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The takeaway from an annual shipper survey about less-than-truckload carriers is Old Dominion Freight Line leads the industry in quality.
Kevin Huntsman of research company Mastio recently discussed its 12th annual survey on customer value and loyalty in a conference call hosted by transportation analyst David Ross of Stifel. More than 2,000 shippers responded to the survey, ranking publicly-traded and private LTL carriers.
In the survey, shippers said cargo claims or the lack of damage and claims were more important than the rate of being on time. While both were essential, being on time for a pickup was more important than delivering the goods on time.
“Not all shipper responses actually mattered when Mastio analyzed what they said was important and where ratings fell out, though,” Ross wrote in an industry update. “Interesting was what actually mattered where it didn’t rank as high in stated level of importance.”
Shippers were switching carriers because of issues with communication and execution, Ross said. Issues included unfriendly customer service representatives, lengthy claims process, difficulty reaching customer service, not notified when a problem arises, on-time pickup or delivery, damaged goods, differing invoice and quote, and lack of shipment tracking.
Over the past five years, trends in the value map, which measure price and service, show “ABF’s really fallen, UPS Freight has been all over the map, while (Old Dominion) has stayed pretty darn consistent,” Ross said. “Estes and Saia have been moving the right way on service. YRC costs or perceived cost has increased as service declined, which is not good.”
ABF Freight is a the largest subsidiary of Fort Smith-based ArcBest Corp.
Of the eight publicly-traded companies in the survey, Thomasville, N.C.-based Old Dominion was first in 26 of 35 areas and first in 11 of 14 “areas of key differentiation. When it lost out on the No. 1 spot, it was usually either to FedEx Freight or XPO Freight,” Ross said. “On the flip side, Roadrunner ranked last in most categories, but No. 1 on competitive pricing. If the company can improve service, it should be able to also improving pricing.”
Old Dominion looks to raise prices, according to Ross.
“The service is that good. But we believe the company would prefer to grow faster at reasonable prices than stall growth by maxing out on price opportunity. That’s the right approach at current margin levels.”
In another industry update, Ross listed technology, data, people, service and pricing as to why Old Dominion has been more profitable than other LTL carriers.
“Old Dominion is completely paperless,” Ross said. “The company runs all dock and PUD operations without any bills of lading or delivery receipts — similar to how FedEx or UPS have been running their package operations for years.”
Old Dominion captures more data than its competitors and makes it readable “in a way that helps improve operational efficiency and customer service,” Ross said. “Part of this is done through the company’s ‘command center’ at corporate headquarters in (North Carolina), where it can see all at once everything going on in its network and at each terminal.” The company also uses “real-time data to best plan its network routes and staffing rather than relying on historical patterns.”
Turnover is low at Old Dominion because it offers competitive pay, growth opportunities and new, quality equipment and work environments, Ross said. The company is on time more than 99% of the time and has a 0.3% cargo claims ratio, placing it “squarely at the top of the industry.” For price, “it uses technology to better refine its costing model. But more importantly, it stays disciplined in pricing off of these costs, not falling into market traps of lowering rates to where they don’t make any money just to keep a customer.”
ABF PRICING TOO LOW?
ABF might look to raise prices, with Ross noting, “They need to.” In a first-quarter earnings analysis of Fort Smith-based ArcBest, Ross explained ABF’s labor costs are too high while its price too low.
“Some may be confused as to why we call for more price, when yields rose 6.3% (year-over-year) at ABF,” Ross wrote in the analysis. “Simple — yield does not equal price.”
While pricing rose between 1% and 3% in the quarter, “yields were positively impacted by a 1.5% increase in average length of haul and by a 4% decrease in average shipment size.” This was driven by growth in residential e-commerce deliveries, which account for about 15% of ABF’s volume, “much more than we had previously thought.”
The company should raise price on its residential deliveries to improve margins, Ross explained.
“They have a big cost and eat up a lot of driver time often requiring two-man teams,” he said.
In the Mastio survey, shippers wanted an investment into customer service when carriers spend money on technology.
“But we believe operational investments are likely more important, if they prevent late pickups and damages,” Ross wrote. “What shippers really want is their freight picked up on-time, delivered on-time, damage-free, at a fair price.”
When asked why carriers have been slow to adopt density-based pricing, Huntsman explained that LTL carriers along with shippers are accustomed to the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) system for pricing.
“This has made it hard to change, but with lots of decision-makers in this area at/near retirement, we expect this to change fairly soon,” Ross said.
Mastio also completed a similar survey for truckload carriers, and the shippers are “mostly different. This supports our view that there are no synergies from having a (truckload) and LTL carrier under one roof.”
LTL YIELD RISES
The estimated revenue per hundredweight, excluding fuel surcharges, rose 1.1% in the first quarter, compared to the same period in 2016, but was down 1.3% from the fourth quarter, according to Stephens LTL Yield Index.
“Yields have held up on a year-over-year basis, while weight per shipment trends turned positive (year-over-year), up 0.6% in (the first quarter of 2017) after nine consecutive quarters of negative (year-over-year) declines.”
“We believe that contractual rate renewables continued to show strength in the (first quarter) as the LTL carriers remained price-disciplined with reported contract renewals” rising between 3% and 5%, transportation analyst Brad Delco of Stephens wrote in the update. “We expect LTL pricing to remain relatively stable throughout 2017, driven by the continued disciplined behavior from the majority of carriers combined with an improving industrial environment supported by eight consecutive months of expansionary ISM/PMI data.”
In 2017, Delco expects pricing to rise in the low-single digits.


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We have fantastic news for those brave Apple users who decided to take part in the beta testing process of the latest iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. It seems that the final version of the software is already rolling out to Beta Testers, three days before the official launch that was scheduled for September 20, 2021.
Suppose you’re part of the Apple Public Beta tester program. In that case, we recommend you check your iPad or iPhone to see if the final version of iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 is already available for download. Our own Jaime Rivera is already downloading what seems to be the final version of iPadOS in his iPad Pro.
In this article, we put down the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G, iPhone SE (2022), Google Pixel 6a, and the Moto G Stylus 5G (2022) against each other to see which is the best choice for you.
According to popular Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is testing E Ink's color Electronic Paper Display (EPD) for its future products with foldable screens. Here's why we think it will be a smart decision.
A recent change allowed App Store developers to automatically charge users when a subscription price goes up. Here’s everything you need to know and watch out for to prevent higher bills at the end of the month.
Apple will announce iOS 16 in a few weeks' time. Here's everything we know about the major iPhone update ahead of launch.
iPod was an industry-changing device at its time, and it had a massive impact on modern smartphones, and the way we listen to music. We take a last look at the now-discontinued Apple iPod and the history it leaves behind.
Netflix will reportedly introduce its ad-supported plan towards the end of 2022. But is it that bad of an idea? Let's discuss.
Sadly, if I'm to pay 2022 flagship money, I don't want a phone with anything that's dated, and especially something every flagship and their mother have been doing for at least four years.
Today's best deals come from Amazon.com, where you will find several Chromebooks, smartphones, and more devices on sale
More often than not, Android smartphones come with a number of. unwanted and bloatware apps. But, did you know you can uninstall and remove them from your Android device? Here's how.
Check out the latest savings available on the M1-powered iMac that features a beautiful 24-inch 4.5K Retina display and other great features
The Lenovo Legion Gaming Laptops have offered some of the best hardware in recent years, and in this article we look at the new device the lineup has on offer in 2022.
This guide will go over the steps you need to follow to activate one of the available Mic Mode settings on Apple Devices to begin using the feature and improve your calling experience.
A new leak has shown off the upcoming Motorola flip foldable smartphone, and we really believe that the 3rd Gen Moto Razr (2022) could challenge Samsung in the foldable department. Here's why.
Until now, it appeared that iPhone 14 would only be a minor upgrade over the iPhone 13 series. However, a new leak suggests that the iPhone 14 will come with one feature that might urge users to upgrade.

domain: news


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Amidst the long wait for the launch of the LeoVegas online casino in New Jersey, MGM made an acquisition offer. The proposal may play a major role in the future launch of the virtual casino in North America. However, it is still too soon to make any type of predictions as MGM is still at the stage of simply making an offer.
Rather than opening the US market to another European company, the acquisition may mean that the new LeoVegas online casino expected to launch in New Jersey will help MGM expand its presence in the US.
MGM Offers LeoVegas to Acquire Online Casino Business for $607 Million
The offer of the casino juggernaut was announced on Monday, announcing that it is willing to pay about $607 million for the acquisition of all of LeoVegas’ shares. According to MGM, the offer’s acceptance period will start in June and will expand through August. The plans for the settlement of the offer include hopefully a deal in September.
While the sum of more than half a billion dollars may seem way too high to some, LeoVegas is a high-value business due to its influence all over the Atlantic Ocean. The online casino company offers one of the supreme virtual gaming platforms in both the UK and Scandinavia. According to the official press release about MGM’s offer, the revenue that LeoVegas generated in the previous 12 months amounted to about $413 million.
The end results of the possible acquisition of LeoVegas by MGM are still unclear, especially when it comes to LeoVegas’ online casino launch in the US. If the deal between the two companies is signed, MGM will get the opportunity to significantly improve its technology by making use of LeoVegas’ innovations.
LeoVegas’ Online Casino Launch on US Market May Be Put on Hold
In August of last year, LeoVegas announced its plans to enter the US gambling market. The company’s endeavor was supported by Caesars in Atlantic City, with the launch of an online casino by LeoVegas also receiving approval by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
Through a partnership with Caesars, LeoVegas initially intended to launch its branded online casino in New Jersey sometime in the first half of 2022. However, these plans were made way before MGM made its offer for LeoVegas’ acquisition. While there have not been any announcements about changes in LeoVegas’ original intentions, the least that may happen as a result of a deal with MGM is for the launch of the LeoVegas casino to be postponed.
While the Swedish iGaming company is in a negotiating period, considering MGM’s offer, it may not want to enter the US market before it has made all the correct assessments. Another important thing worth mentioning is that it is still unclear how the acquisition of LeoVegas may affect the company’s partnership with Caesars.


