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This week on The Vergecast, as you can imagine, Dieter Bohn, Nilay Patel, and Paul Miller discuss what was announced at Apple’s hardware event on Tuesday.
Both Nilay and Dieter were able to attend the event and demo the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, Apple Watch Series 5, and new iPad in person. Listen to this week’s episode of The Vergecast to hear their first impressions.
Then you should probably keep listening for the continuing adventures of the Pixel 4 leaks and Paul’s weekly segment “Here’s the place where we do the crimes, signed your friend, a teen.”
Here are the articles from The Verge that are discussed on this episode:
- iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max: hands-on with Apple’s new flagship phones
- Apple’s new iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro cameras: what they do
- With the iPhone 11 Pro, what does it even mean for a phone to be ‘pro’?
- Apple’s new iPhone finally sacrifices thinness for battery life
- The 3 best and worst features of the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max
- The iPhone 11 Pro comes with a USB-C 18W wall charger and USB-C to Lightning cable
- iPhone 11 improves on the XR in every way
- iPhone 11: a first look at Apple’s new default iPhone
- The iPhone 11, Pro, and Pro Max will cost $699, $999, and $1,099, respectively
- AirDrop on the iPhone 11 will let you point at people to share photos
- Apple’s iPhone 11 doesn’t have 5G because 5G isn’t ready for the iPhone
- What we’re still waiting for after Apple’s iPhone 11 event
- Apple Watch Series 5: hands-on with the new generation smartwatch
- The upgraded seventh-gen iPad has a 10.2-inch display
- iPad 10.2-inch: hands-on with Apple’s new 7th-gen tablet
- Apple Arcade is launching on September 19th for $4.99 a month
- Apple TV Plus one-year trial comes with every Apple device purchase
- Here’s Apple TV Plus’ launch lineup
- Apple TV Plus launches on November 1st for $4.99 per month
- Google takes one tiny step closer to the world beneath the world
- Google Pixel 4 XL leaked in extensive hands-on videos
- Leak reveals how the Pixel 4’s new face unlock setup differs from Face ID
- Leaked Google Pixel 4 photos show orange color variant
- Leaked Google Pixel 4 promo video includes gestures, astrophotography mode, and more
- Latest Pixel 4 rumors claim 8x zoom, improved Night Sight, and new ‘Motion Mode’
- Leaked Google Pixel 4 XL pictures show off the giant top bezel
The Vergecast /
Weekly tech roundup and interviews with major figures from the tech world.


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Blinkit, the online delivery platform which was previously known as Grofers, is limiting its operations in India. The company on Monday announced that it will only operate in locations where it can ensure product deliveries to users in 10 minutes. Blinkit is temporarily closing down services in areas where it cannot fulfill deliveries within the said time frame. Grofers recently rebranded itself as Blinkit. Swiggy's Instamart, BigBasket, Dunzo, and Zepto are the company's major rivals in the space.
Albinder Dhindsa, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Blinkit announced via a blog post the decision to shut down the services in areas where it cannot offer faster deliveries. The Blinkit service will now be available in only the areas where the company is able to arrive at users' locations within 10 minutes (or less).
"In the near-term, this call will have a significant impact for our business size, and for a large number of our customers. We expect this to impact around 75,000 of the 200,000 daily customers we are serving", Dhindsa said.
He said that the firm is opening a new store every four hours and looking forward to serving all the affected customers within four weeks. Users can update their exact location on the Blinkit app to see if they are currently serviceable.
Grofers, which started operations as an online grocer in late 2013, rebranded itself Blinkit last week. It had recently attained unicorn status or $1 billion (roughly Rs. 7588 crore) in valuation, after raising more than $120 million (roughly Rs. 910.6 crore) from the online food delivery platform Zomato and existing investor Tiger Global Management as a part of an ongoing raise.
The company, which until now has focused mainly on grocery deliveries, is said to have more than 100 partner stores or warehouses in eight cities. Also, it reportedly has 2,000 employees currently and processes over a million orders a week, across 12 cities in India.
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Australians are being told to brace for a long delay to any travel plans as international borders remain closed.
While no specific time frame has been given for reopening the borders, Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has suggested they could remain closed past the end of the year and into 2021.
The one exception to this is New Zealand, with the government there pushing for the reopening of trans-Tasman flights and an expanding of the travel bubble to include both countries.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said he is open to the idea.
“I can’t see international travel happening any time soon. The only exception, as I have flagged, is potentially with New Zealand, and we have had some good discussions about that,” he said.
Both Australia and New Zealand are doing well in flattening the curve in comparison to other countries around the world and have seen lower rates of infection and death compared to their peers.
“For both of us, I anticipate that border restrictions will be present for a long time, so it becomes whether or not there's anything we can build into those border restrictions that take into account our goals to keep COVID out for both of us,” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern recently said.
The reopening of the border with New Zealand could mean Australians could travel there in the coming months.
But holidays to Bali or Thailand will remain off the cards for much longer.
Airlines are offering customers with booked flights the chance to reschedule up until the middle of 2021 and many are predicting borders to remain closed until several months before.
Meg Hall from Chimu Adventures said the Australian tour operator is playing it by ear and just looking at things on a "month to month" scale.
"We just don't know, we would love to have a date we could tell our customers travel will start again from, but we just can't," she told SBS News.
She said they remained optimistic about getting passengers on Antartica cruises leaving in November 2021, but everything earlier than that remained up in the air.
Meanwhile Australians are being encouraged to holiday at home to boost the struggling domestic tourism industry.
“There may be a slightly earlier point in time where it becomes feasible to think about domestic travel again. We’re not there yet but certainly this time is a good time for a bit of dreaming, planning, thinking about the Aussie break that you might take when we finally get to the other side of this,” Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said.
But in many states the borders remain closed, especially those that have seen fewer cases and have begun the easing of restrictions such as Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory.
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others. Check your state’s restrictions on gathering limits.
Testing for coronavirus is now widely available across Australia. If you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, arrange a test by calling your doctor or contact the Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
The federal government's coronavirus tracing app COVIDSafe is available for download from your phone's app store.
SBS is committed to informing Australia’s diverse communities about the latest COVID-19 developments. News and information is available in 63 languages at


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The 2018 Woodward Dream Cruise kicks off this weekend and as the sponsor of the event, Ford has announced what it has planned for the weekend. The big news is that Ford plans to reveal a new production model on Thursday.
Ford hasn’t provided any hints at what the new production model will be that we get to see on Thursday, but it’s expected that it will be a new version of the Ford Mustang. If it is in fact a new Mustang, the debut will also coincide with the 20th anniversary of Mustang Alley, which Ford expects as many as 1,000 Mustangs will be lined up for nearly a mile on Saturday, August 18.
The 2019 Mustang Bullitt will also be part of the festivities, since the Mustang “JDRF” Bullitt, a one-off Kona Blue Mustang Bullitt will also debut before its raffled off in November to support juvenile diabetes research. On Saturday the 2019 Mustang Bullitt and historic Mustang Bullitt models will parade down Woodward Avenue.
Ford will also have the first Mustang ever sold, a 1964.5 Mustang, plus the 10-millionth Mustang displayed at Ford Media Club House.


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The impact of price fall of sugar at the wholesale level is yet to be noticed as the traders were selling the item at its previous rates at the retail level during the last week.
Traders said during the last week the price of sugar registered a slight declining trend mainly due to entry of smuggled sugar from India.
Traders said at the wholesale level, sugar was selling between Tk 1,875 and Tk 1,880 per maund compared to its previous rates between Tk 1,910 and Tk 1,915 per maund.
But the declining price trend was, however, yet to be visible at the retail level, as consumers were still buying sugar at prices between Tk 52 and Tk 54 per kg during the last week.
Meanwhile, the prices of lentil and onion slightly increased and the prices of other essential commodities remained unchanged in the city markets over the last week.
Lentil was selling at Tk 54 per kg compared to its previous rate at Tk 52 per kg.
Locally produced onion was selling between Tk 13 and Tk 14 per kg compared to its previous rates between Tk 10 and Tk 12 per kg.
Traders said lentil price registered an increase in the city markets over the last week mainly due to higher value of dollar against the local currency.
Prices of coarse varieties of rice were unchanged at Tk 16.30-Tk 17.20 at the wholesale level, and at Tk18.0-Tk 19.0 per kg at the retail market.
At the retail level, finer varieties of rice were selling between Tk 22 and Tk 28 per kg over the past week.
Traders said prices of brinjal remained unchanged at Tk 20-Tk 24 per kg.
Bitter gourd was selling between Tk 16 and Tk 20 per kg, unchanged from the previous week's price level.
Traders said snake gourd was selling at Tk 20-24 per kg in the city markets over the last week.
One kg packet flour was selling at Tk 21 per kg while its two kg packet was selling at Tk 42, unchanged from the previous week.
Edible oil of different brands in five-litre containers was selling at Tk 265-270, unchanged from the previous week.
Traders said 'motorshuti' was selling at Tk 48-50 per kg, unchanged from the previous week.
Prices of 'mugh' and 'Khesari dal' (two varieties of pulses) remained unchanged at Tk 70 per kg and at Tk 44 per kg respectively.
Beef and broiler chicken were sold at their previous rates between Tk 130 and Tk 140 per kg and between Tk 85-Tk 90 per kg respectively.
Traders said eggs were selling at Tk 48 per dozen, unchanged from the previous level.


