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HTC Zeta with Android ICS, quad-core CPU and HD screen apparently rendered
After the HTC Edge and the HTC Ville, it’s now time to see another unannounced Android Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone that will reportedly be released by the Taiwanese company at some point: the HTC Zeta.
If the render published by Engadget is accurately depicting the real device, the Zeta will look like nothing HTC has released before (and yes, that’s a good thing):
Besides Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the rumored features of the HTC Zeta include: Sense UI, a 2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm APQ8064 processor, 4.5 inch HD display, 1GB of RAM, Beats Audio, 8MP rear camera, 1080p video recording, 1,830 mAh battery, and a 9.8mm thin case.
Sure enough, the Zeta could be just a fake. Or, if it isn’t, we’ll probably not see it too soon, since Qualcomm announced that samples of the APQ8064 CPU would only be available in early 2012 (and actual devices to use it will probably not be out until 2013). More on this as we get it.


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WTM Global Trends Report: 10 Year Anniversary Edition
Each year, the travel industry is poised for the release of the WTM Global Trends Report produced by Euromonitor. Since its launch in 2006, the report has been at the forefront of accurately predicting major travel trends around the world. Today, WTM and Euromonitor International unveiled the WTM Global Trends Report 2015 identifying the top emerging travel trends around the world. This video looks back at 10 years of the Global Trends Report, with a look toward this year’s travel trends.
Download this year’s report
Watch on Youtube

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Hytale is an upcoming video game by Hypixel Studios that
combines the scope of a sandbox with the depth of a roleplaying game, according to its about page. Officially announced two years ago, Hytale has been in development by Hypixel Studios since around 2015. The game will be releasing within a year now, so here's a complete history of the development of Hytale.
Let's start at the beginning. The very beginning. A little game called Minecraft was first released publicly on a small gaming forum known as TIGSource in May 2009. You can still read through the original thread here. Two and a half years later, after several phases of development, Minecraft was fully released by Mojang on 18 November 2011.
A big part of Minecraft was its multiplayer, which has been in the game since almost the beginning. As Minecraft increased in popularity, servers with many players began to pop up. Eventually mods and plugins for the game came into existence, allowing for the creation of large, multi-network servers.
In the meantime, two players started creating adventure maps, uploading them to YouTube to showcase. As these maps became more popular, Simon Collins-Laflamme and Philippe Touchette eventually started a multiplayer server for players to enjoy their creations.
Although the main purpose of the server at the start was to
Play Hypixel adventure maps with your friends, the server included a couple of minigame maps as well; these quickly became more popular than the adventure maps, becoming the main focus of the server.
Hypixel had visions of creating its own game very early on. From December 2013, the server offered
Early access testing to our future video game to its top patrons for a short while. After Mojang changed the EULA of Minecraft to prevent pay-to-win aspects of multiplayer servers in June 2014, Hypixel furthered their plans to create an independent game.
On the EULA changes, now-CEO of Hypixel Studios Aaron Donaghey said
it was definitely a huge reminder for us that [...] you still exist within someone else's playing field. Hypixel developers wanted a game where they were in complete control of all features.
Full development of what is now Hytale began around April 2015, according to a forum post by Donaghey in December 2016. This post gave the first drops of information about Hytale, publishing the game's initial budget (US$3.6M) and listing its developers. From there, the game was developed quietly over the following two years.
On 10 December 2018, a three-day countdown was started at Hytale.com. On 13 December, the official trailer for Hytale dropped, and it's safe to say it went viral, garnering over 30 million views within a month, and currently sits on over 57 million views.
Hypixel Studios say that Hytale will
be playable by everyone in 2021. This means that upon release in beta, the game will have been in development for around six years, and everyone's expectations are quite high for this game.
Development won't stop in 2021, however: Hypixel Studios say that
For years to come, we plan on supporting the game with new features, content updates and more.
So that's it: the full history of Hytale's development. Fans have been waiting for two years now, and the release of Hytale is almsot here. Expect Hypixel Studios to announce a specific release date in the coming months as development of the game nears completion.


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In March 2023, Nigel Wright Group was delighted to host a webinar delivered by Chinese-based business leaders and policy commentators attended by over 150 guests. The webinar focused on the impact of Covid-19, China’s political landscape, opportunities and threats for companies, and how China experience can benefit Western firms.
Speakers included Peter Bøgh Hansen, China policy director at the Danish Confederation of Industries, Jesper Halle, commercial consul at the Royal Danish Consulate General in Shanghai, and Aldo Spaanjaars, owner of Dragon Strategies and a former Anta Sports executive, the third-largest sportswear company in the world.
Peter Bøgh Hansen discussed China’s return to business after three years of pandemic obstacles. Hansen stated that China wants to move ahead and re-establish ties with the rest of the world. However, he also cited the ongoing challenges China faces following a period of constant lockdowns, as well as its strained relationship with the US, particularly after Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan.
Economic growth is a top priority for China, according to Hansen. The country is hoping to achieve a 5% growth rate in 2023, requiring a major boost in foreign trade and investment. Hansen was keen to emphasise how the recent National People's Congress gives Western firms an insight into China's aspirations, specifically since the appointment of the new Prime Minister, Li Qiang.
Hansen believes that the Chinese government’s enthusiasm for stimulating the economy will lead to increased investment in infrastructure, such as bridges and harbours. He predicts that this investment will reignite economic growth in the short term. Additionally, he noted the growth potential of the healthcare and environmental sectors, as stated in China’s latest five-year plan.
According to Hansen, the government's increased control over education is a priority for achieving ‘common prosperity.’ Many educational companies have been forced to close down or change their business models to comply with government regulations. Hansen is unsure whether this will result in more Chinese students studying abroad, but it is a possibility.
Finally, Hansen alluded to the geopolitical partnership between China and Russia but noted how the war in Ukraine is not getting much mention in China’s public sphere. Further, Hansen believes it is unlikely that China will take aggressive action against Taiwan in the nearby future, a risk assessment shared by most investors and other greater China observers.
Jesper Halle discussed the impact of Covid-19 and subsequent travel restrictions on foreign companies in China during the last three years, leading to management issues and disruptions in supply chains. The reduction in ex-pats was also noted as a cause for decoupling between European headquarters and Chinese subsidiaries.
In light of this, Halle recommends that Western firms review the in-depth China knowledge and experience they have at management and board levels, including on advisory boards. He further highlighted various macro challenges that businesses must consider including political tensions, territorial disputes, and China’s ageing population.
According to Halle, the Chinese government has made a significant shift in its economic policies over the past few years. The focus now is on domestic consumption and reducing its reliance on exports. Although foreign companies operating in China may need to adjust their strategies and operations, Halle believes the shift does present opportunities for firms willing to adapt to the new landscape.
Covid-19 has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies in China, says Halle, with an increase in online shopping and remote work. This presents opportunities and threats for foreign companies. Businesses that specialise in digital technologies, for example, can expand their operations in China. Though, they may face increased competition from domestic players.
Furthermore, Halle was keen to highlight how the Chinese government has been successful in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. This has led to investments by Chinese companies in research and development and bringing new intellectual property to market. Halle says this trend is expected to continue and may contribute to sustained economic growth beyond 2023.
FMCG, green transition, healthcare and outbound tourism are all potential market opportunities for foreign companies over the next few years, according to Halle. China has very ambitious decarbonisation targets for 2030 and 2060 respectively, he says, and will therefore require investment in state-of-the-art technologies to achieve its goals.
Interestingly, however, while Gen-Z Chinese are increasingly interested in issues around sustainability and practise environmentally conscious consumption, a significant portion of the population is still price-sensitive and prefers cheap, disposable goods. Brands, says Halle, need to focus on product quality and other factors to succeed in China.
Aldo Spaanjaars talked about the Chinese business landscape and made several predictions for the coming year. Spaanjaars believes that 2023 will be a good year for doing business in China, primarily because the Beijing leadership is focused on economic growth. He also suggested that the Chinese government's crackdown on the internet sector would ease.
An influx of pent-up savings into China’s economy and returning consumer confidence will provide a significant economic boost in 2023, says Spaanjaars. The task, however, lies in convincing Chinese citizens to spend more. China’s high savings rate is due to several factors, including an ageing population and uncertainty in the real estate market.
There is still real potential for European companies to tap into the Chinese market, according to Spaanjaars. This is particularly evident in sectors such as luxury goods, where consumers have a strong appetite for high-end products. Inflationary pressure may not affect China in the same way that it has impacted Western economies, he added.
At the same time, Spaanjaars expects that Chinese companies will increasingly invest in Europe. This is partly due to ongoing domestic political challenges, as well as the country’s difficult relationship with the United States. He anticipates that regardless of geopolitical complications, Western business leaders will return to China, which remains an important market for international firms.
According to Spaanjaars, despite economic sanctions restricting its activities, access to data and an ability to adapt technologies invented elsewhere, have enabled China to expand its AI capabilities, challenging US AI leadership and surpassing Europe. While developing its own semiconductor technology is problematic, Spaanjaars believes that China will overcome this setback in the long run.
With Covid-19 essentially gone, Spaanjaars believes the risks associated with supply chains will be significantly reduced this year. He also talked about how enthusiasm for travelling again is leading to an increase in spending. Finally, he noted that although it is unclear whether the 5% growth rate target is achievable, it’s evident that the Chinese government prioritises economic growth.
China will undoubtedly continue to play a significant role in global trade and commerce in the coming years. Companies that can navigate the complexities of doing business in China, understand the local culture, and build strong relationships stand to benefit from the country's significant growth potential and vast consumer market.
Western companies should be flexible and adaptable if they wish to succeed in China’s constantly evolving market. Nigel Wright’s 35-year track record of supporting European companies in expanding into the Far East is a testament to the potential for European and Chinese partnerships. With ongoing dialogue and collaboration, mutual growth and prosperity are within reach.
If you have any questions or would like further information about the points raised in this article, please contact Jesper, Aldo, Peter and Lars directly via the details below:
Commercial Consul, Royal Danish Consulate General
Email: [email protected]
Owner, Dragon Strategies
Former Executive Vice President at Anta Sports China
Author of ‘Dragon Tactics: How Chinese Entrepreneurs Thrive in Uncertainty’
Email: [email protected]
China Policy Director, Danish Confederation of Industries
Email: [email protected]
Executive Director, Nigel Wright Group
*Aldo Spaanjaars has recently repatriated to The Netherlands and Jesper Halle will return to Denmark in July 2023, after spending 22 years in the Far East. Both Aldo and Jesper are interested in exploring board and advisory work, as well as other opportunities, in Europe.
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Top Fintech Vietnam News from January 2018by Fintechnews Singapore February 6, 2018
Fintech Vietnam Meetup is back with the 2nd edition of 2018, with all you need to know about Fintech in Vietnam.
Amidst the cryptocurrency buzz, we place a special focus on the new P2P Lending players in Vietnam. Can they hold themselves against a new foreign entrant? (See: Moneybank.vn) Be sure to also check out the jobs on offer if you’re dying to enter the Fintech industry.
TOP Fintech Vietnam News
Minh Thảo muốn tạo ra hệ sinh thái các ứng dụng sử dụng camera làm công cụ cơ bản để phục vụ mục đích kinh doanh của từng tổ chức và thành phần kinh tế trong xã hội. (Read more)
With 30 million smartphone users and a 52% Internet penetration rate, the Vietnamese market is believed by many to be fertile ground for fintech solutions and digital finance. (Read more)
A new company called Lendbiz was recently set up in Hanoi. The company offers a peer-to-peer lending platform targeted at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam. (Read more)
ingapore based consumer finance group Silkway Ventures has expanded its operations to Southeast Asian region by opening a subsidiary in Vietnam. (Read more)
Với những đề án như thanh toán không dùng tiền mặt, thúc đẩy và phát triển tài chính toàn diện hay yêu cầu nâng tỷ trọng thu nhập dịch vụ theo Đề án 1058 cũng sẽ giúp các ngân hàng đa dạng hóa nguồn thu và gia tăng tỷ trọng thu từ dịch vụ, từ đó giúp lợi nhuận có thể tăng bền vững. (Read more)
Với tiềm năng lớn, startup Fintech Việt (lĩnh vực kinh doanh tài chính trên nền tảng công nghệ) trong thời gian gần đây đã thu hút nhiều nhà đầu tư nước ngoài với lượng vốn lớn. (Read more)
When considering the most interesting regions with respect to cryptocurrency, Asia should rank high on any list. From China’s ICO ban to South Korea’s pullback to Hong Kong’s embrace, the continent exhibits a variety of approaches to it. (Read more)
The State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV) is drafting the National Financial Inclusion Strategies (NFIS) to increase the ratio of people and firms with access to formal financial services. (Read more)
Fintech Vietnam Jobs of the Month
- Business Development Manager, Finsify Hub, Ho Chi Minh City
- Nhân Viên Phát Triển Đối Tác, Công Ty CP 1PAY, Hanoi
- Ant Financial Java Software Developer Vietnam, Alibaba Group, Ho Chi Minh City
Top Fintech South East Asia News
The Central Bank of Indonesia (BI) caused a brief panic when it sent out a press release on Indonesia’s bitcoin ban earlier this month, reminding the Indonesian public to not buy and sell Bitcoin and other virtual currencies. (Read more)
In a joint-statement issued by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) today, the regulators stated that Initial Coin Offering (ICO) schemes may fall under the jurisdiction of the regulators. (Read more)
tryb Group, a financial technology platform, announced a US$30 million investment by Makara Innovation Fund a US$717 million private equity fund that invests in IP driven small- to mid- companies with the aim of scaling, internationalizing and creating enterprise value. (Read more)
7 mobile wallets, acquirers and payment networks, including Diners Club, EZi Wallet, EZ-Link, Liquid Pay, Mastercard, UnionPay International and Wirecard, have formed a consortium to enable interoperable QR payments in Singapore for consumers and merchants. (Read more)
To keep updated with the latest news and events of Fintech in Vietnam, you can subscribe to Vietnam Fintech Newsletter here.


