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Security Worries Spread Beyond the U.S.
Concerns about Chinese telecom giant, world No. 1 in wireless equipment, sprout in Canada, Australia and South Korea.
National-security concerns surrounding China’s Huawei Technologies Co. are spreading beyond the U.S. to key allies. The telecommunications equipment maker was a subject of debate in Canada’s Parliament this week, and the chief executive of South Korea’s largest telecom, considering vendors for next-generation wireless technology, reportedly called Huawei a “concern.”
Australia, where U.S. officials have been pushing a case that the Chinese company is a national security risk, recently pressured the Solomon Islands to drop Huawei as the contractor on an undersea cable connecting the South Pacific nation with Australia. It offered instead to fund a separate cable itself. Australia is now consulting other nations about their security concerns around Huawei’s involvement in next-generation 5G wireless equipment, officials said.
The U.S. has taken a series of actions aimed at Huawei, the world’s biggest supplier of wireless equipment and No. 3 vendor of smartphones. The Shenzhen-based company has been effectively shut out of the U.S. telecom market since a 2012 congressional report said its equipment could be used for spying.
- Earlier this month President Donald Trump scuttled a proposed the $117 billion takeover of Qualcomm Inc. by Singapore’s Broadcom Ltd. after a government advisory panel said the deal could dull Qualcomm’s competitive edge in 5G.
- In January, AT&T Inc. dropped plans to sell Huawei phones in the U.S.
At issue is Huawei’s growing strength in the telecommunications market. Western policy makers are concerned China could gain a leading edge in developing 5G, set to underpin self-driving cars and other internet-connected devices.
Privately held and owned by its employees, Huawei has long said it operates independently of Beijing, and that concerns the company would use its technology—which is employed in mobile networks world-wide—to spy for the Chinese government are unfounded.
The company has “earned the trust” of its partners, a Huawei spokesman said, adding that its products and services are used by carriers, businesses and consumers in more than 170 countries.
“Huawei has a robust system of cybersecurity assurance and a proven track record,” he said.
Huawei already supplies U.S. allies. It sells equipment in the U.K. under supervision of a testing lab in Banbury, England, near Oxford. In New Zealand, it operates essentially without any government interference.
And in Australia, the Solomon Islands caution notwithstanding, Huawei sits on a government advisory panel for the rollout of 5G and sells telecom equipment to carriers including Optus Pte. Ltd. A Huawei spokesman said the company “works with all the major telecommunications operators” in Australia, where its revenue last year approached $700 million.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was briefed last month on American concerns about the company in closed-door meetings with the U.S. National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, according to government officials.
a’s Internet Giants Face Users’ Anxiety Over Privacy (Jan. 8)
In Canada, where Huawei employs more than 400 researchers and engineers, members of the opposition Conservative Party on Monday pressed the Liberal government about the company’s presence. In response, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, without specifically addressing Huawei, told Parliament that the government will “take every step necessary” to protect its cybersecurity networks.
The exchange followed a report in Toronto’s Globe and Mail newspaper that quoted former senior security and intelligence officials expressing concerns about the Chinese company. Among them was Ward Elcock, former head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, who in a subsequent interview with The Wall Street Journal, said: “I think we should be very careful about using Huawei equipment extensively.”
Elsewhere, in an interview with the Korea Herald, SK Telecom Co. chief Park Jung-ho said he is unsure whether to consider Huawei as a supplier as the South Korean carrier builds its 5G network. “Huawei is a concern,” Mr. Park said at a recent industry event in Barcelona. An SK Telecom spokeswoman said the company doesn’t currently use any Huawei equipment, but declined to comment further or make executives available for interviews.
Huawei Seen as Possible Spy Threat
1/8/18 Wall Street Journal article by Stu Woo, Dan Strumpf and Betsy Morris. Original article here.
Huawei boomed despite U.S. warnings that the Chinese telecom giant has gobbled up huge global market share; now Washington is warning anew about alleged spy threat as U.S. telecoms embark on $275 billion 5G network build-out.
SHENZHEN, China—Huawei Technologies Co. may be considered the bogeyman of the global telecom equipment industry in some Washington circles, but in Mountain View, Wyo., it’s a hero. That’s where Union Wireless, a 103-year-old carrier that provides telephone and wireless service to 50,000 customers in five Western states, is singing its praises. Four years ago, Union turned to Huawei after its previous equipment vendor fell behind schedule on a critical network upgrade, says Brian Woody, customer relations chief.
Huawei “worries about getting the problem fixed first and then worries about getting paid,” Mr. Woody says, which is important to a family-owned business working to maintain communication systems in mountainous territory. “We’ve had many vendors over the years. Huawei has treated us better than anybody.”
Huawei appeared shut out of the U.S. six years ago after congressional investigators determined that its equipment could be used for spying or crippling the U.S. telecommunications network. Their conclusions and recommendations, delivered in a report in 2012 just as Huawei was gaining traction in the U.S., effectively killed Huawei’s chances to win business from major U.S. carriers. There was no law saying they couldn’t partner with Huawei, but the political costs could have been steep.
Not so for small carriers such as Union Wireless, which fly under the national radar. The Chinese telecom giant has given them a much-needed equipment option in a quickly narrowing field. Four years ago, Mr. Woody says he had about five suppliers besides Huawei to choose from. Today, he has only two.
Now the U.S. telecom industry is in a bind. Huawei has positioned itself to dominate future global telecom networks, according to several U.S. telecom executives, providing stiffening competition to incumbents Nokia Corp. of Finland and Sweden’s Ericsson AB. This comes just as big U.S. carriers are expected to invest about $275 billion over seven years to deploy fifth generation, or 5G, networks that can carry huge amounts of data for high-quality mobile video and self-driving cars, according to Accenture. Early commercial deployments of the technology are to start later this year.
Huawei has more than doubled revenue, to $75 billion last year, and has rapidly expanded its smartphone business. Since 2012, Huawei has expanded to 170 countries from 140, and now claims 45 of the world’s 50 biggest wireless carriers as customers. Huawei, which also runs a popular smartphone brand, made $75 billion overall in 2016. About $26 billion came from its telecom equipment and software business, making it the leader in the $126 billion-a-year global market, according to research-firm IHS Markit Ltd.
Huawei’s dominance is again stoking fears among Washington security and intelligence experts, who worry major U.S. carriers might be tempted to turn to Huawei. Last month, members of the Senate and House intelligence committees sent a letter asking the Federal Communications Commission to review any relationship with Huawei and requested that the FCC get briefed on the security concerns raised in 2012. The letter also raised concerns about Huawei’s growing smartphone business, now the world’s No. 3 brand behind Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc.
The pressure may have already had an impact. Huawei planned to announce Tuesday at a Las Vegas trade show that it had struck an agreement to sell its smartphones through AT&T Inc. Instead, say people familiar with the matter, AT&T walked away from the deal. It couldn’t be determined why AT&T, the country’s No. 2 carrier by subscribers, changed its mind.
An AT&T spokesman declined to comment. A Huawei spokesman declined to comment on conversations with AT&T, saying only that “Huawei has proven itself by delivering premium devices with integrity globally and in the U.S. market.” Though it can’t sell smartphones bundled with service plans in Verizon or AT&T shops, Huawei makes them available to U.S. consumers online through Amazon.com and in stores at Best Buy.
All this frustrates Huawei. Ken Hu, one of Huawei’s three chief executives, said in a recent interview the company isn’t a security threat. Its “global business is testament to the fact that Huawei is not a vehicle for any government or any agency of putting surveillance on another country,” he says.
Ken Hu, one of three rotating CEOs of Huawei Technologies Co.
Ken Hu, one of three rotating CEOs of Huawei Technologies Co.
Part of the suspicions about Huawei stem from its origins. It was founded in 1987 by Ren Zhengfei, a former engineer for China’s communist People’s Liberation Army. Huawei today has three CEOs, who take rotating turns at the helm. Mr. Ren, now 73, remains deputy chairman and de facto boss.
Mr. Ren started Huawei with $3,200 when he was 43 as a telephone-switch resale business. The businessman shocked employees early on by telling them the company would one day be China’s biggest telecom-equipment provider, recalls Richard Yu, now head of Huawei’s consumer business. “Oh my God. Everybody was wondering whether we can survive.”
It did. After succeeding in rural China, Huawei moved into places that Western companies had overlooked or avoided—underdeveloped markets in Africa and Latin America.
Eventually, to help Huawei expand globally, Mr. Ren learned Western business management practices, in part from International Business Machines Corp. , which was trying to expand in China. IBM helped Huawei learn disciplines such as product development and financial management. That and its improving technology helped Huawei gain ground in Europe, where its major customers today include Britain’s Vodafone Group PLC, France’s Orange SA and Germany’s Deutsche Telekom AG. European mobile operators also liked that Huawei offered a wider range of products than competitors and top-notch customer service, according to current and former European wireless executives.
Smaller U.S. carriers had similar experiences. When wireless upstart Clearwire chose Huawei as a major vendor in 2010, the Chinese firm assigned nearly 800 engineers to the project, a person familiar with the effort recalled. A problem discovered one day would be solved by the next, the person said, unlike some other vendors that would debate whose fault it was before fixing it.
When Sprint Corp. moved to acquire Clearwire in 2012, the year Congress issued its report, the U.S. government required that Huawei’s equipment be removed from Clearwire’s network. It eventually found replacements, but with regret.
“Their design cycles, their innovation cycles, I think have been the fastest of anyone I’ve seen because they have the R&D resources to throw at these things,” this person said.
On the Rise
Huawei dominates the global market for mobile and telecom equipment and software, with 2016 sales surpassing $25 billion.
Early on, Huawei was notorious for reverse engineering competitors’ products, most notably in 2003, when Cisco sued, accusing Huawei of copying router code down to identical model numbers to make it easier for Cisco customers to switch to less expensive Huawei versions. Huawei settled the suit without admitting wrongdoing and agreed to stop selling the routers.
Eventually, though, Huawei ramped up its own research and development, spending $11.8 billion in 2016. Ericsson and Nokia, which lack Huawei’s major consumer business, spent $3.8 billion and $5.9 billion, respectively.
Huawei began to compete against U.S. tech companies for talent, and built a campus in the bustling southern Chinese city of Shenzhen that looks as if it belongs in Silicon Valley. Employees come to work in T-shirts and sneakers.
Union Wireless says it learned about Huawei by word-of-mouth from another small carrier. Huawei also sponsored the Rural Wireless Association’s networking lounge at a big mobile-industry trade show in San Francisco last September. Huawei engineers and executives also make regular visits to U.S. carriers to show off new technology, and the potential cost savings are “significant”—sometimes even half off competitors’ prices, says one former U.S. telecom executive.
In August 2016, it looked like Huawei might get a seat at the table when AT&T published a list of possible 5G vendors that included not just Ericsson and Nokia but also Huawei. In the following weeks, when congressional staffers met with AT&T executives in Washington to express concerns, they were told Huawei was offering equipment for 70% less than competitors, according to a person familiar with the meeting. AT&T executives told staffers they felt trapped between the security concerns and their duty to shareholders.
National Security Agency director Michael Rogers and James Comey, then-director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, personally spoke to senior AT&T management, the person said. AT&T declined to comment on the extent of its discussions with Huawei. “We expect to solicit information and bids from a large number of equipment providers as we continue to build out our next generation networks,” an AT&T spokesman said.
Huawei disputed the characterization of its conversations with AT&T, saying it wouldn’t have known how much its 5G equipment and services would cost in 2016 because it was well before international 5G standards had been set. An FBI spokeswoman and a lawyer for Mr. Comey declined to comment. The NSA didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Recently, Huawei’s Mr. Hu said it would be open to employing in the U.S. a model he says alleviated security concerns in Britain—a lab near Oxford, England, where employees with British security clearance physically disassemble Huawei equipment and inspect the hardware and software for vulnerabilities and “back doors.” Huawei funds and operates the lab, which is overseen by a board with senior British intelligence and government officials, as well as one Huawei executive as the vice chair.
British authorities say the arrangement is working. In its most recent annual report, published in April 2017, the board concluded that the lab “fulfilled its obligations in respect of the provision of assurance that any risks to U.K. national security from Huawei’s involvement in the U.K.’s critical networks have been sufficiently mitigated.”
Nigel Inkster, a former director of operations and intelligence at MI6, the British foreign intelligence agency, isn’t so sure. He says the lab was set up “to calm the concerns of the British government. It could be seen as closing the door after the horse has bolted.”
It’s a dilemma for the industry—and eventually consumers. Huawei’s meager presence in the U.S. market is one of the reasons for the high cost of U.S. wireless service, says Stephane Teral, executive research director at IHS Markit. U.S. wireless service costs $41 per month per customer on average, according to the data and analytics firm—second only to Canada, which also largely discourages Huawei equipment. In the U.K., where Huawei is allowed but closely scrutinized, the average wireless bill is $23 a month.
Meanwhile, the field of competitors has dwindled. French-based Alcatel and U.S.-based Lucent merged in 2006, and Nokia ended up buying the combined Alcatel-Lucent company in 2016. Nortel Networks Corp. folded in 2009 in Canada’s biggest bankruptcy case.
Both Nokia and Ericsson have warned that 2018 will be challenging. Ericsson has changed chief executives, laid off thousands of employees, warned of sales cancellations and faces pressure from an activist investor. Ericsson and Nokia’s combined revenue is less than that of Huawei.
U.S. security officials and telecom executives alike worry about an increasingly lopsided landscape. Says Mike Rogers, the former congressman who chaired the House intelligence committee and co-wrote the 2012 report on Huawei: “Given current market trends, it’s hard to imagine Huawei not being the only option in 10 years.”


