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Despite all the hoopla and positive press Tesla Motors received for the Model S launch, reports of production being pushed out is driving shares down a long, winding road of uncertainty.
Wunderlich Securities analyst Theodore O’Neill downgraded Tesla, cutting his rating to “sell” and slashing his price target to $28 from $49 on production concerns. Even though Tesla has reiterated it intends to produce 5,000 Model S cars for 2012, O’Neill isn’t sure how the company can achieve this.
“While initially saying that it would produce and sell 1,000 cars in 3Q12, [Tesla] now says it will certainly be 500 cars,” O’Neill said in his report. He believes there will be cuts to third-quarter estimates, as Tesla's production rate may be pushed out.
In an exclusive interview earlier this year with The Street, Tesla Chief Financial Officer Deepak Ahuja said he was “pretty confident” that Tesla would be able to achieve a 20,000-unit run rate for the Model S by 2013.
O’Neill noted that Tesla could be having trouble getting the cars “right,” and that may very well be the reason for the rumored production shortfall in the third quarter. Tesla is still sticking to its 5,000-unit rate for the full year.
Not all analysts agree that Tesla will suffer from production issues, as Aaron Chew, senior alternative energy/solar power analyst at Maxim Group, said he believes Tesla is operating normally.
“While we cannot rule out the prospect of certain customer orders being shifted a month or two, we have discovered no evidence of any widespread production issues and believe that a handful of order delays wouldn't threaten its 2012 target of 5,000 deliveries,” Chew wrote in his research report. He rated Tesla shares a “buy,” with a $50 price target.
In fact, Chew said he believes Model S reservations have actually picked up since Tesla started delivering the car last month. He believes positive reviews and an official range of 265 miles helped “propel Model S orders up sequentially from 1,800 in 1Q12, to over 2,000, by our estimates, in 2Q12.”
Shares of Tesla were down sharply in Wednesday trading. Tesla’s stock has gained 13.61 percent year to date.
—By TheStreet.com’s Chris Ciaccia
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TheStreet’s editorial policy prohibits staff editors, reporters, and analysts from holding positions in any individual stocks.


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Californian car maker Tesla has rolled out its one millionth electric car, and it is a Model Y.
In 2018, Musk said at the company’s second-quarter earnings call that he expected the Californian carmaker would make its one-millionth car in 2020 – and he can now tick that off before the first quarter of 2020 has finished.
The milestone achievement was announced by CEO and co-founder Elon Musk via his favoured communication channel, Twitter on Tuesday.
“Congratulations Tesla team on making our 1,000,000th car!!” said the transport and energy entrepreneur, posting two images – one, a shiny red example of one of the EV maker’s “mass-market” electric crossover, and a second of the Fremont team surrounding said vehicle.
Let’s repeat that again – one million cars, all with zero tailpipe emissions.
While the current global mood (and Tesla stocks) thanks to coronavirus and plunging oil prices due to a Saudi/Russian stand off is to say the least, low, it would appear that Musk at least is keeping a positive attitude.
And rightly so. It has taken the EV maker eight years to reach the impressive milestone, along with a lot of sweat, determination and learning the hard way along the way.
In terms of output of legacy carmakers it may not seem like much – worldwide, almost 100 times that many vehicles are made in one year alone according to Statista.
It doesn’t even sound that impressive compared to US car giant Ford, which went from zero to one million cars in 12 years from its founding in 1903, with a tiny fraction of the demand for cars that there is today.
But in light of the ground-breaking technology that is included in Tesla vehicles, from efficient electric drivetrains, high level driver assist capabilities including navigating lanes and exits at high speed on motorways, to being able to be summoned to its driver in a car park, it’s quite an achievement.
From releasing its first mass production vehicle, the Model S premium electric sedan in 2012, then the Model X premium electric SUV in 2015; to becoming to the most successful maker and seller of electric vehicles surpassing the Nissan Leaf with its “mass-market” Model 3, Tesla has defied naysayers and short-sellers determined to see its downfall.
In 2018 it overcame numerous production hurdles to ramp output of the Model 3 to 7,000 vehicles a week at Fremont, and in 2019 it opened its Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai with expectation of finally meeting its goal of making 500,000 electric cars a year.
Legacy car makers, forced by tightening vehicles emissions regulations and the threat of being left behind in a rapidly transitioning market, are now announcing plans to make their own electric vehicles by the droves, despite or because of the realisation of the mammoth task ahead.
The Model 3 can now claim the title of best selling electric car in Europe, is increasing its dominance in the US, and has played a major role in spearheading the laggard Australian electric car market with an estimated 80% of electric car sales to date in 2020 bringing the total of EVs to nearly 18,000.
In China, the world’s largest electric car market by volume, Tesla sold one-third of all electric cars in February despite the country being paralysed by coronavirus.
Tesla is now on the cusp of releasing its fourth production vehicle, the Model Y, in the US, which Musk has said he believes could be more successful than the Model 3 given the segment’s popularity.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model 3 and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.
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domain: news


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Since iOS 7 was released in September 2013, there have been a number of updates released to fix ongoing problems, including a number of security flaws. The latest one, released in April 2014 , was iOS 7.1.1 and that one didn’t bring too much to the table in terms of new features.
Image : iOS 7.1.2 Download
While Apple may consider these releases to be enough, there are still a high proportion of iOS users complaining about bugs and issues that still exist. Some users have complained of their battery draining faster than normal since the latest update, while others say their device has become more unresponsive.
It was widely believed that Apple will unveil iOS 8 during their World Wide Developers Conference and many people said that iOS 7.1.1 would be the last update. However, according to MacRumors, devices running iOS 7.1.2 have shown up on their log in the last week and, while activity is low, it does show that there is another update on the way.
Download Links :
Here is the download for iOS 7.1.2 IPSW
When iOS 8 is revealed to us next week, it will be followed by the release of the first beta to developers. If all goes according to plan, we should the new firmware released publicly sometime in September, just before the new iPhone 6 is released. While Apple has been known to release updates after a new firmware has been released into beta, these are normally to target specific issues, such as something that has an impact on performance or security rather than general updates.
At the moment, it’s looking likely that iOS 7.1.2 will be release in the near future although there are no clues as to what it will target. Perhaps it will be to fix the recent Activation Lock security issues that we highlighted a little while ago.
UPDATE 2 : 02 | 02 | 2015
iOS 8 has been out for a few months now and we are now starting to see signs of iOS 9. Already, the next generation of firmware has been spotted on website analytics and now it has showed up in benchmark tests against iOS 8 and running on an iPhone 6. We expect iOS 9 to be revealed at WWDC in June. More news will follow as and when we hear it


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Tesla (TSLA) stock surged 24% after it posted better-than-expected third-quarter earnings. While Wall Street expected the company to post a loss, the company saw a profit in the quarter. However, the company’s revenue mix has changed in the third quarter. Let us review whether this could bring good or bad news for Tesla stock.
Tesla stock rises despite revenue slump
While Tesla’s total sales slumped in the third quarter, its regional revenue mix has changed a lot.
In the quarter, Tesla’s revenues fell by 8% YoY (year-over-year) to $6.3 billion. However, equity markets have ignored the fall in the company’s revenues, prepping up Tesla stock. This could be due to its record deliveries in the quarter.
In the third quarter, Tesla’s total deliveries rose by 1.9% to 97,186 vehicles. The company sold more of Model 3 (79,703 units) compared to Model S/X (17,483 units). Also, Tesla saw a reduction in its average selling price on Model 3 in the quarter. This could have hit the company’s revenues.
Further, in Tesla’s 10-Q filing, the company said it could be affected by various external factors like “trade policies, political uncertainty, and economic cycles.” These could hurt the company’s sales in some of its most significant regions.
Tesla stock’s revenues fall in the US
Tesla’s sales fell in the US by 39% YoY to $3.1 billion. Lowering federal tax credits have hit the company’s sales in the region. Tax credits offered by the US government lower the cost of plug-in electric vehicles. The credit on each of Tesla’s cars has lowered to $1,875 in the third quarter.
On phasing-out tax credits, the company said, “We believe that this sequential phase-out has likely pulled forward some vehicle demand into the periods preceding each reduction, and we may see similar pull-forwards through the remainder of 2019. In the long run, we do not expect a meaningful impact on our sales in the U.S., as we believe that each of our vehicle models offers a compelling proposition even without incentives.”
Revenues grow outside the US
The company’s sales grew in China, the Netherlands, Norway, and other regions, boosting Tesla stock. The company saw a rise in its market share in Europe. Tesla’s other region saw the highest growth of 133% YoY to $1.8 billion in the quarter. Also, sales in China, the Netherlands, and Norway rose YoY by 64%, 56%, and 13%, respectively.
The company expects to see a boost in demand in China with its Gigafactory 3. Tesla started trial production at its factory. Chinese output will make Tesla’s Model 3 competitive in one of the largest auto markets in the world.
Tesla’s shifting regional dynamics
Tesla’s changing regional revenues have changed the segmental dynamics in the company. Last year, the US accounted for 75% of the company’s total sales. However, in the third quarter this year, the US only made up 50%.
While China added only 6% to Tesla stock’s total revenues in Q3 2018, it added 11% in Q3 2019. Also, the Netherlands made up 4% to 7% of total revenues in the same period. Notably, other regions’ contribution has leaped from 11% last year to 29% this year.
Changing revenue mix is good news for Tesla stock
The changes in Tesla’s segmental dynamics reflect its changing policies. The company plans to create local manufacturing footprints to compete with other automakers in each region. Further, the current revenue mix will change as the company’s expansion plans materialize. Tesla has set up Gigafactory 3 in China to make Model 3. Also, the company plans to set up the Model Y factory in China.
The company is in the process of finalizing locations in Europe to set up a manufacturing facility. Tesla plans to make both Model 3 and Model Y in Europe. So, the company’s global focus is shifting its revenues mix to make it more diversified.
Thus, a sales mix with contributions from various regions will be least affected by the changes in business conditions in any one area. So, a varied revenue model will make Tesla’s earnings somewhat resilient to external issues and risks. This could bring good news for Tesla stock in the long-run.
Elon Musk’s views on growth
In the third-quarter earnings conference call, Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musk said, “we’re highly focused on decisions that really make a material difference to the company, such as opening Gigafactories in other continents.”
Further, he added, “Yes, it’s worth noting that these geared ultimately having three Gigafactories effectively will triple out our output. And then when you consider increased output per Gigafactory, it’s going to actually more than triple our output over time.”
Peer performance in China
However, Ford and GM saw a loss in sales in the region. Despite Ford’s restructuring, sales in the region are declining. Ford saw about a 30% decline in its sales in China. Ford had to cut its full-year earnings guidance due to its worsening sales in China.
Also, GM saw about an 18% fall in its sales in the region in the third quarter. Further, Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) saw a decline in its sales in China in the previous quarter. However, Ferrari’s (RACE) sales rose in the region in the second quarter.
To learn more about Tesla stock and its peers in China, read Will Tesla and Volkswagen Go Head-to-Head in China?


