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With an unusually big marketing splash, Capital One Financial Corp. is ushering in what it calls "a new generation" of credit card cobranding.
Introducing his company's alliance last week with World Championship Wrestling Inc., Capital One president and chief operating officer Nigel W. Morris said it is meant to set a new standard for customization.
"In the early days, affinity and cobrand (cards) were very homogeneous," Mr. Morris said. "What makes our relationship with World Championship Wrestling special is that we worked backward from their organization's needs, rather than having a package" deal to offer.
The new breed of cobranding deals will capitalize on the information- based strategy that is Capital One's stock in trade, Mr. Morris said.
For instance, Capital One can adjust the terms of its World Championship Wrestling MasterCard to accommodate the wide range of credit risks among fans, whom Mr. Morris described as "a slice of America."
"They're not just dentists and doctors, they're not just construction workers," Mr. Morris said.
Twelve card designs are available, most with pictures of the sport's celebrities. The wrestlers-including Hollywood Hogan, Lex Luger, Bret Hart, Bill Goldberg, and Diamond Dallas Page-engage in weekly theatrics on cable television that draw audiences of 25 million.
World Championship Wrestling, a division of Turner Sports and Time Warner, has never before offered a cobranded credit card.
Capital One, which Mr. Morris and chief executive officer Richard Fairbank founded within Signet Banking Corp. 10 years ago and spun off in 1995, has introduced only one other cobranded product-a Mercedes-Benz Visa card late last year.
Mr. Morris-a Briton who said his taste leans more toward public television-said the athletes' pictures make the cards more appealing than those that bear only team or league logos.
McLean, Va.-based Capital One inaugurated the card at the New York Stock Exchange last week, with the wrestlers on hand to sign autographs. The card offers a 10% discount on World Championship Wrestling merchandise, a quarterly newsletter, and a sweepstakes that will award expenses-paid trips to a pay-per-view wrestling event.
"We wanted a card issuer that could offer a card to every one of our fans-no matter what their credit history," said Michael Weber, director of marketing at World Championship Wrestling.
Mr. Morris said Capital One will be "classically opportunistic" in pursuing other such opportunities. "We are not going to pay more than anyone else to get" cobranding deals, he said.
He contrasted Capital One's approach with those of monoline rivals MBNA Corp. and First USA, a Bank One Corp. subsidiary.
"We do not come to the table and say, 'Here's the way we do it, take it or leave it,'" Mr. Morris said. "We can offer a card for every man and woman in the nation, and that's very special. The information-based strategy allows us that."
Capital One, which claims to add 10,000 card customers a day, has set up shop in the United Kingdom and branched into other business lines, including telecommunications and auto finance. Last week it announced the naming of a senior vice president for brand management to "position Capital One's brands and value-added products among current and potential customers," said Mr. Fairbank.
The brand manager, William J. McDonald, worked previously at Boston Market, KFC, Pizza Hut, Pepsico, and Frito Lay.
Mr. Morris said the company had been seeking such an executive for a while. "As a credit card issuer, we are able to piggyback on the brand images of Visa and MasterCard," he said. "As we go into other markets, issues of brand become very important."
Across all business lines, Mr. Morris said, Capital One's objective is "to be able to customize with more alacrity and fluidity than anyone else."


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Can it help end the GM strike?
Round the clock negotiations are reportedly happening in an effort to end the nearly month-long GM factory workers strike. The automaker has reportedly lost billions of dollars in income and striking workers have been going without full paychecks. Both sides suffer. The deadlock needs to end somehow and according to a new report from ClickOnDetroit, one way it could is to keep the lights on at the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant.
Previously, the facility was one of four unallocated plants set for either closure or sale but now it could help hold the key to ending the standoff. How so? As the future production site of Chevrolet's upcoming all-electric full-size pickup truck. The report claims GM is committing a total of $9 billion to plant investment, up from its original $7 billion proposal.
A fairly sizable chunk of that will go towards Detroit-Hamtramck, which was previously home to the now discontinued Chevrolet Volt. We learned this past June of GM's plans for an all-electric full-size truck that will compete directly against the also upcoming Ford F-150 EV. FCA's Ram division is also reportedly planning an electrified truck, though chances are the Ford and Chevy offerings will arrive first.
It's important to note that none of these EV trucks will immediately replace the traditional internal combustion-engined trucks. Given that Tesla will soon launch its own EV truck and an expected surge in demand for EVs in general, Detroit's automakers simply can't afford to be left behind.
Given the massive number of trucks the three automakers sell yearly, having battery-powered options will guarantee their market dominance. Tesla already disrupted the market once with the Model S sedan and Model X crossover. Detroit won't let that happen with its beloved trucks. In the meantime, GM and UAW (United Auto Workers) talks continue and GM's reported proposal to not only reopen Detroit-Hamtramck but to assign it what could be future hot-seller might help draw those negotiations to a conclusion.

domain: news


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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Saying they don't know when they'll be able to re-open many of their businesses with the coronavirus spreading, Walt Disney Co. officials announced they will start furloughing some workers in two weeks at its theme parks resorts in Florida and California.
The statement released late Thursday from The Walt Disney Co. said the first wave of furloughs will start April 19 and involve workers whose jobs aren't necessary at this time. Anyone who is furloughed will remain a Disney employee, the company said.
"Over the last few weeks, mandatory decrees from government officials have shut down a majority of our businesses," the statement said.
The statement did not say how many of Walt Disney World's more than 75,000 employees or Disneyla


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Business News Roundup
You're listening to the spoken edition of the San Francisco Chronicle. Business. News roundup by chronicle news services from business agile agile int- AGI Elian T technologies on Monday reported fiscal fourth quarter profit of one hundred ninety five million dollars. The Santa Clara company said that its earnings suggested for one time gains and costs came to eighty one cents per share. The results beat Wall Street expectations of seventy three cents per share. The scientific instrument maker posted revenue of one point two nine billion dollars in the period, which also beat street forecasts for the year Angela reported profit of three hundred sixteen million dollars or ninety seven cents per share revenue was reported as four point nine one billion dollars for the current quarter ending in February agile, it expects its per share earnings to range from seventy one cents to seventy three cents. The company said it expects revenue in the range of one point two six billion dollars. To one point two eight billion dollars for the fiscal first quarter. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had expected revenue up one point two eight billion dollars agile and expects full year earnings in the range of three dollars to three dollars five cents per share with revenue ranging from five point one three billion dollars to five point one seven billion dollars into it into it said Monday that it had a fiscal first quarter net income of thirty four million dollars after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier, the Mountain View companies earnings suggested for one time gains and costs were twenty nine cents per share. The results surpassed Wall Street expectations which were for earnings of eleven cents per share, the maker of turbo tax QuickBooks and other accounting software posted revenue of one point zero two billion dollars also topping forecasts for the current quarter ending in February into it expects its per share earnings to range from eighty five to eighty eight cents. The company said it expects revenue in the rain. Range of one point four seven billion dollars to one point four nine billion dollars for the fiscal second quarter.


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New Pandemic Work Trends Could Be a Boon to Seattle Offices
For years, businesses have worked hard to snag coveted office space in downtown Seattle. There are many benefits to being close to the action in this bustling city, but they often come with trade-offs like cost-prohibitive rents or crowded, less-than-ideal spaces. For start-ups, these challenges may prevent them from establishing themselves in the city or cause them to opt for temporary co-working spaces instead. However, since many of Seattle’s local titans like Amazon and Starbucks are reevaluating their use of office space in the city, there may be new opportunities on the horizon for the city’s smaller businesses.
The first major shift in many companies’ approach to office space is the idea that every employee may not need a dedicated desk in the office. A new trend, aptly called “hoteling,” saves space by creating more communal workspaces in the office that are shared by employees who may be working remotely more often than not. When they need to come into the office, instead of having their own desk, employees can simply reserve a desk or workspace for as long as they need it.
The result of this practice is that companies can approach reopening in a safe manner by having fewer employees in the office at any one time, while saving space (and potentially cutting costs) on the amount of office space needed at any one time. Starbucks recently announced that it will be implementing hoteling practices in its headquarters as it undergoes a year-long redesign. The end goal of its renovation is more communal spaces and more casual collaborative workspaces — reminiscent of the iconic coffeehouses run by the company.
But hoteling also has an added benefit for the smaller businesses of Seattle. While large companies like Amazon and Starbucks can save money by reducing the amount of office space they require, smaller businesses have new opportunities to sublet facilities in downtown Seattle. Scrappy start-ups are often no strangers to flexible work arrangements (think co-working spaces and remote offices), but the ability to be centrally located in the heart of a major city is nothing to sniff at. Subleasing a dedicated office space suggests that a company is established, with a commitment to staying in business and growing — something that is attractive to tech workers in a competitive market.
Although the pandemic may have altered business-as-usual in Seattle, make no mistake that business is still booming. As smaller businesses continue to prioritize locking down physical office space in the city, there is reason yet to believe that the pandemic has not stopped the fast pace of business and life in Seattle.
This article was originally posted on KUOW by Joshua McNichols.
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For the fourth year in a row, Kroger headquarters will illuminate the Cincinnati skyline in pink in celebration of breast cancer awareness. At a special ceremony at its downtown headquarters this morning, Kroger kicked off its annual Giving Hope a Hand campaign by unveiling pink spotlights and a 150-foot promotional banner to call attention to the start of Breast Cancer Awareness Month tomorrow.
Giving Hope a Hand, in partnership with key suppliers like General Mills and Yoplait, generates $3 million to support local breast cancer initiatives in communities across the country served by the Kroger Family of Stores. As part of the campaign, Yoplait is donating $50,000 to Susan G. Komen on behalf of Kroger. In addition, customers can show their support by downloading a digital pink ribbon to their shopper’s card at Kroger.com. When one million ribbons have been downloaded, all Kroger communications will go pink.
“We are incredibly proud of the contributions our company, associates and partners like General Mills and Yoplait make to our breast cancer awareness efforts each year,” said Lynn Marmer, Kroger group VP.
The Giving Hope a Hand program features Kroger associates who are breast cancer survivors on customized packages of Kroger and national brand items sold exclusively in the Kroger Family of Stores. Their stories of survival and hope are featured on specially-marked packages and at www.sharingcourage.com.
“For 15 years, General Mills has been committed to helping millions of women fight breast cancer in communities across the country,” said Peter Baruk, senior director of sales at General Mills. “We are proud to be part of a campaign with Kroger that supports breast cancer awareness and donates $3 million annually to local breast cancer initiatives across the country.”
Kroger’s campaign features storewide sales promotions on popular items, many of which will feature specially-marked pink packaging. This year, 1,600 items, including Kroger’s own products and and branded products from Energizer, Frito-Lay, General Mills, Jimmy Dean, Kimberly Clark, Kraft, Nestle, Pepperidge Farm, Pepsi, Purina, Sargento, Snapple, and SC Johnson will be marked with special shelf tags to highlight participation. The full list of partners can be viewed here.


