsible for its 14nm shipment pinch. According to the company's Form 8-K, actual unit shipments for various processors increased compared with the same period in a year ago, with notebook shipments up 8 percent and desktop volumes rising by 1 percent. Server volumes, meanwhile, were up a whopping 15 percent -- and remember that these are the chips most likely to field large dies, which means they consume a higher share of Intel's manufacturing capability. Intel doesn't sell very many 28-core CPUs relative to its dual and quad-cores(Opens in a new window), but each one of the chips it does sell "counts" for a much higher percentage of the wafer it's built on.
10nm UpdateIntel reiterated today that its 10nm process is on-track and on-schedule, making the point repeatedly in a number of different ways. According to Intel (in multiple remarks), the company has faith and confidence in its 10nm ramp at this point, it's on-target and on-schedule. This statement from Venkata S. M. Renduchintala is typical of the company's comments:
[W]e're still very much reinforcing and reaffirming our previous guidance that we believe that we'll have 10-nanometer shipping by holiday of 2019. And if anything, I feel more confident about that at this call than I did on the call a quarter ago. So we're making good progress and I think we're making the quarter-on-quarter progress that's consistent with prior generations having reset the progress curve.
That's as ironclad a statement as you could ask for. It's still possible that Intel chose to redefine its 10nm node and that the product it will ship as "10nm" isn't the 10nm that it debuted back in 2017. Until the company releases more details, we can't say what the node will look like. But as far as its ability to field a 10nm product, Intel has presented the overwhelming argument that it can, without much wiggle room on the timeline.
There's no bad here to talk about. Intel had an amazingly good quarter, the company is firing on every single thruster, economically speaking, and there's no sign of weakness in any of its results.Now Read: Micron to Buy Intel’s 3D XPoint Fab, Expects No Change to Optane Roadmap, Intel Denies Media Reports Claiming It Cancelled Its 10nm Process, and Intel Core i9-9900K Review: Welcome to an Intel-AMD 8-Core Slugfest


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A shopkeeper is warning other businesses to beware of a thief she believes stole a wallet containing more than £500.
Anne Sutton has circulated CCTV images of the alleged culprit on social media and has also given them to the police.
The post has already been shared more than 1,000 times and business owners across the North West have contacted Anne, sending her CCTV footage of what appears to be a man of similar description acting suspiciously in their shops.
Anne says that around 3.15pm on May 1, a man entered her Pretty Peas Fruit and Veg store on Church Road, Tarleton, before a wallet containing £520 was allegedly stolen.
“I wasn’t in the shop when he came in, but I was there when he left," she said.
“I was stood in front of him, my wallet in his hands wrapped in a piece of paper.
“I obviously didn’t know he had it at the time.
“I’m still upset and I want anyone, especially independent businesses to be aware.
“I just want to do something good and stop it from happening to anyone else.”
When Anne realised the wallet was missing from behind the counter, she immediately began searching through CCTV footage to find the man responsible.
She had CCTV installed a few weeks prior to the theft after having a few incidents regarding fake £20 notes.
She says she found images of the incident the following day and these revealed a man entered the shop at 3.16pm and left at 3.18pm.
The man could be seen rummaging behind the court.
Lancashire Police confirmed they received a call reporting the incident at around 9.30pm on May 2.
A spokesperson said. “The man is described as around 25-30 years of age and was wearing a black bomber baseball style jacket, dark jeans and a baseball cap.”
They added: “It is currently under investigation.”
Anne is now warning other businesses in the hope that it doesn’t happen to anyone else.
And she is still shocked by the amount of similar stories that other businesses have shared with her.
She said: “It’s been shared over 1,000 times and I’ve had so many other business owners who have private messaged me sending their CCTV.
“This thief is still at large and has apparently been targeting a lot of shops outside Southport.
“He was in the same clothes and wearing the same jacket and he didn’t even try changing his appearance.
“I feel really really angry that he’s getting away with it.
“I thought he may have been a chancer but this is absolutely what he does.
“I used to love my little shop, I gave up teaching for this shop but I hate coming into work and thinking what is going to happen today.”
Anne also said that shop owners should make sure no valuables are in reach and to not leave anything unguarded.
A man fitting a similar description is said to have been spotted in other areas such as Accrington, Chorley, Penwortham and Longton.


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Volatility may rule the day as regulatory uncertainty divides analysts on what will come next for cryptocurrency, but according to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, 10 years from now—or less—bitcoin is likely to emerge as the world’s only currency.
Everyone knows Dorsey, also the CEO of Square, is a raging bitcoin bull, but he’s taken things one step further in a Wednesday interview with The Times in his biggest endorsement yet.
“The world ultimately will have a single currency, the internet will have a single currency. I personally believe that it will be bitcoin,” Dorsey told The Times.
And while Dorsey says that bitcoin “does not have the capabilities right now to become an effective currency”, he defines “ultimately” as “probably over ten years, but it could go faster”.
Bitcoin may be struggling with scaling and approachability issues that are slowing it down, but “as more and more people have it, those things go away. There are newer technologies that build off of blockchain and make it more approachable”.
It’s not the first time Dorsey has endorsed bitcoin generously.
