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61% of Global Business Leaders Excel at Getting Innovation to Market, but U.S. Companies Have Not Seen a Return on Investment for Current Innovation Activity
— Two thirds (66%) of global organizations say innovation is crucial to survival; yet only 28% are innovating successfully to drive growth and increase revenue
— In the U.S., 58% of respondents say that innovation efforts had not been successful in helping them achieve growth and 55% say innovation activity had not helped in attaining profitability
— Majority (57%) say biggest change they had seen and expect to see in their company was its approach to innovation
NEW YORK, April 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — PA Consulting Group, a global consulting, innovation and technology firm, released today the findings from its annual global innovation survey, titled “Innovation Matters,” in which 821 senior executives participated. The report concludes that two thirds (66%) of global organizations say innovation is crucial to survival but only 28% are innovating successfully to drive growth and increase revenue. In the U.S., which is by far the global leader in R&D spend according to UNESCO, accounting for some 30% of all spending worldwide on innovation, American companies were just about average among countries surveyed in terms of those that felt innovation efforts were producing results. In fact, more than half of companies in the U.S. surveyed in this study (58%) say innovation efforts have not been successful in helping them achieve growth, with nearly the same number (55%) saying innovation had not helped achieve profitability either.
This skeptical view of return on investment in innovation is spurring anticipation by U.S. companies that change is coming and quickly. In fact, according to the survey, when asked what changes their company had taken over the past three years and what change they foresee taking over the next three years, 57% of respondents said the biggest was their approach to innovation – the number one issue identified. Additionally, 38% of respondents – the top response – said they see innovation change in their company ramping up quickly.
“You have many companies in the U.S. that are highly innovative and are highly successful as a result,” says Peter Siggins, U.S. Region Head for PA Consulting. “However, there is a constant competitive threat for these companies and to stay in the race, they cannot stand still when it comes to sustained innovation.”
Learn from the leaders
The global innovation leaders in the PA Consulting global innovation survey point to a clear pathway for achieving innovation success. The research shows that successful innovators are more likely to:
- Focus on the future – believe their organization can deploy technology to meet customer needs (59% versus 49% of less successful peers) and excel at measuring the business case for innovation (57% versus 41%).
- Design for innovation – measure the value of innovation (61% versus 47%) and take new products and services to the market faster (61% versus 42%).
- Create an innovation culture – kill off ‘zombie’ projects earlier than their less successful peers (54% versus 40%) and reward employees for innovation (81% versus 69%).
- Build a network for innovation –source ideas for innovation from outside the organization (61% versus 52%) and have executive and leadership teams with a diverse range of skills and professional backgrounds (78% versus 66%).
“On a global scale, the companies that are most successful at innovation build it into the very fabric of their organization, use agile techniques across the business, and learn from their mistakes and successes,” states Hsiu Mei Wong, one of the authors of the innovation report and a Business Design expert at PA Consulting. “In the U.S., it’s evident that companies realize not only that innovation is critical to their survival, but that current approaches have not produced the return they desire. As a result, change is ramping up in these companies and quickly. We anticípate a significant re-directed effort regarding innovation from U.S. companies in the months ahead, which will set them up for future success in the long-term.”
Note to Editors
About the research:
The research was conducted by Longitude Research on behalf of PA Consulting in late 2016. The survey questioned 821 senior business leaders. Half were C-level, with the others comprising of a mix of senior vice president, board and director level positions.
Respondents were based in Central Europe (30%), the USA (20%), UK and Ireland (19%), the Nordics (19%), Mexico (6%) and the Gulf Corporation Council states (6%).
The breakdown by sector is as follows: energy and utilities (12%), financial services (13%), life sciences (13%), healthcare (12%), transport and logistics (13%), manufacturing (6%), consumer goods and retail (7%), defence and security (12%) and the public sector (12%).
Innovation leaders have been defined in the research as successful organisations when it comes to innovation activity. Innovation leaders are realising a substantial increase in revenue and growth as a direct result of their innovation activity. Click here to download the full report.
About PA Consulting:
We Make the Difference
An independent firm of over 2,600 people, we operate globally from offices across the Americas, Europe, the Nordics, the Gulf and Asia Pacific.
We are experts in consumer and manufacturing, defence and security, energy and utilities, financial services, government, healthcare, life sciences, and transport, travel and logistics.
Our deep industry knowledge together with skills in management consulting, technology and innovation allows us to challenge conventional thinking and deliver exceptional results that have a lasting impact on businesses, governments and communities worldwide.
Our clients choose us because we don’t just believe in making a difference. We believe in making the difference. www.paconsulting.com
SOURCE PA Consulting Group


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There are an estimated 300,000 people who work in the Loop each weekday.
On Friday and the following Monday, a good number of them will be staying home.
Citing concerns over logistics and security, some downtown businesses will close their doors, and others are encouraging employees to work from home to avoid potential headaches caused by NATO protesters.
Despite promises from organizers and Mayor Rahm Emanuel that Chicago will operate as close to normal as possible — and that the city will be "open for business" — it seems certain the Loop will look vastly different during the May 20-21 gathering of world leaders and in the days leading up to it.
Companies such as Aon and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois have distributed memos telling workers they will be allowed to telecommute Friday, when a major downtown protest is scheduled, and Monday, the last day of the NATO summit.
The American Medical Association told employees it will close its River North headquarters Monday due to "transportation challenges" caused by the summit.
There are reasons to believe the trek to and from work will be a mess.
In its memo to employees, the AMA cited road closings between downtown and McCormick Place and between downtown toO'Hare International Airport. Those closings, it noted, will affect Lake Shore Drive, area interstates and side streets.
"A lot of our employees have to travel through those congested areas," said Mike Lynch, an AMA spokesman.
Add in security concerns and Metra's plan to prohibit most carry-on items on commuter train lines — including backpacks and any bag larger than 15 inches square — and some employers are erring on the side of caution.
"We made it clear to all of our Chicagoland employees … if they can work virtual from home or another location outside of Chicago, we're totally comfortable with that," said David Prosperi, a spokesman for Aon Corp.
Prosperi said all three of Aon's offices in downtown Chicago will be open during the NATO summit, and employees who want to work at the offices are welcome to do so.
"We have plans in place that will ensure safety and security," he said. "It's up to the employees."
At Blue Cross, a memo went out to employees last week about the NATO summit, stating, "Unless you have been advised otherwise, please remember that you will not be permitted to work from the Chicago headquarters … during this time period."
Roughly 4,000 employees work at the company's offices on Randolph Street.
Company spokeswoman Mary Ann Schultz said the memo does not mean the offices will be empty. She said offices "will be open for business as usual."
"There will be employees working inside the 300 E. Randolph building," she said. "Some employees, who already have a work-from-home agreement, will be able to work remotely on those days."
No matter what, it seems evident that many of the people who populate the Loop most weekdays will be missing on Friday and Monday.
Some business owners complained that the uncertainty of what will happen during the summit makes planning difficult. A number have decided it's best to simply shut their doors.
Rosa Yamada, owner of the Designs By Rosa flower shop at 140 S. Wabash Ave., said she plans to close her store Saturday for the first time in its 20-year history, in part because she thinks road closings will make it difficult for potential customers to get to the store.
"I'm not quite sure what kind of traffic congestion there's going to be," she said. "If (the street) is going to be closed off, it makes no sense to stay open."
Next door at the venerable Loop restaurant Miller's Pub, owner Aris Gallios said he will close for three days starting Saturday and use that time to do projects such as putting in new beer lines, refinishing the wooden bar and fixing booths.
"If it wasn't for us trying to do these repairs, we would probably stay open," Gallios said.
Still, other factors figured in. The nearby Art Institute announced last week that it, along with the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium, will close from Saturday through Monday because of NATO-related logistical issues.
Since much of his weekend business comes from Art Institute patrons, Gallios said closing made more sense.
"A lot of tourists are going to shy away," he said.
Gallios said he also has security concerns and had asked his landlord about boarding up the restaurant's windows but was rebuffed.
"My landlord didn't think it was a good idea," he said. "He thinks there will be a big enough police presence."
Gallios said he remembers images from Seattle, when protesters vandalized properties during a World Trade Organization conference in 1999.
"There's just so much uncertainty," he said.
Owners of other restaurants that are staying open have been vocal about expecting a decline in traffic. And some businesses that plan to remain open will do so with added security.
Last week, workers from New Lenox-based M.O. Graphics applied a plastic film over the windows of 22 downtown Starbucks stores.
The film is designed to prevent glass from shattering into sharp pieces if it's broken by a rock or projectile.
In a statement, Starbucks said the safety and security of its employees and customers is the company's top priority.
"To prepare for the upcoming NATO summit, Starbucks is working with and will rely on the direction of local authorities and other official sources," the statement said.
A spokeswoman for Jewel-Osco said the company will keep all of its stores in the downtown area open, but adjustments will be made. The company is particularly focused on five stores in the South Loop and River North areas.
"We're not boarding up windows, but for example, at the store on Roosevelt, we are looking into putting a protective film on the windows to prevent them from shattering," said Karen May. "And we have arranged for port-a-potties outside that store for public use."
The stores will bring in additional on-site managers and change their hours of operation, May said.
"You want to be prepared for the worst-case scenario, to make sure all systems are ready if the worst happens," she said. "You don't want to get caught flat-footed."
Brian Tishuk, executive director of ChicagoFIRST, an organization of the city's major financial institutions and other companies, said security will be a priority for those businesses.
Some will hire armed guards, while others have obtained precut plywood to cover exposed or broken windows, and many have developed plans to provide for employees if they become trapped in their workplaces.
"There's been an emphasis on being sure they can lock down a building," Tishuk said.
Based on the relatively tame May Day protests earlier this month, he does not expect such measures to be necessary.
"But again, if it gets out of hand, they need to be able to respond to it," Tishuk said.
Some are considerably more optimistic.
At Beef 'N Brandy restaurant at 127 S. State St., manager Mike Calata remains hopeful the NATO summit will boost business.
Calata said the restaurant plans to stay open regular hours, but with additional security on Saturday and Sunday.
"We're overstaffing a bit," he said. "We're just keeping on our toes. There's really not much we can do to prevent anything from happening."
Tribune reporters Kathy Bergen, Ryan Haggerty and Jeff Coen contributed.
There are an estimated 300,000 people who work in the Loop each weekday.

