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Catalogers can breathe a sigh of relief: It’s official that postal rate increases will follow the Postal Reform bill passed 11 months ago. The U.S. Postal Service’s Board of Governors announced Thursday that future price increases will be tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), or rate of inflation, for mailing services that include First Class, Standard Mail, and periodicals.
The BOG said future prices would be adjusted using new regulations issued by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) on Oct. 29. The board’s decision is consistent with the Postal Reform and Accountability Act, which calls for a rate-increase cap that ties future postage increases at or below the rate of inflation. It also has strict criteria regarding conditions for emergency rate increases.
Technically, the BOG could have filed one final rate case under the old regulations in place since 1971, but voted to proceed with the new pricing regulations. “We thank the Postal Regulatory Commission for completing the new rules eight months ahead of the statutory deadline,” Postmaster General John E. Potter said in a release. “This delivers one of the main goals of the new law for business mailers–a predictable price schedule.”
With the new pricing regulations, the Postal Service has more flexibility for shipping services, including bulk parcels and expedited package services such as Priority Mail and Express Mail. “We intend to use this new flexibility to grow our competitive business offering volume discounts and contract pricing,” Potter said. “There are still many details to be worked out, but we look forward to partnering with the PRC and our customers to maximize the advantages of the new pricing rules.”
Regarding the BOG’s decision to tie future price increases to CPI, Gene Del Polito, president of the Association for Postal Commerce, says: “We were hoping this was the decision they would make. For us it will mean predictability. Increases and change will come but, by and large, we know they won’t deviate greatly from what the rate of inflation is.”
In the latest postal rate case, catalogers were hit hardest, with many facing increases from 20% to 40%. Del Polito is convinced that the Postal Service is fully aware of the tribulations facing many catalogers due to the rate hike in May. “There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the Postal Service fully appreciates that catalogers got whacked in the last rate case and have no intention of repeating that,” he says.
But others are holding off on the celebrations. Hamilton Davison, executive director of the American Catalog Mailers Association, says the misconception in the industry is the CPI cap tied to future price increases precludes exorbitant rate hikes like the one sustained this year by catalogers. “The CPI cap is at the class level,” he says. “The entire class has to be averaged out to at or below CPI level.”
Some classes within can be all over the board, Davison says. “Our real concern is because so many other Standard Mail classes have been very active in postal policy advocacy, they’re claiming their mail is highly automated and cost effective, and the brunt of cost increases should be put on flats.”
In other news, the Postal Service recorded an eighth consecutive year of productivity growth in fiscal 2007. Total factor productivity, which measures the relationship between workload and resource usage, rose 1.7% compared to fiscal 2006. A reduction of 36 work hours, which is equivalent to $1.2 billion, attributed to the growth.
For fiscal 2007, which ended Sept. 30, the USPS incurred a net loss of $5.1 billion. Postal officials attributed the loss to mandatory funding requirements in the Postal Act of 2006. The year-end loss is about $300 million less than projected earlier this year.
“It’s important to note that we not only achieved our plan, which had to be adjusted to reflect the new law, but we overcame a slow start and did better than our mid-year projection,” Potter said. Without the financial obligations due to Postal Reform, the Postal Service would have ended the year with net income of $1.6 billion. Total revenue for fiscal 2007 was $74.9 billion and expenses totaled approximately $80 billion. Mail volume was 212 billion pieces.


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Tesla has fully opened its Supercharger network to other electric-car users in the Netherlands, and is expected to do the same in other European countries soon.
All Tesla Supercharger rapid-charging locations in the Netherlands can now be used by drivers of other brands’ electric cars – making it the first country in the world where the network has been opened to non-Tesla owners.
The move comes after the conclusion of a pilot project that began in mid-2021 across 10 of the brand’s 54 locations in the Netherlands. Similar pilot projects are also underway in Norway, France, Germany and Belgium, with the full opening of the network in those countries likely to follow in due course.
There’s no word yet on when a similar opening-up could occur in Australia. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has previously pledged that “over time” Superchargers in “all countries” will be opened up, but there isn’t a definite timeframe for when this will happen in each territory.
While European Tesla Superchargers have Type 2 and CCS connectors, those in the US have a proprietary connector, so cars from other brands would need an adaptor to use them – but Musk has indicated this will be made available.
Concerns have been raised by some Tesla owners of the impact opening up will have on the network, with certain locations in some countries already seeing drivers have to queue. Speaking on an earnings call in 2021, Musk indicated that dynamic pricing would be introduced, charging drivers more for staying longer, in order to encourage shorter charge sessions – and making it more expensive to charge at busier times. Tesla has also said that the locations opened up in the Netherlands and elsewhere will be “closely monitored for congestion”.
Non-Tesla owners can charge at a Supercharger using the Tesla app, in which they need to register bank or credit-card details to process payments. They’ll be charged a higher rate than Tesla owners for using the network, which the company says reflects the additional costs of supporting other vehicles.

domain: news


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Mulberry profits from bags of growth
DEMAND for Mulberry’s £800 handbags shows no sign of slowing as the company bounds toward a 50% rise in profits.
The Somerset-based luxury brand is expected to reveal pre-tax profits of £35.4m on sales of £170m when it releases full-year results on Thursday.
Godfrey Davis, who oversaw the transformation of Mulberry from a little-known leather goods label to a global fashion powerhouse, will become non-executive chairman this month. He was chief executive for almost 10 years and will be replaced in that role by Bruno Guillon, who joined from Hermès in March.
Mulberry, alongside its British peer Burberry, has been one of the biggest winners in the luxury goods boom. It has a market value of £1.2 billion.
Despite the economic turmoil, analysts believe the


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BY Simi Iluyomade Apr 17, 2020
Valentino is the latest to launch Instagram Live programming as more and more designers and fashion houses look to social media for innovation during the global pandemic. Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys will kick off the #ChezMaisonValentino series today, April 17, at 4 p.m. EST with a special performance, followed by a poetry reading by Rupi Kaur. Creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli has long looked to poetry for inspiration, weaving its influence throughout his collections at Valentino. Last year, the designer stitched the words of contemporary poets onto the gowns that walked the Valentino Fall/Winter 2019 runway and sent showgoers home with a selection of accompanying verses.
With the #ChezMaisonValentino initiative, Piccioli hopes to entertain and connect the Italian house’s audience as social distancing measures amplify. Other designers providing live streamable performances include Chanel, Chloé, Bottega Veneta, and more.


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Climate affects durian production
By Mai Gevera
Davao City (12 July) -- Davao Durian growers are all surprised with the early growing and harvest season of the durian fruit.
Before, the region is flooded with durian starting August until October. But now, growers need to harvest as early as July and they estimated that the fruit supply would dwindle and run out by August.
This has pushed the Regional Tourism Council head by its chairperson Alma Uy to move the Durian Festival initiated by the City of Tagum on a much earlier date.
"Instead of August, we will celebrate the festival on July 18 when the production of the durian fruit is at its highest," she said during the Kapihan sa Kapitolyo, Thursday.
Uy came up with the decision after checking the durian plantations in Davao del Norte and most of the growers suggested to move the festival earlier so the public can see and eat more durian fruits.
The growers also attributed the sudden change of the Durian harvest season to climate change.
"We can no longer understand the climate. Sometimes we get too much heat and then suddenly we experience consecutive rains," said Uy.
This has also made the growers to mark up the price of the durian fruit. Instead of P50 per kilo, most growers are now selling it at P60.
Uy, who is a grower herself, admitted that durian growers deserve to hike the durian price since their production has significantly decreased due to various factors.
One factor mentioned is the climate change and the other one is the increasing price of fertilizers. (PIA) [top]


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Oct 8, 2009 (DVB), The price of gold in Burma has more than doubled in the past four years, while rice and fish prices have also seen a huge rise, government figures for October report.
Figures released by the government's Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) follow in the wake of the introduction of Burma's largest currency denomination, the 5,000 kyat banknote, on 1 October.
The circulation of the new banknote has sparked fears that inflation rates in Burma would soar, although so far there is no evidence directly linking inflation to the new note.
Figures from CSO show that rice prices have more than doubled since 2005, while gold has risen from 286,660 kyat ($US286.60) per kyatha (16.3 grams) in 2005 to 596500 kyat ($US596.50) per kyatha as of October this year. The average price of fish has also doubled in this period.
Burmese economist Khin Maung Nyo said that the reason for the rise in the price of gold is due to people's distrust of Burmese banks.
"Because there is no reliable banking system in Burma, people tend to stock up gold to preserve their wealth," he said.
"They prefer gold than other properties such as land or a car because gold is easier to trade. It is also because people believe the value of gold is invulnerable to inflation."
His comments were echoed by Sean Turnell, from the Australia-based Burma Economic Watch, who said that the move to gold and other currencies "shows a broader fear, and a lack of financial institutions".
A major worry, he said, is the total collapse of the purchasing power of the kyat, "along the lines Zimbabwe situation".
"Whenever the inflation rate just bubbles along at a rate of 20 percent, which is bad, it is 10 times what it is in neighboring countries."
Mineral and rice exports are a major source of income for the Burmese economy, despite its agriculture sector being severely damaged by cyclone Nargis last year.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has warned that it could take up to three years before the economy recovers from the cyclone Official Burmese government figures put Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth at around 10 percent, although ADB believes the real figure to be half of this.
Reporting by Aye Nai and Matthew Cunningham


