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Amazon might announce a new phone, the name will be the exact opposite of the Fire Phone. So when will we see an Ice Phone and is it actually a good idea?
Amazon, you will probably remember, tried its hand at a mobile phone before. The Fire Phone was not a success either critically or financially. Why? Because it didn't really offer much of value for most users. It might sound weird to say, but Amazon isn't the same company as it was when it released the Fire Phone.
Alexa is huge and very important
For one thing, I suspect that Amazon is going to make use of Alexa in a new phone. We've seen this with tablets and with AI and voice assistants becoming more common in phones it makes sense that Amazon's excellent Alexa gets to stretch her legs on a truly mobile device.
Alexa makes a lot of sense on a phone for one reason - integration. You want to be able to use Alexa when you're out and about much like you do when you're at home. Perhaps it's about adding things to a shopping list when you're driving home. Or simply using Alexa's excellent voice control for listening to music on the move.
India will help
Amazon's Fire Phone had very limited availability. This in itself didn't kill the device, but it didn't help. Rumours suggest that an Amazon Ice phone would launch quickly in India. Becuase these devices aren't high-end they would appeal to a massive market that has a lot of customers looking for low-cost devices. As big as the US and Europe are for Amazon, India has more than a billion people aged seven and up. That's more than the US and EU combined.
It won't be tied to Amazon exclusively
One of the biggest mistakes of the Fire Phone was the fact it didn't include Google's Play app store. Anyone who has owned an Android Phone will have used the Play store and will have built up their own app and game collections. Moving to a new phone OS means you have to ditch all of that and while some people switch from iOS to Android, they won't chance a minority OS.
Even though the Fire Phone was Android, it didn't have access to the all-important Google services. The rumour is that a new device will run Android instead of Amazon's Fire OS. That means your phone will be much like an Android device with your apps and games ready to go. You'll also have the Amazon app store though, which has plenty of good stuff to offer - notably, free games.
Amazon is entering the telecom space with video and audio calling
Bear in mind that the new Amazon Echo Show is being sold on the back of video calls. Amazon has already said non-Echo users will be able to use its app to make calls. But it would be far better to have a phone which, like Apple's Facetime, makes calls without the need to flap about in a clunky app.
Amazon understands its audience now
Amazon's understanding of its customers is getting better all the time. Take a look at tablets for confirmation of this, where the firm used to make premium tablets it's now gone exclusively for the budget end of the market. Why? Because Amazon's customers put value-for-money above all else.
Anyone spending premium money on their phone or tablet will more than likely end up with an iPad, iPhone, Galaxy S8 or a Galaxy Tab. These are the premium products that people lust after. For any future Amazon phone the rule needs to be "sell cheap, make money on shopping".
And that's the reality of Amazon now - its products drive more and more custom to its store. Take Prime, it's widely understood that customers who opt for the yearly subscription for faster shipping are spending more money on Amazon than non-Prime customers. But The Street reports that it's even better than that because Amazon Prime customers spend progressively more for each year they keep the service.
I suspect it doesn't even matter to Amazon if you're actually paying for Prime. It has a lead on the market in terms of fast shipping. In the UK I can press the button before 1 pm and have the product I ordered that evening. Worst case an Amazon delivery will reach me the next day. And there's almost no comparison in retail that comes close, and this is likely the reason Amazon customers spend more on the site: it's a great retail experience.
So, the Ice Phone would be cheap. It will be good enough for 80% of users and cheap enough for anyone to be able to buy if they want it.
Amazon learns from its mistakes
There is little doubt that Amazon makes mistakes, we've seen a decent amount of them. But what's also quite certain is that mistakes at Amazon can be converted into success. The large cost of the Fire Phone's failure won't have troubled anyone at the company for too long. Amazon knows what worked and what didn't and it likely has detailed information on how the Fire Phone was used, and how it wasn't.
So expect the Ice Phone to really sort all of those problems out. It will be sensibly-priced, have access to Android and be available with access to the best of Amazon and the best of Android. For those handsets at the low-end of the market, this is going to be troubling. For Apple and most of Samsung's business, things won't change much.


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Mobile infrastructure provides extensive opportunity in India
“The economic opportunities linked to SMEs are significant: ICT and mobile technology sectors are growing rapidly in developing countries…” –World Bank, 2016
As infrastructure and mobile technology continues to permeate and advance on a global scale, developed and developing countries alike are seeing an increase in opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This is particularly the case in the Asia Pacific region as China and India’s populations adopt mobile tech as an integral part of their daily life and business endeavours.
While growth is slowing, the rate of mobile adoption in this region is still on the rise. 2.7 billion unique subscribers at the end of 2016 already account for two thirds of the region’s population and the expected rate of mobile penetration is set to reach 75% by 2020. Mobile tech is contributing to more skilled jobs, economic growth, engagement, and innovation in the area.
India’s mobile infrastructure
India is a great example of how better mobile infrastructure and offers are increasing opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors. The country overtook the US in October, becoming the second largest smartphone market in the world. As more global companies establish a strong presence in India, including the likes of Amazon’s Web Services and Google’s Cloud Platform, they further boost the opportunities for tech startups in the country. A unified set of APIs under the name of IndiaStack, allows governments, businesses, startups, and developers to work together, making use of advanced digital infrastructure to offer better services.
Growing demand, coupled with evolving mobile infrastructure, has also compelled telecommunications companies to take advantage of the potential opportunities, offering better, more affordable mobile plans to attract more subscribers.
This month, India’s Airtel announced a new prepaid mobile plan that offers:
- unlimited voice calling
- 1.5GB of 4G data usages per day
- 3000 free SMS messages
- and 70 day validity
The price for this plan is just $7.00CAD, working out to $0.10CAD per day for unlimited voice and 1.5GB of data.
This type of plan is not unique to Airtel. It’s a response to another plan offered by another mobile network competitor, Reliance Jio, which features:
- unlimited voice calling
- 1GB of daily data
- unlimited SMS messaging
- and 70 day validity.
This plan is offered at just under $8.00CAD.
Opportunities for tech startups
These ongoing developments in mobile access, proliferation, and affordability make India an especially apt place to start, grow, or invest in SMEs. India’s major cities are already becoming thriving tech hubs. Bangalore, Pune, Delhi, and Mumbai each provide lots of opportunities to establish successful businesses, source affordable development talent, or break into an expanding market.
Alacrity India is proud to be a part of this explosive market, offering guidance, mentorship, and funding opportunities to early-stage tech startups in the region.

domain: news


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You can pour a beer. You can pour a concrete driveway. You can even pour a cheese-and-broccoli quiche.
Nov. 23You can pour a beer. You can pour a concrete driveway. You can even pour a cheese-and-broccoli quiche.
Now, if Richard Steinke has his way, it won't be long before you hear about pouring a tire.
That's right, a liquid tire.
Steinke, a Nevada businessman, says he has discovered a better way to make tires by pouring liquid polymers into a mold and letting it harden into a perfectly round shape, with properties equal to or exceeding rubber.
Finding a substitute for rubber as the primary component of an automobile tire is a challenge that has confounded chemical researchers for more than 50 years. Many tire companies have tried and given up.
Steinke said researchers at his company, Amerityre Corp. in Boulder City, Nev., have developed and tested a tire made out of a special polyurethane mixture and are almost ready to take it to market.
The polyurethane tire, Steinke said, is safer, longer-lasting and cheaper to make than a rubber tire. It is also recyclable and more environmentally friendly, he said.
"I think the way tires are made now is archaic," Steinke said. "My goal is to replace rubber. I don't want to brag, but this is a much better technology."
He is inviting tire companies to buy the rights to his technology. He is also warning that if they don't, they will get left behind. Some tire companies say they are keeping an eye on Steinke's progress.
"It's kind of the holy grail of tires," said Guy Edington, managing director of Kumho Tire Co.'s technical center in Akron. "We've been looking at it. Most tire companies have. But no one's been successful yet."
Raw materials, including rubber, represent about 50 percent of tire-making costs. Swings in the price of rubber and other materials give tire makers less control over costs. Urethane, by comparison, is more stable in price and supply.
Steinke said he has been studying the possibilities of making a urethane tire for about 15 years, and has recently hit some milestones. In April, the tires passed independent laboratory tests for Department of Transportation requirements for strength, speed, endurance and other specifications for pneumatic tires.
Two months ago, Amerityre announced that Lee Iacocca and Joseph Grano Jr. would help the company with strategic planning as members of an advisory group. Iacocca is the retired chairman and CEO of Chrysler Corp. Grano is former chairman and chief executive of UBS PaineWebber, a major investment bank.
And some other tire veterans say they think Amerityre is on the right track.
"I believe, absolutely, that urethane will replace rubber in all tires within the next 10 years," said Rick Vannan, who retired in 2002 from Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. as director of advance product and process technology, and is now a consultant to Amerityre.
"I'm convinced, having done extensive lab testing and vehicle testing, that Amerityre has gotten over every hurdle," he added. "There are no show-stoppers now."
What Amerityre seeks to do is to replace the traditional, messy tire-making process, which involves mixing rubber with oils, carbon black, sulphur, pigments and other additives to create a hot, gummy compound that is rolled, blended, slit and glued to the other materials.
Instead of huge, multimillion-dollar factories, tires could be made in small, automated modules that could be set up near automobile plants. A passenger tire could be made in less than a minute, rather than nearly a half-hour. A giant earthmover tire could be produced in minutes, rather than hours.
The urethane tires would last 20 to 30 percent longer than rubber tires. They would run cooler, meaning they would be less prone to fail. They would not ooze oils or chemicals into the environment, the way rubber does. They would never throw a tread, because the tread and the sidewall would be one continuous material, not several different rubber compounds that are molded together.
Perhaps best of all, he said, he could make the tires 15 to 20 percent cheaper than rubber tires, because they require less energy to build, can be manufactured with highly automated systems, and result in less waste.
Amerityre's manufacturing process appears fairly simple. Robotic machines place fabric plies, belts and beads into a mold. Then a machine pours the liquid polyurethane into the mold. Less than a minute later, a new tire comes out.
Vannan delivered a technical talk two months ago to a convention of tire engineers in Akron to explain the technology. He ended his presentation on a challenging note. He said polyurethane tire technology could replace the combined tire capacity of Goodyear, Bridgestone and Michelin by 2010.
Such a conversion would carry a big price tag: $1.8 billion to build all the modules and install all the equipment. But investors will get on board once they see the outcome, he said.
He urged the major tire companies to license the technology. Then they could modify their plants, stay in business and reap the rewards. Otherwise, Amerityre would find outside companies to begin competing with the big tire companies, and begin cherry-picking the most lucrative and desirable tire lines one at a time.
"We don't know how this game will turn out," Vannan said in a recent interview. "We can work with tire companies. We can work without them."
Steinke is issuing similar challenges. He said he has no desire to get into the tire-production business, but one way or another he wants to find partners to get his product on the road.
So far, many large tire companies are saying little publicly about Amerityre's technology.
"Our company worked on urethane tires in the '70s and '80s, and we decided it wasn't a viable business opportunity for us," said Dan MacDonald, a spokesman for Bridgestone/Firestone in Nashville, Tenn.
Goodyear, Michelin and Continental General are keeping their opinions to themselves. None of them would talk about the urethane technology, although Goodyear did say it is keeping an eye on Steinke's progress.
Just three years ago, however, Goodyear was intrigued enough by the idea to enter into a technical venture with Amerityre. "Amerityre has developed a technology that we think has potential," former chairman Sam Gibara told the Akron Beacon Journal in 2001. "We don't know for sure. But if it does, we want to be the first ones to make tires out of urethane."
The Rubber Manufacturers Association, a national trade group that represents more than 100 tire and rubber companies, does not sound alarmed by Amerityre's revolutionary vision.
"The idea of urethane tires has been kicked around for a lot of years. But it just hasn't risen as a concern or issue for our members," said Dan Zielinski, an association spokesman in Washington, D.C.
Some engineers say urethane has possibilities, if it can overcome a host of technical challenges. Urethane is used now in low-performance tires, such as lawn mowers, golf carts, bicycles, hand trucks and scooters. Amerityre, founded in 1995 as the American Tire Corp., has a wide line of such tires on the market.
But it's a tougher challenge to make a tire that would meet the high demands of highway driving, such as traction for a wide range of surfaces, cool operating temperatures and other technical hurdles. Traditionally, urethane has not been commercialized in auto tires because of poor wet traction, melt down during braking and high raw material costs.
"If they can overcome those issues, they have a chance," said Edington of Kumho Tire Co.
But Amerityre said it has indeed overcome those issues. Vannan said he is so confident in the urethane chemistry that he will share his test data with anyone who wants to analyze it. On the issue of temperature, he said, Amerityre's polyurethane tires remain cooler than rubber tires after several hours of driving, 113 degrees Fahrenheit versus 150 degrees and higher for rubber tires. Heat is the enemy of tires. Overheating can lead tires to fail.
The company adds that its tires have 45 percent less rolling resistance than rubber tires, which would result in higher fuel efficiency. Steinke said he is in talks with several automakers about making a tire as original equipment for future car models. He declined to identify the auto companies.
So far, Amerityre has raised about $20 million, including its initial public offering several years ago. The company has about 700 shareholders, and plans to seek additional capital in coming months.
"Over the next two months, I will put together the whole strategy for how we are going to proceed," Steinke said. "I know we have a good product. Now we need to take the ball down the field."
To see more of the Akron Beacon Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.ohio.com.Â© 2004, Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.