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After the Arkham Origins season pass was announced last week, the internet exploded with fans of the game series kicking up a fuss that they'd receive three parts cosmetic DLC and only two parts gameplay related.
Producer Guillaume Voghel recently spoke up about the whole situation - he says that there's going to be a great deal of value in the season pass.
"The costume DLC is going to be available with the Season Pass and it’s basically a bonus right?" he said. "There’s going to be a lot of value in that Season Pass. One of the items we can’t talk about yet…we’ll just wait for the gamers to really see what the entire package contains. It’s going to be a big deal."
After he'd thoroughly assured the fans that the season pass wasn't just a new wardrobe, he went on to discuss where the franchise was heading.
When he was asked if the next Arkham
game would be coming from Warner Bros. or Rocksteady, he was fairly bleak. He did clarify that the Arkham
titles wouldn't merge with the movies, though.Why not check out the season pass details right here?


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The Manhattan Cocktail Classic is a five-day celebration of the global spirits industry — running from May 17-21 this year. Part trade show, part bacchanalia, MCC organizers host intimate workshops and large-scale throwdowns throughout the entire city. Nearly 100 events are spread across five days and four boroughs, with a multi-day trade conference to boot. Most tickets sell out within days (and even hours), and one of the hottest events each year is the Opening Night Gala.
The Gala took place once again this year at The New York Public Library, and featured some 200+ drinks being served to roughly 3,000 attendees. As usual, the glitzy (and debaucherous) event went crazy late. Scroll through for some of the phots from the evening below. And check out the festival website for remaining tickets. There are still some very cool events going down.
More Manhattan Cocktail Classic coverage on Food Republic:


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September 2011, the 4th edition of the Only Watch charity watch auction raised above € 4 million for research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a degenerative neuromuscular disease affecting 1 in 3,500 boys, therefore 250,000 children, adolescents, and young adults around the world.
Although the research money enables scientists to make progress in promising avenues for treatment of the disease, there is still a gigantic task ahead, says Luis Garcia, Director of Research, Scientific Coordinator of ICE, an International Collaborative Research Program for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
Recognized as the world’s first charity watch auction, 2013 Only Watch will take place on September 28th in Monaco. 38 of the world’s leading watch manufactures will each donate a unique timepiece specially created for the occasion.
From September 6th, an international exhibit of the Only Watch collection of timepieces for men and women will travel the world: Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, New York, Geneva and will be concluded by a presentation during the Monaco Yacht Show (September 25th to 28th).
For the 4th time French jewelry Van Cleef & Arpels will donate a watch inspired by the Mediterranean sea and the state of Monaco. 2013 Van Cleef & Arpels Complication Poétique distinguishes by a rotating lapis-lazuli disk with diamonds and white gold.
This year participating manufactures include an impressive list with the biggest names of the watchmaking world: ZENITH,
VAN CLEEF & ARPELS, VACHERON CONSTANTIN, ULYSSE NARDIN, ARMIN STROM, ROGER DUBUIS, RICHARD MILLE, PIAGET, PATEK PHILIPPE, MONTBLANC, MAURICE LACROIX, LOUIS VUITTON, LAURENT FERRIER, JULIEN COUDRAY 1518, JAQUET DROZ, IKEPOD, HUBLOT, HARRY WINSTON, GIRARD PERREGAUX, FRÉDÉRIQUE CONSTANT, DE BETHUNE, DEWITT, DELACOUR, CYRUS, CORUM, CHRISTOPHE CLARET,
CHRONOSWISS, CHOPARD, CHANEL, BREGUET, BLANCPAIN, BELL & ROSS, BACKES & STRAUSS.


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Softbank Group, led by Chairman Masayoshi Son, has sold its remaining stake in Chinese e-commerce giant, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., in a bid to raise funds after a series of investment failures left the company struggling with liquidity issues. The sale of its shares, valued at $7.2 billion, has further fueled speculations of a complete sell-off.
According to reports, Softbank has submitted documents to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) confirming its plans to sell off all of its Alibaba shares. Softbank’s Vision Fund, led by Son, had sold off $9.5 billion worth of Alibaba shares earlier this year, reducing its stake in the company to 3.8%.
Softbank’s decision to sell off its stake in Alibaba has been attributed to poor investment performance, compounded by the economic slowdown in China, which has led to a further decline in the share prices of key technology companies. The move comes at a time when Softbank subsidiary, ARM, a UK-based semiconductor design company, is preparing to go public.
Industry analysts suggest that Softbank is focusing on selling off its Alibaba stake to shore up its liquidity. The company’s founder, Son, had invested $20 million in Alibaba in 2000, reaping a return of 2,000 times his investment when the company went public in 2014, earning a profit of $225 billion. However, the recent delisting of Chinese ride-hailing giant, Didi Chuxing, following a data security scandal, has resulted in a sharp decline in Alibaba’s stock value.
Alibaba’s stock value plummeted by 70% as a result of regulatory pressure and poor financial performance, causing significant losses to Softbank’s investment. With the company facing mounting pressure to maintain liquidity, the sale of its remaining stake in Alibaba has been seen as a necessary move to ensure its survival.
Softbank’s woes have come as a shock to the industry, given its reputation as a major player in the tech investment world. However, the recent series of investment failures, coupled with the global economic slowdown, has led to a significant decline in the company’s fortunes. As it struggles to stay afloat, the future of Softbank remains uncertain.


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In recent years, it has been witnessed that social business pages have been crucial for brands marketing themselves, as they allow content to reach the masses of people globally and extend brands’ awareness. Traditional advertising is dead, and the best way to connect with customers today is by utilizing the most powerful networking platforms the world has ever known. Social media marketing saves money, saves time, allows businesses to connect with consumers more directly and intimately than ever before, and provides unprecedented opportunities for targeted marketing.
Cross-platform mobile messaging company WhatsApp, which was acquired by Facebook in a $19 billion deal last month, sneaked a unique way to potentially grow its user base into the update to its Android application.
Digital marketing agency and Facebook application developer im.mk, a Facebook Preferred Marketing Developer, added a widget to its Embed Social platform that allows users to embed photo albums from Facebook elsewhere on the Web.
Late last month, Facebook added application folders to its Home Android overlay in the beta version of Facebook for Android 3.4. The feature went live Monday as part of an update of the social network’s Android app.
More and more Facebook users are accessing the social network exclusively via mobile devices, and they are spending more time on the site, but for those who choose to log on via their PCs or Macs, and who don’t wish to access Facebook via their Web browsers, new widgets from MyCurrent may help.
Through the Pages Manager application and other tools, Facebook page managers have myriad ways to track the performance of their posts and ads. Social media expert Jon Loomer found another one Tuesday: A widget on the top of the news feed, showing how many advertisements and campaigns are active, and how many new page likes have come through in the past day or week.
Social entertainment provider Milyoni and Universal Music Enterprises teamed up on “Legends in the Cloud,” which will bring documentaries, films, and concerts to Facebook users on a pay-per-view basis, kicking off with George Harrison: Living in the Material World Dec. 8.


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There's big news this week as Google announces plans to buy Motorola Mobility, Apple gets Samsung's new tablet banned and HTC invests in audio technology.
UK customers with 'pay as you go' mobile phones spend an average of 13 days a year browsing retail sites on their mobile devices. The figure comes from a new survey commissioned by mobile marketing provider Velti.
It means that prepay mobile users are spending over a third longer browsing mobile retail sites than their 'pay monthly' counterparts.
Machine-to-machine communications specialist Wireless Logic has been sold by Peter Jones CBE.
The deal, worth £35 million, involves private equity firm ECI Partners and the Wireless Logic management team.
Research In Motion has announced a free online service called BlackBerry Management Center.
It's designed for businesses with up to 100 BlackBerry smartphones. The business owner can automatically back-up information, remotely lock the handset, search for lost devices and remotely wipe content.


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Use This Uber Discount on Thanksgiving Eve to Get Home Safe
Thanksgiving Eve is a big drinking holiday all across America, but upstate New York (and especially in cities like Rochester and Syracuse) takes it to a whole new level. If you're planning on going out the night before Turkey Day, make sure you have a safe and sober way home.
New York Upstate reports that Uber is helping New Yorkers avoid drunk driving by offering this discount that's valid from Wednesday at 9 p.m. to Thursday at 3 a.m. Enter promo code SAFERIDENY19 FOR $10 off your ride.
No matter how you get home on Thanksgiving Eve, whether it's Uber, Lyft, or a designated driver, never get behind the wheel while you're drunk or buzzed. That way, you'll have a much happier holiday on Thursday.


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At the Geneva motor show yesterday, Mr. Ratan Tata, the chairman of the Tata Group shared his thoughts on the past and the future of the Nano. Launched back in 2009, the car carried high hopes for everyone including Mr. Ratan Tata himself as it was a dream come true for the middle class.
However the easily affordable Nano didn't benefit Tata Motors with anything other than bringing worldwide publicity. Mr. Tata described it as an “opportunity wasted”.
But all of that did not discourage the company. The company now rides on bigger ambitions for the Nano. Introducing new variants in the car including a diesel and electric model is in the plan. The company is also planning to upgrade the engine to a more powerful unit than the current 624cc one. Tata Motors showed the CNG-fired Nano as a concept at the Delhi Auto Expo two months back.
The company manages to sell about 9,000 units of the Nano every month, which is much below the Sanand plant's production capacity. So, the company will be working on uplifting its image from being a poor man’s car to an affordable small car. The introduction of new vibrant colors like Rouge Red, Champagne Gold, Papaya Orange, Aqua Blue and Mojito Green is a step in the right direction to lure the young generation into buying this car.
[Source - EconomicTimes.IndiaTimes.com]


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An Israeli startup hopes to bring features like face detection, voice tone detection, coupons based on your interests and location to your smart glasses.
Yes, there was yet another shocker at the end of this season. After a heartbreaking finale, what's left to look forward to? Crave's Eric Mack has some suggestions.
The e-commerce company announces free, same-day shipping on over 1 million items in 14 metro areas across the US.
The e-commerce company posts a $214 million profit for the holiday season. CEO Jeff Bezos says Prime membership got a boost of more than 50 percent in the quarter.
Samsung's stock woes continued over the weekend, as UK networks can't find enough Galaxy S4s for those who ordered ahead of time.
That's a plus, given the retail giant's profit margins are higher when products are sold through third parties, say analysts cited in The Wall Street Journal.
You still have a couple of days left to buy a gift for family members or friends via Amazon and receive free shipping.
Just as holiday orders peak for the e-commerce giant, more than 2,000 distribution center workers strike in Germany.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos wants to ship goods using unmanned aircraft. Some are skeptical, others nervous, but drones already are improving the way we live.
As Amazon gears up for Cyber Monday and the busy holiday shopping season, it's getting help from thousands of robots that search through millions of items to ensure the right item gets shipped to the right customer. CNET.com's Kara Tsuboi takes us inside an Amazon fulfillment center in Tracy, Calif., to watch the robots in action.