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An auction of vintage Post Office posters will provide funds for a new museum highlighting five centuries of social, communication and design history behind the postal service.
selection of vintage General Post Office posters are to be put up for sale as part of an online auction to raise money for The Postal Museum and Mail Rail.
Created by some of the most prominent artists and designers of their time, the original posters are duplicates from the collections in the British Postal Museum and Archive and will be put up for auction by Onslows Auction House in Dorset on July 9.
The images, made between the 1930s and 1960s, focus on a range of subjects, from airmail to pleas for the careful packing of parcels.
Adrian Steel, the director of the museum and archive, praised the creativity of the designers and highlighted the importance of the posters. “Along with a number of other trendsetting organisations, the GPO broke the mould with its marketing in the 1930s,” he suggested.
“Auctioning this striking series of posters prior to moving to The Postal Museum gives the public a rare opportunity to own a piece of iconic design.”
a photo of a poster featuring a women holding roses that have been unpacked from a parcel. Next to her reads the text ‘Properly packed parcels please’.
Poster advising correct packaging of parcels by Harry Stevens, June 1962
© Royal Mail Group courtesy of The British Postal Museum & Archive
Some of the most prominent artists and designers of the time were commissioned to create these images. The posters going on sale include works by Edward McKnight Kauffer, Stan Krol, Jan Le Witt and George Him.
Many of the artists went on to make iconic designs for places such as London Transport and the Ministry of Information with posters made to support the war effort during the Second World War.
“The funds raised will support our ambitious plans for a new, national museum and unique subterranean experience on the Mail Rail,” added Steel.
The Postal Museum will have permanent exhibition galleries and a temporary exhibition space bringing social, communication and design history from the past five centuries to London.
There are also plans to open up a section of the old Post Office Underground Railway, Mail Rail, allowing the public to take a ride through some of the original tunnels beneath the capital. Visit postalmuseum.org for more.
A selection of the posters will be available to view at the Chalke Valley History Festival until June 28. Onslows can also be contacted for a private viewing on 01258 488838 or email@example.com.


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1. Billionaire Anil Agarwal will invest $10 billion to set up India’s first and one of world’s largest liquid crystal display (LCD) panel manufacturing units, known as Panel FAB. Which state?
2. Ratan Tata has invested in which retail-tech startup?
3. Which Indian telecom company has teamed up with eight global carriers, including British Telecom and Deutsche Telekom, to put in place a knowledge-sharing alliance?
4. Which on-demand home services platform has acquired its smaller Gurgaon-based competitor FindYahan for an undisclosed sum, in a cash and stock deal?
5. 23 years after he exited the soft drinks business, Ramesh Chauhan of Bisleri will step back into the category. What will be it branded as?
6. Which online rickshaw aggregator has roped in TV and film actress Saumya Tandon as brand ambassador?
7. Which doctor discovery portal recently launched a digital campaign #HealthyBreakups on the occasion of Valentine’s Day?
8. Which multiplex operator has entered the North East with the launch of a property in Jorhat, Assam?
9. Which MNC will acquire online payment service provider Emvantage Payments for an undisclosed amount?
10. What first did India's 4G smartphone shipments achieve in the final quarter of year 2015?
11. Which US media and entertainment major’s consumer products division has signed a deal with Mumbai-based Black White Orange Brands to bring its brands to South Asia?
12. Which Indian company has formed a new joint venture with Spanish security services giant Prosegur to offer alarm monitoring and response solutions for homes and small businesses?
13. Thomas Cook India has piloted a partnership with which accommodation website for outbound travellers from India?
14. Which business group will buy Bengaluru-based BSS Microfinance Private Ltd (BMPL) in an Rs 90- crore deal?
15. Nissan will launch a new hatchback in the country in May under the Datsun badge. What has it been branded as?
16. Noida-based Ringing Bells Pvt. Ltd last week unveiled a smartphone. What is its claim to fame?
17. Amazon last week announced the launch of an initiative that enables small and medium businesses (SMBs) to go online and sell products on Amazon. What has it been branded as?
18. Swiss luxury watchmaker Tissot has roped in which celebrity as its Indian male brand ambassador?
19. Which online travel company has signed up Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt as its new brand ambassadors?
20. Coca-Cola India is celebrating 40 years of which beverage brand?
21. Which cosmetics and beauty products MNC has elevated Rahul Shanker as its new India managing director?
22. Which company and Leo Burnett have created #MemoriesForLife, a digital platform for customers that allow them to leave behind more than just money?
23. Which company last week launched eight split AC models under the 'Aryabot' range, claiming to be the world's first satellite controlled AC, for Indian market?
24. Which mutual fund has launched a digital campaign ‘Dil Ke Ameer’?
25. Bollant Industries Ltd, which makes paper-based plates and products, was in the news recently for receiving an investment from which business personality?
26. Which company has signed up as the title sponsor for the upcoming Asia Cup T20 for Rs 10-12 crore?
27. Which computer networking and software distributor has agreed to be acquired by China’s Tianjin Tianhai Investment for an equity value of $ 6 billion?
28. Which MNC last week said it would buy Truven Health Analytics, a provider of cloud-based healthcare data, for $2.6 billion?
29. Which business group has launched its corporate campaign with the theme ‘Together, let’s prosper’?
30. Which dairy major is running the campaign #HeroNextDoor, launched on Republic Day?
31. Which online certification training provider has launched its first television campaign (TVC) 'Get Certified, Get Ahead', featuring actor Irrfan Khan?
32. Rhiti Sports Management, a sports marketing and celebrity management firm that represents Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has launched an active lifestyle brand. What is it called?
33. Which sports personality has launched a new brand 'Zeven' to cash in on the burgeoning sports apparel and accessories market in the country?
34. Which IT major has appointed Michael Pesch as chief executive officer (CEO) of its consulting arm?
35. Which company has become the first Indian app to cross the 50 million installs landmark on Google Android Play Store?


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The waitlist was long even before the chip crisis.
If you're in the market for a new Land Rover Defender, be prepared to wait. Last summer, we reported that the UK automaker was experiencing difficulty building a sufficient supply of Defenders due to the pandemic. You can't build vehicles when factories are shut down, as was the case with Jaguar Land Rover's facility in Slovakia, home of the Defender.
Fast forward to today, and Defender demand remains strong with JLR's order bank reaching nearly 100,000 vehicles, though this figure includes plug-in hybrid variants of its other models, such as the Range Rover. Blame the semiconductor chip crisis, itself a pandemic aftereffect. Automotive News confirmed this figure following a recent presentation given by JLR chief financial officer Adrian Mardell to investors where its latest quarterly earnings were announced.
"It's the result of the supply side," he said. "Expect those order books to normalize in six, nine- or 12-months' time."
In other words, it's going to be a while. Resolving the global chip shortage won't happen overnight.
A majority of delayed Defender deliveries are in Europe and the UK, though the US and other vital markets like China are surely impacted as well. JLR still doesn't know how this will affect production for the next financial year, but it's clear that many Defender buyers won't get a 2021 model at this point. Mardell confirmed the Defender order bank currently exceeds 20,000 units. Nearly 7,000 are being sold each month, a 2,000-unit increase over the predicted amount.
To compare, JLR took around 8,000 orders when the reborn Defender first hit the market in April 2020 and went on to sell around 45,000 units total last year. Land Rover's plug-in hybrids are also highly sought after, especially in Europe, because wealthy customers want to take advantage of tax breaks for electrified vehicles. PHEV sales reached 7.3 percent of total global JLR sales last quarter. Even the Jaguar I-Pace is still doing quite well as it consisted of 1.8 percent of sales during that time.
Though demand for these models remains high, JLR had to write off some $952 million in the financial year ending in March following the cancellation of a new EV platform that would've underpinned a new XJ sedan, as well as other restructuring costs.