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HP Sustainable Impact Strength Helped Drive More Than $1.6 Billion in New Sales in FY19 - A 69 Percent Increase Year-Over-Year
HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) released its 2019 Sustainable Impact Report, highlighting the progress the company is making to drive greater diversity and inclusion, reduce its environmental footprint, and strengthen communities around the world.
As part of these commitments, HP announced a new goal to double the number of Black and African American executives inside the company by 2025.
HP also announced a new goal to eliminate 75 percent of single-use plastic packaging by 2025, supporting the company's efforts to drive a low-carbon, circular economy.
Read More ...


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The Montauk Shellfish Company, which has been growing Montauk Pearl oysters in Lake Montauk for four years, is selling oysters at Rick’s Crabby Cowboy Cafe on East Lake Drive in Montauk for $22.95 a dozen or $11.95 a half dozen.
For the Fourth
The Fourth of July holiday has prompted a lineup of special events at Solé East resort in Montauk. Besides musical performances, listed separately in today’s Star, and a schedule of hair and makeup services by a “celebrity hairstylist” throughout the weekend, there will be a brunch at the Backyard Restaurant at Solé East on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a la carte menu choices and live Brazilian music beginning at 11:30 a.m. The brunch will continue throughout the summer.
Plaza Cafe Prix Fixe
A three-course prix fixe at the Plaza Cafe in Southampton is offered on Sunday through Friday from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. for $32 plus tax and gratuity. Starter choices include Long Island seafood chowder and prosciutto-wrapped wild Pacific shrimp, and main courses include horseradish-crusted local cod, flatiron steak, herb-marinated free-range chicken, and farfalle with Gulf shrimp.
At Smokin’ Wolf in East Hampton, where Turtle Crossing used to be, Arthur Wolf, the chef for the restaurant’s last incarnation, is cooking up barbecue seven nights a week for dinner starting at 5, and for lunch from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Lunch specials are offered for $12. The barbecue may be “smokin’,” but the restaurant is airconditioned.
East End Chefs
Mr. Wolf will be the guest chef at the next East End Chefs event at the Whalers Church in Sag Harbor. On Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., he will prepare a meal featuring “cowgirl quesadillas” with caramelized onions, guacamole, and mango salsa, organic salad and cornbread, pulled-pork sliders with cole slaw, and, for dessert, Valhrona chocolate marble swirl brownies.
The cost is $30, and includes wine. Reservations may be made by calling the church.
Goat’s Milk Caramel
At Lucy’s Whey cheese shop tomorrow, there will be a visit from Hannah Reid of Fat Toad Farm in Vermont, who will provide samples of her family’s goat’s milk caramel. The confection, made in small batches with milk from pastured dairy goats, is a traditional Mexican sweet known as cajeta and used in iced coffee or drizzled onto ice cream or cake. Ms. Reid will be at the North Main Street, East Hampton, shop from 1 to 4 p.m.
Nadia Ernestus, who calls herself the Hamptons Health Coach, will demonstrate how to make a healthy green smoothie at a Hayground Forum event at the Hayground School in Bridgehampton on Sunday at 3 p.m. The program, for adults and supervised children, costs $25 per person.


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Treasuries Drop on Quicker Price Growth, Rebound in Oil PricesBy
Third-quarter consumer prices revised higher than expected
Treasuries extend declines as oil prices stage rebound
Treasuries fell for the first time since the Federal Reserve raised interest rates Dec. 16 amid hints of strength in consumer and energy prices.
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Visitation to Colorado’s ski resorts remained strong in January and February, despite unseasonably warm and dry weather at the beginning of the year.
Business is booming in Colorado’s mountain resorts, and the addition of recreational marijuana stores this year has attracted customers curious about legalized pot.
A new high-speed gondola is set to be built this summer to connect two Utah ski resorts and create one of the largest ski areas in the country, Vail Resorts Inc. announced Monday.
Industry leaders say that even though last-minute lift tickets at some resorts now exceed $100, skiing has never been more affordable if you’re savvy about discounts.
Skiers and snowboarders traveling to Utah this winter will find the same jagged mounting peaks looming just east of Salt Lake City and many familiar trails at the state’s 15 resorts. But they may also notice a few signs of the significant changes that occurred in the offseason.
Private ski lessons are so passe. The latest on-mountain perk for those with seemingly unlimited funds is spending the day with an Olympian.
It’s been 15 years since the World Alpine Ski Championships was in the U.S., and that was in Colorado. Back then the venue only held 2,500 people. This time Beaver Creek is building a huge seating area for fans.
Even though ski season is just starting, Vail is already looking forward to next summer.
A Denver man has been reunited with the wedding ring he lost years ago. The engraved wedding ring was found under a ski lift earlier this summer.
Vail Resorts is hoping to match a wedding ring found under a chairlift to its owner.


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Profit forecasts fall for Samsung Q2
Samsung Electronics’ stocks fell 1.66 percent to finish 1.301 million won ($1,274.70) at Friday’s close. Compared to 1.47 million won on June 3, the company’s shares plunged more than 10 percent in just two weeks.
The main cause of the drop was a series of the low operating profits forecast by local securities firms. There are growing concerns that the earnings shock that brought Samsung Electronics’ shares down from 1.4 million won each to 1.2 million won earlier this year could recur.
Samsung Securities readjusted its forecast for Samsung Electronics’ second-quarter operating profits to 7.9 trillion won, just a month after it lowered the estimate from 9.4 trillion won to 8.5 trillion won.
If the forecast is correct, Samsung’s quarterly operating profit will not reach 8 trillion won for the first time since the second half of 2012.
And Samsung Securities was not the only securities firm that decreased its projections for the company. Other securities businesses have also recently dropped their initial operating profit expectations for Samsung Electronics’ second quarter.
Woori Investment and Securities adjusted its forecast to 8.2 trillion won from 9.4 trillion won, Hyundai Securities lowered to 8 trillion won from 9 trillion won and HMC Investment Securities dropped to 8.1 trillion won from 8.9 trillion won.
Korea Investment and Securities and Mirae Asset Securities even predicted that the company’s operating profit would be as low as 7.9 trillion won and 7.93 trillion won.
As with the earnings shock earlier this year, Samsung Electronics’ mobile phone business is the main problem.
“As sales forecasts of Samsung smartphones for the second quarter declined from 83 million to 77 million smartphones, Samsung’s market share is also expected to drop sharply to 30 percent in the second quarter, from 34 percent in the first quarter,” said Hwang Min-sung, a market analyst at Samsung Securities.
Sales of the Galaxy S5, which was launched in April, are doing well, with more than 18 million units expected to be sold around the world.
But Samsung’s overall smartphone shipments dropped due to its low-cost products seeing a sales slump.
“As the lineup of low-cost products changed in the second quarter, the overall sales of smartphones decreased,” said Park Young-joo, a research fellow at Hyundai Securities.
As concerns over its operating profits emerged, Samsung’s shares, which began to head upward after its corporate governance restructuring June 3, started falling day after day.
The shares, which had continued to rise since May 12, the first trading day after Chairman Lee Kun-hee was hospitalized, are falling after peaking early this month.
But some analysts in the securities industry say that the current situation differs from the earnings shock of earlier this year.
“As competition intensifies, Samsung is losing effect in differentiation, but it does not mean Samsung is losing competitiveness or that its strategy is changing to volume-driven,” said Hwang. “Since the third quarter, we forecast that operating profit will exceed 8 trillion won again.”
Local securities firms have lowered second-quarter operating profit forecasts for the company, yet are keeping target prices and investment recommendations unchanged.
“When compared to global competitors, Samsung’s shares are still undervalued,” said Suh Won-seok, an analyst at Korea Investment and Securities.
By jung seon-eon, kim jung-yoon [email@example.com]


