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But this shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Since 2012, a limit was put in place in Japan to stop minors from spending too much on in-game transactions a month, and one of the social game publishers who was first on-board with this was DeNA. So with DeNa being Nintendo’s partner with their mobile endeavour, it makes a lot of sense that a Gacha game like Fire Emblem Heroes would also see a limit put in place for Japan and that is exactly what has been announced.
So if you’re a minor in Japan and you like your in-game purchases, you will only be able to spend up to 12,000 yen a month. But if you’re a minor anywhere else in the world, you might still be free to spend as much as you want as Japan is the only place where it’s been expressed a limit has been put in place.
This post was written by Solid Jack


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The creators of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds have launched iOS and Android versions of the Fortnite rival, so you can play it on mobile wherever you are.
"This week we're celebrating yet another milestone for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) on Xbox One: we have now passed 5M players!" Tecent has released a mobile version of the game on both iOS and Android for free. That wait, it appears, is over with the release of PUBG Mobile in the Play Store.
In case you're wondering, the mobile version of PUBG is a port of the PC and console versions, and not just a dumbed-down title specifically designed for mobile phones. To unlock some cosmetic item for your PUBG soldier, you can go through various in-game challenges for a slow shot at the loot box. No word on if Fortnite is beating PUBG on iOS yet, but you can bet the competition is tight.
For those who are unfamiliar with PUBG, the battle royale game has 100 players drop onto an island to fight to the death.
Adding bots is, arguably, a clever way to introduce new, more casual players to PUBG (Twitter is rife with people bragging about winning their first-ever game). The beta for the game has also been available in the U.S. Developer Epic has launched Fortnite in a testing phase that is invite only, but that has not stopped it from rising to the top of the download and grossing charts on iOS.
One of the most popular games of the past year, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is now available for smartphones.
PUBG Mobile is free to play and is rated 17-plus.
Like with Fortnite, PUBG mobile requires a newish device.
TenCent has already confirmed that the game will be coming to "more regions", but it seems Europe hasn't lucked out.

domain: news


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Several years ago, when nobody could have predicted what was coming, the island embarked on a campaign to diversify its tourism sector in favour of promoting its heritage cities.
As well as its hundreds of kilometres of pristine beaches and keys, Cuba has the highest number of historic centers, ancient fortresses and landscapes included on UNESCO’s World Heritage list of any country in the Caribbean region.
Havana, Trinidad, Camagüey, Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba are among the cities with the richest cultural heritage and the world’s biggest hotel chains have been opening establishments in these destinations over the past decade.
There has been one significant change in Varadero: with Canadian tourism on standby, Russians have become the main visitors
But restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, which recommend reducing tourism in cities to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, have led Cuba to refocus on its already well-established tourist trail of beachfront resorts, where today health and sanitary safety have become as important an attraction as coconut groves, white sands and emerald waters.
The biggest hotel chain in Cuba, Meliá Hotels International, which operates a quarter of the total number of four- and five-star hotel rooms on the island, is an example of which way the wind is blowing.
Meliá has over 30 hotels in Cuba of which only seven are currently open: the Meliá Habana, in the capital, four in Varadero and two in Cayo Coco.
Varadero’s 23km of coastline, with its 52 hotels, is the most famous stretch of sand in Cuba and the most historic. For several years, it has been listed by travel company TripAdvisor as among the best beaches in the world.
Before the pandemic, Varadero hosted almost a million tourists per year, the majority of them from Canada, Germany, Spain, other EU countries and Latin America, although things have changed now.
In these lean economic times, Meliá, Iberostar and the other major hotel chains have placed their chips on Varadero and the northern keys to kick-start the tourism industry.
The beaches are in better shape than ever and hotels have made some notable improvements. What’s more, to set visitors’ minds at ease Cuba has introduced coronavirus protocols that are difficult to match anywhere in the world: every hotel has its own on-site doctor, nurse and epidemiology expert and access to the Cuban health system.
There is also light at the end of the tunnel with two Cuban vaccines – Soberana 02 and Abdala – in phase 3 clinical trials. With these vaccines, the government is aiming to vaccinate half of the island’s population before the end of summer.
With all of these safeguards in place, Iberostar has opened three of the seven hotels it operates in Varadero and Meliá four of its 12 establishments.
Together with the Sol Varadero Beach and the Meliá Península, the Spanish chain has kept the two most emblematic hotels in the area running, the Meliá Internacional and the Sol Palmeras, the former the first hotel in Cuba built as a joint venture and currently undergoing a complete renovation. Both chains are also reopening hotels in Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo.
There has been one significant change in Varadero: with Canadian tourism on standby and Europe waiting until summer arrives to make a decision on international travel, Russians have become the main customers.
On average one flight, a day arrives from Moscow with around 20,000 tourists a month arriving from Russia. Meliá has employed Russian translators and offers traditional Russian dishes at its restaurants as well as menus in the Cyrillic alphabet.
A few days ago, a veteran Meliá hotel manager greeted a group of enthused Muscovite guests in the lobby in their language: “Добро пожаловать [welcome].” C’est la vie, and in Cuba the ability to adapt is key. (www.elpais.com)


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The biggest fireworks display in Madison in 2022 takes place at Warner Park on Sunday July 3rd.
And the best view of the fireworks in the entire city is arguably right at Bierock.
Customers can enjoy the view of the fireworks from both our outdoor patio or from the comfort of our air conditioned indoor space.
Fireworks will follow the Madison Mallards baseball game.
And seeing as it’s our business’ anniversary weekend, we’re offering a few specials on July 3.
The first 100 children will receive a free Freezer Pop.
And for adults, Bomb Pop Jello Shots will be available for purchase while supplies last.
The schedule sets up as…
- 11:00 a.m. Doors Open
- 5:05 p.m. Mallards Game Starts
- 9:30 p.m. Fireworks Starts
This follows Bierock’s 4th Anniversary Party on Saturday July 2nd featuring live music, a tap takeover and the debut of a new bierock on special.
Our full food and drink menu will still be available the day of the event.
Located at 2911 N. Sherman Ave., Bierock is part of the Northside TownCenter and across the street from Warner Park.


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NewsSony sold over 1 million PlayStation 4 consoles within the first 24 hours of the hardware being on sale in the U.S. and Canada last week. The company is now looking to take that momentum into the upcoming European and Latin America launches of the console on November 29. And the PlayStation behemoth had something else to smile about over the weekend too -- Halo studio Bungie, previously known for being an Xbox 360 exclusive company, is changing up its alliances. We already knew that its upcoming highly-anticipated shooter Destiny is coming to PlayStation and Xbox platforms, but Bungie has now announced that beta access to the game will come to the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 before the Xbox One or Xbox 360.
Bungie cozies up to Sony, as the PS4 sells 1M in 24 hours
Sony sold over 1 million PlayStation 4 consoles within the first 24 hours of the hardware being on sale in the U.S. and Canada last week.


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Muscatine Area Farmers Market Celebrating Their 25th Season!
Come celebrate the Muscatine Area Farmers Market in their 25th Season Celebration this weekend!
Saturday, Jun 23 from 7:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. on the corner of 3rd and Cedar Streets, Downtown Muscatine, the Muscatine Area Farmers will be celebrating their 25th season.
In addition to the fresh produce and local products available every week, enjoy live music, a petting zoo, REFIT Muscatine fitness classes, puppet theatre, refreshments and more!
T-shirts commemorating the 25th season will be for sale at the market as well, for $12 (while supplies last). The Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre will be joining the fun with a 10 a.m. puppet show, “Uncle Rabbit’s Adventures”.
Now through October you can visit the Muscatine Area Farmers Market every Saturday from 7:30 – 11:30 a.m. at the corner of 3rd and Cedar Streets in Downtown Muscatine. You can also enjoy local shopping on Tuesdays from 2:30 – 5:30 p.m. in the Muscatine Mall Parking Lot.
For updates on produce, deals and more information visit the Muscatine Area Farmers Market on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MuscatineAreaFarmersMarket/.
Make plans to celebrate at the Farmers Market, this weekend!


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Jeep Grand Cherokee
NHTSA says it has received nine complaints that the Jeep system suddenly reduced speed “with no pending threats in the line of travel.”
Nearly two years after agreeing to recall 1.56 million older Jeeps that could catch fire in rear-end crashes, the maker of the vehicles has repaired only a fraction of the Jeeps covered.
More than 2 million Toyota, Chrysler and Honda vehicles are being recalled for a second fix for faulty air bags that may inadvertently inflate while the car is running.
Chrysler is recalling more than 566,000 SUVs and trucks because malfunctioning fuel heaters can cause fires, or a software glitch can disable the electronic stability control.
Chrysler is recalling nearly 907,000 Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep SUVs and cars for failing alternators and heated power mirrors that can cause minor fires.
The vehicles also might not start, and the fuel pump could keep working even when the engine is shut off.
An auto safety advocacy group has asked the U.S. government to investigate power system failures in Chrysler vehicles that could cause them to stall while being driven.
Chrysler is recalling nearly 870,000 SUVs because corrosion may make the vehicles’ brakes harder to use.
Chrysler Group’s net income rose 22 percent to $464 million in the third quarter as U.S. demand for the Ram pickup and Jeep Grand Cherokee rose.
“Some redesigns and new models replace a onetime star that lingered well past its freshness date, while others are the successor to a car that was doomed from the get-go.”


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Makes me wonder if this site is being abandoned.
Honestly, over the past year it has felt like the numbers are just automated sometimes.
They kept tracking the DS in Japan for ages after MC/Famitsu stopped and Nintendo had stopped shipments. The last time they shipped any DS units to Japan (at least enough to register on their financial statements) was the quarter ending June 2012 when they shipped 10k. Yet VGC was still tracking it till the end of 2013. I can't imagine they were getting actual data that led to 15 units this week, but 14 units the next.
There was also an issue with the PSP last year where Nintendo's data showed it doing decent numbers ~20k weekly, but VGC was showing near 1k weekly. Just looked it up, one example, the week ending April 13th was originally shown as 1,129. The current number is 23,117. That continued for a while.
The 3DS has also had a lot of issues. The current overtracking has been obvious for at least three months and nothing was done to fix it.
Then there are the issues where games that haven't been released get sales data and ones that have don't.
It all just adds up to make it look like nobody is actively paying attention to the data that comes out and using it to improve the numbers.


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In the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter movement we have seen businesses across the U.K. being scrutinised for their lack of diversity. Whilst steps have been taken and commitments made one of the frequent rebuttals is a lack of industry data. Ground-breaking new research carried out by 10×10, a group of early-stage black founders and venture capitalists have launched “The Black Report” in partnership with Google. The report surveyed 60 black owned businesses in the UK asking questions about team composition, funding and problems they face. One of the key takeaways from the report was that on average these ventures tend to have more diversity across teams both in terms of race and gender.
This is a positive step in the right direction as we explore why ethnic minorities are not only under represented as employees within businesses but also the issues they face in starting a business. Andy Davis, co-founder of 10×10 said ”We felt it was important to create The Black Report, as we wanted to start painting a picture of black founders, a growing population with incredible value. The diversity stats are particularly interesting as we know from previous studies that there is a huge business case for hiring diverse teams. Black founders could become key in closing the national gap in regards to the lack of diversity in business”.
The report is in conjunction with Google for Startups who have had active involvement putting together the report and have recently committed to creating a $2m Black Founders Fund as part of their pledge for a more equitable future. Marta Krupinska, Head of Google for Startups UK said: “Having spent years in the startup world, I’ve remained shocked at how little we understand – and do – to support Black founders, despite obvious
Edward Chick and Rich Hollister Join ContractPodAi in Double C-Suite Hire to Prepare for Blitzscaling
ContractPodAi has hired former Apttus GM, IBM Emptoris World Wide Leader Edward Chick as Chief Growth Officer and former Reis, Law.com executive Rich Hollister as Chief Revenue Officer, to help lead a new era of growth
ContractPodAi®, the award-winning provider of AI-powered contract lifecycle management solutions, today announced two strategic C-Suite appointments to kickstart a new phase of growth. ContractPodAi has seen digital transformations take an increasingly strong hold in organizations this year, leading to Q3’20 being the best quarter in the company’s history. The company is now looking ahead to exponentially increasing client impact via blitzscaling, pursuing rapid and reputation-setting growth in the still-nascent legal tech market.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201006005178/en/
Edward Chick, Chief Growth Officer, ContractPodAi (Photo: Business Wire)
ContractPodAi’s razor-sharp focus on growth necessitates a team dedicated to its management. As Chief Growth Officer (CGO), Edward Chick will focus on reaching customers where they are through sharpened market positioning, and making impact for them at scale through leadership of a fully revamped partnership strategy. A unified approach to revenue and customer success is key to sustaining big growth – and Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) Rich Hollister will oversee a deep integration of the Direct Sales and Customer Success teams at ContractPodAi for the first time, building on the company’s known existing strengths around client delivery.
“A key precursor to success for blitzscaling to exponential growth is organizational capacity: hiring the right leaders at the right time,” said Sarvarth Misra, CEO and Co-Founder. “Edward and Rich bring decades of experience in legal and contracting technologies, so they acutely understand ContractPodAi’s customers and what they need. Edward and Rich also bring decades of experience aggressively growing SaaS and legal tech companies like ours by systematizing our shared core values of


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Lens camera cases for Z Ultra coming to Hong Kong in January
When Sony announces its QX10 and QX100 "lens camera" attachments for smartphones, it also debuted special attachment cases for the Xperia Z and Z1, allowing the accessories to be easily clipped to the back of the device. Now it seems there's one in the works for the 6.4-inch Xperia Z Ultra too, as evidenced by reports from Engadget Chinese. The lens camera case for Sony's largest smartphone comes in black and white versions and will sell for HK$238 (around $30) when it launches in Hong Kong next month, the site reports.
Since the dimensions are the same, it's likely the case will also fit the Google Play edition Z Ultra, though there's no word on international availability just yet.
Netflix StreamFest: How to watch Netflix for free this weekend
Netflix StreamFest is a 48-hour streaming festival where everyone in India will be able to access the streaming service for free. All you need to do is set up an account and stream all the TV shows and movies that Netflix has to offer without paying anything. Here's how to watch Netflix for free in India during StreamFest.
Samsung’s first ‘budget’ foldable phone could launch early next year
As per a new report out of Korea, Samsung will launch three new foldable phones next year. While the Galaxy Z Fold 2 and Galaxy Z Flip successors will arrive in Q3 2021, the company may launch its first "budget" foldable early next year.
Have you gotten the One UI 3.0 update on your Galaxy S20?
On December 3, Samsung announced that One UI 3.0 is officially rolling out to the Galaxy S20 family. Have you gotten the update yet?
Take better selfies with these incredible phone cameras
There's no shame in shooting selfies. Take the best front-facing photos with one of these phones.


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On Tuesday, Facebook said it had become “free cash flow positive” this past quarter — meaning the company is financing its own growth rather than using investor money. But why is revenue growing? Reporters earlier this year have fueled speculation about many different revenue streams, from brand ads to self-serve ads to virtual goods.
Overall, Facebook revenue is “likely going to be above $550 million this year,” we have recently heard from several sources close the company. Last year, the company brought in a total of between $280 million and $300 million, as we and others heard then. The story now is how Facebook has gone beyond traditional social network banner advertising to grow revenue.
Where Facebook was, not too long ago
In our January interview with Facebook Director of Monetization and performance-advertising head Tim Kendall, he told us that “we have tens of thousands of monthly active advertisers” using the company’s self-serve targeted ad system. He added that “we are very pleased with revenue growth” on that front.
At the end of March, the company said it was seeing 70 percent revenue growth over the previous year. Around the same time, a TechCrunch article mentioned a surge in self-serve ads. 70 percent more than $300 million is $510 million. So at that point, it appeared that the big Facebook advertising experiment was starting to work. The company has been trying to develop new forms of ads that rely on user data and behavior — rather than the traditional impression-based model of most social network ads to date.
In early July, Business Insider and investor-blogger Fred Wilson both said they’d heard revenue was growing even faster, to around $550 million. Both reported revenue being broken down along these lines:
• $125 million from brand ads
• $150 million from Facebook’s ad deal with Microsoft
• $75 million from virtual goods
• $200 million from self-service ads.
What we hear now
Facebook’s sales force has been bringing in more revenue directly, rather than through its long-time ad deal with Microsoft. Some of this money is coming in through large brand advertisers, through their experimentation with Pages, and related social ads.
But, Facebook’s self-serve ad system is a hit with a few new constituencies. “Performance advertisers,” the sorts of businesses like online education company University of Phoenix, are finding that ads on Facebook can be targeted so precisely that they are getting a clear return on investment. The right sorts of people see the ads, click, and sign up for an online course or whatever.
There’s another group also getting in on these self-serve ads now: Local advertisers. These small businesses are finding that they can bring in new customers by targeting people who live nearby.
Note: Some likely substantial portion of self-serve advertisers is from social gaming companies on the platform, especially Zynga. We hear that company might make up to $200 million in revenue this year, driving new users and revenue through spending tens of millions on Facebook’s self-serve system. This spending is obvious, as countless Facebook users have reported seeing ads for games like “Mafia Wars.”
There is a lot of churn among first-time advertisers, sources say. But, those advertisers with initial success tend to continue pumping money in, if not upping their Facebook ad budgets, these sources add.
Facebook advertising, in other words, hasn’t been working for everyone, but it’s working for some key groups. Performance marketers, for example, were some of the earliest users of Google’s search and keyword advertising products. Facebook, through its own profile and activity-based methods of targeting, is creating new value for these people.
In terms of how what we hear versus what the July reports said, we believe that brand ads and especially self-service ads are driving almost all new growth. As one source put it, the advertising team is “beating the shit out of its numbers.”
Advertising is the Strategy, For Now
Facebook’s leadership is almost entirely focused on ads for the time being, from what we hear. There has been a lot of speculation about its efforts to create some sort of virtual goods or payment system. Internally, it is seen as something to keep on the back burner. Virtual gifts, which the July reports heard accounted for up to $75 million in revenue this year, is a “tiny fraction” of revenue, says one of our sources. The caveat here is that Facebook may be accounting for gift store revenue as advertising, as one way it monetizes this feature is through selling “sponsored gifts” to advertisers.
In general, from what we understand, any sort of large-scale payments system or virtual goods expansion is likely a year or two off, if not longer. Facebook has no doubt been watching the explosion of this revenue stream among developers on its platform — we have separately heard virtual goods revenues could account for more than $300 million in platform revenue this year, money Facebook isn’t seeing any of.
Certainly, we expect Facebook to keep experimenting with its young “Credits” virtual currency system. But, for now, the company appears happy to let the ecosystem of social gaming companies, mobile payments services, offer-based advertisers, and others in the emerging ecosystem handle application monetization on their own.
Advertising is Paying the Bills
The other angle here is that Facebook is now financing its own growth, and through this new advertising revenue. Last year, for example, the company was apparently both losing money and taking out debt to fund capital expansion projects like a new data center in Silicon Valley.
Earlier this week, Data Center Knowledge reported that Facebook is making a big new investment in its existing Virginia facility. The publication cited analysts who estimated that the center could cost up to $125 million over the course of several years. It’s not clear how Facebook is accounting for that expenditure, but the term “free cash flow positive” signifies that the company is able to cover its own capital expenses. It appears that the company’s new revenue growth is paying for at least a portion of the new data center investment.
The conclusion? Facebook, more than ever before, is competing on its own terms.


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As per an announcement made on 29th October, StarkWare Industries the Israel-based beginner into the field of blockchain has successfully concluded a $30 million monetary round by generating funds from some of the leading organizations like Sequoia and Intel Capital USA.
With its inception in the year 2018, StarkWare Industries is into developing both hardware and software with applications inclusive of transparent privacy and increased transaction in blockchains and off chain computing. STARK is a zero-knowledge protocol offered by the company with the purpose of addressing the scalability and privacy challenges faced in the blockchain arena.
The company recently announced the conclusion of its financing round worth $30 million. This financing round was led by the crypto hedge fund called Paradigm, founded in close coordination with Fred Ehrsam and Coinbase. Some of the most well-known industry players took part as investors in this financing round, and they include Sequoia, Intel Capital, Wing, Atomico, Coinbase ventures, DCVC, Multicoin Capital, Consensys, Scalar Capital, Semantic Ventures and Collaborative Fund.
The round followed a seed funding round worth $6 million successfully concluded in May. The participation in this round came from Tezos’ Arthur Breitman, Etheruem’s Vitalik Buterin, Bitmain and NEO’s Da Hongfei.
Sequoia has always been known for supporting blockchain and cryptocurrency startups. Last year, the firm made investments in MetaStable Capital, a cryptocurrency hedge fund located in San Francisco. Before that, the company has made successful investments in Polychain Capital. In July 2018, the company along with various other blockchain-associated companies, made investments in Nervous Network, a China-based blockchain startup. The startup planned on using the new capital for expanding its engineering teams and product while forming planned partnerships.


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With its bold, muscular looks, Hanse’s new 455 is proving to be one of the big winners of 2015.
A few years ago, a 35-footer was about the standard size for a cruising yacht – the happy medium that many of us aspired to.
Times have changed, however, and I would venture to suggest that nowadays that measure of the average-sized yacht we aspire to own is closer to 45ft.
The new Hanse 455 was launched towards the end of last year by the German boatbuilder with the aim of cornering this lucrative sector of the market. On recent evidence you’d have to say it has done just that, with sales of the yacht in the UK in 2015 well into double figures.
Price: £151,000 (ex-VAT)


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Lottomatica likely to continue providing scratch cards in Italy
MILAN, Ita – Lottomatica looks increasingly likely to hold onto its scratch card concession for the next nine years after it was revealed that the lottery company has no competing bidders for Italy’s €9 billion ($12 billion, £8billion) scratch card provision.
Yesterday the Italian gaming regulator AAMS announced that only Lottomatica had presented a bid. Rival Italian lottery operator Sisal SpA said that it hadn’t made an offer to the regulator by yesterday’s deadline. The company cited economic context and the poor financial markets as its reasons for declining to bid on the concession.
The current scratch card concession, currently held by Lottomatica runs until May 31st. The successful bidder for the new, nine year concession will be required to pay an up front fee of €800 million to the government.
It is the scale of the up front fee to the Italian government which has deterred rival companies to Lottomatica from bidding as only the current scratch card concession holders can feasibly afford such a large amount.
Published: May 11, 2010


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02:47 AM 5 Sep, 2022
Record-breaking electric cycle is being prepared by the Lightning
Electric bike Tachyon Nb with body made of rare metal niobium will try to beat 400 km/h.
The American company Lightning has unveiled their new project: a high-speed electric motorcycle called Tachyon Nb, on which they are going to set a land speed record.
California-based Lightning Motorcycles decided to go beyond developing electric motorcycles for short commutes home. Their latest project, Tachyon Nb, aims to break the 400 km/h mark on the Bonneville salt marshes.
In order for the Lightning Tachyon Nb to reach such breakneck speed, the aerodynamics must be right. Like most high-speed cars and motorcycles, Tachyon Nb is completely covered with fairings.
The body has been optimized in a wind tunnel and is made of a special material, niobium (Nb). It is a rare metal found predominantly in Brazil and some other South American countries.
To work with niobium, Lightning Motorcycles has partnered with the Brazilian company CBMM, which owns one of the largest deposits of niobium on earth. The rare metal is used as an alloy in Lightning Tachyon Nb for many components such as brake calipers.
The advantage is that niobium is extremely heat resistant, so parts made from it are less prone to overheating, which means they can be made more compact.
The top goal on the agenda for the company is a new speed record for electric motorcycles. The Lightning wants to beat the current record set by Max Biaggi in the Voxan Wattman, which is roughly 455 km/h.
However, the guys at Lightning are convinced that the Tachyon Nb can break the record because the Lightning must weigh less than the 300 kg Voxan and have more power (429 h.p. for the Voxan). However, the company has not yet provided exact data.
Leave a comment


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Notes: Selected by Athletics in first round (24th overall) of 2002 draft; signed July 20, 2002
Traded to Philadelphia for three players; July 17, 2008
Re-signed with Philadelphia to a three-year deal worth $24 million; Jan. 21, 2010
Traded to Los Angeles; Aug. 3, 2012
Signed with LA Angels to a two-year deal worth $15 million; Dec. 12, 2012
US economy grew at strong 4 percent rate in spring
WASHINGTON (AP) -- After a dismal winter, the U.S. economy sprang back to life in the April-June quarter, growing at a fast 4 percent annual rate on the strength of higher consumer and business spending.
WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- (Marketwired) -- 03/21/14 -- Companies that pride themselves on being eco-friendly may have conflicted ideas between marketing with ad specialties and maintaining their green reputation. ...


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Oracle suddenly announced Wednesday it was submitting the codebase for OpenOffice.org to the Apache Software Foundation, ending speculation about...
Clearwire is outsourcing day-to-day customer care to TeleTech Holdings, shifting about 700 employees to the company, in its latest move to cut costs.
Acer is laying off 300 employees in Europe and taking a charge of US$150 million, as the company tries to streamline operations following the departure of CEO Gianfranco Lanci in March after a conflict with the company's management.
Polycom has agreed to acquire the assets of Hewlett-Packard's Visual Collaboration business, including its Halo videoconferencing products and managed services, as part of a broad partnership for unified communications.
Oracle is submitting the codebase for OpenOffice.org to the Apache Software Foundation, where the productivity suite will live on in the group's incubator program for open-source software initiatives, Oracle announced Wednesday.
CIOs would hire more foreign IT workers if they could more easily compare qualifications, according to a new survey.
Lenovo is hoping to acquire a majority stake in German PC maker Medion Electronics, in an effort to grow its consumer market share in Western Europe, the Chinese company said on Wednesday.
VMware has acquired Socialcast, its third acquisition this year of technology for enterprise collaboration, the company said on Tuesday.
Sprint Nextel, joined by an army of thousands of consumers, have filed requests for the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to block AT&T's proposed acquisition of rival mobile carrier T-Mobile USA.
For the first time, companies around the world are planning to spend as much on new software projects as they do maintaining existing systems, according to a new report from Forrester Research.
Taking the stage a second time after going on medical leave five months ago, Apple CEO Steve Jobs is slated to announce the iCloud services offering at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) next week.
Software AG has acquired Metismo, the U.K. creator of a mobile development platform that allows applications to be deployed natively on multiple smartphone operating systems, it said on Tuesday at its ProcessWorld event in Berlin.
Moves by Seagate and Western Digital to acquire hard-drive companies are being probed by European regulators because of "competition concerns", the European Commission said on Monday.
Online dating site Match.com has made an offer for the outstanding shares of French dating site Meetic, of which it is already a part owner, the company said on Monday.
It is amazing to me how much we talk about business process when in reality we understand very little about it.
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First impression on unpacking the Q702 test unit was the solid feel and clean, minimalist styling.
For work use, Microsoft Word and Excel programs pre-installed on the device are adequate for preparing short documents.
The Fujitsu LifeBook UH574 allowed for great mobility without being obnoxiously heavy or clunky. Its twelve hours of battery life did not disappoint.
The screen was particularly good. It is bright and visible from most angles, however heat is an issue, particularly around the Windows button on the front, and on the back where the battery housing is located.
My first impression after unboxing the Q702 is that it is a nice looking unit. Styling is somewhat minimalist but very effective. The tablet part, once detached, has a nice weight, and no buttons or switches are located in awkward or intrusive positions.
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updated 10:55 am EST, Mon February 20, 2006
Jobs\' next steps
Steve Jobs' celebrity status may be increasing in the near future, says Bob Keefe of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Newly dubbed the "king of entertainment" by Keefe, Jobs is set to change the entertainment world with a possible new Apple media center and the merge of Pixar with Disney, the two top animation studios. With the ability to combine Apple technology with the content of Disney, Pixar, ESPN, ABC, and others, Jobs may be able to "seamlessly move entertainment across home televisions and computers, iPods, cellphones and other devices" in the near future, says Keefe. "Sometime in the immediate run, maybe two or three years out, I think he'll be able to create one big experiment ... one big new thing ... that if successful will forever change the [entertainment] business."
"Steve is a very driven man making a point -- that he's the best and the smartest and that he can change the world," says Paul Saffo, a director of the Institute for the Future think tank. "This guy comes down to a mix of three things: pragmatism, idealism and sheer drive."
Computers are already fast becoming vital to business, and Microsoft has a secure hold on that market, but Keefe says that "as computers and related devices become vital to home and mobile entertainment, Apple and Jobs' bet on consumers may be starting to pay off."


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Government surveillance software maker Hacking Team has promised customers it will have its cybersecurity services back online and safe to use shortly.
Hacking Team called for customers — which include government agencies, intelligence services, and law enforcement — to stop using its surveillance products following a massive data breach that saw attackers leak 400GB of data, allegedly stolen from it, online last week.
The data dump included everything from software vulnerabilities within Hacking Team products, to email and customer records.
Hacking Team chief operating officer David Vincenzetti, has since issued a new statement promising customers they will soon be able to restart their surveillance operations.
“We at Hacking Team are now dedicated to restoring the ability of law enforcement to fight crime hidden in the new encrypted digital world,” he said.
“Our top priority here has been to develop an update to allow our clients to quickly secure their current surveillance infrastructure. We expect to deliver this update immediately.”
He added the firm has taken undisclosed measures to secure its systems to ensure hackers cannot steal more data.
“We have already isolated our internal systems so that additional data cannot be exfiltrated outside of Hacking Team. A totally new internal infrastructure is being build [sic] at this moment to keep our data safe,” he said.
The two main concerns over the leak: Hackers already using the software exploits, and Hacking Team’s customer base
Vincenzetti also moved to quell concerns about hackers’ use of Hacking Team software exploits and the less than pristine customer list leaked during the initial attack.
Numerous security companies including Trend Micro and FireEye reported criminal hackers have begun using the Team Hacking exploits detailed in the leaks since they were published online.
Questions about Hacking Team’s customer list arose when leaked documents suggested the firm had dealings with some of the countries hosting the terrorist groups it references in its statement.
Specifically, the leaks led to concerns Hacking Team is selling its surveillance products to countries including Sudan, Ethiopia, and Russia, which international organisations, such as the United Nations, NATO, European Parliament, and the US have blacklisted.
Addressing the first concern Vincenzetti said Hacking Team has worked to stop criminal and terrorist groups using its products and it is now “extremely unlikely that this obsolete code can be used to surveil cell phones, mobile devices or computer communications.”
On the second concern, Vincenzetti claimed Hacking Team’s dealings with the suspect nations happened before they were blacklisted by the international community.
“Our technology has always been sold lawfully and when circumstances have changed, we have ended relationships with clients such as Sudan, Ethiopia and Russia,” he said.
Despite the company’s claims to have fixed its systems, Hacking Team’s website is still suffering undisclosed issues since the hack.
A Hacking Team spokesman told Business Insider the issues are affecting its ability to publish content onto its site, but “are not attack related.”
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Momentum is launching “Move with Momentum” with a through-the-line campaign for Victorians.
Creative agency 10 feet tall reveals it first work for Honda's Marine business.
The new product has been created as a new 'snack' for the regular Doritos fan.
Comparison service Compare the Market's latest TV ad to announce its dream Safari holiday competition.
The Red Cross hopes the initiative eventually becomes an integral part of the pregnancy process.
The courier service startup is taking shots at Australia Post, following its trademark battle last year.
First water was turned into wine and now wine has been turned into sound.
The Opera House isn't just for classical arts. Just ask the Sydney Opera House seal chatbot.
The inspirational story of Liverpool great Kenny Dalglish now comes in a children's interactive e-book.
Renault managing director Andrew Moore says Koleos sets a new benchmark in positioning the brand as a key European player in Australia.


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With skateboarding games not being as plentiful as they once were the options gamers have are somewhat dry these days. EA’s Skate series is dead and buried but thankfully the Tony Hawk franchise returned last month with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD. As a HD remake of the classic Tony Hawk games the product as a whole was solid as it provided that same classic formula but with a new coat of paint that not only looked good but managed to hold things together. Originally only Xbox 360 gamers could enjoy THPS HD as it was part of Microsoft’s Summer Of XBLA campaign, but PS3 gamers can soon jump into the action as well.
Activision has announced that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD will be released on the PlayStation Network on August 28th. A month removed from when the game appeared on XBLA, PS3 gamers thankfully can partake in some old-school skateboarding in a matter of weeks as opposed to waiting an additional month or two. Price information wasn’t released, but the game will likely have the same $14.99 price tag as it had on XBLA.
Developer Robomodo won’t be providing any bonuses to the PS3 entry in the game, but there’s still the promise of additional DLC and the chance that Activision may greenlight a full-on Tony Hawk game via the fine folks at Robomodo. I had a fun time playing THPS HD on the Xbox 360 so if you’re a PS3 gamer wanting a new skateboarding game I would definitely give Tony Hawk a shot.
A PC release date still hasn’t been announced for THPS HD but Activision promises more details will be announced in the coming weeks.


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Ajinomoto North America (Raleigh, NC) is bringing its AjiPure amino acids product line to new retailers across the country, according to a news report.
Eva’s Supplements and Natural Body Inc. in New York; Professional Supplement Nutrition in Texas; and Health Beyond Hype in Florida and California have all picked up AjiPure amino acids.
Steve Fink, business manager, AjiPure, said knowledgeable independent retailers are valuable sources of education and advice.
“Their dedication to the health of their customers mirrors our commitment to manufacturing the world’s purest amino acids for consumers from all walks of life from elite athletes to the aging population to those following a vegetarian/vegan diet to anyone who wants to live a healthier, natural lifestyle,” said Fink.
For decades, amino acids have been recognized for their benefits to human body physiology, reported the company, adding that they are the fundamental building blocks of human tissues and offer a wealth of benefits to the body from boosting the immune system to aiding muscle development and supporting healthy sleep patterns.
AjiPure amino acids are environmentally sustainable, gluten free and vegan certified, noted the manufacturer, adding that they are also laboratory tested, non-GMO, GMP-compliant and contain no artificial additives or fillers.
“Our retail network is expanding quickly as more consumers appreciate the benefits of including amino acids in a comprehensive supplementation regimen and retailers realize the quality that AjiPure brings to their customers,” said Fink. “Customers ask for AjiPure by name, and we’re looking forward to placing our premium amino acids on the shelves of more local retail outlets to help them meet that demand.”
For more information, visit www.ajipure.com.


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Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) reported second-quarter 2021 financial results before the opening bell on Thursday. The company reported a 4% dip in Q2 sales to $2.26 billion, beating the Wall Street consensus. Earnings of $2.62 per share were also stronger than what analysts had anticipated.
STZ shares fell modestly immediately following the announcement. The stock has traded flat since the beginning of this year.
CFO Garth Hankinson said,” We continue to generate strong financial results despite headwinds related to COVID-19. Double-digit free cash flow growth has enabled ongoing debt reduction and progress in achieving our targeted leverage goal.”
On the heels of lawmakers moving closer to passing the stimulus bill, inflations concerns gripped the market after Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell at a meeting said the reopening would
Though the retail boom triggered by the pandemic was estimated to be short-lived initially, the shopping spree continued as customers stocked up on essential items, concerned about the persistent market
Shares of Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) were up 5.8% in afternoon hours on Friday. The stock has gained 103% over the past 12 months. Gap reported mixed results for the


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With Apple’s launch event just over a week away and the iPhone 8 release fast approaching, there isn’t much that has been left to the imagination. We’ve seen hundreds of leaks focusing on the iPhone 8 over the past few months, and we’ve also seen exactly what the phone will look like thanks to all of the dummy models that have been manufactured based on actual iPhone schematics that leaked from Foxconn. In fact, we even got our hands on one of these pseudo iPhone 8’s ourselves, and we can confirm that the new design is fantastic.
In all that time, however, we’ve yet to see a functional iPhone 8 appear in any photos or videos — but with mass production having gotten underway a few weeks ago, we expected that might soon change. Now, with Apple’s iPhone 8 event just eight days away, a leaked video claims to give the world its first ever look at a working iPhone 8.
Now, we have to preface this by clearly stating that there’s no way to confirm whether or not this video is the real deal. The device shown certainly looks the part based on everything we know about the iPhone 8, but there are a few red flags to be found. Namely, the video is incredibly dark so the device itself cannot be seen. Instead, all we can see is the phone’s display.
The display itself certainly looks the part. We can see the huge (hideous) notch cut out of the top of the screen, which is how Apple is accommodating the speaker, front-facing camera, and sensors in its otherwise bezel-less design. We can also see that the aspect ratio looks to be 18:9, which has never been seen before on an iOS device. But is this even an iOS device?
There are several launcher apps out there that are designed to make Android’s interface look like iOS, and it’s possible that we’re looking at one in action. We’re currently not aware of any launchers that chop a notch out of the top of the UI, but it’s certainly not inconceivable that someone whipped this up. The biggest indication that’s the case is the fact that the signal strength indicator and the Wi-Fi icon can be seen in the top-right corner of the display. That’s where they’re placed on Android devices, while iPhones show signal and Wi-Fi in the top-left corner.
Apple is expected to make adjustments to the status bar to accommodate the iPhone 8’s notch, though nothing so far has suggested that cellular and Wi-Fi info will be moved to the right side of the status bar. That said, we can clearly see the time in the top-left corner, and Apple will need a new spot for its clock now that the center of the status bar has been eliminated. So yes, it’s entirely possible that this video is the real deal, and we’re seeing a working iPhone 8 (or iPhone Edition, or whatever Apple decides to call it at launch) for the first time.


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Bhubaneswar, 11/12, 2020( Odisha Samachar ): Shyam Steel India, one of the leading primary steel producers in India ropes in talisman Sonu Sood as their “Build India Ambassador”. The company has taken a pledge to slowly uplift the livelihoods of many affected due to lockdown measures taken by the authorities in the wake of global pandemic. The famed actor’s endorsement for series of goodwill initiatives planned by the company would maximize the reach of goodwill action plans to the needy.
UNDP’s Special Humanitarian Action Award winner, Sonu Sood to unveil the maiden initiative of the company; a E- Rickshaw distribution campaign in various parts of India to the people who lost their livelihood due to nationwide lockdown. The company has planned a360 degree campaign to support the never before initiative so that authentic queries can get generated. Queries would be evaluated and E-Rickshaws to be distributed basis the socio-economic parameters of the applicants.
Speaking on this first of its kind initiative, Mr.Lalit Beriwala, Director, Shyam Steel India said “We in our daily day business do build India’s civil & infrastructural future but unless we develop and contribute towards human development our future cannot be bright. People from the lower strata of our society has got majorly effected due to pandemic and post lockdown economic hardship and we as a responsible Indian company cannot ignore the call of the time to stand beside a few, to help them rebuild their livelihood, their future”.
Mr. Shriram Beriwala & Mr. Shyam Sunder Beriwala, founding Directors of the organization are expecting vast public support for the first of its kind initiative.
Shyam Steel India has deep-rooted distributor and retail network in major Indian states like UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and seven sisters of North East. Apart from campaigns in digital footprints, custodians located in other parts of country would also spearhead the initiatives to the last mile of India.


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Take a look at this bunny sippy cup. You can tell pretty much by looking at it what’s gonna happen when you try to suck on that straw.
And indeed it did. According to Target, which is issuing a recall on the sippy cups in conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), six kids have been poked in the face or eye by that big bunny ear that sticking up next to the straw.
Target is recalling approximately 264,000 of the Target Home Bunny Sippy Cups. The Minneapolis based retailer, which has more than 1700 retail locations across the US, says they have received six reports of a friend being poked, with some reporting scratches and bruising.
The Chinese made sippy cups were sold from February 2012 through April 5, 2012 for about $3. The product came in both blue (boy) and pink (girl) colors. Target says that the cups can be identified by an imprint that’s on the bottom of the cup which says “TARGET 200020683” on the pink one, and “TARGET 200020884” on the blue. Of course, the big bunny ear is a clue as well.
Target and the CPSC are asking consumers to bring the sippy cups back to their local target store for a full refund. Target also provided a phone number for concerned shoppers to call, (800) 440-0680, and is referring shoppers to their website, http://www.target.com, though at publication time, no information about this particular recall was found on their site.


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The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is introducing the proactively settled category to the way it processes cases to encourage firms to solve complaints more quickly.
The regulator confirmed the move will be a trial for the 2023/24 financial year following an industry consultation which will see it report cases as proactively settled where certain criteria is met.
The change follows a similar initiative launched in November 2021, which led to around 100 businesses making 7,000 offers to resolve complaints more quickly.
The key difference from the previous consultation and implementation is this initiative only applies to new cases with the service.
Last month, the regulator proposed the change – suggesting the adding of new category within its biannual business-specific complaints data to recognise firms which resolve issues before a formal investigation has begun.
Any complaint resolved by a fair and reasonable offer put forward by a business within 14 days of the FOS requesting the respondent business’s complaints file would be recorded under the new proactively settled category.
This would not affect the firm’s uphold rate which the FOS said was a significant motivating factor for many organisations.
At the time, FOS said it believed by setting a time limit for offers to be considered as proactively settled would drive good behaviour from businesses in providing timely responses.
It added it also believed this would incentivise financial businesses to settle complaints proactively and pragmatically at an earlier stage, which in turn would help to bring closure to affected complainants.


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Michigan vaping laws are some of the most rigid vaping laws in the US. Michigan tried to become the first state to ban flavored vaping products but unfortunately, it did not come to a pass.
Vaping has seen a rising graph of popularity since it first became available. Its popularity brough fort numerous health concerns. Hence, laws and rules were placed on its purchase and consumption.
Is it legal to vape in Michigan? Yes, vaping is legal in Michigan. However, there are certain restrictions placed by the State regarding its display, sale, purchase, usage, age, etc.
These restrictions are placed in an effort to curb teen vaping.
This article explains the Michigan vaping laws to clarify some questions you might have.
Vaping in Michigan
What is the legal vaping age in Michigan? The State of Michigan has set the vaping limit at 18 years. Any person who is above 18 years of age can legally consume vaping products.
While the federal law stated that one has to be 21 years and up to purchase vaping products, the state of Michigan has not yet adopted the law and still allow for anyone 18 and above to purchase them.
Buying Vape in Michigan
How old do you have to be to buy vape in Michigan? A person above 18 years of age can buy vape in Michigan.
Sale of vaping products to persons under the age of 18 years is prohibited. It is also illegal for anyone under 18 to purchase/possess vaping products or to use it in a public place.
Even internet vendors much verity the purchaser’s age through a third-party service prior to the sale.
Can you buy a vape at 18 in Michigan? Yes, you can buy a vape at 18 in Michigan as of 15th June, 2021.
But, self-service display of vaping products is prohibited by the Michigan State laws.
Can you buy flavored vape juice in Michigan? Yes, as of now you can buy flavored vapes in Michigan.
During the second week of October, 2021, Michigan abandoned its two-year effort to ban the sale of flavored nicotine vaping products in favor of imposing 18% tax on flavored nicotine liquid and banning the products from being marketed towards minors.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) withdrew the rules which were aimed at permanently banning the sale and distribution of flavored nicotine vaping products.
Vaping Indoors in Michigan
Can you vape indoors in Michigan? While vaping indoors is theoretically legal in Michigan, most places might have their own policy regarding vaping indoors.
This is because the Michigan Clean Indoor Air Act has not been amended to prohibit the use of vaping products where smoking is prohibited.
Even though the state law does not make any pronouncements on the matter, local governments might ban vaping in bars and restaurants.
It is better to inquire in advance about the policies of the locality you wish to go to.
Vaping in Public Places
Can you vape in public places in Michigan? Yes, vaping is technically legal in most public places.
It is only in state and local government buildings, facilities of state colleges and universities, facilities licensed by Commissioner of Human Services, and facilities licensed by Commissioner of Health. All other indoor places subject to the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act, including bars and restaurants, are entirely exempt from the state’s regulation. Localities may regulate vaping more stringently than the state.
There might be places which explicitly do mot permit vaping. It is common courtesy to refrain from vaping in the presence of vulnerable people.
Vaping While Driving in Michigan
Is it legal to vape and drive in Michigan? There are no laws prohibiting vaping while driving. However, vape users must still consider existing laws on safety and distracted driving.
By taking certain precautions behind the wheel, vape users can greatly reduce hazards – and potentially keep themselves out of the crosshairs of concerned lawmakers.
Is it legal to vape with a child in a car in Michigan? It is illegal to vape with a child in the car or in any vehicles used to transport children.
It is also prohibited to vape in the presence of a child whether it be on child care center property or a private residence.
Juul Pods in Michigan
What is the age to buy Juul pods in Michigan? The age to buy Juul pods in Michigan is 18 years – the same as for buying any other vaping product.
This age restriction also extends to other tobacco products.
Are flavored Juul pods legal in Michigan? Yes, most flavored vaping products are legal in Michigan.
The state tried to ban all flavored nicotine products in 2019 but failed to do so.
The laws regarding vaping in the US change on crossing the border of every state. It is very necessary to assess and understand the rules and laws of your locality before starting to vape.
Alabama Vaping Laws
California Vaping Laws
Florida Vaping Laws
Illinois Vaping Laws
Indiana Vaping Laws
Massachusetts Vaping Laws
Michigan Vaping Laws
Montana Vaping Laws
Nebraska Vaping Laws
New Hampshire Vaping Laws
New York Vaping Laws
Ohio Vaping Laws
Texas Vaping Laws
Utah Vaping Laws


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Retailer Raaj Chandarana has revealed how the Independent Achievers Academy boosted sales at his shop by £2,000 a week in six months at no cost.
The 2014 Academy, which is run by Retail Express publisher Newtrade, was launched earlier this month and is the UK’s top learning and development project for independent news and convenience retailers.
Speaking at the launch, Premier retailer Chandarana said: “I caught the bug at the Independent Retail Show and I was inspired to visit retailers like former IAA winners Roli Ranger and Rav Garcha.
“The Academy has made the difference between me being a shopkeeper and a businessman. Working with suppliers, other retailers and the IAA, I have grown sales by £2,000 a week in the past six months without spending a penny.”
A key part of the IAA is the Academy in Action visits in which the 12 category sponsors share their ideas on how to better serve consumers in store with selected Academy retailers. The sponsors this year are Booker, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Heineken, Imperial, JTI, Mondelez, News UK, PepsiCo, Post Office, Procter & Gamble, Red Bull and Wrigley.
“The Academy is a great channel for ideas,” said Newtrade’s managing director Nick Shanagher.
“We have some brilliant companies that work with us to share ideas that will help retailers better serve customers and grow their sales and profits.
“We want to challenge as many independent retailers as possible to task themselves to improve. The market opportunity is out there.”
To join the Academy or receive your free copy of the 12 Steps to Bigger Profits workbook, click here.
*See our coverage of the 2014 IAA launch on p16 of today’s copy of Retail Express.


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The final decade of auto logistics in North America has been marked by disruption. Autonomous car know-how, the specter of Chinese carmakers getting into the US market, the impression of ridesharing, as well as the modifications to buy and supply processes, all have elevated the necessity for the business to remain agile.
When it comes to the US market, Michael Robinet, government director, IHS Markit Automotive, explained that while “major shippers” together with Toyota, Hyundai and Volkswagen have been driving export volume, from now until 2026 the market is more likely to see a decline in gross sales and can at greatest stay flat. Robinet went on to warn that present robust volumes have been masking crucial secular modifications and that a plateauing market elevated danger.
Nonetheless, he stated that shopper confidence was comparatively excessive amid “trade turbulence”, referring to the current tariff wars between the US and its buying and selling partners, especially China.
Judging by low gasoline prices, historically low unemployment and a high score on the buyer expectations index, George Peterson, president of analyst agency Auto Pacific stated that the national financial system was at present wanting “very rosy” however that the outlook for the automotive business was uncertain in mild of modifications to demographics, car know-how and market construction, including the “scary extent” as to which nameplates have been proliferating.
Relating to electrification, Robinet stated that the development was already affecting the availability chain. Producers have been modifying present powertrains somewhat than launching new engine households, and putting an growing amount of assets into electrification. Most engine platforms now in improvement have been “multi-energy”, he stated.
“Electrical automobiles will grow to be extra commonplace,” stated Peterson, adding that regardless of an general decline in business quantity, gross sales of electrical automobiles are forecast to “develop dramatically, particularly as delicate hybrids make a comeback”.
“Producers continue to make hybrids even with laws in question. Plug in hybrid sales are anticipated to develop whereas diesel flounder,” he stated.
As for autonomous automobiles (AVs), Peterson stated it was technologically potential for them to be on the roads in five years, but that there were plenty of obstacles standing in the best way, resembling present infrastructure, laws and prices.
Relating to the shift from sedans to SUVs and their crossover cousins, Peterson revealed that earlier this decade unstable gasoline prices brought about SUV gross sales to crash, but predicted that that is unlikely to occur again because of the sluggish rising of gasoline costs. “Shoppers change shopping for behaviour when gasoline costs are unstable,” he stated, including that vans will continue to realize market share on the expense of automobiles.
“Migration of vans exhibits no signs of ending,” he stated. “Particularly in the high-volume, lower mid-size SUV class, there’s little to no [economic] penalty for selecting an SUV over a sedan. Vans are the secret for the foreseeable future.”
Changing terms of trade
Javier Quijano, senior manager worldwide commerce, EY, informed delegates that “we’ve got never seen so many trade disruptions on the similar time”, adding that out of all industries automotive is the “most impacted”.
Relating to the continued investigation into whether or not automotive elements and car imports may be stated to threaten US security, Quijano identified that the Trump administration has until Might 18 this yr to determine whether additional motion might be required.
Quijano also highlighted the extra drastic 301 duties on China, which concentrate on Chinese language intellectual property violations. Though automotive elements usually are not specifically targeted, numerous products together with DC motors, antennas and electronic integrated circuits are commonly utilized by the automotive sector.
He pointed out that China had countered the metal and aluminium tariffs imposed by the US with 125% duties on 128 gadgets, amounting to $2.7billion value, and stated he believed the country was “set to challenge future tariffs or trade struggle sanctions from the US”.
Suggesting methods of mitigating the influence of the China-US trade struggle, Quijano talked about relocating out there manufacturing to secondary non-China amenities, if out there, in addition to altering the situation of manufacturing, however admitted this could take “years”.
Relating to the United States-Mexico-Canada settlement (USMCA), Quijano stated the present status was that the US, Canada and Mexico have been all “placing out roadblocks”. Quijano pointed out that both Mexico and Canada need to be exempt from the 232 steel and aluminium tariffs, suggesting the state of affairs was at a standstill.
Nevertheless, Mexico was on account of vote on its labour provision this month, which might examine off one in every of its commitments beneath the alternative deal for the North American Free Trade Settlement (Nafta). The labour regulation would utterly overhaul the country’s present union construction, which has lengthy been criticised for failing to guard staff.
Charles Franklin, supervisor export logistics, American Honda, warned that if laws turned too restrictive, OEMs including Toyota and Honda, which have 44 and 20 crops outdoors Nafta nations respectively, would “produce elsewhere”.
New technological capabilities
Finished car logistics has not all the time been the fastest to adapt to new know-how, but the Web of Things, car connectivity, cloud methods and knowledge analytics are serving to to improve monitoring and ETA, plus service and capability administration throughout the outbound supply chain.
John Felitto, president and chief government, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Options (WWS), prompt that the mobility revolution is occurring so quick “we don’t know what course we’re going [in]”.
Felitto highlighted the “four mega developments dominating the business” as: mobility as a service; urbanisation, autonomy and connectivity; digital servicing and experience; and the inexperienced financial system. He stated digital options have been reforming the automotive buying process as well as aftermarket service, and emphasised the importance of rising the latter for journey sharing corporations.
The corporate is creating track-and-trace capabilities to help the visibility needs of completed automotive logistics and is now testing passive and lively RFID tags which supply a “brand new degree of visibility” that may reveal the place automobiles are parked, Felitto stated.
In the meantime, Christine Krathwohl, vice-president international business improvement, Freight Verify, advised that the digital logging system (ELD) mandate carried out in 2018 had “changed the world” because it offered the chance to use ELD and related automotive know-how collectively. She prompt that the speed of know-how is altering so much, “we haven’t caught up to it”.
Felitto added: “We have to use telematics within the automotive when in it’s in transport mode. This could monitor automobiles from start to supply, however we have to get over privacy guidelines first – it’s an necessary step forward for our business.”
Pat Foran, director of operations, Hyundai Glovis informed delegates that with the ability to find stock was “essential to profitable car processing and shipments”. The corporate is presently trialling an lively RFID tag system on the car processing plant at Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, with greater than 1,700 tag units.
Software program company Cognosos has offered Hyundai Glovis with two ‘gateways’ or antennas which receive alerts type the tracker tags. There are additionally a number of ‘activator beacons’ set at entrance factors where automobiles cross, together with the carwash, processing entrance and physique store.
Cognosos offered apps for employees to be able to search by VIN or stock quantity, which supplies instructions to succeed in the automotive wanted. Foran informed delegates: “We’re about midway by means of our check period. To date, the outcomes look promising.”
A special sort of provide chain
From driver shortages, production stops, extreme climate and vandalism, finished car logistics requires a speedy response to disruption.
In line with Jason Kuehn, vice chairman, Oliver Wyman, disruption will lead to “main supply chain modifications”, suggesting that fulfilment corporations will take an ‘Amazon-like’ position in completed car logistics.
“The ‘Amazon financial system’ is bypassing traditional B&M gross sales, with OEMs akin to Tesla trying to reduce out dealerships and channels resembling Costco taking customer orders, soliciting fulfilment,” he revealed.
Kuehn went on to recommend that autonomous automobiles might scale back terminal and first and final mile costs, and even drive themselves off rail automobiles – although human intervention continues to be more likely to be wanted to secure the car to the railcar. He additionally stated that cellular apps might exchange automotive keys, which might “simplify the management between events within the provide chain”.
Outlining a reimagined supply chain, Kuehn stated an OEM manufacturing unit might push stock by way of to the fulfilment centres, rail transport might have automated loading and unloading, and regional fulfilment centres might provide on-line ordering of the car and then automated supply to the client.
Shortages of railcars and truck drivers
Kuehn described how, following the recession, railroads have lost market share to vans and brief sea from Mexico for finished car transport. He explained that there were a number of causes for this, including changing car distribution patterns, growing manufacturing in Mexico and railcar shortages.
“Occasions have modified,” he stated. “Rail must work exhausting to maintain up. Rail doesn’t do door-to-door supply and rail automotive shortages have been an issue within the last three years, since oil costs plunged.”
Kuehn argued that you simply “can’t swap bi- for tri-level [railcars] at a moment’s notice” and that there needs to be higher flexibility to satisfy changing mix of sedans and SUVs.
When it comes to transport and capacity management, Chuck Kendig, assistant vice-president – logistics, gross sales and manufacturing planning at Honda, instructed that the business needs to “get smarter”, securing top quality capacity at a lower price.
In accordance with Guy Younger, common manager Auto Haulers Association of America, the nation’s scarcity of vans drivers remains the “largest problem to the business”, revealing that it prices $125,000 dollars to coach a driver in one yr.
Ivan Hernandez, director NAFTA transportation, Daimler Vans North America, explained that the corporate wants 1,100 drivers on its community, however that business progress was outsourcing driver provide. Nevertheless, by creating new routes and ports, together with brief sea shipments, he stated it was attainable to enhance circumstances for drivers. A few of them might even “be residence every single day”.
Additional options to the disaster included hiring more ladies, growing wages, utilizing platooning, obtaining short-term visas for Mexican drivers and decreasing the licence age to 18.
Weathering the storm
OEMs including Honda and Volkswagen revealed a number of the disruptions they have encountered, including Hurricane Sandy and vandalism, and how they handled them.
“We didn’t realise the influence of vandalism,” stated Honda’s Franklin. “We produce 40,000 automobiles per yr for export and we misplaced 639 automobiles in a single month, which was over 700,000 dollars. We needed to change our delivery plan immediately.”
He added: “It’s a must to collaborate. We didn’t have sufficient elements for 639 automobiles and so we negotiated with the port authorities and partnered with 3Pl suppliers.”
Jordan Kajifasz, assistant vice-president, sales and advertising, international intermodal and automotive, Canadian Pacific Railway, instructed that the business needs more capacity to handle the automobiles being made. “An OEM gained’t cease producing automobiles because CP had a problem with its community,” he pointed out.
The company is utilizing the land it has to extend capability and is working with Hyundai Glovis in Ontario, Canada, to create the area needed to run their business in their own facility.
Heather Gilhuly, senior manager of port operations and metrics, Volkswagen Group of America added: “Production doesn’t dip as a lot as demand – it doesn’t get turned off as shortly as delivery. “Each month we take a look at forecasting and have an offsite association, which we utilise once we know we’ve automobiles that may sit there.”
Throughout a decade of disruption, it has been exhausting to plan for uncertainty, but the completed car business needs to be ready, now greater than ever. “You’ll be able to’t change something at the snap of a finger, so you have to all the time have contingency plans,” stated EY’s Quijano.
The Finished Car Logistics North America conference is part of the international Automotive Logistics collection of occasions.
The subsequent event within the collection is Automotive Logistics International Munich, (formerly Automotive Logistics Europe) which takes place on July 2-Four at Infinity Munich in Unterschleißheim
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Unilazer Ventures Pvt. Ltd, owned by film producer and entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala, has sold its 15% stake in lingerie e-tailer Zivame to Reliance Brands Ltd.
Screwvala confirmed the stake sale in Zivame, operated by Actoserba Active Wholesale Pvt. Ltd, to The Economic Times.
The move comes just two months after VCCircle in May reported that Bengaluru-based Zivame had pushed back fundraising and business expansion plans owing to coronavirus.
Reliance Brands – an arm of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd – markets and sells luxury brands in India including Jimmy Choo, Diesel, Bottega Veneta, and Giorgio Armani.
Unilazer’s stake sale is part of Reliance Brands’ possible move to acquire Zivame, The Economic Times reported, citing people aware of the developments.
As per the report, the acquisition could see Reliance Brands paying up to $160 million (nearly Rs 1,200 crore) for buying 100% of Zivame, which was founded in 2011 by Richa Kar.
VCCircle has reached out to Screwvala and Unilazer on the transaction and will update this report accordingly.
Zivame, which initially began operations as an aggregator, pivoted to a private-label business in the middle of 2016.
The company has many private labels including Penny and Coucou, and more than 60% of its revenue comes from in-house products.
It has also adopted an omnichannel approach and has a presence in more than 100 physical stores across India.
According to VCCEdge, the data research arm of Mosaic Digital, Zivame reported net sales of Rs 138 crore for the 2019 financial year, with losses of Rs 19.56 crore for the same period.
In May 2018, the firm underwent a management change and brought on board Amisha Jain as CEO in place of Shaleen Sinha.
In April 2019, Zivame raised Rs 60 crore in a bridge round of funding led by existing investor Zodius Capital.
Khazanah and Zodius Technology Fund had invested in Zivame in 2015. At the time, Zivame had raised Rs 250 crore in its Series C funding round.
Zodius bought out Kalaari Capital and Chiratae Ventures in 2018. The Zodius fund is managed by Avendus, which had acquired the early-stage investor in 2017.


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Engagement — Platform Due Diligence
Code & Co. advises Expedition Growth Capital ahead of its $10M investment in Storykit, a video creator tool that enables everyone who can write text to create video
Founded in 2018, Storykit leverages the power of artificial intelligence to let its users turn text into video. The company boasts 600 customers and tens of thousands of users across the globe.
- Storykit is the leading video creator in the Nordics and has recently expanded into several European markets.
- Storykit lets any marketer or communicator leverage the power of video.
- Storykit addresses the rising demand for the creation of high quality video at record speeds.
Video is set to be the number one format for social channels in 2022 and beyond. That is why Storykit, which has seized on the universal corporate and departmental need to quickly produce highly professional video content that is brand aligned and cost effective, is focused on accelerating innovation and expansion.
Storykit mainly caters to large and medium-sized enterprises, including customers like Skandia, the City of Stockholm, and Lufthansa Systems. In the last twelve months, the company’s revenues have nearly doubled without outside investments.
Expedition Growth Capital was impressed by Storykit’s commitment to long-term growth and expansion and is delighted by the prospect of expanding its market leading product to even more markets and customer segments.
Code & Co. advised Expedition Growth Capital ahead of its substantial investment in Storykit. Our report included a detailed assessment of Storykit’s architecture and infrastructure as well as the alignment of the company’s goals with its global growth strategy.
This Tech & Product Due Diligence is the latest example of why clients across Europe rely on Code & Co. as an established technology and product advisor when it comes to tech acquisitions.


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The next Batman game from Warner Bros. Interactive and Rocksteady could be announced soon according to a report from VG 247.
The report states that various clues being released, including this picture, state that the companies behind the game could be playing the reveal of the game stealthy. Kotaku reports that with Game Informer expected to reveal its next edition’s cover next week, it could be the likely time when the game is released.
Stay with Gamesided for more as this story develops.
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The TWS device market looks promising, and despite the uncertainty lying ahead of the global economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Apple reportedly is sticking to its shipment target for AirPods devices for 2020. Neither has the outbreak deterred the datacenter and server sectors from stepping up their deployments, which has in turn fueled momentum for memory prices. NAND flash chip contract prices are expected to go up 15% in second-quate 2020. But for PCB makers, they are set to see a sluggish year with a growth much lower than they had expected.
Apple still looks to ship 90 million AirPods in 2020: Apple has not revised downward its shipment forecast for AirPods devices, and is expected to stick its goal of shipping 90 million units in 2020, an increase of 50% from a year earlier, according to sources from the supply chain.
NAND flash contract prices to rise 15% in 2Q20: NAND flash contract prices are expected to rise 15% sequentially in the second quarter of 2020, driven mainly by robust demand for servers and enterprise-class applications, according to industry sources.
Taiwan PCB production to grow 3% in 2020, says TPCA: The production of Taiwan's PCB industry is estimated to rise 2.82% on year to reach NT$681.1 billion in 2020 if the coronavirus outbreak can ease in the first half of the year, according to Taiwan Printed Circuit Association (TPCA).


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A Midlands-based microbiology testing company was so impressed by the expertise of the Manufacturing Technology Centre’s engineers that it has moved its entire research and development operation onto the MTC campus.
Bromsgrove-based Cellfacts Analytics called on the MTC’s experts when it wanted to bring a new rapid analysis process to market. The new equipment is able to carry out the rapid microbiological analysis of liquids during the manufacturing process, to test for contamination.
Cellfacts developed patented technology to analyse paint during the production process, but lacked the capability and expertise to bring it to market.
Experts at the MTC’s Business Launch Centre brought a range of advanced engineering techniques together to re-engineer Cellfacts’ product to prototype stage, and prepare it for volume production.
Cellfacts founder, Dr Crawford Dow said their technology was unique in its speed and accuracy, and was in demand from the market, but they would not have been able to deliver it without MTC expertise.
“Without the MTC we could not have done this. Using their knowledge and capabilities we were able to de-risk the engineering processes and develop this product at a speed and cost which would have been impossible otherwise. In addition to maturing this technology for us, the MTC has discovered a number of other applications for it, which will take us into new markets,” he said.
“We have been so impressed with the work done by the MTC, we have moved our entire research and development operation to the MTC campus at Ansty Park,” he added.
Headquartered in The Courtyard, Bromsgrove, Cellfacts has developed a new generation of rapid microbiology instrumentation for manufacturing businesses. Cellfacts technology provides real-time information which aids the control of manufacturing processes across a wide range of industries, actively managing microbial contamination.
Dean Baker, director of the MTC’s Business Launch Centre, said the Cellfacts experience was a prime example of how they were able to help small and medium sized businesses.
“Cellfacts are now able to explore new markets and get more value from their technology. It is incredibly satisfying to help and support a company like Cellfacts, seeing them bring their entrepreneurial technology to the market and make it a success,” he said.
Based in the MTC’s newly-opened Sopwith Building the Business Launch Centre provides incubation cells for start-ups to develop and manufacture prototypes of their innovative products. They have access to the MTC’s world-class advanced manufacturing and research facilities, as well as the MTC’s team of engineering and manufacturing experts.
Dean Baker said, “We are able to provide a de-risked environment for start-ups with the support of our product development team from concept to manufacture. Through the MTC’s membership we can give young companies the opportunity to draw on the wider manufacturing community to create a successful and sustainable business. Our knowledgeable team offers an end-to-end service to reduce the stress of bringing a product to market.”
The MTC was founded by the University of Birmingham, Loughborough University, the University of Nottingham and TWI Ltd. The MTC’s industrial members include some of the UK’s major global manufacturers.
The MTC aims to provide a competitive environment to bridge the gap between university-based research and the development of innovative manufacturing solutions, in line with the Government’s manufacturing strategy. The MTC is part the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, supported by Innovate UK.
Further information: Sarah Gilmour, Manufacturing Technology Centre, tel 02476 647399.
Issued on behalf of the Manufacturing Technology Centre’s Business Launch Centre by Ian Strachan Communications Ltd., 01543 490932
About the MTC
The MTC (Manufacturing Technology Centre) is established to prove innovative manufacturing processes and technologies in an agile environment in partnership with industry, academia and other institutions. The MTC houses some of the most advanced manufacturing equipment in the world, creating a high quality environment for the development and demonstration of new technologies on an industrial scale. This provides a unique opportunity for manufacturers to develop new and innovative processes and technologies.


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We've been hearing rumblings about Microsoft's new Windows Phone 8 General Distribution Release 2 (GDR2) update since back in February, but now it looks like the talk about the new software will finally end and the fun can begin. HTC Germany has announced on its official Facebook page that the GDR2 update is now rolling out over the air to both the Windows Phone 8X and 8S. The Verge has received reports that GDR2 is making its way to unlocked Samsung ATIV S handsets as well.
Microsoft posted a brief changelog for GDR2 on its official Windows Phone 8 update page earlier this month. The update brings with it FM radio support, expanded carrier support for Data Sense usage tracking, improved stability and performance for Skype and Lync, better HTML5 performance in IE9, and other enhancements. One of the changes that's not included in Microsoft's list is Gmail CardDAV and CalDAV support, which will allow Windows Phone users to continue to sync their Gmail and calendars with their devices.
While GDR2 doesn't introduce any life-changing tweaks to Windows Phone 8, it does contain several small improvements that ought to make using a WP8 device a better overall experience. Neither Microsoft nor any U.S. carriers about have said when GDR2 might make its way stateside, but an internal T-Mobile document sent to WPCentral claims that Magenta's version of the HTC 8X could be updated as soon as July 22. T-Mobile hasn't commented on the leak, but considering that the international 8X is in the process of being updated to GDR2, it's certainly possible that T-Mobile's update could be close.


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PetroChina 1H Earnings Edge Up 5.6%
PetroChina Co (NYSE: PTR, HKG: 0857, SHA: 601857), the nation's biggest oil producer, posted 1.1 trillion yuan in revenues and 65.52 billion yuan in net profits for 1H 2013, up 5.2% and 5.6% respectively from a year earlier. Earnings per share went up by 0.02 yuan to 0.36 yuan. The company credited the profit increase to strong natural gas sales and a sharp fall in refining loss. It sold 47.88 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 1H 2013, up 9.8% year on year. Its refining division's loss shrank by 13 billion yuan to 15.86 billion yuan during the 6-month period.
China Mobile Looks to European Suppliers
China Mobile Ltd (NYSE: CHL, HKG: 0941), the world's biggest wireless carrier by subscribers, plans to give European telecommunications equipment suppliers a third of a huge project to roll out high-speed wireless data service across its network, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar the decision. The project is among the biggest equipment supply opportunities to hit the global market in years. It would mean hundreds of millions in added revenue for Europe-based Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent SA and Nokia Siemens Networks.
Strong Sales Boost Geely 1H Earnings 37%
Geely Automobile Holdings Co (HKG: 0175), China's largest private carmaker, posted 14.85 billion yuan in revenues and 1.4 billion yuan in net profits for 1H 2013, up 33% and 37% respectively from a year earlier. Average selling price, which rose 11% year on year on strong sales of the EC7 model, bolstered the increases in revenue and earnings and drove up gross margin to 19.2% from 17.4% a year earlier. Geely's vehicles sales were up 18.5% year on year to 264,000 units in 1H 2013; it hopes to sell 560,000 vehicles in the full year.
Merchants Property 1H Earnings Double
China Merchants Property Development Co (SHE: 000024) posted 16.13 billion yuan in revenues and 2.55 billion yuan in net profits for 1H 2013, up 60% and 109% respectively from a year earlier. A 183% fall in asset impairment loss and a 1,034% increase in other incomes were behind the surge in profits, according to its financial statement. The value of the company's property sales contract rose 23.8% year on year to 20 billion yuan, and the amount is expected to top 40 billion yuan for the full year.
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Inventec formed a collaboration with Siano to target the integration of Siano's semiconductor MDTV receivers into multiple products
May 16, 2006
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Inventec Appliances Corporation (IAC), a global leader in smart handheld devices and Internet appliance solutions, specializing in multimedia, broadband and wireless technology convergence, today announced it has formed strategic collaboration with Siano Mobile Silicon, a fabless manufacturer of integrated semiconductor receivers for mobile digital television (MDTV). The collaboration is targeting the integration of Siano's semiconductor MDTV receivers into multiple products, such as cell phones and other smart handheld devices.
Siano Mobile Silicon, headquartered in Israel, designs and markets semiconductor solutions for the emerging MDTV market. Its first product, the SMS1000, is now in mass production stage, and has been designed into a number of handheld devices that will be launched to market in H2/2006 and H1/2007.
"IAC views MDTV as a strategic technology and market, and we aim at integrating it into many of our future products, addressing different regions and different MDTV standards," said Michael Chen, senior vice president of IAC. "After careful analysis of the MDTV IC supplier landscape, we have selected Siano as our strategic partner, due to their superior product offering, and the great synergy between the companies," added Chen.
"The exciting collaboration with IAC opens new applications and new opportunities for Siano," said Alon Ironi, CEO, Siano. "Through the wide range of IAC's handheld products, Siano will fulfill its motto of 'enabling TV Everywhere.'" "Being selected by a leading, experienced ODM and OBM like IAC is a testimony of the advantages of Siano's SMS1000 in the highly competitive market of MDTV," added Ironi.
Inventec Enterprise System Corp.
Siano Mobile Silicon
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Sony encourages fans to put forward their picks for PS2 emulation on PS4, with iconic franchises such as TimeSplitters and Tekken proving to be the most popular.
Last month, Sony confirmed that PS2 emulation would be available on PS4, much to fans' delight. Instead of just being a cut and dry port to Sony's current-gen console, the PS4's PS2 emulation tech bumps up the visuals on those aging games and lets fans play them in HD and the titles also get trophy support too.
So far, just a handful of games have gotten the emulation treatment including several Star Wars titles, as well as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Dark Cloud and a handful of others. But with so many other games being released on PS2, Sony has now turned to PlayStation fans to decide which PS2 games should land on PS4 next.
Dave Thach, the PlayStation Worldwide Studios America International Software Development & SpecOps head, kicked off the #PS2PS4 campaign on Twitter, encouraging fans to tweet with the hashtag in order for Sony to "easily aggregate" the requests. As Sony has to get the PS2 games rated again for emulation and with licensing also being a big issue (Rockstar previously cited licensing as a reason why Red Dead Redemption hasn't come to Xbox One via backward compatibility) it's not guaranteed that all of the games requested will be emulated and it may take a while for them to show up too, but fans will be glad to see that the company is listening to them at least.
One obvious problem with Thach's hashtag idea is that it makes it incredibly difficult to figure which game is the most popular as there's no official breakdown of how many people are tweeting their support; but there are a few franchises that seem to be popping up more than most. One of these is TimeSplitters, with the madcap first-person shooter series being the go-top multiplayer franchise before Call of Duty became the juggernaut that it is today. The Tekken series also seems to be quite popular, which makes sense given that Tekken 7, which will be coming to PS4 with PlayStation VR support, doesn't yet have a western release date.
However, while some fans are doing their best to drum up support for their favorite games (thus increasing the likelihood of Sony choosing their submission), not everyone is happy. While the emulation process appears to have gone smoothly in North America, European PS4 players say that their versions of the emulated games are sub-par, with slowdown and frame-pacing issues being reported. It's currently unclear what Sony is doing to fix these problems and European PlayStation fans hope that Sony will address these before working on adding to the PS2/PS4 emulation library.


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Well folks, it looks like the time has come.
In an interview with CNET at CES today, Lenovo’s COO Rick Osterloh said that the company would be phasing out the iconic Motorola name, while continuing to use the “Moto” name for it’s high-end product lines. The company plans to continue using the “Moto M” on it’s high end devices like the Moto X, but will also add on the blue Lenovo logo as its predominant feature.
Though many will mourn the loss of such an iconic brand, who you could track back to the incredibly popular “Razr” device as well as others, Lenovo says they want to keep the spirit of Motorola alive. In an interview with the CEO of Lenovo, Yang Yuanqing stated:
We plan to not only protect the Motorola brand, but make it stronger.
Though the glory days of Motorola are long gone, we can hope that the Moto line of devices will live long, and prosper.
More from Android
Today Oppo launched two new handsets in Indonesia. This includes the Oppo A33 and the Oppo A53 which was launched …


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Global Leader, CEO & Executive Development
This Week in Leadership (Nov 22 - Nov 28)
Surging COVID cases have leaders debating their return-to-office plans. Plus, business books for the holidays and tips for launching a second career.
It’s been the question on everyone’s minds for weeks now. Can tech companies still reap profits and make as much for investors while regaining the trust of many of their customers?
The leaders of those firms are getting mixed messages. This week Google, Facebook, and Twitter posted solid quarterly profits. But their stock prices have fallen considerably on worries that the firms are increasing their spending significantly on, in part, security to protect customer data. (Facebook's stock rallied after its earnings release but the stock is still down significantly since March, when reports about privacy lapses came out.) Experts say it puts in stark relief the debate raging across organizations worldwide: Which is more important, a company sticking to its purpose or maximizing its profits? “They’ve lost a lot of trust; now they have to reestablish their purpose and prove that they’re going to serve customers,” says Kevin Cashman, a Korn Ferry senior client partner and leadership coach.
There’s a growing body of research that says these purpose-driven firms—ones that place their top commitment to something other than generating profits—are more profitable for their investors in the long run. But theories and causes can get tossed when stock prices or profit outlooks tip the wrong way. “Most companies do not lack purpose or values, they lack the courage, clarity, and commitment to actually live them,” Cashman says.
According to Kari Browne, a Korn Ferry senior client partner and global co-head of the firm's Fintech, Payments, and Transaction Processing practice, it isn’t unheard of for firms to make changes to their business practices based on their stated purpose, or to change their purpose entirely. In March, Citigroup said people could no longer use its products to buy guns unless they passed a background check and were over the age of 21. “Banks serve a societal purpose. We believe our investors want us to do this and be responsible corporate citizens,” the firm’s CEO, Michael Corbat, said after announcing the change. A move like Citigroup's on any issue is "unprecedented," for a major bank, Browne says. It remains to be seen whether the bank’s change impacts its bottom line.
And two years ago, Nintendo, known for its video games and other entertainment products, altered its own articles of incorporation to allow it to sell medical devices, manage restaurants, and license its name to many more industries. The firm’s leaders said the changes reflected the company’s desire to improve people’s “quality of life,” not just provide entertainment. Its stock price has more than doubled since.
But experts say it may be particularly tricky for younger firms, many of which have stated their purpose is to be a pillar of good for the communities in which they serve. Google’s founders famously wrote “Don’t be evil” in the company’s prospectus (a statement that was modified to "Do the right thing" years later), but they were by no means alone. In 2012, before Facebook sold shares to the public, founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook’s purpose was to make the world more open and connected. However, openness and privacy may be difficult to reconcile. Zuckerberg has said the company is willing to modify its purpose, even at the expense of its bottom line. “Our business is doing well,” Zuckerberg said late last year. “But none of that matters if our services are used in ways that don’t bring people closer together. Protecting our community is more important than maximizing our profits.”


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There's been a lot of debate about how serious Amazon is with its much touted (and very not-a-real-thing-currently) Prime Air drone-delivery program, considering the Federal Aviation Administration has specifically banned drones for commercial purposes. Add one on the serious side of the score card: the company has recruited former MIT professor Paul Viola to be its vice president of science for Prime Air. Read More
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