text:
International Awards Program Recognizes Outstanding Information Security Products and Companies
CLEVELAND, Ohio, Oct. 2, 2019 – Keyfactor, a leading provider of secure digital identity management solutions, today announced that it has been named the winner of the ???Overall Encryption Solution Provider of the Year??? award from CyberSecurity Breakthrough, a leading independent market intelligence organization that recognizes the top companies, technologies and products in the global information security market today.
In June 2019, Keyfactor announced an integration with Thales that combines Keyfactor’s code signing product with the high-assurance key protection of Thales??? SafeNet Cloud HSM On-Demand. The result of the partnership, Keyfactor Code Assure, delivers secure code signing to software vendors, mobile app developers, enterprise IT organizations and manufacturers of IoT devices.
???A rise in code signing cyber-attacks, like the recent ASUS breach, underscore the need for security and encryption at design across hardware and software development,??? said Ted Shorter, chief technology officer and co-founder at Keyfactor. ???Together, Keyfactor Code Assure and the broader Keyfactor platform makes protection against evolving cyber-attacks possible for DevOps and software teams at product development.???
Keyfactor’s turnkey, cloud-based Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) platform provides its users with visibility and the ability to manage all digital identities, across people, devices and software.
???Historically, enterprises built and integrated disparate systems to realize the value of digital transformation,??? said Jordan Rackie, CEO at Keyfactor. ???The Keyfactor platform seamlessly connects digital identities, providing businesses with the agility and security they need to scale. We’re proud to receive this award in recognition of our team’s hard work and continued innovation.???
The mission of the CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards is to honor excellence and recognize the innovation, hard work and success in a range of information security categories, including Cloud Security, Threat Detection, Risk Management, Fraud Prevention, Mobile Security, Email Security and many more. This year’s program attracted more than 3,500 nominations from over 15 different countries throughout the world.
???Securing digital identity across people, applications and devices is the key factor in creating high trust and secure environments,??? said James Johnson, managing director, CyberSecurity Breakthrough. ???Keyfactor ???breaks through??? the crowded cybersecurity market with its powerful platform that enables digital transformation and secure cloud migration with a complete suite and scalable on-premises and cloud-based digital identity management solutions. We extend a hearty congratulations to Keyfactor on their well-deserved 2019 CyberSecurity Breakthrough Award.???
Keyfactor is a leading provider of secure digital identity management solutions that enable organizations to confirm authenticity, and ensure the right things are interacting in the right ways in our connected world. From an enterprise managing millions of devices and applications that affect people’s lives every day to a manufacturer aiming to ensure its product will function safely throughout its lifecycle, Keyfactor empowers global enterprises with the freedom to master every digital identity. Its clients are the most innovative brands in the industries where trust and reliability matter most. Learn more at www.keyfactor.com and @Keyfactor.
About CyberSecurity Breakthrough
Part of Tech Breakthrough, a leading market intelligence and recognition platform for global technology innovation and leadership, the CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards program is devoted to honoring excellence in information security and cybersecurity technology companies, products and people. The CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards provide a platform for public recognition around the achievements of breakthrough information security companies and products in categories including Cloud Security, Threat Detection, Risk Management, Fraud Prevention, Mobile Security, Web and Email Security, UTM, Firewall and more. For more information visit CyberSecurityBreakthrough.com.
Keyfactor Media Contact
MRB Public Relations Media Contact


text:
EU says its Google case not affected by U.S. ruling
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A decision by U.S regulators to end a probe into whether Google Inc (GOOG.O) hurt rivals by manipulating internet searches will not affect the European Union's examination of the company.
"We have taken note of the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) decision, but we don't see that it has any direct implications for our investigation, for our discussions with Google, which are ongoing," said Michael Jennings, a spokesman for the European Commission, the EU executive.
U.S. regulators on Thursday ended their investigation into the giant internet company, which runs the world's most popular search engine.
Other internet companies, such as Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), had complained about Google tweaking its search results to give prominence to its own products. But the FTC said there was not enough evidence to pursue a big search-bias case.
The European Commission has for the past two years been investigating complaints against Google, including claims that it unfairly favoured its own services in its search results.
Google presented informal settlement proposals to the Commission in July. On December 18 the Commission gave the company a month to come up with detailed proposals to resolve the investigation.
If it fails to address the complaints and is found guilty, Google could eventually be fined up to 10 percent of its revenue - a fine of up to $4 billion.
(Reporting By Ethan Bilby; Editing by Sebastian Moffett and David Goodman)
- Tweet this
- Share this
- Digg this
DAVOS, Switzerland - Central banks have done their best to rescue the world economy by printing money and politicians must now act fast to enact structural reforms and pro-investment policies to boost growth, central bankers said on Saturday.
Trending On Reuters
Microsoft Corp on Monday reported a fall in its quarterly profit that was in line with Wall Street forecasts, as sluggish personal computer sales dampened demand for Windows software and the company struggled with the impact of the strong U.S. dollar. Full Article

domain: news


text:
The technology sector has always changed at a rapid pace, it’s a place where bedroom businesses can become multinationals almost overnight. Within that rapidly changing landscape there has been a set of large organisations that have maintained influential positions in the market. It used to be the aspiration of the start-up business to become the corporate giant, but now it’s the established brands that are looking to the new players for the way to run their businesses. The changes of philosophy are fundamental, and as they begin to take hold they look set to take mobile with it.
As the mobile industry is barely 30 years old it seems a little ridiculous to discuss ‘traditional’ methods of business. Things have continued to develop in an unpredictable manner since the first mobile phone call was made on 1st January 1985. The mobile phone as pure communication tool was pretty revolutionary, but it was only when it was combined with another relatively young technological invention – the internet – that it really began to change the way people lived their lives.
As a result, the industry has been thrust into the arms of the most powerful internet companies. Although these firms influence almost every industry, it is in technology and communication that the new, predominantly Californian, forces rule. The power of these companies doesn’t come from stock or natural resource but from data, the information transmitted by millions every day through their computer systems. This flow of data between the everyday user and the Googles and the Facebooks has become the major revenue stream for mobile operators, but they also pose a threat to revenue models.
Google and Facebook are two examples of start-up technology businesses that have been transformed into world superpowers. So it is little wonder then that their methods are now being examined by the traditional technology elite.
IBM is one company that is taking inspiration from the working practices of the technology start-up. The organisation is pushing a concept known as ‘Design Thinking’ to its employees; it is aimed at changing the way its staff work so they take a creative, design-led approach, rather than following checklists methodically. All its staff are undergoing ‘design training’ and the company has rolled out a number of IBM Studios, which demonstrate this approach, around the world.
These environments bring staff from different departments together to work in a way that reflects the modern technology start-up. IBM brings clients to these spaces to demonstrate how new working practices can improve their businesses. At the launch of the London studio, Matt Candy, european leader, IBM Interactive Experience, said: ‘Through the IBM Studios we are transforming the client experience of our products and services and how the company engages with the world at large.’
Another traditional technology power that is changing its approach is Microsoft. A brand that was famous for its ability to maximise profit from software has stated publicly that it will be offering its next software upgrade, Windows 10, for free.
At Mobile World Congress, Mobile spoke to Greg Sullivan, Microsoft’s Windows Phone director of public relations, who explained that the changes the organisation was making were reflective of the market: ‘Historically it’s been about the mobile device; we revel in mobility and the device aspect of that. But we’re thinking about the mobile experience and a shift to a more holistic perspective. We’re asking what the computer platform is; from wearables through phablets, tablets to televisions, games consoles and so on. The end user is concreting on the experience they are having and that’s what needs to be mobile. The device is part of it, but it’s not the main thing.’
The brand is looking to create the platform that is used by a huge number of users and generating revenue in different ways, Sullivan continues: ‘It’s a significant strategic move – there are 1.5 billion Windows users, that is a fact. We will try to make Windows 10 available to as many users as possible and for a limited time for free. Part of the big deal that has changed with Windows 10 is that is not a disconnected fragment. It’s one platform and one developer model that allows the developer to target the wide range of users. People don’t think about the devices in isolation, they think about what they can do with them, that’s what we’re working on with Windows 10.
‘If you look at how business models have evolved, the licensing model isn’t the only way to make money. There are other ways to generate revenue, and in all honesty the percentage of our business reliant on software upgrades isn’t huge. It’s important to bring a high number of people to the platform. We’ve talked about Windows as a service – that’s how we are thinking of Windows 10.’
This is a major shift in both attitude and perception – in the past, software and hardware were treated like a product. However, in both areas the idea of the expensive upgrade is becoming more outdated. Customers now expect a product that is constantly evolving, becoming more secure, faster and bug-free. Traditional technology firms such as Microsoft understand that they need to react to this or risk being left behind.
The other big change is interoperability, it’s no longer acceptable for walls to be put up for consumers and developers in consuming or making content. Gone are the days when a Microsoft Word document lacked compatibility with a Mac, or an application could go big on one form of operating system. Numbers are even more important and that’s the critical part of Microsoft’s plan: converting the 1.5bn users into a thriving, active operating system user community.
The new world order
Mobile World Congress was also the venue for an interesting meeting between the communications old guard and the new powers, as Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg (pictured) shared a platform with a number of network operators to discuss modern revenue models. The somewhat awkward debate demonstrated the difference that exists between the internet communication companies and the traditional elite.
There were two words consistently repeated by Zuckerberg when he was explaining the mobile operator’s role in the modern communications environment; ‘infrastructure’ and ‘data’. ‘Infrastructure’ related to what the mobile operators could do for them, while data was what the social network could offer the networks.
Facebook’s decision to purchase free messaging service WhatsApp is just another demonstration of how the new internet companies are moving into the operator environment. In buying WhatsApp, the social network acquired the phone numbers of 400 million users, taking control of a service that eats into SMS revenue. The interfaces people use to speak to each other are shifting from the mobile operator platforms to the internet communication services.
This is where you can understand Zuckerberg’s attitude towards ‘data’ and ‘infrastructure’ with greater clarity. The network’s infrastructure is still crucial as the method of communication, but more frequently it’s not their SMS or voice channels that are being used but the data channel as the place where phone usage predominantly occurs. This changes the way in which the operator and the customer interrelate, reducing the number of interactions and positioning the brand as a utility provider.
No company likes to feel as if it is handing over the regular customer interactions to another brand, and in the fiercely competitive operator market it is unlikely that the networks will be pleased with the thought of becoming a ‘provider’ brand. The consolidation and movement towards quad play in the operator market does little to arrest this, with fewer providers providing more services.
Facebook isn’t the only company that is looking to take control of the daily communications of the consumer – Google has been aggressively moving into the mobile space. The latest move from the company was to announce that it would be launching an MVNO at Mobile World Congress.
It seems inevitable that eventually the profile will replace the phone number, and there is a battle ensuing between the different technology brands about who will act as the dominant user interface. It’s not just internet companies such as Google and Facebook that are competing to provide this service, but also manufacturers such as Apple and Samsung. Apple has been the most successful hardware brand in encouraging the customer’s profile, with its video caller service FaceTime probably the most significant threat to the traditional communication providers. The Californian brand’s decision to push its connected home and payment services demonstrates its desire to really take control of the consumer profile.
How the mobile industry responds to these strategic shifts from the world’s most powerful technology companies will be fascinating to observe. There’s a number of different theories about how this market will change, but the movement from the big traditional technology firms shows what a critical point we are at right now.