In an earlier interview with The Verge, he called the original cryptocurrency—and its underlying blockchain technology, the “next big unlock” for global finance. Related: Trump Hits China With $50 Billion In Tariffs
But before rushing out to buy bitcoin on the eve of its world domination tour, investors will be noting that Dorsey’s comments come amid a promotional tour of his own, for Square, Inc. (NYSE:SQ), which recently dropped hints that it may try to rival the biggest crypto exchanges on the market, like Coinbase and Kraken.
With talk on Wall Street already comparing Square to “Amazon in the early days,” Dorsey has every reason to endorse bitcoin with a renewed vigor.
Square is working to do just what Dorsey says bitcoin needs: make transactions cheaper and faster.
Last November, Square held trials allowing users to buy and sell bitcoin using the company’s Cash App, which already has 7 million users. Now, Square is offering the bitcoin service in Wyoming and eyeing licenses in other states, with New York on the top of its list.
Square is taking the mobile payments segment by storm—so far--so many will be forgiven for buying into the bitcoin endorsement.
By Michael Kern for Safehaven.com
More Top Reads From Safehaven.com:


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Recovered plastic prices have fallen sharply across the past two months, caused in part by the continued container blockage in China.
MRW/WRAP prices show the biggest drop in the price of mixed polymer bottles, which has fallen sharply since the end of July from a value range of £270-£310 per tonne down to £224-£231 per tonne over the past two months – a drop of between £50 and £80 per tonne.
Clear PET has dropped by £40 per tonne over the same period. Natural HDPE had fallen by £30 per tonne but seems to have recovered some of its value this week with a £20 increase.
MRW reported at the beginning of September that the southern port of Guangzhou, where plastic bottles are predominantly imported, was not accepting material, causing containers to pile up on the dockside at Hong Kong.
According to industry experts this situation has not changed and, due to other contributing market factors, another fall of £20-£30 a tonne could come about before the end of the year.
One trader said: “If anything the situation has become slightly worse because of the Chinese national holiday this week. Importers broke up from work on Friday, so there was reticence to place any new orders before the holiday period. There are reports that significant stocks of material are waiting to get through to China.
“But material has moved where there is a well-established connection between the importer and the end-user.”
The trader said when restrictions were first felt in August, it was believed to be in part a result of the country hosting a sporting event. “Market expectations were that when the event was over import taxes would decrease and exports would go through but it didn’t happen,” he said.
A recycler told MRW: “It’s still incredibly difficult to get material to China. Its block on importing from Hong Kong has caused oversupply in the plastics market and some grades that can only go for export have dropped sharply.”
But he said that the situation in China is only half the cause for prices to drop, with market nervousness stilting purchasing and new orders. “People are holding off buying to see where the market goes,” he said. “There is lower demand for plastics from China because its economy is slowing and it can’t sustain the huge growth it has seen over the past few years.
“Bottle producers are getting nervous and are enquiring about fixed-price contracts.”
Both experts agreed that plastic merchants and recyclers unable to sell to China will be looking to sell into the domestic market but with prices falling as they are, it could damage some businesses.
Another affect on plastic prices has been the fall in demand from the cotton industry. Cotton prices shot up to record levels this year as the floods in Pakistan destroyed crops and caused a shortage of material, driving clothing manufacturers to buy plastic bottles to make polyester as a cotton substitute. But as cotton prices return to normal trading prices, demand for plastic bottles has waned.
This week trade association PlasticsEurope reported a 6% increase in plastics production in 2010.


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Overwatch 2 has now released worldwide, and Blizzard's latest entry into the series has improved in all aspects compared to it's original release.
With Overwatch's Halloween event kicking off today, there's going to be some Twitch drops players will be able to obtain.
Here's how to snag them worldwide!
How To Claim Overwatch 2 Halloween Twitch Drops - Winston Skin and More
This promotion will include one of the best looking Halloween skins for Winston, in the Werewolf Winston legendary skin, amongst other cosmetics.
Blizzard has now outlined the details in order for players to obtain these skins, along with how long we'll have to watch Twitch channels.
It’s been nearly three weeks since Season One dropped, and we’ve welcomed over 20 million players to Overwatch 2 in the time between. This season has introduced new heroes, map, cosmetics, and we want to keep the fun going with Twitch drops throughout the rest of the season. We just completed our campaign for Kiriko drops, including a new legendary skin, and millions of drops have been given away to players worldwide. This response has been so huge that we are bringing in more drops for everyone to collect!
Starting tomorrow, October 25, 11:00 a.m. PST through to November 6, 11:00 a.m. PST, players will have the chance to collect the Werewolf spray and a legendary skin for Winston from the Halloween Terror collection. You’ll need to watch for two hours to get the Werewolf spray, and then another four hours (a total of six hours) to earn the Werewolf Winston legendary skin. We hope you have a howling good time as you wach your favorite creators take on the Bride of Junkenstein or continue to climb the ranks of Competitive Play!
To participate, you must link your Twitch account at account.battle.net/connections. If you have changed your password or made any changes to either account, you will want to relink your account. When you relink, there will be a 7-day cooldown before you can relink a new Twitch account. After you’ve claimed your rewards on Twitch, please make sure you’re logging into the region you’d like to receive the drop(s) on, as the first region you log into will be where we deliver your items. It can take up to 24 hours to receive your reward(s) in game after claiming. More information on earning and claiming Twitch Drops can be found here.