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JOHANNESBURG, May 15 (Xinhua) -- A total of 23 South African companies from the agro-processing sector will take part in the SIAL China international trade fair for food in Shanghai.
The trade fair will take place from May 16 to 18. South Africa's minister of trade and industry, Rob Davies, said the exhibition is the best platform for South African companies to gain exposure in the Asian region.
"China ranks as the largest consumer of food and beverages with an estimated value of over one trillion Euros. It is projected to grow rapidly over the next two-decades.
"The rising levels of Chinese disposable income, increases in retail sales of consumer goods and remarkable growth for South African products such as wines put us in a unique position to make inroads into this lucrative market," said Davies.
Davies said by taking part in the trade fair South African companies will establish contacts with food manufacturers, distributors, importers, wholesalers and retailers.
Davies added, "SIAL China will offer our businesspeople with a unique opportunity to meeting market leaders of the food, beverage and hospitality industry in China. They will establish new contacts and identify suppliers and business partners. The accompanying conference will also cover knowledge and information exchange between industry experts on current issues, trends and future prospects."


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Apple will announce 2019 iPhones sometime in September and no doubt there are already tonnes of rumors and leaks around it. However, this hasn't stopped media outlets from discussing a few details on 2020 iPhones. According to the latest tip, Apple iPhones will get OLED displays with a refresh rate
Another day, another news concerning Apple is here. We have heard a few times but a more concrete proof was provided by the folks at The Art of Repair. According to the said video, those who replace their iPhone XS, XS Max, or XR battery with a non-official Apple battery
iOS 12 had a promising start with an adoption rate of more than 75% in just a few months after its launch which is by far a great feat to achieve compared to Android OS that suffers from OS fragmentation. On the contrary, Apple iOS has its own slew of
Okay so Apple iPhone XR is finally here and it has started shipping across the globe standing true to the estimates prospected by the analysts. The 6.1-inch LCD display on iPhone XR is one of the features which Apple has worked on to reduce the price tag of the phone
Remember those rumors about yet another launch event from Apple? Turns out the rumors are true after all. Apple sent out media invites for its ‘Special Event’ on October 30 that will be held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in the New York City and not Apple Park. Similar
If you look at the Android Pie 9.0 adoption rate, it was at 0.61% on July 31, 2018, when several beta updates were already launched. The Android Pie 9.0 was launched officially on August 6 across all Google Pixel/Pixel 2/Pixel XL/Pixel XL 2, Essential Phones and other partner devices. Fast
Finally, the day when we get our hands dirty with one of the best piece of tech. On September 12, Apple held a Special Launch Event 2018 to launch it’s Apple Watch Series 4 and three new iPhones namely iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. We are hardcore
For every Apple fan, yesterday was a great day as they got to see the new iPhones and the new Apple Watch that was launched at Apple Special Event 2018. Here’s everything you need to know about the ‘Apple Watch Series 4’ and I must say, you’ll love it.


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As video content continues to evolve, interactive opportunities will redefine viewer engagement.Alex Wallace, GM of News, Entertainment, and Studios at Verizon Media, talks about how the consumer experience will be transformed.
How will 5G impact the media industry?
5G will dramatically change not just how media is consumed but also how it is created. It will provide increased mobile bandwidth, speed, and access for the media industry, unlocking unprecedented opportunities for immersive content. We know 5G will markedly improve issues of latency and allow audiences deeper in-the-moment experiences. At Verizon Media’s 5G Studio RYOT, we are incubating these formats of the future with our partners to create how this will come to life for the consumer. Picture, for instance, the realism AR integrations can conjure by capturing and digitizing 3D objects and people and placing them into real-time content, without lag.
Greater bandwidth will also give audiences more autonomy and agency in how they view content, keeping them engaged. For example, expect interactive video feeds that allow consumers to switch between Ultra HD views of a live sports or music experience. The speed that 5G brings will also allow content creators to experiment with new mediums as varied as live animated broadcasts and combined live-action/computer generated performances.
How can we expect news delivery to evolve?
We recently launched Yahoo News’ XR partner program, which we believe will be the future of journalism, incorporating immersive experiences like AR and VR. 5G will play a major part in XR integration, making sure people are reading and watching and experiencing news on all devices and screens. In the next few years, the delivery of this type of content will involve less friction so that its consumption becomes intuitive and seamless and multi-screened. XR deepens the experience by bringing users closer to the stories they are consuming in a way that can increase both understanding and empathy.
How can AR and VR experiences bring social issues to life?
AR and VR have the unrivaled ability to put consumers at the center of news stories and in another person’s shoes. It’s the closest we can get to experiencing the news on the ground as it’s happening without actually being there physically. The more visceral and immediate stories are, the more readers and viewers can connect with them.


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Whether it’s a part of your new healthy-eating regime in 2017, or your got-in-late-after-work staple, chances are that hummus is a foodstuff that’s never far from your big shop list.
In fact, a 2013 survey into the country’s eating habits found that a whopping 41% of UK fridges possessed a pot of the protein-rich chickpea dish. What’s more, our love of the stuff has sent sales soaring above the £60 million-a-year mark. The UK’s enviable title of “Hummus Capital of Europe” is pretty well earned, it seems.
Not only does entrepreneur Hannah McCollum know this, but she’s on a mission to use our insatiable appetite for the Middle-Eastern creation to reduce the wild levels of food waste that occurs along the road from farm to fork.
McCollum’s new creation, ChicP, is an award-winning, healthier and forward-thinking range of hummus. It utilises the whopping 40% surplus of fruit and vegetables that gets rejected by supermarkets because of irregular shapes, and turns them into low-calorie, sweet and savoury versions of the dip that are also free from gluten, sugar and dairy.
“Over the last 9 years, I’ve cooked for catering and events companies and as a private chef in the UK and Europe,” says McCollum. “Having witnessed the colossal amounts of food waste at catering events, I felt driven to respond. While cooking as a private chef, time and time again I would convert leftover vegetable dishes into dips for the next meal. Nearly every day the question would be ‘What’s the dip of the day Hannah?’.”
Now McCollum has brought her bright and healthy dips to the market, not only offering consumers an option with fewer calories than any of its rivals, but also supporting British farming by making the most of their bin-bound wares.
A photo posted by on
ChicP is currently stocked at Wholefoods, Fortnum & Mason, As Nature Intended, Sourced Market, Rude Health Cafe, Pickles of London and a number of smaller outlets in and around London, with more stores including Harrods and Selfridges coming soon. Its RRP is £2.50 – a small price to pay for a dose of rewarding bodily and environmental goodness.
What’s more, you can now be a part of McCollum’s journey (and do even more good) by helping fund ChicP’s Tesco BackIt campaign – a platform that aims to promote and aid projects that address the food waste issue – and take her idea nationwide.
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CADBURY is launching a new low-calorie chocolate bar in a bid to sweeten the ladies and claw back lost sales among diet-conscious women.
The Bournville based chocolate maker is to support the Crispello, its first new product since the 1990s, with a £7million advertising campaign.
Industry research shows that annual sales of single chocolate bars have fallen by some 6.6 per cent in a market worth around £800million a year.
Evidence suggests this slump is almost entirely caused by women buying less chocolate.
Cadbury, owned by American food company Kraft, believes the Crispello will particularly appeal to women worried about their weight.
The new slimline bar weighs in at 165 calories, compared with 260 for a Mars bar.
The Crispello, similar in taste and consistency to Ferrero Rocher chocolates, has three chocolate-covered wafer shells with a soft milk chocolate filling.
It is designed with a resealable pack so it can be eaten one piece at a time.


