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(Adds Ford comment)
JOHANNESBURG, March 2 (Reuters) - South Africa’s National Consumer Commission (NCC) said it has launched a probe into the local unit of U.S. automaker Ford over the recall of 4,500 Kuga SUVs after dozens of reports of the vehicles catching fire spontaneously.
Ford’s Southern Africa President and chief executive Jeff Nemeth in January said the company could confirm 39 incidents of the cars catching fire, as well as one death, which Nemeth said was not directly linked to the defect.
Ford’s South African unit said the company, a unit of the U.S. auto-maker Ford, would cooperate with the probe.
“The National Consumer Commission says that it has instituted an investigation into the activities of Ford Motor Company Southern Africa and its dealerships, for alleged prohibited conduct,” the commission said in a statement seen on its website on Thursday.
“The NCC received more than 130 complaints against Ford SA relating to various issues, including the combusting of Kuga vehicles, since December last year,” it said.
A spokeswoman for Ford’s Southern Africa unit, Rella Bernardes said the firm had followed safety guidelines.
“We have received the notice from the NCC and will continue to fully cooperate with them on all fronts. At all times, we operate in line with the Safety Recall Guidelines in terms of the Consumer Protection Act, 2008,” she said in a statement. (Reporting by Ed Stoddard and TJ Strydom; Editing by James Macharia)


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NORMAN — When Oklahoma and Texas take the field every October, the result is usually a fat payday for Web sites that charge more than face value for admission to the rivalry game. But a big "2” in the Sooners’ loss column has made that payday a bit more slender this season.
Texas-Oklahoma tickets are one of the premier tickets of the scalper’s season. But after OU lost to Miami, ticket supply on the ticket search engine FanSnap.com went up from 5,800 listings to 7,100 listings in just days. As a result, the average price dropped. In late September, a ticket to the annual Big 12 South matchup cost an average of $530. Monday morning, the mean was $375. "Oklahoma’s two losses are making it a bit easier to get in this year,” Nichole Rozendaal said in an e-mail. Rozendaal works for FanSnap.com, which collects ticket information from over 50 local and national online brokers. Five days before the game, there are still 5,000 tickets available online, with the lowest-priced tickets at around $175. Texas fan Sam Melendrez wants one of those tickets, but posted an ad on Craigslist, the online classifieds Web site, in hopes of seeing a fourth Longhorn win in five seasons at the Texas State Fair.
MORE FROM NEWSOK
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domain: news


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Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s, in partnership with research agency Mintel Consulting, has launched ‘a modern day census’ into the nation’s kitchen habits.
The ‘Kitchen Dynamics’ study quizzed more than 2,500 families over three months on everything from the weekly family grocery shop to how they behaved in the kitchen on a daily basis.
Key findings include the news that Sunday lunch is now a Sunday evening feast, with half of the families dishing up between 4.30pm and 7.30pm; while the average family eats at 5.54pm during the week. Some 84% of families find time to sit down together at least twice a week, with 46% choosing to serve dinner in a dining room, separate from the kitchen.
And it seems that women are still kitchen chiefs. Despite the perception of men increasingly sharing domestic duties, the report shows that women still have overall responsibility for all things kitchen-related with 86% of women saying that they do the cooking most of the time.
The family kitchen budget is also controlled by women, with 74% saying they are the most economical with the grocery finances. When handed the shopping bags, men spend an extra £235 on groceries each year, which could be attributed to the fact that just 31% of men plan the meals they cook in advance, compared with 66% of women.
Susi Richards, Head of Food at Sainsbury’s, said: “‘Kitchen Dynamics’ offers a ‘fly on the wall’ snapshot of how the average British family behaves in the comfort of their own kitchen.
“Despite the downturn, reassuringly we are still seeing a real emphasis on the importance of eating together and the presence of routine as a way of coping with the pressures of the busy family week.
“The shifting backwards of the Sunday lunch to early evening is a clear example of families ring-fencing meal time but adapting tradition to suit the modern day demands of a hectic family schedule.”


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PRESS RELEASE. Changpeng Zhao (CZ) sent shockwaves across the crypto industry in September by announcing a $100 million investment fund devoted to projects building on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC). Now, Jointer.io, the world’s first commercial real estate-backed DeFi auction, is matching CZ’s offer dollar-for-dollar in an effort to bring mass adoption to Binance Smart Chain.
Beginning on Monday, Jointer.io will be offering a $100 million early adopter fund to encourage Ethereum users to try out the BEP20 standard on BSC. To participate in the fund, users must visit the ‘Welcome to BSC’ page and simply send from the Ethereum network $1 worth of ETH to receive $100 worth of JNTR BEP20 tokens on the Binance Smart Chain. In order to receive the BEP20 tokens, users must become new adopters by adding the BSC network to their MetaMask wallet.
The early adopter fund will be open to the first one million new accounts to join BSC. In exchange, $100 worth of JNTR will be deposited into each wallet.
Since Sept. 27, JNTR BEP20 tokens have been available for purchase via a DeFi public auction through the Binance Smart Chain. The daily auction’s soft launch has already seen the JNTR token appreciate from $0.01 to $0.45. That means a $100 investment on day one has turned into $4,500 in roughly one month.
“CZ is clearly positioning Binance Smart Chain as the future hub for DeFi and non-custodial trading,” says Yoda (Jude) Regev, Jointer.io founder and CEO. “At Jointer, we selected BSC as the exclusive payment method to facilitate the trade of Jointer stocks. Just as CZ is inviting ecosystem developers to the Binance Smart Chain, Jointer is welcoming users to try out the speed and low gas cost of BSC and to see the benefits of JNTR. And we will give away $100 million to demonstrate its utility.”
Jointer has already created a slippage-free, cross-chain operation with its JNTR bridge tokens between the Ethereum ERC20 standard and the Binance Smart Chain BEP20 standard. Through Jointer SpartSwap, users can swap an ERC20 token from Ethereum to BSC through JNTR/e or JNTR/b. This one-to-one swap can be done instantly with one click and zero fees on top of gas.
Binance Smart Chain launched Sept. 1 as a layer two scalability solution in an effort to bridge centralized exchanges with DeFi. Building on Binance Smart Chain will allow ecosystem developers to benefit from Binance’s massive user base and launch smart contracts at a fraction of Ethereum’s cost.
CZ’s $100 million investment fund is primarily geared towards early-stage startups, with additional funding possibly earmarked for existing investment channels. A portion of the funds will also be used to boost liquidity for early-stage projects that meet Binance’s compliance framework.
Jointer.io is also aiming to boost the adoption of Binance Smart Chain but at the individual user level while also encouraging long-term holding. By welcoming new adaptors to BSC, users will be able to benefit from Jointer’s syndication economy through the ever-appreciating JNTR token.
This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release.
The post Jointer.io Matches Binance & CZ’s $100 Million Challenge With Early Adopter Fund appeared first on Bitcoin News.


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WCCO employees, friends and family all suited up and had their chance to shine during the Holidazzle Parade on Nicollet Mall Thursday night.
Winter has arrived. The metro is dealing with a one-two punch of chilly winds and a dusting of snow.
See all of WCCO’s coverage of Target’s 21st Holidazzle Parade!
For some, holiday travel can be time consuming and stressful. With a bit of planning, however, many travel headaches can be avoided entirely.
The last Holidazzle parade of the season was particularly memorable for one Minneapolis couple.
Many stores are moving away from traditional holiday lights and selling LED lights which are considered “greener.” That got us wondering, what do LEDs really save us?
Saturday’s snow became a glittering backdrop as Matt Echols asked his girlfriend, Kathryn Morris, an important question at the Holidazzle Parade.
See all of WCCO’s coverage of Target’s twentieth Holidazzle Parade.
The Target Holidazzle kicks off its 20th season of parades through downtown Minneapolis Friday night.
Thursday is the one night of the year where you can drive through the center of Downtown Minneapolis and not get a ticket.
Don’t be left in the cold — Hot Seats already are on sale for this year’s Target Holidazzle Parade in downtown Minneapolis.
Every year a parade of colorful displays, lights, costumes, music and dancing celebrates the holidays on its path down Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis. For the first time since the tradition began in 1992, the 19th parade opened with a fireworks display.
Holidazzle crowds came to experience old and new traditions in the 19th year of the Holidazzle parade.
For the first time, fireworks will kick off opening night of the annual Holidazzle parades in downtown Minneapolis.
Friday, November 26 Sponsor: Target Grand Marshal: Bullseye Choir: Target Spots Marching Band: Minnesota Freedom Band Saturday, November 27 Sponsor: Memorex Grand Marshal: Anthony Fedorov, American Idol Season 4 Finalist & Joseph, Joseph and the […]


