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Recent announcements of a number of high-profile high street chains in the UK being put into administration highlight the risks for retailers that don’t change their business models to reflect how consumers are now shopping, writes Paul McGarrity.
The UK high street experienced its own winter of discontent in January as some of the biggest names in high street retail went bust. During the first few weeks of the year, HMV, Jessops and Blockbuster all joined the ranks of former high street titans that have fallen into administration.
What’s perhaps most surprising about the announcements is that so many people in government, media and business treated the news as if it was unexpected. Radio chat shows on the subject featured scores of callers bemoaning the loss of another high street brand. Ill-informed politicians queued up to demand yet more state action to shore up failing businesses.
However, another way to look at the wave of high street losses is that it’s the natural outcome of a failure to react and adapt to what customers want. Ultimately HMV, Jessops and Blockbuster failed because they refused to adapt to how their customers were shopping.
The first warning signs of just how much the internet was going to revolutionise retail occurred in the late 1990s. Since the late 90s pure play retailers selling CDs, DVDs and digital equipment have slowly stolen the lunch of high street chain by offering cheaper prices, more choice and faster distribution. Fatally for the high street chains they continued to load their companies with more debt and invest in over-priced commercial property contracts at a time when the market was going online. You can sympathise with the staff who served and supported their former employers, but why get misty-eyed for high street dinosaurs who were let down so badly by directors who wouldn’t change or innovate.
No doubt there will be more high street retailers suffering the same end as HMV. Close to the top of the list must be Waterstones which is also hampered by massive online competition and high reliance on high street footfall. As a former customer, my shopping habits are indicative of how others now buy books. I stopped shopping in Waterstones years ago, about the same time as Amazon and other pure-play online retailers were starting to seriously challenge the book and music market. The last time I shopped in Waterstone I was told that a text book priced at �40 would take six weeks to deliver from another branch. A simple websearch for the product revealed it was nearly half the price online and would arrive in less than one week. Fast forward to 2013 and more worryingly Waterstones still hasn’t changed its business model to suit modern retail. Despite investing in ecommerce its online operation is still poor. Not only that but it operates a huge high-street presence in a sector where most people want to shop online.
For many the news of the failure of high street chains comes as no surprise given the impact the internet has had on retailing. No sector of the economy has been affected so fundamentally by technology as retail. Over the last 15 years, advances in technology coupled with fast-changing customer shopping habits have acted as a brave new world for retailers. While many old-style retailers have tried to ignore the impact of ecommerce, others have made it an integral part of their business. Faced with the apparent threat of the internet many retailers turned it into an opportunity to complement their high street presence with ecommerce. Talk of the ‘death of the high street’ is misguided when you consider how successful brands such as TK Maxx benefit from the recession and successfully selling online.
Belfast-based jewellery retailer Argento has taken a similar approach by combining a retail network with ecommerce. Its strategy will see the investment of �500,000 in its online and high-street business in order to increase its online market share and enhance customers’ shopping experience.
Responding to change
Essentially what TK Maxx and Argento are doing is responding to how customers in the digital era actually shop. Retailers now need to have a very strong digital presence across the customer buying cycle, especially in the awareness and purchase stages.
Savvy retailers now ensure that they target consumers searching online. They get that the internet provides them with a very powerful marketing tool and use their websites as a compelling shop window for products and an opportunity to promote their brand at the exact time the customer is considering a purchase. Retailers who are increasing their sales and profits from online get how consumer culture has changed. They meet the expectations of consumers who are time-poor and want to access information on products quickly. They also deliver digital information on product, price and availability across a multitude of platforms including smart-phones. And finally, they make it easy for their customers to purchase from them. While the last point may seem self-evident, the amount of retailers that have invested in ecommerce solutions that end up making it difficult for the customer to purchase is fairly shocking.
A lot of businesses are playing catch-up with online retailing. There’s also no doubt that for some high street chains with massive debt and property obligations, an investment in ecommerce is perhaps too little too late. But clearly for others, including smaller, leaner and more niche retailers, ecommerce is a real opportunity not a threat.
Paul McGarrity is director of Octave Online Communications, an internet marketing consultancy based in Belfast.


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The first e-book reader with a screen that combines the advantages of e-ink with the ability to display interactive content has been unveiled in Korea, paving the way for such devices to become widely available in the future.
The Kyobo device is based on Qualcomm's Mirasol technology, which in this case delivers an e-book reader with a 5.7in 1,024x768 screen that can display in colour, yet still offers a battery life of several weeks' worth of reading, according to the maker.
Until now, e-reader vendors have been faced with a choice of e-ink displays or more conventional LCD screens to build into their devices.
While LCD can provide full colour, it requires a backlight that eats up battery power - hence the screen going dark on your phone after a period of inactivity.
Meanwhile, e-ink displays do not require battery power to hold an image and have high contrast in ambient light, making them suitable for reading purposes. However, the screen is slow to update and current models offer only a monochrome display.
Qualcomm's Mirasol screens use a technology called interferometric modulator display, which produces pixels using the combination of a reflective microscopic mirror and a thin film stack that can be flipped into one of two states to allow light through or block it.
The result is a display technology that can show colour, by combining pixels tuned to reflect red, green or blue light, and one which can potentially change state quickly enough to show video content. Qualcomm has already demonstrated a prototype that can handle 30 frames per second, for example.
While the Kyobo e-reader appears to be aimed at the Korean domestic market, it points the way to colour e-readers that should be widely available in the near future, while the Mirasol technology might eventually find its way into other devices such as smartphones.
Warming was most pronounced in Siberia region
The tank will be subjected to high stresses and loads via dozens of hydraulic cylinders during testing
'Sunlit wet sidewalk' provides evidence of methane rainfall on the north pole of Saturn's moon Titan
Methane rainfall indicates the start of the summer season in Titan's northern hemisphere
Scientists believe there could be other hydrides or superhydrides with super conducting properties

domain: news


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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued multiple recalls last week including Honda's recall of over 1.1 million vehicles for an airbag defect.
Are you looking to see if any recalls were issued on your vehicle? If the car isn't listed below, owners can check USA TODAY’s automotive recall database or search NHTSA’s database for new recalls. The NHTSA website allows you to search for recalls based on your vehicle identification number or VIN.
Here is what to know about the vehicle recalls published by the NHTSA from Feb. 4 to Feb. 10.
Kia recall for engine valve springs may cause fire
Kia is recalling 2,872 of its 2024 Telluride vehicles. The engine valve springs may break while driving, which can result in a loss of drive power and possibly create a hole in the engine block. A hole within the engine block increases the risk of a fire and the loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash, according to the NHTSA report.
To resolve this issue, Kia dealers will replace the engine sub-assembly free of charge to affected vehicles. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed April 5. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC296.
Nissan recalls rearview camera not displaying an image
Nissan is recalling 57,914 of its 2018-2022 LEAF vehicles. Damage to the camera harness can cause distortion or loss of the rearview camera display image. If a rearview image does not properly display, it can reduce a driver's rearview, and increase the risk of a crash, the NHTSA reports.
These vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility," according to the NHTSA.
Nissan is currently working through solutions to resolve this issue. Notification letters will be mailed out March 20. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669.
Mercedes Benz recall for bright headlights, could cause an accident
Mercedes-Benz is recalling 15,502 of its 2019-2022 GLC 300, 2020 GLC 350e, and 2020-2022 AMG GLC 43 vehicles. The headlights may be incorrectly adjusted too high and create a glare for oncoming traffic. Incorrect adjustments of headlines can reduce the visibility of oncoming traffic and increase the risks of a serious injury and/or crash, the NHTSA said.
The NHTSA states that these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Benz owners can visit their dealers to inspect the headlight adjustment and correct it if necessary, Mechanics will do all inspections free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be sent out on March 1. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372.
2019-2022 GLC 300
2020 GLC 350e
2020-2022 AMG GLC 43
Honda recalls over 750,000 vehicles for airbag defect
Honda is recalling 750,114 vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, failing to suppress the air bag as intended. An airbag that unintentionally deploys during a crash can increase the risk of injury to the driver and/or the passengers, according to the NTHSA.
If your vehicle is on the recall list, you can visit your dealer to get your seat weight sensors replaced free of charge. Notification letters are expected to be mailed March 18, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for these recalls are XHP and VHQ.
2020-2022 Civic sedan
2020 Civic coupe
2021-2022 Civic hatchback
2021 Civic Type R
2020-2021 Accord Hybrid
2020-2021 CR-V Hybrid
2020 Acura MDX
2022 Acura MDX
2020-2022 Acura RDX
2020-2021 Acura TLX
300,000 GMC, Chevrolet trucks recalled over concerns with tailgate's release system
More than 300,000 trucks manufactured by General Motors were recalled late last week over safety concerns posed by the tailgate’s electronic release system short circuiting after coming in contact with water.
The notice is set to impact about 323,232 trucks, including certain Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra models sold between 2020 and 2024, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.
The electronic gate-release, which could unlatch the tailgate while the vehicle is in motion, can cause a road hazard and increase the risk of a crash, according to the NHTSA. The gate could also unlock while the truck is in park.
Chevrolet customers can reach customer support at 1-(800)-222-1020. GMC customers can reach customer support at 1-(800)-462-8782. The number of the recall, designated by General Motors is N232426400. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety can be contacted over the phone at 1-(888)-327-4236 or online.
Chevrolet Silverado 2500 (2020-2024)
Chevrolet Silverado 3500 (2020-2024)
GMC Sierra 2500 (2020-2024)
GMC Sierra 3500 (2020-2024)
Contributing: Amaris Encincas, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Car recall check: Honda, Kia, Nissan among 1.1M vehicles recalled


