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UK – The plant-based food and drinks sector in the UK will from now on start speaking in one voice following the formation of the Plant-based Food Alliance UK by some of the leading players in the industry.
Backed by Alpro, Oatly, ProVeg UK, Upfield, and The Vegan Society, the Alliance is on a mission to make the UK a global leader in plant-based food and drink.
The Alliance, which is expecting to expand rapidly, will be developing a UK plant-based food charter to outline how businesses and government can work together to support the uptake of plant-based diets.
It will also be campaigning for transparent environmental labeling of food and drink products so that consumers can understand the relative benefits of plant-based compared to animal-based options.
As plant-based food continues to trend at number 2 in Innova Market Insights trends for 2022, the alliance has given itself a mandate of keeping plant-based foods in the minds of consumers.
It has committed to advocating for public health campaigns to explain the health and environmental benefits of plant-based meals and how people can introduce more plant-based food and drink into their diets.
“We’re already seeing people introducing more and more plant-based meals into their diets, driven by a desire to improve their health and to reduce the environmental impact of their food choices,” says Marisa Heath, CEO of the Alliance.
“We have an exciting opportunity to support this people-powered transition to a more sustainable, healthier food system and to attract more innovation and investment in the UK as we do so.”
The alliance has also promised to agitate for more support for farmers to help them transition to meet the growing demand for plant-based foods.
With personal health and global sustainability proving to be strong drivers of consumer choice, plant-based R&D has refocused from mimicking meat, fish, and dairy to optimizing and diversifying options.
The desire for diet variation is further boosting interest in plant-based beyond the traditional vegan and vegetarian sectors, leading to a 59% increase in launches of new plant-based products in the year to August 2021.
Producer-led initiatives such as the plant-based alliance in the UK will only add to the overwhelming support that the sector has been receiving by both investors and consumers.
Just recently, the Good Food Institute awarded US$5 million to boost research into alternative proteins – a “powerful and scalable climate solution” that lacks critical funding.
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The Better Business Bureau is warning consumers of the latest way scammers are trying to steal your money– cryptocurrency!
Cryptocurrency accounted for the second highest scam losses reported to the Federal Trade Commission last year – with losses totaling more than $750 million.
The total value of the cryptocurrency market more than doubled in one year.
The BBB says along with its increasing popularity comes increasing risks as scammers are finding new ways to steal your money through cryptocurrency.
Experts are pointing to two reasons why.
The first is that cryptocurrency lacks regulation. It does not rely on banks to verify transactions which has created a fertile environment for scams.
The other reason is a lack of consumer education. This has led to thousands of people getting scammed and losing their money.
So what can you do to protect yourself?
A few tips include guarding your wallet, looking carefully at email addresses and do not pay for products with cryptocurrency. No one with the government will ever ask for this form of payment.
Beware of fake recovery companies claiming they can recover stolen money. Be wary of celebrity endorsements. Experts say those endorsements are often not authorized.
Don’t be afraid to seek help and support if you think you are a victim of a scam. Cybercrime Support Network offers a free, confidential support program for romance scam survivors.

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Can you remember a year more life-changing than 2020?
Over a million lives were lost in the pandemic, oil prices turned negative, and protests swept the streets. At the same time, 10 years of technology advancements seemed to happen in mere months—and now vaccinations are rolling out at a record speed.
Below, we round up some of the year’s biggest news events with charts and visualizations.
The Year in Review: 2020 in 20 Visualizations
Graphic #1 ⟩⟩ January 2020
For some in the Southern Hemisphere who ushered in the new year first, it started on fire.
Reuters assessed the scale of the damage caused by bushfires across Australia. In fact, total burned areas reached 18.6 million hectares (186,000km²) by March, bigger than the total land mass of entire countries like Cuba.
Here’s the damage done in the state of New South Wales alone, compared to previous years:
While bushfires are common in Australia, this year, dry conditions fueled the flames. The fires raged for nearly 80 days, displacing or killing nearly 3 billion animals—a devastating biodiversity loss for the country.
Graphic #2 ⟩⟩ January 2020
Rising Iran–U.S. Tensions
In early January, a U.S. air strike incinerated the car of General Qassim Suleimani, a security mastermind and one of Iran’s most powerful military strategists. U.S. officials claimed that Iran was planning an “imminent” attack.
In retaliation, Iran fired two rockets at U.S. military bases located in Iraq. No one was killed. As tensions escalated, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to try and restrict President Trump’s use of military power against Iran without approval.
Later, in mid-January, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard admitted that it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, responsible for the death of 176 people.
Graphic #3 ⟩⟩ March 2020
The Spread of the “Novel Coronavirus”
You’ve heard of Patient Zero, but what about Patient 31?
Before February, cases of the still unnamed virus were largely contained within China, with the rest of the world cautiously observing the country’s containment efforts. Slowly, but surely, the virus began to spread beyond China’s borders.
South Korea’s 31st confirmed COVID-19 case—which was behind the rapid spread of the virus to potentially up to 1,160 contacts in the country—served as a warning to the rest of the world of how fast the virus could spread.
» See the full graphic by Reuters
Reuters’ unique graphic explainer uncovers how just one typical day of multiple “normal” interactions had significant super-spreader effects.
Graphic #4 ⟩⟩ March 2020
The Coronavirus Crash
The S&P 500 erased over a third of its value in under a month—the fastest 30% decline ever recorded on the benchmark index.
As a result, the global tourism industry suffered dramatic losses, with countless cruise ships docked and passenger flights traveling at half-capacity.
This graphic shows the BEACH stocks—booking, entertainment & live events, airlines, cruises & casinos, hotels & resorts—that were most impacted by worldwide travel bans.
While some of these stocks have since recovered, the ongoing impact of COVID-19 is still most widely being felt among companies in these types of industries.
Graphic #5 & 6 ⟩⟩ March 2020
Lockdown Life Begins
From toilet paper hoarding to limits on gatherings, the pandemic’s immediate effects on our surrounding environment became clear as early as March. As daily life came to a standstill, commuter activity in major cities plummeted throughout the month.
One unintended positive consequence of these shutdowns? Air pollution, such as nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) emissions also steeply dropped alongside these restrictions on movement.
Possibly the most well-known diagram of the pandemic is the one that introduced the world to the phrase “flatten the curve”, showing why it was important to prevent and delay the spread of the virus so that large portions of the population aren’t sick at the same time.
Graphic #7 ⟩⟩ April 2020
Historic U.S. Job Losses
After the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on March 11, unemployment figures soon hit historic proportions.
Within a month, 22 million in the U.S. had filed jobless claims.
To put this in perspective, U.S. unemployment levels in 2020 were roughly 10 times higher than previous peak unemployment levels in absolute terms. Or, to look at it another way, this is equivalent to the entire population of Chile or Taiwan.
Graphic #8 ⟩⟩ April 2020
Stimulus Announced in the U.S.
On March 27, the $2 trillion CARES Act came into law after facing minimal resistance from the House and Senate. We broke down the historic relief package in the Sankey diagram below.
The relief package included $1,200 direct deposits to individuals, over $350 billion in relief for small businesses, and an excess of $100 billion for the U.S. health system.
Graphic #9 ⟩⟩ April 2020
Oil Prices Go Negative
In another historic event, oil prices went negative for the first time in history. Futures contracts for WTI oil fell to a stunning -$37.63 on April 20th, with producers actually paying traders to take oil off their hands.
Oil has since recovered from this shock, cruising back to more typical price levels.
Graphic #10 ⟩⟩ May 2020
Black Lives Matter Protests
“I can’t breathe.” These few words sparked the ongoing flames of a significant movement this summer: Black Lives Matter (BLM).
After the killing of George Floyd on May 25, by police, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) recorded over 7,750 BLM-linked demonstrations over a three month span.
The nationwide pattern of civil unrest is well-documented, but there’s been no time like the present to demand change. Though images of burning cars and police clashes dominated the headlines, in the end, 93% of the protests were peaceful.
There’s also been a ripple effect, with thousands of similar rallies reported in countries around the world.
Graphic #11 & 12 ⟩⟩ May 2020
The World Works from Home
The dramatic shift to staying at home has resulted in a much higher reliance on technology for many people. Nowhere were these trends exemplified more than the rise of video conferencing software Zoom—the platform was used for work, education, and socializing alike.
As monthly users swelled, those who typically take to the skies also declined in a steep fashion. In this graphic from May, we noted that Zoom’s market capitalization had skyrocketed to eclipse the top seven airlines by revenue, combined.
As remote work became the new normal for significant shares of the workforce, unique benefits of this adjusted lifestyle arose, but it didn’t come without its challenges.
Perhaps the most significant lasting change from the COVID-19 pandemic might be the adoption of flexible work, even by firms that resisted the trend in the past.
If many employees continue to work remotely, even part of the time, then that will have a big impact on everything from the commercial office market to the bottom line of SaaS companies that help facilitate remote collaboration among teams.
Graphic #13 ⟩⟩ July 2020
Tesla becomes World’s Most Valuable Automaker
2020 was a hallmark year for Tesla. In June, it became the most valuable automaker in the world—surpassing the likes of Toyota, Volkswagen, and Honda.
