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As one marketing exec said of VW’s new ad:
"It's pretty horrific," says Ricki Fairley-Brown, president of the multicultural marketing agency Dove Marketing. "Why do they have a white guy from Minnesota faking a Jamaican accent?".
Here it is. Brace yourselves.
VW insists it will broadcast the ad during Sunday's game on CBS. "There is no thought to pulling it," says Tim Mahoney, chief product and marketing office at Volkswagen of America. It began showing online Monday and since then, has been a social-media buzz saw — with most folks liking it, but some critics totally trashing it.
The minister of tourism for Jamaica likes it, but what does he know. Then there’s the Coke commercial controversy. If you don’t know what the objections are, watch it and figure out who’s unhappy with it.
Everyone should be unhappy with it. That’s all-around awful. But you can vote for your favorite! “Meteor striking everyone involved” is not an option. You can follow the various contestants on Twitter, too, for that utterly fictional sense of "social connectivity" companies are so desperate to attain.
As long as we’re on the subject of Coke and the Middle East: here’s a late-40s ad for Coke, show in Egyptian theaters.
It’s as no one knew what to do with the bottle until the singer told them. Don’t sit there looking miserable! Drink it!
WANT A BURGER? NEIGH Don’t worry. It’s not like American Burger Kings use horsemeat. Daily Mail:
Burger King has tonight admitted that it has been selling burgers and Whoppers containing horsemeat despite two weeks of denials.
The fast food chain, which has more than 500 UK outlets, had earlier given a series of ‘absolute assurances’ that its products were not involved.However, new tests have revealed these guarantees were incorrect in a revelation that threatens to destroy the trust of customers.
Asked how many executives at the company faced dismissal over the scandal, a Burger King spokesman stomped his foot four times.
FROM HERE TO THERE Should you be working at all today, or should you be spending the day Gambian Style? BBC says:
In the tiny African nation of The Gambia, public sector workers will now clock in at 8am and clock out at 6pm, Monday to Thursday. They'll still do a 40-hour week but have the luxury of Friday off.
President Jammeh wants the extra rest day to "allow Gambians to devote more time to prayers, social activities and agriculture".
You can debate the wisdom of this if you like; that’s not why I bring it up.
The Gambia? Are there others claiming to be A Gambia, and they want to be clear who's the true Gambia?
TECH Using metaphors to familiarize people with new technology: sometimes it’s a bad idea. This piece brought back the heady days when tablet computing would eliminate the PC as we knew it. Really! The Newton, General Magic’s products. A reminder:
Start up the Magic Cap OS, which debuted on Sony and Motorola tablets in 1994, and you were faced with an actual desk, complete with images of a touchtone phone and rolodex. To access other apps, you clicked out of the “office,” walked down the “hallway,” and poked into any number of “rooms.” The internet browser was a further trek: out of the office building, down the main street to the town square, and into a diner, where the web was was finally accessible by clicking on a poster.
He’s not kidding.
It would take years before tablets caught on, and these guys wouldn't be there to see it. General Magic didn't survive the tech crash / post 9/11 economy; it closed in 2002. But one of its projects is still in use: OnStar, the thing in your car where you shout "help, I turned over and I'in a ditch and wolves are circling the vehicle," and they send someone to help you. General Magic developed it for . . . General Motors. That's satisfying, somehow.


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Apparently caught off guard by strong demand for Xim, a mobile photo-sharing app from its Fuse Labs researchers, a regretful Microsoft has released it globally for Android and Windows Phone, while promising iOS support is due soon.
Google's YouTube division has bought the Directr movie-making app for smartphones and will offer it free.
Flickr has unveiled updated camera shooting features such as new, live-view filters; customised filter adjustments; and sophisticated grid, zoom, focus, and exposure lock controls. And everything's wrapped in an intuitive, gesture-based interface.
Step aside, Vine: 15-second videos are coming to Instagram on iOS and Android, complete with basic editing, filters, and stabilisation.
Is the HTC One a smartphone that takes pictures or a camera that makes phone calls? That question may sound facetious, but there's the buzz around the upcoming HTC One and its newfangled UltraPixel camera--which will land in consumer hands on April 1...
Teacher Dave Basulto knows first hand what shrinking budgets can mean to school arts programs. His solution? Pair an inexpensive iPad mini with the iOgrapher (funding through April 13), a mounting system he's developed for Apple's tiny tablet.
Consumers might not have to upgrade their phones to take advantage of a new video compression system that can send high-definition images much more efficiently than today's most popular formats.
Twitter on Thursday released a new, video-focused iPhone app--replete with a social network of its own. If a tweet is 140 characters and a picture's worth 1000 words, a six-second video of the sort you can create with Vine must be worth 144,000 words...
Apple iPhone 4S users can easily annoy people around them by talking to their handset when using the built-in assistant feature known as Siri.
A pair of researchers from Dartmouth University have devised a metric for quantifying how much a digital photograph has been altered by digital photo-editing techniques.
Apple's major overhaul of its iOS operating system arrives today, but amidst the excitement comes a major concern: Will iOS 5 function properly on older model iPhones? Or will there be an added circle of bricked-iPhone hell comparable to what happene...
Adobe plans to release six applications designed to be used exclusively on touch-based devices, including apps to execute creative tasks such as photo editing and Web page design, the company announced Monday.
Name: Terenzio Volpicelli
Is Facebook looking to take on popular photo filter apps like Instagram and Hipstamatic by bringing its own photo filter feature? According to some anonymous Facebook engineers quoted in The New York Times, yes.
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Cinema fans have been yearning to get back into screens since the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic shut down all forms of entertainment. Cineworld, who also owns Picturehouse, struggled through the grip of lockdown as films stopped being released by major studios and people could not legally attend any viewings. In the past few months, lockdown measures have eased, allowing cinemas to open once again, but Cineworld punters are more out of pocket than before the pandemic.
Cineworld this week announced sales remain “well down” due to Covid restrictions.
The restrictions have impacted not only new movie releases but the number of screenings and viewers per day.
With added social distancing measures in each screening, the brand is not filling up viewings as easily.
The firm revealed the highest-grossing movies of the year so far are Peter Rabbit 2, A Quiet Place Part II and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It – all of which grossed just under $50 million (£35 million).
These numbers are significantly smaller than last year’s earnings of $103 million (£74 million).
Cineworld bosses said the average ticket price rise was “was driven by a mix of customer behaviour and timing of film releases”.
The firm added: “The decrease in admissions was due to the impact of the temporary closure of our cinemas for significant periods during the six months ended June 30, 2021, and June 30 2020, as well as a lack of major film releases as distributors, delayed the release of major titles due to the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The franchise no doubt suffered from a collection of digital releases as well.
Bosses said there was a “material uncertainty” around the company’s future if lockdowns continued.
Despite the cinema’s rising prices, film fans have a lot to look forward to this year.
Next month the latest Marvel adventure, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will hit the big screen on September 3.
This is the first Marvel outing since Black Widow – which was a prequel in the current MCU.
Following numerous delays, the thrilling movie is due to end Daniel Craig‘s journey as 007, ushering in a new version of the hero in the coming years.
SOURCE / PA


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Australia Launches First Solar-Powered EV Charging Station
The launch of a 45kW “car shade” installation in NSW coastal shire of Ballina off the southern part of Byron Bay in Australia also inaugurated the first solar-powered public electric vehicle (EV) charging station in the continent.
Set up at Knockrow tourist attraction of Macadamia Castle, the PV/EV charging station is known to be the first on the Pacific Highway. Moreover, on the Far North Coast, it is considered one of the biggest solar installations.
The 45kW solar system was built by Smart Commercial Solar and highlights 180 PV panels structured on a purpose-built car port. This solar installation will produce energy for half of Macadamia Castle and at the same time, power up electric-run vehicles of visitors.
Tony Gilding, owner of Macadamia Castle, initially thought of placing solar panels on the castle roofs, but the surrounding trees made it difficult to do so. As a substitute, Smart Commercial Solar suggested a solar car park to provide “car shade” for visitor’s electric vehicles, along with the installation of an EV charging station.
According to Gilding, the solar car park was something he thought of instantly since it can be structured in the most feasible location where the sun’s energy can be most maximised. It invites strong business potential aside from environmental benefits.
Greens NSW MP John Kaye, who was at the launch, is one with Gilding’s brilliant idea of utilizing solar energy through these charging stations. He referred to the project as Australia’s example for green economy in the future. He added that over the 50 years, solar panels and EVs make a perfect match in enhancing the energy systems.
It is noted that solar carports in Australia are yet to kick start in the business solar market while in the US, more than 100MW solar carports were already set up for four years now. The US was expected to add more than 180MW solar carports last year compared to 157MW in 2013 according to Greentech Media Research. This could generate an increase of almost $850 million in the solar market in a span of two years.
The decrease in PV prices and a change in the structure of such types of solar installations are the main reasons for the boom of the US market, considering that different sectors of society are more inclined to saving on their electricity bills.
Scott Moskowitz, author of the GTM report, commented that developers of commercial solar systems could leverage on increased customer value through larger solar projects and bigger energy savings given the decrease in market price of solar carports.
Another one to follow suit in solar panel installation this year is a transport and logistics company in Switzerland, Galliker Transport. The firm installed a solar rooftop system, structured in 2721-module grid-connected roofing, intended to shelter 2000 electric vehicles while generating 544,900 kWh of electricity. This means close to 720 MWh in the first full year, covering 100% of the energy requirements of the building.


