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Two new iPhone models -- including a lower-priced smartphone similar to the iPhone 3GS – are expected to be introduced at Apple's fall media conference next month, the investment firm Jefferies said Friday. The firm's analysts believe the event tentatively set for Oct. 4 also will "focus on iOS 5 and its cloud-service capabilities."
Among other things, Jefferies expects Apple's new flagship model -- "which could be called the '4S', as Apple appears to have vacillated on the name" -- will sport a higher-resolution camera, a slightly larger screen and have a slimmer profile.
"We also expect the announcement of a lower-priced iPhone that will basically be a lower-cost 3GS," the financial firm's analysts wrote in an investor note.
Rival investment firm Piper Jaffray is predicting that Apple's iPhone unit shipments will grow 81 percent this year in comparison with the iconic device maker's 2010 iPhone sales.
"In the second half of calendar year 2011 specifically, we are modeling for 55 percent year-over-year growth," said Piper Jaffray analyst Andrew Murphy. "[This] factors in an iPhone launch in the second half of 2011 with at least one, and at most two new models."
T-Mobile Deal in Doubt
Apple's iPhone refresh appears to be well positioned to attract the attention of consumers going into this year's holiday shopping season. In the United States, Jefferies expects multiple wireless carriers -- including Sprint -- will begin selling the new iPhone in mid-October, though T-Mobile may not be one of them.
"We had believed that T-Mobile (more than 34 million subscribers) would also carry the iPhone 5 [in the fourth quarter]," Jefferies' analysts wrote. "But now [we] believe this could be delayed, possibly due to the pending AT&T acquisition."
With many mature market economies currently in a tailspin, it remains to be seen whether Apple will be able to handily beat Wall Street's iPhone unit-sales expectations for the latter half of this year. Still, Apple will have plenty of opportunities to grow iPhone sales in largely untapped emerging markets.
"We expect an iPhone launch at China Telecom (more than 108 million subscribers) in [the first quarter of 2012]," Jefferies' analysts wrote.
Chip Patent Dispute
Recent media reports citing sources at companies participating in the iPhone's supply chain suggest that Apple's new flagship model will integrate a dual mode GSM/CDMA baseband chipset from Qualcomm and an 8-megapixel rear camera. What's more, Jefferies said it expects Apple's new flagship iPhone model to feature the same A5 chip found in the iPad 2.
On Thursday, VIA Technologies filed a lawsuit against Apple claiming that the microprocessors deployed in Apple's smartphones, tablet computers, portable media players and other computing devices infringe on two of the chipmaker's patents.
"VIA has built up an extensive IP portfolio consisting of over 5,000 patents as a result of significant investments in world-class technology research and development," said VIA Technologies CEO Wenchi Chen.
"We are determined to protect our interests and the interests of our stockholders when our patents are infringed upon," Chen said.
The patents at issue reportedly cover microprocessor functionality featured in Apple iPhone, iPad, iPod and Apple TV devices. The disputed technologies include the method and apparatus for double-operand load as well as the instruction set for bi-directional conversion and transfer of integer and floating point data, VIA said.


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Holiday as close to Christmas as possible
Although Christmas is arguably the pinnacle of the festive season, the big day and those surrounding aren’t necessarily the most popular.
Ms Jivraj-Stevenson said: “At Point A Hotels, we’re seeing occupancy rates drop-off significantly between December 20 and December 27 as people head home for the Christmas week.
“What this means is the closer your break is to Christmas Day the cheaper it can get… before demand shoots back up at the end of the month for New Year celebrations.
“Ideally, you want to find that sweet spot in the few days before Christmas.”
This doesn’t necessarily mean being away from home on Christmas Day itself, however.
Ms Jivraj-Stevenson explained: “A five-night stay beginning on Monday, December 20 and ending on Christmas Eve is a smart way of avoiding the pre-Christmas rush, which inevitably sees prices increase across the board: From hotel prices to tourist attraction admissions.”

domain: news


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The electric-car maker is raising a large amount of money ahead of its announcement regarding the construction and location of its massive lithium-ion battery plant.
A recent campaign to increase awareness of the most common form of dementia put people in photos of fake events, possibly giving them a momentary sense of what the disease might feel like.
200 employees will help build a machine that will be the size of a semi trailer and will be able to perform more than 60 trillion operations in one second.
The send-it-and-forget-it mobile app, reportedly on the verge of closing a funding round at a $500M valuation, won't be disappearing anytime soon.
The online retail giant may increase the Prime membership fee for its US customers by as much as $40 due to increasing shipping costs.
The Pebble smartwatch has evolved from Kickstarter darling to retail success despite a somewhat homely appearance. This is the story of how the company's next watch, the $250 Steel, came to be.
The HiFi-M8 is the best sounding all-in-one portable digital converter/headphone amp the Audiophiliac has ever tested.
Edward Snowden used a common Web crawler program to scrape the NSA's systems and grab secret documents, unnamed officials tell The New York Times.
In this edition of Ask Maggie, CNET's Marguerite Reardon discusses AT&T's new 61 cent wireless fee and explains how carriers can raise prices even when you're under contract.
Site outage usually portends a new product release, but with iPhone 5 released and iPad Mini unannounced, mystery abounds.


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The 2017 E-Class will carry autonomous technologies not seen before in a production car.
Mercedes is currently developing the successor to the E-Class (codename - Mercedes W213) that is expected to make its debut at next year’s North American International Auto Show 2016 in January.
The interior of the sedan has been spied for the first time courtesy of Motor.es
The car will be based on the MRA platform and therefore is expected to be lighter and more agile than the current generation. The MRA architecture is aluminium intensive and can be configured with different powertrains owing to its modular nature. The new E-Class is expected to carry autonomous technologies that have not yet been seen in a production car.
The interior shots show that the sedan has been inspired heavily from the S-Class, which sports an all-digital instrument cluster. In the test mule it can be seen that there are also analog displays that are mixed with digital readouts. The tachometer and speedometer are analog units and the familiar COMAND infotainment system is seen displayed on top of the center console. The paucity of buttons inside the cabin is noteworthy and points to a clutter free and clean layout.
It has been reported that the current V6 and V8 engines are likely to be replaced by inline-six units. Base models, as currently, will get four cylinder engines that are likely to be paired to the Mercedes’ 9-speed automatic transmission. In all likelihood an AMG variant will be offered in 2017 with a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 producing around 600 bhp.


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Litigation is in the air in the UK after regulator Ofcom published details of how the country will sell off 4G spectrum.
The regulator promises to sell off 250-MHz of spectrum in the 800-MHz and 2.6-GHz bands, with initial applications due by end-2012 set to pave the way for a full-blown auction early 2013. Ofcom is leaving spectrum available to a fourth national wholesaler, and will require that one of the 800-MHz lots be used to offer mobile broadband to 98% of the population within four years.
Ed Richards, Ofcom chief executive, says the auction terms are designed to “deliver the maximum possible benefit to consumers and citizens,” in most homes around the UK. Ofcom predicts carriers will be awarded licenses by mid-2013, and begin consumer services by the year end.
However, that decision leaves the UK lagging behind other global markets in terms of 4G deployment, argues Thomas Wehmeier, principal analyst with Informa Telecoms & Media. He estimates 4G commercialization in the UK will be around four years behind other leading nations – the “equivalent of light years in the fast paced mobile market.”
Wehmeier notes 4G penetration in South Korea already stands at 17%, and predicts the figure will hit around 50% “by the time the UK takes its first baby steps forward in 2013.”
Perhaps as a result of that perceived delay, Ofcom is already braced for legal retribution. Richards told the Guardian newspaper the regulator expects litigation by mobile carriers, however the same report reveals the UK’s three leading cellcos have welcomed the regulator’s decision, even if one operator likened the process of reading through the auction terms to playing “four dimensional chess.”
The Guardian also speculates the UK’s 4G auction will raise less than the previous sale of 3G spectrum in the market, which added £22.5 billion (€28.7 billion) to the country’s coffers. This time round, the figure is likely to be closer to £4 billion, the Telegraph states. The newspaper’s report also suggests Richards’ talk of litigation is something of a shot across the bows of mobile operators, pointing out that any challenge will further delay the 4G auction process.


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Ephesoft, mailroom automation solutions provider, has announced a series of Web Service APIs. The new APIs will expand accessibility of the intelligent document capture capability Ephesoft already offers. The API enables users to implement Intelligent Document Recognition or customer Document Classification and Extraction solutions into existing business processes and workflows.
Google has released the final developer preview of Android 8.1 Oreo. In this build, the Neural Networks API is now active to boost on-device machine learning. Android 8.1 also unlocks the Pixel Visual Core chip in Google's Pixel smartphones, which developers can target with the Android Camera API.


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Canon once again has released the Instant Rebate Program.
Canon EOS Digital Rebel
Canon EOS Digital
Some times things do not go as planned. Cameras now a days are computers that happen to take pictures. So errors can occur. Canon wrote a great article about the different codes a camera can throw. Here is the link! Canons website , when you dig beyond just the gear, they have articles about how to make better pictures. Articles as specific as making better pics……


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Sen. King, Other Lawmakers Want Safe Importation of Meds
Maine Sen. Angus King is joining a group of legislators who want to allow safe importation of prescription drugs into the U.S.
King, an independent, is helping introduce a bill designed to lower the cost of the drugs. He says the legislation comes at a time when the same medications, manufactured by the same companies, are available for lower prices in other countries than America.
King says Americans spent $1,112 per person on prescription drugs in 2014. He says Canadians spent $772 and residents of Denmark spent $325.
The legislation would make way for regulations that would allow wholesalers, pharmacies and residents to import some prescription drugs from Canadian sellers. In two years, it would give the Secretary of Health and Human Services authority to allow importation from other countries. —PORTLAND, Maine (AP)


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- Bengaluru-based B2B trade platform startups Udaan raised $300M at a valuation of over $2.2 billion in series D funding round led by clutch of investors including Altimeter Capital and Footpath Ventures.
- Now Udaan becomes India’s youngest Unicorn Company.
- Earlier in September 2018 Startup Udaan raised $225M led by DST Global and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
- Udaan has raised a total of $681.3M funding over 7 rounds from total 9 investors.
- Altimeter Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners are the most recent investors.
- Startup Udaan founded in 2016 by former Flipkart employees Amod Malviya, Sujeet kumar and Vaibhav Gupta.
Udaan is a network-centric B2B trade platform, created particularly for small & medium enterprises in India.
It induces traders, wholesalers, retailers, and manufacturers in India on to a single platform. Udaan brings to its users the power of technology to scale & nurture their business.
Company is claiming that 20,000 sellers, 10 lakh retailers and 500+ Brands are selling over 15 lakh products.
Top brands like Hp, Karbonn, SanDisk, Boat, F&D using Udaan B2B platform.