Tesla’s market valuation climbed over 375% since June 2019. While these soaring figures are one factor behind its rise, others include record Model 3 sales, which prompted market euphoria.
But Tesla’s story is far from over.
The company is now worth more than the largest nine automakers combined, and is set to enter the S&P 500 officially on December 21, 2020. Tesla will be the most valuable company to ever enter the index, ranking as the eighth-largest overall.
Graphic #14 ⟩⟩ July 2020
Big Tech’s Dominance
In many ways, COVID-19 only accentuated differences in market share, earnings, and wealth.
For one, Big Tech’s market cap share of the S&P 500 soared. In the seven years preceding July, the market cap of the six stocks—Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Alphabet, and Microsoft—grew over 500%. By contrast, the S&P 500 rose just 110%.
At the same time, Big Tech’s concentration reached record levels, with the five largest companies accounting for over 20% of the index’s total value.
Graphic #15 ⟩⟩ August 2020
While the world grappled with numerous biological and natural disasters, human-error led to a deadly explosion that rocked Beirut’s port. The blast was broadcast around the world in real time as people filmed the fire on their devices.
Using satellite data, NASA and NYT mapped the extent of the damage, which claimed 135 lives and affected 305,000 more.
» See the full interactive explainer by NYT
This explosion was the biggest accident of its kind in modern history, triggered by the exposure of combustible ammonium nitrate—a key ingredient in fertilizers—to an open flame due to poor storage. Beyond the human toll, the financial cost of this explosion is estimated at above $15 billion.
Graphic #16 ⟩⟩ August 2020
Shortest Bear Market in History Ends
In a stunning reversal, the bear market of 2020 ended on August 18 when the S&P 500 exceeded previous February highs. As trillions of dollars in stimulus response got injected into global economies, markets recovered in record time.
Just two weeks before the shortest bear market in history ended, we published a graphic comparing previous stock crashes—from 1987’s Black Monday to the Nixon Shock of 1973—exposing the duration and intensity of market downturns since 1929.
Graphic #17 ⟩⟩ August 2020
U.S. Wildfire Season
Reddish-orange skies might seem otherworldly, but this fall, they were a common sight across the West Coast of North America, where air quality reached the “hazardous” category for long stretches of time.
2020 was the most active year on record for wildfires yet, with California and Oregon being particularly hard-hit. While some wildfires are caused by natural occurrences like lightning strikes, an overwhelming majority (85-90%) happen because of human causes such as discarded cigarettes and campfire debris.
This is an unprecedented event. We now have the largest wildfire in [California’s] history, as well as the third largest and the fourth largest and five of the Top 10.
– Noah Diffenbaugh, professor and senior fellow at Stanford University
Graphic #18 ⟩⟩ November 2020
The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election
In 2020, U.S. election spending hit over $13 billion, more than twice the amount spent on the entire 2016 election.
Of this total, congressional spending topped $7 billion, with Democrats spending 64% more than Republican candidates for the House and Senate.
President Biden was the first candidate ever to raise $1 billion, while Trump raised $596 million.
Graphic #19 ⟩⟩ December 2020
COVID-19’s Third Wave
Like history tells us, pandemics come in waves. The third wave of COVID-19 escalated in November, when cases began to surge.
On November 8, the seven-day average of new daily cases hit 100,000 in America. By the end of November, global cases soared to 60 million. Since then, cases have trended upward, leading local governments worldwide to enforce social distancing requirements for the winter holiday season.
The below graphic from Reddit helps show the latest surge in cases in the U.S.:
Graphic #20 ⟩⟩ December 2020
Global Vaccination Effort Kicks Off
In more recent news, Pfizer made waves when it announced it was rolling out a 95% effective COVID-19 vaccine. Then followed Moderna, at 94.5% in mid-November. As the global vaccination race intensifies, Bloomberg tracks the progress of nine vaccines and 80 publicly disclosed distribution deals representing 7.95 billion vaccination doses.
However, even with viable vaccines, challenges still exist. All around the world, perceptions of vaccine safety have dropped significantly, which may complicate an economic recovery.
On to the Next One
After the wild ride that was 2020, many people are wondering what 2021 will have in store.
In the first half of the year, vaccine distribution will surely take center stage. As well, economic recovery will be in focus as physical businesses resume more typical activity and regions slowly open up travel and tourism again.
Much like the financial crisis of 2008 was an inflection point for the economy, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the course of human history. Chaos can breed opportunity, and even though unemployment spiked to record highs in the U.S., new business applications did as well.
Will things return to “normal”? As the many twists and turns of the past year have demonstrated, our complex, interconnected world is far from static. The next black swan is always just around the corner.
The World’s Top Car Manufacturers by Market Capitalization
The World’s Top Car Manufacturers by Market Cap
View the high-resolution of the infographic by clicking here.
Ever since Apple and other Big Tech companies hit a market capitalization of $1 trillion, many sectors are revving to follow suit—including the automotive industry.
But among those car brands racing to reach this total valuation, some are closer to the finish line than others. This visualization uses data from Yahoo Finance to rank the world’s top car manufacturers by market capitalization.
What could this spell for the future of the automotive industry?
The World’s Top Car Manufacturers
It’s clear one company is pulling far ahead of the pack. In the competition to clinch this coveted title, Tesla is the undoubted favorite so far.
The electric vehicle (EV) and clean energy company first became the world’s most valuable car manufacturer in June 2020, and shows no signs of slowing its trajectory.
|Rank||Company||Market Cap (US$B)||Country|
|#7||General Motors||$71.3||🇺🇸 U.S.|
|#12||Hyundai||$46.8||🇰🇷 South Korea|
|#17||Maruti Suzuki||$33.1||🇮🇳 India|
|#18||Li Auto||$29.5||🇨🇳 China|
All data as of January 15, 2021 (9:30AM PST)
Tesla’s competitive advantage comes as a result of its dedicated emphasis on research and development (R&D). In fact, many of its rivals have admitted that Tesla’s electronics far surpass their own—a teardown revealed that its batteries and AI chips are roughly six years ahead of other industry giants such as Toyota and Volkswagen.
The Green Revolution is Underway
The sheer growth of Tesla may spell the inevitability of a green revolution in the industry. Already, many major brands have followed in the company’s tracks, announcing their own ambitious plans to add more EVs to their vehicle line-ups.
Here’s how a selection of car manufacturers are embracing the electric future:
Toyota: Ranked #2
The second-most valuable car manufacturer in the world, Toyota is steadily ramping up its EV output. In 2020, it produced 10,000 EVs and plans to increase this to 30,000 in 2021.
Through this gradual increase, the company hopes to hit an expected target of 500,000 EVs by 2025. Toyota also aims to debut 10 new models internationally to achieve this goal.
Volkswagen: Ranked #3
By 2025, Volkswagen plans to invest $86 billion into digital and EV technologies. Considering the car manufacturer generates the most gross revenue per second of all automakers, it’s no wonder Volkswagen is looking to the future in order to keep such numbers up.
The company is also well-positioned to ride the wave of a potential consumer shift towards EVs in Europe. In response to the region’s strict emissions targets, Volkswagen upped its planned sales proportions for European hybrid and EV sales from 40% to 60% by 2030.
BYD and Nio: Ranked #4-5
China jumped on the electric bandwagon early. Eager to make its mark as a global leader in the emerging technology of lithium ion batteries (an essential component of any EV), the Chinese government handed out billions of dollars in subsidies—fueling the growths of domestic car manufacturers BYD and Nio alike.
BYD gained the interest and attention of its billionaire backer Warren Buffett, while Nio is China’s response to Tesla and an attempt to capture the EV market locally.
General Motors: Ranked #7
Also with a 2025 target year in mind, General Motors is investing $27 billion into electric and fully autonomous vehicles. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, too—the company also hopes to launch 30 new fully electric vehicles by the same year.
One particular factor is giving GM confidence: its new EV battery creations. They will be able to extend the range of its new EVs to 400 miles (644km) on a single charge, at a rate that rivals Tesla’s Model S.
Stellantis: Ranked #9
In a long-anticipated move, Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot S.A. finalized their merger into Stellantis N.V. on January 16, 2021.
With the combined forces and funds of a $52 billion deal, the new Dutch-based car manufacturer hopes to rival bigger brands and race even more quickly towards the electric shift.
Honda: Ranked #11
Speaking of fast-paced races, Honda has decided to bow out of future Formula One (F1) World Championships. As these competitions were usually a way for the company to show off its engineering prowess, the move was a surprising one.
However, there’s a noble reason behind this decision. Honda is choosing instead to focus on its commitment to become carbon neutral by 2050. To do so, it’ll be shifting its financial resources away from F1 and towards R&D into fuel cell vehicle (FCV) and battery EV (BEV) technologies.
Ford: Ranked #15
Ford knows exactly what its fans want. In that regard, its electrification plans begin with its most popular commercial cars, such as the Mustang Mach-E SUV. This is Ford’s major strategy for attracting new EV buyers, part of a larger $11.5 billion investment agenda into EVs through 2022.
While the car’s specs compare to Tesla’s Model Y, its engineers also drew from the iPhone and Netflix to incorporate an infotainment system and driver profiles to create a truly tech-first specimen.