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Venetian Masked Ball with special guests Eddie Izzard and Renée Montagne
The Los Angeles World Affairs Council (LAWAC) Venetian Masked Ball will take place on Saturday, December 1 at The Riviera Country Club. The black-tie fundraiser kicks off LAWAC’s 60th anniversary Diamond Jubilee year and will feature an evening of fine dining and dancing, as well as remarks from special guest Eddie Izzard, the highly acclaimed British comedian and EMMY Award-winning actor.
Izzard will be introduced by Renée Montagne, co-host of NPR’s Morning Edition. The evening will also feature entertainment from Studio Zanni, a traditional Venetian Commedia dell’Arte troupe, and the Susie Hansen Latin Band. The event begins with a reception at 6:00pm followed by dinner and dancing at 7:00pm.
All guests are encouraged to embrace the spirit of the evening by wearing a mask. Italian import company Gioia is the official mask sponsor of LAWAC’s Venetian Masked Ball. Their handcrafted masks are available for purchase at lawac.gioiacompany.com.
All tickets and table sponsorships are available now by contacting the LAWAC office at 213.628.2333 or by visiting their homepage, here.
Funds raised from ticket sales and Gioia mask purchases benefit LAWAC and its mission to educate Americans about foreign affairs and to enhance the international standing of the city of Los Angeles.


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GDP Unchanged in October
The Canadian economy was unchanged in October after growing 0.2% in September, according to Statistics Canada. Economists had been expecting another 0.2% gain. Service-producing industries rose 0.2%, mainly from growth in wholesale trade, retail trade and real estate. Meanwhile, goods-producing industries contracted 0.4%, largely due to the mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction sector. The wholesale trade sector grew for the 9th time in 11 months in October, with a 1.4% rise more than offsetting September's decline of 0.9%. Six of nine subsectors expanded, led by wholesalers of machinery, equipment and supplies (+3.4%), personal and household goods (+3.2%) and petroleum products (+3.1%). The wholesaling of motor vehicles and parts declined 1.7% as automotive imports decreased. The retail sector expanded 1.1% in October, almost offsetting three consecutive months of declines. Gains were posted in 7 of 12 subsectors, led by a 2.3% increase at motor vehicle and parts dealers as activity at new and used car dealers was up. General merchandise stores gained 2.4%, more than offsetting three months of declines. Food and beverage stores were up 1.0% while building material and garden equipment and supplies continued to grow, rising 2.0%. The construction sector edged down 0.1% in October following four consecutive monthly increases. Repair construction fell 0.3% after rising 1.6% in September. Non-residential construction contracted 0.3%, as a decline in commercial construction more than offset growth in industrial and public construction. Residential construction fell 0.1% as declines in single-family dwellings and home alterations and improvements more than offset growth in doubles, rows and apartment dwelling units. Engineering and other construction activities edged up 0.1%. On an annualized basis, GDP improved 1.7% in the third quarter, exceeding forecasts for an increase of 1.6%. The second quarter estimate was revised down to 4.3% from the previously reported 4.5% increase.
Bank of Canada Holds Rates at 1%
The Bank of Canada held its target interest rate steady at 1% at its meeting in early December. Analysts say it may be March or April before the bank raises rates again. Notes issued by BOC show that although they believe that higher rates will eventually be required, they think the current policy is appropriate for the economy at this time. They foresee a gradual increase in inflation, which has consistently been running below the target of 2.0%, which is the same as the US target.
Unemployment Falls to 5.7%
Unemployment fell to a four-decade low of 5.7% in December from 5.9% in November and Canada’s Labor Force Survey showed that the economy added 78,600 jobs; analysts had been expecting a decline of 12,500 jobs. The extent of the boom in Canadian jobs this year has largely caught policy makers and economists by surprise, given most have been anticipating an aging workforce to eventually become a drag on employment. While most of the new jobs in December were part-time, the bulk of new hires in 2017 were full-time. The nation added 394,200 full-time jobs last year, the biggest gain since 1999. The gains last year were led by services with 290,300 new positions. Goods-producers added 132,100 jobs, with an 85,700 increase in manufacturing that was the strongest since 2002. Actual hours worked in December were 3.1% above year-ago figures, the fastest rate of increase since 2010. The strong jobs report increases the odds that the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates at its meeting in January.
Consumer Confidence Rises to 62.67
Consumer Confidence in Canada increased to 62.67 in December after rising to 55.37 in November, according to the Conference Board of Canada. Surprise employment and wage gains to end the year have bolstered consumer confidence heading into 2018 and helped to make 2017 a standout year for the index. Consumer confidence in Canada averaged 53.21 from 2010 until 2017, reaching an all-time high of 56.40 in August of 2014 and a record low of 46.80 in February of 2016. National confidence remains significantly above the level at the beginning of 2017. The monthly Index of Consumer Confidence is constructed from responses to four attitudinal questions posed to a random sample of Canadian households.
Consumer Prices Rise 2.1%
The consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.1% in November on a year-over-year basis after rising 1.4% in October. Seasonally adjusted consumer prices rose 0.5% in November after rising 0.2% in October, according to Statistics Canada. It was the largest increase since January. Seven major components of the consumer price index (CPI) increased, while the health and personal care segment dropped. In annual terms, consumer prices rose by 2.1%, up from 1.4% inflation the previous month. Prices increased in seven of the eight major components of the index. Transportation prices provided the biggest upward pressure, up 5.9% year over year from a 3.0% gain in October. Prices for passenger vehicles accelerated 3.6% while food prices rose at an annual rate of 1.6%.
Canada U.S. Trade Updates
More than a quarter of Canadian firms could move part of their operations to the United States amid uncertainty over the future of the NAFTA trade pact, according to the nation's export credit agency. The semi-annual forecast by Export Development Canada underlines the challenges posed by what the Canadian media refers to as the more isolationist approach to trade of US President Donald Trump's administration.
In a 4-0 vote in early December, the US International Trade Commission ruled that the US lumber industry was injured by Canadian lumber imports. That ruling will finalize the countervailing and anti-dumping duties currently being assessed on Canadian lumber shipments to the US. In November, the US Department of Commerce levied total CVD/AD duties of 20.83% on Canadian lumber imports. Canada has already announced that it plans to appeal the CVD/AD duties before NAFTA and World Trade Organization panels.
Housing and Construction News
Housing starts rose to 226,270 units in November from 216,642 units in October, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts. It was the highest level for housing starts in almost 10 years, and was largely due to the second consecutive increase in multifamily starts. Much of the increase in multifamily starts was in Toronto, where there has not been much overbuilding, inventory is low and demand is strong, according to CMHC. The shift from single-detached to multiple housing starts has been driven by millennials and first-time buyers looking for lower priced alternatives in an uncertain economic environment. Total year-to-date housing starts are trending 12% lower than in 2016.
The value of building permits rose 3.5% to $8.2 billion in October. All building components increased with the exception of the institutional component, which declined 14.3%, offsetting much of the gain from the previous month. It was the second consecutive month building permits rose. The value of permits for non-residential buildings increased $171.7 million to $3.3 billion in October, the second consecutive monthly gain. The commercial component, which refers to buildings used in the trade or distribution of goods and services, was the main contributor to the 5.5% increase in the non-residential sector. Permits in Quebec for warehouses, as well as permits in Ontario for office buildings, warehouses, and recreation buildings, contributed to the rise in the value of commercial building permits in October. Nationally, the value of permits for the industrial component passed the $700 million-mark for the first time in five years. The gain stemmed primarily from higher construction intentions for factories and plants in Alberta. Nationally, the
year-to-date value of permits for the industrial component totaled $5.3 billion, $1.0 billion higher than the same period in 2016.
Mortgage rates on a fixed 5-year closed mortgage remained at an average of 3.39% at the end of December.
Retail Sales Grow 1.5%
Retail sales grew 1.5% in October to $49.9 billion after edging up a marginal 0.1% in September. Sales were driven by a 3.3% increase in sales by new car dealers. Excluding sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales rose 0.8%. Sales rose in seven of the 11 subsectors, representing 79% of the country's retail trade industry. Food and beverage stores recorded sales growth of 1.1% while sales at general merchandise stores went up 1.8%, the first increase in three months. Sales at electronics and appliance stores recovered in October, rising 1.4%. Retail sales in volume terms climbed by 1.4%. In Canada, retail sales account for about half of all consumer spending, and are considered a proxy for overall consumer spending.
Canada Retail Notes
Amazon shipped more than two million items in Canada with same-day/one-day delivery over the holiday season. The TP-Link Smart Plug was the best-selling smart home product in Canada. Prime membership continued to grow, and Amazon Devices like Echo Dot and Fire TV Stick with Alexa were very popular. Amazon’s peak day for customer fulfillment was December 19.
© Robert Bosch Tool Corporation. All rights reserved, no copying or reproducing is permitted without prior written approval.


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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued a new rule covering prepaid debit cards, providing a series of new consumer protections. The rule goes into effect October 1, 2017.
Consumers often use these cards instead of bank accounts. Money can be directly loaded on the cards, which can be used to make purchases or pay bills. The problem for consumers has been the fees associated with the cards and the lack of transparency for some of them.
That's because not all of these cards are the same. The cards have their distinct set of features, functions, and fees. Right now, it can be hard to compare cards because each card displays fee information differently.
The CFPB says the new rule will require clear, upfront information about fees so consumers will more easily shop for the best deal.
Reins in overdraft fees
The rule also tightly regulates overdraft fees connected to prepaid cards, which Nick Bourke, director of consumer finance at the Pew Charitable Trusts, is one of the most important features.
“The CFPB’s rule on prepaid cards is a big win for consumers,” Bourke said in an email to ConsumerAffairs. “First and foremost, it keeps the cards free from overdraft penalties, which aligns with consumers’ preferences.”
Bourke points to research that shows many consumers turn to prepaid cards to control spending and to avoid overdraft fees.
“Moving forward, we strongly encourage the bureau to rein in these harmful fees for checking accounts, the most widely used financial product in the U.S.,” he said.
The use of prepaid cards has rapidly grown since the financial crisis, when many consumers joined the “unbanked” population. But Pew researchers say the cards are also widely used by people who also have bank accounts.
Use of prepaid cards rose more than 50% from 2012 to 2014, driven primarily by increased adoption among consumers with bank accounts, with approximately 23 million U.S. adults regularly using prepaid cards, according to Pew data.
Pew found that 72% of unbanked consumers and 45% of those with bank accounts say they use prepaid cards to avoid overdraft fees. A huge majority – 86% – prefer to have a transaction declined for insufficient funds than pay a $35 overdraft fee.
The rule also provides new features to make sure prepaid cards are safer to use at retail point-of-purchase locations and online. Currently, if an unauthorized person accesses a prepaid cardholder's account, the level of protection depends on the issuer. Under the new rule, there will be universal protections for all cards in case they are lost or stolen.


