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Americans are allocating a greater share of their discretionary spending for online shopping than ever before. Discretionary spending excludes purchases that are deemed necessities — such as food, basic clothing, and personal care products. Therefore, it's a good indicator of how consumers spend their splurge money.
- 13% of all discretionary spending by U.S. consumers in the first quarter of 2014 occurred online, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. That's up from 12% in the first quarter of last year, and 10% in the first quarter of 2012.
- Only 6% of total U.S. retail spending occurs online (whether discretionary or not), so we know that e-commerce plays a bigger role in purchases that consumers don't necessarily need.
- Discretionary spending online has accelerated in recent years. Between the first quarters of 2010 and 2014 the share of discretionary spending that occurred online rose five percentage points. For comparison, between 2006 and 2010 it rose by just two percentage points.
This data suggests that retailers that sell non-essentials, such as luxury goods, electronics, and home furnishings have the most to lose (or gain, depending on how you look at it) by e-commerce trends. It's no surprise then that those categories have already been the most affected by e-commerce, as the chart below shows. But the recent acceleration in discretionary spending online indicates that those categories could be disrupted on an even greater scale in the coming years. And for categories that are deemed essentials, such as food & beverage, the point of competition for e-commerce could be for high-end, specialty groceries since those types of purchases are more discretionary.


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The REvil group strikes again as it demands $70 million as a ransom for a recent cyberattack. The cyberattack consisted of a malware attack that had reportedly hit the US IT firm, Kaseya. However, the damage isn’t centered at the IT firm. According to the hacker group itself, their malware has affected over one million systems as of now. REvil is believed to be based in Russia with many of its members being formerly part of the Soviet Union.
The cyberattack initially hit Kaseya before spreading through their corporate network and the clients that use their software. Kaseya reported on their website that they were investigating a potential attack. The attack then spread to around 200 businesses and didn’t limit itself to US soil. Around 500 Coop supermarket stores in Sweden were forced to close down due to the colossal cyber attack. This might be the biggest cyberattack of 2021.
The supermarket was using software from Kaseya so basically, all of their clients were affected. According to Cyber researchers around 200 businesses have been affected. A spokesperson from Coop Sweden said that “We first noticed problems in a small number of stores on Friday evening around 6:30 pm so we closed those stores early. Then overnight we realized it was much bigger and we took the decision not to open most of our stores this morning so that our teams could work out how to fix it. “. They added that “The whole paying system at our tills and our self-service checkouts stopped working so we need time to reboot the system”.
The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency urged users of Kaseya’s software to shut them down and assured them that they were taking action to address the issue. UK’s National Cyber Security Centre also said that “We are aware of a cyber incident involving Kaseya, and we are working to fully understand its impact. Ransomware is a growing, global cyber threat, and all organizations should take immediate steps to limit risk and follow our advice on how to put in place robust defenses to protect their networks”.
The REvil group is demanding $70 million in exchange for a universal decryptor that will unlock the files of all of its victims. And not surprisingly, they are demanding to be paid in bitcoins. The popular cryptocurrency is hard to trace but it is not impossible. It’s actually weird to see REvil not demanding payment in other more difficult-to-trace cryptocurrencies. The US Justice Department announced last month that they had traced and seized millions of dollars worth of bitcoin that was paid to DarkSide.
You would remember DarkSide as the hacker group responsible for the Colonial Oil Pipeline attack. The attack prompted many other ransomware attacks to take place. According to Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco “Following the money remains one of the most basic, yet powerful tools we have”.

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WATCH | Kia launches new logo with record-setting fireworks show
Dazzling display sets Guinness World Record as it ushers in a new era for Kia
Kia has unveiled its new logo during a record-breaking pyrotechnic display in the skies above Incheon, Korea.
The event saw 303 pyrodrones launching hundreds of fireworks in a synchronised artistic display, symbolically igniting and celebrating Kia’s new beginning. This set a new Guinness World Record for “Most unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) launching fireworks simultaneously”.
In addition to an all-new logo, Kia revealed its new global brand slogan: “Movement that inspires”, details of which will be revealed on January 15.
The new logo resembles a handwritten signature and represents the company’s commitment to becoming an icon for change and innovation, says Ho Sung Song, Kia’s president and CEO.
“The automotive industry is experiencing a period of rapid transformation, and Kia is proactively shaping and adapting to these changes,” he said.
Kia lights up the sky with pyrodrones to unveil the new logo. #Kia #MovementThatInspires #NewKia #Movement #Inspiration #KiaLive #KiaComingSoon
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A popular Leeds pub is set to undergo a major refurbishment after it was bought by North East and Yorkshire independent pub company Wear Inns.
Leisure property specialists Fleurets has recently completed the sale of the Whistlestop, located in the suburban centre of Beeston, approximately 2 miles south west of the city centre and within walking distance of Leeds United’s ground, Elland Road.
The Whistlestop adds to Wear Inn’s existing collection of 26 pubs, all in the North East and Yorkshire.
John Weir, managing director of Wear Inns, said: “We are delighted to own this pub which is very much part of the local community. We are planning to spend over £150,000 installing a new kitchen to allow us to serve a wider range of food, as well as refurbishing the pub’s interior and making a feature of the outside patio area.
“Being so close to Elland Road and popular with Leeds fans, we will be concentrating heavily on sport with extra TVs and viewing facilities.
Our mantra is to provide great value, all day, every day and we look forward to welcoming regular and new customers to the Whistlestop.”
Wear Inns has appointed experienced community pub manager Sharon Swift, who is from Leeds, to run the Whistlestop and is introducing a range of new products including Staropramen, Bierra Moretti and the Strongbow dark fruits range.
The premises is a two storey detached brick construction and possesses an open plan bar, lounge and pool room as well as a 3 bedroomed manager’s living space.
Simon Hall from Fleurets said: “I have no doubt that the high standards of operation that Wear Inns have will be a real benefit to this already busy local.”
Wear Inns recently made the Investec Mid Market 100 list, ranking the fastest growing companies in the UK with a turnover of over £13.5 million, for the second time.
It follows the London Stock Exchange highlighting the company in its report, 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain, celebrating the country’s most dynamic and fastest-growing small and medium sized businesses.
Wear Inns, which has its headquarters in the old offices of the Castle Eden Brewery in County Durham, is the biggest independent freehold managed operator in the region in terms of volume of beer sold.
Since Weir and the company’s chairman John Sands formed Wear Inns in 2006, the workforce has grown from 105 to 265.


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BY FIDELITY MHLANGA
The Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe has said resuscitating domestic tourism in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic will not be a stroll in the park as the economy has been heavily battered by the lockdown measures to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Chairperson of the association, Emmanuel Fundira, said the economy was subdued and there was little in terms of consumer spending to talk about.
“There is little in terms of discretionary income. Zimbabweans are going through a proverbial storm, more so because of Covid-19. Definitely there is need of awareness (of domestic tourism). That awareness can be put into being by various means of communication available,” Fundira said.
The United Nations World Tourism Organisation recently noted that the global travel industry had been hard hit by Covid-19, with international tourist arrivals envisaged to plunge between 60% and 80% this year, translating to a loss of up to US$1,2 trillion.
Up to 120 million global jobs that are directly related to tourism are at risk in one of the worst crises to face international tourism.
Zimbabwe is experiencing one of its worst economic slumps punctuated by a rapidly depreciating local currency, food insecurity and acute fuel and foreign currency shortages, among a plethora of challenges.
Fundira said plans are afoot to undertake robust domestic tourism marketing through the erection of billboards, radio and print media messages.
“It’s true that not every Zimbabwean knows that Zimbabwe is a tourism gem. The long-haul traveller always wanted to spend money whilst locals have never done that. So the educational process will be helpful,” he said.
Fundira said in the short term, focus would be on driving business in the domestic market targeting leisure and conference business.
“As you are aware, the lockdown is still at level two while intercity travels are still prohibited. Demand for conferencing is steadily picking up. Our focus has been in that direction. The strategy is to drive domestic tourism in key sectors with focus on government ministries, quasi-government bodies, NGOs, professional bodies and institutions, financial institutions and mining houses,” he said.
On domestic leisure, Fundira said focus would be on educational trips, family tourism holidays, free independent travellers, couples retreats, religious groups camps, weddings and honeymoons.
“Accompanied with that is a stimulus which we are offering towards leisure, which is made to stimulate demand on the market. This is being offered with open discounts of around 50% for both individuals and groups. These offers, towards both long and short stay packages, incorporate transport and accommodation and activities,” Fundira said.
He said partnerships were being worked out with airlines to provide more services in Victoria Falls, Kariba, Hwange and Bulawayo are in the pipeline .
Tourism players have been complaining that the ban on intercity travel was an impediment to the revival of domestic tourism.
Tourism minister Mangaliso Ndlovu said for now intercity travel would remain prohibited until President Emmerson Mnangagwa eases the restrictions.
“This will be on the basis of scientific advice he (Mnangagwa) gets and, of course, also considering the balance he has been striving to maintain; of saving both lives and livelihoods. It is a sector that has been severely affected by the restrictions and we want to see it gradually come back,” Ndlovu said.
Economist Victor Bhoroma said domestic tourism would likely take time to pick up considering the low disposable incomes and general poverty levels in the country.
“The average salary/income of most Zimbabweans now is +/- US$50/month so it’s difficult to take up holiday packages with such. Domestic tourism will continue to be for the exclusive few till incomes substantially change,” he said.
“People are concentrating on basics such as housing, food security, transport, day-to-day financial needs, healthcare, etc. Holidaying and savings will unlikely pick up under the current economic conditions. Imagine a country where 90% of the people live below the poverty line. Domestic tourism becomes tricky.”
Zimbabwe recorded 2,6 million international tourist arrivals in 2018, a 6% gain from 2,4 million received in 2017.


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- Walgreens expanding scope of retail pharmacy experience and services heading into fiscal 2014
- Walgreens Infusion Services can save $10.8 million in healthcare costs annually
- On the heels of Q3, Walgreens outlines shift in front-end strategy and pharmacy tailwinds looking forward
- CNNMoney sits down with Walgreens chief to discuss future of health care and what it means for pharmacy
- Walgreens makes flu shots available for 2013-2014 season
SAN FRANCISCO A ban on tobacco sales in San Francisco drug stores soon will grow to include any store that operates a pharmacy, according to published reports.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday that the city would extend its ban to supermarkets and mass merchandisers with pharmacies in addition to drug stores.
In 2008, retail pharmacies and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores opposed the ban because while banning tobacco products in drug stores, the city continued to permit supermarkets and mass merchandisers with pharmacies to sell tobacco products, prompting Walgreens to sue the city over the ban and try to have it overturned on constitutional grounds. City officials reasoned that the exception for drug stores was necessary because of what they described as the contradictory nature of a healthcare establishment selling a harmful product.
Soon after the San Francisco ban passed, Boston enacted a similar law, though the Boston law –– which was made independent of the one in San Francisco –– covered all retailers that operate pharmacies.


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Overwatch registers 7 million players in first week of releaseBy Robin-Leigh Chetty 3 June 2016 | Categories: news
In the world of gaming, the hype machine is often hit and miss. Just look at the differing fates of Destiny and Fallout 4. That said, the fanfare surrounding games is sometimes well founded, and given the recently numbers that Blizzard has detailed about Overwatch, which was officially released last week (24 May), the MMO game is shaping up as a resounding success.
According to a blog post yesterday, Overwatch has racked up a massive 7 million players, across the PS4, Xbox One and Windows PC platforms. An estimated 119 million hours of combined gameplay has been amassed in the same frame time, and by basic calculations means each player has managed an average of 17 hours for the week - quite impressive.
The numbers are not shocking though, as the open beta for the game registered a total of 9.7 million players over less than a week. This does, however, beg the question: What happened to the other 2.7 million players from the beta stats? While that remains a bit of a mystery, it's clear FPS fans cannot get enough of Overwatch.
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Peoria- A longtime eye sore in Peoria is coming down. Demolition of the old Denny's on Sterling Avenue began Tuesday, it sat empty for years.
This makes way for a new retail development. Sterling Commons will sit on the out lot in front of Westlake Shopping Center.
Thomas Harrington the third of Coldwell Banker Devonshire Reality announced three retail tenants will occupy phase one of the project. Phase two is now leasing. Harrington says phase two will target upscale retailers.
He says the long awaited redevelopment of this high traffic area just off Interstate 74 is a sign commercial real estate is making an economic recovery.
Construction of phase one should be complete in September.


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By Christian Wienberg
(Bloomberg) — The world’s economy is growing at a slower pace than the International Monetary Fund and other large forecasters are predicting.
That’s according to Nils Smedegaard Andersen, chief executive officer at A.P. Moeller-Maersk. His company, owner of the world’s biggest shipping line, is a bellwether for global trade, handling about 15 percent of all consumer goods transported by sea.
“We believe that global growth is slowing down,” he said in a phone interview. “Trade is currently significantly weaker than it normally would be under the growth forecasts we see.”
The IMF on Oct. 6 lowered its 2015 global gross domestic product forecast to 3.1 percent from 3.3 percent previously, citing a slowdown in emerging markets driven by weak commodity prices. The Washington-based group also cut its 2016 forecast to 3.6 percent from 3.8 percent. But even the revised forecasts may be too optimistic, according to Andersen.
“We conduct a string of our own macro-economic forecasts and we see less growth — particularly in developing nations, but perhaps also in Europe — than other people expect in 2015,” Andersen said. Also for 2016, “we’re a little bit more pessimistic than most forecasters.”
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Monday lowered its forecasts for the global economy for a second time in three months. GDP will grow 2.9 percent in 2015 and 3.3 percent in 2016, down from the 3 percent and 3.6 percent the group predicted in September.
Maersk’s container line on Friday reported a 61 percent slump in third-quarter profit as demand for ships to transport goods across the world hardly grew from a year earlier. The low growth rates are proving particularly painful for an industry that’s already struggling with excess capacity.
Trade from Asia to Europe has so far suffered most as a weaker euro makes it tougher for exporters like China to stay competitive, Andersen said. Still, there are no signs yet that the global economy is heading for a slump similar to one that followed the financial crisis of 2008, he said.
“We’re seeing some distortions amid this redistribution that’s taking place between commodity exporting countries and commodity importing countries,” he said. “But this shouldn’t lead to an outright crisis. At this point in time, there are no grounds for seeing that happening.”
To bolster its oil business, Maersk said on Monday it will spend up to $845 million on acquisitions in Kenya and Ethiopia to take advantage of lower prices that have hobbled parts of the energy industry.
©2015 Bloomberg News
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The less-than-truckload industry is moving faster, even as the economic engine slows, with the largest industry giants and regional players alike re-engineering networks to deliver freight more quickly for shippers and consignees.
Trucking companies are lopping days off transit times as rapid replenishment becomes the standard way of doing business in an era of thinner-than-a-pallet inventories. LTL carriers are rethinking the size of their terminal networks, cutting facilities or adding service centers to speed freight and build lane density.
LTL carriers are faster today in part because they’re lighter — the 10 largest LTL companies reduced their combined terminal count by 18.5 percent from 2007 through 2011, according to research by SJ Consulting Group, Pittsburgh.
How much speed is LTL gaining? A decade of two ago, a cross-country LTL shipment might take five to six days, and a shipper might not be able to trace it until day 4. Today, that shipment might move partly on intermodal rail, especially if it is moving east, and would probably take three to four days. Shippers would receive confirmation of its release and its location right through delivery.
In the regional world, where most LTL and truckload freight moves, next-day delivery is now the standard, and second-day is almost deferred service.
“There are regional companies that are expanding, while the companies with the nationwide footprint are retracting, not in their coverage but in their number of terminals,” said Michael D. Scheid, an SJ Consulting Group analyst. “They’ve learned they can cover more area with fewer terminals and offer the same level of service.”
That re-engineering is a process that doesn’t come to a stop when a goal — say, a one-day reduction in transit times across thousands of lanes — is achieved.
“I view network design as an ongoing, constant review of how you run your business,” said William J. Logue, president and CEO of FedEx Freight, which at $5.3 billion in revenue in 2011 is the largest stand-alone LTL carrier. The industrial freight arm of FedEx completed a massive overhaul of its operations in January 2011 and has “tweaked” its new LTL network twice, once in September 2011 and again this July, when it shortened shipment transit times on 6,000 lanes. “It takes a couple of adjustments to get that thing running like a finely tuned engine,” Logue said.
There’s more to re-engineering an LTL network than buying or selling real estate or adding or subtracting terminal doors. LTL redesign extends to how assets, including trucks, drivers and dock workers, are deployed, how shipments are handled and how often they’re touched in transit and, increasingly, how technology is used to optimize pickup and delivery, move freight across docks and build lane density.
Today, LTL re-engineering is as much about using technology to create complementary networks of freight and data, and moving data efficiently to customers along with or ahead of shipments, as it is about reducing transit times — though transit times, as a result, get top billing when carriers tout their efforts.
The carrier with the biggest brick-and-mortar network no longer necessarily has an advantage in an age when smaller carriers can match their prowess in terms of technology, enabling competitive levels of service and visibility for shippers.
Technology helped Averitt, Pitt Ohio and other carriers in The Reliance Network create a seamless means of providing supply chain visibility for customers, said Phil Pierce, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Averitt. “It was one of the bullets we had to overcome to convince customers we were not just an interline service when we formed the Reliance Network five years ago,” Pierce said.
“We needed one PRO number for tracking and tracing throughout all eight companies (in the network) and for all our customers. That was probably the hardest thing for us to do, but it paid dividends,” he said. In the LTL trucking market, “the people who invest in technology are going to be true winners,” he said.
The hardest thing for an LTL carrier — or shipper — to do simply may be to think outside the box surrounding “LTL,” a term used to describe an industry with a lot of historical baggage, most of it palletized and shrink-wrapped since the 1930s.
For decades, LTL trucking was a world unto itself within transportation, with a unique freight classification system and pricing measured in recent years by the size of a discount off a rate contained in a tariff published perhaps a decade ago.
The classic LTL network was a hub-and-spoke terminal system. That traditional network is still there, but today some of those spokes are rail tracks carrying intermodal freight, and carriers such as Old Dominion Freight Lines, Estes Express and ABF Freight Systems are feeding less-than-containerload, or LCL, freight coming off ships into their domestic LTL networks, either at ports or farther inland.
The globalization of manufacturing and sourcing and the rise of third-party logistics companies since the 1990s is still spurring LTL reorganization, but the primary factor driving re-engineering at carriers large and small is the economy; Specifically, the economic downturn that trucking first felt in 2006 and the recovery that started in 2009.
When the recession struck in 2009, the LTL industry as a whole lost 25 percent of its revenue, or more than $8 billion, perhaps the worst contraction in trucking history, according to SJ Consulting Group data. A number of companies had been scrambling to re-engineer even beforehand, most notably YRC Worldwide, which merged Yellow Transportation and Roadway in 2008 and 2009, closing hundreds of terminals as it tried to stave off bankruptcy following billions of dollars in losses.
That wasn’t enough to restore profit or balance at the $3.2 billion carrier now called YRC Freight, so this year the company completed a change of operations designed to eliminate excessive freight handling and speed traffic across its network.
Those changes helped YRC Freight cut at least one day of delivery time on hundreds of its lanes and reduce transit times between more than 24,000 origin and destination points, chopping shipments from Charlotte, N.C., to Seattle, for example, from five to four days and Indianapolis to Los Angeles from four to three days.
“When line-haul is one of the most expensive parts of your operation, you’d better make sure it’s as efficient as it can be,” YRC Worldwide CEO James Welch said.
Shipper and eventually consumer demands are dictating the changes roiling the LTL landscape, he said. “People wait until the last minute to order something, and when they order it they want it the next day.” The growth of e-commerce is rippling through LTL, he said, as it has overnight parcel and same-day transportation.
Con-way Freight also restructured in 2008, closing 50 terminals and slicing transit times between 460 destinations by reducing handling and building density on direct routes. That proved farsighted. The 2009 recession changed trucking “fundamentally,” forcing deep changes in LTL operations, Con-way CEO Douglas W. Stotlar told reporters at the SMC3 Connections 2012 conference in June.
“It took the downturn of late 2008-2009 to take the excess capacity that built up before the recession” out of the LTL industry, Stotlar said. Even so, Con-way Freight was rocked by a flood of low-priced freight that clogged its network when it engaged in a 2009 pricing war. It took a change of management and a “back-to-basics” reorganization focused on productivity and LTL yield to restore balance.
The surviving LTL carriers are “more sophisticated,” running streamlined, more efficient networks, and “we’re much better companies as a result,” Stotlar said.
As the economy shifted from recession to recovery, LTL carriers shifted their re-engineering efforts from taking out capacity to bolstering margins by improving service, Pierce said. “The industry spent some time last year trying to improve its margins, and the real results are evident,” he said. “The public carriers reported improved yields. Now the market is flattening out, and if you want to continue to hold onto your higher margins, the best thing to do is improve service through network enhancements, rather than going back to lower rates.”
Those enhancements may include hiring drivers, upgrading automated dispatch systems and freight management systems, merging terminals and closing or opening facilities — but to shippers, they boil down to better transit times. From the top down, carriers have been vying to get freight to shippers — and to end markets — quicker, whether they operate national, interregional or regional networks.
In April, Reliance Network member LTL carrier Pitt Ohio launched its first TRNet Express Lane providing two- to three-day service from its Mid-Atlantic region to California, Arizona and Nevada. In September, Pitt Ohio launched a TRNet Express Lane to Texas, in cooperation with Averitt, while Averitt launched an Express Lane to the West Coast in combination with partner carrier Mountain Valley Express.
“We’re running teams from our gateway in Nashville to Los Angeles, and anyone shipping next-day to Nashville on a Thursday or Friday can have their shipment delivered in LA on Tuesday,” a two- to three-day transit time, Pierce said.
“That’s been very appealing to customers,” he said. “We’re looking at running gateway teams out of Dallas to Portland in the Northwest.” In designing the express network, “We try to select lanes in certain markets where the data tell us opportunities lie. It’s a regional concept with a national reach.”
Contact William B. Cassidy at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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We are fortunate to live in a region that both celebrates and champions its women and their myriad success. From the UAE’s formation of a Gender Balance Council, which aims to close the country’s gender gap, to the number of women paving their way in the fields of politics, sports, and design, there are many female role models in the Middle East for the younger generation to look up to.
And on Saturday, November 24, four of them will be making an appearance on our custom-created main stage to open up about their many achievements. As part of Vogue Loves Fashion Avenue, a 10-day celebration of The Dubai Mall’s 10th anniversary, Danah Al Ali, Amal Murad, and Raha Moharrak will reveal all about their journeys – both their struggles and their triumphs – from 7pm. The Women of Great Accomplishments panel will be moderated by Lebanese-Australian model and humanitarian Jessica Kahawaty, herself a inspirational icon for her charity work. The philanthropist, who studied international human rights law, refugee law, and family law, has been involved with charities in Australia working to provide children with education and meals, and has visited several refugee camps around the region as part of her work.
Joining Kahawaty is Saudi-born Moharrak, who became a household name in May 2013 after she claimed the title of being the first woman from the Kingdom to climb Mount Everest. “Climbing was never a decision, it was a calling,” the adventurer, who has also conquered summits including Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Vinson, told Vogue Arabia in 2016. She shares such passion with fellow mountaineer Al Ali, a mother and full-time government worker who also climbed Kilimanjaro in 2013, and last year became the first Emirati woman to summit Argentina’s Aconcagua. Next year, she hopes to become the first Emirati woman to conquer Mount Everest.
Murad is also renowned for her thrill-seeking pursuits, having left her job as a graphic designer to pursue a career as the only female Emirati parkour expert. “Since childhood, I used to climb walls and vault over boxes in the neighborhood, pretending to be a ninja,” the personal trainer, who is also a Nike ambassador, told Vogue Arabia earlier this year.
They may have already been making headlines, but these four women are destined to continue making more as they smash those glass ceilings. To get an intimate, first-hand account of how they’ve made waves so far, don’t miss this one-off discussion.
Panel: Women of Great Accomplishments will begin at 7pm on Saturday, November 24, at the Vogue Loves Fashion Avenue main stage at The Dubai Mall’s Fashion Avenue. Spaces are limited and on a “first come, first served” basis. For more information about Vogue Loves Fashion Avenue, including a list of exclusive talks with celebrities and style icons, masterclasses from industry experts, and live performances, click here.
Now Read: Vogue Loves Fashion Avenue: Celebrating The Dubai Mall’s 10th Anniversary


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Quantum Break is an exclusive title for the Xbox One which was actually announced when the console came out back in 2013. Progress has been slow since then and last year the developer Remedy Entertainment confirmed that it was delaying the release of this title. It has now said that Quantum break is “close to being done,” with the title expect to finally arrive for the console this April.
The title has been created by Remedy Entertainment which has previously worked on games such as Max Payne and Alan Wake. The game is going to feature live action elements that are mixed with intense action to provide a thrilling entertainment adventure.
Thomas Puha, Remedy Entertainment’s head of PR, tweeted that there’s not too much time left for the title to arrive, adding that it’s “so close to being done.”
Remedy Entertainment has scheduled Quantum Break’s release for April 5th, 2016. Microsoft hasn’t ruled out a PC port of this title as yet but it most certainly won’t be arriving at launch. It’s exclusive to the Xbox One.


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Netflix has recently revealed that the company is trying to enter the world of gaming by hiring video game executives. In a shareholders letter, Netflix has shared more details about its gaming plans.
Netflix has confirmed that it is expanding into games to create interactive content such as Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and games based on popular franchises like Stranger Things. These games will be available to all subscribers at no extra cost. Netflix has also said that it will initially focus on developing mobile games only.
Netflix’s full statement about gaming reads, “We’re also in the early stages of further expanding into games, building on our earlier efforts around interactivity (eg, Black Mirror Bandersnatch) and our Stranger Things games. We view gaming as another new content category for us, similar to our expansion into original films, animation and unscripted TV. Games will be included in members’ Netflix subscription at no additional cost similar to films and series. Initially, we’ll be primarily focused on games for mobile devices. We’re excited as ever about our movies and TV series offering and we expect a long runway of increasing investment and growth across all of our existing content categories, but since we are nearly a decade into our push into original programming, we think the time is right to learn more about how our members value games.”
Recent reports suggest that Netflix is partnering with PlayStation to bring PlayStation games adaptations to streaming. It won’t be surprising to see Netflix and PlayStation collaborating as the streaming service already has several video game-related content such as The Witcher and Castlevania, and it is working on new gaming-related content including Splinter Cell animated series, League of Legends: Arcane series, Resident Evil live-action series, and more.


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Tassat Group Inc., a global provider of financial technologies and products for digital payments, today announced the appointment of David Koch as Managing Director, Sales & Business Development.
As Tassat continues its aggressive growth, Koch will lead the Company’s overall sales and distribution strategy to seize market opportunity and meet growing client demand. He will report to Chief Executive Officer, Ron Totaro.
Koch brings over 20 years of experience driving revenue across payments and commercial banking. His expertise spans blockchain payments, open banking and APIs, digital payments, ERP connectivity, real-time payments, and automation of the customer onboarding process. Koch joins Tassat from Ninth Wave Inc., where he served as Head of Strategic Accounts. He previously spent 10 years at Mastercard in various roles, ultimately serving as Vice President, Member Relations. Throughout his career he has held executive roles including Chief Commercial Officer at FISPAN, Director at CGI’s payment IP group, Vice President for Business Development at Earthport and Vice President for Marketing & Business Development at Promereo.
“B2B payments are a $23 trillion market that has yet to benefit from meaningful digital transformation, which presents immense opportunity for banks. When banks join TassatPay® Network, they’ll solve the problems their commercial customers experience with antiquated payment rails. We’re thrilled to welcome David to our team to support our market leadership in the space and ensure a seamless, efficient journey for our customers,” said Ron Totaro, Tassat CEO. “Our growing executive team is a testament to Tassat’s unwavering commitment to delivering blockchain-based real-time payments to the banking industry. David’s in-depth industry knowledge and extensive experience bringing payments technology to market is the perfect fit to help drive Tassat into its next growth phase.”
“Tassat is uniquely positioned to lead the banking industry to B2B digital payments because of its blockchain technology expertise and its track record running a high-volume B2B payments platform. I’ve long admired Tassat’s technology and forward-looking vision, and I’m excited to bring my decades of expertise to enable banks to bring the full complement of digital payments capability to their commercial customers,” said David Koch. “I look forward to driving rapid business growth as the company enters a burgeoning market.”


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Letizia's locks get a second look - the Princess ofAsturias showed off a new hairstyle in her latest appearance
It was just one pesky strand at the front that gave the game away as it worked its way loose to reveal that the new short do was in fact just a temporary measure. It's not the first time in recent months that Letizia has surprised with her barnet - she went all Great Gatsby with a twenties style up do on her November visit to America.
The Princess of Asturias hit the Gatsy trend just before the rest of the fashion pack proving she's always one trend step ahead
Not long afterwards, Kate tried an up do at a film premiere where she paired tied back hair with a repeat couture dress but most attention was focused on the High Street necklace she chose to top the outfit off. And she was back to long and lovely again within days, showing that when it comes to hair then her style rival, Letizia, is still moving ahead.
A rare glimpse of the Duchess of Cambridge with a different hair style


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AUSTRALIA’S biggest car parts retailers have become embroiled in a scandalous legal battle over who controls what car parts.Key points:AUSTRALIAN car parts seller Carpart NZ filed for bankruptcy in OctoberThe lawsuit claims Carpart has “failed to comply with the Australian Consumer Law”The case is now before the Federal CourtThe Australian Consumer Commission is suing Carpart […]
The Chevy Volt has long been known as the best car you can buy, but if you’re not looking for the best price on your new electric car, you’re probably missing out on a big chunk of your new vehicle’s powertrain.Now, thanks to a clever new feature in Chevy’s new software, you can easily create […]
When you purchase a new car, you’re likely to get a new set of wheels and tires, new steering wheel, a new air conditioning system, and a new transmission.But what if you don’t have those parts on hand?In that case, there’s always the option to purchase a brand new set from a third party.There are […]
Toyota is set to launch a new electric car in Brazil next year.The Japanese automaker will start testing a “toyo” electric vehicle, which will have a range of 300km (186 miles), and will have an overall cost of about $70,000.Toyota has been in talks with the Brazilian government about using its own batteries for the […]
This article was originally published by The Conversation.The article has been updated to include additional information.article This story was originally posted by The Associated Press.Read the original article.


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Complete your steampunk cosplay with a Samsung pocket watch
For some reason, it has a genuine compass inside.
The Galaxy Tab S3 is good, but not $600 good
You're paying a premium for the S Pen and an HDR display.
The Morning After: Tuesday, March 21st 2017
Smile for the camera.
ARM's latest CPUs are ready for an AI-powered future
'DynamIQ' technology is the next step beyond 'big.Little' multicore CPUs.
Samsung unveils Bixby, its Siri competitor
The virtual assistant will be a core feature for the Galaxy S8.
The Galaxy S8 may use your face for secure mobile payments
Samsung's next phone could combine facial, iris and fingerprint recognition.
Samsung promises monthly security updates for unlocked Galaxy devices
More frequent patches make for safer smartphones.
Samsung's 'The Frame' TV doubles as an art piece
The company is also shipping its QLED TVs in the US.
Apple wins Laptop Mag's tech support showdown (again)
But the runner-up is surprising.


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- Xiaomi is putting a premium price on its first electric car because it already has about 20 million users in that segment, Group President Weibing Lu told CNBC.
- The company has generally been known for more affordably priced products. That’s raised doubts about whether it can sell an electric car – promoted as a rival to Porsche – in a market where even established giant BYD is slashing prices.
- An important part of Xiaomi’s strategy is its operating system for connecting the car with the smartphones and home appliances the company already sells.
BEIJING – Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi believes it’s identified a consumer niche that will pay up for its upcoming electric car in a fiercely competitive market.
“We think it’s a good starting point for us in the premium segment because we have already 20 million premium users in China based on the smartphone,” Xiaomi Group President Weibing Lu told CNBC ahead of the car’s international reveal at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which kicks off Monday.
“I think the initial purchases will be very overlapped with the smartphone users.”
He said the company considered a range of price points, from entry level to luxury, for a car it’s spending $10 billion to develop.
Xiaomi revealed its SU7 electric car in China in late December but has yet to announce a specific price. Lu said a formal release would come “very soon” and indicated domestic deliveries would start as soon as the second quarter.
The Beijing-based company is a market leader in the smartphone industry, ranking third in global shipments behind Apple and Samsung, according to Canalys. Data from the tech market analysis firm showed that Xiaomi captured about 13% of the global market and shipped 146.4 million phones in 2023.
The company in recent years has also branched out into TVs and home appliances, which are smartphone-controllable and often sport a sleek, white design. Most of Xiaomi’s revenue is from phones, with just under 30% coming from appliances and other consumer products.
Xiaomi has generally been known for more affordably priced products. That’s raised doubts about whether it can sell an electric car – promoted as a rival to Porsche – in a market where even established EV giants like BYD are slashing prices.
In the future we think it’s not [that] we give the instruction to the device but actually [that] the device can understand your needs and meet your needs proactivelyWeibing LuXiaomi, president
Lu said Xiaomi’s approach is based on ecosystem development, as well as a smartphone “premiumization” strategy launched in 2020 that has since “achieved very good progress.”
In an earnings call in November, he noted the company benchmarked its latest Xiaomi 14 phone to the iPhone 15 Pro, and claimed the new device was “overtaking” Apple‘s, according to a FactSet transcript.
However, also eating into Apple’s market share is Huawei, whose popular Mate60 Pro starts at 6,499 yuan ($900), between the price range of the Xiaomi 14 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro.
Huawei saw smartphone shipments in the mainland surge by 47% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, putting it ahead of Xiaomi, according to Canalys.
Building on its tech capabilities as a telecommunications and smartphone company, Huawei has swiftly become a player in China’s electric car market.
The company launched the Aito vehicle brand in late 2021 and sells its HarmonyOS operating system and other software to multiple auto manufacturers. Huawei also promotes some of those cars, including the premium-priced Aito M9 SUV, by showing them in its smartphone stores.
Xiaomi launched a new operating system in the fall called HyperOS.
It claims the system includes an artificial intelligence component that can learn from user behavior to automatically adjust connected devices, such as home lighting.
“In the future, we think it’s not [that] we give the instruction to the device but actually [that] the device can understand your needs and meet your needs proactively,” Lu said.
The company calls the strategy “human x car x home.”
HyperOS is only available on Xiaomi’s 14 phone right now. But the system is due for rollout in the coming months to appliances and the forthcoming car, Lu said.
Spending billions of dollars on the ecosystem and the car are all part of Xiaomi’s efforts to survive in an industry the company expects will become even more competitive.
In 10 or 20 years, the electric vehicle market will likely be very similar to that of smartphones today — with the top five brands holding about 70% of the market, Lu said. “Without huge funds, we don’t think we can be the final players.”
After the first car, the next step for Xiaomi is to build its own factories and make the key components in-house, Lu said.
Xiaomi earlier this month announced its new smartphone factory in Beijing had started operations, with production capacity for more than 10 million devices.
For the SU7 car, Chinese government releases currently list a subsidiary of state-owned Baic Group as the manufacturer. Xiaomi told CNBC it didn’t have public information to share at the moment.
Overseas market an ‘amplifier’ for Xiaomi
Similar to an increasing number of Chinese companies, Xiaomi is looking overseas for future growth. For the last six years, between 40% to 50% of the company’s revenue came from outside mainland China, primarily Europe and India.
Lu, who joined Xiaomi Group in 2019, is also president of its international business department and said he spends “a lot of time” on the overseas market.
“It will be the amplifier of Xiaomi’s business,” he said, noting the overseas consumer electronics market is about triple the size of China’s.
As part of his trip to Barcelona for MWC, Lu said he’s visiting Paris, along with Africa and the Middle East.
He acknowledged the political environment makes it more difficult for Xiaomi to go global, but said the company can overcome those challenges by building up in-house capabilities and diversifying the business globally and by product.
As for the car, Lu declined to specify a timeframe for its overseas launch, but said it typically takes two to three years.


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Three start-ups complete Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas' second tech incubator scheme
Virtual programme comes to a close 16 weeks after development period kicked off in June
Indian law firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) has announced the conclusion of the second iteration of its tech incubator programme.
This year, three successful legal tech companies — Conduct, Presolv360 and PropertyChek — have emerged from the firm’s Delhi-based incubator, Prarambh, after completing the 16-week virtual incubation and development programme.
The trio of startups joined the scheme in June after they were selected from a pool of 24 applicants with the aim of developing scalable solutions for the legal and corporate sectors that ‘help fill a critical void’ in the Indian legal market and address business disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
This time, the startups were also selected based on an interest in improving on several key areas of the legal industry including access to justice, transactional efficiencies, law firm operations, litigation competencies and India’s remote workforce.
As part of the scheme, the first of its kind in India, the companies gained access to mentorship and guidance from industry professionals as well as CAM lawyers across a number of different business areas like governance, risk and compliance, product improvement, beta testing and growth strategies, among others.
The incubator, overseen by the firm’s chief innovation officer Komal Gupta, was first launched in 2019 with three legaltechs — JRTC Intern, Leegality, and LegalMind. The initial trio completed the incubator programme last May.
Gupta said the incubator “has had a significant impact on the domestic legal market” and has encouraged local entrepreneurs to “develop scalable solutions for the legal industry” while also increasing the visibility of legaltech to a broader range of clients and investors.
CAM’s managing partner, Cyril Shroff, added: “India’s legal industry needs dynamic legatech solutions, now more than ever, as businesses are looking to improve and sustain work efficiency in virtual environments. With Prarambh, we aim to supplement this need and pave the way for growth of LegalTech solutions in India.”
The Mumbai-based giant is certainly not the only law firm to continue its investment in young tech companies this year in response to the pandemic. Last week, Spanish law firm Cuatrecasas launched the sixth edition of its legal tech startup acceleration programme, Cuatrecasas Acelera, with six new startups set to join the four-month programme.
And in May, Allen & Overy elected 11 new legal and financial tech companies to take part in the second fully-virtual and fifth overall edition of its tech incubator, Fuse.


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Google has begun testing its own all-you-can-eat subscription service similar to Xbox Game Pass and Apple Arcade.
XDA Developers found evidence of such a subscription last year, but until now any further news had gone quiet.
A screenshot of a signup page for Play Pass was sent to Android Police. The subscription markets itself as: "All play, no interruptions. Access hundreds of premium apps and games, with no ads or in-app purchases."
The US pricing for Play Pass appears to be set at $4.99 per month.
Subscription services have become more popular in recent years as they help to solve multiple problems:
Discovery – Unlimited access helps users to try new games and apps they otherwise wouldn't have.
No ads or in-app purchases – Developers sometimes need to implement ads or in-app purchases to make money from a freemium release. The experience is damaged as a result, which is neither what the user wants nor the developer after their hard work.
Funding – In an increasingly cutthroat industry, gaining funding to pursue a vision can be difficult. Subscriptions like Xbox Game Pass have shown how even smaller developers can access funding to bring their big ideas to life.
An info page for Play Pass reads: "Explore a curated catalog spanning puzzle games to premium music apps and everything in between. From action hits to puzzles and fitness trackers, with Google Play Pass you unlock access to hundreds of premium apps and games without ads, download fees or in-app purchases."
A screenshot shows Marvel Pinball and Stardew Valley as two of the included games in Play Pass. Google will likely have to secure a few exclusives to really sell Play Pass, just as it will with its new Stadia game streaming subscription.
Whether a subscription service is viable on Android remains to be seen. It's well-known that Android users on average spend much less than their iOS counterparts, but we hope Play Pass is successful in helping developers gain a bit more visibility and money in their pockets from users of Google's platform.
Interested in hearing industry leaders discuss subjects like this? Attend the co-located IoT Tech Expo, Blockchain Expo, AI & Big Data Expo, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo World Series with upcoming events in Silicon Valley, London, and Amsterdam.


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By Dhanya Skariachan and Jim Finkle
NEW YORK/BOSTON (Reuters) – The data breach at Target Corp over the holiday shopping season was far bigger than initially thought, the U.S. retailer said on Friday, as state attorneys general announced a nationwide investigation into the cyber-attack.
The personal information of at least 70 million customers was stolen by cyber-criminals, including names, mailing addresses, phone numbers and email addresses, Target said. Previously, it said data was stolen from some 40 million credit and debit cards between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15.
Spokeswoman Molly Snyder said it was likely the two groups overlap, but said the extent of overlap was not clear yet.
“I know that it is frustrating for our guests to learn that this information was taken and we are truly sorry they are having to endure this,” Target Chief Executive Gregg Steinhafel said in a statement on Friday.
The No. 3 U.S. retailer lowered its fourth-quarter profit forecast, in part due to weaker-than-expected sales since reports of the cyber-attack emerged in mid-December. Shares of Target fell 1 percent to $62.72, hovering near a year-low.
Security experts said they feared Target has not yet fully grasped the scope of the data breach, which is considered the second biggest payment card attack in retail history.
“I think they still have no idea how big this is,” said David Kennedy, a former U.S. Marine Corps cyber-intelligence analyst who runs his own consulting firm, TrustedSec LLC.
Attorneys general from New York and Massachusetts announced on Friday that they were joining a nationwide probe into the security breach. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman called Target’s announcement on Friday “troubling”.
“Consumers in New York and around the country expect and deserve companies to protect their personal information when they shop on websites and in their stores,” Schneiderman told Reuters.
Jaclyn Falkowski, a spokeswoman for the Connecticut Attorney General, said: “We are actively engaged in investigating this matter with colleagues across the country and will be looking at these new and serious aspects disclosed by Target today as part of that investigation.”
Target said last month that hackers stole data from up to 40 million credit and debit cards during the peak holiday shopping season. Information security experts said the data could be used to fabricate false magnetic strip credit cards.
Cyber-criminals typically sell stolen personal information on underground exchanges for use in email “phishing” campaigns aimed at persuading victims to hand over even more sensitive information, such as bank account numbers.
If a Target customer’s information was stolen, “I would be very careful in looking out for phishing scams,” said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer for the computer security software company F-Secure.
Reports of fraudulent card charges have been growing since the breach was disclosed, said an executive at one major card issuer who asked not to be identified.
The full magnitude of the damage won’t likely be known until later in January, when customers receive and examine their monthly statements and call their banks, the executive said. He added that in past cases, it has taken 30 to 45 days for the vast majority of bad charges to surface.
Target and credit card issuers have said customers will have zero liability for the cost of any fraudulent charges.
The largest-known breach at a U.S. retailer, uncovered in 2007 was at TJX Cos Inc, where more than 90 million credit cards were stolen over about 18 months.
On Friday Target cut its fourth-quarter adjusted earnings forecast for U.S. operations to $1.20 to $1.30 per share from $1.50 to $1.60.
The Minneapolis-based company also forecast a 2.5 percent decline in fourth-quarter same-store sales. It had forecast flat sales.
Target expects full-year earnings per share to include charges related to the data breach, but said it could not estimate the costs.
Janney Capital Markets analyst David Strasser described Target’s holiday sales report card as “dismal.”
“We all knew it was going to be bad at Target, but it was the magnitude of decline that was unclear,” he said. “Clearly, the first half of the fourth quarter was impacted by an aggressive holiday season across retail, but the credit card data breach had a significant impact post December 19th.”
“The key risk remains the time it takes for consumers to forgive Target. If this is like past breaches this should normalize as the year progresses,” said Strasser.
(Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld and Jilian Mincer in New York, Siddharth Cavale in Bangalore and Alina Selyukh in Washington; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Tiffany Wu and Jeffrey Benkoe)


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Wirecard buys Romanian payment provider Provus Group
German payments company Wirecard has purchased all shares of Romanian payment provider Provus Group for EUR32m.
Provus, which employs 114 staff, supports companies in outsourcing acquiring and card processing, e-commerce payment transactions and point-of-sale (POS) operations.
The company has also worked with the Romanian government in the digitisation of health and payment cards.
It also offers end-to-end solutions in the field of card management, including a card personalisation office and several payment transaction options across various channels including ATMs, POS and e-commerce.
Wirecard CEE MD Roland Toch said: “This acquisition will allow Wirecard to systematically step up its expansion into Eastern Europe. The business model compliments our global payment gateway as well as our European acquiring and issuing licence.”
Innova Capital Managing Partner Krzysztof Kulig said: “The collaboration with a strong and renowned partner as Wirecard is a guarantee of implementation of the long-term strategy to strengthen leadership in financial service sector in Romania.”
The existing management team will remain in place following the acquisition.


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Kacey Musgraves is the new face of Christmas. Or at least that’s what Amazon Prime is banking on with "The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show."
The show is Amazon's first Christmas special and will feature Musgraves, whose brand of poppy country music has won her Grammy awards, CMA honors and blossoming fame.
Many subscription based streaming platforms have already entered the Christmas programming arena, with Netflix pumping out Christmas movies like “A Prince for Christmas” and “The Knight Before Christmas.” But Amazon Prime is the first service to produce a Christmas variety show, reminiscent of the classic broadcast Christmas specials from the 1960s and '70s.
Traditionally, Christmas is a hot time for broadcast television viewership numbers to soar. Nieslen calculated in 2015 that upward of 217 million viewers, including 40 million millennials, tuned in to watch a festive selection of variety shows, movies and TV series during the holiday season.
But broadcast viewership has been falling year by year, while subscription-based streaming platforms' viewership continues to rise, a trend that suggests that Musgraves’ Amazon Christmas Special has the potential to become the new norm for this type of programming.
“Paying tribute to the shows of the past, whilst setting a trend for the present,” said executive producer Ben Winston in a statement describing the special. “'The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show' is something we are proud of and very excited for an audience to see.”
While the platform may be modern, Musgraves' special still aims for a nostalgic and classical twist from the broadcast specials of old. Think a mix of the hokey, punny charm of “The Sonny & Cher Christmas Show” and the familial elegance and charm of the “Judy Garland Christmas Special.”
Kacey Musgraves on her ‘Christmas Show’ and music heroesNov. 27, 201904:57
Traditional Christmas songs like “Let it Snow” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” which were featured on Musgraves' 2016 album, “A Very Kacey Christmas,” will have a playfully modern twist. She will also premiere a completely new holiday song called “Glittery,” that she will sing with Troye Sivan.
The show’s fashion will also be a modern and classic hybrid, as Musgraves performs in a sparkly array of vintage inspired ensembles, from '70s inspired puffed sleeves to ugly Christmas sweaters.
“My vision was to bring my old Christmas album to life visually and create a modern and fashionable, fresh take on a classic format,” said Musgraves in the Amazon press release. “It’s a nostalgic, Wes Anderson-inspired reimagining of the holidays.”
Besides over the top fashion and whimsical, glittery backdrops, the special will host an eclectic group of comedians, singers, actors and more. From host Dan Levy of "Schitt's Creek" to Fred Armisen, Lana Del Roy, Camila Cabello, James Corden, Leon Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, Troye Sivan and even Musgraves’ own grandmother, the special will be dripping with star talent.
The special will be available on Amazon Prime Friday.


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Procter & Gamble Co.'s Multicultural Market Development Organization in San Juan, P.R. is reaching out to these consumers -- most of them Hispanic -- as part of its overall ethnic pitch.
Graciela Eleta de Cacho, general manager of P&G's MMDO, noting the Hispanic segment as an example, says while many fourth- or fifth-generation Americans are acculturated, most living in the North American region tend to be new immigrants.
"They come as new entrants to categories we market to them: paper towels, conditioners, even disposable diapers," says Ms. Eleta. "Some of these categories are very underdeveloped. We have to do a lot of educational marketing."
FOCUS ON FAMILY
P&G held focus groups in several cities with large Hispanic populations and learned immigrants want information about medical services, education and how to get the family ahead in the U.S. without losing their culture's influences.
"These consumers are so hungry to see our product. Many categories are new to them and they don't understand the value of paper towels instead of rags, for example," Ms. Eleta says.
One of P&G's newest strategies is a door-to-door promotion targeting Spanish and English dominant in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. "Avanzando con tu familia," which means "Advancing with your family" is a doorhanger effort that includes coupons, samples and a magazine by the same title.
Sometimes the trick for marketers is to find the consumers. In the general market as well as in the acculturated and bilingual markets, media opportunities are becoming more plentiful -- but are still not on par with general market media.
MCI WorldCom was able to develop a database when it set up 10 toll-free in-language customer service lines in Arabic, Cantonese, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese.
In general, "mailing lists [for newly arrived Asians] are hard to find because [they] don't have the profilings for companies to call on them," says Alex Nakhapetian, direct mail director for specialty shop Admerasia, New York, and MCI's agency for Asian advertising. As a result, "many companies are not interested in [direct mail to newcomers]."
MCI was able to use its database to develop consumer profiles, offer promotions such as in-language sweepstakes, rebates and coupons and ultimately create more expansive mailing lists.
Another Admerasia client, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., uses Chinese dailies to promote its financial services via educational brochures and seminars. Its current Chinese-language color newspaper ad is titled "Life Advice" and invites consumers to fill out a coupon, check boxes to indicate which topics are of interest and mail it in.
Mr. Nakhapetian notes that in-language newspapers can be an important tool, but present a daunting task as in the Vietnamese market alone there are more than 100 community newspapers.
The local focus for Asian consumers makes sense, according to Julia Huang, CEO of InterTrend Communications, Torrance, Calif.
Many of the newly arrived Asians end up in clustered communities. So reaching them is more cost effective, but "the challenge for advertisers is that the market is segmented and you can't have one campaign for Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Laotian consumers."
"Hopefully, the Internet will open the door to more opportunities," Mr. Nakhapetian says. He thinks it will provide direct marketers with more cost-efficient access to consumers in their native language. Admerasia has a sister shop, Cyverasia, which focuses on the Internet.
McDonald's Corp. and Burger King Corp. say they provide culturally relevant in-language efforts, but don't differentiate to reach the newly-arrived.
"We have not found any differences in trial, usage, frequency or loyalty between new arrivals and those who have lived in the U.S. for a longer period of time," says Sandy Salinas, director of ethnic marketing for Burger King.
So far, neither fast-food marketer has developed national campaigns for the Asian-American segment to mirror Hispanic efforts. McDonald's has a national effort in development, says Marta Gerdes, senior director of multicultural marketing for the chain.M
Contributing: Nancy Coltun Webster.


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Dec 11, 2014 ● By Kevin
Elaine Turner Southlake's grand opening takes place tonight, and check out the holiday spectaculars going on this weekend in and around Southlake with this week's Editor's PIcks Events.
Nov 24, 2014 ● By Kevin
The internationally recognized manufacturer added its fourth U.S. store last week.
Nov 18, 2014 ● By Kevin
Berkeys' partnership with GRACE continues this year with a toy drive to help families in need.
May 01, 2014 ● By 16560
The City of Southlake is in talks to potentially acquire a new Westin hotel during the first reading of a site plan during a recent...
Mar 11, 2014 ● By Dia
The City of Southlake recently award Adolfson & Peterson Construction a project to build a new community recreation center...
Nov 27, 2012 ● By Mike
From big box stores like Walmart and HomeGoods to luxury and niche retailers by the likes of Michael Kors and Tyler’s, Southlake has seen a great...


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Luminate, the official data provider for Billboard, has revealed the 2023 mid-year report today, revealing the top selling albums and singles so far in 2023.
The expansive report also tells us a lot more stats about music consumption around the world, how physical sales are taking over, growth in different markets of the world, the top performing genres and much more. According to the data company, there were on an average 112k tracks uploaded every day on streaming services, compared to the average of 94.3k last year. Out of the above, only 3.3% came through major labels.
As far as top albums go, Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time is the best performing LP of the year so far with 3.3 million in total consumption (Album sales + TEA + On-Demand SEA). SZA’s SOS is a far second at 1.9 million. The most impressive name on the list is certainly Metro Boomin whose album Heroes & Villains tallies 1.038 million in comsumption.
In the songs category too, Morgan Wallen takes the top spot with his smash hit ‘last Night’ while Miley Cyrus comes in at close second ‘Flowers’. Wallen’s ‘Last Night’ is also the top streaming song of 2023 so far with 588.7 million streams.
As you can see from the chart above, R&B/Hip-Hop still rules the game in total consumption out of all genres at 25.9% of the total pie. It is followed by Rock, Pop, Country and Latin in that order.
Another interesting stat that Luminate has presented is that Asia has shown the biggest increase in markets around the world as far as streaming growth is concerned. That is followed by South Africa, LATAM, and Australia + New Zealand in that order. Europe is the slowest at 57%.
The share of English language tracks in consumption has also declined from last year, as seen from the chart below.


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Microsoft is warning of an emerging threat targeting internet-connected cryptocurrency wallets, signaling a departure in the use of digital coins in cyberattacks.
The tech giant has dubbed the new threat “cryware,” with attacks resulting in the irreversible theft of virtual currencies through fraudulent transfers to an adversary-controlled wallet.
“Cryoware are information thieves that collect and exfiltrate data directly from non-custodial cryptocurrency wallets, also known as hot wallets“, Berman Enconado and Laurie Kirk of the Microsoft 365 Defender Research Team mentioned in a new report.
“Because hot wallets, unlike custodial wallets, are stored locally on a device and provide easier access to the cryptographic keys needed to complete transactions, more and more threats are targeting them.”
Attacks of this kind are not theoretical. Earlier this year, Kaspersky exposed a financially motivated campaign organized by North Korea-based Lazarus Group, which involved targeting crypto companies with malware designed to drain funds from hot wallets.
Cryware encompasses the following threats –
- Cryptojackers who surreptitiously consume a target’s device resources to mine cryptocurrency
- Ransomware campaigns that use cryptocurrency as a ransom payment to avoid detection
- Information thieves (e.g. Mars Stealer, RedLine Stealer, Arkeiand Raccoon) which are increasingly being upgraded to siphon active wallet data alongside other valuable information stored in the system, and
- ClipBankers (aka clippers) that steal cryptocurrency during transactions by monitoring the clipboard and replacing the original wallet address with the attacker’s address
These information theft attacks aim to extract hot wallet data such as private keys, seed phrases, and wallet addresses, allowing the threat actor to initiate malicious transactions and transfer funds to another wallet.
Alternatively, cyber criminals have also been observed to use techniques such as core dumping to display private keys in the clear, keylogging to capture keystrokes entered by a victim, or designing similar wallet websites to induce users to enter their private keys.
To mitigate these threats, Microsoft recommends that users and organizations lock down active wallets when not trading, disconnect sites connected to a wallet, avoid storing private keys in the clear, and verify the value of the wallet. wallet address when copying and pasting information.
“Cryware signifies a shift in the use of cryptocurrencies in attacks: no longer as a means to an end, but as the end itself,” the researchers said.
We want to say thanks to the author of this write-up for this outstanding web content
Microsoft Warns of Infostealing Malware ‘Cryware’ Targeting Crypto Wallets
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Norwegian aluminium maker Norsk Hydro has been under what it describes as "an extensive cyber attack" that has affected several areas of the company's operations. The malware affecting the firm is believed to the LockerGoga ransomware that attacks Windows systems.
Changes in the threat landscape mean organisations should take a fresh look at their endpoint security measures, Trend Micro global vice-president of market strategy Eric Skinner has told iTWire.
More than a week after it was hit by a self-admitted cyber attack, Toyota Australia's corporate IT systems are still offline, the company says on its website.
Having FTTP internet I took a good hard look at what my telephone requirements were.I found I could get Australian[…]
It’s clearly both. Oppo bills itself the camera phone company, Apple spent a lot of time during its iPhone keynote[…]
So what was the root cause of the issue?I wonder why system outage of this big is still happens in[…]
So I wonder what has caused this type of major outage that long?
What are these guys selling?A mobile phone or a mobile camera?


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"We are very pleased to have Sundance join our group," said Mike Girard. "We will continue to invest heavily in North America to expand our network of local neighborhood dental centers, committed to quality, value, and amazing customer support for dentists and their patients across the U.S. and Canada. Steve and his team now bring some deep knowledge and experience, especially in the design, consultation, and manufacture of implant prosthetics. Sundance Dental Laboratory is the perfect partner, and we're excited to build a new implant center with them."
Steve Dearien added, "We couldn't be happier to join the Modern Group. Modern is well known around the world as a quality dental manufacturer. This strategic partnership will enable Sundance to chart a strong course for the future. We have already started the design and planning of the new Modern Sundance Dental Implant Center of Excellence right here in Scottsdale."