text:
Capital One's proposed merger with the US credit card specialist Discover has reshuffled the deck in a fast-growing sector in the United States, where cash is gradually disappearing from the landscape.
The all-stock deal is worth around $35.3 billion, and is expected to close in late 2024 or early 2025. The deal, which will be subject to antitrust scrutiny, values Discover's shares at a 27 percent premium, and would create a US banking behemoth.
Under the terms of the agreement, around 60 percent of the new company will be owned by Capital One's shareholders, with the remainder going to those of the financial services company.
Discover shareholders will receive 1.0192 Capital One shares for each Discover share, representing a premium of 26.6 percent on Discover's closing share price on 16 February of just over $110.
Although the merger still has to be approved by the US regulatory authorities, Capital One's founder and chief executive Richard Fairbank sounded optimistic in a conference call on Tuesday, telling investors that the two companies "are well positioned for approval."
"Discover adds $218 billion in annual spend and $102 billion in loans to Capital One's credit card franchise, increasing our scale where it matters," he said.
"These additional revenue synergies have not been included in our deal model," he added.
Discover's chief executive Michael Rhodes said the deal gave his firm "the opportunity to scale at a very rapid pace, and much more so than we could certainly do on organic basis."
"And if I look at the organizations that have the most synergistic impact, with Discover, it is Capital One," he added.
Capital One saw a relatively modest market reaction after the deal was announced: at noon local time (1700 GMT), shares were up 0.7 percent. By contrast, Discover shares surged almost 15 percent on the news.
Competitors and partners
Originally a financial subsidiary of the Sears retail chain, Discover developed in the early 1990s as a credit card network, before being acquired in 1997 by Morgan Stanley, which made it an independent company again in 2005.
Discover is the fourth largest credit card network, behind the three other American groups: Visa, Mastercard and American Express.
Based mainly in the US, it is present in over 200 countries, and its cards are accepted in 70 million points of sale.
"They show up in nearly every physical point of sale across the United States and on nearly every online checkout page," Fairbank from Capital One said Tuesday.
"We intend to preserve the Discover brand," he continued, adding that Capital One "would lean in to build and strengthen the network brand."
The company made a name for itself by being the first in the United States to develop the principle of "cashback," which enables credit card users to recoup a fraction of the money they spend, and gives banks and credit card networks valuable data on customers' spending habits.
The acquisition will result in a number of Capital One's credit cards being transferred to Discover's network, while the bank is expected to continue working with Visa and Mastercard -- particularly given their much more extensive networks abroad.
In effect, the company would be both a partner and competing with Visa and MasterCard at the same time, Fairbank acknowledged.
"We've had a strong relationship with both of them since we started; it's not unusual for companies to be both competitors and customers of each other," he added.
"We're talking about taking a network that is way, way smaller than those, and giving it a chance to get more threshold scale pick up momentum."


text:
2013 was a very busy year for business transfer agents, as some 1,825 private technology companies exited. We certainly played a role in this impressive figure, aiding the exits of businesses such as Intelligent Retail, a multi-channel retail solution; Capital Capture, a recognised Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) specialist; and KnowledgeCenter, which provides tailored business solutions to the insurance industry. Yet of the total number of exits made in 2013, only 1% reached the much sought-after tag of “unicorn”, an acquisition worth $1.0 billion or more.
According to a report by CB Insights titled the “2013 Global Tech Exits Report”, some 1,761 private tech firms were acquired across the globe, and another 64 tech companies went public. The peak in 2013 was Q4 when some 534 M&A deals went through and 23 IPOs, a trend that forecast a positive 2014. The second half of 2013 was more active, with almost 50% more M&A deals and almost 65% more IPOs.
However, despite what is considered a fairly successful year for tech exits, only 1% of all deals reached the $1 billion and above total. This ratio is certainly a realistic reflection of how few businesses are able to pull in massive deals, with just over 70% of exits valued at under $200 million. Around 45% of all deals were for less than $50 million. Only 19 private tech firms went for above $1 billion. It is thus unsurprising that Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp made such major headlines this year, considering that the $19 billion acquisition represented almost 80% of the entire value of 2013 exits. 2014 is therefore likely to be a record breaking year for total acquisition values.
Interestingly, around two-thirds of tech exits in 2013 had previously not raised any institutional capital. At the other end of the scale, 29 companies raised around $100 million before making their exit.
The five most active countries in tech exits were the US, Canada, China, UK and Germany. The largest share of acquisitions focusing specifically on mobile companies was in China, demonstrative of the country’s rapid expansion in the mobile gaming start-up scene. Germany, meanwhile, saw an especially large focus on electronics and software. The vast majority of deals among the top five nations were for Internet-based firms.
In terms of the most successful portfolios, SV Angel saw the largest number of venture-capital backed exits in 2013, followed by the likes of Accel Partners and Index Ventures. Meanwhile, Yahoo acquired the largest number of tech firms that raised Series A or less of financing, with other prominent and highly active acquirers including Apple, Twitter and Cisco Systems.
With the start 2014 has already had, the figures are certainly likely to top 2013, suggesting corporate finance boutiques will be busy throughout the year. We at Acuity welcome the workload.
A conversation is never wasted. We’re confident that we can give you all the help you need, but we’ll tell you if we think there’s a better option for you.Get in Touch


text:
To increase agility, the company is reorganising from four monolithic business units to 25 small ones. Its approach to digital talent is just as decisive, hiring more from digitally savvy campuses and less from the highly experienced, yet rigid workforce — only 7000 of its 24,000 employees are engineers. It is also very careful about who it partners with and how these partnerships work — it cannot depend on partners who don't have significant digital and online experience.
The City of Brisbane in Australia is a traditional organisation with very large digital ambitions. The local government has set itself the ambitious goal of doubling the number of digitally engaged small and midsize enterprises in Brisbane over the next five years and creating a '"cyber-city" program.
The strategy illustrates the need to consider the entire digital life cycle, from developing digital talent and stimulating innovation and entrepreneurship, to implementing infrastructure and services that support a "digital city." Given that the digital landscape is changing so fast, with the Australian people adopting new digital services at three times the rate that Australian businesses do, the City of Brisbane believes flexibility is key. It has appointed the first chief digital officer in local government in Australia.
Digital business strategy is a critical capability for success in the next decade. At some point, digital will simply be embedded in everything we do, but until then, we must ensure that appropriate digital leadership exists to overcome "analogue inertia" and generate the necessary momentum towards digital business.
Sign up for CIO Asia eNewsletters.


