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Shopping site CarGurus is launching its first national TV campaign today, June 5, after a two-month pilot in three cities.
The site jumped into the TV ad mix for the first time in April with two 30-second spots that ran in Denver, Nashville and Austin, Texas, showcasing the simplicity of using CarGurus.
CarGurus had relied on digital marketing and word-of-mouth. But the company is looking to TV to close the awareness gap with rival sites such as Autotrader, Cars.com, KBB.com and Edmunds that have run TV spots for years.
CarGurus says it draws 23 million unique monthly users and serves more than 21,000 new- and used-vehicle dealerships. It has more than 5 million car listings.
CarGurus experienced a lift in brand awareness in the test markets, said Sarah Welch, senior vice president of consumer marketing. The spots also outperformed their benchmarks on YouTube, where CarGurus used preroll ads to target auto shoppers who hadn't visited its site.
Going into the campaign, Welch said the company was unsure if the TV audience would take immediate action after seeing the spots. But viewers responded quickly.
"In my experience in past companies, you're building awareness [via TV] with an audience that may not be ready to act. You get some traffic that is sort of checking you out for future reference. They may not be as ready to act as someone who comes to you from a search engine where they're showing intent to engage with your business," Welch said. "For our new and repeat visitors, the conversion rates were pretty comparable to the traffic we've had historically. That was a really positive result."
The national ad push will lean toward programming and networks that are geared toward men and millennials, but the site will also reach out to women on networks such as HGTV.
Implementing a TV campaign presented new challenges to CarGurus, such as measuring effectiveness and creating engaging content for a TV audience.
Welch said the site is used to running digital executions that can be measured with "complete precision," so the company has had to augment its analytics capabilities to "bring as much rigor" as it can to gauge the impact of its TV push.
In addition, "Most of our marketing strategies haven’t relied on significant creative execution to be successful," she said. "Getting the creative right and getting the story right in a way that's distinct and memorable and really breaks through for customers is incredibly important."


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Close your eyes and picture your first phone.
Chances are you’re picturing the introduced many a phone fan to the mobile world. With its swappable and customisable plastic case, hidden antenna, T9 text input and the legendary game Snake, the 3310 is rightly remembered as one of the greatest phones ever., a midnight blue and grey marvel that launched in September 2000 and
And now it’s back.
Nokia has had a few lean years after completing the sale of its phone business to Microsoft in 2014, but a handful of former employees have banded together to resurrect the Nokia name with a range of new Android phones. And to show they haven’t forgotten what made the Finnish brand so popular, they’re rebooting the 3310 as a colourful modern feature phone.
HMD Global’s newly revitalised Nokia phone business went back to the future on Sunday, re-introducing a brightly coloured version of the classic 3310 talk and text phone, the world’s most popular device in the year 2000.
The new model resembles a slimmer, larger-screened version of the original and is priced at just 49 euros ($67). Its 22 hours of talk time and up to one month of standby time potentially heighten the phone’s appeal as a backup for smartphone users. Unfortunately, it might not be much use to Australians.
While the new 3310 is a significant upgrade in many areas — with a colour screen, a camera, a microSD card slot, the ability to play MP3s and even a new version of the classic game Snake — it sticks with old 2G GSM network standards for calling and texting, according to the Nokia website.
In Australia these networks are currently being phased out, with Telstra having already turned its 2G service off and other telcos to soon follow suit. HMD, which has exclusive rights to make phones with the Nokia brand, told Fairfax Media the new 3310 was a “2.5G device”, which is a term generally used to mean it uses GSM for call and text but can also access rudimentary internet over GPRS or EDGE.
Industry analysts say the revived Nokia 3310 has the makings of one of the hit devices of 2017, appealing to older Nokia fans in developed markets looking for an antidote to smartphone overload, while also appealing to younger crowds in emerging markets.
And the big question: Does it have Snake?
Yes. But in an example of trying too hard to modernise things, it’s a weird colour version with updated graphics that involves travelling diagonally. The old version was better.

domain: news


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Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart has hosted a visit to Irwin’s Bakery in Portadown by Economy Minister Gordon Lyons MLA, where they met with Chairman Brian Irwin to discuss a range of issues impacting upon business at this time. Local MLA Diane Dodds and Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Council, Cllr. Paul Greenfield, also attended the meeting.
Speaking after the visit, Carla Lockhart said:
“Irwin’s Bakery is known across the country and beyond for their amazing range of products. Their bread and bakery range are synonymous with flavour, freshness and quality.
The company also employs hundreds of local people, providing a livelihood for many households in the local area. Therefore it is important that the best possible environment for sustaining the business, and growing the business, is in place.
Today’s visit offered the Economy Minister the opportunity for engagement with a leading local business to hear about the challenges faced. The increased price in energy is causing significant problems for every business, increasing costs to record levels. The last thing a business wants to do at this time is to pass on price increases to consumers, and I know Irwin’s Bakery certainly are doing all they can to avoid that.
The Economy Minister is engaged in ongoing talks with the Government at Westminster around support for businesses to meet the rising costs of energy. I know that has borne fruit already, but we need more.
My thanks go to Brian and the team at Irwin’s for taking time out of their busy agenda to meet. My thanks also go to Gordon Lyons, our Economy Minister, for his proactive approach and willingness to engage.”


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Three years after the introduction of tighter data regulations & GDPR in Europe, the world of data protection and privacy is only getting more complex. In fact, my guest today described the privacy challenges we face today as a "perfect storm".
From changing cookie laws, to complex data transfers, to the latest class action law suits being brought on behalf of professional footballers, there is now doubt that the tectonic plates in our industry are shifting.
So how can we ensure we're professional, prepared and protected as much as possible?
While we continue to cope with COVID, our industry is facing rapid changes, such as the increasing use of facial recognition technology & biometrics, so listen to learn all about the approach you can take to ensure "custom privacy protection by design, which will endure by default".
Richard Dutton, Managing Director of the Elias Partnership joins me on today's show to explain the concept of a Data Health Check, what it does, how it helps and how your company can ensure a legally defensible position should a data breach ever occur.
Watch the previous episode here — #138: ebookers.com – Online Travel Agency Loyalty (Short Summary Show)


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Nikola secures an extra $US300m to fund path to electric truck production
US heavy duty electric truck maker Nikola Corp has entered into a deal with Tumim Stone Capital to sell £US300 million worth of its stock, the second such deal between the two, taking the total up to £US600 million. Since entering into the first agreement, Nikola has already sold nearly £US47 million worth of its common shares to Tumim, according to Reuters. This second agreement means that Nikola will have the right, though with no obligation, to issue and sell up to £US300 million of additional common shares to Tumim.
“The equity lines with Tumim, together with estimated cash and cash equivalents, will provide Nikola with access to approximately £800 million of liquidity at the end of 2021,” said Mark Russell, Nikola CEO. “We believe this will provide ample liquidity for Nikola to fund our stated operational milestones through the end of 2022, which include the commercial delivery of BEV trucks as well as the start of road release and pilot testing of FCEV trucks.” The announcement came soon after Nikola unveiled its manufacturing facility in Ulm, Germany, where the Nikola Tre battery electric (BEV) truck is set to begin production by year’s end.
Nikola’s Ulm production facility will produce both the Nikola Tre BEV as well as fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) addition to the company’s modular heavy duty Tre platform, which it hopes will enter production by the end of 2023.
“We are excited to be part of Nikola’s journey towards large-scale production of zero-emission battery-electric and hydrogen-electric commercial vehicles,” said Maier Tarlow, managing partner of Tumim.
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HHausfeld and Freshfields advise idealo in >500 Million suit against Google for Abuse of Dominance
Hausfeld and Freshfields are advising Germany-based comparison shopping service idealo internet GmbH (“idealo”) in a landmark competition damages suit against Google before the Berlin regional court.
The law suit follows the European Commission decision in 2017, establishing that Google abused its dominance in EU markets for general search services by favoring its own comparison shopping service, Google Shopping. With the claim, the plaintiff quantifies a damage of some half a billion Euros. In light of the upcoming process of disclosure, a further increase of this amount has not been ruled out.
Since 2008, Google has been promoting its own comparison shopping service in its general search results pages by positioning and displaying it more prominently than competing, and more relevant, comparison shopping services such as idealo which, conversely, Google demoted down the results pages. With this conduct Google infringes European and German competition law. The European Commission prohibited the conduct in 2017 and imposed a penalty of €2,42 billion against Google.
Hausfeld’s team is led by partners Thomas Höppner and Alex Petrasincu supported by their specialized competition damages team including Jan Weber and Philipp Westerhoff.
In these proceedings, Hausfeld is working together with Freshfields, the appointed law firm of idealo’s parent company, Axel Springer, with a team of Dr. Roman Mallmann who has the overall lead.
Hausfeld has been representing idealo and its subsidiary Visual Meta since 2012 as complainant before the European Commission. Hausfeld is also representing several other complainants in the various EU competition investigations against Google.


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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said that Viet Nam’s economy is growing in a healthy way at 8.3 percent.
Viet Nam's economy is predicted to grow at 8.3 percent in 2007
According to ADB Country Director to Viet Nam Ayumi Konishi, vigorous investment and consumption have accelerated economic growth during the first half of this year.
An increase in import, which is partly contributed by investment, has expanded trade deficit more than expected. Inflation is considered to be under control, although the relatively high level of inflation calls for the Vietnamese Government’s close attention, he added.
“What is most important for Viet Nam continues to be the acceleration of reforms and faster implementation of development projects through simplification of procedures,” he said.
ADB Deputy Country Director to Viet Nam, Dr. Omkar Shrestha, said that Viet Nam’s economic growth is motivated by strong investment and consumption.
Investment increased at 14% in the first half of 2007, which was contributed by WTO entry and improved business environment. According to the ADB, nearly all the economic expansion in Viet Nam came from industry and services, and the dynamism of private sector is noted with expansion of 35 percent in the first half of 2007.
The bank also said assuming that Viet Nam’s WTO accession will help further integrate the economy into global business networks, encourage foreign direct investment and maintain the momentum for domestic reforms, Viet Nam’s economic expansion is expected to accelerate to 8.5 percent in 2008.
Regarding the country’s inflation, the bank said the inflation rate has shown upward tendency, with 8.3 percent in 2005, 7.5 percent in 2006 and 7.3 percent in August 2007.
The bank said that the inflation rate is a concern but not alarming. The inflation level is expected to be contained at 7.8 percent for 2007 and is expected to be reduced further to 6.8 percent in 2008.


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One of the biggest beneficiaries of the auto bailout won't see a dime of that money: Ford.
Gratitude and delight
In declining any of the $17.4 billion the government is giving Detroit, Ford Motor Co. instantly earned the admiration and appreciation of a frustrated and cash-strapped U.S. consumer base that, once this recession ends, eventually will make its way back into auto showrooms.
Shortly after news of the bailout and Ford's decision broke, the Twitterverse was abuzz with people expressing their gratitude for Ford and their delight in being Ford owners.
At first, it didn't look so good for Ford. Alan Mulally made the same PR mistake as his fellow CEOs, GM's Rick Wagoner and Chrysler's Robert Nardelli, by flying in to Washington last month on a private jet to pitch Congress on a $25 billion bailout. But after being told to come back with a plan and not a private jet the next time around, Ford was first out of the gate with its proposed strategy. The automaker said it needed a $9 billion line of credit that it would only touch if the economy were to get dramatically worse and that it could make it through 2009 without any government aid.
Support for rivals
"We are not seeking short-term financial assistance from the government," said Mulally. "But all of us at Ford appreciate the prudent step the administration has taken to address the near-term liquidity issues of GM and Chrysler. The U.S. auto industry is highly interdependent, and a failure of one of our competitors would have a ripple effect that could jeopardize millions of jobs and further damage the already weakened U.S. economy."
Doug Spong, president of Carmichael Lynch Spong, said showing support for its rivals, along with its move to refuse any of the funding, is working in Ford's favor. "Ford has been really smart about supporting the bailout package for their rivals," Spong said. "And I think, more than just turning down the bridge loan, the fact that they have actually come out and supported two very bitter but worthy competitors says as much about the corporate culture as anything. Does it long term make them the preferred brand over the others? I don't know about that; time will tell."
Finally standing out
Spong, whose agency works for Subaru of America, said turning down the money is a big coup for Ford on the reputation front. "To be able to look America in the eye and say, 'We're in a position where we don't require a helping hand in this time of need, and thank you for offering it, but we will pass,' shows a lot," he said.
One PR agency CEO who asked not to be identified said aside from making a statement about the viability of its company, the rejection of the bailout money finally allowed Ford to get out from under the Big Three blanket. "They weren't able to distinguish themselves at the hearing, and that was partly because they were sitting there with the other guys," the executive said. "But this allows them to finally do that."
The tricky part for Ford now is to leverage this groundswell of reputation and consumer goodwill without looking opportunistic but still make sure it is on top of consumers' shopping lists. "If I'm counseling Ford, certainly I'm not running ads with William Ford III coming out and extolling the virtues of not having participated in the bailout and taking a pass on the free money," said Spong. "That looks too self-indulgent and would actually turn off consumers. They just need to keep doing what they are doing: support the industry and their competitors, continue to talk about how it's good for everybody when there's a healthy automotive industry; and support the public discussion and policy that favors the automotive industry and not just Ford."


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This Christmas may prove to be merrier (and more profitable) than usual for Victoria’s Secret: its purchase consideration scores for women, a key indicator of potential revenue, are much higher after this year’s nationally broadcast Fashion Show than last year’s.
After last year’s initial fashion show broadcast on December 10th, about 25% of women would consider buying at Victoria’s Secret next time they were looking to shop at a retailer, representing an increase of just two percentage points from pre-show levels. A rebroadcast of the show six nights later seemed to have no effect on purchase consideration, and the score dropped to 20% by the end of the month.
However, this year painted a dramatically different picture: after an apparently successful August introduction of a new women’s underwear line, Victoria’s Secret arrived at this year’s telecast with already elevated purchase consideration levels compared to earlier in the year. Starting at a 24% score on the night of the December 2nd broadcast, Victoria’s Secret jumped to 30% by this past weekend, representing the company’s highest purchase consideration levels for women in nearly two years. This despite lower ad awareness figures than the same time last year.
The combination of a London show debut, along with this year’s wardrobe selection and Taylor Swift’s performance just as her current hit single is peaking may have contributed to this new high score with women.
For men, however, all of that effort on behalf of the brand does seem to be impacting potential spending. Both this year and last year, purchase consideration inched up just a couple of percentage points after the fashion show aired, to about 16%.


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The brand new Costco Edmonton opening is at present and it’s essential to know that
Finally the time has come! Edmonton’s brand new Costco Wholesale Business Center is officially open and it is a big day for the masses.
The new Costco Edmonton opens on Tuesday April 6th and is the fourth of its kind in Canada.
Editor’s Choice: Alberta is getting a huge new Costco with thousands of products that you’ve never seen before
What is a Costco Wholesale Business Center?
The new Costco concept is open to all members and while it looks like the bulk store we all know and love, it’s actually very different.
Over 70% of the products in these stores are completely unique and designed to serve businesses of all sizes.
There are over 3,200 restaurant, shop and office products for sale. Of course, any Costco member can buy the products, especially if they like to save money by buying in bulk.
“The Costco Business Center concept is already a success in Ontario and Quebec, and we look forward to bringing the same benefits to Alberta companies,” said Marc-André Bally, vice president of Business Centers and Ancillary Businesses, Costco Wholesale Canada in a press release.
Where is it?
The brand new Edmonton Costco is located at 10310 186 St. NW and is open Monday through Saturday from 7am to 6pm and Sunday from 9am to 6pm
This location has its own fleet of trucks so it can offer next business day delivery “to addresses within a delivery zone that spans the Edmonton area.”
Membership is $ 60 for a year or $ 120 for an executive membership. If you’re already a member, you’re good to go.
What can i buy there?
As I said, things are great here at the new Costco. You can get huge 16-liter barrels of rapeseed oil, huge 36-kilogram parmigiano wheels, 10-kilogram jars of peanut butter, and much more.
Those who like to bake will find “large format” flour and sugar up to 25 kilograms as well as commercially available mixers and kitchen machines.
If you own a business or just love to buy huge things to save money and save yourself a visit to the store, you will love this place.


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Some of the new rules could favor ride hailing services in some cases. They can’t charge more than 1.5 times the base fare with surge pricing, but they can also charge 50 percent to spur more trips. They can also offer carpooling using private cars, although drivers are limited to four intra-city rides per day and two inter-city rides per week.
This might produce a mixed result for drivers. While this could boost trust in the likes of Uber and Ola, Redseer partner Ujjwal Chaudhry warned it could actually hurt take-home income by limiting surge pricing and fees. It might also raise prices and extend wait times, Chaudhry said.
Whatever the outcome, there’s a good chance others will be looking closely. Companies like Uber and Lyft are coming under closer scrutiny for their practices, with California demanding that they treat drivers as employees instead of contractors with fewer protections. Whether they succeed or fail, India’s rules may set the tone for governments that either haven’t set their own guidelines or are looking at reforms.


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Jes Hathaway is the editor in chief of National Fisherman magazine and NationalFisherman.com.
Written by Adrianne Madden
Friday, 19 August 2011
I spent a good part of yesterday walking around in the sad-music Charlie Brown pose after reading about Walmart's contribution toward privatizing our oceans.
The company's press release praised projects like catch shares, which have seriously consolidated fleets on the east and west coasts. I understand that Walmart feels the need to greenwash its reputation for profiting from poor labor practices, but must they do it by encouraging the loss of fishing jobs and infrastructure?
Meanwhile, the company has created a partnership with a South African wholesaler to import hake to their U.S. stores — from halfway across the world.
I've got news for Walmart: You can get sustainable American hake from the same people whose jobs your donation may eliminate in New England.
But of course the benefit of the partnership with the South African company is touted as creating 100 jobs in South Africa.
I understand Walmart is an international company. And as such, it is wise for them to create partnerships with companies in other nations. But what is the point of importing to U.S. stores from an African company the same fish they can source from American fishermen?
I sincerely wish Walmart would take their nearly $72 million contribution to non-governmental groups and redirect it to collaborative research — cooperative efforts between scientists and fishermen. The result of which is better information on habitats and gear, better management, and improved fisheries. Our whole country would benefit from these improvements, but Walmart specifically would get bragging rights for the creation of American jobs and the bonus of hake for their U.S. stores. All right here at home.
Now that might give me a reason to shop at Walmart.
The Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association released their board of directors election results last week.
The BBRSDA’s member-elected volunteer board provides financial and policy guidance for the association and oversees its management. Through their service, BBRSDA board members help determine the future of one of the world’s most dynamic commercial fisheries.Read more...
Former Massachusetts state fishery scientist Steven Correia received the New England Fishery Management Council’s Janice Plante Award of Excellence for 2016 at its meeting last week.
Correia was employed by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries for over 30 years.Read more...


