text:
Bonus Waukesha Farmers Market to take place in downtown Saturday
Waukesha's Horse Emporium also hosting Used Tack and Storewide Scratch and Dent Sale
Those who love the Waukesha Farmers Market get to enjoy it a little longer.
That's because there will be a bonus market Saturday.
The Waukesha Farmers Market and the Horse Emporium are hosting a joint Farmers Market and Tack Sale from 8 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at the Riverfront Plaza in downtown Waukesha.
Norm Bruce, who owns Martha Merrell's Books in downtown Waukesha, said this combined effort has gone on for the last several years.
He added that this is the Horse Emporium's (280 W. Main St.) annual Used Tack and Storewide Scratch and Dent Sale.
While not all of the more than 100 vendors that were present for the Farmers Market through the six-month season that ended last week, Bruce said vendors who still have goods will attend.
And individuals won't have to wait until next May to enjoy another 'Market' in downtown Waukesha as a Winter Market will begin Nov. 17 at Montecito Ristorante Lounge, 257 W. Broadway.
Your link to the biggest stories in the suburbs delivered Thursday mornings.
Enter your e-mail address above and click "Sign Up Now!" to begin receiving your e-mail newsletter Get the Newsletter!
- Journal Sentinel editorial: Maybe city and town of Brookfields should become one, rather than the town becoming a village
- Bedroom fire causes significant damage to Waukesha home
- The Spoon restaurant near downtown Waukesha closed 'until further notice'
- Fire damages home at Wexford Court in Waukesha
- Waukesha man sentenced to prison for his role in 2014 shooting on Kensington Drive
- Taco John's donates 10 percent of sales to family of Saeed Sharwani
- Waukesha Community Briefs: Grocery tips, eco-friendly workshops and more
- Mom bails out son, drives him to ex-girlfriend's house for confrontation (1)
- Waukesha Police Report: Jan. 29, 2015 issue
- Mia Famiglia bringing Sicilian cooking to downtown Waukesha


text:
By Mark Kakkuri
No matter your political persuasion, the results of the presidential election were nothing short of a significant wake-up call. For we “gun rights” people, the forces of evil were seemingly stopped in their tracks by voters across the nation. Literally overnight many of us went from wondering about gun-right-infringing executive overreach and the possible life-term appointments of activist Supreme Court justices to instead considering the possibility of even greater recognition of gun rights and freedoms across the nation.
In one sense, the last eight years of the Obama administration may go down in history as the worst eight years for gun rights — meaning: despite significant court/legislative victories, there were constant threats against firearms freedoms for gun owners. But it also resulted in record gun sales and unprecedented growth in categories such as personal defense and concealed carry. Many thought the threats to gun rights would continue at a worse pace — had the election gone differently. As such, the question staring everyone in the face is how the firearms industry will do in the upcoming political climate, now far friendlier to gun rights and gun owners.
The wake-up call for the firearms industry, and especially its manufacturers and retailers, is this: how the firearms industry will do in the upcoming political climate is up to you. In other words, don’t sit around and wait around to see what happens.
Instead, begin now to actively market your goods and services. Advertise, update your website and get word about your products into the hands of the editors at Handgunner and GUNS. And get products into my hands so I can review them and write them up for our online editions.
The gun industry and our readers may have just breathed a collective sigh of relief, but even if the demand initially lets up because the perceived legislative threat is gone, it’ll likely settle in to a good pace in 2017 because manufacturers and retailers will be operating in an even more free market. That’s right: It’ll be healthy competition and market forces creating demand. But to compete and be a force in the market, you’ve got to communicate. Our readers are still reading — both in print and online. They’re just as eager as you to see how things shake out in 2017.
Drop me a line at email@example.com to discuss an online review of your products or services. And let me know if you’re going to be at the SHOT Show in January. I’m planning on being there and would love to meet you, see what you’ve got to offer and help get the word out. Don’t wait around to see what happens in the gun industry; make something happen showing your customers you’re still in the game and ready to serve them by offering an excellent product with great customer service to back it up.
Compared to the last eight years, you might have to work a little harder to earn their business, but your extra effort to win them over will show you responded in the best way possible to your wake-up call.

domain: news


text:
Free water-saving tool with toilet paper purchase
We’re constantly looking for innovative ways to improve the Springwise experience, and so we’re now introducing BeeLine Reader, a new technology that helps you read more quickly and efficiently. To learn more about BeeLine Reader, an award-winning startup funded by Intel Capital, see BeeLineReader.com.
Where Stop the Water aims to get consumers to use less water in the shower, Kimberly-Clark is focusing its attention on all the gallons that are flushed away each year. Recognizing that toilet flushing is actually the No. 1 use of water in the home, the company last month launched an initiative whereby it's giving out a free water conservation tool with every purchase of its Scott Naturals bath tissue. The Smart Flush bag offers a safe and easy way for households to save water. When placed in the toilet tank, the material in the bag absorbs water and expands.…
Spotted another good idea???
Join our network and earn rewards


text:
In 1957, Robert Riggle and his brother, Dick, invested $6,000 in two trucks, some shop equipment and a rented facility on Cleveland Road. About five years into the business the two built their own facility at 691 Winkler Drive, with the name Riggle Brothers Heating and Cooling.
"We worked in it a few years and then we decided to go out on our own," said Robert Riggle, 81. "Like starting any business there were lame times and there were good times, but we just plowed ahead and we made it."
Asked about memories, he said they all were good.
"They were all good memories, we had good years and we had some lame years. ... I think any business is that way."
Robert said his business philosophy was to give customers good service when they needed it and provide good installations. Fifty years later the business has an expanded fleet of vehicles, new ownership and a customer listing of more than 3,000, in Wayne, Holmes, Medina and Richland counties. But the vision is the same.
"You have to give people a good service at a good price," said Craig Abbott, who became owner in 1988.
Abbott, who was Dick Riggle's son-in-law, started with the business in 1973, with dreams of owning his own business. That dream came true in 1988. Abbott credited Dick Riggle, who died in February 2005, for helping him accomplish that dream.
Abbott is owner and president of the corporation. He said it's a competitive industry with many similar businesses, but noted the company's 50 years make it stand out.
"You don't stay in business 50 years without satisfying customers," he said. "And Wooster's not a big town, if you don't do things right in a town of this size, it doesn't take long."
Much has changed in his 34 years with Riggle Brothers, especially with the businesses focus. Abbott said in recent years the business has cut back on commercial work and focuses mostly on residential air conditioning, heating, ventilating and kitchen exhaust systems.
He said when the company did commercial work he had more employees and more trucks on the road, but was not always making more money. However, small residential businesses like his own have their own challenges.
"The cost of doing business in the last 10 years or so, especially what they classify as small business, is really tough," he said. "You've got to watch what you're doing and like that saying (goes), 'if you watch your pennies the dollars will come around,' -- well, that's true."
Abbott said insurance and workers' compensation are half-again what they used to be and said higher gasoline prices are always a factor. While the cost of doing business has increased, so too has the quality of equipment.
"The equipment they're making today is far, far superior to even 25 years ago," he said, pointing especially to warranties, which 25 years ago may have included five years on parts and one year on labor, compared to 10 years on parts and labor today.
He said customers keep track of their budgets from before the equipment was put in until after, and every one of them says the gas company owes them $500 to $600.
"We've had people say that this equipment in time would pay for itself and we're very convinced now that it does," he said.
Efficiency ratings also have increased substantially. Abbot estimated they have increased from 70 percent efficiency 25 years ago, to 95 percent today.
He said a lot of the efficiency increase is because customers are using add-on heat pumps with high efficiency rating furnaces.
Abbott explained the heat pump provides heat down to a certain temperature, which is close to 32 degrees, and then it automatically switches over to gas. He said at warmer temperatures the heat pump is cheaper than gas, but at colder temperatures gas is cheaper than electric.
"That's the most economic heating and cooling system you can put in," he said, noting the heat pump is the same thing as an air conditioner, except it has the capability of giving heat also because it reverses Freon to flow from outside to inside, instead of inside to outside, and the heat is then taken from it during the winter.
As for air conditioners, Abbott said most people have them and it's a matter of replacing old units.
"I can remember when I first started it was a pretty lucrative business to add on air conditioning in the home, now it's simply a replacement," he said.
According to Abbott, the biggest thing an air conditioner can do, other than cool a home, is lower the humidity level. He said an air conditioner's job is to bring the humidity and temperature down, to reach what's known as a total comfort level, which also benefits people who have sinus and breathing problems.
Abbott said some people may be reluctant to buy new equipment, but often are better off doing so.
"It's hard to part with your money sometimes, but the statement is true that the equipment today, in three or four years, has paid for itself," he said. "There's not even any comparison whatsoever in the equipment now and the equipment back then."
Riggle Brothers also does its own in-shop metal fabrication and can make everything from kitchen hoods to barbecue pits to copper kettles. Abbott said he is unsure what the future direction will be, but said the heating, ventilation and air conditioning industry is "growing by leaps and bounds."
Reporter Chris Kick can be reached at (330) 287-1635 or e-mail email@example.com.


text:
Maruti Suzuki’s bet with NEXA channel of dealerships is indeed proving to be very successful as the Maruti Suzuki Baleno sales have just crossed the sales milestone of 5 lakh cars. The record sales come in 38 months since the launch of Baleno in India making it the fastest car to breach half a million sales. Maruti Suzuki Baleno is positioned as a premium compact hatchback and challenges the likes of Hyundai i20.
Maruti Suzuki Baleno was first launched in October 2015 and was the second product to be sold through NEXA dealerships after Maruti Suzuki S-Cross. Baleno connected well with Indians and compact proportions with an old brand wearing a new design worked in favour of the company. The car is being sold in both petrol and diesel engine options and the company also launched the Maruti Suzuki Baleno RS with a 1.0L Boosterjet engine to cater to performance enthusiasts.
Made-in-India Maruti Suzuki Baleno has over 90% of localization and is also the first car to be exported to Suzuki’s home market – Japan. It gets safety features like dual airbags and ABS as a standard feature and is also being exported to many other countries including Australia, Latin America and other European and East-Asian countries.
R S Kalsi, Senior Executive Director, Marketing & Sales, Maruti Suzuki confirmed that in this ongoing financial year, the Baleno sales have go up by a whopping 20.6% and has been among the top-selling cars in India since 2016. “We are grateful for our customers’ constant support that has made Baleno India’s most preferred premium hatchback,” he added. Maruti Suzuki Baleno is also sold with a CVT gearbox on the petrol variants.
Get live Stock Prices from BSE, NSE, US Market and latest NAV, portfolio of Mutual Funds, Check out latest IPO News, Best Performing IPOs, calculate your tax by Income Tax Calculator, know market’s Top Gainers, Top Losers & Best Equity Funds. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.