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Kick off your Monday morning with some new music from Lykke Li. She’s giving away her new single, ‘Get Some’ (which you can download below), as well as B-side track ‘Paris Blue’ (which you can get from her official website).
While you’re on her website, you can also check out a copy of her handwritten lyrics and share your favourite line from the song with your friends on Facebook or Twitter.
This ‘Get Some’ EP will be available to purchase on a limited edition 7” vinyl from selected UK record stores. Her full-length, follow-up album will be released early next year.
Lykke Li will be performing a sold-out show at London’s Heaven on November 4th. And while all of her currently announced tour dates are sold out, we’re told more will be announced soon.
What do you think of her new songs?


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Iran: Fall in agricultural exportsNews reports confirm that Iranís agricultural exports amounted to $ 4.00 billion during the first nine months of the current fiscal year (March 20-December 21), 3.4 percent less year-on-year.
The country exported 4.19 million tons of agricultural products during the period, which is 2.4 percent less compared to the same period of the preceding year, according to the data released by Iranís Agriculture Ministry. Agricultural products had 12.7 percent share in Iranís overall exports in the 9-month period in terms of value and 4.7 percent in terms of volume.
Agronomic products topped the list of exports with 63.4 percent share in terms of volume, followed by horticultural products (21.6 percent) and livestock (12.3 percent).
Watermelon topped the list of exports in terms of volume. Iran exported 717,340 tons of watermelon, followed by tomatoes (369,370 tons), potatoes (353,910 tons), apple (256,210 tons) and wheat flour (214,420 tons).
Meanwhile, pistachio ($820.17 million), saffron ($144.5 million), tomato paste ($138 million) and watermelon ($137.1 million) topped the list of Iranís agricultural exports in terms of value.
According to an azernews.az article, Iranian officials say that the countryís annual agricultural output stands at 120 million tons, worth at $80 million. The figure includes 82 million tons of crops, 20 million tons of horticultural products, 14 million tons of livestock, and over one million tons of fishery products.
Publication date: 1/19/2018
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Here you can find current information on our company and ongoing projects.
Rochester, NY – April 2021 – Durst, manufacturer of innovative digital printing systems and software solutions, is setting a milestone in the field of sublimation printing with the launch of
Rochester, NY – March 2021 – Label Solutions Inc, Garland TX, a full-service label manufacturer established in 2007, are known for high quality label production and a focus on customer service.
Rochester, NY – January 2021 – The desire to expand into the large-format sector and increase capacity without sacrificing quality or speed, led Walton Press to add the Durst P5 350.
Rochester, NY – January 2021 – Today, Shaw PPC Design, based out of Michigan, announced the addition of the Durst P5 350 to bolster their graphic print offering. Shaw PPC Design was founded
October 2020 – The Durst Group announced today that Durst and Vanguard won a combined seven (7) 2020 Product of the Year awards. The most in the history of the company,


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Miami Beach Community Church Courtyard Will Soon Look Like the Rest of Lincoln Road
In December, we broke the news that the Miami Beach Community Church was strongly considering leasing its courtyard to commercial developers. Church leaders called the $100 million offer a "miracle from God." Meanwhile, locals -- and even some church members -- said the church was selling its sanctuary for 30 pieces of silver.
Touzet Studios The Miami Beach Community Church courtyard will soon look like this.
Well, MBCC members eventually approved of the "miracle." And now architects have released their plans for a two-story retail structure where the church courtyard currently sits.
The building will be a modern mix of limestone, glass, and metal. In other words, it will look like all of the other new clothing stores on Lincoln Road.
The developer on the project is David Edelstein's Tristar, the company that's trying to build condos in Wynwood (that decision has been delayed until April 2). Tristar has hired architectural firm Touzet Studios and landscape design company Raymond Jungles for the MBCC project.
Touzet's sketches show that Tristar does, indeed, intend to build a courtyard atop the commercial building.
Eric Donahoe, who heads MBCC's board of directors, called the lease "a miracle from God that he would provide this church with these types of resources." And pastor H.E. "Hunter" Thompson said it was "a blessing."


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Bluebox, a software security company that tests mobile devices for security and malware threat, got their hands on a Xiaomi Mi 4 for testing. The results were not good. Bluebox claims that there were malicious software installed on the device, with some of those even mimicking Google applications. Xiaomi has since replied to the accusation, but it still leaves questions on the security of the phone and the integrity of the brand itself.
Bluebox found all manner of trojans and malware installed on the phone, some that allowed hackers to access the device. There were also adware that mimicked the look of a verified Google application. Bluebox declared that they found the device “vulnerable to every vulnerability we scanned for.” A good question to ask next is if the phone was genuine in the first place.
Bluebox said that they were able to buy the phone from a retailer in China, and that they were not sure if the phone was tampered with by a third party before sale, or if it was some sort of test model – since the operating system was a mixture of Android 4.4.4 KitKat with some older elements from older OS versions included.
Xiaomi’s VP for International Hugo Barra has since replied to the accusation. He points out that the device Bluebox tested was “inot using a standard MIUI ROM, as our factory ROM and OTA ROM builds are never rooted and we don’t pre-install services such as YT Service, PhoneGuardService, AppStats etc.” Barra says that Bluebox may have received a tampered device. He added that Xiaomi recommends people to buy their phones through its official online store and selected carriers, and not from third-party resellers. The full content of Xiaomi’s official reply to the accusation can be found at the source link (see below).
That said, Bluebox lead security analyst Andrew Blaich says that he is not convinced of the answer, saying that there were still holes in the whole shipping process from China to international where devices can still be tampered with. It raises a lot of questions about buying phones from China at street level, where there is a very lively market for cheaply priced devices. Sadly, this is also not the first time Xiaomi has been accused of putting out devices that have security flaws.


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How DigiPlex has changed the game for data centre technology


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Facebook To Unveil New Avatar Of News Feeds Section On March 7, 2013 [BREAKING]By Amit Misra on March 1, 2013@amit6060
Facebook is again gearing up to surprise 1 Billion plus people with the something new. And, this time it would be the biggest change ever. According to a latest report, Facebook is all set to unveil the new look of its most popular News Feed section on March 7 2013.
The Social media giant will showcase the new look and feature of News Feed section in a media event to be held on March 7 at its new HQ Melno Park, California. The company has already started sending invites for the event to all media companies. However, only few of such media companies have confirmed the receipt of much-excited invite.
Within just 2 months of time this is the second biggest roll out by Facebook this year. In January, Facebook introduced “Graph Search”, which is still being considered as the potential threat for Google search dominance. However, due to limited roll-out industry is yet to record reaction of users for Graph Search and many still finding hard to digest as a strong contender for Google Search.
Facebook currently holds more than 1.06 Billion online users only to become the biggest online community ever. However, the transition of its desktop users to mobile is becoming a biggest challenge to counter. Facebook don’t have robust Ad management tool to monetize its mobile traffic inventory and with explosive growth in Smartphone sector worldwide, the numbers on mobile is bound to surge up.
Yesterday, Facebook officially announced the acquisition of Ad Network Management tool “Atlas” from Microsoft or reportedly $100 Million. Though, the deal forced Microsoft to write off $6.2 Billion paid to acquire “Atlas” back in 2007 but Facebook’s constant growth could allow Microsoft to challenge Google dominance in online ad industry indirectly. The new acquisition could also help Facebook to strengthen its mobile ads offerings and to look beyond its own network adding millions of partners to extend its advertisers reach and will improve its own revenue book with better numbers.
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Latest ArticlesBy Asif Iqbal Shaik
Google Inc. (GOOGL) Is Confident That People Would Buy Higher Priced Nexus 6 and Nexus 9
Against their trend, Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) showcased Android 5.0 Lollipop as Android L, during Google I/O 2014, before it was even completely developed. We have extensively explained about the...
About DazeinfoDazeinfo is a leading technology, media and marketing Internet property which is focused on market intelligence, advisory services, strategic consulting and communication design for information technology. We specialize in Smartphone, Social Media, Internet and the Gaming Industry.Dazeinfo helps IT professionals, business executives and the investment communities make fact-based decisions on innovative yet effective technology adoptions and business strategies. For more than 2 years, Dazeinfo has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives.
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“My drone can beat up your drone.”
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced in December of 2013 that his company was testing a drone delivery system for its products. Never to be outdone, Mark Zuckerberg announced last week that Facebook is experimenting with its own drone program: this one with potentially transformative applications.
The aircraft—known as Aquila—is an integral cog in Facebook’s Internet.org initiative, an undertaking designed to maximize global internet connectivity. Many thought Amazon’s quadcopter that delivers toothpaste and DVD copies of Seinfeld was impressive, but they haven’t seen this thing. Aquila has the wingspan of a Boeing 737, weighs less than a car and can achieve altitude of over 60,000 feet. Utilizing solar power, it can also remain airborne for months on end. Its main function will be to serve as a massive aerial Internet router, delivering lightning-quick access to the most remote corners of the planet.
Interconnectivity and the ability to reach others within a second’s time, anywhere on the planet, is the hallmark of the Internet & Social Media Age. What Facebook is proposing is truly revolutionary, and will bring each of us that much closer together. The prospective applications for an Internet-providing megadrone are endless. Imagine the ability to connect in the deepest recesses of the rainforest to request medical care. Forward-thinking, progressive cities can utilize Facebook’s drone technology to truly become beacons of connectivity. We really live in an incredible time.
It will obviously take some time for Facebook’s aviation dream to become a reality, but the mere fact that we’re discussing such an innovation shows how much of an impact Facebook has had on society, and shows that Mark Zuckerberg is not content to merely rest on his laurels.


