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LONDON, January 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
The dynamics of rare earths supply are changing again according to a new report from Roskill. On 21 January the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced that it will remove taxes on export sales of rare earths from 2nd May 2015.
The announcement follows the news on 31st December 2014 that rare earths exports would instead be subject to an export licensing regime. China was widely expected to abolish the quota system and taxes following a World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling in March 2014 that the tariff and quota system was discriminatory and gave unfair advantage to domestic consumers. Rare earth exports were subject to 15% or 25% tariffs in 2014. The taxes will be retained only until 2 May 2015.
China is the world's dominant exporter and producer of rare earths and has been consolidating supply under a limited number of state-owned enterprises. An increasing proportion of Chinese supply is now required for its domestic industries which account for >70% of total demand for rare earths. New projects in the rest of the world could potentially contribute an additional 45,000t REO to supply by 2020.
The highest growth rates will be seen for the magnetic raw materials, neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and samarium, with average annual growth rates of >6% for these rare earths over the forecast period. More than 75% of the magnetic rare earth elements are consumed within China as of early 2015 and this proportion is expected to increase as the Chinese government encourages the development of this downstream industry.
China's economy is entering a new paradigm. At 7.4%, GDP growth in China in 2014 was the lowest in 25 years. This creates new challenges for the global rare earths industry. Most policymakers are only just starting to recognise the far-reaching economic impact of President Xi's recent policies. But it also creates major new opportunities for those companies prepared to restructure their business models.
The rare earths value chain is extraordinarily complex, with multiple players, business drivers, supply models and geopolitical considerations at various stages of production. Executives in the industry need an experienced overview of the end-to-end value chain that provides insight into both potential opportunities and avoidable disruptions.
The 15th edition of Roskill's rare earths report, Rare Earths: Market Outlook to 2020 draws on more than 40 years of independent research into these metals from the world's experts in metals and minerals markets. The report addresses questions such as:
- Can the Chinese rare earths industry bring illegal mining under control?
- What is the outlook, by project, for the >300 new rare earths projects that Roskill has evaluated since rare earths prices spiked dramatically in 2011?
- How much demand, by end use and element, was permanently destroyed by this price spike and in which end-uses are rare earths irreplaceable?
- What are Roskill's predictions, by element, to 2020?
Rare Earths production, trade, prices and end user markets are analysed in detail in the latest edition of Roskill's Rare Earths: Market Outlook to 2020 report, recently updated with an additional two year outlook and to cover the latest developments in China. The 15th edition of this Roskill report profiles producers and end users of rare earths, providing an overview of the entire supply chain.
To order this latest edition of Rare Earths: Market Outlook to 2020 is please contact Christine Duggan by Telephone: +44(0)20-8417-0087, Fax +44(0)20-8417-1308 or Email: [email protected] or visit Roskill Website: http://www.roskill.com/rare-earths.
Note to editors
Roskill Information Services Ltd. of London, UK is a leading provider of multi-client and bespoke market research services to the minerals and metals industry.
Roskill's new Rare Earths: Market Outlook to 2020 report provides a detailed review of the industry, with subsections on the activities of the leading producing companies. They also analyse consumption, trade and prices.
For further information on this report, please contact Robert Baylis on +44(0)20-8417-0087 ([email protected]). To be added to our press distribution list, please contact Pedro Palma ([email protected]).
SOURCE Roskill Information Services


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LV in cooperation with Master & Dyamic just released the third gen of Horizon Light Up in Feb, 2023 . And the Horizon Light Up was released exclusively in China at the price of $1700. Available in five different colors, black, gold, red, pink and blue. The Louis Vuitton Horizon Light Up (3rd Gen) uses Bluetooth 5.2 with support for AAC, SBC codecs.
The Louis Vuitton Horizon Light Up (3rd Gen) can last up to 12 hours between charges, according to Louis Vuitton.

domain: news


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Restaurant review: Marina O’Loughlin visits the Jackalope in Marylebone and the Red Lion in Kent
Table Talk: pub grub to raise a glass to
Pubs are in trouble. According to the Campaign for Real Ale, boozers are closing at a rate of about one every 12 hours. The business model has been under threat for a while: young people more health conscious and drinking less; online socialising; discounted supermarket booze. Bloody Wetherspoons. Plus — brace for unpopular opinion — because many of them are magnets for bitter-soaked bores.
More recent reports are a bit more optimistic, pubs having woken up to the notion of adapt to survive: sticky old carpets ripped out, lemons sliced for G&Ts, the two bottles of sugary Liebfraumilch ejected from the back of the fridge. And increasingly the food offering is improving beyond the sweaty-pie clichés. The trick is to hang on to intrinsic pubness,


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Myntra to host EORS 12 from June 19 to 22, expects 3 million shoppers
Fashion e-commerce platform Myntra has announced that the 12th edition of its bi-annual ‘End of Reason Sale (EORS)’ will be held from June 19 – 22.
Myntra will be offering over 7 lakh styles from 3,000 plus fashion brands and expected around 3 million customers to shop during the sale event. It expects tier 2 and tier 3 cities to contribute significantly to its growth during the sale event.
The Flipkart-owned e-tailer has launched 50 new brands on its platform ahead of the event, including brands such as Chicco, Khadims, Charles & Keith, La Senza, Globus, Gant, and Budweiser, among others.
Commenting on EORS, Amar Nagaram CEO of Myntra, in a statement said: “This edition of EORS will be an important one in the present context where customers will have the opportunity to access the best of fashion and lifestyle brands from the safety of their homes, as they look forward to embracing normalcy after a hiatus of over two months. There is significant pent up demand on the consumer side, as well as keenness on the brands’ side to return to business.
“In these times, the safety of our customers and delivery partners is high on priority for us. We are taking several precautionary measures across the supply chain, from the warehouse to the point of delivery, in accordance with guidelines issued by the government,” Nagaram added.
Myntra has partnered with Bollywood actors like Hrithik Roshan, Sonakshi Sinha, and Tollywood actress Samantha Akkineni to promote this edition of the EORS event.
Copyright © 2023 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.


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Finding a genuine vegan pizza in Billings will get a little easier beginning Friday.
Guido's 1st Avenue Pizza , located at 3011 First Ave. N., will relaunch under new owners this weekend and, with the opening, the restaurant will unveil a new vegan menu to accompany its traditional offerings.
Alyssa Landsverk and her husband Montgomery Worden have both worked at Guido's full time. Landsverk has been there five years and has managed the pizza parlor since 2014. Both are committed vegans and have been eager to open a restaurant that reflected their lifestyle and specialized in vegan offerings.
The opportunity came late last year when owner Bill MacIntyre offered to sell Guido's to Landsverk and Worden. MacIntyre owns Pug Mahon's, an Irish pub, next door.
"Mac wanted to focus on Pug Mahon's," Landsverk said.
MacIntyre built the wood-fired pizza oven in Guido's himself when he opened the restaurant more than a decade ago. Over the years, running the two establishments became increasingly difficult.
"I can run Pug Mahon's just fine," he said. "The pizza joint is more complex."
He's spent the past few years trying to find the right person to take over.
"You need someone in there who really wants to do it," he said.
Along came Landsverk. She started managing Guido's and excelled at it, he said. Landsverk and Worden were terrific, he said. They're organized, and Landsverk in particular has a gift with the food, he said.
"They're both really good," he said.
Landsverk and Worden said vegan offerings will include everything from toppings down to the dough. They've even got four different pizza cutters so that the blade that slices the pepperoni pizza won't be used on the vegan pie.
The vegan offerings aren't new at Guido's. Landsverk has slowly introduced options since she took over management of the restaurant. However, now that she and her husband own the place, they can expand what they offer and make it a little more official.
Landsverk acknowledged it's a little unusual to have committed vegans running a traditional pizza parlor.
"It's hard," she said.
Her decision to become vegan was built on her feelings about animal cruelty and her own religious beliefs. The same is true for her husband.
"It's important for all kinds of reasons," she said.
They're hopeful that by giving patrons at Guido's choices that stretch from traditional to vegan, customers will be able to find options that work for them.
The kitchen is still open and customers have been able to order pizza through much of the remodeling work. But the dining room has been closed all week while work goes on. When it reopens Friday it will coincide with ArtWalk in Downtown Billings.


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The launch of the ninth generation of consoles has been rough for both consumers and manufacturers. As the world was forced to stay in, demand for consoles and PCs continued to soar, and the new releases weren’t quite able to live up to the market demand. While things seemed extremely rough for over a year, supply is slowly catching up as demand dies down.
Console availability is now the highest since release, but many consumers are still struggling to get their hands on a new console. Evidently, Xbox has recovered the most in this aspect, and Xbox Series consoles are usually much easier to find these days than PlayStation and Nintendo consoles.
Many consumers have been curious how Xbox has managed to keep supplies high when Sony and Nintendo have found it challenging. to do so. It seems like we may have just found the answer to that question. Industry insider Shpeshal_Nick has commented on the matter in the most recent XboxEra podcast:
He explained that he got a DM last year claiming that Xbox would have a lot of stock shortly. Nick also said, “Microsoft paid for chip priority at the factories, which is why we saw so much more, and are still seeing so much more Xbox stock“. The source’s claim from last year certainly came to fruition as Xbox Series S and X stock drops have become more plentiful over the last few months. Furthermore, Nick also noted that Microsoft managed to make Series X server blades and produced a limited edition Halo console despite the supposed chip shortages.
Xbox has also managed to outpace the competition in terms of sales recently in the UK. Stock drops for Xbox helped the consoles stay ahead PlayStation 5 ended up falling behind due to supply shortages.
March looks like it's been another tough month for console stock in the UK. Particularly on PS5, although it's better than February. Xbox Series S and X had the best month in March, primarily due to the arrival of more X consoles. All three platforms are down year-to-date
— Christopher Dring (@Chris_Dring) April 5, 2022
Microsoft has shown that they intend to make the most of this generation. They have been ruthless with studio acquisitions in the past and this chip priority deal all but confirms their determination to stay ahead of the curve. While all consoles are struggling to meet demands, Xbox has managed to outsmart the competition with this cunning move and things are now looking better than ever for Xbox. Stock is likely to improve for all manufacturers in the coming days but Microsoft has managed to give Xbox a head start with this deal.
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How could we improve this post? Please Help us. 😔
Avinash is currently pursuing a Business degree in Australia. For more than three years, he has been working as a gaming journalist, utilizing his writing skills and love for gaming to report on the latest updates in the industry. Avinash loves to play action games like Devil May Cry and has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameRant, Dualshockers, CBR, and Gamespot.


