text:
It is easy to sympathise with Glasgow Consulting Group’s automotive market expert Vishal Pandey. It is his job to understand what is going on in a market that remains deep in shock from the Covid-19 pandemic and the effects it has had on the sales of vehicles in the past 18 months.
“As we all understand, some countries are still in a state of a partial lockdown and the pandemic still continues,” he tells the T&F Conference UAE.
“However, with some countries like Saudi Arabia, you have to say it has done phenomenally well in tackling the pandemic, whether it was with policies or how they dealt with the whole vaccine programme,” he begins.
The good news, then, is that there really is light at the end of the tunnel. Even if it feels someway off.
“I think by 2023 we will see a complete recovery,” he says. “And when I say 2023, I’m talking across the market, not only the automotive industry because in some ways all industries, the whole market, are interlinked. And thus, we need everyone’s recovery right for a complete economic recovery.”
Pandey notes that some sectors like hospitality and retail suffered more than others during the pandemic: “But, then we saw the emergence of new things, such as healthcare, really grow exponentially. E-commerce saw a huge jump and I think fundamentally you and I as consumers have changed. There are certain elements of our lifestyles which I think are going to remain. We are go to embrace online more and do more online transactions. I think that is fundamentally here to stay.”
The move to online is a major shift which has accelerated during the past 18 months. The online shopping habit will be hard to break for most people. If they ever shake it off at all.
“That is the major shift, right? We used to always talk about how much of online and e-commerce will penetrate into our lives. But I think that is here to stay,” he says.
The GCC has seen the introduction of VAT over recent years, but enthusiasm to raise it has receded as the reality of the hit consumer spending would take has set in – with Saudi Arabia, again, leading the way.
“We also saw certain strategic steps taken by governments. Saudi had raised the VAT rate from 5% to 15% which was at the start of the pandemic, (I think it was June/July last year). So early in 2021, the Saudi government announced that VAT would go back to 5%. So again, a very thought-through ,strategic decision, and really commendable. The Saudi government has had to think about how do we restore an economy? How do we drive numbers? So, in comes the multiple-entry visa and a lot of initiatives are being announced, which I believe are going to continue. And overall, the underlining fact is, that this will drive more people to come into this country. And then the car ownership would go up, right? Eventually, it benefits all of us.”
Whichever way you look at it, this has been a tumultuous period for the automotive industry in the region. The effects of going into lockdown and the shortening of staff numbers –with the uncertainty that both bring – has forced people to re-think their vehicle buying habits.
“New vehicle sales have dropped. Customers preferences have changed and how,” he muses. “We’ve seen a major shift to buying used cars. To give you a statistic, in Saudi, four to five years back, for everyone new car transacted there were four old cars transacted.
Fast forward to today, there are roughly around eight to nine transactions of used cars for every new car. If you look at the net fall off –- used cars over the last four year – it has been drastic. Almost a 25-30 percent dip.”
Again, like catching the online buying bug, opting for a used alternative is going to be your most likely option – statistically at least: “With the volatility that is around us – the macroeconomic factors or just sometimes you feel insecure with your job – that will motivate an individual to buy a used car. So, fundamentally, I think one of the key messages is that used cars are here to say.”
Understandably, more used cars, means more demand for components and parts from the aftermarket. Although that was not immediately obvious at the height of the lockdowns in the region.
“Obviously, since people were more indoors, they came out less for their periodic maintenance and thus all these service stations,” he says before confirming: “That business is back now. We are currently studying the service and maintenance market in the UAE and I can tell you the numbers are back on track. All of them are close to hitting their targets, so it’s at least good news on that front.”
“The impact has been minimal. So I think that there the recovery is happening. We have seen a huge surge and preference for used cars, which as I have already said is going to continue.”
Meanwhile, the team at Glasgow Consulting Group believe that car sales are expected to fully recover by 2022. And much of these sales, as he suggested, earlier will be channelled through online.
“A new trend which we have seen is a huge spike in online websites, e-commerce-based initiatives,” he notes. “Now you have the Dubi Cars of the world who have seized more and more of the online sales. These are now players and there has been a huge surge in funding (for them) as well. They’ve been able to gather seed funding or incremental additional rounds of funding.
“So, again, this is indication that there is an element in the market which feels that consumers will use them…Now, if I want to go and service my car, I’m likely to use an app.
To what extent that penetration is, is a different debate and question we’re not getting into but more or less everybody wants to now jump into the bandwagon of online and e-commerce: whether that is for servicing or even to go through the purchase process (whether it’s a used car and online).
“The key message is that online e-commerce is something any business would have to consider, if the consumer is willing to engage with that channel.”
For distributors and OEMS this means they must provide the right solution online if they are not already competing in that space: “This is a very very relevant and emerging trend.”
Moving ahead, he forecasts that people will continue to work from home as businesses understand the benefits and keep numbers down in the region’s offices. This, he argues, should encourage more people to turn to carpooling .
“We saw various initiatives by the municipality and transportation authorities on carpooling. And you can fast forward to a new world where carpooling is a phenomenal trend which is going to remain for a while.”
Continuing his look ahead, he says that there is good news for the passenger car market in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
“We expect it to be back on-track by 2022 and the same for the other GCC countries. Covid-related, disruption in sales which happened primarily in 2020 has pretty much recovered in 2021 and definitely in the last two quarters. There is a major recovery expected and a lot of distributors that we speak to are pretty happy with their current performance both on the new and used car sales sides,” he explains.
“On the component side, we believe economic uncertainties have increased the preference for used cars. This is a new trend I have mentioned and by 2024/2025, we would reach the pre-Covid level of sales numbers.”
He adds that these seemingly reassuring figures do come with a caveat: “Obviously, we have seen a major dip starting from 2017. We had the VAT coming in and we had whole lot of issues where we were in a consistently slow market (if you look over the last four years).”
He continues: “If you look at the CGR counts between between 2019 to 2024, we witnessed a growth of 0.7, which is not so bad. From an aftermarket and component perspective, I think we will see more of vehicle cleanliness being a core concern, more disinfection, more car washing…you go to service stations and these days they seem to be busier. I think these trends are here to stay and thus, every aftermarket business should look at solutions which help in enhancing the whole offering and the customer experience.”
Ultimately, with online and e-commerce here to stay, he believes that across the whole automotive market companies will need to introduce new business models: “New business models will emerge and new entrepreneurs will come and try new things because the end consumer is more willing to experiment.”
Read the full report including a look at green mobility in the region in the T&FME September issue out this week!


text:
NJ revamps UEZ program – but the sales tax discount stays
ELIZABETH – A new state law enacted Tuesday revamps the Urban Enterprise Zone economic development program, known mostly for the half-off discount it provides off the sales tax in parts of 37 municipalities.
Fear not, that part of the program is staying. So are tax-free purchases for businesses on capital equipment, facility expansions and upgrades, though benefits would phase out for larger businesses.
One of the biggest changes is that the law reinstates state money for ‘zone assistance funds’ that support local economic development efforts for the first time in 10 years. It appropriates $42.5 million for that purpose.
Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver signed the bill into law as acting governor, while Gov. Phil Murphy is on vacation in Italy. Oliver – who is commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs and will be chairwoman of the UEZ Authority – said the law is a long time coming and was a priority of the administration.
“For the first time in 10 years, UEZs will receive flexible economic development funds to start grant programs, revolving loan programs, clean and safe initiatives, targeted public safety interventions in commercial areas and more,” Oliver said. “This is a boon for our mayors and governing bodies at the local level.”
“The reform also requires new plans to be put in place by municipalities, helping to ensure that the funds will be spent responsibly and according to a comprehensive plan, as opposed to just one-offs,” she said.
Currently, there are 32 zones covering parts of 37 municipalities. They are home to nearly 7,300 UEZ-certified businesses. They are all set to expire between 2023 and 2025 – so, in the term of the governor elected this November.
The program began under Republican Gov. Tom Kean, but fellow Republican Gov. Chris Christie was a skeptic of its effectiveness and the program withered in the 2010s. In his first year in office in 2018, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law reinstating five UEZs that had expired and extending the program.
“This bill is a gamechanger in so many ways, but it’s reflective of what good government should do,” said Sen. Joseph Cryan, D-Union. “It’s reflective of the opportunity to make capital, jobs and opportunity available to the residents of the state of New Jersey.”
The bill signing was held outside Seafrigo USA, a cold-storage warehousing and logistics company specializing in the food industry. Seafrigo has three locations in the Elizabeth UEZ and one in Newark’s. The incentives saved it nearly $20 million in taxes in construction and operations since 2013, Mayor Christian Bollwage said.
“They’ve enabled business districts to recover during difficult times,” Bollwage said of UEZs. “Job creation, community-based development, the Urban Enterprise Zone program here in our city is proven economic and financial mechanism for promoting public and private investment.”
Huge savings like those Seafrigo reaped will be more difficult moving forward. The program is being changed to limit sales-tax exemptions to the first $100,000 of retail sales of tangible property to a qualified business for its use within the UEZ, except for supermarkets in a ‘food desert,’ with some limitations also on construction projects.
“It will leave room for small businesses to benefit from the program while phasing it out for larger businesses to whom the impact was muted,” Oliver said.
“That’s to make sure that large companies which need funding are not the only beneficiaries but small companies as well,” said Assemblyman Gary Schaer, D-Passaic. “Mom and pop companies, especially in immigrant communities.”
Leaders of chambers of commerce said the UEZ program and its shifting emphasis to smaller business can particularly help some of the 80,000 Black-owned and 120,000 Hispanic-owned businesses in New Jersey.
“From many perspectives, we’re still underperforming,” said John Harmon, president and chief executive officer of the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey. “This particular initiative, this bill, would afford us an opportunity to get in a better place. If you have commerce occurring in communities like Elizabeth, Trenton and others, you have to potential to impact those that are at the bottom, creating more jobs, more economic opportunities.”
Michael Symons is State House bureau chief for New Jersey 101.5. Contact him at email@example.com.