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Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI) re-launched almost a decade old CB Unicorn 150 at the Auto Expo 2016 and the motorcycle overtook its successor within months.
The CB Unicorn 160 that registered healthy sales shortly after launch saw a decline in the figures. The motorcycle sold only 52 units in January 2016 reports Bikewale. On the other hand, the CB Unicorn 150 found 7,685 takers in the re-launched month of February and the number increased to 10,405 in March 2016. According to the publication, CB Unicorn 160 could be discontinued soon due to poor demand.
Honda CB Unicorn 150 was one of the first models of the Japanese company that helped it establish its name in the Indian market. After a decade of sales that include three facelifts, the company decided to pull the plug on Unicorn 150 in late 2014 to make way for the Unicorn 160.
The CB Unicorn 150 has been priced at Rs. 67,028 ex-showroom Delhi and comes with the same design and specifications. Available in Red and Black, the motorcycle is powered by a single-cylinder air cooled 149.1ccc engine that develops 13.14bhp at 8500rpm and 12.84Nm of torque at 5500rpm mated to five speed manual transmission. Honda claims that the Unicorn 150 can reach a top speed of 101kmph.
On the other hand, the CB Unicorn 160 has been priced at Rs 72,412 ex-showroom, Delhi. The motorcycle is powered by 162cc aircooled engine that develops 14.5bhp and 14.61Nm of torque mated to five-speed transmission.


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The United States is looking to ink concrete business deals with Indonesia as part of its efforts to reduce trade deficit with Asian countries.
“We’re not looking for a flashy agreement that does not amount to anything. We’re looking for concrete business deals,” US Ambassador to Indonesia Joseph Donovan Jr. told the media on Tuesday.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for US businesses … to show their commitment to engaging with [the Indonesian private sector] and also to explore with their counterparts here deals that they can make in the future,” he added.
A high-level US business delegation led by US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is set in Indonesia this week that will bring around up to 20 business executives.
Ross’ visit to Indonesia followed the recently-concluded Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) summit in Thailand.
Indonesia has consistently recorded a trade surplus with the US. Last year, Indonesia’s surplus totaled to $8.26 billion, slightly lower than the $9.67 billion it recorded in full year 2017.
Indonesia has also been enjoying the US’ Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) system, which allowed for lower duties of up to zero percent on about $2 billion Indonesian goods.
For Indonesia to keep its GSP status, the country has had to make concessions including tightening supervision of property right laws for American products.
Apart from the US, Indonesia is also seeking to expedite trade talks with the European Union (EU) and 15 other countries it has trade deals with.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said earlier that he had set a target for the vice minister to complete negotiations with the EU and up to 15 countries with whom Indonesia has trade deals with.
Indonesia has since 2016 been looking at sealing a free trade and investment agreement with the European Union. However, relations became dented by the European Commission’s decision to phase out palm oil from transport fuel by 2030 and the imposition of anti-subsidy duties on Indonesia’s biodiesel exports.
Last year, the US said it was reviewing the GSP eligibility of Indonesia, India and Kazakhstan, based on concerns over compliance with services and investment criteria. The GSP facility for India was revoked in June.
Getting the GSP eligibility extended “could have a massive impact which could double the size of our trade with the US,” according to vice foreign minister Mahendra Siregar, who was assigned to conduct economic diplomacy for Indonesia.
PHOTO COURTESY: FLICKR


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As vaccines roll out more broadly, and countries begin to get the coronavirus under control, attention will turn to the recovery and a return to normal operations. The supply chain will play an integral role in this effort, and will itself emerge in a different shape, with COVID-19 leaving a lasting legacy on many areas of transportation and warehousing.
Following are the 12 most significant trends expected to shape the industry in 2021, and how those trends will influence companies’ strategic plans in the coming year.
Three trends accelerated by COVID-19. The global pandemic applied pressure to the supply chain in ways not previously seen, forcing many companies to look toward third-party experts, advanced digital capabilities, and accelerated e-commerce operations.
Three trends expected to resurge after COVID-19. With so many lives on hold during this difficult time, COVID-19 has slowed the progress of some existing trends that are expected reemerge in 2021.
Three long-term trends coming out of COVID-19. Given the magnitude of the pandemic, it’s reasonable to expect many lasting effects on the supply chain, most notably a greater emphasis on redundancy, proximity and resilience.
Three short-term trends defining supply chains in 2021. These final three short-term trends shine a light on what we can expect in the immediate future as we begin 2021, and further illustrate the ripple effects that COVID-19 and vaccine distribution will have across the supply chain.
Scott Sureddin is CEO of DHL Supply Chain North America.
Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.


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To celebrate 93rd anniversary of Sleman Yogyakarta, tourism board of Sleman Yogyakarta Indonesia is holding tourism fishing competition on June 7th.
For the first winner will get Suzuki Spin motorcycle, the second winner will get Rp. 1.000.000, and the third winner will get Rp. 750.000
Besides that the committee provides also many door prizes such as motorcycles, TV, headphone, etc.
According to Wahyudi Heru Santosa, this competition aims to promote the object local people (Indonesia). Anyhow if there is foreign tourist who is in Yogyakarta during their travelling in Indonesia at that moment, it is possible to join the tourism fishing competition.
Beside that another goal is to make Indonesia people like to consume fish so that the young generation of Indonesia will be better.
The competition will be held in fishing pond of Tambakboyo Sleman Yogyakarta
For those who are interested, may contact: Sleman Tourism Board in Jalan Pringgodiningratan Sleman Yogyakarta Indonesia, Ph. 62 274 6545577
Antar Anda Indonesia Tour Travel


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Moller International Inc. for decades has toiled to bring its vertical take-off Skycar to the transportation market, but it could see a scale model Skycar fly off hobby shop shelves this winter.
Davis-based Moller International Inc. (OTCQB: MLER) is bringing research begun by Paul Moller in the 1960s in flying cars to market. The full-size flying cars use sophisticated engines and stabilization systems to make the experimental Skycar fly.
The scale model version will use standard electric motors and batteries to make the 1/7 scale model take off and fly, said Russell Decker, CEO of American Space Industries, the Menlo Park company that is making the radio-controlled kit of the Skycar.
The kit should be priced around $299 and available in October or November.
“We expect that we can use these reproductions to test out some of our control theory and add to our knowledge regarding the performance of a personal VTOL aircraft,” Moller, president and founder of Moller International, said in a news release.
Moller is developing the Skycar, which is made possible by tiny, yet powerful, Rotapower engines, which Moller also is bringing to market. The company has long struggled to find financing. Its shares traded recently at 25 cents per share. In the past 42 weeks, the shares have traded in a range between 5 cents and 75 cents.
Mark Anderson covers agriculture, banking and finance, restaurants and hospitality for the Sacramento Business Journal.


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Conglomerate Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton is renewing its training program for Chinese-Americans after seeing results in the inaugural class.
Articles Tagged ‘Apparel and accessories’
Technology manufacturer Apple has unveiled the first advertising effort for its Apple Watch in Vogue magazine’s March edition.
Precision cut-crystal maker Swarovski is helping its new boutique compete with its neighbors on the Las Vegas Strip with a daily branded spectacular.
Italian leather goods label Furla is highlighting its foundation’s artistic endeavors with a retrospective spanning the 15 years of its art award.
Italian apparel and accessories brand Tod’s is co-producing a retrospective on British artist David Bailey in Milan to show its contemporary appeal.
Italian fashion label Marni is amplifying the efforts for its 20th anniversary with a new Web site design that blends content and commerce.
Italian read-to-wear house Prada is expanding its reach with two different banner advertisements on Style.com and British Vogue’s mobile-optimized Web site.
French patisserie Ladurée and Italian fashion house Emilio Pucci have teamed to share their “appetite for color” with a limited-edition box of French macarons.
Italian fashion designers Prada and Versace are among the creatives participating in a cultural initiative literally on the streets of Milan to benefit nonprofit organization Oxfam Italia.
British apparel and accessories label Pringle of Scotland is boosting awareness for its 200th anniversary through a placement within Vodafone London Fashion Weekend.


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The conflict for dominance of the global silicon chip industry is examined in 101 East.
Semiconductors are crucial to our daily lives and are used in everything from computers to toasters, smartphones to refrigerators.
Supercomputers, artificial intelligence, and military hardware are all powered by cutting-edge chips.
But an ongoing shortage is altering geopolitical dynamics, causing inflation, and escalating tensions between the US and China.
While demand for cutting-edge chips grows, only a few countries have the specialised knowledge and ability to produce them.
Taiwan produces 90 percent of the world’s most advanced chips, making its stability critical to global economic and geopolitical security.
101 East investigates the battle to control the world’s semiconductor industry.


