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Autonomous cars will change the way we live, no doubt about it, along with the way we think about cars and the way the car industry thinks about cars.
For the confluence of self-driving and electrification that will increasingly make driving like climbing into a four-wheeled cell phone will also likely cause our automobiles to get both more expensive and less emotional. This may accelerate the trend away from car ownership, something we hear the so-called Millenials don't share their parents' enthusiasm for, in favor of car-sharing.
With all the other emerging technologies competing for human mindspace and getting more, not less, diverting, as well as trippier and trippier, it is reasonable to assume that self-driving will draw cars further away from urgent consideration by future generations. To a growing segment of the population, actually owning, maintaining and insuring a car is already coming to be seen as an unnecessary bother and expense, better handled by car-share startups with lots of venture capital and some handy dandy algorithms. There's no reason to suppose that trend won't intensify.
Like it or not, the world is changing, folks; come 2030, save old timers, fetishists and kooks, who'll really want to take off the virtual reality goggles long enough to change their own oil? Electric cars don't even need oil, and even if they did, who needs the bother?
Once upon a time, owning your own car spelled an essential freedom, more precious even than the sacred American right to own your own military assault rifle. Not as much nowadays – and, in the decades ahead, car ownership may come to mean almost nothing. Of course, the carmakers don't talk about this, and they'd probably rather not think about it. They've always depended on perpetual increases in volume to keep the shareholders happy, something the successful ones have endeavored to achieve by working to make sure the newly mobile countries of the world (think China, Russia and India) move toward the current American standard of mobility, with roughly eight cars to serve every ten people, versus the one-in-eight common in these vast lands.
But even these seemingly huge untapped markets aren't always ripe for more cars. All else aside, they just won't fit. Places like Beijing and Shanghai are already completely oversaturated with automobile traffic, with jams that would upset the most grizzled Atlantans and battle-hardened Angelenos. Even after they shut down the bike lanes in these Chinese metropolises, they still can't accommodate all the automobiles they've already got.
So fewer cars would be a good idea for many urban areas, and self-driven ones might help reduce congestion. But so would mass transit, possibly even more so, and its costs are surely going to be in direct conflict with the trillions of dollars societies will spend to make autonomous driving possible.
I love cars more than most. Yet I happily concede the likely truth of many of the claimed advantages of autonomy – relatively lower fuel consumption, greater safety and reduced congestion. I get the appeal of machines that allow occupants to eat, drink and be merry in the backseat while their car drives them to the concert. I mean, who wouldn't prefer that to driving in traffic.
But the biggest problem with the move to autonomy is that the trillions upon trillions of dollars in government and taxpayer monies that will be diverted. Not just from maintaining and upgrading of our roads and infrastructure, and rebuilding what we've got, but from solutions that would keep people out of their cars and reduce traffic, rather than increase it. Not to mention what could be done were the money to be used to feed or care for the less fortunate.
There ought to be some reduction in accidents in this self-driven era, though we can't be certain how big the drop will be, as entirely new types of accidents will occur – for instance, the one where 1,200 cars simultaneously exit the Jersey Turnpike and all head at the same time for the same parking space outside the McDonald's in the Vince Lombardi rest area, killing 280. And we know the hacking possibilities will be rife, as will the criminal possibilities, and the dystopian ones, such as when the police override your commands and have your car drive you to the station for questioning about some impolitic thing you may have said or done. It'll be times like that when you really miss your old, stupid car that needed you to drive it.
Why isn't any government having this discussion with its people? Why is industry getting to call our shot into the future? Because the car companies, the tech companies, the telecoms and the marketers will profit from the hundreds of millions of captive car-bound folk and their data, their every movement geo-targeted, their every movement capable of being traced, quantified and sold. Why? Because that's the way we've always done it. Build first, ask questions later.


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General Motors (GM), the parent company of the self-driving car company Cruise, is suing the city of San Francisco, Calif. for $108M in back taxes for the past seven years plus $8M in interest and penalties. While the city taxed them because Cruise is based in San Francisco, GM claims the subsidiary is separate from the GM corporation, which is based in Detroit.
In the lawsuit, filed in the California Superior Court and the County of San Francisco, GM argued that despite having only made $677K in retail sales in 2022, as well as having no employees, manufacturing plants, or dealerships in the city, San Francisco taxed Cruise's $3B in global revenue.
San Francisco taxed GM's more than $3B in global revenue even though the corporation has no dealerships or factories and made less than a million dollars in San Francisco retail sales in 2022. Furthermore, Cruise has taken all of its cars off the road, which shows that even its San Francisco-based subsidiary has not been a money-maker for the corporation. It makes no sense for a Detroit-based company with little presence in California to make up 2% of a California city's yearly tax revenue — this was a bad-faith assessment by the city.
Car manufacturers do a lot of good for the country and have received much-deserved praise for their innovation and job creation. However, companies like GM and Ford have over the last 20 or so years benefited from bailouts when business is bad and tax loopholes when profits are booming. Whether it be at the local, state, or federal level, it's time to question this newfound greed and public-private corruption within America's historically beloved auto industry — it's fair and reasonable to expect proportional taxation.
There's a 63% chance that a legacy automaker will go bankrupt before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

domain: news


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Seeking to advance its Revolutionize Luxury Experiences initiative, Neiman Marcus Group has named executives to fill two new high-level positions: Chief Brand Officer and Chief Retail Officer. Nabil Aliffi, previously Global Chief Creative Officer at Soho House, will join the retailer in the brand position, and Stefanie Tsen Ward will be promoted to the retail leadership spot. Ward has been with Neiman Marcus since 2018, most recently as SVP, Customer Engagement. Both Aliffi and Ward will report to Ryan Ross, who took the helm as President of Neiman Marcus Brand in August 2022.
“Nabil is a creative visionary who brings a unique perspective in making Neiman Marcus a luxury lifestyle destination,” said Ross in a statement. “He knows our customer and how to create a platform for loyal engagement across channels.”
Ward will be responsible for activating experiences across the brand’s 36 stores, partnering closely with Aliffi to bring the Neiman Marcus brand vision and experience to life. She also will continue to accelerate the company’s integrated retail strategy, helping the retailer’s 3,500+ selling associates offer the strong customer service the brand is known for.
“Stefanie was instrumental in leading the development of our remote selling capabilities, powered by our proprietary CONNECT technology,” said Ross. “She creates unequivocal, customer-centric retail experiences and inspires our selling associates to engage in new and innovative ways.”
Neiman Marcus has committed to $200 million in strategic investments in stores over a three-year period, with the goal of creating unique brand experiences, adding new spaces for style advisors and providing entertaining food and beverage concepts. The retailer also has committed to elevating its digital experience, including making updates to the Neiman Marcus app.


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Taxi drivers took to the streets of Buenos Aires on Thursday to protest against Uber, underscoring the challenges the ride-hailing giant faces in the fast-growing Latin American market as it prepares to file a much-anticipated initial public offering.
Argentina's powerful taxi unions walked in procession through the center of the capital to begin two days of protests against Uber, which faces competition and regulatory hurdles in a region where it often operates in a legal gray area.
Uber is expected to make its initial public offering registration on Thursday that could see it sell around $10 billion worth of stock, Reuters reported earlier this week, which would make it one of the largest tech IPOs of all time.
The Buenos Aires protest underscores a simmering anger among taxi drivers in the city against the service. Uber drivers are able to undercut on prices, helping steal away consumers hungry for ride-hailing alternatives with competitive fares.
Around Latin America, Uber also faces more rivals, including Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing, and faces pressure to cut driver subsidies to bolster profits.
"I see the biggest threats outside of competition being from regulation and a potential backlash against Uber as payouts to drivers continue to fall," said Nathan Lustig, managing partner of Magma Partners, a Latin America-based venture capital fund.
Argentina's capital city lacks a specific regulatory framework for Uber, but the firm maintains it obeys the country's laws and pays taxes, and wants cities to pass ride-hailing regulations.
In neighboring Chile, Uber faces similar issues, with drivers often looking to avoid detection.
Other Latin American markets, including Mexico City in Mexico, Rio de Janeiro and San Pablo in Brazil, and La Paz in Bolivia, have adopted specific regulations that enable the use of apps for transporting passengers, giving the green light to Uber, the firm said.
NOT LEGAL, NOT ILLEGAL
Lawmakers in Buenos Aires have largely sided with domestic taxi drivers, who say Uber fosters unfair competition as its prices are lower than those of city cabs.
To counter this, the city government has levied fines on Uber drivers and introduced obstacles, including an injunction by a judge that instructed some credit cards issued in Argentina not to process Uber transactions in Buenos Aires.
Still, Argentina has been the fastest-growing market in the world for Uber since it started operating there in 2016, despite the country's economic turmoil, according to company data reviewed by Reuters.
That success has angered the city's taxi unions, who claim demand for taxis has been cut in half since Uber's arrival.
"Uber operates in an arrogant and illegal manner. In these three years, we have seen our work and our business shrink," Cametax, an organization representing taxi companies, said on its Facebook page.
Uber said in a statement to Reuters it supported regulations that expand the benefits of its technology.
"The response and the choice of the people is clear," the firm said.
Uber drivers have been the target of violent attacks by so-called "caza Ubers" or "Uber hunters." It is common in Buenos Aires for Uber drivers to ask passengers to sit in the front seat to avoid drawing attention from local taxi drivers.
On Wednesday, an Uber passenger was killed in a traffic accident in greater Buenos Aires. The company said in a statement it had activated its accident insurance protocols, which are available to all rides requested through its app.
© 2024 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.


