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Whether you believe in Bill O’Reilly or Jon Stewart, unless you’re under 10, sighs of relief greet the conclusion of the holidays. As the New Year finally arrives, we seem universally glad it’s all over. We mark the milestone with a systematic calibration of the past year’s achievements and failures, developing a plan for the next 12 months, with a series of sacred vows, many of which will be etched in ego-deflating history by Groundhog Day.
As the festivities wind down and January penetrates the seams of our clothing, along with whatever stoic demeanor we manage, our vulnerability to another, more insidious idea — the quest for perfection — consumes our self-esteem like it’s the last canapé on the tray. Although knocking off a couple of our newly acquired pounds might not be a bad idea, we should be as wary of the $60 billion diet industry as we are of that extra pinch of flesh lurking near our midsection.
More than 100 million Americans — 85 percent of them women — are estimated to make four or five annual attempts at dieting, a demographic enticing to red-blooded capitalists, salivating over an infusion of post-Christmas cash. They’re looking for ways to bolster their bottom line through creating a weight crisis and subsequently marketing the pills and creams, machines and devices, training programs and trainers, and — if none of this works (which it doesn’t 80 percent of the time) — there’s always cosmetic surgery or mortification-proof clothing (known as vanity sizing), under which we might bury our transgressions.
The negative opinion that 90 percent of women have about their bodies is predictable, considering only 5 percent naturally possess the female body type portrayed in the media. Emaciated runway models look like concentration camp survivors; 53 percent of 13-year-old girls are unhappy with their bodies, and girls as young as 5 think they’re “fat.”
However appalling it is that multinational corporations would seize this crisis as just another opportunity to cash in, it should not be surprising. A small dose of paranoia and a little digging reveal many of these same conglomerates profit handsomely through an almost seamless continuum that begins with agribusiness, cycles through the fast food industry, and eventually lands with a resounding thud at Shame Central, the myriad companies ostensibly designed to keep you thin. What mostly gets thinner is your wallet.
A small example: Weight Watchers is owned by the Heinz corporation, which also owns a portion of Burger King. Slimfast was acquired by Unilever, as was Ben & Jerry’s. And Nestle — the most profitable and one of the most reviled companies in the world — is the proud owner of Jenny Craig. In fashioning a win-win strategy (for them), these industries utilize essentially the same creepy business plan as Goldman Sachs.
Rather than dumping toxic assets, certain to fail, they dump toxic, high-sugar, high-fat, high-carb food, guaranteed to add pounds, compromise health and — most importantly — steer you back in their direction for the support that, thanks to them, you need to slim down. And like Goldman, which earned billions of dollars betting against the success of the very investors on whom it unloaded its garbage, the incestuous binge-purge industry gets paid when you put it on and again when you try to take it off.
Although there is a well-documented relationship between too much of the wrong kinds of food and poor health outcomes, it is difficult to get our minds around the intricate connections between the fast food and weight loss industries. We are urged to mark “diet month,” much as we were encouraged to eat, drink and be merry the previous six weeks. And Valentine’s Day chocolates are already lining the shelves.
If there’s money to be made in certain situations, those situations have a way of replicating themselves like bacteria. Privatize prisons and you get the highest incarceration rate on the planet. Allow the credit card industry free rein and millions of people wind up trillions of dollars in debt. And if Adderall’s earning potential is well up in the eight-figure range, skyrocketing ADHD diagnoses are a certainty.
With Americans balancing legitimate health concerns with media-generated confusion about the way they look not being the way they should look, the last thing they need is to have their lives clandestinely orchestrated by corporations that think of them as nothing more than prey.
Their singular focus is on how to generate more money, and they’ll generate it however they can: Yum Brands operates Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC. Their CEOs made $183 million between them in 2011, which — because it was labeled as compensation for “performance” — saved the company $33 million through tax breaks. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, servers and minimum wage employees needed $650 million in Medicaid and other public assistance to make ends meet (two-thirds of a billion dollars of public money before selling a single diseased chicken leg).
A breathtaking reminder of the moral void inhabited by industries that profit astronomically from both obesity and anorexia and the unlikely possibility they have anyone’s best interests in mind but their own.
Walt Amses is a writer and former educator from North Calais.MORE IN Commentary
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Uber rival Taxify last week raised $US175 million (around $231 million) in a funding round that has seen German multinational Daimler take a stake in the ride-sharing company.
The funding will deliver Estonian-founded Taxify further momentum as it seeks to expand its global network, with rival Uber firmly in its sights.
Taxify, which launched in Australia towards the end of last year with services now live in Sydney and Melbourne, recently said it had secured more than 350,000 riders over the first three-and-a-half months of its operations in Australia.
At the time, local country manager Sam Raciti described the company’s Melbourne launch as the “most successful we’ve seen”.
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“Following our launch in Sydney, we had drummed up interest from riders who were keen to have a challenger in the market,” Raciti told StartupSmart.
“We also were able to educate drivers in Melbourne on the benefits of driving with Taxify, which meant we had a significant number of drivers on board before launch.”
As reported by Reuters, the latest funding was raised from a group led by Daimler, with Taxify stating it will use the investment for technology development and further penetration in its existing regional markets.
Taxify founder Markus Villig told Fairfax that with ride-sharing now accounting for about 2% of trips completed in Australia, Taxify anticipates strong local growth in the coming years.
“We think we can go from 2% to 10-15% in the next 10 years,” Villig said.
“So there’s huge growth ahead and for that we need to be investing heavily.
“Currently the vast majority of the market here is still controlled by Uber, so both us and Ola Cabs have room to grow, without even taking into account the overall growth of the ride-sharing pool.”

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Global supply chains are complex and interconnected as manufacturers are dependent on other nations, especially developing countries, for procurement of active components, API or any other raw materials that go into the manufacturing of drugs. The recent pandemic drastically impacted the movement of shipments across the globe creating a huge demand-supply gap.
In the last one year, manufacturers have realised the need for resilient supply chains and robust business continuity strategies. At the time when the whole world was put under lockdown, there was a subsequent increase in demand for medicines that pushed manufacturers to elevate their production levels while operational challenges prevailed. Moreover, manufacturers were struggling with stockpiles at their warehouses as distributions were adversely affected.
The pharma sector supply chain has been deeply affected by COVID-19. The lack of visibility across the distribution channel has hindered the flow of information pertaining to inventory, dispatch and general market feedback to gauge shortage or hoarding of essential drugs. There have been many instances of counterfeit drugs and medical essentials flooding the market, which add to the complexities. All these challenges collectively pointed towards the importance of protecting supply chains and preparing them to be flexible enough to support a sudden surge in production to match the ongoing demands.
At a global level, a significant shift in raw material sourcing is expected to happen with manufacturers increasing their dependency on regional sourcing rather than international. This will further lead to a rise in the demand for regional logistics hubs, thus, complicating the existing complex supply chains and creating a need for more transparent yet optimised supply chains.
Supply chain issues can be addressed through the use of next-gen technologies to gain better visibility and timely reach to the end-users to avoid any demand-supply gap. In the post-pandemic scenario, manufacturers need to build robust and resilient supply chains that offer transparency around product movement till the time they reach their end consumers and also promote partnership among various supply chain participants.
Through IoT and supply chain visibility platforms, manufacturers can gain visibility into their supply chains, thus, helping them make critical business decisions. SaaS providers are offering platforms that are based on next-gen technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Internet of Things (IoT) which help to digitise, optimise and automate supply chains. They also allow pharma companies to improve visibility into their supply chain, particularly during secondary and tertiary sales. In addition, these platforms help in tackling counterfeiting by empowering clients’ customers while also efficiently engaging their retailers.


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Austin officials announced Tuesday they are responding to another package explosion. At least one person has been injured according to reports.
Monday night a package bound for Austin, Tx exploded in a San Antonio FedEx office, injuring one person. Tuesday Austin officials reported another package explosion injured one person in Austin.
HAPPENING NOW: Another package explosion reported in Austin; 1 injured. The location of the possible explosion is approximately 3.5 miles due south on Brodie Lane from the FedEx shipping store that authorities say the serial bomber used to ship two recent packages from – KXAN
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) March 21, 2018
BREAKING: Male in his 30’s has been wounded by another bombing just reported in Austin, Texas. Injuries are potentially serious, not expected to be life threatening.
Location of scene is Brodie Ln/W Slaughter Ln in Austin
— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) March 21, 2018
The location of the possible explosion was less than five miles south on Brodie Lane from the FedEx shipping store that authorities say the serial bomber used to ship two recent packages. Civilians were warned to avoid the area. The bombs have also gotten more complicated in their complexity. Who the serial bomber is or his or her motives are still unknown.


