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Activity picks up and confidence rises in services sector - CBI
Business activity in the service sector grew to its highest level since 2007 and confidence rose strongly, according to the CBI’s quarterly Service Sector Survey.
Business and professional services saw a particularly sharp turnaround in business volumes, while activity in consumer services picked up further.
The business and professional services sector, which includes accountancy, legal, and marketing firms, saw business volumes rise at their fastest pace since November 2007, in line with expectations. As a result, profitability recorded its strongest growth since February 2008. Looking ahead, optimism about future business reached a fifteen-year high – rising at the fastest rate since the survey began in November 1998.
Consumer services, such as hotels, bars, restaurants and the travel and leisure industries, saw business volumes rise at their fastest pace since August 2007, also in line with expectations. Business confidence grew for the fourth consecutive quarter. Profitability, however, fell unexpectedly, recording its largest decline since February 2012 as price growth failed to materialise.
The survey of 161 companies revealed expectations for a strong quarter ahead, with both sub-sectors expecting the fastest growth in value and volume of business since 2007. However, while business and professional services firms expect overall profitability to continue to grow and further strong growth in headcount, consumer services firms expect another fall in both. Investment and expansion plans for the year ahead have also diverged for the two sectors. Business and professional firms’ have their strongest expansion plans since February 2006, while consumer services firms are cautious across all areas of investment.
Stephen Gifford, CBI Director of Economics, said:
“We’ve seen a further build-up of momentum in the service sector this quarter, with business and professional services firms in particular seeing a turnaround in their fortunes.
“Confidence has risen strongly across the board, and the outlook is positive in the short-term. But consumer services firms are a bit more worried about the longer-term, and have scaled back their investment and expansion plans.
“Conditions remain tricky as households grapple with the prolonged squeeze on real incomes and business confidence remains vulnerable to any adverse developments in the global economy. But, all being well, business should continue to pick up through this year and into next.”
The Service Sector Survey was conducted between 26th July and 14th August, with 97 business and professional services firms and 64 consumer services firms responding.
The key findings are:
- Optimism about business conditions rose at a similar pace to the previous quarter (+28% compared with +30%)
- Business volumes growth slightly exceeded expectations (+15% compared with +11%), recording the strongest increase since August 2007 (+15%). Stronger growth is predicated next quarter (+26%)
- Profitability saw its sharpest fall (-15%) since February 2012 (-24%) and a further fall is expected in the coming quarter (-13%)
- Numbers employed fell (-11%), disappointing expectations (+3%), and are expected to fall further in the coming quarter (-24%)
- Firms are not expecting to expand their business over the next twelve months (-14%)
- Investment plans for land and buildings, IT and vehicles, plant and machinery for the year ahead have weakened since the previous survey (-24%, +3% and -11% respectively), and demand uncertainty has risen (cited by 61% of respondents as a constraint on investment)
Business and Professional Services
- Optimism about business conditions rose significantly (+36%), at its fastest rate since the survey began in November 1998
- Business volumes grew (+20%) at the fastest rate since November 2007 (+26%), and are expected to grow further in the next three months (+26%)
- Profitability saw its sharpest rise (+9%) since February 2008 (+9%), and further growth is expected in the next three months (+15%)
- Numbers employed grew strongly (+22%), the fastest rate of growth since November 2007 (+33%). Further growth in headcount is expected in the next three months (+36%)
- Firms are expecting to expand their business (+39%) to the greatest extent since February 2006 (+42%)
- Planned spending on IT in the year ahead rose sharply on the previous quarter (+21% compared with +6%), but concerns that labour shortages will constrain capital expenditure have risen (cited as a constraint by 17% of respondents compared with 2% in the previous survey)
The CBI is the UK's leading business organisation, speaking for some 240,000 businesses that together employ around a third of the private sector workforce. With offices across the UK as well as representation in Brussels, Washington, Beijing and Delhi the CBI communicates the British business voice around the world.


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Search and recommendation specialist ThinkAnalytics has Samir Narsiker as vice-president to head up business development activities in India and neighbouring countries.
ThinkAnalytics already has a development centre in Pune, India. Based out of Mumbai, Narsiker will report to Alan Dishington, senior vice-president, APAC region, based in Singapore.
Prior to joining ThinkAnalytics, Narisker was director of business development at TiVo/Rovi. He has also held senior positions at Ericsson, Cisco, NDS, Dish TV and Zee TV Group.
“We already have a substantial number of customers in India, with the Indian subcontinent being one of our key fast developing territories. With Narsiker spearheading our efforts locally we are anticipating even stronger growth. In particular, Narsiker will be responsible for introducing the ThinkInsight customer and video insight platform to local TV and video providers, ” said Peter Docherty, founder and chief technology officer, ThinkAnalytics.

domain: news


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If I were to give last week's ANA 2016 Multicultural Marketing and Diversity Conference a title, it would be: "12 Steps to Cultural Competence and Confidence." Over three days in Los Angeles, industry leaders acknowledged that they are playing cultural catch up and recognized that, while well intended, misuse of the "total market" concept combining so-called mainstream plus diverse segments is suppressing culturally-specific voices and vision -- the very perspectives necessary for brands to make targeted consumer connections.
A total market course correction is in order and Association of National Advertisers' CEO Bob Liodice wasted no time in bringing this concern to the forefront at the conference, attended by about 700 people. Mr. Liodice cited at least eight examples of "what happens when the industry gets together" -- pointing to ANA-led initiatives that have had an impact, from the Ad Council's consumer-facing social responsibility work to an industry-focused stop to digital ad fraud.
In this spirit, Mr. Liodice announced the formation of The Association of Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing (AIMM), a coalition designed to "build a community of multicultural champions, advocates and experts."
Conference chair Gilbert Davila, president and CEO of Davila Multicultural Insights, and a founding AIMM board member, explained the coalition's goals: "Our intention is not to speak to the choir. With the support of ANA's executive leadership, we intend to elevate the conversation and bring it to corporate C-suites so that multicultural and inclusive marketing becomes the business imperative that it deserves to be."
Lizette Williams, multicultural marketing leader at Kimberly-Clark, did not mince words when, during one of the first panels of the conference, she said, "Total market strategy has been largely misunderstood. Total market strategy was never intended to be a cost-cutting measure to drive efficiencies. It was actually quite the opposite. It was designed to drive inclusivity and effectiveness of messaging."
Over the past few years, many marketers and agencies have been concocting their own total market scenarios, adopting the approach as a check-the-box strategy that brings to mind an old Total cereal slogan: "1 Bowl. 100%." In these cases, total market has really been more like a sugar substitute: all the taste of inclusiveness but only half the involvement.
A few future-focused marketers, however, did understand total market as a "yes, and" proposition -- one that encouraged culturally insightful total and targeted ideas to take shape. You might say, these marketers went the Wheaties route, becoming total market champions by getting their strategies off to the right start with upfront investments in insights and with collaborative processes that nourished culturally attuned ecosystems. Never expecting a magical fix to a complex pursuit, these marketers set their priorities and re-engineered processes, not always succeeding but always learning and never turning back. And these were the marketing champions selected to share best practices at this year's ANA conference.
Case studies consistently demonstrated the value of using a culturally specific lens in tandem with the wide-angle get-everyone-into-the-picture approach. Marketers underscored the importance of getting close to what consumers care about, particularly where social issues are concerned. No stranger to social causes, Macy's Director of Multicultural Customer Strategy, Maria Rios, shared a perspective that was echoed by fellow retailer Lane Bryant in a presentation on body equality. "The marketer is in a position to listen and lead," said Ms. Rios. "We can take conversations to places that align with brand values."
Ivan Pollard, Coca-Cola's SVP-strategic marketing, stated that brands need to stand "for something beyond themselves," adding that "millennials are demanding brands take a stand and support social causes."
His Coca-Cola colleague Lauventria Robinson, VP-Multicultural Center of Excellence, moderated a compelling panel titled "Speak Up or Stay Silent" and focused on the role of brands regarding social injustice. Philanthropist and entrepreneur-artist Tyrese used a Titanic analogy to point out ways in which corporate America is "out of touch" and is suppressing the kind of diversity of thinking that could, in fact, keep brands from sinking. The conference closed with a powerful presentation by Saturday Morning, a coalition forged by advertising creatives in service to societal change.
The tip of the iceberg isn't the problem. It's our fear of what lies below the surface and our resistance to facing that fear. What the ANA's Bob Liodice said bears repeating: "When our industry gets together we can …"
With the content of this conference and AIMM, the new coalition, it seems marketers are ready to go deep, which would be aiming in the right direction.