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SAIC warns rival: share the Rover spoils or we kill the deal
By TIM WEBB, The Independent
SHANGHAI Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), which failed to buy collapsed car maker MG Rover on Friday night, will threaten to block the successful bid by its Chinese rival, Nanjing, if it does not share the spoils. SAIC has already paid £67m for the intellectual property rights to most of the cars and engines and is not prepared to walk away from the final MG Rover sale empty-handed.
SAIC is expected to begin talks in coming days with Nanjing, which is also owned by the Chinese government, about gaining some of MG Rover’s assets in return for not pursuing its intellectual property claims. Nanjing plans to produce MG sports cars at Longbridge, where an R&D facility will be based. MG variants of Rover cars, such as the small and medium-sized 25 and 45, will be manufactured in China and assembled at the Midlands plant. The Powertrain engine plant will be shipped to China.
Alan Belfield, the industrial consulting director at Arup, the UK engineering group which advised Nanjing on the bid, said that using MG variants of the old Rover cars would avoid infringing SAIC’s intellectual property. But SAIC disputed this after PricewaterhouseCoopers announced that Nanjing was the winning bidder. An SAIC spokesman said: “We are considering our options carefully.”
Sources close to the negotiations between Nanjing and the administrators admitted that the Chinese company would have to get agreement from SAIC to produce the cars, particularly the old Rover variants earmarked for manufacture in China. “That is one of the things the two companies will have to talk about,” he said. A union source said: “The intellectual property issue has not yet been resolved. We have two government-owned companies which both have an interest in resolving this.”
Asked about the possibility of SAIC and Nanjing sharing assets, Arup’s Mr Belfield said: “It’s up to Nanjing at the Chinese end.”
Meanwhile, the four trustees appointed to oversee the Phoenix Trust, to be set up for redundant workers, will meet one of the former owners of MG Rover, Peter Beale, on Wednesday morning. They will demand that the former owners, the Phoenix Four, transfer millions of pounds into the trust, or they will resign. The directors of Phoenix Venture Holdings offered, shortly after MG Rover went into administration, to transfer the remaining assets of their company, which they said were worth up to £40m, into the trust.
But lawyers for the Phoenix directors wrote to the trustees last month saying the assets could not be transferred until a government inquiry into the former owners’ conduct had been concluded. This could take over a year. The trust still does not have any assets. The directors then promised to contribute a “modest cash sum” instead, but the trustees will not accept this because they do not want to falsely raise former workers’ hopes of a large cash windfall.
Nanjing springs a surprise
By TIM WEBB, The Independent
JUST after 7pm on Friday night, Tony Lomas, the administrator of the collapsed MG Rover, thanked his PricewaterhouseCoopers staff at the City offices of law firm Herbert Smith. The day of reckoning had finally come for the last British-owned volume car maker. After a three-and-a-half-month sale process – which attracted some 200 expressions of interest of varying degrees of seriousness – Mr Lomas finally announced the winning bid.
Three offers had been on the table: one from the Chinese car maker Nanjing Automobile and UK engineer Arup; another from rival company Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC); and a third from a British consortium called Project Kimber, led by the Millennium Dome saviour David James, which was widely seen as the outsider.
Everyone was expecting the new owners of the car company to be Chinese. But the big surprise was that the victorious Chinese hailed from the province of Nanjing and not Shanghai. The decision shocked members of Project Kimber; although they knew last week that they were probably beaten, executives believed as late as Friday afternoon that SAIC had won it.
SAIC itself was quietly confident that its bid, made with a consortium put together by a former Ford executive, Martin Leech, would beat off competition from its far smaller Chinese rival. But there had been enough false alarms to keep everyone on their toes. With MG Rover – which went into administration in April after its original joint venture partner, SAIC, pulled out over concerns about its financial position – nothing is ever simple. And so it proved, right until the end.
Nanjing plans to produce 80,000 newly designed MG cars each year at Longbridge within five years, employing 2,000 workers at full production. It will build MG variants of the large Rover 75 car and the MG sports cars at Longbridge. MG variants of the Rover 25 and 45 – small and medium cars – will be produced in China and shipped to the Midlands for final assembly. In China, the aim is to manufacture 200,000 cars eventually, possibly using the old Austin brand name, the original motor company founded at Longbridge in 1905.
No cars will be manufactured under the Rover brand, which Nanjing says will enable it to avoid the issue of intellectual property. Before SAIC pulled out of talks with MG Rover, it bought the intellectual property rights to some of the Rover models. It is not clear whether Nanjing’s proposals will get round this, but Mr Lomas said on Friday night that it was not an issue.
Nanjing had won because it had the better prepared bid, Mr Lomas said, pointing out that SAIC was, until recently, interested only in buying the Power-train engine business. Nanjing, in contrast, was only ever interested in buying all of MG Rover’s assets, and tabled its own bid 10 days ago. SAIC’s bid was full of conditions because it had had less time to carry out due diligence, Mr Lomas said. Issues included the way in which assets would be transferred into the new owner’s hands and how the money would be paid to PwC.
Asked why he did not give SAIC more time to carry out full due diligence, he replied: “All the groups had three and a half months to make a bid.”
The T&G union, which represents around half of the 6,000 former MG Rover workers, said in a statement it was disappointed that Nanjing had won because it believed that SAIC’s proposals would create more British jobs. It said it would seek urgent talks with Nanjing. The union’s leader, Tony Woodley, had warned that a Nanjing bid would see the “lift and shift” of production from Britain to China.
Alan Belfield, the director of industrial consulting at Arup, could barely contain his glee at being selected. “Ours was the best bid on the table.” He denied that the plan was to move all production to China after a couple of years. “It’s a big goal for Nanjing to be a global supplier. We are focusing in the UK to do that, and on the things which the UK is good at, such as making niche vehicles and R&D.”
Nanjing, which is controlled by a local authority, is China’s oldest car maker, set up in 1947 in the Jiangsu province in the east of the country. Mainly a commercial vehicle manufacturer, it makes a fraction of the 600,000 cars that SAIC, China’s biggest car maker, churned out last year. Though both are owned by the Chinese state, little love is lost between them.
The victory will be particularly sweet for Nanjing as it was set to be MG Rover’s main joint-venture partner until SAIC gate-crashed the talks 18 months ago. Nanjing was brought in to SAIC’s plans only as a junior partner, because the Chinese government wanted to help Nanjing achieve its aim of becoming a global car maker. Now SAIC must eat humble pie and see if Nanjing will bring it on board as a partner. Mr Belfield was diplomatic about the possibility of teaming up, saying: “That is something for Nanjing from the Chinese end. We are happy to talk to anyone who can help us make better cars in the UK.”
The bidders’ battle to win over the administrators, the politicians and the public has been as high profile as the lurch of the company into administration under the old owner, Phoenix Venture Holdings, in April. It had been impossible, at times, to see beyond the spin as all the three bidders put into gear large-scale public relations campaigns to bolster their bids and discredit their rivals.
Now it is up to Nanjing and Arup to prove that PwC was right to select them. Richard Burden, Labour MP for Birmingham Northfield, said that, despite the hopes of redundant workers, it would be wrong to assume that the new owner would “bring back” MG Rover. MG Rover has failed. Nanjing must show that this is not another Phoenix-style false re-incarnation, and that this time, it will work.
PricewaterhouseCoopers press release
THE joint administrators from PricewaterhouseCoopers have announced the sale of the assets of both MG Rover Group and its engine producer, Powertrain Limited to Nanjing Automobile (Group) Corporation. The sale concludes a three month process following the collapse of MG Rover in early April. Nanjing Automobile (Group) Corporation was one of the two Chinese groups that had planned to become joint venture partners with Phoenix Ventures, prior to the collapse of negotiations.
Tony Lomas, joint administrator, said:
“In early June I reported to the creditors that there were no viable bidders for the business as a going concern. As a result, plans had been put in place for a break-up sale, unless a bidder pre-empted that process before it could be completed. SAIC had offered to buy the engine plant for relocation to China, so negotiations were underway to sell those assets separately.
“Whilst we have been negotiating with Nanjing Automobile (Group) Corporation we have been aware of Martin Leach’s interest in the car production assets, although no bid has ever been made by Mr Leach. ‘Until late last week SAIC had offered to acquire only the Powertrain assets. On Monday of this week SAIC submitted a conditional bid for all of the MG Rover and Powertrain assets. However the level and conditionality of SAIC’s bid left Nanjing’s bid as the preferred way forward.
“Nanjing will now begin to take control of the assets and develop its plans for the future. It has indicated its intention to relocate the engine plant and some of the car production plant to China, to retain some car production plant in the UK and to develop an R&D and technical facility here in pursuit of the same global expansion ambition that it had when it joined with SAIC as the intended joint venture partners to Phoenix Venture Holdings before the collapse of MG Rover.
“For a transition period a residual workforce will continue to be employed by MG Rover Group and Powertrain, assisting the Administrators as they have for the last three and a half months. In the meantime Nanjing Automobile (Group) Corporation intends to begin to hire staff to assist it in implementing and developing its strategy.”
The race is on…
By KEITH ADAMS
The announcement that SAIC and Martin Leach’s company, Magma, have joined forces and will be bidding for MG Rover’s assets from the administrators, PwC.
SAIC has sensationally entered into the bidding race to pick up the assets of MG Rover from PwC. Alongside industry mainstay, Martin Leach, the two parties are in the process of negotiating for MG Rover’s production facility at Longbridge.
This move would make Magma the overwhelming favourite to pick up Longbridge from PwC, is SAIC already owns the rights to build Rover’s model range and the K-Series engine. Leach and Ed Sabisky, a former General Motors finance specialist, have obviously convinced SAIC of the validity of Longbridge (MGR and Powertrain), and one can assume that SAIC will be using Birmingham as its centre of operations in a European push.
It remains to be seen whether the cars that emerge from Longbridge will be wearing Rover badges or not, but with the MG marque still in British hands, there will be no legal or financial hurdles to re-starting production of the existing range wearing MG badges.
However, PwC announced today that it is still in discussions with three interested parties – two overseas, and one British. The overseas end is taken care of by the proposed (before April) Joint Venture partner in SAIC-MG Rover, Nanjing (the bid is being assisted by Phoenix Venture Holdings’ director, Nick Stephenson). As for the British party still in the running, are we possibly looking at Magma (with SAIC), company ‘doctor’ and Dome rescuer, David James (see below), or Triple-A.
With RDX60 engineering near competion (but mothballed in 2003), would this form the basis of a mid-range push to complement the Rover 75/ZT, or would this be scrapped in favour of a new venture? After all, as has been suggested, Martin Leach is a ‘Fiat’ man, and MG Rover did try to negotiate for the Stilo platform in the past…
Former Ford Man eyes up MG Rover
By Richard Bremner, Autocar magazine
Martin Leach and the Ford GT at the 73rd Geneva International Motor Show
FORMER Maserati and Ford of Europe boss Martin Leach is heading a bid for MG Rover that could rekindle the deal with Shanghai Automotive (SAIC).
The future for the ailing MG Rover brand could be bright if a new bid for the recently deceased company is successful. The plan, reckoned to be the most credible so far, would result in using Longbridge as a research and development centre, before vehicle production restarts early next year. SAIC is said to be taking the bid ‘extremely seriously’.
Former Ford and Maserati supreme Martin Leach and Ed Sabisky, a former General Motors finance specialist, have been working with Transport and General Workers Union general secretary Tony Woodley, a long-time champion of Rover. The three believe that the industrial logic for a deal with SAIC still holds, and have been talking to the Chinese group for some time.
The insolvency and pension liabilities that stalled the deal previously have ceased to be obstacles now that MG Rover is in administration. It’s thought that SAIC will have to find £100 million to to restart the deal, with additional funds from Leach and Sabisky. The UK Government is likely to be supportive of the deal. SAIC would build the Rover 75 and 25 in China and move the K-series engine facility there, too.
Besides the Leach bid there are thought to be two other bids for the whole company, and five centred around reviving MG and the TF. Among the bidders for MG is former Powertrain boss Fraser Welford-Winton, as well as Chinese company Nanjing, assisted by Phoenix director Nick Stephenson.
Midlands millionaire haulier Martyn Moseley has joined forces with Middle East-backed consultant Krish Bhaskar and intends to bid for the whole company, while corporate troubleshooter David James (see below) has also bid to restart MG sports car production. It is not clear when an announcement of winning bids will be made, but it is thought to be close.
MGR dealers were signing over to SAIC weeks before meltdown
By KEITH ADAMS
AS RECENTLY as March 2005, SAIC was issuing information packs to UK MG Rover dealer chiefs, requesting that they sign over from Phoenix Venture Holdings (PVH) to the new Joint Venture Company.
According to the document, two Joint Venture Companies were about to be formed between Phoenix Venture Holdings (PVH) and Dong Hua Automobile Investment Holding Corporation (DH). DH is a Joint Venture established between SAIC and the Nanjing Automobile Group (NAC) – the company that looks almost certain to take on MG Rover’s Longbridge production equipment, as well as the Powertrain engine plant.
The unnamed Joint Venture Company was to be registered in China, would be split 75-25 between DH and PVH, and would form the umbrella organisation for the second JV, provisionally named UKA.
The same split would also apply to the second Joint Venture, which was known as ‘UKA’. This would encompass the Longbridge production facility, XPart and the worldwide distribution network (excluding China).
SAIC also stated that it was working on re-acquiring the MG Rover’s spares distributor, XPart, from Caterpillar Logistics – after the hard-up Birmingham carmaker sold it off in 2003.
The document also reaffirmed SAIC’s desire to become one of the world’s ten largest manufacturers, ambitiously promising to build over one million cars a year. It promised that the new Longbridge- and Shanghai-built medium car, codenamed RDX60 (Project Nexus), would be revealed at the Paris Motor Show in 2006. It also stated that the car had already been tested favourably against rival lower-medium cars – and was confidently predicting Longbridge would be producing 200,000 cars per year after 2007.
In an effort to reassure embattled dealers unsure about making the switch, SAIC promised that it would be financing the Joint Venture, and all MG Rover needed to do was remain solvent…
The failure of MG Rover to remain solvent meant the Joint Venture was never cemented, and following the SAIC purchase of the design rights of the 25, 75, MG TF, and the K-Series engine, it is now working on its own plans to build the 75 (under the codename SAC528) alongside UK Consultants, Ricardo Engineering and a number of ex-Longbridge engineers.
However, it is said SAIC is running into difficulties with SAC528, and the outright purchase of Powertrain would alleviate potential problems building and developing the K-Series engine.
British bidder plans £40m MG restart at Longbridge
By Christopher Hope, Business Correspondent, The Telegraph
DAVID JAMES, the company doctor who prevented the Millennium Dome from deflating in 2000 and negotiated with Colonel Gaddafi for the release of British hostages in Libya in the 1980s, is leading an all-British bid to buy the MG sports car business for £40m.
Mr James lodged details of the offer with administrator Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) earlier this week. He is hoping to re-employ 500 former workers to build the sports cars at MG’s Longbridge plant in Birmingham.
The news will bring fresh hope to the West Midlands, which is still reeling after MG Rover collapsed in April with debts of £1.4billion and the loss of more than 6,000 jobs.
Mr James has been brought in to refresh an offer made by a group of Birmingham businessmen. Other bids have come from Nikolai Smolenski, owner of the Lancashire-based TVR sports car business as well as Dastaan, an Iranian business.
The offer is for the assets of MG and for its Powertrain engines plant. Mr James said the offer – called “Project Kimber” – was fully funded, but declined to give details.
He said: “The money is on the table. We are proposing to buy the assets and return production to Longbridge for the MG. Ours is a British-backed bid for jobs in Britain.”
Mr James needs to hire 500 former car workers to make his plans work, while another 1,500 new jobs hinge on whether other manufacturers can be persuaded to make cars at Longbridge. Mr James said he was in talks to build “niche brands” there.
If the offer is accepted Mr James, 67, will be chairman of the new business and take a 5pc stake. A team of motor industry executives would run it on a day-to-day basis.
Alchemy Partners, the venture capitalist that tried to buy MG Rover in early 2000 before it was sold to four local businessmen for a nominal £10, had been contacted about funding.
Jon Moulton, chairman of Alchemy, said: “We have been in contact with some elements of this group but we are not funding it.”
Mr James, who started his career at Ford Motor Company, said he was keen to work with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, which bought intellectual property rights relating to some Rover models and engines for £67m late last year. A spokesman for PWC said: “We don’t talk about individual bids.”
Yesterday, it emerged that Nick Stephenson, one of the “Phoenix Four” who netted more than £30m from MG Rover, was working unpaid with another possible bidder, Nanjing Automotive, after executives from the Chinese company reportedly visited the plant last week.
It also emerged that the Phoenix Four, who pledged to give assets worth between £10m and £30m to a trust for ex-workers, had been advised not to release the assets until completion of an inquiry by the Department of Trade and Industry, which could take more than 18 months.
Eric MacDonald, an officer with the T&G and a trustee of the trust, said: “We are extremely unhappy about this. We understood very clearly the Phoenix Four had made an absolute commitment to hand over the assets.”
‘Region is more attractive since MG Rover crash’
Birmingham Post Jul 1 2005, By John Revill At The World Investment Conference In La Baule
THE West Midlands’ response to the MG Rover crash has made the region more attractive to foreign investors and could help turn it into a European economic powerhouse, it has been claimed. Sir Albert Bore, former Birmingham City Council leader, said the region had learnt from the aftermath of the 2000 Longbridge crisis to improve its skill levels and diversify.
This now stood the region in good stead for increasing the value added and knowledgebased qualities which could attract more overseas firms. Speaking at the World Investment Conference, Sir Albert said the region had all the fundamentals in place to achieve greater economic success. A skilled and flexible workforce together with support from local agencies and infrastructure meant Birmingham could soon take its place among the European front-runners.
But in order to do so, it needed to focus increasingly on knowledge-based and value added industries, said Sir Albert, who was in La Baule in his role as vice president of the European Union’s Committee of the Regions. He said: “New jobs are not going to come in some of the traditional low value added industries which the West Midlands has been renowned for. They are going to come from developing the human capital of the region by improving educational achievement standards, upskilling and moving into higher added value areas, moving into the knowledge economy. That is where Europe is going to succeed against the tiger economies of India and China the Far East, through the UK being a knowledge economy.
“We have got to reflect that in the West Midlands. Birmingham much of the last ten years has been about addressing that agenda.”
Sir Albert said lessons had been learned from the 2000 MG Rover crisis, which meant the number of job losses was now significantly lower as companies diversified away from Longbridge.
“The current crisis is a lesson which has been learnt. The West Midlands over the past five years has learnt it has to diversify, and has done so. We have made a lot of progress with some of the components companies moving over to supplying aerospace for example from motor manufacture. The way we have restructured the industry and up skilled over the past five years is a demonstration of what we have to keep on doing and the chances of moving the West Midlands economy on to make it more competitive are quite realistic.”
Sir Albert said people in Europe wanted to see how the region had done it, with schemes like the A38 Technology Corridor an attraction to inward investors.
“People in Europe want to see how we have increased our skills, training and flexibility.”
But despite this change, there was still a long way to go with Birmingham lagging behind the EU average GDP per head. Sir Albert said: “We are not competitive yet. In EU per capita GDP we are not among the most competitive regions in Europe. Birmingham is around 90 per cent of EU average GDP, but there are regions where there is 130, 140 per cent of the EU average GDP. Places like Munich and Milan are the tiger economies of their nations. We have got a long way to go in being a competitive region, but the West Midlands can become more of a powerhouse than it has been in recent decades.”
…but General Motors disagrees
GM Europe’s funny beliefs
Taken from Autowired
OUR POLITICAL leaders in the UK came in for a bit of a bashing this week from GM Europe’s president, Carl-Peter Forster. He said it was a dangerous game being played by Britain in replacing its high-skilled manufacturing base with low-skill service jobs. “The UK has a funny belief that you don’t need manufacturers and I doubt that this sort of structure is right,” he said.
The London-born economist, with a degree in aviation and space technology, wasn’t with General Motors at the beginning of the millennium when it closed the Vauxhall plant in Luton and dispensed with 2,000 skilled manufacturing jobs. He was with BMW, which itself was getting excited about buying Rover to ensure thousands of other UK manufacturing jobs would not be lost.
These days, at the top of Forster’s ‘To Do’ list, must be a note which says ‘Dispense with 12,000 jobs from GM Europe’. A few hundred of those jobs will go here in the UK but the bulk will go from the Opel plants in Germany. A minute percentage of those skilled workers will be re-employed in manufacturing. Most will be selling burgers or employed in call centres.
Seems to me that he, too, has a funny belief that he can rid his ailing company of 12,000 manufacturing jobs whilst believing other manufacturing companies in economically-strapped Germany will hire them. The jobs in Germany, like the ones in Luton, are going because Europe is building too many cars. The sadness is that manufacturing, generally, has been improved immeasurably by computers, other technology and newer materials and no longer needs armies of workers.
The regret is that we still seem to need burgers, supermarkets and people in call centres trying to sell me life assurance. Those Widows in Scotland, who have always been prolific writers to me have now taken to phoning me, bless them.


