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UKIVA Machine Vision Conference & Exhibition features a comprehensive program of technical seminars across multiple presentation theaters. This will be supported by an exhibition of the latest vision technology and services from the leading companies in the world of vision. Come and visit the Active Silicon stand for our latest product and technology news.
Come and visit Allied Vision at stand No. 2.
Richard Oakley (Sales Manager Allied Vision) will talk about: “Improving multi camera performance for GiGE Vision systems”
Our team is looking forward to answering your questions about the new Alvium SWIR cameras as well as the latest Alvium USB3 Vision cameras with Sony IMX sensors.


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2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
Bargaining makes a comeback
Dec. 23, 2008 - Much like the rest of the economy, Canadian shopping habits are going the way of the Great Depression. As
scrimping consumers shy away from big-ticket purchases, savvy shoppers
are ignoring retail sticker prices and tossing out low-ball offers with
surprising results. The Globe and Mail reports. | READ MORE
Blogs find favour as buying guides
Dec. 23, 2008 - While the rise of blog readership in recent years is no secret, the power of blogs to influence what people buy is less established. But as a recent study reveals, that power is significant — so much that a majority of blog readers say blogs are useful when they make purchases. The New York Times reports. | READ MORE
Saskatchewan economy staying strong, says RBC Economics
Dec. 22, 2008 - According to the latest provincial economic outlook released today by RBC, Saskatchewan continues to carry strong momentum gathered during the commodities boom, that will help the province weather the global economic downturn.
RBC says Ontario's economy slipping into a recession
Dec. 22, 2008 - Hopes of escaping the recession are disappearing fast in Ontario. The province's economy is now forecast to contract by 0.2 per cent in 2008 and a further 1.4 per cent in 2009, which would represent the worst economic performance since the early 1990s recession, according to the latest report released today by RBC Economics.
Decorators are seeing red, copper and gold this Christmas
Dec. 22, 2008 - Roll out the red carpet for crimson, scarlet, ruby and cherry. Red in many stunning shades is everywhere when it comes to dressing up homes this holiday season. The Hamilton Spectator reports. | READ MORE
Cutting back can mean less room for technology
Dec. 22, 2008 - For small businesses, size matters, especially in a tough economy. Since owners of small to mid-sized enterprises must maximize every dollar, many are choosing smaller office spaces and store fronts for their ventures. As a result, there is less space for technology. The Financial Post reports. | READ MORE
How to go green and stay cost-competitive
Dec. 22, 2008 - The perception that it costs an arm and a leg to "go green" keeps plenty of small businesses (and customers) from even trying - let alone in a recession. Sure, many eco-friendly improvements do require some initial capital. But they also can yield significant cost savings - and drive revenues - in the long run. The Financial Post reports. | READ MORE
The secrets of marketing in a web 2.0 world
Dec. 22, 2008 - For marketers, Web 2.0 offers a remarkable new opportunity to engage consumers - if they only knew how to do it. The Wall Street Journal has compiled a guide to help business keep up with the virtual world. | READ MORE
Retail sales fall 0.9 per cent in October
Dec. 22, 2008, Toronto - Even the holiday season isn't kickstarting consumer spending, as another round of dismal numbers Thursday indicated Canadians are being cautious with their cash and an index of economic trends fell for a third straight month.
RCC applauds Alberta Premier's call to Harper for limits on credit and debit fees
Dec. 17, 2008 - Retail Council of Canada (RCC) applauds Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach for his recommendation to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his government to limit fees charged to businesses for processing credit and debit transactions - fees that eventually trickle down to consumers.

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Manufacturing continues upward trajectory
British engine manufacturing enjoyed healthy growth in September, continuing the upward trend seen in 2016 so far.
According to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), 239,086 units were built in September, representing a 6.3% increase.
Year-to-date figures put the figure at near 1.9 million units, which is a 6.7% growth.
Domestic demand is driving the growth, with a 38.1% rise countering a 10.9% fall in exports.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said, ‘UK engine manufacturing continues to benefit from investments made in previous years into new plants and models. Output has increased significantly this year to meet demand for local production of vehicles which are exported globally. Although manufacturing for overseas factories has fallen recently, exports still account for the majority of engine demand, so it is crucial that government safeguards the conditions that will allow the industry to maintain its international competitiveness.’


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The U.S. government has started the process of withdrawing from the Universal Postal Union (UPU).
The UPU is a 193-member international body established in 1874 to facilitate mail delivery between countries. The organization also oversees the rates national postal services charge for handling each other’s mail.
The UPU requires the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to charge other nations’ postal services less than its standard handling fees, called “terminal dues,” for shipments to the United States from certain foreign countries, including China. The discounted fees give foreign companies shipping goods from those countries an unfair cost advantage over U.S. companies that ship goods, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders stated on October 17. The subsidized rates also hurt the U.S. Postal Service because it costs USPS more to handle the packages than the fees the UPU allows it to charge, Sanders said.
During the year-long withdrawal process, the Trump administration will seek to renegotiate those UPU rules, said Sanders.
‘This Outdated Mandate’
The problem is the UPU requires the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to subsidize certain types of packages sent from China into the United States, placing American businesses at a disadvantage in their own market and contributing to the fiscal problems of the USPS, says Edward Hudgins, research director for The Heartland Institute, which publishes Budget & Tax News.
“Decades ago, UPU adopted a system mandating postal services in developed countries like the United States charge postal services in the poorest countries lower terminal dues, which often do not cover their costs, as a way for the former to help the latter,” said Hudgins.
“At the time, China was not a major shipper, but now it is an economic giant,” Hudgins said. “Yet, the UPU rule requires America’s postal service to handle Chinese packages of around four pounds for less than it costs USPS. The USPS lost around $75 million in 2014 because of this outdated mandate.”
Unfair Cost Advantage
The artificially low terminal fees give Chinese businesses a very big cost advantage over American companies, says Hudgins.
“Chinese merchants can mail their already low-priced products 6,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean for a fraction of the cost to an American company to mail a similar product just 600 miles to the same address,” Hudgins said.
In addition, low charges to ship products to the United States facilitate trade in counterfeit products from China, says Hudgins.
“American companies are often undersold by Chinese companies selling counterfeit American products in violation of patent and copyright protections,” said Hudgins. “Furthermore, if American consumers need to return defective products purchased from China, the shipping costs might be ten times the cost of the product.”
The Trump administration has tried to negotiate a rule change with the UPU, says Hudgins.
“The UPU has a one-country, one-vote policy, and other members would not play fair with the United States,” said Hudgins. “Thus, the Trump administration gave the UPU notice. It has one year to fix its obsolete and unfair regulations or the United States will go its own way, and China can see what it’s like to fare in a truly fair market.”
Jim Lakely ([email protected]) is director of communications for The Heartland Institute.


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The the four-episode sampler “Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Next Level" Blu-ray has hit the stores, but there is more to come for TNG on HD. The set includes a trailer for the first season on Blu-ray and you can watch that below, plus some new details on when you will be able to pick up more seasons.
All seven seasons of TNG on Blu-ray by 2015 – other Trek series in consideration
In an interview with the official StarTrek site, CBS Home Entertainment General Manager Ken Ross talked about the TNG HD project. He said the release of the first season on Blu-ray is coming "late summer or early fall" of this year. He also promised it will include "a nice compliment of extras and some really cool stuff." Ross said the plan for rest of the series was to do "two seasons per year." If they keep with that schedule, the final set should be released in 2015.
Ross also talked about the scale of the entire project, saying:
It was and continues to be an enormous project that will take several years to complete. From a manpower perspective, we have more than 20 people working on this project full time in three shifts 24 hours a day. It’s a huge commitment to transfer all seven seasons to high definition.
As for Enterprise, Voyager, and Deep Space Nine on Blu-ray, Ross said the focus was on TNG for now, but CBS will "certainly consider" bringing the other shows to HD.
Teaser for TNG Season 1 Blu-ray
Here is the trailer for Season 1 of Star Trek: The Next Generation on Blu-ray.
TNG on Blu-ray available now
“Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Next Level” featuring HD versions of the two-part pilot “Encounter at Farpoint,” along with “Sins of the Father,” and “The Inner Light” will be released next Tuesday, January 31st. You can pre-order from Amazon for $14.99.
For more from TrekMovie’s full coverage of TNG on Blu-ray:


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Eat Local Farm Tour July 15
Food co-ops across the region want to help you learn where your food comes from, hence the Eat Local Farm Tour, in partnership with Twin Cities area co-ops. This year, more than 20 local farms and producers are participating in the event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 15. The tours are free and self-guided, so there’s no need to sign up. Review this year’s guide at bit.ly/2tokTM6, select a route and go. Organizers note that because GPS can be spotty in rural areas, check your directions on Google Maps before heading out. Also, check out Eat Local Farm Tour on Facebook.
Reynolds Wrap turns 70
We grab it without thinking, but there was a time before aluminum foil. Reynolds Wrap is noting its 70th year in business with a collection of short fun videos on YouTube that include celebrities, old commercials, recipes and more. You can see them by visiting youtube.com and searching for Reynolds Wrap. Company history notes how aluminum foil was key to the barbecue craze of the 1950s, how people in the 1960s wrapped their TV antennas with it to boost reception, and how in 2016 the Chicago Cubs partnered with the Chicago-based company to create the Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil rain tarp — a silver tarp resembling a sheet of aluminum foil. And we all know how the World Series turned out.
Recycle old cellphones this summer
In our house, there’s a “drawer of useless technology,” into which go old cellphones and such. Turns out we’re not alone. According to a recent report from the Environmental Protection Agency, only 11 percent of all out-of-use mobile devices in the U.S. have been recycled. Now two Twin Cities businesses, Tech Dump and Tech Discounts, are launching Cell Phone Summer, an ambitious initiative to collect a ton (quite literally) of cellphones for recycling between now and Labor Day. There’ll be collection bins around the metro where people can drop off their old flip phones, smartphones, and even PDAs and related cords. The grand finale will be at the Eco Experience at the Minnesota State Fair. All data are destroyed. Farmers markets are taking part with bins this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Northeast Mpls. Farmers Market and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 15 at the Mill City Farmers Market. For a complete list of drop sites and dates, visit techdump.org/cell-phone-summer.