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Blume joined the Volkswagen Group in 1994 and, since then, has held management positions for the brands AUDI, SEAT, Volkswagen and Porsche…reports Asian Lite News
Volkswagen Group chairman and CEO Herbert Diess is stepping down from his position at the company and will be replaced by Porsche CEO Oliver Blume.
Blume will take over as Chairman of the Group Board of Management and remains at the same time Chairman of the Board of Management of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG. He will take over this position with effect as of September 1.
“Oliver Blume has proven his operational and strategic skills in various positions within the Group and in several brands and has managed Porsche AG from a financial, technological and cultural standpoint with great success for seven years running,” Hans Dieter Potsch, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, said in a statement.
“From the Supervisory Board’s point of view, he is now the right person to lead the Group and to further enhance its customer focus and the positioning of its brands and products,” Potsch added.
Blume joined the Volkswagen Group in 1994 and, since then, has held management positions for the brands AUDI, SEAT, Volkswagen and Porsche.
He has been the Chairman of the Board of Management at Porsche since 2015 and a member of the Group Board of Management since 2018.
The Supervisory Board also resolved that Group CFO Arno Antlitz will additionally assume the position of COO and thus assist Blume with day-to-day operations.
The automaker will create a new company called Power Co under CEO Frank Blome and the production at the plant will start in 2025…reports Asian Lite News
German automaker Volkswagen will invest $20.38 billion to build electric vehicle (EV) batteries, creating 20,000 jobs and generating more than $20 billion in annual sales.
Volkswagen broke the ground for its first cell factory in Salzgitter, Germany in the presence of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz late on Thursday.
The automaker will create a new company called Power Co under CEO Frank Blome and the production at the plant will start in 2025.
“Volkswagen is showing how the future of sustainable, climate-compatible mobility could look. Together, we are laying the foundation for shaping this future to a significant extent in Salzgitter,” said German Chancellor Scholz.
Up to 2030, PowerCo will invest more than 20 billion euros, together with partners in the development of the business area, to employ up to 20,000 people in Europe alone.
“The battery cell business is one of the cornerstones of our new auto strategy which will make Volkswagen a leading provider of the sustainable, software-driven mobility of tomorrow. Establishing our own cell factory is a megaproject in technical and economic terms,” said Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen AG.
The company will manage international factory operations, the further development of cell technology, the vertical integration of the value chain and the supply of machinery and equipment to the factories.
Looking ahead, further products such as major storage systems for the energy grid are planned.
The company said that following Salzgitter, the next cell factory is to be established at Valencia.
“Sites are currently being identified for three further cell factories in Europe. In addition to Europe, PowerCo is also already exploring the possibility of further gigafactories in North America,” Volkswagen announced.
Volkswagen also unveiled the prismatic unified cell announced at the Power Day in 2021.
In future, the plant is to reach an annual capacity of 40 GWh — enough for about 500,000 electric vehicles.
By 2030, the Volkswagen Group intends to operate six cell factories with a total volume of 240 GWh throughout Europe together with partners.
Volkswagen addresses child safety, benefits of timely travel and anxiety on the road based on recent research…reports Asian Lite News
Recent research commissioned by Volkswagen Middle East reveals that 40% of parents do not fasten their kids safely in the car because their kids do not like being strapped in; 84% of UAE motorists experience anxiety or stress when driving, while 82% recognise that they would drive more safely if they had left 10 minutes earlier. Volkswagen launches a Safety Campaign in partnership with RoadSafetyUAE, an advocate for responsible and safe driving in the UAE, to address three key findings based on this research – child safety, managing stress and anxiety on the road and journey preparation.
34% of correspondents said they do not have a child seat, while 40% said they do not fasten their kid’s seat belt safely because their kids do not like being strapped in. 29% feel that they are a safe driver and therefore do not need to strap their child into a car seat.
As a family-focused brand, child safety is incredibly important to Volkswagen. To help make child seats more fun for children and therefore encouraging its usage, Volkswagen has created a unique cuddly toy that attaches to the child’s seat belt.
Motorists facing stress and anxiety on the road
Over two thirds of respondents think that the high levels of anxiety and stress impact their driving; and this was more prominent with the female drivers and in the age group 35-44 years old. Only 16% of drivers stating they are never affected by anxiety or stress on the road.
Half the respondents articulated that listening to calming music, radio or podcasts helps overcoming anxiety. Additional measures mentioned included thinking about something uplifting, focusing on breathing techniques and engaging in conversations either on the phone or with passengers.
Based on this research, Volkswagen Middle East has partnered with Anghami, the leading music streaming platform in the GCC, to create a calming playlist to promote safer driving. Volkswagen will also host an exclusive webinar with Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Saliha Afridi at The LightHouse Arabia, focused on how drivers can manage their stress and anxiety for safer driving on the roads.
Dr. Saliha Afridi, PsyD. (US), Clinical Psychologist and Managing Director of The LightHouse Arabia commented: “Good emotional regulation skills and healthy mental health practices are fundamental for safe driving. Whether it’s lingering feelings from a negative interaction or anger associated with something that happens on the road, having the ability to regulate your emotions, calm yourself down quickly, and not being emotionally reactive is essential for a safe drive.”
Leaving 10 minutes earlier
From the research, 23% of respondents said that they are more likely to speed when running late, while 18% admitting that they would tailgate. Overall, 57% recognised that that they would be calmer and drive less stressed if they were to leave a few minutes earlier for their destination.
Volkswagen aims to put this to the test with schools going back. Partnering with renowned influencers, Hattem Mattar and Ines Sebiane will challenge themselves to leave 10 minutes early for their school run and report back on how this impacted their journey and the valuable safety benefits to their followers and Volkswagen’s audiences.
VICTOR DALMAU, MANAGING DIRECTOR, VOLKSWAGEN, MIDDLE EAST: “For Volkswagen, safety is, and will always be, our top priority. Therefore we feel that, beyond producing cars with the latest technology on active and passive safety features, our responsibility is also to make drivers really aware of the importance of safe driving and helping them to achieve it. We have held already safety campaigns over the past years and we are now taking this further through our partnership with RoadSafetyUAE.”
Thomas Edelmann, Founder and Managing Director of RoadSafetyUAE said: “When tackling any type of problem, you first need to be fully aware of it and then look at the measures needed to tackle it. Road safety is no different, and that’s why with this cooperation with Volkswagen we want to raise awareness of its importance and show drivers options to improve it.”
Volkswagen’s Safety Campaign will launch with the school’s opening on September 5th and is perfectly timed ahead of World Mental Health Day on October 10th.
An official release said that the European Commission has found that Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen group breached EU antitrust rules by colluding on technical development in the area of nitrogen oxide cleaning…reports Asian Lite News.
The European Union (EU) has fined five-car manufactures, including BMW and Volkswagen, USD 1 billion for breaking antitrust rules on emissions.
“Today, the commission took a decision against five car manufacturers: Daimler, BMW, as well as Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche, which are part of the Volkswagen group. The commission imposed a total fine of 875 million euros. These car manufacturers illegally colluded to restrict competition in the area of emission-cleaning technologies for diesel cars,” Margrethe Vestager, executive vice-president of the European Commission told a press briefing on Thursday.
An official release said that the European Commission has found that Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen group breached EU antitrust rules by colluding on technical development in the area of nitrogen oxide cleaning.
All parties acknowledged their involvement in the cartel and agreed to settle the case, the release added.
Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said the five car manufacturers possessed the technology to reduce harmful emissions beyond what was legally required under EU emission standards. “But they avoided to compete on using this technology’s full potential to clean better than what is required by law.”
“So today’s decision is about how legitimate technical cooperation went wrong. And we do not tolerate it when companies collude. It is illegal under EU Antitrust rules. Competition and innovation on managing car pollution are essential for Europe to meet our ambitious Green Deal objectives,” she added. (ANI)


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The Menlo Park, California-based company, which sells a software platform that allows companies to easily incorporate social and gaming mechanics into their websites, has seen “explosive growth” since its September 2010 launch, CEO Kris Duggan told me in a recent interview. Badgeville, which has taken on $2.8 million in venture capital, is on track to reach profitability with its own revenue and has no plans to raise more outside funds, he said. Badgeville has 25 employees, and plans to add 10 more people to its staff in the next 30 days.
The company has attracted a customer base of 60 clients across a broad swath of industries — from retail website Bluefly, which uses Badgveille to create shopping incentives, to accounting and consulting stalwart Deloitte and Touche, which uses Badgeville widgets internally to drive employee performance. Badgeville is run as a software-as-a-service offering that typically starts at $2000 per month. Based on its current growth projections, the company expects to book between $5 million to $10 million in sales for 2011, Duggan said.
While Rajat Paharia, the founder of gamification startup Bunchball, recently told me that Bunchball’s six-year history gives it an edge over newcomers in the space, Duggan claims that being the new kid on the block is an asset. “A lot of first generation gamification startups require a good deal of software development on the client side,” Duggan said. “We’ve built this over the last year with modern approaches. We were focused on having a platform that can be easily configured without a lot of customization work.” Badgeville’s backend technologies were built using Ruby on Rails on MongoDB, he said, and the company has hosted the majority of its content in the cloud with Engine Yard and Amazon’s EC2.
“I like to say we’ve been able to build something that is the Goldilocks of the gamification market,” he said. “Not too customized, and not too do-it-yourself.”
Badgeville on Tuesday rolled out a new “Dynamic Game Engine” platform that allows brands to specify what behavior they want to reward– such as purchases, activity within a certain product category– and configure customized rewards for users who engage in those behaviors. Also on Tuesday the company launched a new widget studio to let brands add more highly customizable social and gaming elements to their sites.
Badgeville’s growth and near-profitable operations has attracted acquisition offers from larger software players, Duggan said. For the time being, he said the company is turning away M&A suitors to stay heads-down in growth mode. “We have not been at all interested in any inbound [offers to buy the company.] Our goal is to build a very big company, with thousands of customers.”