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Up to 400,000 foreign students will be able to work extra hours under a temporary relaxation of visa rules to ease crippling labour shortages, amplified by the isolation of thousands of workers in response to COVID-19.
As the omicron wave disrupts commerce, fuel stations warned motorists could suffer a repeat of UK petrol shortages, unless rules on virus-related isolation and foreign student visa holders were loosened to alleviate staff absentee rates of up to 40 per cent.
Foreign students will have their 40-hour-a-fortnight working cap lifted in affected sectors, under a plan Prime Minister Scott Morrison will take to state and territory leaders at a national cabinet meeting on Thursday.
Isolation rules for close contacts in trucking, aviation and logistics are set to be eased, moving the sectors in line with lighter rules already flagged for food and grocery distribution workers who are asymptomatic and rapid test negative.
Some 20 per cent to 50 per cent of trucking and logistics workers have been forced to isolate according to government consultations with industry, exacerbating shortages of groceries at supermarkets and other stores.
Coles reimposed buying limits on toilet paper and essential medicines such as paracetamol, amid panic buying.
Mr Morrison will press states to remove the requirement for truckies to provide proof of a negative rapid antigen test to cross some state borders.
The Commonwealth is finalising a list of essential services with advice from health officials about which workers should face less strict isolation rules, with healthcare, aged care, childcare and construction under deliberation.


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Anaheim, Calif. — Bag maker Targus Group International announced it has acquired Sena Cases.
Sena will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Targus and will “operate under the Sena brand and under the leadership of its founders,” according to a statement from Targus.
Sena positions itself as a luxury brand and includes the Michael Kors and Dylan George licenses.
“Targus is dedicated to maintaining the product experience and unique brand relationship Sena has with its customers and partners,” said Michael Hoopis, president and CEO of Targus. “We are thrilled that the Sena leadership team led by Ramsey [Oten] and Fevzi Oten will continue to steward the Sena brand.”


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This Week: A once-sanctioned patent lawyer's latest lawsuits; a sudden change to a Web site; and judicial disagreements over "cookie cutter" patent lawsuits.
Last week was so full of interesting patent lawsuits, I just didn't have a chance to write about Mural Comm, LLC. The mysterious new patent-holding company sued three large retailers on March 24 and 25. The man prosecuting the Mural Comm lawsuits, once-sanctioned patent lawyer Jean-Marc Zimmerman, is keeping busy on many fronts; he was helping another holding company, GBM, LLC, file suit last week in New Jersey against an online food distributor, Foodgalaxy.com.
Zimmerman hasn't responded to TPA's phone and e-mail requests for comment over the last two weeks. But Martin Welt--the co-owner, with his son, of GBM, and the inventor of the patent being used to sue food companies--did pick up when contacted Tuesday.
Welt, a physicist and CEO of a New Jersey food distributor called Kariba Farms, was eager to talk about the software product described by the 7,184,987 patent. It's called Karibex and it allows buyers of products to shop from a variety of vendors through a single Web site. It also accommodates ads to be placed so that prospective buyers will see them. Welt filed for a patent on the software in 2001 with the help of lawyers from Morgan, Lewis & Bockius; the patent was granted in 2007.


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Wholesale prices rose more than expected in September despite Federal Reserve efforts to control inflation, according to a report Wednesday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The producer price index, a measure of prices that U.S. businesses get for the goods and services they produce, increased 0.4% for the month, compared to the Dow Jones estimate for a 0.2% gain. On a 12-month basis, PPI rose 8.5%, which was a slight deceleration from the 8.7% in August.
Excluding food, energy and trade services, the index increased 0.4% for the month and 5.6% from a year ago, the latter matching the August increase; excluding just food and energy, PPI was flat in September.
Inflation has been the economy’s biggest issue over the past year as the cost of living is running near its highest level in more than 40 years. The Fed has responded by raising rates five times this year for a total of 3 percentage points and is widely expected to implement a fourth consecutive 0.75 percentage point increase when it meets again in three weeks.
However, Wednesday’s data shows the Fed still has work to do. Indeed, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester on Tuesday said “there has been no progress on inflation.”
The PPI release comes a day ahead of the more closely watched consumer price index. The two measures differ in that PPI measures the prices received at the wholesale level while CPI gauges the prices that consumers pay.
Some two-thirds of the increase in PPI is attributable to a 0.4% gain in services, the BLS said.
This is breaking news. Please check back here for updates.


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Disney+ Will Be the Exclusive Streaming Home of ‘The Simpsons’
If you were wondering why Disney would spend tens of billions of dollars to buy Fox, the announcement today Disney+, the company’s new streaming service, and its various details offered a big clue. The 20th Century Fox movie and TV library now belongs to Disney, who can offer all those films and episodes on their streaming site, making it a far more appealing competitor to Netflix and Amazon Prime.
The Fox library includes one whopper of a selling point: The Simpsons, the longest-running sitcom in TV history. All 30 seasons (more than 650 episodes!) will be available at the launch of Disney+ — which will then become the show’s “exclusive home for streaming.”
To mark the occasion, Disney even unveiled a new clip of the Simpsons trying to fit in with their new corporate overlords. Note the statue of Disney CEO Bob Iger — and the signed picture of former Fox chief Rupert Murdoch in the garbage can all the way to the right:
It never dawned on me just how weird it was for Disney to own The Simpsons until literally the moment when I watched this clip. The Simpsons have spent 30 years making fun of Disney! Now they’re just ... part of it. It’s going to take some time to adjust to this new reality.
Disney+ launches on November 12, 2019 and will cost $6.99 a month or $69.99 a year. For more details on the service click here.
Gallery — Directors Who Famously Hated Their Movies:


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Sunday, July 07, 2013
Those unwanted phone calls still annoy us, but regulators do seem to be having some success in punishing violators of the federal do-not-call law.
In the past two weeks, coinciding with the tenth anniversary of the national do-not-call registry, the Federal Trade Commission has announced two major settlements. One produced a $7.5 million civil penalty, the largest fine the FTC has collected for alleged violation of the Telemarketing Sales Rule, and the other shut down operators of what had become arguably the most annoying of the illegal robocallers.
The first case involved Mortgage Investors Corporation, one of the nation’s leading refinancers of veterans’ home loans. According to the FTC’s complaint, the company called consumers on the national do-not-call registry, failed to remove them from the list when requested, and misstated the terms of available loan products during telemarketing calls.
The case also represents the first action brought by the FTC to enforce the Mortgage Acts and Practices - Advertising Rule that allows the FTC to collect civil penalties for deceptive mortgage ads. The FTC also announced the first settlements resulting from its 2012 joint law enforcement sweep against companies that made millions of illegal pre-recorded calls from “Rachel of Cardholder Services,” designed to entice consumers to make up-front payments to lower their credit card interest rates.
Courts in Arizona and Florida permanently banned the defendants from making robocalls, from telemarketing and from marketing debt relief products or services, and required the settling defendants to cooperate in the case against other defendants in any subsequent, related investigations. They were also hit with financial penalties – in one case $3.9 million – but most of them were suspended – as often happens – due to their inability to pay.
After 10 years, 221 million consumers have signed up for the do-not-call registry.


