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A TOTAL of eight stores in Bromsgrove town centre closed their doors in 2014, with just four opening, according to figures released by PwC.
When it comes to neighbouring towns, Kidderminster had a similar closure ratio to Bromsgrove with 14 stores shutting and eight launching and Stourbridge had five close and five open.
Redditch, however, managed to buck the trend, with ten stores ceasing trading and 15 opening up.
Overall in the West Midlands, 524 shops shut and 371 opened – the most popular were charity shops – which saw an increase of 11 across the region, tobacconists/e-cigarette retailers – a rise of eight and jewellers – an extra seven were opened.
On the other side of the coin, mobile phone shops saw the biggest drop – with 44 closing across the West Midlands, followed by building societies (a drop of 15) and cheque-cashing outlets – there were 14 less of those.
Bromsgrove District Council’s Labour leader, Coun Luke Mallett, said: “The fact Bromsgrove has lost twice as many shops as have opened comes as no surprise to those that live in our town.
“The Conservative-run council has dithered for years over the town centre regeneration and much of what we had has gone.
“In short the council is to blame for the fact Bromsgrove town centre is where it is today, with twice as many shops closing as opening.”
He added a Labour-run council would offer business rate reliefs and capital grants to reinstate vacant shops, remove parking charges on Sundays and for Blue Badge holders and make the free evening parking trial permanent.
“Only by such measures will we start to reverse the damage that the council has done to our town.” he added.
A Bromsgrove District Council spokesperson said: “Bromsgrove High Street has been hit by national trends which have seen chains like Mothercare closing down.
“But we are also delighted to welcome new businesses to our High Street including national chain Shoezone and, most recently, independent initiative Lorita’s Bakehouse which has benefited from our business start-up grant and advice. ”
The Standard contacted Bromsgrove Conservative Group for a comment on the situation but no one was available at the time of going to press.
* What do you think? What would you like to see happen with Bromsgrove town centre? Are there any shops which you would like to see there? E-mail email@example.com


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Tablet users are now becoming one of the biggest forces to capture within the ecommerce world, but unfortunately only 7% of retailers are prepared to serve them. In this article you will learn a few tips from some of the speakers who focused on tablet use during the 2013 eTail West conference.
When looking at some of the more successful fourth quarter performances inside marketplaces such as such as eBay and Amazon, it appears one of the sure fire ways to boost sales is through mobile. As an example, by attracting more customers using mobile gift guides and mobile-only deals, eBay was able to double its mobile sales in 2012. Maybe it’s time your ecommerce company started getting serious about mcommerce.
In a highly competitive market with millions of apps in the App Store, how do you acquire the highest value shoppers for your mobile retail app? TapSense has put together six best practices that outline how retailers can acquire shoppers and not just users for their mobile apps.
Ecommerce continues to grow as a B2B and B2C sales channel in an ever-evolving sales landscape. In this executive summary report, learn
Fashion, beauty and apparel brands selling online are quick to adopt innovative ecommerce technologies and tactics that assist in showing off their products to their best advantage. Here are some early-adopter best practices used to ratchet up satisfaction with the online buying experience, that any retailer looking to improve online conversions and average order value, can borrow from.
For the third year in a row, the U.S. Postal service is offering special promotions encouraging direct mailers to use mobile technology, such as QR codes, on its mail pieces and in return mailers will receive a 2% discount on postage.
During a recent EpiServer webinar, Forrester Research’s vice president, principal analyst, Sucharita Mulpuru, gave her insight on the 2012 holiday shopping season and concluded that showrooming is here to stay.
Google has made two announcements in February that leads to speculation that it will try to make Google Shopping a cross-device comparison shopping engine and a full-fledged ecommerce marketplace. The first involves enhanced AdWords campaigns, the second the acquisition of ecommerce data firm Channel Intelligence. See why this may mean a move to the marketplaces for Google Shopping.
Williams-Sonoma top the list for the e-tailing group’s 15th Annual Mystery Shopping Study For the Fourth Quarter of 2012. The e-tailing group released their Customer Experience Index results this week. Williams-Sonoma was followed by Nordstrom and Amazon in the top three.
Amazon extends its domination of ecommerce into the mobile platform, according to the ForeSee Mobile Satisfaction Index: Holiday Retail Edition. In the survey, which was conducted of more than 6,200 consumers during the peak holiday shopping season between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the online marketplace scored highest among 25 of the top mobile commerce companies.
by George Chang
Posted 4 days ago
Posted 4 days ago

domain: news


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LOS ANGELES (AP) - Gov. Jerry Brown wants to revamp a California law requiring businesses to post public warnings of chemicals, saying it's been abused by some lawyers.
Proposition 65 was passed by voters nearly three decades ago and requires store owners to warn consumers of the presence of potentially dangerous chemicals. While the law has educated the public about health risks, the Brown administration says it has also led to frivolous lawsuits.
On Tuesday, Brown proposed several reforms to Proposition 65, including a cap on attorney's fees and requiring more proof from plaintiffs who threaten lawsuits.
Any change to Proposition 65 would require a two-thirds vote from the state Legislature. Several lawmakers separately have introduced bills this year aimed at tweaking the law.


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Lady Jane's CEO talks about woman power
Chad Johnson admits he’s not your ordinary CEO.
The founder of Lady Jane’s Haircuts for Men never went to college. He had no idea what he wanted to do after finishing high school. There was no light bulb that went off in his head to provide him with a blueprint for success.
He just knew he wanted to make money – lots of it. And that’s exactly what he’s managed to accomplish over the past decade.
“Growing up in Boston, I came from nothing,” Johnson said. “I didn’t come from money at all, that’s not me. My mom used food stamps. I’ve eaten bologna sandwiches, mayonnaise sandwiches. I know what it’s like to go hungry for the day. I know what it’s like to walk to school with no mittens and my hands are freezing.”
These days, it’s steak and lobster. Johnson owns and operates more than 100 hair cutting stores around the country, including 27 in Michigan, and he’s opening new stores every month. His corporate headquarters are in the lobby floor of the Balmoral Building in downtown Birmingham.
When it comes to woman power, he's all for it. Lady Jane’s might be a business where gorgeous stylists pamper their male customers in a giant man cave setting, but the company culture is geared toward empowerment and success.
“Ultimately, the girls here are all about woman power and excitement and uplifting each other,” he said. “I have girls who started out cutting hair and are now living in houses in Birmingham. We recruit people who truly want to create greatness. We don’t have anyone in here who just wants a job – that’s the difference. Everyone in here wants to be part of the greatness.”
Scissors and success
It's Wednesday afternoon, and Johnson is sitting at a conference table at the Birmingham headquarters talking about his company. The Balmoral is located off Woodward Avenue, and the company headquarters include offices and meeting rooms, along with a coffee shop in the rear and salon in the front.
Johnson is wearing gold chains around his neck and a Pistons cap from the Bad Boys era. Despite his Boston roots, his favorite football player growing up was Billy Sims of the Detroit Lions.
“I was 4 or 5 at the time and I saw him play on Thanksgiving,” he said of the star running back from Oklahoma. “Billy Sims was my idol. I would write letters to the Lions telling them how big a fan I was and they would send me photos and wrist bands.”
His wife Jenny is a Lake Orion High School graduate. The two are celebrating 20 years of marriage and have three kids together. Johnson has her name tattooed around his wedding ring finger.
"I'm not a ring wearer," he said with a smile.
The couple met in Boston, but moved to Michigan to be closer to her family. He was working in advertising and saving up money with the idea of starting his own business when Lady Jane’s came into the picture.
“When I came to Michigan, there were two Lady Jane's in this town already,” he said. “But they were way different: you couldn’t see in and they were designed like motor oil and carburetors – more of a garage-type feel. So I bought those stores and the name and remodeled the spaces. And then we started to open our own stores from scratch. The first one I opened from scratch was at 16 (Mile) and Mound.”
He didn’t know much about hair cutting, but he knew there would always be a demand. He credits his company’s success on a couple of straightforward principles.
“Making the place man-friendly was the most important thing,” he said. “We needed to create a place where everyone felt comfortable, where they could watch sports, watch the news. We have WiFi access. We want our customers to feel at home.”
The second principle centered around the stylists and their success.
“My whole thing was, how much money can the girls make?” he said. “Because I knew once you can make them happy, they’re going to make me happy, the clients happy, everybody who comes in. It was just strategically figuring out a system that would allow them to make more money working at a Lady Jane’s than anywhere else in the United States – and a lot of that comes from being good at recruiting. But it also comes from our marketing plan and spending millions of dollars so, when we put you in a store, you’re real busy.”
An accomplished stylist can make up to $400 a day. At the same time, Johnson said stylists at the company are given the flexibility to choose their own hours to fit their lifestyles.
"Women's lives evolve, right? They're young and then they may get married and then they may have a kid. They may want to work full-time, they may want to work part-time, and they may just want to work weekends to get away from the kids ... you pick your days and times."
New stores soon opened in Farmington Hills, Troy, Shelby Township, Sterling Heights and Southgate. His first store outside of Michigan was in Ft. Wayne, Ind. This year alone, he’s opening an additional nine new stores in Idaho, Colorado, Nebraska and other parts of the country. He’s also exploring opportunities in Canada and India.
“I did a lot of research on the hair business and I thought it was something I could market very well,” he said. “There’s a hair cutting business on every corner of every street in America. And unlike the food business, there’s not a lot of waste.”
He started a foundation in 2013, called Wicked Awesome Wishes. He partners with local celebrities and athletes on charitable projects. Last summer, his team traveled to Jamaica and built a school.
“When you come from where I’ve come from and you’re sitting in a line and your mom’s paying with food stamps and you got to put back $20 in groceries, you’ve been there, you felt it,” he said about helping others.
He believes the best way to succeed is to help other succeed. So far, it’s worked.
“This one’s important to me,” he said, pointing to a tattoo on his right arm. “This says, ‘Nothing great in life is ever achieved without enthusiasm …’ because I don’t think you can create greatness without unbelievable enthusiasm. And you can ask anyone around here — I have plenty of that.”