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New blinkx Technology Rewards Consumers for Sharing Online Video
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. - October 10, 2007 - blinkx, the world’s largest video search engine, today announced unique technology to remunerate consumers who have embedded video clips into their blogs or webpages. Based on blinkx’s ground-breaking AdHoc platform, the new widget places unobtrusive, highly-relevant text advertisements against embedded video from popular sharing sites such as YouTube, GoogleVideo and DailyMotion. blinkx will share 50 percent of the revenue generated from the ads with users, and payments will be facilitated through PayPal.
Launched in June 2007, blinkx AdHoc is the first contextual advertising platform for online video, designed to place highly relevant advertising against video content on the Web. Just as Google’s AdSense transformed advertising on the Text Web, blinkx’s AdHoc platform will revolutionize video advertising by matching compelling, customized, TV-style ads to audiences on the Video Web.
The AdHoc platform is unique because it was built from the ground up to address rich media, resulting in more effective marketing for advertisers, higher monetization for content owners and distributors, and, most importantly, a useful, non-disruptive experience for users.
“The dramatic growth of online video has been driven by a global audience—individuals who are creating and distributing user-generated content,” said Suranga Chandratillake, founder and CEO, blinkx. “We wanted to reward people for the role they played in sharing and promoting video legally on the Web. blinkx’s new AdHoc widget enables Internet users to monetize the video they choose to embed on their webpages and blogs quickly and easily.”
AdHoc Widget - Get started today!
Click on the AdHoc tab on www.blinkx.com
Create your account using just your e-mail address and a password.
Enter your PayPal account information for payment.
Copy the embed code of your video from Web sites such as YouTube, MySpace, or Google Video and drop it into the text box indicated.
Finally, copy and paste the AdHoc widget code provided by blinkx into your Web site, blog or social networking page
Start making money!
As a pioneer in video search technology, blinkx has built a reputation as the most intuitive way to search new forms of online content such as video. With more than 200 partners and fourteen million hours of indexed video and audio content, including favorite TV moments, news clips, short documentaries, music videos, video blogs and more, blinkx uses advanced speech recognition technology to deliver results that are more accurate and reliable than standard metadata-based keyword searches.
blinkx (London AIM: BLNX) is the world’s most comprehensive video search engine. Today, blinkx has indexed more than 14,000,000 hours of audio, video, viral and TV content, and made it fully searchable and available on demand. blinkx’s founders set out to solve a significant challenge - as TV and user-generated content on the Web explode, keyword-based search technologies only scratch the surface. blinkx’s patented search technologies listen to - and even see - the Web, helping users enjoy a breadth and accuracy of search results not available elsewhere. In addition, blinkx powers the video search for many of the world’s most frequented sites. blinkx is based in San Francisco and London. More information is available at www.blinkx.com.
+1 (415) 321 1894


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Developed as part of moves to improve air quality across the country, the changes will allow van drivers to operate heavier electric or gas-powered vehicles without having to apply for a new licence.
The reforms are a step towards the government’s aim for nearly all cars and vans on our roads to be zero emission by 2050 and follow crucial announcements last month. Due to the weight of the battery, eco-vans have to reduce the amount of goods they can carry, or apply for a different licence, with the associated costs and medical report requirements.
Now the Department for Transport has published plans to allow motorists to drive vans weighing up to 4,250kg if they are powered by electricity, natural gas, LPG or hydrogen.
Transport Minister Jesse Norman said: “Vans have become essential to our economy and are vital for our builders, small businesses and delivery drivers. We have more of them on our roads than ever before. That’s a good sign for the economy, but our challenge is to try to tackle their impact on air quality. We want to make it easier for businesses to opt for cleaner vehicles, and these proposals are designed to do just that.”
A public consultation is now open on the proposed new measures and will last 12 weeks. They will help level the playing field by addressing the payload penalty which currently puts operators of cleaner vans at a commercial disadvantage compared to operators of equivalent conventionally-fuelled vehicles.
Source – UK Construction Online


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Twentieth Century Fox have issued a press release letting us know that James Cameron’s epic movie has become the biggest selling UK Blu Ray of all time and it will probably remain so for many years to come. Until Avatar 2 comes along that is! Read on for the full details.
London, UK (Monday 10 May 2010) – AVATAR has once again shattered industry records to become the biggest selling Blu-ray title ever in the UK, announced today by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (TCFHE). In 2 weeks, TCFHE sold 505,057 units of AVATAR on the high-definition Blu-ray format – beating the all-time Blu-ray record of 490,633 held by The Dark Knight and breaking the half a million milestone.
“Blu-ray is the ultimate way for fans to enjoy Avatar at home and experience Pandora in all its awe-inspiring clarity in high definition” commented Steven Leighton, SVP Northern Europe and Asia Pacific for TCFHE. “It’s no surprise that viewers are choosing to own AVATAR on Blu-ray and with 22.2% of our overall sales to date this clearly demonstrates that UK consumers are embracing Blu-ray as the format of choice.”
Lavinia Carey, Director General, British Video Association said: “It’s fitting that AVATAR is the title that inspires consumers to buy into Blu-ray and lift it to the next level of household penetration as the best way to watch high definition content.”
Prior to the film’s release on Blu-ray Disc and DVD, AVATAR generated over £91million at the UK box-office and $2.7 billion worldwide — making it the highest grossing film of all time. Written and directed by James Cameron and produced with his long-time collaborator Jon Landau, AVATAR stars Sam Worthington, Zoë Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Wes Studi and Laz Alonso. Director James Cameron takes audiences to a spectacular world beyond imagination, where a reluctant hero embarks on a journey of redemption and discovery as he leads a heroic battle to save a civilization.


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Microsoft's product page for the Xbox One Wireless Controller has confirmed that the console can support up to eight of those controllers at once, versus just four for the PS4.
Windows 10 Build 10125 leaks online
Ulefone Be Touch: Video unboxing and first impressions
LG G4 Review - the phone that tries to offer everything
"..is now a top seller and lets you put all your favorite sci-fi ships against each other" - Brad Wardell
galactic civilizations 3
Tronsmart's USB Smart Charger; an ideal solution for the household?
All the latest news for Windows 10 Mobile and Desktop previews
Xbox one controller
During PAX Prime this weekend in Seattle, Microsoft showed off eight of its Xbox One controllers that each have custom artwork created by some contemporary artists.
Microsoft has confirmed that it is working to have the upcoming Xbox One controller work on a PC, but that such support won't be available until sometime in 2014.
Microsoft has released a new video with Xbox Live director of programming Larry Hryb chatting with Zulfi Alam, the general manager of the Xbox accessories group, about the Xbox One's controller.
Microsoft has released three new videos that put the spotlight on the Xbox One's official controller, along with its play and charge hit and its optional headset.
A Chinese language website claims to have posted pictures of an Xbox One controller that has been torn down to show the inside of Microsoft's next generation gamepad.
Microsoft has revealed more about the development of the official controller for the upcoming Xbox One game console, including adding in features to make it more more precise and comfortable.


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Project Cosmos, an 80m all aluminum, full displacement yacht to be built by Heesen with delivery in April 2022. It will be the largest yacht to date to be built by Heesen.
M/Y Li-Lien, a 118-foot (36m) Heesen launched in 2005, sold by Northrop & Johnson listing broker Wes Sanford and Lengers Yachts, which brought the buyer. Asking price was $5.9 million.
M/Y Catera, a 101-foot (30.7m) Hargrave built in 2010, sold by listing brokers Carmine and Michael Galati of Galati Yacht Sales and Alliance Marine, which brought the buyer. Asking price was $4.3 million.
M/Y Powdermonkey, a 101-foot (30.7m) boat built by Falcon Yachts in 2004 and refit in 2014, sold by Engel & Völkers broker Charles Crane. Asking price was just under $1.2 million euros.
M/Y Sunrise, a 93.5-foot (28.5m) Benetti Delfino launched in 2011, sold by Altinel Shipyard, which represented the buyer. Asking price was 3.85 million euros.
New in the sales fleet
M/Y Triple Seven, a 223-foot (68m) Nobiskrug launched in 2006, listed with Burgess for just under 45 million euros.
M/Y Brio, a 125-foot (38m) Heesen built in 1988 and refit in 2017, listed with Northrop & Johnson brokers Joe Foggia and Ed Sacks for just under $6 million.
S/Y Queen South III (ex QS Atlantic), a 118-foot (36m) motorsailer built by Cihan Marine in 1999 and refit in 2013, listed with BGYB for 1.9 million euros.
M/Y Vaiven, a 114-foot (35m) Broward launched in 1995 and refit in 2017, listed with Northrop & Johnson broker Sean Doyle for $3.25 million.