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The Prosus-owned company said it will renew its focus on Cash my Car and Aasaanjobs
The axe has fallen on the sales team, which OLX had doubled in strength last year to scale operations
OLX had reached break even in 2018 when its revenue rose to $24.45 Mn
Online classifieds platform OLX has laid off close to 250 people from its sales and support teams. The Prosus-owned company, however, said it will renew its focus on its omnichannel platform to sell cars Cash my Car, and its recruitment marketplace Aasaanjobs.
Speaking to Inc42, OLX’s spokesperson said the company will ensure that the impacted colleagues got meaningful exit severance compensations and outplacement support.
“As we continue to evolve to meet the market expectations and the needs of our customers, we’re shifting our strategy and focusing on key segments where we can offer more services and convenience,” the spokesperson added.
According to sources, earlier this week, OLX decided to shut down its real estate and used goods verticals in India, laying off 200 people. OLX announced that the decision is not due to Covid but is a part of a larger change in global strategy.
The axe has fallen on the sales team, which OLX had doubled in strength last year to scale operations.
Meanwhile, it has been learned that OLX employees blamed the company for lack of clarity and any strategy for India as the reason for this decision. The lack of strategy has been going on for a while, where the strategy has changed every 6 months.
Sources also suggest that OLX’s decisions are driven by the global team without any empowerment of the local management team.
At the global level, OLX has been trying to protect itself from Facebook whose marketplace product has significantly dented its market share across multiple geographies (Indonesia and USA to name a few). Outside Europe and Russia (where it owns Avito), OLX has struggled to take leadership position. Over the last 2 years, it has exited multiple geographies by selling/merging the local business units with dominant players – sold the business in middle East to EPMG group, sold the business in southeast Asia to Carousel, sold the business in USA (letgo merged with offerup).
OLX had in November 2018, joined hands with Germany-based Frontier Car Group (FCG) to launch its offline used car selling stores called ‘Cash My Car’. The company had told Inc42 in 2018 that it planned to increase its footprint to 40 cities by 2021-end. It had also acquired Mumbai-based online recruitment marketplace Aasaanjobs for an undisclosed amount.
In recent times, OLX has been waging a tough battle with Facebook’s marketplace across multiple geographies. It currently leads the segment in Europe and Russia where it owns Avito.
Last year, OLX’s competitor, Quikr had laid off around 2,000 people from its verticals — cars and bikes, jobs, Quikr Realty and Quikr homes — pan India. Quikr employs about 3,500 employees in these verticals. However, the company acquired Bengaluru-based online laundry services startup LaundryAnna last year.
After more than a decade of presence in India, OLX had reached break even in 2018 when its revenue rose to $24.45 Mn.
Since 2018, OLX has exited multiple geographies by sale or mergers with local business units with dominant players. In April this year, it merged its Middle East business with Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG) while its US business Letgo became part of OfferUP around the same time.


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“Without hot colour targeting, if a user purchases an LED that was performing on a bin edge at room temperature, it would likely shift out of the specification at application temperatures and cause an undesirable shift in colour for the fixture,” said product line manager Mark Chang. “Hot colour targeting remedies this problem by targeting slightly above the black body locus at room temperature. At application conditions, the colour temperature remains within ANSI specifications.”
3030 2D is also being introduced with a 1/9th micro colour binning structure – customers can select 3 or 5-step MacAdam Ellipse for colour control.
“Designers can also pair different bins to hit a 3/4/5 SDCM colour point,” said Chang.
These LEDs are aimed at retrofit bulbs, downlights, high bay luminaires, and low bay luminaires.
Packaging is epoxy moulded QFN.
Typical warm (2,700K) white performance is 87 lm at 80 CRI at 120 mA.
Cool white efficacy reaches 133 lm/W at 80 CRI and 120 mA.
“When driven at the maximum drive current of 240 mA, the 3030 2D can deliver 160 lm at 6,500K and 80 CRI,” said Lumileds.
According to Chang. these figures are 10-15% up on the firm’s previous generation of two-die mid-power emitters.
Earlier this month, Lumileds introduced an HV (‘high-voltage’) variant of its 3535 with similar colour binning for incandescent light bulb replacements.


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By Rukayat Moisemhe
British American Tobacco Nigeria (BAT Nigeria) has appointed Mrs Kikelomo Fisayo-Okusanya as Marketing Deployment Director for the West and Central Africa Cluster (WCA).
Yarub Al-Bahrani, Managing Director, BAT Nigeria, made this known in a statement on Monday in Lagos.
He said the company, a multinational organisation operating in more than 180 markets, acknowledges that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) constitute a pivotal organisational asset.
Al-Bahrani noted that these elements empowered the company to attract and retain top-tier talents while delivering exceptional products and services to its global consumer base.
He said the appointment was in line with the company’s striking demonstration of commitment to global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) agenda and talent development.
He stated that her appointment aligned with her induction into BAT’s West and Central Africa leadership team, making her the second woman to join the cluster’s leadership team.
According to him, the recent addition of a second female executive to the WCA leadership team demonstrates the company’s commitment to achieving 40 per cent female representation in senior leadership.
He added that the development was also in line with the company’s move to achieve 45 per cent in management roles by 2025, thereby promoting inclusivity and gender equality at the management level.
“BAT Nigeria is committed to a better tomorrow and fostering inclusive work environment that is encouraging different perspectives and ideas, ultimately leading to better decision-making and business outcomes.
“We are thrilled to welcome to the leadership team, our new Marketing Deployment Director and we look forward to the experience she will bring.
“A seasoned marketing strategist with over two decades of experience in the ever-evolving marketing landscape, Fisayo-Okusanya joined BAT Nigeria in 2003 as a trade marketing representative.
“Since then, she has built a stellar marketing career honing valuable expertise in trade marketing, brands, and activation throughout West and Central Africa.
“In her capacity as Area Head for 360 Activation and Marketing Operations, she left her indelible mark by pioneering an immersive virtual reality market experience.
“She also orchestrated a major overhaul of the Marketing Skills and Development Unit,” he said.
Al-Bahrani said the company would continue to do its best, following its recognition as a Global Top Employer in Nigeria and West Africa and was awarded the Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives Award.
He added that BAT Nigeria also emerged overall winner of the 2022 HR Oscars award by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria(CIPM).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that before the appointment, Fisayo-Okusanya’s former role was Area Head, 360 Activation and Marketing Operations, BAT Nigeria.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Olawunmi Ashafa


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'Employer of Choice' to be chosen at BPO symposiumMonday, April 01, 2019
Jamaica's first 'Employer of Choice' in the business processing outsourcing (BPO) sector will be named at this year's staging of Outsource2Jamaica – Symposium and Expo, to be staged by the Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ).
And the 36,000 employees in the sector will get their chance to help select the winner.
Scheduled for April 11 and 12 at Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James, Outsource2Jamaica will showcase the best in the local BPO industry and the opportunities that are available in the rapidly growing sector with the naming of the Employer of Choice, among the highlights.
“The Employer of Choice Award really opens up opportunities for the employees to have a say about the type of environment that they work in,” said Gloria Henry, president of the BPIAJ.
“It will show the employers who embody the spirit of best practices and so on,” added Henry.
She explained that employees can go on the BPIAJ's platform to vote for the top employer in the island, but they will not have the only say.
“Some companies have 5,000 to 6,000 employees so there will also be a panel which will look at the best practices and help to make the decision,” noted Henry.
Outsource2Jamaica will give local players in the BPO sector, including service providers, an opportunity to showcase their offerings to the rest of the world.
Buyers are expected from the United States, Europe, Canada, the Caribbean, the Philippines, and India.
“This year we are focusing on the global services sector. Last year we improved and expanded our value proposition to support the variety and the widening of services that are offered in the outsourcing sector in Jamaica,” Henry said.
Under the theme 'Global Services Transforming Processes, People and Culture', the first day of Outsource2Jamaica will focus on going up the value chain —with Jim Iyoob, chief customer officer of Etec Global Services, providing the keynote address on 'Leveraging people, process and artificial intelligence'.
'Best practices and innovations in your IT infrastructure', 'Starting my own BPO', and 'Bridging the gap in employability, the workforce and economy', are the other topics that will be discussed on day one.
Day two will begin with a keynote address by Andrew Clutz, director of corporate investment and analytics at Conway USA, who will speak on 'Attracting Foreign Direct Investments: Encouraging Sustainable Business Practices Using Incentives'.
'Jamaica's Labour Laws 101' and 'Preparing a Ready Agile Workforce' will also be among the topics to be highlighted on day two.
Outsource2Jamaica 2019 will close with the recognition of the Employer of Choice and a Youth Engagement Summit and Job Fair.
Now you can read the Jamaica Observer ePaper anytime, anywhere. The Jamaica Observer ePaper is available to you at home or at work, and is the same edition as the printed copy available at https://bit.ly/epaper-login


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Published on: 2016-02-02
Hong Kong Economic Journal carried a commentary by IEMS’ Edwin Lai on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Professor Lai gave an introduction to the TPP trade agreement reached last year between 12 countries, and stated that the TPP will facilitate economic growth in the region. He also explained the potential benefits of TPP to China which, as the agreement promotes transparency, good governance, and environmental protection, should assist China with its internal reform efforts in each of these areas.
Read the full article here: Hong Kong Economic Journal (Chinese Only)
[Bio] Edwin Lai
[IEMS Thought Leadership Brief] Renminbi Internationalization: The Prospects of China’s Yuan as the Next Global Currencychina, china trade, trade, Trade issues, Trade liberalization