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Image via Electronic Recyclers
Written by The Business Journal Staff
An investment firm focused on sustainable business has made a strategic investment in a Fresno-based company.
ERI, the nation’s largest cybersecurity-focused hardware destruction company, has entered a partnership with New York-based Closed Loop Partners. The investment was described as “significant” in a news release, but the amount and terms were not disclosed.
The private equity group’s Leadership Fund focuses on investing in businesses that keep packaging, organics, electronics and apparel out of landfills and within a circular system, commonly known as the circular economy . Investors in the Fund include Microsoft, Nestlé and Unilever as well as institutional investors and family offices.
Ron Gonen, founder and CEO of Closed Loop Partners has also been elected to ERI’s board of directors.
“ERI is the leading recycler of electronics in the United States, consistently demonstrating the viability of closed loop systems for high value materials,” said Gonen. “With Americans discarding $55 billion in e-waste annually, and the waste stream projected to grow more rapidly in the coming years, diverting these materials from landfills and back into manufacturing supply chains is critical. Our partnership with ERI will strengthen circular supply chains that ultimately benefit people, the planet and business.”
“This is the perfect time for a partnership between ERI and Closed Loop Partners,” said John Shegerian, ERI’s Chairman/CEO. “Due to a perfect storm of innovation, the internet of things, cars essentially becoming computers on wheels, an increase in wearable tech, the 4G to 5G switchover, increasing consumption, data privacy issues and other factors, e-waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the world – growing at a rate five times faster than any other waste stream. By partnering with our longtime friends at Closed Loop Partners, we are ideally positioned to play a meaningful role in accelerating change.”


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After the United States and Europe, the Australian financial regulators now came forward to resist the launch of Facebook’s proposed digital currency.
Eight regulators in the country joined forces to probe Libra; however, the details provided by the social media giant failed to satisfy their concerns, the Australian reported on Wednesday.
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The regulators, which include the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC), the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), Austrac, and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, had a meeting with the US executives of Facebook last month.
The watchdogs are concerned that the privately-controlled digital currency will become a tool for cyber scammers and were also alarmed by privacy concerns. Like their global counterparts, the Australian regulators are concerned about the money-laundering and terror financing aspects of the proposed digital currency.
“If we don’t get answers to these questions from the US-based team we will then need to consider whether formal powers are exercised where available,” Elizabeth Hampton, deputy commissioner at OAIC, stated in an email to other regulators.
No friend in the southern hemisphere
Though publically mute, the Australians agencies were alarmed by Libra right after its launch. In July, a committee from the ASIC warned that “all regulated entities” as well as consumers and investors could be affected if Libra could not be effectively supervised.
In response to the regulators’ concerns, a Facebook spokesperson told the local newspaper: “As a member of the Libra association, we will continue to be a part of dialogue to ensure that this global financial infrastructure is governed in a way that is reflective of the people it serves.”
Meanwhile, in the US, Mark Zuckerburg, the founder and CEO of Facebook, recently addressed the questions of the US Congress regarding the company’s plans with Libra. However, most of his responses were unsatisfactory to the lawmakers.


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This year’s Supply Chain conference adopted a winning formula as its theme on June 16-17
The Supply Chain Conference, which takes place online on June 16 and 17, is the must-see virtual event of 2021 for industry professionals.
It has been a long time coming out of the pandemic, but the end is finally in sight, even though it hasn’t been close enough to allow for a physical conference this year. We are nonetheless pleased that our speakers have not yet succumbed to Zoom fatigue and will participate in this interactive forum from the comfort of their desks with senior executives from Coca-Cola, Kraft Heinz, McDonald’s, B&Q, Lidl, the NHS , Ericsson, Descartes, JD Sports and Wakeo are just a few to highlight from the expert lineup.
There is also a special theme for this year’s conference. As we look ahead to the 25th Supply Chain Excellence Award to be held on November 8 at the Hilton on Park Lane, London, the 2021 Supply Chain Conference features a number of award winners from the years past. It’s not just a celebration of industry-leading best practices from past triumphs, but an opportunity to find out how these champions approached the seismic events of 2020 and 2021, as well as how the pain points of the past 15 months are going. influence their future supply chain strategies.
First of all
The first day features dedicated retail and e-commerce and foodservice tracks, with a mix of case study presentations and interactive panel discussions. Perhaps it was inevitable that the pandemic would permeate the subjects. Covid-19 – and subsequent changes in buying behavior – have revolutionized the brick-and-mortar retail model. As well reported in these pages, the combination of lockdowns imposed by a pandemic, supply chain issues and economic crises has accelerated digital retailing in a number of areas of the economy. This will be a topic of discussion for Dan Withers, Logistics Director at Sainsbury’s and Mark Atkinson, Logistics Director at The
Very group. Speakers from Morrisons, Lidl, JD Sports, Co-op and B&Q will also attend.
For our readers in the F&B sector, Brexit presented an additional challenge in 2021. The government announced earlier this year that it would postpone controls on imports from the EU in order to give companies more time to prepare for the myriad of paperwork involved. UK border authorities were to start requesting sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) documents for animal and plant products from April, before introducing the full range of customs, health and security formalities three months later. Physical SPS checks on animal products – as well as foods and plants considered to be high risk – will not take place until January 1, 2022. (The EU is implementing full checks on goods shipped from the UK since the start of this year.) a complex picture, but David Shaw, director of supply chain at Kraft Heinz, can shed some light on his strategy for overcoming these and other challenges. Speakers from Coca-Cola and Fever Tree will add even more experience.
On Day 2, three tracks are planned, focusing on healthcare and pharmaceuticals, consumer goods and technology. A not-to-be-missed talk will be delivered by David Lawson, Director of Purchasing at NHS Foundation Trust, who will participate in the NHS pilot project of a river freight service from its consolidation center to central London. On the technology front, Hans Hallgren, Head of Network Supply Chain Management at Ericsson and Nicky McGroarty, Head of Supply Chain at Telefónica UK, will discuss how they overcame the disruption in the supply chain. supply resulting from Covid-19 and Brexit.
Meanwhile, a panel discussion on the FMCG track is sure to generate interest. Consumer goods supply chain management processes are constantly reviewed as their optimization can lead to cost reductions and improved processes. Panelists will therefore look at the nature of these new processes and discuss their ability to truly reduce the fragmentation of FMCG supply chains.
There will come a time when we will no longer talk about Brexit and Covid-19, but these are still the hot topics that concern us all. We hope you will log in to participate in the debate!
A full updated conference program is available here
This year’s supply chain conference will be hosted through an attractive and easy-to-use Swapcard virtual conference platform that allows attendees to network, share content, host video meetings and discuss developments. important sector.
When the pandemic finally ends, a new wave of challenges will impact supply chains. A close inspection of your operations will determine if they are resistant to the types of shocks we have seen from Covid-19. But, as the supply chain conference will reveal, the disruption caused by the pandemic has also created opportunities to manage supply chains in new ways.


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Correlation Ventures invested a record amount of capital for the firm in new startup companies during first quarter 2014, the firm said.
Correlation — with offices in San Diego and Palo Alta — added nine new portfolio companies during the quarter, investing and reserving more than $17 million for follow-on investments in these companies, bringing its total number of portfolio companies to 80, Correlation said. The firm uses analytic software to help determine its investments.
Correlation’s nine new investments during the first quarter represent diverse sectors, including consumer health and medical devices, digital media, software-as-a-service, and consumer hardware and services, Correlation said.
“We’re pleased that Correlation Ventures is continuing to see such a tremendous response from our VC peers and entrepreneurs to our unique value proposition as the ideal co-investor to fill out VC-led rounds,” said David Coats, Correlation’s co-founder and managing director.
Correlation Ventures, a $165 million venture capital fund, said its investments typically range from $1 million to $4 million, but it will consider smaller investments. It makes decisions in two weeks or less.


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As tech stocks collapsed, Tesla short-sellers made $8.2 billion this year.
Short-merchants have put down about $8.2 billion in wagers against Tesla this year as tech stocks plunged, as per new information.
Ortex research found that financial backers overall put down $62.5 billion wagers against Nasdaq 100 organizations.
It’s found to be quite a circle back for short-merchants, who were scorched by the blast in Tesla in 2020 and 2021, among others.
Short-merchants have up until this point bet about $8.2 billion against Elon Musk’s Tesla in 2022, following quite a while of misfortunes when the electric automaker’s stock ran low.
It was also found out that they’ve commonly received benefits from the current year’s market auction, which produced $62.5 billion in acknowledged gains and undiscovered additions on stocks in the tech-weighty Nasdaq 100 record. As indicated by information shared by information supplier Ortex with Insider.
Securities exchanges tumbled in 2022 as expansion took off and national banks raised financing costs, while Russia’s attack on Ukraine added to the unpredictability.
Innovation stocks which had immensely flooded on the back of Covid period improvement – have really been hit especially hard. The Nasdaq 100 record was down 22% as of Friday’s close, while Tesla was down almost 28%.
Tesla has tumbled for this present year as financial backers have shied away from the high offer costs of innovation organizations, as rising security yields made more-costly names look less appealing.
The EV organization was once vigorously shorted, however financial backers have gone off the wagering throughout the course of recent years as the stock has enormously overwhelmed investigators’ assumptions. Tesla’s cost has shot up over 1,000% throughout the course of recent years, making Musk the world’s most extravagant individual.
Short interest in Tesla, how much stocks undercut — has tumbled to around 3% from generally 20% in mid-2020.
The downfall has given increased chances to short-merchants — financial backers who bet against organizations by selling acquired shares, before later repurchasing them and stashing the distinction between the costs. Numerous financial backers additionally short stocks to restrict the gamble in their portfolios.
Notwithstanding gains on Tesla, short-merchants made $3.8 billion wagers against Amazon; Facebook at $3.7 billion; and Apple at $3.5 billion, as indicated by Ortex information.
Various pieces of information were also focused precisely as of Thursday’s end and incorporated both understood and undiscovered additions. Tesla bounced 7.3% on Friday, as the Nasdaq 100 acquired 3.3%, imprinting short-merchants’ benefits to some degree.
“There is more revenue in shorting in this market since it presently pays out interestingly,” Ben Ladler, a specialist at exchanging stage eToro, had said in one of their statements to Insider.
Also Read Johnny Depp gives surprise performance at Jeff Beck concert
Be that as it may, Ladler said a long-term positively trending market has provoked financial backers to diminish their wagers against the stocks emphatically. “Every one of the pointers I take a gander at says those numbers are still exceptionally low,” he said.
Reportedly, Tesla has fallen for this present year as financial backers shied away from the higher offer costs of innovation organizations, as rising security yields made more costly names less appealing.
The EV organization was once vigorously shorted, however throughout the course of recent years financial backers have wagered as the stock has to a great extent outperformed investigators’ assumptions. The cost of Tesla has ascended by over 1,000% throughout the course of recent years, making Musk the most extravagant individual on the planet.


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MIAMI – Six passengers on the stricken Costa Concordia cruise ship filed a complaint against Carnival Cruise Lines, the parent company of ship owner Costa Cruises, demanding $460 million in compensation, the ANSA news agency reported Saturday.
The lawyer acting for the six passengers, Marc Bern, said the legal action was launched Friday in a court in Miami, where the headquarters of Carnival Cruise Lines is based.
The action alleges that the ship operator was guilty of negligence, leading to the Jan. 13 disaster.
Divers recovered Saturday the body of a woman from the wreckage of the ship, raising the death toll from the disaster to 17, with a further 15 people missing. The woman's body was found on deck six.
On Friday, Costa Cruises reached an agreement with Italian consumer groups for an offer of at least $14,400 to be made to every surviving passenger of the incident, including children.
The payment will be made "to cover all financial losses incurred and assets, including those related to the loss of baggage and personal effects," according to a joint statement issued by Costa Cruises and several consumer advocacy groups in Rome.
Costa Cruises also will refund the value of the cruise and reimburse passengers for the cost of returning to their homes after the ship crashed. It also agreed to fund a program of psychological counseling for passengers who need it.
Those payouts will see Costa Cruises provide some $52 million in compensation.
Meanwhile, preliminary operations to pump fuel out of the cruise ship were suspended Saturday due to bad weather. Workers with the Dutch salvage company Smit and Italy's Neri decided the sea was too rough to continue the salvage operation.
The workers pulled the barge serving as their operations base near the wreck of the Costa Concordia into port until the weather improved, according to the civil protection agency.


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In 2017, Bitcoin dropped from an all-time high of $20,000. Since then, a slight but significant increase in Bitcoin prices at regular intervals, usually send waves of enthusiasm among observers, investors as well as traders in the crypto market. In a reversible instance, a drop in Bitcoin prices usually send waves of panic in the crypto market.
Cryptocurrency News Today – Bitcoin Price Prediction – Bitcoin News Today – Bitcoin Market Capitalization To Surge Above $1.5 Trillion?
Bitcoin bulls are certain that Bitcoin’s market capitalization will be floating around $1.5 trillion by the end of 2020, from Bitcoin latest updates. This conviction is based on the fact that cryptocurrency awareness has greatly increased due to changes in the regulatory landscape, infrastructural investments, and the strong attention brought by Facebook’s Libra. Karim Heiden, a Bitcoin bull and a business developer in the crypto community, “a trillion-dollar market lies in the future implications of Bitcoin and ETF”. Karim stated that the only way Bitcoin will command a trillion-dollar market cap is when a Bitcoin ETF is approved. Otherwise, the possibilities are not high.
Karim further remarked in his bitcoin prediction and bitcoin price analysis, “the price of Bitcoin will increase exponentially. To make it more interesting, picture this: we have all seen the order books. We have noticed those transactions where a person fills in an order of 1.500 BTC. That ‘whale’ will be insignificant when you compare it to the whales that will enter the crypto market when ETF is finally approved”. In further remarks, Karim Heiden expects institutions and big investors to invest in bitcoin, drawing demand and pumping bitcoin prices. The current BTC dominance stands at 65.7%.
Apart from Karim, other permabulls are upbeat about the future of cryptocurrency and bitcoin. Willy Woo, who is a partner at Adaptative Capital and a market analyst gave his bitcoin price analysis and prediction on a podcast. He predicted that the Bitcoin market cap would have surpassed $1 trillion by 2021. According to him, bitcoin is getting closer to a cycle that will help it surpass the current gold market capitalization in the long run.
“Crypto is money and money has been around since civilization began. Bankers say it’s a bubble, technologist call it disruption but students of history would say it’s the dawn of a new era… if we are in a digital age, we really want a digital currency, and crypto is undoubtedly our first native digital currency”, said Woo.
Bitcoin News Today – Bitcoin Price Prediction – Bitcoin Latest Update – BTC Halving Is Going To Promote A Surge In The Price Of BTC
Another crypto enthusiast, Chris Burniske, founder of Placeholder expects Bitcoin’s market cap to blaze past $1 trillion with the period Woo predicted. But Burniske is banking on the Bitcoin halving event that is projected to take place by mid-2020 for this to happen. Quoting Chris during the recent Ethereal summit, “if volatility halves, the Bitcoin market cap could reach $1 trillion by 2021. All of the cryptos could reach $3 trillion by the next bull market”.
“Observing the top 10 crypto assets at the end of each year, I’m forced to think Bitcoin will get to $1 trillion on its own in the next bull market”, Burniske said in a tweet.
Apart from the three bulls that have been mentioned, other bulls believe that Bitcoin may attain a higher price in a few years from now. If the bitcoin market attains the $1.5 trillion mark, it would require BTC to trade at $40k to $50k. John McAfee is one bull who sees BTC trading as high as $1 million.


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Shortly after we climbed out of the primordial ooze and started roasting beasts we found smaller and weaker than ourselves, humans sat around the fire and ate together. But now, new research shows we're eating more and more meals all by ourselves.
Writing for the Wall Street Journal, Julie Jargon has the details from a report from the NPD group, which finds:
People eat breakfast by themselves 60% of the time and eat lunch alone 55% of the time.
She notes: "NPD conducted a one-time study of consumers and does not have historic data showing whether the trend toward solitary eating has accelerated." But we can all assume it has:
The market research firm says a big driver of solo dining is the changing nature of the American household. Unlike the prior norm of families and couples sharing homes, it's become more common for households to consist of just one person. In fact, 27% of all American households–the highest level in history– now comprise only a single person, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 1970, just 17% of households were made up of one person, and the share of households made up of married couples with children was 40%. By 2012, that number had halved to 20%.
It's worth thinking about it this way, as well: In 1970, there were fewer one-person households, but there was no Facebook, Snapchat, or Instagram. Having a meal together was an intrinsic part of keeping up with friends and family. Now it's possible to have hundreds of followers on Twitter and spend your days eating meals by yourself — possibly while scrolling through feeds on your smart phone and looking at what your friends have been up to. The TV dinner was invented in the '40s; we've just been focusing on smaller screens lately.
Jargon writes that solo diners are a challenge for grocery stores and food marketing companies, who have traditionally packaged items in larger quantities or even "family-sized." She adds: "It's also a challenge for restaurants, particularly casual dining chains that aren't as attractive to solo diners in a hurry."
Eating alone remains a source of anxiety for many people. A quick poll of my coworkers revealed that the prospect of eating lunch alone in a restaurant wasn't a big deal, but the idea of eating dinner alone in a restaurant made some feel uneasy. (The general consensus was that eating dinner at the bar of the restaurant is a lot less anxiety-inducing.) The research shows:
The one meal for which people are still congregating is dinner, with just 32% of dinner meals eaten alone.
I live alone, and eat alone quite often. Usually it doesn't bother me at all. Dining out alone, I often take a book or magazine or journal. Today at work, I ordered food with a coworker, and when it arrived, we split it up and then both ate alone, in front of our computer monitors. In the same room as a bunch of other people doing the same thing. Recently I went on vacation by myself to an all-inclusive resort. Being on the beach alone all day was heavenly; being in the dining area alone at dinner time felt a little stressy. Food was served buffet-style, but there weren't a ton of two-top tables, and somehow the awkwardness of me standing around with my plate looking for a place to sit felt very teen-movie-obligatory-sad-cafeteria-scene. For whatever reason, breakfast and lunch were not as distressing. When I was in screenwriting school, I had a professor who told us he thought the perfect living situation would be in a boarding house: You're surrounded by an interesting, random group of people who are not your family; you come down and see them at breakfast, have some light chitchat, all separate and go about your day, and then come home and argue about issues at the dinner table before heading up to bed (alone).
Dining with company — whether it's one other person or a group — can feel natural, civilized, comforting; there's almost something savage about wolfing down tacos while staring glassy-eyed at the TV (though that remains of my favorite rituals). But having a long, leisurely, boozy, sybaritic meal with a group of friends is a true delight. That said, it does seem as though — as the Columbus Dispatch puts it — Eating alone is the new normal. How it will change the way groceries are sold and restaurants are set up remains to be seen.
Image via Getty.