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Alaska Fish & Wildlife News
A Trail Camera Gallery in the Works
Submissions Welcome to ADF&G Online Gallery
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game will soon feature a gallery of trail camera images on its new website, and submissions are welcome. The gallery will showcase images by the public as well as researchers.
Fish and Game invites the public to submit images for display in our online trail camera gallery. The gallery offers a way to share images, and photographers retain all rights to their pictures. We can watermark the image with a copyright symbol and the photographer’s name. People like photo captions, so we’d like to provide good information: general area, what’s been captured in the image, photographers name, type of camera used and any comments on the image – for example, “the camera was set up on a moose carcass,” or “tracks indicated bears were frequenting this trail,” or for researchers, what kind of project is being conducted.
Send images and information to Riley Woodford at firstname.lastname@example.org. For questions, e-mail or call 907-465-4256.
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Do Not Read Until Monday – May 22
At MRY, we want our employees and clients to enjoy their weekends off, rather than fretting over work. Turn off and enjoy yourself. Once Monday comes around, you can catch up with this week’s important happenings with our handy news recap.
GOOGLE REVEALS 100+ PRODUCT UPDATES
Google held its I/O developer conference this week. Here’s some of the biggest announcements:
A new technology by Google, Lens looks to overlay the world with detailed information about places and things with the aid of your phone’s camera. It was shown giving review information by pointing the camera at a restaurant front, and even identifying a flower type by the same method.
Along with AR, virtual reality’s been in Google’s sights, and now YouTube’s hoping to offer a simulated viewing environment for friends. Users will meet in a virtual room, then be able to watch and discuss videos. This is similar to Facebook’s Spaces, announced at F8.
- Google Assistant is now on iOS
- Gmail‘s getting ‘Smart Replies’
- Google Home: ‘Actions’ and controls coming to phones, 70 smart home partners, reminders, Chromecast controls, calendar adds, third-party hardware… *pant pant*
FACEBOOK: NEW UI & NOTIFICATIONS
Instagram, Messenger, Pages, WhatsApp, Oculus, its main app – Facebook owns a ton of well-trafficked platforms and apps. That’s a lot of hopping around for users. And with most of them incorporating a Snapchat clone, that’s even more potential confusion for users. Well, a pair of items this week show how Facebook may be confronting this issue through its main app.
This week, a Mashable writer discovered a significant Facebook UI revamp. The new navigation bar adds two elements – a direct link to your profile and tab that includes pretty much everything Facebook offers outside of News Feed. The latter, which displays links in circles, also keeps your profile and recently accessed Groups at the top of the menu.
Facebook’s also thinking about its wider UI, as a user also caught Messenger and Instagram notifications – along with the ability to quickly jump to those apps – in the Facebook main app.
Keeping users in its owned ecosystem is important to Facebook as it means less temptation from competing apps and platforms on your homescreen. Could it mean Facebook might eventually consolidate its many ‘Stories’ features? One can only hope.
THIS WEEK IN SNAPCHAT VS. THE WORLD
After a solid L last week, Snap needed to bounce back to regain confidence in the market. What it got instead was a twinned attack from Instagram. First, its Facebook-owned competitor launched face filters – one of the last features unique to Snapchat. Next, TechCrunch found Instagram is testing Location Stories, which allow for streams based on tagged locations. The mechanics of the latter actually make it ‘smarter’ than Snapchat’s location stories, potentially putting Instagram a step ahead here.
However, Snapchat snapped back with a killer announcement of its own, launching ad types that incorporate its AR capabilities more dramatically. “Sponsored World Lenses” can wrap the world around you in branded content, creating a visually appealing, immersive new product for users and advertisers.
This week: Draw
AMAZON’S ALEXA INTRODUCES VOICE NOTIFICATIONS
Perhaps falling in the shadow of the many Google Home announcements, Amazon revealed an interesting Alexa feature. Alexa will now give users notifications and updates via voice notifications, alerting them by flashing a special color on the Echo or Echo Dot.
This move makes Alexa more proactive – and could open up opportunities for brands. The notifications will be based on ‘skills’, similar to the way in which push notifications work for apps for a smartphone. Similarly, we see a brand opportunity here: If brands create or integrate with Alexa skills, or partner with developers, they could be placed front and center in front of Echo users.
LYFT CONTINUES ITS ASCENT, WITH DELTA, WAYMO DEALS
Lyft, the ‘woke’ ride-hailing app underdog, continues to shine in 2017. Instead of exploiting competitor Uber’s blunders, it’s just making smart moves to expand its user base and technology. In the latest, it’s inked a deal with Waymo, a self-driving car tech member of the Google family. Automation has been seen as the future for ride-hailing apps, but in the present, Lyft’s looking to increase users the old-fashioned way: Loyalty points. Its deal with Delta allows Lyft rides to rack up SkyMiles, and as an introduction, users can get 3 SkyMiles for each dollar on an airport trip. The partnership adds a certain legitimacy from a longstanding travel brand for users who might otherwise be hesitant to try ridesharing.
- May 19, 2017


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It's not long until London Fashion Week is well underway.
The biannual fashion event will take place in the capital as usual- but there are a few changes which fashion lovers will love this year.
The world’s designers, editors, buyers and influencers flock to the capital in an attempt to get the fashion ins and outs of the season- and now you can see it all for yourself, but at a price.
Until recently, it was impossible to get to one of the runway shows of the main event unless you were a big name in the industry- but that's all about to change.
The British Fashion Council has announced that London Fashion Week will be the first of the four fashion weeks globally (the others are New York, Milan and Paris) to open its doors, at least partially, to the public.
Their insider-only event will continue to run for five days from September 13 – 17, 2019- but now their are 6 special shows featuring designers Alexa Chung and House Of Holland and talks Billy Porter, Eva Brown and more.
The two hour access tickets will be available for the public over on the London Fashion Week website to take place in the official London Fashion Week Hub over Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 September 2019.
Those wishing to attend will have to decide which show they want to see, and then they can purchase a ticket for that show which includes a two-hour window of access to the BFC Showspace.
Standard tickets are priced at £135 for the two hours, while those that want to sit Front Row at a show can buy FROW ticket for £245.
Included within this ticket price is access to one industry-led panel discussion, access to the DiscoveryLAB, an experiential space where fashion meets art, fashion and music, and access to a brand new Designer Exhibition, where the creative work of progressive designers explores the most compelling stories around sustainability, community and ethics.
There will also be a VIP café serving complimentary drinks and lunch and all attendees will receive a goodie bag packed with lots of fashion and beauty goodness.
To buy tickets to one of the six new format London Fashion Week shows see here.


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One of the most iconic multiplayer maps from Halo 3 – The Pit – is making a return in Halo Infinite, Microsoft has announced.
Over the weekend Microsoft was holding the latest Halo Championship Series competitive event in Orlando, Florida and it also coincided with Halo 3’s birthday.
To celebrate the occasion, 343 Industries announced that they have been working on a remake of Halo 3’s 4v4 Arena map, built using Halo Infinite’s new Forge tools.
The Pit is widely considered to be one of the most popular maps for Halo multiplayer over numerous different releases, but unfortunately for fans, it won’t be arriving until later this year.
This remade map will instead launch alongside the games Forge Mode which arrives in beta on November 8 later this year.
Fans of Halo will also be quick to spot that The Pit has undergone a bit of a makeover. The gritty gray UNSC training facility now features more of a futuristic aesthetic, with purple colours and neon lights. Likewise, the lightblue skybox has been replaced with a sort of purple cosmic background instead.
Take a closer look at the videos just below:
— Halo Esports (@HCS) September 26, 2022
As noted by WindowsCentral, 343 has also needed to make adjustments to the map in order to accommodate some Halo Infinite’s core multiplayer mechanics.
For instance, in Halo 3 you couldn’t sprint, but in Infinite you can, so the map has been scaled slightly differently to compensate. Likewise, the map also features Infinite’s customary weapon pads used to spawn power weapons and more items.
All in all, it’s still good to see the return of such an iconic map, but hopefully, this is just the first of many old maps returning.


