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Retail loan customers will receive balance statement once in a year
September 24, 2009
If the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has its way, then retail loan customers of banks will soon be quoted a single, all-inclusive interest rate with no hidden charges or fees. This will allow them to work out their exact cost of borrowing and also allows for easy comparison across offerings by other banks and institutions. This is part of RBI Deputy Governor Dr K C Chakrabarty’s effort to bring transparency to the working of commercial banks.
“Customers should get statements once in a year with all inclusive cost or annual effective rate (AER) which will cover interest rate comprising various elements of costing such as cost of funds, legal fees, inspection charges, switch-over fee, etc,” said Dr Chakrabarty, speaking to bankers recently. He wants to make the rules stringent and transparent for most of the services delivered by banks.
RBI has been receiving complaints about the unfairness of home loan rates, wherein most banks are reluctant to reduce interest rates for existing borrowers while new customers are offered lower rates. Dr Chakrabarty wants all existing customers to enjoy the current rate of interest and has asked RBI nodal officers to take up the issue with the head offices of various financial institutions. At the same Bhopal conference, he said, “When the cost of fund at a point of time reflects the floating rate offered at that time, how can it be different for different for two sets of borrowers?”
Speaking to Moneylife, Dr Chakrabarty said that many issues relating to retail lending happen because bankers are confused about who is the retail borrower. He says, “Ask 10 bank chairmen and each will define the retail borrower differently.” His own definition is very precise; he says, “banking for the individual, that is, for non-entrepreneurial activity is retail lending,” it has nothing to do with size. For instance a farmer is a small borrower, but he should not be confused with a retail borrower, because he is an entrepreneur. On the other hand credit cards, mortgage, auto loans are all retail loans and in all these cases, the recovery will not be from the asset that is created but from some other source of income. Once the definition is clear the next step is to ensure that pricing is transparent and non-discriminatory. Unfortunately this has not happened as yet.
Another area of concern for Dr Chakrabarty is to take banking to the masses. He points out that even today, 60% of the population does not have access to a bank account and he is more concerned about extending the reach of banking to these segments.
Speaking on the issue, a financial sector source told Moneylife, “We mostly receive complaints from existing customers since they cannot enjoy the benefit of the current reduced interest rate. But we also cannot pass on the benefit to the customers free of cost. That is because the interest on floating rates depends on the rate at which the institution is borrowing from the market. If the institution is borrowing at a lower rate, it will pass the benefit to the customers, if not, customers get angry. RBI is looking into the issue and trying to find a solution.”
Banks have also been asked to hasten the process of re-crediting customer accounts in case of a wrong debit. There are times when faulty ATMs do not allow customers to withdraw cash although it is debited from their accounts. Banks take as much as 12 days to re-credit the money when it ought to take only three working days now that most banks now have adopted core banking solutions (CBS) that allow money to be transferred within minutes from one account to another.


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Being a finalist for these awards is truly a reflection of the determination and dedication of our entire team
Columbus, OH (PRWEB) January 28, 2009
ClearSaleing Inc., an online advertising analytics and technology company, has been nominated as a finalist for three awards for the TechColumbus Innovation Awards, which recognizes outstanding achievements in technology leadership and innovation.
ClearSaleing is proud to announce they are a finalist for the Outstanding Product (less than 50 employees) and Outstanding Startup Business categories due to their advancements in advertising technology in 2009. ClearSaleing CEO Mike Lanese has also been named a finalist for the Executive of the Year (less than 50 employees) category.
"Being a finalist for these awards is truly a reflection of the determination and dedication of our entire team," Lanese said. "We are honored to be a finalist for the TechColumbus Innovation Awards. We have a long way to go as a technology company, but it's great to be recognized for our innovations by our peers in the industry."
On Thursday, February 5, 2009 the 2008 TechColumbus Innovation Awards will recognize outstanding achievements in technology leadership and innovation at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. From a record number of entries from individuals and companies in all disciplines and industries, 13 winners will be honored and the region's progress as an emerging tech center will be celebrated.
The TechColumbus Innovations Awards celebrate and honor individuals and teams in a variety of disciplines. Each category is an important component of the technology and innovation community. Receiving the top honor showcases an individual or team which is dramatically impacting Central Ohio and beyond. For more information about TechColumbus and the Innovation Awards, visit http://www.techcolumbusinnovationawards.org.
ClearSaleing is a leading technology provider to the online advertising market. Based on a strategic, portfolio management approach to online advertising investment, the ClearSaleing solution represents the next generation in advertising analytics technology. ClearSaleing's portfolio management software delivers an improved, more profitable allocation of a company's spend across a complex mix of online advertising options. At the foundation of the ClearSaleing solution is its patent-pending Purchase Path™ technology that accurately attributes profit (ROI) across the multiple ads that contribute to and influence the ultimate purchase. Visit http://www.clearsaleing.com for more information.

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Sweet'N Fat: Artificial sweeteners linked to weight gain
Carl Rance is trying to lose weight, so when he gets thirsty, he normally grabs a diet soda. That may be a bad idea.
Most days, he’ll drink a diet cola while eating lunch out, like he did on a recent Thursday at a Burger King in Harlem, N.Y., and then down more calorie-free Pepsi in the evening, at least four liters a week.
Rance, a 61-year-old diabetic, said he buys calorie-free soda to avoid sugar, but his weight increased from 244 pounds to 256 pounds last month.
“I only eat like this once a day; I eat balanced,” said Rance, waving at the burger and fries in front of him and describing his daily diet of corn flake breakfasts, fruit and nut dinners and zero-calorie soft drinks. “It looks to me,” he said, that the diet soda “is making me gain weight.”
Rance’s wife, Archette, 48, sat across the table, chuckling affectionately. “He’s not losing any weight with diet soda.”
The Rances' suspicion that there may be an odd connection between products with diet sweetener and weight gain just might be true. New research bolsters the counterintuitive feeling that sugar substitutes--like saccharin in coffee, sucralose in low-fat ice cream and aspartame in sugar-free cookies--may do more harm than good to people trying to shed unwanted pounds.
Rats that were fed saccharin-sweetened Dannon yogurt in a Purdue University experiment gained more weight than those given regular yogurt containing glucose, a natural form of sugar. Because the association between sweet taste and high calorie count was broken, it appears the rats’ metabolisms did not speed up when they were fed naturally sweet foods later, resulting in fewer calories burned and overeating.
The research, recently published in Behavioral Neuroscience and directed by Dr. Susan Swithers and Dr. Terry Davidson, is apparently the first to examine the effects of artificial sweeteners outside of soda, and the findings suggest that record obesity rates in America may be tied to high levels of sugar substitute use.
In 1987, fewer than 70 million Americans consumed products containing sugar-free sweeteners, according to the Calorie Control Council, the sugar-substitute industry association. Last year, the number approached 200 million. At the same time, 15 percent of Americans were obese in the late 1980s, according to the Purdue study. Now, that figure has more than doubled.
“Eating foods where sweet taste was not a good predictor of calories may make it harder to regulate food intake and body weight,” said Swithers. “The take-home message is that there can be an assumption that by replacing non-caloric sweeteners, body weight is going to decrease-–that’s not necessarily true.”
Previous studies had linked sweet no-calorie liquids directly to weight gain. Every can or bottle of diet soft drink consumed increased a person’s risk of being overweight by 41 percent, according to a 2005 University of Texas study.
Dr. Adam Drewnowski, an expert affiliated with the Calorie Control Council, dismissed the Purdue study.
“All health experts agree that weight loss is best achieved by a combination of reducing caloric intake, lowering energy density of the diet, and increasing physical activity. By all accounts, low-calorie sweeteners do help,” said Drewnowski., director of the University of Washington’s Center for Public Health Nutrition. “Suggesting that low-calorie sweeteners actually cause people to gain weight is an irresponsible direct application of rat models to dietary counseling and to public health.”
Other scientists said the study was credible, but noted that more research needs to be done for a definitive answer on the value artificial sweeteners.
“The implications could be enormous,” said Dr. Kelly Brownell, director of Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity and leading obesity expert. “So many people use these sugar substitutes despite years of controversy; we’re still not sure whether they help or hurt people regulating their weight.”
Whatever the scientific evidence about sugar substitutes, their effect on weight varies widely for Americans across the country.
Linda Sieck, 66, a diabetic from Houston, recently lost 46 pounds by switching to sugar substitutes, exercising and eating balanced meals. She claims to use products such as Sweet’N Low, Splenda and Equal in tea, diet soft drinks and products such as Slim Fast. “I find it hard to believe that it could increase weight–-my appetite always stays the same,” she said.
Molly Schreiber, 42, of Fresno, Calif., said she stopped using zero-calorie products with artificial sweeteners six months ago and since then has lost 85 pounds.
“I was a die-hard, three to five Diet Pepsis per day kinda gal,” she said. “I never realized how much constantly drinking sweet-tasting beverages was increasing my cravings for more sweet foods.”
Lynn Haraldson-Bering, 44, of Clarion, Pa., recently lost 168 pounds and appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” She doesn’t like artificial sweeteners except for occasionally putting stevia (a naturally sweet herb) in her tea, and doesn’t see a correlation with successful dieting one way or the other.
“My weight gain had nothing to do with sweeteners and my loss definitely happened in spite of them,” she said.
Back in New York, some people simply avoid the sugar substitute debate altogether.
“I don’t mess with that stuff,” said a woman eating lunch at Popeye’s on 125th Street, explaining why she avoided low-calorie sweeteners, including diet soda.
“I just stick to water.”