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The Mammoth Food and Wine Experience 2014 in Mammoth Lakes, CA was a jam-packed event for everyone at Mastro Scheidt Cellars.
In a repeat of last year, The Best-of-the-Best Burger Battle kicked off the weekend Friday afternoon. However, this year was special, as Chef and Co-Owner Jason Hoeltzel of CJ's Grill incorporated a secret ingredient in his house-made ketchup...Mastro Scheidt Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Vinegar.
This is the second year that Chef Jason and Winemaker David Scheidt have collaborated at the Mammoth Food and Wine Experience. In 2013, Jason and David paired wines with Alpers Trout, a specialty in the Eastern Sierras.
The stakes were raised this year for The Best-of-the-Best Burger Battle, as the winning Chef would qualify to compete in the World Food Championship, Best Burger Specialty, in Las Vegas later this year.
Photo Courtesy of Kendra Knight...Blue Bird Imaging
Chef Jason walked away with the First Place prize in this year's Mammoth Food and Wine Experience Burger Battle 2014 and was automatically entered in The World Food Championship. We're very pleased to have our very own Mastro Scheidt Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Vinegar play a supporting role in Chef Jason's hand-crafted ketchup.
Everyone at Mastro Scheidt Cellars wishes Jason and CJ's Grill the best of luck at the World Food Championships later this year.


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The race among Battle Royale games continues as we approach the holiday season. It is certain the PUBG has seen its glory days and ever since the hype settled down. With the holiday season is right around the corner and lucky for us Bluehole has added new skins in the Halloween spirit based on the horror theme. The set consists of 6 different skins all of them equally horrifying and highly detailed.
There’s a total of six new skins coming to PUBG. Out of them all stands out the “Clown” character which is a classic for Halloween almost giving “Pennywise” vibes which are amazingly well done. Since Fortnite’s look and feel are considered fictional and cartoonish compared to PUBG, here takes it to a much realistic approach offering deep-toned terrorizing outfits that would give you goosebumps.
The Battle Royale genre itself has also come a long way since it first surfaced. Newer titles such as Battlefield and Black Ops 4 have further pushed the limits of the genre by adding various new features and concepts. It is no longer a race between Fortnite and PUBG and we hope that these improvements and updates bring players back to the game.
With Fortnite’s Season 6 in its final phase, this update is surely going to pose a threat to Epic Games and we hope to see further updates from Blue Hole followed by bug fixes and glitches.


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Sea, the game's publisher, has enjoyed a 58% increase in revenue during the first quarter of its 2020 fiscal year.
Earlier this week, Singapore-based games publisher Sea Limited released its earnings report for Q1 2020, and the numbers show an enormous 58% rise in revenue when compared to Q1 2019. In total, Sea brought in $913.9 million in revenue, resulting in $206.8 million in total gross profit, a number that is 424% higher than the $39.5 million from the same period last year.
“Sea is the largest games publisher based in Southeast Asia as per our research, and Garena, its digital entertainment segment, continues to record strong growth,” Daniel Ahmad, senior analyst at Niko Partners, told GameDaily. "Garena has previously relied on publishing licensed titles such as League of Legends from Riot Games and Arena of Valor from Tencent to grow in the past, but the success of its self-developed title, Free Fire, has been the main driver recently.”
According to the report, Free Fire surpassed 80 million peak daily active users over the course of the quarter. The mobile battle royale game contributed a great deal to Sea’s overall digital entertainment sector, which generated $512.4 million in adjusted revenue during the quarter. This number represents a 30% increase over the same quarter last year.
“Free Fire is now one of the top mobile battle royale games globally, and the highest grossing mobile battle royale game in Latin America and Southeast Asia,” Ahmad said. “The game has performed well in developing markets due to its low spec requirements and unique skill-based gameplay. Esports has also been a way to drive further engagement among the expanding user base. The game is quickly catching up to PUBG Mobile in terms of monthly downloads and revenue.”
In an earnings call with investors, Forrest Li, CEO of Sea, touted Free Fire’s performance throughout the period.
“The game recently hit a new record for peak daily active users of over 80 million,” Li said. “In April, Free Fire achieved another record high in monthly paying users, which more than doubled year-on-year. In India our monthly paying users as a percentage of monthly active users already exceeded 10% in April.”
As is the case with the rest of the games industry, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic appears to be a primary driver of Sea’s strong growth. Li explained to investors that the company’s users are turning to Garena’s suite of games to socialize and consume entertainment amid quarantine efforts.
This has largely been the case for video games as a whole. Last month, NPD Group reported that the industry saw 35% growth from January through March, putting an end to several months of steady decline.
Ahmad notes that while this trend is likely to continue in the short term, the second half of 2020 may look rather different in terms of games industry revenue.
“COVID-19 has had a notable impact on the games industry as a whole,” Ahmad said. “Gaming has become a key form of entertainment for people under lockdown as it is safe, social, and low cost. We caution that whilst multiple game publishers, such as Garena, are reporting strong earnings in Q1 and 2, we expect growth to normalise in the second half of the year.”
Right now, though, the games industry is experiencing a boom, and heavy hitters like Sea and Free Fire are reaping the rewards. It will be interesting to track this trend as 2020 continues and the market is forced to face down a recession brought about by the pandemic.
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Disempowered, shut off and less able to afford healthy choices – how financial hardship is bad for our health
Microsoft aims to bring ‘Call of Duty’ to PlayStation by offering 10-year deal to Sony; Nintendo agreed to the same offer
Meta expands workplace ban on political discussions so employees can focus on the company’s ‘priorities’
New Mexico accused Walgreens of failing to "maintain effective controls" against the diversion of opioids onto the black market.
Binge eating is more common than anorexia or bulimia – but it remains a hidden and hard-to-treat disorder
The technology, developed after four years of joint research, does away with the use of heavy equipment.
USDA approves genetically-modified purple tomato
The US Department of Agriculture approved the genetically modified purple tomato to extend its shelf life and boost nutritional quality almost 15 years after its development.
According to biochemist Cathie Martin, she and her colleagues at Norfolk Plant Scientists (NPS) have been experimenting with pigment production in flowering plants for over two decades, and they've spent almost 15 months developing the purple tomato.
The NPS has been focusing on anthocyanins, the antioxidant-rich pigments that give blackberries and blueberries their signature shades.
Domesticated tomatoes already have genes to produce anthocyanins, but they are not 'turned on.' By carefully adding two genes, the tomatoes and juice become a rich source of antioxidants, because purple pigments are made in the whole tomato, not just the skins.
While there are already some purple-skinned tomatoes, their pigments mostly stop at the outer layers and don't accumulate in the fruit itself.
The NPS also emphasized that there is increasing evidence to show that antioxidants work much better when consumed within foods.
The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reported that the tomato was modified to alter its color and enhance its nutritional quality, adding that the plant is unlikely to pose an increased plant pest risk compared to other cultivated tomatoes.
Nathan Pumplin, the CEO of NPS' US-based commercial business, said they are optimistic that they can begin limited distribution of purple tomatoes in the US by 2023.


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Each year, the World Health Organization (WHO) sponsors “World No Tobacco Day” to raise awareness of the dangers of smoking tobacco. This year’s theme is about sending a message to the tobacco industry. The WHO is calling for a ban on all tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship, referred to as TAPS for short, with the goal of thwarting the tobacco industry’s efforts to recruit more smokers.
The tobacco industry uses TAPS to target the youth to encourage them to become smokers. Worldwide, 78 percent of students age 13-15 report having been exposed to these campaigns, as compared to only 31 percent of adults. And their focus on teens is proving effective, with one third of youth experimentation with tobacco being attributed to the influence of TAPS.
With some government restrictions on advertising through traditional mass media like TV, magazines, and billboards, they’ve shifted their campaign dollars to new methods of promotion. One of the tobaccos industry’s most effective forms of TAPS has been point-of-sale advertisements and promotion. With colorful and prominent posters and signs surrounding their products, these displays are designed to catch the eye of children. In fact, the WHO reports that kids between the ages of 11 and 15 who visit stores with these kinds of promotional displays at least two times a week are twice as likely to start smoking as kids who don’t visit these stores as often.
There are many other forms of TAPS that the tobacco industry uses to encourage smoking, including giving away free samples and coupons, brand extension (to circumvent advertising restrictions, e.g. Marlboro Classics clothing), product placement in movies, package design, event sponsorship, and even stealth methods, like promoting word-of-mouth recommendations among peer groups. It’s important to be aware of the TAPS messages we and our children are subjected to each day and the subconscious effect they can have on us. With over 6 million deaths each year from cigarettes – 600,000 of which were due to exposure to second hand smoke – it’s our duty to remain vigilant and work to bring these numbers down.
Teach your children about the devastating effects of smoking. And for help kicking the habit, read our Smoking Cessation Patient Guide with information on ways your doctor can help you quit.


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Talk about a project to get psyched over! Today the STL Cardinals posted the 2014 Behind the Scenes of the National League Ring video. The entire video was shot here at Studio-C and outlines the journey of the NL ring from it’s glamorous photoshoot to a showcase story in the Cardinals Magazine. It’s a great look at the creative process that goes into creating publications and highlights a proud Cardinals moment.
Scrubs & Beyond’s winter catalog push isn’t just about warm fall colors, it’s about bright & vibrant neon looks. View their latest catalog online here and check out the punchy new video we produced for their winter launch
We may have just gotten hit with a snow storm here in the midwest but in retail season, it is pure summer! The newest video for Scrubs & Beyond’s summer line is a fun and energetic 3 column view of their newest prints and colors showcased in the always upbeat and fresh S&B style.
You can also see the new Summer 2013 catalog on their website here.