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Businesses Oppose U.S. House Midnight Rules Act:
U.S. House move to prevent rules is “like taking a chainsaw into surgery"
WASHINGTON, DC (January 4, 2017)—The American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC), with a membership network representing more than 250,000 businesses, today sent a letter to members of the U.S. House of Representatives voicing opposing to H.R. 21, a bill designed to invalidate rules written during the final period of a presidential administration.
David Levine, CEO and Co-founder of ASBC, said, “This would be like taking a chainsaw into surgery. Businesses depend on good regulations to set clear boundaries and rules for fair competition on a level playing field. Instead, H.R. 21 would let Congress undo batches of rules without any consideration of their individual merits.”
The letter stated in part: “Blocking, weakening or delaying critical standards and safeguards will only worsen the uneven economic playing field that leaves many small- and medium-sized businesses at a competitive disadvantage. It also inhibits innovation in new technologies that can create good, sustainable jobs as well as safer products, workplaces and communities.”
ASBC’s letter also provided national, scientific poll results showing that small business owners understand the value of regulations and support them by strong majorities. Those findings hold true across party lines, since the majority of those polled were self-identified Republicans. Among the findings listed in the letter were:
- 78% of small employers agree regulations are important to protect small businesses from unfair competition and to level the playing field with big business.
- 79% of small business owners support having clean air and water in their community in order to keep their families, employees and customers healthy.
- 61% support standards that move the country towards energy efficiency and clean energy.
- 86% of small business poll respondents believe some regulation is necessary for a modern economy, and 93% believe their business can live with some regulation if it is fair and manageable.
The full text of the letter may be found here: http://asbcouncil.org/sites/default/files/asbc_opposes_hr21_midnight_regs.pdf
The report on the polling may be found here: http://asbcouncil.org/sites/default/files/files/Regulations_Poll_Report_FINAL.pdf.
ASBC has an ongoing campaign to help policymakers understand how regulations are important to innovation and fair competition in business. More information on the campaign may be found here: http://asbcouncil.org/issues/regulations.
The American Sustainable Business Council advocates for policy change and informs business owners and the public about the need and opportunities for building a vibrant, sustainable economy. Through its national member network, it represents more than 250,000 business owners, executives and investors from a wide range of industries. www.asbcouncil.org