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Facial recognition combats load-shedding shoplifting
By Ivan Booth - Mar 26th, 08:39
South Africa’s load-shedding woes are not limited to the inconvenience suffered by consumers. The country’s retailers are set for a dramatic spike in shoplifting, warns one facial recognition for business specialist.
According to Camatica co-founder Laurence Seberini, “It’s no coincidence we see many shuttered stores when the lights go out. Shops dimly-lit with back-up power are a shoplifter’s dream. Accepting cash payments when the power goes out is also very risky.”
Mr Seberini’s Johannesburg-based firm has developed a range of AI-powered (Artificial Intelligence) facial recognition solutions specifically-designed for the local retail sector.
“We’re forecasting a marked increase in retail outlet shrinkage this year on the back of Eskom’s poor planning abilities and the fact GDP growth remains in the doldrums. It’s going to get hectic out there on the shop floor in 2019,” says Mr Seberini.
Fortunately, he says state-of-the-art optics in the form of AI-powered camera technology will help save the day for the hard-pressed retail sector.
With the locally-developed Camatica real-time facial recognition system, retailers are able to use the local start-up’s mobile app and web interface to easily add potential shoplifters or troublemakers worthy of attention to a ‘hotlist’ that can be instantaneously shared.
“Identifying confirmed or potential shoplifters using the hotlist and taking them out of circulation when the power is on means there are far fewer troublemakers to guard against when the power goes out,” explains Mr Seberini.
“The beauty of Camatica’s hotlist is that it can be shared with other storeowners creating a ring of AI-powered awareness across large geographical areas,” Mr Seberini says.
To get the best out of facial recognition technology, Mr Seberini advises retailers to ensure hotlists of problematic patrons are instantly updated and shared with staff, competitors, local business associations and the authorities.
“We specialise in facial recognition with a purpose. There is no Homeland Security creepiness here. Camera-centred AI is making a massive positive difference in the retail environment where organised shoplifting rings are starting to feel the heat and customers are therefore safer,” concludes Mr Seberini.
Retail sales beat expectations in February
19/04/2019 - 12:39
SA shoppers spent more than expected in February, with retail sales growing 1.1% year on year, led by expenditure in the textiles, footwear and clothing sector.
Asian revenue surpasses European for first time at L’Oreal
18/04/2019 - 09:07
L’Oreal got more revenue from Asia than from Western Europe for the first time last quarter as the region’s surging demand for luxury products continued to resist the drag of a slower Chinese economy.
Easter is also a feast for criminals, retailers and consumers warned
18/04/2019 - 09:01
There is a tendency among criminals to use the Easter long weekend - and its spike in shopping - to their advantage, says Richard Phillips, joint CEO of retail cash management company Cash Connect.
Checkers hot cross buns go viral
17/04/2019 - 13:42
Checkers hot cross buns are trending on social media and South Africans are in stitches following the release of a viral video in which a false-positive breathalyser reading was recorded for a police officer.
Clicks says private-label products boosted interim earnings
17/04/2019 - 09:59
Clicks Group says it grew headline earnings by 12.9% to R763.3m in the six months to February thanks in part to better sales of its private-label products and higher profits from its distribution business.


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…Qingdao Unique Products Develop Co Ltd, a local maker of 3-D printers, has unveiled the world’s largest 3D printer last week at the 2014 World 3D Printing Technology Industry Conference and Exhibition held in Qingdao.
This massive 3D printer has a build volume of 12 m x 12 m x 12 m. According to Wang Hong, company’s founder and CEO, the company has spent the last 6 months developing this giant printer. It weighs more than 120 tons and was assembled using cranes and other machines.
The giant 3D printer is currently placed in the High-tech Zone of local 3D Printing Industrial Park and will be open to the public. Its first task is to print a seven-meter high “Temple of Heaven”, the largest extant sacrificial temple in China, using Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) process.
One notable advantage of this new printer is its use of graphene glass fiber reinforced plastic as 3D printing materials, which is light weight, strong, corrosion-resistant, and environmentally friendly….another Big task for the 3d printing incubator


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News & Articles
MICHAEL WEEDON'S RETAIL STATS
The Bank of England has forecast a sharp recovery in Q2 2021, although even then it would be 5% lower than in the same quarter pre-covid. On a relative basis, though, the GDP graph is pointing upwards. So is inflation, which rose to 2.4% in June 2021. NIESR has forecast that it will rise to 3.9% in earlu 2022. The Bank, though, seems to think that there are no drivers that will keep on pushing prices up – the beauty of year-on-year inflation figures for them is that a rise in prices now become the baseline for this time next year, so if there is no consistent pressure upwards on prices the increase falls out of the comparative figures a year later.
Others in industry are voicing different views, around both labour and skills and in transport and logistics. Staff shortages have been reported from within hospitality, retail, construction and transport (the FTA has reported a shortage of 100,000 lorry drivers). Whether these are passing Pingdemic effects or the longer lasting results of the loss of EU workers who have returned home during the pandemic will only be clear when the Pingdemic is resolved. There are also fresh reports of eight-fold increases in container shipping costs, which will be impacting hardest on UK non-food retailers sourcing abroad.
ONS figures show that almost every retail category saw year-on year growth in May and June – except for non-store retailing such as pureplay online, which fell.
The broad category of Household Goods rose in cash terms, for example, 20.8% in June. One a rolling 12 month basis to June, all retail (exc fuel) was 5.7% (£22 billion) up on the previous rolling twelve months, while mainly food stores were 1.1% up (£2 billion) and mainly non-food stores were3.8% up (£6 billion).
Non-store, over those same periods was 26% up, rising by £14 billion. At some points online sales were more than 30% up, but this has started to fall back) Interestingly, though, the IMRG has reported throughout the last year that the gain in online sales by multichannel retailers (shops with websites) has been five to six times the gain by pureplay (online only) retailers. Are we finally in the multichannel world where consumers can buy from their favoured retailers however they want, in person or online? Not quite, but we’re much closer than we were at the beginning of 2020. There is also a dual carriageway on the online highstreet: non-food online sales are above a quarter of the total, but food sales have risen to just 10% across the period of the pandemic.
The story for high streets, though, is more complex, because they are (by shop numbers) just over a quarter non-food retail, a bit over a quarter service and a quarter hospitality (food and other uses make up the rest). The sales figures for services aren’t in the retail figures – they’re in the ONS Services data. They also show increases in June and July, but cumulatively, across the pandemic year-and a bit they show, for example, the Food & Beverage side of Hospitality £42 billion short in the tills – and some of that went to supermarkets (in the retail figures) as we bought food and drink for home, rather than eating out. Another high street stalwart (as was) travel agencies dropped by £35 billion.
So there are very mixed stories in the broad retail scene, looked at across the high street panorama.
There’s good news and bad news here. Springboard show rising footfall levels in all location types – but they are all still at least a quarter down on where they were at the same point in the year pre-pandemic. The question is – is this a permanent shift in behaviour, or will the missing quarter of shoppers return to high streets? I don’t know the answer to that question.
All of which should have some impact on…
Shops and vacancy
In Q2 this hit 14.5% (one in seven shops) – up from 14.1% at the end of March.
However vacancy is not the one way street it seems to be. It was last at this level in 2012 and it fell consistently until 2018, at which point it started to rise again.
Barclays corporate is predicting that local high streets could see 17,000 new shops open by mid 2022 due to hybrid working. It’s a fair bet anyway that the number of openings will rise as startups and growing chains snap up the properties that are available at bargain rents. The question, as ever, is which will be the bigger number, openings or closures. The change in the vacancy rate is largely the result of the difference between the two.
I don’t do optimism (or pessimism) but there are good reasons to be hopeful. Because the hit to retail and the economy has been so hard it’s likely that consumer behaviours will continue to see rising sales across retail (helped also by a dollop of inflation). Official figures on Covid infections have been encouraging for the past week or so, when they were expected to be rising strongly they have, instead, declined. Barring a (perfectly possible and completely unpredictable) spanner in the works from Covid and one of its variants, things are looking up.
You can find out more about Michaels fantastic work here - https://exp2.co.uk/


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MACON, Ga. — Editor's Note: The video in this story is about the 2020 Macon Main Street Christmas Light Extravaganza.
The COVID-19 pandemic might have killed off warm weather business in downtown Macon but sales are expected to heat up this holiday season.
NewTown Macon’s Bethany Rogers recently told the Downtown Macon Community Association that holiday sales are expected to be as good or better than 2019. People have been holding onto money and not taking spring or summer vacations.
“People are ready to spend and ready for some normalcy,” Rogers said. “There is opportunity to capitalize on that in the days ahead.”
When briefing the downtown merchants on holiday shopping forecasts, Rogers relayed information from a Google survey that showed 66 percent of shoppers plan to be hitting more local small businesses this year.
The uncertainty about the pandemic also means stores must have online sales options available as web orders also are expected to increase, she said.
“Shoppers want to minimize in-store shopping time and plan to use online stores to browse inventory and make gift decisions prior to their shopping outings,” Rogers advises. “Be consistent and strategic with your digital marketing because your customers are spending more time online and doing more research.”
NewTown Macon’s Emily Hopkins wants to help downtown businesses reap the benefits from the 70 percent of surveyed shoppers who said they will shop earlier to avoid crowds, and the 80 percent of shoppers who plan to consolidate shopping to make fewer trips than in the past.
For the November First Friday, businesses are encouraged to host a Holiday Preview Party and stay open a couple hours longer to catch those who work until 5 or 6 p.m.
“Have your inventory ready to go and do things like create a festive atmosphere if you have a few decorations to put up even if you’re not ready to do full-fledged Christmas,” Hopkins told Tuesday’s Downtown Macon Community Association online meeting.
Just hours later, workers at the Macon Arts Alliance were getting the First Street gallery ready for this festive First Friday which includes their homemade holiday sale.
“Come by, have a glass of wine,” said Karen Hix of the Arts Alliance. “We will offer ornaments and gifts in all types of media – wood, ceramic, glass and fiber – so I encourage you to get out, be safe, wear a mask and we’ll take all kinds of precautions.”
Since many of the traditional holiday craft shows, such as Christmas Made in the South and Mistletoe Market have canceled, artist Mark Ballard also will have a pop-up shop at Seventh Street Salvage on Second Street this Saturday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
NewTown also is helping downtown businesses get ready for Shop Small Saturday on Nov. 28.
Merchants and restaurants are encouraged to extend hours and host sidewalk sales and food and drink specials the day after Black Friday, which is when the Downtown Christmas Light Extravaganza kicks off. The Macon City Auditorium will serve as a holiday hub for Saturday shoppers with an event called “Wine and Pine.”
Peyton Jeter, Director of Marketing for Spectra which manages the county’s Centreplex operation, explained that flights of Georgia wine will be sold and three wreath-making workshops offered during the last Saturday of November.
Spectra’s chef also will be putting together a list of appropriate wines for holiday meals, she said.
Children will have a craft-making area and a complimentary gift-wrapping station will be available at the auditorium.
“We’re working with some small businesses that don’t have storefronts so they can set up and have a little pop-up so folks can shop with them,” Jeter said.
Information about other downtown specials and sales will be available that day at the Shop Small Saturday headquarters in the auditorium.
Hopkins believes that local entrepreneurs will get an unexpected boost during this year of the coronavirus.
“I think a lot of folks are going to be intentional about supporting local, independently-owned businesses, so we’re really excited about that partnership and wine flights and wreath making.”
Contact Civic Reporting Senior Fellow Liz Fabian at 478-301-2976 or email@example.com.


