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Posted by Dale Buss on September 10, 2013 09:32 AM
Neiman Marcus majority stake sold for $6 billion to Canadian, US investment partners.
Apple will reveal new products today and may put focus back on fingerprint security with latest iPhone.
McDonald's tries multi-person meals.
Abercrombie & Fitch loses bias suit over firing Muslim woman.
Burger King stretches with "sense-swap" campaign.
Campbell bets on child-centered new campaign.
Dunkin' Donuts launches first TV ad made entirely from Vine.
Furniture Brands files for Chapter 11.
Gatorade grows market share with G Force sales and marketing team.
Google offers antitrust concessions to EU.
Hyundai workers end strike after reaching wage deal.
Jaguar mulls small SUV to challenge BMW.
L'Oreal attacks e-commerce.Continue reading...
chew on this
Posted by Dale Buss on August 14, 2013 03:37 PM
Has Taco Bell played out the Doritos Locos Tacos space? The Yum! Brands fast-feeder will soon see as it has just announced the third installment in its wildly successful co-branded campaign.
Taco Bell announced that its Fiery "DLT" will be officially available nationwide next Thursday, with a marketing campaign following soon. It's the next step in the company's campaign to build on the huge success of the first flavor of the popular Doritos Locos Taco when it came out last year, Nacho Cheese, and the Cool Ranch flavor that Taco Bell revealed earlier this year. The brand will be offering taste tests through social media, and will make the new taco available early on August 19—a move that didn't go so well during the Cool Ranch launch.
The chain already has sold more than 500 million DLTs in total, almost single-handedly energizing its results over the last 17 months, so the next flavor will be crucial. And for the first time, Taco Bell chose not to borrow an exact flavor profile and product name directly from a chip already marketed by PepsiCo's Doritos brand.Continue reading...
Posted by Dale Buss on August 14, 2013 09:22 AM
Taco Bell reveals Fiery as third flavor of Doritos Locos Tacos.
Coca-Cola defends safety of artificial sweeteners in new ad.
Adidas gains on Nike in China by balancing performance with fashion.
AB InBev disputes MillerCoors claims about superiority of Coors Light cans.
AOL apologizes over public firing of Patch director.
Absolut launches artistic redesign of flavored-vodka range.
Amazon hires for a secret N.J. warehouse, perhaps signaling New York grocery delivery.
Apple is pushed on buyback by Carl Icahn after he reveals $1.5 billion stake.
BMW uses humorous new campaign to boost diesel.
Chipotle faces shortage of "responsibly raised" meat.
Craigslist costs local newspapers $5 billion in classified-ad revenue.Continue reading...
chew on this
Posted by Dale Buss on July 23, 2013 01:47 PM
Maybe we should have seen it coming when, in its most recent Super Bowl commercial, Taco Bell celebrated a bunch of old geezers' night on the town. Or maybe it was evident in the brand's years and years of incessant messaging to teenage males.
In any event, it's hardly a surprise that Taco Bell is dumping its kids' meals so that it can focus even more on the maws and fast-food needs of the vital Millennial demographic. It's actually a bit more jarring that other QSR brands are undercutting their own kids'-marketing efforts by sending their well-known mascots—including the Colonel—the way of the dinosaur.
Yum! Brands-owned Taco Bell plans to drop kids meals and toys at all of its US restaurants by around January, USA Today reported. "The future of Taco Bell is not about kids' meals," Taco Bell CEO Greg Creed told the newspaper. "This is about positioning the brand for Millennials."Continue reading...
chew on this
Posted by Adeline Chong on July 22, 2013 11:56 AM
McDonald’s announced recently that it will be opening its first outlet in Vietnam next year in Ho Chi Minh City, the country's commercial hub.
While the fast-food giant has an immense presence in greater Asia, McDonald's is late to market in Vietnam, where Yum! Brands' KFC and Pizza Hut, along with Burger King, Subway, Jollibee (Philippines), and Lotteria (South Korea) already have a solid presence. Trailblazer KFC opened its first restaurant in 1997 and now has 100 outlets in Vietnam. Burger King, meanwhile, opened just last year and has 12 outlets, while Starbucks opened its first location in Ho Chi Minh City this past February.
McDonald’s apparently considered the market over a decade ago, however the lack of a domestic cource of beef and a poor supply-chain infrastructure deterred the company. Prior to that, the company was briefly banned from the country in the 1990s—about the time that the local economy became accessible to the rest of the world, according to the Financial Times.Continue reading...
chew on this
Posted by Dale Buss on July 18, 2013 02:39 PM
The original hallmarks of the Kentucky Fried Chicken brand—the smiling caricature of Col. Harland Sanders, and Original Recipe chicken on the bone—have disappeared in a test-location of a new concept KFC eatery called "KFC eleven" near the headquarters of the Yum! Brands-owned chain in Louisville, Ky.
The name of the outpost is homage to the "11 herbs and spices" in the Original Recipe, but little else about the test outpost is reminiscent of the original KFC. The menu is based on fresh salads, rice bowls, flatbread sandwiches, garlic mashed potatoes, waffle fries and other items not available or not highlighted at KFC's current locations.
Perhaps the biggest departure is that fact that the featured chicken will be KFC's recently launched boneless variety, an easier-to-eat alternative to its traditional on-the-bone breast, thigh and drumstick pieces—and the way that chicken mainly has been consumed by Millennials who grew up on chicken nuggets and tenders at fast-food places.Continue reading...
Posted by Abe Sauer on July 12, 2013 01:47 PM
At top: Ok, it's not China but it is great. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's political party woos support by launching "a smartphone app called Abe Pyon, which roughly translates as Jumping Abe."
China is the second largest economy in the world and every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse)—but who's got the time?! Here's the week's reads that will make you look like a keen China observer in case you find yourself immersed in a cultural conversation.
This week: An interview with "China's Foursquare" Jiepang about "Jiepang 5.0"… Lacing auto sales add-ons… banned lingerie ads… Bruce Lee for scotch… Foxconn for "iPhone 6"… McDonald's gives away Kleenex… Asiana post-crash PR… Australia's "Chinese theme park"… Xiaomi leaks… China spoofs Jay-Z again... and more.Continue reading...
Posted by Dale Buss on July 12, 2013 09:12 AM
P&G changes Tide Pods packaging to look less like candy.
Chobani lures Kellogg exec to run day-to-day operations.
Walt Disney says transactional wristbands raise sales at Disney World.
ABC sees The View retain vital role in daytime TV.
AT&T pitches Mariano Rivera promo to Yankees fans.
BP blanches at bill for Gulf cleanup.
DDB Chicago CEO heads to Chobani for chief marketing role.
Dell eyes more R&D as key to revival while Carl Icahn says he'll sweeten his offer for company.
GM seen not adding to ownership in Peugeot.Continue reading...


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Virtual hologram displays Alexaner Ovechkin, John Wall, Chris Pontius
Even an hour-long drive can't keep Jason Kecken and his grandson away from a Washington Capitals practice.
They're like dozens of fans who came out to practice Wednesday, hoping to catch a glimpse of the newly crowned southeast division champions.
“We watch together, we go to the games together,” Kecken says. “So it's probably like our number one hobby that we like to do together.”
Courtney Maxei drove in from Manassas with eyes on Ovechkin.
“I just really want to meet him,” Maxei says. “I've been a fan for a really long time.”
Soon, she'll have the chance to see her favorite player any time she wants.
At a photo shoot Wednesday, photographers captured virtual images of Ovie's fist bump and high-five. Later this spring, fans like Maxei will be able to display that video in a life-size hologram straight from their smart phones or tablets.
“It’s pretty cool,” Ovechkin says. “It’s a big honor, so, it’s a good step for our organization and you know, for myself as well.”
Ovechkin, the Washington Wizards John Wall, D.C. United's Chris Pontius, are modeling for "Augmented Reality, virtual, moving statues available through QR codes coming soon to Ballston.
For maxei, it a chance to get step closer to Ovechkin. For Kecken, it’s one more reason to bring his grandson all the way to Arlington.
“I think for kids, it would be really great,” Kecken says. “I know he'd love it.”
Fans will have to wait a little bit until that produce is ready. It debuts May 19 at Taste of Arlington.

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M.A.C AIDS Fund, which has been in existence for 10 years, announced that it has raised more than $40 million for victims of HIV/AIDS. Last February the professional cosmetics company launched Viva Glam V lipstick collection, the primary tools for the M.A.C AIDS Fund with 100% of the sales directly benefiting men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS. In the months since the initial launch, Viva Glam V has raised $8 million. Celebrity spokespeople for the campaign included Christina Aguilera, Missy Elliott, Linda Evangelista, Chloe Sevigny and Boy George.
“At first, many people were surprised that a company like M.A.C would choose AIDS as its cause, but it was an obvious connection for us,” said John Demsey, M.A.C president and M.A.C AIDS
Fund chairman. “Leadership in the AIDS arena can come from all sectors. The $40 million we’ve raised in the last 10 years, $8 million of which we raised with the help of our new spokespeople and through the sales of our lipsticks, is a tremendous milestone for us. It also demonstrates the impact that we, as individuals and as a company, can have in fighting this disease.”
More info: www.macaidsfund.org and www.maccosmetics.com.