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- Miller Lite worked with partner Vatom Labs on a mobile game called Great Taste Trivia as part its "Know Your Beer" campaign, according to a press release. The blockchain-based trivia game appears in apps, social channels and geotargeted media that reach mobile users in more than 230,000 bars and restaurants nationwide.
- Contestants enter the game by submitting their email address and affirming they're at least 21. The game challenges players to answer 12 trivia questions correctly in order to win one of 10,000 cash prizes of $5 each via PayPal. QR codes on posters and point-of-sale materials in bars also activate the game, which runs through September.
- Miller Lite relies on blockchain technology to support the game, social badges and rewards for viral sharing, and to ensure the $5 rewards can't be counterfeited. Vatom Labs uses SmartMedia software objects to track activations and engagements and to attribute rewards based on its analysis.
Miller Lite's mobile trivia game is notable for leveraging blockchain, the digital ledger technology that powers digital coins like bitcoin and Ethereum, to authenticate and immediately reward winners with real cash prizes. Most applications of blockchain from marketers have been focused on back-end work on the digital media supply chain, but the beer brand is showing how the emerging technology can be used in tandem with other tactics like gamification and rewards-based systems.
Working with Vatom Labs on the blockchain game could help Miller Lite track activations and engagement, giving the brand more detailed data that can be used for future campaigns. Geolocation data are especially valuable to brands because they provide insights into real consumer behavior that are typically difficult to glean from voluntary surveys.
Miller Lite is providing a gamified experience that aims to reach mobile users in bars and restaurants, where trivia games have become a popular way to lure patrons and engage them in a more convivial activity. The game could help to reach young adults who rely on their smartphones to connect with friends and to share their experiences on social media. Alcohol brands such as Kahlúa, Skyy Vodka and Malibu, among others, have developed mobile campaigns aimed at prolonging brand exposure among those on-the-go consumers.
The trivia game is the latest installment of Miller Lite's "Know Your Beer" campaign that launched two years ago to highlight its ingredients and contrast them with Bud Light's, which has similarly put more marketing heft behind ingredient transparency. Young adults have tended to shun major beer brands that are seen as inauthentic, "uncool" or unhealthy, making an emphasis on beer ingredients more imperative for brewers.
The battle over ingredients this year became more contentious after Bud Light's parent company, AB InBev, ran a Super Bowl ad calling attention to MillerCoors' use of corn syrup in the beer-making process. The campaign resulted in an ongoing lawsuit between the two rivals.


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The most visited channel stories on MicroScope.co.uk from the last seven days.
Apple reignites race for the digital living room
Apple is aiming to get its brand firmly entrenched in the living room with a slimmed down and more attractively priced TV product that allows users to hire and watch movies and Internet video content.
HP edges back in front in race to acquire 3Par
Hardly had the share price of storage player 3Par had time to react to Dell matching HP's offer of $1.8bn than the race to seal the deal to acquire the company reached another level at the start of the week. The scrappy bidding war reached its conclusion on Thursday.
Gartner warns of slowing PC demand, downgrades forecast
Gartner has warned that the litmus test for recovery in the PC market will come in the second half of the year but the early signs are not encouraging.
Lenovo gunning for UK consumers despite late market entry
Lenovo expects to grab 5% of the consumer market in the UK by year-end after finally launching into the sector with DSGi in the summer.
Slow-burning Cisco UCS gains traction at last
Cisco's UCS proposition has indubitably been a slow starter, but more than a year after it first saw the light of day it is starting to gain a long awaited element of traction within the UK market.
Best of the blogs
This week, Reseller Radar looked forward to the day (coming soon) when Oracle breaks its vow of silence over the integration of the Sun channel. Meanwhile, Network Noise caught BT being a little cheeky with its latest broadband statistics, and Quicke off the Mark stood up for our right to a Bank Holiday lie-in.


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Maruti Suzuki Brezza will be launching this week and the compact SUV will be reigniting interest in buyers by offering a host of new features and even powertrain options. A new report has now surfaced giving us a good understanding of the variants that will be offered with the 2022 Brezza. The leaked document has also revealed crucial details like the size of the SUV and the engine power figures. Also Read - Maruti Suzuki Brezza SUV launched in India at Rs 7.99 lakh: Check variants, features, more
The 2022 Brezza variants and engine options have been revealed via the Type Approval Certificate that has been issued by ICAT, Manesar. The certificate has been spotted by Rushlane and it also details the engine that the new sub-4m compact SUV will be using in the 2022 Brezza. Also Read - Brezza 2022 SUV launch today: Check all details about features, expected variants and more
Maruti Suzuki Brezza 2022 Hybrid SUV Variants
Maruti Suzuki will be introducing the mild hybrid option with the 2022 Brezza SUV. The new car will be launched in a total of 10 variants which includes 3 automatic variants and seven manual transmission variants. According to the report, the new 2022 Brezza will offer an automatic transmission with three variants which are VXI, ZXI, and ZXI+. Also Read - Toyota teases new SUV to rival Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, production to begin this year
Brezza will be borrowing the powertrain from Ertiga. The car uses the same 1.5-liter K-series engine which churns out 103PS of power. The hybrid powertrain will provide some added boost to the standard engine. The mileage is also expected to get a boost.
2022 Brezza Dimensions
The leaked document shows details about the vehicle’s dimensions. The gross weight of the 2022 Brezza is 1640 kg and the wheelbase is 2500mm. The width and length is the same at 1790mm and 3995mm respectively. However, the height of the SUV has now increased to 1686 (unladen). In comparison, the outgoing model has a height of 1640mm.
Brezza SUV Upgrades
Brezza 2022 will be adopting a lot of elements from the Baleno 2022. And that may not be a bad thing. The premium hatchback is loaded with features that can be seen in the leaked images of the interiors.
The sub-4m compact SUV will be borrowing the digital instrument cluster from Baleno 2022. The steering wheel also seems to be identical with a slightly flattened-out bottom.
The Brezza 2022 will get the same 9-inch unit that we see on the Baleno 2022. It is expected to get support for both Apple Car Play and Android Auto. Additionally, you might also get a wireless charging pad for smartphones.
The Brezza 2022 will also be getting the heads-up display (HUD). We can’t be sure if this is a feature that buyers would be looking for but its good to have an option. The Brezza 2022 will be getting cruise control along with other steering control options.
The Brezza 2022 will also finally get a sunroof. The competition in the segment has been gaining points for this feature. The new sunroof will be electric. Another good and useful addition will be a 360-degree camera view.


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O: 855-207-0927 ext. 7016
NORTH CANTON, Ohio – January 26, 2016 – Local software development company Squirrels LLC received a third-place ranking in Fortune Magazine’s list of Best Workplaces for Technology 2016. This selection comes one month after Fortune named Squirrels one of the 50 Best Workplaces for Camaraderie.
Squirrels was chosen from a selection of more than 150 tech companies in the U.S., including Google and Yelp. Fortune divided the list of winners into three categories based on company size. Squirrels is the only Ohio-based company recognized in the Best Small Workplaces in Tech category.
“Our employees enjoy a workplace experience that you don’t often find in Ohio or anywhere in the Midwest,” Squirrels co-founder Andrew Gould said. “We brought the West Coast tech culture to North Canton and we’d like to continue to nurture that.”
The Great Place to Work’s Recognition Program compiled this list utilizing feedback from 48,000 employees gathered through the Great Place to Work’s Trust Index Employee Survey. It takes into consideration career-development opportunities, risk-taking, work-life balance, compensation, recognition, transparency, camaraderie and more.
Squirrels leans heavily on Apple products, which stems from its roots in Apple development. Each employee is issued a new MacBook upon employment. As an added bonus, employees are provided subsidies to upgrade to the latest iPhone every year.
“Flex scheduling, summer holidays, company retreats, paid health insurance and sponsored lunches are just a few of the other perks we offer employees,” Gould said. “We’re constantly looking for new ways to reward our team members for their commitment to our company.”
Squirrels uses a wide range of the latest tech devices to conduct business. The Quality Assurance lab houses an abundant number of iMacs, Mac minis, laptops, Chromebooks, iOS devices, Android devices and more to test and ensure compatibility with the company’s screen-mirroring software.
For more information, visit http://reviews.greatplacetowork.com and Fortune or contact Squirrels at 1-855-207-0927 x 7016
About The Best Workplaces for Technology Selection
The Best Workplaces in Technology is a “best of the best” ranking. The winners come from the universe of companies with published Great Place to Work® Reviews. Of nearly 600 companies with published Reviews, 155 companies identified themselves as being in the technology sector. More than 48,000 employees at these companies were randomly selected to complete Great Place to Work’s Trust Index© Employee Survey. Results from the survey are highly reliable, having a 95 percent confidence level and a margin of error of 5 percent of less.
Squirrels is a software-development company specializing in wireless audio and video transmission. Its industry-leading products include AirParrot 2, Reflector 2 and Reflector Director™. More information about these products and Squirrels can be found at https://airsquirrels.com.
O: 855-207-0927 ext. 7016