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Activision not counting on Diablo III in 2011
Publisher's year-end financial figures show $4.45 billion in sales; company not committing to any major release from Blizzard this year.
Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk aren't the only Activision franchises going silent this year. In its year-end investor conference call today, the publisher cautioned investors that its sales and profit estimates for the current year didn't take into account any major releases from Blizzard for 2011.
In the call, Activision COO and CFO Thomas Tippl specifically said that with no current release window for Blizzard's Diablo III, the publisher "felt it prudent" to omit the game from its 2011 financial outlook numbers.
"We think that in the long run, Blizzard is good for one major new release a year," Tippl said. "But of course, what always rules is that the quality of the game has to be there."
Tippl pointed out that there was no major Blizzard game in 2009 due to the delay of Starcraft II. However, the developer made up for that hole in its release schedule by launching both the sci-fi real-time strategy game and the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm expansion in 2010. If such a situation happens again and there's no Blizzard game released this year, Tippl suggested there would likely be two major titles from the developer in 2012.
Looking to another lynchpin of the company's current campaign, Tippl addressed this year's Call of Duty game and whether or not it can top the chart-busting performance of Black Ops. While the franchise will have higher digital revenues than last year, thanks to an expanded slate of downloadable content, Tippl said the company is projecting lower sales at retail for the game. He stressed that is consistent with Activision's approach to Black Ops, which it had initially (and incorrectly) projected to sell fewer copies than 2009's hit Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
As for its recently completed campaign, Activision posted net revenues of $4.45 billion for the year ended December 31, 2010, up nearly 4 percent from the previous year's $4.28 billion. However, fourth quarter sales actually slipped, down more than 8 percent to less than $1.43 billion.
The publisher's profits mirrored its sales performance, with the full-year numbers painting a rosier picture than those for the fourth quarter alone. For the full year, Activision's net profits totaled $418 million, well over triple the $113 million it took home the year before. However, the publisher posted a net loss for the fourth quarter, ending up $233 million in the red. That was still an improvement over the previous year's fourth quarter, when Activision's net losses totaled $286 million.
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American business executive and the CEO of the Apple Inc joined the company in 1998. He has since then played a vital role in the company’s growth and success over the years. The CEO is expected to be present in India for the launch of Apple’s first retail store in the country. The new launch is another milestone achieved by Apple under the supervision of Tim Cook. This new venture will surely boost Apple’s business in India, thus adding more value to the net worth of Tim Cook.
The journey to becoming the CEO of one of the biggest brands in the world was full of hard work. Tim Cook graduated from Auburn University with a degree in Industrial Engineering in 1982 and then earned an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business in 1988. After graduation, he worked at IBM for 12 years in various positions, including being the Director of North American Fulfillment.
In 1998, Cook joined Apple as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations. He was responsible for the company’s global supply chain, sales, and service. Cook streamlined the company’s supply chain and implemented a just-in-time manufacturing system, which reduced inventory costs and increased efficiency.
In 2011, Steve Jobs resigned as Apple CEO due to health issues, and Cook was named as his successor. As CEO, Cook has led the company through a period of growth and innovation. He has overseen the development of new products such as the Apple Watch, AirPods, and HomePod. Under his leadership, Apple has become the world’s most valuable company, with a market capitalization of over $2 trillion. This feat has also rapidly increased the net worth of Tim Cook. Let’s take a look at his earnings and assets.
Bill Gates’ Net Worth: A ‘Window’ Into The Microsoft Co-Founder’s Jaw-Dropping Wealth
Bernard Arnault’s Net Worth: How Does The Richest Man In The World Spend His Money?
What contributes to the massive net worth of Apple CEO Tim Cook
When Tim Cook took over as Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide operations, his salary was US $500,000 a year. His salary raised to US $900,000 a year when he became Apple’s CEO in 2011. The net worth of Tim Cook raised very quickly within a short period of time.
Tim Cook’s net worth
Tim Cook officially became a billionaire two years ago in 2020 by reaching a net worth of US $1.5 billion. His net worth has now increased to US $1.8 billion, according to Forbes. He also owns more than 3 million shares of Apple which is less than a 1% stake. He also has sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of shares over the years. He earns a base salary of US $3.4 million along with an annual bonus of between US $8 million and US $12 million.
A sneak peek of his real estate
Despite being one of the most successful billionaires in the world, the Apple CEO lives in a modestly subtle 2,400-square-foot home in Palo Alto, California. Cook purchased the house in 2010 after being appointed as the CEO of Apple. He spent US $1.9 million on the house. In 2018, he also bought a 10,000-square-foot home at the Madison Club (an exclusive gated community in La Quinta, California) for US $10.1 million.
Other investments and earnings
Cook profits from approximately US $500,000 worth of personal security expenditures paid for by Apple. He is also mandated to fly privately for all personal and business travel. The flight costs come to around US $315,000 per year. A huge part of the grant (10 annual increments) awarded to him when he became the CEO was performance-based. He would have received these shares only if Apple out-performed 2/3 of the S&P 500. Interestingly, he managed to hit every single performance milestone. He received his ninth grant which was around 560,000 shares, in August 2020, half of which is set aside to cover an estimated tax debt at their August 2020 price per share. The 280,000 shares Tim received to post this deduction were worth US $126 million.
Apple’s launch in India
New Cupertino-based Apple Inc stores will be launched in India on 18 April and 20 April. These stores will provide a premium experience that all Apple loyalists are a fan of. In the last few years, the popularity of Apple products in India has increased by leaps and bounds. This has resulted in long waiting cues outside the different Apple stores in India. This will change with the new Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) space. The BKC store at Jio World Drive Mall is reportedly 22,000 square feet, making it a perfect place to accommodate more customers.
Ratan Tata’s Net Worth: Looking At The Industrialist’s Investments, Expensive Cars And More
The ‘Red Bull’ Family: Who Are They And What Is Their Net Worth?
Hero and featured image credit: Emma McIntyre / Staff/Getty Images)
This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Singapore


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Local business bombarded by thousands of errant calls
EUREKA -- As co-owner of a telecommunications business, Bob Pretzel expects to get a wrong number phone call occasionally -- but 78,000 is another story.
Last week was shaping up to be pretty normal, until all of the sudden on Thursday all five phone lines linked to Commercial Radio and Electronics started ringing off the hook. CRE employees were answering 200-300 phone calls an hour for XM Satellite Radio.
Pretzel said that CRE's 800 number is one digit different than XM's, and that XM did confirm to Pretzel that it mailed out 78,000 direct mail postcards requesting customers to update their billing information.
Soon they realized that real customers were unable to get through to the local business. Especially concerning was that a big portion of the business is in servicing local public safety officials' two-way radios, 911 and patrol car communications.
"It was funny for about 10 minutes," Pretzel said. "But now, nobody wants to come to work anymore -- you can't get anything done. Morale is pretty beat around here."
As a small company with less than eight employees, this has been an enormous strain on the business, he said. Tentatively XM has agreed, he said, to pay for the 800 phone charges. On Friday alone, the business received 1,200 phone calls. AT&T determined that previously, the 800 number brought in an average of 10 calls a day.
Pretzel said he and his partner Rick Blanchard are hoping that some sort of financial settlement can be reached for loss of business.
"Sir ... sir ... listen, we are not XM radio," said CRE secretary Adriana Rafael-Halverson Tuesday afternoon, slightly annoyed. "No you have the wrong number, it's 967, not 927."
Because the postcards were sent out by third class mail, Pretzel said, there is a strong possibility that some of them are still on trucks. For that reason, calls could still trickle in over the next two weeks.
He said he could turn off the 800 number, or AT&T could divert the calls to a voice mail that gives a press 1 or press 2 option, but he said he doesn't think he should have to.
Howard Stern, shock-jock radio personality and longtime foe of XM Satellite Radio, has expressed an interest in putting CRE's tale on his program. Pretzel said that so far he has not decided whether to do it.
Commercial Radio and Electronics Co. is located at 2416 Broadway and can be reached by calling 445-9661. If customers cannot get through, CRE suggests they call the Power Page line at 445-9665.
XM Satellite Radio representatives were not available for comment by press time.
Ann Johnson-Stromberg covers McKinleyville, business and general assignment. She can be reached at 441-0538 or firstname.lastname@example.org


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The global IC market forecast has been revised upward from 8 percent to 15 percent due to stronger than expected average selling prices (ASPs) for DRAMs and NAND flash devices, according to the latest research from IC Insights.
The biggest revisions to IC Insights’ 2018 McLean Report were in the memory market. The growth forecast for DRAMs in 2018 has jumped to 37 percent, up from 13 percent, while NAND flash memory growth has bounced up from 10 percent to 17 percent.
The ASP for DRAM is expected to climb by 36 percent in 2018 compared to 2017 when prices rose by 81 percent, according to the market research firm. The ASP for NAND flash is forecast to increase by 10 percent in 2018, after rising by 45 percent in 2017.
However, unit volume growth in 2018 for DRAM and NAND flash will only rise by 1 percent and 6 percent, respectively.
The DRAM market segment plays a significant role in the total growth of the IC industry, particularly over the past few years. For example, in 2016, the DRAM market dropped by 8 percent in part due to a 12 percent decline in ASP, cutting the total IC industry growth rate by 2 percent, according to IC Insights. This changed in 2017 as prices rose and supply became tight across several IC segments. The DRAM market lifted the total IC market by 9 percent in 2017 and is forecast to boost the total IC market by 5 percent in 2018.
The DRAM market is forecast to be the largest single product segment in the IC industry in 2018, reaching $99.6 billion, compared to the NAND flash market forecast of $62.1 billion.
DRAM suppliers continue to post strong growth despite a slowdown in price hikes. Micron, one of the top three DRAM suppliers, reported today that revenues for the second quarter of FY 2018 were 8 percent higher than the previous quarter, and up 58 percent compared to the same period last year, reaching $7.35 billion.
Micron’s president and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra attributes part of its performance to its “ongoing shift to high-value solutions as we grew sales to our cloud, mobile and automotive customers and set new records for SSDs and graphics memory.”
The semiconductor industry is off to a strong start in 2018. Global sales of semiconductors reached $37.6 billion in January 2018, increasing by 22.7 percent compared to January 2017, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). This marks the 18th consecutive month of year-to-year sales increases.
However, global sales in January were 1 percent lower than December 2017, which is a normal seasonal market trend. Monthly sales are compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization.
“All major regional markets saw double-digit growth compared to last year, with the Americas leading the away with year-to-year growth of more than 40 percent,” said John Neuffer, SIA’s president and CEO, in a statement. “With year-to-year sales also up across all major semiconductor product categories, the global market is well-positioned for a strong start to 2018.”
Semiconductor makers agree that 2018 is shaping up to be a strong growth year.
Thanks to “good business momentum and a pipeline of key product launches” Dialog Semiconductor expects “2018 will be a year of good revenue growth,” and “broadly in line with the financial 2017,” said Jalal Bagherli, Dialog’s CEO during a 2017 earnings conference call in February.
Dialog Semiconductor posted 13 percent growth in FY2017, reaching $1.4 billion. “Investing in R&D is vital to drive long-term revenue growth, and in 2017, we invested in our people and our products while maintaining rock-solid financial execution,” Bagherli said. “This year, we have delivered double-digit revenue growth maintained or increased underlying profitability across our business segments and returned close to $175 million of cash to our shareholders.”
Even Infineon Semiconductors, whose revenues are impacted by the weaker U.S. dollar, expects growth to continue in the five percent range in FY2018.
“For the rest of the 2018 fiscal year, we expect an unchanged business momentum only affected by the significantly weaker U.S. dollar,” said Reinhard Ploss, Infineon’s CEO during a Q1 2018 earnings conference call in January. “This is reflected on our adjusted guidance.”
“However, the underlying growth for this year remains strong,” he added. “At a constant dollar exchange rate, our growth outlook would be at 11 percent at midpoint. And obviously, if you’re reported in U.S. dollar, as most of our competitors, we would even guide for 16 percent growth at the mid-point.”