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AT&T Inc. exceeded Wall Street’s expectations for profit and wireless subscriber growth, easing concerns about the costs of free-phone promotions and the expansion of its fiber and 5G networks.
Third-quarter earnings, excluding some items, were 87 cents a share, the company reported Thursday, surpassing the 80-cent estimate by analysts. Revenue fell to $39.9 billion due to the separation of the DirecTV business, which was less than the $40.48 billion analysts were expecting.
AT&T added 1.2 million regular wireless customers. Analysts expected a gain of 705,461. Of those, 928,000 were new phone subscribers.
“We are moving into what I would call the golden age of connectivity and ubiquity of connectivity,” CEO John Stankey said on a conference call.
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The performance marks AT&T’s best quarterly phone results in more than a decade, boosting Stankey’s effort to return the company to the wireless and broadband businesses it’s best known for. Ever since the Dallas-based company abandoned its media strategy, the pressure has been on to show strong subscriber results in the phone and internet businesses.


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Yahoo Launches New Search Interface
Search Assist was first spotted back in July and provides a smarter way to suggest search queries to users. With Search Assist, simply start typing a search and it runs in the background, just waiting to show-off. Hesitate, pause your search, struggle to get the correct spelling, and Search Assist appears to save the day.
Here’s a search for Britney…now, what is her last name?
Yahoo explains Search Assist will help reduce what it calls “Web search fatigue”.
[A Harris] study revealed that while 99 percent of online adults use a search engine to find information on the Internet, a mere 15 percent of them find what they’re looking for with their first search, with most needing to conduct three to four searches.
Along with Search Assist, the search engine enhances it search results format by bringing in audio, video and photos directly. Here’s how a search for the movie “Kingdom” looks…
This upgrade keeps Yahoo in step with Google, Ask, and Microsoft–all have launched similar interface upgrades. As with Microsoft’s launch last week, the question is, has Yahoo done enough to win over new searchers?


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LG has announced the winners of its Global Ambassador Challenge in South Africa, marking the first time locals have received grants and titles as…
Welcome to Gearburn’s Mobile Game Picks of the Week, a weekly series in which Hadlee takes a look at the latest, most entertaining, or time-consuming mobile games on portable screens.
It’s Wednesday, which means time for our weekly mobile gaming roundup, where we pick a few of the latest and most notable titles for your device.
Our highlights this time include a new game from the people behind Subway Surfers and a puzzler with over four billion possible levels.
From the team behind Subway Surfers, Blades of Brim is pretty much the previous game with swords, being iOS-only up until now. Fortunately, Android users can now get in on the action too.
So a similar endless running, third-person perspective is on offer here, but you’ll be cutting down rather than avoiding your enemies here. The ability to wall-run and layered levels makes for an even more interesting take on the previous formula.
Much like Subway Surfers, the game lets you part with your real cash for retries, virtual currency and upgrades, so do be aware of this if you have kids.
Never Alone: Ki Edition (R100 – iOS)
Indie game Never Alone stood out upon its 2014 release thanks to lovely art direction and the developers’ deep cooperation with Native Alaskan people. Now you can play it on the go thanks to an iOS version.
The title is a side-scrolling platformer that has you playing as a girl and a fox, solving puzzles, avoiding hazards and braving the harsh Arctic environment. Of course, it also offers touch controls and higher resolution visuals.
Never Alone: Ki Edition is also available for Android TV and Nvidia’s Shield tablet, but otherwise, Google devices are out of luck.
Flipominos (R60 – iOS)
Another Apple-exclusive makes the list in the form of procedurally generated puzzler Flipominos. So what makes it different from other titles?
Well, its biggest drawcard is that levels are randomised, with the developer claiming that there are over four billion possible levels. Otherwise, the game has you moving various blocks in order for them to perfectly fit on the highlighted section of the floor. You can even seek hints via a bot on Twitter.
Flipominos’ developers told us that if the iOS version does well, an Android version will “almost certainly” be developed.
Strange name aside, War Tortoise has a rather odd yet intriguing premise, and it’s just been released on Android too.
The game combines elements of tower defense, shooters and idle games to come up with a rather quirky yet cool formula. Throw in large-scale, wave-based battles and you’ve got a rather intriguing pick for the week.
Unfortunately, the game does implement cooldown timers and you can spend real money on virtual currency, but it’s not pay to win though.
Played the classic Game Dev Story but looking for something a little more in-depth? Then the latest title in the Game Studio Tycoon franchise is out now.
The title has you managing a developer, starting small and eventually turning into a gaming giant with blockbuster releases. You can even participate in gaming conventions, create your own hardware and set the price of your wares.
Game Studio Tycoon 3 costs R100 on iOS while the Android version is available for R57.


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World Travel Market London 2015, the leading global event for the travel industry, has linked up with Worldwide Kids Company to host a seminar giving hotels and resorts detailed advice on how to...
04 Sep 2015
The fifth annual Sports & Events Tourism Exchange (SETE) conference will be hosted in the City of Tshwane, South Africa on the 28-29 October 2015. Over the past four years delegates attending the...
For the first time, the Promotional Product Service Institute (PSI) is now offering reliable evidence of sustainability in the sector – the PSI Sustainability Awards provide information about...
Destinations including Bulgaria, Luxemburg, Paraguay and Sri Lanka confirmed to attend for the first time ibtm world, formerly EIBTM, the leading global event for the meetings and
03 Sep 2015
Harvey Weinstein joins Writer Andrew Davies and BBC Executives to talk about the keys to literary adaptation MIPCOM 2015 will welcome a high-profile keynote panel to discuss the business
The vital importance of safety in rotary wing operations is highlighted by the Safety Workshop on the final day of Helitech International. Hosted by the European Helicopter Safety Team (EHEST)
02 Sep 2015
USD 23,914,500 of business conducted as a result of ibtm america 2015 64% of all appointments were the result of mutual match between exhibitors and Hosted Buyers Top-level international Hosted Buyers
MIPJunior unveils a stellar line-up of speakers and sessions across two days, including three major Keynotes from Hasbro Inc., Nickelodeon and YouTube. Stephen Davis, Executive Vice President & Chief...
01 Sep 2015
MIPIM, the world’s property market, today announces the launch of The MIPIM Startup Competition, the first global real estate & urban management startup competition. The competition will
ibtm events, the world’s leading showcase for the meetings and events industry, has confirmed that Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau is to become the official ibtm events Global
Christoph Mueller, dubbed "the Terminator" and charged with restructuring Malaysia Airlines following its annus horribilis in 2014, will headline World Travel Market London 2015’s Aviation Programme.
If a promotional product is new, innovative or different in some way, then it is in good hands with PSI FIRST, particularly if the promotional product industry has not yet set eyes on it by the...


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LTFRB to start apprehending Uber vehicles starting August 20
Say bye-bye to convenience?
(SPOT.ph) The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is not feeling the love for Uber. Starting August 20, they will start "cracking down" on unregistered car-booking services. Companies like Uber will be tagged as "colorum" until they submit the proper documents for accreditation. LTFRB executive director Robert Cabrera said that they are already planning "sting operations" to apprehend Uber operators. An earlier version of the plan had failed, as the credit cards used to nab drivers were blocked from the service.
In an interview with dzMM, LTFRB public information officer Mary Anne Salada said that they want to ensure passenger safety, claiming that they currently do not have access to the database of Uber drivers. Meanwhile, GrabCar is free to use, as it is officially accredited by the LTFRB. Uber released a statement on following ride-sharing regulations on May 10.


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The government has decided to delay a plan to charge foreign travelers a tourist fee for at least two months from its scheduled date as payment methods have not been defined.
Recently, authorities announced that a 300-baht fee would be charged to international visitors from April 1. However, tour operators said the move was untimely due to the industry’s fragile recovery from the devastating Covid-19 pandemic.
Airlines also requested at least three months to prepare for its implementation, and the ministry must conclude collection methods for people who want to enter Thailand by land. Therefore, it could be delayed beyond April.
According to Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, the National Tourism Policy Committee’s Monday meeting agreed to make a tourism fund from the fees collected.
The fund’s creation must be proposed to the cabinet. If approved, the fee collection’s details should be unveiled in the Royal Gazette within 90 days.
The permanent tourism secretary chairs the fund committee, whose members are the representatives from the Budget Bureau, the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council, the private sector, and other related state agencies.
Around 20% of the funds raised from the 300-baht fees will be allocated to insurance coverage for international tourists, while 50% will be directed to Thai tourism products’ development.
Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)’s Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said the kingdom’s tourism offer in terms of products and services still needs to be developed to increase its value from local goods and festivals that can generate income more equitably.
The TAT, the Creative Economy Agency (CEA), and the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau signed a memorandum of understanding to support the creative industry. It focuses on festivals and tourist areas with the potential to be promoted as soft power and local creative economy.
Mr. Yuthasak said that the cooperation’s goal is to increase tourism revenue by 20% through music, film, festivals, fashion, fights (traditional boxing), museums, teachers, food, and the metaverse.
According to the CEA’s chief executive Apisit Laistrooglai, the Thai creative industry’s value is expected to grow by 3.57% this year, reaching 1.5 billion baht.