text: eldavojohn writes "The Entertainment Software Association has released this year's fiscal report (PDF), putting out their numbers to level the finger at new targets. Following up on last year's published report, this one has a whole bunch of new numbers to ponder. The top five P2P game piracy countries this year are: Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and Poland. The ESA's anti-piracy program notes, 'Chief among this year's actions were five separate law enforcement raids against game pirates in California, resulting in the seizure of several thousand games and dozens of modded consoles, and the arrests of five individuals.' But don't worry, they've expanded to other countries. 'The ESA sent takedown notices to ISPs covering more than 45 million instances of infringement of member company games in more than 100 countries worldwide.' They also strive to show they are actually doing things, like endorsing 43 bills aimed at regulating content or controlling access to video games — with not a single one of them making it into law. They did put some into effect at the state level; mostly making it a crime to sell mature games to minors. You can also find their activities localized to you, as this report has sections arranged by state and country. Conspicuously absent this year are any global numbers of what piracy cost the entertainment industry, so unfortunately Ars Technica will have to find someone else to audit, although Venture Beat has a good breakdown."


text:
Simple.tv began taking limited preorders of its DVR on Kickstarter Wednesday morning and also announced that it would start shipments and regular sales of the device in August. Simple.tv is a DVR geared towards the cord-cutting crowd, enabling users to record over-the-air shows and then stream them within their home network and beyond. It is just one of many hardware startups that has flocked to Kickstarter in recent months.
Simple.tv is a bare-bones DVR that can be hooked into one’s home network and connected to a regular over-the-air antenna. Users have to attach their own external hard drive and can then stream recorded programming to up to five devices. Simple.tv will have apps for the Roku, the iPad (s AAPL) and a web app to watch TV via web browsers available at launch, and is working on extending the service to connected devices like the Boxee Box and Google (s GOOG) TV.
Check out Simple.tv’s Kickstarter promo video, or continue reading below:
The company will sell their DVR device for around $150 when it goes on sale in August, which is slightly more than the current pricing on Kickstarter. Sales will initially be facilitated through Simple.tv’s website as well as Amazon.com(s AMZN). Simple.tv CEO Mark Ely told me during a phone conversation Thursday that he hopes to be in retail stores in time for the holiday season. People who buy the device will have the option to subscribe to a programming guide that brings TiVo-like (s TIVO) recording functionality to Simple.tv for $5 a month, or schedule their programming manually for free.
Kickstarter: Great for CE startups
A number of consumer electronics startups have taken their wares to Kickstarter recently; one breakout example has been the Pebble smart watch, which booked more than 85,000 preorders and $10 million in revenue by the end of its Kickstarter campaign (for more on this, also read Om’s interview with Kickstarter co-founder Perry Chen).
Ely said that his company didn’t initially plan to take its product to Kickstarter, but was swayed by some of these success stories. “There is a marketing aspect to Kickstarter,” he admitted. But he also argued that Kickstarter is about more than generating buzz and securing preorders. “For us, a way to quickly gather the level of sales we are going to get,” he told me.
That kind of data can be instrumental in ordering the right amount of devices, which can both bring down the production costs and help to avoid large quantities of unsold inventory. And a company can get feedback from its consumers before it has even shipped a product. “It gives us some additional insight into the audience,” said Ely.


text:
Verizon is expected to close a revised deal to buy Yahoo at a reduced price — about $250 million less than the original offer. The price dip follows the disclosure of two security breaches at Yahoo in recent years.
Bloomberg reported the lower offer this morning, additionally claiming that both parties in the deal are expected to share legal responsibilities related to the cyber breaches. Reuters reports that the final price reduction could in fact be as high as $350 million.
Verizon announced plans in July of last year to acquire Yahoo for $4.83 billion. The company said that Yahoo would be integrated with AOL, which Verizon purchased in June 2015 for $4.4 billion. Just a few months later, the purchase appeared to be jeopardized by Yahoo’s disclosure of two large data breaches.
In September 2016, Yahoo released information about a 2014 hack that affected at least 500 million accounts. A similar revelation followed in December of last year, when Yahoo stated that a separate security breach in August 2013 had exposed the names, emails, and hashed passwords of more than a billion users. After news of the second major hack, Verizon reportedly began exploring options of either reducing the acquisition’s price tag or abandoning the deal entirely.


text:
Speaking with CoinTelegraph, MoneyGram Executive Vice President (US & Canada) Peter Ohser answered some FAQ’s about MoneyGram’s business model. He also fielded inquiries about Bitcoin, which many believe poses a serious threat to traditional remittance services like Western Union and MoneyGram.
He described how the company charges 1% of the amount sent, up to $1000. Beyond that, the percentage actually increases to 2%, due to KYC considerations and involvement of partners. He noted that all fees are transparent- what you see is what you get.
TrioMarkets Partners with HokoCloud, Expands its Portfolio with Social TradingGo to article >>
So does Bitcoin pose a serious challenge? Services like Rebit have promoted themselves by illustrating the savings realized when sending remittances through them. Ohser argued that Bitcoin isn’t genuinely being used for remittances today and that its use is more hypothetical. As to its ‘frictionless’ properties, he continued:
“But increasingly as you start to scale a business and really look at remittances at scales on a global basis, all of the things that Bitcoin stands for will get complicated because of the structure of having to know your customers and be able to track and live under the regulations that governments are forcing you to live by, [which] start to diminish the benefits that Bitcoin does. The frictionless becomes more frictional and that’s where we see the challenges with this model.”
He did note, however, that MoneyGram “has been watching Bitcoin from an industry perspective since [its] rise.”


text:
K100 Fuel Treatment Diesel Additive - K100-d - 32 Oz Bottles - 12 Pack Nib! on 2040-parts.com
Clay, New York, United States
NEW IN BOX, FULL CASE OF "K100D" DIESEL FUEL TREATMENT. THERE ARE 12 32OZ BOTTLES. ALL NEW SEALED. VERY EXPENSIVE IN THE STORES. STOCK UP NOW AT THIS DISCOUNT RATE! FAST, FREE SHIPPING! TRUSTED EBAY SELLER!
Boats & Watercraft for Sale
- 4 gallons bombaridier evinrude engine tuner power tune sea foam(US $80.00)
- Marine battery terminal heavy duty 00149 made by deka in usa(US $5.49)
- 50 units protractor nos 22" new one arm brand new in package wholesale lot case
- 21 new omc johnson evinrude complete piston ring sets wholesale lot +$700 value(US $69.95)
- Glastron fiberglass boat with trailer (salvage or fix up)(US $0.99)
- Dewitt sail(US $389.00)
Mitsubishi has revealed more details on the plug-in hybrid electric Outlander ahead of a debut at the Paris Motor Show. Mitsubishi has been threatening a hybrid version of the Outlander for a few years (we had the PX-MiEV at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2009 and the PX-MiEV II at last year’s Tokyo Show), but the real production deal – the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV – arrives at Paris. Now, with a public debut imminent, and full production and deliveries planned for 2013, Mitsubishi has revealed more details of their plug-in hybrid as they try to make their reputation for tough off-roaders and bonkers performance cars a bit more fluffy-bunny.Wed, 11 Sep 2013
Welcome to MSN Cars’ live coverage of the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. It’s the 65th IAA International Motor Show, it’s in Frankfurt and the world’s automotive industry is in attendance with its latest car creations in tow. As always, MSN Cars is out in force bringing you all the news, concepts, production cars and comment direct from the show floor.Tue, 10 Dec 2013
MOTORIST DON'T KNOW when it is safe to drive the morning after drinking, according to an AA/Populus survey. As many as 56% of the 21,165 surveyed were unaware of the "morning-after" dangers, with those from north east and north west the biggest culprits, the poll found. In the survey, drivers were asked that if they started drinking at 9pm and drank a total of 12 units of alcohol over three hours when they thought they would legally be allowed to drive again.


text:
Cambridge City Council makes lamp recycling more convenient in partnership with Recolight
Cambridge City Council has further expanded the free light bulb recycling service it provides to residents through its partnership with Recolight. Originally one of the first local authorities to trial Recolight’s recycling scheme, Cambridge has gradually expanded the service to ensure that the city’s 130,000 inhabitants can conveniently recycle their old low-energy light bulbs.
In autumn last year, Cambridge installed two extra collection points, bringing the number of locations where residents could drop off end-of-life light bulbs across the city to 9. Now Cambridge are adding a further two collection points, at the car park at The Ship Public House, Northfield Avenue and on George IV Street.
They join Recolight’s network of over 800 collection points which are open for consumers to use for free. These complement the existing 1,100 Household Waste Recycling Centres operating in local authorities across the UK.
Cambridge City Council was the first local authority to sign up to Recolight’s collection point network. In April 2010, its initial collection points were opened at convenient locations across the city including the local Sainsbury’s and Tesco stores. By June the following year, almost 2,000 low-energy light bulbs had been collected.
Rebecca Weymouth-Wood, recycling officer for Cambridge City Council, said “We are pleased to be able to further extend the free light bulb recycling provision. We hope that the extra two locations will make recycling more convenient and help to raise awareness of the need to recycle light bulbs.”
Cambridge differs from most cities as many residents do not own cars, making a strong case for collection points to be located at convenient locations on the high street.
Recolight’s Customer Service Manager, Lyndsey Smith, said: “Recolight is delighted that Cambridge City Council is expanding its number of collection points again. As the first local authority to sign up to our network, it is important that we continue to raise consumer awareness, even in areas already working hard to promote the recycling of low-energy light bulbs”
Residents in Cambridge and across the UK can search for their nearest Recolight collection point or civil amenity centre at www.recolight.co.uk.