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Hewlett Packard confirmed today that it will discontinue all current operations related to webOS devices via a press release. The announcement comes less than two months after HP launched its first webOS tablet, the HP TouchPad, and less than three years after developers first started making apps for the platform.
HP, which is holding its third quarter earnings call today at which it is expected to confirm its exit from the PC manufacturing business as well, specifically called out the TouchPad and "webOS phones" as devices that would be taken out of commission. This includes the HP Pre 3, a webOS phone that was due for launch any day now in the US and had just been released in Europe.
The company says that it will "continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward." This could be interpreted in a range of ways, from putting webOS on less competitive platforms (the company has indicated in the past its desire to put the OS in items like refrigerators), to even selling it to a competitor.
The sudden move puts developers for the platform in flux. Ed Finkler, developer of the webOS microblogging client Spaz, told Ars he likes developing for webOS, and doesn't suspect the OS will be fully killed off. "Whether or not it is a viable platform commercially in the consumer electronics field is another question," Finkler said.


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May 18, 2017 07:02 PM EDT
iPhone 8 basic 128GB model is rumored to bear a price tag touching the $1000 mark. The 256GB model will see an addition of another $100.
iPhone 8 is a much-awaited series ever to be produced by Apple. The hype surrounding the device is surreal and given the features, one might expect to pay a fortune to acquire it. Mac Rumors has reaffirmed the price factor and there is little doubt surrounding it.
iPhone 8 could well reach another landmark of being the fastest phone ever to be released. The stellar A11 processor is anything but ordinary. Giving justice to its price tag, the edge-to-edge OLED display, and wireless charging will also be incorporated. The device will sport dual snappers with 3D sensors, jacking up the present augmented reality applications.
Tom's guide reports that Samsung S8 will find it tough to get going as the price is the only factor in their favor. There is a huge gulf between the specifications of the two upcoming Smartphones.
iPhone 8 will be under heavy scrutiny due to such high pricing.
The launch of iPhone 8 will be of greater significance as it will mark the tenth anniversary of iPhone. The device will flash a 5.8" all glass display making it all the more delicate. The ever present home button will be removed marking another significant move for the future.
Reports of a 32GB initial model have surfaced in recent times. Iris scanner will complete iPhone 8 while boasting of water-resistant technology. The inclusion of A11 chip marks the beginning of ARM's 10nm manufacturing process, a technology for the ages.
iPhone 8 will storm the market all cylinders blazing, despite such a hefty price tag. It will be intriguing to see how the Apple loyalists react to this mind-boggling featured phone. Meanwhile, for more updates on iPhone 8 stay tuned with us!
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FedEx says cyber attack to hurt its fiscal 2018 results
Package delivery company FedEx Corp said its fiscal 2018 results would be hurt in part due to disruption of operations in its TNT Express unit following a cyber attack last month.
The Netherlands-based TNT Express is still experiencing widespread service delays following the attack, FedEx said in a regulatory filing on Monday.
FedEx said it was unable to estimate when services at the unit would be fully restored. (http://bit.ly/2uAnQKG)
FedEx added that no data breach or data loss to third parties is known to have occurred as of July 17.
The company said it was evaluating the financial impact of the cyber attack, but it was likely to be "material".
Shares of FedEx fell as much as 2.7 percent to $213.07 in early trading.
In June, a new cyber virus spread from Ukraine to wreak havoc around the globe, crippling thousands of computers.
FedEx said it has experienced loss of revenue due to decreased volumes at TNT Express, incremental costs from contingency plans and remediation of affected systems.
The company said it did not have an insurance in place that covered the impact from the cyber attack.
(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
Get Latest Business News, Stock Market Updates and Videos; Check your tax outgo through Income Tax Calculator and save money through our Personal Finance coverage. Check Business Breaking News Live on Zee Business Twitter and Facebook. Subscribe on YouTube.


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The family-and-kids-focused Main Event, a bowling alley, arcade and entertainment center opening on Tucson’s southwest side this week, is like its parent company’s adult-leaning Dave & Busters — on steroids.
Fifty-thousand square feet that can accommodate 1,200 people
A 22-lane bowling alley
More than 100 arcade games, 85 of which are designed for two players or more
Add to that billiards, shuffle board and banquet rooms perfect for kids parties and corporate meetings
When it opens its doors on Wednesday, March 1, at 4700 S. Landing Way, Main Event will be the biggest entertainment attraction in The Landing, the mixed-use development off Interstate 19 and West Irvington Road that is changing the entertainment narrative on Tucson’s south side.
Between The Landing and the Spectrum center across the street, the area is fast becoming Tucson’s entertainment destination with nearly 30 restaurants and a movie theater, plus plans for a hotel and as many as 200 apartments.
Main Event picked the southwest side location “because it’s quickly booming,” said Marie Carroll, the center’s sales manager.
“Not only that, but we love the community on this part of town. We wanted to make sure we were integrating in a part of town where we were going to be able to bring out our demographic,” she said.
That demographic is families with young kids, which is the predominant demographic in the surrounding communities of Sahuarita, Tucson’s southwest and south sides and the east side community of Vail, said Carroll, who got her start with Main Event at its Avondale location.
But the shoppers coming on Interstate 19 from Mexico by the tens of thousands every month was also a big draw to the area.
“We’re hoping to go global with Main Event and exposure to Mexican (consumers) could help,” Carroll said.
Since its founding in 1998, Main Event has opened 50 locations, mostly in Southern states, although it has a single location in Maryland and two in Ohio. Tucson is the fourth in Arizona, with other locations in Tempe, Gilbert and Avondale.
Dave & Busters bought the 25-year-old company last year as a family-friendly complement to its more adult-themed restaurant and arcade.
The lone Tucson Dave & Busters, in a 30,000-square-foot building at 1390 E. Tucson Marketplace Blvd., is about five miles from Main Event.
Main Event’s menu is decidedly more downscale than Dave & Busters, offering a Family Kitchen menu of shareable feasts that can feed up to five where you can mix and match pizza, wings and salad, for instance. There’s also classic burgers with innovative twists including one featuring peanut butter; a mega pan pizza with giant pepperoni; and mason jar desserts.
There’s also a handful of craft beers on tap including a few from Tucson.
Main Event will open at 11 a.m. Wednesday and will host its grand opening Friday, March 3, through Sunday, March 5, with several special promotions:
The first 200 guests in line on Friday, March 3, get free laser tag for a year.
Saturday is “Pins for a Purpose.” Main Event will donate $10 to the Education Enrichment Foundation benefiting the Tucson Unified School District for every strike bowled through March 10.
Families can take a shot at the Big Fun Sundae on Sunday, March 5. Families that finish the ice cream, sauces and toppings that include donut holes, candy, whipped cream and brownies in five minutes won’t have to pay the $18.99 price for the dessert. They also get a free T-shirt, Carroll said.
“Monday Night Madness” on March 6 is $12.99 per person for all you can play games and activities after 4 p.m.
On Tuesday, March 7, kids eat free with the purchase of an $11.99 or higher priced entrée.
Main Event will be open from 11 a.m. to midnight Sundays through Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays; and from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturdays. For more information, visit mainevent.com/tucson.
Photos: Skate County in Tucson celebrates 50 years of roller skating
Cathalena has covered music for the Star for more than 20 years. She's a graduate of Arizona State University has worked at Sedona Red Rock News, Niagara Gazette in Niagara Falls, New York; and USA Today.


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NEW YORK -- One man's trash is another man's cash.
New York City officials say rising prices paid for recycled materials has led to an increase in "trash for cash" thefts.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said Tuesday that eight men were arrested last week for stealing bales of cardboard off the street during a police initiative against thefts of recycled materials. Cardboard now sells for $75 a ton.
Brown estimated that each two-man team likely netted about $1,000 a night selling stolen cardboard to a recycling transfer station, even if they had to rent a box van.
The men were arraigned on charges including petty larceny and theft of cardboard from licensed trade waste haulers. All were freed without bail and ordered to return to court in October.


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Esports sponsorship data platform FanAI has announced two new hires, appointing Randy Stude as its Vice President of Sales & Marketing and Karim Varela as its Vice President of Technology.
FanAI currently provides sponsorship data to the likes of Cloud9, OpTic Gaming, Overwatch League’s Los Angeles Valiant and NYXL, and Cavs Legion GC.
Stude previously spent 13 years leading the gaming marketing efforts at Intel. He also spent time as the Director of Strategy at AMD. Varela’s professional background has seen him responsible for managing, analyzing, and presenting data, as well as bringing products to market at the likes of Fandango, Coffee Meets Bagel, and Tinder.
Johannes Waldstein, Founder and CEO of FanAI discussed the hires in a release: “FanAI delivers actionable social and ethnographic data, the likes of which many companies have never seen before. As we expand our model to reach new markets, our in-house talent needs to grow alongside our strategic business objectives. Both Karim and Randy will be integral to our continued growth, as they truly represent the next evolution of FanAI, both on the backend as well as consumer-facing fronts.”
In January, FanAI announced the acquisition of data startup Waypoint Media. A year prior, the platform closed a $2.5 million (£2.0 million) funding round which saw investment come from BITKRAFT Esports Ventures, Rosecliff Ventures, Sterling.VC, and more.


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Designs that consider color perception differences could improve LED lighting
Credit: Soraa Inc., Freemont, Calif., USA
WASHINGTON — Although LEDs are increasingly used in low-energy lighting and displays, consumers sometimes find their light harsh or unpleasant. Findings from a new study point to the need to take age-related perception differences into account when designing white LED lighting that is more pleasing to the eye.
“Our study revealed that the amount of short-wavelength light a source emits together with the viewer’s age may lead to very different perceptions of a white light,” said the research team leader Aurelien David of Soraa Inc., Fremont, Calif., U.S.A. “LED light sources exacerbate this effect, because their emission often features large peaks of blue or violet radiation.”
The researchers report the new findings in The Optical Society (OSA) journal Optics Express. They point out that although conventional colorimetry assumes all users have the same visual response, more recently developed models for color perception take age-related effects into account and can be used to predict and help mitigate differences in color perception.
“Today, the color of light is defined by standards based on decades-old science that doesn’t accurately predict color perception,” said David. “This presents a hurdle to designing better light sources that would minimize inter-user variation and aid in the increased use of LED technology.”
Testing white light perception
For the study, viewers were shown several nearly white LED sources with various emission spectra and asked to rank their perceived tint compared to that of a reference white light. The test sources were part of the researchers’ efforts to develop a more sleep-friendly light source. They featured a specialized emission spectrum in which the short-wavelength blue light, which may affect sleep, was replaced with shorter-wavelength violet light that maintains the light’s white color.
“According to standard colorimetry methods, all users should have the same perception for a certain LED source,” said David. “However, we found large variations between viewers. Some thought a given source appeared very pink, whereas others thought the same source appeared very green.”
Analysis of these findings revealed that the perception variations were largely driven by age. Turning to modern color science, the researchers were able to derive a perception model that accurately accounted for the inter-user perception variation they observed.
“The perceived tint of these unusual LED sources is heavily influenced by the viewer’s sensitivity in the violet range, which is strongly age-dependent,” explained David. “Although others have observed similar variations in white-LED perception, the effect was especially easy to see because these special LEDs exacerbate it.”
The researchers also showed that the age-dependent perception effects are present in conventional LEDs such as those used both in lighting and display applications. This means that two conventional LED sources that supposedly have the same white color may appear very different to a given observer.
Defining new color standards
“By using modern colorimetry, the design of future LED sources could be tailored to minimize inter-viewer discrepancies,” said David. “Manufacturers could use this modern framework to design lighting that is more robust against age-driven variations.”
The researchers note that having a standard calculation for age-dependent colorimetric quantities would help manufacturers and other stakeholders incorporate age-dependent effects into the design of future LED emitters.
“We should make sure that such age-related effects do not hinder the advancement of LED technology, since they can be addressed with scientific tools that are already available, albeit not commonly used,” said David.
The researchers acknowledge that all 64 subjects used for this research were all employees of Soraa Inc. who volunteered to participate in the study.
Paper: A. David, D. Sahlhoff, M. Wisser, “Human perception of light chromaticity: short-wavelength effects in spectra with low circadian stimulation, and broader implications for general LED sources,” Opt. Express, 27, 22, 31553-31566 (2019).
About Optics Express
Optics Express reports on scientific and technology innovations in all aspects of optics and photonics. The bi-weekly journal provides rapid publication of original, peer-reviewed papers. It is published by The Optical Society (OSA) and led by Editor-in-Chief James Leger of the University of Minnesota, USA. Optics Express is an open-access journal and is available at no cost to readers online at OSA Publishing.
About The Optical Society
Founded in 1916, The Optical Society (OSA) is the leading professional organization for scientists, engineers, students and business leaders who fuel discoveries, shape real-life applications and accelerate achievements in the science of light. Through world-renowned publications, meetings and membership initiatives, OSA provides quality research, inspired interactions and dedicated resources for its extensive global network of optics and photonics experts. For more information, visit osa.org.
Related Journal Article


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GST Council cuts taxes on about 175 items from 28% - ABN
Fri, Nov 10, 2017, 05:26 PM
Consumers breathed easy as GST Council cuts taxes on about 175 items from 28% to 18% by giving a reduction of 10%. Taxes on items like chewing gum, chocolates, cosmetics and so on were decreased where as taxes remained the same on ACs and Washing Machines with 28%. Govt has taken the decision in this regard in GST council meet held in Guwahati. Bihar Finance Minister Susheel Modi said the 28% taxes will be continued over tobacco products without any change.


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We're celebrating the annual National Vegetarian Week (16-22 May) this week. Every year, The Vegetarian Society launches a dedicated campaign to encourage more people to reduce their meat consumption and spread awareness of climate change.
As one of the best things we can do for our planet is to eat less meat, this year's campaign motto is: "Choose veggie! Choose climate! Choose wildlife!"
It appears that more and more Brits are aware that their dietary choices matter not only for their health but also for the planet.
According to a recent You Gov survey, more than a quarter of Brits (27%) are considering eating less meat – with health and climate change given as the main reasons to do so. For younger generations, the environment is even more critical. Half of the respondents (50%) under 34 years old said they were strongly motivated by climate change.
More than a fifth of people (21%) who said they were considering reducing the amount of meat they eat gave animal welfare as their main reason.
A plant-based diet is better for the planet as it contributes significantly less to global warming. It produces a lot fewer carbon emissions than a diet that is rich in meat and dairy. A diet based on unprocessed whole foods is a healthier, more environmentally-friendly and more affordable option, especially for households on tight budgets.
Climate change negatively influences wildlife and causes the risk of extinction for many species. The Vegetarian Society awareness campaign aims to educate that when you choose to eat healthy plant-based whole foods, you can help protect animals like colourful puffins, red squirrels, hedgehogs, and bees.
When asked, "Which, if any, of the following animals, if they were to be lost through extinction, would make you consider reducing your meat consumption or giving up meat altogether?" 40% of those not already following either a vegan or a vegetarian diet said protecting bees from extinction could convince them, with dolphins (34%), turtles (28%) and hedgehogs (27%) coming next on the list.
Richard McIlwain, Chief Executive of the Vegetarian Society, commented: "We aren't surprised to see climate change as a key driver for people reducing the amount of meat they eat. The government's own Climate Change Committee suggests we should be eating 20% less meat by 2030 and the recent National Food Strategy, led by Henry Dimbleby, suggests this figure should be even higher at 30%. The good news is, if you currently eat meat every day, you can achieve a 30% reduction by going meat-free on just two days a week. What better time could there possibly be than National Vegetarian Week to give it a go?!"


text: Sub-brands are emerging as the latest trend, particularly among German automakers. BMW has rolled out its new i family of electric vehicles. Audi looks poised to spin the TT off into its own line with added bodystyles. Mercedes-Benz is expected to bring the Maybach name, once its own brand, back as a model designation at the top of the S-Class range. And now Volkswagen is rumored to be planning more retro models to follow in the footsteps of the Beetle.


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According to a report in the Financial Times recently, Microsoft intends to cut the price of its software and development tools in China, at the same time offering alternative editions, a move that is seen to be reflecting the impact of piracy and Linux on the company's business here.
It is hoped that this move on Microsoft's part will win over independent software developers in the region.
Colin Png, Microsoft's director for Asia and greater China, is quoted in the paper as saying that Microsoft plans to "almost give away" its main development tool–Visualstudio.NET–to software development students. Trial kits of the same tool will also be developed.
"It's useless for us to talk about our technology when nobody can get a hold of it," Png was quoted as saying. "We want to make some of these software editions (in development tools) more accessible." Microsoft will start offering editions of Visualstudio.NET, its main development tool, at lower prices to developers in China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand in the next two to three months.