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(Recasts; adds details, share movement)
July 23 (Reuters) - Software maker Compuware Corp CPWR.O posted first-quarter results above market estimates, helped by a 30 percent jump in software license fees revenue.
The company posted first-quarter earnings of $34.7 million, or 13 cents a share, compared with $189,000, or breakeven per share, in the year-ago period.
Total revenue rose 7 percent to $298.6 million.
Software license fees revenue jumped to $61.4 million from $47.3 million a year earlier. Maintenance fees revenue rose 11 percent to $126.5 million.
Analysts on average expected the company to earn 10 cents a share, before items, on revenue of $294.6 million, according to Reuters Estimates.
Shares of the company closed at $10.51 Wednesday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Bijoy Koyitty in Bangalore; Editing by Deepak Kannan)


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Reiss said its sub-brand launch 1971 Reiss and its revamped website helped UK EBITDA to rise 7% to £9.1m for the year to January 31 2010.
Sales (excluding VAT) at Reiss increased 5% to £85m during the period.
Reiss added that its US EBITDA losses had narrowed marginally from £2m to £1.9m over the year.
Reiss, which trades from 106 stores, said the recession had initially had an effect on its menswear sales but that the management had reacted immediately by investing in hiring people and in developing its brand image rather than focusing on store roll outs. This included investment in its buying team to ensure its product was differentiated from the competition.
During the period the retailer also launched its sub-brand 1971 Reiss and relaunched its website as well as developing a new-look shopfit. Reiss added that the main effects of these initiatives came through towards the end of 2009 and have had a bigger impact in the current financial year.
A company statement said: “The performance in 2009 has enabled Reiss to establish a stronger foundation to develop the business and the directors consider that the actions they have taken will continue to improve profitability.”


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Fix Auto UK has teamed up with Florida-based AirPro Diagnostics, a company offering remote vehicle diagnostics and calibration products. The partnership will initially bring AirPro’s Auggie mobile system into the UK.
Ian Pugh, Fix Auto UK’s managing director, says Auggie is a “game changer” that not only frees up valuable space within a workshop, but its simplicity and usability ensures it can be operated by anyone from a newly inducted apprentice through to a senior technician.
“We’re in an age where our repairers face the necessity to complete ADAS calibrations on almost every modern vehicle but it’s a procedure that can dramatically slow down the whole repair process,” Pugh says. “Being part of a global organization, I reached out to my overseas colleagues to see what products were available that can speed up and simplify the process.”
Commenting on the new partnership, Michael Quinn, president of AirPro Diagnostics, says,
“AirPro is proud to launch into the UK, with the Fix Auto UK Group agreement. We know Ian and the UK network to be the most operationally disciplined body shop group in the UK and we look forward to working closely with his franchise partners and delivering our unmatched capabilities in diagnostics and cost-effective ADAS calibration equipment and services to ensure a complete and safe repair for motorists.”
Maria Charlton, AirPro UK managing director, adds, “We are extremely confident in our ability to safely service and calibrate the majority of vehicles serviced by Fix Auto UK. Our North American track record of thousands of satisfied shop clients can readily attest to this fact.”


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Steve Jobs 1955-2011
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Surina Shukri places candles at a memorial to Steve Jobs, the Apple founder and former CEO, outside an Apple, Inc. store, Wednesday in New York.
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I’m excited for any opportunity to talk about soft robotics. There’s something other-worldly about the world of inflatable robotic bladders. Human beings are wont to develop robotics in their own image. The world of soft robots are something akin to what the technology would be like if it was developed by a sea creature.
Certainly cephalopods like octopi and squid have been a major inspiration for the category, along with other invertebrates. The benefits of the technology is clear. These far less rigid structures are more compliant and are able to squeeze into more places and conform to different shapes. We have seen a number of models deployed for different tasks, including picking and placing fragile products like foodstuffs.
Another major benefit is the safety. As human-robot collaborations increase, companies are looking for ways to ensure that their big, hulking machines don’t accidentally hurt their workers. That appears to be a big part of the inspiration behind this MIT project designed to create robots that can alternate between hard and soft structures.
It’s still very much in the early stages, but the research presents a compelling idea, with a series of cables that help the soft structure become more rigid. The team likens the tech to the muscles in a human arm. When flexed, it becomes much more difficult to move.
New research published by researchers at National University of Singapore and the University of Lincoln (U.K.) in the journal Nature show ocean-inspired soft robots in a seemingly more natural environment: the Marina Trench. The soft structure (this time drawing more direct inspiration from rays) was able to withstand the extreme pressure that comes with being nearly 11,000 meters below the surface of the South China Sea.
Per the team:
This self-powered robot eliminates the requirement for any rigid vessel. To reduce shear stress at the interfaces between electronic components, we decentralize the electronics by increasing the distance between components or separating them from the printed circuit board.
Another entirely different — but equally fascinating — swimming robot comes out of UC San Diego. The 2 cm long fish-shaped robots have platinum tales, which propel through bubbles created by a reaction to the hydrogen peroxide in their petri dishes. After researchers cut the little robots in half or thirds, magnetic interaction makes the pieces “heal” back together. The hope is that such application could be put to use in larger swimming robots, which are frequently made of fragile material.
The big robotics investment of the week is Skydio. Not the first time that sentiment has been uttered, of course. The Series D brings the drone makers total funding up to $340 million, as it expands to additional commercial applications. There’s also the fact that the company is U.S.-based, which likely makes it all the more appealing to investors following DJI’s addition to the DoC’s “entity list” in December.
That was one of those initiatives the Trump administration took on its way out the door. Like a number of recent entity list additions, this will hopefully be scrutinized under the new administration. Thus far, however, it hasn’t appeared to impact DJI’s ability to sell drones in the States, including the new FPV.
I got my hands on the new model this week. It’s an interesting new category the drone giant has only dipped its toes in thus far. The DJI FPV bundles goggles for a first-person flight experience that has largely been the domain of racers and high-end hobbyist models. Given that DJI current controls roughly 70% of the global market, this marks an important moment for the burgeoning category.
SkyMul, meanwhile, is one of the more interesting applications I’ve seen in the drone space for a bit. The startup is one of a deluge of robotics companies in the construction space. Specially, it uses quadcopters for the extremely thankless job of tying rebar.
On the research side of the category, we’ve got these adorable little buggers out of MIT. At 0.6 grams, they weigh roughly the size of a large bumble bee. And unlike previous models, these “cassette tapes with wings” are designed to survive mid-air collisions. Turns out bumble bees tend to crash into each other a bunch while flying. That’s one of those little pieces of nature trivia that make perfect sense when you think about it for a second.
The drones are “are built with soft actuators, made from carbon nanotube-coated rubber cylinders. The actuators elongate when electricity is applied at a rate up to 500 times a second. Doing this causes the wings to beat and the drones to take flight.”
After I posted that article, someone asked if I knew about a “kids’ book about a boy who becomes an insect drone and solves mysteries?” I did not. But I asked the occasionally usual social media platform and it nearly instantly responded with the extremely 70s kids book title, “Danny Dunn, Invisible Boy.” The thirteenth book in a long-running series, the book offered a glimpse into the future of drones. Per a 2014 Medium article:
You control the drone using a keyboard box, a thoroughly funky virtual-reality helmet, and what look like a pair of souped up Nintendo Power Gloves. With head inside the helmet, the pilot sees what the dragonfly sees, and even feels what the dragonfly feels via haptic feedback in the gloves.
In less fun “science fiction predicts the future” news, a follow up from all of the hubbub surrounding Boston Dynamics last week. Once again, the ACLU is weighing in on the matter, as it did when the company debuted footage of a Spot unit in the field with the Massachusetts state PD on our stage a while back.
The org reiterates questions it and others have raised before, including some of the generally ominous images and ideas around weaponized robotics that have been floating around for a long time. Here, however, it combines these with existing conversations around policing, AI and bias:
Viewed narrowly, there’s nothing wrong with using a robot to scout a dangerous location or deliver food to hostages. But communities should take a hard look at expensive, rare-use technologies at a time when the nation is increasingly recognizing the need to invest in solving our social problems in better ways than just empowering police.
There’s a lot to untangle here, but as I said week, it’s a net positive that we’re discussing these things now, while they’re still largely hypothetical. If drones have taught us anything, it’s that technology comes at you fast. I can appreciate that last week’s art instillation was not the framing Boston Dynamics wanted to enter into this conversation — and I do think the company’s an easy target due to its profile and the framing of fiction like Black Mirror.
But having this ongoing conversation is a net positive for robotics, going forward.
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The semi–cold war between the U.S. and China just got a whole lot icier, with the world’s leading chipmakers caught in the middle at a particularly inopportune time.
Semiconductor executives and analysts spent the weekend assessing the fallout from President Joe Biden effectively weaponizing the global semiconductor industry against China—and the results aren’t great for chip companies.
Under sweeping new export controls instituted Friday by the Biden administration, U.S.-based companies cannot sell advanced semiconductors—including those used for A.I. and high-performance computing—or equipment used to fabricate newer chips to China. In addition, foreign firms cannot sell advanced semiconductors to China if the chips were developed using American-made technology, software, or equipment. A new restriction on the sale of chip manufacturing equipment also is expected to blunt China’s advanced—and perhaps even rudimentary—semiconductors.
By most accounts, the freeze marks the most dramatic use of export restrictions in a decade, with the potential to curb billions of dollars in commerce.
For the American government, the case for strict export controls is straightforward.
Chipmakers in the U.S. and allied nations are years—if not decades—ahead of their Chinese counterparts from an innovation standpoint. Advanced chips represent the new frontier of warfare, as well as economic and technological dominance. Ergo, cutting off China’s ability to import all-important semiconductors will slow its geopolitical ascendance and aggression. (Whether this theory, laid out rather simplistically here, comes to fruition is hardly certain.)
For semiconductor companies, however, the export bans become the latest headache for an industry already suffering from a sudden-onset migraine.
Following a pandemic-induced period of surging market values—a product of skyrocketing demand, limited supply, and massive margins—the chip outlook has cratered in recent weeks. Several firms have warned that chip demand is plummeting, largely the result of a weakening global economy.
Investors haven’t taken too kindly to these developments. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Sector, a weighted index of the 30 largest chip companies, was down 41% year to date before Friday’s announcement, wiping out last year’s gain of 29%. This month alone, chipmaking giants Samsung, AMD, and Micron have issued quarterly revenue projections that fell stunningly short of earlier estimates. (One notable exception: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the global leader in advanced chip fabrication and a chief Apple supplier, beat quarterly revenue estimates.)
The additional economic fallout from the export controls isn’t yet known. The U.S. could issue licenses that blunt the impact of sanctions. Conversely, China could retaliate against American and U.S.-allied companies.
Wall Street, however, expects some kind of burden. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbled 6% on Friday and fell another 3% in midday trading Monday. Firms with deeper ties to China have been particularly battered since the announcement, including Nvidia (down 11% between Thursday’s close and midday Monday) and Applied Materials (down 10%).
Industry observers reinforced the pessimistic outlook in media interviews and client notes.
Paul Triolo, senior vice president for China and technology policy lead at consultancy firm Albright Stonebridge Group, told the Financial Times that the full impact will “take some time to become clear.” However, he expected the export controls will at least “slow innovation in both China and the U.S., ultimately costing U.S. consumers and companies hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars.”
In a client note cited by Bloomberg, Citigroup analysts wrote: “This will not only be negative to the Chinese semiconductor industry but also indirectly impact global semiconductor makers’ business opportunities longer term.”
And Sarah Kreps, director and founder of Cornell’s Tech Policy Institute, warned in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that the U.S. chip companies could lose market share if American allies keep selling their nonrestricted chip products to China.
Biden’s maneuver, if executed correctly, could prove shrewd in the long run, helping to ensure that global free markets thrive. For that to happen, though, it’ll cost chipmakers in the short term.
Want to send thoughts or suggestions to Data Sheet? Drop me a line here.
Too fast and loose. Rivian shares slid 9% in midday trading Monday after the electric-auto maker recalled nearly all of its 13,000 vehicles on the road. The Associated Press reported that a loose fastener has caused steering issues in fewer than 1% of Rivian’s vehicles to date. Company officials said no injuries have been reported as a result of the fastener problem. Rivian shares are down 70% year to date following a brief post-IPO spike in the company’s shares in late 2021.
In need of a reboot. Global personal computer shipments fell 15% year over year in the third quarter, according to figures released by the International Data Corporation and reported by CNBC. The drop reflects slowing demand for PCs following a pandemic-related surge that lasted about two years. HP and Dell saw their shipments tumble more than 20%, while Apple bucked the trend and saw its PC output rise 40%.
Going greener overseas. Amazon confirmed plans Monday to spend about $1 billion over the next five years on electric delivery vehicles used in Europe, The Verge reported. The e-commerce giant said it expects to roughly double the size of its electric fleet to about 10,000 vans and 1,500 heavy-duty vehicles following the investment. Amazon has pledged to reach carbon-neutral status by 2040, though the company’s carbon emissions increased by 18% year over year in 2021.
Outside the scope. Federal antitrust regulators withdrew a key allegation levied as part of their lawsuit targeting Meta’s planned acquisition of virtual reality fitness app developer Within, the Wall Street Journal reported late Friday. The Federal Trade Commission is no longer claiming that a Meta-developed game, Beat Saber, constitutes a fitness program that directly competes against an app created by Within. Critics of the lawsuit have argued that Beat Saber is not a fitness app, while also lamenting other aspects of the FTC’s intervention.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Losing the troops? One year ago this month, Facebook announced plans to change its name to Meta as part of a corporate shift in focus toward the so-called metaverse. And so far, change hasn’t been easy. The New York Times reported Monday that company insiders are frustrated with buggy products, ever-changing strategies, and enormous budgets for unproven projects dedicated to CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of pioneering the metaverse. While the Facebook and Instagram parent continues to project confidence in the metaverse, loosely defined as an immersive and social virtual-reality experience, some employees are losing faith in the endeavor. Meta is expected to spend roughly $10 billion on virtual- and augmented-reality projects this year.
From the article:
Mr. Zuckerberg’s zeal for the metaverse has been met with skepticism by some Meta employees. This year, he urged teams to hold meetings inside Meta’s Horizon Workrooms app, which allows users to gather in virtual conference rooms. But many employees didn’t own V.R. headsets or hadn’t set them up yet, and had to scramble to buy and register devices before managers caught on, according to one person with knowledge of the events.
In a May poll of 1,000 Meta employees conducted by Blind, an anonymous professional social network, only 58 percent said they understood the company’s metaverse strategy. Employees have also grumbled about the high turnover and frequent shuffling of employees as Mr. Zuckerberg’s priorities change. Inside Meta, two employees said, some workers now jokingly refer to key metaverse projects as M.M.H., an acronym for “make Mark happy.”
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Small companies, big impact: Why startups loom large on the Fortune Change the World list this year, by Matthew Heimer
Kanye West’s anti-Semitic rants go a step too far for Instagram and Twitter, by The Associated Press
Elon Musk dreams of dying on Mars—now he might be one of the pioneering colonists, by Christiaan Hetzner
A small fund wagered that Elon Musk would be forced to buy Twitter—and made a killing by betting against the crowd, by Shawn Tully
Staffer fired for refusing to keep his webcam on wins $73,000 payout from Florida-based software firm, by Alice Hearing
Uber tries to charge a passenger almost $40,000 for a 15-minute ride, by Chloe Taylor
BEFORE YOU GO
A costly error? PayPal is paying the price for a fine print fiasco. The fintech giant’s shares sank 5% in midday trading Monday after eagle-eyed users noticed that the company’s new terms of service included a potential $2,500 fine against those who spread misinformation on its platform. PayPal officials quickly rescinded the provision, saying that it was added by mistake and never intended as a company-approved term of use. Still, that didn’t stop a wave of criticism from prominent libertarian- and conservative-minded pundits (Elon Musk included) who saw the wayward guideline as Silicon Valley’s latest attempt at censorship. Coincidentally, PayPal took the top spot Monday on Fortune’s eighth annual Change the World list, primarily because of its Ukraine relief efforts.
This is the web version of Data Sheet, a daily newsletter on the business of tech. Sign up to get it delivered free to your inbox.