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In a world where investors focus on the tech stocks of the future, the equities representing the products we use every day often get ignored. When many investors hear “consumer staples stocks,” they tend to think of names such as Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) or Clorox (NYSE:CLX). While those firms may make the products necessary for people’s lives, they might also struggle to attract investor interest.
However, investors should take a closer look at consumer staples stocks. Consumer staples is a diverse category, and some subsectors generate investor excitement. It can include consumer electronics. Additionally, the emerging marijuana and hemp sectors have also reinvigorated interest in consumer stocks.
Moreover, due to depressed price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios for many consumer staples stocks, some offer not only deep value, but also increased cash payouts. These four consumer-oriented equities provide a unique opportunity for significant cash payouts and stock-price growth:
Consumers often forget that some consumer staples stocks come with a tech focus. Such is the case with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). The company has long depended on the iPhone for the majority of its revenue. However, amid competition, consumers have shown less willingness to pay Apple’s premium prices. Moreover, traders also worry about how the U.S.-China trade war will affect the company. As a result, AAPL stock remains in a bear market.
The good news for AAPL longs is that arguably no other company is better positioned to reinvent itself than Apple. In recent months, the company has ventured into streaming media, credit cards, information, and other businesses in an attempt to return to double-digit growth. Even after investing in some of these areas, their cash hoard stood at $225.4 billion at the end of the first quarter.
Moreover, their trailing P/E ratio stands at about 15.4. While profits will likely stagnate this year, analysts forecast that Apple will return to double-digit profit growth in 2020. Furthermore, holders of AAPL stock now earn an annual dividend of $3.08 per share. Though this brings the yield to only about 1.6%, investors should note that payouts have increased every year since they began in 2012.
Apple stock may struggle in the near term as the company explores new revenue streams and deals with a trade war. However, once the company profits from new businesses and the U.S. and China agree on trade, AAPL stock should again resume its move higher.
Greif (NYSE:GEF) may not serve as one of the better-known consumer staples stocks. However, its packaging plays a vital role in the industrial sector. Moreover, the company’s financial metrics may make some investors want to secure some GEF stock in their portfolio.
Since the beginning of 2018, concerns about a slowing economy weighed on GEF stock. Investor worries worsened with the purchase of Caraustar industries earlier year. As a result, GEF trades at a discount of more than 40% from its 52-week high.
The forecasted earnings growth of only 4.2% this year may explain some of the stock’s decline. Still, profits have typically increased at double-digit rates in the past. Wall Street predicts that that growth rate will return next year with a 12% increase forecasted.
Moreover, this also leaves its trailing P/E ratio at just 9.7 times earnings. This compares well to other consumer staples stocks as many trade at a multiple above 20.
Investors should also pay attention to the dividend. The annual payout of $1.76 per share takes the yield to around 4.75%. While that dividend does not increase every year, it has gradually moved higher over time. Between this payout and the low multiple, GEF stock holds tremendous potential as both a growth and an income play.
United Breweries (CCU)
United Breweries (NYSE:CCU), known in its native Chile as Compañía Cervecerías Unidas S.A., is the number one producer of beer in Chile. United Breweries also derives a significant percentage of its revenue from Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia. Despite the beer-oriented name, the company also sells wine, spirits, and non-alcoholic drinks.
Chile has gradually become one of Latin America’s wealthiest countries. CCU stock has grown with the country. Despite this growth, CCU stock trades at a trailing P/E ratio of 10.4.
Volatility may partially explain the low multiple in CCU stock. Analysts expect profits to increase by 76.9% this year. However, in 2020, they forecast an earnings decline of 26.2%. Still, they predict that growth to average 11.37% per year over the next five years. This represents a turnaround from previous years as profits had shrunk more often than not.
That positive growth should also reduce the volatility of its dividend. The company will pay out $1.32 per share in dividends this year. That translates to a yield of 5.0% at current prices. Despite the yield and the improving profit picture, investors need to prepare for some fluctuation in the payout. The company paid only 36 cents per share in 2018, down from 56 cents per share in 2017.
CCU stock will require stockholders to exercise patience with the ups and downs. However, for those that can handle the volatility, CCU should remain one of the consumer staples stocks that should have investors raising a glass.
Nu Skin Enterprises (NUS)
Nu Skin Enterprises (NYSE:NUS) utilizes multilevel marketing and social media to sell its dietary and skin-care products. It began operations in 1984 and sells its products under the Nu Skin and Pharmanex brands. Though it didn’t sell outside of the U.S. until 1990, non-U.S. sales now account for about 88% of revenues.
Consequently, worries about currency risk and trade in the second quarter have weighed on NUS stock, and it has struggled in recent days. The Provo, Utah-based firm spiked higher by 19% after beating on earnings and revenue in its 1Q 2019 report. However, in subsequent trading sessions, it has given most of that gain back as trade-related uncertainty returns. NUS stock trades at more than 40% below its 52-week high.
However, that creates an opportunity among consumer staples stocks. Despite these worries, earnings forecasts for both this year and next have moved higher over the last 30 days. More importantly, these revisions point to double-digit earnings increases for both 2019 and 2020. This has helped to take its forward P/E ratio to around 11.7.
Also, thanks to the decline in the stock, the $1.48 dividend yields almost 2.9%. Since this payout has increased every year for the past 18 years, investors can probably expect the annual payout hikes to continue. Both the high, increasing payout and the low P/E ratio position NUS stock for both growth and income once trade war-related tensions ease.
As of this writing, Will Healy did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned stocks. You can follow Will on Twitter at @HealyWriting.


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Ventura Police say two burglars with a big thirst for beverages are behind bars, after they broke into a bottled water company, and tried to make off with cases of water, and other beverages.
Officers responding to a silent alarm at Arrowhead Water’s Julian Street warehouse in Ventura early yesterday morning heard someone opening, and closing the cargo doors of delivery trucks. They set up a perimeter, and arrested Luis Reynoso, and Sonia Robledo as they both tried to flee.
Investigators say the two Ventura residents had broken into the trucks, used dollies to remove numerous cases of water and drinks from the trucks, and then moved them outside of the warehouse for later retrieval. The two have been charged with commercial burglary, and conspiracy to commit a crime.


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- Chase Bank's Chase Pay customers who use Samsung Galaxy smartphones can now link their mobile wallet to Samsung Pay. Customers are now able to use Samsung Pay's magnetic secure transmission (MST) technology, along with near-field communication (NFC) capabilities, to pay with the Chase Pay app at millions of merchants in the U.S. by tapping the special payment terminal, according to a statement.
- Bringing together the two wallets gives Chase cardholders more ways to pay with their mobile phones and at more places. Samsung Pay is accepted at nearly all payment terminals, making it the most widely accepted mobile payment product in the country, Samsung said.
- Consumers that link the two wallets will also be able to earn both Samsung rewards points and, for eligible Chase cards, Chase Ultimate Rewards points, for purchases. The Chase Pay app's "pay with points" feature also lets customers redeem the bank's reward points at checkout for a statement credit.
By linking Chase Pay to Samsung's payment platform, parent company JPMorgan Chase is making it much easier for consumers to use its mobile wallet system. Chase Pay relies on scanning QR codes to complete in-store purchases, making the service less convenient that payment methods that rely on a smartphone's NFC chip or MST to handle a contactless, tap-to-pay transaction. The QR code system was based on CurrentC, a payment platform developed by retailers that sought to take more control over mobile purchases to lower costs and obtain more consumer data, Endgadget reported. CurrentC shut down two years ago as more retailers began to accept Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay, and as Walmart introduced its own payment app.
JPMorgan Chase has the most mobile banking customers, which means Samsung Pay now has a chance to reach a broader audience of customers. JPMorgan Chase has 31.6 million active mobile users, ahead of Bank of America (25.3 million), Wells Fargo (22 million) and Citigroup (10 million), per Bank Innovation. That means nearly two-thirds (62%) of JPMorgan Chase customers are using its mobile app, considering that Chase has 51.1 million deposit accounts, per the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. With incentives like Chase Ultimate and Samsung reward points, users many now be more motivated to use the payment methods.
Although smartphone makers like Samsung, Apple and Google offer mobile payment services, retailers still have an opportunity to encourage customers to use their own branded payment apps. Starbucks, for example, is expected to generate 40% of mobile in-store transactions this year among the 55 million U.S. consumers over the age of 14 who have a smartphone, eMarketer forecast in May.
The researcher predicted that 23.4 million people will use the Starbucks app to make a point-of-sale payment, compared to 22 million for Apple Pay, 11.1 million for Google Pay and 9.9 million for Samsung Pay. Merchant-branded mobile apps are gaining more traction, which means the top four payment apps could see declining market share even as they gain users. The number of U.S. proximity mobile payment users is set to grow 14.5% this year to 55 million, per eMarketer forecasts.


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Manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region expanded for the fifth consecutive month, according to the Richmond Fed's latest survey. Looking at the main components of activity, shipments were virtually unchanged, while employment grew at a modest pace, and new orders grew more slowly. Other indicators varied. Growth in backlogs moderated considerably this month and capacity utilization fell below its all-time high readings seen in April and May. Vendor lead-time continued to grow at a solid pace, while inventories grew at a somewhat slower rate.
Looking ahead, manufacturers' optimism remained in place in June, though it was less rosy than last month. Firms anticipated that their shipments, new orders, capacity utilization, employment and the average workweek would grow in coming months, albeit less robustly. In contrast, they expected backlogs of orders and capital expenditures to grow more quickly.
Survey measures of prices revealed that raw materials prices grew on pace with May, while finished goods prices grew at a somewhat quicker rate. Respondents indicated that during the next six months they expected slower growth in both raw materials and finished goods prices from what they had anticipated last month.
In June, the seasonally adjusted composite index of manufacturing activity — our broadest measure of manufacturing — declined three points to 23 from May's reading of 26. Among the index's components, shipments eased one point to 31, new orders dropped 11 points to finish at 25, while the jobs index picked up five points to 9.
Other indicators were also mixed. The backlog of orders measure moved down 13 points to 3, and the index for capacity utilization fell six points to 21. The delivery times index recouped three points to end at 17.
Our gauges for inventories were slightly lower in June. The finished goods inventory index fell two points to 7, and the raw materials inventory index slipped two points to finish at 4.
District manufacturers' hiring plans for coming months strengthened in June. The manufacturing employment index registered a 9 versus May's reading of 4, and the average workweek measure added two points to 15. In contrast, wage growth lost 10 points to 10.
In our latest survey, contacts remained mostly confident about their business prospects during the next six months, though somewhat less so than last month. The index of expected shipments declined 15 points to 40, and the new orders index fell 12 points to 38. In addition, the capacity utilization index moved down 10 points to 35, while the backlogs indicator edged up three points to 22. Moreover, the indexes for expected vendor delivery times and planned capital expenditures each posted a five-point gain to 17 and 25, respectively.
District manufacturers' hiring plans were slightly less optimistic as well. The expected manufacturing employment index subtracted eight points to fall to 11 from a month ago, and the average workweek indicator declined 12 points to end at 9. In addition, the expected wages index posted a nine-point loss to 25.
District manufacturers reported that raw materials prices increased at an average annual rate of 2.31 percent — a touch below May's reading of 2.33 percent. Finished goods prices rose at a 2.39 percent pace — somewhat above May's reading of 1.83.
Looking forward, respondents expected that the prices they pay will advance at a 1.51 percent pace, slightly below the previous month's expectation of 2.69 percent. Additionally, contacts looked for finished goods prices to increase at a 0.65 percent annual rate, also slightly below last month's expectation of 1.29 percent.