domain: news


text:
At least two Amazon employees have resigned in recent weeks to protest the company’s decision to continue selling a book they say mentions young people who identify as transgender as mentally ill.
The resignations come after a complaint posted on the company’s internal bulletin board in April drew support from more than 467 Amazon employees, according to a copy obtained by NBC News. Last year, the company employed more than 1.3 million people worldwide and is the second largest employer in the United States.
The workers’ complaint refers to a decision Amazon shared with Republican senators in March, saying it had “chosen not to sell books that present LGBTQ + identity as a mental illness.”
The employee-led petition calls for the removal of Abigail Shrier’s book “Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze That Seduces Our Daughters”. In it, Shrier explores what she calls a “trans epidemic” of young girls who identify as transgender. The book is currently ranked among the first, second, and third bestsellers – for hardcover, softcover, and Kindle editions – in Amazon’s category of “LGBTQ + Demographic Studies”.
While Shrier denies that her book presents LGBTQ identities as a form of mental illness, Amazon employees pointed to a passage where Shrier writes: “A lot of teenage girls suddenly identifying as transgender seemed to be caught in a ‘craze.’ – a cultural enthusiasm that spreads like a virus. Shrier goes on to define craze as “crowd mental illness.” Elsewhere in the book, Shrier compares therapists who assert the sex of transgender patients to a youngster’s claim of anorexia by agreeing that he is fat. “We wouldn’t think such a therapist was compassionate. We might think she was a monster, ”writes Shrier.
One of the employees who resigned following Amazon’s decision to continue selling the book, Selene Xenia, a software engineer who identifies as trans and worked at Amazon for seven years, said she was left in June after learning that the company would still carry the title. She was more satisfied with a decision made by Amazon several months earlier to stop publishing another book, “When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment,” because of its framing of transgender identity as a form of mental illness. But she says Amazon’s latest move to keep selling “irreversible damage” has gone too far.
“The book literally[craze] in the title and considers being transgender to be a mental illness in many ways throughout the book, ”said Xenia.
“I found it extremely hypocritical that Amazon said it would store this book and not another similar one,” Xenia said. “It appears that Amazon had to pull this particular book down for PR reasons, not because they felt morally obligated to do so.”
Shrier said in a statement, “This problem will not go away just because some disgruntled Amazon employees would like it to. And banning the book won’t help these girls or anyone else.
She added, “My book does everything possible to honor the experiences of transgender adults, never denigrates them, and never implies that trans identity is a mental illness.”
Shrier testified before Congress against the passage of the Equality Act this year, which would provide non-discriminatory federal protections to the civil rights of LGBTQ people in areas such as employment, housing, credit and education. The bill was passed by the House in February and is now awaiting a vote in the Senate.
In response to the announcement in May that some employees were against Amazon selling the book, Shrier wrote on Twitter that “anyone who thinks my book” brings forward a story of transgender identity as a disease “hasn’t read it, or is a bona fide idiot.”
Cecelia Fan, a spokesperson for Amazon, said in a statement that the company is dedicated to providing access to diverse perspectives.
“As a bookseller, we believe that providing access to written speech and a variety of viewpoints is one of the most important things we do, even when those views differ from our own positions or those from Amazon, ”Fan said. Last year, Amazon blocked the sale of a self-published e-book that claimed the harms of the coronavirus were overrated, but reversed its decision after Elon Musk tweeted that the company’s decision was ” crazy woman “. Amazon has also removed books by David Duke, the former head of the Ku Klux Klan, as well as books by George Lincoln Rockwell, the founder of the American Nazi Party.
Amazon is one of the largest online booksellers in the world and the decisions it makes about what to host and what not to host in its marketplace can have serious consequences for the distribution of a book, said Morgan Weiland, Affiliate researcher at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society whose work focuses on technology policy and constitutional law.
When Amazon employees published the complaint in April about the company’s internal ticketing system, the Seattle Times reported that Amazon’s director of risk and content policy for Amazon’s books had posted on an internal bulletin board. that management had met with a resource group of LGBTQ + employees and reviewed the book. Amazon officials concluded that this does not violate the company’s policy on selling books that present LGBTQ + identities as a mental illness.
“If Amazon wants to be content neutral, they should say so,” Weiland said. “If they are to have policies, they should apply them. They are doomed to be in trouble if they don’t apply their policies consistently.”
In an internal thread of the complaint obtained by NBC News, several employees expressed concerns that the book is listed as a bestseller and appears as the top result when searching for books on transgender topics on Amazon.
“Because of our success and scale, our clients will come to us to learn about their transgender children,” wrote one employee. “We have a responsibility to ensure that we do not use our powerful market position to amplify the damage caused by this book.”
Summer Lopez, senior director of free expression programs at PEN America, a nonprofit that works to defend the freedom of expression of writers, said in a statement that if employees are free to oppose the content of a book or debating a company’s policies, selling a book is not the same as endorsing it.
“As much of our information landscape becomes siled and divided into ideological bubbles, it is increasingly essential that major booksellers retain the right to offer a diversity of perspectives, so that the public can read , be informed and assess the validity of the ideas presented by any book for themselves, ”said Lopez.
“The best way for critics to challenge or delegitimize the ideas in this book is to publicly confront them with facts and counter-arguments, not to censor them from circulation. “
Health professionals who specialize in serving transgender and gender nonconforming youth say books like Shrier’s are troubling because they can be read by parents as general resources.
“My concern is that people are turning to this book for advice on these things rather than to professional societies, including mine, which all have observed and have for some years now found that gender-affirming care for young people is medically. necessary and that there is a scientific basis. to provide such care, which in some cases saves the lives of young people, ”said Dr. Erica Anderson, clinical psychologist at the Child and Adolescent Gender Center and president of the United States Professional Association for Transgender Health.
Last year, Target decided to remove “Irreversible Damage” from its shelves after activists responded. But the company reinstated the book the next day after critics claimed its withdrawal removed Shrier’s free speech rights. Shrier said in a online interview in March that Target had again stopped selling the book. Target did not respond to requests for comment.


text:
LANSING — Three business expansions that will generate nearly $29.8 million in total investment and create 148 jobs in Michigan have received Michigan Strategic Fund approval for support, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. announced.
Details are as follows:
* Grandville-based Kerkstra Precast Inc. plans to expand its precast plant in Trenton, investing more than $16.2 million and creating 50 jobs. As a result, the project has been awarded a $300,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant. Michigan was chosen over a competing site in Ohio. The city of Trenton is offering support to the project in the form of a property tax freeze. Individuals interested in careers with Kerkstra Precast should visit http://kerkstra.com/about/employment.
* The Sparta-based storage systems manufacturer Speedrack Products Group Ltd. has purchased a plant in the city of Litchfield in Hillsdale County, and plans to invest more than $5 million and create 38 jobs. As a result, the company has been awarded a $228,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant to assist with infrastructure upgrades and the purchase of new equipment. Michigan was chosen over competing sites in Indiana and Ohio. The city of Litchfield plans to offer property tax abatement in support of the project. Individuals interested in careers with Speedrack should visit https://jobs.mitalent.org/job-search and type in the Keyword “Speedrack” or email firstname.lastname@example.org to request an application.
* The auto supplier Yanfeng Automotive Interiors plans a southeast Michigan headquarters and technical center for instrument panel engineering and testing in Novi, investing $8.45 million and creating 60 jobs. The company was formed in 2015 as a joint venture between Yanfeng Automotive Trim Systems, part of Shanghai-based SAIC, the Chinese government-owned automotive design and manufacturing company, and Adient, a Johnson Controls spinoff automotive electronics maker based in Plymouth. The company has been awarded a $600,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant. Michigan was chosen over a competing site in another undisclosed location. The city of Novi has offered support to the project in the form of property tax abatement. Individuals interested in careers with the company should visit http://www.yfai.com/Pages/Job/JobSearchNew.aspx.
For more on the MEDC and its initiatives, visit MichiganBusiness.org. For Michigan travel news, updates and information, visit michigan.org. Michigan residents interested in seeking employment with any of Michigan’s growing companies should check mitalent.org, where more than 89,000 jobs are currently available in a variety of industries.


text:
PGG Wrightson says the recent sale of a Lower Waitaki dairy farm for $8.35 million could “re-ignite” the market for dairy property.
A wet spring across the country and a delayed recovery were largely the reason for a softer half-year result for PGG Wrightson (PGW).
PGG Wrightson shareholders have approved a plan to sell its seeds division to Danish seeds giant DLF.
Plant breeding research for pastoral farming has shifted from the likes of AgResearch to private institutions, says Derek Woodfield, GM research and development, PGG Wrightson Seeds.
Merino wool is “very much the talk of the town at the moment,” says PGG Wrightson South Island sales manager Dave Burridge.
New Zealand will still benefit from its intellectual property (IP) in locally developed seed lines when the PGW Seed and Grain business is sold to Danish global seeds giant DLF.
Rural services company PGG Wrightson (PGW) has announced an increase in earnings but a drop in net profit in the year to the end of June.


text:
Atos Syntel has now opened a new global delivery center, that is also capable of employing around 2300 people in its first phase of the process of development, to cater largely to both the retail and banking clients.
The center at the Tirunelveli in the state of Tamil Naidu has been also set up at an initial cost of around $15 Million. The company is also looking to invest around $5-$10 Million over a couple of coming five years on the 100-acre campus.
“The center will initially service customers in the BFSI and retail and logistics verticals, which are two key verticals for the firm,” said Sean Narayanan, head of the business and platform solutions division, Atos.
He also revealed in a report that the project has been started by the Syntel and was around 80% completed when the Atos acquired the former last year. The company is also looking to plan to hire around 800 people in India in the coming 12 months.
As of now, this is a third major delivery center for the company as of now after the Chennai and Pune, apart from the Bangalore and Mumbai, and the expansion is in the line with the Atos plans to move the more work in the platform solutions business nearshore or offshore. The business unit houses almost have around 60-65% of the company total workforce, which is around half of which are deployed offshore.
Rakesh Khanna, CEO, Atos Syntel, said: “We wanted to go closer to where the talent is, and we’ll be hiring from the engineering and management colleges in the region.”