Speeding into the Horizon
As more and more companies enter the racetrack, EV innovation across the entire industry may power the move to lower overall costs, extend the total range of vehicles, and put any other concerns by potential buyers to rest.
While Tesla is currently in the best position to become the first car manufacturer to reach the $1 trillion milestone, how long will it be for the others to catch up?
The Periodic Table of Commodity Returns (2021 Edition)
Which commodity had the best returns in 2020? From gold to oil, we show how commodity price performance stacks up over the last decade.
The Periodic Table of Commodity Returns (2011-2020)
Being a commodity investor can feel like riding a roller coaster.
Take silver. Typically known for sharp, idiosyncratic price movements, it faced double-digit declines in the first half of the decade, falling over 35% in just 2013 alone. By contrast, it jumped over 47% in 2020. Similarly, oil, corn, and others witnessed either steep declines or rapid gains.
The above graphic from U.S. Global Investors traces 10 years of commodity price performance, highlighting 14 different commodities and their annual ranking over the years.
Commodity Price Performance, From Best to Worst
Which commodities were the top performers in 2020?
The aforementioned silver tripled its returns year-over-year, climbing 47.9% in 2020. In July, the metal actually experienced its strongest month since 1979.
Along with silver, at least seven other commodities had stronger returns than the S&P 500 in 2020, which closed off the year with 16.3% gains. This included copper (26.0%), palladium (25.9%), gold (25.1%) and corn (24.8%).
Interestingly, copper prices moved in an unconventional pattern compared to gold in 2020. Often, investors rush to gold in uncertain economic climates, while sectors such as construction and manufacturing—which both rely heavily on copper—tend to decline. Instead, both copper and gold saw their prices rise in conjunction.
Nowadays, copper is also a vital material in electric vehicles (EVs), with recent demand for EVs also influencing the price of copper.
As investors flocked to safety, silver’s price reached heights not seen since 2010.
The massive scale of monetary and fiscal stimulus led to inflationary fears, also boosting the price of silver. How does this compare to its returns over the last decade?
In 2013, silver crashed over 35% as confidence grew in global markets. By contrast, in 2016, the Brexit referendum stirred uncertainty in global markets. Investors allocated money in silver, and prices shifted upwards.
As Gold as the Hills
Like silver, market uncertainty has historically boosted the price of gold.
What else contributed to gold’s rise?
- U.S. debt continues to climb, pushing down confidence in the U.S. dollar
- A weaker U.S. dollar makes gold cheaper for other countries to buy
- Low interest rates kept the returns of other safe haven assets low, making gold more attractive by comparison
Here’s how the price of gold has changed in recent years.
Gold faced its steepest recent declines in 2013, when the Federal Reserve bank discussed tapering down its quantitative easing program in light of economic recovery.
Hitting the Brakes On Oil
Oil suffered the worst commodity price performance in 2020, with -20.5% returns.
For the first time in history, oil prices went negative as demand plummeted. To limit its oversupply, oil producers shrunk investment, closed wells, and turned off valves. Unfortunately, many companies still faced bankruptcies. By November, 45 oil producers had proceeded with bankruptcy filings year-to-date.
This stood in stark contrast to 2019, when prices soared 34.5%.
As is custom for oil, prices see-sawed over the decade. In 2016 and 2019, it witnessed gains of over 30%. However, like 2020, in 2014 it saw huge losses due to an oversupply of global petroleum.
In 2020, total production cuts hit 7.2 million barrels a day in December, equal to 7% of global demand, in response to COVID-19.
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Digital Comics Archives - Page 2 of 12 - Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources
DC Entertainment is making its monthly titles available for download on iVerse Media’s ComicsPlus App, with the publisher’s back catalog set to be added in the coming weeks.
The move comes as the digital distributor releases ComicsPlus 8.0 for iOS 8, which features the new uView enhanced reading experience, graphic novel rentals with offline reading, improved search capabilities, ePub, PDF, CBR and CBZ file support, an in-app parental controls.
“We want to be wherever comic fans are building their libraries and this new partnership with iVerse Media brings bestselling DC Entertainment titles from DC Comics and Vertigo to a broad, new digital audience,” Derek Maddalena, DC’s senior vice president of sales and business development, said in a statement. “The fantastic new features in the ComicsPlus app, paired with our iconic characters like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, deliver a great digital reading experience.”
Read iVerse’s ComicsPlus 8.0 press release below:
DC Entertainment will get a head start on the holiday-shopping season with a seven-day Black Friday sale on Batman digital comics.
Between Nov. 25 and Dec. 1, the publisher will offer 750 Batman issues — titles ranging from Gotham By Gaslight to The Dark Knight Returns to Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s current run — for 99 cents each. They’re available for purchase from the DC Digital Store, Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, comiXology and Google Play.
As that offer ends, Vertigo’s Cyber Monday sale begins, with the first collected volumes of 23 titles — from The Sandman to 100 Bullets to Promethea — available for download for $4.99. The offer is for one day only, on Dec. 1.
Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin’s Panel Syndicate imprint has announced its second “pay what you’d like” digital series: Universe! by Spanish cartoonist Albert Monteys.
Monteys is the former director for and contributor to the satirical magazine El Jueves, from which he resigned this summer after the owners refused to use a cover featuring the King of Spain.
The small publisher Koyama Press announced yesterday that they are making a selection of their works available digitally via the Sequential app, which is an iOS-only app that focuses on indy comics and graphic novels.
The initial lineup seems to all be older books, or at least, there don’t appear to be any from this year, but there are some solid titles here from well-regarded creators: Julia Wertz’s The Infinite Wait, Nathan Bulmer’s Eat More Bikes, Julie Delporte’s Journal. And this is just the start—more titles are on the way.
The books are on sale this weekend for half off the print price, so this is a good opportunity to check out some comics you may have missed—especially as some of them are out of print.
In a perfectly timed revival, the webcomic Black Cherry Bombshells is back from the grave.
The horror strip, about violent girl gangs fighting to survive in a future where every man has been mutated into a flesh-eating zombie, was originally serialized from 2008 to 2010 by Zuda Comics. After DC Comics shuttered the imprint, Black Cherry Bombshells remained available through comiXology.
If you’re looking for some Halloween reading, there’s still time to snag the Humble Horror Book Bundle, whose mix of prose and comic-book scares includes Afterlife With Archie, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Locke & Key. However, that’s only for starters.
Humble Bundle allows customers to purchase DRM-free downloads for as little as a penny, with a portion of the proceeds going to charity (in this case the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund).
Announced by Caleb Goellner, who recently joined the company from ComicsAlliance, the project is built around the rather fitting theme of “pressure/sensitivity,” with creator-owned stories by Meredith Gran, Ming Doyle, Giannis Milonogiannis and another artist to be announced. Ulises Farinas illustrated the cover.
The 32-page comic will be available for free online in January, with an eventual limited-edition print version teased.
This week not only marked the 109th birthday of Little Nemo in Slumberland, it saw the debut of Winsor McCay’s revolutionary strip on Universal Uclick’s GoComics.
“Little Nemo in Slumberland was the greatest comic strip of its day, perhaps the greatest of all time,” the announcement states, “acclaimed the world over for its artistic majesty, unbounded imagination and groundbreaking techniques that helped define a new art form.”
In a move that we can only presume is tied to Marvel’s upcoming television and movie plans, the publisher has announced the addition of some of its Season One graphic novels to the Marvel Unlimited digital library — specifically, Ant-Man, Daredevil and Doctor Strange.
Launching in 2012 with Fantastic Four: Season One, the line features current creators retelling, and expanding, the origins stories of some of Marvel’s most popular characters. Neither Fantastic Four nor Season One titles devoted to the X-Men, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Man, the Hulk and Thor are mentioned in the announcement.
The Star Wars license is passing to Marvel at the end of the year, but before that happens, does Dark Horse have a deal for you.
The publisher has partnered with Humble Bundle to let fans to get up to $190 worth of Star Wars digital comics for … well, a heck of a lot less than that. Humble Bundle allows customers to purchase DRM-free downloads for as little as a penny, with a portion of the proceeds going to charity (in this case, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund).
To celebrate New York Comic con, Marvel is once again offering access to its massive digital archive for a discounted price.
Through Oct. 16, you can buy a one-year membership to Marvel Unlimited Plus for $69, a savings of $30. Just go to the Marvel Unlimited website, and use the promo code “SAVE30″ at checkout.
To celebrate the Season 5 premiere of The Walking Dead on Sunday, comiXology is holding an apocalypse-scale sale on the comic series created by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard.
Through Oct. 13, digital editions of the first 126 issues are available for just 99 cents each — the three specials focusing on the Governor, Michonne and Tyrese, too. If you prefer to devour the series in larger chunks, the collections are also discounted, with the majority of the volumes priced at $5.99.
Oni Press has waded into the Humble Bundle pool with a promotion loaded with digital titles ranging from Stumptown and The Bunker to Scott Pilgrim and Diesel Sweeties.
As you likely know by now, Humble Bundle allows customers to purchase DRM-free downloads for as little as a penny, with a portion of the proceeds going to charity (in this case it’s Direct Relief, a California-based nonprofit that brings medicines and supplies to local healthcare providers worldwide).