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The so-called 'Queen of Shops,' Mary Portas, will be back in Loughborough later to host a business advice day.
Last year the town was one of 27 in the country to receive one hundred thousand pounds from the Portas Pilot Scheme, designed to help struggling high streets.
More top news
Easter warnings about the dangers of feeding chocolate meant for humans to dogs.
Researchers at the University of Nottingham say many brands of pet food contain meat not listed in ingredients.
Scattered showers, becoming more widespread.


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BMW announced that the new generation M5 has always xDrive all-wheel drive. According to BMW, the new drive system combines the benefits of the four- and rear wheel drive. BMW promises that the new M5 has the precision and agility of a rear-wheel drive, if desired. The xDrive button in the car you as a driver because choosing only rear-wheel drive. And if you also turn off all traction systems, then you old-fashioned instincts with the M5.
The advantages of 4WD are evident: more grip in extreme situations. That is to say, the case of very sporty driving (for example, on the track) or on a slippery road surface. The (standard 4WD mode, the system sends all power to the rear wheels. Only after that can not handle the torque, the front wheels are fetched.
The new BMW M5, which will be unveiled later this year, gets an upgraded version of the 4.4 V8 engine. That is in turn coupled to an eight-speed automatic transmission. The capacity and performance is still unknown.


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The approval from the country’s antitrust regulator, which is believed to have come in earlier this week, will allow Agarwal to facilitate an ambitious and unprecedented transaction through a Cayman-registered entity, RA Hospitality.
It will see the 26-year-old ramp up his shareholding in the firm he founded in 2013 to an estimated 30%.
Agarwal confirmed receiving the CCI approval and said, “I am thankful to the CCI and all our investors and shareholders for supporting me. The company will get an additional primary infusion of approximately $1.5 billion to support our mission. This will be utilized to maintain our leadership position in India and China, strengthen our footprint in Southeast Asia, Middle East, growing our business in Europe and the US while creating a niche for our vacation homes business globally."
ET was the first to report on July 8 about Agarwal’s plan to buy back shares by picking up stake from existing investors.
Agarwal will be financing the buyback through debt from Japanese banks Nomura and Mizuho. The deal has set a new valuation benchmark of $10 billion for Oyo.
As part of the transaction, two of Oyo’s early investors — venture funds Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital — will rake in the richest ever cashout in the country’s startup ecosystem so far.
Lightspeed, which manages capital of about $310 million across its two country-specific funds in Asia’s third-largest economy, is set to earn an estimated $1 billion from the sale of half of its current 13.4% stake in Oyo, a company it first invested in 2014.
In all, Lightspeed has invested about $20 million into the six-year-old company, earning 50X returns on its five-year-old investment.
Separately, Sequoia Capital, which manages assets of about $3.9 billion in the country and holds a 10.24% stake in Oyo, will take in about $500 million from the partial stake sale, having put in about $27 million into the company across rounds. It also first partnered with the SoftBank-backed hospitality chain in 2014.
Agarwal, along with the management, will now be the second-largest shareholder after SoftBank Vision Fund, which owns almost 48% of the company.
However, as per clauses drawn up by Oyo, the Japanese group cannot increase its ownership beyond 49.9% without receiving approvals from Agarwal, Sequoia, Lightspeed and Greenoaks Capital.
SoftBank had bought back some shares from Greenoaks as part of a secondary transaction a few months ago, sources in the know had told ET.
All told, Oyo has raised $1.6 billion in equity funding till date, reaching a valuation of $4.5-$5 billion in its last funding round. Airbnb, Grab Holdings and Didi Chuxing are among its other investors.
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Most smartphone buyers tend to stick to platforms they are familiar with. However, new data from Merrill Lynch shows that a large percentage of Android users plan to switch to the iPhone the next time they buy a phone. Analyst Horace Dediu posted a chart on Twitter that was compiled by Merrill Lynch Global Research, which included 32,523 smartphone users, including Apple, Blackberry, Google, and HTC. , Huawei, Lenovo, LG, Motorola, Oppo, Samsung, Vivo, Xiaomi and ZTE.
For each manufacturer, the user's favorite next phone is another one made by the same manufacturer. In iPhone users, this number is 70%. For Samsung and Huawei users, 53% and 54% of users plan to continue using the same brand. The percentage of users who plan to continue using Google is 42%, while other brand users are less loyal. At least 10% of Android phone users are willing to buy a cheap refurbished iphone.
Among the top five Android brands in the world, 15% to 25% said they plan to buy an iPhone next. 25% of HTC users said they plan to buy an iPhone. In contrast, the percentage of users who continue to purchase HTC phones is 34%. Only 1% of iPhone users expressed interest in purchasing HTC phones.
This asymmetrical brand intent is also reflected in other mobile phones. 19% of Samsung users said they plan to buy an iPhone, but only 4% of iPhone users are watching Samsung. The most popular alternative brand for iPhone users is Huawei, but the ratio will only be 5%. At the same time, 15% of Huawei users said their next phone is an iPhone. Other Chinese Android brands, including Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi and Lenovo's Motorola, have gained one to two percentage points of interest among iPhone users, and in turn, the proportion of plans to switch to the iPhone is 20%.Samsung refurbished smart phones, such as refurbished S8, refurbished S7 Edge is also the main product that other Android phone users want to buy.
These data are significantly different from the data released by Ericsson in 2015. After studying the actual activation of the new mobile phone every month, Ericsson concluded that most smartphone users are still loyal to their operating systems, especially users of high-end models are more likely to be in the same vendor than users of low-end models. Select a new model in the same series. The company pointed out at the time that about 80% of Android and iOS users were loyal to their operating systems.
If today's data is accurate, it means that the smartphone market has undergone a fundamental change, and Android users' brand loyalty has begun to decline. In Ericsson’s report three years ago, Windows Phone users’ brand loyalty has been as low as 20%, and now it’s Android.
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Midnight Oil have got a master plan to stamp out ticket scalping
Frontier Touring has pointed to seven steps intended to bring scalpers to a screeching halt.
Needless to say, the announcement of Midnight Oil’s first tour in 15 years last week had their fans pretty damn excited, but we also can’t help but picture the hoard of ticket scalpers rubbing their hands together at the prospect of such a ridiculously sought-after item.
Turns out that the Oils have been paying attention to the ticket scalping that has continued to plague the music business since they were last on the scene, and they’ve got one hell of a plan in place to stop their eager fans from being ripped off.
Speaking to the Herald Sun, frontman Peter Garrett has described the dire situation in pretty blunt wording.
“Scalping has become a monumental rip-off,” he says. “It’s urgent that we rein in low-life companies and individuals profiteering from music lovers by this disgusting practice.”
The band’s manager John Watson also condemned the practice, pointing out that the measures they’ve put in place are designed to counteract the huge technical advantage scalpers have over a regular punter.
“All the things we are doing are creating speed humps to slow down scalpers who have so much tech resources and give them less of an advantage,” he tells The Herald Sun. “It is easy for someone to have 100 email addresses and multiple credit cards but not as easy to have 100 post office boxes. You can monitor the addresses and if there are multiple tickets going to one address, then we can look at other action.”
But how exactly will the band manage to stamp out scalping ahead of their World Tour? The tour promoter, Frontier Touring, has detailed the master plan to Music Feeds, pointing to seven steps intended to bring scalpers to a screeching halt.
For one, only physical tickets will be offered, apparently making it easier to track huge volumes of tickets as detailed above. Ticket presales and general sales will also be limited to 4 and 10 tickets respectively, and will be posted directly to purchasers fairly last-minute, giving scalpers no lead time to sell them off.
Tickets will only be able to be purchased through either Ticketmaster, Ticketek or TECC, but for those of us concerned by the ability for people to profit from resales through the former pair’s controversial resale facility, don’t worry – resales can only be conducted via UK outlet Twickets, which only allows for resales at cost price.
This final step is a massive improvement over the profiteering found on services like Ticketmaster’s much-derided official resale site and, while it won’t be able to prevent scalping in its entirety, it’s at least putting up a significant roadblock.
No matter how many hurdles the band and tour management throw up, however, we’re still going to see huge demand for the gigs driving overpriced tickets, and the best solution will be to do everything you can to snatch them up as soon as they’re on sale.
For more info on ticket sale times and to check out the huge run of dates, head over here.
This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.


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The New Saints are pleased to announce that Healthpoint Limited through their Derma V10 brand have extended their relationship with the club by agreeing a new shirt sponsorship deal for the 2013/14 season.
‘Last season, Healthpoint owner Bob Seddon financially supported the club by sponsoring the clubs new stand. As a company they are very supportive of the club, the league and the exposure and brand awareness being associated with a club that’s successful domestically in Wales as well as in UEFA competitions’ he added
‘We benefit enormously from being involved at The New Saints’ said Healthpoint owner Bob Seddon.
‘With the success The New Saints have on the pitch, it provides an ideal platform to showcase our brand’ he concluded.
Welsh Premier Golden Boot winner Michael Wilde is pictured wearing the new kit sponsored by Derma V10.