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TRADITIONAL pub chain Wear Inns has plans to grow its turnover from £7.4m to more than £13m following the acquisition of 11 pubs this year.
The County Durham-based firm, which now owns 26 pubs across the North East and Yorkshire, has plans to expand its portfolio to 40 by the end of next year.
As part of its strategy to grow the business, Wear Inns has moved into the former headquarters of the Castle Eden brewery, near Peterlee.
The firm, which reported a 7.3% rise in like-for-like sales in 2011/12, is now the biggest independent operator in the region in terms of volume of beer sold. It was able to buy 11 pubs this year after completing a £10m funding package from NVM Private Equity and Business Growth Fund.
Managing director John Weir said: “Each of the 11 pubs will undergo a refurbishment of between £150,000 and £200,000 to give it a more traditional look.
“We have completed nine of the 11, with the final two in Sheffield and Barnsley to be done by the end of January. We are looking to expand our pub portfolio in the North East and Yorkshire only. Our turnover in 2011 compared to 2012 prior to buying the pubs increased by £1.2m. Our reported turnover in 2011 was £6.2m and in 2012 it was £7.4m. The addition of the 11 pubs will take turnover above £13m.
“We are interested in individual pubs or pub chains which are or have the potential to be community hubs. We have grown quickly and plan to continue this in 2013.
“We see an opportunity to buy good freehold properties. The majority of our pubs are on iconic sites and well- known in the past but which, for a variety of reasons, have not attracted investment. Our plan is to refurbish each one and develop them into a traditional local pub which is at the heart of the community.
“We believe a good local pub which serves local beer, good-quality local food and provides the opportunity to form clubs around them, whether it be football teams, jazz clubs, gardening clubs or any kind of social activity, it will help them not just survive but thrive at the heart of the community.”
Since Weir and the company’s chairman John Sands formed Wear Inns in 2006, the workforce has grown from 105 to 265.
The latest pub to undergo a major facelift – the Lambton Hotel in Chester-le-Street, County Durham – re-opened at the weekend.
Although the pub industry has been shrouded in doom and gloom over the past few years, Mr Weir is optimistic about his company’s progress.
Weir said: “It is about sustaining and creating local jobs but also doing everything we can to support the local economy.
“We are very proud to have been able to develop the business in such a challenging market.”


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HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Thousands of Etsy sellers are on strike this week. The website features artisans from all over the world, many selling unique, custom gift items. This all started when the website CEO announced an increase in transaction fees. This is after a couple of years of record profits for the company, so more than 5,000 sellers went dark this week to protest.
Lindsey Eberhard understands how they feel. She owns Time Flys Clothing and makes custom t-shirts out of her Hillsborough County home. She has an Etsy shop.
While she decided not to take part in the strike, she knows firsthand how difficult the last few months have been for many small businesses.
"A lot of people are just getting discouraged. Inflation, the products that we bring in are going up. Shipping is going up. Everything is going up. So on our end, it's frustrating," she said.
She says they are rolling with the challenges, doing what they can to keep prices reasonable for customers so they can stay competitive. Despite the increase in fees, she also appreciates Etsy for bringing in customers that she normally wouldn't be able to get on her own. But they are working on getting on other platforms like Amazon and revamping their own website so they can avoid those fees altogether.
Etsy has defended its fee increase saying it will help them do better marketing and customer support for the millions of active sellers using their website.


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DULUTH, Ga., May 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABG), one of the largest automotive retail and service companies in the U.S., announced today that senior management will present at the Stifel Nicolaus Consumer Conference and the BB&T Capital Markets Auto Conference in New York City on June 4th and the Stephens Spring Investment Conference in New York City on June 5th.
Stifel Nicolaus Consumer Conference Details:
Location: St. Regis Hotel, New York
Open House Times: 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, June 4, 2013
BB&T Capital Markets Auto Conference Details:
Location: Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Stephens Spring Investment Conference Details:
Location: The New York Palace Hotel, New York
Presentation Time: 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Investor presentation slides and a live audio webcast will be available on the Company's website at http://www.asburyauto.com, under "Investor Relations."
About Asbury Automotive Group
Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. ("Asbury"), headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, is one of the largest automobile retailers in the U.S. Built through a combination of organic growth and a series of strategic acquisitions, Asbury currently operates 76 retail auto stores, encompassing 97 franchises for the sale and servicing of 29 different brands of American, European and Asian automobiles. Asbury offers customers an extensive range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicle sales and related financing and insurance, vehicle maintenance and repair services, replacement parts and service contracts.
SOURCE Asbury Automotive Group, Inc.


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Last week, we witnessed the grand opening of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre’s (NMACC) Grand Theatre, which has been making headlines globally. The event, which was attended by Bollywood celebrities, politicians, and business tycoons, was nothing short of a spectacle.
The NMACC, which is located in Mumbai, has been described as India’s own Met Gala moment. The centre is the culmination of Nita Ambani’s passion for arts, culture, and her love for India. She has always dreamt of creating a platform that would be welcoming to audiences, artists, performers, and creatives at large. The opening of the Grand Theatre has captured the attention of the world, drawing comparisons to the prestigious Met Gala in New York.
What is India’s Met Gala?
India’s Met Gala is the opening of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai, India. This cultural center is a hub for art, fashion, and design, and is considered to be the Indian version of the Met Gala. The opening event was attended by a host of celebrities, including Bollywood actors, cricketers, and business tycoons.
The purpose of the cultural center is to showcase and promote Indian artisans, craftsmen, and designers. The center aims to provide a platform for emerging artists to showcase their work and gain recognition. The center also houses a 2,000 seat theater with 16,000 square feet of exhibition space, making it a major cultural destination in Mumbai.
The opening event of the cultural center was nothing short of spectacular, with guests dressed in their finest attire. The event was attended by a host of celebrities, including Shah Rukh Khan, Rekha, Ananya Pandey, Sachin Tendulkar, and Sadhguru. The event was reminiscent of the Met Gala, with guests dressed in elaborate gowns and suits.
The center’s chandelier, embellished with 8,400 Swarovski crystals, was a major attraction at the event. The center’s grand theater was also a highlight, with its state-of-the-art technology and acoustics. The opening event was a true celebration of Indian art, culture, and design, and showcased the best of what India has to offer.
The opening of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre was a major event in the cultural calendar of Mumbai. The event was a true celebration of Indian art, culture, and design, and showcased the best of what India has to offer. The center is set to become a major cultural destination in Mumbai and is sure to attract visitors from all over the world.
Who is Nita Ambani?
Nita Ambani is a well-known philanthropist and the wife of Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in Asia. She is the Founder and Chairperson of the Reliance Foundation, an Indian philanthropic organization that has supported The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York since 2016.
Nita Ambani is also known for her passion for art and culture. She has been actively involved in promoting Indian art and culture through various initiatives. In 2019, she was elected to the Board of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, becoming the first Indian trustee in the museum’s 150-year history.
Her latest initiative is the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC), which was recently opened in Mumbai. The center aims to promote Indian art and culture and provide a platform for young artists to showcase their talent. It is a state-of-the-art facility that includes a museum, a theater, and an art gallery.
The opening of the NMACC was a star-studded affair, with many Bollywood celebrities and prominent personalities in attendance. The event was compared to the Met Gala in New York, with guests dressed in their finest attire and walking the red carpet.
Nita Ambani’s vision for the NMACC is to create a world-class cultural institution that will promote Indian art and culture on a global scale. The center has already gained global attention and is expected to become a major cultural hub in India.
The Culture Center: A Hub for Art and Culture
The centre is a modern, first-of-its-kind, multi-disciplinary arts space in Mumbai, India, and it was clear that no expense had been spared in creating this cultural hub.
The purpose of the centre is to showcase Indian arts and entertainment, and it certainly did not disappoint. The opening of the cultural centre was a star-studded event, with celebrities from all over the world in attendance. Zendaya, Tom Holland, and other A-listers walked the red carpet, and the event was covered by media outlets from around the globe.
The centre aims to spotlight local artisans and craftsmen, helping Indians reclaim their narrative and exercise greater control over their cultural heritage. The opening of the centre was a celebration of Indian art, fashion, and culture, and it was clear that this was India’s version of the Met Gala.
The centre has three exhibition spaces, two convention halls, and one grand ballroom, making it the perfect venue for a range of events, from Bollywood galas to auto shows to art fairs. The grand theatre, in particular, is a sight to behold, heralding a new golden age for Indian performing arts.
The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre is a true testament to the power of art and culture to bring people together. It is a hub for creativity, innovation, and collaboration, and we cannot wait to see what the future holds for this incredible space.
The event was a perfect blend of Indian culture, fashion, and entertainment, making it feel like the Indian version of the Met Gala. The centre itself is a testament to the Ambani family’s passion for promoting and preserving Indian art and culture.
The grand theatre of the cultural centre, in particular, was a sight to behold. The state-of-the-art facilities and the grandeur of the architecture were breathtaking. The event itself was attended by a plethora of celebrities from different fields, including Bollywood actors, politicians, and business leaders. The red carpet was a fashion extravaganza, with designers showcasing their best creations, and guests donning their most exquisite outfits.
The cultural performances that followed were a true celebration of Indian art and culture. From classical music to contemporary dance, every performance was a treat for the senses. The cultural centre has truly become a hub for artists and art enthusiasts alike, providing them with a platform to showcase their talent and connect with like-minded individuals.
The opening of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre was a grand success. The event was a perfect representation of the Ambani family’s commitment to promoting Indian art and culture. The centre itself is a masterpiece, and we are excited to see the impact it will have on the Indian cultural scene in the years to come.


