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J Sainsbury PLC, the second-largest player in the United Kingdom grocery market, saw a flat year-on-year sales performance in the period, while its market share fell to 16.5% from 16.8% a year before.
Despite being overtaken by Aldi, The Co-op saw a 2% boost, or £1,656 million of sales, well ahead of the market 1.7% growth, driven by strong own-label growth, McKevitt said.
He said that Aldi had attracted 826,000 more shoppers than the same period a year ago after it opened a large number of new stores.
Aldi increased its market share by 0.6 percentage points, with sales up 12.4% year on year, putting it behind the "big four".
Walmart's (WMT) continued to lose ground in the U.K.as low-priced competitors gain steam and inflation takes hold, industry figures from Kantar Worldpanel released Tuesday show.
"Just a decade [Aldi] accounted for less than 2% of the grocery market", said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel.
Kantar Worldpanel reported today that Tesco's sales had grown 0.3 percent year-on-year in the 12 weeks ending January 29, marking the fifth consecutive period of growth for the blue-chip supermarket.
According to the survey, Morrisons was the fastest-growing retailer within the big four, increasing its market share for the first time since June 2015 with a sales uplift of 1.9% year-over-year. Total supermarket sales were up 1.7% on previous year, with eight of the nine major retailers seeing sales growth over the 12 weeks - Asda's sales dropped by 1.9%. This was slower than its previous rate, and its market share has been ebbed away 0.4 per cent compared to a year ago.
Overall, supermarket sales were up 1.7% year on year, Kantar said. Waitrose also saw good growth of 3.4%, while Lidl and Iceland also saw growth, of 9.4% and 8.6% respectively.
Kantar said supply issues affecting fresh produce over the last few weeks had affected sales.
Growing for the fifth period in a row, Tesco's sales were up 0.3% year on year as its market share fell to 28.1%.
Asda suffered a sales slide over the period, with sales falling by 1.9 per cent.
Kantar said rising prices continued into the new year, with inflation on a basket of everyday groceries climbing to 0.7%.
He added that if prices continue rise to at the same rate for the rest of the year shoppers will be around £27 worse off.


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In what is being described as “the first settlement to deem such sales illegally deceptive,” New York Attorney General Letitia James has entered into a settlement with a company that had been selling fake followers, likes and views on several social media platforms. Read how much revenue the sales were generating for the
Finding that President Trump’s Twitter feed constitutes a public forum, a federal judge in New York City held that it’s a First Amendment violation when the President or one of his assistants blocks a Twitter user from viewing or responding to one of the President’s tweets. As the New York Times points out, the decision…
A recent German Federal Court of Justice decision may have a significant impact on content providers’ business models. Offering software that allows users to block advertising does not constitute an unfair commercial practice. Even providing advertisers with the option to pay for showing certain ads—a practice known as whitelisting—does not violate the unfair competition rules.
Issued on April 19, the decision involved a legal dispute between the ad blocking software provider Eyeo GmbH and the online-content provider Axel Springer (which also happens to be Germany’s largest publishing house). The decision overruled the Higher Regional Court of Cologne’s previous decision, which, like the Federal Court of Justice, did not categorize Eyeo’s offer of its ad blocking product as an unfair competition practice, but did categorize paid whitelisting as unlawful.
Axel Springer is now left with the final option of taking the case to the Federal Constitutional Court.
Background and core arguments of the parties
Eyeo, a German software company, offers the product AdBlock Plus, which allows Internet users to block ads online. The product became the most popular ad blocking software in Germany and abroad, with over 500 million downloads and 100 million users worldwide.
In 2011, the company started to monetize its product by offering a whitelisting service that gives advertisers the option to pay to show their ads. To get on Eyeo’s list of companies whose ads are not blocked, advertisers have to comply with Eyeo’s “acceptable advertising” conditions and share their ad revenue with the company. The conditions dictate the advertising’s features such as its placement, size, and—in the case of text advertising—color.…
Continue Reading German Federal Court: Unfair Competition Law No Basis to Ban Ad Blocking and Whitelisting
As Socially Aware readers know, social media is transforming the way companies interact with consumers. Learn how to make the most of these online opportunities while minimizing your company’s legal risks at Practising Law Institute’s (PLI) 2018 Social Media conference, to be held in San Francisco on Thursday, February 1st, and in New…
Happy 2018 to our readers! It has become a Socially Aware tradition to start the New Year with some predictions from our editors and contributors. With smart contracts on the horizon, the Internet of Things and cryptocurrencies in the spotlight, and a number of closely watched lawsuits moving toward resolution, 2018 promises to be an exciting year in the world of emerging technology and Internet law.
Here are some of our predictions regarding tech-related legal developments over the next twelve months. As always, the views expressed are not to be attributed to Morrison & Foerster or its clients.
From John Delaney, Co-Founder and Co-Editor, Socially Aware, and Partner at Morrison & Foerster:
Regarding Web Scraping
Web scraping is an increasingly common activity among businesses (by one estimate, web-scraping bots account for as much as 46% of Internet traffic), and is helping to fuel the “Big Data” revolution. Despite the growing popularity of web scraping, courts have been generally unsympathetic to web scrapers. Last August, however, web scrapers finally received a huge victory, as the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California enjoined LinkedIn from blocking hiQ Labs’ scraping of publicly available user profiles from the LinkedIn website in the hiQ Labs, Inc. v. LinkedIn Corp. litigation. The case is now on appeal to the Ninth Circuit; although my sense is that the Ninth Circuit will reject the broad scope and rationale of the lower court’s ruling, if the Ninth Circuit nevertheless ultimately sides with hiQ Labs, the web scraper, the decision could be a game changer, bringing online scraping out of the shadows and perhaps spurring more aggressive uses of scraping tools and scraped data. On the other hand, if the Ninth Circuit reverses, we may see companies reexamining and perhaps curtailing their scraping initiatives. Either way, 2018 promises to bring greater clarity to this murky area of the law.
Regarding the Growing Challenges for Social Media Platforms
2017 was a tough year for social media platforms. After years of positive press, immense consumer goodwill and a generally “hands off” attitude from regulators, last year saw a growing backlash against social media due to a number of reasons: the continued rise of trolling creating an ever-more toxic online environment; criticism of social media’s role in the dissemination of fake news; the growing concern over social media “filter bubbles” and “echo chambers”; and worries about the potential societal impact of social media’s algorithm-driven effectiveness in attracting and keeping a grip on our attention. Expect to see in 2018 further efforts by social media companies to get out ahead of most if not all of these issues, in the hopes of winning over critics and discouraging greater governmental regulation.
Regarding the DMCA Safe Harbor for Hosting of User-Generated Content
The backlash against social media noted in my prior item may also be reflected to some extent in several 2017 court decisions regarding the DMCA safe harbor shielding website operators and other online service providers from copyright damages in connection with user-generated content (and perhaps in the CDA Section 230 case law discussed by Aaron Rubin below). After nearly two decades of court decisions generally taking an ever more expansive approach to this particular DMCA safe harbor, the pendulum begun to swing in the other direction in 2016, and this trend picked up steam in 2017, culminating in the Ninth Circuit’s Mavrix decision, which found an social media platform provider’s use of volunteer curators to review user posts to deprive the provider of DMCA safe harbor protection. Expect to see the pendulum continue to swing in favor of copyright owners in DMCA safe harbor decisions over the coming year.
Regarding Smart Contracts
Expect to see broader, mainstream adoption of “smart contracts,” especially in the B2B context—and perhaps litigation over smart contracts in 2019 . . . .
From Aaron Rubin, Co-Editor, Socially Aware, and Partner at Morrison & Foerster:
Regarding the CDA Section 230 Safe Harbor
We noted previously that 2016 was a particularly rough year for Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and the immunity that the statute provides website operators against liability arising from third-party or user-generated content. Now that 2017 is in the rear view mirror, Section 230 is still standing but its future remains imperiled. We have seen evidence of Section 230’s resiliency in recent cases where courts rejected plaintiffs’ creative attempts to find chinks in the immunity’s armor by arguing, for example, that websites lose immunity when they use data analytics to direct users to content, or when they fail to warn users of potential dangers, or when they share ad revenue with content developers. Nonetheless, it is clear that the knives are still out for Section 230, including in Congress, where a number of bills are under consideration that would significantly limit the safe harbor in the name of combatting sex trafficking. I predict that 2018 will only see these efforts to rein in Section 230 increase. …
Continue Reading 2018: Predictions From Socially Aware’s Editors and Contributors
With much fanfare, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continues to take actions relating to so-called “social media influencers” who allegedly fail to disclose material connections to the products or brands they endorse. Recurring enforcement actions and guidance—and the FTC’s ongoing promotion of its own efforts, such as through Twitter chats—make it clear that the FTC believes that its message has still not been heard by all of the players in this advertising ecosystem, including influencers themselves.
In short, any endorsements in any medium where the endorser has a material connection of any kind to the endorsed advertiser must be disclosed.
The most recent developments include an enforcement action against a company—and two of its officers—in connection with endorsements of the company made by the officers in YouTube videos and in social media. Before turning to this case, however, we provide a brief overview of how the FTC has gotten here. …
Continue Reading Brands Beware: FTC Continues Campaign on Social Media Influencer Disclosures
In 2016, brands spent $570 million on social influencer endorsements on Instagram alone. This recode article takes a looks at how much influencers with certain followings can command, and whether they’re worth the investment.
And don’t overlook the legal issues associated with the use of social media influencers; the FTC just settled its first…
Instagram is now allowing a limited number of users to identify branded content with a “paid partnership” subhead instead of using hashtags like #ad and #sponsored to identify sponsored posts. The platform says it plans to police paid sponsors’ disclosure obligations eventually, but—for now—educating and gathering feedback from Instagram’s community and launch partners is all…
Since YouTube resolved to give brands greater control over the kind of content that their ads appear alongside, many of the…
A nice overview of the rules on researching jurors’ social media accounts in various jurisdictions from Law.com.
The importance of appearing at the top of Google search results, especially on mobile devices, is driving retailers to spend more and more on the search engine’s product listing ads, which include not just text but…

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Companies need to shift from protecting their legacy to creating their future, as consumers increasingly expect highly personalized, real-time experiences
London, UK (Nov. 28, 2018) — Consumer-facing companies must change how they are transforming their businesses and take bold steps in order to remain relevant to the data and technology-enabled smart consumer, according to EY FutureConsumer.Now research that identified five business imperatives for consumer-facing companies to act on now.
The FutureConsumer.Now imperatives are a result of qualitative research work with more than 200 business leaders, futurists and professionals from a variety of different industries for over a year to create a 360-degree view of what the future consumer could look like, and what this will mean for companies today.
“The thinking that has guided consumer-facing industries for decades is not the thinking that will enable them to succeed going forward,” said Kristina Rogers, EY Global Consumer Leader. “While most companies are taking action to meet short-term goals, they also need to understand the big technological shifts and consumer trends that stand to radically transform their industry and business. It’s vital that businesses grasp the fundamentally different expectations, wants and needs of the future consumer.”
Stemming from the research, EY offers the following recommendations for consumer-facing companies to address the five business imperatives:
1. Challenge every assumption
Agile market entrants are using technology and new routes to market to challenge incumbent business models, yet most companies are trying to protect legacy businesses by leveraging scale and chasing incremental improvements. Companies will need to address three requirements: maximize the declining benefits of existing business models to fund transformation; build on current capabilities in ways that drive new business models and create new capabilities that enable a pivot into new opportunities.
2. Choose your tribe
Companies that take leadership on the values and concerns of the stakeholders that matter most to their business, their tribe, will gain competitive advantage. By differentiating on their purpose and embedding it across every facet of their organization, business stand to form deep, lasting, and profitable connections with consumers, talent and other stakeholders.
3. Win every micro-moment
Technology-empowered consumers will increasingly purchase goods, services and experiences in “micro-moments,” without a preference for a platform they use. Companies will need to customize and adapt what products they offer, at what price and when they offer them as consumers make purchasing decisions in split seconds, regardless of brand.
4. Deliver measurable outcomes
As technology provides the consumer with more insight on purchases than ever before, generalized brand promises will become redundant as consumers demand more measurable, personalized outcomes that go beyond the key benefits of the product or service. The smart consumers of the future will have total transparency about the quantifiable consequence of every purchase and consumption choice they make. Companies can show the transparent, positive impact of their product or service in order to better appeal to their target consumers.
5. Master the ecosystem
As new technologies and business models disrupt established value chains, successful consumer-facing companies will seize new opportunities based on where and how they can add value. Companies need to identify the consumer-centric ecosystem they want to create and decide where in this ecosystem they want to play.
As part of the FutureConsumer.Now research, the EY team identified over 150 drivers that could shape the future consumer, along with eight hypotheses** related to how people will shop, eat, stay healthy, live, use technology, play, work and move. Through a series of one-week hackathons in five cities around the world, business leaders, futurists and industry professionals explored these hypotheses further and modeled possible future worlds and how they would impact consumer-facing companies.
“Consumer-facing companies have been confronting disruption for a decade,” said Andrew Cosgrove, EY Global Consumer Lead Analyst. “However, given the exponential speed of change, achieving relevance requires companies to anticipate the probable, possible and plausible consumer needs of the future to shape a preferable future for their business.”
To learn more about EY and FutureConsumer.Now, visit ey.com/futureconsumernow.
1. Eight forces that will shape the future consumer (May 24, 2018)
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.
EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.
This news release has been issued by EYGM Limited, a member of the global EY organization that also does not provide any services to clients.
Source: EYTags: EY, outlook / predictions, Transformation


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Updated: Whatever was holding up Pebble's iPhone app is apparently no longer an issue as the company was able to push out its app for iOS just as the first phones started shipping.
The app is free, though needs a Pebble watch to work.
Original story continues below...
Kickstarter phenomenon the Pebble Smartwatch has today started shipping to its army of backers.
The first 500 e-paper watches are off the production line and are now being distributed to those who committed to the project first.
Pebble, which syncs with a user's smartphone via Bluetooth to show incoming calls, messages, notifications and more, attracted more than 69,000 backers, so it may take a while to fulfil all orders.
The company now aims to get production up to 2,400 watches a day, making use of the $10,266,845 it raised to make Pebble one of the most successful crowd-sourcing projects ever.
Working out the kinks
In a post on the Kickstarter page, the company said: "Pebble will start shipping today! We'll be sending out the first batch to the very first backers this afternoon. There are still some kinks and issues that we need to work out, but I'm glad to say we've made it this far."
The company had initially hoped to start shipping in September, but the incredible success of the project meant deliveries were delayed until the new year.
In today's post, the makers also offered an update on the accompanying smartphone apps, which will allow users to download software updates and customise watch-faces.
The Android app is coming on Thursday, but the iOS version has been held up in the notorious App Store approval quagmire.
Pebble added: "Pebble iOS App is not yet available in the App Store. We submitted two weeks ago and have been responding to reviewer feedback.
"For the moment, iOS users who receive Pebble early will be able to do notifications/Music control but will not be able to install watchfaces or upgrade to the latest PebbleOS until the app appears in the App Store."
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A technology journalist, writer and videographer of many magazines and websites including T3, Gadget Magazine and TechRadar.com. He specializes in applications for smartphones, tablets and handheld devices, with bylines also at The Guardian, WIRED, Trusted Reviews and Wareable. Chris is also the podcast host for The Liverpool Way. As well as tech and football, Chris is a pop-punk fan and enjoys the art of wrasslin'.


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China's major retail and catering companies have registered a sales revenue of 821 billion yuan (US$127 billion) during the Chinese New Year holidays this year, recording a growith of 28.7% year-on-year, and the postal and express delivery industry have received and delivered about 660 million parcels, a 2.6 times increase compared to same period of last year.
In 2020, the trade volume of China's sharing economy have surged 2.9% year-on-year to 3.38 trillion yuan (US$523.6 billion).
Hong Kong Financial Secretary says Hong Kong will participate in the internal circulation of China's dual circulation economic strategy, noting that the Greater Bay Area is the direction of Hong Kong's development.
Under the backdrop of China aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, the country's first batch of “carbon neutrality” bonds of 6.4 billion yuan has recently been issued by China Southern Power Grid, China Three Gorges Corporation, SPIC, Huaneng Power International, Sichuan Province Airport Group, and Yalong River Hydropower Development Company.
China's central State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are making growth plans for the 14th Five-Year period (2021-2025) and the targets for growth will be specified once the14th five-year plan is approved by the top legislature, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC).
China has invested more than 260 billion yuan (US$40.2 billion) to build the world's largest 5G network, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology calls for deeper international cooperation on 5G cybersecurity.
China's State Council has issued a guideline to accelerate the development of green economy of the country, setting a series of goals including boosting green finance.
China's total goods imports and exports expanded 1.9 percent year-on-year to 32.16 trillion yuan (about $5 trillion) in 2020, hitting a record high despite a worldwide slump in shipments
Tencent-backed Chinese short video platform Kaishou has completed the listing hearing today and will go public in Hong Kong, and the company notes that institutional investors are showing great interests.
China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) issues new regulations, tightening the supervision on the private fund sector which recorded a total asset under management of 15.97 trillion yuan (US$2.47 trillion).
China's consumer price index (CPI) has increased by 0.2% y-o-y in December, up from a decrease of 0.5% in November.
The China national government service platform run by the country's State Council has recently on-boarded a new sector that enables cross-provincial applications for services such as market entity registration, old-age pension insurance transfers, and verification of professional qualifications.


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HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) -- A new Whole Foods Market opens in Harlem on Friday.
Inside, on the shelves, are foods from Harlem vendors.
It's an effort to support and preserve culture and tastes of the storied neighborhood.
Eyewitness News Reporter Lauren Glassberg gives you a look inside in the video above.
Whole Foods Market opening in Harlem on Friday
More TOP STORIES News


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Perth apartment developer DevelopWise is planning to unveil its latest luxury residential complex with a bang.
Perth apartment developer DevelopWise plans to launch its $40 million luxury residential development with a big bang! Named Sanctuary Mount Pleasant, the highly anticipated grand launch will be held at the Crown Towers Perth Ballroom on Saturday 21st September 2019.
Guests will be wined, dined and entertained by star performances. DevelopWise managing director Mr John Woon says that it will be one of the grandest launches that Perth has ever seen, engaging top event management firm Muse Bureau (Perth Art Ball) to ensure guests have a wonderful time.
“It’s more of a celebration than anything else and we invite our guests to come along and enjoy a fabulous evening. There won’t be any sales pitch or selling on the night. We believe that if we make outstanding apartments that people want to live in, then at the end of the day, it’s really more of an awareness campaign rather than a sales campaign, because once people find out how good they are, they’ll naturally want one,” says Mr Woon.
The Sanctuary comprises of 47 luxuriously appointed residences, meticulously crafted by one of Perth’s top builders. The apartments are almost one-and-a-half times bigger compared to other typical apartments on the market and there’s also a rooftop garden unlike anything else in the area. “I think customers are very savvy today. We responded to overwhelming demand from local owner occupiers and downsizers, to create luxury apartment living without compromising on space, quality and amenities. Our vision was to create a series of homes for residents to enjoy, relax and rejuvenate and I think we have achieved that with the Sanctuary,” Mr Woon says.
FULL ARTICLE: http://www.fremantleherald.com/ARCHIVES/F17819.pdf
To RSVP visit www.developwise.com.au/event
Available for comment
Hi Res images available on request


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Bloomberg reported on Thursday that a trio of panel judges with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office have found that two patents Smartflash used to obtain a $532.9 million patent verdict rendered in February 2015 against Apple shouldn’t have been issued at all.
Some users may be experiencing issues with some of Apple’s cloud related services, including the iOS App Store, Mac App Store, Apple TV App Store, iCLoud Backup, iTunes in the Cloud, and more.
Apple on Thursday launched its annual “Back to School” promotion in the U.S . and Canada. This year, the promotion offers a free pair of Beats Solo2 Wireless Headphones to qualifying students, parents of students, educators, and select others that purchase an eligible Mac with education pricing.
Apple earlier this week released the first preview branch of Swift 3.0, the major update to their Swift programming language. The official release of the new version of Apple’s open source language is expected late this year.
IHS Technology analyst Kevin Wang has posted on Chinese social media that company supply chain research indicates Apple’s upcoming iPhone 7 will boast 32GB storage in its base model.
Apple and Broadcom are facing a legal complaint filed by the California Institute of Technology over alleged infringement of a number of its Wi-Fi related patents.
The Indian government on Monday held a press conference to make sure the word got out that they will not allow Apple to sell refurbished devices in India. They had already rejected a request to open Apple retail stores in the region.
CNET offers more information Apple’s rumored Amazon Echo competitor, saying it could boast a built-in camera with facial recognition capabilities, and will be “self-aware.”
Reuters reports that support for a law requiring technology companies to give law enforcement agencies a “backdoor” to a user’s encrypted communications and electronic devices – such as the iPhone – has waned, and the encryption legislation looks to be dead, at least for now.
Shares of Apple stock have gotten a very nice 9% boost in the wake of Warren Buffet’s reveal of his $1.2 billion stake in the iPhone maker on May 16.
Apple representatives spent time fielding questions from Galway, Ireland residents on Tuesday, over the locals concerns over the energy consumption of a planned data center there.
A Thursday report from The Financial Times indicates Apple considered a buyout of Time Warner late last year. Apple executive Eddy Cue first raised the possibility during a meeting with Time Warner’s head of corporate strategy, Olaf Olafsson.
Apple has released a new version of the Safari Technology Preview. The experimental browser, which first debuted on March 30 offers users the ability to test features that may eventually be included in the release version of the Safari web browser.
A new report indicates Apple has been in talks with companies with experience in building vehicle charging stations, and is also hiring engineers with expertise in that area.
Apple’s main production partner, Foxconn, has reportedly replaced 60,000 workers with robots at its factory located in Kunshan, China.
India’s finance minister has reportedly shot down any remaining hope Apple may have had for opening retail stores in the country, as he is said to have ratified a ruling that Apple must follow local sourcing rules.


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Friday, January 9, 2015
QuickFire Networks Acquired By Facebook
San Diego-based QuickFire Networks, a developer of technology being aimed at speeding encoding of streaming video, has been acquired by Facebook, the company announced on its website Thursday. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. QuickFire Networks, which was led by Craig Y. Lee, said it would be winding down its business operations, and that key members of its team will be joining Facebook to work on the company's video streaming efforts. QuickFire used graphical processing unit technology (GPUs) combined with software to help rapidly encode streaming video.
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Michael Jordan retired from basketball more than a decade ago, but his signature sneakers are still outselling those of any active player today. In April, the most devout Jordan fans will have a chance to get his or her hands on an extremely rare pair of the athlete’s sneakers: an autographed pair Jordan wore during the 1984-85 season.
“These are very rare shoes indeed,” said SCP Auctions spokesman Dan Imler in a statement. “Jordan actually handed these to the attending Lakers’ ball boy after the game, and they have stayed in his possession for the past 31 years. Their provenance is flawless.”
Khalid Ali, the then-15-year-old Los Angeles Lakers’ ball boy, approached Jordan during the pre-game warm-up of the Dec. 2, 1984 match against the Lakers and asked him if he could have his sneakers.
“They were an intriguing multicolored blend for Nike shoes,” Ali said in a statement. “I had never seen a pair of Nike shoes with three colors before.”
But the sneakers Jordan wore pre-game were not the ones on his feet when game time arrived. The basketball star came out wearing a pair of white Nike Air sneakers with a red swoosh — the sneakers he would sign and give to the ball boy in the locker room after the game.
According to the auction company, Jordan wore this style of sneaker only during the early portion of his rookie season before switching to his signature shoe, and the pair being auctioned is considered the first-ever pre-Air Jordan gamers to hit the market.
The vetting process to verify the authenticity of the shoes was labor-intensive, according to Terry Melia, PR and marketing manager for SCP Auctions.
“We go online and through image and media archives to find pictures of Michael [Jordan] wearing, certainly, that style of shoe, if not the shoe itself,” Melia told Footwear News. “As we discovered through an exhaustive search, from about Oct. 26, , which was the first game of the season, through the early part of December, Michael was in fact wearing this style of Nike Air shoes. We’ve got plenty of photographs to back that up.”
But the vetting process didn’t stop with the photo search.
“Gary Vitti, who was then and still is the team trainer for the Lakers, gave us proof that Khalid Ali was actually the ball boy that season,” Melia said. “He certainly remembered him. He also remembered the moment when Ali was walking away with the shoes.”
Melia said that this pair of autographed, game-worn sneakers could potentially sell for more than $50,000. A pair of the superstar’s game-worn, autographed signature sneakers — worn later the same season — sold for $31,070 in 2013.
The two-and-a-half-week auction will take place online at scpauctions.com beginning April 8 and will end on April 25.


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By Gabriel Olawale
The role of Small and Medium Enterprises in the economic development of a country is crucial. SMEs are considered the backbone of economic growth in all countries and are strategic as well as essential for accelerating global growth and development.
According to the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), a large percentage of all registered companies in Nigeria are constituted by small scale businesses and many have been in existence for a long time. SMEs have contributed significantly to the Nigerian economy through sectoral development, provision of employment opportunities and poverty reduction. They constitute about 90% of businesses in the country, creating more than 70 per cent of employment in the region. The Government is therefore now turning to small and medium scale enterprises as a tool for developing the economy and solving problems.
However, one of their major challenges is leveraging the rapid digital transformation as a means to scale their business since their operations today are mainly offline. Brand reputation is critical in growing small businesses. A positive brand reputation builds loyalty and increases customer confidence in a brand, ultimately improving sales and overall business growth. Brand positioning is also another critical factor in ensuring small businesses establish a sustainable competitive advantage.
“The number of small businesses in the country keeps growing at an accelerated rate and will continue to do so in 2020. To stand out, it is essential that SMEs distinguish themselves through brand positioning and reputation management. This can be achieved through a growing online presence, delivering on the brand promise, good customer experience, staying innovative and having an effective ongoing public relations plan.” Kemi Olawoye, CEO Bora Communications.
“To also gain publicity and be known, small businesses need to understand the importance of a good press and this is where media relations come into focus. At Bora Communications, we help organizations including SMEs achieve proper media positioning in a way that gets them noticed in a busy marketplace. We are a Pan-African brand currently operating in Lagos, Abuja and Accra(Ghana).” She noted.


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Logistics chains around the world have been broken or severely weakened by the Covid-19 pandemic. They are being rebuilt, modified or redesigned as the global motor industry starts emerging from enforced lockdowns.
Automotive Industries (AI) asked Guido Gries, Managing Director, Dachser Americas, what are the biggest logistics challenges caused by the Covid-19 global shutdown.
Gries: The continued short supply or imbalance of carrier shipping space and equipment is disrupting very precisely weighted and carefully balanced supply chains, which were highly optimized, and in many instances, broken down into scalable commodities by procurement teams.
It became evident that airlines as well as shipping companies and operators in global trade play an essential role in supply chain fluidity. We all quickly came to understand that if shipping and equipment space becomes imbalanced, then we risk a potential collapse of global supply chains.
AI: How has DACHSER responded to the challenges?
Gries: We are continuing to work with a strong network of reliable robust strategic partnerships in the shipping and airline industry, keeping an eye on our long-term strategy.
From the early stages of this crisis, DACHSER started to operate its own charter flights from Asia to Europe and USA, as well as USA, Mexico and Brazil to Europe and vice versa. To compensate for the lack of commercial shipping space, we offered this solution to accommodate the needs of our customers, who appreciated that we were able to transport their cargo in time to meet their deadlines.
AI: What are the main logistics lessons learned – considering that the consensus among experts is that this will not be the last pandemic of this severity?
Gries: While we have not yet seen significant long-term supply chain modifications, we see that the industry is planning for further disruption, especially for those following conventional procurement practices, as shipping space will not return to pre-Covid status. The Covid-19 crisis will accelerate the long-expected shift or change in our industry towards integrated IT solutions and integrated supply chain management with all market participants.
The intelligent logistics solutions provider will be called upon as a strategic resource more than ever before. It is the hour of supply chain management in its purest form and all partners in a supply chain need to buckle up and integrate much more to ensure a strategic balance that can weather the unpredictable. Supply chain partners need to sharpen their supply chain skills and competence to understand and respond to a completely new marketplace.
This is needed if market participants want to replenish shelves and deliver goods in a stable, fluid manner.
AI: How do you see logistics supply chains being redesigned?
Gries: Availability and accessibility of equipment and capacity will play a big role in the future. There will be an increased focus on developing strategic resources in national and regional hubs with higher inventories, utilizing a greater variety of suppliers, shifting away from single sourcing. We expect a further global shift from B2B to B2C, with the last mile shifting as well towards e-commerce with curbside pick-up and further increase of home delivery.


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Throughout the past week, the Shoe Kansas City shoe drive donation box was open for donations. Pairs of gently-used flats, boots, sneakers and sandals were able to be dropped off in Shoe Kansas City’s large cardboard box outside of the main office.
All administrative offices and schools in the Shawnee Mission School District (SMSD), including East, have been holding shoe drives for Shoe Kansas City this week. The shoe drive is a cooperative effort with the SMSD and National Education Association (NEA)-Shawnee Mission, the professional organization for SMSD teachers.
Spanish teacher Linda Sieck and American history teacher Brenda Fishman helped bring the shoe drive to East. Sieck is one of the high school representatives on the NEA-Shawnee Mission’s executive board, and Fishman is East’s building representative.
“Thousands of Kansas Citians in need will receive new or gently used shoes,” Sieck said.
Shoe Kansas City’s main objective is to donate shoes to the homeless, or those living in poverty. The organization began as Elite Feet, a shoe store founded in 1997 by Don and Leslie Nottberg in Overland Park. According to their website, Elite Feet began holding shoe drives in 1998. Over the years they started branching out and holding shoe drives in other locations, and Shoe Kansas City eventually diverged into its own nonprofit organization.
In 2011, Shoe Kansas City collected more than 13,000 pairs of shoes from SMSD and other partners. This is East’s third annual shoe drive, and so far upwards of 50 pairs of shoes have been donated this year.


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An app update has been rejected from the Mac App Store for using Notification Center in a way Apple says is wrong. Listening To is a US$1.99 app by developer Sherief Farouk, and the whole point of the app is to get a notification whenever iTunes plays a new music track. It seems straightforward -- sure, that can be a lot of notifications, but if that's what you want, it should work.
However, Apple said no when Farouk tried to submit an update to the app this week. He tells The Loop that his update was rejected from the App Store, and that Apple told him using Notification Center in this way was "a misuse." Here's the weirdest part: Even if that was an issue, that functionality wasn't limited to the update. The app is still available for download.
So we're not sure what's happening here. Most likely, Apple just crossed its wires, and it needs to decide whether sending notifications is a misuse of Notification Center or not. Presumably, because the app hasn't been pulled yet, Farouk will be able to make his case and release the update. Apple might not like running such "common" notifications through its service, but is this any more useless than all of the spam notifications that pop up on iPhone apps?


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GlaxoSmithKline quits race to buy Pfizer's $20bn healthcare arm
- GSK was considered favourite to pick up the business
- But the group has indicated that the deal does not meet its investment criteria
- Shares in GSK rose towards the top of the FTSE 100 after the announcement
GlaxoSmithKline has pulled out of the race to buy Pfizer’s $20billion consumer healthcare arm – the second major pharma firm in quick succession to do so.
GSK was considered favourite to pick up the business following Reckitt Benckiser’s decision on Thursday, but the group indicated that the deal did not meet its investment criteria.
GSK chief executive Emma Walmsley said: ‘While we will continue to review opportunities that may accelerate our strategy, they must meet our criteria for returns and not compromise our priorities for capital allocation.’
GlaxoSmithKline has pulled out of the race to buy Pfizer’s $20billion consumer healthcare arm – the second major pharma firm in quick succession to do so
Shares in GSK rose towards the top of the FTSE 100 following the announcement, closing up 3.3 per cent, or 41.8p, at 1315.6p.
When Reckitt pulled out, the household goods giant said it had wanted to buy only part of the Pfizer division, but this had proved impossible.
Separately, GSK announced that its shingles vaccine Shingrix has been approved in Europe and Japan.
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Mountain Home, Ark. Woman charged with credit card fraud and embezzlement as caregiver of elderly woman
MOUNTAIN HOME, Ark. (KY3) – A woman from Mountain Home faces criminal charges of embezzlement and credit card fraud as a caregiver of an elderly woman.
Shelah L. Ellison, 49, faces felony charges of fraudulent use of credit cards, obtaining a signature by deception and theft of property.
Ellison’s arrest came after a complaint was filed with the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office earlier this year.
According to the complaint, Ellison had embezzled funds and committed credit card fraud after being hired as a caregiver for an elderly woman. While working as a caregiver, Ellison had agreed with the woman on the daily pay for Monday through Friday and would be paid on the first of the month for the month’s work to come. Ellison was then asked to also provide assistance to the woman on weekends for a separate agreed compensation amount.
At one unspecified time, the woman provided Ellison with a credit card to purchase groceries and supplies. Meanwhile, investigators said Ellison was using pre-signed blank checks on the woman’s account to pay the woman’s monthly bills and would keep the woman’s checkbook ledger for her.
In July 2021, an unpaid invoice was discovered which was believed to have been paid to Ellison. Bank statements were searched to see if a check for the bill had cleared the account. During this research, unusual large transactions on the account were discovered and the victim’s daughter was contacted and made aware.
Subsequent research uncovered numerous unauthorized transactions on the woman’s bank accounts and credit card. These included a $ 45,000 transaction used to reimburse Ellison’s personal vehicle.
In total, there was evidence that $ 62,637.64 of the elderly woman’s money had been taken by Ellison and had been used without the victim’s consent or permission. When confronted with relatives, Ellison repaid the $ 45,000 she had used to pay off her vehicle.
After an interview with Baxter County authorities, Ellison attended the Baxter County Detention Center on October 28.
Ellison was released after posting $ 50,000 bail. She will appear in Circuit Court to respond on November 18.
To report a correction or typo, please send an email [email protected]
Copyright 2021 KY3. All rights reserved.


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Survey suggests investors perception of crypto is changing
A report commisioned by crypto.com finds that investors see cryptocurrencies as increasingly useful as the portfolio diversifies.
The report is based on a consumer survey completed by 3,000 consumers in early 2022, with half of the respondents living in developed economies and the other half in developing countries.
The survey found that around 75 percent of the participants had tertiary education or higher and had used a variety of digital payments methods to pay for goods or services.
The report also found that 85 percent of respondents held the view that open-source cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) are useful as a diversifier in a portfolio or treasury account.
According to an Economist Impact report on consumer trust in digital currencies, investors see cryptocurrencies as increasingly useful as the portfolio diversifies.
Economist Impact published the findings of its 'Digimentality Report', which looked into consumer trust in digital payments and the issues that have stopped the digitization of money. The data from the report offers some interesting perspective, as it compares trends from surveys on the subject from 2020 and 2021.
The information for this survey was gathered from 3,000 consumers in early 2022. 50% of them were from developed economies like the US, UK, France, South Korea, and Australia. The other 50% were from developing countries including Brazil, Turkey, Vietnam, South Africa, and the Philippines.
The survey consisted of two parts, the first being with regular users. They found that 75% had a tertiary education or higher, and had used digital payments methods to pay for goods or services. The second part involved 150 institutional investors and corporate treasury management respondents. This gave insight into the attitude of the wider conventional financial system on the subject.
A key point to remember is that investors think open-source cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and Ether, are useful for diversifying a portfolio or treasury account.
85% of respondents indicated that demand for crypto has risen over the past three years. In addition to this, 90% of institutional investors and corporates said that demand had increased.
The report showed that the rise in popularity of Web3 and Metaverse projects may lead to an increase in demand for NFTs. Additionally, 74% of those surveyed agreed that NFTs are an emerging asset class that organizations plan to acquire and trade.
People are increasingly expecting their respective governments to stop using physical fiat currencies, and replace them with digital currencies within the next ten years. Over half of those surveyed believe that this is a likelihood.
It was found that regulation was a major obstacle stopping institutional investors or corporate treasuries from using cryptocurrencies; 35% of respondents cited market trust or knowledge as an obstacle — a marked decline in perception compared with 47% from the previous study.
The U.S. Treasury secretary announced in 2022 that the limited access to cryptocurrencies wasn't just a problem for everyday traders, but also for major institutions and countries.


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Google Voice Debacle Causes Arrington to Ditch the iPhone, and With Good Reason – Apple – Gizmodo
Normally, I’d say that TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington’s public quitting of the iPhone was a shrill, disingenuous ploy for attention and pageviews. It’s Michael Arrington, after all. But you know what? It’s totally legit, and Apple should pay attention.
The reason he’s quitting isn’t because of AT&Ts horrible network, which everyone with an iPhone has been begrudgingly putting up with for two years now. No, it’s the Google Voice debacle.
He really wants to use Google Voice, but in order to do so, he needs the app for it to really work. It’s not just an inconvenience; it’s seriously detracting from how he can use his cellphone. And with legit GV apps available for both BlackBerry and Android, he doesn’t have to. So he’s terminating his iPhone contract.
And really, power to him. If GV was important to me, I’d do the same. And I’m sure Arrington isn’t the only person furious enough to cancel their iPhone service over this, he’s just one of the most visible. So Apple, pay attention. Because lately your App Store nonsense has crossed from irritating to inexcusable, and that’s just not going to work in the long term. [TechCrunch]
I also hope Apple pays attention. They have handled this extremely badly, first approving several Goggle Voice apps four months ago (((I use GV Mobile, which is excellent))) and now suddenly janking them from the store. Naturally people are now demanding refunds. Problem is, refunds are not issued by Apple but by the app-makers, and from what I understand Apple gets to keep their commission, which means the app-developers are actually losing money!! In the meantime Skype, Truphone and other VOIP apps are still available! Is this specifically directed against Google? Why?
I am not updating to 3.0.1 until I know Apple won’t yank the GV Mobile app from my iPhone in the process. And, it goes without saying, I have zero loyalty to AT+T, who are probably behind this stunt.
This just in:
FCC questions Apple over Google Voice | Software | iPhone Central | Macworld
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has written to Apple, AT&T and Google questioning the rejection of Google Voice and related applications from theApp Store.
In a letter sent Friday to Apple, the agency asked the company why Google Voice was rejected, which related applications have been rejected along with it, and what role AT&T may have played in the decision. It also asked what the difference is between Google Voice and other VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) software that has been approved for the iPhone.


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IPP is IAG's tool for measuring the ad-effectiveness of every product placement and sponsorship on television every night, an IAG spokeswoman said.
"IAG will be providing data and analytics research, which MindShare USA will use to optimize media buying strategies across reality, sitcoms, dramas, and sports programming," she said. "IAG's In Program Performance product will help them better understand how to value product placement for their clients."
IPP measures actual viewer response to product placements and sponsorships and provides metrics on brand recall and fit, through questions such as whether a placement fit seamlessly and naturally, or was awkward and interfered with the enjoyment of the program.
Secondly, the system records responses to brand opinion and whether the viewers have been inspired to make a purchase as it also gauges the level of intent behind those answers.
IPP launched last October and now boasts that more than 5 million product placement surveys of TV viewers have been captured and analyzed, according to IAG's spokeswoman.
IAG works with all the major ad holding companies -- Aegis Group, IPG, Omnicom, and WPP - and plans to aggressively market the IPP system over the next few months.
"We looked at several products and found the IAG product superior for the relevant and actionable data they collect for virtually every night of the year," said David Marans, senior partner, director of consumer insights, for MindShare. "We found their offering very compelling."
MindShare has TV billings of over $4.06 billion annually, with major accounts including Unilever Bristol-Myers, American Express, Sears, Gillette, IBM, and Kimberly Clark.
Clearly, part of the reason the agency looked for measurements of product placement were tied to last year's arrangement where MindShare helped ABC develop "The Days," which featured a cross-marketing deal with Unilever and other clients.


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Having already snagged legendary director Steven Spielberg, Electronic Arts has now enlisted the talents of another famous Hollywood talent. The publishing giant has announced that it has signed a deal with Zack Snyder—the director behind 300, the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead, and the upcoming Watchmen—that will see him work on three upcoming original titles.
The deal will have Snyder working with the EA Los Angeles studio, the same team that created Spielberg's Boom Blox. It also gives the publisher rights to turn any original IP created by Snyder into film properties, which would then be produced by his own Cruel & Unusual Films company.
"Zack Snyder has a fresh and bold creative style that resonates with our core audience," EA's Frank Gibeau explained. Unfortunately, no actual details were revealed as to what kind of game Snyder is planning on creating.
Snyder now joins an ever growing list of talented directors who have made the move to work in games, including Peter Jackson, John Woo, and Spielberg. Even talents like Guillermo Del Toro have expressed interest in the medium. However, none of these collaborations have been as successful as the studios hoped for, so hopefully these new games will be able to buck that trend.


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If you’re not reaching, engaging, and monetizing customers on mobile, you’re likely losing them to someone else. Register now for the 8th annual MobileBeat
, July 13-14, where the best and brightest will be exploring the latest strategies and tactics in the mobile space.
MakeMyTrip.com, the Indian travel site, has raised $13 million in a second round of funding amid robust growth, according to The Economic Times.
Helion Ventures and Sierra Ventures, and existing backer Softbank Asia Infrastructure Fund (SAIF) invested $6 million, $4 million and $3 million, respectively, the report said. MakeMyTrip may have sold about 20% of its stake in this round, it said, citing people familiar with the transaction.
SAIF already invested $10M last year, which makes MakeMyTrip the most well funded of all the competitors, which include Cleartrip, Travelguru and Yatra.
Notably, MakeMyTrip says revenue will hit $130 million for the current fiscal year, about 200 percent higher than last year — which brings it into IPO territory.
Separately, Sierra Ventures is boosting its investments in India, by committing as an investor in a $12 million fund being raised by Indian VC firm Seedfund, notes VentureWire (sub required).


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It’s well known that Steven P. Jobs, the chief executive of Apple, has had a hand in the design of just about everything Apple makes, including the Macs, MacBooks, iMacs, iPods, iTunes, iPhones, iPads and, now, the iCloud.
So we can only imagine that Mr. Jobs had a say about the look and feel of what tech bloggers are already calling the iSpaceship: a proposed ring-shaped building that would house as many as 13,000 Apple employees not far from the company’s current headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.
“It’s a little like a spaceship landed,” Mr. Jobs said as he unveiled the proposed design during a surprise appearance at a Cupertino City Council meeting on Tuesday evening. While the presentation lacked the theatrics of typical Apple keynote addresses and events, Mr. Jobs’s flair for marketing — and his embrace of hyperbole — were in display.
Mr. Jobs said the iSpaceship would have a smaller footprint but house more people than existing buildings accommodate on the 150-acre site. He vowed to rip up surface parking lots and replace them with landscaping, nearly doubling the number of trees on the site to 6,000. He said the site would have an energy center where Apple would generate its own electricity and use the grid as backup.
The building will also have an auditorium where Apple could host events, a cafeteria where 3,000 people could eat at the same time, special research and development facilities, and a fitness center. And it will have huge panels of curved glass all around. “There is not a straight piece of glass in this building,” Mr. Jobs said.
By the time, the building is done, architecture students would come to Cupertino just to see the building, Mr. Jobs predicted. “I think we do have a shot at building the best office building in the world.”
While the project is a long way from being approved — Apple has yet to submit formal plans — it looked as if selling the project to the council would be about as hard as convincing a lifelong Apple fan to buy a new iPad. One council member said describing the project as “spectacular would be an understatement.”
Mr. Jobs, a Cupertino native, seemed to know that with Apple as the city’s largest taxpayer and employer, he isn’t likely to face much resistance. When another council member asked whether Apple would provide free Wi-Fi in Cupertino (as Google has done in its hometown of Mountain View, nearby), Mr. Jobs appeared in no mood to bargain. “I’ve always had this view that we should pay taxes and the city should do those things,” he said. “If we can get out of paying taxes, I’ll be glad to put up WiFi.”
Mr. Jobs said Apple now has about 12,000 people in Cupertino –about 2,800 in its main campus, with the rest scattered in adjacent buildings. He said Apple planned to keep its current campus, implying that the adjacent buildings would be vacated. And he said he hoped Apple could begin moving into the new building in 2015. Combined, the two campuses would have capacity for nearly 16,000 people.


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Mabel Kwakyewaa Owusu/ Portia Ofori/ Joseph Tetteh
Kumasi, Dec. 04, GNA - Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) Circuit Court, has granted bail in the sum of GH¢80,000.00 with two sureties to a self-acclaimed car dealer in Kumasi, who allegedly defrauded a driver.
Iddrisu Musah, the accused, had told the driver who is complainant in the case that he would sell to him a second hand Kia grand bird truck.
He is alleged to have collected an amount of GH¢78,000.00 being part payment of the total cost of the vehicle, valued at GH¢240,000.00, but never produce the car.
He pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit crime and defrauding by false pretences.
The Court presided over by Mrs Mary Nsenkyire adjourned the case to 5th December, 2019.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Felix Akowuah, prosecuting, told the Court that the complainant is a driver and during the month of October 2018, the accused informed him of the sale of ‘home used’ Kia grand bird trucks at Bekwai roundabout, in Kumasi.
He said the accused then took him to a garage where the complainant saw four Kia grand bird trucks on display, each with the face value of GH¢240,000.00.
The Prosecution said the complainant became interested and agreed to buy one of the trucks and made a down payment of GH¢78,000.00 to the accused promising to pay the remaining amount in the shortest possible time.
He said the complainant visited the garage and found to his utter surprise that, all the trucks showed to him by the accused person, were no more on display for sale at the garage.
Mr Akowuah said upon discreet inquiries the complainant realized that the vehicle showed to him, did not belong to the accused, but the garage owner, who had sold them out.
The prosecution said the accused later lied to the complainant that he has imported the same brand of vehicles, which would arrive in the country very soon and pleaded with complainant to exercise patience for the vehicles to arrive.
However, this claim was later found to be false and the accused was then arrested by the police after the complainant made a report.
He admitted the offence in his cautioned statement during police investigations and was subsequently charged and arraigned.


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Business led by CEO David Hollander with investment from LDC
Aqualisa has undergone a management buyout from RBA and Sankaty Advisors, backed by private equity group LDC.
It follows 18 months of increased revenue and profit at Aqualisa, under the guidance of its CEO David Hollander, who prior to joining the company was managing director at Dyson.
The business growth has been part of a three-year plan to “unlock value in the brand” , including product launches in digital and electrical categories. However, Aqualisa reports market share has grown across all categories.
According to the company, the change in ownership will allow for increased investment in the Aqualisa brand, new product development and customer support.
David Hollander commented on the management buyout: “This is a vote of confidence in Aqualisa’s future from both LDC and management. It’s the best possible news for customers, colleagues and suppliers. Sankaty and RBS have been very supportive, both financially and with operational expertise over the past three years, consistently showing a strong understanding of our industry and business goals. Partnering with LDC will allow us to pursue an even more rapid growth agenda along with our obsession with showers and fast-track our ambitions in the UK.”
In addition, Steve Lee has been appointed as non-executive chairman, bringing his experience of the industry, which includes CEO at Methven and prior to that chairman of Bristan.
Steve Lee explained why he has joined the company: “‘I’m impressed with the dynamic management team, their understanding of the category and the iconic name”. “I look forward to adding value to the future of this great British brand.”


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Police discovered the body of a man inside a shopping centre public toilets.
Officers were called to the Arcade Shopping Centre, on Warrington Street, Ashton-under-Lyne , following concerns from a member of the public.
When police arrived they found the body of a man who had sadly died.
The shopping centre toilets were sealed off to the public from 11.30am.
Police are making enquiries into the circumstances behind the man’s death and his age is not known at this stage.
A spokesman confirmed there are no suspicious circumstances.
A spokesman for Arcades Shopping Centre said: "As the managing agent at Arcades Shopping Centre in Ashton-under-Lyne, Savills can confirm that emergency services attended the site earlier today following the report of an incident."


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COST OF LIVING/Taiwan consumer prices rise 2.84% in November
Taipei, Dec. 7 (CNA) Consumer prices in Taiwan rose 2.84 percent in November compared with the same month a year earlier, the biggest monthly year-over-year increase for nearly nine years, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said Tuesday.
According to the DGBAS, the increase was mainly due to rising prices of fuel, fruit, vegetables and dining out as well as higher airfares.
The CPI increase of 2.84 percent, it said, was the highest jump in 102 months.
The DGBAS also recorded a CPI increase of 0.24 percent between October and November this year.
Tsao Chih-hung (曹志弘), a specialist at the DGBAS, said there were currently no signs of inflation in Taiwan, even though consumer prices have generally been surging.
Inflation is not the same as price increases, as it requires comprehensive, continuous, and significant conditions in order to be deemed as such, Tsao explained.
On whether consumer prices could continue to rise in December, Tsao said he anticipated that the CPI would not increase any further than it already has, considering the drop in international crude oil prices since late November coupled with the government's efforts to stabilize domestic prices through tax reductions on imported commodities such as gasoline and diesel.
Fuel prices and airfares in November rose 35.8 percent and 13.38 percent, respectively, from a year earlier while entertainment prices also rose 1.55 percent due to rising costs in domestic holiday packages amid the stabilizing COVID-19 situation in the country.
The index for communications equipment fell 7.36 percent due to price drops of mobile devices, it added.
In November, the core CPI, which excludes fruits, vegetables, and energy, rose 1.49 percent year-over-year.
The DGBAS data also showed that for the first 11 months of 2021, Taiwan's CPI increased 1.91 percent over the same period of last year.
The wholesale price index (WPI) surged 14.19 percent in November compared with the same month of 2020.
The import price index rose 15.80 percent in November compared to a year earlier in Taiwan dollar terms and was up 20.02 percent in U.S. dollar terms.
The export price index, meanwhile, grew 11.53 percent in Taiwan dollar terms and climbed 15.58 percent in U.S. dollar terms.
The WPI increased 9.13 percent in the first 11 months of this year compared to the same period in 2020, the agency said.
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text: Hello, September and Friday night lights! We are super excited to share some of our favorites from our session with the 2015 Waxahachie Indians. Thank you Waxahachie Quarterback Club for having us come out and shoot the Indians' new Nike football gear. The new helmets and gear look great and we were excited to get them in front of our camera. It's a new season for the Indians as they welcome a new head football coach and several new coaching staff. Jon Kitna, former Dallas Cowboy, is leading the Indians to a fresh start and we are excited to see great things to come from this program! Go Indians!


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In this month's Lowdown we bring you an eclectic mix of RAJAR results, Meta and the metaverse, potato milk and Marcus Radishford....read on!
And the radio results are in...
As reported on Radio Today, after a year and a half hiatus, the latest RAJAR results are out for Q3 2021. A new methodology is being used to collect the data (to provide more stability and security for the future) so it's not possible to make direct comparisons with data pre-pandemic.
The key results from the RAJAR results show that 89% of the population tune into radio every week and an average listener tunes into 20.4 hours of live radio . 74% of the population tune into digital radio (DAB, DTV, Online or App) each week and 48% of voice activated speaker users claim to listen to radio weekly and 20% daily. The majority of listening is at home (65%), followed by in transport (21%) and 14% at work.
Total Global Radio (Heart, Capital, Smooth) continued to secure the listening share top spot (21.4%), followed by Bauer Radio (KISS, Magic, Absolute, Hits Radio). New DAB stations such as Times Radio grew their listener base by over 637,000. Capital DANCE grew by over 287,000 and Boom Radio by 233,000.
As reported in Mediatel, BBC stations performed well with Radio 2 recording 14.6m weekly listeners (despite losing Graham Norton), Radio 4 attracted 11.2m and BBC Radio 1, 8.2m.
There were no curve balls from this latest data so it will be interesting to see what changes materialise over the next few surveys.
“No one thinks it’s perfect, but it’s a great step in the right direction.”
So says Tony Mattson, head of strategy at Havas Media UK in relation to the IPA's launch of the carbon calculator (as quoted in The Drum). The COP26 climate conference has certainly opened up the conversation within the advertising industry on the topic of climate change and how it can actively challenge the status quo and reduce carbon emissions for brands. Although carbon calculators do exist (e.g. AdGreen's carbon calculator and The IPA's Media Climate Calculator), there is consensus that it is still early days for these systems and they provide a more general gauge versus in-depth insight. However, discussions are getting louder. Better systems will hopefully ensure that they form part of the planning process versus being only used for ad hoc briefs.
Our agency intends to drive improvements in this area, and this is already underway with our active involvement in the Advertising Association's Ad Net Zero. We will continue to bring you further updates in this area.
To say that the TV market has been volatile would be a massive understatement. Indeed, as we reported in last month's Lowdown, the TV market was predicted to finish 2021 well ahead of 2019, and has been helped along by advertisers kicking off their Christmas activity earlier.
Indeed, as reported in Mediatel, ITV has announced that it is on track to record it's highest ad revenue in 66 years. Total advertising revenue (TAR) for 2021 was up 30% for the 9 months to the end of September. ITV predicts that October will be up 17%, November up 12% and December up by 5-10%.
ITV also announced a couple of new initiatives - a new multi-year carriage relationship with Virgin (full integration of the ITV Hub platform on existing Virgin Media set top boxes) and new IP products, plus a partnership with Sky to increase addressable advertising inventory.
More so than normal, it is necessary to get activity locked in early to avoid disappointment!
It's all about potato milk, dinner parties and 'climatarian' diets....
Waitrose's latest Food & Drink Report (2021/22), has outlined 6 trends for 2022:
A nation of homebodies - we are in love with our homes and cooking
Intimate dinner parties - it's all about quality, not quantity
5:2 Veg diet - 5 days veggie, 2 days meat
Outdoor living - invested heavily in this area and now enjoying it
Regenerating our planet - greater awareness, want more action
Social eating - TikTok and Instagram used for food inspiration
Unsurprisingly, products that are using less CO2 in their production are becoming more popular, which is leading to a trend in 'climatarianism'. One such product is potato milk - invented in Sweden by a company called Veg of Lund (as reported in The I) and will be one to watch in 2022. Watch this space!
Meta is here
Back in August's Lowdown, we announced Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg's intention to build a metaverse. Roll on 3 months and we now have Meta - the new holding company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus. The rebrand has certainly had its critics, with US Senator Ed Markey (as quoted in The Guardian) not mincing his words:
“Facebook wants us to start calling it Meta, but we’re just going to keep calling it what it is, a threat to privacy, democracy, and children,”
Despite its critics, there's no denying that Meta has big plans for the future and it's firmly rooted in the metaverse. As noted in the BBC's article, 'Apparently, it's the next big thing. What is the metaverse', there is more buzz about the metaverse now, as wealthy investors and big tech firms are keen to keep pace with the technology (i.e. they don't want to get left behind) and advancements in VR gaming and connectivity is much improved. Facebook has acknowledged that it sees the metaverse idea will take another 10 to 15 years, so it is still early days but they intend to hire 10,000 people in Europe to develop the 'metaverse', so they certainly mean business.
Going Cookie-less causing more pain than gain?
Performance Marketing World's recent article focuses on a recent report by Lotame that found two fifths (42%) of marketers say the loss of cookies will reduce revenue and 57% think this will be between 10-25%. AS Christ Hogg, MD EMEA at Lotame says:
“The industry knows change is coming… Google’s 2023 deadline gives marketers and publishers some breathing space but it’s imperative not to take this time for granted. Open discussions and rigorous testing with a variety of providers — from authenticated to probabilistic – are an essential part of this journey. Only then can marketers and publishers really develop optimal, privacy-first identity portfolios to meet their full-funnel strategies in a post-cookie world.”
Talk to us at M.i. about how we can help mitigate the cookie issue with your brand.
It would be rude not to....
....mention CHRISTMAS! As predicted advertisers have gone early and in-tune with that, consumers are consuming Christmas content too. In an article for Mediatel, The Ozone Project has seen two trends:
Consumers are getting in early (as well as advertisers) and consumption patterns show that at the beginning of October, the Christmas audience was already 116% greater than it was at the start of November 2020.
Brands are staying in longer - seasonally driven categories are going into market in October and staying in until the end of January. These categories include tech, video gaming, home decor and style & fashion editorial
The Christmas ads are out and already saturating our TV Screens...here are a few goodies:
Deliveroo, positioning food as the must-have gift this Christmas: excellent quote - 'No one ever said "did you keep the receipt for a bucket of chicken"
Disney, a poignant and contemporary view of the many iterations of Christmas
Aldi, an animation featuring Marcus Radishford


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MADRID, 10 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -
The harmonized inflation rate in Germany, used by Eurostat in its statistics, stood at 9.3% last February, one tenth above the increase registered in January, according to the second reading of the data published by the Federal Office of Statistics (Destatis).
In turn, the German consumer price index (CPI) remained stable in February at 8.7%, adding pressure to the European Central Bank (ECB), whose Governing Council will meet next week with the expectation to raise interest rates another 50 basis points.
"The inflation rate remains at a high level," acknowledged Ruth Brand, president of Destatis, stressing that German households felt the impact of higher food prices in February as well, "as they rose even more than prices of energy".
Specifically, in February the prices of energy products were 19.1% higher than the previous year, despite the relief measures of the federal government, although below the rise of 23.1% in January 2023.
In this sense, the German statistical office indicated that, since January 2023, the increase in energy prices has been slowed to a certain extent by the freezes on the prices of electricity, natural gas and district heating that entered effective retrospectively from the beginning of the year.
On the other hand, food prices increased by 21.8% in February, accelerating with respect to the 20.2% increase observed in January, with particularly significant increases in dairy products and eggs (35.3%) and bread. and cereals (24.3%). Likewise, Destatis warned of very high increases in the prices of some food products such as sugar (69.9%).
Thus, excluding energy prices, the inflation rate in Germany stood at 7.6% in February 2023, while also excluding food, the core inflation rate was 5.7%. , one tenth more than in January.


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The concept of smart TV box rise in the smart tablet computer, with the smart market hot, smart TV box to bring new hope.
Although the standard of smart TV box has not yet come out - even on its concept of understanding is not uniform. According to the relevant research, the current smart TV product box market is also hot up.
Data show that the market awareness of smart TV box was significantly lower than other TV products. According to IDC, from 2011 to 2015, China's smart TV box market compound annual growth rate will reach more than 60%; by 2015, about 90% of the TV will be equipped with smart TV, the market capacity will reach 76 million units.
But now many home TV can not immediately buy the market smart TV, but you can also enjoy the smart TV, as long as the use of a Google Android (roid) system of smart TV box, you can achieve the function of smart TV.
At the same time with the huge market of smart TV, the corresponding smart TV box market also usher in an explosive growth.


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Bobby Harris Talks Strategy Amid Market Volatility
Henry Queen, Reporter
July 1, 2022
There are early signs of decreases in demand within the supply chain, said BlueGrace Logistics CEO Bobby Harris.
Simultaneous phenomena have pushed the prices of goods and services to new highs. The consumer price index for the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area rose 2.1% from March to May, according the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Demand is starting to come down,” Harris said. “There’s no doubt about it. There’s a lot left to be learned in the coming months to see if the economy starts cooling down a little bit more. But we’re certainly seeing the early signs of it as far as the supply chain side.”
BlueGrace, a Riverview-based 3PL founded by Harris in 2009, brought in over $460 million in revenue in 2020, according to Tampa Bay Business Journal research. It’s the 20th largest private company in Tampa Bay.
Harris spoke with the Business Journal a few days before the S&P 500 dipped to bear market territory. Despite fears of a recession, BlueGrace is looking to add 192 people before the end of the year to meet their clients’ needs, Harris said.
How does inflation affect not only your business but the supply chain as a whole? Inflation is playing a big part in what we’re seeing. Specifically, fuel. The national average price of diesel last week was $5.70, which is an all time high. And what happens in the shipping world — and it doesn’t matter, you can name any of the Fortune 100 companies — they pay a fuel surcharge.
If fuel goes up, shipping costs more, and it’s immediately passed on. That’s not something that takes a while.
If fuel goes up, shipping costs more, and it’s immediately passed on. That’s not something that takes a while. And so those goods that get shipped are costing not just a little bit more, but a lot more. Because you have to remember too: Diesel has gone up even more than regular gas. And that’s what really affects the movement of goods in the United States.
Do you see demand dropping from consumers? We’re definitely starting to see some of that. Now, the one interesting things is the ports in China have been locked down for a long time. But in the last few days Shanghai specifically —which is where you want to check if you want to figure things out — they’ve unlocked their ports. They’re getting back up to full capacity. You’re now going to start seeing more gridlock coming out of China, which will create a little bit of a bottleneck here. Capacity will tighten up a little bit. But we expect it to normalize in the coming months, barring any other Covid lockdowns for China. But we do not expect to see energy costs go down anytime in the near future. That’s baked into a lot of people’s predictions of what we’re gonna expect throughout the rest of the year.
How does that shape shippers’ behavior with the high diesel prices that aren’t cooling down? Shippers aren’t worried about, ‘Hey let’s just get it here so that we can have excess inventory.’ When it costs that much to ship, they’re less likely to hold a lot of inventory. One of the complaints of most U.S. consumers right now are wait times. What solves that is having inventory readily available, which seems to be less likely going forward until shipping and supply chain costs come down.
So consumers will have to wait even longer with the possibility of more bottlenecks? Certainly. There’s just such a big reliance on China. Their ports have been a [question mark]. They also have their own inland trucking issues. China’s Covid lockdowns affect the entire world, but especially the United States. What we are seeing is that people do more and more nearshoring. We’re starting to get requests to help model something out. They ask, ‘We’re talking about moving warehouses to Mexico rather than China. How does that affect things?’ People are opening up to that because they don’t see this as something that’s going to pass very soon.
There’s a lot of need for agility in supply chains right now.
How does nearshoring affect your business or how can you help your clients with those goals? Each client has their own need. They put a lot of thought into where to put their production and where to get their manufacturing. In some cases, it is bringing more and more back to the United States. Some of it is different distribution patterns with less or more frequency. And some of it is bringing manufacturing to Mexico or even Vietnam, for that matter. There’s a lot of need for agility in supply chains right now. Because No. 1, it’s very difficult for people to fulfill. And No. 2, it’s very unpredictable. So agility is the most important thing that we can offer our clients.
Given the reliance on China, has the supply chain actually fared pretty well considering their lockdowns? As a society, we’ve gotten better. The struggles have made people sharper and figure out new ways. It has been a struggle, but it’s better than it was.


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NEW DELHI: Amid the pandemic induced gloom and doom about the Indian economy, Deepak Bagla is refreshingly different. In a frank chat on The Gist, the CEO and managing director of Invest India, the government agency charged with bringing foreign direct investment into the country, says there’s a lot of overseas interest in the India story.
Since the agency’s inception ini 2009, Invest India has brought $32 billion in FDI and looking forward, Bagla says the story can only get better. Across every conceivable business and industrial sector, and across 29 states, the avenues for foreign money entering India are multiplying, driven by the ongoing digital transformation.
This has added to the “ease of doing business” index, and schemes like Production Linked Incentive have found ready takers. Bagla hinted that talks were on with key foreign governments and tech companies to take advantage of the decoupling with China, to set up shop in India. More in this conversation with Deepak Bagla.


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Will 2019 be one of the gloomiest EVER for the UK car industry? Market for new motors down 7% annually as demand for latest vehicles wanes
- Some 10,348 fewer cars were registered last month compared to October 2018
- Decline of 6.7% predominantly due to a 13.2% drop in private-buyer demand
- Petrol and diesel sales fell, though electric cars rose by over 150%
- Alternative fuel vehicles took a record 9.9% market share - the highest ever
Demand for new cars fell by almost 7 per cent last month, the automotive industry has confirmed today - the steepest fall recorded in the last 12 months.
Some 10,348 fewer cars were registered in October than during the same month in 2018, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
The decline was driven by a 13.2 per cent drop in demand from private buyers as motorists continue to steer clear of dealerships with Brexit still looming and increased talk of clean air zones and diesel restrictions causing concern.
Alex Buttle, director of car selling comparison website Motorway.co.uk, said: 'The UK car industry will surely look back at 2019 as one of its gloomiest on record.'
On the slide: Demand for new cars fell by almost 7% last month as the motor industry's turbulent period continues to rumble on
This is the eighth month out of 10 in 2019 than new car registrations have dipped year-on-year.
Sales of diesel models were down 28.3 per cent, while petrol cars fell by 3.2 per cent, the SMMT confirmed.
As a result, alternatively fuelled cars - a category made up of hybrids and fully electric vehicles - took a market share of 9.9 per cent, which is the highest on record.
This means one in 10 cars sold is now an alternative to diesel or petrol.
Battery electric cars posted a 152 per cent increase, with 3,162 registrations last month compared to just 1,256 in October 2018.
The decline was driven by falling demand from private consumers, with registrations down 13.2 per cent. Business demand also fell.
This is the eighth month out of 10 in 2019 than new car registrations have dipped year-on-year
There was a mixed picture across body types, with the popular supermini segment experiencing a substantial decline ( down 23.4 per cent), while crossover and small family car registrations grew 7.1 per cent and 3.3 per cent respectively.
The Ford Fiesta, unsurprisingly, was the most popular new model of the month, while the Nissan Qashqai SUV jumped to second spot.
The decline was driven by falling demand from private consumers, with registrations down 13.2 per cent. Business demand also fell
In total it registrations were back by 6.7 per cent compared to the same month last year.
The figures reflect a tough environment for businesses and consumers as economic and political uncertainty continue to hit confidence, the trade association said.
Year to date figures show the new car market declined 2.9 per cent during the first 10 months of the year compared with 2018.
Motorists continue to steer clear of dealerships with Brexit still looming and increased talk of clean air zones and diesel restrictions causing concern, industry insiders said
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: 'The growth in alternatively fuelled cars is very welcome, showing increasing buyer appetite for these new technologies.
'The overall market remains tough, however, with October now the year's eighth month of decline.
'Whether the General Election delivers a bounce to the economy remains to be seen, but with attractive deals and an ever-greater choice of low, ultra low and zero emission models arriving in the UK's showrooms, consumers have every incentive to consider buying a new car.'
Alternatively fuelled cars - a category made up of hybrids and fully electric vehicles - took a market share of 9.9 per cent, which is the highest on record
The Ford Fiesta was once again the nation's favourite last month. Nissan's Qashqai jumped higher to be the second most-purchased new model of October
Alex Buttle adds: 'It's unlikely new car sales are going to pick up materially before the end of the year, with consumers also now having a General Election to get their heads around.
'All the market can hope for is that the perceived disaster of a no-deal (Brexit) has been averted.'
Ian Plummer, commercial director at Auto Trader, added: 'Consumer confidence in the economy fell to its joint-lowest point in six years last month and historically, there's always been a clear correlation between the two given the value of the purchase.
'This is particularly true for retail consumers and it's also where we've seen the biggest decline in October.
'Brexit is the driving force of this lack in confidence, with continued uncertainty around our exit from the EU. The upcoming General Election will continue to cause further uncertainty around consumer purchase intentions.
'There are at least benefits to it taking place in December though with it being a traditionally slow month for new car sales.
'Once we have a clearer understanding of what our exit from the EU looks like we should start to see consumer confidence improve and with it more stable new car sales.
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A Japanese company has created an adorable robot dog that can tell you how bad your feet smell, by using a powerful sensor embedded in its nose. If your feet don’t have bad odor, “Hana-chan” will happily wag its tale, if it detects moderately smelly feet, it will start to bark, and if they really stink, it will just fall over like the smell caused it to faint.
Foot odor is a big deal in Japan, where it is customary for people to take off their shoes whenever they enter someone’s home. In fact, subjecting others to foul bodily odors can even be considered harassment in Japan, so it’s no wonder that some of the most brilliant minds in the country’s tech industry have been dedicating their talent to tackling this issue. Panasonic recently unveiled a high-tech deodorizing coat hanger, Konika Minolta developed a pocket-size device that monitors body odors and alerts the user when they start to smell, and, last year, gadget maker Thanko started selling clip-on armpit fans designed to keep people’s armpits nice and dry.
Now, we have Hana-chan, a robot dog capable of telling people if their feet stink.


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As LeBron James gears up for his 20th season looking to break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s leading scoring record, he breaks one in the offseason becoming the first active NBA player to be a billionaire.
James has said this is his biggest accomplishment. His longevity in the NBA was a Kickstarter for his business journey as he has gained over 387 million dollars as a player in the league. This along with his business partner Maverick Carter has opened up multiple avenues that have gotten him to this point.
Smart business acquisitions are what has gotten him to this point. He is a minority stakeholder of the Liverpool Football Club and a partial team owner of the Boston Red Sox.
Maverick Carter along with James is the first black pair to be on the investment firms owning the Red Sox and Liverpool.
Carter regularly appears on “The Shop” which is a talk show where athletes, musicians, and everyone in between come on to talk about their lives and topics. The show also comes on a brand that James created called Uninterrupted which allows athletes to talk about themselves freely.
These feats are impressive because James is still playing in the NBA so while also being the face of the league he is also the owner of some teams in other leagues.
“It’s my biggest milestone. I want to maximize my business,” James said, “And if I happen to get it, if I happen to be a billion-dollar athlete, ho. Hip hip hooray! Oh, my God, I’m gonna be excited.”
This quote comes as early as 2014 as James is thinking ahead into the future of what could be and it has finally come true.
One of his better investments came from Blaze Pizza as in 2013 he invested 1 million dollars into the upstart company. In 2017 his stake was at $25 million. By 2020 he had seen his money skyrocket to $40 million
As a teenager sneaker brands like Reebok, and Adidas wanted James to join their brand as he was highly sought after.
He betted on himself and waited to sign a $90 million contract with Nike as just a teenager. James has been one of the biggest faces of the brand and was recently awarded a lifetime contract that was over $30 million a year.
“I never thought this day would come about, me entering a lifetime deal with such a great company like Nike. I’m just thinking about them taking a chance on a 17-year-old skinny kid from Akron, Ohio,” James said, “I always told myself, Bron, let’s try to figure out a way to put this city on the map, and hopefully I will continue to make the city proud.”
James is proud of where he comes from with his roots being in Akron and has said this isn’t just about his family or friends it’s about everyone. The journey has included everyone as he salutes people who have supported him.
His play on the court and different business avenues along with his outstanding fans has gotten him to this point.
James doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon as he is still on a quest to be the best basketball player of all time while also being the best businessman he could be.


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A few days ago, precisely on September 11, Apple released the latest addition to the iPhone family; the iPhone 11 which was heralded with much funfair all over social media.
After the launch of the latest iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro max, some people and celebrities alike have already bought theirs.
Notable among them is Ghanaian lawyer, TV host, and entrepreneur Sandra Ankdobiah and Nigerian actress, Tonto Dikeh who after buying three advised ladies not to cheapen their image by allowing men to sleep with them just to own the new iPhone 11.
Undoubtedly, some blockheaded ladies will defy all odds just to get themselves the latest iPhone and it has become the trend for Ghanaian slay queens and it was no surprise to see a photo uploaded by Reggie Rockstone which clearly indicated that slayqueens are really rooting to have the new Apple gadget.
In the photo shared by Reggie Rockstone on his Instagram page, the lady posted her photo and her caption revealed she’s ready to allow men to sleep with her so she could get money to purchase the phone.
See the photo below:


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BMW’s ‘Light and Charge’ systems light up streets and charge EVs
Streetlights are built for one purpose, to light up streets. Quite often, the potential of a streetlight isn’t completely looked at, making these infrastructural objects amount to nothing more than a public lighting source. BMW looks at it all differently though. The German automaker has unveiled a streetlight that doubles up as an EV charging station. Aptly christened the “Light and Charge” system, these units integrate a conventional streetlight with the ChargeNow stations.
The Light and Charge systems are currently being tested at BMW’s Munich headquarters and if all goes as planned, we could soon have some of these sprinkled around our streets! BMW hopes these streetlights will bring more electric cars on-road, replacing the current gas-guzzling breed that gets us around.
[Via – Engadget]


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www.henleystandard.co.uk/business Telephone: (01491) 419419 Email: firstname.lastname@example.org
THE Henley Partnership is urging businesses in the town to communicate with each other.
A major element of its annual plan has been to arrange a number of initiatives to make Henley “the town that communicates”.
Julie Perigo, who chairs the partnership’s business and retail group, said: “One aspect is to equip local businesses of all sorts and sizes to communicate more effectively with their clients, especially online and through social media.
“Another very important mission of the partnership is to bring businesses together to communicate among themselves and to share ideas and plan initiatives which will help grow their own success and that of the town.”
Among the initiatives are:
lDrop-in networking lunches at the Three Tuns pub in Market Place on the third Thursday of the month.
lA series of workshops on communication themes, including how to use Twitter and Facebook and how to deal with the media.
lVisits to businesses by senior members of the partnership and town centre manager Peter McConnell to encourage involvement and to gather ideas.
lA new website.
Chris Wellings, managing director of Henley firm CTC-Aspire, who created the website, said: “We’re always very keen to hear suggestions so we can make it the most effective tool for the members.”
For more information, visit www.thehenley partnership.co.uk or email email@example.com


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Apple updated its hugely popular MacBook Air last year to introduce Intel’s Core i5 and Core i7 processors. But the Cupertino company very nearly shipped the ultraportable with an AMD chip instead. An employee for AMD has confirmed that it was very close to striking a deal with Apple, but AMD’s poor production yields meant that Intel was a better option.
In an interview with Forbes, one AMD employee revealed that he was convinced a deal with Apple would be finalized if it wasn’t for the company’s yield issues. “We had it,” he says. “But the yields didn’t come in.”
At the time, AMD was working on a new business model while production new “fusion” processors that combined a CPU with a GPU on a single piece of silicon. One of the processors, named “Llano,” seemed very attractive to Apple for the MacBook Air.
But AMD’s engineers “were trying to do too much, too quickly” as they began the move to a new manufacturing process, Forbes reports. “AMD couldn’t even get early working samples of Llano to Apple on time, one former employee says.”
Needless to say this wasn’t acceptable for Apple, and it chose to use Intel processors instead.