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The recent IGE-ICEi trade exhibition in London was the background for several casino software providers to showcase their new goods. Buyers, as well as players, will have a lot to look forward to this year.
IGT subsidiary WagerWorks, showcased it’s newly released dual online and land casino slot game Monty’s Millions. Also shown was a soon to be released slot game named Kitty Litter. They also displayed their upgraded RGS platform, which allows WagerWorks games to be downloaded and played on other platforms.
Cryptologic, coming off its new deal with DC Comics, displayed giant models of Batman and Superman, who they are bringing to the reels. They showcased slot games based on the movies Forest Gump and Braveheart.
Cryptologic also showed off a new player protection program which will warn a blackjack player if the move he is making is not the optimal move available.
Microgaming showed off it’s recently released Hellboy slot game, which was released in conjunction with Dark Horse. Microgaming’s mobile gaming partner Spin3, announced a deal to expand into the Eastern European market with gambling company Rocketspin.
Playtech displayed games and casino management tools software developed with their two new partners: Scientific Games and Sportech.
Award-winning iGaming group Rootz Ltd has just launched their fourth brand, Chipz Casino. This new casino is a sister site to Wildz, Caxino, and Wheelz and is owned and operated by Rootz Limited. Chipz Casino is the ultimate destination for online casino gaming. Enjoy a wager-free welcome offer, instant registration and play, and thousands of top titles from the best providers in the industry.
Come experience the all-new Boom City Live Casino game brought to you by Pragmatic Play. This innovative game offers players a 6x6 grid to place bets on, with 36 squares in total. Winnings are determined by the roll of two dice, and can trigger one of three bonus games, an instant cash prize, or a Power-Up feature that increases winnings. Play now and see what all the excitement is about! The betting range is huge, and players can bet between $0.
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Markets and Marketing
ULA’s CEO, Tory Bruno, sometimes offers his two cents about the launch market. And by launch market, he really means the small slice of launch activity his company conducts for the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program (and performed for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program before NSSL). In a SpaceNews interview, Bruno offered his perspective again just this last week, specifically about changes adding a possible third competitor to NSSL (and, therefore, possibly cutting into launches available for ULA rockets).
When I’ve seen stories where Bruno talks about military launch contracts, markets, and competition, I’ve written a couple of analyses responding to his ideas. The upshot of my responses: NSSL isn’t a market, and until SpaceX came along, ULA had no competition. ULA was going to launch rockets for the DoD no matter what because until SpaceX, there was no one else. It still gets the largest share of DoD launches in return for more cash than its competitor, SpaceX.
To be very clear, I respect Tory Bruno. He took over ULA’s reigns during difficult times and is doing what he can to keep the company running. I haven’t seen him say anything negative about anyone in public, and he appears to be a genuinely pleasant fellow to know.
But his ideas about launch markets and competition are a bit out of touch, and I’m going to explore a little bit here about why I think that is. My assumptions could be totally incorrect, but launch data seems to back them up. I will also refer to my favorite business guru’s writings, Peter Drucker. A few sections of his book, “Innovation and Entrepreneurship,” fit some of the things happening in the launch industry.
The Future Now
Specifically, ULA’s responses to launch industry changes fit at least one of Drucker’s textbook definitions of an innovation source. He defines innovation as creating a resource. Successful innovations exploit change. ULA’s responses have, ironically, created an innovation source for competitors to exploit. A particular competitor has exploited that innovation source.
In Bruno’s latest interview, SpaceNews quoted him saying:
The global launch market will experience “real scarcity,” Bruno said. “It is becoming tighter” as commercial players like Amazon buy up the available rockets.
That is a slightly different tune from what he sang during a separate interview just two years ago. During that interview, Bruno noted that the launch market had a few problems. They were:
Problem: Overheated launch “market.”
Too many launch companies
Too many new launch vehicles
Too much investment in risky launch businesses
No launch market growth
Falling launch prices
Static satellite demand
At the time, I noted:
The snarky interpretation of Bruno’s contention: Vulcan (and therefore, ULA) can only compete in a market without falling launch prices, few competitors, and U.S. government interference.
Even with few competitors, ULA’s annual launch cadence has not grown but declined instead. The launch competitor situation two years ago was that only one was operational (which hasn’t changed), taking on ULA in the fight for U.S. military launch contracts: SpaceX. Maybe Bruno was referencing all the planned launch vehicles, such as Blue Origin’s New Glenn, but none of those planned rockets have yet to launch into orbit.
As for “risky” launch businesses, he wasn’t far off–it’s just that those risky businesses weren’t offering rockets that would compete with his company’s offerings. Virgin Orbit eventually went bankrupt, and Astra seems to be at the game stage where “Finish Him!” has just been announced.
But Bruno’s second assertion of an overheated launch market was flat-out wrong. Satellite demand has increased–excluding Starlink–and ULA’s single competitor is the only one offering “falling” launch prices (primarily to commercial customers). Neither ULA nor Arianespace has offered meaningful launch price reductions encouraging smaller commercial customers to use their rockets, even when referencing their planned ones.
Inadvertent Innovation Source: Launch Industry Structure Changes
Unfortunately for Bruno, his perspectives seem to be right in line with Drucker’s description of how industry insiders (legacy space companies) perceive changes in industry structure and the outsiders who take advantage of those changes: as threats.
What are those industry structure changes? Drucker provides four indicators:
- Rapid industry growth
- Doubling in market volume=old industry rules and knowledge don’t apply
- Convergence of technologies that seem separate
- Business practices change rapidly
Drucker uses automobile and telephone industries as examples for bullet 1. In his book, he states:
If an industry grows significantly faster than economy or population, it can be predicted with high probability that its structure will change drastically—at the very latest by the time it has doubled in volume. Existing practices are still highly successful, so nobody is inclined to tamper with them. Yet they are becoming obsolete.
That sounds remarkably familiar. At least activity-wise, the industry has been rapidly growing, as seen in the chart below (all due to one company). And yet the legacy company is adhering to existing practices, not risking tampering with them.
Not only that, it’s doubling as well (bullet 2). SpaceX’s launch activities in the U.S. have effectively been more than double those of ULA’s launches each month since August 2020 (and not just with Starlink–see below).
That launch doubling indicates a change in the industry which in turn means that the hard-won industry knowledge legacy/insider companies fought for might be outdated. Drucker noted that:
…the ways in which the traditional leaders define and segment the market no longer reflect reality, they reflect history. Yet reports and figures still represent the traditional view of the market.
Notice that Bruno barely acknowledges the changes in the industry his company is fighting to survive in. His definitions for competition and launch market still reference a time before SpaceX’s launch dominance (some analyst companies are falling into this trap, too). It’s like Microsoft’s refusal to acknowledge Apple’s ascendancy during the “Hi, I’m a Mac!” ad campaigns. However, Microsoft eventually fought back and appears to be doing quite well.
For bullet 4, the business is changing rapidly. Drucker describes a reason for the change:
Innovations that exploit changes in industry structure are particularly effective if the industry and its markets are dominated by one very large manufacturer or supplier, or by a very few. Even if there is no true monopoly, these large, dominant producers and suppliers, having been successful and unchallenged for many years, tend to be arrogant. At first they dismiss the newcomer as insignificant and, indeed, amateurish. But even when the newcomer takes a larger and larger share of their business, they find it hard to mobilize themselves for counteraction.
It’s almost as if Drucker had witnessed the state of the U.S. launch industry today and then went back to 1985 to write his book. ULA appears to be having difficulty, no matter the cause, in mobilizing itself for counteraction. It’s not able to respond to SpaceX’s ability to launch frequently and reliably. It’s not clear whether ULA will be able to do so when Vulcan does come online.
Bullet 3 is the one indicator I’m having difficulty finding. The convergence of separate technologies is not apparent to me. I’m unsure if reusability melds distinct technologies, so perhaps it’s best to leave this one alone (or let readers suggest some possibilities).
Despite my lack of imagination for bullet 3, the U.S. space launch industry, perhaps the global space launch industry, is undergoing an industry structure change. ULA’s responses (or lack thereof) are creating an exploitable innovation source in which a single “outsider” company can accelerate industry change. One company is doing just that.
While I applied Drucker’s words to this ULA examination, they could just as easily apply to Arianespace’s or the Russian space sector’s responses. That Tory Bruno is repeating much of what he said even three years ago about markets and competition fits Drucker’s description of how inside companies respond to industry structure changes–which isn’t positive.
ULA is adhering to its old business formula and moving at a pace that ignores industry changes. Both have impacted a large customer, Amazon Kuiper, negatively. Again, that indicates a reliance on old knowledge and practices–that the customer is willing and able to wait while still shelling out big bucks–vs. the reality that Kuiper represents. ULA is also missing out on Space Development Agency launches, which some might argue is the future of DoD space launch acquisitions.
Lowering customer expectations isn’t a great way to get repeat business; not seizing new opportunities just sends the wrong message to prospective customers. At the same time, ULA is providing at least one opportunity for competitors based on at least three of four indicators signifying industry structure changes. In short, ULA’s problem isn’t the number of competitors for a particular contract but ULA itself.