text:
Burl OsborneA Register Orange County Business News blog post that went up last night crows that it learned from "four inside sources" Monday that Burl Osborne will be named chief executive officer of the paper's parent company Freedom Communications Inc. of Irvine when the board
meets later this wee ... More >>
For those literary enthusiasts on your Christmas/Hanukkah/whatever lists—and for those people with, you know, just good taste—out there, McSweeney's online store has just announced a fantastic sale with prices slashed as high as 77% off.
I just received this item on my Facebook (seriously!) fee ... More >>


text:
It has multiple microphones and it intelligently cancels noise. It has side facing radiators and Google claims it delivers great audio. It supports a number of services like Spotify, Pandora, iHeart Radio in addition to Google Play music or YouTube. You can also easily set a default music service. The music is search is powered by Google so even if you don’t remember the name of the song Google will be able to figure it out. Users will also be able to cast audio from your Google Android smartphones.
Google Home also gets answers from Google. It leverages Google’s knowledge graph. So you can literally ask it any question and it will probably be able to answer it. It also sources information from places like Wikipedia. It also leverages these smarts with the Google Assistant. Home also has a feature called My day which does a brief roundup of your day which can act like a briefing.
Google Home will support voice casting to allow users to control YouTube via Chromecast. This feature will also soon come to Netflix. Google is also adding support for this for Google Photos service.
You can also have multiple Google Home speakers. It will come with a 6-month free trail of YouTube red. It comes in a number of new colours which also include fabric finishes.
Google will also work with partners and help them integrate their services with it and the Assistant. Google is touting it like its next big open platform.
Google has also launched a new Chromecast – called the Chromecast Ultra which will be able to beam 4K video and also will also have the ability handle HDR video, something which content providers like Netflix are pushing towards users. Design wise this is a HDMI dongle which is more of an evolution of the Chromecast 2. It is 1.8 times faster than Chromecast 2.
With the added functionality also comes a new price of $69, which is almost twice that of the previous Chromecast models. Google is also saying that it will be roll out 4K content in Play Movies. It will be available in November.
One of the lower key announcements at the event was that of the new Google Wi-Fi which is a smart Wi-Fi router providing enhanced range allowing Google Wi-Fi access points to be daisy chained creating a bigger Wi-Fi network. Google touts its mesh technology which is similar to the Eero Wi-Fi system sold in the states allowing multiple routers to be interconnected helping the user remove dead zones in his/her house. The router will be sold for $129. Google will also sell a pack of three which will cost $299. This will be available in December.
It comes with a new feature called network assist which allows users to get access to the best possible network. Google allows users to control which device can be used and can also help pause certain devices.


text:
An entity controlled by Village Voice Media, the newspaper chain that formerly owned the East Bay Express, has filed suit against two of the Express' current owners, Hal Brody and Stephen Buel, claiming that they owe $500,000 as part of the 2007 deal in which the paper went independent. According to the suit filed in federal court in Oakland by Eastbay Express Publishing LP, an entity controlled by Village Voice Media, Brody and Buel signed a promissory note, saying they would pay the $500,000 by May 17, 2009. It was to be the final payment installment in the 2007 deal in which Village Voice Media sold the Express to Brody, Buel, and several other investors for an undisclosed sum. Brody and Buel also personally guaranteed payment of the money. But Brody said he and his business partners decided not to pay the $500,000 because they contend that Village Voice Media owes the Express more money than the Express owes them. "Quite a bit more," Brody said. "It's actually over $2 million."
When Village Voice Media sold the paper, it signed a non-compete clause with the new owners, promising that its newspaper, the SF Weekly, would not to try to poach the Express' advertisers and employees. But according to Brody, the SF Weekly has violated the agreement repeatedly. "They violated it the day we walked in the door, and have consistently violated it," he said. "They're still violating it." Brody said he has repeatedly attempted to negotiate a settlement with Village Voice Media, but has gotten nowhere. He said he and his business partners have not decided whether they plan to file a countersuit against the chain.


text:
Magnite Buys SpotX
RTL, the Euro TV powerhouse that bought Denver-based SpotX in 2017, sold it this week to Magnite, the streaming TV ad-buying company created by the melding of Rubicon and Telaria. (Not to be confused with Magnetite, the iron ore mineral you learned about in Earth Science or Maglite, the best-selling brand of flashlight.)
Why It Matters
For starters, Magnite is paying $1.17 billion for SpotX, which must be making RTL investors jump for joy, given that they only paid $289 million ($144 million in 2014 to purchase 65% of the company and $145 million in 2017 for the rest.)
That’s a Game Stop level investment. (Or a Game Stop as of last week level investment, anyway.)
On a broader front, it’s not surprising to see consolidation within the independent streaming TV ad tech community. The market is growing, dollars are starting to shift and the one thing that brands and their agencies continually tell us is just how complicated the whole process is.
So the fewer boxes to check, the better.
Independent buyers like Magnite operate outside of the walled garden systems maintained by many of the main players in the industry, who sell the choice inventory on their platforms or devices and then use the programmatic capabilities of the indie players to find buyers for the rest.
It’s a complex arena, one that very few people fully understand. For instance, many networks are looking for ways to bundle their VOD set top box inventory and their streaming inventory together for sales purposes, and that’s something Magnite, despite its size, has yet to fully conquer.
That said, there are plenty of things both Magnite and SpotX do well and efficiently–there’s a reason both are so highly regarded and work with a stellar list of blue chip clients.
Complicating matters still is the fact that we’re in a strange, albeit temporary, transition period right now, as viewing shifts from mostly linear to mostly streaming and the infrastructure that supports TV advertising struggles to keep up.
It’s tricky because there are brands whose target audiences are still largely on linear and brands whose target audiences are largely on streaming and more still where the audience is on both.
Combine that with the fact that most brand marketers and their agencies find filling out their taxes to be easier than creating a cross-platform media plan, and there’s a real danger that dollars will not follow eyeballs to streaming.
Meaning that all forms of cooperation, even mergers, are going to benefit the industry.
What You Need To Do About It
If you’ve got a walled garden for streaming TV, you need to get real: walled gardening works for Facebook and Google because there are no other options, but keeping those walls up in streaming TV is counterproductive because buyers do have other options and the more confusing the whole market seems, the less likely anyone is to spend big money on it.
If you’re a brand and you’re pulling back from spending more on streaming precisely because it is all just so damned complicated, don’t. Your audiences are all moving to streaming, will continue moving to streaming in larger numbers and the ads you run on streaming can be better targeted and will provide a clearer view of their effectiveness.
While some of these players making your life complicated are just rebranded digital companies, many of them are actually using infrastructure that was purposely created to help buy, sell, distribute and track television commercials and they are the ones who will eventually win out. Just hang in there.
If you’re pretty much everyone in the industry and you are confused as to what the difference is between OTT, CTV and digital TV and why some people call networks “publishers” you are not alone. It’s confusing AF for everyone and there’s a simple solution: call it “Streaming TV” (STV if you desperately need an acronym) and the people who own the apps are “programmers.” (Though it is more than likely that consumers will begin referring to all those apps by less technical names like “networks”, as in “What network is Bridgerton on–Netflix or Disney?)
2. Pluto To Help Promote CBS Shows
ViacomCBS is going to use its FAST, Pluto, to promote two of its new series, Clarice and The Equalizer, in the hope that this will drive viewers to watch the shows on linear CBS.
Why It Matters
This is not a bad use for a FAST, though a better use would be to use Pluto to tease shows that are on Paramount+, though given that Paramount+ is not scheduled to launch until next month, this may very much be in the cards, with the CBS promo as a dress rehearsal.
This was something that came up in our recent special report on the FASTs, the fact that one of the big advantages to larger network groups owning a FAST was that they could use them to promote their original series, teasing a few episodes and thus driving subscriptions.
It seems pretty logical and lines up with the notion that the Flixes with their roots in traditional TV are all going to have a three-tier line-up, with a free ad-supported service, a subscription ad-supported service and a subscription ad-free service. By combining ad sales from the first two, they will be able to reach a bigger market and by using the free service to promote their subscription services, they should be able to more easily convert viewers.
This, if you recall, was one of Netflix’s original plays–they struck deals with networks like AMC to show older episodes of series like “Breaking Bad” that were not yet ready for syndication with the promise of driving viewers back to linear to see all the new episodes once they’d caught up.
As for Pluto, there will be a period where VCBS needs to promote both their linear and their streaming shows, but I suspect that in about three to five years, that line-up will be one and the same, as it will no longer make financial sense to create big production budget comedies and dramas for linear, given that most viewers are on streaming.
What You Need To Do About It
If you’re one of the TV companies that’s setting up shop on streaming, teasing the originals on your subscription app via your free app is a no-brainer. Our friends at Peerlogix can even provide you with the stats to figure out which shows are most likely to turn viewers into subscribers. (Check out our recent report on their Moneyball Approach.)
If you’re a FAST that’s not affiliated with a subscription service, this might be a good money making deal for you–strike a deal with an independent subscription service to show episodes of series they are trying to make happen and take a cut of any subscriptions you drive.


text:
Sales of tractors and combines continue at a very strong pace, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.
In AEM’s May 2013 Flash Report, total two-wheel drive farm tractor sales were up more than 22 percent over May 2012. Sales in the under-40 hp category were the strongest, but sales in the 100+ hp category were up 19 percent, and the 40 to under-100 hp also saw a strong month. For the year, sales are more than 12 percent over 2012’s pace, led by the 100+ hp category, which is 27 percent higher than the same period a year ago.
Combine sales are also moving along quite strong, up 31 percent for the month, and up more than 50 percent compared to May 2012.
It will be interesting to see if planting delays and wet weather will put a damper on this enthusiasm, but early indications are that it will be another banner year for tractor and combine sales.
Do you have any new iron in the barn?


text:
Update on Chopt in Kentlands
We spoke to a representative from the Rockville Chopt location who informed us that the new Gaithersburg store is now scheduled to open in October.
The restaurant will be located next to MOD pizza on Commerce Square in the Kentlands.
We first reported in January of 2020 that Chopt would be opening a Kentlands location but there have been several delays, namely the pandemic.
The previous Gaithersburg location, in Downtown Crown, closed in early 2020.


