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n POM Wonderful LLC v. The Coca-Cola Company, the US Supreme Court resolved much of the uncertainty surrounding the intersection of unfair competition claims under the Lanham Act relating to food labels and the strictures of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). These two federal statutes cross paths in cases where a food or drink label is alleged to mislead the public. POM, which grows pomegranates and manufactures pomegranate juices, brought unfair competition claims under the Lanham Act against Coca-Cola, alleging that one of Coke’s labels was false and misled consumers. The label at issue named Coke’s product “Pomegranate Blueberry;” however, the drink only contained 0.3% pomegranate juice and only 0.2% blueberry juice – the majority was less-expensive apple and grape juice. POM asserted that such labeling misled the public into buying a cheaper juice and thereby damaged POM, whose products actually contain high percentages of more expensive pomegranate juice.
The District Court in California held that POM’s Lanham Act claims were barred by the FDCA because Congress had entrusted matters of food and drink labeling to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, ruling that the Court must decline to act in such an area where the FDA has explicit authority from Congress. In a decision seemingly uncontroversial to the justices (the decision was 8-0, with Justice Breyer taking no part), the Supreme Court held that not only was there no reason to think that the FDCA precluded Lanham Act claims related to food labels, but also that the two statutes complement each other – one protecting fair competition, the other food and drink consumers – one enforced by a private right of action, the other by the federal government. The decision is written almost as a companion to the Court’s recent Lexmark decision, which clarified the scope of the applicability of the Lanham Act in suits against competitors. (See our post on Lexmark here.)
The POM decision has important implications for the food and beverage industry and, possibly, other regulated industries as well. The ruling suggests that manufacturers must evaluate their labeling more carefully, as a misleading statement can expose them to civil liability from competitors as well as penalties imposed by the government. This means that food and drink labels must not only comply with FDA regulations, but must also eschew statements that mislead consumers. Indeed, a label that passes FDA muster may still deceive the consuming public. Following the POM decision, it is clear that competitors may bring Lanham Act claims against each other for mislabeling.
To the chagrin of consumer advocates, the Court assiduously limited its opinion to the FDCA’s impact, or lack thereof, on federal law and stopped short of ruling on the FDCA’s preclusive impact on state laws. Where competitors are able to rely on the Lanham Act to protect against unfair competition, this avenue of relief is not available to the consuming public, which must resort to a hodgepodge of state law claims. Consumers’ concerns are exacerbated by the fact the Congress has, in the FDCA, explicitly preempted state statutes that address food and beverage misbranding. In fact, the Court relied in part on the preemption provisions of the FDCA in determining that Congress did not intend to limit application of the Lanham Act – reasoning that Congress clearly wished the FDCA to block some claims, and therefore would have explicitly precluded the Lanham Act if it so desired. Consumers and advocacy groups may posit that state laws that, like the Lanham Act, complement the FDCA should not be preempted and thereby attempt to open the door to consumer class actions against food and beverage companies. However, while the POM opinion may provide a toe in the door for such lawsuits, the road ahead is uncertain.


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The needs of the UK’s 12 million disabled people have been high on the news agenda in recent weeks, following the Government’s botched budget. Chancellor George Osborne’s u-turn over his reform of disability benefits has provoked a debate about how society treats its most vulnerable people. Brands, many of which have a poor reputation for meeting the needs of disabled people, should pay close attention to the challenging issues raised over the past month.
Marketing Week’s diversity survey, published last year, revealed a lack of representation for disabled people within marketing departments. Half of the marketers surveyed (51%) said they did not work alongside anyone with a disability, while only 22% of consumers said they felt people with disabilities are well-represented in British marketing and advertising.
Separate research by the charity Scope claims businesses are missing out on a share of £420m every week by failing to offer appropriate services to the disabled.
However, there are signs that some brands are beginning to take a more proactive approach to disability. In February, ticketing agent The Ticket Factory revamped its booking system to allow disabled people to purchase tickets online for two of its most popular venues, the Barclaycard Arena and Genting Arena.
Previously, disabled customers were required to phone a separate booking line to explain their requirements to an operator. The Ticket Factory says this was a source of “constant complaint” among disabled customers.
The change involved integrating its online booking system with the Access Card, a widely used proof of disability card that holds information about the cardholder’s special requirements. This could include their right to free companion tickets or access to wheelchair bays. Allowing customers to enter an Access Card number during the booking process removes the need for disabled people to phone the company’s contact centre.
Stuart Cain, managing director at The Ticket Factory, says: “Why are agents and venues making disabled people feel inferior? Why should they have to call a contact centre and try to explain their situation to somebody on the phone, especially when those without disabilities can book online with ease?
“We have been going on about this for ages and it has taken until now to find the Access Card – the missing piece of the jigsaw. Regardless of who you are, buying a ticket should be fast and simple.”
In other cases, brands are taking action following pressure from the public. Earlier this year, Marks & Spencer launched a new clothing range for children with special needs, following a request from the family of a child.
Rita Kutt, grandmother of toddler Caleb Kutt from Ossett in West Yorkshire, contacted the customer services team at M&S to ask if the retailer could develop products tailored for children with disabilities, such as sleepsuits and bodysuits in a larger size to those normally sold by the chain and with poppers for easier fitting.
Caleb has dystonic quadriparesis cerebral palsy, a condition that means he is unable to sit, stand or walk and has little control of his head. In developing the specialist clothing line, M&S consulted Scope, Caleb’s family and other families with disabled children. This included sending samples of the garments to Caleb’s mother before they went on sale.
An M&S spokesperson told the Daily Mail: “As this was a response to a direct customer request, the range currently comprises a small number of products that will be available online only. As with all new ranges, we will closely monitor customer interest and listen carefully to customer feedback on how it should develop in the future.”
Lisa Quinlan-Rahman, interim director of external affairs at Scope, says a growing number of businesses are taking action in response to the Extra Costs Commission, an independent inquiry that last year found daily life costs more on average for disabled people. In response to the report, ride-sharing app Uber launched UberAssist in the UK, a service that allows disabled passengers to call specially trained drivers.
Social media is also helping to raise awareness about disability issues. Following their contact with M&S, Caleb’s family set up a Facebook page called M&S and Me: Special Needs Clothing for Children, which has more than 4,000 members. Quinlan-Rahman believes social media is encouraging more brands to engage directly with disabled customers.
“[Social media] allows individual consumers to have a direct conversation with brands,” she says. “Nike developed an easy grip trainer in response to an open letter from a 16-year-old boy with cerebral palsy and Lego introduced disabled characters after they were contacted by Toy Like Me – a Facebook campaign run by a disabled mum, who realised that there weren’t enough toys representing disabled people and children.”
Certain brands are also beginning to make progress in developing a more diverse and representative workforce. Scope is in talks with broadcasters and production companies to find ways of getting more disabled people both in front of and behind the camera. Meanwhile, companies such as Virgin Trains work with Inclusive Employers, a membership of 40 organisations that provides advice and “creative engaging initiatives to build inclusive cultures”.
One of Virgin’s commitments when it won the franchise to run the UK East Coast line in 2014 was to improve services for disabled customers. It has sought to do this in a variety of ways, including setting up customer information offices at stations that provide weather-proof waiting facilities for customers requiring assistance with boarding a train or navigating a station. In addition, Virgin worked with the Royal National Institute of Blind People to install tactile maps at stations to help people with visual impairments to find their way around.
Danny Gonzalez, marketing director at Virgin Trains East Coast, says that disability access schemes are developed following feedback from disability user groups, customers and frontline staff. The company also looks at developments in other sectors and best practice examples from across the rail industry in an effort to build on existing improvements.
“Many customers experience difficulties when accessing trains or stations – [and perhaps] potential customers do not travel because they do not think they can,” he says. “Through removing these barriers, and promoting things such as our passenger assistance service, we are ultimately aiming to increase the number of customers who travel.”

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Brazil’s Jundiai city council has paid tribute to Apple’s late co-founder and former CEO by naming one of its streets Steve Jobs Avenue. The council actually announced that it would commemorate Steve with a street a day after his passing last year, but city officials only confirmed the name this week.
Brazilian blog MacMagazine.br has published the official documents confirming the move, which were signed by Mayor Michael Haddad on March 27. Steve Jobs Avenue includes Goiás Avenue Road and the Anhanguera Highway region.
The small city of Jundiai is located near São Paulo, where Foxconn — Apple’s assembler — has just opened a new manufacturing facility that will produce the iPhone. It is hoped that the plant will reduce the cost of Apple devices in Brazil, where popular products like the iPhone and the iPad have previously been inflated by the country’s very high import tax.
Foxconn is believed to be planning five Brazilian factories altogether, all of which will focus on Apple’s products.


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Watch for a shakeup in Microsoft's .Net marketing effort this week. Word out of Redmond is that patience has worn thin with the current situation, which has too many marketing teams stirring the pot. "Stuff isn't getting done," said one source close to the move. Looks like Chris Atkinson and Michael Risse, the Microsofties in charge of herding the cats thus far, will be redeployed.
Interesting that Microsoft sees its marketing as not being up to snuff. The conventional wisdom outside Redmond is that company marketing by far outstrips its ability to ship solid, bug-free products that actually work.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said during now-defunct reseller Inacom's final months, two company executives improperly inflated earnings numbers by taking money from a reserve account and listing it as revenue. In a federal lawsuit, the SEC has charged that former Inacom CFO David Guenthner and his deputy, Jay Samuelson, "improperly accrued unallocated, general reserves, then reversed $7.1 million of these reserves into income in the third quarter of 1999."
The SEC also charged that the two incorrectly listed inventory transactions for the third quarter of 1999 that should have been credited to the first and second quarters of that year. "Throughout the first three quarters of 1999, Guenthner caused Inacom to recognize manufacturer rebates to which it was not entitled, thereby understating its cost of goods sold and overstating net income," the SEC said.
Guenthner denied that he had done anything wrong to The Omaha World-Herald. Samuelson's lawyer also denied any wrongdoings on the part of his client.
A malicious hacker continues to harangue Philadelphia-based e-commerce company Ecount. Last week, "Zilterio" sent a mass e-mail to reporters, claiming he had hacked into an Ecount site and stolen more than 350,000 credit-card numbers. Ecount CEO Matthew Gillin said the credit-card numbers are actually invalid account numbers and the e-mail appears to be a last-ditch effort by a cybercriminal who tried to extort money from the company after breaking into its systems and stealing customer data last August. Zilterio threatened to disclose the attack unless Ecount paid him money, but the company thwarted his plan by hiring Ernst and Young to secure its system and notifying customers about what was happening. Ecount is working with the FBI.
Rumor has it J.D. Edwards COO Hank Bonde was considered but passed over for the CEO spot. Former Teradyne, EMC and IBM exec,and Lou Gerstner's assistant when he started at IBM,Robert Dutkowsky was tapped Jan. 3. Maybe Lou put in a good word for Bob?
Could it be that Oracle,long the direct-sales nemesis of the channel,is actually becoming more VAR-friendly than Microsoft, which built its world on partners? Oracle planned, announced and appears to be executing on its rules of engagement, letting partners play in accounts with up to $1 billion in annual revenue, while it's taken Microsoft nearly a year to get its rules out. Hey, guys, whatever happened to Internet time?
Face it, said one longtime partner, "[Windows XP sales are crappy, and if you can't sell product, the other thing you can sell is services." Don't think other solution providers aren't watching this shell game very carefully. The rules, which have been guarded like the Ark of the Covenant, are now due to be unveiled today.


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Yes, it seems very un-Apple like to add fingerprint technology to the iPhone. It seems like a worthless gimmick.
The reason the rumor is floating around is that Apple bought Authentec, a company that supplies fingerprint sensor technology and other embeddable security features to some of the biggest businesses in tech.
Therefore, a lot of people think its getting into some sort of biometric technology. Also, Apple usually wants some feature to make its newest phone stand out if the design is the same. This could be it.


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Pharmaceutical development and manufacturing company Almac Group is investing $24.4 million into their Montgomery County, PA-based U.S. headquarters and plans to add 312 new jobs in the next three years.
“Due to significant industry demand for our services, it is essential we build capacity and increase headcount to ensure we continue to compete at a global level,” said the company’s CEO Alan Armstrong in a Philadelphia Business Journal article. “This investment signifies our confidence in the pool of talent and skills right on our doorstep.”
The physical expansions will include an extended cold storage area and new computer equipment, software, and machine lines.
Almac is one of more than 800 life sciences companies that employ over 49,000 people and one of 5,500 manufacturing establishments that employ 185,000 in the region.


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Yesterday Nvidia held its earnings call for the financial quarter, where investors could ask the top brass of the company about their plans for the future. There were a handful of interesting questions about Nvidia getting into the console business thanks to the success of the Nintendo Switch. The company had high praise for their partnership with Nintendo, saying this was a near perfect collaboration between the two companies.
Q: Great. As a follow-up, with your win and success in Nintendo Switch, does that open up the console market with other console makers? Is that a business that is of interest to you?
A: Consoles is not really a business to us. It’s a business to them. And we’re selected to work on these consoles. And if it makes sense and the strategic alignment is great and we’re in a position to be able to do it, because the opportunity cost of building a game console is quite high. The number of engineers who know how to build computing platforms like this – and in the case of the Nintendo Switch, it’s just an incredible console that fits in such a small form factor. And it could both be a mobile gaming device as well as a console gaming device. It’s just really quite amazing, and they just did an amazing job.
Nvidia goes on to say that they believe the Nintendo Switch is a “really, really innovative product and really quite ingenious.” He praises Nintendo’s efforts on the system and says the opportunity for Nvidia to help out was a home run for the company.
But in the case of the Nintendo Switch, it’s just a home run. I’m so glad I did it, and it was the perfect collaboration for us.
Nvidia themselves are making bank on the Nintendo Switch thanks to the Tegra processor inside the console. The financial report revealed that Nvidia’s earnings are up 108% from the same time a year ago and they’re up 29% sequentially compared to last quarter. This bodes well for both companies.
Nintendo eShop Card – $20


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Bohemia, NY (PRWEB) November 21, 2012
On November 21, fishbat releases an interview with COO Scott Darrohn about the upcoming Sand-Aid benefit concert.
“There have been some severe tragedies all over Long Island, New York City and New Jersey,” said Scott Darrohn, COO of the online marketing company fishbat. “Being a marketing firm – the largest online marketing firm on Long Island – we felt that if we put all our tools in place and we really pushed hard for a couple weeks we’d be able to drive a very successful event, which is going to be Sand-Aid.”
Musical acts will include Randy Jackson from Zebra, Bangers & Mash, Mid-Life Crisis, Cassandra House, Easy Chief and Graveyard Lovers. In the interview Darrohn added that there will be auctions, 50/50 raffles and other activities throughout the day “It’s going to be a lot of fun; we’re going to have a bunch of different things going on throughout the course of the day.”
Sand-Aid will be held this Sunday, November 25th at 89 North Music Venue from 12-8 PM. Admission is $10 and all proceeds will go towards Island Harvest Food Bank to benefit Sandy relief. The address is 89 North Ocean Avenue in Patchogue, NY.
fishbat, Inc. is a full service online marketing firm. Through social media management, search engine optimization (SEO), web design, and public relations, fishbat strives as a marketing firm to raise awareness about your brand and strengthen your corporate image.


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APPG Debt and Private Finance
On Tuesday 7 might, the APPG Debt and Personal Finance held a meeting on вЂA credit market that works for all: success and future challengesвЂ™. Guest speakers during the occasion included regulators, customer credit and group industry representatives therefore the Minister.
Economic Secretary into the Treasury, John Glen talked concerning the significance of the GovernmentвЂ™s affordable credit agenda. Mr Glen said every person will need a form likely of credit at some time inside their life. Therefore besides high expense credit, that is usually improper, national personalbadcreditloans.net/reviews/check-n-go-loans-review/ is searching to offer individuals better choices.
Mr Glen stated the GovernmentвЂ™s initiatives on affordable credit are the development of Fair4All Finance, that has been offered ВЈ55 million to aid expand supply of affordable loans. Ministers are trying to produce a no-interest loan scheme вЂ“ adhering to a feasibility research, Ministers aspire to forward take this during the next Budget.
Richard Lane, Director of External Affairs at StepChange Debt Charity stated while thereвЂ™s no space for complacency, thereвЂ™s also much to welcome through the FCAвЂ™s approach that is consumer-focused. The FCAвЂ™s landmark reviews of key areas have produced the pay day loan limit, charge card persistent financial obligation guidelines and the next ban on extra unarranged overdraft costs. These actions are building a difference that is real peopleвЂ™s life.
Mr Lane called when it comes to FCA to introduce a вЂDuty of careвЂ™ to end companies consumer that is exploiting or constrained option. The GovernmentвЂ™s affordable credit agenda is a welcome and can give individuals more item option. But, the FCA must certanly be using a far more stance that is proactive consumer damage and Mr Lane required robust action to tackle appearing issues the charityвЂ™s been seeing with sub-prime bank cards and guarantor loans.
Stephen Sklaroff, Director General regarding the Finance and Leasing Association praised the FCA to get a handle on complicated credit markets. The FLAвЂ™s chief issues had been around addition and unintended effects from legislation. Mr Sklaroff also pointed to areas of credit legislation being away from date.
Mr Sklaroff welcomed the FCAвЂ™s breakdown of retained supply associated with credit rating Act and stated it absolutely was now up to the national government to act. The preference that is FLAвЂ™s for legislative modification. Then Government, regulators and industry should look at non-legislative options if this canвЂ™t be achieved.
Christopher Woolard, Director of Strategy and Competition at the FCA stated the regulator has acted on fundamental issues within the credit market. Mr Woolard pointed for some of this FCAвЂ™s key achievements: actions to suppress dilemmas brought on by payday advances and measures to simply help customers fighting persistent personal credit card debt.
Mr Woolard outlined the FCAвЂ™s concern in regards to the not enough mid-cost credit choices, that will be one of many FCAвЂ™s вЂbiggest challengesвЂ™. Overdrafts, purchase now, spend later on, bank card вЂde-anchoringвЂ™, and guarantor loans stay key issues.
The collapse of Wonga has kept several thousand customers away from pocket and Damon Gibbons through the Centre for Responsible Credit questioned the FCAвЂ™s decision-making in this ful case вЂ“ and much more generally speaking, just how can the regulator be much better held to account? The Minister pointed to your FCAвЂ™s hearings at Treasury Committee вЂ“ which happen every six months. A forthcoming report on the relationship that is tripartite between your Bank of England, the FCA and national, normally a area where most of these problems could be raised.
Peter Wallwork through the Credit Services Association asked the Minister to take into account the necessity for a far more sustainable funding formula for debt advice вЂ“ a place additionally raised by Mr Sklaroff. Industry teams states the levy strikes them disproportionately, as well as other sectors problem that is generating, such as for example resources and federal federal federal government, should really be built to spend.
Mick McAteer through the Financial Inclusion Centre stated you can find issues over loan providers discriminating against or focusing on groups that are certain. More data must be offered on lender performance in order for customer teams can take them to account. Responding, Mr Woolard said that data was indeed found in this real means when you look at the insurance coverage market. He included that the FCA had discovered it ended up being difficult to get this information into something that had been available to customers. He recommended that when this had been to take place within the financing industry, intermediaries could be necessary to assist interpret the information.


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Thousands of Debenhams workers face 10% pension pay cut after it collapsed in £32m debt
Final 12 Debenhams stores to shut today as staff at 242-year-old chain reduced to tears
Debenhams to shut last ever stores on Saturday as chain waves goodbye after 242 yearsVIDEO
What else does Boohoo own? We take a look amid Dorothy Perkins takeover
Dorothy Perkins, Wallis & Burton 214 stores to close with 2450 jobs lost in Boohoo deal
Heartbreaking story behind Asos boss Anders Holch Povlsen who has £6bn Rich List fortune
Boohoo in talks to buy Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton after £55m Debenhams takeover
Topshop owner Arcadia to permanently close 31 stores at loss of 714 more jobs
JD Sports in talks to rescue Topshop amid Philip Green's Arcadia collapse
Philip Green's sister says their mum would want him to apologise over Arcadia collapse
Arcadia-owned Evans sold in £23million deal - but all stores will still close
Debenhams launches 70% off closing down sale in stores and online amid 124 closures
Paul Routledge: Priti Patel's demonstrations ban will make UK look like Hong Kong
Eva Simpson: Praise for elderly heroes on the Covid frontline
Saira Khan: "Philip Green topped up tan on £100m superyacht as people lost their jobs"
Paul Routledge: "The wealthy don’t care about the people who do the work"
Eva Simpson: Rotters in charge won’t give us fair retail ending - it's a national disgrace
Debenhams launches 70% off 'fire sale' on remaining stock as 124 stores set to closeVIDEO
Greedy Sir Philip Green remains silent as Arcadia crashes into administration
Arcadia's imminent collapse could throw Debenhams into liquidation as rescue talks fail
Sir Philip Green relaxes in Monaco as 15,000 Arcadia Group staff face losing their jobs
Voice of the Mirror: 'Philip Green's staff facing axe deserved better than him'
Philip Green plans Christmas getaway on £30,000-a-night island as 15,000 staff face axe
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The tablets featuring the Oak Trail chips will make their debut at the Computex 2011 Show in Taipei, Taiwan starting next month on May 31. The Oak Trail tablets will begin to hit shelves shortly thereafter, according to an Intel spokeswoman, with multiple models rolling out over the course of 2011. Indeed, there will apparently be Intel Oak Trail-based tablets being shown off by a few different companies at the Computex 2011 show.
The Z670 Oak Trail chip will be single core and have the capability to decode high-definition video and accelerate MPEG playback in Windows Media Player, according to TechTree. Unlike Intel’s Moorestown chip, it will also support the Windows 7 OS and as such, most of the Oak Trail tablets being showcased by the companies at Computex will be running the Microsoft OS. This seems to be the best scenario for Microsoft at the moment, as it is currently working on a Windows 8 Tablet OS, but it won’t be available until late 2012, at best.
In addition to its Oak Trail chip, Intel is also currently working on a new version of its MeeGo OS for tablets and notebooks. Apparently, Intel is attempting to spread its compatibility to as many different operating systems as possible, as it also anticipates eventual Oak Trail tablet support for Google Android OS 3.0, aka Honeycomb.
Intel is joining the tablet game a little late, but it seems that the company is finally getting serious about its tablet pursuits. Still, it will be facing some stiff opposition as Oak Trail’s likely competitor later this year will be the Nvidia Tegra Kal-El system on a chip.


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Apparently Coca Cola and Pepsi rule the world. A SodaStream advertisement meant for the Super Bowl, staring Scarlett Johansson, was allegedly banned because they take a stab at the cola brands. In recent reports, SodaStream was asked to censor the ad so that they are not calling out their competitors, for it to run during the big game’s broadcast. Rumours are that CBS didn’t want to ruffle feathers with the big brands. This could be a pretty big setback for SodaStream, as Super Bowl ads can cost millions of dollars. But, perhaps all the drama over the ad has already made this campaign a huge success!
Watch the ad below and let us know what you think. Should networks have a say in the advertisements?


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General Motors ups investment in Cruise THANK YOU
General Motors is to acquire SoftBank Vision Fund 1’s equity ownership stake in Cruise for $2.1 billion and separately will make an additional $1.35 billion investment in Cruise, replacing a previous commitment made by the fund in 2018.
GM acquired a majority ownership stake in 2016 and maintains that Cruise has made ‘self-driving cars a reality and is a leader on the pathway to commercial autonomous ridesharing and delivery, creating significant value for both GM shareholders and Cruise’s minority shareholders’.
“We are extremely pleased to announce GM is leveraging the strength of its balance sheet to capitalize on the opportunity to increase its equity investment in Cruise and advance our integrated autonomous vehicle strategy. We continue to believe our investment represents an extraordinary opportunity for creating long-term shareholder value,” said GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra.
“Our increased investment position not only simplifies Cruise’s shareholder structure, but also provides GM and Cruise maximum flexibility to pursue the most value-accretive path to commercializing and unlocking the full potential of AV technology.”
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Kyle Vogt, Cruise CEO, stated: “GM’s increased investment illustrates its commitment to Cruise and our mission of creating a better world by deploying driverless cars at scale. Cruise will continue to operate as it does today – an independent company working alongside GM in a flexible, collaborative partnership. Cruise and GM’s continued partnership as well as GM’s financial strength and manufacturing scale are significant enablers and key differentiators for Cruise as we accelerate our progress and enter this next phase of commercialization.”
Last month Cruise became the first company to offer fully driverless rides to the public in a major US city – San Francisco.
The Cruise Origin is a zero-emissions, shared, electric vehicle that has been purposefully designed from the ground up to operate without a human driver. This means it does not rely on certain human-centered features, like a steering wheel or a sun visor, to operate safely.
The Origin will help expand mobility options for seniors, people who are blind or have low vision, and other communities that have traditionally faced barriers in access to reliable transportation. GM is manufacturing the Origin in Michigan at Factory ZERO.Data, insights and analysis delivered to you View all newslettersBy the Just Auto team Sign up to our newsletters
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World News: 14:00 GMT Thursday 6th December 2018. [Symantec Corporation via Businesswire via SPi World News]
Symantec Corp NASDAQ SYMC the world’s leading cyber security company, today announced that it has been named by Gartner Inc as a Leader in the 2018 Magic Quadrant for Secure Web Gateways. This is the eleven...
Business Wire: 14:00 GMT Thursday 6th December 2018
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By Neil Kadagathur, Founder and CEO of Creditspring
For people around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a seismic shift in the way we manage our money, make payments and even borrow. At a time when government-enforced lockdowns forced physical bank branches to close their doors, and people to stay at home, many turned to online banking and digital providers to manage their finances – something that was increasingly needed with many household incomes hit hard. As a result, new payment and borrowing methods have gained considerable momentum, including Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL).
Now, as we begin to emerge from the epicentre of the pandemic, it’s clear that this mass shift to digital isn’t simply a temporary fix, but a permanent change that will form the foundations of the financial services we use long into the future. But how will this continue to evolve?
Buy Now Pay Later: the dark side
Buy Now Pay Later, which enables individuals to make payments via a short-term loan, most commonly repayable through a series of instalments, has exploded in popularity during the last year. The pandemic created a fertile environment for increased usage of BNPL, with the prospect of delayed payment giving people increased flexibility during what was an uncertain financial time for many. Indeed, during 2020, it is estimated that over 10 million UK consumers bought products or services via a BNPL plan, with 44% of shoppers citing ease and convenience as the main attractor, closely followed by the ability to spread costs over time. Today, the sector has a growth rate double that of bank transfers and more than triple that of digital wallets, and is estimated to be worth a sizeable $166 billion by 2023.
Despite its impressive momentum, it must not be overlooked that BNPL is, at its core, a form of borrowing, not payment, and this comes with risk. A recent survey found that 62% felt that using BNPL made them spend more money – a hugely concerning statistic, and something that has potential to be severely detrimental to the financial stability of millions if left unchecked. Fortunately, this sentiment was shared by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which published its findings about the unsecured lending market in ‘The Woolard Review’. Shortly after the review, in a welcome regulatory move, the UK government said it would require BNPL providers to conduct affordability checks on consumers.
Aside from encouraging excessive spending, it seems that BNPL also leaves a number of borrowers feeling misled about the hidden charges, with terms and conditions taking up to an hour to read and some banks charging almost 4% if a BNPL payment is made using a credit card. Furthermore, many customers aren’t entirely sure what the method entails, with 42% not fully understanding what they are signing up for.
While there can be little disputing that BNPL offers a quick, easy, and flexible short-term borrowing solution, there is a dark side that few consumers are made aware of. Many borrowers, who were unaware of the fine print, are now left with debt that they will struggle to repay. Following research findings showing that four-in ten consumers who’ve used BNPL in the last 12 months are struggling to repay, as many as a quarter regret paying using BNPL platforms, and many say they cannot afford repayments or are spending more than they expected, Citizen’s Advice, a network of legal, money and consumer groups, referred to BNPL as a ‘slippery slope into debt’.
Time for a new approach
It is time to take a new approach to consumer lending. An approach that prioritises transparency, with no compromise to the flexibility and convenience that makes BNPL so attractive. Not just this, but it must cater to the 12-15 million ‘near-prime’ borrowers in the UK who find it difficult to access mainstream credit products. The danger is that borrowers whose credit files are thin or in need of repair might rely too heavily on unregulated and high-cost lenders that offer BNPL, payday loans or unauthorised overdrafts.
This is where subscription finance comes in, offering a responsible, regulated, and transparent option for creditworthy borrowers. According to a survey of Creditspring members, 28.2% of borrowers feel that being upfront about hidden fees and charges is the number one thing a lender could do to improve the borrowing experience.
In the same way that BNPL tapped into consumer demand for more flexible payment options, subscription finance meets a fast-growing demand for increased transparency. Much like a streaming service or monthly mobile payments, a credit subscription service involves paying a small, fixed fee on a regular basis in return for interest-free loans and short-term credit. These small, regular payments allow consumers to avoid paying interest, and to remain in total control of their finances.
Subscription finance: hailing an era of consumer-safe borrowing
With all the noise and excitement currently surrounding the future of finance, there is one thing we must not ever lose sight of: the customer. To date, while BNPL has provided increased flexibility for many during turbulent economic times, from a broader perspective it has missed the mark when it comes to prioritising the best interests of the individual. Subscription finance offers a fairer, more transparent alternative for consumers.
By prioritising transparency, preventing customers from a spiral of debt and being upfront about the cost of credit that is received, the subscription finance model rightfully puts the power in the hands of the borrower. This is the beginning of a new, more open and trustworthy era of consumer borrowing. It is a revolution that is long overdue, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
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Netizens give Seacon Square pat on the back for anti-virus measures, including foot-operated lifts
Seacon Square shopping mall on Bangkok’s Srinakarin Road has come in for praise by netizens for employing a series of measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 after the government relaxed its lockdown restrictions and allowed malls and other businesses to reopen on Sunday.
Among the measures that have been widely shared online and applauded are the installation of foot-operated control panels in the mall’s lifts, which allow users to select the floor and close/open the door by pressing the pedals so as to avoid touching anything, much unlike traditional elevators.
The other measures the mall has employed include installing hand gel dispensers in front of lifts and escalators, painting guide lines on the floor in possible crowded areas to force customers to maintain a safe distance between each other, and having thermo-scanning checkpoints as required by the Public Health Ministry.
Seacon Square stated on its Facebook page that it hoped the measures would become the new normal for shopping malls nationwide as they can prevent not only the spread of Covid-19 but also other kinds of germs, while promoting better hygiene and safety among the public.


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Latest Soy protein Stories
CHICAGO, April 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- While it was once the must-have 'super food,' essential for any healthy diet, according to a new report from Mintel and data from SPINS, the soy food and beverage market declined 16% from 2008 to 2010.
VANCOUVER, March 4 /PRNewswire/ - Burcon NutraScience Corporation (TSX - BU) announced today that the company has entered into a license agreement with Archer Daniels Midland Company ("ADM") for the worldwide production, distribution and sale of Burcon's CLARISOY(Â®) soy protein.Â CLARISOY is a unique soy protein product that is 100 percent soluble, transparent and very low in viscosity in low pH (acidic) beverages.Â Use of CLARISOY allows for the production of transparent,...
BAKERSFIELD, Calif., Feb. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Bolthouse Farms, an innovative health and wellness company based in California's fertile San Joaquin Valley, today introduced the newest addition to its popular Protein Plus beverage line: the Parfait Smoothie.
Two new sources of soybean meal are capturing attention throughout the country.
DOYLESTOWN, Pa., Jan. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As consumers struggle to find healthy, allergen-free, convenient foods, Doylestown, PA-based Asherah's Gourmet is proud to announce the expansion of their line of 100% certified organic, certified gluten-free, soy-free Vegan Burgers.
Studies suggest that soy supplements taken regularly by menopausal women donâ€™t put them at a higher risk for breast cancer or any other health issues.
NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Dec.
University of Illinois scientists think they have solved an interesting problem: how to get protein-deficient Indian schoolchildren to consume soy, an inexpensive and complete vegetable protein.
The latest research into the health effects and safety of a soy-based compound called S-equol was described in talks and presentations by experts at a special session on Tuesday, Oct. 19 during the Ninth International Symposium on the Role of Soy in Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention and Treatment, held Oct. 16 to 19 in Washington, D.C.
- Inward knowledge; understanding; conscience.


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Median sale prices rose in areas of the Charlottesville region in April, according to the Long & Foster Market Minute report. Buckingham County had the largest increase with a 50% jump, followed by Fluvanna County with an 8% increase. Home sales declined in much of the region except for Greene County, which increased by 26%, and Nelson County, which had no year-over-year change. Inventory took a fall throughout Charlottesville, with Buckingham County showing the biggest decrease of 38%.
The April market in Charlottesville was good according to Larry “Boomer” Foster, president of Long & Foster Real Estate. “We’ve got ample demand, there’s plenty of credit for people to get and we’re not artificially running prices up,” he said. The only difficulty in the market is the lack of product to sell.
There are many reasons as to the shortage of inventory: a lot of baby boomers are aging in place, people who bought or refinanced homes when interest rates were at an all-time low don’t want to move away from that rate and builders are not providing product consumers want.
When discussing the tariffs imposed upon Chinese imports, Foster noted they’re causing a squeeze on builders’ margins. “When you combine an increase in material costs with an increase in wages for skilled workers, plus land appreciating, there’s downward pressure on builder’s margins,” he said. Builders are then offsetting these margins by building bigger homes, as opposed to the entry-level homes consumers are looking to buy.
With interest rates so low consumers have more buying power, meaning more can get qualified to buy. With the current economic environment Foster anticipates the interest rates to continue to be low as “domestic and foreign money get parked in U.S. Treasury bonds, keeping the yields on bonds and 30-year fixed rates down.”
For those looking at purchasing new construction homes, it is important to work with a real estate agent. “The process is different, and you need somebody who’ll walk you through financing,” Foster said. “The contracts are written in favor of the builder so having someone well-versed in the process is essential. Typically, builders will charge premium prices for builder-grade finishes and fixtures, so knowing what to spend money on and what’s important in a home will make sure you’re getting the best value.”


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Checkout.com, a specialist cloud payment provider, has accelerated its growth with the launch of a Barcelona office to serve as a headquarters for operations across Southern European markets, including Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece.
The move builds on the firm’s already strong presence in Europe, with it serving ecommerce businesses like Mango, Farfetch, Glovo and Klarna.
Antoine Nougué, Head of Europe at Checkout.com, commented: “Think global, act local’ is at the heart of our expansion proposition for global enterprises. Our local team across Southern Europe has deep insight and knowledge for those merchants wanting to expand and grow. We’ve witnessed explosive growth across the region, with more merchants investing in their eCommerce strategies to serve an emerging online market segment.
“The localisation of our proposition to the market removes payments as a barrier to scale for fast-growing online businesses, allowing them to unlock more revenue opportunities and serve customers a frictionless checkout experience.”
Checkout.com’s Barceolna expansion follows the elevation of the importance of a swift and flexible checkout experience for ecommerce firms as a result of the global pandemic, with traffic and reliance on digital transactions increasing significantly.
Florian Jensen, Global Fraud & Payments Director at Glovo added: “As one of the world’s leading multi-category delivery players, with millions of users across 20 markets worldwide, a localised proposition is imperative to our success. Checkout.com’s global payments routing platform has enabled us to optimise our card processing in existing markets and expand into new territories with speed and ease. Their growth mindset and agile platform make them the perfect payments partner for a global scaling company like Glovo.”


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Hutchins Says Crypto Success Hinges on Consumer Use Cases
(Bloomberg) -- Silver Lake co-founder Glenn Hutchins said more people will embrace cryptocurrencies when they see more real-world applications.
“What I think we have to do is show consumers use cases for this technology, then they’ll understand what it is,” Hutchins said Thursday at the Bloomberg Crypto Summit.
Hutchins noted, for example, how blockchain technology underpins NBA Top Shot digital trading cards, which he said is generating about $1 million a day in revenue for the National Basketball Association.
The primary purpose of Bitcoin isn’t to store but “to have a use case that makes it valuable,” he said.“The other way to think about this is a song or a movie is more valuable to the owner of the copyright, to the extent to which it’s played more.”
Silver Lake, which Hutchins founded in 1999 along with with Roger McNamee and David Roux, has about $75 billion of assets under management. The firm has been involved in some of the biggest technology deals, including the leveraged buyouts of Dell Technologies Inc., Skype Technologies SA and Seagate Technology Plc.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.


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Nike, like many some other retailers, relies on a team of merchants to stock its stores based on customers’ tastes. nevertheless at which point, the company is usually experimenting with analyzing online buying patterns as well as Nike app data to identify where which might be beneficial to open fresh store locations, as well as which items are most likely to sell there.
On Thursday, Nike opened Nike by Melrose, a 4,557-square-foot store located in Los Angeles which’s the first of its stores to be merchandised as well as designed based on Nike’s digital commerce data. which plans to open similar stores from the future.
“We’re borrowing by the digital to do from the physical,” Michael Martin, vice president of digital products for Nike, told BuzzFeed News. “Here in Nike by Melrose as well as Nike Live, we’re going to be refreshing for which local interest on a two-week basis, as well as we’re going to be replicating which same thing in digital.”
The company decided to open the fresh store on Melrose Avenue based on Nike members’ activity tracked through the Nike app, Nike Training app, Nike+ Run Club, as well as Nike buying patterns in its existing stores. Martin said which 50% of the apparel as well as 25% of the footwear from the store are based on Nike commerce data, as well as they will rotate based on shopping patterns.
The store is usually filled with Nike essentials like socks, sweatpants, as well as running shorts. nevertheless which will also include products which Nike’s app as well as e-commerce data have identified as big hits from the area. For example, the store will be stocked with Nike Classic Cortez shoes because the company’s data showed which 1 out of every 50 purchases of the sneaker were made from the nearby Hollywood area.
“We knew which was favorite, nevertheless its truly unique to which market,” said Martin.
Nike by Melrose is usually also outfitted with fresh services, including pickups which allow shoppers to buy a product online as well as pick which up in a locker at the store.
The company will also send push notifications to Nike app users with specially tailored offers when they walk by the store. as well as when Nike app members walk into the store, the app will shift into a Nike App at Retail mode, which allows users to scan items from the store for inventory details, request certain items to be brought out for them to try from the store, as well as reserve products by the app. Nike app users will also soon be able to instantly check out with the app from the store.
Martin said the company is usually testing as well as learning by the store on Melrose Avenue to determine which features which will expand to its fresh York as well as Shanghai flagship stores. The company is usually scheduled to open another Nike Live store fueled by commerce data in Tokyo from the spring.
The store comes as Nike overhauls its US business after sales in North America waned in 2017, while sales in Asia have been growing. Nike reported a 2% loss in revenues in North America, falling to $14.8 billion last year. The company’s sales in China grew by 18%, reaching $5.1 billion from the same time. Still, the company reported an overall 4% increase in revenues last year, reaching $36.3 billion.
“Our fresh innovation is usually winning with consumers, driving significant momentum in our international geographies, as well as a return to growth in North America,” Nike CEO Mark Parker said in a statement. “Fueled by a complete digital transformation of our company end-to-end, which year set the foundation for Nike’s next wave of long-term, sustainable growth as well as profitability.”
Simeon Siegel, an analyst with Nomura Securities who follows Nike, told BuzzFeed News which because of Nike’s size as well as scale, which “has the luxury of, as well as willingness, to spend to grow.”
“which manifests in their ability to outspend the competition on R&D to develop the latest technology for their products,” he said. “[One way] they are looking to innovate is usually to shift to owning the customer to a much greater degree. which can be seen through their stated shift to more direct sales through their own stores as well as websites vs. third-party retailers as well as control of customer data. By utilizing the insights they learn, they can improve the customer experience as well as ultimately their sales.”


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See on Scoop.it – California Car Accident Lawyer
PBSTraffic accidents in the U.S. cost $871 billion a year, federal study finds PBS WASHINGTON — The economic and societal harm from motor vehicle crashes amounted to a whopping $871 billion in a single year, according to a study released Thursday…
Traffic and motor vehicle accidents cost us nearly 1 trillion dollars a year throughout the U.S. In California where there are more car accidents than anywhere else in the nation, the economic toll is also staggering. Human beings are not perfect, and accidents will happen. What can you do to protect yourself? 1) Drive safely; 2) Don’t drink and drive; 3) Make sure you and everyone in you car or other vehicle wears seat belts; 3) Ensure you have addequate liability, comprehensive, collision, uninsured motorist, and GAP insurance; and 4) download our California Accident App for your Android or Apple device by going here, http://thepersonalinjury.com/california-accident-app/ .If god forbid you are in a car or other motor vehicle accident, use the California Accident App to get help.
See on www.pbs.org


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Jaxtr, the company that lets you make and receive calls through various social networking sites such as MySpace and more recently Facebook, Orkut, Linkedin, Flickr and also blog platforms such as Blogger, Typepad etc. has now opened up its walled garden to allow users to send SMS’ to other mobile phones outside the Jaxtr network.
This may sound like old news to some of you but I finally got around to trying the network and it works pretty well. Jaxtr members can use a simple Web form to send a text message to a mobile phone in any of the supported countries (38 of them).
Jaxtr is a company that is experiencing volatile growth. 100, 000 users added the company widget to their profile (MySpace), within 2 months of its launch. That figure now stands at 10 million. A little over a year since its launch. The opening up to other networks and also SMS should only fuel more growth.
SMS should also provide the company with a revenue-earning stream. The other option, which the company might be toying with, is in call ads before calls are connected.
As of now however, I tried out the service and didn’t really receive ads on my phone.
I said that Jaxtr seems to be opening up it’s walled garden. That’s more or less summarized by Jaxtr chief executive Konstantin Guericke – “We’re opening up the service — until now Jaxtr has been a member service, you couldn’t call me unless I was a member … with (messaging) we’re opening it up for the first time,”
Jaxtr is very similar to Skype except that as of now, unlike eBay, with Voice Calls atleast, it does not have the ability to bypass traditional telephone networks.


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Editors and reporters from leading technology media outlets discuss the hot products and trends for the day at CES 2019.
• Moderator: Rachel Horn, Director Thought Leadership Communications at Consumer Technology Association
• Rachel Rothman, Chief Technologist & Director of Engineering at the Good Housekeeping Institute
• David Kender, Editor in Chief at Reviewed
• Dieter Bohn, Executive Editor at The Verge


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Despite its terrible launch day, Cyberpunk 2077 has grown to be one of the popular titles on Steam. The developer CD Projekt Red has confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077 currently has one million players daily including both new and returning ones.
Also Read — This new mini-game from Cyberpunk 2077 is available for free on Android, iOSThis figure includes both platforms, PC and consoles with Steam alone having 86,130 players on Wednesday, as per StreamDB.
This is likely because of the recently launched Netflix anime series of the game called Cyberpunk Edgerunners. Also Read — Cyberpunk 2077 — Phantom Liberty DLC announced to release in 2023<p lang=«en» dir=«ltr» xml:lang=«en»>Each day of this week Night City has been visited by 1 million players, both new and returning.Read more on bgr.in


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Digitalisation has extended its roots magically, but still, we can see many people rather students struggling with their careers. Good news for the entire student community, who are a part of the same effort.
Monash University along with HP alumni wanted to open a new spread to balance digital disruption along with megatrends of mobility, 3D printing and illuminate the prospects to enhance these developments.
It was on Monday,5th June 2017 that HP Alumni along with Monash University had an open invitation discussing the future megatrends in the Digital World at Palo Alto California. The end had people like Monash alumni Dion Weisler, and the big Giants of the digital market foreground like HP CEO, and Andrew Bolwell, HP Chief Disrupter, as well as Monash University's Associate Dean, IT Faculty, Campbell Wilson and Associate Vice-President Sunny Yang.
The discussion was about the trends like blended reality, 3D printing, etc., which is nowadays ruling over the entire market scenario, which can be a commercial benefit as well as the benefit of implementing digitalization all around.
Monash University aimed to conclude how can they come up with better outcomes of the digital courses that they offer, in the form of placements and career prospects.
So, this can be the start of a new journey of Advent for the Monash University as well as digital brands in appreciation of the megatrends, which will soon rule the entire market.


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Recently thanks to an internal email that was made public, Nest’s new CEO Marwan Fawaz reassured employees that Nest wasn’t going to be stripped down and sold for parts, but it seems that’s not the entire picture. The version of the letter that was published apparently had redacted sections that we did not know about, at least until now.
According to Tech Insider, the full letter actually contained information about products that the company was working on. One of those products is an outdoor version of the Nest Cam that was launched last year. Given that the original Nest Cam was launched in June, we guess a successor being launched around this time would make sense as well.
For those unfamiliar, the Nest Cam is a camera connected to the web that lets users stream video from their home to their mobile devices, thus allowing them to keep an eye on their home’s security even when on holiday, and the outdoor version of the camera is expected to be more or less the same in features, except maybe more rugged to withstand the elements.
Other rumored products in the pipeline include new color options for the Nest thermostat. No word on when these new Nest products will be announced, but if an outdoor Nest Cam is something you wouldn’t mind having, check back with us later for the details.
Filed in Nest.. Read more about


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A robot is challenging the traditional art of making pizzas, churning out 300 per hour.
The machine assembles twelve inch pizzas, spreading tomato sauce and adding toppings all without human hands.
"Start with a sheet of dough, we apply sauce, cheese, fresh sliced meat and granular toppings. So, the only thing that we don't do is we don't handle the dough and we don't have an oven but we do everything in-between," explained Clayton Wood, the CEO Picnic, the manufacturer of the machine.
Seattle, Washington based company revealed its new gadget to rave reviews at a technology expo.
"It's awesome, really good. I mean you couldn't tell it was made by a machine at all," said Heather Canterbury.
"The pizza's really good. It feels like a human has made it," said Eshwar Vikas.
"The machine's amazing, really, really amazing. It's fully autonomous it looks like, with a couple of manual processes but, overall, really impressive and a lot of promise," said Mason Estep.
Zaucer Pizza co-CEO Aaron Roberts is hoping the apparatus will give his restaurants a competitive edge.
"It's going to allow us to compete with bigger chains that have a lot of this … not this type of automation but have other things that make them much more scalable. This is going to allow us to be scalable and play in that same level as they do, so we're really excited about that," Roberts said.
Other companies around the world have also experimented with autonomous pizza-making, including French start-up PAZZI (previously known as EKIM), that will open its first pizzeria near Paris in October.


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This week the American Beverage Association announced it is recommending limiting soft drinks in schools, a move that comes amid increased pressure to curb the epidemic of childhood obesity. The weight worry along with the rising cost of school lunches has many parents reconsidering the packed lunch as school starts up again.
Nutrition researcher Anna Maria Siega-Riz says involve kids in the process and stock a smart kitchen. "So the best thing to do is is to be able to have foods that are available and say here are some options that tare healthy options then your child decides from those healthy options," says Siega-Riz.
When it comes to drinks, this nutrition expert says milk and water are best and advises parents to avoid sodas, fruit drinks and even juice. "Because they replace a lot of space for energy dense good calories that you need and some nutrients and it's just full of sugar," says Siega-Riz.
For desert - try yogurt, fruit and fat free pudding. The bottom line is that lunch may seem like a small meal, but it can have big impact on the food choices a child makes over a lifetime.
Actual time for eating lunch at most schools only lasts for 15 to 20 minutes and is filled with distractions. Experts say make sure the lunch foods you pack are easy to eat and easy to open.


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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in October relaxed the norms for firms to open fuel retail outlets, effectively paving the way for more private companies, both foreign and domestic, to enter this business domain.
In the wake of a slew of government measures to attract more private players in the oil and gas retail segment, state-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC) is preparing an action plan to confront the “challenging times ahead”. The possible action points, according to internal company documents, include reviewing its refinery expansion plans, monetising existing infrastructure, manpower restructuring and tie-ups with supermarket chains for setting up fuelling facilities at their stores.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in October relaxed the norms for firms to open fuel retail outlets, effectively paving the way for more private companies, both foreign and domestic, to enter this business domain. According to an internal note circulated among IOC top brass, which FE has accessed, it was pointed that “plans of big refinery expansion needs review” as it fears that the expected market disruption can potentially “result in idling of infrastructure created/being created for meeting demand projections under the current business scenario.”
When contacted, an IOC spokesperson said “it will not be possible to publicly share the specifics of the Corporation’s strategies for the future”. However, the company is “continuously expanding its refining and marketing infrastructure and reseller network as well as product offering and customer service to be ahead of competition”.
Welcoming enhanced competition in the market, he said that IOC is “looking at all emerging opportunities that we can encash to maintain our numero uno position in the market place”.
Among the potential challenges coming from new players in fuel retail, IOC is apprehensive “poaching of strong IOC retailers may happen especially if any of the foreign oil majors come in”. In early August, Reliance Industries and BP announced they would form a new joint venture in the fuel-retailing business across India. Also, Aramco, in its recent announcement about a forthcoming IPO, said it is “focussing its downstream investments in high growth economies, including China, India and Southeast Asia”.
As FE reported earlier this week, IOC is evaluating the option of throwing its hat in the ring and taking over the entire government stake in fellow oil-refiner-marketer Bharat Petroleum to maintain its lead position in fuel retail.
At FY19 end, there were 64,624 retail outlets in the country with IOC, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and BPCL owning 42.9%, 23.9% and 22.9% of them, respectively. Nayara and Reliance owned 7.9% and 2.2% of the fuel retail outlets, respectively.
To battle competition, IOC, at a meeting of its marketing division on October 25, discussed putting more impetus on ‘project dhruva’, which aims to achieve operational efficiency through new technologies. The possible action points also include the integration of its mobile dispensing units with payment solutions. While manpower restructuring to reduce costs are also on the cards, it may also explore tie-ups with supermarket chains for setting up fuelling facilities at their stores.
CRISIL research recently noted that since Indian fuel demand is rising 5-6% CAGR over the past five years, global players are eyeing this market. Existing and upcoming private players are expected to add 6,000-8,000 outlets by FY21, which will enable them to garner a market share of 12-15% in terms of outlets, the research firm noted.


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NEW YORK (
shares have been sitting around half a percentage point below its levels from last Tuesday when it announced its purchase of digital marketing firm
This, as the market remains in 'wait and see' mode with regard to the wisdom of the deal.
Granted, it was the company's biggest purchase ever, leading to some jitters, especially since its acquisitions of Radian6 and Buddy Media over the last two years have yet to prove their true worth in the marketing space. It cost salesforce, the largest maker of online customer-management software, $33.75 a share, or a 52% premium to ExactTarget's closing price last Monday to buy the company. That's 6.6 times the median Wall Street consensus revenue target for ExactTarget for 2013, according to
Salesforce's second-largest purchase ever was Buddy Media, bought last June following salesforce's purchase of Radian6 in March 2011. The progress of its integration into salesforce has been watched closely amid reports of layoffs at Radian6 and $20 million in net losses at Buddy Media in the first half of 2012.
What hasn't been noted as frequently regarding these purchases is salesforce's outstanding organic revenue growth of over 30% each year in the two years since it bought Radian6 and Buddy Media. It was a growth rate that no other company of salesforce's size was able to match during that period and went to show that the integrations of Radian6 and Buddy Media have generally been seamless. Salesforce's growth did moderate this year, but so did the rest of the software sector in the first quarter, given that businesses were pacing their spending amid continued global economic uncertainties.
Radian6 and Buddy Media may not have taken off yet for salesforce, but in time they are expected to shine, not individually, but as part of a larger group of comprehensive offerings that includes ExactTarget to cater to salesforce's corporate marketing department and chief marketing officer clientele. The goal is a smooth integration of ExactTarget assets with Radian6's social media monitoring and analytics functionalities, Buddy Media's social marketing and campaign capabilities and salesforce's core sales application business so that salesforce can solidify its presence in the rapidly transforming marketing space.
Given that it will still be months before the ExactTarget deal wraps up, Brian Schwartz, a senior software analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. in San Francisco, estimates that it will take up to 12 months for investors to even begin to feel the impact of this purchase. But if salesforce's acquisition selections over the last two years prove to be astute and are able to reaccelerate the company's growth back to 30%, the stock could rise 25% to 50% from current levels, according to Schwartz.
"I agree they likely overpaid for ExactTarget, but they had no choice after they telegraphed to the market that they were going to buy a large marketing company," Schwartz said in an email. "It was a buy versus build decision. They were missing these technologies and they paid up to scale the business faster than if they built it themselves."
deal last December to buy marketing automation software vendor
, an important partner in salesforce.com's ecosystem, Wall Street knew right away that salesforce was going to respond quickly with the search for the market automation and analytics pieces missing from its arsenal, Schwartz said.
Written by Andrea Tse in New York
>To contact the writer of this article, click here:


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Google is currently developing an Android app for the Chinese market that will comply with the country’s strict censorship laws.
When complete, the app will provide basic search functionalities and will filter out content that government officials consider to be “unfavorable,” The Sun recently reported. The search engine giant has been conducting secret meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s top aides to determine the level of censorship that must be implemented for the app to comply with the Communist Party’s standards.
Google’s Android mobile operating system dominates as China’s most popular smartphone OS. Despite its success, China’s anti-free-speech rules have banned most of Google’s most popular products, including its search engine.
The company’s new China-specific search app will suppress references to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” and “1984” books, and anything that is critical of the Communist Party, analysts suspect.
It’s also expected that the app won’t show any information that suggests that Taiwan is independent of China.
If Chinese users attempt to search for a “sensitive query” then the app will automatically display “no results shown.” Similar limitations will be applied to other parts of Google’s new product, including image results, spell check and search suggestions.
GOOGLE launches CENSORED search engine for oppressive China… https://t.co/pM790BEykA
— DRUDGE REPORT (@DRUDGE_REPORT) August 2, 2018
Google is trying to keep the product a secret to avoid backlash from its employees and non-Chinese customers.
A spokesperson from the company was quick to provide a statement regarding the new app.
“We provide a number of mobile apps in China, such as Google Translate and Files Go, help Chinese developers, and have made significant investments in Chinese companies like JD.com. But we don’t comment on speculation about future plans,” the spokesperson said.
Despite facing numerous issues breaking into the Chinese market over the last decade, Google CEO Sundar Pichai is still determined to serve Chinese customers.
“We want to be in China serving Chinese users,” Pichai said.
Facebook is also looking to grow its presence in China, which is currently extremely limited in the country. Chinese officials banned the social network in 2009, but Facebook has recently been working on a version of its app that includes censorship features that might satisfy the Chinese government.
In late July, Facebook attempted to open an “innovation hub” in China, which was blocked by the government.
China’s Cyberspace Administration responded to the blocking by claiming that Facebook was never issued a business license, the Financial Times reported.
“The CAC was told by the relevant government department that Facebook has contacted the relevant departments in Hangzhou; however, a business license has not been issued to Facebook Technology Ltd (Hangzhou),” a spokesperson said.


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Why Retailers Are Missing Out on Mobile With Millennials
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Millennials are having a party, but it seems the invitations for most teen retailers never hit their mailboxes. Perhaps that's because such invites would've been issued via mobile phone. At a time when younger generations are spending upward of 80 hours a month on their mobile devices, several apparel brands are missing out on a commerce opportunity that led to $35 billion in U.S. sales last year.


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DLA Piper outdid its competitors in digital marketing in 2019, according to a new report, while law firms in general are using Facebook far less and using LinkedIn, Instagram and paid social marketing more. Firms are also measuring the impact of their social marketing efforts more closely, the report found.
Consultancy Good2bSocial has released the annual report card, the Social Law Firm Index, since 2013, though this year it includes more firms than ever. The group measures law firms’ social media reach, engagement, and marketing performance on their own websites and on public social media platforms.
The latest rankings, released Tuesday, place DLA Piper at No. 1, followed by White & Case, Norton Rose Fulbright, Baker McKenzie and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.
Norton Rose Fullbright, which topped the overall rankings last year, came in first in 2019 when it came to “thought leadership,” while Baker McKenzie led the pack in SEO optimization.
Ranked by their reach and engagement on individual platforms, Squire Patton Boggs was No. 1 for Twitter, Quarles & Brady for Facebook, Baker McKenzie for LinkedIn, Jones Day for YouTube and DLA Piper for Instagram.
By now, the researchers noted, major firms are already marketing themselves on most if not all of the major social media platforms. Now that adoption is widespread, the firms are beginning to get more sophisticated with usage, the report found.
Guy Alvarez, Good2bSocial’s founder and CEO, said that more firms are taking advantage of automated marketing systems such as Hubspot or Pardot to improve management of leads and to fine-tune messaging by office and practice.
He also said the most successful firms are beginning to dig deeper into performance metrics to gauge their return on investment.
“Law firms are actively doing things on social media, but very few know how to measure ROI and how to use [social media] as a marketing campaign to get the results they want,” Alvarez said in an interview. “Before you figure out what your ROI is, you need to know what your business purposes are.”
He said firms typically use social media for one or more of four reasons: to build brand awareness, to generate more leads, to provide more value to clients through cross-selling practice areas and to help differentiate themselves from their competition.
Each of those goals can require a different strategy and a different platform, he said, depending on the audience and the desired outcome.
Alvarez also said that although adoption rates are high, law firms often lag behind other professional service industries, particularly the Big Four, when it comes to effective usage.
“A lot of firms are still using social media as sort of a one-way content marketing tool,” he said. “The ones that struggle are just putting up promotional content. Social media is meant to engage and be social.”
Alvarez said the firms that struggle the most tend to have a couple of things in common. First, they usually make decisions that are not based on data. They miss out on opportunities to course-correct or change strategies if a campaign doesn’t bear fruit. If you don’t check the data, he said, how will you know if it is working?
Another common pitfall is a basic lack of content—whether on a firm’s website, within lawyer biographies or on social platforms. Having content that is robust, useful to clients and search-friendly can go a long way in driving traffic to a firm’s site, he said.
While social media can be a marketing blessing, Alvarez also said there are also elements that can make it dangerous.
“If some bad news about your firm is out there, it will get around quick,” he said. “Getting on top of that can be difficult.” He also said that firms can be concerned about what their attorneys might write that could come back to haunt them (see: Frank Aquila).
Alvarez said more and more firms are putting social media training into their professional development programs and hiring consultants to work with attorneys to maximize their marketing advantage and avoid social media peril.
While many of the latest trends aren’t brand new, there were some elements from the 2019 report that Alvarez didn’t see coming, he said.
He said he was surprised at how many firms had “jumped on the Instagram bandwagon.” Firms such as DLA Piper and White & Case have done a good job, he said, of telling stories on the platform and even using it as a recruiting tool.
On the flip side, “I was surprised at how much and how quickly firm usage of Facebook has declined,” Alvarez said. “Cambridge Analytica and privacy issues helped move that along. We saw some decline last year, but this year was a huge drop. Some firms have given up on Facebook completely.”
For top-ranked Good2bSocial firm DLA Piper, which spent years beating back a Facebook lawsuit when Mark Zuckerberg was at his peak, that may just be the icing on the cake.
Download the full report here.


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Pressure is mounting on Honda Motorcycle and Scooters India (HMSI), India's fourth biggest two-wheeler maker by volume, to resume normal supplies of scooters and motorcycles to its dealers, who are forced to ask customers to wait for up to four-five months for delivery.
The company has had a long pay dispute with labour unions which has heavily affected production for the past month at its plant in Manesar, Haryana. Monthly production has dropped to about 55,000 units from the usual 110,000 units. The dispute is yet to be resolved.
A customer of the Activa 110, a top-selling ungeared scooter brand from HMSI, will only be able to ride on his purchase by February or even March if the booking is made now. The company was in the process of jacking up capacity for the model, which it launched towards the end of March this year, when it was hit by the labour trouble.
A city-based dealer of Honda in the suburban area said, “As the supply itself from the company is down drastically, we are forced to ask customers to wait for a maximum of four-five months for the Activa. Even other models such as Unicorn (a 150cc motorcycle) carry a waiting period of two-three months, while a buyer of the CBF Stunner (a 125cc motorcycle) will have to wait a bit longer.”
Officials at HMSI appear uncertain on reaching an early settlement with their workforce. “We are constantly in dialogue with the workers but do not know how long it will take for the matter to get completely resolved. Production has been hit badly and it’s not only Honda getting affected but every company attached to it is hit, including our suppliers,” said a senior executive from the company. Agitating workers are demanding more pay, including an increase in the fixed portion of the salary structure, apart from other incentives. HMSI officials say this is unacceptable.
The loss in supply of HMSI models in the market has resulted in demand moving in favour of those from competing companies like Suzuki Motorcycle India and Mahindra Two Wheelers for the scooter range and Bajaj Auto, Hero Honda and Yamaha for the motorcycle range.
“There has been an increase of 10-20 per cent in demand for our models, especially the Rodeo over the past two-three weeks. We have got ready delivery of our products, whereas Honda dealers are asking customers to wait for five months,” said a dealer from Mahindra Two Wheelers.
A North Mumbai-based dealer selling Suzuki automatic scooters also said there had been a sudden increase of 10-12 per cent in sales over recent weeks.
Analysts say since customers were keen to make their purchase during the festive period, they were not expecting to be asked to wait for months for the delivery of the vehicle, even as their bank sends them notices to start paying the equated monthly instalments (EMIs)
Anticipating the strong demand in the festive season, HMSI had ramped up its production in June, July and August but the inventory had got exhausted by the start of October. According to data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, HMSI's production was down by nearly five per cent in September to 84,182 units and a full 50 per cent this month.


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Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, January 13th.
According to Zacks, “Zynga Inc. is the world’s largest social game developer with users playing their games which include CityVille, FarmVille, FrontierVille, Words With Friends, Mafia Wars, Zynga Poker, Cafe World, and Treasure Isle. Zynga Inc. games are available on a number of global platforms including Facebook, MySpace, Yahoo, the iPad, the iPhone and Android devices. They operate their games as live services, by which they mean that they continue to support and update games after launch and gather daily, metrics-based player feedback that enable them to continually enhance their games by adding new content and features. All of their games are free to play, and they generate revenue through the in-game sale of virtual goods and advertising. “
Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $4.50 target price on shares of Zynga in a report on Thursday, October 12th. Wedbush set a $5.00 price target on shares of Zynga and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 18th. BidaskClub downgraded shares of Zynga from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 6th. KeyCorp reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Zynga in a research report on Tuesday, October 17th. Finally, Consumer Edge started coverage on shares of Zynga in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $4.50 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $4.14.
Shares of Zynga (ZNGA) opened at $3.72 on Friday. Zynga has a 12 month low of $2.40 and a 12 month high of $4.34. The firm has a market cap of $3,240.00, a PE ratio of -124.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.76.
Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 7th. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $224.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.98 million. Zynga had a negative net margin of 2.65% and a negative return on equity of 1.37%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.05) EPS. equities research analysts expect that Zynga will post 0.02 earnings per share for the current year.
In related news, COO Matthew S. Bromberg sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.95, for a total value of $197,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 294,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,162,113.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ellen F. Siminoff sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.86, for a total transaction of $46,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 139,900 shares in the company, valued at $540,014. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 256,000 shares of company stock worth $1,009,000. Insiders own 12.43% of the company’s stock.
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ZNGA. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Zynga by 1.2% in the second quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,698,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,824,000 after purchasing an additional 31,210 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Zynga by 4.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,643,858 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,624,000 after purchasing an additional 101,214 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in shares of Zynga by 914.3% in the second quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 306,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,148,000 after purchasing an additional 275,860 shares during the last quarter. Federated Investors Inc. PA grew its holdings in shares of Zynga by 5.2% in the second quarter. Federated Investors Inc. PA now owns 157,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 7,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Zynga by 9.1% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 44,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,000 after acquiring an additional 3,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.46% of the company’s stock.
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Zynga Company Profile
Zynga Inc is a provider of social game services. The Company develops, markets and operates social games as live services played on mobile platforms, such as iPhone Operating System (iOS) operating system and Android operating system and social networking sites, such as Facebook. The Company has developed a range of social games, including games in its Slots, Words With Friends, Zynga Poker and FarmVille franchises.
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Almost two years after an engineer received soaps instead of an iPhone 7 Plus from e-commerce platform Snapdeal, a consumer forum has ordered that he be paid Rs 1 lakh as compensation for the wrong delivery.
The Mohali Consumer Forum, which took up the matter on receiving a complaint, has directed Snapdeal, Pious Fashion and courier service Blue Dart to pay Rs one lakh to Parveen Kumar Sharma, a civil engineer.
The order was placed through Snapdeal on March 4, 2017 and the wrong parcel was delivered two days later -- on March 6.
According to the engineer, on reaching out to Snapdeal at that time, the platform failed to take any action. Additionally, it allegedly even deleted the user’s account.
On Tuesday, Snapdeal said that it has removed around 8,000 sellers from its platform in the last eight months over counterfeit products.


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Fourth Street shopkeeper Kathleen Schaaf, sometimes known as the Queen of Vintage, is celebrating her business’s 30th anniversary on Fourth Street’s Retro Row.
Always looking the part in her retro eyeglasses and throwback clothing styles, Schaaf was a true pioneer of Retro Row when she first opened Meow in 1986.
At the time, there weren’t any real retail stores in the area, just a few furniture shops and artist studios. But today, on Fourth Street between Cherry and Temple avenues, she’s credited with helping set the tone for a thriving thoroughfare that is filled with like-minded business owners who capitalize on nostalgia.
A Los Alamitos native, Schaaf’s store boasts antique refrigerator doors to the fitting rooms as well as a black popcorn ceiling and huge neon signs salvaged from former businesses in the area. There’s a large stuffed mouse outside on the sidewalk that many people love to take selfies with every day.
What’s for sale there is a huge selection of deadstock (new items that were never worn or sold to the public that have been rescued from warehouses or old department stores from around the country).
Schaaf said she sometimes feels like a detective, working from tips she hears about stockpiles of 1940s and 1950s retail. And her sleuthing has paid off – widely recognized as an expert in her field, Schaaf not only sells wares in her store but also to major movie and television studios.
During the holidays, Schaaf noted that she has the best selection of Christmas sweaters in town, and she encouraged people to buy one at Meow’s anniversary event during Shop Small Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 26. There will be 30% discounts on merchandise as well as complimentary snacks.
Parking in the Fourth Street lot at Cherry Avenue will be free on Shop Small Saturday, according to members of the Fourth Street Business Association.
Meow is located at 2210 E. Fourth St. For details, call (562) 438-8990.
There’s a new Supercuts in Belmont Shore.
The salon chain, which has more than 2,400 no-appointment required locations across the country, offers men’s haircuts, women’s haircuts, kids’ haircuts, color services and waxing at affordable prices. The brand’s product chains include Paul Mitchell, Biolage, Redken, American Crew and Nioxin.
The business is at 4610 E. Second St. For details, call (562) 598-3536.
Pike In Spirit
It’s the holiday season, and The Pike Outlets are ready.
There will be an opening night celebration starting at 5 p.m., Friday, Nov. 18, with a tree lighting ceremony and the unveiling of The Pike’s temporary ice rink.
The Pike Outlets partnered with the Los Angeles Kings to bring the ice rink to the downtown shopping center. The real ice rink, measuring 50 feet by 80 feet, will be available for public use through Jan. 8 near the existing Ferris Wheel.
Tickets to skate, including skate rentals, will be $13 for children ages 6 and younger as well as military and senior citizens. It’ll cost $17 for adults.
Beyond the tree and ice rink, The Pike Outlets is welcoming Santa Claus for several visits during the holiday season as well as discounts at participating stores and some live entertainment.
“We at The Pike Outlets are excited to welcome our guests to what’s sure to be a memorable family experience of skating, shopping, dining and visiting with Santa Claus,” the shopping center’s general manager, Brent Gonzalez, said in a release. “We’re also happy to reveal several new tenants – including Sunglass Hut and T-Mobile – that we expect to open before the end-of-the-year.”
Container volume at the Port of Long Beach was down 6.2% in October, compared to the same month in 2015.
Port officials said the drop is due, in part, to fallout from South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping Co. filing for bankruptcy in August. The shipping giant sinking into bankruptcy has thrown all West Coast ports into disarray – Hanjin containers typically account for about 12.3% of the Port of Long Beach’s total container volume.
In October, Long Beach longshore workers moved 581,808 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units, the standard cargo measurement). That included 296,711 TEUs in imports and 126,770 TEUs in exports. Empties were at 158,327 TEUs.
Monthly cargo numbers are available at www.polb.com/stats.
Ashleigh Ruhl can be reached at email@example.com.