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When Google first rolled out the Gmail inbox tabs and categories feature last May, the idea was to give users more control and organization over their inboxes. But marketers worried they were being pushed into a de facto spam folder — a separate silo where they would easily be ignored. Fears of the marketing email’s demise, it turns out, have been unwarranted.
“I know people were kind of freaking out about the Google change and if open rates were going to go down, but as the change rolled out and I watched our metrics nothing was going down really,” said Sue Cho, email marketing manager The Honest Company, an online retailer started by actress Jessica Alba, which focuses on eco-friendly baby and household products. “That seems to be the general consensus among retailers.”
The new inbox tabs automatically sort users’ Gmail messages into buckets — like “primary,” for your real correspondence; “promotions,” for marketing pitches; and “social,” for your social media updates. One thing The Honest Company did in response to the change was to email customers with a plea to add The Honest Company to their “primary” inbox so as not to miss offers and shipment confirmation emails.
Urban Outfitters also claims to have not noticed a decrease in email open rates, and Constant Contact, an email marketing solutions provider, also said it didn’t notice much of a change for its clients — mostly because people would take their time in getting to the emails, effectively saving them for later.
“There was a very small decrease in open rates post-tabs, almost insignificant,” explained Ron Cates, director of new market development at Constant Contact. “But what has changed is a delay in opening — now we’re adding about 24 hours.”
Not only have marketers realized their worries about email were unfounded, there may actually be a upside to being pushed to the promotions tab. As Cates sees it, having tabs actually makes marketing emails more relevant and targeted, because now when people go in to the promotions tab, they know what’s coming. They’re ready to look at deals and offers and potentially purchase.
Findings from a Return Path study back this up. According to the study, fewer marketing emails were marked as spam when delivered to the promotions tab, with 93 percent of messages sent to the promotions delivered successfully compared to 77 percent delivery rate for the marketing emails to the primary tab.
The challenges for marketers and retailers going forward will be better customizing and targeting email offers and optimizing for mobile. For example, The Honest Company has been focusing on using consumer browsing behavior data to inform email content, Cho explained. This ensures that a customer who doesn’t have a baby won’t get an email promotion about diapers, but may instead hear about more personally relevant household categories that he or she have previously searched for on the site.
While optimizing for mobile may seem like a no-brainer — people are just as inclined to declare the death of email as they are to declare it the year of mobile — some marketers are still getting the basics wrong.
“I see famous brands doing really poor email marketing every day, especially when it comes to mobile,” said Cates. “Big mistakes they make include having overly image-laden emails that aren’t designed for mobile, or not using the subject line correctly.”
Cates specifically cited an email he recently received from Nike.
“The email subject was ‘Shoes You Won’t Want to Miss,'” he said. “But on mobile it was truncated to ‘Shoes You Won’t Want.'” Maybe Nike will get the message about email before more of their customers get email messages like that.
As destination travel takes off, the ‘Big Easy’ is experimenting with AR/VR to draw visitors
As travel, and travel tourism, return to pre-pandemic levels, New Orleans is leveraging AR/VR technology marketing to stand out and capture more traveler attention.
Why companies like iHeartMedia, NBCU rely on homegrown IP to build metaverse engagements
The success of recent brand activations is evidence that media and entertainment brands are the companies best equipped to build metaverse spaces that can dodge online skepticism, thanks to their wealth of owned IP.
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SponsoredHow FAST channels are redefining primetime opportunities for advertisers
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Following a roughly six-year hiatus from music, Rihanna is returning to headline the NFL Super Bowl halftime show. The residual effects for her Fenty brand will be paramount.
Skills shortages and legal uncertainty curtail marketers’ in-house ambitions for programmatic
IAB Europe survey reveals a significant in-housing slowdown with only 16% of marketers employing it as a model for programmatic trading.


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Anti Dumping Duty
India’s Rs 30,000-crore non-tyre rubber industry is headed for a crisis with acute shortage and spiralling prices of carbon black, a key ingredient in the manufacture of rubber products.
The company had reported a net profit of Rs 86.46 crore for the same period of previous fiscal.
Despite the weak volumes in the first quarter and GST rollout in the second quarter, the domestic tyre industry to record 1,805 lakh tyres during FY2018
The move is aimed at guarding domestic players from cheap imports of 'Sulphonated Naphthalene Formaldehyde' from the neighbouring country.
T V Narendran, CEO and Managing Director of Tata Steel said 2017 was somewhat better compared to the preceding two years despite challenges.
Anti-dumping Duty on Chinese truck & bus radial tyres credit positive for domestic tyre manufacturers: Ind-Ra
JK Tyres & Industries benefits more among the other rated issuers due to its larger presence in the TBR segment (around 31 per cent of the market share), followed by Apollo Tyres and CEAT, believes Ind-Ra
With this move Chinese imports will become costlier thereby providing a level playing field for Indian T&B tyre manufacturers. ICRA expects this will lead to a strong demand pickup for large Indian truck tyre manufacturers.
For years, domestic tyre companies have faced unfair competition from the Chinese manufacturers that price their tyres up to 30-40 per cent lower to the Indian tyre prices.
The anti-dumping duty has been imposed in the range of $245.35-452.33 per tonne.
Major rubber products imported from China are under HS Code 4011 (new pneumatic tyres) and HS Code 4016 (other articles of vulcanised rubber).
I do not think they have put up a very strong case. What is the mind of the investigating agency, we cannot go into because all the investigation and the hearings are over last week itself.
The move comes as a major shot in the arm for leading domestic steel companies like, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Essar Steel and Steel Authority of India (SAIL), which raised the issue of imports at predatory prices and petitioned for the anti-dumping measure.
TDI is used for production of a certain variety of foam, furniture cushion, protective pads for sports and medical use, automobiles seats, packing of electronic items and others.
In addition, moderating prices of rubber, a major raw material, and the possibility of an anti-dumping duty on cheap imports are making these stocks more attractive.
A research report by Philip Capital said China has curtailed its tyre exports to India to focus on the US markets as the Trump administration has decided to do away with anti-dumping duty on tyres.
The duty was slapped on 'pre-painted, colour coated or organic coated flat steels in coils or not in coils whether or not with metallic coated substrate of zinc, aluminium-zinc or any other substrate coating, excluding plates of thickness 6mm or more'.

domain: news


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Automotive News reports over at Autoweek that Toyota’s luxury brand Lexus is considering expanding its lineup.States brand manager Bob Carter, "Lexus does not intend to stop growing.
In the 70’s, the then Big Three—Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors—protested the government’s stringent pollution laws and regulations.
Thanks to mandated ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel and new emissions-control regulations that require that fuel in order to make powerful next-generation emissions systems work, carmakers are now poised to sell a new breed of diesel-powered cars in North America by the end of this year.
Wolfsburg / Geneva - Volkswagen is mobilizing one of the most environmentally-friendly cars in the world to be used as shuttles for the Geneva Motor Show starting tomorrow: the Polo BlueMotion.The successful best-seller – production volume has tripled since being introduced in mid-2006 – gets by on
Famed car designer Chip Foose is stepping up to help Ford.
FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., 03/05/2007 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance named the Hyundai Sonata GLS and Azera Limited “Best in Class” in the annual buyer’s guide “Best of 2007 Cars” awards.
This may sound a little coarse, but after reading this article,we had to think, “What was this guy thinking?
Fortune editor Alex Taylor III gave his analysis of auto sales as carmakers geared up for this year’s March Madness sales month.
05.03.2007- The new Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé will make its European debut at the Geneva motor show this week.


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NFT’s and cryptocurrency appear to have turn into extra accessible by the day, as huge manufacturers like Nike and Disney have turn into very within the house. Based on Bloomberg, the New York Inventory Change can be getting into the nonfungible market territory and plans to supply digital belongings the identical means it does shares.
It seems that in a regulatory submitting with the U.S Patent and Trademark Workplace, the NYSE has confirmed that they want to be a monetary market/change for NFT’s in addition to cryptocurrency. Present market rivals within the cryptocurrency house are Opensea, Rarible, Appears Uncommon within the Ethereum blockchain, and some smaller rivals equivalent to Magic Eden within the Solana blockchain.
It isn’t clear which NFT’s will launch within the NYSE market however contemplating that a lot of the quantity is in Ethereum, the NFT’s on this market will most likely be the primary.
An extra assertion given by NYSE on Bloomberg confirmed that though that they had no quick plans to launch cryptocurrency or NFT buying and selling, they frequently contemplate new merchandise and their influence on NYSE emblems.
In April 2021, the NYSE minted its first NFT’s memorializing their first notable listings, Spotify, Snowflake, Unity, Doordosh, and Roblox, essentially the most important U.S IPO’s final yr.
Whereas the precise particulars of the present NYSE transfer are unclear, a completely practical market is undoubtedly on its means. This submitting comes solely weeks earlier than one of many largest crypto exchanges, Coinbase, is launching their first market, and new marketplaces equivalent to LooksRare getting into the market. It proves that there’s a lot of untapped potential in digital belongings and blockchain expertise as an entirety.