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UK now in recession
The UK is officially in a recession, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics.
According to the official figures, the UK’s economy shrank by 1.5% in the
last three months of 2008, following a 0.6% contraction in the previous quarter. A recession is defined of two consecutive quarters (or six months) of negative growth.
Bearish forecasting group Capital Economics says the bigger than expected 1.5% contraction was the sharpest quarterly contraction since 1980. It was also significantly larger than any quarterly fall seen in the 1990s recession, according to the Centre for Economic Business Research (cebr).
Charles Davis, economist at the cebr, says the size of the contraction is more of a concern than the fact the UK is in a recession. He warns that the UK economy is set for the steepest contraction in the post war era in 2009, with a fall in the region of 3% year-on-year.
The news that the UK is in recession is hardly a bolt out of the blue, with most economists predicting the economy would contract during last three months of 2008. But the question on everybody's lips now is how long the recession will last and just how bad it will get.
How bad is it?
Other figures out this week revealed that the number of people out of work rose by 131,000 between September and November last year to hit 1.92 million - the highest level of unemployment since August 1997.
The number claiming unemployment benefit now stands at 1.157 million – the highest since 2000 – and experts predict this will surpass two million in the latter half of 2009 as companies cut costs as demand falls.
Figures from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) released yesterday show that UK manufacturers are struggling to cope with a weak pound and falling demand, with production output falling to its lowest level since 1991. Car manufacturers have been amongst the hardest hit, with 90% not working at full capacity.
Ian McCafferty, the CBI’s chief economic adviser, said that manufacturers are planning to cut even more jobs this year, with an estimated 60,000 to go by April. This would take the total number of manufacturing jobs lost in the sector since October last year to 108,000.
“Sentiment and the outlook for the next three months are also very negative,” he said. “Most firms expect conditions to get even worse, with further falls in orders expected, leading to more job cuts. Companies unsurprisingly plan to cut back investment sharply over the next year.”
However, there are a few signs of respite for consumers. The cost of living continues to fall and, although inflation is still above target, cheaper petrol prices and discounts in the shops are likely to bring it down further.
Plus, British Gas has announced it is cutting energy bills by 10%, the first reduction since 2007. The move is expected to encourage the other big suppliers to cut energy costs.
And at the start of this week, the government announced a package of initiatives designed to get banks lending to consumers and businesses again. Commentators are cautiously optimistic that the measures will re-start the mortgage market and soften the blow of the recession.
However, equally, there are concerns that banks will restrict lending even further as a recession is traditionally a time to 'batten down the hatches'.
How long will it last?
Prime minister Gordon Brown told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the government would "fight the recession with every weapon at it’s disposal" - but added that it’s length would all depend on international co-operation.
"The way to deal with it is common action,” he said. “[We need to] get America, Europe and other countries working in harmony and in tandem, it's something that is happening in every country and continent in the world, and it is spreading to the emerging markets and the developing countries.”
Brown did not give an answer as to how long he thought the recession would last.
Elsewhere, economic experts are equally reticent to give as estimate as to when the recession will be over.
Andrew Smith, chief economist at KPMG, paints an ominous picture for the year ahead: “Retail sales were extremely weak in December, unemployment is accelerating sharply and, with no sign that the housing market is anywhere near stabilising, it is difficult to see why things should improve in the foreseeable future.”
Hann-Ju Ho, s senior economist at Lloyds TSB, agrees. “We are certainly in the eye of the storm at the moment and all leading indicators suggest that there will be a further contraction in the first three months of this year. As such the UK’s economy will post a negative growth for most of 2009.”
The time it takes for the UK to exit the recession will all depend on the effectiveness of the recent bail-out of the banks by the government, says Ho. “I expect the pace of the contraction to start to slow in the second half of the year, but the measures put in place by the government could lead to a modest recovery by early next year,” he explains.
However, Vicky Redwood, a UK economist at Capital Economics, sees an end in sight - unfortunately, it is a while off: “This recession will last until at least the end of 2010, when we expect unemployment to have hit at least 3.5 million. If the government wants to see a recovery sooner it needs to take even bolder action and force the banks to start lending.”
A homeowner’s worst nightmare; repossession is an action of last resort by mortgage lenders to recover money from borrowers that have failed to keep up with repayments on their mortgage or other loan secured on their home (see secured loan). Repossession is a legal procedure that has to go through several processes before the homeowner is evicted and the property reposed. These are: if a borrower keeps defaulting; the lender applies for a solicitor’s notice; the lender instigates possession proceedings through the court; at the court hearing a possession order is granted and sometimes a possession warrant; a bailiff is appointed and an eviction notice issued at which point the homeowner has two to three weeks to vacate the property.
An increase in the general level of prices that persists over a period of time. The inflation rate is a measure of the average change over a period, usually 12 months. If inflation is up 4%, this means the price of products and services is 4% higher than a year earlier, requiring we spend and extra 4% to buy the same things we bought 12 months ago and that any savings and investments must generate 4% (after any taxes) to keep pace with inflation. Since 2003, the Bank of England has used the consumer prices index (CPI) as its official measure of inflation (see also retail prices index).
Generic, loosely-defined term for markets in a newly industrialised or Third World country that is in the process of moving from a closed economy to an open market economy while building accountability within the system. The World Bank recognises 28 countries as emerging markets, including Argentina, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Egypt, India, Israel, Morocco, Russia and Venezuela. Because these countries carry additional political, economic and currency risks, investors in emerging markets should accept volatile returns. There is potential to make large profit at the risk of large losses.
Confederation of British Industry
The CBI promotes the interests of its members, some 200,000 British businesses, a figure that includes 80% of FTSE 100 companies and around 50% of FTSE 350 companies. Formed in 1965, it’s the lobbying organisation for UK business on national and international issues and seeks to influence the UK government to help businesses compete effectively.


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Let's forget for a minute about the growing Google scandal.
Let's forget the kickback scandal unearthed by the ANA.
Instead, let's go back to first principles and focus on the nature of online advertising, and why - at its core - it has become a corrupt and dangerous thing.
It all started with a big fantasy. The fantasy was this -- people would want to interact with online advertising.
We were told that online advertising would be far more effective than traditional advertising because it would be interactive. This fantasy lived for a few years until reliable data arrived and it became clear that consumers had virtually no interest in interacting with online advertising. In fact, click rates (the only possible way to interact with online advertising) were so low, platforms like Facebook refused to divulge them.
There are two ways online publishers make money - traffic and clicks. In light of the indifference consumers were demonstrating toward display advertising, publishers needed to find a way to generate traffic and/or clicks to attract advertisers and make money.
A crisis was averted when they hit on a solution: Disguise advertising as something else.
When you see a TV commercial, a billboard or a magazine ad, there is no question what it is. It is an attempt to sell you something. These ads may be annoying, stupid, or tiresome but there is no doubt about the nature of what they are or what their motives are. They are ads and they want to sell you something.
Online advertising is different. It has become devious, non-transparent, and unscrupulous. It is intentionally confusing and its motives are often unclear. It does everything possible to hide its real intent.
Yahoo is in the top 5 websites in the U.S. by visitor count. Here is a a screen grab from this morning's (as I write this) front page news feed.
Yahoo also deceives us about the security of our personal information. According to Yahoo...
“...we have a deep understanding of the threats facing our users and continuously strive to stay ahead of these threats to keep our users and our platforms secure...”
But according to The New York Times, in 2014 Yahoo's chief of security recommended some changes that would make their platform a lot more secure by employing "end-to-end" encryption.
This initiative was thwarted by the person who runs their email and messaging services because "...it would have hurt Yahoo’s ability to index and search message data..." That means simply this -- they wouldn't be able to read our email and target us with advertising accordingly.
The result? Last year Yahoo announced that half a billion accounts had been hacked.
Google earns its money by misdirection. When you search for "Gloves" as I did here, you get an ad disguised as a search result.
Unless you happen to notice the word "sponsored" in the upper right corner, and happen to know that by "sponsored" Google actually means "this is an ad" you would believe you're getting a search result.
Google has made a minimal effort to identify ads (as is required by regulation) including a little yellow "ad" badge on most paid ads. However, the overall look and feel of the ads is so similar to search results that half the people can't distinguish between a paid ad and a legitimate search result. There is only one possible explanation for this - Google is intentionally blurring the lines.
This is not the only way Google strives to deceive. According to The Wall Street Journal, the Federal Trade Commission has reported "... Google Inc. manipulated search results to favor its own services over rivals’, even when they weren’t most relevant for users...the FTC’s bureau of competition found evidence that Google boosted its own services for shopping, travel and local businesses by altering its ranking criteria and “scraping” content from other sites. It also deliberately demoted rivals."
The Wall Street Journal also recently reported that "ads for products sold by Google and its sister companies appeared in the most prominent spot in 91% of 25,000 recent searches related to such items."
Facebook uses the names of its users to create phony testimonial ads which falsely imply that your friends and family are endorsing the brands in question. This practice amounts to hijacking user identities and disguising them as product endorsements. The ad below appeared in my Facebook feed today.
I have contacted both Nathan Krinsky and Susan Tillem, the people referenced in the ad, and have confirmed that neither of them knew they were being used in this way.
When Mr. Krinsky was questioned about this his response was, "how did they get my name?" He said he had no awareness of their using his name, he did not give permission nor did he "like" the advertiser.
Actually, he did give permission but didn't know it. The permission for them to engage in this deceptive practice is buried deep in the agreement he signed when he opened a Facebook account.
There is only one explanation for this -- Facebook is intentionally exploiting a legal loophole to deceive us into thinking our friends are endorsing products which they are not endorsing.
Many of the ads in my current Facebook feed are identified as "suggested posts." I wonder what language it is in which "suggested post" means "ad?" As usual, they are doing their best to confuse what is an ad and what is not.
Social Media is a gross abuser of reasonable advertising standards. The most dangerous outcome of this has been the perversion of the news industry.
First is fake news. The ability of fake news to make money for its creators is enabled by adtech (the automated buying and selling of advertising space.) In very simple terms, a fake news story runs on a social media platform, attracts traffic and clicks, which signals programmatic (automated) systems to buy advertising on the site. Below is an egregious example of a "successful" fake news story.
A second corruption of journalism is the ascendancy of clickbait. Since online publishers only make money from clicks and traffic, the use of clickbait tactics to attract traffic has become more economically rewarding than good journalism.
In the current model, good journalism can actually have a negative economic effect. The valuable people you attract through good journalism are tracked and re-targeted to at a lower cost site. Or your story is hijacked, aggregated and republished somewhere else. You'll never believe what happens next!
Third is the development and acceptance of "native advertising" as a legitimate form of journalistic activity. Despite its euphemistically lovely name, native advertising is nothing but advertising disguised as news.
Legitimate news organizations, desperate to make money at all costs, have been seduced into producing and running thinly disguised advertising pieces masquerading as news. The rot has gotten so deep that some once-reputable news organizations have actually set up studios for the creation of this crap, and are going so far as to oversee its wide dissemination on social media channels on behalf of its clients.
It's hard to overestimate the damage that online advertising has had on the credibility of our news media. The fact that we have a populace that no longer knows what to believe from a media industry they once trusted, is not an accident.
Advertising and marketing people are generally good, hard-working people with worthwhile motives. We want to help our clients and we don't want to damage people or society. But we have been sleepwalking on a slippery slope of deviousness and deceit that has been advanced by a tech culture which has embraced - let's not kid ourselves - an ethos of malleable ethics.
There is decay, corruption and deceit now sitting at the heart of online advertising.