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When it comes to smartphone sales, Samsung is the company that has been at the forefront in this regard for a long time.
In the third quarter of 2021, Samsung remained the world’s largest smartphone seller.
Samsung maintained its lead in the third quarter of 2021, according to a report by Canalys, a company that analyzes smartphone sales.
Samsung’s market share during this period was 23%.
But this quarter, Apple has regained the second position and pushed Xiaomi down.
Apple’s share of the smartphone market stood at 15% from July to September, up 3% from the same quarter last year.
Xiaomi came in third but fell just one percent to 14 percent.
Vivo and Oppo ranked fourth and 5th with a market share of 10, respectively. 10%.
Global smartphone sales in the third quarter of 2021 were 6% lower than in the same period last year.
This is due to the global shortage of chips and experts believe that it may take a year to overcome this crisis.
According to Canalys, all the companies are competing for smartphones due to the global shortage of components, but Xiaomi has set its sights on a new target, surpassing Samsung.
In June 2021, Xiaomi sold more smartphones than Samsung and Apple.
In June, the company sold 26% more smartphones than in May 2021, accounting for 17.1% of the global phone market.
Samsung and Apple were second and third with 15.7 percent and 14.3 percent, respectively.


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The nation’s major mobile phone providers are keeping a treasure trove of sensitive data about their customers, according to a recently released Department of Justice internal memo that reveals the data retention policies of the largest U.S. telecoms.
Verizon keeps a list of everyone a customer has exchanged text messages with for the past year, the report stated. T-Mobile stores the same data up to five years, and the number is 18 months for Sprint and seven years for AT&T.
That makes Verizon appear to have the most privacy-friendly policy. However, Verizon alone retains the actual contents of text messages, which it allegedly stores for five days. T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint don’t store them at all.
The revelations of the telcos’ data retention policies sparked commentary from legal experts and privacy advocates.
“One of the key legal questions is whether the service agreement between the wireless customer and wireless provider discloses and memorializes the data collection, retention, and sharing policy of the carrier,” said Charles A. Zdebski, co-chair of the utilities and telecommunications practice group for Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, L.L.C. in Washington, DC.
“The answer to that question should resolve the issue of whether the customer has a legitimate concern or dispute with the carrier’s policies,” continued. Zdebski. “In our world of technology, as a practical matter it should not surprise consumers that many of their movements, interests, communications, and purchasing activities are tracked, including the use of their employer’s computer, the times at which they swipe their garage and building access cards, where and when they take road trips with their EZ Pass, their Web browsing activity at home, and what they buy with their branded discount card at their local grocer. The question is whether they agreed to it after reasonable disclosure.”
‘Reasonable Means for Privacy’
Claudiu Popa, president and principal risk advisor for Informatica Corp. in Toronto, says such practices are driving some consumers to drastic lengths to ensure their privacy. “The focus on access to personal information and the public’s resulting outcry against privacy breaches is resulting in a slow but palpable movement towards living off the grid,” he said.
“The first steps are often to use untraceable mobile phones and anonymous email addresses, while more privacy conscious people may go to greater lengths to actually become anonymous by unregistering their vehicles, unplugging from the hydro company, growing their own produce, and disguising their appearance in public,” Popa continued. “This is particularly applicable to the UK, where CCTV cameras are practically on every street, monitoring the population in ways that may or may not contribute to a lower rate of terrorism and crime.”
Noting those are relatively extreme measures, Popa added, “In the meantime, North Americans simply try to use reasonable means for privacy protection while balancing awareness of the issue with the need to still lead a productive existence without fear of snooping. Yet it is that same fear that is used to justify the aggressive surveillance and secrecy surrounding anything that strives for the prevention of terrorism,” he said.
“This is in large part the reason for the explosive demand for anonymity software,” Popa said. “People don’t have to engage in illegal activity to seek anonymity. They just value their privacy and don’t trust that they will be told ahead of time about the aspects of their communications that will be intercepted, recorded, retained, and analyzed.”
Phil Britt ([email protected]) writes from South Holland, Illinois.
“Retention Periods of Major U.S. Cellular Providers,” U.S. Department of Justice, September 2011: http://news.heartland.org/sites/default/files/retentionpolicy.pdf


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Источник: The DairyNews
According to the expert, the growth of meat consumption in China will not be as intense as it is projected, including Russian companies that plan to export products there.
"I believe that this is not due to the economic slowdown, and due to the fact that income and environmental resources are not enough. The processes are not established to increase the volume of trade. The Chinese Communist party does not aim to increase the consumption of pork, and doesn’t want even to develop cooperation in meat in general, probably because it increases the dependence on international markets," commented Daria Snitko in an interview with The DairyNews.
Read full article in Russian on DairyNews.ru


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Nisa will double up delivery drivers in the London area during the summer in order to service its network of retailers affected by traffic restrictions for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Lorries will be double-manned for security and speed of turnaround during night-time deliveries, with the second driver acting as a banksman when the vehicle’s reversing alarm is disabled to avoid disturbing local residents.
The group has 25 members located directly on the Olympic Route Network where stopping and unloading will be prohibited during the day, and a further 130 members within the North and South Circular roads where there is a strong likelihood of traffic disruption and parking restrictions. Nisa has made an agreement with councils in the London area to comply with their codes of practice on deliveries, and have been told that vehicles will not be fined as long as they do not breach the code.
The move to night-time deliveries means that retailers will receive their stock 12 hours earlier than normal. The group will also mobilise additional smaller vehicles, and hold fast-moving ambient lines in the frozen depot in Harlow for emergency top-up deliveries.


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Phuket Tourism and Sport office chief, Santi Pawai, was shadowed by local media as he greeted tourists on Bangla Rd, passing out maps and flyers containing information about safety protocol and grievances and complaint outlets for tourists in need.
The campaign is in line with the government’s policy to position Thailand as the “Tourism Capital of Asia” and target to raise B2.2 trillion in revenue from tourism this year.
Prior to the street campaign, the chief had earlier spoken at a booth at Jungceylon Shopping Centre, in which the chief promoted the Tourism Assistance Centre.
Though the TAC has an office at the Phuket Airport, tourists in need across the kingdom are advised to call the Bangkok office on 02-134-3077.
Similar government-sponsored publicity events were held in 11 other key tourist centres across Thailand yesterday, including, Bangkok, Pattaya, Samui, and Chiang Mai, among them.
Thailand’s tourism safety record has been the subject of frequent negative press in recent times, with persisting incidents, including scams, robberies, boat and bus accidents, rapes and other physical assaults on tourists.
Meanwhile, many local tourist businesses are facing reduced bookings and income this low season. Story here.


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What Yahoo Mail’s Birthday Makeover Means for Marketers
:: Brad van der Woerd, Yesmail ::
In recent years, however, the provider has since been outperformed by more popular services like Gmail and Outlook. Consumer email habits have changed over time as online shopping and mobile devices became the norm, and Yahoo simply failed to keep up. Despite the company’s shortcomings, Yahoo Mail still services roughly 1 billion active users per month, making it incredibly important for marketers to understand how the email provider’s evolution impacts email deliverability and engagement for all ESPs.
On its 18th birthday, Yahoo Mail underwent a complete makeover. By including updates like search filters, new design and user-friendly features, the email service is now more intuitive than ever before. While the benefits of these updates are clear for consumers, marketers need to pay close attention to how these new features might impact deliverability. Some updates might make it harder for marketers to reach consumers, while others will actually help improve marketer-subscriber engagement.
Given its efforts to improve, Yahoo Mail is likely to only see an increase in its user base in years to come. So as we wish Yahoo Mail a happy 18th birthday, it’s more important than ever for marketers to understand how to reach the service’s sizable user base. Here’s a look at how Yahoo Mail’s makeover will impact marketers:
Yahoo Mail now offers new search features that allow users to filter emails based on sent or received messages and search through images and documents. Users can also search within a contact for all the content that a given person (or brand) has sent.
For marketers, this means that consumers can quickly find promotional emails for deals while shopping both in-store or online. Brands should include important keywords within email copy that make it easy for subscribers to search for relevant emails at a moment’s notice.
One of the most biggest changes with the new update is a multiple inbox feature that allow users to access email from other account providers through the Yahoo Mail app. While Gmail is not included, users can connect mail accounts from other popular email providers like Outlook.com, Hotmail, and AOL while logged into their Yahoo accounts.
Since many consumers have multiple email addresses and will be able to see all mail in one location, it’s important for marketers to avoid appearing too spammy. This is a good time for marketers to make sure they’re using clean data. Preference centers can help narrow down one email address per subscriber as not to overwhelm consumers or worse, cause them to unsubscribe.
The new update also includes avatars to help identify “authorized senders” and weed out spam and malware. Yahoo pulls images from Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to accompany incoming messages and provide contextual information about contacts.
This update means that it will be easier for users (and Yahoo’s spam filter) to distinguish between marketing email and personal messages. So if a brand appears too robotic, Yahoo will likely filter it out. Marketers should take extra time to ensure that email content is personalized and casual to avoid the spam folder.
Embedded brand logos
Now, emails from brands will include the company logo next to the email in the user’s inbox, but only if the sender has been officially verified by Yahoo Mail. This is a result of a DMARC security feature Yahoo Mail introduced a while ago that ensures messages are only delivered when Yahoo is sure the sender is not a spoof.
This feature adds validity to promotional emails. To users, a company’s logo is essentially the brand’s signature: users trust the logo as a verified marker of the brand. Marketers should confirm that Yahoo Mail has signed and verified their company as an appropriate sender. If not, those companies could run into trouble with their marketing emails.
New design elements
With its newest update, Yahoo Mail also included a new and improved interface. The inbox layout for both desktop and mobile is now more visually pleasing, user friendly and intuitive.
While a fresh design doesn’t directly impact marketing email deliverability and engagement, it is a reminder for email marketers that consumers value simplicity and ease of use. It’s important for marketers to incorporate responsive design within email marketing strategy as consumers are increasingly reading emails and making purchases directly from mobile devices.
While great for users, Yahoo Mail’s updates have a unique impact on marketers. Brands need to pay close attention to these changes and create a strategy to maximize deliverability and engagement among all Yahoo subscribers.
Brad van der Woerd has been deeply involved with digital marketing and the email deliverability space for the past five years. Since becoming Director of Deliverability for Yesmail in 2011, Brad has created business strategies for various Fortune 500 companies (HP, eBay, Coke) to assist with overall deliverability rates and maintain positive reputation within the industry.


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The article pointed out that despite the recently lowered guidance, Samsung is likely to deliver strong results.
The article also mentioned four points that Samsung needs to improve in order to retain its edge in the smartphone market.
- User interface – “In order to retain its lead over the long term, Samsung needs to build a platform that’s as compelling for app developers and users as Apple.”
- Customer service – “Good communication between users and the smartphone company is crucial to long term” success.
- The OS challenge – “Even if Samsung is able to differentiate itself through better customer service and improved user experience, it may face other challenges as it tries to build out Tizen, its first attempt at its own operating system.”
- Profit margin – “Profit is increasingly important as analysts see a plateauing of the global smartphone market with more than 65 percent of people in advanced markets owning smartphones.”
The full article may be found at: How Samsung could win the smartphone wars
- Samsung Faces Challenges as It Tries to Win Smartphone Wars
- Apple Sued in Korea for Battery Gate
- Is Samsung Doomed? No Innovation Price Trap
- Using Korea as a Test Bed for Asian Expansion: Look to Facebook
- Google Korea Faces New Lawsuit over Data-sharing Concerns: New Technology Company Challenges in Korea
- “Samsung’s First Family Struggles to Keep Grip on Company” Report by Bloomberg
- The Power of Samsung in Korea: Ways to Protect your Business from the Powers to Be in Korea
- Samsung’s Win Against Elliott is Korea’s Loss According to Bloomberg
- Samsung’s Shareholdings Explained by Wall Street Journal


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WASHINGTON — The debate over free trade versus controlled trade has intensified as apparel, retail and textile firms filed hundreds of pages of public comments in response to six of nine safeguard petitions under review that seek to curb imports on a range of Chinese goods.
The responses on the first petition covering cotton trousers illustrate the explosive nature of the issue. Thirty-one respondents commented, including the Chinese government, Abercrombie & Fitch, Columbia Sportswear, Kellwood Co., Avondale Mills and Mount Vernon Mills.
China agreed to the safeguard mechanism when it joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. The safeguards are temporary, one-year quotas that an importing nation may impose on certain Chinese goods if it determines they are severely injuring or threatening to injure the domestic industries.
A coalition of textile, apparel and fiber groups and the union representing the industry has filed 12 safeguard petitions overall based on the threat of market disruption, which has caused a firestorm. The petitions target about $1.9 billion in imports from China.
The federal interagency Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements is to make determinations on the first set of safeguard cases in February. CITA must also respond by Wednesday to a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles & Apparel seeking an injunction to halt consideration of threat-based petitions.
Many industry executives said the petition covering cotton trousers will set the precedent for threat-based cases and may signal how the administration will treat the other petitions. The petition was filed by the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition, the National Council of Textile Organizations, The National Textile Association, SEAMS and UNITE HERE.
The petitioners asserted in the cotton trouser and man-made fiber trouser petitions that the decline in imports to the U.S. is because of the misclassification of millions of pairs of trousers as being made of linen, silk and ramie, which are not under quota, as well as the transshipment of goods through Hong Kong.
Chinese exports of cotton trousers to the U.S. were down 31 percent for the year-to-date through September and by 34 percent, or 930,000 dozen, in the same period, according to the Commerce Department.
The coalition alleges the Chinese mislabeled the trousers to circumvent quotas on cotton trousers set at 2.5 million dozen pairs and man-made fiber trousers set at 2.9 million pairs. Imports from China of silk, linen and ramie trousers increased more than 2,000 percent in less than four years, from 11 million pairs in 2001 to an annual rate of 229 million pairs for 2004.“If simply 3.5 percent of Hong Kong’s cotton trousers are Chinese in origin and only 1.5 percent of [the silk, ramie and linen trouser category] are misclassified, then the Chinese cotton trouser ‘downturn’ disappears,” the petitioners stated in their comments.
Auggie Tantillo, executive director of AMTAC, said in an interview that it is “beyond comprehension” to believe such an increase in imports of silk and ramie trousers is legitimate.
Apparel executives fired back in their public comments.
“At worst, the implications regarding misclassification of these garments borders on libel,” said Wendy Wieland Martin, vice president for international trade at Kellwood Co., in her written public comments. “Since it is the major U.S. apparel companies, including Kellwood, who are the importers of these products, the implication is that we are falsifying legal claims to U.S. Customs & Border Protection. Our excellent reputation with CBP and the extraordinary scrutiny by that agency to assure that apparel is correctly classified and valued belies the unsubstantiated and irresponsible charges made by the petitioners.”
Carl K. Davis, vice president of corporate affairs for Columbia Sportswear, claimed in his comments that the petition is “fraught with inconsistencies and nonfactual information in an ineffective attempt to persuade [CITA] of the alleged threat of Chinese imports.”
“It utilizes inflammatory language such as ‘misclassification’ to describe completely legal imports of trousers made of materials other than cotton,” Davis said.
The annual Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic in Pacific Palisades this weekend drew Kate Hudson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Laura Dern and more. See pictures of the star-studded event on WWD.com. (📷: @chelsealaurenla) #wwdeye
In his new book “Hollywood Royale,” Andy Warhol’s Protégé Matthew Rolston celebrates the Eighties revival of Hollywood glamour. Featuring more than 100 portraits taken by Rolston from 1977 to 1993, the book contains photos of icons like Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, and @drewbarrymore, pictured here in 1991. “Hollywood Royale,” out today, will be accompanied by an exhibition opening at Los Angeles’ Fahey/Klein Gallery on March 1. #wwdeye
"Nowadays when life is not so happy with everything going on in the world, I think people come to me for a little bit of whimsy and color and fun." - Designer Rebecca De Ravenel on her cult-favorite jewelry line. (📸 : @vsteves) #wwd40
“Everyone is talking about how the retail industry is struggling, but I think it’s an incredible time because brands who are doing something different and innovative are setting themselves up for the future,” said @adamgoldston, who founded the luxury athletic brand @apl with his brother @ryangoldsten. The Goldston’s are part of WWD’s 40 under 40: a group of industry notables. See the rest of the list on WWD.com. (📷: @vsteves) #wwd40
@eyeswoon blogger Athena Calderone debuted her first-ever cookbook, “Cook Beautiful,” which is heavily centered on the presentation and visual expression of food. Pictured here are her miso glazed carrots from the book. Get the recipe on WWD.com. (📷: @johnny_miller_) #wwdeye
“It’s passion that helps get anybody to a certain point and it’s what’s propelled me,” said Kith founder @ronniefieg, one of WWD’s 40 under 40: a group of industry notables who are changing the face of retail, fashion and beauty. Fieg, who opened a Manhattan flagship on October 7, began his career at age 13 as a stock boy and salesman for footwear chain David Z. “I think staying true to [my] beliefs, hard work and passion have gotten me to where [Kith] is today.” See the rest of the 40 at WWD.com. (📷: @vsteves) #wwd40
25-year-old @samweaving is about to break out this fall, starring in Netflix’s horror film “The Babysitter,” fittingly out today on Friday the 13th. That’s not the only place you’ll be seeing her, though — Weaving’s got a role Showtime’s “SMILF” and another alongside Frances McDormand and Woody Harrelson in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” Though she’s got a full plate at the moment, there’s one role she’s got her eye on: Marilyn Monroe. “I’m a little too young at the moment, but it’s on my bucket list,” the actress told WWD (📷: @dandoperalski) #wwdeye
BFF's Poppy Jamie and Suki Waterhouse celebrated the launch of their bag line Pop x Suki at Nordstrom last night. "The line is really about our friendship, and how we are so different but complement each other," said Waterhouse. 👯 (📷: Katie Jones) #wwdeye
After designing the new @louisvuitton and @bulgariofficial flagships and a @chanelofficial boutique opening in Japan, @petermarinoarchitect has another project on his plate: The Lobster Club. Located in the Seagram Building, it’s the famed architect’s first restaurant project in New York, serving up modern Japanese brasserie-style cuisine. Bronze hues, bespoke material detailing, blush and chartreuse tones and a heavy emphasis on Picasso can be seen throughout. Mark your calendars for Nov. 1 for the much-anticipated opening. (📷: @clint_spaulding) #wwdeye


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It’s hardly a secret that newspapers aren’t doing very well these days. Over the decades, they’ve been gradually replaced as the nation’s universal mass medium by television.
Newspaper’s biggest economic blow came, however, with the flight of advertising revenue to the Internet. This, combined with an ever-more busy public bombarded by more and more media choices, has badly wounded what was once a thriving industry. And, left us in danger of being dangerously uninformed as well. Ann Arbor, for example, no longer has a daily newspaper at all.
The problem is perhaps most acute in Detroit, where, twenty-five years ago, the Detroit News and Free Press sold a combined total of one point three million newspapers every day.
That number has declined ever since. Audited figures show that as of last September, they were down to a combined circulation of less than four hundred thousand, a number that has dropped further since then.
To save money two years ago, Detroit’s newspapers embarked on an experiment in which they would deliver the papers only three days a week, and asked consumers to read them online or go to the store and buy it the rest of the week. This really hasn’t worked.