The first set of drops that offer the Werewolf Winston spray and legendary skin will run from October 25 at 11:00 a.m. PST - November 6 11:00 a.m. PST. The second set of drops offering the Reinhardt Mug Souvenir and Brigitte Kitten Weapon Charm will run from November 15 at 11:00 a.m. PST to November 30 at 11:00 a.m. PST.


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Social media marketing is widespread with the fast food brands. Chances are at some point this summer you came in contact with a fast food brand on social media.
Have you wondered how the fast food companies stack up in the world of social media? The “burger wars” used to be fought through traditional advertising on TV, the radio and in print, but this is no longer the case. Today, social media has given every consumer a voice, and fast food companies have had to keep up and make their mark. They have to be active in social media to have their voices heard, while also giving the general public reasons to talk about them.
To determine who won the social sprint this summer, the social media experts at Sysomos have put together their first Industry Insider report on the fast food industry. They combed through the social landscape from May 1 to July 31, 2012, covering the United States, United Kingdom and Canada to learn how the fast food industry fared. Using their social media monitoring and analytics software, they analyzed conversations around four top fast food brands: McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC and Taco Bell. Comparison’s were drawn against each other and against general social chatter about fast food as an industry.
This report will give you an inside look at the fast food industry in the social media arena.


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Windows 8 has had its detractors, but the sales figures show that many people are quickly moving to embrace it: Microsoft have announced at this year’s CES that the OS has now passed the 60 million sales mark only ten weeks since release.
At the show, Microsoft also announced that their new Windows store, which has been the subject of loud complaint from some in the gaming industry, has already passed the 100 million downloads mark. But are gamers really embracing it? The latest figures from December show that less than half-a-percent of Steam users have upgraded to Windows 8.
We recently completed a month of gaming with Windows 8 to see how it held up — check out our thoughts.


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If anyone remembers the heyday of Japanese gaming’s global domination, it’s Keiji Inafune. The man responsible for Mega Man, Dead Rising and Onimusha has been a champion in the marketplace since the NES days. He recently left Capcom to form his own indie games studio, Comcept, and his first creator-owned project, Mighty No. 9.
It’s a pretty familiar story; we’ve seen plenty of notable developers go this route in the West. But in Japan, Inafune is an anomaly.
And that might just be what’s wrong with Japanese gaming.
At a GDC panel last week dubbed “Meanwhile, in Japan,” Inafune was joined on stage by Mark MacDonald of Japanese localization company 8-4. The two explored the cultural differences that have limited Japan’s growth in the West, including their indie scene.
“The indie market in Japan exists in parallel with the doujin market,” writes Polygon’s Alexa Ray Corriea on her takeaways from the event, “an artistic sphere in which creators take already-owned IP and build fan works like comics and video games based on them.”
As you can probably gather, this “fan-service first” attitude makes marketing and selling the creations of such developers an unacceptable practice, relegating their wares to the internet equivalent of the back alley. “You just see them pouring all this love in,” MacDonald said. “You kind of think, why did they use those [trademarked] characters? Because they can never sell this game. And it’s such a high quality, well-crafted game.”
In an environment like this, indie game development must not be seen as the golden parachute to freedom that some Western developers treat it as. In fact, despite raising $3.8 million on Kickstarter for Mighty No. 9 – more than 4x what he was seeking – Inafune says that Kickstarter is still very much an unknown in Japan.
Mighty No. 9
Inafune’s success might be enough to change all of that. Mighty No. 9 could turn out to be Japan’s Double Fine Adventure moment, signaling to Japanese game creators that it’s ok to go it alone and seek out crowd-funded support. “Mighty No. 9 has really broken it open in terms of people hearing about it and mainstream outlets picking it up,” says MacDonald. “We’re just now starting to see that and I think we’re going to see more of it in the coming months and years, people in Japan just started to experiment with it.”
There are plenty of reasons that Japanese games have been struggling in the West over the last decade, and it would be crazy to pin it all on the rise of Western indie games – but it would be equally crazy to discount its influence. Major publishers and developers know that their best talent could set up shop on their own at any moment, and while the effect this has on Western game development is open to interpretation, there’s no question that it has had an effect.
Could an indie gaming revolution in Japan do the same?


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NEW YORK — Activist investor Carl Icahn made an unusual offer to buy Clorox Co., presenting himself almost as a disinterested bidder and encouraging the company to try to find a better offer.
The billionaire hedge fund manager sent a letter to Clorox CEO Don Knauss this week, offering to pay $76.50 per share in cash, according to a regulatory filing Friday.
That price is a 12 percent premium to Thursday's closing price of $68.43 per share. The stock leapt on Friday to trade closer to the offer price.
Icahn valued his offer at $12.6 billion. That appears to include $10.2 billion in cash, plus taking on debt and other costs.
Clorox, the California-based maker of Burt's Bees lip balm, Glad trash bags and Brita water filters, said its board would review the offer "in due course" and couldn't comment until then. Spokesman Dan Staublin said the board is "committed to acting in the best interests of our company and our shareholders."