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Vudu, the digital movie and TV rental unit of Walmart, is being acquired by NBCUniversal’s Fandango division. The news was confirmed in a blog post on Vudu’s website. Comcast and NBCU had been reported to be in talks earlier this year to acquire Vudu, a deal that gives the company another streaming outlet as it integrates Xumo and also rolls out Peacock, which just went live for Comcast subscribers.
Fandango announced Wednesday morning that it’s launching its first-ever VOD service FandangoNOW on March 30. Earlier this year, Fandango acquired the M-GO digital video distribution platform and will re-brand that as FandangoNOW. The new service will launch across the Web, iOS, Android and Roku devices as well as on Smart TVs from Samsung, LG and Vizio.


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Facebook’s iOS application is under fire again. This time their fault is that the camera activates in the background of the application without informing the user. However, Facebook says that this is just a bug and will be fixed in no time.
A few instances of the application opening the camera have taken place. One user claims that the camera UI for Facebook stories appeared behind a video when they changed the orientation from portrait to landscape. When the phone orientation was flipped back, the Stories camera opened up.
It has also been reported that when a photograph is being viewed on the app, dragging it down will reveal an active camera on the left of the screen. Web designer Joshua Maddux saif that he saw this occurrence over five different iPhones which ran on the iOS 13.2.2 but it was not available on the iOS 12.
Facebook said that the bug was introduced on the app when an update was released on the 8th of November and the fix is being sent to Apple as soon as possible. They have also said that photos from this bug are not being uploaded onto any server yet.
Regardless of the issues and their fixes, an unexpected camera app viewfinder is not the best thing for people. The myth that Facebook is listening to our conversations is already so prevalent that these issues are coming to the forefront. A hidden camera viewfinder accidentally being released into an app does seem to corroborate the fact that Facebook may be spying on its users and all their activities. For all our readers who are worried about their privacy, you can simply revoke the camera access to Facebook through your application settings option and disallow Facebook from using the camera at all.


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The 2022 Kawasaki Ninja 300 has been launched in India, after much anticipation, from Rs 3.37 lakh (ex-showroom).
The 2022 Kawasaki Ninja 300 comes with revised colour schemes, new graphics and a minor hike in price. Last year, Kawasaki had introduced the 2021 model of the Ninja 300 at Rs. 3.18 lakh (ex-showroom) and, now, the updated Kawasaki Ninja 300 comes at a price tag of Rs 3.37 lakh (ex-showroom).
The bike still does not get any mechanical updates and remains powered by the familiar 296-cc, liquid-cooled, parallel-twin engine that puts out 39 hp at 11,000 rpm and 26.1 Nm at 10,000 rpm. Kawasaki have started accepting bookings for the bike on their official website as well as at their authorised dealerships across India. Deliveries are expected to begin in a few weeks.
What would you like to see updated on the Ninja 300?
Story: Alshin Thomas
Also read: KTM 390 Adventure Launched at Rs 3.35 lakh


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Nestle India makes Nescafe ready to drink
- Donald Trump pressures US senators to back Republican healthcare bill
- India to send 700 tonnes of relief material for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
- Sushma Swaraj slams Pakistan at UNGA, asks its leaders to introspect
- Mexico jittery after new earthquake of 6.1 magnitude
- Sushma Swaraj calls for early start of negotiations for UNSC reforms
New Delhi: Nestle India Ltd, the local arm of Swiss packaged food company Nestle SA., on Tuesday said it has launched ready-to-drink variants of its popular coffee brand Nescafe. Nestle has already started selling the ready-to-drink coffee for Rs30 a pack of 180ml across retail outlets and through e-commerce channel.
Extension of Nescafe is part of the company’s plan to expand its product offering across dairy, chocolate and confectionery categories in a bid to reduce dependence on Maggi instant noodles that accounted for 30% of the company’s revenue in 2014.
The company has launched Nescafe ready-to-drink in three flavours–chilled latte, hazelnut and intense café.
Nescafe “has always been at the forefront of coffee innovation. We continue our journey as pioneers by customizing not just the taste, but also the mode of consumption to deliver ‘Anytime Coffee’ for today’s active lifestyle,” Arvind Bhandari, general manager (dairy), Nestlé India, said in a statement.


