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Our Crescent City Farmers Market commemorates the late cooking school pioneer Lee Barnes with a 15th birthday celebration featuring birthday cake, Creole cream cheese gelato, and the unveiling of the 2010 Market token featuring Lee Barnes this Saturday.
Saturday, October 2, 2010, local farmers and fishers will ring the opening bell to the Market that revived an important public and culinary tradition in New Orleans 15 years ago on the mural-adorned William B. Reily parking lot at 700 Magazine Street. The Crescent City Farmers Market will celebrate with live local music by bluegrass favorite By & By, a CDM mocha birthday cake baked by Market vendor Revista Bakery, a milk toast by cow dairy farmer Warren Smith (Smith Creamery, Mount Hermon, LA) and goat dairy farmer Bill Ryals (Ryals Goat Dairy, Tylertown, MS), and an old fashioned Creole cream cheese demonstration and tasting led by Poppy Tooker. The producer only Saturday Market located at the corner of Magazine and Girod is open from 8 a.m.-12 noon with vendors offering fresh, seasonal, locally grown produce, seafood, meat, dairy, flowers, baked goods and other artisan food products.
Honoring a Culinary Hero
Among the Market’s celebrated innovations is its use of old-fashioned scrip in the form of wooden credit/debit and EBT tokens, which offer convenience and increased food access. “We believe that the Crescent City Farmers Market reflects the city’s strength as a center of innovation,” states marketumbrella.org Director of Markets Emery Van Hook. At 10 a.m. organizers will unveil the 2010 edition of the Market-based wooden currency, which features visionary cooking school pioneer Lee Barnes. Representatives of Barnes’ family will attend. “We would be hard-pressed to name a culinary hero who showed greater vision,” says Richard McCarthy, marketumbrella.org Executive Director. Lee Barnes’ cooking school, located on Oak Street during the 1970s-80s, championed fading culinary traditions long before the Food Network. Beloved by loyal students, Barnes died of cancer in 1992 at age 41. McCarthy adds, “I fondly remember spending evenings at this free form happening of a school with my parents.”
Market Umbrella is an independent nonprofit 501(c)(3), based in New Orleans, whose mission is to cultivate the field of public markets for public good. Market Umbrella has operated the Crescent City Farmers Markets (CCFM) since 1995.
The Crescent City Farmers Market operates weekly year-round in four New Orleans neighborhoods. The CCFM hosts nearly 80 local small farmers, fishers and food producers, and more than 100,000 shoppers annually.


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The European Court of Justice has issued an important judgment this morning confirming that consumer bodies can bring opt-out class action claims for breaches of data protection, including where the infringement also relates to consumer protection and unfair commercial practices laws.
With a few high-profile exceptions, consumer group-led class actions for breaches of European privacy rules haven’t taken off in the way that businesses might have expected or feared. Today’s judgment doesn’t fundamentally change the ability of consumer associations to bring those claims, so it’s going to be interesting to see whether they are emboldened now to ramp up their activities in this area.
One aspect of the judgment that consumer groups might look to capitalise on is the confirmation that they can bring claims relating to unfair commercial practices and consumer protection laws if the allegedly infringing practices also involve data protection. Combined with the low threshold for bringing claims, that’s going to create additional challenges for businesses, who are now on notice that they need to view their practices through the dual lenses of privacy and consumer protection, if they don’t already.
But if you’re being cynical the real winners here are the overstretched and underfunded regulators — some of whom may secretly be hoping that increased consumer group litigation will help to lift the burden on their shoulders and deflect criticisms about their own lack of enforcement.
The GDPR does not preclude national legislation which allows a consumer protection association to bring legal proceedings, in the absence of a mandate conferred on it for that purpose and independently of the infringement of specific rights of the data subjects, against the person allegedly responsible for an infringement of the laws protecting personal data, on the basis of the infringement of the prohibition of unfair commercial practices, a breach of a consumer protection law or the prohibition of the use of invalid general terms and conditions, where the data processing concerned is liable to affect the rights that identified or identifiable natural persons derive from that regulation

domain: news


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August 10, 2005
Transmeta turns a profit!
Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes of a toxic silicon bonfire, Transmeta has turned in a profit. The former CPU designer posted record revenue of $24.7m in 2Q 2005, and a net income of $6.8m. Transmeta also deferred $15.5m worth of revenue.


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According to an announcement by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), their international arm NPCI International Payments (NIPL) has partnered with the French e-commerce and proximity payments platform Lyra to facilitate the acceptance of UPI payments in Europe, starting with Eiffel Tower.
Embassy of India in France on Friday tweeted, “UPI formally launched at the iconic Eiffel Tower at the huge Republic Day Reception. Implementing PM Narendra Modi’s announcement & the vision of taking UPI global.”
An official statement revealed that Indian tourists, who currently rank as the second-largest group of international visitors to the Eiffel Tower, can now purchase tickets online using the UPI payment mechanism. The transaction process is described as quick, easy, and hassle-free, allowing tourists to scan a QR code generated on the merchant’s website to initiate the payment.
Ritesh Shukla, CEO of NIPL, expressed the aspiration to promote NPCI’s payment solutions globally and establish an interoperable global payment system. “We aim at actively collaborating with financial institutions worldwide to establish partnerships and provide consumers with convenient and secure cross-border payment solutions,” Shukla said.
Christophe Mariette, Commercial Director of Lyra France, highlighted the company’s 17-year presence in India and said, “For the players in the French and European tourism ecosystem, this partnership represents a major advancement and the promise of new business opportunities to come,” he said.
Watch: Macron enjoys ‘masala chai,’ uses UPI payment & receives Ayodhya replica from PM Modi


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Preparations underway for second Africa Trade Forum
GOVERNMENT| July 22, 2012, 12:22 p.m.
Preparations for the second Africa Trade Forum (ATF II) are underway. the event will be themed: “Boosting Intra-African Trade and Establishing the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA)". The forum is a joint initiative of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Development Forum (AfDB) and is scheduled to be held from 24-26 September 2012 in Addis Ababa.
According to Alan Kyerematin, Head of the Africa Trade Policy Forum at the ECA, ATFII is being organized against a backdrop of increasing commitments to boosting intra-African trade and establishing a CFTA. “The outcomes of ATF I held in 2011 provided substantive input into the preparations for the January 2012 African Union Summit of Heads of State and Government meeting on the theme; Boosting Intra-Africa Trade.”
Kyerematin adds that the Summit formally endorsed a Framework, Road Map and Architecture for fast tracking the establishment of the CFTA and an Action Plan for Boosting Intra-African Trade.
ATF II, says Kyerematin, will review key challenges in implementing the agreed Action Plan on Boosting intra African Trade and establishing the CFTA, and forge an implementing strategy in that regard.
The results of the January Summit are an important step made by our Heads of States and Government, he says, and adds that the Framework, Road Map and Architecture specifically calls upon ECA, AfDB and other relevant development partners to support the implementation of the Action Plan and the establishment of the CFTA. Further, ECA, AUC and AfDB, as well as other relevant agencies have been requested to take appropriate measures including studies, technical support to the Regional Economic Communities and sensitization of Member States and partners, for the effective implementation of the CFTA Road Map.
“We have an ambitious programme of action for the development of trade in Africa to deliver on,” urges Kyerematin. “ATF is therefore designated as one of the supporting structures and building blocks for the establishment of the CFTA.”
ATF is a platform for inclusive policy dialogue between various trade constituencies to deliberate and agree on common approaches and strategies for implementing the Action Plan on Boosting intra-African Trade and the establishment of the CFTA.
The forum will agree on specific inputs into the African Ministerial Conference on Trade to be held later this year. It is also expected to adopt a Strategic Implementation Framework for the Action Plan on Boosting intra-Africa Trade and establishment of the CFTA; and strengthen commitment by African member States and trade constituencies to build effective strategic partnerships for implementation.
For more on the Continental Free Trade Area, download Assessing Regional Integration V, published jointly by ECA, AUC and AfDB at www.uneca.org/ARIA
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More than 200 agency executives from shops of all stripes are in Nashville this week for the Digiday Agency Summit to discuss the biggest issues facing them in the space.
We asked them to tell us what was on their minds so we could, quite literally, map it out. The Digiday Mind Map provides a peek into what is challenging top agencies across the country right now.
Transformation of the agency model
For some, this isn’t anything new: Agencies, said one agency executive, have been “transforming” for their entire histories. But for others, what has changed is who is actually responsible for the “transforming.”
“What’s driving the transformation of the agency is actually a client,” said an executive at a major PR agency. “The traditional four walls are getting broken by clients.”
There are a few contributing factors at play: Clients are asking for more from their agency partners even as trust and relationships between the two seem to have frayed. While some agencies, like McCann, as its CEO Harris Diamond pointed out, may have 60-year or 70-year relationships with brands like Coca-Cola, those relationships take a long time to build. And they remain rare.
Clients have become “smarter,” said one attendee. They know more about the industry because CMOs are also under pressure to be considered innovative by their bosses and stakeholders. There are more “truthers” in the industry, calling BS on things like social and digital media. And procurement has a louder voice in the room than ever before. “They’re more involved.”
How do we get paid for our brilliance?
It’s become quite fashionable to have brand clients stand up on stage and tell agencies how broken they are — on diversity, on business and in their models. Diamond railed back against them, saying that those clients are in the minority. Another agency executive said the same: “The agency business is always criticized as being slow and big and old. But the reality is that the agency business can only move as fast as our clients. We can build the biggest epicenter of the future or whatever, but it can only move as fast as the client.”
Another C-level executive said: “The problem with the business was it was birthed in an era where money was made in media. We have stupidly siloed it by creating big media conglomerates.” Things are slowly changing; more creative agencies are adding media capabilities and vice versa. “But the only thing we have are our ideas — and the ideas are process. We all want to get paid for brilliance but how do we change how exactly the brilliance is calculated?”
Time and money
With clients increasingly focused on procurement, there’s also more to do and less time to do it in. One attendee said agencies have to think about things in three Cs: Cash, Credit or Creative. “And you can only have two.”
For another attendee, it was the unrealistic expectations from brands and his bosses: “Pace is unrelenting, non-stop and it’s crazy. It’s also unrealistic at some points. I’m used to busting it, but the pace right now is a little nuts. It’s hard to be in a bunch of meetings and get your work done.”
True collaboration between creative, media and strategy
Collaboration was a hot topic at the summit. A working group led by David Angelo, founder of David & Goliath, explored how different parts of the agency could collaborate. “People with huge egos” are the biggest obstacle to collaboration, said one attendee.
Another executive put it bluntly: “Everyone in the room has got to stop acting like only creatives with scarves on can do creative. Everyone’s got a scarf on. Everyone is creative. Stop being so damn territorial.”
Talent is a perennial topic at agency conferences. But this time, there are new pain points on people’s minds. For agencies based in places outside of big metro areas, the issue isn’t just how to retain talent, but how to train the right people. “People are a big problem,” said the head of one small shop based in the South. “How do we train them, how do we import them?” Staffers in the trenches are also increasingly concerned that their agency heads are themselves becoming increasingly outdated, which is making agencies lose business. “Agency leads have been in game for 30 years and they don’t understand the basics of digital. There is a tension point because clients are giving work to others, or taking it in-house. We need fresher, younger people leading.”
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Calcium stearate emulsion
Recently, the world's largest investment management corporation, BlackRock, in a market research report said that currently, they prefer U.S. and Japanese equities to European equities because of the energy problem stemming from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"Russia's invasion of Ukraine caused terrible injuries, a surge in commodity prices, and food and energy security issues," BlackRock, "It is stifling the economic growth and fulling inflation driven by supply problems. Europe is most affected among those developed markets, as it is trying to wean itself off Russian energy."
The volatile international political situations will continue to affect the markets and prices of many commodities like the Calcium stearate emulsion.
The war in Russia and Ukraine is roiling global financial markets. Russia and Ukraine are important commodity suppliers in the world, so their conflict is bound to make a full impact on the global commodity supply. In view of this, the price of the Calcium stearate emulsion may continue to rise in the future.