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Now South Korean publication ETnews has revealed news about LG’s upcoming flagship. The phone reportedly will feature a waterdrop notch, instead of the iPhone X-style notch included in the G7 ThinQ. Additionally, the device will reportedly sport a depth-sensing camera, though it’s unclear if that technology will be on the front or the back considering the smartphone will only have a waterdrop notch on the front.
ETNews also refers to the handset as ‘Seal,’ which is odd considering the prolific leaker Evan Blass appears to imply that the phone’s codename is Alpha.
ETNews says LG will reportedly launch the phone in South Korea and overseas by the end of March. If that’s the case it’s likely that LG will show off the device at Mobile World Congress in February, similar to the LG G6 and G5.
LG’s 5G smartphone, on the other hand, will likely launch after the G8, and according to ETNews is targeted for South Korea, U.S. and European markets. The phone is tipped to feature new branding not related to LG’s ‘G’ or ‘Q’ series.
Lastly, ETNews says LG will launch the LG Q9 in January. The device will sport a 6.1-inch display with a Snapdragon 660 processor, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and 3,000mAh battery.


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Guwahati: Maruti Suzuki India Limited, country’s largest carmaker has launched the biggest offers of the year on the occasion of the upcoming festival of Durga Puja. Durga Puja is one of the biggest festivals celebrated across the eastern part of the country and it is considered auspicious to make new purchases during this festival period leading to a buying frenzy across all industries. “Traditionally, every year the offers are launched by Maruti during the month of Durga Puja but this time they have launched all offers in the September itself. The scheme called DurgotsavDhamaka offers a bumper Prize of Celerio X AGS and assured prizes with every car ranging from LED TV, Rs 20,000 MGA, Home Theatre, Microwave to Mixer grinder and many more. One Customer has already won LED TV at our dealership. The scheme is valid till September 30” quoted one of the Dealership managers in Guwahati.
Currently, MSIL sells a range of vehicles starting from the entry level hatchback Alto 800 to the S-Cross with prices ranging between 2.49 lakh and 11.5 lakh (all prices ex-showroom Guwahati). Maruti Suzuki’s portfolio currently comprises of 17 car models – Alto 800, K10, Wagon R, Celerio, CelerioX, newly launched Swift Dzire, Ertiga, Omni, Eeco, Gypsy, and Brezza apart from Baleno, Ignis, Ciaz, S-Cross through its NEXA channel and Super Carry through its Commercial Channel. A press release stated.


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JAC Motors will take control of its Chinese subsidiary in Brazil. Currently, led by Habib. The businessman has 66% of the shares and the Chinese holds the remaining 34%, but this ratio will be reversed soon.
Opel revealed on Thursday (20) the production version of Adam Rocks. The model is displayed to the public during the Geneva Motor Show, scheduled to open March 6 and is treated by the brand as "urban mini-crossover".
Beside March, the Versa divide the assembly line of the new Nissan plant, located in Resende (RJ). But the Saloon done on home soil will not be equal to the model that is currently brought from Mexico.


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By Jessica Tasman-Jones
This article is brought to you by Agenda, an FT Specialist publication that focuses on corporate boards
M&S has launched a campaign to reform company law to empower retail investors – an increasingly important component of share registers in the UK.
In an open letter to the business secretary this month, M&S chairman Archie Norman notes that an increasing proportion of the retailer's shareholder register is held by nominee accounts - investment platforms acting on behalf of retail investors.
While institutional investors and certificated shareholders communicate directly with companies, retail investors that use nominee platforms only receive the communications their intermediary allows. These platforms have “no obligation or duty to provide their customers with information about the companies in which they invest (outside of purely investment return information)”, notes Norman.
Other retail investors who do not use nominee accounts “are constrained by an outdated, paper-based system”, he adds.
Boards have a problem – they are losing sight of their end investors. Some 34 per cent of the average FTSE 100 share register is unallocated, according to the UK Secondary Capital Raising Review.
Indeed, M&S is “losing visibility of over 1 per cent of our register annually”, notes Norman, as nominee accounts grow and certificated shareholders reduce. At this rate, within 30 years the retailer “will not be able to speak to a single shareholder without a change to legislation”, he adds.
M&S proposes a number of measures, including using digital communications as default, recognising digital AGMs and increasing communications between companies and shareholders. The retail chain is talking to other corporations about backing the campaign, a spokesperson says.
The UK government is already taking steps to improve retail shareholder rights via the Digitisation Taskforce, with final recommendations expected next year. But this means the impact is unlikely to be seen before the 2025 AGM season, says Eversheds Sutherland legal director Sarah Turner.
The Financial Conduct Authority is also seeking feedback on investor engagement. This includes whether investor voting initiatives by managers and intermediaries should remain optional or be mandated.
In the US, the SEC passed the 'Notice and Access' rule over a decade ago. It introduced digital proxy materials and rules to ensure intermediaries give shareholders opportunity to vote. Retail investor voter turnout is still low there, but research suggests it is better than in the UK. In the US, 31 per cent of shareholders vote regularly compared with 22 per cent in the UK, according to data from Equiniti.
New rules from the SEC will empower retail investors further, including allowing individuals with as little as $2,000 to submit proposals for shareholder votes. In the UK, shareholders must own at least 5 per cent of the company or a group of 100 individuals must own at least £10,000 of stock to file a resolution.
Some investment platforms are strengthening communications between companies and investors. In 2021, Interactive Investor made customer shareholder notifications for UK listed securities opt out, rather than opt in. The number of votes processed increased 30 per cent in the year that followed, according to the company.
Retail investors – particularly younger ones – want to shape the companies they invest in. A recent survey by the activist investor platform TulipShare found that 52 per cent of retail investors between the ages of 18 and 24 voted at AGMs – a higher proportion than in any other age group.
Historically, retail investors largely vote in line with management, according to Mike Tae, corporate vice president of corporate strategy at Broadridge. But this may not be so with younger generations who are increasingly interested in environmental, social and governance issues.
This will ratchet up pressure on boards to ensure they are engaging retail investors effectively. Redesigning proxy materials to make them more investor-friendly, sending reminder letters and duplicate ballots to those that have not voted, and offering incentives to vote can all help, according to a white paper from Donnelley Financial Solutions.
Boards can also use new communication strategies and channels to tap into the young investors. Several recent “get out the vote” campaigns from companies including Lucid Group and Nikola Corp used social media, videos and other tools to drum up support ahead of contentious votes.
This article is based on a story written for Agenda by Lindsay Frost.


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Girl Geek Academy, a Melbourne-founded startup actively working to inspire and engage more young girls in tech and coding, recently received an unexpected call from Los Angeles about a new film starring Barbie.
Barbie Video Game Hero, which launched on Wednesday, stars the popular children’s toy as a coder and gamer, says Girl Geek Academy Sarah Moran.
“[Coding] is about getting together with friends and changing the world and that’s what Barbie does in this film,” Moran tells StartupSmart.
As a result of the conversation with Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, the maker of the film, Girl Geek Academy will be provided with Game Developer Barbie dolls and posters to give out at its upcoming workshops.
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Girl Geek Academy, which has to date raised $1.3 million in grant funding and in-kind investment, plans to give these out to young fans at its upcoming Miss Makes Codes workshop for five to eight year olds on April 28, 2017, at For Films Sake in Sydney.
While these are a “nice to have”, Moran says she and her team will focus deeply on the underlying message that young girls need great role models in tech when growing up. In line with this, Girl Geek Academy’s co-founders are currently choosing the types of Barbie they wish they had growing up.
“It’s great to be able to say Barbie is someone you’re already familiar with and she codes too,” says Moran.
With pop culture playing an influential role on young minds, Moran says having leaders in tech and coding to look up to in film, music and entertainment is critical.
“Our ideas about coding are formed when we’re young,” she says.
“I wish I had that growing up.”
Fellow Girl Geek Academy co-founder Lisy Kane echoes the sentiment.
Kane, who featured in this year’s Forbes 30 under 30 list next to movie stars Margot Robbie and Mia Waskikowska, is a game developer by trade.
“Visibility and representation is extremely important when it comes to encouraging young girls to explore technology, so having a brand as accessible as Barbie being part of this is incredibly powerful,” Kane tells StartupSmart.
“At the age where role playing and fun are key to learning and influencing, having young girls being able to see a journey like that of a game developer is awesome to see.
“My mother was a huge role model for me growing up as she went back to university, ran a business and had two young kids. I was always so amazed on how she managed to juggle everything.”