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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A coalition of young women – including many from the Tri-State Area – is selling unique, handmade items in an effort to give back to those in need.
Their online store will be a Manhattan City pop-up store for the next two days, and CBS2’s Jenna DeAngelis got an early tour on Thursday.
Everything from embroidered t-shirts to hand-painted sneakers and repurposed records as home decor, is handcrafted by women around the world.
All the artists have been brought together by Stella Gray who came up with the idea for the online marketplace Goodz in September.
Gray told DeAngelis: “Right now, you’re in our first pop-up physical store.
It started when Coronavirus pandemic attack.
Gray, a Manhattan resident, is sent home from college and wants to help the heroes with healthcare.
“I actually started a business, Tie Dye for Good, and I ended up selling over 900 pieces of tie dye and raising $50,000 for Montefiore,” says Gray.
That led to another idea.
“Why not create a website that aggregates all the talented female artists from around the world?” she speaks.
Over the next two days, 15 women shopped at the pop-up store on the corner of 26th Street and 11th Avenue in Chelsea.
Cate Ghirardini, owner of Record Land, said: “We are like a group of young women helping women around the world.
Anything purchased here or through the online store supports the artists and The Pad Project, a non-profit organization.
“In the United States, we provide period products and supplies to the homeless, domestic abuse shelters, schools,” said Melissa Berton, executive director of The Pad Project.
The organization also addresses period poverty, which caught Gray’s attention when she watched the documentary “The End of Sentences” on Netflix.
“We have raised over 10,000 pads for the Pad Project and I am giving them specifically to women in the United States because COVID Gray said.
Pop-ups at 601 W. Road 26 (Starrett-Lehigh Building) is open until 9 p.m. Thursday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday.
Twenty percent of proceeds will be donated to the Pad Project.


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Bodd’s 5 years R&D efforts to be realised; New high volume production model body scanner due for launch in H2 2024…
Bodd is on track to deliver a major product update later this year.
The new model release will be significant product improvement, culminating learnings and more critically, customer feedback over recent years.
Bodd's new release version is expected in H2 2024 and has been developed in collaboration with our long standing manufacturing partner Bosch (BAMS)
Bodd will be unveiling the new product release to press and media around the middle of the year and we are beyond excited to share this latest product with the world.
All hardware is developed in Melbourne, Australia and shipped globally to Bodd's customer base. Bodd is proudly an Australian made product - recently the Australian Made brand featured Bodd in their Australian "Makers Stories" - watch the video below.


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Being first to 4G may not be quite the advantage EE may have hoped. The U.K.’s first 4G network was up and running at the end of October last year but EE, the joint venture combining the Orange and T-Mobile carriers which owns and operates the 4GEE network has consistently declined to break out customer sign ups to 4G — saying only that thousands of customers had signed up for 4G and for a new fiber fixed line broadband product launched at the same time. We now have a little more clarity on how
many few new mobile customers EE gained in Q4, thanks to its quarterly results.
EE still hasn’t specifically broken out 4G vs 3G sign ups (it declined to do so again when we asked, saying this is commercially sensitive information) but reporting its total postpaid net adds, it said it picked up 201,000 in Q4 — down from 250,000 postpaid net adds in Q3, and 313,000 in the year ago quarter:
Part of EE’s problem in attracting 4G sign ups is that the network is still in the process of being rolled out. At the end of the year its footprint reached less than half (43 per cent) of the U.K.’s population. More than half (55 per cent) the population will be within reach of EE’s 4G by June.
“We are seeing solid early 4G momentum migrating Orange and T-Mobile customers to higher value EE 4G price plans in areas where 4G coverage is available,” EE said in its results. It also said more than 10 per cent of its corporate customers are trialling or using 4G, adding that one in four new SME customers are “selecting 4G services”.
Another problem for EE attracting 4G signs is likely to be its pricing and tariff structure — which has been criticised for being both expensive and miserly when it comes to the data limits, with just 500MB on its entry level plan. The company has since increased data tariffs on some plans and added a 20GB plan for “super users“. It has also discounted the cost of its entry level 4G tariff by £5 for the whole of February and March — bringing it down to £31 per month.
In its results, EE notes that: “Early Orange and T-Mobile customers migrating to 4G on EE are showing increases of approximately 10% in ARPU, demonstrating data monetisation” — illustrating the kind of cost premium its 4G pricing structure is creating for early customers. By contrast, rival network Three U.K. has said it won’t be charging a premium for 4G when it’s able to launch its own network, likely to be after Q3 this year.
EE’s results do show it kept customer churn to the same low level in Q4 as the previous three quarters (1.2 per cent) — so 4G may be helping it retain customers. It also said it “successfully upgraded existing customers to higher value plans” — leading to its postpaid access fees increasing 6 per cent y-o-y.
Commenting on EE’s 4G performance, Steven Hartley, principal analyst at Ovum said the results indicate that EE’s 4G customer acquisition has not been as thrilling as it may have hoped. “If customer uptake was far ahead of expectation, then we would hear about it,” he said in a statement. “We therefore have to conclude that uptake has not been spectacular. That doesn’t make it a disaster, just not necessarily fully optimizing its monopoly position.”
EE’s 4G first-mover advantage is fast running out. Rivals are in the process of bidding on new spectrum — and will be in a position to start rolling out their own networks, starting from late Spring/Summer according to telecoms regulator Ofcom.


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After we were all devastated by the news that our childhood heaven Toys 'R' Us was closing down, we thought that nothing could make our inner child happy. Honestly, Toys 'R' Us was the coolest place to go when you were little, and it sucks knowing that we won't be able to bring our kids there one day.
But wait! There was one place that we loved going to just as much as Toys 'R' Us, maybe even more. KB Toys was the competitor to the popular brand, and while they went out of business in 2009, they are now planning their comeback.
With their competition out of the way, the popular toy store might just have the opportunity it needs to build back their fallen empire and return to the glory days of screaming kids and stressed out parents!
KB Toys sold their branding rights to Toys 'R' Us back when they went out of business, but now that they are no longer in the picture, KB Toys is going to have the opportunity to come back.
They have a plan that starts by studying why the company went under in the first place, and hopefully prevent it from happening again. It's fair to assume that they will try to gain whatever info they can from the Toys 'R' Us debacle and hopefully do better this time.
The announcement comes from the founder of Strategic Marks, LLC Ellia Kassoff, who has a lot of exciting news about the new launch, and how it will actually help those who are losing their jobs at Toys 'R' Us.


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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said on Friday it is recalling more than 1.1 million cars and SUVs worldwide because the vehicles may roll away after drivers exit.
The automaker said the recall is linked to as many as 41 injuries becaus
Alphabet Inc's self-driving project is advertising dozens of jobs on its website with a special focus on manufacturing expertise.
Thirty-six jobs related to the Google X car project were listed including en
German automaker Volkswagen AG assumes it will have to buy back about 115,000 cars in the US as a result of the emissions scandal, a newspaper reported on Thursday.
Without citing its sources, Germany's daily Sueddeutsche Zeit
Volkswagen's flagship Audi division reined in its spending plans for 2016 and delayed the construction of a new wind tunnel on Monday, after the German carmaking group was hit by a scandal over rigged emissions tests.
Formula 1 cars have started to arrive at Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) in the UAE capital ahead of this weekend’s race.
Several flights have already landed from Brazil, where the penultimate race of the season was he
Germany is subjecting diesel vehicles including those from foreign manufacturers to strict checks, its transport minister said, following Volkswagen's latest disclosure that it gave false data on CO2 emissions.
In a deepening
Samsung Electronics and group companies are trying a belated push into the business of supplying technology to car makers, while rivals are already sewing up lucrative deals with an industry that is notoriously difficult to break into.
Cars taught to predict what happens next when driven through busy streets will take road safety to a new level, said Bosch researchers fine-tuning newly developed technology to enhance the effectiveness of the automated driver assistance systems
Toyota Motor Corp said on Wednesday that it would recall 6.5 million vehicles globally to fix a defect in the power window switch in models including the Yaris/Vitz subcompact, Corolla, Camry and others.
Of the total, about 2.7 mi


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We like where this is going.
It's time for displacement diehards to go cry another river because as expected, yet one more Audi has lost its V8 in favor of a six-cylinder resting on two turbocharger crutches. Last week it was the entry-level R8 and now, the RS5 will be following its supercar sibling's footsteps. Our spy photographers just caught a glimpse of the next generation RS5 out testing and at the very least we can say that despite the camouflage, it looks pretty after its cylinder reduction surgery.
The outgoing model was always a looker, but with a 4.2-liter V8 under the hood, it also sounded the part. However, the loudest bark doesn't always mean the worst bite, and this RS5 is a prime example of that. To help a cash strapped Volkswagen reduce costs, this RS5 will share an engine with the Porsche Panamera 4S and its own family member, the RS4. As such, the 3.0-liter twin turbo V6 will make its way into the Audi's engine bay, which now sits behind a more pronounced chin. We fully expect it to make more horsepower, somewhere between 450 and 480 ponies. In either case, it should be more powerful than its main rival, the BMW M4.
This may not be a huge improvement over the previous RS5, but like the BMW, the main benefits will come from a sizable increase in torque. With help from the turbochargers, this engine should make more than 400 lb-ft of it, making the old engine's 317 lb-ft look petty. Not long ago, we caught an earlier version of the RS5 making its test rounds, but as it's plain to see from the bodywork, this test mule appears to be wearing a body that's closer to production than the last. As seen in the new TT and R8, the new RS5 will wear Audi's new and more angular styling but we won't get to see the naked sheet metal until the 2017 Geneva Auto Show rolls around.