text:
That’s right, for quite some time now European players of Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us have been complaining about censorship in the multiplayer feature of the game, where it is stated that -in the European version of the game- there is no sign of dismemberment of characters, as well as there is just “too few blood”. Finally, Naughty Dog has replied about this matter, admit...[Read More]
A brand new developer diary has gone public, this time it is explaining what the “Safehouse” is in their upcoming Payday 2 game, check it out!
Some time ago, I posted some information regarding Assassin’s Creed coming to the modern era, remember? Well if not just click on that link! Now, Ubisoft has released some screens that show how this was accurate, and how we’ll be coming to the present in their successful and beloved Assassin’s Creed franchise; just check them out! What do you think?
It has been announced by Bethesda that The Elder Scrolls Anthology will be available for purchases in September 10th (NA) and September 13 (EU), with a cost of $79.99. The Elder Scrolls Anthology features: The Elder Scrolls Arena The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Tribunal Bloodmoon The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Knights of the Nine Shivering Isles The Elder Scrolls ...[Read More]
A brand new Lost Planet 3 trailer explains the plot of the game, coming directly from Capcom, it is definitely worth checking
Neverwinter is adding some new stuff to the game, this time, it is all about companions; check out the trailer!
It is hard to find good quality trailers which aren’t just a recording of someone playing the game, but this one has caught my attention, as it isn’t the “common” trailer; but judge it by yourself!
Ubisoft has released another trailer for their upcoming game Watch Dogs, totally worth watching!
There’s a new video around, which compares Microsoft’s Xbox One with Sony’s PlayStation 4’s graphical capabilities, check it out!
A special edition for 2K Games’ upcoming title WWE 2K14 has been announced, and -as the name suggests- it is focused on one of the legends from the entire WWE and wrestling world, The Undertaker. This special edition of the game will cost $99.99 USD, and features: The coffin-shaped box for the game Exclusive collectible art card personally autographed by The Undertaker Exclusive Undertaker p...[Read More]
Bethesda has released 6 new screenshots that will change the way in which you see their upcoming survival-horror game The Evil Within, check them out!


text:
Today the S&P 500 and Dow Jones international Average are still up near all-time highs – in fact not much has changed value-wise from earlier in the week. These indices now appear to be doing the crab crawl the same way that Bitcoin did throughout that calm season prior to the bloodbath at Thanksgiving and the debacle at Christmas.
As for focal points in today’s market, Benzinga is reporting that contemporary earnings reports by three garment makers are getting some focus in today’s Wall Street crowd.
There’s Abercrombie and Fitch, which is reporting quarterly earnings today on revenue of over $1 billion.
American Eagle Outfitters is posting quarterly earnings estimated at $0.042 per share on revenues of $1.26 billion.
Urban Outfitters has already reported positive earnings for Q4.
The first of these three companies experienced a stock increase of around 11% after reporting larger than expected sales numbers.
“The teen-focused apparel maker has been adapting to changing millennial tastes by reworking its image, from dropping its famous logo-emblazoned tees in favor of trendier clothing to giving its once dimly-lit stores a makeover,” Reuters reports.
Meanwhile, Zacks characterizes market activity lately in terms of US/China trade relations.
“On Mar 4, reports surfaced that the United States and China were in the final stages of closing a trade deal,” Zacks analysts write. “China is believed to have agreed to reduce tariffs on farm, chemical, auto and other products from the United States. In return, America was considering nixing most of its sanctions on Chinese products. However, lack of any other catalysts to boost the markets weighed heavily on investor sentiment. Further, market watchers waited for further solid developments on the trade front and refrained from indulging in heavy trading.”’’
Yahoo Finance has this to say about the trade issue:
“President Donald Trump is pressuring U.S. trade negotiators to cut a deal with China soon in hope of fueling a market rally, as he grows increasingly concerned that the lack of an agreement could drag down stocks, according to people familiar with the matter.”
Yahoo Finance also goes into market activity around General Electric:
“GE shares tumbled after the company said it sees ‘significant known headwinds to 2019 cash flow’ for its industrial division,” analysts write.
Look for more as we progress toward today’s closing bell.


text:
Walmart.com president and chief executive Marc Lore is bullish on technology.
The executive spoke at the National Retail Federation’s digital conference Shop.org in Los Angeles Tuesday, talking up a number of subjects ranging from delivery and the last mile to new technologies. Lore’s now about a year in since Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s $3.3 billion acquisition of Jet.com, the company he founded in 2014.
“I think it’s important to not just look at the technology, but what it enables and that’s really the lens that we’re looking through,” he said. “Even e-commerce generally and the Internet, there are two different ways to look at it.”
Yes, e-commerce is about shipping goods to a customer’s door, he said, but what it has really meant for companies is a tool to being better merchants. Where physical catalogues have fixed product, the number of stockkeeping units is far more vast in an online store, impressing upon retailers the need to merchandise right to win over consumers. The same could be said about nearly any technology, including voice-activated shopping, the executive said.
“For example, voice [activated] means one best answer is going to be more important than it has ever been because you can’t just get a list of 50 things like before. That will separate the winners and losers,” he said. “That’s where the game’s going to be won or lost. The tech, just like the Internet, it will get commoditized pretty quickly so I wouldn’t be chasing the tech as much as the merchandising aspect.”
Technology to enhance the experience then becomes that much more important as more sku’s get added to sites such as Walmart.com or Jet.com.
Top of mind now for Lore is growing the product assortment by focusing on the best-selling products at the top, or the head of the long-tail distribution model, along with elevating the Walmart brand to woo businesses that haven’t historically wanted to sell on Walmart.com.
For all the talk of digital and what’s happening online, Lore said the role of Walmart’s physical store footprint and the ability to leverage the fleet is something he’s particularly excited about. With stores now doubling as warehouses and the company refining its ability to have employees at the store level pick and pack orders, they solve what Lore called the last piece of the puzzle in the question of how to get product to customers in the most efficient way possible.
The company already has employees picking fresh produce and delivering it to the trunks of customers’ vehicles at 1,000 stores in a program Lore said is being grown very aggressively.
“I feel really good about how that’s coming and I feel like we can deliver faster at a lower cost,” Lore said.
The company said last week it was piloting a program in Silicon Valley with the help of smart-lock technology firm August Home to deliver groceries to customers’ homes. The program, which has 100 volunteer participants, gives delivery associates the ability to enter a customer’s home with a one-time use code to actually stock their fridge with what was purchased. Customers are able to monitor the delivery through an app.
“It’s funny,” Lore said. “We sometimes hear people say that that’s crazy. They would never let people come into their house. I feel like we’re hearing the same thing when people were talking about Airbnb. I think we’re early days, but I think that’s the future.”
For More Los Angeles Coverage in WWD:


text:
If Netflix thought that they were in trouble now following their recent decision to split their service, then just imagine how tough things will be now that Amazon has now made a number of improvements to their $79 Prime Service? The new deal, which is to begin this fall will see them add around 2,000 movies and TV shows from Fox.
This new deal could be a huge headache for Netflix; it’s as if they are struggling to keep growth within the company, while Amazon keeps bringing improvements all the time. With talk of the service having tight integration with the Kindle Fire tablet (which we will discuss in a later post) the new content will certainly get all the publicity that it needs.
WSJ reports that some of the new content coming to the Prime Service from Fox includes shows like 24 and movies such as Speed — so not the latest and greatest then? However, knowing that the service will now see a content increase for around 22 percent will be a positive for current and future users. Amazon has no worries about admitting that this new deal has been brought in to compete with Netflix — but is it enough?
We cannot see any reason why not; just look how far Amazon’s Prime Service has come in just 12 months, as they have doubled the amount of content that was available. For those interested in the service, then $79 per year and unlimited two-day shipping on purchases seems a fair deal to us. In other related news, Netflix has now signed a huge deal with Dreamworks. This will now allow customers to start streaming their movies, such as Shrek, Madagascar and many more.
There are some amazing facts regarding Amazon Prime Service, such as it looks to be growing by 20 percent each year, there are currently 5 million members, and that 92 percent of those using the service plan to renew when their membership comes up for renewal.
*Identifying Monetised Links - outgoing links that we monetise are marked with an '*' symbol.


text:
Couture Boudoir, a premier boudoir photography studio, has recently been published in Edith magazine. The feature showcases boudoir photos of stunning model Heather Foster, captured by Critsey Rowe, the mastermind behind Couture Boudoir.
Boudoir photography is a form of intimate portraiture that captures the beauty, elegance, and sensuality of a woman. It’s a celebration of femininity, empowering women to feel confident and beautiful in their skin. Couture Boudoir, based in the US and part-time in Munich Germany, specializes in creating breathtaking boudoir photos that showcase the unique beauty of each woman.
The photos featured in Edith magazine showcase the ever-so-gorgeous Heather Foster in a variety of poses and outfits. From elegant lingerie to a simple cotton tee paired with jeans, each photo is a work of art that highlights Heather’s natural beauty and confidence. Critsey Rowe, the founder of Couture Boudoir, has a unique talent for capturing the essence of each woman she photographs. Her use of lighting, angles, and poses creates a timeless and elegant feel to each image.
Boudoir photography has become increasingly popular in recent years, as more women embrace their bodies and celebrate their femininity. It’s a form of self-expression that allows women to feel empowered and confident. Couture Boudoir is at the forefront of this movement, creating stunning photos that capture the beauty and essence of each woman.
Featured in Edith Magazine
The publication in Edith magazine is a testament to the incredible talent of Critsey Rowe. It’s a celebration of her unique vision and dedication to creating beautiful boudoir photos that empower women. The feature is sure to inspire women around the world to embrace their own beauty and celebrate their femininity.
Couture Boudoir’s Feature in Edith Magazine is a testament to the beauty and elegance of boudoir photography. The stunning photos of Heather Foster are a celebration of femininity, confidence, and self-expression. It’s a reminder that every woman is unique and beautiful in her own way and that boudoir photography is a powerful tool for celebrating that beauty. Congratulations to Critsey Rowe and Heather Foster on this well-deserved recognition.
Find Heather on Instagram @HKITTYKATZ and Edith Magazine @EDITH.GLAMOUR