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IFPI, Warner, Universal, Sony Attack Baidu, Yahoo, Sohu For Copyright Infringement
February 6, 2008 6:10 PM
comment(s) - last by
Three Chinese companies are in hot legal water for providing access to infringed copyrighted material
Looks like Google/YouTube isn't the only online giant
in trouble for yielding copyrighted material
in its searches. China's top search engine, Baidu.com Inc, has been
brought to court by three major record companies
, Universal Music Ltd, Sony BMG Music Entertainment (Hong Kong) Ltd and Warner Music Hong Kong Ltd, for allegedly giving access to copyrighted music files.
The companies have asked for a court order to force Baidu.com to remove links to sites with infringing material, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, IFPI, the organization handling the company's complaints said in a released statement. The IFPI is the parent organization of the RIAA, well know in the U.S. for its use of
strong arm tactics to try to curb file sharing
The IFPI announced that these claims against Baidu.com have been filed in a Bejing court. The IFPI also announced that Universal Music Ltd, Sony BMG Music Entertainment (Hong Kong) Ltd, Warner Music Hong Kong Ltd as well as Gold Label Entertainment Ltd are also seeking legal action against the Chinese media giant Sohu.com Inc and its search engine Sogou. The action against Sohu.com is separate to the Baidu.com complaint.
Yahoo China also is in trouble with IFPI. The site, which is
chiefly owned by Alibaba
and only loosely affiliated with Yahoo in U.S., has nonetheless been a headache for its American namesake. The U.S. government recently
blasted the site for assisting in the jailing of a dissident
. Now the IFPI is seeking punishment against Yahoo China for
refusing to comply with a December ruling
by the Beijing Higher People's Court. The ruling stated that Yahoo China violated Chinese law by committing mass copyright infringement. The company has thusfar rejected the ruling.
Yahoo China, Baidu.com, and Sohu.com were all unavailable for comment. Likewise, Chinese court officials declined to remark on the case.
John Kennedy, the IFPI chief executive, complains about the lack of respect for copyright by Chinese companies, stating in a written statement, "The music industry in China wants partnership with the technology companies -- but you cannot build partnership on the basis of systemic theft of copyrighted music and that is why we have been forced to take further actions."
The IFPI alleges that 99 percent of all music download in China is pirated, which costs the music industry millions a year.
China has vowed to
get tougher on piracy
in the force of international criticism, yet the government has made it hard in recent years to get some materials by legal means. China recently
banned the import of U.S. DVDs
, leaving citizens with the unfortunate choice between not watching or joining the record number of pirates.
This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
RE: and why do we keep doing it?
2/7/2008 8:04:16 PM
You're missing the point. American T-bills aren't just loans, they're useful instruments in of itself. China's banking system is weak. As they expand their economy they need US dollars to stabilize their own currency. There's nothing irrational about it.
RE: and why do we keep doing it?
2/8/2008 12:12:51 AM
No, China's central bank is only weak in that they continue to assume that they need to "stabilize" their currency rather than let their currency rise against the dollar as the free market would dictate. Once again, they are not dependent on borrow-and-spend Americans as they have plenty of consumers to take our place. If the dollar collapses, their stock market would decline in nominal terms, and perhaps due to an irrational fixation on nominal values, but the actual purchasing power of their currency would increase because they would no longer be subsidizing our extravagant non-productive lifestyle. USA T-Bills are a terrible investment right now for anyone in the world. Exports are only useful to countries who produce and are able to pay off their debt.
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eSCon USA to Host the First Meeting of the Brand Research CouncilPublished May 17, 2017 by Admin
For two days, starting on September 13, the eSCon USA will bring together eSports industry leaders and see the launch of the Brand Research Council.
The eSports Conference eSCon USA will take place at the SLS Hotel in Los Angeles on September 13-14. This year’s edition is special because the event will also act as a gracious host for the Brand Research Council as announced by Kisaco Research. This board of key representatives from industry leaders is expected to help with eSports brand investments. The focus is on helping non-endemic organizations who contemplate the possibility of entering the eSports space.
Many of the relevant players will be present, and the list of global brands features Twitter, Ubisoft, Dolby and Turtle Wax among others. Those who choose to participate will be presented with unique networking opportunities, since all these bright minds get together under the same roof. This conference promises to be the highlight of September and one of the must-attend eSports conventions of 2017.
New Milestones to be Set in 2017
Past performance is a reliable indicator for the direction in which eSports are heading and the numbers are promising. Investments surged in 2016 and even more brands have announced their intention of jumping on the bandwagon. The eSCon USA 2017 provides an excellent opportunity for discussing new strategies and unique brand activation openings.
This conference will span over the course of two days, so there is plenty of time for those interested to connect with their peers from the fast expanding eSports industry. Game developers, media partners and representatives of leading brands will discuss hot topics, such as fan behavior, Investment, Fan Behavior, Brands and Localization. To learn more about the program, the topics and the attendees, one should visit the official website.
In addition to attracting representatives from non-endemic brands, the conference organizers will also offer complimentary passes. A limited number is available, so those who want to be part of this major eSports event should act quickly.


text:
TORONTO — The number of new COVID-19 cases in Ontario edged up today as the province continued its vaccination program and a weekend inspection blitz at big box stores.
The province reported 3,422 new infections in the past 24 hours along with 69 deaths attributable to the virus.
The numbers Ontario reported were based on nearly 60,200 tests completed, which uncovered 1,035 new COVID-19 cases in Toronto and 585 in Peel.
Windsor-Essex County, York Region and Niagara logged another 254, 246 and 186 cases respectively.
The province also released some preliminary findings of a weekend enforcement blitz concentrating on big-box stores in the Toronto and Hamilton Areas.
It says the roughly 50 inspectors assigned to ensure the stores are following physical distancing protocols and public health rules found 31 violations at the 110 retailers they visited on Saturday. The Ministry of Labour says inspectors issued 11 formal warnings and 11 tickets.


text:
Lamborghini has unveiled the Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show. Powered by a retuned version of the 6.5-litre V12 engine, the Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce is the most powerful and the fastest ever production version of the supercar.
Lightness and better performance are two key features which set the Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce apart from the standard car. It gets lightweight forged rims, door panels and revised interior draped in black Alcantara, all of which together have resulted in a loss of 50 kilograms. It also gets a carbon fibre rear wing and air intakes which not only reduce weight, but also give the Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce a meaner look.
While the standard Aventador LP 700-4 produces ‘just’ 700bhp in its standard guise, the LP 750-4 Superveloce gets its power figure bumped up to 740.2bhp. This extra power has helped the Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce knock off 0.1 seconds from the standard car’s 0-100kmph time of 2.9 seconds. The power-to-weight ratio of the Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce is now 10 per cent better than the standard car.
Under Lampborghini’s Ad Personam personalisation program, customers will be able to specify their Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce in five colours and a host of other trim options.
Speaking about the Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce, Mr Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini said, “The new Aventador Superveloce continues the Lamborghini tradition of SV models, pushing the boundaries in terms of performance and pure driving emotion. With technological features which, combined with design, quality standards and craftsmanship, the Superveloce results in the most exclusive, pure and emotional production model in the history of our brand.”