text:
Tether, the largest stablecoin in the world, was under heavy pressure in 2022. The ongoing cryptocurrency crash has led to less demand for the coin. Similarly, the collapse of Terra USD and several other stablecoins like Neutrino has pushed more people away from stablecoins. As a result, Tether’s market cap has fallen from over $82 billion to about $66 billion.
Is Tether a good buy?
A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency that is backed by another asset. In most cases, stablecoins are backed by fiat currencies such as the US dollar and the euro. The goal is to make it easy for people to trade and invest in digital assets online. For example, trading using fiat currencies such as the US dollar in decentralized exchanges (DEXs) is significantly difficult.
There are two main types of stablecoins. First, there are centralized stablecoins that are managed by an individual company. Examples include Tether and USD Coin. These coins are backed by fiat currencies which are usually stored in banks. They are also believed to be audited by a leading financial auditor.
Second, there are decentralized stablecoins that are controlled by a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). A good example of this are Neutrino and USDD. These coins are usually backed by a basket of cryptocurrencies such as BTC and ETH.
Tether has struggled in part due to concerns about his reserves. In recent years, there have been concerns about whether Tether will be fully supported on a 1:1 basis.
In a court filing this week, a judge said Tether would have to submit its audited financial backing. This ruling was part of an ongoing lawsuit alleging that Tether colluded with others to drive up Bitcoin prices. Tether and its parent company Bitfinex have denied any allegation.
When should you buy Tether?
Unlike other cryptocurrencies, Tether is not purchased as part of an investment as its value remains the same. Instead, the stablecoin is bought to facilitate transactions in the blockchain industry.
That is why we believe that you can buy Tether as it has proven to be a stable stable coin. Unlike other stablecoins like Terra USD, Tether has kept its peg for years.
In addition, Tether is a verified stablecoin, which should give you peace of mind. It is controlled by BDO Italia, which is part of the wider BDO office. In a statement, BDO confirmed that Tether owned fiat currencies and that it was reducing its holdings of commercial paper.


text:
Meta will establish a new product division within the corporation that will be focused on generative artificial intelligence. generative AI is a new set of machine learning algorithms that enable computers to write text, draw drawings, and create other forms of media that mimic human output.
This move comes at a time when large tech corporations and well-capitalized startups alike are racing to boast improvements in machine learning techniques and incorporate artificial intelligence models into their products.
In a statement on Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, said that the new entity will integrate many of the company’s existing departments. Chris Cox, who is currently serving in the role of Chief Product Officer, will take over organizational duties for the newly formed team.
According to Zuckerberg, the group is going to develop “creative and expressive” technologies that will be included in Meta’s products.
“We’re exploring experiences with text (like chat in WhatsApp and Messenger), with images (like creative Instagram filters and ad formats), and with video and multi-modal experiences,” Zuckerberg stated.“We have a lot of foundational work to do before getting to the really futuristic experiences, but I’m excited about all of the new things we’ll build along the way.”
For instance, huge language models developed by OpenAI have been included in a chatbot developed by Microsoft Bing as well as a distinct chatbot referred to as ChatGPT. Bard, a chatbot designed by Google, is currently under development.
On Monday, Snap made the announcement that it will add a ChatGPT bot to its Snapchat app.
The previous week saw the announcement of Meta’s very own big language model, which goes by the name LLaMA.
At the time, Meta asserted that its models are distinct from those of its competitors due to the fact that they are made available to researchers and that their usage is both more convenient and less costly than that of bigger models.
But the declaration was also a signal that Meta, which undertakes a large amount of research into artificial intelligence, was not going to allow competitors to pass it by in the battle to win the AI race.


text:
Ubisoft has unveiled two new titles in its Imagine series of video games at E3, Imagine Dream Weddings and Imagine Movie Star.
Imagine Dream Weddings is targeted at young girls who must create the perfect wedding in the face of unruly guests and unexpected events. The game is under-development at Southlogic Studios and is due for release at the end of the year.
Also due for release by the end of the year is Imagine Movie Star, which puts players into the role of a popular, party-going movie star.
According to Ubisoft, the Imagine series has already sold four million units worldwide.


text:
Huawei claimed: Mate 8 will surpass iPhone 6S, with 6.0-inch screen
Several months ago, Huawei launched its flagship Mate 7 and successfully obtained a good sales, which makes Huawei get great encourage, then they further launched its another high-end flagship Mate S, priced at 4000+ yuan. For this phone, Huawei made it clear that this is a high-end flagship device that mainly targeted at iPhone 6S.
Yesterday, there were reports that Mate S sales is not very good, for which Huawei felt very angry. The CEO of Huawei, Yu chengdong accepted an interview to make it clear that Mate S sales is are very good, now has reached hundreds of thousands of sets, they are very satisfied.
In addition, Yu Chengdong also suggests that Mate S (5.5 inch) and Mate 8 will make up a product combination. Before there was news that screen size of Mate 8 is 6 inches. According to the statement from Yu Chengdong, it should be the case.
Yu Chengdong also stressed that in the high-end flagship, Huawei puts a lot of energy and time into their products, they produce premium and high-end products to challenge and surpass Apple, such as the upcoming Mate 8, they is very confident.
For this year’s target, Huawei phones are about to break 100 million units.
PS: Mate S PK iPhone 6S, and Mate 8 is a beyond Apple’s works.
You might also like
The next generation flagship Huawei Honor 7 is coming in June with 2 versions, 1080p display, Kirin 935 processor, Android 5.0 and 3GB/4GB RAM
Huawei’s flagship smartphone P8 has officially launched for sale in April. Now, rumor has it again that the Huawei Honor 7 will be released at the end of June and
The new flagship smartphone-MEIZU MX4 Pro which we had been expected for so long finally showed up this afternoon in Beijing. We first got the real phone of MEIZU MX4
In Feburary, Umi had taken vein of its’ lastest flagship product—Umi X3 in Hongkong, owing to its’ excellent design and high specs, it had won most people’s favor. However, after


text:
A few months ago, I committed to making more ethical purchases, particularly when it came to environmental sustainability. Naturally, Google and Facebook's algorithms noticed my new lifestyle and immediately began surfacing ads for shoes made of recycled grocery bags alongside news stories about design students who make skateboard decks from discarded plastic.It started to make me wonder: Why are these products still seen as novelties? We're constantly reminded that we've produced millions of tons of plastic that will take 1,000 years to decompose and are clogging our oceans, so surely there's more than enough of this stuff on the planet already to make all of our products for the next century. Why don't we just make everything out of recycled plastic? The answer, I found out, can be chalked up to a mix of technological, marketing, and cultural barriers. But there are some very smart people working to break these barriers down.
"It's a very interesting situation," said Edward Kosior, a chemical engineer who started an independent consultancy on plastic recycling called Nextek. "The context for all of this is the price of oil."Over the past few years, oil production has surged, causing a glut of global crude oil. This has kept the price down, and since plastics are made from oil, the cost of making new plastic has stayed low. When oil is pricier, using recycled plastics can be cheaper than making "virgin" plastic from scratch but at the moment, the opposite is true. Our recycling process also isn't perfect, and can sometimes lead to slightly lower quality plastics or variations in color or feel—these may be barely noticeable to the consumer, but to a brand, that's more variation than they want to gamble with."To use recycled plastics, they have to consider two things: Is there an impact on the appearance, and what is the implication for cost?" Kosior said. "The brand owner always wants the product to look identical on the shelf."
The economic benefits for a manufacturer are also sometimes difficult to pin down, said Jeannette Garcia, a polymer chemist at IBM Research. Garcia said that efficiency, oil savings and the reduction in CO2 emissions that come from using recycled plastics are "invisible" to many manufacturers, while financial costs are obvious.There are also technological barriers to manufacturing more recycled plastic goods, Garcia told me. Recycling is a complicated process. Plastics have to be cleaned, sorted, and melted to be reshaped and reused. But most products are made of multiple kinds of plastic, each of which has to be sorted from the others before that can happen, and some—like PVC—can't be recycled at all.
Garcia said researchers are now looking for new and more efficient ways to make, and break down, plastics. "Since we make plastics chemically, the way we treat them at end of life is also probably going to be chemical," she said.Garcia cited a number of examples, such as chemical recycling, where the plastic is exposed to a catalyst at a very high temperature, causing the underlying compounds to break down. It's how scientists have been able to make fuel out of old water bottles. Garcia said this technique still requires a lot of energy, and is very expensive, but she believes scientists will eventually figure out how to use a similar process at a much lower temperature.
New techniques for making plastic could also make them easier to recycle, she said, pointing to a technique she co-developed to produce thermoset plastics—a polymer that actually gets stronger when you heat it up—that can be broken down and recycled.There are cultural barriers to overcome as well."Most consumers wouldn't have a clue which plastics they can or can't recycle," said Nathalie Jerming-Havill, the senior creative strategist at Studio INTO, a design consultancy in London. Beyond that, there's a lack of pressure from buyers. "If the consumers don't want it, why should [the companies] care?"Studio INTO supports a sustainable design challenge project every year for senior students at Central Saint Martins, a nearby arts college. This year, they challenged students to develop products that found new uses for plastics, which varied from plastic-free tampons to a take-away sushi containers made out of a soy sauce gel. Jerming-Havill told me the next generation of designers and engineers is eager to solve these problems, but big companies aren't as keen to adapt.Even with green choices being "trendy," it's not always enough: Kosior estimated 25 percent of plastic products contain some small amount of recycled material, but it's not advertised because consumers believe recycled stuff ought to cost less. Garcia told me only 8.8 percent of plastic in the US is actually recycled, the rest ending up in landfills and the ocean. People still aren't willing to pay more, in dollars or effort, to save the planet.Each of the experts I spoke to was surprisingly optimistic. As consumers become more aware, companies will start looking for better ways to incorporate recycled materials, and scientists are leading the charge."People are really chomping at the bit to be able to figure out how to address this issue and make a truly circular economy," Garcia said. "I am optimistic that we're heading in the right direction."Get six of our favorite Motherboard stories every day by signing up for our newsletter.