text:
Bitcoin is the most popular means by which drugs are bought and sold on the dark web. Founded in 2024, Hydra sold illegal drugs but also stolencredit card data, counterfeit currency and fake identity documents. Doctor Drugs, a site which sells cocaine, ecstasy, speed, Ritalin and guns, includes a lot of detail about the products, including potency. A. The suspects allegedly used so-called darknet systemsor encrypted peer-to-peer networksto sell heroin, cocaine, cannabis, amphetamines. Nov 21, 2024 The drugs were sold on dark net websites Wickr, Dream Market and dark web site AlphaBay using Bitcoins. Hence, orders can be placed via. This page looks at the retail market for cocaine in Europe including markets for cocaine hydrochloride powders, markets for cocaine freebase product and how. Selling Drugs on Darkweb Cryptomarkets: Differentiated Pathways, Interviewer: So you still sell on DNMs darknet marketplaces, and.
Nov 21, 2024 The drugs were sold on dark net websites Wickr, Dream Market and dark web site AlphaBay using Bitcoins. Hence, orders can be placed via. Every market as a potential scam Reddit darknet buy drugs Darknet Market List They function primarily as black markets, selling or brokering transactions involving drugs. Police arrested suspects allegedly using darknet systems -- or encrypted peer-to-peer networks -- to sell heroin, cocaine, cannabis. Selling Drugs on Darkweb Cryptomarkets: Differentiated Pathways, Interviewer: So you still sell on DNMs darknet marketplaces, and. Founded in 2024, Hydra sold illegal drugs but also stolen credit card data, counterfeit currency and fake identity documents. The sites look just like other online marketplaces, complete with star ratings and chatter about the quality of the goods being sold, said. The dark web has nefarious uses like drug or weapon sales and pornography distribution that have made He currently sells 5 items that are listed below.
Note: New Zealand only Login _ The Dark Web: A quick guide to The Tor Browser buying and selling deadly weapons, illegal drugs, child pornography. Due to the fact that darknet black market url drug trading does not need faceto-face contact, illegal sellers purchase and sell narcotics over the Dark Web. The German police, for example, seized 320 kilos of drugs when it arrested Shiny Flakes, a 20-year-old cryptomarket drug dealer whose. Eight Los Angeles County men who were behind two groups selling drugs over the darknet the internet's crime-ridden underbelly are facing. After talking with people who use the Dark Web, I became very concerned that many of them have lost the appreciation that this is drug dealing. The suspects allegedly used so-called darknet systems - or encrypted peer-to-peer networks - to sell heroin, cocaine, cannabis, amphetamines. A drug dealer can make over 800,000 a year, selling to individual users. If you're getting your product off the DNM (Dark Net Market) and get a CD.
Meaning they were selling narcotics online, including fentanyl. Over 100 individuals were charged in total, which followed the recent shutdown. Feds: Portland man made 1M selling darknet drugs PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) A 22-year-old man made more than 1 million in drug sales using the. Why would someone sell drugs on the darknet? Selling Drugs on Darkweb Cryptomarkets: Differentiated Pathways, Risks and Rewards. GREEN BAY (WLUK) -- A Hobart man was sentenced for selling drugs on the "dark web." Christopher Bania, 27, was sentenced to more than four. Another dark web market based in Russia also has its own drug checking services to keep dealers in line and make sure they are not selling. The most recent European Drug Report refers to this as an uberisation of out selling drugs More Territory drug dealers named and shamed FROM Dark Web. A US man who sold darknet black market sites narcotics on the dark web in exchange for Bitcoin has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
Try CannaHome, one of the darknet bitcoin market largest recreational drug darknet markets. surviving for more than six years selling drugs and illegal goods. Cocaine is a central nervous system stimulant drug made from the native South But the pair were secretly topping darknet bitcoin market up their wages by selling cocaine. FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Three German nationals accused of running one of the world's largest dark web sites for selling drugs and other. This page looks at the retail market for cocaine in Europe including markets for cocaine hydrochloride powders, markets for cocaine freebase product and how. Drugs still rule the darknet, but aren't the only inventory on offer from Robertsson on Flugsvamp to confirm he was still selling drugs. At first it looked like a spoof an advert for a website selling a massive range of illegal drugs and promising delivery to your door. But the. AlphaBay hid its tracks with Tor, a network of thousands of computers run by volunteers. With Tor, traffic gets relayed through several.
Due to their bulkiness, web crawlers can place a heavy burden on a website’s server, and darknet selling drugs are easily detected due to their repetitive pattern moving between pages. HugBunter is and likely always will be a neutral party. In fact, ANOM’s distributors, administrators and agents had so much confidence in the secrecy of their devices that darknet selling drugs they openly marketed them to other potential users as designed by criminals for criminals. It's safer with certain products to buy from a domestic supplier. When using Tor to access the internet, these layers of encryption make it difficult to track web traffic back to a specific user. This means that while certain memecoins may have purported use cases and sound cryptoeconomics, these projects can be strongly hype-driven and often lean heavily on the strength of their marketing efforts and community initiatives to drive adoption. It is very easy to open an account on the dream market. Ransomware encrypts your system or ﬁles and demands a ransom bef ore decryption. The post Rapture Market Closes It’s Doors Over Hack appeared first on Darknet Markets. We have been receiving a lot of emails over the years about this store with a lot of customers complaining that they have been scammed. The sorts of illegal activities and documents named in these awards are bought, sold, and hosted via the dark web.
“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Georgia Attorney General have filed a joint lawsuit against a debt relief company and its owners and executives. Then obviously there are the Phishing attacks, DDoS attacks and so on.”
Utilizing security awareness computer based training and phishing security tests can be effective tools to reduce unintentional insider threats. The EDUCAUSE 2019 Top 10 IT Issues report likened the impact of technology on higher education to the human genome project. Of darknet markets support PGP 2FA features, Carded items, counterfeits, Hacking Services, Gift cards etc most. Operation darknet best drugs DisrupTor builds on the success of last year’s Operation SaboTor and the coordinated law enforcement takedown of the Wall Street Market, one of the largest illegal online markets on the dark web. Gross domestic product is generally calculated in three ways (using production, incomes, or expenditures) and can be adjusted for inflation and other population metrics to provide more tailored data insights. Alladin not only sexually abused children between the ages of 2 and 16, but published his crimes on the dark web, boasting about his exploits. Valhalla was founded in October 2013 on the Tor hidden service network as a Finnish-only marketplace. Unfortunately, the authorities had seized the whole Joker’s Stash operation. Unlike some other admin-only marketplaces, it's opened its gates to independent vendors who have the right products for you.


text:
Krypt0knight.com keyword after analyzing the system lists the list of keywords related and the list of websites with related content, in addition you can see which keywords most interested customers on the this website
The reason behind that is Coinbase is the world’s largest bitcoin broker, so you don’t have to worry about how you can buy crypto with credit cards when the opportunity like Coinbase is right before you
You can buy up to $150 worth of bitcoin per week with just 3.99% charges
Coinbase is available in most countries, and its “instant buy
The ripple effects of Grab's US$40 bn record SPAC listing
Cryptocurrencies employ different consensus protocols to verify transactions
While the “proof-of-work” consensus protocol is the most energy-consuming protocol, “proof-of-stake” and the hybrid of these two consensus protocols, which consume considerably less energy, have also …
One of the biggest Bitcoin miners says Ethereum will soon
BlockTower Capital CIO and co-founder Ari Paul says he believes Bitcoin could potentially print over 10x gains within the next two years
In a new tweet, blockchain investment firm executive tells his 149,000 followers that the bull market may last until the end of 2022 with Bitcoin poised to grow between 153% and 915% from its current price of $39,400.
COIN shares: Analysts make the 'bull' case for Coinbase
DÜSSELDORF – German blockchain start-up Retraced has been awarded €1 million (US$1.2m) by investment firm Samaipata, which it will leverage to scale its supply chain transparency tool and broader suite of cloud-based solutions.
Powered by solutions provider Oracle’s Blockchain Platform Cloud Service, which is built on Hyperledger Fabric, Retraced offers fashion industry firms the
US Gulf Coast storm outages send ripples around global
ATLANTA – Supply chain solutions firms Logility and New Generation Computing (NGC) have joined forced to introduce a new traceability technology, which they feel US brands and manufacturers should look to leverage if they’re to be sure their supply chains don’t use forced labour.
PlayTreks Simplifies The Music Industry With Blockchain
New Delhi: Mr Bharat Mallapur, Chief Technology Officer, EMURGO Academy yesterday said that digital transformation and smart contract will help create a thriving economy and realize the vision of minimum government, maximum governance.Addressing the
Ripple Street Expands Leadership Team with Anthony Radalj
Info!Website Keyword Suggestions to determine the theme of your website and provides keyword suggestions along with keyword traffic estimates. Find thousands of relevant and popular keywords in a instant that are related to your selected keyword with this keyword generator