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INTERNET GIANT Google will announce its music streaming service today at its I/O developer conference in San Francisco.
The service will be called Music Beta by Google and will be based on Google's cloud, where users can upload and stream their digital music collections.
The highly anticipated music service is expected to be similar to the Cloud Drive and Cloud Player offered by Amazon in March. However, Google intends to offer tons more music than Amazon's service.
Music Beta will fill a gap in Android's otherwise extensive offerings. Amazon's Cloud Player also works with Android, giving fans of the little green robot a selection of music services to choose from, which further reinforces the platform's nature as the operating system for choice.
Google's competitor Apple doesn't have a cloud music service, but it is rumoured to be working hard on one, with its acquisition of Lala in December 2009 pointing firmly in that direction. Its Itunes service remains one of the most successful music stores online, hinting that an Apple cloud music service could do extremely well.
Google has been trying to secure the support of major record labels for the Music Beta project, but so far it has been unsuccessful. Jamie Rosenberg, director for digital content for Android, revealed to the New York Times that some of the big wigs in the music industry were demanding unreasonable business terms, ultimately resulting in Google deciding not to enter partnerships with them.
Amazon did the same with its cloud music service, deciding to go it alone rather than licence music directly from the labels. The record companies said they were disappointed that Amazon decided to go this route and that they were exploring legal options, suggesting that Amazon might be hauled into court over the matter. Since Google will soon be in the same boat, any case against Amazon will impact Google as well, and we could see the two rivals become temporary allies to battle the entrenched music industry.
The way Google and Amazon have skirted around not having deals with record companies is to let users upload their own purchased songs to their clouds. This means that people cannot buy songs directly from either company, an option that both originally wanted, but simply buy music through other means and treat the cloud as primarily a storage facility.
Google's Music Beta will let users store a whopping 20,000 songs for free, a big difference from Amazon's free storage of 1,000 songs. Anything over this will incur a charge. It's likely that Google's free service will be sufficient for the majority of users, we imagine.
The service will store local copies of recently played songs and songs selected for offline access, addressing the issue of what happens when you lose your internet connection. Songs will be accessible on any device linked with the user's Google account and full synchronisation between devices will be available.
Initially Music Beta will be invitation-only, with Verizon Xoom customers getting priority. Google will also launch a web site for the service and users will be able to download an app for their Android device or use a Flash web player. µ
Firm's first high-end speaker gets the thumbs up from us
Yes. Yes you can
A fantastic ultraportable that's almost devoid of innovation
Screen if you want to go faster


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The health law championed by President Barack Obama survived one major legal challenge in last year's Supreme Court ruling, but it will face fresh legal tests starting this week.
Federal judges in Washington, D.C., and Virginia will consider whether the text of the statute prevents the administration from offering subsidized health insurance to millions of low- and middle-income Americans.
Back-to-School Sale: Extra 25% off sitewide - JCPenney coupon code
Walmart coupon: $20 off your $50+ order
- Best Buy:
Save 15% or more on the Best Buy deal of the Day
Up to 15% off + free shipping at Wayfair
Nike Gear Up for Fall Sale: Up to 50% off
- Dick's Sporting Goods:
10% off sitewide - Dick's Sporting Goods coupons


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Tucked away on an anonymous block of Tin Hau, Midwest has been quietly selling American vintage clothing in Hong Kong since 1993. Over the years, they have evolved from a distributor to a retailer, and now into a remixer of sorts, taking classic garments from their stock, cutting them apart, and reassembling them into stylish contemporary pieces.
Nigo, the Japanese streetwear pioneer and founder of A Bathing Ape brand, has been a tastemaker and trendsetter for over two decades. A legendary collector as well as creator, he decided to hold an auction through Sotheby’s to part with some of his possessions.
The Hub, a young fashion trade show that continues to gain momentum, celebrated their third season in a sparkling new venue. For their latest event, the organizers selected a more intimate space and packed it with brands looking for wider distribution.


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Latest News - Friday, October 11, 2013 6:54:03 AM
Infosys lagged profit estimates for the July to September quarter, but sales topped estimates. Infosys shares rallied as much as 7.5 per cent in opening trade after the company upped the lower end of its annual sales guidance, indicating rising confidence at India's second largest outsourcer.
Infosys said net profit for the second quarter rose to Rs. 2,407 crore as against Rs. 2,374 crore in the June quarter. Profits lagged estimates on account of a one-time visa settlement charge of Rs. 219 crore. Revenues for the quarter rose to Rs. 12,965 crore as against Rs. 11,267 crore in the previous quarter, Infosys said.
Infosys US dollar revenue for the quarter jumped 3.8 per cent to $ 2066 million, higher than expectations of $2042 million. Infosys had recorded sales of $1991 million in the June quarter. This is the first time that Infosys topped $2 billion in quarterly sales.


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The dollar rose to a 16-month high. This is after data showed U.S. consumers looked past rising prices. And they drove retail sales higher than expected last month. The euro slumped amid growth concerns and there is a surge in COVID-19 cases in Europe. U.S. retail sales rose 1.7% in October. This had topped consensus expectations of a 1.4% rise. This is mainly to avoid further shortages of some goods, because of the pandemic squeezing supply chains.
The dollar index was up 0.385%, earlier it had touched 95.92. The dollar has rallied since U.S. inflation data showed consumer prices surged to their highest rate since 1990. This fuels the speculation that the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates sooner than expected. Mazen Issa, senior FX strategist at TD Securities said that if they look at U.S. markets, there’s a lot more speculation, at least within implied market pricing, that they will be hiking on more than one occasion next year. After last week’s U.S. CPI report, the dam just broke and the dollar and the FX complex is certainly tagging along for the ride.
The euro extended losses versus the dollar, last down 0.43%. Earlier in the session, the single currency dropped to $1.1315. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said that tightening monetary policy now to rein in inflation could choke off the euro zone’s recovery. The euro’s decline reflects the disappointing performance of the euro zone economy relative to the United States. Marshall Gittler, head of investment research at BDSwiss Holding Ltd said that this has been surprising on the upside more than the euro zone has been.
COVID is causing some countries to contemplate lockdowns again. In US it is stabilized. Gittler said that as a result, the market is getting increasingly nervous about the euro. Austria imposed a lockdown on unvaccinated people. Germany’s parliament is due to vote on stricter measures to deal with surging cases. France, the Netherlands and many countries in Eastern Europe are also experiencing a surge in infections. MUFG currency analyst Lee Hardman said in a client note that the fear that the situation could escalate and result in a more significant tightening of restrictions in the coming months is hurting sentiment towards European currencies. The British pound was up 0.1% against the dollar at $1.3429. This is spurred by data that showed British employers hired more people in October. The cryptocurrency bitcoin dipped back below $60,000.


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There's nothing like a little controversy leading up to the holidays.
Former journalism professor Nick Russell has lashed out at members of the Winnipeg media for participating in a night of alcohol, food and shopping discounts at a local IKEA.
On Monday, November 26, the retail giant invited members of the media and other guests to a pre-opening party, complete with live music, beer, champagne, a free swag bag filled with items from the store and a chance to take a 15 per cent discount on their purchases from the store.
Russell, for one, is saying reporters who attended the event crossed an ethical line. In an interview with CBC, Russell, the author of Morals and the Media: Ethics in Canadian Journalism, said, "It looks to the public as if the journalists are just what they're made out to be in the old movies -- freeloaders, drunks."
In the same article, Duncan McMonagle, a journalism instructor at Red River College in Winnipeg suggested that any reporters who took advantage of the 15 per cent discount should disclose that fact if they happen to report on IKEA in the future. "If you're dumb enough to go to IKEA and take a freebie from them and then go and pretend that you're reporting on them in a disinterested way, you're not that smart," McMonagle said in the CBC piece.
IKEA's spokeperson, Maegan Sheskey, refused to answer questions about the 15 per cent discount or to elaborate on the amount of purchases that were made by guests at the event.
Summing up his thoughts on the controversy, Russell said, "In the old days, we used to think it's a question of bribery -- we're corrupting the press by doing this. It's nothing that serious, but what IKEA is trying to do is make friends, to socialize the media so that they all feel warm and cuddly about IKEA and that's not healthy."
What do you think? Did the reporters who attended the event and accepted gifts cross an ethical line? Is the harsh criticism from these two journalism teachers warranted? Or does it represent unfair sniping? We'd particularly like to hear what reporters and PR folks have to say about this one.
One thing's for sure. This controversy is providing IKEA with precisely what they set out to get. A lot of free media coverage to help promote today's opening of their new Winnipeg location. There were more than 2,000 people waiting outside when the doors opened earlier today.


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Pegasus spyware journalists Laurent Richard and Sandrine Rigaud were the first to discover an extensive list of specific people being targeted by NSO’s clients. In working on the story, they said they had to take extreme privacy precautions to avoid their own devices being compromised.
One of the major uses of Pegasus has been to silence journalists working on revealing abuses by tyrannical governments, so the risk of their own devices being hacked without their knowledge was very real …
NSO Group makes spyware called Pegasus, which is sold to government and law enforcement agencies. The company purchases so-called zero-day vulnerabilities (ones that are unknown to Apple) from hackers, and its software is capable of mounting zero-click exploits – where no user interaction is required by the target.
In particular, it’s reported that simply receiving a particular iMessage – without opening it or interacting with it in any way – can allow an iPhone to be compromised, with personal data exposed, all without any way for the user to know it has happened.
NSO sells Pegasus only to governments, but its customers include countries with extremely poor human rights records – with the spyware used against political opponents, human rights activists, lawyers, journalists, and more.
Apple has long been working to protect iPhone users against Pegasus: suing the company, alerting owners of infected iPhones, and offering a Lockdown Mode, which disables the most common attack paths.
Pegasus spyware journalists at risk
Pegasus spyware journalists Laurent Richard and Sandrine Rigaud spoke with Bloomberg about their upcoming new book, Pegasus: How a Spy In Your Pocket Threatens the End of Privacy, Dignity, and Democracy (Apple Books, Amazon Kindle).
Rigaud says the power of the tool makes it a major threat against democracy.
Think about what’s on your phone — the results of your Google searches, your photos, your contact book, your location, your passwords. Everybody can appreciate how dangerous this kind of spyware could be in the hands of dictators and authoritarian regimes. Imagine how this can be used to silence journalists, to silence political opponents. That’s why we consider it a major threat against democracy.
They said they had to assume the security their own devices was compromised.
When we started, we were investigating more than 10 countries who’d bought the Pegasus spyware. Some of them were very dangerous. We didn’t want to be the next ones on the list. If one person in our group had been infected by Pegasus, then the project would be exposed. It would have been over immediately.
For security reasons, we can’t explain specifically the tools we had to use. But what was clear is that we couldn’t use our own phones anymore. We couldn’t use our professional computers. Whenever we discussed anything with a source, we had to make sure there were no devices in the room or anywhere around us.
NSO’s ethics claims are nonsensical
NSO has frequently claimed that it doesn’t allow its spyware to be “misused,” while at the same time assuring its clients that the company has no way to monitor who they are targeting.
When NSO sells the spyware, they tell the customer, “We will never know about your targets. We don’t want to know and there is no technical way for us to know about who you are targeting.” At the same time, they say, “If there’s any kind of misuse and people have been targeted improperly, if this is used against people who aren’t terrorists or criminals, we will investigate.” But how can you investigate if you don’t know who the targets are?
Apple’s fight against Pegasus is crucial
Rigaud said that the US government banning the use of Pegasus was really impactful, but Apple’s actions in alerting suspected victims and suing the company may be “even more so.”
Thanks to the exposure of the company’s activities, NSO’s valuation has fallen from around $2B to being near-bankrupt. But the company is hanging in there, and there are competitors waiting to pick up where NSO left off if it does go bust.
The only solution, say the pair, is for governments and tech giants alike to continue to fight the use of spyware.
The book will be available on January 17.
Photo: Peter Forster/Unsplash
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Google to buy ICG Group unit for $125 million
ICG Group said Google would acquire one of its units, Channel Intelligence, for $125 million in cash.
ICG Group, which buys and builds Internet software and services firms, said Google would acquire its partly owned marketing services unit, Channel Intelligence Inc, for $125 million in cash.
Channel Intelligence helps retailers, manufacturers and other advertisers make their products and services easier for consumers to find and buy online and in local stores.
ICG said it will get $60.5 million for its stake in Channel Intelligence.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2013.
ICG shares, which closed at $12.04 on Tuesday on the Nasdaq, were up 3 per cent at $12.41 in premarket trading on Wednesday morning.