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It is Friday, December 19 and the peak holiday surge of in-store and online customer fulfillment is just a two business days and hours away and the final crunch is underway. Thus far, our community already has some acquired learning from the 2014 holiday surge, learning, that stings goods producers, shippers as well as retailers and e-tailers.
Business and industry media have each reported how the U.S. West Coast port crisis impacted various brand-name retailers and exporters and their efforts to get inventory where it was needed. Goods arrived late or not at all, forcing retailers to shuffle planned merchandising and promotional plans. Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal reported on frustrations expressed by Ann Inc. owner of Ann Taylor, Chico’s, Lululemon Athletica, Perry Ellis International, Tommy Bahama and others not only for positioning holiday inventory but upcoming January inventories as well. Western U.S. exporters missed their holiday shipment windows because of the port back-ups, and will likely suffer the financial implications.
This week, FedEx reported its fiscal second-quarter earnings and beyond the numbers, reported that its network was impacted by the port crisis. The global parcel carrier implemented additional flexible airfreight capacity out of Asia to accommodate a surge of shipment re-routing needs, but capacity was described as very tight. FedEx management indicated that the carrier had to place limits on customer volumes in order to fulfill service requirements. As Supply Chain Matters has previously indicated, regardless of how the final numbers turn out, the west coast port crisis will result in noteworthy shifts in transportation strategies in the months to come.
Executives indicated that the current peak season represents the busiest in Fedex history, and volumes have been “more rational” and evenly spread. Black Friday and Cyber Monday turned out to be week-long events which FedEx executives expressed as a positive impact moving forward. Winter weather has generally cooperated with the exception of incidents of some severe storms impacting both the western and eastern U.S. coasts.
The U.S. Post Office made its presence as the Sunday delivery partner for Amazon Prime customers, and business and other media report that USPS workers are drained from having to work continuous 60 hour weeks without a break. Speaking of Amazon, the online retailer communicated to its Prime members that this weekend was the deadline to insure two-day holiday delivery. That is a hopeful sign that Amazon is cooperating with the pleas of parcel carriers to not promote the last-minute overnight shipments that crippled UPS in 2013.
Brick and mortar retailers implemented broader aspects of ship from retail store to fulfill 2014 online orders. Retailer Target is utilizing 136 of a total of1800 U.S. retail stores as local online pick and pack shipment nodes. According to the WSJ, Wal-Mart is utilizing 83 of its Supercenters as online ship from store nodes and Macy’s broadened its in-store shipping capabilities by allocating time prior to store opening for pick and pack of online orders.
The final crunch within logistics and fulfillment networks has begun. Today at Supply Chain Matters, we have placed a number of online orders with standard delivery terms as our own test of last-minute response. Already, one of our online orders has moved delivery date to December 23 from the original indication of two days prior. We placed one online, two-day delivery order with Samsung which was received on-time, as confirmed. We will initiate another test on Monday.
This author pulled into a local Mobil branded gasoline station at 7pm local time this evening and observed a UPS delivery carriage re-fueling at the diesel pump. Apparently, there were more deliveries to complete.
The last verse of the poem: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost exclaims:
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
And so it is for brick and mortar, online retailers, carriers and logistics networks for the last days of holiday peak 2014. The last mile crunch of fulfillment is about to commence.


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Pokémon Day is here, and with it comes another Pokémon Presents presentation. During this showcase, the Pokémon company will highlight its plans for the massive franchise over the next year. It will be particularly exciting to tune into this Pokémon Presents because we’ll finally get to see what Pokémon content is on the way in 2024, in the wake of the massive success of Palworld in January. Fans of Pokémon will definitely want to tune in and see what’s next for their favorite franchise. If you’re not sure how or where to tune in, we’ve rounded up all of that information right here for you.
The next Pokémon Presents will take place at 6 a.m. PT today, February 27. That is Pokémon Day and the 28th anniversary of the launch of Pokémon Red and Green in Japan. The Pokémon Company has not said how long this Pokémon Presents will last, but historically, they have been anywhere from 10 to 35 minutes long.
The February 2024 Pokémon Presents showcase will air on The Official Pokémon YouTube Channel. We’ve embeded it in this article so you can watch the presentation right from this page.
The official description for the February 2024 Pokémon Presents simply states it will contain “exciting Pokémon news in celebration of Pokemon Day 2024.” That’s incredibly vague, and there aren’t any announced, but yet unreleased Pokémon games, apps, or expansions right now. As such, don’t be surprised if The Pokémon Company announces some new games here. Leakers claim that these new games could be set in the Johto or Unova regions. I guess we’ll just have to tune in and see what The Pokémon Company has in store for us.
- Nintendo Indie World 2024: How to watch and what to expect
- It’s time to revisit Pokémon X and Y before it’s too late
- Everything announced at February’s Pokémon Presents stream
- PlayStation State of Play, January 2024: How to watch and what to expect
- How to watch January 2024’s Xbox Developer_Direct


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Tuxedo Shirt Buttons And Cufflinks - Men's Cufflinks Deals & Sales
tuxedo shirt buttons and cufflinks - offers Sterling Silver Cufflinks - Bull and Bear at very competitive prices. Buy online now.
The nations have already levied billions in tariffs on each other’s goods. And Trump is considering an executive order to bar U.S. companies from using telecommunications equipment made by China’s Huawei and ZTE, which the U.S. government has accused of spying. CFIUS is emerging as another powerful cudgel. Led by the U.S. Treasury, it includes members from eight other government entities, including the departments of Defense, State and Homeland Security. The secretive committee does not disclose much about the deals it reviews. But its most recent annual report said Chinese investors made 74 CFIUS filings from 2013 to 2015, the most of any nation. The president has the authority to make the final decision, but a thumbs-down from CFIUS is usually enough to doom a deal.
Washington demonstrated its tougher stance even before the new law was passed, when Trump in March blocked a $117 tuxedo shirt buttons and cufflinks billion hostile bid by Singapore-based Broadcom Ltd (AVGO.O) to acquire Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) of San Diego, CFIUS said the takeover would weaken the United States in the race to develop next-generation wireless technology, A White House spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment, In November, CFIUS rolled out a pilot program mandating that foreign investors notify the committee of any size investment in certain “critical technologies.” The scope of that term is still being defined, but a working list includes artificial intelligence, logistics technology, robotics and data analytics – the bread and butter of Silicon Valley..
Research firm Rhodium predicted that up to three-quarters of Chinese venture investments would be subject to CFIUS review under the new rules. Just the threat of that scrutiny has caused some Chinese investors to reconsider. Peter Kuo, whose firm, Silicon Valley Global, connects Chinese investors with U.S. startups, said his business has slumped dramatically. In 2018, he said not a single Chinese investor took a stake in the companies he shopped to them. “CFIUS didn’t kill our organization, but it hampered a lot of startups, and most of them are American startups,” Kuo said.
Some security experts applaud what they call long-overdue protections for tuxedo shirt buttons and cufflinks U.S, startups, “What we are concerned about is a limited number of bad actors who are phenomenally clever about how they can access our intellectual property,” said Bob Ackerman, founder of AllegisCyber, a venture capital firm based in San Francisco and Maryland that backs cyber security startups, Rhodium calculates that, on average, 21 percent of Chinese venture investment in the United States from 2000 through 2017 came from state-owned funds, which are controlled at least in part by the Chinese government, In 2018, that figure surged to 41 percent..
But some tech industry players say Washington is casting too wide a net in its zeal to check Beijing. “A lot of innocent business people are getting” caught up in the administration’s spat with China, said Wei Guo, the China-born founding partner of Silicon Valley firm UpHonest Capital, whose funding comes mostly from foreign investors with ties to China. Adding to Silicon Valley’s anxiety, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has taken a more active role in policing Chinese investment.
Two industry veterans, a startup adviser and a venture capitalist who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters they were recently cautioned by the FBI not to pursue deals with Chinese investors, The two people did not name the Chinese entities of interest to the FBI, but said the deals concerned U.S, companies building artificial intelligence and autonomous driving technologies, Whether any of this deters China from reaching its goal of dominating advanced technologies remains to be tuxedo shirt buttons and cufflinks seen, China can still invest in U.S, technology through layers of funds that obscure the money source, And Chinese investors are redirecting funds to promising companies in Southeast Asia and Latin America..
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that trade talks with China were going very well and that weakness in the Chinese economy gave Beijing a reason to work toward a deal. U.S. officials are meeting with their counterparts in Beijing this week for the first face-to-face talks since Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping in December agreed to a 90-day truce in a trade war that has roiled international markets. Trump imposed import tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods to pressure Beijing to change its practices on issues ranging from industrial subsidies to hacking. China retaliated with tariffs of its own.
Trump said the U.S, tariffs had hurt tuxedo shirt buttons and cufflinks China, “I think China wants to get it resolved, Their economy’s not doing well,” Trump told reporters at the White House before boarding the Marine One presidential helicopter, “I think that gives them a great incentive to negotiate.”, Beijing on Friday cut bank reserve requirements amid slowing growth at home and pressure from the U.S, tariffs, Asked what he expected to come out of this week’s talks in Beijing, Trump sounded a positive note..