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This Valentine’s Day, couples looking for unique shared experiences will find one of the world’s best at an all-inclusive resort in the Berkshires, according to The Points Guy.
The travel site, which sifted through hundreds of February packages happening at hotels worldwide, named its 10 favorite romantic Valentine’s Day hotel packages and included Canyon Ranch in Lenox.
The renowned spa resort, during the weekend of Feb. 16-18, will pair “gastronomic indulgence with Nordic wellness,” according to the site. Canyon Ranch guests will enjoy meals prepared by Emma Bengtsson, a two-star Michelin Chef from New York City’s Aquavit.
Here’s what The Points Guy wrote, in part, about the Canyon Ranch getaway:
The package will include a special dinner prepared by Bengtsson that includes Champagne, Petrossian caviar and hand-selected wines paired with each course. The decadent food will be balanced by a winter wellness menu curated by the chef. This includes cedar barrel sauna sessions, cold plunges, skiing and snowshoeing.
The Points Guy
The price of the package, according to the site, is $2,930 per person.
In October, Canyon Ranch was named among the best destination spa resorts in the U.S. by Conde Nast Traveler.
Check out the list of favorite Valentine’s Day hotel packages, located in places such as Jamaica, Colorado, and Switzerland.
Stay up to date on all the latest news from Boston.com


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Round-Up - Anheuser-Busch InBev's FY Results 2013
In late-February, Anheuser-Busch InBev released its full-year results for 2013. Here's the full round-up of just-drinks' coverage of the figures.
Anheuser-Busch InBev has reported a rise in full-year sales and profits, but admitted that volumes in 2013 were "below expectations" with its Central and Eastern Europe unit suffering the worst.
A peculiar thing happened on Wall Street after Anheuser-Busch InBev released its full-year numbers yesterday (26 February).
The head of Anheuser-Busch InBev has said the brewer is “taking very careful steps” as it transfers Grupo Modelo's Corona brand into its global distribution network.
Today (26 February) Anheuser-Busch InBev reported a 13% rise in full-year net profits from a single-digit lift in sales. Here just-drinks takes a closer look at the world’s biggest brewer’s results by region:
Anheuser-Busch InBev reports its fourth-quarter and full-year results on Wednesday (26 February). Here just-drinks takes a look at the Leuven-headquartered group's fortunes in the final three months of 2014.
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Over the past decade, Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock has emerged as one of the biggest success stories in the stock market, creating multimillionaires left, right, and center. However, the company’s stock performance has been subject to significant fluctuations over the last year.
Over the past 12 months, the stock has dropped by 43%, highlighting the turbulent journey of growth stocks since last year. However, 2023 is proving to be very lucrative for TSLA stock bulls. There has been a surge of almost 72% in the stock this year, showing no signs of slowing down.
The shift in sentiment towards Tesla can be attributed to two reasons. Firstly, the broader macroeconomic environment has shown signs of improvement. Secondly, Tesla’s competitive performance has bolstered its financials, with sales and earnings improving. The only thing that might keep investors away at this point might be valuation.
No wonder TSLA stock unites all types of investors in its praise. It is truly a revolutionary enterprise in every sense of the word.
Performing Under Pressure
Tesla lowered prices on its slower-selling Model S and Model X vehicles this year, initially raising analysts’ concerns about declining demand. However, the price cuts have been well-received by consumers. This is evidenced by the delivery of almost 423,000 vehicles from January to March, up from 405,000 in the previous quarter of 2022. This growth in sales adds to an already impressive financial performance.
In 2022’s fourth quarter, Tesla’s revenue increased by roughly 37% year over year, reaching $24.3 billion. This resulted in an annual sales increase of 51%, amounting to $81.5 billion, and net income more than doubled to reach $12.6 billion.
Despite facing macroeconomic headwinds, Tesla continued to show solid momentum in vehicle deliveries during the first quarter of 2023. The company produced approximately 440,800 EVs, exceeding the midpoint analyst estimate of 430,000 vehicles.
Furthermore, vehicle deliveries increased by 36% in the first quarter, totaling 422,875. Although this represents a significant deceleration from the prior-year quarter’s roughly 68% year-over-year growth, the company’s overall direction appears positive. The decline is less concerning in light of current macroeconomic pressures.
Although Tesla implemented significant price cuts this year, it still enjoys considerable scale and brand strength advantages, providing it with pricing power in the auto market. This edge has enabled it to generate relatively strong margins that put pressure on the competition.
By introducing price cuts this year, the automaker has created challenges for rivals looking to enter its market while still retaining the opportunity to sell additional services to customers who purchase vehicles at lower prices.
Nothing, not even Elon Musk’s other exploits, is slowing down TSLA stock. It continues to perform in a challenging market.
Diversifying the Revenue Mix
As the data shows, Tesla is expanding and diversifying its revenue mix beyond its core automotive business. The company’s Energy Generation and Storage segment, including solar panels and battery storage products, is a notable example. In addition to the impressive growth in this segment’s sales in the fourth quarter, its gross-profit margin improvement highlights its potential to become a much larger contributor to Tesla’s overall profitability.
Furthermore, Tesla’s Services and Other segment, which includes charging business, repairs, and merchandise, represents another area of diversification. While this segment has a relatively low gross margin, it has multiple opportunities to boost profitability. For instance, advancements in autonomous vehicle technology could enable the company to enter the robotaxi market or generate significant licensing revenue, driving further growth for the Services and Other segment.
In addition to these segments, Tesla is also exploring new growth areas. For instance, the company has made significant investments in autonomous driving technology and continues to develop its Full Self-Driving capabilities. Tesla recently launched a new insurance product that could contribute to the Services and Other segment’s growth.
By expanding into new segments and developing its existing businesses, Tesla positions itself for long-term success and sustained growth. While the company is still primarily known as an electric vehicle manufacturer, its diversification efforts demonstrate a commitment to becoming a multi-faceted, innovative technology company.
Valuation Remains an Issue
Despite experiencing a significant decline from its peak, Tesla’s valuation remains heavily reliant on its potential for growth. The company’s superior products and early leadership in the electric vehicle (EV) market have positioned it as a dominant player. Nevertheless, the automotive industry remains fiercely competitive, and the risk of potential commodification in the EV space persists.
Tesla currently boasts a market capitalization of approximately $583 billion, placing it among the largest automakers worldwide. Its valuation of approximately 51 times this year’s expected earnings reflects impressive sales growth and profit margins. However, increasing competition and industry changes introduce uncertainty regarding Tesla’s prospects.
Despite these challenges, Tesla remains committed to innovation and expansion. Its focus on developing new technologies, such as autonomous driving and renewable energy, will provide a competitive advantage. Moreover, Tesla’s pioneering role in the EV industry could be a valuable asset as the market grows.
According to McKinsey, autonomous driving has the potential to generate $300 billion to $400 billion in revenue by 2035, highlighting the importance of investing in this technology. Companies must prioritize innovation and adapt to evolving industry dynamics to remain a leader in the rapidly changing passenger car market.
In conclusion, Tesla’s future success hinges on its ability to maintain its competitive edge amidst increasing competition and industry changes. While challenges remain, Tesla’s innovation and early leadership in the EV market may help it sustain its impressive growth trajectory and remain a major player in the global automotive industry.
Is TSLA Stock a Buy?
In conclusion, Tesla’s success and prospects depend on its ability to navigate a highly competitive environment. The company’s valuation remains highly dependent on growth. So far, its impressive sales growth and profit margins justify its premium valuation compared to other automakers. However, increasing competition and the potential commodification of EVs create uncertainties for Tesla’s prospects.
Despite these challenges, Tesla continues to innovate and expand. Its reputation as a pioneer in the EV industry and its early mover advantage may prove advantageous as the market expands. The potential revenue generated by autonomous driving is significant, providing Tesla with new growth opportunities.
Therefore, while the road ahead may be challenging, Tesla’s innovative spirit and early-mover advantage will help it maintain its impressive growth trajectory. The stock remains a buy on dips, with substantial upside potential.
On the publication date, Faizan Farooque did not hold (directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.