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Rumors on Apple's iPhone 6 have gotten so big, now even celebrity scandal websites are covering them. There's alsobig money piling into the stock. If the technicals are correct, Apple's stock may be the star of their portfolios.
The Internet is abuzz with pictures purportedly of the new iPhone 6 appearing on none other than TMZ, the gossip site more likely to cover LindsayLohan than high tech.
Meanwhile, new regulatory filings show several big hedge funds have been buying shares of Apple. Omega Advisors, Viking Global Investors, Blue Ridge Capital, and Appaloosa Management have all taken new stakes in the tech giant. And although David Einhorn's Greenlight sold off about 4.45 million shares, it still holds roughly 9.5 million of them.
"Hedge funds are clearly looking at the idea that the iPhone 6 launch will be very impressive and that should drive sales," said Gina Sanchez, founder of Chantico Global. "But also they're looking at the newlyannounced partnership with IBM and that can help drive enterprise sales."
Sanchez, a CNBC contributor, said Apple's plans for biometric wearables are another big expectation from the pipeline. Citing a report by MarketsandMarkets.com, she said the wearables market is expected to reach about $8 billion in the next three years.
But Sanchez also sees threats as Apple expands into emerging markets. "They're facing intensified competition: very cheap options, copycats, etc." Sanchez said. "That's the caveat I would say to the Apple story."
Katie Stockton, chief technical strategist at BTIG, says the charts affirm her company's "buy" rating. "We've seen the stock exhibit positive short- and long-term momentum and also relative strength versus the S&P 500," said Stockton, noting that Apple is up 22 percent year-to-date versus about 6 percent for the S&P 500.
"That kind of outperformance could actually continue especially if we see the stock get above final resistance which is right above $100," Stockton said, looking at a nine-year chart of Apple. "A breakout above that level and you could arrive at technical target of about $144 which would obviously be a very impressive upside with a very long-term time horizon."
Apple has more than momentum going for it, said Stockton, adding, "it has relative strength and really isn't showing any major signs of exhaustion, meaning overbought conditions that would be worrisome at current levels."
To see the full discussion on Apple, with Sanchez on the fundamentals and Stockton on the technicals, watch the above video.


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Last Thursday, a Texan filed a class-action suit against Systemax Inc. in federal court, alleging the company and its subsidiaries TigerDirect and OnRebate conspire to delay or reject rebates in order to sweeten profits. Systemax says no way, we pay our rebates on time; according to its chief financial officer, “All consumers who properly complete the rebate application and submit the required paperwork have their rebates paid, period.” But that’s not what the Texan says happened to him.
Vukson promptly mailed in all the rebate materials and, after two months, had not heard from OnRebate. He sent an e-mail Jan. 24 inquiring about the rebate. In a Feb. 28 response, OnRebate said it had not received all the necessary materials to process his form. In March, the company refused to send the rebate, saying Vukson had missed the cutoff date, according to the suit, which lists several other alleged instances of consumers being denied rebates.
Rebates require you give up your money as an interest-free loan, while placing trust in a faceless company and postal system that you won’t be screwed over. They’re not worth it. We think the best thing to do is ignore sales that use rebates to drive down the total cost. Either the retailer can give you an instant discount and deal with the rebate himself, or you can pass on the offer. We’re shoppers, not business micro-lenders.


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Christophe Clivaz, a parliamentarian from the Green Party in Valais is demanding that subsidies given to Swiss Tourism not be used to promote tourism that involves flying, reported 20 Minutes.
Switzerland is busy developing sustainable tourism under the brand Swisstainable. However, when tourism booms aviation booms with it. So how can tourism be sustainable? asks Clivaz.
The federal parliament member has put forward a motion calling for the federal subsidies paid to Swiss Tourism, a body that promotes Switzerland as a tourist destination, to be excluded from spending on marketing to tourists such as the Chinese and Americans.
It is contradictory to promote sustainable tourism while encouraging distant tourists to visit by plane, argues Clivaz. A return flight between Beijing and Zurich emits 3 tonnes of CO2 and one between Los Angeles and Geneva 3.1 tonnes, he said. An average resident of Switzerland emits 5.8 tonnes a year, so one of these flights represents around half a year’s annual emissions for an average person living in Switzerland.
In response, Swiss Tourism argues that the same emissions would be created elsewhere. Tourists would chose a competing destination and fly there instead. It also points out that long-distance travellers stay longer, typically use public transport and travel all year round providing an even stream of tourism revenue, which supports the infrastructure that is enjoyed by other tourists.


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If you’ve been following Samsung’s Galaxy S-series for the last couple of years, you’ll know that the company dual sources the chipsets for its flagship smartphone.
When the phone ships late next week, S10 models in Canada and the U.S. will feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 system-on-a-chip (SoC), while in Europe and other markets across the globe the S10 will include Samsung’s own Exynos 9820 chip.
Over the last couple of years, the Snapdragon variants of Samsung’s S-series smartphones have outperformed their Exynos counterparts. According to Anandtech, that trend continues this year, as well.
The website obtained both the Snapdragon 855 and Exynos 9820 models of the Galaxy S10+ and benchmarked them on PCMark and Speedometer 2.0.
In every single test in which AnandTech compared the Snapdragon 855 S10+ against the Exynos 9820 S10+, the former outperformed the latter; what’s more, the S10 even outdid a Snapdragon 855 reference device in several tests.
In one instance of PCMark’s video editing test, the S10+ scored almost 1,000 points higher than the Exynos 9820-equipped S10+. When the Exynos 9820’s performance is plotted on a graph, we see that it shares company with phones several years older than it like the Pixel XL.
Visit AnandTech to see the full suite of testing the website conducted.
I’ve also heard anecdotally that the 855-equipped S10 outperforms the Exynos model when it comes to battery life, as well.
Practically speaking, this means Canadians get the better version of the S10.
Now for a fun history lesson.
Back when Samsung launched the S6, the Snapdragon 810, then Qualcomm’s flagship chipset, was notorious for overheating. Moreover, In both benchmarks and real-world use, the Exynos 7420, the chipset featured in the S6, outperformed the 810.
With the S7, Samsung dual sourced chipsets. In the U.S., the Galaxy S7 featured the Snapdragon 820, while in Canada, and much of the rest of the world, the S7 featured Samsung’s own Exynos 8890 SoC. The company has dual sourced chipsets for every new Galaxy S and Note series phone since then.
Where things get interesting is with the Note 7 — yes, the fabled Note 7. With the Note 7, and every flagship smartphone since then, both the Galaxy S and Note series have featured Qualcomm chipsets in Canada.
In short, Canadians consumers have consistently lucked out when it comes to the S-series’ chipsets. We missed the less than great experience that was the Snapdragon 810, only to start getting Snapdragon-equipped S-series smartphones when Qualcomm pulled ahead of Samsung.


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Halo: Nightfall launches on November 11, and is included in The Master Chief Collection.
Remember that awful Xbox One reveal event? Well, among all of the TV and sports, Microsoft announced that Halo would be getting its own TV spin-off series. We didn’t hear too much about it in the following year, but now, we have an official trailer and a release date. Halo: Nightfall will launch on November 11, and be included in The Master Chief Collection.
The trailer sets up the plot of the series: the covenant have developed some kind of super virus that kills only humans, and a commander has to put together a rag-tag team of ruffians on a last-ditch mission to wipe out all traces of it. There’s also a guy who “used to be a Spartan,” but no sign of the Master Chief.
The series is being produced by legendary sci-fi director Ridley Scott, and does seem to have a very high standard of production values to it. It certainly looks really cool and slick, so we’ll just have to see if the actual story is interesting enough to keep us going.
You’ll also be able to watch the series’ first episode on Twitch, as it will debut as part of Microsoft’s “Halofest” live event on November 11.


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McDonald’s Philippines continues to take the lead in providing Filipinos customers unparalleled and world-class customer experience as the company scales its recently introduced store format, NXTGEN.
The multi-point service platform launched in October 2018 aimed to address the growing and changing demands of Filipino consumers by providing them a seamless experience inside the restaurant, similar to the innovation, convenience, and service offered in other McDonald’s markets around the world.
In every NXTGEN restaurant, the company invested in major store innovations like the self-ordering kiosks, modernized menu boards, card payment acceptance, and the new split counter system. At the same time, NXTGEN stores have introduced a dedicated McDonald’s crew specially trained in hospitality, and specifically tasked to entertain the needs of the customers and acquaint them with the NXTGEN experience.
“By bringing NXTGEN to the Philippines, McDonald’s affirms its commitment to continuously invest and innovate to deliver a world class service experience to Filipinos. We have seen the clamor for NXTGEN stores among our consumers here in the country, and we are excited to bring this store format to more locations nationwide,” said Kenneth Yang, McDonald’s Philippines president and CEO.
Since the launch of its first NXTGEN store, McDonald’s Philippines has been able to open and convert over 30 NXTGEN stores across the country to date. Beyond Metro Manila, McDonald’s NXTGEN has opened in locations such as La Union, Tagaytay, Boracay, and Davao. The company is expected to open and convert more stores into NXTGEN format in more locations nationwide.
Watch how McDonald's is bringing world class experience to the Philippines:
Visit this https://mcdonalds.com.ph/content/page/nxtgen for a list of NXTGEN stores.
NOTE: BrandNews articles are promotional features from our sponsors and not news articles from our editorial staff.


