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Based on the revealing spy photos of the new generation Suzuki S-Cross, in Russia they created these images that anticipate the new SUV.
On Thursday of this week the third generation of the Suzuki s-cross, also called SX4 in some markets, a model that militates in the subcompact SUV segment, below the Vitara. His appearance was a closely guarded secret, until last week spy photos appeared of the vehicle already on babysitting vehicles, prior to their distribution.
Without the slightest camouflage, the new model of the Japanese became known. With this input, our friends from Kolesa in Russia they created these ‘renders’ that show the car in its final version, with all its details. And they do it with such perfection that they look like official images.
Thus, the most characteristic features that the new Suzuki S-Cross 2023 will have can be better seen. Among them, the new oversized front grill with horizontal chrome strip, the Full LED headlights, two-tone diamond wheels, new format bumpers and a high waistline on the sides.
Evolution more than revolution
Although on the sides the new model will be very similar to the previous one, the front and rear will be completely different. In addition to the unprecedented format of the front, back it will have sharper and bigger lights, joined by a light line in the center of which is the brand’s logo. On the other hand, it will be larger than the current S-Cross, guaranteeing a more spacious cabin.
No interior images are yet known, but it is known that the new S-Cross will have major cabin improvements. Finishes, equipment and technological endowment will be reinforced, including now high quality materials, new instrument panel and new multimedia system, with more connectivity options.
Another novelty will be the incorporation of a complete package of ADAS assists, which will encompass systems such as adaptive cruise control, forward collision alert and autonomous emergency braking.
On a mechanical level, the Suzuki S-Cross 2023 is expected to incorporate the engine 1.4-liter Turbo BoosterJet, with system 48V micro-hybrid, at least in the European market. Other international markets could keep the 1.5-liter, 103-hp, 138-Nm of torque K15B engine.
East November 25 It will be the world premiere of the new Suzuki model, whose arrival in Latin America could take place in the second semester of next year.
YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN: Filtered! the new Suzuki S-Cross 2023 appeared openly before its premiere
Óscar Julián Restrepo Mantilla. Sources: Kolesa, Gadiwaaadi.
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Pictured above, from left: John Layman of
P&G, who served as moderator; Pam Oksiuta of SC Johnson;
Kelly Murosky of Seventh Generation; and Sarah Dearman of Coca-Cola
For recycling to be successful, brand owners must commit to designing products and packaging that are recyclable as well as to consuming recycled materials in the manufacturing of their products. Representatives from Seventh Generation, Coca-Cola and SC Johnson shared their commitments in these areas during one of the plenary sessions at Plastics Recycling 2018 titled Brand Owners Perspective on PCR.
While Ziploc bags and other plastic film can be recycled through store take-back programs, Pam Oksiuta, senior director of global sustainability at SC Johnson, Racine, Wisconsin, said, “We believe there is a better option than store take-back. It is not a very convenient option for consumers.”
To that end, SC Johnson has been studying the possibility of recovering plastic film, like its Ziploc bags, at material recovery facilities (MRFs) in the U.S., using the pellets created from recycling this material to manufacture plastic garbage bags in Europe.
Oksiuta said 3 billion pounds of plastic film are available for recovery, though only 4 percent of this material is recovered for recycling. The figure for Ziploc bags is even slighter: Only 0.2 percent of the bags are collected for recycling through in-store programs, she said. “We need to work together to find a solution.”
While Oksiuta said SC Johnson understands the issues recyclers face, she asserted that plastic film could be recovered at most material recovery facilities (MRFs), adding that the company’s experience with Materials Recovery for the Future (MRFF) has shown that optical scanners are capable of sorting single and multilayer films from the material stream.
“Test results continued to validate that MRF automated sorting is technically feasible,” the MRFF collaborative writes on its website. “Modeling results show costs to add flexible packaging recycling in large MRFs are within reason, particularly in regions with economic incentives that promote sustainable land use and end markets.”
Perceptions don’t align with this conclusion, Oksiuta said. “There can be a sizable end market for this material, but it is perceived as inefficient and unprofitable.”
She added that recycled film can be used in products ranging from pallets to outdoor furniture to decking to the previously mentioned garbage bags.
“We believe there is an opportunity here,” Oksiuta said. “This is not about selling garbage bags but to show there is an end market for this material and it can be a sustainable business.”
Seventh Generation has prioritized the use of recycled plastics in its packaging. (See “Committed to recycled content” in Plastics Recycling, a supplement to Recycling Today, for more on the company’s use of recycled content in its packaging.) Kelly Murosky, a senior packaging engineer with the company, which is based in Burlington, Vermont, said Seventh Generation’s 2020 packaging vision calls for it to eliminate the use of virgin plastics and to produce zero packaging waste.
“We are well aware of the waste that our packaging makes,” she said. “We keep this top of mind when designing packaging.”
The company has prioritized the use of PCR (postconsumer resin) because of the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions that can be realized by doing so, Murosky said. It also has incorporated the use of drop-in bio-resins.
Increasing PCR content in its closures remains an issue, however, she said. “Finding a clean stream of polypropylene PCR has been difficult.”
Seventh Generation refers to the Association of Plastics Recyclers (APR) Design Guide for Plastics Recyclability when designing its packaging and works with its sourcing team to incorporate PCR costs upfront, Murosky said. “PCR may be more expensive,” she added, “but there are other steps to take to reduce costs.”
She said her team works with the company’s marketing team to redefine the bottle aesthetic regarding color and clarity to show consumers that PCR is a priority.
The company’s packaging incorporates the How2Recycle label to encourage consumer recycling. “We need consumers to recycle so we can continue to have a source of PCR,” Murosky said.
Sarah Dearman, sustainable packaging program director for Atlanta-based Coca-Cola provided details on the company’s World Without Waste sustainable packaging vision. She said the company would like to achieve 100 percent recovery of its packaging. “It is an extremely ambitious goal,” she said, “but we can do it with the help of others.
The company also is working toward 50 percent recycled content in its packages. To achieve that goal, it first has to work on increasing recovery, Dearman said. “There is not enough supply to go beyond 50 percent PCR in our bottles.”
She said Coca-Cola is engaging its entire system, from marketing through to its suppliers and bottlers, to reach its recovery goals. “We need game-changing solutions that leverage technology to drive more people to recycle the right way.”
The company has already invested $13 million to help improve recycling through various initiatives, Dearman said. “It’s still not enough as the recycling rate keeps going down for bottles and cans.”
Plastics Recycling 2018, organized by Resource Recycling, Portland, Oregon, was Feb. 19-21 in Nashville, Tennessee.

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Boasting ornate choreography, the clip comes alongside a string of brand new UK headline dates including their biggest British show to date at London’s Scala.
“This video is so magical and unlike anything we’ve ever made before,” says Charly Bliss vocalist Eva Hendricks.
“I told (director) Henry Kaplan that I was feeling inspired by the video for Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush, and he took that initial idea and made something totally beautiful and unique that’s as cinematic and sentimental as the song.”
The band’s UK shows are as follows:
04 Brighton, Patterns
05 Cardiff, 10 Feet Tall
06 London, Scala
07 Manchester, The Deaf Institute
More like this
The new EP follows their second record ‘Young Enough’.
They’ve also shared the pilot episode of their reality TV spoof ‘Ignorance Is Bliss’.
Delivered with huge slabs of defiance and hope.
The band’s new album ‘Young Enough’ comes out next month via Lucky Number.


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Vertical Farming Provides Solutions to Farming Inefficiencies, Climate Change
Vertical farming, a type of indoor, controlled farming where crops are grown in several stacked layers (similar to a multi-story building), has been a relatively niche market – until recently.
A report from Big Think recently found that vertical farms are incredibly efficient when it comes to water usage, requiring 95% less irrigation than soil grown plants. Nate Storey, co-founder of vertical farming startup Plenty, Inc., has highlighted the efficiency of vertical farming, noting that 99% of moisture transpired by plants can be recaptured and reused in a vertical farming system.
A recent report from Eden Green Technology found that food production accounts for 70% of global freshwater production.
As MRP has recently highlighted, water has become an increasingly scarce resource and years of drought may continue to become more common. Per Oregon Public Broadcasting, the past year has been the driest or second driest in most Southwestern states since record keeping began in 1895. Higher average temperatures, as we’ve seen over the last two decades, increase the loss of water to the atmosphere, likely playing a significant role in increasing the frequency and severity of droughts. Studies show that, since 2000, about half the reduction in the Colorado River’s flow has been due to warmer temperatures. For every degree Celsius of warming, the river’s flow is expected to shrink by 9%.
According to the US drought monitor, most of California is currently experiencing drought level D3 (Extreme Drought) or worse. Reuters writes that Lake Mead, the reservoir created by Nevada’s Hoover Dam, has sunk to its lowest level ever. Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States and crucial to the water supply of 25 million people including in the cities of Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Tucson and Las Vegas.
South America’s crop king, Brazil, is also facing a drought that marks its worst dry spell in 91 years. Drier-than-normal weather has slammed production of sugar and coffee in Brazil, the world’s largest supplier of those products. Last week, coffee futures touched their highest price since 2016.
Axios writes that if the global population continues its upward trend we will need 50-70% more food over the next 30 years, according to UN data. Fortunately, crop yields could rise by roughly 700% per year with vertical farming technology, as indoor systems can operate 365 days year without worrying about weather patterns.
In addition, the amount of land used to grow crops is significantly diminished when farms switch to an indoor vertical approach. Per Free Think, roughly 700 acres of farmland can be condensed into a vertical farming structure the size of a big box store.
Further, these farms can be constructed in urban areas due to their limited footprint, which in turn can reduce the time necessary for produce to make their way into cities. Eden Green Technology writes that most crops would be able to move from indoor farms to retail shelves in less than 48 hours, minimizing the loss of freshness and fuel waste in the agriculture transportation process.
As climate shifts continue to affect the global agriculture industry, indoor farming provides an efficient and sustainable way to produce more crops with fewer resources.
Market Poised to Grow as Investment Surges
The rapid rise of crop prices and resulting food inflation, now at its highest level in a decade, has made the need for innovation in agricultural technologies even more of a necessity.
According to a report from Fortune Business Insights, highlighted by Globe News Wire, the global vertical farming market is projected to reach $17.59 billion by 2028. Today, the global market stands at $3.04 billion, which would set the industry’s compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) at a strong 25.4%.
The report emphasized that a pandemic-era boost in organic, locally grown food products caused the market to grow 19.1% in 2020. Per Axios, venture capital funding for vertical farming companies reached $1.9 billion globally in 2020, almost tripling the level of investment from the year prior.
Recently, TechCrunch reported that indoor farming startup Bowery Farming, based out of New York City, raised $300 million in a new funding round. The announcement brought total funding for the company above $472 million, which values the company at roughly $2.3 billion.
Per PR Newswire, Bowery experienced 750% retail growth since January 2020, with its produce now available in 850 grocery stores including Walmart, Whole Foods and Giant Food.
Aerofarms, another vertical farming company, recently announce a 136,000-square foot indoor farm in Virginia, which would be the world’s largest indoor vertical farm, slated to begin production in mid-2022. The company is rapidly expanding its distribution operations in the Northeast, collaborating with Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh and FreshDirect , according to Supermarket News.
Aerofarms says its indoor model yields annual productivity up to 390 times greater than traditional farming. Headquartered in Newark, NJ, the company is focused on bringing fresher produce to cities at a faster rate than conventional agriculture can provide.
Vertical Farming Still Faces Hurdles
As much as vertical farming technology is advancing, the industry still faces many challenges before it can become a mainstream way to grow and deliver produce.
Currently, there are more than 2,000 vertical farms in the US. That figure is well above Japan who currently has the second most vertical farms in use at roughly 200. More vertical farms are rolling out across the Asian continent, in nations like China and Taiwan, the latter of which has been battling a historic drought.
However, in the US, the vertical farming market is still relatively niche compared to the traditional farming industry. The output of US farms alone was worth $136 billion in 2019.
Further, the high fixed costs of implementing indoor farms still limit the industry’s development in the short-term. According to Free Think, these farms can cost upwards of a hundred million dollars to construct individually. Meanwhile, cost of production while selling produce at a market prices has hindered the ability of vertical farming companies to turn a profit in the past.
It will likely be several years before vertical farming technologies begin tapping their true potential, but a scaling of the industry is becoming increasingly likely as a counter to climate change and diminishing water availability. Investors can gain exposure to this burgeoning industry via CubicFarm Systems (CUBXF) and AppHarvest (APPH).
Aerofarms (AFRM) is slated to go public soon, via a SPAC merger.


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The RTA2600 is a solid router that excels with multiple connected devices, but its competitors are faster and less expensive.
The top routers that support the new 802.11ac standard on the market. Since there are not many of them, all of those on this list are the best of their kind.
The Buffalo WXR-1900DHPD router is too expensive for what it has to offer. Skip it and pick one of many better options out there.
Speaking at a conference in San Francisco, the social-networking giant's CEO says VR will eventually become a normal part of life, in the same way mobile devices have.
Only those who do a lot of local intensive tasks via Wi-Fi, or who can appreciate the Asus RT-AC3200's excellent feature set, will find this router worth the investment.
You can save some money by avoiding the Amped Wireless RAT2600 MU-MIMO router right now, but maybe buying it later. CNET editor Dong Ngo explains how.
The Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P can be used on the tech giant's experimental Wi-Fi network, giving consumers a few more choices in compatible devices.
If you want to build a smart home capable of testing anything, you're going to need a strong, reliable Wi-Fi signal. Here's how we got ours up and running at CNET's brand new Smart Home.
If you can afford the hefty price tag, the Linksys WRT1900AC Wi-Fi router is easily one of the best home routers on the market.
The goal is to roll out high-speed 5G networks capable of 20 gigabytes per second by 2020. But is that realistic?
Verizon expects "some level of commercial deployment" to begin in 2017 for next-generation wireless. That's much earlier than the common industry belief that 2020 will mark the start.


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Today, the Belgian government announced new measures to combat COVID-19. Trade fairs are still subject to the health and safety protocol that applies to retailers / businesses and can therefore take place, provided that everyone complies with the strict guidelines imposed by the government.
Annick Pycarelle, Exhibition Manager, says in a news flash today: “INTERPOM clearly complies with these guidelines and will therefore go ahead as planned on 28, 29 and 30 November 2021 in Kortrijk Xpo.”
Ms Pycarelle notes that the wearing of a face mask is mandatory and Covid Safe Tickets will be checked at the entrance. This double protection has already been communicated to all exhibitors and visitors and will provide a safe and professional environment for doing business.
Kortrijk Xpo will also take measures to ensure maximum hygiene:
- sufficient sanitation facilities at the trade fair
- continuous ventilation in the vast exhibition buildings, combined with CO2 meters
- regular disinfection of sanitary facilities
Attendees are reminded of the following ground rules:
- Everyone (visitors, exhibitors and suppliers) must wear a face mask.
- Eating and drinking is allowed at fixed locations: on the stands or at the regular Kortrijk Xpo food counters. Masks can then be removed for a while. If you want to eat or drink, you have to sit.
- The trade fair will close at 6 pm. We kindly ask to respect this closing time.
Kortrijk Xpo stewards will ensure that everyone complies with these guidelines, in the best interests of all concerned.
“Together with the 312 exhibitors present, the organisers of INTERPOM is committed to creating a professional, safe and pleasant trade fair to welcome the entire potato community in the best conditions,” the organisation says.


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After Math: Oh boy, new toys!
Seven feet of Christmas cheer: For $115, Amazon will be more than happy to deliver a Douglas Fir to your front door. Just be sure to tip the delivery driver if you live at the top of a four-flight walk-up.
$60: Want to “Switch” up your gaming experience? Now you can relive the nostalgia — and hand-cramping ergonomics — of the original NES controllers with the new generation of Nintendo console!
$1,100: The Xs Max only $300 more than last year’s flagship Apple phone. What’s the big deal? It’s not like you’re going to trade it in for an updated model exactly 11 months and three weeks from now.
10,000: Spotify finally, finally got around to loosening its chokehold on the number of songs its users can download for offline playback and did so in a big way this week. The company announced that it would effectively triple the cap, jumping from 3,333 songs up to a cool 10,000. Because who doesn’t love round numbers?
300 MBPS: If you want those Spotify downloads to finish up before New Years, Verizon has a solution. The company announced this week that come October 1st, it will roll out its 5G home internet bundle. The service will set you back $70 a month, though existing Verizon customers will receive a $20 discount.
$6: All these new toys and trees and connectivity are enough to make one forget to eat. Luckily for New Yorkers, Walmart is relaunching Jet.com and its three-hour fresh grocery deliveries. Never leave your house.
First!: But I mean if you were going to leave your house, being the first person to ride on SpaceX’s new “around the moon” orbital jaunt would be a pretty good reason to do so.


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As we reported earlier this month, due to the falling value of the British pound, Nintendo has instituted a price hike on the popular Wii console for UK retailers.
However, no such hardship is facing US retailers, in fact, as we distantly approach the fourth holiday season, the Wii supply has “finally” become sufficient.
GameStop Senior Vice President of Merchandising Bob McKenzie remarked in an interview with GamaSutra, that after nearly four years of shortages the Wii is readily available.
“You know, three years later, we finally have enough inventory on the shelf, and we’ve got a couple of weeks in supply of this. That’s good because we can finally determine and gauge it before we get into the fourth holiday season.”
Furthermore, although any idea stemming forth from Nintendo’s creative design icon Shigeru Miyamoto is almost certainly pure gold, McKenzie and GameStop had some reservations regarding the fitness oriented title.
“We weren’t sure if that was really gonna be successful or not, and to be honest I don’t think Nintendo really knew how successful that would be.”
Long story short, McKenzie is happy with the current state of Wii and Wii products availability and will use these business figures to effectively plan for the holiday season.
Anyone still on the prowl for the shiny white console?
Full interview available via GamaSutra.


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"At WWDC 2017 Apple announced ways it uses machine learning, and ways for developers to add machine learning to their own applications.
Their machine learning API, called Core ML, allows developers to integrate machine learning models into apps running on Apple devices with iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. Models reside on the device itself, so data never leaves the device."
Is Core ML related to Apple's acquisition of Turi last year?
Apple execs explain why the tech giant acquired machine learning startup Turi – GeekWire
While typically used from Python, Turi's GraphLab ML toolkit is written in C++,
so Apple could have embedded in the Core ML to be used from any supported language.
Is TensorFlow better than other leading libraries such as Torch/Theano? - Quora
Amazon goes open source with machine-learning tech, competing with Google’s TensorFlow – GeekWire
Microsoft/CNTK: Microsoft Cognitive Toolkit (CNTK), an open source deep-learning toolkit


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From: Adam Rifkin -4K (adam@XeNT.ics.uci.edu)
Date: Fri May 19 2000 - 14:47:03 PDT
MicroStrategy is running low on cash and may not be able to fund
development of Strategy.com ... what a pity ...
> STREET WISE
> BY AMEY STONE, May 10, 2000, BusinessWeek
> Will MicroStrategy's Slide Ever Stop?
> To its restated earnings and an SEC investigation, add low cash reserves
> and analysts' abandoning it.
> If you bought stock in software company MicroStrategy (MSTR) at the end
> of February for $150 a share, you might be asking yourself, "Why bother
> selling it now?" Although it gained 122%, to a high of $333 on Mar. 10,
> you surely have been watching in horror the past few weeks as it
> plummeted, closing May 9 at $21.50. For investors with lots of money and
> a small remaining stake, whether to hold or to sell is a fair question.
> But shareholders less sanguine should take note: The way the stock price
> is acting lately -- it fell 1.5 points, or 6.5%, on May 9 -- plenty of
> investors believe MicroStrategy's slide is not over.
> But in a fall from grace as dramatic as this one, it almost seems
> incidental to mention that MicroStrategy's core business is selling
> "data-mining" software, which helps companies slice and dice customer
> information to stay abreast of new trends in their industries. The stock
> really soared on hopes for the company's Strategy.com division, which
> delivers personalized information about weather, stock prices, and other
> topics to mobile devices, such as cell phones and personaly digital
> Hopes for a brilliant future were dashed when MicroStrategy revealed in
> March that it had run afoul of Securities & Exchange Commission
> accounting guidelines. The stock fell 62%, from $227 to $87 on Mar. 20,
> after the company said it would have to restate its financial results
> for 1998 and 1999 to comply with SEC rules on revenue recognition. The
> company's mistake was booking revenue from multiyear sales contracts
> immediately, instead of spreading them out over the life of the
> "SIGNIFICANT UNKNOWNS."
> Wall Street, it seems, doesn't really know how to assess the company's
> prospects anymore. While First Call Corp. tracked nine analysts who
> covered the stock at the end of last year, only two have earnings
> estimates now, says Chuck Hill, First Call's research director.
> "Clearly, the analysts are either having trouble figuring it out or have
> totally thrown in the towel on the company and dropped coverage."
> The consensus estimate for the two firms maintaining coverage is for a
> loss of 94 cents in 2000 and $1.24 in 2001. Back in March, before the
> accounting problems came to light, analysts predicted profits of 25
> cents per share in 2000 and 39 cents in 2001. "It's not like
> MicroStrategy had a hiccup and lost a year and now is back on track,"
> Hill says.
> Mark Murphy, an analyst with FAC/Equities, rates the company a "strong
> buy." But he readily admits, "there are some significant unknowns, and
> the thing the market really doesn't like more than anything else right
> now is an unknown." In an Apr. 27 research note, Merrill Lynch analyst
> Chris Shilakes referred to an "information vacuum." He added that he
> expects trading in the stock to remain volatile until Wall Street gets
> more comfortable with the company's future earnings potential. He has an
> "accumulate" rating and predicts the stock "will stage a slow rebound"
> to around $35 a share.
> MicroStrategy used to stand out as the rare Internet business with real
> profits. But the profits have evaporated without those future sales on
> the company's ledger. The company now has losses on its books for all of
> 1999. And on Apr. 26, it announced first-quarter results that came in
> far below analysts' already reduced expectations. Wall Street had been
> anticipating an operating loss of 14 cents a share for the first
> quarter, but MicroStrategy lost 37 cents a share, according to First
> Call. The stock fell an additional $5, to $24 5/8 on Apr. 27.
> The company -- as well as some analysts -- insists that investors have
> overreacted. All the future revenues booked for 1998 and 1999 eventually
> will materialize, Murphy says. "People are completely overlooking the
> fact that the long-term value of the business is unchanged by the change
> in accounting," he adds. But the stock price is 75% lower than it was
> after the first announcement on restated earnings. Since then, the
> company has restated earnings a second time, reflecting losses rather
> than profits for the past two years, and it has indicated the SEC isn't
> finished investigating the accounting situation. MicroStrategy declined
> to comment on these issues.
> No one has been hit harder by the savage repercussions of recent weeks
> than MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor. The brash 35-year-old executive,
> who owns a 56% stake in the company, saw his personal net worth dive
> from nearly $10 billion to less than $4 billion in one day. Apparently,
> his troubles are far from over.
> UNAPPEALING OPTIONS.
> First, MicroStrategy was forced to cancel its plans for a secondary
> stock offering, which would have provided needed funds to power
> Strategy.com to the next level. Now, investors wonder whether
> MicroStrategy will still be able to spend millions on the Strategy.com
> venture, perhaps incurring greater losses. The company could be forced
> to scale back on its ambitious plans, limiting the potential of the
> widely touted wireless opportunity. Neither option is appealing.
> To make matters worse, with operating expenses escalating, MicroStrategy
> ended last quarter with only $17.5 million in cash on its balance sheet --
> $13 million less than the previous quarter. Concerns about how quickly
> it's running through its cash on hand have surfaced, even though
> the company says it's crucial to continue to market Strategy.com.
> Meanwhile, numerous shareholder lawsuits and the SEC investigation
> continue to cast doubt on the company's ability to secure more
> financing. "It would be a real good sign if they could announce some
> kind of financing," says Murphy, who thinks the company could still do a
> But the overall market currently likes few things worse than a
> technology stock with little cash and no profits for the foreseeable
> future. That leaves little hope for a near-term rebound in the shares.
> It's "kind of comical," notes Murphy, that investors were wildly bullish
> on MicroStrategy when it was trading above $200, but now that it's in
> the $20-dollar range, they're bearish.
> Comical, perhaps, but hardly unreasonable. Investors who can still get
> away from Saylor's brainchild with some cash, can likely find far safer
> places to wait out the tech correction than in MicroStrategy's corner.
You're really doing it for the psychological experience. It's the kind of thing where you look back on your life, you hope you made a difference. -- Andy Bechtolsheim (thanks, jfeise)
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri May 19 2000 - 14:47:34 PDT


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Leaders from NADA, TrueCar, CDK and the Carter Myers auto group discuss what's working and what they've learned during the pandemic.
Mike Darrow, President & CEO, TrueCar
Brian Krzanich, President & CEO, CDK Global
Liza Borches, CEO, Carter Myers Automotive Group
Kerri Wise, VP Communications, TrueCar
Rhett Ricart, 2020 Chairman, NADA
Jason Stein, Publisher, Automotive News
This conversation was originally broadcast on July 14, 2020 as part of the Automotive News Retail Forum: Dealer Discussions series, which runs through August 4. To learn more and register to watch future broadcasts live, visit http://autonews.com/retailforum.


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text:
Eurotunnel records 90 per cent leap in profits just 8 years after going bust as business between Paris and London booms
- The group transported 2.6 million cars and 1.4 million trucks in the year
- Eurostar passengers were up 3 per cent to almost 10.4 million people
Holiday makers and thriving exports between France and the UK helped Eurotunnel report a near 90 per cent leap in profits today.
The undersea rail link reported an 89 per cent rise in pre-tax profit to £40.5million as sales rose 7 per cent to £870million in 2014.
The group transported 2.6 million cars and 1.4 million trucks during the year and Le Shuttle broke its previous record in December’s school holidays with a total of more than 19,000 vehicles carried on one day.
Going places: Eurotunnel reported a near 90 per cent leap in profits today, bouncing back after having been forced into bankruptcy in 2007 in France
The popularity of the Eurostar high speed trainline also boosted its coffers with rail passengers up 3 per cent to almost 10.4 million people.
The performance is a dramatic turnaround for the transport group which was forced into bankruptcy in 2007 in France and has undergone a major restructuring since then.
Jacques Gounon, chief executive of Groupe Eurotunnel, said: ‘In 2014, the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Tunnel, the Eurotunnel Group reached its objective of an operating margin of half a billion euros, one year in advance.’
The business also announced a 20 per cent increase in its final dividend to €0.18 and said operating profit increased by 11 per cent to £242million.
The Eurotunnel results come after the sale of the UK government’s 40 per cent stake in Eurostar earlier this month. A joint venture between pension group Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ) and Hermes Infrastructure bought the stake for £757million.
Eurotunnel, which is listed in Paris and on NYSE Euronext’s London market, has put its MyFerryLink cross channel service up for sale after it lost a competition appeal earlier this year. The UK authorities ruled that Eurotunnel's share of the market was too big.
The Competition Appeal Tribunal upheld a decision that MyFerryLink should stop operating out of Dover by the summer.
Eurotunnel, which employs 3,700 people in the UK and France, has the concession to run the rail link until 2086.
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The gadget maker announced on Monday that the iPhone 4S topped 1 million orders in the 24 hours following the device's pre-order debut on Friday. The company's previous record for first-day pre-orders was 600,000, held by the iPhone 4.
|Apple's iPhone 4S|
"We are blown away with the incredible customer response to the iPhone 4," said Phillip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, in a statement. "The first day pre-orders for iPhone 4S have been the most for any new product that Apple has ever launched."
Unveiled last week, the iPhone 4S offers a faster processor and better camera than its predecessor, the iPhone 4, and contains both GSM and CDMA antennas, enabling the device to run on U.S. and European networks. Apple also added Sprint (S) to its list of U.S. iPhone partners.Pre-launch rumors that Apple was planning a completely new phone, the iPhone 5, however, proved untrue, much to the disappointment of many Apple zealots. Consumer appetite for the souped-up iPhone, though, is clearly healthy. In addition to the record pre-orders, more than 50% of respondents to TheStreet's recent iPhone poll said that they can't wait to get their hands on the iPhone 4S. Brian White, an analyst at Ticonderoga Securities, predicted earlier this month that Apple's latest device will blow past the 1.7 million iPhone 4's sold in the first three days following its launch last year. Apple shares rose $9.70, or 2.62%, to $379..50 on Monday, outpacing the uptick in tech stocks that saw the Nasdaq gain 1.78%. --Written by James Rogers in New York. >To follow the writer on Twitter, go to http://twitter.com/jamesjrogers. >To submit a news tip, send an email to: email@example.com
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T-Mobile… LTE… Blah, Blah, Blah…
Hey, guess what? T-Mobile “might” start rolling out LTE “soon” according to a source of a source who heard something at a CES keynote and now every news outlet on the net it applauding them. Seriously!? Should we applaud T-Mobile for joining the market two years later? I mean, Verizon has almost matched its 3G footprint with 4G LTE while T-Mobile hasn’t even gotten started yet.
What’s that? You don’t care about LTE? You live next door to a tower and get excellent HSPA+? I’m happy for you, I really am. However, LTE is the future, and that future just happens to be now. T-Mobile, on the other hand, is living in the past.
Let’s get real for a moment. What T-Mobile does have: unlimited “4G” data plans. What T-Mobile doesn’t have: LTE.
T-Mobile knows this and that’s why they’ve been pushing out unlimited plans, no-contract deals, and every other affordable option they can throw out to bait consumers to their less than spectacular network.
T-Mobile is hoping it can bag all the consumers looking for a break from the expensive, contract driven carriers that just happen to have amazing coverage, ridiculous data speeds, and, wait for it… customer service!
If they can convince a large enough number of consumers that less is more, then they can sustain their network while slowly playing catch-up with the rest of the industry in terms of network technology. Then they’ll pull a “hey look, we have LTE” and hope that will impress those that have been stuck on their quasi-4G for all these years.
Hey T-Mobile, better hurry up before DishNetwork jumps in and says “All your mobile subscribers are belong to us!”
Oh T-Mobile, how you crack me up.


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The firm said it cut its rating on the consumer finance company based on weaknesses in two units.
Sterne Agee also lowered its price target to $28 from $30.
Must Read: Warren Buffett's 25 Favorite Stocks
STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more


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SINGAPORE- A group of Asean organisations has launched a three-year initiative to encourage sustainable growth in the region through responsible business conduct.
Called the Asean Corporate Social Responsibility Network (ACN), the group hopes to engage regional businesses, governments and civil society to "ensure that in the course of doing business, basic human rights are respected, labour standards are raised and the natural environment is protected", said ACN Chief Executive Officer Thomas Thomas.
"The first step is to correct the misconception that corporate social responsibility is all about giving out money. It is not - it is being responsible in the course of business," said Mr Thomas. ACN will work with governments, businesses and civil society to create a document outlining a shared understanding and strategy on CSR - the Asean Vision 2020.
In the next three years, ACN will engage Asean businesses to teach them about international norms of corporate responsibility under the ISO 26000 framework. This includes standards on human rights, labour practices and environmental awareness. ACN will also conduct seminars for businesses to teach them how and why corruption occurs and encourage integrity pacts among industry players to agree that they will not pay bribes.
Corporate responsibility is receiving increased attention in Asean as large multinationals want to do business with smaller companies which are responsible. Consumer backlash may be a concern on their end, said Mr Thomas.
ACN will also engage academics to work out a list of good practices, giving businesses an idea of what responsible corporate practices look like.
"We must balance our quest for economic expansion with the principles of corporate social responsibility - responding not just for profits but ensuring that all the people in Asean benefit in the long term," he added.
ACN is a network of organisations from Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar which believe in encouraging responsible business practices, such as re-training workers instead of laying them off in a downturn.


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Harley-Davidson motorcycle riders may have a new hobby: surfing.
The Milwaukee-based company already draws 140,000 enthusiasts to its content-focused Harley-Davidson.com Web site each week, but it likely will drive a new wave of users with this week's launch of the RoadStore--where customers can browse but not yet buy Harley-Davidson clothes and accessories.
As many brick-and-mortar manufacturers increase their online sales efforts, they're simultaneously struggling with the touchy task of how to divvy up the profits.
But for Harley-Davidson, the decision is clear: all sales leads that come through the corporate Web site will be funneled to the company's 600-plus U.S.-based dealers--and the site will eventually be designed to seamlessly connect dealers to the corporate hub.
"At this point, our dealers are the providers of products and services," said Ken Ostermann, Harley-Davidson's manager of electronic communication. "Our public Web presence is really designed to drive that dealership traffic."
That's a far cry from the muddled plans that have tripped up other companies, such as Levi Strauss, which recently announced intentions to retreat from selling clothes direct online after the holidays, bowing to the pressure of high distribution costs.
Jupiter Communications analyst Mike May said reseller strategies vary among companies, depending on the stakes.
"Some may see the Internet as a huge new opportunity to get closer to customers and widen their margins by selling direct," he said. "Others see the Internet as being, at this point, too small a channel to risk alienating partners in their traditional channels."
To build the RoadStore, Harley partnered with e-commerce software maker Blue Martini--as well as an all-star Internet services team including Andersen Consulting, USWeb/CKS and high-end design boutique VSA Partners
--to build a site that lets users peruse 3,000 Harley items from chaps and leather jackets to mufflers and handlebars. The site will open for public buying through a select group of dealers sometime next year, the company said.
The RoadStore will give riders a comprehensive view of what their local dealer may or may not carry and provides dealers with a central catalog of thousands of accessories, Ostermann said. Blue Martini's software eventually will give dealers the ability to target specific buyers with clothes and accessories that suit the type of motorcycle they own.
Thomas McIlhattan, co-owner of Harley-Davidson of
Vallejo, in California, said the jury is still out on whether Harley-Davidson's future efforts to refer Web surfers to his shop will improve his sales.
"To not give it a try is to bury your head in the sand," he said. However,
McIlhattan said that ultimately many riders want to visit the dealer shops directly, asking: "What does new leather smell like on the Web?"
Ostermann did not comment on whether there are plans to allow riders to configure their own motorcycles on the site.
Although analysts say riding accessories are only a fraction of overall Harley-Davidson sales--about 80 percent of the company's $2 billion in annual revenue comes from the sale of motorcycles--the RoadStore should help the company cross-sell its products and build better customer relationships.
But the overall market for heavyweight motorcycles also has grown 20 percent annually during the past two years, analysts say, providing fertile ground to sustain the accessories market.
To date, Harley-Davidson has done little marketing and depends largely on a base of intensely loyal customers supported by relatively few dealers,
Hambrecht & Quist analyst Shawn Milne said in an interview.
"Six hundred distribution points is not overwhelming," he said. "There may be an underserved market."
Milne also noted there are about 200,000 Harley-Davidson credit card users in the company's database--and it could leverage that personal information to target sales or promotions to users. Harley-Davidson customers spend a "great deal of time dreaming about how they can accessorize and personalize their motorcycles,"
"The RoadStore will position us to be flexible and to anticipate customer preferences and drive consumers into dealerships," he said. "This allows them to establish a relationship with a dealer electronically."
Jupiter's May said Harley-Davidson will please its dealers by sending them new business, but he questioned how local shops that carry widely differing inventories will successfully fulfill orders that go through the corporate Web site.
"The costs and quality issues in outsourcing fulfillment to hundreds of dealers across the country is a nightmare in progress," he said.
McIlhattan, who said he doesn't have a computer on his desk, said he hopes the plan works.
"I don't really have a clue [if it will]," he said. "But I'm prepared to see."


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Many of you are likely familiar how the mega IPOs have thus far turned out with nine of the 15 largest by companies in the Bay Area recording declining stock prices since their initial offering day. Linked here in the Newsline are two placemats with far more detail on IPOs and venture capital with much of the information--– largely courtesy of our friends at PitchBook—focused on the Bay Area but also comparing this market to other core regions around the country.
There remains a LOT of dry powder out there and fundraising remains healthy though slower compared to the past few lofty years. This isn’t terribly surprising considering those late-stage venture capital- funded companies that went public in 2019.
Meanwhile, in other news, there’s an election in just over a week here – put March 3 on your calendar. Besides the presidential primary in California that day, there are several ballot measures. Two directly affect commercial real estate – a retail vacancy tax known as Proposition D and additional limits on office development tied to affordable housing known as Proposition E. You can read up on both here. There are a couple of recent articles regarding Proposition E included below to give more context to the issues – one from WIRED magazine and another from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Speaking of retail, the premier retail submarket for San Francisco, Union Square, has recorded a rise in its vacancy rate recently while the average asking rent has been somewhat suppressed. Retail of all kinds and in all locations is undergoing a metamorphosis and Union Square will need to make some changes to remain relevant. There’s an in-depth story below in our Stories of the Week section from the San Francisco Business Times that explains more. Also, take a look at our San Francisco urban retail report found at this link which will give you added insight into what’s happening in Union Square and other neighborhoods.
As always, there is a lot more going on across the region with the pertinent stories below. In addition, there are a couple of reports having to do with our mega-market neighbor to the south, Los Angeles, on growth potentially slowing there—as well as in the rest of California—even as a massive office complex in Century City built in the 1970s has reached 100% occupancy. Plus there’s yet more leasing activity in Silicon Valley with big tech continuing to take down big blocks of space and a major new development about to break ground in downtown San Jose.
This post is commentary from the latest weekly edition of our NorCal Newsline, which you can subscribe to for free by contacting Robert Sammons.


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Breaking News: Apple to release iOS 4.3.2 in two weeks, update to fix several bugs
Just a couple of weeks ago when Apple released iOS 4.3.1, which included several minor fixes and improvements for iOS devices and here BGR report that Apple is already planning to release iOS 4.3.2 in the next two weeks. The update will include few enhancements, address security issues and fix several bugs.
“It’s said to include a few enhancements, address security issues, and it will also fix several bugs that have affected users. We’re told to expect the software update for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad in about two weeks.”


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Investment lead by Blue, a leading global investment firm focused on sustainable solutions for a healthier planet. Other investors: Artist & Activist, John Legend; World-renowned DJ, Black Coffee; Girls Who Code Founder, Reshma Saujani; Phil Molyneux, Ex-President Sony & Dyson; Peter Carlsson, Ex-Supply Chain Head Tesla; Rohan Oza, Ex-CMO VitaminWater.
As the world wakes up to the need for immediate action to fight climate change and plastic pollution, New York City-based startup Rocean announces a financing round of over $6 million to reinvent the bottled water industry with the Rocean One smart water countertop device.
The bottled water industry is expected to reach $334 billion by 2023, with the market for sparkling water alone up 54% in the past four years. This staggering growth is directly correlated with the growing selection of water varieties, including sparkling, flavored, and enhanced beverages.
"When we started Rocean, we knew we were building more than a device. We're building a platform with the same breadth of options as the entire bottled water industry," said Sunjay Guleria, Rocean's CEO & Founder. "Consumers are drinking bottled water that is filtered, carbonated, flavored, and enhanced with everything from CBD to caffeine. They won't give up the bottle easily. If we want to fight climate change, we need to give consumers all of their favorite beverages without the waste of packaging and shipping them around the world."
Rocean's multi-use pods give users an endless selection of natural fruit flavors, supplements, and enhancements at a fraction of the cost and total carbon footprint of pre-packaged beverages. Their patent-pending micro-dosing system supports two pods at once, letting users mix their favorite flavors and enhancements to their personal preference.
"We believe that personalization is going to drive the same level of innovation as seen in the digital music industry. By giving users full control over their beverages, the Rocean One brings hundreds of thousands of water-based beverage combinations to the common tap," said Lee von Kraus, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist at Rocean. "Whether electrolytes, natural turmeric for energy, or something that hasn't been thought of, you can make it with Rocean One. It's 'future-trend' proof."
Globally, the amount of energy required to manufacture, transport, store, refrigerate and dispose of plastic bottles each year is equivalent to over 450 million barrels of oil, enough to fuel over 25 million vehicles for an entire year.
"As the owner of Bluewater, which globally markets leading-edge water purifiers for home, commercial and public use, we're inspired by how Rocean is redefining the way US consumers connect with their changing hydration needs," said Blue co-founder and CEO Anders Jacobson. "Our global addiction to bottled water is dramatically-increasing our carbon footprint when the need to fight climate change has never been more urgent. In the Rocean team and product, we see a clear solution to address a massive challenge."
The Rocean One sits snugly on a countertop at just 5" deep and is made from high-quality, sustainable materials like recycled bamboo. "I was inspired by the iconic architecture of the Roman aqueducts and how they solved the problem of transporting water many centuries ago," says Mohini Boparai Guleria, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer. "The final product is a reflection of our connection to fresh water – and the potential for human ingenuity to do more with it."
The first units of the Rocean One will be shipping late summer 2019.
Rocean makes smart appliances that change how we consume water. Rocean's first product, the Rocean One, is a seamless, highly personalizable, reusable water ecosystem with best-in-class filtration that also carbonates, flavors and enhances tap water. The Rocean One gives consumers more choice and convenience than they will find in their local supermarkets, all while helping them significantly lower their carbon footprint. Based in New York City and founded by serial entrepreneurs and concerned citizens Sunjay Guleria, Mohini Boparai Guleria, and Dr. Lee von Kraus, Rocean is guided by one simple question: What if we can enjoy our planet without harming it? www.rocean.com
Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Blue is a global investment company that serves as a catalyst for innovations that can solve some of the major challenges facing our plane. Blue invests in and operates Nordic and international companies and organizations that apply human ingenuity to deliver resourceful, sustainable solutions. Members of the Blue portfolio include Sweden-HQ'd Bluewater, Sweden-based international alternative energy company Climeon, Spain's TAPP tap filtration company, Baseload Capital, Sweden's Save by Solar, Visiba Care, South Africa's iDropwater, and Midsummer.


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Sticks ‘n’ Sushi to open first UK site outside London and expand into Germany: The Danish-owned Japanese restaurant brand Sticks ‘n’ Sushi is to open its first UK site outside the M25 in Cambridge in March next year. The company, which has four restaurants in London, is also looking to open in Oxford and is considering a site in Guildford in Surrey. Chief executive Kim Rahbek Hansen added the company will launch in the German market by opening in Berlin in 2016 and hopes to follow that up with sites in Hamburg and Munich over the next “four or five years”. He told a forum held by BDO, Fourth and Barclays in London yesterday (Thursday, 9 July): “We also want to expand in London because there are so many opportunities there. The problem though is the rents are three or four times more there so that has led to a slight change in our strategy and we are looking at sites outside the M25. We have signed to open in Cambridge next March and want to follow that up with one in Oxford. We have also looked at Guildford, which we think could be a good market for us.” Hansen said the company would not expand “quickly” and would do it “one restaurant at a time”. He added: “I said in 1996 I wanted to open a restaurant in London and that’s what we did – although it took until 2012. Our key way of thinking is growing up rather than to grow. Now we have more experience we can start to speed up our expansion plans. We work fast with slow food. What we make sure we do well is create a good atmosphere. That is very important in this business.” Hansen also told the forum the company’s breakfast menu, which it launched about six months ago, had not “taken” off but it was an idea it would persevere with. “We have to think radically in this industry,” he added. “You never know what is around the corner.” Sticks ‘n’ Sushi, which was founded in 1994 by Hansen, his brother Jens and Thor Andersen, has 16 sites in total, including four in London at Wimbledon, Covent Garden, Greenwich and Canary Wharf, which was the latest to open in May.
Over 65s spending most on hospitality and leisure activities but some businesses potentially missing out says Barclays survey: The over 65s are spending more money on hospitality and leisure activities than any other age group – and some businesses are potentially missing out – a survey by Barclays has revealed. They spend an average of £3,372 a year, compared to £2,486 across all other age groups. That is one fifth of the total UK income in the hospitality and leisure industry. The results, which were shared at a forum held by BDO, Fourth and Barclays in London yesterday (Thursday, 9 July), also revealed the sector could be missing out on a further £16bn by underestimating the spending power of the over 65s age group. Head of hospitality and leisure at Barclays Mike Saul said: “The over 65s are much more ‘tech savvy’ than most people think. This is a big demographic yet the survey showed only 5% of businesses see them as the most important age group. Operators need to recognise that this is a very important market. Over 65s are looking for more leisure opportunities particularly in the food and drink area They will look at websites to do their research and they have the money to spend. They are also the age group that are most loyal to a brand but the survey also shows they need to be engaged on a regular basis.” The research covered a sample of 564 UK hospitality and leisure businesses as well as 1,100 consumers.


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Ransomware helped backup and security firm Barracuda to a solid first fiscal 2018 quarter, with revenues and subscribers both growing.
Barracuda grew revenues 8.7 per cent year-on-year to $94.2m although profits were almost flat at $2.7m compared to $2.8m a year ago. Revenue growth rate stepped up a bit from the prior quarter's $89.3m as the chart shows, comfortably beating its own estimate of $91m for the quarter.
Barracuda's profitability (GAAP net income), although regular, is fairly low at 3 per cent, with the prior quarter at 3.5 per cent and the one before that 2 percent, and 2.7 per cent before that. Business life in a backup and security market moving to the cloud and shifting subscriptions away from perpetual licences and appliances is not a bed of roses.
Subscription revenue grew to $73.9m, up 13 per cent from $65.3m a year ago, representing 78 per cent of total revenue, while appliance revenue shrank to $20.3m; it was $21.3m in the same quarter last year.
The number of active subscribers grew approximately 17 per cent to over 335,000 by the end of the quarter. The renewal rate was 93 per cent on an annualised basis.
Barracuda subscriber trends
William Blair Analyst Jason Ader writes: "On the public cloud side, Barracuda now has over 1,000 customers and saw bookings more than double year-over-year (an acceleration from last quarter), driven by new customer additions in both the mid-market and enterprise segments. In email, Essentials added 1,000 new customers, more than 50 per cent of which were net new to Barracuda.
"Barracuda delivered a sixth consecutive quarter of billings and revenue outperformance, with core product billings up 20 per cent year-over-year driven by continued adoption of cloud-based solutions for email security and management (specifically Barracuda Essentials for Office 365), healthy demand for next-generation firewalls and web application firewalls, and solid organic billings growth in data protection."
We note that, geographically, Barracuda is US-centric, with 70 per cent of its revenues coming from Trump country. The EMEA counts for 18 per cent, with Asia-Pacific being a small 6 per cent and the rest of the Americas being 6 per cent also. That looks like a huge opportunity to grow sales, with Canada and South America being in its US backyard so to speak, and, together with Asia-Pac, looking like untapped markets.
The outlook for next quarter is revenues of $92.86m, a 6 per cent rise annually.
Ader noted an unexpected drop in gross margin, which was attributed to "a mix shift to lower end appliances and investment in cloud infrastructure. Management expects this pressure to persist for the next couple of quarters."
Ransomware attacks are creating demand for Barracuda's security products and it's also riding the Office 365 growth curve with protection offerings. Despite this, Ader says: "We still see too many variables in Barracuda's business (the latest being gross margin) to recommend the stock." ®


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SEGA has purchased Index Holdings for approximately £88 million, who just happen to be the parent company of Persona, Shin Megami Tensei and Etrian Odyssey developer Atlus.
The deal was announced yesterday in the Nikkei, and subsequently confirmed by both companies in the early hours of this morning. Apparently an auction was held to determine Index' (well Atlus', who are we kidding) new owners, and SEGA came out on top with a winning bid. Eurogamer reports that a new division -- 'SEGA Dream Holdings' -- was set up in September, presumably to handle the transaction.
With distribution chains and retail contacts both in Japan, the US and Europe, SEGA are well-placed to act as Atlus' new custodian, and have acquired yet another feather in their cap following a canny purchase of Relic Entertainment earlier this year. We previously posited that one or more of the console manufacturers would look to acquire Atlus, but SEGA's deal should presumably keep them developing content for multiple platforms.
We also hope that this will speed up European distribution, since companies like NIS America and Reef Entertainment have had to step in for recent games, resulting in months of delays.
Atlus currently have a Mega Ten x Fire Emblem crossover in the works for Wii U, and recently released Etrian Odyssey IV and Devil Summoners: Soul Hackers on 3DS. We'll have a full review of the latter for you shortly.


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When Jeremy and Geoffrey April want to stay after school to work on a class project, they inform their parents by calling the family 800 number.
Peggy Fitchwell-Hill has an 800 number for a far different reason. She and her husband, Gary Hill, keep their phone nearby, hoping there will be a birth mother on the other end who wants them to adopt her baby.
Toll-free telephone numbers started 30 years ago, primarily for business use. But hundreds of thousands of families now use 800 numbers, too, allowing children to call home without having to carry a calling card or small change to make a call. (And the toll-free numbers are a favorite with parents of college students because, unlike a calling card, an 800 number can be used only to call Mom and Dad.)
Business travelers far from home, meanwhile, are using the numbers to check on their families. And many grown children have them, too, for the convenience of their elderly parents on fixed incomes.
Personal use of the 800 (and, since 1996, 888) toll-free numbers has increased in the last several years--especially in the last year--said Michael Keady, a spokesman for the AT&T Corp.
"It encourages your relatives to call you," Keady said.
Toll-free numbers are not really free, of course; the recipient pays for the call. And with more than 100 companies offering 800 service, consumers should shop carefully among the competing offers.
The average plan costs about 25 cents a minute, said Jeffrey Kagan, a consultant and author of "Winning Communications Strategies." Some small carriers may offer lower rates, he said, but may not offer the quality or capacity of bigger companies.
And because the average household makes about 500 minutes of local telephone calls each month, parents should be careful about who gets access to their toll-free lines, said Mark Cooper, director of research for the Consumer Federation of America. "If you give the number to your teenage son or daughter and they give it to their friends, it's going to cost you a fortune," he said.
In May, AT&T renamed its 800 personal service Easy Reach 800 and began offering it for $2.50 a month and a charge of 25 cents a minute. That charge is the same 24 hours a day and whether the call is made from down the street or across the country. By comparison, calls made with an AT&T calling card are 35 cents a minute plus a 35-cent surcharge.
In an AT&T promotion on its World Wide Web site, new customers of the personal 800 service get 90 free minutes and don't pay the $2.50 fee for the first three months.
MCI Communications started offering personal toll-free numbers in 1990. Five years later, such numbers became part of the company's Friends and Family package. And starting in 1996, MCI automatically assigned toll-free numbers to all its customers, said David Trachtenberg, director of brand marketing.
MCI One, the company's most popular package for individual customers, includes an 800 number with a four-digit personal identification number. Customers pay 25 cents a minute for each call to the number, and there is no separate monthly fee. MCI provides cards for customers to send to friends and relatives, giving them their 800 number and code.
Another big carrier, Sprint, offers toll-free numbers to customers who have the Sprint Sense Calling Plan, the company's most popular discount plan. The personal 800 rate is the same as the discount plan's rate of 10 cents a minute on evenings, nights and weekends, and 25 cents a minute during business hours. If the 800 bill is less than $20 in a month, a $3 fee is assessed.
AT&T, MCI and Sprint did not disclose how many customers had toll-free numbers.
Fitchwell-Hill opened her personal toll-free account with AT&T in early September. "It's absolutely critical to offer a birth mother a free line, 24 hours a day," she said. She and her husband run advertisements in newspapers across the country listing their toll-free phone number.
Dr. Nancy M. Paetzold said a toll-free line had been part of her family's life for the last two years. She has an answering machine on the line for her sons Jeremy, 14, and Geoffrey, 12, and her husband, Ernest April. They live in Rockleigh, N.J., and the children go to school in Englewood, N.J. Dr. Paetzold works at a hospital in Nyack, N.Y., and April is a medical school professor in Manhattan. Their daily life encompasses two states and three different area codes.
Jack Stokvis of Haworth, N.J., says his children call the family 800 number every day during the sports season to let their parents know if they need a ride home. "I use it a lot, actually," Michael Stokvis, 11, said. "I use it when I don't have change, which is always."
Although 800 service offers a cheaper way to call than many calling cards, it may climb in price because of a Federal Communications Commission ruling in October requiring phone companies to pay a 28.4-cent fee to owners of pay phones for each call from those phones to a toll-free number. The ruling also added the charge for calling-card and collect calls made at pay phones.
Some companies are not directly passing along that charge to their personal toll-free users. But that could change for AT&T customers in 1998, Keady said. MCI has added a 30-cent surcharge for such calls from pay phones.
Even if fees climb, the convenience may outweigh the price for many parents, including Lucianne Schlicher of Yardley, Pa., whose three children call her 800 line from school when they need a ride.
"My phone bill is already like a novel," she said. "It's that long."


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The just concluded groundnut trade season was a challenge for all stakeholders and lessons must be learned. As a stakeholder, I have observed over the past few years the difficulty faced by the National Food Security Processing & Marketing Corporation (NFSP&MC) in selling their groundnuts to the international market. Unfortunately this challenge can only be addressed by Government and not the NFSP&MC.
Traditionally, Gambia has for many years depended on the European market to export its nuts but with the passage of time, the EU market has through food safety regulations almost closed its doors. It has gotten to a point where due to aflotoxin related rules, our groundnut is only suitable for bird feed and even that is further scrutinized.
Faced with limited traditional markets, Governments in West Africa have been rushing to embrace the Chinese market but the Gambia Government has been extremely slow in putting in place the necessary protocols to have access to the Chinese market. We know for a fact that Senegal for example has such protocols in place and it has helped to position the city of Touba as a hub for groundnut exports from West Africa.
The Gambia Government must engage the Chinese authorities as a matter of urgency to enable Gambia agricultural produce, including fisheries to be exported direct to China instead of passing through third countries. In the absence of preferential access to the Chinese market where bigger producers like Brazil, Argentina, USA etc are all doing their utmost to be present for their agricultural produce, the NFSP&MC should not be expected to do miracles since the traditional market is almost nonexistent.
In the absence of access to market, the NFSP&MC will continue to have unsold stock which means limited funds leading to credit buying of farmer stock and all the associated challenges both for Government and farmers as was witnessed in the just concluded trade season.
Metty Trading Company Limited


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He doesn’t need his own TV show or chain of restaurants to be famous. Jeffrey Tan is already well-known for his good heart, great appetite and humongous talent.
Meet the first Malaysian to win the Grand Prix Award at the 34th International Exhibition of Inventions, New Techniques and Products.
With the Ice Bucket Challenge soaking celebrities and regular folks around the world, our columnist remains dry, despite being issued a challenge or two.
Syria, Ukraine, Gaza, ISIS, Boko Haram, Ebola — can the global community focus on more than one crisis at a time? Probably not.
Offering free technical advice and training, KL-based social enterprise Wild Asia sets about to promote the growth and use of sustainable oil palm in Sabah’s Kg Toniting.
Luxury watch brands are doing their part for a better society through fundraising initiatives and programmes to inspire creativity.
By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth! Dr Strange is finally getting his own movie – and here’s why the Sorcerer Supreme deserves the limelight.
Trotter Project also launched; proceeds to go to charity.
A new research centre has been set up in this remote and untouched area of Sabah to facilitate the study of our flora and fauna.
A luxury hotel has baked a cake that perfectly captures its rich, decadent identity.


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Save the Date! WizKids Fan Appreciation Presentation at Origins Game Fair! Greetings WizKids Fans, The 2017 WizKids U.S. National and World Championships are almost here! Join us at Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio, June 15th- 18th for the biggest WizKids gaming event of the year. Prepare to battle in the HeroClix, Dice [...]
WizKids Announces Burke’s Gambit, the Thrilling Sci-Fi Game of Deduction – Now Available in Retail Stores in North America!
HILLSIDE, NJ – December 7, 2016 – WizKids is pleased to announce the release of Burke’s Gambit, a game of bluffing and social deduction, designed by Rob Yates. Speed through space on Burke’s Gambit, a rugged company freighter on an extremely important mission. Your crew has been tasked with finding powerful alien technology, but [...]
HILLSIDE, NJ – November 30, 2016 – The heroes, villains, and monsters from the world of the Forgotten Realms are returning to the tabletop with the upcoming release of D&D Icons of the Realms: Monster Menagerie II. WizKids is pleased to announce this next set of randomly sorted pre-painted miniatures will be coming to friendly [...]
We’d like to extend a great big thank you to all those WizKids fans that took part and entered our #WizKidsGaming photo contest! We received a lot of great entries portraying many of our fan-favorite games. It was very difficult to have to choose winners out of the many entries. Congratulations to the winners [...]
Hillside, NJ — November 23, 2016 – WizKids is excited to announce that Pathfinder Battles: Deadly Foes has arrived at an FLGS near you! The award winning Pathfinder Battles line of miniatures from Paizo returns with a new set of 52 characters in Deadly Foes. From Doppelganger to Gynosphinx, along with a legion of [...]
HILLSIDE, NJ – November 23, 2016 – WizKids is pleased to announce the release of Rock Paper Wizard, a fast-paced, high-energy card game that combines strategy, luck and a wee bit of hand coordination! Rock Paper Wizard gathers some of the most iconic spells from Wizards of the Coast’s popular Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying [...]
Hillside, NJ — November 16, 2016 – WizKids is pleased to announce that Mike Elliott and Eric M. Lang are at it again with their latest release, Marvel Dice Masters: Deadpool, now available in North American retail stores! Marvel Dice Masters: Deadpool features the debut of the Inhumans in Dice [...]
Prepare for the 2016-2017 WizKids Road to Worlds! Greetings WizKids Fans, Welcome to the 2016-2017 WizKids Event Season, kicking off with WizKids Open events all around the world in November, 2016!
The 2016 WizKids U.S. National and World Championships are almost here! Join us at Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio, June 15th- 20th for the biggest WizKids gaming event of the year. Prepare to battle in the HeroClix, Dice Masters, Star Trek: Attack Wing and D&D Attack Wing events for the chance to win rare prizes and be crowned the champion of your favorite games.
Here is a list of the 2016 World Championship Qualifiers.


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South African segment leaders Hilux and Fortuner have each won an award at the 2018 Gumtree Pre-owned Auto Awards.
The Gumtree awards seek to recognise and promote the best pre-owned models in the market across 11 categories, based on criteria a buyer may use when evaluating pre-owned cars as well as depreciation and sales figures provided by TransUnion.
The important criteria for buyers in this market are: resale value, quality, durability, overall performance and economy and especially outright value for money of various vehicles offered for sale in South Africa.
Only 2016 models with at least six months of depreciation data were considered for this year’s awards, as two-year old vehicles are the most popular models being considered by pre-owned buyers in 2018. Last year, the RAV4 clinched best SUV under R325 000.
“We were very pleased with the acceptance of the Gumtree pre-owned awards by the public last year and the latest results, which benefit from fine-tuning after last year’s inaugural event and therefore will be of great interest and benefit to buyers in the booming pre-owned market in South Africa,” commented Jeff Osborne, Head of Automotive at Gumtree.


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Shop Local: Dunn’s bakery Crouch End ‘hyped’ to open in Muswell Hill
- Credit: Archant
Dunn’s bakery is returning to Muswell Hill for the first time since World War Two.
The Crouch End business said it was “hyped” to be moving into Muswell Hill Broadway where the new shop will sit between Toff’s fish and chip shop and Sally Bourne Interiors. The bakery is expected to open on November 17.
Dunn’s boss Lewis Freeman told the Ham&High: “We’re absolutely hyped about it.
“Lots of people in Muswell Hill have heard of us and stopped in our store in Crouch End, so we’re really, really excited to branch out and return to Muswell Hill. “
The family-run business, spanning six generations of bakers, began in 1820 in Highgate. It had a store in Muswell Hill until the Second World War before opening in Crouch End in 1946.
Lewis said the Muswell Hill bakery would run “very much the same” as the popular Crouch End branch, including its freshly made sandwiches, sausage rolls and trademark cakes.
“Customers have been peering through the door asking us what it’s going to be,” Lewis said.
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“When I say Dunn’s they say ‘oh lovely, great’. I’ve been blown away by the support, it’s been nothing but positive which has been fantastic.”
“We’re going to be surrounded by great shops on a great high street.”
The Ham&High’s Shop Local campaign is encouraging readers to support independent traders such as Dunn’s ahead of Christmas.
The bakery’s move to Muswell Hill has been on Lewis’ mind “for a long time” but not officially in the works until January, with opening plans first slated for August.
On launching a new business during the pandemic, the Dunn’s boss said: “If we hit some sort of recession, which obviously we hope we don’t, we’ll be much better placed to weather the storm with two shops rather than one.
“And although it’s been a very choppy few months for us, we like to think we’re quite a consistent bet and that we’ll ride out the rest of this Covid-19 lockdown fairly okay.”
Dunn’s will give surplus produce to food banks and soup kitchens in Muswell Hill, Highgate, Bounds Green and Finchley.
Hornsey and Wood Green MP Catherine West said: “I am thrilled that another part of my constituency will now have Dunn’s, with their fantastic offerings, on their doorstep.
“Dunn’s has been a key part of the Crouch End high street for generations and I know they will become a key part of Muswell Hill.”
Haringey mayor Cllr Adam Jogee said: “I am delighted to hear that Dunn’s is opening a new shop in Muswell Hill.
“They have brought much joy and many baked delights to the residents of Crouch End and Hornsey for many years and it seems only fair that their baked goods follow the W7 up the hill.
“Many congratulations to my old friend Lewis Freeman and his hard-working team.”
Christopher Georgiou, who runs Toff’s, said: “All of us at Toff’s are very excited to welcome back Dunn’s bakery to the Muswell Hill community.
“It’s great to have another independent here to continue the ethos of Muswell Hill and what makes this area so special.”
The Ham&High’s Shop Local campaign is designed to highlight the hidden – and not so hidden – gems on our high streets. If you run a shop in our area we should be shouting about, contact the newsdesk at firstname.lastname@example.org
READ MORE: Shop Local: Muswell Hill and Crouch End traders need community support ‘now more than ever’


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BONN, March 29—West Ger many's top 12 industrial giants increased their combined sales last year by a record 22 per cent to almost 100‐billion marks (about $27.3‐billion), according to an authoritative survey pub lished at the start of the Easter weekend.
The combined volume of the 12 companies in the boom year of 1969 thus corresponded to more than one‐fifth of total in dustrial sales or about one‐sixth of West Germany's gross na tional product. It was about $5.5‐billion more than Bonn's 1969 federal budget.
However, compared with the biggest United States corpora tions, West Germany's indus trial giants are only fast‐grow ing dwarfs. The General Motors Corporation alone reported sales of $24,295,141,000 for 1969.)
As in the last 10 years, Volks wagen, G.M.'s most formidable foreign competitor in the Unit ed States market, remained West Germany's largest indus trial enterprise with total sales of $3.19‐billion in 1969, up al most 14 per cent from the 1968 level.
According to the survey— conducted by Vereinigte Wirts chaftsdienste, West Germany's leading economic news service —the Siemens electrical com pany held its No. 2 place with total sales of $2.84‐billion, a rise from $2.37‐billion the year before.Continue reading the main story
Thyssen, West Germany's largest steel producer took third place. The Daimler‐Benz automobile company was in fourth place.
Fifth place went to Badische Anilia, Soda‐Fabrik, which in creased its 1969 sales to $2.43 billion from the year‐earlier $1.52‐billion.
B.A.S.F.'s sales increase, called “enormous” in most press com mentaries, was chiefly due to the chemical company's acqui sition of other companies, nota bly West Germany's Winter shall, A.G., and the American Wyandotte Corporation. With out these take‐overs, B.A.S.F.'s sales rise in 1969 would have been only 16 per cent.
Farbwerke Höchst, the other successor of the decartelized I.G. Farben concern, shared fifth place with B.A.S.F., its annual sales also totaling $2.43‐billion, up from $2.07‐billion in 1968.
Farbwerke's sharing of fifth place was the most spectacular change on the list. In 1968 Farbwerke was No. 3, after Volkswagen and Siemens. Farb werke fell back, despite its sizable sales increase, because of the record demand for steel and automobiles. Daimler‐Benz, makers of the Mercedes auto mobiles, reported 1969 sales of $2.5‐billion, a rise of 33 per cent from 1968.
Others on List
Seventh to 12 place on the list of West Germany's biggest companies in 1969 were taken by the Bayer chemical com pany, the Veba coal and utility concern, the A.E.G.‐Telefunken electrical company, the Krupp coal and steel company, the G.H.H. steel company and R.W.E., the country's largest power company.
Economic experts here are unanimous in predicting that the giants' record sales in creases of 1969 will not he repeated, let alone bettered in 1970.
As an indication of the slow ing down of West Germany's economic boom, hooked indus trial orders in January, 1970, were only 4 per cent higher than in January, 1969, whereas orders in January last year were 28 per cent higher than in January, 1968.Continue reading the main story


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“While no one wants to see two trillion-dollar companies having a knife fight,” read the internal strategy document drafted by Facebook executives, “we need to have this knife fight.”
This elegant depiction of boardroom barbarism is hardly surprising. Facebook has a famously pugilistic culture, stemming from the early “move fast and break things” era to the company’s aggressive handling of its latest scandal. And the subject of Facebook’s ire here is hardly a surprise either: Apple.
After all, the two Silicon Valley giants have been at each other’s throats for years, competing on messaging, privacy, and clout. Most recently, however, Apple’s been working methodically to cut off Facebook’s ability to track people outside of its app — a move that’s left its advertisers “running blind.”
Related Article: Apple’s App Tracking Transparency: A New Direction for Consumer Privacy
Facebook obviously didn’t love the idea of getting into a war with Apple, but the company reluctantly resolved it was necessary. The internal document previewed Facebook’s response to settle on a familiar strategy. In the past, when critics dragged Facebook through the mud for its various scandals, members of its leadership have extolled the value it provides to small businesses who enjoy optimized targeted advertising on its channels.
Once again, Facebook sought to position itself as a company that “levels the playing field” for small businesses, ideas, communities and underrepresented groups. The rationale, the document noted, was that most people already feel like the economy is weighted against them, favoring the wealthy. Now Facebook could don the white hat and become the solution, thereby subtly positioning Apple as yet another force working against consumers. Anyway, that was the idea.
Naturally, Facebook also acknowledged that this wouldn’t be the easiest case to make. Two-thirds of people polled felt that Facebook was a taker, not a helper, in society. It was a great company, sure, but also a reviled brand. Executives suggested that the company adopt a broader message focused on equality of opportunity. Small businesses, in particular, would be a useful instrument to get this message across. “A level playing field for small business is at stake,” the document said.
This framing has guided Facebook’s response to Apple over the past few months and will continue to do so. Facebook wants it to be an “always-on” program, meaning that the messaging will be relentless and woven into its communications DNA, similar to how Apple always talks about privacy. The company now runs full-page ads targeting Apple. Zuckerberg has taken shots at Apple’s impact on small businesses. Facebook ran another ad campaign proclaiming that good ideas from small businesses “deserve to be found.” It has also gone out to clients, big and small, with this messaging, trying to line up their support.
And Facebook’s defenders are now picking it up and sharing it on social media. “When Apple disabled mobile-app tracking, privacy advocates cheered because $FB (+others) can’t see as much data. 6 months later, app acquisition costs increased 10x,” Ian Sigalow, a venture capitalist at Greycroft, said in a tweet on Wednesday. “$FB will be OK, but this inefficiency is a $50B/yr tax on the economy.”
Related Article: How Apple and Google’s Tracking Rules Are Impacting Advertisers and Marketers
This moment represents the latest, and most serious, dust-up between Zuckerberg and Tim Cook. While at the helm of Apple, Cook has frequently used Facebook as a convenient and untrustworthy foil with a cavalier regard for privacy. For Zuckerberg, Cook’s abuses of power (Apple previously took Facebook’s internal apps offline) are a driving factor in Facebook’s pursuit of its own operating system, which is why the company is betting on Oculus and VR. When meeting with Zuckerberg in 2019, I remember how annoyed he appeared at being subject to another operating system’s whims. Zuckerberg proudly displayed an Android phone.
Nobody wins in a knife fight, the old saying goes, but Cook seems to be the one drawing blood so far. His anti-tracking changes in iOS, which let people block apps from monitoring their browsing behavior across the web, dealt Facebook’s advertising business a significant blow. Many of the company’s advertisers feel they can’t track their ads’ performance, or optimize their campaigns, anywhere close to as well as they could before the iOS updates. Apple’s success in getting people to opt out of Facebook tracking has forced Facebook to advise investors that they should expect a hit in its next earnings report. And Facebook, for its part, does not seem amused.
“Apple’s policy is benefiting its bottom line at the expense of businesses, especially small businesses, who rely on personalized ads to reach customers and grow their operations,” a Facebook spokesperson told me. “We will continue to stand up for the businesses, creators and developers who are negatively impacted as a result of Apple.”
Apple, which declined to comment, must be thrilled with how small businesses are using its services. It’s tripled its share of mobile app advertising since rolling out its anti-tracking changes six months ago.
As momentum builds for antitrust action in the U.S., it’s remarkable to watch these two companies go at it. Critics label both monopolies, but their battle for mobile ad supremacy may be the platonic ideal of market capitalism. Still, as they fight, the public will bear witness to their unfair advantages, especially those belonging to the device maker in Cupertino.
And from Facebook’s vantage point, if it’s going to get stabbed, it’ll also be damn sure that Apple walks away bloody, too.
Alex Kantrowitz is founder and reporter at Big Technology, author of “Always Day One: How the Tech Titans Plan to Stay on Top Forever,” an on-air contributor at CNBC and former senior technology reporter at BuzzFeed News.


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REIT.com delivers the latest videos on all things REIT, search or browse latest videos.
CIO Peter Moglia says upcoming development projects will boost NOI growth.
CEO Stephen Lebovitz says technology prompting retailers to innovate.
CEO Glenn Rufrano says disposition schedule on track.
CEO Justin Knight says Hilton and Marriott partnership producing “strongest returns.”
CEO John Thomas says REIT adding scale in existing markets.
Global head of research Chris Caton says industrial supply has been measured.
CEO Scott Fordham sees continued headwinds in Houston market.
Barclays’ Ragavan Bala “cautiously optimistic” on fundamentals.
Chatham Financial’s Laura Grant also looks at impact of pending FASB rule changes.
COO John Kessler says REIT focused on redeveloping assets, marking to market.
Capital One’s Greg Steele sees additional public to private M&As.
CEO Chris Volk says tenant base shows “unparalleled diversity.”
CEO Dave Schulte sees “very attractive” long-term total return potential.
Green Street’s Phil Owens says cost of capital a major impediment to growth.
CEO Don Miller highlights improvements in balance sheet.
BMO’s Mark Decker Sr. says smaller, well-run companies offer potential.
New CEO Mark DeCesaris expects more acquisitions, product diversity, and efficiencies.
CEO Joseph Coradino says PREIT concentrating on remerchandising and redeveloping.
CEO Dave Stockert says average age of Post renter is 32 years old.
CEO Nelson Mills says San Francisco transactions “exceeding expectations.”


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On 24 May 2016, Fauna & Flora International (FFI) is set to discuss the growing issue of microplastic pollution with Members of Parliament from various UK political parties. FFI sees this as an opportunity to highlight the risks posed by the extensive use of solid microplastics in personal care and cosmetic products. FFI has developed a reputation as a leader in this field through its work on the Good Scrub Guide, which encourages consumer brands to go plastic-free. FFI also works on reducing other direct sources of marine microplastic pollution, including the spillage of pre-production resin pellets (or ‘nurdles’) – the raw material used in the plastics industry.
The inquiry is being led by the UK government’s Environmental Audit Committee and will focus on the impact that all forms of microplastic pollution have on both the environment and human health. As well as highlighting the harm that microplastics are known to cause to a variety of marine and freshwater species, FFI is keen to show that there are relatively straightforward solutions to some of the most common sources of microplastic pollution, and will argue that these ‘quick wins’ should harnessed as quickly as possible.
“There are many ways that small plastic particles can reach the sea, and once there they can be eaten by marine life. Some of these sources are more difficult to prevent than others but the use of microplastics in down-the-drain consumer products and poor handling of pre-production pellets are two direct sources that can be easily prevented,” said Daniel Steadman, FFI’s Marine Plastics Projects Manager.
Solid microplastics are found in personal care and cosmetic products. Credit: Olivia Bailey/FFI.
“We believe that by harnessing our existing knowledge and taking action to address these specific and tractable sources of microplastic pollution, the UK government can have a real and rapid impact on making our seas healthier and more productive.”
FFI’s research has revealed that astonishing range of common household products contain solid microplastics (including toothpastes, shampoos and cleaning products) and the charity says more clarity and transparency is needed for consumers.
Poor handling of pre-production pellets can cause marine microplastic pollution. Credit: Olivia Bailey/FFI.
Dr Abigail Entwistle says, “We have worked with key players in the industry for over three years, and are delighted by how many have made robust commitments to replace microplastics in their products over this time. However there are still companies out there that have failed to make such commitments, and others for which confusion around the nature of the ingredients used coupled with loopholes in wording and the timeframes proposed may weaken the value of their proposed commitments. We support any measure by the UK government that creates a level playing field for the industry and which prevents ongoing release of potentially damaging microplastics to the marine environment from seemingly innocuous cosmetics and personal care products.”
The Environmental Audit Committee discussion will be streamed live on Parliament TV from 10am on Tuesday 24 May.