text:
Driving a vehicle is too dangerous for humans and will be outlawed when autonomous cars are proven to be safer, claims Elon Musk, billionaire founder of electric car company Tesla.
Musk, who is also CEO of space exploration company Space X, said that governments would criminalise driving – and described a car as a "two-tonne death machine".
"People may outlaw driving cars because it's too dangerous," said Musk. "You can't have a person driving a two-tonne death machine."
Removing the risk of collision with other road users through the use of autonomous driving technology "will save a lot of lives", Musk claimed.
Vehicle design could also change radically if accidents aren't a concern for designers. "If you could count on not having an accident you can get rid of a huge amount of the crash structure and the airbags," he said.
His comments were made during a speech given in San Jose, California, at the annual developer conference of Nvidia, an American technology company that specialises in graphics chips.
Musk founded Tesla in 2003 to develop electric car design and technology, but has been increasingly focusing on self-driving vehicles.
"Tesla is the leader in electric cars, and we'll also be the leader in autonomous cars," said Musk. "It's going to be the default thing".
"It's just going to become normal, like an elevator," he continued. "They used to have elevator operators and then we developed simple circuitry to have elevators just automatically come to the floor you're at… the car is going to be just like that."
Musk said that the transition to fully driverless cars would take more than two decades due to the number of manual cars currently in use.
In a recent interview with Dezeen, Robert Melville – chief designer at supercar brand McLaren – said his studio was already anticipating a future where cars are legally obliged to operate autonomously in urban areas.
Musk also revealed that Tesla was treating hacking of driverless cars as a serious threat, but said his firm was implementing layers of security to make it "difficult to hack something that's physically dangerous" to passengers.
"What we spend most of our time on is making sure it's very difficult to do a multi-car hack," explained Musk. "We've put a lot of effort into that, and we've had third parties try to hack it."
Tesla launched its Model SD last year, which features autonomous safety technologies that enable the vehicle to stay within lanes on motorways while also continuously monitoring for potential hazards. The vehicle is capable of parking itself and can also be summoned via a smartphone.
Other driverless vehicles featured on Dezeen include a racing car by German manufacturer Audi and Google's pod-like vehicle design. In February 2015, the UK's government announced its intention to transform the country into a hub of autonomous car development by approving proposals to test self-driving vehicles on public streets.


text:
Facebook is rumored to launch a refresh of the Oculus Rift this year dubbed the Rift S. Every Oculus VR headset launch so far has been accompanied with an impressive [...]
Facebook announced that it will host demos of its upcoming high budget Oculus Rift exclusives Stormland and Defector at PAX South 2019.
PAX is a collection of gaming [...]
When I was younger, I wanted to be a secret spy. I’d imagine a lot of former young people would say the same thing. The escapades of James Bond, Jason Bourne, and [...]
Can you believe it’s nearly September already? It seems like it was only yesterday that we were looking ahead to 2018 and imagining all the great VR gaming we were [...]


text:
- Local Ashley Chaney is planning a new restaurant concept where the former Andrew's used to be.
- The Downtown Improvement Authority says more of the area is becoming women-owned.
New developments just steps from the State Capitol! A lot of new renovations are happening in downtown Tallahassee off of Adams street.
"I am the new, proud owner of the new restaurant concept coming into this space downtown," said Ashley Chaney.
She's opening a new restaurant concept in Downtown Tallahassee where the former Andrew's used to be.
"It truly is an honor to be able to breathe new life into what is such an iconic landmark," said Chaney.
Although she isn't releasing the name just yet, Chaney tells me wants people to know the space will have a modern twist on the historic location.
"Sophisticated and inviting," said Chaney. "Gracious hospitality is going to be in everything that we do so we're really going to focus on creating an inviting space to be able to welcome people to downtown."
However, Chaney isn't the only new development in the area. Just across the street, Governor's Inn is coming along.
"It is just a great way to capture a lot of the history of our community in a fresh new way that makes you excited for what's to come," said Emmanuel.
Director for the Downtown Improvement Authority Elizabeth Emmanuel is excited for these new concepts to join the area. Something Chaney is ready to be a part of.
"We are investing on this corner because we believe in downtown and there's truly a renaissance happening down here and we're just so thrilled to be a part of it," said Chaney.
With Chaney's new addition and places like Amicus Brewing Ventures opening near Cascades Park in a few weeks, Emmanuel said more of downtown is becoming women owned.
"Seeing so many women take interest and put and actual investment into our downtown and create the type of businesses that benefit the whole community," said Emmanuel.
Benefiting the whole community by allowing more local businesses to thrive.
"There is something for everyone here and the folks that are creating that are the moms and the folks that live here and have been in Tallahassee for a long time and truly know our community," said Emmanuel.
After living in the Capitol City for 15 years, Chaney is excited to serve her community in a new space.
"A space that I love so much and to be able to give back to the community that has given myself and my family so much is just really exciting," said Chaney.
Governors Inn is set to open in early October and Chaney tells me they're currently renovating the inside, but hopes her new restaurant will open by the end of the year.


text:
Universal Uclick has launched a new corporate website.
From their press release:
Universal Uclick, the world’s largest independent syndication company, announces the launch of UniversalUclick.com, a website designed to showcase the company’s diverse selection of comics, editorial cartoons, text features, games and puzzles available in print, online and on mobile phones worldwide.
The new site features the entire catalog of Universal Uclick features, including everything from iconic comic strip feline Garfield to beloved advice columnist Dear Abby to global puzzle sensation Sudoku. The site’s new, clean design allows editors and publishers to experience each product and shows them how these products can increase their audience and drive repeat visits to any publication, website or mobile application.
“The new UniversalUclick.com gives visitors a one-stop shop where they can see our entire product catalog of diverse, high-quality features and games at the click of a mouse,” said Lee Salem, president and editor of Universal Uclick. “We’re now able to showcase our titles in a way that informs and entertains, with hundreds of world-renowned features and some of the most recognizable brands in existence.”
The new website also features the many creative solutions and licensing opportunities offered by Universal Uclick, including the leading pagination service, PageCaptain, hosted online services, custom online games and the exclusive Mobile Publisher product. Advertisers can find out about the many opportunities that exist in the Universal Uclick suite of top-rate websites like GoComics.com, ThePuzzleSociety.com and Garfield.com.
Publishers can search for products and solutions by clicking on the various tabs or searching the site by feature name, keyword or category. Universal Uclick representatives can be reached easily from the Contact page for consultation on content packages and recommendations for publications and websites.


text:
Four SUNY Oswego faculty members and the college’s Center for Business and Community Development are studying ways to promote trade with Canada through the Port of Oswego.
“Canada and the United States are the biggest trading partners in the world,” said Dr. Said Atri, professor of economics. “In 2004, over 23 percent of New York exports went to Canada, and about 8 percent of Canadian exports came to New York. The Port of Oswego’s share of this trade is small,” he said. “We feel that it might be possible to get a bigger share of this trade if there is adequate investment in the port and promotion among businesses in New York and Canada.”
Atri, Larry Perras of the Center for Business and Community Development and three professors from Oswego’s School of Business—Dr. Dean Crawford, Dr. Ian Cuthill and Dr. Sarfraz Mian—began their study in late June after the Oswego County Legislature approved the $30,000 project. They are scheduled to deliver their findings later this fall.
“This is going to be a major study. We are not cutting any corners,” Atri said in August, soon after the team sent out a survey to New York state businesses that do business with Canada.
Nancy Bellow, director of the Center for Business and Community Development, is coordinating the project with the County of Oswego.
“The Port of Oswego is a tremendous asset to Oswego and Central New York,” she said. “The shipment of the windmill parts through the Port of Oswego is just one example of its huge potential.”
Historically, waterways played a larger role in transportation and trade than they have since railways and highways came to the fore. Atri noted that there may be an opportunity for shipping to make a comeback since the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the security measures that followed.
“Truck trafficking has been affected very much because of the wait at the border,” Atri said. Lake Ontario and its associated waterways offer an alternative mode of transporting goods, he said.
If the port became more of a factor in international trade, he said, it could mean a lot for the economic development of the area, which has lagged behind the state overall in the current economic recovery.
“The world is changing around us,” Mian noted. “This area has rich potential, and our community is resourceful. We have to be competitive and create more activity in terms of tourism and trade for business growth and new job creation. We should look for more opportunities such as the windmill parts shipments and look to our neighbors across Lake Ontario for some of those opportunities.”
Among the questions Atri said he and his colleagues are asking in the study are “What can Oswego County do to increase the business without major investments?” and, assuming investments are an option, “What is the possibility of developing the Port of Oswego into a larger capacity port to handle different types of cargo?”
The team’s answers to those questions will be in their final report. “My hope is that the report will assist the county, the Port of Oswego Authority and other economic development agencies in finding new opportunities for trade with Canada,” Atri said.
- END -
(Posted: Aug 31, 2005)