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In a first of its kind application, Dish TV has announced DishOnline Live TV and video streaming service for its 15 million subscribers. The application is available for Android smartphones and tablets as well as all iOS devices.
In a first of its kind application, Dish TV has announced DishOnline Live TV and video streaming service for its 15 million subscribers. The application is available for Android smartphones and tablets as well as all iOS devices. The app is designed to allow users to keep up with Live TV broadcasts even on the move, anywhere in the world. The service will initially start with 35 channels, but Dish TV say more channels will soon be added to the list, including HD channels. The app is powered by dittotv.com.
Apart from Live TV, users will also be able to access a library of over 1000 movies. The offerings have been divided by genre - Live TV, Movies, TV shows and Videos. Dish TV will offer the subscribers the option of two subscription packs. The top of the line pack is the JUMBO Pack at Rs. 129/- which will include – all live TV channels, all Movies, all shows and all videos. Additionally, there will be a smaller Starter Pack which will not offer Live TV, but the rest of the content library. For a limited time, Dish TV is offering both these packs at Rs 69 and Rs 29 respectively.
The 35 channels that are on offer at the moment include Zee TV, Sony, Sab, Zee Cinema, & Pictures, Zee Studio, Zee Cafe, Ten Action, Ten Cricket, Zee News, Aaj Tak, Headlines Today, BBC, Sony Mix, Masti, Zee Marathi, Zee Tamil and Zee Telugu.
Announcing this development, Mr. R.C Venkateish, Chief Executive Officer, Dish TV Indiasaid, “As industry leaders and pioneers of the DTH sector, we continue to reinvent and redefine the market with thought leadership to be ahead of the pack. DishOnline is a unique service for all those valued subscribers who want to keep in touch with their favourite shows and programmes even when on the move. We are delighted to offer them the world of unlimited entertainment on the go. This initiative will translate into huge competitive advantage for Dish TV as it is the only service provider in the cable TV and DTH industry to offer this one-of-a-kind facility.”
The application itself is free to download, and can be downloaded directly from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.


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Apple has confirmed that its Apple Maps vehicles will be expanding into Canada, performing deeper scouting to improve the Apple Maps product in the country.
According to new reports, fleets of Apple Maps vehicles will begin to travel through all ten provinces in Canada between May and November, although Nunavut, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories will be excluded from the initial expansion due to difficult terrain and low populations.
Google has invested in such regions with its Maps product, however.
To confirm the news, Apple issued notices in regional newspapers to let citizens know it would be ‘capturing road details, signage, and landmarks’ and that the company was planning to publish its new data ‘in a future product update’ via Apple Maps and its affiliates.
Apple also said it was ‘working closely with local regulators’ to limit privacy concerns.
When Apple replaced Google Maps with its own Maps product back in 2012 with iOS 6, the company faced major criticism from consumers and critics, with Apple later issuing a public apology and promising to fix the problems with its new service.
Amongst the critiques were mislabeled landmarks, incorrect names, inaccurate maps and more.
Since, Apple has been scanning the United States, as well as Croatia, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, and adding Canada to its list will provide more in-depth data for users in the country and tourists exploring Canada.
However, whilst Apple Maps vehicles have spanned several countries, only the United States has seen new first-party maps go live to date, suggesting a larger update could be coming with iOS 13.
Apple is also reportedly deploying foot teams in major cities around the world to assist with pedestrian and cycling directions – increasingly important as electric vehicles like scooters, skateboards, and bikes become more common, with consumers moving away from owning cars.
Are you excited to see Apple increase its Apple Maps investment, and begin to map out Canada? Let us know on Twitter using @AppleMagazine, and check back soon for more news on Apple Maps as and when we get it.


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It was a choppy session on Wall Street Wednesday. Labor productivity rose by more than expected in the second quarter. Rumors swirled that Research in Motion is in talks with Samsung to license the upcoming BlackBerry 10 platform. In earnings, Macys posted a $279 million net income in the second quarter. And sales at McDonalds were unexpectedly flat in July.
The Daily News Post India (tdnpost)


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NFFP successfully participated in this year’s edition of Gulfood Dubai Exhibition 2016, which was held in UAE–Dubai, from 21 – 25 February 2016. The company's exhibit witnessed an increase in the number of visitors, customers and suppliers from various countries.
The NFFP stand were visited by WFI MD Sheikh Fahad Sulaiman Al Rajhi, CEO Eng. Ibrahim Behairi, WP president Eng. Abdullah Al Zahrani, PR Manager, and number of the company's directors.
P.O Box: 4130 Riyadh 11491
Riyadh 2nd Industrial City,
: +966 1 265 1525
: +966 1 265 1489
follow us in our social media network to keep up with our latest news
All Copyright Reserved to NFFP © 2015


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Vice Media Group has been forced to announce a new round of staff sackings in light of its ongoing financial struggles and “need to realign toward profitable areas of the business” – not least video content. Last night, the Vice Union tweeted their devastation at the 17 layoffs, “in what has become a macabre annual ritual at this company.” If it’s an annual ritual it begs questions about their continuing shock…
While the layoffs have taken place across the pond, the UK Vice Union branch were quick to extend solidarity to their felled colleagues in the account’s first tweets since May. Before the news of these sackings, the account had last been tweeting about their campaign for “a four day week with no reduction in pay! 🎉”
“This would make us the first major news publisher to adopt a 4 day week. After a long hard year that showed work practices can change without the company imploding, it’s time to rethink how we work. We hope Vice embraces the potential to be a pioneer!”
They were at least correct about it being a “long hard year” for the company. Their diagnosis that Vice had avoided implosion, however, now seem like a very low bar upon which to build such a utopian campaign…
“Queer feminist fight club Femme Feral offers women and femme-identifying people a place to express their rage about the Conservative government through body-slams and dropkicks.” Important investigation from Vice News.
Credit to Jon Harvey for cutting Vice News’ Corbyn documentary to turn him into David Brent from The Office. Genius…
Vice News have been granted access to film a behind-the-scenes documentary with Jeremy Corbyn and his team. What could possibly go wrong?
Here are the top lines:
Well done to whichever bright spark thought this would be a good idea for Jezza…
The Financial Times reports that Buzzfeed fell short of its 2015 revenue target by 30% and has slashed its 2016 target by 50%. It took Guido 4 years to make a profit. No one ever said it was easy, overnight success generally takes years. Buzzfeed, the cool new kid on the block, has been going 9 years without making a profit. Nine years…
During those 9 years it has burned through hundreds of millions of dollars without paying investors a cent back. Smart people buy into the Buzzfeed concept, that it can reach millenials on their phones and on social networks with viral content as well as disguised advertising in the form of snarky content. They also have a conventional website famous for cat videos and lists. To make advertisers feel better about the online context of their paid content, Buzzfeed has branched out into serious content from serious journalists, with serious investigations and even some politics. It gives the Buzzfeed brand more journalistic credibility. Which goes comparatively unread.
Business Insider, Huffington Post and Vice News are all engaged in an online land grab, promising investors they will grab the global audience first and make profits later. Business Insider sold to Axel Springer for a cool $442 million last year. Outside the US it was not making a profit – though Insiders told Guido they were no longer losing money in London. Insider has a model that makes sense, aiming at time-pressed people interested in business. HuffPo aims to maximise traffic through aggregation and SEO optimisation, selling conventional display advertising – the AOL parent has a massive digital advertising sales operation. Vice is apparently to the millenial generation what MTV was to their parents and appears to be making money hand over fist.
The risk for Buzzfeed investors is that people no longer want the funny GIFs once they graduate, get a job and get busy. This leaves them with teenage “trash-traffic” of appeal only to generic advertisers who won’t pay high prices. Advertisers also worry, now that the novelty has worn off, that the advertorials don’t work or worse still, don’t fit their advertising goals.
Asked a question about patronising young voters at Labour’s ‘Youth Manifesto’ launch, Ed successfully managed to patronise young voters. Here is his exchange with former Telegraph investigations reporter Ben Bryant, now at Vice News:
BB: “Hello, Ben Bryant from Vice News”
EM: “From where?”
BB: “Vice News.”
EM: “Oh right. What does Vice News do?”
BB: “We make films, we write stories.”
BB: “So one of the criticisms of this election campaign has been how controlled it is. You yourself have only done one walkabout with voters so far. Don’t you think that all of this stage management bullsh*t is particularly alienating young people?”
EM: “I don’t think you count as stage managed, do you Ben?”
No wonder they were keeping him away from questions…