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FCC Aims To Expand Internet Subsidies for Low-Income Users
Is a subsidized program the best way to bridge the digital divide? A $1.7-billion federal program might hold the answer. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) aims to overhaul its Lifeline program, which subsidizes phone service for low-income consumers, to help expand access to high-speed Internet.
The plan, unveiled Thursday by FCC head Tom Wheeler (pictured), was revealed in a commission document seeking comment on modernizing and reforming Lifeline for broadband. About 12 million households used the program last year -- up from 7 million in 2008 -- which began 30 years ago to ensure that all Americans had access to basic telecommunications services.
"Since 1985, Lifeline has helped make phone service affordable for low-income Americans," according to Wheeler's proposal. "But to continue to serve its statutory purpose, Lifeline must evolve to meet today’s most pressing communications needs, including access to broadband."
Take Your Pick
Lifeline is funded by a small fee on consumers' monthly phone bills. Recipients get a $9.25 monthly subsidy on one phone line per household -- either a land line or wireless -- that is paid to their carriers. Wheeler wants to expand Lifeline’s options to include broadband service.
Households would still be limited to one subsidy, so consumers would have to decide to apply the amount, which would likely remain at $9.25 a month, to either voice or broadband service. Wheeler said he is not planning to increase the fees paid by consumers to fund the program.
While more than 95 percent of homes with annual incomes of $150,000 or more have broadband access, only 48 percent of those households making less than $25,000 have service at home, according to the FCC.
Also, almost half of low-income Americans have had to cancel or suspend smartphone service due to financial hardship. Since low-income consumers disproportionately use smartphones for Internet access, those figures put them at a disadvantage at a time when broadband access is essential for access to education and information, for managing and receiving health care, and for daily tasks such as checking bank balances, according to the FCC.
FCC commissioners will meet to discuss Wheeler's proposal on June 18. If it’s approved, the agency would seek public comment on establishing minimum standards for broadband and phone service to ensure both Lifeline subscribers and ratepayers are getting the best possible value from the service.
We reached out to Teresa Mastrangelo, chief analyst for Broadbandtrends, who told us that there’s already a program, Connect to Compete, that’s primarily serviced by cable operators, including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter and others. It offers broadband service for about $10 a month and -- with help from partners -- arranges for low-income families to have access to low cost computers.
"This program has already been quite successful in helping to close the digital divide in many markets," Mastrangelo said. "It seems to me that the FCC should be working to have more operators participate in this program rather than take multiple years to make a change to the Lifeline program."
Wheeler also proposed a change in how the program is operated. Phone companies currently determine if a household is eligible for a Lifeline subsidy. Wheeler wants to take the eligibility determination away from the companies and give it to an independent third-party administrator.


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While more than 8 in 10 American parents say it’s never too early to teach a child about money, just more than half follow through and have those conversations, a Chase survey finds.
Generation X parents were far likelier than other generations to have initiated money conversations with their children, with 71 percent reporting they had done so. In contrast, only 49 percent of baby boomer parents and 43 percent of millennial parents said such conversations had taken place.
When it came to discussions about credit cards, only 32 percent of American parents said they had explained to their children what credit scores are. Yet 38 percent of parents reported they had encouraged their child to get their first credit card.
See related: 4 wrong money messages for kids (and 4 right ones)
Chase conducted its annual credit survey among a nationally representative sample of 1,000 U.S. adults and an additional sample of 2,000 millennials. Administered in March and April 2018, Chase released its findings on May 11.


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GameSpot might get a fee from retail provides.
It’s been one week since Mario Kart Tour arrived on iOS and Android gadgets, and regardless of its aggressive microtransactions, it is already proving to be a giant hit for Nintendo. The recreation amassed a record-breaking 10.1 million downloads on launch day, and now that quantity has climbed to 90 million, cell analytics tracker Sensor Tower experiences.
According to Sensor Tower, that makes Mario Kart Tour Nintendo’s quickest cell recreation launch so far. By comparability, the earlier recreation to carry that distinction, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, hit 14 million downloads in its first week, whereas Super Mario Run garnered 13 million (though in contrast to the opposite two titles, gamers needed to spend $10 to unlock all the things past Super Mario Run’s first three ranges).
Sensor Tower shares another fascinating knowledge on how Mario Kart Tour is faring. Thus far, it appears the sport is extra common on Android than iOS gadgets, accounting for practically 60% of its downloads. However, iOS homeowners have spent far extra money on the sport; greater than 75% of its gross income comes from the App Store. The US leads by way of downloads and income.
According to Sensor Tower, Mario Kart Tour has grossed greater than $12 million in its first week available on the market. However, Nintendo’s most profitable cell recreation remains to be far and away Fire Emblem Heroes. Since it launched again in early 2017, the title has generated greater than $618 million. Pocket Camp presently sits at second with $111 million in income, whereas Dragalia Lost is shut behind at $106 million.
Mario Kart Tour’s first Tour event remains to be stay, and it provides an opportunity to unlock two particular characters: Pauline and Musician Mario. While there isn’t multiplayer in Mario Kart Tour yet, Nintendo says the characteristic will probably be coming sooner or later. For extra on the sport, be sure you take a look at our Mario Kart Tour impressions.


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Alex Steffen once wrote that "the answer to the problem of the American car is not under the hood, and we're not going to find a bright green future by looking there." Perhaps the most hilarious proof of his thesis is the parking lot at Tesla headquarters, where the rapidly growing company cannot accommodate all the cars that its employees drive to work.
“Parking is, like, one of my biggest nightmares—like, where do we park everyone?” said the Tesla Inc. chief executive, on a recent earnings call with analysts who were trying to probe concerns about the electric-car maker’s year ahead.
Traffic is driving me nuts. Am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging...— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 17, 2016
We have already seen how Musk is so upset about getting stuck in Traffic that he is going to start building tunnels; you would think that he would look out the window at the parking lot and recognize that his cars are part of the problem, not the solution, but there you go.
According to the WSJ article, Tesla is trying to fix things by offering shuttle buses and repainting lines.
Tesla has tried to encourage alternatives to driving, such as biking, public transportation and the shuttle buses provided from around the Bay Area, and the company also tickets the scalawags. Parking offenders at the factory can return to find boots on their tires or their cars towed to a distant overflow lot.
But I really doubt that many of the people who work at Tesla HQ can afford to live within biking distance; the cheapest apartments in Palo Alto cost thousands per month. The office has a walk score of 7. The entire area is car-dependent.
Making all those cars electric wouldn't change a thing in that parking lot; in fact it might make it worse because everyone would want a power outlet so they could not pack in extra cars. And as much as one can admire Elon Musk for what he has done with Tesla, the last word goes to Alex Steffen:
There is a direct relationship between the kinds of places we live, the transportation choices we have, and how much we drive. The best car-related innovation we have is not to improve the car, but eliminate the need to drive it everywhere we go.


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As Australia emerges from lockdown, the rollercoaster ride continues for the retail sector, with trade data from May revealing a surge in sales—the highest in 38 years of records—following a record-breaking fall in April.
Retail trade rose by a record 16.3 per cent in May, after falling a record 17.7 per cent in April in the wake of a pandemic-induced 8.5 per cent increase prior to that, in March, fuelled by panic buying.
The continuing “wild swings” are in line with what are now the all-too-familiar phases of lockdown and coronavirus containment measures, with Australians restricting their spending to supermarkets, specialty food stores, liquor outlets and household goods stores in March and April.
As stores began to re-open in May, a sense of “normalcy” returned to the retail landscape, with a rise in retail spending as consumers dipped into the household travel budget, which is dormant due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.
As restrictions eased throughout the month, the May figures show rises in every industry, but “particularly strong” rises in industries that recorded low levels of trade in April such as clothing, footwear and personal accessories.
“The monthly rise in clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing exceeds 100 per cent but remains more than 20 per cent down on May 2019.
“Similarly, cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services rose around 30 per cent from April to May 2020 but remains 30 per cent below the level of May 2019,” the ABS said.
Commsec chief economist Craig James says the data will come as “really positive news” for consumers and businesses alike.
“It says that the economy is getting back to normal [which] will be especially heartening for smaller retailers.”
The retail trade figures come as the Shopping Centre Council of Australia revealed that 80 per cent of all SMEs have requested rental assistance in the wake of the National Cabinet’s Code of Conduct, announced in April as part of measures to offset the economic impact of coronavirus.
Sectors that account for the largest proportion of offers or agreements for rental assistance were cafes, food catering and takeaway retail (26 per cent), hair salons, beauty therapists, nail artists and shoe repairers (21 per cent) and clothing and footwear (14 per cent)—most of which bore the brunt of government gathering and trading restrictions.
Small to medium-enterprises from New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland account for almost three-quarters of offers (at 32 per cent, 29 per cent and 23 per cent respectively), with other jurisdictions expected to account for more offers and agreements in the future as negotiations continue following the recent full enactment of the code of conduct across all jurisdictions.
The progress in agreements comes as increases in consumer confidence, foot traffic and store re-openings point to improved trading conditions, reaffirmed by the preliminary ABS retail data.
SCCA executive director Angus Nardi said that rental relief was getting through to those who needed it most.
“The increasing volume of agreements illustrate that the Commercial Tenancy Code of Conduct announced by the Prime Minister on 7 April 2020 is working, and our industry and SME retailers are reaching practical solutions to address the challenging economic circumstances.”
Nardi added that shopping centre owners were committed to reviewing and appropriately responding to every rental assistance request to ensure SME retailers can thrive as more Australians return to the shops.


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Chuao Chocolatier adopts Fair Trade USA logo on packaging
Premium chocolate brand founded 15 years ago in San Diego, California produces culinary-driven chocolate products.
Co-founder and chef, Michael Antonorsi, said:“[We] cross flavors sometimes from the savory side to the sweet side, trying to bring multi-sensory experiences to the consumer,”
The brand currently offers a variety of flavors under its signature premium bar line, including potato chip, spicy Maya, and strawberry waffle.
Chuao said there have been over 1,200 companies committed to fair trade sourcing as of 2015. “This movement is a reflection of consumers’ growing awareness of where and how their food is sourced,” the company added.
Antonorsi noted that Chuao has implemented multiple sustainability practices at its factory – “from reduced packaging and organic certified cleaning solutions, to upgrading facility to be energy efficient.”
However, the company only started sourcing Fair Trade USA certified cocoa about two years ago.
“We craft our confections in partnership with reputable US chocolate purveyors. It is of utmost importance to us that the chocolate purveyors we select provide documentation that the chocolate we purchase is ethically sourced,” the spokesperson said.
Chuao did not disclose any detailed information about its chocolate providers. Antonorsi said the company sources cocoa from multiple suppliers.
“We are not bean-to-bar,” he pointed out. “We work with our chocolate manufacturers to make sure that the signature line uses Venezuelan cocoa in the mix, which is our proprietary blend.”
Making premium more accessible
Chuao believes that chocolate made with sustainable cocoa is not exclusive to those consumers who are willing to pay a premium price. It recently developed a line called “California Collective” targeting mass audiences.
The range is covered with brand new California-themed packaging. Its five flavors are pool party pretzel, salted caramel dreamin’, bright & sunny honey, sea salt surf, and sun kissed coconut, and each bar retails for around $3 – nearly half the price of Chuao’s signature bar.
“California Collective is more like a ‘spring board’ for consumers to get familiar with us. It helps reduce the barrier of entry in terms of getting to taste our chocolate,” Antonorsi said.
He added creating the new packaging was a “collaborative process” by different teams at Chuao. “We have been traveling and figuring out how to create a collection of bars that somehow can highlight the spirit of the company and the location of where we live – San Diego,” he said.
However, the California chocolate bars do not use cocoa exclusively from Venezuela, and “that’s how we achieved a lower price point,” Antonorsi said.
“The key thing is that all the cocoa is fair-trade. The bottom line is the flavor achieved through the production of the chocolate is what we expect so we can actually add other ingredients to enhance the experience of the consumer,” he added.
Chuao is expected to continue delivering “sustainable growth” in 2018, Antonorsi said.


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FRANKFURT -- Sometimes car designers whisper among themselves: "It's a shame we have to put people inside cars."
A few expressed that sentiment last month at the Frankfurt auto show as they looked over the displays and thought about styling trends and the factors that affect their work. Designers are dealing with a host of real-world concerns as they are being called upon more than ever to create new brand identities.
Increasingly, government safety regulations impinge on their whimsy, restricting swoop, curvature, rake and line. And conflicting rules of different countries or continents make "global design" that much more challenging.
But stylists are making the best of new technology in an effort to adapt to regulations and give their brands a design identity.
Julian Thomson, Jaguar Cars' advanced design director, says unbelted-occupant and pedestrian-protection regulations have a big impact on creativity.
"You can see who has good rapport between design and engineering in the final design," Thomson said at the auto show here. "It's not like we have engineering conferences saying, "You can't do this.' But it's not a clean sheet."
Some automakers smoothly incorporate new regulations into their designs; others do it more awkwardly.
"It will be no different than when the 5-mph bumpers were required" in the 1970s, Thomson says.
"At first we had those hideous, gigantic rubber bumpers. But with the second generation, people got used to it and designers were more ready for it."


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On December 15, JD Malat Gallery will hold a solo exhibition titled “Mimmo Rotella: The Urban Poet” in collaboration with the Italian Embassy in London. The event will serve as a major tribute to the prominent Italian post-war artist Domenico “Mimmo” Rotella, who was particularly famous for his décollage technique.
Category Archives: Events (Out-and-About)
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Priveekollektie Contemporary Art & Design, the leading international art gallery in the Netherlands, will take part in Art Miami 2022. The upcoming Florida fair is scheduled for November 29 – December 4, with its traditional location at One Herald Plaza.
This week, on November 16-17, Sotheby’s and Christie’s conducted two art auctions in New York City. Evening sales have generated hundreds of millions of dollars for each auction house. Let’s take a look!
On November 3-6, the Art Dealers Association of America, or ADAA, celebrated its 60th anniversary by launching the 34th edition of The Art Show. Take a look at the fair’s highlights.
The Art Assembly, the affiliation of many major international art shows and festivals, plans to launch a brand-new art fair in Tokyo – Tokyo Gendai – on July 7-9, 2023. Let’s get down to some essential details.
On September 25-30, Doha, the capital city of Qatar, welcomed thousands of international guests who came to participate in Qatar International Art Festival, or QIAF 2022. How did it go, and what is the connection between the festival and the rise of contemporary art in one of the richest and most expensive countries in the world? Let’s find out!
In case you live in New York City, you should try your luck at Auctions at Showplace. The antique store and auction house will hold its next traditional estate auction on October 23. Among the offered lots, there is a pair of metal masks by the prominent Austrian artist Franz Hagenauer.
JD Malat Gallery will host the debut solo exhibition by Harare-born artist Tega Tafadzwa on October 12. Titled “RWENDO – WHICH MEANS JOURNEY,” it will feature 15 new paintings exploring the stories of people who went through “marginalization” and had to cope with the challenges of so-called “othering.” The debut exhibition is curated in collaboration with Africa First and will be on view from October 12 to November 7 2022.


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A group of bodega workers rallied on Wednesday, calling for the state to make changes to its bail reform law.
They say shoplifting has become a major problem, because criminals steal from their stores and then are released back on the street without bail and are able to strike again.
“How many small businesses don’t want to do business in New York? It’s because of this. It’s because of the way we treat repeat offenders” spokesman Fernando Mateo said.
Earlier this week, Governor Kathy Hochul called for the legislature to make changes to bail reform that would give judges more discretion.
Photo Credit: Getty Images


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From smartphones and texting to ATM’s and self-checkout, consumer technologies have been helping us avoid each other for years. But a handful of new apps and online services, collectively termed “shared economy,” have begun to reverse that trend.
Cubbyhole, the newest addition to this growing field, does for storage what fellow shared-economy services Airbnb and Lyft have done for lodging and transportation, respectively: It lets users rent their storage space out to strangers.
Renters specify how much space they need and for how long, and snap a photo of the goods they need to store. The request then goes out to registered hosts, who can accept it with a single tap. Prices start at $15, renters pay via credit card directly through the app, and hosts collect 70 percent.
The app, which launched in September, has over 250 registered users and sees an average of three to five transactions per week. Most of the users are tourists who want to stash their luggage while they explore the city. But Jason Kaplan says the app is also well-suited for longer-term and larger-scale storage, and expects it to make many college students’ lives easier come move-in day.
Cubbyhole has multiple security features to ensure the safety of both renters and hosts: All users are verified via Facebook and credit card, the items that renters drop off with hosts are insured up to $1,000 and Cubbyhole has a 24-hour telephone hotline in case something goes wrong.
But many users have reported that the greatest assurance of security actually comes from the face-to-face interaction that Cubbyhole involves. “Meeting someone in person you get a great sense of trust or distrust,” Kaplan said. “That doesn’t exist on the digital plane alone.”
Although the shared economy market’s main driver is cost savings, Kaplan believes that a large part of its appeal is the way it brings people together.
“What I love about the shared economy experience is that it brings human beings back into what is really, essentially human,” he said. “It allows human beings to interact again in a way that has been missing for a while.”


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Secret shoppers target liquor sales to minors in Honolulu
- Janis Magin
- Pacific Business News
The Honolulu Liquor Commission will launch a new “secret shopper” program that aims to curb sales of alcohol to minors and give participating businesses a break from incurring costly violations.
The pilot program will begin at Foodland Super Market Ltd. and 7-Eleven Hawaii Inc., whose employees will receive on-site training from commission staff. They also will be required to sign a form acknowledging that they agree with the store’s procedures for verifying that a purchaser of alcoholic beverages is the legal drinking age of 21 or older.
“We want it written down,” said liquor commission administrator Dewey H. Kim Jr. “Every employee that is going to be selling liquor needs to sign the thing so there’s no misunderstanding as to what the store policy is.”
Liquor inspectors already test stores for infractions using underage decoys, and those who fail to check IDs are hit with a $1,000 fine for the first violation. The fine rises to $2,000 for the second violation at the same store, and also increases the risk of the store’s liquor license being suspended or revoked.
Under the new program, liquor inspectors will accompany underage secret shoppers into the stores to see if cashiers adhere to the company’s procedures for carding customers who may not be 21. But the commission won’t automatically issue a violation or fine, even if a store employee fails to check the secret shopper’s ID, Kim said.
“If there is a violation we will meet with the company and then we will retrain the people,” Kim said. “If they keep on violating then we will go back to violations.”
Both 7-Eleven and Foodland have training programs in place to teach employees about liquor control, and each company has procedures cashiers must follow to ensure that they are not selling to minors.
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