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Caloundra is riding a wave of commercial property success with settlement reached on a prime 6,167sqm CBD development site and national investor interest flooding in for an entire three-level beachside building just listed.
Henzells Commercial has also recently negotiated an additional $2.25 million in sales for other high-exposure CBD sites.
These included the $850,000 sale of the Cozie Swimwear property at 38 Bulcock Street to a Melbourne-based investment group and the sale of four tenancies at 101-103 Bulcock Street for 1.45 million to Brisbane-based investors.
Commercial Manager Paul Bell is pleased to report that settlement has been reached on the 6,167sqm site comprising 13 adjoining lots between Bulcock Street and Omrah Avenue in the heart of Caloundra. Sold for an undisclosed sum in the ‘multi-million dollar’ range, the site will be transformed into a $95 million marquee lifestyle precinct by Henzell Property Group.
To be known as Verre Caloundra, the proposal includes 39 luxury residential owner occupier apartments above high-end retail and dining on street level, subject to council approval. Presenting a host of opportunities for owner occupiers and business operators, the precinct will comprise 10 levels of residential living with a selection of two and three-bedroom apartments, penthouses and resort pool area to be completed in stage one.
Meanwhile, the newly listed Caloundra City Centre building at 51-55 Bulcock Street is attracting strong Brisbane and interstate interest. Owned long-term by a local family, the property is being sold via an expressions of interest campaign closing on April 5.
“As one of the iconic buildings in town, with great tenants in place and a great location, we are expecting an excellent response,’’ Paul said. “Caloundra City Centre is a multi-tenanted, three level, commercial building strategically positioned in one of Queensland’s most popular tourist destinations."
“It offers a site area of 1,999sqm and a total net lettable area of 2,428sqm providing a secure investment in a sought-after growth area in South East Queensland.”
The property is currently generating a net income of $659,502.
The adjacent Centrepoint Marketplace retail centre at 50 Bulcock Street, with a net lettable area of 1,162sqm and fully leased net income of approximately $530,000, recently sold for $7.3 million.
“Given that Caloundra Centre is slightly larger, and the return is more, I would suspect the sellers would be expecting something upwards of that. We will see where it goes,’’ Paul said.


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City of Toronto asks citizens for input on Uber
The City of Toronto wants your help in understanding the appeal of Uber.
City Council has asked its staff to perform a review ground transportation in Toronto, particularly taxis, limousines and the controversial Uber ridesharing app. The goal of the review is, in part, to “understan[d] the interests of the public in the technology and services that Uber provides.”
Torontonians are invited to fill out an online survey, or offer feedback by phone, email or on paper. There are two sets of questions, one for the general public, and one for people who work in, or have some other link to, the taxi and limousine industry or Uber.
Questions for the general public include:
Questions for members of the taxi or limousine industry include:
And, for respondents who indicate they work for Uber:
Surveys responses will be accepted until Aug. 14.
City staff will report their findings to Toronto’s Licensing and Standards Committee Sept. 18.
Uber has been the subject of several months’ worth of debate over business licensing.
The Uber app can be used to summon licensed cab drivers. But another of the company’s services, UberX, connects passengers with private drivers, who use their own vehicles and do not have taxi licences.
Licensed taxicab drivers have complained that Uber, which allows passengers to pay lower fares than traditional cab companies, has an unfair business advantage.
The municipal government has argued that Uber should need a taxi brokers’ license to operate in Toronto. Uber says it is merely a communications company that connects people.
In November 2014, the City of Toronto applied for a court injunction against Uber in an attempt to stop the company from operating here. But, on July 3, an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled against the City, saying, “Uber is not carrying on a business in Toronto that is required to be licenced as a limousine service company or taxicab broker.”
Nevertheless, on July 8, City Council voted to crack down on UberX, and asked both police and bylaw officers to issue fines. To date, 36 UberX drivers are facing a total of 72 charges.
Mayor John Tory has said UberX is currently operating outside the law but he would like to see a new municipal bylaw that regulates both Uber and traditional, licensed cab companies, to help level the playing field.0


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has launched an investigation into allegedly inappropriate behavior by
while the sportswear giant was working with the musician to develop and sell their Yeezy sneaker line.
The company said Thursday that it would start the probe after receiving an anonymous letter. The letter alleged years of misconduct in the workplace by Mr. West, who goes by Ye, and that Adidas management turned a blind eye to his conduct.
Adidas said last month it was ending its lucrative partnership with Mr. West after he made anti-Semitic comments, but the investigation shows that the company will continue to deal with the fallout. The end of the Yeezy partnership has left Adidas facing a large revenue hole and employee complaints about Mr. West’s behavior.
In October, Mr. West published a video on YouTube that showed him meeting with Adidas executives and playing a pornographic video on his phone for them with Mr. West saying that a person in the pornographic video sounded similar to one of the Adidas executives.
Former Adidas employees said in interviews with The Wall Street Journal that Mr. West showed and watched pornography during work hours and in meetings. The employees said the designer tried to fire employees he wasn’t authorized to fire, only to rehire them later, and berated employees in front of colleagues.
The employees said they raised concerns about Mr. West’s behavior over the years to senior leaders and human-resources officials. Employees working in the Yeezy business unit at Adidas said they understood that they had to tolerate Mr. West’s behavior to remain on the high-profile team.
A spokeswoman for Adidas said that the company doesn’t tolerate hate speech and offensive behavior and that it continues to have conversations with employees about the events that led to the decision to terminate the partnership with Mr. West. The company declined to comment further, she said.
Mr. West didn’t respond to request for comment Thursday and has previously declined to comment.
The allegations made in the letter—titled “The Truth About Yeezy: A Call to Action for Adidas Leadership”—were reported by Rolling Stone magazine on Tuesday. The letter accused Adidas of failing to protect its employees from “years of verbal abuse, vulgar tirades, and bullying attacks” from Mr. West, according to the magazine.
Adidas said in a written statement that while it wasn’t clear whether the allegations made in the letter were true, it took them seriously, and had “taken the decision to launch an independent investigation of the matter immediately to address the allegations.”
The letter urged Adidas board members and its incoming chief executive officer to address “the toxic and chaotic environment that Kanye West created” and “a very sick pattern of predacious behavior toward women,” the magazine reported.
The probe comes weeks after Adidas said it would end its lucrative partnership with Mr. West following controversies including a recent anti-Semitic outburst from the musician and fashion-brand owner.
The partnership with Mr. West had spawned one of Adidas’s most successful product lines, with analysts estimating Yeezy-branded products to represent about 8% of the company’s overall revenue.
In its statement Thursday, Adidas said it continues to be “actively engaged in conversations with our employees” about the events that led to the company’s decision to end the partnership. “They have our full support,” the company said. It added that it is working through the details of the termination.
Mr. West has previously said that he was crucial to Adidas’s success, and publicly complained about the company, accusing it of stealing his designs.
Adidas said earlier this month that it had hired
to take over as CEO, luring the executive away from crosstown rival Puma SE. He takes over on Jan. 1.
stepped down as CEO, and finance chief Harm Ohlmeyer is the interim leader. Mr. Ohlmeyer told investors the sporting-goods giant intended to sell sneakers based on Yeezy designs, but without the Yeezy brand, as early as the end of next year.
—Khadeeja Safdar contributed to this article.
Write to Nick Kostov at email@example.com and Inti Pacheco at firstname.lastname@example.org
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8


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She hasn't released an album since 2016's 'Anti', but that hasn't stopped Rihanna from amassing a fortune that surpasses any other female musician on the planet.
The Bajan singer has officially been named the World's Richest Female Musician by Forbes magazine, who say that the 31-year-old is worth a whopping $600 million (€531 million).
She is now officially richer than her closest competitorsa Madonna ($570 million), Celine Dion ($450 million) and Beyonce ($400 million).
Of course, Rihanna's fortune is not just based on her music; in recent years, she has released her own make-up line Fenty Beauty, which has racked up sales of $570 million in the past 15 months alone. She also has a range of lingerie, Savage X Fenty, as well as a forthcoming line of high-end clothing, shoes, accessories and jewellery with LMVH.
Meanwhile, Beyonce won't be too miffed about being pipped to the post by Rihanna, considering her husband Jay Z has officially become the first rap billionaire, according to Forbes.
What's that? What have we done with our lives, you ask? Who, us? Perfectly happy, we are. Perfectly happy. Peeeeerfectly happy, so we are.