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Releasing in handfuls of colorways all year long for its 25th Anniversary, the past meets the future with the Air Max 95 surfacing in an eco-friendly “Crater” makeover.
The Crater theme has definitely taken over the scene in Nike footwear. While introduced in early summer 2020, the inspiration has caught on like wildfire, and fans have enjoyed every Crater rendition the brand has put out since. Now that the motivational design has grown in likability, other sneakers have begun to surface with the theme just like the old school Air Max 95.
Arriving with a makeover of at least 20% recycled materials, the upper features white mesh and leather throughout with Crater black and grey overlays on the midfoot, tongue, and forefoot. A white midsole with clear Air Max bubbles and a grind rubber outsole is placed in at the bottoms, which completes the friendly carbon emissions design.
NIKE AIR MAX 95 “CRATER” RELEASE INFORMATION
The Nike Air Max 95 “Crater” will be dropping soon although a drop date has not been officially scheduled just yet. Expect to see a release to go down in the coming weeks via select retailers and Nike.com. Enjoy official images down below and make sure to stay tuned to JustFreshKicks for updates and more of the latest sneaker news.
Nike Air Max 95 Crater
Style Code: CV8830-100


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Thursday seminar to help attendees protect against fraud, scams
The UW Credit Union’s Wayne Resch and Better Business Bureau’s JoEllen Wollangk will present a fraud and scams awareness and prevention seminar from 6-7 p.m. Thursday (Nov. 29) in the Union’s Christie Theatre. During the seminar, the pair will discuss many of the common forms of fraud and scams, helping attendees understand financial and identity risks and how to protect themselves from becoming a victim. Fraud scams have become much more advanced in recent years, particularly with the ever-expanding world of electronic media. Identity theft also is on the rise. The event is free and open to the public.


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Elon Musk Owned Tesla has reportedly laid off 200 auto pilot employees and closed an office in California. According to Bloomberg, the affected 200 auto pilot employees were hourly workers, and many of them were data annotation specialists.
Tesla lays off 200 auto pilot employees in the latest episode of job cuts
According to the sources, most of the 200 autopilot employees were working on moderately low-skilled, low-wage jobs, such as Autopilot data labeling, which involves determining if Tesla’s algorithm identified an object well or poor. Earlier, the Tesla Chief said in a letter to executives that about 10 percent of jobs at Tesla need to be cut as he has a super bad feeling about the economy.
The message was posted just a few days after Elon Musk told staffers to return to the workplace or leave. Raj Rajkumar, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, said; “Tesla clearly is in a major cost-cutting mode, This (staff reduction) likely indicates that 2Q 2022 has been pretty rough on the company due to the shutdown in Shanghai, raw material costs and supply chain problems.”
Read more: Elon Musk Asks Tesla Employees to Return to Office or Leave
China’s lockdown flips the global economy
The latest China’s Covid-19 lockdowns impact is starting to be felt by companies and consumers across the globe, experts are suggesting that the reverberations will only get stronger. Beijing’s isolated lockdown approach has affected factories and warehouses, slowed truck deliveries, and worsened logistics operations. Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy for the National Retail Federation in Washington, said; “Once Shanghai opens up again and everything is back into the rotation, and you see all the vessels heading towards the US, that can pose additional challenges with additional congestion.”
Read more: Global Chip Shortage might Stay Until 2023


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The U.S. Justice Department has closed a formal antitrust investigation into the U.S. seed industry, which is led by crop biotechnology giant Monsanto Co., without pursuing charges, the government said Friday.
The Department of Justice had first demanded information from Monsanto in January 2010, according to the company. The department had refused to identify the target of its investigation, but made economic concentration in agriculture a focus during the first half of President Barack Obama's first term.
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Tautachrome Inc (OTCMKTS:TTCM) shares rose 2.65% to $0.0271 on Wednesday and were unchanged in after-hours trading. The company has a market cap of $85.87 million at 3 billion shares outstanding. Share prices have been trading in a 52-week range of $0.00 to $0.03.
In a press release this week, Tautachrome Inc shared that it is making progress with the Fortune 50 company that expressed interest in its KlickZie platform earlier this year.
“Early this year the company announced that it had been working to develop a KlickZie technology relationship with a Fortune 50 company (code name F50-1). In response to requests from F50-1, we have progressed in this work and have developed a cohesive and dynamic business model for F50-1 that exploits KlickZie technology in ways that impact the bottom line of the Fortune 50 company and their public image in powerful ways,” said Dr. Jon Leonard, CEO of Tautachrome Inc. “We will present the KlickZie business model to key decision makers in upcoming meetings.”
He went on to reiterate that the economic payoff of KlickZie is very high for companies with a global reach and with a large numbers of consumer customers. They have also learned that the business model they developed for this F50-1 company would work well with other firms.
In the same press release, Dr. Leonard mentioned that they have been approached by a venture company and an investment banking company with a roposal to make bank funded acquisitions of highly profitable private tech companions in the $20-30 million revenue range. This should help accelerate the uplisting of Tautachrome Inc on the Nasdaq, adding that it would benefit all parties involved.
“Done properly, this could be good for all parties: The revenues pay the banks, the deals pay the investment bank, and NASDAQ pays everybody else,” Dr. Leonard said.
“Up-listing to the NASDAQ quickly will be yet another key milestone for Tautachrome. An acquisitions strategy could put KlickZie in a position to fund its own technology rollout and diversification in house, without recourse to additional large investors,” said Eric McRae, Tautachrome Inc Business Operations Manager.
Tautachrome Inc is formerly known as Roadships Holdings Inc. It operates in the Internet applications space and is engaged in pursuing three avenues of business activity: KlickZie technology-based business development and monetization; Smartphone application development and digital design, and acquisition of revenue-generating smartphone applications.
Its KlickZie Activation Platform will enable consumers to download KlickZie’s free camera upgrade software into their mobile device, which thereafter activates the pictures and videos taken by their device using KlickZie technology. The company’s Smartphone application development and digital design business activity will be conducted by Polybia Studios, Pty Ltd. The company’s Appquisitions Division is created as a vehicle to acquire revenue-generating smartphone applications. Its PhotoSweep is an application that lets users select photos from their smartphone photo albums, and have them printed and sent to addresses of their choosing.


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HONG KONG SAR - 13 January 2021 - The coronavirus pandemic has taken a sharp toll on stores, and online buying has become a living habit of citizens. On the market change caused by the global pandemic.
TAIWAN - 13 January 2021 - Professional recruitment services firm Michael Page Taiwan today launched the 'Talent Trends 2021 Report', with a keen eye on Taiwan's optimistic talent mar.
MALAYSIA - 13 January 2021 - Into a new year, the Covid 19 pandemic continues to impact lives globally - from the way we connect, live, work to affecting health, careers and livelihoods. In recent me.
The mini Healthcare Radar, mini-H, Creates a Safer and More Convenient Monitoring System for Telehealth LAS VEGAS, NV - 13 January 2021 - bitsensing, a South Korean radar technology startup, introduc.
New Agricultural Projects Expected To Contribute To Group Revenues MALAYSIA - 12 January 2021 - The Joinland Group, a diversified Malaysian conglomerate of varied business interests, is looking forwa.
HONG KONG SAR - 12 January 2021 - Plus Renewable Technologies Limited ("Plus Renewable") today announced that its subsidiary, SP Energy (USA) One LLC ("SP Energy"), the parent comp.
HONG KONG SAR - 12 January 2021 - In cooperation with the China Quality Certification Center (CQC), TÜV Rheinland Hong Kong has been authorized by the Certification and Accred.
TAIWAN - 12 January 2021 - The AOC Masters Tournament ended with a bang as Indonesia's Alter Ego takes the top spot, beating Thailand's Overtime Esports on a heated three-round VALORANT match .
Niki Frank will expand his remit from managing the business in India to the sub-region of South Asia Yvonne Lee, Head of Strategic Projects for ASEAN and South Asia, will assume a new role as Manag.
Achieves revenues of over $7M in 9 months (Apr-Dec 2020) while being EBITDA positive in line with its aim to be a $100M business by 2024 The Singapore based e-commerce enabler is in advanced discussi.
SINGAPORE - 11 January 2021 - In a year where the shock of pandemic has caused small enterprises and prominent businesses alike to put up the shutters, Influential Brands® conferred recognition on.
81% of respondents say technology has improved their access to health services 71% believe that in the future they will be more reliant on technology to improve their personal health and wellbeing .
SINGAPORE - 8 January 2021 - Cisco, the worldwide technology leader, today announced the appointment of Dave West as the new President, and Irving Tan as Chairman for its Asia Pacific, Japan and Great.
Start your week off with 50% off your caffeine boost. Plus, save money and the planet with our expanded Bring Your Own Tumbler programme. SINGAPORE - 8 January 2021 - We always start each new year wi.
HONG KONG SAR - 8 January 2021 - From young, the fact that exercise benefits us physically, emotionally, and mentally has been constantly reinforced. Even though we might not necessarily live-in accor.


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This week I had the privilege of hosting the inaugural WECREATE Google Hangout with four inspiring women entrepreneurs from around the world. The online chat was a chance to discuss the importance of entrepreneurship in creating economic opportunities for women and part of the U.S. Department of State’s ongoing efforts to promote innovation and entrepreneurship globally.
As the Department of State’s Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs, one of my central responsibilities is to answer the call that President Obama made seven years ago in Cairo where he talked about the need to spark the creativity and capture the imagination of entrepreneurs across the world.
The seed that he planted in his speech in Cairo grew to become the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) — the preeminent international forum for entrepreneurs. Since the President’s Cairo speech, six Summits have been held in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Kenya, Malaysia, and the United States bringing together an estimated 16,000 participants. Next week 1,200 entrepreneurs, investors, and business leaders from 170 countries will gather in Silicon Valley for the seventh GES.
This year’s GES will feature a unique day-long intensive program called GES+, which will convene 150 women and young entrepreneurs. The program will consist of master classes; interactions with mentors; and opportunities to pitch investors and to network with peers. A central reason for this emphasis on women entrepreneurship is the clear return it brings. When women entrepreneurs succeed, they are more likely to invest their earnings into their families and their communities, paying for things like their children’s education and immunizations.
GES, however, is not the sum total of the U.S. Department of State’s efforts to promote women entrepreneurship. One of our most successful programs to date has been theWomen’s Entrepreneurial Center of Resources, Education, Access, and Training for Economic Empowerment (WECREATE) Centers. Currently, four WECREATE Centers exist in Cambodia, Kenya, Pakistan, and Zambia. These Centers have had a tremendous impact on the women who have received training through them, as well as their families and communities. Over 6,500 women have participated in programming; over 2,800 jobs have been created. Through their participation at WECREATE Centers, women entrepreneurs have found the courage, skills, resources, and mentorship to grow their businesses.
During our Google Hangout, I had the opportunity to engage with women entrepreneurs from each of the WECREATE Centers. One of the themes of our discussion was the importance of shifting cultural mindsets to provide a more enabling ecosystem for women entrepreneurs. Specifically, the women described the initial challenges they faced in creating a startup versus pursuing a more traditional career (or a career at all) and in navigating familial and social barriers.
Mom Mona, an entrepreneur from Cambodia, is the founder of SME Consultancy, a firm working to assist SMEs to reform their business structure. Mona highlighted how “[s]ingle women running a business alone in Cambodia can find it very difficult to challenge men.” As a married woman, Mona expressed how important family support was to the success of her business: “I am lucky. My husband always encouraged me in my business and helped me take care of the children.”
Another central theme we discussed was the challenge of securing resources. Evelyn Kaingu’s business was merely an idea until she walked through the doors at the WECREATE | Zambia Center and enrolled in the StartUp Academy class. Evelyn knew that one of the biggest challenges for women entrepreneurs in Zambia was access to credit through a safe platform with reliable repayment terms. The training she received prompted her to turn her idea of an online Pocket Money Loan Platform into a viable business. Since opening in December, Evelyn’s company Lupiya Circles has been able to support over 59 women entrepreneurs.
Describing the barriers that women in Pakistan face in attaining an education — let alone starting a business — Sadia Bashir explained how she was the first female university graduate in her family. She spent more than two years teaching herself about the video gaming industry before launching her own business. Today PixelArt Games Academy gives young gamers in Pakistan the chance to learn from experienced professionals. Sadia shared her mantra with the group of “implement, learn, and evolve” that has guided her in building up her own company.
Maryana Munyendo, founder of Simba-Safe Kenya is a perfect example of a women entrepreneur taking the next step in her business. Simba-Safe Kenya works to protect children through hands-on Personal Safety Education (PSE) by making them assertive and proactive when faced with precarious situations. Noting the challenge of juggling her job, passion, and family responsibilities, Maryana had sage advice to offer other women entrepreneurs: “[t]ime is the biggest asset in your life. Giving your business conscious time and nurturing it will cause it to grow.”
The stories of Mona, Sadia, Evelyn, and Maryana are but a few examples. There are countless other women entrepreneurs out there waiting to come on-line with the right support. Building on the success of the WECREATE Centers to date, we plan further expansion with the launch of WECREATE | Vietnam later this summer and WECREATE | Mali in 2017. We will continue to provide these opportunities because empowering women entrepreneurs is not only the right thing to do, but it is the smart thing to do.
About the Author: Ziad Haider serves as the Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
Editor’s Note: This entry originally appears in the Global Entrepreneurship Summit publication on Medium.com.
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Industry joins forces with cutting edge tech start-ups to address manufacturing challenges
An unmanned module to tackle sewer blockages and a digital system for mass-producing customised clothing are just two cutting-edge solutions from 14 start-ups selected for the Made Smarter Technology Accelerator programme.
The Made Smarter Technology Accelerator is run by Digital Catapult, the UK authority in advanced digital technology. It has been developed to pair industry leaders with technology start-ups to enable the use of advanced technology to radically alter, and improve, the way manufacturing is approached.
Through each individual challenge the programme aims to improve productivity in the manufacturing sector and help boost the post-Covid economy – supporting the wider Manufacturing Made Smarter Challenge, with its ambition to raise productivity by 30% by 2030.
Each of the 14 start-ups and scaleups will be developing solutions to address some of the UK’s most prevalent manufacturing challenges, in collaboration with their Industry Challenge Owners – which include Babcock International Group and Sainsbury’s – and the programme’s Tech Sponsors, Verizon Business and Software AG.
The start-ups and scaleups will each receive up to £20,000 programme funding as they build prototypes and can then apply for a further £100,000 of programme funding to develop minimum viable products later in the programme – resulting in solutions which could be applied for commercial use.
The challenges range from increasing shelf-life and sell-through rate of products while reducing waste (Sainsbury’s) to scalable artificial intelligence for products’ visual inspection (BAE Systems).
Dr Jeremy Silver, CEO of Digital Catapult commented: “The UK’s start-up community leads Europe in developing applications for advanced digital technologies – but to reap the rewards of this innovation, those developments must be adopted by industrial partners and customers in the UK and around the world.
“With our focus turning to economic recovery, the Made Smarter Technology programme emphasises the role of advanced digital technologies in tackling industry challenges head-on.”
Juergen Maier, chair of Digital Catapult and co-chair of Made Smarter added: “Whilst the Covid-19 pandemic has brought about extremely challenging conditions for the manufacturing sector, it also represents a chance for industry to take a step back to explore how we can innovate and apply advanced digital technologies to do things better.
“This programme has brought to the fore the world class expertise in the UK technology sector and by pairing bright start-ups and scaleups with large manufacturers, we hope to leverage those capabilities across a variety of disruptive emerging technologies to meet industry needs – from cutting costs, to boosting productivity.”
The successful start-ups and scaleups will be presenting their industry-changing prototypes at a presentation event on 23rd June 2021.


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ROANOKE, Va. – It’s a staple of Downtown Roanoke – large, iconic, and historic, the Dr Pepper sign serves as a welcome into the Star City. On Monday, the city celebrated the soda in style on Dr Pepper Day.
“I took the day off work for this. I do it every year. Take the day off work, come and get my little shirt and my Dr Pepper,” said Amy Cook from Martinsville.
Some came out early to get in on the action, including Michael Halfmann who was first in line.
“Why so early? It’s Dr Pepper Day. I expected a huge crowd, I’ve been coming out here, this is my fifth year and in years past there’s always been a big line, so I wanted to be first,” said Halfmann.
It became a very popular spot to get free soda swag, including shades and t-shirts.
“I’m getting my t-shirt. I have a t-shirt collection from Dr Pepper and wanted to get another one,” Halfmann added.
“We’ve added a QR code that you can click on with your cell phone that will take you to Dr Pepper history,” explained Waynette Anderson, President of Dr Pepper Park at the Bridges.
That history explains why the Star City holiday falls on October 24.
“It was a marketing plan back in 1927 called “grab a bite to drink,” which encouraged people to have a drink of Dr Pepper at 10, 2 and 4 o’clock because studies had shown the body lags in energy at those times,” added Anderson.
Some soda lovers said they drink it 24/7.
“That’s all I drink is Dr Pepper every day, all day,” said Cook.
So if they were there to stop for a pop or get their dog decked out for Doctober, Dr Pepper Day was a Star City success.


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After years of development, City Foundry STL’s food hall will open next month
Following years of planning and restaurateur changes, as well as setbacks due to the pandemic, St. Louis’ newest food hub will finally go live when City Foundry STL (3730 Foundry Way) in Midtown opens the doors to its food hall on Wednesday, Aug. 11. The announcement came in the form of a press release sent this morning.
The Foundry will kick off with a starting lineup that includes: Good Day, Kalbi Taco Shack, Turmeric Street Style, Patty’s Cheesecakes, Buenos Aires Cafe, Press Waffle Co., Hello Poke, Poptimism STL, Sub Division Sandwich Co. and Chez Ali. The release said that the food hall will ultimately have 20 restaurants, a mix of already-established local concepts and new ones.
In addition, Niche Food Group co-owner and Foundry consultant Gerard Craft will bring new concept The Kitchen Bar, which will be developed by Brasserie bar manager Melinda Cooper. The 28-seat bar will have an “approachable menu featuring classic cocktails, wines by the glass, and local beers,” according to the press release.
Additional food concepts will open this fall as the Foundry rolls out its other features, whch will include office space for various businesses, an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, a Fresh Thyme Market and more.
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The Daily Dash is a quick look at what is happening in the freight ecosystem. In today’s edition, the COVID-19 relief bill working through Congress may be the vehicle through which pension reform happens for multiemployer pension plans, including those of Yellow and ABF Freight. Plus, a strong freight market led to a record quarter for XPO, and Uber Freight posts revenue growth in Q4.
The COVID-19 relief bill could serve as a vehicle to bail out multiemployer pension funds, including those of Yellow Corp. and ABF Freight.
John Gallagher has the details: Yellow, ABF drivers edge closer to long-term pension protection
Record quarter for XPO
Transport and logistics giant XPO Logistics Inc. (NYSE: XPO) posted the highest quarterly revenue in its 10-year history and laid out the case for a strong 2021.
Mark Solomon digs into the numbers: XPO puts pedal to the metal in fourth quarter
Uber Freight keeps growing
Uber Freight posted year-on-year growth in revenue and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, according to the fourth-quarter earnings released by its parent, Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER).
John Kingston has more on the division’s performance: Uber Freight’s Q4 numbers up from 2019 and from third quarter
Global Supply Chain Week preview
John Tyson, chief sustainability officer of Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN), is scheduled to kick off Day Three of Global Supply Chain Week, Feb. 24.
Alyssa Sporrer offers a look at the event: Global Supply Chain Week Day 3 preview: Food and CPG
Stories we think you’ll like:
Did you miss this?
In the midst of earnings season, some data about less-than-truckload carriers’ performance in January is coming through, showing a strong month.
John Kingston looks at the numbers: Latest strong LTL January numbers come from Forward Air, Old Dominion
Hammer down, everyone,


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Warner Bros. is working with Facebook to roll out on-demand movies and video content to the world's largest social network.
By streaming movies, not only will it reach a potential near 600 million users of the site, but also be the first company to take advantage of the platform in this way.
According to one source, the first film will be Heath Ledger's last film The Dark Knight, which will cost around 30 Facebook credits, roughly $3 to watch over a 48 hour period.
Nevertheless, while this may improve the efforts in anti-piracy, it surely won't kill it entirely.
With the option to tie in Facebook credits, the site's dedicated currency system for applications and games, it could allow one-click access to video and movie content, without the need to re-enter credit or debit card details.
However, as a huge proportion of Facebook users are of the younger Generation Y demographic, it should not go without warning that Facebook is teaming up with a company employing your peers to spy on you.
The key thing here is that iTunes will no longer be the main player in the online content delivery network of providing on-demand paid for content like movies and television content. Though Netflix has its chip in the market, the global prevalence is not as great as it would want.
And though students on the whole would prefer to watch television or movies in the comfort of their living room, on a Blu-ray or DVD in front of their widescreen television, the vast majority will use their laptop as a means to an end for accessing pirated content straight off the web.
Whether the Facebook delivered content will be delivered in 720p or 1080p high-definition content, it is unclear. Though if it does, it will surely be a greater incentive to use 'Facebook Movies' directly from your laptop.
- Warner Bros. recruiting students to spy on file sharers
- 70 percent find software piracy 'socially acceptable'
- Warner Bros. starts offering movies on Facebook
- "I'm not paying to watch The Dark Knight on Facebook"


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EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — Intermec Inc., which makes barcode printers and radio frequency identification products, said Monday that it reached a deal to sell itself to Honeywell International Inc. for about $603.4 million in cash.
Under the terms of the agreement, Morris Township, N.J.-based Honeywell, a technology and manufacturing company, will pay $10 per share for Intermec. Based on the company's about 60.3 million outstanding shares, the deal is worth about $603.4 million. Intermec valued it at about $600 million, net of cash and debt acquired.
The price represents a 25 percent premium over Intermec's Friday closing stock price of $7.98. Intermec shares shot up $1.83, or 23 percent, to $9.81 in afternoon trading.
Intermec said the deal stemmed from a thorough review of the company's businesses by its board, with the goal of determining the best possible overall outcome for shareholders.
Honeywell said the addition of Intermec will strengthen its core scanning and mobile computing business, while also opening up new opportunities in radio frequency identification, voice recognition and barcode and receipt printing markets that it currently doesn't serve.
The conglomerate makes products ranging from First Alert home security systems to automotive brake pads in its consumer division. It also provides products and services to the aerospace and defense, building and construction, energy, healthcare, chemical and manufacturing sectors.
Everett, Wash.-based Intermec employs about 2,200 people and operates more than 65 offices around the world. Honeywell said it expects the acquisition to lower its 2013 earnings by 3 cents or 4 cents per share, but increase its profits the following year.
The agreement has been approved by the boards of both companies, but remains subject to Intermec shareholder and regulatory approvals. It's expected to close by the end of the second quarter 2013.
In light of the deal, Intermec said it's suspending its previously announced search for a permanent chief executive.
Honeywell shares slipped 8 cents in afternoon trading. The stock is up about 14 percent for the year.


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Hyther Nizam, MEA President at Zoho Corp. — Supplied photo
Recent years have seen a surge in adoption by large enterprises. As competition drives up costs and the global economy slows, companies are re-evaluating their tech investments. Zoho, a global technology company based out of India, recently reported 43 per cent revenue grwoth last year, has become a major force in the business technology industry, with over 100 million users worldwide.
“Our journey in the Middle Eat and North Africa (Mena) region began with our first office in Dubai, which served as a springboard for further growth. We’ve focused on empowering SMEs and entrepreneurs across all sectors. Zoho has become the preferred choice for large corporations, offering a comprehensive suite to manage all aspects of their operations,” Hyther Nizam, President and VP of Products for Middle East and Africa (MEA) at Zoho, told Khaleej Times in an interview.
The company was one of the early adopters of artificial intelligence over a decade ago, well before AI became mainstream. Also, Zoho has been a key supporter of businesses’ digitalisation. Its wallet credit provision programmes are in place with government entities across the region including Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), Dubai Culture and International Free Zone Authority (IFZA) to name a few. “This has enabled over 5000 companies in UAE alone transition to the cloud, and accelerate digital transformation,” Nizam said.
With the cost of sales and marketing on the rise, Zoho sees pricing strategies across the industry getting impacted. “Businesses seeking value may find opportunities with vendors who prioritise research and development (R&D) over large marketing budgets. Currency fluctuations can also add complexity for businesses operating in international markets. Vendors offering local currency pricing can provide greater cost predictability. Ultimately, a focus on value and affordability is likely to be a key driver for business technology decisions in the coming years. By prioritising R&D to deliver greater value, Zoho is well-positioned to capitalise on this shift,” Nizam said.
There has been surge in migration by large corporations to Zoho platforms, which saw a 24% increase in 2023. “The past few years have been a whirlwind of challenges for businesses globally, from the pandemic’s financial strain to the looming economic slowdown. In such times, companies need to make smarter investments, focusing on cost-efficiency and maximising value,” Nizam said.
In the Mena region, Zoho is actively collaborating with public and private sector organisations. “This close partnership allows us to continuously assess local needs and tailor our solutions to address regional challenges. We’ve significantly bolstered our localisation strategy in recent years, expanding our portfolio of regionally-specific solutions and features,” Nizam said.
Zoho is doubling down on its localisation efforts by introducing regionally-specific product editions. “This focus will continue, with planned integrations with local payment vendors to further enhance user experience. Additionally, Zoho is committed to developing contextually relevant AI features within its core products. This ensures AI functionalities address the specific needs of local customers within the product itself,” Nizam said.
Read the full article here


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Shares in Port of Tauranga jumped more than 2.5% after it gained a weekly shipping service at the expense of Auckland, which is currently wracked by industrial unrest.
The international shipping line, Maersk says its weekly Southern Star service will now call at Tauranga instead, though its Northern Star service will continue to use Auckland.
Ports of Auckland says the loss will cost it nearly $20 million in revenue per year, and is another blow in its battle for supremacy with Tauranga for the title of the country's top port.
Maersk says the industrial unrest at Auckland's port is the main reason for the switch, though not the only one.
Trade and marketing manager Dave Gulik says Maersk does not want to have to divert vessels around the country because it disrupts importers and exporters, as it was forced to do last week because of the industrial dispute.
Mr Gulik says the company believed that keeping the Northern Star operating out of Auckland and Tauranga, while moving the Southern Star to Tauranga would give their customers the most diverse export option.
He says the plan is for the Southern Star to remain in Tauranga until at least the middle of next year, when schedules will be looked at again.
Port of Tauranga's shares rose 26 cents to $10.07 each on Tuesday.


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The fall weather is finally (sorta) here. Here's the restaurants you need to hit right away. Call it your own scavenger hunt of new and newish places that score high on our food radar.
Shake Shack® fans, if you’ve been waiting with bated breath for Shake Shack to open in Houston, your wait is finally about to end. After months of build-up, which included a hugely popular pop-up event at The Pass & Provisions a couple of weeks ago, the New York-based cult burger spot has finally announced its opening date for next Friday, November 4, 2016, at 11 a.m.
Kuma Burgers Enters Houston’s Burger Ecosystem With Something to Spare
At first blush, Kuma Burgers seems a little improbable: a burger counter tucked into a business center food court, run by a chef who cut his teeth in the kitchen at Oxheart, the James Beard Award-winning restaurant best known for sophisticated, vegetable-forward and painterly plates. Of course, Houston has always been a take-all-comers kind of town, where anyone with the drive and the chops can carve out a space for himself, no matter how improbable that spot may seem.
And then there’s a place like Cafe Azur, a charming neighborhood restaurant that opened on Montrose a couple of weeks ago. The story behind it is the kind that captures your heart and makes you want to go and support the young duo behind it. The food is what will keep you coming back.
It’s clear that Melt, located in a Cypress strip mall, is focusing on doing one thing really well: making magic out of humble, buttery, grilled cheese sandwiches. Then again, most of its sandwiches are far from humble — arriving on your plate with at least two types of cheese and some kind of delightful, artery-clogging element such as crushed Cheetos, maple syrup or a glazed doughnut “bun.”
First Look at The General Public
The General Public opened on August 11, just 12 weeks ago, but already it has become a favorite neighborhood gastropub serving Americana Southern classic dishes and craft cocktails and beers. From the copper-plated ceiling tiles to the open-concept kitchen, the restaurant's charm greets you warmly from the first hello to the last good-bye. The Houston Press sat down at the table for a first look at the latest addition to City Centre.
Keep the Houston Press Free... Since we started the Houston Press, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Houston, and we would like to keep it that way. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering Houston with no paywalls.