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MOIRA REDMOND was walking back to her Dacia Duster at the car park at Ikea when she heard an unusual thump.
“I was returning to my vehicle with a purchase when an attendant hit my car with a trolley,” she said.
“He was pulling some trolleys in and I heard one of them hit the car. I could clearly see it was scraped and dented on the driver’s side, at the wheel arch.”
The mum-of-two said she called the attendant over to complain but he point-blank denied causing the damage.
“He said the trolley hit the metal pole on the pathway between two rows of cars and he tried to demonstrate this,” Moira, 44, from Burnside, Glasgow, said. “I pointed out that this made a completely different noise to that of the trolley hitting my car.
“He then claimed the trolley wouldn’t be able to fit in the space between the trolley bay and my car. I obviously disagreed as my car was now scratched.
“He took a trolley again to demonstrate, and this time it he bumped down the pavement and the front of it hit my car at the exact height where the scratch was. At that point, he then said it must have been someone else who did it.”
Moira said that while she was arguing with the attendant outside the Ikea store in Glasgow she then noticed that his other trolleys, which he had left to come and speak to her, had then rolled into the back of her car but fortunately did not cause further damage.
“I was furious. Had I not happened to be returning to my car when he hit it, I would not have noticed the scratch and would have driven off.”
Moira, a school teacher, went back into the store to complain. But she soon discovered that getting the problem sorted wouldn’t be easy. Ikea told her that the trolleys were operated by a company called Wanzl and that the attendant had insisted he had not caused the damage.
The result was Moira was left with the prospect of her motor insurance company fighting it out with Ikea or Wanzl to have it repaired. Matters got worse when she realised she’d have to pay the first £350 of any claim because of her policy excess.
“I have been a customer at Ikea for years and I was raging at being left in this position, especially when they must have CCTV which would have captured everything,” she said.
“I even found a local garage who would do the repairs for £250 – a lot less than it would cost through my insurance, but I felt I was getting nowhere trying to get this resolved.”
In frustration, Moira contacted Raw Deal and we asked Ikea to look into the matter. The Swedish furniture giant quickly put their hands up and has offered Moira £250 to have her car repaired plus a £30 voucher to spend in-store.
Donna Moore, customer relations manager at Ikea, said: “We naturally want all of our customers to be happy with the service they receive, and we have been in direct contact with the customer to apologise. We have since resolved this matter to their satisfaction.”
Moira thanked Raw Deal for stepping in and sorting out this “stressful” issue for her.
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- Databricks stated that the acquisition would deliver MosaicML’s technology on its data and AI infrastructure via the Lakehouse Platform, which would provide customers with new access to AI training, fine-tuning, and deployment.
- MosaicML offers its own generative AI large language models that businesses can train and fine-tune on their own data at a low cost and with high quality.
Databricks Inc., a provider of big data and machine learning tools, announced a USD 1.3 billion acquisition of generative artificial intelligence company MosaicML Inc. in order to make open-source AI models more available to corporate enterprises.
Enterprise businesses are beginning to incorporate generative AI into their workflows at a time when generative AI is capturing the focus of all industries. Applications utilizing generative AI can generate original text, images, and computer code based on natural language input from users. Since the release of OpenAI LP’s ChatGPT chatbot, which can answer queries in natural language, these capabilities have placed the technology on the map.
MosaicML offers its own generative AI large language models that businesses can train and fine-tune their data at a low cost and with high quality. More than 3.3 billion copies of the MPT-7B model have been downloaded from the company’s own MPT family of LLMs. It has just released the MPT-30B model, which has 30 billion fewer parameters than OpenAI’s GPT-3 model, which has more than 175 billion.
Databricks stated that the acquisition would deliver MosaicML’s technology on its data and AI infrastructure via the Lakehouse Platform, providing customers with new access to AI training, fine-tuning, and deployment. Notably, it would allow customers to serve and customize generative AI models while retaining control, security, and possession of their own data without spending much money.
Ali Ghodsi, Co-founder and Chief Executive of Databricks, said, “Every organization should be able to benefit from the AI revolution with more control over how their data is used. Databricks and MosaicML have an incredible opportunity to democratize AI and make the Lakehouse the best place to build generative AI and LLMs.”
MosaicML’s deployment service for training, fine-tuning, and inference is already utilized by several clients, including the non-profit research institute Allen Institute for AI, Generally Intelligent, Scatter Labs, and the browser-based coding tool Replit. Hippocratic AI, a company developing a chatbot for the healthcare industry, uses MosaicML to train its generative AI model.
Naveen Rao, Co-founder, and Chief Executive of MosaicML said, “We started MosaicML to solve the hard engineering and research problems necessary to make large scale training more accessible to everyone. With the recent generative AI wave, this mission has taken center stage. Together with Databricks, we will tip the scales in the favor of many.”
With the ability to host their models in Databricks Lakehouse, businesses can specialize and customize their models on company-specific data and deploy it securely. This is significant because foundation models can only answer generic queries and perform general tasks, whereas law firms, the healthcare industry, and other specialized businesses may perform specialized tasks.
In addition, many companies are hesitant to share their proprietary data with AI providers due to privacy and security concerns. Using OpenAI-like served models could expose the company to the possibility of data breaches or other threats, which could expose it to additional risks. This is particularly important for highly regulated industries in which data control and storage must remain within the confines of secure databases, where the model and data must be kept together.
John Furrier, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Analyst of a prominent media company stated that in the future, AI would be more valuable to businesses than software – data is the intellectual property.
He stated, “Enterprises want their own models to build, tune and run. Enterprises don’t want to share it or have it uploaded into a public LLM. This is the trend that Databricks is getting in front of and it’s all about the new data developer.”
According to Justin DeBrabant, Senior Vice President of Product at enterprise customer data platform provider ActionIQ Inc., Databricks can now extend its platform for creating, training, and hosting conventional machine learning models to large language models.
Justin DeBrabant said, “That means Databricks offers products and services on the Lakehouse that extend from ETL [data management’ tools to SQL analytics to custom machine learning and now to hosted LLMs. That’s pretty compelling.”
Databricks competes in the same market as Snowflake Inc., a cloud-based data warehouse provider that recently purchased Neeva Inc., a company creating an AI-based search engine based on a large language model. This week, both firms are conducting their annual user conferences.


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Job Growth And New Consumer Choice On The Immediate Horizon
WASHINGTON, DC – The Business Travel Coalition (BTC) applauds the U.S. Department of Transportation for providing final approval for the Norwegian Air International (NAI) application to serve the U.S. The many stakeholders dependent upon U.S. Open Skies policy – consumers, airports, airlines, cargo carriers, shippers, plane manufacturers and suppliers, travel agencies and travel managers – are deeply grateful to the Administration for strengthening competition in a radically consolidated industry and ensuring consumer choice and strong job creation.
In purchasing U.S. made (Boeing) aircraft to support its growth in the U.S., NAI will now protect and generate thousands of jobs at Boeing and its numerous suppliers across the country. Additionally, by bringing in hundreds of thousands of tourists annually, NAI will support U.S. job growth and stability for the travel and tourism industry among airlines, hotel companies, rental car companies, travel agencies and scores of other industries dependent on tourism.
“The need for independent, innovative airlines such as NAI has never been more compelling, especially in the transatlantic market where the three antitrust-immunized alliances have increased their control of the market from 55% to roughly 80% in the last six years,” stated BTC founder Kevin Mitchell. “NAI will inject competition and lower fares into existing and new markets and drive efficiency, offer consumers a low-fare and high-quality choice and provide new and increased service to underserved communities,” added Mitchell.
Now that DOT’s decision regarding NAI is final, the Norwegian Air UK (NUK) approval should proceed without delay. As DOT stated in the NAI final order, “the law and our bilateral obligations leave us no avenue to reject this application.” The same is true with NUK.
By approving NAI, the U.S. government has taken a firm stand in support of the national interest and rejected commercial protectionism. Avoiding irreparable damage to the reputation of the U.S. as a reliable Open Skies partner, the Administration placed consumers and job growth ahead of special interests. It should now do the same for the NUK application as well.


