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Retail Brokers ‘Kicking and Screaming’ as Landlords Skip the Middle Man
Some commercial real estate brokers are “kicking and screaming” about the audacity of some city landlords who they claim are disregarding their “exclusives” with retailers by attempting to land tenants on their own.
The idea of “skipping the middle man,” once thought of as a tool for efficiency, is enraging some brokers, who tell The Commercial Observer that large retail owners including Joe Sitt, Jeff Sutton and Joe Moinian, are steering out of their way – but digging deep under their skin.
“Totally not kosher,” one perturbed president of a top city brokerage wrote in an email to The Commercial Observer. “It puts the retail brokers in a difficult spot and it is morally incorrect.”
While acknowledging that the tactic is not illegal , he called the phenomenon a “continuing issue and it is making many of the retail brokers upset” while putting them in a “difficult situation because they try to place tenants in the owner’s buildings.”
“In several instances the large owners have flown to Europe to visit with the retail tenants in an attempt to bypass the brokers and sign the tenants,” he said.
The phenomenon, while not new, began to gain traction last year as the next generation of owners plows forward with in-house teams, feeling that they have the “prominence and dominance” to skip over brokers, said Faith Hope Consolo, head of Douglas Elliman’s retail and leasing sales division.
“The feel like they can do whatever they want,” she said, referring to the city’s new wave of landlords as the “new guard.”
But, she added, it’s a level that the city’s old-school landlords would never stoop down to.
“The Rudins and the Silversteins would never do that,” she said. “This new guard seems to feel like they’re invincible. They feel they are immersed in Asian and European markets.”
Despite the uptick in such activities, Ms. Consolo is hardly concerned, noting that the headaches saved by using a well-established broker will always appeal to certain real estate owners who are turned off by the blow-by-blow skirmishes that often ensue during deliberations over retail leases.
“Brokers take the punches,” she said. “The broker is the buffer, that’s what the broker is. We take all the abuse… that has a lot of value for the old-time landlords.”
“There will be a lot of kicking and screaming… but ultimately the brokers will prevail,” she added.
While several brokers interviewed for this story declined to comment on the record, conversations yielded names Messrs. Sitt, Sutton and Moinian, for better or for worse, among the new wave of owners skipping out on brokers and transitioning to in-house teams when it comes to retail leases.
Whether it’s a good or bad – or neutral thing – depends on who you talk to.
For some owners, it’s simply the practical solution going forward, as rents and commissions rise along main thoroughfares. Others blamed brokers, who often claim exclusivity with retailers when indeed that may not be the case, for pushing landlords and retailers away.
Mr. Sutton “hired some gal either in Rome or Paris” to poach tenants directly, said one broker who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of upsetting ongoing business ties with certain landlords. “He feels he’s in the loop.”
Wharton Properties and Thor Equities, controlled by Mr. Sutton and Mr. Sitt, respectively, did not return calls seeking comment; both have called on outside brokerage teams in the past, though recent high-profile deals were apparently handled in-house.
In one example, a joint venture between SL Green and Mr. Sutton convinced Express last summer to ditch previous plans to lease part of the Durst Organization’s ESPN Zone at 4 Times Square in favor of a 30,000-square-foot, 15-year lease at 1552-1560 Broadway. No outside brokerage was mentioned in the firms’ announcement and SL Green did not return a call seeking comment.
In October 2011, Mr. Moinian’s Moinian Group, hired Gregg Weisser to head commercial and retail leasing of the firm’s 20-building portfolio in New York, Dallas, Los Angeles and Chicago, though a spokesperson for the firm confirmed that Mr. Moinian “is working with a retail broker as exclusive agent on at least one property… but not portfolio wide.”
“Everyone’s gotten jaded by the numbers,” one broker said, referring specifically to the giant commissions spurred by rising rents along the city’s main thoroughfares. “You’re talking millions of dollars of commission.”


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Hiscox enjoying best market conditions in ten years
The latest financial figures for Hiscox show a sharp elevation in pre-tax profit on rising premium rates during the first half of the year, rising to $265.8 million compared with $25.4 million during the same period last year.
The net investment result for the company registered and domiciled in Bermuda was also much improved, $121.8 million compared with a loss of $214.1 million during the first half of 2022.
Earnings per share were 72.2 cents, compared with 9.8 cents during the first half of 2022.
Other improvements included a group combined ratio of 85.7 per cent compared with 90.8 per cent in H1 2022, and a return on equity of 19.9 per cent compared with 2.6 per cent in H1 2022.
Aki Hussain, group chief executive, said his firm has delivered growth and profits in every business unit, which he attributed to “proactive and disciplined” underwriting and favourable market conditions.
“Our portfolio of businesses, our people and innovation to meet the changing needs of our customers position us well to continue delivering high-quality growth and earnings,” Mr Hussain said.
He was pleased with the progress they had made this year in maximising the strength of their portfolio of businesses.
“All of our three business segments have delivered strong growth and earnings and are well positioned to continue to do so, as we face into favourable market and societal trends,” he said.
“Our diverse business portfolio enables Hiscox to operate in a number of different parts of the specialist insurance sector, allocating capital with agility to areas of expertise which offer the highest risk-adjusted returns. This has enabled us to deliver a half-year annualised return of equity of 19.9 per cent.”
Group net insurance contract written premium increased by 11.4 per cent in constant currency to $1,945.6 million (H1 2022: $1,784.5 million).
“Our reinsurance business is leaning into the hard market in a focused way and enjoying some of the best market conditions in over a decade,” Mr Hussain said.
“Our London market business has returned to growth, as we believe the property book is priced adequately following significant re-rating and we are benefiting from attractive new growth opportunities in upstream energy, marine and renewables.”
He said in retail the opportunity remains significant, particularly in the United States, as the digitalisation of small businesses continues to accelerate and new business formation levels remain strong.
Hiscox had a retail ICWP of $1,271.0 million (H1 2022: $1,237.7 million), increasing by 5.5 per cent in constant currency. This segment comprises their global retail businesses including Hiscox UK, Hiscox Europe, Hiscox USA and DirectAsia.

domain: news


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Home Tags Walmart
A North Carolina Walmart has had the same friendly face greeting customers at the front door for 17 years. Jay Melton lives with cerebral palsy and had the possibility of losing his job as the grocery store chain switches from greeters to customer hosts.
As Walmart moves to phase out its familiar blue-vested "greeters" at some 1,000 stores nationwide, disabled workers who fill many of those jobs say they're being ill-treated by a chain that styles itself as community-minded and inclusive.
Thousands of people are showing their support for a North Carolina man with cerebral palsy who is in danger of losing his job as a Walmart greeter.
Do you recognize this man? Leland Police hope you can help identify the man in this surveillance photo.
Authorities say an off-duty U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer has killed a man outside a Walmart in Georgia.
Police in North Carolina are looking for the people responsible for placing razor blades under the handles of shopping carts at a Walmart, injuring at least one person.
A bankruptcy judge has blessed a $5.2 billion plan by Sears chairman and biggest shareholder Eddie Lampert to keep the iconic business going.
Fisher-Price is recalling 44,000 Children’s Power Wheels Barbie Dream Campers.
The 8,000 truckers who work for Walmart are getting a raise, with average pay soon approaching $90,000 a year, as the retailing heavyweight looks to hire hundreds more drivers amid an ongoing shortage of truck drivers.


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Overnight crime spree targeted upscale neighborhood
BATON ROUGE – Police investigated a dozen overnight vehicle burglaries in an upscale, close-knit neighborhood off Kenilworth Parkway Tuesday.
As many as nine vehicles in the Walden subdivision were burglarized. A handful of others were targeted on Rodney Drive, just down the block.
Police only described the cases as burglaries, but people wrote on social media they woke up Tuesday to find windows of vehicles smashed.
Police did not have a report of what items were taken.
Homes in the Walden community can reach sales prices up to or over $400,000.
Police did not have information about who was responsible for the crime spree.
Follow the publisher of this post on Twitter: @treyschmaltz
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17 August, 2017
The July numbers come as retail continues a long-term pattern of increased sales.
The acceleration bodes well for consumption, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy.
Retail sales in Brazil rose more than expected in June, government data showed on Tuesday, suggesting the central bank's string of large interest rate cuts may be starting to boost the economic recovery. Retail sales in many earlier months of the year were lackluster.
Helping to push the June level higher was a 1.2% increase in auto sales from the month before, its biggest increase since December.
However, retail sales for the month of May were revised to show no change instead of the previously reported 0.1% dip.
Total sales for the May 2017 through July 2017 period were up 3.9% from the same period a year ago.
Notre Dame, Wisconsin finalized deal to play at Soldier Field, Lambeau Field
Both games will be designated as Shamrock Series match ups, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said. Notre Dame does not have any players from the state of Wisconsin now on its roster.
"The number showed broad-based strength, it beat forecasts both on the headline and the core and what was also encouraging was how the number for June got revised from the red back into positive territory", Manimbo said. Sales excluding autos and gasoline rose 0.5% after a 0.3% rise.
Nonstore Retailers were up 11.5% from July 2016, while Building Materials and Garden Equipment and Supplies Dealers were up 8.3% from previous year.
In response, the dollar hit a near three-week high against a basket of major currencies. The nation's gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.6% in the second quarter, up from the 1.2% pace in the first quarter of the year.
Excluding sales of autos and parts, sales rose by 0.5% on the month to hit $378.8bn (consensus: 0.4%). Sales at online retailers vaulted 1.3 per cent in July, the largest gain since December 2016, likely buoyed by Amazon.com's Prime Day promotion.
Sales at electronic stores also fell slightly, but in all likelihood consumers merely shifted purchases to online retailers such as Amazon.
However, cheap gasoline and falling sales of electronics and clothing items still weighed on sales last month.