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ComEd is 1 of only 3 Chicago-based companies to achieve this milestone
CHICAGO – March 10, 2017 – The Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Chicago and Northern Illinois is recognizing ComEd for its partnership that spans over nine decades. For the past 90 years, the BBB has worked with ComEd to support the region through their continued investments and innovative solutions for customers. ComEd is the 3rd company to reach this milestone, joining the likes of Chicago Tribune and Sears Holdings Corporation.
Through a variety of initiatives, ComEd has long been dedicated to customer satisfaction and safety. They’ve invested billions to modernize the energy grid, ensuring it is reliable, efficient, and built to sustain severe weather - so customers are better protected during storms and emergencies. The company’s determination to help customers save money and take important steps toward our state’s clean energy future has led to incredible innovations in energy efficiency programs, while also giving customers more choices and convenience when it comes to how they want to manage their energy use.
Innovations and initiatives that have helped ComEd ensure customer satisfaction include:
Steve Bernas, President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois says, “Our long term partnerships with great Chicago leaders and companies like ComEd is the fabric for building such a strong marketplace of business trust in our region. ComEd is an outstanding company that believes in a powerful mission of promoting leadership, innovation, and customer service, and we are deeply honored to celebrate this exceptional milestone.”
“ComEd’s work to invest in this region has resulted in the best reliability and customer satisfaction our customers have ever seen,” said Anne Pramaggiore, President and CEO of ComEd. “We are honored to have such an excellent and long-standing partnership with the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois. This commitment represents 90 years of being a trustworthy brand for our customers, employees, and the Chicagoland communities we proudly serve.”
About the Better Business Bureau
The BBB is a non-profit, non-governmental organization. It is supported by businesses to protect consumers against scams and other unethical business practices. The group accomplishes this by educating both consumers and businesses, and by highlighting trustworthy businesses. By developing reports and ratings on businesses and charitable organizations, the BBB encourages people to use these as resources and referrals to utilize the free services before making a purchase or donation. The BBB helps resolve buyer/seller complaints through its alternative dispute resolution process. In 2013, the BBB provided more than 22,600,000 instances of service. Over 80 percent of consumer complaints to the BBB were resolved. The Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and Northern Illinois is a member of the international BBB system that services the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation’s leading competitive energy provider, with approximately 10 million customers. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.8 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s population. For more information visit ComEd.com, and connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.


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According to Ashland, its sustainability report and webpages include examples of how the company is improving products and processes while preserving natural resources and enhancing the communities in which it operates.
October 21, 2020
Ashland Global Holdings Inc. recently published its “Corporate Sustainability Report” for 2019.
IMCD reportedly developed this new location to accommodate its expanding business, invest in its people and future growth, and complement its global digitalization initiatives to better serve its markets across the U.S.
October 21, 2020
IMCD N.V. recently announced the opening of its new U.S. headquarters in Westlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland.
The testimony focused on encouraging ITC to adopt the Rules of Origin from the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in future free trade agreements.
October 20, 2020
Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates (SOCMA) recently testified before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) on the “Economic Impact of Trade Agreements Implemented Under Trade Authorities Procedures, 2021 Report.”
Additive Electronics Conference: PCB Scale to IC Scale examines the manufacturing and design processes enabling line width and space from .003 in. to 5 microns, as well as other new advanced technologies intended to meet the ever-increasing challenges of smaller, lighter, and more powerful electronic devices.
A virtual event in 2020, The ASSEMBLY Show focuses exclusively on assembly technology, equipment, and products. Registered attendees will enjoy advance access to the virtual platform, flexible scheduling, access to all sessions streaming on-demand, virtual networking, live chat and appointment making, and the opportunity to engage with experienced assembly manufacturing professionals.
A virtual event in 2020, this year's program will continue to feature a PSTC update and three keynote presentations, which will serve as support and a resource to help members during this public health emergency. Read More
This virtual technical short course will review common additives used in formulating adhesives, provide perspective on polymer structure/property relationships, and describe how to build formulations for desired processing and performance characteristics within market applications and across technology types.


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UPDATE: It's now been confirmed that Extell is partnering with Hard Rock on a 445-room hotel set to rise on West 48th Street between Avenue of the Americas and Seventh Avenue, also known as Music Row. Representatives for both organization confirmed the news, which the New York Post had speculated on Sunday, at a press conference held at Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square.
"We're in the middle of a strategic shift and looking more aggressively for hotel and casino opportunities," the CEO at Hard Rock International, said at the conference. "Gary [Extell chief] is an expert in hotel development, and from our perspective this is a great collaboration. In terms of our branding, staying in the Times Square makes the most sense."
The new hotel will include tons of memorabilia from contemporary and iconic musicians. Some of the other features of the hotel include a lobby lounge, restaurant, and bar, a rooftop lounge, and an underground speakeasy.
News emerged last week that the Hard Rock brand would make a major real estate announcement on Monday, and publications have since started speculating on the site of what is expected to be the city's first Hard Rock Hotel.
Hard Rock is partnering with Extell Development Company on the project, and Crain's speculated last week that it might be a site on Eighth Avenue between West 45th and 46th Streets.
On Sunday, the New York Post printed an exact address — 159 West 48th Street, currently home to a seven-story garage. That section of West 48th Street, between the Avenue of the Americas and Seventh Avenue, is also fittingly known as Music Row. The last of the music shops on the street shuttered down last year, and according to the Post, Hard Rock wants to recreate that atmosphere on the street.
For Extell, this is just the latest sign of the company's expanding real estate empire in Midtown. Apart from Central Park Tower, there's also speculation about a giant shopping mall on Fifth Avenue between West 46th and 47th Streets.
Representatives for Hard Rock and Extell have declined to comment on the development just yet, but the group is set to unveil details about the project at an event this afternoon. Curbed will be in attendance, so check back later in the day for updates.


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Paxful is the best place to buy bitcoin instantly with Amazon Gift Card. to our Youtube channel.DOCS: The Girl Whose. bon coin suisse graph of bitcoin since 2018 bitcoin trezor bitcoin topics.Last year, successful startup CEO and Bitcoin community hero Tony Gallippi testified before Congress on behalf of the oft-maligned crypto-libertarian dream currency.The beauty of Bitcoin is that it provides anyone with a chance to.Download Videos from Youtube, Vimeo, Facebook and many others for free without plugins.
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Inside the world of Chinese bitcoin mining | | Al JazeeraYouTube TV is a TV streaming service that lets you watch live TV from major broadcast and popular cable networks.I mainly vlog about bitcoin, blockchain, tech, and cool things.
This is the first article in a three-part series on whether or not Bitcoin makes a good investment.Coinbase is a secure online platform for buying, selling, transferring, and storing digital currency.
Amazon.com: The Bitcoin Experiment: Pal Karleson: Amazon
It borrows physical metaphors from all over the place adding to the confusion. It.Sun girl gets chip that has contact info, bitcoin and FACEBOOK profile implanted into her hand. Comments.
Lance Bass lost a bidding war on ‘The Brady Bunch’ house
The Sex Workers' Guide to Bitcoin - MotherboardReddit gives you the best of the. she does a lot of Bitcoin Girl style music. the girl didnt even post the correct bitcoin addy in youtube comments.
The Rise and rise of Bitcoin - Al Jazeera
For anyone who has not fully understood the controversial Bitcoin yet, this is a concise and informative crash course about Money and Crypto Currencies.Katie Notopoulos is a senior editor for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York.


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Less than a week after Persecutioninamerica.com reported on the recent banning of "No Dress For Timmy," Amazon has reinstated the book on its e-commerce platform.
After LGBT activists pressured Amazon to remove all anti-transgender and anti-homosexual materials including the children’s book “No Dress for Timmy, ” Amazon decided to ban the book. No Dress for Timmy is a story about a Christian boy refusing to go along with his teacher’s progressive transgender agenda.
A small number of news channels including Persecutioninamerica.com reported on the story. SHefflorn Ballantyne the author of the book, contacted Persecution In America staff, personally thanking our platform for spreading the news. Praise be to God that through you our readers, He has given us victory.


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just the Round-Up - The week in drinks
The week in drinks
The top ten stories published on just-drinks this week:
Budweiser remains the most valuable alcoholic drinks brand in the world after the self-styled 'King of Beers' fended off challenges from Heineken and Corona Extra, according to consultancy group Interbrand.
The CEO of SABMiller, Graham Mackay, has confirmed that the multinational brewer has taken a look at Foster's Group's Australian beer arm.
Nemiroff vodka has topped the latest list of elite spirits brands issued annually by research group IWSR.
Whyte & Mackay is locked in a potentially costly court battle with the distributor of its John Barr blended Scotch whisky in the US, Capstone International.
Plans to implement a minimum price on alcoholic drinks in Scotland have been dealt a fatal blow by opposition politicians in the country's Parliament.
Belvédère has suffered a potentially serious setback to its financial recovery plan after a court confirmed that the French drinks group must pay back debt more quickly than previously expected.
Blavod Wines & Spirits is set to part ways with Cockspur rum in the UK, less than a month after it emerged that the two parties were in a dispute over their distribution contract.
Diageo has launched Swedish vodka brand Rokk in the US.
Whyte & Mackay will be the new distributor for Cockspur rum in the UK and Ireland following the brand's split from Blavod Wine & Spirits.
A consumer shift to drinking wine and beer at home has been blamed for UK retailers missing their waste reduction targets, according to an official report.
The Public Health Responsibility Deal, unveiled by the UK government today, underlines its commitment to voluntary company-led measures to tackle alcohol-related problems. However, Ben Cooper believes...
- Rekorderlig Deal Sees Molson Coors Miss Out
- Comment - Diageo CFO to North America? Do the Math
- 5 reasons why Constellation's Meiomi buy works
- Hail Marie Brizard: But, For How Long?
- Constellation Brands basks in beer glory
- Diageo ditches Shui Jing Fang plans in China
- MillerCoors changes CMOs with immediate effect
- C&C Group chairman backs CEO amid turmoil
- Diageo turns to W Ice in South Korea
- Bacardi buys Banks rum