Icahn is already Clorox's biggest shareholder, after spending nearly $800 million to buy a 9.4 percent stake in December. He has already made money on the investment: As of Thursday, shares had risen about 8 percent since his investment.
Icahn seemed more interested in drumming up other buyers than actually buying Clorox himself. In his letter, Icahn said that shareholders would benefit the most if Clorox were sold to another consumer products company that could take advantage of "significant inherent synergies." He suggested that Procter&Gamble Co., Unilever PLC, Colgate-Palmolive Co. and other rivals might be interested, and expressed confidence that Clorox would find "numerous superior bids" if it shopped itself around.
If no other bidders stepped forward, Icahn wrote, then "our fellow stockholders" should have the opportunity to vote on the Icahn bid.
Icahn is known for buying and shaking up the companies he purchases, with mixed success. His other holdings at the end of the first quarter included the drugmaker Biogen Idec Inc., movie studio Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., Motorola Solutions Inc. and power producer Dynegy Inc., according to a May 16 regulatory filing.
Icahn told Clorox that if it accepts the deal by July 29 and then he fails to close it, he will pay Clorox $100 million for its "time and effort." He also said he would not ask for a breakup fee if Clorox sold itself to another bidder.
Citigroup Inc. analyst Wendy Nicholson said Icahn appears to be offering a fair price.
She and Weeden&Co. analyst Javier Escalante said they thought it unlikely that any other consumer products companies would want to buy Clorox. It is already a well-run company, so it's not clear what a new management team could do, they said. More importantly, Clorox has failed to tap the fast-growing emerging markets as well as its rivals have, and it's unlikely that other companies would be interested in saddling themselves with more exposure to saturated U.S. markets.
Anyone who did buy Clorox would probably want to get rid of some of the auxiliary businesses, such as cat litter or charcoal, Escalante said.
Despite the rise in share price, Clorox has struggled, with year-over-year revenue declining for the past three quarters. Of 14 analysts surveyed by FactSet, only two listed it as a buy.
Shares rose $5.27, or 7.7 percent, to $73.70 in midday trading Friday.
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Huawei’s sub-brand Honor has launched Honor 9 smartphone in China last month. The phone has been doing tremendously well in the market with its Sea Blue, Amber Gold, and Seagull Gray colour variants. Now, the company has added yet another Midnight black color variant in the market. The new variant is priced at 2,999 Yuan. The phone will be available in 6GB RAM and 128GB of memory storage option.
There is no any specific date of the launch of this smartphone in other regions as of now. However, Honor will soon start selling this phone in other regions in the world by the end of the August month. The stunning Midnight Black color variant is now available on vMall in China and you will be getting the phone from July 18.
Talking about the specifications, the new Honor 9 smartphone sports a 5.15 Inch full HD 2.5D curved glass display with 1920 x 1080 pixels of screen resolution. The phone is powered by a 2.4GHz Octa-Core Kirin 960 processor with 4GB and 6GB RAM with 64GB and 128GB of memory storage variants. You can expand the memory storage by using an additional microSD card. The phone runs on Android 7.0 Nougat Operating System and has a 3,200 mAh of battery capacity.
Furthermore, the phone has a dual rear camera setup with 20 Megapixel and 12 Megapixel. The rear cameras feature phase detection autofocus, Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR, panorama, and a dual tone LED flash. While the front facing camera is of 8 Megapixel for selfies and video calling. The phone also features a Fingerprint Scanner at the front side which is embedded on the home button. Connectivity options like Hybrid Dual SIM tray, 4G LTE with VoLTE, WiFi , Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, 3.5mm headphone jack and NFC are also available on the device.


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Jayendra Naidoo is latest Steinhoff director to resign
Jayendra Naidoo is the latest Steinhoff International director to resign with immediate effect, the furniture retailer announced on Thursday morning.
Steinhoff said in a statement that the vacancy Naidoo would leave in its supervisory board would be filled by a new independent director to be appointed in due course.
Naidoo would remain chairman of Steinhoff Africa Retail (Star), the South African retailers in the Steinhoff group that were unbundled into a separate JSE-listing in September.
"I am looking forward to focus even more energy on the Star business. My goal continues to be to work with my fellow board members and our various stakeholders to ensure that Star continues to develop as an exceptional business, delivering value to the African consumer and all other stakeholders," Naidoo said the statement.
The reshuffles of Steinhoff’s supervisory and management boards since Markus Jooste resigned as CEO on December 5 amid an accounting scandal included Christ Wiese resigning as chairman on December 15.
Ben la Grange resigned as Star CEO the day after Jooste’s resignation to focus on his other job as chief financial officer of the parent group, but was replaced by Philip Dieperink on January 4.
Bank of America’s quarterly results released on Wednesday included a write-off of $292m attributed to a "a single-name non-US commercial", which is believed to be Steinhoff.
Coming results from JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup are expected to show similar write-offs on their loans to Steinhoff.


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One of every five beauty purchases online is made via the Amazon marketplace, according to a new report.
A new study from DoubleClick Inc. says catalogers had e-mail click-through rates of 9.5%.