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A vintage year for wine cellar sellers Spiral Cellars as sales rise 25% in January and hit £5m turnover for 2015
Spiral Cellars, which excavates and installs cellars to hold as many as 1,780 bottles of wine at up to £63,000 per cellar, has enjoyed 25 per cent growth over the past three years.
The firm, which hit £5 million turnover for the year ending December 2015, saw a 25 per cent increase in sales in January 2016 compared to the same month last year.
Alternative wine room: On average, Spiral Cellars’ customers spend around £30,000
The business, owned by Lucy Hargreaves, employs 35 people and has its base in Pulborough, West Sussex.
Last year it installed more than 200 cellars and expanded the ‘wine room’ side of its business with the addition of ‘wine wardrobes’ and ‘wine walls’. On average, Spiral Cellars’ customers spend around £30,000.
Hargreaves said: ‘We have benefited from the growing passion for wine in the UK and the desire to ensure that it is stored perfectly and accessibly in the home.’
She added that hand-crafted cellars are increasingly becoming a ‘must have’ feature in many homes. ‘We see this as a trend that is set to continue and are very optimistic about the growth of the business.’
Spiral Cellars has distributors in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
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Lane Seven has officially launched its new direct-to-consumer e-commerce store.FULL STORY
Brother International Names New VP of Industrial Products Division
Brother International Corporation, Bridgewater, New Jersey, recently named Lawrence Davenport as Vice President of Industrial Product Division (IPD).
He succeeds former Vice President Pete Holland who retired in December 2022.
The Industrial Products Division includes Brother’s Industrial Sewing Machines (ISM) and Direct to Garment (DTG) printers. IPD also handles sales and distribution for all the Americas including North, Central and South America.
“With his experience, knowledge, and insights, Lawrence has been a key player in the growth and success of our Industrial Products Division,” says Don Cummins, President, Brother International Corporation, Bridgewater, N.J. “With a number of new product and service offerings on the horizon from the division, we look forward to what the future will bring under his leadership.”
Davenport, who has been with Brother for 26 years, has managed teams on both the technical and sales side of IPD, and his extensive background as a technician drives Brother’s core “At Your Side” philosophy.
“The Industrial Products Division has always been a leader in our respective fields for quality, performance and service,” says Davenport. “It is my goal to build on this tradition and continue to improve our equipment while expanding into the industrial printing market. I’m excited to tackle the challenges and push for new developments that will benefit our customers for years to come.”
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Facebook revealed plans to roll out Facebook News in multiple countries over the next six months to one year, potentially starting with Brazil, France, Germany, India and the U.K.
Just as in the U.S., publishers will be paid to include their content within the tab.
Facebook News debuted in the U.S. last October as a stand-alone tab in the social network’s flagship mobile applications, and it was rolled out to all U.S. users in June as a bookmark in the apps, also appearing as a tab for frequent visitors.
Facebook vice president of global news partnerships Campbell Brown said in a Newsroom post Tuesday that over 95% of the traffic delivered to publishers by Facebook News in the U.S. was incremental to the traffic those publishers were seeing from News Feed.
The social network has historically used Australia as a market to test or roll out new features, but that country is notably absent from the plans Facebook revealed Tuesday.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said in late July that Facebook and Google had three months to negotiate with news publishers there on payment for content.
Brown said in her Newsroom post that the social network will work closely with news partners in each country where it adds the feature, in order to tailor the experience to consumer habits and news inventory in each market, as well as to honor publishers’ business models.
She added, “We will continue to focus on growing engagement of Facebook News in the U.S., and we’re committed to the partnerships we’ve developed with U.S. publishers to make Facebook News a valuable asset over the long term.”


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Available in the US, the Android 12 update is now rolling out to Verizon customers too, so if you’ve bought your LG V50 ThinQ from the Big Red, you’re now eligible for a software upgrade. There are no major changes to LG’s proprietary UI, but that’s quite understandable considering the company quit the business. However, you’ll be getting all the new features and improvements that Android 12 typically includes.
In related news, LG confirmed earlier this year that at least three smartphones will receive Android 12 updates (LG Q92 5G, LG V50 ThinQ, and LG V50S), and three other devices will get security updates (LG Q52, LG Velvet, and LG Wing). Also, the company revealed that the LG Wing and LG Velvet are the only ones that will also get Android 13, which will be released sometime in the third quarter.


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The permanent and modern international showroom was opened by the Group’s President – Dr Luis Bravo, who was joined by senior personnel and employees of the CIDE Group of Companies.
Dr Luis Bravo, officiating at the event said: “I am delighted to officially open this showroom in Hong Kong today. This permanent and modern facility will allow us to exhibit our existing and upcoming products all year round, and additionally will provide a location for meetings with potential customers”.
Opening the showroom in Hong Kong is considered to be a strategic advantage, due to its ideal setting for international business.
“Our Hong Kong facility has an excellent work force who are hard-working and trust-worthy. Hong Kong itself is obviously an international business hub easily accessible through the international airport, and has become a vital stop in the Toy Industry international agenda. Both our management team and customers enjoy coming to visit here and we feel this showroom will allow us to further develop existing and new relationships”.


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Fat cats facing new defiance
THE simmering row over boardroom excess will flare up into a conflagration this week as directors of leading UK firms are confronted by defiant investors.
Rose-Marie Bravo, boss of fashion label Burberry, is facing a showdown over her potential £12.4m 'golden parachute'. The National Association of Pension Funds says Bravo's package falls 'far short' of normal practice.
It has also emerged that Robin Jeffrey, the ousted boss of nuclear group British Energy, gets a £3.6m pension pot which will give him £204,583 a year. But he got less than one-third of his £336,000 annual salary as a pay-off.
Meanwhile, retail group Kingfisher and advertising giant WPP - which is trying to buy its troubled rival Cordiant - expect rebellions at shareholder meetings this week.
On Friday, Kingfisher faces a furore over pay awards to the directors of the shortly-to-be demerged electrical side Kesa.
The NAPF advised abstaining on WPP's pay policies at its annual general meeting today. It says chief executive Martin Sorrell's three-year contract breaches UK guidelines.
• Cordiant won approval on Saturday to sell its Australian and German operations. Shareholders will have to choose between WPP's offer and a rival plan by shareholder Active Value.
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After a very succesful first Open Beta week, SOEDESCO and Creazn Studio have announced that the Open Beta period will be extended. The Beta, that was originally scheduled from April 12-17, is now playable until April 22nd, at 6PM CEST.
Marten Buijsse, Community Manager at SOEDESCO, explains: “We’ve received tons of feedback over the last week, and we’re very grateful for that. The developer has worked hard to address the feedback in a patch focusing on improving the online multiplayer mode. To test this patch and give everyone the chance to try the multiplayer, we’ve decided to extend the Beta until after the weekend”.
Dollhouse is a first-person psychological horror game that launches on May 24th this year, for PlayStation®4 and Steam®. A physical version will be released as well for PlayStation®4.


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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on halving inflation
Inflation works like a tax. It eats into the pound in your pocket, affecting the price of your food shop, your mortgage, the size of your pension pot.
This is why halving inflation has been my number one priority. Getting it down has involved hard decisions and fiscal discipline.
Official figures released this morning confirm we have halved inflation meeting the first of the five priorities I set out at the beginning of this year.
But while it is welcome news that prices are no longer rising as quickly, we know many people are continuing to struggle, which is why we must stay the course to continue to get inflation all the way back to 2%.


