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Human beings use 92.8 billion tons of minerals, fossil fuels, metals, and biomass each year, and only nine percent gets reused.
It’s a problem that’s also getting worse, according to Circle Economy, a global organization dedicated to the creation of practical and scalable sustainability solutions around creating a circular economy in which everything we consume gets repurposed and reused.
Last year, the global demand for resources was 1.7 times more than what the Earth can support, and at current rates we’d need two Earths to support consumption needs by 2030. Other statistics paint a similarly bleak picture:
- By 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean (World Economic Forum 2016)
- Consumption of natural resources rose at twice the rate of population growth in the 20th century (UNEP IRP 2017)
- Pollution contributed to more than 9 million premature deaths in 2015, 16 percent of all deaths worldwide (The Lancet 2017)
- The world produced 45 million tons of electronic waste alone in 2016 (United Nations, ITU, and ISWA) with an estimated value of €55 billion in raw materials*
To bring attention — and action — to the issue, the United Nations created a list of Sustainable Development Goals to work toward by 2030.
SAP is teaming with Google Cloud to spur innovation around Goal 12 on that list: to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. The two companies are hosting a new Circular Economy 2030 competition that seeks to attract and reward social entrepreneurs who create innovative solutions on how to reuse, recycle, and repurpose.
The contest, which has a March 17 deadline to submit applications, seeks proposals for a revenue-generating idea that uses both Google Cloud and SAP solutions to advance a circular economy. Five finalists will be selected and announced at the Google Cloud Next Conference, taking place April 9 to 11. Finalists will be invited to participate in an in-person hackathon to be held April 12 in San Francisco for the chance to win over $100,000 in prize money and benefits, participation in Google Cloud for Startups’ Bootcamp, plus one-on-one mentorship. The remaining four finalists will each receive $25,000 in prize money. The grand prize winner will be announced at the SAPPHIRE NOW conference on May 7.
Economic Growth Through Purpose-Led Business
One impetus for the contest is to demonstrate that sustainability and profitability do not have to be mutually exclusive concepts, that you can create economic value and contribute to a more environmentally friendly planet at the same time. In fact, the circular economy could unlock $4.5 trillion in economic growth, according to Accenture.
“The circular economy is about creating economic prosperity with social well-being as a key component of that output,” said Alicia Tillman, chief marketing officer of SAP. “The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals are the single best framework for creating social, economic, and environmental change in the world. When we can have a benchmark to work toward, it allows us to collaborate, drive impact, and have success.”
“In this case, we have two fantastic brands — SAP and Google — working toward a common purpose,” Tillman added. “We are already receiving lots of applications with great ideas on how to leverage technology, including artificial intelligence and IoT, to create more sustainable processes that reduce our consumption and make the world a better place to live.”
The Circular Economy 2030 contest is just one of many initiatives SAP is undertaking to reduce consumption and increase reuse of resources, according to Adaire Fox-Martin, member of the Executive Board of SAP SE, Global Customer Operations. The company recently joined the Global Battery Alliance, an organization focused on the responsible production, transport, sale, use, reuse, recycling, and resource recovery of transportation, industrial, and stationary batteries and other energy storage devices.
“I am delighted to see that the participants of the Circular Economy 2030 contest have shown laser focus on addressing some of the world’s greatest issues,” said Fox-Martin. “The private sector has a leading role in effecting positive social and environmental change. The very definition of value in the business world is evolving, and positive social impact is a significant and growing part of it.”
“This belief is deeply rooted in SAP’s culture and is the driving force behind our social intrapreneurship program, SAP One Billion Lives. We created it with the aim to improve 1 billion lives by developing a portfolio of sustainable, shared-value impact ventures through the best we have to offer – our people, technology, and a vast ecosystem. In three years since its launch, the program has delivered impact at scale in healthcare, disaster mitigation, and relief and many other areas,” she explained.
“SAP is mobilizing our talent, technology and vast ecosystem to demonstrate that commercial success and social impact can and should co-exist,” said Fox-Martin. “The Circular Economy contest and programs such as SAP One Billion Lives are two of many powerful examples. Last year, we entered into a partnership with Social Enterprise World Forum to scale the growth and development of the social enterprise sector globally. Investing in social enterprises, which uphold the social or environmental mission through sound business models, is one of the most effective ways to build a more equitable and sustainable economy.”
Learn more about Circular Economy 2030 and how to apply at cloud.google.com/circular-economy-2030. Contest submission window is open from January 23 to March 17, 2019.
SAP and our partners. Improving lives. That is our purpose.


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Up to 50,000 Chinese citizens in the country's equivalent of Silicon Valley have woken up to money in their accounts after the government distributed more than $2.1 million of its new digital currency.
The new money comes ahead of China's leader Xi Jinping visiting emerging tech hub Shenzhen for celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of the city becoming the country's first special economic zone in 1980 as the emerging global superpower began to open up to the rest of the world, and is the first step in the introduction of the digital yuan.
Depending on what happens in the years ahead, it's thought the digital yuan might even replace the US dollar, which replaced gold following the 1944 Bretton Woods agreement, as the global reserve currency.
The government distributed 200 yuan (around $44) each to 50,000 residents in a lottery in the largest test so far of the new currency, according to Quartz.
They can add more once they've spent that too: the lottery gives them a link to download the not-yet-public digital wallet.
Peking University Digital Finance Research Centre senior researcher Xu Yuan thinks history will look back on the introduction of the digital yuan as the other defining feature of 2020 alongside the novel coronavirus, according to a translated interview he gave in April.
He even went as far as saying the introduction of the digital yuan will have longer-lasting impacts than the virus.
"Looking back at the current epidemic situation in 20 to 30 years, you may find that it is not a big thing; but after the digital currency landed, the commercial and financial forms of the entire human society will undergo tremendous changes," Xu said.
Local media reports the new digital currency works in a similar way to existing digital wallets like Alipay and WeChat Pay (or like Apple Pay or Google Pay).
Whether Beijing plans to compete with or replace those privately owned platforms, already used by more than a billion people around the world according to the US Brookings Institute think tank, isn't clear yet.
Unlike those two platforms, the digital yuan is issued and controlled by China's central bank, and can also work without access to the internet.
Being backed by the central bank, users of the digital yuan also don't have to worry about the (unlikely) possibility that the commercial banks, Alibaba (Alipay) or Tencent (WeChat Pay) could go bankrupt.
There are however, concerns that it could make it easier for the government to track the spending of its citizens, including being able to see how much they're spending and potentially what they're spending it on.
"In theory, after using the central bank's digital currency, there is no transaction behaviour that cannot be seen by the regulatory authorities, and the cash flow is completely traceable," Xu said.
"This means that all currency issuance and payment transactions will be online in real time."

domain: news


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Ahead of the UK general election on June 8, Brexit has pretty much disappeared from front page media.< div class='story-image'>
However, once the election is out of the way and the Conservatives come back with a larger majority in parliament, then it will return with a vengeance as the real negotiations get going.
Meanwhile, some effects are being felt here in both a positive and negative sense. The UK insurer and asset manager Standard Life announced that it is likely to choose Dublin as its EU base once the UK leaves the system.
Making the announcement, the company stated that it cannot take a chance on the type of arrangement that might exist for UK-based financial services companies selling into the EU. Currently, to sell financial services across the EU, an EU banking passport is required and there is no guarantee that such a passport will be available to UK companies selling financial services into the EU once the divorce is completed. From a prudential risk management perspective, companies will be obliged to make their intentions known at an early stage.
Any business in any sector that does not make contingency plans for a hard Brexit will be doing its shareholders a major disservice and could certainly be accused of corporate negligence at the very least. Standard Life already has a presence in Ireland and employs staff here, so the decision to set up the EU base in Ireland is not that difficult. Barclays may well turn out to do the same thing in Ireland. It will be a different matter entirely trying to convince companies without an existing presence here to make that decision as the competition from locations such as Brussels, Luxembourg and Frankfurt will be intense.
The US investment bank JP Morgan also stated that it is buying an office block here and plans to double its workforce in Ireland to 1,000 people. That represents a major vote of confidence in Ireland. While it is not Brexit-related, it does show just how positive the Irish environment is for financial services activities.
If we prioritise the delivery of suitable office accommodation, affordable high quality residential accommodation for renters and purchasers, a health service that we can trust in, and access to high-quality primary and secondary accommodation, then the sky would appear to be the limit.
Ireland is in a bit of a sweet spot at the moment in many respects, with the increasingly better looking external economic environment starting to pay heavy dividends. Trade data this week showed that merchandise exports in the first three months of the year were 10.6% ahead of the same period in 2016. Exports to the eurozone increased by 3.8%; exports to the US increased by a scarcely believable 31.2%; and encouragingly, and sales to the UK increased by 4.5%. Exports of chemicals and related products to the US increased by 36.7%, which is quite extraordinary. Time might tell what is going on there. Interestingly, sales of food and live animals to Britain increased by 7.2%. Sterling has strengthened a bit and more importantly has stabilised, and the UK economy is still holding up well. Overall exports of food and live animals increased by a strong 9.8% in the first quarter.
The overall trade performance so far in 2017 is holding up very well and there is little reason to believe that this will change very much over the remainder of the year given the increasingly positive momentum building in the global economy.
Enterprise Ireland alluded to the more difficult task that the exporting companies that it supports faced in the UK market last year due to sterling weakness. Its strategy is now going to be increasingly focused on building markets in eurozone countries. This is a noble aspiration, but the reality is that the UK is by far the easiest market for Irish agri-food exporters to sell into. A massive 37% of agri-food exports went to the UK last year, and it is estimated that of the prepared consumer foods that Ireland exports, 70% go to the UK. It will not be easy to wean exporters off the UK market.
© Irish Examiner Ltd. All rights reserved