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Tesla has fired back against the accusations brought in a lawsuit filed against the company earlier this week by a Wisconsin attorney and self-described “Lemon law King” Vince Megna. Mr. Megna’s client, a physician who took delivery of his Model S in March of last year, alleges that he has had repeated problems with the car’s doors and main fuse and that repeated attempts to remedy the problem have met with no success. He is asking that, after four attempts at resolving the issues, the company re-purchase the car under Wisconsin lemon laws intended to protect buyers if a product is faulty and cannot be repaired by the manufacturer. Read More >
Last weekend, Chevrolet issued a stop-sale 2013-2014 Chevrolet Cruze equipped with the 1.4L turbo-four with no initial reason for the action. A stop-sale is an order given by a manufacturer to dealers to cease the sales of a specific model of car to repair a problem. It can be anything from minor quality issues, up to major mechanical maladies. While not an uncommon event, this comes on the heels of a tidal wave of expanded recalls and investigations centered around the maligned Delta-Platform cars. TTAC was able to obtain a copy of the stop-sale notice for the B&B, which pinpoints the failure to the front-passenger half-shaft not meeting GM specifications, with the half-shafts possibly fracturing as the result. Read More >
Ford dropped a
heavy light weight military-grade aluminum gauntlet with a metallic thud when they announced that the aluminum-intensive F-150. With up to 97% of the body being made of aluminum, and with Ford’s claims that it has dropped 700 pounds off the truck’s curb weight, the industry took notice. So much so, that GM announced their plans for an aluminum Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra shortly after the North American International Autoshow, where the F150 was debuted.
According to WardsAuto reported that some analysts are not quite as impressed, and are unsure whether or not it will make as large of an impact as expected.
General Motors released their updated chronology to the recall effecting the 2007 and earlier Chevrolet Cobalt and HHR; Pontiac G5 and Solstice; and Saturn Ion and Sky. Most of the new chronology works just to update the document with the expanded recall, but there’s a key update:
During the Saturn Ion development in 2001, a preproduction model had an ignition cylinder problem that was caused by, you guessed it, “low detent plunger force,” the result being that it takes a low amount of effort to knock the key out of the “run” position.
Ridesharing services such as Uber, Lyft and Sidecar have gained traction among those who prefer using their smartphones to hail a ride to the airport over traditional black car or taxi service. However, in locales such as Detroit, Atlanta and Seattle, such services are rolling up upon a regulatory traffic jam over how best to handle the disruption in the livery industry.
Last week, Ford’s Global VP of Marketing and Sales, Jim Farley, told a panel discussion at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that Ford has access to data on its customers’ driving habits via the GPS system installed in their cars. “We know everyone who breaks the law, we know when you’re doing it. We have GPS in your car, so we know what you’re doing. By the way, we don’t supply that data to anyone,” he said. The next day Mr. Farley adjusted his statement to avoid giving the wrong impression saying that the statement was hypothetical and that Ford does not routinely collect information on, or otherwise track, drivers through their GPS systems without those drivers’ consent and approval. That approval comes from turning on and opting into specific services like 911 Assist and something called Sync Services Directions, a system that links the GPS system to users’ cellular phones. So that’s that, right? Read More >
I’ve always had a soft spot for Volvo, that’s probably why I’ve owned two and chose European Delivery on one of them. But Volvo has a problem. It’s not the product. It’s not even the brand positioning. It’s a lack of advertising and visibility. Let’s dive deep into my mind as I pontificate about Volvo’s destiny.
So I read earlier this week that Bob Lutz is saying that the US Government killed Pontiac. He says that GM had big plans to rescue the struggling brand with innovative, rear-wheel designs that included small performance cars that would have set the Germans back on their heels. Had these plans come to fruition, he hints, enthusiasts would have been busting down the doors and the brand would have quickly returned to good health. Sounds like new golden age for Pontiac was just around the corner. And it would have worked too, if it weren’t for those meddling Feds. That’s what Bob says anyhow, but I’m not so sure. The way I remember it, I had a hand in killing Pontiac, too. Read More >
Emerging markets have been a big theme at TTAC for the past few years, with our coverage going beyond the cursory articles on automotive developments in the BRIC countries. Our articles on places like North Africa and Indonesia aren’t always the most popular, but we keep an eye on them for a very important reason. These countries are the final frontier for growth in the automotive sector.
Forty years ago this month, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (consisting of OPEC’s Arab members plus Egypt, Syria and Tunisia) began an oil embargo that would last through March of 1974.
Be afraid. Be very afraid. If the aspirations of one automotive supplier come to pass, your child’s first car will not have a steering wheel come 2025, rendering her or him nothing more than a mere passenger inside a tiny commuter pod.
In cities where owning a car can be a pain (New York, Boston, Seattle), drivers are opting instead to share vehicles with other drivers, with companies such as ZipCar, Car2Go, RelayRides et al offering their services to help the public get around. All anyone needs beyond the basics is a subscription to the car-sharing service, a reservation, and a drop-off location when they are finished with their errands. Even big-name rental car companies like Enterprise and Hertz are jumping into the new business model for a test drive, Avis having gone the farthest by purchasing ZipCar in January of 2013.
However, the insurance offered by these peer-to-peer rental companies might not all that it’s cracked up to be, with severe consequences should anything remotely catastrophic occur.
A lifetime of World War 2 movies and an 11 year marriage has taught me one thing about the Japanese; they never do anything half way. Whether it is diving a Zero into an American ship or cutting yours truly down to size, if it is a job worth doing it is worth being fanatical about. The attention to detail the Japanese put into every tiny thing they do is awe-inspiring and so it makes sense that when a Japanese car company spends billions of yen to design and produce a vehicle, they back that up with a mechanics’ training program so thorough that an average graduate can completely tear down and rebuild one of their cars. And isn’t it convenient that one of Nissan’s main training centers was located just a kilometer from where I used to live? Read More >
The video above is the closest we’ll ever have to enjoying a World’s Wildest Police Chases segment featuring the Carbon Motors E7. Somewhat lost in the breaking news of March regarding the bankruptcy of Fisker Automotive and Coda was the demise of the nation’s other other startup vehicle manufacturer, the Carbon Motors Corporation. Although Bertel correctly predicted Carbon’s death shortly after they failed to qualify for a DOE loan last year, the company maintained a brave public face and soldiered on defiantly until the end of March. As late as mid March they were announcing the introduction of two new vehicles: an armored truck called the TX 7 and a skateboard shaped drone called the CT 7. Two weeks later they would be slipping out of their Indiana state taxpayer funded digs without so much as a “Dear John” letter to the desperate Hoosiers who needed the jobs they’d promised
I’d been watching and waiting for an official announcement that the company had liqudated before poking the body with a stick. That moment finally came on June 7 with a Chapter 7 filing in Indianapolis. The bankruptcy filing shows that Carbon Motors had assets of less than $19,000 and outstanding liabilities of over $21 million. It seems that the dream of a purpose-built police car is dead.


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Lithium-ion battery firm Lithionics Battery and the Florida, US-based firm’s general manager, Steven Tartaglia, have been ordered to pay a civil penalty for allegedly falsifying claims its product was “Made in USA”.
Lithionics Battery was found to have improperly labelled and advertised batteries, battery modules and battery management systems as “Made in USA,” even though key components of the products— including the lithium-ion cells that powered the batteries— were imported.
Improper labelling violates the Federal Trade Commissions (FTC) “Made in USA” rule.
Under the Made in USA Labeling Rule, marketers are prohibited from labeling products as “Made in USA” unless the final assembly or processing, and all significant processing that goes into the products occur in the US; and unless all or virtually all ingredients or components of the products are made and sourced in the US. The rule also requires all “Made in USA” labels appearing in mail order catalogues to be truthful and non misleading.
The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Lithionics Battery was ordered to pay $105,319.56 in civil penalties as part of a settlement to resolve allegations that it violated the FTC’s Labeling Rule and the FTC Act in connection with marketing its battery products, announced the United States Department of Justice and the FTC.
This is the first action under the FTC’s new “Made in USA” rule.
Principal deputy assistant attorney general Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in a statement: “The Department of Justice will not tolerate companies who deceive customers by falsely claiming that their products were made in the United States.
“The department is committed to protecting consumers from the deceptive practices of companies who hope to gain an unfair advantage through dishonesty.”
Director Sam Levine of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement: “As our country works to onshore production of lithium-ion batteries, it’s critical that honest businesses have a chance to compete, and that consumers can buy American.
“Falsely labelling batteries as made in the United States is against the law, and the FTC is using its new Made in USA rule to make sure this misconduct comes with a price.”
In addition to the civil penalties, the stipulated order entered by the court on 4 May prohibits Lithionics from making “Made in USA” and other unsubstantiated origin misrepresentations in the future.
The stipulated order also requires Lithionics to notify affected customers and to submit compliance reports to the FTC for over a decade.
Lithionics Battery had not replied to BEST’s request for a comment at the time of publication.