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The Scottish government will make the wearing of face coverings compulsory in all shops from 10 July. Read more…
Where are we spending our shopping budget?
The items with the highest revenue
The worldwide revenue of different retail items shows that women’s clothing is the biggest earner for the retail industry.
In 2019, it’s predicted that £520 billion will be spent on women’s clothing, while men’s clothing will earn the industry £364 billion. With shoes now a big fashion statement, it’s not surprising that footwear is predicted to bring in the third-largest amount of revenue, with £338 billion to be spent worldwide. Further down, underwear and hosiery are also big earners, with a combined £401 billion revenue. Our graph finds that luxury items, although being more expensive as items individually, bring in less revenue overall.
Online shopping marks a huge diversion from traditional in-store shopping, making buying new goods as easy as a few clicks. Taking less than a few minutes, you can have goods delivered to your doorstep by the end of the week. And if what you’ve ordered doesn’t match your expectations, most online stores offer free returns.
Leading shopping apps in the UK
In April 2018, the most popular iPhone shopping app in the UK was eBay. eBay had 1.3 million daily active users, which was 62% greater than the next biggest app, Amazon. The graph below shows the most popular iPhone apps in the largest font. Depop, a second-hand retail app, was the tenth most popular in terms of the number of daily active users in April 2018.
The most popular types of delivery for online shopping
Home delivery is the most popular delivery option for those shopping online, with 85% of respondents reporting to using this method. 62% of people also collect their orders in store.
Shopping centres offer a great alternative to high streets if you are looking to do a quick shop for a number of items. Despite this, in 2018, the vacancy rate for stores in shopping centres was 2% higher (reaching 13%) than it was in high street stores.
- In 2017, the leading fashion and accessories brand in UK shopping centres was New Look.
- In 2019, the market value of the largest-earning Intu Group shopping centre in the UK, Trafford Centre, was £1.9 billion.
- The annual retail sales for the London and Stratford City Westfield shopping centres in 2018 was £1 billion and £1.2 billion, respectively.
The biggest shopping centres in the UK
Intu Group is a British real estate investment trust specialising in shopping centre development. In June 2018, the largest shopping centre in the UK was Intu Metrocentre in Gateshead, which is 190,000 square metres – the size of Grand Central Station.
Shopping on the high street
With the vacancy rate of high streets shops being the lowest at only 11% of retail stores for the past five years, high streets are clearly still as popular for everyday local shopping. With this in mind, which high street stores are our favourites?
The top 10 high street retailers by customer satisfaction
How consumers feel about their high streets in 2018
The graph below shows that 74% of consumers are concerned about their high streets. The biggest concern (shared by 70% of respondents) is with high street shops closing. Following this, 58% of people feel their high street needs more and better shops.
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£35 charge for NOT using a credit card
Last updated at 08:24 21 February 2007
The fee will apply to around 50,000 account-holders who do not use their cards much, and pay off their balance in full each month.
Credit card companies and banks regard customers who do not make much use of their cards as a drain on the business.
They have to be provided with statements and other material, but do not generate any income for the banks with purchases, interest on balances, and charges.
Banks are redrawing the rules for credit cards after they were forced to slash illegal and unfair penalty charges for those who miss payments.
The Office of Fair Trading told the industry last year to cut charges of around £25 to a maximum of £12 or face legal action.
The finance firms are retaliating
£35 charge for not using a credit card
by introducing fees and other methods, such as reducing the length of the interest-free period for card purchases.
The news comes 24 hours after the Daily Mail revealed the likely introduction of annual fees on current accounts later this year, when the OFT is expected to order banks to slash what it considers are illegal penalty charges on overdrafts.
The new chief executive of the Nationwide said a system of annual fees on bank accounts was the best way forward.
Graham Beale, who takes over on April 1, believes monthly fees on current accounts is the 'fairest' way to charge.
Lloyds TSB is the first of the 'big five' high street banks to impose an annual fee on customers. But the finance industry believes others will follow suit. Sandra Quinn, communications chief at APACS, the trade body for institutions delivering payment services, said other banks would not be far behind.
'This - the introduction of annual fees - is a natural outcome to the work the OFT did last year on default charges,' she said.
'If you have lost one area of income, all credit card issuers will be looking at other ways to get income.
'They are not charitable organisations. The message is either use your card or cut it up.'
The letter sent by Lloyds TSB to customers this week dresses up the introduction of the £35 fee as positive.
It states: 'So that we can offer you an attractive product now and in the future, we will be charging you an annual fee of £35.'
The circular gives customers ten days notice of the introduction of the charge on March 1.
One customer said he has cut up his card and closed his account.
Brian Harley, 48, an accountant from Boston, Lincolnshire, said: 'It was extremely irritating that they only gave ten days notice of the change. It was very much a case of like it or lump it.
'I've had the card for almost 25 years. I decided to use it less when they reduced the interest-free period last summer.'
Mr Harley said: 'The introduction of the charge will alienate customers, but I got the impression that Lloyds TSB doesn't much care about that.'
A Lloyds TSB spokesman said: 'This fee applies to just one per cent of our card base. It is predominantly targeted at people who don't use their cards. We want to encourage people to start using their cards.'
Asked if this was responsible, she said: 'Plenty of customers use their cards responsibly and responsibly manage their balance. This is not about encouraging customers to get into debt.'
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BlackFish, an internet startup co-founded by online travel site Tuniu’s former executives, announced on January 10 that it has received RMB 950 million (USD 146 million) in its series A round funding.
The round was co-invested by investment firms Lightspeed China Partners, Morningside Venture Capital, JAFCO Asia, Gobi Partners, Chinese property-energy conglomerate Fullshare Group and daily-deal site Dazhong Dianping’s founder Tao Zhang.
Nanjing-based BlackFish was inaugurated last November, shortly after Nasdaq-listed Tuniu’s co-founder, president and COO Mr. Haifeng Yan, and CFO Mr. Conor Chia-hung Yang announced their resignations from the OTA. BlackFish is “a fintech platform integrating mobile internet lifestyle, new consumer ecosystem and consumer finance services”, according to the company’s official introduction.
Mr. Herry Han, partner & co-founder of Lightspeed China Partners, said that the co-founders of BlackFish have co-founded and managed several listed companies focusing on finance and travel services, and have extensive experience in areas such as product research and development, risk control and marketing.
Mr. Haifeng Yan, co-founder and CEO of BlackFish, said that the Chinese consumers’ demand is increasingly diversified and segmented, and they are transitioning from price-sensitive to quality-oriented, from products to services, from ownership to co-sharing.
Lightspeed China Partners focuses on the internet service sector and has invested in Dazhong Dianping and house-sharing site Tujia. Morningside Venture Capital helps early-stage and growth-stage high-tech startups and has funded Ctrip, smartphone maker Xiaomi and UC Browser (acquired by Alibaba in 2014). Both Gobi Partners and Fullshare Group have invested in Tuniu.


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Android Users, Ready to GPT Chat? 🤖💬 ChatGPT Hits Your Play Store Soon!
TL;DR; 🚀 ChatGPT is finally dropping its Android version after rocking the iOS world. Be the first to grab it from the Google Play Store! 🎉
Hey there tech fam! 💡 Remember the hype when ChatGPT took over the iOS kingdom? Well, brace yourselves, Android fam, because the GPT storm is heading your way! 🌪📱
ChatGPT, which started its journey in November and gathered a fandom that could rival any pop star’s following (sorry, Threads! 😜), announced its landing on Android. Wondering if you need to set up a camp outside the Play Store for the release? Chill! It’s coming next week. Specific day? Nah, they like to keep us on our toes. 🤷♂
Hang on, got an iPhone and feeling left out? Don’t! 🍎 The Apple brigade got their hands on ChatGPT in May. And now, after whispering the word “soon” like it’s some mysterious code, OpenAI finally spills the beans. Android, it’s your time to shine! ☀
Thinking about rivals? 🤔 Well, Google’s Bard chatbot has been lurking around, but it hasn’t jumped onto the mobile app train yet. It’s still hanging onto its web-based charm. If patience isn’t your virtue and you’re too antsy to wait for ChatGPT’s debut on Android, there’s always Microsoft’s Bing app. Yeah, that’s been available on Android and iOS since February, flaunting its Prometheus Model and GPT-4 swagger. But who’s counting? 😉
Now, let’s get real. How many of us are gonna rush to that preorder page on the Google Play Store? 🏃♂💨 After all, who doesn’t want to be the first in line when tech history is being made? Especially when it’s as rad as ChatGPT.
Disclaimer: Hey, Turnt Up News doesn’t endorse or recommend any specific app, product, or service. This is just news, not advice. Always remember to do your own research and use your best judgment! 💼
Ending Question: So, tech enthusiasts, what’s your chatbot of choice for 2023, and why? Will ChatGPT be your new chat buddy or just another app in the Play Store? 🤨 Let’s get this debate heated! 🔥