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Hanwha TotalEnergies Petrochemical CEO Laurentius Na, who doubles Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Korea chapter chair for business cooperation with France (sixth from left) and Air-Liquide CEO Francois Jackow, who doubles as chair of the France-South Korea Business Council of the Movement of the Enterprises of France (seventh from left), pose with other attendees from the two business groups at the meeting held at the KCCI headquarters in central Seoul on Tuesday. (The KCCI)
Business lobby group Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry held a meeting with delegation of the Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF), the largest employer federation in France, to discuss ways to develop cooperation in the fields of human resources and business between the two countries.
Hanwha TotalEnergies Petrochemical CEO Laurentius Na, who was recently named by the KCCI to lead business cooperation with France held talks with his counterpart Air-Liquide CEO Francois Jackow who doubles as chair of the France-South Korea Business Council of the MEDEF and Vice Chairman Christophe Fontaine, in the meeting held at the KCCI headquarters in central Seoul on Tuesday.
Other attendees from the French side include some eight executives from Fives Group, Total Energies, Thales and Airbus.
The meeting of Na and Jackow in Korea is an extension of KCCI Executive Vice Chairman Woo Tae-hee and Korean business leaders’ trip to France this summer. During the visit, the KCCI and MEDEF International jointly held their first business roundtable in Paris.
Attended by 30 top conglomerates and government officials from the two nations, the business roundtable discussed strategic partnerships in the energy and technology sectors. The top executives from Samsung Electronics, SK Group, LG Electronics, Kia as well as Accor Group, Air Liquide and JCDecaux joined the event.
The KCCI and MEDEF International also signed a memorandum of understanding to expand collaborative efforts in the industrial and economic fields by regularly hosting the Korea-France business roundtables, whenever the business delegation and government officials visit each other’s country.
Serving as a bridge between the two nations, the next business roundtables will zero in on the renewable energy, nuclear energy and net-zero emissions sectors, the KCCI said.
“The Korea-France trading volume has already surpassed $12.9 billion (16.76 trillion won) as of last year, indicating the two countries’ active collaboration in the economic field,” said the KCCI’s Vice President Lee Seung-woo. “The KCCI will continue to serve as a communication channel connecting industry partners.”
By Mun So-jeong (firstname.lastname@example.org)


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The European Union, bowing to an outcry from traditional vintners, has reversed itself and decreed that the cut-rate technique of mixing red wine with white does not make an authentic rosé and thus cannot be used by Europe's winemakers.h/t to Chris at AmericaBlog
The decision, announced Monday at the union's headquarters in Brussels, represented a victory for French winemakers who had risen up against plans by the E.U. agriculture commission to end its ban on mixing as a way to compete with down-market rosés concocted by producers in such countries as Australia and South Africa. More broadly, it was a rare retreat by the forces of globalization and profit margins in the face of resistance from traditional artisans.
"It's important that we listen to our producers when they are concerned about changes to the regulations," the union's agriculture commissioner, Mariann Fischer Boel, said in a communique. "It's become clear over recent weeks that a majority in our wine sector believe that ending the ban on blending could undermine the image of traditional rosé."
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Finally! A Win for Tradition
Over the years we have seen tradition after tradition fall to the false gods of profit and efficiency. While it is not much, the European Union has reversed itself on allowing blends of red and white wines to be labeled rosé. Rosé traditionally is made as wine by itself by leaving the skins of the grapes with the juice for just a short time in order to give the wine its characteristic rose color. I don't drink a lot of rosé but it has its place and is an especially nice wine for summer with all the lighter dishes we normally prepare. Thank goodness the EU has seen the light and will preserve the traditional method. It may look like a rosé. There may be hope after all in Brussels.


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I got this interesting little tidbit in my email today:
As it happens, yes, I did know that most of the Bailout Bill won’t be spent immediately, despite the rhetoric that it “must be passed now or the economy crashes!!!” that the media shoveled into our feeding trough. It just strikes me as interesting that a company making money off of a Byzantine tax code would effectively admit that the Bailout was effectively sold under false pretenses (that is, if you’re paying attention). No, H&R isn’t part of the gommint, but I suspect that they waited until after the bill passed to send this particular promotion out. Can’t let the lemming consumers learn the reality of the Bailout after all, not when they can still complain to their congresscritters.


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Smartphones outsold standard-feature phones in the worldwide mobile phone market for the first time ever in the first quarter of 2013, according to a new industry report.
Recent research from International Data Corporation (IDC) found that the global mobile phone market grew 4 percent during Q1 2013, with vendors shipping a total of 418.6 million phones this year, compared to 402.4 million units during the same period in 2012.
Smartphones accounted for 51.6 percent of the total, with 216.2 million units moved, a growth of 41.6 percent from the same period last year. However, this figure represents a 5.1 percent drop from the 227.8 million units shipped in the fourth quarter of 2012.
“Phone users want computers in their pockets. The days where phones are used primarily to make phone calls and send text messages are quickly fading away,” Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, said. “As a result, the balance of smartphone power has shifted to phone makers that are most dependent on smartphones.”
Of the major smartphone vendors, Samsung lead with 70.7 million units moved, representing a 32.7 percent market share. Samsung was followed by Apple (37.4 million units, 17.3 percent share), LG (10.3 million units, 4.8 percent share), Huawei (9.9 million units, 4.6 percent share), and ZTE (9.1 million units, 4.2 percent share). Other vendors made up the remaining 36.4 percent share of the market with 78.8 million smartphones shipped.
U.S. Economy Accelerates in First Quarter
The U.S. economy expanded in the first quarter of 2013 at a considerably faster pace than at the end of 2012, although future growth is expected to be slower as financial pressures bear down. The nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in Q1, following a 0.4 percent gain in the Q4 2012, according to an advance estimate from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The growth was primarily driven by a surge in consumer spending, which rose an annual rate of 3.2 percent for the first quarter, as well as increases in home construction and businesses rebuilding their stockpiles in response to higher demand. Automobile purchases and higher utilities spending due to unusually cold temperatures also made significant contributions to overall GDP.
“The GDP report showed contributions to growth from all areas of the economy, with the exception of government, trade and investment by businesses in offices and other commercial buildings,” Reuters reports. “However, households cut back on saving to fund their purchases after incomes dropped at a 5.3 percent rate in the first quarter. The drop in income was the largest since the third quarter of 2009.”
Despite the gains, economic growth came in below economists’ forecast of 3 percent. Business spending on equipment and software posted a 3 percent gain, down from 11.8 percent in the fourth quarter of last year. Government spending fell at an annual rate of 8.4 percent, led by an 11.8 percent plunge in military expenditure, as sequestration begins to take effect.
“The GDP report amounts to a caution about the looming consequences of federal spending cuts known as the sequester,” the Washington Post explains. “The cuts officially began in March but could take months – or even years – to fully digest. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the sequester will shave nearly half a percentage point from economic growth this year, delaying projections for economic liftoff to 2014.”
Manufacturing Expands at Slower Pace
Research firm Markit’s latest Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) found that manufacturing and services in the U.S. continued to grow in April, but at a considerably slower pace than in prior months, with the index falling to 52 from 54.6 in March. This marked the slowest rate of expansion since October 2012.
“The biggest monthly fall in the PMI since June 2010 raises concerns that the U.S. manufacturing expansion is losing momentum rapidly as businesses and households worry about the impact of tax hikes and government spending cuts,” Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, noted. “The PMI suggests that output growth has slowed from an annual pace approaching 8 percent earlier in the year to only 2 percent at the start of the second quarter.”
Manufacturing output fell to 53.6 in April, down from 56.6 in March and representing a five-month low, while the new orders index fell to 51.8 in April, down from 55.4 in March, as domestic demand growth slowed. The employment index also slowed last month, falling to 52.7 from 54.6 in March. On a more positive note, exports climbed to 52.2 in April, up from 51.8 in March.
“Exports remain a bright spot, rising at the fastest rate since December, but a weakening of demand from domestic customers meant overall order books showed the smallest increase since October,” Williamson explained. “With backlogs of work falling at one of the fastest rates since the height of the financial crisis, firms will also look to cut headcounts soon unless demand improves in the coming months.”
Jobless Claims Fall
New initial jobless claims fell sharply in the latest week reported, dropping close to a five-year low and suggesting that layoffs have bottomed four years after the end of the recession. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, unemployment claims for the week ending April 20 decreased by 16,000 to a total of 339,000.
Moreover, the four-week moving average, which smoothes out volatility and provides a clearer long-term picture of labor market conditions, fell by 4,500 to 357,500.
“The data can be choppy from week to week, but nevertheless, the initial claims report is considered one of the most important gauges of the job market’s strength. During the height of the financial crisis in 2009, jobless claims rose as high as 670,000,” CNN Money reports. “Now they’re at half those levels, showing that fewer employers are laying off workers. That said, hiring hasn’t necessarily been robust.”
The U.S. labor market has added an average of about 190,000 jobs per month since last fall, which is faster the typical rate of growth in the labor force but not fast enough to significantly drive down the national unemployment rate.


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MS Great Plains targets firms
Microsoft Great Plains has revealed that it is stepping up plans to partner accountants, as part of a bid to boost its presence in the software market.
It is understood the company is ‘looking for firms that add value’ to its business, and that partnerships with firms, such as those it has with Tenon arm Tenon Technology and with BDO Stoy Hayward, will become increasingly prevalent.
The company is said to have turned down a number of firms wishing to become its reseller.
Adrian Hobbs, Microsoft Great Plains UK managing director, said: ‘We do not have a small-business manager product yet, it is not a target for us, but accountants are an important audience for us.’
Last October, Microsoft revealed to Accountancy Age it may begin talking directly to accountants this year, as part of plans to enter into the SME end of the software market.
However, the company has since stated that for the near future, it is looking to concentrate on its core offerings to larger businesses.