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How’s this for an October surprise? Despite a significant rise in COVID-19 cases in many parts of the country, it appears that more people are flying on commercial jetliners than at any time over the last seven months.
More than one million people were screened by the Transportation Security Administration at airport security checkpoints Sunday. It’s the first time the TSA’s daily traveler count has topped the one million mark since March 16.
And this wasn’t just a one-day surge in air travel. The TSA’s daily throughput figure has topped 900,000 eight times already this month, and the TSA reports that the 6.1 million people passing through U.S. airport checkpoints between Oct. 12 and Oct. 18 was the greatest weekly traveler volume measured since the start of the pandemic.
But experts say there is a lot of pent-up demand for air travel and it’s important to note that despite the modest increase, the number of people flying is still down more than 60% from the 2.6 million who flew on the same October Sunday last year.
Still, it’s a bit of good news at a time the nation’s airlines are burning through tens of millions of dollars a day and reporting huge financial losses due to the coronavirus pandemic. Delta and United both reported last week that they lost billions in the third quarter, as fewer people than expected dared to get onto airplanes in July, August and September. American and Southwest report their third-quarter results later this week, but are also expected to show billions in losses after many would be passengers canceled summer travel plans or drove to their destinations instead of flying.
The industry group Airlines for America says airlines are in desperate need for additional federal coronavirus relief, as they are collectively losing $5 billion a month.
Last year and into January and February of this year, airlines were setting passenger volume records. The TSA reported screening between 2.5 and 2.7 million people on the busiest travel days, which are usually Fridays and Sundays. But as the coronavirus outbreak spiked last March, companies halted business travel and millions canceled vacations and weekend getaways.
By mid-April, the number of travelers passing through security checkpoints plummeted to under 100,000, a decline of 96%. Other than the days after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the group Airlines for America says there hadn’t been that few people flying since the dawn of the jet airplane age in the 1950s.
There were short-lived upticks in air travel demand in early summer, especially around the Memorial Day and Fourth of July holiday weekends. But the number of COVID-19 cases spiked after each holiday, especially in parts of the country that rushed to reopen bars, restaurants and other gathering places. Lingering concerns about spreading the viral illness dampened demand for air travel during the later summer months.
As welcome as this month’s surprising rise in air travel is, there is still a lot of uncertainty over whether the trend will continue, especially heading into the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season, which is usually a busy air travel period.
Most airlines have significantly reduced their schedules as demand remains weak, and some have suspended service to smaller cities. In late September, bookings for travel in November were just a fraction of last year’s level, according to the airline data firm OAG.
And with what appears to be a new wave of COVID-19 cases surging, especially in the Midwest, several states are setting records for the daily number of infections being reported. Public health officials in many states are urging residents to stay home to celebrate the holidays in small family groups.
“COVID-19 has changed the way we work, live, and play, and will now change how we plan to celebrate the holidays,” said Illinois Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike, who added that “the safest way to celebrate is with members of your household and connecting with others virtually.”
How Canadian Retailers Are Handling The COVID-19 Lockdown
The COVID-19 lockdown has impacted businesses in different industries of different sizes. Even big corporations are suffering as a result of the quarantine while smaller businesses start closing completely. For example, comics shop owners in the United States are having a hard time right now and some have announced that they will not reopen after the quarantine ends.
Thankfully, there are many people helping each other, especially those living in the same community or those working in the same niche. Here’s how Canadian retailers are handling the COVID-19 lockdown.
How Has the Lockdown Affected Businesses?
Most businesses are divided in their positions during the lockdown. The problem is that some businesses are allowed to operate still because they either sell essential products or provide essential services. On the other hand, there are businesses that are forced to shut down completely during the lockdown simply because they are not essential.
What this means is that the workers from the first group of businesses risk their lives more by going to work while the workers from the second group of businesses can’t earn anything while they sit at home. And still, there are different circumstances even within these two major groups.
For example, the first group has some businesses asking their workers to stay at home and work from there. Some even start hiring freelance or remote workers to replace their main body of employees. Writing services review site like Pick The Writer is one of the most popular places to find freelance writers while other platforms can assist with finding other specialists like designers, consultants, and so on.
The issue with this is that some of the businesses replacing their employees, for the time being, can potentially fire their permanent workers which are not very good for these very workers. It is important to be mindful of your team’s well-being, and experienced business owners know this and make sure to look after their employees.
The second group of businesses has some challenges too. There are some businesses within this group that pay their workers even while they sit at home (either for sitting at home and working or for solely sitting at home), but there are also businesses who don’t pay their workers which is even a greater problem.
The thing is that not everyone is prepared for such long periods without receiving a salary. Those who are used to being paid on a monthly basis for their work don’t always set aside money just in case something happens. This is exactly why it is vital to keep in mind that not all of your employees will be able to “survive” the lockdown. Many decide to take out loans or borrow money, but if the quarantine is prolonged further, these might not be enough.
That being said, some employees who are forced to sit at home without work and without being paid are starting to look for other jobs they can work on remotely. This can result in an effect similar to the one where businesses fire their regular workers in favor of freelance workers. If the employees suddenly realize that they prefer freelance work, they can quit their jobs leaving the business with a new problem of finding employees after the lockdown ends
How Can You Improve Your Strategy During the Lockdown?
So, how can you improve your business strategy during the lockdown? Here are some practices Canadian retailers have been using to handle the COVID-19 lockdown:
- Streamline Processes: One of the best things to do when you have so much more free time is to analyze how well your business is working and think about which things can and should be improved. By streamlining processes, you will be able to significantly increase your revenue, reduce expenses, and so on.
- Reduce Costs: Actually, reducing costs does not necessarily mean that you will first need to streamline your processes. You will need to examine your expenses and decide what things take too much from your budget and whether or not these costs can be reduced in some way. If this is possible, then definitely go for it.
- Take a Break: It’s true that for a business to function properly, you need to keep it working and continue moving forward. However, the lockdown provides you with a unique opportunity to finally take a break. This is especially useful for small business owners who are either the only employee or have one or two employees besides themselves. You can’t open it right now, so sit back and relax at home. You won’t have a vacation like this anytime soon.
- Support Customers: During the lockdown, most business owners tend to think about their businesses first which are completely natural. However, you need to understand that your customers also need support, especially if you sell products that are essential for them. Provide them with discounts and gifts, offer delivery options, and so on.
- Evaluate Prices: Evaluating your prices is also a way to support your customers. Maybe you could sell some products for a reduced price during the lockdown and raise the prices back up once you go back to the usual business.
- Keep the Focus: Online: Keeping the focus online means that you dedicate more time to your online efforts instead of thinking merely about your physical store as you do on a regular basis. Improve your social media marketing strategy, update or redesign your website, and so on.
- Limit Store Access: When it comes to businesses that are still open, it is important to remember the necessary regulations. Don’t let too many customers inside your store at the same time, ensure that you disinfect your store at all the set times, and maybe even provide your customers with free face masks or gloves.
- Do Research: Doing online research is now much easier because almost everyone is spending their time online because of all the free time they have. You can survey your customers all you like and get a lot of valuable statistical data that you can then use in your marketing and product development.
- Publish Content: Publishing content is an aspect of keeping the focus online, but there’s still something more to it. By publishing entertaining, educational, and other content online during the lockdown, you can improve your company’s reputation, raises your brand awareness, get extra exposure, and so much more.
- Renovate and Innovate: Renovation and innovation go hand in hand with progress, so if you want your business to develop, you will need to think of these two. Now that you have more time, you can renovate your store, find new approaches to advertising, improve your products, and so on.
- Plan A Re-Opening Sale: Last but not least, retailers are getting ready for what will come after the lockdown. You need to plan a re-opening sale which is what will come right after businesses can finally open and let in customers.
All in all, there are many things you can do to make the quarantine easier to bear for you and your business. In general, Canadian retailers are doing fine right now, but some admit that the lockdown brings challenges they haven’t experienced before.
Visualizing the Human Impact on the Earth’s Surface
Biodiversity benefits humanity in many ways.
It helps make the global economy more resilient, it functions as an integral part of our culture and identity, and research has shown it’s even linked to our physical health.
However, despite its importance, Earth’s biodiversity has decreased significantly over the last few decades. In fact, between 1970 and 2016, the population of vertebrate species fell by 68% on average worldwide. What’s causing this global decline?
Today’s graphic uses data from WWF’s Living Planet Report 2020 to illustrate the biggest threats to Earth’s biodiversity, and the impact each threat has had globally.
Measuring the Loss of Biodiversity
Before looking at biodiversity’s biggest threats, first thing’s first—how exactly has biodiversity changed over the years?
WWF uses the Living Planet Index (LPI) to measure biodiversity worldwide. Using data from over 4,000 different species, LPI tracks the abundance of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians across the globe.
Here’s a look at each region’s average decline between 1970 and 2016:
|Rank||Region||Average decline (between 1970 and 2016)|
|1||Latin America & Caribbean||94%|
|5||Europe and Central Asia||24%|
Latin America & Caribbean has seen the biggest drop in biodiversity at 94%. This region’s drastic decline has been mainly driven by declining reptile, amphibian, and fish populations.
Despite varying rates of loss between regions, it’s clear that overall, biodiversity is on the decline. What main factors are driving this loss, and how do these threats differ from region to region?
Biggest Threats to Biodiversity, Overall
While it’s challenging to create an exhaustive list, WWF has identified five major threats and shown each threats proportional impact, averaged across all regions:
|Threat||Proportion of threat (average across all regions)|
|Changes in land and sea use||50%|
|Invasive species and disease||13%|
Across the board, changes in land and sea use account for the largest portion of loss, making up 50% of recorded threats to biodiversity on average. This makes sense, considering that approximately one acre of the Earth’s rainforests is disappearing every two seconds.
Species overexploitation is the second biggest threat at 24% on average, while invasive species takes the third spot at 13%.
Biggest Threats to Biodiversity, By Region
When looking at the regional breakdown, the order of threats in terms of biodiversity impact is relatively consistent across all regions—however, there are a few discrepancies:
In Latin America and Caribbean, climate change has been a bigger biodiversity threat than in other regions, and this is possibly linked to an increase in natural disasters. Between 2000 and 2013, the region experienced 613 extreme climate and hydro-meteorological events, from typhoons and hurricanes to flash floods and droughts.
Another notable variation from the mean is species over-exploitation in Africa, which makes up 35% of the region’s threats. This is higher than in other regions, which sit around 18-27%.
While the regional breakdowns differ slightly from place to place, one thing remains constant across the board—all species, no matter how small, play an important role in the maintenance of Earth’s ecosystems.
Will we continue to see a steady decline in Earth’s biodiversity, or will things level out in the near future?
Forex Market: Unlocking Opportunities for Investors
In 2019, the global foreign exchange market (forex) was valued at a jaw-dropping $2.4 quadrillion.
In fact, this is equal to more than 50 times China, Japan, Germany, India and the U.S.’s economic output combined. Institutional investors, such as investment banks, pension funds, and large corporations have typically dominated this space, but there are avenues for individuals to enter the market as well.
This infographic from Compare Forex Brokers breaks down the world’s most interconnected financial market, and how individual investors can start trading.
The Forex Market: A Global Landscape
Across the forex market, 170 major, minor, and exotic currency pairs can be traded as contracts for difference (CFDs). A CFD enables you to speculate on whether the price of an asset will rise or fall.
Here, trades are conducted on over the counter (OTC) markets—non-centralized markets made up of a network of participants. This is different from traditional markets, such as the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, which operate on formal, centralized exchanges.
While the forex market is by nature, decentralized, these core regions show where forex transactions are most concentrated by market participants including banks, commercial businesses, or individual investors.
Globally, the majority of forex trading takes place within the following hubs.
|Forex Trading Centers (2019)||Country||Share of Global Over the Counter (OTC) Forex Turnover|
The UK accounts for over 43% of global forex trading, averaging $2.7 trillion daily according to the 2019 Triennial Central Bank Survey by the Bank for International Settlements. London’s geographic location between the U.S. and Asia makes it an optimal forex trading centre—a trend that has held strong over the last 50 years.
With forex trading in the U.S. jumping over 50% in the last decade, the U.S. is the next most active forex market. Meanwhile, averaging $633 billion in trading volumes in 2019, Singapore is Asia’s largest forex trading center, with Hong Kong following close behind.
The Top Seven Currency Pairs
What are the most highly-traded currency pairs?
Overall, 68% of global forex trading falls into seven major currency pairs.
|Top Seven Currency Pairs||Percentage of Total|
|1||United States Dollar vs Euro||24.0%|
|2||United States Dollar vs Japanese Yen||17.8%|
|3||United States Dollar vs Great British Pound||9.3%|
|4||United States Dollar vs Australian Dollar||5.2%|
|5||United States Dollar vs Canadian Dollar||4.3%|
|6||United States Dollar vs Chinese Yuan||3.8%|
|7||United States Dollar vs Swiss Franc||3.6%|
Currency prices are impacted by factors including inflation, international trade, political stability, among other macroeconomic factors.
Breaking Down Institutional and Retail Trading
While commercial and central banks, hedge funds, and investment managers make up most of the forex market, only 5.5% are individual investors.
Importantly, they differ in a few key ways.
|Institutional Forex Trading||Retail Forex Trading|
|– Buy and sell the physical currency
– Interdealer market: Large institutions trade on an interdealer market, which is a non-centralized network of dealers
– Less formal: Often trades are conducted by phone, email or instant message.
– Non-transparent: Execution prices and buy/sell orders are not visible to the market.
|– Buy and sell contracts for difference (CFD)
– Contracts for Difference (CFD): CFDs allow traders to speculate on the price of an underlying asset. Traders do not own the underlying asset.
– Long and Short Trades: Traders can take a long or short position:
– Long position: buying a CFD with the expectation the asset’s market price will increase.
– Short position: selling a CFD with the expectation the asset’s market price will decrease.
For various reasons, retail forex trading increases in popularity year after year. However, before diving in, it is important to know the stakes involved in this speculative market.
Understanding the High Risk of Forex Trading
Retail forex trading is, at is core, very risky.
In 2019, 71% of all retail forex trades lost money. One explanation is the highly leveraged nature of the market—many investors trade using borrowed money. But while trading with leverage can magnify losses, it also applies to gains.
Key Benefits of the Forex Market
While there is risk inherent in the market, what are some of the advantages in forex trading?
- Low transaction costs: No exchange or regulatory fees. Overall trading costs are low with both commission and no commission pricing structures available.
- High liquidity: Along with being the largest market globally, it is also the most liquid with $6.6 trillion in daily trading volume.
- 24-hour market: Trading is not confined to limited hours or time zones.
- Leverage: Forex brokers offer retail traders leverage which allows the to increase their exposure
Unlike equities, currency trading is all about relativity. A currency can depreciate overall, but can also appreciate relative to a currency that has depreciated even more.
Connect to New Markets
While big gains are possible, many trades lose money, but regulatory improvements have helped build trust in the market.
Meanwhile, multiple digital platforms provide a link to global currencies, allowing retail forex traders to enter the market and trade from any location. For those comfortable taking more risk, currency markets offer opportunities with outsized potential.
5 Big Picture Trends Being Accelerated by the Pandemic
View a more detailed version of the above by clicking here
Every year it feels like the gaming industry sees the same stories—record sales, unfathomable market reach, and questions of how much higher the market can go.
We’re already far past the point of gaming being the biggest earning media sector, with an estimated $165 billion revenue generated in 2020.
But as our graphic above helps illustrate, it’s important to break down shifting growth within the market. Research from Pelham Smithers shows that while the tidal wave of gaming has only continued to swell, the driving factors have shifted over the course of gaming history.
1970–1983: The Pre-Crash Era
At first, there was Atari.
Early prototypes of video games were developed in labs in the 1960s, but it was Atari’s release of Pong in 1972 that helped to kickstart the industry.
The arcade table-tennis game was a sensation, drawing in consumers eager to play and companies that started to produce their own knock-off versions. Likewise, it was Atari that sold a home console version of Pong in 1975, and eventually its own Atari 2600 home console in 1977, which would become the first console to sell more than a million units.
In short order, the arcade market began to plateau. After dwindling due to a glut of Pong clones, the release of Space Invaders in 1978 reinvigorated the market.
Arcade machines started to be installed everywhere, and new franchises like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong drove further growth. By 1982, arcades were already generating more money than both the pop music industry and the box office.
1985–2000: The Tech Advancement Race
Unfortunately, the gaming industry grew too quickly to maintain.
Eager to capitalize on a growing home console market, Atari licensed extremely high budget ports of Pac-Man and a game adaptation of E.T. the Extra Terrestrial. They were rushed to market, released in poor quality, and cost the company millions in returns and more in brand damage.
As other companies also looked to capitalize on the market, many other poor attempts at games and consoles caused a downturn across the industry. At the same time, personal computers were becoming the new flavor of gaming, especially with the release of the Commodore 64 in 1982.
It was a sign of what was to define this era of gaming history: a technological race. In the coming years, Nintendo would release the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) home console in 1985 (released in Japan as the Famicom), prioritizing high quality games and consistent marketing to recapture the wary market.
On the backs of games like Duck Hunt, Excitebike, and the introduction of Mario in Super Mario Bros, the massive success of the NES revived the console market.
Estimated Total Console Sales by Manufacturer (1970-2020)
|Manufacturer||Home Console sales||Handheld Console Sales||Total Sales|
|Nintendo||318 M||430 M||754 M|
|Sony||445 M||90 M||535 M|
|Microsoft||149 M||–||149 M|
|Sega||64-67 M||14 M||81 M|
|Atari||31 M||1 M||32 M|
|Hudson Soft/NEC||10 M||–||10 M|
|Bandai||–||3.5 M||3.5 M|
Nintendo looked to continue its dominance in the field, with the release of the Game Boy handheld and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. At the same time, other competitors stepped in to beat them at their own game.
In 1988, arcade company Sega entered the fray with the Sega Mega Drive console (released as the Genesis in North America) and then later the Game Gear handheld, putting its marketing emphasis on processing power.
Electronics maker Sony released the PlayStation in 1994, which used CD-ROMs instead of cartridges to enhance storage capacity for individual games. It became the first console in history to sell more than 100 million units, and the focus on software formats would carry on with the PlayStation 2 (DVDs) and PlayStation 3 (Blu-rays).
Even Microsoft recognized the importance of gaming on PCs and developed the DirectX API to assist in game programming. That “X” branding would make its way to the company’s entry into the console market, the Xbox.
2001–Present: The Online Boom
It was the rise of the internet and mobile, however, that grew the gaming industry from tens of billions to hundreds of billions in revenue.
A primer was the viability of subscription and freemium services. In 2001, Microsoft launched the Xbox Live online gaming platform for a monthly subscription fee, giving players access to multiplayer matchmaking and voice chat services, quickly becoming a must-have for consumers.
Meanwhile on PCs, Blizzard was tapping into the Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) subscription market with the 2004 release of World of Warcraft, which saw a peak of more than 14 million monthly paying subscribers.
All the while, companies saw a future in mobile gaming that they were struggling to tap into. Nintendo continued to hold onto the handheld market with updated Game Boy consoles, and Nokia and BlackBerry tried their hands at integrating game apps into their phones.
But it was Apple’s iPhone that solidified the transition of gaming to a mobile platform. The company’s release of the App Store for its smartphones (followed closely by Google’s own store for Android devices) paved the way for app developers to create free, paid, and pay-per-feature games catered to a mass market.
Now, everyone has their eyes on that growing $85 billion mobile slice of the gaming market, and game companies are starting to heavily consolidate.
Major Gaming Acquisitions Since 2014
|Date||Acquirer||Target and Sector||Deal Value (US$)|
|Apr. 2014||Oculus – VR||$3 Billion|
|Aug. 2014||Amazon||Twitch – Streaming||$970 Million|
|Nov. 2014||Microsoft||Mojang – Games||$2.5 Billion|
|Feb. 2016||Activision Blizzard||King – Games||$5.9 Billion|
|Jun. 2016||Tencent||Supercell – Games||$8.6 Billion|
|Feb. 2020||Embracer Group||Saber Interactive – Games||$525 Million|
|Sep. 2020||Microsoft||ZeniMax Media – Games||$7.5 Billion|
|Nov. 2020||Take-Two Interactive||Codemasters – Games||$994 Million|
Console makers like Microsoft and Sony are launching cloud-based subscription services even while they continue to develop new consoles. Meanwhile, Amazon and Google are launching their own services that work on multiple devices, mobile included.
After seeing the success that games like Pokémon Go had on smartphones—reaching more than $1 billion in yearly revenue—and Grand Theft Auto V’s record breaking haul of $1 billion in just three days, companies are targeting as much of the market as they can.
And with the proliferation of smartphones, social media games, and streaming services, they’re on the right track. There are more than 2.7 billion gamers worldwide in 2020, and how they choose to spend their money will continue to shape gaming history as we know it.
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Ford Kuga Plug-In Hybrid recall: the latest details
Ford has recalled a number of its Kuga plug-in hybrids over safety concerns. Here's everything you need to know
In August 2020, Ford recalled over 20,000 examples of its Kuga Plug-In Hybrid due to battery safety concerns. In some instances, faulty batteries have overheated when charging, causing fires in a small number of cases.
Ford refers to its recall as a 'Safety Action' and has written to all affected customers. Owners have been advised not to charge their cars and to operate them in 'EV Auto' mode only. Ford assures its owners that the car is entirely safe when following these rules.
In October 2020, Ford sent all affected customers a £500 fuel card for use at BP fuel stations, in acknowledgement of the fact that "the fuel economy of the Kuga Plug-In Hybrid may not be what our customers may have expected when they took delivery," according to a statement on its website.
Ford has also recommended that owners connect their cars to the FordPass app. The firm says this will allow the latest software to be installed on the Kuga and ensure direct access to any future communications regarding the recall.
Ford Kuga Plug-in Hybrid fix announcement
At the end of October 2020, Ford announced it had found a fix for the Kuga Plug-In Hybrid's issues. The information that follows has also been communicated to all affected owners:
"Ford is communicating with all our Kuga PHEV customers across Europe that we now have a fix for the issue related to the drive battery pack. This fix will be a replacement of the entire drive battery pack with a new pack as a result of our investigations with our supplier," the statement reads.
"We will commence the drive battery replacement work towards the end of December for customers who already have their vehicles and expect this process to take until late March to complete," Ford stated. "We will be communicating with customers directly later in November to arrange a time to implement the replacement."
The statement from Ford also points to an issue in the production of the car's battery, which is sourced from an external supplier: "We have worked in partnership with our supplier to determine both the cause and resolution. The root cause has been identified as a battery cell contamination issue in our supplier’s production process and we have determined that the best course of action for the safety of our existing customers is to replace the drive battery pack."
The statement from Ford also reiterated that the affected Kuga models are still safe to drive in the meantime, as long as charging does not take place and only the EV Auto and Normal drive modes are used. Ford's goodwill fuel-card gesture also still stands, as does the offer of an extended warranty or service pack.
Affected owners with any additional concerns are encouraged to contact the Ford Customer Relationship Centre on 0203 564 4444.
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"For the upcoming season, our brand will selectively participate at auto shows where our distinctive and engaging story will resonate the most," Suzuki spokesperson Jeff Holland told Automotive News. As for the remainder of the North American show circuit, it's unclear whether or not Suzuki will appear at the Chicago Auto Show in February, but we'd be surprised if the Japanese automaker didn't have some sort of showing in New York next spring.
Suzuki was hit hard by the large economic recession of the past few years. Automotive News reports that while the automaker managed to sell over 100,000 vehicles in the United States in 2007, it only sold 23,994 in 2010. Due to the poor economy, Suzuki's marketing budgets have been slashed, says Holland, and thus, the company will have "more of a conservative approach going forward."