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In Times of Economic Uncertainty, US Outbound Travel
Many studies during the summertime of 2023 pointed to an increase in reservations for international travel coming from the United States. This pattern was partially explained by the US dollar’s extended strength. As a result, despite the US’s declining domestic go desire, the industry was confident that by 2023, international travel will eventually reach or exceed that of 2019.
However, some studies from later this year suggested that the US’s global demand may have decreased as a result of economic unpredictability. But, there was still a steady need for US airlines to fly abroad.
Who will be right? If we expect a further increase in US inbound international travel as 2024 approaches, or will it start to decline? Should B2B buyers and go intermediaries begin preparing for various scenarios?
The number of planned excursions by US tourists in 2024 has decreased, according to a recent study. Industry analysts, however, do n’t think this should be a concern. Tourists from the US are back and looking for more important experiences. Current consumer sentiment, including variables like prices, cost of living, economic perspective, and high consumer debts, appears to have an impact on the reduction in vacation plans. Some tourists in the US are exercising caution. However, the US market, jobs, and dollar value have all remained robust. International travel is still in demand, and the visits people are taking right now are more significant. They are choosing more excursions and spending more money on them. They are also participating in more actions while traveling.
Hotel income management experts warn that businesses looking to attract US tourists might need to change their approach. The prospect, according to experts, may be found in the fact that both Americans and Europeans are traveling less frequently but spending more time and funds. Hotels and airlines may experiment with growth by collaborating with task providers and launching new packages and services with a focus on offering distinctive experiences to make up for the reduction in trip bookings. This might be done on the aircraft itself or during the ordering process. Also, it is likely that airlines and hotels may increase the variety of ancillary services they offer as more industry players adopt a financial mindset.
The US dollar’s power, especially against the Euro, has substantially boosted global need from the US. Although the Buck to Euro exchange rate reached its highest point in the autumn of 2022, with one US dollar being significantly more valuable than one Euro, it has continuously remained high throughout the year and continues to be so, according to go comparison experts who help travelers find the best discounts. This persistent pattern encourages US visitors to look for holidays in Europe and different places. But, inbound US journey will unavoidably be impacted if this exchange rate changes.
Additionally, there is a sizable chance in the US supply market to reach the roughly 60 million Spanish speakers. When it comes to Spanish vocabulary hospitality services, US people who speak Spanish have few options, whether they are traveling domestically or abroad. US travel companies can draw in more customers who are likely to be extremely pleased and devoted by advertising to them in Spanish and offering services in their vocabulary. It is crucial to take advantage of this expanding statistical and economic business right away.
Regardless of the direction of US outbound travel, journey is changing significantly. As a result, it is anticipated that all outgoing industry, including the US, will go through ups and downs. Due to rapid technical progress and is greatly influenced by geopolitical and economic conditions, travel is on the verge of an extraordinary change. Current consumer research in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, where journey consistently ranks as the best discretionary spending location, shows that travel continues to be essential for economic growth and people connections. Traveling companies should adopt new technologies like artificial intelligence and keep agility if they want to react quickly.
Experts in the travel industry concur that tourism businesses must frequently modify their strategies in response to ever-evolving consumer travel patterns that are influenced by economic conditions, work-life changes, social situations, and a variety of other factors. They highlight the significance of regional diversification, careful supply, demand, and pricing forecasting, as well as the crucial role that technology plays in enabling rapid scalability, market prioritization, cost-effective operations without relying on sizable teams of people.
SOURCE: US Outbound Travel in Uncertain Economic Times | eTurboNews |ETN


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Ready for the upcoming season, Nancy Lou will be working at the second Fragrance Library, which is going to be opening in Sanlitun North Village (there is already one in the south). This is an American novelty perfume brand with scents such as dirt, tootsie roll, and tomato paste.
Here is Wing, also wearing the same reindeer print from Japanese brand Mercibeaucoup. They were at the V*tamin fashion show which showed off the wares of over 40 retailers, including Liu Jo, Eldi, and others with shops in Sanlitun Village. This giant mall development occupying much of Sanlitun is the most fashionable shopping center in Beijing and a key promenade for stylish youth.


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Businesses located on 2200 block of Ridge Avenue in North Philadelphia are pictured (Philadelphia Tribune photo)
By Regina A. Hairston
The COVID-19 pandemic devastated everyone in its path, from restaurants to the already overburdened healthcare system; only a few industries escaped a near total collapse. Business owned by Black Americans suffered devastating impacts.
There were gaps before the pandemic that made being a Black owned business challenging. Since the 1980s, “race-based contracting preferences have been weakened by federal court rulings,” making it harder for public private partnerships to exist.
And now, during the most difficult time in modern history, Black owned businesses found themselves last in the line for federal relief such as Paycheck Protection Program loans.
Encouragingly, the number of Black owned businesses have grown in recent years, many of these businesses being sole proprietorships. However, any progress made was devastated by COVID-19.
Research by ProPublica states that there have been “18.4 percent fewer self-employed Black people working in July 2020 than there had been a year previously, compared to 6.2 percent fewer self-employed white people.”
Black-owned businesses, and their survival are crucial to communities of color. Black-owned businesses have a tendency to hire other people of color, creating a business ecosystem that ensures communities can thrive right where they are. With an unemployment rate of 19.5 percent for Black people in Pennsylvania, the future of Black-owned businesses is more critical than ever.
Pennsylvania has an opportunity to do just that, and help businesses recuperate what they lost in the pandemic. Pennsylvania has over $7 billion dollars American Rescue Plan funding available for use, and currently, our Commonwealth is sitting on a $3 billion dollar surplus, totaling $10 billion dollars in funds that can be used to help communities devastated by this pandemic.
As it stands, the Pennsylvania Legislature is planning to stash this money in the Rainy Day Fund, leaving small businesses, schools, and people in the midst of a gun violence epidemic in the dust.
The Rainy Day Fund is typically utilized during recessions and hard economic times. Not only are we in the middle of the most difficult time for Black people, with a poverty rate at 26.4 percent, but any shot at getting ahead was lost by COVID-19’s and the economic turmoil that came with it.
Not only should these funds be used to aid our schools, fix health inequities and create workforce development and job training programs, but we need to invest in Black-owned businesses.
We need to make sure that they have the capital, financing and the procurement opportunities that all other businesses have so that they can pull themselves out of this dark financial time. When we do that, more people of color across this commonwealth will be employed in their communities, spurring economic growth for years to come.
If this money sits in the Rainy Day Fund, and we wait for another crisis to strike, it will be too late for Black owned businesses to recuperate the losses they have already taken.
Black-owned businesses are the pillar of their communities, and as they grow, opportunity for a whole community grows along with it. That is what is at stake if we let them go under this time around. Harrisburg must invest in Black owned businesses with the 10 billion dollars available in the Pennsylvania budget before it is too late.
Regina A. Hairston is the president and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, based in Philadelphia. The African American Chamber has promoted the voice, the vision, and the value of Black-owned businesses in the region for over 28 years.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.


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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
, published by HarperCollins.
Sieben’s designs will bring a fresh, gritty interpretation to the story’s classic characters including Dorothy, Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion, the Winged Monkeys and the Wizard of Oz himself.
The new collection will include t-shirts, sweaters, hoodies and hats and will be showcased at the MAGIC trade show this month and will hit shelves in the fall.
Established in 2007, Natures Mistake has worked with a variety of classic brands including Warner Bros. Consumer Products’ Looney Tunes and Jim Davis’ Garfield.
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Zuckerburg’s world: Salary $1 but earnings at $3 bn
Like many company founders who have gotten wealthy off their early stakes, Zuckerberg asked Facebook to limit his annual salary to $1. Besides that token sum, he also received perquisites valued at $653,164.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reaped a $3.3-billion gain last year by exercising stock options in the social networking company that he founded in a Harvard University dorm room.
The windfall saddled Zuckerberg with a huge tax bill, even though he limited his Facebook salary to just $1, according to regulatory documents filed on Monday.
It marks the second straight year that Zuckerberg has realised a huge gain on the holding that he has accumulated in Facebook since he started the company in 2004.
In 2012, Zuckerberg made $2.3 billion off his stock options.
Zuckerberg, 29, now has exhausted his supply of stock options after exercising 60 million of them last year a price of 6 cents per share.
He then sold 41.35 million shares for $55.05 apiece in December, primarily to pay for his tax bill on the gains.
Like many company founders who have gotten wealthy off their early stakes, Zuckerberg asked Facebook to limit his annual salary to $1. Besides that token sum, he also received perquisites valued at $653,164. All but $3,000 of that amount went toward Zuckerberg’s bills for personal travel on chartered jets.
Excluding stock option gains, Zuckerberg’s total compensation last year plunged 67% from $2 million in 2012.
Even after selling and donating so much Facebook stock, Zuckerberg still owns 426.3 million Facebook shares currently worth $25.7 billion.


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A multipurpose screen revolving 180-degrees around its central axis is a key feature of a mobile phone concept from PDD. The Helix takes the clamshell form and adds a mechanism to rotate the screen – when closed, the display acts as an MP3 player or camera and when open (for calls or text messaging) it automatically swivels to face the user. PDD will demonstrate the design at the 3GSM World Congress in Cannes from 14-17 February.
Integrated packaging design specialist Equator, offers tips on how to keep new business coming through the door.
The company is claiming that it dismissed Conze in October for revealing confidential information, and has now filed a lawsuit against him.
A round-up of moves, changes and appointments in the design world.
Stories of sexism in the industry, a £200,000 interiors redesign for the V&A Museum of Childhood and a nostalgic look at magazine The Face – the news from the last


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US new homes sales edge up in Oct
The US new home sales rose 0.7% to reach a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 458,000 in October, posting the highest level since May after the downward revision of September’s sales to 455,000 units from 467,000 units. On a yearly basis, new sales rose 1.8% in October.
Across the regions, meanwhile, sales increased in the Midwest and Northeast by 15.8% and 7.1%, respectively while new home sales were down in the South by 1.9% and the West by 2.7% in October.
More free plastics newsPlastic resin (PP, LDPE, LLDPE ,HDPE, PVC, GPS; HIPS, PET, ABS) prices, polymer market trends, and more...
- Asian PS, ABS markets remain weak on rising trade tensions
- Spot styrene sharply down in Europe and Asia
- Expectations soften for PP raffia, fibre yet to follow in Turkey
- Will PE supplies from China flock to SEA?
- LDPE, LLDPE highest since Q3 2018; HDPE at 6-month high in Europe
- Intensifying trade war adds to bearishness in China’s local PP, PE markets
- PET prices hit multi-month lows in Asia and Europe
- Rising momentum fizzles out in European PS, ABS markets
- European PVC offers to Turkey shrug off higher costs
- Asian PVC players hold firm expectations for June


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In recent times, annually held IRCE (Internet Retailer Conference + Exhibition) has become a hallmark of excellence and inventiveness in the e-commerce industry that online sellers around the world participate in. Just concluded, spanning over 4-days from June 5 to June 8, IRCE 2018 was another incredible edition in its storied book, taking place at Chicago’s McCormick Place. Nearly 10,000 of the top leaders, executives and marketers attended the event.
The four-day sessions were jam-packed with presentations and workshops, unveiling not just the insights and key findings with the market players, but also outlining a distinct roadmap for online merchants to effectively leverage market trends and blend their aspiring business goals with distinct reality.
While the first day of the event was centric to Amazon with ‘Amazon & Me Workshop’ among others, the second day was more about the operation ends of running a successful business. It included sessions that discussed strategies for top executives, fulfillment, operations and customer service, marketing, and omnichannel leadership.
The third day included several conferences of some of the top names, discoursing on managing technology, merchandising, brand building, marketing,andmarketplaces. The fourth and final day of the event finished things off on a bang with exciting search workshop, design & usability workshop, as well as a B2B workshop.
The IRCE 2018 also had an exhibit hall that featured hundreds of top solutions providers from around the world with an aim to help business owners find their match and grow their business. ChannelSale, too, was invited to be a part of the exhibit hall. We met countless prospects, discussed innovative ideas and underwrote many initiatives to push the e-commerce industry to its optimum best for the vendors, as well as, of course, the customers.
Here are some of the pictures, capturing our moments with our Channel Partners visiting our booth – leaders from Walmart, Sears, and Newegg among several others that echoed win win collaborations.
IRCE has always had a mass appeal in the industry for its distinct identity to not only include experts divulging in interesting speeches but also taking a practical direction to help sellers with hands-on acumens and actions. It is one of many things that separates it from countless other conferences.
At best, IRCE 2018 was educational and a big leap forward towards a tech-advanced and effectual e-commerce industry. The next year’s event is already set now from June 25-29, 2019, taking place at McCormick Place South, Chicago, promising to be even grander and glamorous. And as always, with a commitment to redefine the industry, we, here at ChannelSale, are more than excited and hyped for such upcoming conferences.


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Last week, the lead consumer technology reporter for the New York Times, Brian Chen, downloaded his Facebook data, with terrifying results. 500 advertisers had his contact information, and he couldn’t delete much of this data.
The post A New York Times reporter downloaded his Facebook data – and was terrified appeared first on Digital Trends.
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Early last month, we reported on a groundbreaking story in which the FDA had officially approved the first 3D printed drug. The ZipDose tablets were designed to make administering the drug easier, both by providing for a precise dosage as well as making consumption simpler. The fact that the Food and Drug Administration in the United States approved such a product, blows the doors open for 3D printing technology in the future within the medical field.
Today, we got word that the China Food and Drug Administration has in essence taken things a step further. They have approved the first 3D printed hip implants for medical use in China.
Hip implants are typically considered to be in a grouping of implants which are very highly regulated in China. In fact, they fall into the highest regulated group of medical devices in the country, thus this announcement has potential for tremendous impact for 3D printing within the medical field.
If you have been following the 3D printing space, you will know that 3D printed hip implants are not something entirely new. In actuality, Professor Zhang Ke of China’s Peking University Third Hospital has been developing and experimenting with 3D printed hip implants since 2009. Back in 2012, 32 individual patients actually received 3D printed hip implants, and since that time, the results have been documented via clinical observation. The results have been quite astounding. Not only have the 3D printed hip implants proven to weigh less, and be more comfortable for patients, but they are also much more affordable than implants manufactured via more traditional methods.
Typically hip implants in China are imported from abroad, from places like the United States. With over 400,000 joint replacements taking place in China each year and this number increasing at about 30% on a yearly basis, the idea of being able to domestically 3D print their own implants provides for plenty of potential savings on medical costs. The 3D printed hip implants rely partially on the body’s ability to regenerate bone tissue. A very light-weight, partially hollow implant allows for and encourages normal bone growth to take place. It is estimated that 3D printing these implants lead to prices which are approximately 33-50% of the costs of importing them from other countries.
While this is groundbreaking news in and of itself, the underlying story here is the fact that the China FDA has decided to approve these 3D printed devices. This is expected to lead to further approval for additional 3D printed implants in the very near future, a move which may be a major breakthrough for 3D printing technology within the medical field. In time, we expect other countries to follow suit in realizing the tremendous benefits that 3D printing can provide for the fabrication of implants like these.
What do you think about this latest FDA approval? Will we begin to see more and more 3D printed implants come to market? Discuss in the China FDA forum thread on 3DPB.com.
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Howard Brown Health Center survived a financial and reputational crisis in 2010 and has since followed three tenets to maintain transparency in its communications.
When the California Milk Processor Board came under fire for its recent ad campaign, it harnessed negative comments to drive discussion and awareness of milk’s benefits.
As a lead-in to his presentation at PR News’ Aug. 9 Facebook Conference, Gary Lee of mBLAST offers some influencer detecting tips for all those who find themselves asking daily, ‘Who is this person talking about my brand—and should I care?’
Linda Musgrove of TradeShow Teacher provides a field guide for PR efforts at trade shows and exhibitions—from wardrobe recommendations to cocktail hour etiquette.
By posting on its own site AP’s story about a lawsuit filed by former players, the National Football League has avoided the stigma of willful obliviousness.
PR News’ Oct. 5 Digital PR Summit to Trace Hottest Developments in Social Network Communications, SEO and More
Thought leaders and top communications experts in digital PR will share their success stories and online innovations at PR News’ Digital PR Next Practices Summit in NYC on Oct. 5.
In PR News’ Media Training Guidebook – Vol. 4, top media trainers share the latest insights, tips and checklists to help PR professionals set the agenda in their dealings with the media, stay on message, prep the C-suite for interviews, master nonverbal cues and more.
Once a crisis is over, take a deep breath and relax for one minute—then begin reaching out to stakeholders and reestablishing your brand.
Case Study: Cool Online Tool and Data-Driven Stories Help Longtime B2B Company Reach Consumers for the First Time
In order to provide an ID fraud tool to the public, ID Analytics did what few companies can: cull compelling research nuggets from its own database of millions of Americans.
Quick Study: Financial Sector Dominates ‘Black List’ Transparency Ranking; E-Mail Delivery Rates Up, Open Rates Are Down
â–¶ In the Black: Corporate Responsibility Magazine announced its annual Black List, the Russell 1000 large-cap companies that tie for the bottom ranking in transparency and corporate citizenship. The list features 58 dimly lit companies, …


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- Sabra Dipping Company, which is jointly owned by PepsiCo and Strauss, has teamed with vegan TikTok star Tabitha Brown on the brand's first shoppable video series to help busy parents make healthy snacks for their housebound kids. "Snack to School" will let viewers of Sabra's social channels add ingredients to an online shopping cart and check out from a preferred retailer, per an announcement.
- The content includes videos on Sabra's social channels including Facebook and Instagram, in addition to recipe breakdowns on Pinterest and bonus tips and commentary on Brown's @iamtabithabrown channel on TikTok. Brown shares a variety of plant-based recipes in the kid-friendly series such as Creamy Pasta with 'Sausage,' Chocolate Cinnamon Banana Toast and Flatbread Pizza.
- Sabra and Brown developed the video series as 74% of caregivers said they expect this back-to-school season to be more chaotic than in the past, while 64% of parents said they dread making lunch at home again during the school year, per a survey of 2,000 adults that One Poll conducted on behalf of Sabra.
Sabra's campaign leans into the unique challenges families with children at home face this year as the pandemic's impact continues to be felt, and tries to lend a hand by helping parents easily provide healthy meal and snack choice while leveraging entertaining content on a platform favored by kids to make those choice potentially more palatable. The content stars Tabitha Brown, who joined TikTok in March and has quickly amassed a large following with a mix of quick vegan cooking tips and inspirational messages.
View this post on Instagram
@iamtabtihabrown knows the way to our heart: chocolate for breakfast ???? ???? In this episode of Snack to School, Tabitha teaches us how to make a quick and delicious plant-based breakfast that your kids will love. #TabithaBrown #SnackToSchool #SabraHummus #EasyMeals #Breakfast #Vegan #VeganCooking #Chocolate #FamilyBreakfast #PlantBasedRecipe #????
The campaign's positioning is based on research that found 70% of caregivers are "radically" changing how they prepare lunch and snacks for the school year, while 73% said they plan to limit how much extra sugar their kids eat. Half of families see the back-to-school season as a chance to get "back to health," with 41% of caregivers seeking to change course from feeding their kids comfort foods as they did when the coronavirus pandemic began, per Sabra's research.
By blanketing its social media channels with the video series, Sabra can reach younger parents and kids who are harder to reach through traditional media like linear TV, while also offering an ability to shop directly for Sabra's products online. As social networks add more shopping features, social commerce sales are forecast to almost quadruple to $84.2 billion in 2024, making up 7.8% of ecommerce sales, from $22 billion last year, per data compiled by Statista.
Sabra's collaboration with Brown is another sign of how brands are enlisting social influencers to help spread their messaging online and cut through ad clutter. Brown has 4.4 million followers on TikTok, 2.9 million on Instagram and 1.8 million on Facebook, reaching more online consumers than Sabra does with its respective social media accounts. Sabra's account on TikTok has about 29,000 followers, while about 34,000 follow the snack brand on Instagram, making a collaboration with an influencer like Brown necessary to extend the reach of its campaign. Younger U.S. consumers also tend to trust the influencers they follow, with 44% of Generation Z saying they have made a purchase based on a recommendation from an influencer, compared with 26% of the general population, researcher Kantar found in a consumer study.
As TikTok's popularity has grown, its biggest influencers are increasingly being courted by brands and are also showing up on other platforms, trends that do not so far seem to have been impacted by the ongoing uncertainty over whether the app will have new owners in the U.S. or be shut down. Charli D'Amelio, the teenager with the biggest following on TikTok, is now being featured in a social media campaign by coffee and bakery chain Dunkin' to promote a beverage named after her. Addison Rae, another TikTok influencer, in July started streaming a podcast on audio platform Spotify co-hosted with her mom to share personal advice with her followers.


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As much as they evangelize Tesla, it turns out Tesla owners may be looking for an upgrade.
Klaus Zellmer, Porsche's president and CEO for North America, disclosed in an interview that the company's upcoming 2020 Taycan electric sports car could be sold out for a year with pre-orders from customers who have put down $2,500 deposits.
Then he added that most of the pre-orders are from Tesla owners.
Teslas are fast, silent, and sporty, but they've gotten a reputation for having interiors that don't live up to the plush quality of other luxury cars.
Not so Porsches, which have impeccably finished interiors with individually customizable option upgrades, such as suede headliners and custom-colored dashboard pads.
Porsche has also endowed the Taycan—formerly known as the Mission-e, after the concept car that previewed it—with the world's first mass-production 800-volt battery pack, which will allow it to charge more than twice as fast as a Tesla at a Supercharger—adding about 240 miles in less than 15 minutes.
Porsche has not released either production estimates or the number of deposits it has on the Taycan, but earlier this year it estimated it would sell 20,000 of them worldwide without giving a time frame. That many per year would be near record-volume for any Porsche model.
Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo concept
The company plans two models, the Taycan sedan and the Taycan Cross Turismo, sort of an elongated hatchback similar to the gas-powered Porsche Panamera, which may have a taller ride height, and which may follow a year or two later.
Porsche announced last spring that demand for the Taycan was so strong that it would increase its production plans.
In a recent letter to The Drive, Porsche hinted that the Taycan will have three basic trim lines: a base model, 4S, and Turbo, with prices ranging from just over $90,000 to well over $130,000. (Remember all those custom options?)
Porsche has said that the Taycan will have "up to" 600 horsepower and 300 miles of range. That will probably be the Taycan "Turbo" trim line, though as we've said, we can't figure out what a turbo has to do with it.


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US grants Nuro's R2 its first ever autonomous vehicle exemption
In a significant step forward for the autonomous vehicle industry, the US Department of Transport (DOT) has granted its first ever self-driving vehicle exemption to startup Nuro. This approval for a regulatory exemption means that Nuro will be free to push ahead with testing of its second-generation delivery vehicle on public roads, despite having no capacity for human control or carrying passengers.
The US government’s vehicle standards for cars and trucks mean that manufacturers have to design vehicles with drivers and passengers in mind. This means steering wheels, windshields so they can see forward, and mirrors so they can see sideways and backwards. It means, essentially, placing humans front and center in the design process.
In granting Nuro a regulatory exemption to these rules, the first such exemption ever, the US DOT has given the company an official green light to rethink this traditional approach to vehicle design – not that it wasn’t doing that anyway. The company’s all-electric autonomous pod was built to carry groceries and food items, not humans, and has previously been used in tightly controlled pilots together with Walmart, Domino’s and supermarket retailer Kroger.
But now it will be free to continue testing out the latest version on public roads and with scope to deploy them in more cities. The zero-occupant R2 pod features two-thirds more cargo space than the original R1, updated sensor arrays for safer navigation, temperature control to keep food fresh, and nearly double the battery size.
With this exemption in hand, Nuro can push ahead with vehicle features that prioritize the safety of humans outside the pod, rather than anything that happens to be onboard. This means more rounded edges instead of square ones, a shock-absorbing panel in place of a windscreen, and cameras and sensors in place of side mirrors.
Nuro has been in discussion with the US DOT for three years regarding the exemption, and has now been given the tick after demonstrating the safety of its vehicles and submitting detailed explanations of the technology behind them.
The company will now move ahead with testing of R2 on public roads in Houston in the coming weeks. It will work with partners in the city to establish new autonomous delivery services, with hopes of expanding to other cities across the US down the track.


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SEOUL, July 26 (Yonhap) -- Sales of imported commercial vehicles in South Korea plunged 31 percent last month from a year earlier as demand fell further amid an economic slowdown, a trade association said Friday.
The number of newly registered imported commercial vehicles fell to 277 units in June from 399 the previous year, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA).
In the January-June period, imported commercial car sales declined 14 percent to 2,024 autos from 2,364 in the same period of 2018, it said.
The monthly sales data do not include figures for dump trucks as KAIDA only began to add those numbers to its commercial car sales results in January.
Imported commercial vehicles currently account for a large percentage of the domestic commercial vehicle market, but their exact market share has not been released.
The five major imported commercial car brands -- MAN, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo Trucks, Scania and Iveco -- sell trucks, buses and vans.
Employment conundrum looms large in S. Korea with aging population
Under heir apparent leadership, Hyundai on road to become future mobility solutions provider
While Samsung innovates smartphones, Apple upgrades
(News Focus) Hyundai Motor on way to better performance after no-strike wage deal
S. Korean tech titans to show off premium TVs, smartphones at IFA


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About 140 million Africans are now on the internet. With half of the population under age 15 and 70 percent of the population under 30, social media is becoming an important feature in the continent's development path. Teddy Ruge, lead social media strategist for the World Bank's Connect4Climate campaign and co-founder of Project Diaspora, an online platform for mobilising members of the African diaspora, calls this Africa's "renaissance of access to information".
As earlier reported, the 15 millionth .DE domain name was registered on 18 April, at precisely 12:56 CEST. Maybe the gift for 15 million domains is flowers, as the domain name to take the gong was floristennetzwerk.de, which means “florists’ network.” Every month there is an average of about 50,000 .DE domains registered as .DE cements its position as the world’s largest ccTLD, and second largest TLD overall.
Smart Internet Foundation has filed an application for a new generic top level domain, .ДЕТИ (Russian for "children"). Technical Center of Internet has aided the foundation in completing and filing an application for the domain. It is worth noting that Russian government officials have praised the idea of creating a special domain, .ДЕТИ, for younger Internet users, with Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister of Russia, backing the initiative in October 2011 at Agency of Strategic Initiatives meeting.
There is no doubt that over the past decade, Africa has come from being the so-called ‘hopeless Continent’ to being a rising star. Profound changes have taken place which has brought about this turnaround. We can count the fact that Africa has come from being the notorious continent with 16 raging wars in 2002, to a continent which is fast achieving peace and stability.
Last week, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) was forced to extend the deadline for the new gTLD application to April 20th, after the application system crashed and the technical issue which enabled some applicants to see file names and user names that belonged to other applicants.
Africa is set to acquire its own generic top-level domain following a pledge by delegates to back registration of the dotafrica domain during the Innovation Africa Digital (IAD) Summit that ended last week Thursday.
Marina del Rey, California… ICANN has set April 30th as its target date to release the list of applications for new generic top-level domains, specifying who has applied for which domain names.
The .ZA central registry operator, UniForum SA, has been selected by the African Union as its preferred registry operator that will administer the upcoming dotAFRICA Top Level Domain.
dotAfrica is set to be a distinctive pan-African identification for regional online operations when it is opened up for registration.
Sedari announces its co-operation with South Africa's UniForum SA as the organisation leading a pan-African effort supported by the African Union to apply for the dotAfrica top-level domain name (TLD).
Africa looks set to get its own generic top-level domain, .africa, in 2013 if the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) gives the go-ahead, which looks likely. The creation of the new domain could set off a gold rush and create headaches for businesses wanting to protect their brands.
Tremendous anticipation, planning, and work drove toward 12 January, 2012, the day ICANN began accepting applications for new gTLDs. Whether you've applied or not, your next question might be: "It's after 12 January. What happens next?"
This functionality will be made available soon. Government Representatives must register first and domains must be accepted into the RNL to display data here. Please check back soon!


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by Eugene Vorotnikov
September 8 2009 - Belarus may restrict imports of juices, local media reports. According to official data of the Customs Service of the Republic of Belarus the import of fruit and vegetable juices to the country in June-August 2009 increased by 12,4% to 13.474 thousand tons ($13.9 million), while the domestic production continues to decrease.
Russia remains the main supplier of juices to Belarus during the summer months imported more than 6,409 tons of beverages amounted to $6.874 million. However such state of affairs is unacceptable for the local government. Recently the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko has ordered the largest food producer of the country BelGosPishcheProm to increase the domestic production of juices and told about the possibility to restrict imports of juices to Belarus.
According to Lukashenko


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Christopher Laird will be publishing his first novel and will be soon hitting bookshelves near you. It will also be coming out on ebook. Mr. Laird is a Science Fiction writer and will be releasing the first book ORIGINS in the late fall/winter of 2016. Currently, the novel is being rewritten and soon will go through a rigorous editing and review phase. In addition, cover design and art work is also being done. Please keep checking in for more news and updates as they become available. Thank You!
posted June 3rd 2016
ORIGINS will be available early 2017. We have just finished the cover of the novel which can be seen on our home page. The novel is currenly being edited and will be available to everyone really soon. Please keep checking in for interviews and TV appearances. You can also follow Chris laird at facebbok.com/chislairdscifi/ for daily updates.
Posted January 6th 2017
The sequel to Christopher J. Laird's best selling novel, on Amazon, ORIGINS, will be released this summer of 2018. It will be titled ETERNITY'S PAST:The Reign Of Xona. Please continue to visit our site for updates and subscribe to our Facebook and Instagram pages @chrislairdscifi. Be sure to also subscribe to our youtube channel ORIGINS The Novel.
Posted May 13th 2018
Origins will be released March 14th 2017. You can go to our Purchase books tab to get a advance copy right now! It will be available to the public March 14th.
Posted March 11th 2017
A new book trailer has been created to promote the new book ORIGINS. Please go to the MEDIA link to check out the new trailer.
posted June 18th 2016
Chris Laird has just completed a interview for blogspot.com. Go to our media section for the link. You can read the interview transcript to find out more about the novel.
posted July 6th 2016


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Growing interests in the upcoming Windows 10 does not end with its new features and list of "things you need to know" about it. As the news buzz around the tech industry, a new browser will now come hand in hand with the browser that was loved to hate, the Spartan.
If you've been circulating the web for a long time, you probably know how much the Internet Explorer was hated by tech-oriented users but still poses to be the leading browser according to netmarketshare.com. Normally, for PC users, IE is used only to download the user's desired browser and after that, it's stocked in the shelves of the computer but with IE 11 which is the latest version available, there has been a lot of changes and actually, the infamous browser is trying to hold on to the browser race.
Given that the IE has its negative reputation that can't be shrugged off, Microsoft will now launch a new browser which is called Spartan. Allegedly, this new browser will be able to even the tables with popular browsers like Chrome and Mozilla Firefox and will be nothing like the Internet Explorer.
Spartan will be shipped alongside IE with hopes for users to differentiate the two browsers packed in Windows 10. With this mindset, it is expected to increase the likeability of this new browser just like how something average looking will turn out to be the most gorgeous when compared to a statistically defined "ugly" creature.
Spartan is claimed to support Windows 10 on mobile but news for Android and iOS devices is still unannounced.
More news about Windows 10 and all its features will be unveiled on January 21, 2015 at Redmond, Washington.


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FCA US is investing $1 billion in two assembly plants in Ohio and Illinois to support planned growth of its Jeep brand, the company announced.
FCA is shifting production of the Jeep Cherokee to its Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois from current production in Toledo, Ohio. The plant will receive $350 million, which will create 300 new jobs. FCA will cease production at the plant of the Dodge Dart in September. The plant will cease production of the Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot in December.
FCA will also invest $700 million in the Toledo Assembly Complex to retool the North plant to produce the next generation of the Jeep Wrangler. The plant will add 700 new jobs.
Since 2009, FCA US has announced investments of more than $6.8 billion and added more than 23,500 (including nearly 18,000 hourly) people in its U.S. operations.


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This news from Malaysiakini caught my attention and makes me wonder.
Malaysia has suspended imports of whole chicken and chicken parts from Thailand with immediate effect following a bird flu scare in the neighbouring country, state media reported.
Isn’t it kind of ridiculous that our country needs to import chicken from Thailand? Why can’t a country with its vast lands rear enough chicken to feed its own nation? Why do we need to rely on other countries?
Anyway, I wonder where do these imported Thai chicken go to?
Full news on malaysiakini.


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Germany Expected To Slide More Than 25 Per Cent
Some Still Say Scrapping Didn’t Steal Sales
Car sales in Western Europe may have zoomed almost nine per cent in September, but this looks very much like the zenith of a shooting star about to return to earth.
According to forecaster J.D.Power, government scrapping incentives induced last month’s huge sales rise in Western Europe, but the overall trend is down, from the peak of 14.8 million in 2007 down to 11.96 million in 2010. This year’s sales are likely to fall 2.7 per cent to 13.19 million from 2008. Sales in 2009 were held up by mainly by the huge, €5 billion scrapping scheme in Germany, but this has now expired. Incentives in France and Britain are set to fade away in 2010.
“There are now some early signs, in Germany (Europe’s biggest market) that the car market is about to fall sharply in the post-scrappage-incentive environment,” said J.D.Power’s Pete Kelly.
Kelly said the cash-for-clunkers incentives in Germany forced sales forward, so the net overall impact is likely to be neutral. He doesn’t expect the German government to extend the subsidy scheme.
Next year, Deutsche Bank expects German sales to fall 26 per cent to 2.8 million, France and Italy to fall five per cent to two million, and Britain should be down five per cent to 1.8 million.
Germany’s VW says pre-recession levels won’t be seen again until 2013 at the earliest.
Commerzbank said it believes worries about the impact of the ending of scrapping incentives has been overdone, and its researches show that the positive effects may be extended because auto companies have big backlogs of orders which may even keep production lines rolling well into the new year. When the scrapping impact finally fades away, the slack might be taken up by economic recovery.
Others say the scrapping incentives didn’t steal sales from the future, because they mainly brought new buyers to the market who in the past bought second hand cars when their clunkers looked like expiring.
But J.D.Power’s Kelly says nothing can stop the rot in 2010.
“The fall in German sales is the major factor underlying our expectation that West European car sales will fall by around nine per cent in 2010. Furthermore, in the absence of a substantive economic recovery in Western Europe in 2010, the chances of any markets coming to the rescue to offset the likely decline in Germany are relatively small,” Kelly said.
Neil Winton – October 15, 2009


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Dubai, UAE (PRWEB) May 14, 2018
DMCC, the world’s flagship Free Zone and Dubai government authority on commodities trade and enterprise, is launching its latest report on the ‘Future of Trade’ on 15 May 2018 with a live stream webcast moderated by BBC’s Declan Curry.
•How will global trade will change over the next decade?
•Will and how digital drive the global economy into the next phase of growth? Are the rules of engagement for global trade changing in the wake of Brexit, trade tariff disagreements and protectionism?
To learn more, or voice your views tune into The Future of Trade webcast on Tuesday, 15 May 2018, at 11.00 BST (London, UK) / 14.00 GST (Dubai, UAE).
The webcast will feature a panel of experts moderated by former BBC presenter Declan Curry. The experts include: Cebr Head of Macroeconomics, Nina Skero,Maersk Senior Executive Officer, Sinan Ozcan, and DMCC Chief Executive Officer Gautam Sashittal.
Building on research conducted over the last 12 months The Future of Trade report brings together the collective thinking of 250 global industry leaders, academics and experts across 6 leading commodity trade hubs, London, Zurich, Dubai, Singapore, Johannesburg and Hong Kong. In addition to comprehensive quantitative research by The Centre for Economics and Business Research, and a global leading management consulting firm.
The Future of Trade highlights the emerging impact of digital transformation for importers and exporters, along with the ongoing shifts in global economic power.
Did you know that:
-Reducing supply chain barriers to trade could increase global GDP by nearly 5% and trade volumes by 15%?
-Cost of trade globally is $1.8 trillion. 20% of that cost is related to paperwork. Could blockchain change the game?
-China is expected to free up nearly 85 million labour-intensive manufacturing jobs between 2016 and 2030. Will Africa be the next manufacturing hub?
-50% of SME's applications for funding are rejected. Could tech bridge the $1.5tn trade finance gap?
-Imports from Belt and Road countries increased faster than exports for the first time in 2017. Is Belt and Road changing the future of trade, and who really stands to gain?
To register for the webcast please visit: https://broadcastcentre.com/linkedin/the-future-of-trade-2018. For more on twitter: @DMCCAuthority #futureoftrade.


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A new programme to help Welsh firms who have never exported before to sell their products in new international markets is being launched by Wales’ Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething.
The New Exporters Programme, which is one of the new support initiatives being introduced as part of the Welsh Government’s export action plan, will support companies who have either never exported before or have exported intermittently, to sell their goods and services around the world.
Ten companies from a range of sectors across Wales are being recruited to the programme, which will last around 10 months. They will receive intensive support to develop their capacity and capability for exporting, helping them to become regular exporters.
The support will be focused on exporting to Ireland initially, which will act as a starter market for the companies taking part.
Raed the full Welsh Government press release
Posted on: Monday 19th July 2021


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Scottish Development International is looking for games companies wishing to attend the 2014 China Joy games event, which takes place in Shanghai from July 31st-August 3rd.
SDI is in the process of completing their plans for the stand and presence at the show. The organisation has created an entirely new registration process for signing up to attend, which can be completed online.
There is to be an inward delegation from the China Game Publisher Association to Scotland at the start of July and this will be the ideal opportunity to start to build relationships with the represented companies.
If you’re not yet sure about doing business in China, SDI’s Beijing-based Lily Zhao, has pulled together a fact sheet to give you a flavour of the enormity and scale of the opportunities open to Scottish companies…
China’s booming gaming market generated more than $13 billion in 2013, according to the China Games Industry Annual Conference in January 2014. That’s up from $9.8 billion in 2012. It’s also quadruple from 2008 when the nation’s gaming industry produced more than $3 billion in revenue.
While mobile gaming is growing across all of Asia, client-based PC games are still the dominant money maker in China. Nearly 65 percent ($8.7 billion) of all Chinese gaming revenue came from titles like World of Warcraft, League of Legends, and NBA 2K Online. Browser games generated another $2 billion, and mobile titles produced around $1.8 billion. Social gaming was also low on the list with only $1 billion in revenue. Console gaming, which mostly does not have an official presence in China due to government sanctions, only made $15 million.
These numbers reveal that mobile gaming still has a long way to go to unseat more traditional platforms in China. PC games —
including client- and browser-based titles — accounted for 80 percent of total spending in 2013. While new developers might still look at mobile as the best way to break into the lucrative Chinese market, it’s clear that PC titles are still king.
While $1.8 billion for mobile games looks paltry compared to the PC spending, mobile is the fastest-growing part of the market.
Earlier in 2013, Chinese-focused intelligence firm Niko Partners predicted China’s mobile-gaming industry would grow to $1.2 billion in 2013. The reality bested those expectations by 50 percent, which could indicate much stronger adoption of smartphone and tablet spending in 2014. Android is the biggest potential market with 80% market share for the smartphone industry. For the mobile games platform in China, as Google Play is locked in China, a number of third party channels appear for Android market, which includes more than 200 channels. It’s the most complicated issue for overseas game developer to access the China market.


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Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Scott A. Graham, executive director of Michigan Brewers Guild, and Mike Lashbrook, president of the Michigan Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association
Michigan craft beers deservedly are making a name for themselves at home and around the world.
Today, Michigan ranks fifth in number of breweries with sales growing at double-digit rates that far eclipse the national average for craft beer growth in other states. Michigan-made beers are the toast in specialty magazines, in international publications, and at global festivals. Our state is home to more than 140 breweries today; it barely had a handful in the 1990s. These terrific beers are getting into new markets on the strength of our products and a distribution network that employs more than 5,000 people who wake up every morning dedicated to delivering beer to every corner of the state.
Contributing to our success is a balanced system of alcohol regulations and safeguards that are responsible even as they promote economic growth. As the craft beer industry in Michigan grew, we encountered changes in the industry and the marketplace that nobody could foresee decades ago when our regulations were first put in place.
Read Entire Article


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Xiaomi is well known for the release of several smartphones once in every two months. The latest rumor is that the company is gearing up to launch Xiaomi R1 smartphone with 18:9 Full Display in China. The Lei Jun-owned company will launch Redmi 5A aka Desh Ka Smartphone in India followed by Redmi Note 5 in China.
According to rumors, the Xiaomi R1 smartphone will be designed using metal unibody coupled with a fingerprint sensor on the rear. The addition of 18:9 aspect ratio display will set new benchmarks in the budget smartphone segment. As of this writing, we don’t have any information about the features and specifications of the R1 smartphone.
Let’s talk about the upcoming Redmi 5A, which is dubbed as Desh Ka Smartphone. The Redmi 5A will be equipped with a 5-inch HD display, Snapdragon 425 processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB expandable internal storage powered by a 3000mAh battery. The display will have a standard aspect ratio of 16:9, which is regular in other Xiaomi smartphones.
While the rear side will feature a 13MP camera with f/2.2 aperture, the front portion will be infused with a 5MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture. The disappointing factor is that the 3000mAh battery integrated on to the device will not provide support for fast charging. The device will be pre-loaded with Android 7.1 Nougat based MIUI 9.
After the launch of Samsung Galaxy S8 series in early 2017, we have seen a plethora of companies launching new smartphones with an aspect ratio of 18:9, which looks attractive. In 2016, Xiaomi had launched Mi MIX smartphone with a bezel-less display on left, right and top portion with 18:9 aspect ratio. The recently launched Mi MIX 2 includes new features including Gold plated camera sensor rings.
You should accept the facts only with a pinch of salt since there is no official confirmation. We will continue to provide you with updates. Stay tuned.
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Top 5 -yesterday
Top 5 -last month
CAN (ON): Dine among the flowers in Niagara
By combining local food, beer and wine, local floral designers and chefs, these dinners are a celebration of the diverse bounty that local communities have to offer.
These dinners are meant to offer the public a unique experiential dinner, not only by serving a delicious seasonal meal crafted by a local chef, but by placing the expertly designed 100-seat table right in the heart of a breathtaking floral greenhouse.
Petals and Plates dinners aim to highlight the ”who“, “what” and “where” of floriculture - the cause, the chef, the florist, and the farmer take center stage.
For more information:
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Other news in this sector:
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- 2022-08-09 In case you've missed it: Photo report Cultivate'22
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Both digital payment volumes and demand for consumption credit are showing early signs of recovery. But as lenders advance more money, repayment trends are showing early signs of stress.
September 13, 2021
5 Min Read
As India races past the grips of the deadly second wave of Covid-19, some early trends point to consumption picking up in different segments of the economy.
July and August were highlight months for digital payments at consumer outlets and consumption credit, fintech industry executives said. Sectors such as food and healthcare are operating at almost the same levels as January, and the lifestyle category is recovering fast too, said the chief executive of a card payments company. UPI transactions in August doubled to 3.2 billion from 1.6 billion in August last year.
Credit demand for fintechs has improved, but is still lower than pre-pandemic highs, said the founder of a digital lending startup. Demand for credit among high-income consumers has clawed back to 60% pre-pandemic levels. But “lower income categories, or blue-collar working categories, are still under stress and lenders are extremely cautious against taking exposure there,” he said.
As for personal borrowings, 11.5 billion loans originated in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2021, improving from less than a billion in the fourth quarter of FY 2020, show data from credit bureau Crif High Mark.
We report on the latest and most important developments in India’s biggest tech companies and disruptive startups so you can make better decisions.
Know the key decision-makers with Org Charts. We thrive on decoding boardroom conversations so we can bring you a 360° view of what's happening at India's high-growth companies.
Tracking the highs and lows of India’s biggest internet companies over the past decade has given us access to the right decision-makers to interpret the latest state of play.
We thrive on inside scoops and decoding boardroom conversations so we can bring you a 360° view of what’s happening at India’s high-growth companies.


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The Delorean is poised for a triumphant return.
In the early 1980s, the DeLorean DMC-12, or just DMC DeLorean, was unveiled to the American market as a new rear-engine sports car with a striking design and famous gullwing doors. While the car did have some issues, it’s become an icon thanks to its appearance in the Back To The Future movies. Decades later, examples of the DMC DeLorean can be seen cruising the streets with or without their time machine attachments.
While we have heard rumblings of a DeLorean rebirth over the years, this one is as official as it gets. Italdesign, the team behind cars like the Nissan GT-R 50 and the ZeroUno, is the company behind the revival of DeLorean. To be more specific, the company’s registered name is Italdesign-Giugiaro S.p.A. If you’re quite familiar with the original DeLorean, you’d know that it was actually Giorgetto Giugiaro who was behind the design of the American sports car. Thanks to this relationship, having Italdesign be in charge of a new generation of DeLoreans makes perfect sense.
To announce the happening, Italdesign’s YouTube channel uploaded the video found above. In the video, we see the unmistakable outline of a DeLorean, albeit with smoother edges and a striking headlight design. While we don’t know the specifics of the DeLorean’s revival, you can visit DeLorean.com to sign up for more information as it gets released.
Source: Italdesign, DeLorean.com


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6E is the airline code for IndiGo.
Scheduled to be launched next month, the co-branded card will be available in two variants-- 6E Rewards and 6E Rewards XL -- offering exclusive travel benefits to the cardholders keen on domestic or international travel, IndiGo said in a release.
Customer research reveals that travel has emerged as the most sought-after redemption category in terms of reward programmes. Customers prefer to receive travel-associated offers and benefits such as free flights while redeeming their reward points - a trend that is expected to accelerate as air travel reaches pre-pandemic levels, the airline said.
The credit card will allow customers to accrue accelerated 6E Rewards on their spends and redeem these points for airline tickets anytime with no blackout dates on redemptions.
Furthermore, customers will have access to other special benefits on IndiGo including complimentary air ticket, discounted convenience fee, priority check-in, choice of seat and a complimentary meal, the airline said.
"We are excited to indulge our customers with 6E Rewards on flight bookings, dining, entertainment and other spends that can be redeemed for IndiGo flight tickets and on other products and categories with our commitment to provide a great engagement to our members," said William Boulter, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo, on the collaboration.
The cardholders will also be able to earn additional 6E Rewards on dining, shopping, transport, medical bill spends, utilities, fuel and other major categories with Feature Partners of 6E Rewards Programme, IndiGo said. PTI IAS ANU ANU


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World Tourism Day celebrations were concluded in style as Limpopo Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (Ledet) and Limpopo Tourism Agency (LTA) partnered with Sekhukhune District Municipality to host a tourism seminar and heritage tour of some of the tourist attractions in the area.
LTA Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ndumiso Matlala said Sekhukhune has a lot of tourism potential that has to be unlocked. “Tourism has labour absorptive capacity as it can create job opportunities thereby reducing poverty among communities,” he elaborated.
He challenged tourism entrepreneurs in Sekhukhune to create other avenues in the Tourism sector that will make visitors spend as they come to the province. He also encouraged the people of Limpopo to develop a culture of travel as that assists in reenergizing their bodies and minds. “LTA is looking into reintroducing school tours to visit many tourist attractions in the province. Limpopo is currently the highest visited province in the country on the domestic tourism front and we want to have attractions of note to attract them to spend money but also to have longer stays in the province,” Matlala concluded.
Organisations invited to give presentations were Sekhukhune Development Agency (SDA), Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) and Ledet.
During his presentation titled “The untapped Tourism opportunities, CEO of Sekhukhune Development Agency (SDA), Sephaka Motswiane, commended LTA for the achievement of being the most visited province in the country but indicated that Sekhukhune does not feature in statistics given the low tourism development in the district.
Motswiane said that they are creating other routes but wish to also resuscitate the Marota Route formerly known as the Kings and Kingdoms. The other routes to be developed with the help of Ledet include Flag Boshielo Dam with a huge tourism potential, De Hoop Dam, Potlake Nature Reserve, and the Tourism Centre or Visitor Information Centre in the district around De Hoop Dam.
Sabelo Ntshangase, Business Advisor at Seda, spoke about opportunities they have to assist aspiring entrepreneurs by providing funding, skills training mentorship or handholding and marketing.
Pattern Mametja, Tourism Officer at Ledet, informed the audience about internship and learnership opportunities and support programmes offered.
Delegates to the seminar were very optimistic that Sekhukhune tourism was on the correct path and would rekindle given the many opportunities brought to light by the CEOs of LTA and SDA. It was also resolved that the seminar become an annual feature of Tourism Month.
Later in the day, delegates were taken on a tour of Tšate Heritage Site, where Kgoši Sekhukhune fought and won his battles against the colonisers and then to Potlake Nature Reserve. The tour was meant to stimulate the culture of travel among the people of Sekhukhune with the hope that they will spread the message about the tour through the word of mouth and social media, which are strong channels of communication.
Story: Herbert Rachuene


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The continuing development of lithium ion batteries has resulted in a series of improvements in electrochemical materials. With goals of reduced price, higher specific energy, and improved safety, the electrolyte has come under close scrutiny as an area where improvements can be made. New solvents, new salts, and new additives are providing electrolyte formulations that can help improve battery performance.
Sam Jaffe, the managing director of Cairn ERA, follows the development of lithium ion electrolytes. His company provides market forecasts and strategic information to battery manufacturers and end users. Jaffe will be a speaker at The Battery Show in Novi, Michigan with a talk titled, “Electrolyte: Technology and Marketing Trends,” which takes place on September 11. Sam spoke with Design News about where the electrolyte market is today and what we can expect in the future.
Electrolytes for commercial lithium ion batteries are made up of a mixture of organic solvents and lithium fluoride salts. The purpose of the electrolyte is to allow the mobility of lithium ions between the positive and negative electrodes during charging and discharging. “We will continue to use organic solvents for quite a while. Today, there are no real alternatives,” said Jaffe.
Despite significant improvement in the anode (negative electrode) and cathode (positive electrode) in the past ten years, the electrolytes haven’t changed very much. “Only recently have we seen measurable steps
oward investing heavily in electrolyte research,” said Jaffe. “The components have been pretty steady over the last ten years: LiPF6 combined with a cyclic carbonate, a liner carbonate, and a few traditional additives. The additive space has gotten much more sophisticated in the last few years, where every battery manufacturer and electrolyte company has their ‘secret sauce’ for additives,” he added. Jaffe told us that there used to be two or three additives in an electrolyte, but now there can be as many as ten or fifteen different additives.
“People have finally realized that the electrolyte, which used to be thought of as a non-working fluid—a medium through which the ions flowed—is actually an intricate part of making a battery. A lot of effort and time has to be put toward getting the electrolyte right if you are going to introduce anything new into the cathode or anode,” Jaffe said.
“One of the most significant advances of the past few years is high-intensity salt concentrations or ‘solvent in salt.’ They are increasing the ratio of salt to solvent. By mixing with additives, they can dramatically increase the salt amount,” noted Jaffe. The advantages are an acceptance of higher capacity anodes and increased energy capacity because there is more electrochemical active material versus inactive material. “It’s an elaborate three-way balancing act and that’s what makes battery manufacturing hard,” he said.
According to Jaffe, the biggest determining factor in electrolyte cost is the price of the lithium that is used in the salts that are added to the solvents. The price of the solvents have remained fairly constant over the past ten years. The traditional manufacturers from Japan and Korea are recently finding competition from several Chinese manufacturers.
In addition, there are environmental concerns in the manufacturing of electrolytes that come from the use of fluorine. “Any time you use fluorine in an industrial manufacturing process, you end up with environmental concerns,” said Jaffe. This is primarily due to the extreme toxicity of the hydrogen fluoride used to make the LiPF6 salt. Once the salt compound had been synthesized, it is relatively safe to handle.
Jaffe told us the limiting factors for increasing electrolyte production come primarily from the time it takes to bring a plant online to make the materials. “Nobody wants to over-invest in manufacturing capacity, but also, nobody wants to miss the opportunity to be a participant in the battery boom. It’s a five to seven year lead time to build any sort of fluorinated manufacturing process with significant capacity,” he said.
“There is definitely movement in China. Companies have expanded their electrolyte and electrolyte component manufacturing capacities. There’s a lot of activity in the west—both Europe and North America—of companies that have just sat down at the poker table and are being dealt cards, but nobody has laid down their bet yet,” explained Jaffe.
Jaffe has been keeping an eye on solid electrolytes, but doesn’t think that they will be ready for prime time for at least several years. “There will be high-value niche applications within the next five years,” he said, “but they won’t be seen in vehicles for at least five to ten years.”


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By Kevin Magee
BBC NI business correspondent
An announcement is due on the John Lewis planning application
A announcement is expected on the future of a major planning application at Sprucefield on the outskirts of Lisburn, County Antrim.
The current application, re-submitted after a series of objections, consists of a John Lewis department store, and units for 19 other outlets.
Planning approval was originally sought for the store more than four years ago.
The developer has taken the unusual step of requesting a public inquiry be heard into the application.
It is understood the John Lewis chain feels this would ensure any outstanding objections could be dealt with in an open forum in line with planning policy.
According to the developers the proposed development, if given the go-ahead, would cost £150m to build and generate a total of 2,000 new jobs - including 700 of them in John Lewis and more than 500 during the construction phase.
The proposed development has been dogged by controversy since it was first submitted four years ago.
It has been opposed by traders in Lisburn, Belfast, Banbridge and Craigavon.
They feared their town centres would be damaged by the number of additional retail units attached to the John Lewis application.


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GM forms partnership to support Volt launch in China
China's first Volt demonstrator vehicles will be delivered in April, with the two companies forming a joint working team to collect feedback from their usage to inform vehicle policy in China. Real-world performance, charging and infrastructure will all be examined as part of the demonstration process.
Ray Bierzynski, GM China executive director of electrification strategy, added: ‘It is important for us to offer those in key positions to affect policy an opportunity to experience firsthand our variety of electrification solutions for reducing the automotive industry’s dependence on petroleum.’
General Motors has already installed charging points at Tsinghua University, the office of SAE China, a Chevrolet dealership in Beijing and at the GM China headquarters in Shanghai to support the project. The carmaker will also install points at CATARC’s headquarters in Tianjin in the near future.
CATARC director Zhao Hang explained: ‘This partnership is strategically important to us. The Volt, with its cutting-edge and practical technologies, will provide information to assist us in preparing the Chinese market for future electrified vehicles.’