text:
Germany’s first electric car factory sets new standards
The world’s largest car manufacturer is getting ready for the future. Over the next few years, Volkswagen will make a radical transition to e-mobility, and the Volkswagen plant in Zwickau, Germany, will play a key role in this process. With the ID.3 model, the blueprint for the new generation of electric cars is being created here. The bending experts from Bystronic are also on board.
Out of isolation, into the network
Industrial companies traditionally develop innovations on their own. However, more openness is needed to take advantage of the opportunities offered by digitization. Together with partners, Bystronic develops networked solutions for sheet metal processors. Because only those who look beyond the horizon can realize the vision of the Smart Factory.
A partnership that generates innovations
The strategic partnership with IPG Photonics is strengthening Bystronic’s innovative capacity: Together, these two technology pioneers are developing the next generation of fiber lasers.
Step-by-step approach to becoming a digital champion
Medium-sized sheet metal processing companies are resolutely tackling digitalization. But what can be optimized? How best to automate? And what should be networked? These questions can only be answered through expertise and experience. The roadmap for the future has to be developed within the framework of a cooperative partnership. Bystronic helps its customers to make profitable use of the opportunities presented by new technologies.
Bending Cell: Xpert Pro plus automation
Bystronic has enhanced the Xpert Pro press brake to create a fully automatic bending solution. The Bending Cell enables varying order situations to be mastered efficiently and without errors.
Appetite for innovation
Buhler has set its targets high: simultaneously tackling two of the biggest global challenges – feeding the world’s population and ensuring mobility in 2050. Buhler’s largest production facility is located in Liyang, China. The state-of-the-art factory exemplifies why Buhler is a leader in its markets.
Laser cutting in an 8 meter format
In northern Germany, Langen CNC Metalltechnik GmbH & Co. KG has been successfully processing metal for 30 years. The family-owned company has continuously invested in state-of-the-art laser cutting technology and infrastructure. Recently, their production hall has become home to a ByStar Fiber 8025 with a customized automation solution from Bystronic.
Blechexpo 2019: High-tech premières this fall
Learn all about the latest industry trends. Experience first-hand our innovations for your production environment. At the Blechexpo, Bystronic will unveil exclusive premières in the fields of laser cutting, bending, automation, and software.
Spare parts: A copy or the original?
Only high-quality spare parts unleash the full potential of a laser cutting or bending system. An increasing number of customers are also realizing this. They trust in the high quality of Bystronic original spare parts. Product Manager Michael Uebelhart illustrates the benefits.
BySmart Fiber: New in 4020 Format
Large-format fiber laser cutting is opening up special benefits in competition. To this end, Bystronic is now producing the BySmart Fiber in the 4020 format. Up to 6-kilowatt laser power and compatible automation solutions can be added.
Sustainable manufacturing thanks to fiber lasers and automation
A fiber laser cutting system, a matching automation solution, and innovative software enable companies to increase their productivity while simultaneously saving energy. The Haslach Group, based in the Allgäu region in Germany, shows how this can be done.
The carefree package for the entry into bending
Bystronic is advancing into a new customer segment. The Xpress offers concentrated bending technology at an attractive price-level. Thanks to the newly developed press brake, even users without prior experience achieve professional results.


text:
Roaming fraud could cost mobile operators USD $5 billion globally in 2009 because of a failure to implement detection measures.
That’s the warning from James Stewart, director of fraud product management at MACH and chairman of the roaming sub-group of the GSMA fraud forum.
He said that many operators around the world have yet to comply with near-real time roaming data exchange (NRTRDE) recommendations – making it likely that fraud will shift to those who are less well protected.
But he said that carriers could not afford to neglect security measures, even in the current economic situation.
"Perpetrators of roaming fraud rely on poor operator visibility and slow inter-operator processes to profit at the operators’ expense," said Stewart.
"Many operators are re-evaluating the use of their existing fraud detection measures, looking for ways to reduce expenditure.
"Their margins are under pressure from increasing roaming tariff regulation and competition but they cannot afford to increase their exposure to fraud and their subscribers will not accept any disruption to service caused by fraud prevention."
Stewart said MACH clears two out of every three roaming calls on GSM and CDMA networks and settles more than 60 per cent of global inter-operator wholesale invoice amounts.
The company has over 300 NRTRDE clients, and a growing Fraud Protection client base that is doubling every six months.
Stewart said that minimising mobile fraud losses involves the rigorous execution of four key disciplines:
- timely visibility
- quick analysis
- intelligent investigation
- rapid action


text:
J.P. Morgan downgraded American Eagle Outfitters (AEOS) to long term buy from buy.
Analyst Thomas Filandro says this a challenging environment overall. He adds that the weather is not conducive to spring selling, and that the company has delayed its catalog mailing. He cut his 1%-3% higher February same store sales estimate to a -1% to -3% range. Filandro maintains his $1.57 fiscal 2002 (Jan) EPS estimate, and kept his $1.87 fiscal 2003 estimate.
He says the catalog mailing delay will shift business out of February, hopefully into March. Filandro thinks American Eagle has the best looking store for target customers, but that the U.S. economy is in a more challenging environment than anyone understands.
He has a $40 18-month target.


text:
Exploding moonshine: The new golden age of outlaw liquor
By CNN, International News
June 17, 2015
Moonshining is a vocation that speaks to the American pioneer spirit.
In the golden age, folk heroes like Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton and Doc King avoided high alcohol taxes by hitching their stills to souped-up cars and lighting out for the Appalachian woods after dark, where they distilled eye-watering liquor from corn mash, to be sold in mason jars off the books.
They played a game of cat and mouse with the authorities, as illegal distilling was an offense that carried jail time. But it was also high risk for the hated “revenuers” from the liquor authority, who were sometimes attacked, tarred and feathered.
The product itself could be dangerous. For much of its 300-year history, moonshine referred to any illegal home-made spirit, including low quality brews with deadly contaminants. Today it usually describes clear, unaged whiskey, and standards have improved as the distillers no longer need to operate in the shadows.
When the global financial crisis hit the Appalachian heartlands, counties all over the region tapped into one of the few growth industries by legalizing moonshine. The first legal distillery in Tennessee opened its doors in 2010, and others followed in Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina.
“We somewhat cheated by learning from the bootleggers down by the river outrunning the revenuers,” says Trey Boggs, who along with his brother Bryan founded Palmetto Moonshine, which became the first legal distillery in South Carolina in 2011. “The recipe is tried and true, the only difference is we pay taxes … We make the real thing and use mason jars, nothing fancy.”
A 2012 explosion at the Anderson County factory highlighted the danger of no-frills distilling, but the damage was light enough that the company could take it in good humor. “Our shine’s so good it’s on fire,” Palmetto announced.
But while the business takes pride in its local roots, the liquor has gone far beyond South Carolina. Today, Palmetto Moonshine sells in 24 U.S. states. It has spread across Canada and launched in the United Kingdom, with new distribution deals struck for the Caribbean and South Africa. Sales have risen from 5,000 cases in 2011 to 25,000 in 2014.
The British connection was formed when Callum Burt received a moonshine jar as a Christmas present, and realized it was not available anywhere in the United Kingdom.
“I started talking to the top six legal moonshiners in the U.S.,” says Burt. “Palmetto were the first to say ‘when can you start?’”
Moonshine UK was born, but adapting from U.S. to EU regulations presented a challenge. Burt had to change the size of the jars and remove all traces of the word “whiskey” — which must be aged three years to meet European criteria. Ingredients were adjusted for Palmetto’s flavored varieties.
The moonshine is now on sale in 50 British bars and through an online retailer, with plans to supply every city in the country. It has been popular enough to inspire competition, and Burt believes the tradition is as much of a draw as the taste.
“In the UK we like Americana at the best of times, and all the infamous history really lends itself to a drink like moonshine.”
More than a drink
The liquor has certainly made serious contributions to U.S. culture. Nascar racing grew out of prohibition-era bootleggers racing each other and escaping police in their modified cars on wild country roads. It has become an icon of American values, according to Jaime Joyce, author of “Moonshine: A Cultural History of America’s Infamous Liquor.”
“It’s part of the American cultural heritage,” she says. “It’s about standing up to the government. Refusing to pay taxes. Supporting families when jobs and resources are scarce. People really respond to that.”
From Robert Mitchum’s “Thunder Road” to the songs of Bob Dylan and Cat Power, the resonance reaches far beyond Appalachia to a global market.
“Moonshine has huge crossover appeal,” says Joyce. “Its renegade reputation makes it alluring to consumers who want a little taste of tradition. It makes them feel a little outlaw, too, without breaking any laws.”
The author believes that legalization could usher in a new golden age. She points to liquor giants Jack Daniels and Jim Beam launching their own varieties, and legal Nascar racing teams sponsored by legal moonshine, as hooch goes mainstream.
Certainly, legal businesses have enjoyed spectacular success across the industry. The fastest growing brands are selling over 200,000 cases a year — more than some whiskey giants — and with moonshine tourism increasingly popular, prospects appear bright, further boosted by the emergence of a vibrant craft liquor scene.
The only loser is the black market, as the bootleggers’ services are being rendered obsolete. But there will always be purists who keep their business in the woods, and the police busy.


text:
Reassurance...or a bad omen?
You've probably heard something about BlackBerry maker RIM's patent dispute in the US courts. Maybe it's even frightened you a little. Some coverage has leaned towards the "your BlackBerry is going to crash and take the business with it" variety. Luckily, this appears to be hyperbole, as we explain in the February Real Finance (due to hit your desks a week from today). The case shouldn't matter a jot to BlackBerry's service in the UK. However, should the courts serve an injunction against RIM, it will mean the end of writing emails while walking down Frisco's Telegraph Avenue (which is just as well - you're liable to get hit by a trolley).
But how the landscape changes... today we got an alert that they've updated and tested workaround software "as a contingency to allow RIM partners and customers to continue to use the BlackBerry service should the court implement an injunction in the current litigation". Now which of these alarm bells ring for you?
Bell A: They obviously think they're going to lose.
Bell B: They're intending to fight this all the way – they'll risk losing because they refuse to admit defeat and settle.
Bell C: They are trying to reassure their customers.
Tough call, and I'm no mind reader. A is out because RIM can avoid an injunction – and thus a BlackBerry blackout – by settling. The question is, how likely are they to push their luck? Gartner analyst Todd Kort puts the risk of an injunction at 10 per cent. "There's still too much business sense in them settling," Gartner says.
So while they might not be prepared to *lose* per se, I bet that in a game of one-upmanship they'd like their legal opponents to think just that. And they must think the move reassures customers -- or they wouldn't have sent the press release so freely. Me? I'm looking more closely at Vodafone Business Email...
More news on this front, apparently, on February 24. I doubt we'll even have to wait that long.