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Supplier News Breaks Archives
Hershey names interim chief as CEO exits to head Del Monte
May 18th, 2011
HERSHEY, Pa. – The Hershey Co. has appointed executive vice president and chief operating officer John P. Bilbrey as interim chief executive officer to replace David West, who is leaving the company to become CEO at Del Monte Foods Co.
In a statement released Wednesday, Hershey chairman James Nevels said, "We will work quickly to name a permanent chief executive officer to ensure the continuation of this orderly transition."
Bilbrey has more than 30 years of global consumer packaged goods experience, according to Hershey. He was named COO in 2010, with responsibility for day-to-day global operations and commercial activities at the chocolate and candy giant, and from December 2007 to November 2010 served as senior vice president of The Hershey Co. and president of Hershey North America.
"Hershey got off to a strong start in 2011, and we will continue to focus on driving growth in the United States and building our presence in key markets in Asia and Latin America as we take Hershey to the next level," Bilbrey stated. "We have an outstanding team in place, and I'm very optimistic about our future as we build a truly global company. We will continue to invest in our brands and capabilities as we leverage our intellectual capital and expand our proprietary Insights Driven Performance initiative."
The company noted that Bilbrey played a key role its turnaround as well as in the creation and implementation of its confectionery demand landscape and establishment of Hershey's presence in markets worldwide. He joined Hershey in 2003 as company senior vice president and president of Hershey International. Before joining Hershey, Bilbrey held executive positions at Mission Foods and Danone Waters of North America Inc. and spent 22 years at Procter & Gamble Co.
"We're pleased that J.P. has accepted this position," Nevels commented. "He has worked closely with the board for several years and has been involved in all aspects of the company's strategy and operations. The board has seen firsthand his leadership and expertise and unanimously made this appointment."
Meanwhile, Del Monte said Wednesday that West is slated to join its board of directors in June and to take the helm as CEO on Aug. 15.
West will take over for interim CEO Neil Harrison, who will remain on the board. Harrison was appointed as interim CEO after Del Monte was acquired by an investor group led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Vestar Capital Partners and Centerview Capital in a deal completed in March.
"I'm honored to join Del Monte at such an exciting time," stated West, who was Hershey's CEO since 2007. "I have admired Del Monte's transformation into a multibillion diversified branded pet and consumer products company. I'm looking forward to working with Del Monte's management team to continue the company's tradition of providing high-quality products that consumers know and trust while further accelerating the growth of its well-established portfolio of brands."
West has spent nearly 25 years in the food industry. Prior to his CEO role at Hershey, he held various leadership positions at the company, including COO, chief financial officer, chief customer officer and senior vice president of strategy and business development.
Before joining Hershey, West served as senior vice president and CFO at Nabisco Biscuit and Snacks Group and was responsible for leading the financial function of Kraft Foods' biscuits, confections and snacks businesses. He joined Nabisco in 1987.
Commenting on his departure from Hershey, West said in a statement, "After 10 years with the company, it's time to take on the next challenge. I'm thankful for the opportunity to serve with the great people of The Hershey Co., and I'm very confident in their ability to deliver in the future. J.P. has been instrumental to our success and has been a great partner over the years. He is uniquely qualified to lead The Hershey Co. as it builds on its U.S. leadership position and expands globally."


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Samsung and Apple would have lost 4% in the number of smartphones sold in 2022. This underperformance would not prevent them from gaining an additional advantage over their competitors.
Smartphone manufacturers communicate very little about their sales figures, to get an idea of the state of the market you have to turn to analysis firms. Last week, Canalys, which bases its calculation method on smartphone shipments from factories, described a difficult year 2022, to say the least, with three brands in the top 5 posting double-digit drops. Only Samsung and Apple seemed relatively safe.
It’s IDC’s turn to release smartphone sales figures in 2022. The two firms seem to be in pretty much agreement on the general observation, namely a drop in sales of 11.3% for IDC and 11% for Canalys. The two come together to say that almost 1.2 billion new phones have been sold in 2022.
everyone in trouble
Where the IDC numbers differ is in the scale of the crisis. While Canalys trails a loss of just 0.91% for Apple and 3.83% for Samsung, the two leaders may have suffered more than you think according to IDC. Count -4.01% for Samsung and -4% for Apple, that is, almost 12 million fewer smartphones sold for Samsung and just over 9 million fewer for Apple.
Should we see there the effects of the absence of significant renewals or is it simply the crisis that is hitting the portfolios? Probably another explanation is found in the increasing robustness of the devices, whatever the range.
The other players in the top 5 are doing even worse according to IDC. Here is the detail:
- Top 3, Xiaomi: -19.8% with almost 38 million less sold phones;
- Top 4, Oppo: -22.7% with almost 30 million fewer devices;
- Top 5, Vivo: -22.8% with almost 29 million fewer devices.
One thing is certain, even if Apple and Samsung are unscrewing a bit, this year 2022 has clearly strengthened its position in the world of smartphones. The two brands saw their market share increase to 21.6% of sales and 18.8%, where Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo dropped a point or two. So don’t be surprised if your favorite Chinese brands are a bit more cautious in 2023.
To follow us, we invite you to Download our app for Android and iOS. You can read our articles, archives and watch our latest YouTube videos.