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Madrid: Revyoos, the only all-in-one review aggregator for short-term rentals, has launched to address a gap in the market for genuine review collation and reputation management for property managers and owners, already commonplace in the hotel industry.
The platform and customisable widget enable property managers and owners to automatically gather all reviews spread across different channels and use them as social proof on their own websites. This results in improved credibility, SEO and increased conversions.
With 68 per cent of internet users questioning the authenticity of online reviews, potential guests need to ensure the reviews they read come from trustable sources. Revyoos is servicing a clear customer demand by addressing the current lack of genuine review aggregation in the short-term rental industry.
Christophe Salmon, co-founder and CEO of Revyoos, said: “Revyoos’ mission is to build neutral trust and credibility for property managers and owners through review aggregation; the vision of our Revyoos Rating Score is to become the standard for genuine guest reviews in the short-term rental industry as Reviewpro’s Global Review Score is for the hotel industry.”
Revyoos, which can be used directly and is also easily integrated with a property management system [PMS] through API connection, empowers property managers and owners to better control and manage their third party reviews and make informed business decisions by tracking and analysing review scores at both a property and company level. In addition, every review is stored in the cloud through the platform, ensuring that managers retain them indefinitely.
Property managers and owners can either publish the detailed review widget on their own website or the Revyoos Rating Score Badge, which shows aggregated numbers and ratings only from the 100 per cent trustable sources where it can be ensured that a guest stayed at the property.
Simon Lehmann, CEO of AJL Atelier and advisor to hospitality tech startups, said: “The team behind Revyoos has brought to market a product that we believe will revolutionise the reputation management for short-term rentals and level the playing field with hotels.”
Revyoos is co-founded by CEO Christophe Salmon, a property manager and ex-digital marketing executive, and CTO Angel Arcos, a tech startup veteran specialising in developing global online products and services using cloud technology and AI processes. The team is joined by digital advisor Pedro Diaz, who brings more than 25 years’ experience in digital transformation.
Revyoos is also a finalist of the 2020 VrTech Awards, an industry reviewed startup competition showcasing tech companies creating innovative solutions for the vacation rental ecosystem.


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Making the most of their momentum and the ongoing competition to claim NYC — a major market and in many ways the heart of the culture — adidas has unveiled their new store on 5th Ave. Opened up last night for a special media and celebs only event, the retail haven looks to be about much more than just buying shoes but truly experiencing them. A treadmill to try out runners, a virtual reality Harden station and miadidas laptops point to such in the stadium status store. Get a glimpse at the special space in the photos below and look for it to open its doors to the public on December 1st.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.


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Attendees will learn how partners like Sertifi will help them capture the incremental value presented by contemporary sales technologies!
Chicago (PRWEB) September 26, 2013
Sertifi, an eSignature and Closing Automation Solution provider, today announced that it will be a Silver Sponsor of the 9th annual BigIdeas cloud CPQ conference for global B2B sales and technology professionals. BigIdeas 2013 North America will be hosted by BigMachines, the de facto choice among innovative companies seeking to optimize and accelerate revenue into their organization. The conference will be held October 6-8, 2013 at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
“BigMachines is the global leader of CPQ and we are excited to sponsor BigIdeas 2013 North America, the premier event in this space,” said John Stojka, Co-Founder, Sertifi. “We look forward to participating in the Revenue Revolution alongside BigMachines and showcasing how we drive value through our innovative solutions.”
Attendees will see first-hand how BigMachines’ customers drive material results across their organizations. As a demonstration of those results, BigMachines’ customers have increased market share by 3% in their first year using BigMachines, shortened sales cycles from 3 days to 8 minutes using a mobile tablet solution, increased product penetration by 18%, and achieved 100% adoption of BigMachines across their internal and channel sales organization.
“At BigIdeas, we will make unprecedented product announcements set to transform our industry, enabling the modern selling experience,” said David Bonnette, CEO, BigMachines, “BigIdeas offers sales and technology leaders the chance to collaborate with fellow innovators to understand how leveraging BigMachines expedites growth and profitability. Attendees will learn how partners like Sertifi will help them capture the incremental value presented by contemporary sales technologies.”
In addition, attendees will network with cloud computing industry leaders and learn how to better leverage BigMachines to optimize, accelerate, and retain more revenue from any mobile device, virtually anywhere in the world. The Idea Expo will showcase BigMachines’ latest product innovations, offer attendees hands-on training and access to products and services which define the modern selling experience. For more information and to register online, please visit: http://www.bigmachines.com/bigideas/na/.
Sertifi provides eSignatures and Closing Automation Solutions that help organizations close deals faster. Sertifi enables sales teams to quickly reach agreements with customers and then execute the deals with electronic signatures. Customers can access Sertifi through its leading eSignature API, pre-built Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics CRM integrations, and Web Portal. Leading organizations around the world including Pitney Bowes, CareerBuilder, U.S. Air Force, and Cricket Communications trust Sertifi. For more information, visit http://www.sertifi.com.
BigMachines, the global leader in Configure, Price, Quote, focuses on Results and Customer Success by enabling businesses to quickly configure products and services, create 100% accurate sales quotes, proposals and contracts, and integrate with CRM, ERP and other business systems. Whether a company sells silicon chips or potato chips, sells direct, through reseller channels, or online to customers, BigMachines showcases the latest SaaS CPQ innovation and solutions to improve business processes. For more information, visit http://www.bigmachines.com.


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If you were hoping, like many, that Death Stranding was finally film-maker and spookmaster Guillermo del Toro’s co-op project with Hideo Kojima will have to keep on waiting. Despite appearing in the Mads Mikkelsen-focused trailer you see above, Del Toro said in a recent IGN interview that the project was entirely Kojima’s baby and he wasn’t involved in the writing or directing at all.
Have a look at our list of upcoming PC games for a taste of the future. Tentacle tanks, apparently.
In the interview, Del Toro says that “my contribution is limited to being a cheerleader for his ideas and being scanned for long hours at a time. That’s about it.”
In fact, much like Mikkelsen, he understands about as much of what’s going to happen as you or I. “He’s discussed his ideas so I could understand the character, but other than that I’m not involved, creatively, at all,” confirmed Del Toro. No story details expected to leak out any time soon, then.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s still no release date for Death Stranding, or indeed any in-game footage. The game engine has been chosen, using Guerilla Games’ Horizon: Zero Dawn tech, but everything from what we’ll do to who we are is as-yet undecided. We’d be lucky to have anything concrete even at E3 – keep up the long wait.


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JAMF Software of Minneapolis just closed on $30 million of venture financing, and what’s interesting is that both the big Silicon Valley venture firm that led the investment round and the company agree that JAMF didn’t really need the money.
“They most definitely did not need the money,” said Greg Goldfarb, a managing director of JAMF’s biggest new financial partner, the growth equity investment firm Summit Partners.
That’s a lot of capital for a company without capital needs, but JAMF isn’t the first young technology company in our region that’s grown into a sizable company almost entirely by bootstrapping and then went ahead and raised a big venture capital round anyway.
For an investor like Summit, a top-shelf firm that’s invested in more than 380 companies, it had a good case for proceeding, too. JAMF is a company that happens to fit extremely well with a couple of Summit’s favorite investment themes.
“Themes” are what some private capital investors call trends and industry shifts, and figuring out which ones will be moneymakers helps them sort investment ideas. Summit found JAMF because it seemed so well-positioned to benefit from more Apple iMac and MacBook computers getting bought by big companies and the continued growth of mobile devices like iPhones.
JAMF from the very beginning was an Apple-only software developer, but the beginning was well before Apple turned into the colossus it is today. JAMF got its start in 2002 when founder Zach Halmstad was working in desktop support at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
He was frustrated by the lack of tools technology administrators need for tasks like managing passwords and security, pushing out software patches, even keeping track of computers.
Business organizations that only used Microsoft Windows machines had a full toolbox of management software for administrators, but education was Apple territory. Halmstad decided to start developing that software to manage iMacs.
The company still has a bigger employee group in Eau Claire than Minneapolis. Halmstad’s partner Chip Pearson, the managing partner of JAMF, first became involved after being shown a demonstration of JAMF’s version 1.0. Pearson finally joined JAMF full-time in the summer of 2006.
Minneapolis became the headquarters because they suspected that an Eau Claire address wouldn’t help reassure potential customers that JAMF was a significant global technology company.
Then in 2007 Apple introduced the iPhone.
The iPhone wasn’t a part of the original plan, of course. On the other hand, when the well-known Piper Jaffray & Co. securities analyst Gene Munster first learned about JAMF from a venture capital firm several years ago, he recognized right away the size of JAMF’s potential opportunity.
Riding the Apple rocket
By then Apple’s mobile products were on fire, and businesspeople increasingly wanted to use their iPhones and iPads at work. Munster estimates that there are 430 million so-called iOS devices in use now, vs. about 195 million at the end of 2011. And about half of those Apple devices are used in some capacity at work.
With the denizens of the C-suite all carrying their iPads to meetings, the information technology managers at big companies were suddenly much warmer to the idea of having Apple iMac and MacBook machines on their employees’ desks. With the increasing availability of cloud-based storage of data and applications, these companies could also roll out Macs without the big investment of network infrastructure that used to be required. But they still needed tools to manage the fleet.
“Is JAMF going to be a big company?” Munster said. “It’s going to be a bigger company, as more businesses shift to using Macs in the enterprise.”
JAMF revenue took off, and while Pearson declines to discuss financial information, a guess for 2013 revenue is maybe $45 million. As the company grew, Pearson said “we just didn’t let growth take over,” and he credits his board’s chairman, the consultant Jim Hansen, with teaching the principle of balanced scorecard.
That’s the business concept that elevates nonfinancial measures alongside financial targets like growth in revenue and operating income, to keep the business more “balanced.” Growth is important to JAMF, of course, but so is customer and employee retention. Even as revenue surged, the operating margin ranged between 15 percent and 30 percent.
As JAMF continued to grow, up to about 275 people currently from 180 in October 2012, Pearson said, the company continued to consider whether it made sense to raise capital. About three years ago it had raised less than $3 million. But because the company was cash-flow positive, that money had just stayed on the balance sheet.
“When we looked at how fast Apple was growing, and we wanted to maintain our leadership position in the Apple platform, and maybe grow market share, we didn’t think we needed to do anything crazy,” he said. “Except hire more people and scale the business up.” They are working on that: an Internet job board this week lists 42 open positions.
It wasn’t really a question about having any more money to spend but about how having more money would change their view of risk and opportunity. Summit Partners’ Goldfarb put it this way: “Just having a really deep, strong balance sheet gives the team that confidence to move swiftly and decisively.”
Pearson said the leadership team has no intention of allowing the newly raised capital to change the culture of the company or cause them to abandon the balanced approach to building the business.
“As we build our financial model for 2014,” Pearson said, “we may depress the [cash flow] margin a bit. But we always build models that are cash-flow positive. It’s just in our DNA.”