text:
As grocers confront the threat of Amazon, Kroger has made digital a cornerstone of its strategy.
Digital sales grew by 90% last year as the country’s second-largest grocer worked to create a “seamless digital experience.” Expanding click-and-collect services played a key role in the increase, CEO Rodney McMullen wrote in his annual shareholder letter.
As the grocer opens those services to more shoppers and drives more traffic to its digital landing pages, it has the opportunity to capture spend from vendors looking to relocate dollars towards digital. However, few retailers are doing this, according to Gartner L2’s Grocery Site Monetization report, which identifies opportunities for grocers to monetize their digital platforms. The study finds that Amazon, Target, and Walmart capture a significant amount of vendor spend, serving over 30% of display impressions for CPG brands.
Kroger currently hosts brand stores for vendors such as Chobani and continues to make headlines with its 84.51˚ program and the promise of a dynamic advertising solution for vendors. However, Gartner L2 analysis identified limited advertising on Kroger’s site. As the grocer fully rolls out its program, it will be well-positioned to challenge Amazon, Walmart, and the rest for a share of vendor spend.


text:
47.60 +0.16 (0.34%)
After hours: 7:55PM EST
|Bid||47.56 x 1100|
|Ask||47.68 x 1100|
|Day's Range||47.28 - 47.70|
|52 Week Range||34.67 - 47.74|
|Beta (5Y Monthly)||1.06|
|PE Ratio (TTM)||17.58|
|Earnings Date||Jan 22, 2020|
|Forward Dividend & Yield||0.84 (1.78%)|
|Ex-Dividend Date||Jan 05, 2020|
|1y Target Est||51.06|
Earnings season is in full swing and several heavyweights are gearing up to report results Thursday including consumer staples giant Procter & Gamble and chipmaker Intel.
Intel Corp. needs to go back to being boring, but after a rocky 2019, it’s unclear whether the company can return to the way things were.
About 11 million TV viewers watched the start of the U.S. Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump on Tuesday when lawmakers sparred for hours over witnesses and records for the historic proceedings, according to Nielsen ratings data. The total fell short of the roughly 13.8 million viewers across 10 broadcast and cable television networks who tuned in last November for the first day of the House of Representatives impeachment inquiry into Trump. The audience figure on Tuesday covered the 4-1/2 hours of daytime coverage by six cable and broadcast networks that aired live telecasts on Tuesday.
The latest video-streaming entrant from Comcast Corp., due in April, is likely to be the focus of attention when it announces fourth-quarter results Thursday after markets close.
(Bloomberg) -- Netflix Inc. says it’s ready to take on the toughest year in its history in terms of new streaming competition. Investors have their doubts.Netflix delivered generally upbeat fourth-quarter results after Tuesday’s close, with overseas growth helping offset a slowdown at home, but it expects to add fewer subscribers in the current quarter than Wall Street projected.The shares tumbled as much as 3.7%, the most since November, in New York trading Wednesday morning, after trending mostly higher amid volatile trading since the postclose report.With technology and media giants such as Apple Inc., AT&T Inc., Comcast Corp. and Walt Disney Co. all bringing new video platforms online, Netflix is working to keep customers loyal with a flood of shows and movies. The company plans to boost its spending by 20% this year, bringing its programming budget to about $12 billion on a profit-and-loss basis.“We view our big long-term opportunity as big and unchanged,” Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings said during a pretaped recap of its fourth-quarter earnings, released Tuesday.Despite the muted first-quarter subscriber forecast, Netflix said there’s “ample room for many services to grow.”Netflix investors have been grappling with whether the company’s days of reliable growth are over. The company added fewer customers in 2019 than it did in 2018, and its increase in the U.S. and Canada decelerated by more than 3 million. In posting the results Tuesday, Netflix said price hikes and a growing array of options have made it harder to attract customers.It’s only going to get tougher. Apple’s TV+ and the Disney+ platform both launched in the U.S. during November, enticing consumers with lower-cost services, while AT&T’s HBO Max and Comcast’s Peacock are both coming online in the next few months.All those competitors are likely to slow customer additions and increase the number of existing customers who cancel Netflix.Against that backdrop, Netflix posted its weakest year of domestic subscriber growth since it first broke out its online service from the company’s traditional DVD-by-mail business in 2011. Netflix is projecting a gain of 7 million paid subscribers worldwide in the first quarter, short of the 7.82 million estimate.“We are working hard to improve our service to combat these factors,” it said in a letter to shareholders.Staying the CourseBut the Los Gatos, California-based company argues that its strategy is still sound, and competition shouldn’t cause it to change course. Losing popular shows such as “Friends” to its new rivals has had no impact on viewership so far. Netflix subscribers are just finding other shows to watch, Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said.For proof, Netflix can point to its global growth in the latest quarter. The company added 8.76 million customers in the period, compared with forecasts of 7.65 million. Hastings described them as “amazing numbers.”Netflix has pinned its future potential on growth outside the U.S., where it doesn’t yet face the same level of competition. Europe and Latin America have been the company’s engine in the past couple years, and continued to serve that role in the fourth quarter. Netflix added 4.4 million customers in Europe, bringing its overall total to almost 52 million, and another 2.04 million customers in Latin America.Non-English ShowsNetflix plans to release more than 100 seasons of local language programming next year. Though its biggest global hits are mostly English-language shows such as “Stranger Things” and “The Witcher,” its most popular programs in many territories are in other languages, like Spain’s “Casa de Papel.” The company is also experimenting with different pricing plans in Asia.Netflix has borrowed billions to fund all that programming, and its long-term debt stands at almost $15 billion. But the company said this past year will mark the high-water mark in terms of its cash burn. Earnings of $1.30 a share also handily beat analyst estimates of 30 cents, lifted by a tax benefit.Investors weren’t sure what to make of Netflix’s results at first. The shares had dropped as much as 3% to $327.97 in extended trading before rebounding, then drifted lower again Wednesday morning into the open. The company’s shares had climbed 4.5% so far this year before Tuesday’s close.“After several years of unchecked dominance in the U.S. streaming-video industry, Netflix faces high-profile new streaming rivals,” Geetha Ranganathan, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, said in a report. “Yet the breadth of its content and a compelling value proposition will make it hard for new entrants like Disney+ to unseat the company.”(An earlier version of the story corrected a quarterly financial comparison.)To contact the reporter on this story: Lucas Shaw in Los Angeles at email@example.comTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at firstname.lastname@example.org, John J. Edwards III, Cécile DauratFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Citrix Systems, Southwest Airlines, Comcast, Travelers Companies and Intuitive Surgical
Netflix’s growth driver continued to be its international user base in the last quarter of 2019, its latest financial results showed.
The fast-casual restaurant offers a menu inspired by dishes that appeared on one of "Top Chef"'s 16 seasons.
Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) has to prove that it can prosper in the expanding streaming war after Dow components The Walt Disney Company (DIS) and Apple Inc. (AAPL) fired up new services in the fourth quarter. Nervous Netflix shareholders hope that Tuesday's post-market earnings release takes a giant leap in that direction, with Wall Street analysts now expecting earnings per share (EPS) of $0.53 on fourth quarter revenues of $5.45 billion. There's little doubt that Netflix can find a comfortable niche within this growing competition, but its torrid growth rate may have topped out in 2019, and the stock can no longer sustain the still-lofty price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 109.
Fourth-quarter 2019 was quite promising for Wall Street as the U.S.-China trade war finally seemed to ease and strong economic data boosted investors' sentiments.
Netflix is set to report its Q4 fiscal 2019 earnings results after the closing bell on Tuesday, January 21. The streaming TV giant's stock price has climbed over the last several months but Wall Street is worried about Netflix's growing competition...
Comcast Corporation (CMCSA) announces multi-tiered pricing strategy for its new Peacock streaming service including ad-based free subscription offering slated for launch in April.
Comcast's (CMCSA) fourth-quarter 2019 earnings are likely to have benefited from the expanding high-speed Internet subscriber base and Sky's portfolio strength.


text:
Apple revealed today that users earned more than $1 billion in Daily Cash from spending on Apple Card last year. The tech giant also announced that Apple Card has topped more than 12 million users. Apple Card, which first launched in 2019, is exclusively available in the United States.
The company also revealed that nearly 30% of Apple Card customers make two or more payments per month. Plus, more than 1 million users are sharing the card via Family Sharing, and nearly 600,000 users are building credit equally with their spouses, partners or another adult.
“We designed Apple Card with users’ financial health in mind, and it’s rewarding to see our more than 12 million customers using its features to make healthier financial decisions,” said Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. “We’re proud of what we’ve been able to deliver to Apple Card customers in just five years. As we look at the year ahead and beyond, we’re excited to continue to innovate and invest in Apple Card’s award-winning experience, and provide users with more tools and features that help them lead healthier financial lives.”
Last April, Apple launched Apple Card’s high-yield savings account offered by Goldman Sachs and reached over $10 billion in deposits a few months later. Apple says the vast majority of users currently auto-deposit their Daily Cash into savings, and nearly two-thirds of users have deposited additional funds from a linked bank. Today, savings offers a high-yield APY (annual percentage yield) of 4.5%. The savings account offered an APY of 4.15% at launch.
Apple also revealed that more than 200,000 users have been approved for an Apple Card after enrolling in the Path to Apple Card program, which provides customized steps to help you get approved for Apple Card in the future after your initial application was rejected.