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This might only seem fascinating to a tech geek like me, but Google Engineering Manager Rachel Potvin estimates the software needed to run all of Google's Internet services -- from Google Search to Gmail to Google Maps -- spans about 2 billion lines of code.
U.S. apparel advertisers paid an average of $1.28 per click in the first seven months of 2015 compared with an average cost per click of $0.49 for those in the U.K., according to recent data. There are two reasons.
As advertisers plan for the upcoming holiday season, one of the biggest trends highlighted by Merkle RKG is a surge in traffic growth from mobile phones. Click rates rose 97% year-over-year on Google in the early part of Q3, compared with 56% growth in Q2, says Mark Ballard, senior director of research at Merkle RKG.
Irvine and San Diego, California as well as Louisville, Kentucky could become the next three cities in which Google Fiber installs its high-speed Fiber connection service.
Apple announced at its developer conference a slew of search-related features in a variety of products. The ability to search for content on Apple TV through Siri seemed the most notable to me, because of the opportunity to drive advertising and interaction in apps in the background. Apps become the easiest way to measure intent, whether they reside on a phone or on a set-top box.
Google puts a lot of weight in search ranking around relevance. So it didn't come as a complete surprise when I saw a quick survey pop up from the bottom of the page asking for feedback.
When put into dollars and cents, it's pretty incredible to think about the percentage of advertising revenue that Google actually gets from the market. eMarketer released data Tuesday analyzing forecasts and market share for mobile and digital in the Untied States.
What keywords generate the phone call? It turns out many markets don't know. Why? As more media buys go through programmatic channels it becomes increasingly difficult for marketers to track the complete purchase path. The buying gets done based on automated rules and reporting structures, but the path doesn't consider phone calls.
How can marketers use native, video, and other media in non-branded keyword campaigns to influence consumers to search for specific brands?
Wikipedia has banned editors from 381 blackhat user accounts getting paid to post and maintain promotional content to the online encyclopedia after the site's CheckUser group identified "sock puppet" editors creating promotional articles, and inserting promotional external links.


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Johnny Depp, the face of Dior’s new men’s fragrance Sauvage and brand ambassador will be featured in the highly-anticipated video campaign that will celebrate the launch of the new Eau de Toilette
Dior Sauvage launches on September 2, 2015 and will be advertised by Hollywood legend Johnny Depp. The still photo of the 52 year-old star from the shoot shows him in the middle of the desert, however a teaser for Dior’s new fragrance shows Los Angeles by night.
In the 13-second teaser, Depp says in a brooding voice that he “needs to get out of here” but the video fails to actually show the actor onscreen. The film has been shot by French director and photographer Jean-Baptiste Mondino, who wanted to “ break free from urban city chaos.”
Dior states that a highly evocative name of the perfume Sauvage, reflects both the House’s heritage, but also a raw, wild word to herald a unique fragrance. It originates from the fragrance Dior Eau Sauvage from 1966, although the two don’t belong to the same collection. Dior’s first men’s fragrance in 10 years, Sauvage is inspired by wild, open spaces; blue sky that covers rocky landscapes, hot under the desert sun. It’s been revealed that the new fragrance for men was crafted by the house’s storied resident perfumer, Francois Demachy (the man behind Dior Homme and Miss Dior).
Dior Sauvage is announced as radically fresh, and noble at the same time. The composition features meticulously selected natural ingredients. Fresh top notes of Calabria bergamot encounter ambroxan, obtained from precious ambergris, and its woody trail.
Teaser Video #1
Be the first to leave a review.


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iTV To Go 'Beyond Streaming'?
After a recent meeting with top Apple executives, Bear Stearns analyst Andy Neff believes that Apple's iTV will go beyond simply streaming video (reported by AppleInsider).
"Though details remain sketchy, Apple emphasized [the] focus of iTV [is] to improve user experience by leveraging its software expertise and implied that there may be features beyond the mere streaming of video content," the analyst wrote.
The iTV is already known to be able to stream music and photos as well, and the possibility of Apple including an internal hard drive in the iTV has already been raised, but the analyst also believes the iTV will have advanced user interface software to further the ultimate goal of improving user experience and simplifying consumers' use of content.
Apple also reportedly (and not surprisingly) has a number of products currently in development that are likely to be introduced over several years. During Apple's September "It's Showtime" event, Apple CEO Steve Jobs stated that Apple was now "in your den... in your living room... in your car... in your pocket", and hinted that that theme gave a "little idea of where [Apple] is going."


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According to Hirado.hu, Chevrolet’s withdrawal from the region reached its final, administrative phase, the new models cannot be purchased in Hungary – Chevrolet Central and Eastern Europe Ltd. informed MTI.
General Motors announced in December 2014 that they would withdraw the Chevrolet brand from Europe by 2015. The decision was justified by the negative situation of the European automotive market and the unfulfilled business expectations. The objective is the cleaning of General Motor’s product range and the strengthening of Opel and Cadillac brands.
Gyorgy Megyeri, Managing Director of Chevrolet Central and Eastern Europe Ltd. said to MTI that in terms of car sales, withdrawal as a process had completed and he had no knowledge about new cars in the country and there were no Chevrolet dealerships either. Last year, 254 new cars were registered in Hungary – he added.
Earlier, the company announced that they had informed their clients about the most important information of the withdrawal and ensured that car servicing and the supply of original spare parts remained unaltered. The company is also able to hold warranties even after the terminal, Hirado.hu says.
Gyorgy Megyeri said the Budaors office terminated too under the administrative closing and they were looking for several GM workers other opportunities within the Hungarian interests of GM. According to the former information of MTI, Opel brand headquarters and General Motors financial service center will work in Budaors from 2016.
According to Hirado.hu, Chevrolet sales started in Hungary in 2005, after the appearance of the European brand, and it has a 4, 67% market share. Since then, more than 39 thousand Chevrolet was bought by the Hungarians. In 2013, in the last full year, 686 cars were sold in the 62 thousand- Hungarian market.
based on the article of Hirado.hu translated by BA


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SEC: Companies can use social media to put out information
New York — The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday said that companies can social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to make significant announcements as long as they alert investors about which sites they plan to use for the disclosures.
"Most social media are perfectly suitable methods for communicating with investors, but not if the access is restricted or if investors don’t know that’s where they need to turn to get the latest news," said George Canellos, acting director of the SEC’s division of enforcement, in a statement.
The announcement was triggered by a probe stemming from a post last summer on the personal Facebook page of Netflex CEO Reed Hastings that stated Netflix’s monthly online viewing had exceeded one billion hours for the first time. The SEC said the information had not been revealed through more traditional means. The SEC said it did not initiate an enforcement action or allege wrongdoing in that case.
Ahold USA adds six more LEED stores to its fleet
New York — Ahold USA, a division of Netherlands-based Royal Ahold, said six newly built stores had received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The locations include four stores in the Stop & Shop New England and New York Metro divisions, one in the Giant-Landover division and one in the Giant-Carlisle division.
These stores feature white roofs to reflect sunlight and reduce heat gain in the stores, skylights to harvest daylight and reduce electricity consumption during peak daylight hours, and LED lighting throughout the store. Smaller cooling systems are improving the efficiency of refrigerated display cases and open deck refrigerated cases have been replaced with closed door ones.
To date, Ahold USA has a total of 56 stores that have achieved LEED certification for existing buildings, which is largest fleet of LEED-certified stores among U.S. supermarket retailers.
"By utilizing these innovative green building technologies, we are building all new stores across our retail divisions according to the LEED standards to reduce our environmental impact in the communities we serve for future generations," said Ahold USA VP responsible retailing Jihad Rizkallah.
Destination XL Group launches targeted email campaign
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Destination XL Group is engaging the service of CQuotient to create tailored email campaigns for its shoppers.
“Email is one of our strongest communication methods when it comes to connecting with our customers outside of store walls, and we wanted to help mirror our personal in-store experience through this channel,” said Jay Nigrelli, VP e-commerce, Destination XL Group. “By partnering with CQuotient, we expect to take our email campaigns to the next level. They will turn what was once an overwhelming amount of data into relevant messages tailored to each individual’s shopping patterns and preferences; and they’ll do so using our existing email processes and infrastructure. We are very excited to deliver more valuable, always relevant information to our customers.”
Using CQuotient’s technology, Destination XL Group will have access to advanced predictive algorithms and deep retail domain knowledge that can be used to emulate this unique and personalized in-store experience through email.
“Hyper-personalizing emails represents a massive opportunity for retailers, especially for multi-channel retailers for whom email has become the connective tissue between channels and all their marketing efforts,” explained CQuotient Founder and CEO Rama Ramakrishnan. “Retailers are able to leverage our expertise in mining massive amounts of data, finding valuable insights and turning them into specific actions that change customer behavior. This is what CQuotient’s technology does and we are very excited to be working with a forward-thinking retailer like Destination XL Group.”


