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BEIJING (AFP) - China announced on Tuesday that it was blocking a proposed alliance among global shipping giants due to competition concerns.
Denmark's A.P. Moeller-Maersk, France's CMA CGM and the Swiss MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company - the world's three biggest ocean carriers - announced plans for their so-called P3 Network in June last year. The aim was to use a combined fleet to cut costs on Asia-Europe, trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific routes.
But China's Commerce Ministry said in a statement it had decided to prohibit the alliance after conducting an anti-trust assessment. The ministry said the alliance, had it gone ahead, would "have a far-reaching impact on the global shipping industry and cause a high level of concern in all sectors".
It added that the alliance would increase the parties' "combined capacity in container shipping on Asia-Europe routes" and give them a "substantial increase in market concentration".
In response to China's decision, the companies said they were giving up the plan.
"Today, the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China announced that they have not approved the P3 Network," Maersk said in a statement.
"Subsequently, the partners have agreed to stop the preparatory work on the P3 Network and the P3 Network as initially planned will not come into existence," it added.
The decision was not expected to impact the group's annual results, said Maersk.
"The decision does come as a surprise to us, of course, as the partners have worked hard to address all the regulators' concerns," chief executive Nils S. Andersen said.
The alliance had already been approved by regulators in Europe and the United States and would have enabled Maersk to reduce costs and carbon emissions.
Mr Andersen said he was "quite confident Maersk Line will accomplish those improvements anyway".
The group's shipping business has outperformed the troubled sector over the past few quarters partly due to cost cuts.


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The new frictionless store powered by Amazon's frictionless Just Walk Out technology at Crypto.com Arena (Photo: Business Wire)
A major sports and entertainment facility in Los Angeles is unveiling two stores featuring Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” checkout-free shopping technology
Crypto.com Arena, the home stadium of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and L.A. Clippers, the NHL’s L.A. Kings and the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, is opening of two new “grab and go” locations equipped with Amazon’s frictionless “Just Walk Out”technology. Customers will have the opportunity to take what they want without having to stop to check out while shopping at the Bud Light Seltzer Market and the Michelob Ultra Market, located on the main concourse between sections 105 and 108.
Debuting in October 2022 in time for NHL and NBA preseason games, the new stores enable customers to insert their credit card at the entry gates and start shopping. As they select food and beverages, Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology determines what they take from or return to the shelves. After they exit, the credit card a customer inserted at the entry gate will be charged for the items they took.
The Just Walk Out technology-enabled locations will sell beer, wine, seltzers, ready-to-drink cocktails, soft drinks, coffee, water and other select food and beverage items. Customers purchasing alcohol will be required to show their ID to a store attendant for age verification.
“We’re incredibly excited to collaborate with Amazon and Levy Restaurants to welcome Just Walk Out technology to Crypto.com Arena,” said Lee Zeidman, president, Crypto.com Arena. “We’re sure fans will appreciate this simple, safe and quick experience.”
“Los Angeles fans who visit the iconic Crypto.com Arena are accustomed to being treated to the finest entertainment experience imaginable, and we’re proud to elevate that experience with the opening of new stores powered by Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology,” said Dilip Kumar, VP, AWS Applications. “Our technology enables fast and frictionless shopping, so we’re excited to help fans in Crypto.com Arena get their refreshments quickly and get right back to the action.”
“Crypto.com Arena has been an incredible partner for years, and since the beginning we’ve shared the vision of a venue that continuously raises the bar for world-class hospitality,” said Andy Lansing, CEO of Crypto.com Arena hospitality partner Levy. “Today, ‘world-class’ means creating opportunities for fans to completely control their experience. That is exactly the reason these checkout-free experiences are so powerful. They take lines out of the equation and give fans the ability to access food and beverage on their own terms.”
Arenas implement Just Walk Out A number of other sports and entertainment facilities have opened stores featuring Amazon Just Walk Out. For example, Lumen Field, home stadium of the Seattle Seahawks NFL franchise, is opening a store featuring both Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” checkout-free shopping technology and Amazon One palm-based entry and payment solution.
As a result, Lumen Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks pro football franchise, will become the first NFL stadium to implement both technologies in a single store, which will be known as District Market.
And Texas A&M Athletics, along with Levy and DBK Studio, are jointly equipping three food and beverage stores at the university’s football stadium, Kyle Field, with licensed Amazon Just Walk Out technology.
Other sports venues offering stores equipped with Amazon frictionless shopping technology include the recently opened, net-zero carbon-certified Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle (home of the Seattle Kraken NHL franchise), and New York’s UBS Arena (home of the New York Islanders NHL team).

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During the 2020 pandemic, many challenges must be faced by the automotive industry, such as declining sales numbers during the lockdown period because the ability of people to buy new vehicles has not been maximized, the closure of industry in China has resulted in a lack of supply of components to industries around the world, including in Indonesia, spare-parts price increases due to expensive raw materials are affected by the dollar exchange rate. In addition, the high price and scarcity of masks, hand sanitizers, infrared thermometers and disinfecting spray equipment also hinder production and sales activities in the midst of a pandemic, even though these are urgently needed to run health protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Besides, the biggest challenge comes from the tightness finance or leasing companies in providing credit to consumers and the people's purchasing power. Funding from banks also see which sectors provide little risk. Therefore, the possibility of purchasing a new car is quite difficult. The challenges also come from physical distancing policies implemented by the government. Related to the government's appeal about working from home or work from home (WFH), some non-production employees have not been able to implement it due to limited facilities, such as the unavailability of laptops at home.
Due to physical distancing, the most effective way is to do everything digitally. The implementation of lockdown and physical distancing in various regions in Indonesia has caused many consumers not to leave the house and use digital to access their needs online. Thus, industries must start shifting consumers from offline to online in order to maintain sales prospects.
Some digital strategies that are appropriate for the automotive industry are such as maximizing remote selling, virtual events; maximizing digital advertising such as on social media, and maximizing chatbot, so your customers can contact you 24/7 via chat or text on both your website and Social Media.
Author: Ajeng Laras Phitaloka (Sr. Account Executive)


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India wants Apple and other major smartphone producers to adopt its own satellite-based geolocation system in the iPhone and other devices, with the government intending to force vendors into supporting NavIC in hardware sold in the country from 2023.
The iPhone 14 has extensive support for navigation around the world, including GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou. If India's government gets its way, another will be added to the list.
The government wants to increase the usage of NavIC, India's rival to GPS, which is being minimally used. While operational since 2018, it has been mandated for use in trackers used by public vehicles, but little else.
In documents seen by Reuters, the government plans to make smartphone producers add support to NavIC, for mobile devices sold in India from January 2023.
Apple, as well as Xiaomi and Samsung, have reportedly met with the government in August and September. The manufacturers are not keen on the change, due to the potential high research and production costs, as well as the regulatory testing associated with the change.
The change in support could also impact the launch of upcoming smartphones, pushing back release dates to stay in compliance.
In minutes from one meeting, Samsung's India lead Binu George expressed concern over the cost of new chipsets and other components. George also worried that later launches could be impacted, proposing it could affect models already being prepared for launch in 2024.
Smartphone producers have called for the government to push back the timing of compliance until 2025, to give them all a chance to implement the changes. A senior government official told the report a final decision will arrive within days.


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We all know that scooters are now becoming more popular in Indian streets nowadays, especially by women who tend to drive around the alley. That’s the reason why scooter manufacturers like the TVS are making more scooters in order to make work and travel easier. And right now, they are very proud to announce that their Scooty Pep Plus now has undergone some serious upgrades. The company claims that these upgrades actually improve the scooter’s overall performance.
Taking a very good look inside, the experts have found out that, compared to the previous Scooty Pep Plus, the 2016 Scooty Pep Plus now features an all-new advanced EcoThrust Engine. The Company claims that the EcoThrust engine had significantly improved the scooter’s performance when it comes to power, torque and control. With its multi-curve system, improved pickup and throttle force reduction features, the 2016 Scooty Pep Plus will offer its riders a comfortable, trouble-free and long-lasting ride.
Testing the scooter’s engine through driving has revealed that the 2016 Scooty Pep Plus runs at 4.9 British horsepower at 6500 rpm along with 5.8 joules of torque. Compared than the previous Scooty Pep Plus, this is somewhat more powerful, thanks to the company’s EcoThrust Engine system.
It is also good to know that the scooter’s mileage and top speed had improved significantly, experts say. They are also careful to point out that the scooter is heavier by at least a few pounds, which can also affect the overall driving performance. However, this is well-recommended if you’re just using the scooter for short-distance rides or a neighborhood stroll inside your exclusive subdivision.
Be informed also that the scooter is now available in two riding modes, namely the Economy Mode for much better fuel efficiency and Power Mode for higher top speed along with better pickup. In addition to those, the 2016 Scooty Pep Plus will now be available in two additional color choices: The Nero Silver and Nero Blue. This is a very good choice, especially if you don’t like the matte-colored versions. Needless to say, the 2016 Scooty Pep Plus now offers you a considerably wider set of options, along with its stunning performance.
- Category : Scooter
- Engine : Four-stroke Single-Cylinder forced Air-cooled
- Power : 4.9 bhp @ 6500 rpm
- Torque : 5.8 Nm @ 4000 rpm
- Top Speed : 70 kmph
- Mileage : 68 kmpl
- Price : Rs. 42, 153 (Mumbai) 43, 534 (Delhi)