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- All products are added to your cart.
The Pickle Juice Company - Extra Strength Pickle Juice Shots 2.5oz
Suffering From Muscle Cramps? Pick Pickle Juice
Ben Muessig Contributor
(June 14 2010) — Gatorade® isn’t the only greenish drink that athletes crave. A new study indicates that pickle brine could help athletes when they need it most. Researchers say the juice at the bottom of a pickle jar is more effective at staving off crippling muscle cramps than water. To prove the salty premise long believed by some trainers and serious athletes, scientists induced toe cramps in male college students after forcing the subjects to bike to the point of mild dehydration. The average cramp lasted about two minutes and 30 seconds.
The Pickle Juice Company, LLC
A new study has revealed that pickle brine might be more effective than sports drinks at treating muscle cramps, confirming a longstanding assumption in the sports world. Football players, cyclists and triathletes have been sipping dill-flavored drinks, including bottles of The Pickle Juice Company, LLC, for years. Those who downed the brine stopped complaining of cramping within 85 seconds — about 37 percent faster than the water drinkers and 45 percent faster than when they didn’t drink anything at all.
Dr. Kevin Miller, the lead author of the study, told the Times he thinks pickle brine helps cure cramps because it triggers a nerve reaction. In fact, pickle brine seemed to ease cramp pains so quickly that he doubts it even had time to leave athletes’ stomachs before it started to work. Instead, Miller and the other researchers argued that pickle juice might spark some kind of “neurally mediated reflex” that helps give the right cues to misfiring muscles, which are thought to cause cramps.
Though the study offers some concrete proof that pickle juice can quickly treat muscle cramps, the salty drink is still just a drop in the ocean at major sporting events compared to water and other sports drinks.
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010 May;42(5):953-61. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181c0647e.
Reflex inhibition of electrically induced muscle cramps in hypohydrated humans.
Miller KC1, Mack GW, Knight KL, Hopkins JT, Draper DO, Fields PJ, Hunter I.
- 1Department of Health, Nutrition, and Exercise Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58108-6050, USA. Kevin.C.Miller@ndsu.edu
Because Pickle Juice® is a food designed for human consumption we have the following recommendations for optimum storage:
- No refrigeration required (though it may be refrigerated)
- Store away from excessive heat in a cool, dry place
- Do not freeze in original bottle (though it may be frozen in appropriate containers)
- Rotate stock according to production code date (use oldest product first)
- Recap containers – do not leave open
Pickle Juice® has an extended shelf life of two years due to the ingredients of salt and vinegar which are natural preservatives producing a low pH. A “Best By” date is indelibly printed on every bottle for easy reference.
Running on pickle juice: Marathoners find a sour solution to muscle cramps
By Paul Morgan
Dr. Rick Ganzi, of Holland, is an avid marathoner who had a problem when he first started running the grueling 26-mile races 15 years ago.
The 46-year-old had a problem with muscle cramps.
“In my first 10 marathons, I had five or six of them that were destroyed by muscle cramps,” he said. “I would feel good after about 20 miles, but then something would cramp, usually my calf, and I would have to stop and stretch before I could continue and then my time would be destroyed.
“It got so bad that I almost gave up marathon running.”
Then a bodybuilding friend told him that many of the competitors would eat pickles to help them from losing sodium and cramping up. Ganzi also likes to tell people about a National Football League game about 10 years ago between Philadelphia and Dallas that was won by the Eagles on an extremely hot day. Philadelphia didn’t cramp up as much as Dallas because the Eagles drank several ounces of pickle juice for several days before the game.
Some marathon runners depend on pickle juice to provide the sodium their bodies lose in a long race.
“So I started drinking pickle juice before a marathon,” he said. “I didn’t cramp up and I had my best time ever.”
After drinking the juice for several years, he thought that maybe it wasn’t the juice that was keeping him from cramping, so he didn’t drink it prior to a race, “and I cramped up, so that told me there was something to the pickle juice that was helping me out,” Ganzi said.
“The juice is a niche market for athletes who do an event for several hours. It has a limited role, to help people who run marathons, ultra-marathons (50-mile-plus events) and Ironman triathlons. It’s not for the everyday person who works out for an hour or so.”
When he helped start the Grand Rapids Marathon in 2004, Ganzi found a sponsor in Golden Pickle Juice of Golden, Texas.
Ganzi has looked at data about marathon runners who lose a lot of sodium after a race.
“There was one study that enrolled runners in the Boston Marathon, and what they found was that 15 percent had low sodium levels when they crossed the finish line and some of them were life-threateningly low,” he said. “It’s called hyponatremia.”
One problem with pickle juice is that some people hate the taste. Several races have gone to a better-tasting broth with a strong concentration of sodium to help runners.
Ganzi now swears by the juice. He recently completed the 56-mile Comrades Marathon in South Africa without having muscle cramps.
“In a race like that, a runner can lose 20-to-25 grams of sodium, which is around 20 percent of your body’s sodium,” he said.
In ongoing efforts to provide consumers with the healthiest and most functional product available, The Pickle Juice Company, LLC refrains from including “non-functional” ingredients in our formulations.
Ingredients: Dual Filtered Water, Organic Vinegar, Salt, Organic Dill Oil, Potassium, Zinc, Vitamin C, Vitamin E
Extra Strength Pickle Juice Shots: serving size: 2.5 fl oz (75 mL) (1 bottle), servings per container: 1, Amount per serving: Calories: 0, Total Fat: 0g (0% DV), Cholesterol 0mg (0% DV), Sodium: 470 mg (20% DV), Potassium: 20mg (1% DV), Total Carbohydrate: 0g (0% DV), Sugars: 0g, Protein: 0g, Vitamin C (8% DV), Vitamin E (8% DV), Zinc: 2mg (13% DV). Percent daily values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.


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LG’s new flagship seems to follow in its predecessor’s footsteps, but is there more to the V40 than extra cameras?
Now that the impressive new LG V40 is finally official and the release date is a few days away, potential buyers are weighing their options. With five cameras, the V40 is an exciting new phone. Here’s everything you need to know, then we’ll compare it to the LG V30 for those interested. If you’re hunting for your next […]
LG Mobile has been losing millions of dollars every year and the way they are locking down certain carrier devices isn’t helping them when it comes to the enthusiast crowd. Older LG devices sold at wireless carriers in the United States were locked down like normal, but the T-Mobile variants had bootloaders that were easy
AT&T is offering you a free LG V30 worth $800 this week, and all it wants from you in return is a bit of commitment.
The LG V40 has popped up a few times this Summer. First, in June, we heard the device would feature 3 cameras on the back and a Google Assistant button. In July, a rumor claimed the V40 would launch a month after the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. Then earlier this month, the POLED display was confirmed


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By Martin Vedris
SYDNEY, NSW: In case you haven’t seen the newspapers, TV, the countless online stories, blogs, streams and Tweets, or you weren’t one of 8 million involved in beta testing it or one of the other billion somehow already aware, Microsoft launched Windows 7 today, in Australia.
Mind you, if after all of the talk, the reports and the build up, you still didn’t know that Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows 7, was coming then you’re probably not too interested or affected by it anyway, but nevertheless, Windows 7 is here.
Australia is the official launch market for Windows 7, and Microsoft Corporation flew out its general manager, James DeBragga, to join his Australian colleagues in launching the product to the Sydney media this morning.
The claim of the new operating system, also a new Windows slogan, is ‘Simplifying the PC’.
“It is really the PC simplified,” said Tracey Fellows, Microsoft Australia managing director.
“And for us Windows 7 has been about listening to what the consumers out there have told us, the millions of people who have tested and given us feedback on the product and in fact that’s been an amazing experience, eight million people around the world have tried Windows 7 in beta testing, we listened to what they said and you’re going to see a lot of that incorporated into the product…”
In fact, Australians were highly represented in the millions on the Windows 7 beta testing program and perhaps that was part of the reason why Microsoft chose to launch it first here.
“In Australia alone we had a great uptake on the beta program and on the day it was released we too shared the unprecedented internet usage of people downloading Windows 7,” said Fellows.
“Some of you might remember the headline, ‘[Aussie] Windows 7 [traffic] bigger than Obama’ … I’m not quite sure how that sits, but it does show the immense interest in the product and I want to personally thank the Australians who participated in our beta program … their feedback and their thought on features is part of what you’re going to see in the product…”
In fact the upcoming TV advertisements for Australia feature Australians who participated in the beta program talking about the ideas and features they wanted in the product or liked about it.
The affable James DeBragga said he was pleased to be in Australia for the official launch and seemed genuine in telling us what we all like to hear as Australians: he’s dreamed about coming here.
“Yes I am American, yes this is my first time ever to Australia — it’s been a dream of mine to come here — my [Australian] colleagues have been joking around with me … I told one of them I was hungry yesterday and they turned around and asked if I wanted a bowl of corn syrup — I wasn’t sure how to take that.
“But all joking aside, I’m really excited to be here in Australia because this is where it all starts. This is one of the first geographies on the planet that will launch Windows 7 to market — it all starts here.”


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SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son speaks in futuristic terms about his company, but the success of his late-stage VC fund is still unknown.Technologyread more
Reports of Tesla vehicles spontaneously catching fire could make customers wary of EVs just as the industry ramps up production plans.Autosread more
Amazon's large and flashy investments stand out from those of its tech peers over the past year.Technologyread more
Trump's threat, posted on Twitter, comes amid rising international tensions in the Middle East as the U.S. has dispatched a carrier strike group and bomber task force to the...Politicsread more
Huawei Technologies will immediately lose access to updates to the Android operating system, a source close the matter told Reuters.Technologyread more
The 2019 PGA Championship wraps up on Sunday, May 19. Here's how much money the champion will earn.Earnread more
Trump's relationships with Deutsche Bank have drawn scrutiny in Congress and elsewhere. Trump sued the bank last month to prevent it from complying with Congressional...Financeread more
Consumer IPOs from Snap to Uber have been disappointing and serve as a reminder that private investors are making all the money.Technologyread more
China's currency has been an important barometer for progress in U.S.-Chinese trade talks, and right now it's signaling things aren't going well.Market Insiderread more
The outrage has even inspired a Change.org petition called "Remake Game of Thrones Season 8 with competent writers," with over half-a-million signatories and climbing.Entertainmentread more
The move comes after star runner Alysia Montaño's May 12 op-ed in the New York Times in which she detailed her experiences with Nike.Retailread more
First quarter GDP likely is expected to have grown at a healthy 2.5% pace, a far cry from the early estimates of near zero growth.
The first quarter was "doomed from the start," according to Pierpont Amherst chief economist Stephen Stanley. There was a five-week government shutdown, through the end of January; the stock market had a massive sell off into the end of December, and the freezing cold and bad weather of January and February slowed down all sorts of activity.
"Just the evolution of forecasts more broadly, maybe two months ago, people were talking about a recession.The reasons are pretty evident. We had the restraint from financial market tightening. We had the government shutdown which was a pretty significant blow to confidence, particularly given how long it lasted compared to what people were expecting," said Stanley.
Traders are paying closer than normal attention to the data, which is viewed as backward looking, because of the recession fears and what implication it might have for growth heading into the second quarter. Dow Jones consensus forecast is for 2.5% growth, while CNBC/Moody's Analytics GDP Survey shows economists have a median forecast of 2.4%.
"Almost half the quarter you had the threat of the March 1 tariff hike hanging over everyone. That went away, but it should not be a surprise the quarter started out on a really weak note. The fears were exacerbated by the fact we didn't have data for awhile and we were kind of in a vacuum," Stanley said.
Over the past week, as the late quarter data was released, economists boosted their forecasts. The GDP report is expected at 8:30 a.m. ET Friday.
"We already know the first quarter is stronger than people expected. We might get some headline affect, but we're not going to learn a lot we already don't know," said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex.
Stanley said he expects that he expects growth of about 3.3% for the second quarter. He expects to see a comeback by the consumer, after sluggish spending growth in the first quarter. "Given the blowout retail sales we saw in March, the stage was set for a nice bounce back in Q2," he said. He also said there are signs business spending will also pick up in the second quarter.
Economists said that first quarter growth has traditionally been weaker because of seasonal factors.