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Last week was our Golden Show pub crawl! The students headed around pubs in Aberdeen city centre with their charity buckets, handing out free sweets and trying to raise as much money as possible for Down’s Syndrome Scotland.
Prizes for the Golden Show raffle are starting to arrive and we’ve had some fantastic donations from local businesses; here’s a necklace kindly donated by Harpers Accessories. Other prizes include: an overnight stay at the Registry Guest House; a cashmere scarf from Johnstons of Elgin; afternoon tea for two at Dunblane Hydro; tickets for a show by Aberdeen Performing Arts; an LCTG Hair Product Gift Box; and dinner at 210 Bistro.
Raffle tickets are available in the run up and on the night of the fashion show. You can also purchase your fashion show tickets online by clicking here.
Only nine days to go…
In the run up to The Golden Show we can now confirm that Stacey Strachan and Gosia Weiss will be doing our models’ make up. We are extremely excited about this as its great to have local support.
Hair will be by Toni & Guy, who have been really supportive over the past few years of our fashion show project.
I don’t know about you but we can’t wait for the Golden Show!
May is always an exciting month at the Fashion Place, where we are on the countdown to our annual fashion show, a golden celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Aberdeen Business School. We’re also eagerly awaiting the arrival of our fashion magazine which will be hot off the press in the next couple of weeks… Much excitement!
Have a lovely weekend!
Fundraising for The Golden Show is well underway, with only 3 weeks to go!! So far, £1768.35* has been raised in aid of Down’s Syndrome Scotland. Ticket sales and fundraising activities have been a huge success and everyone involved has thoroughly enjoyed taking part.
Here are a few details of the events and money raised for each event:
Our Charity Pub Quiz held at Siberia raised £61.
Louise Bark, one of our Fashion Management students raised a staggering £403 by doing a 10 mile sponsored cycle.
Bake sales held on campus at ABS so far have raised £125 all together and we have plans for many more leading up to the event. Everybody loves cake!
Fundraising events held over the Easter period at Bon Accord and St Nicholas raised £83, activities included face painting, hop scotch and memory game.
Our next scheduled event is our Charity Pub Crawl on the 13th May 2015 where the Fashion Management students will be crawling around the city centre pubs wearing black and white t-shirts with The Golden Show printed logo and fancy gold make up. Keep up to date with up and coming fundraising activities through our social media. Instagram – @fashionplace_rgu, Twitter – @fashionplacergu, Facebook – The Golden Show.
Our students have been on an Aberdeen city and shire road trip, seeking in-kind sponsorship over the last week and we’ve had some fantastic support from local businesses! These include: Paramount Bar and Yo Sushi – who will kindly sponsor our VIP room; Toni and Guy and Stacey Strachan Makeup – who are helping style our models; Breakneck Comedy – who are sponsoring our fabulous MC (Wray Thomson); and we also have some exciting raffle prizes, ranging from dinner at 210 Bistro to an overnight stay at brand new guest house, the Registry! We’ve also had huge support from Shooligans, the Chess Group, Nova, Trend, and Premiere Productions.
If you would like to get involved please let us know! It’s all in aid of Down’s Syndrome Scotland!
Last Friday the second photo-shoot for The Golden Show took place in Paramount Bar. Our three models; Gillian, Iulia and Tadiwa arrived fresh faced at lunchtime ready for good fun and hard work.
The photographers were Martin Parker and Jen BirtlesKelman, who produced some amazing photos keeping with our theme of celebration. There was plenty of confetti used.
Special thanks to all of the retailers who donated, and to Paramount Bar for having us.
We’re delighted to reveal this year’s fashion show ticket! These are now available for purchase and you can do so by emailing email@example.com.
Our standard ticket price is £20 and this includes a welcome drink, programme and goody bag. The cost of a VIP ticket is £30 and includes all standard items plus access to our designated VIP area where there will be cocktails/ mocktails and catering, as well as a copy of our fashion magazine, a deluxe party bag and interactive seating.
We’re delighted to reveal this year’s fashion show logo…
Over the next eight weeks, our students will work in teams to organise our annual fashion show. The show will take place on Friday the 29th of May with doors opening at 7pm. This year’s theme will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Aberdeen Business School through a showcase of formal and informal party attire from Aberdeen’s Bon Accord & St Nicholas alongside some other local retailers (watch this space).
More on this very soon…


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It has been previously reported that AMD's next-generation Ryzen 6000 series processors, codenamed Warhol, based on the Zen 3+ architecture and using a 6nm process, have been canceled and will be replaced by the XT/Refresh version of the Zen 3 architecture. This is likely to be the last update to the Ryzen family for the AM4 platform, along with the release of the X570s chipset, which will be announced later this year. The reason is that current market supply conditions, as well as TSMC's capacity conditions, prompted AMD to abandon Warhol and focus on the next-generation processor, codenamed Raphael, which will be built using a Zen 4 architecture and a 5nm process.
AMD is likely to integrate rDNA 2 architecture core display on the Ryzen 7000 series, codenamed Raphael, with the new AM5 platform, which will support PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 memory, and its I/O chip will be upgraded to 6nm process. According to Twitter user @sepeuwmjh, AMD will announce a new platform in Q3 2022, followed by a Zen 4 based Ryzen family of processors that will compete with Intel's 13th Core family, codenamed Raptor Lake-S desktop processor, in Q4. With a long way to go before the official release, AMD still has plenty of room to tweak.


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A recent article from Boston.com - 'Computer chips get under skin of enthusiasts' - writes of a group of tech-savvy young people who are implanting chips under their skin in order to have remote control over such devices as their computer and other household appliances:
"With a wave of his hand, Amal Graafstra, a 29-year-old entrepreneur based in Vancouver, Canada, opens his front door. With another, he logs onto his computer.
Tiny radio frequency identification (RFID) computer chips inserted into Graafstra's hands make it all possible."
RFID tagging and implants have been under discussion for some time, and the implications are becoming more widespread:
"In the future, technological advances will allow people to store, transmit and access encrypted personal information in an increasing number of wireless ways"
The globe is becoming increasingly unwired - yet mapping technologies and strategies are also becoming increasingly more ubiquitous...
The future may be a struggle between being unwired and being unwatched...
Via Between Both Worlds


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Tesla hired Apple’s OS security expert as connected cars are increasingly becoming a hacking risk
Tesla news not directly related to the Model 3 is hard to come by these days, but Electrek learned that Tesla recently hired Apple’s OS Security Manager for a similar role at the automaker. While safety in general has long been an important part of the automotive industry, IT security is just starting to become a factor as connected cars are increasingly becoming a hacking risk.
Consequently, Tesla is building an impressive IT security team led by Chris Evans, not Captain America but the former head of Google’s Project Zero, a team of hackers employed full-time by Google to find zero-day vulnerabilities. Expand


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June 17, 2020 10:14:43 pm
Facebook Inc Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet Inc CEO Sundar Pichai are willing to testify before a congressional panel investigating competition issues in the technology industry, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Apple Inc hasn’t guaranteed it would make Tim Cook available to the House antitrust panel, said the people, who asked not to be named describing the talks. Amazon.com Inc has already said it would send Jeff Bezos to testify “at a hearing with the other CEOs this summer.” That would mark Bezos’ first appearance before Congress.
The commitments to send Zuckerberg and Pichai, which the companies have relayed to the panel, were conditioned on appearances by the other CEOs, the people said.
Spokespeople for the companies either declined to comment or didn’t respond to requests. A spokesman for Representative David Cicilline, the Rhode Island Democrat leading the probe, declined to comment.
The Washington Post reported earlier on the willingness of Zuckerberg and Pichai, who is also CEO of Alphabet’s Google unit, to testify.
Apple’s position — that it will send an appropriate executive, without promising Cook — mirrors Amazon’s earlier reluctance to send its chief and could provoke a clash between the company and the lawmakers taking part in the probe. In Amazon’s case, Cicilline repeatedly threatened to subpoena Bezos, although the company ultimately backed down and agreed to send him voluntarily.
Cicilline may want to hear from the CEOs soon: He has said he wants to include their testimony in a final report that would propose changes to antitrust law. He has said the investigation and report are close to being finished.
William Kovacic, a professor of competition law at George Washington University Law School, said Cicilline wants a live hearing with testimony from all four CEOs to build public support for stepped-up legislative oversight of tech companies and to pressure the antitrust agencies to pursue aggressive lawsuits or investigations. The goal is “to goad the enforcement agencies,” Kovacic said in a recent interview.
Antitrust scrutiny of giant technology companies is accelerating. Facebook and Google both face competition probes by federal enforcers and nearly all 50 states. Amazon is under investigation in California, Bloomberg has reported, and both the e-commerce giant and Apple are facing scrutiny in the EU.
Last September, Cicilline’s subcommittee sent extensive document requests to the four companies seeking detailed information about acquisitions, business practices, executive communications, previous probes and lawsuits.
Unlike Bezos, the other CEOs have been questioned at Congressional hearings before. Zuckerberg testified after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which Facebook allowed the harvesting of personal data of millions of users without their permission in 2018, and about the company’s digital currency, Libra, the following year. Pichai also testified in 2018 on allegations that the company is politically biased in its treatment of content. Tim Cook testified in 2013 about the company’s payment of taxes.
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Gucci has been ranked as the “hottest brand on the planet” in the latest quarterly edition of The Lyst Index, which is compiled by global fashion search platform Lyst.
To generate the results, Lyst analyses the online shopping behaviour of more than five million shoppers a month searching, browsing and buying fashion across 12,000 designers and stores online.
The report also factors in social media metrics, taking into account brand follower growth and multi-platform mentions of products, brands and related keywords, plus sentiment analysis.
Gucci’s top placing in the Q4 report was attributed to “prolific global demand” for the label’s signature accessories. The Gucci Soho Disco bag was considered the hottest women’s product of Q4. From October to December, more than six million shoppers searched for a Gucci bag, belt or shoe, Lyst reported. The two Gucci accessories in the hottest products list drove twice as many orders as the other eight products combined.
Moncler was also a big winner in the quarter, jumping 12 places into fourth position. The brand had a signature down jacket in both the women’s and men’s hottest products lists this quarter. The Genius diffusion line saw the brand’s biggest spikes in search and social engagement, Lyst noted.
Burberry rose four places to become the world’s tenth hottest brand, according to The Lyst Index. “The revamped UK brand is now resonating with new customers,” Lyst said. “New limited edition monthly drops, exclusively available through Instagram and Chinese messaging app WeChat, have been selling out in a matter of hours, helping boost sales in the UK, Italy, and China.”
Fendi, which opened its first travel retail store in late 2018, climbed four places in the ranking.
Lyst’s full report can be viewed here.