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The report was based on data from a survey conducted between March 24 and March 29, 2016 among 2,018 US adults (age 18 and older).
Some 39% of respondents say they follow business leaders online.
Additional key findings from the survey:
- 64% of respondents say business leaders at large companies should not share personal opinions on social media.
- 36% of respondents want business leaders to address their company's vision on social media.
- 35% want CEOs to talk about products and services.
Take the first step (it's free).
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The $750 million in stock that
Linda Gridley—who heads the investment bank
Over the summer, Gridley met with more than 150 companies to ask about their perspectives on deals. PE Week contributor Deborah Gage asked Gridley five questions about what she sees coming in the M&A market.
Q: Do you expect to see more acquisitions of venture-backed ad networks?
I think we will see more deals, although how widespread this is depends on how many buyers can afford to play this bubble-like game.
We certainly expected this from Google, since CEO Eric Schmidt said six weeks ago that they were going to do a deal a month, and I think Microsoft and Yahoo will also be active.
Adobe now owns Omniture, and there was a strong rumor that Omniture was about to buy one of the optimization platforms before the deal with Adobe, so now Adobe has a platform for broader optimization.
Q: What are some other possible targets to be acquired?
There are companies pulling pieces of data to get optimization that’s more valuable. Quantcast, DataXu, AppNexus, AdMeld and The Rubicon Project are all in that area, also Audience Science, a behavioral-based ad network.
Across each category, there are a number of different opportunities. More broadly in online advertising, there’s a tremendous amount of investment opportunity out there. HubSpot raised money at a pretty fancy valuation a couple of weeks ago. They’re not at the scale of AdMob, but it’s a good company.
Q: What about a company such as Waterfront Media, which operates as an ad network and a content network for the health care industry?
They’re rumored to be on the IPO trail. On a separate theme, you’re going to see some really good companies that are sizeable and profitable go public and become much more influential as public companies, and Waterfront is a good example.
You need to be sizeable or have a really good reach within whatever vertical market you’re reaching, and Waterfront has that. A lot of ad networks don’t have that point of differentiation, and for companies in that category, the world will be tougher over the next two years than it was over the last two years.
Q: Are ad networks seeing a bubble?
Google and Microsoft can’t buy everything. So the downside is that everybody thinks they’re an AdMob, but not everybody is.
The fear is that once investors see some ad networks file IPOs, everyone will think all their portfolio companies can go public or sell to Google. For some, that will work. But for the vast majority, it will screw pricing again.
Q: How is online privacy concerns affecting ad networks?
People are definitely talking about it, and there’s concern of the government being involved. It will affect how much near-term consolidation you see. There’s enough noise that it should be a data point on your PowerPoint presentation to consider when you’re asking for funding.


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With rumours of the iPad 3 setting the tech world alight, users of the TomTom app on Apple’s iPhone and iPad are about to get more for their money.
The TomTom v1.10 app for iPhone and iPad has been unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, with a focus on social media integration.
TomTom is using CES to showcase several new products and features, and earlier we reported on the technology coming to the Samsung Wave 3.
But that is not the only smartphone that TomTom has a presence on. The satnav app for Apple’s iOS operating system is a hugely popular piece of software.
TomTom on iPhone and iPad
It gives iPhone and iPad users up-to-date maps without the need for a mobile signal or internet connection, and quick routes through traffic congestion.
Other features of the app include turn-by-turn guidance while on the phone, using iOS Multitasking Support, and integration with contacts, photos, music, email and calendar.
But now TomTom want people to use the app for more than driving to the shops or finding that tricky location. The TomTom v1.10 app has been given a social media makeover.
The new app will use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter as a source of turn-by-turn navigation.
Can’t find the location of that party you’re supposed to be attending? The TomTom app will find it for you, using data from the likes of Facebook and Twitter to plan a route.
You will also be able to use the app to share your destination and arrival time on Facebook or Twitter, or by email or SMS.
“According to recent studies, the vast majority of iPhone users use Facebook on their iPhone” said Corinne Vigreux, Managing Director Consumer at TomTom.
“By integrating Facebook features into our TomTom App we make navigating to places, events and seeing friends even easier.”


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New Nvidia GeForce RTX 2000 Series Announced at Gamescom 2018
New Nvidia GeForce RTX 2000, Series graphics card has been announced at Gamescom 2018. The new RTX series graphics is a new series graphics card from Nvidia.
The new 2000 series of Nvidia graphics already been live at its official website. The device had live on the official website at the time of launch in Germany. The device is available for pre-order on its official website.
There are three new Nvidia GeForce RTX 2000 series graphics has been announced, there are GEFORCE RTX 2080 Ti, GEFORCE RTX 2080, GEFORCE RTX 2070, From these three the RTX 2080 Ti model is the most powerful one. It is the higher version of the RTX 2080 series model.
As it now available for preorder but the device will ship on September. The price seems to look higher but according to sources, the device will give the powerful gaming experience. RTX 2080 Ti and RTX 2080 models are now available for preorder now.
The Nvidia New GeForce RTX 2000 series graphics is designed to deliver new and ultimate PC gaming experience. The device is designed by the new Turing GPU architecture and new developed RTX platform.
We can say the New GeForce RTX series graphics is the device to deliver gaming experience in a new way. Also, the device is designed for AI and real-time ray tracing.
The new ray tracing is the technology by which lighting, shadow, and reflections can be felt on a new level. The old rendering techniques is now a new fast GPU capable tracing technique.
As AI is the new advanced technology, so this is now introduced in the RTX 2000 series GeForce graphics. Now AI is in the form of computer graphics. This new AI technology gives horsepower to the device. It is turning the device into powerful AI algorithms. AI is able to deliver clear, lifelike images and new special effects that were not possible earlier.
The new shading technology in the RTX 2000 series defines the new technology in modern graphics. It is more powerful, efficient and flexible than earlier graphics. This is combined with GDDR6, the world’s fastest memory. Bu this new technology it is able to deliver high frame rates than before.
The New Nvidia GeForce RTX 2000 series is the most powerful graphics as it can deliver 6X faster performance than before.
New features in RTX 2000 series, Game Ready Drivers, new Shadowplay technology, Virtual Reality technique, DirectX 12, HDR and 4K.
Now the price, price of the new Nvidia RTX 2000 series starts at $ 599 for the RTX 2070 model, $ 799 for RTX 2080 model and $ 1,199 for the RTX 2080 Ti model. As mention on the official website, the device can be ordered from its website and other partners like amazon.com, newgg.com also.
To keep updated about Gamescom 2018 stay tuned with us.
Also, read – Here is the list of upcoming 5 g phones