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Unity CEO David Helgason announced today that they’ve made a partnership with Nintendo, to bring the Unity Engine its 1.2 million developers over to Wii U. We’ll see this support for ourselves in 2013 and what it means is that Nintendo’s next-gen console will have the access to a true plethora of games, all extremely easy to port over. For a look at the list of potential games you’ll be playing on Wii U, click here.
Unity Technologies Enters Extensive Agreement with Nintendo to Support Wii U
San Francisco, CA – September 19, 2012 – Unity Technologies (http://unity3d.com/), provider of the Unity multi-platform engine and development tools, announced that it has entered into a worldwide license agreement with Nintendo to provide a version of Unity which supports deployment to the Wii U™ to Nintendo and third-party developers as well as Unity’s 1.2 million registered developers.
This extensive agreement will provide Nintendo the right to distribute the Unity development platform to its in-house, external, and third party licensee developers providing the large number ofartists, designers, and engineers intimately familiar with Nintendo gaming systems direct access to Unity’s powerful engine and highly efficient tools that have been specifically designed to enable developers immense creative freedom.
Unity Technologies and Nintendo will collaborate to create a Wii U deployment add-on that will provide the over 1.2 million registered developers using Unity, including thousands of studios currentlydeveloping mobile and social games, an excellent opportunity to bring existing titles from the massive Unity catalogue and create a slew of new games for the innovative new console.
“The rapid growth of incredible games coming from the experienced and talented developers in our community makes Unity the new development platform of choice for AAA console developers,” said David Helgason, CEO, Unity Technologies. “Nintendo’s unfettered access to Unity will produce a wealth of insanely good games from knowledgeable Nintendo developers and the Wii U deployment add-on will create an amazing opportunity for our massive community of developers to showcase their incredible creativity on one of the most anticipated and innovative gaming platforms to date.”
Unity’s Wii U deployment option will become widely available in 2013 and offer the same powerful, intuitive, and efficient engine and tools that the vast community of Unity developers has come to know and love.
About Unity Technologies
Unity Technologies is the creator of Unity, an intuitive and flexible development platform used to make wildly creative and intelligently interactive 3D and 2D content. The “author once, deploy everywhere” capability ensures developers can publish to all of the most popular platforms. Unity Technologies boasts a thriving community of over 1.2 million registered developers including large publishers, indie studios, students and hobbyists. Unity Technologies aggressively re-invests in its award-winning 3D development tools and democratization initiatives, such as the Asset Store digital content marketplace and Union game distribution service, in order to remain at the forefront of innovation. Unity Technologies is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in Canada, China, Denmark, Lithuania, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Japan and Korea. For more information, visit: http://unity3d.com.
Unity and all other product names are trademarks of Unity Technologies or its subsidiaries or affiliates. Wii U is a trademark of Nintendo. All other product names and trademarks belong to their respective holders.


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Not since Michael Jordan's 1998 “Repeat the 3-Peat” with the Chicago Bulls has Chicago retailer Artists Frame Service seen one man and one milestone ignite such demand for picture framing. It has created a mini economic boom at the Clybourn Corridor store.
Artists Frame Service manager Nellie Siegel says, "Since election night in Grant Park we have been helping people preserve so many different Barack Obama memories, all kinds of posters, photographs, invitations, buttons, newspapers and election memorabilia – or Obamabilia as it is called. It is really amazing to see the range of personal memories from all the events that Chicagoans have witnessed. We are preserving the first draft of history." The shop expects what has turned out to be a mini economic boom to continue as thousands of locals return from Inauguration events this week.
It has been quite an eventful January for Artists Frame Service. The store's founder and owner, Jay Goltz, was recognized on January 9 by the City of Chicago which re-named the stretch of Clybourn where he has been in business for 30 years, Honorary Jay Goltz Way. Alderman Scott Waguespack of Chicago’s 32nd Ward presented the Street Sign Proclamation at a company party to the resounding cheers of Jay Goltz' 100+ employees. The sign is located at the intersection of Clybourn and Kenmore in Chicago’s Lincoln Park.
Of the street sign recognition Jay Goltz said, "In an environment where small businesses are more challenged than ever, I'm honored to have a city block named after me. It is especially gratifying since my retail career began at the age of five just a few blocks from here at my grandparents' and parents' dime store on Armitage.”


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MARYSVILLE — Three men, identified as members of a “Russian burglary ring,” were arrested by the California Highway Patrol in Marysville Wednesday, about an hour after they allegedly hit the Home Depot store in Oroville.
The men, all Sacramento area residents, were identified as Yeugeniy Ivakhov, 24, Vlademir Ivakhov, 19, and Andrey Gelis, 26.
The CHP said they are suspects in burglaries at several Home Depot locations, including the Yuba City store, which was burglarized Tuesday.
The men were riding in an older Cadillac stopped for a vehicle code violation in Marysville. The CHP said it found several boxes of unopened merchandise in the trunk allegedly taken from Home Depot stores.
Yeugeniy Ivakhov was booked into the Yuba County Jail. Gelis and Vladamir Ivakhov were booked into the Butte County Jail.
Chico police said they don”t believe the ring ever burglarized the Chico Home Depot.
Home Depot shoppers who may have seen suspicious activity related to the burglary ring are asked to call the Yuba-Sutter CHP office at 674-5141.


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A new £10m glass factory is opening in St Helens and will be looking to fill its workforce with people from the town.
The plant will be used to dry and refine recycled glass and will be the first facility of its kind in the UK.
Once the factory is built 18 new jobs will open up and developers hope that many more will become available down the supply chain in the future.
This latest news should comes as a delight to residents in St Helens as manufacturers begin to wind up the towns operations in glass once again.
From the early 1800s onwards both Pilkington Glass and Ravenhead Glass were based in the area and can make a good claim to producing most of the world’s glass.
The two major companies had been at the forefront of glass making technology for nearly 200 years and employed thousands of people.
In recent years however the production process has slowed in the town, with Ravenhead shutting its doors in 2001 and Pilkington becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of the NSG Group, which it still is today, shortly after that.
However, more jobs in glass production look to be coming back.
Chair of Merseyside recycling and waste authority Cllr Graham Morgan said: “We’re pleased that the investment has created 18 direct local jobs at the facility, and many more along the supply chain in the area.”
The latest £10m investment project in St Helens will mean thousands of tonnes of recycled glass will be brought into the new factory, being run by Knauf Insulation and Veolia, which will then be crushed, melted and span into glass mineral wool products to be used in insulation.
Managing director at Knauf Insulation John Sinfield said: “The construction of the new facility will help grow the St Helens’ economy by creating permanent jobs and using local firms to complete its construction.”
Construction of the glass cullet processing facility is expected to be completed later this year.
Vice-president at Veolia Estelle Brachlianoff said: “We are delighted to be investing in the St Helens economy.
“This facility will be the first of its kind in the UK and means everything from glass bottles to jam jars will be transformed into energy saving insulation products for houses, offices and other buildings.”


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Prabha Narasimham assigned the role of CEO – Colgate Palmolive (India)
American multinational consumer goods company Colgate Palmolive has announced the appointment of former Hindustan Unilever (HUL) executive Prabha Narasimham as the managing director and chief executive officer of its India division. Ram Raghavan, the present-day managing director and CEO of Colgate Palmolive (India), will be now based out of its New York headquarters as the enterprise president, oral care.
In a statement Colgate Palmolive has said “Ram Raghavan, managing director and CEO of Colgate Palmolive (India) will be promoted to president, enterprise oral care at its parent company at New York, effective from April 16, 2022”, in a meeting held by the nomination and remuneration committee (NRC) of the board of directors of Colgate Palmolive.
The NRC has also noted and announced the appointment of Prabha Narasimham as the chief executive officer and the managing director of Colgate Palmolive (India) Limited, effective from September 1, 2022, in the meeting.


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The uptick in consumer credit continued in October last year, rising 37 percent year-on-year to N2 trillion, driven by improved credit ratings and product diversification offered by banks and other lenders. Consumer credit volume was N1.47 trillion as of October 2020.
Findings from data from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Monthly Economic Report for October 2021 showed that consumer credit growth was driven by a 52 percent yoy increase in personal loans to N1.57 trillion in October 2021.
As a result, the share of personal loans in the total consumer loan basket increased from 70.4 percent in October 2020 to 78 percent in October 2021.
However, consumer credit increased month-on-month, MoM, by just 3.4 percent to N2 trillion in October 2021, from N1.94 trillion in September 2021.
According to CBN data, the continued growth in consumer credit, particularly personal credit, is due to improved credit ratings and a diversified product offering by banks.
The CBN stated: “Outstanding consumer loans increased due to growth in personal loans resulting from improved credit ratings and a diverse product offering.
“Total consumer credit originated by Other Depository Corporations (ODCs) increased 3.4 percent to n2,009.88 billion at the end of October 2021, from n1,942.87 billion at the end of September 2021.
“The ratio of consumer credit to total credit to the private sector was 8.7 percent in October 2021, the same percentage as in the previous month.
“A breakdown of consumer credit showed that personal credit maintained its dominance at 78.0 percent, rising 2.3 percentage points from the previous month’s level, while personal credit made up the remainder of 22.0 percent.”