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SATA-IO members have worked together to create the SATA Express specification to bring the scalability of PCIe to client storage," said Mladen Luksic, SATA-IO president.
SATA Express is one of several specifications from SATA-IO designed to offer low-cost, high performance storage solutions optimized for specific device segments.
Additionally, representatives from SATA-IO
will be on hand on August 21 for the Flash Memory Summit's "Meet the Experts" session from 6:00-7:30 p.
The USM Slim specification is currently available at no cost for SATA-IO
has developed a number of power management protocols to minimize power consumption and extend battery life in SATA devices.
0 - which is available now - and the ubiquity of SATA," said Mladen Luksic, SATA-IO
As tablets and other small computing devices continue to proliferate in the market, the need for scalable small form factor storage solutions rises exponentially," said Mladen Luksic, SATA-IO
, an industry consortium dedicated to sustaining the quality, integrity and dissemination of serial ATA (SATA[TM]) technology, introduced the standard today.
It also is one of several SATA-IO
initiatives designed to extend SATA technology beyond traditional PC storage.
Additionally, as an approved SATA-IO
test lab, membership in the UNH-IOL's SATA Consortium lets companies participate in the testing required to attain the SATA-IO
Logo, and therefore enables the companies to submit products for inclusion on the SATA-IO
and Seagate Technology are partnering to sponsor the first public demonstration of USM prototype devices at CES Unveiled this week, highlighting the variety of applications enabled by the USM specification.
develops, manages and drives adoption of the Serial ATA specifications.


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30 May 2016
ReDRESS | Designing the future of fashion
Through a number of in-depth articles and interviews, Magali An Berthon will focus on inspiring projects and personalities which make their mark as design and craft innovators and active cultural heritage supporters.
In this first article, Magali An draws attention to the staggering environmental impact of the fashion industry, and shares the story and commitments of the Hong Kong-based initiative ReDRESS. This non-profit organization changes the face of fashion by promoting eco-conscious design and production practices, and bringing awareness on how to design, produce and consume better.
The textile and clothing industry is one of the world’s largest polluters after oil. Energy-intensive apparel production and consumption impacts negatively the environment by creating chemical pollution, water waste, greenhouse gas, and solid waste production. In 2010, it was responsible for over 13 million tons of waste worldwide.
How can we provoke a radical shift towards more sustainable practices in a globalized industry that employs about 70 million people and produces the staggering number of 90 million metric tons of textiles every year?
In Hong Kong the non-profit organization ReDRESS addresses the matter of sustainability in the fashion industry straight away. Its location in Hong Kong and focus on Asia is no coincidence. China is still called the world's factory. A report published by Clean Clothes Campaign in 2011 indicates that the Asian giant along with Bangladesh and India are the three leading developing countries dominating the global production of textile materials and products. This organization was founded by Christina Dean, a former dental surgeon and journalist with no prior experience in fashion. She moved to Hong Kong from the United Kingdom in 2005 with her husband and her two children. She grew up in an eco-friendly household and had already done some research on the issue of industrial textile pollution. The alarming lack of environmental concern in Hong Kong pressed her to go further. She launched ReDRESS in 2007 and made it her mission to promote environmental sustainability in Asia’s fashion industry. ReDRESS actions have made a significant difference in China and beyond, by bringing awareness on better practices. fundraising, and helping eco-fashion business development.
ReDRESS conducts in-depth research on the field to analyse the consumers response to sustainable fashion and the situation in the Hong Kong area. A 2013 survey led with the Hong Kong Design Institute interrogated 57 local fashion designers, 94 textile and garment manufacturers, 64 retailers, and 380 consumer on the topic of textile waste. Manufacturers admitted that cost savings was their main motivation for reusing textile waste more than environmental impact itself. And a majority of consumers expressed growing concerns about pollution and are sensitive to the recycled textiles as a selling argument. ReDRESS has also documented the quantity of textiles discarded every day in Hong Kong, and discovered that 217 tonnes of textiles are sent to landfills.
ReDRESS trusts the new generation of designers to build the future of sustainable fashion.The EcoChic Design Award is a fashion design competition organized every year since 2011. It selects new talents in eco-fashion with at least three years experience, coming from Asia (Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia) and Europe (France, Germany, Sweden and Denmark). The contest is an opportunity to embark the selected emerging designers on an educational journey by sharing invaluable information on good practices such as zero-waste pattern construction, garment repairing, and up-cycling. The programme demonstrates how designing high-quality products with minimal environmental footprint is an achievable goal. By highlighting new designers and involving major names in the industry such as Shanghai Tang and Esprit, the competition builds a virtuous network of professionals all committed in changing the face of fashion.
ReDRESS puts design in the spotlight as an effective way to tackle environmental issues. Finally, the organization stresses how critical it is to implement these sustainable methods in design school's curriculum, at the core of fashion training. It would inspire design students to choose eco-friendly innovative methods to strongly impact the fashion industry from the start.
Magali An BERTHON is a French Vietnamese textile designer and editor based in Paris. Graduate of the National School of Decorative Arts in Paris, she has gathered a valuable experience as a textile designer for fashion and home collections. She finds inspiration in her many travels especially in South-East Asia and has developed a deep interest for ethnic arts & crafts, natural fabrics and dyes. In parallel, she works as a writer and documentarist specialized particularly on textile know-how from all over the world.
28 Nov 2016
22 Sep 2017
22 Mar 2017
30 Jun 2016


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Mobile revenues predicted to double by 2013
Retailers to reap both opportunities and challenges from smartphones according to new research.
The revenue retailers make from smartphones is set to increase dramatically, according to research from several consultancy firms.
The research suggests income will increase from 3.3% to 6.6% in the next two years. A wider distribution of retail revenue is expected as mobile and social media platforms continue to play a big role in society.
Research also shows that retailers will make system replacement a top priority within the next two years.
"This is the most important piece of research we have undertaken to date, not least because it confirms our thoughts that actually, technology is the main constraining factor in allowing retailers to execute their multi-channel strategy," said Mark Adams, director at consultancy firm Portaltech.
The survey found that 82% of respondents have more than one technology application running their office operations, making it simple to communicate easily, but difficult to make all channels consistent to customers.
Other priorities revealed by the survey include better integration of current systems, store-based system replacements or upgrades, and improving mobile sites and retail apps.
"The challenge for retailers is deciding which channels to focus on in order to engage their customer base and get the best return on investment. The key to getting this decision right is understanding the customer journey, which platforms they use and how they complement each other, to gain a true picture of the sale attribution," said David Smith, marketing and communications officer at e-retailing industry association IMRG.
"What this research highlights is that many retailers are finding it difficult to keep up with the pace of change in the industry and the influence that technology has on retail," Smith added.
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Jane Fisher, Deputy Staff Director of the Helsinki Commission, presided this briefing focused on trade and doing business in the Newly Indipendent States of the former Soviet Union. It was the third in a series of briefings by the Commission on NIS.
The Helsinki Accords cover human rights, security, and economic cooperation, and when the countries of the former Soviet Union were making the transition to democracy, the Commission put a greater emphasis on trade and economic cooperation. Russia and the Newly Independent States had a great potential market. They had enormous natural resources, large consumer markets, and a huge potential for trade and investments.
Ms. Fisher was joined by a distinguished panel of experts who have been directly involved in business development in the formet Soviet Union: Dr. Richard Rahn, President and Chief executive officer of Novecon; Edward Chow, Director of International Affairs for Chevron Overseas Petroleum; and Joseph Barker, Vice Presidentof Ryland Trading. They described their experiences and shared their views on the opportunities and hazards of doing business in Russia and the NIS.


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Hyderabad, April 1 (IANS) With cash reserves of $70 million, online portal MakeMyTrip is looking to acquire companies which can bring more value, its CEO and founder Deep Kalra said.
The Nasdaq-listed firm is looking to acquire companies in areas like supplier disintermediation, pilgrimage travel and niche travel technology. MakeMyTrip, which so far had five merger and acquisition deals, is keen to acquire companies which can bring it closer to customers.
Kalra was talking to reporters on the sidelines of an event here Monday to announce the company’s association with Sunrisers Hyderabad. It is the principal sponsor of the IPL franchise.
He said the company was very open about the ticket size of the acquisition. It is already getting many deals and is evaluating the same.
The leading travel company also announced its focus on the hotels business by extending its brand promise to ‘Hotels Unlimited’.
The company, which completed 13 years, runs online airline and hotel reservation and tour business in India and South East Asia. It currently has 10,000 hotels in India and 70,000 hotels internationally on its network.
“Our twin offerings of ‘Money-Back Guarantee’ and ‘Last-Minute Online Hotel Deals’ are targeted at building greater customer-confidence in booking hotels online. Last-Minute Hotel Deals service offers deep discounts for same-day hotel bookings. These are accessible both on the website as well as mobile devices,” Kalra said.
He expects good growth both on air and hotel side during 2013-14. The business from air accounts for 70 percent and the hotel and packages 30 percent.
“This move will continue towards hotels and packages. More and more growth will come from hotels and packages. Last eight or nine quarters we have been growing at 50 percent plus on the hotel side,” he said. Kalra hopes that the ratio of air and hotel will become 50:50 in two years.
Last year, the growth in hotel alone was over 100 percent in transaction terms while overall in hotels and packages it was 60 percent plus. “We are bullish on hotels and packages. Air industry will take some time to come back. By the end of the year, the air industry will be much healthier,” he said.
Kalra pointed out that besides domestic travel, the greatest growth is coming from South East Asia, Dubai and Middle East.
The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by authors, news service providers on this page do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Hill Post. Any views or opinions are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual.
Hill Post makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site page.