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Mukesh Ambani, the owner of Reliance Industries Limited, has a Midas touch. Anything that he touches, is converted to gold. In a recent development, Reliance Retail has crossed the $100 billion market cap in few years. The firm is a subsidiary of Reliance Group.
The retail startup’s unlisted shares saw a 300% jump since January 2020. In 2020, Reliance Retail sold its around 10% stake to raise Rs 47265 crore from private equity funds worldwide.
How Did Reliance Retail Touch $100 Billion Market Cap?
Reliance Retail has shown exponential growth in the last 15 months. As per the latest reports, the firm has crossed the magical $100 billion valuation mark. It is the fourth Indian firm that has surpassed a $100 billion valuation.
The startup deals in retail sales. Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Retail has a chain of retail stores in India to sell most of the household items including grocery and electronics. The startup is also competing with global goods maker through its manufacturing service.
As per the Economic Times report, the company’s unlisted share is trading between Rs 1,500 and Rs 1,550. The report also confirmed that it is a threefold jump in its share compared to the share value of about Rs 500 in Jan 2020. If we calculate the market cap of Reliance Retail with a share value of Rs 1,500, it crosses Rs 7.50 lakh crore.
In 2020, the retail startup swapped its share with other Reliance firms. Not only that, but the company also sold its 10.09% stake to raise Rs 47265 crore from global private equity funds.
Recent Growth and Experts’ View about Reliance Retail
In a discussion with Business Daily, Sambhav Aggarwal of Arms Securities talked about Reliance Retail’s share growth. He said:
“Currently, Reliance Retail shares are traded in the range of Rs 1,500 and Rs 1,550 apiece. The premium has more than doubled since last year when the company sold stakes to raise money.”
Founded in Delhi, Arms Securities deals in unlisted shares. It helps business firms in buying and selling equity shares.
In the last quarter of 2020, the firm saw a 88% year-on-year(YoY) surge in net profit at Rs 1830 crore. In the same quarter, the retail firm also recorded a turnover of Rs 37845 crore.
The company also claimed that its grocery and electronics business has observed double-digit growth, whereas fashion and lifestyle business units are showing significant improvement.
In FY21, the firm expects to achieve a net profit of Rs 5570 crore on total revenue of Rs 135310 crore.
In a detailed discussion with Economic Times, Vaishali Dhankani, founder UnlistedDaq Venture of Analah Capital, talked about the recent profit of Reliance Retail. She also stated its future IPO and unlisted shares buying.
“With enough firepower, the company is perceived to be doing well, especially when citizens are looking for home deliveries amid a second wave of the virus.”
She further added:
“Despite no clarity on the IPO dates and which vertical of reliance Retail will come with an IPO, wealthy investors are looking at acquiring this stock from the private market.”