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Leading subscriber-driven streaming services have been increasing their use of YouTube and Facebook as promotional platforms for years now.
But their use of the platforms has amped up as they have sought to capitalize on sheltering-at-home consumers’ expanded streaming time, according to data in a new report by social video analytics platform Tubular Labs.
The services that showed the largest growth in total YouTube views — owned and earned — during this year’s first half, as compared to same period in 2019, are shown above. (Note that Quibi and HBO Max had not been launched as of last year’s first half — the former launched on April 6 and the latter on May 27 of this year — although the report seems to imply that they were using YouTube for promotion to some degree a year prior to their launches.)
And here are the services that showed the largest growth in total Facebook views during this year’s first half versus the year-ago half (in this case, Disney+ as well as HBO Max were presumably doing pre-launch promotion):
Most interestingly, the report sheds light on what formats some of the SVODs are using on the two social platforms, based on year-to-date data through May.
Here are SVOD format profiles for YouTube:
And here are profiles for Facebook:
As you can see, on YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are using a similar mix of trailers with some music videos, shoulder content, and either snippets from comedians’ shows (e.g., the “Netflix is a Joke” video series) or compilations.
Disney+, in contrast, has been relying heavily on compilations — not a surprising choice, given the iconic nature and instant-recognition factor of many of the family titles in its huge library.
Quibi, on the other hand, has been running mostly commercials, with some trailers, perhaps reflecting the need to clarify its brand-new, short-form (and originally mobile-only) concept over focusing on content, at this stage.
On Facebook, Netflix, Disney+, Hulu and particularly Amazon Prime rely heavily on trailers.
As with YouTube, Disney has a big compilations component.
Netflix and Hulu both mix in significant scenes from shows, and some shoulder content. And Amazon shows the largest number of music/dance scenes among these four.


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Bring On The Sunshine: The FDA Wants To Make Sunscreen Safer
Today, the FDA announced that it wants to clean up the U.S. sunscreen industry by further investigating the safety and efficacy of different options on the market.
The FDA proposal would require sunscreen companies to list active ingredients on the front of their products and cap the maximum SPF value on labels to "60+", since anything higher won't necessarily be more effective at blocking out the sun's rays. In addition, the FDA opened its doors to companies and scientists who have data on 12 chemicals commonly used in sunscreens that might pose a threat to human health, particularly oxybenzone, which has been linked to increased rates of endometriosis in women and disrupted sperm production in men.
"Sunscreen usage has changed, with more people using these products more frequently and in larger amounts. At the same time, sunscreen formulations have evolved as companies innovated. Today's action is an important step in the FDA's ongoing efforts to take into account modern science to ensure the safety and effectiveness of sunscreens," FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., said in a statement.
The next step for the agency will be reviewing sunscreens on the market and their ingredients before making a final rule.
This is the first time in decades that the FDA has attempted to update its sunscreen requirements. The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a longtime advocate of stricter regulation for the industry, applauded the announcement on a press call this afternoon.
"The FDA's announcement is going to send a lightning bolt through the sunscreen industry. It's long overdue, but it's incredibly welcome news," Scott Faber, the senior VP for government affairs at EWG, said on the call. "It's great news for consumers who are seeking products that work and are safe but aren't designed to confuse." Watch this space.
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California Attorney General sues Clearwater Seafoods over lead and cadmium allegations
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has filed a lawsuit against five seafood importers, distributors and wholesalers, including Canadian company Clearwater Seafoods, for violating Proposition 65 and the California Unfair Competition Act.
Tests conducted by the California Department of Justice have found levels of lead and cadmium in fresh and frozen packaged seafood from companies that trigger the requirement to provide a Proposition 65 warning, according to the complaint.
Becerra filed the lawsuit Wednesday in California Superior Court against the Canadian-based Pacific American Fish Company, Rhee Bros., Seaquest Seafood Corporation, Jayone Foods and Clearwater Seafoods.
In the lawsuit, Attorney General Becerra alleges that the companies have failed to protect consumers from – or warn them of – the lead and cadmium in their products and the risks these chemicals pose.
“When California consumers, restaurants and supermarkets buy seafood, they shouldn’t have to worry about whether the products they buy contain toxic chemicals,” he said. “The seafood industry has a responsibility to ensure the safety of its products and to warn consumers of any risk. “
Proposition 65 prohibits any person, in the course of their activities, from “knowingly and intentionally exposing[ing] any individual to a chemical known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity without first giving that individual a clear and reasonable warning.
The article continues under the ad
The seafood involved in the lawsuit – including pieces of clam, cuttlefish, eel, goby, krill, mussel, octopus, oyster, periwinkle, sea squirt, sillago , silverfish, snail and squid packaged whole or frozen, fresh and frozen, packaged, believed to contain lead and / or cadmium, which are listed in California as toxic to reproduction and carcinogenic, without clear and reasonable warning to consumers.
“Clearwater sells, owns and / or delivers seafood, including, but not limited to, arctic clams and white clams to California consumers,” according to the lawsuit.
Clearwater VP of Sustainability and Public Affairs Christine Penney said IntraFish the company was surprised by the attorney general’s complaint.
“We are confident that our products are safe to consume and comply with applicable laws,” she said. “We plan to defend our company and our products, and we look forward to working with the Attorney General to resolve this matter.”
READ THE COMPLAINT


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The pandemic has yet to be defeated, but — after an extremely difficult year defined by a deadly disease, a weakened economy and debilitating uncertainty around both — the U.S. appears to be turning the page, thanks to a swift vaccine rollout and government-issued financial relief.
Household savings in the first quarter of this year topped 20% of disposable income in the U.S., compared to the country's typical savings ratio of closer to 9%, and net wealth among U.S. households "increased notably over the course of the pandemic," according to Cailin Birch, global economist at The Economist Intelligence Unit.
"All of this suggests that the economy is headed for a strong recovery in 2021," she said by email.
It's not just economists; consumers have been feeling that way too. In early April, the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers measure of consumer sentiment "rose to its best level in a year on the strength of recent gains in current economic conditions." That, in turn, is lifting many retailers, which are emerging with some strength and cause for hope as preparations for the holiday season begin.
That doesn't mean that last year's uncertainty has been vanquished, however, Birch and others warn.
Consumer confidence is a little unstable
Recent studies show that consumer confidence may be wobbly or, for some, not registering much at all.
In the same April survey, the Michigan researchers found that confidence in the future was tempered by ongoing worries about the pandemic and emerging inflation concerns, for example. In May, the Ipsos-Forbes Advisor U.S. Consumer Confidence Tracker found sentiment wavering, with weakening expectations around jobs.
"Our overall consumer confidence index rating is near where it was at the point of the first lockdown last year, and consumer confidence has clearly rebounded since January," Mallory Newall, Ipsos director of U.S. public affairs, said by phone. "But I think that's only telling part of the story. Our most recent report shows some softening, particularly regarding jobs and expectations sentiment. So that tells me that Americans' outlook on things like their personal financial situation, job security and expectations for the future are very much still in flux."
Wells Fargo economists in a May report similarly detected what they called "a modest decline" in consumer confidence from April to May.
"To be sure, there is still a trend improvement from the ... reading back in January, but by any reckoning the rebound has lost momentum," Wells Fargo Senior Economist Tim Quinlan and Economic Analyst Sara Cotsakis wrote May 25, also noting that some concern about the future is surfacing. The index measuring sentiment around consumers' "present situation" reached a post-pandemic high, "but the fact that the forward-looking expectations component fell below 100 for the first time since February muddles the picture," they also said.
That could complicate the outlook for retailers, especially as consumers increasingly spend their money on services and experiences.
"Our best read is that a scarcity mindset and worries about inflation could rattle confidence for a while, but not enough to sully our expectations for robust consumer spending in the coming months particularly in leisure categories, which have the most room for growth," the Wells Fargo team said.
Some are more confident than others
The wealth gap that has sapped consumer spending power for years existed well before the pandemic. Despite the governmental pandemic relief packages that even at the local and state level often included extra help for lower-income households, economic inequality in the U.S. remains stubbornly in place.
"Our latest consumer confidence data that was just released [May 20] shows that there's still a fair amount of uncertainty about the country's economic situation," Ipsos's Newall said. "And we're seeing that combined with an unequal recovery, where certain groups are more at risk to kind of carry forward the burdens from the past year. That's low-income Americans, people of color, mothers who have kids in the household."
Moreover, in research released earlier this year, AlixPartners found, along with some optimism thanks to the development of vaccines against COVID-19, high levels of anxiety around health and finances, particularly in the U.S. Even households that on paper are doing well are often under financial stress, and the pandemic only added to that.
"For middle-class families, there's always been anxiety around health, jobs, school," Joel Rampoldt, a managing director in the retail practice at AlixPartners, said by phone. "And — health, jobs, school — those are the things that were impacted by this pandemic directly, hitting exactly where we were already primed to be anxious."
It's hard to know how much the rebound being seen in consumer spending, and consequently in retail, will endure, according to Rampoldt. The situation will be especially difficult for any retailer hoping to cater to the middle class, he said.
"There's a big chunk of people out there who are really concerned, who don't feel like they have the difficulties of the past year or even the past many years behind them yet," he said. "And so I just don't know how all of that is going to balance out. We have thousands of stores opening — they're mostly dollar stores. And at the same time, the other [luxury] end is continuing to do very well. It's in the middle where we really see the struggle. Retailers not on either extreme and maybe a little bit less differentiated, those are the ones who have been struggling and are going to continue to do so."
The pandemic has introduced new uncertainty
The pandemic has also initiated or sped up trends like e-commerce growth, the decline of the mall, the rise of working from home, and demographic shifts — ensuring that there's no real "return to normal," not for consumers or for retailers.
Researchers at First Insight say their studies indicate that spending patterns may be undergoing a long-term shift, with consumers "not quite ready to begin spending at pre-pandemic levels." Fifty-nine percent say they still expect to cut back on spending compared to before the pandemic, only a slight improvement from last year's 62%.
"Retailers may be encouraged by the green shoots they are seeing now that many places are reopening, but it would be foolish of them to assume that everything will magically revert to the way things were in 2019 or early 2020," First Insight CEO Greg Petro said in a statement, noting sticky concerns about how the pandemic is impacting personal finances and even store safety.
Uncertainty remains, but "it's a different sort," according to Shannon Warner, a partner in the consumer practice of Kearney. A more comfortable level of certainty may not emerge until 2022, she said.
"It's not the same fear that we had last year when this notion of uncertainty started to pop up," she said by phone. "But there's a lot of newness and change that has brought a different sort of uncertainty that will continue through this year. I think by next year we'll get back to more of a level playing field, the 'new normal,' to use the phrase that was overused last year. But I think it will take some time for certainty to come back into the general feeling of consumers in America."