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Nonprofit emails not as popular as before
April 03, 2013
Email marketing is a major selling point for businesses in any industry. These updates can inform consumers about sector news, as well as showcase new products or services and positively influence sales. Many nonprofits look at this the same way - they can make the most of advertisements by investing in email marketing.
However, many of these initiatives aren't as effective as administrators would like them to be. According to The Nonprofit Times, citing information from the 2013 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study released by M+R Strategic Services and the Nonprofit Technology Network, revealed that click-through rates for all nonprofit emails decreased by 27 percent in 2012. Specifically, communications calling for advocacy fell to a 3.7 percent open rate, while newsletters garnered a 1.7 percent rate.
Interestingly, this didn't affect online fundraising in total, as it soared by 21 percent, the news source reported.
So how can nonprofit groups ensure their emails are being read and recipients are converting to donors? Marketers that take advantage of this channel know that the subject line is one of the most supremely important elements - it's the first thing seen in the inbox. Moreover, many experts recommend that communications be sent from the account of and signed by an individual, rather than the entire company, because this tends to elicit a more personal response.
Individuals, programs and organizations that rely on fundraising to fuel sustainable operations can find nonprofit fundraising software advantageous. The solutions facilitate the process of identifying grant opportunities, generating reports that demonstrate current financial need and showcase previous achievements.


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SafetyBook.org consumer product and vehicular recall analysis for first-half 2011
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – (June 30, 2011) – According to SafetyBook.org, a comprehensive consumer product safety monitoring service, more than 11 million consumer products were recalled during the second quarter of 2011, including over 2 million (or 19%) that were a direct threat to the safety and well-being of American children. This brings the total number of consumer product recalls for the first half of 2011 to 176, totalling more than 22 million products. About 5 million or 23% of were deemed a direct threat to children, including two noteworthy reissued recalls due to ongoing injuries.
Additionally, 110 motor vehicle recalls were issued between April 1st and June 30th, representing more than 1.2 million vehicles. Approximately 5.6 million motor vehicles have been recalled during the first half of 2011.
“Few people realize the volume of safety recalls that jeopardise the well-being of our families and children every month,” said Dan Verakis, founder and CEO of SafetyBook.org. “Our greatest concern is when we see the reissue of a prior recall because people weren’t properly notifed and children continue to be injured or killed as a result.”
Noteably, two major recalls have been reissued already during 2011. Delta Enterprise Corp. reissued a 2008 recall of nearly 1 million drop-side cribs due to the death of a 7-month-old girl in Colorado Springs, Colo. Likewise, Maclaren USA, Inc. reissued a prior recall of about 1 million single and double umbrella strollers recalled in November 2009, due to ongoing fingertip amputations and lacerations.
“Reissued recalls are especially disturbing because it means people aren’t getting notified, millions of dangerous products remain in homes, and children get harmed as a result. Clearly, a product recall is a defective process,” Verakis said.
SafetyBook.org’s comprehensive analysis of second quarter 2011 U.S. consumer product and vehicle safety recalls included data compiled from government regulators including the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the National Highway Transportation Safety Authority (NHTSA).
2nd Quarter 2011 Product Recalls
The top 10 major consumer product recalls affecting children during the second quarter of 2011 include:
- 898,000 Children’s Pain & Fever Concentrated Drops bottles by Altaire Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- 375,000 Circo Child booster seats recalled by Target
- 240,000 Adventure Playsets Wooden Swing Sets by Adventure Playsets
- 90,000 Girl’s Tops by My Michelle
- 76,000 infant bed-side sleepers by Arm’s Reach Concepts Inc.
- 75,000 American Girl Crafts Pearly Beads & Ribbon bracelets kits by EKSuccess
- 51,700 Circo Aloma infant girls sandals recalled by Target
- 40,500 Troy the Activity Trucks by Infantino LLC
- 36,000 beaded curtains by GMA Accessories Inc.
- 30,000 metal futon bunk beds by Big Lots
2nd Quarter of 2011 Vehicle Recalls
The auto manufacturers with the highest number of auto recalls in second quarter of 2011 include:
First Half 2011 Vehicle Recall Analysis
During the first half of 2011, there were 309 recall campaigns representing 5.6 million faulty vehicles. Toyota U.S.A. recalled the largest number of vehicles – 2.5 million, representing 45% of all vehicles recalled during the first half of 2011. Ford Motor Company has recalled the second largest number of vehicles (more than 866,000) so far in 2011.
[TO UPDATE: Consumers can access the full list of product and vehicle recall details at: www.safetybook.org/newsandlinks.aspx]
SafetyBook.org provides one convenient place online for consumers to easily register key items like car seats, child products, home appliances, vehicles, and others. The company then monitors those items and alerts consumers if one is recalled. For more information about product recalls and SafetyBook.org, please visit www.SafetyBook.org.