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While Electronics Arts may have locked down the NFL license on console, mobile is more open. NFL Players Inc is looking to give away their license to a new developer through a new competition.
Through the "Mobile Madness Challenge," developers will submit pitches for an "innovative mobile gaming concept" featuring NFL players. The competition begins today and runs through April 20th, and is open to independent and established gaming studios.
Three finalists will then be chosen to pitch to to the NFLPI executive team. The winner will be granted a license for the 2014-5 season, which includes rights to NFL Players Inc trademarks, as well as names, likenesses, uniform numbers, photographs, voices, replica signatures, and biographical information of active players. The winners will also receive a $10,000 social media marketing credit.
To enter, you can download a submission form here.


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U.S. Court of International Trade Upholds Section 301 Duties on China
In a highly significant decision on March 17, 2023, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) issued an opinion upholding the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) imposition in 2018 and 2019 of a third and fourth round of tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Section 301). Approximately 3,600 importers challenged at the CIT the legality of these 25% Section 301 tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of Chinese-origin goods.
In April 2022, the CIT found that while the imposition of these duties did not violate the Trade Act, USTR failed to abide by Administrative Procedure Act (APA) requirements to consider public comments when it imposed the duties. the CIT accordingly remanded the agency’s decision imposing the duties for further explanation and consideration, while simultaneously denying the plaintiffs’ request that the duties be lifted in the meantime. We wrote about the CIT’s April 2022 decision in a client alert linked here.
On remand, USTR offered a more fulsome explanation of its decision to impose the duties and reasoning at the time of the underlying agency action. While the importers challenged this additional rationale as a “post hoc rationalization”—i.e., new explanation that post-dates the agency action, which is generally impermissible in administrative law—the CIT rejected these arguments and found that USTR’s explanation complied with Supreme Court precedent. In doing so, the CIT upheld USTR’s response to public comments concerning presidential direction, harm to the U.S. economy, efficacy of the tariffs, and tariff alternatives. Notably, the CIT made clear that it may not reweigh evidence or opine on USTR or the President’s policy choices, such as the appropriate way to address China’s numerous unfair trade practices.
With the appeal at the CIT final, the importers have already stated their intention to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Background: Section 301 authorizes USTR to take action to encourage foreign countries to abandon or mitigate unfair trade practices affecting U.S. commerce. In 2017, at the direction of then-President Trump, USTR began an investigation into China’s trade practices, and ultimately concluded that a variety of Chinese practices unfairly burdened U.S. commerce. Subject to the President’s direction, USTR imposed Section 301 tariffs ranging from 7.5% to 25% on four successive rounds of Chinese products between July 6, 2018 and September 1, 2019.
Section 301 duties are currently undergoing “reviews of necessity,” in which domestic industries and companies that benefit from the tariffs may request their continuation beyond the initial four-year time period contemplated by the Trade Act. More information about the ongoing reviews can be found in a client alert linked here.
Wiley has a robust International Trade practice and extensive experience helping clients navigate trade enforcement and Section 301 product exclusion matters. For more information about these issues, please contact one of the attorneys listed on this alert.


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Get ready to pony up even more for packages in the new year. FedEx plans to increase shipping rates of ground, freight and express services by an average of 4.9%, effective January 5. Those increases are on top of the delivery giant’s decision to start charging for box size as well as weight in January. Dimensional weight pricing will effectively increase prices on some ground shipments.
FedEx is facing increased competition, with the U.S. Postal Service cutting rates for some Priority Mail packages and tech companies like Google, Uber and Amazon experimenting with delivering packages themselves.
In August, regulators approved the Postal Service’s plan to cut postage as much as 58% on certain Priority Mail packages for customers shipping at least 50,000 parcels a year. The Postal Service claimed its prices were too high to be competitive, but rivals FedEx and UPS disagreed. “[The cuts] do not reflect a minor cost-related adjustment in the postage that Grandma will have to pay to send a sweater to young Johnny,” wrote FedEx in its filing with the Postal Regulatory Commission in July. “What USPS is proposing is an aggressive push to gain market share in the fast-growing business of e-commerce.”


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Airtel has tied up with Huawei to offer free 3G to passengers of EasyCabs in the Delhi NCR region.
As part of the agreement, Bharti Airtel’s 3G on Huawei’s E355 Wi-Fi data card will be available in 100 EasyCabs during June 28 to September 27, 2013 in Delhi NCR.
Rohit Gothi, hub CEO, Bharti Airtel, Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan, said that Airtel 3G enables consumers to download movies, watch videos, watch live TV, make video calls, access high speed internet and enjoy seamless live streaming.
Huawei E355 supports Wi-Fi creation in different scenarios – regular USB modem plugged into laptops, plugged into wall power mains and in car chargers.
Using a password, commuters can access the web on any internet-enabled device during their travel. Wi-Fi Hotspot in a taxi will be a perfect offering for people on the go and will be useful for family and corporate groups traveling together.
Huawei Device India President Victor Shan said: “We hope that they can utilize their valued time and make the most out of their journey by enjoying faster emailing, surfing, gaming, movies and video clips.”
Huawei has already partnered with Flipkart to make the product available in more than 200 cities and towns across India.
Customers can also buy Huawei E355 datacard from multiple online channels like Flipkart, Homeshop18, Snapdeal, Tradus and offline stores across India in IT stores and multi-brand mobile stores.
The Huawei dongle will also be available at select Airtel retail stores.


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'They've made a pandemic into business': Barcelona BLASTED for selling $20 face masks as fans accuse club of cashing in on COVID
Barcelona fans are being given the chance to recreate the look of their heroes by buying replicas of masks that the club's squad and staff are wearing to training – but critics say the products are capitalizing on COVID-19.
While some of Barcelona’s European rivals have charged around a quarter of the price for masks, the reigning La Liga champions are asking for €18 (around $20) for each item, designed to protect against COVID-19 transmission.
Barca encouraged their vast global fanbase to buy the garments and provided a gallery of famous faces wearing the new masks, including major summer signings Frenkie De Jong and Antoine Griezmann standing opposite each other with their arms folded.
These are the first Barça masks with an exclusive design ... Stay tuned! 💙❤ pic.twitter.com/DXguL6lFpW— FC Barcelona (from 🏠) (@FCBarcelona) May 25, 2020
The club are advertising the organic cotton masks, which are available in two colours and a design sporting illustrations of the likes of Lionel Messi in action, as costing less than half a cent per usage if they are worn up to the recommended limit of 40 times.
After seeing footage of players scoring goals in the masks and a marketing message calling them “the best defense,” followers turned on the Champions League contenders’ attempts to promote their new merchandise on Twitter, which included a photo of star striker Messi training without a mask on Wednesday.
You use every situation to make money and buy useless players— No Context Football Transfers (@NoctxtTransfers) May 27, 2020
“You use every situation to make money and buy useless players,” replied one cynic, while another added: "They have successfully turned a pandemic into a business."
They have succesfully turned a pandemic into a business.— ENN (@Blacknjenga_) May 28, 2020
Some supporters suggested the masks were part of a desperate plan to make money at a club which made an estimated $912 million in revenue last year, making it the highest-earning football outfit in the world.
Barcelona will reportedly lose more than $110 million as a result of football being suspended during the pandemic, and many fans pointed out that the Spanish giants could be aiming to help fund a release clause fee of around the same amount for current transfer target Lautaro Martinez.
Fans can choose the Senyera colours of the flag of Catalonia or the blue and scarlet design of the club’s home kits, and the price remains the same for smaller masks to fit children and toddlers.
No mention was made of the apparent mark-up in price providing proceeds for any charitable causes, although Barcelona has been involved in efforts to help healthcare efforts during the crisis.Also on rt.com Romanian footballers face 12-MATCH BAN for spitting or blowing noses on the pitch under plans to resume sport after COVID-19
Last month, the club revealed that the Barcelona Foundation would be putting money raised from selling next season’s naming rights to its famous Camp Nou home towards “research projects and the worldwide fight against the pandemic.”
At Premier League leaders Liverpool, who beat Barcelona in a remarkable Champions League semi-final last season, a pack of four masks are available in club colours for £16 (around $19), meaning each covering costs less than $5 before shipping.Also on rt.com 'Using our crown jewel to help the fight': Barcelona to sell Camp Nou naming rights to raise funds for coronavirus battle
The Reds are also encouraging fans who purchase the masks to distribute them to local causes, while Bundesliga club Dortmund have produced masks in their yellow colours for £5 each ($6).
Barcelona are not the first club to court controversy over club shop items relating to COVID-19. English club Portsmouth were forced to issue a statement last week explaining how the profits from the sale of club-branded masks, on sale for £10, would be spent.Also on rt.com Messi hits out at Barca board as players AGREE to 70% wage reduction so club staff won't face pay cut


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Australian tech company Trax Print says it has used its expertise in document protection and anti-fraud technology to develop a dynamic sanitisation certificate to be used in conjunction with Zoono through their distributors in South Africa, Liquigenic.
Australia's government-accredited mobile recycling program, MobileMuster, has revealed the significant progress it has made in positive impacting the environment over 21 years with the release of its 2019 Annual Report.
Researchers at AdaptiveMobile Security recently detected a new vulnerability that uses the confirguration protocols used by a telco to provision a phone, making itessentially impossible for the user to block.
So the battery is not part of the phone?
The iPhone didn’t “catch” fire. It was accidentally snapped in two and the lithium battery contents mixed and caught fire.
I recently acquired a 5G modem from Telstra. It’s made by ZTE - a Chinese partly state-owned technology company. Go[…]
Sock it to 'em, Sam!
Warthunder is the most despicable game for banning. they introduced "easy anticheat" to all game modes EXCEPT the most popular[…]