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Columnist, editor, gamer with 26 years of experience. Someone who knows about Metroid and understands why not all games are like Dark Souls. Japanese gaming console fan who also knows the reasons behind the Nvidia decline. Actively follows the news and has given up on waiting for Half Life 3.
The loudest games of 2017: What is, what will be, what to expect
USA: open government on blockchain
The classic comes back! Nintendo announced release of the legendary NES in summer 2018
Amazon and Microsoft voice assistants will cooperate


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With the new console generation upon us, there’s no denying that Sony’s start out of the gate has been a speedy one. The Japanese company has managed to sell seven million units in just over half a year, making it the best-selling console the company has produced since the PlayStation 2. Much of this success can be attributed to areas where Microsoft and Nintendo failed to attract a crowd with their advertising, which is something Sony plans on capitalizing on.
According to Andrew House, the company has a large opportunity to attract those who purchased a Wii, but not a PlayStation 3 or an Xbox 360.
Our big opportunity is to welcome back an audience much earlier in the lifecycle that possibly bought into the Wii previously.
Whether it’s based on this is a really good all-round entertainment device for a family in addition to having great games, our consumer data suggests some of those people are already coming in now and that’s what’s contributing to the really great sales we’ve had.
For this reason, House wants to see several older Sony games relaunched on the system, so consumers who are purchasing the PlayStation 4 are exposed to the PlayStation 3’s greatest hits. Either way, Sony is now targeting consumers who don’t purchase the latest console as soon as it’s available, or those who don’t have any loyalty to a specific platform.
- Nintendo: Switch is a new platform, not a suc
- WiiUDaily's Big Switch
- Rumored Nintendo Switch specs reveal a pretty
- Nintendo Switch has strong third party suppor
TAGS: andrew house, Nintendo, Playstation 4, wii, wii u


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THE cards are falling the right way for the rice industry for the first time in years.
Australia's rice growers could produce up to 170,000 tonnes of rice this season as late increases in water allocations and the weather work in their favour.
Griffith grower and Ricegrowers Association of Australia Mirrool branch president Glen Andreazza is one of those producing his biggest crop in years.
"Last year you could practically count the number of people growing rice on one hand and this year there are more people and they are growing much bigger areas," he said.
"In the past season, I planted just 26ha of rice - but this year, I have more than triple that amount."
Mr Andreazza said recent hot weather had been ideal for the industry, especially the later-sown crops planted after water allocations were increased.
"The crops I sowed later are actually doing as well if not better than the ones sown earlier. The weather (heat in November) is more like we used to have 10 years ago."
Mr Andreazza locked about 75 per cent of his rice into the first pool at $550 a tonne, with the rest sold into the second pool with an indicative price of $400 a tonne.
"We are targeting on getting 11 tonnes a hectare, so it is a pretty good return," he said.
Mr Andreazza said grower morale was running high and many were quick to convert allocations into growing the summer crop.
"People are excited to be growing rice again and there is a lot of rice in," he said.
"The predictions are that the industry will produce 150,000 to 170,000 tonnes of rice, thanks to later increases in water allocations, which fired people up again to sow more rice."


text: The retail industry has welcomed proposed changes put forward by the government that would see tougher sentencing for those that assault shopworkers.\u00a0\r\n\r\nPolicing minister Kit Malthouse confirmed the government has tabled an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which states that courts must treat assaults committed \u201cagainst a person providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing services to the public\u201d as an aggravated offence.\r\n\r\nThe Home Office notified the National Retail Crime Steering Group of the proposed amendment, which would result in tougher sentencing for offenders.\r\n\r\nThe government had previously indicated it would consider an amendment to the Bill in Lords in order to address the issue of tougher sentencing.\u00a0\r\n\r\nIn addition, the ACS, USDAW, the Co-operative and others in the industry have reportedly called on the government \u201crepeatedly\u201d to act and \u201csend a clear message that it takes crimes against shopworkers seriously\u201d.\r\n\r\nHelen Dickinson OBE, CEO of the British Retail Consortium, welcomed the news and said: \u201cWe welcome the Government\u2019s proposed amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which means that people who commit violent offences against retail workers can receive tougher sentences for their crimes.\r\n\r\n\u201cBy tabling this amendment, government has signalled that it understands the seriousness of the issue facing retail workers, 455 of whom are abused or attacked every day at work.\u201d\u00a0\r\n\r\nShe added: \u201cIf the police prosecute all reported violent incidents as aggravated offences and the courts sentence those convicted accordingly, retail workers will feel better protected, would-be offenders may be deterred, and we will begin to see the true scale of the problem faced by our hardworking colleagues.\u201d\r\n\r\nACS chief executive James Lowman said: \u201cWe strongly welcome the tabling of this amendment, which the retail sector has been calling for over a number of years. It\u2019s essential that the penalties for attacking a shopworker act as an effective deterrent.\r\n\r\n\u201cIntroducing tougher sentences for those who attack people providing a service to the public, including shopworkers, marks a significant step forward, but it does not solve the problem by itself.\u201d\u00a0\r\n\r\nHe added: \u201cWe need to ensure that abuse is not seen as part of the job and that all incidents are reported, and in response, Police and Crime Commissioners must prioritise crimes committed against retailers and their colleagues. We must also put the right interventions in place to stop those with substance and alcohol dependencies from reoffending.\u201d\r\n\r\nPaddy Lillis - Usdaw general secretary said: \u201cAfter years of campaigning we are pleased to have secured movement from the Government and that they have finally accepted the need to legislate to protect shopworkers from violence at work. We are studying the amendment to the Policing Bill and are keen to engage with the Government and politicians from all parties so that our members can be absolutely clear that the provisions in the Bill will deliver the protections they deserve.\r\n\r\n\u201cUsdaw members working in retail have for too long been in the firing line of appalling behaviour from a significant minority of customers. Nine in ten shopworkers have faced abuse in the last year, with far too many also suffering threats and violence. A protection of workers law is long overdue and this could be a step in the right direction.\u201d\r\n\r\nUsdaw added that it is currently looking at the wording of the amendment and is keen to work with the Government and Members of the House of Lords to ensure that the draft provisions deliver the protections retail workers deserve\u201d.


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Updated from 2:36 p.m. EDT
Steep discounts supercharged U.S. sales at
and its competitors alike in July.
GM said Tuesday its U.S. car and light truck sales rose 20% in July to 530,027 units. The results weren't as impessive as the 44% jump GM turned in last month, but still marked a significant improvement from the sales declines that plagued the automaker through May.
July was also productive for GM's competitors, who copied the "employee discount" promotion in an effort to keep pace.
posted a 29% increase in U.S. sales of cars and trucks in July on big employee discounts, ending its 13-month losing streak. It sold 366,548 vehicles last month compared with 285,204 vehicles in the year-earlier period.
said its U.S. sales rose 25% to 260,937 vehicles in July. Sales for its Mercedes brand rose 10% to 20,791 units while its U.S. Chrysler unit saw sales increase 27% to 240,146.
All three automakers have seen their market share in North America erode steadily in recent years at the hands of foreign competition. GM and Ford have watched their sales and earnings drop precipitously, and their credit ratings have been reduced to junk by several rating agencies.
Having previously said it would end the promotion after July, GM has reportedly reversed that decision, electing to continue the discounts through August. Both Ford and Chrysler said Monday they planned to extend their own employee discounts programs. They had been scheduled to expire this week.
"GM saw that Ford was continuing their program, and they still had a good supply of 2005 models that they needed to clear out, so they changed their mind," said George Mangliano, director of automotive industry research with Global Insight.
While the recent sales gains are a godsend for the embattled automakers of Detroit, the discounting activities have all the makings of a price war that could wreak havoc on the companies' profit margins. Despite this concern, the companies appear to be accepting lower profits in order stay abreast of the competition and clear out bloated inventories that have long plagued the industry.
"The risk here is that after everyone is sucked in to buy cars with these employee discount programs in June, July and August, who will be left to buy cars for the rest of the year?" said David Healy, analyst with Burnham Securities. "The question is whether the program added to total demand or whether it just moved it out of the fall into the summer. I'm leaning towards the latter."
GM also said Tuesday it would not reduce its controversial dividend payments to shareholders, even while it demands concessions from the United Auto Workers union from its healthcare obligations under its current labor contract, which expires in 2007. Shares of GM currently offer an annual dividend yield of 5.4%.
GM closed down about 1% Tuesday, while Ford rose 0.3% and DaimlerChrysler added 2.8%.