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Dubai-UAE: 12 December, 2017 – Noor Bank, a leading Shari’a-compliant bank in the UAE, has been named a winner of the Critics’ Choice Best Islamic Retail Banking Brand Award at the Islamic Retail Banking Awards (IRBA) 2017. This is the second year in a row that the Bank has been honoured in this category at the event hosted by UK-based financial think tank Cambridge Analytica.
Mufazzal Kajiji, Head of Retail Banking, Noor Bank collected the award on behalf of Noor Bank in the presence of high-profile industry peers at an exclusive ceremony.
The award recognises Noor Bank’s growing brand reputation as well as its ‘Share’ campaign that highlighted the Bank’s value creation for the greater public good in line with its Islamic values. The campaign conveyed the Bank’s core values to consumers and ran across its communication channels including social media and external advertisements.
Speaking about the accolade, Mufazzal Kajiji said: “Winning this prestigious award for the second year in a row reinforces Noor Bank’s national and global credentials as an industry-leading Islamic and financial institution. At Noor Bank, we believe that ensuring consistency across all our brand’s touch-points as we effectively deliver our suite of services is integral to our success. Awards such as this one encourage us to redouble our efforts, as we look at new avenues to continue growing our retail banking proposition to best serve our customers.”
The Critics' Choice Committee at Cambridge Analytica selected Noor Bank as the winner following a comprehensive analysis of Islamic banking brands worldwide. The Committee comprises of leading Islamic banking experts from across the globe.


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Analysts have said the government’s move to cap individual Ecocash transactions to $5000 per day will hit many businesses who were surviving through receiving money from the unbanked populace through Ecocash the hardest, The Zimbabwe Independent reports.
Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce’s president Tinashe Manzungu commenting on the issue said the restriction will affect those in marginalised communities without access to banking facilities:
Most people in Zimbabwe prefer to use mobile money, which is fast and convenient compared to the traditional banking system. This, combined with a lack of financial education, creates very high barriers to banking for the rural populations and for the farming communities outside towns. Mobile money has afforded the marginalised, the rural and the small-holder farming communities the chance to be integrated into the country’s formal financial system and be able to contribute to the country’s fiscus through various taxes and levies.
Increased demand for Zimdollar cash notes will impact the already existing premium on cash notes, whilst near 100% dollarisation implies an accelerated depreciation of the Zimdollar as it becomes less and less preferable. It’s a move that will force retailers to charge for goods in foreign currency, which will be unfair to most people who are still getting paid in local currency.
Retailers’ Association of Zimbabwe president Themba Ndebele said the restriction will cause a disruption in the market:
There will be disruptions in the market since a lot of people were used to EcoCash and will be forced to migrate to the formal banking system.
While ZCTU’s Japhet Moyo called the government’s policies fire fighting:
The fire-fighting mechanism by the Reserve Bank, which is not even sustainable, will hit growth of the SMEs, the majority of whom cannot afford to use the formal banking system that is expensive for their payrolls and procurement of materials
Not long ago the central bank was bragging about the country swiftly becoming a cashless society, but now they are forcing people to revert to using cash. How does one limit the use of mobile money platforms without providing the alternatives?
Mobile money platforms came into effect because of cash shortages and now they are restricting them without providing the cash. The central bank should have consulted widely with various stakeholders to find ways of dealing with those who were abusing the facility instead of resorting to a wholesale blanket ban
Shepherd Kembo, a businessman said sales volumes were likely to decline due to the restrictions and said:
This is yet another knee jerk reaction and inconsistent policy directive from RBZ, that doesn’t help formal businesses let alone the SMEs sector. At the moment, businesses are already grappling with depressed demand made worse by the limited daily trading hours.
Instead of having to deal with such depressed business volumes, shops will now have to further deal with bottlenecks and constraints to do with ZW$5 000 a day payments system. With rising inflation, the ZW$5 000 limit is not enough to pay for essentials like internet, electricity let alone raw materials,
More: Zimbabwe Independent


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SOME NIGERIAN NEWSPAPER HEADLINES 22/06/2022.
Five things to know to start your Wednesday
Senate alerts on terrorists’ enclaves in Kwara, Niger states
Black market booms as petrol scarcity persists
Fuel market crisis deepens as subsidy swells
How Nigerian firms can retain tech talents
Political risks worry insurers ahead 2023 elections
Nigeria faces ‘fiscal time bomb’, says World Bank
Buhari says Nigerians better off today than 2015
Nigeria tops African CEOs’ export destinations ‘ PAFTRAC Survey
GreenHubAfrica, Sterling One Foundation take climate action campaign to schools
Chart of the day: Leading insurance companies by net-worth (N’billion)
Dangote Cement: Making a BUY case for the stock
Touchdown Travels strengthens operation for holistic, smarter experience
Expectations as Broll adopts new style for sustainability consulting, advisory
Dangote Cement, MRS, others reroute stock market northwards
Three ways to secure consumer trust in financial products
91% of Nigerians use digital channels for financial transactions ‘ Mastercard
Mastercard says ‘Digital First’ programme, will strengthen payment capabilities
Please don’t just stop after reading ” BUSINESSDAY” headline above.
Don’t forget to add our Social Media Channels below to enable you get all the news before leaving your bed.
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Fats finger errors in zencart cryptocurrency trades have made many a headline over the previous few years. Back in 2019, the corporate behind Tether, a cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar, practically doubled its own coin supply when it by accident created $5 billion-worth of latest coins. In March, BlockFi meant to ship 700 Gemini Dollars to a set of customers, price roughly $1 each, however mistakenly despatched out hundreds of thousands of dollars price of bitcoin instead. Final month an organization erroneously paid a $24 million payment on a $100,000 transaction.
“I suppose in some places, individuals is likely to be utilizing Bitcoin to pay for things, but the truth is that it’s an asset that appears like it’s going to be rising in value relatively quickly for a while,” Marquez says. “So why would you promote one thing that’s going to be worth so way more next yr than it is as we speak? The majority of those that hold it are lengthy-time period buyers.”
50-day, 100-day and 200-day moving averages are among the mostly used indicators to determine important resistance and support ranges. If the LTC value moves above any of these averages, it is mostly seen as a bullish signal for Litecoin. Conversely, a drop beneath an essential moving average is normally a sign of weakness within the LTC market.
Too much has changed in 10 years; now there are thousands of cryptocurrencies on the market, and plenty of coins that supply sooner transaction speeds and other essential features like the flexibility to create d’apps (decentralized apps), sensible contracts, and extra. The elevated competition has lowered the demand for LTC, which in turn has impacted its price – and the lower value means it’s less profitable for miners, who get compensated with Litecoins.
Crypto exchanges might be protected when adequate safety measures are put in place for a given platform. This consists of storing assets offline and buyers selecting legit platforms that are safe, licensed, and regulated. On the other hand, crypto exchanges with insufficient security precautions can even develop into unsafe and unsuitable for bitcoin traders.


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Amazon on Thursday announced it will be launching sales of food and drinks in Mexico, including snacks, sweets and wines, a move that could intensify its competition with Wal Mart de Mexico to claim shoppers in a nascent e-commerce market.
Online shopping represents a fraction of total retail sales in Mexico but has grown swiftly, putting Amazon and its rivals in a race to ramp up investments in logistics, technology and product offerings.
Amazon views food and drink sales as key to growth, eyeing regular purchases to stock pantries as a way to generate other types of sales, but has yet to dominate the category.
The new items on its Mexico site, which it officially launched in 2015, span coffees and teas as well as liquors, wines and beers, the company said. They also range from cooking ingredients to non-perishable snacks and sweets.
“We’re committed to offering our clients as many products as we can,” Fernando Ramirez, Amazon Mexico’s senior product manager, said in a statement.
In the United States, Amazon has tackled online grocery sales through its $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods Market last year. It now offers two-hour delivery and lets shoppers pick up Amazon products from lockers at Whole Foods stores.


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Philippines’ Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) Cryptocurrency Launch Plans
Philippines May Introduce a New Cryptocurrency by End of July
CEZA or the Cayagan Economic Zone Authority of the Philippines as it is popularly known has announced its intentions to introduce a cryptocurrency of its own. The cryptocurrency is to be introduced before this month comes to an end.
The announcement did not come as a surprise to those who have been following the news in the Philippines as a similar announcement had been made earlier this year. The authority had initially made the announcement in April, at a time when it was allowing ten firms dealing with cryptocurrencies to start operating in that economic zone.
All ten blockchain-based firms were allowed to start operating in a bid to not only help in fostering the economy but to also assist the authority in creating new employment opportunities. Reports indicate that the official ceremony will be held at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel located in Mandaluyong City.
Raul Lambino, the chief of CEZA will during that ceremony sign a blockchain transaction license to be used by the Apsaras Groups’ CZC Exchange. CEZA will also be seeking to promote the new cryptocurrency at this event, hoping that its coin will be accepted by the public, who will then start using it to transact online, and in their trade activities within the economic zone.
CEZA is also looking to publicize all entities dealing with blockchain-based applications, and infrastructure. Applications currently in use will all be publicized at this particular event. The event is to be held on the 29th of this month.
The Asparas group hopes that it will be able to use this license to establish an incubation base based on the blockchain platform. In addition, it will also be seeking to build a wide-ranging blockchain base characterized by technical support, talent learning, and financing listing assistance.
It will also be looking into other additional services with the assistance of blockchain learning, production, and research. After the initial announcement in April favoring the use of blockchain technology in the economic zone, a number of companies have gone ahead to apply for licenses to operate within the confines of this economic zone.
The efforts being applied by Raul Lambino relates to his desire to be able to transform the economic zone to mirror that of the Silicon Valley located in the United States. During the Financial technological summit held this year, Lambino stated that he hoped he would be able to achieve this dream by introducing blockchain technology to the economic zone.
In one interview held after the summit, he is quoted as saying that he would only allow ICOs that were asset-backed to operate in the economic zone. The aim of doing this was to prevent consumers from being scammed.
For companies that have ICOs, CEZA will first need to establish whether the ICO has been asset-backed. CEZA has slowly started becoming a cryptocurrency and blockchain hub in this part of the world. It is a hub that is increasingly attracting novel technologies and blockchain-based projects.