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Imagine you’ve just bought your dream car, and the first time you go for a drive it won’t start. Maybe this is just one unlucky occasion, or perhaps you are one of the unfortunate people who has bought a “lemon”. Is it time for lemon laws?
There is no legal definition in Australia of a “lemon” but, although lawyers have not yet defined it, everyone knows what it means.
The US and UK already have so-called “lemon laws” that are based on setting limits to the number of:
- Faults a new car can have
- Unsuccessful attempts to fix a problem
- Days a new car can be off the road for repairs.
If a new vehicle goes beyond these legal limits, it is considered to be a lemon.
Australian Consumer Law says
The Consumer Action Law Centre (CALC) wants Australian Consumer Law to borrow from lemon systems in Singapore and New Zealand. In Singapore, it is up to the car retailer to show the vehicle was not defective when it was sold. The consumer does not have to prove it was defective. New Zealand set up a specialist tribunal just for disputes over cars.
Legal Aid NSW, West Justice, and the Consumer Credit Legal Service want clear lemon laws and a specialist vehicle tribunal in Australia.
The CALC has created its own definition of a lemon as a vehicle that:
“has been repaired at least three times by the manufacturer or importer and the vehicle still has a defect, or if the vehicle is out of service for 20 or more days in total due to a defect”.
Currently the motor vehicle industry guide to Australian Consumer Law says a major failure to comply with consumer guarantees is when:
“a reasonable consumer would not have bought the motor vehicle if they had known about the full extent of the problem.”
Trades Associations say
Both Australian Automotive Dealer Association and Motor Trades Association of NSW believe consumer protection against lemons is sufficient. They say rewriting the law or spending more money on another tribunal would be an unnecessary taxpayer expense.
Yet Choice magazine found two-thirds of new car buyers had had problems with their vehicles in the first 5 years. Unfortunately, 15% of buyers never resolved them. Choice also found 16% of new car owners with problems were forced to sign a confidentiality agreement to get a remedy. That’s right – they couldn’t tell anybody about it!
No brand Choice surveyed had less than 44% of problem cars.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) receives a high volume of complaints about new cars. Itis currently seeking information from the public for its study of the new car industry. It will examine:
- Warranties and guarantees
- After sales service
- Repair and service information
- False and deceptive practices in, eg, fuel consumption and car performance
- Consumer expectations of car purchasing.
Interested parties can submit to the ACCC in writing or by completing an online questionnaire, by November 14 2016. The ACCC aims to release a draft report for comment in mid-2017 and a final report in late 2017. If you have ever bought a lemon, this is your opportunity to have a say.


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Japanese whale-hunting company Kyodo Senpaku has installed vending machines in Tokyo that offer a selection of whale snacks, including whale skin, frozen whale meat and canned pre-cooked whale. Unfortunately, the vending machines have reportedly been a big success and more are planned.
International charity Whale and Dolphin Conservation has raised concerns about the vending machines.
Astrid Fuchs, a representative from the organisation, stated that the idea is "a cynical sales ploy" driven by a small but powerful group of politicians and industry stakeholders.
Meanwhile, the charity's UK head of communications, Danny Groves, described the plan as "absurd" and pointed out that there is limited demand for the meat, and the hunting methods used are inhumane.
The Japan News quoted a Kyodo Senpaku spokesperson as saying, "Unless domestic consumption increases, the traditional whaling industry won't survive and [elements of] Japan's unique dietary culture will be lost."


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While From Software’s Souls series is developed with the single-player experience in mind, it’s clear that the interconnectivity offered through the online multiplayer enhances the experience immensely. Touching bloodstains of past players in order to relive their deaths, reading their words and messages left behind, or entering another player’s world to help (or hinder) them, the Souls multiplayer aspect complimented both the gameplay and atmosphere of the games. For that reason exactly, the multiplayer component solidified itself as a mainstay element despite initially being an afterthought. Many fans were saddened by Demon’s Souls server shutdown on February 28 this year. But
Revealed recently during Atlus’ Christmas Eve livestream were details regarding the two new dancing spin-off Persona games titled Persona 3 Dancing Moon Night (herein referred to as P3D) and Persona 5 Dancing Star Night (herein referred to as P5D) respectively. While the games themselves were already known to have been in development, apart from that fact, hitherto not much was known other than the remixing of tunes and the lack of a story mode. During the livestream, details about the games’ release date was shared, along with a second promotional video for each game. Official sites were updated following the livestream, showing
Teased a year ago in a 2016 Atlus live stream announcing new internal dev team Studio Zero, and new fantasy RPG titled Project Re Fantasy, was a short clip of a Catherine character referring to the series. With a reputable tweeter mentioning that Atlus will remaster a popular PS3 non-numbered title, we are teased once again by Catherine. Cat out of the bag Atlus has since announced that Studio Zero will be re-releasing Catherine for PS4 and PS Vita with added content titled Catherine: Full Body, similar to Persona 3 and Persona 4 with their FES & Golden counterparts respectively.
With the most recent active time report, a stream dedicated to discussing post-launch support and improvements for Final Fantasy XV, quite a bit of news has dropped regarding the future of Final Fantasy XV — and it’s looking interesting. Perhaps the hottest news from the stream was that there will be three pieces of DLC released in 2018 that will expand on the FFXV universe, providing more background to characters that were initially underdeveloped in the main story. One such example being Ardyn, who has been confirmed to be receiving an episode. While the only substantial detail was that this
As sad as it is to say, the servers for franchise forerunner Demon’s Souls will be shut down on February 28, 2018. Earlier this week Sony Japan officially announced that they would be shutting down the Japanese servers. This move was initially met with a wave of relief, international fans glad that the other regional servers would remain functional. Unfortunately Atlus, the publisher for the game in other regions — notably North America — released a statement later that day announcing that they too would also be closing up shop and shutting North American servers as of February 28. While the main draw of
It’s been two years since Bloodborne released on the PlayStation 4 in and since then it has charmed many fans through its unique world and classic Souls-esque gameplay, managing to sell over two million copies worldwide. While a sequel is out of sight for the fresh IP, new memorabilia does infrequently get announced: design works, soundtracks, figurines, and things built off the universe of Bloodborne. One recent announcement that adds to the Bloodborne universe, in a different way, is an official comic titled Bloodborne: Death of Sleep to be published by Titan Comics (pictured below). Having also worked on Dark Souls: The


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Review №39 on Chinese Antitrust News from BRICS Antimonopoly Centre Experts
- Restructuring of SAMR Competition Divisions
- Cooperation of BRICS competition authorities
- People's Daily: the digital economy creates new jobs
- Inconsistent M&A
- The appeal of an antitrust fine
- Tightening of Tencent audits
- Internet advertising regulation
- Unfair Competition in Guangdong Province
Restructuring of SAMR Competition Divisions
In light of the official opening of the State Antimonopoly Office, SAMR reorganized its Antimonopoly Bureau - now, three divisions will deal with competition matters. The 1st Antimonopoly Department is responsible for enforcement of anticompetitive agreements, abuse of dominance and intellectual rights, the 2nd Antimonopoly Department is responsible for verifying economic concentration transactions, and the Competition Policy Coordination Department is responsible for the coordinated development and implementation of competition policy by various agencies and international cooperation in areas of competition.
Cooperation of BRICS competition authorities
Following the results of the 7th International Conference on Competition under the auspices of the BRICS, held on November 16-17, an article on the value of cooperation between the participating countries was published on the SAMR website. It calls antimonopoly cooperation a "golden key" to deepening international cooperation - China has signed 58 thematic documents with 34 countries and regions, including the BRICS countries. "Friendship knows no distance. The BRICS countries will strengthen cooperation and interaction in the field of competition, deepen partnerships within the BRICS, bear the "responsibility of the BRICS" for stabilizing and recovering the world economy, share the "BRICS wisdom" to address complex governance issues, apply "BRICS power" in response challenges to steer the development of economic globalization towards openness, tolerance, common good, balance and mutual benefit, together to create a wonderful and bright future with global fair competition, "said Ms Gan Lin, head of China's newly established government competition agency.
People's Daily: the digital economy creates new jobs
The main media of China spoke about the report of the Chinese Academy of Information and Communication Technologies - the study is devoted to the impact of the digital economy on employment. The main conclusion was the recognition of the growing role of this sector in creating new jobs and optimizing the structure of employment. According to the article, the digital industry is creating new professions related to smart manufacturing, industrial internet, virtual reality, smart equipment installation and configuration, which is gradually reshaping the employment structure in China.
SAMR investigated 43 mergers and acquisitions, all of which were found to be non-competitive but were committed by parties without a due process complaint with the regulator. For violation of Art. 21 of the Antimonopoly Law of the PRC, which establishes the duty of notification, the participants in the transactions received the maximum possible fine of 500 thousand Chinese yuan (≈ $ 78 thousand). Many transactions relate to the Internet economy sector and involve major players in this sector - Alibaba, Tencent, DiDi, Baidu, Taobao, Ele.me, etc.
The appeal of an antitrust fine
On the 22nd of November, the 1st Beijing Middle People's Court held a hearing in the case of two pharmaceutical companies against SAMR: the plaintiffs disagreed with the received fine for anti-competitive practices. According to Southern Metropolis, this appears to be the first time in China that a central antitrust enforcement authority has become a defendant for such a reason. The hearing decision has not yet been announced.
In the spring of 2020, plaintiffs Shandong Kanghui Pharmaceutical and Weifang Puyunhui Pharmaceutical and Weifang Taiyangshen Pharmaceutical were fined for abuse of dominance in the calcium gluconate injection solution. The total amount of the penalty was 325.5 million yuan (≈ $ 46.2 million), a record amount of anti-monopoly penalties in the field of APIs in China.
Tightening of Tencent audits
As the Ministry of Industry and Informatization told reporters, violations of user rights have already been identified in 9 Tencent applications during the current year. In this regard, the department required the developer to provide all new products and updates to existing programs for mandatory technical verification before release. Tencent has announced its readiness to work with the authorities and the availability of current versions of applications for download.
In an exclusive report, The Wall Street Journal reported that amid concerns about data protection in Tencent's apps, some Chinese government companies have asked their employees to remove corporate messages from Weixin (the Chinese version of WeChat).
Internet advertising regulation
On the 26th of November, SAMR published a draft "Internet Advertising Regulation Methods" for public consultation. The document says that advertising includes the promotion of goods and services on Internet sites through a paid increase in search results, press releases, reviews and descriptions of user experience, as well as other forms of promotion with an offer of a link to purchase - such actions should be accompanied by the note "advertising". The "Methods" will also apply to marketing live broadcasts and advertising on cross-border marketplaces.
Unfair Competition in Guangdong Province
The Guangdong Provincial Market Authority compiled interim enforcement statistics - from January to October 2021, 328 cases were received, and 254 cases of unfair competition were reviewed, of which 63 (49 completed) were related to the Internet sector. In order to advocate the value of fair competition, the department published 10 of the most representative cases for the Internet economy: the main violations were false advertising (cheating orders, etc.), undermining the business reputation of competitors and unfair use of technical means.