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PJ Carroll, the Irish subsidiary of British American Tobacco, has said over 200 million cigarettes it sells a year will be affected by the upcoming ban on menthol cigarettes.
The menthol cigarette ban, which takes effect on May 20, covers cigarettes which use flavours to relax the airways and make smoking easier on a person's throat.
The change follows the completion of a four-year phasing-in period under a 2016 EU directive on tobacco products.
Simon Carroll, country manager of PJ Carroll, said his company currently has around 50% of the menthol cigarette market, accounting for 200 million cigarettes. Brands it has control of in this area include Consulate, Vogue and Pall Mall.
"It's going to have a big impact [on output]," he said. "We are just around half [of the menthol cigarette market].
"It is probably just over 200 million cigarettes of ours affected by this a year, so it's a big number.
"It is going to impact us dramatically, but again it is hard to know what the monetary value will be until we see what plays out fully with what consumers choose to do.
"We can only give them real alternatives that they can choose to have.
"Hopefully, if they choose to go vaping, they choose ours, but if they choose combustible cigarettes, they choose our brands, too. It's a wait-and-see." Despite the potential effect on output, Mr Carroll is hopeful that the ban will present an opportunity to further the take-up of his company's vaping devices.
According to Mr Carroll, British American Tobacco has invested around $3.5bn into its vaping category. Brands sold by PJ Carroll include Vype pens and Cirro vaping liquids.


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Digital asset marketplace Patricia has announced a security breach involving the loss of Bitcoin and naira assets.
The cryptocurrency platform disclosed that its retail trading application, Patricia Personal, was compromised, while other crypto assets remained unaffected. In response to the breach, Patricia temporarily suspended withdrawals on its mobile and web apps to assess the situation.
However, sources with insider knowledge revealed that the incident actually occurred in January 2022 and cost the company a staggering $2 million. The company claimed to have identified the source of the breach, a "syndicated group," and is pursuing legal action.
Initially founded as a gift card exchange platform, the company has rapidly gained recognition and currently handles 30,000 daily transactions, serving around 850,000 users.
The company, in a message, assured its users and merchants that their assets were safe and efforts were underway to recover the compromised funds. Patricia hinted that its growing popularity as a Bitcoin exchange platform may have made it a target for hackers.
Aside from the breach and liquidity challenges, Patricia's leadership recently announced another round of layoffs in a company-wide meeting. Although the retail trading app employed approximately 160 individuals, sources indicate that earlier layoffs occurred in 2022, with no clear explanation provided at the time.
Team leads were reportedly instructed to downsize their teams by up to 80%, causing uncertainty among employees about their job security.


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Americans hammered by rising inflation should brace for the economy to become even more precarious, an economist has warned. Inflation comes in several stages, and based on historical precedent, the next one the United States is facing won’t be pretty, he said.
Inflation has been ramping up for more than a year after gigantic government spending during the COVID-19 pandemic led the Federal Reserve to print trillions more dollars. Consumer prices rose 8.6 percent year-over-year in May, with prices of some necessities, such as gasoline, housing, and food, rising particularly sharply.
Americans are now quickly realizing the economic consequences. This is stage two, with stages three and four still expected to come, according to Ross McKitrick, a professor of economics at the University of Guelph in Ontario.
The first stage of inflation happens when newly printed money enters the economy.
“It’s at that first stage where you have the money illusion. Which means people think they have more money than they do,” he said, noting that this leads people to spend more, creating a brief economic boom.
“But they don’t actually have more money than when they started. What they have is a dilution of the money supply,” McKitrick told The Epoch Times.
Such a dilution, however, doesn’t hit everybody the same.
“There’s an advantage in being early in there because if you’ve got that stimulus check early, you went out and you could do purchases when other prices are still low,” he said. “A month later, those prices may be up. At this point, of course, the same check has a lot less purchasing power, but so does all your other money.”
According to McKitrick, if people could correctly anticipate how much less their money would be worth because of the inflation of the money supply, they would think twice about how much they could actually afford. Unfortunately, people typically only come to that conclusion in retrospect, after prices have already increased.
“At that point, you might look at it and realize, ‘OK, I wouldn’t have bought that car if I knew what was coming,’” he said.
Reality Sets In
When people realize how much less they can afford at the new prices, that’s where expectations come into play. Is this going to be a one-off thing? Will prices go back down again?
“People can cope with a lot of things temporarily. If you think, ‘OK, the price of gas jumped and it will be high for a month or two, and then it will go back to normal,’ nobody’s going to change their behavior in response to that,” McKitrick said.
“But we’re now at a point where people are realizing, ‘OK, the price of gasoline and diesel has doubled … and I don’t see a relief on the horizon,’ and then ‘I actually have to start making business decisions here.’”
At this point, people start to cut back on their expenses.
“So that’s the stage that we’re at,” he said.
“The next stage in this inflationary process happens when labor markets begin to adjust,” McKitrick said.
“So right now, you have a lot of workers who’ve effectively taken a 10 percent pay cut. And they’re not just going to capitulate to that,” he said. “They’re going to now go to their employers and demand some relief in the form of higher wages, and the response of the employers is going to be to resist that because all their input costs have gone up and they don’t feel like they’ve got a 10 percent increase in their budget to hand over.
“And both sides in effect have a genuine case to make that this is not new money, these are not larger profit margins—workers have lost purchasing power.”
He would expect some “strike action and very tough bargaining” on the horizon.
“If that kind of wage settlement process gets calibrated to the inflation rate, then that becomes a new driver of price increases” called “wage-price spiral,” he said.
Similar to the inflation in the 1970s, as long as people expect inflation and manage to get a pay raise to keep up with it, the inflation won’t go away, as the payroll cost needs to get baked into the price of the final product.
“You never get rid of inflation as long as people expect inflation to be there,” McKitrick said.
The fourth stage ensues when the business and labor finally bury the hatchet.
“What you’re looking for in that whole process is who’s going to capitulate?” McKitrick said.
“Ultimately … if you have a permanent increase in price level by 10 or 20 percent, by the time it’s over, somebody’s got to capitulate and just accept that as a pay cut. The phase that we’re going into now will be that hard bargaining over who’s going to capitulate.”
In the United States, the agency responsible for countering inflation is supposed to be the Federal Reserve.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has cited the most recent job openings figure—about two jobs available for every person seeking work—as a reason for the Fed to raise interest rates, tighten the money supply, slow the economy, and thus curb the number of job openings. That should in theory lower the pressure on employers to raise wages.
McKitrick is skeptical of that logic.
It’s true that in April, there were an estimated 11.4 million job openings and fewer than 6 million people classified as unemployed. But that’s because anybody who didn’t look for a job in the previous four weeks isn’t counted as unemployed anymore.
“That’s not because the U.S. economy is growing at exceptional rates and there’s something unusual happening on the demand side,” he said.
“This is an unusual situation on the supply side, and that’s much more related to the various policy measures that have been implemented … where people just didn’t have to participate in the labor market the way they used to. So, past few years, people’s attachment to the labor market has weakened quite a bit.”
Indeed, the infusion of new money was accompanied by the fear of COVID-19 and government-induced economic shutdowns. Millions of Americans have lost or left their jobs, and even when the economy reopened, many haven’t returned.
If the pre-pandemic economy only managed to keep up with population growth, adding about 74,000 jobs per month on average, the United States should have had about 2.4 million more people employed in May.
“For whatever reason, a lot of people still haven’t calibrated themselves back to the regular expectations of full-time work and they haven’t had to,” McKitrick said.
As he pointed out, this isn’t “something the Fed can fix.”
“That’s got to happen through government’s revisiting all the labor market policies to try to get labor force participation up,” he said.
In order to curb inflation, authorities “have to, first of all, stop expanding the money supply,” which means getting the government’s “fiscal policy under control,” he said.
There’s no indication the government is taking that road. The Biden administration’s latest idea has been to give Americans a temporary break from gasoline taxes. Fixed at 18.4 cents per gallon, nixing the tax would save motorists less than 4 percent on current fuel costs.
The tax contributes about $36 billion per year to the federal Highway Trust Fund, which pays for repairs of roads and bridges as well as public transit development. The fund is basically bankrupt, and the federal government, itself mired in deficits, has been repeatedly bailing it out. The tax break would thus mean either borrowing more money or printing more.
Fed representatives have been talking about a “soft landing”—slowing the economy just enough to curb inflation, but not so much as to cause a recession.
McKitrick acknowledged that the Fed did a “reasonably good job” of soft-landing the economy in the 1990s when inflation slightly increased and the Fed quickly countered it by aggressively raising rates.
This time, however, the Fed has waited a year with the rate hikes, initially writing the inflation off as “transitory.”
“Right now, they’re behind the curve on trying to get a soft landing,” McKitrick said.
Yet, the Fed’s intervention can still play a role.
“What the Fed ultimately can do is change expectations,” he said.
If people become satisfied that prices will at least stop significantly increasing, “that removes a lot of inflationary pressures in the economy” as “basically, people learn to live with the existing price levels on things,” without demanding higher wages, he said.
The problem is that the Fed is facing a volatile financial system in which higher interest rates can easily trigger a recession.
After the 2008 housing crash, the Fed pumped trillions of dollars into the economy without triggering runaway inflation in consumer goods.
“The mechanism there was asset purchases,” McKitrick said.
The Fed was initially buying stocks and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and later Treasurys and MBS in what it has called “quantitative easing,” creating new dollars in the process. But those dollars went largely to financial institutions that didn’t use them to buy consumer goods, but rather stocks, bonds, and other equities.
Meanwhile, “the banks didn’t engage in large-scale lending,” McKitrick said. That means the new dollars were to some degree kept out of the consumer market and thus out of sight of the government bean counters who calculate the consumer price index and personal consumption expenditures—the most commonly used measures of inflation.
Many economists argue, however, that the new money caused “asset inflation” in equity markets—boosting prices of stocks beyond valuations backed by fundamental financials.
Some companies “traded on extremely high multiples of their actual earnings,” McKitrick said.
Normally, investors would value a stock at 5 to 10 times the company’s annual earnings.
“But you had the emergence of all these social media companies, and the streaming companies, and software service companies where people were bidding up prices up to 75 or 80 times the actual sales revenue and it was all based on expectations of future earnings growth,” he said. “That’s where you have a recipe for a lot of volatility.”
Now that the Fed is raising rates, “all the cheap financing that allowed those companies to grow so rapidly is not going to be available,” he said.
“There will be some companies that have very high debt loads, and as it rolls over into higher interest rates, then for companies that have pretty small current cash flow—and it’s all based on future growth—it can just be very difficult for a company to be able to afford its interest bill to double.”
Moreover, the inflated valuations have become directly tied to the expectation that the Fed will continue to print more money.
“The market became very dependent on the Fed’s actions,” McKitrick said.
“So whenever there’s an interval where they [the Fed] were trying to taper their quantitative easing or actually began to sell assets, there’d be a pretty quick negative response in the stock market.”