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Uber, the taxi app that became popular in India by offering luxury car rides for a little more than the regular fare, could run into trouble with India's service tax authorities in the first such inquiry against a foreign service provider in the ecommerce space. This comes shortly after the company was recently forced to fall in line by the Reserve Bank of India, which insisted that it couldn't sidestep credit card security norms.
"We believe the company is liable for service tax since it is delivering a taxable service," a service tax department official in Mumbai who's aware of the development told ET. "We have sought details from Uber's Indian arm." Service tax authorities have sought information from Uber's India subsidiary, which provides systems support to the company, over non-payment of the levy.
The company said it was in compliance with local laws and paid taxes in all countries in which it was present. "Uber complies with all applicable tax laws, and pays the relevant tax in every territory it operates in," a company spokesperson said in an email. "Across 10 cities in India, Uber employs many local employees, in addition to empowering thousands of driver partners to become small business owners, earning a good living through the Uber platform."
Uber BV has no India office
"All payments on the Uber system are cashless and fully traceable in an industry that has been notoriously cashbased for years," the spokesperson addded.
In India, all services attract tax at the rate of 12% unless it's included in a negative list or specifically exempted by the government. Taxi services are not in the list and are therefore liable to pay.
Uber users register their credit card details with the company, which uses that to charge for rides. Cab drivers and owners enter into tie-ups with Uber, for which the company charges a 20% commission. The company has an Indian entity — Uber India Systems Pvt Ltd -- but it operates in the country through Netherlandsbased Uber BV. Service tax authorities say it's the first time they are dealing with a case in which an overseas mobile application is providing services used by Indians.
Uber doesn't have an India office or a representative in the country, which makes the task of tax authorities difficult, they said. "We have recorded a statement of officials from the Indian entity," said the official. Though the investigation is currently restricted to Mumbai, the department is looking to expand this to places where the company has a presence. Rival cab service providers pay service tax and thus tax authorities do not see any reason for Uber not to do so. Service tax is liable only on revenue above Rs 10 lakh and an individual cab driver may not attract tax if turnover is lower than the threshold. But in the case of Uber, the tax authorities are going to take into account combined turnover.
Globally, the taxation of e-commerce companies is under intense focus as they overturn traditional models of doing business. The OECD and the G20 have begun discussions on how countries should tackle taxation in the e-commerce space that poses fresh challenges to tax authorities as companies avoid tax by operating through multiple jurisdictions.
The US company gained customers after it offered high-end cars such as Audis and BMWs to users. Rides are paid for by card without the need for two-factor authentication, which requires users to key in a PIN.


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For the holidays this year, British multinational retailer Marks and Spencer teamed up with housing and homelessness charity Shelter to create an immersive Christmas pop-up.
Under the protection of a red shelter-shaped installation at Waterloo, passersby have the chance to participate in a virtual reality experience that provides a look into three very different Christmas experiences. The first two VR experiences feature real houses and real people talking about how they plan to spend the holidays, while the third depicts a homeless family barely being fit into a hostel. By helping to put people in the shoes of another, the campaign raises awareness about homelessness and the simple joys of having a place to call home.
In partnership with Shelter, Marks and Spencer also made a Christmas collection, where 5% of each sale goes to the charity.
Charitable VR Christmas Pop-Ups
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Curling at the Water Cube? Please make this happen!
The rest of this USA TODAY story is more skeptical, perhaps with good reason. China isn’t known for skiing, to put it mildly. But one of their local ski resorts is getting good reviews at TripAdvisor.
And it’s probably too late to consider splitting the Games to put ice events in Beijing and snow events in Norway, so it’s either this or Almaty.


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Expedia is buying rival online travel site Orbitz for approximately $1.33 billion, adding to the stable of brands it has snapped up recently in order to extend its reach and keep pace in the fiercely competitive travel-booking industry.
Expedia’s acquisition of Orbitz is its second major deal in the past month as the industry continues to consolidate. Expedia announced the $280 million acquisition of another rival, Travelocity, in late January. It also follows the company’s July announcement that it was buying Wotif.com for $658 million.
By bringing Orbitz into the fold, Expedia gains access to the Orbitz namesake brand, as well as brands like CheapTickets and HotelClub. Expedia’s portfolio already consists of nearly a dozen brands such as Hotels.com and Hotwire.
Speculation swirled last month that Orbitz may be bought, when a media report said that the company was considering selling itself. An Orbitz spokesman declined to comment at the time.
Expedia, based in Bellevue, Washington, said Thursday that it will pay $12 per share, a 25 percent premium to Orbitz’ closing price of $9.62 Wednesday.
Shares of Orbitz Worldwide Inc., based in Chicago, soared $2.05, or 21.3 percent, to $11.67 in morning trading. Expedia’s stock surged $9.23, or 11.8 percent, to $87.45.
Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said during a conference call that Orbitz was an attractive acquisition option in part because of its highly recognized brands and loyal customers. Expedia also likes Orbitz’ loyalty program, with plans to invest in it and grow it further.
Khosrowshahi, along with Chief Financial Officer Mark Okerstrom, said that the deal will help Expedia better compete for customers in a sector that is constantly seeing new players emerge.
“We believe Orbitz can add to scale and add to our ability to run a more efficient machine,” Khosrowshahi said.
Expedia is also up against competitors like Priceline Group, which owns sites like Priceline, Booking.com, Kayak and OpenTable. And there are new pressures from sites like airfare search Hipmunk and last-minute deal site HotelTonight.
The Expedia executives said that they are very optimistic they won’t run into any major resistance from regulators on the Orbitz deal, with Khosrowshahi noting that consolidation is natural in a highly fragmented marketplace.
The boards of both companies have approved the deal, but it still requires a nod from the majority of Orbitz shareholders. Expedia, which anticipates $75 million in savings from the buyout, said it is currently unable to project when the transaction will close.