text:
Which hotels have the most exclusive rooms?
The world’s most exclusive hotel, the Montauk Hotel, is now a private club in the Pacific Northwest.
It’s the first of its kind in the US and the first in Canada.
A private club has its own rules, but they’re mostly relaxed.
We can only stay at the club if we can pay the club’s membership fee of $1,500 a year.
But you can also use your credit card and get a room, so it’s very convenient for people who like to stay in their own homes, said a spokesperson for the company, the Hotel Del Coronado.
There are other private clubs in the world, including the Golden Nugget and the Pacific Crest.
But in this case, the company decided to keep the club private.
Its exclusive suite is only available to members, and its membership costs $3,500.
There’s also a pool table, which is an expensive option, and there are no private rooms in the hotel.
The club has four private rooms, and all of them are in the same suite.
This hotel is the most expensive of the three hotels, according to TripAdvisor, which rates it the 11th most exclusive in the United States.
If you’re looking for a private room at the Montag’s, it’s $2,500 and the pool table is a nice option.
If the club is too expensive, there are also private rooms for $1 a night.
The most expensive room is the $1.5 million Suite Suite, which includes a bed, a TV, a DVD player and a fridge.
If that’s not enough, there’s also the $500-a-night “cage” room, which has a private bathroom and two-way mirror.
But even these are expensive.
The Suite Suite costs $2.5m and is rated as one of the top ten most expensive private rooms.
It also comes with a two-piece bath and private shower.
For a cheaper private room, you could get in line at the restaurant and get one of these private rooms or get a two room suite.
The cost of a private suite is based on the room size, which can range from 1.5 to 3 bedrooms.
If there are other suites in the suite, you can choose to have two separate private rooms with a total of four people.
The Montag also has a spa, which comes with private pools, steam rooms, a sauna and a saunas.
There is a private restaurant, which costs $500 a night and has a pool.
There aren’t any private dining rooms at the hotel, but there is a bar.
If a restaurant is expensive, it may be a good option for a hotel, said the spokesperson.
It may be better for the hotel to make a profit than pay a private service to have the room, he said.
The hotel is owned by a Chinese businessman, and it’s run by a group of Chinese people.
We’re not affiliated with the Chinese government.
There were no complaints from the Chinese people, and the hotel has a good reputation in China, said hotel spokesperson Michael Lee.
The Hotel Delcorado is a resort chain, but it doesn’t have a private resort at the moment.
The company says it will eventually, but for now it will only offer its private resort.
The owners are looking at the new properties in the city of Sacramento, which are also owned by the Chinese company.
The city of Santa Cruz is also home to some of the most prestigious properties in California, such as the San Francisco Zoo and Disneyland.
The Chinese company owns the city’s hotels, including those at the Bay Area’s Golden Gate Bridge, Disneyland, the San Pablo Hotel and the Golden Corral Hotel.


text:
There’s no shortage of startups that are attempting to make brick manufacturing more efficient, and the industry is thriving, with many more in the works.
But it can be hard to get the right tools, which can cost more than a typical brick factory.
And even if you’re already a brick factory owner, the business is still a daunting one, with only 10 percent of jobs being filled by new hires, according to a recent report by the Pew Research Center.
So what if you had the right tool?
The answer is a small, modular system called a drone, which could be used to help brick makers do some of their most basic jobs.
A drone can fly for about five hours and cost about $1,000, according the company AeroRobotics.
A single quadcopter can cost as little as $200.
And the drones themselves cost as much as $10,000 each.
To get a drone to the right place, the company offers a program called Precision Drones.
The company sells a series of small, low-cost drones that it says will save the average manufacturer $300 per year.
That’s enough to cover rent and food for six people.
Once purchased, the drones are shipped to a factory in New York, where the owner gets to use the drone to get a job done.
The company is now working with a couple of brickmakers to create the Drone Factory Town.
The first step is to order drones from a manufacturer, which will then get them delivered to a warehouse where the factory owner will use them for the job.
Then the company has to set up a site to assemble and set up the drone, and it’s then up to the workers to get started.
For example, they could take the drones to a new location where they can get started assembling a brick.
“You could actually put them in a factory, you could have a drone drop them off, and you could send them to the next site and they’ll be assembled,” said Dando Brick Factory owner Andrew Knorr.
“The drone will fly to that location and then you can get the drones out.”
While Knorr said the company is not going to be able to make a large number of drones for a small amount of money, he’s confident that a small batch of drones will help.
“If we can get to 10 percent and then 20 percent we’ll be really happy,” he said.
The company also has plans to start selling drones in the United States and Australia.
But Knorr is still focused on getting the drone industry started.


text:
14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 23 November 2018 — Without long lines outside stores or massive orders via Amazon or store windows decorated for the occasion, we have Black Friday in Cuba, a practice that has come with the private sector and that this year has featured extensive offerings in the informal market.
“If you send text message with the #BlackFriday hashtag, we discount 20%,” says an ad spread across several websites offering purchases and shipments to Cuba. Benefitting from the sales are both Cuban emigrants who send products to family and friends in Cuba, as well as self-employed entrepreneurs who order the merchandise to sell on the Island. The offers are included range from dishes, through mobile phones to food supplements.
“It’s about motivating people to join this practice of Black Friday that is increasingly spreading to more countries,” says Yusimí, 40, an informal saleswoman of toiletries, cosmetics and vitamins. “This year we have had many orders and we have also offered special combos for the date.”
Originating in the United States, “Black Friday” marks the start of the Christmas shopping season and is characterized by its significant reductions in prices. Custom now dictates that Cyber Monday is celebrated on the following Monday. Its original intention was to boost digital sales that had once taken place on “Black Friday” in physical stores, but today these borders do not exist and “Cyber Monday” focuses on selling technological products at tempting prices both on-line and in street-front stores.
As a practical matter, Cubans living on the island cannot make online purchases because very few have a credit card. For this they depend on emigrants, and thanks to them and to the sites that ship to Cuba they can take advantage of these offers. “Sales and gifts, free delivery,” read an email sent to thousands of people and intended for Cuban emigrants. The discounts were only valid until 23:59 on Friday.
Nobody is surprised by these options because, little by little, certain festivities and traditions that come directly from Cuban emigrants in the United States have entered the island reality. “We are taking advantage of the two-day opportunity because Thursday is Thanksgiving and Friday is Black Friday,” explains Duaney, a merchant who specializes in footwear and appliances.
Although the state stores, the only ones that legally exist in the country, did not show a single sign that this Friday was commercially special, the private sellers filled that absence. “Two for the price of one,” “spend your black Friday here, so you do not miss the sales,” “it’s not Monday and it’s not Tuesday … it’s Black Friday,” were some of the improvised slogans of a sector of sales that officialdom limits.
Since the authorities banned self-employed workers from selling imported merchandise at the end of 2013, the inspectors persecute those who market these goods. But instead of disappearing, merchants have retreated to the black market and now widely use classified sites to place their products. A mobile phone number placed in an advertisement is the primary link to contact the sellers.
Instead of an automatic recording, José Luis, 38, repeats in his own voice the Black Friday sales every time an interested party calls. “If you want an appliance, the rebates are up to 15% this Friday and if you are looking for clothes, shoes or perfume we have discounts up to 35%,” he says on the phone to everyone who calls.
“We have to take advantage of this day when people have more desire to buy,” explains this young man who was born and raised in a Cuba where the government harshly stigmatized words such as “business,” “profits” and “merchant.” Part of a wide network of people who do not study or work in state-run workplaces, José Luis defines himself as “a great servant, who serves the clients what they need.”
However, he also takes advantage of the pull of consumption to peddle products that sell better accompanied by others or that
move slowly,” as he calls them. “We have good cologne, shaving foam and perfumes for men,” he explains and “for children there are backpacks with Wonder Woman and Spiderman.”
Others reject the arrival of these commercially focused dates of foreign influence. “We have reached a point where Halloween is celebrated more than Mother’s Day and where Cubans in Miami dictate to the family here that they should eat turkey instead of pork,” a retiree complained on Thursday, as he stood in line at a Western Union office on 3rd street in Havana’s Miramar district.
Most of those waiting to collect their remittances sent by relatives from the United States had a plan to celebrate Thanksgiving, more to please their families across the Straits of Florida than becuase of their own desires. Some also thought to set aside some of the money to spend on Black Friday.
The compulsion to buy that characterizes this Friday in other regions of the planet is still limited in the island, where in recent months the shortages of products have worsened in the network of official stores. So it is not uncommon to find “two-door refrigerators” for sale on the black market while state markets post a sign saying “out of salt.”
Black Friday has also coincided with the days dedicated to second anniversary remembrances of the late leader Fidel Castro, a bitter enemy of consumption. “With him in the Government, none of this would have been possible,” speculates José Luis, the seller. While in state markets posters with the face of the Commander in Chief are seen, the young merchant’s small illegal shop offers brands such as Adidas, Nike, Huawei and Dolce & Gabbana.
The 14ymedio team is committed to serious journalism that reflects the reality of deep Cuba. Thank you for joining us on this long road. We invite you to continue supporting us, but this time by becoming a member of 14ymedio. Together we can continue to transform journalism in Cuba.


text:
Input costs drive more price increases at AK SteelPosted: April 6, 2011
What’s a debate about inflation without more price hikes from a steel company?
AK Steel (AKS) announced additional surcharges today based on “…reported prices for raw materials and energy used to manufacture the products.” This announcement is one more small reminder of how commodity price pressures begin pushing their way through the supply chain:
“AK Steel…has advised its customers that a $390 per ton surcharge will be added to invoices for electrical steel products shipped in May 2011.”
Disclosure: author owns shares in AKS


