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|06-05-2012, 05:51 AM||#1|
Join Date Nov 2004
Computex 2012: Finally, Thunderbolt Connection for the PC Platform
There has been a new news posted.
Here is a snippet:
"Thunderbolt, formerly known by its codename "Light Peak," is a new transmission interface developed by Intel that has been available on the Mac computer line-up since the release of the Macbook Pro, i..."
Read the full story at: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/news/...-Platform/6503
Comments on this news are welcome.
Hardware Secrets Team


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Visual Concepts is introducing a few things in NBA 2K21 to push the franchise on current-gen forward, but a next-gen cloud looms large on it.
Yusuke Naora, the art director for Final Fantasy X and several other series titles, posted a touching and personal tribute to the late basketball superstar.
Another video game tribute for Kobe Bryant has appeared, this time within Fallout 76, a place most probably wouldn't expect.
Slam Land, the new title from Bread Machines Games that forces you to slam dunk your friends, will be released on August 7th.
Electronic Art announced their basketball franchise will return this September in an official first look trailer.
For those of you picking up a next-generation console, a demo for upcoming NBA Live 14 will be dropping on worldwide for PlayStation 4 on November 29th and for Xbox One on November 22nd. The game demo
We've had hands-on time with NBA 2k13 a couple of times now. During our last preview we got a chance to look at the finesse of dribbling and defending. Now, during our most recent sit down with
2K Sports has announced that it will be releasing a mobile companion app, Facebook social game, and a full featured mobile version of NBA 2K13 with NBA 2K Everywhere. NBA 2K Everywhere will allow players to experience

domain: news


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It's been nearly four years since Google sold its first Nexus device running Android, the Nexus One smartphone, in January 2010.
In smartphone terms, four years can seem like a decade, especially when most smartphones turn over in two years.
Google's Nexus One smartphone first appeared four years ago.
So it's certainly fair to ask: Has Google's Nexus smartphone and tablet series -- featuring no software modifications beyond basic Android and coming unlocked from carriers -- had much of an impact, if not in sales, then in the overall market?
During the last four years, the total Android market, including devices made by several major manufacturers, has grown to dominate global smartphone sales, reaching about 80% of the market, while Android on tablets outdistanced Apple's iPads in 2013, according to IDC.
By comparison, most analysts don't have specific numbers for Nexus device shipments or sales, although they are considered too small to have had a significant impact.
"Google-branded smartphones have not made a material impact in market share. They are in the 'other' category of global smartphones," said Patrick Moorhead, an analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. The top five makers in recent quarters are Samsung, Apple (on iOS only), Huawei, Lenovo and LG Electronics.
Yankee Group surveyed 16,000 U.S. smartphone customers throughout much of 2013 and found the percentage of those who bought a Google Nexus smartphone in the previous six months was below 5%, while the percentage owning one was less than 1%, but improved in August to 1.04%. The margin of error in its polling is about 1%.
"Google Nexus devices aren't having much of an impact on the market," said Carl Howe, a Yankee Group analyst.
The same can be said of Nexus tablets in terms of market share of all Android tablets. But that misses the point: Robust sales are not Google's ultimate goal in making Nexus gear.
Google's original intent when it devised the Nexus line was to show what an all-Google user experience would be like and to inspire Android makers and developers to make better phones, tablets and Android apps.
"The Nexus line is a hedge against indifference," Moorhead said. "It sends a message to manufacturers that if they can't develop competitive Android products, Google will on their own."
The Nexus One
The original Nexus One, manufactured by HTC, ran Android 2.1, also known as Eclair. Since 2010, Google has ushered in an array of relatively inexpensive yet full-featured smartphones, including the latest, the Nexus 5, built by LG and running Android 4.4 KitKat, that was introduced on Oct. 31.
There are now Nexus tablets in various sizes as well, starting with the first generation Nexus 7, a 7-in. tablet featuring Android 4.1, that went on sale in July 2012.
Nexus tablets and smartphones offer tech-savvy buyers an Android experience devoid of third-party software modifications added by wireless carriers and manufacturers.
Nexus devices can be purchased online in the Google Play store unlocked or with any carrier's cellular service long-term contract. For example, the new Nexus 5 smartphone starts at $349 unlocked for 16 GB, running Android 4.4 (KitKat), but it can cost much less with a carrier contract which usually requires a two-year commitment.
The new Google Nexus 7, a 7-in. tablet, starts at $229 for a 16 GB Wi-Fi model. Made by Asus, it offers optional LTE. The Google Nexus 10, a 10-in. tablet, starts at $399 for 16GB over Wi-Fi. Both received Android 4.4 KitKat updates in mid-November.
The 16 GB version of the Nexus 10 was recently listed on Google Play as out of stock, but shoppers were urged to "check back soon."
Temporary shortages of Nexus products could lead buyers to assume the devices are very popular, although analysts said it's too hard to judge if the shortage is due to a deliberately limited inventory in the first place or robust sales. Google hasn't commented.
Even if Nexus sales aren't spectacular, Google is making a market impact in driving home its point of showing how a stripped-down Android OS can be valuable to some consumers, while also indirectly lowering costs for smaller cell-phone makers in emerging markets.
Lower costs with basic Android
Smaller manufacturers that produce white-box devices for emerging markets in Asia and other parts of the world do little to enhance Android, if they do anything at all, noted Jack Gold, an analyst at J. Gold Associates.
"These vendors are having an impact, especially at the low end, so in that sense, vanilla-flavored Android [with no or few software modifications added] is having an impact," Gold said. "Most brand-name vendors do modify the base Android code before releasing their products."
Some white-box vendors can sell Android tablets unlocked at less than $100, Gold said.
With smartphones, meanwhile, the unlocked Android approach has enabled a number of newer manufacturers to enter the smartphone market by using a variety of lower cost, turnkey processes that rely on standard chipsets for processing and related functions, analysts from research firm IDC said.
That approach has helped the average selling price of a smartphone to fall to $337 globally in 2013, down nearly 13% from 2012, IDC said. By 2017, smartphone average prices should drop to to $265 globally. (The average selling price of the iPhone is $577, according to Gartner.)
Nexus smartphones, such as the Nexus 5, are close to the average selling price globally, although most experts place the Nexus phones at the high end in terms of features, such as large displays and fast processors. "Nexus smartphones have a lot of hardware bells and whistles at the high end to serve a select segment that includes tinkerers and people who like to mess around with Android," said IDC analyst Ramon Llamas.
These newer manufacturers adopting Android (although not necessarily basic Android) include Chinese smartphone vendors ZTE, Xiaomi, which recently hired Google executive Hugo Barra, and Yulong, which makes Coolpad smartphones like the Quattro 4G that ran Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) when it launched in late 2012 in the U.S.
Other Nexus benefits
Google not only has set the stage for this smaller-vendor manufacturing process with the Nexus series, it has set up greater value for the 1 million apps in the Google Play store, which become available to more buyers as Nexus sales increase.
In addition, selling unlocked Nexus devices has, to some extent, empowered buyers. They can have a choice of a carrier -- assuming the device's cellular network will work with various carriers. This more open approach is widely used in Europe and other regions where GSM wireless dominates, but now LTE is becoming a common wireless connection across major U.S. carriers as well.
Some wireless carriers won't give a full range of services and apps to customers who use unlocked Nexus devices and then buy a carrier's SIM card for cellular connectivity. "Will the carriers allow you to use any app you choose, or will they require that you download some specific app, such as their videoconferencing service? It's a gray area," Gold said.
Even with some limits placed by carriers on Nexus usage, Google seems solidly on track to add more Nexus smartphones and tablets in the future. The roadmap is not public, however.
Nexus-Android pushes emergence of Tizen
Google's Nexus approach has helped challenge wireless carriers that fear the overall growth of Google and have pushed for big device makers like Samsung to find alternatives to Android.
Tizen, an open-source operating system that attracted attention at Samsung's recent developer conference, has emerged as a potential challenger to Android, and therefore to Nexus products.
"Tizen is a hedge against Android's strength," Moorhead said. "Carriers know that there are certain buyers that want an unlocked phone like the Nexus, and as long as that number remains small, the carriers are OK. But I think carriers are concerned that Google is getting too powerful, which is why they are interested in Tizen in the long term."
Four years into the life of Nexus on basic Android, it's ironic that Android was originally seen as the disrupter to other dominant smartphone operating systems. "Funny how Android was originally a hedge [against] Microsoft, BlackBerry and Nokia," Moorhead said.
Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld. Follow Matt on Twitter at @matthamblen or subscribe to Matt's RSS feed. His email address is email@example.com.
Read more about android in Computerworld's Android Topic Center.