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Offchain Labs Inc., a supplier of scaling options for the Ethereum blockchain, right now introduced that it has raised $120 million in funding to launch its Arbitrum One mainnet to the general public.
The Collection B funding spherical was led by Lightspeed Enterprise Companions and joined by Polychain Capital, Ribbit Capital, Redpoint Ventures, Pantera Capital and others.
The Ethereum blockchain has lengthy had points with scaling and congestion as its reputation has elevated. Transaction occasions and charges continually burden builders whilst markets surrounding the ecosystem have exploded over the previous 12 months.
Ethereum’s core builders have been making an attempt to resolve these points with upgrades to the protocol itself however resolutions are nonetheless months to a 12 months away. Consequently, so-called Layer 2 options are being sought out, and Arbitrum One is one such resolution.
Layer 2 options execute transactions outdoors the principle Ethereum layer utilizing a developer-friendly mechanism referred to as “optimistic rollups” that batch transactions, permitting them to execute rapidly and with much less congestion. Meaning they occur quicker and with decrease transaction charges.
Once they full, they’re additionally recorded again to the principle Ethereum blockchain. Within the case of Arbitrum One, it’s also appropriate with the Ethereum digital machine, so builders don’t want to vary their contract code and might accomplish that with out compromising safety.
Offchain Labs was co-founded by Chief Scientist Ed Felten, former deputy U.S. chief know-how officer within the Obama White Home and professor at Princeton College. Felten started work on Arbitrum whereas at Princeton alongside co-founders Chief Govt Steven Goldfeder and Chief Know-how Officer Harry Kalodner who revealed the know-how in 2018.
“The super help we’ve seen from builders throughout the globe validates our mission to be the primary to marry the world of Fintech and Defi,” stated Goldfeder.
Arbitrum One went into beta Might of this 12 months and has amassed numerous launch partners, together with profitable the high-profile Reddit Scaling Bake-off. In accordance with Offchain Labs, greater than 350 extra groups have signed up to make use of the rollup community, giving it broad enchantment within the blockchain trade.
Offchain Labs intends to make use of the inflow of latest funds to additional develop its ecosystem, scale its inner developer staff, construct out new scaling options and spend money on analysis and improvement.
“We’ve had the pleasure of working carefully with Steven, Ed and Harry,” stated Amy Wu, accomplice at Lightspeed. “Their dedication to the Ethereum developer neighborhood is second to none and so they have the very best, easiest-to-use scalability product. That’s why over 400 tasks have chosen to launch with Arbitrum, together with Reddit.”
Present your help for our mission by becoming a member of our Dice Membership and Dice Occasion Neighborhood of consultants. Be a part of the neighborhood that features Amazon Net Companies and Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy, Dell Applied sciences founder and CEO Michael Dell, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger and lots of extra luminaries and consultants.
We’re holding our third cloud startup showcase on Sept. 22. Click here to join the free and open Startup Showcase event.
We actually wish to hear from you, and we’re trying ahead to seeing you on the occasion and in theCUBE Membership.


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Giatec is excited to announce its newest international partnership with Rental Solutions, Cyprus, bringing in a new wave of smart concrete testing technology
OTTAWA, Canada: Giatec Scientific Inc., the market leader in revolutionary concrete testing equipment, recently announced its partnership with Rental Solutions in Cyprus as their newest international partner. Rental Solutions offers high-quality equipment, tools, and machinery to its customers with an ever-growing online list of innovative solutions. As the official agents of Giatec in Cyprus, the combined efforts of these two companies will bring smart technology to the forefront of jobsites.
SmartRock is the most widely used wireless concrete sensor, currently being implemented in over 9,000 construction projects across 85 countries worldwide. As the first truly wireless sensor, SmartRock is the leading concrete maturity sensor for accurate monitoring of concrete curing and hardening. Unlike time-consuming and error-prone break tests, or cumbersome wired sensors, Giatec’s patented maturity sensor uses a highly accurate ASTM-approved testing method, enabling faster, safer, and more economical concrete construction.
Giatec is a global company revolutionizing the construction industry by bringing smart testing technologies and real-time data collection to the forefront of every job site. Giatec’s suite of hardware and software products has leveraged advanced technologies, such as AI and Internet of Things (IoT), including wireless concrete sensors, mobile apps, and advanced non-destructive testing technologies (NDT), to drive innovation throughout concrete’s lifecycle and reduce concrete’s carbon footprint.


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On a recent Friday afternoon, the Value Village thrift store on Boone Avenue in Spokane is hopping. A steady stream of drivers offload donations from their cars while customers comb clothing racks and shelves of appliances for potential deals. Outside, on the store's facade, a massive green sign features giant text stating "Donate to a nonprofit here," while interior signage nudges customers to "tidy up" their homes by donating to the store. In return, customers can "feel pretty (dang) good about" their deed, the signage declares. The store feels like a Goodwill and peddles do-gooder vibes left and right.
But, unlike Goodwill, Value Village isn't a nonprofit. It's a for-profit business that rakes in an estimated $1 billion annually and was sued in 2017 by Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who alleged the company used deceptive marketing. And last November, a King County Superior Court judge agreed with Ferguson, ruling that Value Village and the Bellevue-based company that owns it, TVI Inc., misled the public by giving the impression that the business is a nonprofit and that in-store purchases benefit charities.
Value Village is appealing the ruling. But outside of the Value Village on Boone last week, shoppers were surprised to hear both about the lawsuit and the thrift store's business model — anecdotal evidence seemingly supporting the judge's conclusion in the case.
"I assumed that when I shopped here, it was going towards work programs, housing programs, all kinds of social assistance," says 36-year-old Bryn Kimberly, adding that she has been going to Value Village "forever."
When asked if she thinks Value Village's marketing is deceptive, she says "yeah!" and points to the "Donate to a nonprofit here" sign above the store's entrance.
"You assume [purchases are] going to help people in the community," Kimberly says.
Her sentiment basically sums up much of Ferguson's argument in the original lawsuit. In the original 37-page filing, the attorney general calls out Value Village for "hiding its for-profit status behind a veneer of charitable goodwill," slamming its marketing and advertising practices as "deceptive" and misleading.
The company, which operates 20 stores in Washington state and 330 stores worldwide, sources its retail products "almost exclusively" from solicited donations accepted on behalf of one of Value Village's contracted "charity partners," such as Northwest Center and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound, who are currently paid at a per-pound rate for said donations. However, despite advertising claiming that Value Village paid its charity partners every time customers donated, the company "paid nothing for a large sub-set of non-clothing donations" like furniture until 2016, the lawsuit claims.
"For years, well-intentioned donors in Washington and elsewhere believed that their donations provided a financial benefit to charities, when in reality, they did not," the lawsuit alleges.
While Value Village has since changed its contracts in Washington state so it also pays charities for hard goods like furniture, the sums were still fairly meager. A 2015 contract with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound pegged the payment rate at roughly 4 cents per pound of soft goods and 2 cents per pound of furniture and other large items, according to a 2017 news release from the Attorney General's office.
Additionally, the lawsuit claims that Value Village's "deceptive advertising" — like its in-store announcements and store signage — creates an impression that products bought at their stores "resulted in a charitable benefit" to other organizations. But Value Village's charity partners don't receive any money from in-store purchases. Value Village keeps all of it.
The lawsuit goes on to cite a state-commissioned consumer survey that found that three-quarters of individuals who had either shopped or donated at Value Village or were thinking about doing so believed that the company was a charity or nonprofit.
"By creating the deceptive net impression that Value Village itself is a charity or nonprofit and/or that purchases and donations significantly benefit its charity partners, Value Village downplays its for-profit status," the filing reads.
In his November 2019 ruling, King County Superior Court Judge Roger Rogoff upheld the allegation that Value Village created the "deceptive" impression that it is a nonprofit through its own "'do-good, feel-good' descriptions of its own business operations" and its "constant conflating of itself with the charity suppliers with whom it contracted for supplies of used goods to sell in its stores." Rogoff also found that said marketing created the perception that in-store purchases benefited charities.
"By inundating consumer[s] with its connection to charities without clear explanation of its position as a business who gave nothing to charities, TVI Inc. was deceptive," Rogoff writes.
Additionally, the state won its claim that two Value Village stores in the Spokane area falsely advertised that donations to those stores benefited the Rypien Foundation — a Spokane-based nonprofit that serves families dealing with childhood cancer — between 2014 and 2015. In fact, Value Village strictly had an arrangement with Rypien to pay them a flat fee of $4,000 per month to use its charity logo during that time period.
Rich Medway, Value Village's general counsel and chief compliance officer, writes in a statement that the company will appeal the counts they lost on. (The company ultimately beat the state on four out of seven total claims, such as an allegation that they created the perception that only certain charities were benefitting.) A motion filed by the company in the state court of appeals on Jan. 7, 2020, argues that Value Village is protected by the First Amendment, stating: "Representations about charitable solicitations are fully protected speech."
"Value Village won the majority of claims in this misguided lawsuit, and we have been fully transparent with customers about our relationship with our nonprofit partners," Medway writes. "We are appealing the court's ruling with respect to the other claims, which hinges on a handful of signs we voluntarily removed from our stores years ago."
When asked by the Inlander for more specifics about the changes to Value Village's signage referenced in Medway's statement, company spokeswoman Sara Gaugl sent a written response vigorously defending the company's marketing practices.
"Our stores have signage that has always clearly explained our business model for customers and Value Village has always been transparent in describing our model in our marketing campaigns," she writes. "Like most businesses, we are constantly updating our signs in our stores. The court did not find any consumers who were deceived by any signage. We have a unique business model we are proud of, and we take every effort to explain it."
Laura Smith, legal director at Truth in Advertising, a Connecticut-based nonprofit advocacy organization, says that the lawsuit and the recent ruling hinge on "net impression theory," a concept adopted by the Federal Trade Commission that says advertisers are responsible for both literal and implied messages in a given ad, all of which compose the "net impression."
"The courts and the regulators will look at the impression made by the advertising as a whole," she says. "[Value Village] seems to be quite sophisticated in their marketing. It's an example of how advertising can be literally true but still deceptive.
"There seems to be no question that they were involved in deceptive marketing," Smith adds. "This is clear-cut deception."
The 2017 lawsuit isn't the first time Value Village has tussled with state officials in Washington and elsewhere. In 2014, after pressure from state officials, Value Village finally formally registered as a for-profit fundraiser in Washington state, forcing it to disclose certain internal records. A year later in 2015, the Minnesota Attorney General sued the company over similar allegations of consumer deception, resulting in an eventual $1.8 million settlement.
Back at the Value Village store on Boone, Bonni Barcus, 62, says that she didn't know about Value Village's business model or its legal battle with state officials. And the new information is going to make her think twice about shopping at Value Village.
"It'll color my world. I'll start going to Union Gospel Mission because I like them, too. I know 100 percent of their stuff goes back to the community," she says, adding, "That's what I thought was going on here." ♦