text:
Real estate: Home purchases down 15 per cent in March
Average sales prices show lowest gains in more than two years at just 2.5 per cent.
|Report an Error|
Share via Email
Despite a slight pickup in home sales in March over February in many major cities as the country heads into the peak spring market, purchases were down 15.3 per cent overall last month year over year, according to figures from the Canadian Real Estate Association released Monday.
Average sales prices climbed just slightly, about 2.5 per cent across the country, the lowest gains in more than two years as the Canadian housing market continues to soften in the wake of tighter mortgage lending rules and uncertainty about where the market is headed.
More from thestar.com:
As is typical this time of year, home sales improved in more than half of Canadian markets last month, led by cities including Greater Vancouver, Greater Toronto, Calgary and Montreal, accounting for a 2.4 per cent increase in sales from February to March.
“National sales have been holding fairly stable since last summer,” said CREA president Laura Leyser in a statement. “We’ll be watching closely as the spring market picks up to see whether the March sales increase marks the beginning of an improving trend.”
CREA stressed that some of the year-over-year sales decline can be attributed to this year’s Easter holidays and an extra weekend at the end of the month, known as the “trading day effect” because they can slow the registration of sales and their inclusion in the monthly figures.
On a positive note, at least for buyers, the number of newly listed homes was up 3.2 per cent in March, led by new listings in markets such as Toronto which has suffered from a shortage of supply for the last three to four years.
The national average price of homes sold in March was $378,532.
- Updated Secret SIU report into Loku's death revealed — and heavily censored
- NEW Raptors fans revved up for Game 6 clash with Pacers
- Canadian-run hospital in Syria destroyed by airstrike
- NEW Legalizing Uber may be Mayor John Tory’s biggest test yet
- Katelynn Sampson inquest jury says children in care should have a say
- NEW Libraries to close Monday if there’s a strike or lockout
- The Star in Iraq: Canada's top general says Daesh defeat is 'inevitable'
- NEW $7.5B surplus challenges Liberal deficit prediction
Sales in the first quarter of 2016 rose 15.8 per cent from the opening three months of last year, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board.


text:
Created for basketball legend Michael Jordan since the 80s, the Air Jordan is one Nike’s best selling series with millions sold all over the world.
In case you didn’t know, Nike has recently set up shop online here in Singapore, which means you can now purchase sneakers that were previously only available in the states.
The site is now having a Last Chance sale on a selection of Air Jordan’s, offering a respectable 30% off when you enter promo code ICONICSG during checkout.
Featured men shoes include the Air Jordan 1 Retro High Flyknit and Premium, Air Jordan 11 Retro Low IE, and Air Jordan 13 Retro Low. Kids and toddler shoes are also available.
Sale ends on Wednesday, 7 March or while stocks last.Shop now on Nike.com


text:
Recently I was given the opportunity to represent Birko at the 6th annual Center for Produce Safety Research Symposium in Atlanta, GA centerforproducesafety.org. The symposium covered many pressing issues for the produce industry including studies regarding risks from irrigation water, Post-Harvest food safety hazards, and pathogen control on fruit surfaces through the use of wash water. The CPS did a fantastic job of gathering the best & brightest from academia and industry as well as bringing in the CDC for a discussion regarding PulseNET and breakdowns of recent foodborne illness investigations.
A recurring theme during the two day conference included the importance of food safety along all sectors of the food chain. Food safety doesn’t end once the crop leaves the farm or packinghouse.
There was also representation from the retail sector. It was interesting to hear, from the retail perspective, how the average consumer needs to be educated on the importance of food safety in the home, and that there is a distinct difference between quality, nutritional, and food safety issues. This is especially important due to an increase of 49% in “local” produce consumption at the retail level.
After attending the CPS, it was apparent that more industry representatives should take the opportunity to attend the symposium. It serves as an opportunity for growers, packers, and shippers to get into the same room with the most brilliant minds in produce food safety and learn about how to improve their individual food safety programs. The CPS symposium also serves the opportunity to gather new information from the mouths of the researchers who have experienced these studies at each step of the way.
For more information regarding this topic, I encourage you to attend this free webinar to be held on July 15th.


text:
STANBIC Bank Zimbabwe says it is closing branches in Hwange and Westgate, Harare, in line with its digitisation strategy.
BY FIDELITY MHLANGA
Early this year Stanbic discontinued operations at the Chitungwiza and Beitbridge branches.
“In line with this digitisation journey, Stanbic Bank is set to discontinue its physical operations at Hwange and Westgate branches with effect from December 31, 2020,” the bank said in a statement on Wednesday.
It said customers would continue accessing services on the bank’s various digital banking platforms.
“Stanbic Bank’s digitisation exercise kicked off in earnest last year with the closure of Chitungwiza and Beitbridge branches and the two pending closures will leave the Standard Bank Group subsidiary with 15 branches countrywide down from 19 last year. Our customers can still access self-service digital channels and in-branch services at any of our remaining 15 branches countrywide,” said head of personal and business banking, Patson Mahatchi.
He said accounts currently maintained at Hwange and Westgate branches would be automatically transferred to Victoria Falls and Belgravia branches respectively. The Belgravia branch is in Harare.
“Our digitisation drive is not only ideal and relevant during the prevailing operating environment in which customers need to stay safe from COVID-19 but is a hallmark of the dictates of new technological advancements. As a bank we have to keep our finger on the pulse of innovation and technological advancement,” he said.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Mahatchi said Stanbic’s digitisation exercise was in line with worldwide technological advancement trends in financial and non-financial institutions aimed at enhancing ease of banking to its customers.
As part of its digitisation strategy Stanbic Bank launched contactless debit cards and POS machines becoming the first financial services institution to introduce this highly secure innovative technology onto the Zimbabwean market.
Apart from the “contactless” debit cards and point of sale machines, the bank stepped up functionality of FCAs on its digital banking platforms in addition to launching a technologically advanced application which allows account holders to pay bills and make in-store purchases on their phone using QR code scanning technology called SlydePay.
“All these products are part of a well thoughtout digitisation strategy which offers convenience to customers and ensures clients are beneficiaries of quality banking technologies,” said Mahatchi.


text:
The battered reputation of US car giant General Motors is set to take another hammering as a federal Senate standing committee sits next week to prepare for its upcoming inquiry.
Chaired by West Australian Senator Louise Pratt, the bipartisan committee will assess Holden's rapid and unexpected departure from the Australian market and the ramifications this had had on dealers, vehicle owners, and employees.
Originally set to report by May 2020, the committee rescheduled due to the coronavirus restrictions and is now closing submissions on June 25. It is now due to report to federal Parliament in November.
The nation's iconic car brand, once the biggest seller in the country with tens of thousands of owners and a massive manufacturing presence across three states, has been summarily axed from the local market. The brand's 185 dealers, including two in Canberra, were advised on February 17 this year that the closure would be effective by the end of 2020.
After-sales and service agreements are being offered to dealers. However, dealers believe they are being short-changed on the deal by GM and are demanding appropriate financial compensation.
The size of that compensation is now turning into a legal stoush with GM unwilling to budge on its offer.
Meanwhile, the controversy has already resounded through the Parliament with Queensland Senator James McGrath accusing GM of using the coronavirus to prolong negotiations and as an "alibi for the worst corporate behaviour".
Sen McGrath described GM as having the "ethics of a purse snatcher".
He said the company was "trying to sneak under the cover of COVID-19 to disappear into the night and leave Australian businesses stranded after an 89-year one-night stand".
General Motors has been operating in Australia since 1931. Local manufacturing of the first Holden began in Adelaide in 1948.
In documentation provided to the Senate inquiry, General Motors said it was concerned that "our offer has been the subject of much malign and misinformed criticism in the public domain" and describes its offer to the disaffected national dealer network as "entirely fair and reasonable".
"The offers were formulated prior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic," it said.
"Holden has at all times sought to act in good faith and has had courteous and respectful discussions with dealers throughout this process".
James Voortman, the head of the Australian Automotive Dealers Association, said that he expected the Australian dealers would "hold the line" and hoped that GM, a $200 billion dollar international company, would put up a better offer.
"I would have expected that there would be a more suitable offer given the strong legacy of the brand," Mr Voortman said.
"I would have thought that a company like GM can afford to leave with a little dignity."


text:
Las Vegas is famous for many things, and for one week in January every year, that thing is technology. This year, almost 200,000 attendees and 4,000 exhibitors are converging on the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) this week for CES 2018. With AI, AR, and new smart products everywhere you look at the LVCC and Sands, what hits us is the clear need for both text and voice to control all of the new smart home and smart city devices.
Voice is everywhere
When speech recognition first appeared at CES, it was more fun than it was practical. Those of us with an accent, any accent, ended up not only repeating ourselves but getting some pretty unexpected results. That has changed, in large part thanks to Google and Amazon pushing forward the technology. As you look around this year at the ubiquity of voice control, keep in mind that we don’t use voice for everything and intelligent IoT messaging, with both voice and text messaging, gives you the capabilities of both.
Messaging hasn’t gone away
For remotely controlling and receiving alerts and notifications from the increasing number of our smart devices, many of us still prefer messaging. As we’ve highlighted in previous articles, voice still has its problems. Background noise and accents can still confuse it. And in public (the airline security line on your trip to Vegas for example), people prefer to text message. If, for example, you can use both, would you send a text or a voice message to turn down your thermostat? When it comes to communicating with our different devices, what’s important is to have the ability to seamlessly switch between both text and voice messaging.
Communicate with your machines as easily as you do with people
Just as people don’t use one approach, they also use different communications channels (i.e., email, SMS, and social media, messaging, and chat apps). Throughout your day, you may fluidly switch from your smart speakers to WhatsApp to Facebook Messenger. As the image below shows, the UnificationEngine™ platform lets you seamlessly switch between channels
Voice or text messaging, why choose when you can have both!
Want to learn more about the UnificationEngine? Try it for yourself at demo.unifiedinbox.com, and look forward to seeing you at #CES2018!