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Roger Moore owns Nautical Ventures, which has a handful of boat dealerships in Florida. One of the brands his company carries is Axopar, a line of sleek boats built in Finland.
“The design is different. The axe bow, the European appearance — it’s different from any other center console out there,” says Moore, who lives on his boat on the New River in Broward County, Fla. “I see every brand go by, and most of them look very similar, and Axopar goes by, and you’ll notice every head turns.”
That response was the intent when Jan-Erik Viitala and Sakari Mattila founded Axopar in 2014. The partners, along with naval architect Jarkko Jämsen, designed the Axopar 28. It debuted at the Helsinki International Boat Show later that year, drawing a ton of attention. They had launched a couple of companies in the Scandinavian marine industry and decided to start a new one. Their intent was to build a boat with good performance that would be used as more of a day model, and that would look unlike anything the recreational boating industry had seen.
The name Axopar is an amalgam of letters from three companies the partners previously founded. For the hull design, Viitala and his team looked at the bottoms used on rigid-hull inflatables.
“We wanted the boats to be lighter and be great handling, and this sent us out looking at boat types that were low weight, low [center of gravity] and low mass, and our attention turned to the RIB boats,” he says. “Let’s see how we can make a rigid inflatable boat without the tubes.”
Much like the small sponson or pontoon that the late Italian designer Fabio Buzzi used on each side of his performance hulls, a second chine is on every Axopar. The chine is about 2 inches wide, and it stabilizes the hull. The goal of the design is to have four balancing points and a lower center of gravity. Even with the sharp bow, Axopar’s 28-foot and 37-foot models don’t plow in a following sea. They earn strong reviews for overall handling.
“We are making family boats that are great for multipurpose use,” Viitala says, adding that Axopars may have stepped bottoms, but they are not high-performance boats.
Axopar also developed a platform concept for designing and building its boats. The company has two locations: one in Vaasa, Finland, for creative and marketing offices, and the other in Helsinki, housing operations. Contract manufacturers at two factories in Poland build the 700 boats that Axopar produces each year. As many components as possible are sourced in Finland, but the lamination and assembly take place in Poland, at the same facility that builds Sea Rays.
“Poland today is the biggest manufacturing country for powerboats in Europe, and the sheer size of the factories is way bigger than any plant in Finland,” Viitala says. One of the OEM facilities in Poland has on-site shops for carpentry, stainless steel, plexiglass, upholstery, decking hardware and aluminum, right alongside the lamination.
Viitala says that using the Polish factories is critical to being able to keep boat prices down. A 37-foot Axopar with twin outboards starts around $250,000, and a well-equipped version goes out for about $265,000. That’s a lot cheaper than a 37-foot, U.S.-built center console. (A Boston Whaler 380 Outrage has a base retail price of $594,606 with triple 300-hp Mercury outboards.) Axopar’s best sellers are the 37-foot Sun-Top and Cross Cabin.
With all that said, Americans may notice a difference on board. A 37-foot Axopar has an 11-foot beam and weighs in at about 10,500 pounds rigged and ready to run. By contrast, a Whaler 380 Outrage has an 11-foot, 8-inch beam and tips the scales at about 20,000 pounds. The Axopar runs well with twin outboards, while the Whaler needs three. Also, because labor is cheaper in Poland than in the United States, Axopar can put more man-hours into finishing its boats than U.S. builders can.
The 37-foot and 28-foot Axopars are offered in three basic layouts: open, partially open and fully enclosed. Viitala says 75 percent of the parts used on a given model are the same, regardless of the layout. The final 25 percent is the difference, and by using an array of changeable modules, Axopar can customize a model with an aft cabin, a stowage compartment, live wells or a wet bar.
“It’s a puzzle we are doing, but by doing this we can keep up with high-volume production,” Viitala says. “It has a lot to do with the platform thinking we have for our products. We are working hard to create one platform, like in the auto industry.”
There are also many multiuse items on the boats. Flip up the helm seats on the Axopar 28, and underneath are a sink and drop-in cooler.
Axopar ships boats to every corner of the globe, and about 25 percent of its production comes to the United States. “As more boats are being sold in the U.S., we try to adapt to produce one boat for one world, and this means every boat that leaves our plant needs to be capable of going anywhere in the world without modifications,” Viitala says, adding with a laugh: “The one thing we get the most grief from in the U.S. is the small size of our cup holders.”
Because the boats are sold everywhere, they’re built with a straightforward laminate with a solid-fiberglass bottom. The construction allows for repairs virtually anywhere. Above the waterline, the hulls are cored.
“We have 100 dealers in more than 50 countries,” Viitala says. “If you hit a rock and you need to fix the hull, it needs to be straightforward work.”
The evolution of Axopars has revolved around responding to input from customers. For example, the latest 37-foot model has a forward cabin with gull-wing-style doors that open up and out. This design uses the doors to provide shade when they’re opened and still let air flow through the cabin, all of which makes the boat more usable.
One owner customized his Axopar in a way that led to a whole series. Bodo Buschmann, founder of Brabus — known for customizing supercars and SUVs — bought a 37-foot Axopar, painted it gunmetal gray and decked it out in Brabus style as a tender for his yacht. “When he got the boat in the water, he immediately understood he wanted to partner with us to create a luxury performance boat,” Viitala says. “He wanted to create a boat that expanded out of the traditional boat market.”
Today, the Brabus Marine Shadow 900 is based on a 37-foot Axopar. It runs at about 60 knots. The partnership started in 2018 (the same year Buschmann died), and about 60 of the Brabus models have been produced. To keep the model’s exclusivity, Viitala doesn’t want to produce more than 10 percent of Axopar’s production as Brabus in a given year.
Moving forward, Viitala says, Axopar is looking at building bigger models. “We will continue to utilize the maximum space on the boat, but we do it in a European way,” Viitala says.
And you can bet that whatever Axopar does in the future, the finished product will turn heads.
This article was originally published in the November 2020 issue.