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Each day, Inc.'s reporters scour the Web for the most important and interesting news to entrepreneurs. Here's what we found today:
Web entrepreneurs get a hip new makeover. Making Internet entrepreneurs - a group not exactly known for their fashion savvy - look cool is no small challenge. Today's New York Times has the story of one designer who is giving start-up fashion a shot. Fashion designer Kristen Slowe has created Saboteur, a fashion line sold online that's targeting Silicon Valley-types. The collection is composed of an assortment of sharp shirts and blazers that can be worn to the office or out on the town - some are even waterproof. As Slowe explains, "After going to tech meet-ups and tech events and seeing the same items again and again, we realized there was a real void in the menswear market." So Slowe created such items as the "Founder Jacket" and the "Banker Shirt." There's also the "Sea Captain Shirt" or "Vice Shirt" for when you're feeling more devious. The fashion line already has one tech entrepreneur as a fan: Justin Kan, founder of Justin.tv, (which incidentally hosts our Inc.Live chats), has invested "tens of thousands" in the company.
The Catch-22 of landing new clients. When sales aren't exactly pouring in, when budgets are tight, small businesses need to find new customers to pick up the pace. But to get more customers, you need to market and advertise, right? Laying out the cash for that - especially amid the economic downturn - is just too risky for many small businesses. A study of entrepreneurs, which is referenced in the Wall Street Journal, says nearly half of small business owners are struggling to "find efficient or innovative ways to market their products or services." But fret not, entrepreneur: there are ways. And the Wall Street Journal has compiled a dozen of them, from using targeted online referrals to staging a publicity stunt.
The great business-collapse quiz. In 2000, the Web portal and search engine Lycos sold for $12.5 billion; recently, it fetched a puny $36 million. So in its honor, our Fast Company brethren have put together a little pop quiz that serves as a cautionary tale to acquiring companies everywhere. (For another tale of a business gone awry, check out this classic on Jonathan Abrams of Friendster.)
When shareholders revolt. Dell's investors are unhappy with founder and CEO Michael Dell, and in a recent vote, a whopping one-fourth of them voted against keeping Dell on the company's board. According to the New York Times, the issues could stem from the recent charges of accounting fraud filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Though Dell never fessed up to the charges, the company forked over $100 million to settle the case. Stanford law professor Joseph A. Grundfest tells the Times: "It is extremely rare to have that amount of shareholder disaffection directed toward an executive who is so central to the company's past, present and future." Still, the story points out Yahoo's similar situation when, in 2008, 33.7 percent of the board voted against the re-election of co-founder and CEO Jerry Yang.
The local charm offensive. If you've ever traveled abroad on a business trip you've probably noticed when you're in a city or country where the food franchises you know from home seem like they haven't set up shop yet. Whether that fills you with nostalgia for a Big Mac or you revel in the experience of visiting mom-and-pop local businesses there's a notable new trend in the United States of towns banning formula restaurants which could change the small business landscape (via USAToday). Here are 5 tips for franchisees to make their ventures successful.
John Byrne launches a website for MBAs. Last year, Byrne, a former editor of Inc.'s sister magazine Fast Company, quit his job at BusinessWeek, where he'd been the editor of the website, to strike out on his own. Now his new company, C-Change Media, has launched its first product, a website aimed at business school students called, charmingly, Poets and Quants. He plans to make money by selling advertising to business schools and white papers to applicants looking for the inside track. Byrne tells BayNewser that he's funding the site himself for now. "Luckily, I didn't waste too much of my time [shopping for money]," he says. "It's a sinkhole. If you want to do it, you have to do it. You have to put your money up and make it happen. Running around asking people for money wastes time that's too precious."
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The car subscription market is growing at pace, with Boston Consulting Group forecasting it to be worth $30 billion to $40 billion in the US and Europe by 2030. This staggering growth is fuelled by rapid change in consumer behaviour, with younger consumers coming into the car market keen to try out different brands without contractual handcuffs. Such behaviour coincides with the current inflationary period and inflated used car market that are prompting financially-savvy consumers to opt for affordable mobility options that would allow them to reassess their financial priorities.
Subscriptions offer motorists a simple and easily consumable package that includes flexible deposit levels and a simple monthly rental inclusive of insurance, car tax, service and maintenance. These all-inclusive offerings are proving to be an appropriate alternative to the traditional headaches of insurance brokers and price comparison sites. In addition to these flexible benefits, the subscription experience is becoming as digitally seamless as opening a Netflix subscription account; making it an attractive choice for any motorist wanting to get access into a car with ease.
What is the market opportunity for OEMs?
The recent subscription success of Volvo, who reported that their car subscription service accounted for 15% of total UK retail sales and drove the uptake in new plug-in hybrid electric models ; as well as Jaguar Land Rover’s launch of a one-stop mobility shop, have sparked a subscription charge in the UK. More OEMs are progressively boarding on the adoption curve and taking their car subscription services to market.
However, there still remains a large market opportunity where the biggest brands in the UK are yet to engage. While emerging car subscription startups seem promising in delivering innovative solutions to the modern motorist, Cazoo's recent decision to cease subscription operations is indicative of the competitive advantages that OEMs have to dispose, but have yet to realise.
The current state of car subscription services for OEMs
When it comes to car subscription operations, future-facing digital projects are generally handled in global headquarters for large groups like VAG and Stellantis. Here, requirements are targeted towards the most profitable markets and the specificities of local customers are sometimes overlooked. In an attempt to scale their car subscription services to meet growing demand, OEMs find themselves having to outsource digital and technical capabilities which is associated with potential bottlenecks such as legacy systems struggling to meet new digital requirements causing operational progress to become expensive and slow.
Despite the recent refocus from VAG and Stellantis on margins over market share, national sales companies currently find themselves fixated on shipments, volume targets and stock turn. With a lack of focus on testing and learning new ways to build long-term customer loyalty and value, OEMs are presented with this opportunity to leverage car subscription as the future of the automotive industry continues to take shape.
How OEMs Can Gain A Competitive Advantage
Adopting a new business model like car subscription does not require OEMs to undertake a complete overhaul of their current operations. Unlike other incumbents in the car subscription space, OEMs have four unique advantages:
- existing customer base awaiting for finance approval, allowing for lower marketing and customer acquisition costs
- existing service networks to enable quick and easy servicing and maintenance of vehicles for streamlined operations and customer success
- direct vehicle access which can generate economies of scale that will result in huge cost efficiencies.
- established digital presence through online showrooms and omnichannel booking processes
OEMs can leverage these advantages by adopting a turnkey platform that would enable a configurable solution to suit the OEM’s specific needs. Loopit provides this with an all-in-one platform through the following features, which allow OEMs to cohesively manage their car subscription service and focus on creating long-term customer relationships.
- Enterprise-grade subscription payment technology and recurring billing solutions
- Integrated subscription booking solutions that work on any platform and website
- Robust, real-time customer assessment
- Ongoing car subscription management that covers the entire subscriber lifecycle
- Integrated vehicle telematics to provide security and live vehicle data
By consolidating up to 12 different standalone software platforms into one cohesive and configurable mobility solution, Loopit enables OEMs to scale their car subscription with their ambitions and keep their brand at the forefront. Built by automotive leaders, Loopit also provides "subscription in a box" where we complement our leading software with the consulting, strategy and training needed to integrate the new subscription model into existing businesses.
To learn more about how Loopit can help power your own unique go-to-market strategy, contact the team for a free demo: www.loopit.co/contact