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Gap reported third quarter net sales of 3.8 billion dollars, down 7 percent compared to last year, inclusive of an estimated 2 percentage points negative impact from the sale of Gap China. Comparable sales for the quarter were down 2 percent.
The company is estimating fourth quarter net sales to be flat to slightly negative compared to last year and fiscal 2023 net sales could be down in the mid-single digit range.
"Gap Inc. delivered a solid performance in the third quarter. We were pleased to see market share gains as well as improvements in both gross margins and operating margins, demonstrating our ability to drive operating and financial discipline," said Gap president and CEO, Richard Dickson in a statement.
Highlights of Gap’s third quarter results
The company’s store sales decreased 6 percent compared to last year. Gap ended the quarter with 3,533 store locations in over 40 countries, of which 2,598 were company operated, while online sales decreased 8 percent compared to last year and represented 38 percent of total net sales.
Gross margin for the quarter of 41.3 percent increased 390 basis points versus last year's reported gross margin and increased 260 basis points versus last year's adjusted gross margin.
The company’s reported operating income was 250 million dollars and reported operating margin was 6.6 percent, while adjusted operating income was 255 million dollars; while adjusted operating margin was 6.8 percent.
Reported net income reached 218 million dollars with reported diluted earnings per share of 58 cents and adjusted net income was 221 million dollars and adjusted diluted earnings per share were 59 cents.
Gap posts sales decline across brand portfolio
Old Navy net sales of 2.13 billion dollars, were down 1 percent compared to last year. The brand saw strength in women's and kids and babies during the quarter, as well as an acceleration in the active category. Brand’s comparable sales were up 1 percent.
Gap brand net sales of 887 million dollars, were down 15 percent, while excluding the estimated negative impact from the sale of Gap China and the shutdown of Yeezy Gap, net sales were down about 6 percent and comparable sales were down 1 percent.
Net sales at Banana Republic of 460 million dollars declined 11 percent and comparable sales were down 8 percent.
Athleta net sales of 279 million dollars, were down 18 percent compared to last year and comparable sales were down 19 percent.
The company now expects to open a net total of 15 to 20 Old Navy and Athleta stores in fiscal 2023 and expect to close a net total of about 50 Gap and Banana Republic stores this year, completing its plan to close 350 Gap and Banana Republic stores in North America by the end of fiscal 2023.


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The resale market is set to outgrow fast fashion with 4 factors leading to its explosive growth.
The resale market is poised to outgrow fast fashion. Here are 4 factors leading to its explosive growth.
The consumer’s definition of new is changing. Thanks to awareness of the exploitative nature of fast fashion, conscious customers are now flocking to the resale markets, and businesses are following suit.
According to estimates, the resale market is growing 11 times faster than traditional retail. The secondhand market is predicted to be worth $84 billion by 2030, more than $44 billion compared to fast fashion1.
Driving this demand is the conscious consumer who values sustainability and favours a circular economy where reusing is the activity of the day.
For example, Levi’s offers a resale of its clothes via its site Levi’s Secondhand. Customers can make a trade-in appointment with a stylist and receive a gift card for the value of their trade-in clothes.
Other brands have taken a more altruistic approach. They donate the clothes to charities on behalf of customers. Whichever way you look at it, the resale market is set to become a normal channel for retailers and consumers.
Some factors have contributed to the meteoric rise of the resale market in recent times.
As consumers become more aware of mindless consumption and how this affects their environment and the world, they're driven by the need to change what and how much they buy, and who they buy it from.
Conscious consumption has boosted the circular economy where people are choosing to reduce, reuse and share resources. They are choosing greener products with less packaging and locally made food and products with a low carbon footprint.
The digital buyer looks online for inspiration and new brands to try. Access to the internet and social media exploded during the pandemic, as more people around the world went online in search of products.
As consumers become more mindful about sustainability, they’re searching for secondhand clothes instead of fast fashion. Resale platforms like Tradera4, Facebook5 marketplace or retailer-acquired resale platforms have made it easier for consumers to buy and sell secondhand clothes.
Retailers are also designing omnichannel shopping experiences, so customers can shop easily online, app, in-store and on social media.
Unexpected events can cause massive shocks to supply chains preventing the easy flow of goods across borders, leading to shortages and bottlenecks in supply.
Businesses can struggle to meet demand, forcing them to source locally for ingredients and raw materials, thus shortening their supply chains and making them more efficient.
Fewer products coming in from across the borders also means consumers are forced to go online in search of secondhand goods and reuse what they already had.
Working from home during the pandemic also reduced the need for people to shop in-store because they no longer took lunch breaks to buy clothes 'just because.'
A 2021 Deloitte study6 highlighted brand partnerships as one of the key trends that came out of the pandemic and one that’s going to continue.
Global brands have developed partnerships with local brands – from neighbourhood cafés partnering with food delivery services like Uber Eats7 or fashion brands partnering with workout partners to stream workouts during lockdown.
Thanks to these collaborations and marketing power, businesses are stepping into the spotlight and able to sell to new audiences – local and global - interested in locally made products.
The resale market is here to stay, and businesses are evolving to meet their demands. Discover more e-commerce trends in the Think Forward: Conscious Commerce whitepaper.
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Singapore, October 26 2006 –Two newly launched sedans are to be won for readers of my paper, Singapore Press Holdings´ first Chinese free sheet published from Tuesday to Saturday.
In a joint effort between my paperand Radio 100.3, Wow! Wow! Hunt - a 4-week promotion whereby readers of my paperand listeners to Radio 100.3 stand a chance to win 2 brand new sedans by guessing and hunting for car keys hidden in 4 secret locations in Singapore.
Hunt for the keys to win
For 4 consecutive weeks (25 October – 18 November), 25 car keys will be hidden at a secret location every Saturday. To be eligible for the hunt on October 28, November 4, 11 and 18, simply read my paper or tune in to Radio 100.3 daily for clues on the locations of the car keys. A total of 100 contestants with the key will be invited to “unlock” the prize car at the finale event on November 26. One lucky winner will drive home the prize car.
SMS to Win
Have another shot at winning another car by guessing where the keys are hidden for the week. Just send your entry via sms to 77877 before midnight the Friday before the hunt, in the following format:
Each SMS costs 20cents.
One lucky winner will be picked from the total entries and the winner must be present at the live event on 26 Nov .
The 2 sedans are sponsored by Group ExKlusiv and will be unveiled during its officially launch at the coming Motor show at Suntec Singapore from 10-19 November. Details of the live finale event on 26 November will be released in my paper and on Radio 100.3.
Issued by : Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Co. Regn. No: 198402868E
For more information, please contact:
Lim Ser Yee
Senior Promotions Manager
Product Development & Branding
Singapore Press Holdings Limited
DID: 6319 2342
Mobile: 9369 5766
SPH UnionWorks Pte Ltd
DID: 6319 4007
Mobile: 9299 1749
About my paper
Launched in June 2006, my paper 我报 is Singapore´s first Chinese freesheet. Targeted at working adults between ages 20 and 40, the compact-sized publication is contemporary, informative and entertaining, allowing young, trendy and bilingual Singaporeans to keep in touch with the Chinese language in an enjoyable and accessible manner. my paper 我报 is published five days a week from Tuesday to Saturday. Due to increasing demand, the circulation of the free newspaper will be increased to 180,000 from 31 Oct. my paperis distributed freely at MRT stations, selected office buildings, business parks, households, as well as established coffee franchises across the island.
About SPH UnionWorks Pte Ltd
SPH UnionWorks Pte Ltd is a 70-30 joint venture between SPH Multimedia and NTUC Media. SPH UnionWorks manages and operates 2 radio stations, Radio 91.3 and Radio 1003.
Radio 100.3 is a Mandarin infotainment station that caters to a wide range of listeners with its highly creative programs. Program content range from lifestyle to gourmet features, current affairs, music and entertainment. 100.3´s delivery is bold, fun and innovative.
About Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Main board listed Singapore Press Holdings Limited is the leading media company in Singapore, in the print, Internet and broadcasting platforms. It publishes 14 newspapers in the four official languages, including Singapore’s first free Chinese newspaper, My Paper, and over 80 magazine titles. Everyday, 2.7 million individuals, or 83 per cent of the people above 15 years old, read one of the SPH publications. Its Internet Business Unit manages the online editions of SPH’s major newspapers, which enjoy over 100 million pageviews from 6 million unique visitors every month. More recent online additions are the classified website, ST701, and STOMP (Straits Times Online Mobile Print), a portal that connects, engages and interacts with readers on the Internet and via mobile messaging.
SPH owns and operates Paragon, the prime shopping and office building in the heart of Orchard Road. Paragon features international brands and luxury goods, restaurants serving wide-ranging cuisines and lifestyle facilities such as spas and a fitness club.
SPH also owns a 20% stake in MediaCorp TV Holdings Pte Ltd, which operates free-to-air channels 5, 8, U and TV Mobile, and a 40% stake in MediaCorp Press Pte Ltd, which publishes free sheet Today. SPH has a 70% stake in SPH UnionWorks, which operates two entertainment radio channels, Radio 100.3 in Chinese and Radio 91.3 in English. In addition, SPH holds an 80% stake in SPH MediaBoxOffice Pte Ltd, Singapore’s largest LED network media company, and a 35% stake in TOM Outdoor Media Group, a leading outdoor advertising company in China.
For more information about SPH, please log on to www.sph.com.sg.