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10:27 p.m. Oct. 22, 2020
InterContinental Hotels sees 3Q improvementsInterContinental Hotels Group PLC said Friday that comparable revenue per available room for the third quarter fell, but less than in the previous quarter, as it achieved a positive cash flow and improved occupancy rates during the period.
12:45 p.m. Oct. 22, 2020
Boston Beer's Q3 profit up on hard seltzer demandBoston Beer Co. reported a higher profit for the third quarter amid increased demand for its boozy seltzer and tea drinks. The company behind Sam Adams beer, Truly Hard Seltzer and other drinks reported net income of $80.8 million, or $6.51 a share, up from $44.7 million, or $3.65 a share, for the year-earlier period.
11:58 a.m. Oct. 22, 2020
'Windy City Rehab' star Alison Victoria is selling her $2.3 million Chicago brownstoneThe "Windy City Rehab" star Alison Victoria is now selling her Chicago home for $2,295,000, People magazine reported.
11:46 a.m. Oct. 22, 2020
- By Silvia Ascarelli
We love to ski but are struggling even with a $1 million house budget — what’s an affordable ski town where we can retire?Oh, it should have good lakes and water sports nearby and not be too touristy.
10:53 a.m. Oct. 22, 2020
- By Rachel Koning Beals
Can Burger King's reusable packaging change fast food forever?Burger King is testing reusable packaging in New York. Portland and Tokyo, nudging customers to return these specialized Whopper boxes and soda and coffee cups for a wash and a repeat use.
10:44 a.m. Oct. 22, 2020
Facebook Dating is taking on Tinder. Here's why its success isn’t guaranteed, warns this analystEuropeans can now add finding a romantic partner to the list of things they can do on Facebook, after the latest expansion of the dating service from the world’s largest social media company.
10:39 a.m. Oct. 22, 2020
What a second COVID wave will do to liquor sales in the festive periodSales of the French spirits maker Pernod Ricard rebounded faster than expected in the quarter ended in September, but the company cautioned that the last three months of 2020 would be “heavily impacted” by the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe.
9:32 a.m. Oct. 22, 2020
- By Tonya Garcia
Chipotle price target raised based on long-term growth potential but shares fall as delivery becomes a headwindAnalysts at BTIG raised their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. to $1,450 from $1,375 after the fast-casual chain reported third-quarter earnings that beat expectations. BTIG maintained its buy stock rating. While analysts there and at other research groups are upbeat about the prospects for Chipotle due to its digital efforts, menu innovation and other factors, . "We see some near-term potential headwinds related to delivery, as this lower-margin channel has jumped to nearly 25% of sales, though it's not significant enough to alter our view as our favorable long-term sales and earnings outlook keeps us positive on shares," BTIG analysts led by Peter Saleh wrote. Chipotle stock has rallied 55.7% for the year to date while the S&P 500 index is up 6.7% for the period.
7:36 a.m. Oct. 22, 2020
- By Geoff Nudelman
Good Company: Rethink’s Plan to Improve America’s Broken Food ChainBehind plenty of culinary star power, the bi-coastal initiative is rallying restaurants to create meals out of repurposed food for people in need
7:27 a.m. Oct. 22, 2020
- By Rachel Koning Beals
Tim Hortons joins coffee chains dropping the double cup to save 'hundreds of millions' from landfills each yearTim Hortons is ending the practice of double cupping hot drinks, a move it says will eliminate hundreds of millions of cups from landfills each year. The Restaurant Brands International chain will instead provide customers with a thick paper sleeve.
6:14 a.m. Oct. 22, 2020
- By Barbara Kollmeyer
Why the time is right for these three unloved small cap stocks, says fourth-generation money manager Our call of the day comes from a fourth-generation money manager who specializes in finding overlooked smaller companies.
5:25 a.m. Oct. 22, 2020
Preparing for a Vaccine With Call Options
These 35 stocks have trailed the S&P 500 index by about 10% over the past month and about 48% this year. They should benefit from an economic reopening.
3:48 a.m. Oct. 22, 2020
- By Jeremy C. Owens
Chipotle sales bounce back from pandemic decline, but the stock is fallingChipotle Mexican Grill Inc. returned to sales growth despite the COVID-19 pandemic over the summer, the company reported on Wednesday, but shares still declined after a sustained run higher.
1:30 a.m. Oct. 22, 2020
Are China’s Bonds as Safe as Treasuries? Not Quite. But They’re Closer Than You Think.
Investing in Chinese bonds certainly poses some risks, but many fears are overblown. Global bond fund managers are increasingly looking to China for not just yield, but safety as well.
4:57 p.m. Oct. 21, 2020
- By Mike Murphy
Airbnb to collaborate with former Apple design chief Jony IveAirbnb is teaming up with legendary former Apple Inc. design chief Jony Ive to develop new products and services.
2:56 p.m. Oct. 21, 2020
Chipotle Had a Great Quarter. Expect More of That, CEO Says.
Chipotle’s digital drive-throughs are a big hit with customers, and is a model for the company’s future, CEO Brian Niccol says.
1:10 p.m. Oct. 21, 2020
Upbeat Earnings Aren’t Enough to Lift Chipotle
Expectations are high for one of the restaurant sector’s biggest 2020 winners.
10:55 a.m. Oct. 21, 2020
- By Tonya Garcia
Chipotle earnings preview: Carne asada was back on the menu, and digital and delivery are sales drivers, analysts sayKeyBanc Capital Markets raised its price target to $1,475 from $1,300 leading into Chipotle’s third-quarter earnings
10:21 a.m. Oct. 21, 2020
Why European governments are seeing more local lockdown rebellions during the autumn COVID spikeEuropean governments are facing increasing opposition from local elected officials to their targeted lockdowns.
10:20 a.m. Oct. 21, 2020
Manchester's lockdown rebellion fails, as Boris Johnson forces region into tougher COVID restrictions amid bitter showdownPrime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Tuesday that Greater Manchester will move into the U.K.’s “very high” COVID-19 alert level.
4:14 a.m. Oct. 21, 2020
- By Barbara Kollmeyer
European stocks decline for a third straight session, with focus on U.S. stimulus and rising COVID-19 casesEuropean equities fell on Wednesday, and U.S. stock futures gave up a grip on gains, as investors kept a close watch on stimulus talks and concerns over rising virus cases on both sides of the Atlantic. Earnings news was also keeping investors busy.
3:02 a.m. Oct. 21, 2020
- By Rupert Steiner
Sweden prepares to join the rest of the world with lockdowns — but they are voluntaryAuthorities “strongly recommend” citizens don’t go to bars, restaurants, and nonessential shops, despite having built some immunity in the population.
1:01 a.m. Oct. 21, 2020
- By Sam Kemmis
Change for the better? How travel might look after the pandemic Hotels with the remote worker in mind, and keeping politics out of travel safetyWhile the present moment remains dismal, let’s cast our minds forward to a utopian travel future
12:30 a.m. Oct. 21, 2020
Why Meal-Kit Service HelloFresh Is a Stock for Hungry Investors
HelloFresh, which sends subscribers pre-portioned ingredients with a step-by-step guide to create meals, has raised raised earnings guidance several times this year as more people dine at home due to Covid restrictions.
10:36 p.m. Oct. 20, 2020
U.K. inflation acclerates in SeptemberLONDON--Annual inflation in the U.K. accelerated in September following the end of a government program that cut the bill for dining out. Consumer prices rose 0.5% on year in September compared with a 0.2% rise in August, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday. The rise was driven by higher transport costs, as well as higher prices at restaurants, following the end of the Treasury's Eat Out to Help Out program, which cut the price of meals.
3:35 p.m. Oct. 20, 2020
Disneyland Could Stay Closed Into 2021. What to Know.
Both Disney and Comcast reopened parks in Florida, where the state has opted for looser guidelines on large gatherings. Shares of both Disney and Comcast were flat in after-hours trading.
9:26 a.m. Oct. 20, 2020
- By Joy Wiltermuth
California's fabled wine region is having 'the most horrible, devastating and catastrophic year'The Glass Fire burned down a dozen Napa Valley area wineries and left others with painful losses, adding to a brutal year for the famed winemaking region.
6:13 a.m. Oct. 20, 2020
4 Fast-Food Stocks Worth Betting On
J.P. Morgan warns that some restaurant stocks will continue to struggle. Here are four analyst John Ivankoe favors.
5:52 a.m. Oct. 20, 2020
Why I miss my weekly poker game of 25 yearsOur poker game is similar to the one in “The Odd Couple." We could talk or debate loudly about sports, politics, foreign policy, restaurants, movies and TV shows.
5:52 a.m. Oct. 20, 2020
Thanksgiving in October, and 4 holidays in one week: How Americans are celebrating differently in 2020One family met on Leif Erikson Day, and they're not the only ones celebrating Thanksgiving much differently than usual in 2020
4:53 a.m. Oct. 20, 2020
- By Ciara Linnane
Burger King parent Restaurant Brands offers $500 million of 9-year bondsRestaurant Brands International Inc. said Tuesday it has launched an offering of $500 million of nine-year bonds. Proceeds will be combined with cash on hand to redeem part of the outstanding principal amount of the parent of Burger King's 4.25% first lien senior secured notes due 2024. Shares rose 2.3% premarket, but are down 12% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 6%.
4:00 a.m. Oct. 20, 2020
The Artificial Intelligence at the Heart of Your Last Shopping Spree
Companies have more information than ever before thanks to Covid-19—and more computing power than ever before to parse it for patterns that keep customers loyal.
3:48 a.m. Oct. 20, 2020
- By Peter Morici
Squabbling politicians lose sight of the urgency of getting America back to workThe political class in Washington has loss sight of the urgent need to get Americans back to work.
1:04 a.m. Oct. 20, 2020
- By Sally French
10 theme parks where Halloween is still happening Here’s a guide to the best spots if you still want to celebrate Halloween, and how to get there on pointsIs Halloween canceled this year? It might be in your neighborhood, but it’s not canceled everywhere.
2:35 p.m. Oct. 19, 2020
- By Fang Block
Eleven Madison Park Gets Into the Takeout Game, Joining PeersThe high-end Manhattan establishment is the latest Michelin-starred fine-dining spot to offer pricey to-go options
12:43 p.m. Oct. 19, 2020
Here Are Stocks That Benefit Under Different Election Outcomes
A “blue wave” Democratic win of the White House and both chambers of Congress favors small-cap stocks and those in cyclical industries, according to Raymond James.
12:40 p.m. Oct. 19, 2020
- By Joy Wiltermuth
Dow books worst day in four weeks, falls over 400 points, as investors fret odds of stimulus deal before electionU.S. stocks close near session lows Monday, as investors gauge the odds of a stimulus package getting completed before Nov. 3.
11:04 a.m. Oct. 19, 2020
Former NHL All-Star Martin St. Louis is selling his $16 million waterfront Connecticut estateFormer NHL All-Star Martin St. Louis is close to a big score. The now-retired right wing listed his massive mansion in Riverside, CT, for $16 million a couple of weeks ago, and already has an offer in—the home is in contingent sale status.
10:51 a.m. Oct. 19, 2020
Alibaba Takes On Walmart in China With $3.6 Billion Investment in Hypermarket Chain
The e-commerce giant plans to double its stake in Sun Art Retail Group, which operates stores in China under the RT-Mart and Auchan brands.
10:28 a.m. Oct. 19, 2020
Manchester’s lockdown rebellion puts Boris Johnson in a tight spot Several members of Parliament from Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ruling Conservative Party have joined the rising opposition to stricter COVID-19 measures.