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A series of stabilizing policies introduced by the central government has gradually taken effect and the Chinese economy is recovering stably. The stimulus policies adopted by many countries in 2013 pushed the global economy to a slow recovery and the international economic environment is improving. Thanks to the central government’s stabilization policies, Chinese enterprises have accelerated production to make up the inventory rather than slowing down production to digest the inventory. The macroeconomic operation will continue the rising trend and China’s GDP growth in 2013 may be faster than 2012.
The demand for investment will continue to rise and fall. Over a certain period of time, the fixed-asset investment will maintain a growth faster than 20 percent and investment will remain the important force driving economic growth. In the first half of this year, China will continue to boost economic recovery with investment in large-scale infrastructure projects.
There are three reasons for this. First, the demand for infrastructure is robust. Second, 2013 is an important interim evaluation year for the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) and local governments will have new heads elected. Third, the loose financing environment will provide fund guarantees for investment in infrastructure construction projects.
Affected by the upgrading of the industrial structure, energy saving efforts and the macro-control polices issued by the State Council to curb rising house prices, the investment in manufacturing industries will drop slightly and investment growth in the real estate sector will slow down.
The primary driving force for the growth of consumption demand is constantly growing. Income is the most important factor deciding consumption growth. The fast growth of incomes will support a steady growth in consumption.
There are some factors driving consumption growth: First, the good incomes and employment situation of urban and suburban residents will support the steady growth of consumption. The employed population increased by 11.88 million in 2012 and resident’s real incomes in urban and rural areas grew by 9.6 percent and 10.7 percent respectively, higher than the GDP growth in China for the first time. It is expected that the central government will push forward comprehensive income distribution reform from many aspects, such as the primary distribution, redistribution, the growth of farmers’ incomes and distribution order. As this crucial reform is gradually carried out, China’s domestic consumption will gain more forward momentum.
The fast development of online consumption, community consumption and some other new consumption models will provide new powers driving China’s consumption. As China’s per capita GDP exceeded $6,000, China’s consumption structure entered an important period of upgrading and the consumption in cities is striding into the stage of “enjoying life” and rural consumption is entering the stage that features higher demand for living and traveling. The core drivers of consumption growth are the steadily growing demand for cars, medium and high-level household appliances and better services.
The gloomy prospects for exports, which are the result of the many global uncertainties and the slow recovery of the global economy, will be both favorable and adverse for the China’s foreign trade. The growth in China’s exports and imports in the first quarter of 2013 are expected to hit 8 percent and 6 percent.
The favorable factors include, first the strengthening signs that the global economic recovery is conducive to the steady operation of China’s export trade. The Purchasing Managers’ Index, a global measure of manufacturing, rose from 49.6 percent to 50.2 percent in Dec 2012, passing the “vicissitude line”. The real estate market of the United States just saw its largest restorative growth since 2006 and the unemployment rate in the US declined to 7.8 percent. The deficits of some European counties are becoming smaller. And the economies in Greece and Spain are recovering slightly. The MIST countries (Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey) and some small emerging economies’ growths are accelerating. The warming of the world economy will improve the foreign demands for China’s export in the first quarter. Second, the optimization of trade structures will continue. China’s export growth will be higher than the world’s average, China’s share in the world market enjoys great potential for expansion as China is trying to upgrade the production structure of its exports .
The adverse factors are as follows: First the pressure of exchange rate appreciation is big. The developed countries apply quantitative easing monetary policies forcing the yen and US dollar to depreciate fast. The renminbi’s appreciation against the yen lowered the real growth of China’s exports by about 2 percentage points. The US economy is recovering and its imports are rapidly growing and so its trade deficit is increasing. The US dollar will depreciate. The real effective exchange rate of the renminbi will appreciate, which will weaken the price competitiveness of China’s exported products and add pressure to the growth of China’s exports. Second, China will come across some obstacles on its way to joining the world multilateral trade system. After the financial crisis, all countries paid more attention to grabbing international market share. The US and European countries all made policies supporting exports and to contain the exports of China and the other emerging economies by introducing protectionist measures and building up trade alliances, which goes against the growth in demand for China’s exports.
Last but not least, the price level growth trend is for a mild rise. China’s domestic economy is warming up. The pressure of cost-pushed inflation is building up. The liquidity of the international currency market is becoming looser and the prices of staple commodities are recovering. Under such circumstances, the price of consumer goods will show a rising trend. The Consumer Price Index is expected to rise about 3 percent in the first quarter of this year, higher than the fourth quarter of last year, but lower than the same period of time last year.
Qi Jingmei is a researcher with the State Information Center.


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Gamers Nexus: "The days of 4MB drives being massive are long passed, thankfully, and now we're breaking into new hard drive capacity territory. Despite the HDD industry's slow recovery speed, Hitachi has shipped its most recent Deskstar 5K, a 4TB HDD that runs at 5900RPM (dubbed the 'CoolSpin' by Hitachi), 32MB of cache, and a SATA III interface (6Gb/s max bandwidth)."
Honda is among the few major automakers still entrenched in fuel cell hydrogen over battery-powered vehicles as an alternative fuel.
The ASUS VivoMini PC UN65H is a great compact-sized PC, but it may just need a bit more oomph to justify its rather lofty price tag.
GamersNexus: "BackBlaze just reported its annual failure rate for 34,881 drives that house 100 petabytes of data (that's 100,000,000 gigabytes). The latest report reinforces earlier data that Seagate has some of the poorest longterm endurance of all tested devices, with 3TB drives climbing to a 15% annual failure rate (from 9% at the time of last reporting). WD 3TB drives aren't immune to worsened lifespan, though, and have also jumped from 4% to 7% in annual failures."


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September 10, 2010 -- BitSim (www.bitsim.com) now starts operation in Finland, an office has opened in Oulu.
BitSim has appointed Mika Jokinen to lead the Finnish activities. The Finnish group currently has close to ten employees in place and the first customer projects have already started.
With this BitSim will broaden its customer base with a continued focus on specialized electronic design services around ASIC/FPGA, DSP, advanced circuit board design and HW-oriented software. A new offering is component engineering, where design engineers can get outside help with this important function.
"We are excited to start offering services in Finland, we already have a strong and experienced group in place in Finland that will benefit the rest of BitSim. With operations in Oulu, Stockholm/Kista, Gothenburg and Lund we can form an attractive local offering but also be of interest to international customers" says BitSim’s CEO Anders Sivard.
“At the moment we are going through a quick expansion, we are looking into establishing operations in other locations in Finland with a continued specialist focus on electronics design.” says BitSim Finland’s CEO Mika Jokinen.
”We are working more and more with wireless applications. With this we mean both industrial applications and traditional telecom.
We have the knowledge and experience to bring companies both new to the FPGA technology, as well as to those already using them.Our educational activities have
expanded, we now offer over 30 courses in FPGA technology and courses in design and verification languages, read more www.bitsim.com/en/education.htm "
BitSim AB is a leading consultant and design house focusing on electronic design and embedded SW for Board and Chip development. The company has over 40 experienced electronics engineers in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Lund, Linkoping and Oulu.


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LONDON – Longtime Disney executive Chiara Cipriani has joined Apple. She will work as Director for Video Services in London.
Disney+ Executive Swaps Sides
Ms. Cipriani joined Apple earlier in May (via Bloomberg News). She worked at Disney for over 10 years. In that time she managed DisneyLife and rose to become vice president of Disney+ International.
Battle For Media Talent
The move is a further bolstering of media talent at Apple, as the company prepares to launch its Apple TV+ service and compete with Netflix and others. In April, it made two significant media hires. First Molly Thompson, the founder of A&E Indie Films, joined as head of documentaries. Days later, Lionsgate veteran Danielle DePalma arrived as a senior film and TV series marketing executive.


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VisitScotland has hit back at criticism of its promotion of Edinburgh’s festivals after it was denounced for the lack of a campaign to boost ticket sales when the Olympics were on.
The Scotsman revealed last month that the tourism body had decided against a drive similar to the one which Ireland mounted to lure visitors in during the Games.
No major announcements were made by VisitScotland about the festivals in the run-up to the Fringe, although receptions were held with partner organisations at the controversial “Scotland House” venture in London, which cost the taxpayer £400,000.
The tourism agency, which brought dozens of journalists up to Edinburgh over the last weekend of the Olympics, insists a “last-minute scattergun approach would not have worked”.
Total marketing spent by VisitScotland on the festivals this year came to just £500,000, a fraction of the £7 million set aside to promote the country on the back of Disney-Pixar film Brave, which was released in Scotland on the opening weekend of the Fringe. A study last year found that the economic benefit generated by the Fringe is up to £140 million – the same amount VisitScotland expects its Brave campaign to generate.
Fringe promoters are privately furious at the lack of support from VisitScotland when shows started running midway through the Olympics.
In the end, some venues saw ticket sales plummet by as much as 25 per cent when the Olympics was on and although sales rallied after the end of the games, by the end of the festival some leading promoters admitted they were still 10 per cent down on last year.
There have been calls for lessons to be learned for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 and admissions that it was a mistake not to shift the dates of the Fringe.
One promoter, who asked not to be named, said: “The clash with the dates was well-known about and we were expecting a big effort to get the ‘staycation’ message out to people who might not have been too interested in the Olympics, but would be inclined to go to Fringe shows.
“In the end, it just seemed that we were relying on the usual audience to turn out.”
William Burdett-Coutts, artistic director of Assembly Theatre, expressed fears before the Fringe started, said: “We haven’t got our final ticket sales yet, but they are certainly heading in the direction of a 10 per cent drop. I certainly wasn’t aware of any big campaign.
“We knew years in advance how big a deal the Olympics was going to be. I think it’s been an issue for several years that VisitScotland could be doing more for the Fringe. I’ve no idea what they did this year.”
VisitScotland spokesman said: “Our marketing is some of the most sophisticated in the world, based on sound research and consumer feedback – it isn’t about employing a last-minute scattergun approach. All our research shows the value of carefully targeting the markets that will bring the best economic impact to Scotland - and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”


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San Antonio-area theater premieres temporary drive-in, plus more popular stories
Editor's note: Welcome to our weekly roundup of the top stories in San Antonio. Each weekend, we share five pieces that captured the attention of the Alamo City over the past seven days.
1. San Antonio-area movie theater debuts temporary drive-in during COVID-19 shutdown. EVO Entertainment Group has opened a drive-in “theater” in the parking lot of its Schertz location, which is temporarily closed. There are plans for screenings seven days a week for the foreseeable future.
2. Here are the top 5 things to do in San Antonio this weekend. Weekends look a little different right now, so instead of our usual event-driven roundup, we've crafted a new kind of guide for some weekend fun.
3.H-E-B rolls out new restrictions on what San Antonio shoppers can buy. The San Antonio-based grocer has issued limits on a host of grocery items and other household goods to curb stockpiling during the coronavirus crisis.
4. H-E-B carts out employee pay raise during COVID-19 panic. In other H-E-B news, the company has bumped up pay for hourly employees by $2 an hour through mid-April.
5.Downtown San Antonio property transforming into high-end signature hotel. The downtown Marriott is poised for a major makeover. It will be converted into The Otis Hotel San Antonio (the second Otis ever) and should be ready for reservations in early 2022.