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- what’s new
- Health & Fitness
- gift ideas
- Buying Guide
- Quick Reads
According to a recent report from Bloomberg, Apple has started the production of the rumored Apple Siri Speaker and plans to make the official announcement at the WWDC 2017 event that’s scheduled for next week. However, the release of the Siri-based speaker is only expected to be released later this year. A couple of weeks ago, KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that Apple will soon be announcing a smart speaker and a new iPad at the WWDC 2017. It would be interesting to see how Apple will compete with the likes of Google and Amazon in the smart speaker market. Read more here.
Lenovo has officially introduced the Moto Z2 Play smartphone with a newly redesigned fingerprint scanner. The device has been slimmed down by 1mm and fully compatible with the older Moto Mods. The Moto Z2 Play comes with a 5.5-inch FHD IPS display and features the Snapdragon 828 processor with 3GB RAM. There is also a 12MP camera with F1.7 aperture that offers dual pixel phase detection autofocus. It also holds a large 3000 mAh battery. Lenovo also introduced new Moto Mods such as the Moto GamePad, the JBL SoundBoost 2, and the Moto TurboPower. Read more here.
A recent smartphone case leak from the reliable /LEAKS, confirms that the long-rumored Apple iPhone 8 will come with a vertical camera arrangement on the rear side. The case also holds a dummy smartphone, which may not be the final design of the Apple iPhone 8. The new smartphone is expected to feature an OLED display with an embedded fingerprint scanner and a new 3D Touch module that is reportedly 150% more expensive than the existing components used for the iPhone 7. Read more here.
It appears that Souq.com has initiated their first changes as a part of the acquisition by Amazon. Users will now be able to login to the Souq.com portal using an Amazon account. However, it doesn’t mean yet that you will be able to buy products from Amazon as it only shares your name, e-mail and your US postal code. The new changes are just an extra option to login, much like the Google and Facebook logins for many websites. We still have yet to know Souq.com’s real changes with Amazon. Read more here.
It looks like LG is seriously considering to revamp the secondary display concept of the upcoming LG V30 smartphone. Trusted leakster Evan Blass managed to get his hands on a series of renders that’s believed to be the LG V30. The secondary display appears to be a part of the slider extension of the smartphone. The display can be used as a keyboard, quick shortcuts, extra controls for media and more. However, Blass does mention that the images are based on older mockups of the project and so there are chances that LG might have changed some design aspects. Read more here.
New renders confirm that Lenovo is preparing to launch the Moto G5S smartphones. The device is rumored to feature a large 5.5-inch FHD display and powered by the Snapdragon 430 processor, which is unusual because the current Moto G5 Plus comes with the Snapdragon 625 processor. That said, the Moto G5S Plus is expected to run on Android 7.1.1 operating system. The design of the smartphone appears to be similar to that of the Moto G5S Plus, however, the specifications of the camera are unknown at this point. The device is expected to be announced at the IFA 2017 event. Read more here.
Android co-founder Andy Rubin has unveiled a new smartphone called the Essential Phone with top of the line specifications, a premium design, and modular expansion capability. The device is powered by the Snapdragon 835 processor with 4GB RAM and 128GB internal storage. The 5.71-inch display has an aspect ratio of 19:10 and with a resolution of 2560 x 1312. There are dual 13MP cameras on the back with an aperture of F/1.85. The device is capable of connecting a number of modular attachments by using the propriety connector that’s next to the rear camera. Read more here.


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At SMX Advanced Seattle, Bing's director of search, Stefan Weitz, says it is search engines' – and search marketers' – job to make search decisions easier. In order to achieve this, he believes search results need to be more conversational and actionable via social data. He suggested that social marketing is an integral part of Bing SEO (and optimization for any competitive search engine).
In his keynote address, Weitz said 5 exabytes of social data are uploaded to the web every couple of days and 4.8 billion results are available for any given search query. With this in mind, he explains that consumers are easily overloaded with information. “Ninety percent of people consult friends and family while they're making purchase decisions,” but this doesn't change the fact that it's hard to access this info on the web. Social sites aren't research-oriented, and, traditionally, search engines haven't offered social data, he says.
Bing's Facebook friend effect is an effort to make recommendations accessible to people when they are searching. Bing has three areas of focus for the future of its search service: offer searchers insight from trusted friends, share data from the collective IQ around a given query and make search conversational to facilitate action. As far as privacy issues go, Weitz pointed out that users can control whether or not they see personalized results (on Bing) or share their like data to the search engine (in Facebook).
Marketers should care about this friend-powered search, Weitz said, because this is a form of search that caters' to people's innate behaviors. He suggested that human's urge to form packs speaks to the need to offer social insight – they like to act with a group. Weitz also referenced a Harvard study showing that people are happier when they make decisions based on others' experiences. Moral of the story: marketers' social references have the potential to carry a lot of weight. (Indeed, Brafton has reported on the rising power of social referrals.)
Weitz acknowledges that Bing is not the only search engine moving into the social space. He referenced Google's use of Twitter data, and its +1 button. (Of course, Danny Sullivan pointed out that the power of Facebook info is that searchers can see information from their connections.) Weitz suggests that the whole industry is moving toward social data, which makes social marketing core to SEO.
He also reminds attendees that the major search engines are currently working together on Schema.org. As Brafton reported, Schema.org offers a collection of tags marketers can use to improve the info search engines (plural!) have about their pages. Weitz said this is something marketers should take advantage of as it helps engines better understand how content relates to queries – which can also help search portals provide more actionable results on SERPs. (For instance, he says Bing might display Open Table on a SERP for a restaurant query.)
While Weitz wouldn't confirm or deny, he danced around the idea that Schema might become a ranking signal in the future.
The insight shared on Bing search and SEO might be especially interesting to marketers as Microsoft's search portal seems to be generating buzz among Google searchers because of its social data. Is Weitz right in his theory that Bing's social search speaks to humans' innate behaviors? Will this help the search engine take a larger share of the market? Marketers will have to wait and see, but the company's steady search gains indicate Bing SEO could help them reach relevant audiences.


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Rumour: NVIDIA GeForce GTX launch its 760 this June 25
Currently there is no official figure for the new GeForce GTX 760, but is presumed to be a rebranded version of the current GeForce GTX 660 OEM “GK104″ which have a higher operating frequency.
The specifications of this new GPU likely have:
- kepler based GK104-225 nucleus.
- 1152 shader processors.
- 96 texture units (TMUs).
- 24 rendering units (ROPs).
- 2GB of GDDR5 memory with 192-bit bus.
For the next month is also expected to GeFoce new GTX 760 Ti GPU, which will be a renamed GeForce GTX 670 and more frequently.
Link: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 To Be Released On June 25th (VideoCardz)
.Tags: 2.5 ", card, geforce, gk104, GK104-225, gpu, GTX 760, June, Junio, kepler, lanzamiento, Launch, Nvidia, Rumor, tarjeta, vga, video


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Beer and music have always gone hand in hand, and newly launched beer in Kenya, Tuborg, is no exception. Already a big player in the global music scene, and well on track to being a significant force locally, Tuborg has positioned itself as the main sponsor of the Koroga Festival. 7000 music fans attended the festival in its debut year, with the second iteration taking place the last weekend in July, where Tuborg launched www.TuborgTunes.com in partnership with Africa’s leading music service Mdundo.
GM of Carlsberg Kenya (Tuborg is owned by Carlsberg), Mads Galsgaard: “We are very proud to be able support the Kenyan Music Community, we support big festivals, upcoming bands and now also free music to the people. We are all about giving people a great experience when enjoying Kenyan, African and International music… preferably with a cold Tuborg.”
The platform gives all music lovers an opportunity to listen to and download newly released music, curated playlists from the Koroga Festival and unique DJ mixes free of charge. The DJ mixes are only available using a voucher code from Tuborg’s on-ground activations in Nairobi or from Tuborg’s social media pages (IG @tuborgke, FB Tuborg). During the launch weekend of the platform at the Koroga Festival, almost 10,000 songs were downloaded from the new platform.
CEO of Mdundo, Martin Nielsen adds, “We are very pleased with this partnership and the popularity of the music available. Most brands in Kenya understand the value of music but few brands have been willing to invest in music as a long-term brand affiliation. We believe that this initiative will have a significant impact for Tuborg’s establishment in Kenya and benefit the local music scene.”
Both partners state that this is not a short term strategy, the www.TuborgTunes.com platform is here to stay, and many of Tuborg’s future marketing activities will be linked to the Kenyan music scene.
Mdundo is one of Africa’s biggest music services with almost 2 million monthly active users from across the continent. The music service has in the past 3 years grown to include music from 40,000 African musicians and it is the easiest and cheapest way to access African music. With offices across East Africa, the service is well positioned in the region. The objective for the young company is to provide music lovers with easy and affordable access to music as well as kill illegal piracy of music in Africa.
Tuborg is a smooth lager made for global exploration with roots in exporting both lager and music culture throughout the world, present in more than 70 countries around the world. Tuborg has been empowering music for generations, and is on track to becoming Kenyas music brand number 1.


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Can the jewellery market rise from the ashes of the pandemic to stage its own rebirth? Some industry players think so. Just last week, Bain & Company gave a grim assessment of the luxury market, predicting a contraction of between 20 to 35 percent for the full year.
But in China,
To find out more
CALL +65 6388 3838 EMAIL firstname.lastname@example.org


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Cyberpunk 2077 is getting a Game of the Year edition, developer CDPR has confirmed. According to the Polish website Stockwatch, CDPR president and joint CEO Adam Kiciński stated that Cyberpunk 2077 will follow Wither 3’s path and get a GOTY year edition after its expansion release.
“It’s a natural order of things – it was the same with The Witcher, which after both expansions was finally released as a Game of the Year Edition and has been operating on the market ever since. The same can be expected in this case,” he said.
When will the Cyberpunk 2077 Game of the Year edition release?
Cyberpunk 2077’s expansion, Phantom Liberty, is scheduled to launch sometime in 2023. That means the Game of the Year edition will follow soon after which will include the base game and the expansion. The expansion is releasing for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC only so we can expect the GOTY to release exclusively for these platforms.
“The target version of “Game of the Year” “CP2077” will be just after the update and including the new addition. This version will be available at “full” price,” Adam Kiciński added.
Cyberpunk 2077 has had a resurgence in the last couple of months. Since CDPR announced the expansion and new content related to the Edgerunners series was released, players flocked back to the game. In September, the game hit its second-highest player count since launch.
The Phantom Liberty expansion is set to be the only expansion for the game but CDPR has confirmed that the IP will continue to grow outside the gaming world.