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San Diego City Attorney's Office Urges Gun Safety As Families Self-Quarantine
The San Diego City Attorney's Office Thursday urged families with guns in the home to practice proper firearm safety while self- quarantining to keep the weapons out of the hands of children.
With stay-at-home orders issued at the state and local levels, and schools closed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, City Attorney Mara Elliott's office said gun safety is paramount.
"When you have guns and children in the home and do not practice safe storage, you are increasing the risk that someone will be accidentally shot," Elliott said. "Children are very resourceful when it comes to locating things their parents thought they'd never find. When they find a gun, it often leads to tragedy."
The city's Safe Storage of Firearms Ordinance, which was authored by Elliott and went into effect last year, requires San Diego gun owners to store firearms in a locked container or to secure guns with a trigger lock unless they are in the immediate control of an authorized user.
The City Attorney's Office said trigger locks and gun safes are readily available for purchase online and that all guns sold in California after Jan. 1, 2002, were required to come with a free trigger lock.
Elliott's office said 4.5 million children nationwide live in homes with one more loaded and unlocked firearms.
Firearm retailers nationwide have seen an uptick in firearm sales amid the coronavirus pandemic, and it remains unclear whether gun stores might be ordered to close locally.
In one of the county's coronavirus-related briefings, Supervisor Nathan Fletcher said firearm stores were not considered essential businesses that should remain open per the state's stay-at-home order.
Earlier this week, San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said his office was awaiting further guidance from the governor's office, and would not force gun stores to close in the meantime, citing a concern that doing so would push consumers to purchase guns on the black market.
On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom decided that he would defer to the state's sheriffs "on whether gun stores are essential businesses that should remain open under his (COVID-19-related) executive order," Gore noted in an updated statement released Thursday afternoon.
The sheriff said he would not ask gun stores to close, but advised that they take San Diego County's public health orders regarding public gatherings and social distancing into consideration while they do business.
Gore said gun retailers should "look at alternative sales options, which might include scheduling appointments," in order to comply with county health guidelines and prevent long lines from forming outside of gun stores.
The sheriff also urged county residents to only buy guns through federally licensed dealers.


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It’s almost unfathomable that two decades have passed since the Clipse had every lunchroom, classroom, row of hallway lockers, and more lit as hands thumped to the beat of their first single, “Grindin’.”
When Pharrell opened the record with, “I just wanna let y’all know the world is about to feel something that they never felt before,” he did more than introduce the rap duo; he prophesied the cultural shift signaled by the lyricism of Pusha T and No Malice. Their debut album, Lord Willin’, was released in 2002, followed by Hell Hath No Fury in 2006, and three years after that, fans pressed play on Til the Casket Drops. Since then, a drought has been felt by those awaiting the Virginia brothers’ announcement of a new album.
In the past year, Pusha T and No Malice have graced the stage for a handful of festival appearances, as well as in June when they performed an unreleased track during the Louis Vuitton fashion show. “Being a soloist for so long now, when I’m onstage with my brother, it’s like, ‘Wait a minute, I actually get this break. I get this rest. I get to actually be a fan of somebody else’s verses and not just spinning my own.’ I get caught up in his greatness so much,” said Pusha T.
The record reignited hopes for Clipse to release new music. The witty “Drug Dealers Anonymous” emcee has heard fans’ pleas. “I really would love to, man. I really would love to,” he told People in a new interview. “At this point, I feel like we’ve been in a space a lot together lately, and in those spaces, the creativity’s just been flowing.”
Pusha T said that he and his brother have both grown lyrically, making it easier for them to collaborate. “Now everybody is who they are, and they’re comfortable in their skin, and they’re comfortable in their space, and it’s way easier. It’s super leisure, and it’s just all about seeing it and maintaining that high standard of lyricism and [that] high standard of metaphors and punchlines,” he explained.
Last April, Pusha T released his latest project, It’s Almost Dry. The 12-song tracklist includes fan-favorite “I Pray For You” featuring No Malice and Labrinth.
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I was talking to Doc Hall yesterday about innovation, partly about how to frame an article about the subject for Target and partly digressing about the state of manufacturing and business. Doc thinks the way we do business is rooted in the past and about to crumble as the cracks in the foundation grow wider.
Innovation, for example, is hampered by patent processes and the extensive litigation often rising around them. Another barrier to innovators, he says, is that they may be brilliant at science and technology, but they don’t know how to create a business model that can succeed in the marketplace. You need both. Then licensing innovations by companies who can take an idea to market is made less attractive by inventors who offer only nonexclusive licenses to their product or technology.
Nathan Myhrvold, former Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft, along with some partners, founded a new company, Intellectual Ventures, betting on a new model of deploying innovation. He describes this in an article, “Funding Eureka,” in Harvard Business Review (you can download it from the IV home page). He foresees making a market in invention, liberating it from “charity funding” from the government and even from corporations that are more interested in development than research. He’s assembled (if I didn’t get this wrong in my quick scan of stuff) $5 billion to buy a portfolio of patents that has already generated $1 billion in licensing revenue. His plan gives me nightmares of selling shares in targeted portfolios that average out risk, then some financial innovator making a market in derivatives, the question of who rates risk, and a debacle like the mortgage-backed securities and their derivatives we’re still recovering from.
Another company that’s been working for the past several years to make a market in innovation is Yet2.com, led by Ben DuPont. (Yes, he’s one of those DuPonts, with business development expertise gained from work he did there. Could a trait for commercializing R&D be in the family genome?) Yet2.com is an online registry of technologies available for license, combined with “Tech Needs” from companies looking to buy innovation instead of making it or looking for a solution to a technology problem. One of the company’s innovations is a standardized “Tech Pak” that makes it easy to get the gist of what’s on offer by an inventor, what stage of development it’s at, and what research data comes with the license. DuPont and other colleagues are also starting to invest in promising innovations to bring them to market by adding their business acumen to research brilliance.
NASA Tech Briefs is a publication with a long history of trying to offer innovation produced by our tax dollars to private enterprise. It now has struck a deal with Yet2.com so that its database runs in the Yet2.com framework behind the Tech Briefs web search interface. You also get the NASA technologies through Yet2.com.
You can also troll the filings in the U.S. Patent Office if you’re of a mind to. It’s all online and there are, no doubt, intelligent bots constantly spidering the website for the benefit of anyone who wants to buy or sell innovation.
These are just a few models of market innovation in innovation. Much is driven by big companies, whose financial wizards are looking at intellectual property as a collection of assets that can be “monetized.” Corporate research often turns up a promising project that just doesn’t fit their core business. Until recently, those patents, data, and even business plans have sat fallow in the vault, with no ROI, but protected from competitors wishing to bring the same idea to market. They’re asking why, and answering, why not earn some money from them?
There are also the little guys, inventing a product they believe in, but not having the resources or knowledge to take it to market. TV is full of reality shows that put inventors into competition with one another for the chance to pitch their ideas to people with money. Some companies are starting to follow the online communities that are emerging among inventors, but it really remains small potatoes and a field for all sorts of “services” to offer would-be moguls.
I have a few questions. Where’s the opportunity for lean companies freeing up capacity or lean experts who are now free agents to mine these innovation resources? If they don’t have the resources for R&D, can’t they just buy it in the new innovation market? Can they base an entrepreneurial start-up on someone else’s innovation? Would they even want to? I’d hypothesize that they ought to have an advantage over non-lean entrepreneurs, even if they invest in nonexclusive licenses.
These models all seem to fit into the emerging philosophy of Open Innovation growing out of the open-source software movement. How will it take shape? How is the money going to flow?
Food for thought.


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Olaf Scholz is about to become chancellor of an unhealthier German economy than the one he looked set to inherit when his party won elections in late September.
With the Social Democrat leader poised to be sworn in as Angela Merkel’s successor on Wednesday, growth prospects have soured in the weeks it took to negotiate a three-way coalition with the Greens and the Free Democrats.
Data this week underscored the deterioration in Europe’s biggest economy, showing a slump in factory orders that was far worse than any analyst predicted as foreign demand plunged.
That followed last week’s revelation of a once-in-a-generation cost-of-living squeeze for German consumers as inflation topped all estimates to reach 6% – the highest since the early 1990s.
Soaring prices should ease next year and the economic recovery is forecast to gather pace. But with this week’s numbers adding a “further damper” to the outlook, according to the government – even before the impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant is felt – the near-term headwinds for Mr Scholz are mounting and may threaten Europe as a whole.
“We have to get through a winter of bad news,” according to Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg, who warns of a “serious risk” that German output will shrink in the fourth quarter as supply-chain disruptions continue to restrain its manufacturing industry.
But while another big wave of the pandemic would delay the recovery, it won’t derail it completely. “It’s a question of whether the strong growth starts in the first quarter or the second,” he said. Mr Schmieding’s remarks chime with an OECD assessment released last week.
Describing how global supply snarls are holding back the export-reliant economy, the Paris-based organisation cut its German growth forecast for 2022 by half a percentage point to 4.1%, compared with its interim outlook released just days before the September 26 election.
It still predicts expansion will pick up next year, underpinned by accelerating consumer spending, improving confidence and “solid” investment. But its forecasts were largely compiled before news of Omicron broke, and officials highlighted other risks – from renewed lockdowns to spiralling prices.
It’s the threat of inflation that Mr Scholz is being asked about more than growth as he fills the power vacuum created by the lengthy coalition talks. He said last week that “we have to do something” if prices don’t slow as analysts predict, without specifying what any action may entail.