text:
BT Adds Proto Hologram to Research and Innovation Facilities
BT announced it will feature Proto Inc.’s patented hologram platform at its Innovation Centre at the head office in London as well as at their global R&D facility at Adastral Park in Ipswich. Proto will be one of a select group of third-party tech partners to be featured in BT’s showcase facilities, which provide a window into the world of innovation to inspire, surprise and challenge customers to think about the art of the possible with superior connectivity at the core.
The Proto units BT will demonstrate are capable of providing real time volumetric 4K content and communication, popularly known as holograms, and allow for “beaming” people in from all over the world for meaningful interactive experiences. Proto is the innovator of the fastest growing plug-and-play, self-contained holoportation device on earth.
Stuart Wyse, Head of BT’s Innovation Showcase in both Adastral Park, Ipswich and London, said, “It’s great to be able to show Proto to customers who visit the showcases so they can start to think about how it will enable them to communicate differently and how the underlying 5G or fibre network is essential for this and other new innovations”
Tim Draper-backed Proto has been recognized with innovation awards from CES, SXSW and Fast Company and has been featured in coverage by BBC Click, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and NBC’s Today Show. Proto is active in many fields from entertainment to education to retail and is rapidly growing as an enterprise telecommunications solution working with major financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies.
David Nussbaum, Founder and CEO of Proto Inc., said, “The vision of the future of communications BT offers at its showcases is inspiring, and Proto is honored to be part of that. As we expand in the UK and Europe, we’re confident that inspiring new uses for hologram communication will come from BT customers visiting the Innovation Centre and R&D facility.”
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text:
Apple without Steve Jobs won’t be the same, but the company will probably do just fine.
That’s because the visionary leader has clearly put in place a succession plan — with Tim Cook at the helm since August, and other key executives in their posts, well versed in the company’s culture and values.
But Jobs’ death came just one day after Apple launched its upgraded iPhone 4S to much disappointment. The usually flawless presentation was flat, had slip-ups, and overall failed to impress analysts and consumers.
And given the speed at which the smartphone market has been changing, with the advent of Android phones as well as Amazon’s new Kindle Fire, it’s unclear whether Apple can maintain its dominant position without its charismatic leader who epitomized innovation.
Still observers believe that while Jobs’ absence will be felt, Apple will be fine, given all its planning as well as its talented workforce.
“He built this company, and clearly it carries his DNA. But it is hard for me to see how this company would now implode,” said Gerard Seijts, executive director of the Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership at the Ivey School of Business.
Seijts points to companies like IBM, which is turning 100 this year, and Southwest Airlines and the Four Seasons hotel chain, which all had strong founders who stepped down, and continued to do well.
In addition, there was plenty of time to implement a succession plan unlike with a sudden death.
Cook has served as chief operating officer and is credited with improving Apple’s supply chain system, locking prices for key components in China and shutting out competitors. Johnny Ive, the man behind the brilliant designs from the iPod to iMac, continues to lead the design team.
Investors clearly are not worried. The share price closed down 88 cents on Thursday to $377.37 (U.S.).
Will Mitchell, the Anthony Fell chair in new technology and commercialization at the Rotman School of Management, believes Jobs’ decision to step down in August prepared people.
“Every organization needs somebody who you can point and say, ‘Look this person exemplifies the spirit and the vision and the drive of the company,’” Mitchell said.
“Steve, in a real sense, will continue to be that for at least the memory of this generation.”
Neil Bearse, associate director of marketing at the Queen’s School of Business, believes the staff have been trained, noting there is an internal university to solve problems in a Steve Jobs way.
“Apple may lose some of their rock star allure,” Bearse said. “Part of Steve’s legacy is the way the products were described. They extended beyond features, even beyond benefits of the products, almost to the belief of the product.”
With the philosophy of art and technology intersecting, Bearse added the marketing wouldn’t have worked if the products weren’t truly elegant.
But without the man behind the innovations, Bearse wonders if people will notice.
“Are we really going to miss it? If it’s something no one could have conceived of, other than him, will you know when it’s not there?”


text:
How hot do you like your seat heater in the winter?
If you like it really toasty — as in, with an actual flame — you’ll probably love one of 7,700 Toyota vehicles with seat heaters that catch on fire. The vehicles have been recalled because fire and cars don’t get along, what with their tanks of highly flammable liquids and all. All the affected vehicles are equipped with aftermarket accessory seat heaters that contain copper strand heating elements. The recall is being handled by Southeast Toyota Distributors (SET) which is the world’s largest distributor of Toyota and Scion vehicles.
The recall is expected to begin on July 14, 2016 and the seat heaters will need to be disconnected. Owners will be reimbursed.keep reading article "Toyota Wants to Stop Seat Heaters From Setting Owner's Buns on Fire"
If your car or truck has an optional accessory like running boards, chances are Southeast Toyota distributors put them on ... and I use that term loosely.
The distributor recently admitted that many accessories probably weren't attached with the proper torque and can fall off. Whoops! Since dropping a running board at 70mph on the highway is a serious safety concern, Toyota is recalling 3,942 vehicles to address the problem. That includes some:…keep reading article "Optional Accessories Keep Falling Off"
In the past month, Toyota has recalled cars that leak gas and catch on fire, faced growing criticism about unintended acceleration at low speeds and been named in a lawsuit complaining about rusted frames in older trucks.
So, finding out your Toyota has been recalled for an incorrect tire pressure label isn't that big of a deal. It's really more along the lines of a pain in the you-know-what that needs attention to pass federal safety standards. Here's what you need to know:…keep reading article "Tire Pressure Placard Recall"
Toyota admits they might have forgotten to tighten the two bolts that hold the front lower ball joint to the steering knuckle on some 2014 FJ Cruisers.
Loose bolts are, predictably, really bad at holding things together. In this case, all these bolts do is hold some critical steering components in place so you can control the direction of your vehicle and I'm sure we'll all be fine ... sigh.
The problem has been recalled and only affects a very specific set of FJ Cruisers with a specialized suspension. Here's what you need to know:…keep reading article "FJ Cruiser Steering Knuckle Recall"


text:
According to official figures, total retail sales volumes plunged by a worse-than-expected 2.3% in April as the record rainfall dampened demand for clothing, although this was distorted by a record plunge in petrol and diesel sales.
A BRC survey also showed that Britain's high streets witnessed the worst decline in shopper numbers since November 2009 in April.
More top news
An inquiry will be carried out by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.
President Michel Aoun, in office since 2016, said he was first told of the dangerous stockpile nearly three weeks ago.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin announced new restrictions for counties Kildare, Laois and Offaly following a surge of coronavirus cases.


text:
The Honeybee Centre is hosting it’s first-ever Honey Harvest BBQ this Saturday.
The event will highlight the end-of-season activities that are keeping beekeepers busy as September turns to October. It will feature educational presentations, and Honeybee Centre staff will be doing honey extraction on site — attendees will be able to purchase honey fresh from the hive.
But it will also be a celebration of the season, and there will be live music and a beer garden featuring beer and spirits made with honey from the Honeybee Centre, including Howe Sound Garibaldi Honey Ale and products from De Vine Vinyards and Kootenay Craft.
You’ll also be able to check out carnival-style games, different activities that are both fun and educational, and vendors offering jams and jellies, baked goods, local produce and more.
The free, family friendly event will run from 2—7 p.m. on Sept. 30, rain or shine.
- 2:15–2:45 p.m. Live Music
- 3–3:30 p.m. Beekeeping Demo
- 3:30–4 p.m. Extraction Demo
- 4:30–5 p.m. Live Music, Candle Rolling Demo
- 5–5:30 p.m. Beekeeping Presentation
- 5:30–6 p.m. Live Music
- 5:30–6 p.m. Extraction Demo
- 6:15–7 p.m. Live Music
The Honeybee Centre is located at 7480 176 Street.
For more information, visit honeybeecentre.com.


text:
Rumors have circulated for some time that Taobao Read (our translation), the digital publishing business of Alibaba Group, was dissolved last month. An anonymous Taobao Read employee and other people close to the matter have confirmed the closure at Zhihu.com, a Quora-like Q&A and content sharing platform. The Taobao Read app and published e-books currently are still available.
It’s unknown what the next steps will be, but what is certain is that Alibaba’s digital publishing service, unlike its Taobao and Tmall marketplaces, has not turned out to be the go-to place for digital content for Chinese consumers.
In 2010 Alibaba launched Taohua, a marketplace for digital videos, books and magazines. Taobao Read, formerly Taohua Book Mall (our translation) was the part of it available on the web and on Android and iOS at the time. As the Taobao marketplace for physical goods had been in place for several years, Taohua was considered a natural step.
There are now several established video streaming sites, making purchasing digital video irrelevant. And when it comes to digital publishing, Alibaba has failed to channel its huge consumer base to the reading service.
Most Chinese online publishers have a similar business model: acquiring digital rights from traditional publishing houses, copyright holders, or writers, and selling content through a website or mobile app. Taobao failed to partner with the three Chinese telecom operators and the digital publishers backed by the internet giants. To this day, the three telecom operators are believed the only digital publishers in China turning a profit. China Mobile, the largest of the three and boasting the most subscribers, is the market leader.
The operators charge a monthly fee to access books or articles from third-party content providers via mobile. This was in fact the only channel from which digital book sellers could make money, as the web was full of pirated books. Little wonder, then, that the telecoms operators took the majority of the revenue leaving a minor percentage to content providers.
In theory, these days, when smartphones are ubiquitous, users would prefer to consume digital books through mobile apps. But so far content providers or copyright holders still see more revenue from the telcos than from reading apps. The main reasons, according to industry insiders, are many users are accustomed to buying content from telcos and that carrier billing is more convenient than other mobile payment methods.
Other players in China’s digital publishing market are Tencent, Baidu, Xiaomi, Dangdang, JD.com, Suning, and Douban. Analysts estimate that few of these digital publishers are profitable.
Online retailers such as Dangdang, JD.com and Suning consider digital publishing necessary, having been proven a valid business by Amazon.
For Baidu and Tencent, digital publishing is more about ensuring users stay on their platform than a profit generator. Of the Chinese internet giants, Tencent is so far the winner. It has successfully channelled its QQ IM users and has acquired both content creators and online literature sites.
Editing by Mike Cormack (@bucketoftongues)


text:
Kim Kardashian never fails to dazzle with her flawless make-up looks, so it comes as no surprise that when it comes to beauty she's happy to splurge on her favourite products. Now, the Keeping up with the Kardashians star has revealed the products she uses daily, which come to an impressive total of $770 – including a $240 moisturiser.
CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY
Kim Kardashian shared her make-up routine with fans
The mother-of-two delighted her fans when she took to her eponymous website to film a short live video where she shared her make-up routine. The star admitted she only had ten minutes to get ready before meeting up with husband Kanye West, as the pair enjoyed a trip in Toronto, Canada, joined by Kim's best friend Jonathan Cheban.
Kim gave her followers a breakdown of her daily routine, which includes products from Neutrogena face wipes to a Giorgio Armani foundation and YSL lipgloss.
However, it was the star's moisturiser which particularly stuck out to fans, as Kim revealed that she uses the La Mer Perfecting Treatment to keep her complexion looking radiant – a cream which currently retails at $240.
Kim recently showed off her NYFW skincare regime
It's not the first time that Kim has shared her skincare and beauty secrets, with the American beauty regularly taking to social media to give fans a glimpse into her regime.
Earlier this month as she headed to New York Fashion Week, Kim revealed to her Snapchat followers the secret to keeping her skin glowing and healthy amidst her schedule jam-packed with parties, launches and shows.
Kim headed to NYFW with sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner
Lying in bed with her hair tied back into a loose top knot, Kim posted a selfie on the social media app while wearing a sheet face mask, also from La Mer, as well as a KNC Beauty Lip Mask which is infused with collagen to help her pout stay plump.
Hailed as a beauty icon, Kim has previously admitted she can devote up to two hours a day to getting her hair and make-up ready, especially when her glam squad get to work. However, she confessed that she tries to make the most of the time she spends in the make-up chair.
"It's actually a great time for me to catch up on work emails, take some calls and see what you guys are up to on social media," she wrote in a candid post on her website.