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FORT WAYNE, IN , June 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Circle Logistics, an asset-based full-service logistics company, announced today that top-level executives from three of their customers, Penske Logistics, Regal Beloit and Schneider, were named 2020 Pros to Know in the supply chain industry, as Practitioners, by Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazine.
Dawn LaPlaca of Penske Logistics, Pat Nehlsen of Regal Beloit and Cheryl Wheatley of Schneider were all recognized for the esteemed award and honored in the April issue of the publication. The Pros to Know Awards recognize supply chain executives, as well as enterprises, that are leading initiatives to prepare their companies’ supply chains for today’s business challenges.
“Dawn, Cheryl and Pat have all been outstanding customer partners for Circle Logistics, leading the supply chain strategies for their respective organizations,” said Eric Fortmeyer, co-founder of Circle Logistics. “The Pros to Know are the recognized ‘best of the best’ in the industry—this honor is well-deserved.”
Dawn LaPlaca has served as lead logistics provider (LLP) manager at Penske Logistics for the past five years. She uses her industry knowledge and dedication to help and collaborate with Penske Logistics customers, including a global appliance manufacturer, carriers and other internal teams, to offer cost-effective and creative supply chain solutions.
As transportation manager of Regal Beloit Corporation for the past two years, Pat Nehlsen is a strategic transportation leader for a manufacturer of motors and generators. He is a leader in supply chain solutions and logistics with 24 years in transportation and logistics management. His specialties include transportation strategy and execution, logistics network optimization, freight expense reduction and process flow improvement.
Cheryl Wheatley has served as transportation buyer at Schneider for the past three years, where she manages $260 million in freight spend and provides guidance that helps customers in strategic planning of capacity and cost decisions. She is a supply chain and logistics professional with 20 years of experience using superior communication and leadership skills and a passion for innovative problem solving.
This year’s list of Pros to Know includes over 100 executives from a wide variety of companies and organizations that helped their supply chain community and customers. Supply & Demand Chain Executive received over 500 entries for the 2020 Pros to Know Awards. Read the full list of the 2020 Pros to Know winners at https://www.sdcexec.com/
Established in Fort Wayne in 2011, Circle Logistics is one of the fastest-growing transportation companies in the country, servicing more than $200 million in freight spend in 2018. Circle’s large, privately-owned fleet fuels the delivery of a full lineup of trucking services, including dry van, temperature-controlled, flatbed, auto hauling, specialized or oversized, and expedited freight. Circle Logistics was ranked #43 on Transport Topics’ list of Top Freight Brokerage Firms in 2020.
For more information on Circle Logistics, please visit www.circledelivers.com.
Will Haraway Lead Coverage email@example.com 404.593.8320
Original Source: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/06/08/2045072/0/en/Executives-from-Circle-Logistics-Customers-Penske-Regal-Beloit-and-Schneider-Named-Supply-Demand-Chain-Executive-2020-Pros-to-Know.html


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By Ray Ampoloquio May 24, 2022
After confirming Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare 2 earlier this year, Activision finally reveals when the game will arrive.
According to the official Call of Duty Twitter account, Modern Warfare 2 will come out on October 28.
Infinity Ward also threw in a video alongside the release date reveal.
The fairly realistic footage of a container ship sees a series of tactical pronouncements and close-ups of familiar faces as the ship docks to show a mural of Ghost's face.
Modern Warfare 2 will have big if controversial shoes to fill.
The game's dark and gritty story set a new standard for the Call of Duty franchise that hasn't been matched since.
Hopefully, Infinity Ward used the past three years well enough to craft a similarly gripping tale.


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CEVA has revealed the successor to its Dragonfly NB1 silicon design, supporting the new 3GPP Release 14 standards. The followup includes a GNSS hardware package, for adding satellite positioning to your designs, as well as CEVA’s ClearVox voice-recognition IP. So while CEVA is claiming that this is the world’s first licensable Release 14 offering, it does mean that we’ve got some more names to learn.
The chip designer isn’t to blame here, for the problem of the nomenclature. CEVA is hoping to snare more customers for the silicon, looking to build on the success of the Dragonfly NB1, which it says has been widely licensed for use in smart cities, transport and logistics, and consumer electronics. However, when asked, CEVA is not saying how many chips that actually comprises. ZTE’s Rosefinch line is a confirmed customer.
So then – the new terms. While the two variants were being worked on for Release 13, there was LTE Cat-M1 and LTE Cat-M2 – occasionally referred to using the umbrella term LTE Cat-M (meaning both), and sometimes using MTC (Machine-Type Communications). Respectively, after Release 13 was published, they were then badged as LTE-M and NB-IoT, although many still used Cat-M or Cat-M1 to denote LTE-M.
Now with Release 14 out in the wild, there are new names to learn, thanks to the enhancements made to both LTE-M and NB-IoT. We appear to have reverted to using ‘Cat,’ with Cat-NB1 (Release 13 NB-IoT), Cat-NB2 (Release 14 NB-IoT), Cat-M1 (Release 13 LTE-M), and Cat-M2 (Release 14 LTE-M). The Release 14 versions incorporate the enhancements made in the standards, but rather annoyingly for those who will inevitably use a search engine, Cat-M2 now has a double meaning.
There are also catch-all terms to be aware of now. Starting at the top, ‘Cellular IoT’ refers to all types, but specifically, ‘Massive MTC’ refers exclusively to Cat-NB1 and Cat-NB2. Frustratingly, there is a further delineation to accommodate. Cat-M1 is now apparently also called eMTC (Enhanced MTC), and Cat-M2 is FeMTC (Further Enhanced MTC). Seriously. Numeric versioning would have been so much easier. Can we at least stick with this scheme now? So that when Release 15 fiddles with the specs they just become Cat-M3 and Cat-NB3? And why weren’t we doing that from the off?
Moving on – the Dragonfly NB2 centers around CEVA’s X1 processor, which handles both the DSP functions (turning analog signals into digitally readable ones, and vice versa), includes the aforementioned GNSS block, the RF transceiver, the power amplifier (PA), and on-chip memory and flash controller. CEVA reckons this combination, which doesn’t need another dedicated application processor and also supports eSIM and USIM, ensures the lowest possible BOM costs. It’s a similar package to Altair’s new ALT-1210, which also houses a GNSS element.
CEVA says the design is proven in both 55nm and 40nm production processes, and includes new power management and sleep mechanisms, for ultra-low-power sleep modes – a few micro amps (µA). The faster speed of Cat-NB2 also helps with power consumption, as the devices can spend less time on air sending messages.
Emmanuel Gresset, Head of Business Development in CEVA’s Wireless unit, spoke to us about the launch. He explained that this extra speed, up to 160Kbps compared to Cat-NB1’s 60Kbps, was a noticeable improvement, but that the extra speed hasn’t really changed the use cases – just improved the performance.
The Massive MTC section, comprising Cat-NB1 and Cat-NB2, remains most comparable to the unlicensed LPWAN (U-LPWAN) like LoRa and Sigfox. With that target ten-year battery life and duty cycles of around 1% (spending almost all their time asleep), Gresset said that Smart Grid was a big volume play today, but that other like asset tracking and environmental monitoring were emerging – very different from Cat-M1 and Cat-M2.
Pointing to Ericsson’s recent Mobility Index, Gresset noted that it was a bit odd that there was apparently no growth of the Cellular IoT (licensed LPWAN, L-LPWAN) volume in India. Compared to the rest of the world, which Ericsson thinks is going to grow to 3.5bn L-LPWAN devices by 2023, India doesn’t seem interested – perhaps because of relatively poor LTE network penetration, which might favor the U-LPWAN options. Nonetheless, Gresset said that the huge deployment of NB-IoT in China could possibly be replicated in India.
Gresset also noted that there is significant upheaval in the chip supply chain, as chip makers move closer to becoming module makers. He pointed to Nordic Semiconductor’s first non-Bluetooth chip, a Cat-M1 and Bluetooth combo, as evidence of this – adding that this is a clear move to target the likes of Telit and Sierra Wireless. Gresset, and CEVA, is also seeing OEMs and MNOs exploring developing their own modules and chips, mostly out of pricing. For the likes of CEVA, these companies, which don’t have any experience in silicon, are great opportunities.
CEVA believes that NB-IoT will soon be a drop-in option for chip designs, akin to how Bluetooth and WiFi are often paired in a combo chip. Industrial designs are apparently a potentially lucrative avenue, with the likes of Microchip and Infineon turning to a company like CEVA to easily add a cellular option to their portfolios. In addition, the company thinks that once prices for NB+GNSS silicon gets low enough, there will be a sharp rise in volumes.
Gresset adds that Cat-NB1 and Cat-NB2 is around half the cost of Cat-M1 and Cat-M2 currently, and uses around a third of the power. He notes that only dual-mode (M + NB) chips are available today, and that these are not yet low-cost enough. In terms of competition with U-LPWAN, Gresset stressed that Quality of Service (QoS) and OTA updates are key, and that customers are especially insistent on the latter. Lower latencies are also much desired, which is driving interest in L-LPWAN.
CEVA believes that most MNOs will upgrade to support Cat-NB2. Gresset said that the speedy update to Release 14 came about because of the problems with power draw in Cat-NB1, where sleep-state power usage was too high, compounded by the relative high consumption of the PA when using such a slow data rate. Gresset said this is why no operators are going to properly commercialize Release 13, and will move very swiftly up to Rel. 14.