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Robinhood loses $392 million in Q1, crypto revenue halved YoY
Commission-free brokerage Robinhood Markets gave weaker-than-expected revenue guidance for the second quarter of 2022 after posting a bigger-than-feared loss for the Q1 as the number of its active users fell.
In the last three months, the disruptive stock-broking app posted a $392 million net loss, or a 45 cent loss per diluted share. Robinhood reported total revenue of $299 million for the fourth quarter, down 43 percent from $522 million a year earlier. The figure was also down from $363 million in the fourth quarter.
Monthly active users fell 10 percent to 15.9 million last quarter from 17.7 million in the three months through March 2021 and 17.3 million in the Q4. The sequential decline was primarily attributed to users with lower balances, who are engaging less in the current market environment.
Transaction-based revenues for the quarter decreased 48 percent to $218 million, compared with $420 million in the first quarter of 2021.
Meanwhile, crypto activity declined from record highs in the prior year, the company said. As a result, Robinhood sees revenue from crypto of no more than $54 million in the Jan-Mar quarter, down from $88 million in the first quarter of 2021. The crypto revenue was, however, slightly better than the $51 million it reported in the Q4, though both metrics were well below a record of $233 million in the second quarter of 2021.
Options and equities revenues were also lower by 36 percent and 73 percent, respectively, coming in at $127 million and $36 million.
The newly public brokerage reported 22.8 million cumulative funded accounts in the first quarter, virtually unchanged from the prior quarter but was up from 18.0 million users the company claimed in the Q1 2021. As a result, assets under custody (AUC) increased 15 percent to $93.1 billion as of March 31, 2022, compared with $80.9 billion a year earlier.
Robinhood makes strides in crypto business
Robinhood’s Average Revenues Per User (or ARPU) declined 62 percent to $53, compared with $137 in the first quarter of 2021. The decreases were primarily related to lower transaction-based revenue driven by the current market environment, which had a negative impact on the number of traders and their turnover.
Commenting on the results, Vlad Tenev, CEO and Co-Founder of Robinhood Markets, said: “This quarter saw our product development engine gain velocity with the rollout of some of our most requested features and capabilities. With the introduction of the Robinhood Cash Card, the release of crypto wallets to all customers, the addition of new coins to our platform, and our agreement to acquire Ziglu Limited, we’ve made huge strides against our roadmap. Looking ahead, we have a suite of new products and services slated for release that we believe will excite and delight our customers.”
At the beginning of April, Robinhood rolled out crypto wallets to the approximately two million customers on its waitlist and just this week completed the full roll-out to all customers. In addition, the app recently added four new coins and the company expects to add additional assets over time.
Crypto customers will also benefit from Robinhood’s planned integration with the Lightning Network, which will power near-instantaneous Bitcoin transfers globally. Eventually, this technology, once fully integrated, is expected to help accelerate Robinhood’s ability to serve Bitcoin remittances on a global scale – at virtually no cost – and will be important for international expansion.


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On Tuesday, May 22 the newest addition to FeedMore’s distribution fleet will bring healthy food for wholesome meals to more than 200 families who live in Richmond. Donated by Kroger Mid-Atlantic, the truck will allow FeedMore to deliver more fresh food to underserved communities and neighborhoods with limited access to grocery stores across Central Virginia.
Food Lion Feeds will partner with FeedMore and the National Association of Letter Carriers to help jump-start the annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive by donating nearly 23,000 meals in celebration of the start of the campaign.
RICHMOND, Va. – FeedMore will hold their annual gala Zest Fest on Saturday, February 24 at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. All proceeds from Zest Fest will help neighbors across Central Virginia who struggle with hunger.
Richmond Christmas Mother Awards FeedMore $25,000 Grant to Provide Special Holiday Meals to Families
The Richmond Christmas Mother Fund announced that it has awarded a $25,000 grant to FeedMore, Central Virginia’s core hunger-relief organization, to provide meals to 2,000 families during the holiday season. The meals will be distributed to neighbors throughout greater Richmond next month through FeedMore’s Mobile Pantry, which takes nutritious meals to neighborhoods with limited access to healthy and affordable food.
This Thanksgiving, Kroger Mid-Atlantic has teamed up with FeedMore, Central Virginia’s core hunger-relief organization, to cover the cost of a special Thanksgiving meal for nearly 900 seniors and homebound neighbors in FeedMore’s Meals on Wheels program. Kroger is also making the week of Thanksgiving extra special for FeedMore’s Meals on Wheels volunteer drivers by handing out fuel gift cards.
FeedMore will celebrate a very special milestone for its Meals on Wheels program on Monday – 50 years of delivering healthy meals and companionship to homebound neighbors in Central Virginia. To commemorate this golden anniversary, Mayor Levar Stoney will be delivering meals to Meals on Wheels recipients in the 9th District on the southside of Richmond.


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On a cold night in January, designer Jason Wu's entire world changed dramatically in a matter of just a few seconds. In one of the most anticipated fashion moments of a long time, First Lady Michelle...
April 13, 2009
Jason Wu's on First
Thrust into the Obama spotlight, life has taken a turn for Jason Wu.
Ads by Google


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DRiV Incorporated is the name of the future publicly traded aftermarket and ride performance company that will launch in the second half of this year, following Tenneco Inc.’s separation into two independent companies, Tenneco has announced.
One of Federated Auto Parts’ most popular Facebook promotions, Free Fuel Fridays, is back. Every Friday through April 5, Federated will announce four winners of free gift cards on each of its Federated Auto Parts and Federated Car Care Facebook pages.
Nucap Industries has launched a line of Galvanized NRS brake pads “which are galvanized and not painted and work seamlessly with all friction composites,” according to Montu Khokhar, CEO.
Icahn Automotive Group LLC, which owns and operates Pep Boys, AAMCO Total Auto Care and Precision Tune Auto Care, has completed its acquisition of RPM Automotive headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla.
More than 50 Young Auto Care Network Group (YANG) members overcame difficult wintry driving conditions to gather for a regional meeting hosted by the Auto-Wares Group of Companies on Feb. 7, 2019, in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Airtex-ASC has added electric water pump coverage for 40 million vehicles in operation (VIO).
East Penn Manufacturing Co. has promoted Peter Stanislawczyk to senior vice president of automotive sales.
Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance Inc. (AAPA) awarded Akebono Brake Corp. its 2018 Supplier Award for Outstanding Shipping Performance.
The new 7260 digital inflator from Dill Air Control Products LLC features a 2-foot kink-resistance, stainless steel hose and a large back-lit display.
This bulletin applies to new parts information for a new active valve control system (AVCS) on 2012 Subaru Forester models and all Subaru models equipped with FA or FB engines.
Sign up for a FREE subscription to Auto Service Professional magazineSubscribe


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Play Station design a reality
A one-off virtual-turned-reality supercar is set to rev up Kiwi car fans later this year.
Tweet reveals hit and run
Young woman is the latest to join list of dumb tweets after claiming to knock cyclist over while driving.
Not for the faint-hearted
If you don't laugh you could go nuts trying to fathom the mad driving habits of motorists in India.
SUV oozes aggression
Mercedes-Benz's high-performance seven-seater SUV oozes aggression, but don't take it off-road.
Truck dangles from highway
A crashed truck hangs off a section of Melbourne highway as its driver is rushed to hospital.
Revealed: HSV GTS
Australia's most powerful production car on sale in September.
HSV Gen-F range uncovered
HSV reveals range of performance cars including the turbocharged V8 GTS.
Lamborghini celebrates 50 years
A celebration of 50 years of Lamborghini, including the unveiling of the marque's latest creation, the single-seat Egoista.
The GTbyCitroen that is coming to New Zealand for the 2013 CRC Speedshow.
2013 Ford EcoSport
Launch of new 2013 Ford EcoSport in Goa.
Mercedes-Benz GL63 AMG
Aston Martin concept
New CC100 Speedster concept a nod to past and future for troubled British brand.
Helio Castroneves believes plenty of today's fans have never seen a driver win the Indy 500 for a record-tying 4th time.
It's all in the badging. So here's the story behind a BMW with a long-winded name - X1 sDrive 20d.
It looks like an SUV but in reality it's one of the world's tallest hot-hatches.
A BMW M5 sedan has been used to shatter the Guinness World Record for longest sustained drift.
Dubai Police adds a Bugatti Veyron to its fleet.
BMW's tourer twin is more nimble but still there for the long haul.
Volkswagen previews new twin-turbo V6 in wide-body, one-off Golf GTI concept.
Whatever the reason, Kiwis appear to view the car as more important than the pedestrian.
A Toyota sports car has sold for more than $1 million to a collector in the United States.
The Chevrolet Corvette is an iconic American muscle car but just how much do you think you know about them?
Who do you think are the most aggressive drivers on the road?Related story: SUV drivers most aggressive
Gear up for that big holiday drive
Tips on how to do a safe river crossing
On the road and prepared for the cold snap


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Bethesda has announced that Fallout 76 will exclusive to Bethesda's own Bethesda.net launcher.
"The PC version of Fallout 76, for both the B.E.T.A. and the launch, will be available only via Bethesda.net, not on Steam," via PC Gamer
Publishers are increasingly seeing the value in having their own launchers and not giving up 30 % to Steam, as we’ve seen with games like Call of Duty Black Ops IIII and all EA titles. The real question is, will this hurt Bethesda ? I know a few people who will only PC games if they are on Steam, even though you can launch other games from Steam. Thoughts ?


