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Destiny USA said it delivered a $1.1 million check to the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency this morning — but questioned whether it actually owed the money.
The action came one day after the agency’s members voted 4-0 to direct its attorneys to sue the company if it did not make the payment by July 31 as part of a 30-year tax deal for the Carousel Center shopping mall, soon to be renamed Destiny USA.
“We believe SIDA’s interpretations of the controlling documents are flatly wrong and we have therefore made the payment under protest and are considering our legal options,” Destiny executive David Aitken said in a statement issued this afternoon.
Earlier this year, Destiny agreed to permit the release of payments in lieu of taxes from an escrow account to the city and Onondaga County. Otherwise, the payments would have been kept in the escrow account and used by the company for future expansions of the shopping mall or, if there were no more expansions, distributed to the city and county after five years.
Those payments were to total $4.4 million this year, payable in four quarterly installments of $1.1 million.
Destiny made the first two payments, totaling $2.2 million, in January and April. But on Monday, agency Chairman William Ryan said the company had told the agency it would not make any more payments because it had declared in June that the mall addition now nearing completion was the “final” phase of the mall’s expansion under the tax deal.
Under the deal, the company does not have to make any more payments once it makes the “final phase” declaration. However, Ryan said the company had already incurred the $4.4 million debt for 2012 and had to pay the balance of that debt regardless of its declaration last month.
Aitken said the company had offered to make the next payment "as part of discussions we attempted to have with SIDA in recent days on what they believed to be outstanding issues."
"Unfortunately, SIDA was not interested in discussing the matter, and for whatever reason unexplainably felt the need to act in a matter of hours," he said.
Contact Rick Moriarty at firstname.lastname@example.org or (315) 470-3148.


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It may come as a surprise to the tech-savvy, high-end, data-enabled, mobile broadband-addicted among us, but there are plenty of mobile phone users out there who aren’t using smartphones. And it’s not just because they haven’t gotten around to upgrading yet: according to a survey conducted by market analysis firm Compete.com, some 65 percent of wireless device users do not plan to get a smartphone when they buy their next device. Instead, they’ll be sticking with “dumb phones,” or feature phones that lack the flexibility and applications of major smartphone platforms.
The survey was conducted back in November, and found that over one third (35 percent) planned to get a smartphone as their next mobile phone. The survey found some variations in the types of smartphones that current cellphone owners were eyeing as a smartphone purchase: folks looking to Sprint devices were more likely than folks considering other carriers to go for a “business-focused smartphone, while folks considering Verizon and AT&T were more likely to consider an “inexpensive” smartphone. T-Mobile and Sprint roughly tied for the number of people considering “advanced” smartphones, although the numbers of users considering T-Mobile and Sprint were substantially lower than those considering AT&T and Verizon Wireless. (It should be noted this survey was conducted before Verizon announced it would begin selling the iPhone in February.)
Among the 65 percent of respondents who said they planned to stick with “dumb” phones or feature phones, cost was cited as the most significant reason: between voice and text plans, data plans, bandwidth caps, and possible add-on services like acting as a mobile hotspot, smartphone bills can easily approach (or exceed) $100 per month. Other non-smartphone users felt that smartphones just didn’t offered compelling features: after all, most feature phones these days can take pictures, play music, and even GPS and Web browsing capabilities.
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domain: news


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Traditional selling methods are being revamped to allow stud sales and shows to go ahead.
The Australian Wagyu industry is sitting pretty because of its focus on genomics, as evidenced at last week's Mayura sale. Walgett Grazier Charlie Pye is now investing in a well marbled future.
THE top price of $10,000 was achieved twice at the Walmona Santa Gertrudis Invitation Sale a Truro on Friday.
The 2020 Naracoorte Shorthorn Bull Sale defied the odds and COVID-19 restrictions to notch up a record sale average of $8150.
Steve and Sharon Turner, Y3K Brahmans, have sold Y3K Billionaire 9002 (PP) in a private sale worth $90,000.
A very respectable clearance and prices were achieved by the Droughtmaster community at its annual Highlands bull sale at Clermont, held on Friday at the end of a week of cancellations around the country.
Northern feedlot buyers were a notable and welcome presence on the buyer's rail, particularly on the heavier weaner steers.


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Money Talk Podcast, Friday Nov. 11, 2022
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: iTunes | Android | Google Play | RSS
Landaas & Company newsletter November edition now available.
Advisors on This Week’s Show
(with Max Hoelzl and Joel Dresang, engineered by Jason Scuglik)
Week in Review (Nov. 7-11, 2022)
Significant Economic Indicators & Reports
The Federal Reserve reported that revolving consumer credit rose at an annual rate of 8.7% in September. The increase suggests consumer spending – which drives about two-thirds of the U.S. economy – remained resilient in the face of high inflation and rising interest rates. It also indicates consumers are financing more of their spending as government subsidies from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic have dwindled and as wage increases have not kept up with inflation. The pace of credit card debt slowed from an 18% annual rate in August and was the slowest since May. The indicator took two years to recover from its pre-pandemic peak. It took a decade to recover from the financial collapse and the Great Recession.
No major releases
No major releases
The broadest measure of inflation showed price increases easing in October, though they’re still outpacing Federal Reserve Board targets. The Consumer Price Index gained 0.4% from September and 7.7% from October 2021. Shelter costs, the price of gasoline and food bills weighed heavily on the monthly increase, though food prices rose at the slowest pace since December, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The year-to-year inflation rate marked four months of declines from 9.1% in June, which was the steepest pace since 1982. The core CPI, which excludes the volatile categories of food and energy, rose 0.3% from September, the lowest in three months. Compared to October 2021, the core CPI was up 6.3%, just under the 6.6% peak hit in September, the highest in 40 years. The Fed’s long-range target for inflation is 2%.
The four-week moving average for initial unemployment claims declined marginally for the second week in a row. Data from the Labor Department showed the four-week average still down 41% from its 55-year average but 14% above its low just before the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 1.3 million Americans were claiming jobless benefits in the latest week, up 1% from the week before but down from 2.6 million the year before.
The University of Michigan said consumer sentiment declined from the end of October, losing about half of the gains made since slumping to an all-time low in June. Uncertainty from global factors and U.S. election outcomes mean continued instability for sentiment, which economists consider key to consumer spending. Survey respondents registered broad declines in their both their outlooks and their assessments of current conditions. Rising interest rates and high inflation dampened plans to buy big-ticket durable goods. Expectations for inflation were little changed at about 5% for a year from now and around 3% long term.
MARKET CLOSINGS FOR THE WEEK
- Nasdaq – 11323, up 848 points or 8.1%
- Standard & Poor’s 500 – 3993, up 222 points or 5.9%
- Dow Jones Industrial – 33748, up 1343 points or 4.1%
- 10-year U.S. Treasury Note – 3.81%, down 0.32 point
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What is Pollo vegan?
Veganism. Pollotarianism is the practice of adhering to a diet that incorporates poultry as the only source of meat in an otherwise vegetarian diet.
Does El Pollo Loco have beyond meat?
Today, fast-casual chain El Pollo Loco launched meatless chicken to its menu at all of its 485 locations nationwide.
Does El Pollo Loco use lard in their beans?
Young says that although El Pollo Loco is a fast-food restaurant, the beans are “carefully tended in the cooking process,” which may account for the fact that they are the top-selling side order. “The beans are cooked in vegetable oil and water–not lard–and contain a mere 2 1/2 grams fat per serving,” boasts Young.
Does KFC still have vegan chicken?
KFC tests the vegan fried chicken
So far in the US, KFC has only tested plant-based chicken made by vegan brand Beyond Meat at select locations. In 2019, the chain offered Beyond Fried Chicken at one restaurant in Atlanta, GA—which sold out in five hours.
Is Pollo Pollo sauce vegan?
The sauces at Pollo Tropical are really unique and it’s nice that so many of them are 100% Vegan.
What is a Pollo pescetarian?
Pollo Pescetarian is a person who does not eat any red meat or pork, but eats poultry, fish and seafood.
What happens if a vegan eats chicken?
nothing, according to Robin Foroutan, a registered dietitian nutritionist and representative for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Some people may feel as though they have a harder time digesting meat if they aren’t used to it, Foroutan said, but there’s no scientific evidence for this.


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Microsoft is reportedly going to axe its display ad business, instead handing over all such operations handed over to AOL and AppNexus.
The reorganisation could put as many as 1,200 jobs in jeopardy but many of these will be offered the chance to relocate, either within Microsoft itself or with AOL or AppNexus.
Microsoft is keen to divest itself of non-core interests as part of a business strategy devised by CEO Satya Nadella which will see it focus on personal computing, cloud platforms and business productivity.
Microsoft is also selling some map-generating technology to Uber as it slims down money-losing online operations.
The world’s largest software company no longer gives results for its online operations, chiefly the MSN web portal and Bing, but they have lost more than $10bn over the past five years.
Chief executive Satya Nadella has said Bing will turn a profit next fiscal year.
“Today’s news is evidence of Microsoft’s increased focus on our strengths: in this case search and search advertising and building great content and consumer services,” said a Microsoft statement.
This follows an earlier promise to deliver ‘magical things’ in 2016 around the impending launch of its much hyped Windows 10 software.
Microsoft and Uber did not disclose financial terms of their deal, under which Uber will take over the part of Microsoft’s mapping unit that works on imagery acquisition and map data processing. Uber would offer jobs to the 100 or so Microsoft employees working in that area, a source familiar with the deal said.
Uber already uses a combination of map services from Google, Apple and China’s Baidu, and the source said it would continue to do so.
Microsoft said it would no longer collect mapping imagery itself but would continue to work with imagery providers. It already gets much of its map data from Finland’s Nokia.


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Illinois Tool Works sells packaging unit for $3.2 billion to The Carlyle Group
GLENVIEW, Ill. - Illinois Tool Works is selling its packaging division to The Carlyle Group for $3.2 billion and plans to use the money to buy back shares.
Carlyle says the packaging division has 88 manufacturing sites on six continents. Carlyle said in the announcement on Thursday that it will run the packaging group as a stand-alone company.
ITW says it will use the money from the sale to buy back 50 million of its shares, which will offset the profit impact of losing the division.
Illinois Tool Works Inc., which is based in Glenview, Ill., had announced a year ago that it was reviewing options for the business, which had 2012 revenue of $2.4 billion, compared to $14.79 billion for the whole company. ITW didn't break out the division's 2013 revenue in its earnings report last week.
ITW's shares rose 83 cents to $78.95 in after-hours trading. They had risen 53 cents to close at $78.12 in regular trading before the announcement of the deal.
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Tesla has done amazing work pioneering electric vehicles and forcing positive change toward EVs within the broader industry. But the company will risk its progress and investor enthusiasm if it’s first “mass market” vehicle — the new Model 3 — is unreliable.
And so far, the news is not good. Green Car Reports just reviewed the Model 3 and had this to report:
During the test itself, two things became clear: The Model 3 works largely as intended, and the build quality was the worst we have seen on any new car from any maker over the last 10 years.
The company was reviewing a car that had just been delivered in January, as production was ramped up at Tesla’s Fremont factory. The owner was not pleased with the vehicle:
We took delivery of our Model 3 today. It looked like everything was working OK until we got within about 10 miles of the house. That was when the touchscreen started to malfunction.
It is getting random touches along the right side of the screen. The worst part is that the stereo will go to full volume without notice. It also makes the map and navigation mostly useless. I called Tesla and they had me try rebooting the screen several times.
Unfortunately it didn’t resolve the issue. They said they would call me back [within 24 hours] to attempt a software update or to schedule a service call. Nothing like paying $50,000 to be a beta tester. Again.
I hope this is just a stroke of really bad luck for Tesla. But the higher-end Models S and X have also had these quality problems, although with an upper-income clientele that is more forgiving and able to weather having to bring their car to the shop. But the Model 3 is supposed to be an every day car for middle class buyers. So a reputation for unreliability could undermine that claim.
Tesla is relying on its brand as an innovative 21st century high-tech company with a luxury good. And certainly any new model car can have its growing pains, as we’ve seen for example with the otherwise high-quality Chevy Bolt EV. But if more stories about the cars falling apart surface, Tesla’s very survival could eventually be at stake.


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Milk Storage Unit Uses Sun to Keep Cool
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Got chilled milk?
That’s the unofficial slogan for Boston-based Promethean Power Systems, a company that this month received a grant from the National Science Foundation to further develop its innovative milk refrigeration system.
Promethean’s target market is India, though it plans to expand to Africa and Latin America as soon as February. India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of milk; the country is home to some 70 million farmers who contribute to a multibillion-dollar dairy market.
Because temperatures can reach 100 degrees during peak summer months, raw milk begins to spoil within hours of collection. And India’s frequent blackouts, due to a strained power grid, make it difficult to keep milk cold enough.
Enter Sam White and Sorin Grama, cofounders of Promethean, who have found a way around this problem by creating a system that’s partially off the grid. By using solar power – India has 250 to 300 sunny days a year – dairy processors receive a constant flow of energy, which means a steadier and fresher supply of milk.
Their hybrid milk chiller gets half its electricity from the grid and half from solar, which is all stored in a thermal energy battery. By splitting the supply between traditional and solar power, the cofounders say, operating costs are 50 percent lower than a comparable grid-powered unit and 80 percent lower than a diesel-powered unit.
With a more efficient and reliable system, processors can collect milk from farmers every other day, which means huge savings in transportation costs in addition to the savings from milk that would have gone bad. With traditional refrigeration systems that rely on electricity, 50 percent of milk spoils from inadequate insulation.
“We were like, bingo! That is a big problem we could solve,’’ said White, recalling an initial conversation he had with S. Sunder Ram, managing director of Bangalore Dairy.
White and Grama first came up with the idea during a 2007 scouting trip to India. White had quit his job and Grama had recently graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s System Design and Management Program. With a $10,000 runner-up prize from the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, they set out to find inspiration abroad.
“It was a serendipitous moment,’’ Grama said of meeting Ram. “We were in India looking for business opportunities when Sam cold-called Bangalore Dairy and they said: ’We have a problem with milk chilling; come on over and we’ll tell you all about it.’ So that changed our careers and, we’ve been focusing exclusively on this market ever since.’’


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Ratan Tata, 73, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, the holding company of the $103 Bn-in-revenues Tata conglomerate has made his fourth investment in Indian digital space by investing in online auto portal CarDekho. For CarDekho, this round comes in just a few weeks after it had raised INR 307 Cr., in a round of funding led by Chinese funds Hillhouse Capitaland Tybourne Capital; the company was then valued at over $300 Mn.
The amount Ratan Tata has invested in Jaipur-based GirnarSoft which owns and operates BikeDekho.com and PriceDekho.com as well could not be asserted at the moment.
Amit Jain, CEO and co-founder of CarDekho, who founded the company in 2007 with Anurag Jain said, “We are extremely excited to partner with him (Tata) considering his contribution to the growth and development of the Indian automobile industry. Following our humble beginning as a small venture in Jaipur, CarDekho has had a very exciting journey to reach this point of recognition and we now have a very aggressive plan for developing our business and boosting revenues in the future.”
The company will be looking to double its workforce by hiring 1000 more people. As per the company, it witnessed more than 10 million unique visitors on its site.
Earlier in last year, CarDekho had acquired Ibibo Group-owned Gaadi.com for an undisclosed amount which was said to be around $11 Mn deal.
Players such as Tiger Global and Warburg Pincus-backed CarTrade.com and Carwale.com, also operate in this space. CarDekho also competes with companies like Quikr and OLX, as the auto portal also deals in selling used cars.


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Home » Lifestyle » Disney asking for more money to stream 'Mulan' isn't as outrageous as it sounds
Disney asking for more money to stream 'Mulan' isn't as outrageous as it sounds
Disney sees streaming boom; Clorox wipes still MIA
Fox Business Briefs: Disney’s three major streaming services Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus surpass 100 million paid subscribers; Clorox says that grocery store shelves won’t be fully stocked with its disinfectant wipes until 2021.
After months of delays and speculation, Disney announced that the live-action remake of “Mulan” will be available to stream on Disney+ for an additional $29.99 charge, a sum that initially puzzled many users.
Continue Reading Below
The decision comes as COVID-19 cases continue to skyrocket in what was once the lucrative theater market of the United States. However, with theaters shut down, both studios and theater chains are grappling with how to remain profitable and safe at a time when other blockbusters like “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Tenet” continue to delay their releases in the hopes that the situation normalizes.
The Walt Disney Co. blinked first and announced it would offer the highly anticipated movie, which Forbes reports was an expected moneymaker, to stream on Sept. 4. However, according to an informal Variety poll, only 14.7% of people said they would be willing to shell out the extra $29.99 in addition to their $6.99-per-month subscription. Why then did the company opt for such a seemingly high price point when other, low-budget movies like “The King of Staten Island” and “Trolls World Tour” were available on VOD for less?
DISNEY THEME PARKS REOPEN, BUT CORONAVIRUS HAMPERS FUTURE PLANS


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Waymo recently bolstered its self-driving truck program by expanding into Texas with a new hub in Dallas.
Waymo joins a growing number of driverless tech firms locating facilities or freight operations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including Aurora, Nuro, Kodiak Robotics and TuSimple.
“Operating in a major freight hub environment like Dallas, we can test our Waymo Driver on highly dense highways and shipper lanes, further understand how other truck and passenger car drivers behave on these routes, and continue to refine the way our Waymo driver reacts and responds in this busy driving region,” said Waymo spokesperson Julianne McGoldrick. “It also enables us to further advance our weather testing in a diverse set of environments.”
Waymo’s new permanent facility will initially serve as a hub for road-testing Waymo’s fleet of driverless robotic Peterbilt 579 trucks, McGoldrick said.
“We will be testing Peterbilt 579s daily,” McGoldrick said. “We’ll be driving along many of the interstates, like Interstate 10, Interstate 20, and Interstate 45, specifically focused on the El Paso-to-Dallas and Dallas-to-Houston trucking lanes.”
Waymo is based in Mountain View, California. It was founded in 2009 as the Google Self-Driving Car Project and became known as Waymo in December 2016. Waymo is backed by Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), the parent company of Google.
Waymo will also be testing on other highways around Dallas and some surface streets as well, McGoldrick said.
“Outside of Texas, we’ll be driving along the I-10 from Phoenix through Tucson and across New Mexico to Texas. We do test in California around our headquarters in Mountain View, but those routes are not connected to the routes we’re driving across Arizona, New Mexico and Texas,” McGoldrick said.
Truck tonnage on Texas highways is expected to more than double from 1.2 billion tons in 2016 to 2.5 billion tons in 2045, according to the Texas Department of Transportation’s 2018 Texas Freight Mobility Plan.
Daily truck trips will increase by nearly 50% to more than 1 million a day during this period, according to the study.
Waymo is one of a growing list of driverless trucking/vehicle companies aiming to take advantage of key trucking lanes in Texas.
In March, autonomous trucking startup TuSimple expanded its cargo service for UPS with more deliveries from Texas to Arizona. TuSimple also announced plans to open a new shipping terminal in Dallas in the fall.
Kodiak Robotics, which has a facility in the Dallas area, has been running daily commercial loads between Dallas and Houston since September 2019.
Nuro, a robotics startup, began testing commercial driverless delivery vans in Houston in February.
More articles by Noi Mahoney


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'Eliane Means Professionalism'
December 13, 2000
Eliane Ceramic Tiles USA recently conducted its annual sales meeting at the La Dolce Hotel in Austin, Texas. Operating under the theme, "Eliane Means Professionalism," the meeting focused on key areas of good business, including value-added service, customer relations, sales efforts and marketing communications. Presiding over the event were Edson Gaidzinski Jr., Eliane's vice president of sales and marketing, and General Manager Marcio Muller.


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Feeling packed in like sardines while perusing the fields of Azeroth? Blizzard Entertainment may have an answer. The company has announced that World of Warcraft players currently living on 12 select realms can now transfer their characters to other, less-crowded pastures--for $25 a pop.
As the game's world becomes more and more populated--more than 6 million people call themselves World of Warcraft subscribers--developer Blizzard is taking measures to balance the gameplay and free up room for its ever-expanding user base.
Only a select number of realms are eligible for Horde and Alliance player transfers. They include Altar of Storms, Argent Dawn, Arthas, Dalaran, Demon Soul, Illidan, Magtheridon, Stormrage, Spirestone, Turalyon, Warsong, and Zul'jin.
"Since this is a brand-new feature, we decided to take a staged approach for releasing paid character transfers to the public," says Blizzard's character-transfer FAQ.
But, Blizzard indicated, as populations shift other realms may become part of the new service. "The initial launch will only allow transfers between a limited set of realms, allowing us to closely monitor our system's performance, and then we'll gradually expand the list," it says.
For the technical details, restrictions, and other fine print, visit Blizzard's list of frequently asked questions.


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Hotnews is an informal term for newsworthy information published without permission by an author or publication. In fact, Hotnews was first used in the United States in 1918. In a case, the Supreme Court recognized hot news in a case involving a bribery scandal. The case involving the International News Service revealed that the company had stolen war reports from AP reporters in Europe. Today, the term is recognized in five states and is most likely to be used rarely, depending on copyright laws.
In addition to news about Autodesk, HotNews also includes articles, special offers, and events. Subscribers can set how often they want to receive the newsletter, and can customize the topics they receive. The subscription option is located on the MY AUGI profile page. Click the “Subscribe to HotNews” option to sign up for the newsletter. Once you have signed up for the newsletter, you can easily access it from your account by logging into your profile page and selecting the HotNews option.
Another example of Hotnews is breaking news. If you’re writing a story about a helicopter crash in New York, you should try to publish it without violating copyright laws. Although four people survived the crash, you may have violated the author’s copyright if you republish the news coverage without his or her permission. However, you should still make sure to obtain permission from the original author before using the news or images in Hotnews.
SAP also provides a free newsletter called HotNews. It is an online news service that gives you the latest news about software components and products. Besides the news, it is also customizable so you can get the latest news and updates tailored to your application. You can customize your subscription to SAP product news to receive an email when there is a new version of it available. In addition to the latest SAP news, HotNews also contains Important Notes – documents that explain new features or products. If you’re a SAP professional, this newsletter will help keep you informed about SAP product updates.
While it’s important to follow guidelines, HotNews has been recognized as a legitimate legal remedy in a few states. One example of this is the NBA v. Motorola case. The NBA claimed that Motorola violated copyright law by publishing news containing hot stories. Although this case is unlikely to be used in many cases, it demonstrates that the concept of HotNews may provide a viable legal remedy in certain instances. However, there are some restrictions on its use.
The website is updated daily and has articles, videos, and podcasts on a variety of topics. HotNews is updated daily with news stories, podcasts, and opinion pieces. It also offers news in English, Russian, and Romanian. The site is available in several languages and has more than two million unique visitors daily, three million monthly, and thirty million page views. Those who are interested in hot news can subscribe to HotNews in their MY AUGI profile.


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Fitness trackers are convenient devices for tracking health related information. Unfortunately many organizations see genuinely good ideas and decide they must be mandatory. That’s what the Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma has decided:
Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is requiring incoming freshmen to wear Fitbit fitness trackers to record 10,000 steps per day, with the information being made available to professors.
“ORU offers one of the most unique educational approaches in the world by focusing on the Whole Person — mind, body and spirit,” ORU President William M. Wilson said in a statement, a local CBS News affiliate reported.
“The marriage of new technology with our physical fitness requirements is something that sets ORU apart,” he said. “In fact, when we began this innovative program in the fall of 2015, we were the first university in the world to offer this unique approach to a fitness program.”
The Fitbit device uses GPS technology to track how and where students exercise, eat and sleep, as well as the calories they burn, how much they weigh and other personal information, EAGNews reported.
This raises so many privacy related questions. How does the university verify each student has taken the right number of steps per day? Is the information synced to the student’s smartphone (assuming the student has a smartphone)? If so, is the data collected by an app created by the university or Fitbit’s app? If the latter does the university demand students hand over their Fitbit account credentials? Is the health data accessible at any time to the university?
More concerning is how this technology will be mandated in the future. Will health insurance companies begin mandating that customers must wear Fitbits and meet a certain number of daily steps? While one can choose not to attend the Orwell, err, Oral Roberts University they cannot decide to forgo health insurance less they be fined by the State. Could businesses require employees to wear Fitbits as part of a wellness program (one of my friends works a place where wearing a Fitbit is required to receive a health insurance discount but it’s not mandatory yet)?
Technology is great so long as it remains voluntary. It’s when organizations start mandating the use of a technology that things become frightening.


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Thousands of British microbusinesses receive demands for VAT - some for millions of euros - from Irish Revenue
Thousands of British microbusinesses have received demands for payment of VAT – some for millions of euros – from the Irish Revenue.
They are the result of new European rules designed to prevent giant corporations from profiting unfairly by basing themselves in lower-VAT regimes. But it is the smallest firms that have become caught up in a complex mess.
The rules, which came into force in January, mean the VAT on digital products such as music tracks must be paid where a consumer is located.
Taxing: The bill sent by the Irish Revenue to a retailer in Cheshire
Clare Josa, founder of the EU VAT Action campaign group, said: ‘Most microbusinesses can’t access the data needed to prove the place of supply, never mind working out which of 80-plus VAT rates to apply, then issuing a compliant VAT invoice in the correct language, currency and layout.’
In response, Revenue & Customs has implemented the Vatmoss scheme – a VAT Mini One Stop Shop – so small firms do not have to register in every EU state they sell to, instead submitting quarterly returns to the taxman.
But this month the Irish Revenue sent letters to 2,000 UK firms registered with Vatmoss demanding payment, in what Dublin later described as a ‘system error’. One Twitter user, @AstuteMusic, in Cheshire, tweeted a picture of their colossal ‘payment reminder’ and wrote: ‘Submitted and paid Vatmoss in time, including £11 due to Ireland. Just got bill for €2 million. HMRC system not working!’
The bill threatened action if it was not paid within ten days.
Meanwhile @stephenharris88 asked: ‘Anyone else received a wildly inaccurate Vatmoss bill from Ireland today? If I had sales to owe €17,000 in VAT I’d be a very happy boy.’ Another user @al45tair replied: ‘You’re lucky it’s only €17,000. Mine’s for €294,000.’
Juliet McKenna of EU VAT Action said: ‘Some recipients thought they were in danger of being aggressively pursued for a mistaken debt, while those convinced this was a scam were very worried about a data breach.’
Other firms have been hit by ludicrously tiny demands. McKenna said: ‘Small UK firms have been contacted direct by tax offices in Sweden, Germany, Denmark and Luxembourg so far, over discrepancies in Vatmoss returns of as little as five pence.’
Josa added: ‘These regulations need suspending with immediate effect for microbusinesses until a system fit for purpose can be agreed.’
She urged firms affected to write to their MEPs, adding: ‘Six months into the new rules, and thousands of microbusinesses have closed. Impact assessments over the past eight years ignored microbusinesses completely.
‘Decision-makers were told small firms never sold digital goods direct to customers, only through third-party platforms and not internationally.’
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- Are unloved bank shares primed to bounce back?
- New £2m electric Nevera: The fastest accelerating car in the world
- The all-new 7-seater SUV Kia Sorento with a panoramic sunroof


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Apr 21 2022
Russian rubber will face an additional import tariff of 35% when imported into the UK, the British government said April 21, as part of a second round of import sanctions against Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.
The UK government on March 15 said that Russian tires would face an additional 35% import tariff.
The sanctions this time, part of a GBP150 million sanctions package, extends the same measure to a wider group of "rubber and articles thereof" products under the HS code 4001, 4002, 4005, 4008, 4009, 4010, 4015, 4016.
Commodities including butadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, nitrile-butadiene rubber and isoprene rubber are included under HS code 4002.
The announcement did not provide a clear timeline and overall scope on implementing these measures, stating "legislation will be laid in due course to implement these measures. The overall scope of products affected by existing and planned tariff increases will remain under review."
The full list of affected Russian imports under the second round of sanction measures include commodities such as sugar, wood products, silk, cotton, as well as other products like diamond, toys and furniture.
Tires are the primary consumer of styrene-butadiene rubbers and other synthetic rubbers while also using materials such as carbon black and steel.


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MaxiTRANS have announced an investment of $50 million to grow and upgrade their Ballarat truck trailer manufacturing site.
The money will see the footprint of the companies Wendouree site expanded, with its manufacturing capabilities increased to support the national distribution of its product range.
The company says the investment will also enable the business to evolve with the changing needs of the transport industry.
Executive Chairman, Greg L’Estrange, says they’ve been working towards the site upgrade since 2021 and state-of-the-art equipment has already begun to be installed locally.
Newly developed areas of the facility will become operational over the coming months.


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Montreal fintech receives $11 million in Series A funding and $5.2 million in debt financing
MONTREAL, July 6, 2020 /CNW/ - Flinks today announced the closing of a Series A financing round of $11 million to fuel the company's growth in data connectivity and digitization in the financial services industry.
The Series A funding round was led by NAventures, National Bank's corporate venture capital arm that takes equity stakes in startups and growing businesses. The round also included participation from Intact Ventures, Luge Capital and Panache Ventures.
Flinks also obtained debt financing of $5.2 million from National Bank, its long-standing partner, and specifically the Bank's Technology and Innovation Banking Group, which offers specialized support to fast-growing technology businesses from start-up through to maturity.
The funding round will allow Flinks to continue innovating in the financial services industry by bringing its services to new verticals, such as wealth management, and continue its geographic expansion to further solidify its position as a market leader and reinforce its mission to help financial services businesses digitize and deliver products their clients will love.
The open banking framework has significant potential and a number of factors will need to be optimized to make the most of it. By developing and leveraging a powerful, secure data exchange network, Flinks will continue to considerably improve the experience of all stakeholders.
To learn more about Flinks, visit flinks.io.
"The digitization of financial services is more than just a trend. It's a profound reshaping of the industry, driven by rapidly changing consumer needs in a global context. Flinks is uniquely positioned to help businesses accelerate their digital transformation," said Flinks co-founder and CEO, Yves-Gabriel Leboeuf. "This investment from our strategic partners allows us to jumpstart the next phase of our mission: consolidating our position in our home market and building new innovative data products that will allow us to tackle global demand."
"NAventures firmly believes in democratizing innovation. That is why we are proud to support Flinks as they continue to establish their vital role in fintech ecosystems, both in Canada and abroad," said Philippe Daoust, Managing Director of Venture Capital at NAventures. "We see great alignment between Flinks' mission and our own focus on helping our clients manage their finances by providing them with innovative and reliable digital solutions."
"We at the Technology and Innovation Banking Group have had the privilege of supporting the growth of local companies for over 20 years now. We are thrilled to see Flinks continue to make a name for itself and innovate so that even more companies can make the shift to digital. Given the current context, we see that trend only picking up speed," stated Channt Chea, Senior Director – Technology and Innovation Banking Group at National Bank.
"Open banking has been an amazing accelerant for data consumers and fintechs, allowing for faster innovation and better products delivered to individuals. But, it has yet to deliver optimal benefits to data suppliers and financial institutions," says Flinks' Chief Revenue Officer, Clayton Feick. "Our ambition is to bridge the gap between suppliers and consumers, allowing for significant value exchange for everybody."
Flinks is a data company that empowers businesses to connect their users with financial services they want. Trusted by hundreds of world-class companies, Flinks enables businesses to connect users' bank accounts, enrich their data, and utilize it to deliver better products. An award-winning company, Flinks has become the leader in financial data connectivity in Canada in just three years, and is well on its way to become a global leader.
About National Bank of Canada
With $317 billion in assets as at April 30, 2020, National Bank of Canada, together with its subsidiaries, forms one of Canada's leading integrated financial groups. It has more than 26,000 employees in knowledge-intensive positions and has been recognized numerous times as a top employer and for its commitment to diversity. Its securities are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: NA). Follow the Bank's activities at nbc.ca or via social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
NAventures, the corporate venture capital arm of National Bank of Canada, takes equity stakes in startups and growing businesses to foster growth in companies that will shape the financial institutions of the future. Follow NAventures activities at nbc.ca/naventures.
For further information: Simon Wahl, [email protected]


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Week 36 in review: IFA week brings a myriad of announcements
Welcome to your personal recap of a very, very busy week in the world of tech. This week saw the IFA trade show's biggest announcements - while the show technically started on September 6, a number of smartphone announcements happened on the days before that.
Here's a list of the many announcements of the week, which include the Kirin 990, vivo Z1x, LG G8X ThinQ, Moto E6 Plus and One Zoom, Nokia 7.2 and 6.2, Huawei Enjoy 10 Plus, and many many more. We'll be focusing on the biggest announcements in the paragraphs to follow.
Samsung announced the Galaxy A90 5G and officially relaunched the Galaxy Fold. Interestingly, the company cancelled all the previous pre-orders it had for the Galaxy Fold but compensated eager early adopters with store credit.
A final note on Samsung - it's much-anticipated Galaxy M30s and its 6,000mAh battery will go official on September 18.
Sony announced the Xperia 5 - a 6.1-inch FHD+ compact variant of the Xperia 1 - it will begin pre-orders next week and is expected to start shipping in October.
Nokia unveiled two smartphones and a bunch of feature phones. The Nokia 7.2 and 6.2 bring HDR10 displays, triple cameras, recognizable Nokia resign and Android One software. The Nokia 7.2 will go on sale at the end of September, priced at €300, while the Nokia 6.2 comes out in October, starting at €200.
Android 10 came out this week. Google's Pixel 3 was the first to get it but was joined almost immediately by the likes of the Redmi K20 Pro and Essential Phone.
We had our first real good look at the Huawei Mate 30 Pro, thanks to official-looking press renders. Huawei confrimed that it will unveil its Mate 30 lineup on September 19 in Munich.
Huwei also made its Kirin 990 chipset official with an integrated 5G modem and added two new colors to the Huawei P30 Pro - Misty Lavender and Mystic Blue.
LG made its G8X ThinQ official. It adds a bigger display with an in-display fingerprint scanner, new 32MP selfie camera and larger 4,000mAh battery to the existing G8. It also comes with an updated Dual Screen accessory.
See you in a week!
It will arrive in South Korea tomorrow, with availability expanding to other markets at a later date.
The phone has a few differences from its bigger brother, most of them size-related.
The design lines up with previous leaks.
The Nokia 7.2 is like a Pro version of the 6.2 as it has a 48MP camera and a faster chipset.
It will come with seven cameras - three on the front and four at the back.
It's rumored to come with Samsung's brand new 108MP sensor.
The device will be an Amazon India exclusive.
The company is going “full circle” in Munich, Germany.
It packs the September security updates too.
Android 10 is rolling out to the Redmi K20 Pro and Essential Phone, OnePlus 7/7 Pro get open beta [UPDATED]
These are some surprisingly timely maneuvers.
It will arrive in South Korea on September 6, followed by France, Germany, Singapore, the UK, and the US.
It could be Laser AF. The phone also promises a new chipset and a larger battery (6,000mAh) compared to the vanilla Galaxy M30.
So far only the Mi Mix 4 was rumored to employ the mammoth sensor, but the Chinese company is really going all in.
The return of the SE has been predicted many times before - but this is the first time in history that iPhone sales are in a decline.
The single-core score of the smartphone is way better than any existing OnePlus, multiple cores - not so much.
It's like a Moto Z4 with extra cameras, including an ultra wide and a depth sensor. The One Zoom is an Android One phone.
It's a baffling move that comes on the day that the company has re-introduced the foldable smartphone.
None of them are European - the Old Continent has to wait until “early 2020”.
The 800 Tough is IP68 rated and MIL-STD-810G certified. Both it and the 2720 Flip feature Google Maps and Assistant, WhatsApp and Facebook.
Last week, we saw the two new colors options for the smaller Huawei P30.
At this point it's pretty much a given that the company's upcoming flagships will have the faster refresh rate.
The new Kirin 990 is more powerful and more efficient than the competition.
It comes with a 6.38" FHD+ Super AMOLED display, 32MP selfie camera, and a 4,500 mAh battery.
The phone may be missing a telephoto, but has most other markings of a high-end device.
Motorola's most affordable smartphone line is refreshed as well.
It's just a rebranded Realme 5 Pro after all.
- Note9 User
Okay, I went into Phone Finder by tapping on the red button magnifying glass in the top right hand corner, then I tapped on ADVANCED. In Phone Finder I narrowed down the search results to 36 by selecting: YEAR: 2018 - Max IP CERTIFICATE: MIL...
- 09 Sep 2019
Dear GAMIRSFM, Thankyou for your reply. I was particularly interested if there was anything new from Cat phones (built by Bullitt Group). Their Cat S31 and Cat S41 were announced at IFA 2017 so I was hoping for news about upgraded models. All the bes...
- 08 Sep 2019
The Nokia 800 Tough. I haven't seen any other rugged than that.
- 08 Sep 2019


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What's the downside to successfully stealing 40 million credit card numbers from Target? Trying to sell the data.
The CEO of retailer Target revealed Saturday in an interview that the company's point-of-sale (PoS) systems were infected with malware, confirming what security experts suspected since the massive data breach was announced in mid-December.
New attack campaigns have infected point-of-sale (PoS) systems around the world with sophisticated malware designed to steal payment card and transaction data.
A new Trojan program that targets users of online financial services has the potential to spread very quickly over the next few months, security researchers warn.
A new variant of a Trojan program that targets online banking accounts also contains code to search if infected computers have SAP client applications installed, suggesting that attackers might target SAP systems in the future.
The co-founder of Liberty Reserve, a now defunct virtual currency that was widely favored by the criminal underground, pleaded guilty on Thursday to money laundering and other charges.
Six Eastern European men are being sought by U.S. prosecutors for allegedly netting up to US$3 million by placing fraudulent advertisements for vehicles, motorcycles and boats on major online marketplaces, including eBay.
The cybercriminals behind ZeroAccess, one of the largest botnets in existence, have lost access to more than a quarter of the infected machines they controlled because of an operation executed by security researchers from Symantec.
A criminal gang attempted to plant a rogue hardware device on the network of a Santander bank branch in London to remotely control a computer and steal money.
A new Web-based service for cybercriminals automates the creation of fake scanned documents that can help fraudsters bypass the identity verification processes used by some banks, e-commerce businesses and other online services providers, according t...
A new variant of the Ramnit financial malware is using local Web browser injections in order to steal log-in credentials for Steam accounts, according to researchers from security firm Trusteer.
Mobile ad networks can provide a loophole to serve malware to Android devices, according to researchers from security firm Palo Alto Networks who have found new Android threats being distributed in this manner.
Five men from Russia and Ukraine have been indicted in New Jersey for charges they conspired with each other in a worldwide hacking scheme targeting major corporate networks that compromised more than 160 credit card numbers, the U.S. Department of J...
Citadel malware is installed on over 20,000 PCs in Japan and actively sending financial information it harvests to servers abroad, according to security software vendor Trend Micro.
As SAP invests heavily in mobile, a security testing company will release a tool next month to ensure mobile-accessible SAP systems are not vulnerable to hackers.
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WoW surpasses five-million
There are now more people playing World of Warcraft then live in my home country of Scotland. Blizzard's phenomenally successful MMO has reached yet another mind-boggling milestone. There are now over five million people subscribed to WoW, so many people that if you stacked them on top of each other you would have a very wobbly human tower that would probably stretch out of the planet's upper atmosphere.
WoW was released just over a year ago in North America and Australia. In the intervening times it has gone on to successfully appear in Europe and Asia. More fresh subscribers have joined the fight from the new territories of Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong. A release on the International Space Station is expected this April.
World of Warcraft's dominance of the online world looks in no imminent danger. When you acknowledge that the five million mark excludes players from freebie trials and cancelled or expired accounts WoW's market lead looks insurmountable and is surely a very daunting figure for any MMO developer looking to make some money from their latest endeavours. Unless the upcoming expansion takes as long as some fear (late 2006 is the only date given so far) as well as introducing the kind of game-breaking 'enhancements' that brought about the fall of SWG the lands of Azeroth will continue to be the most heavily populated virtual universe in history.
Mike Morhaine, president and co-founder of Blizzard had these words to say: "World of Warcraft's growth continues to exceed all our expectations. We want to reiterate our thanks to the millions of players worldwide and to all the retailers who have enthusiastically supported the game over the past year. Our commitment to continue growing World of Warcraft is stronger than ever, with development on future content patches and on our 2006 expansion, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, well underway. We look forward to offering even more content for current customers in the months ahead and welcoming new players into the world this holiday season."
- Call of Duty: Black Ops III is coming to the PS3 and Xbox 360 after all
- Tomonobu Itagaki's Devil's Third gets a release date
- Adr1ft is coming to PC and consoles at the end of the summer
- EA gives the new Mirror's Edge a name – Mirror's Edge Catalyst
- ZombiU PS4 and Xbox One port reportedly in the works
- Mike Bithell's Volume to be released this August
- Gearbox's new shooter Battleborn gets a pre-E3 trailer
- Steam Controller launches in October, Steam Machines arrive in November
- Gears Of War devs Black Tusk change their name to The Coalition ahead of E3


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SOTHEBY’S DOES $5.3 BILLION
Sotheby’s auction house sold $5.3 billion worth of art in 2008, according to an announcement of summary results for 2008 (the firm’s complete, audited report is due on Feb. 26, 2009). The total puts Sotheby’s ahead of arch-rival Christie’s, which posted sales of $5.1 billion (see Christie’s report, below).
Auction sales totaled $4.9 billion in the period, Sotheby’s said, leaving about $400 million for revenue from private sales, dealer revenue and auction post-sale transactions. The numbers given here include the auction-house buyer’s premium.
The total is well below the $6.2 billion Sotheby’s reported for 2007, reflecting the economic downturn that hit the art market with a vengeance in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Sotheby’s claims the top lot of 2008, Francis Bacon’s Triptych (1976), which sold for $86.3 million, a record for a work of contemporary art at auction. Other top lots included Kazimir Malevich’s Suprematist Composition and Yves Klein’s golden MG 9, which sold for $60 million and $23.6 million, respectively. Sotheby’s sold six of the ten top lots in 2008.
The firm reports that it sold 14 lots for over $20 million, 41 lots for over $10 million and 726 lots for over $1 million. Sotheby’s seems to be going for the higher-priced lots in general, for it said it reduced lot volume in 2008 by 38 percent.
CHRISTIE’S DOES $5.1 BILLION
Christie’s sales for 2008 totaled $5.1 billion, the firm said, a number that represents a drop in 11 percent from its 2007 sales total of $6.1 billion. Private sales in 2008 totaled $487 million, including revenues from Haunch of Venison, the private gallery that the auction house bought in early 2007.
Christie’s said it conducted more than 600 sales in 14 salesrooms worldwide, selling 629 works of art at auction for over $1 million each. As auction expert Josh Baer in his Baer Faxt noted, together the two firms sold 1,355 works for over $1 million. "That’s almost four a day!"
The shift of the market from New York to London, noticed by market observers and generally attributed to the weak rate of exchange for the U.S. dollar, is confirmed by the numbers: Business was up in London and Europe by 14 percent, rising to $2.25 billion, while sales totals fell in the United States by 30 percent, to $1.18 billion.
The conundrum presented by exchange rates is well illustrated by the results of Hong Kong sales. They increased by six percent if measured in pounds (to £248.5 million), and decreased by four percent if measured in dollars (to $452.3 million).
Sales volume rose in the Asian art category (going up 4 percent to $678.7 million), but fell in all the other art categories. Impressionist and modern was down 17 percent to $1.2 billion; post-war and contemporary was down 30 percent to $1.086 billion; Old Masters were down 29 percent to $216 million; American pictures were down 27 percent to $107.5 million; Russian art was down 59 percent to $59 million; and Latin American paintings were down 18 percent to 49.8 million.
Top lots at Christie’s in 2008 included a Claude Monet water lily painting from 1919 ($80.5 million, a new auction record for the artist), a Francis Bacon triptych from 1977 ($51.7 million), and Mark Rothko’s No. 15 from 1952 ($50.4 million). Christie’s also sold Andy Warhol’s Double Marlon (1966) for $32.5 million.
SOTHEBY’S LONDON CONTEMPORARY
Sotheby’s London was justly proud of its evening sale of contemporary art on Feb. 5, 2009, as the notably truncated auction -- only 27 works -- posted a rather nice sell-through rate of more than 92 percent, with all but two lots finding buyers. The sale total was £17,879,250 ($25,785,250), which the firm called "one of the highest ever achieved for a February sale in this category at Sotheby’s."
The top lot was Lucio Fontana’s Concetto Spaziale (1962), a swirling punctured escutcheon of gold and white paint, which sold for £4,409,250 ($6,259,020). Three bidders vied for the lot, which fell in the end to a private European buyer on the telephone.
Another top lot was Jeff Koons’ Stacked (1988), a polychromed wood sculpture of four farm animals stacked one atop the other, surmounted by a cute bird, from the artist’s "Banality" series, which sold for £2,841,250. The work had previously sold in 1997 for $250,000, and was being sold this time around by Chicago collector Richard Cooper, according to press reports. The buyer was billed as "U.S. Trade," so expect the work to show up on the market again.
CONTEMPORARY ART AT CHRISTIE’S LONDON
Six days later, on the evening of Feb. 11, 2009, Christie’s London held its evening sale of post-war and contemporary art. The sale total was a modest $12,085,560, with 23 of 29 lots finding buyers, or 79 percent.
The two most expensive works in the auction, Francis Bacon’s Man in Blue (est. £4 million-£6 million) and Mark Rothko’s Green, Blue, Green on Blue (est. £2.5 million-£3.5 million), failed to find buyers. "All in all, it was pretty miserable," wrote Josh Baer.
Still, prices for contemporary art remain otherworldly. The top-selling lot was Jeff Koons’ Monkeys (Ladder) (2003), a nine-foot-tall painting from the artist’s "Popeye" series, which sold for £1,385,250 (ca. $2,000,000), including premium, just under the presale low estimate of £1,400,000. The buyer was Gagosian Gallery, according to the Baer Faxt.
Other top lots included Willem de Kooning’s Women Singing I (1966), which went for £825,250, and Jenny Saville’s Juncture (1994), which sold for £457,250, above the presale high estimate. Both the Koons and the de Kooning were billed as "fresh to the market."
£4.2 MILLION AT PHILLIPS LONDON
Phillips de Pury & Co. held its contemporary art evening sale in London on Feb. 12, 2009, totaling £4,213,250 with 35 of 53 lots selling, or 66 percent. The estimated value for the entire sale was £6.8 million-£9.3 million.
Top lot was Martin Kippenberger’s Portrait of Paul Schreber (Designed by Himself), which sold for £432,000, at the low end of its presale estimate.
Dan Colen’s Untitled (Going, Going, Go. . .), a small storybook-style oil painting of a candle whose smoke spells out the title phrase, sold for £92,500, more than double the presale high estimate and a new auction record for the artist.
For complete, illustrated auction results, see Artnet’s signature Fine Art Auctions Report.


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Welcome to Nikkei Asian Preview.
How can we make this newsletter better? Give us your feedback here.
Here's what we're covering this week, plus scroll down for a sneak peek of our next cover story:
Catholic pontiff meets with Japan's new emperor
After spending Sunday with survivors of nuclear and natural disasters in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Pope Francis heads to Tokyo to meet with the newly enthroned Emperor Naruhito and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Catholics from across the Asia-Pacific region are expected to fill the 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome for a Mass with the pontiff on Monday.
A reunion: On Tuesday, the pope will visit Sophia University, where he will be reunited with the chaplain, Father Juan Haidar, an old seminary friend from his native Argentina.
Read: The archbishop of Tokyo penned a Nikkei column on the pope's message of respect for refugees and the disabled.
Southeast Asian leaders gather in Seoul
Seeking to strengthen economic ties and win support for the Korean peace process, South Korea will host a two-day summit with ASEAN leaders.
Conspicuously absent: Kim Jong Un declined President Moon Jae-in's invitation, saying it is "not the right time." North Korea's leader has preferred direct talks, like his past meetings with Moon and U.S. President Donald Trump, over multilateral forums.
Alibaba IPO gives a signal to mainland companies
After raising at least $11.3 billion in a highly oversubscribed offering, Alibaba Group Holding will make its debut on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. The strong opening for the e-commerce giant, which is also listed in New York, may be just the cue that other mainland Chinese companies have been waiting for to pursue dual listings.
Shiseido to open new plants to serve Chinese demand
Japan's top cosmetics company, Shiseido, will hold a news conference ahead of the opening of three domestic plants. The production increase is a response to rising demand for "made in Japan" products in China and Southeast Asia, and from Japan's inbound tourist market.
Will Xiaomi's fortunes improve?
After facing three consecutive quarters of shipment declines, Xiaomi, the world's No. 4 smartphone company by shipments, will host an earnings call on Wednesday.
Headwinds at home: In the Chinese market alone, Xiaomi's shipments plunged as much as 30.5%, with its market share falling to 9.8% from 13.6%, over the past year. Rivals Oppo and Vivo suffered roughly 20% shipment drops, according to IDC's data, as Huawei continued an aggressive domestic expansion to make up for its trade war setbacks.
Related: In Indonesia, Oppo has dethroned Samsung as No. 1 in Asia's fastest-growing smartphone market.
Malaysia's Axiata and DRB-Hicom release Q2 earnings
Two Malaysian conglomerates, telecom giant Axiata Group and auto manufacturer DRB-Hicom, will announce second-quarter earnings on Thursday. Last month, Axiata walked away from a $13 billion merger with Norway's Telenor, which would have created the largest telecom operator in Southeast Asia. DRB's earnings last quarter missed analysts' expectations due to weak results from its automotive segment.
Rajapaksa to India for first foreign visit as president
Gotabaya Rajapaksa's election as Sri Lanka's president marked a comeback for the Rajapaksa clan, long seen as close to China. But an invitation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit New Delhi signals India's efforts to compete with Beijing over influence in the Indian Ocean.
Will India's economic slowdown continue?
On the same day, India will release second-quarter economic data amid predictions by some economists that growth may decline further owing to a sustained slowdown across sectors.
India's economy grew only 5% in the first quarter, and analysts forecast a 5.6% growth rate in 2019, compared with 7.4% in 2018.
Opinion: By walking away from the RCEP, India lost an opportunity to reinvigorate its economy.
Gojek's first anniversary in Singapore
Andre Soelistyo, co-CEO of Indonesia's Gojek, will meet the press in Singapore on Friday, a year after the Indonesian ride-hailing company launched in the city-state.
The briefing will draw attention from investors and consumers as Gojek battles for supremacy in Southeast Asia with its Singaporean archrival, Grab.
What's a co-CEO? Soelistyo and Kevin Aluwi assumed their joint roles after Gojek's charismatic founder, Nadiem Makarim, left to join President Joko Widodo's new cabinet last month.
Bank of Korea expected to keep rates at 1.25%
In its monetary policy meeting on Friday, South Korea's central bank will be under pressure to cut the benchmark rate again to help Asia's fourth-largest economy, which has lost steam due to dwindling exports.
Japan's and India's foreign and defense ministers meet
The first Japan-India 2-plus-2 dialogue will take place on Saturday ahead of a December summit between the countries' prime ministers. Both forums will likely focus on strengthening cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
Don't forget to tell us what you think of our Monday newsletter here.
STAY TUNED: Will India be ground zero for SoftBank Group's next failure? This week's cover story comes out on Wednesday.


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There is nothing quite as nasty as cigarette butts lying about where smokers flick them after getting their nicotine fix, even in these times when smoking has become socially unacceptable. With that problem in mind, the city of New Orleans recently launched a cigarette butt recycling effort, similar to one already in operation in Canada, according to the Huffington Post.
The idea is that cigarette butt recycling containers are situated near park benches and other areas where smokers congregate. After having their smoke, the smokers deposit their butts into the containers. City workers sweep up the butts that the more careless flick onto the ground and add them to the containers.
New Orleans sells the cigarette butts to a company called TerraCycle, based in Trenton, New Jersey at $4 a pound. The company then goes to work processing and recycling the cigarette butts into useful things.
The organic parts of the butts, the paper and tobacco, are turned into compost. The tobacco is not used to make more cigarettes. The toxic residue on the filters is removed with gamma radiation, in a process similar to what is used on fish and other meat to remove bio-contamination. The filters are then shredded and melted down into plastic pellets. The plastic is then used to make building material or shipping pallets. The plastic is not used to make consumer products because of the stigma surrounding cigarette butts.
The benefit of recycling cigarette butts is that not only will cigarette butts be diverted from landfills and instead made into useful things, but that smokers will become environmentally aware and avoid flicking the butts onto the ground, creating an eyesore.


text: The U.S. Department of Transportation has set new fuel efficiency standards for automobiles in the United States, beginning with the 2011 model year. Automakers will be required to follow a fleet-wide average fuel efficiency of 27.3 miles per gallon (mpg), with cars coming in at 30.2 mpg and light trucks at 24.1 mpg. "These standards are important steps in the nation's quest to achieve energy independence and bring more fuel efficient vehicles to American families," says Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The Detroit News reports that the new standards will cost the auto industry up to $1.5 billion to implement and that the cost will be passed back to consumers with an average price increase of $64 per passenger car and $126 per light truck. The News says the new standards subject nearly every vehicle under 10,000 pounds to the requirement; under prior rules most vehicles over 8,500 pounds were exempt from fuel efficiency regulations.


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China Shuts Down Marriott's Site for Disrespecting Its Borders
China has temporarily suspended the use of Marriott's website and mobile app in the country on Thursday after the chain was accused of disrespecting Chinese sovereignty. Both the website and app are set to remain inaccessible for one week.
What did Marriott do to elicit such a response from China? According to Reuters, Marriott listed Hong Kong, Macau, Tibet and Taiwan as separate countries in a customer questionnaire. In addition, according to the BBC, one of the chain's social media accounts "liked" a post made by a group that supports separatist Tibet.
Along with closing the website for one week, the Shanghai Cyberspace Administration said that it was disabling access to the Marriott mobile app. Both moves are expected to disrupt bookings — both in China and around the world. The move could not only affect new bookings but also existing ones. According to Chinese media, some Chinese travelers are cancelling their existing reservations.
"Marriott International respects Chinese sovereignty and its territorial integrity... We sincerely apologize for any actions that led to misunderstanding on the aforementioned stance," Marriott said in a statement.
The authorities reportedly asked Marriott to "take down all relevant content, conduct a thorough check on all contents it posted on its website and online application to prevent anything similar, and address the public's concern in a timely fashion to eliminate a negative impact."
Tibet is governed by China as an autonomous region and both Hong Kong and Macau are special administrative regions of China. Beijing also considers Taiwan, which has its own democratic elections, to be a breakaway province.


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Business & Economy
Software firm Sage expands offering with CakeHR deal
December 2, 2019
A North East software firm has bought a cloud-based HR operator.
Sage has acquired CakeHR in a deal bosses say will boost the Newcastle-based operator’s support for small businesses.
CakeHR is known for helping small firms simplify and automate HR tasks, providing 27,000 users worldwide with services that support areas such as wage payments and expenses approval management.
Officials say it will continue to serve its customers before being offered to Sage’s existing customers in the UK in 2020.
Lee Perkins, Sage chief product officer, said: “Building and acquiring great technology to help accountants and businesses focus on what matters most is a critical part of Sage becoming a great Software as a Service company.
“CakeHR provides easy-to-use cloud-based HR services that help businesses drive productivity and provide great experiences for their people.
“We have been hugely impressed with the people and technology at CakeHR, particularly their ability to enable employees to self-manage, and are delighted to welcome them to Sage.”
Kaspars Upmanis, chief executive of CakeHR, added: “By combining our experience and expertise with Sage, CakeHR will be able to further its vision of providing an easy-to-use, powerful and always-accessible HR platform to any organisation.
“HR deserves better and must be simplified.
“Joining the ranks of Sage has brought us closer to that goal than ever before.”
The announcement of the deal comes just days after Sage revealed it had reached an agreement to offload its Sage Pay operation to global payments company Elavon.
Bosses expect the transaction to complete in the second quarter of the 2020 financial year, with the business anticipating a £180 million statutory profit upon disposal.


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Honda to develop three new EV platforms to meet its goal by 2030
Vietnam may soon have a 24-hour take-down law that targets illegal social media contents
As the most imitated brand in phishing attempts, is LinkedIn really safe for professional networking?
Is Japan replicating China and the EU in tightening the screws on tech giants?
Game over in China for foreign games?
BigPay completes e-wallet offerings ahead of digital banking license announcement in Malaysia
Why is China’s tech crackdown widening on Tencent?
CBDC: China expands digital yuan trial across more cities nationwide
Lazada: Online shopping integral to everyday life
FIS: Asia Pacific continues to set the pace in digital wallet
While the US gathers allies, China silently achieved semiconductor breakthrough
1 August, 2022
TikTok dethrones Google as the new search engine?
2 August, 2022
Chip shortage: The lack of “chips to make chips” is exacerbating the shortage by another 2 years
27 June, 2022


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Back in May, Microsoft announced that it was going to hold monthly events to show off its next-gen Xbox up until its launch. Then it skipped June. But here we are in July, and Microsoft has announced that the next event will be on July 23 at noon Eastern Time.
If you're an Xbox fan, this is the event that you won't want to miss, because as was promised back in May, this is the one where Microsoft will show off its exclusives. Yes, that means Halo Infinite will be shown in all its glory. Don't get too excited though, as you still can't buy it until this holiday season.
The event will focus on games though, rather than hardware. There have been rumors of a cheaper version of the Xbox Series X, possibly called the Xbox Series S, for a while. That might be announced in August, and almost certainly not at the event this month.
Other than Halo Infinite, it's anyone's guess what we may see this month. Typical launch titles would include Xbox staples like Forza and Gears of War, and then there are games that were already teased like Psychonauts 2. The event will be live-streamed on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch. Obviously, it won't be coming to Mixer, since Microsoft is killing off its streaming service before then.


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Paysafe Launches Its Payment Solutions in the US State of Kansas
Paysafe, the specialist payment solution provider for gaming businesses and players, has announced its services will be available to operators in the US state of Kansas.
Tier 1 operators including Caesars Entertainment, DraftKings, and PointsBet have agreed with Paysafe to extend their partnership into the state of Kansas, which has opened up the regulated sports betting market to coincide with the start of the NFL season.
This move continues Paysafe’s progress into the newly regulated sports betting markets in North America, along with the states of New York, Louisiana, Oregon, Ontario, and Arkansas during 2022. This takes the total States the payment solution provider has entered so far in the US market is now standing at 23.
Paysafe has upgraded its service so that customers can link their bank account to their Paysafe account, making it easier and more flexible for players to use a greater variety of payment options.
The Paysafe entry into Kansas will additionally allow the company to use its affiliate marketing platform to grow its player payments conversions in partnership with its operators.
We’re delighted to continue our 2022 North American expansion by entering Kansas, the newest regulated U.S. iGaming market. We look forward to using our payment solutions and affiliate marketing technology to help operators in Kansas establish their brands by acquiring new players and retaining them, to also ensure the wider market’s growth.


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Troubled cannabis grower CannTrust Holdings Inc.’s (TSX:TRST) ability to build operations in B.C. are in doubt thanks to Health Canada issuing the company with a non-compliance order. The company allegedly grew cannabis in five unlicensed rooms at a 12-room facility in Ontario, among other infractions.
After Ontario-based CannTrust on July 8 revealed that rebuke from the nation’s regulator, its shares fell more than 22% to close at a 52-week low of $5.
Investor fears centred on how severely the non-compliance order may impact the amount of cannabis that CannTrust is able to produce.
Previous Health Canada non-compliance orders at licensed cannabis producers resulted in B.C.-based Ascent Industries Corp. (CSE:ASNT) and Manitoba-based Bonify having their licences suspended. Ascent then sold its Canadian cannabis assets.
CannTrust bought 81 acres of land in B.C. that it had intended to convert into an outdoor grow-op. It originally forecast that it would grow 75,000 kilograms of cannabis from that land in 2019, but on July 3 confirmed that the site does not yet have a licence and that the highest production total possible on the site this year is now around 15,000 kilograms.
That amount, however, is contingent on cultivation launching in the first half of July. CannTrust said July 3 that if it fails to plant any crops at the B.C. acreage by August 5, “there will be no outdoor harvest in 2019.”
Could the Health Canada non-compliance order derail the company’s ability to get a licence for that site, at least this year?
“Absolutely it could,” Groundwork Consulting partner Jamie Shaw told Business in Vancouver.
“You would hope that they would be subject to some extra scrutiny. Some of the details around the [non-compliance] order were that some reporting was wrong, and there were crops growing where they weren’t supposed to grow. There were quite a few things [wrong.]”
MNP's B.C. leader for cannabis, Peter Guo, said there remains uncertainty over how the news will impact CannTrust's B.C. operations.
"Guaranteed they will be subject to extra scrutiny," he said. "The question then becomes, 'Does that impact their current in-process licence, or will it just be under more scrutiny?'"
He explained that being under more scrutiny might mean more of a bureaucratic delay than an outright rejection of a licence to grow cannabis outdoors in B.C.
CannTrust told BIV in a statement that it is having "ongoing dialogue with Health Canada regarding the application for outdoor grow in B.C. The company’s application for outdoor grow in B.C. and the current investigation in [Ontario] are separate matters.”
It gave more information about its B.C. operations in its July 3 release. CannTrust said that it expected to soon reach a definitive agreement for a long-term lease for an additional 160 acres of land in B.C. and that all of its outdoor land, or about 240 acres, would be prepared for planting at the beginning of the growing season in 2020. It plans to reveal where in B.C. its properties are once all lease agreements are finalized.
Its expectation is that the land will produce between 100,000 kilograms and 200,000 kilograms of cannabis in B.C. annually, according to the July 3 statement. That, however, is contingent on getting new Health Canada licences.
In other news related to CannTrust, BIV reported in April that when a consumer took a sample of CannTrust’s Kinky Kush cannabis to an unlicenced lab for testing, the result reportedly showed that the sample contained pesticide.
A separate concern was that the Kinky Kush sample was labelled as having 27% THC even though the lab test revealed that the sample contained just 19% THC.
While disparity in THC percentages can vary several percentage points within the same plant or within plants in a grow room, a disparity of eight percentage points was puzzling, Anandia Labs president John Coleman told BIV at the time.


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Fashion with a difference......
The Ag Artwear Competition has become a popular feature at Agfest. Garments are made by recycling farm yard junk into wearable art forms. Emphasis is on garments that are totally made from items found on farms, with no pre-made items allowed.
The entrants will have the opportunity to either display their garment or a photo during the field days with the main parade taking place on Saturday in Central Arena and the public vote will take place via Social Media post the 2020 event.
Information regarding the Ag Artwear Competition will be available in January, for Agfest 2020.


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Joan Collins auctioned off couture gowns from her “Dynasty” days and other personal items at Julien’s Auctions last week.
The dress she wore when she was made a Dame fetched $20,025 — and she was also able to unload her 1973 British MG roadster that she never drove because she couldn’t handle a stick shift. It sold for $8,525. Two love letters from Warren Beatty went for $1,920.
Collins also sold Marilyn Monroe’s official certificate of conversion to Judaism for $68,750.
One item Collins couldn’t part with was a beaded Versace jacket.
“She took it back because it was too fabulous,” a longtime friend said.


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PRESS RELEASE Istanbul, 12/11/2018
Offering service to 122 countries and being one of the fastest-growing air cargo brands around the world, Turkish Cargo continues to increase the number of QEP (Qualified Envirotainer Provider) accredited stations that demonstrates their commitment to providing quality services for the transportation of pharmaceutical products.
Having received the QEP accreditation for 15 new stations, including Helsinki Taipei, Vienna, Kuwait, Maastricht, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Tokyo, Chicago, Madrid, Cairo, Roma, Dusseldorf , Budapest, San Francisco.
Envirotainer, a company providing pharma-protective technological solutions, increased the number of its accredited stations to 38. The flag carrier air cargo brand has just presented its reliability in terms of handling of the Envirotainer containers and cold chain shipments, once more.


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BEEF Magazine is the source for beef production, management and market news.
January 23, 2019
There is an old and prickly industry issue that’s still around, yet with updates and new twists and turns, accurate descriptions and misnomers and the need for new realizations and prompt actions
The most recent batch of what Mark Dopp prefers to call “alternative proteins” rather than “fake meat” have gotten the beef industry’s attention because the potential—destructive in our eyes—is greater.
Dopp, being a lawyer and wanting to be precise, points out that “fake meat” might apply to plant-based protein products but not so much to other alternative proteins that will at least start with animal-based cell proteins. That is to say, scientists tell him that proteins that are “grown” from a meat animal cell are, from a strict scientific standpoint, meat. Dopp is general counsel and senior vice president for regulatory and scientific affairs for the North American Meat Institute (NAMI).
Dopp told an audience of cattlemen and cattlewomen at the National Western Stock Show’s Red Meat Club that when he queried FDA and USDA about these new products and plans for new products in June of 2017, they were not aware of them. Some of the early claims for some of the products made “claims that went over the line.”
Dopp made it plain there was one thing paramount over all other goals: he’s after getting regulations in place to get a level playing field.
“Traditional meat is what we do,” he said. “We are not going to go away. Some of these products may or may not be here five years from now.”
What got everything going, Dopp said, was the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) dropping a petition. The problem is, it was poorly drafted and did not properly acknowledge the official definition of meat we already had. If the petition had been granted, everything would have been handed over to the FDA.
“That we opposed,” he said. “We wanted USDA to handle regulating as much as possible.” Dopp pointed out how confusing the dairy case is, with “milk” made from non-dairy products. The FDA does not enforce the rules, he said.
However, the petition energized the White House, he said. The National Economic Council (NEC), the Domestic Policy Council and the Oval Office itself took an interest. There were meetings with the NEC and the Office of Management and Budget. The key was explaining to all why USDA must be involved.
The White House “adamantly opposed” having USDA involved, feeling it would favor the meat industry. At this stage, Memphis Meats, the leader of the cell-based alternatives, knew the meat industry was losing the battle. They preferred FDA to do the early-stage regulating and USDA to handle things at the food stage.
In August, NAMI and Memphis Meats sent a joint letter to the government, asking for a meeting with the White House, USDA and FDA all present.
The letter held that if the regulatory system was to protect consumers while fostering innovation, the agencies must coordinate and collaborate in their efforts.
The letter also suggested the establishment of an agreed-upon terminology for the new category of products.
“Cell-based meat products are meat produced from animal cells in cell culture,” the letter said. “They are an ‘and,’ not an ‘or,’ solution, and the latest in a long history of innovation in American agriculture. Recognizing a shared desire to support innovation and feed the world, moving forward we will use the term ‘cell-based meat and poultry’ to describe the products that are the result of animal cell culture.”
In October 2018, FDA and USDA announced they would jointly regulate cell-based alternative proteins.
Was NAMI concerned? Yes. But key to this arrangement is the FDA would regulate the development technology but once the product was harvested, USDA would take over, including the labeling regulations.
Some of the cell-based companies are getting close to having a product, Dopp said.
Anxious not to have happen to meat what happened to the dairy industry regarding terminology and consumer confusion, several states have been involved in front-running legislation to address the situation. Dopp said their intentions are good but federal regulation will supersede any of the state efforts.
Again, the goal for consumers and for producers must be a level playing field, Dopp said. That means not only nomenclature and labeling but that other practices like HAACP and SSOPs must be required, just like the meat industry must do. It also means it is incredibly important that cells have passed inspection to assure safety for consumers.
Dopp also referred to various companies embarking on these projects thinking they are doing something good for the planet, that they are looking ahead for new ways to feed a growing population.
It will be up to them to prove and persuade consumers that their product is safe.
A couple of other interesting facts came up in Q & A session, including that the products under development tend to be items similar to ground “meat “ products, like “meat” balls, sausage and nuggets. The scientists growing these cells in bioreactor tanks claim they can manipulate product characteristics in the tanks, depending on what they “feed” certain cells but muscle cuts are not on the list for now. However, a company in Israel says it is developing a whole-muscle cell-based product.
Dittmer is a longtime beef industry commentator and executive vice president of the Agribusiness Freedom Foundation.
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Off-Highway Research offers a range of products and servies encompassing the global market.
These include our Special Reports on the global hydraulic excavator, mobile crane and wheeled loader segments, as well as our broad market sizing tools, the Global Volume and Value Service and Global Volume and Value Service PLUS.
Off-Highway Research has updated its Global Construction Equipment Markets report in light its revised forecasts. Construction equipment sales are expected to fall 19 per cent this year.
Off-Highway Research has revised its 2020-2024 sales forecasts in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Global construction equipment sales are expected to fall 19 per cent this year.
Final figures for 2019 are now available in our databases and we will be providing ALL clients with extra updates to our forecasts as the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak becomes clear.


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The presidential candidate steps into the politics of Twitter. He says repeating an audience member's rude colloquialism aimed at Ted Cruz was like a retweet.
Form a four-man freedom fighter cell and reclaim America with customizable weapons, open-ended tactics, and a free year of downloadable content.
The Boska Petit Paris Cheese Board features an integrated wire cutter. The cheese serving platter also comes with a lid.
Want to be more of a player on Twitter? Don't be afraid to say the same thing four times a day, the investor and former Apple evangelist advises.
Quarter after quarter, Apple rigorously follows a basic formula that has resulted in consistently excellent results. Easy in theory, harder in practice.
A security firm has claimed Apple is telling porkies when it says it can't read your iMessages, but Apple denies it.
The social network's chief insists that Facebook doesn't go out of its way to help the government collect user information. Quite the opposite, actually, he says.
If your Mac Pro persists in telling you a RAM upgrade has worked properly, there's a way you can dismiss this message.
A more than year-old compatibility issue between Windows Phone and YouTube is proof Google needs tighter antitrust scrutiny, according to Microsoft officials.
Here's a quick tip for adding an event on Facebook with the same details as another.


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A removable SSD and additional security features are also standard on a slightly tweaked version of Microsoft's tablet aimed at business customers.
No matter the system, ViewSonic's new lineup of monitors has all gamers covered.
Ahead of CES, the company also teases updates to the Elite Dragonfly and Envy 14 laptops, as well as a new pair of true wireless earbuds.
In-person product demos and networking events are off the table, but the all-virtual show must go on. Here's what we expect to see at the reimagined CES.
Gram laptops get a processor upgrade, while LG extends the 16:10 aspect ratio to the full lineup.
The Chromebook Spin 514 offers Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 options in a slim hybrid form factor.
Acer throws three new contenders into the gaming monitor mix.
Sony's Cognitive Processor XR, coming in the 2021 Bravia XR lineup, analyzes multiple aspects of a picture at once.
You'll find no buttons or knobs here. The automaker plans on installing the MBUX Hyperscreen later this year in the all-electric EQS sedan.
When the PC flips into tablet mode, you can attach an optional gaming controller and convert the prototype Lavie Mini into a Nintendo Switch-like device.
Samsung's Galaxy Chromebook2 is a premium Chromebook with a QLED screen that won't break the bank.
For now, only the 16-inch AMD-powered IdeaPad 5 Pro is confirmed for the US market. Expect it to arrive in May starting at $1,149.
The Yoga AIO 7 swivels from a horizontal mode into a vertical view, thanks to the rotatable hinge.
Gigabyte also says owners of its Z490 motherboards that feature the PCIe 4.0 interface will be able to run Rocket Lake CPUs following an update to the motherboard’s BIOS.
Samsung's new MicroLED TVs will be available in three large sizes, and an updated Neo QLED panel technology adds mini LED backlighting to the company's flagship LCD TVs.
The company is also introducing a pair of modular desktop PCs, which are small enough to be hidden inside a custom stand for a computer monitor.
The manufacturer is so bullish on the demand for OLED laptops that it's forecasting a 500% increase in annual sales for the panels.
The company is planning a 'GeForce RTX: Game On' event for next month's virtual CES. It's scheduled to start an hour after AMD's own event kicks off.
The organizers behind CES are confident they can somehow enforce social distancing at the event, which usually attracts more than 175,000 visitors to Las Vegas.
Delta CIO Rahul Samant talks about the evolution of entertainment, parallel realities, and the trickiness of free inflight Wi-Fi.


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One of the automotive world’s most powerful businessmen ended up stepping in over a row involving a dealership that poured scorn over a customer’s ability to pay.
A farmer plus his relatives and friends were insulted by a salesman when they went to a Mahindra Automotive showroom in the Tumukur district in the Indian state of Karnataka, according to various news reports.
The farmer – who was identified as a Mr Kempegowda – went with the group 10 days ago (Jan 21) to buy a £10k Bolero pick-up from the unspecified SUV dealership.
Rather than being welcomed with open arms, though, they were taunted because of their appearance.
According to Kempegowda, he was told he couldn’t afford something costing 10 rupees – equivalent to 10p – never mind the £10,000 truck.
He added that one of the sales staff said they’d deliver the Bolero if the group could come up with the money in half an hour.
‘We were standing there and (the employees) were laughing at us. No one came to support us,’ he was quoted as saying.
But despite booking it and coming back with the money within 30 minutes, the truck wasn’t delivered.
The dispute was filmed and went viral, a complaint with a written apology from the salesman was filed with police – and the incident eventually reached the attention of Anand Mahindra, the billionaire chairman of the Mahindra Group conglomerate.
The 66-year-old promised a full investigation, saying the company’s core values included upholding individual dignity and that ‘any aberration from this philosophy will be addressed with great urgency’.
It eventually ended amicably, with Kempegowda buying the pick-up and Mahindra Automotive welcoming him into the Mahindra family, adding that it regretted ‘the inconvenience’ caused to Kempegowda and his group.
The company also said that ‘appropriate measures’ had been taken, and Mahindra himself, who has 8.7m followers on Twitter, retweeted the message with his own personal welcome:
Mahindra Group’s business interests include vehicle manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra, which is one of India’s largest vehicle manufacturers. Its subsidiaries include Pininfarina, and Mahindra Group’s revenue for 2021 was $21.9bn (circa £16.3bn).
It’s not known what has become of the salesman, but it’s certainly a salutary lesson to never judge a book by its cover…


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The Chinese smartphone maker, which high-end products are little known among the mass consumers, is entering the US market today with the help of two key allies, the chip manufacturer Qualcomm and the mobile operator T-Mobile.
Shenzhen-based OnePlus takes this step after the US telecoms AT&T and Verizon have dropped out of plans to work with the Chinese company Huawei under the pressure of the US government, which believes it is a security risk.
But the partnership with OnePlus shows how many business links between the US and China, including those moderl technologies, are moving ahead despite the trade war. OnePlus quietly became Qualcomm’s third-largest customer in terms of its most expensive mobile chips. The company ranks after Samsung and LG Electronics in this ranking.
The President of Qualcomm, Cristiano Amon, last week presented 29-year-old founder Carl Pei during Hong Kong’s annual meeting where he told the audience that his company will be among the first to release a 5G smartphone using Qualcomm chips. In an interview, Carl Pei declined to comment on the partnership with American players. Such relationships, however, are key to companies like OnePlus, which want to reap big success in the US smartphone market.
Today, the company will present a smartphone called 6T, which will be sold at less than 500 USD, and features that we usually see on more expensive devices.
Chinese competitor Xiaomi, which also focuses on good smartphones at more affordable prices, says that plans to enter the US next year. The company has not responded to requests for comment if these plans remain in force.
OnePlus is not a common Chinese technology company. Others usually focus on mass consumer products in their domestic market. On the other hand, OnePlus sells only premium devices that cost 400 USD or more, almost exculpable online, without India, and generates two-thirds of its revenue outside China.


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By Sam Silverstein
Source: Grocery Dive
- Sales at Albertsons have returned to their levels before the pandemic started in early 2020, according to an analysis of consumer transaction data published Tuesday by Bloomberg Second Measure.
- The grocer is also seeing fewer shoppers than it did prior to the onset of the public health crisis, although average monthly sales per customer remain higher, Second Measure reported.
- While the surge in overall sales Albertsons posted at the beginning of the pandemic may have fizzled, people’s spending at Albertsons remains heightened.
The increase in monthly sales per customer that has been compensating for the pandemic-induced drop-off in the number of shoppers the grocer has seen each month is subsiding, according to the report from Bloomberg Second Measure.
While Albertsons’ average monthly sales per customer were higher throughout 2021 than they were in 2019, the metric began trending downward as 2021 drew to a close, Second Measure found. By contrast, the grocer saw average monthly sales per shopper rise during the final months of 2020 and 2019.