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Attention Kmart shoppers: How does 41 hours sound?
Chuck the turkey. And the trimmings for that matter. Stuffing one's stomach is so last year.
This Thanksgiving it's all about which retailer can open first to welcome the hordes of holiday shoppers and — just as importantly — which can stay open the longest.
Macy's caused quite a ruckus a couple of weeks ago when it announced it would open at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving evening — something it had never done in its 155-year history.
Well, thanks a lot Macy's. You sure opened the floodgates.
Now every retailer is bragging about it's extended Thanksgiving Day store hours in advance of Black Friday, traditionally the first day of the holiday shopping season.
But fuhgeddaboutit! Black Friday likely will be be a term of the past in very short order as Thanksgiving Day more and more becomes the official first day to get at it for many holiday shoppers.
Just feel sorry for the tradition. Those Pilgrims must be rolling over in their collective graves.
But not to digress.
Just to make sure Macy's didn't grab all the attention, Kmart said today it will open at 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day and stay open 41 hours straight until 11 p.m. on Black Friday. Last year Kmart went to 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, then took a break and reopened at 8 p.m. the same day and stayed open until 3 a.m. on Black Friday.
Sears, which is still trying to find a way to become profitable, isn't doing anything different this year than it did last year. It will open at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving night, and close at 10 p.m. on Black Friday.
Kmart and Sears are both units of Hoffman Estates, IL.-based Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD).
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Aleph Farms aims to become the world’s first halal-certified cultivated meat producer, as it ramps up production capabilities for the commercial launch of its cultivated steak in Asia this year, while also laying eyes on global expansion.
In Israel, interest in food tech ranges from alternative proteins to food waste, vertical farming to delivery robots. Which areas have ecosystem majors pinpointed as particularly strong growth opportunities?
The food tech scene is booming in Israel, where its start-up ecosystem is striving to be ‘number one’ in the game. So what makes this country a hotbed for food tech innovation? FoodNavigator hears from a food manufacturer, a start-up incubator and a venture...
Israel’s Minister of Finance, Moshe Kahlon, Minister of Agriculture Uri Ariel, the Israel Farmers Association, and the Association of Cattle Breeders signed a reform agreement on the dairy market on October 29.


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Based on a report by CBC Canada, 25% of donated clothes is resold locally, 25% is sold secondhand abroad, 30% are broken down and used as rags, 20% is reprocessed and finally 5% is ended up in a landfill.
Where do clothes go when donated?
You donate your sweater to a local charity
While the warm sentiment is there, the fact is, up to 90 percent of clothing donations to Goodwill, Salvation Army, and other charities ends up with textile recyclers, according to a Saturday Evening Post report.
What happens to clothes donated to charity shops?
Clothes which can’t be sold in the shop will be sold to textile recycling companies, so they still make money for the charity. The Charity Retail Association has advice on donating unusual items.
How much donated clothing is thrown away?
The volume of clothing Americans throw away each year has doubled in the last 20 years, from 7 million to 14 million tons. In 2018, 17 million tons of textile waste ended up in landfills, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency, making up 5.8 percent of the total MSW generation that year.
Do donated clothes get washed?
Clothes put out to store from local donations are not washed. Regardless, any number of people may have tried it on before you bought it. So in short, there’s a minority chance that it’s washed.
Why you should not donate clothes?
The golden rule of clothing donation is this: if items aren’t fit for you wear, they’re often not fit for anyone else. Charity stores have massive problems with receiving soiled, torn, or otherwise unsuitable textiles that can’t be sold or given away.
Does goodwill actually help anyone?
Founded in 1902, Goodwill Industries International is, in fact, a nonprofit organization, and the money its thrift stores make goes towards community programs like job training, placement services, and classes for people who have disabilities or are otherwise challenged in finding traditional employment.
Do charity shops Wash clothes before selling them?
People sometimes ask me whether clothes donated to charity shops are washed before they go on sale. I can’t speak for every charity shop but, in general, I would say the answer is no. … As a complete aside, the steamers used in charity shops are amazing.
What is the best charity to donate clothes to?
The Best National Organizations to Donate Your Clothes
- American Red Cross. The American Red Cross is one of the oldest and most well-respected charity organizations in America. …
- Dress for Success. …
- Room to Grow. …
- Salvation Army. …
- Project G.L.A.M. …
- One Warm Coat. …
- Soles4Souls. …
What to do with clothes that can’t be donated?
- Textile Recycling. There are many companies that recycle and upcycle textiles that you can bring or send old clothes to. …
- Hand-Me-Downs. …
- Art Projects. …
- Rags. …
- Give to an Animal Shelter. …
- Compost Cotton. …
- Bring to a Store for a Discount. …
- Make a Memorial Quilt or Stuffed Animal.
Should I donate my clothes or throw them away?
1. DON’T throw away your clothes (whether they are good quality, used, or worn out). DO bring them to your local donation center. Savers found that 96% of the people they polled are willing to drive up to 30 minutes to donate their unwanted clothing.
Is it better to donate clothes to Goodwill or Salvation Army?
Salvation Army is the best to donate because the clothing, money, and goods do directly to those in need. Goodwill certainly helps those in need, but there is also a number of executives that earn money from the sales of donated clothing and goods.
Can u put clothes in recycle bin?
Any unwanted clothing, can be put in plastic bags and placed on top of or beside your blue wheelie bin for recycling on your next recycling collection day. Just make sure you put them in a bag to keep them together and dry and tie any pairs of shoes together.
Do thrift shops wash their clothes?
Most thrift stores don’t wash the clothes before selling them. … However, thrift stores usually sort through the merchandise before displaying it and throw out anything that’s stained, has a bad odor, or damaged. Clothes in the thrift store usually look clean, but they may have touched things you would never imagine.
Why do Goodwill clothes smell?
Usually, vintage clothing has that “old lady smell.” It seems to be a combination of a musty smell and too much fabric softener. That thrift store smell can also come from moth balls or perfume, too. … Usually the laundry products they use on their clothing is full of synthetic chemicals.
Is it safe to wear thrift store clothes?
Thrift stores will sort through the clothing before putting it on display and throw out anything that has stains, damage, or a bad odor. Regardless, as a general rule, we still strongly encourage you to wash your clothing purchases, new or used, before you wear.


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VARIOUS China-backed projects such as the East Coast Rail Link are still under review, but Malaysia remains open to Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI) and investments from China, said Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Dr Ong Kian Ming at the Standard Chartered Belt and Road Forum in Kuala Lumpur.
Concerns over the possibility of falling into the debt trap from the high debts incurred by BRI projects have sparked debates on national sovereignty, especially in Pakistan, Laos, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
For example, Pakistan leased its Gwadar port to China for 43 years and Sri Lanka gave a 99-year lease of its Hambantota port to China Merchants Port Holding in 2017, in hopes of reducing their debt burden.
However, Ong said it would not be fair to place the blame of such debts solely on the Chinese parties involved, as the projects were approved by the respective sovereign governments.
He also stressed that countries looking to undertake mega projects must ensure financial sustainability and viability.
“The lesson from past BRI projects is that there is a need for recipient countries to strengthen their own internal processes, in terms of the evaluation and institutional frameworks, when approving any large infrastructure project. For that matter, the foundation of any successful project is good governance and a transparent procurement process,” he added.
Ong believes that future BRI projects should focus on better governance and control on matters such as anti-corruption and environmental sustainability.
BRI will also indirectly create opportunities for companies in Malaysia and other countries to invest in China as well, he said.
In addition, he foresees a push for more Chinese investments in different countries including Malaysia, in efforts to diversify its supply chain due to the ongoing United States-China trade war and the latter’s global expansion plans.
Standard Chartered Asean and South Asia chief economist Edward Lee also opined that Asean countries such as Malaysia can benefit from the potential shift in the supply chain.
“With what is happening on
the US-China front, the share of manufacturers thinking of leaving China will increase and I think Asean – and countries like Malaysia – certainly has a lot of room to absorb this shift in supply chain,” he said.
The BRI, launched in 2013 to promote free trade and connectivity between the Asian, European and African continents, is making some progress in achieving its goals.
Lee said the BRI is still at its early stages, but noted that data has been promising thus far.
“From the data we have so far, it’s encouraging. A good way to look at it is trade. A key element of BRI is trade facilitation and BRI countries have grown from about 32% to about 36% of China’s total trade,” he said.
Asean and North-East Asia form the bulk of BRI trade with China at approximately 50%, with West Asia contributing 16% to the figure. Despite the current significant size of trade between Asean and Asia with China, trade is still growing at 12% to 14% per annum.
For Malaysia, the second largest exporter of goods to China among the BRI countries, he said the initiative will serve to further facilitate Malaysia-China trade integration, especially when it comes to China’s top imports of commodities, resources as well as electrical components.
The Standard Chartered Belt and Road Forum coincided with the Malaysian leg of the Standard Chartered’s Belt and Road Relay.
The first-ever global running event spanning the Belt and Road, it kicked off in Hong Kong on Feb 17 in conjunction with the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, and ends in China on May 11.
Standard Chartered Malaysia managing director and chief executive officer Abrar Anwar said, “We believe our investment in this relay is important to raise awareness of our unique position and capabilities to support our clients and communities in Malaysia to benefit from the BRI.”
In 2017, the bank committed additional financing for BRI projects of at least US$20bil (RM81.7bil) by 2020, and was involved in more than 50 Belt and Road deals worth more than US$10bil (RM40.8bil) across a range of products and services.