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Sunday’s Xbox E3 Briefing was the largest in Microsoft Corp.’s history with more than 6,000 people, including more than 1,000 fans, invited to attend in the Microsoft Theater. Microsoft announced it is doubling its game development studios and showcased a record 52 games on stage including 18 console launch exclusives and 15 world premieres. The diverse lineup included games for every type of player, from exclusives like “Forza Horizon 4,” “Halo Infinite” and “Gears 5,” and independent titles like “Session,” “Below,” “Ashen” and “Tunic” to some of the biggest blockbuster games coming in the next year like “Fallout 76,” “Tom Clancy’s The Division 2,” “Kingdom Hearts 3,” “Devil May Cry 5,” “Battlefield V,” “Metro Exodus” and “Shadow of the Tomb Raider,” many enhanced to take advantage of the power of Xbox One X.
“There has never been a more exciting time to be part of the gaming industry, with creators large and small showcasing incredible new games for the more than two billion players around the world,” said Phil Spencer, head of Gaming at Microsoft. “At Microsoft, we are committed to empowering gamers to play the games they want, with the people they want, where they want.”
INVESTING IN DEVELOPMENT OF ORIGINAL CONTENT
Microsoft announced it is doubling its game development studios by adding five new creative teams to the Microsoft Studios family. New investments include the formation of a brand-new studio, The Initiative, the acquisition of Playground Games, and letters of intent to acquire Ninja Theory, Undead Labs and Compulsion Games.
- The Initiative. Based in Santa Monica, Calif., The Initiative is a brand-new Microsoft game development studio headed by industry veteran Darrell Gallagher that is working to create groundbreaking new worlds, characters and game experiences.
- Playground Games. Microsoft has acquired U.K.-based Playground Games, a development partner since 2010 that has helped grow the “Forza” franchise to new heights. In addition to its work on this year’s “Forza Horizon 4,” Playground Games will have a team dedicated to bringing their open-world expertise to an entirely new project.
- Ninja Theory. The relationship between Ninja Theory and Microsoft started in 2000 when “Kung Fu Chaos” was in development for the original Xbox and culminated in the release of “Hellblade” on Xbox One earlier this year. Microsoft’s intent to acquire Ninja Theory will help ensure the creative team has the resources and freedom to bring more ambitious games like “Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice” to fans.
- Undead Labs. Seattle-based Undead Labs is the creator of the popular “State of Decay” franchise, enjoyed by millions of fans worldwide. In the first two weeks since “State of Decay 2” launched, more than two million fans joined the fight to survive and took down more than two billion zombies. By entering into a letter of intent to acquire Undead Labs, Microsoft is signaling its commitment to growing the franchise and taking the zombie survival-fantasy genre to new heights.
- Compulsion Games. As “We Happy Few” nears its full, multiplatform release on Aug. 10, Microsoft has entered into a letter of intent to acquire Montreal-based Compulsion Games. By joining the team at Microsoft Studios, Compulsion will have the resources, platform and freedom to take even bigger creative risks and create even more ambitious worlds with its future projects.
“The original games we create at Microsoft Studios are some of our biggest assets,” said Matt Booty, corporate vice president of Microsoft Studios. “Our growth strategy is to continue to expand the worlds that players love, while developing all-new exclusive games that deepen their engagement with our platform. We are thrilled to welcome five new studios into the Microsoft family. We believe these teams have the collective creative power and operational excellence to deliver the next industry game changers.”
The addition of these creative teams reinforces Microsoft’s vision for gaming, which starts with a deep commitment to original content. The company is developing a portfolio of games on every device, including newly announced Microsoft Studios games. Revealed on stage today were three new Gears of War titles — “Gears 5,” “Gears Tactics,” “Gears Pop!” — along with “Battletoads,” “Forza Horizon 4” and “Halo Infinite,” a Master Chief story and the next major release in the franchise built from the ground up on the new Slipspace engine.


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Online shopping still clicks with customers
Published 5:30 am, Wednesday, August 1, 2001
PHILADELPHIA -- Dot-coms are on shaky ground on Wall Street, but the concept of selling over the Internet is on solid footing, according to industry experts who predict strong growth in online retailing for years to come.
Retailers sold $45 billion worth of goods online last year, and Forrester Research Inc., a Cambridge, Mass., research firm, is projecting the number will grow to more than $269 billion in 2005.
"People have been putting way too much emphasis on the meltdown in the financial markets," said Peter Fader, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. "That's not a good indicator of the health of a business. The Internet, as a distribution channel and content medium, is here to stay."
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The failures of high-profile e-tailers such as Pets.com and eToys during the last year apparently have not scared away consumers, who have spent considerably more online each month this year than they did during the comparable months in 2000, according to Forrester.
Some Internet companies -- Amazon.com is perhaps the best example -- have even managed to turn themselves into household names in Internet-savvy homes. That sort of brand awareness can help lure shoppers online.
"If you look back to 1999, people started going with trusted names. There were lots of problems with shipments in the business-to-consumer segment. Trusted names could take care of problems quickly. People are becoming more comfortable (buying online) as they have good experiences."
IQVC, which sells the same products advertised on its parent's network, went live in 1996. Last year, iQVC had sales of $193 million; Hamlin said the division was profitable, though he declined to provide net income figures.
He noted that younger consumers preferred online shopping. "You've got a whole generation of people buying this way," he said.
In 1998, its first full year of operation, the company posted $1 million in sales. Last year, it had sales of $3 million.
Like iQVC, Harvest is turning a profit, said co-founder Eugene Okamoto.
Key to its success, the company's owners say, has been its understanding that the Internet is just another way of reaching customers, not an end in itself. It is still important to have contact with customers. It is still important to assure customers that their credit-card transactions are secure.
The Internet, they say, is not about to make the shopping mall obsolete.
"Online is exactly like a mail-order catalog," Okamoto said. "It's not a revolution. Human beings have not revolutionized. I still want to go to the store and try on the jeans. Those habits are hard to break."
Okamoto said many e-tail sites failed because they did not provide enough human contact. Some had no customer service operations at all.
"E-commerce companies now understand that the telephone is perfect," said Okamoto, who employs about 20 service representatives in Fort Washington.
In February, Harvest opened a thrift bookstore near its office to supplement its online business -- a good move, according to experts who think retailers benefit by having many ways of reaching customers.
Fader criticized Borders Group for going in the opposite direction when it sold its online operation to Amazon.com in April.
"Borders pulling its online operations was a plain old mistake," Fader said. "It's crazy to take away a whole channel of your business, a whole point of contact with your customer. People are not shopping through only one channel. If you fold up your online operations, you're not going to learn online behavior patterns."
So if Harvest and iQVC can make money, why can't Amazon.com -- the most well-known e-tailer of them all?
Amazon.com sold $2.8 billion worth of books, CDs, electronics and other products in 2000, a 68 percent jump from its 1999 sales -- but lost $1.4 billion in the process.
According to Fader, Amazon.com could make money if it scaled back to its original business: selling books. The company, he said, has become too diversified.
"They need to trim back their product lines," he said. "When people ask, `What is Amazon?' people say it's an online bookstore. There are different behavior patterns between buying books and buying lawn furniture.
"It might hurt their market valuation (to scale back), but the two shouldn't be linked in the short term."
Even so, he said, Amazon.com has established itself as a major brand. "They might be mismanaging the business, but they're an extraordinary enterprise," he said.
Some other recognizable companies have made mistakes in their online operations, Fader said. For instance, he said, Kmart Corp. erred in naming its online operation Bluelight.com.
"It's a different brand presence. They're not sending a consistent message to people," he said.
Yet despite all the missteps, the statistics suggest online retailing cannot be stopped.
"We're seeing growth in a soft economy," said iQVC's Hamlin. "That speaks pretty good volumes in what people think and the direction they're going in."


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Everyday users are complaining that the internet is more chaotic than ever
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The internet feels different to a lot of people lately. Search results are increasingly full of junk. Social media feeds are mucked up with spam. NPR tech correspondent Bobby Allyn asked, what's going on?
BOBBY ALLYN, BYLINE: There are few people more chronically online than Choire Sicha. He's the former editor-in-chief of the website Gawker. He's now an editor at New York Magazine, and he's always scrolling. Not too long ago, he got COVID and wanted to know how badly the virus was spreading and when he could return the work.
CHOIRE SICHA: I literally couldn't. I just gave up. Like, it was just dead links and random spam and just sponsored garbage and old pages. It was just absolute nonsense.
ALLYN: Sicha is not alone. More and more, both professional observers like Sicha and everyday users are complaining that the internet is more chaotic than ever. And it's not just a handful of anecdotes. Experts say there is a real shift underway. The quality of online platforms is degrading. Yet for the big ones at least, most people feel like they have no other choice. Google is being inundated with AI-generated clickbait, and social media feels like an online shopping mall. Zizi Papacharissi studies internet trends at the University of Illinois Chicago.
ZIZI PAPACHARISSI: Facebook, Instagram - many of these platforms have been excessively commercialized to the point where they lost their immediacy, the sense of place they afforded, the sense of community they facilitated, the sense of belonging they offered.
ALLYN: Facebook has driven away its youngest users. Elon Musk's changes to the platform formerly known as Twitter have led to an exodus. Papacharissi says people are moving away from posting publicly on social media.
PAPACHARISSI: They felt fake, you know. So people started turning elsewhere.
ALLYN: By elsewhere, Papacharissi means people are spending more time sending private direct messages and text messages, and they're flocking to smaller online communities found on sites like Reddit and Discord. It's more personal, less cluttered, and you probably won't run into creepy product placement. There's of course a downside, too, and it might sound like an old problem. Echo chamber, anyone?
MAX READ: If you retreat just to spaces where you're with people you already know, then you lose a lot of what made social media and makes a website like Twitter so fascinating and engaging, which is encountering new people and new ideas.
ALLYN: That's technology writer Max Read. He says while being in a filter bubble is certainly nothing new, the algorithms that determine what people see on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube have gotten hyperindividualized.
READ: And then maybe you don't have the same kind of universal experience that you might have felt. And I would argue that this is not that different from if you were a frequent user of the internet in the 1990s or in the early 2000s.
ALLYN: Back when going online meant visiting an individual website. Imagine that - the time before Google, Amazon, Twitter, Instagram and the rest became the main tunnels we use to navigate the messy world of the internet. One thing New York Magazine editor Sicha has noticed - being new is no longer a priority on many social media feeds, which he says is adding to this moment of being disoriented online.
SICHA: Now TikTok, Instagram, even Twitter stuff is days, weeks, months old when you see it. And it's wild because you're just seeing this thing, and you're like, oh, well, this is happening. And that's not what that means anymore if you're just seeing it.
ALLYN: For Sicha at least, one bright spot of the newly chaotic web has been, well, email.
SICHA: I got an email from an old friend the other day, and I was like, oh. Like, she had news. And she was like - I was like, wow, I'm opening an email and answering it. This is, like - this is wild. It was like a real flashback experience.
ALLYN: It says a lot about the state of the internet in 2024 if the best interaction you have online comes in the form of an email.
Bobby Allyn, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