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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
May 27, 2013
Baraboo — Dairy farmer Vernon Hershberger was acquitted on three of four criminal charges early Saturday morning in a trial that drew national attention from supporters of the raw, unpasteurized milk movement.
Jurors in Sauk County Circuit Court deliberated about four hours, until nearly 1 a.m. Saturday, before returning a verdict of guilty on one charge of violating a holding order placed on products on the Hershberger farm following a raid there in the summer of 2010.
The 41-year-old farmer faces up to a year in jail and $10,000 in fines on that conviction. A sentencing date will be announced later, Judge Guy Reynolds said.
Hershberger was found innocent of three charges that included operating an unlicensed retail store that sold raw milk and other products; and operating a dairy farm and dairy processing facility without licenses.
This article was posted: Monday, May 27, 2013 at 4:43 am


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Unsafe food causes more than 200 diseases. Around 600 million cases of foodborne illnesses are reported every year worldwide. Out of these, at least 420,000 people die. Yearly losses in productivity and medical expenses equate to around $110 billion.
Access to safe foods is instrumental to sustaining life and promoting health, and with the globalization of food trade nowadays, food safety needs to be emphasized even more. Stakeholders along the food supply chain, whether a food manufacturer, supplier, or business owner, all have a role in maintaining food safety to protect consumers from foodborne illnesses and optimizing their business performance.


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updated 07:50 am EDT, Mon August 22, 2011
Comcast XFINITY gets iOS update, BB support
Comcast has announced that it has developed a version of its XFINITY app (free, XFINITY site) for BlackBerry devices. The app allows BlackBerry users to schedule programs remotely, as well as stay connected to XFINITY voice- and e-mail. Comcast has also announced that it has updated its XFINITY app (free, iTunes) for the iPad and iPhone.
The XFINITY app for iOS devices is designed to make it simpler for users to discover recently-watched content. This could be whether it's a channel users have tuned to, or content users have watched on-demand or streamed from an iPad or iPhone.
Comcast explains the new feature this way:
"You're at the airport catching up on HBO's "True Blood" on your iPad while you wait for your flight. Boarding starts, so you stop playback, close the app and get on the plane. You arrive at the hotel, settle in and can now resume watching. Previously, you'd have to search back through the Play Now catalog to find the right episode. Not the most arduous task, but time-consuming nonetheless. Now, you'll be able to simply click on Previously Played and your five most recent pieces of Play Now content will appear. Just click the content, hit resume and start watching. This same feature will also be available to access previously tuned TV channels and on-demand content."
The app, which has been downloaded by iOS users over 2.6 million times, offers close to 7,000 hours of free streaming content for XFINITY TV users. Streaming content for BlackBerry users is currently limited to on-demand trailers.


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Tesla CEO Elon Musk: Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars are "Bulls**t"
October 23, 2013 1:18 PM
comment(s) - last by
He said the best hydrogen fuel cell technology doesn't compare to the energy density of lithium-ion batteries
CEO Elon Musk has made his view on hydrogen fuel cell cars clear: they're bullshit.
In a a speech at a new Tesla service center in Germany, Musk told employees and enthusiasts that those who oppose electric vehicles (EV) but are onboard with new technology like hydrogen fuel cell cars need to know that it's more of a marketing gimmick than a real clean energy solution.
“And then they’ll say certain technologies like fuel cell … oh god … fuel cell is so bullshit. Except in a rocket," said Musk.
More specifically, Musk said that even the best hydrogen fuel cell technology doesn't compare to the energy density of lithium-ion batteries, such as that found in Tesla's Model S.
Check out the video below for Musk's comments, which start at the 29-minute mark:
Musk may hold this opinion because his company only offers EVs for the time being, but not all automakers feel that hydrogen fuel cell is a waste of time.
Earlier this month, Toyota said it was
passing up EVs
in favor of more hybrids and its first hydrogen fuel cell release in 2015. According to Toyota Chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada, EV batteries need at least two major breakthroughs before they can replace gasoline or hybrid vehicles.
"The reason why Toyota doesn’t introduce any major [all-electric product] is because we do not believe there is a market to accept it,” said Uchiyamada. "I personally expect a lot from this hydrogen fuel cell technology. If government and industry work together, this might be part of the long-term solution."
Back in July, General Motors (GM) and Honda announced that they'd
team up for fuel cell vehicle technology
as well. They hope to commercialize the technology by 2020.
However, GM still has a foot in the EV market as well. In fact, it wants to directly compete with Tesla by offering
a 200-mile affordable EV
. Tesla said it is working on a new vehicle with the same range, which aims to be more affordable than the current Model S. GM is also gunning for Tesla with
luxury Cadillac EVs
Others onboard with Musk's love for EVs is Volkswagen, which wants to
lead the EV market by 2018
starting with the eGolf and eUp!, and Nissan, which has upped its EV efforts by cutting purchase and lease prices of the all-electric Leaf and even
offering free charging for a year
to Leaf owners in Texas (and eventually other states).
Tesla is certainly a superpower in the EV startup realm. The company successfully paid off its $465 million government loans nine years early, pulled
a surprise profit
for Q2 2013 with a revenue of $405.1 million, unveiled new tech for its Model S (swappable battery tech) and the Model S even snagged the
highest safety rating
from the NHTSA. It makes sense that Musk would try to keep this momentum going by advocating EVs over hydrogen fuel cells.
This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
Elon Musk is full of Bullsh*t
11/23/2013 11:06:54 AM
Why would anyone with a real green heart say something like this about other clean opportunities? Be suspicious of anyone who does!
No fuel cells aren't perfect yet but at least you can drive 600k with it and fill up the tank in only 3 minutes. Instead of standing next to the road with your empty battery supercar and waiting at least 30 minutes before you can drive an other 150k with it. No more range anxiety!
Hydrogen is a carrier (storage) of energy and will be produced cheaply anywhere by solar and bacteria. That's why an infrastructure will start to appear.
New ways of storage and cheap fuel cells of hydrogen will come. Graphene, less Platinum and solidstate ( without pressure tanks) will be part of the solution. Its lighter then just battery cars and less polluting to produce. All big car manufacturers are currently working on Hydrogen vehicles. It's a huge step to leave behind 100 years of combustion technique development. Engine technique is the biggest distinctive feature between them. To let go of their earnings model and be part of a future where everything is insecure, where new car makers (like Tesla) can easily pop-up because electric is much simpler, shows guts.
Everyone should see through Elon Musk's cheap smear campaign to protect his interests. He makes wonderful cars but for a small elite. Why? Long range heavy batteries are expensive almost as expensive as lighter fuel cell systems. But everything will change, lab research is promising. To bad for Elon's ego if he gambled on the wrong horse but any green solution is our future, embrace it don't block it like the electric car 100 years ago.
Time will tell but i'll bet Tesla's stock will drop before 2018 unless he is smart and incorporates the next generation fuel cells in his future models.
Lucky he is too late to jeopardize the future but stop slowing it down! ;-)
No my English isn't perfect but how is your Dutch?
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Swedish Economy Report June 2022
Swedish Economy Report
Expansionary economic policy during the pandemic, extensive disruption of global value chains and Russia’s war on Ukraine have created a perfect storm, with inflation soaring in many parts of the world.
Rampant inflation, dwindling asset prices and expectations of further increases in interest rates have left Swedish consumers deeply pessimistic about the future. Sentiment in the business sector is very different, with continued widespread optimism as a result of healthy order books and relatively good profitability. However, the erosion of consumers’ purchasing power means that demand will weaken, the economy will drop back below capacity, and unemployment will remain relatively high next year. When deciding how much to tighten monetary policy, the Riksbank faces a difficult balancing act between the aim of reining in inflation, and avoiding an overly deep economic downturn.


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KFC has launched the Smoky Wild Chicken Burger made with a 100-percent chicken breast patty, cheese and lettuce.
This is added with smoky flavor and the original barbecue sauce infused with white cheddar cheese and sweet onion cream.
The Smoky Wild Chicken Burger is priced at 3,300 won ($2.80) and the combo meal is 4,900 won. But the company will offer a special set of the regular combo meal with a Petitzel fruit jelly for 3,900 won until Oct. 15.
By Bae Ji-sook(email@example.com


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New Mexico teachers leave class to open marijuana dispensary
A group of middle school teachers in Albuquerque, New Mexico, decided during a happy hour late last year to quit their jobs and open a cannabis dispensary.
The big picture: The women are among a small number of Latinas in the United States who have opened dispensaries as more states legalize recreational pot.
Details: La Tiendita de Motita opened last week. It was founded by five women – Mary Jean Garcia, Mallory Garcia, Jamie Munsey, Gina Mares and Laura Legarda – who wanted to do something different and de-stigmatize marijuana use. Only one sign left.
- The women had been teachers for several years but wanted to spend more time with their families and take on a new challenge, they said.
- “I feel like we were brought up learning that grass is bad,” Mallory Garcia said.
- She said they wanted to teach others — especially older people for whom marijuana still carries a deep stigma — that cannabis can have medicinal benefits.
Between the lines: Hispanics make up just 5.7% of licensed cannabis business owners, according to the National Hispanic Cannabis Council, an organization created to address the underrepresentation of Hispanics in the cannabis industry. The council based its findings on a survey and says there is no national database on the race or ethnicity of dispensary owners.
- Finding funding is one of the biggest challenges.
- The teachers said they sold assets and cashed in retirement funds to start La Tiendita. They hope to eventually have their own cannabis farm.
State of play: New Mexico’s bill that legalized recreational weed earlier this year included provisions to help people with limited funding and resources get in, its Democratic co-author, Senator Gerald, told Axios. “Jerry” Ortiz y Pino.
- Low-cost loans are also available for micro-producers, micro-manufacturers and micro-retailers, Democratic State Representative Javier Martínez, another author, told Axios.
The plot: New Mexico law also allows cannabis business owners to extend their retail license to cover other businesses, such as production, manufacturing or courier services, the representative said. State Javier Martínez, co-author.
- “It’s a game-changer,” Martínez said.
- The law allows a micro-enterprise license to grow up to 200 plants for a flat fee of $1,000 aimed at attracting new commercial growers.
Subscribe to Axios Latino to receive vital news about Latinos and Latin America, delivered to your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays.


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The price of a variety of vegetables has dropped this week, a welcome relief for Kiwi consumers and the growers.
The price drop is a combination of a welcomed recovery from weather events, warmer temperatures and plenty of supply across the market.
Richard Burke, our CEO, says that large volume of broccoli has meant that consumers will start to reap the benefits of lower prices.
“Broccoli is $2 a head this week and should be similar next week. That’s a big difference to where we were a couple of weeks ago.
“We’re committed to delivering high-quality, locally grown produce, and will continue to work closely with retailers to ensure that when we have good supply, that prices can be reduced.
“Our team has been working extremely hard to get the farm back and operating at capacity since the cyclone and other weather-related damage. We’re proud of the team’s efforts and we hope that Kiwis will welcome the lower prices,” he says.
The decrease in fresh vegetable prices is a positive development for consumers and perfecting timing for the winter months when we all need a boost of vitamins and minerals to ward off colds and sickness.
“We hate seeing Kiwis’ not being able to buy fresh produce. We know that vegetables are an essential part of a healthy and balanced diet and winter is an important time to dose up on immunity which is rich in fresh vegetables.
“In the coming weeks, we really hope that Kiwis’ will take advantage of the lower prices such as broccoli, iceberg lettuce, spinach and plenty of other vegetables across the fresh aisles,” he says.
Consumers should start to see more stable pricing as growers around the country start to get back to normal planting and harvesting schedules.
Take a listen to Richard chatting to Jamie Mackay on The Country https://omny.fm/shows/the-country/the-country-08-05-23-richard-burke-talks-to-jamie


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• 2 minute read
Hong Kong people has to change their mindset: Eric Schmidt
How can Hong Kong develop a culture for entrepreneurship? Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt shares his views at CUHK
By Louisa Wah Hansen
Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt expressed his interest in helping Hong Kong’s technology start-ups during his recent visit to Hong Kong to seal a partnership with the Chinese University of Hong Kong Business School. The partnership aims to support students and young entrepreneurs through providing mentorship and incubation support for their start-up businesses.
Schmidt believes Hong Kong is a strategically important place to do business and it will remain so in the future.
“What is Hong Kong going to be in the next 50 years? It is going to be the gateway to China. It has been in the last 50 years. This is not a new insight. So what will happen is that entrepreneurship here will never do something just for Hong Kong; it will do everything for Greater China,” he said.
He complimented on the native entrepreneurial culture as a positive force: “I’m sure if each of you calls your family and say ‘I want to make a fortune,’ your family will support you. That’s the history of the region.”
Schmidt said Hong Kong has been one of history’s most successful incubators for entrepreneurs and Google has in fact been considering setting up an incubator or endowment to help Hong Kong with its technology start-ups.
However, he does recognize the many challenges that the society presents. “The downside is that there is not a big enough software industry. You have many other industries, but your lack of software and science start-ups will hurt you in terms of your global ambitions,” he said, adding that Hong Kong needs more than just service industries.
Another obstacle that Hong Kong has to overcome is people’s mindset.
“There is a certain aspect of the culture where people don’t want to be different. And I think it’s important to understand that in order to succeed, you have to be different,” he said. “You have to do something very different, and the culture needs to accept that.”
An additional challenge is the lack of risk-seeking, early-stage funding.
Schmidt pointed out that historically, among the great family businesses in Hong Kong, most of the entrepreneurs were self-financed. Today, the business landscape has changed.
“Convincing people that the venture model works is important,” he said. “Remember, only one out of 10 venture projects turn out to be really successful. So, the odds are against you, but because you are an entrepreneur, you will be that one out of the 10.”


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• In the federal antitrust trial against Google this week, the company's vice president for advertising products, Jerry Dischler, argued that Google is losing market share to both Amazon and TikTok.
According to the story, "The Justice Department alleges that Google has illegally maintained a monopoly over online search by paying billions of dollars to web browsers and smartphone manufacturers to ensure it’s the preselected option for users accessing the web. As part of those deals, Google pays Apple, Samsung Electronics and others a share of the revenue it earns from search advertising.
"About two-thirds of Google’s total revenue comes from search ads, Dischler said, and in 2020 that amounted to more than $100 billion."
Bloomberg writes, "In response to a question from U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who is overseeing the government’s case, Dischler said that some consumer goods makers have threatened to remove all of their advertising spending from Google and move it to Amazon. Today, Amazon is bigger than Google in retail advertising, he said, and is growing at twice the rate."


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Rate Cut Panacea : A policy rate cut by the RBI can spur consumer demand and industrial output, boost employment and scale up economic growth.
A policy rate cut by the RBI can spur consumer demand and industrial output, boost employment and scale up economic growth.
The Indian media has been abuzz with the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) discussion on a proposed reduction in interest rates for the Indian economy. With inflation coming down and signals from other economic variables open to interpretation, there are a plenty of arguments as well as counter- arguments as to whether this is the right time for an interest rate cut.
In the backdrop of this discussion, let us examine the nation's inflation as well as other economic data and try to make some sense of them. It is also important to note that markets, both equity and forex, have been showing enthusiasm towards the Indian economy.
For all its intents and purposes however, a policy rate cut may be an appropriate action for completely different reasons. The Indian economy, arguably, is not necessarily in good shape. Policy initiatives to increase consumer demand are important in order to sustain the economy's growth and provide employment.
It is obvious that inflation is slowing down right now, primarily due to a reduction in food prices. A crash in the prices of pulses and some vegetables has contributed significantly to this drop. But is that a sustainable trend?
Although the core inflation (inflation sans food and fuel) is holding steady, and it's still above the nation's inflation target, the low level of food inflation could be indicative of higher inflation in the future. One needs to examine whether the country's inflation is falling due to increased supply of food and food products alone, or whether there is a constraint from the demand side as well.
A reduction in interest rates has significant implications for industrial growth and employment generation in the Indian economy. If the RBI's MPC meeting minutes are anything to go by, there's a discernible gap in output, with current capacity utilisation pegged at around 70 per cent. It is quite obvious that capacity utilisation isn't exhibiting healthy trends of late. The growing output gap doesn't augur well for employ- ment or economic growth.
It's evident that the effective pending orders, including new orders, are declining and have been in the negative for the past four quarters. This is a clear indicator that growth in the economy is lagging. An examination of the average inventory of finished goods and raw materials throws up an alarming trend as well.
The quantity of finished goods as a percentage of sales is going up, while the raw materials to sales ratio is coming down. These indicators all point to the fact that manufacturers are worried about the future. If they were expecting growth in sales, they would likely have stocked more inventories of raw materials despite the mounting stocks of finished goods. Obviously, producers are opting for a wait-and-watch strategy on the production front.
Data and trends on the country's overall industrial production growth also seem ominous as demand in the economy continues to be subdued. There needs to be enough corrective actions taken to propel consumer demand in order for the economy to grow and generate employment.
It's evident that although core inflation is currently holding steady, the growing demand gap is a major issue. If demand doesn't increase, there could be mounting pricing pressures that will have a serious impact on the manufacturing sector as well as the health of India's overall economy.
Unreliable jobs data
India's unemployment levels are a curious dynamic. For over two decades, India's official unemployment rate has been the lowest among the world's major economies. You may wonder how one of the world's most populous countries, possibly even the world's largest population below the poverty line, could boast of such a
feat. You wouldn't be the only crit. According to the World Bank, a third of India's population lives with less than $1.90 a day.
Meanwhile, the Indian government itself often contradicts the nation's unemployment data. According to the nation's 2011 Census data, unemployment was more than 15 per cent among educated people. How then did the country manage to consistently maintain an unemployment rate of less than 3.5 per cent among the world's major economies? The discrepancy here arises from several employment guarantee schemes that are run by the Indian government. The number of days worked or the total amount of money earned notwithstanding, if a citizen at any point had been employed by the scheme, he or she is stricken from the unemployed list. This would easily explain the lower rural unemployment rate despite the better part of the population falling below the national poverty line. It also explains the higher unemployment rate among educated and urban citizens. Further, the actual number of days worked and total earnings from these schemes could be far lower than the official data, given the pilferage in all such government schemes.
Figures about actual unemployment rates or the level of under-employment aren't easily available. Most developed countries provide unemployment allowance and hence generate valid data based on the number of people who avail themselves of it. Eligible citizens need to periodically prove that they tried to secure employment but didn't succeed in order to qualify for continued assistance. India neither maintains a database of eligible unemployed people nor provides any allowances. That, obviously, makes it easier for different agencies to "derive" numbers that suit them best. Given the subjective nature of such data, can they really be useful while planning out serious policy or investment plans?
One of the fastest growing large economies in the world over the past few quarters, India has an interesting growth story. The Indian economy has definitely grown much faster after 1991. Is India's recent growth really that high however, and if so, is it sustainable? We need to adjust the data on at least two counts in order to get a comparable story.
First, we need to factor in a significant reduction in oil prices over the past year; it's had a sizable impact on the Indian economy, a major importer of oil. The Economist expects the low prices to contribute about 2 per cent to India's GDP growth. If that is true, then the current growth isn't as sizable as one could make it out to be.
Next, we need to account for the fact that India has been shifting a greater portion of its unorganised economy to an organised space. The current period's GDP numbers would then, of course, be skewed. The size of this shift adds directly to the measurable economic growth.
There is, however, no direct and easy means to reliably quantify the size of that addition. Take, for example, India's recent tryst with demonetisation. The government claims that the move would be a significant step towards drawing assets from India's informal economy to conventional channels. If that's true, we should see significant growth in several sectors over the next year due to the infusion of these erstwhile unaccounted for assets. Further, the estimated growth could be higher after adjusting for the minor negative impact of demonetisation during the previous financial year. The best forecast of GDP growth for the next year falls short of these expectations however, pegged at just about 7.5 per cent.
It's also worth noting that this estimate is on top of the positive effect that changes in how India's GDP (estimation of GVA vs the earlier method of GDP calculation) is now measured. The revised method had boosted India's 2013-14 GDP growth forecast to 6.9 per cent, up from the 4.7 per cent forecast estimated earlier using the old methodology. Though the current methodology is definitely an improvement and comparable to global standards, the numbers over the same period cannot be compared without adjusting the previous (or current) numbers in order to get a balanced comparison.
Reality of growth
There has been a lot of discussion on the growing number of unemployed individuals in the Indian economy. Obviously, people do not believe the official figures for India's unemployment rate. They do, however, believe the growth numbers are real. Both these numbers appear to be unreliable, and hence, we need to accept the fact that the Indian economy is not growing steadily enough to generate employment levels that can satisfy the million new entrants that seem to be entering India's job market every month.
It is also important to examine the other major signals that the numbers are giving out. Even if the number of layoffs in India's IT sector is smaller than what the media has made them out to be, the fact remains that existing players in India's seasoned technology sector are reducing their workforce. New jobs created by the nation's start-up ecosystem as well as other new businesses are not able to offset these losses. This may have a long- term impact on the country's employment market and overall economic growth.
Other segments of the economy aren't faring too well either. After quite a few years of scanty rains, India was expecting a normal monsoon this year. The monsoon has been uneven however, with different parts of the country experiencing either floods or droughts. This uneven spread is likely to significantly impact India's sizable agricultural and rural economies.
Though the GST rollout would have a very positive impact on the economy in the long run, the shortterm impact may not be positive. The rushed in manner (though there was enough time) and the over-complicated structure could make the implementation messy.
The Indian banking system's NPA resolution movement could have an additional impact on the economy as well, possibly boosting employment growth. If the RBI and other banks take this really seriously, it would effectively bring asset sales at significant haircuts, bankruptcy proceedings against some companies as well as higher provision and greater demand for capital from banks and other institutions. This would collectively reduce some amount of employment and economic value in the near future while making the banking system healthier in the long run and boosting long-term economic growth.
Another significant factor looming over India's economic future is the impact of the country's farmers' loan waivers. Without going into the merits or demerits of the waivers, it is easy to conclude that its impact would be net negative for the economy as resource- starved State governments would have to absorb this cost, and this could stall infrastructure developmental projects.
Time to act
The demand side of the economy seems to be constrained, with many worries coming to the fore. In addition, many other economic and other signals points to negative implications for economic growth and employment generation.
India needs to boost consumer demand in order to tide over these problems, enabling the economy to grow and generate employment. A policy rate cut would, therefore, be a reasonable action to take.
Additionally, one needs to examine the data and the details before they can be used for any meaningful purposes. Much of the economic data available in India appears to be unreliable, often contradictory, and hence, they need to be called on with caution, lest the conclusions drawn be completely wrong.
The author is head of quantitative research practice at Aranca, a research, analytics and advisory firm based in Mumbai.
Plunging consumer demand could seriously impact manufacturing sector and dent overall economy.
A shift in a greater portion of India's unorganised economy to an organised space could skew GDP numbers.
According to 2011 Census data, unemployment was more than 15% among educated people.


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While other states like Florida are lifting the last of their coronavirus restrictions, Abbott is keeping his executive orders in place and continuing to keep some businesses closed.
On Monday, Abbott teased an upcoming announcement on Twitter which implied bars and other similar establishments—which have been barred from reopening alongside restaurants and other businesses—would finally be allowed to open their doors.
Texans have continued to keep COVID under control.
The hospitalizations, number of new positive cases, and positivity rate remain contained. Today was one of the lowest for fatalities in a long time.
I will be announcing more openings soon.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) October 5, 2020
Abbott’s announcement on Wednesday, however, was less sweeping than many expected.
Instead, Abbott announced a new order that passes the buck onto county judges, who he has given the authority to determine whether local bars can reopen as soon as October 14 at 50 percent capacity.
For many Texans in populous Democrat-controlled counties, such approval will likely be difficult to obtain.
In fact, shortly after the announcement, Clay Jenkins—the Democrat Dallas County Judge—announced he would “not file to open them at this time.”
Regarding opening bars in Dallas County: I will not file to open them at this time. Below is the current guidance from the Public Health Committee and @DCHHS. We are in orange but our numbers are increasing (BadI) I will listen to everyone but will follow the science. pic.twitter.com/wvak33TnZw
— Clay Jenkins (@JudgeClayJ) October 7, 2020
Much like current restrictions on restaurants, all customers and employees are required to wear masks unless they are seated to eat or drink.
In addition to his announcement about bars, Abbott adjusted capacity limits for some businesses—such as movie theaters and bowling alleys—to 75 percent.
In a scathing statement after the announcement, the Texas Bar and Nightclub Alliance blasted the move by Abbott.
“We are extremely shocked by the announcement made today. When other Governors around the country, like Ron DeSantis, continue to lead and set a course for economic and social recovery for their states, today our Governor punted,” said Michael Klein, TBNA’s president.
“Abbott has forced 254 other people to make this decision for him with no guideposts as to how to make that decision. He’s officially passed the buck. No other sector of the Texas economy is being handled this way, even similar businesses such as restaurants or bingo halls. Bars are being singled out,” he added.


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While the U.S. generally seems to be cornering the market on anti-maskers, other countries have their own fair share of disruptions. A shopper in Alberta, Canada, recently went viral for not only refusing to wear a mask in a grocery store but arguing over it with a 17-year-old cashier who was just trying to do her job.
The video, taken by the employee, shows the anti-masker trying to start her camera up to record at the checkout lane, although they have clearly already been going back and forth about the issue for a while.
“So you need to wear a mask,” the employee says. “If you don’t, you need to leave our store. I’ve asked you many times, politely. If you don’t, you need to leave our store.”
The anti-masker immediately claims she has some sort of medical exemption, which the cashier doesn’t seem to buy for a second.
“I am told that nobody gets a medical exemption in our store. That is what I am told, and I am doing my job,” the teen says. “People like you make our job very difficult. I am a 17-year-old girl and I am asking you, a grown woman, to wear a mask. Put it on or leave.”
At no point does the anti-masker ask to speak to a manager or even an adult. Instead, she simply continues recording the teen and saying she will neither put on the mask nor leave.
The cashier eventually tells her that they’re calling the cops, even as the woman continues to insist she’s being discriminated against.
Like many videos of anti-masker confrontations, the TikTok highlights the uncomfortable position the pandemic has put employees in, having to choose between ignoring people breaking the rules and threatening the safety of everyone or risking a verbal, or even physical, confrontation with these people, who are often geared up for an argument of some sort when they arrive.
The footage also brought up all the usual frustrations with anti-maskers and their lack of consideration for everyone else.
“As someone who is disabled, I just don’t go into the store,” wrote @hipriestesskang. “That’s what curbside pickup is for. Stores are very accommodating in this regard.”
@Nepthai1982 added that “these people really need to understand that when they say they have a medical condition, it actually makes them look dumber not to wear a mask while IN THE MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC.”
But as @JakesForLuck points out, at least it’s “nice to see the US doesn’t have a monopoly on entitled assholes.”
The post ‘I am doing my job’: 17-year-old cashier begs anti-mask ‘Karen’ to leave grocery store appeared first on The Daily Dot.


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The worldwide security software market generated $16.5 billion in revenue during 2010, up from $14.7 billion in 2009, according to recent report from Gartner.
The 12% growth comes after the market saw a sharp fall in revenues in 2009, which the report blamed on a slow economy and restricted IT budgets.
Gartner analyst Ruggero Contu said that the sector’s largest vendors had been expanded their product portfolios through acquisition."Products within the security market are undergoing rapid evolution, in terms of both new delivery models — with security as a service showing increasing popularity — and new technologies being introduced, often by startup companies," said Contu.
The growth showed variation across different sectors. Mature areas like endpoint security and Web access management showed single digit growth, while security information and secure Web gateway products expanded much faster.
Symantec dominated the market in 2010 with a share of almost 19%, although its revenue growth compared to 2009 was just 5.8%. In contrast, EMC’s revenue grew by more than a quarter over the same period, but from a smaller base, giving the company a 3.8% market share in 2010.


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No cold chain, no immunization
UNICEF's long-running efforts to assess, expand and strengthen Nepal’s cold chain capacity are proving crucial to the delivery of vaccines around the country as part of the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination campaign
“Getting the vaccines themselves is one part of the work, but without proper storage and transport systems, it’s not possible to take them to the community.”
That is Bade Babu Thapa, Senior Pharmacy Officer at the Central Vaccine Store in Kathmandu, under the Government of Nepal’s Department of Health Services, talking about the importance of a strong cold chain – which refers to a series of precisely coordinated events in temperature-controlled environments to store, manage and transport vaccines – in ensuring the success of any immunization campaign. The Central Vaccine Store is the national-level facility responsible for storing and dispatching vaccine supplies across the country for use in immunization programmes at the community level.
Recognizing the critical role played by a well-connected cold chain, UNICEF – since the very beginning of national immunization efforts in Nepal – has been working closely with the government and key partners such as Gavi to assess, expand and strengthen the country’s cold chain capacity.
This has included installation of cold rooms, refrigerators and freezers in vaccine storage facilities at the central, provincial, district and local levels, refrigerated containers for transportation, as well as supply of cold boxes and carriers to safeguard vaccines during the final leg of their journey to immunization sites. UNICEF also provides technical and logistical support at federal, provincial/district and local levels for effective vaccine and cold chain management.
The support was further strengthened after the 2015 earthquake, which severely impacted health facilities around the country. For instance, in Dolakha District in northeastern Nepal, which was one of the worst-hit areas in the disaster, additional cold chain equipment and assistance was provided to many health facilities.
“The equipment from UNICEF has been in continuous use over the years for storing vaccines for routine immunization,” says Shiva Ram Basnet, cold chain officer at Dolakha’s Public Health Service Office. “It is designed to keep running even if the power supply is intermittent, which was often the case after the earthquake.”
Today, with the launch of the vaccination drive against COVID-19 in Nepal, these long-running efforts to reinforce the cold chain have never been more crucial.
“The COVID-19 vaccination drive is the most extensive vaccination program not just in the country but the whole world because it is targeting all adults, everywhere,” says Pradeep Shrestha, Health Officer at UNICEF Nepal. “We are happy that the work UNICEF has put into the vaccine and cold chain management over all these years is helping in the roll-out.”
And the efforts to strengthen the cold chain are continuing. In 2020 alone, UNICEF installed 290 pieces of cold chain equipment in different facilities nationwide. Plans are also in place to procure and install an additional 910 pieces to address still-existing gaps in select areas and facilitate smooth delivery of vaccines.
“We’re very thankful for UNICEF’s support,” says Bal Kumari Khadka, Cold Chain Assistant at the District Vaccine Store in Jumla District in Nepal’s remote far-western region.
“The fact that we have been able to run the vaccination campaign here simultaneously with other places around the country shows how important the cold chain system is in increasing vaccine coverage.”
The cold chain will also be used to store, transport and distribute vaccines received through the COVAX Facility, a partnership between CEPI, Gavi, UNICEF and WHO, made possible through generous donor support from governments, international organizations, foundations and the private sector. Nepal received its first consignment of COVID-19 vaccines - a total of 348,000 doses - that were shipped through the COVAX facility on 7 March 2021, in support of the Government of Nepal’s nation-wide vaccination campaign.


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USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service estimates a 2005
In addition to increasing the forecast size of the 2005 harvest, USDA reduced the forecast of 2005-06 marketing year consumption by 13 million bushels. USDA projects marketing year
Soybean prices moved higher on Nov. 11 with cash prices approaching the pre-harvest levels as basis continued to strengthen in many markets.
“Based on the U.S. average farm price, the market is currently reflecting a 2005-06 marketing year average farm price of about $5.80, says Darrel Good, University of Illinois Extension economist. “ That price is $.06 above the average price received in 2004-05 when year ending stocks were about 100 million bushels less than projected for this year.”
Overall, USDA projects the marketing year average price in a range of $4.95 to $5.75 and our composite model correlating the year ending stocks-to-use ratio to price projects a marketing year average near $5.25.
He contends that the soybean market appears to be a little over-priced based on current


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Entrepreneurial pupils help community with school uniform enterprise
Pupils at TIBHS are celebrating the successful launch of their new uniform upcycling enterprise.
‘Uniformity’ was launched in August, after pupils hit upon the idea of re-selling ‘pre-loved’ uniforms to help the environment, save parents money and raise funds for charity. So far, more than 100 items of uniform have been upcycled through the scheme, which parents are praising as a cost-effective and sensible measure.
Generous parents have already donated 150 items of TIBHS uniform that their children have outgrown or that are no longer needed, which can be used in exchange for a discount on other items. All items are professionally dry-cleaned and quality checked before being re-sold.
Pupils developed a new Uniformity App and website which enable parents to donate, purchase and exchange items of uniform with ease. In just a few weeks, the inventive team of pupils developed a fully functioning e-commerce platform where parents are able to check stock and buy items online.
The project was supported by the school’s Careers Enterprise Programme, which aims to educate pupils about the power of socially-conscious entrepreneurship. Pupils at the school receive specialist mentorship so they are equipped with the skills and know-how to help them develop business and leadership skills.
All profits from the social enterprise scheme are donated to Shine Charity, which aims to transform the life chances of children, young people and their families in areas of disadvantage and deprivation. More than £1,300 has been raised for the charity, which is operated by Star Academies.
Majid Ditta, Principal at TIBHS, praised pupils for the venture, which he said demonstrated their ability to innovate and develop advanced business skills.
Mr Ditta said: “Our pupils at TIBHS have worked incredibly hard to implement this project and I am very proud of everything they have achieved so far.
“This project could not have been timed better. We have seen first-hand the hardship that vulnerable people in our community are experiencing due to the spread of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdown measures.
“Being able to help parents in these difficult times by easing the annual cost of purchasing uniforms has been hugely beneficial to our school community. We are also delighted to be able to help people in our wider community who might be struggling by helping to raise funds for Shine Charity.
“We hope that our enterprise will also benefit the environment by helping to reduce the carbon footprint created by the clothing supply chain.
“Our pupils have shown real ingenuity by developing this idea as a response to recent economic and environmental pressures. They have also shown their ability to adapt and grow their skillset by mastering complex technology to develop the accompanying app and website.
“This venture is already helping to make a positive change in our community and we hope this scheme will be rolled out to other schools in the near future.”
The ingenuity behind the enterprise scheme has been recognised by leaders in the field of recycling. Adil Ughratdar presented the Uniformity project as part of the Big Deal Competition at University of York which was sponsored by the Biorenewables Development Centre. The project won The Big Deal’s Sustainability Award and Adil was also selected as the Big Deal 2020 Vlogger.
Uzair Patel, one of the pupils who helped to lead on the project, has also been shortlisted for the prestigious Arkwright Engineering Scholarship and has reached the final stage of the application. Uzair used his remarkable talent to devise the Uniformity website and continues to work to de-bug and enhance user experience.
Blackburn-born business leader Mo Isap, is the Chair of Governors and Enterprise Advisor at TIBHS, sits on board of the Careers and Enterprise Company and uses his experience to support the school’s enterprise programme. Mr Isap described the venture as an ‘incredible feat’.
He said: “I am immensely proud of our students. To develop and launch a social enterprise with an e-commerce platform in just a few weeks whilst working virtually during lockdown is an incredible feat, and one that many businesses would be hard pushed to achieve.
“Entrepreneurship education and nurturing a self-starter culture is much needed. Many of our young do not hold the belief that they can be employers and not just employees. The skills developed such as creativity, leadership and resilience are fully transferable and empower students to stand out from amongst their peers.”
During lockdown, the school worked in partnership with the Shine Charity to support thousands of local vulnerable families as part of the Star Academies Coronavirus Appeal. Staff and pupils at the school helped to deliver more than 5,000 family food packs and distributed 3,000 hot meals to local people in need. Boxes filled with hygiene items and PPE, including face visors manufactured by pupils, were also distributed to help alleviate hardship and suffering, and protect front-line workers.
For more information or to order items of uniform for TIBHS, visit https://uniformity.co/
Added By: tetadmin | Date Added: 16th Sep 2020 | Posted In: Latest News


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You know protein alternatives have hit the big time when the CEO of a multimillion-dollar meat company insists he’s now running a “protein company.”
“We’re committed to both animal proteins and plant-based proteins,” says Michael McCain, CEO of Toronto-based Maple Leaf Foods. The company has recently invested more than $600 million in the new and growing segment of the food business.
Small businesses are capitalizing on the trend in a big way as well. Just four years ago Margaret Coons, of London, Ont., was selling her cashew “cheese” in small batches at local farmers markets. Now Nuts for Cheese products are available in 800 stores across Canada — and she’s just moved her 22 employees into a larger production facility.
“We’ve tripled revenues every year since we started,” says Coons, a former vegetarian chef. “I haven’t had a lot of moments to catch my breath.”
Grocery chains can’t get enough of the trend, either.
“It’s exploding,” says Mike Vaughan-Warford, a produce manager at a Sobeys store in London. “It’s a wide demographic, from students to retirees — we see it across the board.”
Meat alternatives are moving quickly to the mainstream, with companies marketing products to all types of consumers, not just vegetarians or vegans. Flexitarian is a new buzzword to describe people who avoid meat in some meals and enjoy it during others.
What gives? Anyone who tried a veggie hot dog or non-meat patty back in the ’90s may be shocked at the new-found popularity of plant-based food. Back then, the products typically lacked flavour and their texture was unpleasant to many palates.
But advances in food science and technology have produced an array of tasty treats. The addition of extra fat, salt and spices also enhances the flavour of many of the latest plant-based foods.
“Some of the products are formulated to have slightly higher fat levels or salt levels than an animal protein,” says McCain. “But they’ve got great taste and a great eating experience, and they fit into a dietary balance that could be chosen a couple of nights a week.”
The Beyond Meat burger popularized by fast-food chain A&W, for example, contains more fat than the chain’s Teen Burger with cheese and bacon: 29 versus 26 grams, according to nutritional information listed on the company website.
‘Perception of health’
When Health Canada released its updated Food Guide in January, it recommended consumers “choose protein foods that come from plants more often.”
Meat is a high quality source of complete protein, containing iron and important vitamins, but it’s also long been associated with an increased risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes, to name just a few of the health warnings given by doctors.
Market researchers refer to a “halo effect” when speaking about today’s plant-based foods.
“We’re dealing with a much more educated consumer who understands more about the foods that they’re eating overall,” says Robert Carter, of the NPD Group. “They’re looking for that perception of health and wellness, and these plant-based burgers really tie into that.”
His use of the word perception is telling, considering that there are a lot of tradeoffs in the decision to opt for an entree designed to replace meat.
Good for the environment
Carter says some millennials are also attracted to the idea that plant-based food requires fewer resources than raising livestock for meat.
“The younger consumer is really understanding the social and environmental impact of different kinds of foods that they’re consuming,” he says. “That’s helping drive the trend.”
Animal-based proteins — especially red meat — consume more resources and generate more greenhouse gases than nuts, beans and other plant-based proteins. A recent report from World Resources Institute, a global sustainability think-tank, found that producing beef uses 20 times the land and generates 20 times the emissions compared to growing beans, per gram of protein.
Maple Leaf Foods’ McCain believes the environmental advantage of plant-based foods will be less dramatic in future, however, as the meat industry adopts more sustainable practices.
“Our emissions footprint, our animal welfare commitment, our community commitments are all based on the expectation that we need to reduce our footprint into a sustainable environment,” he says.
Although the term plant-based protein isn’t especially sexy or appealing, market watchers says it’s better than vegan or vegetarian, which could only attract a small segment of the population.
“It’s a really exciting time to be in this industry,” says Coons.
“For a long time, people had to make a decision between having a product they really enjoyed, and eating the way they wanted to, based on their ethical compass or what their health required of them. So now it’s really nice that they don’t have to make that choice anymore.”


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The Schibsted brand holds a strong position in Norway’s media and communications industry. According to the comprehensive Industry Report 2014 conducted by the recruitment company Mediabemanning, it is the Schibsted brand that is perceived as the most attractive employer.
As a group, Schibsted has thereby managed to become more attractive as an employer than any of its individual brands, such as FINN, VG and Aftenposten.
“We think Schibsted has done a good job in recent years at being a company that thinks in terms of innovation and development. It was no surprise to us here in Mediabemanning that their common brand came out on top,” says Ole Janzso, partner and consultant in Mediabemanning, which is behind the survey.
This year Schibsted moves up to top position from last year’s second place behind the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.
Google entered this year’s ranking and ended up in fifth place.
This year’s survey of the marketing and communications industry is the sixth in a row.
Here is the top 10 ranking of the industry’s most popular employers.
2. Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation
7. TV 2
10. Netlife Research
Source: Bransjerapporten [Industry Report] conducted by Mediebemanning.


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One of the dead giveaways that a US service is lazily using the same images for its streaming service in the UK as the US is the inclusion of the Hulu logo. The popular streaming service offers episodes of big-name TV shows including Lost, South Park and Battlestar Galactica plus a tonne of original content, but it's never been available on these shores.
That looks like it might change, though, with the news that Disney's bought 21st Century Fox's entertainment, including a controlling stake in Hulu. According to Comicbook, this means "Hulu will likely be offered internationally" after the deal completes next year.
This is great news for those of us in the UK who are truly sick of reading about something cool on Reddit or another US-centric web service (that'll be most of them, then) only to ask where to get it, and be told "it's on Hulu." This is usually followed by a wry UK comment along the lines of "Try the popular streaming service known as [insert name of dodgy torrent site here]" – most of us are more than willing to pay for content, it's just there's often no legal way to do that. Which is silly.
Of course, the fact that Hulu itself might come here isn't a guarantee that we'd get all of its content: licensing deals will still have to be negotiated, and some titles might fall by the legal wayside. But with Disney's muscle and several continents' worth of potential paying subscribers, we're hopeful they can work something out.
Main image: Hulu via Facebook


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Zact Mobile was a Sprint MVNO that offered a fairly unique modular pricing system. Users could choose from various sized buckets of minutes, texts and data. It was very flexible, someone who texted and used a bit of data but rarely talked on the phone could could combine a 90¢ 30 minute per month voice bucket with a $4.94 600 text bucket and a $16.55 500MB data bucket rather than being forced to pay for unlimited minutes they didn't need. Plans were chosen using a custom system-level app on the phone and users could change their plans on the fly.
On July 4th, Zact's parent company ItsOn announced that it had reached an agreement with Sprint Corporation to power a new Sprint prepaid service. The existing Zact service will shut down August 3 and Zact says customers will be able to switch to the new Sprint service at that time. But since the announcement Zact and Sprint have not provided any details of the new service, which has made some current Zact customers understandably nervous.
Today the @evleaks Twitter account posted the photo show above. According to the photo's caption, it shows four new Virgin Mobile phones, the LG Pulse, LG Unify, HTC Desire 816, and ZTE Emblem. @evleaks is famous for predicting phone launches and posting accurate specs and photos of phones well before they are even announced so there's a good chance the phones are for real.
What's even more interesting than new four Virgin Mobile phones, is that three of the new phones are displaying a screen that looks almost exactly like Zact's plan management app. So it appears that Sprint's new Zact powered service will be Virgin Mobile branded and will launch with few changes to Zact's plan selection user interface. You can see some of the tiers for minutes, texts and data in the picture.
- 500 minutes $4, 750 minutes $8, 1000 minutes $9.50
- 750 texts $4.50, 1000 texts $8, 1250 texts $9
- 500MB of data is $13.50. I can't make out the prices for the other two data tiers in the image
Source @evleaks via HowardForums
Updated: ItsOn to Power New Sprint Prepaid Service, Zact Mobile Shutting Down August 3
Zact Customers Getting Free Month of Service Before Rebranding and Relaunch
New Sprint Prepaid MVNO Zact to Launch next Month With Flexible, Sharable Plans and Roaming


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Teen Design Fair
Hundreds of boisterous teenagers filled Manhattan’s iconic Altman Building at the 6th Annual NYC Design Fair recently, to learn about breaking into design’s makeshift industry.
Fashion expert Tim Gunn was frank about the competitive nature of the business. “If you are not passionate about being a designer don’t do it. It’s not just a job; you live with it, you don’t leave it back in the office,” he said.
“I created a hair jacket, [because] what I’m trying to do [is] make myself stand-out” said Georgina Jean-Dusseck, a sophomore at Fashion Industries High School. The confident young artist said the best advice she received was from Mr. Gunn who inspired her to learn about the history of fashion in order to design authentic and original pieces.
Mr. Gunn is known for his TV role as co-host of Lifetime’s Project Runway. On the show, he repeatedly tells designers to “Make it work” in order to impress judges like Michael Kors.
The fair drew dozens of top designers from different fields to counsel high school students (and a few middle schoolers) about design careers in fashion, industrial, architecture, multimedia and graphic design. “I want to encourage young people to pursue their dream in design,” said Phil Jimenez, an artist for Marvel and DC Comics. His advice is to be polite and persistent. “Never give-up and when they say no find out what will make them say yes,” he added.
“Employers look for versatility,” said Ryan Cox, a freelance artist. Designers brought examples of what good versatility and original concepts looks like. And it worked. Students took notes as they received pointers on how to market yourself and make your work memorable to potential clients. “You get a lot of chances to build relationships and network,” said Taylor Johnson, a senior student at Art and Design High School.
Middle school student Robyn Salazar learned valuable tips too. She said, a designer suggested sketching lightly and swiftly before concentrating on the details.
Representatives from art schools also attended the fair to talk to kids about the admissions process and financial aid resources.
The Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum organized the free event which is part of National Design Week. Since 2006, National Design Week has been an education initiative that draws attention to the ways in which design enriches people’s lives.
During a Q+A with the audience, a student asked Mr. Gunn what he looks for in an impressive portfolio. He said “spirited innovative ideas; technical skills are nothing unless you are willing to storm ideas.”
He also candidly warned students about inheriting pervasive entitlement characteristics. “I want you all to know the world owes you nothing; you have to make things happen,” he said. #


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Porsche has begun work on the 911 hybrid sports car, although the release of such a modification has not yet been officially confirmed. The prototype has already been put on public roads.
Rumors that Porsche is going to release a hybrid version of the 911 have periodically appeared over the past years. Information about this was also confirmed by company representatives, but now it has gone even further and released a test prototype on public roads.
Michael Steiner, a board member of the brand, told Auto Express in an interview that the sports car platform is ready for hybrid development. However, now the question is how to introduce a gas-electric installation without compromising the appearance of the car.
The director of the sports division, Frank-Steffen Walliser, said that the main difficulty lies in the size of the motor. He explained that it is important for the company to maintain the 2 + 2 landing formula, and at the same time not to lose the luggage space.
In addition, emphasized Frank-Steffan, the brand is not ready to weight the sports car. “If we wanted to do this, it would be easier for us to create a new car,” he concluded.
While there is no information about the approximate timing of the release of new items, but insiders suggest that waiting for it before 2026 makes no sense.
Porsche for the poorhttps://motor.ru/imgs/2020/03/06/16/3813336/40af1e3e02ef463acf3e4bac1cab07a4a0791cc7.jpg


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According to Tim Draper, Netflix could be the next big company to invest in bitcoin.
In fact, during the latest episode of The Unstoppable Podcast entitled “Building a Freer World on Blockchain”, the well-known investor answered a question from Unstoppable Domains co-founder and CEO Matthew Gould about which Fortune 500 company might be the next to add bitcoin to its balance sheet.
Draper isn’t usually greedy with predictions, so after a moment’s thought, he said he thinks it could be a company with an innovative founder, but not Facebook, because of the ongoing issues between the company and the US government.
In fact, he believes that bitcoin could provide a hedge against the inflationary risks of “funny money dollars”, at which point it occurred to him that Netflix founder Reed Hastings might be the ideal candidate to make a similar choice.
Draper says that Hastings is a very innovative person with a lot of creative ideas, and since he still holds the power in the company, this could allow him to make a decision like investing some of the cash in BTC.
Not just Netflix: others who could invest in Bitcoin
However, he then also added that Google could do something, but he believes it is more likely that companies like Google, Facebook or Apple would prefer to create their own centralized currencies, rather than rely on bitcoin.
However, he also believes that Amazon may soon decide to accept bitcoin as a payment method, as it is already possible to use BTC to make purchases on Amazon using third-party features that instantly convert bitcoin into fiat currency.
Draper, however, adds another consideration about investing in bitcoin as a possible hedge against inflationary risks.
He believes that pension funds, or those who manage other people’s money, might decide to invest in BTCs as a way of hedging against inflationary risks, and since they are forced to watch the evolution of the markets, to see where there may be potential gains or losses.
In this regard, he mentions Blackrock, but especially Fidelity, which has been active in the crypto market for some time and which has a partnership with Tim Draper’s son, Adam.
In truth, the company profile described by Draper as a potential bitcoin investor also fits many other companies besides Netflix, although they are generally much smaller and much less known.


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The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the nature of my job quite a bit. The pandemic hit just as we were heading into our busy conference season. So instead of traveling across the country attending conferences, networking with peers, and in most cases, enjoying a bit of sunshine either by the pool or on the beach, I was attending these events from the friendly confines of my home office. The good news is that the virtual nature of these shows removed one of the biggest challenges of attending a conference: deciding which sessions to attend. Instead, I have been able to watch and, in some cases, re-watch a presentation to glean more insights than I may have been able to do at an in-person event. And this year’s Descartes Evolution was no exception. The conference was last month, and I was actually on vacation during part of it. But I have since been able to go back and re-watch some of the key sessions. The theme of the event was spot-on as we all try to adjust to the new normal: Emerging Stronger.
During his keynote speech, Descartes CEO Ed Ryan discussed the foundation that is Descartes: the Global Logistics Network. The network connects carriers (ocean, air, ground, and rail transportation companies), shippers (retailers, manufacturers & distributors, and service providers), governments (customs agencies, regulatory bodies, and other agencies & associations), and intermediaries (customs brokers, freight brokers, forwarders/3PLs/NVOCCs, and payment agencies). Currently, Descartes has 20,000+ customers worldwide on the network, which processes 18.6+ billion transactions per year, and has grown 21 percent. On top of the network are Descartes’ value-added services: Routing, Mobile, & Telematics, Transportation Management, Customs and Regulatory Compliance, Broker & Forwarder Enterprise Systems, and Global Trade Content. These solutions all tie into the larger network.
In his keynote, Mr. Ryan touched upon the impact of COVID-19 and what we have learned as an industry in 2020. The coronavirus pandemic has sped up the digital transformation of supply chains around the world. Of the solution areas highlighted above, Mr. Ryan said that Descartes’ E-Commerce, Shipping, & Fulfillment is the fastest growing. This solution enables e-commerce providers to manage their TMS and WMS while interconnecting back office systems. Given the e-commerce boom, it is not surprising that this is the fastest growing product segment.
Mr. Ryan highlighted five things that 2020 has taught us so far. First is the importance of managing a distributed organization. This was never more evident than when the country went into a lockdown and the majority of workers were suddenly working remote full-time. Second, we have seen the death of paper-based processing. For companies that were still relying on paper-based processes because it was cheaper than implementing a new solution, the pandemic has made the decision for them and it is no longer an option. Third, there is a need to address the variability in demand. Capacity and demand fluctuation have upended global supply chains; companies need to be able to react quickly to these changing demands. Fourth, there has been a pivot in business models. These pivots can be seen everywhere, in the way companies collaborate to the way in which they get their products to consumers. These pivots have changed how companies operate. And fifth, there is an increased importance of visibility. Consumers and businesses alike need more transparency on where an order is and need to know when and how they will receive it.
Major E-commerce Trends
There were two sessions that really stuck out to me regarding the growing importance of e-commerce and how companies are emerging stronger. The first was Descartes End-to-End Vision for E-Commerce which featured Johannes Panzer, Head of Industry Solutions for Ecommerce at Descartes. In this session Mr. Panzer highlighted a number of key trends across three categories that are impacting e-commerce operations and fulfillment.
The second session was Home Delivery Best Practices presented by Chris Jones, Executive Vice President at Descartes. I will give a further recap of that see that will be part of my next article.
It is no secret that COVID-19 has spurred e-commerce growth. In his session, Mr. Panzer made the point that COVID-19 is causing volume uplift as more people are buying online. And as e-commerce has continued to grow, these changing shopping behaviors are likely to remain in place once brick and mortar stores are back to business as usual. There are whole customer segments that have traditionally avoided e-commerce but are now seeing the convenience of it.
Mr. Panzer highlighted several category trends that the pandemic has affected. For example, travel, events, and hotel stays are all down as a result of COVID-19. This has direct ties to a 77 percent decline in luggage sales, 63 percent decline in bridal clothing, and a 39 percent decline in camping equipment. Although, camping equipment is probably back on the rise as more and more campsites have opened up. On the other end of the spectrum, disposable glove sales have increased 670 percent, cough and cold products have increased 535 percent, and fitness equipment has increased 170 percent. From what I have seen there has also been a rush on bicycles and inflatable pools. The results of these fluctuations has been a 50+ percent increase in shipment volume after the lockdowns were lifted.
Mr. Panzer highlighted two main industry trends as part of the global shift in e-commerce. The first is the fast-scaling of operations. Fast-scaling means that companies are able to handle a growing amount of work or a change in operations in a fast and efficient manner. The example that Mr. Panzer used in his presentation is the use of flash sales. The proliferation of social influencers and content can create a flash sale on any given item on any given day. A flash sale can effectively mean that retailers need to be able to treat any day like a peak season day, knowing that demand for a product is likely to soar. This means the retailer needs to be able to fulfill orders more quickly and efficiently while meeting the surge.
The second industry trend highlighted in this session is alternative sourcing and fulfillment strategies. As supply chains became disrupted due to COVID-19, the risk increased for those companies that relied on single-country sourcing. Now, these companies are diversifying how they source and fulfill orders. When factories in China shut down just after Chinese New Year, many companies were left in a difficult position of trying to figure out the best way to get the products they needed. Diversified sourcing strategies were the answer and have led to a change in the way these companies currently and will operate in the future.
The third category of trends that Mr. Panzer highlighted are the technology trends. The first trend that was discussed is APIs, and the automation of data exchange. Most e-commerce platforms already have APIs in place and now more carriers are moving in that direction. There has also been better data exchange through automation.
The second trend is shipment tracking. Visibility tools have become one of the most sought-after solutions in the market. Customers have an expectation of accurate ETAs and improved visibility into where shipments are. Many companies are integrating external data streams to improve ETAs. Bust visibility goes beyond just the live tracking of a package. Now, more and more companies are looking for more transparency in their supply chains, especially visibility into sourcing. This visibility can help brands make better decisions as well as more accurate forecasts.
The final technology trend that Mr. Panzer highlighted is data analytics. There is so much data being collected during every customer interaction and transaction. That data can be leveraged to create greater insights. The use of data analytics is more about connecting different sources and identifying the right insights to drive better decisions.
The final piece of Mr. Palzer’s presentation was on the customer experience, and how retailers need to provide a remarkable customer experience through fulfillment. There are five stages of the customer experience that retailers can impact:
- Check-out Process: retailers need to make sure that customers have access to accurate real-time inventory so they can get the item that they want.
- Order Confirmation: retailers need to ensure that all customer information is correct and that an accurate and acceptable shipment and delivery date is available.
- Shipment Tracking: real-time notifications must be given to enable the customer to track the order; retailers can also give customers access to next-level processes, such as letting the customer know when a delivery is a few stops away and ask where they want the item to be delivered.
- Point of Delivery: the retailer needs to make sure the order arrives when it is scheduled and it must not be damaged.
- Returns: there needs to be seamless and fast processing for returns; retailers can provide a return label in the initial shipment and must process returns and refunds quickly.
While this year’s Descartes Evolution conference was certainly a change of pace from attending in person, the message was clear: Descartes’ customers are emerging stronger as we move towards the new normal of a COVID-19 world. Ed Ryan highlighted the impact COVID-19 has had on the industry and what we have learned in 2020. The coronavirus pandemic has pushed e-commerce to the forefront of the global economy, and fulfillment is a driving force for a positive customer experience. Johannes Panzer showcased the end-to-end e-commerce vision for Descartes. This vision is centered around a retailer’s ability to provide a remarkable customer experience through fulfillment. Sourcing and fulfillment are at the heart of e-commerce, and Descartes is positioning itself to ensure that its customers have all the tools they need to succeed and truly emerge stronger.