text:
HBW Insight’s Key Takeaways From 2021: #1 Join The Self-Care Movement
The first year of the pandemic saw a move among consumers towards prevention and wellness under the banner of "self-care". In 2021, the "self-care movement" really started to gain momentum as these new healthcare habits endured, and companies responded with more wellness options, in some cases even pivoting towards becoming pure self-care players.
Last year’s biggest trend, and one that in many ways encompassed and drove all the others, was the “self-care movement.”
“The self-care movement is really about shifting the focus in healthcare today to include self-care and preventative care and treatment and also arming people with the information that they need to really take care of themselves,” explained Bayer Consumer Healthcare’s Daniella Foster in an episode of HBW Insight’s Over the Counter podcast.
A move towards wider adoption of self-care had begun during the first year of the pandemic when significant numbers of consumers started to embrace “wellness” practices and took a more proactive role in their own health as a necessity.
But the self-care movement really started to gain momentum in 2021 as these new healthcare habits endured, and companies responded with more wellness options and preventative health products.
Demand For Supplements
Major players like GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare and Bayer Consumer Health reported during the first quarter continued demand for dietary supplements, indicating that the adoption of preventative, wellness products had not been a flash in the pan.
Bayer Consumer Health was able to solidify the supplement sales gains it recorded during the pandemic, posting sales at its Nutritionals category up 0.6% in Q1. This may seem like a small rise, but when you take into account the company’s 2020 Q1 results – which saw this category grow by a third – this was still a big increase on pre-pandemic sales levels. (Also see "Bayer Cements Supplement Sales Gains From Initial COVID Boost" - HBW Insight, 13 May, 2021.)
“They've managed to cement that increase in sales one year on,” HBW Insight’s Europe managing editor Tom Gallen explained on our podcast. “And Bayer pointed to Europe as one of the regions where they’ve really seen this increase in demand for self-care [among consumers], using supplements to strengthen their immune systems.”
By Q3, sustained supplement category growth enabled Bayer Consumer Health to raise its full year sales guidance for the second time. (Also see "Successful Innovation And Supplement Gains Drive 'Exceptional' Q3 For Bayer" - HBW Insight, 9 Nov, 2021.)
Hailing an “exceptional quarter” for the division, Consumer Health head Heiko Schipper said the performance had been driven by an “extremely strong” showing from the Nutritionals category, as well as successful product launches.
Vitamins, minerals and supplements sales also boosted GSK Consumer Healthcare’s Q3 sales, which grew by 19% to £406m, with Centrum and Emergen C advancing at a strong double-digit rate, driven by new product launches and a continued consumer focus on health and wellness. (Also see "GSK Raises Product Prices in US And Europe As Costs Rise" - HBW Insight, 28 Oct, 2021.)
As the movement continued to gather pace in 2021, companies operating in the consumer healthcare market looked to pivot towards self-care.
“COVID has put a spotlight on self-care, and consumer health couldn't be happier,” commented HBW Insight’s Malcolm Spicer on an episode of the Over The Counter podcast. “And it may very well be that companies are saying, well, you know, we can really capitalize on this trend better if we have a company that is on its own in consumer health.”
Johnson & Johnson towards the end of the year announced it would spin out its Consumer Health division into a standalone, publicly traded company within two years.
According to CEO Alex Gorsky, consistent growth in consumer spending on self-care influenced J&J’s decision. (Also see "J&J Without Consumer Health? Tylenol, Band-Aid Marketer Plans To Divest Business In Two Years" - HBW Insight, 12 Nov, 2021.)
“We've seen a significant evolution in these markets, particularly on the consumer side, whether it's the innovation being sought by consumers, whether it's the evolving nature of the channels, distribution, the shift to e-commerce and as we observe that and I must say, I think it was accelerated quite significantly with COVID-19, where we're seeing greater interest in personal care and taking care of families,” he commented.
Meanwhile Perrigo became a pure consumer healthcare player in 2021 with the $1.55bn sale of its generic Rx business to Altaris Capital Partners LLC. (Also see "It’s Official: Perrigo’s Entirely Consumer Health" - HBW Insight, 6 Jul, 2021.)
With the planned €1.8bn ($2.1bn) acquisition of France’s HRA Pharma – which is expected to close in the first half of this year – Perrigo could soon complete its pivot to self-care, the firm’s UK & Ireland chief Neil Lister told HBW insight. (Also see "If Successful, HRA Pharma Acquisition Will Complete Perrigo’s Pivot Towards Self-Care" - HBW Insight, 21 Dec, 2021.)
“HRA are championing self-care, they're helping get more conversations out of doctor’s surgeries and into pharmacies, and that's a good thing,” Lister commented. “With aging populations, increasing pressure on healthcare systems, the solution has got to be self-care.”
Consumer health companies will continue to shape their strategies around maximizing self-care adoption in 2022 and beyond. And a proposed World Health Organization resolution on self-care could really light a fire under the movement.
The Global Self-Care Federation, which linked the publication of its Self-Care Readiness Index to a call for a “global compact” that would pave the way for such a resolution, thinks that now is the time to strike, while the iron is hot. (Also see "GSCF Calls For WHO-Backed Global Self-Care Agreement" - HBW Insight, 6 Oct, 2021.)
For self-care expert and academic Dr Austen El-Osta, having a champion for self-care like the World Health Organization would be an “game changer” for self-care. (Also see "WHO Support A Game-Changer For Emerging Global Self-Care Movement, Resolution 'Likely'" - HBW Insight, 29 Nov, 2021.)
“There is a movement now. And that movement is picking up momentum,” he insisted. “Self-care is the oldest type of care and it’s again being taken more seriously by individuals from all walks of life, including policy makers and health systems the world over.”


text:
Today, more than China the world’s new cases new cases, the virus began to spread across the globe, the public countries, the masks are an important tool for protection, but faced with shortages, soaring prices and stock issues. China, a shortage of masks is still very important to note that, even if we donate part of masks in whatever circumstances, China’s mask is still in short supply. According to the fourth national economic census data, China’s legal entities and individual business households total working population of 533 million people, which means at least 533 million masks per day. There are also professionals calculations: 1.405 billion of the total population in China, the mask out non-essential consumer groups, accounting for 70.17% of between 15-64 of 986 million people [ 123], it is the main force masks consumption, these groups further refined, less time to go out of school high school students, college students and other groups of students and retired people, out of work and living to support their families and other reasons there is a need to go out wearing masks the number is actually 550 million, substantially coincide with the above figures. Thus, if each person a day, then Chinese daily demand of about 550 million masks; if a person two days, then Chinese daily demand of about 225 million masks. Therefore, masks Nissan first to reach 225 million -5.5 one hundred million masks to make sure the needs of enterprises return to work, even after daily production gradually increased to 525 million -8.5 million, to meet the needs of students. In other words, if the full realization of return to work to return to school during the outbreak, demand for masks should be between 525 million -8.5 million. According to the National Development and Reform Commission on the 27th disclosure of information, February 25 our surgical masks and Nissan to reach 32.12 million, production reached 30.28 million, including ordinary masks, medical masks, medical N95 masks, including the National mask production can reach 72.85 million only, production reached 76.19 million. While promoting the resumption of work masks resume production, transformation of production lines, but daily output of 76.19 million and one hundred million 5.25-8.5 demand still form a huge imbalance between supply and demand. The fight against the epidemic is a long war, a shortage of masks is what we have to solve the problem. Shortage of raw materials, but the outbreak of the world are waiting for Chinese production capacity to some extent, because the first outbreak, Chinese masks normal daily production capacity is 20 million, accounting for the global50%. Coupled with the early epidemic, the Chinese all over the world have bought a large number of masks to the country, the current inventory of the world at very low levels. Expect its overseas production capacity, it is better to believe that the strength of strong Chinese manufacturing industry. Currently
CONTROL ENGINEERING China Copyright face “masks shortage” around the world. We can say that the world is waiting for the Chinese outbreak capacity. China and Thailand Securities, said demand from end to see CONTROL ENGINEERING China Copyright , overseas epidemic lags behind China, currently at an early outbreak of the epidemic-hit areas masks out of stock. Globally masks the purchase price and the soaring view, masks a sharp increase in demand from the supply side point of view, in order to meet domestic market demand and increased exports, domestic masks need to continue to increase production capacity. But the CONTROL ENGINEERING China Copyright , domestic enterprises are also faced with the shortage of raw materials, prices of difficulties, capacity “burst” I do not know when to come. The hard mask production material prices as much as 10 times the current
CONTROL ENGINEERING China Copyright , while full production companies, but also bear the cost double the pressure: “meltblown price rise 10 times, with ear prices have gone up more than five times. “part of the plant masks have machines, workers, but the lack of meltblown withstand greater pressure. In simple terms, meltblown is a medical surgical masks and N95 masks an important material for the production of masks is the “heart.” But meltblown soared all the way, a “cloth” hard to find, there are masks surging factory official told the news: “From before the New Year has started up, usually before 2 tons in case, years ago, soared all the way, now some have been sold to more than 30 million up to the. “soaring costs directly reflected in end consumer prices. “Stand down, each at least up to a dollar.” Shortage of raw materials upstream, but still was rushed onto the downstream SMEs to start laying a large number of production lines, this trend, the industry expressed concern: “the material is not enough to ensure that production can not, (these devices) is equivalent to the scrap heap. “As in previous Wuling, BYD, Foxconn, such large-scale enterprise network burst red CONTROL ENGINEERING China Copyright , not only strong cash reserve capacity, even if there is no epidemic, there is a demand for employees daily masks. Build a mask production lines, is nothing more than the equivalent of outsourcing Transfer made. Reflected in the financial statements, the original cost of the item can also be counted as an asset item, but the cost is reduced. After the return to work of a number of provinces of Guangdong, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, more than 70%, and with the country of masks and accessories manufacturers gradually return to work, the Guangzhou Automobile Group, Foxconn, BYD and other cross-border mask production to join the army, the end of February of masks capacity is expected to expand to 120 million / day, is filling part of the gap in the short-term supply of masks. On the one hand , is still a shortage of demand in parallel with the expansion of the current, raw materials, accessories, masks machine and restrict the mask production time, “race” of efficiency, some companies are another way research and development of alternative meltblown nanofiber membrane to resolve material shortages; on the other hand , industry watchers is whether the proposed expansion masks overcapacity concerns arise after the outbreak. In this regard, the National Development and Reform Commission deputy Renlian Wei-liang on recent news conference, said: “After the outbreak of surplus production, the government will be purchasing and storage that they meet the standard, companies can organize production at full capacity..” At the same time , the need for multi-country outbreaks occur masks also dispel the suspicion that some of the production, even said that to meet domestic demand in the premise, we are closely following and considering future export opportunities. Nowadays, a supply and marketing companies with the potential to stimulate Forced game is being played, the future market is considered high-quality masks “stage” industry.