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If Samsung has its way, the memory chips in future desktop PCs, laptops, or GPUs could think for themselves. At Hot Chips 33, Samsung announced that it would extend its processing-in-memory technology to DDDR4 modules, GDDR6, and LPDDR5X in addition to its HBM2 chips. Earlier this year, Samsung announced its HBM2 memory with an integrated processor that can compute up to 1.2 TFLOPS for AI workloads, allowing the memory itself to perform operations usually reserved for CPUs, GPUs ASICs, or FPGAs. Today marks more forward progress with that chip, but Samsung also has more powerful variants on the roadmap with its next-gen HBM3. Given the rise of AI-based rendering techniques, like upscaling, we could even see this tech work its way into gaming GPUs.
Today's announcement reveals the official branding of the Aquabolt-XL HBM2 memory, along with a reveal of the AXDIMM DDR4 sticks and LPDDR5 memory that also come with embedded compute power. We covered the nitty-gritty details of the first HBM-PIM (Processing-In-Memory) chips here. Put simply, the chips have an AI engine injected inside each DRAM bank. That allows the memory itself to process data, meaning that the system doesn't have to move data between the memory and the processor, thus saving both time and power. Of course, there is a capacity tradeoff for the tech with current memory types, but Samsung says that HBM3 and future memories will have the same capacities as normal memory chips.
Samsung's Aquabolt-XL HBM-PIM slots right into the company's product stack and works with standard JEDEC-compliant HBM2 memory controllers, so it's a drop-in replacement for standard HBM2 memory. Samsung recently demoed this by swapping its HBM2 memory into a standard Xilinx Alveo FPGA with no modifications to the card, netting a 2.5X system performance gain with a 62% reduction in energy consumption.
While Samsung's PIM tech is already compatible with any standard memory controller, enhanced support from CPU vendors will result in more performance in some scenarios (like not requiring as many threads to fully utilize the processing elements). Samsung tells us that it is testing the HBM2-PIM with an unnamed CPU vendor for use in its future products. Of course, that could be any number of potential manufacturers, be they on the x86 or Arm side of the fence — Intel's Sapphire Rapids, AMD's Genoa, and Arm's Neoverse platforms all support HBM memory (among others).
Naturally, Samsung's PIM tech is a good fit for data centers, largely because it is a great fit for memory-bound AI workloads that don't have heavy computation, like speech recognition. Still, the company also envisions the tech moving to more standard climes too. To that end, the company also demoed its AXDIMM, a new acceleration DIMM prototype that performs processing in the buffer chip. Like the HBM2 chip, it can perform FP16 processing using standard TensorFlow and Python code, though Samsung is working feverishly to extend support to other types of software. Samsung says this DIMM type can drop into any DDR4-equipped server with either LRDIMMs or UDIMMS, and we imagine that DDR5 support will follow in due course.
The company says its tests (conducted on a Facebook AI workload) found a 1.8X increase in performance, a 42.6% reduction in energy consumption, and a 70% reduction in tail latency with a 2-rank kit, all of which is very impressive—especially considering that Samsung plugged the DIMMs into a standard server without modifications. Samsung is already testing this in customer servers, so we can expect this tech to come to market in the near future.
Samsung's PIM tech is transferable to any of its memory processes or products, so it has even begun experimenting with PIM memory in LPDDR5 chips, meaning that the tech could come to laptops, tablets, and even mobile phones in the future. Samsung is still in the simulation phase with this tech. Still, its tests of a simulated LPDDR5X-6400 chip claim a 2.3X performance improvement in speech recognition workloads, a 1.8X improvement in a transformer-based translation, and a 2.4X increase in GPT-2 text generation. These performance improvements come paired with a 3.85X, 2.17X, and 4.35X reduction in power, respectively.
This tech is moving rapidly and works with standard memory controllers and existing infrastructure, but it hasn't been certified by the JEDEC standards committee yet, a key hurdle that Samsung needs to jump before seeing widespread adoption. However, the company hopes that the initial PIM spec is accepted into the HBM3 standard later this year.
Speaking of HBM3, Samsung says that it will move forward from the FP16 SIMD processing in HBM2 to FP64 in HBM3, meaning the chips will have expanded capabilities. FP16 and FP32 will be reserved for data center usages, while INT8 and INT16 will serve the LPDDR5, DDR5, and GDDR6 segments.
Additionally, you lose half the capacity of an 8GB chip if you want the computational power of HBM2 PIM, but there will be no such capacity tradeoffs in the future: The chips will have the full standard capacity regardless of the computational capabilities.
Samsung will also bring this capability to other types of memory, like GDDR6, and widen the possible applications. CXL support could also be on the horizon. Samsung says its Aquabolt-XL HBM2 chips are available for purchase and integration today, with its other products are already working their way through the developmental pipeline.
Who knows, with the rise of AI-based upscaling and rendering techniques, this tech could be more of a game-changer for enthusiasts than we see on the surface. In the future, it's plausible that GPU memory could handle some of the computational workloads to boost GPU performance and reduce energy consumption.


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Attorney John Girardi is representing Chelsea Chinery, Shannon McAuliffe, and Desiree Flores over breach of contract, fraud suit and negligent misrepresentation.
The new lawsuit claims that the festival's founders defrauded fans by paying over 400 social media personalities to promote the event. It claims that the social media posts went against FTC regulations by stating that the influencers did not reveal they were being compensated by the Fyre Festival organizers.
The complaint which was filed in Los Angeles claims that Ja Rule and Billy McFarland knew they couldn't pull off the festival at least a month prior to its star, but offered no warnings to ticket holders.
The complaint seeks punitive damages and restitution.
Law firms really are the true winners out of the Fyre Festival.


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Did You Know Small Businesses Could Pop-Up in Local Walmarts?
Small businesses hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic fallout can get a new lease on life from an unlikely source: retailing giant Walmart.
While the growth of big box stores has changed the retail landscape for smaller mom-and-pop operations, a deal between Walmart and Popable, a pop-up shop marketplace platform, could provide a needed shot in the arm for struggling small businesses.
Under the terms of the partnership, small-business owners can rent retail space in Walmart stores across the country through short-term leasing, without making a long-term commitment.
“For retailers emerging from a challenging year in the face of post-covid impacts ranging from rising economic concerns to delivery issues at the ports, pop-up retail could be a great way to move excess inventory,” said Scott Blair, the Co-Founder, and CEO of Popable.
The timeframe of these leasing agreements will be predetermined by the small business and can range in time from a month up to a year but could grow to a longer-term agreement. The terms are decided and negotiated by the brands and spaces directly themselves.


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FRANCE: Lanson confirms stake sale
By just-drinks.com editorial team | 12 July 2005
Lanson International has today (July 12) confirmed to just-drinks that its 44% stakeholder Caisse d'Epargne Group is looking to sell its shareholding.
Caisse d'Epargne only took its stake in the Champagne business a year ago as part of a deal to refinance the debt-troubled Lanson.
One year after this agreement, Lanson International, which has adopted a new corporate governance structure with a Board of Directors and a Supervisory Board, on which the Caisse d'Epargne group is represented, said it has now launched a new business plan under the guidance of the board, allowing the company to relaunch its commercial plans.
In a statement Lanson said: "The Caisse d'Epargne Group has engaged itself to pursue the refinancing of the debts relative to the financing of the Champagne stocks, and in its role as banker, to accompany the development of Lanson International. Relating to its investment, if opportunities for a sale were to present themselves, and on the condition that they were built into a reliable long-term development plan for the company, the Caisse d'Epargne Group, in agreement with the majority share-holders, would be prepared to examine such opportunities."
Despite rumours to the contrary, only the Caisse d'Epargne stake is up for sale and not the 56% controlled by the Mora family, a Lanson spokeswoman told just-drinks today.
She also dismissed the €700m price tag some French media reports had reported Lanson chairman Francois-Xavier Mora placing on the business, saying the price had come from no-one within Lanson.