text:
Shipments of the PlayStation 2 games console passed the 70 million mark on Jan. 13, maker Sony Computer Entertainment (SCEI) said Wednesday.
The announcement comes just over three months after the total shipment count passed 60 million, reflecting increased sales of the console during the year-end holiday in its major markets. It took about three times longer to make the previous jump from 50 million to 60 million consoles.
Console shipments in November and December in Japan were 18 percent higher than in the same period a year earlier at 1.1 million units. In Europe, they rose 5 percent to 3.6 million in the last two months of 2003 compared to the same period a year earlier. In the North American market, however, they fell by around 30 percent to 2.9 million in November and December from approximately 4 million in the same period a year earlier.
Total shipments in Japan as of Jan. 13 were 16.2 million from the console's debut on March 4, 2000. In North America, where the product went on sale on Oct. 26, 2000, shipments reached 29.3 million and in Europe, where it went on sale on Nov. 24, shipments had reached 24.6 million, according to SCEI figures.


text:
In 2017, we said goodbye to …
Fields was ousted in May as Ford Motor Co. CEO after 28 years with the company, including stints leading its Premier Automotive Group and then-affiliate Mazda. His replacement — a former office-furniture company CEO known for visionary thinking and close ties to Silicon Valley — illustrated both Fields’ shortcomings and the unsettled future of the industry.
Australian auto manufacturing
When GM Holden shut its final assembly plant in October, just weeks after Toyota did likewise, it marked the end of a century of automaking Down Under. Holden, which built the Corvette engine-equipped Chevrolet SS, had been a GM unit since 1931.
Lincoln’s MK names
Near the end of the year, Lincoln finally admitted what consumers knew: MKZ, MKX, etc., were just too confusing. The Continental already is back. The Navigator will be joined by a Nautilus and other pronounceable names.
The Viper, launched in 1992, was a survivor. In 2008, hoping to raise cash to avoid bankruptcy, Chrysler tried to sell it. The $ 90,000 sports car’s annual sales topped 2,000 only once, in 2003. Some years, none were built due to plentiful inventories. But coming safety rules finally killed it.
CFPB as we know it
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau doesn’t actually go away, but aggressive regulation of automotive lenders by the agency was on life support from the day President Donald Trump took the oath of office. When Richard Cordray resigned as director, the administration quickly moved to install its own, less-activist head.
The 1993 concept VehiCross, approved by Nakamura when he led Isuzu design, launched the crossover tidal wave. He was poached by Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn in 1999 and ran design for almost two decades before retiring in March. As Nissan’s chief creative officer, went on to influence more than Nissan’s designs. His creations forced an uncomfortable realization upon Japanese automakers long complacent in their niche as purveyors of reliable, if boring, appliances: Design sells cars.
Webb’s four-decade career began in 1973 as a data analyst with the National Automobile Dealers Association and ended as the chief economist at Cox Automotive, from which he retired June 30. Perhaps his greatest influence came at Cox’s Manheim auction group. Others tracked residual values for specific vehicles, but Webb tracked the interconnections of auctions, the overall economy and new- and used-car pricing. Executives who cared about pricing power — and who doesn’t? — listened to Webb.
Willisch retired from BMW and his post heading the group’s Americas region on Aug. 1. He entered the industry selling Porsches while in college and remained a sales guy throughout. He worked for BMW for 21 years, leading the North America business since 2011. During his time, BMW became the top-selling luxury brand in the U.S. for the first time in its history, holding the title in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015.
Honda Accord coupe
The Honda Accord is holding its own in a battered family sedan segment. But the two-door version joined a bevy of other two-doors — including the BMW 6-series coupe, Range Rover Evoque two-door and gasoline-powered Smart ForTwo — in heading for the exit lane.
John Mendel, who joined American Honda in 2004 after years at Ford and Mazda, was promoted to executive vice president of its auto division in 2007, just in time to lead the company through the Great Recession and the Takata airbag crisis. As co-leader of Honda’s Takata response committee, Mendel pushed for action and transparency to find the 10.7 million Hondas and Acuras impacted. He also championed the brands’ strict discipline against fleet sales and heavy incentives, before retiring April 1.
Let’s block ads! (Why?)


text:
New Study Reveals Popular Baby Foods and Formulas Contain Arsenic, Lead and BPA
A study of the top-selling as well as emerging brands of baby food products such as infant formula, juice drinks, and cereals revealed that many of these products contain toxic chemicals such as arsenic, lead, and acrylamide.
The Clean Label Project also reported that, in looking only at the infant formulas they tested, 80 percent of them contained higher than acceptable levels of arsenic.
The laboratory tests found that 65 percent of the products contained arsenic, 58 percent cadmium, 36 percent lead, and 10 percent acrylamides.
The study also concluded 60 percent of products that listed "BPA free", tested positive for the industrial chemical.
Baby food and infant formulas which are largely consumed across the globe now bring an alarming news. The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2016 proposed a limit of 100 parts per billion of arsenic in infant rice cereal, which means the chemicals detected were not mere trace amounts. The World Health Organization states that arsenic can lead to developmental defects, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, neurotoxicity and cancer. All these brands scored a two out of five on the non-profit organization's toxicity report card.
And, according to the data from the Clean Label Project, there are other chemicals in foods that parents need to be aware of.
Clean Label Project opined that what was not on the label was sometimes what was most important.
Arsenic and cadmium are naturally occurring elements found in soil, water and air, so it is not surprising that they are found in food. This was already found in baby food before.
Low levels of lead have been linked to lower IQs, slower growth, hearing issues, anemia, and behavioral problems, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
According to the Clean Label Project, a nonprofit that advocates for product labeling transparency, a five-month study into hundreds of baby foods, formulas, and snacks has found that the vast majority contain some level of poisonous materials like arsenic or lead.
"The baby industry needs to do a better job in protecting America's most vulnerable population", Bowen said.
При любом использовании материалов сайта и дочерних проектов, гиперссылка на обязательна. «» 2007 - 2018 Copyright. Автоматизированное извлечение информации сайта запрещено.
Tropical Low Headed to South Florida
A hurricane hunter plane has found 56 miles per hour winds and continues to investigate the system early Friday evening. Much of this rain may fall during a few hours, which will bring the potential for street and low-lying area flooding.
Harvey Weinstein accused of rape by actress Natassia Malthe
Once inside, she said Weinstein took off his trousers and sat on the bed. "I was feeling panic and wondering what I should do". The actress began the interview praising the over 60 women who have joined her in coming out publicly against Weinstein.
Taylor Swift's New Single Is Here And It's 'Gorgeous'
"You're gorgeous ", she sings. "She teased the releases of previous singles " Look What You Made Me Do " and ". Watch the " Gorgeous " lyric video below. "You're so cool, it makes me hate you so much (I hate you so much)".
Major security flaw means your Wi-Fi could be hacked
Also, with a usage of smart devices, users should check for the latest firmware updates that have been made available. Hackers can exploit this vulnerability to steal your credit card numbers, passwords, emails, photos, and more .
Tejas train food lands 25 passengers in hospital
The train, that was travelling to Mumbai from Goa had to be halted when passengers started feeling uneasy after having breakfast. Ambulances were requisitioned and they were admitted to a local hospital and are under observation, IRCTC stated.


text:
Amazon (AMZN -0.66%) has set its sights on the multibillion-dollar insurance industry in India. Bloomberg reports that the e-commerce giant wants to "carry out the business of soliciting, procuring and servicing insurance as a corporate agent" according to its latest filings with the regulatory authorities -- a move that could disrupt the way insurance is sold in this market.
Amazon is clearly looking to boost the popularity of its e-commerce platform by adding yet another product to its offerings. But this time it's targeting a large and underserved market that could help it mint big money in the long run.
Why this could be a big deal
The Indian insurance industry is expected to be worth $280 billion by fiscal 2020 according to a joint survey by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India and APAS. Even then, there will be a huge underserved market, as insurance penetration in the country was just 3.7% last year.
For comparison, India's e-commerce industry is expected to hit $188 billion by 2025. As such, Amazon is going after a much bigger market, one that has the potential to grow at a solid pace in the coming years as penetration increases.
The Boston Consulting Group estimates that online insurance sales in India will increase 20 times from 2016 to 2020, hitting a size of just over $2 billion. That's because a good chunk of Indians are now looking to buy insurance online rather than through traditional channels, since they can choose from a wide range of plans to suit their requirements and get the best available price by comparing different providers.
But this is just the beginning. A mix of government initiatives and the rapid growth of the internet-using population in India could boost the online insurance sector in the country even further. A joint survey by IBM and Kalaari Capital estimates that the number of Internet users in India will jump from 450 million at present to 850 million by 2022, with one out of every two users coming from rural areas.
At the same time, the Indian government has launched a project to cover more than 100 million families under the National Health Protection Scheme. Favorable developments such as these should ensure the rapid growth of online insurance sales in India, which is why it makes perfect sense for Amazon to enter this market.
The landscape right now
There are a handful of online insurance selling platforms in India. PolicyBazaar, for instance, will be a key challenger for Amazon. This 10-year old company currently sells 300,000 new insurance plans and renewals every month, and is on track to process nearly $420 million worth of premiums this year.
More importantly, PolicyBazaar looks well-placed to grow its business thanks to $238 million in funding that it secured in June this year in a round led by SoftBank. PolicyBazaar's holding company has used investors' money wisely so far, as evidenced by the 56% sales growth that it recorded last year. It has entered new segments, and reportedly is looking to move into the reinsurance space as well. It won't be surprising if it proves to be the thorn in Amazon's side in the Indian insurance industry.
However, the Seattle-based giant has devised a smart plan to get its teeth into this market, one that could see it harnessing the existing strength of its e-commerce platform to reach a wide audience and crush the smaller players.
Amazon's making a smart play
Amazon started laying the groundwork for its insurance push in India earlier this year when it led a funding round for digital insurance start-up Acko. The start-up is providing insurance services for ride-hailing apps and other travel-centric areas such as flights. Rumors suggest that Amazon and Acko will eventually move to provide coverage for items sold on the e-commerce site, such as smartphones.
The bigger play for Amazon, however, will come once it applies for a license from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority and uses its digital payments platform, Amazon Pay, to roll out more insurance products. The e-commerce giant's executives have already hinted that it is going to launch insurance products using the Amazon Pay platform, which is a smart thing to do as the company's vast user base can buy insurance with just a click.
Amazon reportedly holds a 31.1% share of the Indian e-commerce market, and it is now targeting 70 million online shoppers in the country through Amazon Pay, providing financial services such as loans and EMIs (equated monthly installments). Amazon Pay already allows customers to book bus tickets, pay bills, purchase movie tickets, order food, or buy car insurance. The company also offers lucrative discounts and cash back to those customers who purchase items on its site using this platform in a bid to boost adoption.
So Amazon will have a strong base of existing users to sell insurance products to as it builds the popularity of Amazon Pay. Moreover, buying insurance through this platform will help users eliminate some paperwork and allow Amazon to provide customized insurance products, as it will already have access to the necessary personal information of its customers.
A big opportunity
Only 3% of the insurance bought in India is purchased through online channels. But, as we saw above, this scenario is going to change thanks to the country's increasing internet penetration.
Apart from PolicyBazaar, Paytm, an Alibaba and SoftBank-backed digital payments platform, is likely to compete against Amazon, having received regulatory approval in September last year. Paytm has 80 million active users, and currently allows them to pay premiums and buy car insurance from several providers. However, Paytm is mostly a digital payments platform, as its e-commerce arm has a market share of just 14% in India. This is where Amazon has an upper hand thanks to its dominant position and rapidly growing monthly active user count, growing at a 40% clip.
Once Amazon rolls out its insurance platform, it can tap into its massive e-commerce user base to take advantage of a multibillion-dollar market. This will give its top line a solid boost given the size and the potential growth of the insurance business in India.