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DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/5ptphm/liion_battery) has announced the addition of the "Li-ion Battery Market in China 2015-2019" report to their offering.
The Li-ion battery market in China to grow at a CAGR of 17% over the period 2014-2019
The Li-ion battery market in China has been segmented based on application (consumer electronics, automotive, industrial and power application) and type (lithium cobalt oxide, Li-ion nickel cobalt manganese, lithium manganese oxide, and lithium iron phosphate).
Li-ion Battery Market in China 2015-2019, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects in the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.
The production of Li-ion batteries has grown in China since 2005. Japanese manufacturers dominated the Li-ion battery market for decades. However, post the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 and the 2011 Fukushima disaster, Japan's market share fell considerably. South Korea and China were the direct beneficiaries of the loss of Japan's market share as most Li-ion battery manufacturers started to shift to these countries.
According to the report, growing pollution levels, coupled with decreasing fossil fuel reserves, has prompted China to shift its attention toward the use of EVs. The Chinese government has set a target of manufacturing 500,000 EVs by end of 2015. It has encouraged the adoption of EVs and is providing incentives to meet these targets. It launched several initiatives in 2009-10 under the clean and green energy development initiative and introduced the Ten City, One Thousand Cars plan, which primarily aims at increasing the adoption of EVs in the country.
Further, the report states that pollution concern in China may raise Li-ion battery prices will affect the growing electric and hybrid car industry in the country.
- A123 Systems
- LG Chem
- Samsung SDI
- Shenzhen BAK
- Sinopoly Battery
- Tianjin Lishen Battery
Other prominent vendors
- Amperex Technology
- Ecsem Industrial
- HYB BATTERY
- MINAMOTO Battery
- Shenzhen Blazerpower Battery
- Shenzhen Jixinglong Industry
- Shenzhen Kayo battery
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/5ptphm/liion_battery


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Spa Day at Storey Jewelers in Gonzales, TX, last July turned the whole idea of the midsummer doldrums on its head.It was far from the typical July day when 85 people showed up to receive free chair massages and even sign up to pay for Botox treatments in the diamond room while sipping Champagne punch.
Paul Neuse of Storey Jewelers teamed up with a local med spa, associated with a hospital wellness center, to provide free hand scrubs, makeovers and chair massages to his customers. Cookies, soft drinks, coffee, mimosas and punch were served. The spa is part of a wellness center that opened last year, so the partnership was a good way to introduce the facility to the community while encouraging traffic into Storey Jewelers.
As the oldest retail business in Gonzales County, the store has been in continuous operation since 1903. But in 2015, Storey Jewelers traded in its downtown location for a sleek and modern store in the Gonzales Marketplace Shopping Center, offering room for mingling with a large showroom, a lounge area and almost unlimited parking. One thing Neuse didn’t want was a rustic ambience. His goal was to build a cosmopolitan-style store in south-central Texas, the kind of place that presents the perfect venue for an elegant event — like a spa day, for example. Cases designed for side-by-side selling make socializing at events easier, too, than it would be around cases that create rigid barriers.
“Since the store is open and airy, we had plenty of space for our partners to comfortably set up their stations,” Neuse says. “We were also able to repurpose the diamond room, design center and men’s lounge for Botox injections, massages, and hand scrub/makeup application.”
Neuse and team promoted the event with postcards, a spot on the area’s digital billboard and lots of social media.
Another attraction was a drawing with prizes, including $600 toward Botox treatments, a $500 gift card for jewelry and a $500 gift card from the spa. The store also gave away a few smaller pieces of jewelry and a personal ultrasonic cleaner. Everyone who attended was welcome to their own gift, too — a loupe engraved with the store name and a polishing cloth.
They documented cleaning jewelry for 55 people, which included at least 150 rings, 32 pairs of earrings, 34 pendants, 25 bracelets and five watches for a total of 246 pieces, at least. “The ladies would drop off their jewelry with us, grab a beverage and make the rounds, getting pampered by the med spa staff and looking at our jewelry.”
PHOTO GALLERY (7 IMAGES)


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Islamabad :The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) in collaboration with Emerging Pakistan, Ministry of Commerce and Pakistan Embassy in Turkey will organize “Emerging Pakistan Business Opportunities Conference and Award Ceremony in Istanbul, Turkey on June 27-28, 2018. Both events would be held at CONRAD Hotels & Resorts in Istanbul.
The conference would highlight the business opportunities in various sectors of Pakistan’s economy to the Turkish participants and explore matchmakings between the private sectors of Pakistan and Turkey. About 300-350 businessmen from Pakistan would participate in the Business Opportunities Conference and would hold B2B meetings with Turkish counterparts.
ICCI has developed four types of packages for interested participants detail of which is available at https://www.facebook.com/EmergingPakistanboc/. The interested participants could also make contact at 0300-5809333, 0300-5923222 for booking that will be on first come first serve basis. The families of participants could also accompany them to attend the Award Ceremony. Turkish airline would be the official airline of the event and all travelers from Pakistan would fly through it.
In his message, Sheikh Amir Waheed President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that Pakistan enjoyed close and cordial relations with Turkey and holding of conference and award ceremony in Istanbul would provide a good platform to the private sectors of both countries to interact and explore new avenues of business collaboration with each other in areas of interest. They said the real potential for economic cooperation between Pakistan and Turkey has not been fully tapped as yet despite similar economic structures of both countries and hoped that the business opportunities conference would be a right step towards transforming the bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Turkey into vibrant economic partnership.
Muhammad Naveed Malik Senior Vice President and Nisar Mirza Vice President ICCI said that it was a good opportunity for the private sector of Pakistan to take active part in the said conference and explore the possibilities of developing long-term business relations with Turkish counterparts. They said their participation would yield win-win results for Pakistan and Turkey and would be helpful in realizing the vision of robust Pakistan-Turkey economic relations.


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Hotel and resort giant Kamori Kanko and property developer Niseko Alpine Developments (NISADE) have announced plans to bid for a Japan casino license as part of a multi-million dollar expansion of Rusutsu Resort in Hokkaido.
The all-Japanese partnership will see at least US$700 million plowed into Rusutsu – a popular winter ski resort owned by Kamori Kanko and boasting four hotels as well as an amusement park and golf courses – over the next two years.
However, NISADE Chairman Jonathan Martin revealed a far more ambitious development plan over the weekend that “includes a strong bid platform for one of the upcoming Integrated Resort Licenses for Japan – possibly one of the first casinos in the country.”
In a joint announcement, Kamori Kanko President Kimihito Kamori said the partnership provided a unique opportunity to expand its offerings including bidding for a casino license should IR legislation pass through the Japanese Diet as expected in mid-2018.
“Unlike the structure of other Hokkaido resorts, we own Rusutsu in its entirety, including the resort, ski lifts, golf courses and theme park,” Kamori said. “Subsequently, Rusutsu’s redevelopment requires a highly strategic approach and we found the perfect partner in NISADE, who have been instrumental in identifying the path to executing Rusutsu’s long-term growth plan.”
The current development plan will take place across multiple phases with the US$200 million first phase including luxury hotel The Vale Rusutsu and a bespoke onsen and spa facility. Additional phases scheduled for 2018 will include retail and entertainment developments and further hotel facilities, estimated at cost of around US$500 million.
Details of what the proposed casino at the resort might look like are yet to be released.
Master planned 30 years ago, Rusutsu Resort is described by Kamori Kanko as Hokkaido’s largest all season resort and “a significant year-round opportunity in the Japanese leisure industry.”


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YouTube for iOS is gaining a new feature that will allow iPhone users to stream video directly from their device screen, reports TechCrunch.
This will allow YouTubers to stream iOS games and apps on their iPhones directly to YouTube without having to use the standalone YouTube gaming app.
The screen-streaming feature has been available on Android for some time, but to implement it on iOS, YouTube needed to add support for the Apple ReplayKit API, which it has now done.
In addition to a feature for live streaming what's on the iPhone's screen, YouTube is also gaining lower latency streaming for better creator/watcher chat interactions and improved chat moderation tools.
YouTubers can quickly pause chat with a new keyboard shortcut and they can opt in to an automated chat moderation system that will cause YouTube to flag and hold potentially inappropriate messages until they can be reviewed.
YouTube says its new features are rolling out to users around the world today. The YouTube app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]


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Breaking news: Kendall Jenner does her thing for Calvin Klein Jeans
The pretty reality-tv-starlet-turned-model stars alongside fellow model Simon Nessman in a campaign shot by photographer Alasdair McLellan and styled by Melanie Ward.
It's the second major coup for the brand, who recently made headlines featuring a buff and tattooed Justin Bieber next to supermodel Lara Stone in their Spring 2015 denim campaign.
Interestingly, Bieber and Jenner are known besties, and part of the next-gen Hollywood 'Brat Pack' also containing model Gigi Hadid.
Calvin Klein Jeans has always had a knack for creating controversy with their denim campaigns - past recruits include an underage Brooke Shields and a baby-faced topless Kate Moss.
We're sure modelling for the iconic denim brand is just one of many more career highlights to come for Kendall Jenner.
The limited-edition logo-heavy Denim Series is set to drop in stores globally on April 15. The youthful male and female collection features modern pieces with sport-inspired details.
Buro 24/7 Selection


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‘Injustice 2’ Leaks: Achievements List Confirms New Playable Character; No More Joker In Superman Regime
"Injustice 2" just added a new playable villain. The PS4 and Xbox One hero and villain-packed game are expected to launch on the platforms on May 16. Players will be tasked to take on the roles of Superman, Batman and Wonderwoman or else opt for Brainiac, Poison Ivy and Joker.
Joker Comes To "Injustice 2" With A Sinister Laugh
A screenshot showing the Clown Prince of Crime in "Injustice 2" was recently leaked, Geek Reply reported. It should be noted that in "Injustice: Gods Among Us", the dimension with Superman's Regime no longer includes Joker. Apparently, the Man of Steel had some power that brutally killed the iconic villain after the latter tricked Superman into killing Lois Lane.
The "Injustice 2" leak was written in French and features options for the expanded mods and statistics. Joker is also slated to either utilize or wield the Gift of Life. Joker is expected to sport the same bleached white skin and green hair. Previously, Society and Brainiac were unveiled for the game.
In addition, a French leaked picture of "Injustice 2" also shows Joker in mid-gameplay revealing the villain may be a little more active. As of this writing, there is yet to be a confirmation on whether Mark Hamill will be reprising his role as the famous supervillain. "Injustice 2" by NetherRealm Studios is still being sold out on Amazon.
Achievement List for Upcoming Sequel Revealed
In other news, Xbox Achievements just released the list of achievements for the upcoming fighting video game "Injustice 2," Escapist Magazine reported. It has been revealed that there will be 62 separate achievements for the game, totaling a thousand points. It should be noted that the game includes things like playing a certain number of online matches and beating the story mode.
The "Injustice 2" achievements list also includes several character-specific achievements. Xbox Achievements noted beating character x while being character y and using move z among them. Moreover, two achievements involved Joker with players needing to beat the villain as Harley in "I Love You, I hate you" and taking on Joker to defeat Batman in "Why Aren't You Laughing."