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Unless you happened to have been locked away in a basement for the past week or so you can’t have failed to hear last week’s announcement about Intel and Samsung teaming up to create a new open-source operating system based on Linux.
This new joint venture is called Tizen and it’s a fusion of Intel’s MeeGo mobile operating system and Samsung’s LiMo software.
While many pundits have said the deal sounds the death knell for MeeGo it seems more like a case of ‘MeeGo is dead, Long Live MeeGo.’
Jim Zemlin, the executive director of the Linux Foundation points out that like MeeGo, the Tizen platform will focus on HTML5-based applications and the aim is for it to work on a variety devices.
At one level the move can be seen as an attempt to break up the duopoly of Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS software in the mobile-device market.
While it’s clearly very early days for Tizen, for developers, in the long term, Softtalkmobile thinks its good news.
Samsung is a hefty device manufacturer and to date it has developed smartphones and tablets on other companies’ operating systems.
Intel is the world’s biggest chip giant and is determined to break into the smartphone and tablet device market for its processors. It can throw an enormous amount of muscle behind things and I wouldn’t bet against it achieving its objectives.
That said, MeeGo has been a bit of a sorry tale, but in truth the fact that it didn’t really take off can largely be ascribed to Nokia’s market meanderings.
The Scandinavian device manufacturer has lost its way recently across many areas of its business. Its failure to give MeeGo the attention it deserved is just one example.
However, Samsung is a different proposition and armed with experience and motivation, and Intel’s firm grip on the future of mobile computing, at Softtalkmobile we reckon these two heavyweights will make a significant impact in the market.
Of course this isn’t going to happen overnight, Tizen is slated for release, in the first quarter of 2012, and it’s likely to be slow burn affair.
For sure, MeeGo has had its detractors and some of its critics have been searingley caustic about the Intel/Samsung tie up. But within the context of a device marketplace that is evolving at a staggeringly fast pace and an eye to the future in which computing will no longer be defined by the use of computers alone, Tizen seems like a good bet.
Let’s face it, how many people are going to want to be dependent upon the Android and iOS when the device market place truly opens up beyond smartphones and tablets? Developers are going to want platforms that ensure software can smoothly transit from a tablet to a smartphone to a smart TV to in-car entertainment systems or whichever device is being snapped up by people.
Today, developers may not think like this. Their focus is surely on the platform that offers the highest returns in terms of money and exposure. But listen up a minute.
Recently, there’s been a fair bit of talk about the post-digital world. Briefly the post-digital world is characterised by a ‘who cares’ what the OS is or the software – just let the device do its thing with the apps people want to use.
For example, when you go on a road trip you don’t spend hours twittering about the marvels of the combustion engine. In a post-digital world people won’t care about the OS.
Here at Softtalkmobile, we reckon that once the dust settles, the chattering ceases and Tizen-based devices begin appearing, Tizen will be a signpost OS that lets developers develop for any device and lets users use their favourite apps on any device.
Ok, we’re sticking our necks out, but we’re not looking at today, tomorrow or even next year – we’re taking the long view and the long view is emergence into the post digital world.
This blog post is written by Softtalkmobile, and is sponsored by the Intel AppUp developer program, a single channel for distributing apps to multiple devices, multiple operating systems, and multiple app stores.


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Higher cost of imported goods to eat up Canadian gas savings: report
Canadians may be rubbing their hands with glee at the money they’re saving at the gas pumps, but there are consequences of lower oil prices that could hit other parts of their budgets, a TD Bank report notes.
Canadian households will save an average of up to $800 this year on gasoline as a result of oil’s 50-per-cent plunge since last summer, TD economists say.
However, roughly two-thirds of those savings could be eaten up by the higher cost of imported consumer goods, such as food, clothing and health care products, now that the Canadian dollar has depreciated amid oil’s decline.
“The weaker dollar is likely to put offsetting upward pressure on a number of consumer prices. By our calculations, this pass-through impact may be as much as $600 per household,” says the report, written by TD economists Craig Alexander, Derek Burleton and Randall Bartlett.
Even gasoline prices are starting to creep higher, in part because Canada imports some fuel from U.S. refineries.
“However, on a net basis, households are still likely to end up ahead and to largely spend the savings,’ the report states.
The estimate comes as part of the bank’s updated forecast for the Canadian economy. TD expects economic growth to slow in the first quarter before picking up later this year.
Cost of imported goods to rise
TD economists predict the Canadian dollar will remain suppressed, possibly falling to around 75 cents U.S. in the coming months, a 20-per-cent drop from mid-2014, before the price of oil started to tank.
The lower loonie’s impact is already showing up in consumer prices such as fresh fruits and vegetables, but could take months to creep into the cost of other consumer goods amid stiff competition in the retail sector, said Bartlett of TD Bank.
“A lot of retailers will absorb some of the increase in the short term,” he said.
However, the longer the loonie stays low the more likely costs of imported goods will increase.
“It takes time, but it ultimately it does start feeding into the cost of goods, as retailers are no longer able to absorb the higher costs,” Bartlett says.
Statistics Canada reported last week that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by only 1 per cent in February, compared to a year earlier, thanks to lower gas prices. When gas prices were taken out of the equation, the CPI rose 2.2 per cent year-over-year.
Food prices increased the most, by 3.9 per cent in the 12 months to February, which included a 12.4-per-cent increase in meat costs, 8.4 per cent for fresh vegetables and 3.5 per cent for fresh fruit. Prices for food purchased from restaurants rose 2.8 per cent year-over-year in February, StatsCan reported.
In separate report released last week, TD economist Diana Petramala noted food prices in the U.S. had also been rising until late last year, due in part to drought and disease in some growing regions that has cut global production of various crops.
“This changed in January when food prices decelerated in the U.S., but accelerated in Canada,” Petramala wrote. “Global food price pressures are still the dominant force keeping food price gains elevated in Canada.”
She estimates a third of the increase in January can be attributed to the lower Canadian dollar.
TD is forecasting food prices in Canada to increase by about 3 per cent overall in 2015.
Prices for personal items such as toothpaste and bathroom tissues are also “highly sensitive to changes in the Canadian dollar,” Petramala notes, adding those costs could increase by about six per cent over the next year thanks again to the falling loonie.
TD also expects clothing and footwear prices to see an immediate increase, and rise by about 2 per cent this year, “which in our estimates could be fully chalked up to Canadian dollar pass through,” Petramala wrote.
She said overall prices for recreation, reading and education goods and services will rise by just over 1 per cent, about half of which is due to the depreciating loonie, some taking longer than others to take effect.
“Since the Canadian dollar tends to impact most prices with a four-to-six quarter lag, the full effect of the weaker exchange rate is likely to be felt through the first half of 2015,” she wrote. “The impact of the currency will be largest on items with high import content, which we estimate account for almost half of consumer spending.”


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Beyonce and Jay Z were spotted in New York City heading to dinner at La Esquina. It was reported earlier, that due to a deal not yet inked with Sony, Tidal could possibly lose access to alot of Beyonce’s catalog. As you can tell from these photos, Bey is completely #Unbothered. Check out photos from the outing in our gallery.
UPDATE: Unbothered? Exactly!
“Jay Z is a friend and business associate for many years,” Sony Music Entertainment CEO Doug Morris said in a statement to Billboard. “I have always admired his business acumen, his entrepreneurship and his passion for music. All of our content, including Beyonce, is available through the Tidal service, and we have announced no plans to remove our catalog from Tidal. Like all of our other partners, we are rooting for Jay and Tidal to succeed.”
A source familiar with the situation tells Billboard that Sony Music’s negotiations with Tidal are still underway, but the statement from Morris seems to indicate that there’s little chance of those talks ending with Beyonce being removed from the service. As well, users are still able to access Sony’s catalog on the service.
Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group both confirmed that they had re-licensed their catalogs to Tidal.


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The Davis Food Co-op invites the public to the “Return of The Really Delicious Tasting Fair” on Saturday, June 28, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the store, 620 G St.
The fair offers the opportunity to meet the people who make food sold at the Co-op, and try samples. Makers include Rancho Llano Seco, Mary’s Gone Crackers, Nancy’s, KeVita, Sudwerk, Swerve, Bigelow Tea, Sola Bee, Haig’s Hummus and Just Mayo. The event is free, and takes place throughout the store.
For more information, contact Julie Cross at [email protected] or 530-758-2667.