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Mobile phone access in Africa to double in five yearsArchive
CAPE TOWN: Around 80 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa’s 800 million people should have access to mobile telephones by the end of the decade, double the current rate, although government help is needed to reach far-flung areas, industry body group GSMA said on Wednesday.
The growth of mobile data — an even more powerful economic tool than simple voice services — also hinges on authorities allocating sufficient spectrum, said Mortimer Hope, the Africa director of GSMA.
“We expect data to keep growing dramatically, and to facilitate that you need more spectrum to handle that data growth,” he told Reuters on the sidelines of the WEF Africa.
To unleash the full potential of mobile Internet services, he said, governments should also consider cutting taxes on web-enabled handsets to make them more affordable to consumers on the poorest continent.
Currently about 15pc of Africans have access to the Internet via their phones. “It’s very early days for data but we would like it be everywhere you have voice. The extra infrastructure deployment is not as big as you would think.” Mobile phones have been one of the factors behind Africa’s recent growth spurt, by freeing people from the shackles of the continent’s awful landline infrastructure and allowing them to communicate/transact at minimal financial cost.
Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2015
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Lansford man charged with felony retail theft
William Huot, 48, of 601 E. Abbott St., Lansford, faces charges from an incident which occurred on Feb. 10 at 5:52 p.m. at Family Dollar in the borough. Charges of felony retail theft and disorderly conduct were filed by Officer Christopher Ondrus. A warrant was issued for his arrest, and he was located by police hiding in the attic of his apartment. Huot was arraigned and committed to prison under $5,000 bail.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, here's what happened:
At 5:52 p.m. Feb. 10, Ondrus was dispatched to the store on a report of retail theft. The suspect had fled in a white Mercury registered to a Joline Ahner of Lansford. The Carbon County Communications Center described the suspect, who had taken Slim Jims, as a male with the name "Joey" tattooed on the back of his neck. Store staff described him as white and bald, wearing blue shorts and a black shirt. After being confronted, he left the store in the white Mercury. Ondrus recognized Huot from the descriptions.
Ondrus spotted the Mercury outside Huot's house, and spoke with Ahner. He asked her if she knew who had a tattoo "Joey" on the back of his neck, and she said, "Will." Ondrus asked her if he could talk with him. Ahner invited him inside, and he spoke with Huot. Ondrus asked them both if they had been at the Family Dollar store, both said they were. Huot said he had been accused of taking two Slim Jims. He said he did have the Slim Jims, but was going to pay for them. But Ahner didn't want them, so he put them back on a shelf.
He said he was confronted by store employees. He showed them where he had put the meat snacks, and was told to not to come back into the store.
Ondrus went to the store and talked the manager, Nicole Diehl, who told him she saw Huot grab two Slim Jims, look both ways, and then put them into his pants, pull his shirt down over them to hide them, and then walk down the aisle. He was confronted in the checkout aisle when Ahner was paying for some other items. Diehl asked him to put back the Slim Jims. Huot began causing a disturbance, insisting that he had put them back. He then walked away quickly, pulling the Slim Jims out of his shorts and quickly placing them on a shelf. He then showed Diehl where they were.
She told him to stay out of the store.


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The brainchild of French entrepreneur Adrien Lelièvre, the Pi-Pop e-bike uses a supercapacitor to store energy rather than rely on batteries. If riding a bike on a daily basis is too much of a challenge for you, you might be tempted to opt for an e-bike.
The issue with those is that the production of the batteries consumes a lot of natural resources such as lithium or rare-earth elements which require extensive and often environmentally impactful mining procedures. French entrepreneur Adrien Lelièvre, however, has engineered a pioneering, sustainable solution.
Fitted with a supercapacitor
The inventor, who has a background in electronics, designed and patented an e-bike called Pi-Pop, one that doesn’t use lithium batteries but supercapacitors. “The system gets charged when the ride is easy and when the bike brakes – thanks to engine braking – the energy is given back when needed,” Lelièvre, the director of STEE, the company behind the bike, told Euronews Next.
To put it simply, a supercapacitor works by stocking energy in an electrostatic way, or by way of a slow-moving charge. In contrast, a lithium battery stocks energy as a chemical reaction. In other words, a supercapacitor can stock and release energy very quickly when it is needed. In the case of its bike, it means stocking energy when the person pedals or brakes and using it to assist more difficult actions like restarting or uphill riding.
Lelievre estimates that the assistance offered to the rider by the bike’s supercapacitors is enough to handle an elevation gain of 50 m if charged on a flat beforehand, making it suitable for around 80 per cent of European cities.
The concept of a supercapacitor is not a new innovation in itself; the first ones were manufactured at the end of the 1970s. Today, they are used in photovoltaic systems (such as solar panels), digital cameras and some hybrid or electric vehicles to improve their performance.
It made sense for Lelièvre to use the technology in bikes. According to him, the 20 kg Pi-Pop “really is a symbol of sobriety. Always wanting more, meaning wanting to go faster, adding more energy… this is a dead-end,” he said. No rare earth materials are used in the bike’s production as supercapacitors are made of carbon, conducting polymer, aluminium foils, and pulp – materials for which recycling processes already exist.
There is no need to wait for the bike to charge either, another perk compared to the classic e-bikes. The company also claims that the supercapacitor’s lifetime ranges from 10 to 15 years compared to five or six for a lithium battery.
The bike – now a third-generation design – is currently assembled in Orléans. Being locally produced in his native France was important for Lelièvre whose career was built in the French electronics industry. “I think we can’t innovate if we lose control of production,” he said. “When we talk about sustainable development, ecological transition, and energy transition, we need to provide the jobs,” added Lelievre whose company employs 25 people. Currently, Pi-Pop produces 100 bikes a month. In the future, the company aims to to produce a thousand bikes monthly by 2024.
The post The first no-battery, super capacitor e-bike design (Euronews) appeared first on London Reconnections.


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America’s largest crypto exchange Coinbase nosedives, reports $1.1 bn in net loss
- Net revenue of
Coinbasewas down 31 % compared to Q1, driven by lower trading volume.
cryptospot trading volume declined 3 % on a sequential basis, reducing Coinbase’s market value, claims the company.
- Shift in customer base and volatile market were pegged as reasons for the downward turn.
In quarterly terms, net revenue of Coinbase was down 31 percent compared to Q1, driven by lower trading volume.
"Q2 was a tough quarter, with trading volume and transaction revenue each down by 30 percent and 35 percent sequentially, respectively. Both metrics were influenced by a shift in customer and market activity, driven by macroeconomic and crypto credit factors alike," the company said after reporting its Q2 results late on Tuesday.
"On the expense side, we've taken several steps to streamline our cost structure, including an 18 percent employee reduction in June," it revealed.
"The current downturn came fast and furious, and we are seeing customer behaviour mirror that of past down markets," the company said in its shareholder letter.
Total trading volume declined to $217 billion, down 30 per cent compared to Q1. In contrast, total crypto spot trading volume declined 3 percent on a sequential basis, resulting in lower trading volume market share, said the company.
"Q2 was a test of durability for crypto companies and a complex quarter overall. Dramatic market movements shifted user behavior and trading volume, which impacted transaction revenue, but also highlighted the strength of our risk management programme," said Coinbase.
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The Fall 2021 issue of our quarterly Gull newsletter is now available online, with stories on bird mortality at the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area, our new Richmond Christmas Bird Count, and reintroducing native oysters at Pier 94. Plus our upcoming guest speakers and a feature on California Towhees!
To download and read this new issue of The Gull, click here.
P.S. If you’re a GGBA member who receives the printed edition of The Gull by mail but would like to switch to online delivery by email, contact our office at firstname.lastname@example.org. This saves postage and paper.


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National Safety Month Reminds Everyone to Be Safe
When it comes to issues of importance to Americans, one of the most basic is safety, which is one huge reason why marking June as National Safety Month, a program of the non-profit National Safety Council, is so important. Every year the organization picks a theme to focus on and this year it's "No 1 Gets Hurt."
How about joining in by teaming up with National Gift Card and The Home Depot? By targeting some of your key employees or customers with messages that are relevant to safety, you'll be making an impact, not just on your business but aligning with one of the most basic issues that benefits society.
This year, National Safety Month is divided into four weeks, each one with a different emphasis related to safety:
- On Week 1, it's Emergency Preparedness, with a nod to the need for first aid training. Surprisingly, only 45 percent of American workers have had the first aid training and only 50 percent know where to locate an automatic external defibrillator, a device that could help restart someone's heart.
- In Week 2, the National Safety Month organizers focus on Wellness, with special emphasis on sleep disorders, a growing issue that is affecting between 50-70 million Americans, increasing the risk of other health problems such as heart disease and diabetes, and even reducing the lifespan of someone suffering from poor sleep.
- For Week 3, the focus is Falls, the leading cause of injury-related death for adults age 65 and older. Falls are also the leading cause of death in construction, based on data provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Labor.
- And finally, Week 4's emphasis is Driving, with drowsy driving contributing to about 10 percent of all motor vehicle-related crashes.
With all the afternoon around National Safety Month, it's a great time to "get on board" with a gift card campaign from National Gift Card and The Home Depot, a national retailer that keeps its stores stocked with many items that have "safety" as their prime use.
Be safe and stay safe - with help from The Home Depot and National Gift Card!


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Yesterday GM officials confirmed they'd be laying off between 250 and 300 employees at its Oklahoma City assembly plant. The location employs over 2,600 people and produces the Chevy Trailblazer, GMC Envoy, Envoy XUV and Isuzu Ascender. The remaining employees will get an extra two weeks off after the New Year and will return to work Jan. 18. However, GM will pay the employees 75% of their wages along with unemployment benefits. This comes amid growing sales of the SUVs in question, but those sales numbers could be a bad indicator with so many vehicles sitting on lots.
Oh and don't ask me why the photo that ran with this story features vehicles with trunks, clearly not SUVs.