The fate of the United Kingdom will be decided in five hours, when the polls close on a referendum that determines whether Scotland will declare independence from England after 307 years. To mark the historic occasion, U.K. digital publisher Eco Comics has introduced an “all-new, all-Scottish” superhero in the form of Scotsman
The Mohawk Media imprint unveiled the character’s design on Wednesday. Eco Comics editor Stuart Buckley told ROBOT 6 that Scotsman will be introduced in the recently launched Englishman series, and a one-shot is already in the works. However, whether he’ll be Englishman’s friend or foe will depend on today’s vote.
Less than two months after launching its DRM-free backup program, digital comics platform comiXology has announced a second wave of 14 more participating publishers.
Image Comics, Dynamite Entertainment, Zenescope Entertainment, MonkeyBrain Comics, Thrillbent and Top Shelf Productions are now joined in the program by IDW Publishing, Valiant Entertainment, Oni Press, Fantagraphics Books, Aspen Comics, Action Lab Entertainment, Th3rd World Studios, A Wave Blue World, Blind Ferret Entertainment, Caliber Comics, Creative Impulse Entertainment, Devils Due Entertainment, GT Labs Comics and Kingstone Media.
Digital rights management (DRM) allows comics to be read only with proprietary software. DRM-free comics are simply files — usually PDF or CBZ — that can be accessed using different readers. They don’t come with any bells or whistles, such as comiXology’s Guided View.


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Nigeria has become a pioneer and a true brain wrecker for the mobile industry and global retailers with a growth rate of mobile internet penetration more than double that of western countries. So much so that it urges us to take a deep look and try to understand why and how Nigeria has managed to hijack the traditional technological evolution of the West to emerge as the utmost digitally integrated economy.
There is no denying that Nigeria will lead the way in terms of digital sophistication. With a GDP forecasted to spur from $178 billion in 2012 to $700 billion in 2020, and a population that’s expected to rocket, this is definitely where the mobile revolution is taking place.
We are focusing today on the striking evolution of the mobile industry in Nigeria, the imminent smartphone revolution and the profile of the 21st century mobile-savvy consumer by putting to good use the infinite knowledge we have acquired about the Nigerian market over the last three years.
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I} Welcome to Africa’s most mobile-savvy country
Booming Smartphone Sales
Nigeria is poised to become one of the most mobile-savvy countries in the world with an astounding 140 million mobile subscribers in 2015 (Financial Times), transforming the way companies do business in Nigeria and how they address the customer.
The most phenomenal evolution of the mobile industry in Nigeria is the exponential growth of smartphone sales. If the exact number of smartphone today on the market is hard to get an exact figure for, we know that we sold more smartphone at Jumia in July 2015 than we did during the whole year of 2013.
We estimate that there are 30% of smartphone users among the 140 mobile subscribers and this share will only get bugger with national smartphone sales in Nigeria expected to rocket to 12 million for 2015.
Smartphone retailer Newcomers have dynamited traditional mobile retail market
Smartphone acquisition in Nigeria has been favored by three factors:
First, new smartphone retailers have entered the Nigerian market, bringing the prices of smartphone down substantially and making it accessible to a larger fringe of the population. When doing the research on the average price of a smartphone sold on our website in 2013, compared to the price we sell them for on average in early 2015, the results were simply dumbfounding. We observed a drastic decrease of the average retail price of a smartphone, tumbling down from 55.279 naira in 2013 to 25.811 naira.
Competition has multiplied and accelerated in this entry-level market with the introduction of smartphone retailers such as Infinix and InnJoo currently selling smartphones as cheap as 10.000 naira. Infinix and InnJoo both understood the need to target the entry-level market and to sell their phones through online platforms. InnJoo entered the Nigerian market exclusively through Jumia while Infinix has repeatedly launched its smartphones in exclusivity with Jumia. This fierce competition is driven by Jumia who has been pressuring the smartphone retailers to bring their prices down since its creation in 2012. Such competition can only lead the way to even better offers for the smartphone-savvy user.
Smartphone Brands have shifted their consumer focus on the youth and the middle class
Jumia and the smartphone retailers on the market have understood the potential of catering to a fringe of the population who is tech-savvy yet who cannot afford expensive smartphones: the youth segment.
This is a segment you definitely need to cater to in Nigeria as they represent 62.38% of the population (between age 0 and 25) and are the most tech-savvy. According to an AT Kearney and Quartz Study (Nov 14), Nigeria is 2nd after Brazil in the ultra-connected population ranking. 66% of Nigerians are online at least once every hour and 20% use internet at least 10 times a day.
International social networks have understood the potential of the youth in Nigeria and most particularly the way they surf on the internet. The best example can come from Facebook who totally adapted its offer to make it accessible to people who do not own a laptop, surf mostly via their mobile and even more, who do not have an email address. You can now register on Facebook using only your phone number… On a larger scale, the growing middle class expands steadily to reach 27% of the population by 2020 according to McKinsey and will have the purchasing power to acquire such smartphones on a regular basis thus fueling the demand.
Once you have understood the potential of the mobile industry and most particularly the smartphone industry, it is quite evident that the next push is for all companies to go mobile. This is a trend that has been settling in rapidly into the Nigerian landscape.
II The Nigerian consumer is pushing retailers to go mobile
From E-commerce to M-commerce
According to Google Africa, 76% of its users access Google via their mobile device. The figure for Jumia is quite similar with 70% of our users accessing Jumia on their phone. This brings a lot of concerns to mind: more than being user-friendly via computer, a website’s first imperative is to be completely mobile user friendly. E-commerces in Nigeria have thus been mobile commerces all along, providing an optimized version of their website for mobile as well as applications.
The Next Big Thing: The App
Comparing data from the use of our application with our mobile website, we are very confident at Jumia that apps are the next “it” thing in mobile trends in Nigeria. Applications are software applications developed specifically for use on small devices such as smartphones or tablets and have recently become the favorite access to content on a smartphone.
We witnessed at Jumia a colossal increase of our app downloads over the last year. We have had 255% more app downloads on both IOs and Android in the first 6 months of 2015 than through the entire year of 2014! The number of downloads on Android per month has grown by 90% between January and June 2015, Android remaining the favorite operating system in Nigeria with a whopping 93% of our app downloads done through the Google Play Store.
Apps have become the favorite access of Nigerians to the web
We believe that it will become the favored method of access to internet on smartphone for the following reasons:
It first provides an easier and facilitated access to content: you can indeed access your favorite websites in one click rather than going through the hassles of opening a web browser page and typing the address of the site.
A facilitated access to the website is also provided by the ability to generate push notifications on smartphones: looking at our data, we noticed this method of communication was one of the users’ favorite as it allows direct, instant contact.
Most and foremost, applications consume less data: Jumia application studies show that mobile users using the Jumia app compared to the mobile version of the website spend 3 to 5 times less data for similar actions.
International social networks have also adapted their mobile app offers to areas with unreliable connection such as Nigeria.
To give just one example, Facebook launched in June 2015 FacebookLite, a Facebook application made for users who do not have access to 3g or 4g connections, requiring less than 1MB to download and designed to be fast. MTN also understood the potential of applications and the appetite of its consumers for it and thus launched in May 2015 the AppTitude Campaign, promoting even further app downloads.
The biggest move towards promoting application adoption by the consumer might well be the initiative MTN and Jumia launched this week to provide free access to the Jumia application to MTN users. Lasting six months, this campaign is aimed at facilitating the access to applications by making the Jumia app totally data free.
How do Nigerian consumers use their applications?
Nigerians remain social networks aficionados and it is no surprise that the most popular apps remain social networking apps with Whatsapp, Messenger, BBM, Facebook and Instagram respectively ranking 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th and 7th on Google Play Store in Nigeria. Jumia Nigeria App is the 8th most downloaded free app ranking on the Google play store, right after Instagram and is the first mobile retailer in the ranking, far above any other online retailer apps.
Judging from our analysis of the Jumia application usage, Nigerians seem to be much more comfortable and predisposed to navigate on the app than on the mobile version. They spend on average more time on the app: the average duration of a session on the app between January and June 2015 is 9 minutes compared to 6 minutes on the mobile version of the website or the computer. They will also be much more likely to pay us a visit on our app as they usually visit the app four times every month compared to twice a month for the mobile version.
Last but not least, the app user is a mobile phone and a fashion addict, emphasizing the nature of youth spending in Nigerian retail: Jumia’s selection of fashion brands and smartphone brands which can fit into a tight budget has rightly targeted the youth segment of the population who will be the most likely to be strongly interested by such products.
This White Paper was written by Bertille Guitton


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Ethereum Altcoin That’s Exploded 1,100% This Year Ignores Bitcoin and Crypto Pullback Amid Mounting Hype on AI
An Ethereum-based altcoin that’s been trending onerous this yr is trying previous Bitcoin’s (BTC) latest corrective transfer because the hype surrounding AI intensifies.
The blockchain-based markeplace for synthetic intelligence providers SingularityNET (AGIX) has rallied from $0.04 on January 1st to $0.48 at time of writing, representing a meteoric rise 1,100% in about two months.
