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Football fans out in Coventry today were celebrating a better deal on the high street after leading sports stores were fined a total of #18.6 million for fixing shirt prices.
The cost of replica kits is expected to tumble in coming weeks after the Office of Fair Trading found stores including JJB and JD Sports, as well as manufacturer Umbro and Manchester United, guilty of price fixing.
The wide-ranging investigation, which related to England kits sold in the lead up to Euro 2000, was prompted by a complaint from Coventry shopkeeper Martin Davies.
The OFT stepped in after Mr Davies, who ran Davies Sports in Smithford Way, was prevented from offering kits at a 10 per cent discount.
After the matter was resolved the OFT vowed to begin an investigation into the industry as a whole.
Prices at Coventry stores remained unchanged today, but shoppers welcomed yesterday?s decision.
Sky Blues fan Suzannah Forster, 15, from Fynford Road, Radford, said: ?I bought this shirt at a discount because it is last season?s.
?I would never go into any of the major sports shops to buy a shirt and still think the shops will keep their prices high despite the decision.?
Paul Taplin, an assembly opera-tor from Stokton and a West Brom fan, said: ?When you have got kids it is an expensive business keeping them in shirts, especially when they keep changing the kit.
?This ruling is definitely a good thing. Shirts have always been overpriced and I look forward to seeing them coming down.?
Frenchman Alain Ouenadio, 31, is working in Coventry as a painter and decorator. He said: ?I
bought my England shirt a few years ago. It was quite expensive but I didn?t mind paying.
?It would be better for fans if the prices came down.?
Liverpool supporter Craig Phillips, 26, from Leeds, said: ?Shirts are too expensive. I am a football fan but I have never bought a shirt.
?If the prices come down I might reconsider.?
JJB Sports, which received the highest fine of #8.373m, is launching an immediate appeal to the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
In a statement it said: ?JJB has fully co-operated with the OFT at all times during its investigation and has continued to maintain that not only was it not guilty of any price fixing but has been the principal retailer in driving down the prices of replica kits.?
A spokesman for JD Sports said: ?We were very disappointed in the decision. We offered clear and compelling evidence to the OFT that we had never colluded with manufacturers.?


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Big Deal Pizza News
Dallas' best pizza restaurant hits Austin and snaps up notable space
Dallas' best and best-known pizza is expanding to Austin. Cane Rosso, an authentic Neapolitan-style pizzeria chain, will be opening its first branch in Austin in spring 2016 in the building that was previously home to St. Philip, the ill-fated pizza parlor and bakery from the Uchi group.
In equally riveting news, Cane Rosso has also acquired Austin's Cow Tipping Creamery and will help the fledgling food truck graduate to a brick-and-mortar space — more than likely in the same compound as the Austin location of Cane Rosso.
Cane Rosso owner Jay Jerrier wasn't able to confirm the location, but an email sent to other businesses in the same center as St. Philip from the Uchi group announced that Cane Rosso would be their new neighbor.
Since Jerrier founded Cane Rosso in 2011, the restaurant has taken Dallas by storm — earning international acclaim for its rigorously authentic, VPN-certified pizza that uses high-quality, locally sourced toppings. Austin would represent the ninth outpost in Cane Rosso's growing empire; two branches are scheduled to open in Houston in 2016.
The only other VPN-certified pizzeria in Austin is Pieous in Dripping Springs.
Jerrier says that the idea of opening a Cane Rosso in Austin came out of his interest in Cow Tipping Creamery.
"We fell in love with what Cow Tipping does," he says. "They bake everything from scratch, they make all the ice cream from scratch, and it's really good creamy ice cream. They felt like they were ready to go brick-and-mortar but weren't ready to take it to the next step."
"We're always looking for small places we can tuck in to what we do," he says. "We thought pizza and ice cream would be good together, so we talked about partnering, maybe open in Dallas and Houston, and decided it made sense for us to join together."
In their search for a brick-and-mortar space, they were led to the location that Jerrier says he's found. And while he doesn't disclose the address, he does say that it comes fully outfitted.
What the space does not have is one of the gorgeously tiled domed ovens that's a signature at every Cane Rosso.
"We're still figuring out what we'll do about the oven," he says. "Usually we have them built in Italy, but chef Dino Santonicola has already checked out the space, and the way it's laid out, it seems impossible to get an oven already made put into place there. We may have to have the oven built onsite."
As exciting as it is for Cane Rosso to join Austin's thriving pizza scene, home to delicious contenders such as Via 313 and Bufalina, Jerrier is equally enthused about his new ice cream pals at Cow Tipping Creamery, which has been featured on Unique Sweets on the Cooking Channel.
"They're making all their ice cream, they make their hot fudge sauce and caramel, they do all this stuff from scratch," he says. "We think it's good enough that it deserves an audience beyond a mom and pop food truck."

domain: news


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New Delhi, March 20: On the day Kolkata football club East Bengal launched its mobile app, the All India Football Federation too unveiled its I-league app here.
"The All India Football Federation is pleased to announce that the official mobile app for the Hero I-League is filly available on the android and iOS platforms," said an official release on the I-League website.
"The mobile app is designed by YouFoot Ltd, and it features the News, Features and Interviews listed in the official website - www.i-league.org - as well as add-ons like the Results & Fixtures, the points table, polls, and also LIVE Commentary during the matches," said the release.
There is also the added advantage of getting 'live push' notifications of one's favourite I-League clubs during the game, and keeping updated with all the instant updates of the game actions - goals, bookings, and so on.
AIFF general secretary Kushal Das said: "Launching the mobile app for the I-League was one of the several initiatives taken by the AIFF for the further promotion of Indian Football as a whole."
"Connecting with a wider fanbase was definitely the drive for this initiative and I hope the mobile app will be happily welcomed by the I-League fans and it will strengthen the fanbase of the competition."
The I-League is the Premier Club Football Competition of India, which started in 2007, after the disbanding of the tiol Football League. IANS


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Happy Windows 8.1 day! Microsoft is rolling out a fresh version of its Windows 8 operating system, to add features and smooth over some rough edges in the year-old software. New PCs for the crucial holiday shopping season will have the new Windows 8.1 built in.
1) Microsoft thinks it’s absolutely on the right path. Too bad, naysayers:
The new software fixes some things that people complained about on Windows 8. One was the fact that it was impossible to set the software to boot into the traditional desktop mode; users who preferred the old scheme always had to first encounter the new tile-style interface that is tailored for use with a touchscreen.
But to an overwhelming degree, Windows 8.1 is fundamentally unchanged from the software that arrived last fall.
Even what some people have called the return” of the Start menu–removed in Windows 8–is a misnomer. There is a Windows logo in the familiar lower left-hand corner of the Windows 8.1 screen. But all it does it give people a place to tap or click to move back and forth to the Windows smartphone-like screen of mosaic tiles representing apps.
The course show how Microsoft believes it’s on the right path with software that seeks to bridge the divide between tablets and traditional computers.
2) Remember how Windows 8 was “make or break” for Microsoft? Ok, Windows 8.1 is REALLY make or break for Microsoft.
Windows 8 launched in Oct. 2012 at a lull in the PC market. Sales have only gotten worse since then. Tablets may outsell PCs this quarter for the first time ever, and nearly all of those tablets will be powered by Google or Apple software.
Microsoft has recast itself as a “devices and services” company, but Windows remains a hub of that strategy. If a consumer gives up on buying a Windows device, Microsoft loses a shot at getting him hooked on Windows Phone smartphones, or file-storage service SkyDrive, or Xbox music downloads. In short, no devices and no services.
3) Three-year software cycles are dead.
Like the sun rising in the East, Microsoft software had a predictable trajectory. Three years or so after the last version of Windows, Office or server software, Microsoft would release a new one. But, notice how Windows 8 is getting a scrubbing just one year after the major release.
The quickened pace is a reflection of how quickly the world has changed around Microsoft. The company was dominant in an era where software was something businesses and consumers installed on computers, or on the powerful computing hardware called servers that are the technology backbone of many computers at once.
That approach doesn’t work anymore. Web-based technology like Netflix’s online video service and Gmail email regularly refresh with new features. So do smartphone apps. Microsoft is changing to keep pace.
“Rapid release cadence is absolutely fundamental to what we’re doing,” Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said at a software developer conference this summer. “Think of that in a sense as the new norm for everything we do.”


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Facebook opens Pop-Up Store in Cologne
On 16 and 17 November, Facebook stages a pop-up store in Hohe Strasse 68-82 in Cologne. The Germany’s first Meet Facebook. You ask. We answer. Event in the heart of Cologne’s city center is for everyone who wants to experience Facebook up close. For Facebook this is the first stationary pop-up store in Germany, comparable or similar formats take place in London, Dublin and the USA.
In cooperation with Go—PopUp, a global agency specializing in pop-up stores, the rental agreement for the prime location in Cologne was provided by the nationwide real estate company storescouts based in Düsseldorf, which specializes in retail space.
Together with our new Smart Retail Hub partner Popertee, Facebook opened a pop-up store in Dublin a few days ago. With this, one of the world’s largest tech companies takes advantage of temporary pop-up stores and live communication events to engage in direct dialogue with customers and users.
In addition to the opportunity to interact directly with Facebook employees at the information desks and learn more about security and privacy on Facebook, all visitors can try out a variety of Facebook products and, for example, learn how to use “Lip Sync Live”. Function used or “Stories” created in his profile. As a special highlight, there will also be a poetry slam with local artists from Cologne and the surrounding area.
Further information about the event can be found here.


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Monday, 22 June, 2015 at 15:30 GMT
Please see the overview of the latest events from the HYIPs online. The first update comes from the admin of Industry Power, the HYIP listed at HYIPNews for 19 days. Being a newly listed program, currently paying smoothly with no negative feedback from the clients, the latest...
Friday, 19 June, 2015 at 16:01 GMT
PayOnline has announced the update of the payment solution for Pay-Mobile mobile applications.Development of Payment SDK PayOnline for iOS allows simple integration of payment acceptance via bank cards with the applications for iPad and iPhone.Within the frame of the library...
Friday, 19 June, 2015 at 11:43 GMT
Here come the news from two programs working online. They are on different stages of development. While Poker Automatics has been rather popular lately. It is a member of the TOP Choice section at HYIPNews and is enjoying wide popularity among investors online, Compass Business...
Thursday, 18 June, 2015 at 13:42 GMT
Payza has always been looking for ways to improve your experience of using the service. If you make purchases online, deliver or receive money locally or internationally, or if you plan to launch some online business the specialists of Payza try to do all possible to make your...
Monday, 15 June, 2015 at 12:16 GMT
In the latest news digest published today we are pleased to inform about the news posted by four programs, monitored at HYIPNews. Albion Union for a start. The HYIP is taking the fist place in the listing. The news update from the admin of the HYIP was rather short. Within the...
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Friday, 12 June, 2015 at 14:16 GMT
One of the leading payment processors currently used online particularly in the HYIP industry has issued another update on the official blog SolidTrustNews concerning the need and importance of account verification with SolidTrustPay. Naturally one should be aware upgrading your...
Wednesday, 10 June, 2015 at 17:10 GMT
On of the leaders of bitcoin processing in Europe, Coinzone, has announced the launch of payment services for the Polish merchants. Integrating the Coinzone solutions will simplify the process of using and accepting Bitcoins for Polish shops. The platform needs no any entrance...
Thursday, 4 June, 2015 at 12:29 GMT
OKPAY has gladly presented the partners and system customers with the updated payment form, now available. As reported year to year the number of mobile customers has been growing, far more and more clients prefer using smartphones or tabs to make payments for the orders made and...
Thursday, 28 May, 2015 at 14:18 GMT
Please have a look at the news digest showing the latest updates from a couple of HYIPs online. For a start, there is a short update from Infinity Finance, listed at HYIPNews for 44 days, which gladly announces the launch of the Spanish version of the website. The Spanish version...
Friday, 22 May, 2015 at 09:40 GMT
The leading provider of mobile payments, Square, launches the fourth global centre in Melbourne, Australia. From the point of view of the company's authorities, it will stimulate selling the devices to accept payments in the region. The Australian department will ruled by the...
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Tue, Mar 21, 2017 @ 06:43 by
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Mediatech Solutions Integrates Paymagnet Payment Solution
Spanish provider of omni-channel gambling services and products Mediatech possibilities announced that it is to partner with payment solutions provider Paymagnet. The latter will supply the gaming developer with its innovative payment system which makes it possible for credit card payments to be processed directly through smartphone sensors under their agreement.
The payment that is new is integrated into Mediatech Solutions’ IRIS platform. The said platform is known for supplying gambling operators and their clients with revolutionary social and real cash gaming experience. At first, only European players will have the ability to make the most of Paymagnet’s product.
The new solution provides worldwide merchants to just accept charge card re payments by using NFC-enabled smartphones. When integrated into the IRIS video gaming platform, gambling clients will be able to top up via their credit cards and a straightforward app that is mobile. Paymagnet’s item supports and does not need the use of a POS system.
Commenting on Mediatech possibilities’ latest strategic agreement, CEO Daniel Graetzer noted that his business is definitely using pride in providing clients with unique omni-channel gaming experience and that any provider that gives solutions for the gambling industry is welcome to partner with the developer that is spanish.
Graetzer further noted that Paymagnet’s solution is simple to be incorporated and can most definitely bolster his company’s product offering, including more than 1,500 gaming games and a true wide range of re payment solutions providers, and can facilitate gambling operators that have opted for the IRIS video gaming platform.
Martin Glettler, Paymagnet Executive Director for European countries, the center East and Africa, said that his business and its solutions are designed in a fashion that helps customers that are gambling efficiently along with their cards. Because of this, the provider’s re payment solutions have already turned out to be very popular among gambling customers, operators, and software developers.
Mr. Glettler included that they are acutely thrilled to be dealing with Mediatech possibilities since the software provider is certainly one which has been an innovator into the provision of omni-channel gambling items. The state pointed out that he thinks this initial agreement will grow as a multi-year ‘mutually useful partnership.’
Influenced Gaming Extends Worldwide Reach with BetConstruct Virtual Sports Partnership
Developer and supplier of mobile casino games, Virtual Sports item offering, and SBG movie lottery systems motivated Gaming announced it has signed another essential content distribution deal, this time around with fellow developer and provider BetConstruct. Beneath the two businesses’ agreement, Inspired Gaming will supply its partner that is latest using its Virtual Sports products via the Virtuals Connect platform.
The said platform makes it feasible for BetConstruct to offer international third-party gambling operators with Inspired Gaming’s full suite of Virtuals, like the recently introduced and already very popular Rush Football 2.
In terms of Virtuals Connect itself, it’s a fully-managed, turnkey platform that was made up of the main function to be adaptable and easily joined with every bet management system that is existing. Inspired Gaming has stated it updates its item on a regular basis therefore as to make certain that all clients regarding the video gaming supplier take advantage of it.
Commenting on Inspired Gaming’s most recent strategic deal, Steve Rogers, Chief Commercial Officer Digital Games, stated that they’re pleased using the fact that BetConstruct is offering his organization’s Virtual Sports to online and mobile gambling operators from across the world.
Mr. Rogers further noted that much like the remainder of its partners, prompted Gaming and its Virtuals Connect platform provides BetConstruct, too, with ‘easy and economical system’ for the distribution of Virtual Sports choices to worldwide third-party operators and so players. In line with the official, this latest deal will be similarly useful to all involved events.
BetConstruct CEO Vahe Baloulian noted that Inspired Gaming’s item providing is ‘a valuable addition’ for their gaming that is existing profile. The executive further noted that the Virtual Sports content is very expected by their clients and can be received well definitely.
The BetConstruct deal was the most recent of a number of such agreements prompted Gaming has penned recently. In the company inked a deal with Greentube for the distribution of its Virtuals content april. SBTech and OpenBet customers will have the chance also to choose Inspired Gaming’s Virtual Sports offering. In addition to the discounts signed with other providers of gaming products, Inspired Gaming has also partnered having a amount of gambling operators from worldwide, with SNAI and bet365 being just handful of those.


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Intel, STMicro combine on flash memory venture
Supplying growing markets for personal and professional-grade flash RAM storage on the agenda
Venerable silicon houses Intel and STMicroelectronics, working in conjunction with equity dealer Francisco Partners, are pooling elements of their flash memory businesses to create a new Swiss-based memory maker. The new company has yet to be formally named, but is expected to trade under its new banner and stand-alone management sometime during calendar 2007. Substantially all of Intel's aging NOR flash RAM business will go to the new company, while STMicro is seen as essentially exiting the flash market, contributing both its NOR and NAND interests.
STMicro will hold the lion's share of the new company, with Francisco's $150 cash stake netting it roughly 6 percent of the new outfit. The company is expected to borrow heavily in order to pay its parent chip fabricators cash for their assets, with the reported payout nearly US$1 billion. The joint venture will start with an estimated revenue stream of approximately US$3.6 billion and go toe-to-toe with market leaders such as Spansion, itself a combined effort of AMD and Fujitsu.
The daily operations of the new company will be handled by an executive management team appointed by Intel, STMicroelectronics and Francisco Partners. Brian Harrison, VP/GM at the Intel Flash Memory Group will be the new company's CEO, with ST Flash Memories Group VP Mario Licciardello slated to be the venture's COO.
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UK Government to boost support for Northern Ireland agri-food traders
Traders moving agri-food from Great Britain to Northern Ireland will benefit from increased Government support until the end of 2023, Defra has announced today (Monday 12 July 2021).
The Movement Assistance Scheme helps traders by covering certain certification costs incurred when moving agri-food products.
Since it was launched in December 2020, the scheme has helped more than 140 businesses, with the cost of more than 11,400 certificates and 1,300 inspection hours covered. The announcement of further support today demonstrates the efforts the Government has made to operationalise the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Alongside the extension to the end of December 2023, the scheme will also be expanded to cover costs related to:
scrapies testing for sheep exports
sample testing and certification required for individual seed lots
the Plant Health Exports Audited Trader Scheme (PHEATS) (from 1 August)
exporters in Great Britain who move organics solely to Northern Ireland, and Northern Irish importers who face new costs to receive these goods from Great Britain (from 1 August)
Farming, Fisheries and Food Minister Victoria Prentis said
The Movement Assistance Scheme provides essential support to agri-food traders moving goods under the Protocol.
Extending and expanding the scheme means that we can offer further help to businesses affected by new rules, and it demonstrates the efforts the Government has made to operationalise the Protocol.
Despite this extra support, we know that the Protocol is causing disruption for many businesses. That is why we are working with the EU to try and resolve the issues. If solutions cannot be found, we will consider all options available to us. We will present our approach to Parliament before the summer recess.
Since 1 January 2021, there have been new requirements for inspection and certification when moving agri-food and similar goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Authorised traders, such as supermarkets and their trusted suppliers, currently benefit from a grace period from certification requirements for products of animal origin, composite products, food and feed of non-animal origin and plants and plant products as well as organic products.
The Government has proposed a trusted trader scheme to the EU so that traders could benefit from streamlined certification requirements, without any compromise to existing high biosecurity standards on the island of Ireland.


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Choosing healthful foods and beverages has become increasingly controversial. For years, nutrition experts recommended a breakfast of cold cereal, toast with margarine and a glass of orange juice. We now know that the trans fats in margarine were worse than butter for your heart. Sugar-sweetened cereal is also problematic, as are all foods with added sugar. A new study even questions the benefit of orange juice.
The Problem with Fruit Juice:
More than 13,000 people participated in the REGARDS study (JAMA Network Open, May 17, 2019). (The name stands for Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke). During the six years of follow-up, people who drank the most fruit juice or sugar-sweetened beverages were significantly more likely to die than those who drank the least. Although people think of fruit juice as nutritious, people drinking juice were just as likely as those consuming soft drinks to die prematurely.
Fruit Juice Contains Fructose:
This is not the first study to note that sweet drinks are not good for your health. Most people realize that sugar-sweetened beverages are bad for the waistline. A review of research suggests that they are also bad for the heart.
What’s the Evidence?
Two Harvard nutrition scientists did a thorough review of the research (Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Oct. 6, 2015). They reported that increased sugar and high-fructose corn syrup in the US diet has contributed to obesity. In addition, people consuming such foods are more likely to have type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. They based their conclusion on both observational studies and controlled trials. Apparently, when people consume sugary drinks, their bodies fail to compensate for the calories they have taken in. Consequently, these beverages can add extra pounds.
Fructose Is a Special Problem:
The way fructose is metabolized contributes to the problem. In addition to its effect on caloric intake, fructose stimulates the liver to make extra fat that gets packed around the abdominal organs. That adds to the cardiometabolic risk.
In an editorial in the same issue, Dr. Robert Vogel points out the complications that arise in trying to study the impact of food on health. His article is cleverly titled Pharma Versus Farmer.
Drinking Less Soda and Lowering Blood Pressure:
A previous study showed that people who cut back on soft drink consumption are able to lower their blood pressure. The trial included more than 800 adults and lasted a year and a half (Circulation, June 8, 2010). When it began, average soda consumption was just about one serving a day. The volunteers in the study were offered advice on healthy lifestyles, and those who reduced their sweet beverage consumption also lowered their blood pressure. Drinking one less soda pop or glass of juice drink daily corresponded to a drop of almost two points in systolic blood pressure, the upper number in the reading, and of about a point in diastolic blood pressure. The investigators controlled for caffeine consumption and weight loss and concluded that reduced sugar consumption had an independent blood pressure benefit.
Fruit Juice, Soda and Gout:
Other research showed that women who frequently consume sugar-sweetened beverages are more prone to gout, an exceedingly painful inflammation of the joints (JAMA, Nov. 24, 2010). The Nurses Health Study provided data from almost 80,000 women for more than 20 years. Dietary analysis shows that women who have two or more servings of sweetened soft drinks or fruit juice daily have double the risk of developing gout. This inflammatory condition leads to painful joints caused by uric acid crystals precipitating in soft tissue. Fructose raises uric acid levels, especially in people who have a history of gout. Because high fructose corn syrup is inexpensive, it is widely used to sweeten soft drinks and fruit juice.
The research demonstrates that even fruit juice that does not contain added sugar may have enough fructose to disrupt metabolism. There is no doubt that the healthiest beverage is plain water, although unsweetened coffee or tea would probably also get a pass on this criterion.


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The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way many people work. While there has been several job loss in some sectors, there is high demand for more talent in other sectors. You can read about the federal government’s research on how the pandemic has affected the labour in Canada. In this article, we will share top in-demand jobs in Canada.
For more on specific job prospects, you can check the federal government’s trend analysis tool. This allows you to view the trends in your occupations of interest.
Information systems analysts and consultants (NOC 2171)
Much like other IT occupations, information systems analysts and consultants help companies transition to remote work. They were essential workers while most of the provinces were in lockdown. As more companies expand their products and services online, there will be more demand for talents with this skillset. Also, digital processes are growing and so is the risk of cyber-security breaches.
Computer and information systems managers (NOC 0213)
Due to covid-19, many companies are now implementing telework for the long term. Also, there are more virtual services such as e-commerce, medical appointments, job fairs and this would call for more IT workers. All of these developments will drive up demand for tech professionals as firms adapt to new ways of working.
Advertising, marketing and public relations managers (NOC 0124)
Although there has been a drop in spending on traditional advertising during the pandemic, the industry is increasingly going digital. Also, preliminary budgets suggest companies plan to increase spending on advertising, especially digital ads. This, therefore, creates more job opportunities for those with knowledge of modern technological methods.
Web designers and developers (NOC 2175)
This is actually one of the top in-demand jobs in Canada right now. Web designers and developers are integral in helping businesses build their online presence. Due to the nature of their work, many people in this sector already had telework capabilities before the pandemic. As the trend toward online shopping continue to increase, there will be more job opportunities for workers in this field.
Biologists and related scientists (NOC 2121)
These workers include immunologists, virologists, bio-information workers and pharmacologists who are researching COVID-19. The research and development of more vaccines and treatments will continue to support job opportunities for workers in these occupations.
Computer programmers and interactive media developers (NOC 2174)
At the beginning of the pandemic, these workers were in demand to help design COVID-related digital media to support dissemination of information. As the demand for digital products and services increases, there will be more opportunities for these workers, especially as the global e-learning market grows and more companies try to engage their customers online.
Database analysts and data administrators (NOC 2172)
Throughout the pandemic, the government and other organizations have prioritized case tracking and COVID-19 data analysis. These workers have been involved in much of the COVID-data analysis process. A continued interest in COVID-19 data and analysis will support these job opportunities. Aside this, there are more concerns about data collection, storage, and management. The shift to online solutions will increase jobs in these occupations.
Graphic Designers and Illustrators (NOC 5241)
As more companies and businesses offer their services online, the demand for graphic designers and illustrators is on the increase. If you run an e-commerce platform, you will need to create content and graphics for your products and services. So, you will need to hire a graphic designer or illustrator.
Medical laboratory technologists (NOC 3211)
There was a shortage of lab techs even before the pandemic due to a high number of retirees and a low number of new grads available to take their place. The covid-19 pandemic has made the supply of these workers even more scarce. Also, as the population ages, the number of job vacancies in this occupation will continue to grow.
If you like this article “Top In-Demand Jobs In Canada”, please share it with your friends and family. Also, subscribe to our newsletter and YouTube Channel to ensure you don’t miss any update from us. Finally, don’t forget to join our community to connect with others. Lastly, you can also follow us on our social media pages – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.


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Viacom, parent company of MTV and Paramount, has announced plans to sell Rock Band developer Harmonix, reclassifying the studio as a discontinued operation.
Only four years ago Viacom purchased Harmonix for $175 million after rising to fame as the creator of the Guitar Hero franchise.
The decision to sell the studio comes after Viacom announced a third-quarter dip in earnings
Harmonix's Rock Band 3 slumped out of the UK Video Game chart on its second week of release after making its debut at No.26.
The studio's latest title, Dance Central, was released yesterday as part of the Kinect for Xbox 360 launch line-up. It's not clear what will happen to the Rock Band and Dance Central IPs.
According to Viacom, Harmonix made a loss of $65 million in the recent financial quarter, with the company stating the studio will be worth more to third parties than it is to them.
The sale is expected to be completed quickly, meaning the future of the studio and its associated franchises should become clear soon.


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Samsung Galaxy S8 To Have VR Ready Display with OLED?
After the debacle of the Note 7, Samsung has entered the damage-control mode by introducing various offers to the consumers who purchased the Note 7. They offered them a free VR headset only for those who remained loyal to the company. They also did issue an apology and recalled all the units of the Note 7(Billions of dollars loss).
Samsung is all set to take it’s next flagship phone (i.e. Galaxy S8) to a whole new level. Rumors of the S8’s design and hardware specs have already been doing rounds over the internet, but they are yet to be confirmed by the company.
Also Read:- Survey : 40% of Current Users will Never buy another Samsung Phone
One latest rumor that’s doing rounds over the internet is the usage of a full-screen OLED display on the Samsung Galaxy S8
According to display researcher Park Won Sang, Samsung would be rolling out displays which have more screen to body ratio when compared to the company’s previous flagships in the Galaxy S8
He also mentions that Samsung will try to release a full Bezel-less phone in the upcoming years. This will in-turn increase competition among the smartphone manufacturers to push out similar bezel-less devices.
That day won’t be far when we’ll push our finger directly onto the screen for fingerprint recognition.
Just recently, Xiaomi announced its almost bezel-less smartphone, The Mi MIX, boasting of an impressive 91.3% screen-to-body ratio. Few rumors also suggest that Apple will also start using OLED screen for its iPhone 8.
What do you think? Is this the future of Smartphones to go all Bezel-less? Let us know in the comments section


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Cyber researchers have discovered a new security flaw that allows crooks to tap into Oracle's MICROS retail systems and steal sensitive data. Oracle's point-of-sale (POS) terminals are used in more...
Researchers used earlier observations from NASA's MESSENGER mission to probe Mercury's inner core
Espionage campaign has compromised the websites of more than 40 organisations over the past two years
Wedlake Bell's James Castro-Edwards explains why Bounty received such a big fine under the old Data Protection Act - which would almost certainly have been much larger under GDPR
Big changes are under way at SAP, and HANA's weaknesses may be the root cause


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Two Brave Walmart Associates Lead OWS Protestors in March on Walmart’s NYC HQ to Demand Promised Pay
Crowd Tells World’s Richest Retailer It Must Keep the Promises it Made in Other Cities Before It’s Welcome in NYC
New York– Walmart workers came to Liberty Park today to speak to Occupy Wall Street protesters about their campaign to win fair wages and working conditions for Walmart’s 2.1 million associates worldwide.
“We’re here today to let the people at Occupy Wall Street know that Walmart’s associates stand with them, we are the 99%” said Walmart worker Girshriela Green. “For too long Walmart has pushed its associates around and its time we got the dignity and respect we deserve.”
The workers are helping to build grassroots support for Walmart Free NYC’s campaign to hold Walmart accountable for their past statements and promises- promises the richest retailer in the world has broken time and again broken in urban expansion markets similar to New York City, according to a new report released by Making Change at Walmart.
The report, which can be found here, explains that:
- Walmart promised an African-American community leader that workers at one Los Angeles store would be making $13 an hour, but workers report that in reality many make less
- Academics estimated that if consumers paid an additional .46 cents per shopping trip, it would allow Walmart to offer a minimum wage of $12 an hour
- Walmart associates often delay or forgo medical care altogether because they can’t get the time off or can’t afford the treatment
- 65% of all Walmart associates in 2001 were women, yet they made up only 33% of salaried management
“Walmart’s glitzy and expensive PR campaign won’t tell New York that they promised Los Angeles jobs and then never delivered, or that they promised higher wages than fell way short. We need to hold Walmart accountable, and that is what we are doing today,” said Stephanie Yazgi, Director of Walmart Free NYC. “We need Walmart to be held accountable for their past promises and need them to finally treat their workers with respect.”
After speaking to the people gathered at Zuccotti Park, the workers and Occupy Wall Street protestors marched on Walmart’s New York City Headquarters to demand the company keep its promises to workers in other cities before it’s allowed in to New York City.
In addition, the Walmart workers also met with key stakeholders in New York City to discuss Walmart’s many labor related issues and why the retail giant needs to be reformed. The workers are from a worker organized organization called OUR Walmart: Organization United for Respect at Walmart that stands up for their rights.
Girshriela Green: Girshriela Green is flying across the country tomorrow to tell New Yorkers about her experience working for the world’s richest retailer in Los Angeles- where her working-class community was courted by Walmart’s promises of hundreds of good jobs, much like East New Yorkers are now—but those promises failed to materialize. Girshriela was hired as a sales floor associate making $8.20 / hour. After three promotions, she makes $9.80 an hour, far less than the $13 an hour Walmart executives promised an African-American community leader in LA, and now, in New York.
Kenny James: Kenny James is a former Walmart Support Manager from Renton, Washington. Kenny was on the management track, but chose to step down when he was told that in order to move up into higher management, he had to treat associates more poorly. Kenny has for several years tried to make Walmart a better place to work by educating associates, addressing unfair policies and challenging Walmart to do right by its associates. Kenny is a leader in Organization United for Respect at Walmart and is hopeful for the future of equality, respect and fairness at Walmart.


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Kaye clients hail decision on financier
Thousands of investors who paid huge amounts for Henry Kaye property seminars won a major victory yesterday with a legal decision against a finance group that provided tens of millions of dollars in loans to help keep Kaye's empire afloat.
The decision, in a case that Consumer Affairs Victoria brought against the New Zealand-owned company, Australian Finance Direct, has been hailed by lawyers and advocates as a significant victory for consumers and CAV.
Consumer Affairs brought four charges against AFD in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal on behalf of more than 2300 Australian investors.
VCAT deputy president, Cate McKenzie ruled yesterday that AFD had breached the Uniform Consumer Credit Code four times in contracts by failing to disclose the real interest rate charged on loans provided to Henry Kaye customers.
Consumer Affairs Minister John Lenders last night said the action against AFD had been taken after complaints that people were being "ripped off..." and "exploited by property investment spruikers and associated finance companies".
"Australian Finance Direct thought they could take advantage of ordinary people who were just trying to get some advice so they could get ahead and secure a comfortable future," said Mr Lenders.
The investors cited in the case had each borrowed between $4995 and $16,757 from AFD, a subsidiary of the Hanover Group, for Kaye seminars. The money was paid by AFD to Kaye's company, National Investment Institute, which ran the programs.
But Consumer Affairs alleged the scheme breached consumer law and that there had been a separate and secret deal between AFD and Kaye's NII.
Under this deal, AFD allegedly did not hand over all the money borrowed by the individual investors to NII. It held back some of the borrowed money.
This was referred to by CAV as a "hold-back fee" that allegedly ran from 10 per cent of the money borrowed by the investors but in some cases was up to 50 per cent of the loan.
CAV described the "hold-back fee" as a percentage of the loan that AFD retained to supplement the interest charged but not paid to NII.
CAV also said AFD breached the credit code by charging and not disclosing the hold-back fee to customers.
AFD faces fines of up to $500,000 on each of the four counts, but the tribunal has postponed a decision on a civil penalty until another hearing is completed.
The decision was welcomed by consumer advocates and by Rob Lees, a partner at Melbourne law firm Slater and Gordon, which is handling a class action on behalf of more than 700 Henry Kaye clients seeking the return of millions of dollars paid to Kaye's company from funds borrowed from AFD.
"We want to annul all of those (contracts) and get a refund for all the victims," Mr Lees said.
He said AFD had been estimated to have loaned about $60 million for Kaye seminars.
Mr Lees said Slater and Gordon would consider extending its statement of claim to include yesterday's decision that the AFD scheme was against consumer law.
"This is a very significant decision, which will hurt AFD," he said.
"It has provided us with additional ammunition in our claim against the company. "We will be looking to include a claim in our class action that AFD have illegally charged interest on all of these contracts, which is essentially what the VCAT decision says."
Paul Gillett, a solicitor with the Consumer Credit Legal Service, Victoria, and consumer property advocates Neil Jenman and Denise Brailey, who helped initiate much of the legal action against Kaye, welcomed the VCAT ruling as significant for consumers and Kaye victims.


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Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has just confirmed its next wave of iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C launches around the world. Friday, October 25 will see 25 countries commence official sales, with a dozen more starting one week later on November 1.
Here’s the list just for Asia-Pacific:
October 25 launches for iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C:
Macau, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand
November 1 launches:
India and Malaysia
Obviously that leaves quite a few large countries waiting for a later wave of roll-outs, such as Indonesia.
The two newest iPhones launched in China, Japan, Singapore, and Australia on September 20, shortly after they were first revealed.
(Editing by Josh Horwitz)


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“Boutique fitness in Australia is about five years behind where it is in the U.S.,” said Matt Gordin, but the master franchisee of CycleBar, StretchLab and Rumble noted the country is primed to catch up.
“I’d say Australia would be right up there per capita with spending on memberships and gyms” with any market in the world, Gordin continued, and consumers are “willing to pay for a premium experience.” Aussies spend an average of $95 per month on gym memberships, reported Australian consumer research group Canstar Blue, though in a survey last year just 15 percent said they went to the gym for group fitness classes. With his introduction of three concepts from Irvine, California-based franchisor Xponential Fitness, Gordin wants to change that.
Gordin, along with his wife, Candice, and father, Bill, formed Boutique Fitness Studios in Perth and signed a master deal to develop CycleBar in Australia in early 2020, later adding StretchLab and Rumble. While the COVID-19 pandemic affected studio development, four CycleBars are open, along with three StretchLabs, and the company signed agreements last year for 41 locations across the brands.
“Our challenge this year is to get the ones we’ve sold open,” said Gordin, as the group also works to introduce all three concepts to New Zealand after signing an additional master franchise agreement.
While group fitness franchises such as F45 Training, FitStop and Orangetheory have a presence in the country, there’s plenty of white space for a cycling concept, said Gordin, part of why he first chose CycleBar. It was also a natural starting point for someone whose background includes expanding Bike Force, the Australian retail franchise founded by his father, and developing online marketplace Bike Exchange in the United States.
It was while living in California that Gordin joined a CycleBar “and fell in love with the brand,” he said. Upon moving back to Australia, he and Candice thought about creating their own concept, but after more research it “became pretty clear we should do it with them rather than against them.”
Anyone can copy a brand, he continued, but where CycleBar stands out is with the instructor training of its energetic CycleStars, who help give members that aforementioned premium experience that’s further amplified by a concert-like environment of lights and music. Other touches, such as cold towels handed out at the end of each ride, and cycling shoe rental included in the membership price, are attractive to members, he said.
StretchLab, which provides customized assisted-stretch services, made sense as a second brand for Gordin and Boutique Fitness Studios because it’s not a competitor in the fitness space “but rather it’s complementary,” he said. Plus, “it’s a little bit lower cost to enter than CycleBar,” which helps on the franchise development side as the company looks to appeal to franchisees.
Boxing concept Rumble, the most recent addition to Gordin’s portfolio, “is probably the coolest of the lot,” he said. “Nothing really competes against it,” and while no locations are open yet in Australia, 24 were sold in about four months. Among those franchisees are former F45 studio owners Matt and Chris Stafford—known in Australia as the DJ and entertainment duo Stafford Brothers—who signed on for two locations and are also promoting Rumble.
“They’re connected to the top Instagram influencers,” noted Gordin.
Boutique Fitness Studios is also tapping into the expertise of another well-known Australian entrepreneur in Jacinta McDonell. The co-founder of Anytime Fitness Australia, McDonell brought the 24-hour gym concept to the country and built the system to 425 studios before exiting in 2017. She joined the board of Boutique Fitness Studios in January and is also an investor in the group.
“The demand for wellness and fitness has never been higher,” said McDonell as she added that’s true both among consumers and prospective franchisees. A “massive boom in property prices” has led to a financial windfall for many homeowners who are now looking for new investments, she continued, and franchising is an attractive and established model in the country.
In her role, McDonell said she’ll help Boutique Fitness Studios create a “successful, sustainable model for our franchisees” by enhancing support, looking for efficiencies in gym buildouts and focusing on key performance metrics at the unit level.
Xponential Fitness has 2,100-plus studios open across its 10 brands, with Club Pilates and Pure Barre boasting the largest footprints at 690 and 610 units, respectively. Just 184 of Xponential’s locations are outside the U.S., but more development is on the horizon.
The company last year announced a master franchise deal in Spain, and it also has franchisees developing locations in countries including Canada, Japan, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.
View full article here.


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As Athens restaurants, bars and eateries adjust to changing policies and conditions during the coronavirus pandemic, their operations change frequently. Here’s this week’s roundup of restaurant news.
Butcher & Vine to celebrate second anniversary
Butcher & Vine announced it will be hosting a wine tasting on Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. at its Watkinsville location to celebrate the restaurant’s second anniversary. The tasting will include the pairing of five wines with fall-themed dishes. Seats are limited and reservations must be made by calling 706-705-1466 or emailing email@example.com.
Paloma Park reschedules ParktoberFest
Paloma Park announced ParktoberFest will now be held on Oct. 8 and 9. The celebration will now include a four-piece German folk band performing on Oct. 8.
Dos Palmas brings back trivia night
Dos Palmas announced it will host its first trivia night on Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Half-Shepherd Market & Cheese Shop closed Friday-Monday
Half-Shepherd Market & Cheese Shop announced it will be closed Friday, Oct. 1-Monday, Oct. 4. It will resume normal hours on Tuesday.


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As part of this week’s Agencies4Growth Festival, we’re asking some of the brightest minds in marketing why agencies matter today. Here, Conny Braams, Unilever's chief digital and marketing officer, explains how one of the world's largest advertisers has drawn on its agency roster during the pandemic.
It goes without saying that the fluctuations in demand and the speed of change we have witnessed this year has been extraordinary. When news of the pandemic first hit, Unilever offered €500m of cash flow relief to support livelihoods across our extended value chain. We redeployed many of our own people to areas of our business that needed it the most, working with our agency partners to mirror these shifts, redeploying talent across our diverse portfolio to manage changes in agency spend.
We did this because we know long term agency partnerships help us collaborate with people who really know our business, our marketers, our consumers and our customers.
As a result, we have been able to draw on these global agency partnerships which has been critical to move at speed and with agility, enabling us to be resilient in difficult times. From our partners working with us to roll out our Lifebuoy brand to over 50 markets in 100 days, to helping us develop media models for our brands to pivot and change deployment approaches at speed. Our partners bring us innovative thinking to help solve global and local business challenges.
Over the last two years, we have been scaling a new agency ecosystem with a consolidated group of preferred agency partners. Its main goal is to drive the consistency of our brands, globally, regionally, and locally, to create the best conditions for creativity, and improve the consistency of our communications across all consumer touch points. Fast forward to today, we have seen the most incredible response from this set of agencies who we are proud to call our partners.
With the virus putting significant pressure and restrictions on the way we operate, we have worked together to adapt our brand communications, making sure we don’t fall into the Covid woke washing bandwagon and keeping an authentic brand purpose at the heart of our communications and our actions. We evolved our production protocol into a Covid safe, best in class operation to keep our joint teams safe, and accelerated our e-commerce offering – delivering €2.2bn of sales in the first half of this year.
But more than that, we are collaborating to identify new opportunities to support our consumers as we enter a predicted economic crisis. Often in a recession, people choose brands that they know and trust for their value and for their values. Whilst we must be able to provide cash-strapped consumers excellent products at an affordable price, we also cannot ignore the seismic shifts in people’s identity and values or the heightened awareness of issues and stereotypes.
Divisive politics, rising inequality and discrimination, climate change – 85% of Edelman’s Trust Barometer respondents want brands to ‘solve my problems’ and 80% want brands to ‘solve society’s problems’. We have long believed that by standing for something bigger than the products we sell, tapping into our audience’s beliefs and taking decisive action to help solve society’s ills, we can connect with people on a deeper level. And our agencies possess the key to unlock this. By applying creativity to purpose in the Brand Say and the Brand Do, appealing to people on the issues that genuinely matter to them. Engaging with our brand teams to encourage bold ideas and tough conversations.
It is these tough conversations that led us to launch Unstereotype in 2016. After looking at advertising across the industry, it was easy to see that gender stereotypes were still prevalent. As one of the world’s largest advertisers, we have a responsibility to not just reflect culture but help shape it and we wanted to use our influence to break outdated stereotypes and harmful social norms that are hindering progress to gender equality. We also found that by using progressive portrayals of people, we improved the effectiveness of our ads.
So in 2017, we went a step further co-founding the Unstereotype Alliance with UN Women as a platform to drive positive change across the industry. The alliance is focused on empowering women in all their diversity (race, class, age, ability, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, language, education etc.) and addressing harmful masculinities to help create a gender equal world. There are currently 38 members including our agency partners.
The world is now calling for us to take another step forward. We are on a mission to be the most diverse and inclusive company in the world. And we know we will only change attitudes that preserve the inequalities of underrepresented groups in society if we live those values ourselves. And as our partners, we need our agencies to live these values too, both in front and behind the camera.
Collectively, there is a lot of work to be done, but having seen the strength, passion, and determination of the Unilever ecosystem this year, I am confident that our agency partners will continue to support us and our brands to take action and create the long overdue change the world is now demanding.
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The ease and convenience of online CPD means that many vets and VNs are far exceeding the recommended targets set by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, claims a new survey by The Webinar Vet.
A new survey by online CPD provider The Webinar Vet has revealed that online seminars now make up three quarters of annual CPD for its members.
Anthony Chadwick, founder of The Webinar Vet, said the survey highlighted the popularity of online CPD, with total points recorded by members far exceeding the 35 hour target (the yearly average for veterinary surgeons, as recommended by the RCVS).
He said: “Our members average over 60 hours of online CPD per year. Indeed several members are exceeding 100 hours a year including workshops and some have even recorded over 200 hours of total CPD.”
The Webinar Vet was launched in February 2010 and became the first company in the UK to specialise in web-based CPD for vets.
“There will always be a need for workshop CPD, but most vets and VNs can get the majority of the updates and information they need online,” Mr Chadwick said. “However, we believe that in many cases it is not a simple swap – the convenience of online CPD means that many vets and VNs are earning more total hours, which can only be a good thing for the profession.
“Many vets and VNs are juggling busy family lives with work in practice, and the convenience of viewing and participating in webinars from your own home or in a practice lunch break is both cost and time saving.”


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The company is now set to expand its affordable portfolio in India with the launch of another smartphone. Realme has already confirmed that the upcoming Realme Narzo N55 will be launched on April 12. This will be the first Narzo N series smartphone to be released globally.
Realme Narzo N55 will also be the first Narzo-branded device to be launched in 2023. The micro-site for the upcoming smartphone has now gone live on the e-commerce site Amazon. The Amazon listing has revealed some of the key details about the Realme Narzo N55 smartphone.
Realme Narzo N55: Expected design
The Amazon listing has confirmed some of the rumoured features of the Realme Narzo N55. As per the microsite, the upcoming smartphone will feature a flat body, frame and rear panel. The phone will also have a C-angle design and will be available in the Prime Blue colour option.
Realme Narzo N55 is also said to feature a dual-tone finish on the rear panel. The smartphone may feature a dual-camera setup which will be housed inside two large circular cutouts along with an LED flash.
The power button which will also carry the fingerprint scanner seems to be located on the right-side panel of the phone. The Narzo N55 is also expected to support AI face unlock. This smartphone is also likely to have a 3.5mm headphone jack, USB Type-C charging port and a primary speaker grille at the bottom.
Rumours also suggest that the upcoming smartphone will be the sleekest in its segment, and may just be only 7.89mm thick. The smartphone is expected to be available in multiple storage options.
Realme Narzo N55: Expected specs
The base model is said to pack 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, while the more expensive variant may support 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The phone is also expected to feature a 90Hz display, 33W fast charging, a 64MP main camera, and a 16MP front camera.
Realme Narzo is also likely to sport a 90Hz AMOLED display, a 64MP primary camera and a 16MP front-facing shooter for selfies and video calls.


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Already during his A-levels at school, TUM School of Management alumnus Felix Harteneck began to develop solutions for cost control related issues in his family business. Accordingly, it was clear that his studies should take place at a founder-friendly university, as this would certainly not be his last project. The entrepreneur decided to study Management & Technology at the TUM School of Management. In fact, not long after enrolling, Felix met his two co-founders Clemens Techmer and Jakob Sturm, who were studying Electrical and Computer Engineering. Together, they started ParkHere, which is now a multi-award-winning, leading high-tech provider of smart parking and mobility solutions for companies such as BMW, Giesecke+Devrient, and Telefónica all over Europe.
Competitive pressure, a shift in target groups and high costs resulted in the strong development of the company’s products. Today, ParkHere offers a complete parking management service, especially for companies. While the goal back then was to implement the product in cities, the founders were able to identify companies as a new target group.
Through UnternehmerTUM, Felix and his co-founders had close contact with companies such as BMW, which were very interested in the technology. Thanks to this support, the founders were able to „offer a complete product, a complete solution much faster,“ says Felix. Moreover, this circumstance naturally made it easier to leave the status of a pilot project behind and become a scale-up that is sustainably profitable today.
As for many other companies, the Corona pandemic also challenged the founders to rethink their business. The system of work and the workplace changed dramatically during the crisis. Fortunately, „the crisis gave us a lot of opportunities,“ Felix says. At times, the founder explains, they also offered office solutions. Alongside ParkHere, now there was WorkHere. In addition to booking a parking space, it was now possible to book a workspace and accurately document office occupancy to break contagion chains. One of the biggest challenges that the three founders had to overcome was the extensive reconsideration and transition from parking sensors, for which ParkHere was known, to complete solutions for parking management. It was a challenging step, both for the entrepreneurs and the employees.
TUM School of Management alumnus Felix Harteneck is convinced that studying is exactly the right time to start founding a company. He explains it this way: „You may lack professional experience, but you simply have the freedom and this light-heartedness that you also need to plunge into such a venture“.
However, his advice to students who also intend to start a business is not to lose sight of their studies. Starting a business is a very exciting time for founders. Felix admitted: „A start-up can grow very rapidly and take up a lot of time. Doing your degree at the same time can be very challenging“.
One more thing is particularly important to an entrepreneur: Felix recommends starting to build a network while you’re still studying. To this day, he has plenty of contacts from that time and has benefited from it by sharing experiences with other founders or turning former fellow students into employees.
Turning an idea into a business – while studying – is no easy task, as Felix knows. With the help of UnternehmerTUM, however, the founders quickly became known for their sensor technology, which detects vacant parking spaces without a connected energy supply. To this day, the founders continue to enjoy recruiting graduates from the Manage&More program.


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Los Angeles, CA (March 28, 2017) – VidaPrimo, the premier multi-platform network for Latin Rhythm Music, has begun producing and distributing original content as of February 21. The announcement was made by VidaPrimo Executive Vice President and General Manager Stephen Brooks. The network is positioning itself as one of the best ways for advertisers to reach Latin Millennials and for music artists to engage fans.
A Content Trifecta
“As a premier media network for fans of Latin music, the time is now to begin producing high-quality original content,” says Brooks. “Every month VidaPrimo will premiere hours of new content, including video releases from new artists, concerts from your favorite Latin stars, exclusive interviews, in-studio sessions, and other material that is not available anywhere else. Creating this original content elevates the brand.”
Dawn-til-Dusk Latin Rhythms
The first original VidaPrimo content originates from a recent a dusk-til-dawn concert held earlier this year in Puerto Rico. The VidaPrimo team in Colombia went to Caguas to film over twenty Latin artists and emerged with over nine hours of video capturing the celebratory mood of the show. The content will be released under the brand name VidaPrimo Stage. VidaPrimo will launch further sub-brands, including VidaPrimo Sessions (focused on in-studio footage); VidaPrimo News (focused on industry news) and VidaPrimo Confidencial (focused on the artists beyond the music).
“I think we can get to the point that we actually have more original content than we do music video releases from our artists,” says Brooks. “It’s going to take time to get there, but we have a fantastic team and a solid plan, and our artists are buying into that plan. Viewers, too, are excited to get access to new material about their favorite artists and genres. There’s no such thing as too much content when it comes to your passion points.”
VidaPrimo is a global media company that provides advertisers access to an exploding marketplace of US and Latin American Millennials as they consume the hottest content in the young Hispanic culture. Through contracts with 100 of the hottest Latin Rhythm artists, VidaPrimo is one of the largest Latin Music Multi- Platform Networks with presence across YouTube and www.VidaPrimo.com With 60mm+ monthly views in the US and over 400mm across Latin America, VidaPrimo reaches 25% of US based Hispanic Millennials and an average of 20% of Millennials in Latin American countries. The VidaPrimo advertising platform leverages its massive reach of engaged Latin Millennials and connects them with brands through high quality in-stream video opportunities in front of premium content. Additionally, VidaPrimo offers display, creative product integration, and custom video/activation opportunities.
For more information on VidaPrimo visit:


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The trucking industry has entered a historically strong business environment, but trucking companies continue to face some persistent headwinds: Recruit enough professional truck drivers and infrastructure.
With the shortage increasing driver pay, it can have a significant impact on supplier costs and therefore consumer pricing. It can also increase shipping delays and shortage at stores
Trucking companies will need to find ways to entice more workers to become professional truck drivers
The majority of truckers say that they get held up by poor road conditions every day or a few times a week which increases maintenance costs resulting in declining margins for owner-operators. Local and city roads that need pothole repair, resurfacing and leveling are costing truckers a lot of extra money in additional vehicle operating costs such as fuel consumption, tire wear, and deterioration.
Much of the infrastructure of the United States—including its roadways—is long overdue for overhaul and upgrading.
For truckers, who spend most of their working lives on the road, the issue is especially critical.
Infrastructure-related delays such as congestion, road closures, and deferred road maintenance present unique challenges that often require team drivers to ensure on-time delivery, this increases the cost to move the load itself and is ultimately passed on to the consumer and taxpayer at the point of sale.
Growth + Change = Opportunity! How are you going to capitalize on the opportunity as a freight broker, agent, dispatcher or box truck carrier!?


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Chinese language equities are on target for the most important month-to-month achieve in virtually two years as buyers guess the worst of a lockdown-induced financial shock and prolonged tech sector crackdown within the nation has handed.
The CSI 300 index of Shanghai- and Shenzhen-listed shares has climbed greater than 8 per cent in June. That has put the benchmark on observe for its greatest one-month rise since July 2020, when international buyers snapped up Chinese language shares because the nation exited its first spherical of Covid-19 lockdowns forward of the remainder of the world.
Shares had been additionally buoyed this week after China lower quarantine necessities for worldwide arrivals from two weeks to at least one. That marked the primary important rest of journey restrictions since authorities introduced Covid outbreaks in Shanghai and Beijing beneath management.
“As a sign concerning the steadiness between zero-Covid and financial development, you’ll be able to see there’s somewhat extra concern [in Beijing] concerning the economic system,” stated Frank Benzimra, head of Asia fairness technique at Société Générale, of the federal government’s transfer to ease quarantine restrictions.
Benzimra stated international markets had been responding to an inflection level in coverage for the world’s two largest economies. Whereas policymakers in China had been stepping up efforts to bolster development, a 0.75 share level rate of interest rise by the Federal Reserve earlier this month has pressured buyers to confront the prospect of a US financial slowdown.
Regardless of this month’s rally, analysts at Goldman Sachs warned on Wednesday that China’s zero-Covid coverage was “unlikely to basically change within the close to time period”. This was primarily because of an absence of progress in vaccinating the nation’s susceptible aged inhabitants and a want for stability throughout the Chinese language Communist social gathering congress in November, at which President Xi Jinping is anticipated to safe a 3rd time period.
However with the nation’s leaders keen to spice up development within the wake of Shanghai’s harsh two-month lockdown, regulators have signalled they are going to take a much less extreme method to policing the nation’s tech sector virtually a yr after kicking off an unprecedented crackdown.
Expectations of a lighter contact from Beijing have helped push Hong Kong’s Grasp Seng Tech index up virtually 10 per cent this month.
Brokers stated a lot of the demand had come from mainland buyers. Information from Hong Kong’s Inventory Join programme, which hyperlinks the town’s inventory market with exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen, present internet purchases in June of virtually $6bn from merchants in Shanghai and Shenzhen.
Louis Tse, managing director at Hong Kong-based brokerage Rich Securities, stated Chinese language tech teams had been “very a lot offered down earlier than the shopping for got here in from the north”.
Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese language web group Alibaba have been among the many finest performers, rising 18 per cent this month after rumours it might be fast-tracked for inclusion within the Inventory Join programme as a part of celebrations surrounding the twenty fifth anniversary of the territory’s handover from the UK on July 1.
However Tse stated the programme was unlikely to make an exception to a requirement that Hong Kong buying and selling account for greater than half of annual turnover in an organization’s inventory. New York buying and selling nonetheless accounts for nearly 80 per cent of whole buying and selling in Alibaba shares.
“I’d should see it truly occur earlier than I advised a consumer to start out shopping for,” he added.


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Brisbane-based digital marketing firm SponsoredLinX says it’s now looking at utilising artificial intelligence technology to broaden the reach of retailer’s digital marketing campaigns.
Profiles | Our Authors
Power Retail is Australia's news and information resource for the online and multichannel retail community, catering for all levels of business from loungeroom start-ups to established multichannel powerhouses. We aim to inspire and provide value to online retailers, and we exist to help bridge the knowledge gap between what is being done and what can be done in the online retail space in Australia.
Australia’s two retail industry groups, NORA and NRA, have joined forces to form a national-first partnership in response to the rapidly changing business environment.
Bread Connect, an innovative new advertising channel by Sonder Communications, has achieved 15% volume growth and 25% value growth (year-on-year) for high-profile FMCG brands.
Australia’s captains of industry gathered to honour and celebrate Australia’s leading executives and CEOs at the sixth annual Executive of the Year Awards.
With even more Australians are turning to cross-border online shopping – this is now influencing their shipping expectations from domestic retailers. With online shopping to spike this holiday season, retailers need to double-down on the elements of the consumer experience that matter most.
The ACCC says it’s currently directly engaged with 12 clothing retailers to ask them to amend their online returns policies to avoid confusing or misleading consumers
Today, small businesses can compete with some of the biggest brands out there thanks to global online reach and smart digital technology. Here’s how.
ASX-listed pureplay Kogan.com has joined the ZipMoney platform to harness the power of payments technology and give consumers more options just in time for the Christmas shopping period.
Australian shoppers will spend more than $50 billion in retail over the Christmas trading period with online shopping for gifts tipped to the see the biggest growth in retail.
While the news of Amazon’s imminent launch is causing mixed reactions in the retail sector, the underlying message is the same now as it has been for the last year: ensure your business is ready by preparing where you can.


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All of Google’s major consumer platforms, like Android and ChromeOS, allow for third-party developers. In the case of Assistant, Google is making a change to focus on Android and will essentially no longer allow third-party voice experiences – including apps and games with visual interactions – on Smart Displays or speakers.
Google announced today that “Conversational Actions” will be deprecated in June of 2023. Activated by “Hey Google, talk to [x service],” it was announced in 2016 as the first way for third-party developers to integrate with Assistant. Before today, Google advertised it as such:
Build rich and natural conversations
Build custom voice and visual experiences for smart devices such as phones, speakers, and displays.
Priority: Assistant + Android
Google is getting rid of Conversational Actions to focus on “App Actions with Android” from 2019 as “users want to engage with their favorite apps using voice, and developers want to build upon their existing investments in Android.”
The new approach is to just have developers add voice control capabilities to their existing Android apps instead of creating an entirely independent experience from the ground up that was device agnostic. In all, that made development harder and came about during the early days of voice assistants when many companies were experimenting with the new interaction method.
This Android focus is not limited to just phones and tablets as these Assistant experiences also work on watches (Wear OS), televisions (Google/Android TV), and cars (Android Auto/Automotive). Recent improvements include having Assistant “direct users to apps even when queries don’t mention an app name” and opening a Play Store listing if the necessary application isn’t installed. Another example is surfacing App Actions (shortcuts) in Pixel Launcher search.
Assistant voice apps not so much
However, what’s left out of that new push is Assistant Smart Displays and speakers, where you were most likely to use Conversation Actions, which were also known as “Actions on Google.” That said, usage of pure voice apps on those two form factors was not that high.
The disappearance that’s going to be slightly more impactful is that of Smart Display games. To adapt to the Nest Hub’s screen, Conversation Actions introduced “Interactive Canvas” so developers could build applications with both touch and voice input. This loss, including trivia puzzles and picture books, will be most felt by those that leveraged Smart Displays as family devices, but Google told us that it’s still very much focused on use cases for children.
As part of today’s announcement, Google said it will “continue investing in all of the popular Assistant experiences users love, like Timers, Media, Home Automation, Communications, and more.” There are no changes to third-party smart home integrations or media (music, video, etc.) experiences.
Existing Conversational Actions developers are directed to this page for more details as Google ended on the following note:
Looking ahead, we envision a platform that is intuitive, natural, and voice-forward – and one that allows developers to leverage the entire Android ecosystem of devices so they can easily reach more users. We’re always looking to improve the Assistant experience and we’re confident that App Actions is the best way to do that. We’re grateful for all you’ve done to build the Google Assistant ecosystem over the past 5 years and we’re here to help navigate the changes as we continue to make it even better. We’re excited about what lies ahead and we’re grateful to build it together.
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Saab Lives - for NowBy and
Saab Chairman Victor Muller smiles and pushes his Black- Berry across the table. On its screen is the image of a silver, teardrop-shaped car he calls the 92, a zippy compact that recalls the spirit of the embattled Swedish company's rebellious early days. The original 92 was a beloved racer on the European Rally circuit in the 1950s. The new one may be the key to Saab's future. If it has one.
"I designed this car myself," says Muller, whose boutique sports-car maker Spyker Cars—which hand-builds about 40 automobiles each year, selling them for $219,000 and up—acquired Saab from General Motors in February for a total $400 million in cash and preferred stock. Muller wants his dream car to communicate the air of genteel nonconformism that Saab aficionados once adored. It's his antidote to the GM era, when Saab subsisted on hand-me-down models from Opel, Subaru, and Chevrolet, and was almost shuttered last winter before Muller finally prevailed. "I want to erase the memory of those cars," he says. "Saab needs to go back to its roots."
There's just one problem. To build the 92, Muller says, "we need $320 million and a car platform from someone else." He and his 900 engineers and designers at Saab headquarters in Trollhättan, Sweden, may understand precisely what Saab loyalists want. Now they have to find a way to make money in order to turn that vision into reality. Otherwise the future runs out two years from now.
Saab lost $570 million in 2009. The company has $200 million in cash and another $480 million in loans from the European Investment Bank. GM gave Saab another $326 million in exchange for preferred stock (and will forgive another $175 million in cash obligations), pushing Saab's total purse up to around $1 billion—small change in the car business. GM, for instance, has $36 billion cash on hand.
Muller will spend one-fifth of his modest war chest to market the new flagship 9-5, a sporty, true-to-the-brand sedan (never mind that it was designed by GM in Germany). It goes on sale this month in Europe and next month in the U.S. Next year he rolls out the 9-4X, a not especially Saab-like SUV based on the hot-selling Cadillac SRX. After that, he has to ready his Trollhättan plant to build a new model 9-3, a smaller sedan and, in its current turbocharged convertible form, arguably the only Saab now being sold that's worthy of the name. It used to sell in decent numbers—until Saab teetered near death last year and prospective buyers fled.
The company's cash gives it until 2012 before it needs to start generating new money for engineering and marketing. By then, Muller says, he plans to triple sales from the paltry 40,000 cars sold worldwide last year. That would bring sales close to the 2006 record of 133,000. If he can hit that target, Saab will be able to earn "a couple hundred million a year in profit," Muller says. He claims it won't be too hard. Saab just needs to reach former customers who have deserted the brand in the 10 years since GM acquired all of the company. Muller figures if he can get 3 percent of the 4.5 million people who once owned a Saab, he can sell 120,000 a year.
Resurrecting a battered brand is tough enough; doing so as a tiny, independent company in an industry dominated by conglomerates is close to impossible. "I don't see how a small company like Saab can make a go of it," says IHS Global Insight analyst John Wolkonowicz. "They don't have the infrastructure or the big sales volume." Industry kingpins such as Renault-Nissan Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn and Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne agree that carmakers need volume to generate billions for new technology and fresh models. So Renault-Nissan has forged a deal with Germany's Daimler (DAI) to develop small cars and clean engines. Toyota (TM) has teamed with Tesla Motors to build electric cars. Ford (F) and GM jointly develop transmissions. The day he announced that Spyker had bought Saab, Marchionne said at an industry conference in Stockholm, "I like the Saab brand, but I think it's very difficult to be a niche player and be profitable."
One niche carmaker that managed to claw its way back from irrelevance is Audi. Owned by Volkswagen since 1964, the brand was beaten down in the U.S. during the 1980s by a succession of poorly received models and highly publicized quality problems, including sudden acceleration. After annual U.S. sales fell from 74,000 to less than 20,000 in 1991, Audi cut prices, addressed the safety issues, and started rolling out new models that people wanted to buy, says James N. Hall, principal of 2953 Analytics, a Birmingham (Mich.) consulting firm. The Volkswagen Group could afford to be patient while Audi won buyers back. "Saab doesn't have the luxury of being a part of a big seller," Hall says. "Audi lost money in the U.S. while they were establishing the brand." Today, Audi sells about 1 million cars a year globally, maintaining a distinct identity even though it shares platforms and technology with its corporate cousins.
GM's 20-year stewardship of Saab, by contrast, is a case study in brand dilution. For Saab, sharing parts, engines, and chassis with other GM cars meant losing character. The 9-7X SUV was a Chevy Trailblazer with a better grill; Saab purists mockingly called it the Trollblazer. The 9-2X was a Subaru WRX (GM owned 20 percent of Subaru parent Fuji Heavy Industries until 2005), and won the nickname "Saabaru." Neither sold well. Even Saab's two mainstay models— the 9-3 and 9-5—were watered down by GM. The 9-3, once a distinctive hatchback, was remade as a generic sedan. The 9-5 had some real flavor but fell out of fashion during 13 years without an overhaul.
What GM squandered was a specific brand consciousness—a mix of proud Nordic originality and sweet technology—that led many Northeasterners to buy multiple Saabs and drive them for hundreds of thousands of miles. Turbochargers and tight steering made them fun. Hatchbacks and front-wheel drive made them practical. And oft-remarked oddities—the ignition switch between the front seats, a "night panel" switch that shuts down the dashboard except for the speedometer—only hinted at the idiosyncratic Saabishness that some people came to love.
Saab began as Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget in 1937 and began making cars in 1947. After entering the U.S. market in 1957, with the 93, the brand became known for weirdly aerodynamic cars with small, two-cycle engines that required owners to add oil directly to the gas tank. You had to work a little harder to drive a Saab—and to some it was worth the effort. "Those engines were powerful for their size," says Ian Glenday, president of the Saab Club of North America. He bought a 1959 model 93B in 1963 and drove it for five years; he has since bought 10 more Saabs. His first had a pull chain in the cabin that would raise a barrier, cutting air flow to the engine to help it warm up and heat the cabin more quickly. To an electrical technician living in frigid Plattsburgh, N.Y., at the time, that was a nicely engineered bonus. "It wasn't pipe-smoking college professors who got Saab started here," Glenday says. "It was people in technology industries who understood what Saab had done."
The cars were offbeat, practical, and safe. The original 92 was a small car that could "seat five Swedes," says Stephen Goldberger, treasurer of SCNA. Legendary Saab rally racer Erik Carlsson used to roll the 92 over during races, climb out, roll it back on its wheels, jump in, and keep driving.
The Saab 900, introduced in 1978, brought the brand some cachet in the States. Saab moved it upscale compared with other models; in 1980 the car sold for almost $14,000, a $6,000 premium over the 99. It was more stylish and better-appointed and still had plenty of turbocharged pep, says Wolkonowicz of IHS Global Insight. Saabs were a hit with New Englanders because they drove better in snow than the rear-drive sedans that American carmakers were building. But the 900 reached a different audience. "Saab was always embraced by iconoclasts," Wolkonowicz says. "Saab brought in some Yuppies with the 900, especially the 900 convertible." And some eggheads. More than 42 percent of Saab customers have an advanced degree, a higher proportion than any other luxury brand, according to J.D. Power & Associates (MHP).
GM bought half of Saab in 1990 and the rest in 2000, and started sharing Opel parts in the mid-1990s, Hall says. The cars' steering and suspension got softer on the road. "GM wanted more volume, but to do that they diluted the Saab character," he said. "As GM owned more of Saab, the cars became less Saab."
In 2005 the company slipped into crisis. As GM's balance sheet collapsed it raced to cut costs, delaying or cancelling new models. The new 9-5 was eventually put on hold. Marketing budgets also suffered. Saab had enough momentum from the 9-3, launched in 1998 and redesigned in 2003, to sell a record 133,00 cars in 2006. Models like the 9-2X and 9-7X flopped. The lack of investment resulted in a sales decline to 94,751 in 2008. By 2009, GM put the brand on the block.
GM designers realized the company's mistake and began trying to put the Saab back into Saab. The new 9-5 that Spyker inherited from GM has the tight handling the brand used to be known for, says Hall, who has driven the car. Its interior is luxurious but understated. It still has the night switch and between-the-seats ignition. And it was designed and engineered by Opel at its headquarters in Russelsheim, Germany, by a team led by an American and a Brit, says retired GM Vice-Chairman Bob Lutz. They carefully incorporated Saab cues like the 900's curved windshield and remembered to install the turbocharger as well. "We worked very hard to make it a real Saab," Lutz says.
By then, however, the global financial crisis was threatening GM's existence. Saab was one of four brands marked for sale or death. It was given up for dead so many times, Muller says, that many potential buyers have no idea it's still alive.
Muller grew up in Amsterdam, up the street from a Saab dealer; he recalls watching the company's 96 sedan buzzing by. He trained as a lawyer and began his career in 1984 at the Amsterdam office of global law firm Baker & McKenzie. In 1989 the fair-haired, gregarious Dutchman joined the management team of offshore company Heerema, later taking part in a management buyout that made him president of a Dutch harbor-towage and marine-salvage company, Weismuller Holding. Along the way he built up a formidable collection of vintage automobiles—a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT, a 1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom 1 Experimental Jarvis—and traveled the world showing it off. In 1998 he met Maarten de Bruijn, a speedboat builder who had designed and produced a sports car and was looking for a partner. The next year the pair acquired the Spyker brand, which had been founded in 1898 but went out of business in the 1920s. They used the name to start a super sports-car company making hand-built, street-legal racers. Spyker's best year was 2006; the company sold 74 cars. Last year it sold 36.
Spyker has never made money, and its tiny production scale and boutique assembly plant has little to offer a company that wants to build and sell 120,000 cars a year. At its plant in rural Zeewolde, the Netherlands, the white floor is pristine and the shop is quiet; there's no feverish workforce, no clanking assembly line. Mechanics remove their shoes before climbing into one or another of the nine sleek Spykers that are in the plant for service from clients from Russia to Britain. The ambience is about as industrial as a high-end spa. "We create art objects," says Spyker sales manager Peter van Rooy. "You don't do that by throwing together cars in a filthy, smoky hall."
When the financial crisis hit and nearly every carmaker in the world went into the red, Muller got to thinking about Saab. He wasn't a Saab nut—he'd owned only one, not nearly enough to qualify—but figured the brand's affluent, well-educated clientele made the car worth saving. When a consortium led by Swedish sports-car maker Koenigsegg Automotive backed out of a deal with GM in November 2009, Muller sent an e-mail to Lutz saying he wanted to buy the brand. Lutz responded within eight minutes.
Spyker emerged as the frontrunner, and on Dec. 17, Muller and lawyers for GM and Saab gathered in Stockholm to sign the documents. Then GM dropped a bomb: It had suddenly decided there was "no point in carrying on" with the deal. GM Vice-President John Smith declined to elaborate, saying only that Saab would be wound down. It soon emerged that GM's sticking point was Vladimir Antonov, the Russian banker who was Spyker's chairman and biggest shareholder, with a 29.9 percent stake. GM's specific concerns with Antonov have never been publicly explained. His father, banker Alexander Antonov, was shot five times and seriously wounded in Moscow in March 2009. Vladimir Antonov has consistently denied any criminal ties, and in February he complained in a New York Times op-ed that he was pushed out of the Saab deal because of his nationality.
When GM announced the liquidation, Muller didn't give up. He submitted a new bid, continuing the emotional roller-coaster ride for Saab's 3,500 workers and its fans around the world. The automotive press started a death watch. On Jan. 5, 50 Saab enthusiasts drove 35 Saabs to Detroit, parking in the cold outside GM's headquarters and asking it to sell rather than close the brand—a show of support echoed by Saab rallies in dozens of other countries. Weeks of uncertainty passed, with GM insisting it was closing Saab even as it explored other offers, including one from Formula One tycoon Bernie Ecclestone, who partnered with Genii Capital, a Luxembourg-based private equity firm.
Muller revised his offer. He brought in new investors, taking the Russians out as major shareholders of Spyker. By the end of January, Spyker had reemerged as the leading contender. Muller took breaks from endless negotiations by drawing his 92 concept car (professional designers will take it from there). On Jan. 26, after a final all-night push, GM agreed to sell the Saab brand to Spyker, pending the approval of a critical 400 million euro loan from the European Investment Bank, the European Union's lending arm. The price tag was $74 million in cash and $326 million in preferred shares in the new company, which may change its name to Saab Spyker Automobiles.
At a press conference that night at Stockholm's posh Café Opera, Muller said he had slept a total of 15 hours over the five days it took to wrap the deal. "I think he slept less than that," Jan Olsson, who heads Deutsche Bank's (DB) Nordic investment banking activities, told Bloomberg News the next day. "At the press conference last night, he hadn't slept in about 35 hours. He worked all night. He doesn't take no for an answer."
Muller has made believers out of the workers in Trollhättan. "I was definitely worried about losing my job," says Petra Storch, 37, who installs seats and interior parts at the plant. "When we got the word that Victor was going to buy Saab I felt so elated. Now we're going to show the world what Saab can do." Saab cognoscenti are heartened, too—at least, the ones who are aware of Muller's plans. To increase awareness, Muller plans to spend $180 million on marketing in the first year. GM spent a fraction of that annually during Saab's sad final years there.
Losing GM as an owner hurts in at least one way. Saab's second-largest market in the U.S., after New England, is the Detroit area, where GM workers took advantage of employee discounts to buy the cars. That market accounted for 15 percent of U.S. Saab sales in 2008, according to Experian Automotive. "We will lose most of those people," concedes Muller.
If Saab needs such subsidies to survive, it won't. Its revival must start with the new 9-5 on sale this month. The car is getting nice reviews from the motoring press; Car & Driver called it GM's best Saab. It's also more expensive than the car it replaces, with a $40,000 base price that rises to $55,000 for all-wheel drive and a V-6 engine, says Annette Adams, owner of Iowa City Saab. The old car sold for $39,000 to $45,000.
Getting buyers to pay more than $50,000 for a Saab won't be easy, says Eric Noble, president of The CarLab, an auto industry consulting firm in Orange, Calif. That kind of money will buy you an Audi or a BMW. For Saab to command the same price it will need new infusions of technology. Muller plans to outsource much of Saab's future engineering work. "We know for a fact we can get a good partner who wants to share technology with us," he says. Buying technology from other carmakers is difficult—competitors don't like to part with their best engineering. Says Noble: "Running a carmaker that is heavily reliant on components from the outside is a trail of tears."
Such factors could easily delay the 92, Muller's teardrop-shaped baby, and delay could be fatal. Saab is in talks with BMW about getting engines and platforms from its Mini division to make the 92, two sources familiar with the talks say. No deal has been hammered out. Best case, the new 92 comes out in 2013. By then, Muller says, Saab will surely be alive and well and selling tens of thousands of 9-5s and 9-3s to its old customer base. It's a fairy tale, after all. It ought to have a happy ending.
With Jeroen Molenaar in Zeewolde