text:
2014 was quite a newsmaker, wasn't it?
The last 12 months have yielded a tapestry of highs and lows that have set the tone for 2015, changed the landscape of the technology business, and — in some cases — fundamentally altered the way news is made and reported. Take catastrophic hacks like Sony and Celebgate, for example, that have forced hard conversations about the ethics of hack coverage. Deadly police encounters across the United States have opened deep wounds and brought race relations to the forefront. Or look at Gamergate, which sparked a heated (and sometimes dangerous) dialogue about the way women are represented in gaming.
It wasn't all doom and gloom, though: 2014 brought us the most focused and fascinating push for wearable computing in history, and an unstoppable Taylor Swift released the most explosively popular album in ages.
As another year draws to a close, let's have a look back at what's brought us here.
Eric Garner; John Crawford; Michael Brown; Ezell Ford; Tamir Rice.
These are just a few of the names of black people killed by police on American streets — most of them unarmed, some of them teenagers as young as 12 years old, some of them left face-down in the middle of the street for hours. And they are on the minds of many Americans who have stood up across the country in sadness and outrage over a long history of brutal police tactics that have wrongly claimed the lives of many before them. Their deaths have sparked nationwide protests by people of all political and social stripes who are demanding police reform and telling the world that black lives matter. With the power of Twitter, Instagram, and other platforms, people across the United States are still organizing and marching for change.
In the wake of Michael Brown’s shooting at the hands of a Missouri police officer, Americans also witnessed another dark side of the growing police state: the rapid militarization of local police across the country. In Ferguson, the world watched as heavily armed police in battle dress and body armor used tear gas and sound weapons to suppress largely peaceful demonstrations. In response, some changes may be rapidly approaching; President Obama announced funding for 50,000 police body cameras, and will conduct a review of military gear flowing to America’s police departments.
Legal weed makes big strides
On January 1st, Colorado made history by becoming the first state in the US to allow for the sale of marijuana for recreational use, and in just four months, pot sales exceeded more than $200 million. Washington followed suit in July, and just last month, citizens in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington, DC voted in favor of joining them.
It’s been a landmark year for marijuana law reform; more than half of US states now provide some sort of protection for marijuana use through decriminalization or legal medical use — and that number is expected to grow in the years to come. And though it’s still a Schedule I substance under Federal law, Congress has made strides in protecting state-level cannabis programs.
A majority of Americans continue to support pot legalization, and even those who don’t agree that legal weed is inevitable. Think about it: we now live in a world where someone can offer a sitting US President a toke.
Somewhere, Afroman is smiling.
No story in 2014 represented a more violent collision between technology and pop culture than "Celebgate." Hundreds of private, often nude photos of celebrities including Jennifer Lawrence, Kirsten Dunst, and Kate Upton were stolen and leaked onto the internet, with users on Reddit, 4chan, and other sites rapidly redistributing and republishing them.
The series of leaks were shocking in their scale, but the real reason Celebgate dominated mainstream conversation in September was because it touched on several major topical issues facing the internet and the world: the frequently reprehensible attitude toward women online (see also: Gamergate), data and security risks in the age of the cloud, and the right to privacy, to name but three.
If there was a bright side to what was an all-around ugly story, it came in the robust responses of stars like Lawrence, the general outpouring of sympathy rather than the widespread victim-blaming we’d come to expect, and companies like Apple making belated efforts to shore up their security under a harsh, revealing spotlight. Celebgate exposed the dank corners of the internet to a wider audience — an audience that may now take more serious steps to protect themselves from such appalling invasions of privacy in the future.
It took many months for the Western world to take notice of the devastation caused by the Ebola virus in West Africa. As a result, more than 6,000 people died, and this year’s outbreak became the largest ever recorded. Yet, even as Ebola remained concentrated in three West African countries — Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone — many in the US reacted in fear.
This year’s outbreak became the largest ever recorded
For instance, when a man traveling from Liberia, Thomas Duncan, became the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the US, people of African descent were faced with immense discrimination. Later, when Duncan died and an American doctor returning from Africa was diagnosed in New York, politicians fought over the implementation of flight restrictions that, had they been stricter, would have made it harder for healthcare workers to travel abroad, and would have lead to more infections worldwide.
Thankfully, not everyone took part in the panic. Healthcare workers and researchers the world over worked tirelessly to treat Ebola patients. Despite the dangers of their job, they provided patients with fluids and reassurance, all while trying to develop vaccines, drugs, and enhanced testing protocols that could help reduce the number of deaths. Now, as the year draws to an end, an Ebola vaccine is still a long way off, and many believe that the outbreak will continue well into 2015.
The smartwatch wars
Smartwatches weren’t a new thing in 2014, but this was the year when the big players threw their hats into the ring.
This summer, Google launched Android Wear, a version of its mobile operating system designed specifically for watches. Android Wear is very powerful — it lets you do a lot of things just from your wrist — but like the first versions of Android for smartphones, it has a number of usability and reliability issues. Many of Google’s smartphone partners launched their first Android Wear watches this year, including Motorola, Samsung, LG, and Asus, but none have yet taken off in the same way that smartphones have.
In the fall, Apple announced its long-awaited smartwatch, the Apple Watch. It acts as a companion to the iPhone and has many of the same features and concepts as Google’s efforts, but it’s wrapped in a more elegant shell. It’ll also have much of the iOS developer community behind it, which is a major advantage. Apple isn’t actually selling the Watch until next year — and there are still many unknowns — but just the fact that it exists has put smartwatches on the minds of many more people.
The last seven years have seen Apple and Google go to war on smartphones and tablets, but if 2014 is any indication, the next fight will be on your wrist.
High drama for cord-cutters
Some dreams were shattered, other dreams were made. 2014 was a rocky, high-stakes year for everyone hoping to watch all of their TV online, but it looks like cord-cutters may ultimately be coming out the winners.
The decisive internet TV story of 2014 was the fall of Aereo. Aereo used what appeared to be a legal loophole to offer online streams of broadcast TV, and it very much felt like the future. That’s why, for cord-cutters, it was a dramatic moment when the Supreme Court ruled that Aereo violated copyright law, instantly dealing a fatal blow to the company. But while it seemed to be a decision that might only stifle innovation, it turned out that broadcasters were listening.
Cord-cutters’ dreams are starting to come true
Now, cord-cutters’ dreams really are starting to come true: in October, CBS launched an internet TV service, becoming the first major broadcaster to do so; HBO has announced plans to offer an online service beginning next year; and Showtime is supposed to move online in the near future, too. There’s also a chance that internet TV providers could also have a big year in 2015, thanks to a potential FCC rule change giving them a major jump start. So yes, Aereo may be dead. But going into 2015, things are actually looking up.
Microsoft gets a new boss — and a new game plan
When we look back at Microsoft’s future successes or failures, 2014 will be a defining year in the company’s history. Satya Nadella — a 22-year-veteran server and enterprise guy at Microsoft — was appointed to replace Steve Ballmer as CEO in February, and he didn’t take long to make his mark. With a focus on cloud and mobile computing, Nadella has transformed Microsoft’s strategy in an attempt to rival the modern tactics of its competitors. It all started in March when Office for iPad finally debuted, and throughout the year Microsoft hasn’t been scared to make big bets.
Nadella made Windows and Windows Phone free of charge for devices with screens smaller than 9 inches, a sign that he was going after Android. Smartphone and tablet makers haven’t flocked to the platform as a result, but it’s the first time Microsoft has made Windows free at such a large scale. That was quickly followed by a decision to cancel the launch of a small Surface Mini; Microsoft chose to launch the Surface Pro 3 by itself, aligning its efforts around a productivity-focused tablet. The company’s latest earnings show that Nadella’s move might have been a wise one, as Surface revenue is starting to rise.
2014 will be a defining year in Microsoft's history
2014 also saw Microsoft morph from a software giant into a hardware giant. A $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia’s phone business means Microsoft now controls over 90 percent of all Windows Phone devices in a continued struggle for mobile. The company also surprised many with the launch of the Microsoft Band, a wearable fitness device that tracks a variety of health data from your wrist. While health and fitness emerged as a focus area for Microsoft, it also gave up on bundling its Kinect accessory with the Xbox One. Aggressive prices are also helping close the gap against Sony’s impressive PlayStation 4 sales.
But Microsoft certainly hasn’t given up on software. Android and iOS apps have been flowing steadily from Redmond, and Microsoft’s biggest surprise of the year was making Office for mobile free to use on both platforms. Coupled with a Dropbox and Office partnership, Microsoft appears to be embracing rival platforms, services, and even open source software to improve its own offerings.
Big phones are in
From their very beginning, smartphones have adhered to the maxim that bigger is better. Screen sizes grow as quickly as the underlying technology is able to move, and every year adds another few millimeters to the average smartphone’s width and height. 2014 marks the apogee of this trend with almost every flagship Android phone having a 5-inch screen or above and even Apple’s iPhone growing significantly. Apple was the last remaining holdout with its 4-inch iPhone 5S, but in 2014 it embraced the "bigger than bigger" tagline and introduced 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 models that conclusively sealed the fate of smaller handsets as secondary or budget options.
If you’re buying the best phone today, you’ll have to buy one of the biggest. Large phones are now a fact of life rather than a niche extreme for the most enthusiastic. This change has been fueled partly by the advantages the bigger size provides: neat extras like higher-resolution screens, larger batteries, and optical stabilization for the camera can be built in more easily when there’s more room, and a lot of consumers have opted for them over the compactness of a smaller device. But just as important is the rising tide of wearable smart devices that act as companions and occasional replacements for the smartphone. Android Wear smartwatches handle notifications and a few basic tasks without requiring you to pull your phone out of your pocket, and Apple’s Watch promises to do the same for iPhone owners.
The idea of using a large smartphone on a daily basis has never been as widely accepted as it is today. Better software and smart hardware accessories are offsetting the ergonomic sacrifice of the big size and people continue to respond positively to the "more everything" mantra. There is a logical limit to all this expansion, however, and 2015 looks set to be the year when smartphones finally stop growing and start evolving in subtler ways.
The fight for net neutrality
2014 was the year that net neutrality died… and lived… and ended up in limbo. At the start of the year, the 2010 Open Internet Order — a rule that prevented ISPs from blocking or discriminating against sites and services — was struck down in court. Federal Communications Commission chairman Tom Wheeler scrambled to replace it, but his new plan was met with suspicion. Net neutrality’s opponents wouldn’t have supported any rule, and others worried that a loophole would let ISPs offer "fast lanes" to companies that paid more. Exacerbating the matter, Comcast announced a bid to acquire Time Warner Cable, potentially putting over than half the US broadband market in the hands of one company.
Net neutrality caught the public eye in a way it never had before, drawing protests and a record-breaking 3.7 million comments to the FCC. Even President Barack Obama weighed in, coming out in favor of reclassifying broadband under stricter laws. But while the FCC was supposed to vote on new rules by the end of the year, the issue turned out to be too complicated; we’re now hoping for a final decision early in 2015.
The meteoric, controversial rise of Uber
There are many ways you could chronicle Uber’s controversial, seemingly unstoppable rise in 2014, but here’s the one that might matter most: since it launched its ride-sharing platform in San Francisco, the number of taxi rides taken there has plunged 65 percent. That’s how fast, cheap, easy, and (usually) safe the service is — most of us would rather use the app than wave a hand at a passing car. If Uber has proven one thing this year, it’s that convenience is king — and its explosive growth continues unabated, despite an endless series of management issues that would leave less useful companies in a ditch.
You can like it, or you can learn to live with it — Uber looks to become the most valuable company of its generation
A partial recap of Uber in 2014: moves that seemingly encouraged surge pricing to customers’ detriment; coldly pledging to replace its drivers with autonomous vehicles at the earliest opportunity; arming street teams with credit cards and burner phones to recruit its competitors’ drivers, resulting in more than 5,000 canceled Lyft rides; regularly misleading drivers about the amount of pay they can expect to take home; casually threatening an anti-Uber journalist with a smear campaign; tracking another journalist using a feature called "God View"; promising to become a "more humble company," then opening in Portland without permission a day later; and getting sued by two California cities over charges that it misleads customers about driver background checks.
And yet few of us have stopped using Uber, because we’ve already forgotten what it was like to live in a world without quick, cheap transportation to wherever we wanted to go. The company is now in 52 countries, and was recently valued at $40 billion. You can like it, or you can learn to live with it — Uber looks to become the most valuable company of its generation.
"Actually, it’s about ethics in games journalism."
That’s the rallying cry of Gamergate, variously described as a "consumer revolt," a misogynist hate group, or a loose but incredibly vocal aggregation of people upset about progressive politics and close ties between game developers and journalists.
The roots of Gamergate reach back to August, when the ex-boyfriend of game developer Zoe Quinn accused her of infidelity. Some of Quinn’s detractors, who already hated her non-traditional text game Depression Quest, speculated that she’d started affairs to get good press, and that this was only one of many conflicts of interest in games journalism. There wasn’t any meat to that particular claim, but it came at the same time as a backlash to feminist critic Anita Sarkeesian, creator of a video series about women in games. The situation quickly turned into a full-blown online culture war, with self-described "gamers" fighting social progressives and news outlets with boycott campaigns and deluges of angry messages.
If this sounds like any number of insular, convoluted internet fights, it is. But Gamergate has been astonishing in its longevity and vitriol, especially towards a handful of women (including Quinn) who left home after receiving violent, targeted threats. It’s reached beyond gaming to become a battle over the future of feminism and online communities, and while it’s calmed down significantly, the movement shows no signs of disappearing any time soon.
ISIS' campaign of terror
ISIS wasn’t terrifying only because of its brutality. It was the fact that the brutality was seemingly everywhere: on TV, and on Twitter, and on YouTube. What’s worse, it was all orchestrated to happen exactly that way.
This year, the militant group’s propaganda arm churned out high-quality recruitment videos to grow its ranks. Members used a dedicated app to automatically post violent images to social media, artificially inflating their numbers before strikes to give themselves an edge against the Iraqi army. A Photoshopped image of a militant next to the phrase "Baghdad, we are coming" spread across social media. The tactics seemed to work: soldiers fled their posts as ISIS continued its planned takeover of the Middle East.
And the violence only escalated from there. After the group beheaded journalist James Foley, its members uploaded the footage online. Although companies worked to take down the gruesome video, it had its effect: stills from the footage quickly appeared on news sites and papers across the world.
The campaign, months later, is seemingly without end. Facebook groups have organized been organized to continue recruitment. More beheadings, dutifully recorded, have appeared.
A banner year for security, or lack thereof
Everything seemed to be breaking this year. In the early months, a nasty bug called Backoff started stealing credentials from register-side card readers, hitting Target, Home Depot and PF Chang’s along with half dozen other major retailers. By the time the dust settled, the damage was into the hundreds of millions — and that was just the beginning. Researchers found major holes in the basic protocols that keep the web secure: first Heartbleed, then Shellshock, then Poodle. Then, in November, the attack on Sony Pictures gave us the messiest and meanest corporate leak in living memory. Taken together, it’s been an important and painful wakeup call — we need to get past passwords, and get smarter about storing data.
Apple buys Beats
A company spending $3 billion to acquire a startup these days doesn’t seem like the type of news that would send shockwaves throughout multiple industries, but when Apple is dropping that type of cash, all bets are off.
Back in May, news broke that Apple was on the verge of acquiring Beats Electronics — the company co-founded by legendary producer Dr. Dre that turned headphones into a fashion staple and created a music streaming service with an artist-first mentality. The price was intriguing — before Beats, Apple had never exceeded the $1 billion mark while acquiring another company — but it wasn’t the cause of the stunned reaction.
Apple’s iTunes had saved the music industry nearly 15 years ago after it was brought to its knees by rampant pirating. The company essentially announced another shift was coming with the acquisition of Beats, and more importantly its streaming service Beats Music. The deal signified Apple had finally realized iTunes was no longer enough, and the age of the iPod was over. Streaming is here to stay, and bringing in longtime industry veterans like Dr. Dre, former Interscope CEO Jimmy Iovine and Trent Reznor would help ease that transition.
With music sales on the decline and reports indicating Apple may integrate Beats Music with iTunes next year, the question is: can Apple save the music industry once again?
The push for commercial drones intensifies
It was exactly one year ago this month that Amazon announced it was hard at work on its own fleet of delivery drones, elevating an idea that had been techno-fantasy to an R&D project backed by Jeff Bezos’ billions and a friendly promotional video. This past summer, Google announced it was pursuing the same goal, and had been actively testing delivery drones in the Australian Outback. With two of tech’s biggest names pushing forward, and the FAA expected to unveil its rules for commercial drone flight over the US in 2015, it seemed the stage was set for the birth of a fascinating new industry.
Drones will be a much more common sight
Unfortunately, as so often happens with government, regulators are not prepared to keep pace with technology. Testifying before Congress, the FAA is now saying it may not be ready to allow commercial drone flight — aside from some limited tests — until 2017. It also hinted that all commercial drone operators will need to be licensed, meaning autonomous unmanned flights are unlikely anytime in the near future. It has granted permission for a handful of companies to begin outdoor testing of commercial drones, but none of them are working on home delivery.
In response, Amazon is threatening to take its tests overseas. The idea of American companies being forced to move innovation abroad got Congress in a huff, and recent comments from the FAA indicate that would like to avoid that embarrassment. 2015, in other words, is shaping up to be a year of intense debate, with the future of commercial drones still very much up in the air. But even if the FAA punts on this issue, expect drones to become a much more common sight. Cheaper, more powerful units are flooding the consumer market, just in time for your Christmas shopping.
The highs and lows of spaceflight
Commercial spaceflight looked promising for a while. It blossomed under a lax regulatory environment after Congress passed the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act in 2004. Space tourists were treated as thrill-seekers.
In August, SpaceX’s Falcon9 Dev 1 test vehicle exploded during a test launch. Then, within a week, two different private aerospace companies had serious accidents. Orbital Science’s uncrewed Antares rocket, meant to deliver supplies to the International Space Station, exploded after launch on October 28th. Three days later, Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo disintegrated, killing a test pilot. Political tensions between the US and Russia have been particularly acute this year, and NASA suspended its contract with Russia because of the Ukraine crisis. That places more pressure on homegrown companies, which clearly aren’t ready for primetime.
Each crash happened for a different reason. Orbital had been using old technology — a refurbished engine built in the 1960s for the Soviet moon program. Virgin Galactic was using new technology; its crash may have been due to a mixture of pilot and mechanical error, the NTSB has said. The investigation is ongoing, but a too-aggressive timetable for putting tourists in space may also be responsible. There is some good news, though. NASA’s new Orion spacecraft, designed to go farther into space than anyone’s been in 30 years, had a test flight in December that went off beautifully. Let’s hope 2015 holds more similarly successful launches.
Taylor Swift ascendant
It was hard not to cringe at the headline: "For Taylor Swift, The Future of Music is a Love Story." It was even harder not to regard the thesis of Swift’s Wall Street Journal op-ed — that fans will continue to purchase albums from and otherwise fill the pockets of the musicians whose music hits them "like an arrow to the heart" — with a gigantic paper-airplane-shaped crystal of Himalayan pink salt. But this was all back in July, and we should have known that it would all end up being a foreshadowing of Swift’s single-handed domination of the music industry for the rest of the year.
It wasn’t enough that her fifth studio album, 1989, was the best-selling album of 2014, or that it had the biggest opening sales week since 2002, or that Swift became the first artist to have three albums in a row go platinum in the week they were released. Her self-described "first documented official pop album" became the mechanism by which Swift Industries could fully realize itself — from her canny, highly strategic relationship with the press and paparazzi, to her surprise decision to exert her economic clout by completely withdrawing her music from Spotify. Taylor Swift was already an international superstar, but in 2014 she became a vertically-integrated industry of personality.
Tim Cook comes out while gay marriage becomes the law of the land
Same-sex marriage in America made huge strides this year, both legally and socially. By November, same-sex couples in 35 states could marry. Meanwhile, support for it is trending up across the country and in all age groups, with more than 50 percent of respondents in a recent Gallup poll saying they were in favor. By now, it’s nearly inevitable that same-sex marriage will achieve widespread acceptance in the US.
This seismic shift spread to the tech world when Apple CEO Tim Cook came out in a Bloomberg Businessweek editorial in October. "So let me be clear," he said. "I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me." While Apple has long celebrated diversity, Cook happens to be a gay man in charge of one of the most important companies in the world. His coming out was a watershed moment for tech and culture at large, and helps show the progress we’ve made as a society.
Correction: The article originally stated that Taylor Swift was the first artist to have three albums in a row go platinum; in fact, she was the first artist to have three albums go platinum in the same week they were released. The article has been updated accordingly.


