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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- General Motors (GM) has hired Goldman Sachs (GS) to advise top management with regard to merger or alliance proposals from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCAU), which GM has publicly declined, said a Reuters report that cited unnamed sources.
GM also is being advised by Morgan Stanley (MS), a longtime and traditional GM investment banker, while Fiat Chrysler is working with UBS (UBS), Reuters reported. Goldman Sachs has for decades been a banker to Ford (F).
Goldman has worked with Fiat and was an adviser to GM in February, when hedge funds representing 2.1% of GM's shares demanded an accelerated share buyback and a seat on GM's board, according to Reuters. The initiative ended in a truce, with GM agreeing to buy back shares and raise its dividend, although it didn't give up a seat on its board.
Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, without advancing specific intentions or plans, has been advocating publicly that the global auto industry must pursue consolidation to stem a ruinous loss of capital because of the high cost of technology, environmental compliance and new-model development. With many brands and models, debt-laden Fiat Chrysler lacks the scale to renew its fleet as fast as competitors can.
GM CEO Mary Barra has spurned Marchionne's request to discuss a possible combination of the companies or a collaboration. She confirmed press reports that the Fiat Chrysler's chief had contacted her.
"There was an email that was very much vetted with management and our board," Barra told reporters last week prior to GM's annual shareholders' meeting in Detroit. "And after we reviewed that, we are committed to our plan. We think that's in the best interest of General Motors shareholders, and we have strong support."
The mix of activism by GM shareholders and Fiat Chrysler's initiative, as well as looming contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers union, is increasing pressure on Barra. GM, which filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and was reorganized under government supervision, has been a disappointing investment since its initial public offering in 2010.
GM shares have remained more or less flat in the mid-$30s since the IPO. Fiat Chrysler shares are up 32% since its IPO last year. Chrysler filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and was rescued via an alliance with Fiat that later became a merger.
Barra, an engineer and longtime GM employee, has been swamped with controversy since she took office in 2014, because of a recall covering 2.6 million GM vehicles for defective ignition switches linked to 111 deaths. GM also is facing a possible criminal probe in connection with the defect.


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Consumer confidence surged to a record level this month, defying economic headwinds such as the U.S.-China trade war and higher gasoline prices. Equity market volatility also seemed to have little impact on the American consumer, who remained optimistic even amid multiple macroeconomic concerns.
The reading was in line with the University of Michigan’s latest consumer sentiment numbers, which also reflected the bullishness of U.S. consumers. Critics argue that data for these surveys was captured before trade ties worsened early this month.
However, a strong jobs market remains the key catalyst for the rise in consumer confidence. Since hiring remains strong and the domestic economy remains resilient, it makes sense to pick consumer discretionary stocks at this time.
Consumers Remain Confident Among Multiple Headwinds
In May, the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index increased from 129.2 in April to 134.1. This is significantly higher than the estimated level of 129.5 and the highest reading since November 2018. The Expectations Index which measures consumers’ opinion about business, income and labor market conditions over the next six months increased from 102.7 to 106.6.
The Present Situation Index , which gauges consumers’ opinion about present-day labor market and business conditions increased from 169 to 175.2, the highest level in 18 and a half years. The last time that the index breached this level was during December 2000.
Consumer confidence numbers were largely in line with the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment data released earlier this month. The university’s consumer sentiment index increased 5.3% to 102.4, the highest level in 15 years. Of course, the reading was captured before the trade war worsened. But its direction remains largely valid, going by the fresh consumer confidence data.
Strong Labor Market Empowering American Consumer
The U.S. economy added 196,000 jobs in March, easily exceeding the consensus estimate of 184,000. Revisions to January and February’s gains took the first quarter’s average job gains to a solid 180,000. The rebound in hiring ensured that the unemployment rate for March was unchanged at a 50-year low of 3.8%. (Read: 5 Top Business Services Stocks to Buy as Job Gains Rebound)
A strong labor market continues to power the U.S. economy among a number of headwinds. Even though the recovery has extended over a record time period, companies are hiring at a steady pace. Crucially, jobs are being added despite a deceleration in U.S. growth and declining global economic prospects.
According to Lynn Franco, Senior Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board, consumers think the economy will continue to grow at a robust pace in the near future. “Despite weak retail sales in April, these high levels of confidence suggest no significant pullback in consumer spending in the months ahead,” Franco added.
This month’s strong consumer confidence reading clearly indicates that the American consumer remains unruffled by economic headwinds. A lingering trade war and resultant stock market volatility have done little to dampen an upbeat consumer sentiment.
A strong labor market and continued hiring are driving consumer confidence upward. This is why it makes sense to invest in consumer discretionary stocks at this point. However, picking winning stocks may be difficult.
This is where our VGM Score comes in. Here V stands for Value, G for Growth and M for Momentum and the score is a weighted combination of these three scores. Such a score allows you to eliminate the negative aspects of stocks and select winners. However, it is important to keep in mind that each Style Score will carry a different weight while arriving at a VGM Score.
We have narrowed down our search to the following stocks, each of which has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and good VGM Score. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Rent-A-Center, Inc. RCII is the largest rent-to-own operator in the United States offering durable goods such as consumer electronics, appliances, computers, furniture and accessories.
Rent-A-Center has a VGM Score of A. The company’s projected growth rate for the current year is more than 100%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 11.3% over the past 30 days.
Malibu Boats, Inc. MBUU operates as a designer, manufacturer and marketer of sport boats primarily in the United States.
Malibu Boats has a VGM Score of A. The company’s projected growth rate for the current year is 40%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 4.1% over the past 30 days.
Strategic Education, Inc. STRA, through its subsidiaries Strayer University and New York Code and Design Academy (NYCDA), provides a range of post-secondary education and other academic programs in the United States.
Strategic Education has a VGM Score of B. The company’s projected growth rate for the current year is 36.2%.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 7.2% over the past 30 days.
Marine Products Corporation MPX is the third-largest distributor of sterndrive powerboats in the United States.
Marine Products has a VGM Score of B. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 8% over the past 60 days.
Salem Media Group, Inc. SALM is a radio broadcaster, Internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher.
Salem Media Group has a VGM Score of B. The company’s projected growth rate for the current year is more than 100%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 50% over the past 30 days.
Johnson Outdoors Inc. JOUT is a designer, manufacturer and marketer of diving, camping, watercraft and marine electronics products.
Johnson Outdoors has a VGM Score of B. The company’s projected growth rate for the current year is 1.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 7.2% over the past 30 days.
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This year’s edition of the Apple Harvest Festival — an annual three-day event held on the first weekend of October popularly referred to as “Applefest” — brought locals and Cornellians together in the shadow of a difficult harvest to celebrate one of New York State’s most prized exports — apples.
Taking place on the Ithaca Commons and adjacent portions of Cayuga Street, the festival featured local businesses selling a variety of handmade products and apple-related goods. This comes in the wake of an extraordinarily weak apple crop due to temperature and drastic weather fluctuations in the late winter and early spring of 2023, which resulted in unseasonably late frosts.
“A staple of the Northeast is that we have a massive amount of apples — [but] sadly not this year, because the May frost killed a lot of the crops,” Holland-Bavis said. “So I think that makes it even more important that we’re all here invest[ing] in these businesses because they are struggling, especially the ones who make their living based upon apple sales and apple production. It’s pretty much diminished this year.”
Some orchards reported massive declines in crop production this year. Indian Creek Farm, a popular apple-picking destination for Cornell students, lost over 90 percent of this year’s crop according to its newsletter, while Littletree Orchards owner Amara Steinkraus told The Sun the orchard lost their entire crop. Steinkraus said the loss of their crop forced Littletree to buy apples from other orchards to press cider and produce other items like apple cider doughnuts, for which they operate a popular stand every year at Applefest.
“Logistically, it’s crazy because we’re not set up to [import apples]. Normally we grow everything that we use,” Steinkraus said. “And so this year working with another farm to bring in apples, we’ve had to coordinate when we’re going to get apples, they’re not always the same varieties that we would grow. […] It’s been a lesson in adaptability and being able to flow with the obstacles of life, which is part of being a small business career and a farmer especially.”
Although this year’s edition of Applefest fell on the same weekend as Cornell’s Homecoming festivities, vendors and organizers found turnout higher than normal — potentially due to increase in students and alumni in Ithaca this weekend to watch the game.
“With how busy Friday and Saturday were, and now [Sunday], it won’t surprise me if this is an all time attendance record,” said Ben Sandburg M.P.A. ’17, the executive director of the History Center in Tompkins County and a board member and chair of special events for the Downtown Ithaca Alliance.
Aleshia Akers, an executive assistant at the Greater Ithaca Activities Center and event organizer, said she noticed Cornellians of all ages exploring Applefest’s offerings with their families.
“I’ve seen a lot of family groups, all in their Cornell garb,” Akers said. “So I think folks that are doing some of the Homecoming activities are making their way downtown as well. We are seeing a lot of Cornell pride down here.”
Steinkraus concurred with Akers, saying she saw many students come down to Applefest after Saturday’s Homecoming game.
“A lot of people came in like Cornell regalia with tattoos. It seemed like — comparatively — there were a lot of people in Cornell swag throughout the weekend, especially yesterday but even today,” Steinkraus said on Sunday.
Mary Holland-Bavis, the event and program manager at the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce and one of the organizers of Applefest, shared insights about the event’s enduring significance and nostalgic appeal.
“I think that the biggest thing about [Applefest] is that folks love coming from all over, especially Cornell and IC alums — they always remember Applefest as one of their first memories and events here,” Holland-Bavis said in an interview with The Sun. “There’s a nostalgic element to it.”
Adam Skiadas, the owner of B&B Kettle Korn, said he enjoyed the energy patrons brought to Applefest.
“I just like [Apple Fest] because it’s so busy. Sometimes it’s just a lot of energy on the streets,” Skiadas said. “It can get a little hectic with us here, but it makes time go by pretty fast and at the end of the day we do pretty well.”
Holland-Bavis said the festival’s lively atmosphere brings back memories of the pre-pandemic days on the Commons.
“Everything after the pandemic has shifted a little bit, but I think that [Applefest] feels really similar to what [the Commons] has been in the past. It’s exciting for a lot of people who remember it that way, to see the Commons bustling again,” Holland-Bavis said. “There’s still so many empty storefronts out here, and there’s been some challenges, so it’s really nice to make it lively down here again and have people remember why they love it so much.”
But as the line for doughnuts stretched out into Home Dairy Alley and Littletree’s workers pressed doughnuts fresh out of the fryer — sold for a dollar each — into eagerly awaiting hands, Steinkraus, whose mother helped organize the first Applefest 41 years ago, reminisced on the Applefests of years past while expressing gratitude for the orchards that helped Littletree with its products this year.
“It’s really interesting to see how it’s evolved over the years, the new incarnations, the new pieces that have been brought in and how big it’s grown,” Steinkraus said.


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Allen County Fair to Offer Two Day Food Food Bash
Written by admin on August 21, 2020
The Allen County Fair is making sure your fair food cravings are satisfied.
The Fair Food Bash will have food vendors available to fairgoers on Friday, August 28 and Saturday, August 29.
Admission is free and open to the public from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Masks are recommended and walk-up service from vendors will be offered.
The rest of the Allen County Fair will be closed to the public except those participating in junior fair events.


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Full Circle Insights | April 06, 2022
Full Circle Insights today announced that the company's popular Digital Source Tracker (DST) product now connects digital marketing costs from Microsoft Advertising to the client's customer relationship management (CRM) system. This enables digital marketers to see cost information from Microsoft Advertising and/or Google Ads as part of the DST's comprehensive view of the customer journey. The new release expands on the already robust reporting capability of DST for both digital and ...
TargetBay | October 01, 2020
TargetBay, an Ecommerce Marketing Cloud, used by thousands of online stores across the globe, has partnered with Google to share high-quality product reviews from TargetBay's clients on Google Product Search and Google Shopping Ads. Ecommerce store owners and managers can use product reviews to drive more qualified shoppers to their website and gain more visibility across Google. TargetBay is excited to announce that it is now a Google-approved product reviews aggregator. Why is TargetBay an...
TAG | September 11, 2020
The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), the world's leading program to fight criminal activity and protect brand safety in digital advertising, today announced the launch of the TAG Brand Safety Certified Program, the ad industry's largest and broadest global brand safety certification program. At launch, 112 companies have been certified through the program, including 31 that are certifying their global operations. Among the TAG Brand Safety Certified companies are Amazon Advertisin...
Google | October 16, 2020
Google announced profound changes that will impact what sites Google ranks in the search results. Some changes impact 10% of searches, some impact 7%. The change to how BERT is used impacts nearly 100% of searches whereas last year it only impacted 10%. Some of the updates are coming by the end of the year. Others are already live in the search results. Many of the algorithm improvements announced will likely create more diversity in the search results, which in my opinion is going to make it se...
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Cape Town’s premier ocean-facing restaurant, Shimmy Beach Club, is proud to be participating in the 2017 Pink Table Project, and you are invited to join. Not only is this exciting project your chance to take part in one of the biggest dinner parties in the world – taking place in over 20 countries; it’s also for a great cause – raising funds and awareness for breast cancer.
This not-to-be-missed event takes place on Saturday, 4 February 2017 which is also World Cancer Day, an important day where cancer awareness is recognised across the globe. The Pink Table Project is sponsored by Zomato, online and mobile the leading restaurant guide application, and where better to take part than at Shimmy Beach Club.
This year, one of the key messages of World Cancer Day is that a healthier lifestyle choice can help to reduce your risk of cancer. This comes after research from the World Health Organisation revealed that up to 40% of cancers can be prevented with proper wellness management. Following the running theme of #IFoundHealthy, you can expect to enjoy only the tastiest and healthiest of Executive Chef Adrian Cook’s summer menu, notable for its traditional, bold Mediterranean influences. The menu offers great South African meals, with many carb-conscious, vegan and gluten-free options proving to palates that healthy certainly doesn’t mean boring. Of course, what is a great meal without a fine bottle of wine? You can look forward to some incredible wine from Bloemendal to bring it all together.
The cost to book is R150* per person, with all proceeds going toward breast cancer awareness and research. Leave it up to Shimmy Beach Club to dress your table to the nines – ensuring that it’s pink enough for the Pink Table Project.


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Does Europe have to fear China?
The European ecommerce market is doing well. It’s growing faster than the US market for example. But maybe it doesn’t have to watch out for American competition, but rather keep an eye open for the Chinese ecommerce market. Sales of Alibiba Group are expected to surpass those of the total ecommerce market in the US by year-end!
Read that last sentence again. The sales of one online retail company are expected to be bigger than the ecommerce of a whole country. At least, that’s what the company’s chairman Jack Ma said last week, according to China.org.cn. He also hopes Alibaba wil exceed Wal-Mart to become the world’s biggest ecommerce retail company by 2015. Alibaba aims to be as innovative as Wal-Mart was in the last century.
Alibaba started as a B2B ecommerce website in 1999, but soon matured into the country’s biggest ecommerce company. The Alibaba Group is now home to several companies like Alibaba.com, AliExpress, Taobao Mall and Taobao Marketplace. It’s huge in China, and since a couple of years more and more international customers are discovering these online shops. And who’s to say Alibaba can’t play a role of importance in the United States or Europe?
Europe is already a interesting market for Amazon and Japanese ecommerce company Rakuten. As a matter of fact, Amazon is Europe’s top ranked etail company with sales that grew 19.3% to 16 billion dollars and Rakuten is the fastest-growing etail company in Europe, with sales that grew 650% to 786 million dollars. So, another big player from a growing ecommerce country wouldn’t raise eyebrows here. It’s a thought that Jack Love, chairman at Internet Retailer, shares. “Since the European ecommerce market is so decentralized – there are no pan-European operators like the e-retailers that sell across the United States – that’s a shining beacon of opportunity for major players to emerge and grab market share”, he said on retailingtoday.com.


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10 Friendly Faces of Corporate Giants
Goose Island was part of the Craft Brewers Alliance and still makes people line up for hours to get their hands on its Bourbon County Stout, but is about as small of a beer brand as Michelob after being bought out by Anheuser-Busch InBev last year. Quality hasn't dropped off, but it's tough to entrust craft beer fans' notoriously fickle taste to a company famous for luring drinkers with flatulent horses and beer bottles playing football.
-- Written by Jason Notte in Boston.
>To contact the writer of this article, click here: Jason Notte.
>To follow the writer on Twitter, go to http://twitter.com/notteham.
>To submit a news tip, send an email to: firstname.lastname@example.org.


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SAN MATEO, Calif. IBM Corp. may give a peek into Apple Computer Inc.'s 64-bit future when it details a new version of its Power4 microprocessor next week. Aimed for use in desktops and low-end servers, the 64-bit Power4 could be IBM's first PowerPC-compatible chip to support the Altivec multimedia instruction extensions defined by Apple and Motorola Inc.
The IBM device is one of about 18 new processors that will be described at the Microprocessor Forum 2002, to be held Oct. 14-17. "I expect there will be a fair amount of discussion about this part," said Peter Glaskowsky, editor-in-chief of The Microprocessor Report, which hosts the annual gathering.
Unlike IBM's original Power4, the device to be described next week will use one, not two, internal processor core and will support extensions that make the Power4 compatible with the PowerPC architecture. "Because it supports a full 32-bit environment, this chip should be able to boot the Mac OS just fine," Glaskowsky said.
An IBM spokesman would not say if Apple plans to use the chip to move its desktops to a full 64-bit operating system.
"Apple would have to be crazy not to use this part," said Glaskowsky. "Its performance will be in the upper reaches of any CPU. I can't comment on its speeds, but they are good numbers. Apple would be able to produce for the first time machines that not only have great performance but support full 64-bit addressing."
The chips could be used in Apple's new line of Xserve servers even in a 32-bit mode. However, Apple would have to heavily rework its Mac OS, which has just gone through a major release cycle, to support 64-bit addressing. Therefore the company, which keeps a tight lid on unannounced products, might not be ready to detail its plans for the chip until the end of 2003.
"Apple has a whole lot of work to do to fully make use of this part," said Glaskowsky of the chip, which sports an eight-stage superscalar pipeline and supports symmetric multiprocessing.
The new Power4 also includes "a vector processing unit implementing over 160 specialized vector instructions," according to the conference program. That's likely a reference to the Altivec instruction set defined by Motorola and Apple to boost multimedia performance by providing special vector processing capabilities in the PowerPC instruction set.
IBM had focused for some time on building fast PowerPC parts for Apple, rather than adopting the relatively complex Altivec extensions. The new Power4 seems to mark a change in course.
Among other news at MPF next week, startup MemoryLogix will announce a Pentium II-class synthesizeable X86-compatible core for embedded applications. The part's die size and cost will be comparable to current 486 parts, Glaskowsky said. It will be capable of running at several hundred MHz, and users will be able to customize the chip's cache size and elect whether or not it uses a floating-point processor, he added.
Applied Micro Circuits Corp., Intel Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. will discuss separate 10-Gbit/second network processing units at the conference. The parts are all enhancements to existing 10-Gbit/s NPUs. Intel's offering sports "one feature I think a lot of people will find surprising," Glaskowsky said.
The Cisco T3 is the company's third-generation Toaster network processor designed for internal use on Cisco systems. "Seeing what Cisco has done and how fairly straightforward their device is should be interesting especially since it means this company will not be a customer for some other vendors," Glaskowsky said.
Among embedded processors, Tensilica Inc. will discuss a new VLIW platform that will become a base architecture for the company. And Motorola will detail version 5 of its ColdFire embedded 32-bit processor.
For its part, ARM Ltd. will discuss the first two ARM 11 processors. The "400-MHz+ cores feature an 8-stage pipeline, a new memory system, a vector floating-point unit, and a quad 64-bit Amba AHB-lite bus interface," according to the conference agenda.
"These processors sort of stretch how much performance you might want to have in a cellphone, but they should find good use in PDAs," Glaskowsky said.
Separately, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. will discuss its plans for a 1.2-GHz version of an ARM 10 processor built in a 130-nanometer (0.13-micron) process.


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City's IT leaders attend festival launch
Information technology professionals and online celebrities attended the opening ceremony of the Shanghai Information Consumption Festival on Monday, a monthlong event aimed at boosting the digital economy and improve people’s daily lives.
A Shanghai information consumption declaration was read out by Li Jiaqi, a popular online celebrity, during the event.
More than 200 industry professionals attended the opening ceremony, including leaders of Shanghai IT firms. They include Pinduoduo chairman Chen Lei, Bilibili chairman and CEO Chen Rui, Ucloud chairman Ji Xinhua, China Reading CEO Chen Wu, United Imaging co-founder and COO John Zhan, MiHoYo founder Liu Wei and IDOL Group CEO Leng Jing.
The firms and business leaders represented the latest innovations and results in Shanghai’s digital economy, covering e-commerce, cloud, online reading, medical AI and online games.
Shanghai-based United Imaging helps doctors improve work efficiency and fight COVID-19 with devices featuring AI and smart diagnosis features. Its business has jumped “several dozen times” thanks to integration between the medical sector and AI, Zhan said.
The information consumption declaration promised to push information technology upgrades, narrow the digital gap, fight monopolies and protect consumer rights and privacy.
Various innovations were shown during the event, including Meituan’s food delivery drone, United Imaging’s AI medical devices and iQiyi’s virtual reality gadgets.


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Finland’s mobile network operators (MNOs) – Elisa, Telia Finland and DNA Finland – have all reportedly asked to be exempted from having to do away with retail roaming surcharges as required by recent ruling by the European Parliament.
According to local press outlet YLE, the trio have lodged requests with the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (FICORA) asking for a one-year exemption from having to eliminate EU-wide roaming charges, arguing the new system will mean lost revenues and increased prices for consumers that do not use their handsets outside of Finland. Finnish European MP Miapetra Kumpula-Natri was cited as saying that in order to be granted such an exemption, each operator will have to prove that implement the changes required would lead to a more than 3% drop in turnover. A decision regarding the matter is not expected until at least this middle of this month, however, with FICORA deputy-director Petri Makkonen noting that the regulator is unable to take any action until the rules come into effect.
As previously reported by CommsUpdate, in April 2017 the European Parliament confirmed that an informal deal on wholesale price caps had been endorsed, as a result of which the abolition of retail roaming surcharges is now expected from 15 June 2017. At that same date the European Commission (EC) confirmed plans to introduce caps on wholesale roaming prices, those being: EUR0.03 (USD0.03) per minute for voice calls, a 36% drop from the current level; EUR0.01 per text message (down 50%); and EUR7.7 per GB of data (down 85%). Looking further ahead, it was also confirmed that the cap for data will gradually decrease, to EUR2.5 per GB by 2022.


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KEPALA BATAS, Malaysia: Bumiputera entrepreneurs are urged to venture into the Halal industry and take calculated risks to innovate new products and services. The chairman of the committee for the development of Bumiputera entrepreneurs and cooperatives in Penang, Muhamad Farid, has urged Bumiputera business professionals in Malaysia to produce more halal food products. In doing so, they can meet the needs of the Muslim community and help fuel the country’s economy. Muhamad Farid believes that small-medium enterprises can play a major role in increasing the production and marketing of these products, with the assistance of joint ventures.
Muhamad Farid recently spoke to news reporters after officiating the Penang Bumiputera Entrepreneurs (PenBEX) Mini Carnival 2015 at Vision Park, Bertram. The event was organized by Kunang and is an initial step toward the PenBEX from 30th May to June 7, 2015. During the interview, he revealed that about 70 business owners were under the patronage of Kunang and some of their products were being marketed at three branches of the Aeon Big supermarket at Bukit Minyak, Seberang Jaya, and Alor Setar, Kedah. Related: Social Media’s Impact on Halal Products & Services Promotion
Muhamad Farid praised the accomplishment of the business owners under Kunang’s patronage and expressed his intent to revive a big shopping plaza in North Seberang Perai to enable members’ products to be marketed more methodically. These facilities will be the first step in helping them to increase their business and improve the production of local products.
According to Muhamad Farid, halal products can play a significant role in increasing the income of business owners and providing consumers with a wider range of halal products. This can ultimately contribute to the growth of the halal industry in Malaysia. By encouraging Bumiputera entrepreneurs to produce more halal food products, the Muslim community’s needs can be met while also boosting the country’s economy.


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CU*Answers has partnered with VantageScore Solutions to allow credit unions to pull an alternative credit score to the traditional FICO score. Utilizing VantageScore will allow for additional insight into the credit history for those members who do not have enough data to return a valid FICO score. The VantageScore 3.0 platform has allowed between 30-35 million previously unscored consumers to be given score information before a FICO score could be returned. According to sources at TransUnion, “Borrowers that are new to credit or haven’t been using it recently could benefit from VantageScore, as it might be able to prove trustworthiness before FICO has enough data to issue a rating.” An additional feature of this credit score is the ability to display the score to members online in It’s Me 247, CU*Answers’ online banking solution.
In addition to the partnership with VantageScore, CU*Answers offers an integration with credit score vendor SavvyMoney. SavvyMonday brings VantageScore data directly to members and offers additional functionality including financial educational tools, payment and loan scenarios. Members can pull a VantageScore on demand, and track trends and changes to their scores using the It’s Me 247 online and mobile banking platforms.


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One person has been arrested after three children were found dead in a house in an affluent south London suburb.
The Duchess of Cornwall's brother is in hospital after sustaining a serious head injury following a fall in New York.
Mobile phone stores misleading customers over price increases
Published: 15 August 2012
The vast majority of mobile phone stores are misleading customers about the possibility of price increases on so-called fixed contracts, according to a watchdog.
A mystery shopping investigation by Which? last month found that 82% of staff in the stores it visited gave incorrect information about "fixed" deals, even when asked directly if the price would stay the same for the duration of the contract.
The group visited 39 stores for O2, Orange, Three, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Phones4U and Carphone Warehouse in the Midlands, North West, South, North East and the South East.
All shop assistants, when prompted, claimed that the number of inclusive minutes, texts and data would stay the same throughout the contract.
However the consumer group said that in the past year four of the five main phone operators - Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile and Three - had taken advantage of a "hidden clause" allowing them to increase prices on contracts that appeared to be fixed.
Recent Which? research found that 70% of people on fixed contracts did not know that mobile phone companies could increase prices during the length of their contract.
The watchdog, which recently launched the "Fixed Means Fixed" campaign calling on companies to ensure prices and all other aspects of the deal remain unchanged for the full length of the contract, said the practice is potentially netting the industry up to £90 million a year.
It is calling on operators to advertise the possibility of price rises upfront and allow customers to switch contracts without penalty if they do increase.
It has also complained to the regulator Ofcom.
Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: "It's totally unacceptable that people aren't being told the full story about potential price rises when signing up to contracts in mobile phone shops.
"Shockingly, even when we asked directly about price increases, the vast majority of staff denied this could happen.
"There should be no nasty surprises after signing a mobile contract. People must be confident that fixed really does mean fixed."
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- Worst dressed celebrities: Who dressed like a dog's dinner this week? We show and tell...
- Nigel Farage insists Ukip posters are not racist even if they upset 'chattering classes'
- David Cameron accused of fostering division by claiming Britain is a Christian country
- Tube boss accuses RMT of being stuck in past after union votes for new strikes
- Backlash over 'disrespectful' Ukip posters of Union Jack on fire
- Cardinal slams 'alarmist' immigration rhetoric on Ukip poster campaign
- London hairdresser 'targeted by North Korean embassy officials over Kim Jong-un discount'
- Three injured after ceiling collapses at Virgin Active gym in west London
- The Standard leads rush to adopt a .London web address
- Joan as Police Woman, Village Underground - music review
- Owner of 'worst hotel in Britain' banned after mice move in
When you apply for a credit product such as a loan or mortgage, the lender will almost always conduct a credit check on you. Find out how it works.
Here, we dissect the look of one of our favourite fashion week attendees and show you how to channel Poppy Delevingne’s style.
Celebrate the UNIQLO Michael Bastian polo shirt collaboration for men and kids, with a chance to win a family experience at one of four London football clubs.
With summer approaching it's time to rethink your wardrobe
Over the next 12 weeks, our team from the London Evening Standard will all experience the thrill of New Balance’s 10k Runnovation.
Bergen - a city set amid spectacular scenery which is easily accessible for a fascinating weekend escape.
From the perfect white shirt to this season’s must-have cropped trouser, the options for stylish urbanites are plentiful this season.
Only two hours from Britain amid the dramatic scenery and lovely fjords of western Norway, find out more about the Norwegian fjords...
We've teamed up with Icelandair to give readers the chance to win two return flights from London to Denver to visit this stonishing city.


text: Today Crystal Dynamics® announced that The Tomb Raider Trilogy pack, will be available on March 25, 2011, exclusive for the PlayStation3. The pack will be a collection of Tomb Raider: Legend,Tomb Raider: Anniversary and Tomb Raider: Underworld. While Underworld which was previously released on the PS3 will remain as it originally was, Legend and Anniversary will both be newly remastered in HD quality. Included in the pack will be a Tomb Raider Trilogy theme pack, the official Lara Croft female Home avatar outfit, the Viking Thrall male Home avatar outfit and finally a collection of “making of” trailers in HD for the entire series of the franchise, making it a must have for Tomb Raider die hardseverywhere. So Tomb Raider fans: March 25, save the date!


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The all-new Honda Civic first broke cover back in March 2016, and it’s thought the Japanese will release a hot version almost immediately after it launches in 2017. The next Civic Type R has not only been teased as a concept – heavily disguised versions of the new model have already been spotted testing at the Nurburgring circuit in images courtesy of Motorauthority.
Considering the current model’s only expected to have a two-year life span, it looks set to become something of a collector’s item. See how much you could save on the outgoing model by heading over to the Honda Civic Type R deals page.
2017 Honda Civic Type R styling
The previous Type R looks striking from the outside, and the wild vents, wings and splitters of the new concept should ensure the new model keeps the same in-your-face attitude. The 2017 Civic is longer, wider and lower than the model it replaces which, combined with the new bodykit, should help give the new model an even more aggressive stance on the road.
Though many of the prototype’s details are hidden behind camouflage, it’s clear that the Type R will feature a vast downforce-boosting rear spoiler – assisted by roof-mounted fins. The trio of central exhausts used by the concept is expected to make it into production, too.
2017 Honda Civic Type R driving and engines
That exhaust system will be connected to a similar 2.0-litre turbocharged engine to the current car. In order to keep up with the Ford Focus RS and the replacement for Renault’s Megane RS, power is likely to increase over today’s 306hp Type R – possibly as high as 350hp.
Despite the boost in power, Honda looks likely to keep a front-wheel drive layout and the same six-speed manual gearbox. The plentiful power will be managed by the fitment of a mechanical limited-slip differential as it is on the outgoing Type R.
2017 Honda Civic Type R release date
An official release date for the next Honda Civic Type R hasn’t been confirmed but, with the regular hatch set to make its debut in 2017 and the Type R already well into its testing phase, a late-2017 date for first deliveries seems likely.
Save money on your next new car
Can’t wait for the new model? Take a look at the outgoing Honda Civic Type R deals page to see how much carwow could help you save. To see how the competition stacks up, take a look at our list of the best hot hatches on sale, or head over to our car chooser for more options.


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Stage set for Shanghai's biggest running event
With the 2022 Shanghai Marathon set for Sunday, participants in the city's biggest running event can pick up their kits from Thursday to Saturday.
A total of 18,000 runners will take part in this year's Shanghai Marathon. They are required to make reservation through the event's official website and app before heading to the Shanghai Convention and Exhibition Center of International Sourcing (35 Zhongjiang Rd) for their equipment.
The equipment bag includes items like number bib, souvenir T-shirt, mask, metro ticket, sunscreen cream and soft drink.
The runner are required to show a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test report within 24 hours, as well as vaccine inoculation proof when picking up the bag. They are also required to take PCR tests for three straight days before Sunday's race.
For pandemic control reason, this year's marathon is open to Shanghai-based runners holding household registration or residence permit, as well as foreigners who have lived in Shanghai for more than six months, and hold a valid visa.
Runners can log on to www.shang-ma.com for more information.


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This is PremierDoctors's supplementary directory of commonly searched topics. If you can't find what you're looking for, click here to visit our Home Page.
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Industry lobbying and trade pacts threaten India’s role as major generics supplierBMJ 2010; 341 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.c5135 (Published 20 September 2010) Cite this as: BMJ 2010;341:c5135
- Ganapati Mudur
- 1New Delhi
Indian manufacturers have supplied more than 80% of antiretrovirals to developing countries since 2006, a new study has shown, amid concern that trade negotiations and industry lobbying threaten to restrict this flow of affordable generic drugs.
The study also shows that Indian generic drugs accounted for 91% of all antiretrovirals for children supplied to developing countries in 2008 (Journal of the International AIDS Society 2010;13:35, doi:10.1186/1758-2652-13-35). Of 100 countries surveyed, 96 relied on Indian generic drugs; and 99% of antiretrovirals used by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, and Namibia came from India.
Indian generic formulations accounted for 65% of the $463m (£295m; €353m) purchases of antiretrovirals in 2008, while non-Indian generics made up 13% and brand name drugs made up 22%, the study found. …


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As AI continues to dominate the social debate, research from Slalom, the global business and technology consulting company, finds that 84% of businesses in UK and Ireland have started using AI in some capacity.
While there is widespread rhetoric that suggests a hesitation to adopt AI, Slalom’s new research finds that just 13% of businesses across industries have not yet begun working with AI.
The majority of businesses place themselves in an exploratory stage (26%), stating that they had a successful trial and are exploring how to integrate it into their work, while the second biggest group labelled themselves as confident (24%), with AI tools already being used across the organisation. Classing themselves at the pioneering stage, 6% of businesses have a full suite of bespoke solutions and a clear strategy currently being adopted.
The survey, run in conjunction with Censuswide in August 2023, also found that businesses across the board find AI to be trustworthy, with 84% stating they trust the technology. Those in senior roles trust AI more than others, with 97% of C-suite respondents and 93% of business owners saying AI is trustworthy.
When looking into the reasons behind the trust, Slalom’s survey finds that most respondents deem AI to be trustworthy because competitors are using it (24%), and almost a fifth (19%) claim this is because of media influence or because it is recommended by trusted content (19%).
Although those in senior positions are more likely to trust AI, their threshold for trust is also higher, with 31% of C-suite citing their lived experience as the top reason for their trust, as opposed to outside influences.
While many businesses are already using AI, concerns still remain with security, with 45% of respondents viewing increased data privacy risks as the biggest negative impact, and 40% of respondents concerned about the likelihood of cyber-attacks stemming from using AI.
Dave Williams, president of Slalom UK & Ireland commented: “The use of AI tools has been firmly established in Slalom’s approach to business & technology consulting for some time, and it’s brilliant to see that 84% of organisations are already using AI and find it trustworthy.
“AI unlocks opportunities across nearly every aspect of business in every industry, it’s so much more than just using chatbots or voice assistants. I’m excited to see that there are a portion of UK businesses who deem themselves at the pioneering stage, with focused solutions and a clear strategy that incorporates AI into their organisation.
“This is only going to grow as understanding of AI continues to improve. When incorporated into core elements of business strategy, the combination of AI and human capability is going to be what sets organisations apart from each other.”


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By Richard Hunt
Marketing, Procurement, Agencies, Media Owners and Suppliers all need to ensure that sustainability is embedded into the whole advertising and marketing life cycle, including product end-of-life.
Smart manufacturing, intelligent sustainability, conscious procurement and slick recycling are all important but what of …product ‘End-of-Life’!…..Some are already taking responsibility, such as Apple, Coca-Cola, Sky and H&M
Sustainability… Do we really understand why we’re doing this and if so, can we maintain the change to get to a balanced environment?
Business has a conscious battle – to thrive, increase sales and offer the customer exactly what they want – but there’s another side that some of us follow. That rule is not to just thrive but to protect and nurture with a changed level of consciousness and a more sustainable and ‘greener’ approach to business that will ‘protect the environment’. That’s why we are now hopefully finding better ways to help reduce waste and emissions whilst waving a new green flag to aid the world in a more sustainable way.
And at what level does the awareness and responsibility impact the industry and who are those within it who can help make a change?
The key influencers here, those who advise and lead our brands are Marketers, Buyers, Heads of Procurement, Brand Managers and Agencies who have the opportunity to discuss every piece of marketing collateral and every campaign and at the same time, bring sustainable awareness to the table. In much the same way as discussing colour, format and distribution are central, so should be discussing materials, sustainability and recycling – that’s how we get to change a wider mind set.
Some large multi-million-dollar companies are already taking responsibility, such as Apple, Coca-Cola, Sky and H&M, but is this only because they’re in the spotlight? I would hope not.
If we are to make changes then it’s our obligation to educate our stakeholders, to increase their awareness, eventually placing demands on the manufacturer and supplier to provide and source better alternatives.
These are small steps; however awareness has crept a little further on. During 2020 most of us noticed there were less chemical trails in the sky, more bird song, more leaves on the trees and less air pollution. Global CO2 emissions fell a record 7% last year – but should it take a pandemic to trigger our awareness, for us to realise this – to stop and think? It shouldn’t but it did.
Just recently the EU passed a Climate Law to commit to a bloc-wide goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and a 50%-55% cut in emissions by 2030 – with an aim to improve quality of life through cleaner air and water, better health and a thriving natural world.
This is going to be a massive change in mind-set, not just in making people aware of what their options are, but shaping manufacturers and suppliers into seeking alternative resource to help drive that change.
Clear air pollution, halting species loss, reducing waste and promoting better use of our natural resources. Each one as important as the other but for our brand and marketing sectors the latter two are key to our industry. Reducing waste and better use of natural resources.
Our industry is becoming more and more aware of creating products with recyclable content, if not 100% then with a greener element, to make some headway in recycling. But surely, we need to better drive this for 2021 and question what we are using, what is it made of, where does it come from and how can it be recycled? But even more so, what happens to it after use and who is taking ownership for this? These are the questions that we don’t often want or think to ask!
I’d like to make a challenge for 2021, to raise awareness and take responsibility, that as procurement professionals and owners of our creative and marketing services, we become custodians of sustainability and raise awareness for the ‘END-OF-LIFE’ of each product.
We only recycle 14% of our global plastic waste – where’s the rest of it?…(in the ocean! But that’s another topic). We have to get to a point where we buy and manufacture effectively with sustainable products, reducing plastic and general waste, which creates efficiencies in world-wide recycling.
Smart manufacturing, intelligent sustainability, conscious procurement and slick recycling are all important but what of …product ‘End-of-Life’!
So what is product ‘End -of -Life’?
In 2020 we have seen incentives to reduce consumer and transport packaging. Even print and carton suppliers have offset their entire annual Carbon Footprint with the World Land Trust through the purchasing of endangered tropical habitats. To date, four UK companies have already done this.
But what’s happening to the materials we use after print – after packaging – after distribution and after use?
For consumer packaging it’s everyone’s responsibility to dispose of properly – but for campaign materials, displays, graphics and packaging etc, it should be the client, the marketer and for suppliers’ to advise on how we dispose of this in a way where we feel confident that that product, material or packaging can be recycled to the best of its ability. We have inadvertently become custodians of that supply chain therefore; we all want to sleep soundly at night – don’t we?
So, what can we do? – We all talk to clients, we advise, we recommend, and then we produce. Through those stages our advice should be on the content constituent of materials, on sourcing, on manufacturing and of course on usage, but more importantly on how your products, your advertising campaigns and marketing collateral will be used for ‘End-of-Life’ and who’s accountable?
It means talking to Carbon and Environmental consultants, meeting with fixers / suppliers who remove waste from campaign sites and how that process is managed. Talk to waste management companies about recycling options and how you can see the end product of your waste in a usable recycled format. Take ownership – who else is going to do this?
Marketers, procurement, agencies, media owners and marketing services suppliers must consciously own the materials they commission for use in advertising and marketing. A responsible chain of custody must lie with the purchaser. Some major brands are already on board as I mentioned earlier – Apple, Sky, H&M and Coca-Cola to name but a few. It’s the only way we can turn the sub-conscious into conscious procurement.
A new year and new resolutions – and with it new responsibilities for the end to end management of product life!
Cost vs Sustainability
Or should that be Short Term Gain vs Long Term Financial and Reputational Damage?
The knock-on effect from the global pandemic has of course put a strain on budgets for many marketers. And procurement of slightly more expensive or niche sustainable products could be pushed to one side, especially non-profit materials, in order to maintain operating profit.
But if we don’t reduce single use plastics, find alternative recyclable products and reduce further emissions this year, even by collaborating with organisations like the World Land Trust, you could be de-stabilising your business integrity which will cost you money further down the line.
As new green legislations come into effect around the world, such as South Koreas Green Deal, to enforce a Carbon Tax – we need to adapt to change now, educate our stakeholders to get them on board making greener procurement choices, otherwise many Governments will introduce rulings that will hit hard before your sustainable agenda is even in place!
About the author
Richard Hunt, Director at Cover-Up Media Production has over 30 years’ experience working with many media production companies and brands across the UK / London, Canada, USA and Europe including Global, Exterion Media, Carnival, EMAP and Trinity Mirror
Richard has always challenged sustainability and the use of recycled materials. He now champions better use of materials within media campaigns and how they can be managed effectively through to end-of-life – something his company Cover-Up Media Production offers every client.
You can reach Richard at firstname.lastname@example.org


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Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS FT is appealing for items that can be used to make comfort packs for patients who are staying in hospital during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Currently, there are restrictions on visiting due to COVID-19, so the Trust hopes that the new comfort packs will help patients have a more comfortable stay in hospital.
The Trust is appealing to any organisations who could help support the creation of these comfort packs. The sorts of items that are needed for the comfort packs are:
Chief Executive, Karen James said, “patients currently in hospital in Tameside have heavy restrictions in terms of visitors and as a result are not able to access the usual comforts that might be provided by friends or family. To help people have a more comfortable stay, we are appealing to local organisations who may be able to help with products that could go in comfort packs.”
The Trust hopes to start distributing the packs week commencing Monday 6 April.
Any organisation who could support this, please contact the Trust by emailing email@example.com or calling 07766297853 to arrange delivery or collection of goods.


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Long-time PayPal users may notice that something looks a little bit different when logging into their accounts to transact business. The online payments standard bearer announced a redesigned user experience on its blog last week, intended to help bring users of all kinds access to the full range of services PayPal offers.
When users access their PayPal accounts, they are able to see, on the front page as opposed to through navigating through clicks, their balance information, where money is going to or coming from and a shortcut to send and request money. The experience is designed to be homogenous across devices so that mobile users- on smartphone or tablets of all types- and desktop users all see the same thing when they log in to use PayPal.
The app also features a new account builder tool so you can get the most out of your PayPal experience and an improved digital wallet that makes can managing money, payment methods and offers in a way that the user finds intuitive. The newly designed user experiences also allows PayPal customers to take a "sneak peak" at the new Shop tab, which will provide a hub for online offers and savings.
The new user experience is rolling out to select customers in the U.S. and Germany over the next few weeks, during which time the company will be collecting customer feedback.
In their bog post on the release, the company noted that the new design is part of the People First initiative they've been pursuing all year.
"Behind all of our products are people. People creating them for you. People using them to make life easier. You might have seen this with the recent launch of our new logo and brand campaign. We want our products to help people use their money how, when and where they want to. We aren’t creating technology for technology’s sake. We’re building experiences based on what we hear from you is important– and our revamped PayPal online consumer account experience is no different," wrote Carey Kolaja, Vice President of Global Solutions at PayPal on the announcement of the redesign.
“What’s Hot” is aggregated content. PYMNTS.com claims no responsibility for the accuracy of the content published by the original source.


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China will commit to import more U.S. soybeans during President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing this week. This emphasises the importance of trade in farm goods even though tensions are growing between the world’s top two economies.
China is the world’s biggest importer of soybeans, and the U.S. is its second largest export supplier.
Chinese buyers will sign a letter of intent with the U.S. Soybean Export Council committing to purchasing a certain volume of soybeans.
Chinese importers said in July they would import 12.53 million tonnes of U.S. soybeans, the second largest such agreement.


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Apple iPhone 7 is currently one of the most awaited gadgets of 2016. Fans all across the globe are eagerly waiting for the launch of Apple’s latest iPhone. When it comes to Apple, rumors and reports keep on coming and it is very difficult to get an idea as what new will be there in this year’s iPhone. Following the traditions of the past year, it is expected that iPhone 7 will be launched in the month of September (most probable date of launch 12th or 16th Sep). In this post, we have compiled all the news, rumors and reports
The post All you need to know about Apple’s upcoming iPhone 7 appeared first on DreamTechie.


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In the Wall Street community is actively circulating mass of opinions on the topic of the benefits of cheap oil for America. The most common judgment - low oil prices stimulate consumption - based on AMarkets.
Like, cheap oil - a cheap gasoline. So buyers have more money on retail spending and spending cash in the run supermarkets, increasing the US GDP. However, common sense suggests to turn to history. It has always been so - when oil prices sags to indecent lows, the world froze in anticipation of the collapse. And there came a collapse of recessions of varying severity.
On the market today can be found such views - garbage corporate debt has a chance of good growth in 2016 because the fact of increasing the rate regulator says that the US economy is strong. If the economy is strong - it creates an excellent soil for the growth of nizkoreytingovyh bonds. Sensible people again for a long time buried the idea. Also it is necessary to bury the idea about the fact that cheap oil will increase the incomes of American retail. By this logic, it turns out that the fall in crude oil from $ 40 to $ 35 should give an appropriate increase in retail sales in the US, but this correlation is not and will not.
Low oil prices, remain so long a time warp - it is bad for almost all the economic players, a world-wide symbol of the general economic slowdown. The only one who benefits from the situation in the short and possibly medium segment - air industry and transport, for which oil - a significant cost item. By the way, Maxim Oreshkin, deputy finance minister, predicts that oil will be traded on the segment $ 40-60 in the next, not much is not enough, 7 years.


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I would bet that a majority of people wouldn’t expect a company that inspired the website peopleofwalmart.com would be one that is leading the way in digital innovation in retail, but as hard as it is to believe, it’s true. Simply reading the first page of Wal-Mart’s annual report shows the emphasis they are putting on integrating the digital and physical shopping experience for their customers, or as the current CEO Doug McMillon puts it, Wal-Mart’s “intent on creating transformative growth by adding capabilities in e-commerce and mobile commerce”. This emphasis on innovation is allowing Wal-Mart to stay competitive in the evolving digital retail space.
Over the last decade the retail giant has made numerous investments in developing innovative ways to meet the evolving shopping needs of their customers. In 2011 Wal-Mart launched @WalmartLabs, a division of the company dedicated to discovering and implementing new ways of improving the digital experience of their customers. Over the years @WalmartLabs has introduced dozens of digital innovations and continues to test new innovations constantly.
Amazon may be able to ship products directly to consumers’ homes, but so can Wal-Mart. Innovations in shipping capabilities allow Wal-Mart shoppers to not only ship products to their home from Walmart.com, but also ship from online to a store near them to pick up later, ship a product from a Wal-Mart store to their home, reserve a product at a store to pick up same day and even get same day delivery in some areas. Wal-Mart shoppers have a plethora of shipping and pickup options, all of which are easily available on Wal-Mart’s online and mobile platforms. These options allow customers to pick whichever option works best for them on any given day.
The “Save Money. Live Better” Promise
Other innovations improving the consumer experience include Wal-Mart’s Savings Catcher. This app allows user to enter any Wal-Mart product barcode and check to make sure they are paying (or paid) the lowest price when compared to other retailers. If the Savings Catcher finds a lower price anywhere online, they pay the customer the difference in price. Innovations like these reassure customers that they are paying the lowest price while strengthening the customer relationship.
In addition to innovations designed to improve the customer’s experience, Wal-Mart is also focusing on their media buyers. One example of innovation in this area is the launch of Wal-Mart Exchange in 2014; a platform that allows media buyers to better target and, in real-time, serve relevant ads to customers on Walmart.com. The platform also provides marketers access to SKU-level ad measurement, allowing their buyers to see the effectiveness of each ad. With both online and in-store customer data, Wal-Mart is in a position to provide their suppliers with more robust data than their competitors can.
The list of digital innovations at Wal-Mart goes on, including grocery pick, local inventory maps, and streamlining their mobile and online user interfaces. Amazon may be the current leader in e-commerce, but the combination of Wal-Mart’s stores, mobile and online platforms, and their emphasis on digital innovation puts them in a great place to continue to be a leader in retail far into the future.


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Lavonia Industry Announces Expansion
By MJ Kneiser, WLHR Radio, Lavonia
A Lavonia industry is expanding.
Last Thursday, Kautex officials announced the company will add another 95,000 square feet of warehouse space to its existing plant on Highway 17 South in what amounts to a $3.3 million investment.
Kautex is a subsidiary of Textron, Inc., based in Bonn, Germany, and is considered one of the top 100 automotive suppliers worldwide.
The company is a leading global supplier of plastic fuel tank systems, selective catalytic reduction systems and clear vision systems with 15 plants worldwide.
In Lavonia, they manufacture fuel systems for major automakers, including GM, BMW, Daimler-Chrysler, Nissan, Honda, and Mercedes Benz.
Kautex Director of Operations Tyler Miles said the expansion is to accommodate a new product line called SCR Systems for diesel trucks and vehicles.
“What this tank does is it holds a urea fluid,” Miles said. “And the urea ejects into the catalytic converter for diesel systems. It mixes with the nitrus oxide and when those two fluid meet, instead of emitting carbon into the atmosphere, it’s water.”
Miles said that means emissions for diesel fueled cars and trucks are dramatically reduced.
He added that the SCR System will be installed not only in diesel trucks but also in diesel powered vehicles.
“We’re starting to do VW small products,” he said. “We’re doing the Golf, the Jetta, the Passat. So significant growth in the smaller vehicle segment as well. We are the only plant in North America that provides this technology to our customers.”
Georgia Commissioner of Economic Development Chris Carr also attended last week’s announcement.
Carr noted that last year Site Selection Magazine named Georgia the number one state in the nation to do business.
“Today we’re here to congratulate Kautex for their exciting announcement and for the contribution of Lavonia and FranklinCounty to the State of Georgia,” Carr said.
Kautex first opened in Lavonia in 1993 with 20 employees and made one product for the automotive industry, a window fluid system.
In 2003, the company expanded into the fuel system segment of the industry and added a 20,000 square foot facility to their existing building.
The company plans to open the new addition this spring.


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Shares of Ocado Group PLC (LON: OCDO) fell 4.74% after a fire at one of its warehouses caused by the collision of three robots forced the company to cancel thousands of customer orders as the warehouses remained closed on Monday.
The company, which relies on a network of robots to sort, pack and fulfil customer orders instead of human employees, saw operations at the warehouse grind to a stop after the fire, forcing it to reroute customer orders to its other warehouses.
Ocado’s shares have fallen 23.8% this year amid investor concerns about whether it shall maintain last year’s high levels of profitability as the UK reopens its economy allowing people to shop in malls and other high street establishments.
The UK had lifted the remaining COVID-19 restrictions today, which means that the country’s economy is now operating almost precisely how it was before the pandemic struck.
Many experts have warned that the country risks a surge in infection rates, but the British Prime Minister has insisted that if they don’t lift the restrictions now, they might as well forget about ever lifting them.
Ocado’s sales are likely to take a hit due to the reopening of the UK economy and the closure of its warehouse, which could lead its shares to fall further.
However, all is not lost for the company, given that many people are not going to entirely abandon their online shopping behaviours following the pandemic-induced lockdown measures.
Investors will be waiting for Ocado’s following earnings report to see how it will fare after the UK economy reopens, which could set the tone for its future results.
From a technical perspective, Ocado shares are likely to keep falling since the next significant support level is pretty far from its current prices. Therefore, I would not be opening any new bullish positions at current prices.
*This is not investment advice.
Ocado share price.
Ocado shares plunged 4.74% to trade at 1718.75p, falling from Friday’s closing price of 1804.25p.


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Fashion forward: A roadmap to fossil-free fashion
The fashion industry pollutes the planet and the communities that form the backbone of its supply chains with more climate pollution than aviation. Yet it needs increasingly value-driven customers if brands are to return from the brink of disaster wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic. This report outlines 5 steps fashion brands must take to drawdown their emissions rapidly, including setting ambitious climate commitments with full transparency, centering renewable energy in supply chain decisions with specific commitments to phase out coal, advocating for renewable energy policies in supply chain countries, sourcing lower carbon and longer lasting materials, and reducing the climate impacts of shipping.
We have 10 years to more than halve global greenhouse gas emissions if we’re to avoid climate catastrophe. The dip in greenhouse gas emissions from the global slowdown could be easily wiped out as fashion brands ramp up production and sales if they fail to act now to reduce their reliance on dirty fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas or use greenwashing to cover up their inaction.


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We have previously reported on Russian camera maker Zenit and their return to the market, as well as their rumored mirrorless camera projects. The company made waves when it was revealed that they were working on a full frame mirrorless system, raising eyebrows because to this point Sony remains the only player in that game besides Leica. Well, now we are getting new reports that this upcoming Zenit D1 mirrorless camera could be nothing more than the repackaged and repurposed guts of a Leica M9. A move that would be very interesting considering the history of other attempted rebrands.
Buried amongst the news of the Leica M Monochrom and the X2 (reviewed here) was the Leica S-Adapter for Hasselblad HC lenses like the Hasselblad H4D (previously used by us a couple of times). The adapter is designed for users to expand their existing lineup of lenses by incorporating the various Hasselblad lenses available. And best of all: they autofocus.


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The 2018-19 marketing year has dwindled to an extremely slow start for U.S. soybean exports as China holds on to large domestic inventories, the USDA data has said on Thursday.
The U.S. shipped only 7.4 million bushels of soybeans to China in the first seven weeks of the new marketing year, which began Sept. 1, representing 97 percent drop from the same time period last year when the U.S. shopped 239 million bushels.
USDA’s latest monthly supply and demand report shows China has 825 million bushels in beginning stocks that it can draw down on as the country’s importers largely shun the new U.S. crop. China hit U.S. soybeans with a 25 percent tariff, earlier this year in retaliation for U.S. tariffs meant to punish China for intellectual property theft.
Copper price records two year high amid China’s strengthening demand,Chile’s supply crunch
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Commodities open with mixed prices for base, precious metals as sentiments bullish on China's deman...
CBN distributes farming inputs to Oyo cocoa farmers
Wheat, soy futures raise concerns over weather threats
Copper prices surge as investors await economic recovery
Gold prices come under pressure as muddled U.S fiscal stimulus strengthens dollar


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Only one day remains for New Jersey small businesses to receive discounts of nearly 70% on purchases of personal protective equipment (PPE) through the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) NJ Small and Micro Business PPE Access Program. The deadline to receive discounts is 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, December 17th. Businesses will still be able to purchase PPE at 10% discounts after this time, but higher discounts for small businesses will no longer be available. Businesses can purchase discounted PPE now at https://ppe.covid19.nj.gov.
Launched in October 2020 in response to high demand for affordable PPE, the NJ Small and Micro Business PPE Access Program allows New Jersey businesses to purchase discounted PPE through NJEDA identified and vetted “Designated Vendors.” Current Designated Vendors include Boxed, Office Depot, and Staples. These suppliers have created “microsites” where any New Jersey-based business or nonprofit can purchase PPE at a 10% discount.
In addition to the 10% discounts available to all businesses, the NJEDA has also made $20.4 million available to provide additional discounts of 65% to businesses and nonprofits with 100 or fewer employees that make purchases from Staples or Office Depot. These discounts are available in addition to the 10% discounts available to all businesses; meaning businesses with 100 or fewer employees can receive nearly 70% off PPE purchases, up to a program cap of $800 for all eligible businesses or $1,000 for businesses located in one of New Jersey’s 715 census tracts that were eligible to be designated as Opportunity Zones.
Small businesses and organizations interested in receiving these additional discounts on PPE purchases must apply at https://ppe.covid19.nj.gov. These nearly 70% discounts expire tomorrow, Dec. 17, so businesses that want to benefit should make purchases as soon as possible. Businesses and nonprofits will still be able to receive 10% discounts on PPE purchases after this date.
To access more business news, visit NJB News Now.Related Articles:


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Breakbulk Prospects Optimistic Despite Fuel Cost, Tariff Concerns
When this index crashed (along with most global stock exchanges), it had a devastating impact on the multipurpose/breakbulk sector. Commodity prices collapsed and freight rates plummeted. At the same time, a surge of newly built vessels began flooding the market. A booming freight market had suddenly gone onto life support within the blink of an eye.
Just like getting into better physical shape, which normally requires shedding excess weight, eating right, and exercising — in other words, making good choices — our multipurpose/breakbulk sector needed to do the same thing. Shed excess tonnage, curb our appetite for new ships, and put ourselves on a budget.
Markets long for certainty, transparency, order, and stability, but we rarely experience these types of conditions simultaneously. While we were gradually pulling ourselves up from the market crash of 2009, we were hit again in 2014 as the price of oil crashed. Once again, we found ourselves playing defense. Projects were placed on hold and capital investment on the part of energy companies dried up.
Looking at the carrier landscape, we have still not reached a balance in demand vs. capacity. Due to the length of this market downturn, we have seen freight rates plummet by as much as 75 percent in some trade lanes with many owners holding on for dear life. Operators and owners today continue to be challenged by low to negative margins, forcing many to seek alternative strategies for survival. Fleet consolidations continue to be a favored strategy.
Bankruptcies, on the other hand, have not shown to have improved the overall health of the sector. The Korean container carrier Hanjin bankruptcy is a good example. While the company collapsed, its assets, vessels, and containers (mostly chartered tonnage) only got absorbed into an already crowded space by other carriers and owners. The same lessons apply in the multipurpose vessel sector.
At the end of the day, the only real solution is a cooperative effort and support amongst all stakeholders to exercise prudence with existing assets and future investments into the sector.
By all accounts, 2017 was another intense year for our industry with the sector starting off weak. However, we observed a promising development throughout the course of the year. This development occurred in the dry bulk sector, which showed a positive fixture dynamic taking shape. The light is also visible when we look at our forward freight bookings, which have been steadily rising over the past year.
Nevertheless, there are still risks (both economic and geopolitical) that must be navigated. Operating margins in our sector remain under heavy pressure due to rising fuel costs and continued flat freight rates. Rates will soon need to rise in order to offset these rising fuel expenses and other freight handling costs.
Since 2008 the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has implemented a series regulations and benchmarks in order to achieve a reduction in emissions from commercial oceangoing vessels. January 1, 2020 is the IMO deadline to implement a 0.5% sulphur cap on marine fuel. Vessel owners have and are looking at three costly measures for compliance. They can install scrubbers at a $3-5M conversion and installation cost, use expensive low sulphur fuel (currently costing $200 per ton more than conventional bunker fuel), or purchase new vessels fueled by LNG.
For older vessels surpassing 15-20 years of age, owners will be inclined to send these ships to the scrapyard rather than pouring more money into an aging fleet. This will ultimately entice owners to begin investing in more fuel efficient technologies moving forward.
There are no easy solutions here.
In the last month, the chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping told attendees at their annual conference: “Unless a number of serious issues are satisfactorily addressed by governments within the next few months, the smooth flow of maritime trade could be dangerously impeded. It is still far from certain that sufficient quantities of compliant fuels will be available in every port worldwide by January 1, 2020. If such a scenario takes place, freight rates will skyrocket while vessel supply will decline, possibly causing a serious disruption to global trade.”
Is a recovery close at hand?
It seems the market for project logistics and subsequent demand for global shipping solutions is starting to gain some traction. Demand for our shipping services is being driven by new projects and increasing volumes for upgrading, expansion, and replacement investments around the world.
Global demand for energy will remain the driving force. As populations and underdeveloped economies continue to grow, demand will be even greater. It is estimated that by 2040 global energy consumption will rise by one-third, with industrial demand making up half of that increase. Of the fossil fuels, natural gas will experience the largest production growth while coal will continue to decline. The school is still out on nuclear, but it is expected that this type of energy source will grow in Eastern Asia. By 2040 it expected that renewables (solar, wind, biomass) will make up about 25 % of the world energy supply.
We currently are experiencing sound general activity in the market and expect promising opportunities in 2018 and for the foreseeable future. Some positive upside indicators would include a positive fixture dynamic in the dry bulk sector. An ongoing, strong trend for wind power developments, solid demand for steel products, higher mining activity, and a perceptible upswing in oil and gas related activity certainly helps to ensure that cargo volumes rise and keep our fleets busy in the coming year. However, carrier operating margins continue to be under heavy pressure due to significantly increased costs in fueling vessels. We anticipate the only way for this trend to turnaround would be (once again) increased freight rate levels moving forward.
Of course, there is always risk in making predictions, so we may see some projects experience startup delays; however, we are receiving positive feedback when talking to customers. A long awaited U.S. infrastructure program would also be most welcome. Today about one third of project and heavy lift cargo is generated in Asia, followed by European exports. South America also is in the early stages of a recovery.
For the charter market, promising signs are seen for handy size bulkers, box ships, and even the container feeder segment. We’re optimistic that the increased fixture activity in these segments indicates a likely possibility for recovery of freight levels in the project shipping sector. However, there is still a significant amount of risk when it comes to the financial stability of many shipowners.
After years of a stagnant freight market, many owners have succumbed to the pressure of reduced asset value on their vessel investments and continued pressure on operating margins and vessel maintenance. The available pool of capital for new and replacement tonnage has shrunk significantly. Medium term this should have a positive effect toward increased freight rates.
There are some other drivers out there that raise concerns. In addition to the marine fuel sulphur cap, tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum imports add to apprehensions. Some share the view that the impact of these tariffs on U.S. steel imports will be limited. The 45 million metric tons of steel imported into the U.S. on a yearly basis represents just eight percent of the global steel trade.
Generally speaking, markets over time make their own adjustments as a result of political or economic policy changes. Certainly if you are a U.S. port out there that handles imported steel, you are not going to be too happy at the moment. But one could be assured that some other business or port out there is celebrating or benefiting as a result of the same action. Another take on this is by the director of the British International Freight Association commenting recently on Brexit: “I’m not pronouncing on Brexit until the final picture is clear. I’d liken it to a car journey. When you tell me the destination, I will tell you the route; but until then too much is speculation.”
Never a dull day in shipping!
- Date August 14, 2018
- Tags 2018 July/August


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China's Tingyi Q1 profit falls 47 pct as sales slow
HONG KONG May 20 (Reuters) - China's Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp, a maker of drinks and instant noodles, on Monday posted a 47 percent fall on its first-quarter profit due to slower sales growth and an increase in advertising and marketing spending.
Tingyi, which has a broad-ranging partnership with PepsiCo Inc and sells noodles under the Master Kong brand in China, said its net profit was $104.9 million for the three months ended in March, down from a restated $199.5 million in the same period a year earlier.
Two analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a net profit of $122 million.
Tingyi, which competes with Want Want China Holdings Ltd and Uni-President China Holdings Ltd, said its total turnover was $2.6 billion for three-months period, up from $1.93 billion in a year ago period.
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|By PR Newswire||
|January 24, 2013 12:01 AM EST||
TOKYO, Jan. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota Marketing Japan Corporation (TMJ) and Toyota Motor Sales and Marketing (TMSM) held a special talk event on January 20, 2013, on the themes of the future, paths, sound and the Earth with art director Chie Morimoto, astrophysicist and NASA researcher Dr. Haruo Saji, musician Masakatsu Takagi, and Takao Minai (TMSM). The event also featured a live music performance with Takagi playing an electrical piano powered by a TOYOTA Prius Plug-in Hybrid vehicle. In this event, "Toyota Dream Car Art Contest" was introduced with the screening of promotion films. Through these kinds of cultural activities, TMJ and TMSM are continuing to communicate TOYOTA as a brand with dreams as its driving force and which aims to make them a reality.
As we manufacture products, we know how important dreams are. Without dreams, we will not have the passion to produce products or create the future. Dreams are the most valuable possessions of human beings and give us enormous energy.
"Toyota Dream Car Art Contest (http://www.toyota-global.com/events/dream_car_art_contest/ )" is returning to the origins of making things through the liberated and pure ideas of children, using the energy of children to realize a sustainable future that we want to head towards together. It is also communicating the importance of dreaming. It has been held every year since 2004 and has received 620,000 entries from 70 countries. During the event on January 20, pictures from this contest were exhibited along with films created by Morimoto and Takagi. A visit was also made to children living in Thailand and Kenya to explore their everyday lives and why they drew pictures the way they did. They were then asked to write a letter to their future selves. These letters and pictures were then interpreted into films. At the end of the talk, Takagi played an electrical piano with power sourced from a Prius PHV, moving the dream of the Kenya child whose artwork "Musical Toyota Bringing Peace" was featured in the film, a bit closer to reality and also revealing the new possibilities for cars today.
TOYOTA Global Official Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/TOYOTAglobal Toyota Motor Sales & Marketing Corporation (Tel: +81-565-23-0720/0727)
SOURCE Toyota Motor Sales & Marketing Corporation
Identity is in everything and customers are looking to their providers to ensure the security of their identities, transactions and data. With the increased reliance on cloud-based services, service providers must build security and trust into their offerings, adding value to customers and improving the user experience. Making identity, security and privacy easy for customers provides a unique advantage over the competition.
Sep. 29, 2016 06:15 PM EDT Reads: 3,666
All clouds are not equal. To succeed in a DevOps context, organizations should plan to develop/deploy apps across a choice of on-premise and public clouds simultaneously depending on the business needs. This is where the concept of the Lean Cloud comes in - resting on the idea that you often need to relocate your app modules over their life cycles for both innovation and operational efficiency in the cloud. In his session at @DevOpsSummit at19th Cloud Expo, Valentin (Val) Bercovici, CTO of So...
Sep. 29, 2016 06:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,532
SYS-CON Events announced today that Commvault, a global leader in enterprise data protection and information management, has been named “Bronze Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Commvault is a leading provider of data protection and information management solutions, helping companies worldwide activate their data to drive more value and business insight and to transform moder...
Sep. 29, 2016 05:15 PM EDT Reads: 2,849
SYS-CON Events announced today that eCube Systems, a leading provider of middleware modernization, integration, and management solutions, will exhibit at @DevOpsSummit at 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. eCube Systems offers a family of middleware evolution products and services that maximize return on technology investment by leveraging existing technical equity to meet evolving business needs. ...
Sep. 29, 2016 05:15 PM EDT Reads: 1,575
Personalization has long been the holy grail of marketing. Simply stated, communicate the most relevant offer to the right person and you will increase sales. To achieve this, you must understand the individual. Consequently, digital marketers developed many ways to gather and leverage customer information to deliver targeted experiences. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Lou Casal, Founder and Principal Consultant at Practicala, discussed how the Internet of Things (IoT) has accelerated our abil...
Sep. 29, 2016 04:45 PM EDT Reads: 2,777
SYS-CON Events has announced today that Roger Strukhoff has been named conference chair of Cloud Expo and @ThingsExpo 2016 Silicon Valley. The 19th Cloud Expo and 6th @ThingsExpo will take place on November 1-3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. "The Internet of Things brings trillions of dollars of opportunity to developers and enterprise IT, no matter how you measure it," stated Roger Strukhoff. "More importantly, it leverages the power of devices and the Interne...
Sep. 29, 2016 04:45 PM EDT Reads: 3,431
Digital innovation is the next big wave of business transformation based on digital technologies of which IoT and Big Data are key components, For example: Business boundary innovation is a challenge to excavate third-party business value using IoT and BigData, like Nest Business structure innovation may propose re-building business structure from scratch, as Uber does in the taxicab industry The social model innovation is also a big challenge to the new social architecture with the design fr...
Sep. 29, 2016 04:30 PM EDT Reads: 1,340
Whether they’re located in a public, private, or hybrid cloud environment, cloud technologies are constantly evolving. While the innovation is exciting, the end mission of delivering business value and rapidly producing incremental product features is paramount. In his session at @DevOpsSummit at 19th Cloud Expo, Kiran Chitturi, CTO Architect at Sungard AS, will discuss DevOps culture, its evolution of frameworks and technologies, and how it is achieving maturity. He will also cover various st...
Sep. 29, 2016 04:30 PM EDT Reads: 1,951
So, you bought into the current machine learning craze and went on to collect millions/billions of records from this promising new data source. Now, what do you do with them? Too often, the abundance of data quickly turns into an abundance of problems. How do you extract that "magic essence" from your data without falling into the common pitfalls? In her session at @ThingsExpo, Natalia Ponomareva, Software Engineer at Google, provided tips on how to be successful in large scale machine learning...
Sep. 29, 2016 04:00 PM EDT Reads: 2,384
If you had a chance to enter on the ground level of the largest e-commerce market in the world – would you? China is the world’s most populated country with the second largest economy and the world’s fastest growing market. It is estimated that by 2018 the Chinese market will be reaching over $30 billion in gaming revenue alone. Admittedly for a foreign company, doing business in China can be challenging. Often changing laws, administrative regulations and the often inscrutable Chinese Interne...
Sep. 29, 2016 04:00 PM EDT Reads: 472
Why do your mobile transformations need to happen today? Mobile is the strategy that enterprise transformation centers on to drive customer engagement. In his general session at @ThingsExpo, Roger Woods, Director, Mobile Product & Strategy – Adobe Marketing Cloud, covered key IoT and mobile trends that are forcing mobile transformation, key components of a solid mobile strategy and explored how brands are effectively driving mobile change throughout the enterprise.
Sep. 29, 2016 03:45 PM EDT Reads: 2,198
In his session at @ThingsExpo, Kausik Sridharabalan, founder and CTO of Pulzze Systems, Inc., will focus on key challenges in building an Internet of Things solution infrastructure. He will shed light on efficient ways of defining interactions within IoT solutions, leading to cost and time reduction. He will also introduce ways to handle data and how one can develop IoT solutions that are lean, flexible and configurable, thus making IoT infrastructure agile and scalable.
Sep. 29, 2016 03:30 PM EDT Reads: 1,621
Creating replica copies to tolerate a certain number of failures is easy, but very expensive at cloud-scale. Conventional RAID has lower overhead, but it is limited in the number of failures it can tolerate. And the management is like herding cats (overseeing capacity, rebuilds, migrations, and degraded performance). Download Slide Deck: ▸ Here In his general session at 18th Cloud Expo, Scott Cleland, Senior Director of Product Marketing for the HGST Cloud Infrastructure Business Unit, discusse...
Sep. 29, 2016 03:30 PM EDT Reads: 2,547
Data is an unusual currency; it is not restricted by the same transactional limitations as money or people. In fact, the more that you leverage your data across multiple business use cases, the more valuable it becomes to the organization. And the same can be said about the organization’s analytics. In his session at 19th Cloud Expo, Bill Schmarzo, CTO for the Big Data Practice at EMC, will introduce a methodology for capturing, enriching and sharing data (and analytics) across the organizati...
Sep. 29, 2016 03:15 PM EDT Reads: 1,788
Internet of @ThingsExpo has announced today that Chris Matthieu has been named tech chair of Internet of @ThingsExpo 2016 Silicon Valley. The 6thInternet of @ThingsExpo will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Sep. 29, 2016 03:00 PM EDT Reads: 2,823


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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on Sunday posted a screenshot of a slur-filled email he supposedly received from a customer who told him they canceled an order because of the company’s public support of Black Lives Matter.
The email was shared by Bezos on Instagram. In it, the customer—whose name was only seen as Dave after Bezos blurred the rest of it—uses a racial slur several times and said he was not the “only one” who was unhappy about the company’s messages of support.
“I canceled my order and I know for a fact that I won’t be the only one,” the customer wrote. “Maintain your stance and we will watch your profits decline and laugh about it. My business relationship with you is over.”
Bezos’s said the racist customer was “the kind of customer I’m happy to lose.” Amazon’s website has a Black Lives Matter banner on it that links to a blog post about the company’s support.
The sharing of the email comes as Amazon has faced criticism about its statements of support given its ties to law enforcement.
Like many other companies, Amazon put out a statement last week about standing in “solidarity with the Black community,” which was criticized by a number of people online.
Many people pointed to the company’s ties with law enforcement and its firing of a Black fulfillment center worker who organized a strike over the company’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The company has law enforcement partnerships with its Ring doorbells and its facial recognition technology, Rekognition. Facial recognition has been found to have a racial bias.
On Saturday, Bezos also shared an email from a customer who wrote “ALL LIVES MATTER” because of the Black Lives Matter banner on Amazon.
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