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China's Lenovo sees PC shipments slide in Q3 as global market remains depressed
Chinese technology giant Lenovo Group saw its personal computer shipments decline in the third quarter as the global market remained gloomy amid volatile currencies, excess hardware inventory and the transition to Microsoft’s new Windows 10 operating system.
Separate preliminary estimates released on Friday by research firms IDC and Gartner showed about a 4 per cent drop in Lenovo’s worldwide personal computer shipments last quarter, pulled down by lacklustre sales in the Asia-Pacific and Europe-Middle East-Africa geographic markets.
READ MORE: Lenovo appoints ex-McKinsey executive Gordon Orr to board as group diversifies from PCs to mobile and enterprise
That slump does not augur well for Lenovo’s performance in its second fiscal quarter ended September 30, after the company reported a 51 per cent net profit decrease in its previous fiscal quarter ended June 30.
Lenovo, which operates in more than 160 countries, initiated a sweeping restructing plan in August that included laying off 3,200 employees and writing off US$300 million of its smartphone inventory.
Jefferies equity analyst Ken Hui said in a report that Lenovo was earlier “expected to meet [market] consensus of 10 to 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter shipment growth in the third calendar quarter”.
IDC estimated that Lenovo’s shipments fell 4.9 per cent year-on-year to 14.937 million units in the third quarter, while Gartner calculated a 4 per cent decline on shipments of 14.995 million.
The rest of the world’s top-five personal computer suppliers — Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Apple and Acer — also saw their volume shipments go down last quarter, IDC said.
Lenovo, however, held onto its position as the industry’s largest supplier on a record-high global market share of 21 per cent, boosted by strong sales in the United States, according to IDC. Gartner estimated a lower 20.3 per cent market share.
Yang Yuanqing, the chairman and chief executive at Lenovo, said in August that the company was moving to reduce costs in its personal computer business to improve profitability.
The company was integrating the manufacturing supply chain for its personal computer and server products to drive greater efficiency.
IDC said worldwide personal computer shipments in the third quarter had shrunk 10.8 per cent year-on-year to 70.976 million units. Gartner estimated a smaller contraction of 7.7 per cent on total shipments of 73.728 million.
“The global PC market has experienced price increases of around 10 per cent throughout the year due to the sharp appreciation of the US dollar against local currencies. In the third quarter, this continued to be a major cause for weaker demand,” Gartner principal analyst Mikako Kitagawa said.
IDC analysts pointed out that computer suppliers and their distributors were working to limit price swings in the face of currency exchange rate volatility.
Channel distributors across many regions were also challenged by efforts to clear their inventory of personal computers pre-installed with Windows 8 operating system, before a more complete portfolio of models incorporating Windows 10 and the latest Intel Skylake processors were released.
“We estimate that Lenovo had more than 15 weeks of consumer personal computer inventory in Europe, above the normal eight weeks [of inventory], which will take some time to be digested,” Jefferies’ Hui said.
Windows 10, which was launched in the third quarter, generally received favourable reviews, but many personal computers users opted to upgrade their operating system rather than buy new hardware.
“While PC shipments will be hampered in the short run by the availability of a free upgrade to Windows 10, the improved PC experience across user segments should drive longer-term demand for new PC hardware that is expected help stabilise the market in 2016 and beyond,” said IDC research manager Jay Chou.


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What the war is about: The most valuable commodity in the modern economy is information—just ask Google and Facebook. Banks sit on a treasure trove of the most valuable type of information: financial data. Enter fintech companies, whose services include handling customer deposits, just like traditional banks, and also selling their anonymized data to research firms and hedge funds.
What happens is that customers enter their banking data into an app, and thereby open a spigot on their inner-most financial secrets to the fintech firms.
But banks are becoming uncomfortable with this set of circumstances, since they’ve held total control over the data until now, and bristle at the idea of startups horning in on their business. Industry insiders tell me that over the past six to nine months, banks have increasingly put up hurdles and even roadblocks to the data that had been going to the fintech firms via their apps.
App users are unhappy with the war: Mario Da Costa is 25 and works in education policy in Washington D.C. He tells Axios that he uses a fintech app called Qapital, which helps him set savings goals and then automatically siphons off money from his bank account to a separate account. That way, he’s not tempted to spend more than he has budgeted.
- But in June, he says, his main bank, TD, began restricting the app’s access to his data. It has since been restored, but he says that further interruptions could cause him to switch banks.
- Industry insiders tell Axios that banks have increasingly resisted sharing data with fintech companies despite customer requests that they do.
- Mario’s experience dovetails with complaints on social media
What the banks say: TD tells Axios that any interruptions to its services is the result of its overriding concern for security. “TD Bank does not have a policy against customers linking their TD bank accounts with third parties. However, we take the protection of our customers’ assets and data seriously,” the bank said.
- High-profile banks face reputational harm if their financial data is compromised
- And banks like Chase have said they won’t work with companies that profit from selling user data, arguing that it compromises privacy.
- Banks and Wall Street firms has preferred instead to come to bilateral agreements with individual fintech firms. Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan announced such agreements earlier this year.
- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was tasked by Congress to make rules around these issues, has yet to weigh in. And with rumors that current head Richard Cordray will leave to run for political office, consumer advocates worry that sound regulation on this issue will be delayed even further.


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At the end of November Symantec announced they are shutting down their Backup Exec.cloud service, a decision that leaves thousands of resellers and MSPs around the world wondering how to offer a sustainable future for their online backup customers. For AVG and the Online Backup team Christmas has come early as we respond rapidly to make it as cost-effective as possible for Backup Exec.cloud resellers to migrate their customers over to our CloudCare Online Backup platform.
To this end we are this week launching a special promotion that offers the AVG CloudCare™ Online Backup cloud-based small business protection platform free to existing Backup Exec.cloud customers. This special offer will run till the end of April 2014. Affected customers will immediately receive alternative protection through AVG CloudCare with Online Backup as well as full credit for their remaining Backup Exec.cloud licenses. They will also benefit from access to an increased range of integrated services from AVG such as managed AntiVirus, Email Security and Content Filtering for all of their backed up endpoints.
The fate of BackupExec.cloud will have done little to improve the confidence of small businesses in online backup. Our recent research into small business backup revealed that at least half of all small business owners are suspicious of the cloud. They are also concerned about security. 50% in the UK and 64% in the US said security remains biggest concern when it comes to cloud backup. This is where is believe our reputation for providing reliable, uncomplicated security to small businesses will give our partners an advantage as we go into 2014.
But where AVG and our partners will have the biggest advantage next year is in being able to offer small businesses simplified management for all of their IT. AVG Online Backup is a key part of the AVG CloudCare proposition but on its own it is just another backup tool competing in a crowded online backup market. Where we really score is in the added value of having a complete service offering and an integrated portal that can deliver everything via the same single pane of glass.
One of the key areas for further development in 2014 will be mobile device management. According to our study most small businesses have not experienced mobile device data loss yet. Yet almost 1-in-5 (19%) UK businesses (1-in-3 or 30% in the US) say that more than half of their data is business sensitive. For a small business workforce mobile devices will clearly have some sensitive data on them. According to the study, when a device is lost or stolen the priority for many businesses (39% of UK businesses and 41% US) is having the ability to remotely wipe them to ensure data cannot be viewed by unauthorised third parties.
For many small businesses IT management has not kept pace with technology trends such as BYOD. As the trusted IT providers for their small business customers, it’s this that makes the mobile management opportunity so such an exciting one for our partners.
So it’s shaping up to be a great Christmas for SMB’s but what do I want? As an owner of four very lively dogs there’s always plenty of clearing up to do. My choice for this year is therefore a robot vacuum cleaner – great for picking up dog hairs!
December 11, 2013


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Tops Acquiring 3 Big M Supermarkets
Tops Markets LLC has entered into an agreement with the Farrugia family to purchase three Big M supermarkets in the towns of Elbridge, Mexico and Jordan, N.Y. The deal marks the third acquisition this year for Williamsville, N.Y.-based Tops, expanding its reach further into areas of northern and central New York state.
The grocer’s earlier 2012 acquisitions were of 21 Grand Union locations, and a store in North Boston, N.Y. In 2010, Tops acquired the stores of the now defunct Penn Traffic banners.
The sale of the Big M stores is expected to close by Dec. 31, subject to customary closing conditions. Specific terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed.
Said Tops president and CEO Frank Curci of the deal, “These stores are a natural addition to our current footprint.”
“Because of [employee] support, we were able to grow into an organization employing close to 200 associates,” noted Michael Farrugia. “We feel that the addition of Tops Markets will enhance the ability for future employment as well as the capacity to upgrade these stores to the benefit of these communities for years to come.”
Tops will offer the approximately 161 associates at the three locations continued employment with the company and operate all locations without interruption in service upon closing.
Tops operates 151 full-service supermarkets -- 146 company-owned and five franchise locations -- under the Tops, Grand Union and Bryant’s banners, employing more than 15,000 associates in upstate New York, northern Pennsylvania and western Vermont.