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Consumers: carpe diem
The main driver behind the better economic outlook was consumer sentiment supporting domestic demand. Brighter financial and savings prospects outweighed consumer concerns about the future economic situation and job prospects. The holiday season brought joy to retailers which saw a sharp increase in business activity, with a further moderate improvement seen ahead. Santa was generous with services as well, reflected in stronger confidence in past business and better expected demand. Constructors posted a mild improvement in sentiment as well.
External demand: orders shrink
Manufacturing sentiment weakened in December as order books shrank, mainly driven by export orders, while inventories posted only a mild decline. Hence, we expect a recoupling soon.
Time to be outright negative?
The outlook for external demand doesn’t look supportive at all with Germany, Romania’s main trading partner, at risk of a technical recession. On top of that, fiscal changes at the end of the previous year for many important sectors in the economy are leading to a higher tax burden as well as higher labour and financing costs, which could have negative spill-over effects on private sector investment and job creation. All of this adds to uncertainty during this election year.


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Per a memo from Tracy Nolan, Sprint President of National Sales, Strategy and Operations:
We are going to move forward with the temporary closing of approximately 71% of our locations from across the country. We plan to keep open and operate just over 1,000 stores, which includes our service & repair locations. This is not an easy decision, but I believe this is in our best interest given the current circumstances.
The locations we are keeping open will operate with reduced hours…
In addition, all of our Sprint Express at Walgreens locations will now close temporarily. As previously announced, all stores within indoor malls and our locations in Puerto Rico are closed as well.
Sprint is also paying commissions to its salespeople based on an average of their last 6 months of commission earnings.
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Most folks assume that audio captured by their Google Assistant systems is kept private. However, a new report by VRT NWS says otherwise. According to the report, Google has been hiring contractors to transcribe recordings and they may have overheard customer’s private conversations. That includes names and addresses, among other identifying information.
This isn’t the first time a report has shown that voice assistants may not offer the privacy that users would expect. Another recent report came out saying that Amazon’s Alexa suffers from the same problem. Similar to Google Assistant, Amazon employs “thousands of people” to listen to a user’s conversations. Much of this is done without a user’s knowledge, nevermind consent.
Both companies have noted that this transcription is done with the aim of improving the AI system. While many of these recordings begin after a customer says a keyword, such as ‘Okay Google,’ many are often picked up by accident. To that effect, the VRT NWS report sampled over 1,000 recordings; 153 had been mistakenly recorded.
The broadcaster also spoke to several Google Assistant transcribers. One noted that he reviews thousands of audio clips per week. He says that he routinely comes across clips that users may not have wanted to be recorded. He also highlighted a few distressing recordings, such as one that he believed included sounds of domestic violence. Unfortunately, this type of disturbing audio isn’t limited to the Google Assistant; Amazon Echo transcribers have noted similar experiences listening to clips, including clips where they overheard a possible sexual assault.
In Amazon’s case, users can opt out of this service through changing their privacy settings; it’s unclear if this is also the case with Google’s counterpart.


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Food and non-alcoholic beverages were the dominant drivers for the higher rate of inflation for August 2021, a report on the Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) and Inflation for August 2021, has revealed.
The CPI – a price perspective measure – for August 2021 was 131.7 relative to 120.0 in August 2020.
The Report, issued by Mr John F. K. Agyaho, Head of Price Statistics, Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) a copy made available to the Ghana News Agency in Tema, said the year-on-year inflation for August 2020 – August 2021 stood at 9.7 per cent.
“The month-on-month inflation, from July 2021 to August 2021 was 0.3 per cent, while the year-on-year variation between food of 10.9 per cent and non-food inflation of 8.9 per cent was 2.2 per cent,” the report said.
It said “Month-on-month food inflation this month was less than non-food inflation by 0.1 percentage point.”
The Head of Price Statistics said, inflation for August 2021 indicates that food contributes more than half to overall inflation, when combined with housing more than two-thirds, and further including transport more than four-fifths.
He said inflation for locally produced items continued to dominate imported items which show a marginally higher increase.
Meanwhile, inflation rates for Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions continue to soar.


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SEATTLE – August 26, 2013 – Opscode® today announced Barry Crist has been appointed as CEO and Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors. Former CEO Mitch Hill is stepping down to address a personal health issue and will remain on the company’s Board. Mr. Crist spent the last five months as Opscode’s Vice President, Enterprise, successfully leading enterprise customer engagement for the company. Prior to Opscode, Mr. Crist served as CEO of Likewise, Inc. where he built an open source, free-to-premium sales model that reached more than 100,000 organizations worldwide.
“We’re rooting for Mitch as he focuses on his health and thankful for his tremendous leadership in building Opscode into a market leader,” said Barry Crist, CEO, Opscode. “We are in the midst of a massive change in the enterprise and we’re incredibly fortunate that Chef is at its epicenter. Opscode’s focus will be on empowering our customers to transform their businesses with Enterprise Chef.”
“Under Mitch’s leadership Opscode has become one of the most promising and disruptive next-generation technology leaders,” said John Connors, Managing Partner at Ignition Partners. “Barry Crist’s broad experience and stellar track record combined with his unique expertise building a successful open source-based company makes him the right leader for the next generation of growth at Opscode.”
Opscode also today announced two other executive appointments. Co-Founder Adam Jacob will now serve as Chief Dev Officer and will be leading Opscode’s product engineering team. Mr. Jacob previously served as the company’s Chief Customer Officer. In addition, Paul Edelhertz will now serve as Senior Vice President of Customer Operations, driving enterprise adoption and customer success with Enterprise Chef™. Edelhertz previously served as Vice President of the company’s Services and Community organizations.
Opscode recently announced that Fortune 1000 companies represent 60 percent of Opscode’s total sales and that the company’s Fortune 1000 customer base has grown by more than 150 percent since June 30, 2012. To capitalize on this enterprise demand, Opscode recently expanded its Enterprise Chef automation platform with capabilities for networking and storage.
Prior to serving as CEO of Likewise, Mr. Crist served as Vice President of the Application Management group at Mercury, now a division of HP, where he grew North American sales from less than $1 million to more than $75 million in annual revenue. Prior to his time at Mercury Interactive, Mr. Crist spent time in sales leadership at Network Associates (now McAfee) and technical, sales, and international roles at Apple.
Opscode is the provider of Chef, the automation platform for the coded business. Opscode Chef provides the speed, flexibility, and efficiency to compete in the digital economy. By modeling IT infrastructure and application delivery as code, Chef empowers businesses of all sizes to easily scale to meet demand, eliminate down time, manage complexity, and accelerate time to market. www.opscode.com.


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Google strikes deal to end litigation with French authors and publishers
By Peter Sayer
MacworldJUN 11, 2012 8:00 am PDT
Google has struck a deal with two French organizations representing authors and book publishers, ending years of litigation over its unauthorized scanning of their books.
The Syndicat National d’Edition, representing publishers, will encourage its members to accept a framework agreement proposed by Google, allowing it to scan out-of-print works still protected by copyright, and to offer them as ebooks. The framework agreement will contribute to a growth in the range of ebooks available, the SNE said.
But the deal is merely a recognition of a growing movement among SNE members to strike individual deals with Google to scan and sell their out-of-print back catalog.
Publishing giant Hachette was the first to do so, in November 2010, the same year that it reduced its stand at the SNE-organized book fair, the Salon du Livre de Paris, to a token presence barely a tenth the size of previous years. It allowed Google to scan its out-of-print books and sell them as ebooks, while retaining the right to create print-on-demand editions from the scans.
The framework agreement is along the same lines as the deal Google reached with Hachette, although that deal remains confidential, SNE director Christine De Mazieres said via email. Within the framework agreement, individual publishing houses will be able to negotiate how they are paid for ebook sales, and which of their books are scanned, she said.
Google will also publicize and contribute to the funding of an SNE project to encourage children’s literacy, she said.
The Société des Gens de Lettres (SGDL), which represents authors, also struck a deal with Google, which will fund the society’s creation of a database of authors and rights holders, something sure to be of use to Google as it seeks authorization for its scanning project. Equally useful will be to know which books may be considered “orphan works” because their author or publisher can no longer be traced.
In return for Google’s sponsorship of the SGDL database, the two parties have reached an agreement to encourage initiatives in favor of creative diversity and the distribution of ebooks respectful of authors’ rights, a joint statement said. SGDL representatives did not respond to a request for clarification, and a Google representative was not immediately able to explain further.
[Peter Sayer covers open source software, European intellectual property legislation and general technology breaking news for IDG News Service. Send comments and news tips to Peter at


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2nd Apple Button-Defect Class Action On Verge Of Transfer
By Gavin Broady
Law360, New York (October 1, 2013, 7:17 PM ET) -- Efforts to keep a putative class action accusing Apple Inc. of conspiring to sell iPhones with defective power buttons in California's northern district were rejected by a federal judge on Tuesday, who said the first-to-file rule applies and likely requires the case's transfer.
U.S. District Court Judge Edward M. Chen ordered the parties to offer up any reason why plaintiff Debra Hilton’s suit against the tech giant belongs in the northern district, rather than in the central district alongside a related suit. Both actions allege that...