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Testimony: Protecting Copyright and Innovation in a Post-Grokster World
[T]he sharp divisions in the Court over precisely how to interpret the “Sony rule” may have a salutary effect of causing developers of technology to take steps to ensure that their products and services truly have substantial noninfringing uses and are not used primarily as infringement tools. While we were hopeful that the Court’s ruling would add clarity to this area of the law, it may be that the lack of clarity causes more socially responsible behavior by those who previously might have been tempted to rely on what they perceived as a “bright-line test” that absolved technology providers from any responsibility whatsoever for the uses to which their offerings are put.
[…] n fact, the Grokster decision should be very helpful to the United States as it continues its discussions with other countries about bringing their copyright laws up to date to meet the challenges of the digital networked environment that connects people around the world. Peer-to-peer infringement is not just a problem in the United States; it is a major problem abroad as well. In fact, to the extent that the Grokster decision provides new legal tools to stop massive peer-to-peer infringement, those tools will be of limited use if unlawful peer-to-peer services simply relocate abroad to jurisdictions where United States law has no applicability and local laws do not reach such conduct. The Grokster decision will assist us greatly in explaining how rules of secondary liability can play a key role in combatting massive peer-to-peer infringement. In fact, if our Supreme Court had upheld the lower courts’ rulings of no liability, it likely would have made our task immeasurably more difficult: how could we urge other countries to take action if our own legal system is not up to the task?
The Judiciary Committee Hearing site: Protecting Copyright and Innovation in a Post-Grokster World
BitTorrent’s Grab at Respectability [pdf]
BitTorrent, the maker of popular file-sharing software used to distribute movies, music, and games both legally and illegally, is going commercial. The company has raised $8.75 million in venture capital from Menlo Park (Calif.)-based Doll Capital Management and plans to create a marketplace for dispensing digital goods.
[…] [Brian] Cohen always distanced himself from illegal use of his technology, though he did make money by accepting donations and selling T-shirts — that is, until the past year. Ashwin Navin, a former Yahoo! (YHOO ) employee and now BitTorrent’s chief operating officer, met Cohen last year, and the two began discussing how to turn the publishing technology into a bigger business.
They set up headquarters in San Francisco and began looking for venture funding. They spoke to studios, record labels, and industry associations, including the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America. Now, with the VC money, BitTorrent plans to build out a marketplace aimed at attracting the huge audience of BitTorrent users, which the company estimates at around 45 million people. “We want to bring people the content that they want to watch,” says Navin. “Some of that will come from Hollywood, some will be independently created.”
Aspirations aside, BitTorrent’s planned transition is fraught with risk. Its execs have to persuade movie executives, game makers, and record labels to distribute their works through the service. […]
A big part of winning over holders of copyrighted work will be addressing concerns over illegal file sharing, much of which is done through so-called BitTorrent superhubs, independent sites that distribute both legal and illegal content. Navin says BitTorrent is working with the superhubs to reach licensing agreements on copyrighted works. BitTorrent will include any copyright protection technology that rights holders want to use.


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There have always been groups of all men and all women who choose to take vacations together, but the travel industry—ever alert to the latest lifestyle trends—is responding with new and creative offerings designed for this kind of travel.
“Same gender travel” represents yet another growing and potentially lucrative niche.
The increasing number of single Americans who, unlike back in the bad old days, are comfortable with their relationship status, is partly responsible for the trend: Singles now make up the majority of the adult population. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that 124.6 million Americans 16 years and older were single in 2014 (that includes never-married, divorced, separated, and widowed). That’s just over 50 percent of the population compared to about 22 percent in 1950.
Yet, men-only and women-only trips don’t appeal only to singles.
Sometimes, getting away from it all means getting away from “them,” including spouses and especially—let’s be non-judgmental—kids. Of course, many people also enjoy taking a breather from partners and significant others.
Tour operators who specialize exclusively in same-gender travel are too numerous to mention.
But, here are two recent cases in point.
READ MORE How to Make Friends When Traveling Solo
For example, We Are Travel Girls launched last June. It isn’t a tour op but rather a “female travel inspiration” website designed to serve a “female travel community", connecting female travelers across the globe while featuring female travel bloggers and female travel tips and stories.
It also holds monthly We Are Travel Girls Meet-Ups in different cities around the world, publishes monthly interviews featuring inspirational women and showcases thousands of female world travelers on its Instagram page @WeAreTravelGirls.
Men, meanwhile, are tapping into “Bro-Cations.”
At least that’s the hope of several tour ops marketing with the focus firmly on adventure. (My guess is that a female or two could also sign up, but how many women would seriously be interested in a trip to “Fish the Remote Russian Wilderness”?)
This program, offered by Frontiers International Travel, takes participants to the Ryabaga Camp on the Ponoi River, located above the Arctic Circle. The camp is accessed via a two-hour MI-8 helicopter ride across the Russian tundra.
Then there’s Adventure Life’s “Mountain Bike Ecuador’s Cotopaxi National Park.” Geared to advanced mountain bikers, the challenging itinerary takes you through the Santa Rita Ecological Reserve, El Tambo Trail, The Road of the Lahars and down the Cotopaxi Volcano.
For a tamer type of biking experience, Ciclismo Classico has a Belgium Beer Bike Tour with access to a slew of boutique breweries. (There are, as the company notes, more than 1,130 beers brewed in Belgium.)
READ MORE Where to Travel Solo in the US
Whether men and women opt for an all-women travel meet-up or a bike ride down the side of a volcano, same-sex travel holds many attractions—not the least of which is a unique sort of bonding.
I can attest to that personally.
I took a week-long press trip several years ago to Flanders. It wasn’t designed as an all-women tour, but it turned out that way. The five of us on that trip—from different states and with different personal situations—had an amazing time in an all-girl, no-holds-barred, finding-common ground kind of way.
I’ve never laughed so much in my life.


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Protegrity Advisors Releases 2014 Year End National M&A Report
March 30, 2015
LONG ISLAND, NY, March, 30 2015 – Leading M&A advisory firm, Protegrity Advisors has published its 2014 yearend report of U.S. merger and acquisition activity covering businesses with revenue up to $100 million.
Key findings include a 3% increase in average transaction value to $20 million in 2014 – up from $19.43 million in 2013. Overall deal volume also increased 3% to 6,192 transactions in 2014 as compared to 5,991 in 2013.
“Recovery of the U.S. economy and availability of low cost capital fueled investor appetite and the slightly higher overall average transaction value,” said Bruce Newman, President of Protegrity Advisors. “The modest uptick in 2014 deal volume resulted in part from continuing availability of high quality targets in the lower middle market.”
Other findings include a 50% increase in average transaction value for Telecommunication companies to $20 million in 2014, up nearly from $13 million in 2013. Information Technology transaction values also jumped 11% to nearly $19 million in 2014, up from $17 million in 2013.
The report is available for download now at www.ProtegrityAdvisors.com/MA14Q4.pdf
About Protegrity Advisors
We are Long Island’s leading M&A Advisory firm specializing in sell-side and buy-side transactions for businesses with revenue up to $100 million in a wide range of industry sectors. Our deal team has completed hundreds of business divestitures, acquisitions and finance transactions as CEOs, Presidents, General Counsel, and senior business executives. We employ a lean business model that makes our value proposition to business owners significantly more competitive than traditional M&A advisory firms.


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Globalisation on pause? How scaleups can navigate today's uncertainty9:30 am - 10:30 am
The medtech company TidalSense, formerly Cambridge Respiratory Innovations (CRI), creates ground-breaking respiratory technologies.
TidalSense first received funding from BGF and Downing Ventures in December 2020, to fast-track research and development of its award-winning N-Tidal device.
The N-Tidal device is a first-in-kind, connected, handheld capnometer incorporating unique patented sensor technology, that can accurately measure carbon dioxide levels in exhaled breath during normal breathing. It helps medical professionals diagnose and monitor respiratory conditions.
Business funding insights
A post-exit perspective—with Leigh Howarth, CEO of STATS Group
In August, we announced the successful exit of our investment in STATS Group, an Aberdeen-based pipeline technology specialist for the global energy…
How BGF is helping companies to expand internationally: Elvie & OSL
BGF can support your business to expand overseas, just as we did with fast-growing femtech company Elvie and counter-drone tech business OSL. Read the case studies to learn more.


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Tag: Electric car
Electric car sales reach 15% of marketshare, claims BuyaCar
Adventurer Chris Ramsey to undertake 10,000 mile Mongol Rally in Nissan LEAF electric car
Nissan LEAF electric car upgraded with improved range for 2016
Nissan LEAF revealed: World's first purpose built 100% electric car
Nissan have today lifted the covers off their new LEAF design, the world's first purpose-built 100% electric family car. Clocking up 100 miles for just £2.50's worth of power, and requiring only half an hour to get an 80% battery…
Best Buy UK stores to stock electric cars, bikes and scooters – Gallery
Best Buy, the massive US tech retailer, are opening stores in the UK this week, with the first opening in Lakeside on the 30th April. But it's not just hard-drives and gadgets for sale; Best Buy UK are set to…
200 mile e-car battery five years away, claim Nissan
New batteries could double the range a single charge currently gives.
The battery-powered Mini E – an electric vehicle cool enough to be seen driving by people you know
Finally, an electric car that doesn’t resemble the sort of thing Noddy & Big Ears would drive around the surface of the Moon.
This is the Mini E, a li-ion-powered electric version of the Mini. It’s a rather severely limited edition model, with only 500 being made – and all of them already earmarked for delivery to the sort of companies that fancy having a fleet of electric Minis on the books to make them look good…
Toyota Prius explodes after retro-fitted with electric power cell
In the quest to loosen the oily grip from the testicles of America, US car manufacturers are investing a great deal of time and money into alternative fuels. However, it seems these new methods are not always as safe as they seem to be after a hybrid vehicle exploded in testing last month…
The Tesla Roadster is finally here! Well not here, the US. Still..!
After passing its Vehicle Safety Standards tests with flying colours earlier this year, the electric car even the most sceptical petrol heads have been sneaking furtive glances at has finally gone into production.