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In 2016 and 2017, chatbots were seen as one of the most important additions to the digital ecosystem, with some experts predicting that they would transform eCommerce, replace apps and save shopping malls, among myriad other capabilities. But lackluster artificial intelligence (AI) led most companies to put their plans on the backburner.
Also see: Can Chatbot Concierges Save The Mall?
Less than five years later, though, AI has advanced enough that some eCommerce executives are willing to give it another shot, looking at platforms such as Messenger and WhatsApp as the next step to reaching consumers.
“The messaging ecosystem is giant — lots of channels depending on where you are the world and what market you’re in — and eCommerce is shifting,” Matt Ramerman, president of Sinch for Marketing, told PYMNTS in a recent conversation. “Will dot-com stores go away? No chance, but the share of balance moving toward wanting to be able to shop a catalog with a smart … AI system, and being able to shop in messaging, is the future.”
Ramerman said he’s had conversations with several eCommerce directors at Fortune 500 companies that have all echoed this idea, which was surprising to him at first. “I was always thinking of it as a way to connect to … the catalog” by direct-messaging consumers with promotions and deals, he said. “But the fact that they’re thinking and seeing evidence that it’s the primary preference, the easiest way for consumers to shop, that’s a big deal.”
Walmart over the past month has made several moves toward expanding its conversational commerce capabilities. Last week, the box store giant acquired technology assets from conversation design startup Botmock, allowing designers, merchants, customer service and other non-technical teams to develop AI voice and chat experiences without the need for coding.
Last month, Walmart also revealed that it is currently testing the ability for customers to text Walmart their shopping lists.
Mike Myer, founder and CEO of communication platform Quiq, told PYMNTS in an interview that he expects conversational commerce to become a “significant portion” of purchases over the next five to 10 years.
“That’s what people do — they have conversations,” Myer said. “And the reason they interact with websites today is that they don’t have the opportunity to have a conversation. Given the choice between the website and a conversation, if the conversation was well-executed, I think people would be choosing that in a lot of cases.”
Until recently, Ramerman said, most AI conversations were limited to a set range of responses — which, as Karen Webster pointed out, made the shopping experience tedious, if not useless. But as Ramerman told PYMNTS, the adaption of complex neural networks to understand natural language and phraseology means that AI can understand up to 95% of consumers’ responses, even if the person has typos or a unique speaking style.
To be sure, he added, these networks are very complex and have to do a lot of quick decisioning to keep up with a conversation. But most companies also have a team of humans to handle requests that are too complicated or are misunderstood by AI, hopefully taking some frustration out of the process.
The easiest place to see this at work, Ramerman said, is in WhatsApp, where brands can have their own messaging channels. A customer might go to the L.L. Bean channel, for example, and say they’re looking for size 13 rainboots; the AI bot will then provide a selection of products to choose from.
“I think it’s pretty cool,” Ramerman said. “The website is kind of button-click static, but … there’s so much personality you can surface out of the bot, so we can bring the brand to life that way.”
PYMNTS research has found that 31% of U.S. consumers have voice-activated speakers in their homes, but Amazon currently dominates the voice AI market, with a reported 68% share.


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Sequent Software has gained Visa approval for its digital issuance platform, a service provider TSM (SP-TSM) solution that enables card issuers to manage and distribute payment credentials to consumers’ NFC phones. “The Visa approval provides peace of mind to our customers since they know that the security of our platform far exceeds most commercial requirements,” says Lance Johnson, Sequent’s chief security officer.
- Visa EMV transactions pass 1bn in the US
- Singapore banks add in-store QR code payments to mobile apps
- US Bank ties credit card points to mobile payments
- Mahindra Comviva explores the evolution of digital payments in India
- Amazon gets approval for digital wallet in India