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Microsoft and Razer Are Bringing Mouse and Keyboard Support to Xbox One
In a collaboration with Razer, Microsoft will officially bring mouse and keyboard support to Xbox One, to be integrated "in the coming weeks."
Through initiatives like Xbox Play Anywhere, Microsoft has gradually been working over the years to bring the console and PC gaming communities together, and in a new announcement today, that relationship will be closer than ever before with the official integration of mouse and keyboard support on Xbox One consoles later this year.
During the latest episode of Microsoft’s Inside Xbox broadcast, the company announced that mouse and keyboard support will officially be making its way to Xbox One, with the rollout of the feature to begin “in the coming weeks” for select members of the Xbox Insider Program.
As noted during the broadcast, mouse and keyboard support will not be a universal feature across all Xbox One games; instead, support for the peripherals will be on a game-by-game basis and at the discretion of the developers and studios behind them. One of the first titles to utilize mouse and keyboard support will be Warframe, which will be available to Xbox Insider Members in the near future.
In terms of hardware compatibility, Microsoft stated that “most wired or wireless USB keyboards and mice will work on Xbox One,” though the company appears to be working with Razer on some form of official Xbox One keyboard and mouse hardware, which will be announced in more detail later this year.
Aside from the details initially announced today, more information on mouse and keyboard support for Xbox One will be revealed at the next Inside Xbox broadcast on November 10th, 2018, including more specific details on Microsoft’s partnership with Razer and additional titles that will feature mouse and keyboard support.
🚨WAITING FOR SOMETHING EPIC?
Be sure to tune in to the November edition of #InsideXbox to find out what’s on the horizon.
— R Λ Z Ξ R (@Razer) September 25, 2018


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October 30, 2008
Japan has suspended beef imports from a Swift & Co. plant in Nebraska, US, after an uncertified beef part was discovered in a shipment, said the Japanese government.
In the 19 tonnes of frozen beef that arrived in Japan's Osaka on Monday (October 27, 2008), quarantine officials found about 60 kg of bovine thymus that was not listed on a sanitary certificate issued by the USDA.
The Japanese government had asked the US to explain why an uncertified part had been included in a shipment to Japan.
Thymus is not a part that is likely to transmit bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease. However, the Japanese agriculture and health ministries said they do not know if the thymus meets regulations that ban imports of US beef derived from cattle aged 21 months or older.


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More than ever, Capsule was home base for the trade show scene’s cool kids this season. The show doubled in size to about 140 brands, despite the iffy economy, and was spread over two venues for the first time, the Puck Building and the Angel Orensanz Foundation Center.
“I think spirits are high and people are starting to see the light,” said Chris Corrado, sales director at BPMW, the showroom that organizes Capsule and also sells directional brands like Penfield, Public School and Shades of Greige. “Stores are underbought and buyers are looking for product. We’ve been fielding calls every day from stores asking for spring deliveries quickly or even looking to fill in from leftover fall product.”
Corrado pointed out that consumers targeted by Capsule’s progressive brands tend to be educated, style-conscious shoppers who may have been shielded from the worst effects of the Great Recession. “I think updating their wardrobe is an integral part of their lifestyle, and they’ve kept shopping,” he explained.
Still, those shoppers are looking for accessible pricing and value for the money, said many vendors.
“We’re aspirational but very affordable,” noted Huw Bennett, co-founder of Vanishing Elephant, a contemporary Australia-based label. The brand showcased slim suits with jackets retailing for $300 and trousers for $150, along with preppy knit polos with oxford cloth trim on collars and plackets.
A more poetic, edgy look was offered at Seoul, Korea-based Kai-Aakmann, where knee-length cardigans and quintuple-pleated trousers in shades of black and gray also sported surprisingly low price tags. “It’s fashion-forward but wearable,” said Audrey Gingras, owner of Archetype Showroom, which reps the line in the U.S.
The same could be said of the Timo Weiland collection, which included dramatic trenchcoats in lace tweed and hand-knit sweaters that flowed to the knees. The young New York-based designer has sold the line into 20 stores, including Barneys New York, Pas de Deux and Japan’s Takashimaya.
Tokyo-based Factotum showed for the first time in the U.S., via the Black Dog 8 showroom, with a lineup of coats with raccoon fur collars ($895 retail) and a range of denim, from raw rinses to tricked out and paint splattered ($220 to $500). Nearby, L.A.-based Simon Miller showed classic five-pocket denim in authentic worn-in washes ($225 to $425).
Playing up his homegrown roots, Marc McNairy — whose day job is design director for J. Press’ Japanese business — unveiled colorful silk taffeta coach’s jackets in his own collection, with “Jersey Fresh” emblazoned on the lining. Similarly, M.L. Brown & Co., a small leather goods maker, branded “Handmade in New York” on the interior of its belts, which retail for $110 to $165.
“I have a 1,600-square-foot garage in Gowanus, Brooklyn, with my own machinery,” explained the brand’s founder — and sole employee — Mathieu Brown. “I can make about 85 belts in a week if I stay focused.”


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Results of a recent study shows there are 10,000 Chinese firms operating in Africa; a figure which is four times higher than those revealed in previous studies. The report of the study carried out by McKinsey Africa were made public June 28.
It is no longer news that China is Africa’s largest economic partner, but according to McKinsey Africa, the challenge in recent years has been to appreciate the full extent of the partnership. The reason for this difficulty, the organisation said a press release today, was a dearth of data. The findings of the McKinsey Africa study carried out in eight countries that make up two-thirds of Sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP, has been able to prove that China’s involvement in the continent is bigger and more multifaceted than previous studies suggest.
Going by the release, about 90 percent of the 10,000 companies are private owned and operate in diverse sectors, with about a third in manufacturing.
“These firms are bringing capital investment, management know-how and entrepreneurial energy to the continent, and in so doing, are helping to accelerate the progress of Africa’s economies. Across trade, investment, infrastructure, financing and aid, China is a top five partner to Africa—no other country matches this level of engagement. The China-Africa relationship has ramped up over the past decade with trade growing at around 20 percent per annum” the release reads in part.
The study also shows Foreign Direct Investment, FDI, has grown even faster; at an annual growth rate of 40 percent. China’s financial flows to Africa are 15 percent larger than official figures suggest when non-traditional flows are included. China is also a large and fast-growing source of aid and the largest source of infrastructure financing, supporting many of Africa’s most ambitious infrastructure developments in recent years.
Investing for the long-term
According to McKinsey Africa, a quarter of Chinese firms on the African continent operate in service delivery while a fifth operate in the trade, construction and real estate sectors – in addition to manufacturing. The firms are said to be handling 12% of Africa’s industrial production worth $500 billion (circa 300 trillion FCFA) a year.
“In infrastructure, Chinese firms’ dominance is even more pronounced, having cornered nearly 50 percent market share of Africa’s international Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EP) market. Chinese firms are making healthy profits. Nearly a quarter of the 1000 firms surveyed said they covered their initial investment within a year or less. A third recorded profit margins of over 20 percent. These firms are agile and quick to respond to new opportunities. They are primarily focused on serving the needs of Africa’s fast-growing markets rather than on exports. Chinese firms have made investments that represent a long-term commitment to Africa.”
Contrary to popular opinion that Chinese companies seldom recruit local labour, McKinsey Africa found that 89percent of employees of the 1000 companies surveyed are locals. In fact, the study says Chinese firms employ several million Africans and almost all of them provide skills and training.
The study also showed the thought that Chinese companies do not transfer knowledge, is a misconception. “Chinese firms are modernizing African markets by introducing new products and technologies. Some 48 percent introduced a new product or service and 36 percent have introduced a new technology in the last three years.” McKinsey Africa said in the press statement, adding that for some 50 African public-sector leaders, low-cost financing and improved infrastructure topped the list of what they valued most in their Chinese partners.
The study however revealed some shortcomings which McKinsey Africa indicated need improvement. These include local sourcing, recruitment of locals into top positions in Chinese companies. The companies are also faulted for labour and environmental violations. African countries on their part were found lacking in the area of providing safety for Chinese firms. Chines firms also pointed to corruption, language and cultural barriers as pain points in their relationship with Africa countries.
Kartik Jayaram, a senior partner and co-author of the report is quoted in the release as saying “Chinese engagement with Africa is set to accelerate—by 2025 Chinese firms could be earning revenues worth $440 billion, from $180 billion today. Additional industries could be in play for Chinese investment, including technology, housing, agriculture, financial services and transport and logistics. However, to unlock the full potential of the China-Africa partnership, we have identified 10 recommendations for Chinese and African governments as well as the private sector. To highlight two key ones—African governments should have a China strategy and the Chinese government should open financing and provide guidance to Chinese firms.”