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DMM.com to quit cryptocurrency mining business
Wed, 02 Jan 2019, 07:32 am UTC
DMM.com began its crypto mining business back in October 2017. However, it now plans to exit the business due to falling profitability. If reports are to be believed, the company had decided to exit crypto mining business in September 2018.
“Deteriorating profitability is the main cause,” DMM.com said (Bitcoin.com quoted from Toyo Keizai). “The withdrawal process such as the sale of the machines will go over to the first half of 2019.”
The company said that it had underestimated security concerns of virtual currency mining business. It said:
“I would like users to experience the extraordinary mining site in their lives. From such thought DMM opened a part of the [mining] farm to the public, but this was canceled in early June. It is because it is judged that ensuring security is difficult. Overseas, theft of virtual currency mining machines has been steady, and [there were attempts] even at the DMM’s Kanazawa farm.”
DMM.com is the operator of DMM Bitcoin – one of the 16 regulated cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan. DMM founder Keishi Kameyama recently said that he plans to focus on the exchange business and blockchain going forward.
Moreover, the company recently announced that it will not launch its crypto trading app Cointap as planned, saying that it has become difficult for it to attract beginner crypto traders in the wake of falling cryptocurrency prices and the hack of Coincheck exchange last January.
Last month, another Japanese firm GMO Internet announced plans to quit the development, manufacture, and sales of cryptocurrency mining machines. It said that “the environment is increasingly competitive because of the decreased demand mainly due to the decline in the cryptocurrency price, the decline in the sales price, etc.”
<Copyright © TokenPost. All Rights Reserved. >


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HSBC Holdings PLC said higher costs weighed on first-half profit as it embraces ambitious growth plans and steps up investment in technology and its expanding China business.
Chief Executive John Flint said the higher costs were expected after it announced plans in June to invest up to $17 billion in those areas and other parts of its business by 2020. Expenses were 7% higher in the first half of 2018 than a year earlier, helped by a revenue increase of 4% to $27.29 billion.
Mr. Flint, who started as CEO in February after a career in other top HSBC jobs, laid out his strategy in June stating the bank plans to make investments to help improve its returns. The Asia-focused lender is looking to tap China’s Pearl River Delta region for new retail-banking and wealth-management customers, and is investing in a new securities venture in China.
HSBC also has been spending on ways to make banking faster and easier through automation and online applications, as well as its back-end technology. One example Mr. Flint pointed to is a new app in Hong Kong to make fast and easy payments that now has a million users.
Mr. Flint said HSBC is still looking for ways to accelerate growth in insurance and wealth management in Asia, a cornerstone of the strategy laid out in June. The move is one of several aimed at boosting the bank’s return on tangible equity above 11% by 2020, lifting a previous target of 10%. HSBC said the measure hit 9.7% in the first half.
On the deepening trade dispute between the U.S. and China, Mr. Flint said "We’re not seeing any changes in client behavior — yet." The conflict has the potential to disrupt client supply chains across Asia as exporters seek to avoid tariffs. HSBC is one of the world’s largest trade-finance bank, helping exporters across Asia and other parts of the world bring goods to the U.S. and other countries.
"People are clearly concerned by the rhetoric. The scenario that would be difficult is if investors go onto the sidelines and market sentiment collapses," he said.
Net profit for the first half rose to $7.17 billion from $7 billion on lucrative fees from money managing, particularly in Hong Kong, and for the quarter rose to $4.09 billion, up from $3.87 billion in the same three months of 2017.
The bank saw higher deposits from retail customers and strong sales of wealth management products in Hong Kong, which helped push the revenue contribution of the unit rose to nearly 30% of first-half profits, up from 27.5% a year earlier. Banks earn lucrative fees for managing the wealth of wealthy clients who seek to beat low returns on deposits. HSBC’s significant operations in Hong Kong have helped as rich Chinese choose to keep money in the city and outside of the mainland.
Kenan Machado contributed to this article.
Write to Margot Patrick at [email protected]
Source: Read Full Article


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If you’re going to live in a 3D environment, you need to see a 3D environment.”
These are the words of Stephen Phillips, co-founder and chief technology officer at Theia Interactive, a design firm based in Chico. His company creates VR tours for people looking to build or buy homes, cars and yachts. It was one of the four startups to come out of the Green Screen Institute’s first accelerator program.
But in the real estate sector, virtual reality hasn’t been an easy sell. The tried-and-true process for previewing a property has been 3D rendering, which uses computer graphics to turn a 3D model into a 2D image. Major developers aren’t rushing to abandon that method, says Theia Interactive CEO and co-founder Mark Pullyblank.
“They’re reluctant,” he says. “They always say, ‘There’s no doubt this is the future and we’re all going there eventually. We just don’t want to be the first ones.”
But VR provides the next level of visualization. No longer is a client stuck with one camera angle or one artist’s interpretation. Next New Homes Group, a real estate marketing agency in Roseville, started using VR as a big part of new home tours two years ago. Builders and buyers liked what they saw, according to co-founder Christopher Brown.
Potential buyers can view the space on a computer, smartphone or they can come into the agency’s virtual experience center, a 12-by-15-foot room built into the office. In here, they put on the goggles and move around any virtual space (model homes, hotels, condominium projects, etc). The viewer can point the controller to change furniture, the floor or the color of a wall.


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#11 Kevin Comolli
Kevin Comolli drops on this year's Midas Europe list as some of his deals, while outsized, fade into recent tech history. But the Accel London office founder's greatest hits would be the envy of many in the industry. He scored Accel its biggest win since Facebook when he invested early in Supercell, the Finnish maker of hit game Clash of Clans that sold a controlling stake to SoftBank in 2013. And Varonis Systems, an Israel-founded data security company, went public in 2014. Comolli now spends much of his time in California, but told in recent months he wasn't finished. "Supercell is the fairy tale story that people thought could only come out of Silicon Valley," says Comolli. "I'd like to do a couple more like it."


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SEOUL — Hyundai Motor Co, an early backer of hydrogen cars, has watched the electric rise of Tesla, including on its home turf. Now’s it’s going on the offensive in the battery-powered market led by its U.S. rival.
The South Korean company plans to introduce two production lines dedicated to electrics vehicles (EVs), one next year and another in 2024, according to an internal union newsletter seen by Reuters.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Euisun Chung, leader of the Hyundai Motor Group conglomerate that also includes Kia Motors, has also held a series of meetings since May with his counterparts at Samsung, LG and SK Group, which make batteries and electronic parts.
The purpose of the talks, which were publicly announced, was for Hyundai to try to secure batteries at a time of tight supply as the race for EVs intensifies, according to several industry sources. Those manufacturers also supply the likes of Tesla , Volkswagen and GM.


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Ratan Tata to retire tomorrow, Cyrus Mistry to succeed him
- HSBC Indian list just doubled to 1195 names. Balance: Rs 25420 cr
- Manjhi expelled, Nitish stakes claim to form govt in Bihar
- Hanging of Afzal Guru was 'wrong' & 'badly' handled, says Shashi Tharoor
- Have given it my all, not nervous about result: Kiran Bedi
- Japanese girl allegedly raped by tourist guide in Jaipur
Ratan Tata, who led the transformation of the Tata group from a conventional corporate house into a USD 100 billion global conglomerate withhigh-profile acquisitions abroad, will retire tomorrow ending a 50-year run in one of India's oldest business empires.
Marking a generational change, Tata, who turns 75 tomorrow, will hand over the reins of the group to 44-year-old Cyrus Mistry, who was chosen his successor last year and formally appointed Chairman earlier this month.
Tata is hanging up his boots after steering the group for 21 years as its Chairman, when he succeeded the legendary JRD Tata. While JRD made Tata the Chairman out of the blue in 1971, Mistry of the Shapoorji Pallonji group and whose family owns 18 per cent stake in Tata Sons, was chosen by a five-member selection committee.
During Tata's tenure, the group's revenues grew manifold, totalling USD 100.09 billion (around Rs 475,721 crore) in 2011-12 from a turnover of a mere Rs 10,000 crore in 1971.
His vision to transform the group into a multinational giant resulted in high profile acquisitions such as Tata Tea's takeover of UK brand Tetley for USD 450 million in 2000
But Ratan Tata set new standards for the Indian corporates in the current era of globalisation when Tata Steel acquired Anglo-Dutch rival Corus for 6.2 billion pounds beating CSN of Brazil in 2007.
A year later, the group's automotive firm Tata Motors lapped up British luxury vehicle maker Jaguar Land Rover for USD 2.3 billion from Ford Motor Co.
Even as Tata was concentrating on activities abroad, he came up with the idea of producing the world's cheapest car when he conceived the 'Rs one lakh' small car Nano. The Tata group underwent moments of high tension in executing the Nano project when it got into problems on acquisition of land in Singur in West Bengal.


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LG V30 could be one of the major competitors for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8. A recent leak has revealed that through the massive screen of 6.3 inches, the Galaxy Note 8 will deliver best multimedia experience. Fresh information suggest that the LG V30 will be also no less when it comes to multimedia experience.
The LG V10 from 2015 came with a manual video mode and it was equipped with 32-bit Hi-Fi DAC. It also came with dual rear cameras. The LG V20 arrive last year with the 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC, Hi-Fi video shooting from the front and rear cameras. And the upcoming LG V30 will be delivering even better multimedia experience.
It has been already revealed that the LG V30 will be the first ever smartphone to arrive with f/1.6 aperture camera sensor that will be coupled with features like crystal clear lens, Live Zoom and Cine Video.
The camera app of the LG V30 will be coming with DSLR-like features. The LG-Log for specific logging and Graphy for histogram features are something that are usually found on professional cameras.
Rumors have already revealed that LG V30’s Advanced Quad DAC will be an improved version of what’s present on LG V20. It will be also featuring Bang & Olufsen audio system, but there is no confirmation on whether the LG V30 will feature B&O speakers or an audio chip.
LG V30 will be coming with a new Hi-Fi Digital Filter and Sound pre-set. It will be accompanied with Hi-Fi Streaming with MQA that will allow streaming of high fidelity audio in a small file size that can be downloaded easily without any loss in audio quality.
The Hi-Fi video recording with receive as a mic (RAM) will be also available on the LG V30. This could mean that the phablet would provide some way to connect an external microphone. LG has also confirmed that the upcoming flagship phone’s huge 6-inch P-OLED display will be capable of supporting HDR-10 content. Also, LG V30 will be a Daydream VR ready handset.
These features indicate that the LG V30 will be a perfect smartphone that will impress its owners with its amazing cinematic video and audio experience apart from the amazing dual rear cameras. The South Korean will be launching the LG V30 on Aug. 31. Its pre-orders are expected to start on Sept. 17 in the U.S. and its sales will begin on Sept. 28.