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Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani (NS:APSE) are set to lock horns again. The two business moguls have been in the race to become the richest man in India. However, this time the two are in...
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New Delhi, Sep 5 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice on a plea by Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) challenging the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order which upheld the...
New Delhi, June 13 (IANS) The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal on Monday upheld the December 2021 order of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) that suspended its earlier order...
New Delhi, May 29 (IANS) Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) caused the downfall of Future Retail Limited (NS:FURE) (FRL) when it could not buy its assets on the cheap, placing FRL now on the brink of...
By Malvika Gurung Investing.com -- Indian Hotels (NS:IHTL): The hospitality enterprise’s board has approved the reappointment of Puneet Chhatwal as its MD & CEO for five years. Bank of...
By Malvika Gurung Investing.com -- As per the semi-annual index rejig of global index provider MSCI for May 2022, four stocks have been added to the Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Capital...
By Malvika Gurung Investing.com -- State Bank Of India (NS:SBI): The public lender’s board will meet next week to consider raising up to $2 billion by public issue of bonds or through other...
New Delhi, April 26 (IANS) It was a contentious plan to repay overseas bondholders in full that brought what would have been India's biggest retail deal to a grinding halt, media reports...
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By Malvika Gurung Investing.com -- In a regulatory filing by the oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries (NS:RELI) on Saturday to stock exchanges, secured creditors of Future...
Mumbai, April 23 (IANS) Reliance Industries (NS:RELI) Limited (RIL) has called off the deal with Future Retail Ltd (FRL) after FRLs secured creditors voted against the scheme.In a filing...
By Malvika Gurung Investing.com -- HDFC Bank (NS:HDBK): The country’s largest private lender’s profit surged 23% YoY to Rs 10,055.2 crore for the quarter ending March 2022 as provisions...
New Delhi, April 6 (IANS) Chief Justice N.V. Ramana on Wednesday said he hopes he does not have to hear this case again, while recording that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Future Retail...
New Delhi, April 4 (IANS) Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Future Retail (NS:FURE) Ltd (FRL) on Monday informed the Supreme Court that they wish to appear before the Singapore International...
New Delhi, April 1 (IANS) E-commerce giant Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is trying to illegally enter India's physical retail market via its deal with the Future Group companies, the Confederation of...
New Delhi, April 1 (IANS) Future Retail (NS:FURE) Ltd (FRL) on Friday told the Supreme Court that nobody wants to do business with it today as Section 7 of the IBC may come any day, and...
By Malvika Gurung Investing.com -- Lupin (NS:LUPN): The US drug regulatory USFDA has issued 13 observations to the pharmaceutical major’s subsidiary Novel Laboratories, after conducting an...
By Malvika Gurung Investing.com -- Amid an ongoing long legal tussle between Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Future Retail (NS:FURE) (FRL), the latter’s chief executive officer Sadashiv Nayak has...
New Delhi, March 22 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that e-commerce major Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN)'s interim plea seeking preservation of Future Retail (NS:FURE)'s assets will be...
New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Wednesday suggested arbitration proceedings before the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) governed tribunal may resume, where...
By Malvika Gurung Investing.com -- Punjab National Bank (NS:PNBK): The state-run lender has reported a fraud of Rs 2,060.14 crore in the NPA account of the power company IL&FS Tamil Nadu...
New Delhi, March 15 (IANS) Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) counsel on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that the dialogue to settle the dispute with Future Retail (NS:FURE) did not work, and complained...
By Malvika Gurung Investing.com -- The oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries (NS:RELI) has taken over the operations of 200 Kishore Biyani-led Future Group stores across the...
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Convergence and collaboration on sustainability reporting
The International Sustainability Standards Board is simplifying the reporting landscape, although the...READ MORE
A few years ago, first home-buyers were told to ditch the smashed avocado on toast to help them save for a deposit. But it’s not avocados that are putting the financial squeeze on one of Malcolm Chilman’s clients - it’s a simple head of iceberg lettuce.
While the big supermarkets have a price tag of up to $11 for the salad staple, Mr Chilman’s client is still selling them for around $5 – which is basically what they cost him.
Like many small business owners around Australia, the greengrocer doesn’t want to lose his customers so has been bearing the brunt of the price increases he’s had to pay due to rising energy costs, supply chain issues and inflation, plus extreme weather events.
“My greengrocer client was mainly impacted by the flooding event that has substantially increased the cost of fruit and vegetables,” Mr Chilman says.
“Interestingly, his profits are suffering due to volume of turnover. He’s trying to maintain his margins, but because of the high prices, customers are only buying half of the produce so he’s only making half of his gross profit, and fixed costs are increasing.”
But there’s only so long that Australia’s small businesses can avoid the inevitable; they will have to pass on those extra costs they have so far been absorbing to their clients and customers. And hope for the best.
“I have another client who is a cleaner and hasn’t put up her prices forever and even though I keep telling her to, she is reluctant to pass on the costs to her clients,” Mr Chilman says.
“I find I have two kinds of attitudes among my clients – the ones that don’t want to put their prices up because they figure they’ve been doing the same thing for years and the business has been ticking along, or the other extreme like tradies who know their value and how in demand they are, and are quoting like they don’t need the job but getting it anyway.”
Mr Chilman’s business, Bottom Line Control, is based on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and his clients are mostly typical small business, mum-and-dad operators.
“They come from all different sectors, and I don’t specialise in any industry,” he says.
“And until now, up here on the Sunshine Coast, business has been booming for most of them. The federal and state government stimulus packages pumped money into the economy – and especially into the micro-businesses – and the lockdowns were not as severe here as elsewhere.
“But we also had a lot of interstate migration, which has sent real estate prices crazy which is now causing a problem for our small business owners because their staff no longer have places to live. Staffing is becoming harder for them to source as housing affordability is through roof.
“The average worker has had to move out of the area to be able to get an affordable house. And on top of the staff shortages, they are now having to try and source materials. These are the two biggest things which are currently inhibiting any growth in their business.”
For the past two years, like most of his colleagues, Mr Chilman has been navigating the increasingly complex path of grants, government payments and support programs to keep his clients afloat, and now he’s having to have another difficult conversation: it’s time for clients to raise prices.
“Clients have to start to review their pricing because of the pressures on wages, the flooding impacts, the rising cost of fuel, supply chain issues. Inflation and energy prices haven’t quite hit yet but they will,” he says.
“From our perspective as accountants we can advise clients to know their market, what they are worth, what competitors are charging, and to try and find efficiencies in their business.
“There was the technology investment boost of 120 per cent announcement in the May budget that we still don’t have any details on, it could be a great time for clients to find tech efficiencies using apps and IT. And the Queensland government has also released a grant worth up to $50,000 to install new equipment.”
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics in May, almost 60 per cent of businesses experienced an increase in the cost of doing business from February to April.
But the data also found that only 38 per cent expected to increase their prices by more than they usually do and nearly half (48 per cent) had no plans to increase their prices of goods or services over the next three months.
Of the 38 per cent of businesses that expect to increase their prices, the majority indicated increases to the costs of products or services used by the business (92 per cent) and rising fuel or energy prices (78 per cent) were the main contributing factors.
Of the 48 per cent of businesses that expect no increase to their prices, almost half indicated that the reasons were to retain customers (46 per cent) or having fixed price contracts (46 per cent).
With the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) lifting the cash rate to 0.35 per cent in May, the first interest rate hike the country has seen in more than a decade, then again to 0.85 per cent in June, many small business owners are feeling squeezed in every direction, from what Treasurer Jim Chalmers declared before he was elected “a full-blown cost of living crisis”.
Small businesses are the ones on the frontline of this crisis. They’re the ones copping the increase in products and services, and also the ones trying to soften the blow-out for their customers.
Guy Pearson, CEO and co-founder of client engagement and commerce platform Ignition, a company that specialises in helping accountants and professional services businesses build meaningful and lasting client relationships, agrees it’s time accountants had “the talk” with their clients.
“To navigate high inflation and supply chain crunches, alongside other global market challenges like widespread staff shortages, many small business owners are starting to think about pricing and expenses to protect their bottom line,” Mr Pearson says.
“Accountants play a critical role in helping small businesses understand how they should absorb these increased prices and keep some of their other costs down, to position their businesses for success.”
Mr Pearson, who is a chartered accountant, angel investor and entrepreneur, says small businesses are now coping with a perfect storm of negative influences.
“There’s inflation, pay demands, lack of supply of products and certain types of labour,” he says.
“A lot of small businesses used to rely on foreign students working in them and now they are all vying for the same labour. Then there’s fuel going up and supply chain costs going up, too.
“The biggest conversations accountants should be having with their clients is around pricing, negotiating supplier agreements, looking at prices and payment terms. And the other side is what accountants should now also be charging their own clients or customers.
“They have to learn how to phrase all this, for both themselves and their clients, in not calling it a straight-out price increase, but what they can do to offer a value-added service.”
Mr Pearson says accountants are much better at advising their own clients to increase their prices to stay afloat than at having the conversation around their own costs for their own business.
He says if there is a reluctance from small businesses to increase their own prices, accountants need to be looking at myriad avenues to fund the cost of doing business.
“If clients are digging in on not passing on their costs, accountants have to start looking at other funding to help them, whether it’s grants or the ability to put in place things like buy-now, pay-later (but you need to be careful as that could just be loading their customers up with debt),” says Mr Pearson.
“There could be a way to change the relationship in the supply chain or turn up revenue, or bring in more sales with alternative solutions. They also have to look at wages, and costs that can be cut, but most small businesses don’t have enough staff at the moment.
“In reality, your suppliers still want your business, they still need customers so they should be willing to negotiate the level of finance and longer terms. These are the types of conversations that now need to happen. And go to your bigger suppliers. Don’t worry so much about the internet bill but look at the things that cost the most.”
It’s not the big chain stores that are now trying to find a way to tell their trusted and loyal customers that prices are rising – it’s the mum-and-dad family businesses, says Mr Pearson.
“Accountants have done the hard work over the past two years during COVID. They developed the knowhow to keep their clients going and understand their businesses much better,” he says.
“But now it’s inflation they have to deal with rather than just surviving the pandemic, and because accountants now have more tools in their tool bag and know their clients better than they may have before, they are in that role as a trusted adviser again.
“At Ignition, we have had to increase our own prices so we know how hard it is for our customers to have that conversation with their own clients. Our mantra is that if we can we help people to improve their relationships with their clients, if we can help an accountant increase their own prices and charge their value, it then makes them feel more comfortable doing it themselves and in turn, help their clients thrive.”
Leanne Hume, director of accounting firm Simply Numbers in Green Valley, NSW, says she is now having to start to increase her own costs, as well as advising her clients to do the same.
“I work from home, but I still have to consider the cost of doing business with the rise in energy prices and inflation,” she says.
“I have to look at my prices and how my time is spent. During COVID, I know myself and a lot of other accountants did a lot for free, and we didn’t worry about that, we let it fly. But after two years of doing that, I don’t imagine we can do it for much longer.”
Many of Ms Hume’s clients are in the transport and logistic space and she says they are now feeling the effects of rising fuel costs.
“The price of fuel is squeezing them and they are having to review their own prices and increase them,” she says.
“And that is something that is going to continue as there will be ongoing fuel price increases. Obviously, they have to pass on those increases and they are starting to do that now.
“I feel most business owners are fairly switched on with their businesses and they are generally on the front foot with things. My clients that are in the transport and logistic businesses are basically looking at their costs and seeing big increases in the cost of doing business and know their costs have to be passed on.
“But the advice you can give as an accountant has to be individualised depending on the business and how that business runs. For example, my construction clients have a different problem. They have a supply chain issue. Timber is hard to come by and there has been a price hike in its supply.
“Construction companies are going under because they can’t maintain their businesses on fixed contracts.
“But I think the average person knows the situation and understands to a certain degree why businesses have to put up their prices. Some of my clients are prepared to wear a bit of short-term pain but I don’t imagine that in six months’ time it will be a good scenario.
“We have all just been though a horror two years and now this comes on the back of that and it’s not good. Businesses are trying not to pass on too much of their increased costs but if the situation progresses it will lead to even further increases.”
Ms Hume says although many of her own clients are doing it tough, most are determined to keep trading.
“Businesses hold on for a while, absorbing costs to keep things running, but if there is an extended period of prices increases it is going to hit them,” she says.
“It’s through no fault of their own that they are in this situation and from a human perspective it is very distressing to see your clients suffering.
“They are pretty resilient at this moment in time, but in six months’ time it could change. Going forward I’m hoping my clients will be able to operate through this next period. They got through COVID pretty well and haven’t had to shutdown. Business may have been a bit slower, but unlike hospitality they haven’t had to shut their doors.
“There’s still a little bit left in the petrol tank but I wouldn’t like to see things going down this path for too long.”
No one wants to run out of fuel when the price of keeping going, just keeps going up.