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The city center of Amsterdam in 2014 en in 2020. Images: Amaury Miller.
Mayor Femke Halsema has noticed how few people actually live in the city centre now that the flow of tourists has virtually dried up. She tells Het Parool that the corona crisis shows how parts of Amsterdam have become dependent on visitors. While she can’t call the crisis an opportunity, because that would not do justice to the suffering caused by the virus, it does highlight the need to cut tourist numbers.
This explicit ambition forms the basis for a series of measures designed to make the city centre more liveable. They are being introduced on the advice of urban planner Zef Hemel, commissioned by the mayor to come up with a vision for the city’s future. He believes that rather than allowing tourism to spread, or simply managing the problem, tourist numbers must be reduced immediately, with the mayor in overall control.
The measures will be strict and far reaching, Halsema says. “I’ve yet to meet an Amsterdammer who doesn’t think it’s become too crowded in the last few years.”
She will mainly be putting existing resources to new uses. For example the council is looking at ways of buying inner-city property, with the help of local improvement organisations such as NV Zeedijk and Stadsgoed NV. As the owner, it will decide which shops and cafés can occupy the building. The organisations have missed out on buying opportunities over recent years because market prices are so high, but with the city’s active support, this can change.
Halsema also wants the national government to introduce rules allowing the city to intervene in the retail sector. It can already ban new tourist shops in parts of Amsterdam, but this has not been enough to reduce the city’s dependence on tourism. For example, she says the law could be changed to stop alcohol sales by mini-supermarkets, which are often liquor stores in all but name.
Halsema also wants shops, bars and restaurants to cater mainly for local people, so tourism will no longer dominate the streetscape. She plans to talk to hoteliers and property owners and make them aware of their responsibility for turning Amsterdam back into a liveable city. “It’s in their interests too,” she says. “Look at Venice: too much tourism can turn a city into a shadow of its former self.”
Another idea involves placing an increased focus on neighbourhoods, and associating them with specific themes. City marketing agency Amsterdam&Partners plans to work with retailers’ associations to achieve this.
“It would be wonderful if Leidseplein and the surrounding area were to become the cultural heart of Amsterdam,” Halsema says. Giving the district its own identity would make local people more aware of the shops, restaurants, and cultural facilities on their doorstep; for example the many Jewish organisations and venues around Mr. Visserplein have already banded together to form the Jewish Cultural Quarter.
Halsema also says plans to shut down the window brothels in the Wallen and open a prostitution hotel instead are proceeding apace. In September, when sex workers will be allowed to resume business, it will be apparent whether the pandemic has speeded up this process.


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A major financial markets regulator in Kenya has warned investors to avoid an initial coin offering currently taking place in the country.
The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has said that the ICO being offered by Wiseman Talent Ventures, also known as Kenicoin, “have not yet been approved” by the body.
According to the Authority, members of the public are able to buy digital tokens from the firm which are currently being marketed at a price of 2,000 Kenyan shillings – which is equivalent to £15.40 British pounds or £19.66 US dollars.
It also alleges that Wiseman promises that investors will receive 10% returns on their investments each month.
In its statement warning members of the public away from the coin, the CMA also alluded to other potential red flags.
“Further, the Kenicoin value being marketed as exponentially rising since its initial offering poses substantive information asymmetry, liquidity and fraud risks”, it said.
“In a bid to protect investors, Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has cautioned the public against participating in any initial coin offering or trading in any coin exchange offered by Wiseman Talent Ventures.”
The Chief Executive of the CMA, Paul Muthaura, said that it was essential for the investing public to be aware that Wiseman Talent Ventures’ operations had not yet gone through the required channels.
“It is important for the general public to note that the nature and features of the Capital Raising and Coins Trading promoted by Wiseman Talent Ventures is taking the form of Regulated activities which have not yet been approved by the Authority”, Muthaura said.
He also said that the content posted on the Kenicoin website did not always match up with the information provided by Wiseman to the Authority – especially in the realm of finances.
“The Authority is currently investigating the operations of Wiseman Talent Ventures. We have noted discrepancies in the information provided on the firm’s website www.kenicoin.com and the information given to the Authority during interviews of Wiseman Talent Ventures leadership in relation to the total number of Kenicoin sold and the total funds raised”, Muthaura added.
In its statement, the CMA also outlined the state of the market for what it described as “unregulated digital currencies”, suggesting that it moves in cycles and that a “bust” was a risk.
“Global trends in unregulated digital currencies demonstrates that the cryptoasset market is uncertain and has experienced accelerated boom and bust cycles which may expose investors to substantial losses”, the statement read.
It also provided specific facts and figures. It pointed out that while by the end of 2017 Bitcoin’s price was US$19,783, it now stood at US$3,810.
The CMA is a long-established statutory agency in Kenya, which was setup in 1989.
Kenya has experienced problems of fraudulent and suspected crypto fraud before, however – meaning that the agency is kept busy.
At the end of 2017 during Bitcoin’s height, for example, police in the East African nation took three peer to peer Bitcoin brokers into custody after allegations that they used illegitimately derived money.
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What Does Binance Being Kicked Out of Belgium Mean for Crypto Prices?
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More than half (54 percent) of respondents to a new survey say securing data with appropriate access rights is one of their biggest hurdles. While almost 60 percent believe their organizations should be placing extra emphasis on data security.
The third annual State of Data Engineering Survey from Immuta also finds that that 89 percent of organizations report missing business opportunities because of data access bottlenecks.
This year's annual Call for Code Global Challenge, backed by IBM and the Linux Foundation, invited innovators across the world to help accelerate sustainability and combat climate change with open source-powered technology.
It's been won by GardenMate for creating an app that uses the IBM Watson AI platform to connect gardeners with excess produce to people in need.
Data is more plentiful, valuable and interconnected than ever before. Unfortunately, this has led to a cyber threat landscape that is increasingly dynamic and costly to business.
Cybercrime inflicted approximately $6 trillion in damages globally in 2021, an annual figure that is set to reach $10.5 trillion by 2025. This is equivalent to the world’s third-largest GDP after the U.S. and China. It is a threat that requires a comprehensive approach to defending, protecting, and recovering data, avoiding vulnerabilities and maintaining business continuity.
As organizations move more of their systems to the cloud they face a new range of threats. This combined with a shortage of cybersecurity skills makes securing SaaS systems a challenge.
Galit Lubetzky Sharon, co-founder and CTO of Wing Security, believes that a new more holistic approach, involving employees across the organization, is needed. We spoke to her to learn more.
Piriform has added some new cleaning rules to CCleaner that help to detect and remove surplus files generated by new Windows 11 features including Widgets, Microsoft Teams, Skype, Microsoft News, Windows Defender, OneDrive, File Explorer, and Microsoft Family Safety.
The update also adds more apps to CCleaner’s cleaning list and improves cleaning in Slack.
Google is, of course, best known for its search engine but in a significant update to Chrome, the company has introduced a powerful new way to search tabs, bookmarks and browsing history in the browser.
It has been possible to conduct each of these types of search for some time, but now Google has simplified things dramatically. The change means that Chrome's address bar can now be used for much more than just to search the web; all it takes is the addition of an @.
PowerToys gets quite a lot of coverage here on BetaNews, and that's because it's one of the most useful and exciting pieces of software out there. We already know that there are plans for a great new quick launcher utility, and while we wait for development to finish, we have the newly released PowerToys v0.65 update to explore.
Although this update does not include any new utilities, it is still an important upgrade because of the number of tweaks and new features that have been added to individual modules. On top of this, the entire codebase has been upgraded to work with .NET 7.
The Linux Mint developers are targeting Christmas as the release date for version 21.1 of the operating system. Before Santa Claus delivers the stable version, however, we will first need a BETA to test for bugs. And so, today, that is exactly what we get.
Code-named "Vera," Linux Mint 21.1 BETA can be downloaded immediately for testing with your choice of three desktop environments - Cinnamon (5.6), MATE (1.26), and Xfce (4.16). Vera is based on the rock-solid Ubuntu 22.04 and comes with Linux kernel 5.15. The stable version will be supported until 2027.
Windows 12 will offer a number of improvements that will make it better than its predecessor, Windows 11. One of the biggest advantages of Windows 12 is that it will offer improved security. Microsoft is introducing multiple new features to better protect user data, such as a new secure kernel, a secure boot process, and a new sandbox security model.
In addition, Windows 12 will offer improved performance, with better memory management and faster start-up times. The new version of Windows will also provide better support for multi-core processors, and it will introduce new graphics APIs such as DirectX 12 and Vulkan, which will provide improved performance in gaming and multimedia applications.
More than 90 percent of organizations migrating to the cloud have implemented, are implementing, or are in the process to implement a zero trust architecture.
But a new study from Zscaler shows only 22 percent of global IT decision-makers claim to be 'fully confident' that their organization is leveraging the potential of their cloud infrastructure, presenting an opportunity for zero trust.
Businesses are increasingly turning to digital transformation in order to remain competitive and relevant in their respective industries. But how do you ensure you're getting value from your efforts?
A new survey of 600 senior executives in large companies from CloudBees shows that value stream management (VSM) is seen as key, as well as removing barriers and making transformation easier to achieve.
Google's search engine may be the go-to tool for millions of daily users looking to track down information online, but there has long been room for improvement. As anyone who has conducted a search that returned a huge number of results will know, clicking through page after page of suggestions can be time consuming.
Now Google has come up with a solution. Having delivered continuous scrolling to mobile users last year, the company has now brought the time-saving feature to the desktop. While not quite endless / infinite scrolling, you can now whizz through more results without the need to manually move to the next page.
It is several months since Apple launched its Self Service Repair program in the US, giving iPhone and MacBook owners the chance to fix their own devices. Now the company has expanded the same option to eight European countries.
The program works in exactly the same way for Apple users in the newly supported nations. It is possible to buy replacement parts direct from Apple, obtain repair manuals, and even rent the tools needed to get the job done.
Some of the most exciting software developments associated with Microsoft are to be found in PowerToys. Here it is possible to see inspired developers innovating as they create new tools for Windows 11 and Windows 10.
There has been a large number of new utilities added over the course of the last year, and there's another exciting one on the way. What's promised is a "quickaccess systemtray launcher", and it will make it easier than ever to launch your most frequently used PowerToys modules.
According to research, 50 percent of over 400 IT security decision makers in the US and UK have been prevented from adopting a new cybersecurity solution due to integration issues or challenges with legacy infrastructure.
The study for BlackFog, conducted by Sapio Research, also reveals that 32 percent say a lack of skills within their team to support a new product would also be a factor preventing them from deploying new solutions.