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Arriving just in time for Galentine's Day, it's one of the best sitcoms known to humans.
The entire seven seasons of 'Parks and Recreation' will be landing on Netflix this February just so you can treat yo' self to a re-watch of Leslie Knope giving Ann Perkins the highest of compliments any best friend could ever give ("Ann, you rainbow-infused space unicorn").
If the series is something that you missed previously, then its time to get excited. The comedy series, which stars Amy Poehler, Chris Pratt and Rashida Jones, follows the inner workings of the Parks Department in City Hall in a town called Pawnee, Indiana (whose town slogan is "First in Friendship, Ninth in Obesity").
The arrival of 'Parks and Recreation' on Netflix comes after a load of classic comedy shows were recently added to the streaming service.
Subscribers of Amazon Prime have been able to enjoy the series already, but this will be its first time becoming available on Netflix.
Here's a classic example of just why the series deserves another return to your television screens this year. Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari) and Donna Meagle (Retta) and their three-word mantra one day a year - "treat yo' self".
'Parks and Recreation' will begin streaming on Netflix from February 1.


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A new advertising campaign from the Metropolitan Police is warning people to appreciate the value of their possessions and to protect them from the risk of street robbery.
Radio advertisements and posters are reminding Londoners to protect mobile phones, tablets, jewellery and cash - although it’s phones that are the favourite target for thieves.
Financial institutions representing 90% of all current accounts in the UK have committed to launching a new mobile payment service in spring next year.
Customers will be able to make payments by quoting the recipient’s mobile phone number instead of their bank sort code and account number.
Podcast - 16th January 2013
We start this week with a look at troubled UK retailer HMV before moving on to research that sheds new light on mobile data usage.
You'll also find a new mapping app, increasing free WiFi coverage, a phone service designed for children and preliminary quarterly results from Samsung and Nokia.


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While TV Everywhere distributors are focused on 720p as they look toward delivering to phones and tablets, a new report from ABI Research shows that pay-TV operators are eyeing 4K.
Says ABI senior analyst Michael Inouye, "We expect pay-TV operators will seriously consider 4K movie services over IP connections directly to smart TVs, bypassing the set-top box. This will allow them to compete with OTT providers on feature set before rolling out 4K capable set-top boxes in 2015 to 2017. With the TV Everywhere household user base expanding from 4% (worldwide) in 2013 to over 20% by 2019, a number of consumers will be ready for these services."
Read the full story here on Rapid TV News


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Toyota made a surprise debut of a brand new commercial vehicle at the Commercial Vehicle Show at Birmingham UK’s National Exhibition Centre, running August 31 to September 02., 2021. The car-derived van - the Toyota Corolla Commercial - will be built at Toyota's UK manufacturing facility in Burnaston, Derbyshire.
A guide to help fleet managers deal with the varying challenges of the UK’s Clean Air Zones (CAZ) is now available from the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP). Called Clean Air Zones and Your Fleet, and produced by the organization’s Future Roads Committee, it covers everything from fleet drivers to paying the charges.
Cox Automotive Mobility has announced that it has acquired Spiers New Technologies, a provider of EV battery life lifecycle management, for an undisclosed sum, September 01, 2021. A
Cox Automotive Mobility, a division of the world’s largest automotive services company, has announced that it has acquired Spiers New Technologies for an undisclosed sum, September 01, 2021. A provider of EV battery life cycle management, Spiers New Technologies will form part of Cox Automotive’s plan to provide end-to-end service provision for every stage of the EV lifecycle, including vehicle battery end-of-life repurposing.
Vauxhall/Opel has launched its new compact Astra model, with sales of a fully electric version to commence in 2023. This is the eighth-generation Astra and the first time the Stellantis brand will have EV representation in this class.


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NIO has officially made a deal with
the devil Shell Group. The companies recently announced a strategic cooperation agreement that includes the rolling out of co-branded battery swap stations and EV fast chargers throughout China and Europe, beginning next year.
NIO is a Chinese automaker and one of the most prominent EV names overseas. With recent expansions to Europe, NIO continues to grow its fleet of EV models as well as its global market share.
One of the facets that sets NIO’s EV strategy apart is its dedication to battery swap technologies. With nearly 650 stations in place throughout China and new implementations beginning in Norway for example, NIO is one of the few global automakers still pushing battery swap technology.
Royal Dutch Shell Group is a name that needs no introduction. It is an oil and gas conglomerate with a colorful 115-year history, decorated with human rights violations, thousands of gallons of oil spilt, and those pesky Paradise Papers from 2017.
Despite its tumultuous history, Shell Group has made recent efforts toward reparations by investing in clean energy, particularly EV infrastructure. In 2020, Shell doubled its EV charging presence in Germany to 200 stations, and even purchased Ubitricity, the UK’s largest charging network.
This past May, a court in the Netherlands ordered Shell to cut its carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 from 2019 levels. Previous to this ruling, Shell’s emissions reduction target was 20% by 2030.
With a court-ordered acceleration to reduce carbon emissions, it’s no wonder Shell Group is partnering with a rising EV brand like NIO.
NIO finds a surprising partner in Shell Group
NIO made the announcement of the new joint agreement with Shell on its Weibo page, stating the following:
Today, NIO announced the signing of a strategic cooperation agreement with Shell Group. The two parties will carry out cooperation in the field of electric vehicle energy on a global scale
Shell Group also made an official announcement, outlining more detailed plans of the agreement:
- NIO and Shell will increase R&D efforts and battery swapping technologies to further push the technology and business model forward.
- The companies will develop a network of co-branded battery swap stations.
- The joint effort in China will start with two pilot sites with a goal to reach 100 sites by 2025, as well as additional co-branded battery swap stations at Shell EV charging hubs and Shell Recharge fast chargers at NIO locations.
- The companies will exploring pilots in Europe in 2022 and hope to scale rapidly depending on success.
Additionally in Europe, Shell and NIO shared plans to integrate the former’s Recharge Mobility Service Provider (MSP) strategy to provide European customers access to its roaming EV charging networks. István Kapitány, Global Executive Vice President of Shell Mobility spoke about the new agreement:
Decarbonization is a global challenge that requires broad-reaching, multi-faceted solutions. This is the most exciting thing about our new partnership with NIO — the breadth of the collaboration and the value we can offer our EV customers together, both in Europe and in China. Together, we’ll be working to improve every aspect of the EV experience. This means we’ll offer Shell Recharge high-speed charging at NIO locations and make battery swap available at convenient Shell locations while also offering NIO customers our best home and business charging solutions.
Shell Group shared that the strategic partnership with NIO also includes further collaborations in fleet solutions, loyalty and home charging. Yippee.
This move by NIO is… interesting. I wonder who texted first?
Listen, there is no denying Shell Group’s long-standing history as an oil juggernaut in a segment that has (and continues to) leverage its resources to try and stifle EV adoption.
It could be the court orders, or the blatant evidence of global climate change, but Shell appears to have somewhat changed its tune, and put a decent chunk of money toward EV charging the past four years or so.
I’m still trying to figure out where NIO fits into this equation, though. It makes more sense for NIO to align with Shell for larger charger access in Europe. Especially given that the EV automaker has merely dipped its toe in the market ahead of a planned penetration into more of the EU.
That being said, Shell working on co-branded battery swap stations is interesting, as its previous focus appears to be on fast chargers. It can help provide NIO drivers access to both in China and now Europe, so I suppose it’s a win win for both parties.
Perhaps Shell Group can get other automakers to adapt a battery swap strategy given its shared plans for station expansion, but I’m still not sure who is going to bite on that.
This has to be a particularly lucrative strategy on paper for NIO, because there are plenty of other EV network and charging technology companies out there that are not funded by big oil. Why Shell, NIO? And why now?
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.


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In these days of manic-depressive financial markets, it’s nice to be able to put your money into something that isn’t designed to make you rich, but that at least is pretty much guaranteed to always rise in value. And that, on occasion, can post a nice tax-free gain — most recently, 6.5 percent — overnight.
No, I’m not talking about some esoteric investment product with six levels of derivatives, pages of unreadable disclosures and fat management fees. I’m talking about . . . postage stamps.
Stamp investing, as usually defined, involves buying collector-quality issues, holding them for a while, then seeing if you can sell them for more than you paid. There’s big money to be made there — but it’s a game for the knowledgeable, not for amateurs.
By contrast, I’m talking about a small, simple investment that can be made by anyone in the United States with $10 to spend: Forever stamps. You know, the stamps that will always be good for the first ounce of a first-class mailing, regardless of how high the price has climbed since you bought them.
Forevers have risen in value by almost 20 percent, to their current 49 cents from the 41 cents that the Postal Service charged when it sold its first Forevers on April 12, 2007. More than a third of that value increase came Jan. 26, when the price of a first-class stamp rose to 49 cents from the previous 46 cents: the 6.5 percent overnight increase that I talked about.
One upon a time — before the Federal Reserve cut short-term interest rates to approximately zero — postal rates rose at a rate that about matched the yields on tax-exempt money-market funds: 2.5 to 3.5 percent a year. But since 2008, Forevers have pulled way ahead of money funds, which currently carry yields of 0.01 percent or so.
At my request, Vanguard calculated how much its major taxable and tax-free money funds earned between the first Forevers and Sunday’s postal rate rise. Answer: 7.3 and 5.6 percent, respectively, compared with 19.5 percent for the stamps. In case you’re interested, the stock market has done way better, even though it was near a cyclical peak when the stamps launched. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fund (investor class) for Vanguard returned 45.3 percent during the period we’re looking at. But S&P returns don’t seem like an appropriate comparison to stamp returns. A fun one, though.
Unless you can figure out how to buy and quickly flip a million stamps or so — good luck with that — we’re not talking about Forevers as heavy-duty investments. Rather, we’re talking about them as a household-finance-type investment: saving a little money, conserving time by not having to wait in lines every year or so to buy 1-cent stamps, and getting some satisfaction from beating the system rather than having to use two 46-cent stamps to mail a 49-cent letter because you haven’t had the time or the inclination to update your postal portfolio.
Early this month, knowing that the increase was coming, I took advantage of a trip to the post office to mail a package by buying an extra 100-stamp Forever roll, which gave me two in inventory. The extra $3 I’ve saved isn’t all that much, in terms of money. But it’s fun. And I’m up 6.5 percent since the year started — which isn’t the case, alas, with my investment portfolio.
A minor caveat: The Postal Regulatory Commission told the Postal Service that 2 cents of the 3-cent increase this month is only temporary. The service is opposing any proposed rollback, and I doubt we’ll see a price drop. But if stamp prices somehow were cut, millions of Forever holders, including me, would feel cheated. And we would be reminded, once again, that in life, nothing is Forever.
Sloan is Fortune magazine’s senior editor at large.