text:
MINSK, 20 March (BelTA) – Two Belarusian-Indian joint ventures to make medications may be opened by the end of the year, BelTA learned from Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of India to Belarus Pankaj Saxena.
According to the diplomat, representatives of the pharmaceutical industry of Belarus and India have been able to set up joint ventures to make medications that will sell well in Belarus and other Eurasian Economic Union member states. “Three such enterprises have been established already. I hope that two of them will start making products by the end of this year and the new medications will appear in Belarusian pharmacies,” said the ambassador.
Pankaj Saxena stressed that India views Belarus as one of the top-priority partners. He mentioned science, technology, innovations, defense, vocational training, agriculture, and tourism as promising avenues for advancing cooperation.
As far as cooperation with Belarusian industrial giants — BelAZ, MTZ, Gomselmash, and Belkommunmash — is concerned, all of them are busy advancing mutually beneficial bilateral relations, noted the diplomat. For instance, Gomselmash is in partnership with an Indian company, which localizes the production of spare parts for harvesters. Similar work with BelAZ is in progress. “The Indian mining industry has been open to private companies recently, this is why BelAZ representatives are busy negotiating sales of their products in India. As for MTZ, an agreement to sell MTZ products to India was signed recently. Negotiations on setting up a joint venture are also underway,” said the ambassador.
Apart from that, the sides are working on a project to set up an Indian industrial hub in Orsha, Vitebsk Oblast. In addition to attracting Indian companies it could sell products beyond the markets of the Eurasian Economic Union. Representatives of the two countries are working to fill this project with concrete content. The Belarusian side suggested holding an intergovernmental meeting in June 2018, specified Pankaj Saxena.
In his opinion, it is necessary to increase the flow of tourists from India to Belarus. Indian citizens now visit other countries more frequently. Belarus is a good travel destination in this regard. The ambassador mentioned the solid tourism potential and the good infrastructure of Belarus. “Belarus could also be a place for Bollywood to shoot movies. Belarus has everything the movie industry may need. I’d like to note that my children as well as other members of my family and friends fell in love with Belarus upon arrival,” said Pankaj Saxena.


text:
A new Barbie doll has been launched as part of Mattel's "sheroes" line. It is a doll in full hijab modeled after American-Muslim Olympic fencer, Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first American athlete to compete in the Olympics wearing a headscarf, which -- apparently -- Mattel felt was something for little girls worldwide to emulate. That and the possibility of selling millions of toys in the burgeoning Muslim market, of course.
According to a statement from Mattel:
"Barbie is celebrating Ibtihaj not only for her accolades as an Olympian, but for embracing what makes her stand out," said Sejal Shah Miller, Vice President of Global Marketing for Barbie. "Ibtihaj is an inspiration to countless girls who never saw themselves represented, and by honoring her story, we hope this doll reminds them that they can be and do anything."
The attempt to paint the new Hijab Barbie as a symbol of empowerment for girls is, however, quite disturbing.


text:
- Subscribe NowLimited Time Offer
Sign Up for the Louisville Business First Afternoon Edition Newsletter
Send this story to a friend
Yum Brands’ profit rises in 2Q; China sales slower
Yum! Brands Inc.’s fiscal second-quarter earnings rose about 5 percent from a year earlier.
Net income for the quarter, ended June 16, rose to $331 million, or 69 cents per share, diluted, from $316 million, or 65 cents per share, in 2011.
Revenue for the quarter rose to $2.76 billion from $2.43 billion.
The Louisville-based restaurant giant's net income was just short of analysts' estimates.
The consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial Network called for the company to post quarterly earnings of 70 cents per share on revenue of $3.12 billion.
U.S. sales improve
Yum Brands’ (NYSE: YUM) U.S. division reported same-store sales growth of 7 percent in the second quarter after posting a 4 percent decline in the second quarter of 2011.
But total revenue from U.S. restaurants fell 7 percent, to $818 million in the second quarter of 2012 from $883 million a year earlier.
Operating profit from U.S. restaurants rose 26 percent, to $166 million from $132 million, as a result of lower expenses, the release said.
As Business First noted in a report Tuesday, Yum rolled out a number of new menu items this year in all three of its primary restaurant brands.
“I’m confident we’re making our brands even more vibrant around the world,” Yum chairman and CEO David Novak said in a news release. “Our long-term growth prospects have never been brighter as we continue to deliver consistently strong annual results.”
Andrew Robinson covers these beats: Restaurants, retail, government, human resources, technology, automotive (dealers, services), media/marketing/printing, young professionals, West End, East End and Oldham County.
If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.
- Most popular
- Louisville businessman to host national reality show
- Former Kentucky university athletic director sentenced to prison
- Top Louisville-area CFOs unveiled
- Running Swag: Owner of local running store shows support for races
- Fund for the Arts names new president
- The Beach Boys will headline Abbey Road on the River
- Midway College hopes to enroll students of Mid-Continent University
- Work on Highlands’ Mellow Mushroom could start in June
- Texas Roadhouse CEO to KDF bed race team: I’m here to ‘pump you up’
- 2014 Partners in Health Care honorees announced
- Business Advisor Indiana Small Business Development Center | New Albany, IN
- Associate Attorney Huddleston Bolen LLP | Louisville, KY
- Human Resources Generalist Firstsource Solutions Ltd | Louisville, KY
- Store Manager | Louisville, KY
- Entry Level Sales / Customer Service – Part time / Full Time Vector Marketing | Louisville, KY