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You are cordially invited!
Read more in the NMBC November Business Report.
Find out more about NMBC’s new partnership with the Caribbean American owned agency, ICN Group.
The Ronald H. Brown Leadership Award, inspired by the late U.S. Secretary of Commerce, recognizes an individual who has shown exceptional leadership and achieved significant
August is National Black Business Month, and a time to recognize the Black-owned businesses across the country.
The White Label World Expo is back and better than ever in New York!
As the National Minority Business Council Inc. (NMBC) celebrates 50 years of advocacy and facilitating opportunities for Black-owned businesses and Washington assesses the fallout from


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- H-E-B is experimenting with a hybrid grocery delivery model in which store employees pick and bag online orders while third-party companies Instacart, Shipt and Lash deliver the orders to customers, reports the San Antonio Business Journal.
- The new model is being piloted at around 100 of the Texas grocery chain’s 300 stores in the San Antonio, Houston and Corpus Christi markets.
- Instacart launched its “personal shopper” home delivery service in H-E-B stores in 2015, expanding into San Antonio in 2016, according to the San Antonio Business Journal. The publication reports that Shipt entered the San Antonio market in 2016 as well.
Despite the rapid expansion of grocery home delivery models, the ongoing struggle to solve the last mile continues. No reasons were given as to why H-E-B is transitioning to its hybrid fulfillment model, but a few possibilities come to mind.
One could be the company's desire to assert more quality control over the picking of produce and other fresh items. Execution and operational hurdles abound in the quest to adequately pick and deliver high-margin perishable products like produce and meat, as well as frozen and refrigerated foods that require controlled temperatures.
New research from the Retail Feedback Group finds that 39% of shoppers who use grocery delivery say that produce doesn't meet their quality standards. Frozen, dairy and fresh deli products also received low marks from shoppers who were surveyed.
Another possible reason is that Instacart and Shipt employees fulfilling orders inside the store are distracting loyal H-E-B shoppers. H-E-B’s internal staff are more of a familiar site to shoppers. Using them could also mean the retailer is focused on filling multiple orders at any given time, similar to the Kroger model.
With online grocery shopping only expected to grow, some experts suggest the store of the future will be a smaller box that emphasizes a stellar selection of perimeter offerings: fresh foods, refrigerated goods, prepared foods and foodservice, along with a convenient — rather than complete — assortment of center-store goods.
A significant portion of shelf-stable goods like non-perishable canned, boxed and bottled goods, and health and beauty, are expected to transition online. In fact, the Food Marketing Institute and Nielsen research projects that 40% of all center store shopping will happen online by 2025. Should this projection become reality, it would necessitate some reconfiguring of store space to accommodate this new way of grocery shopping — carving out more backroom space as a fulfillment area, for example, or taking the picking process offsite to a dedicated depot, or "dark store."
Whatever the rationale for the change at H-E-B, it likely involves not only improving the online shopping process for consumers but the economics of running the online business, as well. Consumers expect a seamless omnichannel experience, and typically that means getting the same prices and promotions whether shopping in-store or online.
The San Antonio Business Journal reports, however, that H-E-B’s current home delivery offer features higher prices for items bought online than in-store, on top of a picking fee and delivery fee added to each order. Moving to an in-house picking process could serve as a cost-cutting measure, in turn enabling H-E-B to better align online prices with those found in-store.
On the losing end of this proposition are grocery delivery firms like Instacart and Shipt and their teams of personal shoppers. The transition away from a 100% contracted to an in-house picking model undoubtedly shakes up contract negotiations, resulting in cutbacks for all involved third parties. It will be interesting to watch if other retailers follow suit if the H-E-B test proves successful.


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CIBC: Canadian business owners optimistic.
BANKING AND CREDIT NEWS-October 15, 2014--CIBC: Canadian business owners optimistic
(C)2014 M2 COMMUNICATIONS http://www.m2.com
15 October 2014 -- While 84% of Canadian business owners are optimistic about the future, most are not thinking about trying to get bigger or tap into new markets with barely a third having expansion plans finds a new poll from Canadian financial services firm CIBC (TSX: CM) (NYSE: CM).
It doesn't appear recent performance is the drag on growth plans as nearly half of all business owners say their financial success is better now than it was last year.
According to the poll, 84% of business owners are optimistic about the future, while 44% rate their financial success as better now than compared to a year ago - up from 32% last year. 37% plan to expand over the next three years.
Despite having cash reserves, many business owners still rely on personal finances to fund expansion. More than 60% of business owners noted that if they were planning to expand, the funds would likely come from sources other than banks or loans against their business - mostly from credit cards, their own pocket or borrowing in their name.
That's despite 79% saying they have a cash reserve set aside to support their business. Swanlund says that tapping into personal savings for business expansion is leading some business owners to be more cautious with their expansion plans.
Although nearly 80% of businesses are sitting on a cash reserve, many are not driving much in the way of a return on these funds with 4 in 10 owners (39%) saying they are not earning any interest on their cash reserve.
CIBC is a has nearly 11m personal banking and business clients.
Find out more at www.cibc.com.
1 USD = .62 GBP
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Dear friends, I hope you are well. I know that more and more countries are implementing isolation, lockdown or quarantine. Well, whatever word is used, the main reason behind all this is the Coronavirus Disease 2019 or COVID-19. As cases increase and became wide-spread last week, WHO officially called the disease a pandemic. “This is the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a briefing in Geneva.
Have you heard of HELL? No, not the village in Norway and most definitely not the place you’re thinking of. I’m talking about the HELL Energy Drink, a 100% Hungarian-owned brand which was established in 2006. The brand dominated the domestic market by 2010 and is now exporting in 50 countries one of which is the Philippines. HELL Energy Drink has a variety of flavours available in 250ml cans. According to their website, they have HELL Classic, Strong Apple, Strong Red Grape, Strong Cola, Zero Sugar, Zero Strawberry, Strong Focus, Active, Multi+, Ice Cool Pear, Ice Cool Plum, Summer Cool – Strawberry Kiwi, Summer Cool Pineapple Lime as well as some Energy Coffee such as Cappuccino, Slim Latte and Latte.
They say, “Every cloud has a silver lining.” In Haulah Cafe’s case, it literally started with the words silver lining. During the media event organised by Haulah Cafe, we sat down with one of the owners, Ms Rochelle Ramos where she shared their struggles and the inspiration which helped them find the correct path towards Haulah Cafe. Ms Ramos also shared a very personal story about her aunt, who she dearly loves and looks up to. To her, she’s not only an aunt but also a friend and a mentor. But when life took its course, she was left with a dream. So they set out on a journey which at first didn’t work out.
Since you clicked this, I am assuming you love coffee, too! Doesn’t the smell of freshly-brewed coffee in the morning just wake your soul? I know this sounds dramatic for others who aren’t coffee drinkers but this is how I feel. A hot cup of coffee just wakes me up and helps me get to work. You see, my shift always starts at 6AM. Of course, I need to wake an hour and a half earlier to prepare and eat breakfast. So coffee really does wake my soul.
I was on a mission to find Selecta’s Mochi Ku ice cream. Let’s back it up a bit. The Pat kid Inside, one of my fellow bloggers posted a photo of mochi filled with vanilla ice cream on his Instagram account. It looked lovely and being a loyal customer of 7-Eleven, I was surprised I didn’t see that product. But soon I realised that I wasn’t craving for ice cream because of the cold weather. And now that I am, I decided to find this beautiful Selecta Mochi Ku ice cream. There are six 7-Eleven stores near me but only one of them never failed me.


