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Declining Hampton Home Prices Amid Limited Inventory for Sale
Home prices in the Hamptons, the sought-after resort at the end of Long Island favored by Wall Street brokers and bankers, experienced a decline in the first quarter. Buyers opted for more affordable properties due to the shortage of homes for sale, as reported by Miller Samuel and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate.
The luxury second-home market witnessed a significant drop of 28.9% in average home prices during the second quarter, amounting to $2.19 million compared to a record high of $3.08 million in the first quarter. Jonathan Miller, CEO of Miller Samuel, commented on the decline in sales, stating that it is not solely due to mortgage rate spikes and economic uncertainty. Economists have been predicting a recession for the past two years. He further attributed the sluggish sales to the severe lack of inventory.
According to Miller, available inventory has increased by 6% compared to the peak buying period after the pandemic. However, it still remains 62.7% lower than pre-pandemic levels in the second quarter of 2019, resulting in limited housing options for buyers. Miller emphasized that the scarcity of homes for sale has contributed to the subdued sales activity.
Bidding wars have driven up prices, with one in five closings in the second quarter exceeding the asking price. This trend marks a decline from the all-time high in the previous year when one in three homes sold above the asking price.
Although the median price shows a 9.4% decrease from the all-time high of $1.6 million, the current median price stands at $1.45 million, reflecting a substantial 70.6% increase compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Miller pointed out that many homeowners are holding onto their properties due to the lower interest rates they secured in recent years. Homeowners with 3% mortgages are hesitating to reenter the market and potentially face higher rates in the range of 7%.
The limited inventory has translated to fewer housing options, particularly impacting the top-tier segment of the Hamptons market. The average prices for the priciest 10% of homes, those selling for $4.4 million or more, have significantly decreased, dropping from $12 million to $8 million compared to the previous year.
Miller attributed the decline in prices to the shifting product mix. He stated that the high-end inventory has been sold off during the previous boom period.
During the second quarter, the number of homes sold in the $5 million or above category decreased from 56 to 21 compared to the previous year. However, Miller noted that demand remains strong, with bidding wars reaching a record level of 30.8% in the top 10% of the market, up from 27.3% a year ago.


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Electric Vehicles in the US: Electric vehicles address under 1% of vehicles on American streets today. In any case, their numbers are expanding.
Over the following 10 years, EVs might rule the American vehicle market. Also, as our electric vehicle insights will show, this new market is gradually getting a move on. Aside from being harmless to the ecosystem, electric vehicles are shockingly less expensive to drive than customary, petroleum product vehicles. Consequently, it isn’t is business as usual that this new variety of vehicles is turning into a typical sight in the US as well as in different areas of the planet.
EV Growth and Adoption
Electric vehicles are a generally new innovation, however, their development bend in America has proactively been gigantic. Beginning around 2010, yearly deals of EVs in the United States have become more than 19,000%, from just 1,191 vehicles sold in 2010 to 231,088 out by 2020.
What number of EVs Are On the Road Today?
Toward the finish of 2021, a little more than 10 million vehicles out and about overall were battery electric vehicles. While generally, vehicle deals declined overall by 16% in 2020, the number of electric vehicles enlisted all around the world expanded by 30%, with more than 2 million vehicles sold. The most recent report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance shows that by 2040, 58% of worldwide traveler vehicle deals will come from electric vehicles. Simultaneously, they will make up under 33% of the relative multitude of vehicles out and about.
EV Brands in the US
The U.S. EV market is overwhelmed by a solitary player: Tesla. In 2020, Tesla sold more electric vehicles in the United States than any remaining producers consolidated. Their deals represented almost 79% of all new EVs enlisted in the United States.4
Be that as it may, their piece of the pie might decline because of cost. Teslas are costly, and the $7,500 government tax break for Tesla vehicles finished in December 2019.5 Other brands, that haven’t yet sold 200,000 vehicles, actually offer bureaucratic credits to buyers. Buyers’ possibilities for electric vehicles are growing, with 25 new models from 2021 now available. Inheritance car organizations like Ford, Volkswagen, and GM have resolved to build the improvement of EVs or even stop the creation of internal combustion vehicles. General Motors means to quit making internal combustion vehicles by 2035.
Volkswagen has an objective of creating 1.5 million electric vehicles by 2025. Volvo plans to have half of its worldwide creation volume be electric by 2025. Portage plans to sell just electric vehicles (in Europe) by 2030. The EV market is developing quickly as clients look for greener options in contrast to diesel and petroleum. Notwithstanding, many individuals don’t realize that batteries make up generally 40% of the expense of an electric vehicle. Presently, China is the main battery maker creating more than 66% of the world’s batteries. However, the EU desires to fight with China by expanding its portion from the present 3% to 25% by 2028.
State Has the Most EVs?
California represented 41% of all U.S. EV deals in 2020.6 With a growing business sector, EV deals in California established 8% of all new vehicle sales.7
This development is to some extent in view of impetuses. California’s EV motivators are the most noteworthy in the country, higher even than those of the central government, with a $1,500 forthright markdown through its Clean Fuel Reward program, and up to $7,000 from the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project. Furthermore, the state’s power utilities additionally offer motivators. It is feasible to purchase a Tesla Model 3 in California for $25,000, making the vehicle cost-serious with internal combustion vehicles. Electric vehicles are less expensive to keep up with than customary internal combustion vehicles. Notwithstanding, upkeep and parts address more yearly benefits for vendors than new vehicle deals. This de-boosts vendor from selling EVs.
EV Sales Slower in the US?
While purchaser schooling and charging framework deter EV reception, vehicle sales centers address a critical snag to EV deals. This is, to a limited extent, because of EV predominance. Tesla sold almost 140,000 of its Model 3s. The next year turned out to be considerably more beneficial for the organization as they tossed Model S and Model X in with the general mish-mash. With everything taken into account, Tesla had more than half a piece of the pie of the complete number of module deals in the US in 2018.
Electric vehicles are less expensive to keep up with than customary internal combustion vehicles. Nonetheless, upkeep and parts address more yearly benefits for vendors than new vehicle deals. This de-boosts vendor from selling EVs. Notwithstanding articulations from the National Automobile Dealers Association saying that sellers are “holding nothing back” on electric vehicles, to date they have stalled in advancing electric vehicles and maintained lawful barriers to EV deals.
In many states, well-established regulations keep automobile producers from selling vehicles straightforwardly to clients, which would require EV new businesses to layout costly showrooms in each express a boundary to passage into the market.BloombergNEF predicts that by 2025 EV deals overall will more than fourfold, from 3.1 million out in 2020 to 14 million out in 2025. By 2040, EVs will address more than 60% of all new vehicle deals around the world, including almost 75% of new vehicle deals in the United States.
Electric Car Usage Statistics
This development is to some extent in light of impetuses. California’s EV motivators are the most elevated in the country, higher even than those of the central government, with a $1,500 forthright markdown through its Clean Fuel Reward program, and up to $7,000 from the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project. The Netherlands is the country with the most charging stations. As of February 2020, it has in excess of 37,000 public charging stations, or one station for every 459 occupants.
With the mounting interest in the Netherlands for completely electric vehicles, the structure of new EV charging stations is just a piece of this pattern. Because of the country’s arrangements for electric vehicle development, the Netherlands has put resources into a framework that supports module electric vehicles.

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The grim toll from the collapse of a garment factory in Bangladesh last month has risen to more than 650, as more bodies have been pulled from the rubble of the eight-story complex.
Read original article
- Those seeking to cultivate commercial marijuana will have to apply for the $250 license, in addition to state’s.
- Influential tribal leader Ed Thomas received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Alaska Southeast on Sunday.
- One animal's dinner plans caused a car crash in Ketchikan.
- You have to cheer as loudly for other teams as you do for your own.


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During the IFA 2018 exhibition, a new top-end and innovative smartphone named the Honor Magic 2 was shows. It uses a lifting structure like the OPPO Find X and sports a genuine full-screen design. At the same time, it is going to be one of the first smartphones packed with the world’s first 7nm chip, the Kirin 980. However, during the media interview after the press conference, a new bracelet was spotted on the wrist of Zhao Ming, president of Honor smartphone. In conjunction with the recent warm-up posters information released by Honor official, it is going to be the new Honor Band 4. We know the new fitness tracker will be launched tomorrow on September 5 along with the Honor 8X series handsets.
Gizchina News of the week
From the official posters and the leaked photos, we can assume the biggest highlight of the Honor Band 4 is the large color screen. This screen occupies almost the entire front side of the bracelet, and there is a certain degree of curvature. That’s why the bracelet looks thin and light. We also think it will be an AMOLED screen with touch operations support. As you can see, there is a Home button embedded in the screen.
This color screen of the Honor Band 4 also assumes some information such as time, heart rate, and step count can be displayed in color texts and icons. Plus, due to the color differences, users can more easily distinguish functional menus. The brightness is sufficient. It is still clear and conspicuous under natural light, and the appearance is significantly improved compared with ordinary black and white screens.
Moreover, the latest poster released by Honor shows there will be two bracelets – the original Honor Band 4 and the Honor Band 4 Running Edition. The latter can be fixed on the shoes and collect some important information concerning walking, running, etc.


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WITH its three-inch colour screen and sleek looks, Microsoft's rival to Apple's iPod looks exactly like, well... Apple's iPod.
The Zune plays videos, radio and has wireless connectivity allowing nearby users to exchange songs and photos.
It was unveiled yesterday in the hope it will take a bite out of its rival's 75 per cent share of the US digital music market.
Microsoft is also launching a competitor to Apple's iTunes online store called Zune Marketplace. It said: "The digital music revolution is just beginning."
Zune will have a 30-gigabyte memory and come in black, white and brown.
It will be released in the US in time for Christmas. Not a moment too Zune...


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After the launching of Fire TV Stick 3rd generation, Amazon is launching its Fire TV Stick 4K Max in India. This new streaming device is an upgraded version of the Fire TV Stick 4K. The Fire TV Stick 4K Max features Wi-Fi 6, Dolby Vision support etc .. The company assures that the new fire stick is 40 % omnipotent than Fire TV Stick 4K.
The new Fire TV Stick 4K Max comes with a new quad-core MediaTek MT8696 SoC 1.8GHz processer and 2GB of RAM. It anticipates speedy navigation and loads the apps with rapid speed due to the uptick in the processor. Fire TV Stick 4K Max is the first media player to furnish Wi-Fi 6 support. Due to its WiFi 6 support it ensures a trouble free experience without any lags.
Fire TV Stick 4K Max bears HDR10 and HDR10+ and Dolby Atmos for an mesmerizing sound. It has an 8GB of onboard storage and comes with 3rd-generation Alexa Voice Remote with custom built knob for Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Music, and Netflix and all your installed apps.
Talking about the new Fire TV stick, Parag Gupta, Head, Amazon Devices India, said, “There is a significant increase in video streaming with several direct to streaming release and customers choosing at-home entertainment. Fire TV has millions of active users in India, who enjoy hours of content every day. With Fire TV Stick 4K Max, we have taken the best-selling streaming media player and made it even better with a faster experience and the latest connectivity that provides seamless streaming without slowing down your home Wi-Fi.”
The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max can be available for Rs 6,4,99 and is currently accessible for pre-order via Amazon.in. The consignment starts on 7 October.


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Paris Fashion Week celebrates 50 years since May 1968 protests
From 1968 to 2018, this year marks five decades since the May 1968 protests which would revolutionise French society. An inspirational anniversary for designers at Paris Fashion Week, who've channelled that energy into next winter’s ready-to-wear collections. Dior echoes down the decades and evokes the recent #MeToo movement, while young French designer Marine Serre is a fan of upcycling. It's all part of an eclectic mix of rebellion, history and creation. FRANCE 24 takes you to the catwalks.


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ADVISORY - Apple dismisses cheaper iPhone story withdrawn
Reuters has withdrawn the story headlined "Apple exec dismisses cheaper phone as a market share grab-report" which was based on a Shanghai Evening News report that was subsequently updated with substantial changes to its content.
No replacement story will be issued.
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- Govt considers ban on e-cigarettes, sale of single smokes
- Islamic State fighters kill 220 Iraqis from tribe that opposed them
- India's fiscal deficit in H1 almost 83 pct of full-year target
- Muslim men over 50 pray at Jerusalem's Aqsa mosque amid tight security
- Air strikes hit Kobani as Kurdish peshmerga prepare to enter
Samsung Electronics unveiled two new mid-tier handsets with a premium design as it prepared to deliver a riposte to its low-priced Chinese rivals and reclaim its title as the top brand in the world's biggest smartphone market. Full Article


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15 October, AtoZForex.com, Lagos – There is still enough slack in the Chinese economy to justify further monetary policy easing, with the latest consumer inflation data showing a moderation in the Asian giant’s economy. The factory gate deflation also showed a long stretch of declines further adding to the Chinese economic slack.
Concerns about the state of affairs of the Chinese economy sent shivers through global markets. And the mixed data does not seem to be helping the situation. The latest consumer-price index data showed a 1.6 percent year on year increase in September. Although still a slowdown from a 2 percent rise in August and compared with a 1.8 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.
Weakening producer-price index
Also, the producer-price index has recorded a 43 month streak of negative data, with the latest data coming at 5.9 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Inflation has remained well below the government target of 3 percent all year, giving the PBOC additional capacity to spur lending even after cutting interest rates five times since November. Other worries still linger in the economy like:
- A property downturn, which has capped prices for households
- industrial overcapacity
- low factory prices due to commodities rout and sluggish global demand
“It’s clear that price pressures are on the deflationary side,” said Xu Gao, chief economist at Everbright Securities Co. in Beijing. “As consumer prices moderate, the PBOC will continue to expand credit.”
Food price inflation
Recent data also shows that food price inflation slowed to 2.7 percent from a year earlier, from 3.7 percent in August. Non food prices climbed 1 percent. Prices of consumer goods increased 1.4 percent, while services increased 2.1 percent.
Purchasing prices for China’s factories declined 6.8 percent from a year earlier in September, reflecting cheaper commodity prices. Producer prices for mining tumbled 21.2 percent and raw materials slumped 11.4 percent from a year earlier.
The weak PPI despite recovering global commodity prices “highlights the severe overcapacity problem and sluggish domestic investment demand, “economists at Nomura Holdings Inc. led by Zhao Yang wrote in a report.
It is now forecast to show that the China’s gross domestic product in the third quarter will show 6.8 percent expansion, according to economists’ forecast.
Think we missed something? Let us know down in the comments section.


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Tata New Electric Car Launch India: Tata Motors, India’s most popular car company in the electric car segment, recently took the wraps off a new electric SUV named Curvv and is doing a global unveiling of another electric car next week on April 29, about which said. It is being said that it could be Tata Sliq or Altroz EV. In fact, some time back Tata Motors had trademarked two EVs named Slick along with the Curve in the electric car segment. In such a situation, it is believed that after the curve, Tata Motors is preparing to unveil the look and features of the Slick.
Tata’s rule in the electric car segment
Let us tell you that Tata Motors currently sells two great cars named Tata Nexon EV and Tigor EV, which are in the SUV and sedan segment. Tata Motors is soon going to introduce an updated model of the Nexon EV, which will get better features as well as more battery range. Along with this, Tata Motors will soon introduce Tata Altroz EV, an electric variant of its premium hatchback Altroz in India. Tata Punch Electric can also be seen on Indian roads in the coming times. For now, we are going to tell you the unveil details of Tata’s upcoming electric car.
Tata Motors recently introduced the Tata Curve as a coupe-style electric SUV, which is quite spectacular to look at. Tata Curve can be launched by the end of next year or early 2024. Tata is going to bring another electric SUV along with the Nexon EV in the coming times, which can be named Slick. However, only on April 29, details will be revealed about whether it is Altroz EV, 2022 Tata Nexon EV or Tata Slick EV. However, Tata Motors is trying to further strengthen its position in the electric car segment, so that when Mahindra unveils 3 new electric SUVs, Tata’s dominance does not diminish.


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China: Sudden layoffs & closures ahead of Lunar New Year leads to protests & migrant workers returning home early; incl. cos responses & non-responses
In November and December, articles by Radio Free Asia, China Labor Bulletin, and Channel News Asia reported on the impact of layoffs on workers in China ahead of the Lunar New Year, including the impact on internal migrant workers in the country. Radio Free Asia links the company closures to the Government’s expanding control of the economy which has allegedly left businesses ‘unable to make long-term plans’.
Radio Free Asia argues the struggling economy has left companies unable to pay wages or forced to shut down and layoff staff. This has led to worker protests and disputes across the country. The article alleges a number of companies are suspending or shifting production or cutting jobs:
- Xinya Steel Plant allegedly announced it would suspend production for over three months, with employees receiving 50% of their salary during the holiday period.
- Automaker NIO would cut its workforce by 10%.
- TCL Technology’s Moxing Semiconductor, OPPO’s Zheku Technology, and Geely’s Star Meizu would close (in response to the Resource Centre's request for comment, OPPO said it has 'made proper arrangements and provided above-average compensation for all related employees').
- ByteDance is looking to sell its gaming unit Moonton Technology and plans to cut jobs at its virtual reality arm Pico (in response to the Resource Centre’s request for comment, however, ByteDance said Moonton has no restructuring plans, and it is has worked closely with workers impacted by restructuring at PICO).
- The article alleges Walmart is moving its procurement centre to Vietnam (in response the Resource Centre’s request for comment, however, Walmart said it was not moving procurement from China to Vietnam).
Channel News Asia similarly reports on staff layoffs and workers asked to take extended periods of leave as firms struggle, including due to a slump in the real estate market.
The article alleges:
- Gold World Innovation Aluminium has told staff they will receive 80% of their salary until April. The company did not respond to the journalist’s request for comment.
- Yaxin Iron and Steel Group announced a suspension in production until after the Lunar New Year. The company did not respond to journalist’s request for comment.
- Simatelex, Shenli (part of Gealex Toys Manufacturing), Forward, and Good Printing have closed their Shenzhen factories, allegedly ‘hitting thousands of jobs’. Simatelex was contacted by China Labor Bulletin for comment.
In January 2024, the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre invited ByteDance, Gealex Toys Manufacturing, Meizu, Moxing Semiconductor (part of TCL Technology), NIO, OPPO, Xinya Steel Plant, and Walmart to respond to the articles’ findings that workers who have been laid of are experiencing economic hardship, and to outline how the companies will ensure employees who will be laid off will be protected and will not experience financial hardship, such as through adequate compensation or relocation packages. ByteDance, OPPO, and Walmart's responses can be read in full below. Gealex Toys Manufacturing, Meizu, Moxing Semiconductor (part of TCL Technology), NIO, and Xinya Steel Plant did not respond to the Resource Centre’s request for comment.
[Due to company closures, the Resource Centre was not able to contact Good Printing and Forward to invite a response to the allegations; if a response is received in the future this page will be updated accordingly].