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“I’m a businessman and always thinking of ways to promote a fun work environment for my employees,” says Ryan Abood, CEO. “I want everyone that works for me to be successful and be proud of what they do. Breaking a record is a huge accomplishment."
Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) October 13, 2010
WHAT: The Motto is 2,010 in 2010! GourmetGiftBaskets.com will break the Guinness Book of World Record for the World’s Largest Cup of Coffee when 2,010 gallons of fresh coffee will be brewed into a 8x8 foot specially constructed coffee mug, breaking the current world record of 911.5 gallons set in 2007. 2,010 gallons is equivalent to 32,160 cups of fresh brewed coffee.
WHO: GourmetGiftBaskets.com, #238 on the Inc. 5000 list of the Fastest-Growing Private Companies in the U.S., broke the Guinness World Record in August 2009 for the World's Largest Cupcake. Enjoying the challenge and accomplishment of breaking a world record, GourmetGiftBaskets.com president and CEO, Ryan Abood states this will not be the last record he will “brew” up or that his company will break. An experienced team of roughly ten employees will now attempt to more than double the current record for the World’s Largest Cup of Coffee.
“I’m a businessman and am always thinking outside of the box to promote a fun work environment for my employees,” says Abood. “I want everyone that works for me to be successful and be proud of what they do. Breaking a record is a huge accomplishment.”
Companies aiding in the breaking of this record include: Terracon Corporation of Boston is supplying the storage tank that will be the foundation of the cup, Chisel Productions Inc. of Georgia is constructing a coffee cup and handle around the tank using a sculpted foam with a hard polyurethane finish, Kerry/ X Cafe of Princeton, MA to provide the 100 percent Columbian Arabica blend coffee, Logo Loc LTD of New Hampshire is providing quality custom t-shirts, Marich Confectionary of California donated samples of their Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans and Bunn-O-Matic Corporation of Springfield, IL is supplying the high volume coffee dispensers designed to meet the requirements of the world record attempt.
This event will also raise money, through donations for sampling two ounce cups of coffee and for photos with the world’s largest cup of coffee. All proceeds from the sampling and photographs will benefit Susan G. Komen’s Passionately Pink for the Cure, a program encouraging people to wear pink, raise funds and fight breast cancer.
WHEN: The brewing will begin at 4 a.m., Friday October 15 and should take 4-5 hours, brewing approximately 250 gallons per hour.
The record will officially be announced by a Guinness Book of World Record’s representative at 12 p.m. October 15.
Lisa Barone, Chief Branding Officer of Outspoken Media and Social Media celeb, will be pouring the last cup of coffee into the cup when the record is declared.
WHERE: Blog World Expo, the world's largest blogging social media conference in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, South Pacific Ballroom; Booth #335.
WHY: Americans consume 400 million cups of coffee per day, or equivalent to 146 Billion cups of coffee per year; making the United States the leading consumer of coffee in the world. Abood saw this statistic and knew a record involving coffee was one to break.
“Coffee is a product consumers can relate to,” says Abood. “We wake up craving a cup,and when it’s gone, we almost always go for more. I wanted to create a cup of coffee that many of us only dream about in our most tired of states!”
HOW: This world record attempt will require two 60 Amp 208 Volt Three Phase power supplies, two directly plumbed water lines providing 3 gallons per minute and the equivalent of 89,305 times the amount of coffee needed to brew your standard 8oz cup of coffee.
GourmetGiftBaskets.com has been making unique, upscale, gourmet gift baskets for the discerning consumer since 2002. Since then, they’ve been working to introduce their customers to the finest gourmet foods on the market. They take their work seriously; they source from over 600 different gourmet food suppliers to bring customers only the finest gourmet foods in beautiful, reusable baskets. Whether an anniversary, birthday, holiday, or the closing of a major business deal, GourmetGiftBaskets.com takes pride in knowing that their customers send Gourmet Gift Baskets to highlight some of the most important events in their lives. For more information, visit http://www.gourmetgiftbaskets.com or call (866) 842-1050.
About Susan G. Komen for the Cure®
Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which is now the world’s largest breast cancer organization and the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer with more than $1.3 billion invested to date. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit http://www.komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN.


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The consumer confidence in Canada suffered that biggest decline in one year after the Brexit vote, according to the Bloomberg.
The index showed that Canadian’s sentiment in the domestic economy, housing prices, and job security went down after the British people voted to leave the European Union (EU).
Biggest one-week decline in Canadian consumer confidence
The index dropped to 56.7 in the first full-week of the survey after the Brexit decision from 58.3 a week earlier—the biggest one-week decline since July 2015. Each of the regions surveyed and each sub-index suffered a drop in consumer confidence—an indication that the global market turmoil has a widespread domestic impact.
The pocketbook sub-index, which measures consumers’ confidence on personal finance and job security, fell from 59.1 to 57.8 while the sub-index that measure sentiment for the economy and housing prices declined from 57.6 to 55.5 after the Brexit decision.
The Canadian consumer confidence slid in every region and almost in every age group and income range. Those in the age group 18 to 29 (with an income bellows C$15,000) were the only ones who more optimistic compared with the week earlier.
External events are likely catalysts
Bloomberg Economist Robert Lawrie commented, “This is the first significant downturn in Canadian consumer confidence in five months, and external events were the likely catalyst.”
He added, “The globalization of financial markets is a fait accompli, and whether or not this marks the start of a long-term correction in Canadian consumer sentiment will depend in part on the spillover effects on household balance sheets and the response from the respective monetary and fiscal authorities.”
The percentage of Canadians expecting an improvement in the country’s economy over the next six months fell from 16% to 23.7%, the lowest since March.
The percentage of those who are expecting that the housing prices will decline in their neighborhood over the next six months increases from 14.2% to 15.3%.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 3.1% in the two trading days after Britain decided to leave EU on June 23. Last week the index rebounded and on Monday it gained 1.3% during the early trading in Toronto, the highest level since June 8.


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According to Niantic, Pokemon Go will stop supporting these older iOS devices beginning February 28. It turns out that this was pretty accurate, thanks to tech developer Melvin Mughal who chose to benchmark the iPhone before and after applying the iOS 11.2.2 patch that is supposed to patch the Spectre vulnerability. Next up is the iPhone 7.
The reason for the discontinuation is attributed to the fact that the game has been updated.
If you're playing on an iPhone 5 or iPhone 5c, you won't be able to for long.
Camila Cabello Shares New Song 'She Loves Control' Co-Produced By Skrillex!
She released her self-titled album " Camila " and it's risen to No. 1 on the Applie iTunes chart. Not surprisingly, Cabello when she heard what the English singing legend said about her.
Apple just released their fifth beta of iOS 11.2.5, Now we have a comparison of 11.2.2 vs iOS 11.2.5 Beta 5.
"In an upcoming update to Pokemon Go, we will end support for Apple devices not capable of upgrading to iOS 11, such as iPhone 5 and iPhone 5c models", Niantic wrote in an update on the official Pokemon Go website.
In a statement released to the press, the company added that the versions older than iOS 11 on all the smartphones and tablets doesn't have the required capabilities to tackle the new features included with Pokemon GO.
Peel Hunt Reiterates "Buy" Rating for Boohoo.Com (LON:BOO)
Shore Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Boohoo.Com in a research report on Wednesday, September 27th. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,110,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 638,018.
If you are now playing Pokemon GO on older smartphones, you can work with it until February 28. It will not be possible to make use of the PokeCoins or any other items inside the bags.
Almost a month ago, Pokemon Go developer Niantic that Apple devices from the iPhone 6s and above would support AR+ - a new mode that takes advantage of Apple's ARKit framework for a greater degree of realism.
Good news Pokemon trainers! As to whether or not you should skip the iOS 11.2.2 update, you probably shouldn't since a phone with decreased performance is probably better than a phone with a security flaw and getting hacked.
Death Toll Climbs to 15 in Southern California Mudslides
Officials did not provide any further information on the girl's condition or if any of her family members had been trapped. On Tuesday, Brown told reporters that the scenes "looked like a World War I battlefield ".
Have you noticed any changes in performance since installing Apple's latest update?


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Adidas is the real winner of Euro 2012. Yes, Spain won on the field, but Adidas won the brand competition in terms of U.S. consumer perception versus the event’s official sponsors. Daily consumer-perception research service YouGov BrandIndex says Adidas enjoyed a big perception lead, starting on June 8 when the match started. That means Adidas doesn't have to eat its hat: the company has said it expects the Euro championships held in the Ukraine and in Poland to bring it record soccer sales of more than $2 billion this year.
YouGov says the company's perception lead increased steadily until the match concluded on July 1 when Spain (wearing all Adidas uniforms) won. Adidas not only sponsored six competing teams, including one of the pre-event favorites, Germany, but also provided the match ball, the Tango 12.
The average U.S. perception levels of all the remaining sponsors remained steady and barely budged over the duration of the tournament.
Adidas -- and an index comprised of Euro 2012 official sponsors including Canon, Continental, Hyundai, Kia, Coca Cola, McDonald’s, and Sharp -- were measured with YouGov BrandIndex’s Impression score, which asks respondents: "Do you have a generally positive/negative feeling about the brand?" Results were filtered for U.S. adults 18+ who are fans of soccer.
The scores range from from 100 to -100 and are compiled by subtracting negative feedback from positive. The firm says that on May 21, Adidas’s reputation score was ahead of other sponsors by 15 points, then rose from 47 to 60 on July 2. In the same time frame, the Euro 2012 Sponsor average gradually moved from 21 to 23, making the gap a full 37 points in the end.
YouGov BrandIndex says it interviews about 5,000 people each weekday from a representative U.S. population sample. Respondents come from an online panel of 1.5 million people.