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Driven by consumer demand, apparel manufacturers and retailers are starting to "build in" corporate social responsibility (CSR), compliance and product safety all along their supply chains, according to a new study by Apparel Magazine and ICIX, a cloud-based supply chain risk management company. Still, there is a lot of room for improvement in supply chain transparency, and 70 percent of Apparel survey respondents say their supply chains are only somewhat transparent, mostly not transparent, or have very little visibility.
"This is an important, wide-ranging benchmark survey of our substantial audience. It looks at supply chain transparency issues and technology in the apparel industry and relates them to corporate social responsibility (CSR), safety and compliance," says Susan Nichols, publisher of Apparel Magazine. "We found some new trends—such as the push to take CSR into account throughout the apparel supply chain—which places a premium on transparency. Also, more than twice as many respondents said CSR is the main driver of their need for transparency (37 percent) than said either quality (17 percent) or legal compliance (14 percent), which shows that CSR is now an important strategic business objective for many in the industry."
The new, broad-ranging survey of executives; IT professionals; and managers of quality, compliance and corporate social responsibility found that technological advances in supply chain risk management software are making it easier to achieve the transparency necessary to build trust all along supply chains, and ultimately, in the minds of consumers looking for brands that share their values.
"The technology is now at a point where it's possible to achieve a very high degree of transparency in apparel design, manufacturing and merchandising," says Matt Smith, founder of ICIX. "And because consumers are so well-informed and demanding things like better CSR, compliance with fair labor standards and product safety, the most competitive companies are re-engineering their processes to build these in, just as quality control started to be 'designed in' to a lot of products in the 1980s. That way, consumers can have the confidence they need to spend their money with brands they can trust."
The study—conducted over a four-week period in late summer of 2017—was based on 174 respondents engaged in many job classifications of the apparel industry. The largest number of respondents (32 percent) consisted of C-level or executive management, with another 13 percent in product development/design management and 7 percent in IT/systems management. Among its important findings are the following:
- New technology is just starting to change the industry, and still, only 22 percent of respondents say the technology and systems they currently use are "very effective" at achieving the supply chain transparency necessary to power programs in these areas.
- About a third (32 percent) of CSR and compliance information is still collected manually, with another 29 percent collected and stored in spreadsheets.
- Apparel companies are starting to internally share CSR, compliance and product safety data among other departments.
- Almost 60 percent of apparel professionals say fast-fashion trends have made it "much harder" or "somewhat harder" to comply with product safety, CSR and internal directives.
The study is a comprehensive look at the state of global supply chain compliance and CSR. It emphasizes that transparency technology is making it possible to provide buyers and consumers with the visibility they need to have confidence in their brands.


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Chile: Inflation ticks down in November
Consumer prices remained unchanged from the previous month in November, compared to a 0.4% increase in October. According to the National Statistical Institute (INE), the reading largely reflected lower prices for transport and housing which offset higher prices for recreation and culture as well as for food and non-alcoholic beverages.
Inflation inched down to 2.8% in November, from 2.9% in October, falling further below the mid-point of the Central Bank’s 2.0%–4.0% tolerance range. Meanwhile, average inflation over the last 12 months ticked up again in November and stood at 2.4% (October: 2.3%).
In a similar fashion, after removing volatile categories such as fruit, vegetables and fuel, core consumer prices remained stable month-on-month in November (October: +0.1% month-on-month). On the other hand, core inflation edged up from 1.9% in October to 2.0% in November.


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AfricaCom 2018, Cape Town, South Africa
13-15 November 2018
Testament to the growing influence and importance of the entire digital ecosystem on everyday life across the planet, the 21st edition of AfricaCom held in Cape Town 13 – 15 November 2018, attracted close to 14 000 record-breaking attendees this year with the most diverse and informed, audience ever.
Commenting on the success of this year’s event…
HelloGold Named Best Islamic Wealth Management Fintech Company
The World Islamic Fintech Awards (WIFA) honors deserving fintechs in Islamic Finance
DAEATI chooses Trustonic IoT and device security for open rail control network
Trustonic security solutions support first Korean railway project to embrace secure IoT, smartphone use and a move to open networks
Cambridge, UK and Bucheon-si, South Korea – 22 November 2018 – Leading railway traffic control system innovator DAEATI. Co., Ltd. has launched a government-supported industrial internet of things (IoT) project to develop the first rail traffic control…
Cloudera partners with Bank Rakyat Indonesia on Data-Driven Journey to Boost Growth and Accelerate Financial Inclusion in Indonesia
One of Indonesia’s largest state-owned banks increases its customer base and revenue while strengthening its fraud detection capability through machine learning and advanced analytics with Cloudera
SINGAPORE, November 21, 2018 – Cloudera, Inc. (NYSE: CLDR), the modern platform for…
Fraud attacks by financial malware decreased in Q3, according to RSA
This week RSA launched its Q3 Fraud Report, which found that there were increases in comprised credit card activity and the average value of fraudulent transitions. Fraudulent activity is expected to climb further in these areas across Q4 in anticipation of Black Friday/Christmas shopping.
The report, which represents a snapshot of the cyber fraud…
Inmarsat enhances cyber security offering for Maritime industry
Mobile training app for crew and intelligent endpoint security for onboard computers strengthen Inmarsat’s Fleet Secure portfolio of products
15 November 2018: Inmarsat has introduced two new components to its maritime cyber security service, Fleet Secure, as it continues to develop solutions that combat ever-increasing cyber threats faced by ship owners and…
France-IX reaches new milestones with presence in Africa
African networks peering at France-IX increase by 60 percent; traffic from African ISPs increase by 90% and more than 70% of African countries with French as first language able to reach France-IX via remote peering solutions
Paris and Marseille, France – November 13, 2018 – France-IX (https://www.franceix.net/en), the premier Internet Peering Service Provider in France, today…
Africa set for 5G but 3G, 4G to be key mobile broadband drivers: Ovum
Advanced operators and markets in Africa are poised for early 5G launches, with South Africa, Kenya, Namibia, and Mauritius expected to launch mobile 5G services by 2022, according to recent forecasts by Ovum.
However, the take-up of 5G in Africa overall will be modest initially, with only 5.9 million mobile 5G connections on the continent at end-2023, Ovum forecasts (see Figure 1). Instead, continued…
Trulioo Expands Operations in Europe
Trulioo, the leading global identity verification provider, today announced the launch of its new satellite office in Dublin to accommodate rapid growth and leverage the city’s growing financial and technological opportunities. This new location strengthens Trulioo’s European…
For more information on the news items, please visit our press releases webpage detailed below.


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January wholesale prices dip more than 2%
RVI Group’s latest analysis of the Canadian wholesale market indicated used-vehicle prices declined in January.
Looking first at the real view of the RVI Used Vehicle Price Index for January, analysts noticed a decrease of 2.4 percent from January of last year.
Turning next to the nominal of their Used Vehicle Price Index, analysts determined prices decreased by 2.6 percent in January when compared to same month in 2016.
RVI Group pointed out that more than half of the vehicle segments saw a decline in prices on a year-over-year basis.
“In January, sub-compact cars performed better than the market average on a year-over-year basis,” analysts said about the segment that posted a 9.8 percent year-over-year gain.
Other noteworthy year-over-year comparison from the RVI Group’s latest report included:
—Full-size SUVs: up 3.5 percent
—Minivans: up 1.4 percent
—Full-size pickups: down 3.4 percent
—Small sedans: down 7.0 percent


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U.S. employers posted 11 million open jobs in October, nearly matching a record high reached in July and a sign that companies were confident enough in the economy to expand.
The government report Wednesday also showed that the number of people quitting their jobs dropped slightly in October to 4.2 million, from 4.4 million in September, though that is still the third-highest number of monthly resignations on records dating back to 2000.
The figures from the Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey, or JOLTS, show that with so many companies chasing relatively few unemployed people, job-seekers have the most bargaining power they have had in at least two decades. Wages are rising at a healthy pace, particularly for lower-paid employees, though much of that bump in pay is being eroded by higher inflation.
There were just 7.4 million people counted as unemployed in October, equal to just two-thirds of the 11 million open jobs. In the two decades that the government has issued the JOLTS report, there has usually been unemployed people than available workers.
Last week, the government reported that the unemployment rate fell sharply in November, to 4.2% from 4.6%, as more than 1 million people said they found jobs. But it also said that only 210,000 jobs were created, the fewest in nearly a year and less than half the previous month’s gain, leaving a more convoluted picture. The jobs figure is based on a separate survey than the one used to compile the unemployment rate.
The JOLTS report Wednesday reflects October data, when new COVID-19 infections were still falling and before the emergence of the omicron variant, which could dampen the economy in the coming months.
Larger paychecks are luring many employees to leave their jobs for new work, pushing up the number of quits. A high number of resignations is a sign of a strong labor market because it shows that people are confident they can find a new job. The vast majority of people who quit do so to take new jobs.
Separate data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta shows that people switching jobs are receiving bigger pay raises than those who stay put.
Companies are also paying out larger bonuses to attract and keep workers. According to Gusto, a company that provides pay and benefits software to small businesses, 14% of all paychecks on its platform now include bonuses, up from 11% a year ago, and the average size of the bonus has tripled over that period, to about $1,670, from $550.
Job openings rose about 4% in October to 11 million, just below July’s peak of 11.1 million. The biggest increase was in restaurants, bars and hotels, where they leapt nearly 20% to 1.6 million. Restaurant traffic and travel increased that month as coronavirus cases waned.
Other job openings data reflect how the economy is evolving in a pandemic. According to job-listings website Indeed, the number of available positions for loading and stocking jobs, primarily in warehouses, has more than doubled from its pre-pandemic level, evidence of the rapid rise in ecommerce.
And with demand surging for factory goods such as furniture, cars, and appliances, manufacturers are desperately seeking more employees, even as many struggle to obtain supplies amid supply chain bottlenecks. The number of available factory jobs jumped 6% in October, to just over 1 million, more than double the pre-pandemic level and the highest on record.


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The Brits don’t celebrate U.S. Thanksgiving, but over the past couple of years retailers have conditioned them to expect sales on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving). This year, consumers responded by spending 1.1 billion pounds ($1.64 billion) on Black Friday, up 35.8% from 810 million pounds in the same period a year ago, according to data from IMRG and web measurement firm Experian.
During the four-day Black Friday weekend, U.K. consumers spent 3.3 billion pounds ($4.93 billion), according to the IMRG and Experian data.
The days broke down as follows:
- Black Friday, 1.1 billion pounds ($1.64 billion)
- Saturday, 561 million pounds ($838.0 million)
- Sunday 676 million pounds ($1.01 billion)
- Cyber Monday 968 million pounds ($1.45 billion), up 34.4% from 720 million pounds a year ago.
Though the 3.3 billion-pound total is for four days, many promotions and sales started the Monday before, on Nov. 23, according to U.K. e-retail association Interactive Media in Retail Group. Black Friday is a relatively recent shopping phenomenon in the United Kingdom, with the trend building since 2010. But Black Friday exploded into the British public consciousness in 2014 when retail sales exceeded forecasts and overwhelmed some operations, IMRG says.
Black Friday in the U.K. became more manageable this year, with better online performance and fewer scuffles in stores, according to IMRG. “That said, the nature of this type of sales event makes it hard to predict and the Black Friday period (as opposed to a single day) doesn’t feel quite like it’s settled into a definite pattern yet. It’s evolving rather than evolved—so don’t be surprised if it evolves further next year,” editor Andy Mulcahy wrote in an IMRG post.
Record online results speak to British retailers’ being prepared for the shopping weekend push, said John Beechen, head of managed services at Salmon Ltd., an e-commerce consultancy whose clients include U.K. grocery chain Sainsbury’s, No. 16 in the Internet Retailer 2015 Europe 500.
“Many pushed out deals early to build momentum and help level out volume surges over a wider period of time, reducing strain on infrastructure and fulfilment teams and allowing retailers to check systems were up and running smoothly in advance,” Beechen said. “With this planned activity encouraging shoppers to spend ahead of Black Friday, the £1.1 billion result is even more impressive as consumers continued to buy generously on the day.”
But it wasn’t all good news for British retailers or consumers. More than one in five consumers (21%) said it was “impossible or extremely difficult” to find information on retailers’ websites, a threefold increase from the 7% of U.K. consumers who responded the same way in 2014, according to research from Eptica, a U.K.-based seller of customer interaction management software. The 2015 Eptica Retail Christmas Customer Experience Study is based on consumer research conducted Nov. 30 by Toluna with 1,000 shoppers in the United Kingdom and 1,000 in the United States.
“Given that consumers are becoming more demanding, and want to increasingly use channels such as mobile, retailers need to improve the experience before their customers simply go elsewhere,” said Olivier Njamfa, CEO and co-founder of Eptica.
There still is time for retailers’ to make improvements. Many British consumers say they plan to shop after the Black Friday and Cyber Monday rush, Eptica said. While 24% bought items online on Black Friday and 12% on Cyber Monday, 49% hadn’t made any purchases before the end of November.
Other findings from Eptica include:
- 29% of U.K. consumers were extremely satisfied with the online experience, while 33% were unsatisfied.
- 37% of Britons were unhappy with their in-store experience, while 27% were extremely satisfied.


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The First Minister is officially opening an innovative property venture in Campbeltown which has seen an Argyll building firm bring a former factory site back to life.
Local contractor MacLeod Construction Limited bought the site of the former Jaeger factory from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) in 2010 and today (Tuesday 27 August) the RT Hon Alex Salmond MSP will formally open the Mull of Kintytre Industrial Estate which the company has completed.
Demand for the space has been high. The units have been fully let to a range of local businesses including MacMillan Foods Limited, Livingstone & McEachran Plumbers, Fone a Taxi, RTM Contracts and Kenneth Campbell – golf professional.
The project has been made possible with the support of a partnership between MacLeod Construction Limited and HIE. The agency provided £96,743 to the family-run building company through the Scottish Property Support Scheme.
An EU approved programme, it allows support for commercial property development where there will be a gap between the construction cost to the developer and the final value. Without support the development would be unviable. This is the first time the scheme has been used in the Argyll area.
The First Minister Alex Salmond said: "MacLeod Construction is a well-established family business and an important employer across Argyll. I'm very pleased that Highlands and Islands Enterprise has been able to support the business with this exciting new development.
"The level of demand for, and range of businesses occupying, the new business units is very encouraging and a sure sign that Campbeltown is on the up. I'm determined that, together with HIE, our other agencies and the local authority, the Scottish Government will continue to support business development in the town and throughout Kintyre, helping to create and sustain jobs and to strengthen the local economy."
The Jaegar factory closed in 2001 with the loss of around 160 local jobs. The building was deemed unsuitable for alternative uses and was demolished.
Douglas Cowan, HIE’s Area Manager for Argyll and the Islands, said: “We are delighted to see the site of the former factory back in use, and so many companies expanding and creating jobs locally. The closure of the factory was a huge blow for the region but the new units created are helping reinvigorate Campbeltown and the surrounding area. The Scottish Property Support Scheme is a model we would like to see used again as a sustainable way of supporting the private sector to provide infrastructure.”
Murdo MacLeod, Director of MacLeod Construction Ltd, said: "We were aware that Argyll's small businesses needed new space to grow and that rents in the area are often high and beyond the reach of many. We designed and developed the units at the Mull of Kintyre Industrial Estate to meet those needs and provide local businesses with units suitable for all uses that are affordable, with a rent of £50 per week exc VAT.
“We are delighted that all the units have been let in a very short period of time and strong demand exists for further expansion of this development in Campbeltown. We have a list of names for a further block should this go ahead. We hope that this is a model which we could repeat in other Argyll towns and villages to allow Argyll’s small businesses to thrive.”


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A Kobe Bryant game-worn jersey from 1997 fetched $2.735 million at auction this weekend, officials said Sunday.
The jersey was worn during the Lakers’ 1997 playoff run, as well as multiple games at the end of Bryant’s rookie regular season, according to SCP Auctions in Laguna Niguel.
It was the second-highest amount bid for any game-worn basketball jersey, said Austin Widger, SCP Auctions marketing manager. The most expensive was also worn by Bryant during his rookie year, and was sold for over $3.6 million last May.
The jersey’s authenticity was verified via “photo matching” by the MeiGrey Group, an auctioneer company that also serves as the official authenticator of the NBA, Widger said.
“Photo matching is the most definitive way to authenticate game worn sports memorabilia items,” Widger said. “The authenticators match threads, dot patterns and more to images from the games the item is matched to.”
The most expensive baseball jersey sold at auction was a Babe Ruth New York Yankees one from 1928-1930 that fetched $5.64 million. Another worn by Argentinian soccer player Diego Maradona during his team’s legendary match against England in the 1986 World Cup became the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever sold when it fetched a winning bid of over $9 million last month, Widger said.
Other highlights from the company’s 2022 Spring Premier Auction on Saturday included:
$403,664 for the only known autographed Kobe Bryant Precious Metal Gems card;
- $342,379 for a 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle rookie card;
- $275,696 for an autographed 1933 Babe Ruth card;
- $230,291 for a ticket stub from Jackie Robinson’s 1947 debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers;
- $227,856 for a Babe Ruth game-used bat from 1920-22;
- $73,253 for DeShawn Stevenson’s 2011 Dallas Mavericks NBA championship ring.
“The overall auction brought extremely strong numbers and many record sales. The auction total went over $8 million, which is the second biggest auction in company history,” SCP President David Kohler said. “This incredible sale happened amidst stock market volatility and war overseas, too.”
Full results from the auction can be found at SCPauctions.com


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Municipalities have already Obliged all Gas Stations to Put Screens Showing the Approved Prices
The Ministry of Commerce and Investment has carried out an inspection campaign on petrol stations in various regions of the Kingdom, in order to verify the conformity of fuel prices with the prices shown on the screens, fixed at the gas stations. During the inspection tours which last for two days, 463 gas stations have been inspected and two violations are released due to price difference.
This inspection tour comes within the integrated efforts of the Ministry of Commerce and Investment and the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs to control various commercial activities, including the gas stations.
The Ministry of Commerce and Investment confirms the continuation of monitoring the fuel prices and their conformity with the prices shown on the screens. MCI will receive and respond to consumers' complaints and reports in case of any price differences. Legal penalties will be imposed against the violating stations.
MCI calls on all consumers to lodge their complaints and reports in case of any violation through the application of a Commercial Violation Report, or through MCI Consumer Call Center (1900), or via the Ministry's website.


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The average tenure of cybersecurity executives has fallen to just one year and 11 months, according to the latest research
A new survey by Cybershark Recruitment, in partnership with SC Media UK, which polled 2,300 cyber workers, revealed that just under half (48.1%) of the people surveyed changed roles in the last year.
Download the full salary list here
Daniel Murray, founder of Cybershark Recruitment, said: “This staggering figure gives credit to the ‘great resignation’. Our survey highlights the demand for cyber talent and shows how the market is constantly evolving and offering new projects for people to get involved in.”
The average tenure of cyber executives in 2021 was slightly longer at 2 years and 1 month, according to the study.
John Davis, director UK & Ireland, SANS Institute, EMEA commented: “With enhanced cyber threats and so much at stake, we've seen a boom in industry solutions developing. Sudden market maturity is opening up a huge number of new roles and opportunities for workers in this space. Cybercrime is only set to grow, so it's not surprising that there’s greater churn in the cyber jobs market today.”
Azeez Aleem, managing director for Sygnia Northern Europe, said cyber companies should take considered steps to nurture employees and motivate staff.
“Companies need to examine the reasons why employees are looking for new jobs, such as work-life balance, career progression, job dynamics, or salary.”
Download the full UK Cybersecurity Salary Survey 2023 by Cybershark Recruitment in partnership with SC Media here
The UK Cybersecurity Salary Survey 2023 polled 2,300 cyber execs across England, Scotland and Wales from November–December 2022. The online survey was conducted anonymously.


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Details expected soon on Intel's $200 laptop and tablet chip architecture
Intel hopes to create an alternate market of low-cost PCs and tablets with Atom chips based on Silvermont
IDG News Service - Intel is expanding into low-cost laptops and tablets starting at $200 with new low-power Atom chips based on an architecture called Silvermont, which the company is expected to talk about next week, according to a source familiar with Intel's plans.
The company expects the release later this year of tablets and laptops with detachable or folding screens priced between $200 and $399 with Atom chips code-named Bay Trail, which is based on Silvermont. Silvermont is the first Atom architecture overhaul since 2008, when the first Atom chip was released and subsequently panned for its performance.
Intel has promised better performance and battery life in tablets, smartphones and laptops with Silvermont-based Atom chips. Intel will spill more details about Silvermont at an event to be held on Monday at the company's Santa Clara campus. Speakers at the event include Dadi Perlmutter, executive vice president and general manager of the Intel Architecture Group.
Intel has said that inexpensive Android or Windows tablets and laptops will be available this holiday shopping season with a quadcore Bay Trail processor. Silvermont chips also include Merrifield, which will be in smartphones next year, and Avoton, which will be in low-power dense servers in the second half.
Intel previously painted Bay Trail as a processor for tablets, but earlier this month said it will expand the chip to sub-$599 convertibles, laptops and desktops. The new generation of Silvermont chips will replace previous Atom chips used in netbooks, which were criticized for their underwhelming performance. Bay Trail will also unite a range of older Atom chip lines like Cedar Trail for netbooks, Clover Trail for tablets, and to some extent, Medfield processors like Clover Trail+ used in tablets.
PC shipments are falling and Intel has so far failed to reverse the fortunes of the PC market via its ultrabook strategy -- ultrabooks are faster but remain expensive. However, Intel hopes the low-cost laptops and hybrids will Bay Trail chips will attract a new set of buyers and reinvigorate the PC market in the process.
Intel also hopes $200 tablets with Bay Trail will match or even top the price, performance and battery life of similar devices based on ARM processors, which are also used in most tablets and smartphones today. Today's top tablets such as Apple's iPad, Samsung's Galaxy Tab, Google's Nexus and Amazon's Kindle Fire HD use chips with ARM processor designs.
It is likely that the cheaper laptop and tablet models will come with Android. Intel is working with Google on the development of driver packages for the OS, and some of Intel's existing Atom chips are already compatible with Android 4.2.
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Amazon.com Inc started developing its first-ever video game. They stared the development of the video game a few years back. It was a budget video-game named Crucible, which highlighted the online retailers continued struggle in order to make headway in the industry.
“We didn’t see a healthy, sustainable future ahead of Crucible,” AMazon in a blog post on Friday
Amazon also has revealed that the team which was working on the game will be moved to other upcoming gaming projects. Whereas, the people who had invested in the game will be getting full refunds.
What Is Crucible?
Table of Contents
Crucible was under development for Amazon’s gaming divisions formed in 2012. It was the key test for the same. The game (Crucible) was launched in May and had terrible reviews. The reviews were so bad that Amazon made the game invite-only. Before plans for Crucible were even released, the company had already cancelled a game which was joining to launch before Crucible. The cancellation of the previous game resulted in some people losing their jobs in the games unit.
“This has been a labor of love, and we’re grateful for the time we got to spend on planet Crucible with you,” Amazon wrote in the blog.
The team which has been moved to a different project will now be focusing on a new game. The game will be called “New World.” More information about this game is further ahead in the article. Amazon earlier revealed that the game “New World” will be released on August 2020, but now the date has been pushed back to 2021.
Negative Reviews On Crucible
Crucible was supposed to be one of the key tests for Amazon’s gaming unit. This gaming unit was founded in the year 2012. The game Crucible launched in the year 2012, and the ratings were horrible. The game was launched in May 2012. A month later (in June) Amazon made the game Crucible invite-only closed beta.
Now that Crucible game doesn’t exist anymore, the team has been given a new project. The new project is reportedly called “New World.” This was initially going to be released in the year 2020, in August. However, due to unknown reasons, the release of the game has now been pushed back to the year 2021.
It is no secret that developing original games is a part of Amazon’s strategy to take over the world and break into video games. Earlier this year, Amazon released their new device named Luna. Everything about the Amazon Luna can be found here.
Just as a gist, The company bought Twitch, the live-streaming service dominated by gamers, in 2014. In September, Amazon unveiled Luna, a subscription video game streaming service that will allow gamers to play without expensive hardware like consoles.
What Was The Game Crucible Like?
Crucible was a third-person shooter game. It is a free to play shooter game developed and published by Relentless Studios. Relentless Studios is a subsidiary of Amazon Game Studio. Crucible is Amazon’s first major original title game published by their gaming division. This was previously focused on tablet games.


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Tablets face a turning pointAuthor: BaleyMarcos134 | Filed under: About
The downturn in the personal computer industry may be ready to reach rock bottom, where it could stabilize even as cheap tablets stay hot, an analyst said today. In a piece published earlier this week on Techpinions (subscription required), Ben Bajarin of Creative Strategies theorized that there are, in fact, “glimmers of hope” for the PC business.
Originally posted here:
Tablets face a turning point


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Red Eagle Games and Obsidian Entertainment have announced an agreement in which Obsidian will work with Red Eagle in the development on a new MMO franchise based on Robert Jordan's best-selling fantasy series, "The Wheel of Time."
"The Wheel of Time is one of the greatest and well-received fantasy series of all time," said Chris Avellone, Chief Creative Officer of Obsidian Entertainment. "Games set in Robert Jordan's universe have the chance to deliver on the epic storylines and the complex characters that the series is known for – and this is one of Obsidian's strengths. It's a natural fit."
"The development team at Obsidian Entertainment has demonstrated time and again that they can successfully blend storytelling with technology to craft a superior RPG game experience," said Rick Selvage, Chief Executive Officer of Red Eagle Games. "Obsidian Entertainment is the ideal development partner to help Red Eagle Games take Jordan's beloved characters from the printed page to exciting new forms of interactive media."
"Obsidian Entertainment is thrilled with this opportunity to work with Red Eagle Games in developing games based upon The Wheel of Time series," said Feargus Urquhart, Chief Executive Officer of Obsidian Entertainment. "The Wheel of Time is a rich universe that lends itself to incredible gaming possibilities."
"The details of Jordan's meticulously crafted series have captivated readers since 1990, when The Eye of the World, the first book in the series, was published. Eleven additional books, including one prequel, have since been added to the series and have consistently appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List with the last five of his novels in the series debuting at No. 1. Jordan passed away in 2007 at the age of 58, but his publisher, Tor Books, subsequently announced that a final trilogy of novels will bring his epic series to its long-awaited climax. The most recent installment in the series, entitled The Gathering Storm, was published in October of 2009 by Tor Books. The last three novels are being penned by fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson using notes, audio recordings and draft materials left with Jordan's wife and editor, Harriet Rigney.
Jordan's wildly popular books have been translated into 24 languages, and have sold about 44 million copies worldwide. According to Tor Books, the publisher of The Wheel of Time novels, there are about 65,000 The Wheel of Time fan Web sites as a part of a vast global on-line fan community."