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This Sunday, September 19th,California Pony Carswill be announcing the Grand Prize winner of their “The Ultimate Mustang Makeover Challenge” at the “Mustangs at the Queen Mary” car show in Long Beach, California.
The Top 10 Finalists had 7 months to complete specific video missions and get the public to vote for them online. The “Missions” included adventures such as visiting a local motorsport event, filming a CPC commercial, and much more. The videos are featured on CPC-TV California Pony Cars YouTube Channel.
They are competing for the opportunity to take home a grand prize of products that will completely makeover any 2005+ Ford Mustang GT or V6.


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Honda is recalling more than 800,000 vehicles to add to previous recalls addressing an issue with faulty airbags, according to news reports.
Honda Motor Co. said approximately 833,000 vehicles could have the defective driver’s side air bags, which can inflate with too much force and a casing can break and cause injury or death, according to news reports.
Vehicles included in the extended recall are: 2001 and 2002 Accord and Civic, 2002 Odyssey, 2002 and 2003 CR-V, 2002 and 2003 Acura 3.2 TL and 2003 Acura 3.2 CL models.
The affected vehicles had replacement airbags installed after collisions. Honda said nearly 430 faulty air bags were installed after crashes, but aren’t sure which vehicles received the replacements.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has already urged Honda to recall 4,000 2001 Accords and Civics and 378,000 additional cars, bringing the total recalled vehicles to 822,000, according to news reports.
So far, 12 reports in incidents have been linked to the faulty airbags, including one death and 11 injuries.
As a Seattle car accident attorney, I urge drivers with this vehicle to get it fixed as soon as possible to avoid any future car accidents or personal injuries.
If you or a loved one has been injured by a recalled product, contact a personal injury lawyer in Seattle.


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The end of 3G is coming for every carrier, but the way AT&T is handling their 3G shutdown is rubbing some people the wrong way.
AT&T has chosen to go with a specific allowlist of devices that can continue to connect to their network following the 3G shutdown. This effectively means that any device being used on AT&T’s network must be pre-approved. Unfortunately, even devices that are fully compatible with AT&T’s LTE network are being shut out because they aren’t on that list.
Customers across the web are complaining about their fully functional devices being shut out or having difficulties due to the whitelist. AT&T is automatically suspending people’s lines if the device on that line isn’t on the allowlist.
One user with an unlocked Galaxy S8+ was told they were being shipped a new phone without warning, likely via an SMS like the one shown here, only to never receive the device.
Support told them their device is fine and to not worry. However, their Galaxy S8+ eventually stopped working, and their account showed a new device had taken its place. AT&T support allegedly refused to offer them an equivalent replacement device at the time without the user paying for it. Another user says AT&T randomly shipped them a device they don’t want (likely a RADIANT Core) to an old address to replace their one-year-old fully functional device.
One user contacted us via email to say that they had their own Sony Xperia XZ Compact suddenly lose service. According to them, AT&T had sent the plan’s account holder a RADIANT Core for that line. They then had to use an alternate phone to contact AT&T, who told them their old device only supported 3G. A store rep later told them that AT&T is not supporting any unlocked phones at all, which isn’t accurate as far as we can tell. Overall confusion among customers and employees only further muddies the water when it comes to AT&T’s handling of their 3G shutdown.
Verizon and T-Mobile are also sunsetting their 3G networks. They, however, are not using such a strict allowlist system. Both carriers simply require devices to be compatible with their respective Voice over LTE technology, which most devices do. AT&T seems to be the only carrier that is actively rejecting compatible devices.
If you’re unsure if your device will continue working as expected, check out our post here containing AT&T’s allowlist.
Featured image credits: Mike Mozart via Flickr


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The San Francisco-based company announced Thursday $ 200 million in financing to increase the adoption of XRP.
Ripple intends to redefine cross-border payments by integrated banks, financial institutions and external payment operators. XRP, the company's native token will be fundamental in this regard.
At least that is the idea that the global investment firm Tetragon bought while helping Ripple raise $ 200 million in a Series C financing round.
XRP adoption is the main focus
Due to the parabolic rally of 2017, the XRP rose in price and ranked third in the cryptocurrency ranking. Although the Ripple token has lost much of its value in the last two years, XRP still marks an important focal point in the company's business.
That is why, in addition to other patented offers, Ripple has significantly promoted XRP, projecting the symbolic image as the de facto "bridge currency" for global money transfers.
According to CEO Brad Garlinghouse, in an interview with Fortune:
"XRP helps customers free up capital that they would otherwise have to park as reserves at local banks."
Ripple recently bought a stake in Moneygram, which CEO Garlinghouse claims to use XRP for "15% of his transfers to Mexico." He also mentioned that several Ripple clients use digital assets significantly for transfers of Australian dollars, Philippine pesos and Brazilian reals (to a lesser extent).
Garlinghouse has not commented on Ripple's earnings or earnings so far. However, it maintained the position that the accelerated adoption of XRP is the company's main focus.
Of course, the company earns money by selling its money transfer software, but it seems to be heavily invested in the idea of increasing the use of XRP, as this would improve the token price and allow Ripple to «Benefit from the sale of its reserves. «
Ripple mentioned in the US invoice
Ripple and XRP were mentioned as weekly developments in global payments in a remittance insurance invoice proposal. The document on remittance transfers under the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (Regulation E) is still being discussed until January 2021.
Ripple's payment network was seen as the next frontier for the remittance market, also mentioned as a system that could accurately predict the funds that will be received.
Despite the unbridled layoffs in the cryptocurrency industry, Ripple seems unperturbed and seems to be on the road to a «aggressive expansion«. This is quite evident from the latest statistics, which show that the company has expanded its staff to 534 people in offices around the world.
CEO Garlinghouse, speaking about the financing round, said "there really is no money." Although, it provides a good "balance flexibility."


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EWING, N.J., Sep 04, 2013 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- James Barber, Ph.D., principal of Barber Advisors, LLC, has joined the advisory board of Proterro, Inc., the only biofeedstock company that actually makes sucrose instead of extracting it from crops or deconstructing cellulosic materials.
An advisor to Solazyme, Inc., Itaconix Corporation, and P2 Science, Inc.; and on the boards of Agrivida, Inc.; Allylix Inc. (chairman); Graham Corporation; and Segetis, Inc., Dr. Barber served from January 2000 to May 2007 as president and CEO of Metabolix, Inc., leading the company from a private research-based company through its initial public offering in 2006. Prior to Metabolix, Dr. Barber served as global business director for the organometallics and catalysts business at Albemarle Corporation.
With more than two decades of holding executive-level leadership positions, Dr. Barber also has significant experience in joint ventures and acquisitions, including being representative director of Nippon Aluminum Alkyls, Ltd., a joint venture of Albemarle and Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. He also was director of business development at Ethyl Corporation, where he was responsible for acquisitions and managed venture capital activities.
"Feedstock is the largest component of biofuels and biobased chemicals end-product costs," said Dr. Barber, who is the recipient of an American Chemical Society's Henry F. Whalen, Jr. Award for Business Development. "Development of the industry hinges on having a reliable supply of economical feedstock, and Proterro has strong potential to provide just that."
Dr. Barber joins Proterro advisors Dr. Harrison Dillon, co-founder and president of Solazyme; Thomas Dries, founder and managing partner of NCN Partners, and former senior vice president for operations strategy at BioAmber Inc.; and Dr. Christos Papadopoulos, a chemical engineer who led major efforts for BP Chemicals and Amoco divisions.
Fall 2013 Events
Proterro CEO Kef Kasdin, who has been named one of the top 100 people in bioenergy by Biofuels Digest for two consecutive years, will be participating at three key industry conferences this fall, as follows:
-- September 18 - World Bio Markets Brazil, in Sao Paulo, Brazil; "Crop Science and Feedstock Sustainability" panel
-- September 27, 11:00 a.m. - Platts Biofuels and Chemicals, in Chicago, Ill.; presentation: "Continuous Photosynthetic Production of Sucrose: Breaking the Sugar Cost Barrier"
-- October 10, 11:20 a.m. - ABLCNext, in San Francisco, Calif.; "Simplifying the Feedstock Equation" panel presentation
About Proterro, Inc.
Proterro is the only biofeedstock company that makes sucrose instead of extracting it from crops or deconstructing cellulosic materials. Using only CO2, sunlight and water, Proterro dramatically lowers the cost of sugar production to around $0.05/lb., unleashing the economic value of biofuels and biobased chemicals for industry partners. The company has developed a novel, scalable biosynthetic process that integrates a patented, highly productive microorganism with a robust, modular photobioreactor made from off-the-shelf materials. This process yields a fermentation-ready sucrose stream, rather than a mixture of sugars, simplifying downstream processes and reducing their costs. In February 2012 the USPTO issued to Proterro U.S. Patent No. 8,367,379, protecting Proterro's sucrose-producing microorganism. The company's photobioreactor is patent pending, as are other patents related to the unique microorganism. The company, which is backed by Battelle Ventures, Braemar Energy Ventures, Cultivian Ventures and Middleland Capital, has been recognized by Lux Research as a top innovative company that stands out for its "disruptive potential." Please visit www.proterro.com.
Note: Proterro is a trademark of Proterro, Inc. Any other names of actual companies, organizations, entities, products or services may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
SOURCE: Proterro, Inc.
For Proterro, Inc. Rick Sacks, 973-467-8728 firstname.lastname@example.org
Copyright Business Wire 2013