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Findings from an annual survey of technology decision-makers, by Equinix, Inc. says businesses appear to remain bullish about their plans for further global expansion despite concerns of a potential looming recession and talk at the World Economic Forum in Davos about the end of globalization.
Of the 2,900 IT decision-makers surveyed globally in the Equinix 2022 Global Tech Trends Survey, 72% of respondents indicated their organization is planning to expand in the next 12 months, into either a new city (31%), a new country (33%), or a new region entirely (38%).
A number of potentially limiting factors were identified by businesses when it came to global growth, with supply chain challenges highlighted as a particular area of concern. 59% said their business was plagued by global supply chain issues and shortages, while 58% specified the global microchip shortage as a threat to their business.
The company’s recent blog shares that supply chain issues appear to be driving a need for more virtualization, with growth aspirations underpinned by significant planned investment in digital infrastructure. Almost half (47%) of respondents said they plan to facilitate global expansion plans by deploying virtually via the cloud, with over a quarter (26%) doing so using a bare metal solution. Meanwhile, 47% globally said they expect increased spending on carrier-neutral colocation solutions to facilitate the planned rise in digital deployments, while even more (59%) said they intend to increase investment in interconnection services as they plan to progress digital transformation and build resilience.
Survey highlights and details about downloading the full report can be accessed here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8674654-equinix-2022-global-tech-trends-survey/


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The evolution of metal cans in the Food & Beverage market
The beverage market globally accounts for 66.8% of the metal food and beverage can market. These numbers are expected to grow, with experts forecasting that the segment will reach 24.6 billion dollars by 2025.
One of the main reasons for this upward trend is that aluminium cans bring a lot of benefits, one of them being recyclability.
North America is the undisputed leader in the metal food and beverage can market and, as a result, boasts a large number of can manufacturers.
Europe comes in at second place in terms of global revenue, with a total of 2.29 billion dollars in 2018. According to market forecasts, Europe will overtake North America in this segment in the next few years.
We find Asia-Pacific next, with sales of 1.83 billion dollars and lagging behind we have South America, at 1.47 billion dollars, recording the lowest growth.
Which can to choose for food and beverage?
Food and beverage cans are made of aluminium and are tin-plated on the inside, which helps to preserve the quality of the food product and prevent direct contact with the aluminium. The canned food market is broken down into five sub-segments: fruit and vegetables, takeaway food, pet food, fish and meat, other products.
The largest growth was recorded in the pet food market but other segments are on an upward trend as well: fruit and vegetable can volume went from 1.88 to 2.14 billion dollars, driven by the healthy living trend, while takeaway food cans grew to 2.63 billion dollars from $1.71bn.
Large demand for metal cans of various shapes and sizes is also coming from the bakery and confectionery industries, for products like biscuits, pastries, and chocolate.
Pressurised cans: a glimpse into the market
Pressurised cans are dominating market growth, projected to hit 260.6 billion units by 2025.
The growth is driven by increased consumption and production of carbonated beverages, especially in Asia Pacific and South America.
If we look at cans according to their degree of internal pressure, we can distinguish between:
- pressurised cans used for beer, carbonated beverages and fruit juices. They preserve flavour longer and consumers find them easy to use. Owing to the internal pressure, most of the liquid propellant converts into gas; this makes the cans lighter, easing transport and reducing its cost. Finding application in the beverage industry are two-piece cans mainly filled under pressure.
- Vacuum cans are mostly used for milk-based drinks, bakery sweets, coffee, juice and tea. The vacuum helps to extend the shelf life of the product because the internal pressure is lower than the atmospheric pressure. The vacuum process removes the air inside the package. Rigidity is the main strength of this type of packaging. Three-piece cans are vacuum-packed and their use is widespread in the food industry.


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May 25th, 2009
By Varun Dutt: As the first set of new products hit the Indian market, concerns have been raised about nanotechnology's toxicity and environmental impact.
Nanotechnology is the control of matter at the atomic or molecular level, less than the size of 100 nanometers -that's one billionth of a metre, or 40,000 times smaller than the human hair. It has the potential to create many new materials and devices with wide-ranging applications. Yet it has also raises many of the issues which any new technology triggers, including concerns about toxicity and environmental impact of nanomaterials.
The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, a US-based non-profit body says that around 1,000 new nanotech products are currently available globally, hitting the market at a pace of three to four a week. According to American Elements, a leading manufacturer of advanced products, thousands of nanoparticles, nanopowders and nanotubes products are already playing a significant role in industry, environment, medicine, science and even at home.
For the developing world, nanotech has its own set of benefits and risks. In a country like India, it may provide new solutions for the millions who lack access to basic services, such as safe water, reliable energy, health care, and education. The 2004 UN task force on science, technology and innovation noted that some of the advantages of nanotech include high productivity, low cost, and modest requirements for materials and energy. Also, it uses less labour, requires less land and lower maintenance. But the benefits should be seen against the potential risk to the environment, human health and worker safety.
At the moment, though, most of the fears are just that—fears. But there's a great challenge before the manufacturers on how to deal with nanopollution. Perhaps there's a need for regulation in this area which could then restore the balance between the benefits and costs — and release the technology to usher in the brave new world it has promised.
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Nanotechnology is changing everything from medicine to self-healing buildings: Nanotechnology is so small it's measured in billionths of metres, and it is revolutionising every aspect of our lives April 2nd, 2016
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Nanoparticle exposure can awaken dormant viruses in the lungs January 17th, 2017
Investigating the impact of natural and manmade nanomaterials on living things: Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology develops tools to assess current and future risk January 9th, 2017


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It has all the hallmarks of a Pokemon game. You collect cartoon creatures and use them to fight other players. Some are rarer than others, which is the envy of fellow trainers. But this game does not run on Nintendo console. It is built on the blockchain.
In Axie Infinity, players pit their team of Axies against an opposing team. Each Axie is represented in the game by lines of code and also functions as an Axie NFT, an unfungible token that allows a player to own a digital asset. Winning battles and adventures earns the player a cryptocurrency called smooth love potion, or SLP, which can be sold for real real dollars. Players with two Axes can use SLP to breed more, which can then be sold to new players.
And this business can be lucrative. A March Forbes article describes Axie Infinity’s burgeoning economy, with a particularly vibrant base in the Philippines, which includes a “life-changing” amount of money they’ve “raised.” [players] out of poverty.” One 22-year-old man says he bought two houses with his winnings.
Of course, the world has changed dramatically – both for Axie Infinity and the crypto and NFT markets more generally – since this article and YouTube video were published. A few days after the Forbes article came out, North Korean hackers stole roughly $620 million worth of cryptocurrency from the network used to process Axie game transactions, prompting game owner Sky Mavis to take the Ronin network, the main sidechain for processing transactions, offline. Last month, the Ronin network reopened and announced that it had begun reimbursing victims of the theft, according to a blog posted on its Substack.
Sky Mavis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But since the attack, the price of ethereum — the popular cryptocurrency used to facilitate Axie’s economy — has plummeted, losing roughly two-thirds of its value. As such, victims of the hack will recover approximately one-third of their losses. And the development underscores what may be the biggest challenge for Axie Infinity, Sky Mavis, and the broader intersection of crypto and gaming — the current “crypto winter,” which has reduced the value of major cryptocurrencies including bitcoin and ether, decimated alternative tokens and stablecoins and destroyed much of the markets enthusiasm for NFTs.
Yet the integration of NFTs and cryptocurrencies into gaming it will certainly persist in some form, despite the current challenges facing the industry. Video game development – and the crypto-infrastructures built around them – take time and are not necessarily canceled immediately. Established industry players such as Square Enix and Sega have expressed interest in using NFTs in upcoming titles and Ubisoft has already integrated them to one of its key games, Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
As cryptocurrency prices skyrocketed in late 2021 and early 2022, companies in nearly every industry worked to figure out how to incorporate the technology into their businesses. Game studios were no exception. But the question remains: Will blockchain-integrated games like Axie Infinity herald the dawn of a new gaming era — or become the poster children for the next crypto-inflated bubble? The question is as controversial as cryptocurrency itself.
Playing for money versus playing for fun
NFT they are polarizing.
NFTs entered the cultural mainstream in 2021 as a new method of determining ownership of digital assets using blockchain technology. As cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether soared to all-time highs, newly minted crypto millionaires began speculating on NFT digital art. People pay staggering prices to own digital images — think $250,000 for a colorful monkey avatar — and the NFT speculation market is now at a fever pitch, with celebrities like Snoop Dogg and Ellen DeGeneres putting their names behind NFT collections.
At the time, critics dismissed NFTs as an energy-hungry fad — a view that gained momentum as valuations declined. Still, proponents say NFTs mark a new cultural shift that will build digital ownership. Whether you find NFTs compelling or absurd, or you just don’t get it at all, the video game industry is embracing them — and cryptocurrencies — as the next big thing.
The question that game companies are trying to solve is how to best use this technology. First, there’s soft integration, where players can own digital goods like costumes or weapons as NFTs instead of renting them from merchants like Epic Games, as is currently the case. Then there it is play-to-earn or P2E modelwhere blockchain assets that have value outside of the game, such as cryptocurrencies, are obtained through the game.
Axie Infinity exemplifies the P2E trend, along with games like Guild of Guardians and Galaxy Fight Club. For quite some time, players have found various ways to make a living playing the game. Some farmed SLP tokens, bred Axies and sold them to players. Thanks to the game’s patronage system, some veteran players would lend their Axies to new players and take a portion of the profits, sort of like a taxi service lending cars to drivers. Virtual land in the game has been sold for thousands or even millions cryptocurrency worth dollars.
In October, more than 1 million players a day earned nearly $29 million a week for Sky Mavis, the company that owns and operates Axie Infinity. Those days are over for now. The collapse of the NFT market has eroded traffic significantly, with the game’s daily active users falling from 2.7 million in November to less than 700,000 at the end of May, according to Bloomberg.
Whether games like Axie Infinity are economically viable is still up for debate. But with fewer new players joining, there are now fewer customers for Axies and SLP tokens have become almost worthless. Even in boom times, new players had a much harder time making money than those who joined earlier. Since Axie Infinity has stopped generating revenue for players, there is no reason to play now.
“It’s better to have a normal number of players that you can reasonably engage and engage in the game,” said Andrius Miron, who runs Gamestarter, a blockchain-based crowdfunding platform for indie games. “This is the part where I’m not excited about Axie Infinity because I believe their game is mostly focused on a money making machine rather than the gameplay itself.”
Rethinking Ownership in the Digital Age
Talk to blockchain evangelists and they’ll tell you that NFT technology isn’t about profit-seeking, it’s about digital ownership. This is the same attitude that gaming giants are increasingly giving their players. In-game items will soon be sold as NFTs, which unlike the microtransactions of the past, can be exchanged for other digital goods or sold to other players for money.
The fact that people are eager to pay real money for in-game items goes without saying. According to Super Data research, over $90 billion was spent on microtransactions in 2021, much of which came from players indulging in new costumes or weapon skins. Especially avid players are also willing to pay high sums for rare items.
A few years ago, an item that changes the appearance of your rifle in the popular game Counter-Strike went for just over $61,000 at auction. The scarcity of the item and the popularity of the game meant that someone was willing to pay more than many Americans in a year for the privilege of ownership. And in 2012, a Diablo III weapon fetched €7,500 (over $8,000) at auction. It is a well-documented phenomenon that rare items in popular video games sell for very high prices.
“The gaming industry has long created digital assets and sold them into games,” said Michael Pachter, video game analyst at Wedbush Securities. If the trend for such transactions shifts toward blockchain, Pachter said, that’s where the big companies will go.
While many major gaming companies have talked about integrating NFT into their games, Ubisoft, the company behind franchises like Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry, is the first to actually do it. In December, Ubisoft integrated NFT into the team-based shooter Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
In Breakpoint, players can own NFTs called “Digits” independent of the game. Because Digit is a digital asset minted on the blockchain, it is stored in your digital wallet rather than on Ubisoft’s servers. If the value of the digit becomes a cult item, or if there is only a small amount in circulation, you can sell it on a third-party marketplace. In this way, game developers around the world hope to attract players by actually owning highly desirable and valuable game items.
But how well NFTs will perform in games — and whether or not gamers will follow the trend — is still up for grabs. Reaction to Ubisoft’s NFT experiment has been overwhelmingly negative.
A YouTube video announcing Ubisoft’s NFT has received less than 2,000 “likes” and over 40,000 “dislikes”, and few players are buying the NFT. As of December, Ubisoft has sold less than 20 NFTs. Sega, another big-name gaming company, noticed the outcry from players against NFT and took a cautious approach to the technology, with Sega management stating that they would not continue with NFT if the approach was seen as “simple money-making”.
Ubisoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It’s still up for debate as to which game developer will properly integrate NFTs into video games in a way that will stir up a multi-billion dollar business while connecting players to each other.
“We’re trying to describe Amazon in 1993, before it was even created,” Pachter said. The digital world moves quickly and dominant players can easily change. Pachter cites the early days of the Internet as an example: “If you asked me in 1993, ‘This Internet thing, who’s going to win?’ I would say AOL. Because they were the dominant player.’
Gaming companies are divided
Just because NFTs can be part of video games doesn’t mean they should. This is the view not only of the experts involved, but also of some of the players themselves.
And while many in the industry are open to NFT integration, it’s not universal. Phil Spencer, head of games at Microsoft, says he is wary of NFTs. Steam, one of the largest digital video game stores in the world, has outright banned blockchain-related video games. When you consider the backlash Ubisoft received for introducing NFT in Ghost Recon, its concern about blockchain technology makes perfect sense.
According to a survey published in November 2021, more than half of game developers are interested in NFTs and blockchain. If the Axie Infinity flameout and Ubisoft’s response are to be taken as a warning, this era of gaming may be short-lived. But will NFTs become a permanent trend in the gaming world it will depend on the players. As always, the players decide.
This story was originally published in January 2022 and updated in July 2022.


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Tanya Triche Dawood (left), of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, receives the Donald H. MacManus Award from FMI President and CEO Leslie G. Sarasin
TheFood Marketing Institute (FMI) has presented the 2019 Donald H. MacManus Award to Tanya Triche Dawood, VP and general counsel for the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA), in recognition of her achievements in public and regulatory affairs. Dawood received the award at FMI’s State Issues Retreat, an annual event bringing together food retail grocery associations and grocery company professionals from each state to discuss state legislative issues of interest to the food industry. This year's retreat is in Denver.
Most notably, Dawood worked tirelessly to repeal the Cook County sweetened-beverage tax, filing a lawsuit just days before the tax was to go into effect. The judge granted the motion for a temporary restraining order, which delayed collection of the tax and bought Dawood and her coalition partners time to explain to the county Board of Commissioners the economic harm that the measure would cause consumers, retailers and manufacturers.
She also led the initiative to change Chicago’s plastic bag ban to a customer-paid fee for all bags, and quashed the Windy City’s bid to ban polystyrene foam, as well as similar efforts in the suburbs. Among Dawood’s other achievements were heading the push to prevent Chicago from implementing onerous regulations on hiring practices, and thwarting the city’s move to give part-time employees full-time status in an upcoming employee scheduling law.
Dawood additionally wrote and passed Illinois’ first organized retail crime law and spearheaded the effort on behalf of the employer community to repeal Chicago’s “head” tax — that is, the practice of charging employers of 50 or more full-time workers a certain amount per employee.
“Tanya shares similar attributes to Donald MacManus, with her steadfast focus on the people and policies that build stronger communities,” noted Leslie G. Sarasin, president and CEO of Arlington, Va.-based FMI. “She remains fiercely effective and committed to accomplishing any task in front of her, all while building relationships that champion the greater goals of the food retail industry.”
Dawood joined Springfield-based IRMA as a staff attorney in 2008 and took on her current role in 2014. She directs the activities of the Chicago Retail Merchants Association, advocating on behalf of the retail industry in Chicago’s City Hall and in front of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Dawood also lobbies for the Illinois Food Retailers Association and serves on several government-related committees and task forces, as well as managing IRMA’s involvement in legal matters on behalf of its membership.
FMI member companies operate almost 33,000 retail food stores and 12,000 pharmacies. The association’s membership encompasses the entire spectrum of food retail venues: single-owner grocery stores, large multistore supermarket chains, pharmacies, online and mixed-retail stores.


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Hero Electric To Export Electric Two-wheelers
Modified On Mar 20, 2019 By Benjamin Noel Gracias
The electric bikemaker plans to expand to Asian and African countries
- Hero Electric is set to sell bikes overseas
- Plans are afoot to begin operations in Asia and Africa
- In India, Hero Electric plans to sell over a lakh e-scooters by 2020-21
- Dealership network to double by the year 2021
- Hero Electric sells four models: Flash, NYX, Optima and Photon. They will introduce two new models each year
Hero Electric has been one of the leading names in electric two wheeler mobility, having sold around 30,000 units in the last financial year. They now plan to expand to developing markets outside India, especially Asia and Africa.
According to Hero Electric’s Managing Director, Naveen Munjal, India will remain the company’s sole focus and they plan to sell over a lakh units by the year 2020-2021. The export segment would constitute a fraction of the projected domestic sales.
To achieve the target of over one lakh e-scooter sales, Hero Electric plans to double its dealership count in India from 450 to over 900 showrooms by 2020. Currently Hero Electric has four e-scooters in its portfolio: Flash, NYX, Optima and Photon. Going forward, they plan to introduce two new models each year.
Hero’s current range of bikes all have more powerful, lightweight and efficient lithium ion batteries that offer a riding range of 60km and can be charged in 4-5 hours. They power electric motors ranging from 550W to 1000W. All Hero Electric bikes come with a 3-year warranty.
Electric mobility has been getting a large push especially with the government planning to go all electric by 2030. There is still a long way to go in terms of charging infrastructure and the more electricity production to cater to the expected demand by the new electric two-wheelers. Given this challenges, an electric revolution seems unlikely to come anytime soon.
Source: ET Auto


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Showing 134,042 results for: Ralph, Shea?rss=1
Ralph Peters, a retired lieutenant colonel, sent an email to his colleagues saying he was “ashamed” of what the channel had become.
The fashion brand is changing its chief executive, one in a rash of executive moves in the fast-changing fashion industry.
N.Y. / Region
From John Gotti to Son of Sam to El Chapo, famous and notorious defendants have always made for interesting portraits. A new exhibit collects the best.
After the Las Vegas shooting, the Democratic candidate talks about taking assault weapons off the street. The Republican candidate opposes the idea.
Also: A Willie Horton-style campaign in Virginia.
By David Leonhardt
Fashion & Style
The departure of the chief executive of Nina Ricci and Jean Paul Gaultier is the latest in an unprecedented stream of changes in the fashion industry.
Companies are finding it harder to justify the cavernous spaces and sky-high rents along the shopping strip, as tourism slows and online shopping speeds up.
The co-founder of a marketing and advertising agency blends media memorabilia with contemporary technology, while a steam train whistles outside.
The Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher threw the ninth-inning pitch that Bobby Thomson drove into baseball legend with a pennant-clinching home run in 1951.
In 1982, a small Hawaiian university defeated top-ranked Virginia, cementing the school’s place in the history of great college basketball upsets.


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Technology has evolved so immensely across almost every industry that it is no longer a sector of its own – it’s an integral part of everything we do. At Really Epic Dog Group we work with a diverse group of businesses and clients who are continually coming up with solutions using the technology that is now available to us. We have highlighted some of what we believe to be the most impactful pieces of tech introduced in recent years; where the ideas originated and where they could be heading!
Really Epic Dog’s latest and most exciting project will gather fresh momentum this weekend with a ground-breaking ceremony taking place on site in the Nambiti ‘Big Five’ Private Game Reserve in South Africa. Having purchased land in the malaria-free, KwaZulu-Natal reserve at the end of 2019, RED has pushed ahead with plans for a world-leading
Really Epic Dog Group is delighted to announce the purchase of land for development in the KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa, which will form the centrepiece of the group’s newest and, arguably, most exciting expansion plans to date. More details of the project will be announced in the months ahead; one of the sites is
Wayne Scholes is the CEO of Really Epic Dog Group. Wayne oversees the development, growth and success of the companies that make up Really Epic Dog Group. Just like thousands of other business leaders around the world, Wayne has had to navigate his team through completely uncharted territory as Covid-19 has disrupted the businesses across
John F Kennedy said it best more than 60 years ago. The charismatic President, speaking in 1959, explained that in the Chinese language the word crisis was composed of two brush strokes. The first represented danger. The second, opportunity. A sense of danger has certainly been among the kaleidoscope of emotions I’ve felt in my


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WHERE do parents go to blow off steam after steering their kids through 12 chaotic years of schooling?
The Sunshine Coast is certainly a favourite, according to the region’s tourism boss.
TravelWireNews Chatroom for Readers (join us)
Visit Sunshine Coast CEO Simon Latchford said the ‘Rulies’ were flocking to the region to unwind as their graduating children ramped up celebrations, usually on the Gold Coast’s glitter strip.
Mr Latchford said the lure of our beaches, exploring the hinterland and experiencing some pampering and relaxation was bringing parents in their droves.
The resolution of the same-sex marriage issue in favour of equality was also a positive outcome for the region, which once boasted an extremely strong pink dollar, particularly in Noosa, which became a hot spot for post-Mardi Gras relaxations.
The health and wellbeing market was also bringing another niche group of tourists to the area, as people used the region as a base to recover and rehabilitate from physical and mental ailments.
Mr Latchford said the climate and the untouched nature of much of the Coast was bringing those looking to recuperate in peace to our postcodes.
A booming sports travel market was also working wonders for the local economy, with everything from elite sporting team pre-season trips to triathlons, lifesaving and pre-Commonwealth Games camps attracting sports fanatics.
“We’ve got an awesome product to sell,” Mr Latchford said.
He said the success of the Sunshine Coast Lightning had also opened the region up to a new market, with mums, often the decision makers in the family, following the fortunes of the team and the region closely.
Mr Latchford said the international diversity in the team was another great selling tool for the Sunshine Coast, as international netball fans cast their eyes to the Coast.
But the future of our tourism looks healthy in other areas too.
Foodies look set to graze across our region for decades to come, with the industry on the cusp of a revolution.
The rise of breweries, microbreweries and the hospitality scene had the region ripe for a renaissance for those who travel to treat the palate.
“It’s probably as exciting as I’ve ever seen it,” Mr Latchford said.
From heavy hitters like The Spirit House, to the cafe culture growing ever stronger to the seafood and revitalisation of The Wharf at Mooloolaba, Mr Latchford said there was plenty to attract food lovers.
“It’s just wonderful to see,” he said.
Sunshine Coast Craft Beer Tours owner Josh Donohoe said he was taking a diverse group of people around the region’s best brewhouses.
Weekend and daytrippers were prominent from Brisbane, but Mr Donohoe said he was also taking advance bookings from as far afield as Germany, the UK, Japan and New Zealand.
“Beer’s pretty universal,” he said.
The tour business started 16 months ago and was now expanding into Noosa, where Mr Donohoe hoped to tap further into the international visitor market.
Mr Latchford expected food exports out of the expanded Sunshine Coast Airport would also place the region on the map of international foodies, as they tasted more of the region’s fares.
Mr Latchford said the rise of Hong Kong and Singapore-based travellers in the hinterland, particularly Montville, had also been encouraging.
He said feedback from them was the combination of space, less crowds and the untouched nature of the area were the main drawcards.


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Congratulations to my client Critical Mention Inc. for closing a $4 Million round of Series B financing last month!
CIBC Capital Partners, Silicon Alley Venture Partners, Stonehenge Capital, plus other prior investors in Critical Mention, placed the money with the leading online provider of television search and monitoring services.
The new financing will be used to expand Critical Mention’s data collection network, increase sales and marketing initiatives and accelerate new product development. Plus, the company plans to expand its client services and account management groups to provide enhanced services to its growing list of more than 300 customers.
“In the last year we have grown our client base by over 300 percent, launched API integrations with several important partners and extended our market reach to law firms, financial services and newsrooms,” said Sean Morgan, Founder and CEO of Critical Mention.
“Growing off this strong base, this latest round of financing positions us to further accelerate our growth in both traditional broadcast monitoring as well as emerging TV search and video syndication markets. 2006 will be the year that video on the web goes mainstream, and we are excited to be part of this massive growth trend.”
See Critical Mention’s press release about this.


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The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says some David Roberts brand and Sysco brand pine nuts may be contaminated with Salmonella.
The products were distributed to food service accounts in Ontario and sold at the David Roberts Food Corporation retail store in Mississauga.
There have been no reported illnesses associated with the products, which have been recalled.
Salmonella bacteria can cause serious, and sometimes even deadly infections.
In healthy people, typical short-term symptoms include high fever, severe headache, vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea.
However long-term complications may include severe arthritis.


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The National Farmers' Union has said that it believes that ordinary farmed beef is sustainable - something that some scientists disagree with.
A spokesperson added: "Beef farmers are proud of their farming which delivers great tasting, sustainable food for British consumers while also offering significant benefits for the environment, landscape and the rural economy."
More top news
The devices cause dogs to yelp, squeal, crouch and exhibit physiological signs of distress.
A frost-free night for most but chillier than previous nights.


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CWU member, postal worker
Royal Mail workers in the Communication Workers Union, over 150,000 of us up and down the country, are gearing up for a ‘yes’ vote on our strike action ballot, which opens on 28 June.
As soon as the announcement was made of a 2% pay offer followed by a further 3.5%, with strings attached long enough to tie us all to a workbench for life – the mood clearly became very angry.
But workers are also bemused. After being hailed as keyworkers during the pandemic and, in 2021, making the company 20.9% more profit domestically than the year before, we all thought we had a fat pay rise to look forward to.
But it seems that rising prices have done nothing to change the outlook of the pound-mad board. They decided to award shareholders £400 million for staying at home while we were facing hundreds of potentially Covid-infected households daily to deliver all necessary (and not so necessary) items to the public.
The mood in the workplace meetings has been solidly behind the union for strike action, especially following the £200 lump-sum so-called ‘sweetener’ thrown to us to try and keep us quiet. The reaction of many was: “Great that will cover three days strike as a start”. And now, with the ongoing rail strikes, we see we are not the only ones being insulted by private companies turning their noses up at the ones who are the real source of their profits: us workers. Full steam ahead for our first strike in over a decade!


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Introducing Rakewell, Apollo’s wandering eye on the art world. Look out for regular posts taking a rakish perspective on art and museum stories.
To Mayfair, the central London district that long ago seceded into a parallel universe. Rakewell learns that the luxury hotel 45 Park Lane is gearing up to launch what sounds like one of the most surprising exhibitions of the summer.
Yes, from 4–29 July, the hotel will host a show dedicated to photographer Alan Jay Silfen’s snaps of singer Lionel Richie over the years. Quite what motivated this tribute to the ‘Three Times a Lady’ troubadour – who will himself be present at the launch – remains to be seen. As readers will no doubt be aware, Richie’s most notable foray into the art world to date was sitting for a blind sculptor in the video for his song ‘Hello’. The Rake does hope that the iconic bust that resulted from the episode will also be on display.
In one of the less likely rumours of the past week, various gossip sites reported that Ashley Olsen (of twins fame) might be romantically linked to blue-chip painter George Condo. The pair were pictured at a hotel in Manhattan earlier this week, a liaison which, according to a source quoted by gossip website Page Six, ‘looked romantic.’ Looks, sadly, can be deceiving; according to Skarstedt, Condo’s gallery, the artist was merely meeting the child star turned museum exhibit for a business meeting. Apparently, he has just designed an advert for her fashion line.
The verdict is in on Tate Modern’s £260 million revamp, and the ambitious new displays have by and large received a critical thumbs-up for their bold attempt to redefine the story of global modernism. But the really pressing question haunting the museum’s highly publicised opening weekend (sponsored by high street clothes emporium Uniqlo) involves not the quality of the art, but that of the retail experience.
Thank heavens, then, for design agency UXUS, who have been charged with creating the new museum shop. A press release sent out by the firm last week reveals that the new shop is ‘conceived […] as occupying the crossroads of culture and commerce, and invites visitors to explore the world of art through the museum’s retail expression.’ Art lovers, it seems we’re in safe hands.


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The venue — a VR-cade, if you will — will be called Project StarCade, and strives to make "premium VR experiences accessible for the masses," according to the company. The exact Los Angeles-based location has not yet been confirmed; neither has an opening date, although Starbreeze expects it to be ready by this summer at the latest.
Right now, the developer is working on its own VR headset, the StarVR. Launching alongside that hardware is a The Walking Dead-based first-person shooter developed by Overkill Software, which will have a featured spot in the VR-cade.
In its retail release, Overkill's The Walking Dead will also be available for SteamVR. The game will come in standalone, non-virtual reality iterations, too, on PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One. Just this past weekend, however, Starbreeze and Overkill announced that the game has been delayed until "at least" the second half of 2017.
There's neither pricing nor a release date announced for the StarVR system, either. However, VR enthusiasts will be able to test both it and The Walking Dead out for themselves at the StarCade, whenever it officially opens.
For more on Overkill's The Walking Dead, check out the debut trailer from E3 2015 below.


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Longs Drugs plans store for Makiki
Several businesses will have to move to make room for area’s continued rebirth
(Page 2 of 3)
Wai, who is still at the King-McKinley building, said he hopes to stay in the area, as most of his patients live nearby. He said other medical practitioners in the building also hope to stay within a 10-block radius of the existing location.
Wai commended building management for not adding to the stress, and called them accommodating.
“They’re trying to help us,” he said. “We don’t get the feeling that we have to get out right now.”
Kobayashi Travel Service, which has been in the King-McKinley building since 1991, plans to move to a Castle & Cooke building near Dole Cannery.
Peter Kobayashi, general manager of Kobayashi Travel Service’s Aloha World tour division, said the move will require costly renovations, and may result in the loss of business from long-time customers.
“We always fear if [the new location] is too inconvenient, customers will go elsewhere,” he said.
Kobayashi was nonetheless philosophical about the move.
“We aren’t angry at Longs,” he said. “For that kind of business you have to have many stores.”
The new Longs will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and will offer traditional Longs Drugs products and services, plus a CVS drive-through pharmacy. It is expected to hire 50 employees.
Longs Drugs is owned by Rhode Island-based CVS Caremark, and has operated in Hawaii since 1954. It currently has 50 locations, 14 of which are in Honolulu.
CVS plans to complete the purchase of the South King Street buildings by the end of the year, said Michael Deangelis, director of public relations for CVS Pharmacy.
Assuming all permits and approvals can be obtained, construction is scheduled to begin in mid-2013 for a store opening in 2014.
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Arab Money Gang front-liner and signee, Medikal has acquired a new American Bully dog and named it AMG Lord Flacko.
The bar-for-bar rapper after returning from his Europe concert announced his new pet to all his fans and lovers.
He wrote on his IG page; ‘Y’all help me name my new American Bully.Today happens to be his birthday, For now he is Lord Flacko but I need other options.Follow his account tho @amglordflacko.’
Interestingly, Medikal took the dog for shopping at Icebox and purchased some expensive jewelery for it.
The dog has already started enjoying some stardom lol.
See Screenshot Below:


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Google Android engineer Tim Bray has only just taken a position with the search giant, but has already made the headlines by making statements relating to the problems with Apple's app regulation.
Mr Bray's stinging criticism of the Cupertino-based giant surfaced in a blog, in which his harshest remarks were reserved for the iPhone.
He stated: "A sterile Disney-fied walled garden surrounded by sharp-toothed lawyers.
"The people who create the apps serve at the landlord's pleasure and fear his anger."
Mr Bray's opinions are not unique, as a recent rant from the Electronic Frontier Foundation took a similar tone, painting Apple as "a jealous and arbitrary feudal lord."
Mr Bray is a former software director at Sun, but he left in February and took up a post at Google, apparently as part of a plan to taint the name of Apple and support Android for smartphone superiority.
Mr Bray was not entirely partisan in his recent outburst, turning his critical eye upon Google itself and saying that it is "now too big to be purely good or, in fact, purely anything".
This was a direct comment on Google's "Don't Be Evil" motto, which has been subject to some derision from Apple's CEO Steve Jobs.
The most important fact to come out of Mr Bray's blog post is the sales figures of the iPhone versus Android-based mobiles.
Apple is currently moving 90,000 iPhones daily, but with 60,000 Android smartphones flying from shelves in the same time period, the race is becoming closer.


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March retail sales index rose 7.7%
According to data released by Statistics Services on Monday, the March 2022 retail sales index increased 7.7% compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.
The data also showed that during the same month, the retail sales index decreased by 2 percent compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.
The largest annual increase was recorded in fuel retail, a 37.2% higher compared to March 2021 and a 6.1% increase in quantity.
On the contrary, at non-specialty retailers, the value decreased by 19% and the quantity decreased by 24.4%.
It is estimated that between January and March 2022, the Value Index increased by 9.9% and the Volume Index increased by 1.7% compared to the same period in 2021.
During the first three months of this year, fuel retail increased by 43.4 percent in value and 12.1 percent in quantity.
In March, the largest increase in quantity, reaching 23.2%, was recorded for textiles, garments and footwear, corresponding to a 26.8% increase compared to January 2022.
The largest reductions in both value and quantity during the first three months of 2022 were recorded at non-specialty retailers, at 11% and 15.7%, respectively.
https://cyprus-mail.com/2022/05/03/retail-turnover-value-index-rose-7-7-per-cent-in-march/ March retail sales index rose 7.7%


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iPhone 12 secretly supports reverse wireless charging
The news: The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro secretly support reverse wireless charging, according to a new FCC filing.
- MagSafe appears to enable wireless charging for small accessories placed on the back of all iPhone 12 models, and could be enabled through a future software update
- The feature may work with a new version of AirPods expected to release in 2021
- Reverse wireless charging was initially rumored for iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro last year
Our take: I can see it now: new AirPods next year will boast reverse wireless charging on only the new iPhones. Of course, all of this is meaningless if Apple never enables it through software. But hardware wise, it appears the functionality is present!


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Maersk Line has announced that due to an oversupply of container vessels operating on the Asia – Europe trade lane, container freight rates have reached an unsustainably low level.
In order to rationalise its service, Maersk Line is removing 9% of its vessel capacity currently operating on the Asia – Europe trade.
"With this adjustment we are able to reduce our Asia – Europe capacity and improve vessel utilisation without giving up any market share we have gained over the past two years. We will defend our market share position at any cost, while focusing on growing with the market and restoring profitability," said Maersk Line CEO, Søren Skou.
The 9% capacity reduction will be facilitated by a vessel sharing agreement with the French container shipping line, CMA-CGM. In addition, the company announced that the cooperation will help Maersk Line to cut the cost of serving West Mediterranean markets, enabling it to deploy its own vessels to areas where they are most needed as well as pursue further slow-steaming.
A January report from shipping analyst, Alphaliner, predicted Europe – Far East container traffic growth would slow to 1.5% in 2012 from an estimated 2.8% in 2011, due to a weakening economic outlook in Europe. The industry container vessel fleet, by contrast, is set to grow by 8.3% in 2012.
Content provided in partnership with Transport Intelligence.
With 20 billion dollar+ logistics companies amongst the 80+ speakers at the 3PL Summit and Chief Supply Chain Officer Forum, eft is pleased to release the timed agenda for the event.
Did you know contract logistics accounts for more than one third of the European logistics market by value? Which are the top five countries? How many people are employed in EU logistics? It’s all here…
Why would companies implement solutions that cost more, were longer to deploy, and had lower user satisfaction? Read Lora Cecere's thoughts on this.


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"I'm delighted to be joining Pickerings Lifts Loading Systems at such an exciting time for the business."
Pickerings Lifts Loading Systems, based in Redditch, which specialises in the service, repair and maintenance of products including industrial doors, scissor lifts and dock levellers, has appointed Shay Gordon as customer support manager.
Shay has several years’ experience in the industry, starting as an engineer before moving into sales.
Shay’s role will involve will include programming maintenance and servicing work, liaising with customers as well as managing office staff and engineers across the South.
Pickerings Lifts has seen significant growth over the past twelve months and is now looking to expand operations even further and bring in a wide range of new customers across a variety of different industries.


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The South African economy plummeted by 1.4% in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to new Gross Domestic Product numbers, released by Statistics SA.
This followed a contraction of 0.8% in the third quarter, which means that the economy was in recession for the last half of 2019.
South Africa last entered a recession – when the GDP falls for two consecutive quarters – in the second quarter of 2018. This is South Africa’s third recession since 1994.
For the whole of 2019, the South African economy grew by only 0.2% (in real terms). In 2018, it saw growth of only 0.8%.
The fourth-quarter decline is larger than economists had predicted, as the economy battles the fallout of load shedding.
Seven out of 10 industries contracted in the fourth quarter, with agriculture (-7.6%) taking the biggest hit.
The manufacturing industry shrank 1.8% in the fourth quarter, while the transport, storage and communication industry saw a decline of 7.2%.
Stats SA reports that household spending increased by 1.4% in the final quarter of 2019, but spending on clothing and footwear was up by 8.5%.
The weak growth is likely to add more woes to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government, as the economy under his leadership continues to suffer, amid internal and external pressures.
South Africa has many businesses in Ghana including Gold Fields, Anglogold, Stanbic Bank, FNB, Absa Capital, Shoprite among others.
These firms will however take advantage of the buoyant Ghanaian economy to grow their bottom-line.


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JD Sports is the latest UK retail giant to add instalment payment options to its offer with the company using Clearpay tech from Afterpay that means shoppers can split their payments over four payment periods.
The world is changing and fashion and beauty need to change too - and fast - speakers at the Decoded Future summit in London said. Sustainable packaging, rental, resale and Gen Z mean the old rules no longer apply.
Urban Outfitters Inc announced the departure of Andrew Carnie, Anthropologie's president of home, garden and international, and the promotion of Hillary Super to the role of the brand's global president on Tuesday.
As athleticwear and beauty continue to be strong trends among Gen-Z consumers, Piper Jaffray has released its semi-annual “Taking Stock With Teens” report, revealing strong progress for Vans, Lululemon and Ulta Beauty.


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Every quarter we will be looking at trends and news impacting the logistics industry. We’ll touch on some important news related topics that have affected the state of the industry and show some year-over-year information on load-to-truck ratios, fuel costs, tonnage, and rate trends.
Here’s what you need to know from 1Q 2018:
- FMCSA gives Ag Haulers 90-Day extension on waiver from ELD Rule. On March 13, Joe DeLorenzo, director of FMCSA’s office of compliance and enforcement, announced that an additional 90-day waiver was being issued on March 18 from the ELD rule for agriculture-related transportation. The waiver has been issued in an attempt to continue working on outreach communication with the ag community to assure they have the fullest understanding of the ELD rule and the requirements that accompany the regulation.
- According to the annual State of the North American Supply Chain survey, a strong economy has three out of every four shippers planning to route more freight through 2018 than last year. Shippers still note that the lack of truckload capacity is a challenge. This will encourage shippers to seek in broadening their LTL partnerships with carriers. Shippers may also choose to shift some freight from trucks to other modes, such as intermodal and airfreight.
- Load-to-truck ratios, fuel cost, and rates all increased from this time last year.


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The following memo from Dow Jones & Co. CEO Richard Zannino was distributed within the company on Monday:
“Dear friends and colleagues:
“Everyday we see more evidence of the success of our efforts. The latest is a strong month of October where we posted a 23% increase in our total revenue. This included strong growth in advertising revenue at the Journal, Barron’s and The Wall Street Journal Digital Network.
“Wall Street Journal advertising revenue in October increased 6.7%. This was the biggest ad revenue month at the Journal in dollar terms since November 2000. At WSJDN, advertising revenue jumped 30% in October.
“Those results by themselves are notable. It’s all the more remarkable when compared with our peers. For example, just Friday, the New York Times reported a decline in its print newspaper ad revenue during October. And today Gannett said ad revenue at USAToday fell 6.1% in October.
“I’ve said before and it’s even truer today that we at Dow Jones are bucking industry trends and successfully transforming our business. The work we’ve been doing has reshaped this company to compete in this dynamic digital age. And we’ve done it while still managing to produce industry-leading results.
“Dow Jones has posted seven consecutive quarters of double-digit operating income growth through the 2007 third quarter. The October ad revenue results confirm that we’re on track for an eighth as well.”


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Hilton dials up new room-selection app in hotel tech race
It seems like the region’s hotel companies are doing whatever they can to one-up each other in the technology arena. The latest? Hilton guests will soon be able to select their exact room within a hotel using a smartphone app, Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. said Monday.
Marriott said in May that it was working on giving guests at its new Marriott Marquis the ability to order meals for delivery or pickup — a pared down form of room service — using a smartphone app. The hotel also has mobile check-in and checkout, as do many of the properties under the Marriott Hotels brand.
And last month Choice Hotels International Inc. became the first hotel company to have reservations booked directly through TripAdvisor’s mobile app. Seemingly not to be outdone by Hilton’s announcement, the company on Monday announced a partnership with Ford that will allow “hands-free booking” for Choice app users driving in Ford vehicles.
Technology is almost universally seen by the hotel industry a major factor in appealing to a younger generation of travelers, including millennials — the other two being food and beverage offerings and creating flexible, hip lobbies and other public spaces.
Hilton’s announcement about in-app room selection and customization came with another update the company expects to roll out next year: the ability for guests to use their smartphones as their room keys, negating the need to stop at the front desk at all. Most of the company’s rooms will be equipped with the smartphone-as-key technology by the end of 2016.
The company has invested more than $550 million in technology since 2007 to get to this point, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The room-selection feature is one that business travelers in particular have asked for, according to Hilton.
Rebecca Cooper covers retail, restaurants, tourism and the arts.
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Reflecting on October: Farmers Trend Spotlight
Reflecting on October: Farmers Trend Spotlight (part: 1)
Early October, HOSTAFRICA attended the Nairobi Trade Fair held at Jamhuri grounds. His Excellency the president, gave a remarkable opening speech highlighting on the plight of farmers in Kenya and what the government is doing to support them.
“We cannot rely on traditional foreign markets, we must find new buyers for our products just as we must continue to improve productivity and the quality of our products,” said the president. This was my key takeaway statement.
In recognition that as a nation we rely heavily on agriculture as a source of income and sustenance, we should all work towards restoring hope and a future for our farmers. We are in the 21st century characterized by the rise of a global economy and digital revolution. We agree that our farmers continue to face a lot of challenges, but we need to change the state of the nation in the farming sector. Farmers Trend is one of the groups doing something about it. Today we recognize and appreciate our client’s hard work.
Farmers Trend is an online agricultural information portal providing solutions to pressing issues affecting farmers in Kenya. They give access to information on research, technology in farming, market trends and also empower individuals interested in agriculture across the country.
Having created a blog in mid-2015, John Matemo and his crew have since been involved in promoting, supporting and enlightening the smallholder farmers, to appreciate modern farming skills, technology, value addition and diversification towards sustainable agribusiness.
Farmers Trend envision a nation where youths are willing to work, get trained and take a little risk in supporting themselves and their families through farming.
At HOSTAFRICA, we are making these dreams a reality. We are right there in the middle of it all. Working with Farmers Trend and other businesses to provide secure, affordable and reliable web hosting services has been such an privilege. We are obliged to help businesses thrive online and that is why we package our services to match our clients’ needs. Our end game is participating in building our great nation.
So, do you want to be part of a winning team? A team with a vision to empower every business and individual in this great nation? Then you need to contact HOSTAFRICA.
We help our clients connect with other businesses and create their own online business empires. We offer great deals in domain names, web hosting services, and vps hosting, all at affordable rates to help them scale up. Why stall? Join us!


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Way Interglobal has announced two new organizational changes to keep pace with the major growth the company is experiencing.
Chris Greer, who has been vice president of operations for the past year, will be appointed to a newly created role of vice president of research and development and product development. Greer has been a vital part of Way’s growth during his tenure with the company. His expertise in the RV industry and knowledge of engineering and development will speed up efforts to release products at an even faster timeframe to the marketplace, the company said. In his new role, Greer will oversee the product development and service teams that support Way products.
Additionally, Way has announced the hiring of Mike Custer. Custer will assume the role of vice president of operations where he will oversee all aspects of Way’s day to day operations from order entry, warehousing and logistics thru delivery and billing. Custer comes to Way with an impressive background and pedigree in supply chain and distribution operations and will help the company continue to deliver for its suppliers and OEM and aftermarket customers, Way said.
“I am very happy to see the team we are developing and the growth we are having collectively. All of this is a testament to the hard work and team effort mentality across the organization!” said Wayne Kaylor, CEO of Way, about these personnel moves.


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Tech huge Uber is now ubiquitous in Australia but local manager Dom Taylor claims the platform’s ambitions are even extra far achieving with designs to “own” one particular-hour delivery and on-need transport.
Uber’s experience sharing company struggled all through the pandemic, with usage dropping by 80 for each cent but its food shipping arm Uber Eats thrived. Mr Taylor stated the achievement of Uber Eats had highlighted the potential for Uber to even more grow its supply solutions.
“Pre-COVID most men and women would have witnessed us as a journey sharing merchandise that did foodstuff supply on the side and extremely clearly we now have a sturdy mobility enterprise and a powerful delivery enterprise, they are equal parts of what we do,” Mr Taylor claimed. “The broader narrative is how we can be the tech system or application that owns the upcoming hour.”
Anchoring this force is ‘Uber Pass’ a membership service, introduced final month, wherever Uber prospects shell out a month-to-month cost of $14.99 to get 10 for each cent off Uber rides and cost-free delivery from picked places to eat and grocery and comfort shops.
Mr Taylor said takeup of the membership give experienced “exceeded expectations” with just below 50,000 people signing up due to the fact launch.
Uber Move enables the tech huge, valued at $US95 billion, to achieve common membership revenue although also rising the stickiness of its buyers in a model very similar to Amazon’s wildly effective Amazon Primary supplying, in which shoppers fork out a month-to-month sum for totally free shipping alongside audio and videos.
“This is working day a person, you appear again to the membership merchandise that Amazon launched on working day a single and it didn’t have half the points that it has these days,” Mr Taylor claimed. “We’re a company that is going to constantly create on this platform of membership in making it a better proposition for prospects and it’s heading to be throughout going matters, it is heading to be throughout going individuals and how we get around our cities, and genuinely attempting to increasingly grow to be the go-to city app for dwelling in urban environments.”
With delivery now the premier element of Uber’s global company Mr Taylor said there was a lot of probable in Australia to target far more on delivery with inspiration from two of Uber’s “greatest stunts” shipping and delivery of kittens and ice-cream in its Uber Kittens and Uber Ice-Product promotions.
“They broke the city, virtually anyone was speaking about them,” he said. “I never think we quite clicked at that minute that we had this lovely app where by men and women like seeing their monitor and see a little something coming toward them and getting dropped off at their property or anywhere they could be.”


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Young Survival Coalition partners with HipFusion Designs! YSC is pleased to announce the partnerships formed with numerous retailers for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The support and generosity of our corporate partners will help raise vital awareness about young women and breast cancer as well as much needed funding to ensure that young women affected by the disease can access the resources, programs and peer support they need.
HipFusion Designs is proud to offer a variery of necklaces, bracelets and earrings all designed to support YSC. Well known for a collection of offbeat and untraditional personalized jewelry, these "hip" bracelets, necklaces and earrings fit right in.
And for each piece sold in this variety, 50% will be donated to YSC!! Order online and show your support for their cause and a fight worth fighting for!
Back to Charity Partners


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The average price of new cars increases for the eighth consecutive month
That’s just $393 more than the average at the end of October — a 0.7% increase and a slower rate of climb than Americans have grown accustomed to in 2021.
Prices increase even in the event of a sales slip
Prices have risen for eight consecutive months. But the sales volume has now declined over the past six years. “High prices and limited choices are likely keeping many car buyers on the sidelines,” said Kayla Reynolds, analyst at Cox Automotive.
Cox Automotive is the parent company of Kelley Blue Book.
Everybody Pays Sticker
Most buyers paid at or above the list price. The average non-luxury buyer paid over $900 more than the MSRP. Luxury shoppers paid an average of almost $1,000 more than the list price. In comparison, a year ago, luxury vehicles were selling for more than $3,000 under MSRP.
Each type of vehicle is more expensive
Over the past year, prices have increased in all market segments. Even subcompact sedans — generally the most affordable vehicles on the market — saw their prices increase by an average of 16.7% between November 2020 and November 2021.
But much of the increase in the average price of new cars is due to more affordable cars taking a smaller share of the market.
In November 2021, cars (average transaction price of $41,026) were on average more affordable than new SUVs ($45,201). But car market share hit a near-record low of just 21.7%. As fewer cars are sold, trucks and SUVs dominate the market, driving up prices.
It’s not just about changing tastes
This is partly due to consumer tastes. But it also comes from a global shortage of microchips. Automakers are using the limited supply of microchips they get to build higher-margin vehicles, so expensive SUVs outnumber cheap cars in most terrain.
Good news for buyers
The microchip shortage, along with other supply chain challenges, will likely stay with us well into 2022. “It’s still a seller’s market, and we don’t expect things to change. soon,” says Reynolds.
However, high used car prices can give new car buyers some relief. She explains: “With high prices being the norm at the moment for new and used vehicles, this means that trade-in values are very favorable and can help soften the blow to consumers when buying their next vehicle”.


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Two articles popped up in my inbox today. The first tells the sad story of a man who died after taking a supplement known as “Stiff Nights.”
“A Kansas City man died last year after taking an unapproved erectile dysfunction drug allegedly labeled as a dietary supplement, a Jackson County lawsuit says.
David R. McElwee, 39, suffered a loss of blood pressure, which ultimately led to a fatal heart attack, after taking a product sold under the brand name Stiff Nights, according to the lawsuit filed in August on behalf of his children.
The second is an exposé on the supplement market in today’s issue of USA Today:
Far from an isolated case, a USA TODAY investigation finds that a wide array of dietary supplement companies caught with drug-spiked products are run by people with criminal backgrounds and regulatory run-ins. Consumers buying products from these firms are in some cases entrusting their health and safety to people with rap sheets for crimes involving barbiturates, crack cocaine, Ecstacy and other narcotics, as well as arrests for selling or possessing steroids and human growth hormone. Other supplement company executives have records of fraud, theft, assault, weapons offenses, money laundering or other offenses, the investigation shows.
Both articles show that you should be comfortable with the company that makes any pill you take.


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A new World Cup ad in Toronto bars will give patrons a chance to shoot and score, even if their favourite teams don't.
Canadian telecom company Telus has set up “urine-activated experiential installations" in men's washrooms in bars across the city, and unlike previous incarnations of pee-to-score toilet toys like The Weee Soccer, this one involves breaking the seal in front of a virtual animal.
The game is simple. A screen connected to the urinal shows a poor panda — which appears in the company's urine-less ads as well — standing guard in front of a net, ready to block your urine-activated soccer skills. The user's stream determines what direction the ball is kicked in.
Lara Johnson, director of marketing communications at Telus, said the company is excited to "capitalize" on the World Cup's excitement, according to MobileSyrup.
"At TELUS, we’re always looking for fun and new ways to connect with our customers – even in the restroom!”
While the ad may seem silly to some, it's a creative way to appear associated with the World Cup without shelling out the cash to be an official sponsor, according to the Globe and Mail.
The urinal games are set up at many Toronto bars, including Fionn MacCool’s, Betty’s and Rasputin Vodka Bar, according to Strategy.
Also on HuffPost


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Spam remains still continues to be the most common attack vector used by cybercriminals for decades. Spam click rates increased in 2018, so far 14.2 percent of spam that delivered in the inbox are clicked, whereas in 2017 the click rate is 13.4%.
Attackers rely on a number of methods to trick the users, instead of delivering malicious content directly they redirect to a legitimate website and then to the site hosting malicious contents.
According to the F-Secure research report, the Email spam remains as the most common methods for attackers for spreadings malicious URLs and malware for more the 40 years since the original email.
Paivi says “During the past few years, it’s gained more popularity against other vectors, as systems are getting more secure against software exploits and vulnerabilities.”
With 85% of email campaigns only five file formats are used (.zZIP, .DOC, .XLS, .PDF, .7ZS). With the samples observed by F-secure 46% are dating scams, 23% are emails with malicious attachments, and 31% contain links to malicious websites.
Attackers improved the success rate of spam’s campaign to 4.5% by having error-free subject line’s. Spammers also use to spoof the populated by gaints like Apple, Amazon and Microsoft.
Scammers continue to adapt with new techniques to trick user’s and make them fall as a victim. Scammers always impose limits such as “call immediately” or “Offer Valid Today only” to make you act on it immediately.
Recently a sophisticated Apple Phishing Scam notifies the user’s that their account has been limited due to unusual activity and ask’s for payment details and the site was encrypted with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).


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TV fans on the fence about ditching their cable boxes may want to think twice after the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday voted 3-to-2 along party lines to propose “net neutrality” rules that could allow Internet service providers to charge content providers like Netflix
The vote came after a decision earlier this year by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., which rejected the FCC’s so-called open-Internet rules, paving the way for cable companies to give some broadcast companies and video streaming services preferential treatment. The 2010 Federal Communications Act forced companies like Comcast and Verizon Communications
For his part, FCC chairman Tom Wheeler says he’s still committed to an open Internet. Although the proposed new rules allow companies to strike deals with content companies for fast-tracking content, for instance, the FCC’s proposed new Internet rules would still prevent broadband providers from actually blocking or slowing down websites. “There is one Internet. It must be fast, it must be robust, and it must be open,” he told an FCC hearing on Thursday. “The prospect of a gatekeeper choosing winners and losers on the Internet is unacceptable.”
But an end to “net neutrality” could also have unseen consequences for consumers, making life more difficult for the YouTubes and Netflixes of tomorrow. “If history is any guide, it’s likely that a lot of people will be using new online services that don’t exist today or really aren’t on anybody’s radar screen,” Sohn says. “But a multi-tiered Internet service creates a whole new entry barrier.” And Netflix — now one of the biggest players with 31.1 million U.S. subscribers — already works with Internet service providers to secure faster streaming speeds. “ISPs with a direct Netflix connection will continue to deliver the best Netflix experience,” according to Netflix. It has a monthly “Netflix ISP Speed Index” based on service providers within the U.S. Google Fiber
This vote will be bad for cord cutters, especially if they get their broadband from a cable company, says technology analyst Yung Trang. “Cable companies and other broadband providers have an incentive to slow down the delivery of bandwidth-hungry competing services like Netflix and Hulu,” he says. If net neutrality is eroded, cable companies will likely charge Netflix, Hulu and YouTube to prioritize their services and could even limit the quality of those services the same way wireless companies “throttle” heavy data users. “Netflix and Hulu could pass these costs on to the consumer if they don’t want to eat into their profit and YouTube might force users to watch more ads to make up the additional cost.”
The FCC’s official mission to preserve “net neutrality” only goes so far. It does not apply to the recent agreement between Netlfix and Comcast, in which Netflix agreed to pay the cable company for direct access to its cable lines. The deal effectively replaces the middlemen who normally do the job already, but also paves the way for a slew of similar deals between major broadband companies and content providers. Net neutrality aims to ensure that Internet service providers like Comcast or Verizon don’t discriminate against or give preferential treatment to traffic from Netflix or YouTube on the last mile of cable that connects the Internet to peoples’ homes. The Netflix-Comcast deal, however, only provides direct access to that last mile of cable.
Not everyone is so sure that consumers will lose, however. “It’s hard to say how aggressive broadband providers will be in trying to get content owners to pay,” says Nick Del Deo, senior research associate at MoffettNathanson. Cable companies are keenly aware that video streaming services are extremely popular with the public, he says. “A plea from Internet companies — among the most beloved companies in America — to restrain big bad cable and telephone companies and demonize them as monopolists would likely find a receptive audience,” Del Deo says. Indeed, video streaming companies have won over a significant number of customers over the last year: 38% of Internet users subscribed to Netflix in 2013, up from 31% in 2012 — although some of them likely have shared accounts, according to research firm Nielsen; 13% used Amazon Prime Instant Video in 2013 versus 7% in 2012; 18% used Hulu in 2013, up from 12%.
However, making sure that video streaming companies are not being “throttled” with slower speeds may not solve the long-term problem, says William Rinehart, director of technology and innovation policy at the American Action Forum, a center-right policy institute. “Cord cutting has risen in popularly because content migrated to the Internet and broadband is fast. Yet streaming does place a burden on the network, which needs to be recouped,” he says. “Allowing for innovative business arrangements will ensure continued fast speeds and more content.” Technology analyst Jeff Kagan agrees that consumers could be given the choice to download a movie for free at a slower speed or for a higher price at a faster speed. “It’s not settled yet.”
(This was updated from an earlier story.)
Other articles by Quentin Fottrell: