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SAN JOSE – In a new online striptease, the buxom, beautiful blonde who promises to remove her slinky scraps of lingerie doesn’t want your money. She’s interested in your brain. Really.
The creation of online scammers, she’s trying to trick unsuspecting Internet users into helping the scammers break the online barriers that banks and e-mail services set up to thwart crooks.
The striptease is the latest attempt to defeat so-called CAPTCHA systems, which is short for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. Those safeguards require users to prove they are human by reading wavy, oddly shaped jumbles of letters and numbers that appear in an image and typing them out.
In the new scam, an icon of an alluring woman suddenly appears on a Windows computer infected by a virus. After clicking on the icon, the user sees a photo of an attractive woman who vows to take off an article of clothing each time the jumble of figures next to her is entered.
But the woman never fully undresses, and after several passwords are entered, the program restarts, possibly enticing unsuspecting users into trying again.
Trend Micro researchers say the scam appears to be isolated for now to spammers trying to register bogus e-mail addresses and flood chat rooms with unwanted pitches. But they worry that schemes to infiltrate financial institutions could soon appear.
Paul Ferguson, network architect at Trend Micro, speculated that spammers might be using the results to write a program to automatically bypass CAPTCHA systems.
“I have to hand it to them,” Ferguson said, laughing. “The social engineering aspect here is pretty clever.”
iPhone Time’s invention of year
SAN JOSE – The most talked-about cell phone is getting more juice for the jabber. Time magazine has named the iPhone “Invention of the Year.”
Apple Inc.’s latest darling topped dozens of other creations that made leaps in environmentally friendly technology, molecular science, robotics or military uses. The photogenic personality of the sleek, hybrid cell phone-iPod media player didn’t hurt either.
“Intel’s 45-nanometer (parts for chips) – that’s a serious deal, but it’s a lot less glamorous than the iPhone even though it’s important,” said Lev Grossman, a Time staff writer who covers technology and helped select the magazine’s annual honorees.
Yet the gadget’s celebrity chic was not the core reason, according to Grossman’s story, which appears in Friday’s issue.
The iPhone’s design and beauty contribute to its appeal, but its functionality and features are what gets people talking. The features may not be groundbreaking, but the way in which Apple presents them is.
Take the iPhone’s touch-screen. Apple neither invented nor reinvented the technology, Grossman contends, but “Apple knew what to do with it.”
The wide-ranging impact of the iPhone – on the cell-phone industry and how it will evolve into an ever more useful handheld computer – is only beginning, he concludes.
Last year’s winning invention was the online video site YouTube.


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- Development & Aid
- Economy & Trade
- Human Rights
- Global Governance
- Civil Society
Thursday, December 7, 2023
Apr 7 2016 - In the last months of 2014 breaking news shocked the world’s chocolate lovers: within a few years the world could face a significant potential cocoa shortage due to climate change.
The news that by 2050 there might be not enough cocoa to make one of the most loved and affordable luxury products came as a bolt in the blue in a year when the chocolate industry enjoyed record global revenues of $117 billion. Such a relevant performance was driven by a 2.1% increase in volume, reflecting above all a growing appetite for chocolate in emerging markets.
The single biggest factor improving the industry’s performance is in fact due to a significant increase consumption in many major emerging markets such as India, Brazil and China. The potential long-term growth in emerging economies – many of which have growing middle classes – is vast. To give just one example: the per capita consumption of chocolate in China is only a tenth of that in Switzerland. Yet the future is not without challenges because in the last four decades cocoa production, which is already under pressure due to unsustainable farming techniques and lack of investments by smallholder farmers, will be significantly challenged by climate change.
Combining the above-mentioned factors with the rising demand for chocolate from China, Brazil and other emerging markets as well, the cocoa industry is likely to face supply shortages in the near future.
According to a study released by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, temperatures in some regions of Ghana and Ivory Coast, which together account for more than 60% of global cocoa supply, would become unsuitable for cocoa growing. The objective of the study, which was partially financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations, was to design future climate scenarios to predict the impact of climate change on the suitability for growing cocoa in the main growing regions of Ghana and Ivory Coast.
In Ghana and Ivory Coast the yearly and monthly rainfall will decrease slightly by 2050, except for coastal areas in Ghana, but the yearly and monthly minimum and maximum temperatures will increase by 2030 and continue to increase by 2050. Overall climate becomes less seasonal in terms of variation throughout the year with temperature in specific districts increasing by about 1.2°C by 2030 and of 2.1°C by 2050 and less seasonal in precipitation with the number of dry months decreasing from four to three.
The implications are that the distribution of suitability within the current cocoagrowing areas in Ghana and Ivory Coast in general will decrease quite seriously by 2050 because of the temperature increases. Higher temperatures mean that more water evaporates into the air from leaves and earth, leaving less behind for cocoa trees – a process called “evapotranspiration.”
Climate change will increasingly affect weather patterns around the world, as well as water availability and agricultural productivity. The cocoa tree only grows in equatorial climates where significant areas of land may no longer be suitable for cocoa growing. Moreover, cocoa is a major cash crop of the tropical forest, and export earnings from its sales form a major part of the economics of those countries in equatorial Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America where small-scale family farmers rely completely on cocoa production for living.
According to the 2012 Cocoa Barometer Report, around 90% of world cocoa is produced on small family farms, with an estimated 20 million smallholders and rural workers depending directly on cocoa for their livelihood. Cocoa trees play an absolutely critical role in rural life and many of these farmers use the cocoa trees like “ATM machines: they pick some pods and sell them to quickly raise cash for school fees and medical expenses.”
The decline in cocoa production will uncover the fragility of farmers’ reliance on a single crop to make a living and, even if some areas remain suitable for cocoa, this will happen only when the farmers adapt their agronomic management to the new conditions. Therefore, without empowering and investing in small-scale farmers, the industry will struggle to provide sufficient supply. In fact, these small-scale family farmers, most of whom have never tasted a bar of chocolate, live in chronic poverty.
Without a strong and effective intervention from major chocolate companies, it is more likely that they will simply switch to more lucrative crops like palm oil or rubber, accelerating the negative trend in cocoa availability. In this context, chocolate companies have to invest more money in sustainability programs to improve the livelihoods of cocoa farmers.
According to the Earth Security Index 2015, multinational companies as well as countries like Switzerland, which is the global hub of the lucrative chocolate trade, need to do much more to prevent a future supply chain crisis. Some companies, for example Barry Callebaut (which alone processes almost a quarter of the world’s cocoa beans), are encouraging cocoa farmers to plant shade trees, including valuable timber trees. These trees will not only provide shade to protect the cocoa trees, but they will also provide an income when the aging plantation has to be replanted, bridging the income gap until new trees start bearing fruit. As clearly stated in the study released by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture: “the winners will be those who are prepared for change and know how to adapt.”
In the meantime, keep calm and eat chocolate… before it’s too late!
Carlo Clini is an Associate Fellow of The Institute for Environmental Security.
This story was originally published by Longitude, Italy
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Apple just added over 20 new emojis in its iOS 16.4 update — here’s what’s new
Apple has released iOS 16.4, adding over 20 new emojis to iPhone including a new shaking face, a donkey, moose, and more.
The update brings a much-requested plain pink heart, one new smiley face, three new colored heart emojis, and two new hand gestures, each with support for different skin tones.
iOS 16.4 introduces three new heart emojis in pink, light blue and gray. The update adds new donkey, moose, goose, and jellyfish characters, as well as a folding hand fan, flute, pea pod, ginger root, hair pick, and more.
iOS 16.4 is the latest major update to Apple’s iOS 16 operating system, bringing enhancements, bug fixes, and security updates to iPhone.
In addition to the new emojis, which are now also available on iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, iOS 16.4 introduces support for notifications on web apps added to the Home Screen, Voice Isolation for cellular calls, Crash Detection optimizations on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models, and more.


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Apple touts major App Store milestone: 25 billion downloads
Less than four years after its July 2008 launch, Apple’s App Store has another jaw-dropping statistic for its resume: 25 billion total downloads. At last count, Apple had sold more than 316 million iOS devices, which means roughly 79 apps have been downloaded for each iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch sold by the company. Google’s Android Market went online just three months later and topped 11 billion downloads in January. Google has sold more than 250 million Android devices over the life of its mobile OS, or 44 apps per device.


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Telemarketing credit card fraudsters aren’t even trying anymore. Reader Chris took a picture of the caller ID for one of them actually showing up as “PHONE SCAM.”
Looking at complaints about the phone number online, which also say that the number comes up as “PHONE SCAM,” it sounds like they already have your credit card number and they try to get you to give them the CCV code. They pretend to from a company that can lower your credit card interest rate and say they just need the code on the back to verify your account.
Remember to never give out personal information to strangers on the phone.
Not sure why they would program the caller ID to say “Phone Scam.” Disgruntled employee playing a joke? It’s not the first instance we’ve seen of this, though. A few months ago another reader sent in a picture of a roboscammer that showed up on caller ID as “TELEMRKET FRAUD.”


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Few food groups are as coveted as the Rancho Gordo bean club. Sales at the Napa company, which specializes in heirloom beans, doubled over the pandemic. The club has 11,000 members who are sent a curated box of beans and recipes every quarter. And the wait list to get in is 35,000 people long.
Members get pristine, beautifully speckled beans, yes, but there’s a lesser known perk of joining: a private Facebook group that one member described as “the nicest, happiest place on the internet.”


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A significant increase of 30%-50% in the prices of sugar may hit the market soon if the global trend and shortage of the sweet substance continues, according to David Franklin, CEO of Sugat, Israel's largest sugar manufacturer.
The International Sugar Organization predicts that the global demand for sugar will exceed its production by about 5 million tons by September 2010, and will lead to the worst shortage in two years.
The shortage stems from climate changes: Rains four times heavier than expected have hit south-central Brazil and are delaying the sugar cane harvest.
In addition, a drop is expected in production in Mexico, Pakistan, India and Thailand due to a weak monsoon seasons. In June, India experienced the worst drought in 83 years.
As a result of these damages, the number of options for purchasing sugar reached $20.85 cents per libra (about 340 grams) last week, and is expected to reach a price of $30 cents per libra by the end of the year. The price of sugar has made a leap of 76% since the beginning of the year.


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Toyota, Kia, Suzuki, Hyundai, Ford and Chrysler are offering members of the armed services $ 500 rebates. The savings from GM could be $2,000 or more, now that the automaker is tailoring its military rebates to its different models and increasing them in many cases.
Service members can usually pile the military discount right on top of the regular rebates and special financing that may be available.
With 1.4 million members on active duty and millions more in the retired and reserves, the military represents a huge market to automakers, with tastes that mostly mirror the mainstream market.
"This is an extremely important market to us, and our program is growing every year," said Joanne Hogan, program manager with Ford's military appreciation program. "We do a lot of marketing on military.com and on the bases.
U.S. Military Like Ford Trucks and Asian Cars
Do soldiers, sailors and flyers go for Detroit sheet-metal more often than imports? The preference is for pick-up trucks among active military skews the market slightly toward Detroit, since Ford, GM and Dodge dominate the full-size truck market. According to ZAG, an automotive research company and AOL Autos partner, the Ford F-150 is the number-one vehicle among active military. But only three of the top ten vehicles purchased by active and retured military are from Detroit. ZAG's findings are based on data from military- and veterans-related purchasing programs this year.
The military programs for these customers vary greatly in their criteria. While all include active military, some individual programs include reservists, family members or veterans as well. Some car companies put an expiration on specific deals while others continue them across the board from month to month.
Automakers occasionally make these deals available to veterans of the armed services who did not serve the 20 years needed to formally retire from the military.
Hyundai established its program several years ago and recently expanded eligibility to veterans with at least four years in uniform. That opened it up to millions of former military from the Vietnam and other eras. Participation has soared, company spokesman Miles Johnson said.
"We feel so strongly about the contributions of our military that we enhanced our program in 2011," he said.
It seems to be a good fit for the Korean carmaker, which is now making vehicles in Alabama: the Hyundai Sonata ranks 10 th on ZAG's list.
In March, Hyundai's sibling company, Kia Motors, was offering $500 rebates on the 2011 and 2010 Forte and the 2010 Optima sedan. The Kia program is for military members on active duty and their spouses and children.
Toyota generally has a $500 rebate for military customers, but it can be more than that on some models. One example was the $1,000 rebate it was offering on its Venza crossover in March in much of the Midwest. The Toyota subsidiary Scion has a $1,000 rebate for service members, provided that the vehicle is financed or leased through a Scion dealership.
Not All Automakers Court the Military
For their part, Honda and Nissan don't have military discounts. Honda is apparently doing well enough without them: three Hondas – the Accord sedan, the CR-V and the Civic sedan – are in fourth, sixth and ninth place among customers served by veteran and military programs, according to ZAG. It is surprising that they score so high with veterans without the price break.
Nissan, however, could use a push if it wants to gain ground with the military. Its Altima was the only one to make it into the top 25 on the ZAG list.
Ford offers a $500 bonus toward the purchase or lease of new Ford or Lincoln vehicles, although it excludes its hybrid vehicles, as well as the high-performance Mustang pony cars that would be a natural fit for service personnel looking for a little zip in their rides after driving big bulk hulking Humvees.
Ford recently added early enlistees and new retirees to the list of eligible recipients. Individuals who enlist but delay their entry qualify for the incentive even before they take the oath. Retirees are eligible as much as 180 days into their new civilian lives.
Chrysler is currently offering a $500 rebate for active military and reservists as well as retirees with 20 years of service on virtually all vehicles. The incentive probably wouldn't make that much difference on the one vehicle being excluded: the $90,000 Dodge Viper.
GM broke ranks with its rivals in 2008 and began offering deals tailored to the individual model lines. Linda Stouffer, the marketing manager for the automaker's military program, said it is now open to spouses – an advantage to military families when the husband or wife is deployed. In GM's incentive jargon, members of the Armed Forces get "preferred pricing."
"In the previous program, the savings were set at $500," she said. "But now it varies depending on the vehicle." Currently, the discount is nearly $400 on the Cruze, Chevy's new compact contender, but $2,000 on the Chevy Avalanche. Buyers also can save more than $1,200 on a Buick Enclave, nearly $700 on a Buick Regal or about $2,000 on a GMC Sierra . Standard rebates are added to those amounts.
Other changes at GM have been designed to make the purchase more friendly for their uniformed customers. After building their vehicle on the GM website, www.gmmilitarydiscount.com, they receive a set, no-haggle price that already includes the discount.
"For our military, we wanted to take out all the stress, and let them know what they're going to pay when they walk in into the dealership, " Stouffer said.
Reducing stress in a new-car purchase for people who have done so much for their country already seems like a good idea.


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This is the first in a two-part series looking at which seafood restaurants in California have the most fresh fish.
It looks at the top restaurants in terms of seafood quality, taste and presentation.
The first article focuses on the top seafood restaurants on the East Coast.
It focuses on a small fish restaurant in Portland, Oregon, called Sushi Noodle.
Here’s what you need to know about the place and its fish.
A local fishmonger and owner says the restaurant is one of the best in the state.
He said the fish is fresh, the broth is rich and the fish sauces are delicious.
The second article focuses solely on the state’s second-best seafood restaurants.
It’s called the Fishermans, and it’s a family-run restaurant located in a small, rural community in the mountains of central Oregon.
It is the only seafood restaurant in the U.S. with two Michelin stars.
Fishermans owner Dan Haughey said his restaurant has consistently placed at the very top of the California seafood rankings.
“We do a very good job of preparing the fish,” he said.
“We prepare the fillets very well, and we put the seafood on the table with great attention to detail.”
The restaurant has had a strong run of late.
Haughe says Fishermans has seen a 30% increase in business in the last year.
Haughey says the popularity of the restaurant has come from the fact that people love their seafood.
He says they enjoy the flavor and feel of the seafood.
The third article focuses only on the states top seafood restaurant.
It includes the top four sushi restaurants in Southern California, and a restaurant called Giro on the Pacific.
In this article, you’ll find out how the sushi restaurant stacks up against the top chefs in the country.
The top sushi restaurants are in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego and San Francisco.
These are the sushi restaurants that have been in business for a while.
These sushi restaurants have been around for a long time.
“You’re going to have to ask the chefs if they’re really making the fresher fish,” Haughel says.
The fourth article focuses exclusively on the California top sushi restaurant.
This restaurant is called Maku, and chef Yoshiki Yamada has been working at the restaurant for more than 20 years.
Yamada says Maku is one the most important sushi restaurants for him.
He has spent most of his life at the sushi bar at Maku.
“I have a lot of experience there,” Yamada said.
“The food is delicious,” he added.
“The chef is always on point.”
Yamadera says Margo has been the most successful restaurant in California.
He’s also seen it increase in popularity.
“There are so many new restaurants popping up in California,” Yamadera said.
The fifth article focuses just on the three top sushi dining areas in the nation.
It covers restaurants in San Francisco, Oakland, and San Diego.
These restaurants are all popular with locals and tourists.
And the restaurants are so popular they have their own sushi menus.
Here’s what to expect at a sushi restaurant in San Diego:For a local sushi restaurant, there is a lot to like.
The menu offers a wide variety of dishes from sushi rolls to nigiri to tempura rolls.
For a sushi chef, the best part is that they have a dedicated staff.
“If you go to a restaurant with no sushi, it’s not a great experience,” Yamadas said.


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Consumers have become increasingly dependent on mobile technology, as tablets and smartphones are a common, everyday necessity for many individuals. They allow customers to conduct online shopping while being out and about at the same time, a freedom that cannot be met as easily with desktop and laptop computers.
According to Javelin Strategy, by the end of December 2011, 13 percent of U.S. consumers owned tablets. However, the company predicted that tablet popularity will only increase and that by 2016, 40 percent of the nation's customers will have one.
In addition, Nielson estimates that the number of Android and iOS users has grown from 38 million in 2011 to 84 million today. The company's research also showed that one in two U.S. mobile subscribers now has a smartphone, with the average number of apps downloaded per year seeing a 28 percent spike.
Using digital media may be one of the top things consumers use their mobile devices for, however, they can also conduct online banking, send emails and pay bills, all from whatever location they desire. As more individuals will be accessing services this way, it only makes sense to think that when issues occur in any of those processes, customers will expect immediate accessibility to a service representative as well.
As continuously mentioned in this blog, businesses and organizations need to keep pace with their customers in order to properly cater to their needs. With more options for communication available to consumers, it's vital for companies to meet them halfway. Pairing with a 24/7 answering service will put a live customer service representative in contact with a customer whenever they want. And, individuals can communicate with a representative through phone, email or text messages – whatever is most convenient to them.


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Graduating students from Esmod, KHiO, Oslo Met and SoFI are invited to participate in the competition. One student from each school will be nominated by the jury, based on their graduation shows. The nominated students will show their creations on the catwalk during Oslo Runway in August, and one of them will receive the DS Fasion Talent Award, naming them the next, promising young design talent.
This is the jury deciding Norway’s next big design talent.
The award, which will be granted to a young, aspiring designer studying in one of Oslo’s design schools, is an initiative by Oslo Runway in collaboration with the French auto brand DS Automobiles, seeking to provide a platform highlighting the next generation of designers.


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The University Village located on the Northern side of the USC campus was a flocking area for USC students and LAUSD/USC Cinematic Arts and Engineering Magnet (CAE) students. The village was Eden to many students who needed a break from school. The food court offered a variety of food options from Indian, Mongolian, Korean and Italian. Unfortunately that all came to an unexpected end. The recent tear down of the Village across the street from LAUSD/USC CAE Magnet School has left many students with a void in their stomach. The renovation brought in many local food trucks to the area in hopes that they would fulfill the void left by the University Village. But some ponder whether or not the food trucks are a healthy alternative.
To get a sense of what kind of food was being offered, we asked students what they purchase. USC CAE Senior Bryan Garcia visits the food trucks and says, “I visit the Kabob food truck almost every day. I get the same thing, which is either a plain burger or a burrito.” Junior Mariyah Plair has a similar taste in food but adds a few touches to her burger to make it more enjoyable, adding avocados and bacon. Senior Edwin Mejia has a more peculiar taste and enjoys the Chanchos Tacos food truck for their “delicious chicken quesadillas.” The old Village, unlike the food trucks, had more options to choose from whether it be a vegetarian sandwich or a fish entree. The food trucks in contrast sell greasy and fattening food that, while tasty, pose a threat to our health.
These three students all agree that the food trucks are not healthy, but with limited resources at their disposal they cannot complain. Bryan preferred the Village because it had a variety of healthy alternatives. Mariyah says that the food trucks are “McDonald’s on wheels, but I still like it.” Edwin Mejia then responded by saying “it is very convenient seeing that it’s right in front of our school and the food is pretty good but is very expensive.” Mariyah says otherwise and states that the food truck is very cheap and the quantity of food that is served is more than an average meal.
Overall the response we got about the food trucks was very positive with great food choices. But the answer was clear; the food trucks are not healthy. The long wait for the new remodeled village is certainly building up. With the expected finish of the Village to be in fall of 2017 the community is hopeful for their expectations to be exceeded.
Written and Photographed by Joshua Morales and Joshua Moreno


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“The Data Protection Act remains the law of the land irrespective of the referendum result.
“If the UK is not part of the EU, then upcoming EU reforms to data protection law would not directly apply to the UK. But if the UK wants to trade with the Single Market on equal terms we would have to prove ‘adequacy’ – in other words UK data protection standards would have to be equivalent to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation framework starting in 2018.
“With so many businesses and services operating across borders, international consistency around data protection laws and rights is crucial both to businesses and organisations and to consumers and citizens. The ICO’s role has always involved working closely with regulators in other countries, and that would continue to be the case.
“Having clear laws with safeguards in place is more important than ever given the growing digital economy, and we will be speaking to government to present our view that reform of the UK law remains necessary.”
For our comment on Brexit, please see our earlier blog post here.
Having spent several years negotiating the new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), could it be that if the UK votes for Brexit on 23 June 2016 we will no longer need to be troubled with this mammoth piece of new legislation?
The GDPR will come into force across the EU on 25 May 2018. It represents a major upgrade to Data Protection laws, which are woefully out of date for the digital connected world. While 2018 is a little time away, because of the substantive changes involved, businesses are starting now to consider what they need to do to make sure that they are compliant by 2018 at the latest.
So, the question is, if the UK is no longer a member of the EU, will the GDPR still be relevant? In brief, the answer is YES.
First, from a timing viewpoint, while a vote for Brexit may be passed in June 2016, the UK’s actual exit from the EU will take place at least two years later. This means that the UK will still actually be a member of the EU, although under notice of leaving, when the GDPR comes into force in May 2018.
While this first point may be short-lived, as the ICO has stated, “the UK will continue to need clear and effective data protection laws, whether or not the country remains part of the EU”. Having been part of the lengthy process of negotiating the GDPR, it is highly unlikely that the UK would do a u-turn on their implementation. While there may be some who will argue that the UK could benefit from not being weighed down by this somewhat bloated and bureaucratic Regulation, and could opt for something more streamlined and flexible, there is unlikely to be much appetite to change things materially.
Furthermore, for the UK to trade with the EU, it will be essential for the UK to be regarded as a safe harbor to receive personal data from the EU. This in turns depends on the data protection laws of the UK being in line with those in the EU. This is ironic given that the EU Data Protection Directive of 1995 was based in large measure on the original UK Data Protection Act of 1984.
Following a Brexit, the UK would be in the somewhat awkward position of having to ask the EU to make a formal ruling that the UK has “an adequate level of protection for personal data”. Such a ruling has been made in relation to countries such as Switzerland, Canada, New Zealand etc and would be required to enable EU-based businesses to transfer personal data to the UK, and to give confidence to EU-based consumers transacting with UK businesses.
While there are many unknowns about Brexit, not least (at the time of writing) whether we are in or out, since May 2016 when the GDPR was approved, the future as regards Data Protection laws looks pretty clear.
Nigel Miller is a partner in the commerce & technology team at City law firm Fox Williams LLP and can be contacted at email@example.com


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Editors of the publication talk about the compilation of the list and the top five most powerful people in business in the state.
In his speech, the governor again proclaimed the 'New Jersey Comeback' and touted the state's improved business climate.
Opening a business and planting roots in the Garden State may be a bit bleak, according to a non-partisan tax research group.
More than 400 agriculture leaders met today for the annual State Agriculture Convention in A.C. This is the first year the convention takes place concurrently with the Vegetable Growers Assoc.
Two in five New Jerseyans (41 percent) say they are worse off than a year ago, a seven-point decline from 48 percent in January of 2011.
In the past few years, several fast food restaurants like Wendy's and Burger King have had to close in Cape May County.
You can look over the odds and the point spreads and the player injury reports.....but hold your game bet for now.
Agency is seeking suggestions from all stakeholders — including visitors — on how to revitalize the resort.
The telecommunications industry, once a leader in New Jersey, may be making a comeback.
Analysts predict a 3.8 percent increase in sales this holiday season compared to last year, after solid sales reports in October and November.
The first racino in New York City recently added more slot machines, offering New Yorkers an alternative to Atlantic City.
FDU PublicMind Poll director Peter Woolley thinks the trend is moving in favor of permitting it.
In a move to expand New Jersey’s wine industry and visibility, the Senate approved legislation Thursday that permits the state’s wineries to sell directly to retailers.
While many state and local governments are offering companies incentives to stay put, electronics company LG has decided to keep its headquarters in Englewood Cliffs without asking for extras.
New Jersey Business and Industry Association President Philip Kirschner discusses the economic climate in the state.


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Corona beer sales have increased by more than 17% since March 2020, defying predictions the brand would suffer during COVID-19.
There were fears the association between the beer’s name and the pandemic would be damaging. Google data shows that in the month of March searches for “beer virus” and “Corona beer virus” surged 1100%.
But the 2020 Brand Finance Beers 50 list recently crowned Corona the No.1 beer brand in the world, with a value of $US8.1billion.
Brand Finance noted: “The leading Mexican brand is imported into a staggering 120 countries and sales remain solid across its key markets, including China and South Africa.
“With China being Corona’s largest market, outside of Mexico, the unfortunate combination of the coincidence in name and strict nationwide lockdown across the nation at the beginning of the year over Chinese New Year has caused a decline in sales. The makers of Corona have, however, hit back at allegations that the pandemic has damaged its brand, claiming that consumers understand that there is no link between the two.”
In May, Constellation Brands CEO Bill Newlands told Yahoo Finance’s The First Trade: “Most consumers understand Corona the brand has nothing to do with corona the virus. Our consumers are very comfortable with the brand and the results speak for themselves. Recent data show our Corona brand is up over 20%. So very strong performance.”
The top 8 selling beer brands in the US
The top selling eight beer brand families have all surpassed $1 billion in sales at multi-outlet chain and convenience stores year-to-date, according to data shared by market research firm IRI, which includes sales data through August 9.
Those eight companies are:
- AB InBev’s Bud brand family ($4.43 billion);
- AB InBev’s Michelob brand family ($1.884 billion),;
- Constellation Brands’ Modelo brand family ($1.7 billion);
- Constellation Brands’ Corona brand family ($1.684 billion);
- Molson Coors’ Coors brand family ($1.64 billion);
- Molson Coors’ Miller brand family ($1.366 billion);
- Mark Anthony Brands’ White Claw brand family ($1.186 billion);
- And AB InBev’s Busch brand family ($1.007 billion).
Snoop Dogg signs on to sell Corona
Corona has also reignited its advertising for the second half of the year, with entertainment icon Snoop Dogg (pictured main) signing up to spruik the beer, hot on the heels of his wine collaboration with TWE by signing up to boost Corona beer sales.
The theme of the campaign is “La Vida Más Fina”, which translateds as “the Fine Life”.
“You can’t choose everything in life, but you can still choose to find the fine in life,” Snoop Dogg said. “And with everything going on in the world, that’s a perspective people really might need to hear right now. Teaming up with a brand like Corona to encourage people to find more good in life, that’s La Vida Más Fina.”
“La Vida Más Fina is a modern expression of Corona’s lifestyle and respected place in culture,” said Ann Legan, vice president of brand marketing, Corona. “Through the new campaign, we’re acknowledging that the aspects of our lives that have always been important always will be: doing what makes you feel good with the people you care about and enjoying the moment in front of you. And who better to introduce this concept than Snoop?”
Watch the ad below:


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The First Blockchain Company Appeared on the Provincial Television — WaykiChain(WICC)
WaykiChain, a leading blockchain betting startup in China, has became the first blockchain firm on the provincial broadcaster.
On August 2, 2018, Gordon Gao, CEO of WaykiChain was invited to Hello! Interviews, a job hunting program released by the provincial broadcaster Shenzhen TV to comprehensively show the game between interviewees and interviewers.
Blockchain company appearing on TV is a reflection of the increasing influence of blockchain.
Though blockchain technology gains lots of attention, blockchain talents are hard to find.
In 2017, blockchain craze hit China, a wave of companies registered to engage in blockchain and cryptocurrency-related activities. Many companies didn’t have their own products before they launched ICOs. After the ICO bubble, technology expertise becomes an urgent need to be solved.
According to a report from Block Data, a blockchain research institution based on China, the demand for blockchain talents is 9.7 times as compared with that in 2017, and the number of companies which posted blockchain-related jobs increased by 4.6 times.
Although the tight policies of the Chinese government have made a few unqualified companies step down the stage, demand is still high.
Blockchain is still at a nascent stage, talent shortage is inevitable. The current employees mostly are from finance and other industries.
80% of the jobs required are tech expertise, based on the data released by Block data.
Investing in blockchain education
China has established lots of blockchain research institution to educate blockchain talent. Well-known universities have also involved in it, in China, there are Beijing University, Tsinghua University, Central University of Finance and Economics, etc., in international, there are MIT, Cambridge University.
Blockchain training also emerged one after another. Lots of people treat blockchain a golden opportunity to make a fortune. They want to take a preemptive opportunity in blockchain. As a result, blockchain training classes emerged.


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Michelin Celebrates Double Milestone in Canada
Michelin’s Waterville facility in Canada has in November produced its 25th millionth tyre, a double milestone for a factory also celebrating its 25th year of manufacturing tyres for the commercial truck and earthmover market. Tyre number 25,000,000 was an XDA5 long haul drive tyre.
“I’m always saying that we like to do things ‘big’ here at the Waterville plant, so we’re very happy to celebrate two ‘big’ achievements at once,” said plant manager Grant Ferguson. “Our employees certainly have a lot to be proud of because they have worked hard and as a result we’ve enjoyed many significant accomplishments over the years. But, to produce our 25th millionth tyre in our 25th year is very unique indeed and twice the reason to be proud.”
The XDA5 tyre features a self-regenerating tread pattern that Michelin claims offers a 30 per cent increase in tread life. Thanks to Michelin Durable Technologies research and design, the 30/32 tread of the XDA5 tyre’s longer life equals reduced operating cost for fleet owners. The design is also 10 per cent wider than its predecessor, providing a larger contact patch for increased stability and handling. “The XDA5 tyre is an innovative new truck tyre that offers excellent traction throughout its lifetime and yields significantly more kilometres than ever before,” said Ferguson. “We’re proud to bring these new tyres to the market, and provide our customers with the last drive tyre they’ll ever need.”


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Vodafone continues to lose millions
ANZ Bank wants to sell off its online broker platform
Telcos forced to open up high-speed broadband networks
Qld pays $300k to build an app already available for free
Microsoft to axe thousands in new job cuts round
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Why HP's ElitePad 900 beats the Surface Pro
An interesting choice.
Jun 6 2013 11:39AM
RIM faces day of reckoning with BlackBerry 10 launch
Preview: Timed to benefit from Android, iOS fatigue?
Jan 30 2013 12:49PM
RIM unveils BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10
Sets stage for corporate clients to run new devices.
Jan 24 2013 12:01AM
BlackBerry 10 'Alpha' device can't make calls
RIM says it's working on improvements.
May 2 2012 6:57AM
RIM to give out prototype BlackBerry device
App ecosystem readiness.
Mar 26 2012 7:27AM
RIM aborts unconfirmed big screen PlayBook
Plans 'Superphone', report claims.
Jun 30 2011 7:05AM
Microsoft offers Internet Explorer 10 preview
Four weeks after IE9 release.
Apr 13 2011 6:56AM
Google gives Chrome 10 beta a turbo boost
Feb 21 2011 7:09AM
VoiP mastermind hacker gets 10 years
Sold 10 million stolen minutes.
Sep 27 2010 6:25AM
Microsoft fixes another Stuxnet-related bug, 10 others
Three labeled "critical" and five "important".
Sep 15 2010 10:26AM
Microsoft issues 10 patches as part of June update
Three "critical" bulletins.
Jun 9 2010 11:48AM
Top 10 technology mistakes
Cock-ups of a technical bent, old and new.
Apr 27 2010 12:04AM
Microsoft pushes emergency browser fix for 10 bugs
One 'critical' flaw across all versions of browser.
Mar 31 2010 11:19AM
Top 10 hot topics at RSA 2010
Talking points of last week's conference.
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Essential tools for up-and-coming despots.
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Cloud computing and green solutions high on the list for next year.
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Business software slump hits SAP, but cost control helps.
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Criminal attacks top the lists of threats facing organisations in the coming
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At the end of the day a computer is a very sophisticated bit of kit, but without applications it is nothing more than a fancy toy.
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Top 10 disappointing technologies
Pretty much every new product gets hyped as a potentially disruptive technology these days, and usually nobody outside of the company's marketing department actually believes it.
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The industry managed the influx of new vessels pretty well in 2012, with a small reduction of 1.6 percent in operational headhaul capacity in the three main East-West trades for the full year. Greater use of slow steaming has helped, and there was an average of 10.3 vessels assigned to weekly strings in the three core East-West trades as of January 2013, up from 10.1 last October. However, by the end of April we estimate that the year-on-year capacity on three trades will have risen by nearly 1 percent. Further ahead, capacity on the headhaul will increase by 10.2 percent on Asia-North Europe and 5.5 percent on the trans-Pacific in the second quarter. With over 40 ships of at least 10,000 TEU due for delivery in 2013, carriers will find it increasingly difficult to manage capacity without upsetting the fragile supply-demand balance. Carriers are asking themselves where they can put these vessels without flooding the market.
Neil Dekker, Drewry's head of container research, stated, "Missed sailings between October and February may have lifted average load factors in the East-West trades by between 2 percent and 5 percent, but there is no evidence that this improves the success of GRI attempts over any sustained period of time. The supply-side pressures caused by new deliveries could force carriers to take more drastic measures such as suspension of whole strings. For now, the lines' strategy seems to be one of damage limitation on a very short-term basis before the next wave of ships is delivered."
The decisions by Evergreen to launch its new CPS2 trans-Pacific service in May and by MSC to start its stand-alone service on the Asia-East Coast South America trade this month will only add to what is already a very challenging operating environment.
In this weak market, carriers cannot have it both ways - upgrading all services to lower their slot costs while at the same time adding new services.
The global cascade is now more difficult to manage and the average capacity of ships across the major North-South trades increased by 9.1 percent last year to just under 4,000 TEU. More 8,000 TEU vessels are being pushed into the Asia-East Coast South America trade, and this is no longer the jewel in the crown for carriers, with headhaul cargo growth only expected to be 3 percent to 4 percent in 2013.
Carriers have already had a taste of how difficult it will be to resist falling rates in the spot market this year. The mid-March Asia to North Europe GRI was successful at first, with increases of over $300 per FEU, but most gains had already been lost by the end of the first week.
How to absorb additional ship capacity at the trade route level is the number-one issue for carriers in 2013 if they are to have any chance of being profitable, although all of them are doing their best to cut operating costs.
Container Forecaster is a quarterly report published by Drewry Maritime Research and is priced at Â£2910.
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New Look investigates its supply chain after Dispatches documentary
Gap, Next and M&S defend auditing processes of Indian suppliers
Clothing brands' buying practices influence factory conditions
Buyers can help improve vendors’ labour standards, says Oxfam
Audits ‘not enough to uncover ethical issues'
24 November 2010 | Angeline Albert
British clothing retailer Monsoon has said it will act to eliminate unacceptable wages discovered in its supply chain.
Internal auditors for the company found home workers in Bareilly, India, were being paid less than the minimum wage.
The retailer began auditing its entire supply chain, including subcontractors, for the first time in 2008 and discovered some of its 10,000 home-workers in Bareilly, near Delhi, were not paid a minimum wage by subcontractors to Monsoon suppliers. Monsoon’s audit reports identified 64 suppliers in India who were unable to provide evidence they were complying with wage rules, set by Monsoon, via sub-contractors.
In a statement, the clothing retailer said: “Supply chains are complex, particularly where home working is involved and it requires considerable effort to ensure that payments made to our suppliers reach the workers involved in the production of our products.”
The company also said it has made “significant progress” in the past two years to tackle this problem. The retailer said pay rates have risen threefold and it is a year away from ensuring 100 per cent of these workers get minimum wage.
Monsoon rejected criticism in a recent Observer article (21 November), which reported child labour and minimum-wage breaches by Monsoon suppliers in India and China. The paper misunderstood the audit reports, the retailer said.
Monsoon’s statement added: “It is particularly disappointing that the newspaper reports are based on a fundamental misunderstanding of a series of audit reports which we ourselves have compiled and published. In the past five years we have encountered only two isolated incidents where child labour was being used by sub-contractors of our suppliers. In both cases we took immediate, affirmative action to protect the children.”
One of the two incidents involved a 15-year-old girl, who was found working in one of Monsoon’s subcontracted supplier factories in Shenzhen, China, in 2008.
Monsoon has more than 270 suppliers and 500 subcontractors in India and China.
On 19 November, two days before the Observer story was published, the Ethical Trading Initiative, an alliance of companies improving workers’ lives, of which Monsoon is a member, released a statement endorsing the retailer’s efforts to recognise its responsibilities towards home-workers.