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Visa, Inc. is now piloting a program that allows the use of cryptocurrency to settle transactions on its cost network. VISA plans to broaden the program to permit extra companions and transaction flexibility in the coming months. To restrict illicit actions, authorities have targeted the exchanges that permit users to convert cryptocurrencies to U.S. dollars and other national currencies.
The cryptocurrency paradigm was heralded by the launch of Bitcoin in 2008, inspiring a brand new technological and social motion. The goal of cryptocurrencies is to supply a medium for international, peer-to-peer transaction settlement that preserves privateness and monetary safety. Well, one early feature of the project will be a digital wallet that lets customers store their crypto and make funds. Price volatility has long been one of many options of the cryptocurrency market. When asset costs transfer shortly in either direction and the market itself is relatively thin, it can sometimes be tough to conduct transactions as could be wanted.
- It all occurred in a blip, and an exchange official says the institutional buying and selling customer has since fixed the problem.
- For occasion, if a financial institution were to carry bitcoin value $2 billion, it will be required to put aside enough capital to cowl the entire $2 billion.
- Some jurisdictions, corresponding to Vietnam and Iceland, have instituted some form of ban on the use of digital currencies.
Thomson Reuters Joseph Raczynski predicts that “Bitcoin will overtake the united states Dollar by 2050 at a worth of $150,000.” This forecast is extremely viable as the financial market continues to move toward a digital landscape and peer-to-peer technology is changing into the brand new normal. Powerful expertise mixed with sensible moves can make this prediction a reality, maybe even sooner somewhat than later. Coinbase’s chief legal officer responded in a blog submit stating the company had engaged with the SEC regarding Lend for some six months and arguing that Lend is not a safety. Coinbase’s stock dropped greater than 3% after the Wells notice became public. Shortly after the Wells notice, Coinbase canceled the launch of Lend.
How Cryptocurrency Works?
The digital forex has slowly begun to realize acceptance in global markets as an alternate mode of payment to fiat currency. For the unversed, cryptocurrency is a type of digital https://gooncrypto.com money that’s managed utilizing blockchain expertise. Blockchains are advanced computer networks that are created using mathematics and coding.
Those aren’t typical dangers for investing in shares and funds on main U.S. exchanges. A cryptocurrency (or “crypto”) is a digital currency that can be used to purchase goods and companies, but uses an online ledger with strong cryptography to safe on-line transactions. Much of the interest in these unregulated currencies is to commerce for profit, with speculators at times driving costs skyward.
Nowadays, you‘ll have a hard time finding a major financial institution, a big accounting firm, a prominent software firm or a government that did not research cryptocurrencies, publish a paper about it or begin a so-called blockchain-project. Cryptocurrencies may be sent immediately between two parties through using private and public keys. These transfers can be done with minimal processing fees, allowing customers to keep away from the steep fees charged by conventional financial establishments.
These coins are amongst two of the most well-liked for web users as a end result of they’re well-known, and a lot of individuals are invested in them. Which means they get probably the most memes and articles created about them. But up to now, cryptocurrency is generally a vehicle for monetary hypothesis and trading. Few people wish to use Bitcoin for everyday purchases like coffee as a result of its value is so volatile.


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Aldi Ireland announces six winning producers of this year’s Grow with Aldi programme with their products hitting shelves nationwide from September 23rd
Foodie lovers should watch out as Aldi has whittled down the country’s best of the best producers across all food, drink, and non-food categories to bring you six Grow with Aldi winners for 2021. From delicious cookies, mouth-watering burger sauces, zingy salad dressings, Asian inspired condiments, gourmet sausages and more, get down to your local Aldi store on September 23rd to pick up these award-winning products when they hit shelves nationwide.
The six winners of this year’s Grow with Aldi programme are:
These six winners rose to the top of 290 products in total which were entered by over 120 Irish food, drink, and non-food suppliers this year, with products from the 56 finalists going on sale in the 148 Aldi stores nationwide as part of Aldi’s Specialbuys in June 2021. Having been highly commended by the judging panel, the winning six producers came up trumps to secure the opportunity to become a core range listing in Aldi stores nationwide. All of the winning products from this year’s programme will be available in stores from September 23rd. Products from Cookie Dó, ChanChan and Woodfire & Green will launch as core products and will remain on shelf for a 12 month period while products from Vanilla Bean Patisserie, Blackcastle Farm and The Fig Tree will launch as Specialbuys and will return to stores for a six-month period from April 2022.
Now in its fourth year, the Grow with Aldi Supplier Development Programme which launched in 2018, was created in partnership with Bord Bia to help the very best Irish suppliers develop their brand with the chance to become a core range listing in Aldi stores nationwide. To date, almost 800 producers and suppliers have entered the Grow with Aldi programme, with €3million invested by Aldi in a bid to find the very best Irish suppliers. Having created a space for the most ambitious, innovative, creative, and trendsetting businesses, brands and entrepreneurs, this year’s programme saw the highest number of entrants to the programme so far with a 30% increase on 2020, seeing 120 Irish producers across the country stepping out of their comfort zone to embark on a new and exciting Grow with Aldi experience.
Speaking about the launch of the winning products, John Curtin, Aldi Group Buying Director, said; “It has been incredible to see the strength and resilience of Irish suppliers, despite a difficult few years. Here at Aldi, we want to reassert Ireland as a hotspot for innovative grassroots suppliers, championing these producers that create quality Irish products, and make them accessible for all. We’re incredibly proud of the Grow with Aldi programme to date and hope that even more Irish suppliers and businesses will be inspired by our 2021 winners to take a leap of faith and consider entering the 2022 programme next year.”
Speaking today Tara McCarthy, Bord Bia CEO said; “The Grow with Aldi programme offers small and medium Irish businesses an invaluable platform to take their brand and business to the next level. The team at Aldi and Bord Bia have developed an exciting, progressive and tailored made programme that prepares these businesses for a successful future within their sector. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and I wish all the best to this year’s winners.”
Grow with Aldi is designed to help the very best Irish suppliers develop their brand, giving them the chance to be listed in all 148 stores nationwide. Throughout the programme, entrants attend mentoring sessions and workshops with the world-renowned Aldi Buying team and the Aldi Marketing team as well as with key technical experts from Bord Bia. In doing so, receiving indispensable knowledge, and acquiring the necessary skills in order to help grow and develop their product, brand, and business.
For more information on the Grow with Aldi programme or information on how to enter next year’s programme, visit www.aldi.ie/grow.
Fresh flavours and frozen finds for your healthiest year yet, all at unbeatable prices!


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Independent booksellers have expressed concerns that Waterstones has been selling Super Thursday titles ahead of their publication date.
Super Thursday, which takes place today (4th October), is the day publishers launch what they hope will be their Christmas bestsellers and this year more than 544 new hardbacks will be hitting shelves - 40 more than last year’s event.
Titles slated for release tomorrow include a memoir by Gary Barlow, non-fiction from Sir David Attenborough, Tim Peake and Jo Brand, novels from Eoin Colfer, Liane Moriarty and Peter James and children’s fiction from Liz Pichon and Jacqueline Wilson.
However, independent booksellers have told The Bookseller they are concerned about Waterstones breaking the 4th October embargo and selling Super Thursday titles ahead of the big day. On Tuesday (2nd October) Waterstones Camberley tweeted: “So many wonderful books today… The highly anticipated new Tracy Beaker book from Jacqueline Wilson… Here’s proof of the new Ian Rankin and Bernard Cornwell,” alongside cover images for those books. Wilson’s My Mum Tracy Beaker, Rankin’s In a House of Lies and Cornwell’s War of the Wolf are all Super Thursday titles.
In response to the concerns, Waterstones m.d. James Daunt said: “Embargoes on key titles are agreed with publishers and both welcomed and respected by Waterstones. Excitement around the launch date is enhanced and we sell more books. For most books, however, customers asking for a book should be sold it. Otherwise we simply send the customer to Amazon. This is as true, of course, for independent booksellers as for Waterstones.
“Are the right titles always embargoed? Not always. Too many generally, for the Amazon reason, and sometimes one or two might have benefited from the 'woomph' of a launch. Overall, however, we think the balance is right and very much better thought through than was the case a few years ago.”
Last year 62.8 million books were sold for £551.9m between 7th October and 24th December through Nielsen BookScan. Around a third of the market’s annual volume sales come in the final quarter of the year.
- Waterstones, Blackwell's and indies report Christmas sales rise
- Waterstones abandons ‘indie branding’ in Edinburgh following outcry
- Bookshops gear up for second 'Super Thursday' as 355 new titles hit shelves
- Indie bookshops face 'danger' from third-party sites, Daunt warns
- Waterstones' early Fire and Fury stock sells out 'within minutes'