DoubleClick Inc.’s E-mail Marketing Trend Report, released on a quarterly basis, indicates that e-mails from catalogers and retailers have the highest click-through rates compared to other industries, such as hospitality. The report also shows that the best day to receive high click-through rates on e-mail offers differs for publishers and marketers, with consumers responding to publisher e-mails on weekends and to marketers between Tuesday and Thursday.
Within the marketer segment, catalogers had the highest e-mail click-through rate at 9.5%, with retailers tallying 9.1%. The hospitality industry click-throughs were only 4.4%. DoubleClick says the figures indicate that catalogers and retailers are successfully integrating e-mail marketing into traditional direct marketing campaigns and effectively using e-mail to communicate with customers.
The data for all the industries selected were as follows:


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September 29, 2014 - Industry News
Swift Transportation has affirmed earlier expectations for a third-quarter performance of 33 cents to 37 cents adjusted earnings per share, saying its driver wage increase is having desired results.
Tags: Fleets, Earnings, Swift Transportation, Driver Pay, Fleet Utilization
September 25, 2014 - Industry News
Travis E. Honaker received a sentence from a federal judge in Missouri of three years and one month in federal prison without parole and was ordered to pay $945,200 in restitution earlier this month.
Tags: Missouri, Crime & Fraud, Fleets, Prime Inc.
September 24, 2014 - Industry News
The ATA announced the panels and speakers for the 2014 Management Conference and Exhibition in San Diego, Calif. on Oct. 4-7.
Tags: Conference, ATA, Fleets
Operating costs for trucking companies are on the rise again after falling slightly in 2012, according to a new study by ATRI, lead by significant increases in equipment and labor costs.
Tags: Operating Costs, American Transportation Research Institute, ATRI, Fleets, Driver Pay
The former comptroller for a Missouri carrier has been sentenced after being convicted for stealing $4.9 million from his employer.
Tags: FBI, Theft, Missouri, Crime & Fraud, Fleets, Fraud, Crime
September 23, 2014 - Industry News
Michael K. Borrows is the new CFO of USA Truck, replacing Clifton R. Beckham, who previously announced his resignation as executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Tags: Fleets, People, USA Truck, Quality Distribution
September 18, 2014 - Industry News
The American Transportation Research Institute has added a compendium of sustainable freight practices on its website.
Tags: Sustainability, ATRI, Fleets, Aerodynamics
September 17, 2014 - Industry News
YRC Freight CEO James Welch said while business in the first half of the year kept pace with its forecast, improvements are taking longer than originally anticipated at the national less-than-truckload carrier.
Tags: Fleets, Earnings, YRC Worldwide, LTL
Quality said it completed testing of the service with its western rail partner earlier in the current quarter and has begun initial shipments with some of its largest customers.
Tags: Drivers, Driver Shortage, Intermodal, Fleets, Quality Distribution, Quality Carriers
September 15, 2014 - Industry News
The 55-49 decision makes this the first time employees at what is one of the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carriers have voted to be represented by the union.
Tags: Drivers, Con-way Freight, Fleets, Teamsters, Labor Unions
In its inaugural trucking industry benchmarking survey, Katz, Sapper & Miller and McLeod Software released key findings about large, medium and small truckload carriers.
Tags: Operating Costs, Survey, Fleets, McLeod Software, Small Fleets, KSM, Large Fleets
PSP Investments, along with GIC and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan will invest a total of $700 million.
Tags: Fleets, XPO Logistics
The parent company to trucking operations including Covenant Transport and others has issued expectations for its upcoming third quarter financial results.
Tags: Covenant Transport, Fleets, Earnings, Covenant Transportation Group
September 10, 2014 - Industry News
NFI announced that it has broken ground on a new build-to-suit distribution center in New Jersey for retailer Five Below.
Tags: NFI, Construction, Distribution Centers, Fleets
September 9, 2014 - Industry News
Manitoulin Transport has announced a deal to buy the less-than-truckload and van freight business of fellow Canada-based Westcan Freight Systems.
Tags: Canada, Fleets, Manitoulin
UPDATED -- Due to litigation and upcoming settlements, one trucking operation is abandoning its owner-operator business model in California.
Tags: Drivers, California, Intermodal, Fleets, Ports, Owner-Operators, Litigation, Hub Group
September 5, 2014 - Industry News
Charter Communications has ordered more than 800 low-roof, regular-wheelbase 2015 Ford Transit vans for its technicians in 29 states, the automaker has announced.
Tags: Cargo Vans, Ford, Ford Transit, Full-Size Vans, Charter Communications, Fleets, Private Fleets
September 4, 2014 - Industry News
ASF Intermodal announced that it has exceeded 300 trucks on the road which it is calling a significant milestone in the intermodal drayage industry.
Tags: Intermodal, Fleets, ASF Intermodal
The less-than-truckload carrier ABF Freight saw its August billed revenue per day increase by approximately 10% above last year's level, according to a disclosure it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Tags: Fleets, Freight, Tonnage, ABF, Saia
September 3, 2014 - Industry News
Central Freight lines has purchased the LTL assets of Georgia based company Drug Transport, Inc. expanding its business into the state.
Tags: Georgia, LTL, Central Freight Lines, Mergers & Acquisitions, Fleets
Bulk chemical hauler Quality Carriers Inc. has expanded into the Charleston, South Carolina market in partnership with its sister company Boasso America Corporation.