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Dal alumnus Cam McDonald and his colleagues didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for their appearance on a recently aired episode of CBC’s Dragons’ Den.
“They called us the week before, actually,” explains McDonald, one of the founders of Iconic Brewing, an alcoholic beverage startup behind the increasingly popular Dusty Boots Hard Root Beer.
Despite the short notice, McDonald (BComm'14) and the other two co-founders — Daniel Bartek, also a Dal grad (BComm'15), and Bobby Besant — accepted the invite and entered the den the following week last April to give their pitch.
They walked out of the taping shortly thereafter with a deal in hand. Indeed, a bidding war of sorts broke out amongst the dragons during their pitch. They ended up going with dragon Michael Wekerle, who offered $500,000 with no stake in the company in return for a small slice of sales profits until he doubles his investment.
“It’s always nice when you get interest from the dragons. They see a lot of different businesses,” says McDonald, who started the company with the others in 2013 shortly after researching the concept in the Starting Lean class at Dal.
A return engagement
If McDonald sounds like he’s an experienced dragon-handler, you’d be right. After all, the company had appeared on the show before in March 2015 under a different name (Sage Mixology) pitching a different product (a juice and vodka mix) and secured a deal then as well.
While they ended up dropping the first deal at a later date when they pivoted away from their original product idea, they approached the second appearance in much the same way as the first.
“We always try to be ourselves and lead with our core values,” says McDonald. “We didn’t have any interest in doing anything gimmicky in the den.”
They did, however, offer the Dragons a sampling of their hard root beer and Crazy Beard Wild Apple Ale in between talking up the company’s rapid sales growth and expanding footprint in liquor stores across the country. Since the taping last spring, the company has launched a third beverage — Dusty Boots Hard Cherry Cola — and now has products in every province across the country.
The company’s fun attitude seems to have rubbed off on consumers, who have scooped up six packs of the company’s bevvies in greater and greater quantities over the past year. McDonald says the company exceeded their sales forecast for 2016 (stated during the show as $4.2 million) and set even more ambitious targets for this year.
The importance of mentorship
McDonald says the startup owes a lot to Dal and to management professors Mary Kilfoil and Ed Leach, both of whom he says were invaluable mentors to them during the early stages of the company.
Drs. Kilfoil and Leach have been instrumental over the past several years in scaling up entrepreneurship programming at the university, both in and out of the classroom through the Norman Newman Centre for Entrepreneurship.
When the company was nominated for an Ernst and Young Entrepreneurship of the Year Award in 2016, they were allowed to bring two guests with them to the awards gala. McDonald and Bartek knew right away whom they wanted to invite.
“Ed and Mary were our guests because they had such an impact on our venture,” says McDonald. “Those classes were an excellent training ground for us and accelerated our growth.”
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As the world slowly starts to open, and things seem a little bit more ‘normal’, it is easy to forget the quick decisions and procedures fuel retailers had to urgently put in place at the start of lockdown.
These pandemic strategies were unprecedented but also necessary. Some retailers had detailed plans already set out and others had to make quick decisions there and then.
In this blog series, we speak to fuel retailers about their experiences during this unprecedented time as well as their learnings for the future.
First up, is Roger Perry of Harog LTD, a two station owner based in the North East of England.
We spoke to Roger right in the middle of lockdown, when driving long distances was forbidden for the non key working public and we could only leave our houses for a maximum of one hour a day. Volumes were down on average 60% and retailers were starting to notice a difference in customers' dry stock shopping habits.
To furlough or not to furlough, one of the biggest pandemic business decisions and one that effected almost every type of business globally, from soccer teams to schools, large corporations to family run businesses and Harog LTD was no exception.
Roger explained that “five members of staff needed to be furloughed due to either their own or their families’ medical conditions. We took on temporary staff, which solved the problem and also helped keep our staff rota flexible.”
If we strike our thoughts back to the start of lockdown, the time where panic buying was in full swing, for retailers including Roger, it was paramount to serve the community and prioritise the vulnerable and those in need.
Roger felt it was “important to keep the sites open as normal to continue to provide a service to our customers who were travelling to work and needed the products their stores supply. Leven Services remains open 24/7. We have to support the local communities, especially in rural areas.”
How has Covid-19 affected finances?
“Although the volumes were hit – falling to a low of 25% but currently recovering at 44% compared to the same week last year, the shops are going well and both stations remain profitable.”
To better cope with the crisis, Roger accessed the £25,000 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF). These are based on the businesses rateable value and paid by your local council. The grants have been widely publicised and Roger’s local council approached him suggesting he may qualify and encouraged him to apply. Kudos to the local councils!
“I don’t know about others, but I had a fantastic experience. Within one week of the grant being available we received the money for both stations.”
Roger said he could have gone through this period without the financial support, but it had definitely helped with the cash flow.
“It will be a case of public confidence, although I suspect things will go back to normal in a while”.
Until then, Roger tries to adapt his business as much as possible to the “new normal”. Now most of his supplier meetings take place over the phone until he learns how to Zoom!


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NYC, 15th June 2022: The tech billionaire & founder of tech company Microsoft Bill Gates, criticised cryptocurrencies and NFTs. He termed cryptocurrency & Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) as fake, saying that it is based only on the Greater fool theory.
Gates was speaking at an event on climate change hosted by TechCrunch. Bill Gates joked that the world is going to improve a lot with expensive photos of monkeys. These are of no use. One can neither invest in the long term or short term.
He also pointed out that bitcoin has a lot of risk for retail investors and that mining the coin also harms the environment.
The Microsoft co-founder said he preferred investing in tangible assets or “a company where they make products.” He also mentioned that he does not hold any crypto assets.
Gates’ statement comes at a time when the world’s largest, most popular and oldest cryptocurrency has seen a massive drop in bitcoin. It fell more than 15 per cent on Monday, while it fell 5.4 per cent on Tuesday as well.
According to data, the price of bitcoin has fallen by more than eight percent today. Its price has come down to 21 thousand dollars. The rising inflation in the US has affected the price of cryptocurrencies.


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Bleacher Report poaches Conde Nast’s Howard Mittman to lead sales
Bleacher Report has named veteran Condé Nast publisher Howard Mittman as chief revenue officer and its first chief marketing officer as it seeks to capitalize on its social media growth and move up the food chain by emphasizing higher-quality content.
Mittman, 44, resigned last week from Condé Nast after 12 years at the publisher, most recently serving as chief business officer overseeing several titles including GQ, Golf Digest and the Wired Media Group. In his new role, he’ll be Bleacher Report’s first to have the dual title and its first CRO since Rich Calacci left in April. Mittman will start Aug. 14 and report to Bleacher Report founder and CEO Dave Finocchio.
His hire comes as Bleacher Report has taken steps to move beyond its user-generated contributor roots and focus more on building loyalty among its audience of young male sports fans and investing in higher-quality original video and written content. Bleacher Report, a part of Turner, sees an opportunity to grow its audience with young people who are less inclined to watch TV or read magazines and other, more established sports publishers are in transition. ESPN is facing subscriber declines, Fox Sports recently laid off writers in a pivot to video and Sports Illustrated laid off five staffers as part of ongoing cost-cutting at parent Time Inc.
“The opportunity to run and shape a digital-only property that has massive investment at a time when the sports landscape is changing and more open than it’s been is intriguing to me,” Mittman said.
Bleacher Report has built a big audience on its ability to turn out culture-inflected sports content fast and on social media, the way young people consume it. In June, it had 97.4 million interactions across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, up 200 percent year over year and No. 2 among publishers, second only to National Geographic and ahead of other sports publishers, according to the company, citing CrowdTangle.
One of Mittman’s goals will be to capitalize on House of Highlights, a highly sharable Instagram account about sports culture that Bleacher Report bought two years ago. House of Highlights is bigger than Bleacher Report itself on Instagram, with 6.5 million followers to Bleacher Report’s 5 million.
“Unlike most media companies, Bleacher Report isn’t figuring out how to change cord cutters,” he said. “The challenge is to find a connective thread and permanent bit of resonance with millennials, who ultimately have opinions about brands that can be less fixed, loyal than generations that came before them.”
Pinterest testing new co-sold, revenue-share ad model for publishers with Tastemade
Currently in an experimental phase, Tastemade is the first publisher to sign on and the brand that is funding this ad experiment is corn chip snack Fritos.
As publishers clean up automated supply chains, education-title Chegg cut ad resellers and saw no negative impact on revenue
"We were told as publishers that resellers were so important, but no [publisher] has communicated to me they removed resellers and lost X% lift."
Member ExclusiveThe Facebook ad boycott could help publishers swing the pendulum back to context
Publishers have a golden opportunity to shift thinking around the role context, broadly defined, should play in advertising.
SponsoredFour ways to adapt to the changing publisher ecosystem in 2020
By Neal Sinno, general manager Americas at GeoEdge For marketers, 2020 started out with so much promise — but this changed rapidly as the industry faced a global epidemic head-on. Not only did our own daily routines come to a screeching halt, for many of us our professional lives did as well. Almost as quickly […]
Patagonia: Boycotting Facebook ads will lead to an ‘even more thoughtful approach’ to its ad buying
Patagonia has pulled all paid ads from Facebook and Instagram until at least the end of July. The boycott will extend if the advertiser has seen three specific changes to how the social network handles hate speech.
How Substack has spawned a new class of newsletter entrepreneurs
As the media ecosystem contracts amid coronavirus, Substack has been thrust into an uncomfortable role — that of a savior.