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This week marks the launch of the 2017 White Shirt Campaign, including Australian models Tahnee Atkinson, Bambi Northwood-Blyth and Megan Blake Irwin. Witchery has designed eight white shirts for the campaign (seven for women), with the proceeds of each shirt sold donated to the OCRF. The aim is to develop early detection, improve our understanding of the causes, and help improve management and long-term survival.
It's a cause we should all get behind, which is why today I've added a white shirt to my shopping cart. You can never have too many in your wardrobe, so you can consider the purchase 100 percent guilt free.


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LOS ANGELES (AP) – A future cup of coffee in California could give you jitters before you even take a sip.
A nonprofit group wants coffee manufacturers, distributors and retailers to post ominous warnings about a cancer-causing chemical stewing in every brew and has been presenting evidence in a Los Angeles courtroom to make its case.
The long-running lawsuit that resumed Monday claims Starbucks and about 90 other companies, including grocery stores and retail shops, failed to follow a state law requiring warning signs about hazardous chemicals found everywhere from household products to workplaces to the environment.
At the center of the dispute is acrylamide, a carcinogen found in cooked foods such as French fries that is also a natural byproduct of the coffee roasting process. The coffee industry has acknowledged the presence of the chemical but asserts it is at harmless levels and is outweighed by benefits from drinking coffee.
Although the case has been percolating in the courts since 2010, it has gotten little attention.
A verdict in favor of the little-known Council for Education and Research on Toxics could send a jolt through the industry with astronomical penalties possible and it could wake up a lot of consumers, though it’s unclear what effect it would have on coffee-drinking habits.
The lawyer taking on Big Coffee said the larger goal is to motivate the industry to remove the chemical from coffee, which would also benefit his own three-cup-a-day fix.
“I’m addicted – like two-thirds of the population,” attorney Raphael Metzger said. “I would like the industry to get acrylamide out of the coffee so my addiction doesn’t force me to ingest it.”
Under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, passed by voters as Proposition 65 in 1986, private citizens, advocacy groups and attorneys can sue on behalf of the state and collect a portion of civil penalties.
Metzger represented the council in a case later taken up by the state attorney general that resulted in potato chip makers agreeing in 2008 to pay $3 million and remove acrylamide from their product.
The law has been roundly criticized for abuses by lawyers shaking down businesses for quick settlements but is also credited with reducing chemicals known to cause cancer and birth defects, such as lead in hair dyes, mercury in nasal sprays and arsenic in bottled water.
But warnings, which can be startling on first encounter, have been less effective due to sometimes inconspicuous placement or vague language. Drivers everywhere appear to prioritize parking in a garage over warnings such as, “This area contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects and other reproductive harm.”
The state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment adopted new regulations last year that will require more specific warnings that list the chemical consumers may be exposed to and list a website with more information. Parking garages, for example, will have to post that breathing air there exposes drivers to carbon monoxide and gas and diesel exhaust and warns people not to linger longer than necessary.
“The intent is not to scare people,” said Allan Hirsch, chief deputy of the office. “The intention is to help people make more informed decisions. If you continue to buy a product that will expose you to a chemical, that’s OK as long as you’re informed.”
Many of the coffee defendants have already posted warnings that specifically say California has determined acrylamide is among chemicals that cause cancer and attorneys have stated others, from mega-chains to mom-and-pop operations, will follow suit if the judge rules against them.
Metzger said many of those warnings often appear after the point of sale or where cream and sugar is provided, which offers no warning to someone drinking black coffee.
Coffee companies lost a first round in the case two years ago and are now presenting their last defense.
Defense lawyers declined to comment on the case but asserted in court that they should prevail under an exemption for chemicals that result naturally from cooking necessary for palatability or to avoid microbiological contamination.
“It is hard to imagine a product that could satisfy this exemption if coffee does not,” defense attorney James Schurz said in court papers. “The answer to the question of whether Proposition 65 requires coffee to carry a cancer warning must be an emphatic ‘No.'”
In the first phase, Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle said the defense failed to present enough credible evidence to show there was no significant risk posed by acrylamide in coffee. The law puts the burden on the defense to show that the level of the chemical won’t result in one excess case of cancer for every 100,000 people exposed. Berle said the epidemiology studies they presented were inadequate to evaluate that risk.
Civil penalties could come to $2,500 per person exposed each day. With penalties reaching back eight years that could ring up an astronomical bill in a state with close to 40 million residents, though such a massive figure is very unlikely.
Starbucks Corp., the lead defendant, would not comment on the case. Its latest quarterly report said it’s not “party to any legal proceeding that management believes could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.”
Two of the defendants have settled in the past month and agreed to post warnings. BP West Coast Products, which operates gas station convenience stores, agreed to pay $675,000. Yum Yum Donuts Inc. agreed to pay nearly $250,000.
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The track, recorded with Columbian singer Maluma, channels "Despacito," with a nod toward Madonna's 1986 song "La Isla Bonita."
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Over the last five years, almost everything about web development has changed. Oh, the old tech still works, your WordPress and Ruby On Rails sites still function just fine — but they’re increasingly being supplanted by radical new approaches. The contents of your browser are being sliced, diced, rendered, and processed in wholly new ways [
Financial services giant the Hartford started using a mature male deer in its television advertising in the 1970s, but the majestic mascot dropped out of sight a decade ago. Now a brand update and a new agency have brought him back and given him a voice for the first time, via several just-launched commercials targeting


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- Cirralto and Invigo have entered a strategic partnership to launch an integrated platform for their customers to access
- Invigo’s and Cirralto’s customers have a similar business profile and are expected to benefit from the shared channel
- Cirralto will offer modernisation and vertical market technology solutions to Invigo customers and Invigo will upgrade Cirralto’s customer base with its products and services
- The partnership is expected to add transactional revenue streams
Cirralto and Invigo have entered into a Partnership and Revenue Sharing Agreement to enable its customers to access an integrated platform.
Invigo is a Sydney-based fintech company which offers businesses a unique combination of innovative solutions. These include E-Invoicing and E-Statements, Flexi Finance, customer credit checks, online quotation and facility, and more.
Invigo’s platform is targeted at customers with a similar business profile to Cirralto’s customers and equally Cirralto’s vertical market technology solutions directly apply to Invigo’s customers.
The companies have agreed to a joint approach in sharing channels to allow their customers to access an integrated platform. This shared platform will utilise Cirralto’s vertical market technology solutions, and access to Invigo’s early payment facility or extended payment of invoices financing facility.
“We expect the partnership will help us grow both our customer base and average revenue per customer and we are really excited with the addition of Invigo’s fintech services,” Cirralto Managing Director Adrian Floate said.
The first phase of development work to integrate these platforms is expected to be completed by October 2019. This will result in Cirralto being able to offer modernisation and vertical market technology solutions to Invigo customers and upgrading Cirralto’s customer base with Invigo products and services.
“The Invigo partnership is directly aligned to diversifying our revenue segments and increasing our total share of our customers’ transactional wallet,” Adrian said.
Cirralto believes this partnership will increase revenue streams associated with early payments and debtor financing to its current SaaS revenue.
An official launch date will be announced in due time.