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Viet Nam News
ĐÀ NẴNG — Over 100 international buyers and 28 foreign media and tourism bloggers have registered to participate at the Beach Leisure and MICE Travel Mart Đà Nẵng from June 23-26.
The director of the central city’s Tourism Department, Ngô Quang Vinh, said at a press conference that the Travel Mart will be hosted for the first time in Đà Nẵng and the coastal central region.
“It’s a great rendezvous for domestic and foreign buyers and sellers in a tourism exchange of products and services. Travel agencies from major markets, including South Korea, the Chinese mainland, Japan, the US, Russia, Thailand and Hong Kong, will join the event to connect destinations with Đà Nẵng and world heritage sites in the central region,” Vinh said,
“We hope tourism bloggers and media would make Đà Nẵng a favourite destination on the world tourism map after the event.”
As scheduled, the Travel Mart has drawn 172 pavilions from 31 travel agencies and resorts, along with those from Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia and South Korea.
It is expected that over 7,000 business visitors and 10,000 tourists would come to one of the largest beach leisure and MICE (Meeting, Incentives, Conference and Exhibition) events in Việt Nam, after Hà Nội and HCM City.
According to the department, 22 travel agencies and 80 hotels have offered promotional programmes at the Travel Mart, with 10 and 20 per cent discounts on service prices, and 25 to 65 per cent discounts on hotel room rates.
Additionally, Vietnam Airlines, the national flag carrier, offers 20 per cent discount ticket prices for the first 200 customers.
Further, Vietnamese budget airline VietjetAir is offering 3,000 tickets priced at zero đồng for all flights during the three-day event, while another budget airline, Jetstar Pacific, also offers VNĐ99,000 (US$4.4) tickets.
A seminar on tourism markets in Japan and South Korea and a photo exhibition, a conference on luxury beach leisure services, as well as major activities will be held at the Tiên Sơn Sports Centre.
The organising committee will also host FAM trips and press tours to promote destinations in the central region.
The central coastal city lies within easy reach of the country’s best heritage icons, including Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng in Quảng Bình, the UNESCO-recognised world heritage Huế monuments complex, the ancient city of Hội An, Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary and a world biosphere reserve, Chàm Island in Quảng Nam.
Jetstar Pacific plans to operate a direct air route connecting Đà Nẵng and Osaka, Japan – the second direct route from Đà Nẵng to Japan after Vietnam Airlines’ Narita-Đà Nẵng, beginning August 1.
Last month, Bangkok Airways launched a direct route between Đà Nẵng and Bangkok with four flights per week, while Vietnam Airlines also plans to begin operating its direct Đà Nẵng-Bangkok flight on June 25.
The city, which has 24 international air routes, hosted 4.6 million tourists last year, of which 1.25 million were foreigners. — VNS


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Ο Hideo Kojima appeared at Game Awars and revealed a new game for Xbox called OD. We didn't get to see much of it of game, which was introduced last year, and the first teaser it mostly showed the cast doing motion capture tests. End with the motto "For all players and shouters».
The game has a strong cast including Sophia Lillis, Hunter Schafer and Udo Kier. Also Jordan Peele is somewhat involved. Kojima has hinted at other big names working on the project, but won't say who they are yet. The OD it's billed as something of a cross between a game and a movie, with a press release describing it as an experience that “investigates her sense of testing your fear limit and what OD means to fear — while blurring the lines between game and movie».
In a statement, Kojima said: “We work with Xbox Game Studios and the technicaltheir cloud gaming technology to rise to the challenge of creating a very unique, immersive, and entirely new style of gaming — or rather, a new form of media».


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Following Minor Hotel Group and Pan Pacific Hotels Group's investment last year, Malta-based Corinthia Hotels is acquiring a share in Global Hotel Alliance.
This brings the number of hotel companies investing in the GHA to five, not including tech firm Oracle. The Alliance now counts Omni Hotels, Kempinski Hotels, Minor Hotel Group, Pan Pacific Hotels Group and Corinthia as its hospitality investors. Simon Naudi, Corinthia’s CEO, will join the GHA board.
While the company now has a stake in the GHA, Corinthia has been one of the Alliance's member brands since 2014.
GHA’s CEO Chris Hartley said the company's growth as an independent luxury hotel brand would bring "significant value" to the alliance, enabling it to make further investments into its Discovery loyalty and marketing platform, shared by more than 30 member brands and 14 million customers.
Naudi noted Corinthia hotels would benefit from the Alliance's global reach.
“Now as we prepare for a period of rapid growth into new markets, we see this investment as a way to support our brand and hotels in a more efficient way while enabling us to influence the Alliance’s future direction.
“GHA is the ideal collaborative platform for luxury brands, such as ours, wishing to deepen their global customer base, while retaining their independent brand identity," he said.


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It's been an uneasy few days for Microsoft following the release of its SP2 update for Windows XP, but just four days in, it has finally found a company to say it is supporting the upgrade.
Computer Associates will support SP2 with its eTrust security management solutions, the company has announced. The upgrade new security features, including virus protection and a firewall, have been incorporated into both eTrust Antivirus and consumer eTrust EZ Antivirus, in order to meet the needs of CA’s enterprise, SME and consumer customers, CA said.
There's more: "CA is working closely with Microsoft to help ensure that its customers reap the full benefits of Windows XP SP2,” says Toby Weiss, CA senior vice-president of eTrust Security Management Solutions. “Both our enterprise eTrust Antivirus and our consumer eTrust EZ Antivirus solutions inter-operate with the native security features of Windows, to help ensure that users' desktops have complete, up-to-date virus signatures, and that their security mechanisms are appropriately configured to provide maximum protection against both malware and network-based threats."
Terrific. That's one ball down after IBM, and a variety of other sysadmins, decided that SP2 was not for them at the moment. In fact, Microsoft has been pushed into allowing companies to disable the download of SP2 while allowing other updates, just because of their concerns over dealing with it.
SP2 automatically installs security features to protect computers from hackers, viruses and other security risks. It also supports new technologies, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, along with improved hardware and driver support.
Nevetheless, Microsoft is still extremely grateful that someone has come to its side. "Microsoft is pleased to be working with CA to make it easier and more intuitive for our customers to become more secure," said Neil Charney, director of Windows product management.


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Watch us on YouTube Live at 8:30AM EST
Nike Inc – Shares of athletic apparel maker are down this morning after it delivered mixed Q3 results aftermarket yesterday, the company posted Q3 revenue of $10.36 bln, missing estimates, hurt by 11% decline in North America sales due to container shortages and U.S. port congestion. NKE also forecast “low-to-mid-teens” full-year revenue growth, falling just short of the 15.9% increase in sales that analysts were expecting.
Plug Power Inc – Remains on watch set to open lower for the third straight session, the company announced earlier in the week it plans to restate its 2018 and 2019 financials after it found “errors” in its accounting. Multiple PT cuts on the stock again this morning.
FedEx Corp – Said quarterly profit jumped more than expected on higher prices and surging volume from pandemic-fueled e-commerce deliveries during the holiday shipping season. Fiscal third-quarter adjusted net income soared by 153 percent from a year earlier to US$939 million, or US$3.47 per share, beating expectations. Revenue for the quarter grew by 23 percent to US$21.5 billion, boosted by a half billion holiday package deliveries and coronavirus vaccines shipments.
Luminar Technologies Inc – Back on watch this morning after a huge intraday reversal Thursday, the company announced it will partner with China’s SAIC Motors, using its sensors in the first high-tech self driving cars from the company. Luminar this morning is also out with a revised FY ’21 forecast, increasing its early guidance saying it now sees revenue for the year between $25 and $30 million.
AMC Entertainment – Showed plenty of relative strength throughout yesterday afternoon’s selloff, set to open higher again this morning after saying yesterday it will have “most” of its cinemas reopened in the US by the end of the month.
Tesla Inc – Under pressure in early trading for the second straight session, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating a second crash this week that saw a Tesla vehicle crash into a parked car. We learned on Tuesday the driver of a Tesla Model Y who smashed into a state trooper’s cruiser near Michigan was using Autopilot, Tesla’s advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS), at the time of the crash, This morning China’s military announced it will not allow Tesla vehicles on military housing complexes over concerns with interior cameras.
Skillz Inc – The recent SPAC conversion has been volatile following a recent short-seller report. The company provides monetization services to game developers through mobile eSports platform. The company also this week announced plans for an offering, it will sell sell 17 mln and 15 mln shares of Class A common stock, respectively, at $24 apiece.
Senestech Inc – Nano-cap Biotech company trading higher this morning after announcing the conclusion of agricultural deployments of its ContraPest® product with demonstrated, sustained success in reducing rat populations and improving operating economies in poultry farm settings.
ZK International Group Co Ltd – The popularity of non-fungible tokens (NFT), has spread to equities this week as investors targeting shares of online art trading platforms and companies making NFT-related announcements, Shares of pipe maker ZK International Group were up as much as 20% on Thursday. ZK announced earlier in the week that its subsidiary xSigma Corp would develop an NFT marketplace where users could buy and sell NFTs and create custom assets in a few clicks. Similarly, Sino-Global Shipping America Ltd. SINO said Thursday it will launch an exchange for NFTs with e-commerce public chain CyberMiles. SINO, YVR, ZKIN
Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc – Shares are tumbling this morning after the company’s drug candidate tilsotolimod in combination with Bristol-Myers Squibb’s drug ipilimumab being tested as a potential treatment for a type of skin cancer did not meet the main goal of a late-stage trial. Two brokerages downgrade stock, J.P. Morgan says the data takes accelerated approval off the table and points to a challenging path forward.
Crypto Stocks – This group is trading higher in the premarket with BTC prices back at $60000, no other individual related news however. SI, SOS, MSTR, RIOT, MARA, BTCC.B


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Viral video: Xiaomi unveiled a smartphone with a Leica camera system earlier this year. Following the confirmation of its partnership with Leica a few months ago, Xiaomi 12S ultra is first high-end phone to go on sale. It has a 1-inch camera sensor, the largest on any smartphone to date. Although the smartphone is among the most intriguing gadgets this year, Xiaomi hasn’t yet announced any plans to export it to India.
To test out the Xiaomi 12S Ultra and its camera, the company organised a product briefing last week. Here is a brief unboxing of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra in this Viral video.
Only market for the Xiaomi 12S Ultra will be mainland China
The Xiaomi 12S Ultra will only be available in the mainland Chinese market, according to an earlier statement from Xiaomi. In the upcoming months, Xiaomi may have more products planned with Leica that will serve international markets.
Specifications of Xiaomi 12S Ultra
The 6.73-inch E5 AMOLED screen on the Xiaomi 12S Ultra supports WQHD resolution, up to 120Hz refresh rate, and a maximum brightness of 1,500 nits. The smartphone has a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset and can hold up to 512GB of internal storage and up to 12GB of RAM. The camera on this device, however, is what has everyone so excited.
A massive 1-inch 50.3-megapixel primary sensor, a 48-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 48-megapixel periscope lens make up the triple rear camera setup. Leica has been given the task of making numerous adjustments to the camera and its lenses.


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After assuming the presidency of the United States, Donald Trump appointed Ajit Pai as the new Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Pai, who is a former Verizon lobbyist, is known for his opposition to net neutrality and industry regulations. As such, it didn’t come as a surprise when his first major act as head of the FCC was to announce plans that are set end neutrality in the United States. The FCC had previously implemented regulations intended to protect the data and privacy of internet users. However, Pai’s announcement at the end of April, signals the start of a process that will roll back the rules that would have prevented ISPs from profiting from customers’ information.
The 2015 Title II Order, which aimed to protect net neutrality and reclassified the services offered by the broadband industry as telecommunication services, will be rolled back. For years ISPs have tried to challenge the Open Internet rules in court. Now, under Pai’s command and following a bill signed by President Trump, the FCC is set to void the regulations that prohibited speed throttling, content blocking and that prevented ISPs from selling customer’s data (including browsing history) to third-parties. Although major names like Verizon and AT&T were quick to point out that they don’t sell their customers’ data and don’t intend to do so, the end of the regulations means that there is nothing that stops them and we will just have to take their word for it.
What are the implications of the roll back of FCC regulations?
Under the previous rules that the FCC just overturned, ISPs were required to ask for customer’s permission before selling their data. In addition, ISPs were obliged to protect data from online threats such as hackers, and they had to notify customers of any security breaches. The argument used by ISPs to oppose the FCC restrictions implemented in 205 and 2016, was that they only affected them and didn’t promote fair competition with other internet companies. After all, major names like Google and Facebook can profit from user’s data by selling advertising. Now that the previous blocks applied to ISPs have been overturned, they have the freedom to sell your data without asking you first.
As expected, this has caused significant concern among privacy conscious internet users, and the general public. While it is bad enough that the likes of Facebook and Google can sell your information to advertisers, at least they don’t have access to your entire browsing history. Their visibility ends when you are not using their services or websites and you don’t really need to have a Facebook account or use Google if you prefer not to do so. However, in order to be able to use internet, you need to pay for the service and ISPs can see pretty much everything you do online since your traffic is directed through their network.
The leading names in the broadband industry know that there is a lot of money to be earned by selling advertising. They are also taking the necessary steps to take control over online media by acquiring companies that produce the content that users are likely to access. For instance, Comcast owns NBCUniversal and Verizon bought Yahoo and AOL, and it intends to use their ad services to compete directly with Google and Facebook. Comcast owns NBCUniversal. With the new bill signed for Trump, the privacy rules to which ISPs were subject have been nullified, which enables Verizon, AT&T and other players to use customers’ data and to use tracking and advertising technology on their advantage. In the meantime, it seems that all that users can do is to trust that these companies will still give them a choice when it comes to their own privacy.
Using a VPN to protect your data
With the end of the FCC’s rules about internet privacy, the popularity of VPNs has increased significantly. The fact that ISPs can sell user’s data and that they are not required to prevent and report data breaches, has left privacy exposed to major threats. Since a VPN is designed to encrypt your online traffic, preventing your ISP from seeing the websites you visit, your IM chats and everything else you do on the internet, many people are considering this technology to defend their right to privacy. Using a VPN along with an anti-virus and an ad-blocking solution can boost the protection to your data. Your activities on the internet won’t be accessible to your ISP, spies or attackers who are trying to intercept your information.
If you are looking for an option that makes privacy a priority, you need to make sure that they don’t keep logs. A zero logs option is ideal, but the main thing is that your online traffic is not monitored or recorded. Some providers keep some connection logs (such as timestamps, duration of the sessions, etc) for troubleshooting purposes. Although those who are focused on the highest level of privacy will have an issue with this practice, for most users, as long as the provider doesn’t log online activities, there shouldn’t be an issue. Logging policy is a key factor when it comes to choosing a VPN that can be trusted with your privacy, but there is another aspect that should be considered, particularly in the aftermath of the FCC’s latest move.
Are US VPNs secure?
After Edward Snowden revealed the extent of the surveillance programs of the NSA, it became clear that the anonymity and privacy that we once associated Internet with, were an illusion. Anyone could become a target of online spying and data is collected in a mass scale, meaning that even if you think that the authorities wouldn’t be interested on what you do on the internet, you are on their radar. In a world where terrorism has become a constant threat, the government have the perfect excuse to access anyone’s data by any means necessary. In the United States, the Stored Communications Act (SCA) allows the goverment to legally request ISPs to retain someone’s data for 180 days. Not only that, under the same Act, any company that is willing to hand over data to the government because they believe that it could help to prevent deaths, can do so.
In this scenario, companies in the US wouldn’t only respond to government’s requests because they have to, but they may even cooperate by choice. ISPs and major technology companies like Google, are very likely to work with the NSA and other government agencies. It is known that these companies will comply with government’s requests and will offer the necessary platforms to allow these agencies to monitor those who use their services. Unfortunately, the same could be said about VPN services based in the United States. As much as a provider wants to help its customers to keep their privacy protected, it will probably succumb eventually to legal requirements and will have to cooperate with the authorities whenever needed. Make no mistake, they won’t compromise their business only to keep your privacy safe.
The truth is that the United States is probably one of the worst locations for companies that offer privacy protection services. Although the country doesn’t have a mandatory data retention law, the Stored Communications Act that we previously referred to, states that any VPN or ISP that does retain data about its customers, has to hand it over to authorities, if required by law. In order to comply with requests from law enforcement, cooperate with copyright enforcers and avoid legal issues, many VPNs companies keep logs. This helps them to run their business without the headaches of potential lawsuits from copyright holders or the threat of US authorities raiding or monitoring their servers. The bottom line is that if you are concerned about the NSA or other US government getting access to your data, you should consider a VPN located outside the US. Providers like NordVPN (based in Panama) and PureVPN (based in Hong Kong) are good options that offer high quality services and they don’t keep logs that compromise your privacy.
The latest actions of the FCC are a low blow to privacy and open internet, and unfortunately, they show that the Trump administration is not giving cyber security the importance that it deserves. It seems like the security and privacy of internet users is the least of the concerns for the FCC. In order to get back control over your privacy, a VPN is a practical solution. Just make sure that you choose the right service and keep in mind the risks of choosing a VPN based in the United States.


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The company said net profit decreased 24.9 per cent on-year in July-September to $6.5 billion, while revenue fell 11 per cent.
Chief executive CC Wei said that AI demand continues to grow stronger, and his company had the capacity to support the demand.
"We are working hard to increase the capacity to meet [further] demand."
Demand for high-performing chips has been robust, with companies building the hardware needed for AI to flourish in the wake of the successful launch of ChatGPT.
He warned that the chip industry faces uncertainty from high inflation and sluggish global economic growth partly caused by geopolitical tensions.
The United States said it was tightening curbs on exports of state-of-the-art AI chips to China.
The new rules beefed up measures taken a year ago that banned the sale to China of microchips that are crucial to the manufacturing of powerful AI systems.
Replying to a question on the impact of the new export curbs, Wei said the company was still doing an assessment.
"So far we can tell you that the impact to TSMC is limited and manageable, at least for the short term."


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We are delighted to announce that Winnow has joined Upscale for 2018. The Tech City UK Upscale programme nurtures some of the fastest growing technology companies in the country.
Upscale is Tech City UK’s six-month programme that provides world-class advice and mentorship to some of the fastest growing tech companies in the UK. Among the mentors are a number of successful tech entrepreneurs and investors, including the founders of Skype, Blippar, and LoveFilm.
This edition of the programme includes companies from across a wide spectrum of sectors. It reflects the growing importance of areas like data analytics, fintech and cybersecurity to the UK economy.
Being recognised as one of the most compelling scale-ups in the UK is a validation that we are having a tangible impact on the issue of food waste. And, It’s all thanks to the efforts of all the amazing chefs and managers who work with us.
Being part of the Upscale programme will allow us to extend our network and gain access to a strong community of founders. Our co-founder, Marc Zornes, said: “It is a real privilege to be part of Upscale 3.0. We are excited to take Winnow to the next level. It’s a great opportunity to be able to learn from these talented entrepreneurs and industry experts about the challenges that come with scaling up a startup."
Food waste is a major global problem, with more than a third of all the food we produce going to waste. We estimate that $100bn of food is wasted by the hospitality and foodservice industry each year.
Today Winnow operates in almost 30 countries, and we work with some of the world’s most renowned brands like Compass Group, Accor Hotels and IKEA. But we are really just at the beginning of a wholesale system change. Soon we will see the entire sector look for ways to reduce their food waste, having an enormous impact on the environment while increasing the efficiency of their operations.


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By Magnus Moller Petersen
When billionaire Alibaba founder Jack Ma wrote in an open letter earlier this year, “We need to fight counterfeits the same way, we fight drunk driving,” his sentiments reflected how bad the global counterfeiting trend has become.
Mobile phones are one of the most trafficked goods in the electronics counterfeit market. According to a recent study by OECD, approximately one in five, that is about 19% of mobile handsets sold in the world, are counterfeits and the number has been growing in recent years.
Africa and other emerging markets have long been the primary market for fake mobiles. Counterfeit phones account for 10-30 percent of the total handsets sold in sub-Saharan African countries, and can go up to 60 percent in worst case scenarios. In Tanzania, it has been estimated that 40% of the 35 million mobile users use a counterfeit handset. In Nigeria, the largest mobile market in Africa, surveys have found that more than 15 million, or over 10% of its mobile subscriber base, use fake handsets. In India this use of counterfeit handsets is growing by a shocking 12% per annum.
Due to the growth of e-commerce platforms such as Ebay, Amazon and Alibaba, it has become easy for this counterfeit mobile sector to become global. These e-commerce platforms have partly made the fake mobiles easily available at a fraction of the price for the original items, anywhere in the world.
Research conducted by the Intellectual Property Office of EU (EUIPO) and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) revealed that counterfeiting has impacted on smartphone sales by an estimated 184 million units valued at €45.3 ($52) billion, or 12.9% of the total smartphone sales. These sales losses have a domino effect – in the EU, US and Latin America markets, the losses accounted for more than €4 billion each, in Africa € 1 billion, the Arab States €2 billion and in China more than €16 billion.
This economic loss has not only affected the IPR owner sales but has also international governments lose the additional revenues gathered through value-added tax and corporate income tax.
Governments are making demands on mobile service providers to help stop the sale of counterfeit mobiles and help to recoup lost tax revenues.
In Kenya, the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) was introduced by the National Commission of Communications (CCK) in 2011, to register and control all fake and sub-standard mobile communications accessories.
More than 1.5 million Kenyan fake phones were switched off by mobile operators in October 2012, in an operation where all agreed to comply with a government directive. A joint memorandum of understanding was signed in and the Commission of Communication of Kenya agreed to pay financial compensation for any losses incurred. Mobile service providers implemented the switch-off of the handsets, which were identified by their invalid IMEI code. Other countries have followed Kenya’s example. Tanzania’s Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) announced an inauguration of a Central Equipment Identity Register in 2016, followed by a plan to switch off all fake and substandard phones.
Shutting off counterfeit handsets without warning, made many people angry as the sudden loss of connectivity made life difficult, stopped business and even put people in danger. Many people bought their devices in good faith and had paid a small fortune for them, and the impromptu cut-off didn’t feel fair to them.
It is almost impossible for the average consumer to spot a fake handset, especially if the design is convincing. Spotting a fake mobile phone requires a level of technical knowledge that most people do not have.
Counterfeit handsets cause money losses for IPR owners and the distributors of legitimate devices, and a loss of tax income for governments. Counterfeit phones are not durable and can cause high radiation and contain harmful levels of dangerous elements such as lead.
As they are made out of cheaper elements and not subject to safety standards, these fake phones can easily explode; have inoperable speakers, low-resolution cameras and slow or old processors that result in a poor network connection.
Device management technology can now provide operators with several ways to handle device shutdowns so that it respects the customer relationship and has the potential to turn the situation into a fruitful customer engagement.
Some automatic device detection solutions can enable operators in real-time and identify who owns a fake mobile, through their IMEI code. Based on this information, customer engagement solutions can deliver these users several personalized information messages to inform them about their fake device and about the potential risks of carrying one.
These messages can be automated, in advance of the shutdown to give customers enough time to buy a legitimate handset. Operators can turn this into an upsell opportunity and send the affected subscribers discounted handset offers.
This technology enables a graceful device shutdown so as not to put customers in a dangerous position. All fake handsets would first lose mobile data connectivity and only after a certain time period, would the voice and SMS services be switched off, leaving only the emergency number in use.
Because of real-time detection and automated and targeted customer engagement capabilities, each fake mobile owner can be handled differently as they appear on a network, and avoid mass-shutdowns, which can ruin customer satisfaction and damage the operator brand.
In the open letter, Jack Ma said law enforcement has been too lax and that Chinese authorities should raise maximum prison sentences and other penalties to deter illegal counterfeit handset makers.
The only way forward is to punish mobile counterfeiters and traffickers, is by hitting them where it hurts – their pockets. And, instead of punishing the handset owners by mass switch-offs they should be turned into legitimate device users by using fake device detection and personalized customer engagement – so the telecom industry can win!
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The UK High Court has blocked a £1B ($1.3B) class action claim filed against Google on behalf of iPhone users. The lawsuit resulted from the so-called ‘Safari bypass,’ where Google continued to install cookies on iPhones despite this being blocked in the browser settings …
The Safari bypass was discovered in 2012.
Stanford researcher Jonathan Mayer discovered that although mobile Safari’s default setting blocks cookies from third parties and advertisers, Google and advertising companies Media Innovation Group, Vibrant Media, and Gannett PointRoll fooled mobile Safari into thinking “a person was submitting an invisible form to Google,” letting them in turn install a tracking cookie on users’ iPhones and PCs without consent. Once a cookie installed, a Safari glitch allowed subsequent cookies to attach.
The Federal Trade Commission intervened in the US, fining Google a record $22.5M.
“The record setting penalty in this matter sends a clear message to all companies under an FTC privacy order,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz in another presser. “No matter how big or small, all companies must abide by FTC orders against them and keep their privacy promises to consumers, or they will end up paying many times what it would have cost to comply in the first place.”
A British campaign group decided that wasn’t good enough, and launched a ‘representative action’ (the UK term for a class action suit) on behalf of the 5.4M iPhone users in England and Wales affected by the Safari workaround. The group originally said the claim could be worth as much as £2.7B ($3.5B), though later reduced the sum to £1B.
The Guardian reports that the group argued Google had illicitly collected sensitive information about users.
Lawyers for Lloyd told the court that information collected by Google included racial or ethnic origin, physical and mental health, political affiliations or opinions, sexuality and sexual interests and social class. They said information about an individual’s financial situation, shopping habits and their geographical location were also obtained.
Google argued that the claim was without merit, as it had used only aggregated data and it was not possible to identify those affected.
Mr Justice Warby has sided with Google, and dismissed the claim. Richard Lloyd, the consumer activist behind the case, described the outcome as disappointing, and said he would seek permission to appeal.
Today’s judgment is extremely disappointing and effectively leaves millions of people without any practical way to seek redress and compensation when their personal data has been misused.
The High Court is one part of the Royal Courts of Justice, along with the Court of Appeal – jointly equivalent to the US Supreme Court. A ruling by the High Court can be appealed to the Court of Appeal.
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The convenience sector can benefit from a boost of almost £300m a week during hot weather, according to new figures.
Among the biggest potential growth areas are barbecue meats (up 300%), salad (lettuce up 230%, baby plum tomatoes up 375%), summer fruits (strawberries up 43%, raspberries 150%) and alfresco foods.
The figures come from the Co-operative’s grocery arm which has just published its latest report into the c-store sector.
It said: “In-depth analysis reveals that the weather really does lead to high street sale peaks and troughs. The hotter it gets the more Brits shop for food and drink, while a dip in temperatures decreases sales – a variance of up to 10%.”
With the overall UK food sector being worth £2.9bn a week, that equates to an extra £290m.
Ravi Kaushal, of Premier Burlington News, Chiswick, west London, said: “Sales have been going up this year as the weather has got warmer. The warm weather brings more people out and it brings them into stores. They’re definitely more thirsty and they’ll buy more drinks.”
The report also states that London is the fastest-growing area of the c-store sector, with those living in the capital planning their evening meal less than any other part of the UK, and more buying their evening meals on the way home from work.
Retailer Kay Patel, of Global Food & Wine, Stratford, east London, said: “As a consumer, I’m using c-stores more and more myself and we’ve definitely seen growth in people buying meals for the evening on the day.
“It’s also down to the offering. C-stores such as ours have a much better selection now, while you look at people like the Co-op, their offering used to be rubbish but it’s a lot better now.”