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Enthusiasts and average drivers both agree that the Chevrolet Corvette is a performance-driven car that offers plenty of power under the hood and a luxurious, comfortable interior. Now, the Corvette may have something new to boast about. If you’ve never heard of an electric Corvette, we can’t blame you but that’s exactly what was flying down NASA’s landing strip at the Kennedy Space Center.
Johnny Bohmer was behind the wheel of the electric Corvette. The goal was to set the world record for the fastest, road legal, all-electric sports car. Built by Genovation, the electric Corvette’s world record already stood at 186.8 mph and was set back in February. That wasn’t enough for the developers though. They wanted to break 200 mph.
The car itself is based on a 2006 Corvette Z06 that packs dual liquid-cooled, electric motors that produce more than 700 hp and 600 lb-ft of torque. In comparison, the original V8 engine put out around 505 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque.
The team behind the electric Corvette plans to sell the modified sports cars to enthusiasts. Buying the cars and replacing the powertrain won’t be cheap though. Expect it to sell for upwards of $330,000.


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Mainly for the classic characters from DC and Marvel the mainstream comics section here to celebrate the pioneers of the comic book industry which have survived dozens of incarnations and imminent apocalypses’.
Although the line between indie comics and mainstream comics is fairly thin with so many new comic book publishers coming up at the moment but we hope to give them all a fair looking over.
Soon we will be featuring some reviews of a few real classics from the Dark Knight and Superman.
Communications giant AT&T has put a bid in to buy Time Warner for a massive $85.4 Billion and the deal is set to complete in 2017
A review of He-man/Thundercats. The cross over even kids of the 80’s have been waiting 30 years for.
He’s one of the most controversial comic artists in the industry and now he’s taken on one of the most controversial characters as Milo Manara draws his version of Harley Quinn.
The monumental 2000th issue of 2000AD has been released and it’s the ultimate collectors item and a tribute to British comics.
IDW have put together the greatest cross over series we’ve seen with Transformers, Rom, G.i. Joe, Action Man, Micronauts and M.A.S.K coming this September
The origin of Kong Kenan, the boy who becomes the first Superman made in China. A review of New Super-man written by Eisner Award winner Gene Luen Yang
Aspen Comics are releasing another Michael Turner unused cover this time for Harley Quinn Rebirth #1. This issue comes in the usual black and white / color variants along with a super rare Suicide Squad cover.
Michael Turner graces the cover of Justice League with a beautiful previously unseen cover which will be used as an Aspen Store exclusive.
Aspen Comics are teaming up with Marvel to release an exclusive cover for Spider-man #15 based on a previously unseen Michael Turner exclusive.
Aspen comics are teaming up with DC for a series of Rebirth Variants starting with a cover from Michael Turner for Batman Rebirth
Copyright © Super Robot Mayhem 2016


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ANTIOCH — After five years at the storefront next to the police department, The East County Veterans’ Thrift Store has finished its lease and will be announcing “a new adventure” in the coming weeks.
“It was my very first five-year lease, and it was a good place to get our feet wet,” said Josie Monaghan, founder of the East County Veterans’ Support Services group. “Our biggest obstacle with having a store down the street is managing it. I wanted to make sure the standards were kept high.”
The East County Veterans’ group moved into the clothing store on the corner of L and West Second streets in March of 2012 but has continued to expand beyond what the little store could hold.
In 2014, it moved into the vacated Rivertown location on the corner of West Second Street and G Street and began to sell furniture and housewares. The store took off.
In July of 2016, it received 501(c)(3) nonprofit status as a public charity that works to assist veterans and military families transition from service to civilian life. The main store on G Street continues to devote a portion of the store to working as a food pantry for veterans and re-gifts clothing back to veterans and their families.
“The downtown Antioch store has proven to be the best decision I’ve ever made,” Monaghan said. “Everyone here is great, and I’m not going anywhere until I’m ready to retire.”
Monaghan is nearing the end of her work cleaning out the other store and is already looking forward to the future. Big plans are in the works, and she expects to make an announcement before the end of the month.
“We’re looking forward to our new adventure that’s coming up soon,” Monaghan said.
For now, donations are still being taken at the main store at 522 W. Second St. every Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information, call 925-206-4976 or go to ecvss.org.


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India’s decision to allow oil companies to raise diesel prices could have little impact on the country’s finances and also backfire in the polls, analysts say.
Apart from a token indication of its intent for fiscal prudence, the government’s move won’t do much for the fiscal deficit, not just this year but also next. The price rise has been partly offset by a lifting on the limit on subsidized cooking gas cylinders to nine a year per family from six, a 50% increase.
And observers say the diesel price increase could be political suicide in an election year, particularly when the “common man” is already burdened with high inflation. India could see as many as 10 states go to elections in 2013 and early 2014, while federal polls loom before May 2014.
“The voters would be livid by then and Congress should brace itself for the fallout,” said political analyst Prem Shankar Jha.
Following the government’s decision Thursday, India’s oil companies raised diesel prices by 0.45 rupees a liter for general consumers and by over nine rupees a liter for bulk consumers, which include railways, defense and state road corporations. As such, government spending on diesel through these consumers is set to increase. Bulk consumers make up about 18% of diesel consumers.
Deutsche Banksaid the net saving for the government is “not substantial, and is subject to implementation risks,” flagging a common concern among economists.
Indian Oil Corporation, India’s largest fuel retailer by sales, says annual savings from the diesel price increase for oil marketing companies would be 150 billion rupees, or 0.15% of gross domestic product, while the annual cooking subsidy would increase by 100 billion rupees, representing 0.1% of GDP.
Diesel prices are a very sensitive issue in India, with any increase adding to already-high inflation through transportation costs. Most of India’s trucks and trains run on the fuel.
India’s wide fiscal gap – 5.75% of GDP in the fiscal year through March 2012 — is mainly due to the compensation that the government pays for discounted sales of fuels, fertilizers and food.
New Delhi partly offsets fuel companies’ losses through cash subsidies. Retailers as well as their state-run crude oil suppliers need to absorb the rest of the losses, hurting their financial performance.
New Delhi should bring in reforms that would sharpen the targeted subsidies to people in the lower income group, thereby reducing the chances of wastage, experts say, adding that it should also resolve supply side bottlenecks, including improving infrastructure, to deal with inflation.
Nomura said the diesel price increase won’t have any impact on fiscal finances for this fiscal year through March. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Thursday admitted as much, saying the government isn’t factoring in any impact on the diesel price increase while calculating finances for this fiscal year, when it expects the budget deficit to be 5.3% of GDP.
And brokerage Kotak Securities says the fiscal deficit may come down by only about 0.07 percentage point next fiscal year.
Rating agencies have threatened India with a sovereign downgrade if it doesn’t get its finances in order, and experts say they will keep an eye on implementation.
Fitch Ratings and Moody's declined to immediately comment on the government’s latest decisions, while Standard & Poor’s didn’t respond to an emailed query.
Nomura noted that even though the government completely deregulated petrol prices back in 2010, oil retailers still need New Delhi’s approval on the timings and size of petrol price increases.
“We expect the government to continue to dictate to OMCs [oil marketing companies] on diesel prices as they have been only ‘partially’ deregulated,” Nomura said. It added that even if oil companies raise diesel prices by a small amount for the initial few months, it is their ability to lift prices on a sustained basis until losses are eliminated that the latest announcement will make a real difference to India’s deficits.
An economist, who didn’t want to be named, said that pilferage couldn’t be ruled out when there are two rates of selling diesel. “Who can ensure that pump owners won’t sell at the discounted rate to the bulk consumers for benefit of both parties,” he said.
Government officials couldn’t be reached for comment.
Follow India Real Time on Twitter @indiarealtime.


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343 Industries has seen plenty of upheaval of late, having been affected by Microsoft’s mass layoffs earlier this year, not to mention a string of departures in leadership positions, including the likes of head of creative Joseph Staten, Halo franchise director Frank O’Connor, and the studio’s founder and head Bonnie Ross.
Questions have naturally been asked about what future support is going to look like for Halo Infinite in light of all the issues at the studio behind the scenes, but as per a new leak, it seems like 343 Industries has quite a bit planned for Halo Infinite’s multiplayer in terms of upcoming content.
Known leaker @BathrobeSpartan recently took to Twitter and shared alleged details on upcoming content for Halo Infinite, which apparently includes 15 new Arena maps, four Big Team Battle maps, two Forge canvases, various new PvP and PvE mode (with the latter also including fan-favourite mode Firefight), and several new weapons, vehicles, and equipment pieces. This is on top of plenty of new upcoming features (like improved progression) and events.
Of course, what hasn’t been mentioned in concrete terms is across how many seasons 343 Industries will release this content, and what the density of new additions in upcoming seasonal updates will be.
Halo Infinite also has a battle royale offshoot in the works at Certain Affinity under the codename Tatanka, though according to reports earlier this year, 343 Industries isn’t currently working on any new single player Halo content. Additionally, all future titles in the series will allegedly be built on Unreal Engine.


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Elon Musk has promised to quickly create the world's largest lithium-ion battery
Elon Musk (Elon Musk) has promised that his company Tesla just 100 days to create a South Australia's largest lithium-ion battery in the world. This will allow to store energy and use it during bad weather, when the electricity is turned off normally. The project is really ambitious, and time for its implementation Elon Musk asked incredibly small.
The head of Tesla Elon Musk in March 2017 promised that it engaged in the production of electric company also owns and provider SolarCity solar energy can help South Australia in solving its problems with periodic outages due to weather conditions.
Elon Musk wrote on Twitter about the seriousness of the Tesla - a company will cope with the task in 100 days, or does not receive the cost of installing this great system. It should be recalled that it was Tesla won the tender for the construction of South Australia, the world's largest lithium-ion battery.
This tender Tesla beat 91 other companies, and the reason for this is likely to become not only the reputation of Elon Musk and known all over the world the story of his real achievements, but it is so ambitious promise. The company plans to put South Australia 100-megawatt lithium-ion energy storage.
This giant battery, if it is established, will be the largest ever produced by a lithium-ion battery. Probably, it will find favor with significantly scaled Powerpack system from the Tesla, first shown in 2015. The battery is designed to store the energy generated by the wind. This energy is generated by the efforts of "wind farm" Hornsdale Wind Farm by the French company Neoen, located near Jamestown in South Australia. Tesla Powerpack system converts the characteristic of the area of the wind in renewable energy.
A special feature of this system is that it is capable of, for example, to store solar energy during the hours when the need for it is less and you can use it at a time when it is needed. Such an approach reduces the cost and dependence on non-renewable energy sources.
As the company informs about the project, it will be implemented by December 2017. This system, as mentioned above, will be the largest lithium-ion energy storage in the world. Accumulated in her energy will be enough for more than 30,000 homes, which is approximately equal to the number of homes that are without electricity due to bad weather.
Why is it only in December, when the realization of the project by the company devotes itself only a hundred days? Work on the agreement itself will be finalized closer to the fall. From this moment, Tesla and will be 100 days to complete the work on the project or the company may lose, according to the the ABC, 50 million US dollars or more than the cost of system installation, which would not it obtained when work on the project will not keep within the specified time interval. Of course, since then, two years ago, Tesla unveiled Powerwall and the Powerpack, the company made significant progress. Tesla already provides power to one of Hawaii - Kauai. It uses solar energy generating capacity, working on the basis of Powerpack technology, very similar to the one that will find favor in the new project of an innovative company.
Tesla technologies to store energy, are also used in medium-sized businesses. Among the companies that use the technology Tesla - Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. City of Los Angeles now uses Powerpack energy storage, which Tesla is building into a substation Southern California Edison's Mira Loma, located in Onterio (CA), and allowing to provide power 15,000 homes.
Thus, although the project in South Australia and it seems incredibly ambitious, primarily due to the established by Elon Musk time interval, if implemented, will create Tesla itself an impressive reputation of the company, to implement an ambitious project in such a short period of time for which is not a problem.
Will ready by December so impressive battery?
On materials theverge.com


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USA – Tyson Foods, the world’s second-largest processor and marketer of meat, based in Arkansas America, announced plans to invest more than US$20 million in the expansion of its Tennessee facility.
The money is intended to be used in the construction of a wellness centre, an independent roadway for transporting livestock to the facility and the expansion of the facility’s production capacity.
The final two phases of the project are underway and the operations are expected to be complete by early 2023.
The initial phase of the project was started in April and constituted a 21,000 square feet expansion of an existing barn facility to a total of 60,625 square feet.
The expanded space provides a 20% increase in capacity at the facility which employs more than 600 workers.
With more capacity added, the facility will be better equipped to continue meeting the increased demand for their popular Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm and other category-leading products.
“I’m thrilled to celebrate our investment in our Newbern Prepared Foods plant with our hard-working, dedicated team members,” said Stan Welch, plant manager at Tyson Foods.
This is the third major investment by Tyson Foods in Tennessee in under three years. In 2020, the company completed an expansion of its poultry processing plant in Union City, Tenn., which included adding 40,000 square feet of space.
Then in 2021, it opened a new US$425 million, 370,000-square-foot complex in Humboldt, Tennessee that comprises of a processing plant, feed mill and hatchery.
Wes Morris takes charge of poultry business
The investment in Tennessee follows Wes Morris’ appointment as president of the company’s poultry business, to succeed David Bray, effective since January 27th.
Morris first joined Tyson Foods in 1999 and has since worked in multiple positions in the company such as group vice president for consumer products and president of prepared foods operations.
“Wes is a recognized leader who will help position us for continued success and the future growth of our chicken segment,” said Donnie King, Tyson Foods President and CEO.
Wes Morris aims to strengthen the company’s strategy of executing its mission of feeding the world with excellency and agility.
For all the latest food industry news from Africa and the World, subscribe to our NEWSLETTER, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, like us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel.


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Hybrid working, touchscreen MacBook hopes, cybersecurity concerns, and more: ZDNet's tech research roundup
Going hybrid: Flexible work doesn't have to mean 'always on'
Let's start with our special feature on the new rules of work. Microsoft's recent 2022 Work Trend Index noted a 150% increase in meetings per person in February 2022 compared to March 2020, but also increases of 32% in chats per person, 27% in average after-hours work, and 13% in average workday span.
Back to the office: IT spending and device shipments
While the COVID-19 pandemic caused a shift in working practices, it also disrupted the pattern of IT spending during 2020 and 2021, with critical short-term projects driving increased outlay on devices, IT services, enterprise software, and data centre systems. Longer-lasting changes in IT spending, says Gartner, will revolve around IT services and the cloud.
Do you wish your MacBook had a touchscreen?
ZDNet ran a poll on LinkedIn asking followers if they wanted a touchscreen MacBook. The results showed there's a clear desire from those who participated for Apple to add touch to the MacBook, with 46% of those who answered saying 'yes'.
Only half of organisations reviewed security policies due to the pandemic
Research from the Ponemon Institute, on behalf of Intel, showed that global enterprises will spend roughly $172 billion on cybersecurity this year. However, only 53% refreshed their existing strategies due to the pandemic. The pandemic has created what could become a permanent hybrid workforce, which will require new investments in tech.
Zoom awarded $1.8 million in bug bounty rewards during 2021
Software firm Zoom paid out more than $1.8 million in bug bounties across 401 reports last year. In addition, since the bug bounty programme's launch in 2019, over $2.4 million has been awarded. Zoom's main programme is private, but the platform actively recruits security researchers. Over 800 researchers participate in the programme, which HackerOne hosts.
Why quickly patching your iPhones and Macs is more important than ever
A report by Atlas VPN (based on data from Telefonica Tech Cybersecurity) showed how vulnerabilities found in Apple products surged by 467% during the second half of 2021 to 380 exploits, a dramatic rise from the 67 uncovered during the first half of 2021.
Automation is at the heart of digital business transformation
Researchers from MuleSoft identified seven key digital transformation trends that will shape the future of work in 2022 and beyond. One trend, hyperautomation, which involves automating as many business and IT processes as possible, could be the key to unlocking value. Low‑code techniques were identified by 42% of business users as critical.
SAP Q1 2022: Ukraine-Russia conflict hits the balance sheet
SAP reported strong first-quarter earnings results despite pulling out of Russia and Belarus due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. SAP's Q1 2022 earnings reported revenues of €7.077 billion IFRS, up 11% year over year.


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Tanzania, the world’s biggest source of illegal ivory, lost an average of 30 elephants per day in 2013, contributing to a trend that has seen half of the country’s elephant population die in the last five years, some to natural causes and others to poaching, according to a report released Thursday by the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency. Fueling these killings is an upsurge in demand for ivory in China, the world’s largest market for illicit elephant tusks. The trafficking chain between Tanzania and China has become the biggest conduit for illegal ivory in the world, according to the report.
Why exactly is China fueling the ivory trade? Here are the five top reasons.
1. China’s poorly regulated system for legal ivory sales. China views ivory carving as part of its cultural heritage. It has sanctioned a small industry for products made with ivory obtained in legal auctions. A complex system of permits regulates the companies that carve and sell ivory, including some that are state-owned.
In practice, however, this legal industry cloaks a massive black market. Those who have obtained government licenses can generate huge profits by laundering illegal tusks into the stock of more expensive legal ivory. This makes it virtually impossible for buyers to distinguish between the two.
Just like with the drug trade, there’s a long-running debate about whether establishing a regulated market or banning the product entirely would be more effective at limiting the ivory trade. Some argue that banning ivory in China would drive up the price in the underground market and fuel poaching. Yet, even in its current state, China’s system provides camouflage for an illegal industry.
A new report that accompanies this video by the Environmental Investigation Agency says Tanzania is the hub of a resurgent elephant poaching industry thanks to growing demand for ivory in China. (Environmental Investigation Agency)
2. Growing ties with Africa and porous Chinese borders. China became Africa’s largest trading partner in 2009. Ivory accompanies shipments that move between China and Africa, buried in containers of dried fish, plastic waste and grains.
People traveling between Africa and China also can carry ivory in their luggage. More than one million Chinese, from businessmen to factory workers to chefs, have moved to Africa over the past decade. Chinese officials say that 90 percent of ivory seizures involve individuals concealing ivory in their suitcases.
According to the EIA report, diplomatic channels are also often used to smuggle ivory. The report alleges that that bags of ivory were loaded onto Xi Jinping’s own plane during a visit to Tanzania in March 2013, presumably without the Chinese president’s knowledge.
3. Gift-giving and corruption. The ivory trade has close ties to Chinese practices of giving expensive and exotic trinkets, which is sometimes linked to business and official corruption.
One United Nations report suggests that Chinese demand for ivory might be driven, counterintuitively, by the high price of ivory — just like other expensive status symbols like watches and diamonds.
The chart below shows the price and quantity of imports into China and Hong Kong have increased as the price has gone up. The report offers two explanations: that mammoth ivory is subject to some kind of speculative price bubble, or that it is what economists call a “Veblen good.” (A Veblen good refers to any product for which demand rises as its price goes up — contrary to the law of supply and demand.)
If this is true, the Chinese government’s current crackdown on corrupt government officials might help to dampen sales of ivory as it chills questionable behavior — as it has done for watches and luxury cars.
4. The suppression of the Chinese environmental movement. Toxic air, water and food products mean environmental issues are increasingly on Chinese minds. However, limitations on free speech and collective organizing have greatly hampered a nascent environmental movement.
Environmental organizations and activists are subject to government surveillance and hampered by restrictive laws; some have been arrested or detained for inciting social unrest.
5. Lack of knowledge about the ivory industry. Many Chinese who buy ivory may not realize that the trade is illegal, or that elephants have to be killed in order to obtain their tusks. And Chinese thinking on animal rights is still an early stage compared to Western countries.
This is changing, slowly. Both dog ownership and Buddhism, which values animals and often involves vegetarianism, are increasingly in vogue among Chinese urbanites. And public education about endangered animals is on the rise.
Yao Ming, the Chinese former star of the Houston Rockets, joined with WildAid, a San Francisco-based charity, to make a series of successful commercials in 2011 that urged Chinese to stop eating shark fin soup. Yao and WildAid partnered again on a documentary that was screened in China in August about the mass slaughter of the ivory trade.
In the long run, this kind of education is probably the most effective way to reduce China’s massive purchases of ivory, since it pushes down the demand for the good. This may be far more effective than just attacking supply, since limiting ivory imports will only push the value of them up.
blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/11/07/ how-chinas-ivory-addiction- explains-the-new-world- economy/


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UK motorists should prepare themselves for a wave of preventable vehicle theft, as criminals emerge from lockdown and race to ship stolen export vehicles ahead of the December Brexit deadline, according to innovative technology firm Hard-Off Security.
With signs that the lull in car-related crime seen in the last four months is ending, experts Hard-Off Security is calling on both owners and the insurance industry to plan ahead and tackle the issue of ‘relay-hacking’, the single biggest issue effecting the theft of, or from, vehicles. With a possible clampdown on UK ports at the end of the year, as part of the uncertainty over Brexit, it’s concerned that organised crime will attempt to ship as many stolen vehicles and parts as possible in the coming months – leading to a bonanza of illicit activity.
Responsible for an estimated three quarters1 of all car theft, relay-hacking exposes a security weakness in many of today’s vehicles, and costs the insurance industry an estimated £380 million a year in claims. Last year a total of 114,0001 vehicles were stolen in the UK, and to date over 50% have yet to be recovered. Hard-Off’s propriety solution is the installation of an upgrade to a car’s key fob that doesn’t alter the car itself or negatively impact any aspect of the existing security system.
Managing Director of Hard-Off Security, Mark Churchward, said: “This is a big problem that will hit motorists the hardest. At a time when many may have been furloughed or concerned about their jobs, a steep rise in the number of stolen vehicles will only lead to a rise in premiums as the insurance industry passes the cost on to customer through big rises in premiums.’
Heading off the hack attack that can take as little as 10 seconds
Taking as little as 10 seconds, this silent hijacking of the car’s security can be carried out even when the car and the key are not in close proximity, and victims often don’t realise until their vehicle is long gone. Once the fob is cloned, the vehicles’ security is bypassed allowing it to be unlocked, started and driven away, no matter where it is parked.
Invented after his daughter’s car was stolen from her driveway in the middle of the night, Mark’s Norfolk based company has perfected its Key Fob Isolation system by blocking the passive authentication system that criminals exploit to snatch cars without the keys. With many of Britain’s most popular cars fitted with keyless systems as a convenience feature, criminals are able to fool the car into responding by using send-receive electronics that pretend to be the fob.
Offering enhanced security for both every day and expensive vehicles, the Hard-Off Security upgrade can be easily retro‐fitted by owners or approved Hard-Off technicians, available for most existing keyless‐entry/keyless start key fobs and requires no change to the original on‐board car security systems. It retains all the functionality of the manufacturer’s original specification.
“Although many relay hacks are carried out at night, while the owner is home asleep, it’s possible to clone a fob in a car park or shopping centre, and with thieves targeting prestige marques that are quickly shipped abroad, our solution is 100% effective at stopping a car’s security system being hijacked. This means it offers real peace of mind and protection for motorists across the UK,” concludes Mark Churchward.
The Hard-Off Security Hard-Off Key Fob Isolation Switch is available now, with prices starting at £45 to £75 per key fob, from www.hard-off-security.com


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Wenzhou customs officers check parcels to be delivered overseas. [Photo/WeChat account: hzhgfb]
The Wenzhou municipal bureau of commerce recently announced that the city's cross-border e-commerce customs declaration exports reached a staggering $1.46 billion, a remarkable year-on-year growth of 392 percent.
The month of March alone saw exports worth $1.05 billion, a remarkable increase of 410 percent compared to the previous month.
79.07 percent of Wenzhou's cross-border e-commerce exports from January to March used the "9710" format (direct exports by cross-border e-commerce companies to businesses).
Home renovation tools, automotive parts and accessories, home decor, kitchenware, and pet supplies accounted for 80.86 percent of the city's cross-border e-commerce exports.
During the period, a total of 172 companies in Wenzhou reported cross-border e-commerce customs declaration exports exceeding $3 million, accounting for an impressive 83.52 percent of the total export value.
The top five export destinations were the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, accounting for 63.59 percent of the city's total cross-border e-commerce exports.
Wenzhou's exports to countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership accounted for 25.27 percent and 8.11 percent of the total, respectively. This represented an increase of 11.91 percent and 45.33 percent compared to the same period in 2022.
The rapid development of cross-border e-commerce in Wenzhou is closely tied to the city's continuous efforts to build overseas warehouses. As of March, Wenzhou had a total of 22 overseas warehouse enterprises operating 62 warehouses.


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The last time I wrote about ad fraud was on May 15. So I think we are long overdue for another episode of Online Advertising Still Sucks, so it is with trepidation that I present to you the Fall
EMarketer, in partnership with Oracle’s Moat, updates us this month on the latest state of play. Sadly, nothing has really changed. Things are still bad —
globally bad. Billions of dollars in money down the drain.
The fraud industrial complex knows exactly where to play. They know we like our smartphones, and they know we like to
watch videos. So what’s the No. 1 fraud platform? Smartphones. According to AppsFlyer, more than one in five paid app installs worldwide were fraudulent over the summer of 2019, and the vast majority
are on Android, which is of course the No. 1 global smartphone platform.
And the No. 1 fraudulent medium? Videos! White Opps reported that surveyed Association of National
Advertisers members reported 14% of mobile web video impressions and 8% of mobile in-app video impressions were fraudulent. And these are the results from among the globally biggest, smartest, and
best equipped advertisers in the world. Imagine how bad the numbers must be for all other advertisers!
The fraudsters also know how advertisers are placing most of their
inventory, so programmatic is still the main place where fraudulent impressions are generated. And because we are all working from home, with our connected TVs on all day, the fraudsters have also
discovered this lucrative platform. In 2019, Pixalate


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On Monday, May 7th, The chairman of Apple supplier Foxconn informed U.S. President Donald Trump of his wish to act as a peacemaker between China, the United States, and self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own.
As per reports, Billionaire Terry Gou, who back in the previous month announced that he would run for president of Taiwan in 2020, met Trump in the previous week to debate upon the status of the Taiwan company’s planned investment in Wisconsin.
Sources close to the matter also said that Gou also mentioned that Beijing needed to acknowledge the existence of the “Republic of China,” by using Taiwan’s official name.
Furthermore, Gou also responded to critics by saying, “trying to make (me out as) ‘red’ by saying that I will be held hostage” due to Foxconn’s investments in China.
In recent times, Both The United States as well as China are in the middle of a bruising trade dispute, with the pressure being dramatically increased on Sunday, May5th by President Donald Trump, when he went on to say that he would raise U.S. tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods this week and doing the same for hundreds of billions soon.
According to Gou, he said that the trade spat might end soon, however, the broader tensions between the United States and China could prolong even further.
Reports also state that citing concerns that gears manufactured by Chinese telecom equipment makers such as Huawei Technologies might be used by Beijing spies for investigating, The United States has been pressing allies to limit the role of such companies.
Notably, any such comments have been termed as baseless by Huawei.
In an earlier statement, Foxconn had pledged to build a $10 billion campus and create 13,000 jobs in Wisconsin, however, now the company states that it has not met early hiring targets due to which it may have to reconsider its plans.
According to Gou, the investment in Wisconsin is to help the United States reshape its technology supply chain.
Back in the previous month in an interview with Reuters, he said that he plans to step down from the world’s largest contract manufacturer with the aim to pave the way for younger talent to move up the ranks of Foxconn.


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New York, NY News Release Archive - Page 95
September 16, 2014 -- Company to exhibit nerve repair technologies at Booth 205
September 16, 2014 -- DNA authentication technology was recently used to interdict a shipment of mislabeled textiles resulting in over $1 million of inventory held in quarantine.
September 16, 2014 -- Cloud based mobile app builder Appy Pie integrates HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) & UStream API’S to serve m3u8 streams on Android & iOS. This certainly is a wonderful feature for broadcasting live...
September 16, 2014 -- APPVESTED, a new frontier in mobile application development, recently launched with the goal of connecting creative entrepreneurs, carefully vetted application proposals, and accredited investors.
September 16, 2014 -- eCMS v.4.0 Construction ERP Platform To Further Optimize Business Operations and Profitability
September 16, 2014 -- Online home improvement retailer ATGStores.com aims to enhance the customer experience by providing new DIY and how-to info in a virtual ‘Learning Lounge’ that is free to access.
September 16, 2014 -- AMP Technologies announces they will introduce a completely redesigned User Experience on September 29th 2014 at the IMN CFO Forum in N.Y.
September 16, 2014 -- The enteral feeding devices replacement market is driven by the increased demand and consumption in alternate care and homecare settings; reports iData Resarch.
September 16, 2014 -- Diagnostic arthroscopy product provides valuable alternative to time consuming, indefinite and expensive diagnosis modes; eliminates false reads of indirect modalities such as MRIs
September 16, 2014 -- World’s largest contactless pay-as-you-go scheme for travel now in full operation
September 16, 2014 -- Westinghouse Electric Company LLC today announced the opening of the company’s first outage control center to provide vital central monitoring and response to its utility customers’ outage operations...
September 16, 2014 -- The latest FNC Residential Price Index™ (RPI) shows U.S. home prices up another 0.6% from June to July.
September 16, 2014 -- CashForCars.com, the original online Cash For Cars brand and a leading buyer of cars and trucks, for the first time has announced the Top 15 Cash For Cars requests.
September 16, 2014 -- The Oettinger Davidoff Group becomes the official distributor of Royal Danish Cigars in Switzerland. The focus will be on the exclusive short torpedo QUEENS #1 with 24 karat Gold & Swarovski...
September 16, 2014 -- CEO claims entrepreneurs are suffering and slowing the economic recovery through poor promotion of their products.
September 16, 2014 -- Experts.com is proud to announce its new member Dr. Alon Konchitsky. With clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies such as AT&T, Apple, Samsung, Telecommunications Systems, to private firms...
September 16, 2014 -- The Mesothelioma Compensation Center is urging diagnosed victims to take a look at a recent article in the UK's The Independent newspaper to get a sense of how complex mesothelioma compensation...
September 16, 2014 -- AIMG’s new responsive website design for the Robotic Industries Association (RIA) allows buyers and integrators using handheld, mobile devices to easily access the extensive robotics content at the...
September 16, 2014 -- The Pocket Sous Chef Makes Cooking Simple, Fun & Fabulous
September 16, 2014 -- Multi-year partnership to support Pep Boys' "Road Ahead" expansion strategy
September 16, 2014 -- Oklahoma’s premier data center, announced that Bruce Knooihuizen has joined RACK59s Board of Directors. In this capacity Bruce will provide financial guidance to RACK59.
September 16, 2014 -- The latest release of AvePoint Perimeter provides organizations with system-wide security, granular user auditing, and Windows Phone support to create a more comprehensive SharePoint mobility solution
September 16, 2014 -- Pfister Energy supports its partner, Infinity Development, in obtaining U.S. Army MATOC solar energy award.
September 16, 2014 -- Market pioneer adds to mixed-media library designs for consumers
September 16, 2014 -- With added connectivity, Host Virtual’s Paris datacenter is ready for increased demand.


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Melania Trump: Body language expert says the First Lady's 'regal vibes' was copied from Queen Elizabeth
Barack Obama: Former POTUS criticizes Donald Trump's attempts at voter suppression in time for November elections
Melania Trump fashion, fact-check: Did FLOTUS wear a dress with drawings by sex trafficking survivors?
United States First Lady Melania Trump has received both applause and criticisms for her fashion choices over the years. However, her eve of Independence Day dress garnered social media attention for quite a unique reason that even prompted several news outlets to do some fact-checks.
Why Melania Trump’s Independence Day fashion choice needed fact-checking
Melania Trump joined her husband, Donald Trump, on the eve of Independence Day at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. She wore a white, sleeveless midi dress from the Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2020 collection.
The dress is covered in sketches that the designer label calls the “Dancing Girls” print. People can zoom in on the drawings through the official product page of the dress where it also shows that it cost $3,840. Before the price tag irks some people, keep in mind that Melania Trump’s office had previously stated, “She pays for all her own clothes.”
In an earlier post at Alexander McQueen’s official Facebook page, the drawings were further described as “continuous, spontaneous sketches of dancing girls.” But the spontaneity of the print may have also been the reason some netizens scrutinized the design of Melania Trump’s dress.
Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2020 collection
A round-neck dress with an asymmetric draped skirt in ivory Irish linen with dancing girls hand embroidery. The continuous, spontaneous sketches of dancing girls by Central Saint Martins MA students, created during a life drawing class held at the Alexander McQueen educational space in London this year, is the source of these motifs Discover the Spring/Summer 2020 collection here: on.AlexanderMcQueen.com/SS20WomensPosted by Alexander McQueen on Saturday, March 21, 2020
Various Facebook and Twitter pages attempted to defend Melania Trump by criticizing “the press” for “mocking” the dress design, per AFP Fact Check. The same posts claimed the sketches were made by survivors of child sex trafficking survivors, which was found to be incorrect.
In the same Facebook post from the designer label, it was stated that the drawings were created by Master of Arts students of Central Saint Martins, a public tertiary art school in London. With some of the inaccurate posts saying the criticisms over Melania Trump’s dress came from the press, PolitiFact also pointed out that the negative comments came from social media and “not ‘the media.’”
Other times Melania Trump’s clothes made headlines
Whenever Melania Trump’s fashion choices are being discussed, it would be remiss not to recall the time she wore a $39 Zara jacket in 2018 with the writing on the back, “I REALLY DON’T CARE DO U?” The first lady’s spokesperson, Stephanie Grisham, initially said the jacket did not have any hidden message.
However, Melania Trump later confirmed in an ABC News interview that it was aimed at her critics, “I want to show them that I don’t care. You could criticize. Whatever you wanna say, you can say. But it will not stop me to do what I feel is right.” The first lady also faced scrutiny after wearing a Dolce & Gabbana jacket in 2017 that reportedly cost over $51,000. It was followed by reports comparing the price of the piece of clothing to the per-year salary of workers.


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On New Year’s Eve Fort Lauderdale will begin a new campaign that features transgender models starring in mainstream media ads. Being one of the premier destinations in the world for LGBT travelers, Fort Lauderdale is once again leading the way in hospitality by celebrating the lives of everyone and the people they love.
According to Adweek
The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau advertising campaign, created by Fort Lauderdale-based Starmark International, is kicking off with two new videos on twin billboards at 1515 Broadway and on a bowtie billboard at 1500 Broadway, both in New York’s Times Square.
The first video will start running Saturday morning, Dec. 31, and will feature two men, a woman and a transgender model wearing New Year’s Eve headgear, drinking flutes of champagne as they sail the Atlantic off Fort Lauderdale Beach. The ad’s transgender star is Isabella Santiago, a Venezuelan model who was Miss World Transgender in 2014. The copy says “Hello, sunny” and “Hello, 2017,” as well as “Greater Fort Lauderdale.”
On Jan. 2, the video will change to depict the same four people now simply sailing, with copy saying, “Hello, winter blues.”
Richard Gray, managing director of the LGBTQ market for the bureau, said, “Using trans models in our mainstream campaign says who we are as a destination: cosmopolitan, edgy, diverse, inclusive, authentic and accepting. We are the only destination in the world that is using trans people in mainstream marketing initiatives. That is a huge statement in itself, highlighting this destination’s commitment to diversity, inclusion and equality. We want all travelers to Greater Fort Lauderdale to be free to be themselves, to be free to be accepted, and most of all, to be safe and respected.”
To learn more Click Here.
On the next page you can view Passport Magazine’s “Free to Be in Fort Lauderdale” video featuring transgender models.


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Intel’s fight against a record 1.06 billion euro ($1.16 billion) EU antitrust fine received a boost on Thursday when a top Europe court adviser questioned whether the U.S. chipmaker’s actions had really harmed competition.
The opinion from Advocate General Nils Wahl at the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) amounted to a rare setback for the European Commission, underlining the tough battle ahead as it takes on Apple (AAPL), Qualcomm (QCOM), Google (GOOGL), and Amazon (AMZN) in various competition cases.
“Intel’s appeal against the imposition of a 1.06 billion euro fine for abuse of its dominant position should be upheld. The case should be referred back to the General Court for a fresh review,” Wahl said in a non-binding recommendation.
He said the General Court failed to establish that the rebates and payments offered by Intel (INTC) were anti-competitive and that certain deals between the firm and Lenovo harmed European consumers. These were key elements of the Commission’s 2009 decision.
The General Court rejected Intel’s challenge two years ago, saying that the European Commission had not acted too harshly in handing down the record sanction amounting to 4.15% of Intel’s 2008 turnover against a possible maximum of 10%.
For more on EU fines, watch Fortune’s video:
The ECJ, which usually follows the adviser’s opinion in the majority of cases, is expected to rule in the coming months. The Commission declined to comment.
Wahl’s opinion is a good sign for companies looking for guidance on what kind of rebates should be considered harmful, said Ian Giles, a partner at London-based Norton Rose Fulbright.
“The extent to which the advocate general disagrees with the Commission is significant. The advocate general’s opinion says – on the Intel facts – the Commission got it wrong,” he said.
“Assuming the court follows this opinion, this is a good outcome from the perspective of competition policy, and may lead to the Commission revising its approach in ongoing cases.”
U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm is fighting EU charges of using anti-competitive methods, including giving rebates, to squeeze a rival. It will lay out its arguments at a hearing on Nov. 10.
Intel’s fine remains the largest for a single company for an EU antitrust infringement.
The EU antitrust enforcer penalized Intel over what it called tactics aimed at stifling rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), including giving rebates to PC makers Dell (DELL), Hewlett-Packard, NEC (NIPNF), and Lenovo (LNVGY) for buying most of their computer chips from Intel.


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Auto parts maker Denso Manufacturing Tennessee has named Jack Helmboldt as president of its operations in Maryville.
Helmboldt, who has 24 years of experience with Denso Manufacturing Tennessee, is the first American named to the post. He previously was executive vice president.
Helmboldt, who will continue to serve as corporate senior director for Denso Corp., succeeds Yoshihiro "Van" Saka, who was reassigned to a Denso-affiliate company in Japan, according to a news release.
Helmboldt's appointment "represents Denso's continued emphasis on localization of North American leadership, as well as the localization of technology," the company said.
The Maryville operation provides components to automakers including Chrysler, Ford, General Motors and Honda. The plant has about 3,000 employees, according to the Greater Knoxville Business Journal's Book of Lists.
Helmboldt's promotion comes as the company is preparing to invest $1 billion over the next four years into its North American operations. Earlier this year, the company announced the expansion plan, which includes investment in its plants in Maryville and Athens, Tenn.
The Japanese automotive supplier said it will bring production of a gasoline direct-injection system to its facility in Athens, representing a $50 million investment.
The company also will add new production capabilities to each of the four plants in Maryville.
Call us at 1-877-304-7769.
Monday – Friday: 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. / Saturday & Sunday: 7 a.m. – 11 a.m.


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Tweetbot, the immensely popular Twitter client from Tapbots, finally got its long-awaited iOS 7 update yesterday, introducing a beautiful new design for iPhone. Unsurprisingly, it’s been a massive success so far, and less than 24 hours on, it’s already the top paid app in 35 countries.
That’s according to the latest data from AppAnnie, the app analytics company. As you can see from the image below, Tweetbot 3 is the number one app overall in 35 countries, and the number one social networking app in 70 countries. It’s also one of the top five overall apps in 58 countries.
That’s pretty good going for an app that’s been available less than 24 hours, but it’s hardly surprising. The original Tweetbot was such a success, and its iOS 7 update was hugely anticipated by so many, that it was always going to be a big seller — even if it is a paid upgrade.
Many users expected the update to be free, and if you search for “Tweetbot” on Twitter, you’ll find plenty who have complained about its price tag. But the vast majority are more than willing to pay that for such a great app. The original Tweetbot app is over two years old now, and Tapbots deserve to be paid for all the hard work they put into the new version.
If you haven’t yet downloaded Tweetbot 3, it’s just $2.99 for a limited time. You can download it from the App Store now.


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Report: Measuring ROI biggest Twitter challenge for brands
Atlanta – Close to half (45.1%) of brands reported that ‘measuring ROI and results’ is their greatest challenge when using the Twitter platform for marketing, followed by ‘building an audience’ (42.1%) and ‘engagement’ (36.8%). According to a new survey from Social Media Marketing University (SMU), 65% of brands say that Twitter is an effective marketing tool, while 30.6% are undecided.
Other notable findings include:
• 96.2% of brands using Twitter as a marketing tool report having challenges using the platform to achieve specific goals.
• 16.9% of brands are not aware that Twitter offers paid services and 34.7% are not currently interested in using Twitter’s paid services.
• Despite the popularity of video marketing, Vine remains underutilized with just 2.4% of brands using the feature on a regular basis.
• Most brands using Twitter as a marketing tool do so to increase brand awareness (79.4%).
• Brands are using Twitter predominantly to create engagement during events (62.4%), build relationships with influencers (62.4%) and monitor brand mentions (58.4%).
“Social media has become a significant play in the marketing world, so much so that brands are almost forced to leverage it, even if they are unsure of its value,” said John Souza, founder of Social Media Marketing University. “The challenge for marketers will be to solidify best practices to measure ROI on all social media platforms as they face increased pressure from the C-Suite. Additionally, as Twitter banks on the success of its paid services, it will be critical for the platform to provide resources and support to help brands navigate this challenge.”
Brown Shoe Q4 earnings beat company expectations
St. Louis – Brown Shoe Company beat internal expectations with net earnings of $6.2 million during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, up 55% from $4 million in the same quarter of the prior year. Net sales dropped 3% to $600 million, from $618.7 million.
“Brown Shoe Company delivered a successful fourth quarter and 2013,” said Diane Sullivan, CEO, president and chairman of Brown Shoe Company. “Our wholesale brands continued to make progress, growing sales 13.5% in the fourth quarter and 5.3% in 2013. We are looking forward to continuing to execute against our strategies to deliver increasing shareholder value, as we grow our retail and wholesale businesses in 2014.”
During the full fiscal year 2013, net earnings grew 38.5% to $38.1 million, from $27.5 million. For full year 2013, net sales of $2.51 billion were up 1.4% compared to $2,478 million in 2012. Looking ahead, Brown Shoe predicts consolidated net sales for fiscal 2014 will range from $2.58 billion to $2.6 billion.
The Buckle’s Q4 net income, sales decline
Kearney, Neb. –- The impact of an extra week in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 helped drive down net income and sales at The Buckle during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013. On a year-over-year basis, net income dropped 3% to $59.4 million from $61.3 million, while net sales declined 6% to $339 million from $360.6 million.
Same-store sales for the quarter decreased 2.8%.
Year-over-year results were more favorable in the full fiscal year. Although net income declined 1% to $162.6 million from $164.3 million, net sales grew 0.4% to $1.128 billion from $1.124 billion and same-store sales were flat.


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Google’s $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility will land it a vast portfolio of patents, but the legal obstacles facing its Android operating system are far from over, legal experts said.
Android has been beset with legal challenges from all sides, including a multibillion dollar lawsuit filed by Oracle, and complaints brought by Apple against Android device makers including HTC and Samsung. Meanwhile, Microsoft has been extracting license fees from Android device makers, saying it owns technology patents related to Google’s mobile OS.
The Motorola acquisition, announced Monday, should help shield Google and its partners from future legal action by Apple and others. But it may be too late to help device makers facing lawsuits already under way, and it won’t help Google to fight Oracle’s Java patent infringement lawsuit, which is due to begin trial in October, legal experts said.
Google never put much value in building its own patent portfolio and was caught off guard by the “patent arms race” that has come to define the wireless industry. Last week it lashed out at competitors, accusing Microsoft, Apple and others of trying to impose a “patent tax” on Android to stifle its runaway growth.
So its announcement Monday that it will pay $40 per share for Motorola—or 63 percent over Friday’s closing stock price—came as little surprise to some observers. The acquisition will “increase competition by strengthening Google’s patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies,” CEO Larry Page said in a blog post.
Alexander Poltorak, chairman and CEO of General Patent Corp., said Motorola’s portfolio will serve as a deterrent to companies thinking of suing Google or its partners. “Now they will think twice before filing a complaint, because they can be guaranteed Google will strike back,” he said.
The deal will give Google “a lot of heft,” said Jonathan Goldberg, a research analyst at Deutsche Bank. Motorola is among the oldest wireless companies and has a strong and credible patent portfolio, he said. Motorola Mobility has said it owns about 24,500 patents.
“I think it’s a big step and I expect there will be a big sigh of relief at Google once this deal closes,” said David Mixon, a patent lawyer with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings. “They were outbid in the Nortel patent auctions and that was a consortium led by Microsoft and Apple. They clearly were feeling some pressure.”
If Google is targeted by another lawsuit, Motorola’s patents will help it broker a settlement and secure a license for Android, Poltorak said. That license would cover Android device makers as well, under the “exhaustion doctrine,” he said. “If Google obtains a license for the OS, then everyone else who uses that OS will be licensed as well.”
If a company targets a Google partner instead, Google could transfer ownership of some the Motorola patents to that partner temporarily, so it can defend itself with them, Poltorak said.
Not everyone agreed that Motorola’s patents will be an effective deterrent, however. Florian Mueller, author of the FOSS Patents blog, noted that Apple has already sued Motorola Mobility for patent infringement. Motorola’s patents appear “too weak” to be a deterrent against lawsuits, he wrote in a blog post.
“This isn’t going to be a protective shield for Android,” Mueller said. “Motorola Mobility has already fired its best shots in its lawsuits against Apple and Microsoft, with little impact as it seems.”
But Motorola fired the first shots in that battle, Poltorak noted. Motorola sued Apple in October for allegedly infringing 18 of its patents, and filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission. “Apple had no choice but to defend itself,” Poltorak said.
Mueller argued that Motorola expected the lawsuit from Apple, and that its own lawsuit was a pre-emptive, defensive move. He sees Google’s Motorola purchase as “buyer’s desperation.”
One thing observers did agree on is that buying Motorola is unlikely to help Google with its Oracle lawsuit. Google doesn’t expect to complete the purchase until late this year or in early 2012, while the Oracle trial is scheduled to begin in 11 weeks. Oracle isn’t in the wireless business, so Motorola’s patents wouldn’t be effective bargaining chips anyway. And Oracle is suing Google for copyright as well as patent infringement, Mixon noted.
Neither Goldberg or Mixon see the Oracle case as a deal-breaker for Android, however. Oracle wants Android to flourish so it can collect royalty fees from it, Mixon said. And Google has deep pockets, so it could afford to pay significant damages to Oracle if necessary, Goldberg said.
“To me, a bigger concern is what Google is going to do to protect the whole ecosystem,” Goldberg said.
It’s unclear if Motorola’s patents will be able to help Android device makers fend off the lawsuits against them. It depends how fast Google closes the acquisition and exactly what patents Motorola owns, Mixon said.
Samsung has already been hit with an injunction that blocks it from selling its Galaxy Tab in much of Europe, and the company may feel pressured to settle with Apple before Google’s Motorola acquisition closes, Poltorak said.
Still, Google has made a significant step in the right direction, according to some observers.
“I see this as a meaningful deal, but it’s just one more step in the process,” Goldberg said.


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Agricultural infrastructure supplier Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) has signed a new partnership agreement with HarvestUp, the smart farming business, to build a vertical farm at a Missouri technical college campus.
This significant investment comprises four IGS Growth Towers and will be based at the Ranken Technical College Campus in Ashland, which is currently under construction. It will provide the college's students with a workforce learning environment where they can learn about vertical farming, IT, construction, and HVAC systems as part of their agricultural studies, focusing on honing practical and technical skills.
Scottish-headquartered IGS will initially deploy four of their 40ft high Growth Towers, with a view to working alongside HarvestUp to expand the site and add more towers in the future.
The vertical farm will grow a variety of crops, including leafy greens, herbs, and microgreens. In addition to providing a hands-on learning environment for students, produce from the farm will also be sold to the local community through grocery retailers and Missouri distributors.
IGS' vertical farming system delivers an indoor ecosystem that allows growers to create the perfect conditions for plants to thrive all year round without soil. The farm uses 95% less water and achieves up to 15 times the yield compared with growth in an open field environment.
HarvestUp's mission is to produce high-quality food year-round while reducing the environmental impact of production. This partnership with IGS will allow both businesses to further the advancement of the controlled environment agriculture industry in the US and beyond while facilitating academic learning of vertical farming.
Construction of the vertical farm is expected to begin in early 2023.
HarvestUp CEO David Westhoff said: "The HarvestUp team is ready to bring a new industry to Mid-Missouri. HarvestUp, Smart Farming, will create new jobs and unique educational opportunities while contributing to our community's health and wellness. We appreciate the partnerships built with IGS and Ranken Technical College to further vertical farming."
David Farquhar, CEO of Intelligent Growth Solutions, added: "It's exciting to see training institutions like Ranken partnering with forward-thinking, entrepreneurial businesses like HarvestUp to build a highly skilled workforce capable of driving the future of vertical farming production.
"Growing in controlled indoor environments is still relatively new to the agriculture sector, so it's vital that we're engaging young people and showcasing the wide variety of employment opportunities available in the sector. We're delighted that HarvestUp has chosen IGS' technology to be at the heart of this partnership and hope it will inspire the next generation of agricultural innovators."
Don Pohl, President of Ranken Technical College, added: "Ranken is always excited to partner with industry to provide real-world work experience for our students. We are committed to providing the comprehensive education and training necessary to prepare our students for great technical careers."
For more information:
Intelligent Growth Solutions


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Defense Attorneys Plan to Appeal Jury Verdict that Wal-Mart Failed to Provide Employees with Rest Breaks and Overtime, and that Wal-Mart Acted in Bad Faith
The jury is in on a labor law class action on behalf of 187,000 Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club employees brought in Pennsylvania state court. The lawsuit alleged that employees were not provided rest breaks and were required to work “off the clock,” depriving them of overtime pay. The jury awarded $78.5 million in damages, and that figure may be dramatically increased because the jury also found that Wal-Mart acted in bad faith, opening the door to an additional $62 million in damages, according to plaintiffs’ lawyers. The jury agreed with defense attorneys that Wal-Mart had not forced employees to work through meal breaks. Several news sources have reported on the verdict, including Steven Greenhouse of the New York Times and James Covert of the Wall Street Journal.
The case follows a $172 million award in California class action against the nation’s largest retailer on behalf of 116,000 employees. That action, which alleged that Wal-Mart violated state law by failing to give employees 30-minute meal breaks, is presently on appeal. Wal-Mart also reportedly settled a Colorado class action for $50 million. Mr. Covert notes that at least seven other class actions are pending against Wal-Mart, including a federal sex-discrimination suit facing on behalf of 1.6 million female workers.
Steven Greenhouse’s article, entitled “Wal-Mart Told to Pay $78 Million,” may be found in Section C of the October 14, 2006 edition of the New York Times. James Covert’s article, entitled, “Wal-Mart Loses Pennsylvania Suit on Rest Breaks,” may be found on page A4 of the October 13, 2006 edition of the Wall Street Journal.


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In the past few years it’s become increasingly evident that while social media was a fantastic new way to get into the minds of people and understand what they thought in order to sell them things, you couldn’t just rely on the blathering of millions of people. You also had to literally ask them questions. At the darker end of the spectrum, this was used by the likes of Cambridge Analytica to first poll questions, then use the data to target audiences for dark political purposes. At the lighter end, it’s a method used every day by legitimate brands and ad agencies. But until now, most social listening agencies and most polling companies plowed different sectors of the tech industry. The news that a major social intelligence company is acquiring a research platform is an indication that these two worlds are about to come together.
Brandwatch, a leading social intelligence company, has acquired London-based SaaS research platform Qriously. Although terms have not been disclosed, the notion is clear: to fuse modern market research methods with social media listening and analytics. Qriously had previously raised $6.2 million while Brandwatch has raised $65 million from European VCs Nauta Capital, Highland Europe and Partech.
Brandwatch also needs the tools Qriously has in order to differentiate itself from the legacy social listening players, thus meaning its clients won’t have to go to both a market research firm and a social listening agency.
The acquisition marks a continuation of Brandwatch’s roll-up of services that add to its offering. The October 2018 merger between Brandwatch and Crimson Hexagon created a business with around $100 million in recurring annual revenues.
The Qriously acquisition will add first-party quantitative research to Brandwatch’s total pool of brand and consumer insight and enables its customers to proactively dig deeper into their online research by launching targeted surveys, with global reach and near-immediate results.
The innovation Qriously made was to turn mobile ad-networks into a distribution platform for polling and quizzes. This hadn’t previously been done extensively, and enabled it to, for example, predict the results of the last U.S. election.
Qriously has developed a next-generation technology to access, via mobile ad networks in particular, more than 2 billion devices all over the world in real time. Clients include Spotify, Coinbase and P&G.
“It’s not often you meet a group of people as fresh and innovative as the Qriously team who have built a deep, technically strong solution to a problem that is on your own roadmap,” said Giles Palmer, co-founder and CEO of Brandwatch. “We’ve never met such a team who saw the world the way we do and want to join up to create something really new, but that’s what happened with Qriously.”
“The future of market research is 100 percent combining different data types,” said Christopher Kahler, co-founder and CEO of Qriously. “Prompted survey and unprompted social data surface different types of insights, and looking at them together gives you a 360-degree picture.”


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Nasdaq has announced that it will be offering SMARTS Market Surveillance to Gemini, a New York-based cryptocurrency exchange, which will monitor its marketplace. Gemini will use the surveillance technology to immediately detect any price alterations or illegal activities.
According to the announcement, the technology will also allow Gemini to monitor throughout all of its trading pairs, such as Bitcoin/US dollar (BTC/USD), Ethereum/US dollar (ETH/USD) and Bitcoin/Ethereum (BTC/ETH). It will additionally be able to review processes across Gemini’s auction activity that is used to control the settlement price for Bitcoin contracts that trade on the Chicago Board Options Future Exchange (CBOE CFE).
Nasdaq, the world’s second-largest stock exchange, explains that this technology is used to surveil its own marketplaces for irregular activity, with functions of the system correlating past trading data with data as it takes place in order “to ensure early detection unusual trading patterns that could be potential breaches of exchange trading rules and practices.”
The New York-based exchange’s CEO Tyler Winklevoss is hopeful that this will help ensure that Gemini is offering a fair marketplace with regulations and rules keeping things above board in order to protect its users. He said that their “deployment of Nasdaq’s SMARTS Market Surveillance will help ensure that Gemini is a rules-based marketplace for all market participants”.
Winklevoss explained that “Gemini has aggressively pursued comprehensive compliance and surveillance programs, which we believe betters our exchange and the cryptocurrency industry as a whole”.
Valerie Bannert-Thurner, Senior Vice President and Head of Risk & Surveillance Solutions of Nasdaq, expressed the association is exciting for Nasdaq because “Gemini has been a leading voice in advocating for stronger transparency and thoughtful regulation of the cryptocurrency markets” and this is pertinent to Nasdaq because of the “views [they] deeply share”.
She continued to say that this will mark a milestone for SMARTS and emphasizes indication of the company’s commitment to increase the use of our market technology into non-traditional marketplaces.


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Yumbe Mango Processing Factory to be commissioned in December 2020
Government through the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) has established a 6 metric ton per hour factory in Yumbe district in West Nile.
The factory is a value addition initiative by Government to increase sustainable production, productivity and value addition in key growth opportunities. Government has so far injected shs.8.9 billion to establish and operationalize a fully equipped mango processing facility.
On Monday 6th July 2020, NAADS together with partners in the establishment of the factory including Uganda Development Corporation, Food and Nutrition Solutions Ltd (FONUS), Yumbe District Local Government and Aringa Fruit Farmers’ Cooperative Society ltd carried out a technical test of the processing equipment in preparation for the official commissioning in December 2020.
During the technical testing, the Executive Director of NAADS Dr. Samuel Mugasi appealed to the people of West Nile to ensure sustainable and continuous production and supply of quality mangoes to the factory at equitable prices.
Dr. Mugasi said the construction works are over 90 percent of the project with equipment fully installed. The remaining works include tiling, construction of the fence and compound. The factory is expected to be commissioned in December 2020.
The factory is designed based on the local mangoes grown in the West Nile region. It will be a ready market for the farmers with some companies already making offers to buy mango pulp that will be produced by the factory.
Government has so far invested shillings 8.9 billion to establish the factory.


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a mobility start-up focused on car after-sales services has launched India’s
first dedicated LMP (Learning Management Platform) to up skill auto mechanics
and technicians. The brand has launched the platform in partnership with
objective of the platform is to up skill semi-skilled and skilled mechanics
across the country by providing access to information on the different vehicles
maintenance & servicing techniques, and challenges associated with the
the training material will be available in 2 formats-- photo with text and
video for every make and model of the cars. The brand has kept the access to
the LMP free of cost in its initial phase. The service is currently available
in English, Hindi and Kannada languages. As the portfolio and traction grow it
will be available in more languages.
has approximately more than 5 million semi-skilled and skilled technicians
spread across 718 districts. Most of them deal with the day to day challenges
of not having the proper/adequate knowledge and standard operating procedure to
deal with different set of cars.
AI and ML-enabled platform will allow a technician to view videos / text
visuals of even the latest make and models services right from the engine,
suspension, clutch to breaks works all mechanical and electrical works can be
viewed by the technicians, and they can even make money by uploading similar
videos that might guide others from the peer.
the LMP launch Mridu Mahendra Das, Co-Founder & CEO, Automovill said “In a
country like India we have about 20+ OEM’s in the current scenario. For Every 3
to 6 months these OEMs are launching new vehicles that would have different
functioning. However, against the pace of launch, there are about 5 million
technicians those are yet not trained for the new models. The gap in terms of
training and servicing knowledge is evident.”
LMP has been launched to fill in this gap only. We will keep inviting it with
latest AI,ML and AR technology to add more and more tools to up skill
automotive mechanics and technicians
community. By end of 2023 Automovill wants to up skill about 5 million
plus semi skilled and skilled technicians across the country with presence over
100+ cities and will be available in all major Indian languages,” he added.
are really excited that the Auto technician across the country will be
benefited through this platform and our partnership with Automovill. We look
forward to bring such more disruption in future,” said Vimal Kanth Tummala, Co-Founder,
brand has already provided a strong content portfolio with 2000+ videos now
available on the platform.
To celebrate the McLaren and Bowers & Wilkins partnership and the high-performance hybrid McLaren Artura supercar in which the two companies’ award-winning collaboration features, Bowers & Wilkins has...
Marelli, one of the world’s leading global independent suppliers to the automotive sector, will showcase its latest innovations at CES 2023 in Las Vegas, NV, from January 5-7, 2023, at the Wynn Hotel....
India Kawasaki Motors Pvt. Ltd. (IKM) has launched a new flagship engine oil product, Kawasaki Genuine Ultra-Premium 10W-40 Oil, for Kawasaki’s motorcycles, developed by Petronas Lubricants. The price...


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Jun 1, 2015
For London's fashion start-ups, it's being social that counts
Jun 1, 2015
When Chris Morton was setting up a fashion e-commerce company five years ago, he spent a lot of time listening to online music service Spotify.
He realized the web player was doing something fashion sites were not; it was curating playlists of tracks, from obscure and mainstream labels, tailored to his tastes.
This idea led to the creation of Lyst, a website that enables its community to shop from an inventory of millions of items, follow designers and create personalized lists of brands to buy from. It already has 3 million users a month, and Morton aims to grow to around 20 million in the next five years.
"These are a little bit like fashion mix tapes," he said. "They are collections of items curated by our brands or partners that are great ways to discover."
While Spotify was an inspiration for Morton, other London-based online retail entrepreneurs, like Farfetch founder and CEO José Neves, are using tricks learned from social media to create fashion communities that together discover, share and, most importantly, buy.
The web-based fashion and footwear market in Britain was worth $13.2 billion in 2014, according to business research firm Euromonitor International. It predicts that the sector will grow to $16.7 billion by 2019, while sales at traditional stores are forecast to slip slightly over the same period.
Established high street names like Next are already strong in online, as are e-commerce specialists like ASOS, but venture capital funding is backing newer models.
"The UK has produced some of the most successful fashion tech companies," said Camilla Dolan, Investment Manager at MMC Ventures, which has more than 125 million pounds ($192 million) under management, including at sustainable fashion company Wool and the Gang.
"We are seeing more innovation in London than most markets from a fashion perspective. We think London is stronger and think it will continue to be stronger," she added.
Balderton Capital, one of Europe's biggest tech venture capital firms with around $2.3 billion of assets under management, has also identified fashion technology as a growth area. Its fashion investments include Lyst and mobile, social and fashion-focused Depop.
Sam Myers, an associate at Balderton Capital, said that while the first generation of e-commerce sites focused on getting the logistics right, newer models were delivering on the whole experience.
"We now see companies like Lyst, for example, that are focusing exclusively on the consumer pathway. So how do we make sure that discovery is perfect for the individual, how do we make sure that they can gather the items that they want to purchase in the future and then actually have a universal checkout at the end?"
COMMUNITIES INTO CUSTOMERS
The most successful start-ups use social media networks, particularly image-based Instagram, which has some 300 million active users, to create communities who share like-minded interests, and can be converted into customers.
"Instagram first and foremost is a community," said Mark D'Arcy, chief creative officer for Facebook and Instagram, adding that many people follow others on the site who they do not know, but who they admire or who they share a passion with.
"That's an extraordinary opportunity for a brand to get an open invitation to contribute to that."
Wool and the Gang, which was set up in 2008 and has tapped into the growing popularity of knitting as people seek fashion with a traditional feel, has a big presence on Instagram.
Co-founder Jade Harwood said that photos of some 63 percent of all orders will end up posted online.
"With social media, I think it gives you the power to create your own story. You are not at the mercy of (fashion) editors and so I think that's amazing."
Euromonitor has started to look at a new category s-commerce, where 's' stands for social, as an innovative part of the retail landscape.
Farfetch, which was founded in 2008 and has an annual revenue growth rate of around 90 percent, works by allowing fashion boutiques to personalize their offerings online through individual "shop fronts".
"If you look at all the innovations in fashion e-commerce you'll find many came from Europe; it's in our DNA," said Farfetch's Neves, who, like Morton, operates his business from Shoreditch -- a trendy hipster enclave in London's east end.
"Shoreditch has a really healthy tech landscape which gets funding and has talent," he said.
Germany's Rocket Internet, which has invested in more than 100 e-commerce start-ups, has recently consolidated its fashion start-ups active across dozens of emerging markets into a single unified company, Global Fashion Group.
It is locating the group headquarters in London, from where it runs corporate functions and recruiting.
But it's not just start-ups who want a piece of the social commerce action.
Long-established online luxury retailer Net-a-Porter has launched a social networking app which allows users to upload photos, follow friends and style influencers, and buy items with a single click.
"Why wouldn't you harness the power of people's influence and let them shop alongside each other and bring that pastime into the digital world?" said Alexandra Hoffnung, creative director of social commerce at the London-based firm.
$1 = £0.66
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