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Tobacco firms have adapted their marketing effort following new rules on cigarette displays, research has found.
Retailers reported incentives being offered for actions such as maintaining stock availability, trialling new stock and promoting brands.
They told the research team these bonuses had become more prevalent since the ban.
The research is a collaboration between the universities of Stirling, St Andrews and Edinburgh.
They carried out the work with social research institute ScotCen. The report will be published in the journal Tobacco Control.
The researchers said: "There was a perception among some retailers that whereas before the display ban they had had to work 'extremely hard' to qualify for points or bonuses, after the ban simply having specified brands in stock was sufficient."
The ban on the display of cigarettes and other tobacco products was extended to smaller shops in Scotland in April 2015.
The researchers interviewed a sample of 24 retailers, including convenience stores, newsagents and petrol stations.
Most of them - 17 out of 24 - said they had been given assistance by tobacco suppliers to adapt their display unit to comply with the new rules.
These require tobacco products to be kept out of sight behind doors or covers.
"The rationale for bans on tobacco promotions and displays at point of sale is to reduce the ability of tobacco companies to exploit the retail environment in this way," the report said.
"However, this study demonstrates that display bans do not prevent them from attempting to exert influence on retailers via their sales reps."
Incentives were often incorporated into existing "partnership" or "loyalty" schemes, with points redeemable against cash or gifts, including hospitality, iPads, and business equipment.
The study's lead author, Martine Stead, added: "The tobacco companies rely on retailers even more to promote tobacco now that displays are covered up.
"They are still offering them payments and rewards, including substantial lump sums to make verbal recommendations to customers to try a particular brand."


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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The game may be over, but the party was still on Saturday night at the Jacksonville Landing.
The Florida Gators lost to the Georgia Bulldogs at EverBank Field on Saturday, but tens of thousands of fans from both sides were still out in the evening enjoying the festivities.
"It's been great to see the restaurants are full, the other establishments are full and just overall downtown, you don't always see that much activity, so this is awesome," said Jonathan Hanson.
It's estimated there were 200,000 people in the downtown area for the game, bringing in as much as $24 million to the local economy. A lot of that money was being spent at the Landing.
The view from the stage shows an endless supply of football fans, as many came from the game, and others just for the party.
Jacksonville Landing workers said it's one of the three largest events they host all year. Tens of thousands were not just in the courtyard, but in the restaurants and bars. Places like Benny's Seafood and Steaks said it's big business and all hands are on deck.
"Compared to usual, it's astronomically higher than usual," said manager Belinda Rivera. "There's a lot more people, sales are better, crowd seems great and happy. It's been wonderful so far."
One shop, which had a huge line for its pineapple liquor drinks, sold out.
"We ran out and we're waiting for a truck to come to bring more," said bar owner Elmir Slavic. "We ran out."
But not everyone was raking in the big bucks, as two people outside the Landing said their shirts and hats sales were a little slower than they had hoped and expected.
"It wasn't really as packed as we heard it would be," said Tevaris Shaw. "It's a little disappointing."
However, the T-shirt vendor said they're still making a profit, and the party is going to continue until early Sunday morning actually. Because of the time change at 2 a.m., the Landing will be open to parties an extra hour, which has police and firefighters on high alert as they make sure the experience is safe and peaceful.
"It's a very big deal and there's a lot of people there so we want to make sure everyone is safe and comfortable, but they also have fun," said Samantha Collins.
Fans seemed pleased, as some of them told Channel 4 that the whole experience has been a blast, but they feel it hasn't gotten out of hand.
"Wasn't too many fights, I've had a great time out here," said Richie Copeland. "I've enjoyed it."
Florida-Georgia fans swarm the Landing


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“Nothing tracks damages like Car Scanner”
Car Scanner is a robot fitted with cameras and sensors that takes just 120 seconds to check a returned car for dents, scratches and other damage. New on the market, it may well transform the crucial process of checking cars for wear and tear.
As a teenager, Sławek Potasz wanted to get into the famous Polish National Film School in Lodz. Now, still in his twenties, Mr Potasz has transformed his love of the moving image into an innovation that could transform a crucial part of the automotive industry.
“I got the idea for Car Scanner when I returned my car at Tel Aviv airport. The guy who needed to check my car was on a lunch break, so I had to wait half an hour. When he returned, he took just two pictures – and I still almost missed my flight”, Mr Potasz laughs.
By that time, Mr Potasz’s company InMotion had already developed a couple of camera-based applications, including the Slider, turning smartphones into professional film cameras, offering face tracking, motion detection and other high-quality techniques to all types of video content creators. The Slider is already produced in Asia.
Another application uses infrared signals to turn car-mounted cameras into sensors – for example to detect traffic violations, register crashes or document abductions (a functionality popular in hijack-prone Mexico).
But it is with the Car Scanner that seems to have found a particularly promising niche. Checking the state of returning vehicles is of major importance to various players in the automotive space: not just rental companies, but also insurers, lease companies and remarketers, to name just a few professions.
Car Scanner offers them a cheap and simple manner to thoroughly document and automatically process the returning vehicles: “The device is fitted with three cameras, with a combined resolution of 24 megapixel; infrared lenses that are important for scratch detection; and a laser that measures the depth of dents”, Mr Potasz enumerates. “Plus LED lights, proximity sensors and magnetic sensors”.
The Car Scanner follows a magnetic strip laid out in about 10 minutes, in various sizes (depending on the size of the cars to be checked) and runs on caterpillar tracks – meaning it can run on uneven and dirty terrain without problems. Its full suite of detection devices makes for a very thorough picture – literally and figuratively – of the vehicle. Soon to be added is a functionality that will also offer a 360° picture of the interior and a car chassis scanner. “No one else tracks this”, says Mr Potasz.
Taking up to 250 pictures, the Car Scanner auto-generates a report that is uploaded to the cloud, via blockchain technology to eliminate potential fraud. “That report is fully embeddable in your company’s own reporting. It can even be sent to your smartphone”.
Car Scanner has been tested since April and is now commercially available. The first pre-orders have been made – 1,500 units to a company in Poland: “Every car will be scanned before and after servicing, to have a record of its current state and to avoid disagreements on which damage was caused when and by whom”.
There is a lot of interest in Car Scanner notably from large vehicle reselling companies. The mechanised, detailed report increases the credibility of the seller’s assertion regarding the state of the vehicle.
“We have a number of strong leads and are now looking for resellers and distributors across various markets. Our aim is to sell 10,000 units in the first year, but if the market demands it, we can crank up production to 15,000 units or more”.
Weighing about 9 kg and retailing at between €2000 and €2500 per unit with a pack of 500 detailed reports, the Car Scanner is extremely moveable. Setup requires just 10 minutes. Under normal circumstances, the device can scan up to 12 vehicles per hour, “but for a project at Heathrow, where we use two cameras, we’ve sped up the process to 30 seconds per car”.
The Car Scanner was presented for the first time in the UK at the Fleet Live Show in Birmingham (pictured) with the support of Polish Agency for Enterprise Development under the ‘expansion to international markets by promoting products and services of InMotion Labs company’ programme.


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Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System marks over 450,000 registrations
Since the HKMA announced the launch of the FPS on September 17th, and started accepting the public to register as a payee, the regulator has recorded over 450,000 registrations.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has seen significant interest in the new Faster Payment System (FPS) whose launch was announced on September 17, 2018. Since then, the number of registrations has surpassed 450,000.
The progress of FPS was reiterated today in a new announcement by the HKMA. The regulator explained that the FPS is set to go into full production on September 30, 2018 when banks and stored value facility (SVF) operators participating in the FPS will start to introduce services enabling their customers to make and receive real-time payments through the FPS.
Mr Norman Chan, Chief Executive of the HKMA, said,
“Since we announced the launch of the FPS on 17 September and started accepting the public to register as a payee, we have recorded over 450 thousand of registrations so far. After the full launch of the FPS on 30 September, Hong Kong will enter a new era of electronic payment as the FPS is a unique retail payment system in the world. We can enjoy an instant payment service which is round-the-clock, simple and convenient to use, robust and secure, with full connectivity while supporting both the Hong Kong dollar and the renminbi. It is also free of charge for small-value fund transfer.”
The new system operates on a round-the-clock basis and connects banks and stored-value facility (SVF) operators on the same platform. It permits the public to transfer funds anytime, anywhere, across different banks or SVFs with funds available almost immediately. Fund transfer will become very user-friendly with the use of mobile number or email address as account proxy for the payee.
The FPS supports Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) and Renminbi (RMB) payments.
The public can make use of the mobile app of participating banks and SVFs to register their mobile phone number or email address with the FPS as an account proxy for receiving funds. And from September 30, 2018, the public will be able to make transfers or receive funds using the FPS.
Earlier this month, Mrs Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, outlined a number of fintech projects. She stressed the importance of the new business model of virtual banking. In May, the HKMA issued revised guidelines for the authorisation of virtual banks. It has received about 30 virtual bank applications to date, ranging from telecommunications operators and Fintech companies to global banks. The HKMA aims to start granting licences to virtual banks by the first quarter of next year.


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Nostalgia confirmed, although it comes at a high price.
Now you can play online without being bothered by those pesky friends sending game invites.
A new leak reveals details about new Forza, Fable, and Halo games in development.
Nick Arcade was an iconic TV show that brought video gaming into the public eye.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking to classify video game addiction as a mental disorder.
Here are this month’s free games with Xbox Live Gold subscription.
Capcom may be hinting that a new Dino Crisis title is on the way.
A titan in the video game industry has a history of ruining great franchises.
After a rather chaotic E3 2017, next year’s event will feature new ways to make the experience smoother for press and industry members.
The cryptocurrency has seen tremendous success recently, but merchants are still sceptical about its use.
EA could be making their curtain call thanks to a new petition that would bring an end to their Star Wars franchise.
The Red Dead Redemption publisher weighs in on the loot box controversy and the concept of all-digital games.
Adobe has reported that the Nintendo Switch was one of the best-selling products on Black Friday. Black Friday deals have people rushing to stores to get the latest and greatest products at a discount. However, according to a preliminary report by Adobe, it seems that a clear winner has emerged: the Nintendo Switch. It was […]
The PSX event will end with an exciting “Meet the Cast: The Last of Us 2 Edition”
Is Call of Duty’s reputation really threatened by the clever parody name?
Electronic Arts have taken a huge hit to their shareholder value for November…and it’s exactly why you think.
The term comic con has been around before San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) even existed.
Mother of the accused boy says Epic Games is using him as a “scapegoat”.
Are loot boxes considered gambling? It depends on who you ask.
Titles such as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds drive Steam numbers while hitting their own record highs for concurrent players.
Gaming freedom comes in the form of the Steam Link, and it’s on sale for a fraction of its usual price.
The games themselves, in-game purchases and apparel are all discounted through November 27.
PUBG has been setting all kinds of records, and now they’ve hit the big time – The Guinness World Records.
EA made the right choice by the community, but Disney may have actually been behind the damage control to protect the Star Wars brand.
Big savings await gamers at GameStop from November 23-26.
Tsuru voiced Bulma in the Dragon Ball series and movies.
Twitch has implemented their new achievement system design to help streamers track their performance.
The nominees include Cuphead, Wolfenstein II, and of course PUBG, even though it’s still in Early Access.


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Amy Roberts will lead efforts to further integrate sustainability into MEC’s operations
Vancouver, BC – Sustainability at a leading Canadian retailer – Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) – enters a new chapter today with the appointment of Amy Roberts as Director of Sustainability. Roberts will assume responsibility for further integration of sustainability into MEC’s business, notably in the areas of product integrity, financial reporting, green operations and industry collaboration and advocacy.
CEO David Labistour said: “At MEC we’ve seen first-hand the exceptional work Amy has done in driving support for outdoor recreation and fostering industry-wide collaboration on social and environmental responsibility. Amy is a true leader in our space, and we are delighted that she will continue to extend MEC’s sustainability efforts.”
Roberts has deep roots within the North American outdoor industry, most recently, since 2012, overseeing MEC’s social compliance efforts to uphold factory health and safety standards and advance factory workers’ interests.
Previously, from 2005 to 2011, Roberts oversaw government affairs and corporate responsibility for the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA), a leading U.S. trade organization. At the OIA Roberts facilitated the development of the Higg Index, which enables MEC and other product manufacturers to improve the environmental and social performance of products bearing their names.
Labistour added: “Manufacturing MEC-brand products accounts for the single largest portion of MEC’s overall environmental footprint, and Amy Roberts is well-placed to continue focusing our efforts to reduce their impacts.”
In related news, MEC recently published its 2012 Accountability Report, Collaborate, which details MEC’s progress in eight core areas of its business, from product design and manufacturing to financials and governance. Performance targets were set in 2011 for each of the eight areas, and the report speaks to general goals for them and tracks progress against specific performance indicators.
For example, in 2012, MEC achieved a 31 per cent reduction in its carbon footprint, surpassing the target of 20 per cent reduction it had set.
The report is available for viewing or download at www.mec.ca/accountability.
Mountain Equipment Co-op is Canada’s leading retailer of clothing, gear, and services for active lifestyles, including hiking, cycling, running, camping, fitness, snowsports and watersports. MEC has more than 3.5 million members throughout Canada, whom it serves through 16 stores in six provinces as well as mec.ca. Widely recognized for its commitment to sustainability, MEC is a member of 1% For The Planet and supports various outdoor recreation and environmental conservation initiatives through its community grants program. Anyone can join MEC and become part-owner in the Co-op, by purchasing a $5 lifetime individual membership. More information is available at www.mec.ca.
For more information:
National Public Relations Coordinator
Public Affairs Manager


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Designer Donatella Versace will attend the official opening of the Palazzo Versace Hotel Resort in Dubai on November 15. The vice president of the Versace Group will be in the UAE along with Versace CEO Jonathan Akeroyd and a number of international supermodels, the celebrated brand said in a statement.
The Palazzo Versace Dubai is only the second Versace-themed hotel in the world, after the one in Gold Coast, Austrialia. Located at the Dubai Cultural Village, its architecture is a mix of 16th century Italian palaces and a few Arabian influences. Donatella Versace, the artistic director of the brand, has personally designed the interiors and furniture for each of the 215 rooms.
To celebrate the opening, Versace will be bringing its couture collection to Dubai, straight from the runway in Paris. Versace will also be taking private appointments through the week, for fans to meet with the design team in person and review the collection.
“I am thrilled to attend the grand opening of Palazzo Versace Dubai. I visited the hotel prior to opening, and was amazed at its beauty. This truly is a luxury destination second to none in the world,” Donatella said in a statement. “I’m also excited to bring our couture collection to Dubai for the first time ever. The United Arab Emirates is a very important market for Versace, and we have many brand loyalists living there. We’re so happy to be able to bring the Versace experience to the Middle East.”
More on palazzoversace.ae


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It can be tough to keep track of the hundreds of new startups popping up in Austin, TX, more of which seemingly appear every day.
That’s why the Austin Chamber of Commerce began creating an A-List of 12 startups annually. South by Southwest Interactive co-hosted an event last night in downtown Austin with the chamber to announce the startups that were seen as this year’s “hottest,” picked from a group of 275 nominees.
The winners ranged from a maker of antibiotic diagnostics to artificial intelligence businesses, and they received prizes that included a South by Southwest Interactive pass and a six-month membership to FoundersCard.
Winners were divided into three categories: early-stage businesses with funding or revenue of less than $1 million; mid-stage companies with funding of up to $10 million or revenue of up to $20 million; and mature businesses with more than $10 million of financing or $20 million of revenue.
Click through the slideshow to see the businesses and other happenings from the event.
David Holley is Xconomy's national correspondent based in Austin, TX. You can reach him at [email protected]


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Not exactly boxing clever! Amazon customers take out their frustration on the ridiculous waste as even the tiniest of items are being delivered in huge packages
- Shoppers in UK and US tweeted pictures of the excess packaging
- They attempted to expose just how much packaging Amazon uses
- One Twitter user showed off the huge cardboard box used to send packet of small camera lens protector rings
- Goes against pledge firm made in 2008 to slash the amount it used
- See more Amazon news and stories at www.dailymail.co.uk/amazon
Frustrated Amazon customers have taken to Twitter to voice their frustration at the excessive amount of packaging that the online retailer uses.
The shoppers, located in Britain and America, tweeted pictures exposing just how much packaging arrives in the post when Amazon sends them even the smallest parcel.
One Twitter user Sabine Heinlein showed off the huge cardboard box that Amazon used to send her a packet of camera lens protector rings.
She tweeted the company: 'What an incredibly wasteful way of packaging a tiny unbreakable item.'
One Twitter user Sabine Heinlein showed off the huge cardboard box and wrapping paper that Amazon used to send her a packet of camera lens protector rings (pictured)
@sabineheinlein tweeted the company: 'What an incredibly wasteful way of packaging a tiny unbreakable item'
Amazon sent this spacious box for two small packets that were also teamed with brown wrapping paper
In response, a member of Amazon's customer service team tweeted back: 'I'll be happy to pass this picture along to our Shipping Department for you.'
Other shoppers who expressed just how fed-up they were over the huge boxes flagged up that Amazon also stuffs large brown wrapping paper along with the item.
The excessive amount of packaging on display goes against the pledge Amazon made in 2008 when it promised to slash the amount of packaging it used.
In 2008, following complaints, Amazon signed up to the Frustration Free Packaging initiative under which it vowed to cut back on excess wrapping.
But these images suggest that it has not been entirely successful.
The UK produces more than 31 million tonnes of waste each year. Just a tonne of rubbish is equivalent to the size of a small car.
At least 12.5 million tonnes of paper and cardboard are produced in the UK every year, which on average is around 200kg per person.
This shoots up rapidly at Christmas time as people exchange gifts.
Amazon sent this tiny keyboard in a big box which was much larger than it needed to be
This unsuspecting customer was sent three boxes when they ordered lightweight folders from Amazon
This was the enormous cardboard box that Amazon sent to a customer who ordered a tiny mouse 'n' sound interactive toy for cats
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Snoop Dogg, the famous rapper, and businessperson, has started a cool new music service using something called NFTs. He managed to get a whopping $20 million in funding for this project! This is a big deal because it shows that Snoop Dogg is really good at coming up with new ideas.
NFTs are a special kind of digital thing that people can buy and own. Snoop Dogg wants to use these NFTs to change the way musicians release and make money from their music. With all the money he got from investors who believe in his idea, Snoop Dogg plans to make the music service even better. He wants it to be easy to use and to work well for all kinds of musicians, whether they're already famous or just starting out.
The NFT music service lets musicians create unique digital versions of their songs and albums, called NFTs. These NFTs can be bought, sold, and traded on the service. This means that musicians can earn money directly from their fans who want to own these special digital items. The service uses something called blockchain technology to make sure everything is safe and real. It also helps fans and collectors know that what they're buying is genuine.
Snoop Dogg is a really important person in the music world, so his new service is getting a lot of attention. He knows a lot of other musicians and has a big following himself. That's why many artists are excited about using his service to connect with their fans and make more money from their music.
The $20 million funding that Snoop Dogg got will help him make the music service even better. He can improve the technology, add more features, and work with even more musicians. This is great news for artists who want to take control of their music and earn more from their hard work.
Snoop Dogg's NFT music service is going to shake things up in the music industry. It's giving musicians a new way to share and profit from their music, and fans will have a chance to own unique digital music items. Everyone is excited to see how this new service will change the music world, thanks to Snoop Dogg's innovative ideas.