text:
The Global Economy Is Nearing Total Collapse
How long can a snake survive by eating its own tail? This image is very comparable to the crumbling house of cards that is the global economic system of total insanity. Those in power are doing their absolute best to hide the rapidly crumbling pillars of “civilization” and our imploding biosphere. As is outlined in the article below, major car companies are literally buying their own cars in order to boost their bottom line sales numbers. The big lie of improving economic activity is then touted by governments and their completely controlled mainstream media minions as a sign of “improving economic conditions”. The smoke and mirrors reality we have all known is already collapsing and will soon enough be no more. The sooner global populations wake up to this fact and unite in a total change of direction for the human race, the better our collective odds are for survival.
Where the World’s Unsold Cars Go To Die
In the past several years, one of the topics covered in detail on these pages has been the surge in such gimmicks designed to disguise lack of demand and end customer sales, used extensively by US automotive manufacturers, better known as “channel stuffing”, of which General Motors is particularly guilty and whose inventory at dealer lots just hit a new record high. But did you know that when it comes to flat or declining sales and stagnant end demand, channel stuffing is merely the beginning?
Where the World’s Unsold Cars Go To Die (courtesy of Vincent Lewis’ Unsold Cars)
Above is just a few of the thousands upon thousands of unsold cars at Sheerness, United Kingdom. Please do see this on Google Maps….type in Sheerness, United Kingdom. Look to the west coast, below River Thames next to River Medway. Left of A249, Brielle Way.
Timestamp: Friday, May 16th, 2014.
There are hundreds of places like this in the world today and they keep on piling up…
THE WORLDS UNSOLD CAR STOCKPILE
Houston…We have a problem!…Nobody is buying brand new cars anymore! Well they are, but not on the scale they once were. Millions of brand new unsold cars are just sitting redundant on runways and car parks around the world. There, they stay, slowly deteriorating without being maintained.
Below is an image of a massive car park at Swindon, United Kingdom, with thousands upon thousands of unsold cars just sitting there with not a buyer in sight. The car manufacturers have to buy more and more land just to park their cars as they perpetually roll off the production line.
There is proof that the worlds recession is still biting and wont let go. All around the world there are huge stockpiles of unsold cars and they are being added to every day. They have run out of space to park all of these brand new unsold cars and are having to buy acres and acres of land to store them.
The images on this webpage showing all of these unsold cars are just a very small portion of those around the world. There are literally thousands of these “car parks” rammed full of unsold cars in practically every country on the planet. Just in case you were wondering, these images have not been Photoshopped, they are the real deal!
Its hard to believe that there are so many unsold cars in the world but its true. The worse part is that the amount of unsold cars keeps on getting bigger every day.
It would be fair to say that it is becoming a mechanical epidemic of epic proportions. If anybody from outer space is reading this webpage, we here on Earth have too many cars, why not come and buy a few hundred thousand of them for your own planet! (sorry but this is all I can think of)
Below is shown just a few of the 57,000 cars (and growing) that await delivery from their home in the Port of Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. With Google Maps look South of Broening Hwy in Dundalk for the massive expanse of space where all these cars are parked up.
The car industry would never sell these cars at massive reductions in their prices to get rid of them, no they still want every buck. If they were to price these cars for a couple of thousand they would sell them. However, nobody would then buy any expensive cars and then they would end up being unsold. Its quite a pickle we have gotten ourselves into.
Below is shown an image of the Nissan test track in Sunderland United Kingdom. Only it is no longer being used, reason…there are too many unsold cars parked up on it! The amount of cars keeps on piling up on it until its overflowing. Nissan then acquires more land to park up the cars, as they continue to come off the production line.
UPDATE: Currently May 16th, 2014, all of these cars at the Nissan Sunderland test track have disappeared? Now I don’t believe they have all suddenly been sold. I would guess they may have been taken away and recycled to make room for the next vast production run.
Indeed next to that test track and adjacent to the Nissan factory, they are collating again as shown on the Google Maps image below. So where did the last lot go? This is not an employees car park by the way.
None of the images on this webpage are of ordinary car parks at shopping malls, football matches etc. Trust me, they are just mountains and mountains of brand spanking new unsold cars. There is no real reason why you should be driving an old clunker now is there?
The car industry cannot stop making new cars because they would have to close their factories and lay off tens of thousands of employees. This would further add to the recession. Also the domino effect would be catastrophic as steel manufactures would not sell their steel. All the tens of thousands of places where car components are made would also be effected, indeed the world could come to a grinding halt.
Below is shown just a small area of a gigantic car park in Spain where tens of thousands of cars just sit and sunbathe all day.
They are also piling up at the port of Valencia in Spain as seen below. They are either waiting to be exported to…nowhere or have been imported…to go nowhere.
Tens of thousands of cars are still being made every week but hardly any of them are being sold. Nearly every household in developed countries already has a car or even two or three cars parked up on their driveway as it is.
Below is an image of thousands upon thousands of unsold cars parked up on a runway near St Petersburg in Russia. They are all imported from Europe, they are all then parked up and they are all then left to rot. Consequently, the airport is now unusable for its original purpose.
The cycle of buying, using, buying using has been broken, it is now just a case of “using” with no buying. Below is an image of thousands of unsold cars parked up on an disused runway at Upper Heyford, Bicester, Oxfordshire. They are seriously running out of space to store these cars.
It is a sorry state of affairs and there is no answer to it, solutions don’t exist. So the cars just keep on being manufactured and keep on adding to the millions of unsold cars already sitting redundant around the world.
Below are parked tens of thousands of cars at Royal Portbury Docks, Avonmouth, near Bristol in the United Kingdom. If you look on Google Maps and scan around the area at say 200ft you will see nothing but parked up unsold cars. They are absolutley everywhere in that area practically every open space has unsold cars parked up on it.
Below is that same area in Avonmouth, UK, but zoomed out. Every gray space that you see is filled with unsold cars. Anyone want to hazard a guess at how many are there…
As it is, there are more cars than there are people on the planet with an estimated 10 billion roadworthy cars in the world today.
We literally cannot make enough of them. Below are seen just a few of the thousands of Citroen’s parked up at Corby, Northamptonshire in England. They are being added to daily, imported from France but with nowhere else to go once they arrive.
So there they sit, brand spanking new cars, all with a couple of miles on the clock that was consummate with them being driven to their car parks. Below is the latest May 2014 Google Maps image of unsold cars in Corby, Northamptonshire.
Manufacturing more cars than can be sold is against all logic, logistics and economics but it continues day after day, week after week, month after month, year in year out.
Below is shown a recent (April 2014) screen grab from Google Maps of the Italian port of Civitavecchia. All those little specks are a few thousand brand new unsold Peugeots. Just collecting dust and maybe a bit of salty sea spray!
Below, all nice and shiny but with nowhere to go. Red and white and black and silver, purple, pink and blue, all the colors of the rainbow and be they all brand new. Indeed all the colors of the rainbow are down there on those cars, making pretty mosaics, montages of color and still life. Maybe that is all they will now ever be, surreal urban art of the techno production age. Magnificent metal boxes, wasting space and saving grace, all sitting still, because its business at mill.
All around the world these cars just keep on piling up, there is no end in sight. The economy shouts out quite loud that nobody has the money anymore to spend on a new car. The reason being that they are making their “old” cars go on a lot longer. But we cannot stop making them, soon we will run out of space to park them. We are nearly running out of space to drive them that’s for sure!
Below, more cars mount up in the port of Valencia in Spain. They will not be exported as there is nowhere for them to go, so they just sit and rot in their colorful droves.
Gone are the days when the family would have a new car every year, they are now keeping what they have got. It may be fair to say that some families still get a new car every year but its the majority that now do not.
The results are in these images, hundreds of thousands if not millions of cars around the world are driven from their factories, parked up and left.
Could we say that these cars have been left to rot! Maybe, as these cars will certainly rot if they are not bought, driven and cared for. It does not look like they will be sold any day soon, many of them have been standing for over 12 months or even longer and this is detrimental to the car.
Below, as far as the eye can see, right into the background, cars, cars and more cars. But what’s beyond the horizon? Have a guess…Yes that’s right…even more cars! All brand new but with no homes to go to. Do you think they will ever start giving them away, that may be the only radical solution. Who knows, you could soon be getting a free car with every packet of cornflakes.
When a car is left standing idle, all the oil sinks to the bottom of the sump, and then corrosion begins to set in on all the internal engine parts where the oil has drained away.
Cold corrosion is when condensation builds up in the cylinders and rust forms in the bores. The engines would then start to seize and would need to be professionally freed before they could be started. Also the tires start to lose air and the batteries start to go flat, indeed the detrimental list goes on and on.
So the longer they sit there the worse it slowly becomes for them. What is the answer to this? Well they need to be sold and that just isn’t happening.
The epidemic is not improving, it is getting worse. Car manufactureres are constantly coming out with new models with the latest technology in them. Hence prospective buyers of, for example, a new Citroen Xsara Picasso want the latest model, not last years model. Hence all the unsold Citroen Xsara Picasso cars from the previous year will now have even lesser chance of being sold.
The problems then just keep on mounting up. In the end, the unsold cars that are say 2 years old will have no alternative but to be either crushed up, dismantled and/or their parts recycled.
Some car manufacturers moved their production over to China, General Motors and Cadillac are examples of this. They are then shipped over in containers and unloaded at ports. However they are now being told to put a big halt in their import into the U.S.A. as they just can’t sell them in the quantities they would desire. Consequently Chinese car parks are now filling up with brand new American cars. Well nobody in China can afford them on their meagre pittance wages, so there they will stay until our economy improves…which it might do in a few generations.
Source: Zero Hedge


text:
BEST Inc. Announces Wind Down of BEST Store+ and Management Change to Increase Focus on Core Businesses
HANGZHOU, China, Nov. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — BEST Inc. (NYSE:BEST) (“BEST” or the “Company”), a leading integrated smart supply chain solutions and logistics services provider in China, today announced that it will begin to wind down its BEST Store+ (“Store+“) business.
The Company believes that by phasing out Store+, it can eliminate the significant cashflow requirements associated with this early stage business, allowing the Company to further prioritize capital allocation towards its core businesses.
The Company expects to cease all operations of Store+ by the end of the year except for the self-operated WoWo convenience stores, which the Company plans to continue running while evaluating various strategic options. The online merchandise sourcing and store management platform will be handed over to independent third parties for continued operations.
“Store+ provided a creative solution for last-mile delivery and empowered many small merchants to participate in online-to-offline commerce,” said Johnny Chou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BEST Inc. “Over the past several quarters, Store+ has been making encouraging progress in reducing losses. …


text:
Vonage has decided to take on Microsoft's Skype VOIP business head on. It recently announced it has launched its first full fleged mobile app for iOS and Android users. The free app allows for up to 3,000 free minutes of calls per month to any mobile and landline phone in the US, Puerto Rico and Canada, allthough that deal is for a "limited time". Vonage also claims that the app's international call rates are not only 70 percent less than major phone carriers but 30 percent less than what Skype charges.
The app itself works on WiFi, 3G and 4G connections and lets users with smartphones use the app with their phone’s already established mobile number as well as all of their mobile contacts. That certainly should save a little time in terms of getting started with the Vonage app.
Vonage doesn't require that app users be previous Vonage customers. However, the company did say that all calls to Vonage home or business lines will be free for app users.
The fact that Vonage is promoting its app and its international call rates over that of Skype is an interesting marketing ploy. Skype was officially acquired by Microsoft in October for a cool $12.5 billion but so far Microsoft and Skype haven't done much in terms of offering new and improved Skype services. Indeed, Windows Phone users are still waiting for their own Skype app to be released.
Additionally, Vonage previously released a mobile app called "Extensions" that allowed its home users to dial to international numbers via their Android phone. Today's release of Vonage Mobile is a more full featured app that doesn't require a previous subscription to Vonage.
You can take a look at the new app by vising this link here or by clicking the banner below.
Disclaimer: Neowin and Vonage have previously collaborated on product promotion such as the iPad 2 giveaway and continue our relationship going forward.
19 Comments - Add comment