text:
It took nearly 45 minutes, multiple demos and several product announcements before a woman appeared on the stage at Apple's iPhone 6s event Wednesday. And it was another 15 minutes before a female Apple employee was included in the presentation.
Like most things in Silicon Valley, Apple's iPhone, iPad, Watch and Apple TV event was dominated by white men, once again illustrating the tech industry's problems when it comes to including women and people of Hispanic and African-American descent.
Irene Walsh, head of design at app creator 3D4Medical, broke the streak of male presenters when she hopped on stage at San Francisco's Bill Graham Civic Auditorium to demonstrate her company's software on the iPad Pro, which was announced Wednesday.
Viewers had to wait another 15 minutes before a female Apple employee was finally given a chance to take the stage. That honor went to Jen Folse, Apple's senior design producer, who used her stage time to demo the new Apple TV. It was another 15 minutes before the Apple event featured the next woman, this time Michelle Peluso, CEO of Gilt, who showed how her designer merchandise company's app will work on the new Apple TV.
For every four men who took the stage, one woman was included in the event, which is pretty par for the course in Silicon Valley employment. Apple, for example, has a gender breakdown of 69 percent male and 31 percent female.
Adding insult to injury, Adobe Director of Design Eric Snowden offended many viewers during his demo when he adjusted the face of a woman in one of his designs to "give her a little bit more of a smile."
A stage full of men just demoed an app where one of those men made a woman smile.
— Jamelle Bouie (@jbouie) September 9, 2015
women in tech pic.twitter.com/RJO45sCT21
— Michelle Rial (@TheRialMichelle) September 9, 2015
Funny how 3/4 of an hour into their rally, the 1st woman Apple shows on screen is an image model who needs help "fixing" her smile.
— Shawn Benjamin (@shawncbc) September 9, 2015
On the downside, even Apple told a woman to smile. Will it ever stop for us?
— alex beauchamp (@alexthegirl) September 9, 2015
Capping off the event's lack of diversity, few minorities took the stage, and it appears that few if any of the presenters were Hispanic or African-American, which are the two ethnic groups that are typically the least represented in the tech industry. Hispanic people make up 11 percent of Apple's workforce while African-Americans account for 8 percent. Surprisingly, Apple's numbers represent the greatest diversity in the industry despite falling below how the numbers play out in the overall U.S. population.