text:
Los Angeles Times: Texaco Aims to Regain Star Status in U.S.: Its parent company is converting gas stations, hoping to ride on the brand's long history.: Odd as it sounds, the U.S. arm of ChevronTexaco Corp. is getting back into the business of Texaco.: To get their merger cleared by antitrust authorities, the companies sold exclusive rights to the Texaco brand for three years to a group led by the Shell division of Royal Dutch/Shell Group. (ShellNews.net) 2 May 05
By James F. Peltz, Times Staff Writer
Odd as it sounds, the U.S. arm of ChevronTexaco Corp. is getting back into the business of Texaco.
The Texaco brand of gasoline had withered in the U.S. market since 2001, when Chevron Corp. bought Texaco Inc. for $39 billion.
To get their merger cleared by antitrust authorities, the companies sold exclusive rights to the Texaco brand for three years to a group led by the Shell division of Royal Dutch/Shell Group.
There were about 12,800 Texaco stations in the U.S. at the time, including more than 700 in California. Most were converted to Shell stations over the next three years, and Texaco was poised to disappear from the U.S. market.
But San Ramon, Calif.-based ChevronTexaco regained the U.S. rights to Texaco last year, and it's bringing back the brand.
"Texaco still has incredible strength and awareness out there," said Danny Roden, head of ChevronTexaco's North American marketing operations. "Our strategy is to maximize that benefit."
It has already converted nearly 1,200 gas stations in the East and South to carry the Texaco banner. ChevronTexaco also plans to add 300 Texaco stations in eight Western states by year's end, including about 75 in California.
The oil giant is convinced that the Texaco name still attracts loyalty, even in a commodity business such as gasoline. ChevronTexaco said that was evident overseas, where ChevronTexaco has continued to supply about 9,000 Texaco stations.
The company also plans to issue dual-branded credit cards that holders can use at either Chevron or Texaco stations, which would give Texaco an immediate base of 7 million potential customers nationwide.
In California, Chevron has 17.9% of the gasoline market, second only to BP's Arco brand with 18.7%, according to Pacific West Oil Data, a monthly analytical report published by Economic Insight Inc. Shell has 14.5% of the California market.
Some analysts also believed that the Texaco brand still had value. "With the right visibility, advertising and support, they can build a good story and resurrect it," said Alan Siegel, chairman of Siegel & Gale, a New York consultant on corporate branding.
Shell still supplies about 2,700 Texaco stations around the country, said spokesman Cameron Smyth, who otherwise declined to comment on ChevronTexaco's efforts.
ChevronTexaco says its consumer surveys show that Texaco's once widespread presence and its catchy advertising over the several decades still resonate with motorists.
One of Texaco's most enduring slogans, launched in 1962, urged drivers to "trust your car to the man who wears the star," a reference to the company's logo.
Raj Saran is one of the newest dealers to wear the star. The owner of five stations in Central California, he recently converted one in Visalia from Shell to Texaco. The other four are Chevrons.
"It's a brand name that was famous in the past," said Saran, 56. "I like that people are familiar with that."
Saran was persuaded to make the switch by Norm Crum, owner of Valley Pacific Petroleum Services Inc., a Stockton distributor that supplies Saran and other dealers with gas from Chevron and other producers.
"It's not like you have to explain what Texaco is," Crum said. "There's a feeling of trust and recognition, which is a big part of branding, so that footwork has already been done."
ChevronTexaco is relying on distributors such as Crum known as "jobbers" to persuade non-Chevron dealers to switch to Texaco. ChevronTexaco also provides the jobbers with cash, discounts and other incentives to help the new Texaco dealers install the Texaco signs, set up credit card accounts and otherwise re-brand the stations.
The company won't break out those costs, but doesn't argue with suggestions that the Texaco campaign is a multimillion-dollar effort.
Yet for all the consumer awareness Texaco still holds, its appeal varies by region, Roden acknowledged.
For example, "Texaco was not particularly strong in the Los Angeles basin," he said. Yet the Chevron brand is, so the company is content to leave Texaco out of many metropolitan areas in Southern California and the Bay Area.
That leaves the rest of the state, where ChevronTexaco hopes that its dual-brand attack will take market share from Shell, Arco, ConocoPhillips' 76 and other brands.
But bringing Texaco back in California's ultra-competitive gasoline market won't be easy, at least initially, because of the complex way in which ChevronTexaco and Shell divided their rights to the Texaco brand.
Texaco began as Texas Fuel Co. in 1901 and changed its name to Texaco Inc. in 1959. Its early television ads showed dealers singing, "Oh, we're the men of Texaco; we work from Maine to Mexico." They were regulars on "Texaco Star Theater," a TV show hosted by the late comedian Milton Berle that had millions of weekly viewers.
When Universal Studios Florida built a 1940s gasoline station on its site as its symbol of motor travel, it placed a Texaco sign on the building. When the "Back to the Future" movies of the 1980s chose a gas station as a backdrop, it was a Texaco.
By 2001, both the Texaco and Shell refining and retail operations in the United States, along with their brands, were owned by two joint ventures whose partners included Texaco and Shell. (Most of the gas stations themselves are owned or operated by independent dealers who agree to sell particular brands of gas.)
To win government approval of their merger, Texaco and Chevron agreed to sell Texaco's interests in the joint ventures to Shell. The deal gave Shell exclusive U.S. rights to Texaco until July 2004, after which Shell and ChevronTexaco agreed to share rights until July 2006. That's when ChevronTexaco will regain the Texaco brand for itself.
So ChevronTexaco has been ramping up the Texaco brand while it's still temporarily sharing the brand rights with Shell, and that's causing confusion.
For example, if drivers buy gas at Saran's Texaco station in Visalia, they're buying ChevronTexaco gas. But if they drive 45 miles north to a Texaco station in Fresno, they're buying gas supplied by Shell, Saran noted.
After they fill up at Saran's station, some motorists "will try to use their Shell credit card, then realize something's wrong," Saran said. "We are having little problems like that."
ChevronTexaco acknowledged that there will be snags until it regains the exclusive rights to Texaco. The company said it was planning advertising campaigns to educate motorists.
"The confusion will only be for the gas [credit] card holder," Roden said. The company hopes that its new dual-branded cards will help solve the problem, and Texaco customers also can use bank credit cards as they do at any other station.
Once ChevronTexaco regains the exclusive rights to Texaco, all Texacos will get their gas from ChevronTexaco and Shell will be out of the picture.
Crum, the distributor, noted that Texaco's brand awareness wasn't built overnight and that it also would take time to erect enough Texaco stations to again make the brand competitive.
But with Chevron already a top-selling gas in California, and ChevronTexaco enjoying record profit from soaring oil and gas prices, "I think ChevronTexaco can afford to be patient with this rollout," he said.
As ChevronTexaco tries to rebuild the Texaco brand, it faces a competitive gasoline market in California. Here are the major players:
California market share for gasoline among leading brands (as of Dec. 31)
Exxon Mobil: 6.3%
Source: Pacific West Oil Data
History of an old Texas gusher
1901: The Texas Fuel Co. is formed.
1902: The company's founders start Texas Co., which absorbs the previous firm.
1903: The new company is saved from bankruptcy by a gusher oil well at Sour Lake, Texas.
1911: Texas Co. opens its first filling station in Brooklyn, N.Y.
1931: Texas Co. gains the rights to the Havoline brand name.
1936: The company founds Caltex with Standard Oil Co. of California, which later became Chevron.
1959: Texas Co. changes its name to Texaco Inc.
1984: Texaco purchases Getty Oil Co.
1987: Texaco files for bankruptcy protection.
1988: The firm settles a four-year legal battle by agreeing to pay Pennzoil $3 billion.
1988: Financier Carl Icahn tries to take over Texaco.
1998: Texaco and Royal Dutch/Shell Group place U.S. refineries and gas stations into joint ventures: Equilon, serving the western half of the U.S., and Motiva, serving the eastern half in partnership with Saudi Aramco.
2000: Chevron Corp. agrees to buy Texaco Inc. for nearly $39 billion to create ChevronTexaco.
2001: Chevron and Texaco complete their merger after selling Texaco's stake in the Equilon and Motiva joint ventures to Shell and the Saudis for $2.1 billion. Shell begins converting some Texaco stations to the Shell brand.
2003: ChevronTexaco begins sale of $6 billion in lagging oil fields, refineries and other assets.
2004: ChevronTexaco regains rights to the Texaco brand.
April 4: ChevronTexaco announces it will purchase Unocal Corp. for $16.4 billion.
Sources: ChevronTexaco, International Directory of Company Histories, Times research
Click here for ShellNews.net HOME PAGE


text:
The district has bought $15 million worth of iPads for use in 340 classrooms this fall, according to San Diego`s 10 News. The money has come from a voter-approved funding program known as "Proposition S," which sets funds aside for up-to-date technology in the classroom.
The district has bought iPad 2 units that retail for $400, but a $30 education discount from Apple means the district will save hundreds of thousands of dollars on the purchase.
The district has not indicated exactly what software students will use, though a likely candidate would be Apple`s own iBooks software, which was enhanced for digital textbooks with the release of iBooks 2 early this year. The iPad 2 units will be utilized in 5th- and 8th-grade classrooms, as well as some high school classes.
San Diego`s investment in the iPad was first noted by Apple`s chief financial officer, Peter Oppenheimer, during his company`s quarterly earnings call in April. At the time, the district had purchased a total of 10,000 iPads, and was planning to secure 15,000 more â a purchase that has now become finalized.
Oppenheimer noted that Apple`s U.S. K-12 customers had purchased twice as many iPads as Macs during the March quarter, despite the fact that the company also set a record in Mac sales for the quarter.
"iPad continues to open doors for new customers with whom Apple previously had no relationship," he said. "As we enter the K-12 institution buying season, we`re hopeful that iPad will be a popular choice."


text:
Northern Michigan car dealer retiring after long, successful career
MANISTEE CO, Mich. (WPBN/WGTU) -- A longtime car dealer is set to retire after he began working with his dad and uncle in 1961.
Jim Mowry will officially retire from Manistee Chevrolet on Friday, Sept. 29.
"I began working for my dad and uncle in 1961 at the original dealership at Peanut Junction," said Mowry. "I made 10 cents an hour sweeping floors and emptying waste baskets."
Mowry graduated from Michigan Tech with a business administration degree in 1974 and had plans to work for General Motors. "I was looking for a job at the same time the Big 3 were experiencing significant layoffs. My timing was terrible," said Mowry.
It was then that he decided to work selling cars for his dad at the Mowry Buick Pontiac Dealership.
We're told that Jim sold thousands of of vehicles and kept records of every sale. "I have notebooks with all of the transactions I was a part of. We dealt with a lot of customers and made a lot of lifelong friendship."
Jim and his business partner then bought the dealership from Jim's dad when he retired in 1988. They would own and operate the dealership until 2003 when it was sold to Benchley Automotive.
"I stayed on with Benchley's selling cars for five years, between 2003 and 2008. I chose to leave Benchley's when the recession hit. Ultimately the dealership was forced to close," said Jim, who admitted it was a sad day. "GM was in bankruptcy and the future of the industry was looking pretty bleak."
"Bob Yates from Yates Chevrolet called and said he could use some help in his sales department. I was out of work for two days and I was right back to selling cars," added Mowry. Jim remained on staff when Barry Seymour purchased the dealership from Yates in 2015 and it was renamed Manistee Chevrolet. “No question, Jim will be hard to replace,” said Manistee Chevrolet Owner Barry Seymour. “He has a lifetime of experience and a very loyal base of customers. We wish him nothing but the best in his retirement.”
The public is invited to stop in on Friday, Sept. 29 between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to wish Jim well and enjoy coffee and cake.