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Tasty Turkish news was announced recently as Yildiz Holdings, best known for their popular Ulker brand, announce they have brought UK biscuit and snack giant United Biscuits in a deal worth an estimated £2 billion.
Yildiz Holdings is the largest food and beverage company in Turkey. They employ over 41,000 spread over 65 countries and are particularly big in China, Japan, the US and the Middle East. With over 300 household brands including chocolate, biscuits, savoury snacks and soft drinks, the company are reportedly very happy with their latest acquisition with their Chairman Tweeting “United Biscuits is our new star!”. This move now gives Yildiz their first true presence in the UK and makes them the world’s 3rd largest biscuit maker. When asked about the purchase, Murat Ulker, Yildiz Chairman, said in his statement, “We want to grow United Biscuits to be a global player as part of Yildiz.” He went on, “This will include enhancing its position in the UK, where Yildiz currently has minimal presence, so we will continue to invest in the UK and Europe”.
The decision to sell the home of such well loved favourites as Jaffa Cakes, McVities Digestives, Hobnobs and Jacobs Cream Crackers will mean a healthy payday for its private equity owners PAI Partners and Blackstone. Having sold off KP Snacks to the German group Intersnack a couple of years ago, European Head of Blackstone, Lionel Assant, commented, “Yildiz is the best home for the company (United Biscuits) and will allow them to fulfill their international growth ambitions”. twiglets
Yildiz have since announced that they intend to keep hold of United Biscuits current management team and are looking to drive the growth of the company forward using Yildiz’s strong and established global distribution network
This is great news for Turkey and for Yildiz, this may even mean that us UK ex-pats, and all those with a property in Turkey, may start to see another taste of home (hopefully at a decent price) on our shelves here in Migros!


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As people continue to take proper precautions to stop the spread of COVID-19, businesses have seen some major shakeups. Employees are working from home, events are being canceled and postponed (the Olympics included), and, when it comes to the fashion industry, brands are pivoting focus. Instead of creating glamorous red carpet gowns, some are making protective masks. Instead of cashing in on sales, a handful are donating proceeds to charity.
Following in the footsteps of luxury and beauty brands, some of the companies you love to shop are dedicating time and money to helping out during the coronavirus pandemic. See what some of our favorites have been up to, ahead, and be sure to check back — the list, thankfully, grows every day.
Donating Proceeds and Clothing
DKNY — Released an Essential Tee where the net proceeds will benefit the NYC Mayor's Covid-19 Emergency Relief Fund
Olivela — Donating 20% of proceeds of every purchase for families in need through #SAVEWITHSTORIES, a program by Save the Children and No Kid Hungry. This includes 7,000+ essential supplies including snacks and books to kids impacted by school closures.
LOVE Binetti is donating 10% of online purchases to Feeding America.
Paige — Donating 20% of all profits to St. Vincent Meals on Wheels.
Jennifer Meyer — Through the end of March, 20% of sales will go directly to Baby2Baby.
Adinas Jewels — Donating 5% of all sales to the COVID-19 Response Fund.
NYDJ — Donating 10% of all NYDJ.com proceeds to the United Way Worldwide COVID-19 Community Response and Recovery Fund.
Saks Fifth Avenue — Has committed to donating $600K to support COVID-19 relief efforts, including providing support for the New York Presbyterian COVID-19 Patient Care Fund, Bring Change to Mind, and Girls Inc.
Self-Portrait— Donating 10% of all sales for the month of April to the National Emergencies Trust.
Kenneth Cole — Donating 20% of net sales to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
Stoney Clover Lane — Donating 10% of online sales to Baby2Baby.
Coco Shop — Donating 20% of proceeds to Feeding America.
Bagtazo — Donating 20% of proceeds to No Kid Hungry.
Loup — 15% of proceeds to Meals on Wheels.
Viva Aviva — 20% of proceeds to Food Bank of NY.
Nomasei — Donating 10% of proceeds to the Italian Red Cross (5%) and the French Hospital Association (5%).
SVNR — Donating 50% of web sales to Meals on Wheels.
Sézane — Donating 10% of all web sales to the emergency aid fund set up for the foundation of French hospitals.
Modern Citizen — $10 from every order $150+ will be donated to Feeding America’s COVID-19 Response Fund. Modern Citizen will then match each donation with an extra $10, creating a total contribution of $20.
Revel Rey— Donating 15% of proceeds to Good360.
Gap— Donating $1 million to non-profit organizations that support underserved families.
WeWoreWhat — Donated 30K of sales from its recent swim release to the Food Bank, as well as produced 5,000 masks to be distributed across the New York area through the Help Mask A Hero NY organization.
GREATS — Donating $15 from every order to City Harvest.
Vince— Organizing a charity auction for the week of April 6, where 100% of proceeds will be donated to Meals On Wheels and God’s Love We Deliver.
Fleur du Mal — Donating 10% of proceeds to NYC Health + Hospitals.
Kate Spade — The Kate Spade New York Foundation will be donating $100,000 to Crisis Text Line.
Making Masks and Other Needed Supplies
Closing Stores But Still Paying Their Workers
The coronavirus pandemic is unfolding in real time, and guidelines change by the minute. We promise to give you the latest information at time of publishing, but please refer to the CDC and WHO for updates.


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Digiday welcomes new media reporter Sara Guaglione and platforms, data, privacy reporter, Kate Kaye
Digiday is pleased to announce two new additions to our reporting team: Sara Guaglione, Digiday’s new media reporter, and Kate Kaye, Digiday’s new platforms, data and privacy reporter. Both bring years of experience covering the media industry and we’re excited to be adding their voices to our editorial team.
“Both Sara and Kate bring deep industry knowledge, experience and contacts to their new beats with us,” said Digiday editor-in-chief Jim Cooper. “As we continue to aggressively cover the media and publishing space and pivot to focus more on the ever-evolving platforms, privacy and data sectors, having two seasoned journalists driving that coverage will significantly broaden and enhance the reporting and analysis we deliver to our audiences every day.”
As the new media reporter, Guaglione will focus on covering publishers. She comes to us from MediaPost where she had been covering the publishing industry and managing the Publishers Daily newsletter.
Kaye will be leading our coverage around tech giants like Google and Facebook, the data ecosystem underpinning their businesses and the broader digital ad industry and the corresponding privacy concerns and regulation. Kaye previously reported on data and privacy at Ad Age, and had been most recently reporting independently on a broad range of topics, including environmental issues.
Both Guaglione and Kaye report to senior media editor Tim Peterson.
IPSY and Huge are among 2021 Future Leader Awards nominees
The Future Leader Awards — presented by Digiday, Glossy and Modern Retail — are back to spotlight our industries’ most outstanding up-and-comers.
Comedy Central Digital, VH1 and Johnson & Johnson top this year’s Digiday Video and TV Awards shortlist
In a year like no other, the finalists for the Digiday Video and TV Awards broke new ground. They made big bets across channels to create and deliver outstanding content despite incredible production constraints.
Ally Financial, M&C Saatchi Group and Comedy Central are Digiday Awards winners
The 2020 Digiday Awards honorees were not only able to successfully pivot and innovate, but found the common thread of empathy and decency that would resonate with consumers.
SponsoredShoppable content is reshaping brand and publisher relationships
In recent years, brands and publishers have adopted affiliate marketing as an increasingly established method to audiences. However, what may seem to be a mutually beneficial arrangement between brands and affiliates on closer scrutiny reveals itself as a solution that comes with challenges. Meanwhile, the emergence of content commerce is opening different approaches to matching […]
Digiday welcomes new reporters Kimeko McCoy and Erika Wheless to cover marketing and commerce
Having talented reporters and writers on the marketing and commerce beats will greatly expand and deepen Digiday's coverage.
Hinge, Deloitte and RingPartner are Worklife Awards winners
This year’s Digiday Worklife Awards winners provided their employees with the benefits and resources they needed to adjust to a changing world and live their healthiest lives.


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Seko Logistics appoints new chief operating officer for Asia
31 / 03 / 2017
SEKO Logistics has named Tony Barnes as chief operating officer Asia Pacific. He will also lead SEKO’s Global Ocean Product as senior vice president ocean services.
Barnes brings more than 25 years’ experience in the shipping, freight forwarding and logistics industry in sales and marketing, business development, operations and general management roles, including more than 20 years in Asia.
Prior to joining SEKO, he was senior vice president global ocean product development North America at CEVA, and previously also held the posts of Senior Director of Maersk and Executive Vice President of Arshiya International.
Barnes takes over the role vacated by James Gagne, who assumed the post of president of SEKO Logistics at the start of 2017, based at its global headquarters in Chicago.
In his now role, he is responsible for ensuring profitable operations and service excellence in Greater China, leadership and stewardship over the SEKO Affiliate Network within Asia Pacific Region, and an effective, empowered team in accordance with the existing strategy and the company policies.


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Plans have been set aside for workers to vote on establishing the first labor union at a dot-com company, after the union accused e-commerce company Etown.com Inc. of illegally tampering with worker’s rights.
Etown management told employees that a union would harm business and that the company would be forced to shut down if a union was formed, said Erin Poh, a local representative at the Northern California Media Workers Guild, Local 39521. “It’s been a real tense place,” she said, noting that the company has restructured since the guild began organizing. “It’s a pressure cooker.”
Etown management denied the allegations. “I’ve gone on record and said that it isn’t true,” said Lew Brown, president and chief operating officer of the San Francisco-based company. “We never said that the company would go out of business … or that we would close down a business with 100 employees because 13 want to unionize.”
The guild of news reporters and other media employees is leading the organizing drive at Etown, which reviews consumer electronics products. Workers at high-tech companies have shied away from unions, in part because the strong economy, tight labor market and high skill set has ensured high pay by technology workers. “Video games on the floor, sleeping bags under the desk … it’s been OK for people” at dot-com companies, Poh said.
But with stock options becoming less valuable and less attractive for many workers, dot-com labor may look to more traditional forms of job and income security. “I don’t think (dot-com workers) have been approached before,” she said. “Now that it’s a more bricks-and-mortar business plan … the first people affected are going to be the ones at the bottom rung. We’re reacting to an increased desire for stability and a changing environment in the workplace. It’s nothing magic.”
The guild filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Monday, which will need to investigate the charges before a new union vote date can be set. “The union charged that, during the last six months, the company has illegally said that union organization would result in loss of contracts or business, and would be the reason for cancellation of business expansion,” said Alan Reichard, assistant to the regional director for the NLRB. Earlier charges indicated that the company laid off 15 employees as retaliation against organization for collective bargaining.
While a vote for the guild at Etown would have been the first sanctioned union election at an Internet company, management hesitated to call the company a dot-com, and the 13 workers who were to vote on unionization are customer service employees – phone help desk workers, rather than the highly-paid, highly-educated software engineers and network managers typically considered when thinking of dot-com labor.
“We’ve sort of been selected as a dot-com bellwether” for unionization efforts, Brown said. “Maybe because we’re on 16th and Mission, I don’t know. The Web is part of our business, but we have more going on than that.”
Etown.com Inc. is at http://www.etown.com/.


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Gigantic companies are always in the news. Almost every day we hear something new about Apple, Exxon, IBM, Wal-Mart and Google, but nearly nothing gets said about China Mobile Ltd. (CHL/NYSE), itself a giant with a market capitalization of US$212.9-billion — about the same as that of Wal-Mart and Chevron. China Mobile provides cellphone services to 655.4 million customers, representing 70% of the Chinese market.
China Mobile was the biggest company to appear when we used the Google Finance stock screener to identify companies with dividend yields of more than 3.5%, a net profit margin of more than 20%, five-year growth in earnings per share of 10% or more, and a total debt/equity ratio of less than 5%.
Although we did not screen for dividend growth, the company’s board has increased its dividend by 19.9% over the past five years — a nice bonus. When the generous 3.7% dividend is included, China Mobile investors have enjoyed a total return of 24% over the past year.
The company’s American depositary receipts (ADRs) — which represent the underlying securities of a non-U.S. company that trades on a U.S. exchange — were available for less than US$50 between September and January, but they are up 11.1% this year and now trade for around US$53.75. The ADRs spiked above US$55 earlier this month; should they dip below US$50 again, they would likely represent a huge bargain.
Mostly state-owned, China Mobile is viewed as a slow-moving giant with a limited network and fewer handset choices than its smaller rivals. As a result, its ADRs trade at just 11 times earnings, well below those of China Telecom Corp. Ltd. (18 times) and China Unicom (27.3 times).
In a March 24 article in Barron’s, columnist Kopin Tan said China Mobile’s ADRs trade at a vast discount to its rivals because its limited network, used only in China, does not work with many popular phones. Companies such as Qualcomm, however, are making chipsets that can run on a variety of phones and networks, which should help China Mobile in the future.
“Introducing new technology can be tricky. But it helps that China Mobile shares already reflect the grim outlook and well-aired challenges,” Mr. Tan wrote. “Strip out the US$46-billion of cash it holds, not to mention non-core assets like its 20% stake in the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, and the wireless business looks like even more of a bargain.”
The catalyst most likely to propel China Mobile’s shares higher is Apple’s upcoming iPhone 5. Given that Apple CEO Tim Cook was in China this week to meet executives of Chinese telecom companies — and given that China Mobile is by far the biggest player in China — it makes sense that a deal between the two giant companies will soon be announced. When that happens, CHL will jump.
Although China Mobile’s profit margin slipped to 23.8% in 2011 from 24.7% in 2010, the company’s operating revenue rose 8.8% and its net profit rose 5.2% to ¥125.979-billion ($19.99-billion). Basic earnings per share rose to ¥6.27 (99.5¢) from ¥5.96 (94.5¢). The company paid out HK$3.327 (42.8¢) in dividends in 2011, up from HK$3.014 (38.8¢) in 2010.
China Mobile’s credit is rated Aa3 with a positive outlook by Moody’s and AA-/Outlook Stable by Standard & Poor’s, about the same as China’s sovereign credit rating.
On March 16, China Mobile chairman Wang Jianzhou said the company would set aside ¥20-billion ($3.17-billion), up from ¥17-billion ($2.69-billion) last year to offer free handsets to customers who sign up for some of its 3G services.


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Mallika Srinivasan, Chairman – Tractors and Farm Equipment (TAFE), has been appointed to the Global Board of the US Chamber of Commerce’s US-India Business Council (USIBC). This appointment takes immediate effect as she joins a prestigious list of CEOs and executives on USIBC’s 35-member board.
On her induction to the board of USIBC, Mallika Srinivasan said, “USIBC has been the premier voice of the industry, forging strong connections between businesses and governments in India and USA. Fostering strong and inclusive growth in trade and investment relations between both the countries, USIBC has been a key catalyst of positive bilateral engagement and transformative reforms.”
“With TAFE’s demonstrated belief in the benefits of a stronger economic cooperation between American and Indian corporates and our focus on farm mechanisation and agricultural development, I look forward to the opportunity of engaging effectively in USIBC’s initiatives towards a continuously strengthening eco-system that promotes stronger economic partnership between India and the US.”
Mallika Srinivasan, is additionally on the boards of the AGCO Corporation – USA, TATA Steel and TATA Global Beverages. She is a member of the Executive Board of the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, the Governing Boards of the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, and Bharathidasan Institute of Management, Trichy.
Shekar Ayyar from VMware, Rajan Navani from Jetline Group of Companies and David Taghioff from Library Pictures International have also been appointed to the Global board of USIBC along with Mallika Srinivasan.
Formed in 1975 at the request of the US and Indian governments, the US-India Business Council (USIBC) represents top global companies operating across the United States and India. USIBC serves as the premier voice of industry, creating connections between businesses and governments in both countries. The Council works with members to identify, advance and advocate key policy priorities. Through its work, USIBC supports strong and inclusive growth in trade and investment relations between India and the United States.
TAFE is the world’s third largest tractor manufacturer and second largest in India by volumes with an annual sale of over 150,000 tractors, TAFE is one of the leading exporters of tractors from India with a turnover in excess of Rs 93,000 crore. TAFE manufactures a range of tractors in both the air-cooled and water-cooled platforms and markets them under its four brands – Massey Ferguson, TAFE, Eicher, and the recently acquired Serbian tractor and agricultural equipment brand – IndustrijaMašinaiTraktora (IMT). Acclaimed for its quality and dependability, TAFE’s products and services are present in over 100 countries across the world, including developed countries in Europe and the Americas.


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Rackspace has been bought for $4.3bn (£3.2bn) by investment firm Apollo in a deal which ends months of speculation about the firm's future.
The cloud firm announced this afternoon that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Apollo Global Management, an alternative investment manager. The firm will be snapped up for $32 per share in cash for a total value of $4.3bn. Upon completion, Rackspace will become a private firm.
In March, CRN cited numerous sources claiming Rackspace was preparing for a sale, with AWS and HP mooted as possible buyers. The deal is expected to close in Q4, subject to gaining certain regulatory approvals.
Rackspace's chairman Graham Weston said the deal is the result of "diligent analysis and thoughtful strategic deliberations" over many months.
"This transaction, upon closing, will deliver immediate, significant and certain cash value to our stockholders," he said. "We are also excited that this transaction will provide Rackspace with more flexibility to manage the business for long-term growth and enhance our product offerings. We are confident that as a private company, Rackspace will be best positioned to capitalise on our early leadership of the fast-growing managed cloud services industry."
Cloud market watcher and Cloud Industry Forum board member Ian Moyse said the acquisiton is "no surprise".
"With the lacklustre performance of the big cloud stock in the past 36 months, a big change was needed," he said. "To replace traditioonal business with in effect a resale model of others clouds will be harder work and smaller margins - selling a lot more to achieve the same. There is still good business in the straight datacentre world, but this will continue to be price and function pressured by the giants with far bigger pockets."
In an interview with CRN, Wendy Mars says Cisco and its partners are no longer having to arm-twist customers on the need for digital transformation
Vendor's announcements include AI-powered Microsoft Office, a move away from password verification and an alliance with Adobe and SAP
Vendor claims hackers are hijacking machines to mine for cryptocurrency
Nearly half of SMBs are planning to invest in digital workflows to reduce their paper-based processes by 2025, according to Quocirca


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An app called I SEA made a splash last week when it purported to give anyone, anywhere the power to save Mediterranean migrants. With just a smartphone, a few spare minutes, and a sharp eye, users of I SEA could help spot migrant-laden vessels in distress and alert authorities. Numerous publications including Reuters, Wired, Fast Company, and Newsweek published positive coverage.
Tracking your every step, breath, and hour of sleep you get is a rising trend in the health tech world, and Apple seems to finally be stepping up its game to compete with other fitness trackers like Fitbit and Garmin. Today, at the company's annual World Developer's Conference (WWDC 2016) in San Francisco, Apple announced its newest additions to its Watch: the Activity app, Wheelchair, and Breathe.
The VSCO Cam app for iOS and Android has long been a way to give your photos a film-like look. The photo editor not only allows for eye-catching photography, but peak Instagram likes after posting to social. Now the company is more heavily touting its own social features in the app's latest update.


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DISEASE PREVENTION: The app is available for iOS devices, while Android users would be able to download it before tomorrow to monitor vehicle and foot traffic
Date: Apr 28, 2020
By: Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
Large crowds at some popular tourist attractions during the Tomb Sweeping Day long weekend raised concerns about the risk of COVID-19 transmissions, and sparked debate over whether the Workers’ Day holiday should be canceled.
Lin said that his ministry would comply with instructions from the Central Epidemic Command Center by launching the upgraded edition of Freeway 1968 today.
The tourist attractions covered include scenic spots, night markets, parks and shopping districts, he said, adding that traffic and crowd alerts for these areas would be available. [FULL STORY]


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Bandai Namco’s dogfighter, Ace Combat 7, is expanding its horizons with PC (Steam) and Xbox One editions.
Fly the Unknown Skies
Officially titled Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, the latest title in the long running arcade/flight sim series is almost here. And it looks like it’ll be coming to a lot more than just the already known PS4.
“We’re excited to announce our plans to bring the battle for air superiority in ACE COMBAT 7: Skies Unknown to Xbox One and STEAM,” said Eric Hartness, Vice President of Marketing at BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. “With over 20 years of franchise history; ACE COMBAT 7: Skies Unknown continues to deliver authentic yet accessible flight combat action to gamers around the world. This latest version of the game delivers amazing visuals and intense gameplay, all wrapped in a unique and compelling storyline. We look forward to seeing players suit up, strap in, and take their place as ace pilots.”
So there you have it. Would-be pilots will be able to get some time in with Ace Combat pretty much wherever they prefer to play. Well, except for the Switch. But you had to see that one coming.
The game is sounding and looking pretty nice too. It’ll have a full story mode, and plenty of graphical flourishes to get you checking out the terrain instead of focusing on the enemy. You can expect to see an “arsenal of ultra-modern and near-future super weapons” as well and -yes- online multiplayer.
Oh, and while the game will be available on the PC and Xbox One, there’s one potential big element that those gamers will be missing out on. I mean, of course, VR. What could be a huge draw for the game, Ace Combat 7 will support the PSVR headset, offering “exclusive features” just for Sony’s newest add-on.
As for a release date for the game, that’s still up in the air. But you can expect top see Ace Combat 7 on store shelves some time this year.


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BTS fans, rejoice! The K-Pop group is getting a line of Mattel dolls made in their honor so their beloved Army can have a piece of them right at home. The first look of the dolls is finally here.
Once again, BTS fans are on the verge of breaking the internet. After toy company Mattel revealed a glimpse of their forthcoming dolls featuring the K-Pop band, the dedicated BTS Army lost it over the sneak peak preview. The company unveiled the photos via Twitter on March 21, sending fans into a frenzy. “It’s in his DNA…” they teased, with one photo of one of the band members. While we couldn’t see his face, we could see that he was wearing a colorful chevron suit, JUST like the ones the band wore in their “IDOL” music video. In another photo, they upped the anti with a photo featuring the silhouettes of all seven superstars. “No more dreaming. Something big’s coming… #BTSDollsOfficial #BTSxMattel,” the company wrote. This is about to be i-c-o-n-i-c.


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As their digital products go from strength to strength, news brands are investing ever more in measuring and understanding their readership across platforms. This research is helping agencies invest with greater confidence across print and digital.
Leading the way is Newsworks, the marketing body for national newspapers in all their forms.
Newsworks’ Tablet Project, published in May 2014, quantified what we intuitively know, that newspapers have made a brilliant transition onto tablet, with products appealing to readers delivering real results for advertisers.
The Tablet Project arrived hot on the heels of NewsUK’s Influence research study.
When it comes to understanding the differences between print and digital readers, The teams behind both projects can count themselves fortunate; they live in the middle of a giant natural experiment. Some people pick up a paper a couple of times a week, others are seven-day subscribers. Some of us only ever read online, while others switch between print and digital editions across the course of a day. All these different types of readers can be found in large numbers in every street in the land.
So what did NewsUK find? That readers who use tablets are reading more frequently. That Print + Tablet readers are more ‘committed’ to their newspaper than print readers alone. Most crucially for marketers, that those people reading across both print and tablet editions have a markedly higher ad recall then those only reading print.
This is all great news and NewsUK should be applauded for giving agencies the ammunition they vitally need.
What’s interesting is how long that digital value will last?
News brands may already be shooting themselves in the foot. The Times has been encouraging readers to subscribe by offering a Nexus 7 for just £50. In response, The Daily Mail is offering a ‘free’ Kindle Fire HD as part of an annual subscription.
The Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD are both brilliant devices (if you haven’t already I’d encourage any Apple purists out there to give them a go). But if we devalue the hardware, are we also in danger of devaluing the content they carry? Tablets aren’t quite ubiquitous but they’re getting there, and we all know someone with at least a couple in their home.
In fact, a Mintel report from November 2013 spoke of the dangers of offering cut-price tablet devices: “There is a subtle difference between a market with devices available at many price points and a changing of that market into a commodity with little inherent value”.
I only hope that when NewsUK repeats its research in a few years’ time, it doesn’t live to regret giving away tablets in a race for subscriptions.
Dave Grainger is head of strategy at Initiative UK.


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Get involved: send your pictures, video, news and views by texting TANEWS to 80360, or email
New business park for Skipton could create 800 jobs
9:30am Saturday 9th March 2013 in News
A new business park including a Sainsbury’s supermarket and petrol station is being planned for the last remaining large site in Skipton.
Plans for the 58-acre site between Waltonwrays Cemetery and Sandylands Sports Centre could also include a hotel, pub and restaurant, it has been revealed.
Developers Henry Boot say the site, to be known as Wyvern Park, will include 280,000wsq ft of new industrial/commercial space, with the potential of creating up to 800 jobs.
It will be serviced via a new link road from Carleton Road to the A629 Western bypass – so removing the need for HGVs to pass through the town centre.
Ben Ward, of Henry Boot Developments, said the business park would allow businesses to relocate locally and grow, as well as attracting new businesses to the area.
Leader of Craven District Council, Coun Chris Knowles-Fitton, said he was sure the proposals would have their objectors, but he felt it was good news for Skipton.


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Even because the retail inflation is hovering at an eight-year excessive stage, its trajectory going ahead is topic to appreciable uncertainty and would primarily depend upon the evolving geopolitical scenario, in response to the Reserve Bank of India’s Annual Report 2021-22. It mentioned sharp actions in world commodity costs are having a big bearing on meals inflation dynamics in India,
“Though record foodgrains production and forecast of a normal south-west monsoon augurs well for food inflation, heightened uncertainty around global food prices arising from geopolitical risks might offset these positive domestic impulses, especially via elevated prices of wheat, edible oil, feed costs and key agriculture inputs like fertilizers,” in response to the report, launched on Friday.
It added that provide shocks impacted meals inflation intermittently, exacerbated by imported value pressures, particularly from world edible oil costs. Crude oil costs pushed up core inflation later within the yr. “This expertise additionally highlighted the vital position of supply-side measures by the federal government in relieving value pressures within the case of edible oils and pulses, and in softening the pass-through of the sharp improve in world crude oil costs to home pump costs of petrol and diesel by well timed reductions in excise duties and state-level value-added taxes (VATs).”
It mentioned whilst the discharge of pent-up spending supported combination demand, persisting provide disruptions fueled inflation which elevated markedly within the US, the Euro space and numerous rising market economies (EMEs). Commodity costs elevated sharply in 2021 from their lows a yr in the past because the nascent restoration in demand collided with provide bottlenecks.
“Volatility in the prices of international crude oil and key raw materials and intermediates, together with global supply chain disruptions, may push up input cost pressures. In particular, a scenario in which crude prices persist above US$ 100/barrel poses a major upside risk in terms of re-igniting second-round effects across manufacturing and services prices,” the RBI report mentioned.
It added the resurgence in world commodity costs (costs of vitality elevated by 102.1 per cent; metals and minerals by 28.2 per cent; valuable metals by 10.3 per cent; and agricultural commodities by 28.0 per cent year-on-year in March 2022) renewed provide chain pressures and heightened monetary market volatility within the March 2022 quarter, shifted the trajectory of inflation sharply to the upside.
“Overall, headline inflation averaged 5.5 per cent in 2021-22 as against 6.2 per cent a year ago. Headline inflation breached the upper tolerance band in Q4:2021-22 and rendered the conduct of monetary policy challenging,” the RBI mentioned.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation, which the RBI takes as a reference level whereas deciding on the financial coverage, in April 2022 soared to an eight-year excessive of seven.79 per cent, forcing the RBI to hike rates of interest in an off-cycle financial coverage earlier this month.
It had stood at 4.23 per cent in April 2021 and 6.97 per cent in March 2022. Food inflation additionally rose to eight.38 per cent in April, from 1.96 per cent within the year-ago month and seven.68 per cent within the previous month.
Inflation in cereals and merchandise in April jumped to a 21-month-high stage; greens at a 17-month excessive; and spices at a 17-month excessive. Consumer meals value inflation rose to eight.38 per cent, which is a 17-month excessive.
Inflation Vs Growth, Globally
The report mentioned the persistence of excessive inflation is forcing countervailing financial coverage motion at a time when supporting the financial restoration ought to have been assigned precedence. During 2022 up to now (as much as May 24, 2022), greater than 40 central banks throughout AEs and EMEs have raised coverage rates of interest and/or scaled again liquidity. Policy trade-offs have gotten more and more advanced going ahead and tail dangers, together with stagfl ation, loom massive in a number of nations.
“The future path of growth will be conditioned by addressing supply-side bottlenecks, calibrating monetary policy to bring inflation within the target while supporting growth and targeted fiscal policy support to aggregate demand, especially by boosting capital spending,” the report mentioned.
It additionally mentioned capability utilization in a number of industries is transferring nearer to regular ranges, though rising enter prices and persisting provide bottlenecks, as as an illustration in semiconductors for the car sector, could impede or delay a fuller restoration.


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At Oshkosh 2019, Flight Design presented the proof of concept of the new F2e designed in cooperation with Siemens. During flight test, the F2e overfulfilled our expectations. Delivery slot reservations are being taken. The F2e will be delivered as a Part 23 airplane from 2021 on.
The F2 with Rotax 912iS engine is in the final steps of testing and series production has already started. Order are being taken and first deliveries as SLSA will be from late autumn 2019 on. The Part 23 version is expected to be delivered from next year’s AERO Friedrichshafen & Sun’n Fun 2020 on.
Flight Design is very happy with the attention for both airplanes have received.
Your Flight Design Team


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Procter & Gamble’s products include Crest toothpaste.
Tiffany Hagler-Geard | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Investors should reduce oversized positions Procter & Gamble ahead of difficult spring and summer quarters, Citi said in a note to clients.
The bank downgraded the consumer staples giant to neutral after getting a strong earnings report and also lowered its price target for the share.
Procter & Gamble declared the results for the third quarter of the fiscal year Tuesday morning, posting earnings of $ 1.26 per share and $ 18.11 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings per share of $ 1.19 and revenue of $ 17.96 billion.


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The “Western Tough” team of western brands has partnered with us – Tough Enough to Wear Pink – to designate April as the month to celebrate “tough survivors” of breast cancer for the third year in a row. These retailers are featuring pink products in western retailers to bring awareness to their fight. While October Read More
We are proud to have the support of so many incredible organizations in the Western community and beyond. Watch our latest video to learn more about how our sponsors support the work of Tough Enough To Wear Pink.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month—time to remember those we have lost, celebrate survivors and vow to carry on the fight. If you or someone you love hasn’t had a breast health check-up or mammogram, this is a great time to take that important step for prevention and early detection. This year, we’ll be celebrating Read More
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It is the month we all take time to remember those who have been lost to breast cancer and those who have struggled through treatment to beat the disease. A sea of pink on television, in magazines, in sporting events is a reminder to all of us to schedule Read More


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MetalMiner’s monthly aluminum price index, the Aluminum MMI®, fell to 87 in March, a decrease of 2.2% from 89 in February. Aluminum price drops nearly across the board accounted for the latest hit – namely the LME aluminum 3-month price, which fell to its lowest point since April 2014.
However, even this aluminum fall is minimal compared to the losses of our other metals.
LME Aluminum Warehouse Rules, Premiums
The London Metal Exchange (LME) keeps moving forward with reform of its warehouse rules. As my colleague Stuart recently explained in a post, a definition of what load-out means has been accepted. Now metal cannot be merry-go-rounded within the same facility and by the same owner.
On aluminum delivery premiums, Stuart asks, “could we be seeing the end of the elevated physical delivery premium?” He goes on to answer his question:
Not in the short term; the Western world is too tight for the premium to revert to pre-crisis levels, but we could be seeing the beginning of the end. Given increased supply from China and outflows from the currently moribund stock and finance trade, supply to Western consumers could increase over time – ironically just as products become more widely available to manage the risk.
The long-awaited aluminum premium contract will be launched on October 26. We will have to wait to see how this impacts delivery premiums.
On the production side, non-Chinese aluminum production was unchanged in January, according to the latest figures from the International Aluminum Institute (IAI). Producers are still holding aluminum capacity in terms of keeping smelters offline in the face of low prices and historical stock overhang.
The IAI was also in the news early last month because it stopped production of its monthly producer inventory figures, saying its own members are either not submitting the data at all or struggling to do so on a timely basis.
Let’s Dance: IAI Data and LME Aluminum 3-Month Price
How that affects the aluminum price is an entirely different issue. The 3-month aluminum price on the LME fell last month, but aluminum is still above the lows of 2014 and definitely performing better than most base metals. It’s just one move out of many that have made aluminum the murkiest and most difficult to read of the metal markets we track with the Monthly MMI series. The IAI certainly can’t be faulted for not passing along what we all have known for some time is incomplete data. It should fall on producers to be more forthcoming and provide greater transparency.
We believe that the direction aluminum takes from now will strongly depend on crude oil. Has oil found a floor? It’s hard to tell yet, but if hasn’t, another move to the downside will likely have a depressing effect on the rest of commodities and aluminum would likely suffer as well.
For more strategic price thresholds to follow and the right actions to be taken on aluminum, please take a look at our forecasting reports.
Exact Month-to-Month Aluminum Price Changes
Korean 1050 aluminum sheet prices fell 11.7% to $3.44 per kilogram after rising the previous month. After rising the previous month, Korean 3003 coil premium over 1050 sheet prices dropped 6.4% to $3.50 per kilogram. Korean 5052 coil premium over 1050 sheet prices fell 6.2% to $3.64 per kilogram after rising the previous month.
Last month, Chinese aluminum billet prices dropped by 2.6% to $2,055 per metric ton. The primary aluminum cash price ended the month on the LME at $1,794 per metric ton, down from $1,794. With a 2.2% decline on the LME, the aluminum 3-month price closed the month at $1,806 per metric ton. At $1.85 per kilogram, the cash price of primary Indian aluminum was down 1.3%. European 5083 plate prices decreased by 1.1% this month, ending at $3,198 per metric ton. The value of European 1050 aluminum weakened by 0.4% this month, settling at $2,908 per metric ton.
After dropping the previous month, the price of Chinese aluminum bar prices rose 7.3% to $2,179 per metric ton. The price of Chinese aluminum scrap rose 2.5% to $1,997 per metric ton after falling the previous month. After dropping the previous month, the Chinese aluminum cash price prices rose 1.2% to $2,053 per metric ton.


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The December statistics are in from the Maui Realtors Association. All of you savvy investors can now see how the year finished out for the Maui real estate market. This information can be invaluable in helping you make future buying and selling decisions, and the findings in the report were interesting.
What stands out the most is year-to-date trends, which provide a much more reliable picture than what we see in month to month fluctuations. Maui home sales jumped by 15 percent in 2015, compared to the year before. While it’s true that our market is prone to statistical swings because of its small size, 15 percent is still significant, especially because it’s based on a full year of data. The report revealed that sales tallied up to 1,089 compared to 944. Single-family home prices increased by 2 percent from $570,000 in 2014 to $580,000 in 2015.
As for condos, both sales and prices remained about the same between 2014 and 2015. There were 1,203 condos sold in 2014 and 1,199 sold in 2015. Median prices were down 1 percent from $415,000 in 2014 to $410,000 in 2015.
If you’re curious about December’s performance, specifically, single family home sales reached 92, which was up an impressive 46 percent from the 63 homes sold in December of 2014. Median prices settled at $545,788, which was down 3 percent from $565,000 in December of 2014. Condo sales fell 19 percent with 101 sales, compared with 125 sales. However, condo prices rose by 7.9 percent from $380,000 in December of 2014 to $410,000 in December of 2015.
In light of this information, if you’d like to move forward with your Maui real estate plans this year and you would like expert assistance, you’ll find our contact information at the bottom of the page. We hope this year brings you fulfillment and success. Mahalo!


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The 22 nd China Hi-Tech Fair Concludes with Success, Providing Impetus for China’s Post-pandemic Economy
The 5-day hi-tech feast, the 22ndChina Hi-Tech Fair (CHTF2020) closed in Shenzhen on November 15, 2020. As a top-level event held during China’s regular epidemic prevention and control, CHTF2020 will demonstrate its positive impact on the economic recovery and international hi-tech cooperation in the post-pandemic era.
A set of figures show what CHTF2020 has achieved. A total of 3,349 exhibitors from around the world participated in this year's event, with a total of 9,018 hi-tech projects showcased, covering AI, smart home, smart manufacturing, Internet of Things, smart driving, Internet of Vehicles, 5G commercial, 8K ultra HD, blockchain technology, next-generation IT, big data, cloud computing, emergency security, etc. 24 offline and 29 online national or international organizations, as well as 109 delegations participated in this event. 144 organizations were selected by the CHTF expert jury as Outstanding Organizers, 135 as Outstanding Exhibitors, and 685 projects as Outstanding Products.
Meanwhile, various supporting activities made the fair ever more inspiring, with a total of 176 high-level forums, technical forums and industry salons held alongside the fair. In the five days, the total visits to the fair reached 451,000, with the visitor index hitting 171, which means that each booth received 171 professional visitors on average per day.
In addition, due to the ongoing global pandemic, CHTF2020 prepared a virtual exhibition for those who could not come in person. The virtual exhibition provided a 360-degree panoramic display of the physical exhibition and attracted approximately 3,000 on-site exhibitors to join in and 173 international companies to exhibit remotely. The online exhibition recorded more than 2 million views.
760 investment institutions, nearly 400 domestic and overseas research institutes, universities and innovation centers participated in this year’s event, expanding and enhancing the ecosystem that CHTF has been building. A total of 356 project matching meetings were held to promote investment and financing, technology transfer, startups, makers, etc.
The success of CHTF2020 is inseparable from the active participation and support of exhibitors, media and visitors. CHTF will continue to work hard to provide impetus for the development of high-tech industries and post-pandemic economy.
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After winning a JEC Innovation Award in 2016 for its Lincoln MKS Decklid Concept – a TCA Ultra Lite® outer panel and a carbon fiber RTM prototype inner – Continental Structural Plastics (CSP) has fine-tuned its carbon fiber RTM (CF-RTM) process to the point that a premium automaker will be using the technology for closures on future vehicle platforms. These doors will feature both inner and outer panels as well as structural reinforcements molded using CSP’s advanced CF-RTM process. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201202005708/en/ The new carbon fiber RTM press installed at the CSP facility in Palmela, Portugal, will soon be running the company's first commercial applications of this technology. (Photo: Business Wire) When CSP set up its Center of Excellence for Lightweight Technologies and Carbon Fiber Processes in Pouancé, France, in 2013, the goal was to develop processes to make the use of carbon fiber in
Pricefx Reimagines Pricing Software with Groundbreaking Product Enhancements2.12.2020 15:30:00 CET | Press release
Pricefx, the global leader in cloud-native pricing software, today announced the new face of its pricing platform. Unity UI is a sleek, dynamic new look for all of Pricefx’s industry-leading pricing modules. The company has also launched PriceOptimizer AI, a next-generation price optimization solution powered by transparent and predictive machine learning and multi-agent AI. Finally, Pricefx introduced new Accelerators, pre-defined solution building blocks that quickly and easily incorporate best practice functionality. With these new enhancements, Pricefx is now more streamlined, powerful and agile than ever before. Now, businesses using Pricefx can get more done and price more effectively with fewer clicks. “2020 revealed the critical importance of pricing in a digital-first world and Pricefx invested heavily in developing and refining our pricing platform to ensure that businesses around the world can successfully use our software to build a path to growth,” said Marcin Cichon, CEO
Soar the Skies with Demon Avenger in New MapleStory M Update2.12.2020 15:00:00 CET | Press release
Starting today, Maplers can take to the sky with the new warrior class, Demon Avenger, in Nexon’s free-to-play mobile MMORPG, MapleStory M! This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201202005043/en/ MapleStory M (Graphic: Business Wire) Soaring through the battlefield with Demon Wings, the Demon Avenger joins the fray with an Exceed System that deals excessive damage. Using HP to cast skills, the Demon Avenger can easily recover using various healing abilities, including Blood Pact, in the midst of battle. A selection of limited-time events are also available, including: Demon Avenger Celebratory Log-in Reward Event: Players logging in from today through December 7, 2020 will receive a special gift to help their character level up once per account. Demon Avenger Growth Support Event: Until January 11, 2021, players who reach a certain level will receive additional in-game items useful for a specific character’s level-up
Uber, Rivian, JetBlue, Cabify, and Boom Supersonic Sign The Climate Pledge2.12.2020 15:00:00 CET | Press release
Today, during Web Summit 2020, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Global Optimism announced that Boom Supersonic, Cabify, JetBlue, Rivian, and Uberhave joined The Climate Pledge, a commitment to be net-zero carbon by 2040—a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement’s goal of 2050. Signatories to The Climate Pledge agree to: Measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis; Implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through real business changes and innovations, including efficiency improvements, renewable energy, materials reductions, and other carbon-emission elimination strategies; Neutralize any remaining emissions with additional, quantifiable, real, permanent, and socially beneficial offsets to achieve net-zero annual carbon emissions by 2040. “By signing The Climate Pledge, companies around the world are making a bold commitment to help protect our planet from the devastating impacts of climate change,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO. “The trans
DXC Technology and Microsoft Collaborate to Power a More Personalized, Intelligent, Secure and Modern Workplace Experience for Global Enterprises2.12.2020 14:30:00 CET | Press release
DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC) today announced an expanded strategic collaboration with Microsoft to deliver a more personalized, intelligent, secure and modern workplace experience to help companies to address rapidly evolving business challenges and customer and employee needs. DXC and Microsoft are joining forces to deliver a solution and suite of services that will help companies to empower their employees with a modern workplace experience and to ensure customers’ employees can seamlessly and securely work anytime, anywhere and on any device. Called DXC MyWorkStyle™, DXC brings the largest install base of workplace customers and the blueprint for the modern workplace experience. As part of the collaboration, Microsoft and DXC will work together to co-develop and deliver the solution, leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning from millions of data points to create a modern workplace experience. DXC and Microsoft will bring together leading technology, engineering talent a


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KPMG Digital Village calls for submission of innovative startups from across the global for their annual Global FinTech Hackcelerator that can address problem statements contributed by the global FinTech community and the financial services industry, and has drawn up to over 100 problem statements across this year’s three focus areas: Customer-Facing, Financial Inclusion, and RegTech – and a General category.
20 startups will be shortlisted for the Hackcelerator will have the opportunity to work with real client owners to contextualize their prototypes ready for adoption to client and industry needs, enter or expand into Singapore and the Asia-Pacific regional markets, and receive guidance and support from industry experts, subject-matter experts and regulatory bodies.
Timeline for the program
Interest applicants have been requested to submit their application before July 15th, 2017 and the 20 shortlisted applicants shall be contacted for further information., demos and pre-selection pitching sessions, after which up to 20 teams will be selected.
Starting August 28th, 2017, successful startups will spend 12 weeks contextualizing and enhancing their prototypes, with mentoring and guidance from industry champions and real business sponsors. And on the demo end which will be on November 16th, 2017, startups will demo their solution on the main stage of the FinTech Conference at the Singapore FinTech Festival.
The team will receive a cash stipend of up to USD$20,000 each (Roughly 71.8 million UGX), however only the top 3 selected startups will receive an additional cash prize of USD$50,000 each (Roughly 179.5 million UGX). Notably, the top 3 team will have received USD$70,000 (Roughly 251.3 million UGX).
For the post-hackcelerator, teams will work with industry champions to plan for actual adoption and integration of their solutions into a real client context.
To apply for the program, Follow this Link Here.


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Iconic Melbourne venue, Cherry Bar, will reopen its doors on Wednesday 24 June.
Cherry Bar—which moved from its legendary ACDC Lane address to the former Boney location on Little Collins Street last year—was forced to close early in the year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Now, after being shuttered for three months, the bar will reopen with a non-traditional 'dinner and a show'. The show will be headlined by legendary Melbourne guitarist Phil Para, but if you can't manage to head along and to see him live, you can buy a ticket to check out the live stream on the Cherry Bar website.
Buying a ticket to the show tonight (limited to 20 people) starts at $89 per person and gets you reserved table seating, food from Tazio, three drinks each (including cocktails), and a Cherry Bar tea towel. Buy a table for tonight's show here.
Cherry Bar owner James Young is also running a Pozible campaign to help get the bar back in black. The campaign has almost hit its $75,000 target, you can donate here and help keep Cherry Bar around for years to come.
With restrictions not being eased just yet in Melbourne, venues have had to pivot once again. Cookes Food is selling produce they bought for an upcoming dinner series in their 'Friday Fire Sale', buy some amazing produce here.
Image credit: Jake Roden


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Fate of HP chairwoman may be in the hands of the board
SAN FRANCISCO -- Hewlett-Packard Co.'s board of directors adjourned an emergency phone conference Sunday without announcing a decision on the fate of embattled Chairwoman Patricia Dunn, who might be ousted for ordering an internal investigation that may have used illegal means to spy on colleagues and journalists.
The board was scheduled to meet again this afternoon, according to HP, a major maker of computers and printers.
Dunn, a former freelance journalist who has become one of the most powerful women in corporate America, ordered the outside investigation of fellow board members to determine who anonymously leaked confidential company information to journalists, especially as it related to the job status of former Chief Executive Carly Fiorina.
The investigators used social security numbers and other personal information to impersonate HP directors and journalists. The impostors tricked phone companies into turning over detailed logs of their phone calls.
Board member George Keyworth II was identified as the source of the leak, and HP responded by barring him from seeking re-election.
Another HP director, longtime Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tom Perkins, resigned from the board in May in protest of the investigators' tactics.
Perkins' departure triggered a chain of events that finally forced HP to publicly disclose its role in the "pretexting." Perkins this weekend called on Dunn to resign.
Dunn said last week that she would resign if asked. She said several fellow board members had urged her to remain despite the criminal investigation. Dunn apologized for the invasion but insisted that the problem began with Keyworth's leaks and Perkins' angry resignation. She said she has distanced herself from the attorneys and investigators who conducted the investigation.


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It doesn't take four years of business school before realizing that a shopkeeper must sell sufficient inventory to keep afloat. With this in mind, we must sadly declare that Nokia will close its UK online storefront at the end of the month -- a harsh revelation for pre-order loving Brits
. The news was announced today in a brief message to affiliates, and later confirmed with a representative stating to TechRadar
, "We are planning to close the current UK online store to simplify our channel structure and focus our resources on our key trade customers." Keeping a stiff upper lip, this untimely ending follows Nokia's reduced sales projections
and similar closures in France, Spain and Netherlands
, and leaves its remaining e-stores to hope for a better fate.


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Nintendo has announced that it will be livestreaming its Indie World video showcase on August 19 which will feature "roughly 20 minutes of information on indie games coming to #NintendoSwitch!"
Revealed on Twitter, Nintendo's Indie World presentation will take place this Monday at 6am PT/9am ET/2pm BST and, as per usual, no further details were given on what to expect.
Back in March, Nintendo held its Nindies Showcase during GDC 2019 and revealed such games as Cuphead and Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the Necrodancer feat. The Legend of Zelda.
The name Indie World has been used for Nintendo Japan's indie showcases, and this may indicate a shift to a more global branding for these types of presentations.
The indie games that will be discussed during Indie World will be some of the many things Nintendo fans have to look forward to this year and beyond, including the Nintendo Switch Lite, Pokemon Sword and Shield, Astral Chain, Luigi's Mansion 3, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and so much more.
Next week's Indie World will be livestreamed, as opposed to the pre-recorded Nintendo Direct-style presentations, and will air just a few hours before Gamescom's opening night press conference that will be hosted by Geoff Keighley.
For more on all the news out of Gamescom and where you can see all of gameplay demos, interviews, and more, check out our IGN at Gamescom 2019 page to get ready for one of the biggest gaming shows of the year.
Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to email@example.com.
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN who hopes CrossCode and Creature in the Well both release on Monday. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst.


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Listen to this article
In the past few months, five LiDAR companies – Aeva, Innoviz, Luminar, Ouster, Velodyne – have already gone or will soon go public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). There are pros and cons of going public via SPAC, as we detail here, and a key figure in the autonomous vehicle industry doesn’t think the trend will end well for LiDAR makers.
Kyle Vogt, co-founder, president & CTO at Cruise, posted a thread on Twitter earlier this week about the “interesting thing happening in the LIDAR industry right now.” Vogt said the LiDAR industry will eventually consolidate, similar to what the robotaxi industry has gone through the last two years.
The LiDAR companies are being valued based on projected revenues. The issue, according to Vogt, is the projected revenue comes from “entirely overlapping potential customers, with very little discount applied to future projections.” Here’s how Vogt sees these companies overlapping:
- They all target ADAS or robotaxi market as the top [or] one of the top revenue sources
- Each company offers value-added software for perception
- Each company is counting on today’s nascent industry adoption of LIDAR to balloon
Vogt posted images of public pitches from each of the five LiDAR companies to highlight his points. Here is Vogt’s Twitter thread if you want to read the entire thing.
Most companies working on autonomous vehicles consider LiDAR (light detection and ranging) as a key piece of the technology stack, including Cruise. In 2017 it acquired a LiDAR company called Strobe. Vogt wrote that “Strobe’s new chip-scale LIDAR technology will significantly enhance the capabilities of our self-driving cars. But perhaps more importantly, by collapsing the entire sensor down to a single chip, we’ll reduce the cost of each LIDAR on our self-driving cars by 99%.”
LiDAR uses laser pulses to build a 3D model of the environment around the car, helping it see other objects in the environment, including cars, cyclists and pedestrians. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is the most high-profile LiDAR detractor. Its vehicles, which can be equipped with Autopilot or Full Self-Driving beta software, don’t have LiDAR. They instead rely on radar, GPS, maps and other cameras and sensors. “LiDAR is a fool’s errand,” Musk said in 2020. “Anyone relying on LiDAR is doomed. Doomed! [They are] expensive sensors that are unnecessary. It’s like having a whole bunch of expensive appendices. Like, one appendix is bad, well now you have a whole bunch of them, it’s ridiculous, you’ll see.”
1/ Interesting thing happening in the LIDAR industry right now. 5+ companies will soon or have SPAC’d. Their value is based on *projected* revenue that comes from *entirely overlapping* potential customers, with very little discount applied to future projections. Is this bad?
— Kyle Vogt (@kvogt) January 6, 2021
Perhaps applications other than autonomous vehicles will soon emerge as the go-to market for LiDAR technology, especially as unit prices continue to drop. But Vogt doesn’t think going public via SPAC will help long term.
“What does this mean? First, I have great respect for all of these companies. They’re each innovating in different ways, and competition is great for the industry. Robotaxis will have an enormous positive impact on society, so it’s critical to see progress here.
“But we saw a consolidation/collapse of the robotaxi space over the last 24 months (down to a handful of players), and LIDAR is next. This probably means lower market caps for most of these [companies], which sucks for everyone involved, but may the best product win!”
Despite COVID-19 throwing many autonomous vehicle companies for a loop in 2020, Cruise managed to have a productive year. In January 2020, Cruise introduced its Origin ride-sharing vehicle, a result of a collaboration among Cruise, GM, and Honda. In mid-2020, Cruise acquired German radar manufacturer Astyx. In November, it announced a partnership with Walmart to test an autonomous delivery service that will start in early 2021 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
And in early December, Cruise began testing its autonomous vehicles without a human safety driver behind the wheel. A Cruise employee is still sitting in the passenger seat with access to an emergency stop button, but it has to start somewhere. More than five years of testing and driving more than 2 million miles on the streets of San Francisco led to the moment below.


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Chip shortage spurs new wave of car plant closures in Germany
Three automakers announced Thursday new temporary closures of manufacturing sites in Germany over a global shortage of semiconductors, with Opel closing a plant until 2022—the longest such stoppage so far.
Germany's vital car industry has been severely hit by supply problems this year, with Volkswagen, Ford, BMW and Daimler factories all facing start-stop production.
The sector found itself "in an exceptional situation due to the continuing pandemic and the worldwide shortage of semiconductors," said a spokesman for Opel, which is owned by Stellantis.
"In this demanding situation, Stellantis plans to adjust its production," the spokesman said.
The factory in Eisenach, in central Germany, will stop production from next week and "start again at the beginning of 2022, to the extent the supply chain situation allows."
Volkswagen also announced on Thursday a nearly two-week stoppage at its flagship plant in Wolfsburg from next week, having curbed production at the same site in August.
US giant Ford similarly said that it would put back the planned restart of its production site in Cologne on October 1 until the end of the month, citing "volatile" supplies of semiconductors, which are crucial components in both conventional and electric vehicles.
Like other countries, Germany is struggling with shortages of basic and intermediate goods, such as timber, steel and plastics. But it is the scarcity of electronic chips that is hitting the auto industry particularly hard.
Outside Germany, General Motors has closed assembly lines in the United States, as has Japanese giant Toyota, which delayed plans to restart at its plant in Valenciennes, in France, in September.
The production halt at the Opel factory in Eisenach is nevertheless noteworthy for its length, analysts said.
"It's very unusual for a producer to close a factory for almost three months," said Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the Center Automotive Research.
The announcement was "bad news for Eisenach" the car expert said, but would benefit the carmaker's other plant in Sochaux, France, where the same "Grandland X" model is built.
Employees at the factory in Eisenach will be put on Germany's subsidised short-time work scheme while the plant is shuttered, making the closure more "economical" for Stellantis, Dudenhoeffer said.
Labour unions were up in arms over the announcement, with powerful IG Metall union calling it "outrageous" that it had not been consulted before the closure was made public, said its spokesman in Eisenach, Uwe Laubach.
In all, an estimated 7.7 million vehicles will not be produced this year as a result of components lacking, research by the Alix Partners consultancy suggested, estimating the loss in revenue at 210 billion euros ($243.5 billion).
Ola Kaellenius, the CEO of Daimler, recently said that "structural" shortfall in production capacity faced by carmakers could continue to weigh on the sector in 2022.
© 2021 AFP


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CHICAGO — The Network of Executive Women has elected Catherine Linder, former vice president of retail marketing for Walgreen Co., as board chair.
Lindner, who had been vice chair, was elected at the group’s annual members meeting at the NEW Leadership Summit Monday in Dallas. She succeeds Michelle Gloeckler, senior vice president, home division, Wal-Mart.
Annie Zipfel, division vice president, customer marketing for Kent, Wash.-based REI, was elected board vice chair. Zipfel most recently was chair, marketing and communications, for NEW.
“Catherine Linder’s experience as a senior leader in one of the most successful retail companies and previous roles working with the industry’s largest consumer products companies will help take NEW to the next level,” said NEW President and Chief Executive Officer Joan Toth, in a statement. “Her passion and enthusiasm for developing women leaders and keen dedication to our mission to recruit, retain and advance women in the consumer products and retail industry is absolute.”
Lindner joined Walgreens in 1999 as category manager for the hair care category and served in roles of increasing responsibility. Before joining Walgreens, Lindner spent 11 years at Information Resources Inc. She also helped found NEW Chicago.
At REI, Zipfel is responsible for customer insights, marketing planning, acquisition and retention initiatives, across all channels. Prior to this, Zipfel was vice president, own brands, for Target Corp. She has spent her entire career in consumer products brand management and retail, including roles at General Mills.
|More from Supermarketnews


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Farming Minister Mark Spencer has told the NFU conference he wants more local abattoirs and spoke about seasonal visas, about which the NFU has been lobbying.
“We have made an initial 45,000 visas available for seasonal workers to travel to the UK for up to six months – that’s 15,000 more than last year – with the possibility of 10,000 more, if we can show that they’re needed, and if we are able to look after those people properly while they’re here, give them a minimum of 32 hours of work every week, and pay them at least the national living wage, of £10.42 an hour.”
“The role farmers play in putting food on our tables as well as looking after our countryside is crucial. Sustainable food production depends on a healthy environment. The two go hand in hand.”
Spencer said that there were no abattoirs in his area of Nottinghamshire and he felt the lack of them. He said: “If farming is to flourish then we need to get the fundamentals right – abattoirs are key to the food supply chain and there is clearly a need to support smaller providers in this area.”
When challenged about why British meat was experiencing friction being exported to the EU, but the same was not true of goods coming in from Europe, Spencer said that checks were being made and some fraudulent meat had been stopped at the border.
Spencer said the government was opening up environmental schemes so that they can be part of every farm’s business plans as well as making inspections less punitive.
The minister announced £168 million of small grants to boost innovation, back food production, improve animal health and welfare all while protecting the environment.
The NFU welcomed news of the funding, which will be delivered through the FIP (Farming Innovation Programme), FIF (Farming Investment Fund), and ELMs (Environmental Land Management schemes).
Prime Minister addresses NFU Conference
At the start of the political session Prime Minister Rishi Sunak addressed delegates in a recorded video address.
“Thank you for your work to look after almost three-quarters of our countryside, thank you for protecting our natural heritage and thank you for the fantastic food you produce and we all enjoy.”
He said: “I know how important your work is and I know that it is more than just work, it’s a way of life that is passed down through the generations.
“So as Prime Minister, I want to make sure that you know that I am standing up for you, and that I will work day in and day out to ensure that you can continue to play your vital role in our country and our economy for many years to come.”


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Infinity Ward executive producer Mark Rubin yesterday cleared a rumor about the comparative resolutions for Call of Duty: Ghosts on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
He did so on Twitter, by confirming the game is native 720p on Xbox One (upscaled to 1080p), while the PS4 version is native 1080p.
“Hey, been on the road last couple weeks so haven’t had a chance to update, but wanted to confirm that for Xbox One we’re 1080p upscaled from 720p. And, we’re native 1080p on PS4,” said Mark.
“We optimized each console to hit 60 FPS and the game looks great on both,” he added. “Still on the road, but glad to see the great reception to Extinction. Can’t wait for next week’s launch.”
Microsoft director of product planning Albert Penello said last week that Call of Duty: Ghosts on Xbox One “looks f’n amazing.”
Call of Duty: Ghosts launches for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC, and Wii U next Tuesday, November 5. The Xbox One and PS4 versions will be available as launch titles later in the month.


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Images have emerged of what is said to be components of the iPhone 5 as well as the insides of a re-tooled version of the iPhone 4, currently dubbed the iPhone 4S.
Phone Arena has posted some images of what it believes is the tech behind the new members of the iPhone family, with a re-jigged A5 chip inside, as well as a bigger battery capacity.
The images are blurry so it may not be the real deal but it could well be another confirmation that we are set to get a dual core chip in the iPhone 5.
Check out our iPhone 5: All You Need To Know video below:
As well as the iPhone 5, it is looking likely that Apple will also offer a souped up version of the iPhone 4, the iPhone 4S, which may be aimed at the Chinese market.
The purported images of its components show off a plastic white casing and a dual core A5 chip.
Credit: MacPost (from Phone Arena)
The person who leaked the images – known as Mr Panda, according to Phones Arena – has claimed they have played with the iPhone 4S and it is much speedier than its older namesake.
All of this does need to be taken with a pinch of salt, but with the rumour churning out possible images of new Apple handsets almost daily now, an iPhone 5 release date must just be around the corner.
These images are blurry and don't give too much away, but we are still badging this up as Quite Likely.
Via Phone Arena
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Marc Chacksfield is the Editor In Chief, Shortlist.com at DC Thomson. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.