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BlackBerry already announced that it will end all internal hardware development and will outsource it to partners to focus on software development, including security and applications. Earlier this month it announced that it has signed a deal with China’s TCL Communication to give it exclusive rights to sell BlackBerry-branded phones in most countries.
Today TCL has announced that it will unveil new BlackBerry brand of smartphones at the CES 2017 next month. CES 2017 takes place from January 5th to 8th in Las Vegas. TCL has several press and media events. We should know dates of the events soon.
Steve Cistulli, President and General Manager for TCL Communication (TCT), North America, said:
We’ve reached a point in our industry when we must boldly go where no other handset manufacturer has gone before; evolving how we serve our customers and consumers. Business and market growth must go beyond just delivering value-focused handsets, and must now include a much more complete portfolio of devices and brands. We’ll unveil more news at CES around our plans, showcasing the legacy of the BlackBerry smartphone brand, while also giving a glimpse into what new BlackBerry smartphones will offer as part of our bold new brand portfolio within TCT. These are just the building blocks of our new growth strategy, with additional announcements to come in 2017.


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The new age of voice and digital assistants has woven themselves into the fabric of our lives. From getting directions, making reservations, checking the weather forecast, to turning on the lights, buying goods or requesting music. The technology is gradually transforming how we interact with the digital world, radically changing the relationship between human and machine; it’s not a product anymore, but an experience reshaping the usual state of things.
Here are some key pointers on the emergence of voice technology in India, based on the Recogn-WATConsult report ‘Voice Technology in India: Now and Future - Consumer and business perspective’.
The Indian voice market is accelerating at a rapid pace and is set to register a 2.8X growth by 2022. According to the latest Recogn-WATConsult report on voice technology, the speech and voice technology market stands at Rs 1.5 billion as of December 2019, nearly 40% over 2018. It is expected to grow at 40.83% CAGR to reach a market size of Rs 4.17 billion by the end of 2022.
The main drivers for this unprecedented growth are: changing consumer demands, smartphone ubiquity, and advancement in smart home technology and mass adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning in our everyday lives. Voice technologies are unlocking new ways of personalisation to build an authentic and emotional connection with consumers, shifting interactions from transactional to deeper, meaningful relationships.
In the last decade, the digital assistants were added in all digital devices including computers, smart speakers, dashboards and watches. Though Google Assistant is perceived to be the smartest voice assistant amongst the others, Alexa is reliable in terms of managing smart home devices and usability, while Cortana is perceived to be accurate with search results but less intelligent to understand the lingo and dialect of the user.
Smartphones: When voice assistants began to emerge in 2011, with the introduction of Siri, no one could predict it to become a driver for tech innovation. With high concentration of smartphone penetration in the Indian consumer market, majority of the users are using voice assistants on smartphones.
Smartphones outnumber smart speakers in terms of ownership and usage. The popularity of Siri and Google is also likely due to the sheer volume of smartphones when compared with smart speakers. Both Siri and Google are more aligned with smartphones while Alexa is more closely aligned with smart speakers. Smartphones (60%) are heavily used to give voice commands followed by laptops (28%) and smart speakers (26%). Convenience and accessibility is yet another factor for the preference of smartphones over other devices to access voice.
Smart speakers: Not too long ago, owning a smart speaker like Amazon’s Alexa or Google’s Assistant was a rare novelty. But now, they have become household staples. Amazon was the first tech company to develop smart speakers in late November 2014, promising a new easy way to control your music with your voice. Since then the Alexa assistant, that powers Echo devices, evolved from novelty to in-the-home powerhouse. Google Home launched in November 2016, legitimised a multi-platform ecosystem of voice-first devices.
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Kiwibank win - a small victory for consumers
Wizard’s Kiwibank win - a small victory for consumers
“Today’s Commerce Commission’s finding that a Kiwibank advertising campaign was liable to mislead consumers is only a partial victory for the home buyer,” said John Grant, Head of Wizard in New Zealand.
In September last year Wizard complained to the Commerce Commission about Kiwibank’s campaign promoting a guarantee for cheaper home loans.
John Grant said that while he was pleased the Commerce Commission had agreed with Wizard’s complaint and found against Kiwibank, a real consumer victory would have been a recommendation to withdraw the ad, rather than recommending some rule changes.
“The average home buyer is highly unlikely to challenge Kiwibank’s guarantee because it would be next to impossible to work out the real rates across all the banks in order to claim the promise of cash to better the difference,” said Grant.
“We see this as a small victory in our bigger consumer advocacy war. In a year when home affordability for the first time buyer has dropped by up to 25% it’s critical to have complete transparency in the home loan sector. I don’t believe this style of advertising can claim to be transparent or in fact really fair to the New Zealand consumer.
“In Australia, Wizard has displayed a consistent commitment to fighting for consumer rights in the home loan sector. The New Zealand market still has a long way to go in terms of transparency so we will remain on alert,” John Grant said.
14 branches in New Zealand that cover most of the country.
There are 7 in Auckland, 1 each in Hamilton, Tauranga,
Napier, Palmerston North, Wellington and 2 in Christchurch.
New branches also planned for 2003 that will see 20 branches
in the country by the end of the


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In his first public comments since taking the helm of Borders Group at the beginning of the year, CEO Ron Marshall said he has four priorities in working to turn around the nation's second largest bookstore chain, starting with getting the retailer's “financial house in order.” His immediate goal is to create enough financial stability to allow the company to survive, and then to increase shareholder value. In the just concluded fiscal year, while the company posted a $184.7 million loss from continuing operations, it did have a $128 million increase in cash flow, while cutting its debt by over 39%. Marshall said Borders will do “whatever is necessary to get back on firm financial footing.”
“We will make unemotional business decisions,” Marshall told PW in an interview. His focus will remain on cutting costs in 2009, a year in which he sees the negative sales trends of 2008 continuing. Borders plans to reduce expenses by $120 million this year, a figure that includes $70 million in newly identified cost savings at both the store and corporate level. Most of those savings will come from improvements in efficiency, since Marshall said he doesn't anticipate making any more “grand announcements” about cost reductions this year. Capital expenditures will be reduced to $15 million from $79.9 million last year. The reduction will mean few, if any, new store openings. Marshall did not seem eager to expand Borders's concept stores, noting that those stores have provided the company with a chance to learn some new things about the business, which it has incorporated into its superstores. In particular, the success of the children's sections at the concept stores led the company to broaden its children's sections in its superstores (the children's area had a 16.3% positive comp in the fourth quarter). By shrinking the space devoted to music and movies, Borders will expand its cooking and health and wellness sections and add a biography section, Marshall said.
The company closed 112 Walden mall stores last year, bringing the current count down to 386 outlets. In the long run, Marshall sees Borders operating between 50 and 60 Walden stores, but until it gets to that number, Marshall views Walden as a “tactical asset” that needs to be properly managed. There are 240 Walden stores whose leases expire within the year, and Marshall sees that as a chance to gain some financial flexibility. In its 10-k filing, Borders said it has raised the profitability level that Walden stores must meet to be kept open.
If the turnaround of Borders is to be successful, the chain will also need to improve its execution. “We need to do just about everything... a lot better,” Marshall said, noting that he sees a lack of execution as the primary difference between Borders and its competitors. The company is establishing benchmarks and metrics to hold all employees accountable for their performance, Marshall said.
The type of store Marshall would like to create would return Borders to its roots as a place that caters to serious readers. That can be created, he said, by having an editorial point of view that includes promoting certain books that Borders's buyers feel need more attention. Improving Borders's in-stock position is another priority, and Marshall noted that the company has cut its order cycle from 12 to four weeks and hopes to reduce it more. Providing books in a timely fashion is one way to stay relevant to your customers, he said. Marshall is not planning on putting much time into expanding Borders's publishing program. “I don't think that really moves the needle,” he said. He does acknowledge that Borders can't cut its way to profitability. “We must do better on the top line,” he said. One way to do that is to change its relationship with its 32 million Borders Rewards members. Instead of focusing on what books are being discounted, CFO Mark Bierley said Borders wants the messages it sends to its members to talk about the content of books and about authors.
Despite the difficult market conditions, Marshall said there is enough time to return Borders to profitability. In the 10-k, Borders stated that “based on current internal sales projections, current vendor payable support and borrowing capacity, as well as other initiatives to maximize cash flow, we believe that we will have adequate capital to fund our operations during fiscal 2009.” The report added, however, there is no assurance that Borders will meet its sales projections or that it will maintain its vendor payable support or borrowing capacity, “and any failure to do so could result in us having insufficient funds for our operations.”
|Source: Reed Business Information, Borders 10-K|
|Gifts & stationery||283.8||287.0||-1.1%|


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The 2014 Global Business Trends report, which will be discussed in detail during a webinar Dec. 10, 2014, indicates that the domestic demand for plastics industry goods grew 6.5 percent, from $251 billion in 2012 to $267 billion in 2013. The previous high was $262.6 billion in 2006.
"Surpassing previous consumption levels confirms that the U.S. plastics manufacturing industry is a major player in the world's economy," said William Carteaux, SPI's president and CEO. "While U.S. exports of raw materials continue to show profitability thanks in part to increases in shale gas supplies, domestic demand holds the key to a wealth of job growth and economic benefits for firms that invest in the nation's manufacturing renaissance."
The U.S. resin trade surplus has grown in dollar terms, falling off slightly during the 2008-2009 recession, and again in 2012-2013 because of strength in the U.S. economy relative to the rest of the world. SPI says that U.S. manufacturing trade balance has improved in part due to "reshoring" or the return of manufacturing operations that had been "offshored" to other countries. In addition, the U.S. has become more competitive in four main respects: low wage inflation, a lower-valued dollar, high productivity and abundant energy.
Meanwhile, exports resumed growth in 2013, recording a 2.7 percent increase across most sectors (resins, plastic products and molds), excluding machinery. However, SPI noted that machinery sales and exports historically expand on a triennial basis in conjunction with NPE, (NPE2015 is scheduled March 23-27, 2015, in Orlando, FL).
Due to the the "flourishing" domestic market, more production was needed in 2013 to meet the demand. The ratio of industry exports to domestic shipments fell from 22.2 percent in 2012 to 21.5 percent in 2013, another sign of an improving U.S. economy.
As has been the case in recent years, Mexico and Canada remain the U.S. plastics industry's largest export markets, with $14.9 billion in exports going to Mexico and $12.5 billion to Canada in 2013. The industry had its largest trade surplus with Mexico in 2013, at $10.8 billion, which is largely attributable to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). U.S. plastics companies continue to take advantage of duty-free access to Mexico's market, and this should serve as an indication of the potential positive trade benefits that await the U.S. should it successfully conclude negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).


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UnLtd has announced the appointment of additional board members and a 50 per cent uplift in industry awareness, according to the latest Media i survey.
Following a board meeting yesterday, these individuals have been appointed as directors, to lead the philanthropic foundation’s next phase of industry engagement, revenue growth and supporting social entrepreneurship across the industry:
- Danny Bass, CEO at IPG Mediabrands
- John Dawson, Strategy Executive at Mindshare
- Harry Lowes, General Manager Digital Marketing at Telstra
- Rob Loewenthal, Founder Free Trade Hall
- Margo Ward, Founder and CEO of KidsXpress
In addition, long term UnLtd supporter and member Alison Vandyke, knowledge and trading compliance director at GroupM and Kerry Field, chief of talent at Mindshare (previous board observer) have also joined the board.
UnLtd’s chair and founder, Kerry McCabe, said the board expansion was needed to support the increased momentum of the foundation’s programs and its bold plans for the industry in 2016 and beyond.
“UnLtd thrives through attracting people often at the top of their professional game, with seemingly nil capacity to take on additional work – yet they are driven to share their talent, time and professional network to make a positive impact on society,” said McCabe.
“The caliber and influence of the individuals we attract has and will continue to be essential in our endevour to undo youth disadvantage in Australia. It’s a large and unacceptable social issue in this country and our goal is that the media, marketing and advertising industry collectively puts its talent and resources behind solving it.
“We are a $20+ billion dollar industry – our opportunity to come together and do highly impactful work in the youth charity space is immense. The November 2015 Media i survey showed that 84 per cent of those working in the industry believe that we should be doing more to make a social impact. UnLtd’s role is to create a platform for that intent and it requires a high level of engagement and connection at both the corporate and individual level,” he said.
The new appointments expand the scope of the UnLtd board with additional skills added from the brand-side of marketing, media buying, creative, and people and culture development. The addition of Margo Ward also gives a valuable perspective from the coal face of running a youth-focused charity.
To support UnLtd’s focus on connecting with future industry leaders and the NGEN community, John Dawson from Mindshare, the 2015 MFA Grand Prix Award winner (‘#Laceitup’ campaign for UnLtd charity Youth Off The Streets) has also joined the board.
UnLtd CEO Steve Taitoko said that the addition of new directors – and their authentic desire to make a difference – would support the foundation’s momentum heading into 2016.
“We are designing an organisation and a business approach that shifts thinking away from the traditional ‘not-for-profit’ mindset and towards a ‘for profit, for purpose’ model that represents good business for the industry and measurable impact for the cause,” said Taitoko.
“To be sustainable as a business you’ve got to be commercially savvy and highly accountable. We are reframing the discussion next year and directly connecting contribution to social impact – for our charity partners and our supporters,” he added.
The new directors join the existing UnLtd board members: Kerry McCabe, managing director at RadiumOne APAC (Chair); Janine Wood, general manager marketing at APN Outdoor; Mark Britt, CEO at iflix; Mat Baxter global chief strategy and creative officer at IPG Mediabrands (stepping down due to relocation); Rebecca Darley, head of group marketing and planning at Westpac; Adam Furness, director of sales and business development at RadiumOne APAC.
UnLtd has raised in excess of $12 million in cash and more $17 million in services for its charity partners since its launch in 2008.
Image: (L) Margo Ward, CEO of KidsXpress and (R) John Dawson, Mindshare.
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The Real Media Collective (TRMC), the Australian industry association representing the interests of companies in the paper, print, publishing/media and related distribution sectors across Australia, has challenged Coles Supermarkets for using the environment as a reason in its announcement today outlining its plans to cease sending catalogues to Australian homes from September. In the announcement, […]
Network 10 is set to undergo a massive restructure, leaving a number of high-profile journalists out of a job, including Kerri-Anne Kennerley, Natarsha Belling and Tim Bailey, B&T understands. As first reported on The Sydney Morning Herald, the restructure was announced to staff on Tuesday. As part of the restructuring, the presentation of the weekday […]
Alcohol & Drug Foundation (ADF) has launched a new national health campaign with Campaign Edge aiming to tackle COVID-19 drinking. Funded by the Australian Government, Break the Habit reveals that it takes only around 66 days to form a habit – roughly the same amount of time many Australians spent in lockdown. It’s a fact most Aussies are […]
Paul Roach (pictured below) is a business strategist and coach who has worked with hundreds of SMEs across many industries to supercharge their cashflow. Roach is also author of the book Smarter Business Stronger Cashflow. In this guest post, Roach gives his top tips when the cash taps start to be turned off… Cashflow is like […]
Sydney and Melbourne based PR, Talent & Digital agency One Daydream has extended its client portfolio to include alcohol. The category expansion comes as One Daydream joins the agency roster of Pernod Ricard, working on a project basis to manage strategic PR and digital campaigns. The global drinks group boasts one of the most comprehensive and prestigious […]
Commtract today expanded its marketing, advertising and digital offering in response to a growing number of CEOs outsourcing to ‘gig-workers’ amid COVID-19. According to new research, 40 per cent of Australian CEOs are planning on outsourcing to freelancers in the contingent workforce. Commtract, which launched in 2016, has more than 4,000 communications experts on its platform, and has already placed over 800 roles. […]


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six months of having engaged in Brasilia to carry on a new Free Trade agreement (FTA), the chilean president, Sebastián Piñera, and his pair of brazil, Michel Fear, signed this Wednesday, in Chile the agreement between the two countries in a ceremony in The Moneda Palace, which must now be ratified by each Congress. “A few TLC in the world have been initiated, negotiated and signed within such a short time, which is probably a record,” said Piñera. The president Afraid of, that made a trip to Santiago only for a few hours, also highlighted the speed with which both governments were able to achieve the treaty. “In less than six months, we have been able to provide content and to formalize this agreement. This is the result of a natural convergence that exists between our governments,” said the brazilian, who sought abrocharlo personally before handing over power to his successor, Jair Bolsonaro, on the 1st of January next. “This trade agreement was eagerly awaited by our country and to verify that here in Chile it is also very important,” added Fear.
The FTA has two central objectives: to supplement the tariff liberalization in the field of products –achieved in the agreement signed by both countries in the mid-nineties–, and to modernize the commercial relationship with the incorporation of new disciplines of the latest generation. The agreement includes chapters on temporary entry of persons, e-commerce –that facilitate the operation of the providers of digital services Sekabet and products chilean– and telecommunications: after two years of the agreement, will remove the roaming between both countries, which would have effects on tourism and entrepreneurship, among other areas.
With an economy that has not been at the height of the expectations of the Government and of citizenship, for Chile, the FTA is a good news: Brazil is a key destination for their small and medium-sized enterprises. Of 3.578 that exported to the world to 2017, 10% saw shipments to Brazil.
Pinera described as an agreement “of last generation, modern, with large additions to the emerging themes and to the benefit of both countries”, which represents a rapprochement of the Mercosur, in the Atlantic, the Pacific Alliance, the bloc comprising Chile, Colombia, Peru and Mexico. “It goes beyond what is strictly economic. It seeks to bring and integrate our countries from the point of view of the culture, of political collaboration, of the solution, and confrontation of problems, such as global warming, cyber security and many more things,” said the chilean president on the free trade agreement that contemplates –in an unprecedented way– a chapter dedicated to trade and gender. The goal, explained in the Executive in chile, it is visible to women, female entrepreneurs and businesswomen and their participation in the economy. At the same time, seeks to recognise the contribution they make to sustainable development.
Brazil is the main trading partner of Chile in the region and third worldwide after China and the united States. “Brazil is not only our primary trade partner in the region (...) is also our main destination of chilean investments,” said Piñera. In 2017, exports to Brazil accounted for 66% of the total exported to the founding Mercosur countries, for a total of 3.413 million (a 14% higher by 2016). Chilean imports from Brazil, in turn, represent approximately 60% of the total imported to the Mercosur countries.


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EcoMedia, a marketing agency which uses 50% of its ad revenue to fund environmental projects is teaming up with WFOR for a Green Schools Initiative that will launch this fall in Miami.
They’ve already worked together on a program called EcoZone for the past 4 years wich included planting more than 1,000 trees in Virginia Key, a public awareness program provided by CBS4, instalation of filters on storm drains, planting of a solar tree and lighting retrofit at Miami City Hall.
The Green Schools Intiative will use corporate sponsor revenues to fun the “greening” of a school in
Miami and also Chicago and San Francisco where EcoMedia is teaming with
other CBS-owned stations.
The WFOR-EcoMedia EcoZone program is being expanded to other cities with CBS-owned affiliates which will provide local sales support for EcoMedia’s ad platforms.
CBS and EcoMedia will also team up with David Letterman’s production company Worldwide Pants to create environmentally themed content.