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- Matthew Thorsen
- Ric Kasini Kadour and Jodi Harrington
A group of 30 Vermont artists have set up shop, at least for a while, alongside one corner of Winooski’s traffic circle. The Winooski Holiday Pop-Up Art Market, which opened last Saturday, is not just a chance to buy local for the holidays. It’s the debut of the Winooski Welcome Center, an initiative by former Winooski city councilor Jodi Harrington to inject some artistic and retail life into two formerly vacant street-front suites.
“Empty spaces are a blight, and it’s about removing the last blight in downtown Winooski and filling it with light and color,” said Harrington at the opening.
“Artists kind of see vacant space as an opportunity,” said pop-up organizer Ric Kasini Kadour. After working on last summer’s Pop-Up Gallery District, he teamed up with Harrington again to put art into some of Winooski’s vacant spaces.
At the opening, artists, their friends and others curious to see what was going on inside the brightest windows on the block congregated at the market. Nature as inspiration and recyclable materials were common themes, but there was a huge range — from Robert Gold’s vivid manipulated digital photos to Bike Recycle Vermont’s spoke bracelets and Eve Jacobs-Carnahan’s knitted veggies. The prices ranged from $5 to $500.
Harrington has become landlady of the large space, completed in 2007, after entering a five-year lease with Massachusetts-based owners HallKeen. To the artists taking part, it seemed worth it to pay rent for a limited period.
“Frankly, these are the months that people shop,” said Liza Cowan of the retail enterprise Small Equals, which specializes in keepsake boxes of Vermont pine with vintage-print covers. The owner of the defunct Pine Street Art Works explained that renting for just two months and working with people she trusts makes sense.
Chatting with friends in her display space, abstract painter Linda Maney noted, “I was interested in the opportunity, because I normally show in central Vermont.” Among her paintings on sale was “Goodnight Irene,” which was inspired by flood damage to her town of Roxbury following August’s devastating tropical storm.
Business started with a bang for at least one artist. “I sold an angel!” Westford-based artist Longina Smolinski happily announced to Harrington at the end of the opening night, referring to a piece in her new painting series. Subtle angels also adorned her glittering ornaments.
Harrington said the Holiday Pop-Up Art Market will serve as “market research” for her plan to see business flourish at that very spot. She explained that the first suite, a high-ceilinged space currently full of artwork and crafts, is slated to become a gallery. The smaller adjacent space, now filled with wholesale clothing and decorative lamp shades, will house the Winooski Welcome Center, which will help market the city — an idea Harrington conceived of a year ago. She described another future tenant of that space as a micro-business development center, where smaller-than-small businesses (such as many artists at the market) will contribute their collective energy and, for a fee, receive whatever they need to boost their endeavors. Harrington worked in micro-entrepreneur development in her previous marketing job at Opportunities Credit Union.
As part of the Winooski promotional push, Kadour’s Kasini House has teamed up with the Winooski Welcome Center to print a new publication, due out within the next few weeks. Kadour explained: “‘Discover Winooski’ is a quarterly pocket guide to the town that will list places to shop, places to dine out and other interesting, quirky, funky things to discover about Winooski. It’s a way to share Winooski with the rest of the world and encourage people to visit.” Harrington, who published the Winooski Eagle newspaper between 1993 and 2000, said the guide is a much-needed tool that will help finance the new center.
Winooski musician Antara Gatch, who played at the reception, put down her guitar to share her opinion on Winooski’s art scene. “There is a strong desire to bring forward this art experience in a more down-to-earth, less-upscale sort of way,” she said, “the way art kind of pops up and happens, regardless of what’s going on.”
The Holiday Pop-Up Art Market at the traffic circle in Winooski is open Wednesdays through Saturdays, noon to 8 p.m., and Sundays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., through December. winooskiwelcomecenter.com


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- The UPS Store says malware found on systems of 51 stores
- Plug-and-play Android security layer outlined by NC State researchers
- Moving toward smart and secure continuous software delivery
- Spam industry reinvented as messages containing malicious links surge
- Five ways to keep your student's digital life safe
kindle - News, Features, and Slideshows
Watch out, CIOs! The Kindle Fire may be coming to a cubicle near you.
After months of hype, Amazon today announced the Kindle Fire, a 7-inch tablet with a $199 price tag. Amazon also refreshed its line of e-readers with a $149 Kindle Touch 3G, a $99 Kindle Touch without 3G, and a non-Touch $79 Kindle.
Amazon is expected to unveil its Kindle Tablet at a press event in New York on Wednesday. From what we know so far about the device, it seems like it might be the first tablet rival capable of really competing with the Apple iPad. Based on the size and use of the Kindle brand, though, it is reasonable to wonder whether the Kindle Tablet is a true tablet PC, or just a Kindle with some tablet features.
On September 28, the company will hold a press event in New York City, where it'll likely announce a tablet that's smaller but also much cheaper than Apple's iPad. Although the invitation doesn't say what Amazon will be talking about, the company rarely holds press events for anything other than new Kindle hardware.
Amazon's unveiling of a Kindle tablet would shake up the industry and pose one of the biggest threats to the Apple iPad -- which is why the technology world has its eyes on the online retailer as it prepares for a media gathering in New York this week ahead of the holiday season.
If you're a Kindle owner, you've probably discovered the device's enviable ability to bookmark pages, highlight passages, and add notes (a.k.a. annotations).
A new generation of small tablets has reinvented entertainment on the go, but which is best? Find out now and gear up for holiday gift-buying
Are you still holding out to see what happens with this whole ebooks "fad" before deciding whether to embrace it for your business? Well, the times they are a changin' and there are a variety of reasons that ebooks are outpacing printed books.
If the iPad doesn't succeed as a consumer electronics device--its initial target market--it may find a successful second career as an electronic textbook reader.
If you're concerned about the privacy implications of reading digital books, take a look at a nice guide put up yesterday by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
E-books may have been a niche technology so far, but Google Inc.'s entry into the market could burst the online business wide open.
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Hundreds of women are suing Wen Hair Care, claiming the popular, celebrity-endorsed products caused severe scalp damage, hair breakage and even baldness.
According to a complaint filed in a California federal court against Wen and infomercial giant Guthy-Renker, Wen’s 5-in-1 sulfate-free cleansing conditioners “contain an ingredient or combination of ingredients that cause significant hair loss, damage and other injuries” even after people stop using it.
The lawsuit also claims that Wen failed to warn consumers of the potential risks from using their products, even after users complained.
Wen products are sold on QVC, Amazon and Sephora.
Created by Hollywood hairstylist Chaz Dean, the Wen hair line has been endorsed by celebrities including Brooke Shields, Angie Harmon, Alyssa Milano and Ming Na-Wen. Wen products have also received rave reviews from many consumers, but an online search quickly produces lots of complaints as well.
Many unhappy Wen customers have posted their grievances on Wen’s Facebook page. Mary Bulla writes: “Had to cut my hair short!!! Now my fragile hair is horrible. Rogaine has a new customer thanks to Wen.”
Wen and Chaz Dean refute the allegations. A statement released to PeopleStyle says:
“There is no scientific evidence to support any claim that our hair care products caused anyone to lose their hair. There are many reasons why individuals may lose their hair, all unrelated to Wen. We intend to vigorously contest the allegations made.”
Guthy-Renkers spokesman Joe Hixson added:
“With well over 10 million Wen products shipped since 2008, our customers’ overwhelmingly positive response to Wen is a testament to the benefits it can deliver for its users. These benefits are reflected in consistently high rankings from independent consumer product sites as well.”
More than 200 people in 40 states have joined the class-action lawsuit. The two parties are reportedly negotiating an out-of-court settlement.
“The parties are attempting to settle their differences and we have agreed to refrain from any extrajudicial statements in the meantime,” Amy Davis, a partner with the Christiansen Davis law firm and lead counsel for the plaintiffs in the case, said in an email to CBS MoneyWatch.
If you’ve had hair loss or other scalp issues as a result of using Wen, click here to see if you can join the class-action lawsuit against Wen.
I used Wen’s cleansing conditioner for several months awhile back. I didn’t have any of the scalp irritation or hair loss described in the lawsuit, but I didn’t think the product lived up to the hype and it left my hair limp, so I quit using it.
What do you think of the lawsuit against Wen? Have you ever used a beauty product that did more harm than good? Share your experiences below or on our Facebook page.


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Mumbai: News18 Tamil Nadu ‘Sigaram Awards’ continue to demonstrate the commitment and dedication of individuals who h
Mumbai: Bigg Boss Telugu, the most popular reality show in the twin states of AP & Telangana has kicked off its s
Mumbai: Haier Appliances India (Haier India), the global leader in home appliances and the world’s number 1 brand in
Mumbai: AB de Villiers and Pooja Hedge are the face for the newest entry in the online gaming realm, SuperWin.
Mumbai: Skechers, the comfort technology company, announced its association with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA)
Mumbai: The festive season brings a double whammy for advertisers and brands as the Asia Cup and the much-awaited Wor
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Nasscom’s executive council to be re-morphed
Nasscom is recasting its executive council to make the lobby organization more effective and representative of the fast-changing industry that is targeting revenues of $300 billion for 2020.
The restructuring of the organization has come into concern as the industry body has become ineffective and non representative as per the sources.
Smaller group companies like e-commerce, BPO and software products have said that they feel excluded from the group.
NR Narayana Murthy, who had previously led the panel constituted last year to make the industry body more relevant and effective, said that the executive council would include 27-members who would be representing IT services, BPOs, captive centers of global corporations, internet and mobile companies, software product firms as well as companies focused on the domestic market.
Around 30 software product companies had set up a separate group named iSpirit in order to discuss and develop software products ecosystem.
The panel constituted of great bodies like the co-founder of Google, Rajan Anandan, Dell India head Ganesh lakshminarayanan, Nasscom founder-member Ashank Desai, Genpact vice-chairman Pramod Bhasin and Nasscom president Som Mittal including Murthy.
The panel not only aimed at recasting the executive council but also to propose seven key initiatives including expanding to newer markets, greater focus on start-up ecosystem, internet and e-commerce business.
A smaller team will now be set up by Nasscom for better access for Indian markets.
A national Skills Registry was also launched by Nasscom in 2006 which was similarly aimed towards giving a common database for the IT industry to each and every employee of India’s IT/BPO.