text:
SMU's first successful Entrepreneurial Mindset Bootcamp, where a cohort of SMU students underwent an intensive program to equip them with entrepreneurial skills for the 21st century.
As one of Singapore’s top universities, the Singapore Management University (SMU) is developing the next generation of entrepreneurs through immersive educational and mentorship programs.
At SMU, both local and international students receive the opportunity to gain professional skills and experience in fast-moving startups across the globe.
That said, NewCampus is thrilled to announce the first successful SMU Entrepreneurial Mindset Bootcamp, where a cohort of SMU students underwent an intensive program to equip them with entrepreneurial skills for the 21st century.
Growing entrepreneurial skills and spirit
Even though Singapore is home to over 3,800 startups, a survey by the World Economic Forum found that Singaporean youths are becoming less entrepreneurial.
However, nothing is further from the truth as an overwhelming number of students signed up for the bootcamp.
In under 3 weeks, students from diverse backgrounds were able to pick up powerful business skills and frameworks that developed their entrepreneurial mindsets and critical thinking.
These online and discussion-driven workshops were led by seasoned instructors who themselves lead their own startups and creative agencies.
One student, who majors in Information Systems, said: “The workshops were very interactive as the class host tailored the session towards us and also I really like how they shared about their personal stories and experiences as entrepreneurs.”
Entrepreneurship has no age limit—the fresh thinking of young entrepreneurs is just as essential to today’s startup world as experienced veterans. We wish them the best, and can’t wait to meet the next cohort of smart innovators.


text:
The statement came as Scapa reported that the strong pound had held back full year profits.
The group, which makes more than 80 per cent of its sales overseas, said that adverse currency effects had shaved pounds 1.7m from pre-tax profits for the year to March which rose 7 per cent to pounds 66.5m.
Sales were flat at pounds 527m. Mr Dunn said that sterling continued at current levels it would hit the full year by pounds 3.2m.
Mr Dunn said that he would like to sell more of the group's products - which include roller covers to the paper industry and specialised industrial tape - in the UK, but that markets were not available.
"Manufacturing industry has been decimated in this country over the last few years. The UK is no longer a manufacturing force in the world," he said.
Mr Dunn added that the company did not rule out a dual listing in the US. "It is something we are thinking of in the longer term. It would broaden our investor base."
Mr Dunn's broadside follow similar comments from Peter Rowley, chairman at high-tech plastics group Victrex, which has been badly affected by the strong pound and which sells 97 per cent products abroad.
Profits at the technical tapes business rose from pounds 25.3m to pounds 30.2m, on sales up 4 per cent to pounds 273m. Mr Dunn said that he wanted to become a "worthy number two" to tapes business 3M, by doubling sales in three years.
An acquisition is likely this year. "The tapes market is growing at 5- 7 per cent a year and is worth $5bn. We have three to four per cent now and we want ten per cent."
Mr Dunn said that he had around pounds 60m available if the group doubled its gearing to around 60 per cent. "We would still be comfortably covered at four times."
Mr Dunn said that although the papermaking products business had been affected by lower tonnage of paper - profits were flat at pounds 46m on sales down from pounds 262m to pounds 253m - there were signs of a pickup and order books were "strong". The group's shares rose 15.5p to 214p.Reuse content


text:
Brisbane startup Wrappt is putting the previously inaccessible power of professional-standard video tools into the palms of every marketer and business owner, with a one-of-a-kind mobile platform launched today.
With over 87 per cent of consumers wanting to see more video content from brands in 2019, 74 per cent of businesses yet to invest in video plan to start in the coming months – a dramatic increase from 34 per cent in 2017.
The problem these businesses and marketing teams will face is that video has traditionally been expensive to produce and too complex or technical to bring in-house.
With video marketing moving from useful to essential, and demand for frequency and quality on the rise, Wrappt is levelling the playing field.
Their platform enables more businesses to affordably create and manage compelling content with resources they already have on hand – no need for complex equipment or the matching price tag.
Its cornerstone is an innovative, cloud-based app which allows the user to select from and be guided through a number of video ‘templates’ optimized for business.
With step-by-step direction, it takes the guesswork out of how to set up and film quality footage.
The footage can then be sent directly to Wrappt’s team for editing with a quick tap.
The brainchild of Brisbane-based video agency Ride Free Media, and digital agency Vivo Group, was brought to life when the founders realized that despite the medium’s growing power and necessity, effective video was still out of reach for many.
Wrappt co-founder and CEO, Ryan Miller said: “Videography is expensive to outsource, impractical to bring in-house, and most DIY attempts struggle to meet the high standards that management wants and the audience expects.
“We all have professional-grade cameras in our pocket, but polished video can still be hard to achieve with factors like lighting, sound and stability, not to mention the number of platforms and fast timeframes the modern marketer needs to meet.”
Wrappt has tackled this with an integrated, end-to-end solution; the guided app, which takes the overwhelm out of mastering your phone’s video capabilities, giving access to their team of experienced producers and editors, and the ‘Wrappt Kit,’ which provides high-end stability, sound and lighting with low-cost and lightweight film gear.
Over 150 users from 35 companies have produced more than 400 videos collectively through Wrappt to date, resulting in an estimated collective saving upwards of $500,000 in marketing budgets if professional film crews were engaged.
The Queensland Government has also seen Wrappt’s potential to contribute to the business community and backed them with a $100,000 Ignite Ideas Grant under the Advance Queensland Initiative.
Leading Australian market research data brand, RDA Research, provides actionable consumer intelligence to help businesses inform decision making and growth strategies. RDA Research wanted to make its unique consumer data available for addressable digital targeting and required a data onboarding partner to help activate their data in an online environment.
Storytelling agency Enthral has appointed Channel 7 reporter and sports presenter Sean Sowerby as its new senior PR and content manager in Melbourne. Sowerby (pictured) started his award-winning career at 3AW before spending more than 15 years in television. Enthral founder and manager director, Cameron Smith, spoke of the significance of Sowerby joining the agency. […]
This week Nova’s Fitzy & Wippa are celebrating 10 years of their iconic radio show and plenty of famous faces have weighed in on the feat! For Fitzy & Wippa’s 10-year anniversary show they were joined by a bunch of special friends who shared their messages and favourite memories over the last decade. The guys […]
Ever since Google first announced it would be getting rid of third-party cookies on Chrome, digital advertising businesses have been actively sharing their plans for life after cookies. And now programmatic advertising company Blis might have come up with the most creative way to get the message across, in a new video which sees company […]
Integrated Melbourne agency Icon has taken top honours in the 2021 SABRE Awards, winning the coveted Australasian Consultancy of the Year for 2021 along with a host of category and craft awards. Icon led a large field of Australian agencies with a total of three major and seven minor awards, including gold in the cause-related […]
Former agency executives Tim O’Neill and Tim Fouhy have launched the auto technology startup Summon. Australia’s first full e-commerce service for prestige cars. O’Neill and Fouhy both founded Reactive, a digital agency, which was bought by Accenture in 2016. Following the deal, O’Neill and Fouhy ended up leading the company’s digital marketing arm, Accenture Interactive before […]


text:
Aston Martin said today its EBITDA for 2021 would be some £15m less than expected because of shipping fewer Valkyries than planned.
The announcement in a trading update for the 2021 financial year, issued this morning (Jan 7) via the London Stock Exchange, has thrown into doubt the future of chief executive Tobias Moers at the company, according to Autocar.
Moers, pictured, became CEO in August 2020, replacing Andy Palmer, but Autocar says a number of sources have told it that a possible replacement for Moers had been approached already.
Aston Martin declined to comment on the speculation, but in the update it said 10 of the £2.4m Valkyrie and Valkyrie AMR Pro vehicles were shipped in the last quarter of 2021, which were ‘fewer than previously planned’.
As a result, the ‘adjusted EBITDA is anticipated to be c.£15m lower than expected’.
It emphasised that the impact was purely timing, with all Valkyrie coupes sold and remaining allocated to customers who had paid ‘significant deposits’.
The resulting lower EBITDA was also expected to have ‘a broadly net neutral impact on adjusted operating profit’, said the manufacturer, which added that wholesale results grew by 82 per cent to 6,182 vehicles as planned.
A total of 3,001 DBX units were shifted via wholesale in their first full year of production, claiming an estimated fifth of the luxury SUV segment.
Aston Martin, which was bought in January 2020 by a consortium headed by Lawrence Stroll, said it had a year-end cash balance of some £420m, which was higher than previously anticipated.
In the update, Moers said: ‘The Valkyrie programme is now running at rate for 2022, having focused on delivering with no compromises in the face of supply chain challenges and huge complexity in the production ramp-up which resulted in a timing impact for 2021.
‘With a full year of Aston Martin Valkyrie programme deliveries in 2022, we are expecting to deliver significant growth, in addition to the launch of our second DBX derivative, intended to disrupt the performance luxury SUV market, and the final edition of the V12 Vantage.’
Meanwhile, Stroll, who is the executive chairman, commented: ‘I am extremely pleased that our core business has delivered to plan with over 6,000 core wholesales in the year whilst driving inventory to levels that are appropriate for an ultra-luxury business.
‘We inherited a challenging programme with Valkyrie but we are now producing these fabulous hypercars. Our progress to date underpins my confidence in the future, our continued success and the potential for the business.
‘With a full year of DBX deliveries completed and our compelling product pipeline, including a new generation of front-engine sports cars in 2023, I am more assured than ever of achieving our medium-term objectives of revenues of c.£2bn and adjusted EBITDA of c.£500m by 2024/25.’
Aston Martin’s preliminary results for the year to December 31, 2021 will be announced on February 24.