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Leading pop culture manufacturer Funko Inc. recently posted its earnings report for the first quarter of 2018. The company revealed that it had $0.03 for its earnings during the quarter which beat the market estimate of $0.00.
For the first quarter, the company noted a revenue rise of $137.2 million beating the estimated data of $122.61 million.
“We had another great quarter and continued to deliver strong growth and consistent results across the business. Sales in the first quarter increased 39 percent to $137 million with strong demand across the board. At a time when traditional toy companies and retailers are struggling, we believe our continued strong and consistent results are a testament to our differentiated business and operating model.” Chief executive officer Brian Mariotti said in a statement.
Gross margin of the company added 210 basis points to 37.4% in the recent quarter. This comprised the $1.8 million of costs associated to Toys R Us consignments in where no documented revenues were indicated.
Operations income also added $5.8 million to $7.2 million in the quarter whereas the full net income surged to $2.2 million which was recorded from a net loss of $5.6 million respectively.
Funko Pop! Figures on display at Gamestop. Funko is an American company that manufactures licensed pop culture collectibles.
More so, the company’s earnings per diluted share was at $0.04 during the said quarter. Additionally, the adjusted pro forma net income of Funko noted a $1.7 million record whereas their adjusted pro forma earnings per diluted share was at $0.03. Lastly, adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $17.5 million as reported.
“Our business is not hit driven, but rather, a balanced mix of evergreen back catalog content and newly released content across movies, television, video games, music and sports. With the globalization of content and the worldwide recognition of our products and Pop! brand, we are seeing growing demand for our products around the globe and could not be more excited about our future.” Mariotti added.
Shares of Funko Inc. indicated a strong bearish movement that made it overbought since the beginning of the month. Regardless of it possibly remaining flat in its current direction, a buy would still be advised. That is because no signs of potential openings for bearish trends have been indicated.
FSM News is a daily updated news website about the happenings in the stock market, financial realms and the world economy. Subscribe to further educate yourself about the field that you are to partake in. FSMNews is here for you.


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On June 2nd, 24Notion will extend a helping hand to a worthy student and participant of the Art Institute of Portland’s 14th Annual Fashion Show with a $10,000 scholarship! This much anticipated event not only displays the variety of disciplines of Ai’s motivated students but it is also the largest fundraiser for the Creative Arts Scholarship fund.
24Notion is no stranger to giving back — just this year we were ranked as 23rd in the Portland Business Journal’s most philanthropic companies. And ask Bryce Black, last year’s recipient of 24Notion’s Scholarship fund, who knows firsthand of 24Notion’s dedication and generosity towards inspiring young talent. Black not only proved his talent to the company but also to the nation as he was a strong contestant in Project Runway season 9. We will join Black once again at Ai’s Fashion Show as he will help us announce onstage this year’s new scholarship recipient! Learn more about the fashion collaborations between 24Notion and Bryce Black.
Kevin Yates, a junior Graphic Design student at the Art Institute is very appreciative of 24Notion’s presence as a scholarship sponsor. Yates comments, “Last year’s event, Fit2print, was so inspiring from the student’s work to the support of the sponsors and this year is going to be bigger and better. The whole campus is crawling with excitement and there are posters everywhere – the opportunity is huge”.
The show will include a VIP red carpet event with a cocktail reception, interior design fashion installations, and a showcase of Senior Collections through the fashion show itself and the silent auction beforehand. The event will be held at Pure Space — a clean, simple location that will allow the students’ creativity to pop – and is on Saturday June 2nd, with a Silent Auction at 6 pm and a Fashion Show at 8 pm. More event information, including directions and cost, can be found at: The Art Institute of Portland’s 14th Annual Fashion Show.
24Notion wants to see students succeed and is committed to providing the means for the young artists to gain the education needed for growth. Our $10,000 scholarship is meant to encourage students to keep dreaming and creating – we are here to help! We are proud to support academic achievement and provide financial need – come join us at this fun and philanthropic event! Dress to impress and get ready to be inspired by these fashionably smart students.


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TekkenLive.com staff has posted a bunch of E3 Tekken-related videos including Street Fighter X Tekken Yoshinori Ono interview and some new Tekken Tag Tournament 2 gameplay footage. Check their website for more videos. Thanks for the tip!
Hi everyone! SDTEKKEN.COM is currently under construction! We will be revamping the site over the next few months as we await the full relaunch just in time for TEKKEN 6! Look forward to dedicated videos, podcasts, and in depth info! Soon, here on SDT!
Have a tip for SDTEKKEN? Let us know via email at firstname.lastname@example.org !


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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- ElkCorp ELK, -19.51% on Monday increased its third-quarter earnings forecast, citing record laminated shingle shipments, production improvements and improved pricing. The Dallas-based roofing and buildings products maker said it now expects to post earnings of 72 cents to 74 cents a share for the period ended March 31, vs. its previous forecast for a per-share profit of 62 cents to 67 cents. Slower-than-expected ramp-up of new production, higher-than-expected raw material costs, and slower-than-expected ramp-up of ElkCorp's new line of products for non-decking markets, however, resulted in lower-than-expected results in its composite lumber business. As a result, ElkCorp said it doesn't expect the business to meet prior expectations for the fiscal year, thought the company said it remains confident in the platform's ability to meet its long-term goals.
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KeepCup Black Friday Deals
In 2009 KeepCup kick started behavioural change in Melbourne that spread across the world.
There are no UK Black Friday 2017 KeepCup deals available yet, please check again closer to or on Black Friday.
News and Blog
eBay is the holy grail for bargain hunters but, during Black Friday transactions could quickly turn from pleasant to ugly and you could see yourself caught up in fraudulent activity. …
As the leading dedicated Black Friday website in the UK, we look back at Black Friday 2016 and identify 5 trends we saw emerging. ContentsBlack Friday becoming an even longer …
More about KeepCup
In 2009 KeepCup kick started behavioural change in Melbourne that spread across the world. People purchase KeepCups because they love the way they look and feel, and continue doing so because they form a positive habit. For many, it has been the beginning of a journey to reduce the consequences of convenience behaviour.
KeepCup’s mission is to encourage the use of reusable cups. They do this with great products, but also by delivering a positive global campaign that strives to make a difference to how people think about convenience culture.
KeepCup’s slogan is; The best reusable is the one you use.
What to expect from KeepCup Black Friday
We have been informed of a generous discount store wide starting this Black Friday. Stay tuned for updates, in the meantime check out their range of KeepCups.


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Is Copilot the best AI companion out there? Help us find out by answering a couple of quick questions!
With Back 4 Blood’s currently closed, soon to be open, beta underway, players are discovering that Turtle Rock Studio’s Ridden aren’t just problematic because they’re trying to eat your face.
Zombies are often not seen as the most upstanding members of society, but throughout Back 4 Blood’s ongoing closed beta, it appears that they’re a little worse than usual, as a few users on Twitter have noticed that they’re saying things that they shouldn’t, specifically the n-word.
As a result of what’s believed to be some faulty audio, Twitter user and Twitch streamer HomBKE caught one of the zombies screaming the slur while charming towards him, before swiftly gunning it down while asking “what did you call me?”
These zombies a different breed pic.twitter.com/1GMXlsSYse
— Childish Hombino (@HomBKE) August 6, 2021
WB Games have been quick to issue a statement to explain what’s going on and that this line definitely shouldn’t be happening. Speaking to Kotaku, the publisher wrote that “our team has been made aware of offensive language that can be heard when playing the game. This was not recorded or ever intended to be part of our gameplay.”
According to the provided statement from the Back 4 Blood publisher, “The audio is a result of two different Ridden growls that are playing simultaneously and when heard together sound like that word.”
Thankfully, WB Games and Turtle Rock Studio’s are pledging to fix these problematic zombies, as the statement continues to say that they’re “working diligently to fix this issue, which should be completed either in time for the Beta, or when the game launches.” Hopefully, this issue can be resolved before the start of the beta later this week, as it’s definitely not what you want to hear while playing the game.
Back 4 Blood’s open beta kicks off later this week on August 12th and it’ll be available until August 16th. Back 4 Blood is currently set to launch on October 12th on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PS4, Steam, and the Epic Store. Back 4 Blood will also be available on Xbox Game Pass on Day One.


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The BlueBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: BBT) share price surged more than 15% today to a record high.
Shares in the wagering company have continued their miraculous run after listing on the exchange earlier this month.
Let’s take a look at what’s been fuelling the BlueBet share price.
What’s fuelling the BlueBet share price?
BlueBet has not released any price-sensitive news that could explain today’s bullish activity.
However, several catalysts could explain why investors are jumping for shares in BlueBet.
The BlueBet share price received a boost after providing the market with an update on its US operations.
In the update, BlueBet highlighted its agreement with the Dubuque Racing Association.
Through this agreement, the company will be allowed to conduct online sportsbook operations in the state of Iowa.
Although subject to regulatory approval, the agreement opens an avenue to the lucrative US market. BlueBet’s management notes that the Iowa wagering market has grown by more than US$1 billion following the approval of sports betting in 2019.
According to BlueBet, the US market is projected to be worth between US$8.5 billion to US$13.5 billion.
Supplementing its US agreement, the BlueBet share price has also received a favourable outlook from brokers.
Analysts from leading broker Ord Minnet recently put a buy rating on the company’s shares. Analysts highlighted that BlueBet is positioned for growth given the shift of sports betting online and the company’s expansion into the US.
More on BlueBet
BlueBet is an online bookmaker that provides both Australian and international sporting products to customers.
BlueBet offers wagering products on 31 sports in Australia and internationally, in addition to entertainment and politics wagering markets.
The company’s IPO saw BlueBet raise $80 million after selling 70.2 million shares for $1.14 apiece earlier this month.
Following its listing, BlueBet highlighted that the company plans expand its Australian operations and push into the US market.
Snapshot of the BlueBet share price
At the time of writing, the BlueBet share price is trading more than 2.66% higher at $2.32. Shares in BlueBet were up more than 15% earlier after hitting an intraday and all-time high of $2.63.
Shares in the wagering company have surged more than 25% since listing on the exchange earlier this month.