Tags: Fleets, Quality Distribution, Quality Carriers, Boasso America
The North Carolina-based operation also affirmed its previously announced expectations for growth in its LTL revenue per hundredweight.
Tags: Old Dominion Freight Line, Fleets, Freight, Earnings
September 2, 2014 - Industry News
Celadon Trucking Services has ordered tractors for its new flatbed fleet which it acquired earlier this summer.
Tags: Celadon Trucking Services, Flatbeds, Fleets, Owner-Operators, Indiana
August 27, 2014 - Industry News
Ruan Transportation Management Systems has announced changes to key leadership positions within the company.
Tags: Ruan, People, Fleets
Supply chain management company, CEVA Logistics, said Tuesday it will expand its presence in the San Diego market with a new freight management and logistics facility totaling 125,000 square feet and 23 dock doors.
Tags: California, CEVA Logistics, Fleets, Logistics
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Amby Uneze in Owerri
Against the backdrop of the directive by the federal government that the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) develop models for identifying herbal medicines active against COVID-19, the STK Biotech has thrown her weight through her traditional, complimentary, alternative and orthodox medicine (supplement) that can seamlessly be deployed side by side to address chronic diseases.
STK Biotech Limited has the primary focus of impacting on the lives of the populace by translating research findings to products that addresses non communicable diseases as well as infectious and making them affordable available to all.
In a letter addressed to the Director General of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Abuja, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu dated March 17, 2020, the Chief Executive Officer of STK Biotech, Engr. Stanley Ukaga said the firm aims to provide science-based evidence for medically important phyto-products readily and locally sourced from the communities, while at the same time make available training, laboratory production space and expertise for capacity development of researchers based in tertiary and other institutions.
He told the NCDC DG that “we are geared towards producing affordable nature driven supplements developed solely from locally available bio-resources backed up with extensive credible research as well as research publications, having developed and licensed six products as certified by NAFDAC.
“Some of which are of particular interest are: STK Phytoimmune which is indicated as immune support for HIV/AIDS patients on antiretroviral therapies that enhances the increase in CD4 counts and significantly reduces the viremia and cleanses the liver.
“This is evident in the stabilisation of the liver enzyme markers: SGOT, SGPT etc. We do know that the toxic side effects of synthetic antiretroviral therapies are felt at the level of the liver and kidneys.
“Phytoimmune is a great complement to the antiretroviral drugs enhancing and prolonging lives. Its major constituent is naturally extracted beta glucans with immune stimulatory activities.
“Another product is STK Hepatozone and STK Boosters that are antiviral and immune boosting nutraceuticals extracted organically from locally consumed mushrooms and vegetables.
“They are good support for management of hepatitis and other viral infections such as viral hemorrhagic fevers, respectively.”
Ukaga pointed out that the letter to the NCDC DG indicated “offering our assistance both in terms of products and our research head, Prof Kenneth Yongabi to assist in treating the patients infected with this Covid-19.
“We do not claim to have any cure but we do know that if people’s immune systems are boosted that their bodies are then better equipped to fight off any infection.
“Also if they do fall ill and are infected that our supplements especially the Phytoimmune has shown great promise in managing the patients back to full health especially in early detection and treatment”, he stated.
Earlier this year, the DG, NIPRD, Abuja, Dr. Obi Adigwe visited STK Biotech facility at Umualum, Uratta in Oweeri, Imo State capital where he expressed federal government’s interest in promoting and improving herbal medicine for the cure of ailments, even as the Institute commended the management of STK Biotech Limited for producing world-class standard herbal supplement from plants for the treatment of diseases.
Adigwe, who made the observation during a facility tour stated that the research for the production of the medicines met international standard more especially as the company sourced their raw materials locally and within the nearby West African sub-region.


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Apple announced a mess of stuff yesterday but why talk about that when we can talk about the problems with announcements they haven’t made yet?
Writing for the lovely people and scarab beetles and ancient, unspoken terrors over at Business Insider, Jim Edwards describes “Apple’s ‘$1,000 iPhone’ problem.” (Tip o’ the antlers to Tibor Csapo.)
Would you believe it’s two words, rhymes with “brisket fair”? Once again Apple is pricing iPhones to gain profit share instead of market share. Why is this surprising after all these years? Serial obtuseness, probably. That seems like the only logical answer.
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers analyst Mary Meeker delivered her legendary annual “state of the internet” report last week, and this chart within it describes Apple’s “$US1,000 iPhone” problem perfectly.
You might be wondering what Edwards is talking about on any number of levels here. You might also be wondering what poor life choices led us to reading this article. These are both valid questions. We’re only going to tackle the first one, though. Perhaps consult with your local clergy or therapist on the second. Suffice it to say, though, you should have gone to the brisket fair instead.
Let’s start at the beginning. Apple is rumored to be shipping an iPhone 8 this year, a next-generation phone packed with more updates than usual. Somehow this phone, which normally wouldn’t ship until 2018, will be “late” according to pundits because it will not ship in the September/October timeframe and they don’t understand that there are other months in the year.
Because it will be so advanced, it will reportedly come at an advanced price: $1,000. None of this is unreasonable until you realize that this is the only phone Apple will be shipping this year.