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(Adds details, comment from Deutsche Post)
BERLIN, Dec 8 (Reuters) - German police searched more than 50 homes and businesses and made several arrests across 12 German states on Wednesday as part of an investigation into foreign workers being brought in illegally to be exploited in the logistics industry.
At the centre of the investigation is a gang suspected of setting up a network of companies in Germany and the Baltic States to send non-EU nationals illegally as temporary workers for large logistics companies, federal police said.
In a joint statement with Berlin's public prosecutors and customs office, police said it had confiscated assets worth more than $19 million and arrested nine men, aged between 32 and 62, and a 42-year-old woman.
The origin of the investigation was customs controls in various logistics centres where several foreign employees identified themselves with forged EU identity documents.
The suspected organisation consisted of primarily Russian and German nationals who are believed to have smuggled in foreigners for commercial purposes, arranged undeclared employment and laundered money, police said, adding that recruiting took place mainly in Ukraine and Moldova.
"Checks to date suggest that up to 1,000 employees have entered the local labour market through the company network operated by the gang," it added.
It was not clear which large logistics companies were targeted.
Deutsche Post, a main player in Germany's logistics sector, said it was not affected by the raids.
In 2019, following nationwide raids on illicit employment and exploitation at subcontracting delivery firms, Germany approved a law to force logistics and ecommerce companies that outsource deliveries to ensure their subcontractors pay proper social security contributions for their drivers. (Reporting by Riham Alkousaa and Matthias Inverardi; Editing by Nick Macfie)


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Nice tie-in with Atari from 1983. Customers didn’t talk back in those days. At least not as they can today.
Here’s an interesting story about an all-out fight on Facebook. A taste of what Unilever got last year.
The details, via All Facebook…
The crisis earlier this year was prompted when a Greenpeace video highlighted Nestlé’s use of palm oil grown on former rainforest land in South-East Asia and linked the iconic Kit-Kat with the deaths of orangutans, which are an endangered species. Nestlé sought to ban the video and successfully removed it from YouTube, though not Vimeo. The Nestlé Facebook page was inundated with protests and criticism as a result.
The Nestlé page has 109,502 fans but many of them seem to have joined in order to leave critical comments about issues such as palm oil or baby formula, such as the ones below. Nestlé is such a consumer-facing company that it’s probably right not to retreat from social media – but I can’t say I envy the poor PR flacks who have to run this page.


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Kansas City Man Pleads Guilty for His Part in a Nationwide Telemarking Fraud Scheme
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS- A Kansas City man has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud in connection to a $300 million nationwide telemarketing fraud scheme that targeted elderly and vulnerable victims announced, U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, from 2000 through February 2020, Russell Jason Rahm, 52, participated in a telemarketing fraud scheme involving fraudulent magazine subscription sales. Rahm was the owner and Chief Executive Officer of several Kansas-based companies involved in the fraudulent scheme, including Subscription Ink Co. and Millennium Marketing. As part of the scheme, Rahm’s companies, along with other companies, used fraudulent sales scripts to defraud victim-consumers, many of whom were elderly or otherwise vulnerable, out of hundreds or even thousands of dollars. The fraudulent sales scripts were designed to induce consumers, through a series of lies and misrepresentations, into making large or repeat payments. Rahm’s companies also handled collections for those victim-consumers who did not pay or who challenged the resulting charges as fraudulent. Rahm’s companies received, reviewed, and responded to complaints from victim-consumers to state Attorney General’s offices and the Better Business Bureau.
According to court documents, Rahm and his companies also provided sales leads and handled order management, billing, and collections for other companies involved in fraudulent magazine sales in exchange for a percentage of the revenue received from victim-consumers.
Rahm and his companies defrauded thousands of victims and collected approximately $103 million from victims as a result of this fraudulent scheme.
In total, 60 defendants were charged, in multiple indictments, for their roles in this scheme that targeted more than 150,000 elderly and vulnerable victims out of $300 million.
Rahm pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in U.S. District Court before Judge John R. Tunheim. A sentencing hearing has not been scheduled yet.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph H. Thompson, Harry M. Jacobs, Melinda A. Williams, and Matthew S. Ebert are prosecuting the case.
Updated December 8, 2022