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The pound recorded its first positive month of the year in May but was largely rangebound against the dollar during the first half of last week, before tumbling below 1.25 amid a worsening growth outlook.
The UK currency was unable to throw a counter punch against a strengthening dollar with the UK market shuttered for the Spring bank holiday and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
The dollar’s move high was given added impetus on Friday by the publication of a better-than-expected US jobs report, which signalled a tight labour market that could reinforce the Federal Reserve’s aggressive path of policy tightening.
Nonfarm payrolls rose by 390,000 jobs in May, the Labour Department reported in its closely watched employment release. Economists had forecast payrolls increasing by 325,000 jobs last month.
PMIs in focus for the pound
The UK economic calendar eases back to life on Tuesday with the release of the British Retail Consortium (BRC) like-for-like retail sales, which are forecast to plunge even lower amid the spiralling cost of living.
On Tuesday, the final UK services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) print for May is published, which is forecast to remain at 51.8 having dropped drastically the previous month – pointing to a deteriorating economic outlook.
A data light week in the UK calendar means less influential prints will be in focus: Halifax house prices, S&P Global construction PMI for May, RICS Housing Price Balance for May – all on Wednesday – and consumer inflation expectations on Friday.
Inflation data in focus for the dollar
All roads for the dollar lead to US inflation data on Friday, which will influence Federal Reserve rate-setters appetite for aggressive hikes.
US inflation is expected to continue demonstrating signs that it may have peaked, having moderated for the first time in eight months in April to an annual pace of 8.3% – 0.2% lower than the previous month. Despite edging lower, inflation exceeded economists’ expectations and remained at a 40-year high.
The consensus is for the consumer price index to have risen 0.7% last month.
Another three notable data sets from the US economy will attract investor attention this week: goods and services trade balance for April on Tuesday, initial jobless claims for the week ended 3 June on Thursday, and the Michigan consumer sentiment index for June on Friday.
Applications for US unemployment insurance are expected to have risen last week, edging away from historically low levels amid a tight labour market. Initial jobless claims decreased by 11,000 to 200,000 the previous week.
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Amazon is set to take to the skies and launch its long-awaited drone-delivery service later this year this year.
Jeff Bezos’ online giant will be joining other companies including Walmart and Alphabet in carrying items by unmanned aircraft.
The e-commerce giant announced Monday, June 13, that its drone-delivery service would begin in Lockeford, California, which is located in San Joaquin County approximately 100 miles northeast of San Francisco.
Amazon says its engineers have built a sense and detecting system for the drones to avoid airborne collisions and crashes on the ground.
Amazon said: “If obstacles are identified, our drone will automatically change course to safely avoid them.”
“As our drone descends to deliver the package into a customer’s backyard, the drone ensures that there’s a small area around the delivery location that’s clear of any people, animals, or other obstacles.”
Lockeford is a rural town with a population of roughly 11,700 people.
Rural locations provide difficulties for retailers such as Amazon since it is costly and inefficient to distribute items to widely dispersed places.
Drone delivery might help companies make more effective deliveries to remote areas, and the wide-open spaces make it an appealing spot for testing the drones.
However, the company didn’t specify exactly when deliveries would begin.
The announcement of Amazon’s first drone delivery in the US comes as other firms increase their drone-delivery capabilities.
Last month, Walmart expanded the footprint of its drone-delivery service to Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.
Wing, a subsidiary of Alphabet, said in April that it will launch a drone delivery service in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Amazon initially stated its plans to employ drones for delivery over a decade ago.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos stated in 2013 that the firm may launch the program in the US in four or five years.
The Federal Aviation Administration 2020 granted Amazon permission to establish a fleet of drones to conduct limited tests of package delivery to customers in the United States.
Source: The Wall Street Journal


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Target's former CFO was promoted to a newly created leadership role—exec-VP and COO. John Mulligan (right) will assume the COO role on Sept. 1, and Cathy Smith was hired to replace Mulligan as exec-VP and CFO.
In the COO position, Mulligan will be responsible for store oversight, supply chain and properties. The creation of a COO role comes two months after Target's former chief merchandising and supply chain officer—and 30-year Target veteran—Kathee Tesija, stepped down and moved into an advisory role.
Mulligan has worked for Target since 1996, when he joined as a financial analyst. Mulligan was CFO for three years and served as interim president and CEO from May to August last year.
COO joins a growing list of leadership titles Mulligan has had at Target. Other positions include director of Target.com Finance, director of capital investments, VP of bay and benefits, VP of financial planning and analysis, and senior VP of treasury and accounting.
Replacing Mulligan as CFO, Smith is an outside hire who joins Target after being exec-VP and CFO at Express Scripts. She was also CFO at Walmart International and GameStop.
Smith will oversee treasury and tax; internal and external financial reporting and operations; financial planning and analysis; internal audit; investor relations; and Target's financial and retail services business.
"John has unparalleled expertise in Target's business and I am very pleased that he will be assuming this new leadership position," said Target Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell. "Bringing together key operations functions under John will put Target on a more progressive path to transformation and help us break down barriers to deliver improvements across our business.
"As our new CFO, Cathy brings significant business and retail expertise to Target. Her background will be integral to accelerating our long-term growth strategy."
Both Mulligan and Smith will report to Cornell. Press Release


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Currently, the COVID-19 pandemic is threatening the lives of countless people around the globe. Although countries like China, where the virus hit early on, are starting to recover, Europe and the United States are in the worst stages.
Obviously, concern for human life is paramount. However, the economic impact of the coronavirus cannot be ignored or understated. Every industry is feeling the effects of the virus, which has slowly brought the world to a halt over the past two months.
So, what does recovery look like? For the semiconductor industry, rebounding from the impact of COVID-19 won’t happen overnight. However, with some creative supply chain management and production optimization, a full recovery is possible.
Though it still doesn’t feel real at times, the scope of the coronavirus pandemic is massive. As of this writing, more than 367,000 cases have been confirmed across 168 countries. However, experts believe that countless more cases are still unconfirmed due to a lack of testing kits.
In response, governments have taken unprecedented steps to try and stop the spread of the virus. From China to Europe to the U.S., “stay at home” orders have sent employees home and slowed production to a standstill.
The resulting economic impact isn’t here yet. However, it is a problem that the world will need to address. For businesses, tackling the COVID-19 problem is twofold—keeping employees safe and maintaining operations.
While the first takes precedence, the global economy relies on businesses continuing their operations. For the semiconductor industry, maintaining a relatively normal output is even more important. As society adapts to a world that looks very different (and more remote), technology has become more important than ever.
Semiconductors are at the heart of it all. When the COVID-19 pandemic settles down, consumers will go back to buying devices. Companies will realize that their digital infrastructure is woefully inadequate. The pandemic will almost certainly drive the world to a more digital state—even once it is in the history books.
A massive supply of components will be needed in the coming years to fulfill that demand. As such, the semiconductor industry needs to start its recovery as soon as possible.
Transparent Supply Chain
Most businesses, whether in the semiconductor industry or not, have a rather large inventory. The following graph from McKinsey & Company shows the general stockpiles held by companies across several different sectors.
Unsurprisingly, the pharmaceutical industry has the largest inventory. That’s incredibly important as any disruption to the supply of medicine would be a catastrophic health crisis. However, it’s worth noting that the semiconductor industry follows in second place.
According to this estimate, the industry has enough supply to last until some time between mid-May and mid-September without feeling the effects of the COVID-19 slowdown. That’s good news as it gives companies precious time to get their logistics in order. However, it likely won’t be enough.
Experts believe that the peak of the virus in the United States may not even arrive until May. We could feel its effects deep into the summer. So, while the world hopes for a positive outcome, it’s best to prepare for a scenario that seems more pessimistic.
For the semiconductor industry, supply chain management will be a hot topic moving forward. The first step to recovering from the coronavirus is to lessen its effects. By taking an accurate, realistic count of existing inventory, companies can buy time to determine their next moves.
This includes things like identifying alternative suppliers who have been impacted less by the outbreak. For the companies that are operating with relative normalcy, finding buyers in need will be an important process during the coming weeks.
Ultimately, the most important supply chain intervention is to ensure that the needed supplies to keep the production lines moving are available. Regardless of how they must be acquired, obtaining the parts needed to maintain output is essential.
The next phase of recovery is identifying demand. It’s easy to get stuck in a pattern of production when things are going well and companies are buying normally. However, the next few years will likely be abnormal as the global economy works to catch up.
This means that chipmakers need to carefully consider demand. What worked last month might not be applicable after the virus retreats.
Developing a demand forecast strategy will be crucial. The consumer devices market may be skewed as people focus their priorities on other expenses. However, the enterprise tech sector should experience a boom in the coming years as companies address the shortcomings exposed by the new work from home mindset.
Something that goes hand in hand with managing the supply chain is optimizing production. While that is always important, it will become even more so in the days to come. As semiconductor manufacturers learn to deal with the complicated issues facing the world in the wake of COVID-19, those with optimized production lines and product output will find success.
In the short term, companies will need to make quick decisions to keep their production line moving while shorthanded. However, many of those changes won’t be sustainable in the long run.
After analyzing demand projections, chipmakers will need to adjust their practices accordingly. Whether this means cutting back on output of certain products to focus on the most in-demand ones or simply adjusting timeframes, production optimization will be more important than ever in the coming years.
Finally, the semiconductor industry will need to look at the larger picture. In all likelihood, the COVID-19 pandemic will expose some painful holes in the overall supply chain. Once recovery is able to occur and operations become stable, chipmakers will need to focus on rebuilding a resilient supply chain.
With savvy business strategy and some creativity, a full recovery is certainly possible. However, it will take patience, time, and cooperation from chipmakers across the semiconductor industry.
For more on how to maintain your supply chain, click here.


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Google Tries to Get Smarter, More Useful
Search engines are pretty good at finding Web pages closely related to exact terms users type in. They’ve had less success finding results that are conceptually related to what a user is looking for. For instance, a search for “abstract expressionism” may have missed certain results for the related artistic movement “surrealism.”
Google (GOOG) took a step toward cracking that nut Tuesday, releasing an upgrade to its technology that better understands associations and concepts related to search. The feature is based on technology called Orion that was developed by Ori Allon while he was a Ph.D. student in Australia. Google acquired it in 2006.
Mr. Allon, who now works at Google, said in an interview that the technology–-which seeks to understand the context around a query–is a key part of Google’s effort to provide more useful and trustworthy results beyond matching keywords with Web pages. Eventually, Google wants to be able to provide trustworthy answers to questions like “What is good pain medication after eye surgery,” he said.
It’s starting slow, by using it to suggest conceptually related searches at the bottom of the search result page, where it already highlights related searches the user might to try. So a search for “principles of physics” will recommend “physics angular momentum” as well.


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Modi had called for a meeting with 11 textiles industry delegates from across the country on December 26 at his residence to get to know the plight of the industry.
The National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) Limited, a Government of India enterprise, would soon launch an online aggregator service to cater to small industries in areas such as raw materials and logistics.
The restaurant claimed that its Bengaluru launch was after its 'resounding success' in Chennai & Coimbatore.
One kg of the iD Daileez variety costs Rs 49, as opposed to the regular variant that costs Rs 70. The brand also has an organic variant for Rs 80.
The number of announced deals also grew 17.2% year-on-year (y-o-y) and witnessed the busiest annual period since records began in 1980.
Industry officials said that Bangladesh imports Chinese fabric, converts them into garments using its cheap labour and exports them to India without paying any duties. Since import of ‘Made in China’ fabrics is meant for exports, Bangladesh doesn’t impose any import duties either. Some specified garment items imported into India from Bangladesh are exempted under the SAFTA South Asian Free Trade Area.
Amazon has tied-up with about 1000 kirana stories in TN to ensure that it is able to deliver products within the ‘free one-day/two-day delivery’ timeframe promised by Prime.
Intex Technologies is aiming at increasing the share of its consumer durables business to 50% by the end of 2018-19 and would open a new plant to manufacture refrigerators as well as washing machines.
In a statement, ITF secratary, Prabhu Dhamodharan said that for the past one week, all associations from here were requesting and representing for this reduction.
Amazon Development Centre India, which launched its customer service facility in the city on Monday, is planning to take up another 50,000 sq. ft. at the same location in the next 7-8 months.
The new customer service sites will support Amazon with pre- and post-order customer service through various mediums like e-mail, chat and phone.
BigBasket, India's largest online supermarket, has successfully catered to 25,000 customers in Coimbatore in a short span of 1 year. It has about 4 million customers nationally and currently receives approximately 50,000 orders each day.
Amazon India on Wednesday opened fulfilment centres (FC) in Chennai and Coimbatore.
While the home category grew by 200 per cent, kitchen grew at 135 per cent during the review period.
In a letter, TEA President A Shaktivel highlighted an array of issues like the need for an ESI hospital for Knitwear workers, hostel for women workers etc.
In weaving machines of this day, compressed air ejected from fine nozzles moves weaved threads from one end of the machine to another, a process that was done manually earlier.
Textile exports are likely to cross $40 billion in 2015-16 year, union minister of state for textiles, Santosh Kumar Gangwar said.
One of the catalysts for them is the educational institutions in the region that have helped establish a sound technical ecosystem.
Food safety officers have begun collecting samples from KFC outlets and Pepsico's Kurkure following a high court directive ordering the food safety authority to check for the presence of bacteria in their foods.
Warner Bros Consumer Products is now looking at growth through avenues like licensing with real estate developers and live shows in the country.


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The Fat Duck opens its doors in Melbourne today and the restaurant’s temporary relocation is set to net Heston Blumenthal over $10 million, showing for the elite few, hospitality can still be a lucrative business.
The restaurant will only be open for a six-month period while The Fat Duck restaurant in the United Kingdom is renovated.
Diners applied by ballot for a seat at the table with Crown Melbourne confirming the ballot sold out with 14,000 diners paying $525 (excluding drinks) for the 13 course meal.
That’s a significant price bump on the £220 ($424) a head Blumenthal charges for the Fat Duck in the United Kingdom. However, it claims the increased cost is a result of relocating staff and kitchen equipment.
At $525 a head The Fat Duck Melbourne is set to turn over $7.3 million for the food bill alone.
The typical spend at a restaurant is 75% food and 25% on drinks, according to the Restaurant & Catering Association.
This suggests diners at The Fat Duck should factor in $131 a head in spending on drinks, adding an additional $1.8 million to Blumenthal’s turnover.
This is a conservative estimate given the high pricing of the Fat Duck’s wine list and the likely celebratory attitude of those dining there, but it brings the total restaurant turnover to $9.2 million.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures indicate on average a restaurant makes 3.6% of its turnover in profit.
But Ken Burgin, of Profitable Hospitality, told SmartCompany for successful restaurants the profit margin is far higher.
“Unfortunately being such a cash industry those figures are unrepresentative, a good successful café or restaurant that is sustainable year in and year out has to be doing 15% to 20% profit, not the 3.4% that is declared to the ABS,” he says.
“We are an industry that doesn’t have believable benchmarks”.
On the basis of a 15% profit margin, Blumenthal will take a $1.3 million profit back to the UK with him at the end of the six months.
That figure fails to take into account the multi-million dollar payment industry insiders say Crown is likely to have paid to Blumenthal.
Crown and Blumenthal have remained tight lipped on the terms of this deal, which was sealed by Blumenthal and James Packer on Packer’s yacht in 2013.
Burgin says it is likely Blumenthal’s fee is part of Crown’s marketing budget and could include sweeteners like discounted or free rent or free fit out.
“The redecoration and chairs is chickenfeed for a large operation like that,” he says.
“Crown will have done well out of it as well. They are really the smartest big food and beverage operator in Australia.”
John Hart, chief executive of the Restaurant & Catering Association, told SmartCompany whatever Crown has paid Blumenthal, “it’s a very good deal”.
“He has obviously attracted a lot of people to Crown and reestablished them as the centerpiece of the culinary scene in Melbourne,” Hart says.
Hart says The Fat Duck’s success doesn’t indicate a broader improvement in economic conditions for the hospitality industry.
“The times aren’t getting better but you can probably make a buck if you charge $525 a head,” he says.
“But that’s not sustainable on an ongoing basis. It’s been done very cleverly as it’s available for a short period of time at a very high price, which builds the aspirational nature of the event, and I do think it is seen as an event.”
SmartCompany contacted Blumenthal and Crown for comment but did not receive a response prior to publication.


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MIPTV: Marriott Content Boss Talks Launching a Studio, Growth Plans
The hotel chain has already premiered its first short film and has several series in the works, with David Beebe citing Lego as a role model.
Hotel giant Marriott has checked into Hollywood with its Global Content Studio, producing films and shows with the aim of becoming the biggest travel brand in the world.
Following its launchlast year with a slew of YouTube and Snapchat stars on its roster, it has already produced its first short film, Two Bellmen. It has also created music and travel show Navigator, which airs on Mark Cuban’s AXS cable channel in the U.S, and hidden-camera Web series Courtyard Connect in partnership with the NFL. It has several other projects in production.
Later this year, it will release a second short film from Ghost Whisperer and Profiler producers Ian Sander and Kim Moses, and Marriott is also in talks with a U.S. network to develop a food and beverage show.
Marriott is being feted in Cannes as the MIPTV Brand of the Year. Since it has its own deep pockets to draw from, productions can get started easily, Global Content Studio vp David Beebe told The Hollywood Reporter.
“We have a lot of series in development," he said. "What I mean is coming up with the ideas that we are going to do, unlike traditional development where we have to go find money, but we just go straight to production. What is it, lock on it, what’s the budget and go. Because we’re typically bringing financing to the table, and so it’s a much quicker process.”
The brand also launched an online travel magazine, Gone, with Medium.com, as well as sponsored celebrity tome The Art of Discovery with Shailene Woodley, Naomi Watts, Jared Leto and Kristen Stewart among the 50 luminaries who posed and penned essays for the book.
“It’s brand as storyteller, brand as publisher, brand as media company," Beebe said about his team's role. "Our way in as a media company is that we want to own travel, that entire travel journey – oh, and by the way, we sell hotel rooms.”
The company is aiming for global domination. “We intend to be the world’s largest publisher of travel content,” says Beebe, counting the 38 million unique visitors that visit the hotel homepage, which will soon include a magazine-style destination section, and the 48 million rewards members that will be targeted with exclusive content.
“The idea of the studio, it wasn’t necessarily to be producing entertainment; it’s about connecting with consumers. Why are we spending $3 million on a TV spot that nobody watches? It’s a lot cheaper to produce three short films for that same number and have two-way engagement and have a social conversation. Being a producer is a by-product.”
Art-heist-meets-parkour short Two Bellmen premiered in downtown L.A. and on YouTube March 10 and had an Academy Awards-qualifying run in theaters.
The film is intended as the first of a trilogy, and Beebe has long-term ambitions for the property. “It’s a franchise property, meaning it’s very Ocean’s 11, 12, 13,” with sequels already planned for Dubai and Asia and potentially a feature film. “It’s the same approach that Lego did with the Lego Movie. They started doing Web series and eventually launched their movie, which has been very successful for growing brand affinity and loyalty to their products."
The deals with YouTube stars including Louis Cole, Sonia Gil and Jack Harries – who has 4.5 million subscribers to his channel – are what Beebe compares to the Old Hollywood studio system, where ideas are developed around and with the talent while they are signed to the brand.
Snapchat is the biggest social medium for the brand. “I’ve never seen higher engagement than Snapchat," Beebe says. "We’re seeing like 40 million impressions in a weekend. It’s ridiculous the amount of engagement we have seen.”
The company is also looking at developing additional short film series for its Renaissance and Ritz Carlton properties, as well as looking for local producing partners in several of the 78 global markets where it has hotels.
“For me it’s no different than what I did working in the entertainment business,” says Beebe, who previously served as vp of Disney/ABC’s digital studio.
Beebe also hopes to develop a TV series around a hotel, in the spirit of Love Boat or popular procedural hospital dramas. “It’s just like Grey’s Anatomy, without the surgery. There’s a natural drama that takes place in a hotel,” he says. “I think a resort hotel would be a great place to do a show, whether it’s scripted, a comedy, reality, or on a set modeled after one of our hotels, I don’t know, but the idea of a show in that environment is interesting to us.”
Marriott is also working closely with L.A. agencies to build shows around talent. Food and beverage is a current focus for development, with shows about art, fashion and all things lifestyle on the horizon, while keeping travel at the core.
Says Beebe: “There’s no shortage of work, ideas, or shortage of content to develop. It’s endless.”


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Spotify plans to expand presence in the global streaming market. During a meeting with representatives of the world media on February 22, company representatives announced that they would launch music services in 85 countries. We are talking about countries in which the service did not previously officially work. First of all, it is the Asia-Pacific region and the Caribbean region, as well as many African States.
The Swedish music streaming service will be available in 36 more languages. At the same time, more than a billion users will be able to use streaming service in the opened markets. In general, after the expansion, the streaming company will be able to operate in 178 countries.
The music streaming service was able to operate almost all over the world thanks to globalization. Representatives of the music industry are becoming popular not in individual regions, but on a global scale.
Spotify is considered the leader in the world of streaming. The service controls 32% of the market. Apple Music’s closest competitor is only 19%, while Amazon Music is 15%. By the end of 2020, Spotify had more than 300 million active users and more than 150 million paid subscribers.
However, the growth potential of subscribers in the main countries where the company operates is declining. Therefore, the service needs to expand to new markets.
Spotify increases the number of authors of music and podcasts.


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When Motorola teased an image of their upcoming smartwatch back in March of this year, they said it best with their teaser: “It’s Time.” And time it is indeed. Time for us to stop pulling out our phones in the middle of a conversation to check a message. Time for wearables to finally reach a critical tipping point. Time for a smartwatch to actually look like a watch.
The Moto 360 does all of that, and while it’s the first version of a product that will no doubt be around for years, the essential functions of the device have had a major impact on the way I work.


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YouTube Changing the World in 2010 and the next 10 years.
In a decade that saw social media move from the fringes to the mainstream, YouTube is the innovation that touched the most lives, became a driving force for change around the world, and ultimately ends the decade with an opportunity to be as disruptive in the next 10 years as it was in the past four.
YouTube’s biggest threat right now is in fact the old media companies, who are putting content online under their own brands. YouTube’s “professional” content selection remains relatively weak, but that’s likely to change, and as soon as 2010. The company is rumored to be working on both subscription and a la carteoptions for premium content, and given the vast lead the site has in audience, it’s hard to imagine the media companies not making deals. The music industry already has with Vevo, a re-imagining of YouTube designed for music videos and big brand advertisers.
Beyond that, here’s where else YouTube is likely going in the decade ahead:
To the big screen: There’s a good chance that the next TV you buy will include internet connectivity. And YouTube is prepared for it — earlier this year the company released YouTube XL, a version of the service optimized for the big screen. Coupled with the move towards hosting premium content that you’re used to getting through your cable provider, by the end of the next decade, turning on the TV might simply mean turning on YouTube.
To the small screen: Many smartphones already make it exceptionally easy to view YouTube clips. As smartphones become more widely available and mobile broadband speeds increase around the world, the audience for YouTube will continue to expand — many times over in markets where mobile is more important than the desktop.
Live video: Considered a hobby for early adopters in 2008, live video turned into a new medium for celebrities in 2009, becoming one of the year’s hottest trends. Propelled by integration with social media sites, services like Ustream and Justin.tv have been able to attract hundreds of thousands (and occasionally millions) of viewers to live broadcasts. Don’t expect YouTube to take this lying down. The company has already started experimenting with live video on its own, demonstrating its massive scale with a U2 concert broadcast that garnered 10 million viewers.
To read more, visit Mashable take on YouTube in 2009. In the mean time, here is our You Tube #1 for 2009.
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‘Back to the Future’ Power Laces Due In 2015
CNET – “Back to the Future” fans and sneaker fans pretty much freaked out in 2011 when Nike issued a limited number of Air Mag shoes designed after those from “Back to the Future, Part II.”
In the movie, Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly time travels all the way to 2015, rides a Hoverboard, and throws on some kicks with “power laces” that tighten automatically.
The power laces were conspicuously absent from the 2011 Air Mags, but we might not have to wait much longer for them to become a reality.
Tinker Hatfield, a Nike designer famous for his Air Jordan contributions, was asked about power laces at a recent event in New Orleans. His answer, according to Sole Collector, was that we should see them next year.
The timing certainly makes sense, matching up with the movie’s setting. There’s no word yet on whether or not the power laces would come on a new edition of the Mag shoes or a different model of shoe entirely.
To read the rest of this story, visit CNET by clicking here.


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Government looks to brands to fund £250m health scheme
Brands will be called upon to help fund a £250m government scheme called The Great Swapathon, in a bid to encourage the nation to adopt healthier lifestyles.
Change4Life: government health campaign
The plan, unveiled as part of the Public Health White Paper, will see five million Change4Life-branded vouchers distributed through supermarkets, doctors' surgeries and newspapers, which can be exchanged for reduced-rate gym and swimming sessions, and healthy food and drink.
To redeem the vouchers, consumers will be directed to a website that will inform them of their nearest participating venue and allow access to e-tickets.
Rolling out in January, it is planned that the programme will be funded by donations from relevant brands. Brands have yet to agree to assist in the funding of the campaign, but it is understood work is underway to secure support.
It is a key part of the government's plan to "nudge" people into more active and healthier lifestyles.
Early next year, the government will formally launch the Public Health Responsibility Deal with five strands centring on food, alcohol, physical activity, health at work and behaviour change.
At the same time, it will announce agreements on further reformulation of food, better information about food and the promotion of socially responsible retailing and consumption of alcohol.
This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk
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As step towards a cashless society, the Reserve Bank of India released a vision document to ensure safe, secure, accessible, quick, and affordable e-payment systems as it expects the number of digital transactions to increase more than four times to 8,707 crores by December 2021.
RBI said that the ‘Vision 2021’ for payment and settlement systems in India will enhance the strong foundation it has built over the last two decades. The approach outlined in the Vision will be implemented from 2019 to 2021.
The endeavour will also serve segments of the population that do not use e-payment systems. The decade to follow will witness a revolutionary shift in the way Indian citizens use digital payment options.
The plan consists of a two-pronged approach of exceptional customer experience and enabling an ecosystem that will result in this customer experience. The document said it aims to empower payment system operators and service providers; enable the ecosystem and infrastructure; put in place modern regulations; and be supported by risk-focussed supervision.
RBI said it recognised that cash entails a significant cost to the whole economic system, including consumers. Migration to digital modes of making a payment can obviate some of these costs and can give customers a more enjoyable experience.
Providing users with multiple options is expected to make this experience exceptional, apart from furthering growth measurable in terms of digital payments turnover to GDP.
The payment systems landscape will continue to change with further innovation and the entry of more players is expected to ensure optimal costs to the customers and freer access to multiple payment system options.
Some of the expected outcomes of the vision include:
- A decrease in the share of paper-based clearing as a percentage of retail payments, particularly in terms of the number of paper instruments processed. The volume of cheque-based payments will likely be less than 2% of the retail electronic transactions by 2021.
- Payment systems like the Unified Payment Interface are likely to register average annualised growth of over 100% and NEFT at 40% over the vision period.
- An increase in the use of digital modes of payment for the purchase of goods and services through an increase in debit card transactions at PoS (35% increase during the vision period) and continued growth in PPI transactions.
- The usage of debit cards at PoS transactions is expected to be at least 44% of total debit card transactions. In value terms, it is 15% in 2018-19 (5% in 2014-15) and is expected to be 22% by 2021.
- An increase in the deployment of card acceptance infrastructure across the country, including at smaller centres with a substantial portion of the infrastructure taking care of processing contactless card payments. The total card acceptance infrastructure will be upscaled to six times present levels by the end of 2021.
- Enhanced usage of electronic payment systems is expected to reduce the marginal cost given the additional volume. The pricing of these services to customers should, over the vision period, reduce by at least 100 Bps from current levels.
- The Fraud to Sales (FTS) count for payment systems is expected to be less than 10 Bps for most of the payment systems.
- Enhanced healthy competition in the payments space and the establishment of new PSOs from 2019 to 2021.


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Red Cross prepares to kick off annual sports memorabilia fundraising auction
By Staff Reports
Published in News on March 10, 2010 1:46 PM
On Thursday, April 8, at 5:30 p.m., the American Red Cross will open the doors to its annual Sports Memorabilia Auction and Dinner at Walnut Creek Country Club. This will be the seventh year the Wayne County Chapter has hosted this highly anticipated event, and, said executive Director Chuck Waller, "Ticket sales have just begun and the response has been fantastic. This event sells out every year and people are already calling in ticket orders."
The auction was the brainchild of George Whitfield and Wes Waller. For the seventh consecutive year, memorabilia items from all areas of sports and from all over the country will be gathered to be auctioned off with the proceeds benefiting the services of the local American Red Cross Chapter.
"As usual, George and Wes have done an amazing job of gathering items from multiple sports venues from all over the country," Chuck Waller said. "They actually begin collecting items for the next year's auction once the current year's auction ends. The quality and quantity of items continues to grow."
This year's auction will include many notable memorabilia items from sports greats such as: Peyton Manning (Super Bowl 41 winner), Tyler Hansbrough (ACC all-time leading scorer, 2009 national champion), Pat Summitt (more than 1,000 career victories), N.C. State coaching legend Kay Yow, former Duke great J.J. Redick and Major League Baseball all-star Josh Hamilton.
There also is memorabilia from New York Yankee greats Yogi Berra, Bobby Richardson, Reggie Jackson and Don Larsen, as well as memorabilia from other baseball greats, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim "Catfish" Hunter, Bob Gibson, Warren Spahn and Brooks Robinson. Basketball legends Mike Krzyzewski, Dean Smith and Roy Williams have also contributed always popular ACC items to be auctioned.
And this is just a small sampling of the sports items available for this year.
Waller encourages those interested in a more complete list of items or to purchase event tickets to contact the chapter at 735-7201.
But, said Red Cross Director of Development Samia Garner, "There will be plenty of items to interest the ladies and non-sports enthusiasts as well. This is an area of the auction that has grown significantly over the past couple of years. Some of the offerings this year include an oriental rug, original artwork, antiques, hand painted furniture, jewelry and all types of gift baskets."
"This is a terrific opportunity to have a fun evening and do something to support your community at the same time. It just doesn't get much better than that," Ms. Garner said.
Each year the Wayne, Wilson, Greene American Red Cross collects approximately 12,000 units of blood, trains approximately 7,000 citizens in CPR and first, responds to 125 house fires and delivers 300 emergency communications on behalf of our armed forces heroes. The American Red Cross is not funded by the federal government.


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US chief executives' view of the economy dimmed in the second quarter of 2012, with fewer expecting to grow sales or add workers than three months earlier, according to a survey by the Business Roundtable released on Wednesday.
The group's CEO Economic Outlook Index fell to 89.1 in the second quarter, down from 96.9 in the first quarter but still well over the 50 mark that separates growth from decline.
Seventy-five percent of CEOs said they expected their companies' sales to grow over the next six months, down from the 81 percent who expected that in the March edition of the survey. Thirty-six percent plan to add jobs in the United States over the next six months, down from 42 percent last time, and 43 percent expect to boost capital spending, down from 48 percent.
The survey comes at the end of a quarter that saw Europe's economic woes intensify, leading some analysts to forecast slower sales growth for corporate America this year. Investors will get a more detailed view next month when top US companies including Alcoa Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and General Electric Co report results.
The survey of 164 CEOs was conducted from May 17 through June 8. Business Roundtable member companies generate $6 trillion in annual revenue and employ more than 14 million people. - Reuters


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Collaboration hopes to encourage innovation and enable rapid deployment of IoT applications using LPWAN (low power, wide-area networks).
Senet, a North American provider of public, low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs) for the IoT, and myDevices, which creates IoT middleware, have announced they are teaming up in a new IoT partnership to promote rapid deployment of LPWANs.
Under the partnership, the Cayenne IoT platform from myDevices will be integrated with Senet’s networks to simplify the creation of IoT projects using the LoRa ecosystem, which is an LPWAN specification.
“This partnership will facilitate our mission of enabling seamless deployment of IoT business applications using LoRa LPWAN technology,” said Will Yapp, vice president of business development a Senet, in the July 26 announcement. “Cayenne software provides our mutual enterprise customers with the necessary tools to create and rapidly prototype LoRa IoT solutions.”
MyDevices launched Cayenne in 2016 and it was named the Best IoT Edge Gateway Solution at the IoT Evolution Expo. Cayenne features drag-and-drop widgets, a mobile app that allows users to view real-time and historical data, automatic device and sensor discovery, real-time alerts, triggers that allow one sensor to invoke an action on another device, and the ability to set specific times and/or days that equipment should be turned on or off, the company stated.
Senet has deployed their networks in 100 U.S. cities and says they plan to launch in 100 more by the end of 2017. They’ve deployed both Macro and Microcell technology at scale. LPWANs are designed to provide quick and seamless connections and interoperability between smart devices right to the edge.
According to Senet, in the next decade there will be an estimated 50 billion IoT devices connecting to networks, which is more than PCs, tablets and smartphones in the next decade.


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In August, the Trans Pacific Partnership negotiators came to a standstill, as negotiators struggled to find an appropriate agreement that benefited all parties. With the goal of re-shoring manufacturing jobs, the National Association of Manufacturers pushed for terms that would bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States. In late summer, it appeared that would not be possible.
All of that has changed with an October announcement that an agreement has been reached. The United States, Japan and 10 Pacific Rim nations have come to an agreement which will be the largest trade pact seen in recent times. This comes after many experts speculated that there would be no agreement in 2015 after talks had stagnated in the summer.
This is an agreement that shippers and domestic manufacturers have desired for a long time, because it provides hope for US-based manufacturers to see growth and increased global connections and competitiveness. By reaching an agreement, shippers will now have a new Pacific economic market in which fewer trade barriers allow for better trade of textiles, food and technology products. Increased trade
Logistics managers are also excited about the potential for this agreement. The partnership brings common standards to the labor and environment of these different economies. This allows sustainable investment into the Pacific Rim economies for logistics managers who struggle with inconsistencies.
Now that the Trans-Pacific Partnership has reached an agreement, the next step in the process is for the U.S. government to accept the deal. President Obama will need to convince the U.S. Congress to vote in favor of the agreement before it will be set in stone.


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|Level||54.5||54.0 to 56.0||54.1||55.7|
Markit's sample has been reporting some of the strongest activity of any manufacturing sample, making its otherwise respectable showing at 54.1 in April, down from 55.7 in March, yet another indication of weakness in the sector. Weakness, as in other samples, is centered in exports where orders, for the first time since November, are in outright contraction, the result of the strong dollar's depressing impact on foreign demand.
Production is the softest it's been all year, and that of course includes the winter months which, in most data, were hit hard by heavy weather. Deliveries continue to be delayed, the result not of strong demand but, interestingly, of continued issues tied to the long resolved port slowdown on the West Coast.
Price data, as they are in other reports, are very weak with inputs in contraction for a 4th month. The strong dollar may also be a factor here, pulling down the costs of imports.
Despite all the weakness, employment, as it has in other reports, continues to expand and at what this report describes a "robust" pace. But strength here will prove fleeting if orders don't pick up.
The economy is supposed to be getting a boost right now following the one-time troubles, as cited by Wednesday's FOMC statement, in the first quarter, but there's no evidence of it here. Watch for the ISM manufacturing report to be posted later this morning at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Market Consensus Before Announcement
The Markit PMI manufacturing flash index for April was not encouraging including a 54.2 reading where details are weak. And it's been weakness in export demand, the result of soft foreign economies and strength in the dollar that has been hurting the sector. New export orders showed their first decline in this report since November 2014. New orders overall were growing at their softest rate since January. Production is also slowing, showing its softest growth rate since December.
Purchasing Managers' Manufacturing Index (PMIs) is based on monthly questionnaire surveys of selected companies which provide an advance indication of what is really happening in the private sector economy.
Investors need to keep their fingers on the pulse of the economy because it dictates how various types of investments will perform. By tracking economic data such as the ISM manufacturing index in the U.S. and the Markit PMIs in the U.S. and elsewhere, investors will know what the economic backdrop is for the various markets. The stock market likes to see healthy economic growth because that translates to higher corporate profits. The bond market prefers less rapid growth and is extremely sensitive to whether the economy is growing too quickly and causing potential inflationary pressures.
The Markit PMI manufacturing data give a detailed look at the manufacturing sector, how busy it is and where things are headed. Since the manufacturing sector is a major source of cyclical variability in the economy, this report has a big influence on the markets. And its sub-indexes provide a picture of orders, output, employment and prices.
Markit originally began collecting monthly Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data in the U.S. in April 2004, initially from a panel of manufacturers in the U.S. electronics goods producing sector. In May 2007, Markit's U.S. PMI research was extended out to cover producers of metal goods. In October 2009, Markit's U.S. Manufacturing PMI survey panel was extended further to cover all areas of U.S. manufacturing activity. Back data for Markit's U.S. Manufacturing PMI between May 2007 and September 2009 are an aggregation of data collected from producers of electronic goods and metal goods producers, while data from October 2009 are based on data collected from a panel representing the entire U.S. manufacturing economy. Markit's total U.S. Manufacturing PMI survey panel comprises over 600 companies.


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Versace fashions a stake sell-off to fund expansion overseas
Star customer: Actress Penelope Cruz
Versace is ready to sell some of the company to outside investors to help fund expansion in overseas markets such as Asia, its chief executive said.
The family-owned Italian fashion house, founded in 1978 by the late Gianni Versace, is now controlled by his sister Donatella, who is the chief designer, her daughter Allegra and her brother Santo.
‘The family is now aware that we need to seize the moment and fund our growth,’ said chief executive Gian Giacomo Ferraris. Versace, whose customers include Penelope Cruz, and J-Lo, raised the prospect of a sale last May when it hired investment banks Goldman Sachs and Intesa Sanpaolo’s Banca Imi as advisers.
Ferraris said the company is not currently in talks with potential investors.
A stock market listing could be an option.
The company said its revenues for last year grew 20 per cent to just under £350million. Net profit was £7.2million.
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McDonald’s is now having a long-awaited resurgence, market analysts expecting its sales to have increased significantly in the last quarter of 2015, and predicting that this upward trend will be continuing in 2016 as well.
The once hugely popular fast food chain has had a long period of dwindling profits and disappointing results, but now it appears it’s finally making a comeback.
Its last quarterly sales and earning results from 2015 are expected to become public on Monday, January 25, and specialists expect that the figures will be even better than the ones from the third quarter of the year.
At the time, company announced that sales had climbed by around 0.9% between July and September, the small increment being a welcome change after 2 years marked by increasingly more distressing results.
Now, Wall Street analysts anticipate that McDonald’s sales across the United States between October and December have climbed by approximately 2.1%. Moreover, they also believe that sales across the world have also experienced a surge, by around 3.2%.
Mark Kailnowski, restaurant industry analyst at Nomura, has come so far as to claim that sales throughout the nation have actually risen by about 4.1%, this being the best results obtained by McDonald’s in almost 4 years.
There are various speculations regarding the reasons behind the company’s unexpected revitalization. For instance, some credit McDonald’s newly appointed chief executive officer, Steve Easterbrook, with having precisely identified the restaurant chain’s main issues, such as its worn-out menu, which hadn’t been changed or revamped in years.
With an ever-expanding list of appealing burger places such as the Shake Shack, Umami Burger, Smashburger and Five Guys, offering customers more healthy and unique meal combinations, featuring premium ingredients, McDonald’s star appeared to be fading.
More and more diners were abandoning ship drawn by the chain’s long-established competitors, even newcomers leaving a significant dent in the company’s overall sales and profits.
That’s when Easterbrook introduced a slew of much-needed improvements, by relying on the company’s Innovation Center.
For instance, in a quest to replace McDonald’s stale and old-fashioned image with a more contemporary and vibrant one, he jumped on the burger personalization bandwagon, by launching Taste Crafted Burgers and Chicken.
The service, initially tested at franchises from Southern California, gives customers the possibility to opt for a particular type of roll (artisan, potato or sesame), meat (crispy or grilled chicken versus beef) and flavor (Buffalo bacon, Deluxe, Pico Guacamole or Maple Bacon Dijon).
Another strategy that paid off was adding the Premium Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Deluxe Sandwich on the menu back in August, in order to compete more effectively with KFC, Chick-Fil-A and other fast food chains specializing in fried chicken dishes.
Last but not least, McDonald’s has been offering an “all day breakfast” ever since October, apparently lending an ear to diners, who had long been beseeching executives to extend serving hours for breakfast items past 10:30 a.m.
That move also proved successful, at least when it came to generating more sales, traffic and publicity for the restaurant chain.
The only downside was that many franchises were grossly unprepared for this change, complaining that kitchens have become crammed after adding more grills, toasters and other breakfast equipment.
According to them, the entire cooking and serving process has also been disrupted, due to higher numbers of orders, but profits haven’t actually increased, given the high investments and the discounted prices offered to customers in order to garner their interest.
For instance, McDonald’s has recently dropped its Dollar Menu in favor of the McPick 2, offering diners the possibility to choose 2 food items (from a selection including fries, mozzarella sticks, McDouble and McChicken), for just $2.
It remains to be seen if price reductions and recent investments will indeed have a negative effect on profits.
At the moment, investors still remain confident that McDonald’s is on its way back to the top, especially since its share prices have soared by a quarter in 2015, and have remained steady for now, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has been plummeting by around 8%.
Image Source: Flickr


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Gas and electricity Updated:
The last of the major energy suppliers has confirmed it will be raising the price of its gas and electricity in November.
EDF Energy has revealed its residential gas prices will rise by 15.4% from 10 November.
At the same time, its standard residential electricity prices will rise by an average of 4.5%, an increase which the provider said is in line with inflation only.
EDF said the changes mean around 33 pence per day will be added to the average dual fuel bill.
According to Energyhelpline.com, those customers paying quarterly will see their annual bills rise by around £120, while those paying by monthly direct debit will see their yearly bills go up by £115.
Vincent de Rivaz, chief executive of EDF Energy, said the firm had absorbed rising wholesale energy, network and other costs as long as possible but must reluctantly now pass some of these through to consumers.
The announcement means all six of the UK 's major gas and electricity suppliers have increased prices for their domestic customers in time for the winter.
Scottish Power increased its gas and electricity prices for retail customers by 19% and 10% respectively from 1 August, while British Gas hit its average domestic gas customers by another 18% and its electricity customers for 16% from 18 August.
E.ON hiked its gas prices by 18.1% and its electricity prices by 11.4% on 13 September, while just a day later, customers of Scottish and Southern Energy saw household gas prices rise by 18% and household electricity prices increase by an average of 11%.
Npower has already confirmed its gas prices will increase by 15.7% on 1 October, with its electricity prices rising by 7.2% at the same time.
Mark Todd, director of the independent price comparison service Energyhelpline.com, said it was only a matter of time before EDF followed the rest of the 'Big Six' in raising prices.
"Consumers need to keep their eyes open because there are still lots of good deals being offered for those who are willing to switch," he added.
"Fixed rate deals of one to four years are available at lower costs than standard prices and there are internet rates offering savings of about £300 a year.
"In hard-pressed Britain today a £300 saving for 10 minutes work must be worth checking out.
"In fact, only yesterday, Scottish Power brought in a new online tariff at £990 showing money can be saved if people act promptly and switch. There is still competition in the energy industry but only if you are willing to switch."
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U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on the Judiciary
F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Chairman
For immediate release Contact: Jeff Lungren/ Terry Shawn
March 27, 2001 (202) 225-2492
Sensenbrenner Introduces Legislation to End Outdated Shipping Antitrust Immunity
Consumers Would Benefit From Ending 1916 Exemption
WASHINGTON, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-Wis.) today is introducing legislation to repeal an exemption
from antitrust laws for ship owners. Congress passed this exemption in 1916 to protect American ship owners. However, in recent years, the last remaining
major, American-owned, global shipping companies have been sold to foreign companies. Thus, this exemption provides antitrust protection to foreign ship
owners at the expense of American consumers.
"What justification could possibly exist for a law that allows foreign ship owners to fix prices at the expense of American consumers? Clearly it's time to repeal this outdated exemption," said Chairman Sensenbrenner.
Chairman Sensenbrenner's bill is identical to legislation introduced last Congress, the Free Market Antitrust Immunity Reform (FAIR) Act (H.R. 3138), by House International Relations Chairman Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) and Rep. Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark.). Groups supporting that legislation included the National Association of Manufacturers, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the American Farm Bureau Federation, International Mass Retail Association, and the Coalition for Fair Play in Ocean Shipping.


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What is the future of creativity? That is the question a new partnership between D&AD and creative agency Superimpose Global aims to answer. Bringing on board opinions and analysis from industry experts, the partnership will see the launch of a new monthly essay series on the D&AD website. From the new technologies and skills creatives will need to master to the changing demographics of the industry itself, each article will offer unique insights from the most exciting topics to the most pressing issues facing the creative industries today and tomorrow. The essay series launches in October and will be hosted on www.dandad.org
Defying their own limits in every aspect, this year sees the rise of one trailblazer that is shaping consumer culture of tomorrow. Already tearing up publishing protocols, starting national movements and turning brands on their heads, we’re introducing new thinking from Superimpose Global, a new type of agency.
Out with the old, in with the new. Meet the new faces: consumers, creators and connectors rejecting the ‘advertising’ label and industry that keeps missing the mark with the next generation.
Judging by the agency’s output to date, it’s clear the deliberate subversion of traditional industry rules is to foster a new breed of creative thinking. ‘Doing things differently’ may be a simple tag line, but this is the reason of their very existence. Superimpose Global isn’t just another agency acting as a vehicle for brand objectives, outrightly stating that ‘challenging brands to go further’ is their mission.