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- Eli Lilly beats Street earnings expectations for the fourth quarter.
- The pharmaceutical company raises its 2018 guidance thanks to the new tax law.
- Lilly expects to make a decision on its animal health unit on its July earnings call.
Eli Lilly shares slid 5 percent on Wednesday over concerns about its animal health unit and pricing in the diabetes care market.
The animal health segment's fourth-quarter revenue decreased 6 percent from the year earlier. Lilly CEO Dave Ricks told analysts the company expects slightly negative growth in the first half of 2018 but eight product launches will drive top-line growth later in the year.
Lilly has said it's considering strategic options for the animal health business, Elanco. Ricks said the company is on track to announce a decision on its second-quarter earnings call in July.
The segment's sluggish results worried some investors who wondered whether the animal health unit can function on its own without a growth vehicle, said Guggenheim analyst Tony Butler.
"Would you want to hang on to the particular animal health stock as a standalone entity if it does not grow?" Butler said.
Pricing around Lilly's diabetes portfolio also caused some concern. Enrique Conterno, head of the diabetes business, said the company continues to see pressure on pricing across all its diabetes products.
Despite the difficulties in animal health and diabetes, Lilly's slew of new pharmaceutical products helped the company beat fourth-quarter earnings estimates, while the new tax law boosted its 2018 earnings guidance.
Here's how Eli Lilly did compared with what Wall Street expected:
- EPS: $1.14 vs. $1.07 predicted by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
- Revenue: $6.2 billion vs. the poll expectations of $5.9 billion.
In the fourth quarter, the pharmaceutical company reported a net loss of $1.7 billion, or $1.58 per share, compared with net income of $771 million, or 73 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.
However, after stripping out special items, such as $1.9 billion associated with the new tax law, the company earned $1.2 billion, or $1.14 per share, above Street estimates of $1.07 per share, according to Thomson Reuters.
Lilly posted revenue of $6.2 billion, up 7 percent from a year ago and above expectations of $5.9 billion. The company credited the increase to volume growth from new pharmaceutical products. The segment grew 9 percent year-over-year.
New products, including Trulicity, Cyramza, Taltz, Basaglar, Jardiance, Lartruvo, Olumiant, Verzenio and Portrazza, drove 12 percent volume growth and represented 23 percent of total revenue in the quarter.
"We're in the middle of a growth cycle on the top line really driven by new product launches," Ricks told CNBC's "Squawk Box."
Lilly's effective tax rate is expected to be 18 percent for 2018, down from 20.5 percent in 2017. The company boosted its adjusted earnings per share guidance for the year to a range of $4.81 to $4.91, thanks to the new tax law. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had projected earnings of $4.68 per share.
The new law will allow Lilly to access more than $9 billion of cash and investments, Chief Financial Officer Josh Smiley said on a call with analysts. The company doesn't plan to hang on to the money for long. It will spend it this year and next on a number of areas, including funding marketed and pipeline products, investing in business development, increasing the dividend and buying back shares.
"While tax reform does provide ready access to additional funds, it does not alter our business development priorities," Smiley said. "We'll continue to look for opportunities to augment our pipeline and to bolster our commercial presences in core therapeutic areas of diabetes, oncology, immunology, neurodegeneration and pain."
Licensing and acquisitions are both possibilities, Smiley said. He reiterated Lilly's focus on clinical assets.
Shares of Lilly fell 5.4 percent on the day.


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- Businesses are increasingly responsible for answering to their clients' climate change concerns.
- When businesses prioritize climate change initiatives they can identify innovative opportunities.
- The conversation was part of Insider's event "For a Better Future: Bridging Culture, Business, and Climate," which took place on Tuesday, April 18, 2023.
- Click here to watch a recording of the full event.
Environmental and social governance is an increasingly hot button topic in corporate leadership. Businesses are searching for ways to invest in ESG initiatives, and applying ESG models to their corporate structures.
In the session "The Business of Climate and the Climate of Business" James McCall, the chief sustainability officer at HP Inc., said, "We really don't view ESG through a political lens. For us, it all really starts with customers. Our customers have been clear that they want their dollars, their choices to make a difference in the world around them."
Jennifer Steinmann, the sustainability and climate practice leader at Deloitte Global, and Janelle Meyers, the chief sustainability officer at the Kellogg Company, talked with Catherine Boudreau senior sustainability reporter at Insider, as part of "For a Better Future: Bridging Culture, Business, and Climate", presented by Deloitte.
Steinmann said, "In terms of when we talked to our clients and we recently conducted a 24-country CXO sustainability report with over 2000 executives participating in that report, and 75% of them talk about an increase in their sustainability investments."
Meyers agreed with her co-panelists and maintained that client concerns are at the forefront of business' ESG responses. Meyers said, "We definitely see there's a rise in interest in ESG, whether it be from investors, customers, consumers, employees as well."
She noted, "We don't see this as a trend. This is something we're really committed to and it's our way to be able to help contribute to better lives around our better days promised ESG strategy."
The effects of climate change on business
The panelists reflected on how different industries are uniquely impacted by climate change. McCall sees technology as an opportunity to address the impact of climate change in the tech industry. He said, "If you look at all of the printers, the new printers, the new PCs, the new peripherals that we launched in 2020, all of those contain some form of circular material or renewable material in them."
Meyers said, "As a food company, we definitely see the impacts of climate change. In particular, suppliers and growers would feel that as well too. You might have increase in drought or increase in things like fires as an example."
The speakers agreed that finding ways to mitigate the impact of climate change has opened several opportunities for collaboration between businesses.. Meyers noted, "While it is a crisis, it's also an opportunity for innovation and an opportunity for partnership. And a lot of our commitments are somewhat similar. So how can we align around whether it's energy efficiency or regenerative agriculture, reducing food waste, there's tremendous opportunities to partner all along the value chain."
Identifying opportunities and priorities in climate change
"We recently launched a solution called Greenlight Tech Solution by Deloitte, and it focuses on all aspects of decarbonization, and meets our client wherever they happen to be," Steinmann said.
Steinmann, much like McCall, pointed out that some of the technological innovations sparked by the climate crisis are close at hand. She said, "A lot of the technologies that need to support some of the changes that are happening are still in someone's garage as they're working through bringing that into the marketplace. And so we launched Green Space Tech by Deloitte, and that focuses on matching some of the earlier stage innovators with our clients in the hard tech space."
As for HP's response to climate change, McCall says they do "a full end-to-end life cycle assessment," for the company's products. After each assessment he said, "We go where we can make the biggest impact. And for us, that was engaging with our supply chain. Coming in and working hand in hand with our suppliers, helping look at things like renewable energy and manufacturing, looking at lower carbon materials."
Tackling the supply chain
Meyers acknowledged that Kellogg's largest carbon footprint is in its supply chain – from ingredient supplies to packaging suppliers. To address this, Meyers said, "So for roughly our top 80% of global suppliers, we also ask them to report through the Carbon Disclosure Project, CDP, as well too, so that we have a sense of our footprint and can be able to recognize the amazing work that's happening out there."
Climate as an economic opportunity
The panelists gave some insight into how their organizations are processing the cumulative cost of climate change. Steinmann said, "We have a report called the Turning Point Report, which looks at both the economic up and downside of acting on climate change now. And so we took a 50-year view of it, but if we don't start acting now, it actually is more costly for us worldwide to the tune of 178 trillion over 50 years. The flip side is if we start to work on these issues now, there's a 43 trillion upside."
Steinmann noted the increase in "green collar" jobs will contribute to the economy. She said, "We recommend companies embed in their strategy, how they think about this, take a holistic view end-to-end, from the beginning of the life cycle to the end of the life cycle,
McCall concluded, "It goes back to why we are driving this and that customers want that in their package. They want that in the PC that they're using. They want that in the printer, whether it's energy efficiency or ensuring that every page printed is forest positive, and that you can feel good that when you're printing, it's having a positive impact on the world around you."