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Unisys Faces Some Dire Industry Straits
Computer Giant's Problems Keep Compounding
By Paul B. Carroll
The Wall Street Journal
October 4, 1990
The problems at Unisys Corp. started with a small rise in inventories in the summer of 1988. As the company plugged that leak, a few more appeared, then a few more. Now, leaks appearing all over the place are running ahead of the pumps.
As a result, say analysts and industry executives, the nation's third-largest computer company, maneuvering until recently to challenge International Business Machines Corp. for top billing, seems destined to wallow in a trough from which none of its ilk has ever emerged.
As the Blue Bell, Pa., computer and defense electronics company identified its inventory problem, receivables grew, new products fell behind schedule and European business softened. Meanwhile, the U.S. market deteriorated, inventories soared, debt swelled and costs rose out of all proportion to revenue. Unisys cut its work force by more than 10% last year and took a $230 million charge, but still will post a loss for the first nine months of this year.
Late last week, Unisys omitted its common stock dividend after nearly 100 years of paying one. Then, this Tuesday, Moody's Investors Service Inc. cut its ratings on Unisys debt to below investment-grade, raising fears of a liquidity crunch.
The company's stock, as high as $17.125 as recently as March, has tumbled, closing yesterday at $4, up 12.5 cents, in composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange. That means that the company, with $10 billion of annual sales, carries a market value of roughly $640 million. That is $7 billion lower than the market value just three years ago.
In a market where the financial outlook of the computer supplier worries customers who fear becoming technological orphans, the flood of recent problems will compound Unisys' problems.
Computer historians add that they've seen the Unisys scenario unfold before, and it's hard to see things improving much. Unisys has some excellent technology -- notably in systems for banks and government -- and may do all right in the growing market for systems that use the industry standard Unix operating system.
But other companies have had good technology, too. And there are almost no turnaround stories about computer companies that have cratered the way Unisys now has. "It's hard to come back," says Les Alberthal, chief executive of Electronic Data Systems Corp., which assembles or manages big computer operations for corporations. "You lose that edge from an R&D standpoint and you lose step with the market."
Unisys began as a bold experiment by a bold man, W. Michael Blumenthal. As chief executive of Burroughs Corp. in the mid-1980s, Mr. Blumenthal saw stagnation ahead, so he bought Sperry Corp. for $4.8 billion in 1986. Although Sperry was another also-ran, Mr. Blumenthal argued that together the two could take on the U.S. industry's No. 2 company, Digital Equipment Corp., or even giant IBM.
He talked bravely of doubling Unisys in size to $20 billion a year in sales by the early 1990s. As he cut costs faster than anyone expected and produced impressive earnings in 1987 and 1988, some in the industry believed him.
But former Unisys executives -- and there are many these days -- say Unisys never solved its basic problem, even though it was apparent from day one. To retain all its customers who could only run their software on their Burroughs or Sperry hardware, Unisys needed to keep pressing forward with the technology in those machines. But it couldn't afford to develop two lines of similar products when its competitors only had to pursue one line.
Unisys managed to combine some development organizations and build some common parts for its twin lines. But the major development expense lies in designing the dense, intricate circuitry that gives each machine its personality -- and that expense has never gone away.
Because the product lines never merged, both have been squeezed in the marketplace, mainly by IBM-compatible mainframes. As corporate customers increasingly consolidate their data center operations and link all their computers, they tend to standardize on one type of system, usually IBM-compatible.
International Data Corp., a market researcher, says Unisys' share of the world-wide market for computers costing more than $1 million has declined steadily to 4.7% last year from the combined Burroughs/Sperry share of 8.2% in 1985. IDC says Unisys' share of midrange computers has fallen to 5.3% from 7.1% over the same stretch. Unisys itself acknowledges that while Burroughs and Sperry got 80% of the dollars their customers spent on data processing 10 years ago, Unisys now gets less than 40%.
"Each year, you're seeing one or two big companies trying to migrate away from Unisys to the IBM world," says Ken Pontikes, chairman of Comdisco Inc., a big computer leasing company.
Meanwhile, Unisys has fallen behind on some technology. The most powerful Unisys mainframe currently available processes just 35 mips, or millions of instructions per second, while IBM-compatible machines run as fast as 112 mips. That figure is expected to rise to close to 250 mips next year and 350 mips in 1992.
Unisys has tried to develop a software strategy, unveiled on Monday, that would make all its diverse product lines work well together. But that seems to have led merely to an awkward compromise.
Unisys doesn't want to give up the core business of customers who rely on Unisys operating systems -- and who pay a premium because they can't move their software to a competitor's hardware. But Unisys also wants to play a big part in the growing market for "open" operating systems -- which run on just about anyone's hardware, giving customers the flexibility to run their software on whatever machine they like.
So Unisys winds up betwixt and between. It isn't emphasizing its proprietary operating systems as IBM and Digital Equipment are. But it's also not switching all the way to "open" systems, as NCR Corp. just did.
Reto Braun, a Unisys executive vice president, acknowledges that "we are being very opportunistic and are trying to walk both sides. But I think that's the only solution for Unisys."
Unisys' cost cutting also appears to have fallen short. While it took a painful whack at its employee rolls last year, it still generates far less revenue per employee than its competitors. Each of Unisys' 78,000 employees generates an average $130,000 a year. Even at IBM, an oldline company that is criticized for having too much overhead, employees produce $176,000 apiece.
Securities analysts note that Unisys has had per-share losses in five of its past seven quarters and all three quarters this year, despite a favorable economic climate. As the economy turns down, says Hollis Caswell, who ran Unisys' mainframe business before leaving recently to run Hypres Inc., a small superconductor company, "there are still opportunities. The real question is whether the opportunities can compensate for the changes in their basic business."
For Unisys to shake off such gloomy questions, it must first deal with its extensive debt -- and it is making progress. James Unruh, who succeeded Mr. Blumenthal as chief executive when Mr. Blumenthal retired earlier this year, is wellregarded for his financial expertise and has made the balance sheet his top priority.
"We're on track," Mr. Unruh says. He adds that he will cut more jobs, especially if revenue stagnates.
Unisys must also quickly address concerns about its liquidity. Executives say they haven't gone into the commercial-paper market since January, so lack of access to that market won't hurt. They also say they have $1.25 billion of revolving credit plus ample other credit lines available.
"The characterization that we have a liquidity crisis is not at all right," Mr. Unruh says sternly.
Consultants and former employees agree that Unisys has good technology to help banks tackle their check-processing chores. The company also seems to be off to a good start in image-processing, a potentially enormous area of interest to banks, insurance companies and others who want to treat documents as pictures and not streams of data. Unisys also offers good "transaction-processing" capabilities that benefit banks, airlines and others that constantly need to alter and update huge data bases.
But it's hard to generate enthusiasm among computer customers after they've begun to wonder about a company. At the big software announcement Monday, Mr. Unruh prepared to address the quiet room of 100 people. "Is this mike live?" he asked. Then he paused and added: "Is this audience alive?"
Copyright (c) 1990, Dow Jones & Co., Inc.


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App Annie has hired Aaron Mahimainathan as its new Chief Product Officer.
The new exec will be responsible for product management, user experience and data science on App Annie's flagship app intelligence products.
Mahimainathan joins App Annie from mobile app development platform Telerik, and has more than 20 years' experience in product management and marketing across companies such as Siebel Systems and Oracle.
This follows App Annie's appointment of Al Campa as its new Chief Marketing Officer back in June.
“We continue to evolve our platform to meet the demands of current and future clients as app intelligence becomes even more valuable to all businesses,” said App Annie CEO Bertrand Schmitt.
“Aaron’s vast leadership experience leading product creation and management, combined with his customer-centric approach, will bring valuable perspective and expertise to App Annie as we ramp up momentum.”


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Friday, September 25, 2015
Shares in Taiwan extended losses Thursday from a session earlier, as market sentiment was hurt by concerns over the slowing world economy and weakening global demand, dealers said.
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Taiwan's environmental protection authorities announced Wednesday that random tests will be conducted on the waste gas emission systems of vehicles produced by the Volkswagen (VW) Group, after the German carmaker reported irregularities concerning certain software used in some of its diesel engines.
Guangdong Fenghua Advanced Technology (Holding) Co., a Chinese electronics component supplier, has tendered an offer to acquire a 35-40 percent stake in Taiwan's Viking Tech Corp. (光頡).
Groupon Taiwan, a group-buying website, notified its patrons Wednesday that unused coupons can be fully refunded, one day after it suspended operations in Taiwan.
The Asia-Pacific tournament finals of three games published by U.S.-based Blizzard Entertainment Inc. that will determine the regional qualifiers for the BlizzCon World Championship will soon take place in Taiwan for the first time.
The Tourism Bureau's "2015 Taiwan Culinary Promotion Campaign" will open a new chapter today, as the bureau's mascot OhBear will take the Taiwan Tour Bus to Hsinchu for an one-day trip, to serve as store managers and interacting with locals and tourists.
Production output fell 5.46 percent in August on the back of underperforming exports, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) reported yesterday.
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering's (ASE, 日月光半導體) Chairman Jason Chang (張虔生) made a visit to Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL, 矽品精密) Chairman Bough Lin (林文伯) yesterday, expressing his position against SPIL's plans to exchange stocks with Hon Hai (鴻海), according to local media reports.
Shares in Taiwan closed below the 8,200 point level Wednesday amid lingering concerns over volatility in the global equity markets and worries over a slowdown in the Chinese economy, the second-largest in the world, dealers said.
The next round of the Taiwan-United States Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) talks will be staged in Taipei on Oct. 1, Foreign Minister David Lin (林永樂) said yesterday.


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New Arrival: MatrixView Launches Web Acceleration Solution
MatrixView Ltd., a developer of information transmission and storage optimization technologies, has unveiled a dynamic Web acceleration technology that it said speeds search and Web content delivery times.
The new technology, dubbed Speeding Web Information and Search Hypertext (SWISH), uses intelligent algorithms that model and compress the right data at the right time, improving the user experience by optimizing the delivery of Web content, with significant implications to the industries of search marketing and mobile advertising.
A recent MatrixView survey of more than 500 mobile device users in the U.S. revealed that current slow delivery speeds and wait times are causing significant frustrations and service impacts. For example:
- 50 percent said slow mobile Web response causes frustration, abandonment or limited use.
- 81 percent are frustrated, and 51 percent very much so, with the speed of mobile Web search.
- 40 percent of users have abandoned their search due to long load times.
- More than a third don't even try to search the Internet on their mobile phones.
The application of SWISH technology has demonstrated improvements in these mobile delivery times, leading to increased opportunities for mobile marketers and content delivery services, according to MatrixView.


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PS markets plunge to 3-year low in China, SEA
Spot styrene lost around 5% in two weeks
According to ChemOrbis Price Wizard, spot prices dropped by around $50-55/ton in the past two weeks to be quoted at $965/ton FOB Korea and at $1005/ton CFR China on a weekly average.
Data also suggest that the weekly average of spot styrene prices on an FOB Korea basis hit a year-to-date low while prices on CFR China basis has recently hit their lowest levels since December 2018.
This was attributed to the volatility of crude oil prices amid trade threats, concerns over energy demand as well as an increase in US crude stocks.
Import GPPS breaks below $1150 in China, $1200 in SEA
According to the weekly average data from ChemOrbis Price Index, import GPPS prices in China moved below the $1150/ton CIF China threshold recently. Similarly, import GPPS prices in Southeast Asia moved below $1200/ton on CIF SEA basis.
Data also unveil that import GPPS and HIPS prices both in China and Southeast Asia hit their lowest levels not seen since February-October 2016 on a weekly average.
Tumbling Yuan slashes demand for imports
The devaluation of the yuan also contributed to the waning demand for import PS cargos in China.
Chinese yuan dropped to its weakest level against the US dollar in more than a decade earlier in August.
Local PS lowest since June 2016 in China
Inside China, meanwhile, local PS offers also retreated to their lowest levels since June 2016 on a weekly average.
Price falls have failed to stir buying appetite as prices are believed to have further room to decrease amid lower costs and cautious stance created by the re-escalation of trade tensions. Buyers are shying away from building stocks to avoid currency fluctuations, moreover.
PS markets in SEA dominated by weak China
Not only weaker costs but also the downtrend in Chinese markets keeps the sentiment in Southeast Asia under pressure. Buyers are sticking to the sidelines amid mounting trade war concerns and expectations to see further drops in the days to come.
“PS demand should normally pick up by now ahead of the high season. However, buyers are away from the market as they foresee a mostly softer trend,” a regional trader affirmed.
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