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Icy carbonated water, flavored with fruity syrups and topped with a hefty dollop of whipped cream, is creating a name for Basso's Cafe on Sykesville's Main Street.
"It's Italian soda, and it's better and tangier than a snowball," said Marilyn Horwath, part-owner of the business. "Chocolate is the most popular flavor, but we have sold out of boysenberry, too."
The cafe opened with 10 flavors and, in less than a week, had to order two more shipments from its supplier in Baltimore.
"The supplier told us nobody is selling more than we do," she said.
Four Horwaths -- two brothers and their wives -- own the newest business in the South Carroll town. The cafe, which serves a full menu of Italian and deli favorites, is the culmination of years of musing over cups of coffee.
"I always wanted a coffee shop, where I could meet a lot of people," said Ms. Horwath, a registered nurse and Marriottsville resident.
Now, the couples are serving the coffee and much more in a cafe named for a grandmother, whose wedding portrait decorates a wall.
"I was driving through town about three months ago and saw the 'For Sale' sign, and I knew I had to try," said mortgage banker Ray Horwath.
The sign was at the Past-Tymes General Store and Ice Cream Parlor, a popular gathering spot since its debut four years ago. But the couple who owned the business wanted to sell it so they could retire.
The corner business has had great sales potential for several businesses. About 25 years ago, it was the town's only gas station.
Mr. Horwath pointed to his kitchen counter and said, "The state police told me they used to park right here and fill up."
The brick walls now glisten white, with a stenciled overlay of grapevines, and surround a small kitchen. A later addition, once an attorney's office, is the dining area.
At Basso's, customers can still buy ice cream, and they also can order meals complete with gourmet coffees and desserts.
Except for a three-week gap to remodel, business at Sandosky Road and Main Street has barely missed a customer.
The Horwaths -- Ray and his wife, Debbie, and Marilyn and her husband, Tony -- signed a lease with an option to buy the 1,300-square-foot shop May 1. They renovated and repainted the walls white and wintergreen.
They added a few personal touches, including refinished wedding portraits of the shop's namesake and several other ancestors.
They kept a few remnants of the building's past, like the wicker mannequin that once signaled that the ice cream store was open. They took it from its familiar spot on the front porch, dressed it in a lacy shawl with a cameo brooch and gave it an inside corner.
The Italian sodas, their recipe for cheese and basil bread, and Basso balls -- soft dough rolls from a secret family formula -- have become the talk of the town.
Craig Taylor, president of Sykesville Business Association, was one of the first customers and is one of the steadiest. He often places an order on his car phone and picks it up on the way to his shop.
"The subs are absolutely delicious and on first-rate rolls," Mr. Taylor said. "The bakery goods are wonderful, too."
A few antiques from Mr. Taylor's shop and others along Main Street decorate the cafe.
"The merchants have provided us with antiques," Marilyn Horwath said. "We fill our space, and they advertise."
The street has no vacancies along its business corridor.
"Sykesville will never be a hardware and grocery store town," Mr. Taylor said. "We have to create specialty shops and help each other."
The Horwaths hope to draw the family trade with all the comforts of home: a box of toys for children, magazines at the coffee bar and a rocking chair on the front porch.
The restaurant can seat 24 inside at marble-topped tables and about 30 more on the outdoor deck.
"Sykesville is a nice town, and it has given us a super reception," said Ray Horwath, who is considering a move to town from his home in Ellicott City.
"And it's small enough that you know people before they come in the door," Ms. Horwath said. "It's a growing town, and we will be growing right along with it."


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Google (GOOG) - Get Alphabet Inc. Class C Report may be the master of the online search domain, but its success elsewhere remains far from certain even as the search giant steps up its forays into new territory.
At first glance, Google's announcement Monday that it will enter the print space for 50 big newspapers may seem like a feather in its cap. After all, the search giant has brought the traditional media companies -- whose business it ravaged by sucking ad dollars online -- to the bargaining table.
Google plans to set up an online marketplace that lets a group of more than 100 customers bid for space in major newspapers including
The New York Times
The Washington Post
The Boston Globe
. The highest bid doesn't necessarily get the spot, though, because ultimately the papers choose which bids they'll accept. The three-month test version of Google's platform launches this week, and Google will deliver the service for free during this period.
But big papers don't plan to turn over their choicest spots to Google, and will instead foist their scraps onto the company. And Google will have to hustle new advertisers into spots, rather than being brought into cozy, pre-existing relationships.
"This is not about the customers we already do business with and our franchise product that is already in high demand," said Denise F. Warren, a senior vice president and chief advertising officer of
The New York Times
, in one media report. "For us, it opens up a whole new segment of advertisers."
This will leave Google hustling hard for what at the end of the day will amount to change, compared with what its print partners are pocketing from offline advertising.
"The prime inventory -- which is easy to sell and commands high prices -- will be kept by the newspapers," says David Bank, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets. "Google will be given the remnant inventory, not the real inventory."
All of a sudden, it seems it's the old guard that comes out ahead. Big papers now have a way of moving space that would have otherwise gone to waste, while taking none of the risk themselves. And while Google will be putting in the legwork, the effect on its bottom line will be nil -- at least for the near term.
Google didn't immediately respond to an email request for comment.
This latest setup underscores Google's predicament as it steps up efforts to plunge into new businesses. The company realizes it needs to broaden its horizons beyond the online advertisement arena. "It's a concern if at some point the company doesn't reach into other markets," says Scott Devitt, an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus.
In that vein, Google picked up video site YouTube in a $1.7 billion acquisition in October. Earlier in the year, it acquired radio ad-placer dMarc, and word spread across Wall Street last week that Google was ramping up an army of radio ad sales people to add muscle to its effort.
But in both ventures -- much like its latest print foray -- Google has yet to hammer out a game plan for making money.
Although speculation has surfaced recently that Google has set aside $500 million to pay off the copyright concerns it brought on with YouTube, it's doubtful Google will be able to make its money in the most straightforward way -- sticking ads in front of the videos. This would fly in the face of Google's mantra of customer experience before all else.
Google's radio ambitions, meanwhile, face many of the same hurdles as its print efforts. While it may have brought on the technology to sell radio ads, big broadcasting players see little reason to undercut their own salesforce by handing good spots to Google. Again, the company is stuck moving the leftovers.
Of course, much of this manic, experimental style is vintage Google, and reminiscent of the style it brings to introducing and refining new products. And it took the company quite some time and flapping around to figure out its now revolutionary targeted advertising model.
Also, Google doesn't need to succeed in each venture, and would be well off with even one big win, points out Devitt. "It could pay for all the other unsuccessful ventures and more," he says.
Still, as the company keeps on unveiling new directions, investors would be wise to keep in mind that the competitive forces it faces in entrenched markets are much different than the futuristic areas it excels in. And Google has yet to post a win against the old guard in its own back yard.