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NEW YORK (AP) — Tensions over Russia's military advance into Ukraine and the threat of sanctions by Western governments have sent global stock markets down sharply. The Dow plunged nearly 175 points in morning trading. The S&P has been about 15 points lower, while the Nasdaq composite was off as much as 50 points. Oil prices are up about $2 per barrel.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Harsh weather doesn't appear to have crimped consumer spending in January. The Commerce Department says that spending rose 0.4 percent. However, the department also revised its December figure downward, to a tiny 0.1 percent. As for income, that grew 0.3 percent in January following a flat December.
DETROIT (AP) — Frigid temperatures and snowstorms in much of the country have hurt auto sales. General Motors and Ford reported sales declines last month. Ford's U.S. sales were down 6 percent, while GM's were off 1 percent. However, the country's top two automakers both said sales began to recover in the second half of February. Meanwhile, Chrysler and Nissan reported double-digit sales gains for the month.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. manufacturing activity expanded more quickly last month. The Institute for Supply Management says its manufacturing index rose to 53.2 in February as companies received more orders and boosted their stockpiles. However, the increase only partly reversed a five-point drop in January from December.
NEW YORK (AP) — Men's Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank Clothiers are moving a bit closer to a possible combination. The two companies say they are exchanging certain confidential information. The news comes four days after Jos. A. Bank rejected the latest acquisition bid from Men's Wearhouse. Men's Wearhouse had boosted its offer to $63.50 per share and said it could go to $65, if some conditions are met.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Mahindra Holidays wins sustainability award
India’s leading leisure hospitality provider Mahindra Holidays & Resorts has been awarded the prestigious Golden Peacock Award for Sustainability 2017.
The award was presented to the company’s chairman Arun Nanda, during a glittering ceremony held in London.
Since its inception, Mahindra Holidays – whose flagship brand Club Mahindra is an RCI affiliate – has focused on driving sustainability across the business, implementing a robust sustainability practice across its network of 50 resorts in India and overseas.
Key areas that the company has been working on include carbon footprint measurement, conservation of biodiversity and assessment, environment, energy, water and community development.
“It is a proud moment for all of us to be recognised for achieving economic growth while preserving the natural resources and ecosystem for future generations,” said Nanda. “At Mahindra Holidays, we recognise the importance of Sustainable development and are committed to conserve the ecological integrity of the locations we operate in.”
To reiterate its pledge to sustainability and conservation, Mahindra Holidays joined EP100, making a commitment to double its energy productivity by 2030. It also became the first global hospitality company to take on a leadership role in energy productivity and actively supporting India’s national commitments to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
The company has taken several initiatives such as the use of solar power plants and provisioning of newer technologies and energy-efficient machines at new projects. In addition, measures are being taken to conserve power, water and deployment of biogas plants and compost machines for recycling dry and wet garbage. Mahindra has also invested in equipment upgrades, such as switching to light-emitting diode (LED) lighting, highly efficient heat pumps and variable frequency drives at its resorts.
Mahindra Holidays actively participates in its parent company Mahindra Group’s initiative for Corporate Sustainability Reporting. The Group’s ‘Sustainability Report’ of the Group is prepared in accordance with the internationally accepted framework specified by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). This framework sets out the principles and indicators used to measure and report economic, environmental, and social performance.


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Discover everything that Parliament did in 2018 to improve its online experience.
End of the geographic blockade:
On December 3, regulations aimed at finally blocking the obstacles to certain articles became effective, so that consumers and consumers can buy goods and services on the same terms from any point in the EU. The MEPs approved the regulation on February 6, 2018.
The new regulations will cover purchases of tangible products such as furniture and electronic devices, online services such as web page hosting or content storage, and also the purchase of tickets to shows, shows and other types of leisure activities.
Improvements to package deliveries in the EU:
The plenary of the European Parliament endorsed in March the parliamentary report sores a regulation that seeks to make the cross-border market for the delivery of packages in the EU more transparent and competitive. The goal is to reduce barriers to electronic commerce and favor consumers and electronic retailers. The new regulation came into force in May 2018.
Online content from anywhere in the EU:
53% of Europeans watch films and series online more than once a week. Since April 2018 they can do so also if they are in another EU country. The rules on so-called “portability”, applicable in all Member States, allow consumers and consumers to take all online audiovisual services for what they pay within the community territory.
Free wireless connection in public spaces:
The aim of the WIFI4EU initiative is, by 2020, that 6,000 communities throughout the EU have free high-speed wireless connections. Libraries, hospitals, parks or train stations are the direct beneficiaries. To date, there have been 21,700 municipalities.
The granting of the subsidies was announced in December and the installation of the necessary infrastructure for the connection will be carried out in 2019.
Cheaper calls and 5G connection:
Calls to other countries of the Union will be limited to 19 cents per minute and the cost of text messages will be maximum 6 cts as of May 15, 2019, in accordance with the new regulations approved by Parliament on November 14.
The new EU data protection rules, which began to take effect on May 25, guarantee confidentiality on the Internet. The purpose of the new regulation is to give more control to its citizens about their private data and include the right to receive information about how they will be used, as well as to erase content that they do not want to continue to be visible.


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Taylor Swift literally had a mountain to climb when she set out to plan the costumes for the Mountain of Taylor Swift’s Past in the “Look What You Made Me Do” music video. Her official YouTube channel released another behind-the-scenes video in the run-up to the Nov. 10 release of her album Reputation, and this time, she takes fans on a tour of her old costumes.
“Welcome to wardrobe land,” Swift says. “This is where the apocalypse of clothing has all congregated.” A pan around the packed room gives a sartorial summary of her extensive, 13-year-long career.
“Essentially, I’ve just done the longest fitting of my entire life,” she says while she’s dressed down in a black hoodie. “One of the craziest things about this video is that it’s kind of like calling back to looks of previous album cycles.”
“This is where we have the world of what we’re picking from the archives,” she says while holding her “Not a Lot Going On at the Moment” shirt from her “22” music video, which sits next to her blue dress from the “Our Song” music video her cheerleading outfit from “Shake It Off.” She said her team was picking which of her past looks they wanted to highlight for a “little sarcastic look down memory lane.”
She sits next to extras in her previous fashion choices while she wears her pajama outfit from “You Belong With Me,” covered in the names of squad members Lena Dunham, Selena Gomez and Gigi Hadid. She goes down the line, naming where each outfit is from. When she turns to her crew members in the back, she jokes, “And you guys aren’t wearing any of my clothes so you can’t help me.”
She ends the costume tour by showing off a gold chain. “I am very, very, very excited,” she says. “And furthermore, I get to go home and eat Chinese food with my cats.”
Watch the behind-the-scenes footage below.


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To help you maximize production efficiency and overall equipment effectiveness, packaging machinery manufacturer R.A Jones has expanded its services to include machine line evaluations and new training options.
Sessions at the upcoming in-person Cannabis Packaging Conference pinpoint market opportunities. Exhibitors of the related face-to-face CannPack event deliver packaging options.
Packaging sustainability isn’t about single-use plastics, it’s about single-use packaging...and that changes everything.
LiquidGlide’s EveryDrop coating for clear, recyclable PET tube packaging increases convenience and reduces waste.
Themed packaging for beer, whiskey, specialty coffee, and more — all designed with varying amounts ‘o Irish green — celebrates the March 17 holiday.
Interested in switching to more sustainable flexible packaging materials? You’ll need to make some changes to your equipment first.
1,000,000 plastic PET bottles have been recycled through ZeLoop, a blockchain- and cryptocurrency-based smartphone app.
To win the attention and trust of consumers in 2022, your packaging designs must consider recent consumer behavior changes.
Packaging that preserves nonrefrigerated foods and track and trace technology permits food access despite conflicts and natural forces.
Compostable bags and smart, reusable bottles support Desert Harvest’s sustainability initiatives and the removal of ocean waste.


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Don't miss, it remains
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SOFIA MOTOR SHOW 2019
The automotive technology revolution is coming.
The International Sofia Motor Show 2019 is scheduled for October.You can now book your participation in the International Sofia Motor Show 2019. The biggest automotive event in Bulgaria is organised by the Association of Car Manufacturers and Their Authorised Representatives for Bulgaria (ACM) and it shall take place between the 11th and 20th of October in Inter Expo Center, Sofia. Sofia Motor Show 2019 is part of the calendar of the most prestigious motor shows organised by members of the International Organisation of Automobile Manufacturers (OICA).
Association of Car Manufacturers and Their Authorised Representatives for Bulgaria (ACM)
|Press and business day||11 October|
|Show||12 - 20 October 2019 .|
|Place||Inter Expo Center|
10:30 am - 07:30 pm
12, 13, 19 and 20.10.2019
10:00 am - 08:00 pm
14 – 18.10.2019
10:30 am - 07:30 pm
At the 24th edition of the show we are going to see the latest models of ABARTH, ALFA ROMEO, AUDI, BMW, CITROEN, CUPRA, DACIA, DR, FIAT, FORD, GREAT WALL, HAVAL, HONDA, JAGUAR, JEEP, KIA, LAND ROVER, LEXUS, МАHINDRA, MAZDA, MASERATI, MERCEDES-BENZ, MINI, MITSUBISHI, NISSAN, OPEL, PEUGEOT, RENAULT, SSANG YONG, SEAT, SKODA, SUBARU, SUZUKI, TOYOTA, VOLVO, VOLKSWAGEN,HYUNDAI и ROLLS ROYCE.
And if you got tired of listing so many of the leading brands, just look at the new exhibitors. “We are happy that a company with 70 years of history and presence on nearly 100 markets worldwide – the Indian conglomerate MAHINDRA – enters the Bulgarian market with an official representation and is going to present its products at the Motor Show”, said Kostadin Grozdanov, Representative of the brand for Bulgaria. “For the fans of sports cars and dynamic driving, the Spanish CUPRA shall provide an attractive presentation”, said Panayotis Kolomvos from Autotechnica.
Besides the new participants, this year Sofia Motor Show 2019 is about to shine with demonstrations of new technologies in mobility. Visitors are going to have the opportunity to find out and learn how the developments in electronics and propulsion change the world of transport. Sofia Motor Show 2019 is entering an entirely new territory and therefore is looking for new exhibitors interested in this area and is inviting all interested companies in the field of new technologies related to mobility to make contact with the Association of Car Manufacturers.
Moreover, there are places reserved for manufacturers and traders of garage equipment, spare parts, tires, oils, car accessories, security systems, car audio systems, as well as for leasing companies, banks, insurers, and others. This year, the organisers are even more ambitious for the preparation of attractions, entertainment, prizes and pleasant surprises for the visitors. Not only the visitors are going to enjoy the opportunity to see, try, and buy some of the latest car models, but also, by tradition and given that they have filled out the questionnaire, one of them shall have the chance to become the happy owner of a car of their own choice. You can enjoy all this at the Sofia Motor Show 2019. October is coming soon.
Opening hours11.10.2019 - 10:30 am - 07:30 pm
12, 13, 19 и 20.10.2019 - 10:00 am - 08:00 pm.
14 – 18.10.2019 - 10:30 am - 07:30pm
How to get to
See - http://iec.bg/bg/contacts
INTER EXPO CENTER?
Address:147 Tsarigradsko Shose Blvd, 1784 Sofia, Bulgaria
GPS coordinates: 42.649996, 23.394527
METROLine 1 - "Inter Expo Center Tsarigradsko Shose Station "
For more information: http://www.metropolitan.bg/bg
Bus linesBus lines providing direct access to Inter Expo Center: 1, 3, 5, 6.
For more information: http://www.sofiatraffic.bg/bg/transport/schedules
Route taxisRoute taxi No. 37: Lozen Village (Square) – Tsarigradsko Shose Blvd – Vasil Levski Blvd – Nezavisimost Sq. – Todor Aleksandrov Blvd – Hristo Botev Blvd – Knyaginya Maria Luisa Blvd – Nadezhda Overpass – Iliyansko Shose Str – Gnilyane Neighbourhood.
Taxi companies:OK Supertrans – Tel. 973 21 21, Mobile 18294
Radio CV Taxi – Tel. 9 12 63, Mobile 088 12 63, 089 12 63
Green Taxi – Tel. 810810, Mobile 0878 810 810
Radiotaxi FM – Tel. 9 12 80, Mobile 0887 991 007