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The software was unveiled on 5 September to support a new range of iPods and a ring-tone builder.
The vulnerability lies in the cover art display system used by iTunes. Cover art is displayed while a track is playing, but is also used to navigate music in the Cover Flow interface.
By creating a specially malformed file, an attacker could cause an application crash or execute arbitrary code.
Remote code execution flaws are considered to be the most serious type of vulnerability, because they can be used by attackers to install malware.
Apple credited David Thiel, a security researcher at iSec Partners, with discovering the vulnerability.
Security firm Secunia rated the flaw as 'highly critical', the second highest of its alert levels. Secunia and the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team recommended that users install the update as soon as possible.
ITunes has yet to fall victim to a major attack, but other Apple products have been targeted by malware authors.
Late last year a piece of malware spread through MySpace preying on users via a flaw in Apple's QuickTime software.
The infamous MPack exploit tool has also been known to target Quicktime vulnerabilities.
Apple slips security fix into iTunes update
By Shaun Nichols on Sep 10, 2007 3:20PM


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Counterfeit Mercedes-Benz products have been on the rise with over 1.86 million fake products seized in 650+ customs and law enforcement raids in 2021 alone. This was 6 percent higher than the total number of counterfeit products seized in 2020. These products are not only illegal but also pose a major safety threat to both users and others on the road. The most popular choice for producing counterfeit products are focused on components such as brake discs, wheels, body parts and steering components.
“The counterfeiting industry has organised crime structures and often generates higher profits than drug trafficking. We are working closely with authorities around the world in order to curtail these structures and combat threats to road safety.” says Renata Jungo Brüngger, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Integrity & Legal Affairs.
Mercedes-Benz also reported that it has seen a spike in the production and distribution of these counterfeit products since the global lockdown hit in 2020. This was possible as more and more people started purchasing products online through parts websites and social media channels. As a result, it requires a lot more effort from Mercedes-Benz brand protection experts to prevent the sale of these fake products.
Over a glance, it is often hard to identify a counterfeit product from the original by an untrained eye. However upon a closer inspection, blatant differences in quality can be identified. These products are dangerous as they pose a severe safety risk on the roads as they are usually of a lower quality and do not meet the legal requirements set by industry authorities. How to identify a counterfeit product?
Typically, indicators of a counterfeit product are extremely low prices or offers that do not match the product listings on official Mercedes-Benz websites. Conspicuous product quality and sale via dubious online sources are red flags as well. A keen eye can also identify many counterfeit products as the automaker simply does not manufacture those items. So it is best to compare a product and its product code listed on official Mercedes-Benz websites and other websites. More often than not, sub-standard production can be spotted visually and one can avoid buying a potential safety hazard for their vehicle and others on the road.


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West Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee is celebrating National Family Meals Month with a number of promotions and events.
Created by the Food Marketing Institute, National Family Meals Month is an industry-inspired movement to raise consumer awareness of the health and societal benefits of sharing frequent family meals.
"In today’s ever-evolving and fast-paced world, it’s often difficult for families to find time to sit down and enjoy a meal together due to busy schedules,” says Randy Edeker, Hy-Vee’s chairman, CEO and president. “We believe family time is critical and Hy-Vee is committed to bringing families together by making mealtime easier.”
Throughout the month, at all Hy-Vee Market Grille and Market Grille Express restaurants, children ages 12 and younger eat free with the purchase of an adult entree. The company will also offer daily family-friendly recipes featuring simply ingredients, which will be shared on Hy-Vee's social media platforms. In addition, weekly meal ideas with highlight grab-and-go dinner options to make dinnertime easier.
Additionally, every day in the month of September at four locations — Waukee, Iowa; Overland Park, Kansas; Brooklyn Park, Minnesota; and Omaha, Nebraska — Hy-Vee will provide a complimentary one-hour family meal at a dining table inside the store, where shoppers will be able to observe the family eating together and learn more about the benefits of family mealtime.
Consumers can sign up online for a chance to participate in the meal, which also includes a $250 Hy-Vee gift card.
Research shows that children who share regular family meals typically display better grades, improved nutrition, stronger family relationships and higher self-esteem, and they are less likely to use drugs and alcohol.
“Recent research says that more than three-quarters of families report that conflicting schedules are the main barrier to eating together on a regular basis,” Edeker says. “That’s why Hy-Vee is providing tips and resources to give families easy, mealtime solutions so they can have at least one more family meal together each week.”


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CommonWealth Coffeehouse is expanding its barely 3-year-old concept to no less than nine locations in San Antonio by the end of 2018.
Members of the local energy-efficiency initiative collectively reduced their carbon impact by more than 10,200 metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2016.
The new, more modern office space also is ideally located for collaboration with the growing business and tech presence downtown
Corky Roth launched the San Antonio-based internet company Jump Fiber to offer gigabit internet connectivity in select buildings in downtown San Antonio.
Parker will lead commercial banking and small business operations and BBVA Compass’ local global wealth team, and manage a local advisory board.
BBVA Compass hosted a reception at the retail banking location in the same building where the bank recently moved its San Antonio corporate offices.
BBVA Compass will open its newest retail banking location Monday at the Weston Centre, where the bank set up its San Antonio corporate offices last month.
Previously located at 602 E. Commerce St., SAEDF will relocate to San Antonio’s tallest office building and occupy 4,869 sq. ft. of space on the 26th floor.
With the flip of a switch, BBVA Compass announced its growing presence downtown by means of a bright blue lighted sign atop the city’s tallest building on March 2.
At the Weston Centre plaza Friday night, Geekdom celebrated five years of fostering entrepreneurs and start-up companies in downtown San Antonio.


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Poultry, eggs, grains and mixed fodder are the key products of Ukrainian agricultural exports to the EU
In the nearest future poultry, eggs, grains, mixed fodder and straw briquettes as alternative fuel, may become the key products of Ukrainian exports, supplied on the EU market within frames of establishing of the free trade zone between Ukraine and the EU, declared Ihor Shvaika, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, on June 27.
According to him, other agricultural products are being certified to date.
While speaking about the possible structure of exports to the EU, the Minister stressed that in fact it has already been formed, as in April 2014 the EU unilaterally opened its customs border for Ukrainian exports. Some part of quotas from the EU will be filled, some part - not. At the same time, the Minister noted that several agricultural enterprises tried to enter the EU market even since 2005.
You should be authorized to post comment
Current issues of grains maritime transportation -2017 within frames of the conference "Grain exports from Ukraine"
In 2017, Bulgaria and Russia have the maximum figures of average protein content in Black Sea wheat – SGS Ukraine
Moldova reduced its share of Ukrainian flour purchases - APK-Inform
October 18, 15:00
Germany is the leading Danube country in the imports of Ukrainian grains - APK-Inform
October 18, 13:00
Agro-logistics forum "Dnieper-Danube-Black Sea" started in Chisinau, Moldova
October 18, 11:20


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Millions of devices, new partnerships, and a $2 million seed round led by Accel
Radar is the location platform for mobile apps. With Radar, developers can add location context and tracking to their apps with just a few lines of code.
Since launching in February, we've grown significantly. Radar is now installed on millions of devices, we're processing billions of locations per year, and we've built integrations with mParticle, Segment, Braze, Yext, and Facebook, with more partnerships coming soon.
Today, we're thrilled to announce that we've raised a $2 million seed round led by Accel, with participation from Expa, Fuel Capital, Specialized Types, and angels including Greg Brockman (CTO at OpenAI, previously CTO at Stripe), Mike Katz (CEO at mParticle), Mike Yavonditte (CEO at Yieldmo), Brian Goldfarb (CMO at Splunk, previously at Salesforce, Google, and Microsoft), and Nitesh Banta (CEO at B12).
We'll use this funding to continue to grow and invest in our mission: helping companies build better products and make better decisions with location data.
We believe that location is the future of mobile. Alas, building with location is still too hard. Developers must build accurate, efficient, reliable, cross-platform location data collection, then store, add context to, analyze, and act on that data.
Stripe has solved payments for developers, Twilio has solved communications for developers, and so on. But before Radar, nobody had solved location for developers.
Indeed, most players in the location space are ad tech companies masquerading as "location intelligence" companies. By building a truly great developer platform, by empowering engineering, product, and growth teams, and by putting privacy and user experience first, Radar is changing the game.
We couldn't be more excited to continue this journey. If you're an engineer that wants to build a category-defining developer platform in NYC, we'd love for you to join our team. If you want to stay in the loop, follow us on Twitter @radarlabs.
Thanks to all of our amazing customers, partners, advisors, and investors that have supported us so far.
We're just getting started. Let's go!