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Rising fuel prices hitting local businesses hard – GCCI
If you drive a car or any motor vehicle for that matter, then you are among the many Guyanese currently feeling the squeeze of the sharp increase in fuel prices.
Checks made at the major gas stations in Georgetown show Shell’s price at: Fuel Save – $207.0 per litre, V-Power – $212.0 per litre, Diesel – $185.0 per litre; the Rubis Vlissengen Road gas station: Pure 95 Gasolene – $210 per litre, Diesel – $189 per litre; at GuyOil Super 95 Gasolene is $203 per litre, Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel $190, Kerosene $125 per litre.
This hike has sparked major concerns not only for consumers but for local businesses as well.
President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Timothy Tucker, addressed the issue on Thursday during an interview with the News Room.
He acknowledged that local businesses have been hit hard by the gas prices but he pointed out that even more pressure is being placed on ordinary consumers in the pandemic-driven economy.
“It is a double-whammy situation for Guyana because we are now an oil exporter so the rising prices actually benefit us as an exporter or crude but as a consumer, it is putting us at a disadvantage…it is automatically affecting everybody’s daily operations,” Tucker told the News Room.
The increase is not uncommon, the Chamber President explained as it is attributed to the rise in world oil prices. In fact, the government had taken heed of this and instituted a slash in the excise tax on gasoline and diesel back in February.
Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh had cited the steady hike in oil prices on the world market, from US$35 per barrel in October 2020 to over US$60 per barrel resulting in a rise in the domestic market.
The government’s slash in excise tax was meant to minimise the impact on domestic consumers, particularly, the travelling public as well as those in the productive sector where fuel is an important input but it did nothing to help the prices falter.
Tucker indicated, however, that the Chamber is paying close attention to the prices. Should it go over a certain marker, efforts will be made to appeal to the government for a subsidy on fuel for businesses as the trickle-down effort will not bode well for consumers.
“It is important because we can become lost…we cannot be able to compete and it will automatically affect everything, all the goods, and services that are provided by the locals,” the Chamber President said.


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‘Tis indeed the season to be jolly but the emergence of a new Covid variant and reimposed restrictions in some places just when things were looking up has the hospitality sector– and party-goers hoping to make the most of Christmas and year-end festivities – worried yet again.
Though Christmas lights are up in several cities, the feeling of déjà vu, of another year-end of lengthening Covid shadows – this time of the Omicron variant – has dampened the Yuletide spirit. And while many restaurants and hotels are going ahead with their Christmas and New Year plans, it’s all edged with uncertainty and dread that another wave might be just around the corner.
The party may not go on. But nobody can be sure. Be it Delhi or Mumbai, Kolkata or Bengaluru, optimism for a happy and healthy end to the year clashes with the stress of not really knowing what lies ahead. The mantra, as an industry insider put it, is cautiously optimistic
In the national capital, where the Delhi Disaster Management Authority on Wednesday directed district magistrates to ensure no Christmas and New Year gathering takes place in view of the rising Omicron cases, restaurateurs sought more clarity.
The DDMA order, they said, permits bars and restaurants to operate with up to 50 per cent of seating capacity without specifying whether they can host Christmas and New Year parties.
"Whether we can organise a party or not is a grey area. We hope the government will issue a clarification before December 31," Joy Singh, co-partner of Raasta and Yeti, said.
He said they are opting to be cautious and organise only sit-down lunches and dinners.
A restaurant owner in Khan Market, the buzzing shopping and eating destination in the heart of the city, said this is their turnaround moment but it may not happen.
"We were hoping the (DDMA) order would bring some relief but we will have to settle for 50 per cent of the crowd. Ever since the pandemic, we have been facing issues with lockdown and then the curbs… We understand there is the Omicron threat, but other areas are fully functional, so why to target our industry?"
Sahil Sambhi of the Drunken Botanist, a bar-eatery in Gurgaon’s Cyber Hub abutting Delhi, is equally despairing.
“…This is the most rewarding time for the F&B industry. That said, we will abide by the 50 per cent rule strictly and will follow all Covid protocols to the tee. We had planned a few events on the occasion, but I am afraid we have to cancel those now amid the fresh curbs imposed by the state government,” the director of Drunken Botanist said.
Given the escalating number of cases and the fear of another wave, the industry is battling tremendous odds anyway.
According to a survey by English news app Inshorts, about 63 per cent of Delhi residents said they will "stay at home" while 29 per cent said they would like to be part of "small get-togethers". Of the 15,000 people surveyed, four per cent said they would like to dine out or travel on the occasion.
In Karnataka, the state government has said there will no deejays, no parties from December 31 to January 2. And the 50 per cent cap on occupancy also stands. To add to it, some groups have announced a shutdown on New Year’s Eve to press for a ban on the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti, which recently allegedly defaced the statue of 19th-century warrior Sangolli Rayanna, in Belagavi.
Chetan Hegde, the owner of 1522- The Pub in the state capital Bengaluru, said business has dipped by 30 to 40 per cent in the last two years.
"We were expecting a good business this year but again the Omicron has surfaced. We are bound by all the restrictions," Hegde said.
"We had sold our tickets online in good numbers but the restrictions came in the last minute,” added Hitesh Tulsani, operations manager of the Raahi Neo Kitchen and Bar in the city.
Tracking the falling numbers during peak season for the business, he said there was a crowd of about 500 people in his restaurant on December 31, 2019. This plunged to only 30 last year. And this year looks dismal too.
The mood is distinctly downcast in Tamil Nadu as well.
Residency Group COO Gopinath B said they are waiting for official communication from the government.
If there is a ban, celebrations will be subdued; if not, New Year’s Eve will be a big celebration, complete with deejays.
"Covid will not only affect the hospitality industry but also other kinds of industries… We want to be very careful instead of slipping into another mess," he said.
The mood is optimistic but the uncertainty is palpable in Mumbai as well.
"Currently, we are witnessing positive consumer sentiment following pent up demand," said Nikhil Sharma, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts Regional Director - Eurasia.
The company's Ramada Plaza Juhu property has been getting over 55 per cent footfalls for the Christmas and New Year period, and these bookings are expected to rise further for this period.
"Mumbai, as a destination, sees last-minute bookings by locals during this period, and we remain cautiously optimistic," Sharma added.
“Business has been encouraging in the last two months and the sentiment for the festive season is very positive,” said Ravi Ramachandran, general manager, Radisson Mumbai, Andheri MIDC.
But the situation could change. At the moment, due to reports on rising Omicron cases in Maharashtra, bookings for New Year celebrations a week away are low and the outlook is not as promising as it seemed at the beginning of the month.
In Kolkata, famous for its year-end festive vibe, the mood is optimistic.
According to Sudesh Poddar, president of the Hotel and Restaurants Association of Eastern India, the threat of Omicron has so far not impacted the hospitality industry in the city and in other parts of West Bengal. "All our restaurants are recording good turnout which is only increasing in the run-up to Christmas. Restaurants will be open till 1 am from December 24 to January 1 and those serving liquor beyond that if permitted by the Excise department,” Poddar, who also runs Songhai and Manthan, said.
Nitin Kothari, the owner of Peter Cat and Mocambo, said the popular eateries have been seeing full houses for the last week. "We have been maintaining all Covid protocols since the restaurants opened after the lockdown. There has been no laxity… we are adhering to the 70 per cent occupancy limit as stipulated by the state."
India recorded 122 cases of the Omicron variant, the highest so far, pushing its tally in the country to 358, according to Union Health Ministry data on Friday. Of these, 114 have either recovered or migrated.
India recorded 6,650 new coronavirus infections, taking its tally of cases to 3,47,72,626.


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MURFREESBORO — Fall fashions for the business-conscious job interviewer will be on display at Raiders’ Closet this week.
The fall 2013 grand opening of Raiders’ Closet is slated for 2 to 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, in Room S130A of MTSU’s Business and Aerospace Building. Light refreshments will be served.
Raiders’ Closet contains suits, dresses, slacks, blouses, ties, scarves and shoes for students to wear as they search for work.
“Predominantly, we’re looking for styles that young people would wear during professional interviews for post-graduate jobs,” said Dr. Virginia Hemby-Grubb, professor in the Department of Business Communication & Entrepreneurship.
Not only are donations of dry-cleaned clothing welcome, but the closet now has an MTSU Foundation account for monetary contributions.
Raiders’ Closet is open from 2 to 4 each Friday in Room S130A of the Business and Aerospace Building. Students may keep the clothing they intend to wear.
Either monetary or clothing donations may be made to Jaye Kiblinger in the Department of Business Communication & Entrepreneurship office, Room N429, anytime Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
To arrange for your clothes to be picked up in the semicircle in front of the north side of the building, call Kiblinger in advance at 615-898-2902.
For more information, contact Hemby-Grubb at 615-898-1369 or Virginia.Hemby-Grubb@mtsu.edu.


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The price of the Flow blockchain’s token increased by more than 60% this week. The cryptocurrency stands in stark contrast to the rest of the market, which remains bleak, with Bitcoin doing particularly poorly.
Indeed, Flow has profited from Meta (NASDAQ:META), previously Facebook, adopting it for its Instagram social network. The move is part of the company’s attempts to broaden its NFT program on Instagram.
As a result, Instagram has expanded its NFT program to more than 100 countries and will accept NFTs issued on the Flow blockchain. This revelation might not only keep the crypto price rising, but it could also increase volume by promoting the publishing of NFTs on this platform.
Furthermore, the surprise gain may steer money flows to Flow as investors remain dissatisfied with the crypto market’s lack of investing alternatives. Given the inflow of investors, the Flow blockchain has experienced a large growth in the number of addresses holding its tokens since the announcement of inclusion in Instagram.
It should be emphasized that the whole crypto market has been plagued by investor risk aversion since the US Fed began tightening its monetary policies in order to combat inflation.


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Work is well underway at the new Adelphi Wawa, currently set to open later this year. The new Wawa will be located on the Southwest corner of Adephi Road and Riggs Road, just across Adelphi Road from the existing 7-Eleven and Popeyes.
The location, which features a 5,619 square foot food and beverage store and a gas station, is currently set to open this Fall.
Construction is still underway on Wawa’s first MoCo location in Gaithersburg. Wawa also has a new location under construction next to the College Park Ikea, though that location is only in the initial stages of its construction.