text:
West Hollywood becomes first city in the U.S. to ban retailers from selling fur
West Hollywood has become the first city in the U.S. to ban the sale of fur.
Sale of new fur is now prohibited within city limits after five City Councillors voted unanimously in favour of the ban.
Thirty citizens spoke in a heated debate that went on until 1.20am yesterday morning, with most describing the often cruel ways in which animals are killed for their pelts.
Fashion limits: J Mendel used fur in its latest collection - but now that West Hollywood has banned the sale of new fur, they will not go on sale there
It faced opposition from several retailers who argued that the ruling could damage their business.
The law is set to take effect from next June, though punishment for those that flout the ban has not yet been determined.
It will not prevent the sale of second-hand and vintage furs, because, the Council decided, it would not prevent the killing of any new animals.
Nor will the ruling stop anyone from wearing clothing made from animal pelts, though given the mild California climate, they are likely to be few and far-between.
Councilman John D’Amico, who sponsored the bill, said that he was thrilled with the result.
He told the West Hollywood Patch: 'My colleagues are really wonderful, thoughtful, humane, socially compassionate legislators. I'm honored to work with them.'
Fur Free West Hollywood campaign organiser Shannon Keith told animal rights group PETA: 'West Hollywood's ordinance banning the sale of fur is a historic step for the rest of the world, as it is the first city in the United States to pass such an ordinance.
Fur real: Rachel Zoe wore a fox coat to Matthew Williamson's London Fashion Week show on Sunday
'Cities like West Hollywood and communities all around the country are recognizing that the fur trade is barbaric, cruel and not fashionable.'
But Daily Mail columnist Liz Jones believes there is still a long way to go.
She told MailOnline: 'I think this is a good start, but has to be seen in context of the fact that U.S. Marie Claire, which is supposed to be one of the more ethical magazines, has a feature in its current issue extolling the virtue of fur, saying it is "sustainable and natural".
'I don't care, I just care if it is cruel and unnecessary. Rachel Zoe wore fur front row at Matthew Williamson, and as long as stylists like her think it's cool, it will never go out of fashion.'
Indeed, many designers continue to use animal pelts in their shows.
J Mendel, whose New York Fashion Week show was attended by Selma Blair and the Olsen Twins, featured furs in the spring/summer 2012 collection, while Michael Kors and Donna Karan's current lines also feature animal pelts.
Most watched News videos
- Burglar is caught by CCTV crawling on all fours past a back window
- Hoarder's dead body found in mountains of rubbish at his home
- Clumsy baby panda in China scares his mum with quick fall
- Prince William hands Kate a white rose outside Bradford City Hall
- Prince William and Kate Middleton visit Bradford on Royal duty
- Duchess of Cambridge dances with baby on Bradford visit
- Huge waves crash into Southend café as diners are stuck inside
- 'Racist' postman filmed on doorbell using horrific slurs
- Samantha: 'Prince Harry and Meghan have a lot of apologising to do'
- Laurence Fox's best moments on BBC Question TIme
- Baby orangutan cries after mother shot with tranquilliser gun
- Woman strips naked walking through Miami airport baggage area


text:
UK economy back to pre-covid level by end of year
Despite the delay on the lifting of all lockdown restrictions for another month, the UK economy is still set for a breakthrough year, according to the latest CBI Economic Forecast.
The easing of many Covid-19 restrictions in line with the UK government roadmap, rapid roll-out of vaccines and the unleashing of pent-up demand means that the UK economy is poised for considerable economic growth over the summer. But this won’t be felt as strongly by those sectors still working under restrictions. More broadly, stagnant productivity and business investment remain a drag on the longer-term sustainability of economic growth.
UK GDP is set to bounce back to its pre-Covid level towards the end of 2021, a year earlier than the previous CBI forecast (in December 2020) expected.
The CBI is forecasting GDP growth of 8.2% this year, and 6.1% in 2022 (revised up from 6.0% and 5.2% in our previous forecast), following a historically large (-9.9%) fall in output over 2020.
Household spending is the linchpin of this recovery, driving just over a quarter of GDP growth in 2021, and 70% of growth in 2022. Consumer spending is bolstered by an improvement in real incomes, and households running down some of the excess savings built up over the last year.
The CBI now also expects a much lower peak in the unemployment rate (5.5% in Q3) than in December (7.3% in Q2 2021). This is in part due to the extension of the Job Retention Scheme into the autumn, the resilience of the labour market so far, and expectations of a much stronger economic recovery.
A temporary boost to government spending on tackling the virus is another significant contributor to growth this year, driving around half of the rise in GDP over 2021.
Business investment is also set to claw back some of its losses, spurred on by strong economic growth and rising confidence, reinforced by the super-deduction announced in March’s Budget. Business investment nonetheless remains 5% below its pre-Covid level at the end of 2022, reflecting both the scale of the decline seen over the crisis, and lingering uncertainty over the longer-term impact of Covid-19 on business models.
CBI director-general, Tony Danker, said: “There are really positive signs about the economic recovery ahead this year and next. The data clearly indicates that there is pent up demand and ambition across many sectors.
“The imperative now must be to seize the moment to channel this investment into the big drivers of long-term UK prosperity. That’s why it’s the right time for government to come forward with far more detailed plans on everything from decarbonisation, to innovation to levelling up.
“Clearly this does not apply to the hardest hit sectors from the pandemic who even now face continued delays and genuine challenges to stay viable. Extending the commercial rent moratorium will help keep some firms’ heads above water, but the government must also do the same on business rates relief.
“It would be devastating for hospitality, events or aviation businesses to fail on what we hope is the last leg of restrictions.”
Key forecast data
Jobs and household spending
- Household spending is set to increase by 6% in 2021 and 7% 2022 as real incomes recover, and unemployment falls back from its peak in Q3 2021
- Employment is set to recover from the second half of the year onwards, leading to a lower and later peak in unemployment than we had previously expected. By the end of 2022, the level of employment will be slightly above its pre-Covid level (by 1.3%).
- The unemployment rate is expected to peak at 5.5% in Q3 2021. The unemployment rate will fall back thereafter, ending 2022 at 4.2% – historically low, but still a little above its pre-Covid level (of just under 4%)
- Real household incomes rebound in 2022 particularly (rising by 3.1%), as the economic and labour market recovery gain a firmer footing.
- Whilst business investment will recover, it nevertheless remains 5% below its pre-Covid level at the end of 2022
- Weak productivity also continues to mark the recovery. While output per worker recovers its losses over the forecast, it only returns to its (already weak) post-2010 trend over the next year.
- A recovery in global trade drives UK exports growth in our forecast, which grow by 2.1% in 2021 and 10% in 2022. The recovery is particularly pronounced in global goods trade, likely reflecting strong growth in large economies such as China and the US. However, global services trade is likely to lag behind by comparison – reflecting a more sluggish recovery in areas such as tourism and aviation.
- We expect stronger global GDP growth (6.3% in 2021, 4.9% in 2022 in purchasing power parity terms) than in our last forecast (5.6% and 4.3%), thanks partly to better health outcomes and fiscal stimulus in the US, which fuel consumer spending and business investment
- However, there is some divergence in the global recovery: we expect a weaker near-term outlook in the Eurozone, and many emerging markets are also likely to lag behind, due to variable progress in tackling the pandemic so far.
- Alpesh Paleja, CBI lead economist, said: “Successful rollout of Covid vaccines and an improvement in health outcomes means we are set for a bounce in growth over the summer. However, this won’t feel like a recovery to some, the aviation and events industries in particular will take much longer to recoup their losses.“Other long-term challenges are also emerging: recruitment difficulties are adding to global supply bottlenecks, which are in turn stoking pricing pressures. While these should subside as activity around the world normalises, it’s one to keep an eye on.“As we move from crisis to recovery, it’s important to present a vision for what a post-Covid economy should look like. Maintaining the strength in innovation and tech adoption during the pandemic, and facilitating the adjustment of firms to new ways of working, are only the first steps in tackling the UK’s burdensome legacy of weak productivity.”The recovery from the pandemic provides the ideal springboard to tackle the structural issues weighing on the economy prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. To achieve this, the CBI has identified six ways to transform the economy after the pandemic, to realise a decade of better economic and social progress. Some of the CBI recommendations include:
- Deliver record levels of investment for innovation, setting out the spending profile on R&D to reach £22bn by 2024/25 in this year’s Spending Review.
- Reform VAT rules for company cars and public charging to accelerate take-up of zero emission vehicles.
- Replacing the Apprenticeship Levy with a ‘Learning for Life’ guarantee, which would unlock trapped levy money for employers to spend more on training.
- Create a new Strategic Dialogue on Funding our Future, co-chaired by HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the CBI, to bring together the whole value chain – from hungry investees to private investors. This will add the customer viewpoint to the Bank’s productive finance workstream and shape proposals to unlock more pension funds, patient capital and private sector finance, fostering a cultural change to power growth.
- Create globally leading clusters in our regions and nations – commission the CBI to develop coalitions that can scale up economic clusters around the country, and write the playbook for how to build distinctive regional and national comparative advantage.


text:
Lenovo's Legion brand is set to return with a new product, but this time it is not going to be a gaming laptop. After years of gaming laptops, Legion is now looking to tap into the mobile gaming market with its first Legion gaming smartphone that is claimed to come with a "disruptive" cooling technology. The news was shared by Lenovo China Mobile GM Chen Jin in a post on Tuesday, however, there's no word on the release date of the Legion Gaming phone nor the price.
In a post on Weibo, Chen revealed that the new Legion gaming smartphone will use ground-breaking cooling technology to "upgrade" the gaming experience.
From the previous reports, we know that the gaming smartphone will be powered by Snapdragon 865 SoC processor that has also been used in the latest Black Shark 3 and Black Shark 3 Pro gaming smartphones. Other than the processor, it was also speculated that the Lenovo is planning to exceed the 55W fast charging support in the upcoming gaming phone.
With Black Shark, Nubia, iQoo, and Asus already present in the gaming smartphone market, it will be interesting to see what Lenovo will offer to differentiate itself in a crowded market.
To recall, the Nubia Red Magic 3S gaming-centric phone that was launched in India in October 2019, came with Snapdragon 855+, a 90Hz display, and featured trigger buttons on the phone that act as shoulder buttons for gaming.
Meanwhile, Nubia is getting ready to launch its new Red Magic 5G gaming phone on March 12 and it is set to have Air-cooled turbo charging - a feature that engages the cooling system while the phone is charging.