AGIX can also be up 16% within the final seven days whilst Bitcoin retraced from round $23,500 to $22,491 over the identical timeframe.
AGIX’s stellar efficiency comes because the narrative in regards to the growth synthetic intelligence continues to dominate headlines.
Billionaire and tech mogul Elon Musk has reportedly reached out to AI researchers to debate the opportunity of creating a brand new lab that might discover the event of a brand new mission to rival the favored chatbot ChatGPT.
The information follows Microsoft’s $10 multibillion-dollar investment within the high-profile chatbot.
SingularityNET itself additionally launched a giant replace this yr.
The protocol’s growth group stated they’re constructing an ecosystem of tasks that might increase progress and token utilization within the areas of decentralized finance (DeFi), robotics, biotech, gaming, media and enterprise-level AI.
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BANGALORE: Celebrating Mother’s Day set to the UK calendar, a play care centre for young children, Hide and Peek organised a fashion show on Sunday on its premises. Eight mothers and ten children participated in the event making it a success.
The event had a fashion show for the mother and the kids, a lucky draw, a quiz and massages for the mothers. “It was all about pamperingt mothers and letting them have their own time to relax while spending time with their kids,” said Roshini Thadini, director of Hide & Peek. The theme of the fashion show was summer in keeping with the season around.
This was their way of expressing gratitude to all mothers, who are part of the family at Hide and Peek.
Roshini Thadini mentioned that Mothers Day is a solitary day in the year when we can show mothers how much they mean to their children and express thankfulness for all the love they have showered on them. “This triggered the thought of doing something special on this occasion and we planned to do a fashion show for mothers and their kids,” she said.
Children sauntered into the play area holding their mother’s hand and took a turn with a smile firmly on the face.
One of the mothers, Shamsa, said, “My son feels at home over here. It is brilliant place for moms to relax and spend time with their children. The kids made paper carnations and cards for mothers.”


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The coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have had devastating financial effects on numerous businesses and sectors. According to data collected by Yelp, roughly 180,000 businesses were closed by April and nearly 100,000 reported in August that they will never reopen. Restaurants, bars and nightlife venues have been hit the hardest, and retail and beauty businesses have also suffered major economic losses, with many permanently closing their doors.
And it’s not just small businesses that are suffering. A number of major companies have filed for bankruptcy since the beginning of the pandemic, including J. Crew, Gold’s Gym, Neiman Marcus, JCPenney, Pier 1 Imports, Hertz, GNC and California Pizza Kitchen. Although stay-at-home orders have been lifted in most states, the negative financial effects of the lockdown will be long term for many companies.
On the flip side, several companies have been thriving and actually saw an increase in revenues and profits during the lockdown period. With people spending more time at home — living and working — companies that offered online shopping, home entertainment, easy takeout meals and remote work technology have seen an influx in consumer dollars. See which companies struck gold during the lockdown and how some are paying it forward.
Last updated: Sept. 24, 2020
It seems like many people turned to video games to stay entertained while stuck at home. In the second quarter of 2020, video game maker Activision Blizzard’s earnings jumped 52.8% year over year, Yahoo Finance reported. Revenues surged 74.4% year over year to $2 billion. And monthly active users jumped from 327 million in June 2019 to 428 million as of June 2020. Product sales also increased by 48.5% year over year to $533 million.
Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen said during an earnings call that the shift to remote work has driven a surge in demand for digital documents, with use of web-based PDF services like Adobe up nearly 40% quarter over quarter and the number of documents shared in Adobe Acrobat up 50% year over year, S&P Global reported. That’s been good news for the software company’s bottom line. Total revenue for the quarter that ended on May 29 came to $3.13 billion, up 14% from the prior-year period. Subscription revenue for the quarter was $2.87 billion, product revenue was $128 million and services and support revenue was $126 million.
With many people avoiding regular trips to the store, consumers have become even more reliant on e-commerce sites to get their essentials. This has proven fruitful for Amazon so far — consumer spending on the site between May and July was up 60% from the same time frame last year, Facteus reported. Even when the pandemic ends, consumers’ propensity for online shopping is predicted to linger. UBS predicts that by 2025, e-commerce will make up 25% of total retail sales, up from 15% in 2019.
With people spending more time at home, and many times working from home, the demand for apps and remote work equipment increased — and so did Apple’s sales. The consumer electronics company reported an 11% increase in quarterly sales compared to the third quarter the previous year, the Wall Street Journal reported. Apple’s revenue for the third quarter of 2020 was $59.69 billion, even as coronavirus outbreaks led the company to close its retail stores. Profits rose about 12% to $11.25 billion, or $2.58 a share.
Find Out: How the Economy Is Doing in 30 Coronavirus Hot Spots
Chipotle Mexican Grill
The pandemic has, for the most part, been devastating to the food industry, but Chipotle actually seems to have benefited from it. In August, Chipotle’s stock closed at roughly $1,200 — up by a third from its pre-pandemic price, Restaurant Business reported. Chipotle’s focus on digital sales has paid off, as consumers eschewed restaurant dining for easy takeout options.
Because of the pandemic, most document signing has had to happen virtually — and DocuSign’s software makes this process pretty seamless. The company is now valued at $37 billion — more than Ford Motor, eBay and Best Buy, CNN reported. Shares have skyrocketed more than 170% in 2020, and DocuSign added more customers during the first half of this year than in all of 2019.
Chipotle isn’t the only restaurant chain that’s been cashing in on the upswing in takeout and delivery. Domino’s U.S. sales rose 16% for its fiscal second quarter, the Wall Street Journal reported.
It seems consumers have reacted favorably to Domino’s pandemic-friendly delivery and takeout options, including “contactless” delivery and an option for employees to place an order directly in your car for pickup.
Etsy has benefited from the increase in online shopping during the lockdown. In August, the internet retailer reported a triple-digit increase in gross merchandise sales thanks to an influx of 11.5 million new buyers and 7.2 million reactivated buyers — buyers who hadn’t previously purchased from the site in a year or more, Fox Business reported.
Etsy became a go-to online retailer for face masks, and mask sales accounted for 14% of its overall gross merchandise sales. But even excluding mask sales, Etsy’s gross merchandise sales growth was up $1 billion year over year — an increase of 93%.
Take a Look: Which Companies Are Winning the Pandemic?
Facebook’s monthly active users have risen 12% from the previous year, The New York Times reported. The company said that it was seeing record levels of engagement and usage this year as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting lockdowns around the world.
Facebook’s revenue for the second quarter rose 11% from 2019 to $18.7 billion and profit jumped 98% to $5.2 billion.
The Home Depot
As Americans spent more time at home, many decided to take on home improvement projects using funds they would have otherwise spent on travel, gym memberships and other activities that were no longer an option due to lockdowns.
As of August, The Home Depot had posted its strongest quarterly sales growth in nearly 20 years, the Wall Street Journal reported. Revenue for the country’s largest home improvement retailer rose by 23% to $38.05 billion in the May to July period, up from $30.84 billion during the same time period in 2019.
Like Home Depot, Lowe’s has benefited from consumers spending less time and money out of the house and more in it. Lowe’s said that customers bought supplies for DIY projects, began home renovations and improved their landscaping during the coronavirus pandemic. That led to huge gains for the home improvement retailer with a 30% boost in revenue and 68.7% rise in profit during the fiscal second quarter, CNBC reported.
With offices closed, many Americans are living in athleisure on a daily basis. This led to surprise revenue growth for Lululemon as consumers stocked up on workout apparel and yoga accessories, CNBC reported.
As people began working remotely, the need for cloud computing increased. At the same time, people were spending more time at home playing video games. Both of these trends proved profitable for Microsoft, whose overall revenue grew 13% year over year for the quarter ending June 30, CNBC reported. Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud business segment — which includes the Azure public cloud, Windows Server, SQL Server, GitHub and enterprise services — brought in $13.37 billion in revenue, up 17% year over year. Xbox content and services revenue was up 65% year over year, with record engagement as people stayed home and played more video games.
Good To Know: Companies That Are ‘Too Big To Fail’ Due to Coronavirus
Netflix saw a major increase in subscriptions as a result of the coronavirus lockdown, with 10.1 million new streaming subscribers in the second quarter of 2020 — a new second-quarter record for the company, Variety reported. Netflix posted revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter — up 25% year over year — and a net income of $1.59 per share.
Tech company Nvidia has seen revenues of $3.87 billion in the second fiscal quarter of the year — a 50% year-over-year increase, Nasdaq reported. Although the pandemic negatively impacted the company’s professional visualization and automotive businesses, its data center and gaming revenue largely offset these losses.
Papa John’s sales surged during the coronavirus pandemic as more consumers stayed in and ordered takeout and delivery, CNBC reported. The company estimates its same-store sales growth was 24.2% from July 27 through Aug. 23.
PayPal — the parent company of Venmo, Honeywell, Braintree and more — saw its revenue increase 22% in the second fiscal quarter, CNBC reported. The company also achieved record user growth, adding 21.3 million new net active accounts in the quarter. One reason for PayPal’s growth is that delivery operators like Uber Eats, DoorDash and Postmates rely on online payments to carry out transactions.
“I think what’s happened is the world has accelerated from physical to digital across almost every industry,” CEO Dan Schulman said in a “Mad Money” interview.
ServiceNow, an enterprise software company, reached a $4 billion subscription revenue annual run rate as of the second fiscal quarter, according to a company press release. Subscription revenues from that quarter alone reached $1.01 billion, representing 30% year-over-year growth.
CEO Bill McDermott credits a shift to digitized workflows for the company’s record growth.
Read: Macy’s, Disney and 11 Other Companies Paying Execs Millions as They Declare Bankruptcy and Slash Jobs
E-commerce platform Shopify saw its revenue nearly double in the second fiscal quarter, as the company benefited from the online shopping boom spurred by the coronavirus pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported. More businesses signed up to use Shopify’s platform to take advantage of this boom, leading revenue to surge to $714.3 million in the quarter — up from $362 million during the same quarter last year. The number of new stores created on its platform increased by 71% between the first and second quarters of the year.
As of the second fiscal quarter, shares of Spotify were up about 80% since the start of the year as more users signed up for its music streaming services and paid subscribers reached 138 million, CNBC reported. Monthly active users rose 29% to 299 million.
Contactless payment options became the go-to during the pandemic lockdowns, so it’s no surprise that Square’s Cash App revenue more than doubled from a year earlier to $325 million in the second quarter, Fox Business reported. In addition, because Square made it convenient for consumers to receive their financial stimulus checks and unemployment benefits via the Cash App, the amount of money stored in the app reached $1.7 billion in the second quarter — 3 1/2 times more than during the same period in 2019. As of June, monthly active Cash App users exceeded 30 million.
Tencent — China’s largest social media company — has benefited from an internet resurgence during the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg reported. Its revenue grew at its fastest pace in two years, and sales rose 29% to 114.9 billion yuan ($16.5 billion) in the second fiscal quarter
In addition to owning the chat app WeChat, Tencent won approval from Beijing to earn money from Call of Duty Mobile. It also launched new games, like Brawl Stars, which drove a 40% increase in the conglomerate’s online gaming revenue for the quarter — its biggest increase since 2017.
Tesla has managed to stay profitable through one of the worst economic disruptions in history, The Wall Street Journal reported. This is due in part to its sale of regulatory credits. The auto company’s share price has grown fourfold this year.
Check Out: These Industries Will Make the Biggest Comeback From COVID-19
Texas Roadhouse was quick to adapt to the coronavirus shutdowns, adding curbside service to keep sales coming in while its dining rooms were closed, Restaurant Business reported. This move proved to be a smart financial one, as the company is now generating enough revenue to resume its development projects.
Many people looking to escape the negative news cycle amid the pandemic turned to the video-sharing app TikTok, which was downloaded 315 million times from January through March, according to analytics company Sensor Tower. That’s the most any app has been downloaded in a single quarter. TikTok has now been downloaded 2 billion times — doubling its total downloads from just 15 months ago, CNN reported.
T-Mobile is now the country’s second-largest cellphone carrier after closing its merger with Sprint in April, the Wall Street Journal reported. The telecom company’s second-quarter results also showed that it has weathered the coronavirus pandemic better than its competitors, adding 253,000 postpaid phone customers during the quarter.
In August, online furniture retailer Wayfair reported that it was profitable for the first time since going public in 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company credits the pandemic for its boost in sales, as more people were shopping online and specifically buying home goods to improve their living and working spaces. Wayfair posted a $274 million profit on $4.3 billion in sales — an 84% jump in sales.
Wendy’s launched a breakfast menu in early March, just two weeks before the pandemic took hold of the country. Fortunately, the timing has worked out for the fast-food chain — breakfast has sustained 8% of Wendy’s overall sales, which is strong for an early introduction, according to Restaurant Business.
Before the pandemic hit, Wingstop had been focused on bolstering its digital and delivery capabilities, so it was primed to meet delivery and takeout demand when the U.S. went under lockdown. The chain has thrived as customers ordered group-sized orders of chicken wings for takeout and delivery, Restaurant Business reported.
As the country went under lockdown, video conferencing capabilities became more vital than ever for both business and personal interactions. Zoom has certainly benefited from this need. The telecom company’s second-quarter sales more than quadrupled from a year ago to $663.5 million, while profit grew to $185.7 million from just $5.5 million during the same quarter in 2019, NPR reported.
Although medium and large companies make up the majority of Zoom’s paying clients, it has been growing in popularity with small businesses as well: 36% of revenue now comes from clients with 10 or fewer employees, up from 30% in the first quarter.
More From GOBankingRates
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: These 30 Companies Struck Gold During Lockdown


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The makers of the popular Brazilian Blowout hair straightener have agreed to warn consumers and hair stylists that a couple of its most popular products emit formaldehyde gas.
Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced the settlement today, which calls for North Hollywood-based GIB, LLC, the Brazilian Blowout maker, to stop advertising that the products are “formaldehyde-free and safe”.
The company also must pay $600,000 in fees, penalties and costs.
From the Attorney General’s news release:
- “Today’s settlement is the first government enforceable action in the United States to address the exposures to formaldehyde gas associated with Brazilian Blowout products. It is also the first law enforcement action under California’s Safe Cosmetics Act, a right-to-know law enacted in 2005.
- “In November 2010, the Attorney General’s office filed suit against GIB, LLC for violating five state laws, including deceptive advertising and failure to provide consumers with warnings about the presence of a carcinogen in its products.
- “The settlement covers two products used in a popular salon hair straightening process, the ‘Brazilian Blowout Acai Smoothing Solution’ and the ‘Brazilian Blowout Professional Smoothing Solution’.”
GIB, LCC also released a statement:
“We believe the settlement reached with Attorney General Harris represents a fair and equitable resolution. Brazilian Blowout will continue to sell its products normally throughout the state of California. The labeling and marketing and advertising changes agreed to in the settlement have already been in place for months. We are pleased to have this matter behind us and are confident these new practices will provide certified stylists who use our products each day and their loyal customers clarity and confidence.”
Oregon officials recently tested the products and found high levels of formaldehyde. Thirty-seven samples of Brazilian Blowout formula averaged a rate of 8.68 percent. Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards call for the chemical to be listed as an ingredient if a product contains more than .1 percent.
According to the website, Business Insurance.com:
“Beauty salon owners and stylists generally lack a scientific background and don’t have a keen awareness of the danger of working with products that contain formaldehyde, experts say. This is complicated by the fact that manufacturers of several popular hair-straightening products containing formaldehyde have mislabeled the products and not disclosed their formaldehyde content, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
“Another problem is that, for the lay person, there are many unrecognizable names for formaldehyde, including methylene glycol, formalin and oxomethane, according to OSHA.”
One hairstylist told The Orange County Register:
“It’s like a fog that rolls through the whole salon. Everyone at the salon started getting horrible migraines and hives and rashes. Clients are complaining of their eyes burning.”
- State sues makers of Brazilian Blowout
- Some salons ban Brazilian Blowout
- FDA says Brazlian Blowout may be health threat


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Milan, Italy, June 22, 2022 — Crypto Expo Milano (CEM), an international conference dedicated to blockchain and crypto industry professionals, has announced its first edition from Thursday June 23 to Sunday June 26.
CEM strives to become one of the largest blockchain and crypto conferences in Europe and expects over 2,000 attendees with top influencers from the Italian crypto market. It officially begins on Thursday, June 23 with one-day educational workshops at Studio 90 near Milan Linate airport and its hotels and shuttle services.
The list of keynote speakers includes blockchain and crypto experts, thought leaders, influencers and executives from notable Italy-based and blockchain companies. Keynotes, panels, conferences, workshops, networking, crypto-community crossbreeding, evenings and gala dinner are on the program. CEM aims to drive blockchain and crypto adoption, helping to educate and onboard newcomers to the space.
Valeria Pagano, co-founder of Crypto Expo Milano, said: “I am happy to announce that CEM will be the very first crypto and blockchain event held in Milan and one of the few in Italy. As a common meeting place for industry leaders, we will help reimagine the future of economics and finance using blockchain technology.
CEM 2022 takes place at Studio 90 and brings together blockchain and crypto creators, regulators, influencers, professionals, investors and industry leaders from Italy and around the world.
Florin Simovici, co-founder and COO of CEM, said, “In my opinion, blockchain is the most game-changing technology. [since] the invention of the internet. We’re ready to [meet] crypto enthusiasts and leading global figures to discuss in depth the key facts shaping the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry as the market continues to grow at the speed of light.
“Blockchain technology is not just coming, it’s already here. Look around[:] Governments around the world are already adopting it[,] and events [such as] CEM will accelerate the growth of blockchain and digital assets in Italy and around the world. We hope to empower attendees to stay ahead of this rapidly changing ecosystem and be informed of what’s new.[,] emerging projects that can change business and society as we know it.
International speakers from the technology, business and finance sectors will take the stage to discuss decentralized finance, the metaverse and new emerging models such as decentralized autonomous organizations.
Cristian Orto, co-founder of CEM and co-founder and chief technology officer of lead sponsor, Theca Project, said, “The Theca family is honored to be part of CEM. 22. The shift from Web2 to Web3 is underway, and events like CEM will facilitate these critical in-person connections to spread knowledge and facilitate global adoption.
Marius Bodea, co-investor of CEM, said: “It all started with an idea. [A] a few years ago, someone invented this innovative technology with the aim of creating a payment system that eliminates middlemen. This person wrote a white paper and then the software code that solved this problem for real and for good. From that day until today, this technology has evolved in ways unimaginable. Just think of smart contracts, non-fungible tokens, decentralized applications [and more]. Who knows what the future [will be]? Imagination is the limit, in my opinion, and like my colleagues, I strongly believe in blockchain technology and the added value it can bring to people.
The founders of CEM Pagano, Orto, Simovici and Bodea are available for interviews.
About Crypto Expo Milano
The first edition of CEM will take place from Thursday June 23 to Sunday June 26 at Studio 90 in Milan.
The event features blockchain-focused conferences and educational workshops with key speakers, local and global influencers, media attendees, partners and global digital asset industry leaders.
With a focus on education and discovery, CEM provides a space for novices and veterans alike to learn from the experts and foster strong connections in the blockchain and crypto space. It brings together enterprise and consumer brands, blockchain developers, gamers, investors, traders, and fans with networking opportunities.
The event is hosted by emerging technology companies, organizations and leading industry figures.
CEM can provide business visa assistance to non-European Union participants or sponsors interested in participating.
Visit CryptoExpoMilan.com for more information and to purchase tickets.
Media contact: firstname.lastname@example.org
#Crypto #Expo #Milan #Aiming #influential #blockchain #event #Italy


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AI & ML
AI Picks Up Pace: Google is in Discussions to Invest in AI Startup Character.AI
Character.AI has previously reported that its website garnered 100 million monthly visits within the initial six months of its launch.
Alphabet's Google is said to be in talks to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Character.AI, an artificial intelligence chatbot startup. This move comes as Character.AI seeks additional funding for model training and to address rising user demand, according to two informed sources cited by Reuters.
According to a third source, the potential investment could be in the form of convertible notes. This investment is anticipated to enhance the existing partnership between Google and Character.AI, where the startup currently utilizes Google's cloud services and Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) for training its models.
Google and Character.AI declined to comment in response to requests for statements.
Established by ex-Google employees Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, Character.AI provides a platform for users to engage in conversations with virtual representations of celebrities such as Billie Eilish or anime characters. Additionally, users have the ability to craft their own chatbots and AI assistants. While the service is free, Character.AI also offers a subscription model, charging $9.99 per month for users who wish to bypass virtual queues and gain expedited access to chatbots.
Character.AI's array of chatbots, featuring diverse roles and tones for users to select, has resonated notably with individuals aged 18 to 24, constituting approximately 60% of its website traffic, as per Similarweb data. This demographic focus allows the company to carve out a niche as a provider of entertaining and enjoyable personal AI companions, distinguishing itself from other AI chatbots such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard.
Character.AI is also reportedly in discussions to secure equity funding from venture capital investors, potentially leading to a valuation exceeding $5 billion. In March, the company successfully raised $150 million in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, valuing it at $1 billion.
While negotiations with Google are ongoing, the terms of the deal remain subject to change, as stated by the anonymous sources due to the private nature of the discussions. Google has been actively investing in AI startups, allocating $2 billion to model maker Anthropic in the form of convertible notes, in addition to its previous equity investment. Anthropic utilizes Google's cloud services and the latest iteration of Tensor Processing Units (TPUs).
This aligns with a broader trend where major tech companies providing cloud services strike deals with AI firms to encourage their use of specific cloud infrastructure or hardware. Notable examples include Microsoft's investments in OpenAI, and Google and Amazon's support for Anthropic.
Concerns about potential anti-competitive practices in the field have prompted the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, led by Chair Lina Khan, to investigate cloud providers' investments in AI startups. Khan stated during an event in San Francisco that the agency is scrutinizing these investments to assess any anti-competitive behaviors.


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Two new ice cream flavors inspired by the upcoming Toy Story 4 movie are coming soon to a store near you! Edy’s/Dreyer’’s will be releasing Cinnamon Churro Carnival Combo and Chocolate Peanut Butter Midway Mash-Up. The Chocolate Peanut Butter Midway Mash-Up even has chocolate Buzz Lightyears in it! It looks super cute and super yummy!
This is not the first time that Edy’s/Dreyer’s have released Limited Edition Toy Story Ice Cream products. They have also released flavors near the release of Toy Story 2.


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Apple in October introduced the redesigned third-generation AirPods
02 Jan 2022 3:36 PM
The new-generation device, dubbed Apple AirPods Pro, will boast a design upgrade with a new in-ear form factor.
19 Oct 2019 7:39 AM
Apple appears to have gone down a different route with the third-generation Apple AirPods and it comes with an all-new design.
04 Oct 2019 10:37 AM
First look at the third-generation Apple AirPods that could feature noise cancelling.
03 Oct 2019 8:52 AM
The next-generation earphones from Apple will come with the highly-anticipated noise-cancelling feature.
24 Apr 2019 3:32 PM


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It looks like Microsoft has indefinitely shelved Windows 10X, the company’s operating system for dual-screen devices.
Microsoft buried the news in a Tuesday blog post concerning the May update to Windows 10. The second half of the post discusses Windows 10X, which was supposed to power the Surface Neo, a dual-screen PC.
“Following a year-long exploration and engaging in conversations with customers, we realized that the technology of Windows 10X could be useful in more ways and serve more customers than we originally imagined,” wrote Microsoft VP John Cable. “We concluded that the 10X technology shouldn’t just be confined to a subset of customers.”
The post doesn’t flat out say Windows 10X is dead. But it appears Microsoft has canceled its original plan to launch the OS later this year, first on single-screen devices. Instead, the company is repurposing “key foundational” technologies in Windows 10X and bringing them to the standard Windows 10 experience, Cable wrote.
“In fact, some of this is already reflected in the core of Windows in Windows Insider preview builds,” he said. “For example, the new app container technology we’re integrating into products like Microsoft Defender Application Guard, an enhanced Voice Typing experience, and a modernized touch keyboard with optimized key sizing, sounds, colors, and animations.”
Cable added rather vaguely that Microsoft continues to invest in “areas where the 10X technology” will help meet customer needs. However, he made no mention of the Surface Neo, making it unclear if the product will ever launch.
The news isn’t necessarily bad for Microsoft, but perhaps more indicative of a changing market. Redmond originally announced Windows 10X in October 2019, before the pandemic. The company then delayed the OS in May 2020, when millions of people were starting to work and study from home.
At the time, Chief Product Officer Panos Panay said the company was looking “for the right moment” to launch dual-screen devices. But in the meantime, it prioritized development of the existing Windows platform. Since then, demand for PCs has soared to levels not seen since 2010 due to consumers buying up Windows laptops and Google Chromebooks.


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As global growth slackens in 2005, sustainable improvements in real economic value will require a better balance between the cost-control techniques companies honed during the downturn and the top-line growth strategies they developed in the recovery.
Corporate balance sheets for 2004 reflect the absence of clarity in the current recovery and, in many cases, businesses' piecemeal, ad hoc approach to cost control and top-line revenue growth, the twin paths to greater profitability. Corporations that binged on spending at the close of the last decade moved into purge mode during the 2001 recession and 2002 slowdown. In most sectors, companies exhausted their ability to restore profitability through cost reductions in 2003, and they reinstated strategies for top-line growth this year. But revenue improvements will become more difficult in 2005 as global growth slows and upward pressures on costs reappear. The economic forecast for next year includes moderately lower U.S. and global GDP increases, higher interest rates, rising inflation, and lower profit margins. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised its earlier forecasts downward and now puts world output growth at 4.3 percent for 2005, down from an estimated 5 percent for 2004. Sluggish domestic markets in the United States, Europe and Japan and slightly slower growth in the developing nations will coexist with higher commodity prices and financing costs. The second half of 2004 foreshadowed the lower-growth terrain that lies ahead and outlined the new terms for success in a distinctly chillier economic environment.
The IMF expects U.S. GDP to grow by 3.5 percent in 2005 -- down sharply from its earlier forecast of 4.3 percent -- with inflation at 3 percent, driven largely by higher commodity prices. The Federal Reserve and most of the other G7 central banks have already signaled that they will likely increase interest rates over the next 12 months.
For U.S.-based companies, sustainable corporate growth in this phase of the cycle will require an integrated approach to cost control and top-line objectives. The new economic parameters for 2005 will also require rapid globalization in order to expand cost advantages and exploit new markets.
The new, more difficult conditions that surfaced in the second quarter of 2004 and will continue through 2005 are distinctly visible in the auto parts industry, which is caught between suppliers facing higher costs from escalating steel and oil prices and automakers mired in slowing sales. BorgWarner Inc., a Chicago-based provider of components and systems for vehicle power train applications with $3.5 billion in annual revenues, will navigate these conditions more easily than will most of its peers. BorgWarner is a stellar example of an organization that has integrated the dual objectives of cost control and revenue growth while pursuing globalization to build economic value on a sustainable basis. Moreover, it has achieved those goals in a highly cyclical, low-growth industry.