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We only have one video on our YouTube channel.
UNCLE WALT'S INSIDER H.Q., SVALBARD -- Our phones started ringing at 6:30 a.m. Pacific Time on Monday, waking us up, with entertainment reporters telling us we had been nominated for an Academy Award. Of course, it was 2:30 p.m. in Svalbard, but we were still not yet up for the day.
We were confused, not just because we didn't release any movies last year, or ever, but because the only video we've ever produced ...
Here's all you need to know about the return to Walt's original park!
ANAHEIM, CA -- Thanks to fake Biden's executive order and impenetrable mask breakthroughs, Disneyland may actually reopen soon! So we thought we'd share with you what to expect when you return to Disneyland. Buckle in, and away we go!
We hate to show any disrespect to Nature's Most Perfect Snack®, but that last batch of churros was made over a year ago. Expect them to be... well, let's just ...
Marty reviews the latest new feature film streaming on Disney+.
UNCLE WALT'S H.Q., SVALBARD -- Raya and the Last Dragon debuted on Disney+ last Friday, and parents, kids, and those weird Disney fans that aren't in either of those two categories are wondering: should I watch it?
Fortunately for our readers, having Disney+ on our 18" office TV is one of the few perks our Uncle Walt gives us here. We think it's just because he copied a neighbor's login info when helping ...
New plaques have been added to Legends Plaza
BURBANK, PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CALIFORNIA -- The Walt Disney Company has added plaques for the most recent class of Disney Legends to the pillars in Legends Plaza!
On a recent walk through the plaza, our intrepid reporter noticed newly installed tributes to Christina Aguilera, Wing Chao, Robert Downey Jr., James Earl Jones, Jon Favreau, Bette Midler, Kenny Ortega, Barnette Ricci, Robin Roberts, Diane Sawyer, Ming-Na Wen, Hans Zimmer, and... tennis player John Isner?
The Disney ...
No controversy here, no sir.
BURBANK, CA -- Chip Gaines lasted less than a week as head of Walt Disney Imagineering.
Disney (the company) spokesperson Jun Disney (no relation) told Uncle Walt's Insider, "Officially, Chip is moving on to devote more time with his family.
"Off the record, though," Disney (no relation) continued, "Chip was less interested in coming up with new attractions, and more into completely gutting the Imagineering offices, 'to get them ready to flip.'" [Note to self: look up the meaning ...


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Quanergy Showcases Virtual Border Security at CES
January 9, 2019
At the Consumer Electronics Show, Quanergy showcased several of its advanced LiDAR applications. Quanergy made the US debut of the 6 WATCH Virtual Surveillance Partner (VSP).
The VSP is a security system that uses dual LiDAR and video technology along with data analytics to alert public safety officers to out-of-sight security threats and offers force multiplier communication to fellow first responders. The system, which will be mounted on a 2019 Dodge Charger, will be powered by a combination of Quanergy’s M8 and S3 LiDAR sensors.
Quanergy hosted customer presentations from key partners as well as
demonstrate several other applications in partnership with global
LiDAR USA: On display will be Quanergy’s LiDAR integrated into a drone from LiDAR USA, which has developed a mapping system for drones that use Quanergy’s sensors to scan, image and navigate during flight. Mapping drones are used to provide GIS (Geographic Information System), surveying, civil engineering, agriculture, forensics, BIM (Building Information Modeling) and heritage mapping solutions.
Cartivator SkyDrive: A scale replica of the flying vehicle from Toyota-backed Cartivator, which includes Quanergy LiDAR sensors, will be on display. This vehicle is designed to be the most compact flying car, giving it easy maneuverability and allowing it to take off and land anywhere without the need for infrastructure. Cartivator's first target is to use the flying car to light the Olympic flame at Tokyo's 2020 Summer Olympics.
Systems released its final bookings growth numbers for year ended
December 31, 2018 and plans for continued progress over the next year as
the company continues to supply its advanced LiDAR technology across a
variety of industries. The total addressable market (TAM) of LiDAR
across these industries is expected to grow at 58% CAGR and reach $7
billion in 2025.


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Lucky charms are not ranked as healthier than steak on the food pyramid
Joe Rogan and others shared a graphic that ranks lucky charms as healthier than steak. But it’s not a food pyramid endorsed by the federal government.
Most of us know that lucky charms are magically delicious. But did the federal government say breakfast cereal is healthier than steak? Some people on social media are claiming that a new federal food pyramid says it is.
Podcaster Joe Rogan shared the claim in a Jan. 14 Instagram post, which has since received more than 900,000 likes. Rogan’s post features a graph that ranks certain foods, with lucky charms being ranked higher than ground beef.
The claim that was also shared Facebook and Twittercomes from a Blog post on goodranchers.com with the headline “New federally funded ‘food pyramid’ says lucky charms are healthier than steak.”
Does a federally funded food pyramid rank lucky charms as healthier than steak?
No, a government-funded food pyramid does not rank lucky charms as healthier than steak.
WHAT WE FOUND
Although a graphic shared online ranks lucky charms over ground beef, it’s not a new food pyramid.
The food pyramid, a nutrition guide created and published by the federal government, was a representation of food groups that make up a healthy diet. But as of 2011, there is no food pyramid in the United States, said Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics spokeswoman Whitney Linsenmeyer.
In 2011, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) replaces the food pyramid with my plate. The nutrition guide, illustrated in the form of a plate, focuses on eating a good portion of fruit, vegetables, protein and dairy and has remained unchanged since 2011. He doesn’t compare steak to breakfast cereal like good luck charms.
The chart that ranks good luck charms, ground beef, and other foods is from a Research report from February 2022 Written by a handful of nutritionists.
The paper rated food compass, a rating system that rates foods on a scale of 1-100 based on their health. Food Compass was developed by researchers at Tufts University.
Ty Beal, a nutritionist and one of the authors of the research paper, told VERIFY that the graph shared online was created with “values straight from” Food Compass to “point out flaws in the system”.
The graph shows lucky charms scored 60 and labeled “to moderate,” while ground beef received a score of 26 and was labeled “to minimize.” Steak itself is not explicitly mentioned in the table.
Beal and the other authors criticized Food Compass in their article, writing in part that the system’s algorithm and “weighting of various components” is a “conceptually impressive effort” but “is not well justified and produces results that are not universally discriminatory.” deficiencies in nutrients, exaggerate the risks associated with animal-based foods and underestimate the risks associated with highly processed foods.”
“We caution against using Food Compass in its current form to inform consumer choices, policies, programs, industry reformulations and investment decisions,” the authors wrote.
In response to criticism of Food Compass, Dariush Mozaffarian, lead author of two scientific papers on Food Compass, told VERIFY the system has evaluated 58,000 products and “is working well”. He added that “people who eat foods with higher levels have better health: less obesity, lower blood sugar, lower blood pressure, better blood cholesterol levels, less metabolic syndrome, and lower risk overall.” [causes of] Death.”
“One of its greatest strengths is the negative assessment of processed foods as well as refined grains and starches. For example, breakfast cereals high in refined grains score very low on the Food Compass,” he said. “It is unfortunate that some on social media have highlighted the few results where Food Compass can be further improved, rather than the many results where it works well. This exaggerates controversy rather than highlighting all areas of agreement.”
Tufts researchers “have not ‘cleared’ Food Compass for immediate implementation,” Mozaffarian said.
“It’s still being researched, and we’re continuing to refine and update it,” he added.
Government-sponsored Food Compass
The research leading to the development of Food Compass was funded in part by a grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, part of the federal government’s National Institutes of Health.
But the authors of a 2021 Food Compass Paper Note that his funders “played no role in study design, data collection, data analysis or interpretation, drafting of the manuscript, or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.”
The nutrition compass also has nothing to do with the nutritional recommendations of the federal government.
The USDA and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) work together to issue dietary guidelines for Americans, with the latest guidelines covering the 2020-2025 period. A summary of these guidelines Emphasizes “nutritious food and drink choices,” but doesn’t pit individual foods like lucky charms and steak against each other.
Want something VERIFIED?
https://www.kvue.com/article/news/verify/health-verify/no-government-funded-food-pyramid-ranking-lucky-charms-healthier-than-steak-fact-check/536-edfd97de-6cb4-4cd5-be9c-a4a29904e1e5 Lucky charms are not ranked as healthier than steak on the food pyramid


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Chinese stocks took a hard hit in 2021 as Beijing authorities tightened regulations and sent investors to the exit gates. Despite the general support from the government, due to the more difficult landscape that EVs had to face in 2021, China’s EV stocks have not been spared either. Shares of XPeng (XPEV), for example 5% in the red this year.
However, after the company’s Q2 results, which Deutsche Bank Edison Yue Calling “mostly solid,” the analyst sees enough to be heartened about XPeng’s prospects.
That’s despite what Yu calls a “conservative” 3Q21 advice. The company expects between 21,500 to 22,500 deliveries, below “investor expectations” in the range of 24,000-25,000.
Yu thinks the soft guidance is “almost entirely due to the timing of the G3i switchover”. The model is getting a mid-stage makeover in China, with deliveries starting in September, and the transition should result in “a few weeks of downtime.” Moving on, however, in the fourth quarter, given “product freshness and accelerating EV penetration,” the analyst expects all three XPeng vehicles to deliver strong sales, with management now looking to hit maximum monthly deliveries. of 15,000 in the quarter.
With this in mind, Yu raised its forecast for 2021 and now called for 88,000 deliveries (vs 74,988) and nearly 20 billion RMB in revenue compared to the previous estimate of 16.791 billion RMB.
Yu expects more growth in 2022, based on the full-year contribution of the P5 and the introduction of a large SUV (G7). However, it’s even further when it gets really interesting.
“We think 2023 will be the most strategic year as the company will launch its next-gen global vehicle platform, designed for RHD and LHD markets, and unveil 2-3 new models each year,” the analyst said. “These vehicles will support at least XPILOT 3.0 capabilities and we believe the offerings will eventually converge to XPILOT 4.0 over time to streamline the user experience.”
Overall, Yu rates XPEV stock as a buy, while the price target gets a nudge upward — from $50 to $51, suggesting stocks will gain 25% over the next year. (To view Yu’s track record, click here)
Then we now move to the rest of the street, where the overall target is a more optimistic $56, implying a ~37% share appreciation in the coming months. The optimism also extends to the ratings of the analysts – based on a unanimous 7 Buys, the stock qualifies with a Strong Buy consensus rating. (See XPeng stock analysis on TipRanks)
For great ideas for stock trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best stocks to buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ stock insights.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the featured analyst only. The content is for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.