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Growing African cities create investment opportunities for Nordic companies. How can Nordic and African business together tap into the opportunities provided by the fastest urbanizing continent? This is the overall focus when African and Nordic business people gather in Oslo, Norway, on the 13th of October this year.
The Summit is co-hosted by Norfund – the Norwegian government’s development finance institution and the Norwegian-African Business Assocaition (NABA).
– The Nordic-African Business Summit has become the leading meeting place for African and Nordic business people. Last year 450 delegates from more than 25 countries were present, says Eivind Fjeldstad, Managing Director of the Norwegian-African Business Association (NABA). He now extends an invitation to business people from Nordic and African countries who would like to explore business partnerships.
Several special sessions this year
In addition to interesting plenary sessions from morning to lunch, there will also be special sessions focusing on “Renewable Energy in East Africa”, “Real Estate/Construction in West Africa”, “Consumer goods in North Africa” and “Food Production for the Growing Cities”. Key note speaker this year is Thabo Mbeki (see photo), former President of South Africa, and he will be joined by – among others – Egypt’s Minister of Investment Ms. Dalia Khorshid, Uganda’s Minister of Energy and Minerals Ms. Irene Muloni, Norwegian Foreign Minister Mr. Børge Brende, Finnish Minister for International Trade and Development Mr. Kai Mykkänen and more than 20 speakers from business and institutions such as OECD and the International Energy Agency (IEA). An overview of speakers this year can be found here: https://norwegianafrican.no/events/nordic-african-business-summit-2016
Partners of this year’s Nordic-African Business Summit includes Norfund, KLM, FK Norway, the Financial Times, Rendeavour, Multiconsult, Statoil, Yara International, INTL FCStone, Leidar and the African Business magazine. Business people who would like to join can register through this link.
– We urge our African business partners to register and apply for visa now. Our partner KLM offers discounted flights to Oslo this period, and we think this will be a trip worthwhile, says Fjeldstad.


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From Associated Press:
Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Friday:
Pinterest Inc., up $2.58 to $46.22.
The digital pinboard and shopping tool’s third-quarter profit and revenue beat Wall Street forecasts.
Expedia Inc., up $24.67 to $182.22.
Continue reading Expedia, Pfizer rise; Peloton, Emergent BioSolutions fall on Associated Press
Do you have a complaint about Expedia, such as not issuing a refund after cancellation? Take your claim to FairShake, the consumer advocacy service.


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Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4
It has been officially announced that Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 is coming and it also looks like it will ‘revolutionize’ the Call Of Duty franchise
We all knew it was coming and now we have official word that Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 is going to be this year’s installment into the franchise. Given that Treyarch gave us the last one three years ago and that is how Activision seems to cycle the developers on the franchise, it makes perfect sense that we are heading back into the Black Ops world. The interesting part of this announcement though is the fact that we will be getting this year’s Call Of Duty title a bit earlier than normal as it is already locked in for an October 12th release date for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Sorry to those fans out there hoping for a Switch release as there has yet to be any word on if the game will coming over there at all.
Outside of that, there is not much more to have for Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 as it looks like all of the other details are going to be locked up until May 17th when the powers that be will be hosting a community event to show the game off to the world. That is a bit of a stint to wait for any real solid information and it is made more difficult by the fact that there is also word in the small teaser and text that says this one will “revolutionize” the Call Of Duty franchise and that we should forget what we know already. Whatever that could truly mean is up to speculation for now, but it is something that they wanted us to know. Take it as you will for now.
Have a look at the small teaser we do have for Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 just below. It does not do much other than show off the game’s logo. A logo that has spawned some debate given that it looks like it wants to use Roman Numerals but does not go the traditional route with them. Using IIII is not unheard of to show off a 4 but the traditional is IV. Granted, IV would not have the same logo effect I am guessing that Treyarch is going for. That or it is one of the things we are supposed to forget that we already know…
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 — Teaser
Black Ops is back! In what represents a game-changing experience, Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 will revolutionize the top-selling series in Call Of Duty history when it launches worldwide on Friday, October 12th for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Call Of Duty fans can tune in Thursday, May 17th, when publisher Activision and award-winning developer Treyarch host the community reveal to a worldwide audience.
How do you feel about Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 getting the announcement here today? Do you think that this came about due to leak concerns and this is Activision getting out there before the leaks yet keeping us locked in until May 17th? What do you think the taglines and such mean for the game and how do you think it will alter the franchise as we know it? Let us know down in the comments and then feel free to discuss. When we have more for Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4, we will update the site with it. Be sure to keep checking back here for all of that and more.


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3 Suisses Online Shop Deutschland Announce About Selling The Company
The online and mail order group known as 3 suisses online shop deutschland (3SID) (previously known as 3Suisses International) made public their decision to sell the entire e-commerce business of the firm.
This includes the "3 Suisse" brand in France, which has been established for a very long time but has been having trouble competing successfully in a challenging market for a number of years.
The 3SI Group has come to the conclusion that it will be best for the company to sell its entire online retail operation in the countries of France, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic.
A press statement was issued by the French corporation to make this announcement. The German public has known about 3SI since 2014, when it became a part of the Otto Group.
The group's spokesman, Antoine Pernod, says that this is about "an organization with 900 employees and a turnover of 400 million euros."
COPYRIGHT_TN: Published on https://www.testernews.com/3-suisses-online-shop-deutschland/ by James Davis on 2022-10-10T09:10:02.184Z
Moving forward, 3SI intends to place a primary emphasis on the service options that it provides for corporate clients.
These products will include fulfillment logistics with Dispeo and parcel distribution with Mondial Relay.
In "the next twelve months," it is planned to sell the following brands: Unigro, a Belgian firm that specializes in home furnishings; 3Pagen, a German and Austrian company that sells decorative and household goods; Cemod, a Czech fashion and décor company; and Cogemag-Excellence (a French remnant seller).
Among the brands that are going to be sold, however, there is one in particular that is getting a lot of attention: 3Suisses, which is the historic brand that the firm owns in France.
The parent company is of the opinion that the existing circumstances "do not allow a divestiture that might guarantee a future for the activity and the brand.
As a result, the organization is contemplating the formation of a "new structure that can match the objectives of the brand.
Alongside the sale of 3Suisses Belgium, the newly formed corporation will also be put up for auction.
The number of employees in France will drop from approximately 147 to 40, and the reduction will take place across the country.
In 2014, the wholesaler stopped sending out its once-every-two-years mail-order catalog and switched to a business model that is only done online and focuses on clothing and household goods.
The record company, which was established in 1932, has been experiencing significant challenges for a number of years.
In the mail-order industry, the company is forced to fight against international online giants such as Amazon and Zalando.
Additionally, the company's arch-rival, La Redoute, is doing everything it can to expand on previous triumphs.
Since 2009, 3Suisses has racked up losses totaling 650 million euros, and despite undergoing a reorganization in recent years, there has been little sign of an improvement in the company's financial situation.
- 3 Suisses,
Jd.com comes in second place in the global e-commerce market, with revenues of US$ 83,058 million in 2020.
This is behind the market leader, Amazon.com, which has revenues of US$ 120,968 million.
The profit the company made during the 2015 fiscal year was approximately 120 million euros, while the figure was almost one billion euros during the same period ten years earlier.


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Tacoma Mall Thanksgiving weekend hours
Thanksgiving, Nov. 24 – 6 p.m.- 1 a.m. (Friday)
Friday, Nov. 25 – 6 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 26 – 8 a.m.-10 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 27 – 10 a.m.-9 p.m.
Photos with Santa reservations:
By David Guest
Tacoma Daily Index editor
Black Friday. To some it sounds dreadful. To others, it’s a winner-take-all sport.
The national obsession with Thanksgiving weekend shopping kicks off Thursday at most large stores, which will open around 5 or 6 p.m. or before the turkey bones have been picked clean.
Like waking up at 4 a.m. to go fishing, thousands of dedicated shoppers will roll out of bed early on Friday, Nov. 25 to take advantage of even more retail deals. Stores will open Friday at 6 a.m., or earlier, or some may not have even closed at all. Breakfast can wait.
Like a horse race bettor might prepare for a day of wagering by carefully analyzing the Daily Racing Form, Black Friday shoppers have been pouring over the newspaper ads, studying, comparing, creating checklists and a strategy.
Some have questioned whether shopping at brick-and-mortar stores and malls is going extinct – buried under the pressure of online sales which promote convenience, savings of time and money and the ability to compare products and stores with the click of a mouse and never leaving the house.
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, online sales doubled from 2009 to the middle of this summer, while department store sales have dropped 17 percent over the same period.
Last year, Forbes Magazine lamented the collective 30 million square feet of vacant space in malls throughout the nation, saying that it was a sign that shopping malls were in a “death spiral.”
Not so fast, purveyors of shopping doom.
The laptop can’t recreate the physical experience of going into a store and holding an item in your hands.
The Tacoma Mall has been getting ready for holiday shoppers since it opened in 1965. There were no cell phones, ATM machines or personal computers back then. No FedEx either.
But there was Santa Claus, holiday music, jingle bells, ho ho ho and people bought Christmas gifts in person. That tradition lives on today, according to Sarah Bond, Tacoma Mall’s director of marketing and business development.
“Nothing beats touching, feeling and trying on product before making a purchase,” said Bond in a written statement. “Our retailers are preparing for the holiday season by stocking up on the latest fashions, trends and gifting options to make Tacoma Mall a one-stop shop.”
On Dec. 6, mall visitors will have a new place to stop when the Cheesecake Factory restaurant opens its fourth Washington State location. The Tacoma Mall boasts over 150 shops and eateries and offers many special attractions and events to entice shoppers away from their keyboards.
“The Santa experience opened Nov. 4 and will stay open through Christmas Eve day with other holiday-related events such as the Giving Tree, pet photos with Santa, Caring Santa, Kidgits Santa event, and gingerbread house decorating with local blogger Jenny Keller,” Bond said.
This year will be a little different at the mall. Long-time Santa Rick Harden of Graham died earlier this year at age 63.
“Over the years, our Santa experience has evolved to the beautiful set we have today,” said Bond. “Unfortunately, our wonderful Santa of 15 years passed away earlier this year. Rick Harden will be greatly missed this holiday season.”


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Today, the newest shirt from the Andy vs. Apple guys is available, and boy does it take this ongoing fanboy battle to the next level. The designs of their shirts usually feature our favorite little Android doing anything stomping out the Steve Jobs army Godzilla-style to smashing Apples with a mean swing. But if those shirts were all a little too soft for you, today’s shirt might be more your style. (more…)
For the most part, Microsoft’s campaigns against Google, Android, and iOS that promote Windows Phone or their other products are all pretty lame. Think “Smoked by Windows Phone” or even those “Scroogled” spots. Not really the most clever of marketing ideas, to say the least. This new Lumia/Windows Phone 8 spot, on the other hand, is actually funny and worth a quick look.
In the spot, you’ll see iPhone users taking shots at Galaxy owners with their “enormous” phones and S Beam feature followed by comments made in return to grandmothers about being too young to own an iPhone. There are Apple logo tattoos, app availability trash talking, and even the thought that Samsung and Apple fanboys love the constant fighting. Silly.
Whenever Google Babel does arrive for public consumption, we’re starting to believe it will be everything we have ever asked for in a unified messenger service. We’re talking synced notifications, cross-platform conversation experiences, a new UI, photo sharing, quick access to live video chats, and on-the-record chat history viewing from anywhere. According to sources of ours who have shared new information with us (including a feature list), we’re getting all of this and more. (more…)
According to Samsung executive Young Hee, who spoke with media in Seoul this week, his company is “definitely” preparing to launch its own smartwatch. As you know, the smartwatch has been one of the hottest indie technologies to hit the market this year, so it makes perfect sense that bigger companies would look to invest in similar, wearable technology. Companies like Pebble have jumped out to a headstart in the category, but with an Apple iWatch grabbing rumor headlines over the last couple of months, Samsung needs to hurry to get something that can compete. (more…)
Good news for Samsung today, as Judge Lucy Koh announced that damages being awarded to Apple will no longer exceed $1 billion, but reach a mere $598,908,892. Practically nothing, right? In her look into the jury’s findings, it was seen that there were some miscalculations, which is why Koh is proceeding to fix the mistakes. A new trial is being established to determine the remaining balance, but she has urged both sides to go over the appeals process before entering a new trial.
Much as we expected, this case is clearly not over. Not by a long shot. If anything exciting happens, we will keep you posted, but I think I’m pretty much spent on this case.
Via: The Verge
Before Google Music launched, Google and the music labels were said to have had a hard time working out the hard details, but they eventually reached an agreement. A recent report said that a few execs in Google working for the Android department have been in talks with music labels for expanding Google Music, wanting a Spotify-like streaming service. (more…)


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The state’s energy regulator says it will be keeping a close eye on energy debt with new data showing more Victorians are receiving payment assistance due to the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the latest data from the Essential Services Commission, calls to energy retailers for help have dropped to their lowest level since April, but the number of small businesses and households on some form of payment assistance and the level of energy debt have increased.
Acting energy director Aaron Yuen says average electricity debt for businesses receiving help increased 30 per cent and household debt increased up to 11 per cent between April and August.
“We will be keeping a close eye on the arrears of Victorian energy customers over the coming months as Federal Government assistance changes,” he said.
Mr Yuen says Victorian energy retailers must offer customers support under the commission’s payment difficulty framework which has some of the best consumer protections in Australia.
“Under our framework, retailers must offer assistance to anyone who asks regardless of their financial circumstances.
“Anyone who has lost a job, is behind on their energy bills and cannot pay for their ongoing energy use must also be offered a six month hold on their energy debt,” he said.


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Sri Lanka land prices rising faster: Jones Lang LaSalle
ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s land prices which used to go up by 3 to 7 percent a year has started accelerating, rising 10 percent over past year, a top official of Jones Lang LaSalle, a real estate consultancy said.
"We have seen prices going up by 10 percent across and in the CBD (central business district) even higher," Gagan Singh, CEO – Business India & Chairperson Sri Lanka Operations told reporters in Colombo.
"There is optimism, there is buoyancy."
She said given the incentives announced in the budget, and measures under discussion there will be more investment and opening up of the economy.
The current administration has relaxed foreign investment is land, which were tightened under a ‘rural nationalist’ framework under the last regime.
JLS said there was strong demand for retail space with landlord demanding rent increases of over 30 percent, threatening the viability of some businesses.
From the second half of 2015 strong demand had come for office space with rents rising about 10 percent, she said.
"In retail the supply crunch is more," Singh said. "High street space is highly limited. Here too activity has been high and landlords in this case are asking for rents of 30 percent or more.
"And the occupiers are really struggling with the viability and are doing their best to push back."
However in residential apartments supply was strong and promoters may not be able to sell units as quickly as they used to in the past, she said.
Some analysts have warned the record low interest rates and money printing by the Central Bank may fire an asset price bubble in property.
Low interest rates from 2004 to 2008 generated mostly by fiscal dominance of monetary policy fired a property bubble that led to the crash of many sub-prime non-bank lenders in the country.
Sri Lanka’s central bank has a habit of suppressing market interest rates and then being forced to sharply hike rates leading to a ‘hard landing’ in the economy. (Colombo/Jan14/2016)


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Beer and football is a traditional combination for millions football fans all over the world. However, in Moscow, some media are concerned about the lack of beer in the restaurants and bars in the capital of Russia. The FIFA World Cup's official sponsor and other brewing companies assure that these worries are unreasonable and confirm that the situation is under control of the beer producers. Specially for the guests of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the BUD brand has prepared a map BudFinder with the noted best bars where all football fans can watch the matches and enjoy the official beer of the FIFA World Cup and other brands.
AB InBev Efes (BUD producer) marketing director Konstantin Tamirov has commented the situation:
“We are experiencing increased beer demand in Russia, which we expected and had planned for given the energy and excitement of FIFA World Cup. While we have heard reports of some restaurants and bars in Russia experiencing supply and delivery disruptions, we are fully operational and delivering in full capacity to our partners so the millions of football fans in Russia can continue to enjoy Bud and our other brands responsibly during the World Cup.”


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Stock photo used for representational purposes only.
Due to multiple reasons, including the precautions and restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the e-commerce sector in the country has been growing steadily over the past few months.
The latest innovations in the IT sector as well as the popularity of online shopping platforms have also contributed to this rapid increase. There were 350 websites registered in the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) e-commerce directory in June last year, while that number rose to 494 e-commerce websites, now showing an addition of 144 new websites.
A number of e-commerce websites are among the businesses that use a hybrid model like well-known hypermarkets, restaurants, pharmacies, clothing stores, while there are many e-commerce only platforms serving travel, tourism and other retail sectors.
According to the MoTC’s e-commerce portal, Qatar’s e-commerce program aims to create an enabling environment for the rapid adoption of e-commerce in the country by addressing its key inhibiting factors.
It also aims to establish protocols and governance mechanisms that will foster and encourage the future expansion of e-commerce in Qatar, he added.
The objectives and roadmap for the country’s e-commerce program have been compiled through an extensive process, involving local, regional and international companies with a significant interest in Qatari e-commerce – from creating products and services to online shopping, order fulfillment and delivery, according to the MoTC portal.
In addition to identifying and removing key barriers to building a thriving online retail sector, ongoing coordination, communication and collaboration between all stakeholders was also recognized as essential to the implementation effective program objectives.
“The growing number of companies in e-commerce shows the enormous potential of the Qatar market. The e-commerce market in Qatar is set to grow further as many SMEs (small and medium enterprises) are yet to adopt digital payment platforms. Additionally, due to COVID-19 restrictions, consumers have become accustomed to using digital payments. The pandemic has accelerated the momentum of e-commerce in Qatar,” a senior executive at an IT company providing digital payment solutions told The Peninsula.
Qatar also launched ‘Theqa’ in 2019, which is Qatar’s first-ever e-commerce trustmark and aims to drive and nurture online retail activity in the country by instilling a sense of trust that its e-commerce ecosystem is safe and secure.


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Japan may reopen to international tourists from next spring, ahead of the delayed Tokyo Olympics scheduled to take place in the summer.
According to the Asahi newspaper, the Japanese government is considering the resumption of inbound tourism, initially on a limited basis from countries in Asia where the coronavirus is under control, such as China and Taiwan.
The provisional plans would see the first inbound tourists face a string of restrictions to visit Japan, which has been closed to most travellers since April. These include testing negative for Covid and submitting a detailed travel itinerary before entering the country.
Tourists will also reportedly have to avoid public transport and travel only by hired coaches, plus they will be separated from domestic tourists at hotels and sightseeing destinations.
Furthermore, tourists will be required to use a tracing app at all times and provide daily updates on their health.
News of Japan’s tentative plans to reboot its international tourism industry come as the nation faces a third wave of coronavirus cases across the country, in particular in Tokyo, Osaka and Hokkaido.
While Japan’s Covid-19 figures remain significantly lower than many other global regions, the number of nationwide cases is continuing to spike, with Tokyo reporting a record 584 daily cases on Saturday and the number of patients with serious symptoms soaring.
Prime minister Yoshihide Suga’s administration has been criticised for treading a fine line between efforts to preserve the world’s third largest economy and taking concrete steps to minimise the risks of exposure.
The government’s controversial Go To Travel campaign, which offers heavy subsidies on domestic travel and accommodation, is ongoing, providing a much-needed economic boost to hotels and operators across the country, although critics fear it is fuelling the latest surge in cases.
Limited numbers of people have been allowed to travel to Japan for business since October, but regulations remain strict, with those arriving currently requested to self-isolate for 14 days.
Japan’s inbound tourism was booming when the pandemic struck, with a record 31.9 million overseas visitors entering the country in 2019, marking a new record for the seventh consecutive year.
Progress in vaccine developments have raised hopes that global tourism may now be able to take tentative steps towards recovery, particularly in Japan as the Tokyo Olympic countdown picks up pace next year.