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'True Beauty': Here's how rookie idols of NMIXX and IVE inspired the 2018 webtoon
'True Beauty' was also adapted into a hugely popular K-drama in 2020 starring Cha Eunwoo, Hwang In-yeop and Moon Ga-young
‘True Beauty’ was one of the biggest K-dramas of 2020 based on an equally popular webtoon of the same name that began in 2018. The drama is pretty iconic as it starred Astro’s Cha Eunwoo, rookie actor Hwang In-yeop who stole everyone’s hearts and K-drama favorite Moon Ga-young. There were also guest stars like SF9’s Chani, WJSN’s Dayoung, four main leads of ‘Extraordinary You’ and more.
With the plot focusing on Lim Ju-kyung, the female protagonist’s beauty and society’s double standards on how a woman should look, it isn’t too surprising that ‘True Beauty’ took inspiration for Ju-kyung’s looks from K-pop female idols. On April 13, the webtoon’s author, Yaongyi appeared on MBC’s ‘Radio Star’ to talk about the webtoon that is still ongoing and has achieved almost a cult-like status. She also revealed that she was inspired by NMIXX’s Sullyoon and IVE’s Wonyoung.
Will Astro's Eunwoo leave his K-pop label? Fans discuss as contract renewal nears
‘Twenty-Five, Twenty-One’: List of everyone’s favorite K-pop idols watching K-drama
‘True Beauty’ inspired by Wonyoung and Sullyoon
Well, for confused viewers who wondered how 2022-debuted idols inspired an old webtoon, Yaongyi elaborated. ‘True Beauty’ is still released every week and it's important for the plot to stay up to date with the ongoing fashion and beauty trends. She explained, “I combine a lot of trends into the comics…Webtoons…reflect a lot of the fashion of that time. Idols are also used as a reference a lot. In particular, these days, I pay a lot of attention to Jang Wonyoung (IVE) and Sullyoon (NMIXX).”
Fans have also found a lot of similarities between Wonyoung and ‘True Beauty’s Ju-kyung in the past. This is possible since Wonyoung was part of the K-pop group IZ*ONE in 2018 before she re-debuted with IVE. Yaongyi had also shared that she was a fan of IZ*ONE before they disbanded and that she loved member Minju who is now a soloist. On ‘Radio Star’, the author also shared that Wonyoung and Sullyoon were the perfect models for the recent episodes of ‘True Beauty’, since they’re both pretty, liked by everyone including men and are even popular overseas.
‘True Beauty’ is about Lim Ju-kyung who was bullied for her appearance in middle school to the point that she had to change schools. She ends up discovering makeup and fashionable clothes that change her appearance and she becomes popular in her new school. While the K-drama ended with her revealing her secret to everyone and still being accepted, the webtoon is still ongoing. She is now a popular makeup artist using her makeup skills to help her friends and clients.
The webtoon can be read on Webtoons and the K-drama can be watched on Amazon Prime.


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Wireworks held a little birthday celebration at the booth this afternoon, celebrating 35 years of cabling the world—including most of Broadway, the White House, the BeeGees White Tour, the Pope’s tour, churches, theme parks, and more. Of course most famous for introducing the world to colored cable, Wireworks also introduced removeable multipin cables and a host of other innovations we now take for granted. President Gerald “Jerry” Krulewicz is a charming host, and it was short and sweet—no agenda, just an acknowledgement. For more see a story by Linda Said Frembes.
Archive of the Company News Category
Among the celebratory awards given out today by InfoComm International to launch the exhibition was the first ever InfoComm International Pioneer of AV Award, and it went to a long-deceased single mom who started what would become the Da-Lite Screen Company exactly 100 years ago—about eight years before should could legally vote. That woman is company founder Adele de Berri who, divorced and seeking an income, used her knowledge of paint and its reflective qualities to launch what was then called the De Berri Screen and Scenic Company around the same time that Thomas Edison and George Eastman were busy inventing the technologies that would give birth to the motion picture industry.
To celebrate the company’s 100th anniversary, Da-Lite has a cool historical exhibit at its booth (4401) about the life and history of Adele de Berri, and the historical achievements that led to her becoming, truly, a pioneer of the AV industry.
Incidentally, Da-Lite officials report good and interesting success with the new web site they started in March—the Da-Lite Design Center, which offers virtual design expertise for custom configurations for all sorts of applications such as trade shows, special events, and recently, a unique star-shaped screen for a boardroom at the headquarters of Macy’s.
At InfoComm 09 Booth #6321, Revolabs announced that three premier providers of conferencing technology products for education and business collaboration have certified Revolabs as a partner in their value-added solution programs. Read on at The Briefing Room
Bosch brands Midas and Klark Teknik announced at a booth press conference that effective July 1, Midas Consoles North America has been appointed as the exclusive distribution channel for Midas and Klark Teknik in the U.S. and Canada. Based in the Los Angeles-area, Midas Consoles North America is a wholly owned subsidiary of JAM Industries.
The move gives Midas and Klark Teknik direct control of its U.S. distribution channel as it markets the XL8 and PRO6 digital systems in the U.S. market. Midas’ David McNutt said that the existing Midas rep force in North America would be retained. more…
-DX1208 DSP Matrix Mixer. Next generation DSP, 12-in, 8-out 1RU matrix mixer.
-MicroWedge Series MicroSub. Stage monitor, particularly ideal for drummers (says EAW). Projects on a 45-degree angle and can stand on it’s side (points at the drummer not the drums).
And also in room 202A you can learn more about the custom product work EAW did for installations including the Orioles, the Eagles, the Met’s Citi Field, and others. This is the work of EAWs Strategic Engineering Group out of Whitinsville, Mass.
Sennheiser Electronic Corporation will introduce K-array, the newest addition to its family of distributed brands, at InfoComm 09. K-array manufactures incredibly thin, lightweight loudspeakers that deliver impressive power and sound quality for medium- to large-scale applications, including touring, events, installed sound, and broadcast. Read on at The Briefing Room
Checking out the little hotel room setup at the LG booth (5321), I noticed the Pro:Centricâ„¢ LCD Widescreen monitors there, and soon found my self in a chat with LG National Sales Manager Ron Lindeman about the present and future of the hospitality market. Ron explained that the movement of LG and other manufacturers into the “smart” side of hospitality, or as he calls it, the “solutions side” is moving ahead far quicker than many of us might have imagined.
Despite the economic downturn, Ron said several major hotel chains are already partnering with LG dealers to upgrade and install user-oriented solutions networked with LG monitors designed to make visits to such hotels, and repeat visits especially, more luxurious. The notion is that they need state-of-the-art, high-end technology infrastructures to lure visitors in this challenging economy, and more importantly, after the economy finally improves. more…
In the EAW demo room, I ran into Jeffrey Cox, who’s here with a brand new title and role as VP of the newly-minted Pro Audio Group, part of a larger LOUD announcement that will be detailed in a press conference at 4 p.m.
It will likely be one of the most dissected announcements of the show, not least because it brings EAW and Martin together under Cox, an arrangement that begs the obvious question (see Jeffrey’s quote on that below). more…
Gazing at a beautiful video jukebox at the LG booth (5321) this morning (47-in. LG plasma running interactive jukebox software from Ecast), I happened to comment that it was about time video jukeboxes were infiltrating bars, restaurants and clubs. LG officials told me such systems are up and running at dozens of venues and at US Cellular Field in Chicago, where the Chicago White Sox play. They’re quite common in bars, I learned. Who knew? I don’t visit bars and, as a result, a huge gap in my learning has developed. Perhaps I’ll rectify that this week in Orlando.
Canon has a cool demo going on at its booth (5249) for the next generation of the Realis WUX10 projector. The WUX10 Mark II D prototype (expected to ship in October), in DICOM Simulation mode, is being promoted specifically for medical teaching (not diagnosis, the Canon guys emphasized out of an abundance of caution) applications.
The demo (1920×1200 resolution via Canon’s LCoS and AISYS technologies) is impressive, with gamma adjustable and grayscale detail that medical professionals will probably find even more impressive than I did.
Canon is showing various Realis configurations for all sorts of applications in its various demos—immersive in a dome, 3D, medical, and much more. Worth taking a gander at during your InfoComm wanderings.


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Earlier this week, Forbes — who initially dubbed Kylie the "world's youngest self-made billionaire" largely due to her cosmetics line — alleged the reality TV star "likely forged" tax documents and inflated the value of Kylie Cosmetics to land the Forbes cover.
"Kylie's business is significantly smaller, and less profitable, than the family has spent years leading the cosmetics industry and media outlets, including Forbes, to believe," the mag said.
Kylie blasted the report, but The Sun claims she and her mother are scrambling.
"Kris and Kylie are freaking out and fear that this is going to hurt their brand, and even worse, they could be in trouble with the government," the source said.
Forbes' claim was damning, insisting the Kardashians went to "unusual" lengths to prove just how wealthy Kylie was, which included "inviting Forbes into their mansions and CPA's offices, and even creating tax returns that were likely forged."
The mag now claims Kylie is not a billionaire and has a net worth just under $900 million.
On Friday, Kylie's lawyer demanded a retraction.
"We have reviewed Forbes' article accusing Kylie of engaging in deceit and a 'web of lies' to inflate her net worth," a statement read. "The article is filled with outright lies. Forbes' accusation that Kylie and her accountants 'forged tax returns' is unequivocally false and we are demanding that Forbes immediately and publicly retract that and other statements."


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It’s illegal for dealers to sell e-liquids in New Zealand, but they are allowed to sell vaporizers. It’s a crazy state of affairs, especially bearing in mind the fact that there are so many people in the country that are trying to give up smoking and have found vaping is the best way to go.
The fact that they cannot legally buy e-liquids in New Zealand may be a stumbling block, but many smokers who wish to become and/or stay ex-smokers have not let government restrictions deter them. They order their e-liquids online from suppliers in other countries.
Although making it easier for smokers to switch to vaping would be the obvious choice for any government hoping to help wean people off smoking, the New Zealand government decided to go another route. One January 1, they raised tobacco prices by 10%.
According to a recent article in the New Zealand Herald, the resultant price hike has encouraged more New Zealanders to take up vaping instead and one retailer reports record sales and states cigarette substitutes are the best thing he’s ever sold.
“I’m astounded at how many people are buying them, and at how many people are giving up smoking using them. It’s a quiet little revolution,” the retailer said.
The retailer in question, who wishes to remain anonymous, is all too aware of the dangers of smoking. He lost both his parents to illnesses caused by smoking. He also knows how hard it can be to kick the habit.
“I gave up cold turkey 10 years ago,” he said, “and it was hell for about a year. The hardest thing about giving up smoking is losing the puff and the kick.”
According to the retailer, he has customers who’ve been trying to give up for years who say vaping has made it easy.
Of course, things would be easier still if it was possible to buy e-liquids in New Zealand. Many people are fighting to make the government see reason though. Including a new cooperative of vape venders, called VTANZ, launched earlier this month.