text:
PokéSpot SoHo Now Swimming with the Fish
Just under two years in business, PokéSpot on Cleveland Place – sibling to the Union Square original – is now swimming with the fish. Gone.
By customer accounts, the fast-casual seafood joint shuttered a couple weeks ago. Google says that they’re permanently closed, and the number to this spot rings unanswered.
And the space is already for rent.
Real estate listings began to surface right around the time of its ouster, pimping the 1,100 square-foot restaurant space for an astronomical $18,000 per month (five-year lease).
It’s available ASAP, which means it’ll probably sit empty for nine months before anything happens.
PokéSpot opened in May 2017, and tried to capitalize on the cutthroat lunch scene. Competition is fierce in these parts, from Prince Street Pizza and Cava to Taim and Sweetgreen, it’s a crowded field. Next.
Bonus shot: here’s a screen grab from Mean Streets, showing Harvey Keitel walking up Cleveland Place. The new PokéSpot is to the left in the foreground.


text:
YouTube Go users can share and send videos to other YouTube Go users without consuming data
Bengaluru – Sept 28, 2016. RedNewswire/-
YouTube has developed a new app YouTube Go – a video-streaming mobile platform designed to be “offline-first”. T he app is faster, more relevant, and more affordable, with innovative new features.
In 2014, YouTube has launched YouTube offline which helped users to watch videos without suffering from buffering.
A few months ago, YouTube rolled out a new feature called Smart offline which allows users to schedule videos offline after peak hours at night and next morning the videos will be ready for users to watch offline on the go without buffering.
According to its blog, YouTube has built a new app YouTube Go keeping four concepts in mind :-
- YouTube Go is relatable with video recommendations and a user interface that is made for users.
- It is cost-effective, provides transparency and helps in reducing data usage.
- The platform is designed to be offline-first, works even no connectivity or low connectivity.
- It’s a social experience, helps users connect with people and the content they care about.
YouTube Go gives you some of the best innovative features like – Preview videos before you watch , users can tap on a video’s thumbnail and trigger a short preview before choosing to stream or save the video. Each video thumbnail also displays the size of the videos.
It also has features such as the ability to find and discover related videos such as trending videos in the user’s region. It also let you share videos to your friends nearby without using any data.
You can sign up at youtubego.com/signup to find out when the app launches.


text:
Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) plunged 36 percent after it warned of lower earnings ahead Thursday.
Shares were down 18.63 to 33.750 following the news. The company blamed lowered estimates on a softer economy, which it said has created increased promotional activity which will reduce gross margins and profitability.
Earnings for the third quarter, ending Nov. 25, are now expected to be 27 cents per share, much lower than First Call's expected 44 cents per share.
Fourth quarter earnings, ending March 3, 2001, will be about 90 cents per share, compared to consensus estimates of $1.02.
The company added that store traffic remains strong, and comparable store sales continue on plan at 5 percent.
"We are experiencing lower gross margins as retailers fight to gain market share in a more cautious consumer environment," added CFO Allen Lenzmeier in a statement.
Analyst Peter Caruso at Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock to near-term "accumulate" from near-term "buy." The long-term rating was also cut to "accumulate" from "buy."


text:
Sustained growth has seen Countrywide Signs relocate its central warehouse to a new larger storage facility.
Sustained growth has seen Countrywide Signs relocate its central warehouse in Suffolk to new larger premises to keep up with soaring demand.
The business, whose franchisees service 'For Sale' and 'To Let' estate agency boards for local and national clients, has experienced significant expansion in the last few years. National account work rose by 30% last year and is on track to repeat that remarkable growth again in 2017.
Franchisees also provide commercial signage of all kinds to their local businesses and event, which has diversified and increased revenue streams in the network.
To cope with the increased level of demand, a new unit has been taken to store and manage the complex operations involved in distributing signs to Countrywide Signs franchisees across the UK at short notice. The company’s focus on exceptional service, with boards put up and taken down swiftly for each client, is driven by technology systems to maximise each franchisee’s efficiency. The warehouse will help drive further efficiencies across the business.
Director Martin Attwood QFP cited these at the launch of the new site. He said:
"Keeping up with customer demand is a great problem for any business to have. Our growth was causing headaches for board management and distribution in our previous warehouse, so the opening of the new facility is very welcome news.
With customers including Purple Bricks and several of the nation’s leading estate agency brands, our franchisees collectively provide an unrivalled service in the industry and are renowned for their client care. The new site helps us guarantee that reputation for years to come."
Countrywide Signs offers highly flexible investment levels, with three options for incoming franchisees depending on the size of business they’re looking to run, from owner-operator to multi-van operations from day one.
Sponsorship Boards Help Drive Record Months at Countrywide Signs
7th August 2017
A move into the sponsored boards market helped power consecutive record months for franchisees.
National Account Jobs Jump 85% Year-on-Year at Countrywide Signs
25th July 2017
Countrywide Signs has revealed growth of over 85% in the number of jobs passed to its franchisees for May and June compared to 12 months...
New Board Recycling Partnership for Countrywide Signs
18th July 2017
Countrywide Signs has announced a new recycling partnership.
Countrywide Signs Franchisees Benefit from Property Market Evolution
30th June 2017
The rapid pace of change in the property market is delivering big rewards for Countrywide Signs franchisees.
Diversity Paying Big Rewards For Countrywide Signs Franchisees
16th June 2017
The diversification of Countrywide Signs services is leading to big rewards for franchisees.
Resales Bring Big Opportunities at Countrywide Signs
2nd June 2017
Opportunity is knocking at Countrywide Signs with a number of franchise resales available.
I would highly recommend a Countrywide Signs franchise to anyone who enjoys working outdoors and wants to be the master of their own destiny.Martin Attwood
21st July 2017
The Countrywide Signs Franchisee Lifecycle


text:
AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC) is now accepting Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin. These four popular cryptos are joined by Apple Pay , Google Pay and PayPal as the theater chain goes digital for payments. The news was revealed by AMC CEO Adam Aron in a tweet.
Big newsflash! As promised, many new ways NOW to pay online at AMC. We proudly now accept: drumroll, please… Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin. Also Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal. Incredibly, they already account for 14% of our total online transactions! Dogecoin next. pic.twitter.com/a7pqYBm7HB
— Adam Aron (@CEOAdam) November 12, 2021
AMC had revealed its intent to accept crypto earlier this year. In September 2021, AMC stated:
“At AMC our recent innovations include showing alternative content at our theatres such as exclusive musical experiences, and WWE and UFC programming; our commitment to accept cryptocurrency starting with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash before year-end, as well as exploring the possibility of accepting Dogecoin; and our unprecedented national multi-media marketing campaign featuring Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman. This all comes at a time when we believe that the upcoming movie slate is incredibly exciting, and studios currently seem to be re-committing to an exclusive theatrical window.”
AMC operates 22 of the 50 highest-grossing theatres in the United States, including four of the top five. The company is also the largest movie exhibition company in the United States, the largest in Europe, and the largest throughout the world with approximately 950 theatres and 10,500 screens across the globe.
The shares in the company have also joined some of the other meme stocks in popularity for retail investors. The company has endured a challenging time with the COVID lockdowns which are now loosening up.


text:
The UAE is the third safest country in the world behind only Finland and Qatar, according to a report from the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Must know: Dubai's non-oil foreign trade at Dh647 billion in H1 2016
In its latest Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, the WEF noted that while many Middle Eastern countries were negatively impacted by global unrest, the UAE and Qatar remain unaffected.
Neighbouring Oman also made it into the top 10, in ninth place between Singapore and Portugal.
Must visit: Dubai ranked among world's TOP 5 shopping cities
Of the 141 countries included in the safety data, Egypt came in 136th place, and Pakistan in 138th.
The report noted that both Qatar and Oman have seen tourism increase."Conversely, the UAE benefitted from redirected demand as it was regarded as a 'safe' destination, occupancy for the year increased eight per cent," the reported noted.
Find out: Which Dubai hypermarket offers most healthy food options?
In terms of tourists, the report noted that the UAE leads the region and came in 24th place overall, having welcomed 10 million tourists in 2013.
Read: UAE most competitive nation in Arab world
Additionally, the report praised the UAE for diversifying its revenue stream and not relying solely on economic derived from natural resources, and ranked the UAE as having the fourth best business environment, between Qatar and Switzerland.
Don't miss: UAE's flight attendants ranked among world's 'beautiful'
"While the UAE does not have rich natural resources (95th), it has built a unique environment to attract both business and leisure travelers. From Expo 2020 Dubai to the construction of the Louvre and Guggenheim, the UAE is investing in and giving significant importance to the development of the T&T industry," the report stated. "This is supported by its world-renowned air transport infrastructure (3rd) and positioning as a gateway for Europeans to Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
Good news: Dubai, Abu Dhabi ranked as most sustainable cities
It has created extremely effective branding campaigns (1st) and an enabling business environment for the industry's development, with strides in travel facilitation and the liberalization of its visa regime (30th)."
10 safest countries as ranked in WEF report