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What will the next chapter of the fashion system look like? In a market that’s been reshaped by the coronavirus pandemic, brands need to evolve their business models to adapt to the demands of a rapidly changing world. For the industry leaders and change-makers who gathered Thursday at VOICES, virtual fashion, sustainability, animal fur and inclusivity were all top of mind.
The State of Fashion 2022
Despite sporadic retail shutdowns and persistent travel restrictions due to the pandemic, 2021 saw the global fashion industry get back on its feet. Fashion sales are expected to reach 96 to 101 percent of 2019′s pre-coronavirus levels in 2021, according to the State of Fashion report released Thursday by The Business of Fashion and McKinsey.
The recovery has gone faster than predicted in last year’s report, which forecast fashion sales returning to 2019 levels only by the end of next year or even 2023. Now, McKinsey forecasts 3 to 8 percent growth over pre-pandemic levels in 2022.
It’s too soon to change those assumptions based on the emergence of the Omicron variant, McKinsey senior partner Achim Berg said. “We don’t know how it’s going to play out. The fashion industry has recovered faster than we expected, showing that things often don’t turn out as badly as they seem at first glance.”
Still, the rebound has masked diverging performance. Brands who were well-positioned to capture 2021′s rebound, due to expertise in e-commerce or a focus in winning categories, forged ahead, while others fell behind. A record 69 percent of fashion companies generated a negative economic profit this year.
Balenciaga Chief ‘Redefining Luxury’
It’s been a banner year for Balenciaga, which has roared out of the pandemic, reactivating its legacy in haute couture while forging ahead in digital fashion with a fashion video game of its own and a partnership with the gaming platform Fortnite.
“I often say we redefined luxury,” Cedric Charbit, the brand’s chief executive, said. “We became a platform where anything is possible.” Varied activations, from a special episode of The Simpsons to a couture exhibition at the Tank Museum in Shanghai demonstrate the “elasticity” of the brand, a key to its success, said Charbit.
Looking ahead, Charbit said he sees the metaverse as vital to the future of marketing and commerce as today’s consumers become more “active participants” in the brands they follow, announcing the formation of a new dedicated business unit. “Right now the climax of interaction with a luxury brand is that you click like, or comment or buy something,” he said. “I think we can get to a next level.”
Can Fashion Become Circular?
The fashion economy is decidedly linear: fibers are grown, harvested, spun into fabric and stitched into garments, which are then pushed out and sold, worn and discarded. “The way we make and use things accounts for 45 percent of greenhouse gasses and 90 percent of biodiversity loss,” said Dame Ellen Maccarthur, the record-breaking sailor and environmentalist, rallying the fashion industry to play its part to scale up non-linear alternatives.
She laid out a vision for an alternate “circular” economy where the life-cycle of garments is extended through better design, including more resilient, recyclable materials, and through systems at each stage of the value chain to facilitate items’ repair, reuse, and eventual transformation into something new.
That change would require a collective push by suppliers, designers, brands and retailers. “We need to work together to make this happen. You need the entire value chain in the room,” MacArthur said. That challenge is also an opportunity: circular business models including resale and rental are on track to become a $700 billion market representing 23 percent of the fashion industry by 2030, she said.
Elle Magazine Goes Fur-Free
Brands including Gucci, Chanel, Burberry, Valentino and Versace have all gone fur-free in recent years, with the entire Kering group following suite this fall. Fashion magazines have a role to play, too, as the imagery they produce helps to drive demand for the controversial material.
At VOICES, Valéria Bessolo Llopiz, senior vice president at Elle and Elle Deco, announced that the magazines would no longer print images of animal fur, with the policy applying to both advertisements and editorials. “Animal fur is no longer aligned with our values,” she said.
But PJ Smith, the Humane Society of the United States’ director of fashion policy, said that brands needed to look beyond eliminating fur alone if they want to tap into rising demand from consumers for fashion that is cruelty-free.
Major investments in materials innovation suggest that brands could move to replace exotic skins and eventually leather itself. “Alternatives are just getting better and better,” Smith said.
Tommy Hilfiger Foregrounds Inclusivity
Tommy Hilfiger, American designer and founder of the PVH-owned brand that bears his name, joined three of his recent collaborators on stage to talk about what makes cross-cultural fashion partnerships authentic.
In the 1980s and ‘90s, Hilfiger was at the forefront of brands engaging with the rap and hip-hop artists driving tastes in the emerging streetwear scene. He recalled pushing retailers to adopt the oversized cuts and big logos that helped shape the look of the era.
More recently, he’s turned his focus to “adaptive” fashion, working with models including Jillian Mercado to produced clothes that better suit the needs of differently-abled people. He has also collaborated with “Pose” star Indya Moore on a gender-fluid clothing line, and has regularly worked with Halima Aden, the barrier-breaking high-fashion model who wears a hijab. Mercado, Moore and Aden all joined Hilfiger on stage.
“It makes me upset seeing large companies not opening doors for the world,” said Hilfiger. There is a practical dimension to inclusivity, too. “The more people who can see themselves in your clothes, the more interest you’re going to get,” said Moore.


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It has not been a great year for Facebook—or for its reputation, at least.
The Federal Trade Commission announced last week that it is suing the tech giant for illegally maintaining a personal social networking monopoly, citing years of anticompetitive conduct, including the company’s 2012 acquisition of Instagram, its 2014 acquisition of WhatsApp, and the imposition of anticompetitive conditions on software developers. The FTC alleges that such conduct was part of Facebook’s strategy to eliminate threats to its monopoly, an illegal act that harms competition, deprives advertisers of the benefits of competition, and leaves consumers with fewer choices for social networking. This alleged monopolization has also resulted in massive profits for the company; Facebook generated revenues of more than $70 billion and profits of more than $18.5 billion in the last year alone.
If the FTC’s injunction is granted in court, Facebook may have to divest of its assets—Instagram and WhatsApp included—remove its anticompetitive conditions on software developers, and seek prior approval for future mergers and acquisitions.
It’s not solely Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp that has the FTC putting its lawyers to work. Its complaint alleges monopolistic behavior, citing that Facebook executives viewed Instagram as a threat soon after the platform appeared on the scene, at a time when consumers were switching from desktop computers to smartphones and were growing increasingly interested in photo sharing. The complaint also alleges that Facebook initially tried to compete with Instagram before choosing to purchase it instead—for $1 billion in April 2012.
According to the complaint, it was also around this time that Facebook recognized “over-the-top” mobile messaging apps as another serious threat to its power. Its decision to purchase, rather than compete with, WhatsApp in February 2014, for $19 billion—is further evidence of monopolistic behavior, the complaint alleges, as the purchase neutralized the competition and ensured that future threats would have a harder time gaining market share.
“It is better to buy than compete,” wrote Mark Zuckerberg in a 2008 email, according to the FTC lawsuit.
It’s worth noting that U.S. antitrust enforcers reviewed the Instagram and WhatsApp deals in 2012 and 2014, respectively, and made no attempts to stop them from happening. However, as Facebook’s reputation continues to take hits, and lawmakers tire of the antics of big tech companies, now seems an ideal time to pursue action against one of the biggest companies in Silicon Valley.
“Personal social networking is central to the lives of millions of Americans,” said Ian Conner, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, on its website. “Facebook’s actions to entrench and maintain its monopoly deny consumers the benefits of competition. Our aim is to roll back Facebook’s anticompetitive conduct and restore competition so that innovation and free competition can thrive.”
Facebook, for its part, published a post on its own website denouncing the lawsuit, claiming that the company does just fine in the face of competition. “We constantly evolve, innovate, and invest in better experiences for people against world-class competitors like Apple, Google, Twitter, Snap, Amazon, TikTok, and Microsoft,” wrote Jennifer Newstead, vice president and general counsel for Facebook. “We face competition in every aspect of our business. That was true before the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp and remains true today. With so many rivals, our customers can at any time choose to move to another product or service—and sometimes they do. The lawsuits ignore this reality.”
Newstead goes on to warn of the detriment to small businesses should Facebook be broken up, noting that 200 million businesses use its platform. Newstead also mentions the FTC’s previous approval of its two noted acquisitions, writing “many years later, with seemingly no regard for settled law or the consequences to innovation and investment, the agency is saying it got it wrong and wants a do-over. In addition to being revisionist history, this is simply not how the antitrust laws are supposed to work.”
A separate lawsuit to the FTC’s is being brought by 48 state attorneys general on similar grounds.Follow JCK on Instagram: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Twitter: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine


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Do Not Call Tops List of Consumer Complaints for June
By Space Coast Daily // July 2, 2014
12,420 Telephone Numbers to Florida’s Do Not Call List
ABOVE VIDEO: Consumer Services Commissioner Adam Putnam explains how to join the “Do Not Call List.”
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam announced today the top three complaints received in June 2014 at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services were regarding violators of the statewide Do Not Call List, fuel and cable.
The agency received 4,050 complaints in June.
In addition, there were 39,161 calls, 850 live online chats and 481 emails requesting consumer assistance and information. The top three calls to the agency’s 1-800-HELP-FLA hotline requesting information or assistance were related to cable companies, the solicitation of contributions from charities and the Do Not Call list.
In the past month, the department has responded to many consumer concerns and taken action against several individuals or businesses operating outside of Florida law. During the month of June, the agency:
- Initiated 159 investigations.
- Arrested five individuals.
- Recovered $628,476 on behalf of Florida consumers.
- Registered 7,043 businesses.
- Added 12,420 telephone numbers to Florida’s Do Not Call List. Currently, there are more than 675,000 numbers on the list.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is the state’s clearinghouse for consumer complaints, protection and information. The call center is staffed with trained analysts who can respond to questions about programs and regulations under the department’s purview, provide information on a wide variety of topics or direct callers to the appropriate government agency.
Consumers who believe fraud has taken place can contact the department’s consumer protection and information hotline at 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352).
For more information about the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, visit www.FreshFromFlorida.com.
ABOVE VIDEO: The FTC Explains how to recognize and report phone fraud and encourages consumers to register their number in the National Do Not Call Registry.


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A FORMER head of Ford’s Australian vehicle development team has heaped praise on the Australia-based research and development centre, saying it is increasingly being enlisted to help out with major projects.
Trevor Worthington, now heading up Ford’s development team in China as the product development vice-president for Ford Motor Company Asia Pacific, said the local outfit’s versatility and world-class engineers were increasingly being enlisted for major projects in the Asia-Pacific region. Worthington credited the Australian engineers with an ability to rapidly and efficiently switch between significantly different projects.
“One of the best things about that team and Australian engineers – whether they are working for Ford or not – is that Australian engineers are very adaptable,”he said. “They’re a team of people that could one day be working on a small car then the next day a truck.”
In 2013, Ford said its Broadmeadows and You Yangs-based R&D units would live on beyond the loss of local manufacturing. While Worthington couldn’t detail any current projects – one is believed to be the Ford Ranger-based 2020 Ford Bronco – he said the China-market Escort was a good example of the Australian centre proving its skills, and ensured it had plenty of future work.
And while locally designed and built vehicles are now a fading memory, Worthington said the expertise gained from home-grown cars was being fed into the next generation of models built overseas.
“There’s no doubt that as the Falcon and Territory business wound down …there was a level of expertise that was developed on those products that we were then able to employ onto Ranger to make Ranger the great global product of 180 markets that it is today,” he said.
Worthington compared the ‘universality’of Australian engineers to the resourcefulness and ingenuity of Australian farmers and businesses. “Farmers in Australia don’t have a lot of money but they’ve got to be able to fix stuff. Businesses in Australia might not have a lot of money but they’ve got to get the job done,” he said. “I’m not going to go for the premium solution, I’m going to find the solution that works. And that is a very good model for delivering value product development and value products in global markets.”
Last year, just shy of 29 million cars were sold in China, with demand making a viable case for Chinese market-only models. However, Australia’s unique requirements often meant some vehicles developed for the Chinese market did not make the cut for an introduction here. “The problem with Australia is that it’s right-hand drive and it’s a diesel market, and China is a left-hand drive petrol market,” Worthington said. “The regulations are different and the government rules are different.”
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