domain: news


text:
Welcome to the seventh edition of Credo Crunch, the investing insights newsletter. Giving you the information you need to keep your investing on track.
“Small actions repeated consistently over a long period of time is the most effective and reliable way to bring about change. Incremental change is short-term boring, but long-term exciting.” - Carl Richards
(Pricing as of August 8, 2021 9:00 PM EST)
|S&P 500||7.42% Gain|
|Total Stock Market||0.11% Gain|
News and Notes
New Community Now Live! - The Credo Community has been completely rebuilt and is ready for members. We are opening up membership to our newsletter subscribers first. Membership is free for our current subscribers, so sign up now Continue Reading…
Watch List: Boston Beer Company - A new addition to the watch list is Boston Beer (SAM). A craft beer, hard cider, and hard seltzer company. Brand include; Samuel Adams, Angry Orchard, Twisted Tea, Truly, and Dogfish Head.
The market recently took a big reaction to the last quarterly report. SAM came in way under for their guidance. Specifically in the sales on hard seltzer Continue Reading…
Ethereum just activated a major change called the ‘London hard fork’ — here’s why it’s a big deal - Ethereum’s much-hyped and somewhat controversial “London” hard fork has just activated.
So far, news of the successful upgrade has coincided with a runup in the price of ether, the native token of ethereum’s blockchain. The cryptocurrency is at $2,620, up 3.9% in the last 24 hours.
A big part of the enthusiasm has to do with the fact that the software upgrade means a few big — and necessary — changes are coming to the code underpinning the world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency. Continue Reading…
Upcoming Earnings Reports
- August 9, 2021 - DDD - 3D Systems Corp
- August 9, 2021 - API - Agora Inc
- August 9, 2021 - APPF - AppFolio Inc
- August 9, 2021 - TTD - Trade Desk Inc
- August 10, 2021 - JAMF - Jamf Holding Corp
- August 10, 2021 - CSPR - Casper Sleep Inc
- August 11, 2021 - HIMS - Hims & Hers Health Inc
- August 11, 2021 - FOSL - Fossil Group Inc
- August 12, 2021 - ABNB - Airbnb Inc
- August 12, 2021 - DIS - Walt Disney Co
- August 13, 2021 - CMAX - Caremax Inc
Want to get this information sent right to your inbox? Join the newsletter to stay up to date.


text:
- Chris Nerney: Yahoo talks with Alibaba collapse; shares plummet [ITworld]
- NewNet bets on WiMax business abandoned by Motorola [ITworld]
- HP's first ARM servers available soon [ITworld]
- 5 percent of techies would trade their spouse for a telecommute [ITworld]
- Dan Tynan: Who's tracking the Web trackers? [ITworld]
- Cisco predicts mobile data use will increase 18-fold by 2016 [ITworld]
- FBI's social media monitoring won't violate your rights, says FBI [ITworld]
- BitTorrent creator aims to kill TV as we know it [ITworld]
- Peter Smith: Is Sony's Vita OS the basis of a future smartphone? [ITworld]
Plus: Who tracks the trackers?
Morning countdown: Want a new phone? Sprint doesn't want you to waitNext Post
Morning countdown: The PlayBook OS update nobody's been waiting for
A boom in wireless security cameras is inspiring a movement in DIY home surveillance. Follow our buying...
These 13 tools and techniques prove that, when it comes to coding, laziness is a virtue
Analysts today gave mixed reviews to Microsoft's new security model for its Edge browser.
A drone alone can't make 'last-mile' home delivery scale. But robots can. Here's how.
Check out this roundup of the best deals on gadgets, gear and other cool stuff we have found this week,...
Without careful forethought, you will miss out on critical new insights


text:
The Switzerland Stock Exchange (SIX) published its trading numbers today for October 2021. According to the report, its trading turnover reached CHF 92.6 billion, which is 14.1% down from the previous month, while the number of transactions dropped by 6.2% to a total of 4,853,176.
The report revealed that securities valued at CHF 5.6 billion changed hands on October 29, which was the highest volume for a single day. In addition, 277,862 trades were recorded on October 1, the day with the highest number. NESTLE N generated the most turnover with CHF 7.5 billion during the reporting month, followed by ROCHE GS with 270,441 transactions. At the end of the month, the SMI® had risen by 4.0% and reached 12,108.2 points.
A trading turnover of CHF 803.8 million was recorded in October for products with cryptocurrencies as underlyings. 34,651 transactions were concluded involving 115 products. With CHF 93.8 million in turnover and 3,398 trades, ETPs ABTC on Bitcoin and AETH on Ethereum had the highest turnover and transactions in October.
Safle’s CEO Abhimanyu Kashyap on Creating Frictionless ExperiencesGo to article >>
SIX June Metrics
In the metrics for June, the total trading turnover on the exchange hit CHF 113.7 billion, which is 21.1% more than in May, while transactions grew by 5.1% to a total of 4,786,124. Overall, SIX witnessed a trading turnover that reached CHF 694.5 billion with 33,654,356 transactions. At that time, the SMI® index set its benchmark at 11,942.7 points at the end of June, which is an increase of 5.1% in a month-over-month reading. Additionally, there were 311,612 trades made on June 18, the most trades made on any given day. With a turnover of CHF 11.4 billion, ROCHE GS had the highest turnover during the reporting month.
The stock with the highest turnover for that period was ROCHE GS, which saw CHF 11.4 billion exchanging hands at SIX. Moreover, assets with cryptos hit a trading turnover of CHF 377.3 million with 20,602 trades. As well, during that same period, the most traded crypto-related product was ZXBTAV, which brought in CHF 575 million.


text:
As streaming platforms evolved throughout the year, many leaders in the industry set their sights on ways to monetize their content beyond subscription fees and ad sales.
For instance, Disney+ is reportedly looking into launching shopping options on its streaming service, as Rita Ferro, president of global advertising at The Walt Disney Company, told Variety earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Amazon, has already made moves in that direction, offering recommendations of other products and services through its Prime Video X-Ray feature. Its X-Ray shopping feature is currently only available on select titles including “Making the Cut,” “Wonder Woman 1984” and Savage x Fenty. Shopping options are also available on NFL games through Amazon’s Fire TV device.
Additionally, the company is expanding into more shopping-focused content. In September, Amazon Prime Video streamed the “The Victoria’s Secret World Tour,” a “re-imagined fashion show,” accompanied by a tour-inspired collection available for sale along with the show’s release. Streaming the show reveals a “Shop the Collection” button directly from the Prime Video app, including “Shop the Look” prompts set to the scene the consumer is viewing at that moment.
Indeed, a significant share of connected device users is open to being presented with shopping opportunities as they stream content, according to PYMNTS Intelligence’s “How We Will Pay Report: How Connected Devices Enable Multitasking Among Digital-First Consumers,” which drew from a survey of more than 4,600 U.S. consumers.
Specifically, 1 in 3 respondents reported that they would be interested in the following internet-connected buying experience: “You are watching your favorite livestreamed series on your iPad or mobile device, and you want to buy an item of clothing or piece of jewelry that you see on one of the actors in the series. You are able to touch the screen to go to the product page and make the purchase.” Plus, 5% said they already do this.
Shopping is not the only monetizable activity that streaming services have been setting their sights on this year. Gaming is also a valuable opportunity not only to boost the time consumers spend on a given streaming platform, but also possibly to capture users’ in-game spending, with extras and add-ons.
On Netflix’s most recent earnings call, co-CEO Greg Peters highlighted the “huge entertainment opportunity,” citing the figure of “about $140 billion worth of consumer spend on games outside of China and outside of Russia.” Disney+, too, is looking into gaming, as Ferro shared in that same interview with Variety.
In addition to in-game purchases, there are further opportunities for video game monetization, such as integrating real-world purchasing opportunities. The same “How We Will Pay Report” found that 26% of consumers would be interested in a shopping experience wherein “you are playing a video game on your mobile device and buy a real product that is automatically shipped to your home and charged to your account on file.” Additionally, 5% already do this.