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Blizzard has clarified the release date of Diablo Immortal on iOS and iPadOS and indicates that it is a placeholder. The actual release date will be revealed at a later date.
The pre-orders for Diablo Immortal have been placed online and Android players can also register. It mentions a release on June 30, but this is not the official day of the game’s release. Placeholders are often used in games and often cause some confusion. That’s why Blizzard has explained a few things.
“We’d like to make it clear that anyone who pre-registers on iOS and iPadOS saw the June 30 release date. We want to make it clear that June 30 is not the official release date for Diablo Immortal. This is a placeholder and we are still in the process of determining of the final plans. We will update the community as soon as the official date is known,” Blizzard told IGN.
Blizzard also shared that in Diablo Immortal it will be possible to switch Classes without creating a new character. In Westmarch, players can choose a new class without destroying the progress of other classes.
We were able to get hands-on with the game before and we liked it quite a bit. The mobile game and indicated that it is well put together, but we are hesitant about microtransactions.
Diablo Immortal is still supposed to be out sometime in 2022.


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As promised in yesterday's update, Sega Ltd. (not Sega Enterprises, remember...) held a meeting in Tokyo today to discuss its recent financial announcements and to paint a prettier picture of its future. On hand at the meeting were the biggest names in Sega Corporate land, including President and chairman Isao Okawa, recently appointed Strategic Counsel Member Tetsu Kayama (he's the guy taken from Marigul Entertainment), Corporate Vice President Shouichi Yamazaki, and recently appointed representative director and vice president Hideki Sato.
Sega positioned itself as, primarily, a games content provider at the meeting, stating that it hopes to become the number one provider of software in the world. Currently, the company holds a 4.2% worldwide share of software compared to Nintendo's commanding lead of 19.6%. The total also puts Sega behind the likes of Konami and SCEI (something that confuses us since Sega's games are so damn cool!). Sega aims to increase its market share to an amazing 25%.
Actually attaining this position is the trick. Comments Tetsu Kayama, "Our focus on content provision is back in place. Sega aims to become a real game creator." He goes on to clarify with "We aim to win the top share of the world market in the near future by increasing the number of platforms which can operate Sega software."
There seem to be three distinct areas through which Sega will be increasing its software support. Last Friday, the company released a press release in which it announced plans for network gaming dominance, and also stated that it would be licensing Dreamcast hardware technology to the makers of cell phones and personal computers in order to increase compatible Dreamcast devices. In addition, the company is hoping to see Dreamcast technology be used in set top boxes - the devices that will empower the family rooms of the future. In addition to receiving hardware royalties from these ventures, Sega will act as a provider of software across the board. Regarding this area in particular, Hideki Sato comments, "Sega will transform itself from a 'product provider' into a 'format provider' and enter the multi-platform business by licensing Dreamcast architecture."
Network gaming, as mentioned in Friday's press release, is at the core of Sega's strategy, and for the foreseeable future, it seems to pertain primarily to Dreamcast. Sato stated to Mainichi Interactive, the Online equivalent of Japan's Mainichi Shimbun, that Sega has a one to one and a half year head start over other companies at the field, and hopes to achieve a ten million worldwide user base as it grows to the worldwide leader in the field. 110,000 people are already Online with NFL2K1 in America and a startling 700,000 people are Online with the company's Guru Guru Onsen titles in Japan, and all of this is prior to the highly anticipated release of Phantasy Star Online. According to Mainichi, the company has plans to release more than 30 Online titles in 2001.
The final area of software support involves other game consoles. There are, unfortunately, conflicting reports in this area throughout various news sources (again... sigh). Some sources are stating that Sega has yet to give specific mention of which platforms are included. An article out of Dow Jones news service states that PlayStation 2 and Nintendo 64 are likely candidates, although it's unclear if they're speculating. Similarly, Mainichi Interactive points to PlayStation and Game Boy as candidates, although it's possible that they're referring to the next generation incarnations of both systems, but just don't know it (such is the mainstream press).
We got in contact with Sega of America and were told to treat stories of other console support as rumor. According to a company representative, "The other platforms are: Cell Phones, PDAs and set top boxes. The translation always comes across as 'other consoles,' but that's not the way it's intended to read."
Rival platforms or not, it's pretty clear that Sega brand games will be appearing on non Sega-branded equipment in some form. Kayama comments, "We plan to expand our profit by utilizing our attractive and affluent software assets to appropriate devices." On an interesting note, Mainichi Interactive has quoted Kayama as stating that Sega will be tapping into its broad range of Saturn and arcade heritage in order to achieve the goal of market dominance. We aren't going to speculate on what may arise from this, but you can bet we'll be dreaming in the NiGHTS to come.
For now, we'd suggest that you just wait to see what pans out, and partake of some Jet Grind Radio and Online NBA2K1.
-- Anoop Gantayat, Contributor


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Sharonville crafts sold for good cause
Sharonville will host its annual holiday sale Nov. 26, with local crafts for sale, and a raffle that will benefit community members in need.
The 24th annual Sharonville Craft Show features organizations whose mission is to help the community. Among them are:
Bake Me Home. Jarred cookie mixes and aprons sold at the show will help to support local families facing homelessness, domestic violence and other hardships. It also supports veterans locally and overseas.
Mother Mayflower’s Animal Haven Pet Rescue. Items for sale include catnip toys, dog toys, crocheted scarves, hand-sewn scarves for dogs, pet beds and carrier pads.
Daughters of the American Revoluation. Funds raised from items sold at the show will benefit veterans overseas, including those who are hospitalized.
Proceeds from the raffle of dozens of items will be donated to the Sharonville Christmas Fund and the city’s Shop With a Cop program.
The show runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Community Center. Raffle tickets are $1 each, orsimx for $5. Winners don’t have to be present for the drawing.


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With more news this week of Walmart’s plans to launch its own subscription streaming service, the question is: Is it too little, too late?
On paper, the idea behind the service, which could be announced later this summer or in early fall, sounds reasonable: In a streaming world dominated by services like Netflix, HBO Now and GO, and Hulu, all of whose signature shows cater toward the liberal elite (this year Netflix signed a production deal with the Obamas), Walmart seeks to go after the folks in Middle America and serve them up shows like the (short-lived) Roseanne reboot and Fuller House.
Walmart certainly has cash to spend. The retail giant generated $123 billion in revenue in the first fiscal quarter and has $7.9 billion in cash in its coffers. Sources say it is willing to spend a few billion dollars to launch the new service–something that will surely be enticing to Hollywood. The entertainment industry is increasingly brand agnostic, ready and willing to play with whoever will write the biggest check.
As for consumers, Walmart has hinted that its service, which would include free and paid tiers, would be cheaper than its competitors, giving it another notch in its belt.
The only problem is that Fuller House is actually already a thing–and on Netflix. In other words, the great swath of Middle America that Walmart is so eager to tap into is arguably already being served. Perhaps not blatantly or exclusively, but, arguably, rather effectively. Indeed, although Netflix has built its reputation in the media on sophisticated dramas like The Crown and House of Cards, it actually has a decent load of what might be considered Red State content, including Ozark and the Ashton Kutcher comedy The Ranch. Not to mention a huge catalog of network TV series.
The bigger challenge for Walmart, which is being advised on the project by former Epix CEO Mark Greenberg, is how to start from scratch, which is what the company will effectively be doing, when so many players are already so far ahead in streaming. Netflix has over 125 million subscribers and is pumping $8 billion into content this year; or four times what Walmart is reportedly thinking about spending. Amazon is now nipping at Hulu’s heels with over 100 million subscribers and is spending $5 billion on content. Hulu is about to be re-invigorated with more resources and strategic management by Disney, its majority-owner-to-be, once Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox is complete. HBO, meanwhile, has orders to beef up its pipeline from new-owner AT&T, which will be writing the company bigger checks than former owner Time Warner was. Disney, with the help of streaming-tech giant BAMTech, is putting all of its corporate energy into launching a new family entertainment streaming service by the end of 2019. Wait, are we forgetting anyone? Oh yeah, just a couple of small fries: Apple and Facebook.
Beyond having to race to create a product and lure talent to create the kind of brand-making shows that have defined Netflix (Orange Is the New Black, Narcos), Amazon (Transparent), and Hulu (The Handmaid’s Tale), in order to succeed, Walmart would need to fill its library with licensed shows, which are what actually drive viewing. As the Los Angeles Times pointed out last week, 80% of TV streams on Netflix are licensed TV shows, and 42% of Netflix members watch little to none of the company’s original content. The data was based on a study conducted by the research firm 7Park Data.
Netflix is having trouble holding onto licensed content as the studios become more protective of their own IP; the biggest blow has come from Disney, which will stop selling shows and movies to Netflix once its current contract expires. For anyone who isn’t building its own streaming service, its content is increasingly already locked up with other players like Amazon and Hulu. Even if Walmart shells out better offers, the company would have to wait for deals to expire, which could take years (which is more like decades, in streaming terms).
Finally, Walmart’s track record in direct-to-consumer entertainment is weak, suggesting that perhaps the Walmart shopper thinks of it as a retailer and not a lifestyle brand. As far back as 2002, Walmart started testing a Netflix-style DVD-by-mail service. It sold that business to Netflix in 2005. In 2007, it tested a movie and TV show download service in partnership with Hewlett-Packard, but it never took off. In 2010, the company bought the video-on-demand company Vudu, which allows users to buy and rent movies, but that, too, has failed to gain traction. According to comScore, Vudu, which is available on devices like Roku, attracted only 13% of U.S. streaming households in April, compared to Netflix’s 73%, YouTube’s 50%, Hulu’s 36%, and Amazon’s 28%.
By copying some of those players and throwing money at its streaming efforts, Walmart can certainly get to the starting gate. But to become an effective player–and get people to pony up for yet another streaming app–the company will need to do more than simply make another version of Roseanne.
It will need to distinguish itself in both its product and portfolio in a way that feels novel and exciting. Walmart already has a well-established brand. To win in streaming, it will need to prove why that brand matters in entertainment.