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Proud to Serve as Patron Sponsor for The World Games 2022 in Birmingham
Bradley is pleased to announce that the firm is a proud Patron Sponsor of The World Games 2022, which will be held across Birmingham from July 7-17.
The World Games is an 11-day international, multi-sport event organized with the support of the International Olympic Committee. An anticipated 3,600 elite athletes from over 100 countries will compete in more than 30 of the fastest growing sports in the world. Held every four years, 2022 marks the event’s 40th anniversary and the first time the games have been hosted in the U.S. since the inaugural World Games in Santa Clara, California, in 1981.
Click here to view The World Games 2022 Digital Commemorative Book.


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When your company reaches a certain size and you are not ready to sell, you can give it a corporate polish by appointing a chief executive and stepping back from the business.
That is what the owners of Corporate Cabs did four years ago.
The four businessmen who have owned the 22-year-old business for the past 14 years hired former Incentive Solutions general manager Colin Samson, a corporate executive who had also worked for DB Breweries and Cadbury.
He was initially made sales director then promoted to chief executive.
Samson, the face of the company, says the business has grown from 120 owner-drivers when his employers bought it to 400, located in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown.
The busiest turn over more than $100,000 a year. "There are two types of operators: those who are semi-retired and those genuinely looking at working for Corporate Cabs as a reliable [career] option," says Samson.
A franchise costs from $20,000 to $100,000, depending on whether the driver wants a new car and owner-driver churn is about 30 a year.
"We have people from every walk of life - ex-military and police, ambulance officers, former courier drivers and previous business owners who want to get into something less stressful with fewer hours," says Samson.
He has created a website, www. jointhefleet.co.nz, to provide information to potential new owner-drivers.
"We are getting people in their late 30s and 40s but the average age is 58," says Samson. There are 32 women drivers, some in husband-and-wife teams.
Corporate Cabs' point of difference is that 80 per cent of drivers' work is pre-booked with clients such as law firms, hotels - including the Hilton, Sofitel and Heritage - TVNZ and airline Emirates.
"We target people who are going out in the morning and back in the afternoon. They don't have the stress of being out at night. Our drivers will take a woman passenger up to her front door."
They are also trained to open the car door, carry luggage and meet clients at airports.
Corporate Cabs also has a subsidiary, NZ Limousines, which caters to the wedding and corporate tours markets, using the same cars without markings.
The business is committed to improving efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
It has a carbon offset programme operating with Energy Mad, the Ecobulb manufacturer, and Holden New Zealand.
The programme has won the business custom with firms that receive incentives for patronising sustainable transport providers, says Samson.
Corporate Cabs claims to be the first New Zealand cab company to offer customers a smartphone pick-up request application that connects directly to the firm's electronic booking system.
The app works with Apple and Android phones.
In 2011 the cab company took the unusual step of entering the glossy lifestyle magazine market with ME, a 4000 print run bi-monthly publication free to passengers.
"We used to have magazines in the cars. We thought why not create a magazine we had influence on," says Samson.
It has attracted luxury advertising, and with publication handled by The Marketing Dept, doesn't cost Corporate Cabs anything to produce.
Make sure your business systems work well for customers and try to work alongside them.
Best business achievement
Named a Superbrand by Nielsen NZ in 2012 alongside Air New Zealand and Jockey.


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Tag Results for ces (1 - 10) of 10
2016 AT&T Developer Summit
CES, developer, summit
Developers Show Off Super Brain Waves at the 2013 AT&T Developer Summit
Innovation ruled the day at the 2013 AT&T Developer Summit, recently held in Las Vegas on Jan. 7, the day before the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show.
Feature-packed Smartphone in an Affordable Package- The Pantech Discover Arrives at AT&T Jan. 11
Kicking off 2013 with one of Pantech’s most impressive Android smartphones to date, AT&T announces the Pantech Discover™, available for $49.99** with a two-year agreement, in all AT&T channels beginning Jan. 11.
AT&T Announces New Call Management API and Alpha API Program
From the stage of the AT&T Developer Summit in Las Vegas, AT&T today outlined a new Call Management API offering developers the ability to create applications using an individual’s AT&T mobile number to access multiple devices....
AT&T Digital Life Home Security and Automation Available to Homeowners in March
Turn down the thermostat at home without leaving the office, catch live video of your pets with your smartphone, or lock the back door from the other side of town.
Share Photos and Online Videos to Your TV with New AT&T U-verse Enabled Apps
AT&T has introduced two U-verse Enabled apps which give consumers more innovative ways to share and interact with content: Twonky Beam, developed by PacketVideo, and Pix & Flix.
AT&T to Extend "It Can Wait" Reach in 2013
Building on a campaign that has raised awareness of the dangers of texting while driving and inspired more than 1.2 million pledges not to text behind the wheel, AT&T today announced plans to expand the It Can Wait program in 2013....
AT&T Announces API Platform to Boost Innovation and Collaboration with Mobile App Developers
AT&T today outlined a series of developer initiatives at the sixth annual AT&T Developer Summit, - one day before the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets Chief Marketing Officer David Christopher announced the new AT&T API Platform for frictionless access to APIs, or software programming “hooks” that allow developers to easily incorporate AT&T services into their applications....
- Ralph de la Vega, president and chief executive officer, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets, and Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer, Microsoft, jointly announced from the stage of the annual AT&T Developer Summit -- a day before the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas -- that the first 4G LTE Windows Phones will be available exclusively from AT&T.
CES 2014 and AT&T Developer Summit News | AT&T
News and events at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show. Get the latest information from CES 2014.


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African Swine Fever: Nigerian Farms Hit As 200,000 Pigs Culled By Farmers
The African Swine Fever has affected farmers in South West Nigeria as 200,000 pigs get culled due to disease.
The National Secretary, Pig Farmers Association of Nigeria, Femi Malomo said:” 200,000 pigs were culled from farmers as a result of African Swine Fever infections in Lagos and Ogun states”.
Nigeria is the biggest producer of pigs in West Africa , the Pig Farmers have been affected by the border closure policies that prevented land exports to West Africa.
” we have 10 Million pigs at the moment without market for it is a result of the border closure band travel restrictions across the country. We have lost 10 billion Naira ” Malomo added.
Pig Farmers lamented that the state borders closures due to coronavirus stopped them from selling across the nation deeply affecting revenues.
Africa has recorded 60 outbreaks of Swine Fever , which also affected pig markets in Europe and Asia from 2016-2019.


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It has almost been a year since the search engine giant first showcased its awesome Google Glass wearable technology, and we have seen the project evolve ever since. There are many people around the world who are waiting to get their hands on the awesome wearable gadget. And likewise, there are many companies around the world which are trying to make their own versions of the wearable device. You might have already seen a few of them on sale, but they will not be the same as Google Glass.
Anyway, the new rumor is that Microsoft, the Redmond based tech giant, is also thinking of working on a similar product to rival the search engine giant. Uberphones writes, “This bit of information was revealed by Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets, and this particular analyst claimed that Google Glass will also mark be the beginning of a “major push” where wearable technology is concerned.” That might just be correct.
And we also have rumors which say that the South Korean tech giants Samsung and LG have been working on a similar piece of hardware. There could be a very good potential for competition in the world of wearable technology pretty soon. There will come a time in the future where we will see people all around us either beeping, or vibrating, or flashing, all because of the wearable technology accessories that they are wearing. I am just waiting very eagerly for that kind of a world.
But anyway, what do you guys think about the Microsoft product which will rival Google Glass? Well, we do not even know if this is true, if Microsoft is really working on any such product. So until we get a definite news about this, we should just take this news in with a pinch of salt.


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No. 3 PC maker Dell’s stock has skyrocketed 13 percent on a report that the company is “in talks” to go private.
Bloomberg reported today that Dell has discussed going private with at least two private-equity firms. That said, the discussions are early and could fall apart at any time.
Dell has struggled in recent years to continue making serious cash off the declining PC market, so it has moved to offer more enterprise-focused services. Dell bet heavily on the enterprise with its $2.4 billion acquisition of Quest Software.
The rumors of taking company private shot the company’s stock up quite a bit. The stock opened trading today at $10.88, but hit an intra-day trading high of $12.83, a more than 13 percent increase.
Check out Dell’s stock price jump in the chart below:
Photo via Flickr/Dell


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Here's the question of the day: do you remember what happened to the car business in 2009? Here's a hint, it applied to the whole economy. Here's the answer: the car business tanked, even as the economy slid into a major recession that lasted for two years. The recession cost jobs and savings and it [...]
Here's the question of the day: do you remember what happened to the car business in 2009? Here's a hint, it applied to the whole economy.
Here's the answer: the car business tanked, even as the economy slid into a major recession that lasted for two years. The recession cost jobs and savings and it made a mess of established credit markets. The bottom fell out of a market that was rampant with lousy loans; poor risks who were granted subprime loans to purchase vehicles and who then lost the same vehicles when they couldn't afford the payments.
It was a situation that wasn't good for consumers, the car industry, financial sector or the economy as a whole. It took major legislation, known as the Dodd-Frank Act, to restore order to credit markets and to clean up the trainwreck that the financials markets had become. The Act fixed a broken system where financial institutions ran amok in their race to make as much as possible at the expense of everything else. And, consumers gained protection from a system gone wild.
It's true that almost immediately financial institutions chafed at the regulations they faced, but they complied, and by 2012 the recession slid into distant memory as new car loans began to flood in, keeping financial houses happy.
And, while the financial industry complained about the Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPB) and its enforcement actions, they still worked with it and put their house in order.
Now we find that, according to one of the latest Executive Orders, that Dodd-Frank helped to break the financial industry. In the world of alternative facts, Dodd-Frank, which contributed to turning things around and end many of the rampant abuses of financial institutions, was the villain of the piece. The alternative factors would have anyone believe that because they protected consumers from abuses, that the financial institutions were the victims.
The alternative fact folks would have the country restored to about 2008, when the financial institutions ran roughshod over regulators who were also quite lax in enforcement. That the financial institutions were spurring subprime loans to people with shaky credit is something the alternative factors applaud. Indeed, they would likely call it a bonus for the economy as it allowed retailers and car dealers to expand their market base. The alternative factors would also have us believe that it is okay for financial institutions to play around with the savings and retirement accounts of millions of workers and the retired, as well. Why is it okay? It's simple, to the alternative fact-filled universe they are the experts and, well, we're not and that's just how it is. They said it was okay and that's it.
That this type of behavior led to the meltdown of the economy in 2009-11 and the Great Recession that caused millions to lose their jobs, houses, cars and savings. The recession was just, to in the alternative fact universe, a consequence of 'natural market forces.' Folks who were the victims of this market were only collateral damage as those who benefited from the market meltdown were the chosen. That they were also part of the one percent of earners who gained billions in this market was also fitting to those who believed with religious fervor that the meltdown was good for the country. (There were those who did, believe it or not.)
These are the people that the new administration is trying to assist by trying to gut Dodd-Frank in the name of 'economic reform.' Understand this; it is not economic reform. It is just Trump aiding his wealthy friends and contemporaries in the world of money. He calls it 'reform' but it isn't. He calls it 'cutting unnecessary regulations' and overreach, but it is not. It is only taking the shackles that have controlled the financial industry off and letting them run riot again.
You don't think that having two captains of Wall Street in charge of the economy is a mistake, do you? It all seems to be part of a carefully scripted plan as the new administration wants us to believe that they know how best to run things. He honestly believes they will jumpstart an already working economy and that they will bring jobs back to the U.S. Honestly, they don't care. They only care about lining their own pockets with as much as they can.
The only victims in this are you and your friends and neighbors. If it is left to go unchallenged, the car sales mess of 2009-11 will likely be here sooner than not, and it may just last longer because of those 'who know best!' Those 'who know best' do understand quite a bit, but it is how to help themselves.
Quite possibly credit will tank again, and the economy will end up in another mess. Car dealers and their customers will feel it in terms of higher interest rates, toughened conditions, and longer loan spans. In 2009-11, car loans went from five years to seven years routinely as those who could afford to buy were forced into cars that were just above their means. You see, car dealers took advantage of the financial malaise as did others. That was when the whole house of cards collapsed, and car sales slumped to 8.5 million per year.
Right now they are cruising at about 17.5 million cars per year, and the industry is in good shape. The millions of jobs that the automotive industry supports are also in good condition, at this moment. If the gutting of Dodd-Frank succeeds those jobs and everything else that has been rebuilt is in jeopardy. It's quite a time in history, one in which we have to be careful of the worst happening because it might.


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Samsung Galaxy A73 One UI 5.0 update is now accessible in India
Samsung began distributing the One UI 5.0 upgrade for Galaxy A73 smartphones, which is based on Android 13 last week. After initially going live in Malaysian markets, the Galaxy A73 Android 13 upgrade is now accessible in India.
The Galaxy A73 smartphone, which launched with One UI 4.1 running on Android 12, has now received its first significant software update with Android 13-based One UI 5.0. With the latest OS version, these mid-range device owners will likely have access to several new features. It will give them a premium-level experience.
What are the new features included in the One UI 5.0 update?
With the addition of 16 palettes in One UI 5.0, the Color Palette function of One UI 4.1, which was previously amazing, has become even more wonderful. On the other hand, the business is providing new features and enhancing camera capabilities. It will help the consumers take spectacular photos and videos with the 108MP camera of the Galaxy A73.
The One UI 5.0 upgrade also includes Stack widgets, per-app language, Lockdown mode, and new multitasking gestures. It also can turn off RAM Plus, Extract text from the image tool, and many more improvements.
The company has incorporated new and sophisticated tools that will allow you to customize every aspect of the lock screen. In addition, the System Settings are gaining three new menus. It will include connected devices, modes and routines, and security and privacy, allowing you to control all related settings in one location.
One UI 5.0’s user interface has also undergone minor changes. New app icons, fluid animations, better performance, greater emphasis on Quick settings and the Notification panel. Many other improvements are included.


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GRANTON, Nova Scotia—Michelin North America Inc. plans to phase out nearly all tire production at its Pictou County, Nova Scotia, car and light truck tire plant over the next 18 months, resulting in about 500 job losses.
The tire maker said the move is in response to a continuing shift in the North American car tire market to larger size tires and the limits of the existing plant.
"The market has changed dramatically since the plant was built in 1971, and the company is changing with market demands," said Grant Ferguson, president, Michelin North America (Canada).
"Market demand for small car tire dimensions, such as the 14-, 15- and 16- inch tires produced at the Pictou County plant, is diminishing. Investment costs to upgrade the 43-year-old plant for larger car tire production are not cost-effective."
Michelin will phase out production at the 43-year-old plant in two phases. It will eliminate production of small-dimension car tires by June 30 this year, affecting about 200 employees, the company said, and then phase out the remaining capacity by June 30, 2015.
Despite the phase-out of tire production, the Pictou County plant will remain open, producing some high-performance tires and tire membranes and continuing as a rubber-compounding site, supplying other company factories.
Michelin lists employment at the plant of slightly more than 1,000, with an annual capacity of nearly 40,000 metric tons. All impacted hourly or salaried employees will have an opportunity to continue working for Michelin, the company said.
"We have a long history of manufacturing here, and we care deeply about the well-being of our work force and the community," Ferguson said. "We will continue as a significant manufacturing employer in Pictou County with our remaining operations on site, and we will continue to invest in Nova Scotia."
Phasing out most tire manufacturing at Pictou County will not affect Michelin's other two Canadian tire plants in Bridgewater and Waterville, Nova Scotia, the company said.
Severance packages are available for all impacted employees.
"We will work closely with all Michelin Pictou County employees affected by this decision to assess their situation and to help determine their best option and their choice moving forward—whether they will be able to retire, transfer to another position or transfer to another Michelin location in Nova Scotia," Ferguson said.
In spite of the production cuts, Michelin said it remains committed to Nova Scotia, where it plans to invest $66.5 million in its three Nova Scotia plants, Ferguson said, including projects at Bridgewater to extend wire capacity, ongoing investments in the Waterville plant for X-One wide-base truck tires, and $10 million for improvements to the rubber mixing operation at Pictou County.
At the same time, Michelin Canada said it is launching Michelin Development, a community development program to assist in creating new jobs in the small business sector in the neighboring communities of Colchester, Pictou, Antigonish and Guysborough counties.
Michelin Development will provide low-interest business loans and small business expertise to eligible applicants. More information on this program will be released later this spring.
Michelin Development has been implemented in other situations, Ferguson said, and has helped 84 small businesses over the last eight years grow, resulting in more than 1,300 new jobs. Among these projects was one in Canada in 2006 to aid workers at the BF Goodrich tire plant in Kitchener, Ontario.


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Visitors to the UK’s biggest bike show, Motorcycle Live in association with Bikesure Insurance, have once again voted for their winners in the following categories: ‘Best Manufacturer Stand’, ‘Best Manufacturer Feature’, ‘Best Non-Manufacturer Experience’ and ‘Manufacturer giving the best Customer Experience’.
BMW Motorrad UK was a double winner, securing ‘Best Manufacturer Stand’ and ‘Manufacturer providing the best Customer Experience’. BMW showcased its 30-strong range of motorcycles, including hotly-anticipated new models as well as wow-ing crowds with its ‘Make Life a Ride’ arena where instructors from the BMW Rider Training and BMW Off Road Skills schools showed off their skills. Aspiring riders also had the chance to try out a BMW for size on a rolling road.
It was a hat-trick for Suzuki UK, winning ‘Best Manufacturer Feature’ for its restoration of two of Barry Sheene’s race bikes which came from the Sheene family home in Australia. Restored in conjunction with Suzuki’s Vintage Parts Programme, Sheene’s last Grand Prix bike – a DAF Trucks-sponsored 1984 Harris-framed XR45 RG500 and a special XR23A 652cc big bore RG500 were restored and fired into life at the show.
Infinity Motorcycles also achieved the hat-trick, winning ‘Best Non-Manufacturer Experience’ for the 3rd year running, by creating a retail village showcasing a huge range of products, giving customers great choice on high quality products, along with great advice.
Tom Poxon, brand communications and partnerships manager at BMW Motorrad UK, said, “The customer experience is central to everything we do at BMW Motorrad UK, so it is hugely gratifying to be recognised for providing the best customer service, alongside having Motorcycle Live’s best stand. Our presentation at the show evolves in response to customer feedback – so our new stand design, our 2020 model range, plus our live action arena are informed by all those who love the BMW Motorrad brand.”
Suzuki GB aftersales co-ordinator, Tim Davies, who organised the live Sheene build said, “To win this award for the third time in a row is absolutely fantastic and very rewarding for the work that the team put in, it makes it all worthwhile. To be able to engage with so many people at the show in this way is fantastic. To listen and talk to so many people about their memories of Barry whether it be about racing or his colourful personality is always fun.”
Dave Holloway, Sales Director of Infinity Motorcycles, said, “We’re really pleased to win the ‘Best Non-Manufacturer Experience’ for our retail village – and extremely proud that it was for the third year in a row! It means a lot to everyone involved that their efforts are appreciated by visitors.”
Over 104,000 bike fans visited Motorcycle Live over the course of the nine day show, enjoying displays from 46 of the world’s leading manufacturers and over 220 exhibitor stands and retail outlets.
Motorcycle Live 2020 will take place at The NEC, Birmingham from 21 – 29 November – save the date!


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TULSA -- If people are looking for jobs right now, then they can likely find plenty of openings at trucking companies across the U.S. and in Green Country.
The American Trucking Association recently reported that the industry needs to hire about 50,000 truck drivers before the end of the year. The association blamed the shortage on a number of factors, including aging drivers, regulatory challenges and lifestyle issues.
In response, the association reported that companies are raising pay and offering other incentives to attract more drivers. Money is what led David Lykins to change careers and pursue becoming a professional truck driver.
"I just didn't know there was such a demand for truck drivers and what they actually paid truck drivers," Lykins said.
"The salaries I'm seeing," he added," are 60- to 70-thousand (dollars). I know that some over-the-road truck drivers, it's my understanding, make upwards of 90-thousand dollars a year."
Lykins enrolled at Tulsa Tech's professional truck driving program in August. Tulsa Tech launched the program in 2016 because of the growing demand for truck drivers. The first 40 students all found work, according to Donnie Tulk.
"America moves by truck," said Tulk, coordinator of Tulsa Tech's professional truck driving program. "To keep things on the shelves for food, clothing, shoes, things like that, trucks have to keep moving."
Experts said that if companies cannot hire enough drivers, then consumers could feel the effects in terms of product shortages and higher prices at stores.
This is another reason why trainees, like Lykins, are finding jobs more easily accessible to them.
"Actually, I have an internship lined up," he said, "so I have a job here waiting on me probably in the next week or two."
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The number of people setting up micro businesses has risen dramatically new figures have shown.
There are now a record-breaking 5.5 million companies in the UK with 99 per cent of these being SMEs according to new figures by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
In 2000 there were 3.5 million SMEs rising to 4.5 million in 2010.
A large portion of the new businesses fall into the micro business category which means they employ less than 9 people.
At the start of the Brexit process it was widely predicted that small and medium sized businesses may be negatively affected by the UKs withdrawal from the EU. However, data from LinkedIn has indicated a five per cent increase in the number of micro businesses since the Brexit vote.
Work life balance, flexibility and freedom are all reasons for entrepreneurs wanting to take the leap into self-employment. It’s also predicted that the number of micro businesses may rise even further due to people being laid off by larger companies who are looking to streamline their workforce as a result of Brexit.
Head of Businesscomparison.com Philip Brennan comments:
“SMEs are crucial to the economy and, it would appear that rather than being put off by Brexit many entrepreneurs are taking the opportunity to start-up their own enterprises. This is very encouraging. What we do need now is adequate support for these businesses both in terms of Government legislation and funding. Bank of England statistics have revealed that lending to Britain’s private sector businesses by the largest UK banks fell by £536 million from December to January. It’s crucial that these micro businesses have access to the funds they need to sustain them and to grow. We don’t fully know what the impact of Brexit will be so it’s important for SMEs to be in as strong a position as possible as the process continues.”


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Airbnb is planning a swoop on posh British holiday companies in a move that will further cement the company’s dominance in the holiday lettings market.
The ￡700 million deal would be the Silicon Valley firm’s biggest takeover to date, seeing it inherit a portfolio of holiday companies which includes Hoseasons – a 70-year-old camping business – cottages.com, James Villa Holidays and other brands with holiday lets in Greece, Croatia and Italy.
Private equity firms Blackstone and CVC Capital are also among those reported to be interested in buying the rental sites, which have been put up for sale by American hotel empire Wyndham Worldwide Corporation, which counts Travelodge and Ramada among its brands.
The company is now valued at ￡24 billion with Airbnb’s 36-year-old co-founder and chief executive, Brian Chesky, worth ￡2.8 billion.
Read original article


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The discount can potentially get even higher.
The all-new second-generation 2021 Toyota Mirai is a stunning sedan powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology. Its predecessor shares that powertrain system but not the gorgeous styling. Introduced in 2014, the original Mirai may look somewhat futuristic but it's far from pretty. Only around 11,000 or so examples were sold, a figure Toyota hopes to surpass with the new model. And just as the 2021 Mirai is about to start arriving in dealerships, it appears there are still some unsold first-gen examples Toyota is desperate to get rid of.
According to a bulletin sent to dealerships in California, the only state where the Mirai is sold, buyers are being offered a $32,000 rebate along with 0 percent financing. MSRP: nearly $59,000.
The $32k credit, discovered by CarsDirect, can only be had when taking out a loan through Toyota Financial. What isn't being advertised is that buyers can combine this incentive with zero-interest for 72 months. No other vehicle on sale in the US right now has a discount anywhere as big as this. And there's more. The Golden State has what's called the Clean Vehicle Rebate which offers $4,500 in savings. Toyota also continues to offer a hydrogen refueling credit worth $15,000.
Add it all up and that's $51,000 in potential savings, not to mention six years of no interest. California residents who don't mind the old Mirai's funky looks and simply want an amazing deal on an ultra-fuel-efficient vehicle (312 miles of range), need to act fast.
Inventory is quickly dwindling and can be hard to find in some parts of the state. Leasing one of these outgoing Mirais probably isn't in the customer's best interest because, oddly, the available discounts differ depending on where one lives. For example, customers in Northern California have an $8,000 leasing discount, but those in Southern California will find a $7,750 price cut.
The new Mirai is sure to quickly overshadow its predecessor - and not just because of the design. It costs $9,000 less in base trim and Toyota is already offering 0 percent financing for 60 months and a $10,000 APR credit. It will also remain eligible for an $8k hydrogen tax credit.


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Factory activity expands, home prices climb, layoffs at Merck and seasonal hiring at Amazon
Data from weekly economic reports can’t be researched.
As prosecutors investigate alleged money laundering, the Vatican takes steps to be more financially transparent.
The Dow rose 62 points Tuesday, as investors don’t appear to be worried about the stalemate.
The U.S. auto industry sees a 27-month streak of gains end, but most expect sales to recover in this quarter.
Demand for motor vehicles and housing-related goods is bolstering orders at factories.
For now, it appears that investors aren’t anticipating that the stalemate in Washington will cause enough disruption to threaten a gradual U.S. recovery.
Some proprietors say they'd rather lower prices than alienate loyal customers.
Sales, meals and lodging taxes go up, while newspapers and periodicals are taxed for the first time, to keep the state budget in balance.


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IOV Labs Launch
We are happy to announce the launch of IOV Labs brand. IOV is the brand behind RSK and RIF Platforms.
RIF Labs that acquired RSK Labs will soon be renamed IOV Labs in order to differentiate the organization from the open source RSK and RIF OS protocols that the company built in order to extend Bitcoin Network capabilities and bring the Internet of Value vision one step closer to realization.
RIF Labs will maintain its leadership team and assets. It will continue to operate as a purpose driven organization focused on promoting and developing the open, blockchain-based financial system of the future that will enable worldwide financial inclusion and bridge the gap between these nascent technologies and mass adoption.
RSK Network, secured by the Bitcoin Network, is currently the most secure Smart Contract platform in the world.
RIF OS protocols, built on top of RSK, solve the main problems faced by the Blockchain ecosystem today by enabling sustainable scalability that can achieve payment processing levels comparable to those typically achieved presently on the credit card industry. These protocols will create a highly efficient application development environment for developers, disruptors, governments and corporations that are willing to profit from the security, scalability of low-cost of these platforms. RIF OS will also provide a unified environment with all the tools needed to easily create and manage digital identities, reputational models, commercial agreements and transactions in a global and open financial system.
For more information about IOV Labs visit https://www.iovlabs.org


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Dota Auto Chess was a custom game created by Drodo Studio that became an instant hit with the gaming
There's always the possibility a bug or glitch has slipped through the developer's fingers and it appears that's been the
By Steven Cropley
EPICENTER 2019 is the last Major of the 2018-2019 Dota Pro Circuit. The organizers were a bit too excited at
With discussions about the economy thriving following IEM Sydney, everyone is trying to find a solution hoping Valve will listen.
In the aftermath of OGA Dota PIT Minor, and with just a pair of Minor and Major qualifiers on this
photo by ESL One
A few days back we saw a post from Vici Gaming on their
Weibo account which offered us
Artifact is dead. Whether it was stillborn or only died post-launch is beyond the point and the simple fact is
By Radoslav "Nydra" Kolev
Photo: Valve / Artifact
Valve's Artifact team has issued a statement regarding the current state of the game and their future plans.
Valve has released it's latest update to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The March 21 update is a small one but makes
With the latest update pushed by Valve to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive comes the newest case. The Prisma Case “17 community-designed
In a recent 13 people lay off at the Valve offices, Artifact’s game designer Richard Garfield and his long time