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Intel has developed a version of the ATX power supply that will only deliver 12V in an effort to simplify the design of high end desktop PCs.
Systems based on the ATX12VO specification are set to launch later this year. Instead of providing 3.3V and 5V outputs from the power supply unit (PSU), the lower voltages will be generated from point of load DC-DC converters on the PC motherboard. Solid state disks and optical drives will take power from a new “side-mounted SATA power connector near the SATA data ports.”
As Intel owns Enpirion which makes chip-scale point of load DC-DC converters, this will be another component for Intel to ship to board makers alongside the processor and networking devices. But it also opens up the motherboard market for other chip-scale DC-DC converter makers.
The move has been driven by the new power states in high end PCs, says Intel. These Alternative Sleep Modes (ASM) such as Microsoft’s Modern Standby or the Lucid Sleep from Google Chrome have created new requirements at 0.55A and 1.5A load levels, and the ATX12VO specification has been developed to address these. Intel also says the number of times the PSU toggles on and off is expected to increase, and simplifying the connections to a single power line improves the reliability of the supplies.
The new specification also includes new modular power connector designs for the different uses. The CPU connectors on the motherboard are with a 4pin (2×2) or 8pin (2×4) connector, while the graphics card needs a 6pin or 8pin connector, but use different pin locations and keying and so are not interchangeable.
Prototype systems were seen at the CES show in Las Vegas this month, and the ATX12VO specification is expected to be formally lanuched with production PSUs later this year.
The design guide is at www.intel.co.uk


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Survey of marketing decision-makers reveals major hurdles in updating CX strategies.
- Lack of customer insights is the biggest challenge to a successful customer experience strategy for 54% of marketers surveyed
- Over half of companies say they are unable to identify customers on their own website
- Data-driven customer experience strategies are crucial for success
Mapp, the international provider of insight-led customer engagement, today released the results of a study on current customer experience strategies. The findings reveal that, while 89% of respondents think a CX strategy is important or very important to business success, less than half (47%) review and evaluate their CX strategy annually or even less frequently. Nearly the same amount (88%) agree that it is important to understand changing customer needs using customer analytics to improve CX. Yet only half (55%) of CX and marketing decision-makers plan to implement customer analytics in 2021.
Customer experience is paramount – but implementation is still lacking
Those companies that do plan to implement customer analytics tools expect to use it to facilitate improved customer insight (75%), gain a better understanding of customer intent (55%) and improve their ability to update their CX strategy (55%) in an agile manner. A full 80% of marketers expect enhanced personalization.
Despite the clear benefits, companies face major hurdles when it comes to updating their CX strategy. Respondents cite the difficulty of linking business outcomes to real customer needs (83%), insufficient technology platforms (77%), and a lack of vision and alignment among leaders, teams, and employees (72%).
Lack of insights as the biggest challenge to improved CX
Although customer experience (CX) and customer insights are not new to the marketing industry, many marketers still face the challenge of gaining truly relevant customer insights to keep pace with end-user expectations.
Over half (53%) of marketers say they are unable to identify customers on their website, even though this is the foundation for gaining insights and driving CX. Following Google’s announcement that it will no longer support third-party cookies, first-party data will play an even more important role, as valid data collection and the identification of the right insights are more important than ever. For 54% of respondents, the lack of customer insights is by far the biggest challenge when it comes to enabling better brand experiences. 57% of marketers surveyed consider lack of skilled talent being their primary challenge in delivering better CX.
At the same time, however, only a quarter attribute their success in recent years to talent improvement. This proves that while hiring and developing qualified staff is important, using the right tools for insight-driven marketing offers the greatest economic success. 65% of respondents expect that new technology leads to improved customer insights.
More know-how and sales through customer insights
To better understand their customers’ needs, companies are already investing in their MarTech stacks. For improved customer understanding, the marketers surveyed cite customer analytics (56%), customer data management (52%) and marketing automation (49%) as top investments in the last two years.
In addition, 51% of decision-makers have also already achieved greater performance using customer insights. Companies that have implemented AI or ML tools also report improved ability to update their strategy (62%), greater understanding of customer intent (58%) and improved customer insights (57%).
Ricardas Montvila, VP Global Strategy at Mapp comments, “Our study shows that targeted improvement of the customer experience leads to significantly faster growth and more revenue and should, therefore, be a top priority for every marketer. Given the focus on online business models, marketing must be aligned even more efficiently to achieve this. After all, understanding customers is the basis for brand experiences that work, and investing in customer analytics is a prerequisite for a marketing ecosystem that enables this understanding. Technology helps to identify actionable insights and user segments for highly personalized customer experiences and to place brand messages across channels.”
About the study
The commissioned study was conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Mapp in December 2020 with 203 marketing decision-makers from multi-channel retail, eCommerce, CPG/D2C and financial services in the US, Canada, and Europe.
Download the study here: https://mapp.com/the-dos-and-donts-of-improving-your-customer-experience-in-2021/
Marketers and data specialists should be able to focus on what will make a difference for their business, instead of spending all their time taming the technology behind it. With the insight-led customer engagement platform Mapp Cloud, they can focus on what really counts – and the exciting insights that come with it. Thanks to customer intelligence and marketing analytics, companies can easily and effectively gain data-driven customer insights across all channels in order to trigger highly personalized marketing activities. Customers benefit from AI-supported forecasting models that enable targeted and self-optimizing cross-channel campaigns. Automated messages are sent via the most suitable marketing channel, at the right time, with the optimal contact frequency. Thanks to advanced one-to-one personalization, the highest levels of engagement and long-term customer loyalty are achieved.
Mapp has global offices in seven countries. Mapp’s digital marketing platform helps more than 3,000 companies break away from the pack by uncovering missed opportunities, including Argos, Ella’s Kitchen, Expert, Freesat, Lloyds Banking Group, MyToys, Pepsico, Quint and The Entertainer.


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Sonoma Wine Co., which provides custom-crush winemaking services, has been awarded Certified California Sustainable Winery status for its Graton and American Canyon winemaking facilities
The designations were awarded through the third-party certification process from the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance.
The certification will allow Sonoma Wine Co. clients to use the alliance's logo on marketing materials, websites and secondary packaging, but not on a wine label.
"This is a validation of the great works that the team at Sonoma Wine Co. has been undertaking since we began operations in 2001," Natasha Granoff, director of business development, said in a statement. "We've received many environmental awards at the regional and state level, but this is really gratifying for us given its comprehensive criteria."
The alliance established certification programs to recognize the adoption of sustainable practices by California wineries and vineyards.
Compiled by Press Democrat staff. Submit items to Staff Writer Cathy Bussewitz at email@example.com


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Android’s growth outpaced the iPhone in the past six months but Apple’s hallmark device remains the most desired phone, according to the most recent data release by Nielsen.
The ratings firm said Android grabbed 27 percent of new smartphone subscribers by the second quarter of this year while the iPhone had a 23 percent market share during the same period.
Despite Android’s growth, Nielsen found that iPhone users are more loyal. Nearly 90 percent of current iPhone users intend to stick with the platform, compared with 71 percent of Android owners who would choose the platform on their next device, Nielsen reported.
Owners of Research In Motion’s BlackBerry phones showed the highest rate of defection, with just 42 percent reporting they would stick with the operating system for their next device.
In spite of the loyalty gap for the platform, BlackBerry remained dominant with a 35 percent market share, with Apple coming in a strong second with 28 percent of the market, Nielsen reported. Android has enjoyed steady growth since the fourth quarter of last year and now holds 13 percent of the overall smartphone market.
Nielsen also gave some projections for smartphone penetration in the United States. The firm predicts that smartphones will overtake feature phones in the U.S. market by the end of next year. Smartphones currently comprise one-quarter of the U.S. mobile market, according to Nielsen estimates.


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Meituan Waimai, one of China’s three largest online catering service platforms, has fired an employee for regional discrimination in recruitment which triggered a public outcry. The employee, Tian Yuan, sparked an online uproar Wednesday as viral posts showed Tian asking for recommendations of a candidate for the company’s position of product operator by offering a reward of 10,000 yuan ($1,450). However, Tian requires the applicants to be none of those people who “look ugly in resume,” “are graduate or PhD,” “drive Volkswagen-branded car,” “believe in traditional Chinese medicine” and “are from Huangfan region and Northeast China.”…Full Article: ECNS.cn May 2017
- Huangfan region primarily encompasses Henan Province. As such, some Meituan users from Henan stated they would uninstall the app.
- In February 2017, the China Food and Drug Administration mandated that online restaurants have brick-and-mortar stores. The requirement to force online restaurants to have brick-and-mortar stores is designed to ensure that the major online delivery businesses of Meituan, Eleme and Baidu work with registered/licensed eateries.
- From December 2016 to early January 2017, the Beijing Food and Drug Administration (BFDA) ordered 225 online meal ordering/delivery businesses to close, as well as 4,409 registered restaurants to “overhaul their practices”. The majority of the offending businesses were registered with Baidu Waimai, Meituan Waimai, and Eleme.
- In August 2016, Beijing Food and Drug Administration (BFDA) announced they began investigating Baidu Waimai, Meituan Waimai, and Eleme. According to the BFDA, they will investigate restaurants or food providers from all three e-commerce websites. Violations typically entail fines of up to CNY 200,000 (US$30,145) for the hosting e-commerce platforms.
- In early 2016, Meituan Waimai operated in approximately 250 Chinese cities.
- In November 2015, according to Data Center of China Internet (DCCI), Baidu Waimai had a 32% market share, followed by Meituan Waimai at 31.2% and Eleme at 29.8%.
- In June 2015, Alibaba and Ant Financial acquired Koubei [50/50 joint venture, US$483.3 million each] to counter the Tencent-backed [see also JD.com] Meituan-Dianping online platform.
Hong Kong Trends


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Me and Z's in Arroyo Grande wants to congratulate those who have received a vaccine.
Owner Zenaida Stevens said anyone with proof of receiving the vaccine, whether it be the vaccination record card or selfie getting the shot, can get a complementary taco.
Stevens is offering outdoor and indoor seating for those wanting to enjoy their taco on site.
This is a one time offer good until California reopens on June 15, according to Stevens.
Me and Z's has been open since 2008 and is known for their seafood selection, chili rellenos, carne asada burritos and tamales.


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Where and how consumers shop for food and beverages continues to evolve as eCommerce reshapes the path-to-purchase. Despite growth in supercenters, mass-format stores experienced the sharpest decline of all the channels and formats, with sales down 12.5 percent and store counts decelerating by 7.3 percent, according to Long Grove, Ill.-based Willard Bishop’s “The Future of Food Retailing, 2017” report.
Willard Bishop’s Senior Director Jon Hauptman also notes the decreases experienced by mass merchandisers, but highlights that overall supercenters have performed well. “Grocery and consumables sales within traditional mass merchandisers (not including supercenters) has declined significantly (down 12.5 percent) over the past year, with mass merchandisers losing half a point of market share for these products,” he explains. “Supercenters continue to increase sales and share. Additionally, we’re seeing significant growth in both the limited assortment channel (e.g., Aldi, Lidl) and among fresh formats.”
Supercenters continue to be a “bright light” among mass merchants. Supercenters likely could replace traditional mass merchandisers in major markets, while traditional mass merchants could be left to serve smaller trade areas, Hauptman adds.
Laurie Rains, group vice president of U.S. retail commercial strategy at New York-based Nielsen, also highlights the comprehensive shopping experience supercenters provide to shoppers, allowing one-stop shopping for time-starved consumers.
Excluding hypermarkets, warehouse clubs and cash-and-carry stores, Chicago-based Euromonitor International notes that store-based mass merchandisers had 2016 sales of $970.8 billion, a decline of 7.2 percent for the 2011-2016 time period.
Susan Viamari, vice president of Thought Leadership at Information Resources Inc. (IRI), Chicago, also points to a decline in the mass merchandiser channel. “The mass/super channel saw dollar sales decline 3 percent and unit sales slide 5.5 percent during the past year,” she says. “During the past three years, the channel has declined an average [of] 4.6 percent in dollar sales and 7.5 percent [in] units each year.
“The entire [consumer packaged goods] (CPG) industry has been struggling to establish consistent growth,” Viamari continues. “Consumers are taking a cautious approach to shopping [and] prices have fallen, negatively impacting dollar sales growth. We also see a shift to value channels, like dollar and club channels. Dollar [outlets] saw dollars sales [increase] 2.5 percent yearly and unit sales [increase] 1.3 percent yearly, on average, during the past three years.”
Market analysts note that several factors are impacting the mass merchandising channel, including fierce competition among channels and the fact that 76 percent of all shipping trips begin online.
When it comes to the beverage market, grocery and warehouse clubs are among the closest competitors to the mass merchandiser channel, Nielsen’s Rains notes.
The trends that are impacting beverage sales in the mass merchandiser channel are aligned with those impacting beverage sales across most U.S. retailers. “Emerging beverages, like [ready-to-drink] (RTD) energy and RTD tea, are still high in growth and opportunity,” Rains says. “Beverage manufacturers should also be aware of a growing popularity of functional beverages among millennials. Similar to other categories, millennials are looking for beverages with clean packaging and clean attributes for healthier beverage products.”
The urbanization conundrum
In addition to competition for consumer dollars, urbanization, particularly the cost and availability of real estate in urban environments, is impacting retailers.
“Traditional large-square-footage stores do not work in high-priced urban environments,” Rains explains. “Limited availability of mass merchandiser stores in urban areas has resulted in consumers living in these areas to shop across different channels such as convenience, drug or supermarkets.”
More than 90 percent of store growth is coming from increasing store count, particularly in the form of small-format stores, with retailers focused on competing with the right store format in the right geography at the right time, says IRI’s Viamari, citing IRI’s Omnichannel Journey report.
For example, the expansion of Kroger’s Marketplace format, which averages from 100,000 to 130,000 square feet, as compared with the 165,000 square feet of the average Kroger store, grew from 86 stores in 2013 to more than 128 stores in 2016, Viamari says.
Other retailers also are making store-format adjustments. “Target and Walmart are looking to increase profitability and efficiency by rolling out more Target Express and Walmart Neighborhood Markets, respectively, looking to tap into existing urban markets and cater to customers that do not want to invest the time and effort to shop big-box stores,” Viamari says.
Retailers also are balancing the need for efficiency against the drive for store sales growth and return on investment, Viamari says.
“Above all, these models must stay in lockstep with evolving shopper behaviors and trip patterns, so retailers are investing to establish and maintain a 360-degree understanding of consumer shopping behavior,” she says. “Supercenters play an important role for mass merchandisers because food and beverage do a lot to drive traffic, frequency and basket size.”
In response to urbanization, small-format stores might hold the key, Nielsen’s Rains says. “Major big-box retail chains across the U.S. are starting to open small formats as part of their strategy to grow in dense suburban and urban markets, as well as on college campuses,” Rains explains. “For other major retailers, offering an ‘express’ version of their larger store formats is one example of how to expand in big cities and small towns, offering the appeal of more convenience.”
The eCommerce effect
ECommerce continues to impact not only the mass merchandiser channel but also every part of the beverage industry. “In 2016, eCommerce sales accounted for $33 billion (4 percent) of the $795 billion in food and beverage sales. By 2021, food and beverage sales will grow to $930 billion, and online sales will account for 8 percent of sales, or $70 billion,” states Willard Bishop’s report.
An infographic from IRI shows that digital will influence 77 percent of all retail sales, while 50 percent of CPG category market growth will be online by 2018.
Willard Bishop’s Hauptman notes that grocery sales from eCommerce increased 24 percent versus a year ago. “I’d expect most food retailers to focus on establishing three- to five-year eCommerce plans in 2018,” he says.
When it comes to the future of the mass merchandising channel, Willard Bishop’s report estimates that by 2021, the number of supercenters will rise to 4,560 stores, an increase of 11.1 percent. However, store counts for mass merchandisers will decrease from 2,775 stores in 2016 to 1,904 stores in 2021.
Euromonitor also points to an expected decline in U.S. sales for store-based mass merchandisers. The market research firm forecasts sales of $94.6 billion by 2021, a decline of 3.3 percent for the 2016-2021 time period.
Mass merchandisers will continue to be challenged in the future, Willard Bishop’s Hauptman says. “CPG manufacturers are disproportionately investing in growth channels — and mass does not appear to be one of them,” he says.
In the face of increasing competition, IRI’s Viamari suggests that mass merchandisers reinvent themselves to support omnichannel shopping and the demands of time-starved consumers. “Footprints will likely continue to shrink, at least in new store openings, as mass merchandisers try to be ‘where the shopper is,’” she says. “Dialing in assortment for each and every store based on the shopper that frequents that store is essential to ongoing growth.” BI


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Store owners in Rockaway mall were sent a memo regarding store hours for Black Friday.
(Robert Sciarrino/The Star-Ledger)
ROCKAWAY — In order to accommodate Black Friday shoppers, owners at the Rockaway Townsquare mall will be required to keep their shops open 26 straight hours starting Thanksgiving evening.
Gawker posted a memo sent to Rockaway mall retailers from Simon, owners of 15 malls in New Jersey, stating that the mall will be "opening at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving evening and remain open through Black Friday, closing at 10 p.m."
The memo goes on to say, “This being a change from past seasons we wanted to provide you with enough lead time to schedule your staff accordingly and as a friendly reminder all tenants are expected to follow the holiday schedule.”
Let us know what you think. Be sure to vote in our poll.