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Industry and government-backed guidelines set out three core collection systems aimed at boosting quantity and quality of recycling
An industry and government-backed set of guidelines aimed at encouraging all councils to provide residents across England with the same system for collecting household recycling was unveiled today by waste...
Retail giant publishes annual sustainability report, detailing plans to take its investment in sustainability programs to over €3bn
Major deforestation commitments from Indonesia and Brazil are encouraging, but two reports this week show how far many companies have to go to break ties with deforested land
Atlantis Resources confirms first Andritz Hydro Hammerfest turbine at MeyGen tidal energy array is now operating at full power
Consultancy giant becomes latest big name firm to set ambitious medium-term carbon targets


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Likewise, TikTok (# 43) ended up being a newly produced addition. Servicing over two trillion search queries yearly via its network, Alphabet-owned Google rankings highest possible with its flagship domain, Google.com. Google obtains about 80% of its profits from ad earnings. With each other, the top three internet sites bring in 152 billion visits monthly, exceeding the next 47 web sites integrated. What’s more, as the pandemic changed every little thing from the method we work, find out, connect, and also shop– a bulk of these tasks moved online.
As the electronic world has broadened far past the desktop computer, consumers can now select from a range of devices capable of satisfying their demand for âEURœanytime, anywhereâEUR accessibility to news, info, buddies and also amusement. One of the most essential vital numbers offer you with a small summary of the topic of “Online Gaming Market” and also take you straight to the corresponding data. As you might expect, striving professionals and professionals put efficiency over other non-pricing worries for their determination to sign up for console-less pc gaming services.
Online Video Gaming: Intro.
Simply 3 websites get 152 billion brows through monthly, exceeding the remainder of the web. With industry leaders such as Oculus and also Shutoff revealing more affordable headset options, blurring the lines between fantasy and also truth is ending up being extra obtainable for mass markets, as well as the rate might get even more in 2020.
This visualization uses data from Yahoo Financing to rate the world’s top vehicle manufacturers by market capitalization. Since Apple and various other Big Tech companies struck a market capitalization of $1 trillion, lots of fields are revving to follow suit– including the auto market. While large tech business have just accelerated their market share– Google comprises roughly 90% of the search advertisement market– a number of regulative bodies are placing greater analysis on them. An October 2020 antitrust report suggested that Big Tech is in reality anti-competitive, drawing comparisons with oil magnates of the 19th as well as 20th centuries. With 27 websites on the list, the UNITED STATE stays a leading player.
Featured Video Games.
While its reach is very focused on a worldwide degree, just a handful of business have a bulk of these websites. As video conferencing risen sought after during the pandemic, Zoom (# 15), launched into the most checked out sites with 2.7 billion site visitors month-to-month.
- However, because predators prey where children play, it is no surprise that online games are the new frontier for sex-related killers.
- What is mosting likely to contribute in the success of gaming is exactly how we handle network latency, bandwidth as well as throughput.
- They utilize online video gaming to get in touch with youngsters and also groom as well as target their next target.
- The history of on-line pc gaming complies with a similar path to that of the net.
Gamers age watch the most esports competitions, and also the highest possible average hrs of regular viewing. One more issue that video game authors have actually needed to face is the rise of additional economies outside their game worlds. Listen to a conversation on a report dealing with the boom in the e-sports industryWatch a 2016 conversation of specialist electronic video gaming. Britannica Explains In these video clips, Britannica explains a range of subjects and also responses often asked questions. Britannica Classics Take a look at these vintage video clips from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives. Play this updated as well as extra tough version of the traditional card video game. Enjoy the world’s most-played card game in this sit-and-go version.


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Our nation is changing, of course.
Things aren’t like they used to be.
Famous clothing brands are at historic lows and major retailers are closing hundreds of stores. In 2016, 2,056 stores closed their doors. The worst year on record is 2008, when 6,163 stores shut down.
Brokerage firm Credit Suisse says in a just-released research report,
“Barely a quarter into 2017, year-to-date retail store closings have already surpassed those of 2008… it’s possible more than 8,600 brick-and-mortar stores will close their doors in 2017.”
But we’re not in a recession.
According to an April 10 article by Derek Thompson in The Atlantic,
“America’s GDP has been growing for 8 straight years, gas prices are low, unemployment is under 5 percent, and the last 18 months have been quietly excellent years for wage growth, particularly for middle- and lower-income Americans.”
Yes, Amazon.com and the other online players are partially responsible for the decline of retail in America, but not nearly to the degree you might think.
In 2016, only 6% of retail purchases were made online.
But retailers are down by a lot more than 6%.
Want to know what categories are doing better than ever?
“Travel is booming. Hotel occupancy is booming. Domestic airlines have flown more passengers each year since 2010, and last year U.S. airlines set a record, with 823 million passengers. The rise of restaurants is even more dramatic. In 2016, for the first time ever, Americans spent more money in restaurants and bars than at grocery stores. Sales in this category have grown twice as fast as all other retail spending.”
In other words, we’re buying fewer things, but more experiences.
Materialism is on the decline.
In retail stores and online, we’re spending a lot less money on clothing. Its share of total consumer spending has declined by 20 percent in barely more than a decade. Houses, cars and furniture seem to be less important to us as well.
But we’re spending more than ever on togetherness, entertainment, and fitness.
We hunger less for prestige, more for experiences and relationships.
If you’re going to get in step with this trend, you’re going to need to invest in customer bonding.
Use mass media to win their hearts before they need what you sell.
Don’t let your company be just another name on a list of search results.
Roy H. Williams
You own a service business. Customers can
(1.) call you on the phone, or
(2.) book an appointment through your website.
Your data clearly indicates that your booking percentage is higher when customers call you on the phone. Now that you have this information, what do you do? Email your answer to Indy@WizardOfAds.com
Crowdfunding and angel investors, intellectual property and technology transfers, bullet-proof legal structures and bylaws. And taxes. Behind every successful small business startup is a savvy business attorney. Steven Buchwald is that kind of lawyer. Listen in as Steven explains to roving reporter Rotbart how small business owners and entrepreneurs can avoid costly legal traps that ensnare so many businesses. He’s holding court this week exclusively for you, at MondayMorningRadio.com


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DENVER — Target plans to hire approximately 2,000 seasonal workers in Colorado.
The retailer is holding hiring events at all its stores on Friday and Saturday. The event is scheduled from noon to 6 p.m. each day.
“Store leaders will conduct pre-scheduled interviews with applicants and discuss Target’s dynamic, team-oriented culture,” company officials said in a statement. “Candidates who attend the hiring events may have the opportunity to interview on the spot.”
Interested candidates can apply in advance at Target.com/careers or in-store. Candidates can apply on the day of the event.
Employees get a 10 percent discount on Target purchases.
Company-wide, Target plans to hire more than 70,000 employees across its stores, and 7,500 team members for its distribution and fulfillment facilities for the holidays, officials said.


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FMCG major, Modi Naturals, reported a revenue figure of Rs 57.54 crore for the quarter ended 30th September, 2018 signaling a 4.36 per cent growth over the same period last year.
Consumer priorities in the food sector have shifted toward healthy living, healthy cravings, new flavors and exotic choices of ingredients such as cooking oils, and in-between-meal snacks.
Olive oil prices in India are likely to come down because of a bumper harvest of olives in exporting countries such as Spain and Italy. Domestic supply of olives is unable to meet demand.
BSE Listed Modi Naturals recorded Quarterly Net Profit at Rs 1.72 crore in September 2018, a rise of 127.32 per cent from Rs. 0.47 crore last year. EBITDA was posted at Rs 1 crore for the same period, which is, again, up by 128.21 per cent from Rs 0.78 crore in September 2017.
Strategically positioning itself as a niche player in a market where consumer preferences continue to be driven by increased awareness and health consciousness, the FMCG major reported a net sales figure of Rs 57.54 crore for the quarter ended 30th September, 2018,signaling a 4.36 per cent growth over the same period last year.Net sales in the quarter ended 30th September, 2017 was Rs 55.14 crore.
“Growth has been consistent for this business and our company. Last year, this company posted a profit of Rs 279 crore despite rise in prices of raw materials, especially imported olives which go in the making of premium olive oils, blends and popcorn. The effects of the bumper olive fruit harvest in Spain, Italy and other primary exporters this year are likely to lower costs of olive oil at source and increase volumes and sales of our products. At the moment, olive oil prices in India are adversely impacted by prevailing expenses on imports. This increases the cost of production as domestic supply of olives is unable to meet demand. Nevertheless, consumer preferences toward health and wellness have remained strong and driven market sales of our premium blended oils and popcorn brands”, says Akshay Modi, Director, Modi Naturals.
A younger productive population has swollen in numbers to become the largest target for businesses eyeing a share of the pie in India’s growth story. In line with global trends, consumer priorities in the Indian food sector have shifted toward healthy living, new flavors and exotic choices. Modi Naturals has been in the business of B2B unrefined edible oil supply since 1974 but has evolved to expand its customer facing traffic with premium cooking oil brands such as Oleev, Miller and Rizolo and wholesome snack items such as PIPO popcorn.
Last year, the edible oil maker, posted a turnover of nearly Rs 279 crore despite poor harvest of the olive fruit in many European producers, including Spain. Its future plans include expanding the reach of its products across all of India, particularly the South, where it has a relatively weaker presence. To this end, it has increased its ad spending by 70 per cent, expanding from retail to e-commerce sales, campaigns and sampling workshops....


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Updated. Outdoor recreational startup AllTrails
recently raised a $1 million in funding according to an SEC filing, and has announced a major partnership with National Geographic that will bring unique, co-branded content to the startup’s website at AllTrails.com and its mobile applications.
Positioned as a Yelp for the outdoors, AllTrails highlights all the best spots for hiking, biking, camping, climbing and other outdoor activities throughout the U.S. It’s already built out its own platform for user-submitted reviews of various locations, and now is looking to extend that to potential partners. And with $1 million in new funding in hand, the startup is poised to expand pretty aggressively.
National Geographic is the first partner to take advantage of the platform, with a wide-ranging partnership that will co-brand the AllTrails site. As part of the partnership, NatGeo is also shutting down its Topo.com site and will be redirecting all of its traffic to AllTrails instead. AllTrails will also be getting a whole lot of exclusive topographic maps and other assets that AllTrails otherwise wouldn’t have access to.
According to AllTrails CEO Russell Cook, National Geographic was looking to roll out a similar guide for its readers, so it made sense to partner rather than to build out a new platform of their own. And with the introduction of new NatGeo data, AllTrails will be able to soon launch a premium subscription service with advanced features that will become available as part of the partnership.
AllTrails was launched about two years ago, and participated in the AngelPad startup incubator in the late summer of 2010. In addition to its website, AllTrails has developed mobile apps for the iPhone (s aapl) and Android (s goog) platforms.
Update: The SEC filing referenced in this article does not reflect new funding, according to CEO Russell Cook, but represents a transfer of convertible debt into equity.