"To be successful, our top-line growth must be coupled with an intense focus on costs," says Robin J. Adams, BorgWarner's executive vice president, CFO and chief administrative officer. "We know it's our job to manage through the ups and downs of our business. We are a product-technology-driven company, but we also have a disciplined approach to achieving cost efficiencies in our manufacturing operations. As an auto supplier, cost reduction is simply a way of life."
BorgWarner manufactures and sells its technologically innovative products on a global basis, and it concentrates on the fastest-growing segments of the automotive market to drive revenues and profitable growth. Those strategies have enabled the company to consistently meet its long-range growth targets of 8 percent to 11 percent for sales and 12 percent to 16 percent for profits.
Integrating cost-control and revenue-growth objectives calls for a long-term strategy. BorgWarner increased its R&D spending and reduced its debt every year through the 2001-2002 downturn and into the 2003-2004 recovery. "We've seen industry downturns as well as upturns many times before," Adams points out. "Because of that, we run our business with a longer-term perspective. As we make decisions on new investments, we evaluate them under a number of potential volume alternatives, ensuring that we can provide an adequate financial return even at lower industry production levels.
"Also, during a downturn, we make sure we don't cut areas that are critical to our long-term future, such as R&D and capital spending," Adams notes. "That enables us to grow our business and improve profitability more quickly when the economy starts to strengthen again."
In most industries, globalization is critical to both cost control and revenue growth, and it will become the primary corporate imperative for 2005. The drive to uncover efficiencies continues to fuel offshore outsourcing, foreign direct investment and global materials sourcing as essential elements in a comprehensive cost-control strategy. And the search for greater top-line growth means that companies must continuously explore new markets.
BorgWarner produces its engines and drivetrains in 43 locations in 14 countries, including Mexico, Hungary, China, India, South Korea and Japan. The company has developed a flexible global production system that enables it, for example, to use available European capacity to manufacture its drive systems for the new Kia Sorento and then export those products.
Globalization has played a central role in BorgWarner's quest for a diversified customer base that can protect it from cyclical economic swings and rapidly changing market share among the automakers. The company pulls more than half of its revenues from outside the United States.
"In the past 10 years we've increased the diversification of our customer base to mirror the changing dynamics and demands of the global automotive marketplace," Adams reports. This strategy has enabled BorgWarner to escape the precarious position of other U.S.-based auto suppliers who remain tied to the Big Three and rise or fall with them. The company's key non-U.S. customers include Hyundai, Toyota, Honda, Renault and Volkswagen.
BorgWarner's approach to new markets differs from the regional strategy that many companies pursue. "We focus our growth not so much on geographic regions but on where the greatest demand for new product technology is around the world," Adams explains. "Right now, a good portion of that happens to be outside of the U.S., particularly in Europe. Other areas of growing demand are in China, India and other Asian nations."
Like the auto industry, the high-tech sector continues to suffer in this uneven recovery, and it faces the prospect of more difficult conditions in 2005. EDS, the Plano, Texas-based business and technology applications and services provider, is accelerating its globalization efforts in order to increase efficiencies and revive profitability. In April, the company opened a new business process outsourcing [BPO] service center in Budapest, Hungary. The facility supports all major European languages. By the close of this year, EDS expects to have 1,000 employees in Hungary.
"We're investing in the build-out of our strategic technology platform, focusing on fast-growing areas such as business process outsourcing and transformation," says EDS executive vice president and CFO Robert H. Swan. "Our goal is to make information technology a strategic advantage for our clients, enabling them to drive speed, agility and leverage into their enterprises."
Increased globalization is central to EDS's cost-control program and the growth of its BPO division. The company currently has 42 offshore locations with a total of 9,200 full-time employees. It expects to have 20,000 workers in offshore locations by the end of 2005. Its overall workforce will decline by an estimated 20,000 employees in the same period.
EDS is targeting cost reductions of $1 billion for 2004 and another $2 billion over the next two years. Earlier this year, it moved the help desk for its own employees to India, cutting its costs by almost half.
Another high-tech company that's looking beyond U.S. borders to secure its future growth is Mountain View, Calif.-based VeriSign Inc., an Internet, security and telecommunications service provider with $1 billion in annual revenues and subsidiaries in Japan, Australia, Latin America and Europe. At the end of a tough year in 2003, the company divested a nonstrategic business with subpar financial performance that masked VeriSign's underlying core growth. It also refocused its medium- and long-term growth strategies on global expansion. In June of this year, VeriSign acquired Jamba! AG, Europe's largest wireless content and services provider.
"We look for increased international penetration as well as the introduction of new services into our markets," says Dana Evan, VeriSign's executive vice president and CFO. "On the international front, our Jamba! acquisition will not only fuel our entrance into the rich mobile content space, but we expect it to be a major force in growing our international business. In Europe, the Jamba! business has experienced a hyper-growth phase for wireless content download. We plan on leveraging that success to drive selling opportunities for our other services and business units, as well as rolling out the wireless content platform in the U.S."
With costs rising and domestic markets slowing, continued foreign expansion will be the centerpiece of corporate growth strategies for most U.S.-based organizations in 2005. But globalization is no longer an exclusively advanced-nation phenomenon. Foreign direct investment outflows from developing countries have grown faster in the past 15 years than have those from developed nations. What's more, they are accelerating rapidly, according to a September 2004 report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. CFOs at companies based in developing countries increasingly realize that they need geographically diverse operations to achieve the ongoing cost efficiencies and high revenue growth necessary for international competitiveness.
Not far from the new EDS service center in Budapest is an offshore development center operated by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the Bombay, India-based IT services provider. With 28,000 consultants in 32 countries and more than $1 billion in annual sales, TCS is expanding rapidly into developed and developing countries. In April, the company opened a new center in Detroit to serve its automotive industry clients, and in September it launched a new media and entertainment IT lab in Burbank, Calif., to serve five major Hollywood studios. TCS draws 65 percent of its revenues from the United States.
The company's expansion outside of India has been rapid and decisive. "We see different kinds of growth patterns in different regions throughout the world," says S. Mahalingam, CFO. "Recent years have seen the opening up of newer territories such as China and [Latin] America. Our expansion strategy is a solutions-based approach that is sometimes targeted at specific industries. For example, in the U.S. our financial solutions and services are focused around the Boston area. The focus on solutions and services we can deliver to the automotive industry -- and customers' need for servicing and delivery -- made us decide on Detroit."
TCS also runs development centers in a number of developing countries. "TCS has a constantly growing global footprint," Mahalingam reports. "Each global delivery center, whether in Huangzhou or Budapest, incorporates different delivery patterns based on language and diversity. In Montevideo, Uruguay, our emphasis is on serving the Spanish-speaking markets, while in Budapest we address European diversity and proximity. In Huangzhou, the starting point was servicing our global multinational customers who were present in China, but now domestic market compulsions drive growth as well."
In 2005, CFOs will need to drive sophisticated strategies that integrate cost-cutting and top-line growth. "By now most companies have taken as much cost out of their systems as they can; the well is going dry," notes Ed Boswell, CEO of The Forum Corp., a learning and leadership development consultancy in Boston. "Also, shareholders reward sustainable growth, and growing profits through cost-cutting is not sustainable. Eventually, you reach an end to effective cost-cutting strategies and need to demonstrate that you can grow revenues and earnings."
Finance executives sit at the center of new strategy development. "At BorgWarner, growth objectives and growth strategy are driven by the company's strategy board, which includes officers from all functions of the organization," Adams reports. "My role as CFO is to evaluate the growth strategy and growth objectives from our investors' perspective; ensure that the right resources are in place to achieve these objectives; and maintain a disciplined focus on managing investments and our cost structure so that our growth strategy results not only in time-line growth, but -- more importantly -- in growth in economic value."
VeriSign's Evan also commands a central role. "We take a very focused approach to strategic and operational planning," she says. "The CEO and I work with the executive management team to drive the overall long-term strategy and underlying goals and objectives. We then work with the business units to create operating plans to execute against these strategies and to meet or exceed the goals. During this process, my team works to align the strategies with the operating plans, ensuring that investments and resource allocations are made to best position the company for future growth and profitability."
For even the most astute CFOs, the business environment will be less conducive to growth in 2005 than it has been for the past two years. Finance executives in developing countries increasingly face fallout from economic and fiscal issues in the United States, including what Mahalingam describes as problems "created by increasing protectionism." For U.S.-based companies, interest rates and inflation will rise more quickly than they will for most of their European and Asian competitors. Proactive CFOs recognize that a U.S.-centric approach only aggravates those disadvantages, and they are turning to global flexibility as the solution.
Leadership Skills for Sustainable Growth
To succeed within the new higher-cost, slower-growth economic parameters of 2005, companies will need to develop sustainable growth strategies that integrate their cost-control and revenue-growth objectives. It's a challenging task, and one that calls for specific leadership skills. Ed Boswell, CEO of leadership consultancy The Forum Corp., outlines three critical skills that senior executives will need in order to drive a sustainable growth strategy: