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Teacher and parent groups in the U.K. blasted British supermarket giant Tesco for selling a padded bra in the department selling clothes for 7 and 8 year olds. "There is already too much pressure on children to appear grown up,” said a spokeswoman for the National Union of Teachers. (London Telegraph) A Tesco spokesman said the bra wasn’t inappropriate, because it was “designed for girls at that self-conscious age when they are just developing.” (Daily Mail)
What the commentators said
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It’s difficult not to be “appalled,” said the Alpha Mummy blog. “How can we condemn the early and gratuitous sexualisation of children, particularly girls, and then have our biggest supermarket producing what they term 'pocket-money products' to get little kids to buy bras.”
A bra is one thing, said Radar Online, but these are “pre-tween miracle bras, which retail for £4 ($8).” Maybe this makes sense in a nation that gave the world Miss Bimbo, the virtual world where kids could practice getting breast implants, crash dieting, and whoring it up with billionaire sugar daddies.” It appears that the U.K. is rapidly leaving the U.S. in the dust “in sexualizing its youth.”
And Tesco isn't helping reverse the trend, said the Vital Signs blog. Let’s not forget that this is the same company that, a couple of years ago, put a “a pole-dancing kit in the toy section of its website. Striptease training for kids?” Tesco pulled that product, but only after parents and teachers complained.
“Excuse me—pole dancing outfit!!?” said the Working Mum blog. Maybe this is the start of the “backlash on the provocative clothes for little girls” parents have been waiting for.
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Pushing Amazon Prime Day until "at least August", as Reuter reported, doesn't mean it'll actually happen in August.
First and foremost, Amazon needs to make sure its employees aren't vulnerable to further Covid-19 infections before even considering a Prime Day 2020 date.
People still need to save money – now more than ever – but this year's Prime Day has to be timed right: for consumers, for Amazon employees, for delivery workers, and for all of the manufacturers.
The Amazon Prime Day 2020 date is reportedly happening in August 2020, not July, offering a one-month reprieve on what's normally an epic deals marathon.
When will Amazon finally announce the official Prime Day date?

domain: news


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Packaging materials rose by 10%. Sichuan pharmaceutical enterprises were in a dilemma.
infusion packaging materials rose by 10%, pharmaceutical glass rose by 20%, and packaging cartons rose by 30%. These data made Zhou Jing, head of Sichuan Kechuang pharmaceutical supply department, helpless
after the Spring Festival this year, A price rise swept the entire pharmaceutical industry "Peharda said yes. Zhou Jing told that among many medical packaging materials, paper drug packaging materials increased the most. As long as the prices of materials related to drug packaging are rising.
Zhou Jing calculated an account: taking a fire dispelling Chinese patent medicine produced by the factory as an example, the product uses three types of packaging materials: compound bags, medium bags and cartons. The price of composite bags per kilogram in the same period last year was 25 yuan, but now it has risen to 30 yuan/kg; the price of medium bags has increased by 10% ％； The carton increased by 3 yuan per square meter. The raw materials used to produce the drug rose by about 20%. Zhou Jing said that the cumulative effect of such an increase will greatly weaken the profits of the enterprise. The wholesale price of this Chinese patent medicine is 120 yuan/piece. Originally, the profit of each piece was about 10 yuan. Now, the increase of various raw materials has increased the production cost by 6-7 yuan, basically making no money
facing such a situation, pharmaceutical companies are very passive. In addition to reducing management and financial costs, there is almost no other way out. You Xintao, executive deputy general manager of Chengdu Tianyin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., said that the state stipulates that the price should be adjusted once every two years. In case of cost increases, enterprises can apply to the competent price department for price increases. However, under the general trend of lowering drug prices by the state, the hope of raising prices is very slim, which can only be digested by enterprises themselves
the rise in the price of drug packaging materials began in the spring of this year, when the piston returned quickly. Take the polymer packaging material emulsion rubber stopper raw material as an example, the earliest price on the market is 20000 yuan/ton, which has risen
to nearly 50000 yuan/ton. Even so, many pharmaceutical companies said that as the general trend of international crude oil prices remained unchanged, the rise of various packaging materials would continue in the short term
the rising pressure of packaging material prices has forced some enterprises to reduce production or stop production. Industry insiders believe that the root cause of the current pressure on pharmaceutical enterprises to face the slippage of the tensile testing machine and the rise in raw material prices lies in the lack of innovation ability and the overcapacity of generic drugs. At the same time, it also exposes the disadvantages of most domestic enterprises relying solely on price competition to survive first
Copyright © 2011 JIN SHI


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With a long record of success in Europe, the integrated functionality and features will elevate the shopping experience for thousands of customers.
Two of the Nordics’ most ambitious retail software companies are partnering up to empower global retailers to make better decisions with powerful real-time data.
The market-leading POS and unified commerce platform, Sitoo, has proved to be the perfect fit for Scandinavian footwear giant, Scorett.
Game-changing solutions make unified commerce simple with a new partnership between Sitoo, Embriq & GOC Retail
Sitoo is launching an exciting new partnership with service integrator Embriq, together with retail technology experts, GOC Retail, to make next generation unified commerce a reality.
Sitoo awarded Best Omnichannel Solution of the Year and Best In-store Innovation of the Year (recognising our partnership with Tiger of Sweden and By Marlene Birger), at the prestigious Retail Systems Awards 2021.
The implementation of the Sitoo POS and unified commerce platform is being hailed as a true game changer by one of Europe’s leading high-end fashion retailers.


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Attendees to the grand opening of Hyundai-Wia’s new U.S. headquarters viewed live cutting demonstrations
on 13 machines shown for the first time in the U.S. market.
If you’ve noticed a lot more cars labeled “Hyundai” on the road lately, it’s not just coincidence—the company’s share of the U.S. automotive market has grown steadily during the past several years, according to data from autonews.com. Recent developments suggest that if the huge South Korean conglomerate gets its way, you might see a lot more machine tools labeled “Hyundai” as well.
During a recent press conference, Heung-Soo Lheem, CEO of Hyundai Wia Corp., said the company’s goal is nothing less than achieving the same status for Hyundai-Wia Machine America in the machine tool market as Hyundai Motor America has achieved in the automotive market. And the company has already made strides in this area. After all, the press conference was conducted at the grand opening ceremony for Hyundai-Wia’s new corporate headquarters and technical center
in Carlstadt, New Jersey. The opening of the nearly 90,000-square-foot facility also marked the U.S. debut of 13 recently developed machine tools, a range that runs the gamut from traditional turning and milling machines to multitasking and vertical turning models.
Additionally, developments in the company’s home country of South Korea suggest it is well-positioned to invest in the United States and other markets abroad. The unveiling of the new U.S. headquarters comes on the heels of another facility opening, this one a 75,000-square-foot manufacturing plant at the company’s headquarters in Changwon. Built to accommodate demand that has resulted in a significant equipment backlog, the new plant has already increased capacity by 30 percent, exceeding the company’s initial expectation of a 25-percent increase, Mr. Lheem says. The company also recently went public in the Korean Stock Exchange, a move that brought a large influx of both brand awareness and cash that it can reinvest.


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Dreimann Serving as Director and Consultant of Groupe SEB Holdings
September 20, 2010,
WEST ORANGE, N.J.-Leon Dreimann, owner and chief executive officer of Greystone Brands and George Foreman Cleaning Solutions, is serving as director and consultant of Groupe SEB Holdings, the holding structure of U.S. entities including Groupe SEB USA and All-Clad Metalcrafters.
"We are please to have Leon on board," said Volker Lixfeld, president and chief executive officer of Groupe SEB North America. "His deep knowledge of the housewares industry brings insightful expertise to our portfolio of brands. I am confident Leon will be an invaluable addition to our company."
Other Articles By Author
Von Tobel Cites Brass Textures Among Top Trends
HFN's DIGITAL EDITION
2017 State of the Industry Report
Cautious Optimism, Mixed Results
Many expected 2016 would be a banner year, but the political and economic climate softened consumer confidence. It was also a year consumers spent more lavishly on home remodeling rather than decorating.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- TJX Unveils First U.S. Homesense Store - In a time when retailers are reducing store counts, TJX continues to get physical.
- Ikea’s Fluid Spaces - The retailer’s new intros reflect multifunctional rooms.
- N.Y. Home Fashions Market Preview - Textile textures get soft and cozy, colors warmer.


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For Immediate Release
MAYSLANDING, N.J. (Sept. 29, 2016) - Customers of Atlantic City Electric (ACE) are urged to verify the identity of anyone calling regarding their account, in particular calls regarding payment.
Customers should also be familiar with ACE's payment options - the company will never ask customers to pay their bill using a gift card.
There are periodic scams involving criminals who masquerade as ACE employees on the phone in order to steal personal financial information. This scam is often referred to as the "Green Dot" Visa credit card scam as criminals request the "Green Dot" card in many instances. In some cases, the scam even incorporates a phone number for customers to call and a fake Atlantic City Electric voice recording.
"Scammers" will sometimes use a "shadow" or "800" call-back phone number. The imposters will use technology to have the Atlantic City Electric "800" customer service number appear on the telephone's caller ID feature. When customers call the shadow number, the "scammers" answer claiming to be affiliated with Atlantic City Electric.
In addition to residential customers, "scammers" are also targeting businesses claiming that the location's electric service account is delinquent and that power will be disconnected unless a payment is made by a specific method such as the prepaid, reloadable credit card. Once the "scammer" obtains the card's identifying information, the value is then downloaded, swept and stolen. These transactions are untraceable.
Atlantic City Electric will contact customers in person or via phone for various reasons. If someone claims to represent Atlantic City Electric, it's important that customers take precautions to verify the person is affiliated with the ACE, especially if that person is requesting an immediate monetary payment.
When addressing past due accounts, Atlantic City Electric never endorses a specific form of payment. Instead, multiple payment options are always given to the customer.
Atlantic City Electric advises customers to ask for official photo identification from any person who shows up at their door. Employees from reputable companies, such as ACE, will carry official company identification cards. If proper identification cannot be produced, customers should notify police and the company with whom the individual claims to be associated.
Similarly, if someone calls claiming they represent a certain company, customers should ask the caller to verify his or her identity and affiliation. If customers have any doubt about the validity of a person's claim in representing Atlantic City Electric, they should call the company immediately at 1-800-642-3780.
For more information about Atlantic City Electric, visit atlanticcityelectric.com. Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/atlanticcityelectricand on Twitter at twitter.com/acelecconnect.
Our mobile app is available at atlanticcityelectric.com/mobileapp.


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A huge part of that effort has to be making sure that restaurants can find and order the right food, and Improvonia is uniquely positioned to do just that.
Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) March 25, 2015
BlueCart and the US Healthful Food Council (USHFC) announced a partnership today to simplify ordering between restaurants and suppliers. The partnership provides REAL Certified restaurants with the technology necessary to source from the best suppliers in the industry using BlueCart’s nationwide ordering platform. Both organizations are interested in ensuring that the restaurant industry can successfully address—and capitalize on—the growing demand for better, more nutritious food.
“USHFC has been incredibly innovative in helping the restaurant industry make healthful and sustainable food more profitable,” said BlueCart co-founder Konstantin Zvereff. “A huge part of that effort has to be making sure that restaurants can find and order the right food, and BlueCart is uniquely positioned to do just that. Our app makes it easy to place and receive orders for everything a restaurant needs to do business, and that makes a big difference for chefs and suppliers grappling with shifting consumer demand.”
The partnership also enables restaurants looking for endorsed, REAL Certified products to search their suppliers on BlueCart for items matching their criteria, and suppliers will likewise be able to highlight their REAL endorsed items for sale. Restaurants looking to reach out to new suppliers will also be able to request REAL Certified catalogs from vendors in the system.
"REAL Certified has been successful in helping restaurants bring attention to their efforts to provide more nutritious and higher quality food to their customers,” explains USHFC’s CEO Lawrence Williams. “BlueCart allows REAL Certified to extend across the supply chain by linking endorsed buyers and suppliers.”
The BlueCart app and website allow restaurants to order all their supplies from all their suppliers in one click, and the platform already has over one thousand active accounts. After nearly doubling every month since launching in July of 2014, orders through the system grew at almost 300% month on month at the beginning of 2015. At the same time, USHFC is also growing rapidly, certifying restaurants and foodservice operations across the country, and branching out this year to recognize both the first national restaurant franchise and the first prepared meal company as REAL Certified.
As both organizations move forward in the industry, Zvereff is confident that this partnership will help make for a better food system, and better business all around: “Adjusting to the demand for healthier food has not always been easy for chefs already overwhelmed with trying to order from multiple suppliers each night. With REAL Certified on BlueCart, restaurants and suppliers get both healthy menus and healthy bottom lines.”
BlueCart is an ordering and inventory management app that allows restaurants, hotels, and food service operators to place all their orders to all their suppliers in one click. We build better relationships in the food industry by giving chefs and sales reps a simple communication tool that saves them time, and allows them to focus on what matters most to their businesses. Just 6 months after launching in July, 2014, there are over one thousand accounts on the platform, with over two hundred new food buyers activated per month, including major hotel chains and hospitals. Visit us online at http://www.bluecart.com, or download the app directly in the App Store (http://apple.co/1BIaZ5Q) or Google Play (http://bit.ly/1poNuU1).
About the United States Healthful Food Council (USHFC):
Established in 2011, the USHFC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to transforming America’s food system and fighting diet-related disease by realigning the food industry’s incentives with consumers’ health interests. The USHFC works towards its mission through the REAL Certified holistic nutrition and sustainability certification program. REAL Certified foodservice operators must satisfy prerequisites and earn sufficient points in the areas of Responsible (nutrition), Epicurean (preparation), Agricultural (sourcing) and Leadership (going above and beyond). The organization has received financial support from the Tennessee Department of Health, the Park Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation President’s Grant Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation. More information can be found at USHFC.org and REALCertified.org.


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Columbia, Mo.,— Recently, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security along with Missouri and many other states announced that agriculture and the food supply chain, including pork, are essential industries. As the nation responds to this critical human health crisis, Missouri’s pork producers take their responsibility seriously.
“From farm to consumer, we will work seamlessly with federal, state and local entities in a cohesive partnership to continue the supply of nutritious pork,” stated Marcus Belshe, a pig farmer from Henley, Missouri, and chairman of the Missouri Pork Association Board of Directors. “This partnership is critical to avoid any supply chain disruptions.”
Today’s pork industry continues to seek solutions to a labor shortage on our farms and at our pork processing facilities. We must also maintain access to grain and other key materials needed to raise our animals and protect the health of our workers. This access to inputs goes hand in hand with the importance of the transportation systems that move not only grain, but our animals to market and, ultimately, pork products to consumers.
To learn more, visit http://nppc.org/issues/issue/your-food-is-our-priority/.
The Missouri Pork Association represents the state’s pork producers in the areas of promotion, research, education and legislation. For more information on the association, visit www.mopork.com, or call the Missouri Pork Association office at (573) 445-8375.


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This is now the fifth time that the World Car of the Year award has been presented. Up to now, the shortlist has always been made up of ten vehicles, but this year there are eleven, as there was a tie for tenth place. A total of 50 journalists from all around the planet will be casting their vote for the WCotY. From the eleven models nominated, the panel will be selecting their Top Three. These will then go into a run-off with the outright winner being awarded the title at the New York Auto Show on 9th April.
The World Car finalists are:
Audi A4 / Avant
BMW 7 Series
Citroen C5 Limousine / C5 Tourer
Honda Fit / Jazz
Mazda Atenza / Mazda6
Volkswagen Golf VI
Let's all get in on the act. Which one is your favourite?


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11th grade entrepreneurs successfully launched and sold shares of their businesses during The Leopards’ Lair.
At the beginning of October, the 11th grade Innovation Lab: Entrepreneurship class hosted The Leopards’ Lair. Seven 11th grade businesses entered The Lair to compete for investment from our Leopards: high school students, staff, and parents. Each business was allotted 4 minutes for their pitch; their goal was to present their business model and convince Leopards to invest in them. They were extremely successful! In total, the 11th grade businesses sold 83 shares and raised over 50,000 rupees to launch!


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Palantir Technologies Inc. NYSE PLTR strengthens its relationship with Ringier to assist it in transforming into a digital-first, global media company. PTR is in the sweet spot of the increased interest in digital transformation companies at https://www.webull.com/newslist/nyse-pltr. This is reflected in a slew of recent partnerships announced by the company. Palantir declared the renewal of a necessary partnership with Ringier, a Swiss media company, to provide software to help it accelerate its digital transformation and become a digital-first global media company.
Ringier is currently using Palantir’s Foundry software to serve better and inform its readers. According to the media company, this has aided in expanding its reach and improving its relationship with its audience, resulting in increased revenue potential. According to the company, the foundry is also used by Ringier to improve performance in its advertising departments across all of its media brands.
Why It Matters: For Ringier, the strengthened partnership with Palantir will mean a stronger push forward with its digital transformation strategy, which began more than a decade ago. “We were able to build a secure, comprehensive data foundation using Palantir’s world-leading integration technology,” said Marc Walder, CEO of Ringier. Palantir already has a strong presence in Europe, thanks to its partnerships with Merck KGaA MKGAF and Airbus SE EADSY, particularly in Switzerland, where it has an office in Zurich and plans to expand further.
What should you do with $1,000 right now?
While you work, you can learn. Start looking into options, the investment vehicle that has propelled stocks like Tesla and Apple to previously unheard-of highs. Benzinga Options, led by NicChahine, sees explosive (and often immediate) returns on his options trades. To get these winning trades, click here right now! However, consider how the market reacted to a similar development a few months ago. If you recall, the company’s stock soared by double digits in December following the announcement of a $44.4 million contract win. In short, unlike in the past, small potatoes like this aren’t moving the needle nearly as much as they once did.
So, what is required to return this stock to the moon? It will necessitate material development. Not a single contract worth less than $100 million has been awarded (governmental or commercial). I’m referring to a large transaction that could generate hundreds of millions or billions of dollars in revenue over time. Aside from that, there isn’t much that can send stocks back into overdrive.
What exactly do I mean? The election cycle in the United States for 2020 has come to an end. The potential benefit of the Biden administration has already been factored into stock prices. The craze is known as “meme stock madness” is largely over. PTR stock has already proven to be a hit with Reddit’s retail investors. You can check other stocks like nasdaq msft at https://www.webull.com/quote/nasdaq-msft before investing.


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- Supermarkets are searching for alternative ways to bring food into Britain as ships are diverted from the UK’s main port due to congestion.
Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping company, is diverting big vessels away from the UK because the nation’s main port is rammed full of containers, reads an article in Independent.
Supply chain disruptions
The Danish group has started to reroute huge ships away from Felixstowe, which handles 36 per cent of the country’s containerised freight, instead discharging UK-bound cargo in Europe for smaller vessels to transport to the island nation.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said “further disruption” to supply chains may be “unavoidable” after Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping company, said that it was directing big vessels away because main UK ports are chock-a-block.
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Delphi’s new PVC-replacing cable will debut on the 2007 Toyota Tundra. Delphi and Toyota both described the development as one of the most important advances in auto cable in many years. First reported by Design News Feb. 7, the very thin wall cable improves design possibilities as well as reducing weight and eliminating potential halogen release. It’s the first application of GE Plastics' Flexible Noryl resins in the automotive industry. The new insulation is half as thick as conventional coatings in North America — 0.2 mm versus 0.4 mm — or about as thick as two sheets of paper, reducing wire/resin weight by up to 25 percent and wire diameter an average 28 percent. Size of the wire bundle is cut by as much as 40 percent.
A new compression molding compound material combines the light weight, strength, and rigidity of carbon fibers with the flexibility and lower cost of glass materials in a composite compatible with automotive production.
Plastic bearings are real and millions of them are in use doing heavy-duty jobs we used to think only metals could do. Some of Germany-based igus's bearings are traveling around the world as functional parts in a car to demonstrate what they can do.
Baxter showed off his 2.0-derived moves at ATX West this year. The big red guy still looks pretty much the same, but has some new abilities, mostly due to software. The research robot version is now being used in corporate R&D departments as a design platform.
End-production using 3D printing, including objects made of multiple materials in one pass, is getting closer to reality as we saw on the exhibit floor at the recent Pacific Design & Manufacturing Show.


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Geneva auto show, other big events canceled amid virus fears
GENEVA — The Geneva auto show was canceled after the Swiss government put an immediate ban Friday on all large events in order to halt the spread of the new coronavirus.
The Swiss ban on public and private events involving more than 1,000 people will last until at least March 15. The move highlights the growing impact of the virus on daily lives and livelihoods, as governments try to fight an outbreak that has infected more than 82,000 people and killed over 2,700 worldwide.
Outbreak concerns have already led organizers to call off several major industry events around the world, including a mobile technology conference that was due to happen this week in Barcelona, Spain, and Facebook's developer conference set for May in San Jose, California. Still others, such as a cybersecurity conference in San Francisco and a popular video game convention in Boston, proceeded this week even after big companies dropped out. The Geneva International Motor Show was due to run March 5-15 and draws tens of thousands of visitors every year. The event was expected to generate 200 million to 250 million Swiss francs (dollars) worth of spending in the Geneva area.
"We are aware that this measure will have a significant impact on public life," Swiss interior minister Alain Berset said, insisting it was necessary to help prevent or delay the spread of the virus in Switzerland.
Switzerland has reported 15 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus. The country borders northern Italy, which has seen the largest cluster of cases in Europe.
In other communities hosting big conferences, local authorities have pushed event organizers and marquee exhibitors to proceed as planned and cautioned against overreaction. After Japanese electronics giant Sony announced it was skipping the Pax East gaming conference in Boston over virus concerns, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh urged the PlayStation-maker to reconsider, saying the risk in Massachusetts remains extremely low.
"While we are taking every possible precaution to protect residents, visitors, and workers, we have no reason to believe that people should cancel their plans to visit our city," Walsh wrote last week to Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida.
Sony was a no-show and other game companies scaled back their presence.
Nonetheless, thousands of attendees still thronged an exhibition center for the four-day convention, which opened Thursday. A roving cleaning crew wiped game consoles and controllers with disinfectant after attendees touched them.
"We're upping all of the hand sanitizer, advising people not to shake hands or hug if you don't really have to, try to give everyone a little bit of distance," said Ryan Hartman, an executive with the Pax gaming convention organizer, Penny Arcade Expo.
Dozens of attendees also wore filtration or decorative masks, though it's not uncommon for enthusiasts to dress up in costume at video game events. Jakeem Johnson said he thought the fears were overblown but as added protection brought a mask representing Scorpion, a fearsome ninja from the fighting game Mortal Kombat.
Maurice Turrettini, chairman of the Geneva auto show's organizing company, GIMS, said that over 160 brands had been due to exhibit at that show, but it was a case of "force majeure," a disruption that is out of people's control that can free businesses from liability in a contract. Exhibitors will not be reimbursed, but ticket-holders will be.
Swiss authorities said that for events with fewer than 1,000 people, organizers must conduct a risk assessment with regional officials. Berset said that large offices or public buildings wouldn't be shut down by the measure.


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Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing attends a news conference in Sao Paulo (Nacho Doce/Reuters)
Here's a little thought exercise: Think of a Chinese brand. Any Chinese brand. Go on, I'll wait. Give up? Don't feel too bad: According to a recent poll conducted by HD Trade Services, 94 percent of Americans cannot think of a single brand from the world's second-largest economy.
Strange, isn't it? Japan and South Korea, countries China zoomed past in the GDP-rankings, boast globally-respected brands across a variety of industries. Even Sweden and Finland -- mere minnows in comparison to China -- offer IKEA and Nokia, respectively. Given China's incredible transformation into an economic powerhouse over the past three decades, why doesn't the country have more recognizable brands?
Before we tackle that question, it's worth exploring why having globally recognized brands even matter for a country. As David Wolf, managing director of the Global China Practice at Allison + Partners, a PR consultancy, says, "there are two ways to add value to goods and services in a competitive industry. The first is through innovation, and the second is through branding. When you create a brand, you're creating a distinction that people are willing to pay more for than just by its own virtue. That's added value -- and added revenue -- without much additional cost per unit."
Brands, then, benefit a country's economy with no downside. So why is China struggling in this area? The answer lies at the nexus of history, economics, and culture -- with a bit of geography thrown in.
Let's start with geography first. China, as you've no doubt heard, is very, very big. It's the fourth largest country by land mass in the world and has more people than anyone else. As a result, Chinese companies have a large domestic market to play with, and don't always need to attract overseas markets in order to be profitable. In addition to its size, China's economy -- for one that is still somewhat centrally planned -- is actually highly fragmented, with local provinces and municipalities acting almost as independent economic units. Accordingly, across a broad swathe of industries and markets, there are a lot of small-time players in China, making it difficult for one company to amass the scale necessary to invest in global marketing campaigns.
Secondly, in comparison to countries like Japan and South Korea, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) play a dominant role in the Chinese economy, comprising 35 percent of all business activity and reportedly 43 percent of all profits. China's banks loan money to SOEs on favorable terms, allowing these companies to operate inefficiently and still survive. It's no wonder, then, that they have less need for marketing and branding. Wolf relates a common joke among China business observers: "for most SOEs, 'branding' means getting a new logo, 'marketing' means buying ads on China Central Television, and 'P.R.' stands for 'pay the reporter'"
Indeed, Chinese executives across a variety of industries often don't see the point in investing time and money into building their brands. As Scott Markman, the president of the Monogram Group, a brand consultancy, put it, "building a brand is messy, it takes time, it involves soliciting and following advice from outside counsel, and the vast majority of Chinese managers are deeply suspicious of things in which basic proof of effectiveness is difficult to provide," Wolf adds that few Chinese companies treasure innovation, preferring to follow rather than to lead. "The typical approach is to avoid sticking your neck out first; wait till the other guy does it, and see if his head gets chopped off."
In spite of these roadblocks, there's evidence that Chinese brands are beginning to make an impact in foreign markets. Beijing-based computer manufacturer Lenovo, which made a splash in 2004 by purchasing IBM's PC-unit, is a prime example; the appliance manufacturer Haier is another. While these companies have yet to become household names in the United States and elsewhere, they've embraced marketing and brand-awareness to a degree unusual for a Chinese firm. And -- by experiencing financial success -- they could serve as role models for skittish firms unsure how to approach foreign markets.
Chinese brands still have a long way to go, not least in battling the perception that Chinese-made goods are inexpensive and low-quality. But, as Markman points out, Japanese and Korean firms faced the same perception a few generations ago; even Japan's world-class auto industry once produced cars that were considered inferior by American consumers. It's no less unlikely that, in the not-too-distant future, Chinese goods will enjoy a similar surge in appreciation.
They may soon have to. As wages rise, Chinese goods will become more expensive, and companies will find that they can no longer compete solely on price. As a result, branding will necessarily play a larger role than before simply out of necessity; Chinese companies will have to find a way to distinguish their higher-quality goods in a highly competitive marketplace, and building popular brands is the best way to do that.
Achieving these changes will be a challenge. But it shouldn't come as a big surprise if, in 10 years, a few Chinese brands are as familiar to Americans as Samsung, Toyota, and Mitsubishi are today.
Science says lasting relationships come down to—you guessed it—kindness and generosity.
Every day in June, the most popular wedding month of the year, about 13,000 American couples will say “I do,” committing to a lifelong relationship that will be full of friendship, joy, and love that will carry them forward to their final days on this earth.
Except, of course, it doesn’t work out that way for most people. The majority of marriages fail, either ending in divorce and separation or devolving into bitterness and dysfunction. Of all the people who get married, only three in ten remain in healthy, happy marriages, as psychologist Ty Tashiro points out in his book The Science of Happily Ever After, which was published earlier this year.
Social scientists first started studying marriages by observing them in action in the 1970s in response to a crisis: Married couples were divorcing at unprecedented rates. Worried about the impact these divorces would have on the children of the broken marriages, psychologists decided to cast their scientific net on couples, bringing them into the lab to observe them and determine what the ingredients of a healthy, lasting relationship were. Was each unhappy family unhappy in its own way, as Tolstoy claimed, or did the miserable marriages all share something toxic in common?
He lives near San Francisco, makes more than $50,000 per year, and is voting for the billionaire to fight against political correctness.
For several days, I’ve been corresponding with a 22-year-old Donald Trump supporter. He is white, has a bachelor’s degree, and earns $50,000 to $60,000 per year.
He lives near San Francisco.
“I recently became engaged to my Asian fiancée who is making roughly 3 times what I make, and I am completely supportive of her and proud she is doing so well,” he wrote. “We’ve both benefitted a lot from globalization. We are young, urban, and have a happy future planned. We seem molded to be perfect young Hillary supporters,” he observed, “but we're not. In 2016, we're both going for Trump.”
At first, we discussed Bill Clinton.
Last week, I wrote an article asking why Trump supporters aren’t bothered that their candidate called Clinton a shameful abuser of women who may well be a rapist. After all, Trump used to insist that Clinton was a victim of unfair treatment during his sex scandals. Either Trump spent years defending a man that he believed to be a sexual predator, even welcoming him as a guest at his wedding, or Trump is now cynically exploiting a rape allegation that he believes to be false.
Finally, an explanation for Bitchy Resting Face Nation
Here’s something that has always puzzled me, growing up in the U.S. as a child of Russian parents. Whenever I or my friends were having our photos taken, we were told to say “cheese” and smile. But if my parents also happened to be in the photo, they were stone-faced. So were my Russian relatives, in their vacation photos. My parents’ high-school graduation pictures show them frolicking about in bellbottoms with their young classmates, looking absolutely crestfallen.
It’s not just photos: Russian women do not have to worry about being instructed by random men to “smile.” It is Bitchy Resting Face Nation, seemingly forever responding “um, I guess?” to any question the universe might pose.
This does not mean we are all unhappy! Quite the opposite: The virile ruler, the vodka, the endless mounds of sour cream—they are pleasing to some. It’s just that grinning without cause is not a skill Russians possess or feel compelled to cultivate. There’s even a Russian proverb that translates, roughly, to “laughing for no reason is a sign of stupidity.”
Studies have shown narcissists post more self-promoting content on social media, but it's not always so easy to tell if someone's doing it for the attention.
It’s not hard to see why the Internet would be a good cave for a narcissist to burrow into. Generally speaking, they prefer shallow relationships (preferably one-way, with the arrow pointing toward themselves), and need outside sources to maintain their inflated but delicate egos. So, a shallow cave that you can get into, but not out of. The Internet offers both a vast potential audience, and the possibility for anonymity, and if not anonymity, then a carefully curated veneer of self that you can attach your name to.
In 1987, the psychologists Hazel Markus and Paula Nurius claimed that a person has two selves: the “now self” and the “possible self.” The Internet allows a person to become her “possible self,” or at least present a version of herself that is closer to it.
Three Atlantic staffers discuss “Blood of My Blood,” the sixth episode of the sixth season.
Every week for the sixth season of Game of Thrones, Christopher Orr, Spencer Kornhaber, and Lenika Cruz will be discussing new episodes of the HBO drama. Because no screeners are being made available to critics in advance this year, we'll be posting our thoughts in installments.
The U.S. president talks through his hardest decisions about America’s role in the world.
Friday, August 30, 2013, the day the feckless Barack Obama brought to a premature end America’s reign as the world’s sole indispensable superpower—or, alternatively, the day the sagacious Barack Obama peered into the Middle Eastern abyss and stepped back from the consuming void—began with a thundering speech given on Obama’s behalf by his secretary of state, John Kerry, in Washington, D.C. The subject of Kerry’s uncharacteristically Churchillian remarks, delivered in the Treaty Room at the State Department, was the gassing of civilians by the president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad.
Wildlife officials have begun confiscating tigers from a popular tourist destination after allegations of animal abuse.
Wildlife officials in Thailand have seized some of the more than 100 tigers held at a Buddhist temple in response to allegations of mistreatment of the animals.
Six tigers were tranquilized and removed Monday from Wat Pa Luangta Maha Bua Yannasampanno, which is known as “Tiger Temple,” according to animal-welfare advocates. The temple is a popular tourist spot in Kanchanaburi province, where visitors are allowed to play with tigers and cubs and even take selfies with them. Government officials plan to clear the temple of all tigers, and will spend the next week removing the remaining 131 animals. The tigers will be transported to government sanctuaries elsewhere in the country.
For years, former temple workers and animal-welfare groups have alleged that the tigers have been abused—beaten, fed poorly, and housed in small concrete cages with limited time outside. Some conservationists say the monks have illegally bred and trafficked the animals. Temple officials have denied the allegations.
The psychological origins of waiting (... and waiting, and waiting) to work
Like most writers, I am an inveterate procrastinator. In the course of writing this one article, I have checked my e-mail approximately 3,000 times, made and discarded multiple grocery lists, conducted a lengthy Twitter battle over whether the gold standard is actually the worst economic policy ever proposed, written Facebook messages to schoolmates I haven’t seen in at least a decade, invented a delicious new recipe for chocolate berry protein smoothies, and googled my own name several times to make sure that I have at least once written something that someone would actually want to read.
Lots of people procrastinate, of course, but for writers it is a peculiarly common occupational hazard. One book editor I talked to fondly reminisced about the first book she was assigned to work on, back in the late 1990s. It had gone under contract in 1972.
Narcissism, disagreeableness, grandiosity—a psychologist investigates how Trump’s extraordinary personality might shape his possible presidency.
In 2006, Donald Trump made plans to purchase the Menie Estate, near Aberdeen, Scotland, aiming to convert the dunes and grassland into a luxury golf resort. He and the estate’s owner, Tom Griffin, sat down to discuss the transaction at the Cock & Bull restaurant. Griffin recalls that Trump was a hard-nosed negotiator, reluctant to give in on even the tiniest details. But, as Michael D’Antonio writes in his recent biography of Trump, Never Enough, Griffin’s most vivid recollection of the evening pertains to the theatrics. It was as if the golden-haired guest sitting across the table were an actor playing a part on the London stage.
“It was Donald Trump playing Donald Trump,” Griffin observed. There was something unreal about it.
A long time ago, beds were expensive—but there's more to it than that.
With a guest in town occupying the second bedroom of our Manhattan apartment, my three-year-old son, a notorious sideways sleeper, bunked with my pregnant wife and me. Too many snores and little feet in the back of my neck, I relocated to the sofa, where I was blessed with the best night’s sleep I’ve had in months.
As a self-diagnosed insomniac, a good night’s rest for me lasts anywhere from three to five hours. I generally break up the slumber with walks around the apartment, followed by lying awake and unearthing inconsequential paranoia that, come morning, will not live up to the hype. When I hear people claim they get eight hours of sleep each night, they might as well be talking about the Loch Ness Monster, or alien life. All three are things I suppose it’s possible someone may have encountered, but I cannot personally confirm their existence.


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German manufacturer PTF Pfuller GmbH & Co. KG has chosen Sturtevant for its first U.S. location, with plans to ramp up from an initial small sales operation to a manufacturing and distribution center within five years, The Business Journal has learned.
The Stollberg, Germany-based company produces precision parts and assemblies for the semiconductor, food, medical technology, laser and aerospace industries. Milwaukee 7 officials spent more than two years courting the company, making first contact at an annual international industry trade show in Germany, Hannover Messe, that draws more than 6,500 exhibitors from around the world.
PTF is the first win for M7 officials among prospects initiated at the last three Hannover Messe conventions, said Jim Paetsch, M7 vice president of corporate relocation, expansion and attraction.
PTF German Precision Technology Inc., the name of PTF’s U.S. arm, is in the process of hiring a sales person who will work in Leman USA Inc.’s headquarters at 1860 Renaissance Boulevard in Sturtevant. Leman, a freight forwarding company, will provide administrative and warehousing services until PTF’s local growth requires its own offices, said Jenny Trick, Racine County Economic Development Corp. deputy director and an M7 partner, who spearheaded the recruitment efforts with Paetsch.
PTF doesn’t have an official jobs projection, but CEO and general manager Oliver Zintl said it could exceed 50 local employees. The company currently employs 190 between its two German locations and one China facility.
The company also wants to eventually establish more North American sales offices, Zintl told The Business Journal.
“It’s kind of a gentle first step into a new market,” Trick said in a phone interview. “We look at a company like PTF that might start with one person, but we have so many examples of other companies starting with one person and they’ve grown very well.”
Trick cited Italy-based Bonetti SpA and Sweden-based Nimco Controls, both of which also contracted with Leman for space in Sturtevant and eventually grew to a size that they needed their own location, she said.
Zintl said he was sold on southeastern Wisconsin because of its central location in the Midwest and PTF’s existing customers in the region. He was also impressed with the quality of Gateway Technical College, which could be a source of talent for his company.
“Today it is very important to be global,” Zintl said in an email to The Business Journal. “To be there where our costumers are is the target. The customers need the guidance today more than before because the projects we are looking for are very complex.”


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Sneakers: They allow us to express our individuality and our creativity. From classic black Chuck’s to basketball shoes with the latest technology, who doesn’t appreciate a good pair? However, the sneaker community hasn’t always been the friendliest to women.
Over the years, shoe releases have become competitive. Being a woman in the male-dominated space of sneaker culture can be challenging. Struggles include access, supplies, and female representation.
Instead of waiting for change, two Toronto women decided to lead the way. One year ago, Abby Albino and Shelby Weaver opened Makeway, Canada’s first standalone sneaker boutique for women, by women.
Located at Stackt Market on Bathurst Street, they celebrated their first anniversary this past weekend.
Both Albino and Weaver discovered their passion for sneakers at an early age through basketball, but weren’t always welcomed in the community.
“Sometimes, it’s not a nice place for women because it’s gatekept and male-dominated,” Albino said. “They don’t take us seriously as sneaker lovers,”
Aside from running a business, the two trailblazers are heavily involved in the city. Weaver works as the Director of Basketball Operations and Culture for the Toronto Raptors and owns Mack House, a sneaker customization business. Albino is the Head of Development at Mad Ruk Entertainment and is a co-founder of Rise Tribe, an organization that aims to empower the next generation of Filipnx-Canadian youth.
For Albino and Weaver, when they see a problem, they need to fix it.
Despite the lack of female representation and recognition, they believe that “there is no sneaker culture without women."
Over the past year, releases have included the AJ14 Shocking Pink and AJ1 Low Shattered Backboards. During a recent block party, they collaborated with Jordan and dropped the Women’s AJ XI Retro Black and White, which is an exclusive release. They’ve also had the opportunity to create colourways for WNBA hats.
Aside from sneakers, they sell items created by local women and BIPOC creators. From Santa Isla rings to The Give and Grow basketball planters, there are many eye-catching products and inspiring female entrepreneurship stories behind them.
However, the space wasn’t only created for retail purposes. While businesses were closing their doors due to the pandemic, Makeway opened theirs on the brink of Toronto’s lockdown. They saw the pandemic as a blessing in disguise, as this was a long-term space.
“We didn’t want to be an online store, we wanted to be a community space and a place where people could come together,” Weaver said.
In the first year, they learned about retail, e-commerce, digital presence, and what it takes to run a business. Looking forward to year two, they hope to finetune and continue exploring the community side.
“The world is ever-changing, the community is ever-changing, everything is changing all the time,” Weaver said. “There’s always something to learn."
Photo courtesy of Makeway


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Major retail chains are looking at the three properties belonging to bankrupt grocer Moo & Oink, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
The paper reports that the chain's locations—including one on the South Side and another on the West Side—are on the edge of Chicago's food deserts and so have drawn interest.
In the past year, major retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Walgreen Co. have moved into such neighborhoods with a promise to bring more fresh produce and healthful food choices.
Troubles at the 150-year-old Moo & Oink, which specializes in meats and woos customers with pig and cow mascots, first came to light in August. Since then, 200 employees lost their jobs when the retailer ceased operation in early September. The company owes a collective $6.4 million to its top 20 creditors, including its employees union and the former company president.
Moo & Oink's sole secured creditor, First Midwest Bank, is paying $20,000 a month to ensure that the chain's properties are secured and its inventory of boxed and canned goods are stored, according to an attorney for the bank.
The next court hearing will be held Nov. 14.


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IBM posts drop in sales for 13th consecutive quarter
July 21 , 2015
Technology giant IBM has posted a 13.5% drop in revenue to $20.8 billion and a 17% fall in net profit to $3.5 billion in the second quarter. The company has reported a drop in sales for the 13th straight quarter.
The performance is being attributed to its decision to steer away from the hardware business, and a strong American dollar. Ginni Rometty, the IBM chief executive, said the firm was continuing to “transform our business to higher value and return value to shareholders”.


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Although there are long-running corporations in Tanzania that have developed strategies for the SDGs, the country still faces some barriers to its broader agenda.
Despite the fact that some Tanzanian companies are racing ahead on the sustainability agenda, experts at the Responsible Business on Sustainable Development Goals hosted by UN Global Compact on 6 November highlighted that Tanzania private sector is lagging on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG Agenda 2030) and a lack of policy certainty is largely to blame for this.
The UN Global Compact intends to ensure that getting the support of the private sector for achieving the SDG goals is attainable, but a much larger barrier is lack of country policies on sustainability, lack of knowledge on how companies can embed the SDGs into their core strategy, and financial resources to modify their operational structure in line with sustainability agenda.
In her speech at the Responsible Business Forum, Lise Kingo highlighted that sustainable business models have the potential to unlock economic opportunities worth US12 trillion while creating up to 380 million jobs per annum by 2030.
Potentially what this means is that putting the Global Goals (SDGs) at the heart of the global economic strategy could unleash a step-change in growth and productivity, however, the key ingredient in the equation is “leaving no one behind”, a radical change in business and investment community, private-public partnerships are the critical drivers for the ideal rapid transformation.
Leading the way
As the country works towards the Agenda2030, some companies are leading the way and have long incorporated sustainable development objectives into their business. Leading companies in tourism, telecoms, agribusiness, banking, and extractives sector have been taking action on the SDGs mostly without knowing they were already working towards the global goals. It is important for the UN Global Compact to work with companies to identify gaps in where there is a lack of understanding to educate and empower corporations on the Ten Principles and unlocking opportunities for SDGs locally.
Only a small fraction of companies in Tanzania conduct sustainability reporting or report on the SDGs, there is huge potential for companies to “do the right thing”. The global goals provide a sustainable profitable growth model for business and create innovative competition as companies “race to the top”. To achieve this, what is needed now is lining up the government support to enable the right policies, financial support to implement global goals, and identifying key private-public-partnerships to ensure collective action towards the global goals – within that space is unlimited potential.


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Former Apple engineer slims down Square's credit card reader
Payments company Square on Monday unveiled a new, slimmer credit card reader designed by a team lead by former Apple engineer and current Square VP of Hardware Jesse Dorogusker.
In an in-depth article highlighting the new Square Reader, a device that allows users to accept credit card payments on most iOS devices, Wired offers a behind-the-scenes peek at how former Apple employee Jesse Dorogusker managed to slim down the already tiny dongle.
For reference, Dorogusker was with Apple for eight years before taking on the VP job at Square. While at Cupertino, he worked on a number of accessory hardware projects, including a lead role in development of Apple's Lightning connector. Dorogusker is also credited as an inventor for multiple Apple patents, from a "smart dock" to an iPod-compatible "smart bike."
The new Square Reader is 45 percent thinner than its predecessor, but contains components that give it a more premium feel. With the new version, Square focused on improving the card reader's singular purpose: swiping credit cards. According to the publication, this meant the company had to make adjustments with "the swipe" to give a more solid, reliable feel.
Instead of off-the-shelf components, the latest Square Reader uses custom-designed parts, like the important read head. Previously, the company employed a common design that could read only one of the two magnetic stripes on a credit card. The latest iteration can pull data from both stripes.
In addition, the custom read head is mounted on a calibrated spring that exerts more force on the card, allowing for additional resistance and a better feeling swipe. The button cell battery seen in the original unit is also gone thanks to a custom-designed chip that is much more efficient, meaning the unit can be powered off an iDevice's headphone jack.
Other aesthetic changes have been made to Square Reader, like a relocation of the credit card slot to the center of the unit, flat front and rear faces and a two card insertion guide lips for multi-directional swiping.


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Microsoft has been thinking of launching its own smartphone for ages. Initially, the Redmond company was promoting its own Windows Phone operating system. But it failed. So there was left no option to choose from but Android. After all, in 2020, Microsoft released the Surface Duo with a pleasing design but outdated hardware. In fact, there were many shortcomings but the price was as high as $1,399. To somehow figure out the situation, the manufacturer cut the price significantly and even gave it an Xbox game streaming feature. The second screen of the Microsoft Surface Duo can turn the handset into a formidable portable gaming device.
However, there are signs showing that the company is going to launch the second-gen model that should come with fixes, a better design and a revised price tag. And though we will call it the Microsoft Surface Duo 2, the manufacturer likely to avoid it. According to BGR, the handset will hit the market in the second half of the year.
Microsoft Surface Duo 2 Features
Various sources claim that the Redmond-based company is currently working on the next Surface Duo phone. It is going to be a premium smartphone sporting the latest hardware. So there is every reason to think, under the hood, our protagonist will carry the Snapdragon 888 processor that powers the Galaxy S21, OnePlus 9, and many flagships on the market.
Moreover, the same sources say the Surface Duo 2 will have the same form factor as the first-gen handset. However, it’s quite real to see some minor changes. But we have guess that it will have slightly bigger displays, more rounded corners and thinner bezels.
Though the foldable smartphones are gaining momentum, the Microsoft Surface Duo 2 will still feature two separate displays.
Gizchina News of the week
Moreover, this phone will come with an NFC chip to support contact-less payments. The camera system should be improved as well. But we still have no idea how many lenses it will use.
We are waiting for the Microsoft Surface Duo 2 to appear on the market in September. Interestingly, Google’s first foldable smartphone dubbed the Pixel Fold is expected to hit the market at the same time. But before that, Samsung will unleash the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Flip 3 foldable handsets in August.
At last, in terms of pricing, the Surface Duo should cost more than its predecessor because now there will be better hardware. But the current foldable phones are high-demanded products. So if the Duo is priced much higher, it can’t make competition to them.


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WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) -- It's a back to school holiday that gives many parents a lot of spending power.
Virginia's sales tax holiday starts today, August 2 and ends Sunday, August 4, 2013.
School supplies that cost $20 or less and shoes and clothing less than $100 are eligible for the exemption.
Computer supplies items are not included.
Maryland's tax free shopping starts August 11 and runs through August 17, 2013.
Unfortunately, there is no sales tax holiday in the District of Columbia.
D.C. repealed the sales tax exemption holiday back in 2009.


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After changing their Carrier Direct policy and ending home deliveries, it looks like Tesla is moving quickly to open a new location in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
A few weeks ago we told you the new Tesla store in Saskatoon would be coming “very soon” after the first job postings appeared in mid-October. At the same time we also learned that Tesla will be taking over the former Maserati dealership at 703 Melville Street.
Since then, Tesla has already started construction at the site, and begun notifying customers that they will be able to take delivery of their new cars in December.
According to soon-to-be owner Mike, he has been notified by his Tesla Advisor that his upcoming delivery, tentatively scheduled to happen between December 19 and 31, 2020, will happen at the new location on Melville Street.
Not only will deliveries begin soon, construction work has already begun on site. While these appear that they could be for new Superchargers, it is more likely this work is for Destination Chargers to be installed.
A few updates from Monday night. pic.twitter.com/H13yDFBPIG
— SaskEV (@saskevca) November 25, 2020
It appears as though it still may be some time before locations in Winnipeg and Halifax open. A Drive Tesla reader from Winnipeg reached out to us this week to let us know he had to cancel his delivery this week as Tesla no longer delivers to the city, and due to COVID-19 did not want to travel out of province.
Has anyone else been told to expect delivery in Saskatoon next month? Let us know in the comments below.


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It’s coming next week, June 12 through June 14, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, commonly referred to as E3. This is the premier trade event for the video game industry. With gaming sales poised to grow an incredible 50% year over year in 2018, and to grow annually a stunning 27% between 2017 and 2020, there could be some big upside for the top companies in the industry.
A new Jefferies research report previews the E3 event, and analysts from the firm also will be in Los Angeles for all the action next week. The report noted this:
We remain broadly positive on the video game sector heading into E3; stocks historically have acted strongly for 2 months after this event. This year we don’t expect surprise announcements that would serve as major catalysts for these stocks. Rather we view E3 as the beginning of a multi-month period leading up to the important holidays, a period of time where these stocks have historically been strong.
Jefferies has the stock of three companies that will be there rated Buy, and while not suitable for everybody, they may be great additions to aggressive growth accounts.
This is a top pick across Wall Street and Jefferies remains very positive on it. Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) develops and publishes online, personal computer (PC), video game console, handheld, mobile and tablet games worldwide. The company develops and publishes interactive entertainment software products through retail channels or digital downloads and downloadable content to a range of gamers.
The Jefferies analysts don’t expect any big announcements from Activision, which does not host a press event but will have a large presence on the E3 show floor with playable game demos. They do expect to hands-on time with key Activision Publishing games, most notably “Call of Duty Black Ops 4” (and its new Blackout mode) but also “Destiny 2.” The report noted this:
With its new Blackout mode, we think Black Ops 4 looks like the most exciting Call of Duty in years and we are optimistic ATVI will have a strong E3. In our group meeting we expect investors will focus on 1) upcoming mobile game launches, 2) the nascent advertising business, and 3) eSports.
Shareholders are paid just a 0.51% dividend. The Jefferies price target for the shares is $86, and the Wall Street consensus target is posted at $75.88. The stock traded on Friday at $74.00.
This leading video game developer should benefit from not only the continuing rise in new console sales but the rising trend of mobile gaming. Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) produces top-selling games and related content and services under the EA brand in various categories, including action-adventure, role-playing, racing and first-person shooter games.
Electronic Arts is realizing a greater percentage of revenues from digital platforms, which may enhance margins and lead to more sustainable revenue growth. Key franchises for the company include Madden, FIFA, Need for Speed, Battlefield, Star Wars Battlefront, Mass Effect, Dragon’s Age and The Sims.
The company reported outstanding results, and the analysts noted this:
Electronic Arts is now the third straight US video game publisher to post strong results despite Fortnite strength, suggesting Fortnite is more about expanding the market than cannibalizing it. The company’s guidance seems conservative and the fiscal 2019 setup seems very strong with the release slate anchored by FIFA and Battlefield, which are the company’s two biggest franchises. Over time, we believe games will become ubiquitous across all platforms and devices and cloud based services will increase the addressable market by four times.
The company will have a big E3 presence as well, and the analysts also noted this:
With the World Cup as a backdrop FIFA should be a standout. While we expect Battlefield V will be a big hit (and we note very easy year-over-year comps vs Star Wars), there is a risk gamers could push back against this game. Gamers’ can have long memories and EA did take a reputational hit last year with Star Wars Battlefield 2. With Anthem we are definitely more skeptical given 1) it is notoriously difficult to launch new-IP, 2) Anthem looks technically ambitious and potentially rushed, and 3) its spring launch window may be contested by other major releases such as UBI’s Tom Clancy’s The Division 2.
Jefferies has a price target of $155, and the consensus target was last seen at $143.24. The shares traded Friday at $136.95 apiece.
Take-Two Interactive Software
This is a top video game producer that has cashed in with some super-hot titles. Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) is a publisher and distributor of interactive software for gaming platforms from Sony and Microsoft and for the PC. The company is headquartered in New York, with development studios located around the world. Key franchises include Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead, Civilization, Borderlands, and Bioshock, as well as several licensed sports products such as NBA and WWE.
The analysts had this to say on the company and its exposure at E3:
We expect minimal impact to the company’s stock given the lack of announcements. We still view Red Dead Redemption 2 as the most important game from any publisher in 2018 and we absolutely want to own this stock heading into that launch.
Think about this…we believe the launch of Grand Theft Auto V was a transformative event in the company’s history. Since launching in 2013, GTA V sold over 95 million units making it perhaps the all-time highest grossing and most profitable entertainment product for any form of media. Five years after launch the GTA franchise accounted for nearly 40% of the company’s fiscal 2018 revenue, proving these major franchises can deliver long, high-margin revenue tails.
The $145 Jefferies price target compares with the consensus price objective of $130.45. Shares were trading at $114.50.
The big three of gaming, and they will be out in full-force at the gigantic E3 event in Los Angeles. While it’s hard for some investors to wrap their arms around the significance of gaming, the short answer is it is massive, and it is expected to continue to exhibit huge growth for years to come.


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Call to halve meat and dairy consumption
Global meat and dairy production and consumption must be cut in half by 2050 to avoid dangerous climate change and keep the Paris Agreement on track, is the message of a new Greenpeace report “Less is more”. According to their calculations agriculture, in a business as usual scenario, is projected to produce 52% of global greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades, 70% of which will come from meat and dairy.
In response to the rising impacts of animal agriculture on the environment, and the climate, Greenpeace is launching a new global campaign calling for a major shift in the way we eat and the way we farm. Greenpeace calls for a 50% reduction of meat and dairy and a significant increase of plant-based in both production and consumption by 2050.


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Joon Hwang, NamcoBandai Brand Manager for Tekken 6, discusses upcoming release and updates to Tekken franchise.
LOL Tekken 6? sounds more like Try again 6
N4G is a community of gamers posting and discussing the latest game news. It’s part of NewsBoiler, a network of social news sites covering today’s pop culture.


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Momentum Includes Selection by Volkswagen of America, Growth of CarStory, Expanded Office Space, Executive Additions
Austin, TX, March 24, 2015 – Vast, the premier provider of big data solutions for life’s biggest purchases, today detailed recent company success. In less than 6 months, the newly launched CarStory Market Report product, was selected for a national rollout by Volkswagen of America and is now available from over 3,000 dealers across 48 states. To support the market demand for this and other products, the company has grown to 160 employees worldwide with plans to double its US staff in 2015. Vast also recently moved its US headquarters to a larger downtown space and brought on Chad Bockius as CMO and Pat Kelly as CFO.
CarStory, powered by seven million unique vehicle listings and 100 million monthly consumer searches, creates market-based analytics to help consumers quickly discover and decide on the right used car. This crowdsourced data, generated from over 350 vehicle marketplaces that Vast powers, sets CarStory apart in the size, quality and completeness of information needed to power these insights. CarStory Market Reports give consumers the whole story of each vehicle and allow them to discover the right vehicle and build confidence in the purchase helping move online shoppers to on-the-lot buyers.
In January, Vast was proud to announce CarStory’s partnership with Volkswagen of America whereby CarStory Market Reports were selected to showcase VW’s WorldAuto Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) program. With CPO sales hitting an all-time high, representing over 20% of the used vehicles sold at franchise dealers, CPO programs are more important than ever. Volkswagen dealers nationwide will use CarStory to introduce CPO vehicles to customers earlier in the buying process and help build consumer engagement through the presentation and analytics of each vehicle’s unique story.
“Big data solutions are only as good as the data you start with. Vast provides the most complete, highest quality and largest data sets for the biggest purchases consumers will make in their lives – their home and their car,” said Vast CEO, John Price. “The growth we are seeing is a testament to our partners, our employees and the innovation we are delivering in the big data arena. The combination of big data insights delivered through elegant consumer experiences will change the way we make large purchases forever and I couldn’t be more proud to be leading the team that is making this a reality.”
Over the last 8 years Vast has proven its ability to deliver automotive, real estate and travel solutions for the Global 1000. The success of products like CarStory, signals the next logical step in making the vision of big data for big purchases a reality. To support this vision Vast is also pleased to announce the addition of Angie Sherrell who joins as the SVP of Strategic Market Development, following a 20 year career with Gulf States Toyota and Gulf States Marketing. In addition, Mike Malinowski joins as VP of Real Estate Business Strategy, coming from Keller Williams Realty International where he was the head of Product Management.
Vast also added Chad Bockius as Chief Marketing Officer, who will be providing product strategy and execution across the business. Bockius joins Vast from CopperEgg, and prior to that, he was with Socialware and Bazaarvoice. Pat Kelly also joined Vast as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Vast, Pat was Interim CFO for Panera Bread.
Vast is the premier provider of big data solutions for life’s biggest purchases. Vast’s industry-leading big data platform and applications are currently in use at many of the largest automotive, real estate and travel businesses in the world. Vast serves Global 1,000 companies, including AOL and Southwest Airlines, and powers more than 300 automotive marketplaces. Learn more at Vast.com.


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MTV & DOT LAUNCHES 'AWESOME PHILIPPINES'
[PHOTO AT LEFT - From left: Chris Pattinson, MTV Asia director; MTV VJ Maggie Wilson; Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano; DOT Undersecretary Eduardo Jarque Jr.; and Eduardo Mapa Jr., managing director of Media Contacts, during the launch of the Awesome Philippines campaign to some members of the blogging community. MANILA, Philippines]
MANILA, MAY 14, 2009 (STAR) MTV Asia and the Department of Tourism (DOT) have launched “Awesome Philippines,” a first-of-its-kind national tourism campaign for the country.
Executed as part of MTV Revelations, the campaign uses a series of video vignettes and new media to promote the Philippines to youth travelers in 11 overseas markets — United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Korea, Canada, Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore.
MTV VJs from overseas are featured in the video vignettes showcasing a number of the best destinations and attractions that the Philippines can offer to youth travelers.
One of those VJs is VJ Taya, who shares her latest vacation in various video vignettes with her fans over the Internet. To film these vignettes, Taya traveled to various parts of the Philippines, including Manila, Batangas, Bicol, Bohol, Boracay, Cebu and Palawan.
“It was my first time in the Philippines and it was simply awesome. I’ve heard so much about the Philippines from my friends and was just raring to go on this trip. It definitely turned out well beyond my expectations. With hundreds of sights to see, things to do and cultures to experience, a trip to one of their many beautiful islands will guarantee unforgettable memories for you to take home. I am already planning my next trip there. I love the Philippines!” says Taya.
Showing Taya around the Philippines in the vignettes was Christine Gambito, better known by her screen name HappySlip, an advocate of Philippine tourism.
“Many people are unaware of the many amazing experiences that the Philippines has to offer. I’m honored that I got the opportunity to represent my home. I hope through this, people will be excited to come and explore the ultimate Philippine experience,” says Gambito.
The DOT chose MTV Asia as partner for its Awesome Philippines campaign because of the resonance that the MTV brand has among the youth market worldwide.
In the vignettes, the youth connection is distinctive as it employs a style that is synonymously MTV — fast-paced, vivid and visually engaging.
On its official website, www.awesomephilippines.com, an online contest, Video Remixes, allows you to create your own dream holiday in the Philippines in a creative video story that could possibly come true.
On the site, find different clips of specific destinations. Just pick and edit cuts of the different travel clips and photos based on your own storyline, then choose the soundtrack for your video from the songs available.
Register online to enter the contest which is ongoing until May 24. Videos with the highest ratings from other users stand a chance to win a dream holiday with a friend.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2009
by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE


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Some swear by anti-bias training — others not so much. What can leaders do about it?
Starbucks director calls out cringeworthy sales email
Meredith Whittaker helped spark a broader uprising among tech workers
The protest triggered a broader backlash against the company
On May 1, workers told personal stories and discussed the possibility of forming a union


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Apple to release a massive MacBook Air in 2023
The 15-inch MacBook Air is a bigger version of the 13.6-inch MacBook Air that was revealed earlier this week
Apple has launched a new 13.6-inch iPad Pro at the same event as the MacBook Air, which was unveiled at WWDC earlier this week. Apple is already working on a 15-inch iPad Pro, reported by Bloomberg.
It wants to introduce the MacBook Air as early as next spring, making it the first laptop in the Air series of that size, as reported by GSM Arena.
The 15-inch MacBook Air is a bigger version of the 13.6-inch MacBook Air that was revealed earlier this week, thus it won't have the wedge-shaped chassis that prior models had.
According to GSM Arena, Apple is also working on a 12-inch iPad "A laptop is expected to be released by the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024. If that happens, it will be Apple's smallest laptop since the company discontinued the 12-inch MacBook Pro in 2019 "MacBook is a laptop computer. It's unclear whether this will be part of the MacBook Air or the MacBook Pro lineup.
Apple is also planning to offer M2 Pro and M2 Max-powered high-end MacBook Pro computers by the end of 2022, but this could be pushed out to early 2023. J414 and J416 are the codenames for the 14" and 16" sizes, respectively.
TSMC will begin mass production of the M2 Pro chip later this year. It will be manufactured using a 3nm technology and will have four efficiency cores and eight performance cores. On the other hand, the M2 Max is supposed to include 12 primary processing cores and up to 38 graphics cores.
Apple has also begun work on the M3 processor, which is likely to power the iMac and other Apple products in the future.


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Less than a year ago, Bloomberg revealed a new component in Google’s significantly large search algorithm. This new component, however, has something special about it that has not yet been seen in the rest of Google’s search engine system. It’s an AI.
You’ll find a wealth of affordable SEO solutions for your website at SEOTuners.com.
Check out our cost-effective SEO packages that can save you money while establishing your presence on the web.
Yes, Google has begun incorporating artificial intelligence into its job of categorizing and ranking websites. While it’s interesting, the real question here is this: why does that matter, and why does it matter now?
What is RankBrain?
Before we tackle how RankBrain affects your company’s SEO and what you need to be aware of for future reference, it’s important to understand what it is and why it may be significant not just for the here and now, but for the future of search engines, search engine optimization, and marketing in general.
RankBrain isn’t true AI. Rather, it’s based on what is called machine learning. Instead of being self-aware, RankBrain is written to learn from mistakes and get better at its ability to rank search results based on Google’s other existing algorithms and parameters.
Although it had been in testing for quite some time, it’s only recently become a significant factor in search. Google first introduced it into their engine about a year ago, and have since then been increasing its influence. As per the Drum, it handled 15 percent of search queries last year. What’s more significant now, however, is that recently RankBrain has been involved in all of Google’s search queries, becoming the third-most important factor alongside inbound links and the quality of a website’s content.
What Does RankBrain Do?
No one knows exactly, but as per Search Engine Land, there’s speculation that it exists to handle new and long tail searches. These long tail searches are searches that are exceedingly long, incorporating a number of different keywords and often requiring specific context to be understood.
As Google has mentioned in the past, a significant amount of searches in a year – hundreds of millions – are entirely unique and never searched before. This presents a challenge to the search engine to come up with the best websites in a search result – and as a machine learning AI, RankBrain may be used to provide better results for such queries.
It can be that when people input queries that are similar to other more popular queries in every way, RankBrain automatically switches them out. What that means is that businesses can potentially focus their efforts on tackling the most popular search queries out there instead of trying to spread their keyword influence over various similar keywords in order to capture a wider demographic.
What This Means for Your Business
As always, SEO is changing. What does this mean for you? Well, in one way, you’ll want to focus more on long tail keywords and local SEO. Ranking for popular terms has just become a lot harder. The competition is extremely stiff, and paid search results dominate a large portion of the first page, especially in competitive industries like Forex. Now more than ever, reputation matters, as companies like SeoTuners can tell you. To get ahead, you’ll want the services of a professional and affordable SEO company.


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Infiniti super sedan to take on M5? “I’d love to see that,” says local PR head
Cars such as the BMW M5 and Mercedes-AMG E63 have long held positions at the top of the super-sedan table. But what if Infiniti laid down the law to these European powerhouses?
Speaking to CarAdvice at the local launch of the new twin-turbo V6-powered 2016 Infiniti Q50 3.0tt (pictured below), Infiniti Cars Australia corporate communications general manager Peter Fadeyev said he’d love to see the premium Japanese brand compete in that very space.
“I’d personally love to see that,” Fadeyev said. “It would be very exciting.”
Discussing the potential of an extreme, high-performance variant of the four-door Q50 – perhaps one teaming the twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre V6 poweplant from a Nissan GT-R with the new Q50 3.0tt’s rear-wheel-drive layout – Fadeyev couldn’t help but smile.
“Infiniti as a premium brand has always had a performance edge or a performance emphasis in the cars that it’s developed and sold. And with that, the idea of a more performance-oriented car beyond this one sits comfortably with me, and I know with many enthusiasts who’ve contacted us.”
Keeping all cards expectedly close to his chest, Fadeyev told CarAdvice, “I’d love to, personally, see that, and the company always has a variety of options it’s looking at for future product planning.
“All I can say is watch this space.”
Although the 418kW/600Nm, all-wheel-drive, GT-R-powered Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge concept (pictured above) unveiled at the 2014 Detroit auto show was killed off for production in late 2015, there was talk of other potential alternative approaches from the brand, such as high-output diesel engines or lightweight specials.
It’s also worth noting the range of Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-AMG engines that could be shared with the premium Japanese marque via Infiniti’s alliance with Daimler – engines such as the twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8, which generates 375kW of power and 650Nm of torque in the AMG GT S and 375kW and 700Nm in the new Mercedes-AMG C63 S.
Teaming a seven-speed automatic transmission with 298kW of power and 475Nm of torque, the rear-wheel-drive 2016 Infiniti Q50 3.0tt Red Sport is priced from $79,900 (before on-road costs).
Still short of the Eau Rouge’s outputs, the twin-turbo Red Sport is currently the closest fans of the Infiniti brand can get to the likes of the $230,615 BMW M5 (423kW/680Nm), outgoing $250,540 Mercedes-AMG E63 S (430kW/800Nm), and previous-generation $222,075 Jaguar XFR-S (404kW/680Nm).
What do you think? Should Infiniti take the fight to the world’s best super sedans? Let us know in the comments section below.


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First 3D Printed Home For Sale in New York (With Photos)
Whatever your financial plan, Sunmark has home loan options that can help you reach your goals.
A New York state house billed as “the first 3D printed home in the United States” is listed for sale with an asking price of $299,999. The Riverhead, NY home was built by a company called SQ4D using an “autonomous robotic construction system” that involved a massive 3D printer creating each piece of the home at the building site.
According to the company, the home, built with concrete, “will deliver strength and durability that conventional wood-frame construction cannot match.” The 1,400-square-foot house features three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a detached two-car garage.
The process of building the home was chronicled by YouTuber Jarett Gross in a series of videos.
SQ4D said the company's ultimate goal is to produce homes in the same fashion to bring down the cost of home ownership.


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Buying the bird app was apparently the easy part. Twitter’s transition to being under Elon Musk’s ownership is already off to a rough start it seems. And it’s only been less than a day since the deal for the Tesla CEO to buy the company for $44 billion was reached.
On Monday, Bloomberg reported that Twitter has essentially banned changes to its product through Friday, with the only exception being “business-critical” changes approved by a vice president. The short-term limit on product changes isn’t so much surprising as the reason given for it: Apparently, the ban was set to prevent “employees who may be miffed about the deal from ‘going rogue.'”
Which gives the impression that the transition could be shaky. It’s one thing to have a few employees be unhappy with the news of the sale. But it’s quite another to have to be concerned about unauthorized edits being made to your product because of that unhappiness.
Also, it’s not as if those employees are alone in their concerns. Many users of the app share them. Not long after the sale was announced on Monday, the response from Twitter users was immediate and polarizing. There was a deluge of tweets praising and also lamenting the sale. And many of the tweets from the latter category included declarations to leave Twitter for other apps.
Only time will tell how Musk’s endeavor to take Twitter private will ultimately turn out, but so far, the first day after the sale doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
- Why is Twitter called X now? Here’s everything you need to know
- Twitter API broke links, images on the website this morning
- Twitter bans, then unbans account tracking Elon Musk’s jet
- What is Twitter Blue and is it worth it?
- What is Mastodon? Here’s why everyone’s talking about this Twitter alternative


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PalFleet names new general manager
| July 30, 2012 |
PalFleet Truck Equipment has appointed Bruce Helmeid as general manager of the company’s Nashville, Tennessee, location.
Helmeid joins PalFleet with more than fifteen years of industry experience.
For more information, visit palfinger.com.
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New electric car to appear at 4th Ave. Street Fair
By Jim Carr
Tucson is among the first communities to have access to the all electric Nissan LEAF.
As part of a part of the Drive Electric promotional tour, the Nissan LEAF will make an appearance at the 4th Avenue Winter Street Fair, where the public will have the opportunity to drive the it.
The LEAF will be available Friday, December 10 from 7am – 5pm, Saturday, December 11 from 7am – 5pm and Sunday, December 12 from 8am – 4pm
The exhibit will be located along Fourth Avenue between Ninth Street and University Boulevard. The Drive Electric Tour will be located on 8th Street & 4th Avenue (between 5th Avenue and Hoff Avenue).
Interested drivers can learn more about the tour, and register to drive the Nissan LEAF at www.drivenissanleaf.com.
Sales of the Nissan LEAF begin in December in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona and Tennessee. In January 2011, sales begin in Texas and Hawaii. The Nissan LEAF will be available nationwide by the end of 2011.


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Year-on-year inflation, measured by the harmonized index of consumer prices according to the European methodology, reached a single-digit value in August for the first time in sixteen months, namely 9.6 percent.
According to the national methodology, a few days ago the statistical office reported on the year-on-year inflation at the level of 8.9 percent. At the same time, he stated that it is the lowest value since February 2022.
Month-on-month harmonized inflation reached 0.1 percentage point. The month-on-month increase in the price level was mostly influenced in August by the increase in prices in the field of transport, especially in the area of fuel.
The second most significant influence on the price increase in August compared to the price level in July was the restaurant and hotel sector. On the contrary, the drop in prices and the highest negative contribution to month-on-month inflation was in the field of food and non-alcoholic beverages.
The path to taming inflation leads through the labor market. By cutting work


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Brexit concern for small claims
European Small Claims Procedure could disappear when the UK leaves the EU…
UK consumers are being warned that there is a danger that the European Small Claims Procedure may disappear when the UK leaves the EU. They are being urged to use it fully while they can.
Andy Allen, UK European Consumer Centre (UK ECC) service director, said: “There is currently such a wide range of cases that consumers can use the European Small Claims Procedure in; anything from flight delays to general consumer purchases to goods not being delivered, car hire, accommodation purchases – the list is endless, basically any kind of consumer purchase.
“It is a relatively unknown procedure but is a useful way for consumers to enforce their rights in resolving cross-border disputes. It can be used as a last resort if nothing else has worked. We encourage UK consumers to use the European Small Claims Procedure; if all attempts to resolve their complaint have failed, this procedure could be their next stage.”
The European Small Claims Procedure’s claims limit has recently been increased from €2,000 to €5,000, meaning that more consumers can now benefit from the procedure if their disputes remain unresolved.
Andy said: “With this increase in the claim amount, more consumers have the potential to benefit from the procedure. So far, an estimated 3,100 English and Welsh consumers have lodged claims using the European Small Claims Procedure. We are keen for more consumers to take advantage of what is essentially designed to avoid otherwise difficult, costly and time-consuming legal procedures.”
And Elisabetta Sciallis, the UK ECC’s legal executive, added that building on the systems already in place or preserving them until newer infrastructures are in place should be at the forefront of any short or long-term considerations in Brexit negotiations on consumer rights.
She said: “The Government needs to ensure the preservation of a common set of rules, schemes and organisations. These are necessary to govern interactions between legal systems which play significant roles in making consumer rights stable and harmonised throughout Europe.
“We believe that Brexit negotiations must consider mechanisms to establish mutual recognition of decisions and procedural matters; it is important to safeguard consumer rights between the UK and the EU by guaranteeing the current judicial cooperation framework or negotiating a similar legal framework.
“Without this, there is considerable concern that the mechanisms which allow the consumer to pursue EU companies through the UK courts will no longer function once the UK leaves the EU.”
The UK ECC has just produced a new guide to the ESCP (showing the new €5,000 limit), with information on how to start a claim by providing links to the relevant forms and websites. It is available in the publications section of the UK ECC website.


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Last night we had a chance to get a sneak peak at the Android 2.1 OS-powered LG Ally. We came away with a positive impression of the Ally, with the understanding that the handset is a mid-ranger that isn’t positioned to compete against high-end Android phones like the HTC Incredible or the Nexus One. Well, today, LG is getting all official on their first US Android smartphone. The LG Ally will be launching on Verizon Wireless later this month as a mid-range Android phone for the QWERTY-loving masses. The Ally sports a capable feature-set that fits the bill for its middle-of-the-pack status in Verizon’s Android lineup. And, with a the Iron Man franchise backing the Ally, it’s sure to pique a good amount of interest.
As far as specs, the LG Ally is no slouch. It sports a 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen, a 3.2-megapixel camera (with LED flash), 3G data on Verizon’s EVDO Rev. A 3G data network, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, hot-swappable microSD card slot, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, digital compass, accelerometer (motion sensor), ambient light sensor (to dim or brighten display based on lighting conditions) and 4GB of onboard storage to compliment the microSD card. The Ally also runs Android 2.1 OS, so it’s packed with all the whiz-bang features that we’ve come to know and love in the latest build of Google’s mobile operating system – voice-to-text, Google Maps Navigation, 3D app launcher (waterfall app launcher), support for enterprise email, and live wallpapers.
LG has teamed up with Marvel to promote the Ally with bonus Iron Man 2 goodies. When you buy the Ally in a Verizon store, you’ll get a free limited edition Iron Man 2 comic that can be used to activate a special Iron Man 2 augmented reality game. There’s also an Iron Man 2 micro-site that should
The Ally might not be the most stunning smartphone as far as industrial design and material quality are concerned, but for a mid-range handset, it’s not half bad. Keep in mind that the cheaper price point of the Ally essentially requires that some corners are cut. Check out our hands-on coverage of the LG Ally to get an idea for what the new LG handset feels like in the hand and our initial impressions of LG’s latest Android phone.
We’re told to watch for the Ally on Verizon Wireless starting May 20th, with online pre-orders kicking off on May 13th. Pricing will hit the $99.99 mark when purchased with a new 2-year contract and a $29.99 monthly unlimited data plan. Expect the Ally to go head to head with Android offerings like the Motorola Devour, Motorola Backflip and the T-Mobile HTC MyTouch 3G Slide.