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If you’ve ordered a taxi or a fancy takeaway using an app recently, chances are you’ve contributed to the ‘gig economy’. Since access to on-demand conveniences has become normal, we wonder what we did without it. But who made it possible?
Start-ups like Uber, Deliveroo and Taskrabbit may have begun with a great idea, but they wouldn’t have enjoyed massive growth if there wasn’t a large pool of people willing to work of them. This can be attributed to the aftermath of the 2008 recession. Driven by the difficulty of finding secure employment, many have chosen to supplement their income or make a living using new digital platforms.
This trend isn’t confined to the taxi and courier industries. Services like PeoplePerHour and Upwork are also quietly transforming the employment market, allowing designers, consultants and even accountants to work remotely and charge for their services on an hourly basis.
The unique selling point for gig workers is the same as it is for consumers – convenience. Being able to dictate your hours and work from home allows people to balance their freelance careers around childcare or a full-time job.
It also has its downsides.
By classing their workers as ‘entrepreneurs’, gig firms are able to duck out of basic employment rights such as minimum wage, holiday pay and breaks, along with liability for accidents which may befall them or their customers. This business model has grabbed headlines and drawn the ire of many commentators, including some in the recruitment community who fear that it will encourage deregulation and damage the wider industry (Matt Charney has a typically apocalyptic take on this).
Many will have been pleased to hear the result of a tribunal brought against Uber which focused on the question of whether or not they should be treated as employees. Ruling against the company’s claim to act as a technology platform for the self-employed rather than a transport business, the court decided that drivers are entitled to worker’s rights – giving them access to minimum wage and holiday pay.
This decision was largely based on the amount of control which Uber exerts over its drivers’ business; important functions such as the complaints procedure are taken out of drivers’ hands, while the rating system essentially amounts to a disciplinary measure.
The ruling is likely to have an impact on the wider gig economy. With the current government inquiry into modern employment practices, there is a great deal of public interest in this subject, by Gig companies will likely have to adapt their business models to factor in basic workers’ rights – Deliveroo drivers in London are already taking steps to fight a similar case.
What does this mean for the recruitment industry?
It may be too early to tell. I would argue that there is an opportunity for recruiters here to showcase their traditional value, taking responsibility and emphasising the human relationships which candidates enjoy, as opposed to the anonymous experience with a chatbot which many gig workers have. There is a great deal of work to be done here, as some agencies are still misusing the exclusions to agency worker regulations such as the Swedish derogation.
For clients, the ability of recruiters to ensure that candidates are properly vetted – shortlisted, screened and referenced – cannot not be easily replaced. The rating system which gig platforms currently employ is generally based on performance, rather than personality, so good recruiters who take the time to match candidates with their clients will have another opportunity to excel.
This isn’t an excuse for the industry to rest on its laurels however. With LinkedIn also moving in to the freelance market with its Profinder service, the gig economy isn’t going anywhere soon. Using these new digital platforms and possibly creating alternatives should be the priority for recruiters just as much as their traditional service offering.


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2019 winners revealed
Firms that buy homes and rent them back to their owners will be regulated by the Financial Services Authority
The FSA has published a consultation outlining a regulatory regime.
Initiative put back five months until March next year – but trade groups want even longer postponement
But housebuilder says demand picking up after reopening sites last month
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Volkswagen India is planning on making its vehicles work in our growing market. This includes launches of several new and even India-specific products in the coming times.
The German manufacturer has realised that the Utility Vehicle segment in India is interesting. Volkswagen is now planning of exploiting this segment by introducing their models in this mix.
These new Utility Vehicles will be built on their MQB/MLB platform. Officials are constantly in touch with VW headquarters to decide the perfect vehicle for launch.
Nothing has been finalised yet and if Volkswagen plan to launch utility vehicles in India, it will be by 2018. They plan to enter the SUV and MPV segment in India.
At 2014 Auto Expo, Volkswagen had showcased a compact SUV Taigun. This vehicle is most likely not coming to India as it will be updated soon and VW want to provide same cars globally.
Increasingly, every automobile manufacturer in India seems planning a product in every segment. Volkswagen products are currently not doing well and they plan to increase local production to reduce costs.
Volkswagen is planning to introduce a compact sedan based on their Polo hatchback. They have also confirmed that they would not enter the compact SUV segment.


text: Lucozade is a high-energy drink that is very effective way to get a lot of sugar very quickly. Most people will know that the drink itself is a very distinctive orange colour. The orange is caused by the colorant Sunset Yellow which is among a number of suspect food additives. Research at Southampton University, funded by the Food Standards Agency, has found that this is one of several additives that may cause children to become hyperactive. According to a UK national newspaper – http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1256242/Lucozade-lose-orange-colour-linked-hyperactivity.html – Lucozade bottles will carry a warning label (‘Sunset Yellow may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children’) until a suitable alternative colorant can be found.


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Advertising intelligence company MediaRadar has released its latest Online Video Advertising Index, and it finds that marketers are really getting into this whole online video thing.
Brands in the media, finance, and beauty verticals are out front, doing the most online video advertising. According to MediaRadar’s data, over 350 media brands used online video advertising between January and August 2014.
When creating their video ads, brands prefer to go short and keep the viewer’s attention: 15- and 30-second ads were the most popular. In that same time period, 79 percent of ads were either 15- or 30-seconds long. A small 3 percent of ads were shorter than 15 seconds, while 10 percent were longer than 30 seconds.
Do viewers skip online video ads whey they have the chance? Overwhelmingly, says MediaRadar. Approximately 85 percent of skippable ads are, in fact, skipped. Longer ads are more likely to have a skip option. The popularity of skipping should have marketers rethinking their online video ad creative, MediaRadar says.
See The Original Story click here


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It dawned on me that with all the furor nationwide over GMO labeling, the vast majority of Americans in favor of labeling, and the current bill working its way through the New Hampshire Legislature, see Seacoast Eat Local, that products labeled for New Hampshire would quickly find a regional following if not a national market. This could help jump-start non-GMO agricultural activities as demand would precede supply creating on-farm employment as well as the potential for canning/freezing operations to return to the region. My assumption is that Big-Ag would not craft a national label as they do for Bottle Deposits but rather a unique one for New Hampshire. The bigger assumption is that there actually are truly non-GMO retail products available on a reasonable scale for sale in all retail channels.
Other than the loss of Big-Ag lobbying money and campaign funding, I fail to see a down side to letting people know what they are eating and giving them the opportunity to make an educated choice. I think it will be interesting to see who votes against this bill and what they claim as the problem.


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Cannabis Consumers Want Hollywood To Abandon Marijuana Stereotypes
Published on 5/21/18
Cannabis consumers are speaking up for their representation in movies and media as a new survey shows that a majority of cannabis consumers want Hollywood movie-makers to be done with the stereotypical "dumb stoner" and write in more realistic characters. Cheech and Chong was a humorous intro into characters who smoke cannabis, however the new study also found that 77% of cannabis consumers polled make over $75,000, meaning they likely have business professional jobs, families and extra spending money that can go towards movies, or if they continue to be represented as dumb stoners, to withhold their movie theaters. It's important to note that alcohol and tobacco are casually represented in many movies without the character automatically having a substance problem or character flaws. The average cannabis consumer wants to be represented on the big screen in a similar way.
Seventy-seven percent of the cannabis consumers polled in the latest survey earn a salary of more than $75,000 per year. These people are professionals, who not only have the discretionary income to buy cannabis products, but also to go the movies and pay the subscription fees for streaming services. So while it might be a lot more fun to show stoners and potheads getting ripped out their minds on weed and bungling their lives, a more accurate account of the cannabis culture would be better received.


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Barcelona will reportedly debut next season’s home kit against Espanyol on Wednesday 8 July at the Camp Nou.
Images of the shirt have already been leaked and sees the club return to their traditional stripes after a season in their Croatia-inspired checkerboard number.
Barcelona will showcase their home kit for next season at home against Espanyol on July 7th or 8th. [sport]#FCBarcelona pic.twitter.com/hVtEYnzEGG— Barca Media (@BarcaMedia) June 13, 2020
According to Sport, Barca will not wait until the end of the season to put the new shirt on sale, because of the coronavirus delay, and will have it ready to buy by July 3.
The players will then wear it for the first time in their penultimate home game of the season in La Liga against their local rivals.
It’s not clear yet if UEFA will allow them to wear the new shirt in the Champions League or if the club will have to stick to this season’s shirt.