text:
February 5, 2018360Contact:
Cajun Food Tours
Lafayette, LA, Jan. 31, 2018 – Cajun Food Tours, with its bright orange tour bus, has been rolling through Acadiana since the summer of 2012 and celebrated its...
January 29, 2018425LAKE CHARLES, La.—Crying Eagle Brewing Company announced that its four flagship brews—Hop Blooded IPA, Louisiana Lager, Pistol Bridge Porter, and Ready to Mingle—are now available in retail stores, bars and restaurants in the Greater New Orleans Area.
The Lake Charles brewery has made its mark on the craft beer industry with...


text:
This is perhaps the most ludicrous piece of legislation any state legislature could waste its efforts on during these troubling economic phase in our history
Montgomery, AL (Vocus) April 22, 2010
The smoking ban for all Alabama restaurants currently being considered by state representatives is discriminatory, will cost jobs and tax revenues and is unnecessary, says the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association which labeled the legislation as ‘ludicrous.’
Senate Bill 541, which proposes to ban smoking in all restaurants throughout the state, passed the Alabama Senate last week, is currently being reviewed by the House and is expected to be voted on during the last night of the session on April 22.
“This is perhaps the most ludicrous piece of legislation any state legislature could waste its efforts on during these troubling economic phase in our history,” said Chris McCalla, legislative director of the IPCPR, a not-for-profit organization that represents some 2,000 tobacconists and small business owners throughout the United States.
McCalla went on to explain his position.
“First, when government takes away from restaurant owners their right to decide how to run their business, it is exceeding its authority and acting unconstitutionally. It is attacking the rights of smokers and non-smokers, alike. Second, business suffers and jobs are lost under legislated smoking bans. That was proven by the Federal Reserve Bank based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Third, safe levels of secondhand smoke have been set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and they are 25,000 safer than air quality levels normally found in bars and restaurants that allow smoking.”
According to McCalla, many of the IPCPR’s retail members sell their premium tobacco products to restaurants who, in turn, sell them to their customers. To ban smoking in restaurants throughout the state will severely reduce these sales which will translate into reduced excise, sales, and business income tax revenues for the state of Alabama, he said.
“And the saddest part of all of this is that it is so unnecessary,” McCalla said. “Secondhand smoke air quality testing by groups like Johns Hopkins and the American Cancer Society shows that health claims are greatly exaggerated and that secondhand smoke levels in restaurants are up to 25,000 times safer than OSHA workplace air quality regulations. Additionally, it has been proven that the effect of legislated smoking bans is near fatal to businesses, jobs, and our economy as a whole.”
McCalla urged Alabama voters to contact their representatives and urge them to vote against the unnecessary smoking ban and for legislation that would save jobs and promote business statewide.


text:
YG Stage announce this special offer of Sandara Park x Kang Seungyoon Behind-the-Scenes ~
The 7-Days Behind-The-Scenes release from their Pygmalion shoot last year!
Thank you to WeLoveDara for this pictures!
[Osen=Chou Nayoung, Reporter] Sandara and Kang Seungyoon stepped up as heroine and hero for YG’s monumental pictorial shoot.
In the evening of 27th, Sandara and Kang Seungyoon made a surprise reveal of their photoshoot by posting a video of them at the shoot via ‘Livestory’ feature of ‘SNOW’, a communication app.


text:
Vancouver’s Mojio, developers of a connected car platform, have raised an $8 million Series A round of funding, led by Telekom Capital, the investment arm of Deutsche Telekom, with an assist from Relay Ventures, BDC and AOL co-founder Steve Case.
Steve Case first connected with Mojio while watching them pitch at a Google For Entrepreneurs demo day last April, after which Case surprised the company with a spontaneous $100,000 contribution.
While many have been skeptical of a relatively small player like Mojio’s ability to competed in the connected car market, with Google’s Android Auto and Apple’s CarPlay platforms in the mix, this international validation goes a long way to ensuring that Mojio has a solid future in the rapidly growing automotive space.
Deutsche Telekom only recently launched Telekom Capital, a 500 million Euro global venture capital fund.
“This investment is the first outside of Europe for our latest fund. It fits right at the heart of what we are looking for: a scalable open platform addressing a gigantic market. We look forward to supporting Mojio in every possible way,” said Telekom Capital CEO Vicente Vento.
Mojio’s product, a cellular device that plugs into the on-board diagnostic (OBD) port of a car, unlocks the data of any automobile built after 1995, most of which feature an OBD port, and connects it to the internet. One the device is plugged in, the car owner can then access the car’s data via an app.
The open-platform nature of Mojio’s device means that it now has over 500 developers working on developing applications.
“At Mojio we strive to deliver a continuous and ever-expanding relationship with our customers. Fundamentally, that is completely missing in today’s car ownership experience and is no surprise when nearly every car on the road is severed from the Internet,” said Mojio CEO Jay Giraud. “With the strong support of Telekom Capital, we can now bring our vision for the Internet of Cars to drivers around the world.”
Mojio previously raised a $2.3 million seed funding round in October 2013, from Relay Ventures and BDC.
This new funding round will go towards fueling Mojio’s international expansion and help it to develop its automotive app marketplace.
We Hate Paywalls Too!
At Cantech Letter we prize independent journalism like you do. And we don't care for paywalls and popups and all that noise That's why we need your support. If you value getting your daily information from the experts, won't you help us? No donation is too small.


text:
» Hum Tv Frequency Asiasat 3s At 105 East
Hum Tv Frequency Asiasat 3s At 105 East
Hum Tv Frequency Asiasat 3s At 105 East on Technology News and Updates AdmaTechnology.com at Thursday, April 24, 2014
Although there are many audio applications and media that can be used to play music on your Mac, iTunes is still the most popular choice in the management of musical content.
iTunes offers the ease of controlling the sequence of music, create playlists, [...]
Results showed children control their emotions after playing this game.
If you are not able to help children who have problems with anger emotions through psychotherapy alone, try video games. But not indiscriminate video game. But RAGE Control, a video [...]
Nikon will launch a digital single-lens reflex (SLR) digital D7100 with a 24.1 megapixel sensor in a number of countries in March 2013.
The camera called Nikon D90 replaces it has a 51-point auto-focus and shutter speed reaches 1/8000 second to 30 seconds.
An average of 377 of every 1000 people who live to age 15 years will die before reaching the age of 60 years
Man who live in the tropics tend to die sooner, 7.7 years younger than other humans different hemisphere, according to a study initiated by the [...]
Basically, do not use the lights too bright at night.
Using iPad or watching TV late at night can make you depressed, according to a study showing that exposure to bright light during the hours of sleep can affect levels of stress and behavioral disorders.
Sony’s new hero class ‘affordable’ has arrived in Indonesia. Products named Xperia E is available in a single version of the SIM and dual-SIM.
One feature that is favored is HD Voice, where its function is to clear up the sound when [...]
Review AdmaTechnology will discuss about one of the innovative products from Samsung, Galaxy Camera.
As is known, the digital camera is equipped with the Android operating system. Want to know more? Check out his review below.
Design of Samsung Galaxy [...]
There is exciting news about the Galaxy S4. Samsung touted is preparing another version of this smartphone with a more advanced camera.
Quoted from Sammobile, Thursday (9/5), the predicted product named Galaxy S4 Zoom.
Camera changes quite noticeably, [...]
BlackBerry seems very serious enrich the application ecosystem. This is evidenced by the achievement of 100 thousand apps in the app store BlackBerry World.
Quoted from Slashgear, Friday (22/3), this means that BlackBerry has added about 30 thousand [...]
Seven planets in the Milky Way that have environmental conditions similar to Earth.
Search for life in outer space does not seem to need to reach planets beyond our galaxy, the Milky Way. Seven planets in the Milky Way has a huge potential to life after [...]
Did you know that we can upload photos to Instagram and specific Page on Facebook as well? If you do not know, the following easy steps:
1. To be able to share photos in a Page on Facebook, run the first app Instagram and go to Options.
2. After that, [...]


text:
An Aberdeenshire bar has created a gin and tonic ice cream float.
Edward’s Bar in Inverurie made the drink which features gin, tonic, vanilla ice cream, fresh strawberries, meringue and a drizzling of strawberry sauce.
A twist on a classic gin and tonic, the summer version is expected to be a big hit with customers.
The drink costs £7.50.
For more drinks news click here.


text:
One of the most coveted vehicles on the market is a Mercedes. It’s easy to understand why – the brand has been setting the standards for luxury vehicles for decades and their commitment to never rest on their laurels continues with each new model launch. In addition to pioneering innovations that make their way into other cars, they also produce a number of vehicles that are incredibly difficult to find anywhere else.
Whether it’s a state-of-the-art sports car or a high-roller SUV, every Mercedes has the kind of interior design that rivals the Plaza Hotel in luxury. Plus, their durability is unmatched; a Mercedes will keep looking great and performing well for years to come. That’s why finding a pre-owned Mercedes for sale is such a smart move.
This past May, Mercedes drew some of the world’s most exclusive collectors to Stuttgart for a unique auction that took place in the museum’s grand ballroom. The highlight was the sale of a 1955 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe, which the company built just two of, and is regarded as an automotive holy grail. The private sale was conducted by RM Sotheby’s and was kept secret, with potential buyers invited for lunch at the museum and then flown to Stuttgart in a private jet.
The result was that only the most discerning buyers were present for the rare auction, and it was a resounding success. Hagerty notes that the final price, $9.5 million, was far above the previous record set by another one of these rare cars, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT sold at RM Sotheby’s in 2018 for $48.5 million.
Mercedes-Benz has been able to maintain its profit margins even as its overall sales volume declined this year. The brand is focusing on higher-margin segments while exiting the lower-margin ones, and it’s reaping the benefits of this strategy.
Like most western carmakers, Mercedes has an exposed flank in the form of electric vehicles from China and price cuts from Tesla. But the Financial Times Lex column says that as long as the automaker continues to focus on its strongest product lines, it will have a chance to weather these challenges.
If you’re in the market for a used Mercedes for sale, check out our selection here at Mercedes-Benz of Westwood. Our team can help you find the right vehicle for your needs, so contact us today to get started..