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tralac Daily News
The Southern African Clothing & Textile Workers’ Union (SACTWU) is embarking on an initiative to try to drive uptake of the Covid-19 vaccine to 80% of the sector’s workers. The new ‘Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout Campaign Industry Framework Agreement’ will see employer and trade union groups work with the national government and the national health department to encourage industry leaders and workers to take the vaccine. The programme also aims to debunk myths about the Covid-19 vaccine; ensure there is no employment contract discrimination for workers who take the vaccine or decline to do so; and develop customised guidelines for all workplaces on how to facilitate the vaccine rollout.
Tobacco industry outraged as illicit cigarettes flood SA market (Eyewitness News)
There’s outrage in the South African tobacco industry as illicit cigarettes are flooding the market. British America Tobacco South Africa (Batsa) said that an Ipsos study conducted in March showed that 74% of retail outlets in Gauteng, the Western Cape and the Free State were now openly selling illegal cigarettes. The sector believed that an 8% hike in tobacco taxes appeared to have triggered an all-out price war in key provinces. Batsa said that the March Ipsos survey showed that over 7% more retailers had been selling illegal cigarettes compared to February. The cigarette manufacturer claimed that brands owned by the Zimbabwean Gold Leaf Tobacco Corporation and manufacturers associated to Fita were competing in the illegal market.
SA’s mining production increased by 0.8% year-on-year in Feb – Stats SA (Eyewitness News)
South Africa’s mining production and mineral sales saw an increase in February. Stats SA has released its latest report on the mining industry on Tuesday, the first of several reports on key economic indicators due this week. Mining output had already been in decline for two years pre-COVID-19. It’s coming off a low base, but mining production increased by 0.8% year-on-year in February 2021. Leading the charge are iron ore miners, contributing over 65% followed by Manganese Ore contributing more than 21%. The report shows coal and gold, once the pillar of the nation’s economy, were significant negative contributors.
Trademark data reveals South African investment has opened previously closed markets in Mozambique (World Trademark Review)
Due to their geographical proximity and the fact that they share a common border of 493km, the economic and human relations between Mozambique and South Africa date back a long way. Trade relations between the two countries, in the economic configurations in which they exist today, were established at the end of the 19th century and followed inconstant periods of rapprochement and distance. Since then, the two countries have continued to maintain close commercial relationships. South Africa has invested significantly in the Mozambican economy, thanks largely to the fact that Mozambique is an attractive destination for foreign direct investments (FDI). Indeed, in 2011 FDI became the country’s main source of income. In terms of trademarks, South African applicants own approximately 5,500 national trademarks in Mozambique. They rank second after applicants from the United States, which own approximately 5,850 national trademarks.
Namibia’s trade habits unmoved (The Namibian)
February’s export basket mainly consisted of minerals such as copper, pearls and precious stones (diamonds), non-monetary gold and copper concentrate. Namibia’s trading patterns seem to remain stagnant – especially with regards to exporting minerals to China and importing the basics from South Africa. According to the Namibia Statistics Agency’s trade statistics for February this year, there has been no change in trading partners, products or the local trade approach of extracting and shipping out. Statistician general Alex Shimuafeni says China continues to be Namibia’s largest export market, while South Africa maintains first position as Namibia’s largest source of imports.
In terms of imports, Namibia goes all over the world looking for copper, then exports it to China, the Netherlands and Australia, who seem to know how to best utilise this, since copper accounts for 62,4% of its total re-exports. These trade statistics come at a time when politicians are advocating economic transformation and diversification, which is yet to be reflected in trade statistics.
Govt assures Kenyans of adequate maize in the local markets (Kenya Broadcasting Corporation)
The Government says the recent stoppage of unsafe maize was necessitated by continuous surveillance on the safety of food imports to Kenya, where test results for maize imported from Uganda and Tanzania revealed high levels of mycotoxins consistently beyond safety limits. In a statement Tuesday, Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Agriculture Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives Peter Munya further averted fear over alleged shortage of maize in the country saying projections up to the end of May 2021 indicate a surplus of 11,807,681 90kg bags, with the price of maize expected to remain stable. He noted that the government has taken several measures to facilitate safe trade of maize and other related food commodities across the East African Community (EAC).
Kenya Team to Verify Uganda’s Sugar Quality (East African Business Week)
A team of officials from the Kenya Ministry of Trade is in Uganda for a sugar quality verification mission. Their objective is to ascertain the origin and status of Uganda’s sugar in order to be considered for further increase of quota to 90,000 metric tons in export to Kenya. The verification Mission will also involve other Agricultural products from Uganda such as Maize and milk, which, are key exports from Uganda to Kenya. “Recently we had a bad relationship between Uganda Kenya especially on issues related to trade. Particularly on the export of Uganda agricultural products such as Maize Sugar, poultry products. However, with the coming of the Kenyan delegation it will help both countries to iron out non-tariff barriers that hinder effective trade between the countries,” she said.
Kenyan Delegation in Kampala to End Row With Uganda (Kenyans.co.ke)
The Kenyan government has sent a high-power delegation to Kampala to resolve a protracted trade row regarding export and import duty charges on frequently used commodities. The delegation will inspect Uganda’s sugar processing plants to verify the claims that President Yoweri Museveni’s country imports sugar from Brazil and repackages it to sell to Kenya. The delegation team, formed through the Ministry of Trade, seeks to erase the allegations and find ways to improve bilateral trade between the two countries. “For sugar to be exported to Kenya and Tanzania, it has to be wholly obtained and manufactured from Uganda. So Kenya has come to erase all those false allegations,” stated Uganda Ministry of Trade Industry & Cooperatives Senior Commercial Officer Dan Ssekamwa.
UK, Kenya travel restrictions to disrupt cargo transport, trade (The East African)
Cargo transportation between the UK and Kenya may be disrupted by up to a week from April 9 as the two countries seek an amicable solution on the admittance of crew on their respective soils. Last week, both countries suspended passenger flights to each other’s territories in tit-for-tat decisions over lack of uniform controls on Covid-19. The problem is, neither side has an agreeable design of a vaccine certificate and what details it should contain.
Why new border stop is yet to enhance Kenya-Ethiopia trade (Business Daily)
When Kenya and Ethiopia launched the Moyale one-stop border post (OSBP)in December, it was hoped that the impact of the facility would be immediately felt. After decades of subdued bilateral trade, largely due to non-tariff barriers such as long bureaucratic procedures, bans and sanctions, the facility was expected to usher in an era of seamless trade between the two countries. The new border crossing is meant to consolidate clearances for travellers, and transporters, under one roof so that they do not have to undergo two processes for approval. But it appears they will have to wait longer to reap the dividends of the facility on lack of harmonised border operations.
Why Rwanda’s weekly coffee export revenues dropped (The New Times)
Rwanda’s weekly coffee export revenues dropped by 672 per cent in the week ending April 11, after prices on the world markets plunged. The performance, which reflects a more than six-fold drop, is also attributed to quality exports as well as reduced quantities. According to the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB), last week Rwanda exported 115,200 kilogrammes of coffee which generated $198,720 (about Rwf192 million). In the previous week, statistics show, the country had exported 366,780 kilogrammes of coffee, fetching $1,336,935 (about Rwf1.3 billion).
The Chamber of Aquaculture Ghana is appealing for tax waivers from the government to enable the industry compete with other African countries participating in the Africa Continental Free Trade Area. “We are now going to compete with other fish producing countries in Africa. As you know – Ghana – we don’t have waivers on the materials that we use to produce fish feed. And in Ghana, fish feed alone contributes close to 70% of the production cost so if we can get state agencies or the government to give ours some tax exemptions or waivers, this will go a long way to help the sector to be prepared and ready to compete with other countries outside Ghana,” he noted.
New portal aims to ease Nigerian business (ICLG.com)
A new registration system raises hopes of making business easier in Nigeria, but further reforms are required to capitalise on new opportunities. A new online portal for registering companies was launched in Nigeria earlier this year, in line with the government’s aim of improving the ease of doing business. The Company Registration Portal (CRP) was established by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) on 4 January, replacing a paper-based system, and incorporates features including electronic search, and pre- and post-incorporation filings.
France, on Tuesday, announced that its volume of trade with Nigeria in the year 2020 dropped to $2.3 billion, from $4.5 billion in 2019, as a result of COVID-19. The French Minister in charge of Foreign Trade and Attractiveness, Frank Riester, disclosed this at a meeting he held with Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), in Abuja, as part of his two-day official visit to Nigeria. “We are optimistic of the future, when the crisis will be ending, because we have many companies that have settled here. We want a win-win partnership between our two countries. He said that as the largest economy in Africa and the economic engine room of West Africa, Nigeria is indeed a major partner for France.
Fifty years, five problems – and how Nigeria can work with China in future (The Conversation Africa)
As at 31 March 2020, Chinese loans to Nigeria stood at US$3.121 billion, which is 11.28% of the country’s external debt of US$27.67 billion. The growing trade and presence of Chinese finance in Nigeria has also led to changing narratives about increased migration on both sides. Over the years, Nigeria’s relationship with China has broadened and deepened with China’s growing power and interest in securing its regional interests (particularly within the South China Sea), and taking its place as a major global actor. The governments of both Nigeria and China often describe their relationship as a “win win” partnership – a term China often uses to describe its relationships with other African countries.
Trade Picks Up on Cameroon-Nigeria Border, Despite Boko Haram (Voice of America)
Officials in Cameroon and Nigeria say economic activity has gradually resumed along their border, despite the continued presence of the terrorist group Boko Haram. Markets have re-opened and border merchants say traveling near the border is safer thanks to a heavy presence of troops.
DHL partners with Angola’s Unicargas to boost trade (The Africa Logistics)
DHL Global Forwarding (DHL) is teaming up with Angolan cargo carrier, Unicargas to promote the export of locally-produced goods to Europe and the US. Egidio Monteiro, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding Southern Africa, says: “Partnerships like this play a vital role in promoting economic growth, which are largely fueled by a vibrant pool of local enterprises ready to extend their reach.” As part of a five-year partnership agreement, Unicargas will take care of the domestic transport of products within the country whilst the leading international provider of air, ocean and road freight services will assist in exporting Angolan-made products to international markets, specifically Europe and North America which collectively makes up about 20% of total exports from the country.
African regional and continental news
Sustainable, inclusive manufacturing needed in Africa (Engineering News)
Africa needs sustainable and inclusive manufacturing to bolster economic growth and create jobs and now is an opportune time for this to mitigate the impact of the pandemic and capitalise on opportunities afforded by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). This was indicated by speakers during a ‘Manufacturing in Africa for Africa’ roundtable, held on April 13.
Private sector plays a vital role in implementation of AfCFTA- SACU Secretariat (Namibia Economist)
With an enormous market presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), it is incumbent upon the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) private sector to seize and capitalise on the opportunities to grow their business through regional value chains and cross-border trade, SACU Executive Chair, Paulina Elago said. Elago said this when SACU Member States, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa came together for the first time since launch of the AfCFTA on 1 January 2021, to discuss issues related to the implementation of the trade bloc.
The SACU Council of Ministers has agreed to prioritise industrialisation through the development of Regional Value Chains, Export and Investment promotion. “To that end, the region is currently undertaking technical work to outline a systematic approach and practical steps to scale up the region’s industrial base and to strategically positioning itself to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the AfCFTA,” Elago said. She highlighted the importance of the Trade Facilitation component, explaining that SACU has, through its Customs Modernisation Programme, laid the groundwork that will enhance efficiency in Customs operations. SACU Member States Customs IT Management Systems are now linked to automatically exchange information. A full presentation on the SACU Customs Modernisation Programme will be given at a later stage. In addition, SACU Member States are participating in the in online Non-tariff barriers (NTBs) mechanism for speedy reporting and resolution of NTBs which the AfCFTA has been put in place.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and COMESA will establish a partnership framework to support the implementation of the continental trade regime. Technical teams from the two organizations are expected to start working immediately on the framework by establishing committees to deal with specific aspects of the partnership. This was resolved during the first visit by the Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat Mr. Wamkele Mene to the COMESA Secretariat in Lusaka, Zambia today. “The priority now is how to work together to push back the frontiers of poverty in our continent,” he said adding that industrial development and deepening intra-Africa trade was among the key areas of focus.
This paper analyses digital trade provisions in existing South–South (S–S) trade agreements, with the aim of helping negotiators and policymakers from Africa better understand the practical policy implications behind typically existing and upcoming digital trade-related provisions. This can help guide the design of an effective E-commerce Protocol in the AfCFTA that facilitates inclusive development in Africa. Digital trade involves products ordered digitally but delivered physically through online marketplaces (e.g. ordering a book from Amazon) as well as products that are wholly electronically delivered (e.g. buying an e-book) – that is, electronically transmitted or ET products. The African market is an important destination for the ET exports of African countries. South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania and Mauritius emerge as the top 5 African countries driving intra-African exports of potentially digitable products i.e. potential ET products, with South Africa accounting for 46% of total intra-African exports and 31% of intra-African ET imports. Some countries are highly dependent on intra-African trade for ET products; 70% of exports of digitable products by Rwanda, Mauritius, Namibia, Burundi, Togo, Zambia, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Eswatini are intra-African.
The Acting Director in Charge of the Western Corridor, at the Ghana Standards Authority, Jessica Nkansah has revealed that standards have been harmonized across the African continent in the wake of the implementation of AfCFTA in order to facilitate trade among party states. Jessica Nkansah, who is also the Head of the Competent Authority for Fish and Fishery Products at the Ghana Standards Authority said this during an interaction with the general public on the Eye on Port program. She revealed that some product lines that hitherto did not have existing standards in party states before the coming into operation of the free trade agreement, had to adopt international standards which would be accepted and harmonized at the African regional level as well as the sub-regional level.
A continental digital address platform has been unveiled to purposely ease the location problems associated with the least developed countries. Known as the Africa Digital Address System, ADAS, the platform developed by a Ugandan based tech startup seeks to combat the challenges of providing services to people without proper formal addresses, according to the developers. With it, anyone can create, personalize and possess simple and unique addresses. Yusuf Kayiwa, the lead developer of the app says African communities have similarities in the way their settlements are structured and face the same issues related to traceability or finding locations.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with ECOWAS, has commenced a three-day capacity building programme to equip women with knowledge and skills to grab opportunities in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). “Women are Africa’s traders…If you look at any market, and in fact any border of this continent. The majority of traders will be women, however, women remain at the lower rung of the value-chains in the agricultural sector, when trading in goods, women often sell primary and perishable agricultural produce,” Mr Frederick Mugisha, an Economic Advisor, UNDP, said. “Similarly, in services, women are often found in lower rungs of the ladder in the hospitality industry. In essence, the AfCFTA must account for and address the challenges that women face,” he said.
How Africa’s women traders are poised to drive regional integration (The New Dawn Liberia)
African women represent more than 70 per cent of workers in the informal sector. However, many women continue to face barriers to trade opportunities, such as access to raw materials, increased economies of scale, integration into regional and global value chains, technological challenges, and access to finance to name a few. Women and youth, two groups with the potential to drive the transformation of Africa’s economies, must be mainstreamed into national and continental frameworks in order to guarantee and fully harness the benefits of the AfCFTA. “Women must lead the way for economic independence in Africa,” emphasized Silver Ojakol, Chief of Staff at the AfCFTA Secretariat. “40% of intra-African trade is dominated by micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs). These businesses are mostly managed by women and youth and form a significant segment of the export portfolio within Africa.”
Inclusive economic development remains one of the core elements of both the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In furtherance of this, article 3(e) of the AfCFTA main Agreement and article 27(2)(d) of the Protocol on Trade in Services specifically mandate State parties to promote gender equality and “improve the export capacity of both formal and informal service suppliers, with particular attention to micro, small and medium-sized; women and youth service suppliers.” The young population when properly harnessed will heighten productivity and provide affordable labour which in turn may lead to increase in investment. Nigerian youths just like their counterparts in other African States are known to be very innovative and enterprising. With the right policy and the enabling infrastructures, this energic population can drive the AfCFTA agenda.
Boost for African airlines as cargo demand jumps 44pc (Business Daily)
African airlines’ cargo demand in February increased by 44.2 percent compared with the corresponding period in 2019, marking a strongest growth of all the regions, according to International Air Travel Association (IATA).The news comes as a boost to airlines that have been struggling for the last one year after passenger numbers declines following imposition of Covid-19 restrictions. According to IATA, a strong expansion on the Asia-Africa trade route contributed to the strong growth with February international capacity growing by 9.8 per cent compared to February 2019.
The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) Permanent Committee on Gender, Family, Youth and People with Disability has convened virtually to conduct an assessment on the formulation of a Gender Parity Model Law. The Committee was also briefed on the status of the African Model Law on Disability adopted by the PAP Plenary in October 2019.
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the African Union Commission have today announced the signing of an memorandum of understanding, which aims to strengthen ties between the organisations and the Africa CDC – a specialised institution of the African Union responsible for the prevention and control of diseases in Africa – to enhance vaccine R&D and manufacturing in Africa. This collaboration forms a major part of CEPI’s longer term epidemic and pandemic strategy, announced in March, 2021. As part of this strategy, CEPI aims to work with low-income and middle income countries to develop the infrastructure and expertise to undertake the epidemiological and clinical studies needed to advance vaccine development, support technology transfer, and develop national and regional manufacturing capacity that will enable these countries to take full ownership of their national health security.
African leaders, healthcare experts, biotech companies and pharmaceutical multinationals on Tuesday met for the second day of a virtual conference on ramping up the local manufacture of Covid-19 vaccines. The initiative will give impetus to the continent’s challenging quest of securing adequate supplies and provide a template for other treatments in the future.
“People who do not have their own freedom for vaccine manufacturing, diagnostics and therapeutics do not guarantee their own health security,” said Dr John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “I think we have learnt that over and over in the last couple of months,” said Nkengasong, talking about the challenges in vaccinating the continent’s 1.3 billion people against the coronavirus. Almost all the vaccines used on the African continent are imported, with only 1% of vaccines actually manufactured in African countries, representing some 12 million doses, according to conference slides from Africa CDC and the African Union bloc. “The production of vaccine and access to vaccine is an absolute necessity for our continent,” said African Union head Moussa Faki Mahamat, outlining the need for a “new world health order”.
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) stands ready to cooperate and provide technical support to member States so they can meet their national aspirations as well as continental and global goals such as the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the 2030 agenda for the sustainable development. This was said Monday by the ECA’s Sub-Regional Office for Southern Africa Acting Director, Sizo Mhlanga, in his welcoming remarks during a Government of the Republic of Namibia stakeholder validation workshop on the country’s efforts to create an integrated performance management framework that would contribute to the effective and efficient delivery of services to its citizens.
The renewal: US-Africa relationship (Mail & Guardian)
In his first allocution to African leaders at the virtual African Union Summit in February, recently elected United States President, Joe Biden, reiterated his administration’s commitment to rebuilding partnerships with Africa and re-engaging with international institutions such as the African Union. With the new US administration putting a strong emphasis on renewed partnerships with the African continent, the “less aid, more trade” adage will be a key motivator in ensuring bilateral trade and commercial relations.
On one hand, successful implementation of the AfCFTA will participate in the continent’s sustainable development and prosperity, while also propelling Africa on the global stage as a viable trade partner. On the other hand, the AfCFTA presents an opportunity for a single point of entry from the US into Africa. The agreement will shape harmonised policy and regulatory framework, reducing costs of transaction, and increasing commercial transaction.
Furthermore, with the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) set to expire in 2025, the need for the US and the African Union (AU) to maintain trade and investment ties beyond that date is essential to deepen the cooperation between the two. The AfCFTA offers an opportunity for the US and the AU to work together towards their common goal of increasing trade and investment, both inside and outside the continent. The new US administration’s change of tone indicates an interest for the US to regain its influence in Africa, and strengthening trade ties will plan a key role in achieving this.
Global economy news
The Director-General met bilaterally with United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai. The meeting focused on scaling up the global COVID-19 response and addressing gaps in the global production and distribution of vaccines, personal protective equipment and other medical supplies and the broader WTO reform agenda. “In all of my discussions in Washington, D.C. it was clearer than ever that a sustainable and inclusive economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic means rapid, equitable access to vaccines, especially in developing and least developed countries. Continued vaccine scarcity and the related threat of dangerous new viral variants are the top risks to the rebound in global economic activity and trade: nobody will be safe until everyone is safe.
The 46-member grouping of the Least Developed Countries has said it supports a request made by India and South Africa to the WTO to temporarily suspend intellectual property rights for the COVID-19 vaccines to increase their access in these countries. India, which has been at the forefront of the global fight against COVID-19, told the UN General Assembly last month that vaccine inequity will defeat the collective global resolve to contain the coronavirus as the disparity in the accessibility of vaccines will affect the poorest nations the most. India and South Africa have called for the World Trade Organisation to suspend intellectual property rights related to COVID-19 for a limited period of time, to ensure rapid scaling-up of manufacturing of vaccines and ensuring accessibility and affordability of vaccines for all.
Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on 12 April urged heads of WTO delegations to stay engaged in the fisheries subsidies negotiations and aim to reach an agreement by July. The talks have reached a considerable degree of maturity, and members should make the compromises necessary to get to the finish line, she said in her remarks to open a cluster of week-long meetings of the Negotiating Group on Rules. “Concluding these negotiations is a top priority for this organization, not only for the fisheries, but also for the WTO system. We simply cannot afford to fail here,” she said. “We have reached a considerable degree of maturity in the negotiations and we should do what it takes to close it.”
Slight increase in aid only a drop in the ocean to combat the Covid-19 crisis (Oxfam International)
Figures published today by the OECD show that development aid has slightly increased in 2020. While this rise provides a lifeline for millions of people living in poverty around the world, it’s simply not enough. With extreme poverty skyrocketing for the first time in over twenty years and increasing economic and gender inequality exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis, rich countries are facing and failing the biggest test the aid system has seen since its creation 50 years ago, said Oxfam.
Reacting to the news, Oxfam’s global aid policy expert, Julie Seghers, said: “In 2020, rich countries spent 0.32 percent of their gross national income on aid, up from 0.30 percent in 2019. This increase is welcome, but is partly due to declining national incomes, and still fails to fulfil 50-year-old promises of 0.7 percent of GNI. If rich countries had kept their promise, aid budgets would have been boosted by an additional $190 billion in 2020 alone – more than enough for low- and lower-middle income countries to vaccinate their entire population and guarantee basic education for all.
Communiqué from the Small States Forum April 2021 (World Bank)
As we noted when we last met in October 2020, small economies have responded to the crisis with all the resources, capacities, and international support available to them. Yet the pandemic has significantly diverted resources towards immediate health and economic relief, away from meeting our countries’ daunting longer-term development challenges. It has also exposed and exacerbated pre-existing vulnerabilities.
Debt vulnerabilities in many small economies continue to grow, severely constraining the capacity to invest in recovery and in urgently-needed climate action. The relief provided under the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) has helped many small states by freeing up resources to increase social, health, and economic spending in response to the crisis. We appreciate the G-20’s call on private creditors to participate in the DSSI on terms comparable to those offered by official creditors as well as ongoing efforts to implement the Common Framework for Debt Treatments beyond the DSSI, and we encourage the Bank and the IMF to work with all small states to help them to address debt vulnerabilities on a case-by-case basis.
Gender and the SDGs in the decade of action (Observer Research Foundation)
Already before the pandemic hit, global data suggested the following slow toll of progress vis-à-vis women’s equality: One in three women experience physical or sexual violence; less than 24 percent of national parliamentarians are women; women account for three times more unpaid care and domestic work as men; women are 25 per cent more likely to live in abject poverty as compared to men; at least one law impeding women’s economic opportunities exist in over 150 countries. That progress against these rampant inequalities have been further diluted, derailed or curtailed in various instances is telling of the underlying social norms and systemic constructs that have marginalised women for several generations – 47 million more women and girls are expected to fall into poverty as a result of the pandemic.
UNCTAD and the Family Business Network (FBN) have joined forces to mobilize and support family firms to embrace sustainability in their business strategies. The joint Family Business for Sustainable Development (FBSD) initiative is a first-of-its-kind partnership between the UN and the global family business community. Two-thirds of businesses worldwide are owned or managed by families, employing 60% of the world’s workforce and contributing over 70% of global GDP. “Family firms can make a huge difference in global efforts towards sustainable development,” said James Zhan, UNCTAD’s director of investment and enterprise. He said family businesses need to be empowered to maximize their potential and seize the untapped opportunities associated with embracing the sustainability agenda. To deliver on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, an ambitious global effort is required over the next decade to accelerate sustainable solutions to the world’s economic, environmental, social and governance challenges.


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Plastics Today says the market for PIN flame retardants will grow by 8.4% per year to 2021, to reach US$ 5.4 million (based on MarketsandMarkets report, see pinfa Newsletter n°66). Flame retardants’ health and safety are identified a key drivers.
Action on flame retardant safety in the USA is cited and SPI, the US Plastics Industry Association is asking Congress to adopt Bill H.H. 2576 (Chemical Safety for the 21st Century, see below) to update TSCA (Toxic Substances Control Act, 1976). FRX Polymers is cited as an innovating company to benefit from the growing PIN FR market, referencing the company’s Frost & Sullivan Product Innovation of the Year Awards 2008 and 2013 and US Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Merit Award 2014, for its environmentally-friendly phosphorus FR polymers.
“Sizzling demand for halogen-free flame retardants”, Plastics Today 1st June 2016


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With a Noevember release date locked in for the "Hologram" Nike Foamposites, we're now getting our first official look at what is sure to be one of fall's biggest sneaker releases.
With a shimmering upper that resembles that of the special "Quai 54" Foams that surfaced in May, this is as close as most of us will come to the Paris exclusives, which were limited to just 54 pairs. The good news is that these "Hologram" Foamposite Ones adopt the same upper, just without the "Quai 54" branding. Judging by the photos, this could be the best Foam release since All-Star Weekend.
These are now set to drop on Black Friday, November 27, which means you should probably start planning if you're hoping to avoid the holiday rush.


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With perfect timing, two cellular-service companies are proposing a plan for wireless carriers to monitor usage and charge extra by the kind of site or service visited. The proposal by wireless suppliers Allot Communications and Openet comes right before the Federal Communications Commission meets to vote on the latest plan for Net neutrality.
A private PowerPoint presentation by the companies to an industry seminar was leaked late last week. In it, the companies describe the burden of carrying such sites or services as Facebook, YouTube, Skype or BitTorrent where revenues and traffic are "decoupled." In their scheme, Facebook users would be charged an additional fee of two cents per megabyte, Skype users three euros monthly, YouTube users 50 cents monthly for a limited version, and Vodafone users would not be charged an additional fee. Vodafone is a customer of both Allot and Openet.
The plan also calls for encouraging usage in a off-peak, uncharged "Happy Hour." There's also a provision for "split billing," in which revenue from a streaming movie is split between the Internet service provider and the movie service. Currently, the movie service receives the per-movie or per-month user fee, while the ISP receives a monthly fee for Internet service, regardless of what is watched or used.
The vision offered, which resembles cable TV's tiered pricing arrangement, is exactly the kind of dystopia feared by advocates of Net neutrality. Not only would a carrier be able to pick and choose which sites or services would cost more, but it could favor its partners or subsidiaries in ways that hurt competitors. Vodafone, for instance, could offer a streaming movie service with no additional fees for customers, while YouTube or Netflix users would have to pay more.
The current Net pricing model is not unlike that of a common-carrier utility, such as a phone service, where all traffic is treated the same, although there are pricing differences on speed and, sometimes, on total amount of data delivered.
On Tuesday, a much-anticipated meeting of the FCC is expected to include a vote on a proposal by Chairman Julius Genachowski for his vision of Net neutrality. Although the final language hasn't been released, Genachowski has outlined a plan that would allow fast and slow lanes of traffic in the wired Internet with different pricing schemes, but services or sites would have to be charged at comparable rates for comparable bandwidth use, without discrimination by type or commercial affiliation.
His plan would exempt wireless networks from these rules on the grounds that the wireless industry is still developing, but those companies would have to make their policies known. One of the Democratic commissioners, Mignon Clyburn, recently said Net neutrality rules should include the wireless industry. The two Democratic commissioners on the FCC are expected to vote with Genachowski for the plan, while the two Republicans are opposed.
'Whole Bunch of New Business Models'
Matt Davis, an analyst with IDC, said the plan presented by Allot and Openet is "not surprising." He added that, "after tomorrow, there's going to be a whole bunch of new business models."
Davis said there has been a clear signal that "the market is going to implement metering" of some kind, adding that he "would be very, very surprised if wireless is going to be treated the same as wired." Such metering might not occur in the business market, he added, but it will in the consumer market.
In a recent Genachowski speech, Davis said, "it was pretty clear he indicated that wireless is off the table." Advocates for this approach point out that wireless spectrum is limited, while wired Net providers can always add another pipe.
While metering of some kind might be in store, Davis said a key idea of Genachowski's proposal has been that "like traffic is treated the same," at least for wired connections.
Davis said the key issue comes down to "how much bandwidth you use," because bandwidth costs money. After Tuesday, he said, "they'll set up some business models that seem reasonable, and we'll see some abuses" that will need to be handled by the FCC or others.
"I doubt that this will be a walk in the park," he added.


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The keynote address for Google’s I/O conference will be live-streamed tomorrow morning in 360 degrees via YouTube.
For those of you that may have forgotten, YouTube is currently owned by Google. For the most part, these two monolithic online entities exists in fairly separate states. However, recently they both found one of their first truly shared ambitions: virtual reality.
Google is heavily involved in both the virtual and augmented reality space through its Google Cardboard headset and its Project Tango software respectively. YouTube, on the other hand, has become one of – if not the – premier platforms for the release and circulation of 360 videos and content.
Tomorrow’s I/O keynote will be the first true crossover between these two interrelated companies and it seems to be coming at a very opportune time.
It was only a few weeks ago that YouTube first announced that it would be stepping up its already expansive 360 video efforts by enabling this type of content to be streamed live for the very first time on the site. This new initiative kicked off with a slew of productions from the recent Coachella music festival, and YouTube has kept up a steady diet of them ever since.
Google too is in the midst of a flurry of VR activity. The silicon valley giant is suspected by many to be revealing its own standalone VR headset during tomorrow’s address. Sources have shared with UploadVR that this will not be the case, but tomorrow the question will be well and truly resolved.
What is all but certain is that Google will announce some VR news of an epic scale at I/O. It would make all the sense and the world for that news to be delivered through the synergistic and immersive medium of a YouTube 360 live stream.
The keynote kicks off tomorrow morning (May 18) at 10 am PST.


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Her name says it all: Lucky. Mary Ellen Wertanen's six-month-old chow-chow is fortunate indeed. Not only is her mom, er, owner constantly purchasing odd and ends to spoil the pooch, she even gets her involved in the spirit of holidays. Especially Halloween.
"Of course I'll be dressing her up," said Wertanen, owner of The Pet Super Store in Snellville. "I've got the costume all ready."
Come All Hallow's Eve, Lucky will be pretty in pink, donned in her princess costume. It's a safe bet she won't be the only pup on the block dressing up for the holiday, either.
When Wertanen opened her shop in 1991, pet costumes weren't even a blip on the trend radar. Dressing up your pet was just something bored folks did to pass the time.
But in recent years, costumes for pets have become a hot commodity. They fly off the shelves, said Helen Knowles, manager of Petco in Snellville. Wertanen has even made more space in her shop for animal costumes.
"It's just so much fun. In the last couple of years, people have been doing more for their pets, and this is just an extension of that," Wertanen said. "The costumes are only popular at Halloween, but pets clothes sell all year-round. I even have Christmas sweaters that light up for dogs."
It's hard to guesstimate which costumes are the most popular, Knowles said, as designs vary depending on the animal's size. While costumes come in sizes for both large and small dogs, it's the little ones that tend to sell better.
"The bigger dogs just don't seem to like it as much," Knowles said.
Pet costumes range from the obvious - witch hats and flying capes, and animal transformations like zebra stripes, pig snouts and lion manes - to the ultra-clever.
"The hot dog costumes for the dachshund is too cute. It's a very big seller," Wertanen said. Priced similar to human costumes, pet attire price tags go from reasonable to absurd, with most starting at $9.99.
Four-legged Halloween fun doesn't stop at just costumes. Wertanen has had more than a few customers purchase pet strollers to take their canine trick or treating with them.
"You don't want your dog to be left out," she said.
When taking pets on a Halloween outing, Knowles urges owners to purchase fluorescent costumes, or at least glow-in-the-dark collars and leashes so the dog is visible in the dark.
When decking your dog out for Halloween, Wertanen recommends bringing the animal to the store to try on costumes beforehand. If you can't do that, she suggests measuring the dog's length and circumference to ensure a comfortable fit.
"And be sure to keep things off their face," she said. "They don't like things hanging in their face, just like a baby."
SideBar: Best Pet Costumes
Sure, your costume is all prepared. But what about the pooch? Here a few of our favorite pet costumes we've seen in local Target stores, all priced under $20:


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Mobile Klinik Canada’s top mobile phone repair business. Mobile Klinik carries, fixes and sells notable brands like Apple, Samsung, Google Pixel, LG etc. The team is passionate about educating consumers to shop smarter by providing information about phone repairs and refurbished phones. They want to help consumers not overspend on phones and consider potential e-waste while ensuring high quality in the devices that they repair and sell.
STORE NEWS & PROMOTIONS
- Visit a store today


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Coffee chain Starbucks and delivery app Deliveroo have joined forces.
More than 400 of the chain’s stores are available to order on the Deliveroo app from today, with more stores being added throughout the month.
Londoners can now order coffees alongside sandwiches and other menu items. Other areas involved include Birmingham and Manchester.
Standard delivery charges will apply unless customers are subscribed to Deliveroo Plus.
Carlo Mocci, chief business officer at Deliveroo said: “We are extremely proud that the iconic coffeehouse Starbucks has chosen to launch on Deliveroo. This exciting partnership means that millions of Deliveroo customers can now enjoy Starbucks premier specialty coffee, beverages and food, delivered to their door in under 30 minutes.”
Deliveroo recently announced its Hop partnership with Morrisons to deliver groceries in south London from a dedicated “dark store”.
The platform’s grocery delivery coverage now stands at 70 per cent of the UK population after partnerships with Morrisons, Waitrose, Co-op, Sainsbury’s and Aldi. This is a huge jump from 36 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, before the pandemic.
Alex Rayner, general manager at Starbucks UK said: “At Starbucks, we are proud to offer our customers an unrivalled experience, however they choose to enjoy their coffee.
“We are always looking at ways to meet the needs of those who are unable to visit us in-store, and by expanding our Starbucks Delivers service by partnering with Deliveroo we can ensure that many more customers can connect with us in ways that best suit their needs and lifestyles.”


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Michelin, in moving beyond tires, is looking "to become a global leader in high-tech engineered fabrics and films" with the pending purchase of Paris-based Flex Composite Group for more than $764 million, according to the French tire manufacturer and reported by our sister publication Rubber News.
The transaction, announced June 19, is expected to close sometime in the third quarter of this year.
Michelin agreed to purchase FCG, which has six manufacturing subsidiaries throughout Northern Italy, from IDI, a French private equity firm.
Financing was completed with cash on hand, Michelin said.
"Michelin's strong financial position will be maintained post-transaction," Yves Chapot, general manager and chief financial officer for Michelin Group, said during a June 19 investor presentation. "This is an important step to developing Michelin beyond mobility and positioning it as a key player in polymer composite solutions, in line with the Michelin in Motion 2030 strategy.
"We will leverage both companies' distinctive capabilities to unlock ... innovation synergies in a broad range of products and applications."
The acquisition, when finalized, is expected to boost overall revenue within Michelin High-Tech Materials (which represents between 3 and 5 percent of overall Michelin Group sales revenues) by about 20 percent, Chapot said.
FCG saw about $220.5 million in annual revenue last year, according to Michelin, with an EBITDA margin of between 25 and 30 percent.
Organic growth between 2015 and 2022 measured at about 11 percent per year for the firm.


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JAKARTA, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- A senior Indonesian official said on Friday that the country's exports to the United States would not be hampered by the ongoing Sandy storm that affecting U.S. east coast region, saying that Indonesia's exports to the region was insignificant if compared to overall export volume to that country.
Bayu Krisnamurti, Indonesia's trade minister deputy, said that exports to east coast region in the United States only accounted for 26.5 percent of Indonesia's exports to the country.
Indonesia's non-oil and gas commodity exports to the United States stood at 11.08 billion U.S. dollars in the first nine months this year, representing 9.69 percent of the country's overall exports during that period that reached 114.36 billion U.S. dollars.
Of that figure, 3.24 billion U.S. dollars entered U.S. market through east coast region, mostly through New York recorded at 1. 64 billion U.S. dollars, according to Bayu.
"I expect that U.S. economy will return to normal within the next two weeks aftermath the storm," he added.
According to the data issued by the Central Statistic Bureau ( BPS), Indonesia recorded an export increase to the United States in September this year to 1.18 billion U.S. dollars from 1.16 billion U.S. dollars recorded in August this year.


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“Only 5.6% of women run their own business and women are half as likely to start their own company compared to men.” NatWest, Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report 2017
The Future Laboratory have released a Female Futures report to explore the landscape of female entrepreneurialism.
The report, sponsored by UBS, was launched alongside a half-day event, examining the changing mindset of entrepreneurialism through the lens of Generation Z who are ditching a broken system in favour of products, services and ventures that better reflect their inclusive values.
The event brings a call to arms for women to rewrite the contract between themselves, their businesses and their investors for an entirely new framework to encourage growth.
Read the full report by visiting the UBS website here.


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Sofitel Mumbai BKC announces a partnership with Winnow Solutions, becoming the first Indian hotel to leverage AI tools for sustainable kitchen operations. This initiative aligns with Accor’s global sustainability goals.
Sofitel Mumbai BKC, the luxury hotel in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex, announces an association with Winnow, a food waste management solutions company that develops AI tools to help chefs run more profitable, sustainable kitchens, by cutting food waste in half. What’s more, Sofitel Mumbai BKC is the first hotel in India to use a solution provider like Winnow, in an effort to greatly minimize food waste.
The hotel’s commitment to sustainability is deeply ingrained, thanks to the efforts of Accor (the parent company of Sofitel Hotels & Resorts), which believes that forging a sustainable future for hospitality is a key component to the overall success of the brand. To that end, Sofitel Mumbai BKC is taking daily measures to help the group reach its target of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 – management of food waste being one of them.
Around 931 million tonnes of food is wasted yearly, 26% from food service. According to the World Economic Forum (2021), food loss and waste cost the global economy $936 billion annually. What’s more, a recent report from the WWF shows that food waste is responsible for 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Recognizing the damage being done to the environment due to food waste, Sofitel Mumbai BKC has joined hands with Winnow, which utilizes AI-enabled food waste tracking, seamlessly recording food waste data and providing kitchen teams with additional support to drive rapid change. Winnow’s reporting pinpoints waste areas in the kitchen that can immediately be targeted to reduce food wastage. Data-driven decision-making means more control in the kitchen and less over-production; the comprehensive analytics and food waste photo logs help brands capture 100% of their waste stream.
Manish Dayya, General Manager, Sofitel Mumbai BKC said, “Sustainability is at the core of everything we do, and we are delighted to have found such an able partner in Winnow, which will now allow us to cut food waste in half, and as a result, run more profitable and sustainable kitchens. Winnow’s innovative technology will help us easily track and monitor the hotel’s food waste, thus making it easier than ever for us to reduce our environmental impact.”


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Six restaurants in Illinois were named among Yelp's "Top 100 Places to Eat for 2019," according to the review site's annual list released Tuesday.
Three of the restaurants are in Chicago, while two are suburban establishments and one - the highest-ranked of all Illinois restaurants - is in Springfield.
To create the list, Yelp examined more than 25 million reviews of restaurants and took into consideration both rating and volume - accounting for review volume of the area to even the playing field - to find 100 eateries across the U.S. that earned the status of "must try" in the new year.
No Illinois spot cracked the top 10 on the list, but the Land of Lincoln's number one restaurant was Long Nine Junction in the state's capital, which was ranked 20th.
Next came two suburban spots: Papa Marcos Grill And Kabob in Waukegan and Los Takitos Taco Shop in Palatine, at 57th and 62nd, respectively.
Bistro 6050 in Chicago was ranked 65th, while Nini's Deli in Chicago came in at 86th. Rounding out Illinois' top-ranked restaurants to try was Chicago's Crepe Shop at 87th.
The full list can be found on Yelp's website.


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Policybazaar goes on the quirky path with Pankaj Tripathi
The campaign aims to raise awareness about the significance of term life insurance
Policybazaar, an online insurance marketplace, has unveiled a brand campaign featuring actor Pankaj Tripathi to raise awareness about the significance of term life insurance. Presented with a healthy dose of humour, the ad film is aimed at individuals who procrastinate the crucial decision of buying term insurance for their dependents.
The campaign deftly underlines that low insurance penetration in India stems from the low collective public awareness regarding insurance. Corresponding to the brand’s promise of insuring every family, the initiative targets the all-too-prevalent perception of stalling insurance purchases until it’s too late. The quirky ad emphasizes that not buying term insurance is equivalent to a ‘ghor paap’ or unforgivable sin against one’s family.
Commenting on the launch, Sarbvir Singh, CEO, Policybazaar.com, said, “The overall low insurance penetration rate in India is a reflection of mostly uninsured or underinsured people. We, at Policybazaar, have relentlessly been working towards the mission of closing the protection gap in the country and bringing it to global levels. Our new campaign is humorous and hard-hitting in equal measures to create the maximum impact on the general consumer mindset of procrastination. We want to effectively drive a strong consumer connect through this campaign and make them aware of the consequences of their indecision.”
Talking about the campaign launch, Sai Narayan, Sr. Director Brand & Marketing, Policybazaar Group said, “Procrastination, especially when it comes to insurance, is pretty much a fundamental trait. The concept behind this campaign is to make consumers aware of the transience of life and the gravity of an unprecedented situation. The humour element is intended to educate as well entertain them at the same time. Pankaj Tripathi is one of the most popular faces of the entertainment industry and his trademark style helps get our message across prudently among the masses.”
Hemant Misra, Managing Director, MagicCircle, said, "Death is the only truth in our lives. Policybazaar is one brand that has taken this truth by the horns and coaxed a highly underpenetrated category into action. For this campaign, we went beyond the fear of death to a fear that lives on even after death. The fear of being remembered as the person who robbed their family of happiness. That is not simply a crime but 'Paap'. Ghor Paap. That is the simple insight this campaign is based on."
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Carrefour To Open First Central Asian Stores In Uzbekistan
Op/Ed by Chris Devonshire-Ellis
Central Asia Allure Starts To Appeal To Investors After Years Of Neglect
The French retailer Carrefour will open its first stores in Uzbekistan next year, an important marker of just how far the Uzbek economy has come in recent years. The retailer is partnering with Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim, which owns shopping malls and retail franchises in the Middle East and intends to open seven shops under the Carrefour brand in Tashkent over the next two years.
Hani Weiss, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim – Retail, said that these would be the first Carrefour stores in Central Asia. “A supportive government, growing economy and high demand for a customer centric offering like ours makes Uzbekistan a compelling fit for our expansion into Central Asia.” he said.
It is also an important return to the region for French hypermarkets. In 2017, after a high-profile launch 15 months earlier, Carrefour’s French rival Auchan closed its only store in Kazakhstan.
This was a humiliation for Kazakhstan and the decision by Carrefour to open in Uzbekistan rather than Kazakhstan is perhaps a sign of the shifting market forces now that Uzbekistan has opened up under President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. In its press release, Carrefour said that it would work with 600 local suppliers and manufacturers to stock its hypermarkets and would create 2,500 jobs directly and indirectly.
Mr Weiss, the Majid Al Futtaim – Retail CEO, said that the company considered the Uzbek market to be a launchpad for regional expansion. “We see Uzbekistan as a stepping stone to the rest of the central Asian market.” he said. Majid Al Futtaim already operates 285 Carrefour hypermarkets in 14 countries.
The move by Carrefour comes as the country mulls membership of the Eurasian Economic Union, which also includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, although the country already enjoys some preferential free trade rights with the organisation. Uzbekistan has a market of some 32 million people, a GDP of about US$50 billion, with growth running at a healthy 5.3% and a per capita income of around US$7,200 (PPP). The country also reduced its VAT rate from 1st October in moves that will boost consumer spending – great news for retailers. The country has also relaxed its visa regime, and now offers Visa Free access to 45 different countries therefore boosting regional tourism. Carrefour have been doing their homework (and reading Silk Road Briefing).
Uzbekistan is landlocked, however has great mineral wealth. As such it has become a focal point in Central Asia as concerns infrastructure developments, which include it being part of the China-Europe Connectivity network. This, coupled with an increasingly liberal political regime, friendly towards Foreign Investment has seen opportunities in the country increase. Carrefours move, which has to be underpinned by significant logistics developments, will prove a bellweather for other foreign investors interested in looking at reaching out into Central Asia. Indian investors, who are likely to see their country move to Central Asia markets with negotiations on-going with the EAEU rather than the previously touted South-East Asian free trade with RCEP, will especially be interested in following developments.
- Uzbekistan Re-Energizing as Central Asia’s Traditional Hub for the Silk Belt and Road
- Uzbekistan Becoming More Compliant With International Business Standard Norms
Silk Road Development Weekly is compiled each week by Chris Devonshire-Ellis, Chairman of Dezan Shira & Associates. The firm has 28 offices throughout Eurasia and assists foreign investors into the region. For strategic advisory and business intelligence issues please contact the firm at firstname.lastname@example.org or visit www.dezshira.com


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Kansas Area Council Lunch: Solar – the Alternative Energy
Learn about solar energy, Tuesday, February 14, 11:30 a.m., during the Kansas Area Council Lunch at the HBA. Susan Brown from Brightergy will discuss the latest trends in solar energy, the latest on financials and incentives, and investments businesses and homeowners can make. Register online at the HBA Member Login. For more information, contact Steven Cowen, email@example.com.


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Axalta’s 65th Annual Global Automotive 2017 Color Popularity Report Reveals White as Number One Color Choice Worldwide
CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE: AXTA) today released the findings of its 65th annual Global Automotive Color Popularity Report, which shows white as the worldwide leader in consumer vehicle color choice in 2017, followed by black in second place at 16 percent, and gray and silver tied in third place for the second consecutive year at 11 percent.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180103005751/en/
Axalta’s 65th Annual Global Automotive 2017 Color Popularity Report Reveals White as Number One Color Choice Worldwide (Photo: Axalta)
Axalta’s 2017 Color Popularity report also found:
- Worldwide: Building on white’s number one position, a trend has developed of pearl colors sparkling on luxury vehicles. White pearl hues increased four percent in 2017.
- Africa: Up three percentage points, gray enters double digits at 11 percent.
- Asia: White dominates and is the choice on 52 percent of vehicles sold in the region. China has the highest usage of white anywhere at 62 percent. Japan uses more pearlescent white hues at 28 percent.
- Europe: At 20 percent, gray is more popular in Europe than in any other region.
- North America: Blue is gaining popularity, especially in the compact/sport segment where it rose six percentage points to total 16 percent.
- Russia: The top color, white, increased from 28 to 32 percent, while silver is also up three percentage points.
- South America: Gray is the rising star in South America moving from eight percent to 11 percent.
“With its modern appeal, white continues to be the top seller worldwide,” said Nancy Lockhart, Axalta Global Color Marketing Manager. “Pearlescent whites gained four percent in popularity this year as this multi-coat color is used on all segments and has the highest usage in Japan. Overall, light and bright colors continue to gain strength as light gray and light to medium shades of blue have increased interest in the market."
Published annually since 1953, Axalta’s report is the automotive industry’s longest running and most comprehensive color account. It’s is compiled and designed by Axalta’s color experts around the globe to provide OEMs fascinating and relevant insights into consumer preferences to help them make informed color decisions.
“Automotive color evolves over time,” says Elke Dirks, Axalta Automotive OEM Color Designer, Europe, Middle East and Africa. “Recently, blue has been trending in various versions from highly chromatic shades to light metallic colors, and gray has been on the rise as the next competing neutral.”
“White is the undisputed number one, but the story does not end there,” said Annie You, Axalta OEM Color Designer, China. “Our customers value the subtle trends the report unveils. For instance, buyers in India prefer silver more than any other region at an amazing 30 percent. Overall, more white vehicles are produced in China than any other region, of which 47 percent are solid white, and 15 percent pearl white.”
“Axalta’s annual color initiatives, which include this Popularity Report, our annual Color Collection and the Automotive Color of the Year are beneficial to car manufacturers who are interested in using these insights to innovate,” said Lockhart. “In addition, Axalta has more than 150 years of expertise with an international team of designers and scientists that are solely focused on the fusion of technology and design.”
For more information on Axalta’s Global Automotive 2017 Color Popularity Report, please visit axaltacs.com/color.
About Axalta Coating Systems
Axalta is a leading global company focused solely on coatings and providing customers with innovative, colorful, beautiful and sustainable solutions. From light OEM vehicles, commercial vehicles and refinish applications to electric motors, buildings and pipelines, our coatings are designed to prevent corrosion, increase productivity and enable the materials we coat to last longer. With more than 150 years of experience in the coatings industry, the approximately 13,300 people of Axalta continue to find ways to serve our more than 100,000 customers in 130 countries better every day with the finest coatings, application systems and technology. For more information visit axalta.com and follow us @Axalta on Twitter and on LinkedIn.
Source: Axalta Coating Systems
Released January 3, 2018


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Every November, Black Friday promises the year's biggest and best discounts, and every November it delivers. But if you were biding your time and keeping your fingers crossed that this was going to be your month to seal the deal on a next-generation PlayStation or Xbox, then you should brace yourself for bad news.
The recurring stock issues have marred the release of both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S and X since their release in the Fall of last year aren't about to resolve themselves before the peak pre-holidays buying season.
As far back as May this year, Bloomberg reported that PlayStation 5 supply issues will pervade into 2022. Hiroki Totoki, Sony's Chief Financial Officer, told a briefing: "I don't think demand is calming down this year and even if we secure a lot more devices and produce many more units of the PlayStation 5 next year, our supply wouldn't be able to catch up with demand."
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On top of the heavy demand, availability has also been beleaguered by the affect COVID-19 has had on the production of the consoles' components. "Uneven vaccine rollouts across developing nations where Sony suppliers have their production bases have made supplies of chips and parts unpredictable," says Bloomberg, and has resulted in a production shortfall of over a million unites.
And it's a case of 'as-above, so-below' for the Xbox Series X, with Executive Vice President of Gaming at Microsoft Phil Spencer telling press outlets that the stock issues will be ongoing, "definitely through the end of this calendar year and into the next calendar year."
That is set to lead to disheartenment for gamers the world over as opportunities to buy are going to be few and far between. Tabitha Baker, Hardware Editor at GamesRadar, isn't feeling optimistic, does suggest there will be a glimmer of hope for shoppers next week: "We'll likely see PS5 and Xbox Series X stock concentrated around Black Friday's event, but with very few drops leading us away from November and towards Christmas."
Outside of the two main next-generation consoles, it's hardly better news for gaming fans hoping for something a little different. While the stock of Nintendo Switch console and Oculus Quest 2 VR headset will undoubtedly be more readily available, discounts are expected to be almost as scarce. "Both the Nintendo Switch and Oculus Quest 2 have seen their fair share of stock troubles over the last year, and the continued popularity of both devices means this year's offers will likely revolve around bundle deals," Baker told The Week, "with any discounts that do present themselves flying off the shelves particularly quickly."
To see what products are already seeing discounts, take a look at The Week's guide to the best Black Friday deals available right now.
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text: The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at its December meeting on Wednesday, halting a series of rate cuts that lifted markets and countered recession fears amid ongoing trade uncertainty. Policymakers unanimously agreed to leave rates hovering between 1.5% and 1.75%, describing the policy decision as “appropriate” to help prolong the nation’s economic expansion, now in its 11th year. The widely expected move falls in line with market expectations as the Fed has signaled it plans to move into an extended pause as it watches to see how the US economy evolves. Thirteen of the 17 participants on the Federal Open Market Committee’s policy-setting body now anticipate keeping interest rates level in 2020, according to the central bank’s updated forecast. Only four members predicted that rates may need to be raised one notch higher. That could disappoint President Donald Trump, who spent the past year pressuring Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to lower rates even further, most recently during a meeting at the White House last month. Following that November 18 meeting, Trump said in a tweet he “protested” to Powell that interest rates were too high compared to other countries the US competes with, and has repeatedly blamed him for undermining economic growth. During a press conference Wednesday, Powell declined to comment on what he discussed with Trump. But Powell said that he doesn’t think rates need to rise anytime soon. He said the Fed can hold rates steady, because historically unemployment has been able to remain at very low levels for an extended period of time without having an effect on inflation. Inflation has remained stubbornly low over the past decade. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that consumer prices were up just 2.1% over the past year, but overall inflation has remained below the Fed’s 2% target range. The stock market turned positive when Powell suggested rates don’t need to go up. The Dow had spent the entire day in the red before Powell’s comments. Since the last Fed meeting in October, the Fed chief and his colleagues have been making the case that monetary policy is in a “good place” and probably won’t change for some time unless there is some “material” change. Powell has pointed to sluggish global growth and persistent trade uncertainty as two threats to the US economy. For the year, the Fed maintained its outlook for the US economy, which it expects to grow at 2.2%, and then slow down to 2% next year. Although Powell said Wednesday it would be inappropriate for the Fed to adjust monetary policy to counteract short-term market volatility stemming from Trump’s trade wars, he acknowledged that reaching trade deals with China as well as with Mexico and Canada would “remove uncertainty and be a positive for our economy.” Powell recently described the US economy as a “star performer” and expressed confidence that the expansion can be extended thanks to strong consumer spending and steady job growth. Following November’s stronger-than-expected jobs report, the Fed also now anticipates the country’s unemployment rate to be slightly lower for the year at 3.6%. Policymakers had previously forecast in September the jobless rate landing at 3.7%.


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ZHENXIN Ferroalloy Company has ample foreign trade orders. The staff members are accelerating production to meet the requirement of on-time delivery.
In the second half of 2022, the ferroalloy market continued to be depressed. Ferrosilicon, silicon manganese, and calcium metal prices continue to fall, and again low hover. On the one hand, domestic steel mills are shut down, and on the other hand, international customers are watching. They lack confidence in the recovery of China’s economy.
Famous for ferroalloys production, Qugou gathered a variety of ferroalloy manufacturers. Customers can buy all the kinds of ferroalloys they want, such as ferrosilicon, ferrochrome, ferromanganese, nitrided ferroalloys, calcium silicon, alloy cored wire, etc.
Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in late 2019, the country has imposed strict controls on foreign inbound customers. Inbound customers will be quarantined for 14 days or longer in case of negative nucleic acid results, which greatly dampens the enthusiasm of foreign customers to visit. This has affected international trade.
2023 Policy Focused on Solid Recovery
Reviving the COVID-19-battered economy will be a key policy priority for China next year as the top leadership has sent a strong signal to push for overall improvement of economic activity and substantially expand domestic demand, economists said on Thursday.
Top policymakers in Beijing have called for better coordination between pandemic containment and economic development while emphasizing the need to stabilize growth, employment, and prices to boost the economy. They also pledged to comprehensively deepen reform and opening up and to strongly spur market confidence.
“We can be more optimistic about China’s economy in 2023 after the key Party meeting placed much attention and emphasis on optimizing policies, boosting growth, and stimulating business vitality,” said Xu Gao, chief economist at BOC International.
Wang Qing, chief macroeconomic analyst at Golden Credit Rating International, said that China’s economy will stage a rebound as COVID-induced damage to economic activity will be gradually alleviated. He expects the government to aim for a GDP growth of around 5 percent next year and China’s real growth rate for 2023 could exceed 5 percent.
More supportive policies including greater fiscal spending and monetary easing will likely be rolled out next year as Chinese policymakers are determined to bring the growth rate back to a reasonable range and effectively drive up investment and consumption, economists said.
This is reflected in the top leadership’s statement at Tuesday’s meeting that proactive fiscal policy measures need to be reinforced to improve efficiency, and prudent monetary policy measures need to be precise and forceful. The policymakers also said that efforts should be made to expand domestic demand by fully leveraging the “fundamental role of consumption” and “the key role of investment”.
To achieve the goals, most economists expect that China may raise its fiscal budget deficit ratio to 3 percent or higher in 2023.


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Updated from 12:42 p.m.
Jerry York, a representative of Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp., has stepped down from
board after the automaker's move to end talks about a potential alliance with
Tracinda, which owns about 9.9% of the automaker, also said in a
Securities and Exchange Commission
filing on Friday that it no longer plans to buy additional shares of GM.
Shares of GM recently were down $2.39, or 7.1, to $30.74.
On Wednesday, GM CEO Rick Wagoner and Nissan-Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn agreed to end negotiations for a global alliance, largely because of compensation GM was requesting as part of the deal. At the time, Wagoner indicated that the board's decision on the move was unanimous.
Tracinda, a major backer of the alliance, expressed disappointment with the move. The firm said in Friday's filing that GM "abruptly announced the termination of discussions regarding its proposed alliance with Renault and Nissan prior to the expiration of the time period originally established for the initial evaluation of the alliance and without the General Motors Board of Directors obtaining an independent evaluation of the alliance."
Last week, Tracinda indicated it planned to buy up to 12 million more shares of GM, which would put its stake above 10%.
York was installed on GM's board in February, and since that time the automaker ha slashed its dividend payment in half and agreed to sell majority stakes in its residential mortgage and financing businesses. The company also executed a massive employee-buyout plan, and its stock is now the biggest gainer on the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
for the year.


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TROY—Small businesses in the Wiregrass will have a chance to meet one-on-one with government agencies and contractors during the Troy University Small Business Development Center’s Matchmaker.
The 2010 Small Business Opportunities Conference and Matchmaker, scheduled for May 19 in the Trojan Center Ballrooms on the Troy Campus, will provide small businesses the chance to network and to meet representatives from various local, state and federal agencies and prime contractors, said Judy Callin, a SBDC small business development consultant.
A general session will begin at 8 a.m. and provide instructions for the day and a valuable business networking opportunity. Exhibitors that provide services to small businesses will be on hand during the day.
The matchmaker event allows small business owners and managers a chance to meet with the agencies and contractors from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.
Appointments must be scheduled prior to the event, Callin said. Businesses should email their appointment requests in priority order to firstname.lastname@example.org with the name of the representative and the business name, address email and phone number.
Invited to this year’s matchmaker is:


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This is going to be interesting ...
NEW YORK— In the beginning of 2011 the vitality, global reach, and tech-savviness of the contemporary art market will be tested like never before with the introduction of the VIP Art Fair, an innovative salesroom that will feature some of the world's top blue-chip galleries — and which will exist exclusively online. Founded by New York dealer James Cohan together with internet entrepreneur Jonas Almgren, founder and CEO of Web site One Art World, in collaboration with Jane Cohan and Alessandra Almgren, the fair will take place for only one week, with sales opening at 8 a.m. EST on Saturday, January 22, 2011, and concluding at 7:59 a.m. EST on Sunday, January 30.
Cuomo's Budget Goes Big on Education
1 hour ago


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A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation started in August 2010 has been recently expanded. The agency originally focused its investigation on 3 million Jeep Grand Cherokees manufactured between 1993 and 2004, but has now added an additional 2.1 million Jeep Cherokee and Jeep Liberty SUVs produced between 1993 and 2001.
The NHTSA investigation centers around the placement of rear-mounted plastic gasoline tanks used in the three models of vehicles. These vehicles are at an abnormally high risk of catching on fire in rear-end collisions. So far, the NHTSA has received reports of 15 deaths and 41 injuries related to the potentially dangerous defect. According to the government agency, there exists “a higher incidence of rear-impact, fatal fire crashes for the Jeep products.”
The investigation was launched following a complaint made by the Center for Auto Safety (CAS), a non-profit consumer group. The CAS blamed the placement of the gas tanks in the older model Jeep SUVs. In those vehicles, the gas tanks were located behind the rear axle, putting the tanks at greater risk of puncture in rollover accidents or multi-car rear collisions.
According to the CAS, the earlier models of the Jeep Grand Cherokee had four times the number of fatal fires than vehicles by other manufacturers, and six times the number of fatal fires reported in later models. Although Chrysler disputes these numbers, the manufacturer moved the gas tanks in front of the rear axle and inside a protective frame beginning with the 2005 model year.
Chrysler has settled many lawsuits in connection with Jeep fires, demanding that the plaintiffs in those settlements enter into confidentiality agreements.
Earlier this week, NHTSA ordered additional Jeep Liberty vehicles added to a safety recall involving excessive corrosion of components of the rear suspension. The excessive corrosion can result in failure of the rear suspension and potentially to a crash of the vehicle.
For more information, contact the Ohio product liability attorneys at Clark, Perdue & List.
Source: MSNBC, The Bottom Line, “Feds’ Chrysler fire probe expands to 5 million SUVs,” Paul A. Eisenstein, June 14, 2012.


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The consumer Web has been a driver of enterprise innovation for some time as I am sure that all of you know from Web 2.0 to Enterprise 2.0 to BYOD, the list is long. There is another trend is emerging, the app store. We are very used to just going to a consumer web app store and downloading what we want. I did it while I was writing this post.
The post, Time to Open Your Own App Store, covers the trend nicely. It notes that Michael Ni, chief marketing officer for Avangate, a provider of an e-commerce service platform, says solution providers will need to start setting up their own app stores. Many have and I would agree. It is trend I hear about through conversations in the marketplace and it makes sense. Influenced by the success of mobile computing applications, enterprises are asking vendors to deliver applications in a modular and flexible way.
It concludes, “In a world where customers are increasingly starting to mash up applications to create any number of composite applications, the solution provider has to be able provide access to a full range of applications because a lot of customers simply don’t know what they want or need until they see it.”
The world of software is dramatically changing from the openness of social software to the new means to host this software through the cloud, as I mentioned in my last post, to the means to purchase software. The core issue here is that software is becoming more customer centric. In the good days for systems integrators, like several of my former employers, were used to figure a five times software cost for the implementation. Now people expect that number to be closer to zero. Or that implementation provides some value like connecting social software with enterprise apps and not just getting it to work. The world is changing and app stores are part of the new order.


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The OPEC Fund for International Development (Opec Fund) said it has raised its trade finance program from $50 to $100 million to facilitate international financial services firm Natixis to expand support for trade and development in Africa.
The unfunded risk-sharing contract sees the OPEC Fund guarantee trade finance transactions backed by Natixis – part of Groupe BPCE, France’s second-largest retail banking group – in developing countries.
The program has encouraged trade transactions such as imports of medical equipment and sugar on the African continent, and in Asia. The original $50 million deal was signed with Natixis in 2018.
Opec Fund Director-General Dr. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa signed the increased agreement with Natixis’ Stephen Menke, Global Head of Marketing and Sales, Trade Syndication and Distribution.
“We are pleased to expand our partnership with Natixis. Both our organizations have ambitious development aspirations and recognize the importance of trade to socio-economic progress.”
– Dr. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa
Director-General, OPEC Fund
“This transaction supports Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8 on decent work and economic growth and will improve the livelihoods of many business owners, employees and their families across the African continent,” Dr. Alkhalifa added.
Natixis’ Global Head of Trade and Treasury Solutions Anne-Cécile Delas said: “We are proud to enhance its collaboration with the Opec Fund and to support the growth of trade in emerging countries by means of this partnership.”
“We believe in the economic potential of the emerging markets, which we support for a sustainable improvement of social and economic development,” he stated.
The OPEC Fund’s Trade Finance Facility helps private enterprises and governments by promoting the import and export of strategic commodities and capital goods. $ 4.2 billion has been approved under this facility since 2006.