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Our Epic Supply Chain Crisis Just Hit Another Level, And Biden Is Considering Calling In The National Guard To Help
Francesco Abbruzzino, The Uncensored Report, LLC
It is the month of October, and right now many Americans are more scared by the state of our national supply chains than by anything else. Some of the things that I am going to share with you in this article are truly frightening, and I would very much encourage you to take them seriously. Our economic infrastructure is failing on a massive scale, and officials are openly admitting that things will get even worse in the months ahead. We are in uncharted territory, because none of us has ever seen anything like this before. If our leaders cannot get this fixed, 2022 is going to be a truly nightmarish year.
Of course just last week Joe Biden gave a big speech in which he assured all of us that he was implementing measures which would soon turn things around.
Unfortunately, just like with Afghanistan, the southern border, inflation and so many other problems, our supply chain crisis has gotten even worse now that Biden is personally involved. On Tuesday, it was being reported that the number of vessels backed up off the coast of southern California has just hit a brand new record high…
The nation’s largest ports shattered more records Monday as massive bottlenecks at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach continue to wreak supply chain havoc.
The Marine Exchange of Southern California reported 100 vessels berthed October 18, topping the previous record of 97 set September 19.
A single container ship can hold thousands upon thousands of enormous shipping containers, and so we are talking about a backlog of absolutely immense proportions.
It would take many months just to work through a backlog of this magnitude even if the ports in southern California were making progress in paring it down.
But instead of making progress, the backlog just continues to get even deeper.


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September 21, 2018 By Dave Borrelli
September 21, 2018 – There are moments throughout history that change the way societies work and function on a daily basis. In the 18th to 19th centuries, rural societies became urban, iron and textile industries grew, and the steam engine made its mark on history. Fast forward to a paradigm shift that began in 1870: the world saw its first light bulb, as well as the invention of the telephone and electricity for mass production. More recently, digital technology has put a mobile computer in our pockets to communicate in ways once only imagined in science fiction films.
Referred to as industrial revolutions, these major development eras have progressed industries into a period where information and knowledge are easily and instantly shared. Currently, we are in the midst of the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” – characterized by a fusion of technologies that blur the lines between physical and digital. We live in a world of “smart-enabled” products that use sensors and internet software, which allow manufacturers to deliver value-added services to customers based on real-time data and insights.
In the past, manufacturers stayed ahead of the curve by adopting new capabilities, such as mechanization, mass production and automation to suit previous industry revolutions. These changes improved businesses’ abilities to manufacture a better product – faster and cheaper. Once the product was done, it was “finished.” Now, disruptive technologies have customers demanding smarter, faster, and more personalized service experiences as a new measure of excellence. Manufacturers need to understand and anticipate customer needs beyond the product. In other words, the customer experience is the new product today.
According to the Canadian government, manufacturers export more than $354 billion each year, representing 68 per cent of all Canada’s merchandise exports. As the sector continues to modernize, manufacturers are becoming more innovative – with 48 per cent of manufacturing businesses expecting to increase innovation investments over the next five years, and only three per cent expecting to decrease innovation investments over the same time period.
Globally, top manufacturers are relying on highly skilled workforces made up of designers, researchers, programmers, engineers, technicians and tradespeople. For Canadian manufacturing to remain competitive, products need to be built differently, with innovations driving productivity improvements. That’s why 74 per cent of manufacturers in this country expect to purchase or develop new technologies that make tasks more effective and increase productivity over the next five years, according to PLANT Magazine’s 2017 annual Manufacturers’ Outlook report.
This movement “beyond the product” is essential to a manufacturer’s success. For instance, Ontario’s Brampton Brick centralizes data using an online community built on the Salesforce Community Cloud, ensuring that sales and service teams can work collaboratively. By giving everyone access to the same data, they are empowered to better track a customer’s service history, while proactively connecting with customers to tend to their individual needs.
Other manufacturers that consider this investment in tech and abandon paper-based processes will succeed through their ability to improve customer engagement and loyalty. The 2016 Connected Manufacturing Service Report by Salesforce Research supports this, as 55 per cent of manufacturers recognize that they will need new technology and updated machinery and equipment by 2020 to remain ahead of the curve.
Now is the time for the manufacturing industry to shed the old adage of “if we build it, they will come.” The digital era is creating an unprecedented opportunity for companies to leverage technology and data through the new world of cloud, social, mobile and data analytics. Every single customer touch point, whether a sensor or a shipment of a spare part, is an opportunity to move beyond the product and develop deeper relationships that will allow manufacturers to succeed in the future.
Dave Borrelli is the area vice-president of Salesforce Canada, a customer relationship management platform.


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With a view to safeguarding consumer interests and ensuring the accuracy of food product advertisements, Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) organized a meeting to get recommendations in introducing the draft of the ‘Safe Food (Advertisement and Claims) Regulations, 2024’.
The meeting held in the BFSA training room was presided over by its Chairman Md Abdul Qayyum Sarkar.
The proposed regulations, consisting of 16 articles, address various aspects of food product advertising, focusing on preventing false information, offensive language, and misleading claims.
According to the draft, the BFSA will impose penalties on individuals or organizations found guilty of violating the regulations. The penalties may be applied if the advertisement contains false information, hurts the sentiments of a particular community, uses obscene language, or falsely claims the superiority of homogeneous food products.
Among the key points discussed in the draft are conditions for advertising food products, regulations for nutrition and health claims, restrictions on no-salt and no-sugar claims, guidelines for disclosing information on additives, and mechanisms for addressing advertising complaints. The regulations also grant authorities the power to immediately halt any advertisement that violates the established rules.
Md Rezaul Karim, former member of BFSA, was the key discussant in the meeting.
Nazma Begum, a member of the authority, delivered the address of welcome.


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Former NBA Player, Minnetonka Native Kris Humphries Becomes First Crisp and Green Franchisee
About a year after his departure from the NBA, former basketball pro Kris Humphries discovered what will be the next step in his career. The born-and-raised Minnesotan has inked a six-location deal to become the first franchise partner of Crisp and Green, a Wayzata-based fast casual eatery.
Humphries, who has been a regular customer of Crisp and Green for more than a year, will open his own Crisp and Green in Dinkytown at the former site of Espresso Royale. He plans to open another five locations “in the coming months.”
“Walking into Crisp and Green for the first time I knew right away it was exactly what Minnesota needed,” said Humphries in a statement. “The quality of the food, beautiful design, variety of meal options, dedication and experience of [CEO and majority owner] Steele Smiley and his team, and most importantly, the performance factors of the business, far exceeded my standards for an investment in a franchise concept.”
Crisp and Green opened its first location in Wayzata in 2016 and months later opened its second location in the North Loop neighborhood of Minneapolis. Another corporate-owned location is expected to open soon in Edina, followed by Humphries’ location near the University of Minnesota, which is set to open in the fall.
“After [Kris’s] 20th visit of seeing this tall guy in the stores who kept coming in every day, he pulled me aside and said, ‘I’d like to be a partner,’” Crisp and Green’s Smiley recalls in an interview with Twin Cities Business. “I said, ‘I’m not looking for partners, but I would be interested in building stores with you. After a number of conversations with Kris, it was obvious he was absolutely the right partner.”
Crisp and Green’s menu features salads, grain bowls and smoothies. It prides itself on promoting a healthy lifestyle, offering dishes that are nutritious and fresh, but still quick-to-make. This focus on healthy food is what drew Humphries to the company.
“I have been looking for an opportunity in the healthy fast casual space for a few years,” Humphries said, “and nothing compares to the overall opportunity that Crisp and Green offers.”
Smiley originally kicked off a search in March for Crisp and Green franchisees. Humphries’ passion for the brand, he says, played a large part in why he was chosen over hundreds of other would-be franchisees.
Another factor was Humphries’ experience.
The basketball player, who once played for the Golden Gophers, is no stranger to the fast food industry, as he and his business team currently manage a fast-casual burger empire across multiple states. The franchise deal with Crisp and Green is the first foray into healthy fast casual space.
What also helped seal the deal, Smiley says, was Humphries’ decision to purchase the already-in-development Dinkytown site—essentially making it a six location deal up front.
“That was a big vote of confidence for us,” said Smiley.
Humphries’ father William has also signed on to be his business partner in his Crisp and Green venture. Notably, William also played for the Golden Gophers, although he played for the school’s football team.
“I am proud to share my Crisp and Green brand with Kris and his team,” said Smiley in a statement. “He is the embodiment of health and wellness and the perfect ambassador to partner with our team to bring more healthy eating options to Minnesota.”
Looking ahead, Smiley, who has a background in franchising, says the company welcomes any new interested franchisees for potential future sites elsewhere in the country.


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updated 06:55 pm EST, Sat November 19, 2011
Radio Shack extends iPhone 4S to Sprint
Distribution of the iPhone 4S is getting wider this weekend after a new memo has leaked plans for Radio Shack to start carrying the Sprint iPhone 4S. Stores will have both black and white versions of Apple's device sometime this weekend, 9to5 saw. Unusually, only the more popular 16GB versions will be available, leaving 32GB and 64GB to other store chains.
Some stores should already have stock either being sold or waiting to sell, but others may have to wait through the next few days. Every store that already carries iPhones will get the Sprint model, but those that don't can still make requests.
The expansion partly fills a hole in Apple's retail coverage in the US. Radio Shack was already carrying the 8GB iPhone 4 for Sprint, but the most modern phone was left to AT&T and Verizon. The decision was considered odd at the time given that Radio Shack is often Sprint's preferred retail outlet, but the absence was attributed to "inventory issues" that likely have to do with sustained high demand more than a month after the iPhone 4S went on sale.