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The annual members assembly of ASSOCOMAPLAST – the Italian trade association belonging to CONFINDUSTRIA, which groups together over 160 makers of machinery, moulds and equip-ment for plastics and rubber – was held on Friday, 19 June at the Science and Technology Mu-seum in Milan.
PLAST breaks up the 3 years cycle with the next PLAST being held September 26 - 30, 2017, instead of May 8 - 12, 2018. The show will then continue on its usual triennal frequency. This is the big news announced on the first day of the exhibition. NPE moving from the month of March to May 7-11, 2018, as well as the overlapping with FEIPLASTIC this year, has surely affected such decision but not crucially.
Assocomaplast (the Italian trade association belonging to CONFINDUSTRIA, which groups to-gether over 160 makers of machinery, moulds and equipment for plastics and rubber) has completed the year 2014 balance sheet for the sector, incorporating ISTAT foreign trade data.
December 18th, 20914 (Milan, Italy): Assocomaplast (the Italian trade association, belonging to CONFINDUSTRIA, which groups to-gether some 170 machinery manufacturers) has compared ISTAT foreign trade data for January-September of the current year with data for the same period in 2013 and confirms further growth in both imports and exports.
On 6 June 2013, at Verdellino-Zingonia, CESAP hosted the annual meeting of Assocomaplast(the Italian trade association belonging to Confindustria, which groups together some 160 manufacturers of machinery, moulds and equipment for plastics and rubber).
Assocomaplast (the Italian trade association belonging to CONFINDUSTRIA, which groups together some 165 makers of machinery, molds and equipment for plastics and rubber) has issued its report on the sector's performance in 2012 – based also on the Italian National Institute o
Promoted and supported by Italy's plastics and rubber processing machinery and moulds manufacturers' Association, ASSOCOMAPLAST, a new Technical Committee, called 270 Plastics and Rubber Machines, has been activated recently by the International Organization for Standardization, ISO.
ASSAGO, ITALY -- Italian plastics and rubber machinery makers expect to produce 4.2 billion euros ($5.5 billion) in equipment this year, with exports of 2.6 billion euros ($3.45 billion), according to Italy's plastic and rubber machinery association Assocomaplast.


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The Pokémon Company International is teaming up with two new licensees to help expand the company’s apparel line.
The new signings include Undiz who is set to develop a line of nightwear and underwear ranges for multiple territories, while Branded Clothing International (BCI) will launch a line of adult nightwear.
Undiz’s range will hit stores in 2016 across all of their territories, including France, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Russia.
Sébastien Bismuth, CEO of Undiz, said: “Undiz is thrilled to welcome the yellowest and cutest of video game characters to our store – the one and only Pikachu.
“We just love Pikachu, and we love our special Pokémon range even more.”
Meanwhile, BCI will unveil its collection in Primark during autumn/winter 2016.
Justine Eggleton, design and licensing director of Brand Clothing International, added: “We are delighted to be working with Pokémon; the brand has such a rich heritage and broad appeal to fans of all ages, and has been on our wish list for a while.
“There couldn’t be a better time to be involved with so many exciting activations this year. We’re bringing adults’ nightwear, loungewear, underwear and swimwear to retail for AW16.”
Mathieu Galante, senior market development manager for The Pokémon Company International, commented: “Demand for Pokémon during this its 20th year shows no sign of waning, and the apparel market is particularly buoyant.
“We are delighted to have added Undiz and BCI to our portfolio of best-in-class partners. Pokémon continues to do extremely well with both its core audience of young boys and its secondary audience of young adults and parents.”


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Omnichannel is here to stay. Are you ready?
This is no longer your father’s materials handling industry. Leading suppliers are developing a culture of innovation, leading to new solutions for new challenges.
For most organizations, it is not a matter of if but when a supply disruption will occur. Yet few have invested in the systems and programs needed to respond.
In this white paper, you will learn about six steps that allow shippers and 3PLs to improve transportation operations and increase supply chain value in the most ideal way possible. Supply Chain White Papers, Envista White Paper, Transportation white paper
One byproduct of an improving economy is the the current state of United States inventory levels. Remember, it was not all that long ago that the “inventory glut” was a real drag on transportation productivity in more ways than one, whether it was decreased production, slower and longer transit times, and other related inefficiencies, too.…Details
A large majority of freight transportation and logistics industry stakeholders, including shippers, motor carriers, 3PLs, brokers, and others, continue to marvel at the overall state of market conditions, especially in the trucking sector. That comes with good reason, too, especially when considering that, in many ways, the confluence of factors contributing to the current market…Details
Logistics Management Group News Editor Jeff Berman recently had an opportunity to talk to Derek Leathers, president and chief executive officer of Werner Enterprises, about market conditions, the ongoing driver shortage, and pricing, among other topics.
With a 6.8-cent increase, the average price per gallon now stands at $3.239 per gallon. This is the highest weekly average since the week of December 29, 2014, when the average stood at $3.213.
United States-bound waterborne shipments saw some growth in April, albeit not at the same levels it hit in previous months, according to data issued this week by global trade intelligence firm Panjiva. April shipments, at 955,956, saw a 0.3% gain compared to April 2017, getting annual shipment growth back on a positive track, following March’s…Details
POLA handled 703,536 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) in April, which was down 1.3% annually compared to the 714,755 TEU recorded in April 2017, and POLB POLB April volumes were up 10.8% annually at 618,438 TEU. Imports saw an 8.4% annual gain to 312,376 TEU, and exports increased 22% to 141,799 TEU.


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Vice president and general manager of Asia Pacific at Hortonworks
The holiday season is here — and more Asians are traveling than ever before. In fact, Asia has become the world’s fastest growing travel market. In 2016, Asians spent US$600 billion on international travel, and Southeast Asia posted the highest growth among Asian sub-regions, with 9 percent more arrivals, largely due to continued strong intra-regional demand. Our dynamic economies are strengthening in and outbound travel throughout the region.
This growth spells valuable opportunities for Asia’s economies. With travel in the region set to increase on both the leisure and business fronts, there will be more travelers, flights, jobs, revenue and consumer needs — all creating new opportunities for those involved in the industry.
Unfortunately the picture is not entirely rosy. Acts of terrorism and insurgency continue to threaten public o...
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.


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Chinese automakers, stung by over capacity and intense competition in the home market, have a new headache: a slowdown in exports.
Only 84,400 Chinese-made cars were exported in June, around 20% less than the corresponding period last year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). It’s the second straight year-over-year monthly drop. In May, exports slumped 16%. The export slowdown comes at a time when foreign automakers are tightening their grip on the world’s biggest auto market, which has grown 12% this year. In 2010, Chinese brands commanded a 50% market share in China. By June 2013, their share had shrunk to 38%.
China mainly exports its cars to South America, the Middle East and Russia, where customers still preference price over quality. In 2012, Chinese auto exports grew over 30% and crossed the 1 million mark. But the tide changed in 2013 due to softening demand in markets like Vietnam and Chile, protests in Brazil and Turkey, and the appreciation of the yuan. In the first half of the year, exports dropped 0.6% from the year earlier.
The exports slowdown is bad news for Chinese automakers already suffering from excess capacity. There are over 170 auto makers in China, compared with around 35 in the in the US. By 2018, manufacturers are expected to have a combined output of 30 million cars, which would amount to an excess of 10 million units. Chinese government efforts to reduce pollution and congestion by imposing restrictions on car buyers don’t help.
And the competition is growing. Foreign automakers, desperate to offset declining sales in Europe, are investing heavily in China. General Motors has plans to boost its capacity to 5 million vehicles by 2015, and has outlined an $11 billion investment plan for the next four years. Ford opened a $300 million plant that will more than double its capacity in China. German giant Volkswagen wants to increase its workforce by a third by 2018, while luxury automaker Jaguar Land Rover is looking to boost its number of dealerships in Cina to 200 from 116.
In 2012, Dong Yang, the vice chairman of CAAM predicted (paywall) that half of China’s carmakers would disappear in the coming years. If exports continue to slide, his prediction could come true.
Here’s a look at exports by the top three exporters of passenger cars this year.