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Companies take extreme measures to guard against rampant shoplifting and organized crime theft
Retail theft It has swelled in the past few years, causing billions of dollars in trouble for retailers and forcing companies to take drastic measures to guard against lost profits.
Many pharmacies, grocery stores, and other retailers have shortened store hours or have been forced to close permanently as locked merchandise has become commonplace to protect against shoplifters and thieves.
“It has to do with all the shoplifting,” a Walgreens employee told Fox Business last month about why ice cream freezers are secured with chains and locks.
The National Retail Federation reported last month that crime has taken its toll on retailers across the country, costing businesses about $94.5 billion. It’s affected businesses large and small, with Target reporting a 50% increase in shoplifting incidents last year, which amounts to a whopping $400 million in losses.
NYC WALGREENS store keeps ice in chain freezer, locks up candy amid ongoing shopping frenzy
New report Released by DealAid, which was provided to Fox News Digital, found that more than 80% of retailers across the country had seen an increase in robbery-related violence last year. About 56% of small retail businesses were robbed in the past year, and 46% of small businesses had to increase prices due to theft losses, according to the report.
As Walmart CEO warns of crime wave’s impact on retail, reports show how thieves are robbing stores
In addition to installing more special security measures such as cameras, security guards, and dedicated retail loss prevention team members, some stores are taking more high-tech measures to protect their merchandise.
Home repair chain Lowe’s has announced a campaign against power tool thefts, with a new process that will leave items virtually unusable after they’re stolen. A new initiative called “Project Unlock” will use RFID chips and scanners to activate power tools when you purchase them.
If a power tool is stolen and it is not activated upon check out, it will not be turned on.
“Over the past few years, thefts — largely driven by organized groups — have skyrocketed across the entire retail industry,” Louise said in a December 2022 video announcing the initiative. “The end result has been faithful store experiences that punish customers.”
“We think there are better ways to reduce theft than closing products.”
Home Depot started a similar initiative last year to protect its power tools.
But for many other retailers, closing merchandise remains the main response to rising crime — especially in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.
WALMART CEO Doug McMillon says theft is ‘higher than it has been historically’
“Everyone is shutting down everything. It’s a siege mentality,” Joe Budano, CEO of Indyme, told Forbes last year. Indyme is a San Diego-based company that sells security devices such as help buttons that customers hit when they need an employee to retrieve something from a locked safe, and according to Budano, the business boomed 40% last year.
Customers at some drugstores and supermarkets have seen everything from candy to mascara to nasal sprays go under lock and key in recent months, prompting frustration.
“I always had a hard time finding an employee to come open them,” Arizona native Roger Evans told Insider last month about why he stopped shopping at Walgreens and CVS for razors. “The drug stores were constantly understaffed.”
Although security helps prevent theft, it risks losing customers because of the extra waiting time for a store employee to come and open a locker or product, critics said. Bodano estimated that retailers typically see a 15% to 25% drop in sales on customers who refuse to buy a closed item, choosing to buy online or at a different store instead.
Some small shops which sells high-end items, such as jewelry, has moved to operate on an appointment-only basis.
In New York City earlier this month, a jewelry store was targeted by masked thieves who stole up to $2 million worth of gemstones in less than one minute.
The Brooklyn jewelry store will now operate on an appointment-only basis until it installs more security measures. The New York Post reported in April that it was a tactic that Madison Avenue stores on the Upper East Side used last year to combat daytime shoplifters.
San Francisco police are secretly rounding up retail stores and pharmacies
Small business owners without national chain money are getting more creative to protect their inventory.
A bar owner in Houston, Texas, told Fox News:Fox and friendsThis month he has been sleeping in his restaurant to protect against burglary.
“This is a major problem in our city right now,” said Raul Jacobo, owner of Cobo’s Barbecue. Co-host Carly Schmkus. “If I get frustrated… based on these robberies, I can imagine how families feel that they have already lost loved ones because some of the criminals are put back on the street.”
Theft is easy, says SF Shopping Compact, and Lax security puts where the store is cracking down
He added, “It’s just a very frustrating situation…all around…we have no choice but to sleep in our institutions just to protect what we have.”
In Philadelphia, a gas station owner has hired private security guards wearing Kevlar jackets and armed with AR-15 rifles or shotguns to protect the facility.
In the past year, San Francisco police have been monitoring popular retailers like Walgreens, Old Navy, Target, Whole Foods, CVS, and Macy’s to catch shoplifters and other retail thieves.
Shoplifting and organized retail theft are unlikely to disappear from stores this year, experts said.
Click here to read more from FOX BUSINESS
The study published by DealAid shows that organized retail crime increased 26.5% last year, but the vast majority of retailers, at about 68%, do not have departments dedicated to preventing organized retail crime, such as smash-and-grabs.


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ASM Raisul M Hasan Shoaib, Director, SIM Group
Industrialization is a major reason for the economic development of a country. It plays a significant role in transforming the monetary structure of developing nations
Textile industry is a major contributor to the economic growth of any country. The contribution of gas as fuel to keep the wheel of this economy moving is immense. Gas is the cleanest and most economical fuel used in variety of applications such as dyeing, bleaching, drying, singing and heat-setting. Singing is done by passing the yarn/ fabric over a gas flame to burn the protruding material.
Gas is the economical fuel in the textile industry. Different types of gas are used as fuel in textile industry such as nitrogen gas, oxygen gas, sulphur di oxide gas, oxide of nitrogen gas etc. Nitrogen gas and oxygen scavengers are used to fading and color changing in dyed textiles. Nitrogen gas has flown under-the-radar in its benefits to textile production and processes. Nitrogen is one of the most sought after chemical molecules in many industrial manufacturing process. Due to its inert nature, this gas is widely used in textile factories.
Production in spinning mills in this peak season has remained halted over the past few month because of a severe crisis of gas for overhauling at the Bibiyana gas field.
Following the suspension in production, the millers are fearing that the export of garment items will be affected because of delayed supply of yarn to the export-oriented garment factories. Usually, textile and spinning mills require supplies of a substantial amount of gas.
The suffering spinning and textile mills are in the major industrial zones like Gazipur, Savar, Ashulia, Shreepur, Dhaka, Narayanganj, Narsingdi and Bhaluka.
Almost all major textile mills have remained shut over the past five to six days because of the severity of the gas crisis. We want a quick solution as we have to supply raw materials to our buyers
We have requested the government to ensure adequate gas supply for saving our export-oriented industry. If the government spends two to five billion [US] dollars from the forex reserve for a smooth gas supply to our industry, we will be able to give back 10–15 billion to the reserve in the coming days,
The country’s export-oriented textile sector has incurred production loss worth $1.75 billion in the last three months owing to the lack of enough natural gas supply to the factories, according to the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA).
The gas supply has been severely disrupted recently, where some factories run their production by shutting down 70% of its machinery. If the issue of gas shortage gets prolonged, the production of yarn will be disrupted significantly, which will have a negative impact on the country’s textile industry.


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Police are investigating after more than 20 people reported their credit and debit cards had been compromised.
Investigators are now looking for the two men believed responsible.
The common thread between the victims is the Stella Grocery in Newalla, Oklahoma located on Southeast 149th Street and South Peebly Road.
Detectives say that the victims used either the store's ATM or credit card machine.
“By the end of the day yesterday, I had about 16 or so reports from different victims. And as of now, I'm up to probably around 25,” Detective Jason Crouch with Shawnee Police Department said.
Authorities released surveillance video Tuesday.
The video shows two men in a minivan inserting card after card and withdrawing money from multiple accounts.
Most were $140 to $500.
Police say no one's cards were taken out of their possession. Instead, the suspects put the information on the magnetic strip of blank cards.
The withdrawals were mostly made at two different First United Bank ATM's in Shawnee.
How the thieves obtained the information from Stella Grocery, is still being investigated.
“Whether they were using skimmers, or whether they were using some other device to gather the information,” Detective Crouch said.
And police are still trying to figure out how the suspects acquired the victims pin numbers.
Shawnee Police asks that if you do recognize the suspects, to contact them immediately.
Stella Grocery has disabled their ATM and will continue to cooperate with police in the investigation.


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Hyundai continues to expand its line-up, just revealing an all-new, B-segment crossover utility vehicle dubbed the Bayon. Designed specifically for markets in Europe, it’s the latest and smallest member of Hyundai’s growing family of utes.
“As the SUV body type continues growing in popularity throughout the world, Hyundai saw a demand for a model capable of navigating European cities while at the same time providing enough space to meet customers’ needs,” according to Andreas-Christoph Hofmann, vice president of Marketing & Product at Hyundai Motor Europe.
Although more than two thirds of the Hyundai sold in the United States are utilities in a range of sizes, the Bayon is not scheduled for sale in the U.S., Hyundai officials said. But that could change if gasoline prices rise and the rising prices of new vehicles leaves more and more buyers on sideline, making small vehicles more attractive.
Bayon enjoys full menu of new tech
The Bayon comes to market with what the automaker touts as top-notch connectivity and other tech, as well as a distinctive design and 48-volt mild-hybrid technology.
“Class-leading connectivity and safety features, a sharp and distinctive design, and the integration of Hyundai’s signature 48-volt mild hybrid technology make Bayon stand out in its segment,” Hoffman said.
The Bayon features a roomy interior, and intelligent safety features, making them more accessible. The cabin maximizes front and rear passenger comfort. The interior is defined by a range of equipment, including a 10.25-inch digital cluster and a 10.25-inch AVN or 8-inch Display Audio.
Occupants benefit from LED ambient lighting technology integrated into the front passenger foot areas, door wells, and front door pull handle areas, as well as the storage area below the center console.
Exterior boasts modern look
It also features the latest exterior design statement within the Hyundai SUV family, with distinctive proportions and strong graphic features that encompasses the Hyundai design identity with “Sensuous Sportiness.”
“With its sharp look and integration of Hyundai’s SUV key design elements, Bayon solidifies Hyundai’s SUV design direction,” said Luc Donckerwolke, chief creative officer at Hyundai Motor Group. “Bayon’s unique and confident look, embodied in its strong lines and arrow-shaped lights, is expected to establish it as the most unique, outstanding entry in the thriving European B-segment SUV.”
The Bayon name was inspired by a vacation hotspot: Bayonne, the capital of the French Basque country and a popular destination in southwest of France. As the Bayon is designed to meet the demands of the European market, the company decided to give it a European name.
With Bayon, Hyundai has now launched or enhanced seven new models in 12 months – or 20, counting all body types and powertrain variations, company officials said.


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Displaying items 49-60 of 870 » View wsbtradio.com items only< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11-73 Next >
firstname.lastname@example.orgNicholasville soon will have a new shopping option when Marshalls relocates its Lexington store to Brannon Crossing. The “off-price” retailer plans to open its store at 240 E. Brannon Road March 21, according to a news release. The...
Daily American Staff Writer, @damichellegThe former Fashion Bug building along North Center Avenue in Somerset Township will not stay vacant much longer. Label Shopper, a New York-based clothing retailer, is in the process of hiring staff to open in the former clothing store space. ...
Tags: Clothing, Services and Shopping
Special to the Los Angeles TimesIt has been more than a decade since Target launched its first designer collaboration, sparking a seemingly endless number of imitators. The pairings lure customers with the promise of designer looks at mass market prices, while the designers and...
Tags: Justin Bieber, Fred Perry, Target, Marchesa, Hussein Chalayan
Los Angeles Times Fashion CriticMarni comes to L.A. The Marni for H&M collection launched in L.A. with a star-studded soiree that included Drew Barrymore, Andrea Riseborough, Jessica Chastain, Milla Jovovich, Lily Collins, Freida Pinto and Winona Ryder. The setting — the 1926...
The other thing that happened on Groundhog Day is that Elizabeth Stirba, a Parkland High School senior, became the face of Le Femme Boutique. Fewer people heard about this than heard about Punxsutawney Phil's prediction of an early spring, but both...
Maryville Academy was like extended family as Kelly Golden grew up. In the 1980s, Golden's father, George Rourke, began volunteering with friend John Madden at Maryville, a network of centers and services to guide children who have experienced trauma or...
L’il Baby Sprouts, a high-end baby boutique offering apparel, bassinettes, blankets and other accoutrements for little ones, has opened in Newport Beach. The shop carries a highly edited selection of merchandise for newborns through toddlers,...
Check out festivals and events in December across the state. View events this coming weekend, or view the whole month's offerings by region below: Coming up this week Through Dec. 30: Holidays Around the World, Lake Buena Vista. This Epcot tradition...
My mom’s dream (and only request) for the wedding was that we go to “Say Yes to the Dress” in New York City to try on dresses. A fan of the show myself, I was super excited to go along with this request! For those of you who don’...
Chicago ShoppingJust skip down Michigan Avenue or any mall thoroughfare and you’ll discover an abundance of retail establishments, boutiques and upscale shops featuring women’s apparel. But where can you specifically find a variety of options to smartly strut...
Mike and Sarah Dowdell, owners of the Deer Lovely/Whiskey Tango 1977 shop at the OC Mart Mix in Costa Mesa, have opened a new boutique at Park Place in Irvine. The new store, Love and Whiskey, features men’s and women’s fashion from a mix of...
Tags: Music, Entertainment, Lobbying, Halston, 3.1 Phillip Lim
Check out festivals and events in January across the state. View events this coming weekend, or view the whole month's offerings by region below: Coming up this week Jan. 26, Feb. 2: Just for Kids. SeaWorld Orlando. SeaWorld Orlando kicks off its...
Mar 13, 2013 |Story| Jessamine Journal
Feb 20, 2013 |Story| Daily American
Jan 18, 2013 |Story| Los Angeles Times
Dec 30, 2012 |Story| Los Angeles Times
Feb 5, 2013 |Column| Allentown Morning Call
Feb 3, 2013 |Story| Chicago Tribune
Jan 16, 2013 |Story| Los Angeles Times
Dec 26, 2012 |Story| Orlando Sentinel
Dec 24, 2012 |Story| Baltimore Sun
Dec 23, 2012 |Story| Chicago Shopping
Jan 23, 2013 |Story| Los Angeles Times
Jan 21, 2013 |Story| Orlando Sentinel
Original site for Clothing, Accessories, and Shoes topic gallery.


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AUGUST RETAIL SALES DISPLAY STABLE GROWTH RATE
Byline: Jennifer Owens
WASHINGTON — Government statistics released Friday on August retail sales had a happy ring. They appeared solid enough to satisfy retailers, and yet weren’t so hefty that they ignited fears of inflation.
The figures showed overall sales rising for the third month in a row, not at the pace earlier predicted by analysts, but nevertheless at a rate that is expected to continue into next year at least.
According to seasonally adjusted figures from the Commerce Department, August retail sales grew 0.4 percent from July, rising 5.3 percent over a year ago.
Apparel and accessories retailers and general merchandisers saw slightly stronger results in August as they posted their fourth consecutive month of growth.
Sales at apparel and accessory stores rose 0.6 percent in August over the previous month, which itself was a 0.8 percent improvement over June. August sales were 4.7 percent higher than a year ago.
Likewise, sales at general merchandise stores — including department stores, variety stores and discounters — also climbed 0.6 percent over July’s receipts and 6.9 percent over a year ago. Department store sales excluding leased departments rose 0.7 percent in August against a month ago and 8.1 percent over a year ago.
Meanwhile, new revisions ratcheted up July’s figures in most apparel-related categories, with apparel and accessory stores gaining the biggest boost. According to the new July figures, apparel and accessory store sales rose 0.8 percent from June, compared with the previously reported 0.2 percent gain. They also registered a revised 4.5 percent gain against a year ago, as opposed to the previously reported 3.1 percent.
For August, many Wall Street analysts had expected the month’s overall sales figures to register as high as 0.8 percent, based on individual retailer reports.
Financial markets were relieved, however, by the slower growth, said Maureen Allyn, chief economist for Scudder, Stevens & Clark in New York. “The Street was worried that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates” if August’s sales were too strong, she said. Instead, said Allyn, “they took this as a sign of reasonable, moderate growth.”
Building upon July’s 0.9 percent rise in overall retail sales, August’s position looked good for store owners and investors, Allyn said. “The financial markets can live with moderate growth that would make retailers happy. But what they can’t support is a boom,” she said.
Rosalind Wells, chief economist for the National Retail Federation, also gave August the thumbs up.
“It’s all positive,” she said. “Every sector seems to have done well. All are up strong, as they have been in the last couple of months.”
Wells said consumers showed a willingness in August to buy back-to-school clothes. “Back to school was strong, and early fall fashion seems to have done well,” she said.
The momentum should continue: “I think we can look forward to a nice, steady pace through the end of the year,” she said. “We’re now looking at retail sales that are increasing 4 and 5 percent over a year ago, and that’s with no inflation. I think it’s going to be 6 percent for Christmas.”
The current sales growth is reflecting the nation’s ongoing economic health, Wells said, adding, “We’re in very good territory.”
Ken Goldstein, an economist with the Conference Board in New York, agreed, saying that despite repeated warnings that consumers will eventually run out of money and enthusiasm, no one should be surprised by August’s figures.
“It hasn’t happened,” he said. “They’re not going to go out spending like drunken sailors, but neither are they going to fold up their tents and go home.”
With consumer confidence remaining high and unemployment staying low, little has changed to concern shoppers, Goldstein said, even if they’re not interested in buying sprees. “If there’s any complaint, it’s that consumer income is rising too slow, not too fast,” he said. “But they’ve been spending for four years now, so they don’t need a lot. The real story is that they’ll continue to buy.”
Goldstein said one reason for continued spending is that as stock and bond markets remain strong and home prices rise, consumers’ balance sheets are looking better and better.
And that combination should keep retail’s moderate sales growth continuing through next year.
“And if it’s going to slow, we won’t see a drop-off before late 1998,” he said.


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Montreal Taxi Drivers Have Resorted To Egging Uber Cars
The taxi vs Uber war has been ongoing for some time now and it looked like there was hope there for awhile. Instead of blaming Uber for stealing business away from them, some taxi services decided to compete with Uber by offering new and better services, including an app with similar features.
However some taxi drivers have taken to more childlike methods. They figured the only way to get rid of Uber once and for all, is to egg their cars. Surely Uber will never recover from having dried up yolk on a few windshields. I'm certain Uber will declare bankruptcy and move away and the taxis will get all their clients back. I mean, who the hell wants to get driven around in a car covered in egg?
The reality is Uber is here to stay and if pleading with the public and threatening legal action didn't help, what makes these taxi drivers think that eggs will? The only way to compete with Uber is to be better than them, which isn't an easy task considering how awesome many Uber drivers are. Just this morning my colleague took an Uber in to work. The driver opened the door for her, welcomed her aboard, offered her a complimentary Perrier and even had snacks and drink options available for purchase.
The crazy part is that this is actually really dangerous. It may just be eggs, but this driver is literally getting attacked, so it's no wonder he wants to get out of these in a hurry. Only he now has egg on his windshield, and removing egg from a windshield with wipers and fluid is nearly impossible. If the drivers tries to turn the wipers on while he's driving, all that will happen is the yolk will mix with the wiper fluid and coat the entire windshield with an opaque goop. And that puts us all at risk.
Whatever side of the issue you're on, one thing's for sure, egging cars is stupid and it's not the right way to handle the situation.


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Last updated on July 13th, 2015 at 04:30 pm
Canadian advertisers are continuing to expand their video strategies at a rapid rate. Advertisers in Canada are using a variety of platforms, including mobile video, which is growing at an immense rate, says a new study.
Last week, Videology, a software provider for converged TV and video advertising, released a report titled “First Quarter Canada Video Market At-A-Glance,” in which it analyzed its platform usage across the country during the first quarter.
Here are the key takeaways:
An Inside Look at Video Advertising
The report revealed that the total number of campaigns delivered on mobile rose 58 percent quarter over quarter. Forty-eight percent of all campaigns consisted of some sort of mobility, up from 28 percent in the same quarter last year.
One important statistic that is turning heads is the fact that 47 percent of advertisers showcased their campaigns on more than one screen in the first quarter of 2015, compared to just 30 percent in the first quarter of 2014. PC only represented 51 percent of campaigns by device, and mobile only had just two percent.
Ninety-three percent of advertisers are still purchasing their digital video ads the same way they do for television: guaranteed cost per impression (CPM).
Although Click Thru Rates (CTR) and View Thru Rates (VTR) are the primary objectives for advertisers, the study found that marketers are seeking out more intricate measures to optimize their campaigns, like inquiring about audience verification, which accounted for 38 percent of all campaigns.
Behavioral targeting (38 percent) was the No. 1 form of advanced targeting in campaigns throughout the first quarter. This was followed by geo-targeting (36 percent) and domain targeting (33 percent).
The length of most ads were minuscule – reflecting the current difficulty of attempting to capture the attentions of consumers. In the first quarter, between 58 and 78 percent of ads were 15 seconds, while 21 to 38 percent were 30 seconds. About one percent of the ads were 60 seconds.
“This current climate of consumer-driven convergence is driving marketers to view planning, buying and executing on TV and digital through a more holistic lens,” said Scott Ferber, Videology Chairman and CEO, in a statement. “As the industry continues to improve standards and work toward achieving more seamless ad experiences, mobile will increasingly play a larger role as part of that cross-screen equation.”
Canada’s Love Affair with Video Advertising
Canadian advertisers have opened their arms to the realm of digital video advertising.
Last year, advertisers spent $255 million on digital video ads. It’s expected that advertisers will increase their annual spending to as much as $488.9 million by the year 2018, according to data from eMarketer.
This makes sense considering that we spend more than 40 percent of our time online watching video, or roughly 4.5 hours each week. Canada has also outpaced the United States and other countries when it comes to both online and digital video consumption. Ostensibly, online video reaches three-quarters of Canadians, compared to just under two-thirds of Americans.
The Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB Canada) reported in September that Internet advertising budgets have now surpassed television ad budgets.
“Mobile, followed by Online Video have been consistently outpacing overall percent Internet growth rates over the past five years,” said Eric Morris, IAB Canada Board of Directors, Head of Performance Advertising at Google, in a statement.
Companies are quickly realizing that Canada is the place to be for video ads.
Social networks are taking notice too. Facebook announced last year that it would be introducing television-like 15-second spots in their newsfeeds. The ads play automatically with the sound muted. This was first experimented in the U.S. and Facebook noted that it was a successful venture. Other countries quickly followed, including France, Germany, Brazil, Japan, Australia and Great Britain.
Industry professionals posit that video ads is a permanent trend because marketing executives are disgruntled by the low ad revenues from newspapers, television, podcasts and radio. Others have likened the digital video realm to an arms race, and whoever wins it will be the king of video advertising.
And why not?
Digital video ads allow advertisers to generate big data and to track their audiences. Digital video ads reach far more people (look at any YouTube video). With nearly everyone owning a smartphone these days, the permanency of video advertising is likely here, and we may have to get accustomed to the concept of ad ubiquity.


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July 8, 2014 7:37 PM Subscribe
Monaghan and Ilitch barely know each other. The Domino’s founder says in an interview he can’t recall ever tasting a Little Caesars pizza, “though I must have a long time ago.” A sculpture hanging in the archives at Little Caesars’ headquarters makes fun of a Domino’s slice as having “hard, tasteless crust, topped with artificial, flat, and runny cheese.” It’s a fluke that the chains emerged from the same corner of Michigan at roughly the same time more than 50 years ago. Yet, in different ways, Domino’s and Little Caesars changed the way Americans eat pizza, helping to make it one of the country’s most popular foods. The pizza barons were great at selling pies. Now one wants to save Detroit, and the other wants to save everything else.
Tom Monaghan founded Ave Maria University, and the town of Ave Maria, FL. Previously and previouslier
Mike Ilitch, Detroit's delivery man and dealer of sweet stadium deals.
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments


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Brazil experienced an increase of over one million active home Internet users in November, according to data from Nielsen//NetRatings.
Gains in the 10 countries tracked come to 6.1 million active home users, a 1.88 percent increase from October. The largest increases occurred in Brazil (8.53 percent); France (7.37 percent); and Spain (4.04 percent).
The U.K. (-1.88 percent); Germany (-1.03 percent); and Japan (-0.69 percent) each experienced a drop in the number of active home Internet users in November over the previous month.
Nielsen//NetRatings uses a sampling methodology applied worldwide, which allows for data aggregation on a regional and global basis.
|Worldwide Active Home Internet Universe, November 2006|
|Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, 2007|
Advertising to millennials can be challenging, especially when there’s a lack of understanding towards their needs. Here’s what you need to consider before targeting ... read more
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Deutsche Post DHL Group grew its overall revenue by 4.1 per cent to €15.4 billion and operating profit by 28.1 per cent to €1.2 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of this year.
The German logistics giant said the earnings contributions from the DHL divisions were “again encouraging” – while the surge in earnings was driven by non-recurring income from completing the supply chain partnership with S.F. Holding in China initiated at the end of 2018.
In Q1, Deutsche Post DHL Group generated a consolidated net profit of €746 million after non-controlling interests.
In Q1, the Global Forwarding, Freight division sustained the previous quarter’s upward trend in a weaker market environment. Revenue rose by 4.8 per cent year-on-year to €3.8 billion but air freight volumes fell for a fifth quarter in a row by 4.2 per cent to 495,000 tonnes .
The division continued to pursue its selective approach of concentrating primarily on high-margin business. Operating profit increased by 42.9 per cent to €100 million.
Air revenues increased by 3.4 per cent on a year earlier to €1.2 billion and gross profits improved by 4.2 per cent to €224 million.
DHL said the division is on the way to closing the profitability gap to its leading competitors in the medium-term.
Revenue at DHL Express increased by 5.3 per cent to €4 billion in Q1 and operating profit declined slightly to €453 million (2018: €461 million) owing among other things to negative currency effects.
DHL said in addition, earnings were negatively impacted by the decision made in the second half of 2018 to gradually reduce volumes of particularly heavy shipments.
“The first quarter played out as we expected. We achieved growth in all five divisions,” said Deutsche Post DHL Group chief executive officer, Frank Appel.
“This shows that we are very well positioned in attractive markets and that our fundamental growth drivers are intact. E-commerce continues to boom all over the world and although some momentum has been lost, global trade is still on the rise, just as we expected for 2019.
“We are therefore on track towards our target of generating more than €5 billion in EBIT in the coming year.”


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Images showing an iPhone 8 dummy unit have recently been published by Benjamin Geskin on Twitter. They apparently show an iPhone 8 with 2.5D glass and represent the latest in a series of leaks in recent weeks about Apple’s next flagship device, which should be announced in September.
Called a “CNC model according to Foxconn,” the photos show an iPhone made of glass and stainless steel. The display looks edge-to-edge with no apparent bezel. There’s also no Touch ID visible on the back. An Apple logo is also missing. The only thing on the back of the unit is a vertical rectangle for the iPhone’s long-rumored new dual camera system.
Other features worth noting include:
- The sides look like they’re made of stainless steel
- Separate volume buttons and mute switch are on the left side
- The Power button and SIM tray are on the right
It recent weeks, it seems like the number of candidates for Apple’s next flagship device has narrowed to two. The main difference between the two is how they handle Touch ID. The former offers a virtual Touch ID beneath the display while the later includes a physical Touch ID on the back of the device. Reports have said Apple is having problems manufacturing the integrated Touch ID found on the first model. This might be the only reason the second candidate even exists.
Geskin’s images no doubt show off the first of these two models. Let’s hope this is the model Tim Cook unveils later this year.
Do you agree? Leave your comments below.
For on the 2017 iPhone lineup, see:


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Examine the key issues in sport sustainability ahead of the Sustainability in Sport Forum 2018
At a recent conference in Singapore, the golfing community met to discuss the looming issue of how to make their sport sustainable.
Data from the American football finale shows that a record 91 percent of all waste was either recycled, reused or composted.
Major League Baseball (MLB) has announced a new initiative with Arizona State University to further sustainability efforts during the new spring season.
A new agreement has been signed to further sustainable development at Europe’s football grounds, sports facilities and stadiums.
World Sailing, the global governing body for the sport, has announced that it has been awarded with a coveted sustainability standard.
Manchester City football club has announced it is joining the Show the Love campaign, designed to raise awareness of environmental issues in local communities.
The London Knights ice hockey team in Canada has recently implemented a range of sustainability initiatives, including planting trees for every save its goalkeeper makes.
The 23rd Winter Olympic games has opened in what it is hoped will be one of the most sustainable events in the tournament’s history.
A new report released today has highlighted the damaging impact climate change is already having on some of the UK’s most beloved sports.
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Delhi: Just a few days back, the RBI announced to withdraw Rs 2,000 note from circulation. Following the announcement a situation of chaos has arisen. Meanwhile, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the decision to cut interest rates in the coming days will depend on the state of the economy and the data. The RBI governor said that retail inflation in May is expected to be lower than April.
The retail inflation rate came down to an 18-month low of 4.70 percent in April, while the retail inflation rate in April 2022 was 7.79 percent exactly a year ago. RBI Governor said that the figures show that the GDP for the financial year 2022-23 can be more than 7.55 percent.
Addressing the Annual Session 2023 of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the economic slowdown is concentrated in advanced economies with the Asia-Pacific region expected to contribute about 70% of global growth in 2023. As per the same estimate, India will contribute around 15% of the global growth in the current year.
Addressing the annual conference of business chamber CII, the RBI governor further said that amid global uncertainties, the Indian banking system remains stable and resilient with strong capital and liquidity position, improving asset quality and improved profitability.


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LouVino parent company to open fast-casual eatery in Norton Commons
A third concept from LouVino parent company Endeavor Restaurant Group is on the way to Louisville.
Waldo's Chicken & Beer, a fast-casual restaurant with three locations in Tennessee and one in Oklahoma, is opening in Norton Commons at 10700 Meeting St. in 2022.
Endeavor Restaurant Group owns all three LouVino Restaurant and Wine Bar locations and signed a partnership agreement with award-winning chef John Currence's restaurant Big Bad Breakfast earlier this year.
“We’re thrilled to introduce another new dining concept to Louisville, and to be part of the growth happening in Norton Commons,” Endeavor CEO Steve Richie said. “Waldo’s is a perfect fit to the bustling and beautiful community, and we hope people from all over Louisville’s east end will experience Waldo’s and all that Norton Commons has to offer — from restaurants to activities and more.”
Louisville restaurants:Southern breakfast chain restaurant to open in former Lynn's Paradise Cafe spot
Waldo's is known for its southern fried and fire-roasted chicken served four ways: on the bone, on the bun, in a basket or in a bowl, plus house-made original sauces and sides like thick-cut onion rings and cheddar biscuits.
The 4,100-square-foot space will have full-service indoor and outdoor seating as well as an option for quicker, fast-casual dining. A large island bar will have 20 taps.
Waldo's Chicken & Beer will be open for lunch and dinner from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Features reporter Dahlia Ghabour covers food, dining trends and restaurants in the Louisville area. Send tips on new places or story ideas to firstname.lastname@example.org or follow on Twitter @dghabour.


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The week of Feb. 23 was a great week for many retailers! Given how well some of these companies performed, it's clear that Mr. Market has high expectations for them moving forward. For this reason, is it possible that these businesses can rock your portfolio during 2014 and beyond, or is now a great time to sell and walk away?
J.C. Penney's strong quarter wooed Mr. Market
For the week, shares of J.C. Penney (JCPN.Q) soared a whopping 32% to close at $7.28 after the company reported attractive earnings for the fourth quarter of its 2013 fiscal year. Currently, shares are up 49% from their 52-week low. But with the stock trading at a 63% discount to its 52-week high, there's still plenty of upside potential.
During the quarter, the struggling retailer saw its revenue come in at $3.78 billion. Although this fell short of the $3.86 billion analysts expected, the company's cost-cutting efforts were successful; the retailer reported earnings per share of $0.11. This greatly surpassed the $0.82 loss per share forecast by Wall Street and crushed the $2.51 loss the company earned in the year-ago quarter.
Bad news was never received so well
Another highflier this past week was Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF 0.57%). After the company reported earnings of $0.85 per share for the quarter, shares rose 11% on Wednesday, making the stock's full-week appreciation almost 14%. This level of earnings represents a significant decline from the $1.95 per share the company reported in the year-ago quarter, but it was the business' adjusted earnings that had Mr. Market enthusiastic.
At $1.34 per share, Abercrombie & Fitch's adjusted earnings exceeded the $1.03 per share that analysts expected. Although this is still lower than what the company reported a year earlier, investors hope that this, combined with the 6% drop in sales for the quarter, may be a sign that the company's deterioration is slowing down.
Time to go suit shopping
One of the strongest retailer winners for the week was Jos. A. Bank (NASDAQ: JOSB). Shares of the suit store rose 9% on Monday and 13% for the week after news broke that larger competitor Men's Wearhouse had offered to buy the company for approximately $1.8 billion. The offer was the third of its kind and was initiated in the hopes that Jos. A. Bank would sell out as opposed to acquiring Eddie Bauer for $827.2 million.
In response to the proposed acquisition, Jos. A. Bank's management released a statement on Feb. 27 stating that they found the offer inadequate. However, the door was kept open by the company's board, which authorized a meeting with Men's Wearhouse to see the maximum price the company might pay. The two companies are now in talks to consider a potential merger.
Target defies the odds
Despite being hit by news of a data breach, whereby customers' credit information was exposed to unauthorized parties, Target (TGT 0.92%) defied the odds. It reported a quarter that, while bad, beat analyst expectations and sent shares 11% higher for the week.
For the quarter, the retail giant reported revenue of $21.5 billion. This represents a 5% decline compared to the $22.7 billion that management reported in the year-ago quarter and was due, mostly, to a 2.5% drop in comparable-store sales.
Looking at profitability, the business' results were even worse. For the quarter, earnings per share came in at $0.81. While this represents a 45% decline from the $1.47 the company reported in the year-ago quarter, it beat the $0.79 that analysts forecast.
Macy's blew past the competition... again
Over the past few years, Macy's (M 1.49%) has reported astonishing bottom-line growth, and it just keeps getting better. For the quarter, Macy's reported a 2.3% rise in comparable-store sales (inclusive of its store-within-a-store concepts). While this is certainly good, it's far from great. What really got investors' attention, though, was the rise in profits.
For its fourth quarter, Macy's reported earnings per share of $2.16. This means that the company's earnings rose 18% from the $1.83 management reported in the year-ago quarter. The company benefited from a 6% reduction in share count combined with an 11% jump in net income. In part, this rise was driven by higher sales, but it was also attributable to a drop in costs in relation to sales. All of this great news sent shares soaring nearly 8% for the week
It's impossible to say whether a company will make an excellent long-term investment based solely on a week of share-price performance. However, when a company's shares do rise, it means that Mr. Market is paying attention to what is going on with the business in question.
For this reason alone, the Foolish investor should keep a watchful eye on each of these businesses and assess whether any of them still fall in the undervalued range. If so, now may be a prime time to buy.


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LEAWOOD, KAS. — Brian Aust has joined Agspring as vice-president of merchandising responsible for overseeing the merchandising decisions for both Big River Rice & Grain and Thresher Artisan Wheat.
Mr. Aust’s experience as a merchandising lead will be an immediate asset to Agspring merchandising operations both strategically and tactically. He has been engaged with the current challenging commodities market merchandising domestically in the mid-South and West regions.
Prior to joining Agspring Mr. Aust was a senior trader at the Redwood Group. His earlier roles included managing director at Freepoint Commodities, director at Lansing Trade Group, L.L.C., senior trader at The Scoular Co., and facility manager at DeBruce Grain.
He has direct experience managing transportation, including high-capacity rail and barge operations. He also developed a cross country business in Texas establishing strong relationships with producers and customers.
“Brian is an experienced manager with a history of successfully working the agricultural commodity trade and asset field,” said Mark Beemer, chief executive officer of Agspring. “His background in merchandising negotiation, planning, customer service, and logistics will make a difference every day for our producers, customers and staff.”
Mr. Aust is a graduate of Kansas State University.


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Bajaj Auto’s Pulsar 125 has been well-received among customers as it reached 40,000 sales mark within two months of its launch
Bajaj Auto has the Pulsar series at the forefront of its sales aspirations as the popular nameplate is known for garnering massive volumes consistently for several years. However, Bajaj could not guard the Pulsar range from getting affected in the ongoing sales crisis plaguing the industry as a whole. But the arrival of new motorcycles within the Pulsar family has certainly helped in recent months.
In September 2019, Bajaj registered a total of 1,77,348 units with 35% YoY negative sales and ended up fourth in the overall manufacturers’ table when the two-wheeler industry met with a fall of 22.1%. Following the CT100 and Platina, Bajaj’s most sold motorcycle for September was the Pulsar 150, which recorded a total of 32,320 units.
It does not tell the whole picture as Pulsar 150 endured a huge sales decline of 50% as 64,900 units were retailed during the same month the previous year. It goes on to show that the Pulsar 125 has eaten into its volumes by a big margin. With 20,688 unit sales, the entry-level Pulsar is going strong and last month Bajaj announced that the motorcycle had reached 40,000 sales milestone.
The Pulsar 125 went on sale in August 2019 and is offered in drum and disc variants. It has a starting price of Rs. 64,000 while the top-spec disc variant costs Rs. 66,618 (both prices, ex-showroom New Delhi). The Pulsar 125 does take design inspiration from its bigger siblings and is retailed with a good equipment list.
It features split seat setup and neon body graphics while the 124cc BSIV compliant single-cylinder air-cooled engine dishes out a maximum power output of 12 bhp and 11 Nm of peak torque. It is connected to a five-speed transmission. The Pulsar 125 comes with segment-first counter-balancer. It is suspended on conventional telescopic front forks and twin-sided gas-charged spring unit at the rear.
The entry-level model gets drum brakes on each end with CBS and the range-topper gets front disc brakes. Taking the overall sales, Bajaj Auto saw 9% drop in October 2019 as 4,63,208 units were recorded against 5,06,699 units in October 2018. On the motorcycle’s side alone, Bajaj sold 2,42,516 units with YoY decline of 14%. Bajaj’s next big launch is the Chetak EV scheduled for January 2020.


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An atheist group placed this sign beside a Nativity scene at an Olympia, Washington government building, and some people aren't pleased. The Freedom From Religion Foundation previously posted a sign in Madison, Wisconsin that protestors have reportedly turned around so it can't be read and thrown acid on it. From CNN:
"Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds," the sign says in part.
Dan Barker, a former evangelical preacher who now heads up the atheist and agnostic Freedom From Religion Foundation, said it was important for atheists to see their viewpoints validated alongside everyone else's...
"It's not that we are trying to coerce anyone; in a way our sign is a signal of protest," Barker said. "If there can be a Nativity scene saying that we are all going to hell if we don't bow down to Jesus, we should be at the table to share our views."
He said if anything, it's the Nativity scene that is the intrusion.
"Most people think December is for Christians and view our signs as an intrusion, when actually it's the other way around," he said. "People have been celebrating the winter solstice long before Christmas. We see Christianity as the intruder, trying to steal the holiday from all of us humans."
Alex Wood is an addict but won’t give up his smartphone. But he has five strategies for limiting its control over him: “I used to wake up tired. My body would ache and my head felt sore, like waking up with a hangover. Finally, I took control, like attending an AA class for addicts, I […]
Ok, it’s not just solar powered. It’s also an anti-theft, waterproof marvel that keeps my phone’s power bar from ever getting into the red.Sure the idea seems obvious now – tuck a gigantic solar powered battery pack into an exposed slot and turn the wearer into a walking energy harvester. Simple maybe, but I didn’t […]
The Lightning port has thus far resisted the cruel fate that befell the headphone jack, and despite rumors that it may be disappearing come iPhone 8, for the present and foreseeable future, Lightning cables are a hot commodity for iPhone users. As such, we must make do in this strange time in which long, glorified […]
All the filters in the world won’t save your smartphone pics from a shaky hand. To really step up your mobile photography game, you’ll need some kind of mount to hold it steady. You could buy a smartphone attachment for a conventional camera tripod, but who wants to carry that kind of gear everywhere they […]
The forced transition from analog to digital TV signals was probably met with relative indifference from people with Netflix subscriptions and the “I don’t even own a TV” snoots. But anyone living in the vast swaths of the country that don’t have guaranteed high-speed internet, broadcast TV is a perfectly valid (and 100% free) way […]