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LAVAL, Quebec — Just as major federal and state precautionary measures set in during the outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., parent company of the Circle K chain, reported several positive trends regarding the tobacco category during its most recent earnings call.
While answering questions about its coronavirus response plans during the company’s March 18 earnings call, Brian Hannash, president and CEO of the Laval, Quebec-based chain, reported increases of 3% in same-store merchandise revenue compared to the year before. Within those results, the tobacco category in particular showed several positive trends …
White nicotine products on rise
Citing both the federal move to raise the tobacco buying age to 21 and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pulling flavored vape pods (with the exception of tobacco and menthol) from stores, Hannasch said the tobacco category was experiencing “significant” change. That said, Circle K is seeing “robust growth” in other tobacco products (OTP), in particular with modern white nicotine products or pouches, which have been a key driver of U.S. growth in the category, he said.
While Circle K was not seeing any supply chain or inventory issues in mid-March, Hannasch said the company has strong relationships with supply partners. He said suppliers have done a great job communicating and adjusting their operations to meet Circle K’s needs. But they’ve seen demand rise. “We’ve certainly seen some items of higher demand,” Hannasch said. “And you can think about kind of the staples that people are stocking up on, [like] water, tobacco products, even beer.”
Innovation gaining traction
Another promising area within the tobacco category is with innovative products. Nicotine in varying shapes and sizes “has driven strong comps versus last year,” Hannasch said.
Circle K last year launched the heat-not-burn device IQOS and the Juul-branded e-cigarette into Canada. “A year later, [we] continue to see very strong traction there,” Hannasch said.


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Earlier we reported how Microsoft had developed an add-on for Firefox to bring H.264 support to the browser. Unsurprisingly, Microsoft has now unveiled a similar plug-in that will work with Google Chrome.
Google recently decided to remove support for the H.264 video format from Google Chrome in order to promote WebM, a new video format that Google had recently made royalty free released to open source.
[RELATED_ARTICLE]Microsoft will continue supporting H.264 in Internet Explorer 9 and users of Internet Explorer 9 will still be able to enable support for WebM in the browser by installing the requisite codec.
This news comes as Google Chrome begins with v11 in its canary branch and Google releases a number of great features in its stable channel, which is currently at v9.
In addition Google has also made "Chrome Instant" available in the stable channel. Chrome Instant brings the power of Google Instant to Google Chrome. With this feature enabled, Chrome will automatically start loading the web address or the search page for whatever you enter in the omnibar. If you have a fast enough connection, this is make surfing the internet a much faster experience.


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Zurich (Reuters) – The former European head of the major bank HSBC, James Emmett, is to control the operational business of the Facebook crypto currency Libra in the future.
The Geneva-based Libra Association announced on Thursday that Emmett will head the operating business unit Libra Networks LLC as managing director from October 1. In May, the former chief legal counsel of HSBC, Stuart Levey, was brought to the helm of the Libra Association, which implements the Libra project initiated by Facebook.
The Libra consortium changed its plans for the digital currency in April in order to make it easier to obtain approval for the project. In addition to a differently tailored version of the originally planned digital money, forms of so-called “stablecoins” are also to be introduced, which are linked to individual currencies. The EU Commission wants to strictly regulate cyber currencies like Libra in Europe.
Central banks and regulators fear that they will lose control of their currency if Libra is widely used by the billions of Facebook users. Experts trust the US Internet company to mess up the global financial system with Libra. The European Central Bank and the Bundesbank are currently examining whether a kind of “digital euro” could make sense.


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Canadian media companies Postmedia Network Canada Corp. and Nordstar Capital LP, the company that owns the Toronto Star, have ended discussions about a potential merger, saying they were unable to come to an agreement.
Both companies issued press releases disclosing the change, with Torstar Corp. noting that the added backdrop of regulatory and financial uncertainty contributed to the talks ending.
“These are challenging times for media companies, but we intend to keep working hard to give Canadians the news they need to stay informed, which is essential to our communities and to the functioning of our democracy,” said Nordstar owner and Toronto Star publisher Jordan Bitove in a press release.
Postmedia president and CEO Andrew MacLeod said in a statement that the “need for creative solutions and foundational transformation in our industry remains.”
The two companies announced in late June that they were in talks to merge in a deal that would have seen Postmedia and Metroland Media Group combine forces, while the Toronto Star would be managed by a new company.
They had said the proposed deal would help them scale up in order to respond to the “existential threat” facing the media industry.
But experts sounded the alarm over what such a deal could do for local news coverage and for competition in journalism. Many compared it to a deal in 2017 that saw Torstar and Postmedia swap 41 community and daily newspapers, 36 of which were subsequently closed.
The Competition Bureau launched a probe into that deal but eventually made no move to stop it.
Postmedia laid off 11 per cent of its editorial staff earlier this year in the latest sign of struggle for the national company, which owns publications across the country including the National Post, Vancouver Sun and Calgary Herald.
The now-dead deal would have seen Nordstar retain a 65 per cent interest in the new company that would have been created to run the Toronto Star.
Meanwhile, Postmedia shareholders would have held a 56 per cent economic interest in the merged company, with Nordstar holding the rest, while voting shares would have been evenly split.
The deal would have also seen Postmedia convert some of its outstanding debt to equity. The company in its last full fiscal year paid $31 million in interest expenses while carrying about $275 million in debt.
Postmedia and Nordstar talks came amid a wave of layoffs at media companies, including Postmedia, Bell and the Athletic and Vice.
Each have seen their revenues strained in recent years as newspaper and cable subscribers have dropped and digital giants have swooped in, swallowing up advertising dollars.
The Canadian Media Concentration Research Project found Google and Facebook collectively accounted for 79 per cent of estimated $12.3 billion online advertising revenue in 2021 and over half of total advertising spending across all media.
Adding Amazon into the equation means the three US digital conglomerates accounted for close to 90 per cent of the online advertising market, the project also found.
The dominance of the three players means little advertising revenue is left for Canadian publishers. News Media Canada calculated advertising revenue for community newspapers in the country dropped to $411 million in 2020 from $1.21 billion in 2011. Over that span, almost 300 papers either disappeared or merged with other publications.
To combat such ramifications, the federal government recently passed the Online News Act, which will force digital giants to pay media outlets for content they share or repurpose on their platforms when it comes into effect later this year.
Postmedia and Torstar executives have long supported publishers receiving reparations from digital giants.
Alphabet-owned Google and Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, responded to the legislation by announcing they will block content from Canadian news publishers from their services before the law comes into force.
Google has said it will drop its News Showcase, a product it uses to license news from over 150 local publishers including Postmedia and Torstar, in Canada.
Last week, the federal government, province of Quebec and city of Montreal said they were pausing advertising on Meta platforms in response to the company’s plans to remove news content.
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said the government is in talks with Google and believes its concerns will be managed by the coming regulations as the bill is implemented, but he suggested the conversation with Meta was different.
A spokesperson for Meta has said the regulatory process won’t address its concerns, with the bill set to come into force in under six months.
Last week Torstar and Postmedia, as well as media companies Cogeco Inc. and TVA and Videotron owner Quebecor Inc. said they were suspending advertising on Meta’s platforms.


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BOC profits reach £244.3m
INDUSTRIAL gas producer BOC said pre-tax profits excluding exceptional items had risen 16% in the first six months to £244.3m. BOC announced an interim dividend of 21.5p per share and said it was confident of making satisfactory progress in the current year.
It was well on track towards achieving its longer-term goals it said.
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The walled gardens of Facebook and Google and siphoning up all the online ad money, leaving hundreds of publishers to compete for what’s left. But what if those publishers could join together to create gardens of their own? Then, brands and agencies could buy at scale and even get better ad transparency than Google and Facebook offer.
OpenAP Points the Way
“There’s a lot of opportunity in this space,” says Christine Cook, senior vice president of global sales and brand strategy for Great Big Story. “One thing that Turner has done recently is participate in leading OpenAP, which allows buyers and brands to access audiences across all of the major broadcast networks, simplifying it for brands.”
Interoperability Is Crucial
“Ultimately, too many gardens is actually going to hurt the industry because you’re creating more friction for advertisers,” explains Jay Prasad, chief strategy officer for VideoAmp. “You want to make it easier for people to advertise. You want to make it better for consumers to get good ad experiences. You don’t want them to have frequency overload. I think a trend that is forming is how to make the walled gardens more interoperable. So, if you want to protect your data and you want to be able to create your own types of ad solutions, that’s great, but you also have to be flexible to make it work across a broader subset of partners.”
“The publishers banding together on things like OpenAP, common audience definitions, software on how you bring digital and traditional buying and selling together, those are all efforts to make this easier and more efficient for brands and agencies to buy,” adds Ramsey McGrory, chief revenue officer for MediaOcean. “That’s a huge step toward what Google and Facebook are providing.”
For more walled garden advice from the experts, such as how to get transparent and accurate performance metrics, watch the video below.


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Italian banking giant
SpA is investigating the possibility of a data breach that the lender believes could be related to a similar hacking incident at
Capital One Financial
, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The company is examining whether a directory held on a cloud server was accessed without authorization. UniCredit said in a statement that it had contacted the relevant authorities and is actively investigating the matter.
“Data security and privacy are our key priorities at all times,” the statement said.
Capital One, the fifth-largest U.S. credit-card issuer, said Monday that a hacker accessed the personal information of approximately 106 million card customers and applicants, one of the largest-ever data breaches of a big bank.
In a blog post Tuesday, cybersecurity consultant Brian Krebs published a screenshot that purports to show a list of directories that the hacker accessed. One of the directories was named “unicredit.”
Unicredit’s main regulator, the European Central Bank’s supervision arm, said it doesn’t comment on specific banks.
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