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UAV startup Flirtey announced the granting of a new drone delivery patent the company says will make the process safer and more precise.
According to a press release, the drone-delivery patent “describes a combination of hardware and software that enables the delivery of packages by a drone, potentially lifting the package to pick it up, holding it securely and lowering it once at the point of delivery.”
Using the new process, a drone lowers a tether while suspended in midair to gently deliver a parcel:
“The granted patent covers fundamental technology at the core of the drone delivery industry, key to reliable and effective delivery and/or pickup of packages by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), while the UAV remains in hover. Flirtey’s new patent describes a drone with a suspension mechanism, used to hold a package that is to be delivered or picked up, a locking mechanism to hold and release the package, and a package delivery mechanism to deliver the package.”
“We are thrilled that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted Flirtey another patent that is fundamental to safe and precise drone delivery. This is not pie in the sky; this is the foundation of safe delivery and/or pickup of packages from the sky,” said Matthew Sweeny, Flirtey Founder and CEO. “Flirtey’s drone delivery technology is now an industry standard in America.”
The company now holds more than 25 patents, including one granted earlier this year that “enhances its intellectual technology with an additional component to safety while a drone is in flight and when it is delivering a package.” The drone-delivery patent recognizes the ability of a drone’s technology to detect an error in operation while the drone is in flight, ultimately deploying a safety mechanism, if necessary.
Last year, Flirtey launched a new delivery drone, the Flirtey Eagle, as well as Flirtey Portal, a take-off and landing platform designed to enable scalable store-to-door operations. The company operates in Reno, Nevada as part of the FAA’s Drone Integration Pilot Program.
Jason is a longstanding contributor to DroneLife with an avid interest in all things tech. He focuses on anti-drone technologies and the public safety sector; police, fire, and search and rescue.
Beginning his career as a journalist in 1996, Jason has since written and edited thousands of engaging news articles, blog posts, press releases and online content.
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EveryMatrix Games Arrive in New Jersey
EveryMatrix, the casino, sports, and turnkey supplier, has announced a new distribution agreement with the New Jersey-based operator Resorts Digital Gaming. The operator will integrate EveryMatrix’s CasinoEngine into its platform in order to gain access to a large portfolio of games.
Resorts Digital Gaming is the online division of the Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City and one of New Jersey’s leading operators. Now players at their brands will be able to enjoy premium content from EveryMatrix.
The two companies have agreed to start deploying games in New Jersey, to begin with, but there are plans to extend the agreement across multiple states as the markets open up.
We’ve come a long way since we decided to enter the most significant gambling market in the world. I am pleased to announce this distribution deal in the US, which allows us to make our games available with an option to add other titles as they become available through CasinoEngine. Ed Andrewes and his team have done an impressive job being one of the first operators to embrace online gaming in the US, and I trust they will be very satisfied with our games portfolio as it will further enhance their success in the market.
The CEO of Resorts Digital Gaming, Ed Andrewes, said that they are “absolutely delighted” to bring EveryMatrix’s content to the US. He said that the content has already proved itself in many other global markets and that he is confident it will perform well on resortscasino.com and mohegansuncasino.com.
EveryMatrix established a presence in Miami earlier this year, and since then, it has been busy building new business ties within the US and the Latin American markets. So far, they have reached deals with the Mexican land-based Foliatti Casino and Kindred Group.


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GSMA Launches Edge Cloud Initiative for Operators
Sue Marek | November 21, 2018
The GSMA has created a new forum aimed at accelerating the development of 5G-based virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) applications. Alex Sinclair, CTO of the GSMA, said that mobile operators will play a key role in the development of AR and VR but that collaboration is necessary or the market will become fragmented. “The establishment of this forum will overcome this hurdle and ensure we can scale compelling solutions faster,” he said in a statement. The new forum encourages knowledge sharing between members. And it is focused on resolving some technical challenges such as looking at ultra-low latency codec compression, graphics processing unit (GPU) rendering in the cloud, and other virtualization technologies. The goal is to develop a reference architecture that will make it easier to deploy AR and VR and to make AR/VR applications. The forum noted that AR/VR headsets require a lot of storage and processing power, similar to a gaming device. But it also makes these devices more expensive for consumers. The idea is to move a lot of that processing power and storage to the edge cloud, making the devices less expensive to produce. This scenario fits well with 5G because 5G’s new capabilities make an edge cloud possible. Operators involved in the GSMA’s Cloud AR/VR Forum include China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, KDDI, KT, NTT Docomo, SK Telecom, Telefonica, Telenor, TIM, Turkcell, and Vodafone. The group made its debut at Huawei’s Mobile Broadband Forum in London this week, and Huawei is a key vendor member as is HTC. Interestingly, there are currently no U.S. operators involved in the group, which is notable because AT&T has been on the forefront of the AR trend. In July the operator announced it formed an exclusive partnership with Magic Leap, a startup that is making AR products including a headset. AT&T said it had invested an undisclosed amount in the tech company. In addition, AT&T Communications CEO John Donovan is a member of Magic Leap’s board.


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Enterprising chaps in the Swyx marketing team have moved quickly to put the boot in for Zultys, the US based IP PBX vendor facing an uncertain future due to financial problems.
Anyone typing Zultys into the Google search engine will be met with a listing topped by a link saying ‘Who will support you now? Time to join a market leader’, and a click through to the swyx.com web site.
“That don’t come cheap.” Said one Google advertiser we spoke to who added, “but I like their style and their speed out of the blocks is impressive.”
Clarification as to the exact status of Zultys is still not clear; whilst company founder Iain Milnes says all offices are still open for business, disaffected laid off workers say the company has ceased trading.


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Dragon's Den £200,000 rejection pays off
An entrepreneur who rejected a £200,000 Dragon's Den offer for a stake in his company has sold more than 5m luminous balloons in less than a year.
Entrepreneur: James Halliburton has sold five million Illoom Balloons in less than a year
James Halliburton, 29, had dragons Peter Jones, Theo Paphitis and James Caan battling to invest in his firm, Seatriever International, when he appeared on the BBC show two years ago.
The tycoons were impressed with his Waterbuoy gadget, which uses a glowing balloon to keep keys afloat when they fall in the water.
Mr Halliburton, who initially accepted their offer but later changed his mind in favour of going it alone, has now sold five million glowing balloons in under 12 months.
The Illoom Balloon is simply a reinforced balloon fitted with a tiny LED light inside which glows brightly when it is inflated. It is proving to be a Halloween hit after a special orange version was designed to look like a glowing pumpkin.
The balloons sell for £3.50 for a pack of five; the current limited edition Halloween balloons can be picked up in Tesco and Sainsbury's for £3 per pack of five.
Mr Halliburton, from Crewe, Cheshire, said: 'If you had asked me when we started if we would have sold five million so quickly then I would never have believed it.
'This year the interest in the limited edition Halloween Illooms - pumpkin, witch and ghost designs - has been incredible. We have nearly sold out and we're still weeks away from Halloween.
'I took a gamble at first by not going with the dragons' cash but it has really paid off for me now.'
Mr Halliburton came up with the idea for the Illoom Balloon when he was testing the Waterbuoy.
As he carried out the tests on the gadget at home he was watched by his next door neighbours, James and Alex Firth, aged six and three respectively. The boys eyes 'lit up' at the sight of the glowing balloon.
Limited edition: The Halloween Illoom Balloon is flying off the shelves at a cost of £3 per pack
Mr Halliburton said: 'Over 64bn balloons are sold worldwide each year so it's clearly a very lucrative market to get into.
'We are discovering that we have barely even scratched the surface.
'When I saw how excited James and Alex were about an illuminated balloon I just knew there was an opportunity to tap into that with an innovative new product.
'It left me in no doubt that I could do it on my own, safe in the knowledge that I had an even bigger project in the pipeline.'
Originally the Illooms were available only in Tesco stores - but now they can be found in branches of Sainsbury's, Booths, Morrisons and Spar as well as online retailers.
They will be launched in America next year.
The Dragon's Den stars were desperate to invest in Mr Halliburton's company when he appeared on the hit BBC show in November 2007.
He eventually plumped for a joint offer from Mr Jones and Mr Paphitis for a 25% share of his company, Seatriever International, before changing his mind.
The Waterbuoy proved so popular that earlier this year Mr Halliburton signed a deal with the world's biggest marine retailer, West Marine, to stock the gadget.
British company Blacks Leisure Group, which owns Blacks and Milletts camping stores, also signed up to sell the device.
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Arnie battles for Californian game age ratings
Californian Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger has promised to battle a federal judge's decision to block the law he passed in 2005 to prohibit the selling or renting of violent videogames to youngsters. Game industry groups had managed to see the law blocked on constitutional grounds, previously.
Arnie's 2005 bill required that game makers apply an 18 certification to violent titles, with fines of 1,000 USD in place to stop retailers selling or renting such games to minors. US District Judge Ronald Whyte permanently blocked the law on Monday, however, stating that he found insufficient evidence linking violent games to violent behaviour in minors.
"I signed this important measure to ensure that parents are involved in determining which video games are appropriate for their children," the governor said in a statement. "Many of these games are made for adults, and choosing games that are appropriate for kids should be a decision made by their parents."
Similar bills to that attempted in California have been stopped on constitutional grounds previously. More soon.
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Many medium-sized companies want to buy more preliminary products from within Europe again in order to protect themselves from material shortages. In view of shortages and political tensions, safe havens are in demand, according to a survey conducted by DZ Bank among 1,000 owners and managers of medium-sized companies.
According to this, every third medium-sized company in Germany wants to focus more on business with Western Europe in the next five years in order to stabilize the supply chains. A good fifth (21 percent) rely on Eastern and Central Europe around countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. "There is a clear trend to produce where the products will later be used," said Uwe Berghaus, board member at DZ Bank, on Monday.
The Ukraine war has affected many supply chains, made materials such as steel more expensive and caused bottlenecks in wiring harnesses in the automotive industry, for example. The shortage of microchips and container traffic jams are also having a negative impact on the German economy. In view of the Ukraine war, there is a debate about how to deal with China. Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) warned against one-sided dependencies in the Far East and called on companies to position themselves more broadly in Asia.
Divided on dealing with China
While the US is becoming more important to SMEs and 15 percent are targeting stronger trade ties with the US, the survey shows companies are divided on doing business with China. According to DZ Bank, more than a third of medium-sized companies are dependent on the People's Republic for their supply chains, and the market is indispensable for many. According to this, 16 percent of the larger companies with annual sales of 50 million euros or more are striving to withdraw from China. Among the smaller ones with sales of up to 5 million euros, almost every fifth person assumes that China will strengthen the supply chains.
Regardless of company size, many medium-sized companies want to cut business relationships with Ukraine (22 percent) and Russia (17 percent). But Great Britain is also said to play a smaller role in the supply chains of 15 percent of the companies because of the country's exit from the EU.
According to the survey, two-thirds of the companies want to rely on a broader supplier network to protect themselves against failures or material shortages. More than half also want to expand warehouses. 38 percent are considering adjusting their production to reduce dependencies.