text:
(Pocket-lint) - Nokia could have scrapped the Nokia 9 it was planning to launch later this year in favour of a Nokia 8 Pro instead.
Either that or the Nokia 8 Pro could be the fabled Nokia 10 with an all-new name. Whichever is the case, Nokia Power User claims its sources point to the new phone being a flagship to be released in August or September.
The website states that the Nokia 10 is no longer in owner HMD Global's plans and that it will concentrate its efforts on the 8 Pro.
What's more, the Pro will likely come with the penta-lens camera module previously said to come with the Nokia 10.
It is a circular lens module, said to come with five options for focal lengths, and looks a bit like the camera on the rear of the four-year-old Nokia Lumia 1020.
Indeed, when there were rumours of a Nokia 10, we might have spotted a sketch of it circulating around the 'net (above).
Other speculation on the Nokia 8 Pro suggests that it will come with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor. It'll also have a fingerprint sensor on the rear under the camera and glass covering front and back.
It could also sport an 18:9 display, which is sensible considering that's rapidly becoming the screen format of choice for higher-end phones.
We doubt we'll hear much about it at Mobile World Congress next week, considering it's not tipped for release until late summer/autumn, but we do expect to hear more rumours in the coming months.


text:
Hardwick Clothes Continues Tradition 134 Years Later
A Cleveland clothing manufacturer is celebrating the past, and prepping to keep their place in the market in the future. Hardwick Clothes is the oldest tailor-made clothing manufacturer in the country. Earlier this year, the company was fighting bankruptcy and it seemed like their more than 130 years of experience might not make it another season.
But with a new chance, and a new owner in Cleveland businessman Allan Jones, Hardwick is both concentrating on what got them here, and looking for ways to set themselves apart in a modern marketplace.
On these racks, the bread and butter of Hardwick Clothes hang long before seeing the inside of business meetings and church services. "The navy blazer and the khaki pants is what sustained us, kept us," says Hardwick's General Manager Paul Bates.
The men's clothing staple is the biggest seller for America's oldest-tailor made manufacturer in the heart of Cleveland, a tradition that's more than 130 years old. "The motto was from the sheep's back to your clothing rack. They brought the wool in themselves, they spun the yard and made the cloth and cut the cloth into garments, that helped them make it through the depression because they didn't have to rely on vendors."
But as the company grew, so did the need to bring in finished fabric now in camel, red and seersucker too. Today, 3 thousand yards of fabric come in every week, ready to start the process that produces blazers, vests and pants.
Each pattern part is bundled and given a bar code to make sure they end up at the right sewing station. Both the blazer's outer shell and it's lining make their way down the assembly line of experienced seamstresses, where panels are matched, sewn, and pocket flaps and shoulder pads are added.
"Everybody talks about made in the USA," says Hardwick's new CEO Bruce Bellusci, "there really is a big push for that, but it's all about our people we've got the best people in the world and we are going to make the best product in the world and we are going to have fun doing it."
For more on Hardwick's newly-launched website, click here.
By: Latricia Thomas
FBI conclusively links North Korea to Sony hack
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The FBI says it has enough evidence to conclude that North Korea was behind the hack attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment.
WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- (Marketwired) -- 03/21/14 --
Companies that pride themselves on being eco-friendly may have conflicted
ideas between marketing with ad specialties and maintaining their green
"THE INTERVIEW" - FALLOUT
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Now that Sony has made the bombshell decision to scrap "The Interview" -- the fallout is starting to spread.
FRANKLIN, Ind. (AP) -- Baby Jesus is going high-tech.
IN THE NEWS: COMPANIES BRACE AGAINST POSSIBLE CYBERATTACKS
ATLANTA (AP) -- Remember how after 9/11, there was increased attention given to security at buildings, airports and other complexes.


text:
Detroit-based Reverie credits realigned operations, quality management and customer service personnel with helping the company successfully navigate the global pandemic. Changes include the hiring of Erik Elie as chief operating officer early in 2020, the promotion in February of Paul Kulniszewsi to director of quality and manufacturing from plant manager, Margaret Satoh ‘s hiring in mid-2020 as director of service and warranty, and Patti Ark’s promotion to director of customer experience.
Elie has more than 25 years of high-level experience in industrial operations, supply chain management and purchasing. His previous employers include Umlaut, the Woodbridge Group and Lear Corp. His understanding of global supply chain dynamics has been an enormous asset to Reverie during the pandemic, the company said. In the previous 20 months, he also was instrumental in driving expansion of power base production at Reverie’s joint venture in Vietnam.
In his new role, Kulniszewski, who joined Reverie in 2019, has introduced new technology and processes to the company’s total quality management system, which has a goal of zero defects.
Satoh joined the company from HandyPro and has more than 35 years of experience running large and small service centers in multiple industries and in manufacturing. Since joining Reverie, she has enlarged the service center staff, adopted new VOIP technology and focused on improving processes.
Patti Ark now is responsible for driving an organizationwide focus on customer experience. She has a long history with the company and close to 40 years of experience in the adjustable base segment.
“This talented team reflects all of our core values and then some,” said Martin Rawls-Meehan, Reverie chief executive officer. “Investing in them has ensured that Reverie not only hits our pre-Covid goals but is ready to exceed far beyond them.”


text:
Feminism is back in fashion
Simply sign up to the Life & Arts myFT Digest -- delivered directly to your inbox.
The overriding trend that’s shaping fashion for the coming season, the one thing that no one will be able to avoid, is not a colour, a shape, a decade or even a fabric. It is, rather, a movement. Fashion has finally got in touch with its (deeply buried) feminist side. This is not sartorial politics as usual.
Fashion and feminism? Can we really take this seriously from the industry that gave us underweight models, Terry Richardson and Kate Moss posing for Playboy? As literary critic and feminist Elaine Showalter wrote in US Vogue in 1997, “from Mary Wollstonecraft to Naomi Wolf feminism has often taken a hard line on fashion, shopping and the whole beauty Monty . . . but for those of us sisters hiding Welcome to Your Facelift inside The Second Sex, a passion for fashion can sometimes seem a shameful secret life.”
However, if the idea might meet with a certain amount of scepticism, a renewed cultural conversation about women’s roles (lean in and take a bow, Sheryl Sandberg) means that designers and fashion insiders are explicitly embracing feminism.
The most extreme statement came from Rick Owens at Paris Fashion Week, who showed his draped, twisted and fitted leather tunics on a troupe of 40 predominantly black women from four sororities who took over the catwalk with a snarling, stomping, chest-beating step-dance set. These strong, muscular women offered a defiant riposte to the image of the skinny, usually white, model passively gliding down the catwalk, as being the only type of femininity worth aspiring to. Vogue.com called it “one of the most thoroughly exhilaration-inducing sights any of us have had the privilege of sitting through this season”.
Meanwhile, Miuccia Prada was on a similar mission. “I know it’s a political discourse,” she said backstage at her spring/summer 2014 show, “but I wanted to say what I could through clothes.” She described the women on her catwalk to Vogue.com as “strong, visible fighters,” adding that “there is this debate about women again and I want to interpret it. My instrument is fashion. I had this idea that if you wear clothes so exaggerated and out there, people will look, and then they will listen.”
Her argument consisted of a range of garments that tapped into feminine stereotypes, from the schoolgirl knee-socks to the ladylike bag and the showgirl embellished bra top, and then combined them with women’s faces painted by young muralists and street artists. The result was a colourful, eclectic, embellished spin on sportswear: bold, beautiful clothes that command attention while conveying the multifaceted nature of modern femininity.
As for jeweller Eddie Borgo, he said of his spring/summer collection that it “celebrates female strength in all forms: the Suffragettes and the women’s movement, feminist art, the riot grrrls of the 1990s, and the current rekindling of guerrilla protest in the form of Pussy Riot.” That translated into tough-girl punk pieces such as hand rings with zip-teeth and dog-tag necklaces.
Yet it isn’t just via product that fashion folk are speaking out. Self-made US billionaire designer Tory Burch recently wrote a call to arms for women in business in the Economist, saying that, “Women’s empowerment will be front and centre in 2014 as more companies, communities and countries invest in women’s entrepreneurship.”
Meanwhile fashion entrepreneur Tamara Mellon, who often tweets links to sites such as Everydayfeminism.com, says, “I absolutely consider myself a feminist. I think that as a result of the financial crisis, women woke up and realised that we need to reignite the conversation on gender equality.”
Then there are the women recently promoted to some of the top jobs in retail. Marigay McKee is now president of Saks Fifth Avenue, Stacey Cartwright is chief executive of Harvey Nichols and Alannah Weston has just been made deputy chairman of Selfridges.
Joanna Coles, editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine in the US, which has increased its careers coverage significantly, agrees that the industry is reflecting a change in the zeitgeist. “Fashion is definitely addressing independent women this season and it’s a clear reflection of the Lean In movement and the sudden visibility of senior women very high up the food chain,” she says. “In the US we have Janet Yellen, the first woman at the Fed; Mary Barra at General Motors, the first woman to head an auto company; Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg at the top of the bestseller list; and Marissa Mayer at Yahoo.”
When it comes to female-friendly fashion, Coles says: “Probably the most feminist thing I have in my own closet this season are Tamara Mellon’s genius, sexy, hugely practical legging boots, which pull on in one easy movement . . . Women want fashion to keep up with the speed of their lives.”
At Elle UK, which is running a feminism project that includes an equal pay campaign, editor-in-chief Lorraine Candy detects a more general aesthetic. “This season is about empowerment – it’s a brave and bold season in terms of colour and pattern; it is about wearing what you want to wear, and real joy. Miu Miu and Chanel were so joyful.”
As proof, Candy points to the absence of the cripplingly high heels that dominated the catwalk for years. “There were lots of flats this season, and I think that may be a subliminally feminist thing,” she says. “Flats are very much women designing for women. Isn’t the pool shoe the ultimate feminist shoe?”
Agree or not, it has certainly helped to kick-start the debate.