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A DedSec representative appears in the trailer, his face and voice obscured digitally, to warn Chicagoans about the weaknesses of ctOS, the computer network that runs the city. He points out that they've detected a vigilante who has breached the system, which, according to him, is proof that ctOS is a flawed system. That vigilante happens to be Watch Dogs' protagonist, Aiden Pearce, who will use ctOS to his advantage in any way he can.
Watch Dogs will be available Nov. 19 on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U and Windows PC; Nov. 15 on PlayStation 4; and at launch on Xbox One. Ubisoft also announced today that it is working with Sony Pictures on a Watch Dogs film.


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One of the worst but most effective scams to thrive under pandemic conditions has been the puppy scam. It really kicked into gear during the many lockdowns because more people were home, but even with less restrictions, it's still going strong.
As you probably already know, today is Cyber Monday, which is always the first Monday after Thanksgiving. I say "always" like Cyber Monday has been around forever, but it's only been called that since 2005.
Someone said to me recently "You sure do write a lot about scams and scammers." As I started to explain why, he quickly added "And I appreciate it. There are several you've written about that people I actually know have fallen for."
You've got phony charities out there trying to making you sorry for being altruistic, puppy fraud scams taking your money and giving you a broken heart, and now a couple of other scams are making headway, too.
The Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and Northern Illinois, and the BBB of Central Illinois are warning consumers about a variety of online retailers that do not deliver purchased merchandise, or deliver a product that is crafted from poor quality material that does not resemble what was advertised.


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Wheels Up Drag Strip Action! Super Chevy Show and Race Coverage of the Cordova Illinois Event!
2016 Super Chevy Show hits Cordova Illinois hard!
As the Chevys at the car show were getting polished and ready for judging the racers were busy tuning their cars and getting set for the test-and-tune sessions. Nearly 200 cars ended up registering for the racing action and every single one of them wanted to leave with a chunk of the prize money. There were quite a few classes available to run in and cars ranging from daily drivers to all out racecars were intermixed in the staging lanes. The rules say any Chevy powered vehicle can run, so there were even some retrofitted Fords seen skulking about. In addition to the morning qualifying the car show judges were busy inspecting the sea of Chevys that showed up for the fun. Competition there was tough, with points being added, or subtracted, based on a set judging criteria. Of course participants will have to wait until Sunday to see if they managed to take home a trophy.
The racing, mixed with the car show action, meant that spectators always had something cool to check out. Later in the day there were exhibition runs including a wheel-stander and Jet car; always crowd favorites.
If you’re a Chevy fan this is certainly an event you don’t want to miss! The next Super Chevy show will take place July 21st through the 22nd at Tulsa Raceway in Tulsa, Oklahoma. To see the complete 2016 schedule be sure to visit http://www.superchevy.com/events/super-chevy-show/.
More on the 2016 Super Chevy Show!
The Official Super Chevy Show Returns to Memphis!
2016 Super Chevy Show Rolls into Memphis
2016 Super Chevy Show at Memphis International Raceway Drag Racing Begins!
Hot Chevys at the 2016 Memphis Super Chevy Show
Smokin Hot Saturday drag race and car show action at the 2016 Super Chevy Show!
First Round Pro-Mods at 2016 Super Chevy Memphis Show
2016 Super Chevy Show Memphis in the Pits
2016 Super Chevy Show Memphis Gold Class Show Cars
2016 Super Chevy Sunday Show and Race Bigger and Better than Ever!
40 Engine Bays From Mild to Wild!
76 Images! Saturday Action at the 2016 Super Chevy Palm Beach Event!
Drag Race Action at the 2016 Super Chevy Palm Beach Event!
60 Image Gallery! Coverage of Sunday at the Super Chevy Palm Beach Event


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New Delhi: Lack of infrastructure and poor supply chain is the biggest challenge for e-commerce in India, says Ashish Shah
, who quit as business head of eBay
Motors in 2011 to launch online furniture retailer Pepperfry.com
. Shah says e-commerce can grow exponentially in India, provided the infrastructure and the ability to scale up and deliver products to every corner of the country develop at the same rate. In an interview
’s Varun Jain
, Shah talks about how his company plans to address these issues. Edited excerpts:When did you decide to turn entrepreneur?
I have spent considerable time in the e-commerce segment. In the last 16 years, I have worked across various start-ups and large multinational companies. As the business head of eBay Motors in India and the Philippines, I had the opportunity to build India’s largest automobile transaction marketplace from a scratch to a $100 million business in a highly competitive market. Turning entrepreneur seemed to be the next logical step.How did you come up with the idea of an online furniture store?
Me and my co-founder Ambareesh (Murty) launched Pepperfry in January 2012. The launch was in response to an unmet customer need for a wide range of quality furniture and home products in India at one place. The need for a wide range of products exists across all town classes in India. Of the 200 towns with a population greater than 2 lakh, all the organized offline retailers put together are present in only 20 cities.What has been the response from non-metros?
Interestingly, a good part of business online comes from non-metro cities, where there is low penetration of organised retail. For customers living in these cities, online retail platforms like Pepperfry.com have opened up a host of options to choose from. In the last three-and-a-half years, Pepperfry has shipped products to customers in more than a 2,700 cities.How has the journey been so far?
The journey has been an awesome one. When we launched Pepperfry, within the first month itself, we exceeded our business expectation by a large margin. Pepperfry has been built on strong unit economics with high contribution margins and low fixed costs. We have built a leadership position in the online furniture market on the back of scale, significant strengths in sourcing/logistics and great customer experience, ably supported by a strong and experienced management team.What was the key learning in this journey?
Our biggest learning comes from our business orientation that when you take risks, you will make mistakes. But you should be the best at fixing them.What were the high points?
The entire journey of being an entrepreneur has been great. We have attained many milestones and will continue to do so. We recently celebrated the milestone of fulfilling 1 million customer orders. We have managed to achieve this in three years of operations, which, to my mind, is a big target in the vertical we are operating in. In October 2014, Pepperfry delivered 1lakh units of furniture, and in March 2015, we delivered another 1 lakh units to our customers. Our merchant base is growing and today, we have more than a thousand merchants selling actively on us. For many of them, we have become a primary source of income. Overall, the business has grown 18x, which says a lot about our growth story.In your view, what is the biggest challenge for e-commerce in India?
The biggest challenge for e-commerce as an industry is poor infrastructure and supply chain. It can grow exponentially provided the infrastructure and the ability to scale up and deliver products to every corner of the country develops at the same rate. Additionally, poor ‘last mile connectivity’ due to missing links in supply chain infrastructure is limiting the access to areas where a significant portion of online customers reside.How are you taking care of it?
By making significant investments
in that area. We have built a hub and spoke model that covers 97% of our orders placed on the marketplace. By overcoming the supply chain hindrance with a ‘large item distribution model’, we are able to manage door delivery of large furniture items in 200 plus cities and towns across the country with an unprecedented accuracy at lowest costs in comparison to the industry. It has been built in a scalable manner and will enable us to expand our geographical reach across the country. We plan to extend it to 400 cities by end of the year.What was Pepperfry’s revenue in its first year? How did it grow?
Within the first month of launch, we exceeded our business expectation by a large margin. The business grew exponentially with a 350% growth in 2014-15. At the current rate, we are working towards achieving Rs 1,000 crore run rate.What are your future plans? How do you plan to achieve them?
Our future plans will involve ramping up supply chain, logistics, operations and work force. We are a supply chain-driven company with our core strength being providing variety and value to our customers. We want expand our products range, which will involve partnering with various regional and national brands. Additionally, we are looking at Studio Pepperfry as an integral part of our marketing initiative. We will be opening 20 studios in key cities.


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Deep Silver has released some new details about Iron Front: D-Day’s American units. In the upcoming DLC for the World War II tactical shooter, you’ll be able to use bazookas and Thompson machine guns, commandeer Sherman tanks and even use the famous Higgins landing craft from the infamous Omaha Beach landing. The Western Front might be a different way of fighting the war, but if two invasions and several CIA-sponsored coups have taught us anything, it works.
Deep Silver has also announced a new contest for a chance to win the expansion pack.
Players must create and submit a new custom gameplay mission created with the game’s mission editor. The winning missions will be made available for all players to download together with the next game patch release. Not just the DLC, but as a prize, the creators of the winning missions will be mentioned in the DLC credits. Note that existing missions won’t be accepted as contributions for the contest.
The contest starts today and ends with the release of D-Day for PC on December 14, 2012 for $9.99.


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Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海), which assembles Apple Inc’s iPads and iPhones, yesterday reported that its unconsolidated revenue last month rose 27.57 percent from a month ago to its highest-ever level.
Revenue was NT$351.73 billion (US$12.07 billion), compared with NT$275.7 billion in October, the company said in a statement. Compared with NT$307.2 billion in November last year, sales were up 14.5 percent, Hon Hai said.
For the first 11 months unconsolidated revenues were NT$2.86 trillion, up 16.38 percent year-on-year, making it the nation’s largest listed firm in terms of sales.
After Apple announced last week that it plans to launch the iPhone 5 in China on Friday, analysts said it indicated production bottlenecks for the iPhone 5 have eased and they forecast Hon Hai could see revenue expand by 20 to 30 percent this quarter from last quarter.
Based on Fubon Securities Co’s (富邦證券) industry checks, Hon Hai has increased daily production of the iPhone 5 from 430,000 units in October to 510,000 units last month. Output is expected to reach 600,000 units this month.
Overall, iPhone 5 shipments are forecast to hit around 45.6 million to 46 million units this quarter, Fubon analyst Arthur Liao (廖顯毅) said yesterday, adding that Hon Hai’s revenue would reach NT$1.13 trillion this quarter, with earning per share of NT$2.86.
Shares of Hon Hai rose 0.63 percent to NT$96.1 yesterday ahead of the release of its latest sales results. Fubon maintained its “add” rating on the stock, with a target price of NT$110.
Separately, Delta Electronics Inc (台達電), the world’s top manufacturer of switching power supplies, yesterday said consolidated revenue grew 1.95 percent to NT$14.67 billion last month from October, with sales of power and components at NT$1.43 billion and sales of power management at NT$697.17 million.
On an annual basis, last month’s result was a 1.9 percent decrease compared to NT$14.96 billion a year ago, the company said in a filing to Taiwan Stock Market.
In the first 11 months, accumulated revenue reached NT$162.57 billion, up 2.49 percent year-on-year.
Delta’s shares closed 1.4 percent lower yesterday at NT$106, underperforming the TAIEX, which fell 0.43 percent.


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At least four advertising trade associations will hold a powwow next week to assess the outcome new proposed spyware legislation will have on legitimate marketers and consumers, ClickZ News has learned.
The meeting, to be held in Washington D.C. on January 25, will include representatives of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI), the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), and the National Business Coalition for E-Commerce and Privacy.
Participants will discuss HR 29, the SPY-ACT (a.k.a., the Bono Bill), a proposed piece of federal legislation with broad implications for the use of third-party cookies. The associations’ representatives will also discuss underlying issues surrounding the use and public perception of cookies and Web beacons.
“It’s an opportunity for the industry to sit down and talk about our thoughts on HR 29 and coordinate our thinking,” said Trevor Hughes, chair of the NAI’s Email Service Provider Coalition. “If we find common points we’re concerned about, we’ll coordinate our discussions on them and… share information.”
Hughes characterized the get-together as a forum for discussing the issues rather than formulating a plan to take concerns up with legislators.
Some of the trade groups’ member companies will be in attendance, but the meeting will consist mainly of the associations’ direct representatives.
Hughes said the meeting was called in response to the initiation of significant legislation that could effect both consumers and businesses. Ultimately, the NAI and other groups hope to engage the vendors of anti-spyware tools in a public discussion on the uses of third-party cookies and other ad methods. That is not the point of next week’s event, which will only serve to discuss the bill’s significance, he said.
The industry summit will take place at the offices of DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary, a Capital area law firm. The DMA is the event’s official host.


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Chicago is planning to join the list of cities monetizing their public spaces and facilities by selling ad space on city property. Past efforts by the city to launch so-called “municipal marketing” efforts have been beset by delays and missteps.
Oct 30, 2012 WBEZ
As Baltimore wrestles with the difficult decision between closing fire stations or selling adspace on fire trucks, Michael Cooper reports on an approach more and more cities are taking to curb budget shortfalls.
Jun 26, 2012 New York Times
New street furniture is being installed in Toronto, but locals are already sick of it. They're called "information pillars" and are supposed to offer helpful directions and info to pedestrians, but critics complain that they're mostly advertisements.
Dec 30, 2011 The Globe and Mail
Critic Blair Kamin speaks out against Mayor Emmanuel's decision to allow advertising on Chicago's iconic bridges to make up a budget shortfall. Kamin calls the move "the uglification of the City Beautiful."
Nov 29, 2011 The Chicago Tribune
Developers in Mumbai will be allowed to build street furniture and sell advertising space on it as part of their projects, in accordance with a new law in the city.
May 20, 2011 NDTV
Vancouver wrestles with the potent form of advertising and its impact on the public realm.
Feb 26, 2011 The Dependent Magazine
The city's 10-year ban on construction of new signage is challenged as the local billboard industry asks to replace traditional models with digital technology.
Oct 10, 2010 The Dallas Morning News
Ads for automobiles have depicted their vehicles swooping through dramatic natural landscapes, but as Catherine Lutz and Anne Lutz Fernandez note, car ads have moved into the city.
Jun 5, 2010 The Huffington Post
Digital billboards with flashing and changing images are being outlawed in cities across the country.
Mar 25, 2010 USA Today
The rise of smart mobile technology is increasing the demand for digital interactivity in public spaces. Marketers and artists are obliging.
Sep 5, 2009 Advertising Age


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The Cash For Clunkers program isn't just unpopular with classic car lovers. More than 200 New York car dealers are no longer participating because of payment delays; claiming they've been paid for less than 2% of transactions. [AP]
Kinja is in read-only mode. We are working to restore service.


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Local industry leader lands $250,000 deal following trade mission
Published 11 September 2023
Moreton Bay business leaders have been making waves across the Tasman, with the City of Moreton Bay’s New Zealand trade missions helping a local industry innovator, EJ Australia, secure $250,000 in new business without even leaving their facility.
EJ Australia, a global leader in the design, manufacture, and distribution of service pit access solutions for water, sewerage, drainage, telecommunications and utility networks worldwide, represent the phenomenal work happening in our city.
City of Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery was delighted to hear of EJ’s success.
"It is vital that we maintain strong relationships with New Zealand, not only to explore new business leads but to encourage international investment back into Moreton Bay.
"The trade missions allowed us to present local Brendale company EJ, to the Port of Auckland and other suppliers and I'm excited to hear they've secured over $250,000 worth of work as a direct result of our visit and introduction.
"I was fortunate to have visited EJ’s premises earlier in the year and I was blown away by their operations. Having seen them in action, I was confident they were a great representation of what Moreton Bay has to offer. When the opportunity arrived to introduce EJ to suppliers, it was an easy choice.
"There’s so much talent hidden in our suburbs. Moreton Bay is home to more than 31,000 businesses and we are dedicated to ensuring they have every chance to succeed and grow. These missions will continue to be a major pathway for Moreton Bay businesses to enter global markets and make their mark.”
General Manager of EJ in the Asia Pacific region, Simon Bottomley, praised Mayor Flannery’s invaluable support.
“Mayor Flannery has become one of our best export influencers. He was in the right place, met the right people, and confidently spoke about the benefits of partnering with Moreton Bay businesses. The Mayor’s enthusiasm when promoting local businesses was instrumental in securing this significant export supply contract for us,” he said.
Led by City of Moreton Bay, the New Zealand trade mission included five industry-leading companies, which met with a range of public sector and leading private sector companies in Auckland.
As City of Moreton Bay continues its journey to build a $40 billion economy by 2041, local businesses are encouraged to get involved in the many opportunities available.
With over 4000 new businesses created over the past two years, trade missions like these are vital in the creation of international avenues for local innovators.
To stay updated and learn about future trade missions and other economic development opportunities:


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- Title: Feeling the heat: Basra ice cream sales drop as locals spend summer at home
- Date: 8th July 2020
- Summary: BASRA, IRAQ (JULY 2, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ICE CREAM PROCESSED IN MACHINE VARIOUS OF WORKERS STANDING BY CONVEYOR BELT AND SORTING ICE CREAM (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER AT FUSTEKA FACTORY, SAYED AL-MOUSAWI, SAYING: "We distribute all over Iraq. I have my own cars and facilities. We are among the biggest producers of ice cream in Iraq, we can supply all provinces. But we are facing a big problem, the full curfew. Of course, transport is problematic, cars are not allowed to travel to other provinces such as Nasiriya, Amara, Baghdad, and all other Iraqi provinces. There are restrictions (on travel), it is forbidden.'' VARIOUS OF WORKERS SORTING ICE CREAM ALONG CONVEYOR BELT VARIOUS OF ICE CREAM BEING PROCESSED IN MACHINE AND PACKED VARIOUS OF WORKERS PACKAGING ICE CREAM ALONG CONVEYOR BELT (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER AT FUSTEKA FACTORY, SAYED AL-MOUSAWI, SAYING: "Because of the current circumstances and the financial crisis which we are passing through, Iraqi citizens focus on basic needs, much less on recreational goods. And today, ice cream is a recreational good." WORKER DISINFECTING FACTORY PREMISES OVERVIEW OF THE FACTORY AND WORKER MOVING BOXES OF PACKAGED ICE CREAM WORKERS TAKING ICE CREAM BOXES OFF OF CONVEYOR BELT (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER AT FUSTEKA FACTORY, SAYED AL-MOUSAWI, SAYING: "Ice cream sales dropped by 50 percent because of the closure of schools and because markets remain shut during the full lockdown. Even during partial curfews, most shops stay closed.'' FERRIS WHEEL VARIOUS OF CLOSED ENTERTAINMENT PARK IN BASRA VARIOUS OF NEARLY EMPTY CORNICHE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BASRA RESIDENT, MUHAND KHALID, SAYING: ''We miss sitting (here at the corniche), we miss seeing other people, their beautiful faces. But this is God's command. This is a pandemic. We used to come to the corniche, eat ice cream, drink Pepsi, eat a sandwich. Also, we would see people. You feel better when you see others." CLOSED ICE CREAM STAND STRAY DOG WALKING THROUGH EMPTY BASRA STREET EMPTY BASRA STREET WITH CLOSED SHOPS YOUNG GIRL, BANIN AHMED KAMIL, WALKING INTO HER LIVING ROOM CARRYING ICE CREAM AND SITTING DOWN WITH HER SIBLINGS ON THE COUCH BANIN'S SISTER OPENING AN ICE CREAM AS BANIN IS HOLDING A YOUNG CHILD (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) YOUNG GIRL FROM BASRA, BANIN AHMED KAMIL, SAYING: "Because of coronavirus and the curfews, my father brings us sweets, ice cream, and other nice things that we eat at home. We never go out of the house." GIRLS EATING ICE CREAM BANIN EATING ICE CREAM WITH YOUNG CHILD ON HER LAP
- Embargoed: 22nd July 2020 14:36
- Keywords: Basra Coronavirus Entertainement Ice cream Iraq Lockdown Restrictions Summer
- Location: BASRA, IRAQ
- City: BASRA, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA001CLY91ZP
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The Fusteka ice cream factory in Basra had great plans for the summer. One of the largest ice cream producers in Iraq, the company was getting ready to distribute its 65 kinds of ice cream all over the country.
But with the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis and the restrictions imposed by authorities to curb the spread of the virus, their sales dropped by 50%, said Sayed Alaa al-Mousawi, the factory's public relations officer, adding that they had to reduce the number of working hours per worker and close three of their four factories.
Restrictions on travel between Iraqi provinces make it hard for them to sell their product beyond Basra. In Basra itself, the series of curfews and the closure of schools and entertainment venues are contributing to the drop in sales, especially given the economic crisis that is turning ice cream into a luxury product for many Iraqis, al-Mousawi said.
Basra's corniche, a popular spot for evening strolls especially during the hot summer months, is now almost empty of people. A Basra resident, Muhand Khalil, told Reuters that staying home is hard to bear. He misses the days when he could sit on the corniche, see friends and enjoy snacks and fresh air.
As families fear for their children, many young Basra residents spend their days at home. A young girl from Basra, Banin Ahmed Kamil, is not allowed to step out of the house because of the coronavirus. But her father brings her sweets to enjoy at home, she told Reuters while biting into a chocolate ice cream.
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Basra authorities imposed a series of full or partial curfews in the city. Currently, Basra is under a partial, night-time curfew during the week and a full lockdown on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
So far, the coronavirus claimed 2,685 lives and infected 64,701 people in Iraq, according to official figures issued by Iraqi health authorities on July 7.
(Production: Mohammed Aty, Mohammed Katfan, Charlotte Bruneau)
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None


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Accordingto The Salesforce Marketing Cloud Report, based on global advertising data across Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, covering more than 2 trillion impressions and 200 billion engagements, in the last 18 months there has been a seismic shift in both the entire digital and advertising landscapes.
Facebook advertising CPMs were highest for the telecommunications ($9.40) industry and lowest for the gaming ($2.76) vertical in Q1, according to data released by Salesforce Marketing Cloud. Salesforce’s data shows that in Q1 the professional services vertical saw the highest average cost-per-click, of $1.12, more than 5 times that of telecom advertisers ($0.21). Meanwhile advertisers from organizations and associations (3.72%), retail (3.37%) and telecom (3.37%) appear to have crafted the most compelling creative, averaging the highest click-through rates for the quarter.
Among the major shifts, mobile is further entrenching itself as the first screen; according to Yahoo, people spend more minutes per day on their mobile devices than watching TV. 88% of those 177 minutes per day are spent with smartphones and tablets in mobile apps as compared to mobile web, a percentage that has continued to grow each year.
The Executive Summary points out key trendswith Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn as follows:
In the UK, social advertising, led by Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, reached almost £1B in 2014 a staggering 65% year over year increase, says the report.
New advertising channels are emerging, including Instagram and Snapchat, with new ways to reach audiences at all stages of the marketing funnel. Facebook itself surpassed YouTube for video views and its views are growing at 91% annually according to Mixpo.
A scientific study in October 2014 with Facebook, looking at the impact of coordinating marketing across two key channels: Email and Facebook advertising. Findings, after the group was exposed to messages in both channels, showed that they were 22% more likely to purchase.
This revolution in technology will help break down organizational barriers within marketing silos and between brand teams and their agencies, fostering tighter collaboration between marketing, sales, and service, says the report.
Globally, the overall CPM decreased by 11%, to $3.30, reflecting normal seasonal trends in digital advertising. Facebook itself shows increased overall revenue in Q4 relative to Q1 both this year and last year in line with the overall advertising industry, as it has matured and become a major channel in digital advertising.
In the U.S., the overall CPM decreased from Q4 to Q1, to $3.72. At the same time, CTR in the US increased to 0.86%, indicating a healthy engagement with the ads. Similar decreases in CPM were seen in multiple other countries, including France, Germany, and Japan.
Ads targeting consumers in these countries showed a small decrease in CTR, and the CPCs declined relatively less than the CPMs. This decrease in CTR implies that consumers have engaged with ads in these countries at a lower rate in Q1 than Q4. Globally, the overall CPM decreased by 11%, to $3.3.
US Facebook Ad Benchmarks (Q1 2015)
Consumer Packaged Goods
Food and beverage
Organizations and associations
Source: Salesforce, July 2015
Social.com customers use two major ad types on Twitter; Promoted Accounts and Promoted Tweets. Promoted Accounts are used to drive new followers for a given Twitter handle, while Promoted Tweets focus on all other objectives. Neither ad type can be bid purely for impressions, on a CPM basis, so any CPM-based analysis shows the media cost despite bidding on engagement-based objectives.
Both major ad types saw a decrease in CPM and a slight increase in cost per engagement (CPE) from Q4 to Q1; Promoted Tweets only rose one cent in CPE, to $0.45 in the United States. However, the engagement on the ads fell from 2.28% to 2.00%, and the CPM decreased to $8.92.
Because there are many more ways to engage with a Promoted Tweet (e.g. link click, favorite, or retweet) than a Promoted Account (just following the account), the CPE for Promoted Tweets remains about half that of Promoted Accounts.
On Twitter, advertisers cannot bid on a CPM basis, but must bid for some action, such as any click on a Tweet, link clicks, or video views. Therefore, focus on measuring the specific metrics that matter to your campaigns, says the report.
On LinkedIn, the CPM in the United States declined from Q4 to Q1 to $13.05, indicated a general maturing of the advertising platform. LinkedIn revenue from ads, according to their latest earnings report, has risen rapidly, with $119M in revenue from selling ads in Q1 2015, a 38% increase from Q1 2014.
At the same time, Sponsored Updates (the in-feed ad unit that social.com supports) rose to 40% of advertising revenue, up nearly double the prior year, according to Ad Age. The slight decrease in CPM indicates that more advertisers are buying more ads, not just existing advertisers are paying more for the same inventory. This bodes extremely well for the health of the LinkedIn advertising ecosystem, concludes the report.
The CPC of LinkedIn also declined slightly, to $3.89, because users continued to engage with the ads at approximately the same rate, with CTR declining just 0.02 percentage points between the two quarters. Advertisers can take advantage of the premium audience on LinkedIn by creating campaigns that drive specific actions on your websites, such as filling out a test drive form for a new car at a dealership.
Please visit Social.com for access to the complete report.


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Foodservice equipment buying consortium Cedabond has announced best ever results in its annual report, surpassing last year’s record-breaking performance. According
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Mediaedge:cia Chennai has recently added three new businesses to its kitty – Zee Tamil launch brief, Nalli Silks and CRI Pumps. The total business of the three accounts together is pegged at Rs 18 crore in annualised billing.
Commenting on the wins, VR Padmanabhan, Senior Management, MEC-Chennai, said, “The client-mix is a heady one, from media to retail to B2B, all of which might seem to be heading into strong head-winds.”
He further said, “The work for all three clients had started breaking in media and after being shortlisted in three other pitches, MEC-Chennai seems to be converting those head-winds into strong tail-winds.”
MEC-Chennai has got a staff strength of under 20, and currently handles clients like CavinKare, Henkel, Maa Foods, McMillan, Nippon Paint, and Trends In Vogue, among others.


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Tuesday, February 23, 2016
New 'food hall' expected to open at Dallas Farmers Market
The southeast end of downtown Dallas is expected to go from food desert to food court overnight with the anticipated openings of a dozen new Dallas Farmers Market restaurants and shops.
But if you've driven by the farmers market anytime lately, construction looks far from finished.
A statement assures most of the restaurant inside a redone building called The Market, formerly known as Shed 2, begin serving food Dec. 11. The Market is but one piece of a $65 million project that includes a redone Shed 1 -- now called the Shed -- and coming-soon apartments and a parking garage.
Link to full article
By Sarah Biaskovich of The Dallas Morning News


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by Mike Masnick
Fri, Mar 20th 2009 4:35pm
For years, people in the software industry have noticed that patents have become the nuclear stockpiling of the tech industry. Lots of companies feel the need to stock up on as many patents as possible, not for any good reason -- but to have something to scare people off from suing, knowing that they'll get sued right back. This is especially true today, since almost no tech product can be seen as not violating a whole bevy of patents from others. But, of course, when you're dealing with a nuclear stockpiling for deterrence purposes, eventually, nuclear war breaks out. That seems to be happening with the patent lawsuit between Microsoft and TomTom. While there's been speculation that TomTom really can't settle, apparently it can launch the nuclear war. It's now countersued Microsoft, claiming that the company violates a bunch of its patents. And, once again, the only folks who win are the patent attorneys.
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The future of BBC Magazines is still unknown, with the company searching for a partner organisation to help run its portfolio of market-leading titles following its strategic review, but the publisher is surging forward with its aim to drive sales in the independent sector.
The launch of the publisher’s most recent sales initiative on 15 of its top magazines for children, such as Match of the Day and CBeebies, is expected to have the same level of success, at least, as a similar promotion last year, which generated an additional £1.5m in sales for the independent sector.
Around 15,000 independents will be sent information packs, containing point-of-sale material and display tips to promote the titles over the summer, cashing in on a key period for keeping young ones entertained over the break from school.
While 11,000 of these retailers will be BBC Magazines’ top sellers for the sector, the remainder have been targeted for not stocking CBeebies Weekly and Match of the Day, but with the capability to sell them.
With a much higher reach than the majority of sales initiatives, which tend to focus on around 2,000 stores, this scheme has the potential to really drive sales through around half of the independent magazine retailers in the country, and also allow them to pick up cash prizes for doing so.
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With the announcement at D23 that a Star Wars-themed land was heading to both Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts, Disney wanted to let the fans know that they won’t have to wait too much longer for new Star Wars experiences while the land is being built. Disney Parks announced several changes to existing Star Wars attractions, as well as the arrival of a new event and “preview” center.
Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
Updated in 2011, the attraction was updated to include 3D screens – as well as the inclusion of several new Star Wars locations from Episodes 1-6 that were familiar with fans. Later this year, Star Tours will include a new adventure featuring locations and characters from the upcoming film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, giving guests a new adventure in the Star Wars galaxy. The update is expected to take place later this year.
Star Wars Launch Bay
This interactive experience will take guests into the upcoming film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, with special exhibits and peeks behind-the-scenes, including opportunities to visit with new and favorite Star Wars characters, special merchandise and food offerings. Star Wars Launch Bay will be located in the Animation Courtyard at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The experience is expected to open later this year.
Jedi Training Academy
The popular kids’ experience will be reimagined with a new experience that includes new characters and a new villain to battle from the popular Disney XD series “Star Wars Rebels.”
Season of the Force
This new seasonal event, beginning early 2016, brings new experiences to both coasts. In Tomorrowland at Disneyland park, guests will explore the Star Wars galaxy with special entertainment throughout the land, themed food locations and more. Guests also will be thrilled to climb aboard Hyperspace Mountain, a reimagining of the classic Space Mountain attraction, in which guests will join an X-wing Starfighter battle. At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, guests will close out weekend nights with a new fireworks spectacular set to the iconic score of the Star Wars movies. This event is replacing the popular Star Wars Weekends.


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There is still a lot of time until September 2023, but there are many revelations about the iPhone 15 series on the Internet and combined with the current information, Apple may no longer squeeze toothpaste this time, and the new iPhone has improved a lot. Summarize it for everyone.
It is reported that the iPhone 15 series is likely to be four models, namely iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Ultra. There are rumors that the iPhone 15 mini may return, but it is still uncertain. These four models will all adopt the Smart Island design, and the bangs that have been used for many years may withdraw from the stage of history.
In addition, Apple will improve the configuration of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Ultra, further increasing its competitiveness. These two models may monopolize the six major selling points of titanium alloy middle frame, pressure-sensitive solid-state volume keys and power keys, 8GB RAM, 3nm A17 chip, periscope telephoto, and faster USB-C port. For comparison, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus may have an A16 processor, 6GB of memory, a USB 2.0 charging cable, an ordinary metal middle frame, and buttons.
Of course, because of the monopoly of these major selling points, the prices of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Ultra will also increase. It is said that Apple will increase the prices of these two models to widen the gap between the Pro version and the Plus version, thereby boosting iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Ultra prices. Sales of the iPhone 15 Plus. The price of the iPhone 14 Pro this year starts at 7,999 yuan, and if the price is raised, it will start at 8.
In addition to the iPhone 15 series, there is a lot of news about Apple recently, let’s find out together. The first is the iPhone SE4. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple has notified suppliers to cancel plans to release the fourth-generation iPhone SE in 2024. Apple’s original plan was to use the iPhone SE4 to test the first self-developed 5G chip before the release of the iPhone 16. Now that this model has been canceled, the iPhone 16 series may continue to use Qualcomm’s 5G chip.
Second, according to foreign media reports, Apple aims to launch the AR/VR headset before the annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June this year, and then ship it later in the fall of 2023. The bad news, though, is that the iOS/iPadOS 17 update will be significantly smaller as Apple engineers are concentrating on polishing xrOS.
The third piece of news is about the M2 chip. It is said that compared to the current M1 Pro and M1 Max, the performance improvement of Apple’s upcoming M2 Pro and M2 Max chips is “very small (marginal)”. It also means that this year’s new 14-inch/16-inch MacBook Pro will likely see very little performance gains. Of course, no matter how small the performance improvement of M2 Pro and M2 Max is, it is currently the strongest chip, and no one can shake its status.
The above is some news about Apple. I believe everyone is more concerned about the iPhone 15 series. Judging from the current news, Apple has not disappointed. The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Ultra have been greatly improved, and they will monopolize six major selling points and no longer squeeze toothpaste. Friends who are interested in these two models may consider saving money!


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New Delhi: You probably have heard that eating certain foods can increase your risk of heart disease and other serious health conditions. Now, researchers have found that people living in areas with a higher number of fast food outlets have more heart attacks. Basically, fast food is a type of food that can be prepared and served quickly. Most items of fast food are loaded with sodium, added sugar and trans fat, potentially increasing your risk for type 2 diabetes, weight gain, cardiovascular disease and many more.
Many studies have demonstrated various negative health effects of eating and overeating fast food, both short- and long-term effects. Good nutrition, combined with physical activity, can help you maintain a healthy weight and reduce your risk of heart attack, stroke and other conditions. In this article, we list a few foods that you would want to avoid to lower your risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Bacon is high in salt, which raises your blood pressure and makes your heart work harder. High amounts of sodium can cause heart disease, stroke and heart failure. More than half of the calories in bacon come from saturated fat, raising the LDL or bad cholesterol and increasing your risk of a heart attack or stroke. Moreover, additives and preservatives added in bacon can lead to these health issues.
The problem is that most take-out pizza and frozen pies are loaded with sodium, fat and calories, all of which can raise the risk of having a heart attack. If you indulge, try making it yourself or opt for a thin crust that has less cheese and more veggies when you order from outside. You can also skip pepperoni or sausage, which are loaded with salt.
Crispy and irresistible, but these deep-fried potatoes have lots of salt and fat that could raise the risk of cardiovascular disease. One study found that people who consumed french fries or hash browns 2 to 3 times a week were more likely to die early.
(Representative picture only for representing sodas, not to comment upon a certain brand, company or product)
Research has found that soda (carbonated, sweetened) drinks - even those which parade as diet sodas - can increase your risk of heart attack, stroke, and even dementia. If you think that diet soda drinks are a healthier alternative to sugary beverages, you might want to reconsider. For instance, a study published in the medical journal Stroke and many other observational studies have shown that low-calorie artificially sweetened drinks may not be harmless, perhaps, high intake is linked with a higher risk of stroke and heart disease.
Including soup (made with healthy ingredients, preferably homemade soup) in your diet can be an easy yet healthy way to get more fibre, protein, and veggies. But canned soup often comes with lots of sodium, which can lead to high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke. Also, avoid cream-based soups that have unhealthy saturated fat.
Disclaimer: Tips and suggestions mentioned in the article are for general information purpose only and should not be construed as professional medical advice. Always consult your doctor or a dietician before starting any fitness programme or making any changes to your diet.
Get the Latest health news, healthy diet, weight loss, Yoga, and fitness tips, more updates on Times Now


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Nissan has launched the all-new Nissan Altima and Sylphy in the Philippines. The event marks the beginning of operations for Nissan in Philippines. NPI also showcased the Nissan Almera NISMO Aero Package, inspired by Nismoâ€™s motorsport techs.
THIMPHU, Bhutan (February, 2014) â€“ Nissan has pledged its support for the Kingdom of Bhutan’s transition to an electric vehicle fleet. Nissan has entered into an agreement with the Royal Government of Bhutan with the shared goal of achieving the nation’s eco-friendly vision for the future.
The advanced direct injection engine delivers the economy and emissions of a diesel with the refinement and responsiveness of a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine… yet the low-friction, lightweight and highly efficient three-cylinder DIG-S displaces just 1,198cc.
MUMBAI, February 24, 2014 – Nissan today announced that it will discontinue the sales of the X-Trail SUV and 370Z coupe in India. The move comes in the wake of Nissanâ€™s decision to focus on its locally manufactured models. However, it will continue to sell the Teana luxury sedan.
ROLLE, Switzerland (21st February, 2014). Nissan’s command of the crossover segment is further reinforced at the 84th Geneva Motor Show with the brand’s unrivalled crossover family taking centre stage. The all-new X-Trail and all-new Qashqai highlight Nissan’s ongoing crossover development, which will be strengthened by the arrival of another next generation model in Geneva.


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Google Assistant has a lot of third-party capabilities called Actions. To aid discoverability, Google has long offered a browsable Explore page, and there’s now an updated card in Assistant’s Updates feed.
Since it launched last year, the Updates tab has included an “Explore using the Assistant” section at the very bottom. This card noted categories of Actions, and featured updating lists like “What’s trending,” “You might like,” and “What’s popular.” Each featured a command with the responsible app’s name and icon displayed.
Over the past week, Google has redesigned the card. It’s now under the “Keep Track of Things” header alongside trips, recent Gmail orders, and stock listings. The new card is titled, “More things you can do with the Google Assistant.”
It updates with every refresh of the feed and just shows one category of Actions at a time. “Enjoy entertainment options” might include subsections like “Check news,” “Play audiobook,” “Play music,” and “Play podcasts.” Each is accompanied by a descriptive icon and can be expanded to reveal commands that launch Assistant immediately.
Other cards we’ve seen are for “Navigate and go” and “Catch up with friends and family.” A “See all in Explore” button at the bottom opens the full respective category in the Actions store.
We’ve spotted this new Google Assistant Explore card on several devices running the latest Google app beta over the past week. It should be more widely available today.
More about Google Assistant:
- Google app help videos again show Assistant replacing ‘Voice search’
- Exclusive: Here’s the ‘new Google Assistant’ on Pixel 4 [Video]
- Action Blocks are homescreen shortcuts for Google Assistant commands
- Google Assistant will be able to delete voice data with a single command
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Our weekly editorial brought to you by a Coinme team member.
This week: Brent Lyman, Private Client Advisor
In 2017, J.P. Morgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon said Bitcoin is a fraud.
“If you’re stupid enough to buy it, you’ll pay the price for it one day,” he said.
Fast-forward a year later when he backtracked on those comments, saying the underlying technology (Blockchain) had promise. Well, yesterday Jamie introduced “JPM Coin” to the bank’s technology inventory. In summary, the coin will be a beta test for J.P. Morgan’s internal wholesale transactions. It’s estimated that J.P. Morgan moves around 6 trillion dollars around the globe so if the “beta test” is successful JPM Coin may be integrated on a mass scale, perhaps even into retail deposits at some point.
What I find sad is the media responses to today’s news. One article in particular from Barron’s claims that JPM Coin has “killed the Bitcoin dream.”
We’ve never heard that before…
To me, articles like this are not just disappointing but they are also very misleading so I wanted to take some time to distinguish some key facts when comparing Bitcoin to JPM Coin: JPM Coin will be controlled and centralized while Bitcoin is permissionless and decentralized. In reality, the only feature both JPM Coin and Bitcoin have in common is blockchain technology, but it’s important to understand each runs on their separate blockchain. In fact, Bitcoin’s blockchain (or network) is the largest in the world, and nobody can “turn off” Bitcoin, not even big bad Mr. Dimon himself. (Sorry, Barron’s.)
The positive news here? One of the largest banks in the world (with a chairman who has been a vocal detractor of Bitcoin) proved they think digital assets have value. These interbank transactions that will be settled using JPM Coin will go from taking days or week to potentially taking just hours. That’s a game-changer for any bank, especially one as large as J.P. Morgan. Costs will be cut, efficiencies will be created, manual audits will decrease, and compensation (or jobs) can be cut.
I expect more banks to create and launch digital currencies of their own in the coming years for these same reasons, all while Bitcoin will remain king. Why? Because Bitcoin is the people’s “coin.” No bank, company, government, or corporation owns it. Instead, you do! The more we as people invest, spend, and utilize Bitcoin the less reliant we are on government, banks, and corporations.


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Form MediaOcean, a rival to Google for title of "marketing dashboard."
Donovan Data Systems (DDS) and MediaBank will merge to form MediaOcean, a provider of creative workflow and campaign management tools for agencies.
The deal, which reportedly values the combined company at $1.5 billion, aims to establish a unified software suite that can support agencies' ever more integrated digital and traditional buying activities while also serving increasingly fragmented media plans and convoluted reporting requirements.
The companies have 800 employees, which will be merged into single offices in markets where they currently overlap. Together they process more than $100 billion in annual ad spend, according to a spokesperson.
MediaOcean also hopes to challenge the rising influence of Google's ad management dashboard - with products like DoubleClick for Advertisers, Google Ad Exchange, Invite Media, Teracent, and AdWords.
New York-based DDS is by far the older of the two companies, having been founded in 1967. Its tools encompass print and broadcast media buying, timesheet tracking, invoicing, creative workflow management, and some interactive capabilities. Its digital campaign system was integrated with DoubleClick several years ago.
Meanwhile MediaBank, headquartered in Chicago, offers cross-media order management, tracking and reporting, and interactive campaign tools, among other products. Earlier this year, it bought online search and display ad platform AdBuyer for an undisclosed sum.
MediaBank CEO Bill Wise will be chief executive of MediaOcean. Wise is a digital ad veteran who was previously president of media at Yahoo's Right Exchange and CEO of search-centric agency Did-it. DDS founder Michael Donovan will serve as executive chairman of MediaOcean.
In a statement, the companies said they are working on an open source "MediaOcean OS Project" that will let agencies, media sellers, and others integrate with each other and with MediaOcean, using APIs and open source software. They also noted repeatedly that the company will be "independent" and "neutral," a not-too-subtle jab at Google and others that have attempted to offer both the systems for selling media and the media itself.
Join the Industry's Leading eCommerce & Direct Marketing Experts in Chicago
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Until March 2012, Zach Rodgers was managing editor of ClickZ's award-winning coverage of news and trends in digital marketing. He reported on the rise of web companies, data markets, ad technologies, and government Internet policy, among other subjects.
IBM Social Analytics: The Science Behind Social Media Marketing
80% of internet users say they prefer to connect with brands via Facebook. 65% of social media users say they use it to learn more about brands, products and services. Learn about how to find more about customers' attitudes, preferences and buying habits from what they say on social media channels.
An Introduction to Marketing Attribution: Selecting the Right Model for Search, Display & Social Advertising
If you're considering implementing a marketing attribution model to measure and optimize your programs, this paper is a great introduction. It also includes real-life tips from marketers who have successfully implemented attribution in their organizations.
September 17, 2014
September 23, 2014
September 30, 2014
1:00pm ET/10:00am PT


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Reebonz opens new facility to boost operations
LUXURY e-commerce startup Reebonz has launched an e-commerce hub at Tampines, where it will pilot new technologies to enhance operations and increase productivity.
At 200,000 square feet, the eight-storey facility is four times larger than its previous office and
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Japan To Charge Tourists Consumption Tax and Refund At Departure
Thanks, scammers. Due to some people exploiting the system, Japan will now change how it handles duty-free purchasing by tourists.
By Himari Semans
Tourists to Japan have long enjoyed the pleasure of buying gifts for those back home — or for themselves — without paying the country’s consumption tax. But the system’s about to change slightly after some savvy shoppers found they could game it to their benefit.
Officials discuss duty-free changes
The Government Tax Commission will convene today with the Cabinet’s ruling parties, LDP and Komeito, to discuss changes to Japan’s consumption tax exemption system for foreign tourists’ duty-free store purchases.
Under the current system, purchases by foreign nationals at duty-free stores are exempt from consumption tax on the premise that they leave Japan unused. They also can’t be resold domestically.
However, in light of widespread illegal sales of duty-free purchases in 2022, government officials ramped up measures this May by levying businesses and foreign nationals for illegal resales of duty-free products. They’re now planning to revise the system itself.
Plans to refund tourists at departure
The Commission and Cabinet officials will go over the latest proposal to charge foreign tourists consumption tax at the time of purchase and later refund them the equivalent tax amount upon confirming the goods’ departure at airport customs.
European countries, Singapore, and Australia have already adopted this system of refunding the tax amount from duty-free purchases at the time of departure.
Japan’s system change will reportedly have finalized decisions within the year.


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JANUARY 11, 1999
Ferrari's big advantage?
ACCORDING to reports in the European press Ferrari is to have a big advantage over its rivals in Formula 1 in 1999, following the news that the Italian team is going to be allowed to have 200 more tires from Bridgestone than the opposition will be allowed.
The extra tires are understood to be part of a three-year deal which the Japanese company has signed with Ferrari which involves the fitting of Bridgestone tires as original Ferrari equipment when they leave the factory. This is worth a considerable amount of money to the Japanese.
But the deal - if it is confirmed - will lead to a storm of opposition from rival teams, which will argue that the deal is unfair and that Bridgestone should treat all teams in the same fashion. The FIA rules insist that if there is only one tire company in the World Championship it must equip 100% of the entered teams. It is unclear whether or not the testing restrictions which the FIA has imposed are included in the Concorde Agreement or whether Ferrari and Bridgestone have cleverly worked out a way around the rules.
There is also ambiguity over tire supply to other teams such as the Honda F1 team, which has started testing in preparation for 2000 and the BMW test team which will begin work within the next few months. At the recent Varano testing Honda had unlimited supplies of Bridgestone tires although the Bridgestone men tried to play down the link.
The deal is further incentive for F1 teams to go out and find an alternative source of tires - which is exactly what Bridgestone wants as the F1 program is likely to be threatened unless there is competition - if only because a tire war raises the level of exposure for tire companies.


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MasterCard and The Western Union Company announced they are working together to integrate Mastercard Send into the Western Union Money Transfer® service.
First of all, this will allow Western Union to deliver funds to MasterCard and virtually all U.S. debit cards.
In addition, the alliance opens a new channel for U.S. consumers. They may quickly and conveniently send money via Western Union to the debit cards people use every day. Furthermore, this will include non-MA cards. Most noteworthy, Western Union is the money transfer industry’s first to offer the debit card-enabled service via the Mastercard Send platform in the United States.
Finally, it appears that the new Western Union service is expected to be available in early 2018. They will initially offer digital funds transfers within the U.S. via westernunion.com and the WU mobile app. Meanwhile, this will enable senders to use their U.S. debit, credit and bank accounts to fund a payment. Customers simply need to know the recipient’s 16-digit debit card number.


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With Burlington Coat Factory becoming the latest retailer to no longer offer Ivanka Trump products on its website, the president’s daughter is fighting to keep its retail base together in the face of a boycott movement.
Even with some retailers dropping or downplaying the line, however, there are still many places to buy Ivanka Trump fashion.
Ivanka Trump merchandise was no longer available to Burlington shoppers browsing online as of Tuesday according to the Asbury Park Press. The chain still carries Trump’s items in its stores.
Nordstrom has gone further than most other retailers, deciding earlier this month to stop carrying Ivanka Trump’s product line entirely, a move that sparked an angry tweet from President Trump and elicited a brand endorsement from presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway that led government watchdogs to say she may have breached a code of ethics.
Other retailers have taken steps away from Ivanka Trump’s brand without completely abandoning it. Sears and Kmart have removed a small number of Trump-branded products from their websites, but continue to offer hundreds of Trump and Ivanka Trump items online from third-party sellers.
And while TJX, owner of Marshalls and T.J. Maxx, has instructed staff members to blend Ivanka Trump products with other store merchandise rather than feature it on its own, those stores continue to sell Ivanka Trump items.
There are plenty of other retailers who still have Ivanka Trump products available. Here’s what USA TODAY found:
SOURCE: Charisse Jones and Chris Woodyard