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London - Travel firms trying to tempt families with “hurry deals” on holidays are in fact not offering the limited-time-only bargains they claim.
Companies selling holidays and cruises commonly use the tactic of promising fantastic savings on breaks in the sun, provided these are snapped up immediately.
Yet often these supposedly time-limited bargains are available for much longer than claimed, a study by Which? has found.
In fact, travellers who are not taken in by the tactic can find the price of the holiday they are interested in may fall well below that of the supposed deal.
Which? found that in 43 percent of adverts pushing short-term “hurry deals”, holidays were still available at the same or lower prices after the sale ended. For example, a firm called Reader Offers promoted an Adventure of the Seas cruise at a saving of £500 (about R6500) if it was booked before April 17. But the saving was still available nine days later.
Another advert, for Warner Leisure Hotels, carried the promise “save up to 40 percent on selected summer 2012 breaks” but warned people to hurry and book by May 1.
Yet equivalent deals appeared ten days later, while five of the prices had gone down even further.
And in a separate example, Princess Cruises encouraged consumers to book a “dream cruise” in an offer “only available for five days”. However, the firm started a six-day sale some three-and-a half weeks later that offered even better prices on the same cabins.
Richard Lloyd, executive director at Which?, said: ‘”o one likes finding out that someone on the same holiday paid less for it. But it’s even worse if you bought your holiday in a rush because the ads told you the prices would be available only for a short time.”
Reader Offers said it constantly audits its marketing to ensure no one is misled, but promised ‘”ven more stringent checks” in light of the Which? study.
Warner Leisure Hotels also said it would investigate the findings, adding: “It is certainly not our intention to confuse within our advertising.” - Daily Mail


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Have you ever wondered if you could use the palm of your hand as a key? Well, now you can, thanks to Phillips' Wi-Fi Palm Recognition Smart Deadbolt that was unveiled at CES 2024.
The new smart lock comes with a price tag of $359.99 and features such as the ability to save 50 palm vein pattern variations across all ages to the device. The device connects with the Phillips mobile app, which enables the smart lock to double as a doorbell. There is a bell button located at the base of the smart lock that, when pressed, sends a notification to a user's Phillips mobile app, informing them someone is at the door.
As for the inside of the Wi-Fi Palm Recognition Smart Deadbolt, users will find the device has multiple sensors designed to detect when an individual is reaching for the handle. Once detection has been made, it will automatically unlock the door and then lock it again once the individual has left. Notably, the Wi-Fi Palm Recognition Smart Deadbolt is also compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, which enables voice commands to control the smart lock.
Phillips announced the Wi-Fi Palm Recognition Smart Deadbolt will be available in satin nickel and matte black in the first half of 2024.
- Read more: ASUS ROG 8 phone adds the one thing the gaming phone has been missing
- Read more: Sony bends the knee to Microsoft to get its AI into its new electric car Afeela
- Read more: Sony unveils mixed reality headset at CES 2024 with 4K OLED displays and a cool ring
- Read more: Sony drives its new electric car onto CES 2024 stage using a PlayStation controller


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Facebook’s former chief marketing officer Randi Zuckerberg, and CEO of Assemble Stream, plans to establish a corporation in Busan and invest in a media content start-up company.
Busan Mayor Park Hyung-joon met Zuckerberg at Nurimaru APEC House on June 10 and talked about the revitalization of the blockchain industry and cooperation with the city of Busan.
Also, on the 11th, they had breakfast together and discussed more specific ways of cooperation.
At this meeting, CEO Zuckerberg established Assemble Stream’s special purpose corporation (SPV) in Busan that utilizes blockchain technology to deliver content using metaverse, AR, VR, and blockchain technology to NFT (Non-Fungible Token, non-fungible token) to support and foster related startups, spread technology, and promote investment in promising companies.
Assemble Stream will be the largest shareholder of this corporation, and related domestic companies will participate as joint operators and is an investment company founded by Zuckerberg to invest in new global media technologies.
CEO Zuckerberg shows a great interest in blockchain technology and cultural contents including NFT, and in particular, suggests various possibilities such as ways to foster the cultural industry by applying new technologies to K-POP, and the infrastructure and development of Busan, a cultural contents city highly appreciated the possibility.
Randi Zuckerberg is the older sister of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. After graduating from Harvard University in psychology, she served as Facebook’s chief marketing officer from 2004 to 2011, playing a key role in growing Facebook into a global company.
Currently, as the CEO of Zuckerberg Media, a content-related company, Zuckerberg Institute, a business consulting company, and ‘Assemble Stream’, an investment company in media and new technology industries, she is active and influential in various fields as a radio host and writer.
This meeting was prepared to discuss cooperation plans with Busan, which was designated as a special blockchain regulation-free zone, with the common interest of blockchain as Zuckerberg promoted a new project related to blockchain through the Assemblestream Fund.
Busan Mayor Park Heong-jun said that Busan is striving to create a blockchain ecosystem based on its vision of a green smart city, and is promoting demonstration projects in various fields such as logistics, tourism, and finance and attracting related companies.
In this regard, he hoped that Busan and Zuckerberg could work closely together as partners in the future.
The city of Busan plans to conduct follow-up working-level discussions with Assemble Stream for the establishment of the corporation and requested a re-visit to Busan to conclude an agreement with CEO Zuckerberg in July or August.
An official from Busan City said that if Silicon Valley’s abundant capital and technology were linked with domestic startups, it would be an opportunity to not only nurture a new technology ecosystem but also to concentrate related companies in Busan, a special zone for free regulation of blockchains, providing administrative support and follow-up consultations.


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Wall Street: Wednesday close
WALL Street's end of recession celebration resumed even as the country's biggest stockbroker said it was shifting its focus to markets outside the US.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, down 153 points on Tuesday, rebounded 140.88 points or 1.4% to 10,574.29, up 29% since 21 September. The Nasdaq Index shrugged off early pessimism to close higher for the fourth straight day, up 24.10 points or 1.3% to 1,890.39.
The latest rally was supported by investors buying into the idea that a US economic recovery signalled by recent data would lift company profits, especially for financials and industrials. Newly-revised data showing factory orders rising a more-than-expected 1.6% in January fed hopes that the manufacturing sector was emerging from its 18-month slump. And the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, a report on current economic conditions, said a pick-up was evident in some regions.
Among financials, JP Morgan climbed $1.54 or 4.7% to $34.05, Merrill Lynch rose $1.10 or 2% to $54.40 and American Express added 87 cents or 2.2% to $39.92. Industrials on the move included General Motors, up $1.31 or 2.2% to $59.92, Alcoa, up $1.01 or 2.6% to $39.44, and 3M, ahead $1.42 or 1.2% to $121.57.
Other Dow components aiding the advance included McDonald's, higher by 44 cents or 1.6% to $28.06, and Johnson & Johnson, ahead $1.21 or 2% to $62.52. The beaten-down telecoms sector was among the biggest winners after Sprint said it was on track to meet analysts' expectations. Sprint jumped $1.27 or 8.7% to $15.85 and AT&T Wireless surged 75 cents or 8.8% to $9.28.
But Merrill Lynch, the giant broker whose symbol is a pawing bull, said it was downgrading US and UK markets in favour of Japan and global emerging markets. 'The US equity market has been our favorite for the past ten months,' Merrill global investment strategist David Bowers told clients. 'It now moves down in our rankings from first to third as we shift from an overweight to a more neutral stance.'
Techs were mixed. Data storage company EMC gave up 25 cents or 2.2% to $11.30 after it was downgraded by JP Morgan. Network switch maker McData, which numbers EMC among its biggest customers, plunged $4.28 or 27% to $11.65 after it warned that it would not meet Wall Street expectations. Intel gained 26 cents or 0.8% to $32.96.
Hewlett-Packard fell 42 cents or 2% to $20.18, indicating ambivalence over its proposed $22bn (£14.5bn) merger with personal computer maker Compaq. An influential advisory group recommended shareholders endorse the merger, boosting H-P's chances of clinching the deal. Compaq shares added 29 cents or 2.7% to $10.87.
Internet retailer Amazon.com saw its shares tumble early and then recover to close up 36 cents or 2.3% at $16.33 after its chief financial officer, who had been pushing the company toward profitability, said he was leaving for personal reasons.
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Nintendo Apologizes On Pokemon Go Plus Shortage
On the midst of Pokemon Go plus shortages on an accessory, Nintendo makes a statement regarding the shortages of the Pokemon Go Plus wearable accessory.
Every fan of Pokemon games is already familiar with the franchise's taste of rarity. The main series is all about catching the rarest pokemon there is, and Pokemon Go is the latest game which enables players to catch Pokemon around the world. It is also a knowledge to Pokemon Go players that the purchase of wearable accessory is difficult given the outrageous selling prices on online market like eBay.
Pokemon Go players have raised their concern of the stock shortages, so Tatsumi Kimisha, the president of Nintendo, made a statement about the subject at hand. According to the report from Game Rant, during the Nintendo's earnings briefing, Kimisha said that the company wasn't prepared for the demands of the said accessory. According to him, "Demand far exceeded our expectations and production has not caught up, leading to product shortages. We apologize to the consumers and distributors affected by this."
Aside from apologizing about the product shortage matter, Nintendo also revealed that the production for the Plus is now expanding. He added that "We are planning to expand production as needed, and will continue to produce and ship additional units. However, there wasn't any indication as to when this can be expected," Gamespot reported.
The accessory, upon its release, has been turning the heads of gamers because it is entertaining however a frustrating device to have. What's causing the frustration of the gaming community is the rarity of Pokemon Go device.
It is not the first time, however, for Nintendo to apologize about the same matter, product shortage. The company's popular amiibo figures also had a history of shortage, and Nintendo apologized for that and promised to expand production. However, the rarest characters they produced are on premium sale on certain online markets.
There was a promise of production expansion, but it is a mystery on why the company did not plan ahead. Pokemon Go's success is a little surprising, but anyone can predict that it would be popular especially to die hard gamers. Hopefully, these accessories would be available in the market soon, so Pokemon Go players will have the opportunity of having the said accessory.
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J.C. Penney Cuts Roughly 360 Jobs, Misses Investors Expectations
J.C. Penney announced this morning that it has eliminated roughly 360 jobs at its headquarters in Plano, Texas, and at stores throughout the country. USA Today reports the news was announced after the company's most recent earnings call, where it missed analysts expectations. J.C. Penney said the job cuts were part of its efforts to get a handle on costs and streamline the company's operations. Roughly 130 positions in the company's headquarters were cut, and approximately 230 more were eliminated in regional offices and stores. The most recent round of job cuts is estimated to save the company nearly $20 million to $25 million.
Total Retail's Take: Following a strong holiday season, it appeared that J.C. Penney had righted itself and was looking to continue the momentum in 2018. However, we may need to pump the brakes on turnaround talk. Despite the aforementioned strong holiday sales, J.C. Penney reported a net loss for the full year 2017. J.C. Penney CEO Marvin Ellison said in a statement to the press: "As the company continues to make progress on its strategic framework and implement new processes and organizational efficiencies, it's imperative that we maintain a thoughtful approach to managing expenses, while effectively supporting the needs of the business."


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Over the past several years, there have been a growing number of negative news releases regarding the impact of pesticides and fertilizers into our streams and waterways. At issue, the general public perceives that lawn care and golf courses over use pesticides and fertilizers to manage turf. These regulatory initiatives have been due to local grassroots efforts to reduce the use and run-off of these products. These grassroots efforts have increased in numbers throughout the US. They are no longer a few isolated areas. They have grown into state and regional efforts to limit or ban these types of products. As an industry, our response has been to defend our use of pesticides against these regulatory efforts. This is a good start but we need to be more proactive as an industry. We can do more.
Over the past 25 years, there have been many new environmental product breakthroughs that offer new alternative approaches using organic or biological solutions. These exciting new biological solutions can provide outstanding turf quality plus reduce the dependency on chemical solutions. It is hard to communicate an environmental message when our industry is perceived as one of the problems. We can take steps to reduce our pesticide usages and improve our overall turf quality. This is a strong message that we fail to take advantage.
I raise this concern because the new buzzwords are “Sustainability” or “Carbon Footprint.” These terms are not sinuous with the major ways and methods that we manage our golf courses, sports turf, home lawns and parks. Sustainable and carbon sequestration are associated with the use of biological or organic products. It’s time that we begin to test and embrace these sustainable organic products. The Sanctuary offers a wide array of products that address turf management issues with biological solutions.
As the owner of the Sanctuary, we continue to provide outstanding alternative sustainable products and solutions. Plus, we continue to support educational training and research that focuses on ways to integrate traditional and biological solutions. In fact, most of these training sessions are well attended. But, I open each training with one basic question, “Who has integrated biological solutions into their agronomic programs.” In general, only 3 to 5% of turf managers have tested or used organic or biological solutions to manage turf quality. With the double-digit growth of organic foods and other environmental products sectors, “Why is the turf industry lagging behind other industries in adopting more environmentally friendly practices?” As an industry, we need to focus on “Why” this level of commitment is so low. This is our challenge!
Like many of you, I got into this industry for the love of the game and the love of nature. Today, many clubs recycle waste, change out their light bulbs, and use more renewable energy platforms. But, can we do more before regulators step in to mandate pesticide and fertilizer legislation? Yes, we need to embrace these new sustainable technologies. We need to move forward with greater environmental commitments before new laws are passed that could have major negative impacts on our industry. I suggest we take a greater leadership role as this is the future for our industry. I believe most turf managers are going to be very pleasantly surprised when you “Go and Grow Greener with Biological Products and Solutions!!!”


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By Aleksandra Bliszczyk
An online petition to make food packaging more accessible for Australians with disabilities and limited physical capacities has picked up more than 12,000 signatures in one month.
Wollert woman Jerusha Mather, who lives with cerebral palsy, started the petition because the congenital movement disorder makes tasks involving strength and fine motor skills challenging for her.
The disability advocate and PhD student in cerebral palsy research said her food options were sometimes limited because she struggled to open jars, tins and bottles.
While a support worker sometimes helps in the kitchen, the tools Ms Mather uses to open tins and jars are unreliable and often become stuck.
“It makes life really hard for me. Probably the most annoying thing in the kitchen is opening the packaging. It’s really hard to open,” she said.
“I thought that if they can make it more accessible for everyone, then everyone would benefit, and people with disabilities would live a more independent life, which is what we want.”
Ms Mather hopes her campaign will influence food packaging manufacturers and designers to consider more inclusive alternatives like containers with seal openings and tear-open packets, which she said could provide more independence and reduce the risk of injury.
One in five Australians, or 4.4 million people, have a disability, 77 per cent of which have a physical disorder as their main condition.
But Ms Mathers said this was a global issue that impacted people with a wide range of limitations, including the elderly.
A 2018 study by Arthritis Australia found that 44 per cent of Australians with arthritis in their hands experienced difficulty opening packaging every day.
Turn-to-open packaging was reported to be the most difficult, with only one per cent of respondents able to open glass jars with ease, without struggle, injury, asking for help, or the use of a tool.
Women are also disproportionately affected, with a higher percentage of men reporting to struggle less often.
More than two thirds of survey respondents also said they struggled to read packaging labels, often due to the size of the print, which could be harmful when checking for expiry dates and allergens.
Ms Mathers is looking for government support to create legislation to ensure manufacturers make accessible packaging options, as well as the opportunity to provide product feedback to major retailers with a group of people who have lived experiences with different physical disabilities, including blindness and low vision.
“I’m hoping they will consider people with a disability,” she said.
“I think it’s really important for them to become our allies and support us and really include us in the design world.
“A lot of people in the design world are able-bodied people, and if they can become our allies then they can support us in making some progress.”
To sign the petition, visit chng.it/YSsztrMyy8.


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Kwid sales helped Renault India to establish its footing as a major carmaker in the country. The small car, launched in 2015, emulated the success of Duster and aided the French carmaker in commanding nearly five percent market shares in India.
Two years down the line, Kwid's demand saw a marginal decline despite new variants. However, the company has full confidence in the Kwid range. The sales of Kwid just crossed 1.75 lakh units in less than 20 months.
Renault India is not holding back the joy and slashed the prices of Kwid in the range of Rs 5,200 and Rs 29,500 depending on the state, model and the variant in the wake of GST. Renault Kwid has now become more affordable with a starting price of INR 2.62 Lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
"Renault Kwid has proved its mettle in the fiercely competitive mini hatchback segment in India. We are grateful to our customers for the trust bestowed in the Renault brand and will continue to make the Kwid more accessible to customers across the country through our growing dealership network" said Sumit Sawhney, Country CEO and Managing Director, Renault India Operations.
After the launch of KWID 0.8L, Renault launched the Kwid 1.0L SCe engine in manual transmission in 2016. Later the company launched Kwid AMT powered by the 1.0L SCe engine. This was followed by the Kwid Climber launched with the 1.0L SCe powertrain in both manual and AMT options. The new variant with front and rear bumper protection, plastic cladding, Climber badging and new orange ORVM caps is an off-road model (just by the looks).


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The Payment Systems Regulator said that it will allow banks to delay implementing rules that force them to check whether the name a customer enters when making a payment matches the account details that the money is being sent to.
The measure, known as confirmation of payee, or CoP, was due to be introduced at the end of March. But the PSR said Friday that it will not take action against lenders who delay implementing the rules before June 30 given the global COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have been very clear that where the directed banks provide appropriate protection to people, we will not take any formal action in respect of delays to the introduction,” the payments regulator said in a statement. “We fully expect the banks to do everything they can to protect people in the meantime and implement CoP as soon as possible.”
The rules, which must be implemented by the U.K.’s biggest banks including HSBC, RBS and Lloyd’s, come in response to a rise in authorized push-payment fraud, in which banking customers are tricked into sending their money to criminals.
Consumer group Which? has said that the scam has risen rapidly since 2017, with consumers losing an estimated £97 million ($111 million) during the first three months of 2020 alone. The group also said that a third of the £1 billion that customers have lost in total since 2017, or £320 million, could have been prevented if a simple system of checking names on bank transfers had been in place.
Under existing rules, banks have to cross-check the account details a sender enters to ensure they are matched with an account, but they do not have to check whether the names match.
The PSR said Friday that banks that choose to delay their introduction of the rules must still ensure that customers who would have benefited from the protections are not disadvantaged. This includes refunding fraud victims if the confirmation of payee rules would have prevented it from happening.
Banks have been supportive of the confirmation of payee rules. But they have also called for exemptions to the rule where it is not reasonable or proportionate.
--Editing by Tom Mudd.
For a reprint of this article, please contact email@example.com.


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StreamSend, a leading email marketing service, shows businesses why email can make the most of their holiday email and social marketing investment.
“The holidays are a good time for businesses to step back and look at the big marketing picture, especially where their biggest gift comes from – high ROI,” said Dan Forootan, president of StreamSend Email Marketing. “For most, the answer is email, which consistently has the highest conversion rate of all channels. Email generates the same amount of page views as search, but with a higher add-to-cart rate and higher conversion rate. It also generates four times the conversion rate of social. And email is evolving, its effectiveness growing as it leverages automatic tools and social media to deliver highly profitable customer relationships. There is no better time to leverage this power than the holidays, when success can make or break a business. Here are five big reasons why it works.”
Email is an integral part of working today, but for far too many workers, it hurts rather than helps their productivity. ... More >>
Automated business intelligence can provide business users faster, more accurate insights into an increasingly overwhelming amount of data. ... More >>
Despite their importance, many SMBs let their tech solutions languish and turn into outdated relics that can't offer the necessary speed, collaboration and functionality for the modern user or customer. ... More >>


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Juul Execs Take Up Smoking Amid Stressful Vape Health Scare
by ZAC WEINER
Published: November 2, 2019
Created by Isabel Campisteguy, Courtesy of Pixabay
Juul CEO K.C. Crosthwaite was spotted with face in hands, smoking a cigarette on the balcony of Juul Labs in San Francisco last Friday morning, around 8 a.m. Photo evidence of the incident came in the wake of a CDC report issuing a warning about a recent spike in vape-related illnesses. The lungs of the industry have been wheezing after a stressful week of toppling stocks and threats of regulation from the White House.
Analysts at The Fishwrapper have examined the photo evidence and identified with 99% certainty that at the time, Crosthwaite was saying something like, “There’s nothin’ like a good smoke to settle the nerves… Oh yeah, that’s the good stuff.”
This Juul executive is not alone: after the recent hospitalizations of dozens of young vapers, many people are now switching to a less dangerous nicotine delivery system; many have taken up smoking to avoid the negative side effects of vaping.
President Trump’s recent call for regulation has also sent the e-cigarette industry into a frenzy, with many employees jumping ship to work at cigarette companies in hopes of tapping into the newly booming market.
“We haven’t seen growth like this in 30 years,” Marlboro spokesperson Timothy Woods explained to The Fishwrapper. “People seem to finally be coming around to our time-tested product.”
This market shift accompanies a highly visible pop cultural shift. Recently, Marlboro announced that Gweneth Paltrow would be the new face of its health-framed ad campaign, championing her own limited-edition cigarette, “Chamomile Buzz.”
These shifts are more importantly becoming noticeable on a local level — for instance, in the habits of local seventh grader Eleanor Young. “That senior who sold us vape carts never told us that it could be dangerous,” Young said. “I’d much rather stick with cigs like my parents. I don’t want to like…die or something.”


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HP has launched two new tools, the HP Agency and Designer Tool Kit and HP Brand Managers Digital Packaging Return on Investment (ROI) Calculator.
Unveiled at Interpack, a packaging trade fair held in Düsseldorf, Germany, HP said solutions will help facilitate brands’ shift to HP digital printing.
Unleash the potential
The first solution announced, HP Agency and Designer Tool Kit, offers open source training materials, enabling creatives to unleash the true potential of HP digital printing technologies. The package will be available this summer.
HP is also offering a ‘simple-to-use’ tool for brand managers to calculate the ROI of various HP digitally printed packaging (labels, shrink sleeves, corrugated, folding carton and flexible packaging) compared to current conventionally printed packaging costs.
HP said its solutions for product campaigns, along with new tools designed to help brands unleash the power of HP digital printing, are experiencing continued strong adoption by leading brands worldwide.
Nancy Janes, global head of brand innovation at HP, said: “Brands are discovering that HP can help reinvent the way they engage their audiences and the experiences created for them.
“HP’s industry-leading labels and packaging solutions enable converters to offer brands the solutions they need to grow their businesses and raise their profiles.”
HP said its digital printing and software solutions make it possible for brands to connect with customers in unique and creative ways, and also benefit from time-to-market and streamlined business operations.
Ongoing successful brand campaigns printed on HP digital presses include:
Amarula, the South African producer of cream liqueur, is now releasing a special edition of 400,000 bottles with individualised elephant icons to raise global awareness for the same remaining number of the endangered African species. In a collaboration with HP and label converter SA Litho of Cape Town, South Africa, Amarula Cream turned its liqueur bottles into unique pieces as an added dimension to the brand’s ‘Name Them, Save Them’ African elephant conservation project. The production of the one-of-a-kind designed elephant icons and names on labels was made possible by HP SmartStream Mosaic, using two seed patterns in a variable design software algorithm, and the HP Indigo WS6800 Digital Press.
Nestle is now printing and giving away more than 56,000 personalised Kit Kat packages in a campaign, produced by UK-based HP Indigo customer Ultimate Packaging. Using Ultimate’s web-to-print capabilities, winners can personalise the chocolate packages with a photo or phrase on the Kit Kat pack, which they receive in a special presentation box. The flexible packaging packs are printed on the HP Indigo 20000 and HP Indigo WS6600 digital presses.
Melinda Apples of Italy is using social media and digital print for a campaign to support Italian apple farmers affected by the earthquake in 2016. The apple company launched the ‘Dedicamela’ (Pledge an Apple) campaign, inviting comments on its Facebook page to encourage the afflicted famers. The uplifting messages are integrated into the design of the corrugated boxes, and printed on an HP PageWide T1100 Press by converter Ghelfi Ondaluti. Two million cartons have been printed thus far, and another six million are slated for production. Melinda donates a euro for every message; in the first two weeks of the campaign 22,977 comments were received.


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In the preceding 10 years fire safety and fire potential aboard commercial aircraft has changed and the challenges faced by the aviation industry to put these fires out while airborne have increased 10 fold.
Just a few years ago technology brought aboard commercial passenger airlines did not include; cell phones, lap top computers, DVD players, Readers or iPads; all of these everyday use devices can cause a new risk of fire and explosion in the passenger cabin and in cargo shipments. All of these devices and much more use the battery technology of Lithium and Lithium-ion batteries, these batteries pose a new threat aboard our commercial airlines.
Certified and aboard our commercial airlines to fight most contingencies of fires is an extinguishing product referred to as Halon, a commercially available agent that will extinguish a multitude of fires using last century technology and science. However the FAA also states; “…Halon 1301, the fire suppression agent found in Class C cargo holds, ‘is ineffective in controlling a lithium metal cell fire’ and lithium metal battery explosions can lead to "rapid fire spread" in cargo compartments.”
The range of Halon products now being used in the airline industry are no longer manufactured and by worldwide treaty because of its ozone depleting properties will be outlawed in the very near future.
A small Aviation Safety Company in Tulsa, OK: SpectrumFX, Inc. is taking new steps to offer groundbreaking safety measures to control this new risk of fire danger. SpectrumFX is developing a brand new hand held fire extinguisher using technology and intellectual property owned by Global Safety Labs also of Tulsa. This technology already placed on The Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program has also been accepted by the EPA as a qualified replacement for Halon.
SpectrumFX is now marketing its biodegradable agent in a product called the LIFE Kit. This Kit, to be carried on board is the first known product that will assist the cabin crew in extinguishing a Laptop or other fire caused by Lithium-ion batteries aboard airlines worldwide.


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Photo: Darren McCollester, Getty Images
Barron’s has a big feature on the Facebook IPO. Its conclusion: Skip it.The main concerns: Slowing revenue growth, and the shift to mobile.
Here’s the key part:
Despite all the excitement, investors would do well to skip the deal. Facebook’s shares will be richly priced, both in absolute terms and relative to the stocks of established growth companies Google (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL), as Barron’s argued in February when Facebook filed for its IPO (“At Long Last Facebook,” Feb. 6).
If the deal is priced at $35, Facebook will be valued at around 70 times projected 2012 earnings of 50 cents a share and 18 times estimated revenue of $5 billion.
In contrast, Google, at $610, trades for less than 15 times 2012 profit estimates and under six times revenue. At $570, Apple shares have a 2012 P/E of just 12 and the company’s sales have been growing more rapidly than Facebook’s despite a revenue base that is 40 times larger. The effective P/Es on Google and Apple are even lower when factoring in their huge cash hoards. Facebook also will have plenty of cash—an estimated $9 billion—after its IPO.
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Back in December, we were one of the first ones to report that Serendipity was developing a smartphone called as the Serendipity S7 which will comes with almost zero bezels and a slim profile.
While we wait for the device to be available for sale, today the company offered more details on this ultra slim serendipity s7 bezel-less phone. Serendipity revealed that making a phone like the S7 was quite a big task and hence it was not possible for them to manufacture the phone in large quantities in the initial period.
So, the company managed to manufacture about 2000 units and they were available in the offline market in China (pricing still unknown). However, Serendipity adds that the second batch of units could be available just before the Spring Festival in China. After the festival, the company plans to increase the production. Maybe then, we’ll be able to see the device in real.
The Serendipity S7 is truly a revolutionary phone, as the company claims that the device has the narrowest bezels around 0.7mm. The phone also boasts of the best screen to body ratio. Moreover, the phone is super light, despite its large 5.5-inch screen and weighs only about 120 grams. That’s pretty impressive considering all the specs on board.
As for the design, the serendipity S7 bezel-less phone features Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection on both the sides. The company has used aircraft grade aluminum frame for the best possible built. On the front, you have a 5.5-inch Full HD 2.5 Arc display.
Inside, the phone features a quad-core Snapdragon 400 MSM8928 processor with 2GB RAM and 16GB onboard storage. There is a 13MP camera at the back along with a 5MP shooter up front. The battery will be of 2600 mAh which is quite decent for a phone this big. Connectivity features include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and TD-SCDMA / WCDMA / GSM support.
Unfortunately, the company has not revealed the pricing of the device. Expect more details after the upcoming Spring Festival in China.


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One of the most highly anticipated software launches of this year is Microsoftâ€™s new operating system, Windows 8. While the OS is still in the pre-release phase, Microsoft has released a Consumer Preview that gives users a glimpse into the features of the new OS. In mid April, Microsoft announced the different editions that will […]
Internet Presence Management for Small Business OwnersFull-service, pay-as-you-go all inclusive websites, from design and content to SEO and social media management for one low monthly price.
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Seed industry urges govt to take action against illegal cultivation of HT-Bt cotton
The Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) and the National Seed Association of India (NSAI) on Friday urged the Centre to take action against sudden surge in illegal cultivation of herbicide tolerant Bt cotton in the country this year.
The Federation in a Statement said that If the sale of unapproved HT-BT cotton seed is not stopped, it would spell disaster for the industry and farmers.
The NSAI said regulators are only limiting their checking to licensed dealers and seed companies while this illegal activity of HT seed sales is carried mostly by unorganised and fly-by night operators. Focus must be shifted to catching them and taking exemplary and strong punitive action.Seed industry bodies have made representation in this regard to Union Agriculture and Environment Ministries and sought immediate action, it added.
The FSII and the NSAI said the issue was raised in Parliament way back in 2017 following which the Field Inspection and Scientific Evaluation Committee (FISEC) was set up under the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) by the Prime Minister’s Office. The committee had confirmed that HT Bt cotton is illegally grown across the country. The FISEC panel, after testing several thousand samples, concluded that about 15 per cent prevalence of unapproved HT Bt cotton were in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Gujarat.
The area which is under cultivation of illegal HT cotton has been increasing over the years. However, this year there is a big jump in such illegal cultivation especially in the major cotton states from estimated 35 lakh packets last year to about 70 lakh packets this year,” FSII chairman M Ramasami said.NSAI President Prabhakar Rao said: “It will not only decimate small cotton seed companies but also threatens the entire legal cotton seed market in India.”To make matters worse, the illegal seeds are sold using the brand name of prominent companies. With this, farmers are at risk with such illegal cotton seed sale as there is no accountability of the quality of seed, he said.Such illegal seed pollutes the environment and the industry is losing legitimate seed sale and the government also loses revenue in terms of tax collection, he added.


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A Nigerian lady recently left social media users amused after she took to the platform to reveal what she got after ordering for a plate of spaghetti and chicken.
Amongst the many things technology has made easy for people is online shopping. However, while it is convenient for people to shop from the comfort of their homes and offices, things don't always go as planned.
Twitter user, @tefe_ogb, ordered from an online food vendor. However, the sumptuous spaghetti and chicken she saw in the photo advertised was not the same thing she received.
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She shared photos of what she ordered and what she received.
See post below:
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In a similar story, this particular episode of 'What I ordered versus what I got, has left social media users buzzing with amusement.
According to Twitter user, Uforo Essien, her cousin ordered for smoked whole chicken from an online vendor and was billed N5,800. However, what she received stood in high contrast to the plump and well-prepared chicken advertised on their Instagram page identified as @smokedbeta. In the photo shared, she received a burnt and rather lean whole chicken.
Meanwhile, in recent times, there have been campaigns targeted at growing the Nigerian economy through Nigerian owned businesses and brands.
While many of these Nigerian brands have proven themselves to be reliable, the same cannot be said for others. Twitter user, Coker Oluwasegun, is one person who won't be in a hurry to patronize a Nigerian brand following his not-so-impressive encounter with a shoe brand. He recently shared photos of the shoes he ordered from a Nigerian shoe brand.
Street Gist: Have You Ever Been Scammed Online? | Legit TV


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- Bill Gates, 64, is known to regularly take vacations on board superyachts but this is first time he will own one
- Aqua yacht is powered with liquid hydrogen stored in two tanks at -423F, meaning its only emission is water
- Comes with space for 14 guests, a gym, yoga studio and massage parlour, and cascading pool on rear deck
- Artist’s impression of the boat along with a 10ft scale model were unveiled at the Monaco Yacht Show in 2019
- Gates is known to regularly take vacations onboard superyachts and would usually rent boats during summer trips to the Mediterranean, however this is the first time he has bought one
The world’s second richest man has bought himself a futuristic superyacht that’s powered entirely by liquid hydrogen – meaning its only emission is water.
Bill Gates is believed to have paid $645million in order to purchase Aqua, the plans of which were unveiled at the Monaco Yacht Show last year.
The luxury liner is 370ft-long and comprises five decks complete with space for 14 guests, 31 crew members, a gym, yoga studio, beauty room, massage parlor and cascading pool on its rear deck.
But its most impressive feature is locked away in the hold – two 28-ton vacuum-sealed tanks that are cooled to -423F (-253C) and filled with liquid hydrogen which powers the ship.


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Carrie Bradshaw's apartment is on Airbnb
Guests will be hosted by Sarah Jessica Parker herself
'Cooked' rental ad showing bed in garage sparks outrage
An Auckland rental ad showing a bed in a garage has been slammed by a New Zealand MP and a renters union.
Want your home to sell quickly and for a premium? Protect it from natural disaster
New research shows buyers snap up eco-friendly options
Tiny stone house with underground bedroom selling for $375,000
Australia and Turkey had the highest house price growth in the world in 2021
Soared above global 10.3 per cent average
Russian President Vladimir Putin's rumoured property portfolio
Shrouded in secrecy, take a look at the real estate of Russia's most powerful man.
Your next home could be designed by Disney
Their new 'Storyliving' business is about creating residential communities.
This 12-bed Scottish mansion with a thriving pub and inn needs a new owner
Dream job alert on the Isle of Skye.
The problem with the Marie Kondo de-cluttering approach
Multi-million dollar empire could be erasing history
Jeffrey Epstein's infamous New Mexico ranch is still for sale
In what will probably come as a surprise to no one, the New Mexico ranch where Jeffrey Epstein allegedly trafficked several women is still on the market after five months.
Chinese property giant Evergrande defaults on key repayment
The US Federal Reserve warned last month that trouble in Chinese real estate could damage the global economy
Rare London trophy mansion selling for $65 million
One of the last untouched trophy mansions located in London's prestigious Knightsbridge is selling for £35 million ($65 million).
Tips on buying a cheap Italy house from those who've done it
Ikea is offering a tiny apartment in Tokyo for just over $1 per month
Swedish retailer Ikea is becoming a landlord in Japan with a tiny apartment it will rent out in Tokyo.
'Creepy' rental advertisement sparks controversy online
A rental advertisement has been labelled "creepy" on social media after a 40-year-old male live-in landlord shared a specific set of requirements for his new tenant.


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Google has gone ahead and added Hindi support to the Google Assistant, allowing you to interact with the AI in the language. The company’s currently in the process of rolling out this change to Android phones running Marshmallow and above, before bringing it to Lollipop, Android Oreo (Go edition), and iPhone models running iOS 9.1 and above as well.
There have been signs of this happening in the past. For instance, the Google Assistant in the brand’s Allo messaging app has been able to speak in Hindi for a while now. Even Reliance’s JioPhone has a special version of the virtual helper which talks in English and Hindi for voice-only queries.
To start interacting with the Google Assistant in Hindi, you’ll have to switch your device language to Hindi and then update the Google Search app to the most recent version. Then it’s simply a matter of holding down on the Home button and saying “Ok Google” to start sending texts or jotting down reminders hands-free.
Google is trying to market the Assistant as “your helpul dost” which speaks in Hindi and natively understands all the Indian things you care about like finding a biryani recipe, directions to the closest ATM, and pulling up cricket scores. For instance, a typical command can be something like “Kal subah mujhe saat baje jagaao” or “Dadar tak pahunchne mein kitna samay lagega?”
Google Assistant works on the back of machine learning, so it gets smarter the more you use it and let it learn about your preferences. The brand’s opening the Hindi Assistant to developers and businesses through its Actions on Google platform, so you’ll be able to ask it to perform tasks utilizing third-party apps or services.


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Lala Harrison’s Roux40 promises beloved Black American dishes with a farm-to-table sensibility.
New East Bay restaurants
Wildly Instagrammable Farmhouse Kitchen will open in Berkeley this year
Expect a snazzy dining room, over-the-top Thai treats, and a fresh new rooftop patio.
All the East Bay restaurants that opened in July
All the newest restaurants to try in Berkeley, Oakland and beyond.
Oakland’s newest Korean deli promises farm-fresh banchan for budget-minded diners
Steve Joo’s new restaurant promises affordable Korean dishes made with quality ingredients.
The Busy Wife hopes to make its pop-up at Dyafa a permanent affair
Chef Michauxnee Olier’s Creole soul food spot is a hidden-in-plain-sight gem in Jack London Square.
Soul Slice’s biscuit-crust pizzas push the boundaries of Southern food
Oakland’s newest pizza spot might not serve pizza after all.
Oakland’s beloved La Guerrera’s Kitchen is moving to Swan’s Market
The tamale destination is plotting an expanded menu that will remain true to Guerrero cuisine.
Popular California-Salvadoran pop-up Popoca is opening an all-day cafe and bar in Oakland
One of the East Bay’s hottest pop-ups has found a permanent home in the Dimond District.
These are the East Bay restaurants that opened in June
The newest restaurants in Berkeley, Oakland and beyond include Soul Slice, Town Fare, Wingen Bakery and many more.
One of the Bay Area’s most promising chefs is opening a cool new East Bay Thai spot
Jo’s Modern Thai promises a menu of drinking snacks and family-style food from across Thailand.
Cult favorite Dumpling Time will open its first East Bay location in Berkeley
Tanya Holland’s new restaurant opens in Oakland; Mama returns with a tipless model.
Vegan pop-up Don’t Be Chick’n launches a Bay Area food truck
Don’t be Chick’n’s hearty platters have attracted a loyal following to its ongoing Oakland pop-up.


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According to BoyGenius Report, Apple are planning to release an iOS powered TV, from which a former Apple Exec once said customers will soon: “go into an Apple retail store and be able to walk out with a TV. It’s perfect.”. In no way will Apple be building this themselves, instead they will contract this job to a different company like Samsung for instance, (who at the moment have are in no way going to build TV’s for Apple).
Currently Apple are in a big dispute with Apple through some patients they believe Apple has stolen, (which is becoming a recurrence with Apple) from which the two companies are reportedly trying to set up meetings (mostly on Apple’s end) in order to overcome their issues, this could be a plan of Apples to get Samsung back on their side, in order to get them to build their new Apple TV.
What do you think? Would you buy an Apple TV? Who do you think might build it?


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ABERDEEN-based business support organisation Elevator has acquired Targeting Innovation in a six-figure sum deal. The move for the Glasgow-based firm...Read more
WHETHER a business owner or not, we can safely say that most of us – if not, all of us...Read more
BUSINESSES could benefit by making a New Year’s resolution to capitalise on ‘free’ training for their staff. That’s the advice...Read more
JOHN Lawrie Group, the Aberdeen headquartered metal recycling, decommissioning and steel tubulars business has recently repurposed and exported more than...Read more
A NORTH-east customs consultancy has highlighted the need for businesses to understand basic customs documentation as they adjust to our...Read more
INERNATIONAL logistics service provider Peterson has successfully completed the planting of 1,950 trees in Garthdee, Aberdeen as part of its...Read more
A NETWORKING organisation has generated £14m worth of business for its members in the past year. Despite the ongoing Covid-19...Read more
To be updated with all the latest news, offers and special announcements.


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“Harry Potter” creator J.K. Rowling filed suit against a former assistant this week, alleging that Amanda Donaldson, 35, spent the equivalent $31,000 of the author’s money on various unauthorized personal expenses.
Donaldson is accused of running up expenses without permission on a business credit card and stealing “Harry Potter’ memorabilia worth several thousand dollars, the BBC reported. The former assistant is also accused of stealing roughly $10,000 in foreign currency from a safe.
Donaldson allegedly used the card to spend more than $2,100 at Starbucks, $4,700 on cosmetics, $1,900 at a candle store and $1,500 to buy a pair of cats. Rowling’s former assistant has denied the allegations.
"I can confirm JK Rowling has taken legal action against her former personal assistant, Amanda Donaldson, following her dismissal for gross misconduct involving a substantial breach of trust,” a spokeswoman for Rowling told the BBC. "As the case is not yet concluded we are not able to comment further and there won't be any comment from JK Rowling."
While Rowling’s actual net worth is unknown, the New York Times estimated the author was worth roughly $1.2 billion in 2016.
“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” the latest film entry in Rowling’s “Harry Potter” universe, hits theaters on Nov. 16.


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Small business support in 2021? Experts propose HECS-style loans after JobKeeper
Small Business Ombudsman Kate Carnell has renewed calls for the federal government to provide HECS-style loans to businesses to help them stay afloat once JobKeeper ends in March.
These ultra-low or zero-interest business loans would be government-funded and help boost cashflow, and similarly to the student HECS-HELP loan, would only be repaid once the business hits a certain agreed level of revenue.
Carnell says that “somewhere between 25-30% of businesses are still really struggling.”
“[That may be] because of the industry that they’re in, border closures, shutdowns, COVID requirements - a whole range of reasons why they’re not recovering at the same sort of rate as other businesses,” she says.
“There are some [businesses] that are tracking in the right direction and they will be alright, but there needs to be an option for those that aren’t.”
Stuck ‘between a rock and a hard place’
Tourism businesses in the south coast of NSW were looking forward to a bustling Christmas period over January. They were fully booked in one moment and then things changed.
As Victoria closed its borders to NSW on New Year’s Day, people got in their cars and left within hours. And those businesses went from being booked out to having nobody.
Carnell says travel agents represent one industry which finds itself “between a rock and a hard place.”
“International borders aren’t open and as for the work they’d been doing in terms of Australian tourism, [state] borders keep closing so people keep having to cancel.”
She says independent cinemas are also in “all sorts of trouble” not only due to COVID restrictions, but also because film companies in America aren’t releasing any new content while US cinemas still remain closed.
Why HECS-style loans would work in pandemic times
Carnell says the proposed revenue-contingent loan system would be flexible enough to respond to dips in business cashflow as pandemic circumstances change.
“It’s based on revenue, which at the moment is a bit of a rollercoaster for lots of businesses,” she says.
“[It works because] if you end up in a shutdown and your revenue decreases or stops, then the payments also stop. Just like HECs.”
And she isn’t the first to back this scheme either. Earlier last year, Bruce Chapman and fellow professor John Piggott suggested a similar model as a way to help companies transition out of JobKeeper.
Carnell says the proposal for HECS-style loans will be presented to the government in a pre-budget submission and also suggested separately, “because we think it’s got to be in place at the end of March when JobKeeper finishes and it’s planned to at this stage.”
“There’s got to be something else, because [businesses] are not yet in the position to manage the swings and roundabouts of COVID,” she says.
To be eligible, businesses would have to pass a viability assessment conducted by an accredited advisor to ensure they’re in the position to manage further debt.
Carnell argues that this would be more accessible to struggling businesses than the current government-backed SME Loan Guarantee Scheme, which has been extended until June this year.
“The problem with more traditional bank loans, even the SME guarantee loans, is that you have to go through the whole bank loan system. And the banks at this stage are quite negative about lending to businesses that have been affected by COVID,” she says.
“The regulatory requirements for them to ensure lending is done in a sustainable way is [to give loans] only to people whom they can be absolutely sure can pay it back, which means they’re saying no.”
In fact, up until the end of last July, only $1.5 billion of the planned $40 billion was handed out to small businesses.
Looking for a list of other support measures for small businesses and individuals? Visit our guide on coronavirus and your finances to see what’s available.


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Archive for the ‘Egypt’ category
The Mubser prototype uses RGB imaging and infrared depth data to help blind people to imagine their surroundings.
The Templeton Emerging Markets Group highlights trends that could affect investment in emerging markets.
Despite their geographical proximity, the countries of North Africa vary greatly. While some nations are still dealing with the effects of the Arab Spring, it is business as usual in others.
Facebook is trying to grow its penetration on the continent by partnering with mobile operators and developers in Africa.
Euromonitor’s household income data suggests African countries where Porsche may do good business.
EY report highlights foreign direct investment into sub-Saharan Africa, particularly South Africa.
African leaders are no different from leaders in Europe, the Americas and Asia.
In his new book, Peter Guest comments on the unchecked optimism about the continent’s investment potential.
The 2014 Doing Business report ranks the East African country at 32nd place globally in ease of doing business.
EY report forecasts growth rates for Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa.
There are opportunities for African firms to integrate into regional and global value chains.
Since 2008 Indian car exports to African countries have grown 160%, shows report.
South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt are not the only countries with strong economic growth.
“We believe that e-commerce is going to leapfrog lots of traditional businesses.”
How we made it in Africa interviews online shopping platform boss.


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Happy days at RoBoTec PTC.
Every year, the Sparkasse Bremen, together with the Starthaus Bremen, awards the Bremen start-up prize. This year, 1st place goes to the young company RoBoTec PTC GmbH from Bremen-Borgfeld.
The Bremen start-up prize is endowed with EUR 10,000 in 2021 and is considered the most important award of the state of Bremen for founders and entrepreneurs. Outstanding founders who have been particularly successful in building up a young company are awarded the prize. “We want to give the Bremen founders a stage. Our goal is, among other things, to make a contribution to the positive development of the start-up climate in Bremen,” says Dino Zirwes. The decisive factor is the role model function in the development of new business ideas and in the establishment of a company. Due to the corona pandemic and the associated restrictions, the prize will be awarded again this year, not at the entrepreneur gala with 600 guests, but virtually.
On February 19, 2019 Friederike and Stephan von Rundstedt founded the startup RoBoTec PTC GmbH as managing owners. The entrepreneurial couple have succeeded in automating plant propagation in a unique way. The fully automated processing method for in vitro plants will revolutionize and change the entire agricultural and plant industry.
RoBo®Cut is a complex robot system with laser technology, which uses innovative hardware and software, especially in the field of image processing and artificial intelligence, and which is used to produce ecologically better plants in vitro reliably, automatically and cost-effectively without contact. The sustainable systems from the RoBo®Cut family reduce CO2 emissions worldwide and enable the world's plant propagators to produce locally fairly for their own markets.
"As incredible as the idea sounds, it is logical that it could only be solved by real plant specialists," says the founder Friederike von Rundstedt, who is responsible for research and development. "Without our many years of experience in plant breeding and propagation, we would not have dared to take the step towards developing this highly complex, fully automatic plant propagation system," recalls the horticultural scientist.
Each plant is individually different. Individuality is one of the greatest challenges for automation specialists. "The "Industrial Internet of Things" (IIoT) technology we use creates the possibility of individualized individual pieces "Batch Size One", e.g. to produce plants of the highest quality and still profitably in vitro. We have to react individually to every incoming plant object in the RoBo®Cut. This process succeeds because the system is implanted with the necessary intelligence via deep learning,” adds Stephan von Rundstedt, founder and managing director of RoBoTec PTC. This intelligence is the translation of plant knowledge into software code. In addition to plant knowledge, machine learning is the particular strength of RoBoTec. The startup is now supported by a team of 14 software developers, technicians and project managers.
The patented RoBo®Cut system has already received several awards. Winning the Bremen start-up prize 2021 opens up another opportunity for the startup RoBoTec. The Bremen start-up award is part of the nationwide competition for the German start-up award. Helge Hußmann from Starthaus Bremen advises, in addition to the other finalists Sharemac and WIOQnet, especially the first place winners to apply for the German start-up award: "Our award winners should apply with this innovative business idea and the special sustainable solution. We attribute good chances to them.”


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That's right: It's time for another round up of unusual credit card crimes happening across the nation. But instead of merely snickering or collectively shaking our heads at the ongoing antics of the ethically inept, we really should ask ourselves: What can the rest of us learn from all of this?
Man steals girlfriend's credit card
Lesson learned: If you're breaking up, make sure your credit cards are in a safe place.
What happened: According to the Jackson County Floridan, Daniel Alexander Valenzuela, 23, allegedly stole his girlfriend's credit cards after she broke everything off with him. It was apparently 1 a.m., on Christmas Eve, when he and his girlfriend entered her apartment and began talking about their relationship. It, evidently, wasn't going well because when Valenzuela asked his girlfriend if she wanted to break up, she replied in the affirmative. Then, Valenzuela reportedly said that he "needed a way out."
In normal circumstances, maybe that would be interpreted as a sign that he wanted a hug for some closure, or maybe he was drunk and couldn't figure out where the exit was in her apartment. But, no, instead Valenzuela allegedly grabbed his now ex-girlfriend's credit cards off the table where she had put them after they came back into the apartment.
Then, he swiped her cell phone, but she was able to wrest it from him and race outside, at which point, she called the police. But maybe Valenzuela is more guilty of simply being broken hearted and thus dimwitted than a dangerous credit card criminal. After all, he stuck around long enough for the police to arrive. When they asked if he had actually stolen the credit cards, he admitted to the theft. He sure didn't think what he did through, given that most crooks try to quietly steal credit cards without people seeing them, or most importantly, knowing who they are. That prevents the police from finding you and carting you off to jail, which they promptly did with Valenzuela.
And thanks to his crime, chances of reuniting with his girlfriend aren't so good.
Waitress steals rich guy's credit card
Lesson learned: Check your credit card statement! Including your company credit card…
What happened: It's something that personal finance writers will tell you until we're blue in the face (OK, that analogy doesn't quite work… until our fingers fall off from typing?), and yet, not everyone seems to have gotten the memo.
As Florida's Sun-Sentinel reported, Robert Camche, a 50-year-old owner of Sondra Roberts handbags in Boynton Beach, took his employees out for a meal on him. His waitress, Ashley Wakeling, 22, allegedly took his company credit card and used it to make a payment on her 2009 Nissan Altima.
Six months after Camche took his employees out, he spotted the four unauthorized transactions, totaling $1,577, made out to a company called Premier Partners. Ms. Wakeling wound up in the Palm Beach County Jail, and even worse for her, having made payments with stolen money, her car was repossessed.
Guy has credit card stolen from unlocked locker
Lesson learned: Lock your gym locker.
What happened: This is another lesson that we all know, but apparently this victim just figured nothing bad would happen to him. As the Kansas City Star reports, a guy in Overland Park, Missouri, recently had his wallet and clothes inside an unlocked locker at his health club during a work out. And good for him for being health conscious, but bad for him for not being more security minded because someone came along and removed some of his credit cards.
And, yes, this would be a pretty boring story, if it weren't for how much money was spent on these cards.
The thief, who has not yet been caught, bought over $10,000 of merchandise.
Lock those lockers, folks.


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Today: Holiday sales were down the weekend before Christmas. Home sales surged last month as buyers rushed to take advantage of a tax credit. Plus: Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo.
Snowstorm’s effect on retailers
Retailers usually count on holiday shoppers for much of their yearly sales — and the weekend before Christmas are usually the biggest days of the season. Unfortunately, a huge winter storm hit New York, Washington and other East Coast cities over the weekend, keeping shoppers snowed in and away from malls and shopping districts.
Retailers are now beginning to tally the blizzard’s damage. According to The Associated Press, ShopperTrak reported sales were down 12.6 percent from a year earlier Saturday. For the weekend as a whole, sales were down 2.1 percent at 50,000 U.S. retail outlets.
According to Bloomberg News, retailers such as Target and Toys R Us will be extending hours the rest of the week in hopes of making up business lost to the snowstorm.
More on holiday shopping
In more “Bah! humbug” news from our friends at the AP:
Shortages: If you’re looking for those robotic Zhu Zhu hamsters or Ugg boots, you’re probably out of luck. Jim Silver of Timetoplaymag.com told AP there are more toy shortages this year than last year.
The economy: Don’t count on holiday shoppers to propel the nation’s recovery from the Great Recession. According to an AP report, they have too much debt and often can’t get more credit, too many of them are out of work, and the holidays are too small compared with the overall economy.
GDP revised again: As it turns out, the recovery has been weaker than we thought. According to the Commerce Department, the economy grew at a 2.2 percent yearly pace in the third quarter, down from an earlier estimate of 2.8 percent, which was down itself from a first estimate of 3.5 percent.
Home sales surge
U.S. existing-home sales jumped 7.4 last month to a seasonally adjusted yearly pace of 6.54 million, the National Association of Realtors reported today. Home shoppers rushed to close deals before the scheduled expiration of a tax credit for first-time homebuyers, which has since been extended.
“This clearly is a rush of first-time buyers not wanting to miss out on the tax credit,” Lawrence Yun, the Realtors’ chief economist, said in a statement. “We expect a temporary sales drop while buying activity ramps up for another surge in the spring when buyers take advantage of the expanded tax credit.”
Sales were up 10.6 percent in Western states, an increase that was greater than gains in the Northeast, South and Midwest.
Apple: According to a Bloomberg News report quoting “a person with knowledge of the discussions,” the Cupertino iPhone, iPod and “I’m a Mac” computer maker is in talks with CBS to put TV shows on an online subscription service. According to The Wall Street Journal, ABC is also in talks with Apple.
Microsoft: In a patent dispute with a Canadian company, a U.S. appeals court ordered the Redmond, Wash., software behemoth to stop selling Microsoft Word and pay $290 million to i4i. Microsoft said it expects to have a new version of Word ready that doesn’t use the technology involved in the lawsuit.
Yahoo: The Sunnyvale Internet content powerhouse is shutting down its offices over the holidays for the first time this year. Especially in slow times, many Silicon Valley companies do the same thing.
Silicon Valley tech stocks
Up: Google, Apple, Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, Gilead Sciences, eBay, Yahoo, Adobe Systems.
The blue chip Dow Jones industrial average: Up 48.07, or 0.46 percent, to 10,462.21.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index: Up 14.59, or 0.65 percent, to 2,252.25.
And the widely watched Standard & Poor’s 500 index: Up 3.67, or 0.33 percent, to 1,117.72.
Check in weekday afternoons for the 60-Second Business Break, a summary of news from Mercury News staff writers, The Associated Press, Bloomberg News and other wire services. Contact Frank Russell at 408-920-5876. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mercspike.


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If you ask SanDisk, size, yes, it matters! The company is trying to combine greater storage capacity with the smallest flash driver.
At this year's CES show in Las Vegas, SanDisk announced a brand new drive USB Type-C designed to hold up to 1TB data.
So far, the record for the largest flash driver owned by Kingston as its device has already reached 2TB but SanDisk is the one that placed 1TB on a tiny device.
The company does not provide further information on specifications such as read and write speeds, but said we are still at the beginning so we will soon have more details. The only certainty is that it will burden the pocket enough anyone who wants to get it.
Because SanDisk is the smallest and best attitude fan, it has recently unveiled the world's smallest 256GB USB 3.1 flash drive. This model is included in the already available SanDisk Ultra Fit USB 3.1 series and will be released later this year and availability will be released close to the release date.
Our company gave us some details that reveal the capacity of files on such a big drive saying there is plenty of storage for 14.000 photos, 10 hours of Full HD video, 16.000 songs and 64GB for other files.
Judging by the specifications of the other flash drives and the new device should offer maximum 130 MB / s read speeds. SanDisk says the 256GB drive will cost 149.99 dollars, just 30 dollars more than the 128GB release announced earlier.


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Story City Market owners are excited to be in Story City
David and Wendy Wooldridge are the new owners of the grocery store in Story City and have changed the name to Story City Market.
For the past 12 years, the couple has owned a grocery store in Manning and has also had a store in Rockwell City, but they were looking at settling in a different community when Harlan’s Food Mart came up for sale.
“A friend of ours owned Harlan’s,” David said, “and we felt like the Story City community would be a good fit for us.”
As owners and operators of Story City Market, David and Wendy will “do everything that needs to be done.” Current employees are keeping their jobs. All of the products the store has offered in the past will still be available, and David said he has plans to bring in some new items that he thinks customers will enjoy.
But there will be positive changes at the store, he said.
“Pricing at the store has gotten completely out of whack, especially in the past couple years,” David said. As Affiliated Foods was purchased by AWG a couple years ago, many store owners didn’t know how to react to the new structure, but David said his experience is helping him cut costs.
“I marked cereal down $2 a box already and I’m currently working on repricing many items in the frozen foods section,” he said. “We know shoppers are price conscious, so we are making our prices more competitive.”
It’s difficult to compete with the Walmarts and HyVees in the area, however, since “I have a store of one, and they have a store of hundreds or even thousands. But we want to be a success because our family depends on it and also because having a grocery store helps make a community strong.”
David and Wendy have two children, a daughter Raegan, 12, and a son Dane, 10. The Wooldridge family is looking to sell their home in Manning and purchase a home in Story City. The kids, who are active in swimming and fine arts, are looking forward to a new community and school district when it’s time to move, Wendy said.
Other changes to expect at Story City Market are inside the store. “We’re cleaning up, painting, moving the office from the front of the store,” David said. Painters were expected any day and construction workers would be tearing down the office, which has taken up quite a bit of space at the front of the store. “We want to open this up so it’s brighter and more welcoming,” David said.


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The study, conducted by marketing professor Dennis Tootelian from California State University in Sacramento, concluded that the McDonald’s restaurants in northern Nevada spent more than $29.8 million dollars in their local communities, or more than $81,695 per day. The northern Nevada region includes the McDonald’s restaurants in Reno, Carson City and the surrounding cities in Nevada, and was conducted in June using data collected from the McDonald’s Corporation in 2010.
“The McDonald’s restaurants in northern Nevada are all locally owned and operated by franchise owners who live in the area, and are dedicated to the economic health of their individual communities,” said Tom McKennie, a McDonald’s owner and operator from Reno. “This study shows that McDonald’s presence in northern Nevada is essential to the area’s continued economic growth, and we are proud of the impact we are having.”
Some of the highlights from the study include:
• McDonald’s restaurants returned 48 cents of every dollar earned to the local economy.
• McDonald’s had a combined investment of more than $90.3 million in the area.
• McDonald’s restaurants created 4,905 jobs and $86.5 million in annual spending.
The study also looked at McDonald’s as a local employer, and analyzed the chain’s contribution to local employment, its impact as a diversity employer and as a provider of career positions. The study also concluded that taxes paid by northern Nevada restaurants are substantial, and impact budgets for children and youth services, public safety, environmental protection and agriculture. Specifically, the study found that:
• McDonald’s spent more than $14.5 million on local wages. This equates to more than $39,740 every day of the year.
• McDonald’s presence in the area creates about 4,905 jobs and nearly $61.1 million in spending. More than 40.3 percent of the restaurant managers are 35 years of age or younger.
• Women comprised nearly 65.2 percent of total employees out of a workforce of more than 1,240 people.
• McDonald’s spent more than $1.8 million on business taxes, licenses and payroll taxes, or nearly $4,945 per day.
• McDonald’s created nearly $11.8 million in taxes due to the generation of new jobs and the additional purchases of goods and services from other local businesses.
McDonald’s has previously commissioned studies similar to this one. The last economic impact study completed for the Northern Nevada region was conducted in 2009.
There are 41 McDonald’s restaurants in the greater northern Nevada area. For more information, visit www.mcdonalds.com or on twitter @mcd_northnevada.


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Telecom Operators have asked the e-commerce giants including Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, ShopClues and Rediff.com to freeze the sale of mobile signal boosters claiming that selling such wireless devices is illegal and also a punishable offence under the Indian Wireless Telegraph Act of 1933.
The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), in a letter has also said that “usage of such wireless telegraphy apparatus by end-customers creates severe interference in the licensed frequency bands assigned to telcos, impacting the overall quality of (mobile) services”.
The association has analysed that the features of the repeaters and boosters being sold online claim that these devices foster signals across the 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz and 2300 MHz licensed spectrum bands, which are dedicated to telecom carriers.
The COAI which includes Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Reliance Jio has urged the online retailers “to immediately cease and desist” from selling mobile signal boosters and repeaters which come under the definition of ‘wireless telegraphy apparatus’ and ‘wireless transmitter’ as per the Indian Wireless Telegraph Act.
“It is pertinent to note that possession and sale of such equipment, without obtaining requisite permissions under the Wireless Telegraph Act and rules framed thereunder, constitutes a violation of the provisions and is a punishable offence under Section 6 of the Act,” says Rajan Mathews, director general of COAI.
Mathews also refers to a DoT letter which was floated on May 10, 2016 that had asked the online/e-commerce companies that under Indian Wireless Telegraphy (Possession) Rules, 1965, “no person/dealer shall sell or hire a wireless set/equipment to any person, unless they hold a valid dealer possession licence (DPL)”.
When inquired from Amazon, the e-commerce giant replied that sellers selling their products through the Amazon.in the marketplace are “solely responsible for all necessary product compliance and are required to sell products which are legally allowed to be sold in India”


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The screen that you see when your computer first starts is known as the BIOS, and it’s based on a really old technology that is finally being replaced with something better—and it will make your PC boot faster, too.
The new BIOS replacement is known as UEFI, or Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, and according to the BBC, it’s going to be the default in new PCs by 2011, bringing lots of benefits including serious speed enhancements:
the biggest obvious benefit of a machine running UEFI will be the speed with which it starts up. “At the moment it can be 25-30 seconds of boot time before you see the first bit of OS sign-on,” he said. “With UEFI we’re getting it under a handful of seconds.”
“In terms of boot speed we’re not at instant-on yet but it is already a lot better than conventional Bios can manage,” he said “and we’re getting closer to that every day.”


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GapViet is not only reshaping e-commerce in Vietnam but also aims to unite the country's e-commerce ecosystem through developing a strong e-commerce forum. In this article, we will learn about GapViet's ambitious journey in connecting and reshaping the world of e-commerce in Vietnam.
E-Commerce Forum - Engagement Platform
GapViet has recognized that cooperation and connection are important factors in developing e-commerce in Vietnam. So, they decided to develop a top-notch e-commerce forum. This is not just an e-commerce platform anymore but also a growing community where businesses and consumers can connect, exchange and collaborate.
Connecting the E-Commerce Ecosystem
GapViet has taken advantage of the e-commerce forum to create a strong e-commerce ecosystem in Vietnam. We not only provide a platform for businesses to buy and sell products, but also build an environment that promotes the development of businesses and consumers through sharing knowledge, experiences and opportunities. business.
Creating New Opportunities
GapViet's e-commerce forum is not only a place for transactions, but also a place to create new opportunities for businesses and consumers. We see it as a platform to promote creativity and promote the sustainable development of e-commerce in Vietnam.
GapViet is not only building an e-commerce forum, but is also building a top-notch e-commerce community and ecosystem in Vietnam. We believe that collaboration and connection are the keys to reshaping e-commerce in our country. GapViet and our e-commerce forum are a concert of collaboration and development, and we are very proud of it.


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Real estate investors are preparing for Amazon's HQ2 decision
Welcome to our Monday Tech Crawl, where we highlight some of the biggest tech stories that happened this past weekend.
Real estate investors are preparing to capitalize on impending HQ2 decision
As Amazon gets closer to picking a home for its second headquarters, some real estate investors are already raising funds to invest in real estate near whichever winning site is chosen, or they are fundraising cash to be able to buy immediately when the site is picked, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
Amazon said it will choose a location for its project, dubbed HQ2, before the year ends. With the $5 billion development expected to make an impact on housing costs over time, investors are getting in position to make a sizable return on their investment.
Austin remains one of 20 cities where Amazon could choose to locate HQ2, although a report in the Journal last week noted that Amazon has re-visited some finalist sites, Austin not among them.
Uber ambitiously eyes 2021 for food-delivery drones launch
Uber’s food delivery system, Uber Eats, is already one of the most popular delivery apps across America.
Netflix unveils $2 billion debt issue to fund new content
Netflix has been investing heavily in original content.
Elon Musk: Rapid-transit test tunnel under LA opens to public Dec. 10
Musk announced the opening in a tweet.


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The Brick opens fourth corporate store in Calgary
CALGARY, Alberta – High-impact promoter The Brick expanded its presence in this province’s largest city in early December when it opened its first new store here since 2009, just in time for the all-important holiday season.
Strategically placed off Macleod Trail in the city’s south end, the new Shawnessy location is positioned to serve customers from across the city itself as well as those living in outlying communities such as High River, Okotoks, Black Diamond and Turner Valley.
“Since opening our first Calgary location in 1982, we’ve been proudly serving over 50,000 local customers each year,” Dave Freeman, president of The Brick said in a statement. “We are thrilled to open the doors of this new location, which will offer an industry-leading customer experience across all departments and serve customers in Calgary and beyond.”
This gives the retailer – a division of the publicly held Leon’s Furniture Limited – a total of four Brick stores in Calgary, along with two Brick Mattress stores. It also reinforces The Brick’s dominant position in the Alberta market, where it was founded in 1971, with a corporate store count of 19 units as well as seven Brick Mattress stores and 26 franchise locations.
During 2021, The Brick opened two corporate stores – this one and its first ever in St. John’s, Newfoundland – and added two franchise locations to its network in Invermere, British Columbia and Granby, Quebec. According to its web site, the retailer now has 210 stores across the country.
The Shawnessy store covers just over 34,800 square feet of showroom space displaying The Brick’s full product assortment. It features an expanded mattress gallery with a 26-foot Bedgear pillow display; a bedroom gallery with multiple feature walls; updated accessory wall displays with an extended décor assortment; and updated appliance and electronics galleries with an extended selection of products.
A company spokesman told Home Goods Online the new Brick store concept differs in several ways. The front major collection are backs onto red impact wall. “This area allows the customer to see new products, while highlighting our current promotions,” he said in an e-mail. “The area also has an opening that allows a customer to see all departments at a quick glance which is a great visual when you first walk in.
“This generation of store layout is different than our previous ones in many ways,” he continued. “The mattress and bedroom furniture departments are now split up, providing more of a store-in-a-store feel when shopping mattresses. This area is also complimented with a vast array of sleep solution accessories like pillows, frames, sheets etc.”
The Shawnessy store also features the home décor and accessory walls first seen in the Atlantic Canada stores that opened in summer 2020.
“These walls feature styled assortments of home accessories to inspire customers as they show upholstery, dining and bedroom,” the spokesman said, noting, “There is digital signage throughout the store that act as wayfinding and information screens while showcasing current promotions, features and benefits of our policies and services, and financing plans.”
New to this store is an upright floor carpet rack. “These racks allow for an easy shopping experience where the customer can see and touch a large assortment in a really visual and tactile way,” the spokesman told HGO. “The bedroom area has also been updated from past locations with divider walls which creates vignettes for all of the bedroom sets on the floor. This allows us to create more of a room setting without impacting site lines in the store.”
The new location has created 31 jobs locally to date. As of December 2021, The Brick has over 430 employees in Calgary across its various operations which both its Brick and Brick Mattress Store banners, its local distribution centre and its fleet team.
Related Story: The Brick at 50
Related Story: Launching One-on-One: first up, Dave Freeman of The Brick


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TSLA shareholders approve Elon Musk's compensation plan:
On Wednesday, Tesla Motors investors approved a compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk that may be the largest such deal in history—despite its lack of a proper salary, cash bonuses, or guaranteed stock awards. The pay plan ensures Musk will stay at Tesla until 2028. But that doesn’t mean he’ll stay on as CEO. The deal requires Musk, who also serves as CEO of SpaceX and has his hand in several other side businesses, remain at Tesla in one of three roles: CEO, executive chairman, or chief product officer.
Tesla ranked #5 in LinkedIn's list of companies where professionals most want to work. Only four companies ranked higher: Amazon (#1), Google (#2), Facebook (#3), and Salesforce (#4).
Tesla doesn’t make small bets, one reason it attracted 500,000 job applicants in 2017. Last year, the company built the world’s biggest battery, while CEO Elon Musk announced plans for electric semis and the world’s fastest production car. Its challenge now is ramping up production of its mass-market Model 3 sedan. Such ambitions require an ever-growing team, from scientists to roofers. Tesla’s known for quick decision-making: Engineers can ship code “without eight layers of approval,” one former employee told LinkedIn. Global headcount: 37,000