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A small-scale wine producer in Italy's Campania region has drawn the attention of Moet Hennessy-owned Champagne house Veuve Clicquot over the colour of its labels.
Italian winemaker Ciro Picariello has encroached on the trademarked ‘Clicquot Yellow’ colour, the Champagne house claimed.
Contrary to many media reports, Clicquot said in a statement released to decanter.com that it has not filed formal legal action against the Italian producer, which owns seven hectares and makes around 3,000 bottles per year of sparkling wine from Fiano d’Avellino grapes, alongside its main wine.
‘Veuve Clicquot approached Ciro Picariello at the end of 2013 to inform them of the similarity between the colours of their labels, and requested if the Ciro Picariello label colour could evolve to avoid any risk of association between the two products,’ the Champagne house said.
It added that the two parties have entered ‘amicable discussions’.
A twitter protest campaign has started in Italy under the hashtag #boicottalavedova, or ‘boycott the widow’, referring to the widowed Madame Clicquot who built the group’s international reputation. The French word ‘veuve’ translates to ‘widow’ in English.
Ciro Picariello declined to comment. Some Italian media sites have suggested that the producer’s label is orange rather than yellow.
Veuve Clicquot said it works extensively to protect its trademark rights worldwide. ‘The Clicquot Yellow colour is trademarked in the European Union, US and Australia,’ it said.
Written by Chris Mercer


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Back-to-school shoppers and other consumers were out in force on Friday to take advantage of tax-free items as both North Carolina and Virginia stores are now hosting their annual August Sales Tax Holiday.
The tax-free sales began at 12:01 a.m. Friday and in both states. Shoppers have two more days to buy clothes, school and office supplies, computers and other items without having to pay sales tax. Additionally, a number of stores offer discount sales during the weekend to further entice consumers to spend.
Included in the North Carolina sales tax exempt list are clothing, footwear and school supplies of $100 or less per item; school instructional materials of $300 or less per item; sports and recreation equipment of $50 or less per item; computers of $3,500 or less per item; and computer supplies of $250 or less per item.
In Virginia, exempt items include individual school supply items of $20 or less; and clothing or footwear of $100 or less per item.
At Walmart on Friday, cashiers were busy ringing up shoppers who wanted to save money during the tax-free holiday.
Jennifer Elliot, assistant manager at Walmart, said extra cashiers are working to keep checkout lines moving.
Staples sales associate Katie Brewer said customers are taking advantage of not only the tax-free shopping on certain items, but the deals being offered by the store.
Dave Burr, a manager with Kmart, said the store was busy on Friday. He said there was a good crowd in the mall and lots of shoppers in Kmart. He said customers are not only saving 7 percent on the allowable items for tax-free weekend, but they are saving an additional 1 percent with the store’s loyalty card.
Tax-Free Weekend will end at 11:59 p.m. Sunday.
For more information on specific items eligible for tax-exempt status in North Carolina, visit the North Carolina Department of Revenue’s website at www.dornc.com. In Virginia, visit www.tax.virginia.gov.


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Today, we are announcing a second joint venture with GIC to develop and operate hyperscale data centers, this time in Japan. Last year, we launched an xScale™ hyperscale data center joint venture in Europe, and are now excited to bring another to the Asia-Pacific region.
This expansion of large-scale data center facilities supports the global growth of hyperscale companies, including the world’s largest cloud service providers. Over the years, Equinix has worked closely with these customers to support their interconnection and edge requirements in our International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) data centers. Equinix is the world’s largest provider of cloud access with over 40% of major cloud on-ramps in the markets where we operate, and we further added 15 cloud on-ramps in 2019. We are seeing continued momentum with hyperscalers as they generate over US$500 million in annual revenue in our traditional retail business as reported in our 2019 Q4 earnings. These same cloud firms are evolving their platforms and are asking for larger deployments in certain markets – this is why we launched our second hyperscale initiative today.
IDC recognizes Equinix as a leader in colocation and interconnection services
Read this competitive assessment of nine interconnection and colocation service vendors to complement your understanding of key benefits of critical infrastructure provider Equinix.Download the Report Now!
Japan is home to the third-largest global economy and the largest electronics industry in the world. As a country that plays a leading role in fueling the digital economy, Japan is a springboard for businesses seeking opportunities across the Asia-Pacific region.
According to IDC, Japan’s market size of public cloud in 2019 was JPY 878B (US$8B), a 23% year-over-year increase. The firm forecasts the market will reach JPY 2.1T (US$20B) in 2024, with a 19% CAGR (2019-24). In 2019, information-oriented SaaS showed more measured growth, while IaaS/PaaS experienced rapid growth. IDC predicts that in the future, as Japan’s market expands and matures, the growth rate of public cloud services is expected to slow down from 23% in 2019 to approximately 16% in 2024. However, the number of public cloud providers and services will continue to increase moving forward, driven by companies seeking diversification of workloads and expansion.[i]
To prepare for this hyperscale cloud expansion in Asia-Pacific, Equinix is partnering with GIC to form a greater than US$1.0 billion joint venture to develop and operate xScale hyperscale data centers in Japan. As with the completed joint venture between Equinix and GIC for xScale data centers in Europe, GIC will own an 80% equity interest and Equinix will own 20% in the xScale facilities. The agreement for Asia-Pacific is expected to close in 2H 2020, pending regulatory approval and other closing conditions.
The three initial xScale facilities in the joint venture – two in Tokyo and one in Osaka – will support the unique workloads of hyperscale companies. The three data centers will bring 138 megawatts (MW) of power capacity to the Tokyo and Osaka markets when fully built-out.
Expanding hyperscale CSP reach and opportunity
This significant investment by Equinix and GIC in the region’s cloud market underscores the growing pace of hyperscale CSP expansion across Asia-Pacific and how the cloud is fueling digital transformation in every industry. In 2019, we demonstrated notable momentum in Asia-Pacific, especially from sales in the region’s growing online gaming, publishing and e-commerce sectors, as hyperscale cloud platforms continue to power these vertical markets. The expansion of Equinix xScale services across Japan will further enrich regional and multinational businesses that rely on Equinix for easy access to the expansive services offered by hyperscale CSP deployments, and gain greater value from a choice of best-in-class CSPs for various application requirements.
The availability of xScale facilities in Japan is also critical to meeting the technical and operational requirements of core hyperscale CSP workload deployments to serve these enterprise customers. Hyperscale CSPs can access a globally interconnected ecosystem of nearly 10,000 enterprises and strategic business partners on Platform Equinix®, which spans 210 Equinix International Business Exchange (IBX) data centers across 55 metros worldwide. Many of these hyperscale CSPs, such as Alibaba Cloud, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud and Google Cloud, already reside in our rich cloud ecosystems in Equinix’s Tokyo and Osaka IBX data centers, which are also hosting more than 985 companies across the nation.
On Platform Equinix in Japan, there are vibrant ecosystems of companies from all industries, including more than 300 enterprises, 135 content and digital media providers, and 100 financial services firms. The xScale facilities will be interconnected to Equinix IBX data centers in Japan, providing hyperscale CSPs with ready access to current and potential customers.
Ensuring business continuity, disaster recovery and compliance
The three xScale data centers in Tokyo and Osaka will also provide much needed geographically redundant zones in Japan for Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery, where business resiliency and service delivery continuity are increasingly important to support the needs of enterprises undergoing digital transformation. Private interconnection between enterprise applications and on-premises and cloud-based data stores also allows businesses to directly and securely exchange data, while keeping data local to a specific country. This will help Japan’s businesses maintain compliance with local data protection and privacy regulations, regardless if the data is located physically on-premises or virtually in the cloud.
A future-proof hyperscale cloud infrastructure
Leading up to the Olympic Games in Tokyo, as well as the country’s 5G service rollout, Japan is seeing growing cloud adoption and digital transformation to support advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and IoT applications.
Digital transformation via cloud adoption is a vital catalyst for driving the global economy forward. The expansion of hyperscale data centers, such as Equinix and GIC xScale facilities in Europe and Japan, is critical to our enterprise and service provider customers’ digital aspirations, not only in these regions, but around the world.
Learn more about how to accelerate your digital transformation on Platform Equinix by reading the IDC MarketScape Worldwide Colocation and Interconnection Services 2019 – 2020 Vendor Assessment.
[i] IDC, “Japan Public Cloud Service Market Sales Forecast, 2019-2024.”


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Afterpay a financial services from Australia, founded by Nick Molnar, a millennial entrepreneur, has declared war on credit and credit cards because millennials don't like credit.
Currently, there are 6,500 retailers who signed up for Afterpay services —- Outfitters, Forever 21, Anthropologie, Avenue, and Skechers, to name a few. In fiscal year 2019, the company's revenue growth was at 97% and their negative profit margin was only 20%.
What about Visa?
Though Wall Street paid little attention to Afterpay, Visa certainly noticed that it’s slowly becoming the fastest growing competitor undermining the whole concept of credit cards and that this competitor has taken over Australia and is heading for the U.S. and the U.K. It offers no-interest loans, which is way better than whatever interest rate the credit card companies are charging.
If Afterpay will continue to dominate the millenials, this will be a serious threat to Visa. Meanwhile, Afterpay and Visa have signed a collaboration agreement to work on Visa's new version of no-interest advance payments.
In the future, some large financial company like Visa or PayPal or Square, will acquire Afterpay. It has a sharp business model and a wonderful brand that is beloved by its users. I hope the company will stay independent, at least for a while. I'd like to get my own 10-bagger.
Source: The Motley Fool
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As the fluctuations within the small business lending industry continue, SMEs must keep their eye on the state of the market: whether capital is available, how affordable it is and where it’s coming from.
Marketplace lender Bizfi released today (Sept. 13) the results of its research on how small businesses are managing the changes made to how they access financing. And in an interview with PYMNTS, Bizfi Founder Stephen Sheinbaum offers his own take on how alternative finance players are managing those changes, too.
What SMEs Face
According to Bizfi’s Small Business Growth Survey, demand for financing from alternative funding sources is at a “record high.” More than two-thirds of companies surveyed said they prefer to seek loans from alternative sources rather than traditional banks. Less than a third of small businesses plan to seek a bank loan from a local bank, while nearly 28 percent said they’ll use a credit card or line of credit for their financing needs.
For Sheinbaum, this came as no surprise. For one, he said, the speed at which small business owners can access financing often makes alternative lending players a winner over traditional routes. SMEs that aren’t borrowing much, compared to larger businesses, are more willing to take on a higher interest rate because of the speed and certainty of that loan, he added.
“Someone’s not that concerned, very often, about a few [interest rate] percentage points either way,” he explained. “They need the money. Maybe they have an opportunity to by something, and if they pay their supplier in the next five days, they can get a big discount.”
Researchers at Bizfi concluded that this demand for alternative funding is good news for the overall economy. The vast majority (87.5 percent) of SMEs surveyed said they are investing more in their businesses this year than last year, and 91.4 percent of those that are boosting investment said they’ll be borrowing money to do so.
The majority of borrowing small businesses, Bizfi said, are borrowing either between $10,000 and $40,000 or more than $40,000, and they’re looking to place those funds in more than just working capital needs. Investing in inventory, hiring new employees, expanding and adding locations and investing in equipment are among the most popular goals for the small businesses surveyed.
For lenders, Sheinbaum said, having a specific target for small business financing can be considered a positive development.
“Sometimes, for us, we’re much more comfortable and confident when someone has a specific use for the money, as opposed to working capital or cash flow,” he said. “If someone wants to buy equipment, or refurbish their place or take on another line of goods or products, then that’s better to us than someone who’s saying they need to make payroll.”
What all of this means is that small businesses are feeling pretty optimistic about their futures and are willing to invest in growth to make the most of that optimism.
Sheinbaum said that conclusion was a “pleasant surprise’ for the company.
But according to the report, small businesses do have some concerns about regulation. Specifically, 28.7 percent of companies surveyed said they have been affected by the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise the interest rate earlier this year, and the decision to do so impacted their willingness to spend and invest in their own companies.
What SME Lenders Face
SMEs aren’t alone in their concerns over the regulatory environment. In a statement announcing Bizfi’s report, Sheinbaum pointed to the traditional banking sector’s retraction away from SME borrowers as a driver behind small businesses’ attraction towards alternative financers. It’s a pattern that has been commonly cited since the 2008 financial crisis and could be the new normal for small businesses.
According to Sheinbaum, it all comes down to regulation.
“The regulatory environment for small banks right now is very difficult,” he explained. “They have a lot of concentration limits in terms of industry or zip code — restrictions that make it hard for them or a little daunting.”
Today, what that means is less competition between alternative lenders and greater collaboration. For Bizfi, collaboration emerges in the form of white-labeling its solution out to other platforms, like Jack Henry & Associates, which enables the financial institutions using Jack Henry tools to also use Bizfi’s SME financing solution for their own small business customers.
Sheinbaum also pointed to other collaborations between players like OnDeck and JPMorgan, or Fundation and BancAlliance, in which traditional banks link their SME clients to the services of alternative lending platforms.
But as small businesses eye interest rate regulations and as traditional banks eye regulations that impact their ability to lend to small businesses, alternative lenders are also facing increased scrutiny from lawmakers.
While Sheinbaum said he and Bizfi welcome regulation as something that would heighten transparency for small business borrowers, he told PYMNTS that there are concerns about how officials will approach any incoming rules.
“The concerning part to me is that I want to make sure that we have really well-reasoned and rationed decision-making in the legislative process, because, so many times, the government tries to accomplish one thing, and it ends up accomplishing something entirely different,” he said. “That’s the concern to me — making sure the legislators understand the groundwork and playing field everyone is competing on.”


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There are no Dow stocks hitting 52-week highs. There are no Dow stock 52-week lows.
Premarket today, the Dow was indicated to open up +299 points.
Tuesday the Dow closed up +92.20 (+0.28%) at 32,849.74.
Year-to-date the Dow is down -9.60%.
Tuesday, (19) Dow 30 stocks were up, none were at 52-week lows and none were at 52-week highs.
The Dow stock winners Tuesday were led by IBM (IBM) 141.28 (+1.74%), Chevron (CVX) 172.67 (+1.64%) and Disney (DIS) 87.02 (+1.45%).
The Dow stock losers Tuesday were led by Intel (INTC) 26.44 (-1.31%), 3M (MMM) 120.81 (-1.08%) and Home Depot (HD) 314.84 (-0.78%).
The 10 YR yield closed Tuesday at 3.702 (+0.68%) and the VIX at 21.48 (-4.19%). The 10 YR is currently at 3.631 and VIX is at 20.49 (-4.61%).
Nike (NKE) continued its earnings hot streak with a stellar report Tuesday that easily surpassed Wall Street’s expectations. The sports apparel maker and retailer also enhanced its revenue outlook while posting improved inventory numbers from the prior quarter. Nike, like other retailers, has been mired under a merchandise glut largely due to supply chain snarls, so inventories are still much higher than a year earlier, and they’re cutting into margins. But some aggressive clearance work, including a big shift of products to wholesale channels, has helped Nike feel like it’s past the peak of its inventory woes. Nike shares surged 11% after the apparel maker beat Wall Street’s expectations for quarterly earnings and revenue.
Mortgage applications to refinance rose 6% last week as interest rates dropped to their lowest level since September. Volume, meanwhile, was 85% lower than the same week last year.
U.S. futures are higher, European stocks are higher and Asian markets ended mostly higher.
The national average price of gasoline is down 1.5 cents at $3.108 per gallon.
Nike (NKE) will report earnings on 12/20/22 after the market close with $0.85, beating estimates of $0.654 per share.
Walgreens (WBA) will report earnings on 1/5/22 before the market open.
JPMorgan (JPM) will report earnings on 1/13/22 before the market open.
UnitedHealth (UNH)) will report earnings on 1/13/22 before the market open.
Goldman Sachs (GS) will report earnings on 1/17/22 before the market open.
Today’s Featured Dow Stock
Chevron (CVX) 172.67 (+1.64%) is up +47.14% in 2022.
07:00 AM ET MBA 30-Year Mortgage Rate, 6.42%
07:00 AM ET MBA Mortgage Applications (WoW), 3.2%
07:00 AM ET MBA Purchase Index, 182.6
07:00 AM ET Mortgage Market Index, 210.7
07:00 AM ET Mortgage Refinance Index, 350.5
08:30 AM ET Current Account (Q3), -222.0B, -251.1B
10:00 AM ET CB Consumer Confidence (Dec), 101.0, 100.2
10:00 AM ET Existing Home Sales (MoM) (Nov), -5.4%, -5.9%
10:00 AM ET Existing Home Sales (Nov), 4.20M, 4.43M
10:30 AM ET Crude Oil Inventories, -1.657M, 10.231M
10:30 AM ET EIA Refinery Crude Runs (WoW), -0.459M
10:30 AM ET Crude Oil Imports, -0.031M
10:30 AM ET Cushing Crude Oil Inventories, 0.426M
10:30 AM ET Distillate Fuel Production, -0.164M
10:30 AM ET EIA Weekly Distillates Stocks, 0.336M, 1.364M
10:30 AM ET Gasoline Production, 0.129M
10:30 AM ET Heating Oil Stockpiles, 0.504M
10:30 AM ET EIA Weekly Refinery Utilization Rates (WoW), -0.1%, -3.3%
10:30 AM ET Gasoline Inventories, 2.140M, 4.496M
13:00 PM ET 20-Year Bond Auction, 4.072%


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A bearish brew of a strong U.S. dollar, higher interest rates and firmer economic growth are all creating formidable headwinds for precious metals. Even fears of an emerging market crisis and Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric regarding trade have all failed to breathe life into gold and silver.
While gold recently recovered to be trading at over the psychologically important US$1,200 per ounce mark, silver remains stuck below US$15 an ounce and plumbing prices not seen since the massive commodities slump of early 2016. This has led to claims by some analysts that it offers a stellar investment opportunity because it will rally substantially. It is difficult to perceive any positive catalysts for silver that will act as a powerful tailwind for the precious metal, however.
Among the most significant problems facing silver is that the traditional relationship with gold appears to be breaking down. This is because unlike gold, it possesses considerable utility that sees it consumed in a wide range of industrial applications because of its conductive properties. These include the fabrication of electrical and electronic components, photography and solar cells.
Nonetheless, industrial demand for silver has not risen as strongly as predicted and in fact between 2013 and 2017 demand was 1% lower. This was primarily because of declining consumption in electrical and electronic processes, which had fallen by a notable 9% over that period and a whopping 12% reduction of its use in photography. Even the rapid growth in demand for its employment in the fabrication of photovoltaic cells failed to make up for this drop. There are signs that industrial consumption of silver could fall further as manufacturers seek lower cost substitutes.
There has also been a sharp downturn in demand for silver bullion for investment purposed with the consumption of silver in coins and bars plunging by 37% between 2013 and 2017. This can be attributed to a range of factors; key being a saturated retail investment market in silver bullion and the massive surge in the popularity of Bitcoin as well as other cryptocurrencies. It is speculated that the rapid growth of digital currencies has attracted large volumes of investable funds, which would traditionally have been directed to alternate assets like silver.
Meanwhile, as demand has declined supply has grown to cause the physical supply deficit that existed over the last four years become increasingly smaller. For 2017, it was roughly a fifth of what it had been in 2013 and there are signs that it will continue to diminish. This is because production is growing at decent clip as miners move to ramp up output despite weaker prices. By 2017, silver production from mining was more than 3% greater than what it had been in 2013 and there is every sign that it will keep growing.
Despite weaker silver, primary silver miners are focused on boosting production. The world’s fourth largest silver miner, Endeavour Silver Corp. (TSX:EDR)(NYSE:EXK) has forecast that 2018 silver output will rise by a whopping 20% compared to 2017, whereas the third-biggest Pan American Silver Corp. has forecast a more moderate increase of around 6%.
It should be noted that primary silver miners are only responsible for around a third of the global annual supply of the white metal, the majority is produced as a by-product from mining other metals such as copper, lead and gold. Higher base metals along with gold rallying above US$1,200 an ounce have all triggered a sharp uptick in activity among miners, which means that silver production will grow at a brisk pace further expanding supply.
Based on traditional fundamentals, it is difficult to see any positive catalysts that will drive silver higher. The precious metal is caught in an intractable slump with little to no upside for the foreseeable future. This makes primary silver miners, which are exceedingly reliant upon extracting silver to drive profitability and have high operating costs such as Endeavour Silver, which reported second quarter 2018 all-in sustaining costs (AISCs) of US$17.28 per ounce, unattractive investments.


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NEW YORK - An activist investor wants Apple Inc. to distribute more of its ballooning cash hoard to shareholders.
Greenlight Capital said Thursday it is suing Apple in a New York federal court over the company's proposal to eliminate preferred stock. David Einhorn, who heads Greenlight, said the proposal would prevent Apple's board from unlocking shareholder value.
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Painting with a Twist has closed its Ashburn location in the Broadlands Village Shopping Center.
The studio originally opened five years ago this month — in September 2014. It was one of several regional and national brands featuring the “paint and sip” concept. Customers come with friends and are given instructions on creating a painting on canvas of their very own, all while sipping on wine.
The closure comes just as Board & Brush Creative Studio is preparing to open in the same shopping center. The new studio is similar in concept to Painting with a Twist, but guests make wooden signs and other home decor items rather than canvas paintings. Board & Brush is holding its grand opening on September 21.
Painting with a Twist has hundreds of locations around the country. Unfortunately for local fans, the next closest one to Ashburn appears to be in Fredericksburg.


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For over 12 years, Shark Tank fans have tuned in every Friday night to see what Kevin O'Leary, Mark Cuban, Robert Herjavec, Lori Greiner and Daymond John invest in. While there have been several successful Shark Tank products, some fans on social media are now wondering if a recent pitch on the business reality TV series was the right one to capitalize on.
In the new year, the TikTok page Our Favorite Finds kicked off a series called “Testing Shark Tank Products” and one of their featured items was the Banana Loca kitchen gadget. The device, which retails for $28.99 on Amazon, allows folks to core a banana and fill it with a spread of their choice. What’s more, there is no mess to worry about because it all happens with the peel still on the fruit.
But if this invention doesn’t ring a bell, it’s probably because it was just presented on December 17 in Shark Tank’s season 13 episode 9. Banana Loca cofounders Renee Heath and Bechara Jaoudeh were inspired to create the kitchen gadget as a solution to enjoying their favorite snack — bananas and Nutella — without having to clean up afterward.
After hearing their pitch and seeing a demo, Sharks Mark and Kevin immediately voiced their interest. Wasting no time, the two ABC stars quickly settled on an agreement with the company’s founders. But not everyone watching from home agreed that it was the smartest move.
Since it was first posted on January 11, the 25-second TikTok from Our Favorite Finds has accumulated a whopping seven million views and more than 400,000 likes. Over in the comments section ( 2,000 comments and counting!), many folks weren’t shy about sharing their honest thoughts. “I’m mad this actually got invented,” one person wrote. “Why? Just why? Just unnecessary,” another added. “They invested into a product that solves a problem that really isn’t a problem/a problem worth solving,” a different fan said. “Or, you know. Peel the banana, cut it in slices and put Nutella on it. Because work smarter not harder?” a follower commented.
On the other hand, there were viewers who fully supported the apparatus, even if it was for a niche market. “I love Shark Tank, I’m here for it 🙌,” a person wrote. “I’m definitely ordering this,” someone else said. “I know I don’t need it. But now I need it 😂😅,” another commented. “Whoa this is awesome,” a different fan quipped.
Opinions aside, the numbers behind the scenes might hint that it has already become a successful Shark Tank product. Despite a 20% dip in viewership, Banana Loca had 100 times more orders than the other companies seen in the same episode, according to Philadelphia Business Journal.
This caught the business partners off-guard when they expected to get less than 10,000 new orders from the episode’s airing but have sent out tens of thousands of units since then. So, who knows, maybe Mark and Kevin have already made their money back.
Selena is the associate entertainment and news editor for Good Housekeeping, where she covers the latest on TV, movies and celebrities. In addition to writing and editing entertainment news, she also spotlights the Hispanic and Latinx community through her work. She is a graduate of CUNY Hunter College with a B.A. in journalism and creative writing.


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What do you think would happen to a store if its door was left unlocked and the security system off for an entire night? It would probably get looted and robbed, right?
Not in Canada.
The owners of a family-run shop in Toronto are feeling pretty lucky after they left their store completely unsecured for an entire night, only to find that nothing had been taken in the morning. Diego Catala, who — along with his mother and father — owns Tires Tires Ltd., said the incident began when staff were getting ready to wrap up on Saturday. A last-minute customer had come in, and inadvertently distracted the only remaining employee in the store. As a result, she accidentally ended up leaving the shop unlocked, the security system off and the “OPEN” sign still in place.
Any thief’s dream, amirite?
Well, the store’s security cameras show that five people entered the business while nobody was there.
“They could have taken a set of tires, rims, batteries,” Catala told the Toronto Sun, adding some of the more high-end parts would have cost thousands.
Instead, they took nothing. Absolutely nothing. The security camera footage monitored the customers as they wandered the store, became more and more confused by the fact that no one was there and then proceeded to leave. The fifth customer who arrived actually took action. Once he realized nobody was in the showroom, he is seen moving over to the shop counter and looking through a phonebook for the owner’s number.
When he couldn’t find it, he switched the “OPEN” sign to “CLOSED” and left. Later that night, police contacted the family to say that a man had alerted them to warn of the unlocked doors.
The family thinks it’s the same person who sifted through their contact information that night, and now they want to know who that good Samaritan is.
“Next time he comes in, he gets a free set of tires, right off the bat, no problem,” Catala said.
Only in Canada, folks. Only in Canada.


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Digital biomarkers will impact healthcare within the next year and are key to the future of medicine, finds Lux Research
BOSTON, MA, DECEMBER 3, 2020 – In its newest report, “The Lux Take on the Future of Digital Biomarkers,” Lux Research, a leading provider of tech-enabled research and advisory services, assesses digital biomarkers on five key factors to gauge their market readiness in the coming year. While a lot of hype has surrounded digital biomarkers, in many cases, it is justified, as digital biomarkers hold the promise of underpinning both healthcare diagnostics and therapeutics.
Traditional biomarkers are data points that allow for clinical decision-making around diagnosis and treatment plans. While traditional biomarkers are identified from anatomical or biochemical data, digital biomarkers differ in that they are identified from patterns found in noninvasively collected digital data – like speech, step counts, or sleep. The underlying algorithms that identify these patterns are integrated into existing smartphones and wearables. The three defining factors of digital biomarkers are that they are continuous, are noninvasive, and leverage the remote collection of data, all of which allow physicians to get a more holistic picture of a patient.
Lead report author and Lux Research Analyst Danielle Bradnan says, “Research is regularly uncovering new use cases for digital biomarkers, such as early detection of the flu and optimizing drug selection for mental health treatment. Specific integration into clinically validated products is likely to follow a five-to-10-year timeline. However, once it becomes more commonplace, digital biomarkers will become irrevocably integrated into the $10 trillion global health market as a means to make diagnoses earlier and improve health outcomes.”
While integration into clinically validated products is still a few years out, COVID-19 is pushing digital biomarkers forward as a key element in telehealth. Over the past five years, there has been a 70% YoY increase in the number of conditions that digital biomarkers can identify. When assessed using the U.S. Department of Energy Tech Readiness Level (TRL) scale, digital biomarkers fall into a wide range of readiness levels depending on the applicable market segment. This is largely because the majority of digital biomarker developers are in academia or other research institutions, with only a handful being wearable technology companies. Lux Research predicts digital biomarkers will gain traction in consumer health, medtech, and pharmaceutical healthcare segments in the coming year, with impact that will last for decades.
To learn more, download the report’s executive summary.
- Executive Summary: The Lux Take on the Future of Digital Biomarkers
- Blog: What Are Digital Biomarkers?


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There’s a living tableau in downtown St. Joseph that portrays the old saw that implies that “Time flies when you’re having fun.” It lives and breathes in the space known as Purely Michigan, where owners and operators Erik and Demrhy Youngquist are living the dream by sharing the best that Michigan can bring to the table, including last year’s official “Coolest Thing Made in Michigan,” the Stormy Kromer Cap.
It might be hard to believe, but the Youngquists have been in charge at 406 State Street for nearly four years now, after taking the reins from previous owner Lynne Christiano in last 2015, and they’ve been having a blast ever since.
Erik says, “I love St. Joe, as my family has called it home for over 80 years,” and adds, “I am honored when people stop in to share a story, a picture or a memory about Michigan.”
Those who know Erik’s story know that he came in off the road after more than 30-years as a road warrior engaged largely in the retail business, after arriving at the conclusion that he wanted to actually be a retailer instead of simply serving them. He wanted to own his own shop, just like he had seen for years on The Andy Griffith Show.
Fast forward to today, and as they celebrate their fourth year in business, Erik says they are most excited to now offer the opportunity for those who no longer live here or extended family members who would like some great nostalgic gifts as well as new offerings coming into play, to purchase things online through e-commerce.
They have rolled out a brand new website that brings the chance to shop from your kitchen table, your deer camp, your grandmother’s backyard, your boat, the beach or anywhere else on the globe you may be, through online sales.
The Youngquists have been actively engaged in continuous quality and selection improvement since day one. Shortly after taking over the shop in the heart of the central business district downtown they moved the back wall further back to allow for a larger sales floor, making room for lots of additional product offerings, including their collection of local wines, craft beers and beyond. They also installed a new floor, became an official Stormy Kromer Outfitter site featuring the “Coolest Thing Made in Michigan,” and have participated in many of the St. Joseph Today promotional events and campaigns attracting tons of people to downtown St. Joe.
They also added a lot of retro look Michigan memorabilia alongside craft beers and Michigan wines, as well as gifts, specialty foods, clothing and housewares to the merchandise that Christiano had carried.
In celebration of their 4th Anniversary, all Stormy Kromer product will be 10-percent off, and they will also be conducting a drawing to win a free cap priced at $49.99 or lower on November 29th & 30th.
If you’d like to shop in person at the unique store in downtown St. Joe, head for the 400 block of State Street and find 406 State. If you’d like to try out the new website and see what’s on the block, you can click this link: http://www.purelymi.com.
Erik is geeked about the new website, and admits, “Having been in brick and mortar retail for over 30 years I was thrilled when we got our first online sale!”


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The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has strongly criticized the alarming increase in the price of sachet water, branding it as unjustifiable. Adamu Abdullahi, the Acting Executive Vice-Chairman of FCCPC, conveyed this stance during the commemoration of the 2024 World Consumer Rights Day in Abuja on Friday, shedding light on the theme for this year’s event, “Fair and Responsible Al for Consumers,” as reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Abdullahi expressed deep concern over the significant surge in sachet water prices attributed to various associations, asserting that such hikes unfairly burden consumers. He argued that despite escalating costs of power, fuel, and nylon, there was no valid rationale behind the exorbitant price increments, especially considering that many producers already possess necessary equipment.
The FCCPC official pointed to the formation of product associations, including those representing sachet water producers, as contributors to the price surge, condemning the emergence of “cartels” manipulating prices for their benefit. He stressed that such practices contradict the FCCPC’s mandate against price fixing and are detrimental to consumers.
Abdullahi highlighted the collaboration with Consumers International, providing valuable insights into Nigeria’s escalating prices over the past three months. He reaffirmed FCCPC’s commitment to investigating and dismantling these cartels upon receiving consumer complaints.
While clarifying that FCCPC isn’t a price control agency, Abdullahi underscored the commission’s dedication to addressing the alarming rise in food prices, caused by various factors such as market cartels, price fixing, hoarding, and lack of pricing transparency. He emphasized FCCPC’s proactive stance in combating these challenges to ensure fair pricing and protect consumers’ interests.
Addressing recent incidents of consumer exploitation and deceptive pricing, which led to the sealing of a prominent supermarket in Abuja by the commission, Abdullahi noted the supermarket’s compliance with 90% of FCCPC guidelines. He assured continued monitoring of supermarkets to uphold effective consumer protection standards.
The FCCPC’s condemnation of skyrocketing sachet water prices underscores the commission’s commitment to safeguarding consumer interests and promoting fair market practices in Nigeria.
Credit: News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)


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This article focuses on MMAT
Facebook announced Thursday that it had changed the company name to Meta. At the Facebook Connect conference for augmented and virtual realities, the name change was made public. The company's ambitions go beyond social media. Facebook, now called Meta, adopted the new name, which is derived from the sci-fi term Metaverse to describe its vision of working and playing in virtual worlds. Today we are known as a social media company but in our DNA, we are a company that creates technology to connect people. The metaverse, according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is the next frontier, just like social networking was back when we started. In announcing its new name, the company said that it would change its stock ticker to MVRS from FB. This will take effect Dec. 1. Meta's stock price rose more than 2% Thursday.
The company announced in July that it had formed a team to work on the metaverse. The company announced two months later that it would make Andrew "Boz", currently the head for the company's hardware department, chief technology officer in 2022. The company also announced in its third quarter earnings results that Reality Labs, its hardware business, will be separated into its own reporting segment. This is expected to begin in the fourth quarter. Zuckerberg sent a Thursday letter stating that the company hopes the metaverse will be a global platform for billions of people and hundreds of billions in digital commerce. It also plans to create millions of jobs for creators and developers. The company has increased its hardware efforts over the years. It launched a line portal video-calling devices, launched the Ray-Ban Stories glasses, and released various Oculus virtual-reality headset versions. According to the company, augmented and virtual reality will play a major role in its future strategy.


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Lyft, the ride-sharing service that is more than happy to have someone drive you around town, will now let you pay for said trip using Google Wallet.
The functionality is available directly inside the app, where you can simply tap Add Google Wallet to skirt around entering your credit card number manually, assuming you already have one saved to your Google account. If you've bought something from the Play Store without using a gift card, then that's more than likely a yes. Read More
Not all of Uber's passengers are childless 20-somethings looking to stay out late with friends. Some riders have children, and it helps everyone involved if those kids have something to keep them busy. So Uber and Fuhu have come up with a way to keep to do precisely that.
The uberFAMILY service, available first in DC, will equip cars with Fuhu's nabi tablets. In addition to apps, children will be able to take advantage of subscriptions containing both entertaining and educational content. Read More
Lyft is certainly trying to improve its service and application. With this new update to version 2.13.0, the app enhanced two of its existing options and fixed an issue that users with multiple payment methods must have faced in the past.
First, if you have several credit cards added to your account — say a business one and a personal one — or you also have coupons or Lyft for Work credit, you no longer have to make sure the right option is selected in the app's settings before paying. Read More
Lyft users have grown accustomed to seeing a pink balloon in their app drawers, but this year, that changes. The ride-sharing service has decided to kick off 2015 with a new look.
In addition to the redesigned icon, the company is replacing the fuzzy mustaches that decorate each of its cars. Now drivers will mark their vehicles with bright, magenta glowstaches. While similar in shape, these new creations will glow in the dark, making them easier to see after the sun sets. Read More
In its latest update, Lyft has finally added the capability to split fares among passengers. This is a pretty important feature and one that puts it on par with top competitor Uber, which has had fare splitting for well over a year. For those who travel in groups, this makes Lyft a more viable option.
You're heading to work to make money, but what if you could earn a little extra on the way? That's what Lyft is promising with its latest initiative, Driver Destination.
The new service extends to drivers what Lyft Line offered passengers. It lets drivers offer rides to people who are heading in the same direction, and it pays them for the trip.
Here's how Driver Destination works. First you put your destination into the app. Read More
Android 5.0 is heading out to select Moto devices, Nexus owners are firing up fastboot, and the sweet smell of candy and tangibly designed interfaces are in the air. Feeling the spirit, Lyft has updated its app with a slightly more up-to-date look.
The biggest change here is the introduction of a new sidebar. It now pops out over all other UI elements.
Lyft has also removed the separator underneath the action bar and whitened things up a tad. Read More
Lyft Plus seats riders in a vehicle capable of transporting up to six passengers at once. The service launched in San Francisco several months ago, expanding the number of people Lyft users can share a ride with. Now Lyft Plus is expanding out to the rest of the supported markets across the country. According to a recent post on the company's blog, the offering will appear inside the mobile app starting this week. Read More
A month ago, Lyft announced, almost simultaneously with Uber, its Line ride-sharing service. At the time, Line was only available in San Francisco and accessible from the service's iOS app. The location limitation is still there, but Line has just made its way to the Android side through an update to the Lyft app. Read More


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Struggling to find its footing amid an industry-wide print crisis, Conde Nast recently shed an estimated 400 staffers. The fallout has naturally had an impact on the digital side as well. Now, the company is reorganizing its digital sales force into five groups. Under the new structure, which will still be headed by SVP/Chief Revenue Officer Drew Schutte, three ad directors will report to the newly named publisher, Josh Stinchcomb. Each of Condé Nast Digital’s 26 online brands will now fall into one of the five categories, which are fashion and beauty; food, well-being and travel; bridal; technology; and culture and thought leader. In addition, Alice McKown has been named executive director of marketing, enabling marketing to provide better service to the same five categories.
The rearrangement reflects the differences between selling print and digital, one Condé Nast exec told paidContent. In the print days, when jobs were less fluid, the relationships between sellers and buyers, as well as brands and titles, were fairly stable. But with all the movement and shifts involved in selling digital, the publisher felt it made more sense to provide five basic categories where advertisers and buyers can easily identify. Plus, with the layoffs on the publishing and ad agency sides in general, the relationships and names are constantly in flux.
Both Stinchcomb and McKown are Condé Nast vets. Stinchcomb was previously the executive director of the Condé Nast Digital Business Group, where he oversaw sales and marketing for Wired.com, Ars Technica, Newyorker.com, Reddit, and Golfdigest.com. Stinchcomb has been with Wired since 1996.
McKown was the executive director of integrated services for Condé Nast Digital. She was charged with managing the collaboration between the magazines and digital brands, and also worked on marketing plans for the integrated brands


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Brown-Forman Sees Sales Rise 11% to Over $2 Billion, with Operating Income Up 8%December 7, 2022
For its fiscal first half, Brown-Forman reported that net sales jumped 11% to $2.1 billion, with Jack Daniel’s, Woodford Reserve, and the company’s RTD portfolio leading the way. Operating income also rose, with the company posting an 8% rise to $656 million. Growth was widespread across the company’s largest whiskey labels, with Jack Daniel’s, Woodford Reserve, and Old Forester all showing substantial growth to boost the company’s overall half.
Jack Daniel’s, led by gains from its core Tennessee whiskey label, was up 9% on a net basis and, according to Brown-Forman, those gains were seen across the U.S. and travel retail channels. The rise in net sales was also driven by price increases and a bump in distributor inventory during the half. Additionally, the company noted that the launch of Jack Daniel’s Bonded series of whiskies was a boon for the brand, alongside continued growth for its flavored whiskies—namely Tennessee Honey and Tennessee Fire—and RTDs.
Brown-Forman’s higher-end whiskies continue to surge as well, with the company reporting a 39% leap in net sales for its premium Bourbons, led by Old Forester and Woodford Reserve. This surge was attributed to continuing premiumization as well as the increased availability of glass for the distiller.
While RTDs are growing globally, Brown-Forman reported especially strong performances in Australia and Germany, helping to propel the Jack Daniel’s RTD portfolio to a 9% net sales jump. In Tequila, el Jimador and Herradura continue to see growth as well, with the former’s net sales up 16% and the latter rising 9%.
Overall, Brown-Forman saw net sales rise 11% in the U.S., led by Jack Daniel’s and Woodford Reserve’s successes, somewhat offset by headwinds faced by Korbel California Champagne. Outside the U.S., Spain, Korea, and Canada were strong performers in Brown-Forman’s established markets, with emerging markets like Brazil and Mexico also helping the company. Travel retail, which has bounced back since the worst days of the pandemic, was up 60% as well.
“Brown-Forman has once again displayed tremendous resolve, delivering double-digit revenue growth for the first half of fiscal 2023,” said president and CEO Lawson Whiting. “Consumer demand for our brands remains strong, and we have set the organization on a path for continued growth with our sustained brand investments, recently announced acquisitions, product innovation, and strategic relationships.”
|Brown-Forman—Top Ten Spirits Brands In the U.S.|
|1||Jack Daniel’s3||Tennessee Whiskey||5,570||-1.8%|
|5||Gentleman Jack||Tennessee Whiskey||458||-7.3%|
|10||Jack Daniel’s RTDs6||Premixed Cocktails||260||196.6%|
|Total Top Ten||10,418||-0.2%|
|1 Thousands of 9-liter cases.
2 Year-to-date through October.
3 Excludes flavors and RTDs/FMBs; includes Single Barrel, Rye, No. 27 Gold, and Sinatra.
4 Includes Double Oaked and Reserve Rye.
5 Includes 86 proof, 100 proof, and craft.
6 Excludes Country Cocktails (malt-based).
7 Excludes wine and FMBs.
Sources: NABCA and IMPACT DATABANK © 2022


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Toyota already offers the C-HR in the subcompact space but is set to add a second, slightly smaller subcompact crossover SUV in the coming years.
An early test mule for the new SUV has been spotted for the first time. The debut will likely take place in late 2021 or early the following year and right now it isn’t clear if we’ll see the SUV on sale in the United States, although local officials have hinted at a second subcompact joining the C-HR here.
The test mule is dressed to match the Yaris subcompact hatchback sold overseas but flared wheel arches and a raised ride height confirm this as a tester for the new SUV. It was also spotted testing alongside the latest Renault Captur subcompact SUV.
2022 Toyota subcompact crossover SUV spy shots – Photo credit: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien
The platform is likely to be the TNGA (Toyota New Global Architecture) modular design for subcompact cars,…


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Pizza lovers can now indulge at Miami’s favorite event space and the best part; for free.
(Miami, FL) October 15, 2018 – Almost a year after it opened its doors on the Miami River, The Wharf has consistently provided an array of special events to please South Florida locals. With the most recent effort, announced, The Wharf will most definitely please many. The pop-up event space is launching “Miami’s biggest Pizza Party” Thursday, October 25th, 2018. Via their partnership with onsite food truck Spris Artisan Pizza, The Wharf welcomes all pizza lovers to come out and indulge in America’s favorite thing to eat and for free!
For those who have not yet visited, The Wharf is located just a few blocks from the Brickell/Downtown Miami area, the venue is accessible by both car or boat, (which has made it very attractive). With its varied array of special events, including functions catering to music lovers, art enthusiasts, foodies, dog lovers, active professionals and families, its popularity has consistently risen. The Wharf ownership and management have diligently partnered up with brands, organizations, and groups to provide unique events and efforts to satisfy different tastes. The Wharf Pizza Party is no different.
Guests can enjoy this new pleaser by simply spending $10 on a cocktail or beer. With that, they will receive a token they can redeem for their free Spris Artisan Pizza pie! For those who haven’t tried Spris, the brand has over 20 years of experience and multiple locations (including The Wharf) under their belts. Known for high-quality ingredients and world-class chefs, this is no “ordinary” pizza.
Since opening its doors in November 2017, the venue has welcomed a multitude of cultural, art, music, fashion, corporate and community special events hosting thousands. The Wharf is a precursor to a permanent mixed-use food and entertainment destination known as “Riverside Wharf” on the [same] site.
“Miami’s biggest Pizza Party” will launch Thursday, October 25th, 2018. To reserve your spot: https://freepizzathursdays.eventbrite.com
The Wharf is located at 114 SW North River Drive, Miami, Florida and open Thursday through Sunday weekly.
Follow on social IG: @WharfMiami and on Face book: The Wharf Miami. Visit on the web: www.WharfMiami.com


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It started with a British take on an Abbey ale, took in the farms, breweries and bars of Belgium, and ended up with some of the finest Belgian beers entering Australia via Newcastle. Meet the International Beer Collector.
He might not be a household name but if there's any craft beer-loving household in Australia that hasn't enjoyed the fruits of Pete Meddings' labour, we'd be surprised.
More than 20 Brisbane brewers plus other industry suppliers have joined forces to create a collaborative beer designed to raise funds and awareness for Queensland mental health charity LIVIN.
Cam Turner has been brewing beers on the Mornington Peninsula for close to 15 years, first for Hickinbotham then Dainton. We traced his career in beer right back to caring for cask ales in London and beyond.
It's not found in Bay Rd but it does have its locals at heart. Having switched a greater focus onto canning during COVID-19, Bay Rd Brewing in Gosford is now looking forward to welcoming those locals back.
With venues open again and restrictions eased more than elsewhere in Australia, Alice Springs Brewing Co have been doing their bit to get local hospo businesses going again with their Centralian Care Package.
You might not be able to partake in a PoO Crawl at Good Beer Week 2020 but that hasn't stopped one group finding a way to join each other on a cross-city Pint of Origin trek while in isolation.
Staying connected with friends and family during these challenging times is crucial. And, as we approach May 8 – Mate Day to many – there are beer businesses doing what they can to facilitate this and support people's wellbeing.
Fancy saying thanks to the essential workers helping us get through the COVID-19 pandemic? A new campaign, A Good Beer Always Helps, offers you the chance to do just that while supporting craft brewers too.
The craft beer industry has always been one fired by the spirit of collaboration, something which has come to the fore during the COVID-19 crisis. We spoke to two brewers helping get their peers beers into punters' hands.


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The fastest street-legal Viper track car ever offers a tremendous value for performance
May 12, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - Viper enthusiasts with the need for ultimate handling, performance and road course domination, as well as the ability to drive their Viper home from the track, can now place their orders for the fastest street-legal Viper track car ever. The Dodge brand has announced pricing and opened order banks for the recently introduced 2016 Dodge Viper ACR.
Unveiled last week at the revamped Conner Avenue Assembly Plant in Detroit, the American Club Racer model of the iconic, hand-built American supercar will have a starting U.S. Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $117,895 (excluding destination and gas guzzler tax).
“Bringing our street-legal Dodge Viper ACR back is going to arm our track enthusiasts with the ultimate weapon to dominate road courses across the country,” said Tim Kuniskis, President and CEO — Dodge and SRT Brands, FCA — North America. “This is without a doubt the best Viper ACR ever. The latest in aerodynamic, braking and tire technology will ensure its legendary performance reputation around the world.”
Originally introduced in 1999 and last available for the 2010 model year, the Viper ACR has a long-standing legacy as the ultimate street-legal track car for club racing. The new 2016 model honors that performance legacy with significant aerodynamic and suspension upgrades, new Carbon Ceramic brakes with six-piston calipers and high-performance tires specifically designed for ACR. Standard equipment highlights include:
Delivers ultimate in stopping performance with unprecedented brake fade resistance through ACR-exclusive Carbon Ceramic Matrix 15-inch two-piece rotors and six-piston front calipers from Brembo®
Unique track suspension features 10-setting, double-adjustable, Bilstein coil-over racing shocks and unique race alignment delivering up to 3 inches of suspension height adjustment for fine-tuning corner weight
The latest race tire compound technology with massive Kumho® Ecsta V720 high-performance tires (295/25/19 front, 355/30/19 rear), designed and developed specifically for the 2016 Dodge Viper ACR, delivers laps times that are 1.5 seconds faster than off-road only race tires
Combination of suspension, aero treatment and ACR-specific tires delivers sustainable 1.5 g cornering during high-speed turns
Lightweight carpet, minimal three speaker audio and manual seats designed to manage weight and maintain optimal 50/50 weight distribution
Powered by iconic, hand-built 8.4-liter V-10 engine rated at 645 horsepower and 600 lb.-ft. of torque – the most torque of any naturally aspirated sports-car engine in the world
Unique Alcantara hand-crafted interior to assist driver stability under high G-loading features iconic ‘ACR’ dash badge and accent stitching
Offers ‘1 of 1’ customization option for the ultimate personalized Viper track car
Optional ACR Extreme Aero Package (late availability) delivers nearly 1 ton of peak downforce at top speed through massive adjustable dual-element carbon fiber rear wing, rear carbon fiber diffuser, unique SRT hood with removable louvers, detachable extension for the front splitter and additional dive planes
Production of the 2016 Dodge Viper ACR will begin in third quarter 2015 at the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant. Vehicles will start arriving in dealerships in the third quarter of 2015.
Although the 2015 Dodge Challenger refresh was fairly minimal with the key changes being to the grille, the taillight and the interior, but these changes – and the addition of the Scat Pack and Hellcat models – have culminated in some massive sales figures.
April 2015 Challenger Sales
In April 2015, Dodge sold 6,771 examples of the mighty Challenger. This is an increase of 32% over April last year and it is also a strong improvement over the strong March 2015 when “only” 6,110 Challengers were sold. Best of all, those 6,771 Dodge Challenger models sold last month are more muscle cars than the Chrysler Group has ever sold in a single month since the Challenger was re-introduced for the 2008 model year.
Following the strong first quarter for the Challenger, Dodge has gotten off to a great start on the 2015 annual sales chart. So far, Dodge has sold 22,728 Challenger, which is 41% better than the sales figures through the first four months last year and with an average of almost 5,700 units per month, the 2015 Challenger could challenge best sales year ever for the nameplate, which came back in 1970. However, with 76,935 Challengers sold in 1970, the modern Challenger will need to put together a string of very strong months to really have a shot at nearing the 77,000 unit mark.
More Strong Sales to Come
Fortunately, in addition to the normal demand for the great looking 2015 Dodge Challenger, the company is continuing to fulfill the thousands of outstanding orders for the 707 horsepower Hellcat Challenger. There have been estimates that more than 9,000 orders have been placed for the Challenger and Charger models with the Hellcat Hemi, but it is unclear as to how many have been delivered thus far. Even if only have of those are Challengers, that is a massive number of cars which will help the sales numbers throughout the rest of the 2015 calendar year.
Another factor which will help keep Challenger sales strong throughout the 2015 calendar year is the arrival of the 2016 models later this year, which will almost certainly come with some minor changes that will have enthusiasts lining up for another Mopar muscle car. Dodge has had great success with special edition packages or color-themed packages, so something like that could arrive later this year for the 2016 model year.
While the 2015 Dodge Challenger might not outsell the 1970 model, we very well could see more monthly sales records during 2015.


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In the world last night there was a breach on over 50 million iPhones.
Most users are not even aware of what took place but TechInsider did an article on what apps got hit the hardest and how to make sure your device stays save and no personal information has been leaked out.
WhatsApp, WeChat, and apps like Angry Birds 2 were of some that got hit by the malware. Sources say the cause for this was due to false Apple developer codes that hackers must have been using when getting the apps approved and on the App Store.
Make sure you:
- Be careful would putting in sensitive info
- app might have fake dialog prompts show on app that may require you info to proceed.
- Change iCloud password
- Update your Apps and software.
- enable 2-Factor Authentication


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The practice of having their professional positions and responsibilities openly questioned solely because they are women is a problem for female founders in the African tech space. To capture new markets, communications service providers need to invest in new solutions that provide superior quality of service, faster deployment and agility to their customers. Cloud native enables providers to deliver new 5G services efficiently without compromising on quality, as customers prioritize ease of use and value. Traditional communication architectures won’t be enough to support the full potential of real time services with 5G’s complex workload needs. A vendor that is familiar with cloud native technology, multi cloud deployment, infrastructure automation and open source communities is an ideal partner.
You Can Give This Story As A Free Gift
According to the report, women in the African tech space are hesitant when interacting with customers because of their gender. This hesitation is a direct result of gender based biases and stereotypes that assume women are less knowledgeable or capable in the tech industry, limiting their ability to establish meaningful connections with customers. 70% of female founders in the African tech space have faced disadvantages or negative impacts while speaking to potential investors because of their gender, according to a report. The growth and success of female entrepreneurs is hampered by gender based discrimination in investor interactions. A pervasive sense of exclusion and limited access to funding are some of the challenges faced by female founders of African tech companies.
There Is A Stock Market
The growth and progress of the industry can be hampered by the undervaluing and marginalized of talented women. The professional bias faced by female founders Tech News is often related to gender stereotypes. Women are often questioned about their skills and expertise because of their gender.
News Releases To Browse
Cloud native and containerization are being embraced by the industry as a way to provide better service, greater agility and faster deployment. As consumer demands shift with the evolving tech landscape, customers require APIs that deliver the experience they want, such as low latency, increased security and easy access to data. There is a need for more consumer options and a fair competition environment according to the report. The Japanese government recommends that Apple and Google allow third party payment services to access their app stores, so that developers can offer users a wider range of payment options. If a small team within your organization uses new technology to solve a problem, there will be a lot of excitement in the organization.
She said it took her failing to realize how skewed the system is against women and to embrace the valuable opportunities that are specially designed for women. The media and consumers should be aware of the recent press releases. Journalists can set up a custom newsfeed to be notified of releases relevant to their coverage area. Over the past decade, the telecommunications industry has been slow in adopting a software defined networking approach.
Organizations with smaller skills gaps often skip waves to leapfrog directly to containerization and other modern technologies. The emergence of generative artificial intelligence has become the fastest growing application in history. The pressing need to address concerns about this new form of artificial intelligence was highlighted by Guterres. He said that he would establish a high level advisory body on artificial intelligence by the end of the year. The main objective of this body is to regularly assess existing governance frameworks and give recommendations to ensure their alignment with human rights, the rule of law and the collective welfare. Chinese mobile phone manufacturers in India were urged by the Centre to incorporate Indian partners into their local operations.
Think about the waves of digital transformation the workplace has seen during the last 20 years. Infrastructure became a service infrastructure in about 2008. The skills gap in the cloud will help connect to customers and leverage new technology. The reception of explicit or inappropriate comments perpetuates a culture of sexism and marginalize women.
Realme C55 comes with some interesting features at an affordable price. It has a 64MP primary camera coupled with a 2MP secondary camera, which clicks impressive images in daylight. It has a 6.72 inch FHD+ display, 5000mAh battery, and is powered by the Helio G88 Chipset. The Japanese government is attempting to challenge the monopoly held by Apple and Google over their respective app stores. The seventh Digital Market Competition Conference resulted in a Final Report on the Competitive Evaluation of Mobile Ecosystems as reported by The Register. Apple applied to the Swiss Institute of Intellectual Property for rights to depict the Granny Smith apple.
The News Initiative in India was launched on Friday with the aim of supporting local news publishers in the country. This programme is the most diverse technology programme for news publishers, with support for a total of nine languages. The open source system for deployment and management of containerized applications is widely considered to have crossed the chasm into mainstream adoption. Significant cost reduction and improvement in service delivery can be achieved with being cloud native.
Counterpoint Research’s Global Handset Model Sales Tracker shows that the share ofOLED display smartphones in global sales hit a record high in the first quarter. The national capital has experienced early summer and sudden rains this year. The city had a cool May with the maximum temperature being degrees below normal on some days.
Indian executives are included in crucial roles in the government’s request. In order to enhance local manufacturing capabilities, manufacturers have been instructed to collaborate with Indian contract manufacturers, form joint ventures with Indian companies at the component level, and involve local distributors in their operations. The week’s most significant technology industry press releases include a new laser weapon for the Air Force and humans’ struggle to identify Artificial Intelligence generated content. The visit is expected to give India access to critical American technologies Washington rarely shares with non allies, which will strengthen a new bond that is underpinned by not just global politics but also business and economics. We are concerned that Google may have used its market position to benefit its own services.


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NEW YORK — Suddenly everybody loves Burlington Industries — including the Sage of Omaha.
The U.S. textile industry might be a shadow of its former self with fabric producers terrified of a flood of imports from China and deflation now a fact of life. But Berkshire Hathaway chief executive Warren Buffett is nothing if not counter-cyclical in his investment strategies.(Remember his warnings about the dot-com boom?) Now he’s going as low tech as possible — on Tuesday, Berkshire and Burlington executed a definitive agreement for Berkshire to acquire Burlington in a transaction that would put about $579 million in the pockets of the bankrupt mill’s creditors.
This story first appeared in the February 12, 2003 issue of WWD. Subscribe Today.
But Buffett isn’t alone in his attraction to Burlington. Also squaring off in what could become a battle is bankruptcy baron Wilbur Ross. Complicating matters further, Robert Lee of Sheffield Merchant Banking, the financial adviser to Burlington’s unsecured creditors’ committee, believes that the sum of Burlington’s pieces could possibly bring in more to creditors than the company kept in its entirety.
The clash emerged Tuesday when Greensboro, N.C.-based Burlington chose Berkshire Hathaway as its white knight. Under the Berkshire agreement, secured creditors would be paid in full, while unsecured creditors would get a return of between 34 and 35 percent on their claims in the form of cash and certain other assets. Existing shareholders would see their shares extinguished.
Burlington, which filed its Chapter 11 petition in Delaware on Nov. 15, 2001, would become a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire, assuming there are no higher offers during a mandatory bankruptcy court auction.
A Burlington break-up could deplete its workforce of about 7,600 even further, and add to the considerable woes of the U.S. textile industry, which last year watched more players succumb to bankruptcy and its employment ranks shrink an additional 21,000 to 425,000.
Buffett said in a statement: “Only the very strong will survive in the textile industry — strong in management, strong in worker skills and strong in financial strength. Burlington brings the first two resources to a successful reorganization; Berkshire brings the latter. Burlington will go forth as a company with no debt, talented and dedicated management, and a workforce second to none. It will be a company designed for success.”
The court auction could get interesting. Berkshire’s bid provides a baseline for valuating the Burlington operation but, with Berkshire as the stalking horse, other firms might want to see what the Buffett-amplified fuss is all about.
And a fuss over who wins Burlington is pretty much guaranteed: Wilbur Ross told WWD Tuesday that he will make a second play for Burlington.
“We believe that our bid is considerably superior to the bid put forward by Berkshire Hathaway, and therefore, if the company does try to seek approval based on the current play, we intend to rigorously oppose it,” the financier said.
Ross’s private equity firm WL Ross & Co. manages funds that are owed $81 million of Burlington unsecured bonds and accrued interest of $1.4 million, as well as $7 million of Burlington bank debt.
Ross built his reputation during his 24-year stint at Rothschild Inc., where he demonstrated a shrewd eye for value among firms headed toward the graveyard. He left two years ago, founded his own firm and is now also chairman of Burlington’s unsecured creditors’ committee.
Earlier in the day, before the Berkshire deal was announced, Ross proposed financing that would have enabled Burlington to emerge in a stand-alone plan of reorganization. The plan called for Burlington’s $28 million of administrative claims and $439 million in secured debt to be paid in full from cash on hand, plus $250 million of new debt.
In addition, Ross’s plan provides that $300 million of bonds and other unsecured claims would be exchanged for 57 percent of the stock of the reorganized company. Bond holders would be issued transferable rights to subscribe for 43 percent of the stock for $85 million. Unsecured creditors would receive proceeds from the sale of nonoperating assets valued at between $20 million and $25 million. Ross would become the majority shareholder.
Buffett and representatives at Berkshire declined comment. George Henderson 3rd, chairman and chief executive officer of Burlington, could not be reached for comment, but a statement issued by Burlington and Berkshire noted that the Berkshire offer would leave Burlington debt-free, other than customary liabilities and certain pre-petition obligations. The bulk of its $1.1 billion of liabilities prior to its filing will be repaid, with the balance eliminated through the bankruptcy process.
Henderson said of the Berkshire agreement in a statement, “This is a very positive outcome for the company, our employees and our creditors. Over the last year our efforts have increased the value of our company and allowed us to achieve a significant level of return for our creditors despite extraordinarily challenging conditions in our industry and the capital markets.”
Henderson also noted how other firms have emerged from bankruptcy with excessive debt, only to be faced with renewed fiscal problems. In addition, he noted that Ross’s plan did not allow for Burlington to emerge from bankruptcy debt-free.
The Ross plan was contingent upon Burlington obtaining new debt. In addition, secured creditors would get repaid in cash, but unsecured creditors would only get stock in a reorganized Burlington.
Henderson said in the statement that the company isn’t ruling out a revisit to the Ross plan, but that would also depend on bidding procedures set by the bankruptcy court and other variables.
A Burlington spokeswoman said that procedures would be set up to allow others the opportunity to bid for Burlington. She declined to specify how many proposals the company entertained before deciding on Berkshire’s, or whether the company has received any indication of forthcoming bids during the auction.
Ross said he’s not aware of Burlington pursuing a “systematic” shopping process, or even of other proposals. “I’m not aware of any other bids,” Ross said. “There has been no shopping of the company, which indicates to me a very Draconian set of bidding rules that were followed. They made it impossible for a third party to bid for the firm. We think that this is wrong. We’re already bidding more than Berkshire. We don’t understand why, other than perhaps job security, management would accept a lower bid for a higher bid. It is very inappropriate.”
Buffett’s Berkshire does have a reputation for keeping management in place after it completes an acquisition.
Sheffield’s Lee, whose firm provides financial advice to the unsecured creditors’ committee, agrees with Ross. He called the Buffett deal a “low-ball offer relative to the value” of Burlington.
Under the Berkshire proposal, Lee explained, the Burlington stock is worthless, the bank debt gets paid in full, and there are still $400 million in trade claims and unsecured bond debt.
“The bonds are trading around 33 cents [on the dollar] and Buffett’s offer is 35 cents, which [means there is] no premium on his bid for the unsecured claims in order to take control of the company. Our perspective is that the value put forth by the Buffett proposal is inadequate,” the banker said.
Lee, who expects that higher offers could be forthcoming, noted that, depending on the bidding process, the sum of Burlington’s parts may be greater than its whole valuation per Buffett. He also expects the unsecured creditors committee to file an objection with the bankruptcy court, seeking a court order requiring Burlington to “pursue a proper divestiture process.”
Should Berkshire ultimately get the winning nod from the bankruptcy court, Burlington will be the latest in a recent series of purchases for the investment firm run by the sage of Omaha.
Last September, kids were added to Berkshire’s portfolio when the fund acquired children’s clothing maker Garan Inc. in a cash deal valued at $270.6 million. Garan shareholders were paid $60 a share, a 6.8 percent premium.
Also last year, in January, Berkshire received Delaware bankruptcy court approval to buy bankrupt Fruit of the Loom for $835 million. Secured creditors received 100 percent of the equity in the reorganized FTL, as well as $300 million in unsecured debt. The return to unsecured creditors is in the range of $62.6 million, or 7.5 percent of the $835 million purchase price.
Other outright purchases now under the Berkshire umbrella include, in July 2000, Ben Bridge Jeweler, a 65-store West Coast retailer. According to Berkshire’s 2000 annual report, Buffett heard about the jewelry chain through Barnett Helzberg, from whom Berkshire bought Helzberg Diamonds in 1995. Another July 2000 acquisition was Justin Industries, which makes Western boots under the brand names Justin, Tony Lama, Nocona and Chippewa. Earlier acquisitions include Borsheim’s Fine Jewelry, Dexter Shoe Co., H.H. Brown Shoe Co. and Lowell Shoe Co.
Other fashion firms that have held Buffett’s interest are those classified as stock investments — purchases of shares of firms such as Liz Claiborne, Jones Apparel Group and Gap. Obviously, whether it’s companies Berkshire owns outright or those that are solely investment interests, Buffett is attracted to names that have a certain amount of brand equity among consumers. Top consumer brands associated with Berkshire are two that the fund owns: Benjamin Moore Co. and The Gillette Co. It also has an investment interest in The Coca-Cola Co.
An investment banker who has worked with Buffett on previous deals, observed, “Buffett favors top consumer brands because they have a good name, have a good management team and generate a certain amount of consumer loyalty for the brand. In the case of Gillette, it has a steady customer pool to sell to because men every day need to shave and razors need to be replaced. The same is true for Fruit of the Loom; it is a commodity product that people need to wear.”
For the fourth quarter ended Sept. 28, Burlington reported net income of $36.1 million, or 67 cents a diluted share, compared with a net loss of $76.7 million, or $1.46 a share, a year earlier. The income included $62.4 million in income tax benefits, as well as $21.1 million in pretax restructuring costs. Sales were $220.9 million, down 32.5 percent. The company’s apparel fabrics operation narrowed its deficit, recording a $2.9 million loss before taxes, compared with a $13.1 million loss in the prior-year quarter. Sales at that unit fell 34.7 percent to $107.6 million.
The company said it cut its apparel fabrics manufacturing capacity by half this year. It has moved its apparel headquarters to Hong Kong, where the Burlington Worldwide division now sells apparel fabrics manufactured at Burlington’s plants in the U.S., Mexico and India, as well as fabrics made under contract by independent mills throughout Asia. One source inside Burlington feels that its increasingly global scope was one of the elements that appealed to Buffett.
For the year, Burlington recorded a $100.8 million net loss, which came to $1.89 a diluted share, deeper than the $91.1 million, or $1.73 a share, deficit last year. The loss included $146.5 million in income tax benefits and $165.8 million in pretax restructuring charges. Sales slipped 29.2 percent to $993.3 million.


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In the wake of the ecommerce boom, consumers are returning more products to online retailers, giving rise to more tech startups in the reverse logistics space.
Boyden's perspectives on the news and trends that are transforming industries
Making returns free helped ecommerce grow from infancy to maturity. However the scale of returns has grown along with it. After the pandemic-driven boom, many consumers were beset with buyer’s remorse. The National Retail Federation reports that in the U.S., 21% of all online orders, worth about $218 billion, were returned in 2021. This increased from 18% in 2020. As return rates escalate, retailers as well as logistics and technology firms are developing ways to curb it, manage it, and mitigate losses.
Online retailers fear that current economic uncertainties will cause consumers to cut back on spending and rethink more of their purchases. In the apparel segment, where return rates are highest, firms such as Boohoo and ASOS in the U.K. have forecast lower profits for this year. There is even an uptick in returns of discounted goods, notes Steve Rop, Chief Operating Officer of goTRG, a tech startup that provides reverse logistics services and helps retailers recover lost profits from returns.
Ecommerce companies have mostly focused on the outbound systems that allow them to offer consumers fast delivery times. These are highly automated and streamlined. The same cannot be said of processing returns, which is expensive and labour-intensive, says Zac Rogers, a former operations manager for Amazon subsidiary Quidsi and current Assistant Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management at Colorado State University.
Beyond paying for returns to be shipped or picked up, retailers must pay employees to open packages and decide what to do with their contents. “A worker in an Amazon warehouse can pick 30 items in a minute, but a return can take 10 minutes to process,” says Rogers. Then, only 5% of products can be resold by the retailer; most are sold to liquidators or thrown away. Optoro, another reverse logistics technology firm, says that retailers typically recoup about a third on a $50 item.
Reverse logistics has expanded in recent years as companies incorporate more technology to keep up with the tech-heavy forward-facing logistics supply chains of the ecommerce sector. “Startups are getting in on the action”, The Economist observes. goTRG, for example, is using artificial intelligence to help retailers decide what to do with returned goods, based on factors such as price trends in second-hand markets.
To help prevent people buying the wrong size, which accounts for over half of returned items, ecommerce giants are using more virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to allow customers to virtually try things on. Walmart announced in June that it will acquire an AR startup, Memomi, to expand these capabilities on its ecommerce platform. Amazon launched its Virtual Try-On for Shoes feature the same month.
Online retailers and startups are also trying out low-tech approaches. Fashion brands such as Uniqlo and Zara are using friction as a solution, by charging fees for returns. Amazon is selling more refurbished products to lessen losses from returns. On the logistics front, startup Happy Returns, bought by PayPal last year, collects returns at thousands of drop-off points in physical stores. As CEO David Sobie explains, the firm then aggregates and sends the products back to retailers all at once, saving them up to 40% on shipping costs.