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With the upcoming edition of G2E Las Vegas only a few weeks away, Acres Manufacturing Company is eager to showcase its new products and developments at the event, scheduled for October 10-13 at The Venetian Expo. The casino loyalty and technology developer is most excited about the opportunity to present its cashless solution at the major gambling industry gathering, which Noah Acres tells Yogonet is set to blow away all expectations.
“A lot of people are not quite certain what the user experience is going to be with cashless gaming, and I think that we’ve cracked the code and we’re showing exactly how that experience should be,” Noah Acres said in this exclusive video interview.
Additionally, Acres talks about demos available at the company’s booth, opportunities G2E offers the business, and discusses technology in the gaming industry.
What products will Acres be focusing on in this new edition of G2E?
We’re going to have a booth this year, obviously, and we’ll have several products on display. We’re most excited about showing the cashless solution that we have. We’ll have a mobile app that’s available for anybody at the show to download that can be accessed via the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store called Acres Cashless Casino.
It’s the future of gaming because it blends not only cashless transactions with lots of tables, but it also includes points and free play that players can earn in real-time, and real-time bonusing. We have a really special feature that we’re really excited to show off called Double Jackpot Time, where on the players’ mobile app, they push a button and then instantly the slot machine begins to pay double pays for about 30 seconds. There’s never been anything like it in the industry before, and we’re really excited to show it off this year.
G2E is a major industry event. What are your expectations for the expo in terms of networking opportunities, visibility, and potential deals?
I think G2E is going to be really big this year. We’ve noticed an uptick in conference attendance. Obviously, we’re coming out of the pandemic and everybody feels safe and secure to travel. There are very few government restrictions is in place, especially not in Las Vegas anymore, so people are free to come.
We’re expecting the opportunity to meet a lot of people that we’ve only been able to talk to via Zoom and Teams over the past year. And it’s a great opportunity just to give in-person demos and to connect to people personally. We’re really excited. G2E is always a really fun experience because there are people that you only see once every year or so.
Can you describe the demos at the stand? And what will be the attendees’ takeaways when approaching the company’s booth?
They’re obviously going to be blown away. They’re going to love it, especially the Cashless Casino app that attendees can download and immediately proceed to our booth to use. A lot of people are not quite certain what the user experience is going to be with cashless gaming, and I think that we’ve cracked the code and we’re showing exactly how that experience should be. I think that it’s going to be really well received.
Gaming is quite stuck in the past in terms of technology where typically the new technology that we roll out in this industry is quite clunky, it works slow, it’s choppy, and we’re going to show an experience that’s the opposite of that. Everything is connected: as the player plays, the points will scroll up on their app in real-time. They’ll have a bonus button that they can push on the app and cause the game to begin paying double. This is a really cool age for casinos and we’re excited to be at the forefront of it. The demos that we have at the booth are going to be really well received.
The company has been shortlisted in two categories for the Global Gaming Awards in Las Vegas. What does this recognition mean for the business and what do you think explains these nominations?
I think that people see that it’s time for new technology in gaming. And a lot of people, from operators to investors to anybody around the industry, are really glad that Acres’ Foundation is finally bringing modern technology to the casino space. Getting recognized in terms of awards or awards nominations is really fulfilling because it just tells us that other people are sharing our vision and appreciating the work that we put into it.
This has been a year full of developments for the company, from Precision Bonusing to a new Foundation app store. Some of these solutions have been already been showcased at past events. Was the reception the one you expected thus far, and what will be different at G2E?
I think the reception is always really good and G2E presents a really great opportunity because NIGA and other expos are smaller. Maybe they only attract people from certain sides of the industry, such as tribal gaming or regional operators that are local to that area. G2E is a really good chance for us to meet kind of everybody in the world of gaming.
Additionally, NIGA was back in April, and we’ve made a vast amount of progress since then. With our company, things are developing so fast. And I think that even those who saw our demo back at NIGA are going to be blown away by the improvements that we’ve made since then.
What are the company’s plans for the remainder of the year and the coming months? And did you see in 2022 significant steps toward the widespread adoption of new technology in the casino industry that you have long pushed for?
First of all, Foundation probably had the best first-year launch of any casino management technology in history. We are going to finish the year with probably over 30,000 units installed in our first year alone. We installed this year more cashless gaming terminals than all other system vendors combined. The success of Foundation is completely unparalleled.
So it’s far blown away my expectations, but my hope for the future is to continue that growth. I think that we’re really on a path where Foundation is going to become an industry-standard technology. I’m looking forward to making that happen in ’22 and ’23.


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The Biden administration is considering cutting off Huawei Technologies Co. from all of its American suppliers, including Intel Corp. and Qualcomm Inc., as the US government intensifies a crackdown on the Chinese technology sector.
Sales from US firms to Huawei have been limited for four years, since former President Donald Trump added the Shenzhen, China-based company to the so-called US “entity list” out of national security concerns. US suppliers have since required government approval to sell to the telecom equipment giant.
Now, some officials in the Biden administration are advocating for banning all sales to Huawei — long suspected of ties to the Beijing government and Chinese military — as the administration debates whether and how to adjust its licensing policy, according to people familiar with the matter.
The people asked not to be identified because a decision hasn’t been made.
Tensions with China have been rising throughout Joe Biden’s presidency, and he is under pressure from Republicans controlling the House to continue squeezing Beijing, particularly to limit the country’s technological advances. Last week, the Biden administration persuaded the Netherlands and Japan to join with the US in restricting exports of advanced semiconductor manufacturing machinery to China.
Huawei was once one of the world’s largest buyers of electronic components and a hugely important part of the supply chain because of its position in the handset and networking equipment industries. Trump’s ban on certain sales wiped out huge amounts of revenue for companies including Broadcom Inc.
But the Commerce Department continued to allow some other products to be supplied to Huawei. Under the new policy some officials advocate, all license requests to supply the company would be denied.
Intel and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. provide Huawei with processors it uses in its Mate range of laptops, while Qualcomm sells Huawei processors and modems that are the core components of its diminished range of smartphones.
Spokespeople for the National Security Council and the Commerce Department didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Representatives for Intel, Qualcomm and AMD declined to comment.
It’s not clear how soon the administration may act on a policy change, the people familiar with the matter said. They cautioned that discussions are at an early stage, and some of them said timing for a decision could coincide with the four-year anniversary of Huawei’s addition to the entity list in May.
Shutting off sales to Huawei wouldn’t be as devastating for US companies as it once was. The Chinese company has spun off a large chunk of its smartphone business, mostly offers only lower-bandwidth 4G phones under its own name and has seen its brand damaged by the US campaign against it.
Underlining the decline in its importance, Huawei represents less than one percent of revenue for Qualcomm, Intel and AMD, according to Bloomberg supply chain analysis.


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Consumer confidence has slipped in the past week, weighed down by sentiment around current and future finances and as uncertainty about longer-term prospects lingers.
The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Index fell 0.6 per cent to 113.4 in the week to October 1, with improved sentiment towards economic conditions offset by a fall in households' views of their own finances.
Consumers were more optimistic about current and future economic conditions in the past week - up 2.5 per cent and 2.0 per cent, respectively - but households' views towards both current and future financial conditions fell 1.6 per cent.
ANZ Senior Economist Felicity Emmett said that while confidence in financial conditions fell, it remains above its long-term average.
"Which is encouraging given the headwinds households face in terms of high debt levels, low wages growth and higher energy costs," Ms Emmett said on Tuesday.
She said a rise in confidence around Australia's economy wasn't enough to outweigh the prior week's losses when views towards future economic conditions slipped 6.5 per cent, reflecting ongoing concerns around household finances if wage growth remains weak.
"Though sentiment towards overall economic conditions currently sits above its post-budget low, consumers remain uncertain about the longer-term prospects," Ms Emmett said.
The time to buy a household item index dropped 3.3 per cent, unwinding the previous week's lift, and remains below its long-term average.
That's in line with expectations that August's retail sales will likely disappoint after a period of strength earlier in the year.
Meanwhile, inflation expectations rose 0.1 per cent to 4.5 per cent on a four-week moving average basis.


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Here’s a summary of the more compelling tips given by several tech industry luminaries — including Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Google’s Gmail creator Paul Buchheit, Sequoia Capital venture capitalist Greg McAdoo — at the Y Combinator Startup School event at Stanford this weekend.
The event attracted more than 650 aspiring entrepreneurs. Mark Coker, a VentureBeat contributing writer, was on hand and here are his notes.
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg: Hire only young technical people
FaceBook‘s founder and CEO, 22-year old Mark Zuckerberg, believes his social networking platform will push the world to be a more open place. Without doubt, FaceBook is a true phenomena. According to Zuckerberg, FaceBook has over 20 million registered users, serving 1.5 billion page views daily.
Judging from whispers among the audience, while people love the service and admire his accomplishments, many find Zuckerberg arrogant. A Google search on “mark zuckerberg” and “arrogant” yields about 675 results, but surely, there must be other Mark Zuckerbergs in the world. Or maybe not.
Maybe it’s part of his charm. He’s the cute boy-wonder robo-geek who is either oblivious to how he rubs people, or he doesn’t care because he’s smarter than us.
He stepped on the stage wearing his trademark Adidas sandals (he bought ten pairs before they were discontinued).
“I want to stress the importance of being young and technical,” he stated. If you want to found a successful company, you should only hire young people with technical expertise.
“Young people are just smarter,” he said with a straight face. “Why are most chess masters under 30?” he asked. “I don’t know,” he answered. “Young people just have simpler lives. We may not own a car. We may not have family.” In the absence of those distractions, he says, you can focus on big ideologies. He added, “I only own a mattress.” Later: “Simplicity in life allows you to focus on what’s important.”
He said it’s important to hire mostly coders, even in the marketing department, so if they want to change something on the web site all they have to do is log into the back-end and change copy on the fly.
The value of having coders on staff, he elaborated, is that technology is highly leveraged. “You can create an app once and people can continue to use it.”
Zuckerberg stressed the importance of rapid application development and iterations. FaceBook ships new code every night, he says.
Several more times during the talk, he spoke of how an important part of his job was thinking about philosophies.
Someone in the audience asked how Zuckerberg balances the whole work and family thing. He answered that he works all the time, and besides, he said, his girlfriend is still in school at Harvard so he’s apparently not distracted by her too much. “But now she’s moving out here so we’ll see,” he added. Presumably, this the same girlfriend Zuckerberg was with when he reportedly shut off his cell phone, delaying acquisition talks with Yahoo for a week.
Paul Buchheit: Gmail’s creator shares startup advice
As Google’s 23rd employee, Paul Buchheit was the creator and mastermind behind Gmail, arguably one of Web 2.0’s first killer apps.
His advice to entrepreneurs was to redefine their measures of success. While financial reward is nice, aspiring entrepreneurs should first and foremost seek out risk-taking opportunities where they can learn. He said startups allow employees to take on projects for which they have no qualifications. He referenced his own multi-year assignment to Gmail as a perfect example.
Buchheit, no longer employed by Google, encouraged entrepreneurs to innovate where tech giants like Google are afraid to. He cited the enormous success of YouTube. Even though YouTube launched after Google Video, he said Google Video was a bad product because Google was politically afraid to offend its media partners.
Paul Graham Asks: What’s stopping you from starting a startup?
Paul Graham made his fortune selling his ecommerce platform Viaweb to Yahoo for $49 million in 1998.
More recently, he has become something of a 21st century messiah for tech company founders. His numerous essays about tech startup strategy, along with his work as a founding partner of Y Combinator, have allowed him to influence a new post-bubble generation of software programmers. Some entrepreneurs are said to listen to recorded copies of his speeches over and over again in an attempt to internalize his gift.
Over the last few years, Graham has encountered a few prospective founders who were unwilling to accept his teachings.
His Startup School presentation answered those objections (VentureBeat has paraphrased):
Concern: Am I too young?
Answer: Don’t worry.
Concern: I’m too inexperienced.
Answer: Do it anyway.
Concern: I’m not sure I’m smart enough.
Answer: If you’re smart enough to worry about that, you’re smart enough to start a successful startup.
Concern: I appreciate the predictability of a regular job.
Answer: Envision yourself as a medieval serf who will till the same soil for the rest of your life. Mind numbing, right?
PayPal Founder Max Levchin: Imagine him as a 15-year old girl
Max Levchin was a co-founder of PayPal, which was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002. Today, he’s founder and CEO of Slide.com, a service that reaches 50 million people per day with its hosted images and slideshows.
Levchin offered attendees a crash course in product management. Product management, he says, is 85% user interface and 15% channeling the user.
For user interface, Levchin told the audience to measure how their visitors interact with the sites. Slide.com tracks mouse clicks, mouse overs, abandonment rates, the funnel, and more. Levchin and his team mine the data for intelligence that helps guide future iterations of the site.
For channeling the user, Levchin says founders must step inside the minds of their target customers. In Levchin’s case, he says he must imagine himself as a 15-year-old girl with attention deficit disorder who’s looking for digital bling to dress up her MySpace or Zanga web page, while at the same time she’s chewing gum, talking on the phone, instant messaging with five friends, listening to music, and twirling her fingers through her hair.
Levchin cautioned his techie audience to keep their customers in mind and not go overboard with technology for technology’s sake. He pointed to the early social networking site, Friendster, which lost critical momentum when it ran into scaling problems because of a “cool” feature that calculated friend trees, and caused page load times of up to a minute. MySpace.com, by contrast, was successful because it cared less about technology and more about the user experience.
As a final word of product development advice, Levchin encouraged founders to think about the Bible’s seven deadly sins – especially greed, sloth, envy, pride and gluttony. These characteristics, he said, describe many of the primal motivations for users.
Ali and Hadi Partovi: Brotherly super duo provide tips
For those who say lightning never strikes twice, they haven’t met the Partovi twins. Ali founded LinkExchage, which was acquired in 1998 by Microsoft for $250 million. Hadi founded TellMe, recently acquired by Microsoft for a rumored $800 million. The brothers now jointly run the music discovery service iLike, and its popular independent music web site, GarageBand.
The Partovi brothers’ presentation focused on the do’s and don’ts of startup success.
They said the best businesses are easily scalable, so that a doubling of revenues won’t require a doubling of expenses.
Founders should create naturally viral businesses, like the invitation automation service eVite.com, in which one user’s use of the service causes others to use it.
The sites should also exhibit network effects, so as the number of customers increases, the overall value to all customers increases.
The brothers encouraged founders to listen closely to their customers, and cited online shoe seller Zappos.com, as a strong example of a company which cares about customer experience. Zappos requires all new employees, even senior executives, to man customer service phones for at least four weeks as part of their training.
The brothers warned founders to maintain a razor sharp focus on their company’s primary purpose. Ideas are a dime a dozen, they said. Founders should pick one thing and do it well. They cited eBay’s acquisition of Skype as an endeavor that could spread the company too thin, and distract it from its main auction business.
They said companies must make hiring a top priority, and should cultivate and protect their company culture. Perhaps just as important, founders should learn to quickly fire bad hires, because a single bad hire can poison morale.
Lotus Founder Mitch Kapor: Don’t forget culture and diversity
Over his 30+ year career, Mitch Kapor has shown an uncanny knack for identifying disruptive waves of technology innovation early.
He created Lotus Development, one of the first spreadsheet companies. He was an early investor in UUNet, one of the first Internet service providers, as well as in Real Networks and Linden Lab, operator of Second Life.
Kapor also stressed the importance of creating a great company culture. He said founders set the culture, and it’s important to understand every action or inaction of the founders sends a message to employees. Hire great people, embrace diversity and resist trying to fit every employee into the same cookie-cutter mold, he said.
Kapor, who once worked at Valley VC firm, Accel Partners, advised entrepreneurs to tread cautiously with venture capitalists, and to understand where their interests are aligned and where they diverge.
Venture funds typically invest in a portfolio of 30 companies. They expect one or two big winners to supply the majority of the portfolio’s returns. Kapor says this can lead VCs to pressure their portfolio companies to go for the home run and risk striking out completely, when more sensible logic might dictate swinging for a single or a double instead.
Sequoia Capital’s Greg McAdoo: What VCs want in a start-up
Sequoia Capital is one of Silicon Valley’s oldest and most respected venture firms, investing in 550 companies, including Google, Yahoo, and Cisco.
McAdoo stressed the importance of clarity of purpose. Founders should articulate their vision for the company in a single sentence. When Cisco approached Sequoia, for example, they didn’t say, “We build routers.” Instead, they said, “Cisco Systems networks networks.”
McAdoo underscored the importance of the founders understanding their audience. He said good founders also exhibit intellectual honesty about the strengths and limitations of their technology, their management team and their competitors.
McAdoo said it’s impossible for a single company to create major waves of technology disruption, but stressed founders’ businesses should be built to ride the waves. Founders should also identify the trajectories of other trends that will impact the business, whether technology or political (such as likely changes to copyright law).
McAdoo says Sequoia prefers to invest in companies whose target customers have their “hair on fire,” meaning they’re desperate for an immediate solution, and don’t care if the fire hose comes in red or purple.
Asked if Sequoia funds companies outside of major tech regions, such as the Midwest, McAdoo said yes, but the firm prefers its funded companies locate in either Silicon Valley or Boston’s 128 corridor. Hiring is easier in the tech hot spots, and the support ecosystems are better adapted to meet the unique needs of tech startups.
Mark Coker is a contributing writer for VentureBeat. He’s founder of Dovetail Public Relations, a Silicon Valley technology marketing firm. He has no clients among the companies mentioned in the story, nor among their competitors. More on Mark at http://www.linkedin.com/in/markcoker
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H&M sales slip in glorious weather as shoppers delay winter clothing purchases
Expansion: Fashion chain H&M plans to open 375 new stores in 2014
Discount fashion chain Hennes & Mauritz became the latest retailer to warn that balmy September weather meant shoppers were delaying purchases of winter clothing.
The Swedish group yesterday posted quarterly profits in line with expectations, with sales between September 1 to 23 rising by 7 per cent compared with a 20 per cent surge during the month of August.
The figures mean September is set to be the lowest month for sales this year, with growth averaging 16 per cent each month since March.
Chief executive Karl-Johan Persson said: ‘September was a little lower than we had planned because some products haven’t sold due to the warm weather.’
The world’s second-biggest fashion retailer reported pre-tax profit up 20 per cent at 7billion crowns (£596million) in its June-August third quarter, in line with analysts’ forecasts.
H&M is set to open 375 new stores this year but said it was delaying its planned launch in India until spring 2015, but did not explain why. The launch was previously scheduled for this autumn.
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Goldman Sachs said its credit card unit is under investigation by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal agency tasked with protecting Americans from financial abuse.
in stock deposit On Thursday, Goldman said the CFPB is studying a number of the company’s credit card account management practices, including refunds, resolving billing errors, advertising and reporting to credit bureaus.
In a statement to CBS MoneyWatch, Goldman said the bank is “cooperating with the CFPB on this matter.”
The Wall Street firm, known for handling money for wealthy clients as well as providing corporate banking and advisory services, has recently begun to get into retail banking, including offeringPersonal Loans Unit in 2016. It also entered the Apple Card credit card business in 2019 and GM-branded cards through its Marcus division.
While it’s not clear what triggered the CFPB investigation, the bureau’s database includes hundreds of consumer complaints about Goldman since 2019. Some involve problems getting a refund or challenging fraudulent charges.
For example, in one complaint, a consumer described purchasing a $640 airline ticket with their Apple Card. When the flight was canceled and they were not refunded, the consumer contested the charge with Goldman. The consumer claimed that the bank denied the dispute and did not provide any response or explanation for this decision.
Other customer complaints include fees, problems using Goldman-branded credit cards due to locked accounts, or other issues.


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The San Francisco Travel Association announced events for Super Bowl 50. The Superbowl is scheduled for February 7, 2016. It will be held in Santa Clara, California, but there will a lot of the Superbowl action will be in San Francisco.
From Saturday, January 30th to February 7th, visitors can participate in the activities at the NFL Experience. The NFL Experience is a theme park with games, game clinics, retail shops, and autographs from players during special sessions. NFL Experience tickets are $35 for adults and $25 for children 12 and younger.
On February 1st, Superbowl City, a free attraction, will take place from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Stationed at Justin Herman Plaza on Market Street, Superbowl City will have family attractions like the Fan Energy Zone. The Fan Energy Zone features interactive games on giant screens, and presentations from community members, celebrities, autograph sessions and DJs and MCs.
The Superbowl Opening Night Fueled by Gatorade kicks off on February 1st at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The event officially starts at 5 p.m., but media interviews with the players and coaches kick-off at 5:15 p.m. lasting through 6:16 p.m. and the interviews will continue from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific Time. Fans will receive gift bags. It has been revealed that the audience will get radios to listen to the interviews. Fans can also expect to experience at least one musical performance and catch an appearance from cheerleaders.
Get tickets for the Superbowl Opening Night from Tickmaster.


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TOKYO — U.S. tech titan Intel has introduced plans to spend $20 billion by 2024 to construct two new chipmaking services in Arizona, however even when it manages to fend off China’s rising affect on the worldwide provide chain, it nonetheless faces the would possibly of South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
A analysis report by IC Insights on the trade printed in March means that that Intel determine is nowhere close to sufficient to tackle these Asian giants. “Governments would wish to spend no less than $30 billion per 12 months for no less than 5 years to have any affordable probability of success,” the report stated, referring to the minimal expenditure wanted by the U.S., China and the EU to develop chipmakers which might be similar to Samsung and TSMC by way of manufacturing know-how and capability.
But, chipmakers apart from Samsung and TSMC have remained cautious about capital funding as a result of hovering prices of constructing factories.
In accordance with IC Insights, Samsung has remained the world’s largest spender since 2010. Intel is barely catching up with second-ranked TSMC. Collectively, Samsung and TSMC are anticipated to be liable for 43% of the worldwide whole capital expenditure this 12 months.
Samsung and TSMC have dominated the worldwide chipmaking trade during the last 20 years. The latest automotive chip crunch is among the adverse results of an oligopoly. Whereas Intel’s large funding is prompted by U.S.-China rivalry, its technique should even be to shut the hole with the highest two corporations.
Even for China, IC Insights’ estimation of “$30 billion per 12 months for no less than 5 years” is an formidable purpose. China’s private and non-private sectors have made concerted efforts to beef up the nation’s chipmaking trade since 2014, however home chipmakers’ capital expenditure between 2017 and 2020 solely amounted to $44.7 billion. Over the identical interval, Samsung alone has invested almost twice that quantity.
“It is economically unrealistic for all of the nations to construct further chip manufacturing capability,” TSMC Chairman Mark Liu said on Tuesday.
Funding just isn’t the one hurdle. “To deliver a full provide chain again and attempt to be totally self-reliant is completely not environment friendly. … On the finish of the day, that further capability might change into nonprofitable capability,” Liu stated, ringing alarm bells.
The IC Insights report stated: “For China, even when the cash have been out there, they (chipmakers) will surely be hindered by commerce points prohibiting a number of the most important items of course of tools from being bought into the nation.” For the EU, the report doesn’t even reveal any path to gaining any aggressive edge within the chip foundry enterprise.
The report additionally doesn’t point out Japan, as IC Insights in all probability doesn’t see the nation as a significant participant. The Ministry of Financial system, Commerce and Business has vowed to draw abroad chipmakers’ factories to make superior semiconductors within the nation, however such efforts are unlikely to yield outcomes.
TSMC plans to speculate round 20 billion yen ($189 million) to arrange a facility for analysis and improvement in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, however that may be a small quantity for the corporate.
It’s unlikely that the main chipmakers of the U.S., China, South Korea and Taiwan will take the difficulty of constructing large factories in Japan amid rising geopolitical dangers. Japan ought to consider chipmaking tools and supplies, an space during which it nonetheless has a aggressive edge.
Further reporting by Cheng Ting-fang in Taipei.


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While the ABS’ preliminary results said the retail industry had seen a 17.9 per cent fall in sales in April, the bureau made a minor revision to 17.7 per cent in its official announcement on Thursday. This change doesn’t majorly impact the headline figure of $24.7 billion – a $5.3 billion loss compared to March’s figures.
“COVID-19 continued to affect retail trade in April with many businesses closing their physical stores during April due to restrictions relating to social distancing,” said Ben James, director of quarterly economy wide surveys.
“There were record falls in cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (-35.4 per cent), and clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (-53.6 per cent), as well as a large fall in department stores (-14.9 per cent).”
The mass closure of the physical side of retail impacted customers and retailers ability to trade, though online retail did see a spike in the month – from 7.1 per cent of total turnover in March to 11.1 per cent in April. NRA chief executive Dominique Lamb said the result emphasised the Treasurer’s announcement that Australia has entered its first recession in thirty years.
“April was the first month to encompass the full suite of lockdown restrictions, so the sector was bracing itself for a giant drop in retail turnover,” Lamb said.
“The March figures were propped up almost entirely by the large-scale panic buying taking place in supermarkets. It was feared that April would see the retail rollercoaster make a downward spiral and that is exactly what has happened.”
Spending in the grocery sector fell 17.4 per cent in April, following a massive 24.1 per cent jump in March. Australian Retailers Association chief executive Paul Zahra said the fall was unsurprising, as were declines in the cafe, restaurant and takeaway category.
“Our retail recovery is one of the most visible signs of economic recovery,” Zahra said. “Conversely, when stores close, the impact on our national mood is significant. The retail sector is our largest private employer and many Australians started their careers in retail.”


text: Happy New Years! Everyone! Cenokga has big plans for 2019! Along with the Knights of the Silver Table game, as said before there are more games in development! In the coming weeks more info will be shared about the official announcement of the 3rd publicly announced game from Cenokga! And of course, Patreon supporters will … Read moreNew Game Announcement Coming Soon!


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AT&T recently announced that only customers subscribing to its “Mobile Share” data plans can utilize FaceTime (News - Alert), an iOS video chat application, over their cellular connections.
Currently, FaceTime only works over Wi-Fi, but Apple recently confirmed that the iOS 6 version of the app will work over cellular connections. Some executives have expressed alarm over the congestion that FaceTime could bring to already overloaded networks.
“If I were a carrier, I'd be rather frightened by FaceTime," Jack Gold, an analyst at J. Gold Associates, told ComputerWorld. "If everybody used FaceTime, bandwidth would go up dramatically, and the user experience would go down.”
Image via Shutterstock
Apple has not confirmed whether its latest iPhone will be equipped with LTE (News - Alert) capability, although most experts agree that it will. LTE, not 3G, is needed to support a quality user experience on FaceTime that prevents both latency and frozen frames.
Concern for network speed probably prompted AT&T to release its restrictive FaceTime policy, but public interest groups aren’t happy about the edict.
“By blocking FaceTime for many of its customers, AT&T is violating the FCC's (News - Alert) Open Internet rules,” charged John Bergmayer, Senior Staff Attorney at Public Knowledge. “These rules state that mobile providers shall not ‘block applications that compete with the provider's voice or video telephony services.’
“Although carriers are permitted to engage in ‘reasonable network management,’ there is no technical reason why one data plan should be able to access FaceTime, and another not.”
In addition, some have expressed concern that restricting FaceTime may also indicate a preference for other apps such as Google Talk or Skype (News - Alert), a charge that AT&T denies.
“AT&T does not restrict customers from downloading any such lawful applications, and there are several video chat apps available in the various app stores serving particular operating systems,” wrote Bob Quinn, AT&T’s senior vice president of federal regulatory. “(I won’t name any of them for fear that I will be accused by these same groups of discriminating in favor of those apps. But just go to your app store on your device and type “video chat.)”
“It is interesting to see AT&T try this line of defense, as it is tacitly admitting that it is both blocking FaceTime and that the app does in fact compete with its own offerings,” countered Free Press Research director, S. Derek Turner.
Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2012, taking place Oct. 2-5, in Austin, TX. Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO (News - Alert). Follow us on Twitter.
Edited by Brooke Neuman


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New Delhi: A strike by officers of public sector oil companies was called off on its third day on Friday, but not before it caused widespread discomfort to commuters and companies, even as the truckers’ strike continued for the fifth day.
Click here to watch video
“The strike has been called off and the services will be normalized shortly,” union petroleum minister Murli Deora said.
Meanwhile, a separate strike called by All India Motor Transport Congress entered its fifth day with the association saying it would continue with its protest despite the arrest of its president Charan Singh Lohara and secretary S. Venugopal.
The truckers strike has not only created a shortage of perishable goods such as milk, fruits and vegetables, making them costlier, but has also become a matter of concern for distributors of consumer goods who are finding it tough to replenish stocks.
Earlier on Friday, the government upped the ante against striking oil workers by firing 70 officials. While Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd terminated the services of 64 officers, Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOC) and GAIL (India) Ltd sacked three employees each.
While Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd officers did not join the strike, the employees of IOC and GAIL, Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd and Oil India Ltd called off the strike late evening on Friday.
With petrol pumps across the country running dry because of the strike, panic and frustration among the public was palpable. For a government due to face general elections before May, the situation was threatening into a political liability.
Ordeal over: Besides severely affecting vehicle owners, the fuel strike had crippled operations at power, fertilizer, steel and aviation companies. Ramesh Pathania / Mint
The central committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPM, condemned the “repressive measures unleashed by the government” on officers of 14 state-owned oil companies in the country who had been on strike.
Denying that the fallout would hurt the ruling United Progressive Alliance politically, Deora was noncommittal on the status of the officers dismissed from service. “It’s not possible for me to comment on this,” he said.
Executives at government-owned electricity generator NTPC Ltd, who had planned to join the oil officers’ stir on Friday evening, deferred their agitation for the time being, as “no communication could be established with hiding members of Oil Sector Officers Association.”
“The situation could have been managed much better, however, there was no will to resolve the strike early,” a top executive at one of the oil firms said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The trucker’s strike, however, continued, resulting in an increase in the price of some products.
“Loose sugar has already become costlier by one rupee. We are selling it for Rs22 from the last two days. Even prices of fruit and vegetables have gone up and likely to become dearer if the strike continues,” said Rajat Arora, a retailer based in Noida on the outskirts of Delhi.
“Stock is out for the fastest moving items such as Lifebouy soap. The situation might get worse if the strike does not end,” said Lalit Kumar, owner Sant Singh Ramlal, a distributor of consumer goods firm Hindustan Unilever Ltd that caters to 1,000 retailers in Delhi.
Similarly, Suresh Mhtere, president of the Pimpri Chinchwad Small Scale Industries Association, a trade body of over 7,000 small ancillary units that supply components to the large auto industries’ hub around Pune and Chakan, said supply of sheet metal and other raw material from Mumbai has dried up.
Vijaya Rathore, Romita Datta, Ajay Sukumaran, Sudha Menon, Vidhya Sivaramakrishnan of Mint and PTI contributed to this story.
Video by Nidhi Bhardwaj


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Audi has launched the web site for the newly launched Audi Cross Coupe quattro, which it unveiled at the 2007 Shanghai Auto Show. The site offers a closer look at the design, drive and electronics of the car. The Audi Cross Coupe quattro is expected to spawn a compact Audi Q5 SUV, which will compete with the BMW X3 and the upcoming Mercedes-GLK.
Of course the site is in German, but we posted a translated link for you. Check it out here.
Check out our original post on the Audi Cross Coupe quattro for more info, images and the press release.


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The JV framework agreement calls for Risen to provide RMB 1.5 billion (60% stake) and its partner RMB 1.0 billion (40% stake) towards establishing the new manufacturing facilities. Image: Risen Energy
Major China-based PV module manufacturer Risen Energy has recently signed a framework agreement to build and operate a 5GW monocrystalline cell and module plant in Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China.
According to financial filings, Risen will partner in a Joint Venture with Changzhou Xixi Modern Agricultural Development Co as designated by the local Jintan District government in a project expected to require approximately RMB 2.5 billion (US$383 million).
The JV framework agreement calls for Risen to provide RMB 1.5 billion (60% stake) and its partner RMB 1.0 billion (40% stake) towards establishing the new manufacturing facilities.
Risen also noted in a separate press release that total capital expenditures for the JV to reach the 5GW nameplate capacity of both cells and modules, as well as R&D activities would be approximately RMB 8.0 billion (US$1.23 billion).
The new manufacturing base was expected to be Risen’s most advanced, producing leading-edge high-efficiency products by 2020 and provide the development of both upstream manufacturing clustering and downstream industries including project development in the region.


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WOODRUFF — Competition stirs this weekend at Piggin’ in the Park, a Kansas City Barbeque Society state championship barbecue competition and festival.
From 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, McKinney Park will host the second and final day of the festival, filled with delicious barbecue meats that will be up for judging. Starting at noon, each food truck will have 30-minute intervals to cook and serve four different meats to the judges — pork, ribs, chicken and brisket.
“We do about 20 contests a year,” said Alan Rothrock, a Kansas City Barbeque Society rep who came along with his friends for his first year at Piggin’ in the Park. “And that’s up and down the East Coast, from Florida to actually Pennsylvania.”
Each competitor is lined up along the perimeter of McKinney Park and is not only physically close, but personally as well.
“You see a lot of the same people,” Rothrock said. “So, it’s great to see them. It’s almost like a little family.”
When Bryan Able, who has been competing with the Hey Good Buddy Barbeque Team since 2011, was asked which food item he serves is the best, he said with no hesitation, “It’s all good. It’s award winning barbecue.”
The award-winning ‘cue isn’t the only reason to come to McKinney Park. Vendors who have traveled from all over the country will be set up and ready to sell their wares.
Traveling more than 200 miles from Georgia to be in Woodruff this weekend, Renee and John Hardiman have a company called Get Naked that sells amazing soaps, scrubs and wind chimes made from CDs that are intriguing and unique. Get Naked has soap scents and ingredients such as green tea, charcoal and turmeric, and even basil.
Other items such as candles disguised as sundaes and blueberry pies will be sold at the candle booth, and canned items ranging from zesty bread-and-butter pickles in a jar to strawberry jam will be sold at Antique Jam and More.
Seven sources of stage entertainment will be lined up for Saturday’s Piggin’ in the Park. Performers include the Jack Roper Magic Show, the Miss Woodroof Pageant and DJ Brian Crowe.


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Mustard seed futures remain up on upbeat cues
Mustard seed prices rose further by Rs 40 to Rs 3,887 per quintal in futures trading today as participants continued to enlarge their positions, tracking firm physical markets.
At the National Commodity and Derivative Exchange, mustard seed for delivery in October contracts spurted by Rs 40 to Rs 1.04 per cent to Rs 3,887 per quintal, with the business turnover of 14,430 lots.
Likewise the delivery for the most-traded September contract, was up by Rs 36 or 0.95 per cent to Rs 3,838 per quintal, open interest stood at 59,610 lots.
Market players said strong demand from oil mills ahead of festive season coupled with restricted arrivals from growing regions, largely influenced the mustard seed prices at futures market.
(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
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Border bottleneck spurs huge delays for truckers
The southern border isn’t closed, but it’s already a mess for trucks hauling goods from Mexico to the U.S., snarling traffic at some of the busiest frontier crossings in the world.
A week of heated threats from Donald Trump to “close” the border means Mexican companies are rushing to get as much cargo into the U.S. as they can, in case of a shutdown. Meanwhile, as many as 750 U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers were reassigned to border patrol sectors in late March, limiting the personnel needed to allow for the flow of goods from south to north.
As a result, wait times to cross the border have soared and can be as many as 10 hours longer than usual.
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents car manufacturers in Washington, warned that any disruption resulting from a border slowdown will have a cascading effect — harming U.S. consumers and threatening American jobs and investment.
“The auto sector — and the 10 million jobs it supports — relies upon the North American supply chain and-cross border commerce to remain globally competitive,” it said. “In some instances, auto parts make several border crossings before being integrated into a vehicle’s final assembly.
With trucks getting stuck at the border, Mexican companies are being forced to paying more to bring in additional vehicles for loading shipments. While the U.S. has yet to see meaningful shortages in goods from Mexico, prices for at least one import — avocados — have soared amid worries over a border closure. Buyers of berries, limes and asparagus are making plans to limit potential fallout from such a shutdown.
“The delays have doubled, tripled, quadrupled — it’s not an exact science,” said Jaime Castaneda, vice president for trade policy at the U.S. Dairy Export Council. Lane closures and weekend shutdowns are adding to delays, he said.
The wait times are especially long in El Paso, Laredo and the San Diego area, said Ben Enriquez, senior vice president of Mexico for Transplace, a logistics service provider. In El Paso, it’s taking as long as 12 hours to cross into the U.S., up from about 1 to 2 hours on a normal day, he said.
“The shippers try to push as much freight as possible and, at the same time, you have fewer officers” from U.S. Customs, Enriquez said. “So, it’s not a good combination.”
The delays are tying up trucks at the border that usually head back south with a load and then are ready to pick up freight again at factories in the interior of Mexico. That’s causing Mexican companies to pay extra to bring in empty trucks to load those goods, he said.
So far, the delays have been primarily for cargoes moving north and aren’t yet impacting southbound shipments of U.S. goods like meat and dairy. Mexico is the top buyer of American pork.
“Obviously, we want the ports of entry running smoothly,” said Joe Schuele, vice president of the U.S. Meat Export Federation.
A Customs and Border Protection mobile app suggested the bottlenecks may have eased by Tuesday. The wait time for truckers was estimated at three hours in San Diego, 2<AF>1/2<XA> hours in El Paso and two hours in Laredo. Still, truckers said wait times have lengthened considerably since the reassignments.
“This all started about two weeks ago with Trump,” said driver Arturo Menendez, 44, who first entered the line at 4 a.m. Friday with his tractor-trailer full of cardboard used in boxes for U.S.-made products like Toro lawn mowers.
Avila, who is also the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce’s vice president for international affairs, said the delays could encourage more companies to move to Asia.
“Now we’re discouraging overseas production,” she said. “We’re cutting out the American manufacturer or the Mexican manufacturer that employs U.S. workers.”
Detroit News Staff Writer Keith Laing and Associated Press contributed.