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When Apple announced the budget variant of its new smartphone series, the iPhone XR, the device appeared on the company website with a disclaimer at the end of the page, saying the device might not be available for sale, per FCC rules. Not anymore.
The phone with model number BCG-E3220A was approved by FCC just in time for the pre-orders that will begin in three weeks with actual shipments to start on October 26.
Being approved by FCC was never really an issue with Apple. The company usually waits to the last available moment to certify its devices to prevent leaks. In this case, the phone is already well-known and introduced to the audience, but at least Cupertino can now remove a paragraph from its website, saying “iPhone XR has not been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. iPhone XR is not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained”.
Apple is offering the iPhone XR as an affordable alternative to the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max with a “Liquid Retina” display which is a 6.1” LCD panel. It has the latest A12 Bionic chipset on the inside, but lacks a secondary telephoto lens on the back, unlike the XS series. The starting price is $749, which is 25% less than the regular $999 cost of the iPhone XS.
Its 720p, and yes, you can see it after you have used a better screen for about 10 seconds.
lul, people complaining about no 1080p on an ~6 inch screen. How close do you hold your phone? What do you watch on youtube, FHD stills? xD
200 gram and no fhd screen for youtube , no thanks , waiting for lg v40


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The Apple iPhone is attracting more new subscribers than expected to Sprint Nextel, and it will probably ease rather than worsen congestion on the carrier's 3G network, Sprint executives said as they announced third-quarter results on Wednesday.
Getting two Windows Phone-based smartphones ready for Nokia World was quite an accomplishment for the phone maker, but it still must overcome many challenges to turn around its smartphone business, according to analysts.
Over the weekend I wrote an article titled "What If Steve Jobs Is Right?" As the title implies, the post was a hypothetical look at the possibility that Steve Jobs' assertion that Android is a "stolen product" is true.
The moment of truth has come for Nokia: the company is expected to launch its first phones based on Microsoft's Windows Phone OS Wednesday at Nokia World in London. CEO Stephen Elop will have to convince consumers, operators, developers and retailers...
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group is readying the next update of its mobile operating system as a company subsidiary launched a new fund to support app development for the OS.
Microsoft has signed a patent agreement with Taiwan's Compal Electronics that provides coverage under its patent portfolio for Compal's tablets, mobile phones, e-readers and other consumer devices running Android or the Chrome platform, the company s...
All-you-can-eat data ran up against booming demand this week as Sprint Nextel became the last big U.S. carrier to end unlimited mobile broadband plans. But those unlimited plans may come back -- some day.
Sprint Nextel is ending unlimited data plans for all devices except smartphones, bringing the era of all-you-can-eat mobile data in the U.S. nearer to a close.
Less than a week after it announced plans for a new platform called BBX for its smartphones and tablet, Research In Motion is facing the threat of legal action from a software company in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that claims that BBx is the trademark ...
Google has lost its appeal to keep a potentially damaging email away from the jury in the company's legal fight with Oracle over Java.
Nokia reported a net loss and a fall in revenue for the third quarter, despite selling more phones than analysts had expected.
The dispute between Oracle and Google won't go to trial on Oct. 31 as initially scheduled, according to the judge overseeing the case.
Apple's iOS 5 and the new iPhone 4S got some new competition late Wednesday after Google introduced Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, running on the new Samsung Galaxy Nexus.
Telefonica and Verizon in a few months will become the first operators to offer Android phones running VMware's mobile hypervisor, the companies announced Wednesday at the VMworld 2011 Europe conference in Copenhagen.
Google and Samsung on Tuesday unveiled the Galaxy Nexus phone running Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest version of Android.
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Citizen satisfaction with federal government Web sites surged to a new all-time high in the third quarter of 2009, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) E-Government Satisfaction Index. The Index reached 75.2 on the ACSI's 100-point scale, an increase of 2.2 percent since the second quarter and 1.8 percent higher than one year ago. The previous high was reached in the fourth quarter of 2008. The increase in e-government satisfaction also brings government more into pace with the private sector. While the e-government aggregate (75.2) still significantly trails private sector industries like portals and search engines (83) and e-retail (82), e-gov outperforms the online news and information industry aggregate (74), online brokerage and investment (74), and just edges out the online travel industry (75).
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Marijuana Industry Deals In 2017: The Most Relevant Transactions In The Cannabis Space
Once a week, Viridian Capital Advisors, one of the world’s top financial and strategic advisory firms for the cannabis industry, publishes a couple of reports. One traces the performance of its Cannabis Stock Index, and the other one tracks the most recent investment and M&A activity in the marijuana space.
Benzinga recently had the chance to chat with analyst Harrison Phillips, who shared an update on the movement of marijuana stocks, and some of the latest M&A activity, deals and capital raises in the cannabis industry.
Year-to-date, Viridian has tracked 16 capital raises totaling $56.5 million. $51.7 million went to public companies, and the remaining $4.8 million, to private corporations. It is also interesting to notice that equity raises provided 77.5 percent of the total money, while debt raises only accounted for $12.7 million.
The marked surge last week was “largely due to two raises that Canadian Bioceutical Corp completed. However, we’ve seen a significant run-up in the dollars raised each week this year. We expected to see the run-up from week 1 thru week 3 starting to normalize afterwards— We’ll have to see what next week looks like— But [you should take into account that] the $37.5 million that Canadian Bioceutical Corp accounted for about 60 percent of the dollars raised this year,” Phillips voiced, predicting a potential slow-down in capital raises going forward.
Recent Capital Raises
One was a $27.5 million private placement of common shares. The other one was an issuance of a $10 million promissory note. The company used the money to fund “the consideration of its recent Arizona acquisitions, to build out a new cultivation facility in Arizona, to support further acquisitions, and for general working capital purposes,” Viridian’s report explicated.
“This follows directly along with what we’ve seen over the past couple of months: Canadian companies, particularly due to the national legality [of cannabis], are able to raise more capital, and the industry up there is a little bit more developed,” Phillips commented. “So, we’ve seen them starting to acquire assets down in the U.S., in jurisdictions like Arizona, which might not have [a] recreational [market], but the medical market is established enough for businesses to have differentiated themselves from their competitors.”
One of the companies that Canadian Bioceutical acquired supports licensed dispensaries in Arizona. “The other supports branded derivative cannabis products, such as oil. So they jumped into the Arizona market and are now touching both direct product manufacturers as well as the medical dispensary side of it,” he added.
Aurora Cannabis Inc (CVE: ACB) (OTC: ACBFF) announced a bought deal private placement of C$50.6 million ($38.8 million). It subsequently increased it by 18.5 percent, to C$60 million ($46 million).
Kalytera Therapeutics Inc (CVE: KALY) (OTC: QUEZD) announced a C$12 million ($9.2 million) private placement, but then increased it to C$15 million ($11.5 million).
These hikes show “continued support from the markets and likely additional interest from investors,” Phillips pointed out.
“They are going to be issuing additional shares to the public to continue the development of its various drug candidates and for additional R&D,” the analyst explained.
Recent M&A Activity
“This may be the largest merger in the cannabis space to date. So, it will definitely be a deal to keep an eye on,” the expert said.
“Canopy had previously been leasing this property. So, by purchasing it, it gives it ownership of the land and also allows the company to potentially refinance the land going forward.”
“They are likely looking to either to build out their IP distribution or just generate sales thru inorganic acquisitive growth.”
“They are also likely trying to build out their product portfolio distribution to get a better foothold in the cannabis space.”
“What this extracts company is likely doing is taking their expertise and know-how that they developed, purchasing assets in the U.S., to then transfer their IP down and leverage that and capitalize on the recently legalized recreational market in Nevada.”
“I believe the asking amount for this package deal including six top selling stores is $50 million [...] Dispensaries have exchanged hands before, but, what’s important about this deal is that this is one of the first times that it’s been announced to the pubic.”
“Kushtown will effectively become a public company and likely announce that they will take over the shell and –I guess- change the name of the public entity to reflect their operating business.”
“They already announced they will be changing the name of the public entity to HealthMax to reflect their operating entity.”
© 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.


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Toronto, Ontario – Deveron UAS Corp. (CSE: DVR) (“Deveron” or the “Company”) a leading agriculture digital services and insights provider in North America is pleased to announce revenue growth of 181% year over year to $283,420 in Q1 2020. For the fourth quarter in a row, Deveron achieved sales growth of over 100%.
First Quarter 2020 Financial and Operational Highlights
The Company’s financial performance improved over the previous year’s quarter, driven by the continued customer uptake of Deveron’s soil sampling service. For the three-month financial results ended March 31, 2020 (and comparable period ended March 31, 2019):
- Revenue grew 181% year over year to $283,420 in Q1 2020, from $100,564 in Q1 2019.
- Gross profit grew 160% year over year to $180,212 in Q1 2020, from $69,833 in Q1 2019.