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FIRST BANK REWARDS 200 CUSTOMERS IN ENUGU PROMO DRAW
More than 200 customers of First Bank Nigeria Plc have emerged winners in the ongoing golden anniversary promotion held in Enugu.
The draw, 11th in the series of 12 was witnessed by staff and customers of the bank.
According to a statement by the bank, winners who emerged from across the six geopolitical zones got prizes as generators, refrigerators and cash prizes.
Speaking at the event, Mrs. Olufunke Smith, Head, Consumer Banking Products, First Bank said, 'The Bank is committed to empowering and improving the lives of customers across the various regions, hence the introduction of the golden anniversary promotion.
'A total of 2,438 customers have been rewarded in the series of draws held across the different regions of the country, while a customer has emerged winner of the N10 million golden anniversary draw prize.
She said that 200 or more customers are expected to be rewarded in the draw that would come up in June 2011, where final curtains will be drawn on the Golden promo.
According to her, Customers can still participate in the promo by increasing their savings deposit by N10,000, as this qualifies them for the various prizes on offer.
The finale of the 12 draw series of the Golden promo, which started in June 2010, would come to an end in June, 2011.


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Tag Archives: General Motors
General Motors (GM) announced it will take its customer experience one step further with OnStar Insurance. GM’s insurance agency, OnStar Insurance Services, will be the exclusive agent for OnStar Insurance, according to the company. “OnStar Insurance will promote safety, security … Continue reading
General Motors sees an electric vehicle (EV) overhaul in the future and the company’s chairperson and CEO, Mary Barra, highlighted how EVs will shape how products are transferred. GM introduced BrightDrop, a new business, during Barra’s 2021 CES keynote address … Continue reading
Mitchell International (Mitchell) and General Motors (GM) recently introduced the GM Canada Collision Repair Network. Through the Network, participants can access business and technology resources designed to streamline the repair process, which includes auto glass, increase consumer confidence and support … Continue reading
“If you’re going 30 miles an hour it takes you a little less than a second to look down at your speedometer and come back up and at that speed you go 46 feet in that time frame, which is … Continue reading
General Motors (GM) recently published a guide for auto glass businesses, auto insurers and consumers on Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). The recently published document provides a list of available systems, components involved, and when these require a calibration procedure … Continue reading
Fortune 500 magazine ranked the biggest American companies in its June/July 2020 issue, a few of which are related to the auto glass and insurance industries. Several were in the top 100: Ford Motor landed the 12th spot earning $155,900 … Continue reading
General Motors (GM) recently announced it is increasing production capacity for face masks at its Michigan facility. The automotive company has also shared its manufacturing plans with its suppliers, the Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA) and the Michigan Manufacturers Association … Continue reading
President Trump signed a memorandum directing the health and human services secretary to use “any and all authority available under the Defense Production Act to require General Motors (GM) to accept, perform, and prioritize federal contracts for ventilators” at the … Continue reading
Jason Truesdell turned the lights off on his class action lawsuit against General Motors LLC (GM) by volunteering to dismiss it. Truesdell filed a complaint against the auto manufacturer alleging a defect in certain 2010-2015 Cadillac SRX vehicle headlights. The … Continue reading
General Motors (GM) will open a new technical center focused on performance and racing in the Charlotte region, a major racing hub in the U.S. The facility will expand GM’s performance and racing capabilities, officials said, with a focus on … Continue reading
General Motors (GM) issued a recall for select 2016-2019 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vans today. GM says that the recall is due to “incorrect window glass” that was installed. According to the company, both vehicle models affected may feature … Continue reading
General Motors (GM) is still in hot water when it comes to the company’s headlights. Chester Steele, a resident of California, has filed a class action lawsuit against the company alleging certain 2010-2015 Cadillac SRX models are equipped with defective … Continue reading
Following a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation, General Motors (GM) has extended its headlight warranty to cover problems related to its headlamp driver modules recall. The initial recall was for defective low-beam headlights and daytime running lights on … Continue reading
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been investigating General Motors (GM) due to a 2015 headlamp driver module recall that was meant to fix faulty low-beam headlights. NHTSA is looking into whether or not the 2015 recall fixed … Continue reading
Windshield wipers could break on 367,808 General Motors’ Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain 2013 models, according to a recall from the automaker.
General Motors (GM) is requesting a judge dismiss a recent lawsuit against the manufacturers that alleges the headlights on its 2014-2015 GMC Sierra 1500 and the 2015 GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 are defective. The lawsuit comes from plaintiffs Armando … Continue reading
General Motors management says the sunroofs on their Chevrolet Cruze 2015-14 and Buick Regal 2015 may break, according Cars.com. Several owners complained that their sunroofs shattered to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The report says, “the glass sunroof panel can break. Dealers will inspect the sunroof glass panel and replace it if necessary.”
From windshield wiper issues to potentially loose backlites and more, here are six National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recalls to have on your radar.
General Motors is recalling certain models because fluid may enter into the driver’s master power window switch module, causing corrosion which could cause the switches to cease working. The models involved include 2006-2007 Buick Rainer, Chevrolet Trailblazer and GMC Envoy … Continue reading
Ten automakers have committed to making automatic emergency braking (AEB) a standard feature on all new vehicles built, according to a joint statement from the U.S. Department of Transportation, its National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Many of the cameras integral to AEB require calibration once a windshield has been replaced.
General Motors is recalling certain 2013 to 2016 Cadillac ATS models for a potential sunroof issue saying the prior fix provided “Insufficient structural support.” As such, vehicles previously repaired under the recall will need to be brought back in.
Several AGRR-related companies, including insurers and automakers, are named to this year’s Fortune 500 list. Looking more closely at the insurance sector, editors point out, “As miles driven continues to plateau, there will be less demand for car insurance.”
General Motors is recalling 2013-2015 Cadillac ATS sedans in the United States over sensitive power sunroof switches that do not meet the requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS). Additionally, Novus Bus, which is owned by Volvo, is recalling 2008 LFS buses for failure to meet the FMVSS “Bus Emergency Exits and Window Retention and Release” standard.
General Motors has ordered its dealers to stop delivering certain 2013-2014 model-year Chevrolet Caprice PPV and 2014 Chevrolet SS vehicles in new or used vehicle inventory, saying the wipers may become inoperative causing a visibility issue. The automaker has also issued a recall on this models.
Sensors and connected vehicles are leading the way toward autonomous driving, says Frankie James, General Motors managing director of advanced technology during a podcast series hosted by FutureThink. “My background is in human machine interaction but I’ve talked with the team that does window glass and know more things about window glass than I ever thought I would before I got this job,” she adds.


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Jul. 4, 2012 (China Knowledge) - Chongqing
Machinery & Electronics Holdings Group Co Ltd has said that it will issue RMB 600 million in unsecured bills with a maturity of 365 days on the interbank market on Jul. 10, sources reported.
The company said that the bills will be issued at the face value, and the coupon rate will be determined in the process of book-building.
Both value date and payment due date will be Jul. 11, and the to-be-issued bills are tradable on Jul. 12.
China Lianhe Credit Rating Co Ltd has rated the issuer and bills AA- and A-1, respectively.
Industrial Bank Co Ltd<601166
> has been assigned as the lead underwriter and book-runner for the offering.
Proceeds from the deal will be used to repay bank loans. This will be the issuer's first short-term bills this year.
In the first quarter of this year, the company suffered a loss of RMB 42.56 million, and its operating revenue was RMB 2.98 billion.


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IDFC FIRST Bank launches Digital Credit Cards on the RuPay Platform
By Gloria Mathias
IDFC FIRST Bank announces the launch of its IDFC FIRST Bank digital RuPay Credit Card, powered for UPI keeping in sync with its focus on enhancing customer convenience and revolutionizing transactional experiences.
This comes on the back of the launch of the FIRST Power and FIRST Power+ Credit Cards, that IDFC FIRST Bank and HPCL introduced earlier this year on the RuPay network which can be availed through the IDFC First Bank’s website and select HPCL pumps.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has formally approved linking RuPay credit cards to UPI. This allows for a seamless, credit card-based payment experience, with customers benefitting from the ease of transacting through UPI nationwide.
The IDFC FIRST Bank Digital RuPay Credit Card, powered by UPI is a digital credit card on the RuPay network. Banks existing credit card customers can apply and link their RuPay credit card to UPI without any additional documentation/applications, with simple customer consent. Customers will be able to use their existing limits through a RuPay credit card linked to UPI.
“We are delighted to announce our inaugural digital card from IDFC FIRST Bank as a transformative tool for our customers, fostering a seamless and secure transaction experience across existing UPI networks in the payment ecosystem. With features like credit limits linked to the primary card, competitive APR range, up to 48 days of interest-free periods, and limitless, perpetual rewards, we are dedicated to ensuring our customers enjoy unparalleled value and convenience,” said Shirish Bhandari, Head of Credit Cards at IDFC FIRST Bank.
Praveena Rai, Chief Operating Officer, NPCI said, “We are pleased to collaborate with IDFC FIRST Bank to propel the digitally enabled payment ecosystem in India. The launch of IDFC FIRST Bank’s digital credit card on RuPay’s extensive network promises its cardholders an exceptional payment experience through UPI, complete with a wide range of rewards and benefits. At NPCI, our dedication to innovation drives us to continually address the evolving needs of consumers and ecosystem partners.”
This virtual Credit Card aims to simplify the transactional landscape and drive usage marking a significant step forward in redefining the banking experience.
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