Oh, wait, that’s not true. Although you wouldn’t really know that from reading Business Insider since this piece never mentions the iPhone 7s which will, almost certainly, ship exactly when you’d expect. Instead the piece laments the oh-so-expensive iPhone 8.
…the entire market has stopped growing. So Apple must either take a greater share of the market—which it has never done before—or expand the market as a whole.
Sure, if market share is what you want. But if you’d rather have revenue and profit share, you can grow those by selling some of your customers an even more expensive phone. Business Insider, however, is unaware of these shares of which we speak. Which makes you wonder what business it is they’re inside of.
Can Apple take a greater share of the market when it wants $US1,000 for a phone?
Probably not much, no!
[sound of cash registers ringing furiously]
As my colleague Rob Price reported, Apple has launched an ad campaign to persuade Android users to drop the world’s favorite operating system.
There are undoubtedly many who prefer Android, but when its key feature is running on really cheap phones, calling it “the world’s favorite operating system” is a little like calling water the world’s favorite beverage.
But “kinda true and kinda not true” is basically Business Insider’s beat.


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Plans to create a cinema, shops and a hotel, as well as 550 homes on the outskirts of Aberdeen, have been recommended for approval.
Councillors on the local authority’s Formartine area committee have been asked to give their views on the plans for Blackdog with the intention of approving the application at a meeting involving all Aberdeenshire councillors.
And the Evening Express can exclusively reveal new images showing how the proposed town centre and food hall could look if the proposals win approval.
Developers Ashfield Land and housebuilder Kirkwood Homes submitted the two planning applications in March last year.
The first set of plans are for a new town centre which would include a cinema, hotel, shops and a regional food hall.
Of the 550 homes, 150 would be affordable to accommodate around 2,100 new residents.
If successful, the development would create 1,200 jobs during construction and 1,500 full-time jobs in the longer term when it’s completed.
A report by director of infrastructure services Stephen Archer – to be considered by councillors on Tuesday – said: “The proposed development represents a departure from the development plan.
“Justification has been provided for a departure on the grounds that the proposed development meets the aims, objectives and vision of the approved masterplan and while the scale and mix of the proposal exceeds the development anticipated in the masterplan, it is considered that the development will provide a viable, deliverable and sustainable development within the Energetica Corridor.”
A retail impact assessment showed the proposals would have an impact on nearby areas including Ellon.
Mr Archer added: “The report highlighted that the scale of retail currently proposed was close to the limit that would be acceptable in terms of protecting the vitality and viability of Ellon town centre.
“In terms of impacts on Fraserburgh and Peterhead town centres, these were also considered to be relatively high.
“However, such impacts were predicted to be as a result from the regional food hall element. In contrast, comparison goods impacts are minimal.
“Impacts on Inverurie town centre are low for all goods.”
Steven McGarva, of Ashfield Land, said: “Our plans for Blackdog will deliver substantial benefits for people living in Aberdeenshire and beyond.
“I would like to thank everyone who took part in the planning process.
“We’ve listened and responded by implementing a number of changes to the configuration of the development, which I’m confident will offer a wide range of opportunities for local people.”
Philip Mann, chairman of Blackdog Resident’s Association, added: “Local people have been waiting a long time on these plans, which will provide a welcome boost to the village and help Blackdog grow to its full potential, creating new jobs.
“The building of new homes, and especially the town centre, with retail and leisure facilities is vital to the growth of the village.
“We are hopeful the applications will be approved so the plans can finally be turned into a reality.”


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Social media has become a central part of digital marketing, and billions of people worldwide now use social platforms on a daily basis. Collectively, the major social media platforms are responsible for several billion active users each month, and the number of messages being sent via all major social media channels is almost incalculable.
Thus, companies in a wide variety of industries are now aware that they need to be active on multiple social channels, and this has played a significant part in the growth of this phenomenon in the last few years.
Unquestionably, the biggest social media platform in the world remains Facebook, while Twitter also retains a massive popularity. LinkedIn has done a very good job in recent years of branding itself as a business-focused social media channel, while the popularity of Instagram has particularly intensified in the last twelve months.
But another social media platform which is also making exponential gains recently is Snapchat. This photo-oriented social media site should be of particular interest to digital marketers given its mobile nature. The importance of reaching mobile users has been emphasised numerous times in previous Digital Tourism Think Tank articles, but in particular there is now strong evidence available which suggests that travellers are becoming more reliant on mobile technology before, during and after their journeys.
Snapchat it still nowhere near the size of the market-leading Facebook, but its user base and reach is growing quite rapidly. The number of ‘snaps’ posted on Snapchat on a daily basis has now reached 400 million, indicating that this is becoming a commonly utilised site. In some localities the platform has had a particularly significant market penetration; for example, in Norway 50% of mobile users are already using Snapchat on a regular basis.
But perhaps the two most significant aspects of Snapchat relate to demographics. Firstly, the site has been associated with a particularly young audience. And, secondly, the majority of Snapchat users are female, with the social media platform stating that 70% of its current 60 million users are female.
Certainly Snapchat offers significant marketing potential, but at the time of writing marketers are still attempting to deduce how to use this platform most effectively. However, some companies are already taking the plunge and attempting to advertise their wares via this new and exciting social platform.