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| Sep 23, 2012
NEW YORK — The quintessential Ivy League look, born on college campuses more than a century ago and epitomized by tweed jackets, seersucker suits, khaki trousers and button-down oxford-cloth shirts, hit the peak of its popularity in the mid-1950s,...
| Dec 9, 2012
For holiday parties, today's sophisticated man can take a cue from runways and red carpets by choosing tuxedos for formal occasions or components thereof for more casual events.
Fashion designers, obsessed as they are these days with all manner of...
| Oct 14, 2012
NEW YORK — As it gets ready to enter its 10th year, the Band of Outsiders brand has just about become the ultimate fashion insider.
In June, founder and creative director Scott Sternberg presented his menswear collection in Paris for the first time...
| Dec 21, 2012
| 3:28 AM
If you had you eye on something in the Neiman Marcus+Target holiday collection, it is 50 percent off at Target.
The holiday collection debuted early this month with more than 50 hot items includes clothing, accessories and home goods designed by Thom...
| Feb 12, 2013
| 9:38 AM
NEW YORK -- After a hiatus of several seasons, Los Angeles based designer Trina Turk returned to New York Fashion Week over the weekend, showing her fall-winter 2013 collection titled "California Modern" in a presentation at Lincoln Center.
| May 27, 2012
On a recent episode of Bravo's "Million Dollar Listing," one of the real estate agent cast members went shopping for a swimsuit to wear on a celebratory jaunt to the Hamptons.
The price for the fancifully printed swim trunks at the exclusive...
| Jun 7, 2011
What man, as the weather warms, does not dream of jettisoning his tie and jacket? Even for many devotees of the power suit, the switch-over to short sleeves and lighter fabrics can't come soon enough.
Unfortunately, this sort of seasonal informality...
| Mar 20, 2012
Text is relatively rare on Nick Wooster's eponymous Web site; just shot after intriguing shot of clothing, people, attitude, culture. And that's as it should be. For Wooster has made his mark focusing on the visual.
Fashion adviser to Gilt MAN and its...
| Jul 24, 2012
Topshop at Nordstrom
Nordstrom has announced that 14 of its stores across the country and nordstrom.com will begin carrying a broad assortment from British juggernauts Topshop and Topman the week of Sept. 9.
Known for a tip-of-the-trend assortment...
| Jan 30, 2011
PARIS — When it came to theatrics, the Paris leg of the recent menswear shows was as full as the generously cut trousers that filled the runways.
And, though the designers in Milan and Paris don't always mine the same trends, for fall/winter 2011...
| Jan 16, 2011
The showing of the major men's fall-winter 2011-12 European collections, which this season run Jan. 15 to 18 in Milan and Jan. 19 to 23 in Paris, are the traditional opening salvo in a seemingly endless globe-spanning fashion marathon that doesn't wind...


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Panaji, Dec 2 (PTI) Passage of the law banning e-cigarettes will boost the Goa government's mission to make state tobacco-free, state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said on Monday.
Parliament on Monday passed a bill prohibiting the production, trade, transport, storage and advertisement of electronic cigarettes in the country.
The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Bill, 2019, was passed in Rajya Sabha with a voice vote. It was passed in Lok Sabha earlier this month.
"Rajya Sabha today paved the way for a ban on e-cigarettes and passed the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Bill, 2019.
"With the implementation of the said bill by the central government, this decision will definitely boost our mission of a tobacco-free Goa," Rane tweeted.
The bill defines electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) as electronic devices that heat a substance, which may contain nicotine and other chemicals, to create vapour for inhalation.
The bill provides for imprisonment of up to one year, or a fine of up to one lakh rupees, or both to a first-time violator.
For any subsequent offence, it says that the crime will be punishable with an imprisonment of up to three years, along with a fine of up to five lakh rupees.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)


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Plummeting CD sales, the ongoing toll of digital piracy and a lack of big name acts on tour fuelled a £189m drop in UK music revenues last year.
The music industry saw revenues decline 4.8% to £3.8bn in 2010 as the post-party hangover kicked in following a bumper 2009 driven by Susan Boyle's record-breaking debut and big-selling albums from Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson.
As consumers tightened their purse strings amid fears over the state of the economy, nervous band managers decided against launching tours for their big name acts in case they failed to fill venues.
After a decade of growth, live music revenues declined 6.8% to £1.48bn last year.
"A number of stadium- and arena-filling bands were not on tour and many of those that did tour opted to play smaller venues to limit their risk (Kings of Leon and Rod Stewart)," said the UK's music royalties body, PRS for Music, in its Adding Up The UK Music Industry report for 2010.
The extent of the decline in acts touring the biggest venues was evident in a 70% fall in revenues from stadium gigs. Revenues from acts playing at arena-sized venues also suffered with revenues down about 14% year on year.
A bounceback in income from live gigs is expected this year as big acts such as Rihanna, Westlife, Justin Bieber and Take That all launch major tours.
The British love of festivals continued unabated with a 20% rise in revenues from ticket sales, thanks to existing festivals such as Latitude increasing in size and the launch of a number of new events.
Sales of CDs fell by 7.9% to £1.24bn as music piracy and the ongoing cultural shift to listening to music via digital services such as Spotify and Pandora continue to take their toll.
Half of the top 10 selling albums in 2010 were either releases from 2009 – such as Lady Gaga and Michael Bublé – or compilations such as Now That's What I call Music 76.
In addition research on breakthrough acts - deemed those who pass 100,000 album sales for the first time – hit a new low in 2010, with just 17 passing the mark. In recent years the average has been about 25 a year.
Jumping forward to this year the massive success of Adele, the 23-year-old behind the multimillion selling 21, has seen her album account for 10% of all sales in the first four months of the year.
"The success of Adele is as welcome as it is worrying," said the report. "While her feats at home and abroad are worth celebrating, what's worrying is the performance of the rest of the market".
Despite increased growth in revenue from digital services in the UK, up almost 20% year on year to £316.5m, the report said the promise of legal streaming and download services appears to have been overstated.
"While steep falls in physical revenues continued apace in 2010, there were clear signs that growth in digital revenues slowed across the main international recorded music industry markets," said the report, with global digital revenue growth halving year on year to just 5.3%.
"Put more bluntly, global digital revenues are not going to be the '$30bn baby' people talked about five years ago. Indeed they may stabilise at a around $5bn."
Trade bodies representing the UK music industry – as well as counterparts in the film and TV sectors – were disappointed after the government announced on Wednesday that the it has scrapped plans to introduce legislation to force internet companies to block websites accused of illegal filesharing.
A brighter note was provided by business-to-business revenues –which include royalty collections from businesses that play music, the licensing of music services such as Spotify, advertising and sponsorship – which rose 2.6% to £1.06bn.
"It comes as no surprise that the overall numbers are down 5% as consumers are feeling their wallets tighten," said Will Page, chief economist for PRS for Music.
"However, the licensing revenue streams which lie outside of the conventional radar are not only displaying impressive growth but illustrating the pace of diversification now taking place in the UK music industry."
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- De Beers, Debswana face cashflow challenges because of sharp decline in diamond sales
- Debswana slows down cash burn rate
- Demand for rough diamonds said to have dwindled.
- India placed import ban on rough diamonds in October and November 2023
- Debswana compelled to terminate, hold, and defer some contracts
- ODC suspended November diamond sales
Debswana Diamond Company is experiencing cashflow challenges because of a plummet in diamond sales, and this may result in deferment, termination, and suspension of some contractors.
De Beers CEO, Al Cook, said in the final sales cycle of 2023, the group continued to offer lower levels of rough diamond supply, in line with current demand.
“As the end-of-year holiday season progresses, we are seeing signs that the diamond industry is regaining its balance between wholesale supply and demand,” said Cook.
“Polished diamond prices
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EA is working on at least two expansion packs for Spore. Next month the company will release the Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack and in Spring 2009 it plans to release a Space Stage expansion pack:
The expansion will allow players to beam down their creatures from their spaceships, exploring new planets and going on missions. A new Adventure Creator will allow for the creation of custom missions, which can be shared online.
The company also confirmed earlier retailer listings, officially announcing the Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack. In stores worldwide November 18, the Creepy & Cute pack will include 100 new components for creating creatures.