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On Apple’s iTunes store, WhatsApp said the update was released on Tuesday (Apr 21) and it includes the call function, allowing iOS users to make calls both locally and internationally for free. Data charges may apply if the call is made on mobile data and not Wi-Fi, it added.
However, not everyone may be able to use the call function just yet, even if they have downloaded the latest version of the app. “WhatsApp Calling is rolling out slowly over the next several weeks,” it said.
Have you tried it yet? What is your experience with the WhatsApp voice call feature on iOS?


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How To Break Data Silos For Customer Success
While these platforms work well in their own space, they lag behind in one key area: Data access. Essentially, the tools keep relevant customer data siloed, creating a major disconnect for teams looking for insights to power customer success (CS). This hits repeat purchases, upsells, cross-sells, and expansion from customers — affecting the net revenue retention (NRR) metric of the company.
Velaris’ customer success platform
To address these challenges, London-based Velaris offers a customer success platform that brings together complex customer data from different tools on a single-pane dashboard and uses artificial intelligence (AI) on that information to produce insights for CS teams. The company just announced it has raised $4.7 million in a seed round of funding.
“We have a flexible stack with high-performing analytical services enabling flexible near real-time querying on various types of datasets. The product utilizes NLP [Natural Language Processing] and Predictive(AI/ML) algorithms to extract early signals enabling actionable insights,” José Fernández-Castaño, co-founder of the company, told VentureBeat.
Velaris connects data streams from touchpoints such as email conversations, product usage, renewal dates, support tickets to create a unified view of the customer. Then, using this information, users can create business dashboards and reports with insights to identify critical trends and forecast the net and gross retention for the future. These insights empower teams to target customers with the right kind of nudges and expand business with them.
While insights prove critical, the job of Velaris doesn’t end at this stage. The solution also includes automation to act on the data signals. For this, the team has to build a scenario flow utilizing a drag-and-drop interface. This way, it easily automates renewal emails, tasks, playbooks, surveys, and actions for specific events, such as the creation of new accounts, or segments like unhealthy customers.
“We not only bring and generate the relevant intelligence, but we arm the reps with tools to do their day-to-day job easier, including project management capabilities, orchestration of automated cadences, communication features, etc.,” Fernández-Castaño noted.
The company started last year and claims it has already seen fivefold growth since then.
“Velaris helped us immensely in structuring our CS operations. The platform has enabled us to unify important information from disparate data sources, remove the silos, and create an actionable 360-degree view of our customers,” Anuj Sharma, head of customer success at Vector AI, said about the product. “With smooth onboarding, great service, and an excellent product, we’ve already started to see its value. We’re very impressed and happy with the switch we made.”
Plans to expand AL and ML
With this round of funding, which was led by Octopus Ventures, Velaris plans to expand its AI and ML engine to take the intelligence piece to the next level. The company will also use the capital to develop its R&D, product, and go-to-market teams.
The investment comes at a time when more and more SaaS players are looking to double down on their retention efforts. During the pandemic, companies with a deep focus on retention came out as the ones surviving or, in some cases, even thriving.
As a result, several players supporting retention efforts, such as HeadsUp, StepFunction, and Gainsight, have come to the fore and seen increased support from investors. Velaris claims to differentiate itself from them with its intuitive UX and UI, as well as the ability to make complex data combinations and visualizations without needing an analyst.
According to Allied Market Research, by 2030, global SaaS is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18.8% and be worth around $700 billion, up from the estimated $121 billion in 2020.
Founder, TopCSjobs.com & The Customer Success Café Newsletter
Hakan Ozturk is a Paris-based Customer Success leader with over 15 years of experience in the computer software industry. Passionate about driving growth and delivering value to strategic customers, Hakan has established himself as a trusted industry expert. As the Founder of The Customer Success Café Newsletter and TopCSjobs.com, Hakan provides valuable industry insights and daily-updated job opportunities worldwide in the field of Customer Success. Connect with Hakan to unlock your company’s potential for success.


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Rumormongers have been spinning the Amazon tablet rumors for quite some time and now Wall Street Journal has done a piece revealing more info on the upcoming tablet. The article notes that Amazon is looking to launch a 9-inch tablet based on Android OS in October. Surprisingly, this version of Amazon tablet won’t be designed by the retail giant and won’t feature a camera.
Needless to say, Amazon’s tablet will not only compete with other tablets in the market but also Amazon’s current money spinner, Kindle.
The report also spills a few details on the next-generation Kindle, which will apparently come in two editions with the new variant featuring a touch screen display.


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- Budget electric car Hongguang Mini was the best-selling electric car in China last year, according to the China Passenger Car Association.
- More expensive cars from Tesla and BYD dominated the top vehicles sold in the new energy vehicle category, which includes battery-powered and hybrid cars.
- A relatively newcomer to the market, the low-priced, fully electric Nezha V SUV, took 15th place, and pushed three far more expensive Nio models even lower in the sales rankings.
BEIJING — Tesla and BYD remained by far the market leaders in China's electric car market in 2021, while new competitors emerged against smaller rivals like Nio, according to the China Passenger Car Association.
Budget electric car Hongguang Mini retained the best-selling spot — more than tripling sales last year to 395,451 units, the association data showed Thursday.
related investing news
But more expensive cars from Tesla and BYD dominated the top vehicles sold in the new energy vehicle category, which includes battery-powered and hybrid cars.
Here's the list of top 15 best-selling new energy passenger cars, including SUVs, in China for 2021:
1. Hongguan Mini (SAIC-GM-Wuling)
2. Qin (BYD)
3. Model Y (Tesla)
4. Model 3 (Tesla)
5. Han (BYD)
6. Song (BYD)
7. Li One (Li Auto)
8. eQ (Chery)
9. Benben EV (Changan)
10. Aion S (GAC Motor spin-off)
11. Ora Black Cat (Great Wall Motor)
12. P7 (Xpeng)
13. Tang (BYD)
14. Ora Good Cat (Great Wall Motor)
15. Nezha V (Hozon Auto)
Three BYD models ranked among the top 10, with the BYD Qin sedan reaching sales of 187,227 units — and outselling all Tesla models.
Close behind the BYD Qin was Tesla's Model Y, which launched in China last year and leaped to the top of the high-end new energy SUV category with 169,853 units sold in 2021, according to the association.
Tesla's Model 3 came next, with 150,890 units sold last year, up nearly 10% from 2020, the data showed.
Some in China's auto industry have cast doubt on the accuracy of the association's figures. But the numbers can reflect broader trends.
Li Auto's hybrid Li One made the top 10 list of new energy passenger cars, while Xpeng's P7 sedan made the top 15.
A relatively newcomer to the market, the low-priced, fully electric Nezha V SUV took 15th place, and pushed three far more expensive Nio models even lower in the sales rankings.
Nezha is a brand under start-up Hozon Auto, and closed a 4 billion yuan ($625 million) funding round in the fourth quarter. Prices for the Nezha V start at 62,900 yuan ($9,722) after subsidies. In comparison, Nio's ES6 SUV starts at 346,660 yuan after subsidies.
Competition in China's electric vehicle market is set to heat up further this year, with Huawei's co-developed Aito M5 due to begin deliveries next month and two Nio sedans coming later in the year.
Sales of new energy vehicles have grown rapidly while that of passenger cars overall have fallen in the last several months as China's consumer spending slumped.
In all, nearly 3 million new energy passenger cars were sold in China last year, accounting for 14.8% of the 20.15 million passenger cars sold overall, according to the association's data.
That ratio is moving closer to Beijing's aim to have new energy vehicles make up 20% of new cars sold by 2025.


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How Golf is Evolving to Win New Fans and Revenues
Traditional sports such as golf are facing a dilemma of sustainability. Shifts in sports consumption, increased competition with the rise of challenger sports, and a younger fan demographic that is more likely to pick gaming over golfing and TikTok over television, reinforce the business case for adopting a new attitude by the sports’ organising bodies. Guaranteeing future relevance in a highly saturated media landscape that continues to fragment is easier said than done, but there are underlying strategic pillars that are being adhered to by golf’s governing bodies.
Driving athlete engagement
Over 2003-2020, the average age of a top 10 PGA Tour golfer dropped by almost eight years. As a result, the most highly ranked professionals tend to be younger, more tech-savvy and often fluent using social media. Rory McIlroy was the only 2021 Ryder Cup player with more than five million fans in total across social media platforms. The PGA Tour has formally recognised how important this attention is, creating the Player Impact Program, a system designed to compensate players that produce the most engagement from fans and sponsors, which sees 10 players set to share a USD40 million bonus pool each year. While this program is still in its infancy, initial signs show that there is increased engagement on the part of many players.
Source: Euromonitor International
Players on the US Ryder Cup team collectively grew their social media following by 18% in the first eight months of 2021. Their European counterparts managed growth of just 6%, albeit from a larger base. However, it’s worth noting that the US team is relatively young, with an average age of 29.1 years compared to the European team which was comprised of more veterans and had an average age of 34.6 years.
Diversifying commercial revenues
Golf still relies heavily on finance and insurance when it comes to sponsorship, accounting for over 10% of golf sponsorship deals across top tours including the PGA, LPGA, European, Japan and Asian. Other categories that play a major role in golf sponsorship are luxury timepieces and cars, and while these categories undoubtedly contribute the bulk of essential sponsorship revenue, there is now space to build partnerships that target younger fans online, especially those that follow top golfers on social media. Activity is growing in emerging categories such as CBD products, energy drinks and consumer electronics brands. Golf apparel is another area rapidly changing, with a host of challenger brands including Eastside Golf, Vice Golf and hip-hop star Macklemore’s Bogey Boys all pulling golf fashion from the conservative fringes of sports and entertainment to the progressive main. From CBD to fashion, these categories represent a welcome opportunity to bolster commercial revenues following the pandemic.
In 2019 the European Tour announced a brand refresh that will broaden the appeal of the game and grow B2C revenues in parallel, further illustration that a proactive approach to sponsorship is warranted to maximise commercial revenues.
Will these strategies be enough to guarantee future success?
The US Golf Association has major tournaments already scheduled up to 2050, by which time sports will be radically different. For instance, esports will likely have been featuring within the Olympics for over two decades by that point. Any embers of debate as to whether esports should sit alongside what we today call ‘traditional’ sports will have long died out. These long-term schedules in golf encourage governing bodies to think about the big challenges facing golf in the fast-approaching future, such as growing participation at amateur levels and understanding shifts in consumption across younger generations. The key will be to translate this knowledge into insights that can drive short to medium term sponsorship revenues without losing sight of the mission of setting golf on a more sustainable long-term course.


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Titan International has partnered with Big Equipment Co. to bring the new 2023 model of Big Bud 700 to the Titan booth #933 at Farm Progress 2023 in Decatur, Illinois. Additionally, Titan said it will showcase the latest tire technologies, have daily giveaways, raise funds for Indiana/Illinois FFA and host meet-and-greets with influential farming personalities.
For the first time in 40 years, Titan said the Big Equipment Company is producing brand new Big Bud tractors.
“It’s not uncommon for our old Big Buds to run strong for decades, even into the 40,000-hour mark,” said Ron Harmon, owner of Big Equipment Company. “We wanted to duplicate that again by making everything easily accessible, with common parts and no restrictions on the owner in terms of repairs. But we also wanted to make it heavier duty than anything we’ve made before.”
Titan said the Big Bud 700 is available with multiple Low Sidewall Technology (LSW) configuration options, including dual or single Goodyear Optitorque LSW710/65R46 R-1 tires, ideal for scraper applications, all the way up to the Goodyear Optitrac LSW1400/30R46 R-1W.


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Multinational food giant Nestle is planning a corporate
below-the-line campaign to make more use of its name across its large
portfolio of grocery brands. The venture is thought to be the first time
that a company has chosen to draw consumer attention to the links
between its brands via point-of-sale work rather than advertising.
David Hudson, Nestle’s head of corporate communications in the UK, is
consulting a number of agencies to develop a multi-brand promotional
strategy across different sectors.
Nestle’s brands include Nestle Rowntree’s Kit Kat, Crosse & Blackwell’s
Branston Pickle and Nescafe Gold Blend. In February it added Spillers
petfoods to its portfolio, after its pounds 715m acquisition from
No one at Nestle was available to comment as Marketing went to press,
but sources confirmed pitches had taken place for the campaign. One
said: ’Nestle is the world’s biggest food company but few people on the
street would know the range of products it makes. It wants consumers to
make the connection.’
It is unclear whether Nestle is also considering an advertising campaign
to broadcast the corporate brand, but a below-the-line campaign could
prove cheaper, more flexible and raise active awareness at the point of
Over the past decade, Nestle has gradually increased the prominence of
its corporate name on packaging but has so far steered clear of
high-profile corporate advertising.
However, it has run corporate campaigns for its sub-brands. In April it
began the pan-European ’Open Up’ ad campaign for Nescafe through
Last year, it ran a tactical ad campaign linking Nestle Rowntree’s Kit
Kat and Nescafe coffee.
In March this year, Peter Brabeck, Nestle’s chief executive, underlined
his commitment to increase sales after years of sluggish growth and
failure to increase shareholder value.


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Anyone looking for a taste of Cajun cuisines or French desserts can find them in Knoxville. Local councils and organizations will host their own Mardi Gras themed events.
A local flower shop owner began her journey as a small business owner shortly before the Great Recession. Today, she brightens Knoxville with her floral arrangements.
There is a multitude of holiday events taking place in Knoxville this month. Almost all of the events are budget friendly, and all of them are family oriented. This time of the year allows locals to spend more time with family and friends, do some holiday shopping and try seasonal treats.
UT President announces his retirement from system
From now until Jan. 8, the Peppermint Trail of Treats is offering holiday treats while encouraging shoppers to shop at local businesses this holiday season.
The Center for Career Development hosted a panel on law enforcement and forensics as part of the Career Conversations for Arts and Sciences series.


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Ecoation Innovative Solutions Inc., a provider of data-driven Grower Assist Technology, and Viscon Fresh Produce B.V., an industrial automation company, specializing in product & material handling and smart logistics solutions across Food, non-Food and Agro businesses, are pleased to announce their collaboration.
The companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) which establishes the foundation for joint technology development and operational collaboration moving forward.
New locations and expertise
"Ecoation is pleased to collaborate with this reputable automation company with a global presence,” remarks Ecoation CEO, Dr. Saber Miresmailli. “Working with Viscon enables us to sell and service our technology in locations that could be challenging for us to reach on our own. At the same time, Viscon stands to benefit from Ecoation’s deep expertise in horticulture, data-driven grower assist technology, and workflow digitization. Together we can offer our customers even greater value. This is truly a win-win-win partnership."
Arie Kamp, General Manager of Viscon Fresh Produce B.V. comments: "We design, build and integrate to deliver the best turnkey solution for growers, shippers and packers. By leveraging the insights generated by Ecoation’s unique crop monitoring platform we help our customers manage the biological uncertainties relating to growing crops and handling fresh produce.’’


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Best known best for her starring role on "The O.C.," and more recently the film, "Jumper," Bilson's latest act is fronting the campaign for her clothing line Edie Rose for DKNY Jeans, launching for back-to-school.
Shot in New York at Pier 59 Studios by Mikael Jansson, the campaign was conceptualized by Trey Laird, president and executive creative director at Laird + Partners.
"DKNY Jeans ads are usually sort of abstract, with a bit of the roughness of New York," he said. "Donna [Karan] really wanted to push the fashion envelope with this campaign and take it to the next level."
The campaign features Bilson and models Fabienne Vanderhaeghen, Regina Feoktistova and Giedre Dukaskaite. It showcases the collection against a New York-inspired backdrop — brick walls, steel beams and street signs — that has become the signature for the look of DKNY Jeans. Laird said Bilson had a lot to contribute to the image of the campaign.
"She was really hands-on with the entire process," he said. "She, with the help of stylist Tabitha Simmons, made the clothes come to life in such a youthful, authentic way, which is so true to Rachel's own personal style — always youthful, but appropriate."
The Liz Claiborne-owned DKNY Jeans announced the deal to launch a line with Bilson in March. Kevin Monogue, president of DKNY Jeans, said at the time the collaboration would help guide the brand toward capturing a more fashion-forward customer.
"Our customer has a real emotional connection with Rachel, and she's always on the best-dressed lists, so it seemed like such a win-win for us," Monogue said. "Rachel has real personal style and she is very involved in every step. You can really see that in the collection."
The Edie Rose for DKNY Jeans line consists of about 15 pieces for the launch, including a sportswear mix of button-down tops, sweaters, jackets, T-shirts, dresses and two jeans styles — a straight leg and a skinny leg, both available in a dark wash. Monogue said the line is different from the DKNY Jeans collection, because it is being made mostly in a simple black-and-white palette, with the occasional yellow as a pop color.
The Edie Rose for DKNY Jeans line will be sold in junior departments at stores such as Macy's, Dillard's and Bon-Ton, beginning in September. The campaign is to run in September and October issues of Teen Vogue and Cosmogirl magazines.
Etro’s show, titled “The Tree of Life,” was a celebration of the house’s 50th anniversary. “My father founded the company in 1968, which was the year of counterculture and psychedelia. It’s really a show that celebrates that and the paisley design of India and its origin,” said Veronica Etro. #wwdfashion #mfw #ss18 (📷: @delphineachard)
For @msgm’s spring 2018 show, creative director @massimogiorgetti said “Words, sounds, colors. Synthesis and therapy of a collection,” were the inspirations behind the collection, showing today. Read the rest of Milan spring 2018 inspirations on WWD.com. #mfw #wwdfashion #ss18
For her first solo album in over 10 years, Fergie tapped Carine Roitfeld, Mert and Marcus, Giovanni Bianco and more to create a fashion-focused video approach for the record, Double Dutchess. "Giovanni really helped me get back in touch with my tomboy side, my hardside," said the singer. #wwdeye #wwdfashion ( : @slovekinpics)
“Volumes and Graphic Art of the Nineties are the main inspirations of the new Aquilano.Rimondi SS 2018 collection,” said cocreative directors Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi. #wwdfashion #mfw #ss18