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The Samsung Galaxy M62 arrives, touting a 7,000mAh battery
By Digital News Asia March 4, 2021
- Powered by Exynos 9825; features 64MP quad-camera system
- Massive 7,000mAh battery includes Wired PowerShare feature
SAMSUNG Malaysia Electronics has announced the arrival of the Galaxy M62 (released as the F62 in India), the latest in their line of mid-range smartphones.
While it’s not a flagship device, the M62 is powerful in its own right – specifically, it touts at massive 7,000mAH battery that is coupled with the flagship-level Exynos 9825 chipset, the company said in a statement.
“The Galaxy M series are thoughtfully made to create a more connected, genuine and meaningful connection to meet consumers’ needs in this new normal– enabling them to share stories and engage with their friends and family through these essential features that matter most,” said Edward Han, president of Samsung Malaysia Electronics.
The Galaxy M62 is a large device, sporting a 6.7-inch infinity-O, FHD+ Super AMOLED Plus display at 1,080p resolutions. The device is powered by the Exynos 9825 chipset, the octa-core processor available on the Galaxy Note10 and Note10+, which coupled with 8GB of RAM means that it can deliver flagship levels of performance.
The smartphone features a quad-camera system, comprising of a 64MP main shooter, a 12MP ultra-wide angle camera, a 5MP macro lens and a 5MP depth camera. Selfies are courtesy of a 32MP front-facing camera for selfies.
What’s truly monstrous about the M62 is the massive 7,000mAh battery. To complement the whopping battery capacity, the Galaxy M62 also comes with a Wired PowerShare feature, which lets you charge other devices.
The Galaxy M62 comes with an in-box Type-C 25W fast charger, which the company claimed is able to recharge the device’s battery to full in less than two hours.
The Galaxy M62 will be made available exclusively on Lazada on March 3 in two colours: Blue and Black, in an 8GB+256GB configuration. It is priced at US$492.99 (RM1,999). However, there is a one-day sale pricing the device at RM1,599.
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LAKE FOREST – The Jack in the Box at El Toro Road and Rockfield Boulevard will be knocked down and rebuilt this summer. Construction is set to begin in July and the eatery is expected to reopen in November.
Rebuilding the restaurant was given the go-ahead in September 2012, but it was tied to a redesign of that shopping center's parking layout. That plan, once expected to be put forth by the owner of the property, never materialized.
The Planning Commission last week unanimously agreed to allow construction on the new Jack in the Box to move ahead without the wider redesign of the parking lot. To compensate for the parking lost with the construction of the reconfigured eatery, 20 new spots will be created in the south corner of the shopping center.
Contact the writer: 949-454-7307 or firstname.lastname@example.org
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On April 18, India followed many other countries in changing the rules of doing business with China in the post-COVID world. The government changed its Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules to remove the automatic approval for investments--but only for investments from countries that share a land border with India. The notification, issued by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade applies to Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, China, Myanmar, Bhutan and Afghanistan, but is largely focused on Beijing.
Over the past five years, Chinese firms have made rapid investments in India. The majority of the investments in consumer goods, electronics, logistics and retail came from three Chinese tech titans--Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent, together worth over $1 trillion--and known as the ‘BAT’ companies.
Most investments took advantage of a 2016 government policy allowing 100 per cent FDI in nearly all sectors of the economy through the ‘automatic route’ (foreign companies did not have to seek the Indian government’s approval for such investments). The sectors ranged from agriculture, mining, petroleum, defence, broadcasting, civil aviation, telecom, e-commerce, single-brand and multi-brand retail, railway infrastructure, banking and insurance. Only companies from Bangladesh and Pakistan were barred from this policy.
India’s decision to restrict FDI from neighbouring countries comes after China’s Central Bank last week raised stake in Housing Development Finance Corporation from 0.8 per cent to 1.01 per cent. The restriction also applies to firms in which Chinese citizens have ‘beneficial ownership’. This is to prevent the rules being circumvented through investments via third-party countries. In 2015, for instance, Chinese tech giant Alibaba bought a 40 per cent stake in Paytm through Alibaba Singapore Holdings Pvt. Ltd.
India’s move to impose these restrictions comes after countries such as the US, Japan and Australia have already done so to prevent Chinese companies buying assets whose valuations have plunged in the wake of the pandemic. In March, Australia temporarily tightened its rules on foreign takeovers on concerns that strategic assets could be sold off cheaply because of the distress caused by the pandemic. In November 2019, Japan tightened its rules on foreign investments, lowering the stake that foreign investors could hold in companies crucial to national security from 10 per cent to 1 percent. And in January, the US Department of the Treasury issued final regulations implementing the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernisation Act of 2018 or FIRMA, aimed towards tightening scrutiny on foreign investments, particularly in technology, citing national security.
China’s investments in India are largely in India’s soft power sectors, such as smartphones and apps. A February 2020 analysis by Mumbai-based think tank Gateway House termed China’s investments of over $5 billion in India since 2015 ‘alarming’. The investments it red-flagged included those in Indian firms working in the artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and Fintech sectors. The report said that this is because the three BAT companies share a symbiotic relationship with the Communist Party of China and the People’s Liberation Army of China.
However, Chinese products, services and investments have become an intrinsic part of the Indian economy--from Chinese apples and Diwali lights to Ganesha idols and Chinese silk saris, from the dependence of India’s MSME sector on Chinese products to big business’ dependence on Chinese components and Chinese money building India’s ‘unicorn' firms. India will have to carefully consider how much Chinese money the country can do without.
Chinese smartphone manufacturers in India have a 66 per cent share of the smartphone market as of first quarter of 2019. A 50 per cent of top app downloads in India in 2018 were those that had Chinese investments.
Chinese FDI into India, at $6.2 billion, might not seem a cause for worry, but these investments are extremely strategic, giving Chinese firms access to the data of millions of Indians who are downloading apps or using smartphones. These investments thus bring up concerns over data security, propaganda, and platform control for India.
The report also flagged what it called ‘China’s strategic tech depth in India’. In India, China’s tech giant companies and venture capital funds have become the primary vehicle for investments in the country--largely in tech start-ups. This is different from other emerging markets where Chinese investments are mostly in physical infrastructure.
India has not participated in China’s Belt and Road Initiative and has yet to take a final decision on allowing Huawei into the national 5G telecom market. But through these investments in start-ups, India may find its economy tied even closer to China’s, the report says.
Changing FDI rules is probably the first step of many that India will have to take as it understands the enormity of China’s influence and considers if it can really do without China.