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The trading in Hong Kong has been hit harder by the novel coronavirus compared to the six months of anti-government protests, according to financial analysts and businessmen.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said that the virus has notable negative impacts as it hammered tourism and retail sectors which their city greatly relies for economic growth.
Analysts say that the four pillars of Hong Kong’s economy are tourism, trading, financial and other professional services.
Meanwhile, international fashion firm Burberry said that the health crisis has a devastating effect on the economy as Chinese and foreign consumers stopped purchases from goods market due to the virus fears.
Burberry, which has closed at least 24 of its 64 Chinese branches said, “The outbreak of coronavirus in mainland China is having a material negative effect on luxury demand.”
Some investors said they have survived the months-long protests but they are now more concerned over the virus which could potentially lead to a bigger problem.
The risks of infection reduced major social and leisure activities in Hong Kong. As a result, sales halved and several stores were forced to shut operations.
“While no financial impact assessment has been released by management, investors should brace themselves for a material hit to full-year profits,” said Share Centre analyst Helal Miah.
The Hong Kong government also warned that the unemployment rate will more likely surpass that of the last quarter as more people are now expected to lose jobs.
Even before the outbreak, the Chinese-ruled city is already facing its first recession in 10 years due to the protests.
Hong Kong’s economy dropped by 1.2 % over the course of 2019 based on the recently reported data.


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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1170 Turing GPU Shown Beating GTX 1080 Ti In Sketchy Benchmark Leak
One of the worst kept secrets in tech right now is that NVIDIA is preparing to launch its next-generation Turing GPU lineup for gamers. The company is scheduled to talk about those GPUs at the Hot Chips conference next month, and it's conceivable that Turing might launch before then. Until then, we are left to sift through the rumors and leaks, even the sketchy ones, such as a supposed screenshot of a next-gen GeForce GTX 1170 putting the beat down on a current-gen GeForce GTX 1080 Ti in 3DMark.
We recommend taking this with a giant pile of salt, and then some, because there are several signs that it's spoofed. We'll get to that in a minute. For now, let's talk about the leaked benchmark. According to the screenshots, it's an EVGA brand GeForce GTX 1170 that was plopped into a test bed with an Intel Core i5-8600K processor.
The card is shown to have 16GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit memory interface, both of which seem reasonable. However, it's also listed as having a 2.5GHz clockspeed.
For comparison, a Founders Edition GeForce GTX 1080 Ti features a 1,481MHz base clock and 1,582MHz boost clock. The more aggressively overclocked variants by NVIDIA's third-party partners typically sport clockspeeds that are around 100MHz faster—still well below the supposed 2.5GHz we are looking at in this leak.
The screenshot shows the GeForce GTX 1170 scoring 29,752 in the Graphics portion of 3DMark's FireStrike benchmark. That's about 5 percent faster than your typical GeForce GTX 1080 Ti, which is NVIDIA's fastest consumer card outside of the Titan series. Compared to a GeForce GTX 1070, it's about 65 percent faster.
There are some interesting things to digest with this leak. Let's assume that it's totally legit (not likely). If the GeForce GTX 1170 is meant to supplant the GeForce GTX 1070, then Turing is set to deliver a massive increase in performance. However, we do not know how NVIDIA is planning to label its next-gen cards. If we look at AMD, the company's second-generation Ryzen 7 2700X is its top-end mainstream CPU, and performs better than a first-generation Ryzen 7 1800X. AMD does not have a Ryzen 7 2800X SKU.
NVIDIA could do the same thing with Turing, whereby the GeForce GTX 1170 is the top card, at least initially. The leaked 3DMark benchmark certainly seems to suggest that. But here's the thing—the benchmark is probably fake.
For one, we are looking at a picture of a screenshot and not an actual screen grab. That would be rather easy to spoof. So would an actual screen grab, but there are other warning signs. The 2.5GHz clock is way higher than what we would expect from Turing, which is likely Volta without the Tensor Cores. And finally, it's suspect that 3DMark would label the GeForce GTX 1170 correctly, rather than list it as a "generic VGA" card as we more often seen with these types of pre-release leaks.
We should find out soon enough—with NVIDIA scheduled to discuss its next-gen GPUs next month, an official launch has to be right around the corner.


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THE TIMING COULDN’T BE BETTER for LGBTQ+ travelers to visit Costa Rica. This verdant hot spot renowned for its eco-friendly policies is gearing up to become the first nation in Central America to legalize same-sex marriage.
This historic milestone — taking place in May — provides the latest example of Costa Rica’s evolution as an LGBTQ+-friendly destination according to Ernest Calderon, general manager, Gaycations Costa Rica, an LGBTQ+ tour and travel company. “My first visit to Costa Rica was back in 2002,” he recalled. “Back then, there were only a few LGBT establishments. Most were in San José and Manuel Antonio, [and] most LGBT travelers opted to visit only these two areas. Now, [more than] 15 years later, we are sending LGBT travelers to many different regions of the country. There are now many LGBT-owned lodges and restaurants in many different regions of the country. Over the years, the country has become much more open-minded, the LGBT pride festivals have exploded with attendance year after year, and this May 26 same-sex marriage will be recognized.”
Hotels are already gearing up to welcome more LGBTQ+ couples. Tabacón Thermal Resort & Spa, a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, touts its appeal for LGBTQ+ elopements with a variety of eco-friendly wedding options.
Other hotels providing a warm welcome to LGBTQ+ travelers include Gran Hotel Costa Rica, Curio Collection by Hilton, opened in 2018 as a major revamp of the historic Gran Hotel. Travelers can explore the scenic Caribbean coast while checking into Banana Azul, a gay-owned beachfront hotel in Puerto Viejo, a laid-back town that hosted its first pride event in 2018.
Gaycations plans on a surge in LGBTQ+ couples. “We already have a huge amount of LGBT travelers that vacation here for anniversaries or honeymoons,” Calderon said. “We can only expect these numbers to grow significantly. We already know that Costa Rica is a huge destination for heterosexual weddings, so there’s no reason to think that the LGBT community will not take notice, as well. I, for one, will be tying the knot here with my partner of eight years on June 27, 2020.”
Have you binge-watched one of Netflix’s hottest new shows, Bridgerton? If you have, you’re probably absolutely obsessed and can’t wait for season two to be released. A new experience from The Brazilian Court Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, just launched, inspired by this period drama, and fans can get their Bridgertonfix before the next season comes.
Say “Yaas Queen” at Cleveland, Ohio’s, Kimpton Schofield Hotel. Celebrate with your squad in the hotel’s three-bedroom penthouse on the 14thfloor. The promotion welcomes a change of environment and allows you and your best friends a chance to stay in one of the most unique spaces in all of Cleveland.
Alexandria, Virginia, is full of cultural attractions, historic landmarks and outdoor activities. With its close proximity to Washington, D.C., Alexandria is a great city to see on its own or if you’re visiting our nation’s capital. There are plenty of things to do for less than $100 a day.
While many people visit Las Vegas to gamble, some go to watch the shows or explore the Strip and surrounding attractions. Almost all of the hotels in Vegas feature an expansive casino with plenty of tables, slot machines and other games. Along with gambling, most of the casinos also allow players to smoke in the casinos. A new Las Vegas resort is about to change the scene.
The sustainably chic h2hotel in Healdsburg, California, relaunched its Living Room styling amenity that allows guests to decorate a suite with a variety of plants from Dragonfly Floral, an organic flower farm and full-service florist. Upon check-out, guests can choose to purchase any of the in-room plants. The offer is available year-round and starts at $150.
As companies worldwide decided to close office doors for good and allow employees to work remotely full time, travel-spirited people are eager to home hop and work from new, exciting locations. WhyHotel provides the flexibility of an extended stay without feeling like you live in a hotel, but instead in a comfortable home. The newly announced, pop-up in Miami, Florida, is sure to be a top stay for the modern digital nomad.


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Michiganders urged to check air conditioners ahead of summer heat
LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - As temperatures warm up outside, a lot of people are cranking up their air conditioning.
Before you do, experts said you want to make sure it’s running correctly. Keeping an air conditioning unit in check makes a big difference.
“If you have a central air system, then that means that you’re utilizing your furnace fan year round,” Mark Kelly said. “Meaning, you have to continue changing your furnace fan year round.”
Kelly, the owner of Happy Homes Heating and Cooling, said if you let a filter get clogged, it puts extra strain on the system.
Beyond the summer heat, Kelly said he has never seen a backup of equipment like there is currently in his 20 years of service. Supply chain issues are delaying equipment from 3-8 weeks on average. Due to the backup, if your air conditioner needs repair, you’ll want to pick up the phone quickly.
“The quote can only last like 30 days now because prices skyrocket,” Kelly said.
If you’re waiting on a repair person, Kelly said there are something you can do on your own to get your air conditioner running correctly.
“Going outside and looking, you’re going to have some type of a box outside of your house, look at the coils on that, and if they’re just caked with dirt and debris, maybe hit them with the garden hose,” Kelly said.
If your system is more than 15 years old, professionals said get it changed before it’s too late.
Another reason to get your appliances checked is if you notice a rise in your electric bill or if your air conditioner is becoming louder.
More information on Happy Homes Heating and Cooling can be found on its official website here.
Copyright 2022 WILX. All rights reserved.
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