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Bromley’s elderly and vulnerable targeted by spate of ‘courier scams’ over past week
PUBLISHED: 14:27 11 July 2013 | UPDATED: 14:27 11 July 2013
Fraudsters are continuing to target the borough’s elderly and vulnerable with a series of ‘courier scams’ over the past week, according to Bromley Police.
The con artists will typically call a home posing as a police officer or bank staff, claiming a fraudulent payment has been spotted on the victim’s card.
After suggesting the card be replaced, the victim is asked to ring back using the number printed on the back of their bank card.
However, the fraudsters keep the phone line open, meaning the victim is unwittingly connected straight back to them despite enterting a new number.
Now posing as a member of staff at their bank, the victim is conned into handing over their card details and PIN.
An innocent courier company or taxi driver is then sent to collect the victim’s ‘cancelled’ card and hands over a new, fake card in its place.
The fraudster is then armed with the victim’s name, address, full bank details, PIN and the card itself.
Det Insp Louise Knipe, of Bromley Police’s CID, said: “These courier fraudsters put a huge amount of time and effort into being convincing because for them the pay-off is immense.
“We want people to question even truly genuine sounding calls and, most importantly, remember police and banks will never ask for your PIN or bank card, so you should never give these away. They will also never ask for money or send a courier to collect a card.
“If you do receive such a call, hang the phone up immediately”.
If you value what this story gives you, please consider supporting the Bromley Times. Click the link in the orange box above for details.


text: Moore’s Law is about to become obsolete, opening the way to a new techno-revolution. Back in 1965 Intel co-founder Gordon Moore predicted that the density of transistors on silicon chips would double about every two years. As a result, so would computing power. Moore’s vision proved true—and then some. Your average smartphone is about 7,500 times faster than the then-state-of-the-art computer put on the Voyager space probe in 1977. But today’s itty-bitty transistors also generate a lot of heat. (Just feel the bottom of your laptop.) And that problem seemed to limit the potential for continued exponential growth. Now engineers at Stanford say they’ve mastered a process that will render silicon passé by using infinitesimally small carbon nanotubes as transistors, the on-off switches essential for digital processing. The idea has been around since the 1990s, when CNTs, as they’re called, were first developed. But they often had frustrating flaws that made them unreliable. The researchers at Stanford developed physical methods to make the manufacturing process more consistent and algorithms that would neutralize the remaining imperfections. As engineers and designers continue to build on these developments, our digital devices will not only be incredibly fast, they’ll be incredibly cool.


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U.S. manufacturer Emerson has improved its Copeland-branded propane (R290) scroll compressor design for heat pumps, introducing four models of varying capacities that the company says are low-sound, efficient and compact.
The products were shown at the 2022 Chillventa trade show in Nuremberg, Germany, October 11–13.
These new heat pump compressors offer best-in-class efficiency with A++ performance at 55°C (131°F) reference temperature and only half the sound pressure of standard compressors, -10dB(A), at full capacity, according to a statement by Emerson.
“Thanks to its properties, R290 demonstrates better performances versus HFCs at higher pressure ratio,” according to Emerson’s product brochure. “The excellent properties of R290 at high-pressure ratio nearly compensate the effect of enhanced vapor injection on COP.
Emerson is currently experiencing “a super high demand for heat pumps” because of the pressure to decarbonize the heating sector through electrification, explained Markus Lenz, Director Marketing Refrigeration and Integrated, during an interview at Chillventa. “It doesn’t matter if you ask the manufacturer of the heat pump or the manufacturer of the components and compressor – we cannot satisfy all the demand currently,” Lenz said.
Although there is currently a bottleneck with manufacturing natural refrigerant heat pumps, Lenz explained that this is not a problem specific to the nature of the refrigerant. “This bottleneck would have happened anyway,” said Lenz. “There are supply chain issues, plus the sudden increase in demand was not expected at this level – regardless of whether it’s an A2L compressor, an A1 or a propane compressor. I would not say the F-gas Regulation is the key issue here.”
Large propane compressors for chiller applications were also on display at Chillventa. These 22kW (6.26TR) units are the largest propane compressors in Emerson’s line.
“We cannot satisfy all the [heat pump] demand currently.”Markus Lenz, Emerson
R290 compressors for display cabinets
The Emerson Chillventa stand also featured a new horizontal scroll propane compressor for integrated display cabinets. There are two options available – for direct expansion systems and indirect systems connected to a water loop. “It is a very efficient solution,” said Lenz.
Additional to the propane ranges, Emerson exhibited its new CO2 scroll compressor and the scroll unit that will be released in Europe by the start of 2023.
Watch this YouTube video tour of the Emerson booth at Chillventa 2022 where Vice-President Thomas Tomski shows the new natural refrigerant technologies, among others.
Want to find out more, or have something to say about this story? Join the ATMO Connect network to meet and engage with like-minded stakeholders in the clean cooling and natural refrigerant arena.


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Coronavirus Pandemic Claims Spoon's BBQ In Charlotte After 57 Years
A longtime Charlotte barbecue restaurant is closing shop for good amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The owners of Bill Spoon's BBQ made the announcement Monday on social media, saying the South Boulevard restaurant's last day will be Wednesday.
"If you’ve been a customer over the years, you remember the lines that wrapped around the building," Steve Spoon Jr, grandson of founder Bill Spoon, wrote on Facebook. "Those lines have diminished as time has passed, and each year has become substantially harder to keep our doors open. 2020 has proven hard for everyone but has truly been detrimental to small businesses like us that were already barely making ends meet.
"Despite every attempt to hang on as long as we could, we simply aren’t able to any longer."
The restaurant is known for serving eastern North Carolina-style barbecue with a vinegar-based sauce. Because of the pandemic, the last meals from Spoon's BBQ will be served curbside only.
Several restaurants and bars in the Charlotte area have closed permanently during the coronavirus pandemic, including Queen City Q in uptown, Carpe Diem in Elizabeth, Abari Game Bar in NoDa and Char-Grill in Davidson, according to a list maintained by the Charlotte Business Journal.
The state's economy has taken a hit during the pandemic, with the service industry bearing much of the initial brunt. More than 1.2 million North Carolinians have applied for unemployment benefits since March 15.
In mid-March, Gov. Roy Cooper ordered all bars and restaurants to halt dine-in service. In May, restaurants were allowed to again welcome in-person customers, though at reduced capacity, and they were required to implement social distancing and other safety measures to limit the spread of the virus.
As of Monday, bars remain closed, although restaurants that serve alcohol can be open but must stop serving booze after 11 p.m. There have been at least 185,700 laboratory-confirmed coronavirus infections and 3,060 deaths from COVID-19 complications in North Carolina since the pandemic began.
Click here for the latest coronavirus news on WFAE’s live blog.
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What questions do you have about the coronavirus? What has this experience been like for you? Share your questions below.


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Leonardo DiCaprio's National Geographic documentary Before The Flood premiered two days ago and in case you missed it, you can watch it for free on YouTube.
The entire documentary talks about the fossil fuel industry and the effect it has on our planet, explains the devastating consequences, and tries to find a solution for inevitable climate change, who's effects we are already witnessing.
Elon Musk appears in the documentary (he also appeared in Racing Extinction, which you should watch if you haven't already) and leads DiCaprio trough Tesla's Gigafactory in Nevada.
Musk explains that the Gigafactory isn't built just to manufacture lithium-ion batteries, but he hopes is will serve as a template for how others could contribute to converting the world to clean energy.
It's no news that Musk's companies are working on exactly that. With Tesla Motors and SolarCity, he is already making huge changes in the world and even more important, he's setting an example.
Musk explained that the batteries are the future.
Batteries are critical to a sustainable energy future. The advantage of solar and batteries is that you can avoid building electricity plants at all, so you can be a remote village and have solar panels that charge a batter pack that supplies power to the whole village, without ever having to run thousands of miles of high-voltage cables all over the place.
What's even more interesting, Musk said they did a calculation to see what would it take to transition the entire world to sustainable energy.
We actually did the calculations to figure out what it would take to transition the whole world to sustainable energy. You'd need 100 Gigafactories.
Of course, Musk has no intention of building those factories himself, although we can expect at least another Tesla Gigafactory. But, Musk hopes he will encourage others to follow his path and start building factories that would have a huge impact on the well-being of our planet.
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Along with Imaizumi, Tencent has also hired the Lead Director of Halo 4, Scott Warner, to direct its new AAA studio in North America
Outer Wilds came out on top during today's BAFTA Game Awards with other titles taking prizes from numerous different categories.
Kill zombies and build barriers on the go for a limited time in Call of Duty: Mobile
Call of Duty: Mobile is a surprisingly great first-person shooter with buttery smooth controls that has me addicted.
After being out for a week, Call of Duty: Mobile has surpassed 100 million downloads.
After launching this Tuesday, Call of Duty: Mobile has gone on to reach 35 million downloads.
After months and months of waiting, Activision and Tencent have revealed that Call of Duty: Mobile will be launching on October 1, 2019.
After getting my hands on Call of Duty: Mobile at E3 2019, I'm optimistic about the future of this title and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on it.
After being relatively quiet about the mode last week, Activision has revealed the first details about the Call of Duty: Mobile's Battle Royale mode.
If you've been looking forward to Call of Duty: Mobile, then get hyped because a ton of new details about the beta has just been released.
As the days go by, more and more details are coming out about Call of Duty: Mobile and today we learned about the game's Battle Pass.
After being announced back in March, the Call of Duty: Mobile beta is finally live in select countries and we have a new trailer to celebrate.
Finally, COD fans are about to get a Call of Duty game made for mobile in the countries outside of China, including the United States.