text:
MG Hector facelift: The company is about to bring a new generation model of its best selling model MG Hector SUV in India. MG has already released the teaser of the interiors of the Hector facelift SUV before the launch.
2023 MG Hector facelift Launch Date: MG Motors is going to bring the facelift avatar of its popular SUV MG Hector in the Indian market. The company has also disclosed its launch date. The company will introduce the new Hector SUV in India on January 05, 2023. In this regard, media invites have also been sent. The company has already revealed the pictures and features of the updated SUV, which gives us an idea of the changes made to the Hector’s design and interiors. Apart from Tata Harrier, it also competes with Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos.
The 2022 MG Hector facelift will get an all new big and bold looking diamond mesh radiator grille. LED headlights and LED daytime running lights (DRL) are given above the grille. It will continue to get split headlight setup, although the design will be slightly different from before. The overall design of the vehicle can be updated slightly.
It will happen that the interior
of the new Hector is about to change as compared to the earlier. MG said that a new infotainment screen is going to be given in it. The size of this touchscreen display will be 14 inches, which is the largest in its segment. It also supports MG’s next-gen i-SMART technology, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. With this, a 7-inch instrument display is available for the driver. The physical buttons on the current Hector at the bottom of the screen have been removed. There is a new trim finishing around the gear lever at the bottom as well as a new toggle style switchgear behind the lever.
Apart from this, we expect the Hector to be available with Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) as well. The company has not yet shared the details of the engine. We expect it to continue with the Fiat-sourced 2.0-litre diesel and 1.5-litre petrol engines. It is likely to be priced slightly higher than the current SUV.


text:
Ecommerce giant Overstock has started taking bitcoins on its site, months ahead of schedule.Unlike traditional currencies such as dollars, bitcoins are issued and.PayPal will soon start accepting bitcoins, adding the second-largest Internet payment network to a handful of high-profile retailers already taking the digital.Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne has announced that his company will soon accept bitcoin as payment.Overstock.com is moving to accept Bitcoin as payment in 2014, the CEO told The Financial Times.
Overstock.com Will Accept Bitcoins, Despite ChallengesOverstock.com was the first major online retailer to embrace bitcoin, accepting payments in the digital currency here in the U.S. beginning in early January. And now.
‘Into the War Room’: Overstock Accepts Bitcoin | 1 BitcoinsJonathan Johnson played an integral role in getting Overstock.com to accept bitcoin back in 2013.
The e-retailer is the first in the United States to accept the digital currency as a form of payment, its CEO says.Shop for our bestselling cameras, coffee makers, monitors, mattresses, and more.Bitcoin startup Coinbase already makes it possible for Overstock to accept bitcoins as payment.Overstock just became the first major retailer to accept bitcoin cash and altcoins at the point of sale for payment.
First major US retailer Overstock.com to accept Bitcoin
Overstock.com to Accept Bitcoins - Geeky Gadgets
Note that this is not an exhaustive list of companies that accept bitcoin as of this writing. Overstock.com.Overstock.com - Probably the biggest retailer that accepts Bitcoin, Overstock began accepting Bitcoin in January 2013.
Overstock Now Accepting Major Bitcoin Alternatives
Bitcoin ATM in Midvale - OverstockPatrick Byrne, the chief executive of Overstock, said the company planned to let online shoppers pay for goods with Bitcoin by June.
Last month, Overstock.com, which sells everything from jewelry to couches, announced that it would start accepting Bitcoin by the middle of 2014. CEO.As the first major retailer to accept Bitcoins, Overstock.com is expanding the possibilities of Bitcoin purchases by offering thousands of products to the Bitcoin community.
This is amazing news and the question now is whether or not Amazon will do the same.
Ocean Media - News - Overstock.com to Accept BitcoinOverstock Accepts Bitcoin. Overstock and Bitcoin Overstock is one of online stores that.Overstock will then use ShapeShift to convert the cryptocurrencies to Bitcoin.Overstock.com, which sells everything from bedding to dinnerware online, recently announced it would accept bitcoin as early as June, making it the first U.S.Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne has told The Los Angeles Times and the Financial Times that the company plans to start accepting Bitcoin payments by the second half.Overstock.com sells everything from book to electronics and even cars.
Overstock.com | 2014 Acceptance of Digital CurrencyI mentioned already in an earlier article that the retailer Overstock would plan to accept Bitcoins in 2014.
Byrne has been an enthusiastic Bitcoin and blockchain backer for several years, even setting up an Overstock DLT subsidiary, called Medici Ventures, to invest in startups and develop the technology.The North-American giant of online retail Overstock.com had recently announced it would start accepting Bitcoin on the second quarter of this new year.The move by popular retailers like Overstock to accept Bitcoins for international transactions could lead to more widespread adoption of the virtual currency.Businesses like Microsoft, Dell, and Expedia say they accept bitcoin as payment.Overstock and many other companies—from Virgin Atlantic to small coffee shops—have accepted bitcoin for years, but this is the first time a well-known retailer.Overstock holds onto 10 percent of bitcoin since accepting them as a payment option earlier this year.
Overstock had announced a few weeks back that they were considering accepting Bitcoin as a method of payment, but it was touted to take place only after six months or.


text:
An inspiring story from States about Gwen Rawls who spent 24 years working for UPS. Now, she is stepping out on her own – combining her “passion for fashion” with an entrepreneurial spirit.
Rawls open an Italian shoe boutique at Trenholm Plaza in Forest Acres in the U.S. The Conway native said she has traveled often to Europe and always has been inspired by the fashions there. “I wanted to bring that to Columbia,” she said.
Rawls said she always has wanted to start a business and shoes seemed like a natural fit.
“Oftentimes, when I was planning an outfit, it would start with my shoes,” she said. “I’ve always viewed the shoes as my foundation.”
Rawls got serious about starting her own business a couple of years ago, traveling to Milan in March to meet with designers and develop her own collection. That trip confirmed what she already had set in motion. “I knew, ‘Yes, this is what I want to do, and I am going to do it,’ ” she said. excerpt from The State. How bout you? start realizing your passion and follow your dreams.


text:
McKesson Stock Gets Big Boost / Company plans to buy rival's core business
McKesson Corp. stock jumped nearly 8 percent yesterday after the company revealed plans to acquire the core business of a financially crippled competitor.
The San Francisco health-services giant said it will invest up to $400 million to revive the drug-distribution unit of Texas- based FoxMeyer Corp., which has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization since August.
The transaction gives McKesson clear bragging rights as the nation's No. 1 drug distributor. McKesson had been running neck and neck with competitors Bergen Brunswig Corp., based in Orange County, and Cardinal Health Inc. of Dublin, Ohio.
FoxMeyer, which has its headquarters in Carrollton, Texas, ranked fourth-largest in the industry with annual revenues of $5.5 billion, most generated by FoxMeyer Corp., the unit McKesson is acquiring.
McKesson has total revenues of nearly $14 billion a year, including about $11 billion in health-care services, compared with about $9 billion for Cardinal Health and close to $10 billion for Bergen Brunswig.
LATEST BUSINESS VIDEOS
- How To Make A Patio Heater From Empty Propane Tanks PopularMechanics
- Why Monsanto Could Soon Get Hit With a Flood of Cancer-Related Lawsuits Fortune
- Now Might Be the Best Time For Tech IPOs Cheddar TV
- FOX Business Beat: Costco menu changes; Twitter suspends suspicious accounts Fox5DC
- Robinhood Adds Trading in Litecoin Cheddar TV
- Uber and Lime Partner as Scooter Wars Heat Up Cheddar TV
- Ex-CIA Director John Brennan Compares Trump To Convicted Fraudster Bernie Madoff Buzz 60
- Xiaomi Struggles Before IPO as Investors Worry About Trade Wars Cheddar TV
- Starbucks is Adding 2 New Drinks to its Menu and Plans to Scrap Straws Buzz 60
- China Says US Has Just Launched The 'Biggest Trade War' In History GeoBeats
The FoxMeyer takeover plan includes an initial cash payment of as much as $80 million to satisfy the unsecured claims of FoxMeyer creditors. The rest of the transaction involves new debt and inventory arrangements.
There was some initial confusion as to the value of the complicated transaction. Some analysts suspected it was costing McKesson far more than was indicated in the company's announcement.
But officials insisted the $400 million total was accurate, citing McKesson's financial clout and cheaper borrowing costs. Terms are subject to approval in Bankruptcy Court.
Alan Seelenfreund, McKesson's chairman and chief executive, said FoxMeyer brings "a large and impressive customer base" of both retail drug outlets and institutional buyers.
McKesson shares rose strongly on the news, ending at 49 3/8, up 3 5/8 or 7.9 percent, on the NYSE.
Although it was a bullish day generally on Wall Street, McKesson was among the biggest gainers among health-care stocks.
Company officials said they expect the new unit will begin boosting McKesson's profits within three to six months. About $80 million worth of annual fixed-cost reductions are expected from the merger.
FoxMeyer got into trouble partly by allowing its technology and service standards to slip behind those offered by its better-financed competitors. The company sought Bankruptcy Court protection after an earlier asset sale fell through.
It has about 2,200 employees. Some job losses are expected in the merger, mainly in FoxMeyer's distribution and administrative operations scattered throughout the country.
McKesson President Mark Pulido said the company plans to retain FoxMeyer's entire sales force. Decisions concerning other possible layoffs have yet to be made, he said.


text:
Cambridge Awards Week 19-23 March 2012
TWI is encouraging companies to submit nominations for a new technology engineering award for companies that have made significant impact with a technology, product or service in international or emerging markets. The new category has been introduced to the Cambridge News Business Excellence Awards list to highlight technology impact overseas.
'Cambridge is a global centre for developing novel technologies. But this is only the first step; the key is to convert technologies into products and services and then exploit business opportunities in new and exciting markets. And these buoyant markets are increasingly overseas and will remain so for decades to come'. Christoph Wiesner, Chief Executive, TWI.
The TWI Award for Technology Engineering in International Markets takes its place alongside the Cambridge News' Business Innovation, Start-up of the Year; Employer of the Year; Small Business of the Year; Business Person of the Year; Outstanding Contribution; and Business of the Year Awards.
To nominate, please visit the Cambridge News website.
For further information, please contact firstname.lastname@example.org.


text:
For most parents, finding your preferred diaper brand out of stock during the novel coronavirus outbreak is nothing more than an annoyance. Simply move onto the next-best brand.
But for others, diaper need is a very real problem. According to the National Diaper Bank Network, about 1/3 of American families cannot afford the diapers it takes to keep their babies dry and healthy.
That number will likely increase if more people continue to be laid off or furloughed, Bridget Cutler from the New Jersey-based Moms Helping Moms Foundation diaper bank.
"During our first full operating week after coronavirus hit, we distributed three times as many diapers as we normally do," she told "Good Morning America." The organization said the need is increasing "exponentially," every day.
Moms Helping Moms -- and organizations like it -- have access to diapers through donations and some purchased at wholesale, Cutler said. "We are doing our best and happy that we are open, helping the public and keeping our employees working. However, we will not be able to keep up with this demand without additional funding."
Audrey Symes, a New York City mom who is active in the collection of excess diapers for the GOOD+ Foundation told "GMA," the overbuying of diapers on the part of people who are not economically disadvantaged contributes to the problem.
"Many families who typically experience diaper need are in precarious jobs such as hospitality and retail that have been suddenly eliminated," Symes said. "Especially early in the month, when benefits are paid out, it’s really helpful to those families to be able to purchase stock. The rashes and infections that result from overuse of disposable diapers could overwhelm the medical system right now."
"They [people with low-income levels] don’t have the resources to buy in bulk, so they depend on consistent stock availability," she said. Buying in bulk is often not an option, she said, because of the upfront cost.
"We certainly saw that panic buying and hoarding two and three weeks ago led to empty retail shelves throughout the country," Troy Moore chief of external affairs at the National Diaper Bank Network, told "GMA." "This caused a ripple effect for diaper bank programs which rely heavily on community-based drives and product donations from individuals. It also impacted diaper banks’ ability to use donated funds to purchase diapers through bulk buying programs. The supply chain was disrupted. It is getting better."
It's unclear how much overbuying is still taking place. On Wednesday, a search on Amazon for "diapers" yielded a list several pages long. But diaper makers tell "GMA" they are experiencing higher-than-normal sales. "The supply chain is experiencing a bit of a shock, like toilet paper manufacturers, but so far we've been able to meet customer demand," Matt Anderson CEO of diaper company ABBY&FINN, said.
Eco Pea, a diapers and wipes company, told "GMA" sales have increased. " Some days we see a 500% increase compared to the average day before COVID-19," a company spokesperson said.
As families experience "situational poverty," Moore said, the reliance on diaper banks will continue. " Diapers will be key to parents’ ability to return to work as a daily supply of diapers is necessary to leave a baby in child care. Without diapers, parents cannot go to work."
Cutler said people can help first by not overbuying, but also by contacting the local diaper banks in their state to inquire about their needs. She recommended National Diaper Bank Network's website as a resource.
Monetary donations are always welcome. "We can use those to purchase diapers through our channels at 1/3 of the retail cost," she said.


text:
TORONTO — Compaq Canada Corp. Tuesday announced six new services-based computing packages that the company believes will change how technology is purchased, deployed, and managed in a business environment.
Called “Access on Demand” packages, they feature Compaq’s line of Evo PC products and the iPaq.
Access on Demand, which is part of Compaq’s Computing on Demand strategy to focus more on IT services and solutions, will provide enterprise customers in the 500 to 3000 seat range a single point of contact, said Reg Schade, vice-president of global services at Compaq Canada.
The packages are being sold on a price-per-seat basis for a three-year period, with the base package starting at $89 per month per seat, and cover a defined set of hardware and services, including warranty, help desk assistance, technology updates, asset reporting and program management.
Mike Pearce, business manager for Compaq Global Services’ customers solutions unit, said the entry-level package covers fulfillment and enablement. “It gives you the fundamental requirements.”
Customers can then build from there, depending on their needs. “The ultimate would be full outsourced,” added Schade.
The program is being rolled out across North America. “We’ve got a lot of customers in Canada that are in the U.S. too and vice-versa,” said Schade, adding that the biggest concerns of customers when procuring computing hardware and services is flexibility and time to market. Access on Demand allows customers to exchange large up-front capital expenditures for a monthly expense, he said. “Computing on demand is changing how we go to market.”
Compaq executives did not want to address the proposed merger with Hewlett-Packard Co., but they said it has a component in service contracts that assures the customer that any agreement will be honored no matter how Compaq as a vendor evolves over the next year. Earlier this month HP said it would merge with Compaq in a transaction worth about US$25 billion.
Warren Chaisatien, analyst with IDC Canada in Toronto, said despite those assurances, Compaq faces some customer skepticism. Customers may be more comfortable signing a similar agreement with HP than with Compaq, since they know the HP name isn’t going to disappear anytime soon.
Otherwise, said Chaisatien, Compaq is headed in the right direction, and although other firms such as HP and IBM have similar services strategies, he said Compaq’s made a good choice by building on its strengths as a hardware vendor. “It doesn’t surprise me that they’re approaching this from a PC perspective.”
HP is more aggressive in the back office, noted Chaisatien, whereas IBM also has a utility strategy, but it tends to focus on outsourcing.
“The ultimate objective of all the vendors is the same.”
As the margins on PC sales have shrunk, PC makers are slimming down their support to just the hardware and the operating systems, said Schade, and nothing else. “A lot of companies are pulling back on what their warranties offer. The onus has been put back on the customer.” In addition to supporting the hardware and operating system, Compaq anticipates that it will be supporting close to 150 different software suites.
While the technology savvy may be willing to go to Web site to resolve a technical issue, corporate users have other priorities, said Schade.
But Compaq, he said, is in a better position to offer a single, consolidated offering of both product and support. “What we’re doing is incorporating the support into a utility model, (but) we still have to be very cognizant of the price of the PC.”
This does not require additional investment on Compaq’s part, said Schade, because it’s leveraging core competencies such as its existing call centre facilities. Compaq Canada’s global services organization will be the primary point of contact for customers throughout North America for Access on Demand from its call centre in Ottawa.
The centre employs more than 1,000 people and was the recipient of Call Center Magazine’s award for “Technology Sector Call Center Of The Year” in May 2000. “We expect to see employment grow,” said Schade.
Companies like Dell, he said, have no choice but to go to a partner model to offer the same level of support.


text:
The COVID-19 pandemic solidified DoorDash’s lead in the US food delivery industry, catapulting it’s market share nearly 50%.
The success story begins in 2013. As food delivery companies competed in cities, DoorDash opted for a market with less competition: the suburbs. When the pandemic sent families out of cities, DoorDash was ready for action. Listen for more.
Get instructions on how to enable our Flash News Briefing skill to your Amazon devices:


text:
Today we’re very happy to announce that ForeSee saw the largest growth in revenue and bookings in the company’s history for the second quarter of 2017. In particular, second-quarter bookings grew by 22% over the previous year, positioning the company for another profitable year.
There are exciting things happening: we’re expanding the capabilities of our award-winning ForeSee CX Suite, we’ve recently finished a successful corporate restructuring, we now run independently from our parent company, and we have the complete support of our new board. But even more than that, we’re thrilled to welcome some fantastic new clients. Some of the notable organizations that have chosen ForeSee so far in 2017 include:
- A top-five fashion retailer
- A U.S. top-five and global top-20 bank
- One of the world’s largest global airlines
- A global top-three fast food restaurant
- A $1.4B global consumer packaged goods company
- An energy utility serving 2.5 million homes and two-thirds of the Fortune 100
- Cabinet-level U.S. federal agencies and departments
- Hundreds of additional organizations around the world in virtually every industry
Why are we growing at such an impressive rate? We’ve seen a more than 100% increase in adoption of ForeSee CX Suite, which delivers a unified view of the customer, during each of the last two quarters. ForeSee is the only company to leverage a proven, time-tested model alongside a holistic solution for organizations to manage all of their customer experience intelligence from one place. The relationship between ForeSee’s methodology and the CX Suite technology is a game-changer for organizations when it comes to identifying and prioritizing improvements that will boost business results.
ForeSee also announced today the expansion of its strategic partnership program, which now includes extended relationships with the Adobe Marketing Cloud and Google Analytics, among others.
For more information about ForeSee’s Q2 record results, check out the full press release.Categories: Company News


text:
TOKYO (CBS.MW) - South Korea's Samsung Electronics said Monday it plans to invest 25 trillion won ($24 billion) to build new semiconductor production lines by 2010, and targets sales of 200 trillion won in the next six years.
The company SSNGY, +0.00% expects semiconductor sales to reach a fresh record in 2004, up 60 percent from last year, Samsung Electronics Semiconductor President Chang-gyu Hwang said in a statement.
The investment would create 10,000 new jobs by 2010, the company said as it unveiled the plan to observe the thirtieth anniversary of Samsung's semiconductor business.
Shares of Samsung were down 1.4 percent in midafternoon trade in Seoul. The benchmark Kospi index was down 1.2 percent.


text:
Copia Global, a Kenya-based e-commerce company has raised $26 million in a Series B round.
According to Quartz, this funding round was led by LGT Lightstone, with participation from Perivoli Innovations, Endeavor Catalyst, ELEA and Goodwell Investments.
Unlike standard e-commerce platforms, Copia Global has a unique business model that effectively combines online and offline experiences, and is focused on low-income and unbanked citizens living in rural areas.
The platform allows customers make purchases on its website through agents scattered across the country who order on their behalf.
Copia also allows customers make purchases with USSD technology through feature phones that do not have smart features and internet.
The new funding is coming after a $2 million round from Goodwell Investments in January 2019.
Copia will use the new money raised to strengthen operations in Kenya, and expand across East Africa.
According to Crunchbase, Copia Global has raised a collective $22 million since 2015, and the recent Series B round brings its total amount raised to $48 million.
For Copia, this funding is also coming at a time when e-commerce startup on the continent are going through a seeming rough patch. Jumia has lost its unicorn status after six months of listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
A recent funding report has also shown that even Nigeria, where Jumia is headquartered, e-commerce startups have not been getting much love.


text:
Peshmerga soldiers honoring Flag Day in Kurdistan.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – On Flag Day in the Kurdistan Region today, markets are bustling with people shopping for the Kurdish flag or Peshmerga outfits to celebrate the occasion.
“We have a festival at school and we will wear the Peshmerga outfit and carry the Kurdish flag,” said Shirin Safin, a high school student out shopping in a busy market.
The day has been marked in schools across Kurdistan for many years. Students and teachers usually wear traditional Kurdish costumes. But this year, in solidarity with Kurdish soldiers fighting the Islamic State (ISIS), most Kurds are wearing the Peshmerga uniform.
“We have decided to wear the Peshmerga outfit out of respect for the Peshmerga and our readiness to defend our country,” said Dana Abubakir, a university student out shopping for the right outfit.
Thousands of students and teachers crowded tailor and garment shops in Kurdistan’s cities and towns these days, going through rows of green or khaki outfits that the region’s security and Peshmerga forces wear on the frontlines.
Kurdish Peshmerga forces have been battling ISIS militants on a 1,050-kilometer border stretching from Mosul to northern Diyala since August.
December 17 was designated as the Kurdistan Flag Day by the Kurdish parliament in Erbil. But the ministry of education has not made an official decision in this regard and has left it to students and teachers to choose what they wear on this day.
But the occasion has now become so popular that in some cities demand for outfits outstrips supplies.
“I’ve got only this daughter but I’ve searched every market and shop and couldn’t find the Peshmerga outfit for her,” said Diler Barzinji, a father with his young daughter in tow. “What can I do now? Her heart is broken.”
Others believe that education authorities should organize the Flag Day so that everyone gets a chance to join the celebration.
“This is a good day for all,” said Nariman Muhammad, a mother out shopping with her children. “But an occasion like this should be organized officially.”


text:
I recently discussed the government’s plans to trim down obesity. Many felt that we should take more responsibility for what we eat. So, is the government, industry or the hungry public ultimately responsible?
Our research has shown that most people know what they should be eating to be healthy. Give or take a few areas of confusion, the advice is quite simple: watch how much fat, sugar and salt you are eating and eat lots of fruit and vegetables.
With over a quarter of people now obese, it’s clear that a lot of people are struggling to get the balance right.
Food glorious food
In our previous discussion on the Responsibility Deal, Pam told us:
‘The problem does not lie in food labelling, but in greed and laziness.’
There’s a big element of personal choice – and life would be pretty miserable if you couldn’t enjoy food. But our research shows that people think that the way food is produced, sold and marketed can make it too easy to eat unhealthily.
At Which?, we have focused a lot on labelling because the nutritional content of processed foods we buy or foods we order when eating out isn’t always obvious. There can be high levels of salt in foods even if it’s not always obvious from the taste, and the foods with the highest calorie content can often be counter-intuitive.
And the price of food is receiving a lot of attention here on Which? Conversation (and not just pasty-gate!). Commenter Celcat told us that it’s cheaper to eat ‘unhealthily’ than it is healthy.
Will food taxes deter?
Commenter Kate said that, although people should be made more accountable for their health, an unhealthy tax might deter manufacturers:
‘Food manufacturers should also be made responsible for creating food that is full of chemicals, sugar and saturated fat – perhaps a tax on these things might make them think twice about loading it into the food that they are producing.’
There’s been some success among manufacturers reducing salt levels in foods and a start has been made on reducing saturated fat. But do you think the government’s new ‘calorie reduction pledge’, launched last weekend, will make a difference to our diets? And will you be sampling the delights on the new reduced calorie product ranges?
There’s still a lot more the government and industry can do to help make it less of a struggle to find healthy, tasty choices that are affordable. Individual choice can only take us so far – and failure to get to the root causes of obesity has far wider implications for our health service, economy and society as a whole.
Who is responsible for tackling obesity?
We, the people (49%, 187 Votes)
All of the above (44%, 167 Votes)
Food manufacturers/sellers (4%, 15 Votes)
The government (3%, 11 Votes)
Total Voters: 379


text:
Skip to comments.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Cheers on Bodega Boycott of New York Post Over 9/11 Front Page
Posted on 04/13/2019 8:54:30 PM PDT by conservative98
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) applauded the boycott of The New York Post being organized by corner stores in the city following the tabloids front page cover calling out Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) for her comments about 9/11.
Omar has faced criticism this week for comments she made at a speech in March, notably from colleague Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) and President Donald Trump.
CAIR was founded after 9/11, because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties, she said, in comments that her critics said minimized the terror attacks.
The Post was scathing in its criticism of the congresswoman, slapping a photo of the attacks on its front page this week along with the headline: Heres your something 2,977 people dead by terrorism.
In response to the controversial cover, the Yemeni American Merchants Association (YAMA) announced a boycott of the Post, for what defenders of Omar decried as encouraging anti-Muslim sentiment.
(Excerpt) Read more at mediaite.com ...
Two years ago, Bodega owners across NYC (& cheered by neighbors)shut their shops citywide to protest Trumps #MuslimBan.
Today, that same community is banding together to reject sales of the NY Post at bodegas citywide.
This is what real unity (& NYC solidarity) looks like ⬇ https://t.co/mj8vtA4Pv5— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 13, 2019
Yemeni Americans held a 1,000 bodega strike against the #MuslimBan, tonight we just declared a boycott of the racist NY Post! Starting tomorrow morning Yemeni American merchants will be rejecting the sale of the NY Post! NY Post take your papers back! #BoycottNYPost pic.twitter.com/dhAPR6eAzn— Dr.Debbie Almontaser (@DebbiAlmontaser) April 13, 2019
CAIR has never cared about the liberties of “all of us”.
Godam al-taqiyaa factory.
that confirms it - Muslims have sacked New York City
Because you know the scope of this “boycott” and because newspaper sales keep a company going these days.
I didn’t even KNOW they still sold newspapers.
Everyone take a pill.
If I lived in New York I would go out and buy ten of these newspapers!
Hopefully all FReepers in New York will go out and buy a NY Post.
There’s 1000 muslim owned stores in New York City that just stopped carrying the NYPost until they apologize for showing the actual facts of the destruction of the world trade center in the VERY CITY where the WTC towers fell.
I think its blatantly obvious what the scope of this boycott is and if you continue to bury your head in the sand to the open insurrection occurring in this country than you’re part of the problem.
Wake up pal.
This woman has become nothing more than a Kim Kardashian version of Washington.
What you imagine isnt.
No no not like Kim Kardashian who is a money grubbing airhead.
Rather, a fifth columnist for America’s destruction, just like Tokyo Rose.
She should be kicked out of her seat too.
“Theres 1000 muslim owned stores in New York City that just stopped carrying the NYPost until they apologize for showing the actual facts of the destruction of the world trade center in the VERY CITY where the WTC towers fell.”
Any New Yorker who loves America should boycott every one of these stores.
I just live here :)
Where do you live?
The NY Post will be fine.
You guys become a joke when you blow stuff up when you live 2000 miles away in some hick village.
Is this a jihad? Did she issue a fatwa?
If you lived there you should know the Post is still sold. It is also sold all across the country.
Is there a LIST of these Yemeni bodegas? Because they are a hell of a lot of construction workers, electricians, plumbers, cops, fireman and EMS workers who spend a TON of money at bodegas, who would really like that list — so they never spend a dollar there again.
Is this a jihad? Did she issue a fatwa?
Please be patient till her conversion is complete.
AOC = asshole on crack
WTF is a bodega boycott? This some sort of NYC thing anyone gives a damn about?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


text:
Underpinning this interest from PEs is the government backing for the sector, starting from the grant of infrastructure status to the logistics and warehousing industry in 2017 and the drafting of an independent national policy framework for the states to ensure uniformity in rules across the country, reports T E Narasimhan.
For logistics companies in India, though still freighted with inefficiencies, many things have started to go right.
Investment flow into the sector in the first half of the year has surpassed last year's full-year investment, kicking the industry into high gear.
According to Venture Intelligence data, nearly $896 million was invested by PEs during the first half of 2019 across 16 deals, as against $682 million across 18 deals a year ago.
A slew of factors from the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax, emergence of a set of technology-backed start-ups improving efficiency of logistics companies and existing players expanding operation buoyed by the government's massive spending plan for infrastructure has brought the sector into the limelight, making it more attractive than ever to private equity investors.
Underpinning this interest from PEs is the government backing for the sector, starting from the grant of infrastructure status to the logistics and warehousing industry in 2017 and the drafting of an independent national policy framework for the states to ensure uniformity in rules across the country.
The final policy is expected to be notified soon and the National Act will serve as a policy guideline in terms of laying down a common national outlook for states when they draft their respective policies.
Some of the big-ticket fund raising, according to Venture Intelligence Data, are by Delhivery ($429 milllion) -- which also achieved unicorn status this year-- Kribhco Infrastructure ($195 million), Blackbuck ($160 million), and Locus ($26 million).
The choice of companies is a testimony to how investors are bullish on start-ups that help bring efficiency, thereby improving asset utilisation, and, in turn, putting more money into the truckers pocket while reducing logistics cost.
The industry is ripe for such a surge in interest, with its size projected to increase to $215 billion in the next three years from around $160 billion currently.
To a large extent, the need for efficiency is being driven by competition among e-commerce companies to deliver goods ever more quickly.
Tied to this is the focus on bringing down logistics costs for manufacturers.
Currently, logistics costs account for 13-17 per cent of the GDP in India, which is nearly double (6-9 per cent) the logistics costs in developed countries such as France and the US, according to a Knight Frank report.
Much of the higher cost could be attributed to the absence of efficient inter-modal and multi-modal transport systems.
But things are changing.
One thing that has been completely streamlined for the industry with the implementation of GST is taxation.
"Today, with organised players expanding and new technologies coming in, logistics industry is becoming more efficient and GST was an enabler to it," says Rajesh Jaggi, managing partner - real estate, The Everstone Group, a PE and real estate investment firm.
A logical next step the industry is working on is to bring in operational efficiencies.
Several companies have started to expand last-mile delivery, for instance.
Everstone Group's IndoSpace, an industrial real estate developer, has recently raised $580 million, of which around $250 million will be deployed in India in expanding operations.
Over the next five years, IndoSpace plans to increase its warehousing capacity to 80-100 million sq. ft. from 30-31 million sq. ft. as demand for warehousing is increasing, Jaggi added.
Traditionally, the port sector received the most attention from investors but now e-commerce, last-mile delivery, third-party logistics, trucking platforms, digital freight shipping, fleet management and asset tracking, besides warehousing are gaining favour. (see table)
The focus on last-mile delivery is more than just a cost-saving or profit enhancing strategy for companies.
For e-commerce, for instance, this is a matter of life and death as customers are quick to form their opinion about a company based on their delivery experience.
Several start-ups have come up focusing on bringing the offline business of truckers online.
"We believe technology is transforming logistics in India and across the world.
"We are excited to partner with BlackBuck, which is India's largest technology enabled logistics system.
"It's full-stack model is able to add value for both shippers and carriers," said Kabir Narang, general partner and co-head of Asia at B Capital, which serves as a launchpad for entrepreneurs by funding their business.
The fund is backing BlackBuck, a B2B inter-city full truckload marketplace, which raised nearly $203 million from investors, including B Capital Group, Wellington Management, Accel USA, IFC, Goldman Sachs and others.
Ramasubramaniam B, co-founder and chief operating office-strategic initiatives, BlackBuck, said increasing the utilisation of trucks is the main goal of the company.
As things stand today, out of 30 days in a month, trucks in India are idle for 12, compared to 5-6 days in the US, due to a lack of return load and inefficiencies in operations.
The platform addresses the issues of truckers to book a load and enables shipper to have access to the right truck, at the right time for the right price.
"More a truck is on the road, more money the owners make," said Ramasubramaniam.
BlackBuck claims trucks that are on the company's platform are running for nearly 22 days in a month and clocking in 30 to 40 per cent more kilometres than other trucks.
BlackBuck has over 3,00,000 partner trucks on its platform and the company has over 10,000 plus clients including Asian Paints, Coca Cola, ITC, Tata Steel and Hindustan Unilever.
A similar start-up, Rivigo, has nearly 100,000 trucks on its platform.
Gazal Kalra, co-founder of Rivigo, said her company's platform increased the utilisation of trucks by 40-50 per cent.
Three major things which the company addresses are price discovery, demand generation and asset maintenance.
Another area where PE money is flowing in is warehousing.
According to Anarock Research, nearly $1.1 billion was invested in logistics and warehousing sectors between Q1 2017 and Q1 2019 compared to no investments at all during 2015 and 2016.
Knight Frank report said 2018 saw a total area of 4.3 million sq ft transacted in the top eight warehousing markets in the country, a 77 per cent growth over 2017.
Total warehousing space is estimated to grow at a CAGR of five per cent in the next five years to 922 million sq ft by 2024.
All this new space being created by the industry and the tech-enabled platforms creating swifter delivery of goods are certain to shake-up the industry and take the headache out of logistics for manufacturers.


text:
Who said crime doesn’t pay?
As part of today’s announcements the Chancellor increased the Employment Allowance by £,1000 bringing the amount to £5,000 per year. This change was well received by those who can claim it- businesses, charities, carers and support workers. This was championed by the FSB ( Federation for Small Businesses), however an unintended consequence is that unworthy recipients will also benefit from this announcement, which are called Mini Umbrella Companies (MUC’s) which operate FRAUDULENT schemes targeted at NMW workers. Whilst HMRC had started to clamp down on such operations, this is surely an own goal and someone at HMRC or HMT should have spotted this loop hole before the announcement and closed it. I wrote about MUC’s back in May 2021 and I am not sure that much has changed from our own intelligence and so it’s business as usual or shall we say better business than usual because the allowance has increased by 25% thanks to Rishi Sunak himself – an own goal I fear!
So what are MUC’s and why should you be concerned?
“Mini umbrella company fraud creates an uneven playing field for those employment agencies and businesses who follow the rules and presents an organised crime threat to the UK Exchequer. The fraud is primarily based around the abuse of 2 government incentives aimed at small businesses – the VAT Flat Rate Scheme and the Employment Allowance. But this type of fraud can also result in the non-payment of other taxes such as PAYE, National Insurance and VAT “says HMRC
How do you spot a Mini Umbrella?
- There is no standard mini umbrella company fraud model and arrangements are constantly evolving as organised criminals try to hide their fraudulent activities from HMRC.
- These criminals create multiple limited companies and only a small number of temporary workers are employed by each one. These are set up to enable fraud.
- The structuring of the mini umbrella companies is facilitated by a promoter business (sometimes also known as an outsourcing business) which may have other linked businesses to support the operation. The creation of the mini umbrella companies and the complex layers of businesses within the supply chain help to facilitate the fraud. For more information read here MUC fraud
Agencies and Hirers, these schemes may help you to maintain a healthy margin, but you are stealing money from your contractors and the Government- who will want it back eventually. FD’s and MD’s, will be left holding all the risk.
All businesses are responsible for carrying out supply chain due diligence, if you need help our team of compliance and audit specialists at Pendragon Comply can investigate, assess any damage and advise on corrective action. Yes, it will cost money to fix the problem, but that’s got to be a whole lot better than losing your business.


text:
Several years ago during a business conference, a colleague tossed a simple and very direct question to the CEO. “Considering the growth of digital medium how long newspapers in printed form are going to survive?” he asked. CEO thoughtfully acknowledged the threat and appreciated the concern raised by the colleague and made a prophetic announcement; … Continue reading Hello, Newspapers: When in doubt, rely on the idea of complementarity.
Much has been written about the success of new ideas that turned into huge business entities in both technology and non-technology segments of the industry. These are amazing stories of power of imagination, grit, perseverance and ability to withstand failures and getting up one more time to get closer to success. Consider global brands such … Continue reading Missed Opportunities : An Organizational Perspective


text:
With retail in a state of flux, Freeformers shares insights gleaned from Retail Week Live, when industry leaders discussed how to better equip their staff for change.
Earlier this year, Freeformers chief executive Adam Freeman joined a host of industry leaders at Retail Week Live to discuss ‘Delivering change through people’.
Alongside Karen Millen chief executive Beth Butterwick, Beaverbrooks chief executive Anna Blackburn and Virgin Money head of retail distribution Paul Titterton, Freeman explored how retail strategies need to adapt and evolve to meet the needs of staff and ready them for change.
Here were the five key takeaways:
1. Retail is powered by people
Staff hold the key to retailers’ future success.
Beaverbrooks’ Blackburn highlighted that, for the jeweller, “people have always been at the heart of what we do”. “Internally, all of our retail managers start on the shop floor, so role-modelling within the business is absolutely crucial.”
“People are at the heart of our business because they serve customers, because they make things happen”
Beth Butterwick, Karen Millen
This staff-centric approach was echoed by Karen Millen chief executive Butterwick, who asserted: “People are at the heart of our business because they serve customers, because they make things happen.”
2. Take staff on a ‘change journey’
While all the panellists agreed that linking a central strategy to the frontline was key, Blackburn added that the approach from retail needs to be more nuanced. “It’s about taking people on that change journey, explaining why these changes are taking place, and it’s about reassuring people,” she said.
It’s no longer good enough to send out communications and antiquated training programmes to your staff to drive this change, either. Motivation and collaboration need to be considered to generate buy-in from your team and instigate change effectively.
Butterwick added that retailers must “give staff the opportunity to learn new things because retail is going to continue to change”.
She continued by highlighting that there is no end state. Instead, the best way to prepare people for the future is to prepare them for an industry that will always evolve.
3. Technology is the main driver of change
Titterton sees a real opportunity that will be borne out of the digital disruption of retail.
He said: “I believe the digital revolution offers businesses the opportunity to make human roles much more interesting and fulfilling than the roles they have held previously.’’
4. The human element is crucial
Titterton also suggested that human interaction in retail is becoming ever more important to delivering a great customer experience.
“It’s those human traits we’re looking for: the ability to empathise, the ability to be curious and the want to solve a problem for a customer”
Paul Titterton, Virgin Money
He told the audience at Retail Week Live: “The big shift we’ve had to execute over the past 12 to 18 months is a move away from hiring people for their technical skills to hiring them for their soft skills.”
“It’s those human traits we’re looking for: the ability to empathise, the ability to be curious and the want to solve a problem for a customer.”
But refocusing your recruitment and HR strategy won’t necessarily be straightforward.
The Virgin Money leader added that it requires a fundamental shift in the way a retailer operates and measures success: “All you are measured on in store now is net promoter score (NPS), and that is our key metric of success in stores.
“It’s about the experience we create in store, and the way you measure that is by questioning what the customer thought of it – not by some productivity metrics.”
5. Peer-to-peer is the future
While the panel agreed that skills are important for the frontline retail workforce, Freeformers’ Freeman believes the way this change is executed needs to come from the top down. “We need to imagine colleague to colleague, and humans love to learn from other humans,” he said.
This peer-to-peer approach resonated among the business leaders, with Titterton adding that Virgin Money is “moving away from the parent/child mentality to social learning and peer-to-peer – you’ve got to employ people who are curious, who want to learn”.
According to Freeman, there are already some employers leading the way in this approach. “We’re seeing some of the UK’s largest employers say we’re going to invest in you and your life skills – and it’s irrelevant if you work here or not,” he said.
“That is massively motivating, because they find they care about us and not just the job we do today.”
What are you doing to make sure your workforce is prepared for constant change?
Download Freeformers’ Frontline Workforce Benchmark report to discover its view of the common themes at Retail Week Live 2019, and the state of the nation when it comes to the human attributes needed for the future of retail.