Marriott International Campaign
One such example is the hotel chain Marriott International, which is currently introducing a branded Snapchat programming campaign. The Marriott obviously has a prominent name worldwide, turning over in excess of $12 billion per annum, and it has now also become the first hospitality brand to use Snapchat as the centrepiece of advertising campaign.
The Marriott campaign began on 18th December last year, and will last until nearly the end of February. In order to ensure the maximum impact from this revolutionary campaign, the Marriott chain has partnered with several social media influencers. Those participating in the campaign include Shaun McBride, popular Vine contributor Brittany Furlan, television show creator Casey Neistat and British filmmaker and personality Louis Cole.
It is notable that the Marriott campaign is particularly focused at younger travellers, and in order to entice this demographic effectively, four chosen social media influences have been dispatched to various key Marriott properties worldwide, absorbing itinerary suggestions from fans and documenting their journeys on Snapchat.
In explaining their decision to go with Snapchat, the Marriott have emphasised that they reviewed this social media application as an excellent way to reach a younger audience. The application also presents an excellent opportunity to create customised content for mobile marketing.
By launching this Snapchat campaign, Marriott International is hoping to create an indelible impression on the next-generation of young travellers and tourists. Creating a positive image of a brand with people at an early age can pay off handsomely at a later date.
Other companies such as Macy's have dabbled in Snapchat to use sponsored advertisements, but the Marriott campaign is unique as it is an attempt to create original content and basic campaigns based on feedback from followers. A particular target of the campaign is this so-called ‘Millennial’ group.
The Brand Community
Another important aspect to understand regarding this campaign is that it is an attempt to create a brand community. Interaction is an increasingly important part of contemporary digital marketing, and one which social media is perfectly aligned with. Once the Snapchat campaign has been cemented, there is also the possibility of the Marriott International cross-posting popular images and videos other social media platforms.
Snapchat may not yet have the sort of penetration that Facebook in particular offers, but this Marriott International campaign does illustrate that it can be used to target very specific demographics. Being a first adopter and an innovator also provides upside for a brand, and although the direct payoff from a Snapchat campaign may be relatively small in the short-term, becoming a pioneer can have longer-term advantages.
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24 Sep According to Marc Geiger, the Covid-19 will give way to the "Roaring (20)20s".
A new golden age for the performing arts
Marc Geiger announces a new golden age for live music on the first day of the Interactive Festival Forum.
Marc Geiger predicted a boom in the performing arts once the threat of Covid-19 has receded, saying that the current "economy of claustrophobia" will give way to a second "crazy decade" characterised by high consumer confidence and economic growth.
Speaking at the iFF conference, the former WME world music director compared the current coronavirus pandemic to the Spanish flu, which swept the world from 1918 to 1920. Years when "everyone was locked in their homes," he said, "created a joyous period called the Roaring Twenties, and I think 2022" - his estimate of when the current pandemic will subside - "will give way to a second roaring decade 100 years later. A statement that ended the first day of the iFF on an optimistic note. They also discussed the incredible growth of music streaming and the predictions of Lisa Yang, who was conducting the interview, about the recovery of the concert industry after the coronavirus outbreak.
Ms Yang said the global industry has lost about 75% of its value this year, but by 2021 it will return to about 65% of its pre-crisis level. The recovery is likely to be complete by 2022, she added. In the medium term, Ms. Yang continued, the outlook is uncertain. "It is going to be difficult," she said. "There are so many external factors that no one can control. But from a structural point of view, I think the industry is going to recover - it's not a question of if, but when.
"ALL THOSE WHO ARE SUFFERING AT THE MOMENT: IF YOU CAN HOLD OUT, THE HARVEST WILL BE BUMPER HARVEST"
Geiger compared the festival's activity to a field of crops ("I always make analogies," he said). In 2022 - after two disrupted festival seasons - "everyone will be screaming to get out" of their homes, he said, so those who are able to survive until then will have a "bumper crop" in renewed soil.
It calls on those who can do so to put funding in place to ensure that they will be able to capitalize when social distancing is a distant memory. "All those who are suffering at the moment, if you can hold out - whether it is through financing, debt, equity - the harvest will be bumper crops," he said. "Find a way to hold on until the industry rebounds.
"The market is going to pick up at a very, very fast pace." Geiger added, "and ... when he starts up again, the rate of return will be enormous. »
"We're going to see more and more sold-out concerts, and huge consumer interest. It will be one of the few times in history when the customer will buy a beer or a hot dog and feel good waiting in line! And this beer will never taste better".
"TELL YOUR AUDIENCE THAT YOU WON'T COME BACK UNTIL YOU CAN ENSURE THEIR SAFETY AND PROVIDE THEM WITH THE ULTIMATE FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE."
Geiger ran out of time for questions from the audience, but he kindly answered some of them after the session...
You talked about "When it comes back, it's going to come back big" and "a bumper crop". What advice would you give to festival organizers for the next 12 months and to prepare for the Roaring 20's?
"Produce a virtual festival in 2021. Tell your audience that you won't come back until you can ensure their safety and provide them with the ultimate festival experience. If you don't already have one, develop a secondary show strategy. Talk to sponsors and take your home audience seriously. Raise your ticket prices!!! »
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